This is soooooo not true!!! Then again, I guess I'm considered to be a teen anymore, sob sob sob sob...( http://www.mrtraffic.com/sleep.htm)

I knew moving house would be troublesome but I got more than I bargained for. I had to call for electricity, gas, phone and internet connections and all were under different companies. I hate it when I call and the company uses the voice recognition message system. I feel like such an idiot talking to the damn machine and sometimes it doesn't recognise what I'm saying. Must be because I don't have the Aussie slang. Installation and set-up fees are so expensive. We must be paying almost $300 worth of those and that's not including the subscription fees. So now, everything has been connection, even the internet, but no one is staying at the house. Such a waste of money but it can't be helped. The cleaning and packing seems neverending and now I really want to stay in my comfortable room and just forget about everything else. My work in the lab is going fine but I have too much to do and so little time. I can go in on the weekends but it will take me 2 hours to travel each way. That's way too long and I am reluctant to waste my weekend on the bus. How how how??? Someone please give me a solution!!! Plus Julie and my sister are coming to stay. Chris will be in the house too. It's going to be so messy and all I want to do is lock myself in my room and stay there with my computer game. Then I can escape and forget about the real world and all the problems that come along with it. Too bad, I don't even have time to play my game now...getting sufficient sleep is my only luxury...

Aiyah I know I was supposed to complete my previous post but I'm so tired. Having to clean the house after work is exhausting and it's taking its toll on me right now. I couldn't move after I took my first bath in the new place. I just sat down on the sofa and stoned away. People were asking me questions and I could hardly hear them. I was about to close my eyes and fall asleep but was rudely disturbed because we had to rush off to catch the bus. I was sorely tempted to sleep there tonight. Instead I'm home and typing away even though I really should sleep. I think I need the rest. I feel extremely short-tempered today and little things annoyed the hell out of me. Like when I got to the new place from work and buzzed for ages at the door but no one picked up. And then I called Steph and Mil but no one picked up. I buzzed some more and finally called the house phone before I was left in. Really annoyed but the usual me would think nothing of it. Missing the bus by a few seconds meant waiting another hour for the next one. Damn pissed! Irritated that dinner came late because the chef overslept and I did give her a wake-up call but she turned off the phone on me. Little things but they were getting on my nerves....I need my rest....

Moving House Part 1

It feels so weird to be packing up my stuff when I'm not going home. I'm packing and cleaning my room to get ready to move them over to the new house. A mixture of sadness, excitement and anticipation. I'm confused. It's so hard to think of leaving a place I've called my home for 1 and 1/2 years. Still, looking forward to the joy of having a new home and a beautiful home of our own. Things will work out well...

Thanks so much to Christo, Mantou and Wilson for bringing their cars to help us transport the stuff over. They also helped with me moving my bed and cupboard but I think I will need help moving the bed again. Sorry guys but I get tired of the same arrangement after a while and I like variety. It's too bad my bed is so heavy and has a stiff bedframe. If only it has rollers like my current bed...sigh...

I know Christo likes the new place. It does feel like a hotel room especially with the winter temperature which makes the whole place feel like it's been air-conditioned. I know you're envious but don't worry! You get to share this lovely place with us for a few weeks before you leave. To think you wanted to stay at your cousin's place at UniLodge. Then you would have missed out on so much fun.

We played a little game of hide-and-seek down at the garage before leaving. Stepho, Milo and I took the stairs down and even though Christo and Mantou left first in the lift, we arrived first and I thought they were hiding from us so I locked the gate leading from the lift to the garage. Wilson was already in the car and he said that he didn't know where we had gone. But I assumed that he was lying and just trying to trick us. So there we were, in the garage and looking into every space trying to find those two when Stepho suddenly motioned for me to hide. Haha, Christo and Mantou had just come out from the lift and they found themselves locked in. Wilson was great. He played along, saying that he hadn't seen us and that the door had closed and locked on its own. This was so fun; the two girls were asking all sorts of questions and trying to figure out how to get out to the garage. They also tried calling us but thankfully the handphone was on silent mode so it didn't give away our hiding places. We let them go back to the lift and out-of-sight before I went to unlock the door and Wilson called them to come back. Strangely enough, they appeared from the other side of the garage. Apparently they had gone out the main gate and come in from the side gate of the garage which was supposed to be locked in the first place. Oh well!! It was fun while it lasted. Needless to say, they were a little pissed at us and wouldn't let us get onto the car. Heh..never mind never mind...we still had Wilson's car...

