The last week seemed to be a bit of a blur as it all seemed to have happened all so quickly.

As it turned out, I was helping out with some wedding duties for the last weekend. Due to my availability, I was assigned to driving activities - picking relatives up from the airport, driving around, entertaining and doing wine deliveries.

The rehearsal dinner was at Kensington Peking Restaurant and as I got to order copious amounts of food, I was quite happy. I also managed to meet the grooms-men as well as the mother of the groom. From my brief interaction with them, they seemed to genuine and down to earth - and can can pay each other out. The grooms-men had driven down from QLD the day before and the whip was out as soon as they arrived!

The night before was the fairly traditional combing of the hair in new pyjamas and eating of Chinese desserts. A lot of crazy photos...

Finally, the big day and I was washing the car that very morning to ensure that it was nice and shiny...and so I could see out the windscreen as I was to do some serious driving. There was the usual last minute hectic flurry getting to the church and helping to organise. The ceremony was sweet and the pastor was funny. *ahh*. As the wedding vows were read, I noticed their clear voices which were so confident. No nervousness, no wavering and no nonsense. It was definitely a touching moment.

So I rushed back home to unload all the remaining food, drinks and presents collected. That took around half an hour and I only managed to take a quick shower and get changed before heading off to the reception at Sky Phoenix (but not before realising that we had left a signing plaque at the church so had to go back to pick it up).

I got there late, but still managed to organise the tea ceremony and get it all sorted. *phew*. Being in charge of presents was not really fun, as I had people passing them to me all through the night - even at 10pm! Rushed to the car and plonked down all the presents before finishing off the last few courses. The meal and the speeches were great, and also managed to chat to a few people there - albeit very brief conversations.

By the end of the night, I was pretty darn tired. There was a big dance party happening upstairs, hence the delay in the lift access and I was getting annoyed at waiting - so I knew I was tired.

The next day was a brief lunch followed by hurried farewells due to the rush to the airport.

After seeing the bride and groom off to the airport, I guess I realised that it all hadn't really sunken in that my sister had gotten married and was moving to another state. Even though we had spent the better part of the last few years in different countries and places, I know that we can still talk and have fun times together. I remember growing up together, getting kicked out of the house, learning karate and piano, and going to similar schools and always having an older sister to look out for me. I'll miss those sessions of karaoke, washing up, chilling and chatting, as well as staying up to help me study for my exams. Although, we had our fair share of fights, arguments and tears, I know that we care for each other and want the best for each other. I can rely on her advice, her wisdom and her ability to know exactly what I'm thinking without me having to say it out loud. I guess there are so many great things I can say about my sister and I know that I would have definitely miss some and never really do her justice. I know that we are very similar in many ways. Even when I said that it would be different without her around, she smiled as always and invited me up to visit her.

Thanks for everything and good luck!

2006 2007

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.

Last weekend, I got back from my shortest trip to HK - total of seven days from Christmas Day through to New Years Eve. We hit the ground running from day one, as every day was jam packed full of family gatherings (lunches with relatives, group dinners) and occasionally meeting friends while also squeezing in some rushed shopping sprees due to the limited time. Thankfully, the flight over to HK was alleviated by six complimentary upgrades for my entire family. Managed to celebrate three birthdays (well, technically four if I include Jesus) over that time but I did cut out a lot of shopping (heck I only came back with a suitcase weighing close to 20kg). One can imagine the logistics of organising groups of 27+ for dinners and family outings in HK. On the way back, there was no upgrade, and my did I feel it. However, maximised the usage of the lounge by grabbing some drinks and taking a shower before boarding.

Upon arriving back in Syd, I managed to have an early dinner and then went out to Bradleys Head or some fireworks action. To be honest, I was not as impressed with the fireworks as I had been in the past years, but overall, it was good to get out and about on the first day of the year. Traffic conditions were definitely not ideal upon leaving the vantage point.

Apart from mundane activities, such as being a designated driver as people returned from overseas, I finally managed to get a couple of rounds of golf in - out at Liverpool Golf Course and St Michaels. Both courses have very nice surrounds, but the views at St Michaels can hardly be topped. This resulted in some serious tans as my trusty sunscreen had expired...in 2001. Oh well! The bad news is that my swing is still MIA (although I suspect that it was never really in action in the first place). So that is one new goal for the new year...

Also managed to make it out to do some snorkelling and relax at the beach. Unfortunately, there was not a lot to see, but one group of people with a spear and knife managed to get a whole bag full of sea urchins, abalone and fish! It was definitely a sight to see!

Due to my usual tardiness, I went to book flights overseas today - only to find that due to a late Chinese New Year this year, the flights are full from the 11th to the 28th February. Great... This has resulted in some last minute juggling of flights and so forth, but thankfully, all has worked out well. **phew**

So 2007 has already begun, and I have barely had enough time to get used to writing the dates with 2007. I guess the last couple of weeks of 2006 pretty much sum up the entire 2006 - flying in and out of Sydney, a bit of thinking about my future and trying to catch up more with family.

In any case, it's time to put the past behind and look forward to 2007!