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

1st of spring!

(copyright from Sharon): No, I haven't lost my mojo! (in blogging, of course).

Ok fine I admit it. I'll definitely miss flatting with the girls this year: Sharon who can make millions with her pweeeety cupcakes (see photos below) and other bakery products + her random hyperness of jumping up and down singing "I'm a little butterfly/teacup/squid...etc animal friends"; Amy and her super organised routines/being the mum of the house (besides me, heh) and her awesome ciabatta & seafood chowder YUM-ness; and Mae Ann, who although is not home often, brings laughter whenever she's home.

The 4 of us did something we never had a chance to do: had a flat dinner! It was GREAT; plus the food was SOOOOO good at Eureka's tonight (so maybe we were just famished heheh). Oh, and cute waiter too ;0)

OOOOOOOH and I had a haircut today!!! :D Goodbye semi-long hair, hello short hair! I like it: what better way to enjoy the 1st day of spring with a new haircut? I still need purple/red heels to go with my dress for birthday party. I can't believe it's so hard finding a decent pair here in Dunedin gah :(

Oh, and baby shower for Michy/Ray/baby Xander was held last Saturday. Headache and stress that went into the planning for the baby shower was finally rewarded: awesome cupcakes as made/decorated by Sharon+Mae Ann, and people willing enough to play the baby pictionary game, as embarrassing as it was. Though I do agree that some were too easy, especially the ones we picked for the guys.

Planning was hardcore: I found it even more tiring than planning for the Yeos' wedding last year. Weddings are straightforward; while I had no idea what makes or breaks a baby shower. Choosing the colours for balloons alone for centerpiece even took both Becky and I more than 15 minutes. Tip: go for bright colours! And now I know so many baby terms and facts: do you know that a baby cot mobile costs up to 300 dollars (it plays soothing Beethoven/Mozart/Hayden music when a sensor detects movement made by baby -_-), and baby spoons change colour if food reaches a certain temperature? Gosh. And I'm not even a baby person: I don't coo and do baby-talk. Love the cake and the saying on it too: "happy minus 6 weeks Xander" :)

WOW he really is coming soon. Very very soon.

Anyway some photos from the baby shower if you haven't seen it on facebook already.

the cutest of them all: mini blue elephant
next on the cute scale: mini octopus

how can anyone eat them?!

baby pictionary; hehe the puzzled looks

"labour pain" ;P
guess who drew this?

Michelle opening the presents

We did it! *high 5*

Hmm apart from that, District 9 was ahem... weird. Less action/more drama than what I had anticipated, slight dizziness after the movie as it was shot in documentary style. Saw the trailer for the movie "2012", another one of those end-of-the-world movies I'm a sucker for, considering "the day after tomorrow" is one of my favourites. Awesomeness.

I have finished all my drafts!! *surprise surprise* This happens when your supervisor is super organised and give deadlines for each section every other week. Now I have 1 whole month to do slight corrections and polish it up. Oh, and study for other papers meh.

I'm still not too worried about how next year will be like: when I'll move, where I'll work. Not yet, anyway. Mum on the other hand, is more worried than I am. It is a weird feeling: knowing that uni life will end in 2 months' time, and I will (highly probably) leave this town/people that I love/treasure after 4 whole years.

Oh, and I bought new batteries for my camera (been idle for quite a while); just in time to capture those pretty spring blossoms! :D anyone keen for photosession?

of bananas and wedges

Queenstown trip this year was action-filled from beginning to end.

It was a bummer that Becky and Mel was sick throughout the 4 days, but thumbs up to them for still not giving up on learning to ski :)

3rd time to Queenstown (third time's a charm?)- I wanted to accomplish 2 things: first is learn how to ski, and then sky dive. Those two costed a LOT, especially when I decided on impulse to get the dvd/photos/postcards combo pack for skydive (almost as much as the jump itself eeks)

So we left on Thursday morning by bus. Arrived at the Alfresco holiday house at noon-ish, had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, then just walked around town window-shopping and getting ski trip planning sorted. Rented goggles and gloves too, which was surprisingly cheap as opposed to getting brand new ones. Thanks Amy for lending me your glove!

the luxurious Alfresco House- where we stayed

view from the house- facing the Remarkables

mannequins have to stay warm too!

