Mio

digifaith @ 11:36pm: /
Last night, around midnight.

Saw Sherlock Holmes tonight. Oddly enough, once I accepted that it was not at all the type of movie that I typically enjoy, I actually rather enjoyed it. Holmes is about as far from a hero as you can get, but he's smart and has pretty eyes and hmm, is it just me or is there quite a bit of HolmesxWatson going on in that movie? With Holmes obviously Not Happy about Watson's engagement, and the "don't get excited" thing, and that whole exchange near the end that involved something about a tongue and that I missed most of because I was too busy mentally giggling. ...Come to think of it, I began to notice the slashiness about the same time that I began to enjoy the movie. I wonder why that could be. ¬_¬

I need to write thank-you notes. In about a week someone needs to ask me if my thank-you notes are done, to make sure I don't forget about them. >_>'

After yet another morning of waking up with a terribly sore throat, I have purchased myself a humidifier. It's rather noisy. Initial test will be tonight; we shall see what sort of result it produces.

Oh! And I watched the first half of the RPM finale today! I didn't get to see it on Saturday because I was in Cincinnati and the stupid ABC affiliate there was airing a paid program instead of RPM. Clearly they have no business sense. But I'm quite intrigued, and also it is becoming even more obvious that this show is just about Dillon and Ziggy and all the others are just background characters. Very interesting background characters, but background characters nonetheless. I am also clinging to my belief that no one ever really dies for good in this show. Except Zordon, but that was dramatic and appropriate. He always seemed like he had too much goodness in him to really exist; his connection to this flawed world was an ethereal one.

Aaand I have no Internet connection in my bedroom and my guests are sleeping in the front room, so this will have to await the morrow for posting. :/ To all a good night.

--

Present time.

UD beat Boston University in the basketball game tonight. Woohoo. *twirls fingers*

I always have mixed feelings about sports. On the one hand, we have some really good players, but on the other hand it's weird to see a guy get so proud of himself for putting a ball in a hoop. On the one hand, I like when the home team does well, but on the other hand the visiting team doesn't really have anyone to cheer for them, especially a few days after Christmas.

I'm not ready to go back to work. >_>'

~DigiFaith

night_child80 @ 7:12am: Korean BBQ @ Box Hill
Korean barbeques are one of the most flavourful types of barbeques and an all-time favourite for hanging out with friends.

However, to me, the mark of a truely good Korean barbeque is how good the establishment's pre-meal pickles are. They have to be drop-dead orgasmically delicious, yet light enough to leave you wanting more - because you do need the tummy room for the main course of spiced and marinated meats and vegetables.

So it obviously gets my goat if all the establishment serves is a couple strands of kimchi and boiled peanuts.
Not appetising nor inspiring. And certainly not worth my repeat patronage.

bankevair thankfully shares my sentiments and hauled me to her favorite Korean place in .



offers four delicate portions of pickles - all unique and spine-shudderingly mouthwatering. My favorites are the finely julienned seaweed (the kelp-like version) and the dried tofu skin. My skin goes all tingly just thinking about them. And the best part is you can always ask for more without an additional charge.

But gorge yourself on them though, for they are only the prelude to the rest of the main offerings. I left the decision-making up to bankevair, who insisted I try her two favorites.


Sweet and tender, everything you could ask of a cow.


Not as spicy as I had hoped, but would suit anyone with an aversion to chilli



Usually I'm used to cooking the mains on the hot plate on my own. Thong-wielding might not be my speciality, but turning meat isn't rocket science. So I was pleasantly surprised when the waitress was the one who popped and turned our food periodically, before skipping off to the next table.

Service: +1



Oh, and just because it was stinking hot, we shared a bottle of cold beer.


