Cross the road diagonally

This is how we cross the road.

Nature at its best

It's spring!

Flowers are blooming and animals come out to play!

Look at this pink tree.

Hey sleepyhead! Wake up!

The bees are hard at work. What about you?

The rest of the photos are not what you might term 'pretty' but they all do inhibit this world with us. So, let's learn to accept them more.

We don't see ants unless you're at the beach.

But we do have spiders.

And slugs



And flies.

And worms.

Haha sorry if I've spoilt your appetite for lunch but truly, these are the things you'd see about this time of the season here. Hope you've enjoyed it.

Imbalance is The Balance

Yesterday, I actually wanted to talk about another type of imbalance in the world but I digressed and it became something else. So allow me to jump straight into the topic today. I want to talk about the sad situation about how some countries are suffering from obesity and some from starvation. These two seemingly extreme problems actually result in the same thing – death.

When I was younger, I naively thought that if the richer nations just give their food to the poorer ones, we will actually solve both the problems. But can you see the problem with that?

Allow me to help you. Recall Darwin's theory on survival of the fittest. This is the basis of our existence. Balancing this imbalance will put us humans at a selective disadvantage. Think about it.

What I want in life = One silly thought

I always thought that our world is extremely imbalance. The "brightness" of your future depends greatly on the advantage of your birth over others. For example, if you're born to a king your life will probably be very different, in many aspects, to one who's born to a farmer. So basically your future is determined the moment you're in your mother's womb. Of course, there are those who managed to 'make it big' despite their unfortunate situations at birth. And then there are those who managed to do the opposite. But seriously, what are the odds?

Alright, maybe it is easy to become poorer than when you started. (Judging from the number of people going bankrupt now) So I am going to disregard this point throughout my discussion. Let's just look at the number of people becoming richer than they originally were. And I don't mean just becoming the boss of a company from some nobody. I mean becoming somebody the world acknowledges from a nobody. A very good (and overly used) example will be Bill Gates. (I wonder if his name is actually a short for Billionaire $$$) So, how many of him are there? In comparison to the number of people in the universe.

How many of you are striving to be somebody and how many are just taking things as they come? The idea of 'making it big' is really so absurd that we stopped thinking about it and just take what we have. Is that being submissive to fate? Hmm...

I thought about it before. How it would be nice to leave something (like a legacy) behind when I die. And then I wondered what made me think like that. And then I laughed at my silly thoughts.

Places

Alright I am lazy again. So here are some pictures of the places in Adelaide I frequent.

This was my running path before I started running and playing badminton with Vanes.

Rundle Mall. The equivalent of Orchard Road in Singapore.

TV. Nope, this is not a scene from the television. Rather, this is the common room in The Village where we can play pool, table tennis or just watch tv.

Nice part of my school.

Another nice part of my school.

Chinatown

Alright this is the most interesting part of today's post. This is a photo of a T-junction of a road. Usually, in Singapore, we'll need to wait for two traffic lights if we want to get to the diagonal side of the road. What happens here is that the traffic lights are programmed in such a way that it allows for diagonal crossing. Personally, it's kinna cool.

Big clock on the I-have-no-idea-what's-the-name building.


Coles (NTUC equivalent) and Central Market (most popular wet market).

Blackout (the video version)

Hey everyone! This is the video footage of me screaming like crazy on the day we didn't have light. Enjoy.

If a picture paints a thousand words...

...then it'll probably be sufficient for me to put up a picture a day.


I have always thought that WORDS are the best tool for communication. But I am evidently wrong because ACTIONS speak louder than words. So instead of writing every time, I want to put up more photos or even a video! How's that?



Picture for today:

Toilet culture

In Singapore, its a common sight to see graffiti on the walls and doors of public toilets. In Adelaide, a black board is nailed behind the door of each cubicle to facilitate the absurd need of some to write while 'in business'.

Did I just found another common factor among Australians and Singaporeans or did I stumble upon an important medical discovery on human behaviour?

Many-go-car-what?

