The Fringe

Adelaide Fringe—a festival help once in two years(lately I think they changed it to an annual thingy). It’s a major event happening now since 24th Feb till 19th March. Things will be held everywhere in the city. Movies, stand up comedies, basking, talent performances, etc etc. so far I’ve seen dancing sky (twice), the jazz musical garden, the stand up comedy(which I found the jokes pretty good, but most of them are about sex, n they used the F word a lot—I think ppl here take it easily with that), and basker along rundle mall juggling chainsaws that were turned on.
This was taken at the botanical garden during the jazz musical. I love the lady’s vocals, and the keyboardist, bassist, and drummer…. I love jazz. I fell asleep under the tree and had a sun burn. Ppl jz go there with their picnic sets, and start enjoying jazz with their family. I went with Mandy n her bf(Duane) and his family. (look wat a good spot light i was....) check out the double bass. its jz a stick. its called a stick guitar. hahha, chun man....
After that we went to Elders park for the Dancing Sky(which I’ve already seen the nite b4 with dai yee n uncle Jason but we didn’t get good seats). We reached the park at 5-ish, and waited for the show that starts at 9. (the crowd)The park was filled with picnic sets at about 8, and the aussies said they’ve never seen so many ppl in Adelaide b4. I tot it was normal cuz I’ve seen larger crowds than this. But really, it was a nice site when ppl will jz come n sit down in such a civilized manner. The when the show started, everyone’s mouth jz hung open. It was a performance by ppl from torino, and they hung ppl in the sky and they’d dance in mid air. They had a story behind it but no one quite catch the flow of it though.
Performances here are great! Ppl will start doing funny things like do a head stand in the bank, or crawl in a bus, or sing soprano in the streets…. They call it art. In msia, they call it insanity.
these are round rubber balls in the sky with human beings dancing AROUND it, also in the sky... this was also in the sky!(cant take nicer pix cuz they're moving n its quite high up)
this was not in the sky, but on the river, with a girl, dancing INSIDE the ball

Our technological purgatory

hey guys, jz something i wanna share. this article "Global Village of the Damned" by kevin ridolfi was one of my assignments i had to read up, n i came across this very interesting passage:

"Microsoft, IBM, AOL and their cohorts like to trumpet the "global village" that computers and the Internet have brought about. Despite their bold headlines and quick-cut video clips, this global village remains the Atlantis of the computer-age. In a village, everyone would find a way to communicate in order to survive, in order to live. We aren't communicating or coming closer as a world; we're sitting alone -- in our underwear, pale and eating Ring Dings -- in front of a gently humming computer, looking at pictures of the world, attempting to communicate with nameless, faceless strangers who are doing the exact same thing. That's not a village; that's solitary confinement."

the whole article was in that tone, nicely stabbing the users of the internet in sarcastic ways.... interesting....

sink or swim

One week of uni generally gave me an overlook of my whole year’s life story. The week didn’t go as I expected it to be, but its not as bad as the life story of Oliver Twist. 1st few days were lonely n all, but its all because of the sudden change of my ‘title’ as a college student, to a university student. It’s the survival of the fittest, eat or be eaten.

The way they teach here are very different (maybe it jz applies for wat course I’m doing). They challenge ur initial believe and thought, shake it then leave u hanging with an unstable mind. “go la, think for urselves mate”. If u do not hold tight to wat u believe in, u’re walking in the lion’s den. If u hold too tight to ur believe, u’re swimming in the ocean with a limited oxygen tank. (hahah, wat a metaphor…)

Its all in the mind. They are so darn good in playing with ur thoughts. And ‘they’ I refer to the course syllabus, and the lecturers that play along with it. Another ‘they’ which gives me more pressure, are course mates that I’d hv to compete with. They’ve been thrown in the wild since young, being shaken all their lives, and taught to challenge and be challenged; and here comes this protected species who is ‘0’ in survival skills. So fragile, so brittle. So as the flimsy newbie, I shall swim (or at least float) and not sink. And that takes a lot of extra effort in the rat race. Scary rite? But that’s how it is, and how it shall be. For as long as money rules the stock exchange and the boss holds ur pay check, that’s how the story shall go.

Well, I’m also glad that I was thrown in this situation. Very very blessed indeed. Its not the deep end yet, so I’m given the chance to learn. And to start off with, my course is beginning to be very interesting. The lecturer asked us to watch tv and read magazines. Its so cool. I pay them to make myself be indulged in entertainment. “PLEASE go watch films of all sort, various tv series, look in the diverse cultures of different ppl….” I like that. Anyhow, there’s also a ‘but’ in this… we gotta really watch and analyze wat made the person do that, and wats the purpose or hidden message of the act, bla bla bla. Which can be very difficult sometimes.

I’m very fortunate to start this course this year, cuz Adelaide is all pumped up for this festival called Adelaide Fringe 06. Being the festival state of Australia, this event is super major. Performers fly in from every corner of the world to present live shows thru out the whole month. Certain shows are charged, but most of the acts are scattered all around the city, where u can tip them however u like. Some talented ppl perform along the famous Rundle Mall, and I think it’s called basking. Very chun shows…

On the whole, I’m really excited bout this new challenge. It is gonna b tremendously thorny but one thing is for sure. God is on my side no matter wat, so I’m not scared, nyehehe!

missing home

i'm sitting at the lib now, thinking of wat to do for the next 2 hours b4 my next class starts. i'm so lonely now... n i know the main reason for this.

its cuz i was so UNlonely back there, so its very different here. i also notice ppl here walk alone. they wander around uni in singular form (unless they r in a very loud gang where they looking like beeaches n going oh mi gawd this n oh sh*t that)others r jz like me... all alone and so dull.haih... i think i'll get over this very soon. so dun worry. i jz need an outlet now. jz RITE NOW. so blogging is the only way to shut me up for awhile(msn tak boleh guna kat lib)

so anywayz, i went for a tute (short for tutorial) jz now, n realized i gotta do alot of tv watching, n magazine readings, bla bla. the course is very very aussie-fied. its like the lecturer asked us wat we think about 'big brother' or 'the castle', which are australian shows. n i was like.. darn... all i know is croc hunter who goes geooooorgiuuss n i dun even know his name... erwin something rite? well, i was rite that time. horny asked me to prepare myself for studies, n i said i shud watch more tv... i shud hv. but i didnt. so now i know that my course is all about taking 'entertaintment' seriously.

