My trip to GOLD COAST

The pictures are not in the right order as I'm too lazy to arrange them.


This is Q1 -tallest residential building in the world

Tut tut car - movie world

fake sceneries - wet n wild

Wild west fall - movie world

Mammoth fall - wet n wild . (not scarry at all one)

I like this one the most throughout the trip. Felt like flying. - wet n wild

This one is roller coaster at movie world. Fun!!! Backward drops rock!

Bank at movie world

4D motion movie - shrek





Lethal weapon roller coaster. scarriest one I ever tried. Did you see that human's legs are left daggling?? Yeh, I went for this.

Superman roller coaster. second scarriest

At Sydney airport.

Each picture says a thousand words so I don't really need to narrate too much here (hence my excuse for cutting short my blog because I'm just too lazy to blog these days, the excitement of putting something on this space somehow wears off since my summer holiday):(

Basically, I went gold coast with 4 other girls and 3 housemates. We departed on 19th April 2008, had 5 days of crazy stuff there and came back on 23rd April 2008, 11.00pm at night (and reached home at 12-ish am on 24th April 2008). Lethargic as it sounds, but we had heaps of fun and I never regret for a second for spending quite a substatial amount throughout the trip (partly because JPA money is coming in soon, yay!)

See lah if I become less lazy tomorrow I might put on more pics on this entry. I can't stand the speed of my internet.

Nothing special

these days except:

a quiz with limited time tomorrow
STAT272 assignment due on Friday

and most importantly,

our mid semester holiday is beckoning.

Untitled

There's nothing interesting to blog about but I just feel like leaving some words here for those who are wondering how I'm doing.

Life's been just as mundane. Uni, work, tutorials, assignments, quizzes etc.

My gym-going habit is still on. Glad to have made it a habit to at least do some workout everyday, I feel great and healthy.

I'm loving nuts. Cashew nuts especially. But after finishing 1kg of cashew in a week +++ I decided to try on mixed nuts when I went grocery-shopping today. Hmm...it isn't bad but I still prefer cashew lol.

As well, I opened the big packet of green tea that Natalie gave me last year and hey, it is of such a top quality that I can't help but feeling like having it everyday. Haha...luckily I brought a teapot from Malaysia, otherwise it will be money-spending again.

I guess, till next time.

Snapping pic for the sake of snapping

And so I took a pic of myself just because a fren of mine complained that my blog is lacking colours.

Of course as I took the pic myself I 've got to be within an arm's length from the camera, causing my face to look disproportionally big >.<

Life as a second year Actuarial student

Yes, I'm that old already.

I'm taking 3 subjects this semester, but this is in no way implying that my life will be easier as compared to that of my last term, as STAT272 and ACST200 are no play play. There're subjects to be assessed to obtain exemptions from the professional paper. Meanwhile my third unit, ACCG253, does not sound any easier as well! So my workload could be equivalent or even more than that in my first year.

Just like last year, I signed up for term membership at Macquarie gym, and had since been working out almost on a daily basis (except, of course, days in a month where girls shouldn't be exercising). This year it's great fun as most of my frens get excited about the prospect of working out and had decided to join too. lol.

I moved to Unit 30 this year and am so far pleased with what staying with my new housemates has to offer. We cook dinner together, which is by comparison, much easier than cooking for a single person. And being teased for gaining weight when I was back in M'sia, this year I have decided to cut down kao kao on my snacking habit. No more Doritos, fatty bread and chocolate jam, Tim Tams except once in a while. And hey man, I finally can fit into my old jeans, wakakaka.

Yeh I'm also being healthier than before, after spending a couple of dollars on apple cider vinegar and honey to be made into drinks before bed every night.

Oh and I wasn't interested in attending Mardi Gras (those gay and lesbian parade thing that I blogged about last year) anymore and so had just missed it on purpose. I think most of us didn't go. Heard from Hai De that it had just as much ppl crazying on the streets as of last year. I was like, well, I wasn't there this year.

Overall I'm glad to be starting uni again as I finally start on something meaningful after three months of, well, slacking around. Of course this does not mean I didn't enjoy the holidays. I enjoyed every bit of it to the fullest. What I'm saying is that holidays are meaningful only if it comes after a semester of slogging as its purpose is to allow our poor brain a good rest to move forward later on.

