Exams oh exams

I absolutely love Erin McCarley's music. No album yet, but she's discovered through One Tree Hill- her 2 songs Pony and Pitter-Pat are REALLY worth listening to.

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Anyway, been burrowing my head into books journal articles and barely readable lecture notes (did I write THAT?) lately.

Exam timetable:

6th June (fri)- BIOC352
7th June (sat)- MICR335
11th June (wed) - MANT301

MANT is the odd one out, I know. It stands for management, for you non-Otago people. Part of the points to fulfill my commerce requirement- writing business reports are so different from writing a scientific one. Neither is easy, just different format and all. Never having taken any 100 or 200-level management papers before, I completely blew my first 30% research report. So sad. THEN, my lecturer mentioned about clear headings and highlighting the key points. I tried my best not to scream at her; I had thought business reports should be as smooth-flowing as possible. Thank God I got 18 out of 20% for my 2nd assignment.

I've been here for 3 years now, but still didn't know where the surveying department was. That is, until I found out one of the exam locations would be there. FYI: it's between Hayward and Cumberland halls. Next to department of marine science. Weird.

Worked for about 4 hours today. No more scanning for me to do, woohoo! All the scanning are to be done by the business support people from now on. It feels nice to be able to go to work whenever I feel like it am free, thank God for a super cool manager. And also for my new super canggih contour-fit mouse which I requested for. Too bad I couldn't sit at my workstation today as someone else was sitting there; my fault really as I was supposed to come in yesterday instead of today. The backlog of work at the office is terrible: just proves that so many people are having accidents every single day!

Went with Michelle to a florist today to discuss flower arrangements etc. So surprised to find out the money you have to spend just for flowers: around $300!!! So if you're wanting to get married, make sure you budget at least that much for flowers (more if rose petals are needed ;P) If not, marry a florist and save lots of money.


Back to my late-night studying session.

Gambate every one. =)

Sunny Dunedin

Now I know it can get VERY hot and sunny here in Dunedin. Not forgetting windy, too. For the past week, the temperature stayed between 18 and 28 degrees in the morning. The ideal temp for me is still around 20, though. And NO, I don't miss the extremely hot and humid weather in Kuching.

My room is looking more like a room now. Yay! Thanks heaps Ray and Mich for helping me decorate and orientate my furnitures. Pictures will be up soon. There's even a mini living room area when you first walk into the room: a couch facing a shelf, with a sheepskin rug in the middle, and the tv just to the right. Awesome sundeck/place to dry clothes. My favourite part of my room has got to be the bathroom. :P It's the best bathroom ever: great view, lotsa sun in the morning... and the best part is that it's all mine! muahaha. Thanks mysterious guy/girl (whoever you are) for the beautiful cushions for the couch!

Started work on Thursday through to Saturday. Gosh, I'd forgotten how tiring work can be at times, especially when the sun's shining and all you want to do is have a big scoop of chocolate ice cream. Anyway, I'm applying for another office job at the moment, the test is on Tuesday. Wish me luck! Better pay and less physical work awaits me if I get this. *fingers crossed*

Dinner last night was AWESOME. Was shopping at New World and suddenly saw a kg of pork bones for 3 bucks. Ridiculously cheap. It was totally random: we decided to cook together as a flat and have Bak Kut Teh for dinner. I feel kinda bad for Rachel as she's MSG intolerant and couldn't have a taste of it. But yea, it's been a while since we had the chance to cook and eat together as flatties. Alex, Sam, Janice, Sally: wish you guys were here la! Come back soon and we'll have the best reunion dinner ever! =)

Went to the movies to watch Sweeney Todd last night. I have to admit: it is one of the weirdest movies of all time. No wonder they requested for IDs before we bought the tickets. Not for the faint-hearted. Probably many didn't expect to see a half musical. I heard swearings going off once in a while when one of the characters started to sing. Artistically speaking, the movie was brilliant: the dull background throughout most of the movie creates the gloomy mood, flashbacks were in colour. Musically speaking, the songs were easy to sing along to (not that anyone might want to sing "There was a barber and his wife..." in karaoke) and quite catchy. Most people are shocked at how graphic it was: blood splatter everywhere, throat slashing, the fingers in the meat pies etc. Yeap, it was definitely very bloody and grotesque. And nobody moved an inch when the movie ended (also very bloody): IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH for us to handle. Oh well. Truly a movie I won't forget anytime soon. Up next: Alvin and the chipmunks!

