Talking to myself

My 100th post

2008-07-03T17:13:00.004+10:00

Now that I've reached my first 100th, it would also be my last. This 100th post would be my VERY LAST ENTRY.

I started bloggin in Mar 2007, more than a year ago. My blog name is TALKING TO MYSELF cuz my blog was intended for myself and myself only. It gets very tough to voice out what I really feel if there are others who see it. I've gotta make it sound general or leave the name as anonymous. Yes, I know it contradicts the primary purpose of blogs since they are electronic diaries meant to be shared publicly. Still, I nv tot that there would be others reading my blog since I'm not a popular person.

For these past few months, I've had occasional "downs", but mostly "ups". For the "downs", emotions towards them have faded away, but they will nevertheless remain forever, impossible to be forgotten. Still, I'm thankful that, in general, I am living as a happy person who has an inspiring family that I am proud of, great friends and who doesn't have to worry about financial burdens.

But it's really ironic that my wonderful life has made me somewhat complacent and less driven. I know that this almost perfect life is transient. This bubble I'm living in will burst, sooner or later. How much longer can I hold on to this near-perfect life of mine?

This 100th post would signify the end to dreamer2dream and a new beginning to another blog.

Personal Records

2008-05-19T02:11:00.002+10:00

I amaze myself once again, w a few new personal records: sleep.

I went w/o sleep for 33.5 hours! It all began w m sleeping at 4am and waking up the next day at 5pm. When I opened my eyes, the sun had already set and the sky was turning dark. I was wide awake thru then night, right up to the next day. I saw the sky brightening and the increasing buzz of vehicle engines. At 7am, I gave up. I left to get breakfast at Gloria Jeans. By 8.30am, I was in the sch lib doing my macro hw. By 2am, my relatives had all gone to bed, but for some reason, I felt down. Just didn't feel like sleeping. I phoned my mum and after chatting w her for an hr, I felt better. So at 3am, I went to sleep. Slept for 9 hrs that night.

Next day, I slept for 15hours! Guess I was still tired from the lack of sleep. By 9pm on sat night, I dozed off and woke up only at 12pm the next day. Hmm.. Would I be able to fall asleep tonight?? I hope so... I certainly don't want to go thru all that haywire sleeping cycle again.

Past wk, I would sleep at 7am and wake up at 2pm cuz I had an assignment to hand in. Switched on my air freshener, played soothing music and with just the study lamp on, the tranquility or the night made it so conducive for the mind to generate thoughts.

what am i doing?

2008-05-02T15:04:00.004+10:00

These few days I've been reflecting on how I've not been as focused and diligent in schwork. My macro assignment and test results are dissatisfactory, considering the fact that I've already done all these in JC. For the assignment, I was complacent and just assumed that my macro tutor wanted the same kind of stuff as my micro tutor, which gave me full marks last sem. For the test, although I started late, I think I wouldn't have gotten more marks from more studying. Had to get them wrong to learn. Well, not that sad for the test. But I need to improve how my mind works under time and exam constraint. So weird how the mind functions when u're under pressure. Things that I couldn't see during the test when they suddenly became so clear after leaving the test room... Still, even my friend could see the loss in motivation in me. Well, it's going to be different from today onwards. I'm going to be more focused. Less playing. And with the help of some psychological burdens on my shoulder, my mood doesn't get to light, keeping me in the down mood, which just makes me wanna not play anymore.

Supposed to move in w my friend next sem. We were on a appartment hunt and we actually found one v suitable one. But becuz we've decided to go for an exchange prog which would commence in 2009 Feb sem, moving into a new place and buying all the furniture and just staying there for 6 months made no sense. She offerred me the room next to hers, whose tenant would be vacating end of this sem. But the partition is so disgustingly thin. Even when the person in other room whispers, the one in the other room can hear. And I value my privacy alot. So now I gotta break the news to her that i won't want to shift in w her in her current unit, after getting her hopes up high. If it's other appartments, it wouldn't be a prob cuz the walls wouldn't be so thin. Still, I gotta tell her soon, cuz she'll need time to find a new place or stay on. I hope she doesn't misunderstand me and thought that I deceived her or something.

My friend's grandfather passed away ytd. She has flown back to attend the wake and will be back after a week. She went to apply for deadline extension for the assignment due this coming mon this mornin w our other friend. We're in a click and yet I chose my sleep over accompanying her to get her extension. I went back to sleep after my alarm sounded. Woke up later supposedly to see her off at her place, yet I was tempted by sleep and the downpour outside just gave me that excuse to not be there. How selfish can I be? Damn. Since young, sleep just has a gripping power over me. Why can't I be supportive towards her? She has been so helpful to me since I've been here, especially in schwork. Who do I run to when I'm stuck in my assignments? Her! Just destroyed my day. Now I can label myself as selfish and undeserving of her.

I'm so scared that they'll have a bad impression of me and not want to take our friendship to the next level. And I dislike myself for complainin and yet not have the willpower to correct my blemishes. AND I HATE IT EVEN MORE WHEN I KNOW SOMEONE IMPT TO ME THINKS THAT I ONLY KNOW HOW TO WALLOW IN SELF-HATE AND SELF-PITY.

Am i that pathetic and disappointing?

2008-04-16T15:35:00.001+10:00

The wound that I keep closed for so long has since been reopened. I've already closed that chapter by accepting a fact that even I hate to accept. And someone thinks that I'm just giving up on myself. Do u think I really want to give up on myself? For someone heavy w pride, giving up on myself is like taking a knife and killing myself.

U say that there will always be other solutions and no one is born this way. I've tried and tried but everytime in vain. Each time I try and fall, the fall just gets heavier. Each time I push myself again, the string that supports me from falling gets worn out, thinner and thinner, that when it finally breaks, the pain from falling is so great that I nv want to climb the wall again. And u want me to go through all tat again.

I know it'll benefit me if I ever succeed. But will I ever?? U 're so sure that I will. U think that u know sadness and frustration. Ya, of course u do. So u do know that somethings just aren't within your control right. It depends on external factors. It's the same concept as mine. Some things aren't just within my control. Doesn't mean if I try hard, I'll be rewards with fruits of labour. Also, U said E was tough and u managed to overcome it by pushing and pushing and trying. What if I say that E was like every thing for me?? It's difficulty level and effort MULTIPLY by so many times. Nvm, u say that there's always another way to view things to make it easier. There are other ways, BUT THEY'RE LIMITED. If it was that simple and if fate can be totally controlled by one's own hands, the world wouldn't be such a problematic place with wars going on and disputes persisting for decades.

Maybe u're right and if I trough longer, I'll see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I want you to be right and myself to be wrong, cuz the outcome would still benefit me. But I'm still not convinced by ur argument. Knowing that u find me disappointing makes me hate myself more. So I hate u for causing me so much pain. Pain is an understatement. U may find it unfair, then go ahead and be angry w me. But I still hate u.

What the... excessive baggage weight of 17kg!!

2008-02-20T16:07:00.000+11:00

Dad was really stressed out that 3 hrs before leaving for airport, I've yet to 100% completed my packing. In fact, I was only 90% done. Previously last year, I was 97%. That's bad.. Haha.

I needed him to stress me, cuz afterthat, I started moving faster. 1 hr before leaving hse, we were done. BUt alas!!!! 17kg overweight!!! That's alot man!!! 1 huge luggage and 4 boxes can add up to 57kg...

Dinner was bad. I got stressed and as a result, I lost my appetite. There was sharkfin's soup, but i could only down half a bowl. It was that bad. Later on, we decided to take away 2 boxes. My father would be flying to Mel in a wk's time so he'll ferry them for me. $28 taxi fare still much cheaper than $150 excessive baggage fee... After knowing that we do not have to pay the penalty fee and that I'll be able to stack my 2 boxes, 1 huge luggage, 1 cabin bag on a trolley w myself straddled w my handbag and my laptop bag, I felt so much relieved.

Afterthat , everything went smoothly. Check-in totalled up to 32kg. Phew...

Our last day

2008-02-18T19:49:00.000+11:00

OY took leave specially to spend time w me before I left for Melbourne the next day. I asked him to help me w my packing cuz I realli didn't have the self-discipline to do it. I spent a few hrs 2 nights b4 but i couldn't even achieve 10% cuz I was so distracted by the tv. But I had to switch it on, couldn't control myself.

The night b4, my sis helped me to pack. There's just so many things that must go in and I realli didn't know where to start. I just sat there and watch and I was amazed at how fast packing could be. U pick it up, squeeze it in and go on to the next item. Can't go in totally? Squeeze harder. WOw. What I couldn't do in a few hrs, she did it in half an hr!! Plus, packing alone is nv fun.

OY did alot too. He helped pack 2 boxes. I did 1 box. So sian man. Every 15min, I would sigh. This's the most borin packin I've done.

Really grateful that he took leave to spend time w me. He was willing to go shoppin w me too. WHich I think is v sincere, cuz from wat i know, most guys dread shoppin w their gf.

Anniversary celebration

2008-02-17T15:35:00.000+11:00

OY and I had lunch at Out of the Pan restaurant as Raffles City shoppin mall. I couldn't wait to show him the card I personally made for him. Spent many hrs of that. Not really becuz it was an impressive card, it's just that I lack art genes so it takes much more time and effort. But I'm still v proud of myself.

We went to Tamp Mall to collect my altered Levi's and to watch Kungfu DUnk. What a disappointment. I was expecting more bball stunts other than the dunking w style and arrogance. Where's the dribbling man??

Met up w Angeline, Shuli and her Kenneth at Sakae for dinner. Afterthat, we went to Siglap for my craved Gelato ice-cream and a drink at the nearby pub. He had a flaming lamborghini but was perfectly fine. After I downed mine the other time, I became tipsy. Started slurring, images became slightly blurry and the tormenting want to vomit but don't want to vomit feeling. Oh, it was bad...

We walked a small distance back to my home. It was a breezy cool yet hot night.

The best Chinese New Year ever!!

2008-02-10T19:08:00.000+11:00

This year's the best in terms of meaning, activities and efficiency.

Chu yi: 1st uncle's place n grand aunt's place, as usual. But at night we had dinner at maternal granddad's place. We even gambled Blackjack. I won a dollar. Haha. Excluding the 2 hr nap I took in between at home, it was a well-spent day. To end the day off, mahjong galore!! And I won a game w 7 doubles - Pong Pong, Half Colour, 1 animal, Facai and Baiban!!! BUt no real money involved. Hahah. Still happy though.

Chu er: 1st uncle's family came to our hse for lunch. After lunch, a round of Blackjack. This was the first time we as a family, ever gambled. I won 2 dollars. Haha. Then they left, and the 2nd round of guest came at 4pm. My father's cousins were here to visit their auntie, my grandma. 6pm, they left and at 7pm, the next round came - my mum's dad and brother together w his parents-in-law. Mahjong again. Haha, till 3am.

Chu san: Visited bf's hse, then he came over to mine to watch a DVD n played comp games. For dinner, we had steamboat. Mum already had them w her grp of friends. After we were done, my sis and her grp of friends was next on the list for steamboat. She brought like a dozen friends from her dance class. As they left after dinner to visit other pple's place, it was another night of mahjong for us - 2nd uncle, mum, myself and my bf. We played till 4am. It was a 3 win 1 game. Definitely not me who lost. Haha!!

Chu si: Dumplings for lunch at my mum's Beijing staff place, like every year. Afterthat, met up w OY to purchase our rings. And that day was the end for my Chinese New Year buzz, everything started to slide back to norm from that day onwards. And I'm getting a lil sick of mahjong...

A special lunar new year's eve

2008-02-07T14:53:00.001+11:00

For the 1st time in many years, I helped my mum w the decorations. Though troublesome, but it had made my chinese new year for 2008 slightly more meaningful. In addition, my second uncle, who had migrated to Canada is back to celebrate w us.

The last time I had seen him was in Jun 2006. It was a great 2 wks when he was putting up at my hse. The hse was filled w a fresh wale of laughters. He nv failed to make everyone laugh. NOt because his jokes were funny, but becuz of his laughter itself. It was so unique and so CONTAGIOUS.

On chinese new year's eve, after returning from my first uncle's, we'll do our individual task. My aunt would be cutting the Bah Qwa into cubes to put into the container, my maid would be doing the last phase of cleaning n washin, my sis and I would help with filling up the serving dishes w food for the guests. And this year, my second uncle was there to help us. Haha. It wasn't just an extra pair of hands, but a special warmth.

And what a better way to spend the eve with a round of Mahjong!! Including my 2nd uncle, we had 4 pple!! We don't have to waste our saliva persuadin my sis to play. We were up till 3.30am!!

SALES here SALES there, SALES EVERYWHERE

2008-02-05T14:35:00.000+11:00

This wkend was the one which I had done the most shopping!! I went to malls everyday!! Best still, THE SALES WERE ON.

Besides the cheap stuff at Bugis Village, I'm v proud of my $25 Giordano Cardigan I got after a 50% discount. I bought a G2000 Blu jacket at $39 when it's original price was $89! Giordano is nothing. Brand is nothing. It's the thrill of knowing that I got my stuff at such lower price!

Another highlight was that I bought my very first LEVI'S. I normally don't spend this kind of money cuz it's really not worth it. But then, I was in the shoppin mood and I felt richer after working for 1 n half months.

What a wk!!

Last day at SUN

2008-01-31T23:16:00.000+11:00

The 1 and half month surely seemed short. So quickly, it was my last day workin at Sun Microsystems. I was v lonely at first, but my colleagues were v friendly towards me. Invitin me to join them for lunch, especially Rachel. She's a year older than I am. Maybe that's why i click better with her. Moreover, she's real nice to me.

My in-charge, Nafisah, was also v patient and nice w me. We click quite well too, cuz she's abt 7 yrs older than me, i guess... We chatted pretty much and I clicked well w her cuz she's the only Malay in the whole Chinese population, who already seemed so bonded with one another.

On my last day - 31st Jan, Nafisah treated me to a lunch at Swensons. We had a long conversation. I felt v much comfortable even though it was just the 2 of us. Before I left, Rachel, on behalf of the marketing dept, put together a bag of farewell gifts. Everything was Sun's goodies. In the Sun paper bag, there was a mousepad, mouse, pen, notepad, mug, calendar. Freebies leftover from events i suppose. But that's perfectly alright. Cuz it's really the tot that counts and having Sun's stuff makes these freebies really gd momentos!!

Saying my last gd byes to the colleagues I worked with, I felt a lil sad. Not that I realli loved working there. It's just that they were really nice w me. Felt warmth and taken care of. But i'm even more glad thaT I NO LONGER HAVE TO WAKE UP AT 7.30AM N TAKE THE TRAIN TO CLARK QUAY EVERYDAY. YES!!!!!!

lunch w Permadi

2008-01-08T22:39:00.000+11:00

Had a short lunch w a friend I made in Australia, Permadi. He's an Indo-Chinese. And just like how everyone would think of when hearing the word "indonesian Chinese", yes, he is rich. HAHA.

I don't give praises easily, especially to the person himself, so I shall say it here. Man, what's w my pride. Another pt to add in my 'New Year Resolution' checklist --- praise pple more.

Permadi is a really great friend to have. He's rich, but he doesn't act yaya. He does buy expensive accessories and apparels, but he doesn't really flaunt it. He's v sociable, v comfortable to talk w and be with. He's got a lot of friends, but he makes a pt to dedicate some time for everyone. And another gd pt abt him is that he makes pple feel gd abt themselves, by lavishin them w praises. But just a lil too much. Heehee...

Today, we met up for lunch. It was a working day, so he drove to my office at Clark Quay and we had lunch nearby. He was actually feeling sick, cough and flu, but he still came n have lunch w me. Minus the fact that he made me wait 30min cuz he got lost trying to find my place, it was really a gd lunch. Chat abt lotsa stuff tat happened to my friends and I.

He's flying back to Melbourne on 3rd Feb. I can't see him off cuz i've to work. But again, see him off for wat?? I'll see him again when i return to Melbourne!! LOL!!!

