The End of a Year and A Chapter of My Life...

It's the last day of 2007 and what a year it's been, in more ways than one. But most importantly, this year is the last of my student years. If you count from Kindy till now, I have been studying for about 18 years and that's a long time. So every year, I'd just wait for the new school year to begin and the only major decisions would be, what subjects to take, or Science or Art stream and at most, what uni to study at and what course to take. But now, it's a whole new ball game.

The decisions to be made now would affect me for quite a number of years and possibly for a major part of my future. Sure, ppl could say that we could easily quit the job if we didn't like it, but how would that look on our resumes? And yeah, many ppl would say, don't be too picky about my first job, but I think the first job kinda sets the standard for the rest of the years/jobs. As an engineering grad (sorta!) there are many options to choose from, whether to be in the production side, design, programming, etc. Most jobs have the requirement of either Electronics or Electrical and also things such as Linux, Java, Unix etc...which wasn't covered in our Electronics & Computer Systems degree. It's really rare to find a job that exactly suits the degree, but I guess it's up to us to choose which part we want to cover. So yea, I guess we have a wide scope to choose from. Unfortunately for me, that's part of the problem. I'm ok at programming but I don't really like it, I'm not that strong in electronics, and I don't have a lot of technical skills. My strongest subject is management...so my ideal job would be events management...ahah...crud. Anyway, I need some time to think over this properly and decide. :P So in the meantime, here's my review of the year 2007 for me:

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January:
I finally got to go to Taiwan! Though it was only one night, I managed to walk through Xi Men Ding, which is pretty much the hip place for ppl my age. Lots of clothes and food stores and you could see teens in school uniform or trendy end-of-winter wear. I tried the sausages, tea and oyster omelette. Unfortunately didn't have enough room for my favourite dumplings :(. Also visited one of the night markets nearby and it was pretty interesting, with shops selling snakes to be cooked or for their blood/venom (?), even sex toy shops -_-||. Next day we were off to to San Diego for a Rotary International function with my dad to help him sell Rotary products. I've never been to San Diego before so it was quite ok. Majority of my shopping was manga-related as I'd just gotten addicted to Fruits Basket and Ouran High. The weather was pretty cooling and the food was as usual, American, which I quite like. Somehow for the first time, I missed Chinese food so did ask for it for one dinner but it was incredibly salty. Unfortunately, on our last day there, we got news that my grandfather on my dad's side had passed away. So we skipped our planned one day stopover in Taipei to rush back to Kuching.

February:
The first few days of Chinese New Year was mostly spent in KL but I did have something of the usual open house for friends when I got back. And it was in this month that I learnt how to play mahjong at Chime's house. SO this was the start of our mahjong addiction.

March:
I think this is the month we started our Mahjong Club. Hahha...we started going to Sheng Hock & Dom's house to play mahjong probably a few times a week. Despite the fact that most of us were either final sem or final year students -_-||. But yeah, it was incredibly addictive and some of us got quite competitive. *ahem*

April:
We had a mid-sem break here but it sure didn't feel like one. There were assignments n projects due around then and 2 of Rotaract's biggest projects were carried out then. 14th April was the 3rd Amazing Race organized by Michael FV and gang. Most of the Mahjong Club were involved in helping out. Unfortunately it rained on the morning and afternoon so several things had to be changed. BUt i'm glad to say they managed to work it out. I spent most of the race sitting around the 'pit-stop' and taking photos from the limited view I had. Surprisingly that day I ended up with about 200 pics in my new baby, the Canon IXUS 850. We adjourned to the beach to relax after the Race but most of us were simply too exhausted. There's even this pic of us sitting on the grass eating our very late 'lunch' of KFC at 5pm, looking worn out. However, we managed to sustain till the night where we gathered for another session of mahjong before some of us fell asleep right there and then. Haha!

Then on the 16th, we went up to SK Batu Kitang to do the final handover of books from my year's Books COllecting project. YEs, I know, one year late. BUt better late than never right? It was quite a trip, with my mixed feelings that it was the end of the project, but it was definitely worth it to see the kids' faces. HOpefully they'll take good care of the books and benefit from them. And that night was our Mahjong Club Installation!! Hahaha...basically an excuse for us to get together, have a bbq dinner at club HQ and play mahjong! Sadly, I ended up with lots of gas in my tummy after that night, probably from soft drinks and too many potatoes :P The World School Debate competition hosted by Swinburne Debaters Club was also in that very busy week, so I ended up as one of the adjudicators. BUsy busy month huh?

May:
PRobably the biggest event in this month was my 2nd year anniversary with Mike. Yea, my first relationship that lasted this long. We had dinner at Casa Davide followed by a movie. I would say the most interesting thing about this was our presents to each other. I got him the Ultimate GUidebook of Spiderman while he got me the Visual Guide to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Basically, both of us went shopping for them with Henry and/or CY and the Captain kind of engineered the whole thing -_-||. But it was a nice surprise. We also went for a trip to Santubong Resort with Mike's friends. CY, Mike and Henry all ended up 'modeling' for me to take pics at the beach, ahah. And that night we all stayed up playing Risk or Mahjong from 9.30pm to about 3.30am. It took us THAT long just to finish one whole round of Mahjong -_-|| coz the dealer never changed and Mike's friend playing with us never won, so kolien.

June:
My best birthday ever (but I think that's what I always say) not just because of the great presents I got, but of coz, the people. Despite the fact that I got sick after the party (this seems to be recurring a lot this year!). Two of my most memorable presents was the pre-order of the 7th Harry Potter book from the debaters and of coz, the Captain Jack Sparrow motion-activated figurine. That really shocked me coz I knew it was very expensive, so yea I was very touched. Part of the motive of the present was so that they could play with it too but still...Captain Jack! It's still in its place of honour in the living room. Hahah. Unfortunately, it was also the month of exams. :(

July:
The release of the final Harry Potter book! I dragged Mike out early to collect the book from Popular and spent pretty much the whole day and most of the next reading it eagerly. I was pretty disappointed with JK Rowling's proclamation that 3 of the main characters had died. Don't think they really count as main characters lo. But yeah, it was a deserving ending, though I would have liked to know more about what they were/did when they were all grown up at the end. HOpefully the movie comes out as how I imagined from reading it.

I also went for a 1-week holiday with Mike to KL. Stayed at my uncle's place and basically spent every day at a shopping center. Lol. What else is there to do at KL rite? CY also ended up in KL then for a short holiday so the Captain was pretty irritated to be the only one stuck in KUching. Hehe. Oh, during this trip, we went to watch Harry POtter 5 at GSC One Utama on Friday the 13th. Sadly, we tempted luck as we experienced for the first time, the film getting burnt. :P This is probably the month we got addicted to Monopoly. Well, I think it mostly came down to me and the Captain being overly competitive and dragging the others into it.

August:
Swinburne's graduation! On the 14th of August, we saw Captain Henry, Serena, BUrger and more graduating at the Dewan Undangan Sarawak. It was a strange feeling because we knew that next year, it'll be us, so we paid extra close attention to things. Haha. THe 4 of us; me, CY, Mike and Henry went for one of those studio photography sessions since Henry was taking his graduation pics. So we decided to try a group shot and I think it turned out pretty nicely. Quite like Alvin Leong's style. We also went for a post-graduation trip to Damai with Siaw Hui and her sis. Lol, it was 4 of us girls and 2 guys, who both were kinda sick during the trip -_-|| so we had to take care of them. Hahah.

