Middle of the night, and we're all still awake..

Welcome to uni life. This is rather crazy. 3am I went out of my room - to find almost everyone (housemates) still up, either rushing to complete a deadline tomorrow, or like me - up studying for test.. It feels like 10pm now. Too bad it isn't.

I wasted somemore time going around kacau-ing people. Even Rebecca and Echo who's usually asleep by 12am are staying up to read some articles for their law. So are Amber, Ling, Hung, Peggy and the rest. Min is up too. But she had an altogether different reason - KOREAN drama. heheh I figured the Internet would provide less of a distraction for me if I borrowed her my comp (instead of checking my mail incessantly / blogsurfing etc..) plus a set of the latest drama. She just finished a straight 7 hours sitting in front of the comp watching 6 episodes. Darn I think she's hooked 'dy! We're all awake and (WERE) rather hyper. Having (had) some sort of food exchange thingy on, I shared my tub of ice-cream with the rest hehe not a bad midnight snack..

Danny's thinking of going for a day trip somewhere. But our weekends lately are wholly spent on working on the next assignments. Looking at our schedules, it'd be at least 2 weeks before we can take some time off.. Finally I tell him - lookit this. This's what uni is like. You're given deadlines, there're also mid-sem tests to be sat for. At the same time you have to prepare for tutorials and attend lectures. Oh, and find time to sleep and eat. If you forgo your lectures n tutes in return for more time to complete assignments, then you're gonna have a harrowing time when it comes to June (finals) - you get some, you lose some. Bcos our dear Monash uni does not have any sort of study week before the finals. The last lecture for the semester could be on Thursday night, and the final exam covering 13 weeks worth of topics is on the next Tuesday morning. You can't possible cover an entire semester's work in 3 days. And thats only one unit. Business students take at least 4.

There's a choice of course - sacrifice your sleep. Of course its highly unrecommended for those who cannot tahan without their daily 8 hours of sleep.. Me - looking right at another night without any sleep. Just finished reading up on futures contracts and there's a ton more to go through for the oh-so-tough test at 6pm tomorrow. Futures contracts - BAHH. Lecture example different from tute example different from textbook example. damn frustrated. cos my mind seems to be made of mush now.

As you realize by now, this's just a ramble without much substance of any sort.. I need to stay awake and really abit "sien" of looking at work already.. hence blogging- a distraction for all of 10 minutes.

I'm wondering how long I can tahan in my current phase of "not sleep much". A friend was telling me "wey there's no such thing as being sleep-deficient for days and then trying to make up for it (compensating arrangement think of it this way) by getting a full nights sleep".

My logic (faulty yes i know) is sleep a few hours a day eg 2 - 4 hours each day for 5 days. On the 6th day, ganti balik by getting 12 hours sleep. Averagin it out there's (20+12hours) / 6 days equals 5.3 hours a day.
Good enough =)

Tomorrow's Friday (usually my "get-to-sleep" night) but another discussion on Sat morning means I've to go thru some more stuff tomorrow night when I get back from the exam. Which means a night of uninterrupted sleep with the lights switched OFF is a prospect only on Saturday night. Depressing thoughts in abundance aihh...

Summer in Autumn / Korean dramas

We've been having unusually warm temperatures for a Melb autumn lately.. was thinking "is it really autumn already?"

Article in The Age "Beautiful one day, warmer the next" confirmed - this April is shaping up to be the hottest ever, most likely to be even hotter than February (supposed-ly summer) this year.

Perhaps I've been watching too much of "Autumn in My Heart" (蓝色生死恋: 秋天的童话) (a korean drama with beautiful autumn settings) where one can stroll under the falling leaves and think of pleasant memories (yupp I definitely had too much of korean dramas).. But now - if in the afternoons I do that (without cover / shade) I'd probably be running the risk of getting sunburnt.

Talking about Korean dramas.. have been watching them since prob 3 years ago, from the times of "Beautiful Days", "Piano", "Truth (jin-shil)" etc till now - "Green Rose", "Sad Love Story"... When I was in high school, watched some Japanese dramas eg Love Generation, Long Vacation, GTO etc.. but after a coupla years, Japanese series seemed to fade away, replaced by some smart marketing by Korean dramas. My preferences have drifted towards Korean influences, sometimes due to their scenic settings, sometimes to their storylines.

But lately alot of plots already seem over-used. Doesn't take much for the average drama junkie to predict the storyline. Endings are more often than not - sad. On average at least one lead character gets a terminal illness (leukemia a favourite it seems). Typically in each drama there's 2 main leads, with 2 supporting leads. Usually the relationship quandary they're involved in is 4-way. A likes B, but somehow due to circumstances beyond their control they're unable to be together. Complicating matters further are the presence of C and D, who each like A and D. More often than not, C and D are shown as scheming individuals who do everything in their means to separate A and B. Usually at the end C and D are enlightened to the nature of their wrongdoings and either suffer the consequences, become "good" people or are killed of.

I can become a scriptwriter too eh? Some shows really are too slow moving and I can't help but fast forward or skip entire episodes. Amusingly my fave is still the first I watched, both for Japanese (Love Generation) and Korean (AiMH).. A personal favourite was "Piano" (leads - Go Su, Kim Ha Neul) but I felt 9 out of 10 people who watched it didn't understand what was going on, especially the ending. Looking at it in a deeper context, it required some understanding of Korean culture and what exactly constitutes "family". Without attempting to understand the situations they were in, one might as well watch some light-hearted family drama instead of this melodramatic and very serious drama..

There isn't so much to do at home (other than my uni work of course).. plus I've no personal tv / radio. So entertainment basically consists of dramas - Korean / HK etc.. Watching "Green Rose" these days (showing in Korea's SBS) and darn - I'm hooked. They purposely presented the drama without bright and vivid colours. Feels like some shows from the '80s. The weight of the drama's on the shoulders of Go Su and so far he's doing great! Isn't one of those laugh-along dramas so typical of Korean shows. Has the interesting element of revenge drawn in (I'm always drawn to that - one of my fave book's The Count of Monte Cristo). A few episodes filmed in China. Looking forward to the rest..