I have the most disturbing news. An email is circulating around the school informing of a first year engineering student being diagnosed with meningococcal disease. I have not the slightest idea as to what this means or how deadly it could be, but because there is still a chance of infection, I read the rest of the email with much care.

It went on to list the symptoms one might display upon infection. They are:

* Headache
* Fever
* Vomiting
* Neck stiffness
* Joint pains
* Drowsiness or confusion
* Rash or reddish purple spots or bruises
* Discomfort when looking at bright lights
* Collapse

I experienced 4 out of the 9 mentioned. What does this meeean?????

Present "time"

Warning: I have initially removed this post (for good reasons) but decided to put it up again. I did not edit and this is the original version. Don't read this if you're a sensitive person.


Presents are usually thought to be nice things. People use gifts to show their appreciation for one another. I'm not sure how far and wide this applies to you guys but it is said that its the thought that counts. And it is! To me at least.

I'm not saying this just because it is the "right" thing to say. You should know me well enough to expect any formal courtesy from me.

I am made to think that presents are the messengers of love. It conveys feelings such as gratitude, respect, appreciation and well wishes to the receiving party. Hence, I invest much effort and time when choosing the right gift for a close friend. And I don't only mean birthday presents. I mean small things you do everyday to make the other person feel good. Words, for instance, are a great gift for someone who is feeling down. And don't say it because you feel comply to. Say it because you mean it. Trust me. People can tell the difference.

And I feel the greatest gift of all is giving what the person needed most. (It's the thought that counts remember?) I am easily touched by people who are observant enough to know exactly what I need without me spelling it out. It shows how much he/she cares. But most of the time, I have to spell things out cos most people just can't see. So here it is, the thing I need most right now is TIME.

I know it is impossible for you to give that to me so I won't even ask that from you. All I want is for you NOT to take my time away from me. If you still don't get it, I simply mean stop wasting my time.

Excuse me for being blunt. I am cursed with it.

More on River Torrens

I went to feed the ducks today!

And then I saw a swan!

It's so fun to be at River Torrens. I feel closer to nature each time.

River Torrens

If you haven't already know, it's spring right now in Adelaide and what can be better than to have the green grass under your feet with

the sun beaming on your face and a slight teasing breeze that carries with it the sent of blooming flowers? I'm sure there are many places in the city where you can experience those of what I've mentioned but River Torrens is one of the best. (Especially so because it is extremely near my school)















There are plenty of ducks and swans around. My ex-housemate used to bring whatever that was left of her expired loaf of bread and feed the ducks here.











Me being silly.

Mr Low of Crescent Girls'! I found your white crow! Well, it's half white at least. Not all crows are black!













I'll show you more of Adelaide another time.

Blackout (We are servants to the big T)

Yesterday at about 1150 pm, we experienced a blackout. It was a nightmare! And first I thought it was just The Village, the name of my accommodation, having a power failure. But no! It was the whole street. So the backup generator didn't work as well. We sat in total darkness for nearly one hour before we decided that no more could be done and went off to sleep.

This got me thinking. The human race have always thought themselves to be the highest of all. We rule the land, sea and air. We pride ourselves as the controllers of beasts, regardless of size and strength. We can predict the winds of Mother Nature and ride the storm of the Sea Gods. We are the rulers of all but one. We are all servants to technology.

Indeed, the indisputable fact that humans made machines could easily render everything I have said earlier nonsense but just think about it, if you will. Are we ALL capable of getting modern machinery to do our bidding? I guess the crucial word is "all" and it also depends on the extend of complexity of the technology that you wish to command. For instance, I am certain most of you would know how to fix a blackout caused by a circuit breaker trip. But what happens if is due to a power failure from the main power source in the region? Or the country? Or the world? Would you be able to fix that?

Yes, I'm sure you will if you're a highly educated electrician armed with a pocket fitting tool box equipped with solar and battery operated screw drivers, tiny tweezers which might be used to disarm a bomb and other what-have-you-nots. But for a normal person like me, as like any other normal person in the universe, it is just not possible. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and common-sensically impossible. So I am a servant of technology. But who are we kidding? So are you.

Did that happen, really?