and also, i'm begining to talk like an oz. or else they jz wont listen to me. i had to say 'noy' instead of 'no'. i had to say 'yeah' instead of 'yes'. i had to say 'no worries' instead of 'u're welcome' etc etc.

tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, i'm now officially missing home. really.... no more being a tourist here... i'm supposed to BE a citizen of aus, n learn the culture skin deep to b able to live here... or else *khhh*slit throat sound*

well, things r gonna get better. i'll b going for a camp next month. hope i'll meet loadsa locals so i can catch the culture. other than that, i attend ocf which is helping me stay afloat, but its not really gonna take me anywhere. its my effort to paddle to shore. i met heaps of asians there who i assume were as lonely as i am b4. so i'm in the same boat as them.

and also my family. dai yee (my aunt)is really giving me alot of support. plus, she's passing down her cooking skills bit by bit, hehehe..
uncle jason, who's strict about most things, n i'm scared of him (which is healthy in a way that i know who's in authority). this is the healthy preassure that i shud get, n he's putting the rite amount of pressure on me, so i'm greatful for that too.
and lastly, mandy. she's been a doll. a wonderful roomie n great cousin. she now has to take care of me, heheh, being a newbie n all. she helped me so much that i dare not think about how i'd b if she didnt study here.

i guess i shud go study now... get my mind off missing home, n look forward to brighter things.... like... assignments?

something short to say?

Am I THAT short till its soooo obvious…? Well, I was ok with my height n all when I was in msia. Maybe cuz most Asians are physically small, n others/I dun quite notice….let alone compare….but here… in ang mo land… everyone is built to b big n tall.

Well, all along, my uncle wud b the one who wud b ejeking me bout my height. ‘jez, hang the clothes.. oh wait r u tall enuf??’, ‘oh poor thing, u cant see the food in the microwave from where u r!’, or ‘can u reach the button? I think u need a chair’… there r more… haih… well, I got used to that (I had to). But it makes me feel so weak and useless. I cud hear myself saying “oh help me! I cant reach the door knob from where I am! Help me!” with this irritating chipmunk voice.

And last nite, this ang mo family was here for dinner, n they had a daughter who’s 19 this year. She’s very sweet n nice, but my uncle was like ‘wah, u 2 same age?!?!? That’s a lot of difference, come come, stand together and we see properly’

And I was like, oh no… not again. But I had to play along. They were guests. So I stood there n I was starring at her boobs if I looked straight. And then! Someone said bring the camera! And crap… they had to go that far. So I stood there with my monkey smile feeling so small n puny.

Then her father jokingly said I shud sue Australian government… for building sidewalks too close to my ass. HAHAHA was wat I cuz say….

I used to b ok even when ppl said something bout my height last time, but lately, I cud feel the need of getting extra inches for my legs, or stretch my body abit….

Intimidated…. subdued…short…

final tour blog

Something left undone… my blog about Adelaide tour. It was the 3rd day in Adelaide, n it was my mom’s bday, and last day of cny. A special day indeed. Jz wanna blog bout it b4 I 4get where I’ve been in ade.

I got up early that day cuz mandy made me walk to Linear Park with her. It was a park near the house, n I think I seriously need to stay fit if I keep eating cheese n bread almost everyday. N so I walked, n walked, n felt that it was like a never ending park. Apparently this park stretches all the way with the Torrens river to the city! Chi sin… anyways, that walk took us 45 mins, came back to the smell of bacon n ham… they were having the bbq set up in the backyard n we had crispy bacon n eggs and sausages ….n Cant remember wat else…

After that we went to uncle michael’s hse to go for the tour together with his whole family. We stopped at Summer Town to pluck apples from an orchard (dunno who the owner was, heheh, but the apples were not ripe, so cant take any back)

Then we went to Uraidla. A place where the building were super old fashion. So retro…. Awesome. we walked in a market place where they sold cool stuff, like lemon grass oil, ‘ham’ bags, oat chewy with honey and raisins…. Weird combination rite? Anyways, we then went to this fair where they had it in conjunction to All British Day. It was a big field, filled with old vintage cars from Britain. Really cool. Dad was drooling all the way. We spotted datuk’s car (datuk is my grandfather, n his car is the Austin something something… which he’s still using it)

After getting burnt with hot cars, we went to Hahndorf—the German town in Adelaide. We had lunch in the park there, then we walked around that chun town. It was jz one main road, with 2 rows of german shops along it. There was this shop which sold kangaroo scrotums and lots of funny stuff, like funny readable t-shirts, funny cup holders…

Later, we got to visit a chocolate factory in Woodside, called Melba’s choc. It was rather old and used up, but the chocs were fine as it was. There were piles and piles of chocs in that place. We bought some marshmallows for bbq in the evening.

Yeap, more bbq…. After dinner, we had a lou sang thing together with uncle michael’s family. We brought the lou sang set from msia, hehe… (memang true Chinese ppl) then we had a cut cake ceremony for mom. I think this was her best birthday party with her family. I cud see that she was overjoyed.

thats it, no more entries bout my tours. cuz parents n sis left.... missing them alot now

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I’ve been watching a lot of FRIENDS lately. Main reason cuz I’m dead bored, another is cuz I wanna watch every single episode of it n I dowana miss out any in between, so I started watching it from season one all the up till 10(all thx to horny, I can do that now). It IS arguably the best comedy sitcom every created. And so, as I was having my really cheesy bfast this morning, I realized something bout the show.