I've a Korean housemate who happens to be very free lately, but too bad I'm not free to learn some of the language from her.. My knowledge is less than elementary (there's things such as SUBTITLES in dramas), confined only to annhyeungsaiyo (hello), oppa (brother / senior), onma (mother), haemoni (grandmother), onni (sister), kamsa hamnida (thank you), sarang (love), ajusshi (uncle), bianhada (sorry) plus a little more.. working on it! Pronunciation's the complex part, due to emphasis on certain intonations.. Also the WHO you're speaking to, is very important. Seniors/ supervisors / managers higher in rank/ position / family structure all require different manners of speech and words used..

Springvale, Melbourne & BBQ!

Seriously, this is Melbourne, albeit the part which is unknown / unheard of to the 90% of the foreign student population here.

Have some pics of Springvale, a suburb in the SouthEast of Melbourne. It's known as a Vietnamese area and is easily accessible (Cranbourne / Pakenham line, 3 stops from Clayton).

Springvale train Station

A glimpse of Springvale

Just a structure I'm curious about..

Although its a Vietnamese area, alot of the shop owners speak Cantonese / Chinese as well. You can get basically anything Asian there - fruits / vege / fresh seafood etc. Even the leaves to wrap "zhong" (rice dumplings), mooncakes in September, pandan leaves, all sorts of groceries from various Asian countries incl Msia, HongKong, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Korea etc.

The range of foodstuff is rather mind-boggling. Msian foodstuff I can think of - frozen durian, Yeo's drinks, even the HupSeng crackers, mangosteens at $14.99 per kg (or $2.88 PER mangosteen), various sauces and condiments, laksa sauce, curry paste, Kopiko sweets, white coffee and more! Basically, you-name-it, they-have-it..

One of the supermarkets there - aisles upon endless aisles of every Asian foodstuff u'd want!

Sauces and condiments. Probably even more variety than Malaysian stores. (I always tell my mother - we can get everything here, even Brahim's curry sachets!)

Alot of Melburnians don't know about /go to Springvale. One will hardly see any Aussies there, majority of people you'd encounter are Asians (Vietnamese / Msians / HK-ers / Chinese / Indians / Indonesians etc. Perhaps its the distance, or perceptions that that suburb isn't so safe. Heard from someone, if you're a car-owner and stays in Springvale, the car insurance's higher, only for that suburb (due to higher crime rate). But during the day its rather packed with shoppers, it always gives me the impression of being in another Asian country, doesn't feel like Melb at all. First impression was - "eh looks like Sibu or a typical Msian small-ish town like Muar"..

Was actually in Springvale Saturday to meet up with some mates and have a good meal. Dim sum yumm.. =P

At the start. No pictures taken through mid meal cos we were all too busy stuffing ourselves with nicee food hehe..

WeeKee, me and WaiKuin

YuanMeng and MunYee

We had a great meet-up, sitting there till the waiters probably would've chasen us away, basically just yakking and catching up.

Its true when they say one shouldn't compare. Why? When I do, its so unfair! That the rest have a much lighter workload than me this sem! (they- 1 assignment, 2 tests. (poor) me - 4 assignments, 2 tests, 2 presentations) blahh.. time management is central to my life now. Without it, I'd be an "always complaining whiny person".. But fortunately my "work hard play hard" mentality's keeping me sane..

Saturday was my "rest" day this week. For the first 5 days of the week, having a total of 11 hours of sleep had taken its toll on me. Really no mood to continue doing my work, hence an "off day" to rejuvenate my moods!

When my housemates suggested a bbq for Saturday night, I went "can also, anything le" cos I knew I wasn't going to be free to organise/prepare.. Happily it wasn't cancelled. We had it in our backyard and some of my housemates graciously did the preparation and setting up of the pit / charcoal etc.

Its really a good thing to have guys in the house. They take care of everything hehe =) of which I'm certainly very appreciative of. Somehow I belatedly realised we have no pics of the guys. They were too busy in the kitchen while us girls did the bbq-ing / makan-ing / yakking / posing.

A taste of Aussie lifestyle - the quinsettial BBQ

Some of my housemates (L-R): Echo, Peggy, ChiuYue, Min, Amber, me, MunYee, FeiFei, Rebecca

Most of my housemates are from China, exceptions being Peggy, MunYee, me, Danny, Paul plus another guy from Msia, Min from Korea..

We all walked down to Dairy Bell down the road after the BBQ (*note Dairy Bell - ice-cream manufacturer) hehhe

A relaxing Saturday.. but was sick today.. slept it away and unfortunately now, its time to hit the books again.. another long night ahead =(

Laptop no audio!?

Oh dear. I think I have a problem.

Suddenly my laptop audio's not working. Coupla days ago, the volume level suddenly dropped. Even when the volume meter is at max, its "just-there"- can just about hear. Was just checking through some Dell support forums but didn't find much. Most of their problems were langsung no audio or busted soundcard etc. Thought mine was nothing serious. Until now.

NOW - totally NO audio. I definitely didn't accidentally mute it (not that blur la). Sigh just when I needed my dose of Nat King Cole. This s-ucks. Its not working. Help!! really suey-wei.. I really need to use the comp these few weeks for my work.

sobb.. sueysueysueysueysuey

I know I've been busy when..

• people comment "you look charn/tired" (btw I KNOW I look charn. If you were me, you'd too =P)
• I spend more time everyday stuck in front of my desk than sleeping.
• I'm about to get a tan due to "overexposure" to the 40-watt table-lamp shining in my face.
• I blog more frequently. Can't help it since the comp's right at my fingertips. Such a distraction sigh..
• I suffer from 耳聋眼蒙 (I hope I got the chinese words right) syndrome. In cantonese its - "yi long, ngan mong" translated roughly as "hearing blur-blur, eyesight also blur-blur".. I enjoy reading, but too much of it..... by last night, I've had just about enough of the words internal control, substantive testing, analytical procedures etcetcetc (erm reading up for my auditing test today)...and why hearing also blur?? bcos I tend to have music on while studying / doing work. After 14 hours of non-stop music, the sound of silence was deafening..
• Coffee/ earl grey tea has just becomed my staple "foods".
• I wanna pengsan 'dy. Not enough sleep nevermind. When I finally get ready to sleep at 4 plus in the morning, some irritating booming/drilling/pounding noise just won't go away on the main road right outside my house. I don't know whether they're having roadworks in the middle of the night or are potential robbers trying to dig up some treasure in the neighbours' houses. All I could do - "omg omg whatintheworld are they doing at this crazy hour won't theyjustgoawaygoawaygoaway"

By rights I should be sleeping now. But oh-no no such luxury now. Have yet to finish my assignment. Test today was alright, but everyone looked really tired. The next few weeks will be even more hectic. haihh..