I HOPE I WILL SURVIVE WELL. 加油加油！

A mixture of sadness and excitement

A long long silence and here I'm back to this space. P/s: sorry ho sheng, wasn't able to do any updates with the connection I had at home. I'm gone and back: gone from my lovely home and back to my second home in Sydney. Yeap, for long I have viewed my little room in Macquarie University Village as my home second to the one in Taiping. A tried and trusted way to kill home-sickness, so to say.

I realise that I can no longer bring more stuff from Malaysia next time. My room is literally FULL with all my stuff. Clothes and shoes especially. My cupboard looks like it's gonna throw out if I try to squeeze more clothes into the poor little thing. Not to mention my junk is like ..... well, you understand don't you?haha

Uni life is starting on Monday. It's time for more struggling after a long vacation. I was hoping that my brain didn't get too lazy after all the drama-watching, lepaking and chit-chating over this three months. STAT272 is already up and ACST200 course is bought. The race has begun, once again, and hopefully the three months did serve as a great recharge and I've sharpened my saw for the new journey.

I'm in my second year - it's going to be a much tougher year.

我每一次离家，都会问自己：你要达到什么？你离开是为了什么？下一次回家，你能带回分享的成就又是什么？

休息是为了走更远的路，但是什么时候该休息，什么时候该冲刺，也是一门技术。不该休息的时候休息，是怠慢；该休息的时候不休息，是莽撞。人之所以分上下，除了天资，就在这里了。

往后看，走过来的路崎岖不平；往前看，路面弯曲，拐弯角处不见尽头。

恭喜发财！！新年快乐！！

It feels like ages since I last posted updates on this space. Blame the slow dial-up internet connection at my home. Yeah, it may seem strange to you why some homes of today's age still don't have the so called 'broadband' or 'streamyx' (I hope I got the spelling right), "but these things spoil kids ," so said my dad. Yes, they indeed do. We used to have unlimited internet connection at home and the result? No one seems to be interested in anything other than the computer. And guess what? The line was cut barely three months after the service was installed!

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year (初一). Had a fabulous reunion dinner last night. We stuffed ourselves with all the dishes and felt full without even taking the rice! As my last Chinese New Year (2007) was spent touring around Sydney I was pretty excited about celebrating it back in Malaysia. The atmosphere is just different when the celebration is at where you are familiar with.

My laptop problem is finally solved. The password problem is solved and I found out why my computer is getting slower each time I watched online drama. It's the additional memory for the buffering of movies stored in my hard disk. I cleared all those junk and wow, my hard disk has extra over 20 G now!

Oh yea, class registration was done yesterday. I will have Tuesday free for the first semester and Friday free for the second semester. Yahoo!!! Time flies fast, my three- month summer holiday is almost over. I'm getting a little excited about going back to uni life after all the times lazying and doing nothing at home. Am glad to see my family and old friends here. Most of them are doing well in life.

May 2008 be the year filled with prosperity and happiness. May the soul of my fellow JPA scholar who passed away recently rest in peace, you are loved by many. May we be blessed with good health and an exciting year ahead.

祝大家：

新年快乐
万事如意
出入平安
身体健康

HEAT WAVES

"...(7 news) temperature in Victorial is expected to go above 40 degrees, increasing the possibilities of bush fire..."

"...(from Australian government) Dress up when you are outdoor to prevent skin cancer..."

Whenever I switch on teevee messages, news reports etc that revolve around the issue of heat are bombarded on poor me. Temperature soars, we were forced to stay indoor to prevent our skins getting dark. Shh....obviously I wish to stay fair before going back to Malaysia in few days time. The last thing I hope from my frens in Taiping is exclaimation like this: Oh....you get a layer darker. Unthinkable. People should become fairer after spending a year in Australia :)

While I was taking a short nap my internet has exceeded the limit of 10G and hence is speed -limited. Sigh, evidence of how much of online drama-watching I had been doing this summer holiday thus far. Was planning to watch 情定大饭店 but it doesn't look likely now. Sad sad sad.

Reports about the American presidential election dominates the foreign programmes lately. Images of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John MacCain etc are shown over a thousand times and it actually makes a person who isn't that interested in American politics such as myself to start understanding all the polls and stuff that are happening half a globe from Australia.