There are many times in the course of my life when I felt confused. I cannot tell if a past event really did occur or it was just a fragment of my imagination. (And I am not referring to the state of mind when one is under the influence of alcohol) This is especially frustrating because you can never reach a proper conclusion as to if it did or did not happen, unless you have the ability to turn back time and see for yourself.

I sometimes wonder if I suffer from multiple personality syndrome.

I'm not sure if any of you are diagnosed with this unfortunate neurological disorder but if you are, there are some things which you can do to help you identify if an event indeed occurred.

1. Try to recall if there was anyone at the "same place" with you. If there was, ask him/her if it really occurred. But this might not be reliable cos people, just like you and me, tend to forget.

2. If there wasn't anyone around, ask the people who might know if the event you believed happened can actually happen in a practical sense. Again, this is not foolproof cos there isn't any concrete evidence to show.

3. Get hard evidence! If you believe you've been to a place before, look for photographs to back you up.

I can think of at least 3 events right not which occurrance I cannot establish initially.

Number 1: My uncle and an auntie brought me and my cousin out to play when I was really young. This really happened. I've got a picture to prove.

Number 2: My JC tutor telling the class that she went to a chocolate factory and tasted the chocolate from a chocolate fountain. This did not happen. I've confirmed this with my classmates and the tutor herself.

Number 3: I witnessed the passing on of an elderly women in her rocking chair when I was barely 3. I cannot be sure about this one. When I relate this incident to my mum a few years back, she could identify the similarities between my story and the actual event. Which made it quite scary for me.

I hate to end with a morbid story so let me tell you a joke.

Q: What did the lions say before they hunt?
A: Let us prey.

Hope it helps.

Because

I've just looked through the latest post and noted the number of times I've used the word "because" to explain myself.

Why do we use "because"?
(a) Because it is the word used to signaL to the reader that you're about to give reasons to the topic in question.
(b) Because it's just that.
(c) Stop saying because!

It seems to me that if you try to overly explain yourself, it will look as if you're lying and just trying to use excuses to cover up. So I highly suggest not to put too many "because(s)" in your sentences. And YES I do realise the risk of discrediting my previous post by posting this one but NO I will not go back to edit that one. What's done is done. You either take it, or....... not.

dear sire

Pass this on or die a horrible death

"The message : The world is coming to an end!

Dear reader,

You will receive the best gift today and the love of your life will confess at exactly 10:23 am if you forward this to 20 of your friends in 5 minutes. But if you delete this, you will be curse with bad luck and your life will be miserable from now on."

I never knew what to do with mails of this such. I am in a dilemma not because I believe that bad luck will follow if I do not forward the mail(I am a student scientist remember?), but because I'm not sure if the person whom I intended the message for will think that I've sent this to him/her because I am superstitious. Because I am not. The only reason I send emails is because there is something informative/funny/interesting in the mail. But my friends might not know that. Plus my friends who received the email with the warning message at the end might feel obliged to forward it.

I write with good intentions. I refuse to burden my friends with the task of message forwarding hence have made it a point not to forward any chain letters, no matter how interesting they might be (and some really are)

If you really want to say something nice to a friend, do it in a way that the other party can choose if he/she wants to pass the message on (and they will if its really good). This is easy. Just remove that threatening cliché at the end of your mail.

And to those who dedicate their lives to making those of others miserable, my existence will ensure the extinction of the chain letters you've spent hours generating. It stops at me.





(Or until one of your letters take me)

Assume we do not possess the ability to assume

This is the second time someone came up to me and starts speaking in Chinese. But unlike the first, the old auntie who attempted to talk me into attending her church is an australian. (My first encounter was with a chinese auntie who wanted olive oil)

I'll excuse the first (allowing the benefit of the doubt that maybe she can't speak english) but how do you explain the second?
Why do people assume that just because you're chinese, you speak chinese?

Don't get me wrong. I am not offended. I'm just wondering how people can easily make assumptions based on their evidently wisdom deprived brain? Because I think if you're truely wise, you'll be wise enough to know that you can never be wise enough. OMG! I cant believe I've just typed that! That's an oxymoron right?

