Moving House

There was a short briefing regarding my honours program this morning. Basically it was just for passing out the booklets informing us of what we had to do this year and to let us know the deadlines for each component. This year is going to be pretty tough with 2 seminars and 4 reports to be written. I don't think I'll have much free time.

It was also nice to chat with 2 of my groupmates from last year (not including the one who gave me such a headache). It turned out 1 of them was going to move to Warren Street from Hawken Drive so I offered to help. After all, Warren Street wasn't too far from my place. So he rented a car and I met him at his new place at 3 pm.

His new place is so damn nice! You could tell that it was very new. The paintwork and the furniture seemed brand new. The house had two storeys with 3 rooms. There were 2 bathrooms with 1 having a bathtub. Each room had a big cupboard with mirrors on the sliding doors. There was a washing machine and a dryer. In the kitchen, there was a microwave oven, a convectional oven, a dishwasher and a very high-tech fridge with buttons in the front. Best of all, the entire house is air-conditioned!!! OMG that is just what I need to beat this summer heat. My friend is so lucky to have air-con in his room when I'm down in my room every day feeling the heat. I think it'll be a very good idea to start cooking and offering him and his housemate some food so that I have an excuse to go over to their place...wahahahahahha...

I helped to carry the stuff to and fro from the car then I stayed in the air con to pack some of their stuff. In case you were wondering, I didn't offer to stay there. I wanted to go with them to the old place to pick up more stuff. But they insisted that I stay in the house, so....hahhaaha...lovely air con for about 30 minutes...Then Chris came over because we decided to go down to Chinatown together with the car to buy groceries. That was a good idea except that the stores were already closed by then. Damn!!! Plus we ended up eating dinner at Cybercity which is the one place I cannot stand. Still, the food that night was pretty okay and they wanted to treat us to this meal. I don't really like this since I'm not really close to them and I didn't feel comfortable accepting a treat for doing so little. I have to find a way to return them the money. After dinner, we went back to their house where they unpacked their stuff while Chris and I swept and mopped their hall. We chatted a little before they drove us home. It was quite late when we left and it was nice to get to know them a little better. I always thought that this friend of mine was the shy type because he usually kept quite quiet in our lectures and only talked when he needed to. I guess my first impression of him was wrong and maybe he just needed more time to warm up to new people. It was quite funny since we were arguing over petty stuff like "Are mushrooms considered vegetables?" though it wasn't so fun when he and Chris ganged up to bully me. =/

On the Eve of CNY

Being away from home when I could be in M'sia eating my reunion dinner sucked but at least I had Mil and Chris to spend the night with. Initially planning to go down to Sunnybank for dinner, we changed it to the Laksa Hut at Toowong because it was nearer.

This time we were greedy and ordered 4 dishes when there was only 3 of us. As usual, we took plenty of photos (which I will upload when I get them), and had fun stuffing ourselves. Still, we couldn't finish everything. After the dinner, it was still early and we didn't want to go back. Hence I suggested walking down to Milton where we could get some dessert. I roughly knew the way by following the same route as 412 to the city. So we set off at a really slow pace since we were damn full and it was a really nice night to walk since there was a light breeze and the air was cool. We chatted along the way and it was all good until we took a wrong turn and lost our way. We ended up walking in a big circle and still not finding our way and we found ourselves at Singapura!!! We stopped to ask for directions at the pizza place there and then watched the lion dance troupe perform at Singapura. There were 2 lions and even some solo performances. Mil and Chris got very excited when they lit up fire crackers since they had not seen these before....so sua ku!!! Hahahahaha!!! Anyway, it was nice to watch again but even nicer if you got to light them yourself.

Yay our reunion dinner at Laksa Hut.

Too full to finish the food!!!

We continued our walk, following the directions given. Apparently we were about 2-3 km away from our destination but time passed very quickly and I could have walked for much longer in the cool weather. It was a pity Chris was wearing new sandals which were hurting her feet. We were ecstatic when we saw the "XXXX" sign which meant we were close and sure enough, we were finally on a road we recognised.