Box Hill Korean BBQ
1 Bank Street
Box Hill, VIC 3128
Tel: +61 3 9899 7113

laamakunkku @ 9:57pm: Sailing to Sarantium part 2...
Okay, I tried to find the second book for Sarantine Mosaic from every bookshop I know, but I couldn't find it from the same publisher. I would've wanted to get similar covers (when the one they are actually selling is pretty ugly), but well... I rather read the book with ugly covers than not read it at all, because it's so freaking amazing! I couldn't stop reading it last night, because there was more Emperor and Empress stuff, and I just giggled to them until... maybe half four. XD' And because I love to write small (or big) parts in here, I'm going to do it now too~!
So the thing is that Crispin was invited to the Empress' private chambers after the banquet and here's something that happened there (you probably won't understand everything, since you haven't read the whole book, but...): ( Click here for long text! )

Today I even reached Venice in my travels in Assassin's Creed II. I wasn't sure if I would play today, but after everything that happened yesterday, I did. And probably I'll continue tomorrow and day after that and and and...

laamakunkku @ 11:28pm: Sailing to Sarantium...
I've been playing Assassin's Creed II almost the whole day except when I went out with the dog and when I watched Top Gear (Sadly I saw that episode in Scotland, but I'm always eager to watch those for the second time!), but I won't go on and on about the game. :D At least Florence is fully searched for now and it's time to go to Venice~!

I'll write about Sarantine Mosaic instead. I promised to write one part of it and here it goes (I really like the Empress, the Emperor and Crispin too! XD):
"We all strive", the charioteer said gravely, "in all we do, to please the Empress." He paused deliberately, then white teeth flashed. "And then the Emperor, of course."
Valerius laughed. "Sheathe that deadly charm, charioteer. Or save it for whomever you are seducing now."
There was feminine laughter. Some of the men, Crispin noted, did not appear amused. Alixana, her own dark eyes flashing now, murmured, "But I like when he unsheathes it, my lord Emperor."
Crispin, caught unawares, was unable to control his own sudden burst of laughter. It didn't matter. Valerius and the court around him gave vent to amusement as the charioteer bowed low to the Empress, smiling, unruffled. This was, Crispin understood finally, a court with a nature at least partly defined by its women.
By the woman on the throne, certainly. The Emperor's return to good humor was manifestly unfeigned. Crispin, looking at the two thrones, abruptly thought of Ilandra, with queer inner twist, as of a blade, that still came whenever he did so. Had his wife made the same sort of openly provocative remark he, too, would have been relaxed enough to find it amusing, so sure had he been of her. Valerius was like that with his Empress. Crispin wondered-not for the first time-what it would have been like to be wed to a woman one could not trust.
At that point, when I read that, I was laughing too. Alixana is just cute. :D

I think now I'm off to find me the second book of Sarantine Mosaic and new italian books and then mmh, maybe FMA or Hellsing... I'm not sure. :D

night_child80 @ 6:21am: Gourmet Dumpling Restaurant @ Malvern
bankevair had organised for us to have dinner with oceanid and friends at Chun Po, but it turned out the restaurant had gone off on Christmas break earlier than expected. Gourmet Dumpling Restaurant was just down the road and didn't look terribly busy, so we strolled down to check it out.

However upon entering, the waitress asked if we had a reservation. When we confirmed we didn't and asked if a table might be available, she asked for a moment to check with another waitress. This other waitress asked us again if we had a reservation, to which we affirmed again that we didn't. She then very visibly rolled her eyes at us and curtly waved us towards the stairs at the back of the restaurant, muttering 'upstairs'.

... service? Hmm...

Thankfully the menu was easy to navigate for everyone in our party (3 Singaporeans, 2 Germans and an Aussie) and there wasn't a lack of choice for the vegetarian either. Flavours are authentic and you gotta love a well-made dumpling.









With a bowl of rice each for the 6 of us and 3 sipping our BYO wine, the bill came up to AUD$10 each. Not a bad bargain... as long as you make reservations, lest there be eye-rolling.


Gourmet Dumpling Restaurant
71 Glenferrie Road
Malvern, VIC 3144
Phone: +61 3 9509 9718

Sun-Thu 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-10.30pm

digifaith @ 11:43pm: lol
I would like to go on record as saying that I found it rather hilarious that a guy attempted to blow up a plane and ended up only setting his pants on fire.

laamakunkku @ 11:25pm: Assassin's Creed II


So like I told you few days ago, I got Assassin's Creed II as a Christmas present and I actually did spent those past couple of days with it. I fell in love! When I first realized there's going to be Assassin's Creed II, I was happy. When I read it was going to be situated in Italy, I was even more happy and when I saw the small trailer of it, I was jumping from joy! I mean one of the nicest game around combined with historical italy and stuff... I knew it has to be a good game. And after playing it for few days I can quarantee it's exactly that!