It starts off with 6 young adults (mainly Rachael Green), who comes out of their mama’s protection, and fights with the cruel world where they can be individuals of their own. They need to establish financial stability (without the help of dad’s credit card), have a house of their own, find a life partner (except for Joey), and live happily ever after. So they come across loads of trials, face it, get across it, then another trial comes up. That has been going on for 10 seasons, until one day…

They’ve found their money, house and lifetime partner, to live happily ever after. And that’s where Joey Tribbiani is left behind. He has no soul mate, that’s y he has to start a new show, without his friends, to continue living his incomplete life. So… is that wat the media is trying to say to the commoners who follow this sitcom closely? That life starts when u’re finally facing the world for urself, desperately searching for the elements that ends life, and be done with it? I think its quite clear so.

Anyhow, to spice up the whole sitcom, they place 6 of such characters together, to make the fighting-the-malicious-world part easier. FRIENDS. That’s the main thing of the whole story. Without each other, they would hv jz been eaten by the vicious peace-enemies in the most spiteful way.

That’s how stuff goes. U need friends to b by u all the time to allow u to stay sane. So I do agree with the script writers. Jz that I’m not agreeing that life starts in ur early 30s. But then again, they cant put the whole life thingy in a 10-series thing, or it’ll turn out to b an infinite seasoned show if they started when each 6 of them were born.

So, my point is… ermm, there’s no point. I’m jz saying that I like this show cuz it portrays the parts n parcels of reality that we, I mean… I, am gonna face in the future, n it teaches me that whatever I’m gonna b, I must not eliminate the word FRIENDS in my dictionary.

genting trip

Finally, a day of rest for me, n I shall quickly use this time to blog about my genting trip! Hehe, I can see tim clapping his hands d…

Ya, so I went to genting with tim on city day. Hahah, it was KL day n I ran away from it. But close enuf, I saw twin tower up in genting, indoors sumore. Hhaha, it’s the ticketing booth where we got our indoor n outdoor theme park tix.

I’ve not been to genting for umpteen years, n was very excited bout it. I think the last time I went up was when I was 9, n that’s was also when my dad swore not to go up again(no idea y- n I dun think he gambled then). So tim was supposed to go for this family trip with his parents, but asked me to tag along cuz he’ll b alone when his parents wanna go pak tor. And so, my journey began when they came n pick me up, n we went to this place near bentong for lunch. N we had 2 guess the price of the food… tim’s mom was the closest… haih, me no good at guessing wan…

So when we got up to the hill, it was drizzling, n we prayed hard that it wont affect our rides… but then, there’s always indoor theme park! His parents dropped us in front of the entrance, n we got in, desperately searching for the toilet, haha (yes it was a long n winding way up). Then we tried to look for the entrance of the themepark. Well, we got lost n almost entered the casino! But, we had no interest in that n continued searching. The sign boards were very misleading n it wasted a lot of our time. Finally we asked our way thru, bought the tix, n eagerly eyed for a ride to hop on. But then!!! We cant find the line to the rides that were whooshing above our heads! Being lost for the 2nd time, I graded genting 3 out of 10… very disappointing. The place was like a shopping mall with ppl screaming on top of ur heads n u cant find the place where u can do so too….But not to fear, tim n I had something better than rides!!! A 5 mega pixel camera!! Hahah. We finally found a very very long line to queue up in (it was short compared to the others) n we snapped a lot of pix. I think others found us quite ulu… from then on, we cud be classified as cam whores!!! (that’s wat tim describes it)

So anywayz, I was proud of myself… cuz I’m tall enuf for every ride! Woohooo. Soon, we ventured out to the outdoor rides. N we saw this ride, with no line!! N we were like, yay, lets go for that! But mana tau, u gotta pay for that ride… which explains the queue less ride… but I wish I paid for it n had a super screaming time, up there in the fog. It was still drizzling but it didn’t stop us from having fun. We queued up for cork screw, n we were the last in the queue, cuz they were closing it up for inspection. We were contemplating whether to go or back out. But heck yea we went for it, even though we re all wet in the rain, but it was still worth it. I think it was the most syok-a-linggam ride cuz we didn’t hv the chance to go for the solero thingy n also the haunted house(in doors) which I heard were very good. But anyways, we experienced the 4D motion master, cork screw, the euro something something n another one which I 4got… oh!! The mines something something, ahahah. I basically jz spent the whole time queuing up with tim n saying how short the ride was.

When the sun went down n our energy was low, it was time to leave the-oh-so commercialized ‘theme park’. Tim’s mom bought dinner in this Chinese restaurant on the way down hill. It was goooood~

Well, I had a super fun day with tim. It was like a farewell thingy b4 I leave msia. Thx tim!!! Will never 4get this day of fun!!!

street day

I jz came back from the state library, and I noticed a lot of things today.
There were plenty of drinking fountains in the streets or in buildings, all for public use. N its clean, thank God.
Another thing that u see in the streets are traffic lights. N every traffic light, there must b one for humans too. It’s the same as wat u get in msia, jz that over here, ppl FOLLOW the signs! Other than that, streets here r very user friendly, especially for those on wheelchairs or mothers with prams. They hv special lanes for wheelers.
Well, I kinda sound very ulu rite now, but that’s wat I see in the difference between home n here.
Anywayz, I was early today, the library wasn’t open when I got there, so I waited outside (many ppl were early also). And so I sat on this bench(which u can find a lot of them on the roadsides) and then this young feller sat next to me. He was reading something, n I was doing my own stuff, then after awhile, he stood up, went one side, n took out his cigarette, n puffed. I mean, ppl here r so considerate! Not to say that ppl back in msia are not. Jz something that I get to experience here n not back home, know wat I mean?
ok, i better stop here b4 ppl start calling me n scolding me from msia.

