Smile, it's summer

These past few weeks have been... hard to describe, really. That (and my laziness in updating) has left this blog quite miserable-looking :P oopsy.

Random: I love love love the movie "500 days of summer"- the perfect "not-so-love" story with a quirky/nostalgic feel throughout the movie with awesome music by Regina Spektor and The Smiths (mmmm brit pop is awesome).

I love this one in particular. It screams "SUMMER!!!"

Anyway.

This week marks the 2nd week of summer studentship at the lab. Same lab as honours, with same supervisor, so it's all familiar faces. One thing that's different though, is it feels more like a JOB now than just a project I have to score at. Well mainly because instead of having to pay tuition fees before, now I get paid. :) No more studying at night, though to familiarise myself with the new project I do need to constantly read a lot of literature and get the techniques right. Thank God for commercial biotech companies who come up with genius kits to make our lives much easier. The project is basically based on using genetically modified bugs in to generate biofuel woohoo!

Feeling pretty bummed today and yesterday as Amy, my flatmate this year, has left for Christchurch yesterday morning :( She's been such an AMAZING flatmate- from the late study nights during winter at the lounge with the heatpump on, the yummilicious seafood chowder and ciabatta that she makes, daily routine of putting away the dishes at night, to paying the bills on time hehe. I'm the oldest of the gang, but I do feel like she's the big sister of the flat, and keeps Sharon and I from killing each other :P Amy, I know you don't read my blog, but hey miss future doctor, you're just an amazing person to be with and I miss you already!

 Group photo taken at Amy's farewell/end of exams dessert night last Friday

Oh, and you all (especially May May) would be proud to know that I baked cream puffs with custard fillings for that night! First time ever attempting to bake that, and it was YUM :D I also just made kacangma (a green herby chicken soup) last night, mainly for Michelle. It's crazy how west Malaysians have never heard of it before.

Val's post-it notes & crumpets for Amy, sitting on the front porch one beautiful morning.

awwww... isn't she the sweetest?

The baking talent runs in the flat, what can I say? :P :P :P

The latest below are Sharon's creations: cute little sheep/roses made for Jackie's baby shower about 2 weeks ago

Aren't they just TOOOOOO cute?

Pink roses oh-so-pretty

October/November- the months of crazy amount of birthday celebrations.

The latest was last Saturday: Hsiu Ping turns a year older! We all hid in her room while she showered and surprised her when she walks in (with a towel in her glorious self teehee), had lots of junk/good food :)

Late October: Glenn our Filipino/American-BK manager-silver lining leader's birthday.

Surprised him by filling up his room with 200 balloons (one of them filled with Influenza as claimed by Ron) and had dinner at JRS restaurant.

Last but not least, Alexander Ethan Yeo was born on the 17th of October, 2009 :) Fondly known to us as Xander. He's a heavy boy (almost 4kgs!). Gave us a scare last week as he was admitted to ICU for serious jaundice, but all good now. He's been keeping Mich awake at night, naughty boy. See that cheeky little smile? I can just imagine him growing up to be a charming, beautiful boy.

This photo was taken just before he dozed off. It was luck, really, so hard to catch him smiling to the camera!

The "I know I'm cute" look :)

So there is definitely a lot of things happening (even if it's summer in Dunedin), yea shocking right? Chyi, have a blast in Singapore/Brunei (as you most definitely will) I AM JEAAAALOUS! It's nervewrecking waiting for results, knowing that it will also determine my scholarship result, which will only be out just before Christmas GAH! 

Tonight's going to be a good night *cue music*- we're celebrating Ron's 21st at the posh & fancy Luna Bar. Also, I can't wait till Sunday when I leave on a plane to Welly (again)- I can't say I will get sick of that place. Yeah it's windy but gosh, have those people that complained ever been to Dunedin before? :P

sataaaaaaaay

Bill Ricchini has such a smooth, satiny voice *sways head from side to side*

First heard his song "A Cold Wind Will Blow Through Your Door" from the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack.

