Victorian Lockdown 4.0

 So we are into our 4th lockdown in Victorian. It has become something we can cope by now. I don't know about anyone else but for my family, not much is different, except that just when we are getting used to "going back" to work/school physically again, we are now all at home again.

Question is, how long is this one gonna last and why is it Victoria again? One can't help but watch how the Victorian government deal with this one. Hopefully some lessons have been learned from our previous experience and things will be better handled. 

But what is our state government doing this morning? Dishing out money ($250m) again and blaming the Federal government for not helping to dish out more money, on top of other things such as slow vaccine rollout. Instead of working on improving the vaccination telephone lines that were choked up and crashed, causing lots of people anguish and more stress, the Andrews government tried to deflect the attention by pointing blame at the Morrison government. Taking advantage of this crisis to score political points, is that clever or despicable?

The $250m package will come from Victorian taxpayers, fine, we have no choice. But VIC state government wants Federal funding, that means all Australians, to be compensating for their businesses as well, which to me is a double whammy for Victorians. And if Fed government helps Victoria during their state-wide lockdown, then when SA or Western Australia or any other states announces their lock down due to a couple of COVID cases in their state, won't they have to help in the same way as well. There will be no end. Where do you think the Federal Government's money comes from? Trees?

Some Victorians' businesses and livelihoods may be suffering as a result of this lockdown no doubt but think long term and do not buy in to the comments from the VIC state government. All handouts comes from tax payers, if you don't already realise. If you don't want to be paying more taxes for other states' incompetence or their self-imposed knee jerk lockdowns, we need to be careful what we are asking for now.

My Year of the Ox

 I was born in the Year of the Ox, about 4 cycles ago. Today I celebrated my 48th birthday. It was my 13th celebration in Australia. And for the first time in my life, I got a surprise birthday party.

Hubby got organised, it was later revealed, about 1 month ago. He formed a chat group behind my back with my best buddies and arranged for them to get me out of the house for tea party at San Churros. I was supposed to return around 6pm and I thought he was taking me out for dinner. 

The plan was kept secret from me and I suspected nothing about the stock pile of pork loin steaks in the freezer. I thought he was a bit over zealous when the pork chops went of sale. I even used up some for our dinner one night, but he could say nothing. I had no idea even when I met up with the girls for the briefest birthday celebration ever with no cake. When they abruptly said they had to go, I brushed it off that everyone must be really busy. Who would expect that they will then turn around and end up at my house later?

When I got home, KK was cutting up cabbage. I saw Hubby frying tonkatsu pork outside. Oh well, so it's home cooked dinner tonight, I thought. Then as I was checking out the gifts I got, the door bell rang. I thought it was a neighbour coming by to collect her parcel, which she'd sent to our house. However it was the hubby of my girlfriend, with his hands full, carrying food. After about 5 seconds of me staring at him, stunned, surprised and speechless, I figured out what's going on. Wow, for the second time in my life, my husband had managed to surprise me. The first time it was at our wedding, when he turned up suddenly on stage to sing me a song during the church ceremony. In between then and now, he can never keep a secret from me, which isn't such a bad thing, except when it comes to birthdays, I've always managed to know in advance what he's planning. This was necessary, by the way, to prevent him from buying things that I don't want or don't need. Very practical but very unromantic.

So it was a good feeling knowing that these people in my life cared enough about me to plan a lovely surprise on my birthday. I had a great day, beginning in the morning with my favourite coffee and almond croissant near South Melbourne market, then doing some research from my so-called birthday present. 

I guess this year, I'm really feeling a little different from before. I'm more relaxed and don't really worry about how many people will care about my birthday. I decided to just focus on appreciating the things I already have. People who don't care are probably not worth me caring if they care or not too...makes sense?

I told my son today, growing older is not fun so that's why we need birthday celebrations to cheer us up.