Been taking good dinners recently with Natalie as we decided to eat well to function well. Tomyum fried rice yesterday, Pasta and Garlic Bread are pending for tonight.

At the time of publication,

I was :

feeling hot in the living hall of Unit 30

listening to MORE news reports about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (sien..every channel is telling the same story)

cursing the speed-limited internet connection

feeling lucky because Harvin's fan is still with me (if that Indian guy does not come pick it up before I go back to Malaysia he would be doomed)

feeling a little HUNGRY


Till the next time, take care.

Best wishes

2008 - What would it bring???

Many of my friends prefer to do a yearly summarising blog entry. I beg to differ as I prefer looking forward instead of backward on every new year. Yeah, it's good to learn from the past and see what a particular year has given you to help you grow up, but it's pretty much pointless because what you learned is already learned and thus the summary does nothing more than a little reminder. Of course, unless you wish to read back your blog later on but just being lazy to go through every entry then perhaps the little summary will do some good. :)

2008 will be my second year in Australia of being an actuarial student. Phew..to be honest it was such a relief on 14th Dec after I knew that I have survived and done well for my first year studies. That's perhaps the starting point of all the true happiness during my summer holiday. It's not just important to get through but also to do well in Macquarie in order to justify the amount of money spent on us by the Malaysian Government. Although some may think that uni life is the greatest time in one's life and one ought to enjoy it to the fullest as for most people it would be a time with no commitments, I prefer to see it as a responsibility to try my best in my studies. Of course, that does not mean I should not enjoy myself here. But being the kind of person I am, the first criterion to happiness is to feel no guilt about letting myself down. Contrary to the belief held by people who do not know me in person, I'm not obsessed with perfection. All I did so far is to justify my being offered a JPA scholarship and will continue to do so in future.

Besides studies, another thing I hope for in 2008 is to be able to participate more in campus activities. We hadn't done so in my first year due to the unfamiliarity to the environment during my first semester and the hectic 5-unit-per-semester schedule in the second half of the year.
I should properly acquaint myself with the people in ASSOC (Actuarial Student Society) as they may be of help with my understanding more about the profession. I've got to be sure of where I'm heading to after hopefully 4 years of uni life. The job market will certainly be much more competitive as compared to the small circle of my fellow actuarial student colleague.

On a lighter note, I also hope to get some working experience that is more related to my field. I feel that I should probably take up something not too time-consuming but would provide good understanding on the Australian Financial System and the Insurance and Superannuation industry. It's tough to even get a part-time job in the highly saturated Australian job market but I need to try harder in my job finding before I can even hope to secure a good job. My friend, Ken, just told me on new year's eve that he sent out 100 resumes and only got 1 reply from a cafe in Eastwood. Why am I complaining of not being able to get a good second job when I had only sent out at most 15 resumes?? I was simply not trying hard enough I think.

Before all the struggle, tears and pain of my second year studies, I shall go back Malaysia for a 40-day vacation with my beloved family and friends whom I haven't seen for long. I missed Chinese New Year in 2o07 and thus am really looking forward to an authentic Malaysian-style celebration this coming Chinese New Year.

人生就像现场直播
没有彩排，没有预先准备
把握在台上的一分一秒
不要让自己后悔

THE LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL UTILITY

applies so much to HOLIDAYS!!!

Not to mention the slow internet connection which really piss me off.

But interesting stuff are coming, coz it's 29th November 2007 today, which means new year is nothing but beckoning.

Yeah!! Time to celebrate and have fun.

NO!!! How can time fly so fast??Damned, I'm turning 20 in June next year. OMG, am really feeling old now.

Been excited about going home on 14th January for a 40-day vacation in Malaysia. Been missing family and frens much and hopefully I can see most of them when I finally go back. Frens in msian uni's are starting their semester soon but I hope they will at least go back to Taiping once a fortnight or so for me to meet up and yamcha with them. Haven't seen some of them for ages really.

Too much of something is always not good. Yeah, the law of dimishing marginal utility. That defines human. We complain so much during the semester for not being able to have time for ourselves yet we complain during hols for having too much time for too little things to do. lol.

