Free Rice for the needy

Busyness. I seem to have more time to update during the exam period than after exams. I think the word procrastination springs to mind. Sorry to those who've been pestering for an update.

In the meantime, whoever's bored and looking for something to do, check out www.freerice.com. I just started playing it, and it's a fun and addictive vocabulary game which not only tests and improves your vocab, but for every correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated through the UN to end world hunger. It gets quite tricky above level 30, and so far i've only managed to reach level 40.

If you're still really bored check out this online store selling good quality shirts, www.threadless.com. As a bonus, there's a sale now with shirts going for only US10. The flipside to that is that this means many of the nice designs have sold out. Well, check back in the future, as even at the normal price, it's still relatively cheap, and there's a constant influx of new, cute designs, like these....

Percintaan Tan Hong Ming

In a similar vein to the "Whatever.." girl... Small kids can sometimes be very cute..

One of the best Merdeka TV commercials. Race doesn't matter when we are young, so why does it matter when we grow up??

Melbourne Cup

Okay, about time i got around to detailing my maiden Melbourne Cup outing.

So this was last Tuesday, right after i had an exam in the morning, and having had just 3 hours of sleep the previous night. Rushed home from REB to quickly get changed, and off we went to Flemington Racecourse.

Before i go further i must admit my total lack of knowledge as to anything horse racing related, apart from Makybe Diva’s record breaking feat of winning 3 consecutive Melbourne Cups. Whilst on the train there i was asking how many horses would be out on track, as i presumed it would be something like swimming or athletics, whereby there are preliminary rounds eliminating all but the best 8 horses. Little did I know there would actually be 22 horses on track.

Anyway, arrived at about 2pm, by which time the sun was shining down radiating its heat and the sky devoid of any protective cloud cover. What struck me at first was the very raw smell permeating the racecourse. I’ve no idea where that smell emanated from, maybe horse droppings, who knows, but it sure wasn’t a very pleasant smell.

Made our way to a small patch of grass which had been reserved by the rest who had arrived in the morning. This was our tiny spot...

Amongst the vast multitude of people.

There were only 4 races left by the time I got there, the next one being the much vaunted Melbourne Cup. Decided to randomly place some bets, which didn't go too well considering my betting knowledge was zilch. I was confronted with a plethora of betting options such as trifecta, quieniala, exacta, win and place. Decided to play safe and went with the 3 favourites – Purple Moon, Master O’ Reilly, and Zipping. Well, i didn’t know that i had to state the horse number to place my bet, so i went up to the counter and said “Can i place a bet on Purple Moon, Master O’....” But before i could complete my sentence, the cashier interjected, “What’s the horse number?” which obviously i didn’t know. Had to hold up the queue momentarily while i found out the horse numbers. Silliness. Betting can be stressful. Haha.

Anyway, i spent a grand total of... wait for it..... $8, which is a pittance when compared to everyone else who seem to be whipping out wads of $50 notes. I guess it's no surprise then that Australian punters bet a total of $145 million on the outcome of just this 200 second race.

Anyway, as the race time approached, we pushed our way to the front of the open area to get a better view, and this is what we saw..

The horses coming around the corner...

Running right by us

And then they were gone.

Just like that, in less than 10 seconds, and i couldn’t even tell who was ahead. All the horses looked the same. Seriously. haha.

Some pictures...

Beautiful AIESEC girls..

Ex-IHers..

AIESEC contingent

A portion of the more than 100,000 people in attendance

Oh, and a mention should also go to Tristan’s bout of ingenuity. You see, the racecourse has a rule whereby no outside alcohol is allowed in, my guess being so that the concession stands can milk even more money out of everyone. So what did Tristan do? He filled zip lock sandwich bags with alcohol, and disguised them by putting them inside Shapes boxes. There was even a bun in which he cut out the insides so that he could hide a Tupperware of alcohol in it. Might be silly, but pure genius. haha.

So yeah, I managed to garner a return of $4.10 from my intial outlay of $8, with Purple Moon coming in 2nd, and Zipping narrowly missing out on 3rd place, which undoubtedly is a loss. I didn’t realise how unpredictable horse racing is, unlike say football whereby there is a pretty high chance that the favourite will win. Which reminds me, i still haven’t collected my winnings....

