BEaches...

one of the lighthouses at wollongong...

hmm... yummy... just what we really needed even though it was freezing...

at bald hill lookout... you can see the seacliff bridge from here... it was so very cold and windy...

at cronulla beach... i just find this picture really relaxing...

at cronulla beach... it was a really nice day out... not too many people... and there were people surfing...

how very pretty, the seacliff bridge along the grand pacific highway... we even saw 2 whales that day too!


at the seacliff bridge... deja vu... for me... at least this time there was not as many people... we practically had the whole bridge to ourselves...

PiCtOn...

appearances can be deceiving... the car was not as clean and shiny as it appeared... it was seriously filthy...


at the same valley again...

The Burragorang Valley... the view was again... absolutely breath taking... it would be nice if the trees were not blocking it...



nepean dam at picton... the view was gorgeous... but we were all freezing our butts off...

Hawkesbury joUrNey...

and this is why you should not visit the vineyards in winter... there's nothing... except maybe the view...

finally, got some oranges... and that's the only fruit that we could pick during winter...

hmm... the box is empty, maybe we should start picking some oranges...

visited this really pretty but secluded windery just next to the hawkesbury river... too bad I had to drive and could not sample any of the wines there...


amazed by the olden days version of the mailbox... haha... at the town of windsor...

ROad tRip PaRT 3...

MoNday: this one was more of an impromptu one... cos zz is going back on wed so we decided to go on another road trip... this time to wollongong... and wanru said it sounded like "wulong de gong gong" haha... i actually got the joke...

anyway, started our journey to cronulla beach... and it was really nice cos it was a monday and not many people at the beach... but there were some surfers... and people were doing their morning stroll... jo came along to join us... and then we headed down to stanwell park and this lookout place called bald hill lookout... this time jo drove and i could admire the scenery along the way... it was freezing at the bald hill lookout but the view was really good... could see the seacliff bridge from there... which was our next destination... the seacliff bridge... along the grand pacific drive... went there two years ago with uncle et al during easter... but when we went there yesterday, there were practically nobody and we kind of had the whole bridge to ourselves... and according to silvana, it was the migrating season for the whales, so we were all lookint out for them, and i saw 2... really briefly and far away... and only like their tail and the puffs of air that comes out when they exhale were visible... but it was so exciting... walked along the bridge for awhile and there was this public toilet there that was automated... the doors, the toilet paper, the flush and the water to wash your hands... it was really cool, i should have taken a picture... damn...

next, we headed down to this place called austinmer, walked along the beach for awhile, ate ice cream... and then to the next suburb called thirroul... nothing much, just shophouses... did not stay for long there, headed down to wollongong next... it is exactly like sydney, went to the info centre to find out where are the attractions... and bcos we did not have much time left, we only visited the beach, and the two lighthouses... and the lagoon nearby... and then we decided to go to the mall to have some food... on the way back, cos wollongong was not the street directory, and the GPS had no signal for awhile... we were driving blindly for awhile and almost got into trouble... thank goodness nothing happened... dropped jo off at her house and then i dropped the rest back home...

i think these 3 days auris and i have been the furthest in nsw... since i came... it was a good experience, but the only thing was auris got really dirty... both in and out... and i can't believe zz is going back tomorrow... i am going to miss them... will post some pics soon...

ROad tRip PaRT 2...

SatuRday: zz wanted to go to these markets... and we almost got lost on the way to the first market at boot hill... cos the directions were not clear... it was really like a garage sale, where people just come and set up their stalls on the grounds... i was done within half and hour and had to wait for the rest... i was not really into these sort of markets... after that, we headed to another market but could not locate the place so zz said to just go to the next one at camden... the drive there was really nice and camden was really pretty... cos it looked like it was at the bottom of the mountains and the air was really fresh... i preferred the market there... bought a candle holder for annie to thank her for helping me recruit... we were there for quite awhile... cos it was more of an arts and crafts market... after that, we headed to picton... another historical town and dropped into the information centre to check out where are the attractions... and for some reason, my GPS took me on this really windy and narrow road to picton, and i was so scared driving on that road cos i could not see oncoming traffic, but luckily, there were not many cars...

the person at the info centre recommended we take these 2 scenic drives... one was to go look at the nepean dam and the other to this lookout place... the nepean dam was really nice... but we were freezing even though the sky has finally cleared and it was bright and sunny that day... and we were the only ones there... after that, we drove to the other scenic route to the lookout... and it was quite far away from picton and for awhile, we had no idea if we were going in the right direction... but the scenery was really nice... and there were not many cars as well... when we finally got to the lookout, it was really pretty but cold... and i wished that the trees were not blocking the scenery... the drive back down was equally pretty...

we decided to have dinner at strathfield ceci... and bcos we got there quite early... there was no queue and we were starving... but when we were driving out of the carpark, silvana lost the parking ticket and we were like stopped there for 10 mins trying to find the ticket... in the end, the person was kind enough to allow us to pass through otherwise we would have to pay the fine for losing the ticket... and then when driving out of the carpark, the GPS said to turn right, and i did not pay attention and did not realise that it was only a one way road... cars started to honk at me when i turned right... i got such a bad scare... which i guess was partly my fault, i should have paid attention to the road and not be too reliant on the GPS... cos it did a few mistakes in the past already... that was really scary... dropped them back at berala and headed home after... was really tired... luckily only working at night on sunday...

and auris was so filthy after the road trip cos it was raining for the past few days and i have not washed it for like 3 weeks...

ROad tRip PaRT 1...

went on a road trip with zz, silvana and wanru on friday, sat and monday...