The meaning to life >> The reason to my emptiness

2007-12-23T03:11:00.000+11:00

The past few days have been spent ponderin deeply abt the meaning of life. After acceptin that simple reason of Material & Non-material living, I searched my heart for smth meaningful to do. And I immediately found one issue that has been buggin me for years but I just didn't have the perserverance to act on it.

I've always believed that everyone shd appreciate n hold on strongly to his/her roots. Roots provide us w a link to our existence. It reminds us of who we realli are, where we realli come from n the transition from there to our current places. As strongly as I believe in this, it is getting further away from my grasp.

Although for pple in my generation, roots seem to be a v vague n out-of-reach topic, I still feel fortunate that I'm not born even later as this would send me futher away from history n decrease my chances of sucessfully pursuin this belief.

This emptiness has triggered me to search for the cause, which now I've identified n it has caused some pain n overwhelmin emotions -- tears, sense of helplessness n regret. But it's time I wake up n pursue what I shd. I need to hurry, cuz time is not on my side. Merciless time holds every single human being captive with unbreakable shackles of ageing n death.

The meaning to life >> My insight

2007-12-21T04:48:00.000+11:00

Feelin so down these past few days. Been reflectin on e way I'm leadin my life. So meaningless. Gd news is, after days of serious pondein, I know what I'm lackin n what I've to do.

There's always a balance to everything in this universe. One's life not only requires material satisfaction, it also requires non-material fulfilment. When one pursues both w balance, then, I feel, that his/her life is meaningful.

My life's material aspect is not botherin me. Although I'm neither rich nor self-dependent, I still feel that at my age, my meagre salary drawn from my admin job is still reasonable. However, I can't say the same for the non-material aspect. For I feel that it's far below acceptable levels.

Non-material fulfilment cannot be satisfied using money. To me, pursuin this would refer to performin acts that r not done for self gains. In helpin others or doing smth purely for the soul, the joy would create it's own sense of fulfilment.

After comprehendin this logic, I now am aware of the reason to the sense of voidness buggin me. It's a v common-sense fact, but becuz I was feelin exceptionally emotional these past few days, this issue ballooned n realli got me thinkin.

Admin job

2007-12-21T00:07:00.000+11:00

My first day at work sucked. I was overwhelmed w boredom n loneliness. My job for that day was data extraction from online website. So I spent the whole 7hrs, clicking 7 buttons over n over again. Worse, it was coupled w the 'outcast' treatment tat my colleagues administered. They just chatted and laughed among themselves, totally ignoring me :( Felt a little hurt. I ended up going for lunch alone. The clocked finally striked 6pm n I couldn't be happier.

Second day was much better. My colleague invited me out for lunch. There were some conversations so at least some ice was broken. A 1hr lunch break extended to a 1hr 45min one becuz they went shoppin. We spent 30min in that boutiquette. Wa, can't believe it. I was bored but I still stayed on becuz it didn't felt right to just leave. Anyway, longer break? I don't mind. I teased them a few times later tat day abt their shoppin. It was as if they had been caged up in their office cubicle n deprived of shoppin. After returnin from lunch, the air felt so much less tense. I didn't felt like an outcast anymore.

Third day was great. We went for lunch together again. This time w my in-charge. They treated me to lunch. Durin lunch, there were many qns abt my life. For that few min, I felt like I was at the centre of attention. They asked abt my age, my relationship status, my undergrad studies n was particularly interested in my mum's childcare centres. I managed to get to know my in-charge a little better too.

Fourth day was so-so. This time, they didn't invite me for lunch w them, but I went our w my in-charge n her colleague. We had quite a gd conversation too. I found out that my in-charge is actually not a Malay, but an Indian!!! She always dresses up in a tudung n malay dress. Workload that day was less boring. Being stationed away from my original seat n into a quiter area, it felt peaceful. My mood tat day was exceptionally lighter too, cuz I was going to have a long break. Sat, Sun, Mon & Tue. Office is closed on X'mas eve n X'mas Day. Yippeee!!!

When I return to work, it's going to be telemarketing time. Lotsa pple to call n data to fill up. A lil nervous abt it. I hope I get to sit at an isolated corner so I don't embarrass myself in front of my colleagues.

PLAY no more, time for WORK

2007-12-16T20:47:00.000+11:00

Played Bridge n mahjong w friends the whole night at Crystal's place last night. After our katong laksa dinner, we went to her hse. It was huge!! I like the cosy n spacious feeling that it has. But in terms of level of effort needed to tidy up the hse, u dieeeeeee..

Her mum bought roti prata breakfast for us. V pleasant n hospitable mum she has. After that, we took our bus home. I was dead tired n I snoozed. AND I OVERSLEPT MY STOP!!

Replenished my insufficient sleep till 3pm. Then, went down to Eastpoint Mall to do some work clothes shopping. After dinner, Mum accompanied me to Eastpoint Mall again for the same reason. And she was of tremendous help. She clearly picked out office clothes for me. Being a career woman, she has an eye for office wear.

Tossed n turned for a while that night. Guess I was a little excited n nervous abt my FIRST DAY at WORK.

I GOT A JOB !!!!

2007-12-13T01:11:00.000+11:00

The lady from the job agency called me up this mornin. I GOT THE JOB !!! Bored at home, I shall no longer be. It's an admin job in an american IT co and I'll be workin there till end of JAN. From 9 to 6, pays $6.50 per hr, at Clark Quay. It's quite far away as I live in Simei.

I went for that job interview the prev THU dressed so smartly. Striped long sleeve buttoned blouse, black pants and heels. Looked so professional. I cruised thru the interview :) As I was meetin my AUS friends afterthat got a night of fun at Settlers, I waited at NGEE ANN CITY. I sat near the water fountain at the basement for an hr plus. I just sat that, watching pple walk by. Then I moved to the other tower and sat there for 45min. Same thing, watchin pple. My feet were aching from the heels so I just sat there, and rotted.

It was realli an evening of great fun n laughter at Settler's Cafe. The games they provided were really enjoyable and mind-stimulating. Gd thing I brought along an extra pair of slippers, so I walked home w that instead of heels. Haha. Smart. Which also means, unskilled. Cuz i can't stand more than a few hrs in heels. More practice needed...

Bugger

2007-12-12T23:24:00.000+11:00

Smth has been buggin me for the past few days. Some issue tat I'm facing now. Actually, it's an issue there has resurfaced. And after much thot, the conclusion I've reached is bleak.

This conclusion is realli frustratin me. I feel annoyed at myself for reachin that conclusion. A big part of me doesnt want this. There has to be another outcome.

LaZY SlaCkeR at HOmE

2007-11-30T15:20:00.000+11:00

It has been 2 wks since I returned from Melbourne. And for these 2 wks, my main 3 activities are EAT, WATCH TV and SLEEP. Nothing else can better describle my current life.

I wake up at 12.30pm, get my maid to buy lunch for me and just sit in front of the comp and tv till dinner time. Abt 6.45pm, I'll take my dog for his daily evening walk. 7pm is dinnertime and also TV TIME again. All the way till 10pm. Then, I'll either surf the net or continue w more shows. I'll only shower near midnight. Well, what to say, I'm a real lazy person. And when it comes to showering, I'll beat everyone of u hands down.

After 2 wks of this kind of meaningless and unhealthy lifestyle, I've started to get seriously bored. The night before, I got so bored that i offerred to give my sis a pedicure. And every night, I'll call up my sis or my mum to check up on them and ask them to come home soon. SEE, DESPERATE RIGHT.

Ytd, I prepared my resume and applied for a job. DOn't think I'll get the job though.

My Exam results

2007-11-29T15:32:00.000+11:00

Received my exam results via SMS today. Quite disappointin...

I take 4 subjects per semester. For this sem, I took ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS STATISTICS, COMMERCIAL LAW and MICROECONOMICS. I managed to get HIGH DISTINCTION (HD) for 3, except for a miserable PASS (P) for my COMMERCIAL LAW. I was aiming for a CREDIT (C) for this sub, but scored below my expectations.

Actually, this subject is realli interesting. But my prob was I only grasped the idea of answering the qns 2 wks before the paper. Plus, I didn't practise regularly. So maybe I asked for it. But come on la. Borderline pass is realli embarrassing. At least I shd get a CREDIT. Damn.

I don't feel as sad as I think I shd be. Maybe becuz I got HD for the other 3 subs. Next sem, my subjects are going to be harder becuz all of them would be essay-based. Gotta work even harder then. Kempatei!!!!

I'm BACK!!!

2007-11-13T14:46:00.000+11:00

I AM BACK FROM MELBOURNE !!!! It's been 4 months away from home, away from my family and friends.

When my mum and sis came to fetch me from the airport, apart from the slight anger as they made me wait while i see all my other friends were already received, hugged and taken home by their family, it felt gd seeing then again. It was 11pm, but I'm real happy that my Grandma and Aunt stayed up to wait for me. Normally they sleep real early.

Oh, and the exceptionally big and enthusiastic welcome by my darling dog, Lucky, made my night even more jolly. He was estatic when he saw me! Jumping and prancing. I gave him a big hug and a few big kisses on his tiny brown head.

As I opened my luggage, my dog circled around it like it was treasure chest. Gifts for my grandma, aunt, maid, sis, dad, mum, friends, relatives and even my DARLING DOG. I got him a golden collar badge which had his name and our hse contact details engraved on it. Not forgetting, the cheese that I smuggled from the plane. My dog really loves cheese.

Lying on my bed, I felt a sense of comfort and love. Then, slumber.

Movie night

2007-09-25T23:22:00.000+10:00

Attended 1 hr of badminton (5pm - 6pm) today. Think I managed to do a few smashes. Not 100% perfect, but I'm starting to feel it. After that, went for dinner with some friends at Subway. Mmm.. haven't had Subway for a long long time. Quite surprised that they called me along. Normally they don't.

Watched a dvd, V for Vendetta, at Shuwen's place afterthat. Shared some choc ice cream too. The storyline was gd, but the actor seemed to mumbled quite alot. As we didn't switch on subtitles, it took us a lot of effort to catch the conversations and the plot. Shuwen didn't know that subtitles could be switched on. On the other hand, Crystal and I didn't bother to insist on subtitles becuz we could still catch most of the words. I don't know why I didn't insist on the subtitles. Shd have.. wasted so much energy in understanding the coversations.

Crystal wanted to play bridge after the show ended. I told them to leave me out becuz I knew if we had started, we would nv stop. And I still wanna do some work for the night.

Farewell dinner for Val

2007-09-24T23:58:00.000+10:00

Woke up at 4.30pm after staying up the whole night playing bridge.

Sadia, Shuwen, Crystal and I treated Val to an Indian farewell dinner which was near our apartments. Val is discontinuing her arts and design course becuz she just discovered that the degree she would obtain is equivalent to a Poly diploma in S'pore. Yea, she wasted almost a year here, but at least she found out now rather than later. Val has already been accepted in some computer design course in S'pore and would be commencing lessons next month.

The dinner was so-so. Val and I bought sparkling wine, Pink Moscato, to dinner as the restaurant was BYO. Yea, Val and I have been drinking wines the past few weeks. I'm not a wine drinker but during those weeks, I just had that craving for sparkling wines.

I've tried Bianco, Chardonnay and Pink Moscato. I like fruity wines. They're not as sweet as fruit juice and not as bitter as white wine. 12% alcohol. Shared with my friends.

Played bridge for another 3 more hrs at Shuwen's place after our dinner. Crystal is so hooked man...

Bday celebrationS...

2007-09-24T22:42:00.000+10:00

Just had one of the best wkend ever since I reached Mel. Celebrated 3 bdays in this wk! In the month of Sep, on 19th is Hwee Chin's, on 22nd is Michelle and on 23rd, is my bday. For Michelle, she invited us over to her place. We played Cluedo and Monopoly and had many choc biscuits. The cake her host baked for her was also v delicious.

On Sun, our 3 bdays were celebrated with a wonderful BBQ at Shuwen's place and stayover at mine. Hwee Chin, Crystal, Shuwen and I shopped for our food at Queen Vic during the late morning. From there, we brought all the food over to Shuwen's place and marinated them with whatever sauces or spices we had. I even travelled all the way back to my own place to fetch mine.

At 5.30pm, we officially 'started fire'. It's 'started fire' becuz it was an electric grill. But it was a very efficient-working one. The grilling plate was very well-heated and it took v short time to cook our food. We had sotong, lamb chops, pork chops, beef chops, beef sausages, fish fillets, chicken wings and onions. Everyone loved the pork chops that I marinated!! My bbq recipe that I've been using all along, taught by my mum. Crystal also cooked curry (premix kind), which was seriously gd too.

In total, there were Shuwen, Crystal, Hwee Chin, Sadia, Val, Joanne, Michelle and Jessica at the BBQ. Most of us took the initiative to take turns to do the cooking. Afterthat, there was cake and jelly. Not forgetting, the present-giving time. Each of us received a $15 voucher to do Manicure.

After showering at our own places, they made their way to my place for our stayover. We spent the whole night playing bridge. Only Crystal, Shuwen and I knew how to play bridge, so we taught the rest. I also don't know how we spent the whole 1am to 7am playing bridge. But it was enjoyable. By 7am, Hwee Ching was knocked out. Only Crystal and I stayed up the whole entire night. We were playing O2 Jam. Hahha.

Then we had breakfast at a nearby deli. Pies.... Afterthat, they left while I accompanied Jessica to a nearby market at Carnegie. I tot I could still last an hr more, but while walking to that market, I swear that I dozed off while walking. I would blink and open my eyes a second later to find myself deviated from my path by 20degrees!!!

By the time I reached back to my place, I immediately got changed and jumped into my bed to sleep. From 10am till 4.30pm. So tired....

A visit from my father

2007-09-13T12:07:00.000+10:00

Was awakened by the ringing of my hp. My father called to notify me of his arrival in Mel and to arrange our meeting. 10.30am at Rendezvous Hotel along Flinders St. Had a quick toast and milo brekky then made my way to the city.

"knock, knock"... The door opened and I was first greeted with the splendid decor of room and its majestic ceiling height. And of course... my father. A big welcome hug and another one on behalf of my mother. I can't remember what was our opening conversation.

I watched tv in his bedroom while he was using his comp outside. Eyes felt weary from my insufficient sleep. Still, it can't be compared to my dad's 1 hr of sleep. Left the hotel at 11.30am and walked to Little Bourke St (chinatown area) for our tim sum lunch. Chatted quite alot during lunch. Actually, it was mostly me sharing my stories.

So full and satisfied from lunch. We took a taxi from hotel to my appartment becuz dad was lugging 2 heavy luggages with him. All of my stuff - printer, clothes, accessories etc. I would have wished that I could give me a tour of my appartment, but the only rooms that I have to show him are my main room (aka bedroom, dining room, study room) and toilet, which I'm immensely proud of. Equivalent to a hotel's toilet if I would say.

Took him for a walk to sch to let him have a look at the neighbourhood. Gave him a mini tour of my sch too. Afterthat, I left to attend my Comm Law tut while he made his way back on his own. During Comm Law tut, I found it hard to focus. The fact that my father is actually in my room still couldn't sink in. Finally the long 1 hr passed and I was so eager to make my way back home.

When I reached home, he had unpacked my stuff and set up the printer for me. I took a rest and a shower while I left him to play his stock market. So addicted. He rather plays the stock market than sleep. He claimed that the shares up in an upward trend now, so must grab all opportunities. BLah...

Finally, around 6.45am, we left for the city. We took the tram and the train. It was the first time for him. I bought his tickets and explained briefly Mel transport system. Haha, feels gd to be in control.

Left for Crown for steak dinner. And I made a v gungho decision. I was just going to wear my long sleeve turtle neck. One layer. At night. 11 degrees. Well, it was cold, but still v bearable. 'Cooling' is the way I would like to perceive it. Dinner was great! I had a Porterhouse steak with chips. Even the salad was tasty. So delicious...

Then, the highlight of the night - gambling at the Crown Casino. That night was the first time I entered into a casino. It was huge. There were so many tables and pple crowding around the tables. The croupiers were really skilled. Fast, yet graceful.