Going back to work - Part 2

Oct - Dec 2015
I started training a class of about 20 students in retail baking. It was a my first experience as a VET trainer. The students were all matured students, mostly Vietnamese housewives. The training facilities were not ideal and I had to deal with language barriers. Despite these, I enjoyed my work and the rapport with the students were building after 3 months together. For Christmas, I received gifts from them and we had lunch together before the Christmas holiday break. My contract with the school was only till the end of 2015. When the new year approached, I contacted the school to confirm the starting date of return. But I was told that the job is no longer available. I was puzzled as the students clearly had a long way to go before completion of the course. The school was not very forthcoming with the telling me the real reasons and even suggested that I was not doing a good job. I was devastated. I was looking forward to continue the class with the students till they finished. I had no idea before the term break that my stint would be this short. If they were unhappy with my performance, why wasn't it brought to my attention before? Why only tell me at the last minute that I was not needed? It appeared the real reason was there was a reduction of bakery classes in other campuses. As such they had surplus teachers who were full-time staff that they re-deployed to take over my class and they dropped me instead. This was my first lesson about being a casual teacher. The RTOs can drop you anytime they don't need you, whether because funding is withdrawn or when they have surplus teachers due to reduced enrolments. 

2016
The whole of January, I mopped around at home feeling depressed. Unknown to me, all this happened for a reason. The Lord had something even bigger planned. In February, I finally picked up enough motivation to start looking for another job. I remembered my TAE trainer saying that there's no harm writing to the TAFE program managers to let them know you are available. I had always wanted to work for the TAFE that trained me in TAE. The teachers were professional and the program was well-planned. I decided to send my resume to them even though there wasn't any job vacancy that suited me. 

During this process, I was blessed to find favour with an Australian CEO whom I worked with back in Singapore, who agreed to be my reference (even though we had not spoken for a while since). This person even gave me some suggestions on how to "embellish" my resume to make it look more attractive. My TAE trainer also helped to forward my resume to the relevant program manager in the TAFE.

Because it was unsolicited, I knew I was just trying my luck and did not expect them to come back to me that soon. However, the next day, I got a reply from the Program Manager who said there could be opportunity for "some work" available. Wow, this was unbelievable. What amazing timing! If the first RTO had not stopped my contract, I would have been contented to remain there for at least a year and would never have thought of sending out that resume to the TAFE program manager. By this time, I was beginning to believe that it was all part of God's plan. He had closed the first door so that I could knock on that second door. I had no idea but what was about to happen in the next 4 months would let me experience the full glory of the Lord's power and increase my faith to a level I had never known. 

Feb - Apr 2016
I went to meet the Manager with no idea what to expect and what I'll be doing. It turned out that I sent in my application at a time when the Program Manager was looking for extra help to run an overseas training program in China. The department was caught off guard by a contract signed by the previous management that they never knew existed until recently. They desperately needed resources to deliver 8-10 units of training to students that were enrolled three years ago in a joint partnership program. A job advertisement was made for a teacher and they had already selected the teacher through the interview process. At that point in time, it appeared that I could help in the development work, especially since I can read and write fluent Chinese. The Program Manager actually said I was "God send".  

Just like that, I was immediately hired, skipping the whole interview selection process. Unlike the first teacher I did not even have to respond to any Key Selection Criterias. Initially I thought that I was just going to help out with the development work. Later, it appeared that one teacher might not be enough to deliver all the units and I was asked to go to China to teach as well. My Program Manager begged me not to say no. I was hesitant because I found it ridiculous. I was a new teacher, not just to the TAFE but to the VET industry as well. Not only that, although I had some food knowledge, I was not trained in Food Science and Technology. For the longest time, I just couldn't figure out, why me? Many experienced teachers in the department were really envious of us going to China for two and a half months. But this job just landed on my lap like that. For some reason, I didn't turn it down.