In previous game I got to play as this mysterious assassin Altaïr from who I knew almost nothing about. Now there's Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the guy who's birth I actually saw. XD' And Ezio is quite a sweetheart too! Yes, he's italian and therefore a womaniser, but he's also funny and enjoyable character. I like him far more than Altaïr. First Ezio is not even an assassin at all (and he doesn't even wear white anymore like in all those screencaps! I dyed his clothes! XD). He's also a friend of Leonardo da Vinci! Leonardo seems to be quite a joker himself. I'm also enjoying the fact that there's the Medici, the Sforza etc... Noble families of Italy. Just like in our RPG! :D It just seems that the Medici are the only good people and others are traitors! XD' I had to save Medici family and now kill for them! And the named traitors (so far) are one Visconti, one Borgia (I've been killing a lot of Borgia messengers... XD'), one Salviati and one Maffei (this is one noble dude in Elisa di Rivombrosa!)... I haven't seen Sforzas yet, though! I'm sure they are traitors as well and I have to kill them! XD'



Those cities in this game are just astonishing! I've so far visited Florence and some other place in Tuscany, but the way those cities look is amazing! Florence has many real landmarks like Duomo and Ponte Vecchio among many many others. But no wonder, I read from somewhere that the game developers had something like 30 000 pictures from Florence! :o In first Assassin's Creed there was no changes like night and day. It was always daylight. Now there's also a night time and the cities look nice when it's dark. :) There's still at least Rome and Venice to see. I'm sure those will look just as magnificent!



And what is it about? Well, assassination! But I like the new aspects of the game as well. You collect money and feathers so you can get you family villa repaired and the city restored to it's glory. This makes much more sense than just collecting random flags in Assassin's Creed I! So now I'm collecting money like crazy, trying to find all the feathers and codex pages, buying paintings and weapons for my villa! XD' And I even enjoy just random riding on the countryside! I could do only that like an hour or something... :D Then there's those assassin's seals you have to collect and 20 odd symbols that will reveal some new secret and and and..! And besides those things there's of course assassinating traitors and other people, beating up unfaithful husbands, racing against people, visiting Leonardo, beating up Borgia messengers and mailmen and of course just jumping around on the rooftops! :D I'd say this will easily climb in my Top 3 game list. I'm not quite sure if it will take DMC4's place as a number one, but it's pretty damn close anyway! I just love that game so damn much already. :)

Funny thing is that I actually didn't dream about Assassin's Creed, but KinKi Kids instead. :D It was a nice dream with both Koichi and Tsuyoshi. And today after watching their Music Station SuperLive 2009 performance I remembered why I love those guys so much. :D \o/ I want to have more these KinKi Kids dreams. :D

I was supposed to write some things from Sarantine Mosaic book, but I guess I'll do it some other day!

night_child80 @ 6:48pm: The best find ever!


Guess what I spotted while we were driving through the Dandenongs?

( The answer is... )

danheta @ 5:38pm: 看到
[移民].Immigrants.L.A.Dolce.Vita.2008.DVDRip.XviD-aAF

digifaith @ 11:53am: Merry Christmas
Each of the past few Christmases has seemed to have a theme song for me. Last year it was definitely I Heard the Bells, in several different versions. For a few years before that it was Go Fish's It's About the Cross. Here's this year's:

--

The Night Before Christmas
Brandon Heath

Empty manger
Perfect stranger
About to be born
Into darkness, sadness
Desperate madness
Creation so torn

We were so lost on earth
No peace, no worth
No way to escape
In fear, no faith
No hope, no grace
And no light

But that was the night before Christmas

Warm hay, cold sweat
A mother, not yet
Praying godspeed the dawn
She looks to her man
Holding her hand
They wonder how long