I want more Ipoh white coffee!! my supply's steadily running out ='(

What if all bloggers think alike?

Of late I've been dropping by PPS quite often, read some of other people's posts, agreed with some, disagreed with some. Noted the post by lilian of 5xmom and that of minishorts on the "yes/no's of blogging" (my title not theirs). Have enjoyed their writings , especially lilian's penangfaces blog and some of minishorts earlier entries.

Their respective entries, and that of many other bloggers simply reflect their different opinions. Now wouldn't it be incredibly boring if all bloggers think alike? There're many blogs out there, some famous, some infamous. There're some blogs many of us frequent (eg Jeff Ooi, DrLiew). Someone once said something to the effect of "the more you frequent the same blogs, the more your opinions will be like theirs". Don't know how true it is? But what I know is that the more I read Malaysian blogs, the more I know about life elsewhere (than the life I'm leading now)

The more I know, the more I realise I don't know..

Essentially blogs have selfish personalities. We all blog about OUR lives, OUR thoughts, OUR feelings, OUR happenings.. you get the idea.. Different lives/thoughts - thats what makes the blogosphere interesting..

Funny car number plate - Pic!

Taken a coupla weeks ago at Chadstone Shopping Centre's carpark, picture courtesy of M.Y.



2 days ago I saw another one on Melbourne roads - "Peluru" (meaning "bullet") and before that - "Bahaya" ("danger" in Malay). too bad didn't have a camera with me then.

Funny that the drivers know the dangers they pose to others on the roads hehe =)

M.Y's birthday & church today

Lately there's been a round of birthday celebrations..

April 14th was a milestone in my housemate's life..

Happy 21st Birthday MunYee!!

Birthday girl! we celebrated a coupla days earlier in Caulfield..

The cake - before (*note the free advertising where Breadtop conveniently "added" its logo unto the cake)

The cake - after..

so busy we are this week, that we had to celebrate almost a week earlier..ahh a uni student's life isn't all bout play..

Listening to 光良's 天堂 now, just got his new album from a friend.. 2.23am now. Supposed to be studying. Yet again my mind is again wandering..

Went to Planet Shakers' (my church) inaugural Saturday service today (yesterday actually) after uni.. Had a great session, with Pastor Russell speaking on the meaning of GLORY, a continuation of his series on Isaiah 60.

Meaning of glory:

• Abundance - not only in financial terms, incl a wealth / treasure / honour, of peace and the fullness of joy.
• Bliss of heaven - does not mean that one doesn't go through hard times, but seek, and He comes
• Heavy in weight - the weight of heaven and the weight of His name is "backing" you up in life. Also, the weight of His covenant..
• Light - God is personal.We too, can be the beam of light in others' lives.

Recently, I've been having some things on my mind, one of which were thoughts of friends back home, or old friends who are studying elsewhere. Was greatly comforted when the girl I was sitting next to in the service offered to pray, asking whether there was anything specific I wanted to pray for.. Ironic, but these past few days I've been contemplating about certain things, incl that. God knows best, in asking Iris to pray for what's been on my mind..It is like telling me don't give up on some people, which I'd been on the verge of doing.. Nothing very specific, just wanted to keep all these people in my thoughts - old friends, friends which were once close, friends far away etc.. wanting them to be "illuminated", be happy generally, to have good health, to have good relationships, to overcome obstacles in work / study, to be contented and appreciative of all that they possess.

My dog - pictures

Sigh I have this urge to drop everything and go back. My dog is dying back home and here I am, stuck - hundreds of miles away..

Finally have some digital pictures of my ah-boy - a German Shepherd aged 10. Not as shaggy as he ought to be, but probably the greediest one I know of. Oh, he's darned handsome too, or am I just biased?

Blackie (gosh isn't he handsome?!)

Lazing happily in the hall

food! food! But he's not interested. Not just because he lost his appetite, but he's not so erm, attracted to healthy dog biscuits usually..

Camera shy ah-boy

I once told a friend, if there's one reason why I'm sure to return to Msia after my studies, it'd be for my dog.

Double sigh..

Wine in Ausralia / Angkor Wat?

The stash of "drinkables" in my cabinet - a merlot, Absolut Vodka (raspberry), white port wine, classic tawny port wine, plus a bottle of Chandon Brut. The unfortunate thing about having all these - most of my friends here don't drink.

Aihh.. they don't know what they're missing out on. Wine in Australia is increasingly cheap these 2 years due to a supply glut. Means that one can get decent award winning wines for less than 10 dollars! There's still a whole range of decent wines going for less than 20 dollars. So so so tempting, but I daren't buy any more..

Talking about drinking, Australia's changing from a beer-guzzling nation to a wine-appreciating nation. Just about everywhere you'd see patrons enjoying their glass, from a typical Italian restaurant, to the chinese shops in Chinatown.

Last Sunday, during dinner at Supper Inn (Chinatown), we were noting how the restaurant really reminds us of a typical "chinese" restaurant back home, from the whole decor, to the smell of fried peanuts, even the stairs leading to the restaurant. The only missing thing was a red-coloured tablecloth complete with a few holes. But one obvious sign that we were in Melbourne was the sight of wine bottles on many of the tables there. Something not so common back home in KL..

My mind's wandering all over the place now, hence this blogging in the middle of the night (its 2.40am now in Melb). Weather's changed, temperatures have gone into the mid 10s. With it, the clear blueee skies are no more. Looks like the sun has gone into hiding for the autumn. Such a marked change in dress as well. Just 2 days ago people were wearing strappy heels and shorts out, yesterday most were well-wrapped up, complete with scarf and beanie..

I'm basically just rambling on now.. have a test next week, which I'm supposed to be studying for (note the "supposed"). Getting distracted by a few thoughts, some feelings of "bengang-ness" to be dissipated (caused by a certain someone) and still thinking of a new phone (?? should i just leave it as it is??).......................

On something else, my parents sortof just told me they're going off to Vietnam and Cambodia for hols sometime this week. I went "omg OMG OMG OMG you guys are going to Angkor Wat?!?!" My mother had a casual "yeah". They have NO IDEA, ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA that I wanna go!!!

