Yoyo Flu

Just as the kids were showing signs of recovery from their last bout of cough and flu, they went downhill again!

Last night, Joshua was feverish. After dinner, he perched himself on a chair right next to the heater and claimed that he was cold. He was burning. I gave him some medication and sent him to bed early. Then he coughed non-stop throughout the night. He didn't sleep much. Neither did I.

Today, it's Joanne turn. She is having exactly what Joshua had last night. Both kids are sleeping now as I write this. But I know I'll probably be in for another rough and sleepness night.

Just what kind of bug is floating around? Apparently a lot of other people have fallen sick too. It's probably more common in winter than other seasons. Newbies like us are even more susceptible to winter flu.

Guess Joshua will have to skip school for a couple of days again this week.

The Signs

Driving in Melbourne can be both easy and hard. Let me elaborate.

The demerit system for traffic offences is fully carried out. If pulled over by the traffic policeman, you can't "settle" it by the roadside. No way. Try that and you'll end up in jail. So almost everyone drives within the speed limit, uses signals when turning or changing lanes, gives way to pedestrians and cyclists and best of all, nobody cuts queues here! Road rage is a rarety here.

And the cops mean business. Half the time they are in unmarked cars. So you don't know where they are. So that means you'd better be on your best behaviour while on the road. And therefore, it's easy to go around when everybody obeys the road rules and drives the same way.

Now the hard part. You really, really have to pay attention to the road signs. Trust me, they can be so different. A stretch of road of less than 1km in distance may have varying speed limits - 20km/hr, 30km/hr, 40km/hr, 45km/hr, 50km/hr and 60km/hr. Then you have to watch out for bicycle lanes, merging lanes, parking signs with different information, horses on the road (in the City).

You may also need to share the road with trams. I hate this. The markings confuse me half the time! Then of course, there is the tricky hook turns in the city where you need to temporarily park your car on the left of a junction before you can turn right! That spooks me all the time.

Well, you win some, you lose some. Enough said.

Huggies

"Mummy, give me a hug" - these are the favourite words of one of my kids. Normally, people would assume the request comes from the younger child. But heck no. This is Joshua's (the older child) motto, and he says it every time he sees me. Well, almost.

Sometimes, I don't know whether to be flattered or frustrated. I mean, Joshua is six and yet he is a tad too clingy with me. I detest the term "mummy's boy" but he seems to be turning himself into one. I have no part in it. I want him to be more independent. I don't want to be the mother hen fussing over him all the time.

He is the exact opposite of his younger sister. Joanne is fiercely independent and doesn't give two hoots whether I give her a hug or not. The thing is, after seeing her brother asking for a "huggie", she won't even ask for one. She is pretty cool about this huggie business. Of course, she is so adorable I'll just give her a bear hug anyway.

I suppose I shouldn't be complaining. Children are children for such a short time. Once they hit their teens, they probably don't want to be seen in my company. So maybe I should just shut up and enjoy the huggies sessions while they last.

Are You OK, Mate?

Those were the four words that Alex heard from a kind stranger as he was slumped over the steering wheel of his car, completely inebriated and not able to do much except waving back to indicate he was fine.


That's what happened when you had too much to drink. Alex would later pass out in the car for six hours before waking up and driving home.

That took place in a car park in the city last night. Now, if that had happened somewhere in KL, Alex would have been robbed of all his belongings while he was out and perhaps even thrown out of the car and had his car stolen too.

He was fortunate that Melbournians are much less likely to commit crime than fellows in KL. In fact, many are always ready to give a helping hand, like the stranger who asked Alex if he was okay. This is not to say that it's crime-free here. There are the ocassional break-ins, car thefts, murders and arson attacks.

But the frequency and extent of these crimes are much, much lower than in KL. You don't feel scared walking down the street at night. You need not worry that someone might break into your house if you've properly secured your doors and windows. Your kids are not likely to get snatched and pushed into a passing car while on their way to school.

Of course, you still have to be careful. That is a given. All I can say is that Alex was lucky he didn't pull that stunt while in KL. That would have been disastrous!