FRiday: the weather on friday was really shitty, started to rain when we were starting on our journey, our first pit stop was this 'little sleepy town' called Pitt town... when people say 'little sleepy town', it means nothing to see... which was exactly what pitt town was, nothing much except this row of shops and farms... and it was raining so heavily, that we could not get down to walk and explore the area... so we just drove around the town for abit... saw huge lands, and alot of vegetable farms... then we proceeded to windsor... more shops to see and the rain had stopped for abit... walked around the area, took pics... then drove to tizzana winery which was along the hawkesbury river... when we got there, the man introduced and allowed to sample some of their wines... and bcos i was the only driver, i could not drink and could only watch them drink... but i bought a bottle of wine... along the way, we saw lots of animals... like horses, cows, sheeps, and we even saw alpacas... then we stopped for abit at this church nearby that was supposedly the oldest presbyterian church in australia... then we proceeded to richmond... the weather cleared up abit, and so we decided to stop by the penrith valley orange farm to pick oranges... then we went on to erniskillen orchard... well all i can say was the picture in the brochure looked nicer than it really was... but the scenery was nice though... then we drove back to richmond, and ate dinner there before heading back to berala where i stayed over for the night...

silvana and i watched the movie the forbidden kingdom, and i was so looking forward to the movie... and my advice to those who have not seen it... DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME... it was so stupid... i thought it would be like an action chinese movie bcos both jackie chan and jet li were in the movie... but they made it in english... and they even had the chinese wise men speaking in english... which was so ridiculous... and it had no plot at all...

FReeziNg...

this whole week has been quite uninteresting... it's still raining almost every day and so cold... it's like 10 degrees at night... anyway, euro 2008 is here... and i am so upset that i could not watch the matches, cos they are all either really early in the morning or they are not shown on tv here, cos football is not a popular sport here... i went to look up on the champions of the previous euro 2004 and found out it was greece, and remembered watching most of the matches in singapore, even waking up in the morning just to catch the live matches...

i am confirmed going to melbourne... booked the tickets already... and realised that i should not have booked the tickets so early... cos i will have problems getting to the airport, cos auntie and uncle and michelle will not be here too... alamak... so stupid, i should have thought about it before booking... and now cannot change already...

nothing else, not very happening at the moment... oh, might be going on a roadtrip with zz and the girls this week... but dunno where yet... hopefully the weather will clear up and not too cold...

MY FinGeRs ARe crAmPing...

i have been thinking about this since monday... it's about work... for some reason, i was actually glad to see L at work yesterday when she came in... and i kept thinking to myself... how really weird is that... cos as some of you might know, she was like my number 1 hated person in woolies at that time... i called her the evil woman... recall previous posts... and now... she's like of the few people at woolies who i actually like and get along with... to me, that's just really weird and i just have to vent a little...

anyway... went to karaoke again... on sunday with the girls... cos joan was leaving and they decided to go sing for one last time... too bad we did not get to sing for the whole day... well... wanru's got some really incriminating videos of us singing the group songs... and this particular song called 'ben xiao hai' was stuck in my head since that day... i had fun... going to karaoke with them is always fun cos they are simply hilarious... with their actions to the songs...

this week is going to be boring week again... cos i have like heaps of interviews waiting to be transcibed and analysed... why can't somebody invent a machine that can type the words out as they are spoken?? that will definitely make my life much more easier...

JuNe ALreAdy...

the korean bbq was a success... although not everyone came, but I really enjoyed myself, eating and chatting... i dunno really know why anna said it changed owners but everything seemed the same to me... the food, the layout... the only things that was sucky was the way there and back, missed a turn and missed the turn into the restaurant, had to do some illegal uvees... and on the way back, got honked at by this idiot... and of course, having to smell like bbq for the whole night and the next day... even after showering... prisy came into the room and was like, oh man, you room smells like the 'zhu rou gan'... haha...

heard back from the OT conference, did not get to do an oral paper... was asked to do a poster instead... did not want to do it initially cos it's so expensive... but my supervisor and everyone was telling me that it's a good opportunity so i guess i am going after all... it's in melbourne in september...

went to berala that day and had steamboat with the girls... it was a cold and wet day... so it was nice to have steamboat... chatted and ate alot... can't believe that they have been here for a year already and about to go back soon... i will miss them... cos i could always count on them to understand my singlish sometimes and speak chinese with me... and go karaoke...

watched enchanted that day... i quite liked it... really cheesy but james marsden's character is just hilarious... and secret... by jay chou... it started off really slow at the beginning, and the stupid disc kept pausing and repeating... but it's not bad... quite sad actually...

INdesCriBLebLE...

today was a really exciting day for me... dun think i have been this excited for awhile... number 1) Our Hep C article which we wrote last year as part of the OTTP subject got published in the Hep C Review magazine... really really excited and happy cos it showed that the hard work and effort that we put into that article was not wasted... and not to mention it will be good for the portfolio... i am really thrilled... cannot describe the excitement and joy at seeing my name published... although it's not really a formal formal magazine, but still seeing your name on a published material is really really exciting...

Number 2) bcos we will be having our korean bbq gathering tonight... hopefully the rain will hold up cos the weather this week is really wet and cold...

definitely a good day...

BuSYyy...

i was so bored that day doing the research that i went to look around on this website... and found this new jap drama called absolute boyfriend... and guess what... the lead character is this really cute guy which i liked from gokusen 2... hayami mocomichi!!! haha... wonder how many how many episodes there are in the show... watched rogue assasin that day and the show was ok... prefer jet li to act in chinese martial arts shows more cos he actually has kungfu stunts in those shows but in the english shows, he used guns and swords... not much kungfu stunts... heard that the show fated to love you is really nice, i am so waiting for the show to end... so hard to resist the temptation...

wednesday we drove up to blue mountains wentworth falls for the interview... the drive there took about an hour and a half... the air is really fresh but nothing really much to see... trees and more trees... and speaking of interviews... i have like 6 people participating in the study... which is really good compared to the one i have last week... and it's all thanks to our coordinator... she helped me to recruit... i really have to thank her cos she really helped me alot and she did not have to do it... in fact i think she's done more for me than my supervisor...

anyway, after driving back from the blue mountains, prisy and i decided to go karaoke in the city... haha and the only thing was it started to rain when we arrived... so it was really cold as well... but it was nice... but it was weird how i used to have endless songs to sing before but now i seemed to have so few songs and prisy has more songs than me...

