Opposite Corners of the World

Encounter of a Kind

2008-05-13T23:05:00.000+10:00

I was getting ready to leave the house. With everything in hand, and before I opened the door, I paused for a few seconds, as I always do, to make sure that I had my essentials: purse, key, phone. Okay, set, ready... open door.

I opened the door and was greeted by the sight of an Asian girl waiting in front of my unit.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an extremely long second.

As it turns out, she's a neighbour, one door away, at the other end of the hall. She heard me practicing on the piano, and actually came out and sat in the hallway to listen.

She sat in the hallway! To listen to me?!

I was rather flabbergasted. I didn't quite know how to respond.

Her name is Junna and she's from Japan. Junna arrived in Melbourne last April and is here until the end of July only, for the purpose of studying English these few months.

And if my neighbours from all the way down the hall can hear the piano, does that mean the entire floor can hear me banging away at the piano?? I have not received any complaints from anyone, so I suppose that's a good thing!

But ohmygoodness. Feeling quite embarrassed and still feeling a little flustered, I told Junna that she can just knock on the door next time and come in and listen to me if she wanted. (Having an audience might be good practice for me too!)

It is really quite a bizarre thing that happened. What's more, there was at least a full ten minutes where I stopped playing to get all my things ready to leave the house. She could not have possibly waited for me!!

I might see more of her. In any case, it's always great to meet someone staying on the same floor. I hardly know my neighbours, so even if she's a temporary resident, it's nice to know that my piano-playing can connect me with strangers. Haha.

Last!

2008-04-13T21:51:00.002+10:00

I'm going to leave this post up for a few days. I've decided to change the URL, and just start from there. It's too much if I just leave this blog (and I don't even want to entertain the thought of deleting it!), so I think a new template and a new URL would be good enough.

Um.

I should be on MSN for the next week or so, if you want to know my new URL, just ask or email me.

nuttyceleryrabbitsticksfudge will cease to exist after a few days.

Thank you for your support, everyone!

Replies to tags:

Sharon: I'm so glad you went to watch! I know, I loved the musical, it's amazing, and how could I resist not getting the poster? Lol. I know how you feel about wanting to buy all the merchandise! I'm going for Wicked too! Does that mean you're coming down to Melbourne?!

Tee: Thanks =)

Last (?)

2008-03-31T00:20:00.003+11:00

I know I'm long overdued for an update.

Honestly speaking, I don't know why I bother maintaining this blog anymore, if not for the sake of just updating and posting about some general event or random topics. I think the main reason why Jerry and I began this blog together was really for the intention of keeping you all updated and informed on what's going on in our lives, etc. etc. And I've come to the realization that I haven't really been doing that. I mean, heck, how many of you know what's happening with me right now?

I haven't talked to Jerry in a long time now, and I have not seen him in more than 2 years. It's easy to say, "Yes, an update is coming along soon", but I think blogging has to stem from some sort of interest too, I suppose. And I guess maybe it's just not his sort of thing? I don't know.

I'm finding that I'm starting to lose that interest too. The nature of my posts have changed over the past two years too, and it's just become more and more vague and general in recent times - okay, frankly speaking, it's just boring. Even I don't feel like reading the last few posts I've written! I censure myself so much that I'm left with nothing to share about, except for really... well, "general" events happening. I was probably more... I don't know, funny and "entertaining" in the early stages of this blog? And probably less reserved, too.

And the thing is, there are things going on in my life. There are issues I'm going through, there are so many things I'm excited for, fearful of - ups and downs, all of them. Oh, I don't know. I guess I just really need to stop censuring myself so much on this blog. But as I mentioned in one post ages ago, there is only so much you can say on a public blog.

If I were to really just let loose and stop holding back, the torrents of words that will be released would probably surprise some of you.

So I don't know... maybe it's time I just leave this blog as it is. As in, this is it - this will be my "swansong". I don't exactly know where I'm going with this blog anymore - I used to email, and I was probably a lot more open in those too..

But at the same time, one part of me is not quite ready to hang up the boots yet - one option is that I'm considering changing the URL - all these past posts will still be here, but I'll probably change the way I blog. (And I will let you know the new URL if you ask, I suppose.) And then I won't hold back so much.

I love writing. I really do. And that's probably why I'm not ready to "kill" this blog.

So... check back in a week's time. If I've locked this blog, then.. that means "the end", I suppose (if that does happen, it doesn't mean I won't ever blog again, though). If the URL has become non-existent, then I've probably decided to change the URL, and will blog more openly in that new environment.

I'm of the opinion that public blogs really thrive because of the readers - knowing that someone's reading does give you that inspiration to go on sometimes. So in the meantime, thank you for still reading this blog, despite how stagnant it's become.

Interval

2008-03-21T02:50:00.002+11:00

As expected, the first practice duet session went hilariously bad, but it was great hearing all four hands come together. We managed to muddle through almost the entire first movement. It sounded pretty good for the first time, I'll have to say; we're meeting up for another practice next week.

Easter break is finally here! Time flies - three weeks of uni over, and now we're on a 10-day break before the "real" work starts coming in.

I'll be away for Easter camp from Friday to Monday; it's gonna be awesome and expect God to work in amazing ways!

It's been a crazy week, and I'm glad for the break. Will update again when I get back.

Another "everything" post.

2008-03-12T23:09:00.000+11:00

=/

Why is it that when I finally sit down in front of my laptop, my fingers on the keyboard, with all the good intentions of blogging, that my mind becomes an instant blank the moment I see the empty space in front of me?

Something interesting did happen over the weekend - haha, but that's for another time. Maybe if you remember and ask me about it, I'll tell you about it. Lol.

Coming to yet another end of a week - I now officially have one class on Friday (which was initially free, sigh), after I changed my Ensemble class. The good thing is that I won't have to reach home at 7 pm after class on Wednesday now.

Thinking about whether I should do the LRSM..

Piano duets this semester - exciting! Finally met up with the girl I'm partnering with; we'll be playing Mozart's Symphony No. 40 for 4 hands. We'll be trying it together on Tuesday morning. (It'll probably sound hilariously bad.)

I need to start doing my readings, make notes, and begin on serious preparation for my 50% politics essay. (I know, it's only week 2, but I have absolutely no intentions of leaving everything to the end of the semester and swot vac, which is our one-week study break, to cram everything and, well, everything. Frankly, that would just be too much for even an old-time procrastinator like me.)

It's my sister's birthday today - happy 17th! (Doesn't 17 seem ages ago for the rest of us reading this?) Can you believe I wrote the birthday card about a week ago, and it's just been lying there waiting for me to mail it? (Sorry, Karen, I will post it tomorrow. Haha. And you never told me that the cat was pregnant?! And now she's given birth on your birthday?! Doesn't that mean she was already pregnant when I left Brunei?! And isn't she still a kitten?!!)

I had the oddest dream last night - weirdly enough, there were meat pies in my dream. I was very hesitant about eating them - an after-effect of watching Sweeney Todd, probably; for some reason in my dream, I really thought that it was human meat, and refused to eat the pies. *Shudders* And I dreamt I had a really awesome pet dog, and my old cat, Chilli, turned up in the dream, too. They didn't get along. (Which is quite odd in retrospect, because the cats and dogs back home usually get along really well.)

Yes, I get bizarre dreams often.

And for a post which started out with me having blogger's block, it seems like I have a whole load of material suddenly.

X_X

Everything between then and now.

2008-03-06T02:52:00.006+11:00

The new semester of another new school year has begun; third day, and it's already a whirlwind of classes, lectures, and activities.

Third year, and I feel "old". To think that I was one of these first-years a couple of years ago.

Hillary won in Ohio and Texas (!) - amazing victory, especially after her dissenters were already writing her off after a string of defeats over the past week. But despite her victories, she still has a tough journey ahead of her. Obama is still leading in delegates, and the Democrats are still nowhere near to actually having a clear nominee. On the other hand, the Republicans have chosen, and Huckabee has bowed out of the race and given McCain his endorsement after yesterday's Super Tuesday II.

And yes, I've actually been following the US elections since late last year - it's actually quite interesting, but at the same time, confusing. The US political system is crazily complicated.

I've decided to take up a second major after re-evaluating my degree - have got just enough points left for that second major. Have no idea how it'll turn out, but I'd probably still focus more on my intended major anyway.

Politics is completely new waters for me. I've tested the waters, and it's exciting and daunting, to actually learn something "new", and that feeling of eagerness is something which I haven't felt in a while now. Wading into it, and trying not to feel overwhelmed by the currents. I chose American Politics and Society for this semester, and especially with the current events, I figured that this subject would make for a very interesting study.

The extremely thick coursepack with a gazillion articles and readings, which is
insanely expensive for a bunch of papers thrown together and merely binded.
Oh, the trees.

I've decided to go for the Guys and Dolls musical after all, after managing to sweep up several people along with my expensive taste in arts and entertainment =P.

I finally got around to watching Sweeney Todd on Tuesday night with Caleb (half-priced Tuesday tickets!) and OHMYGOSH. At the end of it, I just sat in my seat, blown away and still lost in that world which Tim Burton has re-created and adapted from the musical. He's an amazing director. Now if I can have the opportunity to watch the musical itself, which is apparently much darker and much more mind-blowing. (I would so love to get a Sweeney Todd poster.)

The throat-slitting montage of customer after customer was a bit on the gruesome side for me - I was covering my face for those scenes; I can't really stomach these kind of scenes. Lol! But wow - Stephen Sondheim's music is incredible. (Incidentally, he also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story the musical.) I need to get my hands on the soundtrack! I especially loved the song between Mrs. Lovett and Mr. T about the different types of pies they can make. Morbid, but wow! Haha. My other favourite song is the one about pretty women between Todd and Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman, who surprised me with his singing; in case you didn't know, he plays the role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films).

The trailers shown before the film began featured Vantage Point - Lydia told me that it's a really good movie, and we'll probably go watch it next week once it comes out. But the trailer that REALLY took me by surprise was - "SHUTTER". Yes, the American version. Hahaha. So weird! It's like - "spirit photography, it's real, yadayada". I wonder how successful this remake will be. Asian horror movies normally incorporate a lot of cultural references, and most of those will probably be lost in translation in the remake. I remember watching the original Thai version in the cinema. Yes, with my hands covering my eyes half the time. =P The ending completely creeped me out, with that twist, and it took me about a week to recover. I enjoy horror movies, and the thrill and chills that it gives, but it's the aftermath which I dread. Horror movies aren't too healthy spiritually too. Lol.

This post is all over the place. I'm quite excited for this semester actually. I'm determined to make the most out of this year, especially after a horrible second year.

Till the next post; adieu!

Gaah.

2008-02-29T00:13:00.003+11:00

I am feeling super sien-ed. So not in the mood to study. Sigh. Even looking at that piece of paper with the funny lines and squiggly things on it makes me want to groan and just climb into bed and bury myself under the covers.

School starts on Monday. My exam's on Monday.

Summer flew. Literally. Today is the coldest day yet since I came back - Autumn's certainly not delaying her arrival.

The Degraves household is complete again! Lydia came back yesterday, and the four of us, together with Dawn, went for the final night market of the summer at Victoria Market. Today we re-arranged the living room, to give it a different sort of feel, after a year of the same layout. I'd like to rearrange my bedroom as well, but I can't see how.

I realize I've never posted up pictures of the apartment nor my bedroom. An idea for a future post, I suppose, especially if I don't know what to blog about. (Another realization: I'm still very much wary about blogging personal things, hence I try to keep most of my posts general and non-specific.)

Hmm.

This blog needs something newwww. Does ANYONE want to co-blog with me? SERIOUSLY.

Musicals, operas, concerts!

2008-02-23T00:36:00.005+11:00

Listening to the Phantom of the Opera original London cast recording never fails to move me. I am brought back to the theatre once again; the feeling of sitting there at Princess Theatre and watching the story unfold before my eyes, and the beautiful, soaring music soar through the air - it's magical. If there's a next time, I'd definitely go again.

I bought the poster last year when we went to watch. Beside it (in the picture) is the Josh Groban poster I bought when I went for his concert last October - which was really good, too! At the end of it, I managed to find the back door and got his autograph!! (Along with other fans who managed to find the stage door as well Haha.) A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, probably. Anyway it was so cool to have been this close to him.

Wicked is opening at Regent Theatre in Melbourne this year, and there's no way I'm missing that! Guys and Dolls is going to open soon at Princess Theatre as well, but I've yet to decide if I want to go for it, too. Both are critically acclaimed and award-winning musicals. There's too many things happening! A few notable operas are being performed by Opera Australia this year as well - Bizet's Carmen, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. I want to go for everything! I need MONEY.

Whyyyy do I love the theatre and arts?? And why are all my hobbies and interests such high-maintenance ones anyway! Books and CDs, rather than clothes and accessories, suck my bank account dry instead. I need to ... control. But these things aren't there forever. You'd never know when you get another chance to watch that particular musical in the theatre or the opera being staged, or that particular artist hold a concert.

Sighhh...!

And in a blink of an eye...

2008-02-20T23:15:00.004+11:00

Where did all the days go...?

Of everything and everything

2008-02-14T17:02:00.005+11:00

You can't miss that which you never had or experienced. But you can yearn for it.

When rules are made to broken. We were studying the structure of fugues in class today, and I have an excellent lecturer who does such a good job of explaining, that what may appear difficult will made you go, "Ohhhh" with understanding in an instant. And once we got pass the general overview of fugues, he went on to mention all these "exceptions" where the rules of fugue writing may not necessarily apply. And that got me thinking. Aesthetics may take a precedence over strict counterpoint writing sometimes; it's up to you to discern whether it should be this or that way. But that line, that boundary laid down by those rules... sometimes, breaking the rule does not have to sound as bad. What if it's necessary.

It's funny how a single piece of information can instantly change your mood in less than a second. To be feeling contented and at peace one second, and the next you are upset and irrationally angry.

Hopes and dreams which can daunt you or urge you ahead. What may seem impossible does not have to be impossible.

If I had a penny for every regret professed on this earth, I'd probably be a millionaire many times over.

The desire to be heard and to simply speak out, but pride and dignity gets in the way and you remain in the silence of your world.

Faces on the street you pass. Sometimes I wonder about the person behind you, who is talking on your cell; you, who looks so tired; you, busy and caught up in your own world. We're all passing faces in a sea of egocentric individuals.

When you get past a certain point, and you look back and am amazed at how far you have come. Not in terms of achievement, but in the person. The "me" now and then, two vastly different people, characters which may be hard to reconcile.

And of course I know what day it is today. Happy Valentine's Day to all out there! It just feels like any other day to me; apart from the occasional adverts and red decorations on businesses cashing in on one of the most lucrative days of the year. Call me blur (okay, fine, I am blur), but the realization that almost all the coursemates I hang out with are attached, was one which dawned upon me and a fellow unattached friend a few weeks back. (And she pointed it out first, btw. I'm not desperate or searching at all, thank you very much. Lol.)

After class today, Alamby gave out beautifully wrapped small packages of chocolate to everyone. That was really sweet of her; she said that her mom helped her the night before. Lol. She had a bagful of chocolates with her.

There you go, my only valentine ;p (she's in the 'attached' crowd, fyi).

Anyway a few friends have planned (yet another) game night tonight - the so-called "Lonely Hearts" Club. Hahaha. I've been introduced to all these new games in the past year or so, and they're all awesome, award-winning games. Try out Super Munchkin if you can get your hands on the game - a wicked, scheming game which encourages cheating, hehe. Extremely fun.

Articulate, Taboo, Pictionary - classic games, still fun, but can feel quite old after awhile. Bang! is a fun diversion should one feel the need to rest the intellect. For serious scheming, Citadels will not disappoint. Settlers is another one I tried out last year, requires a lot of thinking as well, but haven't played it enough to get a real feel of it. Another game along the lines of Citadels and Settlers (city-building and stuff) is the cute Carcassone, which is very fun as well. I hope we get to try out Ticket to Ride later on - another interesting game which we haven't tried out yet, but has been lying around.

(Well, this is a change - I think I had a post where I was raving about RPG games about two years back. Now I'm this seemingly geeky persona who enjoys "intellectual" games. =P)

Welcoming the Year of the Rat

2008-02-08T09:52:00.000+11:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

CNY reunion dinner was held at Sun Sun's place with a group of friends from OCF, so it was a really great night. Come to think of it, this is my second time away from home for CNY... the first time was when I first went over to Perth. My homestay parents had plans for the night (no, I obviously wasn't invited), and I was looking into spending a lonely night by myself, if it weren't for church friends who called me and asked if I wanted to go over to their place for dinner. In retrospect, it's quite miserable to imagine that I would have been all alone on what is considered an important tradition, especially for us Chinese... So this year, it was nice to spend CNY reunion dinner with friends, who really are our family overseas..

It was a potluck dinner, and the food was marvelous (undoubtedly, hehe). After a hearty and satisfying dinner, we played Articulate (which my team won, yay!) and then a round of Bang! which took quite awhile for the uninitiated to learn, but a really entertaining game once you get the hang of it. Sun Sun decorated her apartment with a bit of CNY decorations, which looked really nice, and she even bought one of those CNY karaoke DVDs, so we had to 'endure' the whole "dong dong qiang which I came back early to escape" (in Kingsley's words), the atmosphere certainly felt quite CNY-ish. Lol. One thing I do miss, though, was tossing the yu sheng, which was something my siblings and I use to laugh and enjoy over, as we try to outdo each other in seeing who tossed the highest.

The family (with the exception of Charles and I) went back to Ipoh a few days ago... my mom called me from my grandfather's place Wednesday night, after I reached home, and it was great just talking to my mom, but after I hung up, a yearning for home and just hearing her voice made me wish that I was with them... The parents are staying with my grandfather, and the younger two siblings decided to stay at my uncle's place... I wasn't too surprised to hear that. Haha. My mom told me that my grandfather (whom we call Ye Ye in the Cantonese dialect) can't walk anymore, since his legs are quite weak now... it's been a few years now since I've seen my relatives back in Ipoh. Xiao Ku (my father's youngest sister) visits Ye Ye three times a day to deliver meals... come to think of it, I haven't gone back to Ipoh since my grandmother's funeral..