***

It's the baby boom season, seriously! I knew that 3 of my cousins are pregnant (1 even with twins), then mum just told me my cousin-in-law is now expecting too.

Anyway, went to the Raya open house event this year. I don't attend many OMSA events I admit, so didn't know about this particular one until this year :P

Thumbs up to the organisers. The food didn't run out (almost) when we got there after church. Awesome food hehe I didn't realise how much I had missed eating Malay curry, rendang, satay etc. We were all kinda shocked at the sheer amount of Malaysians gathered altogether today too :P

banner
it's been a while since I last said "Selamat Hari Raya"- it sounded funny coming out from my mouth heh

crowded!

Esther's going back to Malawi this Friday having completed her thesis last week. She attended cell group last year, always helping out with ushering, and always smiling :)

We'll miss you, Esther. Safe journey throughout the 26 hours of travel (eeks)!

happy bday Louise!

Happy bday to Louise in advance! (it's tomorrow)

She hosted a tea party at her place this afternoon, even made yummy food all by herself! Oh yea I have a big weakness for cream puffs :P gobbled down at least 3 just now.

the pony bday cake!

collages since I'm too lazy to upload them 1 by 1...

the food was AMAZING. so full but couldn't stop eating
not only they tasted good, they looked really good too

And then, as usual, we went a little snap-happy. The weather was wonderful (though pretty windy) + beautiful balcony = fantasticrazy photos haha. The Raybans are not mine- Chyi kindly loaned it to me since she has 3 *gasp*. Oh la, one for her sister.

They do look nice :P Especially the one in violet. Hint hint I do need a new pair of sunnies for Welly trip! ;)

toots

The cold/windy weather is here to stay- at least for the next week.

Nevertheless, went to Farmers market again this morning. They've switched the lamb kebab store position, almost gave me a heart attack when it wasn't on the right of the eurodog stall (turns out to be on the left) but oh well :) Give me my weekly $2.50 lamb kebab and I'm a happy girl.

Saw these 2 boys playing their guitars (can't remember what that tiny guitar is called heh) and singing. Very talented young boys I'd say- they earned quite a lot of money too judging from the heaps of coins.

Interesting news: a giant baby (3x normal baby size) was born in Indonesia! click here to read. 2 words: flexibility & OUCH.

I'm running out of things to blog about. A sign of ageing *gasp*.

Snow @ Dunedin, 16/6/09

I'm loving the snow photos on facebook hehe. Rebekah so cute with her little snowmen she built, so lucky she's staying at Pine Hill, hence more snow!!!

Anyway, for those of you who're somewhere in the north island, you missed out on snow big time! I've got to say, today's snow showers beat the one we had in July 2007 when we were still staying at Great King Street.

I woke up at 7am today to beautiful, white snow!

view from my window

bench outside our flat covered with snow

zooming in on the snow flakes :)

Frederick Street. footprints!

look at the skid marks! scary-nya...

Did a little revision, took some photos, then headed off to Smitthel's gym for my exam at 9.30am. I had dreaded having an exam there as it's a freaking gym aka big open space, aka not easy to heat up. We waited outside (in the cold!) until my toes went numb despite wearing boots and thick socks. Apparently some security dude with the key to get into the gym didn't reach until almost 10am (he probably lived up on the hills covered with snow)!!! We whined and waited, and finally began exam at 10.04am.

I sat just next to the window, which was quite distracting as it was snowing on and off (quite heavily most of the time) outside hehe oh-so-pretty. Finally, exam finishes at 1.04pm- my tummy was already growling but I headed off straight to the lab to start an experiment. Had lunch at 2.30pm *eeks* then back to the lab at 3.30pm. YES I HAVE NO LIFE. or my life sort of revolves around exam and lab work nowadays.

But thank God for adrenaline :) which helped keep me very awake and full of energy despite being awake & busy since early in the morning without taking proper break excluding a 30-minute lunch.

