Walk A Mile In My Shoes

Day 2 in Cairns- Sea Kayaking

2010-07-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Okay. So on the second day, we set off in a ferry for Fitzroy Island, where we were supposed to be sea kayaking with a guide.
Beautiful day it was too. Cairns was constantly around the 20s temperature-wise the whole time we were there. It was awesome weather. Not too hot, not too cold (unlike Adelaide in the middle of freakin winter) and just enough rain to cool our nights down.

Lalita and I on the ferry.

The rest of us on the ferry en route to Fitzroy Island. The boys look rather tragic-looking I'm afraid, they're not really morning people :D

Our first view of the island. It was gorgeous, simply gorgeous. Just this quaint little piece of paradise tucked away in the Pacific along the reef.

The beach where we would set off from in our kayaks. This beach was just a little different from regular ones, instead of sand, it's shore was made up of dried corals. Just corals.

In our kayaks in the middle of the sea. Now I can say I've kayaked in the Pacific!!! Exciting stuff. :D

With our guide, Jeff.

We then kayaked to Little Fitzroy island, which is a tiny little island off Fitzroy Island. From there we went snorkeling off the coast for a while, before heading back again.

After all that kayaking, we had some time to ourselves,so we took a little hike through the little forest like trail to Nudey Beach.. which is about a 20 minutes trek through the trees to another side of the island.

En route to Nudey. :D

First glimpse of Nudey beach through the trees. Breathtaking.

Corals on the beach.

Chilling before our ride home.

Going home at the end of the day.

Day 1 in Cairns- White Water Rafting!

2010-07-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Okay guys. Now's my chance to make this blog look alive again (and make it look like I DO have a hip and happening life :D)
I finally have the pictures of my trip to Cairns, and (if anyone's interested)they're awesome pics!!! So I hope you don't mind as I upload my pics to my heart's content, just to show you how beautiful everything is and how much fun I had there! :D :D
So on the first day, we went White Water Rafting!!!
I've never done this before so you can imagine how excited I was. The water was freezing on River Tully but it was clear as anything. There were 6 of us on the raft (the other 2 happened to be an Adelaide couple too!) and we had a hillarious Japanese guide who kept telling us to watch out for the 'locks'. These rafting pics are by far my favourites.
Now I don't know what the hell is wrong with my blog and I'm no technical expert, but my images just came out on my editing page in technical mambo jumbo. So I can't insert captions under my pictures like I always like to do. (Dammit!)
So you will see that the first picture is of River Tully, and thats our raft. The other pictures are pretty self explanatory.. with the poor old guy in front of me falling into my lap when it got rocky, funny stuff! And the last few pics were obviously taken after we were done... and on the bus when we were wide awake and the boys were dead to the world. All in all, an awesome start to a fantastic holiday!!!!

Just another random one

2010-07-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm back in cold, cold Adelaide again. After those awesome 7 days in Cairns (where the weather is absolutely perfect), I have to say, winter isn't a very appealing thing to come home to.
Haven't gotten the pictures from Cairns yet, but when I do, they'll definitely come up on my blog. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait :D
I've got a couple of days off to recover, before its back into the whirlpool of work, and then straight back into the swirling vortex of school and placement again. So if you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know why. no need to call the cops.
I've been watching movies like no tomorrow recently (to make up for the lack of these past months), and I've seen some very good ones too!
So just because I'm in a sharing mood, here a some of the movies I saw that I thought would be worth getting ahold of guys. Some of em are old classics you might've seen already (but no harm in repeating them!) and some of em new jewels I found.

1. Pay It Forward.
A boy decides to change the world, one good deed at a time by introducing a concept called 'paying it forward' in which one person repays a good deed done to him/her by doing a good deed for 3 other people without expecting rewards.

2. Motorcycle Diaries
A dramatization of Che Guevara as a young man as he traveled SOuth America on a motorcycle where he encounters people and life which lead to him being one of the most influential figures in history.

3. The Young Victoria
The story of Queen Victoria and her longlasting love Prince Albert. This movie is impossibly romantic and beautiful

4. The Hangover
Hillarious. Absolutely hillarious. About 3 friends trying to find another friend (the groom) after a wild night of bachelor partying.

5. About A Boy
I know I know, this is a classic and everyone's seen it. But its still awesome nonetheless!!!

Well. Now you know what's been keeping me occupied after Cairns, I shall take my leave with the hope that you guys will take my recommendations to heart, and get ahold of these flicks for rainy, lazy days at home with your dvd player and popcorn :D Might even need a box of tissues for some of 'em.

Back from Oblivion

2010-06-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

First of all, my biggest apologies for not updating my blog.
Sorry for disappearing into oblivion. It was never my intention, especially because oblivion consisted of swirling madnesses that is placement, schoolwork and work.
Well I'm back!
Having just handed up my last assignment, you can imagine how ecstatic I am!!!!
So assignments are done, placement is done.
Next on the agenda is CAIRNS BABY!!!!
We're planning a trip to Cairns in a couple of weeks. It'll be sun, beach, great barrier reef and white water rafting! I'm so excited I can't wait.
World cup fever is going on at the moment, I've been managing to slot a couple of games in between my work and now I can finally watch and cheer in peace. Not that I have a team i support particularly. Its a little harder when you're from a country that could never ever in a million years hope to qualify in the World Cup :P

Anyway, found this quote on the net the other day, thought I should share :D

'You may not be her first, her last, her only.
She loved before, she may love again.
But if she loves you now, what else matters?
She's not perfect, you aren't either.
And the two of you may never be perfect together.
But if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can.
She may not be thinking about you, every second of the day,
But he will give you a part of her, that she knows you could break her heart.
So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze, and don't expect more than she can give.
Smile when she makes you happy,
Let her know when she makes you sad,
And miss her when she's not there.'

Bob Marley.

I just thought it was sweet, and a lesson in how to stop thinking too much sometimes, and just going with the flow, appreciating everything you have as you go.

TTFN!!

Quote of the day

2010-05-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

An awesome quote I found that I would like to share :D

“After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure… that you really are strong, and you really do have worth.” ~Veronica A. Shoffstall

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

I know I whine and grumble,
That I complain about your nagging.
I know sometimes I disappoint,
That sometimes I make you worry.
I know I forget to call sometimes,
And can't seem to find the time to talk.
But most importantly,
I know how much you love me,
I know how much you care,
I know how unconditionally you accept me,
And bypass all my flaws.
I honestly can't think of anyone else (except maybe dad and Ivan and Ivor :D)
Who could love me for who I am,
And not for who I should be.
So if anyone ever asked me,
If I would ever change anything about my mom.
I'd say 'No.'
There's nothing I'd change about her,
Because she's just perfect the way she is.
God must've known exactly what I needed.
For he gave me the most perfect mom I could ever ask for.

So I'm sorry for all those times I've disappointed,
And all those times I've said thing to make you cry,
Even those times I forget to drop a line just to say hi.
I hope this makes you smile,
I hope this lets you know,
How much I love you,
And that I know how unbelievably lucky I am to call you 'Mom'

So Happy Mother's Day, mom.
Here's to many, many more years of memories and love.

Love,
Your daughter.

Beauty

2010-05-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

What is beauty?
Is it what society says it is?
Is it a golden tan, flawless skin, a small waist, long legs, perfect hair?
How many of us strive to get there, how many of us wish our genetics had dictated us to look like that?
You read in magazines everyday of all these famous, 'beautiful' people quoting on what they think beauty really is. They say things like 'Beauty is only skin deep', 'Beauty is confidence', 'Beauty comes from the inside'.
Easy for them to say, they have personal stylists, personal trainers, personal cooks. They are already there. THey are already there at what society defines to be 'beautiful'. And coincidentally, after some star says that she's curvy and loves her curves, that she does not need to be a size zero to be happy, the next thing you know, she appears on magazine cover promoting a diet that helped her get to a size zero. What superficial fools we humans can be!
Because I think what no one dares to say out loud is that, society's definition of beauty IS exactly what it seems like. A size zero barbie doll with perfect skin, hair and body.
How did we get here?
How did we get to being good enough, perfect enough to judge who is beautiful and who is not?
How did we get the right to judge what people need to change about themselves just so they can fit into that 'Beautiful' label?
I like to think that beauty is what we want it to be.
I like to think that beauty IS confidence, intelligence, a kind heart, a sense of humour.
I like to think that everyone is beautiful.
But I wonder if it even matters what I want to think.

Another random musing

2010-04-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

So life has been pretty flat out these days.
Probably because we're still on holidays and I've just been working working working. And working some more, I swear sometimes I think the money isn't worth it. But I gotta save up for that Brisbane trip I'm planning and looking forward so much to!!!

Its back to school next week. Dammit. Time flies when its the holidays. First you're planning on what to do for the hols, next thing you know, you're getting ready to do your readings (or try to anyway) and wondering when the next holidays will be.

Anyhoo, before I ramble on too much without spouting something the least bit insightful or intelligent, I'm just going to wonder aloud about birthdays. I was just sitting around surfing the net when for some reason this random, random thought crossed my mind.

Why do we celerate birthdays???
Why do we give presents, throw surprise parties, eat cakes, be merry when someone is a year older?
If I were to be a pessimist, I'd say that a birthday just means you're one year closer to death.
If I were an optimist, well, I'm not usually. :D
But I gave it some thought (because, obviously, I don't have enough to do) and I wondered if maybe we feel this need to celebrate birthdays for people around us so much because we just need an excuse, a reason, to show that person how much we love and appreciate them. We feel the need to at least once a year, show that special someone that they are important to us, and that everyone deserves that one day.

Ah, random I know. But if I don't hash it out on my blog, I'm going to keep wondering about it. You know what I mean, fellow bloggers ;)

Dear God.

2010-04-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

Dear God,

Isn’t it strange how

There can be so much sadness

In a world of such happiness?

I used to wonder how

You could let such things happen

To all your children on earth

How you could take away lives

And leave the living with their pain

How you could let our hearts be broken

Again and again, until it seemed we could stop loving

How you could cast the world into such shadows

Until it seemed there was no longer hope for any light

It gets me down sometimes, it makes me question why.

But then I open my eyes,

And i see the little signs you leave for us

Signs that you care, signs that you love.

A baby’s first breath gathered to scream as it greets the world

A fawn’s first wobbly steps as it learns its way in the world

An old woman’s smile as she holds the child of her child

I smell the wondrous scents of freshly cut grass, of fallen leaves;

A mom’s home-cooked roast, prepared with so much love;

I hear the music you created,

In the laughter of children around me,

In the voices of the people I love, as they tell my about their day.

Now I’m sure there will always be sorrow,

And there will always be pain.

And I may not know, Lord, why you let them happen,

But I’m also sure,

That you will always be there,

Giving me hope through these little pleasures of life,

These little post-its of nature,

Just so I can stop, appreciate, and know that I am loved.

Lalita's Birthday

2010-04-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Went to a Mongolian restaurant for Lalita's birthday.
They do this cool thing where you select your meat, vege and sauces, and then they cook it for you.
With the birthday girl.
After that we went back home for the birthday cake and just to hang out.
Group photo ( as always)

City Tour

2010-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a tour of the city the other day.
Mostly because we (I) realised that I've been in Adelaide for so long and haven't seen most of the touristy spots. So we made like tourists, and spent a day walking around the spots in the city that always show up on those Lonely Planet books. Wine Centre was the first stop. There's this thing where you press the button and smell the different flavours of wine.
The vineyard outside of the Wine Centre.
Next stop was Botanic Gardens. I had no other it was this huuuuuuuge!