But anyway, I'm thinking too much again. It's certainly different spending CNY away from home.. Being in a foreign land and all, the festivities are really different. It's not as 'in-your-face' (to put it blatantly) like back home, where a trip out will see you being blasted with noisy CNY music and red decorations everywhere you go. In fact, I'd say that if you weren't aware of it, then you wouldn't know at all.

It's a rather cold week, weather-wise. Not that I'm complaining. Summer's been surprisingly pleasant.

It's already the second month into the new year. How fast time is flying. And this year will already be my third year in uni. And I still have absolutely no freakin' idea about what I want to do after graduation. It should be cause for alarm. But I don't want to think about it yet. I've still got two years to go anyway. This five-year course may seem long, but in a way, I'm almost glad, because it means I don't have to worry... yet. It's scary, too, because if I was doing a straight degree, then I would have been graduating this year. (Okay, that IS scary.)

I really hope you all have a great CNY wherever you are! Miss you guys.

Hmm.

2008-02-04T17:07:00.000+11:00

I was organizing my music on iTunes (all part of the process of settling into my Mac), and was doing Queen songs, when I realized that all the Queen songs that I had happened to be composed solely by Freddie Mercury himself.

O_O

I wouldn't call myself a Freddie Mercury fan, although I do greatly admire his talent. But anyway, it felt slightly jarring that I happen to like Mercury-composed Queen songs.

Of picnics and film sets.

2008-02-02T21:31:00.000+11:00

The filming right outside is really a first for me. I've never seen a real film set before, nor a live shooting of one, so it's quite interesting. Even as I'm typing this now, I can hear the director's voice (at least, I assume it's the director) shouting, "Action!" over the boomspeaker. Haha. It's interesting to see Flinders St. Station made up to look like 1940s Melbourne.

Went for picnic with Andrea, Adryll, Kingsley and Ian at the Royal Botanic Gardens late this afternoon. Today's weather was absolutely beautiful; 28 degrees, sunny, but not hot. The wind felt refreshingly cool in the sun. Summer has been surprisingly pleasant so far, even though I was told to expect raging heat.

Pictures!

Royal Botanic Gardens, picnic by the lake.

Blueberry cake I baked

A round of Citadels

The set!

The black sheets set up along Flinders Street, blocking access to the set

Couldn't get a clear picture... gaaah blame it on lighting, and I hate using flash if possible... The soldiers are near the tram. Apparently they're using the old, classic Melbourne trams. Looked really cool, with all the vintage cars on the set as well, and the non-soldier actors and actresses dressed up in 1940s fashion.

Another blurred picture. Sien.

Most of my shots came out in a quite 'cannot-make-it' status. But anyway this person here took really good pictures of the set. I should have gone in the morning to take pictures, probably. Lol. While I stood there in the crowd watching, they re-did the same scene three times. Can't be easy to shoot a movie, especially with the big crowds of nosy people clambering to get a good vantage point. (Yes, including yours truly.) The security had to repeatedly tell the crowd, "No flash, please!" when they were about to shoot a scene.

They're packing up tomorrow morning, I think. Now to wait for the series to air next year to catch those scenes I saw this evening. Haha.

A few hundred metres from fame. Lol.

2008-02-01T22:29:00.000+11:00

It's funny how pain works - it passes, and you can't seem to recollect that agony you went through; it all seems like a hazy phase. And thinking about pain brought to mind the incident with the ceiling fan. When I think back to it, I couldn't recall any pain, just a film of sped-up memories and the rush to the hospital. But anyway, I woke up today feeling sort of better, although I decided to just have porridge for the unwell stomach. For once, I don't feel like eating anything much... sigh.

Exciting (or not) news: Flinders Street is closed from Russell to Queen Streets, from 10 p.m. tonight until 9 a.m. on Sunday for the filming of Steven Spielberg's The Pacific, which is the sequel to Band of Brothers. The exciting part is that I stay right outside Flinders Street. Lol.

It's quite a major thing for the street to be cordoned off though - Flinders Street is quite a busy one, which will probably be quite an inconvenience to many motorists and pedestrians. And the trams, too. The signs telling people of the closure have been up for a few days now, but I'm sure the general public would know why. I expect many people to probably crowd around the area to catch sight of some of the action going on. And oh no. I hope that it won't be too noisy for the next two days, seeing that it's a war-related drama...

According to this site, people hoping to get a close look at Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg will be sorely disappointed, as they are not in Australia at the moment. Lol. Well, guess you can't have everything. =P

UPDATE: Okayyy, I just heard REALLY LOUD screaming outside. It's either a bunch of crazy drunk girls, or it's related to the filming. -___-

Long day.

2008-01-31T23:09:00.000+11:00

Dammmit, I had the worse stomachache ever today. The walk home was the longest 15 minutes I have ever known. I normally enjoy walking home, but the six streets from Little Lonsdale Street to Flinders Lane seemed a million streets to me tonight. When I got to Bourke Street (halfway through), I was screaming in my head and wondering how much more of the pain I could take, and just praying that I don't faint or something. By the time I reached home, I just wanted to collapse and rest. Blame it on gastric. I suffer from gastric attacks quite often, but I hadn't had it in a while now, so all the way home I was just trying to breath properly, walk properly, trying to make it home without collapsing in the middle of the street or something.

And I thought I ate properly today. I hope never to go through that pain again. After classes in the morning, I had Korean food for lunch with my coursemates, chocolate and Danish pancakes for dessert after; met up with a few friends for KTV, and then finally a lovely Chinese dinner with them after a great session of singing. So where the heck did I miss a meal?! I had a sandwich (my 'breakfast') in the break between classes this morning, so I obviously was not depriving myself of food. Damn you, gastric!!!

I need to do my assignment, but I think I'll just sleep early tonight and wake up early tomorrow to do it and hand it in. After my hot shower and just drinking plain hot water to relieve the stomach (I don't think the stomach can endure any more food or liquids-other-than-water), I'm exhausted from the Battle of the Walk Home. The pain only became really bad towards the end of dinner. I'm almost amazed that I actually made it home in the state I was in. And that's not even an exaggeration or a hyperbolic statement.

The unfortunate incidents in the life of a cat ^^

2008-01-23T19:22:00.000+11:00

Just a little something about the cat. And something to update this blog.

I like this photo. Shaun the Sheep was on TV, and it's not the first time that the cat watches the television. I've noticed her on a few occasions where she really watches the TV. It's very amusing. But on this occasion, she was apparently so intrigued by the sheep moving around that she just had to "investigate".

I was told by my sister a few days ago that the cat got locked in the Audi for the entire night. I couldn't stop laughing at that. Especially since this is the second time, and both times were my mom's "fault". Haha.

The first time was when my mom went to the bathroom, and she inadvertently closed the door on the cat, so that was an entire afternoon. I kept hearing her meowing throughout the afternoon, but I had no idea where she was, and thought she was just being... you know, cats meow, so it's just her. Then my maid came into my room somewhere between 5 and 6 p.m., and asked me if I've seen the cat.

I told her no, but I've heard her meowing for the whole afternoon now... She told me that she's searched the compound of the house, everywhere, and the cat was nowhere to be found. She left my room to search the other rooms, and I listened carefully. The meows sounded like it was coming from the balcony somewhere near my brother's room, so I went into his room and was about to open the balcony door when I noticed the shut toilet door...

...found the poor cat standing behind the door when I opened it, still meowing. She looked at me for a second, and RAN out. Ungrateful cat! Haha. I could not stop laughing. Oh my gosh. And later that night, it turned out that my mom was the one who had used the toilet, and didn't realize that the cat had gotten in somehow. Poor, poor kitty! LOL.

The same thing happened with the car - I think she must have been getting out groceries and stuff from the Audi, when the cat must have got into the car, and my mom, of course, closed the doors without realizing anything was amiss. She only discovered it the next morning, probably when she wanted to drive the car. My sister told me that my mom spent the afternoon cleaning the car - nothing major, just cat fur everywhere.

Stupid cat. Lol. But I miss her and home. Oh well.

On other matters, I am LOVING my MacBook. It's about a week now. It has all these really cool functions. I like the Widgets, and simply the flexibility of the entire interface - it's so easy to switch between open applications simply by moving the cursor - a feature called Expose. Apparently this is now featured in Windows Vista, and it's called Windows Flip. Haha, whatever. =P And the two-finger scrolling on my MacBook touchpad is extremely convenient too. There are a lot of other cool things, and I'm enjoying discovering and learning them.

I'm still making the slow transition from my old laptop to the Mac, but there's a definite difference between using both the Windows and Mac OS now... Before making this switch, I've only used Mac occasionally, especially since the uni computers are mostly Macs, which felt daunting and odd before. But now that I'm learning my way around the Mac interface, I'm starting to think that Windows is just so... rigid. I don't really know how to describe it, but yes, I am DEFINITELY enjoying using the Mac.

Apple, you've got me sold. Hahaha.

I did it.

2008-01-18T20:32:00.000+11:00

Everyone, meet my MacBook.

Yes, I've decided to take the plunge and get a MacBook, after much consideration. To be honest, I've been thinking about switching over for a few months now, ever since my laptop crashed on me. Well, guess what - it crashed on me again a few days ago, and that was it. I think it's something to do with the hard disk, but frankly, I've had enough of Acer and Windows' infamous Blue Screen of Death. I swear, I've seen it so many times that I just shake my head and sigh when it comes up. The old laptop still works, but it's still quite whacked, and will crash without warning. And it's been three years anyway, so I figured that I might as well get a new laptop.

Ta-da.

I almost couldn't believe the greeting in the manual. Haha. Seriously, though, I really do want to believe that! =P

I asked Adryll who's a Mac-user to help me out when I went to buy it, so he did a lot by explaining while we browsed in the store. That did help immensely, but I was actually still quite hesitant right up to the point where I was already at the counter, watching the salesperson making the transaction. My brain was going, "Oh my gosh, are you sure you're ready to make the switch? Are you sure you want a Mac? Are you sure you don't want to just stick to good ol' Windows?"

My new, white MacBook! It's all still so foreign to me.

After buying the MacBook, I spent the entire afternoon with Adryll explaining the basics and information that I needed to know. It was information overload, especially after classes in the morning, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted.

It's going to take me a few weeks to get the hang of this. I'm typing out this blog entry on the Mac, and even just this makes me realize the fact that I still need some time to learn where everything is. It's so tempting to go back to Windows, where everything is so familiar, especially after years and years of using the Windows interface.

I should be more excited, I think, but until I adapt myself to the Mac interface, I doubt I'll feel very happy yet. Lol.

The One with the Sale

2008-01-11T01:49:00.001+11:00

Today is a freakin' 41 degrees blistering Celsius. I was dying in the heat, while walking back home.

It feels slightly jarring to come home to a dark, empty apartment, especially after living with three other housemates last year; they should be back some time in February, but until then, I'll be by myself. I'm getting used to the solitude - it's quite nice, actually.

While walking home today, I cut through Melbourne Central and the shopping malls in between all the streets - firstly, it saves journey time, and secondly - AIRCONDITIONING. I have NEVER been happier for the invention of the air-conditioner.

AND - I passed by Virgin CD store along the way, with all these huge SALE posters, and decided to check out what cheap movies they might have on sale, so I won't be entirely bored at home - and guess how much Friends DVD were going for.

$19 per season.

Yes, NINETEEN BUCKS! I have never seen it sold so cheaply before! What a bargain!!!

Of course, I couldn't resist, bought season 7, and upon reaching home, promptly switched on the TV and watched episode after episode while eating lunch.

I think I might return to the store again to buy more seasons. It's so tempting to buy all 10 seasons. At $19 per season, what's more, original DVD sets, it is so so so tempting.

I hope the sale doesn't end soon! (Oh my gosh, I sound so - fan-girly. I'm starting to creep myself out. Haha.)

It's supposed to be 40 degrees tomorrow. My coursemate asked me to a KTV session, so I'm looking forward to that and avoiding the heat.

I miss home and driving! =(

Sigh.

2008-01-08T03:35:00.000+11:00

Back in Melbourne.

two-oh-oh-eight.

2008-01-01T22:36:00.000+11:00

2007 seemed to have just simply flew by. I don't really want to do a lengthy post about the past year or a typical 'reflections on the year gone by' sort of thing. That year's over, and - well, frankly, let bygones be bygones.

We've all changed. From those carefree days back in SAS, would any of us have expected us to be where we are now? Maybe some of us expected it. Or perhaps some of us surprised at the magnitude of the change. But in spite of everything that's happened for each of us, wherever we are, I really do hope that for most of us, the friendships will still remain. Like what Juan said in her most recent post, I'm not exactly great at keeping in touch either. Most of us, probably. But that won't keep us from trying, right? At the risk of sounding nauseatingly mushy, I will stop before I ramble on anymore.

So.

Here's to another year ahead of us - a fresh start; new memories to be made and laughed and talked about when we're old with walking sticks; moments of happiness and great fun; turning to friends when we just need a shoulder to cry on; exams and stressing over assignments (procrastination); last-minute cramming (we never learn, do we? Lol); relationships, family, friends; life.

Here's to 2008, everyone.

Holiday life.

2007-12-28T12:21:00.000+11:00

Boreeeeedddd.

What have I been doing?

The phone line was down, and because E-speed uses the same line or something like that, I was internet-less for the past few days, which made it all the more worse.

I've been suffering from a cold for the past few days, which is not made better by the presence of the cat, and the dust stirred up by my mom spring-cleaning around the house.

I got my hair cut, and I literally feel lighter-headed with all that weight taken off my head. "You have very thick hair!" Yes, I know I have a lot of hair.

I discovered that I like watching Shaun the Sheep on Disney Channel. Haha. The episodes are ingenious, really! Shaun is adorable! I love these stop-motion clay animations.

Flying back to Melbourne via S'pore on the 7th of Jan. Not really keen on going back so soon. Sigh.

What else... I went for the Lantern Festival thing at Jerudong Park... not really worth it, you don't want to go there unless you have nothing better to do. Yeah, I'm one to speak.

Okay I don't know what to blog about anymore. I'm sitting in front of the television now, watching Amazing Race Asia and it's distracting me. Haha.

Ciao!

Back

2007-12-18T01:53:00.000+11:00

Survived the flood in Sibu! Came back on Saturday night to ta-paued butter milk chicken and the famous curry fish head from Thiam Hock which my dad bought in anticipation of our coming home... nice, and it only served to remind me how delicious food at home really is. So now I'm back in Brunei... nothing to do... bored... sien. Sigh.

The long car ride to Sibu wasn't too bad... We stopped in Bintulu on both the going-there and return journeys for lunch and to stretch the legs. As predicted, my mom didn't allow me to drive for even part of the way. Driving skillz not up to standard, I suppose.

Sibu's... Sibu. In the two years plus that I haven't been back, it hasn't changed much, although the trip was made interesting this time round by the flood. It's interesting, because the people actually know when the tide will rise and when it will recede; it follows the Rajang River, I think; I didn't really ask my mom about it - all those Foochow terms floating around, I didn't bother clarifying the meanings. But quite a number of my relatives had their houses flooded. If I'm not mistaken, this year's flooding is one of the worst.

This trip was made interesting as well, because I *ahem* learnt a lot of Foochow swear words. LOL. Well, not really learnt, but at least I know what those words mean, and which words are not at all pleasant to use in any polite conversation. Hahaha. That was funny. I probably won't even use those words myself. Lol.

The grandparents stay in the san ba, and we go up there almost every afternoon. Durians! Lots and lots of them. Bliss. It's been ages since I've had durian, and it was great. I might have mentioned it before, but I'm one of them people who don't like durian in any processed form - ice-cream, shake, whatever, I don't, I refuse to eat durian in those forms. I'm a strict 'durian-in-its-raw-form' eater only. What can I say - I'm weird that way. =P

I replaced the lenses for my spectacles, and got sunglasses with prescription, mostly because of my high astig - the sunlight really hurts my eyes, especially when I'm driving, so it's a relief to be able to wear sunglasses now. My degree has not changed since 2002; good to know that my eyesight isn't getting any worse, but it's supposed to stabilize anyway once you hit 18. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll become better. Oh well.

The cat has GROWN bigger. And it's only been a week! It's amazing what you notice in one week. Speaking of changes, my grandparents still seem quite healthy. They don't look at all that much different from the last time I saw them, which was more than two years ago. My grandmother's still active and doesn't look like she's aged much, but my grandfather moves around a lot less now, since his legs are giving him trouble. Aging... a process which begins the moment we are born.

Went to Shahbandar yesterday for hiking, the thanks in no part dued to my sister who brightly suggested to my mom to go there, after my mom commented on her weight gain after the Sibu trip. So my brother and I ended up being dragged along. I almost died. My opinion that Shahbandar's more challenging than Tasek stands true. It's also a testament to how unfit I am. And yes, I need to go again soon.

Apart from food, I love the fact that it is SO CHEAP to watch movies in the cinema. I Am Legend is good. Go watch it. (Even if my hands were covering my face half the time, it's worth catching. Haha.)

Okay. I should sleep now and stop rambling..

I can't believe it's already the 18th. Half of December's already gone. Where did 2007 go?

Going away for a week.

2007-12-06T23:58:00.000+11:00

BUMMING seems to be my agenda ever since I got back. Yes, I'm actually complaining. I feel so eurghh to be so ... inactive and unproductive.

The maid accidentally stepped on the cat's left paw last week, leaving her with a limp (the cat, not the maid). What's worse, she was wearing the wooden clogs. Hard, wooden clogs. Poor kitty - but it's been a week now, and my mom thinks that she's already healed, and the limp is an act to gain our sympathy - as proven by the cat being able to play chase with the dog and running impossibly fast.