And the shepherds, wise men
Come to find them
And bow to a king
One star above
Shining on love
So bright it lit up the night before Christmas

And the world didn't know
Mercy was meek and so mild
And the world didn't know
That truth was as pure as a child

The night before Christmas
The night before Christmas

And the world didn't know
Redemption was sweet and so strong
And the world didn't know
Salvation was writing a song

The night before Christmas

Empty manger
Perfect stranger
About to be born

digifaith @ 12:58am: ♥
;.; I have become so very attached to RPM; I hope it has a really, really good ending. Also, that one exchange between Ziggy and Dillon was awesome before it got silly and then it was awesome again. I bet Ziggy is going to be the big hero who saves hybrid-Dillon in a dramatic way. After all, Ziggy's already saved him a few times, I think.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. *zzz*

laamakunkku @ 11:47pm: Merry Christmas Everyone! :)


Hopefully you all had a nice Christmas Eve and you got the presents you wanted etc. :) I did get the present I was hoping for (Assassin's Creed II) and lots of other stuff. Here's few things that I got:

Yep, lovely pink, fluffy Skullcandy earphones. Everyone always writes how good those are and when I saw them on shop I knew immediatelly I wanted them. My old ones are rubbish. Not music-wise, but they are kinda falling apart and my brother was kind enough to buy these for me. I'm just trying them out and I have to say it takes some time to get used to them. XD' Music sounds so different! My computer doesn't like these also. I have to quite forcefully press them to be able to hear properly (I don't know how to explain it, sorry). :o But now I finally got it working well. Now the only problem is I can't quite hear anything else. XD' These are blocking sound so well I can't even hear when I'm writing! :o
And Assassin's Creed II! Oh boy, I didn't only get the game, I got the white edition with Ezio figurine! I also tried the game for a bit and I have to say Ezio is quite a sweetheart. XD' Such a womaniser! Plus points for speaking so much italian too! Assassin's Creed day tomorrow! Mmh~

Of course I got tons of other nice presents like Supernatural season 3 dvd box, thank you so much Rinkeli! And Ice Age 3 from Mauri. Thank you~ (Hopefully you enjoyed my gifts as well ^^) From my boss I got 4 movie tickets and gift card to Anttila... Which I'll probably waste on dvds. XD' Then some socks and stuff like that. What am I forgetting?

I was fearing our Christmas would be so different from what it used to be, but not really. I almost cried on morning though when mom said something about dad, but I was quite tired after sleeping only 4,5 hours. And besides, I'm allowed to cry a bit!

Now I'm off to do some howrsing and then I'm going to bed early this time! :)

laamakunkku @ 9:58pm: Schumacher is coming back...
...to F1 and I hope Massa will seriously kick the 7x champion's butt! He's going to drive Mercedes. You got that right. Mercedes! It's the enemy! I haven't been following that much f1 news lately, except that Kobayashi (or whatever his name was) signed the deal with... umm, some team... XD' And then I heard rumors about Schumi's comeback (again!), but this time it's real. I hate him for doing this, damnit. Mercedes is probably the only name I hate in F1 field.... Well, I know I like Hamilton and yes, he is also driving Mercedes, but... Still! Anyways... Next year is going to be exciting!

I just read George R.R. Martin has seen The Princess and The Frog and liked it. :)

---

Tulin tossa äskettäin ratsastamasta ja oli kyllä kivaa. :) Yks ratsastuskaveri oli vielä tehny meille hepan muotoset piparitkin. :D Alkaa olla jo itelläänkin melkoset joulufiilikset kaikesta huolimatta, mikä on tietty hyvä. Ehkä pitää kävästä huomenna vielä ostamassa jottain ja muuallaki kiertämässä, mut sitte voi koristella kuusen ja oottaa, että saa jouluruokia, jee! :D

Tossa kirjassa näky ekaa kertaa keisaria ja keisarinnaa (tai toki ne oli siellä jo ennen titteleiden saamista) ja ne oli kyllä... söpöjä. :D Sais olla enemmänkin niitä. :) Hyvä kirja, haluan kakkososan jo!