aussie home

Since joshua requested, I shall blog about my new home in Adelaide. Its located at the north east of Adelaide, about 15 mins drive from the city. But for me, I’ve to take the bus from the street outside (bus stop 41) to Paradise interchange, then another bus to the city/ to magil(my campus). Kinda mah fan, but then the busses here r not as rusty n old as th those citylinks u get in kl, n they r quite on time.
So anyways, this is the garden in front of the house. The second window is the window to my room which I share with my cousin, mandy. Ppl here seldom do stuff in the front porch. The activities are all at the back yard. When u drive along houses at nite, u’ll see that its very very dark n quiet even at 9pm. The thing is, they hv their very famous aussie barbi(bbq) at the back yard- n they mostly do stuff in the evenings. So this is a small part of the back yard, with the shed far back, n my aunt, uncle n sis playing cricket. It’s a very famous sport here, something like badminton back home. this is another small part of the back yard, me n my sis roasting marshmallow with Jeremy, the 3rd son of uncle Michael n auntie ivy. Aunt ivy is uncle jason’s sister. Uncle Jason is my aunt’s husband. My aunt is my mom’s eldest sister. Hahha, confused yet? Its not that far la. So anywayz, uncle Michael has 3 sons, Christopher, Joshua, and Jeremy. They stay near by, so family outings are usually with them.
This is the living room, taken from the kitchen. The fireplace has no fire, its jz the very important heater there (with no chimney). This is another angle of the living room, Christopher was watching cricket.
and another angle of the hall. i'm looking at the new cricket set my uncle bought for my sis. this is the outside part of the back porch, we keep shoes in the white cupboard near my dad.
and finally,
my aunt having wine with my parents n sis outside. thats her car(peanut eye merc, hoohooo~)
oh ya!, n my room... kinda messy... n thats wat u get if u put 2 girls together.
well, thats it for my aussie home for 3 years!

legal wine day!... not

11/2/06
We declared this day the wine day for us, hehe. We had a slow drive to Barossa Valley, Adelaide in uncle Michael’s 7 seater car. We had to go up the hills to reach the valley where they grow grapes n make wine. I was so excited that I got to try out Australia’s freshly bottles wine! But then….
The 1st vinery we went to was Jacob’s Creek. It was a slightly modern one, cuz the building was rather new n looks techy. After looking around the monuments n stuff, we went to the testing bar where ppl can test al sorts f wine made in that vinery. The rule was simple, u gotta b above 18 to try. So I happily stood there with dad n aunt, hoping that the lady behind the bar gave me a glass, then she asked me my age. I said I’m 19 this year, n she said she needs some ID… I was like… wat?! U don’t believe me do u?! n then… I said I didn’t hv any form of id with me. She said she jz cant believe me, even if my dad n aunt was there to prove it! Sheesh… so fine! I made my dad buy the good wine, n I’ll drink it at home… where age doesn’t matter. (my aunt and I in front of the grapes)

Then we headed off to Peter Lehmann’s vinery, which was an older looking one. Its not old as in busuk n rosak. It has the ancient aura which brought the feel of being in the British Empire time… I guess. The ‘adults’ tried out the wine there, then we laid a rug on the grass area outside, n played some uno n Frisbee.

We had lunch in a bakery in Tanunda. Then drove to Seppeltsfield vinery. This was the founder of Barossa Valley, n they say it was there for more than 100 years. This one is rather commercialized, but its nice also. It’s much much bigger n they hv gigantic wine bins (dunno wat u call that).

After having enuf of wine, we drove to William’s Town where Barossa dam was located. It was a rather normal looking dam, jz that it had one cool feature. If u go to one end of the dam n whisper near the dam’s wall, the person at this end can hear exactly wat u whispered. N guess wat my dad did… he farted at the other side of the wall, n my sis heard n smelt it!!! Wat a way to communicate… so thus, its called the Whispering Wall.

After that, we went to Mengler’s lookout where we cud see almost the whole of Adelaide! Then to Gumeracha for the largest rocking horse in the world. Mandy, Charmaine n I climbed all the way up to the head. The ladders in the horse were steep man!!! Scary… I was like shaking when climbing down.
After a good day of touring, I tot we cud at least rest alittle, but I didn’t hv the chance. We went home to wash up, then off to TeaThree Plaza, which was the ‘nearest’ shopping complex to my aunt’s hse. Had dinner at Primo Restaurant. And phuiyo!! The waitresses were sexay!! N strong! The plates we so heavy, n they cud carry so many with their 2 bare hands.
And so… who said Adelaide is a dead town? I think is great! Jz that u gotta bring ur photo id with u if u think u look young~

all was said n done in sydney

3rd day in Sydney!!! Seems like a never ending story eh? Relax, it will end… I jz wanna blog it down b4 I 4get bout the places of interest I’ve been to.

So, I got up early, had the normal buffet bfast in the hotel(I still say avillion pd has the BEST hotel bfast ever!). then we set off to Blue Mountains to get to Echo Park in Katoomba(the valley of falling waters) and look at the 3 mountains, called the 3 sisters. Legend has it that 3 sisters were turned into mountains by this bomoh guy in their tribe, no idea y… it took us 2 hours to get there!! Imagine traveling for 2 hours jz to look at 3 rocks…. But I tell u… it’s really breath-taking!
Then we went to this place called scenic world also near katoomba (aka godoomba/kedumba). Had a wonderful time experiencing the nature walks, went on the steepest railway, saw how they mined the place, n had a ride on a chun cable car. One funny thing happened there. I went to the toilet with my mom b4 leaving the place. When I came out from the cubicle, I saw this very cute Japanese guy in front of me! Yeaps… GUY!! He was like…shocked, n so was I! then he was like… oh! Sorry sorry! Then all I did was laugh n say its ok. My mom said it makes no difference if he used it cuz he looks like a girl in a way. Hahah…
Then we had lunch at a park in Tanunda. Had the best chicken wrap ever!!! Then another hour drive to Featherdale Wildlife Park. Ntg much to see actually… jz a few lazing kangaroos, sleeping koalas and other very slow moving animals… then we stopped by the Olympic stadium on our way back. Cool structure of the museum… they use solar energy there.
It was Thursday n apparently its late nite shopping time for the aussies. So I tot ‘good, get to see some shops open at nite!’ Mana tau… they were closing when we went to central plaza(the foot of Sydney tower) at 8.30pm… darn.. n we belum makan! All shops were closing d. so we had a quick bite in the Myer’s food court(which was also closing by then). Myer is like jaya jusco in msia(jz a little classier). After dinner, we walked thru Queen Victoria Building which was a really classy shopping mall with all the expensive Gucci n Prada shops all closed(not that I wanna buy stuff from those shops… jz that its so weird… all nicely closed at 9pm) and they call this late nite shopping! Tsk tsk…