On a brighter note, I manage to get my ass out of the house to go hiking at Tasek. I personally prefer Shahbandar, but that might have to wait because...

I'm leaving tomorrow night to Miri, and then early Saturday morning for a 5-hour car ride down to Sibu. It's been two years since I've gone back to Sibu to visit my grandparents and relatives. I know one thing I will hate to face is having to answer questions about this path/course I've chosen. Sigh. I know I've ranted about it before, but ... it's still hard. How do you react to that "look" on people's faces when you answer, "Music and Arts". I'm sorry I'm not an engineer/lawyer/doctor in the making.

Stop.

Anyway.

I'll be back in a week's time. See you guys then!

Edit: I can be contacted at ... well, if you know my house number, then replace the double 6 with double 7. It's a mobile number.

Sniffs.

2007-11-27T15:50:00.000+11:00

I ought to know better.

You make me cry. I should stay away from you for my own good, but I keep coming back. But when you're looking like that, how I can help, but come to you?

Okay, that was lame.

Update + An Afternoon with the Pets

2007-11-26T01:51:00.000+11:00

Notes to self:

The air-conditioner is my best friend.

Mosquitoes are my sworn enemy.

Shopping with little kids is not a recommended exercise to be undertaken readily.

Some pictures!

Lydia and I left Melbourne on the same night, but to different destinations. Her KL flight left five minutes before mine did. From my window seat, that's her plane! *waves at Lydia seated somewhere on that plane*

Singapore with my aunt, mom, cousins (as pictured), brother (not in picture). I'm behind the camera, thank you very much.

The little girl, cause of much joy, as well as headaches.

Since I arrived back in Brunei, I've been languishing in the heat. Apart from bumming at home, I've been playing the roles of babysitter and driver. My 10-year-old cousin from Miri came on Thursday (one of the twins), so it's been like a zoo.

Literally.

Meet the two pets.

The kitten stares at the innocent dog with scheming blue eyes as she plots her next attack.

The kitten readies herself to pounce on the unsuspecting dog...

I let the dog and cat loose in the house for one afternoon. Throw in the 3-year-old little girl, and you get a 3-act circus. I cannot believe the crazy amount of energy those three creatures have packed into their tiny bodies.

Only a few months old, but already planning world dominion.

Seriously.

Dog: "I'm tired. Let's take a break."

Cat: That's what you think, buster.

"Geronimo!"

Athene (that's the name of my cousin) was following the animals' escapades around the house the whole afternoon, and was very entertained by their antics.

(Yeah, I know I'm one to speak, considering that I took all these pictures. What a way to spend the afternoon. Do I really have nothing better to do than to run after animals and desperately snap pictures like paparazzi? And no, I don't need you to answer that question, thank you =P)

Home is still where the heart is

2007-11-21T15:52:00.000+11:00

I'm back home! Home alone now, except for the maid and the animals. My mom, aunt, brother and cousins are on the flight now, my dad's going to pick them up, my sister is going to be at school till 6 (?!!) according to my dad, so I'm just bumming now. I'm tired. It's been a whirlwind ever since I arrived in S'pore two days ago.

The cat is adorable and so playful! And I'm glad to see that my dogs still recognize me, especially the big fierce one. The little one seemed extremely excited when I approached her, and the cat is very, very people-friendly. They love each other! (The dog and the cat. Haha.)

My little cousin remembers me! She remembers the flower. Lol.

Weather is SO HUMID. I think I almost melted in Singapore, especially with all the walking. It was raining just now, here (in Brunei), but it's stopped.

My dad picked me up at the airport, and let me drive the Prado home. It feels SO good to drive and not have to take the taxi, bus, walk, or tram.

My thoughts are all over the place, and if I were to keep typing, I'll be rambling on and on, and my post would become completely incoherent. I slept almost the whole way on the flight home just now, and still feeling a bit stoned from the activities of the past few days.

Will update more coherently next time!

22 hours

2007-11-18T01:53:00.000+11:00

Home, here I come! Technically I won't be home home yet, not until Wednesday, but I'm flying off tomorrow night on the midnight plane (midnight planes, for some reason, make me think about murder mysteries). Will be touching down at Changi Airport at approximately 5.30 a.m. My mom will be meeting me there... I'll probably KO at the hotel for a few hours before shopping and stuff - wait - I will EAT first before that!

Apparently my 3-year-old cousin is coming along too, since there's no one to look after her back home after my aunt sacked yet another (yes, yet another) maid who goes off on midnight rendezvous. My youngest brother is tagging along as well, since he's done with the end-of-year exams and according to my mom, has nothing better to do. Tsk. My sister still has school, so it's just "her, my dad, and the pets".

Wow... this time, tomorrow, I will have been one-and-a-half hours into my journey... probably watching movies or something... I don't know if I can get much sleep on the plane...

Okay. I need to pack.

This will probably the last post before I leave Melbourne... will update as often as I can over the hols back home.

Epiphany.

2007-11-17T01:30:00.001+11:00

Are you really sure? Are you really, really sure that there is no way? No way at all?

I couldn't bring myself to ask those questions, even though I felt quite desperate at the time. But I just couldn't voice my frustrated thoughts out loud. A resigned "Thanks, anyway" and I left. Maybe deep inside, I already know that it wasn't possible.

`

Mistakes.

We make them. Sometimes we learn from them, sometimes we do; sometimes we just don't want to. Some mistakes can be rectified or undone. But certain mistakes, you can never ever undo. Once made, there just doesn't seem to be any way to make things right..

Time.

How often we wish to turn back time when you realize such mistakes. But time slips through our fingers, silently and swiftly; we grasp at it, trying to capture each grain, but each grain, a moment, is ephemeral; it escapes our hands and is lost forever among the myriad of sand.

But it is because of that very nature of moments that we ought to cherish every second, isn't it? The brevity and beauty of each moment in time is something that we often forget. We forget to count our blessings. And before we know it, that moment is gone, and we cannot turn back time, no matter how much we wish for it.

Regrets.

There shouldn't be room for regrets, even when it's tempting to wallow in that bottomless pit of self-pity. But sometimes, after all is said and done, maybe regrets are all that's left. Then that's when the struggle begins.

`

But you know what.

It'll be alright.

The Aftermath

2007-11-15T17:21:00.000+11:00

*heavy silence*

I want to redo my first piece.

And I want my results NOW.

Major de-stressing is in the works tonight. I should be fine by tomorrow.

:(

I can't stop feeling tense.

2007-11-15T14:15:00.000+11:00

Breathe.

*Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.*

Breathe.

Just don't let me feel crap after it.

3 days

2007-11-15T00:17:00.000+11:00

My final exam for the semester, which happens to be my piano practical exam, is tomorrow.

I've been worrying so much that I can't feel the nervousness and stress anymore. Practicals... I don't think I will ever be prepared for them. Was chatting with a friend, Matthew, on MSN, and he was asking me that. I responded:

"Will I ever be prepared?"

To which he said was a good answer. Haha. (Matthew's a medical student and is graduating in two years' time, which will explain his following comment.)

M: and if i make a mistake its bad for the patient... but if you fumble playing a piano concerto the only person who might get a heart attack is yourself... :(

This is where I stare at the screen in disbelief. Thanks, Matthew.

I'll be in S'pore in a few days from now... Which is fast. I'm leaving on Sunday night, and will be arriving very early on Monday morning at Changi. My mom and aunt are flying out to S'pore on Sunday, and my mom will be coming to meet me (while my aunt will be snoozing happily away back at the hotel, I assume. Haha.) I called home two days ago and she told me that we're staying at Mandarin Hotel (my initial reaction was, "Waaah"), but she proceeded to inform me that we have the first two nights free because of some offer with HSBC or something. Then I went, "Oooh, no wonder." Yaaay... shopping and food. And books and CDs. Shopping! Food! Fooooood!!!

Coming back to that phone call... My 3-year-old cousin is apparently going through a difficult phase where she's literally driving everyone up the wall with her antics and temper. That's not the little girl I remember when I left Brunei in February! :( When I called back that night, she answered the phone, much to my delight. My mom and sister were babysitting her and her sister (my 7-year-old cousin) while my aunt and uncle were out at a wedding dinner that night, so I called my aunt's house phone after some failed attempts at webcamming and video calls on MSN with my sister (no thanks to my wonky Internet connection).

"Hello?"

"Meiiiii!" (Yes, me squealing happily.) I asked her in Mandarin, "Do you still remember me? Connie Jie-Jie? Flower Jie-Jie?" (The flower part is another story.)

*Clank*

I stared at my phone in disbelief (another disbelieving moment). She hung up on me!! Can you believe it??

I called back again and my mom answered, telling me that Athene knocked the phone/threw the phone or something.

Anywaaay. I can't wait to see my cousin again (in spite of this phase she's going through), my dog, the new cat, my home, the new car which is awaiting me to bring her out for a spin (lol), my friends and family (even if not everyone's there).

Okay. I should sleep now. I'm feeling the nerves again. I hope I can sleep.

Practical exam, here I come :(

The One with the Lift

2007-11-10T00:51:00.000+11:00

Characters:

Girl
Guy

The Scene:
The apartment
The lift

Girl is in the lift, heading back to her apartment. She presses '3' for her floor and turns around to notice Guy half-running towards the lift. Girl therefore presses the 'open' button to wait for him.

Guy: Thanks.

Girl acknowledges with a smile. At that moment, her cell phone sounds, signaling a new message. She takes out her phone and reads the message. Lift has already moved. Girl starts to reply the message and glances up when the lift stops. She sees the still highlighted '3' button and thinks, "Oh, he's on the third floor, too!"

Guy steps out. Girl follows. The door facing the lifts on any X floor is X06. Guy heads towards X06 and opens the door. Girl finds this odd.

Thoughts running through Girl's mind:

That's strange, I could have sworn that there was a rowdy family with a bunch of noisy kids staying in 306.

306 has been away for a holiday for some time now, 'cause they've been really quiet for the past few weeks and I haven't seen the family around. Plus, that notice that all the tenants got regarding apartment inspections is STILL lying outside their door, and it's been there for weeks now.

306 must have moved out, because this strange guy has access to the apartment, so we must have new neighbours.

(Yes, it's perfectly plausible for all these thoughts to take place in the span of a few seconds.)

Guy goes into the apartment and Girl finally gets a good look at the apartment number.

1-freaking-06 stares back at her. She feels as if she's just been run over by a lorry.

Girl: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is NOT happening. WHAT THE HELL.

She turns around swiftly, dashes back to the lift and slams the 'UP' button. The lift cannot seem to come quick enough and she wishes that the ground would open up and swallow her alive. She fervently hopes that Guy did not notice her scurrying after him when they arrived at the first floor. Although that is probably wishful thinking.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another humiliating, cringing, 'this-cannot-be-happening' moment in the life of yours truly.

One more to go!

2007-11-06T18:34:00.000+11:00

My hands are emanating various scents of men's colognes. I think I fail at the art of spraying cologne onto the paper strips. Either I spray it too close to the strip that it backfires on my hands, or somehow the bottle refuses to spray properly so that it drips.

Or maybe it's just me.

Yes, my paper is over and done with! My Music Techniques paper went better than expected - my lecturer did mention that the MCQ section would be deliberately difficult, but I think he might have been trying to scare us into studying harder. (I have to confess that I didn't prepare much for my paper... shame on me.) I was able to finish the questions with ample time to check through for parallels or consecutives and other voice-leading errors. (It's okay, you don't have to understand that.) Now let's just hope that I passed. Sigh.

I shall be practicing intensively until next Thursday for my practical exam. I'm already feeling the nerves just thinking about it. (Another sigh.) I want to walk out the room not feeling crappy about my recital.

12 days until S'pore! I need to get my eyes checked and get my lenses or specs replaced. I fear that my astigmatism might have gone up again. I dread hearing the words, "Your astig is very high!" from the optometrist. I get it every time.

The past few days have been insane. I'm still getting over that whirlwind. I'll probably need a day to recuperate.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November... =P

2007-11-05T18:57:00.000+11:00

A birthday shout-out.

Happy 20th, Fei! Let me welcome you with open arms into the ranks of the recently-turned-20-year-olds. Lol. Have a blessed birthday, and can't wait to catch up with you when I get back to Brunei! Take care.

And Sherissa as well - if you're still reading this blog! Lol. One year older, one year wiser! Hope vet school isn't stressing you out too much! Have a great one =)

Exam period has arrived.

Two words: tired and stressed. I can't wait for the 15th (my last exam) to come and pass. Then I can pack and go home on the 19th.

In the middle of the storm

2007-11-04T05:01:00.000+11:00

Storms were lashing in Victoria last night. For the first time since I came to Melbourne, there was lightning and thunder. The rain here is normally light and falls gently like a sheen of silk to the ground, but it was considerably heavy last night.

I'm a person who likes the rain. I like watching the rain fall. I love thunderstorms, and watch the lightning streak across the dark skies, illuminating the storm clouds in its brief life. For a split second, that brilliant flash chases away the heavy blackness of the night. And then darkness reigns again. The rhythmic fall of the rain ceases not. The rumble of the thunder follows a few seconds later, and it is scary, yet magnificent at the same time. Does that make me a dark person deep down?

There's something strangely comforting, walking in the rain, feeling the drops hit the umbrella. I can hide from the world under my umbrella. We all put on masks.

My idea of retail therapy involves not clothes, but books and CDs. Walking into a bookstore, I slowly lose myself in the myriad of worlds, fantasies and adventures the books offer me, and for a moment, I can forget everything else around me.

Unwind.

2007-11-01T17:49:00.001+11:00

There's nothing like a good hot chocolate and some jazz on a rainy late afternoon.

!!!!

2007-10-30T15:50:00.000+11:00

Cello exam and portfolio dued this Thursday (!!!!!)

Piano lesson tomorrow and collect assignment from lecturer.

50% lit essay due on Monday, which I have barely started on (!!)

Aural exam on Tuesday morning, Music Techniques written paper in the afternoon (!!!!)

The exclamation marks say it all.

On a side note: I got my hair trimmed today. Not much of a difference, except for the shorter fringe, and the hairstylist put a bit of layer in my hair as well. I couldn't take it anymore; I ought to have gotten my hair trimmed ages ago, especially since it's been permed, and the ends of my hair were in a ghastly state. I almost wish I could just shave my head bald and let my natural hair grow out nicely.

Lo and behold...

2007-10-28T05:28:00.000+11:00

The laptop liveth!

Calvin called me just now to inform me that he can extract all the files from the aforementioned laptop. Hallelujah! Praise God! I can't believe it. The thought of rebuilding my entire data from the laptop was something I still couldn't face. Lol.

And I can't believe it! Because if I had brought it to the laptop repair shop, I would have forked out at least AUD$550 (!!!!!) Seriously, I would have been cheated. No wonder computer shops are thriving. I don't think I'm a total computer n00b, and I do know a bit of stuff, but still, unsuspecting gullible people (of whom I almost potentially became part of), must be bringing all sorts of problems, ranging from trivial to SOS-magnitude, to these shops where they are being ripped off, when they could just ask their nearest computer genius friends.

I'm still using my friend's laptop which has been on loan to me, for about two weeks now. I should be getting back mine sometime next week, I think.

Okay, I just felt really happy that I needed to tell the world. =P

Change.

2007-10-26T17:01:00.000+10:00

As you can see, I've changed the template and renamed the blog. I kept the "World" part of it; it was pointless to keep the name "Opposite Corners" since Jerry seems about definitely never coming back. The "Center of the World" actually alludes to the 2004 Japanese movie, Crying Out Love, In The Center of the World. If you've seen this moving drama, you would understand why. That, and plus, I'm a sucker for romances and the likes. Unfortunately, the new blog name doesn't sound very romantic by itself, does it? Ah well.

Second year is officially over. Sorta. Until exams are over, I wouldn't know. The next week or so will be extremely busy for me as I *cough*finally*cough* set about doing and catching up with all the work I ought to have started on already.

Less than a month until I return home (!) I don't think many people are going back in December, it'll probably just be the few of us meeting up, and catching up with one another.

*Mind blank*

Okay, I don't know what to blog about anymore. I'll update when I can. Oh. Something really stupid and embarrassing happened today, but even if it's "in character" (because it's just, oh, you know, ME *rolls eyes*), I deem it too mortifying to even blog about what happened, and I hope never to meet the other party again.

"How often do you find the right person?"

2007-10-24T16:58:00.000+10:00

Once is the most beautiful, charming movie. It tells the story of an Irish musician who meets a Czech girl immigrant, and their journey and relationship together through music. The title of the post refers to its tagline.

It is poignant, in the way that it is so simplistic in its portrayal of emotions, yet that simplicity evokes profound feelings deep inside of you; it is real, because it is raw and resonates in such a way that such movies can only bring, because it can happen to you.

The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful; so beautiful. The songs "Falling Slowly" and "Lies" stood out for me. (The website link features the soundtrack, so you can have a listen.)

Shot with a budget of only $160,000, it is extremely refreshing and different from the polished, high-end films we often watch on the cinema screens nowadays. Once won the World Cinema Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

If you have the chance, I implore you, please watch this jewel. My review simply can't do it justice.

Another one.

2007-10-23T18:14:00.000+10:00

I had another nightmare last night.

I opened my eyes and sat right up in bed, feeling disconcerted. I guess what made this one stood out was that I felt as if I had been held tightly in its grip, and it refused to let me go. I could almost sense a, "Okay, you can wake up now" sort of feeling. Then, "Release", and I woke up.

Updates and reflections

2007-10-20T19:30:00.000+10:00

Jon/Kok (whatever moniker you're going by now =P), and also to whoever's left in Brunei, whoever's still reading this blog: I'll be back 19th November. Okay, technically, 21st November, since I'll be in S'pore for a few days. I'll be meeting my mom and aunt there... not to meet me, but for their personal agenda (read: shopping). Of course, I will not hesitate to take advantage of their agendas for being in S'pore. (Hehehe.)