Dad played the roulette and I just watched. He also told me to place bets on any numbers I like. Starting from a capital of $30, we cashed out with $68. I told him I wanted to try the Chinese game - Big/Small. Haha, so he gave me two $5 chips. I squeezed and pushed my way to place my chips on the table - on 2 pts and 4 pts. I had a 50-50 chance of winning. And how unlucky can I get - 1, 3 and 5 appeared on the dice. Faintz....

Well, that is gambling for u. I told him I wanted to try some cocktail drink. So he brought me to the bar on the ground floor. I ordered a Sunrise Tequila while he ordered a plain beer. If u're wondering did I dropped drunk and had to be carried back by my dad, no, i didn't.

By the time we returned to the hotel, it was 11pm plus. Watched tv and flipped thru my Comm law textbook while my dad was fiddling with his comp. Both of us were sleepy by then, so we slept around 1am. He took his bedroom while I slept on the long couch outside in the living room, which was surprisingly comfortable too.

My first time changing light bulb

2007-09-10T01:58:00.000+10:00

My room's light bulb fused a few days ago. Fortunately, I still had my study lamp. Or else, I would be living in total darkness. Bought a new light bulb from COLES supermart today. Immediately when I got home, I installed the new bulb. 'Ting', my room is bright again.

Come to think of it, this is the very first time in my entire life I changed a light bulb. Super easy peasy. Another sign of my growing independence.

My new shoe rack

2007-09-09T02:08:00.000+10:00

Finally cleaned up the shoe rack that Aunt Jessica gave to me. It had been sitting in my room in a black garbage bag, filthly and dusty, for past 2 wks. I was too lazy to clean the rack up. And finally, motivated by the fact that my dad is coming to visit me, I decided to wash it.

Now, I've got my own shoe rack. WOOHoooo... 3 storeys to put my shoes and slippers.

And I've changed my bedsheet too. Like finally, after 1 month... The previous one looks better. Looks cuter with all the lady birds illustrations on it.

Shopped at Victoria Market this morning for groceries too. Bought sweet corn, potatoes, snow peas, apples, meat etc. Well, all in an effort to make my fridge look impressive when my dad comes.

I'm excited that he's coming. Though sadly, it's only for a day.

Lazy Thursdays

2007-09-06T11:24:00.000+10:00

Thursdays... 1 hr of lesson (10-11am) and then I'm free for the whole day.

Met up w Permadi for lunch today. Tried this Thai eatery nearby but we weren't impressed. Updated each other w what's happening cuz we haven't bumped into each other for some time. He's quite busy w his committee and friends stuff.

Prepared hotdogs for lunch. I've been eating one hotdog bread everyday!! Cuz it's sold in 6 and it expires real quick, like in 7 days!! A bit sick of hotdog already. It has been my breakfast for the past 2 wks, everyday!!! Oh, and I managed to finish my mango juice by today cuz it expires after tonight. Took a 2 hr nap and woke up at abt 5.30pm. Prepared dinner and rushed off to sch for badminton.

Been playing badminton for a few wks already. Each wk twice, on tue and thu. That's why thu is such an enjoyable day. Firstly, there's the short lesson in the morning. Secondly, there's the free time in the afternoon to do my hw. Last but not least, badminton in the evening. Partnered Josh for doubles tonight, a new friend I made in badminton. He's a Singaporean and is currently studying in the IT faculty.

Still feel quite energetic. Cuz i took a 2 hr nap in the afternoon. These past few days have been 'sleep early, wake up early'. Truthfully, it's quite a pleasant feeling to start the day early. But always, by midnight, i'll be feeling dead tired. Stopped this trend today by nappping in afternoon. I'll do this again next wk. Hopefully, make it habitual.

Back at my place on Mon

2007-09-03T23:13:00.000+10:00

Spent sat and sun night at Aunt Jessica's place. Dinner was wonderful. We even had supper-baked sweet corn and sweet potato. Aunt Jessica even tried making chwee kueh. Tasted quite alright. So nice of her to pack some for me to bring back to my appartment.

Left her place at 8am and was back at my appartment by 10.30am. Actually, it feels gd to start the day early. Feels like a very well-lived day. Walked more, seen more, breathed more.

Did my laundry today. Finally changed my bedsheet too. Lol! Watched Oprah Winfrey show till 2pm even though Microecons lecture started at 2pm. I normally don't do this but today was special. The main cast of the Grey's Anatomy was on!!! So interesting to watch!! Just after show ended, I rushed to take out my laundry from the dryer. Was already late for lecture so I just threw them around the room. Yes, it was practically strewn with clothes.

I even walked to sch today. Normally I would take the tram, but the weather was great and it had been a long time since I walked to sch. Dressed down with plain shirt, track pants and flip flops. First time at that.

Dinner tonight was horrible. Beansprouts and tofu didn't turn out the way I wanted. Snacked on cereal and a muesli bar, so fattening.....

Going to sleep now. Supposed to start on my accounting assignment but I just don't feel like doing any hw. Going to wake up early tmr, 7.30am. Have a delicious and filling breakfast, then start on my assignment. I've already decided to have a hotdog, a mushroom omelette and a warm cup of milo... Mmm..

Biz stats...

2007-08-30T13:10:00.000+10:00

Got back my Biz Stats assg today. Scored 43/48. Although it's a High Distinction (HD), I don't know if I shd be happy. I've seen a few others who had scored 46/48. I think there are most probably others higher than me.

Ok, hold on.... HD is what I've been aiming for. So, I shd be happy! I was so afraid I would get a Distinction (D) only. Yea. So I got what I want. I shd be celebrating.

Still, I just don't like the feeling of not having a super high mark. This was an easy assg. I spent a few days in total to finish it, while this friend of mine, started only a day before assg was due and yet, he scored 46/48! WHAT THE... I'm going to flip thru his assg next wk. Gotta find out what's that secret of excelling in time constraint.

Just sat for my Biz Stats test today. Weightage is 12%. Assg was only 6%. It seemed pretty easy. I breezed thru the test. But I don't like the feeling of me finding the test easy. It always ends up with a disappointing mark. I pray that I can get one of the highest in class at least.

Playing badminton

2007-08-28T22:43:00.000+10:00

Joined the badminton club last Fri. Michelle, my HK friend, also joined too. Membership fee was $30 per semester. We can go to play on tue, thu and fri. Best thing is, rackets are provided.

Went to play badminton w Michelle today. Got changed and searched for that cool looking racket with purple strings. It felt like a gd racket. It was light and the string tension was firm. Just wat I like, light and firm. Played only a few games in the 3 hrs spent there. Cuz we gotta take turns to use the court. Gd thing it wasn't crowded.

Made a new friend today. Her name is Cadence, a M'sian. We played doubles against two others. I think it was fortunate that I didn't introduce myself immediately. Cuz after chatting w her, I learnt that she had a very bad impression of S'poreans. She claims that all of S'poreans are bitchy. Ok.... But, gd news, she clearly mentioned that I wasn't. Phew...

We played a few more matches together. Taught me a few badminton tips. Pretty nice girl. Very outgoing too. Declared that she loved clubbing. Wish I could go clubbing one of these days. Clubbing is supposed to be a highlight in Melbourne.

Wasted quite a lot of time already. Got a BIZ STATS test day after tmr and still not even 20% prepared. Plus, there's the accounting hw due tmr. Faintz...

Greedy Pig

2007-08-24T21:43:00.000+10:00

I've lost every ounce of self-control that I used to have. Lost total control over my willpower to resist temptation to snack or not to overeat. I've been overeating ever since I reached Aus. Everyday, I tell myself to not overeat, not touch that chocolate cookie, that muesli bar, but I always end up munching on sinful food.

Situation has worsened. Tonight, I whooped down 2 packets of instant noodles. Slurped up even the last strand. I'm not exercising and yet, I'm still eating more than what my body requires.

Staring at my own reflection in the mirror, I can see myself getting rounder and rounder. Yet, I can't stop. Day by day, I'm getting immuned to the fact that I'm gaining weight. Last time, I would be so terrified at the slight thought of myself putting on weight.

I haven't stood on a weighing scale for months. I haven't got one in Aus. I worry abt the outcome. It's definitive that my weight has increased. But the question is... by how much?? Can I handle the truth? Will I just wallow in self-pity and continue my terrible eating habits?

Enough of hiding in ignorance, no matter how bliss it is. What I need, is a weighing scale. I need my wake-up call.

shopping in the city. Just grocery shoppin...

2007-08-19T02:03:00.000+10:00

Went out with my S'porean friends to do our grocery shopping at Queen Victoria Market. It's this huge dry and wet market located in the city. I was there mainly for the clothes while a few others were there seriously for groceries. They even dragged their ah ma black trolley bags with them. U won't catch me dragging one of those. HAh.

Before that, we went to Sharkfin House Restaurant for some authentic Dim Sum lunch. There were waitress pushing carts carrying Dim Sum and you gotta order from there rather than order from a menu. So exciting. First time that I've eaten in this kind of traditional HK Dim Sum restaurants. The food was great!

I was introduced to Krispy Kreme, which is famous for donuts. We bought a dozen and everyone took 2 each. OMG, it was SUPER SWEET!! The original donut which I ate, was coated with frosted sugar. Although extremely sweet, the dough texture was soft and tasty. But I suspect it was that extremely sweet donut which had caused me to get motion sickness in the tram on the way back home afterthat. The overwhelming sugar content must have created a feeling of fullness so great that my mind, which was susceptible to motion sickness, fell prey to it. U know the situation where u've overeaten and u hop on a bus?

A few of my friends showed a lil concern for me, which made me feel good. It's always nice to have friends showing their concern. Implies that I matter to them and not just a person who's hanging out with them.

Woo hoo! 2 more down!

2007-08-18T01:47:00.000+10:00

Handed in 2 assignments today, Business Stats and Commercial Law. Managed to catch only a few hrs of sleep the past 2 nights. I would stay up till 2am, then nap till 5am. From 5am, I would chiong till 8am. After having breakfast, I would then make my way to sch.

During the last few min to deadline time, my friend, San San and I rushed to hand in our assignments. We had last min touching up to do. Then there was the double checking and the printing, and finally, the final sprint to the office building. Felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction when I slotted in my assignment into my tutor's pigeon hole.

All that frenzy happening even when I didn't start late. I've decided that I would start even earlier next time round. No more last min printing, last min typing and sprinting to the office.

Gonna take the whole night off. Steering clear away from my books and just slack. Watching Bourne's Supremacy now. Gonna sleep by midnight too, smth which I hadn't done for a long while. Can only afford to slack for one night. I still have many wks of lectures and tut to catch up with. Plus, I've got 2 tests and a presentation to study by next wkend.

HuiYing, out.

Assignments assignments!!

2007-08-12T21:04:00.000+10:00

Slept at 5am last night to do my COMMERCIAL LAW assignment. I must have had a mental block of something. Took me 5 hrs to produce a 500-word essay. Not that it was tough. My main problem was the expressing of my ideas and presenting them in an orderly and smooth format. Had so many ideas in my head but all of them were so jumbled up. Concept map didn't help much. I think it's just a problem with my slow-functioning brain.....

Uncle Peter fetched me to my appartment and Jared, my dear younger cousin hopped on cuz he wanted to take a look at my place. When he finally saw my place, he was astounded at how small it was. He was picturing a bigger appartment, with living room and kitchen I guess. When it was time to say gdbye, he gave me a gdbye hug. I was feeling slightly sad. It's always the feeling I get on Sun nights when I've to leave them and return to my place.

Supposed to finish my MICROECONS assignment by tonight cuz it's due tmr. But I'm so stuck! I've ran out of ideas and I still need another 200 more words. Was starting to feel frustrated. Logged on to MSN in search of help. Luckily, Crystal, was willing to send me her assignment. Even more fortunately, was that she could convert her Words 2007 to Words 2003 cuz my comp uses 2003 version.

After readin her assignment, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, I knew how to proceed. I took a 20min-long hot shower to recharge myself. It was 1am by then. Only finished at 4am. And I still got 2 more to hand in this FRI. FAINTZZZ..

At the library

2007-08-10T21:04:00.000+10:00

After dinner, I went back to sch lib to do my BIZ STATS assignment. Brought along my textbk and notebook. Permadi joined me too. We stayed till 11.30pm. Library closes at midnight though. Got a lift back. Hee hee..

Both of us couldn't accomplish much. For me, I just couldn't work out a chart in Excel for BIZ STATS. I started on the skeleton of my MICROECONS assignment.Permadi had some problems focusing too. At least we did do a bit of work, better than nothing. Went home to work on that skeleton, but decided to sleep early. It was already 1am and I've to wake up early the next day. Breakfast, plus I'm going back to my aunt's. YIPEE!!

I love going to my aunt's place. There's so much more life over there. I've my cousins to talk to and to eat with. Specially Jared, my younger cousin.

Happy birthday Singapore!

2007-08-09T20:52:00.000+10:00

It's Singapore's national day today. Hui Jing,my microeconomic tut classmate, who's also a S'porean, managed to get tickets to watch the internet telecast of national day parade organised by some student association of Singapore from RMIT. All 7 of us are attending it. $4.20 admission fee, plus dinner provided. I think we're going 70% for the dinner.

Forgot to take my keys when I left, ended up locking myself out. Luckily, it was still early and I could borrow spare keys from the main office, which is abt 20min walk away. First time I locked myself out.

The food was great!! Coconut rice, beef rendang, curry puffs and the best, was that huge deep-fried chicken drumstick. It was so frangrant. All of us were already ready to chiong for the food, standing 0.5m away from the food and plates. And I'm proud to declare that I was the first person in line! Haha. Was so tempted to go for a second round. The drumstick was so delicious!!

The internet was laggy so we didn't enjoy gd quality show. Quite boring too. The event ended with a lucky draw. Of course I didn't win anything. I nv do. We left afterthat. Took a train back to Caulfield station and then I took a tram back to my place. So tired afterthat. By then, it was already 11pm.

Did a little hw, then turned in.

A beautiful Sunday

2007-08-09T00:10:00.000+10:00

After my jog with Shuwen this mornin, I invited her over to my place for dinner. Gd thing she came during this wk. Or else there'll be nothing much breakfast to offer her. Had a gd 1 to 1 chat with her too. First time doin so as I just started hangin out w her.

We met Crystal in the afternoon at the uni library again for some muggin. But this time I couldn't achieve much. Quite tired from the jog. And there's all the muscles aches too... Prepared dinner for Jessica, my neighbour. Pasta, boiled chicken soup, veg and baked potatoes were on the dinner menu. Didn't turn out v fantastic. just so-so...

In my past 3+ wks for hangin out with her, my observations of Jessica are that she's (1)quite weak in pple skills (2) has slight prob with self-esteem and (3) frowns more than she smiles.

Maybe it's the language barrier since her natural language is Cantonese while mine is English, so she isn't natural in her behaviour when communicating with her (in English). Still, there are some body language skills which doesn't require language as a medium. Some shd be shown at appropriate times, some shd be masked. And the more frequent frowning than smiling worsens the problem.

The slight prob with self-esteem... That one was after readin her blog. Then again, everyone has some self-esteem prob in some phases of their life. I had mine. Or maybe, I have been... It was only after a casual statement that she made in super normal conversation which led me to believe that deep down, there is a battered self-esteem. Ok, pot calling the kettle black... Nvm.

Although I've presented a v despondent and dull image of her, I have to say, she's a very nice friend to have. She's helpful, not scheming and can be quite 'high' once in a while, which makes her fun to be around with. And I've observed that she gets 'high' only in the late evenings. Haha. She gave me a laundry bag and offered me food whenever she cooked too much of it. Some others would not even take it out to share with anyone.

I'm glad I met Jessica. She made me feel less lonely in this foreign appartment, foreign sch and foreign country.