After all the excitement, these two asked if we wanted to go out for supper. Milo and Stepho declined since they wanted to study for their exams but I went along even though I was still super full from dinner. I was carrying some stuff for Mantou and Christo and Mantou, with good intentions, opened the passenger door for me. Unfortunately, the door slammed right into my knuckles and I couldn't move for a few seconds. Damn that really hurt!!! It's a little sore now but don't worry, I'll be fine, I'm brave!!! Hehe...

We decided to go to Cybercity instead on 3 Monkeys.
(will continue story soon, time to sleep otherwise I'll be a zombie tomorrow)

Jewel - Again and Again

I've always loved Jewel and she writes her own songs which I can really relate to. This is her latest single which is so great because I haven't anything from her for so long and I thought she had stopped singing. You HAVE to listen to this song...I'll send it to you if you can't find it. Apparently it's not even available on DC++. I had to get my sister to download it for me and even though we have different tastes in music, she likes this song too.

Listen dear
I need you to hear.
I cannot disappear
I've tried again and again and again and again.

I know we said
That we'd give up
You said we'd had enough
Again and again and again and again.

But you, you're always on my mind.
It's like this all the time.
Say it's cause you're mine
All mine...

And if you will, I will
Try to let it go.
And if you try, I'll try
Try to let it show us the way
Cause love is here to stay
Just look me in the eye
This is do or die
And I will stay in love
Till you say enough
There is no giving in
There is no giving up in love.

Walk down the street
Stare at lots of things
The fast and steady streams
Again and again and again and again.

Do what I should
Try to stay busy
Your face is all I see
Again and again and again and again.

But you, you're always on my mind.
It's like this all the time.
Say it's cause you're mine
All mine...

And if you will, I will
Try to let it go.
And if you try, I'll try
Try to let it show us the way
Cause love is here to stay
Just look me in the eye
This is do or die
And I will stay in love
Till you say enough
There is no giving in
There is no giving up in love.
Like a movie I once saw
In the darkness I recall
Feeling the beauty and the pain
And when you call my name
Say you feel the same.

Cause' if you will, I will
Try to let it go
And if you try, I'll try
Try to let it show.
And if you will, I will
Try to let it go
And if you try, I'll try
Try to let it show us the way
Cause love is here to stay
Just look me in the eye
This is do or die
And I will stay in love
Till you say enough
There is no giving in
There is no giving up in love
In love, in love
We're in love

I cannot disappear...

Hairy Stuff

Steph, if you're reading this, don't worry. I'm not going to tell you how many hairs there are in your bathroom or how many different types of hairs there are. But I do want to tell you and Milo that my hair is now like Hermione's from Harry Potter. Thanks a lot ah...hahahaha...

These two girls braided my hair last night and I had to sleep with the braids because Milo thought that I would look good with wavy hair and she was trying to convince me to perm it. To me, permed hair is like the kind my mom used to have. The poofy, huge hair look that was probably really popular in the 70's. Therefore, no perms for me thank you. However, I let them braid my hair to get the temporary perm look because I was curious about how it would turn out.

No good, no good, no good...I don't look very nice. My hair is now really big AND poofy. How ironic! At least I know now that perms are definitely not for me and this will probably wash out by tomorrow and I'll have my normal, messy but not so messy hair.

Should I do what Steph recommends and get my hair straightened? I've gone over this question numerous times and my answer was always, "Nah!". Firstly, it's real expensive and I don't exactly revel in the thought of having to sit in the hairdresser's for 5-6 hours straight. Secondly, I worry that the treatment will damage my poor hair further. Thirdly, this is just a "want" and not a "need". It's not like I would die if my hair wasn't straight and I don't want to end up like the kind of girls with super straight and flat hair.

Good news

WE GOT THE APARTMENT!!! Woohoo!!! I'm really excited. I can't wait to move into this place. We've already paid the deposit and will be signing the lease next week. Then the place is officially ours. A place of our own. Lovely! Wonderful! A new beginning! Hee hee hee!!!


The beautiful and spacious kitchen. I can't wait to move in and use it.

The master bed room aka Milo's room. Nice decor isn't it? It's blue!!!

Balcony area with chairs and a BBQ set at the end.

Living area and dining table. The kitchen is on the left while the tv and sofas are on the right.

The river view from the balcony.