Good ole Mick finally handed us our cheques for bond repayment! YESH I am $200 richer muahaha. Lovely brown boots from Overland? HMMMMMM. *cough* since the weather is so cold lately and I do get cold toes *cough* Also waiting on IRD tax refunds- expecting at least a few hundred as I'd worked many hours last year- but wouldn't get it till 2 or 3 months later.

Thank God for snow too! Yes I am a fan hehe :) Getting numb toes once or twice a year is worth it. No double digit temperature throughout the rest of the week, as expected. But any more snow, I wonder? Can't wait for the ski trip @ 1st week of July, soon woohoo!

More Dunedin snow photos submitted at NZ herald here.

dot dot dot

I'm bored. Not the 'I-have-nothing-to-do' kind of bored, but the 'I-really-have-lots-to-do-but-still-wanting-to-slack' kind. Like how most students are this time of the year: pre-exam season argh.

...but maybe not as bored as whoever that did this:

spot the anomaly

I'm surprised my group is pretty laidback about the last group presentation on Friday. We've read the paper, I've made the powerpoint slides, but essentially we have no idea how to answer questions if asked. Or what's the point of having that research done at all. So we emailed our lecturer, which happens to be the nicest lecturer in the department (I think) and might meet with him tomorrow to try and understand more.

My supervisor's being really organised. More than me! oops. He even gave me dates he wants me to hand in drafts of the project write-up. Starting from early August, final draft by early September. gah ugh bluerh. Though I've actually started doing a little introduction, I'm still hoping for more positive results to include.

Surprise surprise the weather's took a turn for the better! 1 whole week of miserable, gloomy weather has finally given way for awesome sunshine. But it's still cold; it's now below 0 degrees. Oh well, it is winter.

Something random I did since last time I blogged: I met up with a German couch-surfer, Bjorn, for hot chocolate after he emailed me asking for a chat/coffee. He's been backpacking/travelling around NZ for the past 11 months! Heading towards Aussie, Singapore, then back to Germany. I wish I could do that now- pack up and just go somewhere warm for a few weeks/months and meet random people, asking them to write down a phrase in their native language then get someone else to translate it.

Oh if you haven't joined couch-surfing yet, go join! That's how I met Jaslin and cell group buddies when I was in Singapore after I contacted her through CS. Great way of getting to know a foreign place better- which is through the locals, of course.

1 week before THE oral exam. Deep breaths.

winter's just starting

It was bright and sunny this morning, but it soon turned gloomy, wet, and windy. That's Dunedin, though. My umbrella overturned many times; and I hear the sound of hail knocking on my windows now.

Thank goodness I bought these super cute slippers to keep my feet warm ;P

P.S. 'Angels and Demons' was awwwwwesome. Loved every twist and turn in the movie.

brrrrrrrrrrr

You know that winter is (almost) here when...

1. It rains EVERY. SINGLE. DAY
2. Lift conversations with strangers always have to do with how bad the weather is
   
3. You find it hard deciding on what to wear - "where are all my long sleeved tops? and why did I buy so many short sleeved/sleeveless tops anyway?"
4. You walk by shops with jackets on display and decide to walk in *just to have a look* ahem
5. You crave for hot chicken soups
6. You walk by the ice cream isle at the supermarket without a second glance
7. You go to the library more often just coz it's so much warmer there compared to the cold flat
8. You don't need to refrigerate fruits (and other foodstuffs) since the temperature inside and outside the fridge is about the same anyway
9. You wonder when it'll snow yay
10. You browse through old photos when the days were sunny and SIGH

My (potentially) last winter here in Dunedin. wow.

Ski trip is less than 2 months away! An exam in the way, then there's still the project that thankfully is progressing along quite well. I am learning lots, so fingers crossed in 3 months' time there'll be enough results (groundbreaking, maybe? a cure to MRSA? =P) to present and write up the honours dissertation.

Alex and Sam coming down for their graduation ceremony in 2 weeks' time! Super excited! =D

Gah my fingers are numb from the cold. K enough typing. Keep warm

boo! autumn's here

a photo to cheer YOU up
a crab plushie I bought at KK for the Yeos

For a few hours yesterday, we were greeted with sunshine. Oh how fleeting and treasured it has come to be (at Dunedin, at least).

