50 Facts About Me

Hello.

Saw this tag floating around and thought it would be interesting to do.

For those that read my blog, it'll be a way for you to learn a little bit about me! :)

1. My name is spelt Joan but pronounced Joanne.
2. I was born in Kuantan, Malaysia.
3. I am currently 24 years old.
4. I have a younger brother who is 3.5 years younger than me.
5. I live in Melbourne, Australia and have been here since '94.
6. I have a passion for photography and travelling
7. My favourite number.
8. I have been to 9 countries and counting.
9. Most of the time, I drive with one hand.
10. I love Korean, Italian and Thai food.
11. I have a huge(!) extended family. My grandpa on my dad's side is the head of 5 generations.
12. I have rolled both my ankles before.
13. I fractured my left arm playing kick ball (I slid into a tree - don't judge!)
14. I then hid my cast under long sleeves so I could play on my school's Volleyball team.
15. I love all things Korean - the culture, food, language, dramas, music etc.
16. My brother once slammed the door on my hand causing me to lose a finger nail.
17. I currently work a 9-5 office job.
18. I've had 5 part time jobs in the past mostly waitressing
19. I can read, write and speak in Chinese.
20. I use to collect stamps and coins.
21. My dad once got so angry at me, he snapped my flip phone into half.
22. I love to bake.
23. I am a shorts and t-shirt kind of girl.
24. I prefer flats over heels.
25. I took singing lessons when I was younger and at the entrance exam, I forgot the lyrics to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" because I was so nervous.
26. I am definitely more artistic - but took all Science subjects in high school.
27. My dream job when I was younger was to be an entertainer or air hostess.
28. It takes me 40 minutes to drive to work - one way with no traffic.
29. It has taken me almost 2 hours - one way with traffic.
30. I find it hard to buy watches, bracelets and bangles because my wrist is so small.
31. I want to visit South Korea and Bora Bora at least once in my life.
32. Santorini, Greece should also be on that list but I'm going there this September.
33. I don't like to do things alone.
34. I love soccer.
35. I am scared of heights.
36. I am a devout Christian.
37. I am happily taken since Feb '13.
38. I am responsible for many of my brother's scars.
39. My dad once ran over my foot with his car.
40. I got stung by sea lice in the Solomon Islands and it left a scar.
41. I was a super chubby baby.
42. I have gone 40+ hours without sleep in the past.
43. I can crack my fingers and my back a lot.
44. I am a huge fan of Running Man, I saw the cast when they filmed in Melbourne.
45. I like to build things and put furniture together.
46. I also like to take things apart to see how they work.
47. I took part in a 50km walk through the mountains and completed it in 12 hours.
48. I am a strong swimmer but only started taking lessons after I almost drowned as a child.
49. I am the eldest grandchild on my mum's side and the 3rd youngest on my dad's side.
50. I have a sweet tooth.

Phew. That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I hope that through this post, you were able to find out some more about me.

I tag:

Michelle from Mishyymoo and everyone else reading this post :) 

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Neglected Space?

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 4 months since my last update on here. As mentioned in my previous update, I went overseas for 6 whole weeks and struggled to come back to work and reality after that.


Shortly after, I began planning my Europe trip - happening this September 2014. Super excited, I'm going to all the places that I've only seen on TV - namely, Greece, Paris, London, Italy :) and going to burn another big hole in my wallet but meh, who cares?? :P


Just to inform you all, the reason I haven't updated the last few months is because my laptop has officially crashed :( RIP


I'm currently on the hunt for a new one but I just haven't had much time to go and actually look. I also find it extremely difficulty to update on my iPad and phone - and post the pictures that I want (mostly , on my camera) but maybe I should give it a try again? I really want to update about my Asian trip that just passed.

In the meantime, keep up to date with me at:

Dayre - dayre.me/snapjo

or

Instagram - @snapjo

Will try to update more frequently and will make more time to go laptop hunting!

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Christmas Spirit

Tis the season to be jolly ~ fa la la la la la la la la

 

Hehe yeap, you guessed it. It’s festive season now and everywhere I go, all I hear are Christmas carols and Santa Clause/Mrs Clause taking pictures with the kids at the malls!

Pretty decorated trees are popping up everywhere and I love it!

This year, I’ll be spending my Christmas overseas – in KL, Malaysia to be exact! I’m really excited but bummed that I can’t decorate my own Christmas tree this year. The last few weeks, we’ve been going shopping for gifts for the family and also, for the relatives for when we go overseas in 10 days!! J

Also, today I sent out all my Christmas cards so to all my loved ones, I hope you look forward to a little something special in your mailbox soon x

P.S. Will always treasure Christmas as the birthday of my Saviour and my Lord JJ

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December Update

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts lately (again). I found it hard to balance my time with a very busy month last month. Everything happened in November, I got the flu, had two groups of relatives plus one group from my bf’s side visit us, work got busy and amongst all that, I’ve been organising my 6 week holiday to Asia!

Omg, excited!

As we enter into December, I am getting more and more excited about my trip. Partly, to get away from Melbourne’s horrible wet weather (Not even close to summer weather) and partly because I miss my family, very much!

I think this picture from google best describes Melbourne’s weather. Hot one day and raining and miserably wet the next.

 

This year, I decided to spoil myself and take a longer break. I felt I needed it with everything becoming hectic at work with this new and extremely high scaled project we took on board.

So far, on my itinerary, I’ll be visiting Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong! *cue excited squeals*

Time to begin my countdown – Only 18 days left….

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National Rhododendron Gardens

Sorry, for the lack of post recently, I’ve been so busy lately with guest (cousins and their families) visiting from Malaysia. We’ve had two groups in the last month; one group after another. It’s been very tiring but enjoyable.