Trashy Trivia

Sometimes, I amaze myself with the amount of trash that I know.

Just the other day, I turned on the TV and there were flashes of well-known celebrity faces. And I could name EACH and EVERYONE of them. Nicole, Hugh, Cate, Keanu, Julia, Mischa, Matt, Brad, Uma, Kylie, Heath, Scarlett, Elijah, etc. If there were a test on "Spot The Celeb", I will pass with flying colours, unlike a certain driving test in which I had to sit for FIVE times before passing.

Alex, seated next to me, was impressed. He coulndn't name a single one of the stars. Can't blame him, though. He's into Cantonese movies, not Hollywood fares, although he seems to start developing an appetite for movies from the West. Well, living in Australia does that to you.

Anyway, it isn't just famous faces that I recognise and know. I have a knack of identifying a movie by seeing clips of it even though I've never seen that particular movie before. And when it comes to my favourite stars, what I know is even scarier.

I don't know why my brain is so darn good at absorbing nonsence info like that. But I have a sneaky suspicion I'm not in anyway unique. Millions of others are probably like me. Sad but true - our brains are not being put to good use. Sigh ...

Footy Season

I'll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about Australian Football, or Footy as the locals call it. It looks a bit like rugby and American Football, nothing like the Association Football or Soccer that we Malaysians are more familiar with.

But people do go nuts over Footy here. Football players are big celebrities here. I know none of them except for this fellow called Ben Cousins and all for the wrong reason. He was suspended or something like that for drug abuse and it was a big hoo-haa. The news coverage on him earlier this year made it impossible for me not to notice him. That was months ago. I don't know whether he's playing now in the league.

Personally, I think the game is rather rough. Not very good for Asians with smaller built. If Joshua starts playing Footy, I'm sure he'll end up with bruises all over his already skinny body! Thank goodness he seems more keen on drawing than holding the olive-shaped ball.

But apparently, there has been a slight rift between him and his school buddies who are fans of Footy. During lunch at school, those Ben Cousins wannabes will take to the field and try to emulate their footy heroes. Joshua probably feels a little left out.

Fear not, though. Joshua's teacher says there's no cause for concern. Once Footy Season is over, the boys will be back to their "usual" selves again. Tag will probably be in again.

Road To Recovery

The kids are getting better. The weather is getting warmer too. Hopefully, that means they won't be so susceptible to bouts of cough and cold anymore.

I took them to the clinic 2 days ago. I needn't have bothered. The over-the-counter (OTC)medicines that I'd been giving the kids prior to seeing the doctor turned out to be the right stuff. Well, unlike GPs in Malaysia, their counterparts here don't have the habit of prescribing medicines unnecessarily. Antibiotics prescriptions are unheard of unless the patient is really, really sick. So I can play doctor too, as long as the kids' conditions are not too severe.

The thing is, OTC medicines here are very effective (and hopefully safe for use). It's true. Joshua and Joanne recover much faster here than they did in Malaysia when they fell sick. And I feel much more comfortable knowing they don't have to resort to antibiotics for no good reasons.

Maybe if the Malaysian government forbids doctors from selling medicines, they will stop prescribing medicines, particularly antibiotics, like there's no tomorrow!

Neighbours Bad For English?

Question: Why can't the Brits speak English properly anymore?

Answer: Because they watch too much Neighbours!

Hey, don't laugh. That pretty much sums up a news report entitled Neighbours Blamed For UK Accent Change I read today over National 9 News .

Who would have thought that a soap opera would have such an impact on the British population? The middle and upper classes in Britain are apparently worried about this trend. The younger generation is speaking with a mixture of Australian and British accents.

It doesn't concern me. After all, I don't speak with either accent. While I prefer listening to the "proper" Queen's English (I am, after all, a sucker for Historical Romance novels and constantly "read" the dialogues in Queen's English), I think the Aussie flavour is pretty cool too.