Initially we were just supposed to go for a cup of coffee but the ice-cream shop (Blue Lotus) was too inviting and we ended up getting a dessert each. Chris had the brownie, Mil had the mudcake while I just took 3 scoops of ice-cream (black sesame, apple and rose, super fudge). The brownie and mudpie were really rich but the 3 of us fell in love with the apple and rose sorbet. It was just so light, so fragrant, so delicious that you couldn't get enough of it. The servings were pretty huge and I hardly touched the super fudge which wasn't that good anyway. My favourites were green tea, black sesame and of course, the apple and rose! Since I couldn't finish my ice-cream and the other 2 didn't want to help me, I ended up playing with the melting ice-cream. Well I'll definitely want to go back for another serving of apple and rose sorbet one day.

So CNY eve wasn't too bad even though we were all far away from home and family. Still having good friends, good company and good conversations made the night very memorable and I wouldn't give anything to change it.

At the Blue Lotus with this strange aquarium-like floral display.

My 3 scoops of ice-cream: black sesame, apple and rose and super fudge at the bottom.

Mil's mudcake and I helped her polish off the green tea ice-cream since she didn't quite fancy it.

Chris's brownie with ice-cream, very very rich.

I was trying to make the yin-yang sign...quite nice isn't it?

Chris tried to make her own artistic creation with her leftovers.

To-do List Revisited

1. Watch Memoirs of a Geisha (yup I did manage to catch this, together with Pride and Prejudice, in M'sia. Memoirs was a little disappointing; the English spoken was generally quite poor and what was with the dramatic, Sadako-like dance by Zhang Ziyi?? P&P was pretty good though, I enjoyed the show even though their English was damn chim and the music could put me to sleep.)
2. Go cycling (didn't manage to do this since I was busy and so was everyone else.)
3. Play tennis (wanted to but missed out due to the rain and injuries.)
4. Have 1 more sashimi pig-out with Ju and M (did meet up with them separately and had sashimi with M!)
5. Get back my Harry Potter books ( nope, my friend fly my aeroplane.)
6. Meet up with Starhub friends (met up with 2 of them and had really great chats, a pity there wasn't enough time for a second meeting.)
7. Go swimming ( swam 2 more times before I left.)
8. Buy at least 2 pairs of jeans ( couldn't find any that I liked...such a pity...)
9. Spend more time with family (oh yes, went to stay over at my sis's hall once more and baked cookies with her and my mum. also had dinner with my dad.)
10. Play with Brando ( brought him for 2 more walks until my arm was aching because he's so strong and he also ran out of the house and my dad had to go get him bad...naughty boy!!)
11. Slack out in M'sia ( watched Mr and Mrs Smith with my sis and also got to relax a little there.)
12. Meet up with A ( she was away in KL...no chance)
13. Play mahjong ( played with my sis's hall friends where I won $13 and my sis won $12.)
14. Watch the BSB concert ( yes, yes, yes!!! it was very entertaining even though the sound system wasn't too good and most of the time their singing was drowned out by the band and the screams from their fans. but there was good dancing and lots of good songs so it was worth it. we all enjoyed it a lot and I would go again if I had the chance.)
15. Meet up with old friends (nope.)
16. Meet up with Ah Ren and Papa ( had dinner with them and then went to see Ah Ren's new house. swam in his pool after the rain and it was so relaxing.)
17. Pack my bags ( of course I got this done but even so, I forgot to bring some of the more important things like my Aus ATM card and my digicam battery charger...argh!!!)

Since I'm back in Brisbane and my internet connection here is so much faster than what I have at home, I have been uploading all the photos I took whilst in S'pore. I don't understand why I have so many freaking photos?!! Even a simple meal of lunch or dinner can result in 30 over photos taken and I have been spending the whole day slowly putting them up on the web. I shouldn't complain since this gives me a lot of memories to look back on. But uploading them is taking really long...