But it's not all boring and gloomy as some frens of mine here are really semangat. Dinner on Dong Zhi, christmas eve and I'll definitely set out early to watch the firework in Sydney on 31th December 2007.

Don't you think that time is flying so fast that it actually scares you???

I do.

Without yourself realising it, time is passing away and very soon you will be a graduate, a parent, a grandparent.....OMG stop that!!!

I just wanna watch my drama now. HAHAHA

Can you believe

that I'm paying $40 for a shitty internet connection here?It's RM120..and the connection goes off and on every 5 minutes. Startech, you are DAMNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that I'm on holiday doing nothing besides reading papers, novels and watching dramas? Need to really recharge in this 3 months before heading to new challenges in my second year.

that I'm capable of baking? So far had baked lemon cheesecake, cheesecake brownie, butter scones, french onion scones, banana cake. Not bad for someone who just started baking for less than a month.

that I ate pasta for dinner at 4.00pm today? Yeah, coz I'm trying to cut down on food intake here. The food here is 10 times more fattening than the Malaysian food!!

that it's 1/3 of my holiday is over?

that I'm still cursing the stupid internet connection?

that I love the shower outside my window? Because I'm indoor lol.

that I'm less than a month away from going home? Don't get me wrong, this is not to grumble like someone living next door. I'm just stating a plain fact that I love my family and my home and am always excited about going home. I love life in Australia too, especially the one I'm leading now.

that my kitchen is sooo dirty? Am gonna ask Harvin to clean it with me tonight.

that Sarah sent me a bitchy letter? She was trying to sound like a white by using the word 'fu*k' everywhere. The fact is, she made herself sound like a real BITCH.

that I woke up at 9pm this morning, only to go back to sleep at 11pm and woke up again at 2pm. Was really tired last night.

that I'm writing nonsense in this blog entry?

that I decide to stop writing nonsense now?

Yeah rite

I was thinking about putting up pictures but the thing in the draft has gone corrupted.

Now super lazy to do everything all over again.

P/S Ho sheng, you and the pics 有缘无份. Sigh....

Well, I'm happy with my second semester result, but am reminding myself that second and third year will be at least 10 times harder.

Have been enjoying myself heaps. Chrismas is beckoning, though I'm not a Christian it is something to look forward to. There will be tonnes of nice stuff and a mega celebration in Sydney. Something not to be missed by us international students.

Plan to do some baking tomorrow. Shall I make scones or shall I try making pau?? I have the yeast which can be used to make both. Hm...I'll make up my mind tonight perhaps.

Natalie left to China and left her key for me. So I can literally say that I have access to a 200++dollar- a - week apartment. A nice place to rest when I'm bored at my $169-per-week five-bedroom apartment.

Life's been great

3 weeks of 堕落生活since final exam.

But I fully deserve this 3 months of enjoyment and lazing-around-doing-nothing lifestyle. Been working really hard during semester and hence regardless of the final outcome, I AM PROUD OF MYSELF.

Had Udong noodles for lunch today, and baked banana cake yesterday with Liu Yue. Nice and puffy stuff, I like the banana cake.

For the past 1 week, I had been travelling on travel pass. Am sure the utility I've got from it far surpasses the $38 I paid, haha. On the first day itself I travelled on a monetary worth of 20++ already, what more to say about the following 6 days?

Just attended a research by Macquarie University. Got my $30 from that one hour and 30 minutes. The experimentor is a phD student of Neurology. She chatted with me during the break and it was nice to chat with a local white after so long.

These few day's been raining. The sky always looked gloomy and the wind is often strong. Have thought about going for a swim later but it depends on the weather - hope it would be fine at 5pm.

You will certainly see an update on this blog soon. Meanwhile I need a nap and catching up with the TVB drama series which I take ages to finish.

Tata!

HOLIDAY MOOD IS ON

It's only the second week of my long summer holiday yet I feel as if I've been enjoying life very much for some time. That shows how torturous my second semester was and the freedom we get after the last paper is just inexplicably delightful. Just finished watching the 2007 version of drama series 梁山伯与祝英台 and honestly I can say that it's the best drama series I've known thus far - not merely because of the melodrama demonstrated by this Chinese classic ( in fact, I know the rough storyline before watching yet it manages to persuade me to go one episode after episode) but also the warmth, courage portrayed between siblings, between parents and son/daughter. Dong jie is very well-suited for the role of Zhu Ying Tai and Ma Wen Cai (Chen Guan Ling) is very handsome. Haha, that's how girls are mesmerized, basically.