night_child80 @ 10:06pm: Tinsel
Since we first met her early this year, Tinsel has grown a lot and fattened up quite nicely. She's still rather scruffy compared to the older cat Satin, but hasn't lost her wide-eyed innocence nor her placidness.

night_child80 @ 4:55pm: Theobroma Chocolate Lounge @ Chadstone
You know they're doing something right when you hit the same cafe/eatery twice on the same day. (^_^)

We didn't get the opportunity to shop in Chadstone on previous visits to Melbourne, so after the brand wing opened (Gucci! Tiffany! Coach! MNG! LV!), we didn't see any reason to delay the inevitable.

And what better way to round off a few hours of window shopping with decadent chocolate?

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge is located at the Woolworth's carpark side of Chadstone's shopping centre, just after the stand alone Jones the Grocer.

Armed with black leather seats and red upholstered benches, the lounge offered a wide selection of handmade chocolates, cakes and sandwiches, chocolate beverages (hot and cold), freshly brewed coffee and tea.



But not wanting to spoil our growing appetites for dinner, we shared a Belgian waffle. They also come with 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream and/or fresh strawberries as add-ins.

The warm chocolate sauce is a rich smooth milk chocolate, which they don't just drizzle on - they drown the waffle in it. Which is just the way I like it. :p



And you gotta love it when a barista takes the time to be a little creative - a flower offering to put a smile on your face.

( Read More... )


Theobroma Chocolate Lounge
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Shop F030A
1341 Dandenong Road
Chadstone, VIC 3148
Tel: =61 3 9568 6688

Monday - Wednesday: 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday - Friday: 9am - 9pm
Saturday: 9am - 5pm
Sunday: 10am - 5pm

digifaith @ 7:58pm: HEARTS
:D That may have been the most awesome episode of anything I have ever watched ever. ( 5D's capslock spam. )

Imagine flying over this. I need to start working on lucid dreaming again.

~DigiFaith

night_child80 @ 8:30am: Nudle @ Knox City


After an unsuccessful attempt to grab lunch at Straits Cafe in Knox (a recurring theme for the rest of the day), bankevair drove us to Knox City instead. The place was packed to the max with Christmas shoppers, despite the massive expanse of space for parking.

So by the time we found a park, I was starving and was happy to walk into the nearest eatery for some grub. bankevair pointed to Nudle and we grabbed the menus from the counter before taking a seat at one of their outdoor benches.

The menu is Asian fare, all familiar fare for anyone from the Southeast Asian region. They even offer you a selection of noodles to choose from for any noodle dish: egg noodles, Hokkein noodles, vermecilli and rice noodles.

Prices for their mains range from $10 to $20, and they also offer a $15 lunch set - select 1 main, 1 side and soda. Looking to try something familiar, I opted for the seafood laksa, while bankevair chose the mee goreng.


$10.80

So they don't offer 'see-ham' (blood cockles) with their laksa, but they offer a generous portion of seafood - prawns, mussel and squid. It even comes complete with thick slices of fishcake and dried tofu (tau pok).

However, as authentic as the flavour might be, the laksa gravy is too creamy and thick for slurping. It is too heavy to polish off the bowl, which is a shame - and a blessing to my waistline. (^_^)



bankevair wasn't able to finish her serving and complained the mee goreng was a little too greasy for her liking. A valid lament for someone who normally has a reduced salt and oil diet.


Nudle
Knox City Shopping Centre
509 Burwood Highway
Knox, VIC 3180
Tel: +61 3 9837 5788

laamakunkku @ 9:14pm: Pelipäivä. Taas. :D
Pitihän mun tehdä tänään jotain muutaki, ku pelata, mutta se ny vähän jäi. XD' Tuli taas uusia tyyppejä peliin! :o Saa nähä mikä soppa tässä vielä syntyy. ;D

On kyllä köyhä entry. Ei mulla muka mitään muuta kerrottavaa ole. :o

Eiku onpas! Mua ärsyttää, ku joulu on ihan justiinsa ja mulla ei sittenkää taida olla kaikille lahjoja. Tai pari puuttuu, mitkä piti hakea ja sit mä vaan maksan ne, mut ei niille vissii ookaa tehty mitää. Tänää en olis kyl voinu itekää mitää tehdä, ku mun auto oli ryöstetty! XD' Siis veli ajeli sillä. Meinasin kyl, että voisin ostaa sen siltä... tonnilla. XD' \o/ Äh, toi joululahja-asia vähän vaivaa, mutta kai se siitä.