Best friends Becky & Mel with their matching ugg boots :P

Friday- woke up early to catch the 8.30am bus to The Remarkables ski field. It's about 10 minutes' drive from town, then another 30 minutes or so up the mountain.

snow- everywhere!

the chair lifts leading up to the more advanced slopes- which sadly, we didn't manage to go up to as it would be an extra lesson outside the 2-day starter pack we booked

the travellator- aka the "magic carpet" (3 altogether) leading from the entrance to the main building

oh yeah.

Taken just before heading back to town at around 4.30pm. Cute little girl in blue hehe. Btw many kids were skiing too, some taught by intructors, mostly taught by their parents. How cute! and well, they are faster learners than us

the long queue for the bus heading back

2nd day- more photos.

Didn't manage to take photos of us with our ski gear as I didn't want to risk dropping my camera in the snow :P The first day was sooooooo WARM that I was only wearing a singlet with a ski jacket and no scarf. Even my palms were sweating as the gloves were so thick and the sun was glaring. The 2nd day, however, was like a typical snowy day- snow and wind and incredibly freezing temperatures.

Overall, I would say that learning how to ski is like a bacterial growth curve :P The first hours can be frustrating, slow, and painful (falls!); but once you get the hang of it (maintain that "wedge"!!! haha), it's just a matter of practise and listening to advice from ski instructors. Walking with the skis and ski boots on snow is CRAZY I tell you: imagine your feet had suddenly grown 5 times its size, and the only way to walk up a slope is to walk like a crab- horizontally and on an angle that's crisscrossing the slope's angle. Takes a bit of getting used to. The boots were probably the most uncomfortable part of all- it was so tight (don't want it to fall off) my muscles are still a little sore from the tight grip.

P.S. a "wedge" is basically the formation our legs should shape into- sort of like a pizza with the tip having a small gap, and bigger gap towards the back. To stop, widen the wedge and avoid falling/bumping into someone else HAHA

I'm still bummed we didn't get to go up to steeper slopes using the chair lift. That would cost us extra for lessons and lift passes- and we were all tired and it was freezing cold the 2nd day. Next time- steeper slopes here I come!

Sunday morning- I finally ticked off another point on my to-do-before-I-die list and went skydiving. Most people are afraid of the idea of jumping off a plane, let alone from a height of 12000 feet (twice the height of the peak of the Remarkables mountain, I was told) and withstanding temperature as cold as minus 20 degrees celsius.

I'm not afraid of heights- so it wasn't really about conquering my fear. Though I love the marketing concept of "embrace the fear" by the skydive company, Nzone. The highlight bonus was getting strapped to a cute skydive instructor, Ricky :) :) :)

the plane! to fit 10 (1 pilot, 3 instructors, 3 cameramen, 3 crazy people jumping off a plane)

after reaching an altitude of 12,000 feet, we jumped!

Oh, and that's us doing the superman pose :P

P.S. the "banana" formation to adopt during skydive: head and shoulder up, hip backwards, knees bent.

after the initial 2-3 seconds of "landing on the sky", it was followed by ~45 seconds of freefalling, then 3 to 5 minutes of gliding in the sky after the parachute opens.

felt a little dizzy after the spins, but all good!

Now I can proudly say that I have skydived!!! :D

The dvd of my actual jump featured the song "Gone" by Switchfoot, which I find so appropriate. Some may call me impulsive and a big-spender, but hey, every day is another opportunity to reach greater heights (literally, too!). My biceps/triceps hurt from the pressure of my arm being flung upwards, and my bank balance is looking so miserable now, but it was all worth it.

She told him she'd rather fix her makeup
than try and fix what's going on
But the problem keeps on calling
even with the cell phone gone.

She told him that she believes in living
bigger than she's living now
But her world keeps spinning backwards
And upside down.

Don't say so long, and throw your self on.
Don't spend today away, 'cause today will soon be

Gone, like yesterday is gone
Like history is gone
Just try and prove me wrong and
pretend like you're immortal.

She said, he said, live like no tomorrow
Everyday we borrow brings us
one step closer to the edge. Infinity.
Where's your treasure, where's your hope
if you get the world and lose your soul?
She pretends like she pretends like she's immortal.