My number one ideal destination is not Paris Milan or Tokyo. Quirky me decided a few years ago - ANGKOR WAT is the place to go. And they're going. They're doing the usual tourist thing. I called home today, wanted to ask my ma to take more pictures of the amazing structures. No one answered so I think they're already off. I am quite sure they'll be taking some "touristy" shots (not much love of photography in their blood hehe).

Why I wanted the pictures of structures / buildings? It reminded me of their trip years ago to Egypt / Israel / Jordan etc. I saw one picture from the lot and I went - "pls don't tell me you only took one shot of that?!?" No it wasn't the pyramids. Plenty of that.

It was from their visit to Petra. (Its also a prime location for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, remember the temple??) They went to the "Kazneh" (a carved tomb), more famous for its role in the Indiana Jones movie and took relatively few pictures. I had a field day taking in the glorious sites if I were there..Cos now its no longer so easy to travel in and around the middle east..

oh darn, 3am. Supposed to get at least a teeny bit of work done before dawn.

New mobile phone.

No, I don't have a new phone. I need one.

I try not to use the term "need" these days because, we (being the icky materialistic generation we are nowadays) tend to confuse "wants" and "needs".

When you talk about technology with me, I have this opinion. It is certainly useful, beneficial to mankind bla bla bla. But too much of it isn't agreeable with me. I agree when my father mentioned that with the advent of technology, everything semakin canggih etc, why is it that we seem to be busier than before??

Lets not get so distracted. About my phone. When I came to Melbourne, I got a very simple phone, an LG model (forgot what model number). Most people would be startled at how little functions it has - basically its an entry level phone. No colour screen. No mp3 player. No bluetooth. And certainly no fancy camera. They ask me, why not get a phone from 3 network? Prob is, I'm here for less than 24 months (the usual length of contract). Plus nowadays there's so much small print to go through if I sign up for one of their plans / caps. Anyways I settled for that small light phone. Till this week that is.

The phone's been acting up. Argh the frustration, especially when I was waiting for a specific call yesterday. Suddenly there're irritating buzzing noises when I'm in the midst of a conversation. Sms-ing becomes a chore. The "0" key refuses to obey me.

So a new phone suddenly jumps the queue to be right at the TOP of my current wishlist. But a wish it shall remain. I had a niggly desire when I saw this.

Samsung D500. For its specs, click here.

A little bit of history bout me and phones.

When I got out of high school, I was about the only person I knew without a phone. Why? Cos my parents don't think its necessary. If I wanted one, it'd have to come from my own pocket. Prob is, all the money from my jobs went to road trips. It was road trips or mobile. Obvious choice - trips (another story).. Then I got my sis's old albeit reliable phone. That was till last year.

So now I feel like getting a mobile (which of course will not be the Samsung D500). But, there's always a but, I've never actually used my parents money for some expenditure like this. Even when I got my camera, it was through 2 months work (but it felt realllly good self-financing it). So it feels a little awkward if I were to just buy it outright. Prob now, I've got a tough sem and can't afford to work. After all although the hourly rate is good, I'm here to study and try not to fail anything. But without working, where's the $$$ coming from??

Have to think think think..

Although I need a mobile, sometimes I do wonder at the pros and cons of being so accessible to any nut who can call you 24 hours a day.

Imagine..

• You're out for the weekend. Suddenly the boss calls. He wants you back in the office for some "catching-up" of work. What can you say - "yes boss". Previously, if you were out, you were out. If the boss had your house number, he could call till his line putus, but he wouldn't be able to contact you.
• When was the last time you had a proper conversation with your mates/friends/colleagues which was not interrupted by someone making or sending calls / sms-es / playing with their phone settings / ringtones / contact list / whatnot? It is rather unsettling to be with people who are seated right next to you, but their minds are too engrossed with something else, namely that little piece of technology (phone la).

I'm as guilty as any of you of that - which is something I'm now determined to change. Its not so nice to be with someone who's talking on the phone half the time. I was once out with a friend who ended up chatting merrily over the phone for a good 15 minutes or more. I could only pretend to be interested in the contents of my drink, and marvel at the construction of my drinking straw.

Unpleasant experience, definitely. I felt like saying "wey you're here to talk to me or not? want to talk then go back n talk, or better still, I should just leave". Which I left unsaid.

Some people can't live without their mobile phones. I'm not one of them, fortunately. Worse case scenario - I'll be uncontactable in Australia hehhe.. might not be such a bad idea after all..

Passport to enter Sarawak / Sabah

**EDIT Jan21 2006** Malaysians from the Peninsula DO NOT need passports to enter Sarawak/Sabah anymore. They'll give you an immigration entry slip when you enter the state(s). Keep it with you at all times (if you accidentally discard it, you'll have to make a police report-serious!). They'll check it again when you return to Peninsula Msia.
above edit's for all you folks googling this question =)

I bet alot of Malaysians didn't know they needed a passport to enter Sarawak and Sabah. Duration of their visit should also not exceed 3 months.

For context, read "Trial period for MyKad entry into Sarawak" and "Doing away with restricted travel in Malaysia" (a blogger's opinion).

Most people from the Peninsula have never been to these 2 states, nor do they find reasons for doing so. imo they're missing out on what the rest of Malaysia looks like. Most from the cities think that life revolves round their lives in the cities, and conveniently choose to ignore that there's still some millions of citizens living different lives in the rest of the country.

Sarawak and Sabah is very different from the Peninsula. Different in what sense? umm I can't very well point out, but the whole environment, from the towns to their way of life - definitely unlike that of KL. Plus there's clean air (compared to smoggy KL/PJ air), good food, low living costs and Bario rice!

I don't know enough about the travel restrictions to explain to my friends. But all of them say one thing - "Why need a passport for interstate travel?" When I'm back for a visit, I happily breeze through customs. Am out in a jiffy while the rest of the passengers are stuck in a queue, having to show their passports. =) Why? Because although I'm a PJ-ian, its my hometown. There's an initial on my IC which allows entry without having to show passport. Don't know about my new MyKad though..

