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December 01, 2021

December 2021

The jolly season is here. The city has put on lots of decorations and light projections. So cool. Chapter house lane is a new one for me. There was light projections there this year. My sister and I stuck around to watch the light projection on Hammer hall. It did not have a Christmas theme - strange. 


The December Staycation 

7th Dec

We woke up early to go on a day trip to the Grampians. This outing was a raw hiking trip to the Halls Gap (one of the pinnacles). The weather changed between cold, wet, then sunny, and by the time we came back to the city, it was cold again. Lucky the rocks were dry was somewhat easier to climb on. We bought our lunches. We had lunch before we reached Mackenzie falls, and it was beautiful.


8th Dec

The family drove to Jack Rabbit Estate. There we had lunch at the restaurant. What a gorgeous view of the bay and the city of Geelong! We had blue skies and blue waters. Minus, the icy wind (if only).

We drove further up towards a town called Portarlington. Its advertised as a romantic spot. When we arrived, we saw a rural beach town. Quite hilly. The hill area was not fit for the elderly and people with mobility issues. The Mussel cafe has two opening hours, 12 pm to 2:30 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm. By the time we got there, it was closed and so no mussels for us. The playground nearby was the only prettiest thing. Quite interactive too. The moving bridge and noise poles.

We drove south of the Bellerine Peninsula to Queenscliff and stopped at a big park near the ferry. After such a long drive, bro took a nap. We had a little snack at the park. By the park were stairs to the beach. The waves were rough as ever.  I walked around the base of a lighthouse.


9th Dec

Hotel Chadstone. Splish. Golden trims everywhere. The swimming pool was awesome. The jet pool in the centre relived muscles in our legs. My sister felt refreshed and confident to go to dinner without a walking stick. There we ate figs with prosciutto and stratella cheese, lasagna, cannoli, pavolva. Then we went for a stroll in Chadstone shopping centre and took pictures with Christmas decorations dotted around the place.


10th Dec

Another round of jet pool followed by brunch before taking the bus home. Then I go to prepare for my staff Christmas party. The theme for the party this year was “come fly with me”. The staff dressed up as tourists, airline hosts, airport ground staff, pilots, witches, fairies, insects, and control towers. It was a beautiful and fun evening.


12th Dec

The picnic group was hard to identify at the Darling Garden, Clifton Hill. I did two laps. Everyone here wore the same hats and sunnies. However, nearly every group here were families. It felt awkward to crash each one and ask if they were the New Cardigan networking group. I was wrapped in anxiety. I went to the tram stop to have a breather. Then I received an email confirming the group by the public toilet was indeed them. Phew. I walked back over and listened to some fun stories. Life is never what you expect it to be, and when you go with the flow, it can be amazingly rewarding. I enjoy hearing stories and other people perspectives than only my voice day in and day out.


14th Dec

Sis and I played in the Dockland Christmas Maze, and boy, was it delightful. Find the elves game was fun too. I hope I do win the $500 gift card. lol.

I had a good week off work and no disturbia of any sort.



Work

Winding down now. We had a branch picnic and a team breakfast. I learned we have some vegans among us and people who can only eat gluten free foods. Something to remember for next time. 


PoGo

Christmas event is by far the coolest. Special rewards need to be claimed within 24 hours though. I am having so much chasing this chubby seal around the city. Aww, Man. I'm so blessed to get a hundo costume Pikachu, costume Spheal, and Cryogonal. It pays to farm like crazy sometimes. Above all I missed seeing my PoGo friends in-person and hearing their stories told in their voices.


Dating

On pause.

I feel the weight has been lift-off my shoulders now that I am not in that relationship. The constant badgering about how I am not giving the person enough time was foul. That person said they like me, but he kept derailing our day trips, just so he can watch Netflix or fall asleep in front of the telly. Boring. Even if he wanted to save money, this is not the way to go about it. Anyhow, I will go on day trip with people who appreciate my efforts.

When you grow old the word squander comes up a lot. I find people who are emotionally unavailable tend to squander their time. They squabble about how love is measured instead of cherishing people in their lives. When you can only take memories with you in death.
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November 08, 2021

November 2021

Now that lockdown is over it is time to get back to the new. Aww. I'm horrible at waking up early but one must try and get back into the habit. Setting up multiple alarms. Ha.

