ConVo ConVo ConVo! (Episode II)

10th Sept. A time to be deeply thankful for. Almost 2 months ago, I was awarded my bachelor. And today is Sis’s turn.. It’s Sis’s convocation today! Woohoo!

To juggle work and studies at the same time was not easy at all..the past 2 years have been a tough time for her, this I know it best. But she hung on and she worked hard for it. Today, she finally received her well-deserved degree and I’m so happy and proud of her! Warmest and deepest congratulations to you, Sis! *hug hug*

It’s great that everything just falls in place nicely; no VC today as we are having our post-concert break now, so I have the whole afternoon free to celebrate this joyous occasion with Sis. :) We kickstarted the day with a sumptuous lunch at Waan Waan, Marina Square. The place has got good ambience, nice deco and very pleasant staff. It was a very enjoyable family meal out, gor joined us too. Tomyam soup, mango chicken, calamari, fried asparagus, pandan leaf chicken, beef green curry, fish otah, and fragrant steamed rice..plus smiles aplenty and a hearty chat to go with the good spread on the table. Shiiok! And we took some nice photos at the thai resturant too. 100% satisfaction guaranteed! =P

Monash University’s Convocation is held at Ritz Carlton..I think it was the same ballroom where I had my JC prom too (that was like 4 years ago leh, omg)! It was a rather simple ceremony, which was over in an hour's time. I wasn’t very convinced by the effort put in by the school for this important event though. First was the rental of the graduation gown. Hmm, it’s not even rental..I should say it’s “borrowing”, coz the students only collected their gown today and were expected to return it 1 ½ hrs after the ceremony starts (?!!?).

Stage deco was also minimal; gor commented that the banner did not say which batch/year this particular ceremony is for..ya he’s right, I wonder how much fuss and money they save by reusing the single banner that carries only the school name for every other ceremony..geez. The finale was a speech given by an alumni member (a Dr.), but it was totally off. Her gown kept slipping off her shoulder throughout the ceremony, her tone of voice was putting all of us to sleep, and I couldn’t find any coherence in what she was putting across in her speech. She even commented on cloning - a highly sensitive and controversial topic, which I thought was rather inappropriate. Erm..ermm.......

Basically, the whole ceremony was monotonous and kinda half-hearted, but who cares..we were only looking forward to our favourite "photo-taking session" at the end! Haha..it’s more personal, and fun! We snapped quite a lot of pictures, coz Ritz Carlton is such a beautiful place (used to come here often to carol with VJ choir last time and I fell in love with it ever since). After lingering around to take pictures right to the last minute, it was time to return the gown before we knew it.

While mummy had to rush to work after that, the rest of us headed to Lai Lai at Liang Seah Street for an early dinner. It was my first time trying their infamous beef noodles, and I must say it’s thumbs up! Highly recommend this eatery to people who love taiwan xiao3 chi1, their food really has the authentic taiwanese taste, eating there made me feel like I was back in taiwan again..

There were inevitably some bumps along the way today, like me bringing pa and ma to the wrong thai restaurant while sis went to collect her gown, partly because I didn’t communicate properly with sis beforehand..some confusion and frustration there and then, but yea it was ok after we settled down. Some mixed feelings as well..happiness mixed with ermm..jeaously..oopsss. Cuz Sis seemed so busy with gor and I thought she had forgotten all about me. Yes yes, I know I’m being stupid, silly, but I’m making a confession right now! Ya, I just wanted some attention, and I managed to take quite a few pics with sis later on, so ya I’m happy liao! Heeeee! =D

Gor and Sis went shopping after dinner, so I helped her to carry the flowers home. Look at them..aren’t they gorgeous?

First time carrying such a big bouquet of flowers..just like hugging a big comfy bolster that smells so sweet. ;) Good thing it’s not very strong colours so I didn’t get too many stares..haha.

Well I shall just say I’m so glad to be able to spend yet another fulfilling day with pa, ma and cheh..a family (satur)day indeed.