Muggin at the library

2007-08-05T01:44:00.000+10:00

Met up with my new friends, Crystal and Shuwen, to study at the uni library. It's a Sat and their opening hrs are from 10am to 10pm! Quite a productive time at the library. Had dinner together at a nearby restaurant and resumed muggin.

By the time I reached home, 9.30pm, I lost the mood to study already. I suppose it's quite normal to act that way. After some intense brainwork, it automatically switches to 'relax' mode. Skyped parents then went to bed at 1am. Couldn't sleep later than that as I would be meetin Shuwen for our mornin jog. Can't believe I got myself into this. Well, at least I can burn off some calories.

Dinner with Neighbour

2007-08-03T21:39:00.000+10:00

Had a wonderful breakfast this mornin. Woke up 45min earlier specially to prepare my brekky. Fried egg, sausages, english muffin and a hot cup of milo. Mmm... The tot of that exciting brekky motivated me to wake up on time.

Fri is a gd day. Cuz I've 6hrs of lessons on Fri, so I feel more useful. Rather than just 2 or 3 hrs of lesson a day, such an inefficient use of precious time.

Cooked porridge for dinner. Early dinner, cuz I skipped lunch. Not too bad at my first attempt at porridge. Some miscommunication occurred between my neighbour and I, so she ended up cooking dinner for me tonight, instead of tmr. So I actually had 2 rounds of dinner. Oh, and there's still the choc biscuits and muesli bar snacks to declare. Man, I'm so so so getting fatter. And I'm not doing anything abt it! Argh!!!

I'll be cooking for her this coming Sun. Pasta, herbal chicken, veg w beef and baked potatoes. I hope they'll all turn out successfully. This time, she'll be eating in my room. Hmm.. Maybe we can watch some show together too. Haha.

Gotta do my hw now. Wasted a lot of time already. Planned out a study timetable for myself, but can't keep to it. I will be more disciplined from tmr onwards. Heee...

To the city...

2007-07-30T20:52:00.000+10:00

Went to the city after lessons to pick up some books that my dad had his colleague ferried over to Melbourne. I made my way to Grand Hyatt and picked it up at the Concierge. Man, they were really heavy! My JC Econs file and 2 uni textbks.

Had dinner at this Indonesian restaurant which my friend, Permadi, recommended. Gave me a lift to the city becuz it was on the way. He lives with his other uni friends in the city. So cool.. I want to live in the city too. After dinner, caught a direct tram back to my appartment. Urrr.. Just burped. Mmm... Beehoon Goreng...

Ok, gotta go shower now. Need to pia on my hw too. Supposed to start on assignments this week but I'm still a little lost as to what I'm supposed to do.

Grocery shoppin with my new S'porean friends

2007-07-29T20:40:00.000+10:00

Met up with 4 S'porean friends to do our grocery shoppin at Boxhill. All of us only met this month and studied at the same campus, doing mostly the same subjects too. As I was puttin up at a different student appartment from them, I wasn't close to them. I only got to know them after I approached a S'porean girl whom I recognised from the Monash Pre-departure briefin last month. From her, I got to know the others.

I sort of volunteered myself to join them. Haha. Not thick-skin, just being proactive in making friends. So that's how I got to tag along. I feel like I know them better after today. I hope they feel the same way abt me too and would ask me along in any of their coming outings. Sch just started for 2, 3 weeks and it's fertile ground for forming new social circles. Everyone is v outgoing cuz they're looking for friends too.

Started on hw after watching tv. Mouth itchy, so specially requested Jared, my younger cousin, to make scones for me. He and I made scones together the previous night. It was our first attempt. But the ones which he just made for me was so good. Texture was just right. Afterthat, Sarah and him, sat at the dining table to read and at the same time, to accompany me while I was doing my hw. Feels great. Feels warm. Family warmth.

Church

2007-07-27T20:15:00.000+10:00

Attended a church dinner with Jessica and Sharon. It was located just 5min walk away from campus. A dinner had been organised to welcome the international students at Monash Uni. The 3 of us, we attended it largely becuz dinner was provided and we were too lazy to prepare our own dinner for that night.

Sharon is actually doing her Masters while Jessica and I are still doing our Bachelor degrees. But somehow, we still managed to click with Sharon. I think it's becuz she's only a few yrs our senior. Normally pple doing their masters would be in their late 20s or early 30s, after they've gone out to work. But Sharon continued with her Masters a few months after she graduated from her Bachelor. Crazy I think. Shd have taken a few yrs off, to gain some working experience.

The other reason for attending was so that I could interact with the Australian locals. Tables of 6 were set in the main hall and each table was seated with one from the church. They were so hospitable. I'm sure everyone felt well taken care of. We had great conversations too. They explained abt the ordinary lifestyle in the suburbs and also gave us suggestions on places of attractions. We, the students, also shared with them some of our lifestlyes back in Singapore.

I ate so much that night. Think I had 2 dinners in 1 night. It was a great night! Besides being able to interact with the Australians, I got to know a few Singaporean friends better. I'll even be joining them for their grocery shoppin this coming Sun.

Even though I'm studying in Aus, it doesn't feel like a western place becuz Monash uni is largely populated with asians! Scanning across the lecture theatre, I pick up significantly more asian faces than Caucasians. I'm sure the whites in sch feel a certain extent of resentment towards us asians. We do not belong here and yet, here we are, snatching away their uni places. To make things worse, although they are locals, they are not the majority race in sch. That must really hurt and really make them feel so vulnerable. Maybe not all of them feel so, but if I was in their shoes, I would feel that I was suffering from some injustice.

So fulll, stomach bloated. Feeling sleepy too. But managed to stay up till 3.30am with the help of tea. Had to finish up some of my hw becuz I would be staying over at my aunt's place over the wkend and I'm sure I won't be able to get much done there.

Trouble sleeping ...

2007-07-26T13:44:00.000+10:00

I don't know why, but I always end up staring at the ceiling for at least 15min before I finally fall asleep. I know I am tired, but once I switch of the lights and cuddle underneath my warm woolen blanket, my mind just starts thinking again.

What comes into my mind? Almost anything. I could be thinkin abt the pple I've just met the past wk, or my tutorial sessions, or the fact that my dad will be visiting me in a few month's time. I try to stop thinking, but my mind just seems so active at night, especially in the dark, when it is not preoccupied with finishing hw or chattin on msn.

I tot I found the solution - Don't think abt anything once lights go out. Take a deep breath, close my eyes and breath relaxingly... Used to work a few months ago when I was working in an admin job in a tuition centre. The job was quite repetative. So maybe that's why I got into the hang of start work, end work, have dinner, rest, go sleep. And the cycle would begin again and again.

Hoping that this entry would serve as a platform for all these tots to exit my mind. Like to deal with them, so they wouldn't keep coming back. I want my sleep, my precious, beauty sleep!!

Christmas in July

2007-07-25T20:46:00.001+10:00

Missed the first half an hour of my accounting workshop becuz I couldn't wake up. But luckily i didn't miss anyting. The time was spent introducing amongst themselves. When I got there, the teacher just started going thru the first qn. This is a voluntary workshop, but i'll keep attending becuz I've nv done accounting before.

Attended MID-WEEK SOCIAL NITE. Tonight's event was CHRISTMAS IN JULY. As Aus experiences their summer in Dec, they can't experience the white christmas that comes with winter. Pple who have immigrated from the northern hemisphere to Aus, miss the white christmas. So gradually, there's this custom amongst some, to actually celebrate Christmas in July.

First part of the activity was singing christmas carols. The organisers managed to invite the nearby church's choir. Most of us didn't sing, but i sang becuz i miss singing christmas carols. The last time I sang carols would be when I was in Pri. Sch. As I came from a Catholic Pri. Sch, we have a hymm book and we say prayers. Morning assembly consisted on 1) National Athem 2) Pledge 3) Sch Song (weekly) 4) Daily prayers 5) A few hymms. It was quite enjoyable to sing hymms actually. Especially when they are melodious.

I attended the activity mainly for the roast turkey, which was the main course for dinner. There were also baked potatoes and pumpkins and christmas pudding! Went for 2 servings of sliced turkey and some baked potatoes. Not much actually, but for a small eater, it's enough to feel satisfied. Almost every wed, there'll be free dinner provided. But they do ask for donations, so depending on ur conscience, u can choose to have a free meal or at least donate some money. Of course I donated money. Not 10cent, 20cent, I gave a few dollars yea..

Made 2 new friends today, 1 from Shanghai and the other from S'pore. I chat with those sitting beside me and who are my friend's friends. But this kind of circumstances, it'll be hard to develop real friendship. Instead of making as many friends as possible, I try to focus on those few that i feel have the same freq as me. Then I'll put in more effort to improve our relationship.

Plan to attend it every wed if I can make it. Can meet new pple. Though most will just end up as acquaintances, I think it's still worth it. I'll nv know, who'll end up being my gd friend.

Pork chops for dinner

2007-07-23T19:30:00.000+10:00

Had pork cubes for lunch and pork chops for dinner. Actually, the cubes were in slices but I decided to cut them into cubes. Marinated both the same way, but dinner was better becuz the pork chops had a few more hrs for the marinated to penetrate into the meat.

Think I ate relatively more veg than usual for lunch. Cooked asparagus and carrots. Hmm.. But no carbohydrate intake. However, for dinner, I boiled a baby potato and mashed it with some magarine. This time no veg though. Instead of pork cubes, it was pork chops. Thick, juicy slices of pork chops. Mmmm. I made sure they were medium so the meat wouldn't be too tough.

Gotta rush on my COMMERCIAL LAW tut tonight, now that I've purchased the textbk. Got it 4th-handed for $15. It would have been more ex if there wasn't substantial highlightin. A v clean one would have caused $45. Yea, and the seller specially came down from Clayton campus to my Caulfield campus. Not worth it for him, I feel. Especially, after selling it at $15. But nvm, cuz it's a YEAH for me.

Tut hw. kempate!

Sunday

2007-07-22T21:19:00.000+10:00

Feeling stressed. I have only gotten 2 out of the 4 uni textbks that I need for this semester. Without the books, I can't do my hw. And my tut is next tue. Tmr, at 5.30pm, I'll be meeting a person to purchase my COMMERCIAL LAW textbk. Which means, I've Mon night and Tue morning to complete my tut hw. Still gotta take into account the time to understand the content. To make it worse, I skipped this lecture last fri cuz I couldn't wake up. So I have no idea what this topic is abt.

Feeling down too. I think it's becuz I'll be leaving them and returning to my appartment and continuin with my solitude. Ok, I'm exaggerating.

Had steak again for dinner. Jared, my younger cousin, grilled it for me. Mmm.. I love steak. If only it was slightly towards medium rare, it would have been perfecto. Had ice cream again. Sianz.. I think I tend to overeat when I'm there becuz it feels like a break for me.

Gotta print my lecture notes for the coming wk later. Gotta remember to buy print credit when I'm in sch nexxt wk too.

To my aunt's place, I GOooooo...

2007-07-21T19:00:00.000+10:00

YES, SATURDAY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! I'm so looking forward to going to my aunt's place, where I can see my relatives. Started to feel lonely last night... :(

Rushed to complete my ACCOUNTING hw last night. This afternoon, rushed to finish whatever MICROECONS hw i could cuz i predict I won't be able to sit myself at the table to do my hw. For lunch, I had PHO at the Viet-Thai restaurant below my appartment. Was too lazy to cook. After I washed my dishes from last night (yes, I left it overnight at the sink), I just didn't want to go thru all that effort again.

Left my appartment only at 6.30pm. Took tram, then train, and finally, I was waiting for the bus at BOXHILL that would take me directly infront of my aunt's hse. So I waited in the cold, starving and just starving. It was already 8.30pm. After waiting for 35min, I felt v cold, so I got up to hop around. Gd thing I hopped around, cuz when my sight landed onto the bus service information, I REALISED THAT THE BUS HAD ALREADY STOPPED SERVICE FOR THE DAY. OMG! So dumb! Why didn't I check? I just assumed the bus service was still running. Took things for granted. Cuz in S'pore, bus services only ends at midnight.

After my aunt picked me up and fetched me back to her place, I was super famished!! I ate voraciously my dinner. Even gorged myself on 2 cups of ice-cream! Was so bloated afterthat and regretted very much for that extra servin of ice-cream.

Watched 'FUN WITH DICK AND JANE' with Sarah at midnight on her comp. Funny show.

Sleepy head

2007-07-20T19:56:00.000+10:00

Missed my 9am Commercial Law lecture this morning. Just couldn't get myself out of bed at 8am. When my phone alarm rang, I just switched it off and jumped back into bed. Somewhat similar to ytd morning too. Just that I managed to pyscho myself into getting up right at the last moment. Ended up running to sch. Panting after a while, totally lost my stamina.

Been thinking of to kick myself out of bed every morning. I've 2 days with morning lessons. Really gotta work it out. Maybe I'll throw my alarm clock into a small box, tape it up many rounds. So when it rings the next day, I'll have to spend a min getting the ringin clock out. By then, maybe my mind would have woken up and I wouldn't be as tempted to go back to sleep.

Another way, can be to think of how expensive my lectures and tutorials are. One tutorial is abt $200. Yes, so if I don't get up, I'll be throwing away $200 into the drain. Better not let my dad know abt it. AHA.

Made a few more friends today. From Accounting tut, Crystal, who by chance got to meet one of the 2 friends I've been hanging out with, Michelle, from their Microecons tut. And then, coincidently, my grp member, San San Han, from Microecons tut, knows Crystal, from their Business Stats tut. Haha. All 4 of us, sat together for Business Stats lecture. There was also another Indian girl, from my microecons tut grp, who joined us. Looking forward to next Fri again, when hopefully, all of us can sit together for Business Stats lecture again :)

Quite concerned with my unit textbks. Haven't bought any of the 4. I want to get a second-hand one, which is abt 40% cheaper than first-hand one, sold in the MONASH BOOKSHOP. My dad says that if S'pore sells it cheaper, he'll buy from there. However, even if he manages to buy it, it can only arrive here, earliest, end of this month. Which would be quite late becuz I've got tut hw to complete and the MONASH LIBRARY has loaned out all of them. Maybe I can borrow from my new friends, but it doesn't feel right. I only have known them for less than a wk. It would reflect quite badly on me too.

Trying to be proactive

2007-07-19T20:32:00.000+10:00

After my Business Stats tutorial, I was done for the day. I stayed back in the library to read up on my accounting whilst waiting for INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONNECTION PROGRAMME to start at 2pm.

Felt so out-of-place because I was the only undergraduate present among the 10 who turned up. I also don't know why only 10 turned up and the speaker had even anticipated that no. It's a weekly programme whereby the student and the staff teacher allocated to her, would meet up for 1/2 hr. We could approach them for advice on Aussie culture, tips on the fun activities to do in AUs and etc.

My main objective of joining is so that I will know how to get myself involved with the uni's activities and to be aware of the interesting places to be. Since I've paid so much money to fly all the way here, I shd grab every opportunity that comes my way to make this experience the best it can be.

Cooked fish fillets for dinner. Tasted somewhat weird. I marinated it w salt, garlic, ginger and some mixed herbs. Must have been the herbs. Got my starch intake from a handful of fettucine. And to end it off with a sweet note, a cup of yoghurt and choco.

Free on Wednesdays!!

2007-07-18T20:17:00.000+10:00

Wed is the day when I do not have any lessons. The next slack day would be THU w 1 hr of tutorial. Travelled to Melbourne city today in search for second-hand textbks. My new friend and also my neighbour, told me that she managed to buy her txtbk at 50% off from tat bkshop at 259 Swanston Street.

Took a direct Tram no.3 to Flinders St Station. I shd have stopped further down but I mistaken Flinders St to be city centre. So I spent 20min strolling down Swanston St, finding for shop unit no.259. Actually it was a gd thing tht I walked, becuz now I knew what are the streets in the city too.

Finally found the bkshop but there weren't any stock. No stock for all the 4 textbks which I was looking for. So my next option is to get my Dad to buy from S'pore, provided that it's cheaper. He'll check out the place this wkend and if the price is lower than the Monash Bkshop retail price, he'll purchase it, pass it to his colleague who's flying to Melbourne at the end of this month.