Sadly many people are still in disbelief that they had to be vaccinated to go about their normal daily social activity. I hate to break it to them but life is nowhere near normal. This is what life is like in Victoria, Australia and if you cannot handle it, then why are you still here? Other people have already moved interstate after lockdown number 2 in the year 2020.

My sister and I are planning our day trips around Victoria as part of mini staycation week in December. Yay. We are on the road again.


Work

My colleagues and I have started returning back to working onsite. Only a small amount of patrons ask why they must be double vaccinated in order to come in to view collection materials.

Finally, we managed to do some onsite training. Two years later. It is fascinating to see collection from a librarian perspective compared to a library technician's point of view. 


PoGo

Amazingly enough, I was able to score duo trade hundo from my friend. Woo hoo. Task hundo not so much. No luck with wild hundo either. lol. One aspect of the game that consumes the most energy is pvp, and I haven't had done many pvp battles due to the fact I need more time to rest and recover from relationship frustrations and desk shifts. As adult duties are a top priority. I hope to find a balance someday, but so far, none to date.

Niantic has temporarily erected and taken down some new gyms in the game. Odd. But nothing we can do about it.


Dating

I have broken up with my boyfriend of 9 months. One night I was stood up for a dinner date. Why did he "stood me up" you ask? His excuse was he was too tired from weekend work. This was never the case in the last 8 months until now. 

This is the first time I have ever had a boyfriend who would:
  • emotionally threaten me;
  • call me names when he is bored;
  • accuses me of things for the fun of it;
  • stood me up;
  • and wants to cheat on me.
All I ever did was be myself. Wowza.


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October 03, 2021

October 2021

The numbers of the COVID infected people continue to rise into the 1000s in Victoria, Australia, despite we are in a tight lockdown mode. I really do not think people know they have it until they get tested. Long live the take away life style. As for landfill, build them up, buttercup.


Work

Steady on. Working on research guide materials and blog post. Rehearsing my voice for long oral reads and working on a contingency plan when  there is a technical issue.


PoGo

Many of the player community are feeling frustrated by challenging tasks. With many having to WFH, the lack of spawns in the suburbs makes it very difficult for players to complete such collection tasks.

Oh, this Halloween event has been amazing. I managed to get a home shiny Halloween costume Pikachu and a hundo in the same weekend. I feel so blessed. Same goes for the Halloween costume Piplup too (x3 hundo). Then I got a task hundo Galarian Yamask. Who woulda thought. Me? Woo hoo. Meanwhile, I was not lucky with getting a hundo legendary Alter forme Giratina or Darkrai. 

With the lockdown in Melbourne over and some ease of restrictions, I had the pleasure to catch up with a few friends in-person in the city. It feels so refreshing to hear people's stories and how they endured the lockdown. Their perspective were different and an eye opener. 



Date

Lately, whenever I suggest or say stuff, it is met with doubt. We no longer seem to be able to plan our days together, since that Saturday at Williamstown, he has grown moody. My plans so far have been overridden by the following:
  • tiredness
  • complained about distance
  • insisted on dating at home (no/lockdown)
  • Often I'd end up watching Netflix on my lonesome for hours (while he'd take a shower and nap).
Also, I find that I am talking to myself as he would rapid go into space when we go for a stroll. No eye contact whatsoever, and somehow his ex-something something popped up in our conversation. Worst yet, instead of alleviating a person’s pain with laughter or distraction, he'd point out how my skin lesion has been an issue for him. I am fast coming to the realisation he is emotionally unavailable. I cannot form a relationship with him.

Also, I don’t want to waste my life with someone who has:
  • no common courtesy
  • no sense of adventure
  • no romance

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September 03, 2021

September 2021

More cases by the day, more news of lockdown extended. Even the new norm lifestyle does not stand a chance of taking off.


Work

I am now doing a few more presentations in Zoom than I have in my previous career. I would say there is a fair bit of rehearsal and set-up required. I failed to test slides for any inconsistencies, especially when another colleague created them. My Bad.


PoGo

This month events and field research in Pokemon Go is insipid. The field research ought to be less resource-intensive and time-consuming, given we only have 3 hours of exercise each day. Niantic still has not set up bulk delete, and bulk sends gifts.


Dating

I helped cut short my boyfriend’s hair, and he liked it. So cool when people develop trust in your abilities. ======
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August 01, 2021

August 2021

The sun would peek through the clouds at times, but winds are still icy cold. Your standard gear at the minimum is a jacket, beanie, scarf, gloves, and a mask. A mask not for robbing a bank, but to reduce the chance of spreading or catching COVID.  People who are most infectious don't even know they have COVID. Less and less show up with no symptoms. In Victoria, we wear masks outdoors and indoors until we get to our own home. The Delta variant of COVID is highly contagious than the original and so we all have to be super cautious than ever. 