Michael Buble's everything is stuck in my head now. It's such a lovely song!

Time, where did you go?

Time has stolen my summer holiday.

2 more days to go in Kuching, 1 day boarding on and off planes (hours wandering in airports), 2 weeks to slack and plan for the parents' arrival, 1 week touring around South Island with the parents, then uni begins. Eeks.

The past 6 weeks back in Malaysia felt seriously SHORT. Sure, I spent long hours (ahem) helping out at the shop, but looking back now it really didn't feel THAT long. In these 6 weeks, I've had some pretty unforgettable experiences including: from drinking snake wine (to be blogged once I get back to Dunedin where broadband is available) to getting an eye infection and had to stop using contact lenses for 2 weeks.

I know. Ouch.

I blame the dusty, humid, and polluted air.
Ok fine, my hands can't seem to stop rubbing my itchy eyes too.

Right now, my right eye is on steroids (anti-inflammatory). I can't believe people still ask me since when I started wearing glasses...

Anyway. Just a few pictures to add some colour to this post.

Julianna & Ching. Looks like a Darlie ad, doesn't it?
2 lovely & very *cough* single *cough* ladies.

Kuching's pride: the special Teh-C peng.
Note: Special is 3 layers.
Between special and super special is 4 layers.
Super special is 5 layers.
(correct me if I'm wrong)

Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
No... it's erm. a UFO...?
Well actually according to my cousin-in-law aka expert pilot: it's a normal phenomena apparently. Cold air results in condensation as the plane flies up into the air. But really lo, it was a spectacular sight: the plane was flying almost 80 degrees up the sky, leaving almost a semi-circle trail of white smoke behind.

Doing promo stuff for Ian here.
If you're free on the 24th of Jan and happen to be at Kuching, do drop by and support this charity fashion show. More info at the official website.
Oops, I also thought that it will be held at tHe Spring, my bad.

PS. Chyi chyi: congrats on your very wise decision on staying back at Otago!!! (I knew it!!! :P)
big hug, big hug. We can hang around at Starbucks and watch out for more macho policeman next time. Oh yeah you'll need to advice me on traveling around South Island since you're the pro now!

New year? When?

What has the world come to? Assassinating a country's leader to prove a shared belief isn't exactly going to put a full stop to all the chaos.

What a way to send off the year 2007.

Anyway. I need to start thinking seriously about my new year resolution. All the magazines are pouring with tips/ideas on deciding ny resolutions. Sounds so easy but really: who is going to keep all those "exercise at least 3 times a week" resolutions? So I figured I'll just make mine as realistic as possible this year.

Looking at pictures traveling to exotic places for holidays really make me want to pack up my bags, book a ticket, and just GO somewhere. Yes I know I just got back from Thailand. But that was with a tour! Backpacking throughout Europe is still somewhere near the top of my "100 things to do before I die" list, and I'm still in search of a backpacking partner, and hoping to fulfil that in the next 10 years if possible. Anyone keen?

I had my medical checkup for the visa renewal done yesterday, x-ray today. The doctor had to try twice before getting any blood out -__- and I was trying to convince myself the whole time that I wouldn't have another panic attack again.

Which didn't work, of course.

Right after blood was taken, I had that feeling again. It felt like someone had cut off blood supply to my brain, and the nerves are trying really hard to connect with each other. Heart pumping harder than usual. So hard that I can actually hear my heartbeat, and I had to steady myself against the table. I managed to say to the doctor "I feel faint" before lying down on the bed for a few minutes until it went away.

Some say it's haemophobia, a phobia of seeing blood. But I didn't even had a chance to look at the blood-filled syringe!

But still, thank God it wasn't as bad as a few years ago when my vision was reduced to black and white, just like a tv channel without reception. Static. Hearing very blurred. Imbalance, extreme dizziness.