One with the girls.
We then went into this place ( I forgot what it's called) where they had this whole tropical forest in there. We walked right in and took a deep breath, looked around, and felt like we were home again.

Look at that!!!! It was so familiar!
A picture at the rose gardens.
This tree is apparently I-dunno-how-many-centuries old. And the hole was made by people in the past to be a shelter.
Whoops.
We were so tired at the end of the Botanic Gardens, the Art Gallery and the museum, we decided to forgo the other parks we were planning. So we headed to Lalita's place and hung around for a while before heading home.

Hearts.

2010-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

What a stubborn piece of organ the heart is.
It loves even when it isn't loved back,
It hopes even when all rational thought discourages it,
It yearns even when there is nothing left to do so,
It hurts alone without anyone noticing,
And sometimes it breaks and refuses to be mended.

If only it could work hand in hand with the brain,
If only it could think- rationally and critically.
If only it could be controlled.
Then maybe there'd be less disappointment in this life.

Happy Birthday, Mum!

2010-04-07T05:19:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mum!!!!
And just to prove how much I love you, I won't mention how old you are!!!!!
Haha, I'm glad God chose you to be my mother, he must've known exactly what I needed.
Thanks for everything, I couldn't ask for a better mum.
Love you!!!!

Modern Wordplay

2010-04-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

We were talking when a friend of mine ( the one from Brazil) stated that he didn't know what buns were. So I googled it to show him an image. And this was what I got.If there's any comfort, these buns belong to Brazillian model Gisele Bundchen.

And of course this launched us into one of our 'deep' conversations again. About how these days you can't always say an innocent word and expect people to think you're referring it by the original meaning.
For example. Buns could mean bread rolls, it could also mean ass.
Gay actually means happy, but these days it's homosexual.
Cock actually means rooster, but these days it's the male genitalia.
Pussy actually means chicken. But these days its either a wimp or the female genitalia.
I could keep going but I don't really want to make continue in case I end up educating innocent people the wrong way, But you get my drift.

Candid Memoriblias

2010-04-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Was looking through my pictures the other day.
And just thought I'd post pictures that have never failed to bring a smile to my face. Some of them candid, some of them not. But all of them snapshots taken at that one perfect moment of opportunity, and you know that snapshots like that are priceless, cause they'll never be taken the same way again :DGetting into character during the Royal Adelaide Show
We all put our hoods up and tried to go hip-hop ( failed miserably at that), but a friend went a bit further than hip-hop and did Klingon instead.
Mid-Sushi.
Brokeback mountain 2.

Exhaustion can hit you ANYWHERE. But you always pray it doesn't hit you when you're in a roomful of friends with a camera :D
Suffering a massive loss during table tennis.

My terrorist friend, showing his cuddly side with a cute beanie :D
Its not the most manly thing in the world to have a lollipop in your mouth.
Met some friends on the bus. They didn't see us though :D
Stealing her thunder :)
Whoops. Someone got caught doing something.
He was trying to do this ( look at the next picture) its a lot harder than you think!!!!

I Heart Youtube.

2010-04-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

So my friend and I have been regulars at Youtube recently.
I mean, I'm always a regular on Youtube in the first place ( It comes right after Google :D), but these days we've just been spending more time because we've found some awesome videos that have kept us rolling in laughter on the floor ( literally), and I swear I'm not exaggerating when I say my friend and I spent 4 hours doing nothing besides laughing at these hillarious videos we found.
So just to share ( because sharing is caring after all), here are the titles of some videos you HAVE to look up on Youtube.

1. Dramatic Chipmunk
2. Dramatic Maki
3. Dramatic Cat
4. Baby Panda Sneezes Scares Mother
5. Overexcited baby screams herself faint
6. Charlie bit my finger ( YEs, this is that famous one)
7. Serious baby... lol... sometimes
8. Hitler finds out Avatar didn't win best picture
9. Hitler interrupts Obama
10. Adolf Hitler- Born To Be Alive
11. Osama- It wasn't me
12. George Bush Tony Blair- My Endless Love

And these are just a few that have kept us in stitches. But check them out anyway!! :D

Casanova

2010-03-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

I can't get over how hillarious this article is.
Look at how sad this adorable guinea pig is!!!!!

Ants and the Grasshopper

2010-03-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't know this story?
Ants work hard during summer while grassshopper does nothing but sit around and play music. And when winter comes along, the grasshopper, starving of hunger, seek help from the ants, only to be rebuked and ends up dying of starvation.

We grew up listening to this story being told and retold to drill into our heads how important hard work was.

So anyway, I was talking to a friend of mine from Brazil.
And for some reason ( don't ask me how we got there) this story came up. And further along into the discussion, we discovered that our stories' endings didn't quite match up. Apparently, this story has different endings in different cultures!

So according to him, his story ends with the ants inviting the grasshopper in to their homes to play his music and bring joy and music to their lives. And also as a thank you to the grasshopper for providing music during their hard working summer.

I had such a laugh over that. And we wondered if this was a cultural thing.
For Asians, its always, 'Work hard and work hard and work hard or you'll die like that grasshopper!'
And for this other culture, its more like, 'You gotta have fun too. Working hard isn't everything.'
Hell, I can almost imagine the grasshopper as this weed-smoking, Bob Marley lookalike, laidback guy saying 'Chill, duuuuude.'

Amazing, the things you learn everyday :D

Quickie

2010-03-22T04:49:00.001-07:00

So, without realizing it, I'm at week 4 of uni again now.
Damn I miss those long, boring days of summer holidays.
Now its placement placement, classes classes and work work. Seriously. And the lecturers at uni doesn't seem to understand that their students have lives too. All my assignments due date overlaps and clashes. There's always something due and its driving me crazy because I hate procrastinating my procrastination. ( Ironic isn't it. :D)

So just to have a change of scenery, I decided to switch rooms. Moving from the first floor to the third floor. Not far, really, but its a change anyway. MY view's better, room temperature's better, and my room's bigger too.
Boy, you won't believe the amount of crap I've accumulated over the years. Took me almost 6 bloody hours to finish packing and unpacking and putting everything back to its proper place! Its worse than work, all this packing and unpacking gave me a sore back.
And now all my smart-arse friends are saying 'Well, we'll see how long the tidiness in your room lasts.', 'we should take a before and after picture to compare'.
I guess my reputation as a messy ( I stress, messy not dirty!) person preceeds me. But who knows, I might actually prove them wrong this time!

Colorblind

2010-03-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

And it's not just a game
You can't throw me away
I put all I had on the line
And I give and you take
And I played the high stakes
I've won and I've lost
But, I'm fine

Hear me say I'll rise up 'til the end
Hear me say I'll stand up for my friends
And I crash to the ground
And it's just my own sound
I drop in the blink of an eye
I'm colorblind

And your milky way fight
Won't stop my delight
You keep me and lock me away
And it's dark and it's bright
It's your colorful pride that kept me here 9000 days

Hear me say I'll see the sky again
Hear me say I'll drive for you my friend
There's a noise in the crowd
But it's just my own shout
A stumble I fall and I pray

Hear you say your eyes see green again
In the end we'll lived up holding hands
Yes, we'll spark in the night
We'll be colorblind
And these are the lives we gave

Hear me say I'll rise up 'til the end
Hear me say that I'll stand beside my friends
I won't stay on the floor
I will settle the score
A stumble I fall and I pray

Hear me say it's time we stop talking
Eye to eye we see a different face
Yes we we've conquered the war
With love at the core
A stumble I fall, but I'll stay
Colorblind.

This is the lyrics to the song 'Colorblind' by the South African group Overtone. It was featured in the soundtrack for Invictus ( you know I'm a sucker for good soundtracks :D) and I think its a beautiful song, because of the music and also the underlying themes it represent.

I think it portrays Mandela's imprisonment ( You keep me and lock me away) and the racial issues that South Africa dealt with ( Its your colorful pride that kept me here 9000 days) and Mandela's willingness to forgive and forget and look past all that had been done to him to move forward into greatness (Hear me say I'll rise up till the end, hear me say it's time we stopped talking, eye to eye we see a different face, yes we've conquered the war, with love at the core, a stumble I fall, but i'll stay)

Such an awesome song, that makes me wonder if the world would be a much, much better place if we were all colorblind?

E.T

2010-03-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've talked about a movie I've watched.
Don't worry, its not that I've stopped watching them, its just that I've been too busy to write about it.
But this is E.T we're talking about here. Steven Spielberg classic, right up there on the list of movies you have to watch before you die. Right up there with Gone with the wind, to kill a mockingbird (which I haven't watched yet).
So I've finally seen the movie. And boy, what a doozy it is.
Now I understand all the hype about the movie.
It is BRILLIANT!!!!!
The classic quotes:
'E.T phone home."
"I love you, E.T"

The classic scene, where Elliot and E.T cycles over the moon ( breathtaking) and where E.T is leaving and puts his finger over his heart and says 'Ouch' to show how sad he is. Simply classic!!!!

I swear by the time the closing credits rolled, I was a weeping mess. I never knew an alien movie could ever make me cry like there was no tomorrow.

But oh boy, if you haven't seen this movie, 2 words: WATCH IT!!!

Utopia

2010-03-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

Utopia is defined by wikipedia as a name for an ideal community or society.
I supposed I could say its a nice name for my perfect world.
I actually had a dream about this Utopia of mine the other night.
I dreamt that I was living in the perfect place. One that had four seasons, but none of them too extreme. My family was close by, and so were all my friends. I had everyone important in my life living close enough so I could see them whenever, and wherever. I was rich, studying whatever I wanted in uni. I was beautiful, tall and slim and glamorous. I had my dream guy beside me, I had everything I ever wanted in life. But then somewhere along the dream ( probably when I was waking up) this sneaky thought of doubt crawled into my dream head.
I remember wondering in my dream, if this was all some sort of a trick. If this was all in my imagination. Because this was all too good to be true.
And then I woke up.
Amazing how as a kid you could believe that life would be whatever you wanted it to be. Exactly like in the movies. All you needed to do was believe. Its a testament to what life and age and time does to people as they grow up, when they finally get to a point where they realised just how much life has a mind of its own, and that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't expect life to turn out exactly the way we wanted it to.
But you know what?
I'd take reality, and life any day over a perfect dream.
Disappointments, tears, worries, stress, anger. These are what defines life. They're just as important as love, happiness, faith, hope, patience. Cause without these negative emotions, how do we compare them to the positive ones, and find out just how important the positive emotions are to us?
So yeah. I choose life. Life with all its difficulties and surprises, all its ups and downs, all its twists and turns. Because I don't think Utopia exists. It can't when nothing in this world is perfect. And thats the beauty of it, when you start to see the perfectness in all this imperfectness.
My conclusion?
Utopia's just a dream. And nothing more.