Alright back to the topic on assumptions. I can go to church but that doesn't necessarily mean that I am a believer of Christ. Just like I can be chinese but not know a word of chinese.

And there are some people who can tap on this innate assumption instinct, as I called it, of ours to their advantage. Magicians, for instance, rely greatly on this tendency of the human mind to make assumptions. To show you what I mean,check this out and see if you too can identify how this trick works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUNfbNchK3Y&feature=related

To those who cannot appreciate the video, or are simply too lazy to click on it, I onli have one thing to say - It's your lost.

So the take home message is, stop assuming.

My family, my everything

I love my family.

My dad is a nag. He seldom lectures but he is extremely long-winded. He's like the energizer battery and "never say die" when it comes to getting us to go to bed at 10. " Go and sleep la. Why won't you feel tired? Children need to sleep at 10 you know?" Haha we are forever children in his eyes. But without him, there won't be anyone to buy food for me when im hungry. No one will wash my clothes for me, or my bag or remind me to drink more water everytime I show signs of sickness. He's a nag but Im not used to it when he stops being around me. I love my dad loads loads.

My mum's the opposite. She spoils us terribly. But in her own special way. She is always the last to eat so as to make sure that we're full first. That's my mother. Always giving the best for her children. That's why I am here. And that's why I am grateful. I owe my life to her and I owe any achievements, if I do have any, to her. Thank you mama. To you, I will always be grateful. I love you too.

My sista is weird and a little crazy sometimes. When she speaks in her language, she might not make sense to the world but I understand her perfectly. She's the one who can make me laugh till my legs go weak. I am laughing as I am thinking about her right now. She is my best friend, my talking companion on nights that I cant sleep, the bug in my life who always ask me for food, the one person in this world I cannot live without. The one I miss most.

My lil bro is a quiet person. You can say that he is a bit boring. But he is super smart. Super duper. I like to teach him cos he picks things up really fast especially when it comes to numbers. So I get a great sense of satisfaction whenever I teach him a new trick or method in maths. Mummy thinks that it's because of me that's why he's good in maths. But let me tell you, its not. He is better in maths than me and I am only "better" because Im older. That's a fact I cannot dispute. My brother also listens to me a lot. This makes me feel good but at the same time, responsible for him. I miss you, boy.

The last few photos I took with my family before coming here.

The girls

The guys








I miss you all.

Sleep deprived

It is now 4 am. I have been up for 21 hours straight and doubt I will be granted sleep till after my maths lecture which starts 5 hours from now. The sleep monster will come and take me soon. But I will not give in without a fight. Just a few more hours to go. Focus!

Work hard, Play hard

Yet one more week have passed and we're down to one more before the long awaited holidays begin. This week, like the week before, passed at an excruciatingly slow pace. Well, that's probably because I've completed two tests, one practical, my three weekly assignments and one online quiz in the course of just 5 days! Next week, I'll have one more online quiz, one more practical, my three weekly and one fortnightly assignments, and a nightmare report due.

As I mentally tick off the completed task on my list of things to do, I came to realise that one can really never get everything done. It is just not within one's capability to do so much in a day. And work piles faster than you can possibly clear. Alright, maybe I shouldn't speak in a general sense over here. Maybe there are some people who gets everything done. So, I mean, specifically, me. I can't get things done. Alright?! Are you happy now?!

So I figured since work never ends, why don't we just sit and relax a little. My housemate and I decided to play mahjong. We played last week and had so much fun that we can't pass the chance to play again today and we've made plans for our majong session next Friday as well. I fear this is going to be a weekly event that I will be actively engaging in for a long time.

Majong is not the only game we play. Dai di, or big 2 - a direct translation, is also popular amongst the people here. Here are some cards from one of the interesting decks we've used before. I especially like the 10 of hearts.

These special cards are by the brand with the logo of the most common cartoon in Singapore.

During the holidays in July, some of us decided to play treasure hunt. I was in the planning committee consisting of me and Vanes and, well, just us and we came up with these clues. They're all lyrics of songs. I felt the one that says

" Under the 'sea' " was good. We intended for them to look under the pool table since we haven't got a swimming pool here.