The number of cases has started to surge again, and it does not look as if it would descend anytime soon despite plenty of people have booked in to receive the vaccine.

The strict lockdown has put a strain on local businesses and the entertainment industry. So many companies have packed up and left Victoria. Shopfronts with labels “for lease” can be seen across the main streets of suburbs. The only glimmer of hope was a few new pop-up shops giving us a little bit of delight.

 

Work

The deployment of the new print system failed to do sand box testing and just went live with features incomplete or not ready for use. The training was somewhat unbalanced.

WFH meant we had no access to the physical collection. This has been the case for the last 200 days. Patrons aren't aware of this fact. How could they the lockdown comes with several different rules each time. However, it challenges you to recall what was the collection like before the lockdown and be able to describe how to access to it.


Pogo

I am not grinding as hard as I once did. I find, I am pausing a lot more to let my brain think and calm down. Also, to let other activities take priority for once. 


Dating

I am learning to pick up on abnormal behaviour and raise matters quickly with my partner.  Sadly, it takes a great deal of tolerance to endure immature behaviour. 

With lockdown being extended several times, we have being cooking at home more, and together.  
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July 08, 2021

July 2021

We are beginning to see some stability and onto Victoria's 5th lockdown. This time it is not segregated by metropolitan and regional, rather state wide. The NSW government and community was very slow in clamping down their spread of virus. The vaccine roll out was done poorly across the country.


Work

I am learning to deliver "just right" amount of information. Such as a patron may only want to know which databases to use and not want the answer to their research question. Or they want you to demonstrate how to load a microfilm reel and not which resources to use when looking up sporting events. I feel I am developing a better grasp of patron's level of information needs.


PoGo

To throw a fast ball from the berry side is not as efficient as throwing from the ball side and in AR mode. Something to practice. Interesting. But difficult.

Jazz gave me an 1 up tip when it comes to T3 raids. When sending a T3 raid invite to a friend that can be solo'd, it is best to open up the lobby to the public, then a "rando" player can join them in defeating the T3 raid boss, thus making the raid go by much quicker. Yay! I learnt another thing. I can't wait to do better as a raid host.

Go Fest was impacted by the snap lockdown and rain. I managed to bump into some friends and I had a few good laughs. It felt good. There is something refreshing about hearing different voices and talking about other things besides COVID. 

I find it is better to raid for XL than to convert actual candies for XL. 



Dating

My so called boyfriend doesn't initiate conversation at dinners or video chat. He really doesn't like sharing his thoughts with me. How peculiar. And when he does have a conversation with me. It is about my previous relationships or he'd go on to accuses me: not wanting a long term relationship, tricking him to go on day trips, and not wanting to spend more time with him (to just watch the telly). What a very strange bloke. Even more weirder is he does not want to be part of my family yet accuses me of NOT wanting to introduce my family members to him. Ahhh...this constant bickering is most unhealthy.

I told him to take a break from us and to do some thinking. 


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June 02, 2021

June 2021

Lockdown number four in Melbourne has took place. Everyone back to WFH and some businesses taking another pounding. Depression ensues for some people.

Ground hog day is always annoying, but you gotta make each day worth it.

I feel for businesses and Victorian tourism during lockdown, they are enduring major hardship and great uncertainty. When they eased some of the restrictions after the two weeks of snap lockdown, my sister and I went dining at our favourite restaurants.



Work 

We plan to develop a more robust service model for the future. 


PoGo

There has been an update to raids, we now have stadium with audience, and more bragging status based on our ability to attack the raid boss.


Dating

I have learnt some people different mannerism. Not all people know how to wish people get well when you are sick. They lack compassion and unwilling to console other people during times of need. Which made me realise, maybe this person lacks romantic skill set, and so, I will need to lead by example.

I read him poetry and sourced a poetry for my boyfriend to read back to me. He found this very interesting. We now trying known romantic ways.



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May 04, 2021

May 2020

Steady as she goes. Nearly half way through the year, and so much of my world has changed. COVID situation feels calm at times and erratic at other times. Currently, navigating the waters in being a co-presenter in a Zoom webinar and being a girlfriend (of a few months).