Unpacking is 80% done. It's amazing how much stuff we can accumulate over the years. For me, it has been a good 4 years' of stuff. I'm not even thinking of shifting again end of the year if I'm moving to another city. Torture!

This week has been about catching up, unpacking, sorting out flat stuff, and just recuperating from jetlag. It's been great bonding with my new flatties =) buying groceries, playing the keyboards at church again this morning (though I had to learn 3 out of the 4 songs in 2 days), transforming my messy box-filled room to a decent bedroom/studyroom, and just er staying out of the not-so-nice weather lately.

Had brunch with soon-to-be mum Michelle yesterday at Vino Vena- still one the best places to get good food & great customer service. I highly recommend the bagels. =D Then went to the Warehouse with my flatties to get some necessities for the flat. Was so tired yesterday evening that I ended up sleeping for 5 hours!

The project list is out! Supervisors will be giving their talks/presentations on Monday, then we'll get to pick which projects we prefer, and results will be out by Friday. It's nervewrecking, really. I'm really hoping to get a good supervisor & project & lab buddies. I do want to make the most of this final year of studies :P The next 10 months would be crazily exhausting for sure.

Samantha W: meet up sometime this week! yay hot chocolate session
Chyi: welcome back. it sucks but hey we're graduating end of the year =P
every one NOT in Dunedin: we miss you guys!

Back to unpacking!

Hopeful!

I'm so unmotivated to blog (and study).

We had our 2nd slumber party this year! Held last Friday/Saturday at Michelle's place. Just the few of us, and it was more like a study party; we ended up studying most of the time, playing card games, going to the Otago farmers market on Saturday morning, more shopping at Countdown, then a sumptuous meal together with the guys Sat night. =)

It was definitely a challenge waking Janice up. "5 more minutes!" is all she says, and that was over 30 minutes trying to prevent her from snuggling back into the sleeping bag.

Here you go. Pictures!

The 4 of us: Mich (eyes closed!), jOSs, Janice, & Sam.

I have no idea why too...

The queue to get crepe! GOSH so yummy!

Loads of people getting up early too.

Mich with the lamb kebab. Absolute tastiness

So cute.

In the railway station.

This used to be a ticket booth!
Janice being Janice.

That's Canai in 50 years =P
(replace violin with guitar)

Railway station: taken from inside the car; no time to switch to widescreen mode.

I should be studying, but suddenly had the urge to plan a Hillsong 09 conference trip from 6 - 11th July. I came up with the estimate cost of spending 7 days 6 nights in Sydney: including airfares, accommodation, transport to Acer arena, food, conference tickets, etc: came up just under NZ$1000. More info about that, do contact me.

FIRST time ever that the conference is not coinciding with uni, PLUS I'm so excited about the guest speakers for next year. Really hoping that this will come to pass, considering will be busy in 2010 when work starts. Praying that the others can make it as well; would be hard to get a 5-day leave but- all things are possible! =)

thank YOU for the music

I'm glad I decided to go to the Alabaster Box concert at Southlife (Apostolic) church last night. There wasn't a lot of people there though, 50 at the most (including at least 10 from Cityside, haha). The youth band alone is already so talented, doing the riffs 100% according to album recordings. I was really impressed by the bassist; she had to be 13 or younger, with a red bandana tied around her forehead- she has the rock star look, no doubt about it.

Naarah managed to sing 2 songs before passing the mike to Tim. I like her sharing on how talent alone is not enough to sustain us- that's where faith and patience come in. She talked about how the band used to have bread with peanut butter and jam for 3 meals when they first started touring around Aussie, and being the only girl in the band, had to do the grocery shopping and cleaning up. But look where they are now- a highly successful band doing worldwide tours, meeting people from so many countries, seeing new places, influencing so many lives. That, I envy.

all I want to do
is bring a smile to you
and hear you say "well done"
~"New York"

I'm sad to see them leave. How many times do we actually get to have a decent conversation/make jokes with a visiting band, take photos, and talk about how to do cool keyboard-playing poses? They're just so down-to-earth. I'd love to see them perform live again in the future, at a different place maybe. wink wink. Anyway, wishing them a safe trip to Aus, Hawaii, then back to the States- gosh, I can just imagine the jet lag.