Anyway. Had my first movie since I got back this time. Alien vs Predator 2 isn't as good as I'd expected it to be. The movie itself: 6.2 out of 10. The fact that I'm also complaining about the small screen, horrible sound system, uncomfortable chairs, lack of headrest, noisy people, and mobile phones going off makes it about a 5.5 out of 10.

Worst of all, there isn't anything worth discussing about AFTER the movie. Oh, one particular movie trailer was funny. It started off looking like 300; muscular guys wearing Spartan outfits, then out of nowhere appeared a girl who looked freakishly like Britney Spears shaving herself bald while holding a baby, who was later kicked down the well by the supposed King Leonardis. Yeap, another one of those "epic movies" not worth watching at the theatres.

You're 19, Ron!

I've been playing about 10 hours worth of Halo 3 in these 2 days.

I didn't expect it to be that cute: little cute aliens jumping around, shouting "traitor, traitor!!!"

Hehehehe.

I even dreamt that I was the alien traitor guy (the arbiter), which I played the role of during the missions game.

***

Anyway, the results for 1 paper (genetics) came out a few days ago. To be honest, I expected better results, considering quite a few past year questions came out and I thought I did quite well for it. Oh well. Maybe God's telling me NOT to concentrate on genetics if I do the last research paper thingy.

At least Halo is taking my mind off the ugly result. U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi! (Studholme chant)

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Last but not least, happy 19th birthday to my dear friend RON!!!



I'm proud to say that you're my first Filipino friend, very glad to have met you outside the MANV101 lecture. Thinking back, it REALLY was random, sitting outside the St David lecture theatre chatting away.

Thanks for being my lab partner for biochem (to help me out when I'm completely blur on what to do next), thanks for introducing me to so many cool Korean dramas/movies, really appreciate your friendship and kindness! Honestly, you're one of the nicest people I've ever met, and also the luckiest! hehe.

You sooooo deserve the trip to the States, Taiwan, and Singapore. Have lots of fun, shop a lot (I know you will ;P ), take care, and God bless you til we meet again Feb next year for another year of Biotech and Manv lectures. =P

Quake

Blog Action Day - the day (hopefully) that people start realising that the resources mother nature provides will eventually run out on day in the near future. 10am is not a good time for me to blog (slept at close to 4am last night), but there's one thing I feel like stressing: Sustainability.

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So there was an earthquake early this morning after all!

*woohoo!!!* My first real experience... (not that it's anything to be proud of).

I thought I was hallucinating or really groggy when the furnitures shook a little. It wasn't like what I thought it would be- nothing fell off the table thank God- but I certainly didn't expect the dizziness that follows. It was as if someone took my head and wriggled it around. Weird I know, but that was how it felt.

Here's the news this morning. It was supposedly 6.7 on the Richter scale, unconfirmed yet. There was another smaller one reported around 3am, but I didn't feel it.

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Haven't been blogging regularly as I've been a frequent visitor of the library these few days. First paper on Thursday (Genetics)!!! All the best to those sitting their finals =)

1 down, 2 to go

Genetics terms test was pretty much as expected: a few questions from the past year exam, yet I still found it hard to do the lab calculations with confidence. Meh. And I made a rash decision in changing to do another question in the last freaking 15 minutes, and ended up with very badly drawn diagrams. Oh well.

***

Biochemistry terms test is on Wednesday night, and that's the big worry. With countless pathways and impossible-to-memorise protein structures, reading more doesn't seem to help me remember more. It's almost like I'm afraid if the new stuff going into my brain will push out some information. Overflow- yeap that's the term. Will our brains ever overflow and one day just say "I want out! No more thinking!"?

***

I'm not even worrying about accounting terms test for MANV202 right now. BLAHHHHH. No revision yet whatsoever. Thursday is looooooong time away, right?

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Not sure if anyone noticed how desperate I am/was this week trying to get people to tell me when they're going back to Kuching and when they're leaving. And I won't stop asking until I can finally decide whether or not to come back here during mid or end of January. February is a no-no as I need to unpack stuff into the new flat, celebrating CNY next year isn't that appealing right now. Though I might miss going visiting with the SFEC youths. And walking into the wrong house. *teehee*

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Cell group is going to have a Passover meal thingy tomorrow night. And an evangelistic meeting next week. And my "surprise" bbq thingy on my birthday ("What kind of birthday cake would you like? -____-") bla bla. So many things happening all at once again.

