Melbourne

Over 2500 photos taken in 2 weeks, i don't know where to begin. So lots of photos to follow, the rest can go up on facebook.

For the 1 week in Melbourne i stayed in my aunt's place in Mont Albert North, which is just next to Boxhill. A real blessing, as this saved a lot on accommodation not to mention a nice homey spacious place to stay, instead of being cooped up in a tiny little hotel room. And even better was that she was leaving for holiday the day we arrived, so practically we had the entire house to ourselves, and not only that, but she called up to put me on her insurance policy so i could use her car as well =) Well, this meant lots and lots of commuting, especially those times i had to make the 30km round trips to send my family back and then come back out to the city again to meet friends - the Eastern Freeway was my best friend. My geography of suburban Melbourne has improved so much in 1 week compared to the 3.5 years i was there, especially the Eastern subarbs. Only gripe about driving there is the very conservative speed limits. The speed limits of 100km/h on the highway and 60km/h, sometimes 40km/h in the suburbs are almost impossible to adhere to. =(.

Watching the sunrise from the plane, a couple of minutes before landing.

Watched 2 movies during the flight in - Kung Fu Panda & Iron Man + few other random short episodes like Discovery Channel. I guess watching these shows on such a tiny screen spoiled the top billing these shows received. Slept less than an hour. So after arriving, settling in, and having some food, i slept from noon till 4pm. After which it was time for dinner with relatives at some Chinese restaurant in Box Hill.

Saturday = graduation day. Woke up at 6.30am with like 2 hours sleep. Got prepared. Drove to uni. And after the rushed picture taking with everyone i hurried off to Wilson Hall. And this is where it gets interesting. You see, i was given a slip with my seat number on it. By the time i entered the hall all the other graduates to be were already seated so i hurriedly searched for my seat. I think my seat was in row T, and upon seeing the sticker indicating row S i looked at following row and saw an empty seat, so i assumed that that was my seat. After all the formalities of the ceremony were over with, it was time to start the proceedings proper. Names were called out, and my name was slated to be quite early in the proceedings. After a while, it struck me that something was not right. The names were proceeding too fast for it to correlate to where i was seated. I quickly got out of my seat and went to see someone in charge, whereby she informed me that it was too late. They assumed that since my allocated seat was empty, i was absent and hence took my name of the list. So, I have no idea who's seat i was taking, but my options were either to just take my certificate there and then, or come back later for the afternoon ceremony.

So yes, I suspect I'm a rare breed of one of the few "special" students who ever had to sit through TWO graduation ceremonies. Actually no, i didn't have to endure sitting through the entire morning ceremony. Once i realised the mistake i left the hall. But all things work together for good.. My silliness, naivety, carelessness, assumptiousness - call it whatever you want - meant that i had more time to take photos. I had my regalia rental extended the whole day at no extra charge, plus i managed to procure extra tickets for the afternoon ceremony which meant this time my entire family was able to enter the hall. And to top it all, a bright, vivid, ephemeral rainbow appeared right outside Wilson Hall during the ceremony. =)

During the afternoon ceremony I was the odd one out as almost everyone else were Arts students. I had a special seat designation, and what's more, i was told that i was to be the FIRST one on stage and briefed as to the proper protocol and things you had to do. Oh well, everything turned out okay and for all the effort and trouble parents go to attending their children's graduation, it's actually quite an anti-climax. Such is the life and times of a Melbourne Uni student trying to graduate. haha.

Anyway, here's photos of ppl who came to take photos - thanx for coming. Major complain is still the Melbourne Uni tradition of NOT providing graduates with a mortarboard, which is the quintessential image everyone has in mind when they think of graduations - ppl from other unis still find this omission shocking.

Managed to catch the Engineering graduation bear wandering around, so i stopped him for an obligatory photo.

Family pictures.

Btw, in case anyone was wondering if my sister's dressing looks familiar, it's for no other reason than that she was entirely outfitted by Jo the fashion stylist from own wardrobe (they're the same size =P)

It is at this point that I'll quote an apt portion from J.K. Rowling's speech at the the recent Harvard Uni Commencement (credit to Jeannie & Veron)

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children's godparents, the people to whom I've been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I've used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

She was expounding on the importance and significance of the friends, i'll extend it to not merely the literal friends who was there at my graduation, but i believe friends that we have made so far that has brought us all the way to our graduations, through our formative years, at school, college, and university. These are our true friends. No doubt many acquaintances, even maybe friends, may be formed later on in life. But in this corporate environment, in this rat race that we all are inevitably a part off, isn't there an inkling of doubt as to whether the motivation of such friendships has to do with perhaps gaining business contacts / contracts, to further their careers, or just out of social obligation & necessity??