Final group pic with the guys.
Top left: Tim, Josh, Brett, and the drummer so paiseh can't remember his name Eric. Yes I know I look VERY happy here.

So my new camera (Canon Powershot SX110 IS) arrived on Monday! Been busy so only had the chance to have a proper chance to try it out yesterday afternoon at the botanical gardens. Here are some of the pics I took- more on facebook.

Forgot to raise the flash.

ducks. see how clear the reflection off the water is!

one of my favourite shots.

budding

Of course, more practise is needed! I have yet to try the full manual settings, will need advise from other people OR find the time to go through the 200+ pages of manual.

I love my new camera! =)

Music my muse

My new camera is in Auckland now! Which means only take up to Monday or Tuesday to get to me! =D Too bad I'll have to sell my old Casio Exilim, which I've grown quite attached to since my parents first bought it for me in 2005 before I came to NZ. I love the leather casing too, which I had it painted with butterflies (and glitter!) when I was holidaying in Chiangmai earlier this year. It only costed less than RM5, but sigh sentimental value and I doubt my bigger camera bag given now would be as nice as my current one. Oh well.

Tracking by Fedex. My camera has travelled a long way.

Alabaster box is coming to Cityside this Sunday!

So if you're in Dunedin, come by at Cityside (Union hall, Uni of Otago) at 11.15am to catch them live! Or watch me play keyboard as well (with a very sia soi face playing in front of music professionals, eeeeeks!)

From wikipedia:

Alabaster Box is 6-piece, female led rock/pop band from Australia's Gold Coast, now based in the USA. The band became a full-time music ministry at the beginning of 2000. Since then, Alabaster Box has won awards, delivered singles to Australian Christian Radio and toured in Australia, New Zealand, England and the USA.

I just got news that they're wanting to use my keyboard (waszowski!!!) to play at Cityside! haha, no special reason except that Waszowski is an 88-key full length keyboard and church's one is a shortie. Woo, a multi-award winning band playing my keyboard, so flattered! *must get their autographs, haha!*

Searched around and found out the keyboardist actually plays a Roland Fantom-X7, a 76-key workstation. They even have a facebook group with lots of photos. Ok I REALLY should stop surfing and finish up my report.

A day at the Shag Point

It TRULY is called the Shag Point! *how dodgy*

Today is a day of randomness. Got a call at around 2 to go paua fishing with the pancakes. Being the lightbulb that I am (and finding excuses to NOT do my assignments), I said yes. How forgetful was I to not bring along my jacket.

awww..
Sam: he's mine!
Alex: paua!!!

postcard photo

the sign

jump! (not off the cliff)

so serene the beach. see the prints on the sand? wonder who/what animal left those

my wallpaper

the eyes: what r u looking at?

seals!

this is what happens when u leave me alone in the car with my camera

me: hmm what shall i have for dinner?

love is in the air.. lalala~

colours

shapes

there is more sheep than people in NZ.

marine life. so much variety

How cold it was! BRRRRR.

Ah, it's nice getting away from the city, even if for a short while and we didn't manage to catch any paua. I'm waaaaaaayyy over my management business plan word limit of 3000 and I'm not even done writing yet, sigh lots of trimming and proofreading to do. Micro lab book/assignment is due on Monday too- having 2 major assignments due on the same day (MONDAY somemore) sure is interesting.

WALL-E on Tuesday with my lovely girls!!! =) Looking forward to that.

P.S. My 21st was so full of surprises! Thanks so much guys for taking the time, effort, and $$$ in making this a memorable one!!! Photos will be up as soon as I can get my hands on them, haha.