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I've reached the very addicted stage of facebook. Darn Rebec for asking me to join. ;P I'm logging in up to 5 times a day just to check on new updates/invitations.

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I'm also lazy to write a single decent blog post. Instead, my lazy genes are making me write blurpies like this post, it's almost like my brain cannot connect all the information together. Partitioning it is, then.

Flat hunting-induced headache

Finding a flat for 2008 is still causing headaches for me. Argh. Hopefully (and prayfully) we'll either (a) find a GOOD 3-bedroom flat tomorrow or (b) decide on signing the lease for the 5-bedroom flat at Queen Street if the first option fails. Should I come up with a back up plan if both doesn't work?

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I've set a date and booked tickets back home end of this year. :)

Not sure why, but there's a certain bubbly feeling inside about going back this time. Anyway, it's set on the third of December using Malaysia Airlines. The same old MH130; same old 19 hours traveling across continents in a zombie-like state; same old yucky selection of inflight lunch/dinner sets.

Oh well. I'm just looking forward to using Singapore Airlines coming back here.

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Facebook is getting more and more addictive. *uh-oh*

On the other hand, I'm spending less time updating those other connect groups, eg friendster, bebo, etc. No more of those invites, PLEASE. Any new invites will simply be dumped into the digital trash can.

No more CS too this week! *feeling proud of myself*

I've been busy discovering new artists. Through LastFM, mostly. It's fun: typing in my favourite artiste and click "play similar artists" and listen to free and good music, at the same finding out about talented musicians out there. That probably explains my growing collection of music. My ultimate aim is to have 50Gb of GOOD songs (not rubbish ones I'll never listen to) stored on my computer before graduation.

A belated birthday to Michelle again. You SO deserve the presents, surprises, and joy. It was fun decorating and creating the animal balloons, albeit a very last minute preparation.

Speaking of which, yes I am aware that my birthday is coming up in the next 2 weeks. You guys are probably tired of organizing birthday surprises, and I'll probably anticipate that you guys will try to make the surprise as surprising as possible. Very -___- I know. Definitely not looking forward to celebrating the big 20 at all.

Till then, I'll be burrowing my head into a pile of lecture notes preparing for the 3 terms tests coming up next week.

Home again

Somehow it always feels good to be back.

Even if home is Dunedin, and being home reminds me that I have 3 terms test coming up really soon. *sigh* And the flat hunting part isn't over yet.

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I've got myself a new haircut! Shorter, but not as short as I expected. I don't like the colour though, the hairdresser seemed to have picked the wrong colour used to dye the top part of my hair. Looks lighter, and somehow more ah lian-ish. Argh.

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Shopping is always better in Christchurch. Bought 2 pairs of jeans (I now have about 20 pairs altogether) and a pair of jandals (somehow I lose them over time).

It sucks being short as I have to get the jeans altered according to my (lack of) height.

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No inspiration to do whatsoever at this moment, including blogging.

Except eating, of course. Banana and blackcurrent ice cream was AWESOOOOOME. I want more ice cream!

Going On Vacation

Just to clarify- yes, I am looking for potential flatmates. Still not 100% sure yet if we're signing the lease for that 5 bedroom flat, but if we do find 2 other people in time, then I'll confirm with the landlord/agent asap.

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The cough is getting REALLY bad now.

It was only a mild sinus problems for the past few weeks, then suddenly I started coughing on Sunday morning. I woke up on Monday morning feeling like I haven't drank anything in 100 years. It sounded worse than a frog's croak.

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And all that had to happen when I'm having my break. -__-

I've been watching movies mainly (highly recommends DejaVu and The Fountain). Watching the Bourne Ultimatum as part of cell group activity tonight. *whee*

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Getting back to "The Fountain". If you haven't heard of it before, check out the imdb listing here.

If I were to describe this movie in 2 words, it would be "hauntingly beautiful". Not only the graphics left me in awe, but the storyline kept me thinking long after I'd finished watching the movie.