WeEk 12 ALreADy...

auntie and uncle are back from singapore... appareantly it was really hot over there...
the week following camp... nothing much except same old boring stuff again, but finally out of the 20 emails that i have sent... one person emailed and said she would like to participate in the study... seriously... why can't more people be like this lady? it's only a miserable hour out of their schedule... not like i am asking them to give me half their days... and plus, i am going to them so they dun even have to travel...

went to uni on thursday... met up with zz... had lunch and went to do our stuff in the library... the plan initially was to go hang out at their house and watch movie... but they were all busy with their assignments... and saw my supervisor on my way to the library... and she asked me if i could wait for her till 4pm cos she wanted to catch up... 4pm went and passed and it was like 430pm and she still has not msged me... so i decided to go look for her... and if she was not there, i am leaving... when i went to her office, she was there and we went through my draft writing and talked abt the camp... and the interview on wednesday... we left ard 5pm and went to zz's house... watched stardust (i think this must be my 3rd time) with silvana... actually quite liked the show... had dinner with the girls... felt paiseh cos they were all busy doing their assignments... their lives are so much more exciting and happening than mine... sigh... wished i could travel ard like them... oh and we finally caught up on our backlog of csi and medium...

NErD cAmp PARt 2...

Oops... accidentally pressed the post button...

anyway, it was really nice scenery once you get up there... but nothing really much to do at night... so we had dinner and played some board games like balderdash and taboo... and the bed was alright, they provided us with 2 blankets, but the pillow was so flat, it was literally non-existent... i could not sleep for the first night and plus, it was a double bed and the person sleeping above me kept tossing and turning and the whole bed kept shaking... it was horrible...

The next day, it was a full day from 10am-6pm... my brain felt like all the brain cells were dead and i had such a bad headache at the end of the day... and the food was bad... and cos i helped to prepare dinner... which was a bbq... i was assigned to cut the onions... i was like shit i have never cut onions before and i dunno how... and this girl was like oh just cut them into rings will do... crap, i dun even know how to do that... so i just did what i thought was supposed to be right... and thankfully, it still came out okay... and tears were like flowing from my eyes... the food also sucked... after dinner, we had dessert and we played uno and bluff and poker... but after awhile, i went to bed... it was too much for my brain... the second night seemed better and bcos there were 6 of us sharing a room, the rest woke up so early, like 730am and i had to wake up too cos of all the talking and moving around...

the second day was not as draining but it was so boring... and i had to do my little presentation on qual analysis... i honestly think that the camp is not productive for me at all... cos i dun have my materials and my own environment... so really i did not do much writing... and most of the girls also thought so... but when we mentioned to annie about maybe instead of having a camp, just do like a whole day at uni, where we dun have to sleep over... she did not look too happy... anna and i both agree that the most productive thing to do next semester was instead of having tutorials every week, we should just have individual consultations... i think that would be much more helpful...

it was good to be back after two days of being in the middle of nowhere and be among civilisation again... and of couse, sleeping in my own bed, with no one moving the bed the entire night...

NErD cAmp...

I decided to recount the entire 3 days 2 nights camp that was like a nightmare from hell...
okay, left home on sunday afternoon to meet up with anna at west ryde cos initially the plan was to catch public transport to church point wharf... but anna said she would drive instead, so i caught a lift from her... and at west ryde woolies, i went to get all the foodstuff that i was assigned to bring... which was 2l of milk, 2l of tomato sauce and 4 humongous onions... so i was lugging like 5kg on each hand... 5kg of food, another 5 kg in my bag cos of the laptop... remind me never to bring my laptop anywhere ever!!! and a bagpack...

on the way there... we almost overshot my destination cos when we passed the marina and went further away from the water into the forest, both of us were like okay we better pull over and see where we were... and true enough, we passed the marina and was driving into the national park... so we had to reverse and drive back down... and the journey there took us about an hour... and bcos the parking there had to pay... anna parked like on the roadside which was a 10 min walk from the wharf... my hands were red already from carrying the food and my bag from the car to the wharf... got onto the ferry, when we arrived at Hall's wharf where the hostel was, it was like pure hell... we had to climb uphill for like half an hour before arriving at the hostel... i almost died on the way up... i was really exhausted from carrying all those heavy stuff... i was really tempted to just dump the food bag... i swore never to go there again!!!

PAiN in tHe A**...

on wednesday, it was a rather routine day for me... doing my research stuff at home and then ard 5pm, got a call from michelle and prisy asking if i want to join them for dinner and movie... i was like hesitant cos it was getting late and the movie was like at 9pm... but somehow, i got persuaded to go anyway... we drove to the city and had dinner at this rather posh place called Alio... where apparently, they have hand-made pasta... and in the car, michelle was like telling us how nice and yummy the food there was... at the place, i had a look at the menu and could not understand what it was talking about... anyway, the food were all given some very fancy names... so prisy recommended that i order the gnocchi... which is like some potato thing stuffed with cheese, i think... i did not really like it in the end, cos there was a strange taste which michelle said was the cheese... anyway, i was so full after cos i had a late lunch that day...

after dinner, went to watch iron man at the ritz... which is like this olden days movie theatre, where we went to watch beowulf that time... but the theatre that we went to was really nice... felt like i was going to watch a concert rather than a movie... and the movie was nice than i thought... really cool technology... and it was funny as well... i would give it 8/10...

anyway, break time over... back to boring stuff again... i was browsing through this article talking about doing research and something said in the article really had a deep impression on me... it went something like doing research can be hard work at times, even though you are doing something not related to your research or trying to relax... you always have the research at the back of your head... no matter what you do, it is like a cloud hanging over, so you can't truly relax and not think abt it...
which i thought is so true of what is going on for me now... even though say i am watching tv or doing something else, there is always the thought of the research at the back of my head... and it's already may, and i still have not started data collection... how...