Ja eilen mä katoin Jonathan Rossin ohjelman pätkiä tuubista... XD' Siellä oli kyllä pari niin loistavaa vierasta, et ei kettu. \o/ Tai sit mulla oli vaan pirun tylsää. ;D

digifaith @ 11:18pm: Light
Appropriately, it is the winter solstice. Whatever's been going on in your life, hang on, because the light's coming back into the world. <3

laamakunkku @ 10:44pm: Have a nice day?
...And I had. :) First I went to do some Christmas shopping with my brother. I was supposed to buy all the presents, but end up bying only one book, which was kinda unnecessary too... Anyways, I'm counting on some people for getting the present we were talking about and then just pay for them. I'm so... cool. XD'

Then it was time for italian lessons. Last of the year actually. It was nice to eat stuff people brought (I didn't know about this, because I didn't go there last week...) and there was lot of stuff. :D Then we played some games italians play at Christmas, so it was nice. :D Didn't win anything, though, but it didn't matter. And I promised I'll continue next year... Don't know why I said it, but seems like I'm continuing... Lia is going to Rome tomorrow. I'm so jealous! >8I XD'

I've read ~260 pages of Sailing to Sarantium and finally they actually arrived in the city. \o/ Can't wait what will happen next. :D

---

Howrse on mukava mulle nykyään ja mun kiinnostus on melkein entisensä. :D Viime yönä avasin tän päivän luukun ja sieltä tippu spursit, jotka tunkasin heti Jaidenille. Laitoin sille myös seahorsen, joten nyt sillä on jokaisessa skillsissä bonukset +30! Sit jos se on ihan paska ja häviää vaan, ni pistän sen makkaraksi! Niin paljon bm kamaa siihen tuhlannu! Lisäks Xanthokset on alkanu viimesen viikon aikana tiputtelemaan mulle ihan kivasti lahjoja enkä oikein tiiä, mistä se vois johtua. Ehkä ihmiset rapsuttelee niitä vähemmän tai jottain? Lisäks mun Xanthos jeesaa mua nostamaan kisoja. Ei noi 200 skillsit ny varmaan riitä mihinkään, mut ainaki se ny on parempi ku mun 40-70 tasot. Ja kunhan achievement tulee joskus saavutettua, ni saan sit taas laskettua noi alemmas ja pelkästään täykkäreille ja marwareille, kuten oli alunperinkin. :)

Voisin kehittää jonkinlaista joulukorttia tänne journaliin tässä jo tänään, ku muuten unohdan sen ja sitte ehkis katella jottain kivaa. Alkaa kyllä väsyttää, vaikka heräsinki myöhään. :o Mutta heippa nyt taas!

digifaith @ 9:16pm: Aran!

>_> Stop being addicting, MapleStory.

Why is he killing things with a snowboard? Also, why is Warrior armor so ugly?

laamakunkku @ 10:15pm: Siis niin jännää!
Mä katoin tänään jotain hiton perinteisen hiihtoa ennen ku alettiin pelaamaan! Siis niin jännää oli kyllä, ku suomalainen rämpii maaliin. XD' Muuta tänään ei sit ookaan tapahtunu. XD'

Huomenna jos jaksaa mennä ostamaan viimoset joululahjat ja sitte italian tunnille, ni olisin kyllä hyvä. Näin yritän tehdä. Pakkasten vaan piti lauhtua, mut ei -13 viel musta oo tarpeeks vähän! >8I

digifaith @ 11:56pm: Still can't believe this name wasn't taken

I has an Aran. :3

saintrandall @ 1:51pm: smokestacks dusk

saintrandall @ 1:51pm: where in the world is bowen sandiego