Whereas, i can safely say that the friends that we've formed during the fun times studying are true friends, not due to some hidden agenda, but for the shared connection, camaraderie, values, and sheer simple satisfaction of enjoying each other's company. I may have lost touch with many ppl over the years, when we meet up it's sometimes as if time hasn't passed and we can continue from where we left off.

I remember the first day i stepped into IH, arriving for the first time ever to Australia, in the midst of the cold winter, and the first person i saw was this cheerful little girl who was extremely helpful and helped me settle into my room. This person was no other than Kimmy, who never failed to greet me with a cheerful Hello! each time i saw her =). Staying in IH proved to be a wonderful experience, and i cannot imagine the stark difference that i would have faced had i decided to stay out by myself in an apartment. IH was a place whereby i had lots lots of fun and made lots of friends (it's impossible not to when you see 240 students all the time and at every meal).

The memories - the ever present gossiping and scandals which the entire college will somehow find out by the time the guilty party wakes up the next day (even my floor in Wadham was the scene of a couple of nocturnal philanderings), the many nights of staying up till late at night when most ppl have slept, playing foosball and ping pong at 4am in the morning (many times whilst we're actually cramming for exams the next day), studying in the Tute rooms, 'helping ourselves' to the bread left behind the kitchen early in the morning, our staple diet of Mi Goreng for supper, self help, the annual Ekiden runs, playing football, tennis, and basketball in the court, the countless 'surprise' birthday parties at midnight, the formal dinners, balls, Cafe, national nights, the group holidays to Grampians, Central Australia (a freaking cold desert in winter!), spending 1 week on a houseboat sailing aimlessly up and down the Murray river, Phillip Island, Wilsons Prom, etc. So many memories. And no, drunken debauchery wasn't one of them (if anything, i'll just fall asleep =P). I did participate a bit in college activities, though in hindsight i wished i had been more involved. After the influx of all the new freshers in 3rd year though, IH just felt different.

I'm glad i moved out during my final year. It's a totally different experience, not having 3 meals a day prepared for you (though i think I've only been to maybe 5 breakfasts during my entire stay in IH - at that too waas prob during fire drills), having to go grocery shopping and actually buy meat instead of junk food (living right abouve Safeway = convenience at your doorstep), having bills to pay which means not blatantly leaving the heater on 24/7 like in IH, not having a whole bunch of friends just outside your door whom you can call at any time. =(

But it was good nonetheless. It forced me to be more active in uni, and it was at this time that i joined MoMU and AIESEC, though Kai who has stalked me right from college was ever-present =P. Organising the MoMU events - night market, rock climbing, Merdeka Kenduri, i even emceed and was part of a boyband dance for the latter! AIESEC was about LCMs, organising the online portal, publishing the newsletter. Oh, and i was a tutor in uni too, which wasn't too great, but got paid a lot =)

I miss uni life too. No doubt lectures, assignments, and exams are always a bane when you're faced with them, but it's actually not too bad. As Chong Shen or MC will attest to, it goes without saying that you'd have quite a good chance of finding either one of Kai, Fred, or I asleep during lectures, and on rare ocassions all 3 at once! haha. I remember the many many last minute assignments which we would start the night before, stay up all night, go to uni to hand it in at 8am in the morning, and come home to sleep the whole day (Strategic Marketing was the worst of the lot!). The cramming for exams, which SWOT Vac has to be the best thing invented. It's amazing how one can go through the entire semester totally not understanding a single thing being said, and within the 1 week of studying everything suddenly becomes so much clearer.

I didn't mean to reminisce and wax lyrical about all that. I shall continue with the rest of the trip in he next post.

Updates

To make up for the lack of recent updates, here's a mini compilation of updates. Plus photos, some recent, some not so recent.

Sometime at the beginning of the year, went to that fish spa place in Pavillion just for the novelty of it. As you know, I'm ticklish, so to have hundreds of ikan bilis-esque fishes nibbling at the soles of my foot can be very unnerving. At the beginning it was pure torture, but towards the end of the 30 mins i kinda got used to it. At least i wasn't as bad as Sze Lyn, who upon first inserting her leg into the pool shrieked so loud that everyone turned to look at her. haha.