Oh yes, before I forget: Bev, happy 20th birthday!! Hope you're doing well wherever you are, and continue to grow in God's love, remembering that His grace is sufficient for all our needs =)

Having second thoughts about going back so early now... the theme for OCF Convention in December is "Awake", with the theme verse from Roman 13:11, and it's a really good one, now that I really think about it, and quite timely as well. Complacency is a real issue that most Christians are in right now, and we don't talk or think about the end times enough, simply because the urgency doesn't seem to manifest itself. In addition, we covered that particular segment in the book of Romans recently in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), so it's gotten me thinking about it as well. But I've already changed my flight dates TWICE, and I don't want to go back to the SIA office AGAIN. Ahh. On the other hand, I'm returning to Melbourne in early January for summer course, and the only reason why I'm coming back early to Brunei is to prolong my holiday back home.

Anyway.

Talking about urgency... it's about time I get a sense of urgency about the impending exams which are coming upon me... I have yet to get started on my 50% essay, I have to start studying for Music Techniques, as well as aural practices (damn those seventh chords - it's okay, you don't have to know what they are, just that they all seem to sound the same to me, much to my frustration); plus, squeezing in as much practice time as I can for my practical exam. I'm hoping to memorize my pieces this time round, even if it's not compulsory. Recital exams are open, so I can invite friends. I've got Holtham as my examiner (!!!) but Professor McGee is the other examiner, hopefully I'll feel less nervous since he seems pretty nice (as opposed to - okay, I shall not complain. Ahem.)

I seem to be ranting quite a fair bit. You guys probably didn't understand any of that; it's okay. Lol.

I've mentioned it before, but practical exams will always, to me, hold more stress than written papers do. With written papers, you can prepare and know your stuff, if you've studied hard enough, but you can never prepare for a practical exam last minute. It's just not possible. And it's a once-through event. The piece is played; bang - that's it. No turning back. No second chances. Every mistake is noted by the examiners, and that's it. It's a merciless project. From the moment I place my fingers on the keys, there cannot be any false starts. It begins now and if I screw it, I can't show it, I have to keep pressing on and play through. I can't show my despair and disappointment, I have to play it through to the end. And at the end, if I feel crap and if I feel that it was a terrible performance, the tears and disappointment will come, and worse, nothing can change it.

That was what happened with my Grade 6 exam. I was in Form 1 then, and I was going through the difficult phase where I hated the piano and wanted to give it up. My mom, of course, refused to let me. (And of course, "mothers really know best" when you look back on such events - I'm grateful now that she didn't let me quit.) Maybe it was just that I had grown tired of it - playing since I was 5, and taking practical exams almost every year. My life always seemed to have been revolving around music ever since I could remember.

But anyway, coming back to that particular time... to cut the story short, I was going through the 'I-hate-piano' phase, and didn't practice as much as I should have. The day of the exam came. I didn't prepare well; I probably wasn't prepared at all. I came out of the exam room in tears. Neither my mom nor my teacher uttered the dreaded "I told you so". I think the ordeal itself was punishment enough. In the end, I just passed by a small margin. It was a huge shock.

My passion since then didn't quite fully recover... I used to practice everyday, and loved and enjoyed it. But I guess some part of me has grown jaded with the years, and it's sad when I think about it. But some passion must have remained for me to still go down this path. And I'm trying my best to cling onto that.

I'm still rediscovering that joy and passion, and I like to believe that it is coming back. When I think about this path I've chosen now, I refuse to allow any regrets to consume me anymore. There's nothing else that I would have done. Music is it. And I will stick with it.

It's been quite awhile since I wrote such a long post... Gosh. Maybe I just needed to pour out some stuff... thanks for reading if you took the time...

Another one of those moments

2007-10-17T16:57:00.000+10:00

My housemate Lydia comes to my room, asking, "Connie, are you bored?"

She is holding a pack of digestive biscuits in one hand and looks at me earnestly.

During the one second of processing that question, thoughts run through my mind quickly, the chief of which are:

"She wants me to help her eat biscuits."
"Are we going to eat biscuits together??"

Unsure, I respond, "Yeah... I'm sort of bored..."

"Okay, good. Can you help me crush the biscuits?"

It almost felt like a letdown. (Yeah, well.) Honestly, the thoughts which run through my head. I'm more like a 5-year-old than 20.

Or maybe I really am weird after all.

(By the way, I did help her to crush the biscuits while she popped out to buy the cream cheese for the cheesecake she was going to bake; the crushed digestive biscuits form the base.)

"These things happen"

2007-10-15T10:43:00.000+10:00

These things happen, whether I like it or not.

These things happen regardless.

Five days later, my laptop officially crashed and died.

I'm using my housemate's laptop now to check emails and stuff after going Internet-less and laptop-less for two days.

I've lost everything on my laptop.

Sigh. I think I went through all the phases when my laptop died: denial, rejection, anger, etc. etc. I've come to accept that it's happened and I can't do anything about it anyway.

There's a really cliche phrase that goes (I'm using it for want of a better idiom), "When life throws you lemons, make lemonade out of it."

I'm trying. I really am.

Insert witty sounding title here

2007-10-09T15:52:00.000+10:00

I should have amended to the previous post, that:

Running after the tram with a huge cello in hand is not an exercise for the delicate and faint of heart.

And I almost walked out of Safeway without paying for something, but that's a story for another day. Let's just call it another Connie moment.

I think my laptop's really going to the pits. For some reason or other, I'm missing vital drivers, so my USB ports might as well be non-existent now.

This afternoon, thinking that at the very least, maybe I can get my printer to connect successfully after re-installing with the CD setup and everything, since the drivers for the printer, by all logical means and reason, ought to be there...

Okay, let's try that again...

Hmm. Re-install again...

!!!!!

The laptop still refuses to recognize the printer.

*insert unintelligible screams of frustration*

Seriously, I need a new laptop. I've had mine for three years now, and it's like an old man wheezing and coughing. Even the Bluetooth between my laptop and Nokia is malfunctioning. I can't even send or receive files properly anymore.

Technology.

I don't know what the point of this post is. Sigh. But anyway, since Jerry's forever and truly disappeared from the blog, does anyone want to take over and co-blog with me?

A glance into the life of a blur girl

2007-10-05T16:27:00.000+10:00

A near collision with a cyclist, just as I thought I had crossed the main roads safely, only to forget about the bicycle lane.

Almost walking onto the tram track without realizing that I am mere seconds away from being knocked over by the approaching tram.

Realizing too late that I got off the tram at the wrong street when I should have gotten off two blocks later.

Flailing my arms wildly in panic as I almost fall off the chair (which I should not have been playing 'balancing' games with in the first place).

Yeap. Definitely a day in the life of Connie.

Letting off some steam

2007-10-02T07:38:00.000+10:00

JERRY WONG WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN NEWCASTLE STUDYING THERE ARE YOU NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE STATES WHY DO I NOT KNOW ANYTHING CAN YOU PLEASE UPDATE SOON AND EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ THIS ANYMORE SOMEONE WHO'S TALKING TO HIM PLEASE REMIND HIM THANK YOU.

/end rant.

I can't believe the practical exam timetable for the music faculty is still not out, while everyone else knows when they finish already. My mom told me to book after 23rd November, since she has a women's fellowship thing at church back home, and plus, she and my aunt are planning to fly to S'pore for a shopping spree as well. (Lol.) In addition, even though I told her to just help me change my flight date from 10th Dec to end-Nov, she told me to wait till I know when my exam dates are.

Exam period officially ends on the 23rd of November, but for some reason, the Music Faculty happily decided that the practical exams will take place from the 7th to 29th November (FREAAAAK.)

Come on, I can't be that unlucky as to be thrown a slot in the last few days?? The series of unfortunate events has got to end here.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2007-09-30T11:50:00.000+10:00

Accidentally spilled water onto the arrow keys of my keyboard, now the down and right arrow keys can't work, hence, I cannot decrease the audio volume, since Down arrow key + Function key = Decrease Volume.

Additionally, I cannot increase the brightness of my screen, because Right arrow key + Function key = Increase brightness.

The Pg Dn key doesn't work anymore either, and in turn, the End key ceases to function as well, because on my laptop, Pg Dn + Fn = End.

Two years ago, the Ctrl key on the left side of my keyboard died as well, due to my clumsiness in accidentally spilling liquid on that side. I have since gotten used to 'Ctrl'-ing everything with the right Ctrl key, on any keyboard.

I broke my Charles and Keith slippers last night. Was dragging my feet all the way back. Sien. Maybe I should have agreed to let the angmoh woman compensate me instead of trying to be nice and saying, "It's okay, really, it's okay."

My white gold chain broke a few weeks ago. I guess I might switch back to my old necklace when I go back to Brunei.

School is starting again on Monday.

SIGH.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

2007-09-27T09:49:00.000+10:00

I love this rendition of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2! Victor Borge, the pianist, was known for his humorous performances, where classical concerts meet entertainment. This is extremely amusing to watch.

The line between reality and dreams

2007-09-26T08:42:00.000+10:00

I dream often, sometimes more frequently than I would like. Almost every night's sleep consist of a dream of some sort. It's supposedly not a very good thing to dream that often. Or so I heard.

I have nightmares too, but not the sort that has me waking up in tears and sweat in the middle of the night.

But nightmares come in different forms.

It was unlike any other dreams I've had before. The inexplicable fear that seized my heart felt extremely real and vivid, and it cut straight to the heart. I had never felt more helpless and desperate, because there seemed to have been no way out.

I remember thinking, "This is a dream, it has to be a dream. Please don't let this be real."

It felt so real that the line between reality and dreams had blurred, and it left me confused and full of fear; a sort of fear I had never felt before. That fear that it might be real is hard to put into words. It really seized me. I was truly scared that it was real.

But as I was thinking frantically, "This can't be real, this isn't happening", I felt myself awake. The immense relief that filled me had never been more welcomed when I finally realized that it was a nightmare.

I'm a person who thinks too much for my own good. Maybe dreams are a manifestation of our subconsciousness after all.

Sometimes I wish I could just go a night without having to dream; to have a restful and peaceful sleep for once.

Birthday Wishes

2007-09-21T12:49:00.000+10:00

Dearest Joyce and Jerry,

Happy birthday!

Welcome to the 20s. =P May God continue to guide both your journeys as you celebrate 20 years of blessings and even the ups and downs thus far. Hope you guys enjoyed your days immensely, wherever you celebrated them!

Hope you're doing well in S'pore, Joyce!! =) And I hope to catch up with you when I go back in Dec!

And Jerry: yes, even on your birthday, I shall nag at you to PLEASE UPDATE already!

Movies, music, food, and hair.

2007-09-16T18:11:00.000+10:00

*Sings* Mid-semester break is here!

Woke up late.

Had a late lunch.

Spent the afternoon watching this Korean drama (My Sassy Girl, Chung Hyang). Which I've been wanting to watch for some time now. (Ern, there is nothing wrong with watching Korean/Japanese dramas! Lol. There is nothing wrong with me!! =P)

Went out to meet Lydia, my housemate, at the Walk Arcade, which is this stretch of shops and cafes between Bourke and Little Collins Street. She's been telling us about this really cute dress, and I wanted to see it, but unfortunately by the time we met up, the Arcade was closed (at 5 p.m.!!) and we ended up roaming around the area...

...and I ended up buying everything but what I intended.

Which was expected.

I ended up buying snacks (=P); muesli bars, to be precise. Back when I was in Perth, I had this habit of always carrying at least 2 bars in my bag when going out (or any other snack), but since coming to Melbourne, for some reason, I stopped doing that, and the absence of food in my bag really hurts my stomach's feelings at times. =P

I finally bought my hair serum, which I've been wanting to buy for weeks now, since I'm running out... I think growing up with a hairdresser aunt has really made me quite selective in the hair products that I buy. The amount of money I invest into my hair! After I finish my current run of shampoo and conditioner, I'm planning to switch back to this salon brand which was better for my hair and scalp. I'm still deciding whether I should re-perm or straighten my hair when I go back. (The amount of money I spend on my hair!!)

Okay, I should stop talking about my hair now.

Ratatouille and Hairspray were awesome. I actually made ratatouille last night, for homecell, and I can't really tell if it was a success. It tasted fine to me, but it's hard to judge, especially when I have not tasted authentic ratatouille before. Gosh, I definitely want to travel to France in the future.

Hairspray is a great musical! I'm definitely buying the soundtrack. John Travolta is hilarious. And Zac Efron is so good-looking. I'm in love with his beautiful blue eyes. (Yes, I'm fangirling. Shuddup. =P)

It seems that whatever movie I watch, the music always distracts me at certain points throughout the movie. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to get distracted by the soundtrack, and to focus on the plot instead, so that I don't lose track of what's happening (which just might happen). Even in movies like Batman Begins (with Christian Bale in the title role - another good-looking actor =P), the soundtrack distracts me at certain points, and Spanglish as well - odd movie to point out, I know, but Hans Zimmer's score really stood out for me in that one, even if the movie wasn't well-received at the box office.

Extremely random post today. I shall try to update something more 'substantial' next time.

From one corner of the world...

2007-09-13T19:23:00.000+10:00

So just now I reminded Jerry on MSN about this blog we were supposed to share. Jerry was like, "Wow, you never give up, do you??"

"There's a reason why this blog is called 'OPPOSITE CORNERS OF THE WORLD," I responded.

Patience is a virtue.

Anyway.

Blogging can feel quite tedious at times... when I think back to why we began this blog in the first place, it was mainly as a way of "keeping in touch", I suppose. Before that, I used to bombard everyone's inboxes with my extremely long and convoluted e-mails, and perhaps the blog relieved that "burden". Lol. There's a kind of freedom with e-mails, I think, as opposed to blogging.

I mentioned before that there is only so much you can blog about on a public blog.

I think I'm quite 'careful' when it comes to blogging. 'Careful' in the sense that, I hold back and don't blog about me. When I say me, I mean me me, open and pouring out my innermost feelings and thoughts. (Here is where I admit that I keep personal, private journals for that purpose.)

Even when I want to, I think I manage to veil up what 'personal' posts I've posted on this blog in this vague shroud of detachment, so that I don't reveal too much... does that make sense?

But looking at how uninteresting and mundane this blog has become in the past year (and I assume as well that I've lost practically everyone who may have been reading the blog), maybe it's time that I just relax and not be inhibited by the whole "world wide web" thing. As in, I don't think there would be anyone who would purposely look for like, 'Connie's blog' to dig up my secrets and stuff! Most of the people I know who knows this blog exists are friends whom I know anyway... I think. (Whoa, that sentence sounded a bit confusing.)

Okay, I've probably lost most of your attention by now.

I guess the reason why I described blogging as tedious as times is because of that... I hold back too much, and don't really share a lot about what's really going on in my life (unless in e-mails or through phone calls and SMS-es). I guess I just don't open up easily.

Or I could be selective in who reads this blog, since Blogger offers that option.

Ah, there's an idea.

But anyway, I guess what I'm curious about is... how 'open' are you willing to be on your blog?

*

My brother's gone over to Manchester already... I know quite a few of you guys have gone over there to study as well. Things would be certainly be different when I return (hopefully) in late November. It'll just be my youngest two siblings at home... Unless I return to Brunei for the June holidays, I probably won't ever see my brother again until ... who knows when! (That's about the same as you, Jerry. Haha. I haven't seen you in two and a half years now!)

For once I can't wait for my exam timetable to be out, so that I can actually change the date on my flight ticket, to return home earlier.

One of those days...

2007-09-12T11:40:00.000+10:00

Belgian waffle topped with banana slices is an excellent way to end a 'one-of-those-days' day.

Sigh.

Housemates and I decided on an impromptu movie and dinner outing, which is just what I need. With our different schedules, it's great that all four of us are home before 6 p.m. today for once. I was just looking at the movie listings and times in the newspaper, and said aloud for the millionth time, "We have to go and watch Ratatouille!"

To which Lydia responded, "Why not!!"

Thank God for the little pleasures in life.

The good old songs in years gone past...

2007-09-09T16:20:00.000+10:00

Certain songs really have a calming effect on you when you just feel tired, frustrated or simply need something to perk you up.

Gary Barlow's voice settles over me like a warm blanket on a cold day.

The Road Not Taken

2007-08-26T19:05:00.000+10:00

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

It truly is a scary feeling when one does not have dreams to hold on to. As you grow up and as the years pass by, ambitions and aspirations alter with the sands of time as well.

Ever since I can remember, I had always wanted to be a teacher. I was never one of those "I want to be a doctor and save lives when I grow up!" kids. Neither was I a "I want to be a lawyer and fight for justice, et cetera" kind of kid. I have always had the desire to make a difference and leave a mark on other people's lives. Then as I grew older, and my passion for books, reading and writing grew, aspirations of becoming a journalist or a writer of sorts formed in my mind. Then later on, the idea of Music as a career path suddenly became an option.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped clinging on to dreams and thought that I will simply take it "one step at a time". But even as it seems deceivingly prudent in taking that option, I realized I have 'lost' something as well. I flounder at times, not knowing exactly what I am working towards. I have desires and plans, but when there are no dreams to work towards, no main goal in sight, Life truly becomes that 'broken-winged bird / That cannot fly'.

I posted up this poem two years ago. Here it is again for convenience's sake.

The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

It's funny how the meaning of a poem can change when you read it again, and see a different facet of it. "Way leads on to way" indeed; I can never return again to that place when I made my decision and chose this path. I often wondered about the last stanza - the poet tells the poem with a sigh.

Sure, he took "the one less traveled by", in the same way I chose to go down this unconventional path, and no doubt "that has made all the difference", but the sigh says a lot. Is it a sigh of relief? A sigh of regret? A sigh of sadness? Sorrow? Defeat? At this point in time, it seems more to me a sigh of heavy-heartedness and a tinge of regret that the poet can never return to the fork in the road again.