Don't say so long, you're not that far gone.
This could be your big chance to make-up
Today will soon be

Gone, like yesterday is gone
Like history is gone
The world keeps spinning on
You're going, going
Gone, like summer break is gone,
Like Saturday is gone
Just try and prove me wrong
You pretend like you're immortal (you're immortal)
You're immortal (you're immortal)

We are not infinite
We are not permanent
Nothing is immediate
We're so confident in our accomplishments.
Look at our decadence.

Gone, like Frank Sinatra, like Elvis and his mom,
Like Al Pacino's cash, nothing lasts in this life.
My High School dreams are gone,
my childhood streets are gone
Life is a day that doesn't last for long.

Life is more than money, time was never runny.
Time was never cash, life is still more than girls.
Life is more than hundred dollar bills and roto-tom fills.
Life is more than fame and rock and roll and thrills,
All the riches of the kings end up in wills
We've got information in the information age
but do we know what life is outside of our convenient Lexus cages?

She said, he said live like no tomorrow
Every moment that we borrow brings us closer
to the God who's not short of cash
Hey Bono, I'm glad you asked.
Life is still worth living, Life is still worth living.
Life is more that you are

Alright, back to the lab running experiments and studying (in a week when semester 2 begins). More photos to be uploaded to facebook soon :)

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.

The Pancakes' graduation

The Pancakes (Alex & Sam) came back to Dunedin for the weekend for their graduation ceremony. They just left hours ago, missing them already!

My 2nd time attending graduation ceremonies at the town hall. Official march from dentistry building to town hall was cancelled due to the awful weather (guess they didn't want the regalia and hood being wet), but I heard that many went ahead anyway

The organist of the ceremony

The Maori orator; funny guy

a reverand being awarded with the honorary degree of doctor of divinity
he even gave a speech at the end- very philosophical

the chancellor giving his speech
a few familiar faces behind him among the staff; some of the lecturers that had taught me throughout the past 3 years

the official photographers (McRobbie's) with the best view, of course

Sam being capped by the chancellor

I noticed that this lady has a pretty purple regalia!
I wonder which uni she had graduated from...

little get-together we had last night
Sam & Lisa, fellow intern pharmacist

Canai & Ray
short lunch at Jitsu

I'm blaming the weather for the lack of photos- didn't even manage to take photos (using my cam) for them in front of the clocktower due to the bad weather. Time was very limited too, barely had time to just sit down and chat. In a way I'm glad that I'll be graduating at the end of the year- exams will be over and it'll be summer (better weather hopefully?) WOW less than half a year to go for my turn to be capped and receive that certificate. SIGH not too far away and I can almost see it- but big hurdles to pass through first.

Had a good laugh about a misunderstanding I had earlier on the week. Alex had asked me to buy a bouquet of roses for Sam, and I just instantly thought of a marriage proposal! Haha. So I even went to the florists telling them I want to order roses meant for it XD Then few nights ago on the phone, when congratulating Alex, he was like, "for what?" I said "for your engagement la, duh what else?!" .... then after a few minutes of clearing up the misunderstanding I realised that the flowers were just for graduation, not because he was going to propose (yet) hahaha! OOOOOPS :P Oh well, not sure why I assumed that in the first place, maybe I just can't wait for more excitement in my life.

Speaking of which, I'm so looking forward to this Thursday: Michelle's going for her scan to find out the gender of baby!!!!! =D I'm rooting for a boy of course, many others as well. But not sure why, something's telling me that it's gonna be a girl :P Ron made a bet with the Yeos and will have to cook for them for a whole week if baby turns out to be a girl hehe. Boy oh boy (pun intended), it's going to be an exciting afternoon no matter what since it'll be the 1st time I'm going to see an actual ultrasound scan ever!

My experiments, as usual, are not working again! Trying to not get frustrated, think positive, and do my best to keep the cells happy gah.

Better weather ahead too according to metservice? Actual sunshine... could this be real? *fingers crossed*

to the light

My new favourite singer/guitarist in a while: Newton Faulkner.

I personally think he has the voice of Chris Rice and guitar skills of Kaki King. Brilliant combination :) I love this song of his "to the light". It was featured in one of the dances in the dance competition show "So you think you can dance (Australia)"- which I am totally addicted to now =P Go have a listen, it's such a feel good song, perfect after a hectic, manic Monday.