Went back to Cempaka twice so far, once to the Swimming Gala, recently to the Commencements dinner. Met some of my old teachers, and I'm surprised quite a few of them could remember my name, after almost 5 years (the same couldn't be said of Mel though, who's leaving after Form 4 meant she has faded her into obscurity. haha, i'm kidding. At least she got comments from teachers who she looks like a model now =).

All i've noticed is that the school has changed so much from my time. Everything now has stepped up a notch - from each student carrying a Mac to school everyday, Smart cards, quality iMovies, expeditions to places like Mt. Kinabalu / scuba diving. Their performances and talents are also a different class. They have top class performing arts teachers, and for example, to commemorate this year being their 25th anniversary they came up with 25 different versions of the school song - jazz, rock, blues, etc - imagine that! During her speech, Datin said she was going to do a "Mahatir" which turned out to be her announcement that she was stepping down as chairwoman of Cempaka Schools. All in all, an interesting visit back to the school. Didn't recognise a single person save for some juniors, and friend's siblings. Saw Kah Yat's brother, Natasha's sister, Sin Fee's sister, whom the last i remembered of them were just small kids, now they're all grown up (and looking remarkably like their elder sibling).

Spot our teachers

Also, I met up with long lost cempakans in Sky Bar about a week ago. Ppl like Therese, Tamara, Anita, Jin Rong, Jac Ying, Adrienne, Sing Ning, John Sng, Kah Yat, Gary, Steph, Jennifer, many of whom i haven't seen since Form 5. Good to meet up with everyone again.



Last Wednesday, went to watch the Chelsea vs. Malaysia friendly in Shah Alam stadium. which had almost a capacity crowd. Surprisingly, the Malaysian team really gave a really good fight. They had more than a couple of good chances to score goals, and it was a pity they were all spurned.



What else is there....

I've driven all the way to Singapore and back in less than 12 hours, just to drop my brother off.

I've been playing badminton a few times with Jeannie and Kee Win at the Taman Megah courts. Played badminton with Ashley last week (she's really good!). Also, Gary always bugs me to play tennis with him, so have been playing tennis every once in a while. Past weekend, the joker made me play tennis at midnight 2 days in a row. Futsal not as often, but all i can say is that it's very very tiring to play in the hot, humid (plus bad ventilation) courts here.

I've moved to a new house (just 2 mins from my old house), and the garden has a nice swath of grass to kick a football around, so what does an engineer do? He creates a nice little goalpost made from PVC pipes to aim at.

See the nice little goalpost

Watched Dark Knight recently with Jeannie. Good movie, but i don't think it's as great as it was hyped up to be. The Joker's performance was good at the same time disturbing - think "Why so srs?" whilst holding a knife at one's cheek + the pencil incident [I read an article which said that to prepare for his role, he stayed for one month in a hotel room by himself just psyching himself. Might explain how come he finally committed suicde]. It's been breaking record after record, and there's been talk that it might even surpass Titanic's US1.8 billion takings? It's to be seen if TDK can beat the buying power of 14 year old girls with a crush on Leonardo di Caprio watching Titanic countless times.

Read one of the 2 books Kee Win borrowed me, The Money Changers by Arthur Hailey, which is the first proper novel i've read in such a long time. Kee Win, interesting exposition of the world's financial system, but not really too much of an eye openeer.

Okays, i think that's enough for now. I should have updated more regularly instead of disappearing and then having a long post all at once.

Melbourne, here i come.

For those who don't know, I'll be going to Melbourne in a couple of weeks for my graduation. My whole family would be coming, save a brother who's in Singapore sitting for A Levels trials and tentatively flights are booked for the 7th to 21st. The current plan would be to stay in Melbourne for about a week and then proceed to Sydney and Brisbane / Gold Coast by train (my dad loves traveling by train and seeing the scenery, even if that means a more than 24 hour journey by the time we get to Brisbane! and that means time wasted traveling during the day too).

We're thinking about maybe giving Brisbane a skip though which means i would be able to spend more time in Melb, and the whole itinerary needn't be so rushed. So the dilemma, stay longer in Melbourne, or get to see Brisbane & Gold Coast (one of the few main places i haven't been to in Australia, save for perhaps Perth and Cairns)? Besides, MAS flights are flexible in the sense that one can easily interchange between arriving at / departing from Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane airports as they all cost the same. Decision has to be made soon - tickets to be paid up by 31st. I guess the reason I want to spend longer in Melb is i'm not sure if i have enough time to meet up with everyone. I envisage spending the day with my family and then meeting up everyone at night.