Well, I initially wasn't that big a fan of the Australian accent - not if everyone sounded like the late Steve Irwin. I mean he was a great guy and all that but his thick accent was quite, err, something. But having lived Down Under for the past 8 months or so, the Aussie accent has grown on me. I kind of like it now - as long as it's not too thick!

Well, Joshua is already speaking with an Australian accent. Joanne is sure to follow suit when she starts Prep next year. So yeah, Australian accent is cool to me. So what's the big deal about speaking English Neighbours-style?

Choked

Today, I nearly choked to death. Well, maybe not to death but it was quite scary.

I was in a hurry to pop my flu capsules - thanks to the kids I've caught the flu bug too - and didn't pay attention to the small piece of foil stuck to one of the capsules. You know, it's one of those things where you break the foil to pop the capsule out.

Anyway, I took 2 capsules, popped them in my mouth and washed them down my throat with water in one single gulp. And immediately, I felt something nasty lodged in my throat! I gulped down more water but the thing was still stuck. It was the most uncomfortable feeling.

I tried to cough that darn thing out but it wouldn't budge. And I could feel something beginning to block something in my throat. What if my windpipe was blocked?? Would I pass out and the kids wouldn't even notice?? I started to panic.

I rushed to the toilet and forced myself to throw up. What if I couldn't get it out? A vision of me being rushed to the hospital flashed before me. Then it struck me - if I passed out first no one would know my predicament. The kids were oblivious to what was happening to me. And they didn't know how to call for help.

After retching for a few seconds, the miserable piece of foil dropped into the toilet bowl with the name of the brand still on it! It was about the size of a thumbnail. Instant relief.

After that, I told Joshua I almost choked. He just nonchalantly said, "why?"

I don't want a repeat of the incident. So I'll make sure I look carefully before swallowing anything. Also, I taught Joshua how to make an emergency call. Just get the phone and press 000 and press "talk". Of course, I made him memorise the house address too. You never know when you need that kind of help.

Knocked Out

Both kids are knocked out, again. Well, it's winter after all. And now that Joshua is back at school, he is once more exposed to the elements that will have him sneezing, coughing and complaining of a stuffy nose and sorethroat. Many kids in school have the same symptoms.

He was sick before the winter holidays. He recovered last week only to have a new bout of cough and cold today. This time, it comes with a slight fever and worse, he's sharing the discomfort with Joanne now.

Cross-infection. I hate this term. It spells trouble, sleeplessness and frustration for me. If both of them recover at the same time, that's fine. But if one recovers first while the other is still in the throes of attempting to ward off the cold bugs, there is a big chance the former will catch it again from the latter. And this can go back and forth for some time!

I hope both Joshua and Joanne get well soon. Otherwise, I'm going to fall sick myself!

Harry Potter Mania

For a book and movie reader, I probably have committed the deadliest sin - I have NEVER read a single Harry Potter book, nor have I ever watched a single Harry Potter movie from the beginning till the end. I've seen bits and pieces of some of the movies but those don't count.

Shocking huh? What kind of book and movie lover is this? I mean I love Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books and Peter Jackson's blockbuster movies of the same titles. But somehow, I never came around to reading Rowling's offerings.

Why? I don't know. I just never did.

And I don't quite understand how Harry Potter has become such a global hit. I mean, there is so much hoo-hah over the leak of the last installment - Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. And gosh, people lined up early in the morning at bookshops across the world to buy the book on the day it was released in the market. Wow, these must be real die hard fans.

And Rowling must be laughing all the way to the bank - whether Harry Potter dies or not!

Proudly Australian

Back in Malaysia, we have this "Beli Barangan Buatan Malaysia" campaign. Buy local, support local goods. Apparently, there is a similar thing in Australia. You'll see the label "Proudly Australian" in many locally produced and manufactured goods.

It's hardly surprising since the market here too has been inundated with goods "Made In China". The funny thing is, even the "Made In China" products here are better than those seen in Malaysia.

Anyway, it's not just locally grown and manufactured goods that are the pride of Australians. They have another kind of goods and exports that they are immensely proud of - movie exports.