SUn dAy ouT...

on sunday, in order to fulfil the girly theme, i asked prisy to put make up for me... and after that, caught a train to the city and met up with the girls... when i saw them, my first thought was wow... they all wore something different than what they usually wore... and then we headed to my fav korean spicy beef place to have lunch... we ended up all ordering from the korean stall... hmm... the spicy beef with rice is still so yummy... and after lunch, wanru whipped out these pieces of paper with cupcakes and dung drawn on them... and then she explained the rules of the voting game that they thought up... so we each had to give the cupcake to the person who we thought exceeded our expectations in terms of the way she was dressed and the effort she put in... and the dung to the person whom we thought could improve further... well... thanks to prisy's skills... i got two cupcakes and a cowdung...

after our voting game, we proceeded to big echo... and for some reason, we had 7 people so we could actually sing for the whole day but they refused to let us... so we could only sing for 3 hours... which i thought was bullshit... and the room that they gave us was shit man... looking at the seats made me think of amelia... cos she would refuse to sit on the seats that had patches... it was quite funny... i think we all had fun singing our hearts out... going karaoke with the girls are very 'energising' as they would actually stand and dance to their fav songs... and not just sit there passively and sing... haha... too bad i had to leave early for work... hopefully we could all go again and we will get to sing for the whole day next time...

and on the train, i had a nap and cos i did not have a mirror on me, i did not realise that the eyeliner had smudged the whole bottom part of my eyes... and i walked all the way to work and through woolies and only when i got to the washroom, looked into the mirror and went oh crap...

Out WiTH tHe oLD, in wiTh ThE nEw...

one week now, and i am still waiting for the people to email me saying that they are interested in participating in my study... alamak... starting to panic... what if I don't any replies back??!! (deep breaths andrea...)

last weekend, when i went to work, found out that our top 2 supervisors are leaving permanently... not that i "bu she de", it's just that they have been there since i started... and now more new faces in the store than "old" faces...

prisy came back early from work that day... and we drove to rouse hill... just the two of us... i like the drive there bcos the air is so refreshing and you can admire the houses and not much traffic... like going on a mini road trip... went to the city to get the digital voice recorder for my interviews... quite cool, works like an mp3 player... but this can only record voices... went to uni yesterday for tutorial... got back the feedback for my presentation... and one of the things i got marked down for was bcos i wore trackshoes... apparently it was not formal enough... i was quite annoyed... it was not even like a formal presenation anyways... and after that, went to zhenzhen's surprise party... ate cake that silvana baked... two actually... then had dinner and chatted... quite looking forward to this sunday... hmm... girly theme huh??

HeLLo MAy...

the next day after uncle and auntie left for singapore... the green car cannot start and we had to call the insurance company to come change the battery... and we were saying how things always are breaking down on us when uncle go away... cos the last time this happened, it was also when they left...

went to lunch with amelia at the korean place at epping... i did not really like the food, it was like soup and vegetables more than anything else... and it is quite expensive... still thought that we have finally found a nice korean place to eat rather than having to go all the way to strathfield... but ceci's still better... and then went to service my car... apparently i was a month late and they rang me to inform me that i have to bring in my car for service... had to wait for like 2 hours, so i decided to catch a train down to hornsby rather than just sit there and wait... and the service was really expensive... imagine me having to pay over $200 every 6 months...

went to uni on thursday for tutorial and to meet up with my supervisor... we finally were given the green light to start recruiting the participants for the study... so i have already emailed them and hopefully they will reply within the next few days... and i also have to go get the equipment... hopefully i will get 10 people to participate... cross my fingers...

been watching this anime called vandread... it was actually not bad... the fighting scenes were cool and it's like transformers... and a few other movies... like doom, alien vs predator 2 , resident evil 2, arthur and the invisibles... and amelia lent me a few shows as well... but they are all quite old... will have to control myself...

EVentFuL Week...

zhenzhen and chunyi came to sleep over that day cos they were planning to go to the central coast the next day... so they came and met me at woolies and went back home together... watched miss potter with them... on hindsight, i never would have dreamed that they would actually be here in woolies... it's just really weird... and on tuesday, i went to sleep over at their place cos it was quite late after dinner so stayed over for a night... it was nice, just hanging out, having dinner, catching up with them, cos they are going back soon and i have not really seen them since uni started... had wraps and pumpkin soup for dinner and bavarian for dessert... i was so full that night...

went to uni on thursday... planning to organise a farewell party for them sometime in june... saw some people whom i have not seen or spoken to for awhile... and i am still waiting for ethics to get back to me... and in the meantime, i am planning to invest in a good gps... i think it would really make my life easier...

it was the anzac day holiday on friday but i was not rostered for work... so prisy and i initially planned to go to the city for karaoke after facial... so we went for an early morning facial and we found out that alot of the road in the city were closed for the anzac day march, so thank god we checked before going... so in the end, we went to strathfield for lunch... hmm... ceci's korean food... and it was raining quite heavily that day... a nice day to stay in and have some hot and spicy food... the facial lady actually recommended a new korean place at epping where she said that the food is not bad... but too bad it was closed that day... so in the end, after lunch, we just went back home... watched this new anime that prisy recommended... and we went for dinner... supposed to be a surprise dinner for one of my uncle and auntie's friends... the food was not too bad actually... the only thing was the steak... it is just my luck... of all the steaks, mine was the really bloody one. it was dripping with blood... i was so grossed out but i did not want to appear wasteful, so i just tried to ignore the blood and shoved it down... and we stayed at their place till quite late... i was really tired by then and cold...

RAiniNg All dAY...

nothing much happening this week... but it has been raining practically every day... and the weather is becoming cold as each day passed... did my pilot interview a few days ago, and i thought it went quite well... and I am not that pressured anymore... before, i was quite pressured cos everyone else has already started data collection... so hopefully, I can start the real interviews soon... still stuck trying to write the lit review... it is really hard... cos everytime, i have a different idea of what i think the focus of the research study is... and i keep changing the stuff i write...
anyway, i shall quit whining about this boring stuff...

bought a new external hard drive... was not planning to buy one, but after the advice and horror stories i heard from others, about losing their documents, i decided to invest in one... just for backup in case...

and i finally finished watching the anime... thank god... it's out of my system now...