MIke and I attended the APRRC 2007 in Malacca, where about 600 Rotaractors from all over Asia turned up. It was pretty fun, meeting people from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines and more. There was a cultural exhibition with each country displaying their local foods and products so we went around trying stuff. There was a Cultural Night where we all dressed up in traditional costume, Cowboy Night in Cowboy Town which ended in a dance party. The final night was a Wet Party at the Water Park's pool so yeah, it was pretty interesting. Sadly for Mike, he got sick on the last night so he missed out on bikini babes. Hahah. Oh, and I celebrated Merdeka Eve with CY, Siaw Hui, CHyi Yeou and Henry at MC3 (Mike was once again sick). Something I'd never done but it was quite fun, tho we left pretty soon after 12. :P

September:
What a month it was for me personally. I did some stuff I never expected I would do, and knowingly hurt someone. It was a new experience but I don't regret it. I'm like that, I will do stuff as long as I know I won't regret about it. Quite a turbulent month and I'm not getting into details here. CY, MIke and I went up to Permai to help the PHotomedia Club with their telematch and trip. We just helped with the telematch as I had been assigned as games master again -_- This was the month that I started going clubbing pretty much almost every week. I started going with Esther and the other cousins and after she left, I'd go with CY, Hui and Henry. We started with Soho and Xanadu, and sometimes other places coz we're more into karaoke.

October:
Mike and Burger left for KL and Belgium to start training. A big deal for everyone as none of our school's grads/trainees had gone so far before. Things would never be the same for our group too with one of us gone. BUt next, we were distracted by Hari Raya where I got sick again. (You see?) Despite that, I did manage to hold up long enough to visit a few houses and eat lots of yummy goodies. Swinburne's Prom was also held then, but I didn't go and on the night itself, went clubbing with my brother and some other guys. Lol. What a change from previous years huh? Sadly, this month saw me getting into disagreements/fights with quite a few ppl so :P On a happier note, there were also many birthdays throughout the whole month. A notable one would be Alex's, at Bla Bla Bla, where I accidentally caused him to step into the water feature in the middle of the place -_-|| So embarrassing but it was an accident!

November:
More birthdays to go! CY, Henry, CHyi Yeou and my own brother celebrated their birthdays. Something memorable was that both me and my brother both got pretty wasted on the same night. Both he and Henry were celebrating on the same night so yes, lots of alcohol. I ended up having to drag him from outside our house to his room, with his shirt totally wet with sweat and ugh, partly vomit :P. So from that night onwards, I pretty much made sure that I won't go back too drunk or tipsy, coz I'd been like that almost every week when I went clubbing.

We also finished our FYP at last! THough a lot of it was very last minute, especially in the last week. CY and I were even more anxious as someone had broken into CY's car and stole her bag and the project module. So had to rush-order it from the US again. LUckily, with the help of many kind individuals throughout the whole project, the project was completed and worked. Despite the stress, we had a lot of good/funny/interesting/crazy times in lab 4.02 for the past few months cooped inside with all the projects. Some of us got so stressed that we'd let it out by saying/doing all sorts of crazy stuff and cracking up each other. Lol. Shortly after FYP, it was time to cram for exams, as we had no study break at all!

The final exam of my uni life (most probably!) was on the 29th of Nov, for Design for DSP Architectures. We celebrated the end of exams by going bowling and for supper afterwards at BDC. And yes, I won for the 2nd time.

December:
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Mike and I broke up due to some issues and decided that it would be better to just remain friends. But I would say that it was my best relationship yet and that I had a lot of great times during the 2 and 1/2 years. I think we both learnt and gained a lot from it.

I ended up going for a lot of job interviews in this month. I got the call for my 1st interview directly after my final paper -_-||. So, went to KL 3 times and Johor once. I had interviews with Sony, Maxis, Alcatel and Industronics in KL and GES in Johor. Some interviews required me to take some IQ, maths, reading comprehension tests and even coding or group dynamics. So yea, interesting month, but incredibly hectic with all the flying around. Spent a lot on air tickets and also new work clothes.

THanks to my uncle, I got to go watch Leo Ku in concert at Stadium Merdeka on the 23rd of Dec. I had a great seat, front row and center of the VVIP section so only the press were in front of me. I did get to shake his hand too, so a very cool experience. This year's Christmas was pretty quiet as I spent it with another uncle in KL, since I couldn't go back to Kuching, due to another interview :P. To make it up, I did get to celebrate New Year's Eve with CY and the others at Soho, despite the heavy rain. THings only started perking up around 11, so it was pretty ok :D

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In conclusion, I would say that I did and learnt a lot of new things this year. I started getting interested in photography, mahjong and back into monopoly and clubbing. I learnt more about my FYP and also job interviews. I experienced my first drunk-stayover-at-friends'-house, a big concert, international Rotaract event and many other things which I can't recall or mention here. Oh, and I get along better with my brother now. I think all of this has made or kind of changed me too. Some may say that I've become more wild because of the clubbing, openness etc. But I say that may be better than the controlled, serious person that I was before.

Yet, I can control my temper better, I'm more open to trying new things, I'm more keen on loosening up and having fun. BUt at the same time, I think I've become more mature, now that I've been through certain things and seen both sides of the story, as in the good and bad side. I suppose that this is fitting, since it is the last year of my uni life. Who says you don't learn anything from uni? Sometimes it's the life and people experiences in these years that make a difference down the road. And yeah, I've really been through a lot in Swinburne, with the various people. I've made a lot of good friends there, both students and lecturers. And the memories will always be with me.

So the people who really made a difference in my life this year are: Mike, Ching Yi, Henry, Siaw Hui, Chyi Yeou and last but not least, my brother. Of course, the family and friends that aren't mentioned, it doesn't mean that you didn't make a difference, but you probably have always been important throughout the years, not just starting this year. Thank you all for everything you've taught and given me, the good and bad memories, all the times, laughter and tears we've shared together. I hope we'll all always keep in touch and remain friends :D

Busy Busy Months: Birthdays & Projects

Boy, has it been a busy time since I last updated, phew! *wipes sweat*. October is definitely the month with the most birthdays for me. If I had to celebrate every1's bday, I'd be dead broke by now. The birthdays extended all the way into November, and there's still 1 more important one to go. My hunny CY's one of coz..ahaha...So yeah, here's a birthday shoutout to all those October and November babies:

10th Oct: Dominic
11th Oct: Ehren
12th Oct: Cindy & Ngee Kheng
17th Oct: Alex Tho & Chestine
18th Oct: Cousin Samuel *muakz*
25th Oct: Stephen Apek
26th Oct: Sze Yaw
27th Oct: Mike FV ;)
28th Oct: Gary Koko
2nd Nov: Capt Henry
6th Nov: my ass of a bro who's now all grown up n too handsome for his own good
9th Nov: Mika Kuan
11th Nov: Chyi Yeou the Lao Da
18th Nov: CY my Hunny ;)

Group pic of us at Tomóe, with 3 bday babies

*phew* long list huh? Anyway, in addition to all the bdays, was busy rushing and finishing up FYP and various lab reports for the different subjects. Today was the FINAL presentation and demonstration of the project. It went ok, except that I got a lot of hardware questions that I couldn't fully answer :(. Anyway, the video of how the project works is as below. We've been staying in the lab for the last few weeks, basically kicking ourselves for leaving things to the last minute as usual. What can I say, that's just the way we are..procrastinators and last minute ppl. Heck, this sem is really packed too...we're guinea pigs taking 2 new subjects with extremely heavy workloads. There are just SOOOO many labs, and a lot of them take awhile to understand...

But seriously, I'm really thankful to have so many smart n helpful ppl around me to save my part of the FYP -_-....if not for them i probably won't have a successful project. So here's my extreme thanks and gratitude to my saviours:

-Capt Henry for the initial design of the model, n his SolidWorks
-Sheng Hock for building the model
-Hudy for the circuit and the extra hardware stuff
-Dr. Chua for the circuit

Aaaah..I'm sorry I'm so stupid in hardware..i'm seriously seriously not cut out for engineering..I only enjoy eng mgmt laaa...like today..tho i was pretty tired n lazy..i still felt hyped up when Chiet them asked me to help write their recommendations n conclusion for the mgmt 2 assignment tho I had no idea bout their chosen company. See? Ppl keep saying that I can write reports well coz my English is good n etc. Yeah, I do enjoy writing, reading and analyzing something and explaining it. But I know my writing can only get me so far coz I'm not really very creative and I can't force things out. I usually procrastinate till the last minute n really squeeze things out. My best written pieces are when this really great idea strikes me and I get all motivated to write it. Unfortunately, I always lose steam, especially if it's a long process..so never get to the end. All those incomplete stories etc are still in my head..and every once in awhile..they kinda play out in my mind like a movie. Lol.