It used to be sooo expensive to travel to Sarawak. When I returned a few years ago (before the AirAsia years), it cost RM 800 plus for a return ticket KL to Miri (not hometown). I always joked with my mother - "Ma, pay another RM300 and we'd be going off to Hong Kong 4D/3N Cathay Pacific, including flight, accomodation and city tour!" But now, with AirAsia, its much cheaper to travel. Haven't tried any of their flights before though..

What've I been doing? / architecture in LimKokWing

Lately, I've been stuck in my room, forced to face a thick stack of books n my comp, with the only respite coming from coffee refills. Yes its assignment peak period again. The busiest weeks of a uni student's life, within the space of a month plus (in my case), there're lots of assignments and mid sem tests to prepare for. A friend refers to this as a time of "war". But of course, in my "happy" mood lately, it doesn't look so bad.

Of course by now, my "hyper-ness" level has plunged. I read somewhere - humans use less than 5% of their brain's capacity. Right now, my full 5% is centred on deadlines, not much space/energy to think about other things..

I'm a rather boring person. Growing up with lots of freedom basically meant I had no reason to do any "wild" things (see - reverse psychology works - restrict / control your child, guarantee they rebel). End result - decisions are thought-out and rational. Given freedom to choose what I want to do (within financial constraints of course) and where etc. How I ended up taking accounting? Answer - my choice.

If they could've afforded it, I'd have taken Architecture as my first choice. Actually it was my sole choice. I did enough in my pre-u to get into Arch. in Melbourne Uni but of course had to consider the more important criteria in choosing a course for future study - COST. People never realise that the course costs HEAPS of money, and Malaysia is probably one of the worst countries when it comes to providing arch. education.

Don't tell me to take architecture at LimKokWingInstitute Of Technology (now known amusingly as a University College), cos I've tried that place, and it'll take a month's worth of blogposts to fill you in about how terrible their so-called education was. It was utterly a waste of my dad's hard-earned money. Would've been more fulfilling actually throwing the money spent into the Klang river. Fortunately I was not there for long. More unfortunate was - I felt I didn't learn the basics well enough to justify continuing then. What I learnt - how to go without sleep for prolonged periods of time (thats what all architecture students learn in their first year).

Never-seen-before attitudes from the teaching staff include - lecturers who aren't committed to their teaching, always busy scampering off to yamcha at the corner coffeeshop, too busy talking on their fancy phones, turning up late for classes cos they say students come late, hence their coming in even later. Contradicting opinions between teaching staff (eg this tutor says the other tutor's drafting method is wrong and vice versa, so who is actually correct??), lecturer saying "no need to buy books since you all going to fail anyway" when we asked for suggestions (due to the simple fact that we simply have NO textbooks). Unbelievable? Its all true. You'd better believe it.

LimKokWing offered Curtin's syllabus for architecture, with all local "lecturers". And I seriously believe Curtin University should look into how they're conducting the entire degree in LimKokWing. Maybe I'm unfortunate in my year to have teaching staff like that, seniors seemed to have better lecturers. But there's no disputing their (my year's teaching staff) level of commitment to their profession - disappointingly low.

I'd cordially invite anyone who wants a more lengthy opinion on my experience there to email me. Seriously, when I was there, I had expectations of what tertiary education should be like, and was tremendously disappointed. Monash Uni (where I'm studying now), when compared to LimKokWing, is like HEAVEN. At least, the lecturers show up on time. =)

Why suddenly think of architecture again? Some of my friends know I still like it tremendously. Actually its more than "like". Much more than that. Others may not know or have not discovered what their passion is, or where their future path lies. Me - there's only one dream. It has been 2 years since I let go of it. Thought of it as being "IMPOSSIBLE". Suddenly yesterday, before sleeping, a thought occurred in my mind. It went - "WHY NOT? WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE??" I have plenty of excuses to tell myself why its impossible, from problems with costs of uni, to duration (length of arch education at least 6 years) etc.

Throwing all rationality out of the window - WHY NOT? as long as I believe?
I'm already in my 3rd and final year of my degree. After graduation, who knows??

We'll see.. and in the meantime for me, its back to page 1073 of Deegan's fine book on Advanced Financial Accounting Theory and Practice.. more coffee beckons.

About keeping in touch.

I did something last week. I left a message for Tse Wei on her blog, and she replied! Her blogpost on "Keeping in Touch" got me thinking too. Tse Wei's my primary school mate, and its really been years and years since we've kept in touch. Coincidentally, a few days ago, I received a mail from my inbox, this time from MingSean, another old primary school mate.

We (from primary school) keep in touch mainly via a Yahoo group, with occasional mails and updates. Its 10 years since we graduated. Got me wondering, 20 years on, would we still be keeping in touch?

My father made a trip back to his hometown last year, for his own high school mates reunion meet. Its their 30th (THIRTIETH!!) year reunion. Amazingly most of them made it back, including their teachers. In Sarawak, alot of their teachers came from overseas back then. And many of the former teachers took the opportunity to return for the reunion and visit Malaysia. I could only go "wow..thats awesome.."

After graduating from high school a coupla years ago, there isn't a formal network or alumni association enabling us to meet up / keep in touch. The only "meet-ups" I have, are the yamcha sessions with my own circle of friends. Considering the fact that in my year we had 13 (?) classes of approximately 45 students each, my so-called meet ups are really insignificant.

Even now, news from friends are few and far in between. Everyone's getting on with their lives, citing "busy with work, busy with studies, busy with life as a whole". Is it really true that "the older you get, the smaller your circle of true friends"?

I wonder if one day, they will wake up and realise that they've been too busy living out their lives, and have simply let go of alotof friendships over the years. With irregular communication, you start knowing less and less of another person's life (eg friend). Without realising it, distance has set in (the distance meant here doesn't necessarily equate geographical distance) and then, there's no turning back.

Microsoft update email said to be fake

*News alert!

A mass email in circulation which purports to be a Microsoft Windows update alert directs computer users to a fake website where a trojan is installed, security professionals say.

The security firm Websense said it began receiving reports this week of the e-mail claiming to be from Microsoft, coincidentally after the software giant announced it was making security updates.

"This email spoofs users into thinking that they must update their Windows software," Websense said. "Upon clicking on the link, users are forwarded to a fraudulent website. This website is hosted in Australia, and was up at the time of this alert. The website appears very similar to the real Windows Update site."

But when a user attempts to perform the update, a trojan is installed that allows hackers access to the infected computers, the company said. The British-based security firm Sophos also issued a warning about the scheme.