I'm taking a break because I'm losing it again
And I wanna relate without you thinking I'm insane
Oh, it's the same another train
Just sitting around with-a-record in my brain
You could have everything you wanted
But you would be still be wanting more
Cause the sun is always in your eyes
You search for stillness on a rock
That's spinning round and round and you're surprised

Take a break from all I know,
Just sit back and let it flow,
Then I find I've broken through,
To the light again.

Every time I find I'm thinking about the things I want to
That is the time I have nothing to sing
And every time I find I'm thinking about things that don't matter
That is the time I see everything
I want to know lord
Why it's got to be so hard
Wanna know lord
Why it's got to be so hard
I feel like a muppet with a drunkard puppeteer but I'll survive
I will survive.

Take a break from all I know,
Just sit back and let it flow,
Then I find I've broken through,
To the light again.
Then I find I've broken through,
To the light again

Speaking of which- sorry for the lack of updates. I barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. But I'm keeping on my eyes on the goal- graduation and getting that awesome job next year haha! 6 months to go- yeap that does seem very soon YET it's still so far away.

I've been talking to the postgrads in my lab, which have been very helpful. I've found my potential employer- Institute of Environmental Science of Research. Eyeing the forensics department ;P It's quite a sought after place to work at, especially for fresh grads, and a previous PhD student at my lab had went on to do her postdoc there, and she's coming back for a visit soon, so I'll get prepared for questions to ask her then.

To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea of where I'd be in 5 years' time. I can definitely see my friends getting married *wink wink you know who you are* and having babies, comparing diaper prices. I'll be the aunt taking photos of them. Fingers crossed, I'd have permanent residency by then, so my parents can retire here/travel around, maybe broaden my horizons and go overseas (again)- but really- who knows? But for the next 2 years, staying put (somewhere in the north island) would be my immediate plan. As for doing a PhD.... HMMmmmm not going to happen anytime soon though it does sound tempting to have the "doctor" title and scrap the "miss".

New things since I last blogged: I bought a new mouse and mousepad! Great gaming mouse and super smooth m/pad which I had always wanted to get. Bought a few tee shirts from threadless.com, sharing postage with Chyi my fellow KW buddy. Looking forward to the Pancakes coming down to Dunedin in 3 weeks time for their graduation ceremony :)

Ok more pics and stories to tell during the last day at Napier/Hastings during Easter. Gosh how I miss that place!

Day 4: touring around Napier yay

the "duck" bus/boat which nearly ran me over as I was taking a photo of it

on the way to the chocolate company, we found this beautiful park
I love this photo of Sam!

wallpaper, anyone?

Mich *wistful thinking* ;P
I like the windy footpath

group photo- joss, may, & sam
a fun park for kids at the background

nothing but blue skies!

hehe how cute!
*cough* Mich, Sam, and Janice in the future *cough*

finally, we reached the Silky Oak chocolate company and ordered the amazing "Hot choc extreme"- extremely rich melted chocolate with thick cream and optional chilli flakes sprinkled on top

ordered bacon & mushroom soup as well. YUMS

then we joined a tour around the former Napier Prison
the hanging yard- people did get executed here decades ago

fooling around...

...and again

there was even an actual graveyard where a few executed prisoners were buried at
*creepy* we saw the rooms and solitary confinement units etc: a real eye-opener indeed
It's now been made into a backpackers :P

we walked around the beach: rocky, not sandy!

then went up to Bluff Hill lookout just in time to catch the last of sunset
Had a great dinner (again, paid by mr pancake) at a restaurant called "the Thirsty Whale"- interesting name indeed. Had one of the best carbonaras I'd tasted ever + awesome customer service + great company

I'm thinking of doing skydiving. The prices are insane though. $249 for 9000 feet, $299 for 12000 feet, and $399 for 15000 feet. I'm wondering if a few thousand feet will make that much of a different once you're so high up on the plane waiting to jump. A few more seconds maybe? Do I have the guts to actually do it, though? =P I want to though; hoping that there's another person who'll want to skydive as well.

Till then, another song by Newton Faulkner- People should smile more.