Currently tutoring a student twice a week and still looking for a second job. The thing about Marsfield is that there's always excess labour during semester holiday. As an analogy, if there's 100 people in the workforce, there are at least 300 people queuing up to wait for the 100 to leave their position. Get it? See how hard is it to earn money despite the high wages offered. Sigh.....

Most of my friends minus me, Chean Yeaw and Weng Soon, had left Sydney for home. For me it's because I haven't been really enjoying life in Sydney during semester so it would really pay for me to stay here during December just to experience the atmosphere during Chrismas and Happy New Year. Heard from Harvin that the celebration will be gregarious and the last thing I should do is to miss it, lol.

Chatted with my brother Wen Li last night at 12 something midnight. Heard from him that Taiping is starting to develop with the likes of TESCO, GIANT opening. WOOHOO!! That means the duopoly FAJAR and THE STORE will face more competition and the prices of goods will be falling like no one's business. The timing will be perfect for me to go back in January to shop, haha.

This post is starting to get too long. I'll just stop here for this time.

I'm tagged by my neighbour

1. I am listening to: Qian Li Zi Wai by Fei Yu Qing

2. Maybe I should : Drag myself to look for a job

3. I love : Holiday

4. My best friend : This is too subjective to answer

5. I don't understand : how some people think gaming is more fun than DRST.

6.I lose : my ignorance towards certain things as time goes

7. People say : that defeat only happens if you give up

8. The meaning of my screen name is : I’ve been busy enjoying myself to even put on one

9. Love is : eternity thousands years ago, but it is materialism, reality, wealth, knowledge, social status etc in the modern world (sigh… have been watching drama that’s why)

10. I will always : try my best and leave the rest to God

11. Forever : I don’t think anything will last forever. So cherish what you’re having now!!!

12. I never want to : let myself down

13. My cellphone is : LG branded

14. When I wake up in the morning : I will drag myself to study desk during semester, lazing around during holidays

15. I get annoyed at : literally nothing, if there is my irritation wouldn’t last long. Because I know happiness is important.

16. Parties are : dangerous

17. My dog is : I don’t have one

18. Kisses are worst when : I’ll tell you when I have experience on this.

19. Today I am : still gonna enjoy myself

20. Tonight I will : still gonna enjoy myself

21. Tomorrow I will : still gonna enjoy myself. Don’t forget it’s holiday

22. I really want : to get another job

23. When I looked at myself in the mirror today I : comb my hair and wonder why the mirror is so dirty lol

24. I will drive my car : not at the moment.

25. A word that rhymes with park is : shark

26. Bright or dark room? : bright except when I am asleep

27. If I'm alone in a room with two beds I : You think I’m so rich meh??

28. Now to tag people:

I tag all my blog readers

Pure randomness

"Thank you for teaching me what the true world is like.Thank you for inflicting upon me what is my toughest year so far.Thank you for letting me learn what true friends are made of.Thank you for letting me experience a true crafter of manipulation. Thank you for allowing me the chance to know how fake a person can be."

I so happen to read this in my neighbour's blog. I think I can write some useful reminders for myself.

A true word is like a coin - there are two sides, one labeled with 'good', another with 'evil'. And 99% of the time, you choose which side is to be facing up.

In the modern world free of slavery, and provided that you're not a victim of criminal activities, no action from other people will inflict pain on you unless you ALLOW that to happen.

Manupulation is what life is make of. We manupulate things in our favour most of the time. So what's wrong with that?? Everyone does that, and we should all understand that human beings act in self-interest. To put in another way, you only have yourself to blame if you fall for any. And usually that happens because you have done exactly the same thing to that person. The universal law of retribution, there it goes.

All of us, at some point in life, have to put on a mask. The reason is simple: We are imperfect, but we want perfection, so we act to be the way we want ourselves to be. We act in self-defense, we act in self-protection. We act when we attend interviews, when we do presentation, when we talk etc. Acting is an essential part of life, otherwise life is all gloomy. Things are not always nice to see and nice to hear, but given the fact that most people prefer these, acting is essential and NOT CRIMINAL. Whenever we complain about how fake a person is, it is always useful to ask yourself : 'Have I done the same thing??'. Invariably, the answer is YES.