Apr - Jun 2016
Within two months, from unemployed, I became a teacher working for my dream TAFE and my first teaching assignment was in a foreign country for 10 weeks, teaching a course that I was not trained to in. It was crazy. The Lord's hand had to be in this. And He was in control.

When the plane took off to Shanghai, my heart was pounding like crazy. I remembered thinking, oh God, what have I gotten myself into? Will I even survive living away from my family. This was the first time I was going away for so long on my own. What about the lessons? I did not have time to even read up on some of the units I had to deliver. Will I be able to pull it off or "wing it" as my Program Manager said. I had no idea what was in store for me.

But the Lord's blessings and grace was with me. Workwise, the four units that I was assigned to teach were not science units but on quality management, OHS and food processes and trialling a new product. I don't know how but during the lessons, I managed to relate to the subjects and leverage on my previous working experience. There was a fifth unit that I had totally no idea about but praise the Lord it was taken away from me when I was there as the Program Manager managed to map it to a unit that was previously taught. Look how good God is!

Throughout the whole trip, I found favour with the Chinese people I met, from the drivers that drove us everyday to work to hotel manager at the place we called home to the teachers in the university that we work with. I enjoyed lots of goodwill when I was there. He sent people to bless me and created lots of wonderful memories of my two months there. There were lonely times, often in the evening and on weekends but overall I enjoyed the experience so much. I learnt a lot about China and the Chinese people, about myself and I think I grew more independent. I came home to Melbourne with so much to tell about the goodness of God and I had no doubt that it was God that had seen me through this.

Part 3 ...to be continued

Going Back To Work - Part 1

This year will mark the 10th anniversary of my move to Australia. Yes, how time flies. When I moved to Melbourne in 2008, my youngest was only 18 months. I became a full-time mom. Working full-time before, it was great to have a change of lifestyle and be fully committed to the family. But I've always known that the day will come when the children will grow up and have a big part of their life being independent of their parents. When that day comes, what will I be doing? My hope was to return to the work force.

Having stopped working for a few years and with no local working experience, I have real fears that my return to work will be an uphill task. I know mothers who were trying to get a job for years without success. In fact, my expectations were so low that I was prepared not to go back to what I was doing professionally before but settle for any job, even menial jobs like being a cashier or store assistant. However the Lord had been good to me. The story of how I got back to work was amazing and it demonstrates that no matter how big a mountain we face, God can overcome it for us. With our human strength we may think that it is impossible but with God, nothing is too big.  

2011
With a lot of time at home, I picked up different craft hobbies. One of them was cake decorating. From experimenting to creating, I soon started taking small orders of cakes from friends. I printed some name cards and set up a Facebook page called "D'Cupcakes of E".

2013
D'Cupcakes of E officially became "Kekx Kreations". It was a registered business with a council approved food registration license. I even bought public liability insurance. I was still operating from home and this model of business gave me lots of flexibility to still be there for my family. The income was not a lot but I was being paid for my creations.

2014-2015
I enrolled in a Certificate 3 in Retail Baking course as it was an area I was interested in. It was a fully funded course so I didn't have to pay anything. The first school I signed up with got their funding taken away about 1 month after I started but I didn't give up. I managed to find another training provider in the west and I even had a friend enrolled together. For about 6 months, two of us would take turns to drive and go to class 2 days a week while the children were in schoo. It was great fun and we made breads, cakes and pastries to bring home to our family. I successfully completed the course in July 2015 and got my certificate.

2015-2016
Shortly after I completed my Cert 3, I enrolled in another course, Certificate 4 in Training & Assessment. This was a certification that I needed to possess if I were to go back to training. Although I had no idea how to yet, I thought I'll equip myself first. I found a training provider near where I stayed and the evening timing was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, being blessed with a good trainer and the course was well developed. 
While still studying for my Cert 4, armed with my Certificate 3 in Retail Baking, I decided to put in an application online for a position in Coles as a "trade qualified baker". It was my first job application in Australia. Thanks to my experience in baking and cakes, I got an interview at the Coles and the manager decided to hire me after I showed him my portfolio of cakes I'd made and I was showing flexibility to work odd hours. I was elated. I had just landed my first job in Australia! (to me, running my own baking business was not a "job"...:p) I was going to be a staff member of an organisation! Thanks be to God, I had my first breakthrough!