Had lunch the the Chinatown in the city too. Beef brisket Noodle, typical HK dish. After that, I walked back to Flinders St train station and take the same tram back to my appartment. I could have taken a train and then switch to a tram, but that would require some walking. Since I would not be late for my appointment, I took the tram back.

Met up with Jessica and Michelle, my new friends, to attend MID-WEEK SOCIAL NIGHT. It's some activity held on Wednesdays for students to socialise and take time off their studies. Made a few friends there too, but only acquaintences. THey provided dinner there, PIZZA. It was so delicious!!

I slacked the whole night on reaching home. Showered at 1am and then read thru my accounting for 45min. SLept quite late, abt 3.

bad dinner ...

2007-07-17T22:29:00.000+10:00

Struggled to wake up again, even though I already slept for over 8 hrs. I think I must have went on to another sleeping cycle.

Marinated my chicken chops with BBQ sauce. It'll be for dinner later. For lunch, I cooked rice and egg w luncheon. Rice tasted awful. I added too much water and don't know why, the rice is not totally soft even though the rice cooker has already switched 'cook' option to 'warm'.

Checked the weather and my class location online while eating. Immediately after lunch, I changed and headed for sch. Left the washin of the dishes to be done at night. I wanted to go sch an hr early so that I could read up for the COMMERCIAL LAW tutorial which I would be having at 4pm. But I just didn't know how to use the library catalogue and after half an hr of futile search, I found a cosy study table to catch some Zzz.

Shopped at Coles with Jessica and walked back to our appartment together. I gave her a few of my potatoes becuz she needed them and I had many to spare. Dinner was a disaster! The chicken chops which was supposed to be the highlight of my dinner, was inedible. Not becuz it was overcooked, but becuz the plastic cover for microwave use melted onto my chops. I shd have guessed that the plastic cover couldn't take the grill. Haizz..

Luckily, I still had fried rice with the aspargus which I just bought. So sad, so I went to snack on potato chips to comfort myself over my loss. And I gotta buy a new grilling plate becuz it's dangerous to use the microwave again with the melted plastic on the grilling plate.

Going to slack tonight then pia on revision tmr. No lessons on Wed for me. In the evenin, Jessica and I would be attending the MID-WEEK SOCIAL NITE. I tot it'll be a gd place to make new friends and hopefully I will.

1st day of lesson

2007-07-16T22:02:00.000+10:00

Struggled to get up today. Supposed to wake up at 10am but ended up snoozin till 10.45am. And that was becuz my new friend, Jessica, knocked on my door. She arranged to meet me and then go for our Microeconomics lecture together.

From her, I was also introduced to her friend, Michelle, who was with her at the college doing foundation studies. Both of them could speak Cantonese but I couldn't. So sometimes I feel a little left out :(

After lecture, we headed to the library and borrowed a few textbks. Jessica and Michelle had already bought most of them while I have none!! I still can't bring myself to buy the textbks becuz they're freaking expensive. Even after 50% discount when getting a second-hand one, it still costs a freaking $50!

We headed for a bite at this nearby Japanese restaurant. Luckily Michelle is sociable and can speak eng fluently and so, talks to me too. So I didn't feel so neglected. She stays an hr away from sch so I only get to see her during lesson time. When headin to or returning from sch, I get to hang out w Jessica cuz we are neighbours.

I walked home with Jessica after lessons that day. On arriving home, I did my final round of packing. Took me over an hr to finally get everything in place. This was the 4th round of packing already. Jessica cooked a small portion of steak and asparagus that night :) I also popped by her place to get her external hard disk drive. She was going to lend it to me becuz there were some cantonese dramas that she wanted to reccommend me. At the same time, I could pick up some cantonese. Most of the asians here speak cantonese, excluding those from China, Korea and Japan. Otherwise, even Malaysians, speak cantonese.

Read up a few chapters from the Accounting textbk and went to sleep ard 1am. Same thing, toss and turn for 45min. Don't know why I always can't fall asleep. It's like wasting my precious time. I could have read thru another chap during that 45min of tossing and turning.

Preparing for my first day of sch :)

2007-07-15T21:42:00.000+10:00

Woke up at 12.30pm and was home alone again. The others had attended their weekly Sun church session. This time I was alone as long as last Sun. Aunt Jessica came home to pick me up to join her for lunch at Aunt Jennie's place.

I had porridge at Aunt Jennie's place. It was super tasty. There were many ingredients in the porrigde too, like dried oyster, dried baby abalone etc. I asked her how she cooked it and found out the magic lies in the stock, which she had broiled for over 3 hrs.

Later on, Aunt Jessica and I headed to SAFEWAY to do our grocery shoppings. We've been doing many of such shopping, buying some things at a time and then transporting it to my apartment. I slept at my appartment that night becuz sch starts tmr. Uncle Peter fetched me to my place, at the same time bringing along all the stuffs I had purchased.

When we reached and it was time to move all the stuff up, I realised I had so many things. Big boxes, plastics bags, luggage etc. By the time we had finished carrying the stuff to my room, we were almost panting. I thanked him for the ride and gave him the grocery money, but he didn't want to accept it. I'll insist the next time I see him becuz I'll be doing grocery shopping with them almost weekly and after 3 yrs, it'll definitely add up to a large amount of money.

Spent an hr unpacking my stuff and rearranging them into my room. Still, I couldn't finish. So, same thing, I would continue the next day after coming home from sch.

Grocery shoppin at Preston market

2007-07-14T21:13:00.000+10:00

Uncle Peter, Aunt Jessica and I drove up to Preston market to do grocery shopping. It's supposed to be cheaper there cuz they like to sell in bulk.

Grabbed poultry, beef, seafood and some vegetables. My aunt will buy the stuff for her family then I'll just take a little of it since I'm living alone and my freezer compartment is kinda small. I tried to remember the price of all the purchases so I know how much to pay them back for the quantity that I take.

For lunch, we had PHO at the nearby Vietnamese restaurant. PHO is a v popular vietnamese cuisine (beef rice noodle). Tasted so gd!! I actually have one Viet-Thai restaurant near my appartment too, but it's standard can't compare to the other one.

Slept at 4am as I was online and blogging that night.

Orientation day

2007-07-12T20:58:00.000+10:00

This is actually the faculty orientation. I missed the uni's one 2 days ago, becuz it was too early and I was at my aunt's place. Struggled to wake up this morning. I was so tempted to skip it and go back to bed. But I tot to myself : "Hey, I intentionally slept over at my appartment so that I'll be able to attend the orientation."

Made a few new friends today. The one from Macau, who did her foundation yr here, also lives in the same building as me. I was overjoyed when she told it to me. Now, I've a friend who takes somewhat the same units as me and lives so close to me, same floor too. There were 2 other guys from Singapore and 1 from China. We exchanged contact details too.

After the orientation, I went back to my appartment to continue my unpacking. After an hr plus, I was still not done. I decided to continue the next time I come. Didn't want to leave for Aunt Jessica's hse too late becuz it's winter now and it gets dark quite early. Super difficult to spot the bus stop in the dark, especially when all the houses, trees and junctions look the same.

Took the train back to BOXHILL station all by myself. It was my first time on the train alone. I even knew how to take the express train (skips some stops). Had to take from CAULFIELD to RICHMOND, then change train for BOXHILL.

Aunt Jessica waited for me at BOXHILL and shopped with me for some cooking condiments. Another day, we'll be shopping for raw meat and groceries at another market.

My first night in my appartment alone

2007-07-11T20:37:00.000+10:00

Aunt Jessica and Uncle Peter fetched me to my appartment tonight. At the same time, shifted the bulk of my stuff from their place to mine. After an hr unpacking my stuff, I decided to go sleep and continue tmr. I didn't want to turn in too late becuz I'll be havin a faculty orientation first thing in the morning at 9am.

I felt quite terrified sleeping alone. Firstly, there was the door which I wasn't sure was locked or not. Becuz regardless of turning the lock clockwise or anti-clockwise, it could still be opened from the inside. So I wasn't sure which was the side to lock the door from the outside. I opened my eyes at the slightest noise, fearing that some stranger could have entered.

Secondly, was the darkness. Although I had my nite light on, I was still afraid. So I allowed myself a gradual process. From nite light and TV switched on, to nite light and mute TV and finally just the night light.

I tossed and turned from 1 to 2am plus. So much for trying not to sleep late. There was still the roaring of engine noises once in a while. Still, I think it's a gd thing for me cuz it would be even scarier if I had dead silence.

Finally, I managed to fall asleep...

My Appartment!!!

2007-07-09T20:14:00.000+10:00

Collected my room keys today! Whoohoo!! My own room!!

I had to get my own place cuz the uni was too far away from my aunt's place. Think it takes for than an hr to travel there. Have to wake up v early if I were to put up at my aunt's place.

Here's a brief description on how my room looks like. I live alone. Coming in from the main door, toilet is on my left. Nice toilet actually. Outside the toilet is a kitchen table. There's the basic drawers, cabinets, fridge, sink, microwave. Taking a few steps further in, is TADAH... My room. Bedroom/ study room/ dining room/ living room. A long study table beside the windows, a TV on it, a bed behind the study table and a built-in wardrobe behind the bed. Quite cool actually. Big mirror on the sliding door of the wardrobe. Plus, the place is fully-furnished. Plates, cutlery, cooking utensils...

Anyway, it's a great experience to live on my own. Can learn to be independent. I gotta settle my own laundry, meals and everything. No more maids at my service. -weeps- Gd thing my relatives are here in Melbourne too. At least, there is someone to approach to for help or smth.

Still don't know how it'll feel like to live there alone. Currently, I'm still at my aunt's place and would be here till 16th July, when sch officially starts.

Home Alone ...

2007-07-08T19:57:00.000+10:00

I woke up at 1.30pm and found myself home alone today. Empty hse and no food. Aunt Jessica, Uncle Peter, my cousins (Gabriel, Sarah, Jared & Arella) were at church for their weekly Sunday sessions. Hah, luckily I don't have to becuz I'm not a Christian. Extra hours of Zzzz...

As I was lazy to cook my meal, I just had a piece of bread and Milo. Yea, that was my lunch. Watched TV as I skyped Mum and Dad for an hr. 4pm and no one came home yet. Started to feel lonely...

5pm and finally, my aunt and uncle were home. Slacked the whole day, mainly blogging. So free now cuz term only starts next mon. Ok, what to do tonight......

On the mountains!

2007-07-07T23:58:00.000+10:00

Followed my relatives with their friends on an outing today. 6 cars in total, all driving up the mountains, to someone's place. IT WAS REAL COLD UP THERE. Once everyone stepped out of their cars, all made a quick dash to enter the warm hse. Me too. I immediately put on my scarf.

I was fully prepared for the cold. I wore a set of long johns, jeans, 1 t-shirt, 1 jacket and another jumper over them. Even brought my scarf and gloves along. It was so cold that breathing in and out caused smoke to come out from my nostrils.

Sarah 'blowing smoke'

Me trying to 'blow smoke'

Besides watching Uncle Peter frying kway tiao, eating and takin pic w sarah, my cousin, there was nothing else better to do. Sarah and I ended up watching Princess Hours in the computer room. When a family had to go home early, Sarah and I grabbed that opportunity. After dozing off in the car, we were back in the cosy home, continuing our Princess Hours.

Shopping at Smith Street

2007-07-05T23:23:00.000+10:00

Smith Street is a long street in Melbourne City where lots of shops sell their stuff at a much lower price. Something like FACTORY OUTLET. I'm not sure why they're much cheaper, but I'm quite sure they're still authentic.

Woke up at 1.30pm today. Gabriel, my cousin, the eldest one here, brought me to Smith Street. We took a train and then the tram to the city. He was scouting for track pants and got one in the end - Puma track pants at $29. Thanks to me, cuz I suggested to try out that sports shop. I bought a Converse jacket at $30 and a pair of outing Nike shoes at $90. We both were satisfied with our harvest.

Took a straight bus back home. Quite a long ride. Slightly over an hour I think. It was quite dark outside that we couldn't see much clearly. I was a little afraid that we would miss our stop. Plus, Gabriel had dozed off. Luckily, we got off at the correct stop and was back by 6pm plus.

Watching wimbledon now. So deprived of sports tv back in S'pore. Cuz my family didn't subscribe to SCV. This Australian tv station is broadcasting the entire Wimbledon game. Everynight, there will be a few matches on. They show a lot of rugby here too. Getting to appreciate the game better :)

2007-07-04T22:23:00.000+10:00

Visited Monash Uni today for some official enrolment procedure. Quite satisfied with how the campus looked. It had a modern touch to it. Although smaller than the main Clayton campus, which was 5 times larger, it looks newer. The colours look just right too. Haha.

Aunt Jessica drove me to my campus. She also accompanied me to do my enrolment. Attended a briefing by a few course advisers. After briefing us thru some impt issues, the course advisers met us personally to help us with the choosing of the units for our 1st semester. Not much brain-wrecking involved cuz I had to choose from a list of compulsory units since this will be my first year.

We had Pho (Beef rice noodle) at this Viet-Thai eatery under my apartment. Tasted quite alright. Wanted to pick the tab, but I was kinda slow. After I took my last mouth, my aunt was already on her way to the counter. Will make sure I'll be faster next time.

Got back to my aunt's place and just slacked. Nothing to do anyway. Just eat, watch tv, go online and sleep like pig. I told my aunt that I was quite scared of the darkness on my first night that I couldn't sleep. So she gave me a torchlight. LOL. Haven't used it, not even once. Not scared now. However, there was one night when my room's heater just switched on by itself. Scared me to death man! After I managed to muster my courage, I got up, switched it off and pulled out the plug. Hah, if it had still turned on, I had it planned that I would run into my cousin's room. Gabriel, 16 years old, tall and strong. Shd be safe there. Haha. Fortunately, nothing happened. Phew.

So cold......

2007-07-02T22:06:00.000+10:00

It's winter here in Melbourne so the temp has been ranging from 8 to 14 degrees Cel. Still manageable cuz I've been wearing 2 - 3 layers whenever I'm out. Although my dad bought me a winter jacket, but I preferred to use the 2 that my aunt bought for me. Looks more decent and trendy. 1 of them has the white fur, lining the hood.

My fingers are freezing from the cold. Even though I'm in the hse now with heaters on, it still gets cold at some point of time. Especially when someone opens the main door and leaves it open. The coldest rooms are the kitchen, dining room and living room because they are the closest to the main door. Fingers now stiff too.

Didn't shower for the 1st day I arrived. Hahha. So cold, couldn't bring myself to go shower. Yes, there is the hot water, but just thinking abt how freezing it is when I just come out from the shower, I try all means, cross my fingers and hope that no one recalls that I have yet to shower. Luckily, no one recalled! Yay!

My family knows I hate showering. They said that I was fortunate that living alone overseas, no one was going to keep an eye on me. They were absolutely right. Hmm.. Shd I break my personal record by not showering for a few days? Hahha...

My 1st day in AUS

2007-07-02T01:22:00.000+10:00

Plane touched down in Melbourne at around 6.20am. Had to go thru immigration and security checks all by myself. I wasn't sure of how to fill up a few portions of the arrival form. Was afraid that if I had filled in up incorrectly, I would have to go redo the form and queue right from the back again. Passing thru the security checks was also nerve wrecking. Although I didn't bring anything illegal with me, but the thought of the officer going thru my luggage feels real intimidating. Luckily nothing bad happened and I cruised thru all the procedures smoothly.

I was expecting to see my aunt waiting for me at the arrival gates, but I saw only foreign faces. I waited at a corner and even phoned my aunt on her mobile, but no response. I wasn't frightened that I'll be stranded all alone in the airport cuz I was v sure my aunt would be there. After 5min, she came, welcoming me in her cheerful voice and with open arms.

I reached their place at 7am and was greeted by my younger cousins, Jared and Arella. Jared made breakfast for me and we sat at the dining table, watching the morning news as we had our breakfast. I went to get some sleep becuz I only caught 2 hrs of sleep on board the plane. Watched 2 movies and 1 TV show.