ANime mAraThON...

went to the new shopping mall which just opened a few months ago at rouse hill... it's different from the usual malls in that it's open and not enclosed within air conditioned surroundings... and the drive there is quite scenic if you are driving during the day... cos you will get to see lots of nice mansions with huge spread of land... and if you are lucky that day, you can even see a few cows and horses along the way... sigh some of the houses there are really nice... with nice lawns... but maintenance will be a nightmare, but they probably are rich enough to hire professionals to do the job...

and these past few days, after prisy's constant nagging to watch another anime, we decided upon this really old (according to her) anime called fushigi yugi... and now... I am so addicted to the show it's not funny... and if you are a female, you can't not like tamahome, one of the anime characters... i have not read of anyone who does not like him... but the lead female anime character can be really annoying sometimes... and the guys in the anime all happened to like her... even though she is so annoying sometimes... but i have to say, i liked the show even though i have not finished the show and I read that it was going to be a sad ending... and i blame this all on prisy... she keeps asking me to watch these animes and then i get hooked on them and i can't concentrate on my work... prisy, it's all your fault!

AUtuMn's HeRe...

it's been sian these past few days... nothing really happening... but for the past few days before thursday... I have been having some pretty freaky nightmares and after waking up from the nightmares, it was so hard for me to go back to sleep... and i suspect the dreams are bcos of the presentation that I was preparing for on thursday... and it's really weird cos they seemed so real like they actually will happen... touch wood man... but I slept really well last night after the presentation which led me to confirm that these creepy dreams were a result of the stress over the presentation...

did not do anything much, except working on my lit review... helping out with anna's lifting project... and watching this new anime that prisy introduced... called last exile... it was quite boring initially but after the first 2 episodes, it got quite interesting... and when we finally finished the anime today, and prisy was like... see i told you it was good...

and autumn's finally here... temp these days are like around 20 degrees and it's going to rain the whole of next week... miserable... you won't catch me anywhere outside unless I have to... haha...

PRos & cOns...

let's see... my easter weekend... was spent working... thurs, easter sat and monday... the rest went on a drive and picnic on mon but i decided to work that day cos got extra pay, and guess what, i worked 10 hours that day and i was absolutely exhausted that day, physically and mentally... and i slacked around on fri and sun... cos it was raining and it's the holidays, so i decided to give myself a few days off...

i have been thinking about my honours project these few days... whether i have made the right decision on doing it... well... the pros is that it really depends on my own motivation, i only have to depend on myself to get the work done as opposed to having to work with people in a group for groupwork... which i know most of the electives this year require... the cons are that sometimes it can get really frustrating and lonely... cos no one really knows what you are doing and most of the time, it's just hours and hours of mundane reading, in front of the computer... till my eyes start to water... and sometimes i am just staring into the screen without really processing what the article is saying...

watched a few movies this and last week... working on my lit review during the day and watching movies at night...
the kingdom was not bad, i would say 6/10, quite boring initially and the action only started late in the movie...
perfume... never heard of it... but prisy said her friends who watched it said it was quite good, so we decided to try watching... the lead character is quite scary... but other than the weird aspect of the movie, it rated a 6/10 on andrea's movie scale...
zodiac... ohmigod... pls dun waste your time... i cannot believe i wasted 2 precious hours of sleep on this dumb and boring show... and the fact that it has jake gyllenhal and mark ruffalo made it even worse... such good actors acting in this stupid movie...
tristan and isolde... apparently it's like romeo and juliet but i thought r&j was more sad... but the show is not bad... 6.5/10
juno... was quite reluctant to watch it when prisy asked me to watch... but it turned out to be quite good actually... the lead actress really sounded and acted like sarah sidle on csi... and jennifer garner was in the movie... i would give it a 7/10...

nothing much happened except i am still working on the lit review... and my presentation... tomorrow is the start of the easter holidays... for a week... no plans... and it was so busy at woolies today... for some reason, i was down for a shift today and it was so busy that we only closed at 10 past... we did not even have time to clean so we had to stay back to clean and stuff... and sat will be the same situation cos we are also closing early...

went out for lunch with yochi and the rest in the city... the plan initially was to go somewhere nice in the city like pancakes... but then they decided that they did not want to eat there so we ended up eating in this irish pub which has set lunch at $6... the food was okay... and after that, we went for dessert at macdonald's... just sat and talked... do some catching up... we made plans for the next outing to be at pancakes and the dress code has to be formal... hopefully more people can come...

UNproDucTiVe...

second week of uni... was quite unproductive cos my granduncle and aunite came to visit for a week... and cos my grandauntie loves to watch korean shows so i introduced her to my name is kim sam soon... and soon after, all of us became addicted again to the show... and we went out for dinner almost every night... which was good...

work was okay, nothing much changed... the store in dural had a makeover and it looked much neater and clean... wonder when our store will also get a makeover... well easter is next week, no plans at the moment yet but i will have a week long break... but I have to prepare for my presentation after easter, so what a bummer!

CRappY...

the first day of 4th year semester one was one of the worst days ever... left home at 715am and only got to uni at 830am... a journey that usually only takes me 45 mins took an hour and a half that day... so i was walking to class when i saw through the window that the class was full... there were no empty seats at all... and i did not want to disrupt the class when i was so late... so i told myself ok i will go to the main campus to collect my student card...

so I walked to the station to save my 80cents... caught a train to the main campus and when I got there... the guy said my student card is at lidcombe... I was like you are joking, I did not receive any email saying to collect my card at uni... so I had no choice but to catch a train back to lidcombe and walk back to uni... I was so freaking hot and sweaty by the time I arrived at uni... and then have to queue at student central to collect my card... I was so pissed by the time I could finally sit down and rest... definitely my worst day ever... i hate my uni...

and on thurs... my timetable showed the wrong classroom and I was like looking all over the place and calling people for the right classroom... when I finally got there, the table was full and I was like 15 min late... and we had to do a presentation on our projects... and when I finally got the paper... there was only one slot left and I was the first one to present... how shitty can my first week of uni be...