Work

I have few draft blog posts written up, but they are too historical focused and need to be more rounded with an audience in mind. My team leader suggested I start with collection spotlight type of blog post. So, that's my goal for the month. I will write better and be more contextual. So the content would be of use to the reader.

One of my original work team mates died on the 20th May 2021. So, there will be no more morning tea gatherings for us. At the same time it is all too surreal, as we last heard she was on chemo therapy then we received news she was put into palliative care. Can chemo put your body into a state of shock? My last message to her was a happy birthday wish. At least, she manage to see most of her children get married and celebrate one last birthday.


Dating

It has been a month now. We are now in the territory of cooking at home and juggling returning back to office schedules. Colder weather coming up fast. There might be a chance cabin fever might set in. Hopefully a spicy noodle challenge and Twister nights will keep us entertained.

My boyfriend had a motorcycle accident and broke his hand during lockdown number four. 


PoGo

I was rewarded with a hundo and a new legendary from the first week's dinner raid hour. Yay! So pretty. Xerneas 

I am learning pokemon with duo typing major weakness is their second typing. Say they are dark and flying like Yveltal, the flying type neutralises fighting-bug-fairy attacks 



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April 04, 2021

April 2021

It is the season to be eating up chocolate. lol. Life continues to be full of complexities. Openly discussing matters does not help people who are unwilling to listen and grow. Some people prefer you keep things quiet and not mention things. Adults preference for secrecy annoys me to no end.


Work

I am learning to be a co-presenter on Zoom webinar. The most difficult part is reading your notes and looking natural. Which I will be doing rehearsals until I get nerves to calm down. I have wrote two blogs for the team but it needs re-work to give it a family history spin. 


Dating

My boyfriend and I are learning to schedule time to be together. We are working on finding activities that we both enjoy and would fits into the working week. It is a work in process. He has passed on a free dance lesson. Hmm...


Dinner challenge

Whenever we have a meal together, he would sit there in silence, then asks, “what’s the matter?” while I am chewing on my food. It is his way of indicating - please entertain me. I’d reply “nothing is wrong” and try to come up with a topic. I now understand what it is like to be Robin Williams. Even during your time off, you are still on the clock. So entertain away.

A real partner would want to naturally share his day, interest, or adventure with you during meal time. Or at least, ask you about you something or share something you would like? Such as they found a movie you might want to see or a food festival.

It makes me wonder, who does the talking when he dines with other people.

Always trying to be correct

When we do talk, he would say I am Googling the topic or dropping a bombshell, when much of the topic I present are common knowledge amongst adults. For example, KitKat is a chocolate a bar; you can hit a hole in one on a golf course; in Chinese tradition, to meet your boyfriend or girlfriends parents is to express wanting to marry them.

I am beginning to see there are gaps in his knowledge and I came from the state school eduction system. However, I will do my best to teach him to fish, so that he can fish in the future, as I have with patrons.


Our first day trip together

By the way, the best way to Daylesford is the western free way and go north. Less windy of a road. We were unable to find a bathrobe or lavender wine in the town centre. Will Ventura out to further places in the future in seek of souvenirs. The mineral spring water quite unique. Less bubbly in comparison to European mineral water.


PoGo

I working towards putting it aside when I am on dates, then go ham on days when I am not dating or have morning meetings/shifts. One has to manage their energy and learn to put priority elsewhere.


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March 18, 2021

March 2021

Autumn has sure come fast. Time for staycation! I am off to Ballarat for the first time in my life. Hooray! What an adventure. I could not choose a better time to visit the city. As there is a Begona festival on. Talk about good timing.


Work

I still have a long way to finding reference websites with art information. Such as the last price of a piece of art. A few of my colleague challenge me to find resources for them. I gladly accepted it and I hope to hone this set of skills soon enough. Proving to be challenging, as art can be sold privately. Ouch.


PoGo

I have reached level 50. However, I feel a bit inadequate in using my time effectively. I will set my next goal is to catch more than 200 pokemon per hour.


Dating

I had four potential candidates at the start of February, but at the end of the month, none of them has asked me out on a date. They kept twiddling their thumbs by never saying hello or ask me personal questions. They just request we move the conversation from the prying eyes of the dating app platform to WhatsApp - only to do nothing. Four weeks of nothing. No conversation whatsoever! Whenever I had asked a question or made suggested an activity they guys would shut down the conversation. Bewildering. Some would even get darkly when I asked why. Spaz. So, I deleted them all.

