Crossroads

Once again, I find myself at the crossroads of my life. This feeling that seems so foreign yet so familiar; the uncertainties, the anxiety, the fear of making the wrong decision.

Should I make a u-turn and return to where I came from? Should I move forward and continue what I thought is my supposed journey? Should I turn left or right and venture something new? At this point in time, I'm still pretty unsure. While I will very much like to remain where I am, the oncoming traffic is forcing me to make a decision. Within the shortest possible time frame, I've gotta come up with the 'best decision' but how?

Even though I hold the power to make the decision, I don't exactly have the free will in doing so. I still have to consider the conditions of my vehicle, the road, the weather and the possible chance of landing in what I think is the destination.

Women's Tears

When used appropriately, a woman's tears can be the most powerful and even manipulative weapon. However, using it excessively and/or unnecessarily (ie. crying over very trivial matters every other day) will cause it to lose its initial power. The result is extreme annoyance and irritation in others.

So, chose to use your tears wisely.

Post Created Nov 25, 2011 1:10:32 PM

My plans got a little screwed up along the way and I'm having lunch alone. Not that I'm complaining because I pretty much enjoy the peace of having a meal by myself. I get to people watch, eat at my own pace (friends always complain that I eat too slowly) and do my own stuff (i.e blogging like now). Most importantly, I don't have to socialise when I don't feel like it.

However, eating alone in Singapore is highly unlikely in Singapore. You rarely get to find a nice quiet cafe and eating alone in restaurants will bring you pitiful stares from the service staff and surrounding customers. Eating alone in coffeeshops are worse because noisy aunties will bring their misbehaving children/grandchildren and squeeze with you on the same table, expecting you to leave with darting eyes, creating an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere as though I'm obstructing their family time. If not, hum sup (dialect for pervertic) men will look at you lecherously, teasing or waiting for an opportunity to hit on you. Even if ya lucky to avoid all of the above, the coffeeahop will never be quiet enough for a peaceful meal. That's the reason why I like to get take aways.

I'd better enjoy my peace now before returning back to Singapore.

自己

靠山，山倒。
靠人，人跑。
还是靠自己最好。

Blogger in Chinese

I typed blogger.com and everything showed up in chinese.

Seriously, I've no idea why. The language chosen for my OS is US English (I can't imagine using it in chinese. I would have freaking no idea how to navigate my way around; I don't even know what's an icon or a folder called in Chinese) and I blog in English, so how can the website displayed be in Chinese?

I Conquered It

If all else goes well, I'll graduate with a BSc Psychology at the end of this year.

If all else goes really well, I'll graduate with a BSc Hons Psychology at the end of next year.

If all else goes extremely well, I'll be a post graduate student at the start of 2013.

*fingers crossed that I didn't screw up my advanced statistics exams on Friday* Otherwise, I am pretty much screwed.

So, basically today marks the last day of my undergraduate studies (after sitting for my last paper).

Very random but I feel like typing this:

Q. 大学生了没？

A. 早已是大学生, 而且年底就毕业了！

=)

Rainy Day

I woke up feeling prespiring. The heat is getting unbearable. As I was starting to be a little grumpy, the weather took a sudden change with dark clouds hovering in the sky. Before I know it, it's raining cats and dogs.

I love rainy days. I like it when it cools down the temperature. In Singapore, the temperature change is minimal when it rains. However, in Australia or Canberra at least, a rain can bring a great drop in temperature. I remember the last time it rained, the temperature dropped by 10 degree celsius and the 'cooling' effect lasted for a good three days.

I love rainy day even when I was a kid because it means that I can walk out in the rain with my cute little fancy umbrella. Truth to be told, I like to get myself drenched and play in the rain. I remember this one fine day when I was in secondary school when there was a heavy downpour and I didn't have an umbrella with me. I strolled back home from school in the rain (which was a 15 minutes walk away), feeling happy and especially relaxed but when I was home, my parents were especially concerned, particularly my father. He told me ring him up the next time it's raining, so that he can fetch me home from school with an umbrella. He didn't know that I actually enjoyed being in the rain. However, to save my parents from worries and heartaches, I never get myself drenched intentionally from then on. Oh, did I mention that it is very satisfying to have a warm bath after being drenched?

I like observing the rain drops; if you pay close attention to the rain, you can actually see the direction of rain drops changing with the direction of the wind. I like to see people running to shelters, waddling in puddles of water, sharing umbrellas and/or struggling to open umbrellas. I especially like the sight of adults fussing over their children, ensuring they aren't drenched in the rain; it's a warm sight. I like observing the behaviours of people on rainy days (outdoors of course), especially when it's a sudden downpour; I like to see people's expression and reaction to it. I like to observe from behind the windows of cars, cafes and buildings. I mean, if I'm one of those who are caught in the rain, how then can I observe others who are in a similar plight? I will most probably be struggling to cope with the sudden downpour.

I like the skies to be grey when it rains; it looks and feel every bit like a rainy day. I dislike it when it's a sunshower, also known as devil is beating his wife (an interesting metaphor). A sunshower makes me feel extremely uncomfortable, especially when the ground gets heated up while it rains (more common in Singapore than Canberra). If I were to be exposed to it, there's a 80% chance I'll suffer from a migraine and fall ill shortly after. Needless to say, this is the kind of rain I will never get myself drenched in. It's a recipe for disaster.

I like rainy days on most days. No, I'm not fickle minded. While I enjoy rainy days, I am not oblivious to the inconveniences they bring. Since I moved to Canberra, I usually stay at home on rainy days, giving lectures and grocery shopping a miss. I will also be less willing to meet friends for coffee or meals when it rains. The good or bad thing about Canberra (depending on which perspective you are looking at) is it rarely rains as compared to Singapore. Even when it rains, I'm usually unaware of it as it is usually unaccompanied by thunder and lightning (unlike in Singapore). Truth to be told, I have only seen lightning once in the one and a half year I'm here. However, back in Singapore, I see lightning striking at least once a fortnight. After moving to Canberra did I fully comprehend the notion that Singapore is one of the countries with the highest frequency of lightning strike and as such, has the highest death rate from lightning. Interesting, yeah? I bet you didn't know that.

On hindsight, I like observing lightning strikes as well. I think they are interesting to watch and are often a beautiful sight. When I see lightning strikes, I relate them to the blood veseels in our muscles, especially the heart. And I think whatever I have just mentioned is going to cause my youngest sister is going to shrug in discomfort.

