Pause. Step Back. Reflect.

Have done a lot over the past 2 weeks. Chatting with a friend on IM today, I realized something. I've gotten busy to a stage where I don't even know why I'm so busy.

So its time to pause, take a step back and reflect.

This interesting article from Time caught my eye -- "The Multi-tasking Generation" with the opener....They're e-mailing, IMing and downloading while writing the history essay. What is all that digital juggling doing to kids' brains and their family life?...

I read while waiting/catching the train.
I listen to music while researching/studying.
I watch drama while waiting for the water to boil.

There's hardly any moment when I focus on only one thing. Scary huh what's happening to our lives now.. when we think properly, how many emails do we get that are ones from friends simply saying "how're u doing? whats going on in your life now?". Junk mail, mail from work, chain letters etc seem to make up the bulk of the inbox. Even when we have the capabilities for instantaneous communication, "personal" communication seems to have suffered..

on other things.. went for an interview with the Securities Commission yesterday. Mother was quite keen to hear about this opportunity - cos this meant the possibility of me working back home hahh :)

Sometimes there's so much noise in our lives we tend to get caught up in irrelevant matters. 4 years ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be here, doing what I'm doing, meeting the people I'm meeting, learning the things I am. So -- God is good. He definitely knows what He is doing, unlike me sometimes hahh..

Isn't it scary..

..to have 2 people tell you in a day that being fluent in English, Chinese, Malay & Cantonese is not sufficient?!

Of these 2 fellas who said that, one's from China, the other's from Turkey. They both raised the need to acquire another language - a European one. French/Italian/German preferred. To only know Asian languages (besides English) is confining oneself to the Asian region? We can't really ignore Europe, can we?

Phew that short conversations I had with them yesterday really showed me how competitive things are now. Of course not everyone even begins to think of aquiring another language. But I've started thinking, how many can one handle? Am taking beginner's Japanese in uni now as an elective and hoping to learn Korean on my own, so its pretty much the limit, else i'll get all my thoughts muddled up..if all else fails, there're always translators around hah.

The next few days schedule looks really tight..Mon - 4 classes & 1 workshop, Tue - 3 sessions till 9pm, Wed all day (hopefully) in the City, Thu seminar in Clayton, Fri meeting in the city. All that plus a ton of reading to get through. Getting rather distracted by some books (which may be a good, or not-so-good thing). Good - its interesting, and its on my fave subject matter of late - globalisation/intl relations. Not-so-good - its distracting me from finishing up all the required readings (which is also interesting, but currently ranks a little lower on the interest threshold).

Current reads:
~ "China and Southeast Asia: Global Changes and Regional Challenges", collection of essays/journals edited by Ho Khai Leong and Samuel C.Y. Ku (2005) -- interesting studies/insight into the region's dynamics.
~ Thomas Friedman's "The Lexus and The Olive Tree" -- this book just leapt to the top of my must-acquire-for-collection book. Very very interesting, and easy-to-read format. Am (still only) halfway through.
~ "Globalisation and Its Discontents" Stiglitz -- i thought it would be talking abt what shaped globalisation etc, but am halfway through this, and so far its been his perspectives as an insider at the World Bank.

Next, next and next on the desk:
~ Gerald Tan's "Asian Development" -- its actually one of my prescribed readings for the ASN unit.
~ William Keylor's "A World of Nations" -- only flipped through it, but looks interesting
~ the Vervoorn text -- the textbook for ASN.
~ New Directions in Tropical Asian Architecture -- I haven't forgotten one of my passions :P

Possible reviews of those books when I'm done, maybe just a simple opinion in terms of ease of "readerbility" (whether its one which's easily understandable or one which's stuffed full of jargon and complicated ideas)

Frus!!

arghhh!!! so frustrated now. Just realised I bought the wrong lithium batteries for my film SLR. Those things cost a fair bit over here so I got them when I was back home. Didn't check properly before getting it hence CR1 (what I wanted) became CR123 (what I ter-bought)!! omg someone pls send some to me :(

Its funny how I didn't expect to be so caught up with things this semester. Thought I'd have plenty of time to sleep in, bumm around, read a book a day and blablabla. Surprisingly none of this has happened. Everyday passes by in abit of a blur. So much to do, so little time?! and no, dears, I'm not bumming at home as much as I'd like to.

Managed to go for a session of badminton at the Games on Tuesday. Turns out it was for men's doubles and women's doubles. It was quite worth it, as the Malaysian players were favourites, and they played really well. Both men's and women's duos got through to the next round. No photos unfortunately..the digi-cam batteries are acting all dodgy and died on me just when I got to the venue...the Msian players looked sharp and focused in their orange (gold?) tiger-striped shirts. Haihh tickets for badminton all sold out, else I think it'd be nice to go for the other matchdays..but they're definitely the crowd favourites, and mine!