Woke up around 1pm. My relatives brought me out to this huge shopping mall, FACTORY OUTLET, where cheap branded stuff were sold. THere was a sale going on, so it was even cheaper! Bought a few pieces of clothing there. My relative who is doing his 3rd yr of uni came to Melbourne for a hol so my aunt brought him and his friend along too. He's also from Singapore and he's actually my uncle though he's just a few yrs older. My cousins and I like to tease him by greeting him Uncle Nick whenever we could.

Dinner that night was sumptous. Nick joined us for dinner too. I really ate alot. I just kept stuffing myself with food, attacking mostly, the plate of rendang chicken in front of me. There was still leftovers after dinner. Good thing, so I can have it again for dinner tmr! HEE HEE.

I had a tough time sleeping on my first night. I was quite scared becuz all the lights were switched off and I was terrified of the pitch black darkness. I tot I saw black shadowy figures flying on the ceiling. Kept my eyes open, didn't dare to close them. Finally, I fell asleep...I was sharing the room with my cousin, Arella. Nonetheless, still terrified.

The day to leave...

2007-06-30T22:06:00.000+10:00

Spent my morning doing the last part of my luggage packing with my mum. Was left with the last 3% after I bought a few other stuff. Luckily she kicked me out of bed at 9am plus, cuz I still had my room to empty. Well, I have to admit that pressure does really make me work better. My room, which I wasn't able to pack in one day, I managed to clear everything within 2 hrs!

After lunch, I met up with OY to do some last-min shoppin for a few more accessories and neccessities. Went to DIVA in mind of buying that $8 necklace which was already at 50% discount. But I was welcomed with something even better than that - up to 75% discount off most items.

The tiny DIVA store was really packed. I was so excited to see almost all the necklaces and earrings at such reasonable prices. Purchased $30 worth of accessories. Even bought for my sis, my sis's friend and my cousin.

Came back home and packed in all the new stuff which I bought. Dad came home from work at abt 4pm. He was quite serious abt me getting all my packing done. He was also quite uptight that I still hadn't 100% completed my packing. Anyway, he's always uptight. And when he's uptight, he gets frustrated over minor stuff. My mum, sis and I nicknamed him the 'kanciong spider', always so uptight, fidgety and getting irritated over minor issues.

10 friends came to send me off that night. Typical Singaporeans, nv on time. Told them 8pm and the last 4 of them came at 8.15pm. Though only a mere 15min, it meant they only have 15min left for my company becuz I would have to leave at 8.30pm. Such a rush. There were different groups there sending me off. My family, my bf, my bball friends and my classmates. And I've to spread my last 30min at the airport with them equally so none of the groups would feel neglected. So pressurising...

Finally the time for me to say gdbye came. I hugged my grandma. I saw her face cringed. She was going to burst into tears. I looked away for I could not ward off the contagious crying bug. I gave everyone there a quick hug and some last words. Angeline was already in tears but I looked away. No way was I going to shed a single tear. I hate to cry in front of pple.

After passing thru the immigration officers, I paused in my tracks, turned around and gave one last big wave to everyone out there. Abruptly, I made my way to my boarding gate. Finally, I was sitting comfortably on my plane seat. I received a call from my dad askin where I was then. I lied that I was shopping. Just as expected, he responded strongly with a 'WHAT'. I must have caused much shock and panic to that kanciong spider of a father of mine. Hahha. Just enjoy to see my an uptight person panic. Evil, yea, I know. Muahahah....

So this is it! A new journey, my new journey.

5 hrs shopping in Tamp Metro

2007-06-30T01:21:00.000+10:00

As Metro in Tampines Mall is closing down, there was this 50% discount given to almost all items. That was the first time I had seen Metro so packed! There were pple everywhere. And there were the the suspended red cardboards with the '50% off' hanging almost above every section. Nothing beats seeing such favourable discounts.

I bought gd quality office blouse,office jacket and some other clothes. I don't know how, but we actually spent 5 hrs there. That day, I also bought 2 Puma analogue watches. 1 for myself and 1 for OY, as a farewell gift.

Met up with OY at night at Starbucks (Eastpoint) so that he could pass the pics he took at Sentosa with his cam to me. I brought my new Acer notebk along. After transferring over the files from camera to comp, we started editting the pics - making changes to the contrast and the brightness. At abt midnight, we left and he walked me home.

Spent a few hrs on the main comp, transferring all my photos into my new ext hard disk that I'll be bringing along with me to Melbourne. Put in other impt files too. At the same time, cleared the main comp of any thrash that I left behind. Went only to bed at abt 3am.

Badminton w CCH Bball friends again

2007-06-29T01:44:00.000+10:00

Met up with Ai Ling, my ex-colleague for tea at Ah Mei Cafe. Had a gd time chatting with her. Talked abt lotsa stuff. Many funny stuff too. She's currently tapping the internet for her pot of gold. Very interestin. Here's our pic. (Note: with my skills, I managed to take not only us, but the signboard too. So we can remember where we had tea). Hey AL, practise more. Haha.

Played badminton with my friends again, at SIA Clubhse. This time there were 6 of us and we played for 2 whole hrs. Jinnie and I played singles twice. In the end, both of us were so exhausted. My muscles were so tired that I just wanted to lie flat on the floor. If it wasn't for the prickly heat I felt on my face, I wouldn't have been able to push myself to go shower.

Ziyan joined us for dinner at Asian Kitchen at Suntec. Just ytd, Jinnie and I, together with another grp of friends were at Suntec too, dining just at the Jap restaurant next to this Asian Kitchen (chinese). Jinnie intro us to their signature dish, Zha Ziang Mian. Almost all of us ordered that. Except for Cat, who's vegetarian. It tasted so delicious that I, who normally can't finish my food, gobble everything up. No need to mention, I was quite bloated after that.

We sat for a long chat after dinner. Reminiscing abt sec sch life. The topics revolved around 'popular' teachers and our personal experiences. So entertainin to hear abt such stories. Makes it feel like we have yet to graduate from sec sch.

Oh ya, b4 I forget, a big thank you to u guys for treating me to dinner. And a bigger thank you, for Jinnie Kiew, who has treated me twice. (She and I are together with another click too) HAHA. She kept complaining that she had to treat me twice. But like I said, u gotta pay more to see me more. HAH!

Another dinner treat!

2007-06-28T01:01:00.000+10:00

After playing Xbox at Ruilin's place, I headed to Bugis Junction and Bugis Street. I bought a pair of Converse shoes which I immediately wore when I met up Angeline, Shuli and Jinnie for dinner at Suntec. I also purchased a new dark grey canvas bag. It's quite big and can fit a laptop in it. Similarly, I unpacked all my stuff from old bag into the new one. Too excited abt my new belongings. Haha.

Waited almost half an hr for a cab at the taxi waiting area outside Raffles City shopping centre. All the cabs were waiting for pple to call up to make bookings. This way, they get to earn an additional $3. So sly. So unfair too!

We headed for Geylang to have beancurd and durian. Beancurd wasn't as smooth as the one from Mr. Bean, but cheaper though. The durian was quite gd. The durian seller initially had wanted to sell us the $40 one! I think they were trying their luck to push the expensive (but v superior quality) to us, upon seeing we were just young adults, amatuer durian eaters. Fortunately, he was still honest. He didn't try to cheat our money or make us pay more than the price he told us. Their service was very good too. They smiled alot, were not impatient to collect money and even offered us more, but still respected our decision when we declined.

The 4 of us shared a cab home. Angeline told me it was going to be the last time we 2 would be sharing cab, not until a long long time. She normally gives the taxi uncle directions to get to my place. So I gave her the honour of doing it for the last time.

My neighbour, Ruilin

2007-06-27T18:21:00.000+10:00

Went for breakfast with Ruilin, my neighbour, at Ah Mei Cafe. We had roti prata and tea. Sat and chat for a while after our meal too.

Her house is just on my left. We're both the same age. My sis is 2 years younger but her sis is 6 years older. So our playgroup consisted of only her, my sis and myself.

Ruilin has actually been my neighbour since at I was 6 (maybe even longer). We actually grew up playing together. Every afternoon at 5.30pm (my playtime after hw), we would meet outside our homes to play. My sis would join us too. Our games ranged from badminton to acting out imaginary detective scenes. Our weapons would be made with lego blocks. Just up and down our garden yard, our story would unfold itself, all based from our wild imaginations. I think I always played the bad guy cuz I felt it was cool and dark. Hahha.

My grandma would always nag at us to come back into the house, claiming that it was sunny. Of course, we nv obeyed.The sun would nv be too sunny when you're having fun. Our bell, was the the bell of the pri sch behind our houses. At 6.30pm sharp, it would ring and the national athem would be played. Ruilin, my sis and I would then wave a reluctant gdbye and definitely arranged another meeting for the next day. Same time, same place.

Unfortunately, from Pri 5 onwards, we nv really came out to play. Probably because of the significant increase in hw load and the fact that I was in EM1, I started to be bogged down by studies and felt a little too stressed to play. Maybe she was stressed too. Cuz I didn't see her hanging around outside too.

From then on, it was a downhill for our playmate relationship. Their family actually moved out for a few years later on, but returned. Still, we were both too preoccupied with our studies and personal committments to still behave like how we did back then. It was possible that in a year, we saw each other less than the number of fingers on a hand even though we live just next to each other.

Only after I told her I was going to leave for Melbourne in 2 wks' time to further my studies, our relationship rekindled. Ok, not in that love relationship sense. We had a special bond. One that existed between close friends, between childhood playmates. But it was eroded by the merciless long absences.

Gd thing was, we still hit if off very well. She invited me over her place for Xbox after our roti prata breakfast. We had great fun playing it. Played it for almost 3 hrs, but I had to leave for Bugis to shop for the stuff which I'll bring to Aus. I almost didn't want to leave. Hahha.

So glad that we met up that day. That day, represented a step closer to mending the vacuum. She said that it was such an irony. Just when we were starting to catch up, I was gonna leave for a foreign land. Ya, it sure is one. Fortunately, there's the Internet. Plus, I finally got her MSN add!!But I haven't seen her online yet. LOL.

A heartfelt thanks to Ruilin for inviting me over for Xbox and being such a hospitable host. When I return, most prob in Dec/Jan, you will treat me to roti prata. CUZ I AINT GONNA PUT ON WEIGHT. YOU'LL LOSE THAT BET WE HAD. Hah!!

Another treat by MJ Bball mates!

2007-06-27T00:18:00.000+10:00

This time the group was slightly smaller than last night's. Still, it's alright. Been a long time since I saw all of them. The last time we met was probably in mid-May where we gathered to have a friendly match with our juniors back in MJ. Thrashed them badly. Hahhha. That match reminded me why I like basketball - you get to knock them and not get a foul as long as it's done properly on the pretext of getting the ball. Muahahaha! Evil, I know.

We dined at this Jap restaurant (jap again -_-) located somewhere in Tamp swimming complex. The teppanyaki was delicious, but stay away from the sushi and noodles i warn you. A lil ex though.

After dinner, we sat at McCafe behind the Tamp bus interchange. They presented to me their card and a present - sky blue Nike ladies cap. Cool! I nv owned a cap in my life before. I thanked them and we took a few pic of me with my cap on. Unfortunately, I don't look cool with that. Wait till my hair grows longer, when i can tie it up. Then maybe, I'll look cooler. Maybe like those tennis players with their white cap. Hahha.

All these buffets and dinners are so going to make me fatter. I've already put on 2 kg from the start of this yr...

Kushin- Bo !!

2007-06-26T01:05:00.000+10:00

Kushin-Bo is a Japanese buffet restaurant located in Suntec. That was where my former JC friends treated me to a sumptous jap dinner. As usual, I attacked mainly the expensive stuff like sashimi, prawns, unagi and shisamo.

There were 8 of us. There were loads of chatting. Actually, I was mainly doing the eating while listening to them joke. Can't really link with them since I was in J2. I can only joke and talk to a few of them, because the rest were in another class when we reached J2.

Still, I feel v grateful that they actually invited and treated me to dinner. Not cheap you know. Per person - $33.80++ At least, I got to catch up a little with them and know who is going to which course. It's v impt to know what the others, most imptly your peers, are doing and the reason behind them.

So full and a little sick of buffet. Had buffet just the 2 days before at Pariss International when my parents invited OY for lunch.

Sentosa!!

2007-06-25T01:25:00.000+10:00

OY and I spent the whole afternoon at Sentosa today. I hadn't been there since P5! Today's outing would be our very last becuz I'll be leaving for Melbourne next Sat and I won't be back till Dec/Jan. What a bittersweet day...

Walking around Vivocity, I realised that it was really as huge as it was claimed to be. First time coming to Vivo for me. Bought tickets for Sentosa Express, a train, which would transport us to Sentosa. Collected the many brochures on displayed while OY queued for the tickets. I felt like I was a tourist visiting a theme park in another country. All that were missing were the tourist hat, bulky bagpack and the camera hanging around my neck.

Upon reaching Sentosa, we were welcomed by the scorching sun and warm air, greeting us as the traindoor opened. Our first stop was Underwaterworld. It took us quite some exploring to figure out how to utilise the buses and trams. After taking the first bus, knowing how to travel around with the different buses became a breeze.

Underwater world was having a Jun Holiday discount. Paid $13.50, as compared to the original $19+. Plus, it was inclusive of admission to Dolphine Lagoon! In Underwaterworld, I liked the animal dugong, which was super fat. But it still managed to swim with such grace, on it's belly, on it's back...

After that, we headed to Butterfly and Insect Kingdom Park. It was alright only. Took some pictures over there.

Following that, we headed to Dolphine Lagoon. Grabbed a small bite while waiting for the show to start.

I enjoyed the dolphine show becuz I haven't seen one for many years. But at the final and most impressive stunt, a family sitting in front of us stood up to leave. Thus, blocking our view. I think they wanted to avoid the main crowd started. OY managed to snapped some pic. I felt they were very well taken.

Fort Siloso was our last stop. I felt it was the best among all the parkeas that we visited. Cuz the land area was the largest and the crowd was the smallest. Plus, the history it yielded was great.

We took a cable car ride back to Singapore Island. There was a discount too! 50%!!! Paid $5.90 each only (one-way). Don't know when was the last time I sat in a cable car. At least 8 yrs ago. The view was not that spectacular cuz there was the Singapore's main port situated there. Many towering machinery and gigantic containers.

It was such an enjoyable day. Felt great to actually spend the whole afternoon, 100% quality time. Glad we decided on Sentosa.

Badminton w CCH Bball friends

2007-06-23T01:57:00.000+10:00

Played badminton with Chung Cheng High Bball teammates this after. Same batch as those who came for the BBQ last wk. Only 3 turned up to play badminton becuz others just couldn't make it. I invited them over to my SIA club. Could only play for an hr becuz I booked the court only that morning. It just slipped my mind. So I booked a pool table for an hr too.

Ziyan had to leave after the badminton game, so we were left with Flora, Jinnie and myself for pool. Good thing that Cat and Wei Lue joined us for dinner at Simpang Bedok. Cat even brought her bf cuz he wanted to tag only. Haiyo... How can a guy stand a few hrs of his gf's gathering, esp when he doesn't know anyone there. Don't really have a gd impression of these kind of guys. Makes him appear so sticky.

We dined at the Muslim food joint opp Shop n Save. Food was slightly better than avg. But the service was terrible. There'll be different pple taking orders from different menus, even though they're under the same restaurant name. To make it worse, there aren't any identification that indicates who belongs to which menu. Also, the waiter was so unprofessional. He practically muttered and just didn't want to project his voice. It's tough trying to hear him, but it became even tougher as he was speaking with an Indian slang. If he had projected his voice well, I wouldn't mind the trouble to decipher what he was saying, becuz language slang is normal. He most probably has to trouble himself to decipher other races' slang too. Plus, he didn't repeat our order! I don't mean to be so critical, but I just feel that pple are already hungry. We just wanna look forward to a gd meal without all that trouble and inconvenience.