Bye bye summer

2010-02-21T02:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, time flies when you're having a good time.
Seems like just yesterday I finished work, looking forward to my one week break. And before I know it, I'm at the end of my break and going back to work tomorrow. To start a 6-day run of early shifts and late shifts, early shifts and late shifts.
And straight after that, its back to school. Then it'll be 2 days of work, 2 days of placement (unpaid work :( ) and 2 days of classes. With one day a week off, it's going to be a helluva hectic semester this year. I guess its a neverending cycle isn't it?
The summer holidays flew by so fast, seems like just a while ago I was celebrating the New Year in Sydney and complaining of boredom, but now everyone's coming back and school is starting again.
Sigh. I'm going to miss the holidays.

P/S: Told you in my previous post that I'd still be complaining when school starts and I have things to do. Hahahahah. :D

Ivy's Engagement Party

2010-02-20T01:56:00.000-08:00

Went to Ivy and Derek's Engagement Party last night.
Everyone waering having fun getting ready for the party, getting dressed up and all that (we haven't done that in a while).
Now that everyone is starting to come back from summer break, its fun to have these outings/gatherings again.
Me with the couple. No need to point out which one Derek is :D
Making a speech.
The ladies.
Pearl and I
Dancefloor.
What kind of a party doesn't have YMCA???????
One with Lalita.

Beach Bumming

2010-02-20T01:50:00.000-08:00

Summer is for bumming in the beach. Its not as hot there, and there's nothing like the sound of the waves and the cool sea breeze to clear out your mind and leave you feeling relaxed and warm. And its also all about getting rid of our pasty winter skin and getting the perfect, balanced tan. :D
So before autumn and winter comes and chases the sun away I tried to make the most of summer and went beach bumming.

Why do they leave?

2010-02-12T04:31:00.000-08:00

Funny how sometimes people you haven't thought about in a while come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet, and not in a good way.

In the space of a little less than a month, I've had my mom call me twice with bad news. The first time, my uncle had passed away suddenly. The second, a church member I've known all my life had passed away from a sudden heart attack. It frightens me now whenever someone says they have bad news. All I can think is, who's next? Who has decided to leave this world again?

People die everyday, as a nurse, I know this. I see this. I should know that this is only the natural order of life. As a christian, I should know that they are at peace now, they are with God now, it was their time to go, God's plan for them was complete.

But it doesn't stop the sadness, or the grief.

And it hurts worse when I try and try to remember my last encounter with them and it's not clear. It hurts worse when I remember who they were, and what they were to me in my life. I might've never been in constant touch with them, but they were still a part of my life in a way.

I wonder how their last day on earth was, who was the last person they spoke to? What did they say? I can only hope their last day were good ones, I can only hope the ones closest to them got to tell them they loved them, and that if they could, they would do anything for another day to tell them again how much they were loved.

I can't even begin to explain how horrible it is that sometimes it takes a person's death to make you think about him. To make you remember times spent together, and how much you appreciate him.

My uncle was always nice to us. I used to roll my eyes when he told me how much I've grown, because he said that everytime he saw me. Who knew the last time he told me that would be the last time he would say that to me? Now no one else may tell me that anymore.

Uncle Nyuk Min was a fellow church member, he loved kids. I remember how when I was a kid, he taught me how to wave with my thumb on my shaking bum, and four fingers in the air. It tickled him when I did that to other people in church. He taught me in Sabbath School, and he always had good insights on life and religion.

There's no way to end this post on a positive note.
Rest in peace, uncles.

Agyness Deyn

2010-02-08T05:24:00.000-08:00

Love how original and iconic she is. :D

Summer Holidays

2010-02-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

Summer holidays in Adelaide really sucks when you're an international students with many other international friends and live in a boarding house largely occupied by other international students.

EVERYONE's home for vacation!! (Which is the whole point of summer vacation but that's not my point!)

All this sun, all this wonderful beach weather, all this barbeque opportunities, all these mega sales, and NOBODY to share it with!!!!!

In fact, all I do some days is go to work, try not to kill anyone, come back and go to bed. It's either that or go for a swim in the morning, come home and watch TV series till the sun goes down, and continue watching them until the sun is high in the sky probably in the Northern Hemisphere before I go to bed. And that's on a good day.

I probably shouldn't be complaining (What can I say? Complaining is what I do best :D)
I mean, it's nice to not have to stress over studies, to not have to try and get everything done around our class timetable, to not have to go for classes and all that. But jeez, it'd be a whole lot nicer if there were PEOPLE around to relax with me!

I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a people person. I crave human company, social contact and noise. The solitary of my room is good for the soul sometimes, but never for more than half a day. I can't believe I'm saying this but I can't wait for school to start again, if not for having things to do to fill my days, then for the company I'm sure to have when everyone comes back for school.

But when summer vacation ends, you know I'll be complaining about something else too :D

Love

2010-01-31T01:22:00.000-08:00

Love is like the air we breathe.
It may not always be seen, but it is always felt, used and needed.

Chuckaholic

2010-01-28T02:32:00.001-08:00

Now that I'm done with The Big Bang Theory, I've moved on to 45-minute- TV series... (Yes, I still don't have a life. :D)
So I started watching this new series, and I haven't been able to stop since.
"Chuck" is basically about, well, Chuck. He's a computer geek who works at an electronics store who gets the whole american government's secrets downloaded into his head and is then thrown into the spy world. He gets a hot CIA agent and a stony-faced NSA agent as his bodyguards as he's hot property now that he has all the government's information in his head.
It incredibly hillarious, and the plotlines are very well formed and connected. Action is good and one other good reason for me to watch the show is the super duper cute Zachary Levi ( Pic below), six feet four, charming smile, beautiful chocolate eyes, he's the cutest computer geek I've ever seen........ he can fix my computer anytime :D

If I Were A Psychologist

2010-01-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

If I were a psychologist, I'd want to conduct a couple of studies.

First of all, do the socks you wear describe your personalities??
Do morbid, depressed people always wear black socks with no other colours or patterns on it?
Do happy, cheerful people wear colourful ones?
Do people who are young at heart wear those with silly cartoon characters on it?
What about people who lead a life that is restricted and uniformed, do they sometimes wear gaudy, colorful socks as a form of rebellion against all that uniform?
I think socks would tell me a lot about a person.

And second, how do we choose where to sit on the bus.
For example, when I get on a bus, the first thing I do is to find a row that is empty. This is to avoid sitting with someone. The second thing I do is to find out which side the sun will be shining into more, to avoid getting too hot. And finally, I decide which seat would be the most comfortable one for me ( usually the one with a slight rise on the floor to be a nice footrest for shorter people)
However, if I get on a full bus and all the rows have at least one person on it, then I have to think about WHO I want to sit with. Do I want to sit beside that young teenager talking loudly on the phone? Do I want to sit beside that Asian girl sleeping with her head against the window? Do I want to sit beside that old gentleman in a suit?
I've always wondered how people choose their seats.
How is it that sometimes, the only seat left on the bus is the seat beside me, and still nobody would sit there, instead preffering to stand than to sit. Did they not notice it? Or did they just not want to sit with me because I was projecting some negative energy??

Perhaps I should do a survey, out of pure boredom, and ask people these questions.
Perhaps I should take up psychology....
Perhaps I should get something far more beneficial and important to do with my life than sitting around in my room pondering these problems. :D

Adulthood

2010-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

"It may sound silly, but the day I realized I could buy any kind of soda I wanted was an exciting day for me ( as an adult)"

I was at MacDonald's that day, after having lunch with Ivy (where she told me about her engagement- Congratulations again, Ivy!) and I was just standing at the counter trying to decided on an iced latte, a low-fat mango frappe or an iced coke. That was probably when I had a moment. I'd read this quote somewhere a while ago, and while I was debating on which drink to get, I realised......... that I was an adult. ( Well, sort of, I'm technically not 21 yet..)

I could actually order anything I wanted for lunch, anything I wanted for dessert. And I could even order DOUBLE DESSERT if I wanted to. I could buy a motorbike, I could watch any movie I wanted, I could go out whenever I wanted, I could do WHATEVER I wanted.

When I was younger, all the way through high school, this was always my ultimate goal, to be able to have that freedom, that autonomy, to do anything I wanted, anytime I wanted.

Funny, I've had that for so long now, and it just came so seamlessly, I never realised I had it. There was no epic moment like in the movies, where something happens to signify the passing on from childhood innocence to adult responsiblity. No uplifting soundtrack, no solemn narration. I just, became.

Without knowing it, I'd become an adult.

And boy, adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe because along the way you learn that every action has its consequences. Eat double dessert, get fat or sick later. Buy anything you want, end up broke or sleeping in a gutter somewhere. Don't study, fail your subjects and graduate late.

God works in funny ways doesn't he?
He made it so that as kids we lack the freedom but go through life with so much innocence. We are able to dream, to hope, to make impossible plans as kids because of this innocence we have. And then even though he gave us this freedom as adults, we don't embrace it fully anyway because of this loss of innocence, because of all these lessons we learn along the way to becoming an adult.

Ah, life.

And just fyi, I got the mango frappe. (It was yummy! Haha)

12 things you should never, ever change

2010-01-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

I found this list in a magazine the other day and I just had to post it because I think ALL of us will understand this and would agree to at least half of them. Enjoy :)

1. That your favourite part of yoga is lying down at the end and being covered with a blanket.

2. That you still think the word 'fanny' is funny. (It is)

3. Your biscuit maths:
Five iced vovos consumed in one sitting= Fat Cow
Five iced vovos eaten one at a time, each prefaced by a walk to the kitchen= perfectly fine.

4.That you rehearse Soprano-esque fights in your head when people push in front of you on public transport. But you only ever communicate your feelings via telepathy and eye squinting.

5. Your fantasy rider: La Perla underwear, Moet, white flowers, orange M&Ms, shirtless Pharell, your rabbit ( not the pet) and coffee stirred counter-clockwise
*Unfortunately, I do not understand this one :(

6. The unabashed joy you feel on unearthing a deep ingrown hair. Extra points if you extract the root.

7. Calling in sick because you're behind on laundry.

8. Your filthy laugh.

9. The way you tear up when you walk past a restaurant with nobody in it but the owner. Its proof you still have a heart.

10.Your highly convincing art-that-you-don't-understand face

11. Your 'Wow, you got me a scented candle!' face

12. That you fantasise about winning an Oscar. Even though you're an auditor.

I admit to being guilty of number 1,3,4,6,7,8 ( Anyone who knows me know how annoying my laughter is haha), 9,10,11 and 12 ( even though I'm a nurse! )
How many of these made you think, "Ohhh yeahhhh, I DO do that!' :D

The Big Bang Theory

2010-01-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

'Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!'

You have NO idea how catchy this song is. And how HILLARIOUS this series is too!
4 uber-geeks ( Seriously, we're talking kids who used to get dunked in high school who've grown up to be scientists working in labs with no human contact at times and who go on Superman marathons, comic bookstores and play Klingon Bogle) find out they have a new neighbour, a hot girl with slightly below average level of intelligence and utter hilarity ensues as these people from opposite worlds try to find common ground.

The stories are nothing much to shout about. This is no How I Met Your Mother amazingly structured storyline, nor is it Scrubs originality, and definitely no FRIENDS... but oh my, they sure can make me laugh.

BAZINGA.

Sydney baby!!!