My cousins came with their kids this time around, the kids are so active. It’s been a while since I’ve been around hyperactive kids! Don’t get me wrong, they’re really well behaved but just super excited to in another country – they’re little balls of energy; constantly!

Before their visit, Chris (bf) had his aunt and uncle from Singapore visiting (it’s been a busy, busy month for us both!). We took them to the National Rhododendron Gardens to relax. We caught a rare, warm weekend to enjoy the limited sunshine there. (Melbourne’s weather has gone haywire lately. One day in the 30s and the next is raining cats and dogs!)

The Rhododendron Gardens are located in the Dandenong Mountains and are host to brilliantly coloured blooms of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, cherries and daffodils. Inside is really big and if you walk it all, you’re bound to have an excellent workout.

Chris and I went there a few months back, it was a lot nicer then because the weather was consistently warm and the plants were in full bloom, we also caught a glance of the lyrebirds that run around there.

This time around, we spent less time there, and only walked a little but were still able to take in our gorgeous surroundings – and cool down with an icy pole later.

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Great Chefs at Angliss | Tony Twitchett of Taxi Dining Room

I’ve been very busy lately since I have family visiting me from overseas. Trying to juggle keeping them entertained with work is difficult and added to that, my boyf (Chris) has his aunt and uncle visiting as well!

It’s been a busy month and will continue to be a busy month when another group come to visit next Thursday but it’s always lovely to see my cousins after such a long time.

I recently had 5 days off work due to the Melbourne cup public holiday (actually I took Friday off). On Friday, Chris and I went with his mum, her friends and his aunt and uncle to William Angliss for lunch. My brother and his girlf were on another table (Sorry to crash your date hehe)

William Angliss is a school specialising in culinary and hospitality. For their final year student chefs, they have a special restaurant – Angliss restaurant where they host various events. Occasionally, they’ll have themed buffets cooked by the students and attended to by their hospitality students. Everything is presented like an actual restaurant; it even has a bar connected. Wasn’t a fan of the buffet last time we went, everything seemed a little overcooked.

On Friday, they had their last Great Chefs at Angliss Program. This program attracts many big names in the cooking world (all of whom have their own famous restaurant in Melbourne) and gets their top chefs to lead and teach the students how to cook their specialty dishes. Lunch has 3 courses with wines for each course and dinner is 4 courses with wines to accompany. I was so excited!

We booked for the Friday lunch session – the head chef was Tony Twitchett from the famous Taxi restaurant in Melbourne’s Federation Square and wines sponsored from Tahbilk winery.

We began with a fresh bun with butter, the bun was so well made and very fresh. The outside was a little crispy and the inside was super soft. I love fresh bread! 

This was then followed with our entrée, Smoked brook trout, horseradish cream, capers and salmon roe. Omgoodness, this was delicious! I’m usually not a fan of fish but I literally ate everything off the plate! It was that good. This course was paired with a Rosanne-Marsanne-Viognier, which is a white wine and our favourite wine for the afternoon.

The staffs there were so well trained, so soon as something is empty, they’ll take it away or fill it up for you. We also ordered a lemon lime bitters because Chris had to drive that day and wasn’t allowed to drink too much. The great thing about this place is that all drinks are included in the $50pp cost. So cheap!

The main was a crispy Szechuan duck, pumpkin daikon salad and 3 spice caramel sauce paired with a Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre red wine. The duck was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, it was really well cooked and the sauce was divine! The pumpkin salad added a good touch to it and helped to cleanse your palette so the sauce is not too overwhelming. Chris said this dish was very well put together.

We were all looking forward to the dessert wine – since the majority of our table likes our wines sweeter and usually dessert wines are sweeter but it let us down. The wine they paired with the dessert was a Tahbilk Chardonnay Pinot Noir which was nothing close to sweet. The dessert however, was not a letdown. We had a Myrtleford buttermilk, champagne rhubarb and strawberry foam. Presentation was beautiful and taste was just as beautiful!

Definitely will come back to Great Chefs at Angliss 2014, Chris and I already have two chefs in mind (Taxi chef – Tony Twitchett been one of them) so when the schedule comes out in February 2014, we’ll be rushing to book those two sessions.

Angliss Restaurant

550 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000 

Tony Twitchett’s restaurant:

Taxi Dining Room

Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square/Flinders Walk,

Melbourne VIC 3000

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Kayaking

Following our Chez Drè lunch - read about that here, we went to Studley park to make the most of the nice warm weather and go kayaking. Yay!

Personally, I love kayaking,takes me away from my busy lifestyle and let's me relax with nature. Not forgetting that it's also a great workout!! Boy, did my arms hurt afterwards.

As Chris and I have kayaked before, we told Cassy and Ethan to come with shorts and sandals as there's a high probability that they'll get a little wet from the splash back when you move your oars. We all got changed, slapped our sunscreen on and booked 2 two-seater kayaks for 1 hour, put our life jackets on then off we went!

 Our plan was to go 35 mins one way and 25 mins back (since coming back is a lot easier once you're familiar with the technique) but that was not the case with Cassy and Ethan. The both of them kept circling around and the two were so brave that they started rocking the kayak to get it to move. Thankfully they did not capsize!

They got a little better after the crash course from Chris and I but in the end, we thought we should start heading back earlier since they might meet so trouble on the way back to the boathouse.

Chris and I were so far ahead of them that we lost sight of them so we decided to get out at the one hour mark (so we can get our deposit back).

Afterwards, we got milo ice cream to re-energise then went for dinner and movies. We watched 'Gravity'. Lucky me got a buy 1 get 1 free voucher on my movie card. Yay! We enjoyed the movie and company a lot.

Studley Park Boathouse

1 Boathouse Road, 

Kew, 3101,

Victoria, Australia

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