Our Level Up Dice Story

35mm D20 Level Up Dice from Level Up Dice
Photos taken by myself and Hai with our Canon D70 DSLR

Hai was gifted this beautiful 35mm D20 from Level Up Dice after revealing our wedding stories for the #MyDiceStory competition. Just before we walked down the aisle Hai and I gifted each other a set of Level Up Dice (7 piece of course), surprising us both for our similar ideas. Mine were a beautiful wood set whilst Hai's were a semi precious stone set. To accommodate Hai's present I also bought a Wyrmwood Dice Box, and Hai had painted my very own Silverdawn miniature complete with his interpenetration of a Water Whip spell.

We've been playing Dungeons & Dragons for more then a year now. I have played a Halfling monk and now Aasimar Mystic; and Hai a Tiefling Rouge moving onto our Dungeon master. We love it so much, often playing once a week and once in a while we do a 3 day bender - Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. The Mondays following are always hard when we finally have to face reality.

We are also huge fans of Critical Role so we were excited to find out that the Critical Role cast were most likely "in the presence of this D20 dice" when they were at GenCon 2018, as this exact dice was displayed there. I practically squealed at this piece of information.

I'm actually listening to both campaigns at once. I listen to Vox Machina via podcast to and from work, and I'm up to episode 43; and I am up to date with Mighty Nien at episode 38. And I have watched most of the one shot episodes as well!

Anyways. That's a small glimpse into the life me and Hai have these days. Hai now possesses the dice and he uses it to roll behind his DM Screen. Deep down as players we hope it does more critical fails rather then critical hits. But we are always grateful for this amazing gift (we have learnt that critical fails are always great for laughs). Thank you Level Up Dice for this amazing (and hopefully Talisan blessed) dice... we hope to create many more memories with our D&D family.

Dessert Heavan at Bay Vista Parramatta

Bay Vista Parramatta at Altitude Building, 1/330 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150

Eleven weeks ago until the end of the year means I have around eleven more posts to blog. And I am starting to feel as though I am finally making a dent into my backlog.

And I also feel satisfied when I tick through my 'To Blog' list, even though I am exhausted from staying up to blog before the week is up.

Like today. I did a 10 hour working day on a Monday. A Monday. Officially the worst day of the week; and on Mondays I have to start work at 7.30am.

So tonight I can home at 7pm and immediately had a twenty minute nap, feeling distraught that I was already this tired on a Monday, then when I woke up I had some cheese and some boring brown rice with meat. I had to wash the dishes, pack my lunch, clean up after myself and do some mundane adult activities.

Now I am sitting here, writing this up. And my mouth is salivating at the desserts I ate a few months ago at Bay Vista. This was my first visit here and I remember how excited I was to study the extensive menu. And when the desserts came out in huge portions I remember cheering with my bestie friends Betty, Jaye and Erin. From memory (as the menu always changes at Bay Vista) we had ordered the Chocolate pecan pie with a side of cornflakes, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Jaye had this magnificent ice cream bowl with caramel sauce and banana, and Betty ordered waffles topped with apple crumble with extra vanilla ice cream. Then we also had berry shakes, milkshakes and soy lattes to accompany the food.

And I remember specifically that this food, gave me comfort and an escape. It just reminded me that sometimes all you need is some good cake. Work is supposed to be a means to a life (a life outside of work), it gave me an excuse to hang out with my friends who just wanted to not care about their diets for a few hours, and it reminded me that I am lucky enough to go out and experience nights like this, even though right now I am here in my PJs blogging (and watching my husband pack his lunch for work tomorrow, bless him).

Anyways today is a short blog post, here to just reminisce some dessert from Bay Vista. Sometimes the photos I took are enough to convince people that the food here was delicious!

Hopefully I can get some good rest tonight and be ready for another 10 hour work day tomorrow. At least I can find some comfort in the fact that it won't be a Monday.

Love is In the Air - Smokebomb Photography

Photos by: Clarzzique Photography and Videography (Clarissa)
Smokebombs from Coloured Smoke - purchased CS-18g 5 packed MIXED (1x: Red, yellow, green, blue, orange)
Location: Lennox Bridge, Glenbrook NSW Australia

A few months before our wedding, I approached the talented Clarissa from Clarzzique Photography and Videography to discuss using coloured smoke bombs for our pre-wedding photos.
With both parties never using smoke bombs before, I think the photos turned out beautifully!

We went and lit the first smokebomb and just went with it. We soon realized we only had about five minutes or so before the smoke bomb completely sizzled out. Luckily we asked Lisa and Flora to help fan the coloured smoke to try and control the direction. We also ran around trying to get our poses in and to move out if the smoke became too much. There was alot of yelling from Clarissa to move positions if she saw the smoke was immersing us and yells from Lisa asking if she should fan more or less. It was pretty funny.