22nd Birthday

This year's birthday was good. I can't compare it to last year because the situation is totally different. Last year was good because it was funny to make Chris and the rest panic about me disappearing. This year, I had a surprise BBQ below my place. I didn't expect such a large scale party and I was rudely awakened by Mantou and Kit while I was sleeping. I was sick this entire week, having the same problem as last year. Basically, eating will result in puking and nausea was present almost all the time. I actually didn't go to work on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I went in on my birthday since there was an important meeting in the morning but the journey to work made me feel really bad and I think my supervisor could tell and she told me to go home. So I did and slept till 6 pm when Kit and Mantou disturbed me. Hence, I was dressed in my sleeping clothes and look so messy. My hair is like some mad woman's...didn't expect my birthday photos to look so unglamarous, heh. Anyway it was so fun to hang out and chat with these friends. I ate lots too, but I ended up puking out most of it later on at night. Thank you, thank you, thank you all for organising this wonderful day for me especially since it's the exam period and you all should be using the time to study.

Also, thanks to those who remembered my birthday and sent me birthday wishes.
The list is as follows and is random.
I just write down whoever comes to mind.

Mom, Dad and Sister (Mom called when I really felt like puking, haha)
Ah Hao (wished me 1 week in advance because he was going for reservist later)
Mark (sent me an sms, heh heh)
Mr Tan (who was also in on the plans for the BBQ, don't worry I have many birthdays to come)
Dagen (you owe me a birthday treat and I don't want kopitiam ah)
Keong (sent me an sms, not bad, was surprised that he remembered, or maybe it's Friendster)
Ah Thai ( also surprised that he remembered, die lah so many people remembered mine but I forgot theirs, so guilty)
Christine (must be Friendster again)
Ah Mah (thanks for calling me, I really appreciate it, I thought you forgot)
Weiming (you owe me lots of treats)
Peiyi (belated bday also good)

Yup, I'm really really happy that this year was so fun. Falling sick obviously was not part of the plan but at least I could stay home from work. Muahahahaahah!!!


Party preparations?

Beautiful flowers from my dear hyenas...

Goody food that I'm not supposed to be eating but heck, it's my birthday. I'll puke if I want to...heh heh heh...

Look at the pretty decorations put up by these wonderful people.

Friends from Warren Street. Alvin is missing, too busy studying...

Playing as usual. Photo-taking is so fun...

Unwrapping my present!

Ok I know I said I had cravings for almond jelly a while back but giving me a packet of almond jelly pre-mix on my birthday....???!!! You should have made the jelly instead...

Yum yum Boost is damn addictive!! Why you give me chocs when I'm sick??

Yay!!! Earrings are my upmost favourite!!!

Thank you. I'd like to thank my mother, my father, my sister, my goldfish, my carpet, my moo-moo, my pillow, my instant noodles....

Unit 7 is the best...best at complaining to management!!! Wahahaha!!!

Yeah!!! The organisers of the BBQ... much thanks to them!!!

Ooo some unexpected guests...

Hips Don't Lie - Shakira Feat. Wyclef

Wow such a nice a catchy song from Shakira!
Makes you wanna get up and dance!!!

Ladies up in here tonight
No fighting, no fighting
We got the refugees up in here
No fighting, no fighting
Shakira, Shakira

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish
Como se llama (si), bonita (si), mi casa (si, Shakira Shakira), su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection

Hey Girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing
And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl
And everything so unexpected - the way you right and left it
So you can keep on shaking it

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man want to speak SpanishComo se llama (si), bonita (si), mi casa (si, Shakira Shakira), su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel you boy
Come on lets go, real slow
Don't you see baby asi es perfecto

Oh I know I am on tonight my hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection
Shakira, Shakira

Oh boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I am doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain

Baila en la calle de nocheBaila en la calle de día
Baila en la calle de nocheBaila en la calle de día

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man want to speak Spanish
Como se llama (si), bonita (si), mi casa (si, Shakira Shakira), su casa
Shakira, Shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

Senorita, feel the conga, let me see you move like you come from Colombia
Mira en Barranquilla se baila así, say it!
Mira en Barranquilla se baila así
Yeah
She's so sexy every man's fantasy a refugee like me
back with the Fugees from a 3rd world country
I go back like when 'pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty
I need a whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us?
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
No more do we snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats

I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you boy
Come on let's go, real slow
Baby, like this is perfecto

Oh, you know I am on tonight and my hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel it's right
The attraction, the tension
Baby, like this is perfection

No fighting
No fighting

Cool Site!!!

