[BAREFOOT] MISO SHOWERS

Sorry I've been absent for so long - after new year's (happy new year by the way!) I was super busy at work, squeezed a quick trip to Melbourne (yes again) with Tobes in between our crazy schedules, and then it was time to fly home to Vietnam for the Lunar new year already (happy Lunar new year too by the way!). Just got back a couple of days ago and been sleeping like a pig - it must be the fresh Australian air. Managed to sleep until 1pm the first night I got back...

A belated post with photos from my friend Hana's birthday back in December. I met her, her husband Jason and son Arrie (sorry gents, yes you have to stay away) through my boyfriend, and it must have been love at second sight for Hana and me (because we only said hi the first time we met). We started hanging out and talking to each other so frequently that at some stage I said I think I talk to her more often than to Toby. Her 25th was pretty funny, with all the girls sitting on one and the boys on the other side of the table (how Asian!), and the boys taking the kids and leftover wine home after dinner so that the girls can go out party. I don't think I've ever seen such a rad group of Asian girls/hot mums getting down at Sugar Lounge like that.

Yeah and tomorrow Hana and I got a date to go to the bank. Just thought you should know we're going together.

[BAREFOOT] WHERE THE KIDS ARE SHINING AND THE SUN IS SMILING

I unfortunately missed the major celebrations, but I did manage to catch a train to Bathurst to join Toby's family for a belated holiday after three days of work over the Christmas weekend. It was one of those magical express vacations where one's mind is completely at peace, days are endless and you wouldn't want it any other way, and you leave taking that happiness with you that is so dearly attached to those exact days because they happened at the right time, at the right place.

Two beautiful days spent with a wonderful family that loves, learns and shares - a lot. Everyone and everything was so cool and relaxed that I lost all my good manners and straight away lounged on the sofa, took a nap on the floor among the cricket-watching family, and lay down in the grass anywhere around the house. Well I just remember I was very happy. Thanks again, so much, for having me.

 

[BAREFOOT] SANTA WOULD'VE WORN SPEEDOS

Believe me, it might feel weird for a second, but Christmas in summer is 38957201928 times better than in the cold. Christmas here in Australia is spent with family and friends gathering on balconies, at beaches, having barbecues, watching cricket (not that I'm interested but), going for swims, getting shitfaced in the sun. Christmas equals walking around barefoot, getting boozy tans, and making sad faces if it's not 200 degrees and the sun is not beaming. Christmas in summer is fricken awesome.

I was working a fair bit over Christmas so I didn't have the time to go to the beach or walk around barefoot much, but I definitely didn't have to pull any sad faces. Sydney summer has been very moody, and it was grey and rainy before Christmas. But it's almost like the weather god/man/person knows what days of the year matter, and 24th and 25th of December were so beautiful that I bet everyone forgot about the crap weather just a couple of days before. Polly and I got our boozy tan at our lovely spontaneous wharf-side Christmas Eve dinner at Hugo's (how touristy ha), and I was invited to a super fancy Christmas dinner at Sara and Jodie's (with Christmas turkey! My first!), at which I nearly dozed off on the couch because I was so full. The French and Italian surely know how to celebrate.

With my express trip to Bathurst to join Toby's family on the 27th (see upcoming post :) ), it was definitely a wonderful Christmas for me this year. Although I nearly lost it when I was doing my Christmas baking and cooking (bloody butter in the cookie dough kept melting), everyone seemed happy with their treats. I just threw the ugly cookies out.

And I think I mentioned in a previous post that I was gonna wrap my presents in newspaper? It was quite entertaining to find pages and pictures that related to the receiver of the gift (some male-turned-female model in a Givenchy ad for Susan, the Optus deer for Toby, some topless athlete for Polly etc). I think only Phong's Sudoku page was a little irrelevant.

Hope everyone had as much fun as I did. x

[BAREFOOT] AFTER ANOTHER 365 FILLED PAGES

So the world didn't end last night. As far as I know, the world here in Sydney had a pretty good time watching the fireworks and getting drunk. Hopefully the world didn't end somewhere else.


Anyway - another year has gone by, and it's gone by real fast this time. The whole new year thing, however, has lost its attraction to me - every day should be special, every day we should become better, strive for greater things, love more. Resolutions should be made whenever necessary, not just because a new calendar year started, don't you think?

Nevertheless 2011 was pretty amazing for me. Life has moved into this stage where everything has sorted itself and I feel content with the people I'm surrounded with and the things I'm doing. Of course there were a couple of ups and downs, but everything happened for the best, and I don't remember ever being so calm and grateful for everything I've got. I live in one of the coolest areas in Sydney, got myself a scholarship, have grown closer to my family and friends as well as made awesome new ones, got the right balance between college and work, and found a person to share love, passions and ambitions with. I've grown myself into the person I'm supposed to be; of course I won't stop learning and reaching out for bigger and better goals, but you know how people do crazy stuff because they want to "figure out who I am"? Well, I've figured it out; I know what's important to me, I know what I'd want to know, and I know what I'd like to do. And I know I'd always want to be better, but I wouldn't want to be different.

So you were quite a meaningful year, hey 2011? There are new important steps and missions to come this year, and 2011 couldn't have prepared me any better for them. I was just about to say I may be conflicting with what I said before - that the "new year" thing shouldn't be so fussed about, and now I say there will be big new steps to take this year. But then things shouldn't be so time-related only because we can give dates to them. Because their meaning is most likely going to carry on and become part of us, and soon we won't be able to remember what year it was anymore anyway.


Just stop counting, and make the most of each day. One by one.

PS: 2011 was the year of my first SLR too. Seeing the world through different eyes I guess?

X