ENd oF hoLidAyS...

the last week of my stay in singapore... met up with the family, went bowling with the cousins, met up with friends... went karaoke and ate some of my fav stuff... too bad I still did not get to eat my ben and jerry's... played mahjong... haha...

on the flight back to sydney... the person sitting in front of me was so freaking inconsiderate and rude... he pushed his chair all the way back and I was still eating... and how was I supposed to watch the screen if the screen is right in front of my eyes?!!? so I asked him politely to bring his chair forward abit, he mumbled something but brought his chair forward alittle... everything was ok for awhile and then he did it again... and I asked him again to bring his chair forward... and you know what he said?? he refused to and was mumbling something as if it was my problem... stupid man... what an ass... ruined my whole flight...

and when we arrived in sydney... and stepped out of the airport... it was so cold that it was not funny... when we finally got home, after unpacking, all of us went to bed...

The miniature version of the colisseum in fisherman's wharf...

At the foodcourt in the venetian macao...

The gondola rides...

HK trip Day 5 & 6...

today is the day trip to macau... and the annoying thing is it was raining that day... we caught the turbojet to macau... which took like an hour and during the turbojet trip... there was this 3 really stupid women who kept talking the whole freaking way... and here I was trying to sleep and these 3 people kept talking... i was really tempted to turn back and give each of them a slap...

our first stop is fishermen's wharf... when we got there, it was so deserted... it was supposed to be a theme park but bcos it was raining, everything was closed... i was really annoyed... so we had no choice but to head to the Sands casino... the air in macau was really smoky... the air there was even worse than HK... nothing much, it's like a hotel and casino all in one... after that, we caught the shuttle bus to the venetian macao... ohmigod... it has got to be one of the nicest hotel and casino i have seen... besides the fullerton hotel... the foodcourt was nice, the decor of the place was nice, the toilets were nice, and they had the gondola rides... but it was so expensive... so we just walked around the place and took alot of pics...

after that, we went to mongkok to shop... and it was so crowded... and smoky... walked the markets... bought a bag for my sis... nothing much after... had mcdonald's for supper after...

Day 6... our last day in HK, we had to check out at noon so we were packing in the morning... after that, we went to harbour city for lunch and hung around till 4pm... on the way back, we caught the wrong bus back to the hotel... and we had to walk all the way back from the ferry terminal to the hotel...

The really huge buddha statue at Lantau island...

The tram that goes up the peak...

the HK night scene...

Can you spot the spider and the dragonfly?

the symphony of lights...

the really huge and yummy candyfloss...

the roadside food stall... looked very unappetizing...

the trams that run around the place... does it not like the harry potter
bus??

and those are real roses...

HK trip Day 4...

In the morning, we took a ferry to lantau island to see the huge buddha statue... it was a really long journey and after alighting from the ferry, we still had to catch a bus to the statue... the bus journey was like 45 mins... when we finally arrived... there were alot of people there... we saw alot of people climbing the steps up to the buddha... after resting and going to the necessary stops, we all made our way up the stairs... it was quite tiring but the view from the top made it all worth it... it was really nice... we also paid to eat the vegetarian lunch there...

by the time we arrived back at central pier, it was like almost 5pm... we decided to catch the bus to the peak, even though it was quite late already... when we alighted from the bus, there was a long queue at the ticket counter to go up the peak... the tram trip was really cool... the tram goes up the mountain at a 45 degree angle all the way to the peak... at the peak, the view was really breathtaking... and I thought we went at the right time, cos we saw the sun setting... and then although it was freezing, we stayed up there to catch the night scene of HK... and more people came up to 'chope' spots as that day was the lunar eclipse... after that, we decided not to wait so that we could catch the ferry to watch the symphony of lights... we had to queue again to catch the tram back down... and the tram was so crowded that michelle and I had to stand... and going down was really scary... cos it was quite steep...

HK trip Day 3...

we were supposed to go to shenzhen today, but michelle was sick... so in the end, we headed to causeway bay to shop... bought alot of food there and a new bag... and although stuff were on sale there, it was still quite expensive... stuff like the winter wear, gloves and scarves...

after that, we decided to go to see the symphony of lights at tsim sha tsui... we had to walk quite a distance cos the place was undergoing construction and we could not find the way to the harbourfront... when we finally got there, we missed like the first 5 mins of the show and the show only lasted 15 mins... was quite upset... there were quite a few people there watching as well... after that, I walked along the avenue of stars... took pictures and also got to eat my candy floss...

A small miniature version of the Eiffel tower...

At Central Pier where we caught the ferry to cheng chau island...

Look at how polluted and foggy HK is...

Cheng chau island...

HK trip Day 2...

Today's itinery was a day trip to cheng chau island...
we had to catch a train to central and then walk to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the island... although the journey was only 45 mins, i almost wanted to throw up cos the ferry kept moving sideways, up and down... i had to sit at the window and look out although it was really cold outside...

finally we arrived at the island... and it was quite a small one... lots of fishing boats and bicycles... we walked to the temple and then along the main street... it was still quite early so there were not many people about... we decided not to have lunch there cos the shops looked quite unhygienic... prisy found the 'er duo' biscuit that we used to eat when we were small... so we bought 2 packets of those and had them on the journey back... we caught a faster ferry for the journey back to HK island, and although it was not swaying as bad as the one before, I still felt nauseous the entire time...

we then headed to tsim sha tsui... wanted to eat at this place called knutsford place... but when we finally found the place, we did not really like the food so we settled for one of the nearby cafes and had noodles...

met up with michelle for dinner... we had steamboat at one of the restaurants near our hotel... it was one of the worst meals i have had for the entire trip... i think i am just not suited to eat the food in HK... anyway, after dinner, we went back to the night market again and this time, i bought some little souvenirs and a really cute red furry slipper for wear during winter...

At the dim sum restaurant...


The wishing tree... under 'rehab' (read sign)

HK trip Day 1...