Hey people, please go to this site if you have the time. It's done by a friend of mine and you can request songs, English or Chinese. It's a very new site so please be patient with it. It's usually turned on at night so you could listen while doing your work at the same time.

http://powerdjs.blogspot.com/

It's been some time since I've really sat down and seriously read my friends' and family's blogs. I've been too distracted I guess. Anyway I was reading a cousin's blog and started thinking. This cousin is a lot younger than me so we've never really been close. Age gap, generation gap, call it whatever you want. She is also a S'pore PR like me so she has a choice to stay either in M'sia or S'pore. Right now she's studying in M'sia although her mum has plans to send her over to S'pore to study. It's not that surprising; so many people want to come over to study because S'pore's degrees and universities are much more recognised than M'sia's. She is reluctant though. I know it's the comfort zone thing. I had to go through that barrier as well. I guess you could also be worried about the different standards and competition you might face in S'pore. Thinking about this, I'm really glad my family came over to S'pore when I was young so that I could grow up here. I was used to the fast-paced, competitive nature of the schools here and I didn't know anything else. Then I came to Australia and I saw another side of the world. Obviously life here is much more relaxed. The Aussies are so cool and laid back, not just in their studies but also their working life. Sometimes I wonder how they are able to keep up with the rest of the world with their current lifestyle. Then again, I know that this is not the case in Sydney or Melbourne. Bigger cities mean more stress, more pressure and the lack of time. They are quite similar to S'pore. I found the people on the streets impatient and everyone was rushing here and there, just like Orchard Road in S'pore. In a way, I'm thankful that I got to make the change from a fast-paced life to a slow one. It would be much harder to go the other way and I suppose this might be what my cousin would have to contend with. I don't know and I can't say if things will go well for her. This would depend on her and how she takes what life throws in her face. It's also about the person's character and personality. Would you choose to stand up strong, thicken your skin and move forward with the new life in a new country? Or would you step back, turn around and run away home? I've heard of stories of friends' friends' friends' friends' who cannot handle the new life and culture and end up back home after wasting the huge sums of money used to send them over. They just give up and run back to mummy and daddy. Of course I think these people are dumb and weak. But who am I to judge? I cannot scorn them because they made a choice, albeit a choice I feel is wrong. It's their life, their time and their money. I just hope that given the chance, they will grab it and make the most out of it. I already know about 2 cousins who are planning to come to S'pore. I have a few who have left their hometown to go to KL to study. There is one who will be going to the UK to continue her course. I have my doubts about some of them but they might prove me wrong. Nevertheless I wish them all the best and hope they will cherish their oppotunity and not waste it.

Sigh...something's wrong with my blog. I can't put any pictures up at all. Anyone else having this problem?
I wanna put up some pictures of the houses we visited...
Help me somebody!!!

Winter 2006

Winter this year arrived early. According to Millie, the actual start of Winter should be on the 1st of June; yet into the 3rd week of May, temperatures were already dropping to the lowest of 8 degrees at night. Damn shiok!!! I love it!!! I'm so glad that we're having a normal (normal so far) winter this year since it's my last year here. My quilt is all ready and I have resolved not to use the heater at all. My hands are already so dry that they have cracked in different places. Using lotion everyday doesn't seem to help. Maybe I should spread some butter on them since my body butter is not helping. It's also due to the ethanol we use constantly at the lab. That thing is super drying since it evaporates and takes the moisture away. It doesn't help that we have to wash our hands every time we want to leave the lab. So that results in about 5-10 hand-washings in the lab alone.

We just went to see 2 houses today. One is a townhouse on the way to Toowong, near the BP petrol station. This one was pretty nice. The previous tenants had converted the garage into a game room with a table-tennis table inside so there was like a lot of extra space. But the design of the place was weird. The first two rooms were downstairs with the garage while the kitchen, living room and master room were upstairs. I was worried about the safety of the rooms since anyone could climb over the fence and come into the rooms easily. Noise was another issue as the place was right beside the main road heading towards Toowong. The kitchen was rather small as well but I kind of liked the concept of having the living room upstairs. It was interesting. We told the agent that we would discuss and get back to him next week.

It was still early for the next house viewing so we walked to Toowong to buy some groceries. Mantou met us there and then we headed to Hawken Drive for lunch. Unfortunately, the Viet-Chinese place didn't open till 12.30 pm and we were there at 11.30 am. At first we thought it would open at 12 pm so we hung around and waited and waited and waited. Finally I was sick of waiting so I called the shop's number and we could literally hear the phone ringing from outside. It was obvious that no one was going to pick it up so we went home to keep the groceries. We also watched the videos from Wednesday night. OMG it was damn hilarious!!! We laughed and laughed and laughed till we cried and my stomach hurt. This is something I will remember for life...especially the part about Millie Tan...