I need to learn to do the following at a much quicker pace:
  • drop guys that ghost me.
  • drop guys who show no interest in me as a person.
  • drop guys who persist on Netflix date for date zero.
  • drop guys who refuse to meet in a public place for date zero.

Overall, I learned in all areas of life you can apply the scaffolding method for developing skills.

Just as I ditched two guys, another guy messages me from CMB, and we started to talk about food and day trips. Next thing you know we went on dates, hung around beaches and botanical gardens, and talking about going steady. This one is serious about forming a relationship. It is quite a refreshing change alright. 
 

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Near the visitor information centre was an old organ and it plays music every hour. How rad.

The Sovereign Hill (living museum) was very interactive and informative. We learned to make ropes. Look for gold. Feel the intense heat from melting gold demonstration and touching the gold block after it was cooled down. What an experience. We hung around noon to watch a short parade and salute shoot. 

The begonia festival was placid but interesting, as we have never seen such flowers before. There were so many types ad shades. It was gorgeous. We were lucky to blessed with such warm weather.

The animal sanctuary was fun. We got to pat numerous kangaroos without a time limit. I highly recommend it.  

Ballarat has an old town section and a newer town section followed by a shopping centre past the botanic garden. Quite a big suburb. Lots of wide streets. Not a whole lot of ice cream shops to choose from but a fair few bakeries you can check out. The main attractions were in a walking distance for us.



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February 03, 2021

February 2021


This month has been glorious. The sun is shining and I get to meet up with friends and starting to communicate with people I have not heard from for a while.



Work

We are getting adjusted to random short lockdown periods and still run our service.



Pogo

I am elearning to do excellent curve throw on various mons using three different techniques. When are catching pidgey you throw lightly from the corner of the screen. When you are catching Trubblish, again you start from the corner of the screen but this time you aim to release the ball towards the far right of the screen. When you try to catch Sentret you throw a bit off from the centre and the ball straight up and drop back to the left. My aim this month is to complete 999 excellent curve throws to reach level 50. Hee hee. It is quite the challenge for someone like me, as I rarely manually catch unless there is an event pokemon around.



Dating

I am back on the market looking for a man that is keen to meet up, and to try new things. The heart feels lighter and relived to not having to entertain an emotionally unavailable man. Also, I am learning not waste time on guys who shut down topics brought to the conversation and those express little or no interest in me and what I am about. These are time wasters and bookmarking chicks just in case the hotter one rejects them. I am not going to be anyone's safety (back up) date.

The apps give men leeway too much. These guys don't ask you any questions or willing to start a conversation in dating apps, they just click things such as like (Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, Plenty of Fish),  smile (eHarmony), and request a personal message (eHarmony). They are by far the lazyist interactions on planet Earth.

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January 01, 2021

January 2021

I am hopeful for this year. I can't wait to see Melbourne regain prosperity and more employment opportunity available for friends and families who were made redundant by the lockdown. Meanwhile, I understand travel will be limited to local area as the vaccine for COVID-19 is slowly being rolled out across the globe. I am fine with staycation. There are so many places I have never been to and I am sure not a McStingy. The ever changing government regulations does not scare me. I am happy to oblige and keep the community safe. Besides I only book with companies who respect government regulations as well and are willing to arrange refunds on bookings. Smart cookie I am.


Work

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to shadow others on the NFHRR desk, and by February I will go live. Woo Hoo. This shows management has faith ad trust in me. It is an honour to be allowed to reach this point in my new role as a librarian. 


Pokemon Go

On the four days that I had time off work, I caught a hundo for each event pokemon except for Cryogonal. The weather was dreary during those four days and I had to do many tram runs to avoid catching a cold. A few homeless females would walk up to me and raised their voice while I was playing PoGo. I ignored them. It was good to catch up with many of my friends at mapped hundo locations. There we got the chance to laugh about the dramas that took place in December 2020. 


Online dating

I have found myself a new date around the end of last year. The difference is this one is a single dad. And, oh boy was this one troublesome. Not only was he emotionally not available, he does not follow standard dating protocols. Often he would cry foul in WhatsApp, saying you are not being loving yet he was dating multiple women. When I made dating activities suggestions and he'd get angry. I have since stopped dating him after 5 dates (and five weeks of texting in WhatsApp app). It is not my problem if you cannot juggle the ladies, I just want to be woo'd. No dates, no deal mate.


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