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 ❣