Doing this FYP really made me think how long I would actually work in the engineering field. I'd probably give it a shot, but seriously, if I had a good job offer from the business field, like event mgmt, or as a sales engineer, heck yeah, i'd definitely jump at the chance! Most ppl i know say that I'm more like a business student rather than an engineering one. Or even an English teacher. haha! But yeah, I'd definitely enjoy being in the event mgmt field, so let's see how things go.

U know that feeling, when ur really really busy with work, sch stuff, you tend to want to go play n have fun even more? Yeah, I'm really thinking bout it now. Like tonite, I'm supposed to start on my DSP project which is due on Tuesday, but coz we just got done with FYP, there's just that feeling of relief and wanting to destress awhile. Shit. Anyway, right now, I miss clubbing, karaoke, movies and bowling. See how lo.....but I also miss photography, whether of scenery or 'models'. I've seen some pics of my koko who's a part time model and I'm like, damm, I need a real model like him. No offense Mike n Henry, but yea, you guys complain about ur tummies...so....I would think a male or girl model with a fit body against a sunset, or something would be really cool. I'd like to try the feeling of directing/photographing a more pro type of shoot. Heheh....but it'd be kinda hard lo...no time, n i dont really have any ideas at the moment. Mayb after exams, it'll be fun to see if I could do it. And if I could find a model! Hahah..any suggestions? And I wanna go travelling! KL, Perth, US, the Caribbean, Europe...aiyooo

Anyway, bsides that, I've also started watching some tv series to destress. 9pm 100% Entertainment on Channel 301 with Xiao Zhu and Xiao Gui. I like Xiao Zhu while CY likes Xiao Gui. Each to her own type ma...I like the naughtier, tall, with a mischievous grin but filial type of guy while CY likes tall, fair and good boys. Hehehe.....see no touch laaa...Then it's 10pm, "I Can't Accept Corruption" on Channel 314 with Louis Koo. It's an old TVB series but yeah, Louis Koo. Hehee.....then 11pm, "Miami Ink" on Channel 707 with Ami James! Technically I won't like guys with so many tattoos, but he's just sooo charming and has this sarcastic/independent/straight attitude and this disarming grin. And I never liked bald guys but yeah, Ami's sexayyyy..ahaha..;) See, I like all the bad boy types...cham...

Show Luo Zhi Xiang (Xiao Zhu)

Louis Koo Tin Lok

Ami James of Miami Ink *smoulder*

So next week, exams start and I'm not sure when I can next update....finish exams on the 29th but have embedded project due on 7th but heck on the 29th I bet we'd all go party!! so after 7th Dec, I'd be totally totally free......hmm....strange...5 yrs seem to pass by so fast..but I'll get to that once I experience the freedom

Raya & Getting Sick

I was soooo looking forward to the Raya weekend, partly coz it was a long break for us, and of coz, all the Raya goodies. But unfortunately, I had to get sick then too! Darn it. Anyway, the group of us kicked off the holidays with a Monopoly/RISK/Mahjong night at CY's place. As usual, got demolished by Henry as he was all conquering on the Monopoly and Risk table :P But yay, did manage to win back on the Mahjong table. *evil laughter*...Surprisingly that nite, we did end up teaming up for Risk, instead of arguing and competing as we normally do. THough we did compete furiously at Monopoly. We had too much fun that night that some of us thought the next day was Saturday -_-

Stayed at home the whole of Friday and didn't even take a nap, unlike proper school days when I desperately crave naps. BUt i was starting to feel out of it by 8pm but refused to stay home. C'mon..it's the eve of Raya, and it's Friday night. But we all had no idea what to do....to go CY's place or to go clubbing? We were all so indecisive and I kept getting phone calls from the Capt who just couldn't make up his mind. So yea, was on the way out when he would call n say this...then five mins later...another call to go another place. Walaoz. We ended up at Soho, but were just sitting around the back, coz it was packed. So me, CY and August decided to go Zhen How for drinks coz we were bored. And then coz they left for MC3, we packed up and went over too. Geez, some ppl just can't take no for an answer...I said I didn't want to drink anymore and though I covered my glass..yea..still ended up with a refill...partly over my fingers too. Luckily my stamina has improved coz when i got home, I was really hin and kinda wanted to throw up. Not because I drank a lot (I didn't!), but bcoz I had a really really bad headache and was coming down with a fever. So yeah, that nite was pretty crappy coz kept tossing and turning and feeling extremely cold despite turning off the air-cond.

Woke up to find my hair was in a mess (and I just got it done! :P) but I was feeling better. Finally decided to join my family for Raya visiting, or else I'd have nothing to eat at home. So for all 3 houses (1 relative, 2 Rotarians)...I kept hearing the same things over n over again. "Are you working? Have you graduated?" Lol. I felt better as the morning went on, but felt very sleepy in the afternoon so slept for about 6 hrs. We went to Xanadu that nite where I got challenged to pool by the Capt. I won the 1st game by default (coz he put in the black ball) but lost the 2nd game pretty badly. What can I say, I havent played in 2 weeks, plus I kinda forgot about placing my fingers liao...Hehe. But when I got home, yea, I was pretty out of it and feeling sick again. So fun.

Once again, the next day saw me feeling better and it was off to visiting for another 3 houses. BUt the 3rd house, we went to Dayang's house where we had yummy cakes she made (Yum, choc cake!) and also the usual Raya food. Ooo..and since we were kinda bored, we went to CY's place where me, CY, Henry and Dominic had a battle of mahjong. Dom was keen to break the curse where the newbie never wins against the 3 of us. Sadly, I was the first to help him break it. It somehow ended up that Henry won the least..ahah...Maybe coz I laughed at him too much or wat but the next day, I got sick again! This time, it was down with flu and cough. The cough was most likely from the Sunny Hill ice-cream I had...coz I still had a little bit of cough earlier...and the flu was probably coz I was in the rain a bit on Sunday and on the Monday itself. Geez, immediate effect :(

Left to Right: Hong Liong, Chyi Yeou, Siew Hie, Henry, Dayang, me, CY, Dominic, Ban Yip

And this is the main reason I updated today. Check out this new Motorola U9, which is mainly a music phone. It looks damm nice, and I'm still wondering what the front is made of. It looks such a solid colour, yet the screen can display the music like tat so nicely. The screen is supposed to be seamless with the rest of the cover, unlike our current phones where u can obviously see the outlines. It's newly announced so should be available by Christmas or early next year.

节拍器 (Metronome) by Jolin Tsai

I saw this video on Youtube, and it's pretty sad but beautifully filmed I think. Her company spent a lot of money on her "Agent J" album and they filmed about 4 MTVs in Prague & London. They also hired famous ppl like Stephen Fung who appears in this video, and Kim Jae Won (who Nicholas Zhang Tung Liang looks like) for both the 'Agent J' and 'What I'm Scared Of' MTV. These 4 MVs have some connections in story and it's quite complicated but well thought out. I think Chinese MTVs have more story compared to the Western ones. Anyway, I like the melody of this song , very melancholic and simple and I think her singing has improved.