Although I may have decided to pursue my passion and interests, thoughts of "what-could-have-beens" haunt me sometimes, and I cannot help but wonder how will my future be affected had I chosen another path instead. I try not to care, but I can't help thinking if I've let myself or my parents down because I chose this "less prestigious" path instead.

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back."

There cannot be any more regrets. Because the moment I trod on the leaves of the "grassy" path which "wanted wear", there was no possibility of retracing my steps and making the leaves fresh again.

Home is a few months away...

2007-08-18T17:57:00.000+10:00

Some things never change. Was chatting with my sister on MSN:

masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
lady is such a greedy dog
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
like if u have food in your hand
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
and if u run around the house
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
no matter what
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
she will chase after u
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
just for the food
. masquerade . paper faces on parade said:
lol

Grace, my house-mate, and I often rue over the fact that we can't keep pets in the apartment. Grace actually had a cat, named Tiger, but Tiger was discovered by the apartment manager in the first month we moved in, so she had to go (after two warnings!). Tiger's in the care of one of Grace's friends now.

Seeing the cute and well-trained dogs on the streets of Melbourne makes you really want to have a pet dog. I mean, they're so well-trained that most of the dogs don't even need to be on leashes! They just follow their owners obediently, and I've seen cyclists with their dogs running behind, never too far off.

I miss my dog. =(

For the sake of updating.

2007-08-15T15:55:00.000+10:00

I don't know what to type. Words aren't coming, and my brain is void of ideas.

Sigh.

Maybe in a few days' time, I'll have blog-worthy material to post up. (I've given up on Jerry ever coming back to blog. Maybe I should find a new blog partner and kick him off.)

Two. Oh.

2007-08-09T16:30:00.000+10:00

So yeah, before I begin. (Emphasis mine).

Jerry oh yeah...we have a blog
Jerry :P
connie` that's RIGHT, jerry, we DO have a blog
Jerry i forgot
connie` *ahem*
Jerry i've not seen it in ages
Jerry maybe i should post some fishing pictures up there
connie` exactly

Excellent idea, Jerry. I'm still waiting.

Anyway, I just really like to thank each and everyone of you who wished me on my birthday. I think I replied most SMSes and sent out a few emails, but it really means a lot to me that you guys remembered, especially with all of us in different places, in different parts of the world. So, thank you very much, from the depths of my heart.

Turning 20 isn't a huge thing for me - it's sort of a bittersweet feeling. I liken it to being stuck in this sort of limbo between two worlds. On one side is a world of innocence and childishness, the childhood and teenage years where I can still be carefree and not have to worry about 'life'. On the other is the world of adulthood where while I will be somewhat 'independent', responsibilities and "reality" awaits as well. 20 is the age when I'm no longer a 'teen' as such, but I'm not considered an adult (if we were to adhere to the unwritten rule that adulthood only begins at twenty-one).

My BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) group leader gave me a chocolate cake a few days before the first of August, which was really sweet of her. My housemates made a lovely 'Happy 20th Birthday, Connie' sign and stuck it on the wall in the living room, and blew up balloons. They presented me with a really cute set of pajamas... (and here's where I reveal that, yes, I wear bright and colourful PJs to bed, and will remain a strict PJs person for the rest of my sleeping life). It's blue, with cute cat prints all over it. (They wanted to get the cow one, but it didn't have my size. The 'cow' thing is another story, which I shall not elaborate on for reasons which need not be mentioned.)

My cell group surprised me with a cake after prayer meet on the day, so that was really sweet. But honestly, it was just like any other Wednesday to me. The whole day was spent in uni, and it had been a really busy day, and by the time I reached home (late) on my birthday (after prayer meet, the cake, and then worship practice after), I was too exhausted to feel any joy or elation over the events of the day... aside from the fact that it was really quite ordinary if I took out all the 'birthday' bits.

If I had to sum up 'turning twenty', it'll just be this: bittersweet. So fast it seems, that 20 years of my life has sped by, and I'm here. Wasn't it only yesterday that we were still 17, and thinking that the twenties seemed so far off, and appeared to us practically ancient?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-07-26T09:13:00.000+10:00

IT'S finally over.

[Spoilers abound, so proceed at your own risk, especially if you still do not know the ending or do not want to know the ending if you are still reading it]

Being the crazy bookworm that I am, I finished the final book on the day that I bought it, which was the day it was released. Despite lacking the charm of Rowling's first few books, I personally felt the ending was satisfactory and just enough. All the unanswered questions were, as expected, answered as Rowling tied up all the loose ends left from the previous books. The pieces of the puzzle all fall beautifully into their places, but it is the way in which they fitted into the giant picture that was thrilling.

The plot structure, as has been pointed out by many other people, differs from its predecessors in that Harry does not return to Hogwarts. Normally you have this fixed template, where the book begins with Harry with the Dursleys at Privet Drive; and a fiasco of some sort happens; then Harry goes off to Hogwarts; we get a glimpse of the Sorting Ceremony and are introduced to new teachers (usually a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher) and other quirky characters; made aware of some event involving Voldemort brewing in the near future which would inevitably involve Harry and his companions; a bit of Quidditch; confrontation between Harry and Voldemort; success!; end of another school year and back to Privet Drive.

This time however, Harry doesn't return to Hogwarts, a decision which has been made clear at the end of the sixth book. From the beginning, we are hurtled into an exhilarating ride where Harry and the Order of the Phoenix escapes from the Death Eaters - that was quite thrilling, but Hedwig's death (Oh, Hedwig!) was quite a shock. Mad-Eye Moody's death is a sad event as well, but I wasn't too moved over it.

Then we hit the middle part of the book, which is a drawn-out, long excursion of Harry, Hermione and Ron looking for the remaining pieces of the Horcruxes. It felt quite tedious to me, and the addition of the Hallows to the plot complicated things further, although it was rather interesting. Except for the Elder Wand's part in mending Harry's original wand at the end, and the role it played in Voldemort's quest, the Hallows didn't really seem significant, since ultimately Harry decides to destroy the Horcruxes after all, rather than seek after the Hallows.

The slow plod of the middle part was made up for by the rise in action again with the breaking in of Gringotts by Harry and gang. I particularly enjoyed Hermione role-playing as Bellatrix Lestrange with the help of some Polyjuice Potion (and I have to mention here, Helena Bonham Carter makes for an awesome Bellatrix in the fifth movie - I love how evil and deranged she is).

And of course, the question of Snape's loyalty is finally answered. His character is redeemed in this book, and I confess - I've never liked Snape. When he was finally (expectedly) killed by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, towards the end, I was secretly happy that he received what he deserved at last. But the next chapter proved me wrong, oh-so-wrong, and I instantly regretted any ill feelings I have had towards Severus Snape.

J.K. Rowling had mentioned before that Lily Potter's green eyes (which Harry inherited) plays an important role, and although it isn't explicitly answered, after reading Snape's story (through the Pensieve) and finding out with much shock that he had been in love with Lily all along, and then remembering back to Snape's dying moments where he asks Harry to "look at me", it all fits. Snape is one of the most misunderstood characters, and because of that, his story is one of tragedy. I've never felt so much sorrow for a character in that moment as he gazes into Harry's eyes to have one last glimpse of Lily in him. That his Patronus is the same as Lily's augments that tragedy.

It is only fitting then, that Harry names his son Albus Severus - after the two great men, who have sacrificed and done so much for him.

Dumbledore certainly lives up to his status as being one of the most brilliant wizards ever, even after death. It's amazing how everything, every single detail, has been planned by him, right until the moment of Voldemort's defeat (which wasn't such a huge thing, after all). Voldemort went down relatively tamelessly, I thought. Which was quite a let-down, since we imagine a huge battle between Harry and Voldemort, with fireworks and all. Lol.

And remember the "gleam" in Dumbledore's eyes in the fourth book? Well, it's finally answered here, and that's linked to Harry's "death" and "resurrection". Dumbledore has always known, even right down to the details of his own death. I'm blown away at how everything fits almost perfectly. As complicated as Rowling had written the plot, everything makes sense in the end.

I have to admit that I cried a few times reading the last few chapters. Fred Weasley's death was unexpected. I can't believe Rowling killed one of the twins off, who have provided so much comedic relief since their introduction. Lupin and Tonks' deaths are probably the most tragic, especially since they have just given birth to their one and only son. From the moment Lupin was introduced in the third book, and Tonks in the fifth book, they have become two of my favourite characters. (Yeah, I cried over their deaths too.) There are a few other deaths, but I mourn over these three the most. Dobby's death was sad as well (speaking of house elves, I'm especially amused by Kreacher's 'conversion').

I'm glad to see that Neville is the one who kills Voldermort's final Horcrux with Godric Gryffindor's sword. It's fitting somehow - knowing that he could have been the Boy Who Lived (as revealed from the prophecy in book 5 - something they left out in the movie) and how similar he is to Harry, it's a nice touch by Rowling there.

With all these deaths and the theme of death itself resonating so strongly throughout the book, the only bright moment was probably Bill and Fleur's wedding, but even then, their celebrations were marred by Scrimgeour's death (hooray) and the fall of the Ministry. I kind of miss the lighter moods of the first few books, but seeing that the plot from the very beginning has been an inevitable lead-up to the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, it isn't surprising then that the books have grown progressively darker.

My favourite book is still The Prisoner of Azkaban but Deathly Hallows come close enough. It's been a wonderful journey and the final book is well worth the wait after all these years. It's almost cathartic, now that it's all over.

It's sad to say goodbye, but it's comforting knowing that the books will always be there, to be reread, over and over again.

(And now to finish reading the growing pile of non-related Harry Potter books still waiting on my bookshelf.)

Another Semester & Day 1 of Hillsong Conference

2007-07-25T16:36:00.000+10:00

A new semester has begun. Yesterday was a pretty busy start: An entire afternoon of sitting and listening to lectures (Piano Class; then Literature, Culture, History), plus going to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in Camberwell at night, which involved group discussions and listening to a lecture/sermon on Romans 9:6-29 (we're studying the book of Romans for the year).

Anyway, here's the promised post about the Hillsong Conference.

Day 1

1st July. Night time. After some considerations, we decided to take the train to Sydney. It's around $60+ for students, and most of the cheaper flights were already fully booked. Lydia (my housemate) had bought the train tickets to Sydney a few days prior to our departure.

On the train - Dawn and I,

Grace and Annette (my other two housemates - they're sisters),

Kel and Ben,

Lydia (the other housemate) and Yih Wen! There's one more person in our group,
Jon, who was sitting in front.

It was the most uncomfortable and longest 12-hour train ride ever. Sleep was rather disruptive as I awoke every hour or so to readjust my position.

We took yet another train to travel to Central Station to the backpackers accommodation where Dawn had booked for the 9 of us. The sky was blue, and it was sunny - I love Sydney weather! (Especially coming from the cold, dark and gloomy winter in Melbourne.)

Sydney Backpackers, our accommodation

After having brunch, we left to Olympic Park which is the venue for the Conference. Almost everyone on the train was headed there. I had bought Marianne's ticket (she couldn't go at the last minute), and she had signed up for the Worship Leadership stream, so that was my stream.

Breakfast at 10-ish on the morning we arrived, in Chinatown.
Very Chinese breakfast.

Kel, Dawn and I had the tickets for the 7.30 p.m. night rallies, but we decided to go for the 4.30 p.m. rally, which was the Opening Ceremony. The structure works like this: each delegate holds either a 4.30 or a 7.30 p.m. ticket, so if you had the 7.30 p.m. ticket, that's the rallies you would go for. If you don't have the 4.30 p.m. ticket, you either buy a separate ticket to attend that particular rally, or you queue in the Public Queue (where they let you in after all the ticketed people have been let through). We did the latter.

The Degraves household arrives at Olympic Park! Me, Grace, Annette, Lydia.

Acer Arena, the main venue for the Conference.

Kel, me, Dawn - a.k.a. 7.30 p.m. rally tickets.
The others were all in the 4.30 p.m. stream.

We managed to find pretty great seats for the first rally. Gary Skinner was the speaker for this rally, but it was more of a testimony of his serving in Uganda than a sermon. The Watoto Children's Choir performed as well. The choir is dedicated to improving the way of life for children in Africa. Based in Uganda, they're made up of African children who have lost one or both parents to the AIDS epidemic.

If I had to state the theme for this rally, it would be one centred around serving and loving the community, and a challenge for the church of God to rise up to become a beacon for and the solution to the problems faced by the world. In other words, we should be living the truth, and not just merely preaching it. One prominent message (which would resonate in the following days) is the fact that God will give His Kingdom to those who will produce the fruits (Psalm 80:16 - 17). John Bevere's sermons the next day would expand on that, tying it with the message about the destiny God has given us, and growing into that destiny.

The Opening Ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony opened with much fanfare, and featured Eminence Symphonic Orchestra on the stage while the pictures and messages flashed across the screen. The night opened with Amazing Grace, the opening lines sung by Marty Sampson (a longtime Hillsong songwriter), and then Chris Tomlin ("Chris Tomlin!!!") took the stage to lead the congregation in Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), the wonderful new song which is his rendition on the beautiful old hymn.

Marty Sampson

The 7.30 p.m. rally had Ed Young, Jr. as the speaker, and he gave a rousing sermon on "creativity" - "the God-given ability to be consistently inconsistent and to be comfortably uncomfortable. Confusing? It does at first, but at a closer glance, it makes a lot of sense. In a nutshell, we are God's creation, and God is our Creator. He invented creativity, Jesus modeled it, and the Holy Spirit enables it in us. As followers of Christ, we are called to a purpose and glory whereby we are transformed into His image and likeness, and it's important that we get out of our comfort zones - living for Him is to be uncomfortable for Him. God wants us to be riding on the crest of creativity but most of us are simply splashing around in floaties in the shallow pools. We ought to incorporate that creativity into every aspect of our lives, and pray for God to unleash that creativity in ourselves and in our lives.

The first night was great. The rallies opened with worship led by Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong United team (with Joel Houston), so it's just awesome - there we are, 20,000+ people gathered in the stadium, singing as one church to the amazing God who makes everything possible.

Day 2 to follow... it'll come when it comes. =P

Winter Camp

2007-07-19T08:05:00.000+10:00

...But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

The theme for this year's Winter Camp was "Refreshed". Campsite was at Weekaway, and it's about an hour's drive away from the city. It's a beautiful place, and it's always refreshing in itself to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, away from tall buildings and skyscrapers, away from the noise and crowds and transport, to the serenity and stillness of the countryside, to immerse oneself in the natural beauty of God's creation.

The campsite is one of the best out of all the other campsites I've been to thus far. After one busy and not-so-good semester, it is immensely calming to get away from "life". I was pleasantly surprised at the large kangaroo community which shared the land.

Kangaroos!

We tried to get as close to them as possible, but every time we inched nearer and nearer, they hopped further and further away.

Steven's failed camouflage

And that's why you keep seeing their backsides in the pictures I take.

Singspiration

We had Tim Cross as our speaker. Together with his wife, they're the State Directors for Victoria and Tasmania of OMF (Overseas Mission Fellowship). We were shown many video clips from 'The Trouble with Paris', which touched on many good points that saw the cell groups discussing deeply and thinking about certain issues related to the Christian life. Stuff like predestination, free will, consumerism, hyper-realism, etc. were all brought up.

A kookaburra! Right outside the dorm I was in. They make this weird laughter sort of sound.

Fun and games.

There were lots to do and explore around the campsite. Obstacle courses, canoeing, archery, basketball court, including a night trail were all part of the package. We didn't go canoeing, but I tried archery, which was pretty cool.

The Night Trail was probably the best of all. It's a night activity which takes place in the forest, where you have to follow this trail by shining the torches onto the trees to look for these reflective markers which will take you along a route. So there you go, two groups of us trudging around the moonlit forest with only the lights from our torches to show us our paths, while it drizzled intermittently.

The camp-owner built a bonfire for us on the last night, and a group of us stayed through the night, singing random songs and just being silly as we warmed ourselves around the slowly-dying fire.

(There are more pictures, but with the lousy ISP that we're under in the apartments that I'm staying in, I can't be bothered waiting forever for the pictures to upload.)

The few days spent out there was refreshing to a certain extent for me, but personally it was more of reminder for me, and a step forward for me in some issues. It always feels good to spend time and have fellowship in a community of brothers and sisters. It's just something you miss when you go back to school and it's all about the stress, assignments, etc.

Just a few more days before the second semester begins. After the disaster that was the first sem (for me), I really want the new semester to be better. But already, the next few weeks for me are filled up with activities and things to do. It'll be a busy and hectic start.

I'll try to put up posts about the Hillsong Conference over the next few days as soon as I can.

Awake, O Dead Blog

2007-07-12T17:00:00.000+10:00

Back! After two weeks away, thought I'll update this blog and share about winter camp and Hillsong Conference 2007 in Sydney, (my first conference, and hopefully not the last!) which was awesome and simply "indescribable" with the amazing guest speakers and invited musicians.

I've got lots of pictures to share as well, but I'll probably do them in bits and pieces over the next week or so.

I haven't heard from you, Jerry (yes, I'm looking at you who is supposed to be my blog partner, but have been stagnant for a million years now).

JERRY WONG PLEASE UPDATE

2007-06-21T16:15:00.000+10:00

It was this foggy in Melbourne a few nights ago. The red light there belongs to the hardly visible building in the background.

In other news,

- The gunman surrendered to the police by himself.
- Winter Camp next week.
- Hillsong Conference '07 in Sydney, two more weeks!
- Phantom of the Opera musical, two and a half months away!
- And,

Josh Groban, I can't wait!! It's too early to feel excited yet, but I'm happy. I was debating with myself whether to go or not, but decided that I love his music (and him) too much to pass up this opportunity to catch him live in concert.

Connie is happy.

Too Close for Comfort

2007-06-20T16:38:00.000+10:00

Living in Melbourne and all, I knew that life is undoubtedly not as safe as back home in Brunei or in Perth. Some of you might know from news or read from another medium, but shootings took place yesterday morning in the CBD.

