Shopping, food and such

May I just say that Australia is a great place for accessories?! This is the perpetual state of my lips when I flip through catalogues:

"OooooOoOoOOOOoOoooooo"

This is the perpetual state on Runty's face when I show him my purchases:
*taken aback... literally* (Silver bangle $7, black bangle $3.50)

White pendant with silver chain $2

P once remarked to me that the necessities here (food, transport etc) have prices that are sky-high (imagine a bunch of 小白菜 costing $1.80), but the non-essentials (clothes/accessories etc) are at rock-bottom prices (a whole dress for $10! a top for $5!). Culture shock!

Cateye ring $3... Can improve my punches at kickboxing class!

Multi-tier silver bracelet $4.95.. Rugged but girlish!

Red necklace $2... While I was considering this purchase, my friend said to me, "不买是对不起知己啊!" With 损友 like these, who needs casinos to go bankrupt?!

I've been lusting this pair of earrings since last semester. Oh boy was I estactic when they went on sales for $10.50! *high~~~*

***

People always say in Singapore, you can find all kinds of cuisine. That is true, but I've come to realise that in Australia, you find cuisines that are more "authentic". The reason for this is that the specific type of food you are eating is usually prepared by someone who was born and bred in the originating country of the cuisine. So...

pudding milk tea ("die die must try!") is forcefully shaken by the miss from Taiwan,

teriyaki hamburg rice ("die die must try!") is caringly prepared by the lad from Japan,

and rice spring rolls ("die die must try!") are delicately rolled by the girls from Vietnam.

Then you glance at the menus, and wonder why some food are named the way they are. For example, we have
三杯鸡 (literal: three cups chicken)...Check out the star-shaped rice... Cute!

Then there are food that doesn't quite look like anything you have had...
Make a guess!

Then you have comforting taste from home, such as the
牛腩面 with its juicy beef tendon that melts in your mouth... "mMmMmmmMMmm"

After the main course, you cannot forget heading down to your favourite cafe for a quick (but put 4 girls together, some of whom are bitchier than others, a cafe sit-down is never quick) cuppa and slica!

The cafe with the coolest ambience and layout ever... You have the arab-looking "cave" draped with yards of lush fabric, the green outdoors cooled by the autumn air, or the cosy rattan armchairs pumped full of cushions!

The obligatory pose with the Mud Cake that tastes like huat kueh but at 5 times its price!

Caramel cheesecake...

Washed down with a cup of skinny cino... Perfecto!

***

With all these delicious food, you have to exercise yeah? But for girls like me with ultra layered hair, how can you tie your hair when you want to head out for a vigorous game of badminton after which your ass will hurt for more than 3 days because all you did at the "vigorous game" was to pick shuttlecocks, and kneel on the floor in order to catch your irritating friend's sneaky drop shot that just passed the net?

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the pigtails!
My hair still flew all over my face like a siao char bor at the end because it is too layered. Pui!

But the purpose of this section is to introduce you to interesting words like pigtails, and shuttlecock. See, if scolding someone a pig is a derogatory term, why is the word "pigtail" ok? And what part of the "shuttlecock" is "cock"? Some may say the feathers of the shuttlecock is related to a "cock", but what about those plastic shuttlecocks? Wouldn't "shuttlecork" be a better word since all shuttles have a "cork"? Hmmm...