Lyrics (from chinese-song-lyrics.com):
是我越来越想你 (Shi Wo Yue Lai Yue Xiang Ni)
还是隐形了自己 (Hai Shi Yin Xing Le Zi Ji)
小心翼翼你的语气 (Xiao Xin Yi Yi Ni De Yu Qi)
配合你的表情 (Pei He Ni De Biao Qing)
我的好胜心为你舍弃 (Wo De Hao Sheng Xin Wei Ni She Qi)
以为这就是爱情 (Yi Wei Zhe Jiu Shi Ai Qing)
直到自己没空气 (Zhi Dao Zi Ji Mei Kong Qi)
才发现不能再继续 (Cai Fa Xian Bu Neng Zai Ji Xu)

我不愿意再为了讨你的欢心 (Wo Bu Yuan Yi Zai Wei Le Tao Ni De Huan Xin)
别让我的心 (Bie Rang Wo De Xin)
像是上紧发条的节拍器 (Xiang Shi Shang Jin Fa Tiao De Jie Pai Qi)
我的呼吸慢慢跟不上节拍器 (Wo De Hu Xi Man Man Gen Bu Shang Jie Pai Qi)
最初的设定 (Zui Chu De She Ding)
我们交叉在不同频率 (Wo Men Jiao Cha Zai Bu Tong Pin Li)
美丽 (Mei Li)
放弃 (Fang Qi)

时间把我们遗弃 (Shi Jian Ba Wo Men Yi Qi)
究竟快乐伤心 (Qiu Jin Kuai Le Shang Xin)
爱要多少世纪 (Ai Yao Duo Shao Shi Ji)
才能够停止寻觅 (Cai Neng Gou Ting Zhi Xun Mi)

不再演你爱的自己 (Bu Zai Yan Ni Ai De Zi Ji)
脱下了语气节拍器 (Tuo Xia Le Yu Qi Jie Pai Qi)
再一细数我的孤寂 (Zai Xi Shu Wo De Ku Qi)
可不可以 (Ke Bu Ke Yi)
不够再跟着你靠近 (Bu Yong Zai Gen Zhe Ni Kao Jin)
我可以安静 (Wo Ke Yi An Jing)
聆听时间倒转的旋律 (Ling Ting Shi Jian Dao Zhuan De Xuan Li)
暂停 (Zan Ting)

Other nice songs that I'm currently listening to include:
1. 背叛 (Betrayal) - 曹格 Gary Chao
2. 情人节快乐 (Happy Valentine's Day) - 曹格 Gary Chao
3. 好朋友 (Just Good Friends) - 罗志祥 Show Luo Zhi Xiang
4. 错了再错 (Keep Making Mistakes) - 张栋梁 Nicholas Zhang Tung Liang
5. 西界 (Westside) - 林俊杰 JJ Lin Jun Jie
6. 如果你也听说 (If You've Heard) - 张惠妹 Zhang Hui Mei
7. 最近 (Recently) - 李聖傑 Lee Shen Jie
8. 手放開 (Let Go) - 李聖傑 Lee Shen Jie
9. 痴心絕對 (Broken Heart's Decision..i think!) -李聖傑 Lee Shen Jie
10. Tattoo - Jordin Sparks (American Idol Season 5 Winner)
11. Inconsolable - Backstreet Boys
12. Walk Away - Paula DeAnda
13. If That's Ok with You - Shayne Ward
14. Do It Well - Jennifer Lopez
15. Umbrella (Acoustic Version) - Marie Digby

Seems like a lot of sad songs huh? Must be the karaoke influence...eheh. So if you're interested in listening to any of these, can always get from me in MSN..ahah!...

A New Date and a New Beginning?

Hey!...Breaking news...I have a new boyfriend, and check him out:

Hahah!!! Handsome or not? lol...Did I fool anyone? Good grief, I brought my bro out to Xanadu with us on Saturday nite, and the workers there thought he was my new bf! Coz they knew Mike was leaving, and so yeah, the next week I bring a new bf. Even Augustine thought so. Lol!! Guess it's the fact that we don't look very alike and he doesn't look like he's younger than me. And maybe no1 expects me to go clubbing with my bro? Gee, first Ah Fung, now my bro. Wahh.

Anyway, me and my 'date' and CY were there earlier than the rest so I taught my bro some of the drinking games which I ended up losing. :( so of coz he enjoyed it. He didn't get to see the usual girls there, but there was this girl who sang an Ah Mei song and a Filipino song...and boy could she sing. THough my bro doesn't know how Ah Mei sounds like..but he thought she sounded like the original singer..she was that good! Then I was supposed to play pool with my bro (I was very prepared to lose) but he ended up playing both games with Henry (coz Henry lost the 1st one and wanted to win back). So, yes, one up for the so-called Chan Paikias. Hahahah! Anyway, we learnt a few more drinking games that nite, and Willie (Xiao Gui) got pretty tipsy...hehez..no thanks to CY and August. But we were pretty guai and went home around 12.30. My bro and Henry ended up at Soho (separately though!) and I have no idea what time they left. In conclusion, my bro only liked the drinking games...but finds Xanadu boring. Duh, no gals of coz he thinks it's boring..ahah

I had to go home early coz I'd promised my mum to b her photographer for her company's aerobics event the next morning. It was in conjunction with their Life Style Fair so they were promoting health and she was worried there wouldn't be any pics for their own records. It started at 8am so I had to wake up at 7.30am...and I'd slept around 3.30-4.30 coz I couldn't sleep without my phone (my bro had kidnapped it to msg some girl -_-||). I didn't sleep well coz I knew I had to wake up early. Yet, it was pretty interesting to see these ppl I used to work with doing aerobics. Some of them still wore heels le...so hebat. I took over 100 pics just for the aerobics session and I already felt tired. Esp when the sun came out and looking at all of them working out. Once it was done, i packed up and went back to bed at 9.30am.

However, 2 hours later, my mum calls and asks if I could bring down the camera coz she forgot she still needed it. So ok, crawl out of bed and head down again. This time, things were in full swing and the different booths exhibiting various things from BMWs, stem cell banking, interior design companies, phones and Sony LCD TVs were up. So I went with her from stall to stall to check things out. I tried out the new iPhone, which Sheer Unique is offering for RM3000+! OUch, but they have the crack already, so you can actually use Digi and Celcom with it, unlike in the US. But not available for Maxis users yet. It was pretty ok, music and video was good but interface was a bit laggy and not always responsive to touch. Must be careful on how u touch and where. :P

Kuching Specialist Hospital was there and they were offering free general health screening where they would test ppl's blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI. I wasn't too keen on the glucose part coz they prick ur finger with a needle...but since my family has a history of diabetes, I thought I'd better. I was also kinda worried that I would have high blood pressure coz I've been stressed out lately but luckily it was 120/80 which is normal! Good thing I didn't bring Henry huh? Sure would have high blood one.....Lol..just jk. Then, BMI time where they measured my height and weight. I'm only 152.2cm le...so damm short. And sadly I seemed to have gained back 1kg?? So yeah, I'm 2 kg overweight. SHIT....must start cutting down...I think it was all that late night junk food (Goodbye Koko Krunch!). I wasn't too happy about it but it was time to worry more about the blood glucose test then. I watched them get out the new needle and I didn't want to look when they did it. So all I felt was this quick n hard whack to my right ring finger and hey presto...blood! My blood glucose is normal for someone who hasn't eaten since the night b4 so yay. All ok except my BMI *sobs* Now my bro has evidence to back up his teasing. SHIT.....must wipe that smirk off his face...must lose that 2 kg.