We went down to view the second place since the appointment was due and Steph did say that she didn't have a very good feeling about it. I must admit that when we got there, it wasn't too impressive. After all it was this tall building which looked rather run-down from the outside. The intercom and buzzer were also out-of-order. We met the agent and she brought us to the lift to go up to the 6th floor, Unit 11. Ugh the lift was so small and cramped. I think I would rather climb the stairs. So we entered the unit and my first thought was, "Wow, this place looks quite posh". The furniture was not what you would expect for students to have. They had a nice glass dining table and black sofas with a tv and stereo. I was looking at the wine glass and china collection and thinking that they seemed so out-of-place for students like us. Then I looked into the kitchen and it was beautiful! So spacious that 4 people could cook in there at the same time. There were quite a few cupboards and even one that looked like a larder complete with lots of containers and trays to put stuff. The fridge was the kind with the freezer and chiller side by side and was definitely larger than the previous house's. It was even bigger than my current fridge. There was a great view of the river from the balcony. The rooms were nice. I really liked the blue room with a single bed and an L-shaped office desk in the corner. Then again, I probably was attracted to it because of the colour, heh heh. The other 2 rooms had double beds but no study tables. Other than that, everything was almost perfect. We stood out on the balcony and talked for a while. The girls were already in love with the place and I liked it too. So we told the agent on the spot that we wanted it. She said no problem and since we had already passed her our application forms, she told us that she would go in on Monday and process them. We would get confirmation by Tuesday. Now we were all happy like monkeys and chatting merrily as we walked down the stairs. Then Mantou mentioned that she hoped the agent wouldn't give the place to other people who might be willing to pay more than $450 per week. Alamak....we didn't think of that. This had happened to Mantou last year and now all we had was a verbal agreement. Damn!!! Now want to be happy also cannot. Now I can't have a peaceful weekend because I will be worrying about the place....zzzzzzzzzzz.......

A Sight for Sore Eyes

I woke up late that morning and hence, missed my bus. I was sitting at the bus stop waiting for the next bus when this guy came and sat opposite me. He was wearing a pair of black running shorts; the kind that are really short and reveal a lot of leg. So he sat down facing me with his legs open wide. I didn't notice at first but when I did, I couldn't believe my eyes. This guy obviously wasn't wearing any undies since I could see his penis hanging out from the shorts. OMG!! He was a pretty old guy too; around his late thirties or early fourties. Either he was oblivious to his penis sticking out or he was doing it on purpose. Anyway, I didn't know whether to feel offended or to find the situation funny. I chose the latter and so I was glancing in his direction every now and then and laughing quietly. There was this Muslim girl sitting beside me. I wonder if she knew and how she reacted to it. The truth is, it wasn't a very nice view and I was glad that the bus came soon after and that the guy didn't get on the bus. That would have been the ultimate case; him flashing to a busful of people!!!

On Another Note...

I asked my supervisor if I could take some time off from work in July when my sister and Julie are here. She did say yes but also with the comment that honours students during her time never took time off although it was getting more common these days. Yes I know that this was a jibe at me but I refuse to react to it. I act blur and smile. What can I say? I'm selfish and I desperately want the time off. Who cares what she thinks of me? I guess, as long as I know I'm doing my work well and working hard, I have a clear conscience and I can sleep at night. Then again, I seldom have problems sleeping. Wahahahahaha!!! Yay I'm so looking forward to July.

Tonight we had fun. But there was a slight upsetting moment when Chris came up to me to tell me that N was angry that we didn't ask her along for dinner. Ok, maybe Chris would feel guilty about it but I didn't. I was angry myself that N would even think to blame this on us. After all, this dinner thing wasn't even my idea. It was almost an impromptu event which occurred after the rest finished their respective movies. Since they ended around 5 pm, they decided that we should meet after my work and go out for dinner. There were already 5 of us in the car so how was it possible that we invite another one? What's more, N would be a one-plus-one situation. It's impossible to squeeze 7 people in the car, not to mention that fact that it's illegal. Or were some of us expected to take a bus or train home from Fruit Grove just so that we could have dinner together? That was just illogical. For me, I would understand if someone didn't invite me for an outing with plausible reasons. It has happened to me before and I didn't make a scene out of it or make the party feel guilty about it. I refuse to feel sorry or guilty for my actions when I did nothing wrong.