On other things.. graduate recruitment. Not so simple as simply sending in the resume to secure a job eh? There are things that employers are looking for. The BIG question is - how do we become WANTED? Of course we all think we special individuals with unique qualities. But problem is conveying all of that in the space of 2 pages (resume) and a cover letter.

A mentor of mine once said "Don't ever sell yourself short". It reminds me, while not exaggerating our abilities, to ensure that we don't underestimate ourselves. I was talking to G a coupla days ago, relating what I've heard of graduate employment so far. In certain companies, only a handful of positions (4-10) are available, whereas they get >1500 applications. Chances of success seems limited eh?

But my point to G was -- if you don't even try, there's ZERO chance. Meaning you've already given up. How defeatist can that be? G laughs.. :)

Me?

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have low agreeableness. Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all. In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted. And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Games Opening.. by the Yarra

"Fanciful, fun and creative", as described here.

We crammed into the banks of the Yarra river for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on a cool evening. Finally the cold front's arrived (temperature's dropped to below 20). Else it would've felt abit claustrophobic cos of the massive 100,000 plus crowd. We missed the fireworks finale :( all because we left early to avoid the crowd. oh well.. hopefully the closing ceremony'll have more spectacular fireworks. Here's some photos>>

Massive crowds lining the banks of the Yarra. Note the heavily overcast sky. Fortunately our notoriously fickle weather held out.

The fish sculptures (which spout water and dancing lights and also fireworks!). Apparently Malaysia's represented by the arowana (did I spell it right?) but it wasn't facing us so..no photo of that.

The evening sky awash with splendid colours.. This, my friend, is a Melbourne sunset :D

Pre-show at 7.30pm was a bore. Commentators had nothing much to offer, except (keep trying to) induce the crowd to cheer "MelbourneEEEE". In the G (Melbourne Cricket Ground for non-Melbournians) it wasn't much better. We could see from the big screen, and they had some cricket thingy going on.

And then it began! Pyrotechnics galore as we witnessed scenes of a flying tram, a duck (?), giant koalas, haunting music and more. Funny how while we were waiting at the Yarra, Jean and I were thinking how's the tram going to make its entrance.I certainly didn't consider it "flying" in (amazing engineering feat eh, considering the fact that hundreds of performers were IN it in the air).

Fireworks at the Yarra were sensational - this's an understatement. Combined with fireworks from major skyscrapers by the Yarra, this's really the best-est fireworks display I've ever seen! Unfortunately only hv lousy photos to show for it - simply no place for my tripod..

And then there was the laserlight/water/music display:

Flotillas of surfboats representing previous host nations made its way down river, plus other processions of competing nations and representing another Melbourne obsession-- 16 boats carrying the AFL's team captains (footy aka Aussie Rules football).

On our way back, bumped into the British BBC reporter near Flinders. Lady reporter's getting feedback on the Games opening ceremony from the diverse crowd.

And now, I'm off to bed. Let the Games begin! :)

Going to the Games!

Financially its quite tight this semester, but I wouldn't have given up on going to the Games.. so..

we're going for Rhythmic Gymnastics (womens' team event) and Badminton. Rhythmic gymnastics was initially a sold-out event, but at mid-day today some tickets were released..last minute we were, and fairly lucky eh..

Total cost: $45. Everything else is too expensive (i desperately want to go for the opening ceremony but cheapest available seats cost $420 each O_o) so now we'll prob end up watching the opening ceremony at one of the live sites..

The plus side of being here -- Festival Melbourne 2006. Held in conjunction with the Games, its offering concerts, performances, choirs, circuses, art shows and there's even an artificial beach in the CBD and more. Best thing -- its all FREE. The list of events are so long I had to drop by the info centre today to get a booklet/schedule. Check it out here.

The city's never been so crowded, the roads never so jammed-up, the streets never more full with police/security/volunteers (in every corner)/tourists, the flowers never prettier.. bring it on!

Frankston beach

Yesterday was a sweltering 36degrees. Must've been crazy of us to head to the beach. But the beach was very windy. Hot, but not that hot. It was only when we got back that we were greeted with a whoosh of hot dry heat once the train doors opened.

Frankston was alright. I rate it 6/10.

The positives:
~ clean, patrolled beach
~ not-too-steep seafloor, ideal for swimming
~ astonishingly clear water (we could see schools of fish and the seafloor from the pier)

The negatives:
~ the sand's not very fine. Looks like recycled sand (grounded seashells) everywhere.
~ whats with the shops??! half or more of 'em weren't open for business. One couldn't even go across the road to get an ice-cream.