Hugh Jackman is Tom/Tommy, a doctor in the present time trying his best to save his dying wife (Rachel Weisz as Izzi). Izzi writes a book entitled The Fountain and asks Tom to finish the book for her. Though there were many interpretations to how the story actually finished and how the book ended, for me the whole movie is based on creating the perfect ending for the book.

If you read the plot given, it mentions about how the movie is spanned across 1000 years, and 3 stories intertwine to depict how the ending would be, whether or not Tom would be able to find a cure for his wife or to accept the fact that she is dead. I found some parts unnecessary, but of course the director has his own reasons.

This is one of those movies you'll either love or hate. If you like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "What Dreams may Come", you're sure to be spellbound by this. Love plays the central focus in both films, and the power it gives us to endure, the strength to do anything to save your loved one. Both movies explores the bending of time and space, and give viewers the chance to interpret the movies in their own ways.

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I'm off to Christchurch tomorrow, will be back Friday. :)

Questions oh questions

Just 2 more lectures tomorrow before 1 week of much needed break!

Times REALLY passes fast. This will be the last break before the final exams at October. Yikes.

And then goodbye second year, hello 3rd year biotech. Hmm, not even sure if I'm ready for the whole working world yet.

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As mentioned in the previous post, so many things are happening at the same time, it almost seems like a whirlpool of thoughts and actions going in all possible directions at one time.

Thoughts in my head:

`How long should I go back for the end of this year?
`Tickets not booked yet! How if tickets are all sold out except the super expensive ones?
`I wanna wanna wanna watch Bourne Ultimatum! Anyone who wants to watch it too?
`New desktop PC? Hmm.
`*cough* new *cough* phone coming soon. More updates on that as soon as I receive it.
`Hillsong next year- in or out?
`Whatever happened to the Queenstown trip planning? Bungee jumping/sky diving?
`Haven't found the flat for next year yet. Gah.
`3 terms tests coming really soon after the break.
`Haircut? Should I or should I not?

So many questions, as always. I'm still waiting for some 21st century Einstein to come up with a formula or computer software which can solve all questions just by a few clicks.

DF Day 14: 1 more week to go

New layout!

I get excited for a while when a new layout is up and running. That explains why a layout on this blog never lasts over 2 months unless it's one that I really like.

So I hope this new layout/template is more user friendly and easy on the eyes. No graphics at all on the template, which increases loading time of course. It still takes time getting used to the new beta blogger template based on xml instead of good ole html.

Changes are good.

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This is the final ad 3rd week of Daniel Fast. So far, I can say that I've been about 70% consistent. :P The last few days was hard for me to wake up at 6am as I had late nights playing CS. So that's it, I felt a strong conviction in my heart today to stop playing CS (at least for the time being) and focus on the more important things at hand.

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Flat hunting this year is great. So far, we have about 4 potential flats, each with good and bad point to consider. Personally I would prefer either a flat at Leith Street (provided that the landlord fixes the shower area and lower the rent) or the odd shaped flat at Dundas/Clyde Street. Though the lounge is orientated in a funny way and the kitchen not really accessible, I guess I just love the homey feeling I got walking into that flat. Oh well, fat chance we'll choose that one though.

So it could be Leith Street then. The shower was the only main downside, was so shocked to find out it was not tiled or properly cemented. The interior design, power consumption, and location is awesome though. Also, no wardrobe poses a HUGE problem for me, considering I would need to either buy a big enough wardrobe to fit all my clothes or find another way to magically store my increasing amount of clothes.

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My low protein diet for the Biochem experiment starts today, but the urine sample is only taken during the last 24 hours (on Tuesday and early Wednesday). *gulps*

Keep reminding myself to NOT have eggs, meat, and too much milk. It's basically a vegan diet if you ask me. The annoying part is NOT having to pee inside a 5 litre container, but having to record down every single thing that goes into your mouth, down to the butter and nutella I spread on my toast.

I'm so tempted to call the other people in my group who didn't volunteer cowards, but hey I'm the one getting this experience, and will find out how efficient my body is in processing nitrogenic wastes.

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I feel that there's so much going on right now that there's not enough time to just stop, take a step back, and BREATHE.

So that's why I'm trying (especially this week) to learn how to say NO to doing things that are pulling me back and putting extra load on me emotionally.