Erratic weather

Today's weather is relatively fine. There are certain days where the temperature can drop below 10 C and it is freezing me to death. Back in Malaysia the weather would get cooler should it rains, but what I observed here tells a wholy different story. I would prefer it to rain often (but not on the days that i need to go out). The pour will sort of tone up and moderate the temperature change and that means a more pleasant night. Yesterday it rained and the night temperature was awesome, though I woke up at 4.00 in the morning because I slept at 9.00pm (accidentally when I was lying on my bed "for a short nap"). haha

Well, it's pretty much the same tale regarding my Uni life here. What changes is just the amount of work, assessments, tests and assignments, other than that every week seems almost the same. But what adds colours to this boring routine is the way I go about cooking 'interesting and creative meals' for myself. So far I've tried many dishes and am pleased with the progress my my initially amateurish cooking skills. Fried rice and meehoon are old stories, hm....pancakes too (quite successfully), bakes potatoes, chocolate cake (for Shir Lynn's birthday) which got burn a little due to my fren's oven which was set for too long, green and red beans soup, fish poridge, fried chicken, pasta, speghetti (with what you guess? kangaroo meat! it tastes pretty delicious), pork and bake beans etc. Am currently having lots of plans on what creative stuff to cook, the problem is I can't finish eating if I cook too much~!

Would try curry some day when I get hold of some curry powder, which my coursemate promised to get me. Oh yea, and kuanlo noodles also....... Just really wanna eat some Msian food which I felt rather sick of back at home. Now I feel sick of seeing hotdogs!

Final exam for the first sem will start in June. After which, I might start looking for a job to spend my winter break. Of course I'll go for some travelling too. Hope to go Blue Moutain soon and apparently Macquarie International have some really wonderful trips coming during that long break.

Okie, need to go back to studies now. That's all till next time.

~Xin Yin~ (in front of studying table facing my notes)

Life in Australia so far......

Huh... Need a break from catching up on all those lagging uni work before classes start tomorrow. Life's good thus far, assignments and tests are normal, ups and downs are normal. Erm, have been enjoying uni life despite some difficulties in studies which I'm constantly trying to rectify, hope it would get better as time passes.

Mid Semester exam is in coming June, so there is no reason for being a laggard anymore. Better get going with all the catch-up and revision. Meanwhile I wanna recap some wonderful time with my fellow Taylorians from Melbourne and Camberra during the first week of Easter Break. (I'm always blogging about events that had long passed...doesn't matter as long as I do eventually.

Thats me, Shir Lynn, Li Cheng and Kean Leong on the first day we met since leaving Taylor's.

We were at Circular Quay with Sydney Darling Habour behind us (but can't be seen in the picture).

ANU people and me.

Us at Bondi Beach. This is supposedly the most popular and mesmerizing beach in Sydney. But I don't really like it coz the weather is always hot there.

City skyline at Bondi.

On a ferry to Manly Beach.

Yea..we arrived at Manly jetty. Took a phota with Wan Pei coz this was my first time to Manly just like her. I was a tourist as well (not tour guide).

Personally I like Manly more than Bondi. It is less commercialised, less promotion and shameless business opportunism, more rural-like. There are more trees in this beach, thus making it less humid. There is no need for three layers of sunscreen here.

I miss holidays!!! Easter Break was sooo fun with lots of events with our orange travel pass. I even managed to survey several suburb areas which are just as interesting as Sydney city itself. Unfortunately good time passes fast and without realising it uni life has started again. Have just got my working permit approved. Hope to land on some casual or part time jobs during the next long break, not just for the extra income but also to gain some experience on the job market outside.

Thats all for this time.

-Love-

Highlights--dolphin watching and sand boarding

Yeah....Today we went for dolphin watching and sand boarding with Macquarie International. It was fabulous. Me and my friends had lots of fun! Here are some of the highlights....






7.30am

On the bus. It's my first time sitting on a long distance bus in Australia. Woo....we experimented with the seatbelts like kampong boy and were amazed and fascinated with the fact that there is a toilet in the bus.









The bus ride took 3 hours. I slept on the bus but woke up occasionally. And the first thing we saw after coming down from the bus was...........

this. Looked like a desert but it's actually a seabay.

Were I not tell you earlier, would you believe that this is a desert ?

Sahara desert?









No. It is a place for sand boarding. Look at us with our sand board. Cool?

My hair looks weird. Doesn't matter. Anyway this is how the game is played. We sit on this board and slide down from a VERY HIGH PLACE. Downwards, yeah, with very high speed!

After lunch, it was time to board the dolphin cruise. By the way, this place is called Nelson Bay.
