Yep, just look at Nicole Kidman. She is BIG here. I had no idea until I got here. You can find pictures and news bits about her in EVERY issue of the tabloid magazines here. Every move she makes, every statement she issues, every man she is seen with, etc, are all documented meticulously. Good thing she doesn't live in Australia. She would've been hounded by the paparazzi all year round. Wait, maybe that's why she doesn't live here.

And of course, there is the multi-talented Hugh Jackman too. I never thought much of him until I saw Kate & Leopold, in which he played a poor nobleman from 1876 transported to the 20th century. The movie sank but Jackman as Leopold truly shone. Leopold and Wolverine were as similar as black and white. That was when I realised this guy CAN actually act. And to my utter surprise, I later found out he actually had a stage and musical background. Wolverine in musicals?? Yeah, his range is that amazing. Needless to say, I'm a big - and perhaps a bit obsessed fan - now. Yeah, my desktop wallpaper features Leopold. Gorgeous. Ha ha.

And there are others too - Cate Blanchett, Russel Crowe, Naomi Watts, Heath Ledger, Julian McMahon, etc. And I just read that many Australian TV actors are also in the running for various awards in the Emmys.

Watch out Hollywood. Aussiewood will rule someday!

Nasi Lemak, Anyone?

Food and I - we go hand in hand. I go nuts when the buffet table is covered with an assortment of food. Trust me, I'll be one of those who makes at least 5 trips to the buffet table. And each trip features me with a HUGE pile of food on my plate and an equally HUGE grin on my face.

But strangely, I'm not all that fussy about food. Sure, if the food looks and tastes great, it's a plus. Still, if it's not, I don't hang myself over it. Which is fine because where I am now, I'm also the chef of the household and I'm not known for my culinary skills. So no gourmet stuff, just ordinary meals that get the family going.

And I didn't seem to miss any of the Malaysian hawker stuff like nasi lemak, mee goreng, char koay teow, asam laksa, roti canai, rojak buah, pasembor, etc, until 2 friends brought them up in separate ocassions.

During one of our recent chats, Nani, my partner in crime since our reporter days back at The Sun, talked about the nasi campur with the spicy crab and prawns that we used to gobble down during our lunch break. I hadn't thought about that for nearly 2 years until she brought the subject up. And that night, I had the strangest dream - me and Nani on a weird mission to find our favourite rice stall and no matter what we did, we just couldn't find it. Gosh, what a sick dream.

Then Sangeeta, another ex-colleague who has also migrated to Melbourne, tempted me with talks of how she got some nice nasi lemak bungkus not far from her house. I begged her to give me the address. Alas, I haven't checked the place out yet.

Well, Malaysian food isn't all that hard to find here. But more often than not, it tastes a bit weird, even though the chef is really Malaysian. You can even find nasi lemak in some of the Asian grocery shops but I have yet to be tempted to give it a try. The look of it is enough to make me cringe. Maybe I should learn to make my own nasi lemak. The roti canai sold in the grocery shops, however, isn't too bad.

All this talk about food is making me hungry. Thank goodness I still have lots of potato chips in the house ...

Posh In LA

Let's get one thing straight first. I am NOT a big fan of the Beckhams but I've gotta say this - they, especially the pouty half of the duo, sure know how to make a spectacle of themselves. So when the new reality TV show starring Mrs Beckham herself made its debut last night over Channel 9, I just had to catch it.

For the uninitiated, I'm referring to Victoria Beckham: Coming To America. The first episode showed how the former Posh Spice first arrived in LA ahead of her family "to find a house, a school and a manicurist"!

Boy, it was a circus! Honestly, it was so hilarious I don't think any of it was real. Half of it was probably staged. Still it had me in stitches in no time! And Victoria wasn't all that bad. I mean, she at least had the grace to poke fun at herself. Of course, she poked fun at others too. If you haven't seen it, you should check out the part where she accepted an invitiation by some ageing LA socialites to a tea party. Gosh, those women were so scary that Victoria actually looked normal!