It's hotter in Canberra

As I sat down in front of my desk, I found myself prespiring. The only time something like this had happened was when I turned up the heater a tad too much. However, with both my heaters off and with my fan on, it wasn't something I had expected.

I looked at the weather forecast widget on my desktop and this is what it says. I kid you not! Canberra is hotter than Singapore at this point in time (the clock is displaying Singapore's time at GMT +8) and it's still spring!

Summer, aren't you here a little too early?

New Page

I added a new page to my blog, titled "Currently".

I guess people who visit my blog (whom I assume comprise mainly of my family and friends) will like to know what I'm up to lately. I will update it periodically, of anything random that I'm doing or any random thoughts that come to my mind.

Check that space out once in a while. I will also add more pages when I'm free.

On hindsight, will you all do me a kind favour by leaving a message on the tagboard, so I know who's visiting, even if I don't know you in person? Just take it as an act of motivating me to blog more frequently *winks*

Last Day of School

Today is the last day of school for the semester and I walked out of the lecture threatre, I overheard the following conversation.

Girl 1: Are you done for today?
Girl2: I'm done with this for the rest of my life!
Girl 1: Really!!!!! Congratulations!!!! (in super high pitch)

When I turned around, I saw them hugging each other and they were almost in tears >.<


Just in case you'll like to know, this will be the last day of my undergraduate studies if I screw up. Otherwise, if all else goes well, I still have 1 more year of honours to go.

*fingers crossed again*

I Love My iPhone!

If I were to lose my handphone now, my life will be turned into a state of chaos. Before you jump into a conclusion that I'm the urban kid who can't live without a smart phone, I gotta state my stand. I never owned a smart phone until a year ago, when I arrived in Australia. I bought an iPhone 4 shortly after I lost my phone (a newly bought, not-so-smart nokia phone) on a bus. I never seem to learn my lesson that by keeping my phone in my pocket, there is a high risk of the phone slipping out without me noticing it but we'll leave that story for another time.


Back to the iPhone 4.

My iPhone 4 is very important to me because

1. It has google map.

Google map on iPhone has saved my life many times, especially when I'm on holidays in other states. I realise there's this thing about Australia; you rarely see big signs on buildings, unless they are owned by really big corporate organisations such as Commonwealth Bank, Ernst and Young, PricewaterCooper House. You get the drift. There were many times I find myself standing in front of a building while I continue to search for it, until I turned on the GPS and google maps function on my iPhone. At times, google map on iPhone beats a GPS system meant for cars (such as Garmin), as the signal is extremely weak for the latter when ya surrounded by buildings in the city. Moreover, google map loads way faster than a GPS system. Sometimes, the GPS system takes a good 5 to 10 minutes 'calculating' the distance and stopping by the road for that long a time isn't the most ideal thing to do.


2. WhatsApp

I have yet to upload to iOS 5, so I'm still relying very much on WhatsApp.

As an international student in Australia, my family/friends are scattered mainly in Australia and Singapore. With WhatsApp, I can communicate with them through sms/mms without paying for international rates. The best thing is, most of my friends own smartphones (be blackberry, iPhone or andriod phones) and whatsapp is compatible with these phones.

3. Torch

I downloaded an appliation to have the flash light turned on so that it can serve the function of a torch light. It may sound a bit ridiculous but this torch function has its live saving moments, such as the time when the entire street experienced a blackout. While my housemates tried to feel their way around the dark, I reached out for my iPhone and tadah, it lighted our entire apartment immediately and we weren't at risk of injuring ourselves by tripping over the furniture and landing hard on the floor. (You have no idea how accident prone I can be.) It didn't have to wait till a blackout to prove its purpose though; I've used it countless times to find small items in my bags and to search for items that I've accidentally dropped in the car.

4. TuneIn Radio

This is, in my opinion, the most awesome application I had downloaded to keep me connected to Singapore. This radio application allows one to get connected to most, if not all radio stations all over the world, from Asia to Europe to United States. Obviously, I preset my favourite stations to those in Singapore, such as Perfect 10, Yes 933, Jia883 and Class95. As my Hi-Fi set has a dock for iPhone/iTouch, I usually turn on the radio application and place my iPhone on the dock. The connection and quality of sound/music is pretty good, even better than the preset radios on my hi-fi set. If I tune in to the radio in the evening, I usually get to hear of road updates and at the back of my mind, I'll go "Jam at CTE during after-office hours, what's new?". So, even though I'm living down under, I'm still pretty updated about the happenings in Singapore, okay? I may be here physically but my heart is back home with my family and friends. Gotta trust me on that.



5. Phone Numbers

At the end of the day, my iPhone still serves the basic function of a handphone. If I were to lose my handphone one day, I highly doubt I can get all the numbers back, especially the Australian numbers. Back in Singapore, I memorised most, if not all of the phone numbers of people who are important to me; from my grandparents' to my sisters' to my friends'. If I don't find your Singapore number familiar at all, it could mean that we rarely contact each other via phone or you've recently changed your number. However, it is almost impossible for me to memorise my friends' australian numbers. Australian phone numbers are way too long. I took a good 2 months to be able to recite my phone number without referring to my handphone. It created quite an awkward two months, as that was when I started to make a lot of new friends and exchanging phone numbers was the norm. This was a common scenario

Friend: Let's exchange numbers.

Me: Sure!

Friend: My number is 04 xx xx xx xx.

Me: Mine is 04 .... erms ... i think it's 12 ... no no no ... erms ... I'm sorry I can't remember ... I needa check it out

*scrambles to check my handphone while new friend stands there in disbelief*

To memorise my own mobile number is a challenge in itself, not to mention memorising my friends'. Hence, if someone were to kidnap me and rob me of my phone before dumping me in some small town, I won't be able to contact any one of my friends as I don't know any of their numbers. That also explains why I'm exceptionally careful with my handphone this time round because I know the price of losing it is too great. Unlike in Singapore, I'm pretty dependent on my handphone since I arrived in Australia, so fingers crossed that it will last me through till the end of my mobile phone contract.

At 1 year 1 months, my iPhone holds the record of being with me/lasting for the longest period of time. None of my mobile phones were with me for more than one year; they either got stolen, misplaced, damaged or drowned. And I'm hoping that by praising myself/my iPhone, I won't be jinxing it. *fingers crossed*

You're my Nightmare

I have no idea what I dreamt of the night before but I woke up this morning swearing in a hokkien vulgarity that I have never sworn before. It took me a while to realise that it was a dream and I need not get agitated. Oddly, I can't remember what exactly happened in the dream. I vaguely remembered who was the one who made me so agitated but I have no idea why. Somehow, this is in sync with the happenings of reality. It comes to show how much this person has been destructing my life, so much that even my sleep time isn't spared.