4th day… wasn’t so much of an adventure. We packed up n left the hustle n bustle of Sydney, n flew to Adelaide in the afternoon. It was such a change… I mean, from the very bz city to this small little airport. Apparently that terminal is the old one, for domestic flights only, so abit ulu. The new one is for international flights which I jz went ydy to send my parents off. Its nice n all, but I didn’t quite pay attention to the building cuz I was feeling sad that I’ve to b away from my parents n sis for a long long time…

Anyways, sydney is a chun place. But its not for me. Maybe if I work there n hv a luxurious house, good income n nice car, then I dun mind. But if u ask me to start a family there or start living there with minimal cash for expenses.. no way. Its too much for me. Oh ya, another thing I noticed, is that cars here r super cheap! Really… I see nuns driving branded cars. And also the number plates here r cute. Saw num plates with –ribena-, -C Jesus-, -hottie-….its also something that can b done easily, not like the ones in msia with all the red tape n money to bribe those agents…

Well, that’s all for sydney tours. More to come for Adelaide adventures n experiences, hehe.

it's a beautiful day!

Ok, 2nd day in Sydney!

We had a half day city tour with uncle Sam. Started off with Bondai beach. nope, din see no naked ppl there… I think they hv this special area at the other end for naked ppl. then we saw this bunch of Japanese high skool students. The guys had clips on their hair!!! Weird… thats me in bondai beach-- the sand is further down...after the cars

Then to The Gap(beautiful gulf with a nice view of the horizon) then to Mrs Macquarie’s chair (a look-over to the harbour bridge and Sydney opera hse). Was so frustrated with my camera… didn’t work when we had nice shots to take, n it functioned so well when we were in the dull area… darn it!

We passed King’s Cross(the red light district), stopped at Syd opera hse. Peed at the clean public toilet, which by the way, all the public stuff r clean. The building was so unique, though we didn’t get to go in, I got to touch the white tiles that form the roof. Then we passed The Rocks area(where all the rich folks plant their territory).

We also walked to Darling Harbour, which has a nice walkway which is soooooo nice to stroll on. I tried the mcD vanilla icecream. Really, it was much milkier than the ones in msia. We had lunch in the hotel room(saved some money on Korean cup noodles), then we set off to the Sydney Aquarium(the largest in the southern hemisphere apparently). We had the VIP pass, so got to see this man feed the sharks! Awesome… (thats---> the man, feeding sharks)

For dinner, we had it with uncle Joe, who took us to East Ocean Restaurant in china town (felt like I was in Hong Kong when I got in there). We had roasted pigeon! And pippies (that’s wat aussies call lala’s). had a good chat with uncle Joe there. He told us he once had 9 bowls of rice when he was in msia! My dad saw it with his own eyes, eating those grains! He’s mad…

2nd day was getting much more interesting. Not like the 1st day which was all boring n tiring… blekh! Mom n dad kept complimenting how clean the streets were, how efficient the traffic was, how nice the weather was, how nice the building were…. Kept comparing it with msian stuff. Even now in Adelaide! They’re still doing that. I think maybe cuz there’s a lot of walking done here, so they hv a lot of chance to stroll, observe and compare.

Well, so much for now. Peace out~

all my bags were packed, n i left on a slightly bigger plane

“you gotta get out of ur country to start loving it” says auntie yen (my godmom)

I find it quite true, but then still I’ve not come to a point where I start missing Negaraku n Jalur Gemilang. Not yet…

I’ve done so many things, seen so many sites, tasted so many foods, experienced all sorts of feelings… hard to blog everything out, but I’ll try.

Left the land of roti canais n rendangs, n took off to the land of flies n wine on the 6th of feb. my best boobie, shua, came to send me off. Together with auntie Esther n pei yi (hmmm, conclusion- all HELP students like to ponteng, haha, jkjk)

The flight was good, had a mini screen in front of me(watched zoro2 n Elizabethtown all the way to aus), nice vodka lime served n chun toilets that big bird has. I had a glimpse of s’pore airport. It was soooo nice. had the sky train from one terminal to another, Free movie screenings, nice smoking area, really good services…. Msia shud follow, at least the free movie part.

And so—I touched down to Sydney at about 6 something aussie time, n 3 something msian time. It was belaaadie cold! N I kept reminding myself it was summer… anyhow, met up with our tour guide for the whole Sydney stay- uncle sam, n he took us to our hotel – Avillion Sydney!! No, this don’t go on stilts like the one in pd does. Its rite in the heart of a very bz metropolitan city where no one cares who or wat u r. we had a nice suite room, complimentary from uncle Joseph skipps (my dad’s ex box) he’s a really nice man, knew him well when he was in msia. Now he’s GM of Av, syd. The hotel was really classy. I love it! Only one thing I dun like… I’ve to get up every morning, n place my naked butt on this cold, n huge toilet bowl n its so high, I cant touch the floor after sitting on it… haih… aussie stuff…

We slept till noon, had a good look around the city, walked thru china town, Vietnam town, Thailand street… truly asia… which was something I didn’t come here for. The guai lohs were so few, I cud count them on the streets! It was like petaling street but a little more organized and cold… oh ya, we had lunch there, n I ordered wan tan mee (I think the lady mistakenly heard that I ordered two ton mee—it was soooo huge!!! Like, ‘wan tan min dai dai dai’)

We also strolled down to Paddy’s market. I tell u… the buildings here look so dull n boring from the outside, but once u enter it, its like a whole new world with bright lights n darn good entertainment!

At nite, we had a super luxurious dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, called the Avery’s. I had veal meat with fresh shrimp and asparagus. Ooolala~~~ I was deeeelicious!

