Last Tuesday, 15th July 2014 I woke up with a dash of disappointment as I felt no warmth from the sun and instead came face to face with London's wet polka dot ground. The latest FaceBook messenger app (obtained by total defeat of the unwanted Install button) was called for at this moment. Immediately, my high school friends began discussing the awful weather and decided we would withstand such predicament and allow our tight high-school friendship bond reunite again after months of university engagements.
Meeting up at Sunnybank's Maccas, hugs, laughter and cheek-bone-hurting smiles were a must. Kicking off with three of us who were brave enough to travel under Vivienne's blossoming long-distance skills was an act on its own. (Thanks Viv for keeping us safe!) Once we arrived in Dreamworld's spacious parking slot, we were surrounded by sky-high, dangerous mechanical rollercoasters. My initial thought: why am I here again. Hmmm. Nevertheless we payed our ticket and walked inside with full excitement under the candy-pop colour stalls at the entrance. With Clare, Viv and Steph being the pioneers at this point, Anita and I were carried unknowingly to my first ride so far - The Claw. Unfortunately, the inertia was a little too terrifying for me and I had my eyes closed the whole time trying to breathe in the slightly more settling points of the ride. Not my favourite so far. The second one, Shockwave, was a star that got me catching it twice. Other activities at Dreamworld involved paying $5 to dry off after getting soaked by Thunder River Rapids Ride and Rocky Hollow Log Ride; feeling terribly lucky to have still been alive after experiencing Tower of Terror II falling too quickly at 100m in the sky and ending up further down the tunnel than expected; plus screaming with passion on Escape from Madagascar. In the end I've once again proved to myself that I'm a family and kids rides person. No thrill rides for me thank you. After trying almost all the rides and having waited in line til patience's end, all five of us decided to go to Surfer's Paradise and have a nice, chill(ed indeed) walk. The day ended back at Sunnybank with Korean dinner. First time having spicy sauce chicken wings and now I understand why chicken takeaway is so popular in Korea. The taste and texture is definitely a good enough reason for the unhealthy indulgence.
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Last Wednesday morning, I saw more than just Shanghai dumplings on a lunch date with Grandma and mum. Walking from Queens Plaza to Queen St Mall, Bridge End, I came across a food market that very much resembled London's Borough Market - paellas, colourful produce, reds and greens, honey, French treats (macarons!), blooming flowers, fresh air, blue sky and a river right in front.
Ruthless Jabiru is an ensemble of pro Australian musicians in the UK. Kelly Lovelady, their artistic director, who's also the conductor, asked me 2.5 weeks ago whether or not I would be interested in joining them for a concert coming up on 31st May (which was in fact yesterday). Their recent blog post writes all about the event and its theme. Briefly: we are making an appearance at the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts, performing a distinctive programme of Australian and British contemporary works. Each piece reflects and presents 'the past' - magnifying the various corners of heritage and history through the sound of a string orchestra. The programme: Michael Tippett Lament from Divertimento on Sellinger’s Round (or, The Beginning of the World) Chris Williams Altjiranga Mitjina Tansy Davies Residuum Andrew Ford The Past (soloist - Russell Harcourt countertenor) Egidija Medekšaité Sandhi Prakash Rehearsal Day 1 - Wednesday 28 May 10:00-17:00 Rehearsal in the Lecture Room is upstairs on the first floor. Rehearsal Day 2 - Thursday 29 May - 14:00-21:00 Rehearsal Day 3 - Saturday 31 May - 16:00-18:00 AND Concert - 19:30-20:30 For our last rehearsal, we were in the Music Seminar Room - right opposite the Chapel. The concert was a rather surreal experience for me. Imagine the room extremely dark, not a light switched on except the light stands. You're transported 'back in time' to sticks and stones (heavy pizzicatos, accents, continuous quaver open strings, and atonal harmonic changes) and end your journey with hypnotic glissandos (Sandhi Prakash). It was definitely an experience I feel honoured to have been a part of.
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