Anyway, must have been too tired from all the late nights, the over-thinking, split personalities, emo-ness and combined with the weather, the lack of sleep on Saturday/Sunday night that I felt sick today. At first I thought it was just the normal Swinburne aircond but i started feeling extra tired n cold. Plus, I didn't have much appetite. Symptoms of a fever for me. Crawled into bed after class and still felt cold even without the aircond...so yes, I'm down with a slight fever. Feeling slightly better after the nap and medicine. But will definitely go to bed early tonite...it's a long week ahead and I've got lots to do! I must get well before the Hari Raya holidays too...all that food and I can't enjoy? Damm..2kg to lose le....alright, in moderation then. *pouts*

OH yea!..What about the new beginning? Some of u might have noticed I don't put my MSN nick as Princess anymore. Well, just felt that it's kinda kiddy and mayb I'm not like that anymore. So yea...time to grow up....I'm still surrounded by guys, but they don't quite treat me like tat..and well..it's time to be just simple old me. ;) Btw, you guys must be thinking, wah,....updating frequently le! Well, just felt like letting out my thoughts here. Healthier than keeping everything in...and not many ppl read my blog..so yeah. And I guess ppl might think..Cheh..it's all about her life nia...but hey..it's my blog..up to u if u wanna read. If not...then..nvm!...Should never care what others think, as long as you haven't done anything wrong and you're happy about yourself.

Jom! Buka Puasa food & other ramblings

As per yesterday's post, I had some food cravings. The original plan was to go to the Buka Puasa market with CY and maybe Henry or my bro. But what the hell...I got pissed..and Henry of coz got pissed as well...and big time this time. So yeah, am in deep shit now. F*ck my temper and stupid emotional personality, keeps getting me into trouble I can't settle. Probably will break out the vodka later...Yay!..*sarcasm detected*

Anyway, CY couldn't make it last minute so I told my bro it's ok, he doesn't need to skip class to go anymore. But he insisted on going, so yea, I had to wait at Swinburne in the car for him for almost 1 hr. Then, we got stuck in heavy traffic for over half an hour...and all this when the fuel tank was showing its warning sign. So yes, add more to the joy of my shitty day. Sorry for all the profanities. Just feel like it today. Well, we reached the Satok area at almost 6 and my bro goes, "Oh, you overshot it, need to turn around under the bridge." To which I go, "What the hell! Nice navigating you idiot" and he gives me this sheepish grin. So yea, you can tell our relationship has improved to the stage that we can insult each other n not get into huge fights. Luckily coz I don't need anymore conflict for the rest of the day.

In the end, we had to park at Wisma Satok and walked over. I suddenly became like a little girl with her older brother while crossing the road, "EEekks! Wait for me, I don't know how to cross!" And even more so when the first thing I saw at the market was some guys selling cotton candy!! I actually havent been to a Buka PUasa market for probably 2 years? So yeah, I was pretty unfamiliar, so I just followed my bro around and tried to figure out what we wanted to eat. And surprise surprise, he paid for his own stuff on his own accord! Probably the only pleasant surprise in my whole day. Either we were really hungry or greedy, but we really bought a lot of stuff between the two of us. We spent like RM30 on everything, probably also coz we were so tempted by all the variety. Plus food tends to make me happy these days...so yea...the more food the happier I am rite? Especially in the f*cked up condition I'm in. Once again, excuse the French.

When we were about done, we saw a stall selling BBQ seafood and my bro went "Look! Your stingray!" So the final tally of food is as follows:

Andrea: Chicken satay, special kebab (chicken, beef & cheese), roti telur, cotton candy
Aaron: Special kebab, nasi lemak, beef murtabak, crispy popiah
Shared: BBQ stingray, keropok lekor, huge packet of sugarcane juice at only RM2

What's a food entry without a pic rite? And it's nicely labeled for u to see what's what!

So yea, now I feel like a stuffed pig, I'm so damm full. But as someone's still pissed at me..and I realize my life is getting more n more shitty..what with labs, projects, FYP piling up...I'm starting to feel the pressure..and yet I want to go drink!...WTF rite? I feel like puking everything out, I make myself sick. But I won't do it on purpose. Don't worry, don't call the ppl in white coats yet.....I am really screwed up now huh? God help me. Or maybe I don't want help. Maybe I just want to self-destruct. Stop being the good girl...the responsible and level-headed girl everyone thinks I am. I just want an escape. Food and alcohol are only temporary relievers. Am I being melodramatic for attention? Maybe! But maybe I need the attention...the concern...the sayang...but I don't know if I can take it from just anyone. Heck, I can be damm manja with my younger bro..what do you think...I must be damm desperate already.

Where's my drinking buddy when you need him? Oh yeah, he's pissed at me. My bro's out with his frens so damm. And the rest? We're supposed to b at home, doing DSP/FYP etc etc. So that's what I'm gonna try and do now. The key word being TRY of coz..since we have no idea what DSP is all about. I am seriously f*cked up now and I haven't had a bit of alcohol, yet. SHit. Tonite is gonna suck big time.

Emotional Rollercoaster / Split Personality

What do I mean by split personality? Well, Geminis are known to have split personalities, they can be sociable and happy one second, gloomy and moody the next. That's me, if you know me. Been going through some changes in my life, mostly in how I think and act. After 2 years of staying home, doing 'goody-goody' stuff, I've suddenly felt the urge to go clubbing. This of coz probably has to do with the return of Esther who wanted to go clubbing, and also due to Capt. Henry gua. I started going to Soho/Grappa with Esther and her frens as well as our other cousins. The strange thing was that my bro came along...so we hung out a lot those days. Now looking back, I guess going clubbing together has kinda brought us to better terms. Probably coz he's grown up a bit, and guess he can see how I am..and vice-versa. It's probably to do with me nagging him less too...i mean..let him make his own mistakes rite? I can't keep protecting him...but yea...kinda fun to hang out with him at times...his damm big ego makes me laugh..Met a few new ppl then through Esther too....so it was pretty interesting....

5 cousins: Top- Me and my bro.
Bottom (L-R) - Esther, Ah Tee, Saw Hui (Eric of Eric Salon at 3rd mile above Sunflower Bakery)

But after Esther left, I changed to Xanadu, since I don't have any dancing kaki. Haha! Xanadu's pretty fun too...last time when it was still called Spiderweb, we used to go for karaoke. Now we're still into karaoke but on busy nites, it takes quite long till it's our turn to sing. So we've now learned several drinking games..plus I've made frens with the workers there..plus the boss..so yea..we kinda have special treatment, esp with Henry there. He's there so often it's like his home! ahah. Like for Soho, my bro does the booking or deals with the ppl there and for Xanadu, it's Henry. Tho my gal-frens think I'm moving up there too...lol. Oh, and I've gotten more keen on clubbing type of music...but it's also a mix with all these emo-mandarin songs..must b from all that karaoke..

So why the emotional rollercoaster? Put it this way, not every1 can handle my changes or my sudden urge to do wilder stuff. Sure ppl might say I'm still very kuai..not doing anything too wild, but hey, for me they think it's wild. Clubbing is nth much to most ppl, but nowadays I go every weekend...I've gotten piss-drunk..and no, it wasn't a pretty sight and not something I'm gonna repeat. But basically, my personality is changing too. I'm more keen on playing...not wanting to settle down into the serious stuff. I guess it's to do with my feeling that it's now my last sem of uni life. After this, we're gonna enter the working world and we can't enjoy as much coz it'll be work work work, climb the corporate ladder, meet targets...etc. So I guess I felt that I might have wasted some of my uni years and I'm making up for it now. My bro must feel that I'm trying too hard..but what the heck rite? Better late than never. I hear stories from my relatives that they regret not playing more, coz they can't play or enjoy much now...so yea...I'm 22, gotta enjoy when I still can right?

Yet, the shitty thing is that the other part of me thinks...I'm playing too much..how about my studies, my FYP which is still hanging there....then I go...WTF AM I THINKING OR DOING?! Is it worth it? The question that plagues me these days is...am I giving up something good for something bad...or do I just want the bad thing just coz it's new and exciting....am I sacrificing something more important? Or is part of me hanging on to the old just coz it's good, safe and confirmed? I wonder what it is that I really want...