At nite, dad wanted a drink, so I went down with him to the streets to find beer (cheaper to drink that way than in a pub). But…. We cant find ANY alchohol drinks in ANY convenient shop. None. Had to find a liquor shop/bottle shop, to get 2 cans of beer. Funny rite?

Anyways, that was my 1st day in Sydney, more to come in my next post.

sleepy blog

thats me on top of Mengler hill, overlooking the whole of Barossa Valley-- haven for wine lovers...

yo ppl!!! i'm now in my new hse n room ( for the next 3 yrs), feeling tired after a whole day of touring the new place.
went sydney for 4 days, had a good spin there(will blog bout it another day). now i'm parked in adelaide, where its much quieter than any other place i can find. everythings fine, very happy n excited about living in australia!.... jz that i'm already feeling cold in summer, n my web cam is not working =(
well, i took some pix which i'd like to share, so i shud b putting them in multiply another time.
i cant blog rite.... cuz i'm too sleepy. till next time.
*smile fer jez =)

shared pix

a little something something i always wanted to share
memories of my life in Inti Nilai
enjoy

digging own grave

Leaving is something that’s so hard to do. I’m going thru something that’s harder than that. Not only I have to leave the people who mean so much to me, I hv to go thru the hassle to make sure everything’s done so that I can leave msia… it’s like digging ur own grave hole.
I’ve been pretty bz with the preparations and stuff, till I’ve no time for a lot of things. Plus! There were miscommunications here and there, getting myself in heaps of migraines. I thought Idp shud b of great help in helping me dig my grave, mana tau they were slower then me in getting my uni info for enrolment! I got my student ID from my dai yee last week and enrolled for my classes on the same day… and Idp jz sent me an email regarding my ID today… aduh…
Well, I had to go thru a medical check up for Australian high commission to approve me of my student visa. Went to Idp on a Monday to collect the medi cert, but the system was down, so had to go back the next day. So I went on the Tuesday, got the cert, did the medi checkup but something went wrong, n I had to get back on a thurs! for 3 days I had to wake up at 6am, follow my dad to his office, wait for him to finish his morning briefing, then he’ll help me with all those stuff. Felt bad for him, cuz it was kinda distracting. But then I hv a super dad! So he da best!!! Oh ya, I also discovered something pretty cool. I met a few Indian nurses during that few days, n I realized most of them cud speak better Cantonese than me. Geng man! Never think they don’t understand u n go talking bad about them in Cantonese in front of them. It aint gonna b a good site after that…
Another thing that I was worrying that time was whether the report wud b sent to aus high com in time to produce me a visa b4 the 6th. Idp said their record of the fastest visa approval was in 3 days, but praise God, I got mine in a day!!! Wohhoo… shua, ur prayers aren’t working now, muahahah…
Ok, so the paper work and the mah fan miscellaneous procedures done—now for the hardest part…. To pack!!!! Cant stuff everything in that little luggage of mine. Well, other than a super dad, I also hv a super mom who was a tour leader in her younger days, so she’s a pro in packing, so I’ll leave that to her.
I’m so gonna miss my family. Mom, dad, n my little sis. I’m gonna miss the way she hugs me every time I come home from nilai. Now I only get to hv that hug once a year, or maybe longer.
Going to further my studies in Australia is a darn terrific opportunity for me, but I’ll never forget about the sacrifices my parents did for me. Their time, energy, and MONEY! It ain’t cheap, n that gives me a lot of pressure. A LOT! My dad said he dun mind if I get aussie-fied when I come back, but if I fail in my studies, I’m gonna b crucified! And my mom also reminded me not to get in a relationship there, ‘it’s gonna ruin ur life!’ says she.
On the whole, I’m not scared about studying abroad. If u know me well enuf, u shud know better. Its jz the pressure that drives me off a little sometimes. But knowing that I’m supported, even internationally, I’ll still stay sane all the time.
So miss me people! Miss me… cuz everyone I know here in msia will definitely b missed by miss Jezamine Chan Yee Ai! *muax*

fallacious chinese new year

Happy Chinese New Year,
We are going to Australia,
But then we’ll still be here,
To celebrate together.
Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi Ni~
(composed by Charmaine and I)

Chinese new year is here, KL is super hot, traffic jams everywhere, people all dressed in red… the outlook is still the same as every single year, but does it feel like cny? No… the atmosphere is not here at all. I’m not as excited about collecting ang pows as the years b4. Not as eager as I used to about wearing my new year clothes. I’m not as thrilled as last time when I witness any lion dance or at fireworks… how come?
Now everyone is talking about how fake this cny is, how stingy that lady is, how bad the food is, how much that dude drank from mama(granma)’s house… its more like gossip to me. I never knew our family chats were about hearsays and rumours.. nothing that’s fun, joyful, and exciting. What has the world changed into? i jz hope I was once again the naïve little girl who sat politely beside my father, holding on to my ang pow, in my new dress, smiling away in front of the guests who came visit. But its all not that way. All the kids will be wrecking the front porch, the senior ones playing mah jong at the dinning hall, some adults emptying cartons of beers as they talk loudly about boring stuff and politics, another gang of adults playing fifa world cup with the PS, and we (the bored n lethargic teenagers) sitting hopelessly in front of the tv, looking at the graphics (cant hear anything by then), knowing that we’re gonna get very few ang pows today. Sad rite? Last time, on lin chor yat (1st day of cny)I would be so bz visiting relatives with my cousins and all, but this time, I was so free till I cud even go out mamak with my ex-church friends!!! Though I had a super fun time there with them, but I’m jz so disheartened having the feeling that I’m not in the midst of cny celebration….
Well, maybe I exaggerated, but that’s what I think it is. Yes we had a fun time during reunion dinner, as we all sat there and talked about stuff that could make us tear after laughing too hard, jz that I feel when 1st day of cny comes, everyone has to put up a fake smile, and greet the parsimonious visitors. Its all so commercialized now… no kick…
Anywayz, cant complain much… ppl change, situations change. I cant say that I’m all anti this commercializing cny n stuff, jz that the true meaning of cny is unfelt this year.
I wonder if next year would be worst or anyhow different from this year’s.
Hopefully u had a great cny celebration.