There was a moment when we had lit the yellow smoke bomb and the smoke traveled well above the bridge where cars passed by. Two people stopped their cars to peer down to yell out if we were ok. I think one person even pulled out their phone to take a quick photo. Luckily they left after we yelled out "we're good!".

Sp here are a few tips for anyone out there trying out Smokebomb Photography:

1. Bring a friend to help fan smoke and to light smokebombs
2. We had a light reflector (it was huge) which really helped with pushing smoke fast. But anything with a big circumference will help.
3. When fanning, don't use a up-down continuous motion, try and only fan in a downwards motion once, then access the smoke, then gently and slowly bring the fan up again, and then fan again is a downwards motion. This helps move the smoke gently in one direction rather then fully immersing the subjects.
4. Bring wet wipes!
5. Friends should only wear clothes that they don't mind getting dirty
6. Bring a gas lighter with an extended ignite so you can light the smokebomb from afar. Also smoke holders help (can be purchased from Coloured Smoke)
7. The smokebomb releases smoke fast, so plan your poses and positions beforehand
8. It helps that your friend holds the smoke bomb and move it around the subject
9. Pick a location that is quiet and get permission from any parks beforehand.
9. My favorite colours were blue, red (pink) and orange! More dynamic.

And last of all, have fun! I think Clarissa took hundreds of shots to find a few perfect ones. She did a great job and especially within the unknown territory of Smoke Bombs - she captured the love, crazy, cheesiness and fun between us. Thank you!

My Favourite Soup Noodle Joints

Gumshara Ramen, Chinatown NSW

Musashi Ramen Bar, Melbourne

Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang , Burwood NSW

Photos taken by myself and Hai with my Canon 70D DSLR
1. Gumshara Ramen, Eating World Food Court, 25-29 Dixon St, Haymarket NSW 2000
2.  Musashi Ramen, level 1/181 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
3. Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang, 125 Burwood Rd, Burwood NSW 2134

I love noodles! So does Hai. Once in a while we make instant noodles topped with eggs and eat it as a late night snack (We call it 'Noodle Time'). When we go out Hai likes to eat ramen at Japanese restaurants and I love Chinese Hot Pot. We have visited eaten many noodle dishes in our lives, but here are some of our favourite noodle joints:

1. Gumshara Ramen - Here they serve one of those most authentic ramen Hai has ever tasted outside of Japan. It sits in the middle of Chinatown's Eating World, a fluorescent lit food court that houses cheap but delicious Asian food.  After picking your ramen off a basic picture menu, you get your meal on a food tray and take it to the common area.
Often called the "Best Ramen in Sydney", it does not disappoint with the Tonkotsu broth rich and thick. I had the Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen Noodle with Soft Boiled Egg as an extra topping for only $14 total. I slurped it up greedily.

2. Musashi Ramen Bar - We visited Melbourne for a wedding last year, and we stumbled upon Musashi Ramen Bar in the CBD. Not initially looking for ramen to eat, we were drawn towards the crowds waiting in line and decided to join.
I ordered the Black "Tora" Garlic Ramen, and the broth came out jet black, much to my surprise (you don't see it often!). The soup was hearty, definitely not as thick as Gumshara but it was still delicious with a price tag of $13.90. Another great perk is that his place stays open until past midnight.

3. Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang - This is place is pretty awesome. Tucked in an alleyway arcade in Burwood, Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang is bascially a Noodle Buffet. At the front counter, there are buckets of fresh ingredients - vegetables, noodles, meats, fish balls, tofu, blood jelly and quail eggs.
To order, you grab a big clear bowl and start adding what you want to be included in your noodle bowl. Then you take it to the cashier to get a number tag, paying for the weight of your ingredients at $12 per 500g.  I ended up paying $17 for my bowl.
Once your number is called, the cashier asks what sauces you want in a rushed manner - chili? soy? sesame oil? peanuts? shallots? and then after that ordeal you get to take your bowl to the table.
And it's so delicious! I filled my bowl with slices of beef, fish balls, sweet potato slices, tofu, quail eggs, mushroom and two types of noodles - handmade and potato.
Tasting like my own Chinese Hot Pot, I gobbled it up leaving at least a quarter bowl left (I had ordered way too much).

If you're ever in Sydney or Melbourne these joints are part of my top picks for Asian food that won't break the bank.
I'm keen to compare the Ramen I've eaten in Australia to the ones I will eat in Japan (travelling January 2019). I know that Japan's level will blow my mind and it's possible that Japan will ruin noodles for me. But we shall see. Watch this space.