The scary part is that the shootings took place barely two streets away from where I'm staying. It's about 10 min walking distance to the scene of the crime. I've passed that way several times before.

The Age still has extensive articles on the shooting, so if you're curious, you can take a read. The gunman is still on the loose, and he might still be in the city or have ran off to the suburbs. Two victims remain in serious condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, while a solicitor died from his wounds as a result of being a Good Samaritan. One of the victims was just an innocent bystander, a Dutch backpacker. It's tragic. The man who fired the rounds has a criminal past and is a bikie.

It's scary because my housemate related to me that she would have been on the very same scene (the corner of William Street and Flinders Lane) had she had an exam yesterday morning, at the exact same time, because she would have to pass that way to go for her exam.

We stay on Degraves Street. After Degraves is Elizabeth St., then Queen St., then William St. Perpendicular to Degraves is Flinders Lane.

I was still sleeping when she heard the news, through my other housemate who had went out earlier that morning to study in the uni library. We were advised not to go out. From the news on TV, you can see that the city streets were deserted, an almost alien scene for what would usually be a bustling, lively Monday morning in the city, as the police cordoned off streets. It's almost surreal. We went out later in the evening to run some errands. Roads were already reopened, and the city was back to normal - as normal as could be.

Today, the suspect's car was found just around the corner of Flinders Lane and Elizabeth St.; the suspect and his victim have been ascertained to have stayed at a hotel on Flinders Lane itself.

It's all too close to home, and too close for comfort. Let's pray that the gunman will be apprehended soon.

2007-06-17T19:36:00.000+10:00

These are the days of wine and roses.

It's been often said that time seems to speed up in times of mirth and happiness but a minute seems a day when there appear to be nothing but sorrow and weeping in our days. But these moments pass, and while some may leave significant scars or memories, "they are not long".

I may not be a sage or a wise old woman who has seen and experienced much in her long, colourful life, but when I think about the future ahead of me, I wonder if I will be content. Will I be married to a loving husband, with kids and a successful career? Will I even get married? Where would I be? Will my friends still remain the same? Will I be who I am now? Or will I have changed into another person unrecognizable by myself?

I want to cherish my years now. This moment, now, it is precious. Cliche as it is, time, once gone, can never be had again. Everyday is a new gift from God; His mercies are new every morning. Because once you get into the working world, it'll be harder.

Ever since I decided that Music is my path, I've been haunted by doubts and fears about this road I have chosen to travel down. Passing my DipABRSM played a major role in it - I don't usually struck bargains with God, but at that point in time, I knew I was very unprepared for my exam, and that it would take a miracle for me to pass. But pass I did - and I knew then, that God was still by my side, holding my hand and guiding me down this road. I still do not know if Music is a career - or a calling, but the mere fact that I passed by a few marks was a confirmation from God. Because considering the lack of practice and commitment I had put into passing my exam, it was truly a miracle.

But still I doubted, and I actually started out my first year in uni rejecting my confirmed enrolment in Music, and switching to Arts; and immediately I regretted what I had done. Three weeks into the new semester, I did what I could to turn around my mistake, and thank God that I was able to go down this path.

People. Whether we like it or not, we are judgmental by nature, in some way or another. More so, I would think, especially in the Asian society. "Oh, so you're in university now? What course are you doing?" is an inevitable question I face whenever I go back. "Music/Arts," is my reply. A surprised look and a seemingly forced laugh. "Music? What are you going to be? A teacher?" More laughter.

In truth, I hate it. I hate it when they do that. I may not be on my way to becoming a doctor who saves lives, or an engineer or an architect. Or a pharmacist or some amazing profession, but this is what I have chosen. I don't need to see your surprise or that 'pity' at my decision. I know what they're thinking: Why are you going down this path?? I know that I could be doing something better, something more - "professional", which would ensure me a more financially secured future, but this is my passion. This is what I have decided.

It's hard especially when I see everyone around me going down such respectable paths and on their ways to become budding lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, etc. It's hard knowing that I could have gone down that path as well.

But this is my choice. There's no turning back from here.

...

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

The Days of Wine and Roses

2007-06-14T16:52:00.000+10:00

Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam
Ernest Dowson

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

*The Latin title translated means "The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long". It's from Horace's Ode 1 (Carminum liber primus). Horace is the same Roman lyric poet who gave us the phrase "carpe diem". Just felt like sharing this short poem I found. The melancholic tone and brevity of it appealed to me very much.

Holidays!

2007-06-08T08:38:00.000+10:00

Jerry: no, I'm not going back to Brunei.. =( Partly because I was back home a few weeks ago, and it's a bit ridiculous to return home again so soon when I've barely been back here a month. I initially thought I might have returned in June/July to do my PR stuff instead, but that plan went "poof" when I went back in May suddenly.

Exams are over!!

A hundred arrows are pointed at me, and my housemates would just kill me, but I'll say it anyway: My dilemma now is to find something to do! Haha.

Oh well. I've got about 3 weeks of holidays, before going off for Winter Camp and then it's off to the Hillsong Conference in July for me! My housemate managed to help me find a cheaper ticket for the Conference, and it was from another friend in the fellowship, and she had signed up for the Worship Leading stream. So that's what I would be going for I think... I thought that if I couldn't get a cheaper ticket from someone who's not going, then I might have chosen the Musician stream instead if I bought my own ticket, but I might gain something from learning a few things about worship leading.

I had wanted to look for a job or something, but I doubt anyone would want to hire me for only three weeks since I'll be gone for about two weeks or so... I guess I might look for a job after I come back from the Conference.

Sigh. Still trying to get over the depression of the practical exam I had yesterday. Anyway, I dropped by the CD store while walking home to buy a movie to watch - Roman Holiday, featuring Audrey Hepburn, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film. I've been getting into the classics lately - I've bought and watched Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, rented and watched My Fair Lady and watched Breakfast At Tiffany's at a friend's place... it's kind of refreshing to watch these old movies - their acting so fresh, and real. None of that Hollywood nonsense you see nowadays... I mean, there are good movies, but it's not like how they used to make it anymore.

Anyway.

Have fun in Brunei, Jerry! And for goodness' sake, please post something!

Gaaarhhh

2007-06-04T17:02:00.000+10:00

So like... Jerry, you're back in Brunei!! Update, update, update!! (Honestly!!)

I love Shakespeare and all, but trying to finish up my 50% essay is killing me. No, it's the referencing and footnotings which are killing me. I hateeee footnoting and having to reference everything. Why can't we just write essays as we did back in high school? I know, I know, plagiarism and all that stuff, but for once, I'm really tempted to just say, who careeeess!!

My exam timetable isn't as bad as compared to my other friends', since I'll be done with everything by Wednesday afternoon - but this one time, I actually wish my practical exam was later. With sciences and stuff like that, you can cram, but you absolutely cannot cram practicing and learning the notes for your practical exam. (Please, God, just let me pass!)

I really ought to be finishing my essay, but I'm ranting to Ern online and creating this alternate universe where... Okay, I should stop before I start ranting here as well. Gah.

I'm totally looking forward to de-stressing after exams. But only if the idea of facing my results will disappear from my consciousness first. If anything kills the joy of holidays, it's that.

O Fortuna...! >=/

2007-05-21T10:35:00.000+10:00

I'm feeling exceedingly frustrated - ever since I saw the posters and advertisements for the upcoming Carmina Burana chorale, I really wanted to go, but stalled, because firstly, I thought I could get someone to go with me (which didn't happen), and secondly, well, I decided to just go by myself.

Tickets were supposedly sold "at the door" as well. The concert is at 5 p.m. I arrived close to 5 p.m.

I should have known it would be sold out!!

Gaaaaah.

Carmina Burana is composed by Carl Orff, and the first chorus, O Fortuna, is world-famous, as in, really world-famous. The name of the chorale, and the composer's name might not ring any bells to you guys, but listen to the Youtube video.

And imagine listening to that live in a concert hall.

Now imagine my frustration.

Enough said.

Random update

2007-05-18T17:27:00.000+10:00

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival '07, held last April.
A projection of the logo on the concrete ground outside Melbourne Town Hall,
taken after watching Jason Byrne's stand-up act with friends.

I just recently finished watching this Taiwanese serial drama my sister 'ordered' me to watch when I was home back in January. It's called "Green Forest, My Home", and consists of 15 episodes.

Okay, I didn't exactly watch the entire thing - for some reason, the episode 13 which I ~~downloaded~~ have on my hard drive couldn't play, so that was one episode of long-windedness, convoluted plot gone. I barely missed much (since the 'next episode preview' always spoil the events for you already). Halfway through episode 14, I couldn't take it anymore and skipped through it. I skimmed through episode 15 as well, going straight to the final 10 minutes of the show.

Which was really too bad, because the show started off quite interesting (for me), but by episode 10, I was starting to lose interest and my impatience to see the hero and heroine get together was still far from resolved. Add in the 'must-have-plot-twist' of someone about to die from some disease towards the end of the show, and the story dragged on even more.

I think that sums up the show.

The weekend is here! And next week is the final week of the semester before Swot Vac starts (a one-week study break. I have yet to learn why it's called swot vac. Is it derived from some Aussie or American slang?) Exams begin 4th June, and after looking at my exam timetables, I found out that I end extremely early this time - I'll be a free rabbit after 3 p.m. on 6th June. But that also means that all my exams are compacted into that 3-day period. And yes, contrary to popular belief, Music students do have exams, as do Art.

On a totally unrelated matter, Beethoven's Third Symphony, 'Eroica', is still an astounding and majestic composition, even after a hundred listens to it. I implore you guys to have a listen, especially the first movement!

Command and Conquer

2007-05-08T16:53:00.000+10:00

Another one of the dog.

I'm leaving sooner than expected - will be flying to S'pore on Wednesday and staying there till Friday. My mom's coming as well. By Saturday morning, I would have arrived in Melbourne.

Having been cooped up at home, today served as a reminder why I hardly step outside: I took the dog - or rather, the dog pulled me - to the perimeters of the house, where the 'jungle' is. It was an immediate onslaught of mosquito warfare, like the kind where the commander orders his army to show absolutely no mercy to the enemy. I am left with at least 5 mosquito bites on my legs and a couple on my arms. I killed a few out of the dozens that must have came after me the moment I stepped into the grasses.

Two I killed quite by accident - you know how you sometimes scratch that itchy spot, only to realize you've kind of - killed the mosquito as well. I killed a few more by slapping around on my legs (and one I caught on my toe)...

I've forgotten how satisfying it feels to kill the maddening pests. The little joys of life.

Home

2007-05-05T09:12:00.000+10:00

I have been cooped up at home ever since coming back. My mom went to Kuching, and will be back on Saturday or Sunday, I think. I've become the second driver after her (not that I'm complaining). I can't believe how many activities my sister is doing: dance, violin, piano, JIS orchestra, etc. etc. (And I hardly see her practicing either! No, I'm not criticizing you... merely stating the fact. =P) Anyway, I can't believe how much driving my mom does in a day.

The PR thing is done with, and all that's left for me to do is to get my purple IC done, and from now on, I no longer have to apply for social passes every time I come back to Brunei.

A random picture of the dog taken in January.

Okay. Back to essays.

P/S. Sherissa (thought I'd reply your comment here, too lazy to go back to the previous post): Lol. After doing essays for the past one year and with the essays I have this semester, I think I'd much prefer having tests.

In 24 hours...

2007-04-27T17:41:00.000+10:00

...I shall have arrived in Brunei.

Yeap, just in case there are still anyone reading this blog at all. I'll be catching the midnight flight out to S'pore, and the first flight out to Brunei. I'll be home on Saturday, and will stay about a week - all this to finish up the long process of obtaining my PR, and making my red (purple? pink? whatever colour it is now) IC. Apparently it has to be done ASAP, so my mom called me once she received the letter from the government. I'm thrilled to be flying home, but it's smack right in the middle of a busy period where 10%, 30% and 50% assignments and essays are dued.

I'm staying up late right now to finish up my research on my Shakespeare essay; I have my music history essay to plough through during the week I'll be back in Brunei - I have to apply for extensions on all my assignments (to be able to hand them in later than the original due date) which means I have to see my lecturer and tutor tomorrow morning.

I have to buy my plane ticket (yes, you've got that right - I don't have my ticket yet) first thing in the morning; I only received the news just now in the evening, so everything's pretty harried and I'm trying to get everything done as fast as humanly possible.

I have to find out if I need to apply for a 10-day leave from uni; I'll be missing lectures (which I really don't want to miss). I need to reschedule my piano lesson with my teacher.

I need time...!

But looking forward to home (even if not everyone's there).

This is going to be a loooong night.

Miss Saigon - the aftermath, and many more

2007-04-19T08:28:00.000+10:00

It's been ages since I've updated! And it's been centuries since Jerry updated, for that matter. But here's a very delayed review of Miss Saigon. (I think I may have been slightly biased, since I already love it. Oh, all right - very biased.)

I couldn't help but cry at the end of it. Tears rolled down my cheeks when Kim shot herself and slumped to the floor. Silence reigned in the theatre as everyone's attention was transfixed on the tragic and poignant scene unfolding before our eyes. Chris runs to her - he embraces her and carries her in his arms as she whispers one last time, "How did in one night ... did ... we come ... so far..." The refrain of Sun and Moon swells into a crescendo and the last notes lingered in the silence - wow. The End.

Miss Saigon was - no - is awesome. There is no other word for it. After hearing and knowing about it for years now, I finally have my chance to catch it in the theatre, albeit not at the West End or at Broadway (and it's ended its runs at both locations already). However, the leading cast were absolutely splendid in their performances, especially Leo Valdez in his critically-acclaimed performance as the Engineer, who brought much comedic relief and "spunkiness" to the musical.

I love, love, love the songs. The music - oh, it's simply glorious.

Laurie Cadevida shone as Kim, and sounds almost as good as Lea Salonga, who took on the original role on the London West End. Chris was played by an Australian lead, David Harris, who put on an equally stellar performance. But Leo Valdez, in his energetic and uplifting performance, was undoubtedly the star, and pretty much stole the limelight most of the time.

We managed to get a few pictures with Chris (David Harris) and John (Juan Jackson)!!! *insert groupie squeal here* The pictures are still with my housemate, haven't gotten it from her. (Yes, I was that fanatic to have wanted pictures with them.) Kim (Cadevida) came out through the side door as well after the performance, but in the rush to pose with Chris and John, we missed her, and she went off in the other direction. ("Noooo!!") We (oh, okay - at my insistence) hung around for a bit to see if Leo Valdez would come out as well (to get his autograph and picture would have been huge pluses, since he's an internationally-renowned performer), but he didn't, so we left.

Anyway, it was a great musical, and I really would love to see it a second time (except for that one material possession we are always in dire need of - money!). Anyway, I have Phantom of the Opera to look forward to in early September.

Speaking of events, I'll be going for quite a few in the coming weeks. There's the Comedy Festival, and I just bought the tickets for the Jason Byrne stand-up which is on this coming Tuesday, and on Friday, I'll be going for A Night in Fantasia 2007 - the Symphonic Games Edition, which I'm very much looking forward to. And there's the much-anticipated world famous Cirque du Soleil - Varekai, in early May which I'll be going for as well! (Second row seats, A reserve - beat that!! =P)

Anyway, just to liven up the blog, and though it's been weeks over already, here are a few firework pictures from the Moomba Water Festival held last March.

Miss Saigon!

2007-03-22T09:05:00.000+11:00

I can-not wait for tonight.

"Tonight, tonight..." Haha, okay, that's totally the wrong song from the wrong musical, but I'm so excited!

In addition to Miss Saigon, I'll also be going for Phantom of the Opera in early September.

Meanwhile, the Grand Prix was held in Melbourne a few days back, the FINA World Swimming Championships is still going on; Melbourne Comedy Festival is going to be on next month, I think - and with the Moomba Water Festival just over recently, it really is a month of madness. The newspapers call it "March Madness".

I've got a lot of pictures from the Moomba, but will upload them when I have time.

I know I haven't been updating lately - but will try my best! Melbourne is - well, Melbourne.

Week 4 already...! Where did the days go?

On an entirely different note, I made a new friend yesterday!

It might not seem a big a deal, on the surface - I mean, people meet people everyday, you make new friends now and then, but I guess for me, it's harder especially in uni. When we were younger, we had no qualms about talking to that kid sitting over there who's missing his or her two front teeth. Kids don't really care about appearances and vanity. They accept you for who you are.

I guess it just seemed really great that I'm finally able to talk, as in really, talk to someone for once in one of my classes - and being the only Asian in a Lit class full of Caucasians - well, it's not easy sometimes. Especially since you get to see these people probably for only one semester, and then you might never see them again.

It's only when you grow older that you realize so many things. And then you find out that even after all those years of learning and schooling, you still know so little.

There and Back Again

2007-02-24T18:49:00.000+11:00

After finding out that a few other people were also upgraded to Raffles Class, and seeing that the Raffles Class cabin was almost full upon boarding the plane, my excitement kind of diminished as the novelty of being able to ride in the Raffles Class on SIA wore off.

Of course, prior to my departure, I just had to take the opportunity to visit:

I was told by my dad's friend to drop by the lounge. Which I did. It was a little awkward as I was literally surrounded by rich and well-dressed business people; most were middle-aged and older.

After having a go at the free internet at the lounge, I thought I would look for an empty seat (it was surprisingly crowded) and read the papers. I had the 'luck' to have an elderly English gentleman sit across me who started giving out anecdotes and his philosophies on life, society and the world. I shall not bother to reproduce the conversation here. But he certainly is one rich man - "I have thousands, millions, and I started from nothing."

For once, it was nice to breeze through the 'First Class/Business Class' queue rather than the 'Economy Class' queue. The life of the rich!

The seats were certainly very spacious and a lot more comfortable. I suppose one downside to this is that I will not be looking forward to going back to economy class. Lol. I don't think I've had a better sleep on any other flight thus far, despite only being able to manage about two (out of seven) hours.