Seriously.

Of Milk and Alcohol

In the first quarter of this year, milk prices dipped greatly, costing only 1AUD per litre. While that sparked a great debate amongst retailers, farmers, legislators and even union groups, consumers were secretly happy about it. With house brands reducing their prices by a third, milk has never been so affordable. Despite the fact that I'm pretty lactose intolerant, I hopped on to the bandwagon to purchase milk.

However, the milk purchases didn't last long. While my friends finish a carton of 2l milk within a day or two pretty effortlessly, I often find myself struggling to finish it before it expires. (I'm lactose intolerant, remember? I can only drink in small amounts without getting gastric discomfort.) After throwing a few cartons of unfinished milk, I decided that I should stop wasting money and food, or rather milk to be precise. For a couples of months, I hadn't purchase any milk.

That was until last week, when I went grocery shopping with my housemate's boyfriend. He wanted very badly to drink Russian White and hence, he bought a bottle of Absolute Vodka + a bottle of Kahlua while I bought a 3l carton of milk for the cocktail. Guess what? Less than a week after I purchased the milk, it's almost finishing. For the very first time in my household, we will finish a carton of milk before its expiry date, all because we made an addictive concoction out of it. While I drank it for one night, my housemate/s continued to drink for the next few days and voila, we've got an empty milk carton. Oh well, they probably think that they can make up for the negative effects of alcohol by drinking some milk. Haha.

By the way, I really like White Russian and it's really simple to mix.
Do try it!

If ya wondering why everyone else (other than consumers) are kicking a fuss out of the low prices of milk, check out the following links:

The Sydney Morning Herald: Price war could spell the end of fresh milk on supermarket shelves.
ABC News: Dairy farmers worried at supermarket milk price war

Secret Garden

Watched Secret Garden lately and as usual, I finished the entire drama within a week. Though this show was a major autumn production in 2010, I didn't get to watch it until my term break this semester. While I didn't really like the plot at the beginning, I enjoyed the ending. Shan't go into details but if you do watch the drama, the following may interest you.

What Kim Ju Won chants

Kim Ju Won chants this tongue twister everytime he wants to stop himself from fantasising or day dreaming. Initially I thought it was a tongue twister with a deep meaning to it. Out of curiosity, I decided to google what were the words Kim Ju Won (Acted by Hyun Bin) was chanted and when I found out about the true meaning, I actually felt 'Duh!'

"Kim~~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja Dong Bang Sak Chichigapo Sarisarisaenta Woriwori Saepeurika Moodoosella gureumi heorikaein dambyeorak… Kim~~suhanmoo keobugiwa durumi samcheongabja.."

Click here or here if you'll like to find out more about it.


The Fireman's Prayer

The Fireman's Prayer really touched my heart. Initially, I thought that it was written by the scriptwriter but upon watching a Korean variety show, I came to realise that this was based on a poem written by a firefighter in Kansas, after he failed to rescue three children who were trapped in the fire.

The Fireman's Prayer

When I am called to duty, God
whenever flames may rage,
Give me the strength to save some life
Whatever be its age.

Help me to embrace a little child
Before it’s too late,
Or some older person
from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling
and give the best in me,
To guard my neighbor
And protect his property.

And if according to Your will
I have to lose my life,
Please bless with Your protecting hand
My children and my wife.

My heart sinks everytime I read this poem. I can imagine the despair the fireman after witnessing the young victims being burnt to death, alive. Click here to read more about it.

Hyun Bin in Tvn Taxi
Tvn Taxi is a South Korean variety show and they interviewed Hyun Bin with regards to Secret Garden and some personal details. Unlike the character he acted in Secret Garden, Hyun Bin is very well mannered and humble in reality (or at least as portrayed in variety shows).The following videos will only make sense if you watch the entire drama.





Note: There are five parts to this video.

Ha Ji Won
I was curious about Ha Ji Won after she took on the role as the lead actress in Secret Garden. Turns out I had seen her on screen before but I failed to recognise her. I like her body because she's so slim yet fit, not the typical movie star who looks anorexic with a dress size of 0. I liked the way her muscles were toned and the cool attitude she displayed when acting as a stunt woman in action movies. Cool~

I googled a little and found this video clip which was recorded before the screening of Secret Garden. My guess was, she appeared in the variety just before/after or during the making of Secret Garden as her hair was short. Her hair was kept long for most of her previous shows.


Mureupak Dosa (Knee-Drop Guru) - Ha Ji-won (1/3) by yonniesubs

Note: There are 3 parts to this video.


Big Bang's Parody

Everyone seems to imitate after Secret Garden. Big Bang's Parody really made me laughed. This video will only make sense after you've watched the drama.







Seoul Drama Awards 2011

Secret Garden was awarded the best Hallyu drama by 5 cities in Asia. Though I think it's a good show, I feel it was kinda overrated because I was only touched and moved towards the last quarter of the show and when the show ended, I felt a little lost because to me it felt as though the show has ended shortly after it has climaxed. Most importantly, the characters failed to engage me the way My Princess and Full House did and I am unable to pinpoint the exact reason.

Click here to find out more about the awards.

Secret Garden OST
I think the music chosen for this drama was superb. There were times when I found tears welling up my eyes as the songs were played, along with certain scenes from the drama. I can feel the image and emotion the director was trying to project. After the drama ended, I just had to find the OST for it. However, I don't listen to the songs very often as I find myself falling into a state of 'anhedonia' after listening to the song, feeling excessively down with loads of sighs.

Two of my favourite songs

What is Marketing?

I've no idea who came up with this originally (I ripped it off my friend's facebook) but I thought I'd share since it's pretty interesting.

What is marketing?
1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: ' I am very rich. Marry me! ' - That's Direct Marketing'.

2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: ' He's very rich. 'Marry him.' -That's Advertising'

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: ' Hi, I'm very rich. 'Marry me - That's Telemarketing'

4. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car)for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say:'By the way, I'm rich. Will you 'Marry Me?' - That's Public Relations'

... 5. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says:'You are very rich! 'Can you marry ! Me?' - That's Brand Recognition'

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: 'I am very rich. Marry me!' She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - ' That's Customer Feedback '

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: 'I am very rich. Marry me!' And she introduces you to her husband. - 'That's demand and supply gap'

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tell her: 'I'm rich. Will you marry me?' and she goes with him - 'That's competition eating into your market share'

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: 'I'm rich, Marry me!' your wife arrives. - ' That's restriction for entering new markets'

Flash News

The homepage of my internet browser is always set to Yahoo Singapore!, just so that I can be updated of the latest (okay I know a lot of news posted on Yahoo is backdated but I'm in Australia, remember?) happenings in Singapore.