Gong Hey Fatt Choy peeps!!!

take me home~ country roads~

With my huge yellow backpack over my tiny body, and my black bag with my sleeping bag slung over my shoulder, I stood there at the inti bus stop with awe for the 1st time. It was like in the movies, where the backdrop was the humming bus with ppl boarding and unboarding it, n I was the only one stagnant, standing there macam sangat gaya punya…. Okok, cut the crap, this would b my last time coming down here from a bus, not until for a long long time, that’s y so emotional.
I came back to inti cuz I needed to withdraw from coll to get deposit and to sell off my books (that’s the official reason y I’m back) the other reason is cuz I super miss this place!!! Imagine feeling homesick at home. Hehe.
Well, so far its fun being back. I’m like walking the isle in academic block rushing to meet my friend, and not to class. Everyone’s bz with assignments, lectures, projects, n I’m not. That’s the fun part, haha! But then, now I find it’s getting boring. No one to play with at this time of the nite. Everyone is either doing their class work, or attending meetings, which I cant go kacau. But! I’ll b well entertained later, mamak time!!
I came back at the rite time when ICF had the opening ydy. Saw everyone there! Even got to finally meet lizzie’s bro. he looks and even acts like liz. Haha… went mamaking at al-salam, drove ps vic’s car back to hostel block. The guys were panicky at 1st, but later they agreed that girl drivers are not all bad. Watched independence day with horny at block e. the most unforgettable yet super missable times are watching movies there being bitten by mosquitoes till late at nite.
This morning I had breakfast with tse wen, vidz, and suli. After spending time with them for about 5 mins, u can start talking like them d… its really contagious. Reminds me of the 1st sem when I used to hang out with them (suli wasn’t here yet). Then for the whole afternoon, I’ve been walking all over inti, meeting up with ms sucy (law lecturer), ms jun(English lecturer), getting withdrawal stuff done, meeting with horny’s classmates, went to my ex roomie’s friend’s room (jz bcuz I was so hot after walking up and down the place- finally got to know more about her, I used to jz smile at her when I see her). Soon, I gave up on walking, so I came back to the room (stayed illegally in clara’s room- better choice than choosing angela’s room which I gotta sleep n the floor, here got bed, hehe) after resting, I went out for dinner with horny, had to eat fast n talk with food in mouth. I din get to play Frisbee ….was the sad thing, but got to spend more time with my makan partner, compensated for it. Now I’m in the room, waiting for the time to come so I can go out and enjoy my last mamak session in inti for this year with my ex classmates. I got so many new news during the stay here... Yew keong’s da secretary of ICF, irwing is actually my age n is the president of ICF, angela is in a relationship, xiao tong changed course, siva, Justin n his gf n xiou tong… n a lot more r going to Adelaide too, but not this year. So happy, at least I get to see some familiar faces from Malaysia in my 2nd n 3rd year. Hehe…
Ok, time to get out of room. Going home tmr, am so gonna miss this place all over again. I’m not gonna waste anymore time in the room. Out~

dun mess with time

Sometimes I jz find it so amazing how time plays with our consciousness. I had a chance to meet up with the far gone jia wei, and the long lost heidi. And also once again jen chieh too, for old time’s sake… and I realized how the year has jz pass me by.
We met up in midvalley, where I’d shiver every time I hear the name. Been going there like I work there or something. Anyways, it’s not the place that matters. Picked jia wei up, saw her for the 1st time for one whole year. Yes, she has grown a little fleshy and horizontally prosperous, but its wat they feed her there in Germany that gave her the obvious sign saying “I jz came back from the land of cheese and bread”
Anywayz, met up with heidi soon, went to Kim Gary for lunch. We weren’t satisfied. Actually, it was jia wei who wasn’t satisfied. Mau makan lagi… anyhow, we stopped her, till jen chieh came. She came with her friend who was very friendly. Jia wei ended up eating their food. We chatted and chatted and chatted, till we decided to catch a movie.
Watched moonlight in Tokyo, which was jz so so. I find the storyline pretty shaky, and leon lai is super old d (he is super suitable for this show—he’s a gig) so later, we walked around, basically jz enjoying each other’s company.
Heidi left at 5.30, saw auntie jenny who’s still as radiant as before. Then we went to All Star, played fuss ball, the 4 of us. Then we jz sat, drank and chatted sumore. Well, jen and her friend lives a whole new different life compared to us, and they truly portray the typical girls from damansara (memang got look wan, hehe) but wat the heck, we still can chat, so who cares about the different lifestyle we have.
Soon, I followed wei back home, fiddled with her stuff abit then mandi. Saw that her bro and sis are all grown up. Its like “aiyo, dai goh lui/zhai loh….” And I feel so old. One year only mah, wat on earth has happened on this side of the planet?! After dinner (and sometime later) gary came over to pick us up for mamak. Last time he used to be senior goh goh. Now like, “yo dude! Apa macam?” so different.
Coincidentally, I saw terry berry at the mamak place. He said I MUST go to the paradise church when in Adelaide, he said he’ll let them know, and they’ll b expecting me soon. Haha, he’s still as funny as ever. Still with the cap and goatee.
After mamak, went home(jia wei’s bungalow), and ‘prepared’ for bed. Chatted till we cant move no more. I think we slept at 5am… telling each other wat one year has done to us. She jz had sooooo many experiences in germany, and yet she still came back as jia wei, the jia wei.
Well, things come and things go, yet people somehow stay the same. Time really is a super chun invention. Eh no… creation. I’m really looking forward to the experiences that I’ll hv this year. Whatever it is, “come la! Me no scared! =p”