My graduation ceremony is slated for Saturday, August 9, at 10.30am. So, whoever wants to turn up and take photos or what not is more than welcome. I guess you can come before the ceremony starts, though i guess that would be too early for many to wake up. Alternatively, after the ceremony works well too, cept that last time i was told that you all had to return the gowns straight after the event is over. Anyone who's gone through the process wants to volunteer tips regarding graduation - i.e. photography, additional tickets, what to do on stage, extra paraphernalia like plaques, ceremony photos that cost a bomb but that might be worth buying, etc.?

Oh, and if anyone needs me to help bring stuff over, i can help out (within reason). Though the caveat is that they must be essential, light, non-bulky items. Kai, i can bring your spectacles.. But a bottle of shampoo?!?! haha, i'll see if i can accommodate that la.. And girls, i am NOT going shopping for you (that means you too CC, i heard you've compiled like a list of things you want!).. haha..

p.s. What's the weather there like now? A few weeks ago i saw it was like 5-7 degrees and everyone was complaining it was freezing.

Some of the funniest resume blunders, bloopers, and mistakes

Came across this on the net. Can't believe ppl actually accidentally / intentionally include such things in their resume and expect prospective employers to hire them. Funny read though.

• “Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse”
• Hobbies: “enjoy cooking Chinese and Italians”
• “Service for old man to check they are still alive or not.”
• 2001 summer Voluntary work for taking care of the elderly and vegetable people”
• “I’m intrested to here more about that. I’m working today in a furniture factory as a drawer”
• “Skills: Strong Work Ethic, Attention to Detail, Team Player, Self Motivated, Attention to Detail”
• Woman who sent her résumé and cover letter without deleting someone else’s editing, including such comments as “I don’t think you want to say this about yourself here”
• “an applicant ghosted a headshot as the background to her resume”
• Other Interests: “Playing with my two dogs (They actually belong to my wife but I love the dogs more than my wife)”.
• “One applicant used colored paper and drew glitter designs around the border”
• Hobbies: “getting drunk everynight down by the water, playing my guitar and smoking pot”
• Why Interested in Position: “to keep my parole officer from putting back me in jail”
• A woman had attached a picture of herself in a mini mouse costume
• Hobbies: “Drugs and girls”.
• Under “job related skills” - for a web designer - “can function without additional oxygen at 24,000 feet”.
• My sister-in-law misspelled the word “proofreading” in her skill set.
• The objective on one recent resume I received stated that the applicant wished to pursue a challenging account executive position with our rival firm.
• Objective: “career on the Information Supper Highway”
• Experience: “Stalking, shipping & receiving”
• “I am great with the pubic.”
• A candidate listed her e-mail address as pornstardelight@*****.com
• The applicant listed her name as Alice in the resume but wrote Alyce on the onsite application.
• One candidate’s electronic resume included links to her homepage, where the pictures were of her in the nude.
• “…sent out my resume on the back side of a draft of a cover letter to another firm…”
• “My duties included cleaning the restrooms and seating the customers.”
• One applicant for a nursing position noted that she didn’t like dealing with blood or needles.
• Achievements: “Nominated for prom queen”
• a resume… was printed on the back of the person’s current employer’s letterhead.
• One resume that came across my desk stated how the individual had won a contest for building toothpick bridges in middle school.
• Hobbies: “Having a good time”
• Candidate included a letter from his mother.
• Candidate stated the ability to persuade people sexually using her words.
• Candidate wrote résumé as a play - Act 1, Act 2, etc.
• Candidate included naked picture of himself.
• Candidate explained a gap in employment by saying it was because he was getting over the death of his cat for three months.
• Candidate’s hobbies included sitting on the levee at night watching alligators.
• Candidate explained an arrest by stating, “We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig.”
• Candidate included family medical history.
• “nine-page cover letter accompanied by a four-page résumé”
• “One applicant tried to make an impression by using four different fonts, three ink colors and a variety of highlighting options on her résumé”
• “Revolved customer problems and inquiries.”
• “Consistently tanked as top sales producer for new accounts.”
• “Planned new corporate facility at $3 million over budget.”
• “Seeking a party-time position with potential for advancement.”
• “I often use a laptap.”
• “Able to say the ABCs backward in under five seconds.”
• “I am a wedge with a sponge taped to it. My purpose is to wedge myself into someone’s door to absorb as much as possible.”
• “Finished eighth in my class of ten.”
• “Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.”
• “Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave.”
• “Failed bar exam with relatively high grades.”
• “Am a perfectionist and rarely if if ever forget details.”
• “It’s best for employers that I not work with people.”
• “Let’s meet, so you can ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over my experience.”
• “I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.”
• “You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time.”
• “I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing.”
• “Personal interests: donating blood. Fourteen gallons so far.”
• “Marital status: often. Children: various.”
• “I am loyal to my employer at all costs..Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voice mail.”
• “Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store.”