Actually I do have lots of stuff to write about and mainly on my time spent in S'pore. I guess I was too busy going out, playing games and lately, watching the Australian Open 2006. So it looks like some of my new entries will be a little belated. Oh well...at least I have more time being alone at home in Brisbane to write all I want...

Unfair or Not???

I saw this entertainment show on TV Mobile the other day and they featured a small section on the BSB since they are coming down to S'pore for a concert. Then the show interviewed some of the locals on the street and I can't stop thinking about what one of the girls said. She mentioned that she was supportive of the BSB but they only bothered to come down to S'pore when they were coming up and needed more fans and support.

Hai...as much as I hate to admit it, I feel that what she said is really true. I mean, this will only be the second time they are coming down to S'pore in their long career. I know because I have been waiting forever for them to hold a concert here, not to say any brief stop-overs and autograph/photography sessions for their fans here. It's unfair. If I didn't manage to get tickets for this coming concert, I might have to wait another 5 years before they came back and that is if they didn't declare another break period or disband altogether.

Maybe S'pore is just too small and many of the American artistes feel that there isn't a big enough fan base here to hold their concerts? To me, it seems like majority of the concerts that come here are performed by Asian singers and bands. Look at the concerts they are having for these few months...we've got Stephanie Sun and some oldies HK/Taiwanese concert for CNY. Oh yeah there's Oasis too but Oasis is like so lame...not my kind of music. Stephanie Sun's front row seats actually cost more than BSB's!!! How outrageous is that? You would have thought that she might set cheaper seats since she is S'porean and give her S'porean fans a break. What's more, she is a solo performer while BSB has 5 people in their group. More money for Stephanie to pocket I guess...

I wish we could have a wider variety of concerts here. I don't listen to chinese songs so performers like S.H.E, Energy, Tension and the other Taiwanese groups don't appeal to me. Anyway, after watching the charity show on Channel U where S.H.E sung one song and watching them act in this drama serial, I am totally put-off right now. Now only can they not sing properly, their acting is atrocious. Don't get me wrong, I was not anti them before this. In fact I quite enjoyed their songs. But listening to them perform live like that showed me how bad their singing actually was and how recording and editing could improve their voices until I believed that they COULD sing. It's quite sad to watch them TRYING to act in the serial too. I really felt like puking when Ella started crying (sorry CK but this is the truth).

I would like to watch Kelly Clarkson or Mariah Carey in concert. Wonder if they'll ever come and if I'll have the money to watch them? I have pretty high hopes for the BSB concert...my first concert ever...!!! Of course, if they start singing out of tune and do some lame dancing, you can be sure you'll get to read about it here.

To-do List

1. Watch Memoirs of a Geisha
2. Go cycling
3. Play tennis
4. Have 1 more sashimi pig-out with Ju and M
5. Get back my Harry Potter books
6. Meet up with Starhub friends
7. Go swimming
8. Buy at least 2 pairs of jeans
9. Spend more time with family
10. Play with Brando
11. Slack out in M'sia
12. Meet up with A
13. Play mahjong
14. Watch the BSB concert
15. Meet up with old friends
16. Meet up with Ah Ren and Papa
17. Pack my bags

Rain, rain go away...

Come again another day...when I'm back in Brisbane preferably!

Yes I do love the rain. But it's getting on my nerves. I've had to cancel so many of my plans because of it. I can't play tennis, I can't go cycling, I can't leave the house. I'm stuck at home and can only stare out the window wistfully hoping that the rain will cease.

I don't want to spend my time at home when I only have about 2 weeks left. Sad to say, I still have yet to meet up with so many people and I do feel bad about it. But looking at the gray skies, I seriously do not feel like going out. Getting wet from top to bottom...having wet umbrellas touching your bare skin...vehicles that drive past and splash you with dirty water...yucks!!!

Oh no, oh no...rain please stop and give me some chance to enjoy myself before I have to go back...

In the year 2005....