Edit: In addition to all this, I feel that I don't have much emotions these days...at most..I can obviously feel anger...but I rarely truly feel happy....i feel cold...whatever happens...it is only for the moment...it doesn't last...i feel that i've gone back to being 'batu'....the rock who feels nothing except anger. And that worries me...I should be feeling so much more. I want to be happy...but I can't...I take out my anger on my innocent friends..esp the Capt....and the rest are stuck in between...and when I get angry...it's for no apparent reason other that I'm not happy with my life...so yea..pretty shitty...i feel like drinking...but i can't....not just for this...i need to control it...what the heck is going on......

All this emotional baggage is wrecking havoc with my body...I lost over 1 kg in the last 2 weeks...but I got more pimples and white hair -_-||. Nowadays I also get a lot of food cravings but bcoz I don't feed the cravings, I don't eat much dinner and sorta starve till lunch the next day, coz that's when I can decide what to eat with CY and Henry. What do i crave for? Here's the updated list:
- BBQ stingray with sambal
- smoked chicken / BBQ chicken wings
- takoyaki
- beef/lamb kebab (the type in the Lebanese bread)
- bakulong (something like pickled mango or similar fruit)
- shepherd's pie..or something with mashed potatoes and meat!
- salad with bacon/cold cuts, potatoes...

Damm, just made myself hungry..*tummy rumbles* And of coz, when I feel frustrated and moody as I do now but don't know why...I feel like drinking....to forget about stuff...but I know it's not good to depend on alcohol. Which is why I will go and watch some movie after this. Probably Las Vegas season 1 or Van Wilder: Rise of Taj or Hairspray. Something to distract me.

Before I forget, Michael and Burger are now in KLIA, waiting for their Royal Dutch Airlines flight to Amsterdam and then to Brussels, Belgium. Their ultimate destination is Leuven, Belgium. They were accepted as Software and Research Engineers (or something like that) with Materialise, which is a software company based in Belgium. They're going to Leuven for 3 months training and will come back to work in KL. So yea, pretty good huH? Getting to go to EUROPE, all expenses paid trip, allowance given etc, good pay. Damm! Haha...but I'm not really keen on the job..I'm a crappy engineering student..most ppl think I'm a business student..or would be better off as. So yea, I probably would end up in a business job in the future...hey..I'm keen on sales engineer post! Anyway..all the best to them...hope they have a great trip ..and they learn lots...experience the European life and come back safely ;) For more details and to keep updated on their adventures, u can check Mike's blog.

So hey..long emo ramble from me today....but guess I feel better now...didn't have anyone to talk to just now..so...yea..let it all out here i guess. Btw, check out my deviantart, have updated some new pics. So, till next time!

They say this pic makes me look slimmer and like a giant but i think it's rather emo, so suits me now.

Friends 4ever: Graduation

14th August 2007, a meaningful day for a lot of ppl. Not only was it my mum and Uncle's birthday (oh no, i just realized I forgot to wish my uncle a happy birthday! -_-||), it was also Swinburne's Graduation. Most of Michael's classmates graduated and with some others I know:

Serena (Bach. of Multimedia)
Henry (Bach. of Engineering, R&M, 2nd class lower honours)
Burger (Bach. of Engineering, E&CS, 1st class)
Dian (Bach. of Multimedia)
Ngee Khiong (Master of Multimedia)

Congratulations to all of them! I did go to the ceremony at Dewan Undangan Negeri with Mike, CY and Siaw Hui. We had to wake up early and we got to ride in a Toyota Wish!..Hahah..my 1st time le! Anyway, Henry had gotten us all tickets and we were supposed to be his family for the day. It was interesting to see the people we know all dressed up and looking like extras from a Harry Potter movie without wands. The lecturers were also in fancier looking robes and hats (though some looked funny..ehhe). Of course, the business students were crowded in the main lobby while the engineering students who were significantly outnumbered hung around outside the robing room. I think there were less than 20 engineering graduates.

Before the start of the ceremony, we took a lot of pics with the people we knew. I also ended up as Henry's personal photographer as he went around taking pics with the lecturers and some girls -_-||. For the actual ceremony, it was rather formal with a very long speech on behalf of the Chief Minister who couldn't make it. The only interesting thing was the very HEAVY-looking mace Dr. Dennis was carrying in the procession. Then of course, we were eager to see how many graduates we actually knew, and we clapped as loudly as we could for them. There was one lady who got a Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from Swinburne Melbourne though. Wow.

I must say though, I'm really proud of my friends and their achievements. I will definitely miss them, though I may have only gotten to know some of them better in the past semester. But they're really great and caring friends and I wish them all the best. Hope we can continue to keep in touch and stay friends always. :D

Burger with the girls of E& CS, Siaw Hui, CY and me! we got him the bouquet of his fave piggies

Don't we look like Serena's parents? haha, esp with Mike's new specs

As the supposed parents of Henry for the day, though none of us actually cried

CY and I with Dr. Chua, our FYP supervisor in his doctor's robes, lol

Capt. Henry reunited with his Black Pearl which we got for his graduation present. May there always be a wind at your back, Captain!

A preview of next year's graduation, with Mike in Henry's robes

Tag No.2

Here's the 2nd tag from Serena which is very very long :P. Firstly I'm supposed to list down 20 friends...wonder if I can think of that many..ahha....oh..turns out it's quite ok...don't b insulted if your name is not here...this is just the first 20 I could think of at the moment.

1. Michael FV
2. Serena
3. Jenny
4. Ching Yi
5. Henry W
6. Lyndia
7. Vicky
8. Linda
9. Sun Sun
10. Cindy
11. Elfira
12. Ying Yi
13. Esther
14. Yi Chan
15. Chiet
16. Stephen
17. Alex K
18. Siaw Hui
19. Burger
20. Kok Choong

How did you meet 14? (Yi Chan)
During Foundation, when we were in the same class. But we only got to know each other during rehearsals for Orientation Night...hahaha..

What would you do if you had never met 1? (Michael FV)
Ah, what a big question huh? Probably my temper wouldn't have cooled down so much and I wouldn't have been this happy gua. And I might not have met all these other friends too.

What would you do if 20 and 9 dated you? (Sun Sun and Kok Choong)
Both are totally devoted to their own partners and KC and I are not each other's type at all! Plus I highly doubt Sun would ever turn out to like girls.

Would 6 and 17 make a good couple? (Lyndia and Alex K)
Alex has a gf already but I don't think he'd be a good fit for Lyndia either. Haha...

Describe no 3.. (Jenny)
She can be very loud but is a perfectionist at heart. Good at Soo Bahk Do (hope i spelled it correctly a!) and DIY things.

Do you think 8 is attractive? (Linda)
Of coz she is, she's cute and has a heart of gold :D

Do you know anything about no. 12's family? (Ying Yi)
Her dad's a lawyer and her mum is a housewife? Has a younger bro and sis.

Tell me something about 7.. (Vicky)
One of the craziest gals I've ever met and she would probably admit this too. But she's one of my best friends from young, though we had a minor feud when in Pri.1 over someone stupid. Former tomboy into a very feminine girl now ;)

What is no 18's favourite? (Siaw Hui)
Hmmm...I think it's either sleeping or watching series/movies. Hahah...that's what I've heard

What languange does 15 speak? (Chiet)
Mostly Chinese...coz when he speaks English, he can get teased by us since he's from Brunei. Aww..but it's funny..hehe

Who is 19 going out with? (Burger)
No one at the moment, though he tends to joke about guys. LOL

How old is 16 now? (Stephen)
Come October, he will be the same age as me!...Tho he's an apek at heart..ahaha..jk jk

When was the last time you talked to 13? (Esther)
Hmm..face to face was probably last year? Online was last month i think, since my cousin is a busy pre-med student.

Who is 2's favourite singer? (Serena)
Definitely Stephanie Sun Yan Zi!!!...

Would you date 4? (Ching Yi)
Hahhaa....if I become lesbian...why not? She's a nice girl too...