My heart always skip a beat each time there is a flash news updated in red. This time, it reads "Market update: Singapore stocks plunge on the Federal Reserve's warning of a grim U.S. economic outlook.

Sighs.

Anyone misses me?

I know it's been ages since I last blogged. I was too distracted and always seem to be occupied by something; either it's school or dramas. Woops! I rarely log in to skype or msn these days too. Double woops!

To keep you guys updated, I'm currently in the midst of my term break and sadly, it will come to an official end this Sunday. During this period of time, I have yet to achieved anything academically. Each day, I see my to-do list getting longer without anything on the list being ticked off. Yeah, I know I should have seized this opportunity to catch up on my work but then again, it defeats the whole purpose of a holiday!

I promised myself that I am going to use the remaining days to redeem myself, working extra hard to make up for the lack of it and I seriously mean it. You may find it unbelievable but wait till you know the forces behind it.

The reason? I want to work hard so that I can play harder!
The motivation? My friend wants to drive down south to Melbourne for a weekend.
The deal? I gotta complete all my essays (regardless of their deadlines) and ensure they are of decent standards before setting off.
If not? I will forgo the trip.

Strong enough a motivation yeah? And the trip will serve a good break between my submissions and my end of year exams. Good time to recharge.

Alright, shall end here for now. I will try to blog more regularly. I know how sucky it feels when you kinda 'lose touch' with a friend/family member who's miles apart when he/she doesn't update about his/her life. Trust me, I was once in that position and from now on, I shall add 'blogging' on my to-do list so as to remind myself to blog frequently.

Take care till my next post ❣

The Blues

I've been feeling extremely depressed for the past week or so.

This is not the kind of emo feelings, the kind of blues you feel once in a while; it is definately more severe than that. The depressive mood intensifies after I started studying crazily for my exams (average 12 hours and the max I clocked was 16.5 hours) and it became worse as I sat for more papers (I'm only half done with it - 2 papers down, 2 more to go). Recently, it took me an extremely long time to drift off to sleep and when I did sleep, there was a lack of quality in it. I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness.

Instead of feeling fresh, I wake up feeling extremely down and at times, with a strong urge to cry. However, I never once cried, not because I'm trying hard to withold my emotions or whatsoever but the tears just refuse to flow. It feels kind of terrible as I can't find an avenue to 'release' my negative emotions; it's like a ball of negative energy trapped within me. And I still do feel that way now.

As I study for abnormal psychology, I find myself meeting more and more symptoms of major depressive episode in DSM-IV-TR. I have a sense of hopelessness, I feel depressed, I have a significant decrease in appetite (which is good in a bad way, since I couldn't curb my appetite prior to this), I can't seem to think logically or as well as I used to, I can't sleep at night and when I do, there is a lack of quality as I drift in and out of consciousness (insomnia), I feel really tired (could be because I've been studying too hard, so this factor can be excluded) and I find no pleasure in doing things I used to enjoy or rather, I don't even feel like doing anything (a sign of anhedonia). Unlike two weeks ago, I don't even have the urge to go home now, even though I don't really enjoy staying back in Canberra for the winter holidays.

As a psychology student, I jolly well know that these aren't good signs and they may lead to negative consequences which can be detrimental for my well-being. I also know that there are ways to alter my thoughts and beliefs, so that they will lead to a better outcome but I can't seem to do it. It's like, asking a doctor to cure himself/herself or a hairdresser to cut his/her own hair. You just can't seem to do it as well when performing it on yourself.

Meanwhile, I will try to shift my focus on my studies and hopefully, in due time, I'll learn to cope and handle my emotions through the altering of my thoughts. Maybe, this could be an exam thing and after the exam period ends, all these problems will magically disappear, especially after I return to Singapore. I have no idea. Shall wait and see.

At the moment, I will prefer to be socially isolated. If there's something pressing, you can reach me via facebook or email. Otherwise, I will prefer to be left alone and I seek your understanding on it. Thank you very much. Take care till then.

Note: I will be returning to Singapore soon. If anyone wants anything from Australia, please inform me before Saturday through facebook or email.

When in Doubt, Pray.

I experienced several hiccups since I returned to Australia this semester. Prior to that, I also went through quite a bit of bad times and there were many times when I wondered where life will lead me to. I had been (and still am) trying really hard to work towards what my life goals and somehow, thing's just didn't seem to run as smoothly as I thought it would be. There were many times when I thought of giving up and/or wondered if I am making the right choices and decisions in life. I was starting to doubt myself; my capabilities, my plans, my thoughts etc. To be honest, this has been bothering me for quite some time and it has actually distracted me quite a bit.

Since I always believe in the notion of "when in doubt, pray" and I've been praying quite a bit lately, especially in the past week. Then, as I was surfing online for school work related issues, I saw the following:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

It may be a coincidence for this verse to appear in relation to my prayer (sorf of) but I decided to interpret it as a positive sign from the lord, and I'm keeping my hopes high for a better future.

E-Book

I have never bee a fan of e-book. For one, I really like the feeling of holding onto books and flipping through the pages. Secondly, I dislike straining my eyes to read small text from a small screen off an eletronic device, especially when the screen is reflective or glaring. Thirdly, I don't see the need of having more electronic devices. I think having a laptop, an iPhone and an iTouch is sufficient. More electronic devices mean having to charge more electronic devices and added weight to my bag. Not the best thing when all you want to carry is a small little cute handbag.

However, my stand is starting to quiver when I was surfing on Amazon's website. I was looking for a book and saw 3 different prices; $88 for Kindle Edition, $157.99 for Hardcover and $102.08 for Paperback. With kindle edition costing almost half of the hardcover's price, I clicked on it to find out what kindle edition was about. Then, I realise that Kindle is an e-book reading device.

Promotional Video


Review by Tested.com

After watching the promotional video and a third party's positive review, I am starting to reconsider the idea of owning an e-book reader. Though I like to 'collect books' and subscribe to magazines on a monthly basis, there is simply insufficient space in my small apartment (both in Singapore and Australia) to store every single book and magazine I purchase. Moreover, I find it hard to retrieve books that are packed into the storeroom and that means that my books are placed in the 'cold palace' after reading it once or twice. It takes lots of effort trying to find that one particular book when I need it because it will be stored in cardboard boxes that is on top (or below) other cardboard boxes. In short, my books and magazines are under-utilised and it's a waste of money throwing or giving away books that are used only once or twice, not because I don't want to use it but because I can't use it.