2010-01-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

We were at Sydney for New's Year's eve, the fireworks were spectacular, the city was gorgeous, night life was good fun and the buildings much, much taller than Adelaide's. Sydney at night.
Pearl and I, waiting for the fireworks to begin.
We then went on a boat for a Brazillian boat party.. the boat was late, and we got bored waiting at the port.
Finally got on the boat, and it was awesome. There were people playing those traditional brazillian drums, and some doing the Capoeira ( A Brazillian dance)..
The next day, we went to Circular Quay and the main city area and walked around...

Finally got to the most iconic Australian landmark, The Sydney Opera House!
After 3 years in Australia, it's about time I got there!!!
Unfortunately, it was nearly dark by the time we got there, so we didn't really get the best picture. Besides, after you get there, after all that hype and anticipation, its just 'Meh, this is it? Big deal.' :D
Ryuti's t-shirt. 'Oh dear!!!'
Third day of the trip, we went around to the rocks. Stopped for some pictures along the way too.

Finally got to the rocks (which was exactly what I said, just a bunch of rocks). But apparently its the spot to be because from the rocks you get a perfect view of the Opera house and the Darling Bridge in the background, 2 of the biggest tourist spots in Sydney.
Unfortunately, the sky started to turn colour, and it started to pour with rain. All of us got caught in it (no pictures, sorry, Lalita's camera isn't waterproof haha). And by the time we managed to get to the city again, we were all drenched and had to buy new clothes. :D Nice opportunity to shop in Sydney really.

We then stopped at Starbucks where there was a laugh about the boy's names. Ryuti was ordering and when they asked for his name he proceeded to spell it out.
"R-Y-U-"
"Oh, I know, Roy!!!!"
Thus, the name on the cup. :D
We know who Douglas is, but who the hell is Dugles???!!!!
Apparently being able to spell is not one of the requirements for a job in Starbucks!
Got caught in the rain AGAIN on the last day ( it was just Lalita, Guy and me). By this point we were like, Oh what else is new?
And got ourselves a couple of cheap, silly-looking ponchos from some souvenir shops.
All in all, it was good fun and I love Sydney!!!

Here's to SYDNEY BABY!!!

Christmas at home.

2010-01-13T21:41:00.000-08:00

Since my issues with my internet have now been settled, I can finally upload some pictures from home when I went home for Christmas this year. Christmas with the cousins, with a yummy chocolate cake.
Good ole' kopitiams
Phase 10, awesome game!!
Eating Langsats and Longans
DURIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Home

2009-12-05T15:37:00.000-08:00

I am back!!!!!!
Back again in good old Malaysia, with its narrow roads, polluted air, awesome food, traffic jams and (sometimes) incredibly rude people. Ahhhh, its good to be back.

I've been really productive. My mom took one look at my hair and drove my to the hairdressers. So hair, check!
Then I had my knees checked (finally) cause they've only been bothering me for about, I don't know, 7 years?? And I find out that my cartillage on my knees are thinning, from overactivity he said, overactivity!!!! So I gotta watch what I do now, no heavy strain on my knees!!!!

Well thats about as much that;s going on now, pics will be up soon cause I've been fiddling around with my dad's SLR, its so cool!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

2009-11-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!!!
You're now half a century!!!!!!!
Hahahahaha. I'm lucky to have you for a dad, couldn't ask for anyone better.
Have a great one this year, can't wait to get back soon.
Love you.

hugs and kisses, Ida.

FREEDOM

2009-11-18T03:15:00.000-08:00

EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!

Assignments, check; Placement, check; Exams, check.

All done!!!

Now, all that's left is work ( blah) and doing nothing!!!!

Ahhhhh. Summer holidays bliss here I come!!!! :D

November Babies

2009-11-16T03:33:00.001-08:00

We had a surprise birthday lunch for Hosanna's November babies a couple of days ago.
Well, it wasn't that much of a surprise for some people because they found out about it.... shows just how easy it is to keep a secret in Hosanna, but the food and company was good, so who's complaining?
And which self-respecting asian wouldn't take pictures of food??Birthday boys. Namely, Douglas, Sanjeet, and Edouard ( our new, very french resident... even his name is spelled differently! :D)
Ribs. I assume they were good cause I didn't have any.
Nachos, these were simply delicious!!!
Roast chicken. Mmmmmm. Roast chicken with onions and lime stuffed up their arses.
Douglas carving up the chicken with Edouard and me digging into my long-awaited mashed potatoes that I shamelessly requested.
Mmmmm. Mashed potatoes rock.
Pasta. Yummy yummy yummy I've got love in my tummy.
Digging in.
Took some pictures..
Birthday boys cutting the cake. (Homophobic men afraid to hold the knife together)
After all that food we had to crash on Amanda's 'bed' to rest a bit before dessert!
Cookies and creme!!!!
Group photo
Waiting for the bus that was almost an hour late at Paradise interchange before making our way home. All in all, it was an awesome lunch thanks to Lalita who did all the cooking!!! :)

Aunty Nancy

2009-11-15T07:23:00.001-08:00

'Sadly darling, it's her'

Who would've thought these 4 simple words would bring tears to my eyes and a stop to my heart?

Aunty Nancy was always this fixture in my church. She was just always there. She taught in Sabbath School, she conducted the children's choir, she played the piano during service, all my life in church, she was there.
Every kid who grew up in church knew her, every one of them would've been taught by her, spoken to by her.
I found out on facebook from her grandaughter that she's now in a coma and will most probably be going soon within the week. Imagine my shock, imagine my sadness, imagine.
I mean, its not that I had a very close and meaningful relationship with her. I've not spoken to her in such a long time, in fact, it shames me to say I can't even remember our last encounter.
But I look back, and I realise just how much she is in all of my memories in church. Sure, she was always in the background, but she was just there.
And now, when I go back to chuch back home, she just won't be.
And life will go on, as usual, people will continue to leave.
But there will always be this void she left.
Its amazing how fast things can change, just to remind us how temporary this life is, how important every encounter in life is, how little time we really have to share our love.

Rest in peace, Aunty Nancy. You're free now.

Happy Birthday Ivan!!!

2009-11-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Birthday, Ivan!!!!
Sorry it's a little late.. I've been flat out these couple of days...
Happy 14th birthday, have a great one this year, and I hope you've grown up more when I get back!!! :)

One Step Closer

2009-11-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

Ahh.
I am finally done with placement.
Placement and work has been hell. I'd be on placement 8 hours a day, five days a week and then have to go to work on weekends as well.
Well, today was my last day of placement. FINALLY. I can have a day off. FINALLY. After a straight run of 12 days, I can kick and back and stay home all day!!!
Well there's still an exam coming up on Wednesday, and I guess its about time I get off my lazy and tired bum and start studying. Man, I miss those days when the biggest worry was what I would do with my day.
oh well, I'll get there soon, with the end of placement, I'm one more step closer to freedom!!!
Wish me luck!! :)

A moment of self-indulgence

2009-11-10T01:39:00.001-08:00

Ahhh. SLR cameras really do take better pictures. :)

Happy 21st Birthday Joy!!!!

2009-11-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

Happy 21st Joy!!!
Wish I was there to celelbrate with you!!!!!
HAve a good one this year, girl!!!!!
See ya when I get back!!!
hugs and kisses. :D

Brazillian Festival

2009-11-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

After coming along with us for all our Malaysian festivals, eating our Malaysian food, tolerating our Malaysian talk, doing all our regular Malaysian stuff, we finally gave Douglas ( the only Brazillian, which we never let him forget) a break and went to a Brazillian festival. We had Brazillian dishes, dessert, and music. All in all, it was a pretty awesome cultural experience, I've never seen so many Brazillians in my life!! :)
Feijoada. A dish that consists of rice cooked with beans, some kinda vege, some kinda fried flour thingy which was delicious, meat, and oranges!! They have their oranges in their rice cause apparently it helps with digestion!! Which is weird. And the beans are kinda salty and garlicky.. (Which explains why Douglas once poured our sweet red bean soup all over his rice once!) So this is how a regular everyday dish looks in Brazil.
The chocolate thing in Lalita's hand is called a Brigadeiro. Its basically chocolate made into balls with condensed milk. The orange thing is called a Quindim, and its custard and egg I think. The white ball is a Pao de Quiejo ( I forgot the spelling) and its my favourite!! Its basically just bread with gloriously melted cheese inside!!! And the nipple-shaped thing is a Coxinha, its a fried thing with chicken and potato in there I think. And the flat thing is a Pastel... or Patel, whichever, that's fried pastry with either minced meat or cheese in there. We got the minced meat one, delish!!! :)
And this is a drink everyone drinks in BRazil... Its made from this fruit called the guarana... and its really really yummy. Its sorta an energy drink, only healthier. So apparently most people drink this instead of Coke.
THen there were some dancers in their traditional gear.
Traditional drums. THis was awesome!!!
The live Brazillian band. They played some really cool songs too.
The food area. The cooks were all Brazilian, and when I was there they were all speaking in Portuguese, it was so awesome!! It was like I was in a telenovela or something ( and you know how much I love my telenovelas!!)... Man I was so hoping one of them would speak to me in Portuguese and I could reply 'Eu no fala Portuguese, voce falo Ingles??' ( Meaning: I don't speak Portuguese, do you speak Englsh??' Muahahahahaha.

This was really an experience. Really enjoyed it, and Brazillian food is goooooooood!!!! :)

Halloween

2009-11-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

Halloween. October 31st.
So just a little interesting tidbit. The origins of Halloween can be traced back to an old Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain roughly means 'summer's end'. So apparently this festival was to celebrate the end of the lighter half of the year and the beginning of the darker half (winter). The ancient celts also believed that on this day, the border between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest and therefore, spirits and demons and all those other nasties that go bump in the night would be free to travel into our world. Hence, the use of masks to ward off these evil beings. ( Though how they think a mask would scare off evil spirits I really don't know.)
So anyway, in the true spirit of Halloween, Audrey organized a Halloween Costume Party and we all got into our costumes to celebrate!!
I went as a She-Devil. Black eyeliner, check. Red lipstick, check. Pitchfork, check. Tail, check. Red dress, check.
There was Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise from Risky Business, A Mexican, Audrey Hepburn ( which is ironic because the person who's Audrey Hepburn is Audrey!), a Geisha, and DEATH.
Devil looking up the Mexican's poncho. :)

Then Wolverine showed up. But by this point, his hair had dropped a little bit....so it was a little bit harder to identify..
Death and the Devil taking a break after a long day's work.
Then someone showed up as Facebook!!! Original!!!!
Fred Flinstone.
Pirate.
We also had a chance to rock on rock band!!!
All in all, it was an awesome party!!!!

To live or not to live?

2009-10-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

Modern medicine is, to put it simply, nothing short of miraculous.
I work in a hospital and still all these new procedures and new ways to prolong the human life has never ceased to amaze me.
But sometimes I wonder, is modern medicine really bringing us more good than harm??
I look at some of my patients sometimes, depending on all kinds of machines to survive. Getting invasive tubes inserted, getting little devices inserted to replace the heart, barely hanging on to that thin thread of life.
Sometimes, is it better to just let go, and go the way nature intended? Even ( who knows) the way God intended?
What is the point to prolong life when you are going to go through life being just a shadow of the person you were? No longer able to walk and run and jump and dance. No longer able to eat whatever you wanted to. No longer able to sit in the sun whenever you want to, to take a shower without someone there watching you, to even move in your own bed without someone there assisting you.
How horrible it must be to live life like that.
I believe we should all fight to live, but sometimes, when it is obvious who is winning the battle, would it be wiser to just let go, and leave this life with whatever dignity you have left? So that people remember you as you were, not what you had become?
This is really grey area I know, but it's just been on my mind for a while.
Feel free to comment :)

Pictures tell a story better.