During the September school term break of 2015, I began work for 3 days a week, from 5 -9am. The traffic was quiet as I drove to work and by the time I got home, the kids were still not awake. I was thankful for the job but it turned out I didn't enjoy it as much. Instead of putting me into the kitchen where I can do baking, I was asked to do bakery assistant duties, such as packing bread into the bags and labelling them with the correct stickers. There was nothing challenging about that besides recognising the various different types of bread and the speed. We had to get most of the breads ready on the shelves by about 7am when the store opened. As I was new and inexperienced, I was not as fast and also maybe because I wasn't used to waking up so early in the mornings. I worked under a supervisor, who looked half my age, she was very energetic and thinks she's very capable. Even though she had no training in baking, she thinks that I needed to be trialled at packing breads before being allowed to assist in the baking. 

I quickly began to get bored at packing bread. It was easy job but I really wanted to get into the act of baking. About 1 and a half weeks into the job, I searched online again and this job for a Bakery Trainer came up. I sent in an application out of discontent with my current work in Coles, even though I was still undergoing training and wasn't fully qualified as a trainer yet. Surprisingly, I got a call the next day for an interview. At the interview, the school offered me the teaching job on the spot. It was amazing how my current work in Coles bakery, running my cake business and my Retail Bakery qualification had all come together like a jig-saw. I couldn't believe how easy and smooth it was. Again, it was amazing the Lord's timing.

By the time the school holidays was over, my time with Coles ended and I started a new chapter of my career, this time as a trainer. And I have not even finished my training yet! I was paid more and the hours fitted into the school hours exactly (9.30am-2.30pm). I could not ask for more. I cannot not explain why except that the Lord's favour had been on me.

Part 2...to be continued

New Updates

I've officially changed my blog name for the third time. It was "Tots, Thots & Toddlers" (can't even remember what it was before) but four years on, my tots and toddlers have all grown. It is time for me to update this blog name to reflect the current stage of my life.

Right now I have a teenager and one would-be teenager in about two years. So I guess teens, thots and ....what should the last "T" be? It striked me yesterday...Testimonies! I will share my testimonies on this blog, all the good things that my God has done in my life, through trials and tribulations, my journey in life with Him. 

I'm not sure if anyone's still reading or writing blogs nowadays. It used to be so in fashion but now, I noticed that most of my friends who used to write blogs have all stopped doing so. I myself have stopped writing for the last four years. Why? Simply because we have been too busy living life to pause and write our reflections. Or maybe it's because we know that no one is reading them anyway so why bother. 

But I've decided to make an effort to write again. Even if no one reads them, it's ok, because to me, these posts records a memory of my life on this earth. When I am old (even now) and I look back on what I had written, it brings back precious memories of myself, many of which I had forgotten because life had happened too fast. I hope that one day too my children will read my blog and they will learn more about their mother's thoughts and her history. I will be sharing boldly too about my testimonies as a Christian. I hope that my personal experience will encourage others (whoever the Lord brings to read my blog) and bring a little more hope and light to their world.  

How to make a lavender wand

Spring 2014. Lavender flowers are bursting into bloom in my garden. What a shame to let them just die off on the stalk. I wish I could dry them to make some lavender powder for my cakes, but I read that you have to use the sweet lavenders for that. The varietal I have is the French or Spanish lavender unfortunately. But they do have a nice smell so here's what you can make - Lavender Wands.

Lavender wands can be used as potpurri for your wardrobe or your room. They look so pretty as a display too. 