And naturally, everywhere she went, she was trailed by the paparazzi. At one point, she dropped in a sex shop and got a blow-up doll, dressed it up as Posh and used it as a decoy for the circus to follow.

Oh, another part I found hilarious was during an earthquake demo provided by a so-called earthquake specialist (California is prone to such natural catastrophe after all). As instructed, she ducked under the table with her butt sticking out. She was wearing something really short and she promptly shouted , "Can you see my knickers??!"

And guess who she brought along on her trip? Her hairstylist and her make-up artist! Over-indulgent? Most definitely but if you have that kind of money to blow it, why the heck not?

Hail, Hail!

Okay, I take back what I said yesterday about the winter in Melbourne. After babbling about snow never making an appearance in Melbourne, it actually SNOWED in some parts of Melbourne this morning! And apparently, today was the coldest in Melbourne in nine years!

No, I personally didn't experience any snow in my area but I did have another kind of icy encounter - hail. What really boggled the mind was the speed at which it took place.

The weatherman did say something about hail early today but as I was leaving the house at around 3pm to pick Joshua up from school, I took a good look at the sky. Bright and sunny. It didn't look like it was going to rain at all. Then, as I arrived at Joshua's school about 8 minutes later, I noticed the sky had turned very dark. Strange. Then it started to drizzle as Joanne and I walked towards the school compound. Then it got really, really windy. We nearly lost our umbrella.

As we took shelter under the roofed verandah, the wind started to howl. Then some really scratchy sound surrounded us. Some of the mums waiting there squealed and started to get excited about something. I looked up and saw, for the very first time in my life, tiny hailstones! And they just dropped from the sky!

They were like little pebbles and started melting almost the minute they hit the ground. Of course, the temperature dipped at that point. I felt as if I was sitting in a freezer. Both Joanne watched the hailstones in awe! Apparently, the locals were in awe too. I guess hail isn't all that common.

Unbelievable. The weather changed so drastically in less than half an hour. I'd never experienced anything like that. It's true when they say Melbourne is a city with four seasons in a day!

Winter Time, Victorian Style

Most Malaysians identify winter with snow and icy weather. Well, in many European and North American countries, that's how winter is .

But not here in Victoria. Yes, it's still freezing cold, especially at night and early in the morning but the temperature hardly ever drops below zero degree. My cousin told me there were a few times when the temperature did dip that low but that happened 20 or 30 years ago.

Of course, there is snow in the mountains but you actually have to travel there to experience snow. So that doesn't really count.

Back to my first winter experience in Melbourne - I don't mind the cold all that much. It FEELS like winter but minus the hazards that come with snow. I can't imagine driving when it's snowing! My driving skills are not that up to mark and it's better to drive in more familiar conditions. Even the foggy windscreen in the morning is already proving to be a challenge to me. I shudder to think if I have to drive on slippery roads covered with snow! I'll probably end up doing time at the Box Hill hospital with broken limbs.

One more thing - a sunny day in winter maybe sunny but it can also be freezing at the same time. I mean, it looks awfully warm outside if you're looking out from the inside of your house but once you step outside, you feel as if you've stepped into a freezer!

No wonder I see people in the movies wearing such thick clothing with the sun shining brightly above them and they don't get sweaty at all. Back in Malaysia, you would've had a heat stroke dressed like that!

Having experienced much cooler temperatures here, I don't know if I can ever get used to the hot and humid weather back in Malaysia again.

Do It Yourself

If there is one thing that one must absolutely have in a household in Australia, it is the toolbox - with all the tools intact.

You see, we have to assemble furniture IKEA-style. Yep, unless you don't mind forking up lots of money getting someone to set up your furniture (labour is pricey here), you'd better learn to be handy with tools.

I'm lucky. Alex, being an engineer, is pretty good at reading manual instructions and putting the pieces together. If I were on my own here, I probably won't have any furniture in my house! Either that or I'll have to make sure I get so filthy rich that I can afford people to assemble my furniture for me.