2009-10-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, I haven't been updating my blog lately. Shame on me, bla bla bla.
But life has been pretty busy. Not just from all the fun I've been having *GRIN* but also because I have had 3 major assignments due in the last 4 weeks and my 3-week intensive placement is up and after that one major exam.
Whew. Its no piece of cake being in uni.
So anyway. I've been up to a few things, most of which involves food unfortunately.
There was a Hari Raya Open House thing at Adelaide Uni, and since it wasn't just Malaysian food, it was FREE.
Being the cheapos that we are and am proud of, we hopped on the bus and made our way down to the Barr-Smith Lawns of Adelaide Uni. Patriotism. Ahhh.

Amanda and I with our Malaysian food. (Some of which I never even knew existed in the first place. Shows how much I know about my own culture :D)
There was laksa, rojak, and you can't see what used to be in the middle plate, but there was satay sauce, ketupat, pineapple rice, cornflake cookies, rendang, and ayam merah ( or sth liddat)
Trying my bestest to explain our Malaysian flag. But judging from the looks on my friends' faces, I don't think I did the best job... plus I think I got some colours mixed up a little. White doesn't symbolize surrender apparently. whoops.
Taking a picture with the flag with all the wannabes. :D
Then there was Steamboat!!! Which was awesome.
Also for Dileepa's birthday. Which wasn't very fair because we celebrated his birthday 3 times. So he had 3 birthday cakes!!!
Somebody tell me how that is fair!!
Namgay, Caro and I
The girls.
The whole group.
And then, the beach!!! Where the water was unbelievably cold ( I'm talking Titanic cold here!!) but we die-hard beach-goers went anyway.
There was a certain amount of volleyball-ing.
Okay, a LOT of volley-balling as the water was simply too cold!
Nevis and I
There were some attempts to get an even tan. Attempts made said person look like a beached whale, unfortunately.
Group photo as always.
Then Lalita and Amanda decided to cook for us in Amanda's spiffy new kitchen in her spiffy, white, new home!
Group photo again, a must-have in every occasion, even if its just on a mattress with a white background. :)
The food was delicious!!!

Congrats, Ivory!!

2009-10-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of my sister.
Hahahahaha. I just thought I'd say this here. She got her article published in The Star.
And she did an awesome job too!
This is the link to the article she got published. Read it!

http://insanitysquill.blogspot.com/2009/09/he-had-always-wanted-to-be-soldier.html

The Heart Of Life

2009-10-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

As a kid I loved bubbles. Didn't everybody?
There was nothing better than having a full bottle of soapy liquid and that ring thing where you blow your bubbles out of on a lazy afternoon. I used to blow hundreds of bubbles in the shortest time possible, and then run through the haze of bubbles I'd created.
Feeling the bubbles pop on my face, watching the sunlight spread into a million colours when it hit the bubbles in the air.
I was walking in Rundle Mall the other day, and there was this bubble machine. There were kids running around in front of it, popping the bubbles, much like I used to do.
It threw me back into the past a bit. And for I started reminiscing about my childhood and all the awesome things we did as kids that we stopped doing for some reason. Running until there was no breath left, laughing and talking so loudly without any care who heard us, wearing whatever we wanted to, asking whatever questions we wanted to. What happened?
When did we stop asking questions? When did we start caring so much about what others thought about us? And for awhile there, I yearned for my childhood again. I wanted so much to just go back in time and relive my childhood.
I know some people say the best time of your life is when you're at your peak. In your twenties. But I think the best time of my life was when I was a child. I had such freedom. Such freedom from the bad parts of life. From the worrying, stressful, responsible part of life. Isn't that the best thing on earth? Freedom?
Life works in such mysterious ways.
Or maybe it's God that works in such mysterious ways.
If you asked me 8 years ago, would I be here, in Australia, studying and working at the same time, Doing 3000 word essays, working 8 hour shifts, meeting new people everyday? I would never have imagined myself here.
Now, looking back, I see how so many things lead me to where I am now.
It was like God planted tiny little seeds along my path of life, to steer me down the path he wanted me to take.
If it wasn't for my asthma, would my parents have sent me swimming?
If I hadn't gone to that particular swimming class that day, would the coach have picked me for training? Would I have been swimming for almost 7 years, meeting all those awesome people, making lifelong friends?
If I hadn't been swimming, would I have been accepted into my high school?
I would never have met all those friends, never met those people who would influence me to make the decisions leading up till now.
Amazing, really.

There is a song by John Mayer that I really like.
As much for the lyrics as for the melody.
'Pain throws your heart to the ground, love turns the whole thing around. No, it won't all go the way it should, but I know, the Heart of Life is good.'
If we really sit, and think about it, everything we go through. Every tear, every frown, every laugh and every word. It all happened for a reason, God knew all along, God had a reason. So maybe we should all take the advice from this picture below and sit in silence for at least 10 minutes a day. Take that time to think about what you did today.
Did you make a difference?
Did you live life today?

Holidays

2009-10-01T02:47:00.001-07:00

Nothing's been up these days.
I'm on my 2 week semester break now but it doesn't really feel like it probably because I've been so busy working and finishing up my damned assignments. They're never ending!!!
But in the meantime I've been swimming a lot lately, also most probably because I've got someone to go swimming with now so I'm a bit more motivated to swim now.
I've forgotten how much I love swimming until I've started swimming regularly. How could I have stopped for so long???
I've become so unfit it's not even funny. But at least I still remember to swim, so I'm getting there!! Damn, I miss those swimming competitons. The adrenaline, the people, the whole atmosphere in general, those warming-up sessions, those familiar rivals, the disappointments and the laughs. If there was a period in my life I could go back to, that would be it. The swimming days. But until someone creates a time machine that doesn't have fatal consequences, I guess the memories will have to do.
We had steamboat for Dileepa's birthday, maybe when I can muster up the energy I'll upload those photos here. If not, check my facebook!! :)

Surprise Party

2009-09-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

We had a little pizza party at home yesterday. Because ( maybe) Nevis works as a delivery boy for Pizza Hut and we hadn't celebrated Arbi's birthday as he wasn't around for it.
11 pizzas. And they were delicious too!!!! I love pizza!
And then they took the cake out and surprise surprise, it was for all of us who had had out birthdays in September. There were 7 of us all in all, so our ages all added up to 151 years old. We were all pretty surprised because we didn't know it was going to be for us.
According to Lalita, we weren't even supposed to know about this party at all. But well, news spread, tongues slipped, and they had to make do with us knowing about the party but thinking it was just for Arbi only. :)
Me with my name on my slice of cake :)
Our cake.
Me with some of the brains of the party ( Lalita and Amanda)
Group photo.

All in all, it was a great party. Mostly because everyone's been so busy lately we haven't really hung out together much. So this was a great hanging out session and loads of fun!!! Thanks guys for planning this!!! :)

Springtime= Outdoor Sports

2009-09-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Now that it doesn't get dark at 5 pm, we've been outdoors a lot more to run around in the grass and soak some late afternoon suns. Spring can be lovely when the temperature doesn't drop too much.
So Douglas bought a volleyball net and a volleyball at Kmart and we've been playing this week.
Half the trouble was setting up the net before we can actually play, even after setting it up a couple of times, we still get pretty confused. And even though I suck so bad at this game, its all good fun!

The Art Of Racing In The Rain

2009-09-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is a grrrreat book that my Mental Health lecturer introduced to us.
Its about a dog called Enzo who's on his deathbed, and while he's dying, he's reflecting on his life and you get a story about a family, only entirely from a dog's point of view.
There are so many things that make you stop and think and go, 'Mmmmm. I never looked at it THAT way.'
Awesome book, I'd recommend it for anyone.
And now, whenever I see a dog, I wonder, 'What is he thinking now?'

An excerpt from the book that I love: ( Eve, the wife, has been diagnosed with brain cancer)

'Today is the first day I am not dead.' Eve said to us. 'And we're having a party.'

To live everyday as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live. To feel the joy of life, as Eve felt the joy of life. To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter everyday. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something to aspire to. When I am a person, that is how I will live my life.

Spring

2009-09-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

Spring has officially arrived!!!!
We realized that yesterday when the temperature went up to 28 degrees instead of the usual 20 and below.
Ahhhh. Unpredictable temperatures, sunny days, balmy nights, green green green.
Time for T-shirts, shorts, thongs and enormous amounts of sunblock.
And of course, hay fever.
Welcome back, Spring!!!!!

Ramadhan Food Bazaar

2009-09-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

Lalita and I didn't go to the Royal Adelaide Show with the others because we had work to do.
So we ended up meeting them after they came from the show at Adelaide University.
Adelaide Uni was having a Ramadhan Food Bazaar. Its basically a food fair where most of the muslim students have together and after that 'buka puasa' cause apparently it's 'puasa' season now. Seeing as how its been a while since we've seen Malay food, us Malaysians were pretty excited. The rest were just, well, normally excited cause they didn't know anything about it haha.

honestly I didn't try this but just the look of it was pretty darn awesome :)
MMMMM. Banana fritters.
Okay, this was a little pricey but who cares? SATAY!!
The atmosphere at the bazaar. It was so wonderfully Malaysian! People were speaking Malay left, right, centre and I was just absorbing.
Happy happy happy.
CHAR KUEY TEOW!!! And POH PIA!!!! And this kuih thingy that I can never remember the name of but I love!!!!! And CENDOL!!!!!
We then met up with the rest and we lost 2 of our friends to face painting. We got Spiderman and weird red-cat instead.
Cat. Caro. Namgay. And Spider-man in the background.
Where are you Spidey???
RAWWWRR!!!

Spidey ran out of webbing and had to take the bus instead. :)

Collage of Memories

2009-09-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Lalita made this gorgeous collage of pictures of everyone in the gang for me.
Love it love it love it!!
Can't stop staring at it. Its just really meaningful and something I know I can keep forever. Thanks Lal!! :)

Birthday All-You-Can-Eat Lunch Buffet

2009-09-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, we ( Cindy, Ivy and I) decided to go to the Adelaide Casino for the Casino Buffet. One, because it was cheap; two, because it was an all-you-can-eat buffet, and three, because it was cheap ( Wait, did I mention it was cheap?) So we got there and it was 15 dollars per person.
And there was so much food!!!!!!!!
We got down to business immediately.
Cindy and I digging into our first dish. There were roasted potatoes, some kinda cauliflower, mixed vege, fish, butter chicken, noodles, pie, beef rump with gravy.... and this was just the main course!! Then there was soup, bread, salad, dessert!!
I had 3 different types of dessert!!! ( Cheesecake, Fruit Crumble and Ice cream) By the end of the meal, even lifting the spoon was torture, our stomachs were filled to bursting and we couldn't breathe or stand or walk properly. But it was worth it because I think we managed to eat our money's worth. In fact, we made sure we did that by staying there for a whole 2 hours digesting and eating again!!!
Kiasu asians + All-you-can-eat buffet= HAPPY BLOATED KIASU ASIANS.
I guess no dinner or breakfast or even lunch tomorrow then.