Would you date no. 17? (Alex K)
Nah...he's got a gf..and I'm more than happy with my own bf :D

Is 15 single? (Chiet)
NOOO!! He's been happily unavailable for the past 3 years..hehe

What is no 10's last name? (Cindy)
Goh. Our famous, smart and pretty (probably the perfect package) Ms. Goh.

Would you ever consider being in a relationship with 11? (Elfira)
Hhahaa...i keep ending up with girls. As usual, she's also not single...so I think this is highly unlikely to happen, we're both very straight.

Which school does 3 goes to? (Jenny)
Swinburne University for the past I duno how many years and is currently teaching part-time.

Where does 6 live? (Lyndia)
She's currently in Perth, but when in Kuching, she lives near Jalan Song or sometimes at Tabuan Jaya.

What is your favourite thing about no. 5? (Henry W)
He's a very good and loyal friend who can come up with all sorts of ideas which can be either interesting, funny or totally unacceptable (in more than one way at times). Despite his appearance, he's a caring guy for his friends in need.

As usual, I can't think of anyone who would actually do the tag..so yeah...it stops here..LOL...so kolien

Tag No.1

Serena tagged me twice and so, here's the first one, which is much shorter!

5 things found in my bag (also sch bag):
a. house key
b. wallet
c. handphone
d. water bottle
e. tissue paper

5 things found in my wallet:
a. money
b. photos
c. receipt
d. cards
e. coins

5 favorite things in my room:
a. my bed
b. my book shelves
c. my closet
d. my desk
e. my presents

5 things I've always wanted to do:
a. go to all the Disneylands
b. travel to the places I like at my own pace like Taiwan, Japan, Hawaii, Europe
c. graduate and get a job I'm interested in
d. open my own restaurant/cafe or events mgmt company
e. have a happy life

5 things I am currently into:
a. reading
b. movies
c. music
d. Mahjong
e. Monopoly

I won't tag anyone, coz I don't know anyone who would actually do it for me :P

Summer Vacation but not Quite

Once again, it's been a month since I last updated. And what have I been up to in this time? Let's see:
- exams (1 of which sucked BIG time :P)
- finished up last project of the earlier mentioned sucky subject, in 2nd week of holidays (BLEK)
- went to KL for a week with Mike for a real holiday
- got and FINISHED 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'!
- learnt how to play RISK
- got my results :P
- doing FYP in school

So yup, some of us finished our project in the 2nd week of holidays so it was pretty crappy for us :P. And just a few days later, Mike and I went to KL to shop till we dropped, almost literally. Haha! Spent a lot of money on books (no surprise there!), Pirates stuff, some clothes and well, some small stuff can add up to a lot of money. My total expenditure (excluding airfare) was just below RM1000. Luckily we stayed at my uncle's place so we saved on accommodation. An event of interest was that we went to watch 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' at GSC 1 Utama and the film got burnt just as the exciting part started(I never experienced this even in Kuching -_-||) but they were very efficient and replaced the film within 10 minutes. I went to the toilet in the 10 mins and came back to see that I'd missed some of the crucial action :P. Ah well, it was just RM6 (coz b4 12pm) and the cinema was really very nice, with yummy caramel popcorn tho I don't really like caramel. Oh and we had to sit through 1/2 hour of trailers and advertisements.

with Samuel, my cousin whose family we stayed with

The Pirates of the Caribbean stuff that I got were actually pretty hard to find, since almost everywhere just focused on Spiderman 3 and Transformers. Even Harry Potter stuff, besides the 6 books were rare, unlike before. Anyway, there was this really really cool one, a model of the Black Pearl that stretches out to 2 1/2 feet, which is HUGE. There are lots of hidden features like springtraps, compartments and etc. So I got 1 file with Will Turner's face on it, 1 DVD file also with Will, and a miniature model of Will. Obviously you can tell which character I like best. But I also bought a promo set of posters from the first Pirates movie and the book "Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of the POTC" which shows the making of the whole trilogy. Basically my whole trip was lots and lots of walking around shopping centers and spending lots of time around books, toys and CDs/DVDs.

the Black Pearl boat that stretches out to 2 1/2 feet

On the 21st of July, the day all Harry Potter fans were anxiously waiting for, I woke up early to go get the final book. But I wasn't crazy enuf to wake up too early so I reached Popular in Tun Jugah at 8 since I had to be in school by 9.30am anyway. Geez it reminded me of my KL trip when we had to follow my uncle to work at KLCC so we were there by 8am where the shops were still closed. I met some Swinburne ppl who were there by 6.30am -_-|| and I read the newspaper that there was quite a few ppl who rushed in at 7.01am. When I was there, I saw 2 girls outside already a quarter thru the book. Anyway, I got a free Harry Potter/Popular shirt in a Bloomsbury (the publisher) paper bag and a contest form and of coz the BOOK~! It was the adult version coz Mindy and the others thought I'm an adult already. If it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have bought it till much later when the price dropped. Actually the price has already dropped from RM109.90 to RM83. Tesco and Carrefour started selling the books at Rm69.90 and thus 3 big bookstores, MPH, Popular and Times refused to sell the books, except those who'd already pre-booked. So now they're starting to sell it again but at a 20-25% discount.

I read a few pages in the morning but spent 2 hours plus in the afternoon b4 church. Mike and I then spent a very quiet Saturday night just reading as we were really keen to find out what happened. I read the actual book and Mike read the pdf version. Anyway, I spent about 8 hours in total reading and finally finished it at 5am. What to do, it was exciting and I just had to find out what happened before some idiot spoiled it for me.

As for results, as expected that stupid subject CSE got me a P!!!..Grrrrr.. but I did fairly ok for the rest of the subjects. D for Photonics and also FYP and HD for Eng. Mgmt 2. But at least the GPA for FYP was 4.0 and there was a slight improvement in my semester GPA and CGPA.

I've been going back to school with CY to do our FYP project. It's quite stressful in the sense that we're still not very sure on what to do as we have quite a few options to try. Also, it's not like I'm such an expert on electronics :P. So have to be very cautious before making any big decisions. So, with the first 2 weeks gone, 1 week of holiday in KL...then busy doing FYP, helping to organize Rotaract's installation, doing my dad's documents and maybe his website....it really doesn't feel like a holiday except maybe at night. But I really want to have a weekend trip with my friends tho, especially since a lot of them will be graduating soon :P. And I have so many movies/series to watch, but not much time. Haiz....I'll just have to try lo...

Turning 22

Another year has passed and I'm now 22. Time really flies huh? Lol. Anyway, this year it was really a rush as all of us had so many things to due during these 2 weeks. CSE students even had to go back to sch on Friday, a public holiday to sit for a CSE test :P. Then that night, Mike brought me for dinner at Junk and then to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3! Which by the way, was really really good! All those Jack Sparrows! Unfortunately, when buying the DVD for my mum earlier, I accidentally saw one of the important parts and Henry told me something about the ending :P which I didn't really believe. Luckily I didn't bet with him on that or I'd have to buy him the Pirates watch. I bought the RM10 popcorn special just to get the Pirates car sticker.. hehe.

On my bday itself, I woke up early to help prepare the food and etc, but spent most of the time working on my FYP semester report :P And my mum kept wondering why I was glued to the computer n not helping her. Whatever she asked me to do, I'd nod and say yes, then forget about it or just do it halfway. What to do, if I told her I had 2 reports, 2 presentations and 1 assignment due next week, she probably won't let me have the party. Haha! Even my cat had taken a bath..coz he was too smelly already.