• Job Duties: “Answer phones, file papers, respond to customer e-mails, take odors.”
• Interests: “Gossiping.”
• Favorite Activities: “Playing trivia games. I am a repository of worthless knowledge.”
• Skills: “I can type without looking at thekeyboard.”
• Employer: ” Myself; received pay raise for high sales.”
• Objective: “I want to play a major part in watching a company advance.”
• Experience: “Chapter president, 1887-1992.”
• Experience: “Demonstrated ability in multi-tasting.”
• Experience: “I’m a hard worker, etc.”
• Languages: “Speak English and Spinach.”
• Reason for leaving: “I thought the world was coming to an end.”
• Objective: “So one of the main things for me is, as the movie ‘Jerry McGuire’ puts it, ‘Show me the money!’”
• Skills: “I have integrity so I will not steal office supplies and take them home.”
• Objective: “To hopefully associate with a millionaire one day.”
• Skills: “I have technical skills that will take your breath away.”
• Qualifications: “I have guts, drive, ambition and heart, which is probably more than a lot of the drones that you have working for you.”
• Objective: “I need money because I have bills to pay and I would like to have a life, go out partying, please my young wife with gifts, and have a menu entrée consisting of more than soup.”
• Qualifications: “Twin sister has accounting degree.”
• Experience: “Have not yet been abducted by aliens.”
• Skills: “Written communication = 3 years; verbal communication = 5 years.”
• Objective: “I would like to work for a company that is very lax when it comes to tardiness.”
• Education: “I possess a moderate educatin but willing to learn more.”
• Education: “Have repeated courses repeatedly.”
• Salary requirements: “The higher the better.”
• Salary desired: “Starting over due to recent bankruptcies. Need large bonus when starting job.”
• Bad traits: “I am very bad about time and don’t mind admitting it. Having to arrive at a certain hour doesn’t make sense to me. What does make sense is that I do the job. Any company that insists upon rigid time schedules will find me a nightmare.”
• References: “Bill, Tom, Eric. But I don’t know their phone numbers.”
• Work experience: “Two years as a blackjack and baccarat dealer. Strong emphasis on customer relations - a constant challenge considering how much money people lose and how angry they can get.”
• Personal: “I limit important relationships to people who want to do what I want them to do.”
• Objective: “Student today. Vice president tomarrow.”
• Accomplishments: “Brought in a balloon artist to entertain the team.”
• Application: Why should an employer hire you? “I bring doughnuts on Friday.”
• Achievements: “First runner-up for Miss Fort Worth, 1982.”
• Reason for leaving: “Pushed aside so the vice president’s girlfriend could steal my job.”
• Special skills: “I’ve got a Ph.D. in human feelings.”
• Reason for leaving last job: “Bounty hunting was outlawed in my state.”
• Experience: “Any interruption in employment is due to being unemployed.”
• Objective: “To become Overlord of the Galaxy!”
• Objective: “What I’m looking for in a job: #1) Money #2) Money #3) Money.”
• Hobbies: “Mushroom hunting.”
• Experience: “Child care provider: Organized activities; prepared lunches and snakes.”
• Objective: “My dream job would be as a professional baseball player, but since I can’t do that, I’ll settle on being an accountant.”
• Awards: “National record for eating 45 eggs in two minutes.”
• “I am a ‘neat nut’ with a reputation for being hardnosed. I have no patience for sloppywork, carelessmistakes and theft of companytime.”
• Experience: “Provide Custer Service.”
• Experience: “I was brought in as a turnaround consultant to help turn the company around.”
• Strengths: “Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining composer.”
• Work experience: “Responsibilities included checking customers out.”
• Work experience: “Maintained files and reports, did data processing, cashed employees’ paychecks.”
• Educational background: “Highschool was a incredible experience.”
• Resume: “A great management team that has patents with its workers.”
• Cover letter: “Experienced in all faucets of accounting.”
• Objective: “I am anxious to use my exiting skills.”
• Personal: “I am loyal and know when to keep my big mouth shut.”
• Job duties: “Filing, billing, printing and coping.”
• Application: “Q: In what local areas do you prefer to work? A: Smoking.”
• Reason for leaving: “Terminated after saying, ‘It would be a blessing to be fired.’”
• Personal: “My family is willing to relocate. However not to New England (too cold) and not to Southern California (earthquakes). Indianapolis or Chicago would be fine. My youngest prefers Orlando’s proximity to Disney World.”
• Resume: “I have a lifetime’s worth of technical expertise (I wasn’t born - my mother simply chose ‘eject child’ from the special menu.”
• Resume: “Spent several years in the United States Navel Reserve.”
• “I am fully aware of the king of attention this position requires.”
• References: “Please do not contact my immediate supervisor at the company. My colleagues will give me a better reference.”
• “Worked in a consulting office where I carried out my own accountant.”
• Accomplishments: “My contributions on product launches were based on dreams that I had.”
• Experience: “My father is a computer programmer, so I have 15 years of computer experience.”
• Education: “I have a bachelorette degree in computers.”
• Application: How large was the department you worked in with your last company? “A: 3 stories.”
• A resume listed a skill as “being bi-lingual in three languages”
• Background: “28 dog years of experience in sales (four human).”
• In the section that read “Emergency Contact Number” she wrote “911.”
• Candidate drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said it was the hiring manager’s gift.
• Languages: “Fluent in English. Also I have been heard muttering Gibberish in my sleep.”
  