Haven't you heard of this chinese saying:

Life is a life drama - there is no preparation of scripts or plots. We are all life actors and we act to make the drama as pleasant as we can - but we don't always succeed - and that makes it a good drama.

Farewell, Joy

I got this from her in the morning:


natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:47 AM:
joy here...

natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:47 AM:
it goes like this it was great getting to know you....

natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:48 AM:
thank you for all that you've done and thank you for teaching me valuable lessons

natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:48 AM:
i've never have learned how it is to have true friends if i

natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:48 AM:
i've not met you

natalie sent 11/27/2007 12:49 AM:
thanks you for being the wonderful person that you are and i wish you the very best in your future undertakings



Joy left Sydney in the morning and the effect is immediately seen. Natalie, her housemate who's been dependent on her as a mentor called me to complain about her presentation partner's poor behaviour. Sigh..... I will miss her. Natalie, time to learn going about things on your own.

Me and Ray will miss her cooking. Natalie will miss her being around like a big mama. Luckily she taught me how to make my precious cheesecake and very soon I may decide to give it a try myself. Yay!

We fellow JPA people plus Ray gave her a scrapbook and I wrote two pages of crap with a pink pen lol. She gave me tonnes of her stuff and whenever I asked her if she wants some of them back when she returns next year for graduation, she went like :"NO NO NO". I would say, oh well, thank you very much. (lol, I'm the second largest inheritor of her treasure, just after Ray).

Joy, your're a great friend and mentor. Although certain aspects of your life seemed bizarre when I first heard it (at the beginning of the year) I fully recognise that different people prefer different ways of living and the fact that I don't lead the same lifestyle as yours does not stop us from being very good friends. Do come back to visit us!

All the best in your careers and future endeavours.

MERDEKA ! MERDEKA ! MERDEKA!

Yeah I know, today is not 31st August. Wonder why I say that?? You get it, my exams for 2007 are OVER and DONE WITH!! Woohoo!! From yesterday 1230pm, I don't have to see my closest friends during my semester --- MY BOOKS AND NOTES. They finally retire from being placed everywhere on my studying desk, they are getting their deserved rest now - and have been enjoying their retirement in peace....in a box at a corner of my room. Hahaha.

Perhaps I shall start planning for the coming 1.5 months before I go back to Malaysia. Drama series watching is essential to kill time lol together with other activities like hanging around with people whom I don't normally spend so much time with. Time to go the Ranch for a dance (but I will ALWAYS say no to alchoholic drinks!!) and also make a trip to some of the suburbs around Sydney. I've been to Chatswood, Eastwood, Paramatta thus far. Now is just a great time to loiter around Newcastle, Gordon and other places minus the city coz I've been there too often already.

My time during the semester had been devoted 99% to studies, 1% to working. MY BRAIN SERIOUSLY NEEDS A GOOD REST. Hehe, even if I feel like working there's no guarantee that I will get one because everyone will be fighting for the limited positions after exam. Sigh.sigh. And I try not to work for Asian bosses because they are way too stingy and 'ke bo' that I don't think it is worth my time working for them. I don't need money desperately until some other people so what is the point of torturing myself into working for those Chinese restaurant which pay workers at the rate of 5 or dollars an hour. Forget it, mister, and by the way, don't forget that you are asian, and forever an asian. You are in no way resembling an ang moh, for God's sake. lol. Some asians here are really ke bo towards asian. I will just reply, NO THANKS.

Justina came yesterday and will be staying in my room for the next 6 days. People finished exam way before I did and hence is not enjoying the freedom as much as I do now! lol. She has her gang of friends bringing her around Sydney so I needn't worry. I told her I 'm sick of Darling Harbour, Circular Quay etc and she went giggling and said she can understand that. And as expected she complained about the expensive bus fare here as compared to the ones in Melbourne. And I went like, "thats precisely why I don't go city that often, it costs me $8 for the ride itself."

Sydney is such an expensive place.

Last paper is as important as the first

JIA YOU AHHHHH

JIA YOU!!!

GAMBATE !!!!!