Flora can really eat! Hahaa! We chatted for a long time. There was alot of reminiscing and laughing. Thinking of it puts a smile on my face. Heee...

We smelled of bbq smoke after that. But lazy me, still didn't shower of course. I did have a change of clothes though. Haha. Going to meet them again next Thu. That will really be the last time we'll be hanging out until a v v long while. I hope it'll be fun and memorable.

Monash Predeparture Talk

2007-06-22T01:29:00.000+10:00

Attended the Monash Predeparture briefing at Hilton Hotel with parents in the evening. Lasted whole 2 hrs!! Sian diao...

Actually, it was quite benefitting. They covered on most of the main aspects that an international student would be concerned abt. For instance, what changes to expect, whom to approach for help, accommodations, procedures that must be done, stuff to not bring into Aus, student visa and other valuable advice. They also had a short segment at the end where they got current and past students to share advice and experiences with the audience.

When it was finally over, I couldn't wait to get home. So tired. Slept at 2am then got pulled out from bed by Mum at 9am to go shopping for my necessities. Snacked on 5 super spicy otah at night. Stomach still felt warm when I went to bed. Think I can expect a v hot time in the toilet tmr.

Fun Fun Day

2007-06-21T01:46:00.000+10:00

Collected my new specs today - half frame and orangey-bronze. It costs $200, I think it's quite reasonable considering it's high index (thinner lens for pple w high degree). Been so excited abt new specs for past few days.

Met up w Ben again. This time, I brought him around the east side to reciprocate him for playing such a gd host all along, taking me to great eating places in the west. At least, this time I didn't have to travel all the way down to clementi and back. Woot!

Introduced to him IKEA (Tampines) Swedish meatballs and we had their all-time fav - hotdogs! The bread tasted fantastic. It was slightly hard of the outside, but soft on the inside. So when u sink ur teeth into the hotdog, coupled along with the chicken sausage and sauce, the combination just tastes heavenly.

Rushed to SIA GROUP clubhse to play pool. Played from 4 to 7pm. Not that accurate today. Somehow, just couldn't hit even short-distanced straight shots. Tot I figured out the problem already but I think another one must have surfaced unknowingly.

We met up with sis to eat at BLK 85. Ordered the usual - oh lua, satay, chicken wings, sambal stingray, otah. Chose cold dessert, Ice Honeydew Sago and Almond Jelly, over the norm, Ah Bailing tang yuan. In the end, we still had the craving for the tang yuan a few hrs after we left.

Invited Ben over to my place. I showed him my new ACER notebk and he helped me dl the O2 Jam game, which he's seriously gd at. I like to play it sometimes, but I prefer to watch him play becuz the feeling is so shuang when I see all the notes hit and the combo no. increasing steadily. Can be quite stressed to play, cuz for me, I normally miss quite a lot of notes. So watching is certainly much more entertaining :)

He left ard 2am. Felt bad he had to take a taxi back, must have costed a bomb. Quite shag by then. So I when straight to bed. Zzzzzzzz

Settling my accommodations

2007-06-20T01:25:00.000+10:00

I brought the bank draft to the OAL office to make payment for my accommodations in Melbourne. My agent, Serene, showed me the pictures of my apartment online. My god, the place is like super tiny!!

Upon entering, the toilet on my left and the small kitchen table on my right. Alongside the kitchen table, is a gas stove. A small fridge below, with drawers beside it and an overhead kitchen cupboard. Take a few steps forward, and ta-dah, my bedroom/study room/dining room/ living room. No need to fret, it's just me staying there and I'll get used to it.

Had dinner at home with family becuz it was Duan Wu Jie. Watched and learnt how my maid cooked (with grandma's supervision) a veg dish. OMG... Nv knew how much oil and fats (literally - My grandma took fats from chicken butt and pan-fried it). That night, I only ate a small portion of that dish. Hah. Becuz the image of the fats and the oil kept flashing in my mind.

Lunch out with Suhan and Kuan Loong

2007-06-19T01:04:00.000+10:00

As I'll be leaving for Melbourne end of this month for the next 3 years, I've been arranging to meet up with good friends these few wks to have lunch with them. Spend some time together becuz it'll be a long long while before I'll be seeing them again. Met up with Kuan Loong and Su Han at Eastpoint Sakae for lunch this afternoon.

KL wanted buffet and was still boasting abt how many plates he could whoop down. Hah, but as it was still 2pm, buffet hadn't started. Suhan had such a small appetite - she had 2 plates only!! I had 5 plates. Quite an avg number for me - satisfied, but not too full.

We chatted alot. Hmm.. Let me rephrase it - KL talked alot, relating mostly abt his NS life. Quite interesting to hear from him becuz instead of emphasising on the borin stuff, he focused on the stuff which were v fun and those I had no chance of experiencing. He would go into detail abt his shooting test with much emotions the story became so engaging. I was listening intently abt his experience in camp, but I could see Suhan was a lil bored already. A bit of stoning is alright. Haha, I just continued listening to him.

Left an hour later and forgot to take pictures with them with the camera I brought.

My CCH Bball gathering

2007-06-17T22:57:00.000+10:00

I had CCH Bball friends over at my place for a BBQ and mahjong session on sat thru the night. We do this annually and I've always been providing the venue. It's been like this since Sec2. Slightly more tiring and troublesome to play host, but I still enjoy it. Feels like my effort is paid off when I see all of us having a great time.

3 came in the afternoon to help with the preparing of the food - Wrapping corn, marinating fish and sotong. All the purchasin had been done thanks to my mum who by nature is so hospitable. She always helps me with the purchasing and doesn't mind giving my friends a treat even if the purchases costed her $100.

It was mainly the 5 of us doing the grilling. Took many pictures while we were at it too. Could say we really worked as a team. Fanning the fire, flipping the food, spreading the magarine, holding the plate etc. Haha. The last time it was this fun was in Sec2, when everyone was really enthu abt it. Past few times had been steamboat becuz it was less troublesome and cheaper. But steamboat is basically quite passive as there's not much movement except for sinkin in and pulling out the food. So the last few times had been a little boring. Plus only a few stayed over.

Come to think abt it, it was reallly quite unexpected that I ended up as the host. When we were in Sec2, after our trng in Dec, someone suggested to have a BBQ. Then on learning that I live in a private housing estate, they asked if they could hold the BBQ at my place. Well, that was the first time I ever held a gathering/BBQ for my friends cuz normally, I prefer to not invite friends over. Playing host can be quite tedious at times. Plus, I don't have anything interested my play station or comp games to entertain them. They also suggested a stayover. Woah... I tot my dad wouldn't allow the stayover, but he actually did! Both the BBQ and stayover! That time, almost the whole team, plus my coach and teacher in charge came. It was really enjoyable!

With those that stayed over, we watched Exorcist (The Beginning). We were all so freaked by that show. Up till now, all of us can remember still certain scary parts of that show. We slept in my room together on mattresses, together with my dog, Lucky. Hahaa.

Woke up the next day and we left for trng together. I think it's something like that. 5 yrs ago, so I can't recall how it went exactly. But I do remember we had BBQ twice in a row for dinner and they stayed over twice. That was really a fun-filled gathering. From then on, they've been bugging me to organise a gathering every year end. From watching horror flicks at night, we've switched to playing mahjong through the night, which I think, is much more fun than movies.

I'm so relieved and glad that this year's gathering was so so enjoyable. Especially when this would be the last gathering, not until I'm back from my overseas study. Although lesser pple turned up than the time in Sec2, I still had a wale of a time. BBQ, chatting with all 8 of them and mahjong... I shd take the initiative to continue being the organiser and let everyone keep in touch with one another. Or else, all of us would drift apart and experiencing this feeling of friendship would become impossible.

A fun-filled day

2007-06-15T14:49:00.000+10:00

Haircut >> Charsiew Rice Lunch >> Pool >> Watch DVD

Had to pull myself out of bed at 8am today for my haircut appt with Ben's regular hairstylist - Mark at 10.30am and all the way to BOON LAY. Dozed off on most parts of the ride. I was half asleep when a person came to sit beside me. Our upper arms touched (Triceps area only) and it felt warm. So comfortable becuz the train was v cold. I accidentally kicked the person's shoe and felt the heel. Person was female. So ok. I can continue tapping her warmth. Sounds disgusting I know, but I was more interested in catching some beauty sleep. At the next stop, I opened my eyes to check which stop it was. Then OMG, the person whom I've been tapping for warmth is a MAN! AN INDIAN MAN!!! ARH!!!! After that, I quickly inched away and do wat? Continue sleeping.

Haircut + wash took abt an hr. Felt paiseh for making Ben wait so long. Not v satisfied with my new haircut on the whole. Think it lacks that natural finishing where the ends shd be tooth-edged and not horizontal. Fringe also a bit stiff. But still looks presentable. So nothing to worry abt.

Lunch was alright. Charsiew Rice with a special sauce (not the normal sweet one). Something new.

Pool was great fun. Finally discovered the reason that I've been hitting inaccurate shots.

Situation: Because of some obstruction at the female's chest, although the cue has been aligned correctly initially, it would be unconsciously shifted away from the alignment.
Solution: Arch back upwards to make some leeway.
Evaluation: Accurate shots but terrible terrible backache after a short while.

Looking forward to playing pool again.

Made our way to Ben's place. Watched BABEL and got so bored by it. Storyline progressed quite slowly and ended with a feeling of 'ok....'. But that's my opinion, others might find it worth watching since it has bagged quite a few awards.

Left his place ard 9pm. I volunteered to walk to the MRT station by myself cuz I didn't want to trouble him further. Got onto the train, got a seat and went to sleep. Journey doesn't seem long when u're sleeping.

Eh Ben, next time u'll be coming over to my area. Always making me travel from Simei to Clementi and back. Tsk Tsk...

X-ray & Health Check-up

2007-06-14T21:29:00.000+10:00

I was scheduled for an X-ray and a health check today. My sis had to go for the same before she was enrolled into Poly. My sis mentioned that all I've to do is remove all my top pieces and put on a long, thin garment. That relieved me a little. I still tot I had to strip. Nv done any X-ray before.

Chest X-ray wasn't scary at all. Just 'zap' and thousands of cells die. But felt the same as before. She also took a passport-sized pic. Wonder how I look. She didn't let me smile :(

Following that, was the health check-up at Paragon. Had to do eyesight and urine test. Still remembered how my sis related to me abt the correct way of carrying the cup back into the clinic - must cover with a piece of tissue paper and try not to knock into anything or anyone. Haha. Ya, I was very cautious abt that.

It was a quick health check-up. No prior operations or medical conditions to declare. Out in half an hour's time.

On the whole, not a bad experience. Nothing that will give me a phobia for health check-ups.

My New Passport

2007-06-13T01:34:00.000+10:00

Went to collect my new passport at ICA Building this afternoon. The moment I stepped out of Lavendar MRT Station, I knew it was definitely going to be a LONG LONG wait for my new passport. So many pple were walking out from ICA Building, which can only mean that there will be even more pple inside.

My stared with horror at my queue no. There were 177 pple in front of me! Luckily, I found a place to sit. Even more fortunately, that I could chat with Angeline on my mobile. Or else I would have biodegraded and returned all my nutrients to earth. 40min passed and we had to hang up, becuz she had to stop slacking and get back to work.

When my no. was skipped, I panicked. "OMG, DON'T TELL ME I WAITED ONE WHOLE HOUR FOR NOTHING? Do I have to take a new no. and wait all over again?" Yet, when my 3023 finally blinked on the display board, it looked so foreign. I think it was the 'omg, izzit really really true' effect. Of course, it was followed by a huge sense of relief.

Oh ya. COSTS FREAKING $70 FOR PASSPORT RENEWAL!!

Headed to OAL (my agency office) to hand agent my new passport. She scheduled me for a mandatory health check-up this coming THU. X-ray and full body check-up. Don't know how many pieces have to come off. SO PAISEH LA...

Where are u, toned body?

2007-06-12T01:08:00.000+10:00

Received a sudden call from Shan Chun, my JC ex-classmate, to meet up with him and Suhan for a chat at Eastpoint BK. I managed to get a gd table, somewhere in the middle, where it's least cramped. Then I saw Shan Chun walking in, my god, he looked damn gd with his lean, muscular body (Not bulging muscles, or else it'll be scary). The skin colour was abt just right too.

So envious. I don't wanna get all muscular, but if I can look lean, without the flabby 'friends' on my arms and thighs, it'll be great.

Ok Hui Ying, stop complaining. What can I expect, I've stopped slogging at the gym and I'm so lazy. Haha. Ok. So I'll start by making sure I don't overeat during meals or snack at night. Leaving for Aus soon, so working out can wait. (see, lazy me)

Stayover at my place

2007-06-10T01:35:00.000+10:00

Last night was a fun night! Angeline, Shuli and Jinnie came over to my place for a stayover.

After dinner, we started playing mahjong. Lady Luck eluded me for the whole game. I had to declare bankrupcy by the West round. Only won once! So unbelievable. Plus, it was such a small hand. Luckily, we didn't play with real $$, or else, my heart will surely ache.

That would be abt 3am. Bored, so at Jinnie's recommendation, we watched 200 pounds of beauty online. Man, I had no clue that it was online. OY and I actually paid $7.50 each to watch in a cinema. Only Shuli and I watched the whole show. Angeline and Jinnie were knocked out by then. But somehow, they managed to recharge with that 45min of rest and 4 of us watched the last part together.

They left at 7am. Standing at the door, I waved to them gdbye with weary eyes. Slept till 2.30pm. That pig Angeline must have gotten up much later than me. Haha.

Met up with OY at night. We just walked aimlessly thru the HDB estates. Quite an interestin yet cheap way to hang out. Can't do it too often though, gets quite boring.

All decided !!

2007-06-06T17:39:00.000+10:00

All the confusion confusion confusion have come to an end after the phone call from my parents from Lanzhou, China, last night. I had been so undecided on whether to choose Commerce on Business (banking & finance).

My dad has managed to persuade me to take up the Business one becuz it'll be more specialised. I told him that I was worried that I wouldn't be capable, decisive, fast and judgemental enough to pursue specialised occupations. Also, I was afraid that banking and finance might not be how I perceive it to be and might not enjoy it eventually. But he explained and explained and finally, boosted my confidence that I'll be able to make it in this industry.

My initial choice was Business, but becuz of the recommendations by the Monash Rep and overseas friends, I was thrown into this web. That time, I really hoped that she hadn't brought up the Commerce course. However, after much reflection, the past few days have been worth it. At least I've a clearer picture of what I've chosen and my alternatives, so I wouldn't regret it when I reach there.

From this episode of decisions and confusions, I learnt that gathering opinions from pple of different backgrounds and experiences are essential in making the right choice. There'll be times when they do not give us any obvious directions. So after we're pass the stage of gathering opinions, the final route to take will be up to ourselves. Not forgetting, A LEAP OF FAITH - to trust and believe that everything will turn out right.

So I've decided on my route and I won't look back.

CONFUSION

2007-06-06T01:40:00.000+10:00

As I've yet to decide on either Commerce or Business (bankin & finance) to study in Monash, the whole of today and ytd were spent gathering suggestions and reading in-depth on the different modules. It was a tiring, stressed and confusing day for me.

I was practically reading and comparing the modules from both degrees and I also compared them to S'pore's NTU. I must had stared at the screen for a total of 5 hrs. Felt so brain-dead after that.

The reason I'm still undecided is becuz both courses have their pros and cons. Furthermore, I've 50% votes on both sides and everyone made v logical sense. I was lost in the fields of confusion. One moment, I would be leaning on one side and then after some time, I would lean towards the other course. And when I think that I'll just do the first course, I can't totally give up on the latter becuz I haven't been 100% convinced that it's the right choice.

Haizz... Decisions, decisions...

Oh Happy ddaYYY...

2007-06-05T00:33:00.000+10:00

I was awakened this morning from my sleep from a msg from my dad - he would like to invite OY for a lunch one of these days.