I felt like a noob when I found out that the TV set was in the left hand-rest of the chairs; you have to pull it out and adjust its position as you like. The table was similarly tucked away neatly in the right hand-rest.

The food was so-so, despite the fact that Raffles Class passengers have their own special menu. I never expect airplane food to taste good anyway. Beverages on the menu included wine. And no, I didn't order wine.

In-flight entertainment was pretty good. Most of the movies which were available included the recent Oscar nominees.

Melbourne is freaking hot and it hasn't rained. (I miss the rain already!) First day, and I'm already melting. I am not looking forward to getting back to books and studying after two months of bumming around at home.

I despise losing 3 hours each time I come back.

Will be going furniture shopping for my new apartment tomorrow. Something to look forward to! I'll post up pictures when I can.

Ciao!

Of Flights, Business Classes, and $500

2007-02-23T16:21:00.000+11:00

Yeah, I know this blog has been dead for too long, but here's a quick update.

First, sorry to Jerome for not being able to make it that night! Guess you didn't shoot the plane down after all since I arrived in Singapore safely. Lol. And sorry to Albert, Kang and Chiew Hui - things were just too hectic on the last day and I had to settle a lot of last minute things, so I couldn't make it to your houses. Thanks for the invites!

I'm currently in Changi Airport. And I've been upgraded to Business Class! Especially for a 7-hour flight, this is welcome news. Haha. I thought I was late to the airport, since my flight was a 9 p.m. flight, but I arrived at the airport with my dad and his friend only at 8. SIA has this overbooking policy, and the 9 p.m. flight was very full, so I was shifted to the 11.40 p.m. flight, along with an upgrade, plus a reimbursement of $500.

I didn't spend any of that $500 even after roaming around the shops for quite a while. I would love to take pictures, but I'm not sure if picture-taking is prohibited in airports, but rather than getting accosted by security, I'd rather play it safe. =P

I miss you guys already, but I might be back in April to do my red IC..

I'll be so looking forward to sitting and enjoying the Raffles Class on SIA - I feel extremely 'sakai', since this will be entirely new for me, and well, you know me - every single new thing, also must point and shout and get excited over! I'm in the lounge specially for first class and business class ticket holders, and it's... so.. I think I'm the most immature and youngest looking person around, since practically everyone I see are business people and old men and ladies. I get free food and drinks I think. I feel small. Lol. It's like... ahh, so this is how the rich really live! I want to be rich too!

Mm.

Anyway, have a great CNY...!

2007-01-12T19:22:00.000+11:00

Here's an extremely late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greeting to this blog.

Yeah, I know it's dead. But even I thought it'll be a change from seeing the same post every time I visit the site.

On other matters, apartment matters are finally settled - thank God for His providence! At least now I can look forward to going back to Melbourne without any feelings of trepidation about where I will be staying after my contract ends.

It's been great seeing everyone, and I mean, everyone.

Um.

I honestly don't know what to say anymore. And it's late anyway. So...

Oh yeah...! Really happy you called, Ern! It was really a pleasant surprise - and I assure you, you do not want to hear me dying on the phone.

Even if you might laugh at my shrieks of, "I told you so, Ern!!" before my life literally ends in your ears. =P

(What happened was that I was approaching a petrol station - my mom wanted to fill up the tank, and I didn't want to risk an explosion. I mean, you sure don't want to see MY name in that article headlined, "Tragic explosion at petrol station - hand with phone found miles away" or something silly like that.

Okay, fine, I know I'm over-reacting. Haha. I'll probably just end up deaf and without a left hand, in the worst case scenario. ...Right?)

So...

Jerry!!! It's YOUR turn.

2006-12-22T18:52:00.000+11:00

Okay, everything's finally sort of confirmed.

I'll be back to Brunei on Monday... my brother and sister are flying to S'pore tomorrow, and they'll meet me at the airport, or something like that; we'll be staying at a hotel, just us three siblings (woots, sibling bonding time? I'm very certain that they coming to S'pore is not just a case of "We miss Jie Jie"; come on, one's 16, and the other's 18 - they definitely have their own agendas =P. Yes, Karen. I know you'll be going on a shopping spree for two days.)

That aside, wow, finally! I'll be landing in Singapore late Saturday night; scheduled landing time is 9.30 p.m. I'll probably reach the hotel by 10.30 p.m. at the latest, and I'll see if I'm up to meeting you, Sherissa, and everyone else who I'd want to catch up with in S'pore. (I'll SMS you when I get there.)

And yeah, I could probably meet up with you too, Tiong, if you're reading this at all. (Even though you're still coming back to Brunei anyway, but heeey, at least you can be the first person to actually see me "officially" after... what, almost 10 months =P.)

I'll be leaving on Sunday night (with my siblings), catching the 11 p.m. flight to Brunei. So I'll be arriving back in Brunei officially early Monday morning. That means I have the entire Sunday in S'pore. Yay, spending Christmas Eve there.

Can't wait to catch you all! The next two days are full-on and busy for me as I settle last-minute things. Accommodation is almost settled. There's still many things to consider and do about next year. But anyway. I don't think I'll be posting as often during the next two months, so yeah.

See you all soon!! Take care, everyone.

2006-12-18T10:18:00.000+11:00

The water lily lake, Royal Botanical Gardens, Tasmania (Day 1)

6 more days!! By this time next week, I think I'll already be back in Brunei. (I really hope so!) I don't think I'll stop over in S'pore for too long - once I land there, I'll be buying the earliest possible ticket out to Brunei. But I'll definitely stop over in S'pore for a few days on my way back to Melbourne in February next year.

Hm... Haven't been doing much... I've been watching quite a few movies recently though!

I watched The Prestige last Tuesday, and I enjoyed it, despite having to sit in the front row (bought the tickets too late!). Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman were stellar in their performances, and the movie is engaging, with all the twists and turns. I caught Charlotte's Web the week before as well, and it was very faithful to E.B. White's novel, so thumbs-up for that - plus, it has beautiful music scored by Danny Elfman (who has worked with Tim Burton on many of his films including Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, etc. - he did the soundtrack for the first two Spiderman movies as well). It's not amazingly good, but it's a feel-good, family movie with cute animals that talk. I loved the book when I had read it some years back, and am glad with the movie adaptation.

One adaptation which failed, failed, failed was Eragon. It was a major, major disappointment. I contend that the film and book are two different media, and you can't always expect a totally faithful adaptation (especially not if it's in the fantasy genre, with tons of details that are impossible to fit in a movie) but still, for a movie which was only one and a half hours, they could have made it a 2-hour long movie. They could have done at least a bit more with that extra half hour, adding and fleshing out more details... I have too many gripes that I don't even want to get into it here, but I know that I'm definitely not catching the sequel (which was implied in the ending, and if they will do it). Anyhow, a sequel seems almost impossible, especially considering all the details and characters they left out from the book, some of which are essential to the plot in the second part. Not that the book itself was great great - it's a fun read, but unoriginal and derivative. If you haven't seen it - well, don't waste your money. I didn't have this many complaints watching Harry Potter or LOTR, despite the screenwriters throwing out many scenes from the books, but at least the main story was still there.

And while I'm still on the subject - why adapt Eragon, when there are so many better fantasy books out there!! (I'd like to see David Eddings' Belgariad series adapted, for one.)

I started watching Grey's Anatomy a week ago, and I'm hooked. I'm still watching Friends, and going on strong - on season 6 now, although I had to skip to it from season 4, 'cause no one has season 5.. someone lend me season 5! Lol.

Oh my gosh, I'm turning into a lazy TV freak.

I only just realized that there is a Warner Bros. store at Crown (a casino, hotel, movie, shopping, food, entertainment complex), and I love all the things they were selling there - brings back memories of the cartoons we used to watch when we were younger. There were movie memorabilia on sale, including animation cels and signed posters, etc., all selling for thousands. I would love to own at least one of those authentic items. There was a whole section of Simpsons merchandise - speaking of which, I can't wait for the movie next year! And oh, the final Harry Potter book will be out next year too, as well as the 5th movie (Order of the Phoenix, which happens to be my least favourite in the series actually). Spiderman 3 will be out next year too.

Okay, I'm rambling now, and I should stop. I have nothing better to talk about now anyway.

Hope you're doing well, Jerry. (When am I seeing a post from you??)

Looking forward to catching up with you all in Brunei soon...!

Home is where the heart is

2006-12-14T10:57:00.000+11:00

Sigh.

11 more days. My entire family's in Sibu right now. Sibu might not be a very exciting holiday destination, but I haven't seen my grandparents and relatives in almost 2 years now. I always feel much more at home in Sibu than in Ipoh, language barrier being one of the reasons.

It's nice to know that you're still alive, Jerry.

Victoria has been having a spate of bushfires, and the city is again covered in smog today, from all the smokes from the fires. The weather's extremely eccentric. It can be extremely hot and dry one day, and the next day, it's winter again. Gah. I want normalcy ...

I want home.

A Quick Update

2006-12-09T21:17:00.000+11:00

The last few weeks have been crazy, and literally a whirlwind of activities. Tasmania was beautiful, and I've got lots of amazing scenic pictures - looking at the pictures, it's almost hard to believe that I had been there. The second last day in Tassie was spent hiking Cradle Mountain, and I think we took on more than we bargained for; it was only after we finished this particular crossing that we realized it was actually one of the 'steep and difficult' climbs.

Anyway. That might not make much sense. I can't be bothered to make myself sound coherent at this moment.

Straight after Tasmania was the OCF (Overseas Christian Fellowship) Convention - it was great to see all the OCF-ers coming in from all the other Australian states, and so Convention was another 6 straight days of sermons, bible studies, workshops, worship sessions, etc.

I came back with a cold, and my voice has transformed, so yeah.

I still can't change my flight. All December flights are fully booked. My dad suggested upgrading to Business class, but I called Qantas, and it'll cost me a freaking $6000+ just for a stupid upgrade. And to upgrade to a different class, but still in Economy, will cost me $1350. Buying a single ticket back to S'pore will cost me $1250, and if I wait till 23rd December with my current ticket, it'll cost me nothing.

Okay, my frustration with that over and done with, I realize that I'm not feeling that frustrated over this whole flight thing. I guess I don't really mind staying till that long - okay, fine, I DO mind, to a certain extent. My family's going back to Sibu next week, for one week. I'm still here!! I haven't seen my relatives and grandparents in almost 2 years...! There's not much to do in Sibu, but still...!

And even after coming back from Convention, I'm still bushed. On the same day I came back, I went out at night again to the night market at Victoria Markets - it's an event which only happens every Wednesday in summer, so it was my first time. The next day, had dinner with Joan, who was on exchange for the past semester from the States, and she left today. After dinner, a bunch of us chilled at a friend's place, just playing cards the whole night. Tonight, had dinner again with Esther, who's graduated, and is leaving at the end of the month. Tomorrow, I think I'm going shopping.

A few friends are organizing an early Christmas party for us left in Melbourne, so it's not that bad, really, staying on for so long... and with a couple of movie outings planned for the next week, and just random things to do, I guess it's not that bad. And not to mention, I have yet to settle my accommodations for next year.

This post is turning out to sound rather messy and convoluted. I doubt anyone understood that whole ramble of text I just typed out. Ah well, never mind.

Seeing people leave Melbourne one by one for home makes me wish I was leaving on a plane for home too. This is the longest I've ever been away for home. I know it may not sound like a big deal - some people probably never go back at all, or they might have stayed longer than 2 years, but there's still no place like home.

On the other hand, not everyone will be there when I go back... Gosh, Ern, I have no idea when I might see you again. =( And I know there will be changes to face when I go back as well. But that's part of life, and it's inevitable.

Anyway, hope you all are doing great. Sigh... two more weeks.

Sort-of-hiatus

2006-11-25T20:15:00.000+11:00

Those pictures from Fifteen will just have to come a little later.

I'm leaving for Tasmania early in the morning, and I'll be away for 5 days, and with all the blog entries this month coming from only one corner of the world, this blog is declared officially on a break. After Tassie, I'm going off straight for OCF Convention, which is 6 days, so there probably won't be any updates until after 6 December then. I might update when I come back from Tasmania.

I miss you guys so much. As I've said, my current ticket is for a 5.15 p.m. flight on 23rd December, but I've been trying to change it to an earlier date (results are negative so far). So hope and pray that I can really get an earlier flight! I really don't want to be stuck here that long.

And I really mean it when I say I miss all of you. I've been feeling quite homesick lately, and I'm sure some of you will know that it's not at all a nice feeling to carry around all the time.

I know we throw around the word 'miss' a lot, in the sense of yearning and longing and sentimentality, but I don't think I've meant that word so much as I do right now.

Fifteen

2006-11-23T17:01:00.000+11:00

Fifteen!!

Went to Fifteen today with Esther, Marianne, Melvin and Kingsley (from my cell group). Fifteen is the chain of restaurants that's opened by Jamie Oliver, and he was in Melbourne earlier in August/September to promote it. We were lucky to get a reservation; the restaurant is almost fully booked out till next year January, but we managed to get a slot for lunchtime today when I called last week to make the reservation.

Melvin took lots of pictures, and once I get those from him, I'll post a few up; the food's good, but oh my gosh, the bill! O_O Fine dining is one thing I definitely won't do very often, and although it wasn't entirely perfect, I enjoyed the food, and the experience was great. (On a side note, I can't believe how much I've been spending on food.)

The interior's nice, although the ambience wasn't as relaxed and as peaceful as we expected, but seeing that the restaurant was full of patrons, I guess we can't really expect that. The deco is really beautiful; even the bathrooms had really unique designs. It was an open concept, so we could see the chefs and all. A few of my friends recognized the chefs, since they have been featured on television on one of Jamie Oliver's shows. I confess I don't know watch Jamie Oliver very much. Or watch much TV, for that matter.

This post will be very boring without pictures, so I'll try to get them soon, to liven up the blog a little. Will elaborate more then!

Two Weeks Away From Summer, A Winter's Day in Late Spring

2006-11-16T09:37:00.000+11:00

..hm, that sounds like a good title for a novel, actually... a-hem. Anyway!

I'm finally done with all my exams! Had my practical this morning, kind of like a recital - it was "okay". There were, inevitably, mistakes. But for goodness' sake, why must the examiners' faces be so stiff and expressionless? I could hear them conversing while I was playing, and that didn't help. Are they saying, "Hm, that sounds good", or "How the heck did this girl pass the auditions?"

I want my results NOW, and I want to read the comments they wrote. I was nervous when I started playing, but loosened up into the second and third pieces. =(

Called Qantas again today, and still no positive answer. Sigh. At this point, I pretty much want a date, anytime earlier than 23rd Dec. I was talking to my mom, and she told me that flights from S'pore to Brunei are all fully booked from Christmas Day onwards, so if I can't get an earlier flight, I don't think I might be able to stay in S'pore for long... (sorry, Sherissa, Holly, and everyone else whom I was planning to meet up there!!)

The 23rd Dec flight that I'm currently holding leaves Melbourne at 5.15 pm, so by the time I get to S'pore, it'll be close to midnight, and once I arrive there, I need to buy a ticket ASAP to Brunei - yeah, that's another dilemma, I don't have a ticket to Brunei yet, and if the flights are fully booked again, I'll be damned. It looks like I just might have to forgo staying in S'pore for a few days if things continue this way.

Top on my list for now is the search for a new accommodation... but that probably won't interest any of you in the least. Just trivial - no, really important, actually - things that I have to get settled before I leave. Maybe it is good that I'm leaving late, since I still have so many things to do.

As the post title describes today's weather - it is COLD. The max was forecasted to be 14 degrees. It's almost hard to believe that it'll be summer in two weeks' time (technically, that is). Hail and snow were predicted yesterday (probably in the suburbs and at higher altitudes).

I can't believe it... exams over and done with... sigh. Home seems so close, yet so far away...

Now that I have all this free time, apart from doing the need-to-be-done-things-before-I-leave, I think I might look for a part-time job to while the time away (and earn some money - I've been spending too much. Not on shopping, but it's all been on food!).

And (this might be horrifying to all Friends fans out there), I've just recently borrowed seasons 1-3 of Friends. I've never ever seen a single episode before ("No way!"), and got hooked on it about a month ago ("What, after the series has ended??"), around season 4 ("OMG!"). Yeah, I know, it's hard to pick up from there, since some of the jokes are running..

But I can say that I'm officially hooked on it now. =D ("Welcome to the ~~dark~~ light!")

Dilemma

2006-11-13T13:35:00.000+11:00

I've visited their office once, called Qantas thrice already, and each time leads to a disappointment.

I'm trying to get a change of flight date. When my dad originally bought this ticket back in Feb (which was very last minute), he had to put down a specific date for the return date, and not knowing when exams would end, or when the semester ends, etc., so he put down 23rd December as a safe option. The idea is that I'll change it later.

I ought to have called like, MONTHS before and change the date. I didn't expect the whole month of December to be fully booked. (Okay, fine, I know that it would be, but I'm still in stage 1: denial.)

I refuse to stay here till 23rd December (see what I mean about denial?). If I hadn't confirmed going to Tasmania from 25th to 30th November with a bunch of friends, I would have backed out, but it's too late, because the flights have been booked, the tickets bought, accommodations booked, etc. I had planned to go for OCF Convention (1st to 6th December) afterwards, and fly to S'pore on the 8th, probably staying there for a few days, before flying back to Brunei.

The plan sound-ed good.

Sigh. I've decided that I'll skip Convention, and call like, everyday. Maybe twice a day. Or every hour! I want to go home. Hoping for a flight between the 1st to 12th December. I'm not going to be stuck here with the annoying flies for summer.

I absolutely refuse.

Freedom... sort-of.

2006-11-08T18:28:00.000+11:00

It's over!!

Sort of.

I had my music history paper today, which wasn't too bad (thank God for that!). Most of what I studied came out (phew!). But I had been stressing over this subject the most, since there was so much to read, remember and understand.