With e-books being sold at a significantly lower price that hardcopies and with e-book readers of better quality, I am starting to view the purchase of an e-book reader in a serious note. Anyone has any suggestions for me?

Sick Again

After running a fever that day, I had migraines on Tuesday. Though it's not uncommon for me to suffer from migraines, the one I had that night was really bad, so bad that I broke out in cold sweat, shivering in pain. I know I needed to rest when it was made worse by my urge to puke.

However, the pain was so great I couldn't sleep. I mean, how can you get into the mood to sleep when you can hear your heart thumping loudly in your head? And when I finally drifted off to sleep, I was woken up three hours with an intense headache. How great was that?

I usually avoid the use of painkiller for various reasons. Avoiding negative side effects, increasing my level of tolerance for pain and preventing myself for being overly reliant on painkiller are a few reasons to name. However, I know that I really needed pain relief when I'm woken up by a throbbing headache. I rambled through my cupboard and first aid kit only to realise that I have every medication needed for common illness and emergencies but painkiller! How can anyone not have panadol! (In case ya wondering, I didn't take any form of medication when I ran a fever the last time. I just bore with the pain and discomfort throughout that period of time.) I wanted to knock on my housemates' door but it was 7 in the morning and they were still asleep. I had no choice but to cringe in pain and try to sleep. Sighs.

Thankfully, I woke up feeling better. Instead of having severe migraines,
I had a mild headache which lasted for another two days. This time round, I'm down with a sore throat on top of the flu which I had from the previous week when I was running a fever. Sighs. Bad news is I ran outta lozenges and have to continue to bear with the pain.

Why do I keep falling ill? When will I ever recover? I need a strong body and good
health to see me through the exam period. Dear immune system, will you work harder
to win the war and the maintain peace within the body? Please Don't be such a failure!

Fever

I've always had a low tolerance for bearing the symptoms of fever. I can bear with the pain of dislocating my kneecap without shedding a single drop of tear but the moment my muscles and joint ache from running a fever, I'll start to be extremely whiney, short tempered and may even start crying. There were times when my joints and muscles ache so much, I couldn't even walk to the clinic (which is less than a five minutes walk from where I uses to live) without stopping and squatting in between. Yes, that's how bad it is. To many people, running a fever is good news because they can easily grab a medical certificate and spend the rest of the day slacking or playing but this was never the case for me.

And for the very same reasons, I prayed hard that I wouldn't fall sick during my stay in australia. Firstly, I do not know of a doctor who is as good and reliable as my family doctor back home in Singapore. Secondly, the nearest clinic is not that near. I have to walk a good 15 - 20 minutes or 5 - 10 minutes if I were to ride my bike. How am I to walk or cycle when I'm struggling to walk around my apartment!?!?! Thirdly, I always tremble in cold when I run a fever. Really tremble and shiver, hence I'm usually hiding under the blanket with the fan off, even if the temperature in Singapore is over 30 degree Celsius. Now, in Australia, the temperature dwindles between -3 to 14 degree Celsius or so. Honestly, this isn't the best time to run a fever, especially when the cold wind blows.

Sighs. This is how terrible I feel at current. I feel like eating a bowl of hot congee, take some medicine, grab a medical certificate and skip school tomorrow but I can't. I still have a graded quiz tomorrow and here I am blogging because I can't get to sleep. The discomfort is getting into me and I'm feeling awful. *sobs*

I hope these negative feelings of discomfort will be gone by the time I wake up tomorrow. I really hope so.

Hot Cross Bun

Prior to studying in Australia, hot cross buns only existed in rhymes and fiction; I have never seen or eaten it before, only heard of it through the nursery rhyme "hot cross bun". It started some time in March when bakeries and supermarkets started selling hot cross buns and that got me really excited.

I was pretty disappointed when it tasted like any other raisin bun decorated with icing without anything special. Plus, I thought it was a little on the coarse and dry side. Not exactly the kind of bun I'd like.

Just recently, I decided to give it a second try. Maybe, the problem didn't lie in the bun but the bakery; the bakery could have done a bad job in baking the hot cross bun. Hence, I approached the bakery and asked for a hot cross bun, only to be told that they are sold during Easter.

Where in the nursery rhyme did they mention about eating hot cross buns only during easter?

I decided to rely on my best friend, Google, for the answer. It was then did I realise that the cross on the bun was a symbol of the crucifixion. No wonder ...

Read more about hot cross buns.

Studying hard but not smart

I've received the results for all the paper I've sat for in the first half of this semester and I fell far from expectations. I sat down and thought for a long while.

Was I setting too high an expectation for myself? Not really. All I asked for is to meet the minimum criteria to enter the honours programme, which is a distinction average.

Was it beyond my capabilities? It shouldn't be because I've done similar modules before.

Did I not study hard enough? I think I've studied hard enough to deserve what I thought was a good grade. I could have studied even harder but that will be at the expense of my sleep and leisure time. Not that I have a lot of sleep and leisure time to start with.

Was I not consistent in studying? Maybe. However, there was this one module which I studied consistently right from the beginning of the semester but when I revised it just before mid sems, I could only remember the main points. I couldn't remember the sub-points of the fine details of whatever I had studied. Sad, I know.

Was the paper too difficult? Not exactly. At least for 3 of the 4 papers I sat for, I sorta breezed through them without much difficulties. When I asked my classmates/friends on how they fared for the papers, they seem to do pretty well. Much better than I did.

Sighs. So what went wrong? Honestly, I've no idea. I guess it could either be my poor memory and/or wrong interpretation of the questions. However, I believe it could be the wrong approach of studying. In other words, it's time I should start re-strategising the way I study and I'd better get it right this time.

Which Idiot's Phone is Ringing?

My lab session for today started off with a graded quiz and my class was given 12 minutes to finish it. Every minute count as there were 15 MCQs which with 5 very tricky options. Hence, silence was greatly appreciated but some idiot's handphone went ringing away and I could immediately recognise that as an incoming message for an iPhone.

Naturally I got irritated but I didn't bother to tell the person off as I was trying very hard to choose the best option for my MCQ. Moreover, I've no idea whose handphone it was. Then, the same phone rang again. This time, I recognised it as the tone which serves as a reminder that you have an unread message in your inbox. At the back of mind, I was thinking to myself "Can the owner freaking read his/her message or switch the phone to silent mode?"