"This criminal campaign exploits the public's rising paranoia about the security of their Windows computers. If users fall for it they may put themselves at risk of being spied upon or having their credit card and online banking details stolen," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.

"We have long recommended that computer users keep up-to-date with the latest security patches, as Microsoft vulnerabilities are often exploited by viruses, worms and hackers. But users must be very careful to be sure they are going to the official update websites, rather than just following links in emails which have been sent by hackers."

AFP, from The Age 11th April 2005.

Infamous PJ..a little extra..

Referring to my previous post - "Infamous PJ", Fishtail has kindly supplied the link to her entry on the 30 yr old missing front gate (aka stolen!) in PJ, click here.

PJ residents out there, any amusing tales to tell??

Being happy

I've been in such a good mood of late that I suddenly felt its weirdness. Had a short conversation with a friend back in Malaysia just now, and she agreed with me, that 2 years ago, things were indeed alot different.

Really, one's mentality is so fundamentally important to one's sense of being. Not sure if I'm making any sense to you here, but a simple, but radical change or a firm decision made, certainly impacts tremendously on how I view everything around me. My outlook on life, what I decide to do with my time, how I view relationships, how I look at the people around me, how I handle stress etc..

I was indeed used to being a person with a negative outlook. When K.L. (a friend) remarked the other day - "you're one of the most positive person I know", my first reaction - laugh hilariously. Found it amusing, certainly.

Its because I'm always telling K.L. to enjoy life here in Melbourne. Work of course has to be done, but why not enjoy your time here? My logic of "go out, get some clear crisp air, let the wind blow in your face, look at the bluee sky, go home. Result'll be - more semangat to do work la!" isn't agreed on by many. But this's much better for me, than to enclose myself in a room with just my work to keep me company. I definitely concentrate better after going out, than spending 8 hours gazing blankly at the same 5 pages..

Assignments are tough, of course. Schedules are hectic. But hey, that's a 3rd year's uni life. If it were all so straightforward and simple, degrees would be falling from the sky like raindrops.

Calmness, people always say that about me. My point is - why panic? Panic, and you are even more unlikely to complete your work on time. I do tremendously last minute work, which is slightly hazardous. Though, this sem I've pledged to be more consistent. My calmness and clarity of mind isn't inborn. It has been cultivated. Anyone who went through my experience in the past would have this mentality..

What I shared with a friend just now.. when you look to man (as in other people around you eg family / friends etc) to encourage or support you all the time, you are bound to be disappointed. Humans are imperfect beings, we all have weaknesses. Most Asians are not adept at voicing their care or concerns verbally (at least most that I know of). Friends may care, but they may not tell you, assuming that you can "feel" or "sense" it. Thats not sufficient for me. Hence the dejectedness. I've simply realized that to depend on man is foolishness. And thats where a higher being comes into play..

Infamous PJ?!

So now Petaling Jaya is no longer just famous. It is infamous.

For people unfamiliar to PJ, click here to get a background on this satellite township (now, it's more like a wayyy overcrowded booming township with enough traffic to make sane people insane)

Received an email coupla days ago. Here's an excerpt:

"Just as a warning to those of you who happen to be in the infamous PJ area.

My husband just called to tell of an attempted snatch theft that he just experienced. He was walking by the road in front of the Nissan showroom to the SS14 shops for lunch and walking on the side facing oncoming traffic when he heard a motorcycle coming from the back. He instinctively turned arounded and the passenger on the motorcycle had extended his hand to grab his bag. Luckily, he did not suffer any major injuries or any losses. Had he not turned around, he would have probably been pushed or dragged to the floor. Remember that these guys were moving AGAINST the traffic. So no rules apply.

So guys, beware on walking alone. Doesn't matter if you're tall, big and tough. Looks like snatch thiefs don't just pick on girls for an easy go. "

I like PJ. I really do. In the area where I stay, there are at least 8 banks, 6 pharmacies, clinics, 2 weekly night markets, numerous mamaks and coffeeshops, dimsum shops, bookshops, clinics, salons, supermarkets, pet shops, places to yamcha – eg Coffee Bean, Gloria Jeans, Swensens, Honey Bee, Char-Chan-Teng, KTZ, Teapot Café etc, newsagents that open from 6am to past midnight and lots more, all within easy walking distance.

It doesn't take much to figure out where I stay (if you're a PJ-ian). But there's a tradeoff for all this convenience. PJ is very very different from my quiet leafy suburb in Melbourne. Residents in PJ seem to form easy targets for snatch thefts / robberies / other violent incidents. Crime activities are no longer confined to night-time. Most in fact happen in broad daylight.

Security and safety, or rather the LACK OF it, is one of the main concerns of PJ residents these days. I'm pretty confident in saying that if you're a PJ resident, you will know at least 5 others who've fallen prey to those incidents (be it your relatives / family / colleagues / neighbours). What sort of incidents? Let me give you some examples:

Snatch-thefts – the scourge of society. Currently deemed to be an extremely commonplace event in the majority of PJ suburbs. When police report is made, the victim will typically be told “you're the X number of victim today, in this area.” and “oh, it's a white-colored Proton car again ar?” Before anyone starts generalizing and state that its all done by illegal immigrants, let me tell you this – its not all their fault.

My sis got robbed last year by a Chinese. And they are not all motorcyclists on the prowl, rather, there're many who roam the streets looking for victims in their nice fancy cars. Also, an increasingly common tactic – stab first, then snatch. Makes the snatching easier.

Those perpetrators are becoming increasingly bold, and imo those culprits commit their crimes mainly in PJ, instead of the more affluent areas such as Bangsar or Damansara Heights. Why? Because when the victims are more affluent or are well-known persona, the risks are higher that it'll appear in the news, and therefore overall risk of getting caught is higher. The same when victim suffers unfortunate death. So going after the common rakyat means less risk. Although the cash / goods begotten may be lesser, the quantity (amount of crime committed) more than makes up for it.

Car-jackings – happens all hours of the day. It doesn't matter where / when.

Robberies – typically parang-wielding robbers rush into the house, usually in the mid mornings and late evenings. Also, happens often during dinner parties and functions, when the main gate is left wide open.

I know the police force is understaffed. I do appreciate the fact that they sometimes patrol the streets of my area late at night, plus they do respond to calls about suspicious characters walking / prowling around the neighbourhood. But surely more can be done?