Me on the cruise. Love this picture.



















A married couple dolphins. They weren't scared of boats. Hoo....had been busy with photo taking and screeming as they approached.













This is another couple. The dolphins love to stick together with friends I suppose. They often show up in pairs.

So human-like.








He's an exception though. Feel sorry for this lone fella...














The rest is history. Obviously we enjoyed the day and returned exhausted but feeling great.

Late Pictures

Macquarie University Library

One side of the green fields in Uni. We have plenty in our campus

Side view of the library

Pathway in campus. We have lots of trees which add on to the morning chill.

This is the childcare centre for academic staffs. The lecturers' kids will be spending their day here whenever their parents are teaching.

The gynasium. This is where self-conscious people (including myself, haha) go for fat burning routine and muscle building .






Ducks in the morning. You can see them everywhere in plentiful if you wake up at 7am in the morning.

We went to the Mardi Gras parade somewwhere in March. This is one of the hotest event in Sydney. Many tourists came all the way from far away land just to see this. Honestly I don't like it and one experience would be enough for me.

Guess what? This festival is for Gays and Lesbians to parade and voice up their opinion about discrimination. Well, malaysians are not okay with this kind of sensitive topic but the aussies just enjoy it!









Gay people showing some tricks .

More homosexual people.

Arch... This picture is better. These flowers are forming the Australian flag. This is one part of the Harbour Bridge Park

Me and friends eating chocolate marsbar. Quite expensive and unhealthy cos it's deep fried. But anyway I tried.

Bondi Beach

Seagulls. They are not afraid of human.

Me and Joy

Bondi overview. Looks good in the picture but the sun was very very bright and burning that day. I got sunburn after the visit even though I applied a thick layer of sunblock.

Taking a break

Ah... Feeling quite bored of reading MATH132 notes. My lecturers Bon Clarke and William Chen love to write a lot during lectures but advise us "not to copy". But anyway almost everyone in the hall is busy writing down whatever scribble any one of them wrote. We end up with many notes (incliding the electronic version online) to study.

Azuan told me he's thinking of getting a work permit when we walked back from uni this afternoon. I think that would be a good idea. I see some of my seniors working but apparently they are still coping fairly well with schoolwork. So I guess working might be a good way of experiencing new things. I shall figure out the procedure of applying for a work permit this easter break. The most lucrative job I heard so far is working in uni itself, say as a tutor. If I'm not mistaken the rate is something like 95 dollard per hour. WOW!! But of course one of the pre-requisite is to do well in the subject (in order to teach other ppl, of course).

This week we will have a pizza dinner on Thursday (last day of school before holiday) and a pot lucky dinner this Friday. I think I shall just fry fish fillet, fish in Australia are rather fresh, from what i see. Each one of us will be contributing something, so we can expect alot of food to fill our bellies on Friday night. Erm, for Good Friday (a special day for Christians which I don't quite understand ).

Meanwhile I have to hand in my math assignment tomorrow, take a small class test on Thursday, and then I'll be off for a two-week break. Nevertheless I'm still expected to revise everything covered in these two months since the final exam is pending in early June. More stats assignments to be completed as well as more econ quiz to be submitted. Life is not too terribly busy despite all these. Like I'd said I sign up for dance classes and gym activitites and am enjoying them thus far.

Need to go back to studies now.... Pictures coming next time (probably after holiday starts).

Easter Break coming

We will be going off to a two-week break after next thursday. In fact, some of the tutors wished us happy holiday last friday (because they won't see us in two-weeks time). The plan so far would be to catch up with some of my lagging schoolwork, as well as to give myself a good rest. My Melbourne and Camberra fellow Taylorians will be coming to visit us, and this makes us look forward to the reunion even more. Oh, we love holiday@

So far life has been fun. Although the assignments and tutorials are at times hectic I manage to inject some fun elements into my uni life. I plan to go for dance classes next weekend (heard that it's very fun from frens), since I have paid 185 dollars for the membership I must well make full use of it.

Nothing much to tell this week. The events were routine and similar to any other week. The only interesting part is that I had bought a HUGE DOUBLE BED quilt for 56 dollars and it granted me the best sleep last night. I don't need a blanket of that size but it gives me the flexibility to cover double layer during winter. Hehe... I saw one on offer for 50 bucks mada from sheep wool, but considering the fact that it could only be dry-cleaned I decided to buy the fibre one instead.

JPA officer came last week and we had satays amidst the talk about studying hard here. She said that we could apply to extend the number of years here if we get into honours or master degree. Sounds quite good, I thought. Anyone would be glad to stay here for an additional year, I guess.

Thats all for this time.