We arrived at HK airport around 11am... it was quite chilly when we got down from the plane cos we had to catch a bus from the plane to the airport, unlike in s'pore, where we had the tunnel thing that led directly into the airport... and caught a bus to the hotel in kowloon... we had quite a difficult time locating the hotel and when we finally saw it, it was a quite a disappointment... it was one of those 3-star hotels and the room that they allocated us was really small... the only good thing about the hotel was probably its location cos the transport was quite convenient... and the first thing I noticed was the amount of pollution in the air... it was really bad and the whole place looked smoggy... plus, the people in HK smoked alot... males and females... it was really difficult to breathe...

after depositing our luggage, we went for lunch in this dim sum restaurant near the hotel... the food was only okay... was really disappointed in their 'xiao long bao'... i still think that the ones in lau par sat was better... and we had alot of difficulties deciphering the menu cos the chinese characters were really hard to read...

after lunch, we split up... prisy's group went to shop at mongkok while my group headed for the famous wishing tree... the journey there took about an hour and a half... when we finally arrived there... to my greatest disappointment... the tree did not look like what I had expected... and the worst thing was... bcos the tree was too old and about to fall... they blocked off the area and we could not throw the yellow paper thing that I always saw people do on HK dramas... instead... we had to just hang the yellow paper on the board next to the tree... and the tree also looked reaaly different from what it looked like on tv... i initially thought that we had come to the wrong place but the locals there confirmed that it was the tree that I was looking for... i was quite upset... we also went to visit the temple nearby... cos it said on the itinery that that temple was quite famous as well...

after that, we caught a bus and a train to 'sha tin'... there was a really nice shopping mall there... we hung around there... btw, everywhere was really crowded... we had claypot rice for dinner that day at a stall opposite our hotel... it was not bad, but expensive... and then after that, prisy, mum and I went to the temple st night market... this was where our bargaining skills would come in handy... did not get anything that night though...

AlaMAk...

crap... realised that I have not been blogging for more than a week already... did not do much last week... brought my grandma to see the sentosa flowers... really very nice... and i can't believe it was so cheap to catch the monorail to sentosa and the sentosa flowers exhibition is free... anyway... even though it was a weekday, i expected not many people there... but it was actually quite crowded when we arrived... and i found out that there is a food republic in vivo on the third level...

met up with huimin, fran and jo at huimin's house... twain is still so cute!!! ate steamboat and watched take the lead and pride and prejudice... it was so late already by the time it was halfway through the show that we decided to call it a day... pride and prejudice was so boring anyway... and the way that they speak is too 'chim' for my brain... i was so tired by the time we left huimin's house and she was kind enough to give us a lift home... thanks huimin...

prisy, auntie and uncle arrived in singapore... can't believe it's my second last week already... but i am definitely looking forward to the HK trip... hopefully the weather is good and not too cold...

HAPpy chiNEsE nEw yeAR...

Last week, huimin and fran came to visit and we baked cheese sticks... haha seemed like that's the thing that we always baked... cos it's the easiest to bake and no need for any recipes... and we watched ratatouille (my second time watching) and hung out...

pong and I went to watch 27 dresses and the whole theatre only had the two of us... it was actually quite creepy... thank god we were watching something funny and not scary like resident evil or something... i guess cos it was a weekday and it was in the morning as well... the show was alright... like a typical romantic comedy... but katherine heigl was quite hilarious... pong and I are waiting to watch L the movie... haha... after that we went to sing karaoke at marina square and they gave us 5 hours to sing to our hearts' content... have not been to karaoke for a long time so i definitely made full use of the time... but the price increased again... and after that, we went to look at some cameras but did not decide on one yet... i think it will either be an olympus or a sony...

Chinese new year first day... went visiting... saw relatives whom I have not seen for a year already... collected hongbaos which was a highlight of the visits... it was super hot on that day as well... some of our relatives came over for dinner that night... other than that, I was slacking at home for the rest of the time... watching my tvb series...

ANothEr 4 DaYS to CNY...

met up with siti and veena last week... first at NUS and then we went to mind cafe at boat quay... it's just quite upsetting to know that our NJ clique went from 6 to 3 people... i guess as time passes, people slowly grow and have their own commitments and new people... well... i can't really force them to come if they dun want to make the effort... I had fun at minds cafe... we played ticket to ride, taboo, and some really stupid brainless games... and laughed alot as well... after that, we went to eat fondue at max brenner's cos siti wanted to try the fondue... after that, we headed to marina square to have dinner... i was so full after... and they suggested changing the class gathering venue to minds cafe instead of bowling... well, i have to ask everyone's opinions first then...

met up with denise also for brunch... at kovan hawker centre... it was my first time there by the way... the wanton noodle was quite nice... I also got to drink soya bean... yummy... dunno whether is it too full or the sun... I had a headache after and I really wanted to go home... so I did not follow denise to little india after...

btw, we are also looking to buy a new camera, cos apparently to repair the lens cost about 200 bucks, so we decided to get a new one... anyone has any good recommendations? of course, it must be at a reasonable price and good quality...

GaTHeriNgS...

the last post for jan 2008... still got a month more before I have to go back to uni... I am so not looking forward to my last year of uni... so I keep telling myself to make full use of the month that I have here, cos who knows when I will be back again next year?

went to fran's house to celebrate her birthday... I have known her for like almost 11 years and this is the first time she invited me over to her house... the minute we entered her house, her mum stuffed huimin and I with pizza and fried chicken... and I ate till I was so full, and then found out that that was only afternoon tea... and not dinner... our initial plan to go swimming was cancelled, and instead watched transformers... and had dinner which was more pizza and chicken... did I mention that for some reason, that day was like freaking hot?? I was ready to melt into a puddle of water/sweat or throw myself into the fridge... and then we had cake after dinner... her mum baked the cake herself... anyway, thanks fran for inviting me to your house...

went to nyp class gathering at city hall... we were supposedly meeting at city hall mrt but it was so crowded that I thought I would go look for the place first... and I got lost trying to figure out where magic wok was... I thought it was in capitol centre but realised later that it was actually in capitol building... almost wanted to give up and head home after searching for half an hour... but in the end, managed to meet up with them... and the food was not that great as well... and quite expensive considering that it was not even a nice restaurant place... after that some of them decided that we should head to the memorial park where we can sit and chat, but when we got there, there was no place to sit and some people left... so we just took some pics and walked to spinelli at raffles city... sat and chat there for awhile... it was nice catching up with them, as I have not seen some of them for so long since I left... but the thing about class gathering is that, it is really awkward at times, cos it's difficult to talk to each and individual and you are not close to some of them in the first place... that was also what happened last year during the crescent gathering as well...

