Lunch at Monkeys with Mel and Eva

Yesterday morning, Kelly dropped by my house for a short chit chatting session before giving me a lift to the bookshop in Shortland Union to ship my heavy textbooks and files back to Singapore. The load was heavier than I expected, the total weight came up to 15 kg. And it cost me $162.60. Throughout the whole process, Kelly spared no effort in helping me, by helping me to lighten the physical burden, such as selecting boxes to put my things in and writing her address at the back of them, just in case the boxes do not reach Singapore. These gestures really brightened up my day. After she drove me back home, we exchanged hugs and well wishes, and finally promises to keep each other updated about our lives via MSN. Goodbyes are hard to say but the memories that I had with her are unforgettable.

I have finished about 40 pages of New Moon, and shall keep the majority of the pages for the 8 hour plane ride from Sydney to Singapore. So relieved that there are no stopovers this time around, because I think they are a waste of time and makes one more exhausted than a straight flight. Interestingly, flights with stopovers are actually cheaper than those that fly you straight to your intended destinations. Surfed the net for a while before I left the house to meet Mel and Eva for lunch at Darby Street.

Darby Street is famous among the UoN students due to the cafes offering a wide of international food. But the prices are steep for some of them as well. Mel and Eva would be going to Melbourne for a short holiday that night. The 2 girls were friendly and comical as usual, and both of them agreed that the tertiary education in Malaysia is not really internationally recognized. So, they have decided to Taylors University College to study for an Australian degree instead. The wind was messing up our hair despite the relatively strong afternoon sun. I think my hair has the texture of dead leaves now, all thanks to the dry air. =(

We had a really full lunch at Monkeys Cafe. All of us shared a pizza, potato wedges and a Monkey Platters. The sauces that came with the food were really delicious, especially the one that complimented the wedges. There were many interesting morsels on the platter, such as brandy bacon slices, coconut prawns and salty cheese. In addition,there were 3 kinds of dippings like crushed nuts,olive tasting liquid and parsley coloured grinded herbs. Indulging in good food is a indeed a blessing. I ate more than 2 of them because it will be a long time before I may ever get chance to eat here again. Mel and Eva have at least one more semester to explore the eateries in Newcastle.

The prices were quite good despite the generous servings. I only had to pay $16.30 for my share. In conclusion, patronizing Monkey's Cafe is more worth it than going to Blue Water Pizza, where the prices are steep and the food which they serve are in smaller portions. According to Mel, she could prepare even tastier pasta than that of Blue Water Pizza. We took 100 back to our respective houses. Saw many high school studentswho were donning really nice uniforms. Pleated skirts and long socks up to the knee seem to be very common among the students here. Little boys who have yet to reach their teens have already got ear piercings. It is not an uncommon sight to see girls in school uniform applying makeup. The dress sense in Australia is so contrasting from that of Singaporeans.

Cleaned the toilet sink last night and paid Hongjun $200 for miscellaneous household expenses and 1 weeks rent. Dinner was Continental Potato and Bacon soup with the last Fuji apple. Now, I only have the box of frozen hokkien mee and Ovaltine in my food inventory. In addition, there are only 12 cents worth of credits in my mobile phone, which is a good thing because I am leaving tomorrow. Today shall be spent packing my luggage bag, lazing around and getting some food after calling Happy Cabby at 10 am to get my pickup time. Till then, see you guys in Singapore soon! =)