Overall, it was a decent experience. At least i’ve now gotten a feel of what goes on in “the race that stops a nation”. I guess most of the ppl who attended too didn't turn up so much for the horses than for the one a year chance to dress up to the nines, have a good time, and maybe consume copious amounts of alcohol. The temperature was probably a bit too hot for to be dressed in a suit, and causing the girls sun-burnt shoulders, but it was fun... =)

Other photos of the girls in their lovely dresses, hats, and fascinators.

Bizazrre Laws

Came across this excerpt in yesterday's MX, which lists some of the most bizarre laws around the world.

1. In the UK, people are prohibited to from dying whilst in the Houses of Parliament. (So what, you expect someone in the throes of death to have the capacity to quietly excuse himself just so he can die outside and not disturb the session?)
2. In the US state of Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk. (Is that even possible...)
3. Only a clerk in a tropical fish store has permission to be topless in Liverpool.
4. In UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet. (Oh, so a non-pregnant woman can't? And why the precise mention of a policeman's helmet of all places.)
5. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation. (Hmm. The dilemma they face. Self pleasure, or getting their heads chopped off.)
6. A male doctor in Bahrain can examine the genitals of a woman only in the reflection of the mirror.
7. In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm.
8. It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving in Alabama. (Need that be said?)
   
9. In Florida, unwed women who parachute on a Sunday risk jail. (Haha. This is just plain funny.)
10. Women in Vermont must obtain permission from their husbands to have false teeth.
11. In Milan, you must smile except at funerals or hospital visits.
12. Japan has no age of consent. (Explains the adult industry's fascination with Japanese schoolgirls)
13. In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napolean.

Cracked me up. I have no idea how lawmakers could be so silly to even contemplate drafting and passing such absurd laws. Some of these are just plain logical-no-need-to-be-said type of laws, whilst others border on the comical and nonsensical. And to think an entire parliament has to waste time to debate and vote on whether to pass these laws.

My Marketing Plan Assignment

Went to uni with Mel just now to collect my Strategic Marketing assignment. Well besides the added incentive of picking up a free Slurpee on Happy 7-11 Day. =) Anyway, remember the 12,000 word 70 pages assignment that i was complaining and whinging about how difficult, and totally illogical it was for them to expect such a comprehensive and detailed marketing plan from undergraduate students? Yes, THAT assignment. Picked the assignment up from Alan Gilbert.

And we both stood there not wanting to check our marks. "You go first," I said. "No, you go first," she replied. Impasse. "How about i check your marks and you check mine?" suggested Mel. Which was even scarier to than checking it myself.

So, with great trepiadation, i turned over to the last page to check my mark. Guess what i got?? [Highlight the blank space..]

28/30

I was quite shocked. I mean, not that i didn't invest hours and hours of effort into the assignment, but I am not a marketing student. I had no prior knowledge of Porter's 5 forces, the GE/BCG/McKinsey model, the meaning of critical success factors, how to propose a budget, and other marketing lingo. And due to lack of time, I thought that leaving out certain parts and writing half a page for each section towards the end would have an adverse effect on my mark. Not to mention having a referencing system that merely consisted of copying and pasting URLs into footnotes and leaving it at that.

Oh well, i guess the many sleepless nights paid off. And due to students' complains the weightage of the assignment has been increased to 60% of the overall mark. =) To cap it off the tutor's feedback reads:

• An excellent strategic plan for IKEA. A very comprehensive, well researched + considered analysis.
• Very good supporting recommendations for your marketing mix, budget, implementation + evaluation + control.
• Overall, you have presented a very intensive + intelligent plan.
• Astonishingly high level of course understanding.

I'm not even convinced myself about the validity of those comments, but i'm not complaining.. And not as upset with my decision to take this elective. =)

Experiment 101

Jo's idea of an experiment at 3am in the morning, a break from the monotony of looking at her law notes the past 1 week. What happens when you have too many leftover birthday balloons? You release them back into the wild, to fend for itself. The balloon was released into the early Melbourne sky, defenseless and lonesome, awaiting a random stranger to pick it up and care for it, and give it a home.

Unfortunately, the balloon settled into the shadows of the bushes outside the state library, hidden from view. It's fate unbeknown, forever condemned to join the ranks of the lost and the forgotten...

Swanston St in a Day

Time lapse video of Swanston St. from my blacony.