We then proceeded to take a couple of pictures in the photo booth in Myers ( Imagine 3 bloated people trying to squeeze into a photo booth meant for passport pictures), that was a laugh and great fun as well.

All in all, it was an awesome way to celebrate my birthday. Quiet, intimate and full of laughs.
Thanks for a great birthday lunch and the gifts, girls!!
Love ya!!!

Love you guys!!

2009-09-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

Just a little shoutout to all those people in my life.
Thanks for being in my life and rocking my world!!!!
My cousins, my siblings and my aunt in our church back home at Christmastime '06.
Me and the girls ( Shann, Berenice, Katherine, Yin Yin) when I went back to Malaysia and met up with them ( 2009)
My Birthday ( 2007) with the other girls ( Pearl, Erica, Ivy and Evelyn) at chocolat.
With Peiling and Yvonne when I went home this year (2009)
With the girls again in class ( 2008)
In Chill On with the gang ( Dileepa, Ryuti, Lalita, Douglas, Pearl, Tushig, Namgay and Randika) 2009
With Tim and Dileepa the BFFs ( 2009)
With Joy Vivian and Elise when I went back ( 2009)
CNY visiting with the high school gang ( Elysia, Nigel, Kok Wee, Justin, Colin, Boon Chiat, Gavin) 2009
With Amanda when we were supposed to be studying (2009)
With Made and Steph in Perth (2009)
At the Royal Adelaide Show with Cindy, Evelyn and Audrey (2008)
With Ivy and Cindy during Audrey's birthday ( 2008)
My family!!!! (2006)

You Must Love Me

2009-09-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Was watching Evita.

Frankly, it was a bore for me, and I mean seriously *SNORE*

Probably because they were singing about her life and her life was very closely tied to politics and Argentina and all those stuff that I don't have much knowledge about anyway. Anyone who's spoken to me before knows politics isn't my forte.

But oh the music!

If it wasn't for the music I would've gone off to sleep 15 minutes into the movie.

You Must Love Me was the highlight obviously, thats why I posted this video. It is SO awesome!!

Other songs worth listening to include Another Suitcase in Another Hall, High Flying Adored, I'd Be I'd Be Surprsiingly Good For You and of course, Don't Cry For Me Argentina. All awesome songs as well, if you're not interested in watching the movie at least go on Youtube to listen to the songs or something!

Gaining Weight

2009-08-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dammit. I'm putting on weight again... Either that, or my clothes have shrunk and the weighing scale at my lab is broken.
As much as I'd like to believe its the two latters, I'm going to have to use my common sense and accept the fact that I'm putting on weight...
I guess I'll have to start cutting down on my food intake now, I don't know how that's going to happen as I get hungry sooooo fast...
And probably start exercising more regularly now than the occasional ping pong match a few times a week. I wish there was a swimming pool right next to my place though, I have to travel all the way to the city to swim!
Or it would be better if I could jog, but my bloody knees are causing me trouble enough so I probasbly shouldn't anger them more...

Sigh. Its so much harder to lose weight than it is to gain weight... Its sorta like money, so easy to spend but so hard to earn... Such is life. :)

Just FYI

2009-08-25T07:14:00.001-07:00

I just thought everyone would be interested in how my room looks like.
So there you go.
Sharing is caring after all. :)

Opposites Attract?

2009-08-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

There's always been this ongoing question if people who are polar opposites make better couples or if people who are the same go better together..
It got me thinking that day ( on one of my long bus rides) and this is what I came up with.

Opposites:
If one was quiet and the other was loud, if one was headstrong and the other was agreeable, if one was fun-loving and the other more serious, that's all good right? These two would sorta complement each other, cancel the bad things out and so on and so forth. Cause you can't have 2 loud people or 2 stubborn people, then who would listen? Who would give in?

On the other hand, what if you have one who wakes up at night and one who wakes up early in the morning? What if you have one who loves rock music and one who loves classical and nothing else? Or one who only watches chick flicks and one who only watching action movies? Then there would be nothing to talk about, nothing to keep them together.

Similars:
Again, what if you have 2 people who love to talk, or 2 people who loves attention?
Then both would constantly be fighting to talk, to get the attention, and we all know that's not how you have a healthy relationship.

But they would have the same love for a lot of things in life. They would like the same movies, same music, same life, so wouldn't this bring them together??

My conclusion:
I don't have one.
Maybe there's no way to ever find out.
Would 2 people with opposite personalities but the same interests be the best fit??
Or maybe 2 people with a balance of differences and similarities would be best together.
Oh well, I guess thats just life.
You can never put things neatly into their little categories and definitions, its so volatile.

But it's just something to think about anyway.

We're supposed to be the leaders of Malaysia?

2009-08-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Negaraku
Tanah tumpahnya darahku
Rakyat hidup
Bersatu dan maju
Rahmat bahagia
Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita
Selamat bertahta

Rahmat Bahagia
Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita
Selamat bertahta...

Look at that. Its not a long song, there aren't too many lyrics, how hard can it be to remember this song , right?

Wrong.

Ivy and I were on our way home on the bus last Friday, and we were talking about stuff in general when the subject of patriotic songs came up.
And that was when we realized we couldnt remember the words to our own national anthem.
Gasp!
You can imagine how horrified and disgusted we were with ourselves.
We sang it almost everyday for 11 years!!!
how can it be that after more than 2 years of not singing the song we'd forget the lyrics????
It was really scary and a bit of a moment for us, I must say.
So now I'm just sitting here consumed with guilt and trying to memorize my national anthem all over again. What are we going to forget next, who our Prime Minister is?
Shocking, really.
And we're the ones who're supposed to be the leaders of the future.
Hah. Malaysia is doomed.

Birthdays in Hosanna

2009-08-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

It was Caroline ( our new German resident) 's birthday yesterday, so on Wednesday at midnight we knocked on her door with a birthday chocolate mudcake.

Nevis knocked on the door, she opened it, and we stood there for 2 full seconds in silence before someone yellled out, 'Sing! sing!'

And we all started singing ( Horribly off tune, its a wonder she knew what we were doing)

And after all that trouble, cake time!!!! :)

Below are some pics from the night. Gathering up in Lalita's room. You can imagine this was some feat as it only takes 5 people to crowd our tiny rooms.
Chocolate cake. We found out Michel's had stopped making chocolate cheesecakes... NOOOO!!!!

Group pictures with our respective cakes.

Amanda and I waiting for midnight in Lalita's room.

Picture with the birthday girl.

The ladies.

All the people who helped eat the birthday cake and sing the birthday song.

Random-ing

2009-08-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

This is what we do at home in Hosanna Heights ( That's the name of my boarding house in case anybody is wondering).
Was going through some photos and found them. Random, but who cares.We try our bestestestest to study, this is our dining hall/study hall.
Although we sometimes take little detours and make miniature monuments ( Leaning Tower of Pisa) with glasses.
Great Wall of China from mashed potatoes mixed in with rice. Yuck I know.
Of course we camwhore.
Make music ( I hope)
Celebrate birthdays. Eat Cake. I really enjoyed the latter.
Play ping pong!!! ( I don't rock at this)
Play cho tai ti!!!!
play heart attack
Try on friends' stupid looking beanies just for laughs.

Life in a boarding house is fun!!!

Ever-changing

2009-08-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere once that the only thing that was consistent in life was change.

After almost 20 years of living life, I couldn't agree more.

Life changes so rapidly, without warning at all.

It could be one way today, and totally different the next day. A blink of an eye, and life as you knew it could evolve into something so foreign, so strange yet still familiar.

Everyone has their own dreams, their own attitudes in life, their own thoughts, their own intentions and desires. But yet circumstances draws us together, draws us into a tight web of connections in this seemingly small world at times that makes me marvel at the wonder that is life.

I've had so many people walk in and out of my young life, some I've kept in touch with over the years, some I've tried, some I've totally lost touch with, some I've had to let go even though I never intended or wanted to.

And sometimes I wonder, is it worth it?

Is it worth it to let people in your lives when you know they are going to walk away again, leaving an empty space, leaving you to pick up the broken pieces and try to fill up that hole?

Because despite all her beauty and excitement, life is cruel. She doesn't care, she doesn't care at all. She takes and gives, takes and gives until sometimes there is nothing left at all.

A dear friend is moving out tomorrow. A neighbour and someone who's always been there when I needed anything. ( Except before lunchtime!!) But tomorrow she will be leaving. Not far, but leaving nonetheless. I wish her well, really, I wish I could be like her, letting go of this place we've all grown attached to, but for some reason, I just can't. Not yet.

No more late night talks, no more going down for meals together, no more watching movies together, no more calling each other rooms on our free landlines because we forgot to tell the other a joke or just to talk, no more running next door to get the other to watch a youtube video, no more just being there, in each other's company. I guess I just have to get used to that, just another change life has thrown at me. It was always coming to this anyway.

You know who you are, thanks for giving me an awesome year and a half of living together, thanks for being my friend, thanks for being you, thanks for being irreplaceable. Thank you.
I'll miss you.

200th post!!

2009-08-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

WOOHOO!!
This blog has reached it's 200th post!!!!
Thats like 2 centuries in blog years!!!!

My Sister's Keeper

2009-08-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

Cindy and I chose this movie over 'The Ugly Truth' starring Katherine Hiegl and Gerrard Butler as we both felt it was 'our type' of movie, you know, crying movies.
Boy were we right.
It was 'our type' of movie alright.
We practically sat there and cried from beginning to end, by the time the movie was over, we just sat there ( with everyone else in the theatre) while the credits rolled and tried to compose outselves.
This is a movie based on Jodi Piccoult's novel. It is about a girl who was born as a donor for her sister who has leukemia. She was genetically engineered to be a perfect match for her sister, so from birth, she has been in and out of hospitals, donating this and that to her sick sister. She finally has enough, and sues her mother for medical emancipation.
Her mom is then faced with the awful dilemma of having to choose to save her sick daughter or allowing the daughter to die and let the other daughter have her freedom.
The movie was so well-made and so heart-wrenching that it made both of us appreciate life so much better after the movie.
I know I've said it so many times before, but seriously, people need to take my advice this time. If you feel like a touching movie, WATCH THIS!!

Happy Birthday Sis!!

2009-08-06T03:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Sis!!!
Hope you have a great one this year!
16's a great age to be ( Trust me!!! I wish I was that age again..)
Nice talking to you today, miss ya!

Harry Potter again.

2009-07-31T23:06:00.000-07:00

Finally.
After two years of waiting.
Finally, we went to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
And boy, was it worth the wait.
This was, by far, the BESTESTESTEST Harry Potter movie, in my opinion.
The direction was good, soundtrack awesome, and boy did I cry when Dumbledore died!!!!
All in all, for any of you out there who hasn't watched it, PLEASE DO!!!

Back to School

2009-07-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

It's back to school again to start the new semester.

SIGH

I miss the holidays now. It was nice not having to do anything and not read anything liable to put me to sleep in 5 minutes.