When I was almost done with my quiz, I paused for a moment and in that split second it striked me as to why I could recognise that ringtone so effortlessly; as it turned, that idiot was me.

How awesome, right?

Break? Not really.

School just reopened on Monday for the second half of this semester. While most of my friends went on trips during the 2 weeks break, I was stuck in my hostel room most of the time, flipping through books, reading notes and clicking on my mouse.

I'm the only unlucky one, among all the people I know in ANU, to have exams right before and after the semester break. I'm also one of the very few who has mid-terms for all of my modules. To make the situation worse, all of papers have very high weightage. *gasps*

Some time during my mid semester break, the results for the first two papers which I sat for were released and I felt totally crushed when they fell way below my expectations. I was (and still am) very puzzled as to why I underachieve. I worked hard for the paper, felt prepared for the exams and sat for the paper knowing how to do most of the questions. However, my results correlated negatively. I'm still puzzled as to how and why I did so badly. The sad thing is at college level, exam papers are rarely returned. Hence, I wouldn't know what went wrong and what I did badly on. This will really have a negative impact on the preparation of my end of year examinations because I don't even know how I got off track. Not to mention how demoralising the whole thing was. Oh well.

In the midst of mugging, I managed to make a quick trip up to Sydney for a night. Even though the trip was a little rushed, it was a good break away from the accumulating stress. I'll blog about the trip separately in my subsequent post.

I just completed my last two papers for mid-sems a few days ago and they felt pretty alright. I hope my grades will turn out pretty alright too. I'm pinning my hopes on them. *prays hard* I wouldn't wanna get a shock of my life again.

I've got loads of stuff I will like to blog but due to the lack of time I'm unable to do so. I'm in the midst of rushing an assignment. I promise that I will blog more regularly after submitting this paper.

To the very few people who read my blog, please root for me, wherever on earth you are and have a wonderful weekend ahead.

I'm Sleeping Early Today!

To all who are concern about my nocturnal lifestyle, I'm changing, at least for today. I'm going to sleep NOW, at 8pm! And I'm going to wake up early; 3am!

No Good? But you people were the ones who said I should sleep early and wake up early. So, 8pm and 3am not early enough? *hiaks*

Anyway, as you'd probably have guessed it, I'm waking up to mug for exams, all the way until my paper at 9.50am. Done with 1 paper today, didn't turn outta be as good as I thought it would be. Oh well.

I need lots of luck and blessings for my next paper because I'm not even 50% done studying with it. Yes, I know. I'm screwed. And no, I didn't slack this semester. In fact I worked harder. Sighs. Life really sucks when you're not academically smart.

Anyway, good nights people. You are loved, by me =)

When Exams Get into You

You know that the effects of exams are getting into you when

1. Instead of cooking decent meals, you

• start cooking whatever instant food that is available in your kitchen cupboard and when the procedure of searching food + microwaving food/boiling water + washing utensils become too much of a chore
• you start buying take-away food and when you have no time to do that
  
• you eat rubbish food such as slices of smoked salmon, Ritz crackers, bread, cashew nuts & Eclipse mint in substitution of a proper meal
• and when you don't even want to spare that extra time searching and chewing on food, you drink lots of wate until you get gastric pain, then you start the entire cycle again

2. You get hooked on caffeine

• You drink more coffee, tea & energy drinks (such as Mother and Monster as people here rarely drink red bull. I've no idea why.) than ever
  
• I have a friend who lights up this candle that's suppose to release caffeine, so that he feels 'energised' as he studies. I wonder how useful is that suppose to be.

3. You stop socialising

• because you find that this is too time-consuming and you'd rather spend that extra minute cramming some facts in your brain
• You start to get annoyed by the fact that you have to mug endlessly while your friend/s can walk around freely because they do not have exams as part of their assessments and that their assignments are due much later (Val, if you're reading this, let me emphasise that I am not referring to you and I promise you that I'm not lying. Neither am I trying to be sacarstic. Really!)
  
• You rarely ever appear online on msn and even if you do, you rarely respond to messages
• You don't even check your phone for incoming messages and even if you do,
  
• You selectively reply to text messages on SMSes and Whatsapp
  
• Facebooking is the most you'd relate to as a form of socialising
  

4. You start to think that sleeping is a luxury

• You wish you can stay awake and function optimally with as little sleep as possible
• You start to adjust your biological clock so that your sleeping habits best suit your studying patterns
• You start to fantasise about yourself being superman/superwoman and go on for days without sleep
• You sleep so little that you look like a walking zombie, feel so light headed till it seems as though you're floating as you walk and start to suffer physical symptoms due to the lack of sleep, such as giddiness, migraines and extremely poor memory (the worst that can happen while mugging for exams)

And in case you're wondering, 90% of the above description fits me at present. The remaining 10% are drawn from past experiences and friends' experiences.

That's my 10 minute break from studying. Back to mug.

Wish me luck!

Ding Dong Biological Clock

My biological clock has always been tuned differently from the average person. I'm pretty much a nocturnal and sleeping at 3am is pretty much the norm, regardless of which time zone I'm in.

However, I always push the mechanics of my body and biological clock further during assignment and exam period by sleeping and waking at odd timings. I slept at near 5am yesterday and woke up at 11.30am, then I napped from 11.30pm to 1.30am. Now, after supper/breakfast, I'm feeling wide awake. I hope that I can function optimally for another 2 hours before I recharge myself for the day.

Unlike a lot of people who sleep and wake at a stipulated time, regardless of how little or much they have rested, I am thankful to be able to sleep and wake as and when I'm please. Sort of, as I find myself thinking a lot before dozing off for the past few days (hence taking a longer time to drift off to sleep). It could be a combination of my biological clock protesting and the pre-exams jitters. I think I've been pushing my body way too hard. It deserves a good rest after Friday.

From Saturday onwards, I want to live the life of a so-called normal person and quit being nocturnal. I aim to sleep at 12am everyday and the latest, by 2am. Hopefully, I can adjust my biological clock back to normal before the end of my mid semester break.

So Cold

I was halfway through studying at 1am when I felt really sleepy, thus I decided to nap for half an hour. Knowing that there's a good chance I'll oversleep and wake up a few hours later (or maybe the next morning), I decided to sleep less comfortably. I slept in short sleeves t-shirt and shorts, really short shorts, with no blanket. The temperature out there is 10 degree celsius.