Eveytime something unfortunate befalls victims, there'll be a big HooHa and people of all sorts will start voicing their opinions about preventive measures etc. Thing is, from a PJ resident's perspective, we don't need more of these:

• Walk on the opposite side of the road.
• Don't carry a sling bag, or sling your bag while walking.
• Avoid walking on the dark side of the road.
• Avoid quiet areas.

As far as I know, we PJ people are already far more paranoid then people from elsewhere in the country. We know far more about the perils of walking about in the streets. People follow all the advisories above, but still fall prey.

My sister was walking on the opposite side of the road – still got robbed. The newsagent auntie doesn't even carry a sling bag – robbed 3 times in the last half year. The old lady coming back from the market – still got robbed in broad daylight. The auntie dropping her kids off to kindy – almost got car-jacked in broad daylight too. A neighbour - robbed by parang-wielding men at 7 plus in the evening.

As the email stated – THE RULES DON'T APPLY ANYMORE. It doesn't only happen in secluded areas, nor do these incidents happen exclusively at night. Also, the victims are not confined to womenfolk these days.

When I was back for the summer hols, I effectively got banned from driving at night. My father made me feel guilty, cos he'd be waiting up for me if I drove and returned late at night. He was pretty successful, cos I ended up not driving and got lifts from friends (naturally, guys) each time we went out at night. I'd prefer to drive myself, but terpaksa le..

In my large Melbourne house, there's a reason why all the Malaysians are occupying the upstairs rooms – security. First and foremost in our priorities for lodging would be safety first. The windows here have no grilles. If we're staying in the rooms downstairs, we'd be more susceptible to theft since all the thief has to do is to break the window and enter – rather effortlessly. My housemates of other nationalities don't even consider this aspect. As I said, paranoia. Safety first – that's the mantra for us PJ-ians. Its hard to remove it from our mentality after years and years of being “careful”.

I don't mean to scare people off about PJ. PJ is a delightful township, with lots to offer. But here are some useful tips for those unfamiliar to my area:

• NEVER leave your belongings on the table at the restaurant / mamak / coffeeshop, preferably also don't leave your bags out of reach in the chair next to you, or opposite you. Reason: Some person will just saunter casually in, snatch your mobile phone / wallet / keys, and run off with a “Byee”. Don't laugh, it happened in places such as Damansara Uptown, Kayu SS2 etc..
• If you're driving, ALWAYS LOCK your doors. Reason: If you get caught in one of PJ's daily traffic jams, or stop at a set of traffic lights, chances are high that you're risking the valuables in your seat by leaving the doors unlocked. Not to mention the risk of car-jackings. If you worry about being unable to open your car door in the event of an emergency, well, there's always the steering lock! Due to the common spate of car thefts in PJ / KL, I'm quite sure almost all car owners have steering locks.
• If you drive at night, try to get others to accompany you to your car. Look right, look left, look more. Especially if there's a van next to your car or people occupying the vehicles around you. Lone car owners are easy targets.
• Even when you're carrying one of those simple red plastic bags to the market, don't leave your valuables (ie identification / wallet) in them. The snatch thieves snatch basically anything. They're that desperate.
• Forget about having a lazy chat with friends at parks at night. The risks of getting robbed, or worse, aren't worth it. Btw a friend of mine got robbed at the Kiara hill track a coupla years ago, in early evening or late afternoon..

There're some things you simply can't prevent though. A few days ago, I read this blogpost (unfortunately I didn't save the URL) where the blogger returned home to find her 30 year old rusting metal front gate missing. I don't know whether to pity her or laugh! Its hilarious, at the same time rather ludicrous. A missing front gate!! Its very heavy (that I know cos we're from the same area so I presume its same as my house's gate) and I can't fathom how the neighbours didn't notice the thieves carting off the oh-so-heavy and oh-so-old gate!

Oh well, this's PJ..

#Feel free to comment / add suggestions. I'm sure there're other residents out there who doesn't like the state of security these days..

*note: quite bengang (Malay word meaning irritated & annoyed) at myself. Just a few posts ago, I said I'd back up my post before publishing. Now lazy me has suffered the same consequence. I've to re-type the whole post again.. sobb.. also been having probs with Blogger lately. sigh..

To be a good photographer? Or have good photoshop skills?

Thats the question. I believe its more important to take better pictures, than to polish over mediocre pictures with Photoshop. Sometimes it ends up looking too perfect..This opinion's coming from someone (me) who doesn't own a digicam, though I'd happily purchase one if I had the cash..

About quality pics, if one were to take 1000 pics, I'm pretty sure there'd be at least 50 decent shots. Thats quality arising from quantity.. but then again, I'm a film-toting photographer, so there's a slight hint of bitterness in this rant.. =P

Just developed some film today. Results were so-so only.. only a few shots I'm satisfied with (very fussy I am) My first attempt taking firework pictures during the Moomba festival last month was.. average. I don't really know whether I've achieved what I set out to do. The streaks of light look fine to me, no doubt some pics end up with too-thick lines, but it isn't as bad as I'd thought it would be..

talking about pics, I've also ended up today with quite a number of people-pictures (my pics rarely have ppl in it) which are quite ruined. At least 8 shots have a very serious case of camera-shake. Not my fault since I'm IN the pics, not the one taking pics!! Camera was on auto mode and its fairly bulky. Don't understand why others have difficulty handling it..maybe they're not used to its size. Spoilt la...my heart cringes at the thought of wasted film these days..

*on other things..
Update on Melbourne weather (we're SOOoo addicted to weather updates over here): this week, temperatures ranging from mid 10s to mid 20s. Afternoon fairly warm, but now I'm rushing off to switch on the heater cos its a mere 14 degrees, or so it says on Yahoo's weather forecast.. Last week hehhe funny episode, a housemate from China couldn't sleep at night cos it was too cold. She blissfully thought it was unnecessary to buy a heater till winter arrives..I could only tell her - this is Melbourne, quirky weather and all..

Something else bugging me lately. Seems unusual, but a few calls I've made lately have been unsuccessful. A close friend hasn't been in touch for some time, and current status is uncontactable. I've started wondering - does the person still want to be friends? A friend advised last week - keep trying. But this kind of friendship's certainly not what I have in mind.