We had our first class today. Mental Health, its actually a real interesting topic, and I think if I were ever to specialize, mental health would definitely be an option I'd be looking into.
Our teacher said, 'We are now going to watch a video, called ANgels and Demons'
You can imagine our excitement
'ANGELS AND DEMONS??? The Tom Hanks movie based on the Dan Brown novel?
I LOVE this class!!!!'

And you can then imagine our faces when we realised we were watching a 50 minute documentary with the same name.

Talk about bursting our bubble.

Melbourne Trip Day 4 ( this is the last one I promise!)

2009-07-27T03:53:00.000-07:00

This is how our last day in Melbourne started off.
Pancakes at the Pancake House ( or something to that effect, you will see from this last post on Melbourne that there are less pictures as we were all pretty exhausted by this point and also a teeny bit sad that the trip was coming to an end)
That's my pancake, chocolate chocolate and more chocolate... I was suffering from a chocolate overdose by the end and was telling myself I was never going near another pancake for a while yet..
A real cool huge chess set at the Pancake House. Lalita kicked my ass when she checkmated me twice.
We then wandered ( had to get all that pancakes digested!) all the way to Victoria Harbour on our way to Harbour Town.

Heehee. Huge cow caught in the tree.
The wind was refreshing, and the water so pretty.
The only picture anyone bothered to take of Harbour Town, the largely useless Ferris Wheel, which is actually remarkably similar to a picture Cindy took in Sydney ( Don't you think, Cindy?)
We then took the city free tram to Chinatown for a quick bite to eat before heading back to checkout. Knowing us ( Asians) we were all pretty thrilled to find out the ride was free cause our feet were killing us!
Guess where we ended up again??
Our old friend Kopitiam!!! Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin rocks!!!!
Sitting around with our luggage waiting for everyone to get ready to get to the bus station. Gloooom.
And then after a very uncomfortable ten-hour trip back to Adelaide on the bus, we were home. Back in Adelaide, and back to life again. Sigh.
But Melbourne was just awesome and I'm so happy everything went well.

Melbourne Trip Day 3

2009-07-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Day 3 started off with this.
San Churro's absolutely magnificent hot chocolate.
Shot me straight to chocolate heaven at the first sip.
Mmmm. Chocolate Heaven.
We then took the train to Lalita's aunt's place for some home-cooked Indian food!!!
Sakais who never take the train before
Mmmmm. Indian food heaven. It was delicious! There was curry, dahl, cutlets ( which I helped Lalita make!!) and rice and Raita ( Dont know what that is but it was good!!)
Picture with Lal's aunt
And then this was the most random thing ever but I bumped into Alvin, an old schoolmate when we were just hanging around Federation Square!!!!
I didn't even know he was there in the first place!! Talk about small world.
And next, it was the Melbourne Aquarium, and my favouritestestest animals in the world!!
PENGUINS!!!!!!
Can you see me? Can you see me??
Giant-sized aquariums....
Jellyfishies
The Dileepa-lookalike fish
Arrrggghhhh its eating me its eating me!!!!!!
After all that underwater creatures, we went on to Skydeck. See the tallest building in the pic?
That's Skydeck. We went right to the top, and from there we could see the whole of Adelaide!!!
Apparently its the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. I don't know how accurate that info is but it was tall!!!

Views from the top
Blondie looking through the wrong end of binoculars

We then went out onto the terrace at the very top and the winds there were amazing!!! Almost blew me off my feet!!!!! Notice Dileepa at the back, he's trying out for a Pantene Shampoo Advertisement. He looks hillarious!
Then it was Japanese food before we made our way home for our last night in Melbourne :(

Japanese food heaven.

Melbourne Trip Day 2

2009-07-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Still a lot of pictures!!!2nd day started off a bit late as we went to bed late the night before ( Duh) :)
We went to the Old Melbourne Gaol which, conveniently enough was right opposite our backpackers.
The Old Melbourne Gaol used to be a jail in I-don't-know which century AUstralia. Australia's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly was jailed there and hanged there as well. Creepy, cause so many people died there, but it was cool. There was a play for us as well, about Ned Kelly.

Cells with fake prisoners in there. Although I didn;t realize they were fake and they gave me a hell of a surprise.
We then went to this awesome place in Chinatown called Old Town Kopitiam.
It's so great because its authentically malaysian!!!
The waiters there are all Malaysian and the food is sooooo good!!!!
Even the shop looks like some shop in Malaysia!

Laksa and Nasi Goreng
Dileepa famously said, ' I would become Malaysian just for the laksa'
Then we went back to the jail for the tour. They made us line up in two rows like real prisoners!!
They locked us up in this cell for about ten minutes. Yuck. I wouldn't want to be a prisoner here!
Prisoners
Padded cells for mental prisoners
Mug Shot!!!!!!!!! Guilty as charged.
Death masks for the prisoners hanged
Heehee.
The Girls
For the evening, we went to my first ever live Australian football game at the MCG stadium!!
It was so cool!!!! Just like in movies!!! It was huuuuuge and there were so many people.
It was the Hawthorn Hawks against the Collingwood Magpies
Australian football is like a mix of Rugby, American football, and soccer althogether. And its called Aussie Rules. We got those banners for free!!
Lalita is a big Magpie fan so we supported the Magpies... much to my regret.
The Game
The amount of people in the stadium that night. Imagine, if I wasn't there, it would be 66,148!!
After the game we were all starving cause we missed dinner, so we decided to be cultural and went to this Mongolian BBQ restaurant. It was an experience alright.
We each have a bowl which we fill up with raw food, and we mix them all up with the sauces, the people then put it on this huuuuge thing where they cook the food for us. The food was good!!!
Food pre-cooked.
Mongolian BBQ bliss

Melbourne Trip Day 1

2009-07-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

WARNING: There may be too many pictures for some people to handle.

So I'm back from the most awesomest trip to Melbourne ever!!
( MELBOURNE, BABY!!! )
Our little group consisted of Me, Namgay, Pearl, Lalita, Douglas, Tushig, Dileepa and Randika.
We only went for 4 days. Just for the weekend. We didn't have time to go on the GReat Ocean Road or anything ( Maybe next time!) So we were just around the city central.
There are sooooo many pictures it was a chore to just sort through them ( We're all camwhores). All in all, I think there were about 1000 pictures! So I apologize if my blog is going to be just filled to the brim with pictures of me in Melbourne for some time. But I can't wait to share!!!!! This is still in Adelaide. Waiting at the bus stop outside Hosanna to go to the bus station in the city.

Waiting at the bus station to go from Adelaide to Melbourne... seemed like we were never going to get there at that time :)
The bus we took to get to Melburne, it was a night bus ( We thought it was good cause we could save up on 2 nights worth of lodging). It took 10 hours to get there and nobody got any sleep at all because it wasn't the most comfortable ride and there was a monster of a kid screaming all the way there in the bus... but it was an experience alright.
First glimpse of Melbourne at 6++ am. All our reactions were pretty much the same ( WOAH!!! This beats Adelaide hands down!! Look at the buildings!!! Why?? Why did we go to Adelaide???)
Finally getting to our backpackers- VicHall, where we stayed for 3 nights- after walking 5 streets from the station with ALL our luggage. Whew!
Getting checked into our rooms.. Douglas and Tushig were bunk buddies.
Damn. Forgot to flip this.
Then were off to Queen Victoria's Market for breakfast!! This is just some random wine stall.
Mmmmmmm. Pastries!!!
Trying to decide what to get for breakfast
Finally settled on bread and the most delicious dip ever!!!
We then went back for s little nap before we set out again, this time to Federation Square. Which was, of course, a great place. This is us with the Melbourne skyline behind.

Swanson Street.... I think.... Wait. I don't know, there are too many streets!!! All I know is this bridge is over the Yarra River, which is beautiful at night, as you will see soon..

We dropped by the Art Gallery as well, Douglas and I trying to fit in with these metal stick men with weird looking genitals..
Favourite picture of the trip.... Lalita took it from the other side of the glass wall while we all put our hands on the waterfall on the other side at the art gallery..

From L-R: Tushig, Me, Douglas, Pearl, Lalita, Namgay.
Federation SQuare in the afternoon..
Douglas walked into my picture ( Attention-seeker XP )
Yarra River as seen from the bridge..
Me at the bridge over Yarra River
Federation Square at night
View at the Yarra River at night, beautiful ain't it?
And another one
Group of musician performing at the Flinders Railway Station. They were good too!!
Chinatown! Which is much bigger (I agree, Elysia!) and much more China-like than the one in Adelaide..
Hanging out on the roof of our backpackers.
We then went on the this place called ChillOn. Its basically a place where everything is made of ice and its minus I-don't-know how many degrees in there. We had to put all these coats on and we could only stay half an hour in there. It was FREEZING!!!
We couldnt feel our legs, our faces, or anything much at all for that matter...
But it was fun :)

Dileepa ( who is famous for his very long, large, disgusting tongue) was very excited to find a sculpture of a tongue in ice ( I think its a tongue anyway)
Our colourful drinks in there ice cups...We were sipping quite quickly cause who knows how long it would take to freeze!!
Namgay and I
All of us.

All in all, it was a great first day in Melbourne..

Dining Out

2009-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

So Audrey sent us all a message on Facebook saying we should meet up for dinner since we haven't seen her for months since she moved out of Hosanna. We decided to meet up cause why not? Exams are over!!!
So we came across this Irish Pub and Sanjeet said they had really good food. He was right. And it was really pretty inside too!! They made the interior look like a street in Ireland or something, with Irish shops, Irish street signs and all that...
Very amused by this..
The female toilets had really cool vintage-y looking knockers!!!
The guys were also very entertained by the male toilet ( personally I don't see how)
Waiting for dinner.
A picture with the chef
Audrey wanted a shot at the bar first.. we just wanted to take a picture...

And after that we went for Baskin Robbins.. which was one of the biggest mistakes of the night, seeing as how that night was the coldest night Adelaide has ever been in July.
The girls had no problem as we got a ride from Sanjeet, but the poor boys then proceeded to take the coldest walk of their lives to the bus stop ( all the time with ice creams in their hands!)
Poor things. They couldnt even talk properly cause they were so cold their words were slurring!
Ah well. It was a good night.

Christina's 22nd

2009-07-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

It was Christina's Birthday again.. I say again not only because ( Duh) she's had 21 other birthdays before this buy because I was reading my past posts and saw a post where I blogged about her birthday last year...
I can't believe how fast a year has passed, it feels like nothing much has happened at all but when I look back, so many things have happened without me realizing it, life is forever changing so rapidly.. So anyway.
I miss these restaurant dishes... we had such a good time cause the food was delicious!
Pearl was testing the lighting... we were all minding our own businesses...
Group photo with the birthday girl..

Whoops. Forgot to flip this. Oh well. Its me and Ivy, for those of you who don't know, camwhoring as usual... :)

FREEDOM, BABY!!!!!

2009-07-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

I am officially POST-EXAMS!!!!!!

Everybody now, WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

FREEDOM. BABY!!!!

2009-07-02T17:48:00.001-07:00

LAST PAPER TODAY!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fed Up!