Guess what? I still slept more than I should. I woke up an hour and a half later, only because my roomie was knocking on my door and I found myself really curled up with the pillow covering whichever part of my body it could. If I were to look at myself from a third party's point of view, I would look like a deep fried breaded shrimp! I found myself shivering as I opened my room's door.

I'm so thankful for having her knocked on my door. Otherwise, I would have caught a cold if I were to sleep through the night. Not the best thing to cope with when one is preparing for exams. Thank you for 'saving' and feeding me, if you were to read my blog =)

End of Daylight Saving

The first Sunday of April marks the end of daylight saving and I'm so glad they 'returned' me this extra hour just before my mid-semester. It sure was helpful. I spent my first 3am mugging and the 2nd one sleeping. The effects of the extra hour gained was amplified when I woke up at 11am today, when it would have been 12pm the day before. Okay, I feel a little silly being happy over something that's insignificant.

I have friends who stayed up deliberately, just to see their clocks changing from 3.59am to 3.00am again. As for me, I didn't get to witness that because the clock on my laptop and handphone is set to GMT +8, in accordance to Singapore's time (My heart is still in Sg k!) and I was too busy studying to be bothered with changing my time just to watch it work as though there's some error.

With the end of daylight saving, the sky starts to darken really early; the darkness of the sky at 7pm yesterday is the same as 6pm today and the day starts getting shorter. It will take me some time to get adjusted to, before I can tell the time by the looks of the sky.

Mid-Semester Exams

I'm going to have 2 mid semester exams before the study break and I've got loads to read, understand, memorise and regurgitate. My readings come up to 3 inches thick and I've only just started studying for mid-sems today.

If you're wondering what I've been up to since the start of the semester, I've been studying for 3 quizzes on a weekly basis, which leaves me little time for exam preparation. Come to think of it, I only managed to study for 2 quizzes on most weeks, which probably explains why I'm doing badly for certain modules. *suffocating*

Being the whiney me, I called home to whine to my dad. Instead of comforting me, he said "You asked for it! This was the pathway you had chosen." Though he didn't mean it in a bad way, I felt a little down after that conversation. Oh well, what he said sorta made sense.

I should just persevere and work hard towards my ideal future.

Keep me in your thoughts/prayers.


Just in case you will like to know, details of my first two mid-semester exams are as follow:

Module: Personality & Individual Differences
Weightage: 45%
Day/Date: Thursday, 07 April 2011
Exam Room Opens at : 9.30am
Exam Commences at : 9.45am
Writing Commences at: 10.00am
Exam ends at : 12.00pm


Module: Developmental Psychology
Weightage: 25%
Day/Date: Friday, 08 April 2011
Exam Room Opens at : 9.50am
Writing Commences at: 10.00am
Exam ends at : 12.00pm

Die. As I typed this, I realised that developmental psychology has no reading time! *faints*

Stretching the Dollar

When the tsunami hit Japan, it not only affected the country's economy but also those of the surrounding countries. Australia wasn't spared either. It's currency rate went down, the lowest (against Singapore dollar) since I arrived in Australia last July. That was the best time to exchange for aussie dollars but guess what? For some reasons, my father didn't. (It was SGD1.26 for AUD1 then, now it has risen to SGD1.32. That comes up to an additional SGD600 for every 10k transferred.

Since then, the aussie dollar has been rising steadily while my bank account has been decreasing substantially. Unlike many of my friends who receive their allowances on a semester or yearly basis, I receive mine when I run outta cash. Basically, I call home and ask for more allowances each time my bank account is depleting. Sounds good? Not really.

Because I'm sensible enough to not squander unnecessarily, because I feel really bad having to ask for money (钱来伸手), because my parents aren't as rich as my friends', I only ask for money when I really need it. Depending on the currency exchange rates and how much they can afford, my parents will transfer a few thousand into my account. When I mean a few thousand, it's really a few thousand; as little as two thousand and at most, five thousand.

That sounds like a lot but it isn't. Really. My rent cost me $235 per week, groceries and other expenses cost $100 to $150 per week. That comes up to $1500++ per month. This excludes any other expenses such as medicine (pray hard that I won't fall sick this semester), supplements (yes, I'm a weakie), shopping (stationeries, clothes, sanitary pads, eating out etc), gym (yes, this is neccessary), transport (bus rides aren't cheap), phone bills (IDD cost a lot okay!) and printing (no, I do not own a printer or a copier machine).

This means that I have to request for fund transfer every month or two. In case you're mistaken, I'm not blaming my parents for not giving me sufficient money. I just feel bad that I have to keep asking them for it, especially when exchange rates are bad. My parents, on the other hand, are very understanding. They never questioned on how I spend the money or criticised me for spending too much of it. They trust me with the money and it is only fair that I spend it frugally, which I try to. I really do.

As compared to last semester, I spend lesser on groceries and shopping this semester, purchasing most items only when they're on sale. I eat out less frequently (it gets a little crazy when you cook 2 or 3 meals a day, 7 days a week) and cut down on dessert and coffee sessions (trust me, this is a huge sacrifice on my part because these are the only things you look forward to when you live in a boring state like Canberra).

After paying for rent (till mid April) and putting aside money for phone bills, I'm hoping the remaining $140 in my bank account can last me till then. Thankfully, I still have some staple food, such as rice, noodles and pasta. They'd better last me for the next 14 days or so. Hopefully, by then, the exhange rates would have dropped, so my father can transfer a sum of money to me. I still gotta purchase textbooks (half the semester has passed and I still haven't gotten all of my textbooks) and the textbooks cost more than what I have left in my bank account.

Since food is the main bulk of where I spend my money on (other than rent), I should go about solving the problem by cutting down on the amount I spend on food. Not only do I save more money, I can also seize this opportunity to slim down and get back my 'pre-australia figure and weight'.

Let this be a new challenge for me. I am confident that I will be able to survive this 'ordeal'. *fingers crossed*

Assessment of Intellectual Abilities

I was studying the above mentioned topic as part of my Personality & Individual Differences module, when I came to realise that I have a really wise and smart mother. Despite not being highly educated (no degree or whatsoever), she was definitely not an ignorant woman.

In fact, I just came to realise how well informed she was of the different visuomotor and cognitive skills that are essential for the development of a child. A lot of the test items that I see in my lecture notes for the assessment of intellectual abilities are similar to those which my mum had let me practised and worked on when I was much younger. Quite a number of them fall under the subtests of Perceptual Reasoning and Processing Speed. [On hindsight, my mum didn't train me much on Working Memory. Maybe that explains why I am so forgetful.] To some of my classmates, it was something novel.