Now for my Aural exam on the 13th, and final practical exam on the 15th...

This might be a bit late in coming, but happy belated birthday to both Fei and Sherissa! Meant to send an SMS to both of you, but in the midst of cramming and stress, I think you'd both understand. Lol. Hope you had a great one!

Hm... what else.

Melbourne Cup (the so-called "race that stops a nation") was held today, which is this huge horse-racing event. And yeah, almost the whole of Victoria gets a holiday, because of that - horse-racing. Most of the shops were closed, or open for half-a-day only. Like all horse-racing events, (from what I heard) the ladies all dress up, the men dress in suits and stuff as well, so it's partly a formal affair. Of course, there are the weird costumed people, too. And what's a horse-racing event without that money-throwing extra (betting). But anyway, I definitely want to attend Melbourne Cup in one of the next few years! (Not to bet lah - I know nuts about horse-racing!) It'll be cool to experience it. But apparently, it usually clashes with exam periods...

Therefore, while most of the public are enjoying their day off either at home or at Flemington (Melbourne Cup venue), suffering students like us sit inside the exam hall.

What else...

Gah. This blog has been feeling extremely one-sided recently. =P (hint, hint)

The library is my new home

2006-11-02T19:49:00.000+11:00

It's almost 1 a.m. and I'm still in the library, studying. Or trying my best to study, anyway. (Opening hours have been extended till 3 a.m. during exam/mugging/cramming period.)

I'm ready to die... lol.

(The fact that I find that point amusing doesn't help the situation either.)

The One with the Haircut

2006-10-27T14:42:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is last day of semester!

We get a one week study break!

I still have so much to do!

I got a haircut yesterday ($20 for a cut-wash-blow, which is actually quite reasonable considering that Melbourne is a very expensive place to get haircuts).

The hairdresser ~~chopped~~ cut off almost all the lengths of my hair which had been permed.

My hair!!

My hair...!!

I couldn't see a thing while the hairdresser was ~~mutilating~~ cutting my hair, so what I saw through my blurred vision was just the black blob which was my hair, and the brown which somewhat resembled my face. (It doesn't sound that bad - the hairdresser, I mean. Neither is my vision. Oh fine. Yes, my vision is bad.)

So when she was done, and I put on my glasses, I was ... left speechless. I didn't know what to say. It wasn't that it's bad - it's just ... my hair... I've lived with this crazy hair for 19 years now, you'd think I'll be used to its wavy, thick, puffy texture by now.

I could rectify the ~~damage~~ new hair by straightening it again when I go back, but I refuse to let go through the whole straightening process again. (That, and I've had my hair straightened 4 times already!!) I rather sit through a perm, which is less painful.

Yeah, I'll be whining for the next two weeks. When I had my hair permed, and cut, and got a fringe last December, you ought to be glad you weren't with me for the subsequent two weeks. I think I drove everyone around me nuts. Literally. Especially my hairdresser aunt, since she was the one who did my hair.

But anyway, getting haircuts - anything which has to do with my hair being cut/straightened/permed, always sees me complaining and moaning about it for the next week or so, until I get used to it and accept the fact that I can't, well, uncut my hair.

And I made the decision to get a haircut anyway (so I shouldn't be complaining, really). But nooo... I ought to have waited... waited till I returned to Brunei....

My hair....

Freezing In The Land Down Under... and some.

2006-10-22T16:58:00.000+10:00

It was freezing today. I said it before, and I'll say it again: I thought it's supposed to be spring!! Temperatures were all below 15 degrees... The day was deceptively sunny, but it felt like winter.

I hereby take back my complaints about that 36-degree-Celsius day.

Went to watch the Flare dance production (entitled 'Elements') just now with some friends from OCF. Flare is this dance club/ensemble at uni, and they put on a production every year. It was quite good. Makes me almost want to join and learn how to dance too. Lol. Halfway through, I remembered the time when Ern wanted a bunch of us to put on a performance for Teacher's Day or Speech Day or something. It wasn't only once; there were a few times, but each time, the plan never materializes, and we give up before we even started. Hahaha.

Anyway, went to Koko Black afterwards to have hot chocolate and more chocolate delicacies! Ahhh. Hot chocolate on a cold night - a beautiful combination.

On other matters, I've done my re-enrolment and put in my course transfer application; now to wait and pray.

I also lost $70+ worth of credit today.

[Insert ~~words~~ screams of frustration and a 15-minute rant.]

Okay, I feel better now. Gah. It was supposed to expire today, so I thought I'll recharge my credit today, but stupid Optus means it when they say it expires on 21/10/06... I thought it meant it'll expire at 00:00, 22/10/06 then. (If you follow my logic.) Maybe I'm used to what I did back in Brunei - with Easi, when the expiry date comes around, it expires after midnight on that said date (if I remember correctly). Sadly, that is not the case here.

The consolation I can have is that I am on the Turbo Recharge plan (meaning I get $120 worth of credit when I recharge $30 on my credit). Not much of a loss... I think. I didn't use a lot of credit this month (surprisingly).

I have to start studying!!

Crossroads

2006-10-17T10:06:00.000+10:00

Re-enrolment and subject selection for 2007 has opened, and along with it, finally bringing to front a decision I've been contemplating the whole year. This is the period when course transfer applications are also open... I was chatting with Jamie the other night and telling her that it seems that the whole headache of applying to universities, choosing the 'right' courses (will it ever be right?) doesn't end once you actually enter uni and start a new chapter of your life. (Well, at least for me... lucky for those who are confident and sure of what they want.)

I'm still pretty much confused over my future. I'm doing Music (though it's doubled with an Arts degree), and I'm enjoying it. So what's the problem? I don't know. My application for a transfer to Music/Law may very well be rejected, and once I apply, there will be the agony of waiting till next year before I finally receive an answer. But is it what I want? I don't know if I'll enjoy Law. I don't mind it, but at the moment, I'll just see where things go from here. I don't really hold high hopes of a successful transfer. If that doesn't go through, I guess I'll stick with my current double degree... or I might just want to drop Arts and go with a straight Music degree. (There you go, another 'dilemma'.)

I am doing what I want right now - and sometimes, I really can't imagine myself doing another course, like, a random Science degree or even Medicine. I can probably cope with it, but I doubt I'll enjoy learning about it. All those years of studying the sciences and math, and I still turn to Arts and Humanities even after coming out of a pure science stream. It's just the stereotypical Asian mentality that the sciences are always better than arts. Well, that's pure rubbish.

Anyway, I love this website - it has the cutest games, with the cutest animation and pictures, with lovely background music. I particular like one of the links, which is titled "Rain" at the bottom - just a simple flash of rain falling to the ground, with soothing, almost melancholic music accompanying it.

Apparently, Victoria is experiencing a dry spell now, and the news is all about water restrictions, etc. etc. (I think a few other states are experiencing this drought as well.) Come to think about it, it hasn't rain for quite some time now. I kind of miss the rain that we get back home. On those days, it's lovely to just stay at home and listen to nice music, read a book, drink something warm and simply relax.

Home... I'm Malaysian, but I know almost nothing about Malaysia. Honestly, I don't really feel much 'loss' for not knowing my own motherland. In retrospect, Brunei is actually a beautiful place to live in, for all the complaints that we used to have about its lack of [insert your choice of want/desire]. We've had it easy, and thinking about it, we really do lead very privileged lives in Brunei. What it lacks in, it makes up for in the little things I've come to appreciate.

I think I might want to settle in Brunei in the later future after doing all the things I want to do.

Anyway, life goes on.

Melting in the Land Down Under

2006-10-13T16:58:00.000+10:00

The weather today was absolutely frightful - a blistering 36 freaking degree Celsius. The weatherman told me that the max was supposed to be around 30, but then, weathermen always lie, so I should have known better. It was hot and dry, so dry that I could almost feel myself being sucked empty of moisture and reduced to a withered heap of crispy, fried skin and cracked bones.

It's supposed to be spring!!! This almost makes me long for the cold days of winter again.

Oh well.

There's two more weeks of semester 2 left before swot vac (technically study break) and then we enter those weeks which all students have come to abhor. My exam timetable this time round is a bit more hectic (read: I actually have to do some *cough* serious studying. Not that I didn't for first sem.)

I realize I still have so much to do before these two weeks are up... I have yet to present my writing piece in Creative Writing workshop, I still have 7 exercises to present for Aural Studies, I have 12 weeks of material to cover/study (tons and tons of reading and listening to do) for Baroque and Classical Music, I have to memorize my pieces for my practical exam, I still have to change my flight date, I have to settle my accommodation stuff (breaking my current contract, if that can happen, and searching for a new place before I leave)... I have to... I have to...

*runs out of breath*

It doesn't sound that bad. Really.

I know I said I wouldn't nag at you, anymore, Jerry, but seriously, it would be nice to see you update here. Even if it's once in a blue moon. =P There's a reason why the blog is what it's called. Hope things are going well for you over there.

O, How Fast Doth The Days Passeth By

2006-10-02T15:25:00.000+10:00

Mid-sem break will be over soon as disgruntled students trudge back to university reluctantly. Exam timetables are already out; a friend was ready to kill me when I informed her that I only have one paper (Baroque & Classical Music), and a practical exam. Need to get cracking at the books and put more effort into practicing too.

Paintball

As reported previously, the soldiers had a tiring but extremely stimulating day. I'll try to get a few pictures, but as we couldn't bring any valuables onto the battlefield, you guys won't be able to see Connie in camouflage outfit and unflattering mask or any of us in action. We took some 'before' and 'after' shots, though.

One memorable incident:

Scenario: Connie is left all alone on the battlefield; her teammates have all been taken down.

Connie: (hides behind a tree)

Connie: (thinking frantically) Oh no! I can't be the only left... You've got to be joking... Ack! Who's that?? Who shot at me?! There's one there, on my left - okay, here goes - (aims gun at enemy and fires paintballs frenziedly) - Darn, I didn't get him/her!! Gaah - who was that??? On my right?? Another one?? No! (fires in the opposite direction) - What the - ?? There's another one in front of me!!

Noooo - 3 vs. 1!

I ran out of paintballs while trying to take them down - but I don't think I would have survived anyway!

Piano Stories IV

...which was actually a week ago. It was ... okay. Slightly disappointed. The songs were nice, though, but I thought that the pianist, a really talented Polish pianist who's won various competitions (but-I-can't-remember-his-name), was sight-reading most of the time. It seemed like he didn't really prepare for it. There were tons of mistakes, and that kind of ruined the songs, but ah well... The guest performer is a really beautiful Japanese violinist, who did an amazing job, but some technical issues (which are totally unrelated to her playing) ruined that, too. There are other aspects which I would love to complain about, but I shall not.

***

I can't believe it's already October. Where did all the days go?

This blog is

2006-09-28T16:30:00.000+10:00

...dying, I tell you. It's dying.

I went paintballing today with my cell group. It was a whole day trip. The paintball place was in New South Wales, near the borders of Victoria-New South Wales, because apparently paintball is banned in Victoria (because of some firearms legislation).

Tired.

I wished we could have gotten some pictures of us in action - but there were only "before" and "after" pictures... We weren't really supposed to bring any valuables into the "battlefield".
So what have you been up to, Jerry?

Happy Birthday

2006-09-22T04:28:00.000+10:00

Happy 19th Birthday, Jerry!

Don't think this is too late - it's still 20th September over there, isn't it? Hope you had a great one, and may God bless you abundantly! Take care over there. =)

Books...

2006-09-18T16:17:00.000+10:00

...are one of my most favourite things. I love reading. I love books. Before I finish reading a book, I've already bought several others. That leaves me in a situation where I have several unread books left on the shelf while my compulsive behaviour keeps me buying books impulsively whenever I see a bookstore. Bookshops and I are like the opposite poles of a magnet. I just can't resist going into one.

Besides that, I have a penchant for collecting books - I'm extremely fussy when it comes to buying books. I check the book over carefully, making sure that there aren't any dents or ugly marks. Basically, as close to perfect as possible. (Yes, I know. Stop laughing.)

I would borrow books from libraries, but I'd prefer owning one myself. (I told you I'm fussy.) So even if I've read a book before which had been borrowed, I'd still go out and buy a copy for myself if I really like it. (That means I have currently a list of several books I'm still hunting for.)

I recently finished reading Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

It won the 1989 Booker Prize. It's one of those novels where you have to read it in one sitting, otherwise you'd lose the flow of it (and forget what's happening). I love Ishiguro's prose. It's simple, and very English, which reminds me of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (which I loved very much as well). The twist at the end left me feeling all melancholic, and wanting for more, but somehow the ending was befitting.

(Remains of the Day, incidentally, was lent to me by a friend. Does that mean I'll be buying my own copy soon? Maybe. =P)

I'm currently in the process of reading Marilynne Robinson's Gilead.

It won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It's ... ah, I'll quote from the backcover: "In 1956, towards the end of Reverend John Ames' life, he begsin a letter to his young son..."

It's basically a long letter written to his 7-year-old son. It's a bit spiritual and all (with all the Christian themes), but I think anyone can read it. It's beautiful and sad at the same time as the Reverend recalls his past, reflects on his life, and writing all that down to his son. I hope to finish it in the next few days.

(Btw, sorry for the crappy quality of the picture. And subsequent pictures. I need a better webcam. Gah.)

Today, after church, I went to Borders and after spending a happy hour or so browsing around, I finally bought (in spite of myself):

Agatha Christie's Dumb Witness, a Hercule Poirot mystery, and Edith Wharton's 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Age of Innocence.

I've read almost all of Agatha Christie's books before, and I especially love the ones with Poirot. And yes, those were all practically borrowed. But it's been ages since I've read an Agatha Christie mystery.. and yes, it's part of my book-colleting fetish. (Bleh.)

I had been eyeing The Age of Innocence for awhile, and finally bought it. (I've been eyeing several other books for awhile now as well, and ... will... try to refrain myself.) And I realize that I've been choosing all these... books which have won prestigious awards and so on. Haha. I just feel like getting back into the classics and "real" stuff.

But just to show you that I'm not that serious and literary when it comes to my choice of books, (I say that it's just a phase I'm going through now), I shall show you that I am a proud and avid fan of the fantasy genre. In fact, I actually brought over with me from Brunei, Terry Goodkind's Stone of Tears, which is the second book in his Sword of Truth series.

Alas, I confess I have yet to make it past the third chapter. It is ridiculously thick, but then, most fantasy books are. (I will read it, soon!) And my heart is already set on buying Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, which is apparently, very good. A friend recommended me her books last year. And I want to get Raymond E. Feist's Magician, (!) which has been highly recommended to me. I love, love, love fantasy. I remember buying almost all of David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean series in one go a few years ago at Kinokuniya in KL. (I know I'm nuts... I think I racked up a bill of RM$300++ that day, including some other random novels and a few of my sister's own selection of books.) And while I'm at that, you guys MUST read those series!!

On top of that, I still have Jane Austen's Emma, which I bought a few months ago. No, I haven't finished that. I have Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, as well. No, I haven't read it either. It was kind of hard to get into. But I will attempt it again after I finish my other books. *coughs embarrassedly* I think I still have a few unread books back in Brunei.. (I knowwww.. I shouldn't have bought those two books today.)

But I promise I'll finish reading them all!

Someday.

Somebody stop me from buying anymore books!

Recuperation

2006-09-16T11:07:00.000+10:00

After eight whirlwind weeks of lectures, tutorials, assignments, etc., finally I am liberated (sort of) for two weeks. Yes, it's the mid-semester break!!

I don't really have anything major planned for the holidays. Some of my coursemates are going for the Music Camp organised by the MSS (Music Students' Society), but a few of us decided not to go. Might do some shopping, depends on circumstances. But most importantly, I need to catch up on all my readings and start studying already... plus, have to put more effort in practicing piano as well.

I do plan to go for a few concerts during this mid-sem break... There's the Spring Early Music Festival organised by one of the professors from the Music Faculty, who is the Head of Early Music department or something. Hopefully I can drag a few people to come with me! But I doubt many people would be interested in early music... (?)

And oh, oh, oh - Piano Stories IV coming to Melbourne!! I am so going for this.
There was actually Piano Stories III back in April, but since I was relatively new to Melbourne, I didn't really know about it... I did go for A Night In Fantasia back in July though!!

My friend and I were just talking about how these two weeks will probably whiz by, just like the first 8 weeks of this semester. Somehow, I think so too... sigh. Time seems to be speeding up, especially near the end of the year, and when you need time most of all!

And Jerry: okay... yeah, I guess we all have lives. Haha. Just update when you can la.

I'll try to update once a week or something... just to keep this blog from being too dead. Although I think it probably already is.

Where In The World Is Jerry Wong Sia How?

2006-09-11T15:46:00.000+10:00

I'm running out of things to blog about... Jerry, at least entertain us with stories from your side... like... you know, life in the States, etc. etc... Anyway, where are youuuuu????

Mid-semester break after this week! Not really sure what my plans are yet, but I intend to concentrate a bit of my time on piano and studies.

2006-09-05T15:52:00.000+10:00

Steve Irwin's dead. General reception is shock and grief. The Age seems to have extensive coverage about it. I find it ironic that he died from an encounter with a stingray - which is normally quite harmless - while he survived all his crocodile stunts and other crazy escapades. I still find it hard to believe; for some reason, I always thought him almost... invincible or something. Condolences to his family...

Last week, my week started off with the news that Pluto was no longer a planet, and that our solar system officially has 8 planets. Not that it affects my life very much, but it's a bit sad; I mean, we grew up learning about the 9 planets in our solar system, and now Pluto is a, what, dwarf planet?

Apart from changes (like the Pluto debate - which has absolutely no consequence on our daily lives, whatsoever), Irwin's death makes you realize how fleeting life is. This article pretty much sums up why the news of his death is sending such shockwaves around the world. I never realize how famous he is around the world, and finding out that he's relatively 'obscure' here in Australia, when you compare his fame locally and abroad.

Wonder what news next Monday will bring me.