Around 5, I went to pick up my chocolate cake from Secret Recipe where I had to wait for quite a long time, since they hadn't written the message yet and basically service is still pretty crappy lo. There is no real order of lining up, the employees still lo lo...but it's also quite sad I had to go order my own cake...ahha..the employee taking my order asked what msg I wanted so I said "Happy Birthday Andrea", then she asked my name and I was quite embarrassed, "Andrea also." then she laughed :P

Anyway, it was pretty much a rush to get ready and take bath. Geez, after taking bath, I still felt all hot and sweaty and it didn't help that the living room air cond didn't seem to work. Surprisingly everyone was early or pretty much on time. I felt really stressed out coz everytime someone came my grandma would go "Girl, someone's here!". I mean, of coz I know but I'm busy serving other ppl drinks etc....and they kept nagging me to ask everyone to eat but they were all busy playing Big 2 or mahjong...so wat to do right? BLEK.. the cocktail bar idea was cool but too tiring coz it was supposed to be my bro who did it, but of coz I ended up doing it coz he didn't help n was too messy :P plus it didn't help with him and my dad complaining about everything I did though it was according to recipe...haiz...all the nagging nearly pissed me off

But the presents I got, made up for everything! Here's a list of the loot I bagged:
- Pink and silver pendant on silver necklace from Chiet, Yi Chan, Thong Wei, Cheryl, Stephen, Lydia
- Round pink cow lamp from Aileen, Dian, Hudy, Kwang Houg, Siaw Yen, Alex
- 2 sets of my photos framed from my uncle Jeffrey
- black Nike handbag from Mike
- pig and pre-order of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! from Serena, Jenny, Chime, Kevin, Alex, Yang Yaw, Mindy
- Jack Sparrow figurine with motion-activated sound!!! from Mike, Henry, Ching Yi, Seng Hock, Dominic, Burger and Siew Hie

The framed collections of some of my photographs from my uncle.

The rest of the presents: Captain Jack Sparrow, cow lamp, pre-order slip of Harry Potter 7, pig, pink necklace and black Nike bag :D

Everything was really really cool and just my style....so I was really happy with everything....till I overheated the next day. Lol!! I had diarrhoea and was rather nauseous from the next afternoon. After finishing my semester report and slides and sending them off to CY, I kinda conked out till 8pm for a dinner of plain porridge. I stayed on the couch watching Love Actually with my mum n shivering -_-||| despite the blankets. It got worse much later when Mike came and he had to take care of me with a wet compress, medicine and water. Later he had to help me up to my room and tuck me in with all my water, compress and medicine all nearby. Of coz he ended up exploring my very messy room and all the books but oh well.

All the yummy food which I myself didn't get to eat too much of coz I was so busy running around! Clockwise from left (9 o'clock): Green salad, potato salad, baked chicken wings, fried wan tan, tuna pasta bake, fried bee hoon, watermelon, pieces of fried chicken breast, and tuna spread.

Captain Jack Sparrow and his 2nd love, alcohol/rum (his 1st love being the Black Pearl, or himself?)

My 1st foray in sepia and black & white

As I'm still swamped with lots of various things, I'll just post some pics of my trip to San Diego as promised in the last post. On the last day of my trip in Feb, I 'discovered' the sepia and black and white modes. -_-||| It's my uncle's camera anyway...so was still a bit new to some of the functions...So, it all started from here at Seaport Village, which is a very nice and clean version of Kuching Waterfront. There were lots of ppl just hanging out, enjoying the live band (there were even ppl dancing along..so cute), walking their dogs, story-tellers, fortune tellers, portrait artists, kids running around, bbqs, ppl just lying around on the grass. Everything just seemed really relaxed and made for interesting subjects. I guess it's coz that was Superbowl weekend. Great timing huh? :D

It took forever to get this shot as there were lots and lots of ppl walking past just as I was taking it :P

This may look like the kid posed for me, but I just happened to spot him and another kid playing around the area. I thought this was a great contrast shot, between the kid and the tree, though you can't really notice the kid at first.

Another candid shot of 2 more boys feeding the seagulls. So hard to take this coz I didn't want to use flash and startle the 'models'...and the birds kept moving...

In addition to the 'relaxed' culture, I like taking photos in US bcoz of their clear blue skies! Such a nice colour and not a cloud in sight.

This looks rather gloomy n barren, doesn't it..hehe..but i like the play of light and shadow :P

What Holiday?!!

Aw man, I seriously take forever to update! BLame it on the workload of a final year student...and also..heh..low stamina...seriously feel so tired each day esp on Mondays n Tuesdays when I have to climb the stairs all the way to the 8th floor :P Anyway, it's now mid-sem break, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Yeah, we don't have to go for classes, but there are lots of extra things. Here's how my schedule looked like for this week:

Saturday, 14th April: Eng. Mgmt 2 tutorial, then rush up to CUltural Village for Rotaract's Amazing Hunt 3. LUckily, all I had to do was man the start/finish line and watch out for any injured participants. Got to go to Permai and also Buntal for yummy seafood dinner with friends. BUt all that driving wore me out..I've never driven up n down to Damai b4...only drove down once when DRR Zack was here...ahha...

Monday: Early in the morning, went up to SK Batu Kitang, a rural sch on the way to Bau, to officially handover the books that we bought with the proceeds of Rotaract's movie premiere. We each took a group of Pri 5-6 kids and read Enid Blyton short stories to them. Had to translate each paragraph into BM..and my BM is damm rusty!...i couldn't remember wat's drown...n had to ask Edison :P Oh! And we had our 'Mahjong Club' Installation bbq...lol

Tuesday: RUsh to finish up Mgmt 2 summary report on Coca-Cola Company. What summary? It was 18 pages!! Lol!!..But another group had 29 pages...so it's ok, lecturer says it's fine anyhow. Replacement Mgmt class that nite, since he won't b here for 26th n 28th of April.

Wednesday: Re-emailed companies in Singapore to find out about the Texas Instrument Evaluation Module for my FYP project. Rushed to sch to attend Swinburne's 2nd World Sch Debate Championship Training Session....as I was one of the adjudicators...Since there was also the 1st prelim round...it ended around 7 plus....-_-||

Thursday: Spent the whole day adjudicating 4 more prelim rounds, and it was mostly the same teams, Green Rd A and B, Lodge A. Later at night, I still had to give tuition.....

Friday: Last day of debate competition..Lodge A vs Green A for the final...which was very very close. It also ended around 7, then we went off to have dinner with CY and Henry...then mahjong!...though we had a Photonics test on Monday, we were too tired to study...

Saturday: Mgmt 2 tutorial...which I thought of skipping since I was still tired out. Looking back, I should have, so that I could study more in the afternoon. So what the heck am I doing now, updating??..Eek.

Seriously, my initial plan for the holiday was to spend more time n effort on my final year project, to study for the Photonics test, and to revise the other 2 subjects. But no...none of that was done. Aww man... Anyway, while at Sarawak Cultural VIllage, though I was stuck at the restaurant, I still ended up taking a lot of pics of the same stuff....ahhaah...mostly the mountain view, since it changed over the hours from totally covered with clouds...to less clouds. Heh. And of course, pics from the beach. Oh and there was this couple...who were taking wedding photos at SCV...not sure if they were a couple or just models...

Testing out the Color Accent mode on this really interesting bush/tree

Thought this made for a good detail shot..hehe..plus the colours r good

One of my fave shots from that afternoon, and this was without flash, so lucky it wasn't blurred. Btw, it was someone lifting up her skirt, not the wind..ehhe

I liked how clear everything came out, esp the reflections

If u haven't noticed, I seem to like taking pics with a blue n green theme....

Kinda like nature photography so here I am, testing the digital zoom mode..

Awww..just like one of those romantic postcards/posters...Guess who they are.. ;)

Somehow this doesn't seem very 'real' to me...unearthly..mayb Mars? Haha..probably due to sepia mode

And my final picture of the day! After about 300 pics... heh -_-|||

And as if u can't tell...I seem to be so into photography now...the main reason is coz...I have a new toy...the Canon IXUS 850IS....which costs RM1499.....and looks like this:

So yeah..i guess u'll be seeing more photos from me soon..lol. Any comments..do let me know :D

Photo Courtesy of Serena Sim