My mum always emphasises on the importance of general knowledge and encourages me to read up widely. On top of splurging on a few full set encyclopedia for me (when I was a kid), she subscribes to Newsweek, The Reader's Digest, National Geographic and The Economist. Though I enjoy reading them, I thought little of how it will have an impact on me (apart from increasing my general knowledge and not being a frog in a well) until I realise (from my lecture) that it is a subtest of an intelligence assessment.

Looking back, my mum had put in a lot of effort in my development to not only groom me as a fine and presentable individual but also one with intellectual abilities. Suddenly, I feel so guilty and ashame of myself for underachieving. If I were to put myself in her shoes, I will feel as though what I reap doesn't seem like what I have sowed.

Dear Mummy (though you probably wouldn't read this because I never told you the existence of my blog, however if you happen to chance upon this one day, some day), I will like to tell you that I really appreciate your efforts and I will try my best to do you proud. I will let you feel that all that you have done and invested in me from the day I was born, is worthwhile. I will. Just wait and see =)

Love,
Yours Truly.

Will you consider someone like that a friend?

Skipped Lectures

I skipped the 10 am to 12pm lecture (time now is 11am) because it rained so heavily, there was no way I could cycle or walk there without getting wet (even with raincoat and/or umbrella). Moreover, the lecture theatre is too far in and it's located up slope; in other words, as I walk uphill, I would have rain water seeping into my shoes with mud stain on my shorts and bag.

Oh, did I mention that the cool weather was so good to sleep in? *Woops*

Nah, I didn't sleep in for long. I decided to wake up and study hard. Hence, my blog post shall end here.

*Off to do audio lecture*

Dear All, I'm Good!

Oh gosh! I just realised that it's been a month since I've last updated my blog. I used to blog a lot on my iPhone last semester because I spent most of my time waiting for buses (it can be quite long, ranging anything from 5 minutes to an hour) or travelling (bus rides took 45 minutes on average).

However, this semseter I travel mainly by walking or cycling (yes, I bought a bike. Please don't tell my parents & grandparents about it). There is no way I can walk/cycle and blog at the same time. I know, I'm not professional enough a cyclist. Oh well.

Anyway, I will put up a stick-it note on my wall to remind myself to blog on a weekly basis so that I can keep everyone back home in Singapore, updated on my life and/or current progress in Aussie.

This semester has been good so far. However, my workload is a little heavy, mainly because I am taking 4 modules ( as compared to 3 last semester), of which 2 are Year 2 and 2 are Year 3 modules. The stack of notes and readings I have printed so far has piled up to 10cm. This is on top of textbook readings and research. I have just SO much to read. It's not so much about reading in literal terms but more of reading in depth. The content of each reading is so dense, if my concentration level were to dwindle, I will not be able to fully comprehend or grasp the deeper meaning of my reading and this can prove to be a little challenging at times, especially for someone like me who has a short attention span, gets easily distracted and drifts off easily (lack of focus). Nonetheless, I will grit my teeth and continue to persevere, working towards my goal/s in life.

Recently, I read the following from a friend's facebook post and found it quite inspiring. May it inspire you as much as it inspired me =)

哈佛告诉它的学生：“学习时的痛苦是暂时的，未学到的痛苦是终生的。”

Sleep

It's been three to four days since I've arrived and I've been busy everyday, trying to clean up the new place, unpack my belongings and getting what's necessary for the new place. I slept an average of three or four hours each day.

Thursday night - 3 hours (busy on my last night in Singapore)
Friday night - Caught less than an hour's sleep on the plane
Saturday night - 3 hours sleep (had to wake up early to go warehouse)
Sunday night - 6 hours (had to go for lecture. In the end, I went an hour earlier cause I read the timetable wrongly)

Since I've arrived in Canberra, I felt like a walking zombie - exhausted and drained.

Now that I can finally sleep in (because there's no classes today), I found myself waking up at 6am and my access to dreamland was denied! Worse thing is, I went to bed at 2am! In other words, I slept for only 4 hours!!!!!!!

I'm awake on the outside and tired on the inside. Feeling hungry too but there's no food because I've been too busy for the past few days to do grocery shopping. Most food places are not opened yet.


Even though I'm feeling very energetic now, I know I will feel drained in a few hours time. Think handphone battery; quick recharge = shorter battery life. What should I do?

Try to sleep, knowing that I probably can't? Stay awake and watch some drama? Walk around the streets till I find somewhere that sells food? Chiong to the supermarket the moment it opens? Search the kitchen for food and start my new day? But I haven't slept enough!!!!!

Arghs. This happens when ya body is conditioned to sleep minimally and it sucks when it happens on your 'day off'. ZZZzzzZZZzz

Summer holidays have ended

And I'm back in Australia. Currently on my way from Sydney airport to Canberra city. To all of you back home in Singapore, thank you very much for your blessings and well wishes. Most importantly, for the love you've showered on me. In case you don't know, I really appreciated that.

I'm feeling exhausted and uncomfortable at the moment as I've not slept, bathed, brushed teeth and maybe even poo for more than a day. Still gotta go to the warehouse to get our belongings before unpacking .

On a happier note, Airbus 380 really rocks. The seats are quite spacious, comfortable and reclines better as compared to Boeing aircraft, the plane feels more stable when taking off and during turbulence (think Mercedes versus Kia), it has got better screen resolution with better OS and sound system. The only shortcoming was the insufficiency of toilet cubicles. There's a constant queue in front of the toilet after meals and tea breaks are served. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and I will strongly recommend A380 to anyone, since it doesn't require any additional cost.

I guess I shall end my post here, as I'm getting motion sickness, probably a combination of uneven roads plus blogging on my iPhone plus techno music plus a serious lack of sleep plus a stomach filled with gastric juice. Shall update again when I've arrived in Canberra.

Take care till then =)

With Love,
Mildred

Back Home in Singapore

I created this blog mainly to update my family and friends on how I'm coping with life. Ironically, I rarely ever blog ever since I returned back to Singapore. My friends started to wonder if I am back in Singapore and if I do, where I am. People started asking why I MIA-ed but I didn't. To be honest, I hardly step out of my house either. I've been quite socially isolated. I didn't deliberately choose to stay at home. However, I didn't make conscious efforts to go out.

To all my dear friends, I'm in Singapore at the moment and will remain here till February 2011. I'm still alive and coping with life. I am currently feeling happier than I was back in Canberra, but not as happy as I imagined/thought I would be (probably because reality is starting to sink in. Oh well.)

Anyway, I should be quite free for the remaining one month so we can go out/catch up or something. See ya!