I'm overjoyed! Totally over the moon! Finally I can introduce him to my parents. Kept asking OY what he was planning to wear and advising him on things to take note of. Oh, and there were the uncontrollable giggles. Haha. Can't wait for parents to return from holiday, then we can have the Japanese buffet at Hotel Furama.

We spent the early afternoon making enquiries for my accommodations in Melbourne. On seeing the weather being so wonderful, we travelled by foot from Raffles Place to City Hall. Walking past towering office buildings, crossing scenic bridges and magnificent hotels, I realise that I really love being in a city.

It's also a special day today, becuz it's Angeline's bday. Happy Birthday Angeline! Shuli, Jinnie and I treated her to dinner at Out of the Pan in Raffles City. Crepes filled with deliciously-flavoured meat. My filling was grilled minced mutton. We bought her a pair of outing slippers and a card.

Hanging out with them has always been enjoyable. They were my Sec Sch classmates since Sec3 and the 4 of us have been best friends ever since. They're all v valuable friends. Leaving for Aus, I'll definitely miss them. Really hope we'll still remain as close as before.

It was a happy happy day...

Seein the Monash Rep again...

2007-06-04T01:25:00.000+10:00

Made my way alone to the Orchard Hotel to hand in my Monash Uni application form to the Monash Rep, Genie. This was the third consecutive time I was seein her for the past 3 days. Hopefully I don't have to see her anymore cuz I feel a bit paiseh abt it. Don't know y. As usual, the queue for the Monash Uni was the longest of all the other Aus universities and I ended up waiting for 20min.

She recommended me another course, Bachelor of Commerce, which was more popular, flexible and recognised in Aus than the Business (Bankin & Finance) which I applied for. Nv did I expect that that was going to be the cause of all the confusion and stress for the next few days.

Parents left for holiday today. Dad seemed a bit uptight. He normally does before he goes on every holiday. I feel a bit nervous too. Cuz the next few days I'll be deciding on my uni matters (payment, courses, visa, etc.) but he won't be by my side at this very impt turing pt of my life. How?!? He has always been there.Luckily, there's still the invention of phones and skype. If not, I would be so LOST right now.

Aus Open Day

2007-06-03T00:41:00.000+10:00

Attended Aus Open Day at Orchard Hotel with OY. Sat in for the University of Queensland (medicine) seminar. For him. For me only in my dreams. So the AngMoh lecturer goes on and on abt the course. When he showed the slide on course fees, my eyes almost popped out with that figure glaring straight back at me. In total, the whole degree would have burnt A$200k from some parent's pocket. Well, another one to have his conscience pricked. Haha.

I managed to speak with the Monash Uni representative again at the booth. Guess wat, she remembers me! Haha. I thought she would have forgotten that I spoke to her ytd at OAL office considering the huge scores of pple she had talked to.

Also caught POC 3 with OY. Quite a long show, but still very gd. I like the soundtrack alot too. We had dinner together too. Variety of otahs, yakitori and buns. Variety, my favourite!

Reached home and shared with dad on my findings for that day. Aiya, forgot to ask her abt accommodations. Nvm, tmr. I'll have to hand in my application form tmr to her anyway. And she'll give me the offer letter. Right on the spot! So unbelievable! A representative has that much authority.

My god. I'll be leaving on last wk of Jun, which means I've 3 and half wks left here in S'pore. There's so much preparations to be made. Plus, I'm not mentally-prepared! I'll be leaving behind my family members, and closest friends, special one and my dog... MY LUCKY BOY BOY... I miss his scent already. Then there's my grandma who's in her eighties. Haiz...

Am I really gonna leave with no peace of mind?

1 step closer to Aus

2007-06-02T01:46:00.000+10:00

Met up with Shuli and Jinnie to buy Angeline's bday present this afternoon. We were walking abt Marina Sq. Kept forgetting that our objective was to get a present becuz we got distracted by the clothes on sale. Finally, after much walking abt and deliberating, the present was chosen. I left immediately after that cuz I had an appt with trinity college representative to enquire more abt doing foundation studies in Melbourne.

Getting to that building where Overseas Academic Link (OAL) was located was not easy. Esp for a blind mouse like me. Plus, I left the address behind at home. Luckily, I still remembered the street name - Cecil St.

Trinity College gave me a Letter of Offer on the spot, immediately after i filled in the application form. Such shocking speed! After that, I spoke to the representative of Monash Uni. I was equally surprised when she said that I qualified for entry. 2nd best uni in Melbourne, yet I could enter with my average results. Actually, I had already decided on doing the Foundation Studies but after discussing with my dad, what for waste the 7months and A$19 000 if I can advance to Uni straight.

Education really has become a money-spinning industry, esp for Aus. While locals pay a subsidised rate for Uni fees, international students have to pay the full sum. That's why educational instituitions are more than happy to accept international students. If I was a local, with that results of mine, I wouldn't even be able to smell Monash.

It pricks my conscience that my dad has to pay so much more just to buy me an overseas education. However, the experience of living/studying overseas excites me. Well, I better shower more love on him then.

I'll be attending Aus Open Day tmr with OY. There'll be all the well-known aus uni setting up their booths to handle enquiries. Shd be helpful for me.

Shattered

2007-05-30T16:09:00.000+10:00

Last night, I was reminded of something that I've been putting behind me. Somehow, the topic popped out and the wound reopened again.

I couldn't take my mind off it. All those suppressed emotions came hurling back at me. Luckily I was alone outside at the comp. Not ready to reveal it to others yet. Playing O2 Jam on comp really helped. Found solace within the game and music and it gradually, pulled me off my train of anguished thoughts.

I feel so shattered. I don't know when I'll recover from it.

Last Goodbye to my Colleagues

2007-05-30T01:10:00.000+10:00

A few hrs ago, I waved my last gdbyes to my colleagues. It was my last day at work. It has been almost 5 months ever since I started out as an administrator at this Math tuition centre.

Tuesday, the 29th of May, has been a very quick day. Recalling of myself sitting at my office desk, it's hard to believe that that was the v last time I would be speaking into that black phone and clicking my black Samsung mouse. Ten days ago, I was still counting down the days happily. Now that the day has finally arrived and left, it just feels weird.

I strolled back from my office smiling and feeling a warmth inside, a combination of emotions that I have nv experienced before. Walking out from that office, I felt that I've graduated from one of the learning phases of my life. Although I did make some blunders, I'm actually quite proud of myself. Maybe that explains the happiness and warmth.

Thanks to my amicable, understanding and supportive superiors (Michelle, Ai Ling, Norman and Jennie), I was able to work and learn in a very comfortable environment. Even when I had made big mistakes, they were still very tolerant towards me and gave me constructive suggestions. I'm also very grateful for my colleague, Ling Xiu, who was always there to lend a helping hand whenever she saw me rushing to meet deadlines. Of course there were the occasional unhappy times when I just wanted to go on non-stop with my frustrations. Haha. Still, thanks to you all, for making my first working experience so wonderful and memorable.

Sakura Buffet!!!

2007-05-29T01:16:00.000+10:00

Attended a staff lunch held at Sakura (Downtown East) today. Purpose of lunch was to say bye to the pple leaving (myself and Ling Xiu) and to welcome a new teacher joining the team. This was the first time I was in any staff event, mainly becuz working as an administrator has been my first ever job.

Food and price were reasonable ($20 nett per person for lunch).

I attacked the sashimi first. To me, it's an appetizer. Either soup or tat. Personally, I feel that sashimi should be the first dish cuz it's best to have 'clear' tastebuds to really savour the freshness of the chilled raw fish meat. The following plate was mainly chilled scallops and baked mussels. Totally skipped the ordinary chinese cooked food. I prefer to have stuff that I rarely get a chance to eat. My colleagues even tot that I love eating seafood.
Of course later on, there were the teppanyaki dishes like chicken and shishamo (I prefer to call it pregnant fish though). Last dish of my main course was again, seafood -prawns. Prawns are forever the last dish cuz I find it the most effort-consuming. A few of my colleagues were slightly amazed by how I could shell prawns using knife and fork. Hee. But I wasn't that skilled la. Still have room for improvement.
Last course of the meal - desserts. The cakes were so-so.

I was full after lunch, but not bloated. Very sure there was still enough space for more. Luckily I didn't gorge myself. Or else it's an even longer time on the treadmill (so boring...) Worse, my colleagues would think that I'm a pig.

There wasn't much chance for everyone to mingle abt. It'll take more than just this lunch for everyone to reach that stage where there's no wall of awkwardness dividing us. Still, being able to be in the company of nice colleagues outside work was great. Plus, tmr will be my last day. Gotta treasure the remaining time I have left with them.

The 'a while more' woman

2007-05-25T01:28:00.000+10:00

I don't know why, but for this past wk I've been crazy over Big Ben's pies. I love their crust the most. Unlike those flaky kinds u get at pastry shops, these pies have a hard crust. I had steak and guinness pie for dinner, then chicken and mushroom pie for lunch the next day. The latter is the best so far from all those I've tried.

At the counter serving me, was the same lady again. I call her the 'a while more' woman. Don't feel as pissed as before. Few wks ago, she really got my blood boiling when she REPEATEDLY told me to wait a while more when I just wanted her to give me an estimate of my waiting time. Oh, I forgot to mention that she resembled Ruhua (a hideous-looking woman on Wu Zhong Xian's show).

So, I visited Big Ben's Place twice this wk (for dinner and lunch). When I went there for lunch, she recognised me. She was friendly towards me that day. I bet she only recalled me going the previous day and not a few wks ago (that fateful day when she got my blood boiling). Most probably becuz I didn't tell her off that day itself, which I seriously seriously regret. Not that i like telling pple off, but I felt tat I shd have stood up for myself. By repeatedly telling me to wait 'a while more' when in fact she had already made me wait for 25min, I felt like a fool. It was like she didn't treat me seriously as a customer. I was having takeaway and she actually made me wait alongside those dining in. Takeaway and Dine-in are 2 different queues. Standard procedure!

Yes, but that's all behind me now. I still think she resembles Ruhua. Hahaa. I've satisfied my cravings for pies but I feel another craving growing...... HOTDOGS. I'll grab one for lunch tmr before I head for work.

To STRANGLE or not to STRANGLE, that is the question

2007-05-20T16:59:00.000+10:00

A few wks back, i had this craving for Big Ben's traditional english pies. So after our workout at the gym, i got my mum to drive down to bedok. 'Mmm... savoury, warm and cripsy pies for lunch,' i thought to myself. Unfortunately and irritatingly, that was not how lunch was going to turn out.

It was the lunch hour period, so the place was almost fully-seated. I told my order to the lady at the counter, but as she was busy preparing drinks at the moment for the other custormers, she told me a while more. So, alright. i waited for a while (5min). 'Hi, can i make my order now? It's take away,' I added. Again, she told me a while more. So, ok, i waited (10min). After some time of observing her move hastily from counter to table, table to table and back again, it seemed that she wasn't going to serve me yet, even though she claimed 'a while more'. So I asked her how long did i have to wait. At least i could decide to continue waiting or just leave. Again, she said a while more and explained that there were other customers to serve first.

It was starting to get on my nerves. Of course i knew she was busy with other customers. I justed wanted to know a time, an estimate. I thought maybe she didn't get the crux of my qn, so i asked her in a clearer and more concise way. 'Judgin from the list of all the orders on your board, can you give me an estimate as to how long more i've to wait,' I said, trying to control that fury that was growing inside. She looked at me, looked at her board, then looked at me again. Guess wat she said. A WHILE MORE.

THAT WAS IT MAN. I swore i would have strangled her if it wasn't illegal. Even a pri sch kid would know how to say 10 min, 15min or something. So pissed!

If the word 'impatient' or 'unreasonable' pops into your mind now, then i've got to apologise for the lack of literary skill i possess that handicapped me from presentin to you 100% of that day's re-enactment.

But the pies are still great. So, just avoid the lunch hour.

The girl with 2 colours in her hair

2007-05-17T01:04:00.000+10:00

Yipee! I've finally highlighted my hair. Gone is the old and boring black.I had it done with Ben (my super gd friend) at his regular hairstylist. From Simei, all the way to Boon Lay......

I chose a dark brown base and a very light brown (almost blond) highlight. The part which I recalled the most was the washing off dye part. Hell it was ticklish! Whenever the hairstylist sprayed the water near my ears (ard temples), this ticklish sensation just ran from the ear, down my spine and all the way to my hip! Left temple, left hip. Right temple, right hip. Don't ask me why, I also have not found an explanation for that.

For Ben, as his hair was short, he had that helmet-looking thing with poked holes on. Made him look like a monk! Haha. That doesn't really matter. His hair turned out great eventually. Especially after his hairstylist exercised his skilled fingers to style his hair with this newly-released gum. 25sec. Poof! Hair is styled.

Later on, I went to his place and watched Mr. Bean's Holiday together with his family. Not very surprisingly, quite a stupid show. Played some O2 Jam then left after that. Long ride home again.

Had a great time today. But pocket didn't after that highlighting. Still, thanks to Ben for recommending his hairstylist which was less expensive than other salons. And a bigger thanks for the company! :)

Dad's b'day outing at Suntec

2007-05-08T18:16:00.000+10:00

7th May - Dad's b'day. I can't rmb how old he is already. Quite old.

Ytd, my mum, sis and I, treated Dad to Kenny Rogers dinner to celebrate his b'day. Great food! The chicken was tender and succulent. The servings for the side dishes were generous. My favourite side was potato salad. And of course, the muffins too. I wanna have Kenny Rogers again. Soon, I suppose. OY's b'day is in end of May.

After dinner, we took some pic at the Fountain of Wealth. Haha. It felt like we were tourists. My sis was bent on buying this FOX cargo pants. So we made a beeline to FOX. I ended up buying a brown sweater too. We looked at shoes, watches and more clothes. Later on, we headed to N.Y.D.C for dessert.

I really enjoyed myself that night. We chatted and laughed over dinner and dessert. Plus, I realised that my dad tends to loosen his purse strings when we're out of this kind of special family outing. A very good news indeed :) We've decided to make this a monthly thing since it's quality family time. Next month's destination: Sizzler. Mmm... I SO LOVE EATING STEAK.

My maiden entry - for my Dad

2007-03-20T04:51:00.000+11:00

This is my very very first entry for my very very first blog. Quite shocking, considering that I'm already 18. Call me outdated if you want, but at least better late then nv. Actually, i've always procrastinated of having one since last year, but that's why i said 'procrastinate'.

I wanted to start my first entry with a topic that had really left a deep impact on me. For days after i finally created my blog, i searched for my first entry topic. Well, this is it...... "My Beloved Father".

My father's love for me is just like the air around us. Just like how air is invisible, his love disguises itself in forms that escape the naked eye. It also knows no limits. There are just too many to write about, so i'll just share the most recent one.

2nd Mar '07, my 'A' level results were released. A week later, the local unis all organised their open house. My dad and mum accompanied me to NUS in morning. Mum left for work, then Dad and I headed for SMU in afternoon. We attended many talks and finally, the tedious and tiring day came to an end. Boarding the train home, I discussed with my dad abt the possible courses i could pursue (since i had considerably poor results). Then something struck me. Some emotion and realisation that I've nv felt before. Touched.

Yes, I was touched by my father's efforts. Not many fathers would bother to accompany their children to open houses, especially when they are already over 18. But mine actually did. He provided me with valuable and farsighted suggestions as to which course would suit and benefit me in the future. He also went that extra mile to talk to the current uni students who were promoting their faculties at their booths just to find out more abt the course. Even after learning from these student-promoters that they were not allowed to reveal any results prerequisites, he still pried just to know what my chances were. NO, this is definitely not being kiasu. It stems from the love and protection that he has been showering on me all this while.

Maybe many who read this entry would be baffled as to why small actions like this would lead me to my conclusion. This is becuz they have not seen what he has been doing for me ever since i entered into this world. Or maybe, some would think i'm being 'emo', but i've no qualms abt declaring my utmost respect, gratitude and love that i have for this precious father of mine.