stupid act of mine

I take back what I said on the previous blog. It wasn’t drumline that made my day happening, it was my stupid act that wrecked my whole life…. Well, not exactly, but for now… it IS that bad.
I was bored at home, so my mom said she’s going to the saloon, so I said, cool I wanna go too. So I went, and without saying my prayers 1st, I was there in front of the huge mirror and a pair of snipping scissors ready to attack. Then my mom said something, and snip! There it went… my hair!!! I said I want a slight fringe, not the short one, the long one. But she didn’t seem to catch that, and she snipped of my fringe and made it super short.
I yelped, she jerked. Then my mom came n said, ok ok, not so short, take the longer ones to overlap it. What the…?! So I had short ones, and long ones, and I look like miss-punk from planet no-fashion.
But of course, I cant b so rude and show her the face, so I jz smiled and backed up, “hehe… thx, but I think that’s enuf…” then I sat quietly at the side, trying to make it less drastic.
The worst part is… I have to sing on stage today (for YF), go out with jia wei and heidi on Monday, go idp, and get back to inti…. I’m gonna b hiding behind every object. I know I sound vain and stuff, but its really bad.
Here’s a pic of me. I covered most of the short part, so when u look at it, u’ll say “ok what~~” it’s not ok fyi. I’m suicidal now… haha, jkjk.

eh, i look a little bit like sook mun from here rite? hehehe
watever it is... i'm still smilling... =/

blogedy blog blog...

“Only in the dark, when I can seem to see” Juwita Suwito. Only when u’re in the dark, u can see the light. Only when u’re bored, then u’ll start to realize how bz u were b4. I’ve been stuck at home for 2 days. With no purpose for the day. I try to wake up late, so that the hours of waiting for the next day to come can b cut short. I try to eat slow, bathe slow, move slow. But it aint working. I’m still as bored as b4.
I cant blog about anything else cuz so far ntg much happened… really… the only thing that cheered me up, was horny telling me something super funny yester nite. And today… watching drumline for the second time seemed to b the most happening thing!
Well, I slept for more than 10 hours ydy, excluding the 3 hour afternoon siesta. That’s some pretty hefty skill I got there… anywayz… I think I shud go down n see wat astro can do to me again. Or maybe I shud dig out the dust-covered PS1 n give myself some entertainment.
Ok… I need some water… been singing my head off the whole afternoon. I think I can beat the drilling noise of the machine from the neighbors who’re expanding their kingdom.
Till next time… *pout >o<

Watch out for my watch!

I was watch-less for a while, which made me feel uneasy. Not because I can’t tell the time by jz lifting my arm a little, n glancing down at the little thing with moving hands; but because of something else too.
Well, I know it sounds pretty lame, but then I find it extremely true. U know when u face some awkward situations and u’re dying to get out of it? Like some old auntie comes up to u and tells u the prices of kangkung and any vege, then relates it to the wheather then to the new neighbour…. No offence but she jz found the wrong person to talk to. So that’s wat u cal an awkward sit. Cant get out of it when she jz goes on n on n on….? Something can save u! ur watch! Jz glance at it a few times, look like u need to pee, then say ‘sorry, I’ve something urgent to do, see ya!’ then u slide away, never to be seen again by her on the same day.
Useful rite? Imagine I was without my weapon/ armor for sometime (spoilt the big white one in camp, and broke the new one when I was tugging around with my sis) I felt naked. Like I lost a limb. Haha, well, not that bad, but it was bad when I got myself in a similar situation as above.
Anyways, this is a pic of sue anne, holding my fav watch (huge enuf to b seen far far away). Notice the water level at 9-3.


This watch has valuable memories to it. I’ll store it up some where, jz for keeps sake.
Jez signing off *with a new watch, hehe

Mind your Ps n Qs

I was sitting there, lifeless. The repetition of “ding* enam kosong dua empat, kaunter lapan belas” (with other numbers, so on, so fourth) was ringing in my head. My eyelids heavy, butt glued to the chair, body slanting sideways towards my sister. Parents complaining over the system. The guy behind me cursing Manchester, kids in front were testing my patience by making funny noises. It wasn’t a pretty site…
I had to get out of this country. So were the people there who had the energy to sit straight in a place like that, at 7.55am.
I know, I know… everyone can do that ma… but not me. I’ve been having a good break since I finished SAM, n I’m not used to getting up at 6am jz to get to this horrible place to sign something then go home.
Well, I’m talking about the immigration department in damansara. Had to renew my expired passport, so did my mom n sis. Dad had to come along cuz he knew the procedures n he needed to sign Charmaine’s form.
As I was saying, I sat there motionless waiting for the lady to *ding my number, then some complications occurred. They stamped something wrong on my mom’s receipt, so she had to go to another counter, but they only told us when the other counter’s number was really far away ahead… so dad got mad- not good. The lady at the counter wasn’t kind-not good, she scolded them for not reading the receipt carefully. Mom was blur, sis was oblivious, I was still sitting there, hoping that they won’t start up a fight over there. Everyone who sat there had their eyes glued on us. I went towards the counter to feel the heat. With her heavy Malay slang, she raised her voice, waving the receipt in her hand, and her second chin almost slipped out from her tudung.
Clearly it was everyone’s fault for being so careless, but they shouldn’t make a scene out of it! I felt so humiliated. Good thing I wore my black shirt, n not paint myself in any given bright color… “wee wang wang, u can’t see me…”
Anywayz, I’m glad it’s all over, n I can now get out of this country legally. I think we shud hv more manners in our daily lives. Mind your Ps n Qs. Even the prime minister is getting down on his knees to beg everyone to behave. Maybe this is jz a Malaysian culture. When something goes wrong, u point ur finger at anyone but urself, then make some huge exclamation marks then leave with ur nose held high, as if u saved the day. I’m not gonna bring that attitude with me to Australia. I wont know wat their culture is, but I hope its not like this.
To end, I better make things clear. I’m not saying that I’m all courteous n charming, n I dun mean to pin point on anyone, its jz something to ponder upon. Maybe I shud start saying my thank you’s n my good day’s…
So, thank you for reading, and have a nice day! *wide smile with white clean teeth, heehee