2009-07-01T00:11:00.000-07:00

I am so so so so so so so so fed up with life!
Studying and studying and more studying.
Its like a never-ending war.
And then after this when everyone is relaxing during the break, I have to go to stupid placement!!!!
Why? Why? Why can't I just have a few weeks of break where I get to do nothing?
No work, no stress, just live???

My Cover

2009-06-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is just a spontaneous thing ( again) I did 5 minutes before lunch.
The playing isn't perfect and the singing isn't awesome either.
But who cares, I really like this song and this is my blog! XD

Duet- Rachael Yamagata

2009-06-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Song. :)

Strange

2009-06-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Isn't it strange how sometimes you can be in a huge crowd, with all kinds of people jostling around you, pushing you, coming into contact with you, and yet you can still feel so alone and lost?

Isn't it strange how sometimes you can be in a roomful of laughing, talking people, and still feel so lonely and isolated?

Loneliness is hard to define. How do you explain why sometimes we can feel like the loneliest person in the world when you're hanging out with a whole group of friends together?

I suppose thats why sometimes I feel that we don't need too many people in our lives, we don't need to open up to too many people. Because when it comes down to it, we only need those few precious, important ones to help us through life. To hold our hands when we need warmth, to offer their shoulders when we need to comfort, to just be there when we get lonely.

Then maybe there would be less lonely people in the world.

Tim Tams ( The Australian Way)

2009-06-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

Cindy helped me take this ( We like to think of it as educational) video of how to eat Tim Tams the Australian way!
Dont mind the messy hair, and before anyone says I've put on weight let me clarify first that its winter here and its cold!!! So we eat more!!!!

p/s: We have no proof that this is the Australian way for sure but I'm pretty sure it is cause that's not how we eat it back home!!

If It Kills Me

2009-06-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hello, tell me you know, yeah you figured me out
Something gave it away
And it would be such a beautiful moment to see the look on your face
To know that I know you know now

And baby thats a case of my wishful thinking
You know nothing
Cause you and I, why we go carrying on for hours on end
We get along much better than you and your boyfriend

Well all I really want is to love you
A kind much closer than friends use
But I still can't say it after all we've been through

And all I really want from you is to feel me
As the feeling inside keeps building
And I will find a way to you if it kills me, if it kills me.

Life's Versatility

2009-06-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how much some little, insignificant things can brighten up my day..
I can be having the worst day ever, taking the most absolute crap from people around me, and then some little thing happens and everything seems alright with the world again... ( I'm being dramatic here) and life seems worth living again... XD

It could be a box of Tim Tams.. ( Which absolutely rock when eaten the Australian Way!! )
It could be a nice/ funny comment or video on Facebook..
A thoughtful text message
A patient actually being grateful and doing what he/she is told to do for once.. ( You'd be surprised how rude some sick people can be!)
A nice, long chat over ice cream about our day with someone at the end of the day ( You know who I'm talking about, Cindy!)
A spontaneous trip to Hungry Jack's or Coles just to waste time...

Life is so full of little joys that make it so beautiful.

What Have I Been Up To?

2009-06-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of what I have been up to these days.
Just for your information, nothing much.

I've been:

1. Studying
2. Studying
3. Banging my head against the wall to try to get all the bloody information in.
4. Banging my head even harder because the information doesn't stay in.
5. Trying to study again with a bruised head
6. Staring into space dreaming about what to do after exams ( It involves a lot of lying around and staring up at my ceiling)
7. Still trying to study.

Let me see, have I missed anything out?
* Does a mental checklist*
Yup, thats pretty much it.
* Goes back to alternating between studying and banging my head against the wall*

Wild At Heart

2009-06-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Just FYI, this is the song I will be singing and playing on the guitar and singing and listening to for a few days to come.
Its so catchy!!!

Last Class of the Semester

2009-06-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last day of the semester and last class of the semester. Where did time go?
Seems just a couple of weeks ago we were enrolling in our classes and just starting the first week of uni. Scary. Before I know it I'll be graduating. Shudder. I think I'll let that be a problem for future Ida. Haha.
This is a picture of our group with our tutor, Anna. We have this thing in class where we're divided into groups and each week we get quizzes. Overall we got second. Out of four groups. Haha so yay! * Does the wave*
And as a reward, we got a jar of sputum. Not real sputum, just made out of stewed pears, I bet my tutor had so much fun making that. Sick people we mortals are!

Autumn and a new camera!

2009-06-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

So Cindy bought a new camera.... a Canon IXUS 80 IS.....
I came home early from class, the sun was still shining, there were all these fallen autumn leaves on the ground, we had a new camera in hand, we didn't want to look at our books again, need I say more???
I'll just let the pictures talk.

I love Autumn. XD

Cindy's Door Updates

2009-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

What great friends I have.
So caring, so giving, so generous and unselfish.
Can't you feel the love?

How I Met Your Mother and Sad Ads

2009-06-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Since I've put a ban on myself from going to Blockbuster, where I would be going any other normal non-exam time to get, like, 8 full-length movies a week, I've been pretty deprived media entertainment-wise. ( I also don't know how to get rid of these blue words. someone help!)
So I've gotten hooked on this awesome TV series 'How I Met Your Mother'.
Its about 5 friends. The main guy, Ted Mosby, and his friends Marshall Lily Robin and Barney. So this series is about this guy Ted who tells his kids the story of how he met his mother. And in the process of that also tells them a whole lot of other things. We don't know who the mom is, and I suppose we'd only know by the time we finish but they have got AWEsome stories!
Its no 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' although the whole concept is rather similar, a group of friends in New York, but its really worth stealing 20 minutes between studying and rushing assignment to de-stress and laugh a bit because I learnt in Health Psychology that stress lowers your immune system! wow, like I didn't know that before doing Health Psychology...

I have also been randomly watching these touching ads on TV. In all kinds of languages, chinese, Thai, Greek, who cares?
They're all so good and so much more time-conserving and effective than those long, 2 hour weepy movies and makes me feel so good after watching. So here's another one! In Thai this time.
Enjoy!!

Beautifully Imperfect

2009-06-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful ad. I think its from Singapore. But DO watch it. You'll see what I'm talking about. It has such meaning and I think it would bring a little something for everyone.

Happy Birthday Elysia!

2009-06-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

I know this came a little late but its the thought that counts, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELYSIA!!!!
How many years is it now?
18 years!
Haha thats gotta be a record, 18 years and counting!!!
Have a good one this year.

Racism

2009-06-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Racism is a scary thing.
We all know that.
Racism was what caused The Holocaust. Racism is what Apartheid is based on. Racism is what caused Muslims to be discriminated against after the 9/11 attack even though some of them were raised and born in America and had as much right as any other American citizen to be there.
Being a Malaysian-born Chinese, racism has always been around. I just never realized it was what it was. My dad complains about a lazy Malay co-worker and someone else will say, " Ah, you know how those Malays are like, they're always lazy!". Or there will be jokes at the dining table about how indians shake their heads a lot when they talk ( there will of course be a need to demonstrate when this subject is on) or how they talk with their Indian accents.
Sure these racist jokes are funny. But I'll bet the Jews during the Holocaust didn't find it so funny when they were forced to go on the Death March ( where they literally had to walk until they died) or to go into the Gas Chambers. I bet they didn't think it was so funny then.
I've had some pretty racist experiences while I've been here in Australia. I've had people driving past in cars while I'm waiting at the bus stop and they stick their heads out and scream, " F***ing Asians!!!!" or even worse, throw bottles out of the car.
And recently with all that's been going on in Melbourne and sydney with all the seemingly racially-motivated attacks on indian students, you start to wonder if racism is as funny as sometime we make it out to be.

But then again, sometimes I wonder if we are being racist ourselves when we accuse others of being racist.
There are times when I'm sitting in a groups of largely Australian students and I feel like they're being rude to me just because I'm Asian. I then start thinking that they're bring racist and won't talk to me because I'm Asian. But I wonder. Could it be because I don't talk as much as they would like me too? Could it be because I don't smile enough? In other words, could it all just be because of my personality itself, and not my skin colour and shape of my eyes?
By thinking that they wouldn't want to talk to me because I'm Asian and they're Australian straightaway, and then withdrawing myself, aren't I being racist as well by assuming that just because they're Aussie they would be mean to me?

Of course, there really ARE circumstances when your assumptions are based on fact as there can be some really racist people around here. We can't expect everyone to be perfect, can't we?
Hell, I confess I love racist jokes at times and I think they can be quite a hoot.
But I was just wondering about Racism and what it all means.
Needed a sounding board and where else but my blog?
I hope I haven't offended anyone by sounding my thoughts.
If I have, really REALLY sorry.

No Matter How Long

2009-05-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

I watched you as you stumbled out of bed,
Rushed out the door, the coffee in your hand,

And you looked so lost and lonely,
I knew I had to find a way,

To help you understand,
I wanna be your friend.

So I painted a sunrise in the sky,
And I caused the birds to sing you lullabies,
And I whispered sweet " I Love You's"
In the breeze that brushed your face

You didn't even see,
You never noticed me.

No matter how long it takes, somehow I'll find a way.
No matter how far you run, there's no distance that's too great.

Cause when the wind blows through the tree tops,
And in the music of the rain,
Somehow my love will find a way,
No matter how long it takes.

I watched you as you fell asleep last night,
And I trembled as I watched the tears you cried.

So I splashed your face with moonlight,
And I longed for your embrace.
You never called my name,
I loved you just the same.

In the laughter of children,
I'll be calling out your name.

Somehow my love will find a way.
My love will find a way.
No matter how long it takes.

This is such a beautiful song by Phillip Craig Dean. Its called No matter how long it takes. I tried to find a video on youtube but obviously couldnt find it. So download it no matter how or what. Or just get it from me in MSN haha. It seems to be sung from God's point of view.
Looking down on us as we go about our daily lives, trying to fit everything we can into the 24 hour days he gave us.
Not once stopping to think about him, not once stopping to thank him for all we have.
Not enough time, always not enough time to get down on our knees and talk to him.
We have grown to take so many things for granted. The laughter of children, the breathtaking beauty of sunrise, the elegant gracefulness of moonlight, the morning breeze, the refreshing rain, the birds that sing sweet songs outside our window.
We forget what little miracles God placed in our lives, we overlook them because we are always in a hurry to get to somewhere, to finish something.
Maybe it's time to stop and literally smell the roses. Just to see how much effort God has put into this world.
Just to talk to him, and to thank him for everything.
Just to let him know that we love him as much as he does us.

Spontaneity, our middle name.

2009-05-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

Cindy, Audrey and I went out for a little spontaneous trip up the hills yesterday. It wasn't a long drive as we live pretty close. It only took us about an hour to go back and forth. We wanted to go to this lookout point to have a look cause apparently you can see the whole of Adelaide from there or something. But we never got there cause we got lost, thanks to someone, haha.. but we managed to take some nice pictures, and also managed to take some videos.
Cindy edited the video on her Mac and it turned out really really well I must say, I'm impressed hahaha...

Chillin'

2009-05-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hanging out in Lalita's room always means playing the guitar, the newly acquired ukulele, plenty of laughs, deep conversations, FRIENDS episodes and huddling under her super-comfy quilts. Ergo, FUN.

This is my favourite. LOL. Do you see it? Do you see it?? hahahaha. Its so LOL and lame!!!
LOSER!!!!!!!!!!
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!