Getting there:
Take the Frankston line to the last stop - zone 3 (about an hour journey from CBD). If you hold a weekly/monthly Met ticket like me, you can travel for free across all zones on weekends. Once you get off the train, just cross the road, walk for ten-ish minutes past the shops and you'll hit the beach. Note: most fish&chipperies/cafes/restaurants are nearer to the train station side.

some fine & apparently rather fragile dunes..

the pier is further ahead from this pedestrian bridge

In Frankston, you can swim/dive/parasail/jet-ski/go fishing like those folks above, or bumm with your legs dangling over the pier reading a good book, just like us :D

Talking about books, I'm halfway through Thomas Friendman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree". For anyone interested in globalisation, I HIGHLY recommend it. I'll draw my own conclusions when I finish it (and his other book - "The World Is Flat") but thus far its a very engaging read. Reviews from google.

Pics from here and there..

Shoulders aching, in need of a massage from Sam-the-man. Unfortunately one cannot just wish for a transporter and whiz him through the thousand miles. Spent a good 3 hours pottering about in the kitchen. Suddenly I'm very gian to cook. Today's theme was Korean..
~ pan chan of taugeh and spinach (Korean side dishes)
~ Chap Chae (potato starch noodles)
~ stew (miso + beancurd + meat + mushrooms)

Realized there's tons of photos lying around in my comp. Mostly from the trips during the hols. There's no single theme for the photos, so its kinda messy.

These 3 -- Melaka '05

Next 2 -- Muar, Johor.

I have this admiration for clouds. God playing with His paintbrush imho.

Next 2 -- Chinatown Singapore

[usually I don't post family photos online -- but they're here in this photo. squint and you may see -- Lady in pink (mother); lady in light blue (grandma); lady in dark tee (sis) and my dad]

Parting shot..in a Singapore hotel

Time to say oyasuminasai (going to sleep!) Gotta finish up another 3 articles and off to bed I go. Tomorrow morning we're off to Frankston. Yupp Di's quite ulu. Almost 2 years in Melb and first time going there. We'll be bumming at the beach under the sweltering 36degrees sun with a good book O_o then its off to church..

random stuff..

Blogged 2 days ago, but it never did see the light of day cos as I clicked "publish post" it just went "Blogger's experiencing server problems". OMG wasted saja..cos as usual didn't back it up :(

~We managed to yumcha on Tues. Hanging out like that is fun. No pressures/commitments. The length of time doesn't really matter. And thats what I enjoy. What a difference to a mundane life it makes.

~Dinner at Lygon yesterday was also good fun. We dined at some unpronouncable restaurant (decidedly more upmarket than the usual Italian eatery eh, thanks Doreen for the meal!), ate some unpronouncable food..met some interesting people..

:: some pics I never did post :: of the buddies and me :: lorraine, siowping, siewweng, likai, chris, last but not least of stress-free-Sam aka Samantha who ever-willingly poses for photos like these below with me =) and not forgetting gillian who's right here in Melb.







**edit** photo of likai n me removed - needs to be resized for posting









Simple people, simple friendships..

Changes

Whats changed since I last blogged:

~ went off to Sabah..had a terribly delayed AirAsia flight back to KL (blog later abt it)..then came back to Melb

~ missing the daily massage sessions..and the bumming with my mates

~ started uni..final semester.

~ resumed reading. (we deprived lot came back and realised hey a new community library opened up in the neighbouring suburb and its FREE)

~ tried (trying) to get my "hajimemashite" and "doozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu" right without blabbering off

~ finally finished watching "My Girl" (korean drama) - highly recommended!

~ got sunburnt. The sun has been relentless eversince we got back. First day back - 36C. Then the following day KL-style thunderstorms. oh how pleasant weather (sarcasm intended).

~ petrol price increased by 30cents in Malaysia, with the resulting savings "intended" to be channeled to improve public transportation. On this, I have only this to say -- "hahh". The rakyat don't see it improving anytime soon. All the parliamentary committees won't improve anything, hence they set up even more committees. All these years, nothing's changed. KotaKinabalu has better public transportation than us. What a bloody joke. (btw bloody's not an offensive word in Aus)

Basically been melting under the relentless heat this week. Went to o-week and hung out at our booth (thats how I've been getting burnt). Hung out with someone today in the city. Just an impromptu meetup..Its nice to be able to just do that, while sitting in a cafe talking about anything and everything.. 遗憾that I can no longer do that with a certain friend back home. oh well..