I confess that in 2005 i...
(x) stayed single
( ) got your first kiss
( ) kissed someone new
( ) made-out for the first time
( ) made-out in/on a car
( ) kissed in the snow
( ) kissed in the rain
( ) fell in love
(x) had your heart broken
( ) broke someone else's heart
( ) had a good relationship with someone
(x) questioned your sexual orientation
(x) came out of the closet
( ) gotten pregnant
( ) gotten someone else pregnant
( ) had an abortion
( ) gotten married
( ) had a divorce
( ) had a gay marriage
( ) kissed someone of the same sex
( ) dated someone you'll never forget
(x) done something you've regretted
( ) lost your true love
(x) lost faith in love
( ) kissed under miseltoe

SCHOOL
( ) got straight A's
(x) met one teacher you really like
( ) met one teacher you really hated
(x) found the subject you love
( ) failed a class
(x) cut class
(x) skipped school
( ) got into a fight with a classmate
(x) did something you weren't proud of
( ) discovered a new talent
( ) gave the teachers a reason to teach
(x) proved yourself an idiot
( ) embarassed yourself in front of the class
( ) fell in love with a teacher
( ) got lead in the school play
( ) made a varsity team
(x) were involved in something you'll never forget

OTHER
( ) painted a picture
( ) wrote a poem
( ) ran a mile
(x) listened to music you couldn't stand
( ) double-dipped
( ) skinny-dipped
(x) went to a sleepover
( ) went to camp
(x) threw a surprise party
(x) laughed till you cried
( ) laughed till you peed in your pants
( ) flirted shamelessly
(x) visited a foreign country
(x) visted a foreign state
(x) cooked a disasterous meal
(x) lost something important to you
( ) got a gift you adore
(x) realized something new about yourself
(x) went on a diet
( ) tried to gain weight
(x) dyed your hair
( ) came close to losing your life
( ) someone close to you died
( ) went to a party
( ) drank alcohol
( ) drank alcohol underage
( ) did (a) drug(s)
( ) got drunk
( ) got arrested
(x) read a great book
(x) saw a great movie
( ) saw a movie so scary that it made you cry
( ) saw your favorite band/artist live
( ) saw someone famous in person
(x) did something you want to tell everyone
(x) Enjoyed this year overall

Hall Life

I spent New Year's day, Monday and Tuesday morning at my sister's hall at NTU. We met up with 2 of her halls friends to take the long train journey down to Boon Lay. OMG sitting down straight for 1 hour on the hard train seats was not pleasant at all. Luckily I brought my discman or I would have been bored to death.

We took dinner then headed back to hall to play mahjong with her friends. My sister had arranged for me to play with 2 of her friends and I was pretty excited about it. After all, it was nice to play with some new people for a change. Still, I was a little nervous since I wasn't sure what their playing styles were like. One of the guys was pretty pro. You could tell that he was good at it. I, on the other hand, had horribly bad luck and lost almost $30 at the end of the 1st round. They played with higher stakes than what I normally played. Still, I was fortunate to be able to recoup some of my losses during the 2nd round. I lost only $5 in the end and was pretty thankful for that.

The double rooms in NTU's halls are quite spacious. There is plenty of walking space, a study table, a single bed, a fan each and a wardrobe. All in all, I felt that it was a nice and conducive studying environment. My sister and her roomie kept complaining about it though. I guess you don't know how lucky you are until you've seen more. Comparing this to the IH rooms in Brisbane, these are a thousand times better.

I love the bustling hall life though. I am now extremely envious of my sister. I love the numerous activites that are constantly goin on. I love the fact that you can meet so many people and have friends wherever you go. I love the sports activities that allow you to compete against one another. I love being able to join societies and have meetings to organise events. I love being able to walk out with your friends in the middle of the night to go for supper. I love being able to take walks around the campus by yourself. I love everything they have there and I don't. I really miss being part of a group or a club and being involved. I miss feeling useful and needed. I miss helping out with events. I even miss the long meetings we used to have.