Well, it was definitely fun sharing all the fun things we do when we're bored. Now, back to study shall we?

Happiness

I Am in a state of happiness right now and nothing can make me angry:) And I am so because I did well for my maths! Better than the last semester at least. ~yay yay yay yay yay~

It is definitely getting warmer. I feel almost like I am in Singapore! Wearing a jacket actually makes you warm! This sentence will not sound ridiculous to you if you're living in a cold country like me. We can't even work out a sweat when running.

So, in short, I am mentally and physically very happy and I don't think one can get any happier than me. hmm, maybe I'll be happier if I am not as sleep deprived as I am now. Ok then, good night!

move six steps forward because...

Fire? Where?

I went through a fire evacuation exercise today during maths lecture. It wasn't a drill. We could have died there and then in the LT cos no one heard the alarm when it went off. Someone from outside the building actually came in to inform us that the building was on fire.

Everything is true except, perhaps the exaggeration of us dying in the LT. (I'm quite positive that it was only a small fire)

My time line for 08/09/08

4 a.m. - woke up to do maths
7 a.m. - went to school
8 a.m. - lectures
11 a.m. - did maths with Lin
1 p.m.- stats test
2 p.m. - continued with maths
4 p.m. - submitted maths assignment just in time

I wrote in past tense because this is not a plan. It really happened.

My friend said that my "sense of urgency is very............ sensitive." I find that comment extremely hilarious.

Busy busy.

Just because

Just because I don’t ask, doesn’t mean that I don’t care.
It means that I find the question too personal and it might be uncomfortable to share.
Just because I don’t talk, doesn’t mean I don’t know.
It means I do but I don’t like embarrassing you.
Just because I don’t reply, doesn’t mean that I don’t bother.
It means that I’m tired and don’t wish to explain further.
Just because I am quiet doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion.
It means I think you know and I don’t need to justify my reason.

-A spur of the moment. Sudden inspiration. Don't ask why. There isn't an explanation.

Food Galore!

When I thought it is never going to be possible, it happened. IT'S GETTING WARMER!!! YAY! Look! The yellow flowers are slowly blooming.

I know I have promised a food blog ages ago but haven't done it so today is the day I make good of my word. So feast on! (With your eyes, I mean)

First up, we have the all-important breakfast. I practically ate Uncle Toby's cornflakes for breakfast the whole month of July, which was the semester break. During school term, my breakfast is just a cup or two of coffee. I try to eat healthy stuff as and when I can. What you see here is a bowl of deliciously healthy cornflakes with black currents and sultanas. Yum!

Lunch and dinner. My lunch time varies on a day to day basis cos it depends on the time I end school and so what I have for lunch varies as well. I will have a light snack on practical days cos I end at 5 pm and it will basically be the time for dinner when I get home. On other days, my lunch is usually the same stuff as what I will have for dinner for that week.

Picture from top : beef pie with part of the top ripped off, a bowl of homemade chicken curry noodles with potatoes and the evident lack of substantial amount of gravy, the curry chicken alone to be eaten either with rice or bread, corn and carrot soup, ideal for cold winter days and the yummy seafood fried noodles comprising of seafood mix, tomatoes and eggs.

Fruits! Strawberries are really cheap over here so I dont feel the pinch when I buy them for consumption. They look and taste good and are good for me too! To give you a rough idea of how big they are, I've placed my palm in one of the pictures.

Dessert! This is my ultimate favourite part! The cream puff was from Sze. They crispy on the outside are so soft and yummy on the inside. The box of white stuff is actually sago honeydew which was done by some of Serica's friends for her birthday party. Sweet! The cupcakes and cookies were made from pre-mixed and the mysterious chocolate coated, waffle puff (as I called it) was made with a secret recipe which Denise refuses to tell.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly (if there's such a word), the emergency food aka the bad food. I don't think I need to explain this part except maybe the photo with all the Continental packets which might not look too familiar. Those are the instant rice and instant pasta.

Till next time.