Sitting in Gia Min’s guest room, I’m wrapped from top to toe. It’s Melbourne Cup day and it’s been chilly! This is my 4th day here and I’m totally immersed in the Melbourne lifestyle - friends, food, coffee, booze, party! Today I took the train to the city and jogged 8.25km at the Botanical Gardens, my second day of jogging on vacation (I jogged the Koonung trail the day before) The weather today was just perfect - the sun was up and the occasional cool breeze made it a little easier to go the next mile.

I’ve also had the chance to catch up with quite a few of my friends who I haven’t seen in awhile and it’s bee great! Been meeting many nice people and making new friends! Tomorrow, I’ll be exploring the little nook and crannies of the city tomorrow, to recce for some cool graffiti to shoot at this weekend!

The Nike Chic Pop event was a joint event held by Nike & Tongue in Chic 3 weeks back at the Nike store at Mid Valley. There’s something about Nike events that pops! On that day, it was the clothes, shoes and accessories spread across the table that got me excited!The event was all about styling and renowned local stylist Ming was there to show us the works! His creations were interesting and flamboyant!!

Reversible clothes make great buys! Like this jacket which I LOVE!!! You can wear it as an orange bomber jacket or a black cardigan!

After Ming’s exhibits, the girls had the opportunity to put together their own outfits, decked in Nike apparel and complemented by the gazillion accessories available…Of course, the girls went crazy!

… and it resulted in the following… (the rest were too painful to show, seriously)

I got to play with Joyce’s Olympus Pen and I love the Pin-hole Art mode!

It was Derby Day today and I had a blast!! I arrived in Melbourne last night and Gia Min & I stayed up till 2am preparing for today! I made my famous jello shots while Gia shoved her hands in a loaf of bread and stuffed it with whiskey, disguised in a plastic ice lemon tea bottle. Before I arrived, she had also “re-packaged” red wine to look like mineral water. Needless to say, we successfully sneaked a lot of alcohol  and had a blast, despite the scorching sun! My sun-kissed skin is glowing and I’m excited about my tan, except for the 2 sun-burnt patches on my legs!

My friends have warned me about the weather here and how there can be 4 seasons in a day. Should I say “lucky me!” ? I experienced it today! The morning till midday started out very warm and we were all sweating underneath our prissy dresses. By 3pm, cool winds started moving in, and finally, we had some relief from the heat! It got pretty chilly by dinnertime and we were freezing our b**ts off as we hurried to the car! After dinner, it poured!

It was an awesome experience at Derby Day and a fantastic start to my trip in Melbourne!

Here’s a pic of us, early on in the morning, when everyone was still looking fresh and feeling chirpy! (The sun got pretty unbearable by noon!)

Melbourne here I come! I’m almost all packed and ready to go! I’ll be in Melbourne for work and play and I’m looking forward to some r&r although I also plan to catch up on some work! One goal I’ve set for myself is to take travel photos. The assignment photos from FIFOTO 101 has inspired me to take more photos for my own pleasure and what better opportunity than this trip!

The feedback we’ve been getting from our inaugural FIFOTO 101 class has been very positive. During our graduation party, Chris & Anderson came up with a tag line for FIFOTO 101 - “More than photography”, which I think, truly captures the essence of the course. And I cannot let on why it is more than photography coz that will just spoil the fun & surprise - you will just have to trust us on this one! (Or, you can speak with any of our new graduates and they will tell you why!)

Due to the many requests and interest for this class, we are now open for registration for next year’s class! Seats are limited so sign up early!

I love being back in Penang, it’s Foodfest everytime! More like Durianfest this time round! Mom tempted me with 3 durians awaiting my arrival and I had it as soon as I got home, for “tea”. This trip back to Penang is a short one, but it’s mainly to celebrate my mom’s birthday (early, coz her birthday actually falls on the day I fly off to Melbourne!) and to drop Bam-Bam off for babysitting! I’m so totally looking forward to my Melbourne trip, especially the upcoming Derby Day which will be my first ever experience!! Gia Min & Wanda have both gotten me so hyped up about it! These girls are super planners, super organized and coordinated!!!

It was Amri’s birthday bash last Saturday and needless to say, a fashionably fabulous one! Held at Hakka Replublic, the theme to this year’s Fashion Fabulosity party was Park Princess and Hip Hop Boys and the best thing about these parties is that EVERYONE dressed to theme! (which is quite a novelty for our local Malaysian culture!) The music was thumpin’ with DJ Goldfish & Jiman in da house, and as fashionistas rolled in in their Laboutins, the night got better, and better and better!

Happy Birthday to the ever-so-fabulous AMRI RAHIM!!! We love you!

Photowall by Jason

Event by Steve

Photos from my party cam!

Isn’t Khoon Hooi so adorable? By the way, for all you brides out there… he makes fantastic gowns!!

Birthday boy is GLOWIN’