The same goes with chunky electrical items. You know how confusing it can be when you see all those cables and wires with different colours and you just don't know what goes where? Yep, you have to figure all that out yourself too. The guys from the electrical shop will just drop your Plasma TV, fridge, washing machine, etc and then make their exit. They don't hang around plugging in the wires for you.

Well, Australia is a great country. But sometimes, certain things are still better in Malaysia. At least you don't have to worry about fixing the wrong leg onto your brand new chair. Guess you can't have it all!

Sticky Business

Kids love stickers. I don't know why. I loved them too when I was a kid. But back then, there weren't that many choices.

Fast forward 20 or 30 years later, you find a wide range of stickers to suit all ages and tastes. Just walk into any supermarket, stationery or book shop. They are everywhere, enticing kids to go nearer (and eventually bug their parents until the latter relent and buy them some).

Popular cartoon and superheroes characters are the bestsellers, naturally. I've had Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Ultraman, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Barbie and the latest craze Transformers stuck on the furniture in the kids' playroom. Thankfully, Joshua and Joanne know that the walls are off limits.

I don't know if the teachers in Malaysia practise this but the teachers in Melbourne actually use stickers as rewards to kids who have done something well in school. Well, there are "official" stickers too! Joshua is a goody two shoe at school - hence the increasing number of stickers in his collection (he doesn't throw the stickers away, he peels them off his jacket or shirt and stick them on his toy box!).

Stickers are great fun, I suppose. I use them too to reward the kids when they behave. And they certainly are way cheaper than toys.

Excuse Me, Sir?

"Excuse me!" A woman in her 40s shouted after an elderly gentleman about to return his shopping trolly after putting his groceries in his car boot.

"Excuse me!" She tried again, louder, and the man turned around.

"Would you like me to return the trolly for you?" she offered.

"Why yes," the old man replied, delighted that he didn't have to walk all the way back to the other end of the car park.

I see scenes like this all the time here. It's amazing how strangers will step out and offer their help to you. My family and I've enjoyed this previlige too from time to time. And they are especially nice to women with kids and the elderly.

They hold doors for you; they give way to you; they immediately pick up things that you or your kids drop; they tell you where an available parking bay is; etc. The bus drivers here are excellent. They listen to you patiently as you ask them about directions or places you want to go. I boarded enough buses in KL to know that bus drivers there don't give two hoots about their passengers.

All this talk about Malaysians being friendly, helpful, caring and hospitable is just what it is - talk, no action. Oh sure, they exercise all that when approached by Western foreigners but somehow don't think about extending the same treatment to their fellow countrymen.

The situation is the other way round here. Melbournians (I haven't been to other cities so I'm not quite sure how the folks there behave) are generally helpful and friendly to others - regardless of their origins, backgrounds and colours.

Public servants here smile at you and listen to you tentatively. Back where I came from, all you see are surly faces, old stares and appalling standard of work at government departments.

So it's not surprising I don't miss home all that much, except for my parents and my sisters.

Heroes Vs X-Men

The only TV series that I'd been watching - Heroes - finished its first season last Wednesday. Cool show, I quite like it, and I especially like Hiro (played by Masi Oka). He's cute, no? And quite likely the soul of the series.

I don't know about others but I can't help comparing these Heroes with the mutant X-Men. Heroes, of course, seem more earthly - at least they look more human although they come with various superpowers that rival those of the X-Men.

Claire for instance, can regenerate tissue immediately whenever she gets hurt. So can Wolverine (though they look nothing alike!). Too bad she doesn't have claws.

Parkman can read other people's thoughts. Pretty much like Prof Xavier and Jean Grey. Too bad he can't fling people around with his thoughts.

Peter Petrelli can absorp other Heroes' abilities. Rogue has something similar since she too can temporarily absorp the powers of others through direct skin contact. Luckily Peter doesn't suck the life out of others.

Nikki/Jessica has superhuman strength. So do quite a number of X-Men. Too bad she has a spilt personality.

DL can walk through walls. This ability has been seen in the X-Men movies. There's also a character that morphs in Heroes, like Mystique does.

Heroes and X-Men. They both rock. But one shudders to think if either is real!