These few years I'd say I'm fairly fortunate to have stable relationships with others around me. Things are all kept simple. We meet up, we have a good time, we go home. Its only lately that I feel alot of things are changing. Is it just me, or are things no longer the same? A lot of people I know are alot busier these 2 years. Some people say - "no time la.." I keep saying - "we have to learn to make time." If I can find the time, why can't they? Else its just another excuse. Some friendships falter over time, while others strengthen. There's always a good reason for that.

Songster Music Forum, calla lily, Phillip Island

Promoting on behalf of a friend - the Songster Music Forum, a chinese forum about everything relating to music.

Topics so far include

• sharing the how-to / experiences of producing music, MIDI, song-writing, difficulties of DIY productions
• news & reviews of newly released albums
• introducing some recording equipment (reviews I think)
• bands / musicians can freely release their music, release info on their performances or relevant promotions..

Feel free to visit!

On something else..Came across this new breed of calla lily - Picasso Cally Lily. No specific reason, but am rather taken with this flower, probably due to it being naturally purplish whitish..

Here's a description from the patent:

Calla lily plant named `Picasso`
`Picasso` is a new variety of caIIa IiIy having a fIower with a yeIIow-orange/purpIe coIored spathe producing 1-15 fIowers per tuber. The fIower stems are about 50 cm in height. The Ieaves are green with many whitish spots and have a Ieathery texture.

*note - image taken from Dutch Garden. I never did realise there were sooo many varieties of calla out there..

One week of hols has just passsed by again. Unplanned trips were the order of the past week, went to Phillip Island on Saturday with Joshua, Johnson, Samuel and a few others.. this time didn't bring a digicam along, so pics will have to wait! Had a fun time playing with aperture, though I've really no idea how the pictures will turn out. Looking at Joshua's ones, it should be at least decent.. It was another bright sunny day, but the sky wasn't as clear as the previous days, alot more cloudy.

After a quick lunch at San Remo, we crossed the bridge, leaving the mainland, to Phillip Island proper. First stop was Churchill Island. Bought the 3 Parks Pass for entry into Churchill Island, Koala Conservation Centre and the Penguin Parade. Got a group rate of AUD25.20. Actually didn't intend to go for the penguin parade, but because it was alot more worthwhile, we decided to go for all 3..

Churchill Island's main attraction is a restored homestead, with beautiful scenery. There're still cattle and horses grazing on its large grounds, plus a great view of the sea and the vast expanse of sky.. difficult to describe, but the skies were too vast to fill my lens..

Next stop was the Koala Conservation Centre. Actually I think most of us were only mildly interested. Koalas sleep approximately 20 (TWENTY!) hours a day. When they're in slumber, there's just nothing much to see. An accurate description of our visit there would be a "pit stop". Go in, walk the boardwalk, get up close, see all the koalas in deep slumber, get out. It was already my 3rd time seeing koalas in their natural environment, so forgive my disinterested-ness..

Next - The Nobbies! We were a little pressed for time as it was already 5pm. Made our way across the walkway, all the way to the Blowhole. Spectacular scenery yet again, with the sun already setting. I hope to get at least 2 decent shots of that =) After that we rushed off to the Penguin Parade.

Umm.. I don't think I'd really recommend going (just as others have told me before) for the parade. Weather was fantastic, breezy but not cold. However, sitting there being surrounded by hordes of Japanese girls going "kawaii neh" (meaning cute) and "so so so" (equivalent of yes) isn't such a nice setting.. I'm fairly sure we spotted less than 50 penguins. When a friend last went, she was disappointed to see only abt 200.. but 50?? Few as there were, those little fairy penguins are rather cute. They actually "huddle" (my term) together in groups of at least 5 and then waddle their way back to their burrows.. safety in numbers hehh

All in all it was a nice trip, comfy as well (really you should see for yourself the spaciousness of the Holden Commodore 3.6l) and good company which always makes a difference..

So thats the end of a busy busy week, with a terribly hectic month coming up. Just looked at my schedule of assignments and tests, only one word keeps popping into mind - BUSY!

Winery tour pics

Had (having!) a busy week thus far. Met up with a friend on Sunday and was introduced to a few other people. Met Rae–my friend's friend's friend's friend! (hahh fourth degree relationship), which resulted in me suddenly going for a winery tour on Wednesday. I joined the Clayton Singapore Students Society for the tour, visiting 3 wineries, including Yering Station, St Hubert and Domain Chandon (of Moet Chandon of France), all located in the Yarra Valley, about an hours drive from Melbourne. Although its technically early autumn now, believe me when I say the weather's absolutely hot. Any hotter it gets, I'll positively melt!!

Yesterday was another full day, going off to the Port of Echuca with the Photography Club. It was just the few of us (9) but fairly enjoyable. In the group were 2 Aussies, 2 Vietnamese, 1 Indonesian, 1 Singaporean and 3 Malaysians. Echuca is at the border of New South Wales and Victoria, about 3 hours drive from Melbourne.. Had a lazy lunch there, then went on a cruise on a restored paddle-steamer – the Emmylou. Although its nothing spectacular, its certainly a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon - wind brushing past your face, very very sunny day..

After that, I happened to “stumble” (actually its more of "attracted by") upon a very quaint barn-like place selling mainly port wine. The gentleman there was a very pleasant fella, letting me try some of their port wines. Indeed, it was tempting hahh, I got 2 bottles – a white port and a light tawny one. I was actually attracted by the idea of white port. Never tried it before, as port wine's not so readily available in Malaysia I think..Ahh I should be staying away from any signs saying –"tastings available / cellar door sales here"... 3 bottles in 2 days. This's not good..

Anyways I've uploaded some pics from the winery tour (not photoshop-ed). Echuca tour.. pics yet to be developed.

*note - there're quite a number of pics, apologies for the slow loading time..


1st stop – Yering Station, wine bar – exterior


Yering Station, wine bar – interior


2nd stop – St Hubert, wine tasting session


Apple tree!


St Hubert winery – a view


Me..


Grapes to be harvested next week


Road leading to Domain Chandon – 3rd stop


Wine country – awesome scenery..


Domain Chandon dining room – interior


Bubbly!


Platter of cheese 'n bread


View of the vineyard






More views






After the grape harvest



Went Brunswick St. today, really tired.. more pics to come! =)