Materials:

- 11-15 stalks of fresh lavenders, leaves removed

- rubber band

- 1cm wide satin ribbon

Method:

Step 1: Tie the bunch of lavender flowers together with a rubber band. You have to have an odd number of lavender with as long a stalk as possible. Secure one end of the ribbon under the rubber band.

Step 2: Turn the bouquet the other way so you are holding the flowers in your hand. Fold one stalk down over the flowers and bring the ribbon over the stalk. Fold another stalk down and this time bring the ribbon under it. Repeat with the next stalk with the ribbon over it. 

Step 3: Continue weaving the ribbon over and under the stalks alternatively. Wrap the ribbon as tight as you can around the stalks because as the lavender dries, it can shrink in volume.

Step 4: When you reach the end, tighten the ribbon around and cut it off. Tie a short ribbon around the base.

Bereavement

Thursday 27 March, noon. I received a What's App message from my brother-in-law in Singapore asking me to call him urgently. I was about to leave the house for a lunch appointment but something important must have happened for this kind of messages to arrive. Before the phone could dial through, the text came from sister first on the messaging system that my father has passed away suddenly that morning. 

I sat down on the floor, shocked and in disbelief, paralysed with confusion. He had just returned to Singapore after a 3-month stay with us in Australia. It was barely 3 weeks ago that I had just seen him. My last hug to him at our door as I bade him farewell as he headed off to the airport was still fresh in my memory. What happened? Why?

Details were not very clear as it had happened in Genting Highlands, Malaysia and only my poor mother and an aunt was with him there. I desperately tried to contact my mother and managed to get her through my aunt's phone. She wasn't in a good state and I can only imagine how chaotic and distressing the situation was for her.

The worst thing is, there was nothing much we can do to help her here in Australia. The only thing I could do, after all the sobbing, was to organise our flight back to Singapore urgently, which was a separate story of prayers, blessings and miracles from God. I thank Him for the many favours we found with the authorities and friends, which enabled us to get onto a flight within 48 hours. We arrived at the wake in Singapore shortly after my father's coffin arrived.

The next three days were a continuous flow of ceremonial duties and entertaining mourners. We met up and reunited with many friends and relatives during the wake, many of them I had not seen for many years. I was really happy to see them again although I wished it was under better circumstances. In between, I sneaked quiet moments to gaze and remember my father, who was such a gentle and kind man to the day he departed.

Writing this post brings back sad memories and tears to my eyes. I wished it didn't happen and sometimes I don't even want to talk about it. But denial is not going to turn back time and I do want to document this significant event in my life, for myself and for my children and for the people who cared to remember my father.

My father was a quiet and gentle soul, who never raised his voice and seldom gets angry. He is always calm, to the point of indifferent, but I know he has feelings which he did not show. He doesn't talk much and he's never imposing but surprisingly, now that he's gone, his presence is greatly missed. I realised now that these are his qualities of wisdom and kindness. Yes, he has his shortcomings, but he was a good man. The saddest part is realising you want to get to know him better only after he's dead. There will always be a part of me which regrets not spending more time with him and showing more concern. I was glad however, that he managed to spend the last 3 months with my family in Melbourne. I hope he was as well. In a way, God was graceful to allow our family to celebrate with him for once in many years Christmas, Chinese New Year and his birthday. It was the most boring Chinese New Year for him, but for his birthday, I made him a most beautiful cake, decorated with homemade macarons and handmade sugar cherry blossoms for his 70th birthday. These has become precious final memories of his time with us.

His health was deteriorating and he was frailer than before. But still, no one expected him to go so suddenly. There was no time to say our goodbyes. We are still coping with the loss, especially my mother, who has lived 42 years of her life with him. Nevertheless, despite the tragedy, there were many things in the unfortunate situation we could count our blessings for. We would like to thank all our relatives and friends, who have show your support, personally/remotely, physically/emotionally and spiritually/financially, during this period of bereavement. Thank you for your prayers and concern. We are comforted and blessed by you. God bless you all.