ReALiTy...

well... I am finally back... still can't believe that I will be going to my new home in serangoon... never expected that I would be living in this area... still trying to get used to the new home... the constant noise from the roads... but the view is quite nice... can see part of the kallang river from the window and the singapore eye... is it even open to the public already??!! the weather is another thing to get used to... the heat and the humidity... still trying to get in contact with friends... for some reason, all of them are super busy with either work or uni... even pong has to go to school everyday... sigh... I have to think of stuff to do and occupy myself... but I am definitely not complaining about this time that I have to just relax and not have to think about stuff...

went to meet up with fran for lunch that day... can't believe she graduated already and found a job so fast... fran, i really like the wanton noodles! While we were just eating and catching up with one another, I was like thinking, it felt like I have been here all along and nothing has changed... she still is the fran that I knew and remembered from crescent... but I know that that is not really true, cos we all have changed, in some way or another...

and my other grandma fell and was admitted into the hospital... when we went to visit her, seeing the old people lying there on the beds make me dread growing old... hopefully she will recover in time for the new year...

HOme...

yes... I am finally going home tomorrow!! I really need a break... last year was really exhausting... did 3 slots of clinical placements, having to juggle honours and uni stuff, work... hopefully this well deserved break back home will recharge my brain cells and batteries... and come back in march ready and prepared to do the honours stuff... and finally graduate...

trying to pack everything into the luggage and hoping that it is not overweight... washed and polished Auris... I will definitely miss him when I am gone... can't wait to catch up with friends and family back home... and this time, it will be even more 're nao' cos all of us are back at the same time... will finally have a real family reunion...

IT's oVEr...

Finally!!! good news and bad news... the good news is placement has finally ended... 6 weeks of torture and annoyance is finally over... I hated the placement... the bad news is... I have to do another 4 weeks of mental health placement sometime this year... bcos my supervisor apparently told the uni that 12 days of clinical time is not enough for me to learn and be able to apply my skills so he suggested that we do another 4 weeks of placement somewhere in a similar setting to 'consolidate' our skills... so the annoyance has not ended... and I am definitely crossing my fingers hoping that I will get a good placement this time and I dun have to work with annoying people again...

yep, so finally I can really look forward to going back home... the weather here is crazy, one day it could be really hot and the next day, it could be raining and cold... and the creepy crawlies start to come out again... really looking forward to the HK trip as well...

met up with hong rui, xingyi, tricia and silvana last friday for dinner at epping... we had thai, the food was alright... and then we went to this twilight market... and as I expected, it was a really small scale market... so I really did not expect much... and so we decided to head to the city to lindt cafe... did not really feel like going, cos it was late already, when we left for the city, it was already 830pm, and when we arrived at lindt, it was like 9pm... we bought drinks... and i got my usual iced milk chocolate... it was really hot that day as well... and then we just sat and talk at the harbour... it was nice to be able to catch with them and hear what's happening with everybody... even though we only coursemates for like 3 months, it was really comfortable, not awkward at all... and we just abt the course, the difference between here and perth... it was really nice...

FLy LikE a BULLet...

finally back at the hospital doing clinical work... and then what happened?? my supervior called in sick and I was supposed to run a group that day... so I was debating on whether to run it or not cos I needed someone to assess me... luckily, the dietitian whom I am working with on the project came together with the OT manager... so I was like oh thank god... at least they can then feedback to my supervisor my performance... and although I was quite disappointed that only 4 turned up, in a way it was good cos a smaller group was better to control and it went quite smoothly... the next session would be a challenge though... cos I think there will be more people and everyone would be there... I am just wracking my brains trying to think of interactive ways to present my stuff...

other than that, besides wishing for the days to go faster so that I can go home... went to the movies with prisy and edlyn at macquarie... we watched the golden compass... it was alright, abit like narnia... but apparently it's a trilogy, so there will be sequels coming... but i have to say, the costumes that nicole kidman wore in the movie are really nice... and prisy got me hooked onto this new series called moonlight... it's like a vampire show... and it so reminded me of the super long ago mediacorp show, with chew chor meng in it... i loved that show...

next week is the last week of placement... YES!!! free of all annoyance...

BAcK tO pLaCeMEnT...

went to prisy and mich's cousins gathering on new year's day... played with the kids for awhile and then we had bbq for dinner... we had sausages and satays... then we played taboo... and as usual i sucked at describing the words... always end up saying the taboo words... it was nice although weather was so hot that day...

movie review time... first up we have death at a funeral... it was stupid but hilarious... a good movie to watch just to laugh at the characters... then we watched I am legend... the vampires were not as scary as the zombies in resident evil but it was more the suspense that was scary... it was also quite sad at times... i would go crazy if I was in the same situation as will smith in the show... and finally, we watched blades of glory under michelle's recommendation... ohmigod... it was even more hilarious than death at a funeral, laughed till i had tears and my stomach and face were aching... it was so funny... but knowing that will ferrell was in the show, you would definitely kind of expect that he would have some gross stuff... but i would definitely recommend this show if you are in need of serious laughter... haha...

back to serious stuff... went in to the hospital to work on the lit review... and i just want to say that i never ever want to work on anything ever again with her... she seriously annoys me... we just dun communicate well as a team... i really wish that i can just fast forward these 2 weeks... this whole placement thing sucks... i can't believe it's going to be my last placement and probably most impt one and it sucked... I will forever be reminded of how sucky it was...

IT's 2008 ALreAdy??!!

Happy New Year!!! 2008!!! Can't believe it's a new year already... was looking back into my blog in 2005/2006 when i was in sydney like now... and found out that it was more exciting than it was now... but the good thing was that it was like 45 degrees outside that time whereas although it is still really hot now, but not as hot as that time... and while everyone was out partying or doing something... i was sitting in front of the laptop, working on my literature review... very very boring... I could hear the sound of the fireworks but I could not see it from where we are... and from the pictures that i saw on tv today, it looked like the fireworks were really nice... worked on new year's eve as well... but it was a short shift and there were not as many people as compared to christmas eve... made some new year resolutions, and i really hope they come true... can't wait for the placement to finish so that i can go home... i hate it...