• “Directed $25 million anal shipping and receiving operations.”
• “One candidate included clipart on their resume of two cartoons shaking hands.”
• Application: “On the line that asked what “sex” he was, he wrote “occassionally”.”

[source: JobMob]

Hillsong United in KL

Over 3000 ppl packed into Glad Tidings PJ to worship God. Though I think I'm in the wrong generation, almost all of them are way younger than me. =P

University of Melbourne Open Day @ KLCC

Went to KL Convention Centre this morning with Kee Win to volunteer for the Melb Uni open day. Helped out with registration then spent the next few hours at the Eng faculty booth entertaining prospective parents / students.

I spotted this lying on the table, and browsed through the Melbourne Engineering Research Institute 2008 Research Summary, almost 400 pages thick. I was amazed to discover our final year project warranted a mention.

Quite a blur photo, but here it is. (Btw, Chong Shen and MC, your project description is right there as well)

It was a fun experience. Hearing the questions posed, talking to the other volunteers and Uni staff, and learning a lot at the same time. It's interesting to note the disparity in opinions regarding the new Melbourne Model. Some parents are very keen on the idea of providing their kids with a more well rounded eduction, whilst for others, it is quite a hard sell, as they question the need to have to study an extra year (which means their spending more money). It didn't get past me either how much higher the fees currently are compared to when i was first there. But this is the way to go for the future, and I guess it just takes time for changes to be accepted. After all, it is like a double degree. 5 years of studying, and one graduates with not just 2 degrees, but a Bachelor's degree AND a Masters degree. After that, I did a spot on the panel and shared my experience of my time in Melbourne (which i think i ended up advocating the benefits of staying in residential colleges more than promoting the uni itself. haha)

Oh, and one more thing. I took a photo with Andrew Ooi, our much fabled and (in?)famous lecturer. He's originaly was from Penang, and used to work for NASA, but he's probably the most interesting lecturer in the faculty. He does the most ridiculous of things, like 'accidentally' writing on the OHP with a permanent marker. Or, to illustrate that an equation goes on and on, he wrote " + ...........", the dots stretching right outside the confines of the whiteboard, so much so that he starts writing on the wall..! Instead of labelling equations the conventional Eqn. (1), (2), (3), he'll label them with stickman symbols, or students names etc, etc. I guess it's good that he perpetually tries to be funny and cracks a joke every few minutes or so, making it impossible to doze off in class. And he used to ask students to take a photo with him so that he can post it up on his blog / Facebook account or sth. Well, much belated, but i finally have a photo with him. =P

Pulau Batu Putih

Just found this funny from yesterday's newspaper headlines. After a protracted wrangle with both Malaysia and Singapore claiming sovereignty over Pulau Batu Putih (known as Pedra Branca to the Singaporeans), the International Court of Justice has ruled that the island belongs to Singapore. But the ICJ HAD to somehow give something to Malaysia. So what is Malaysia's consolation prize? A tiny outcropping of rocks called the Middle Rocks. Only problem? I doesn't even exist during high tide.! I tell you, only in Malaysian politics can something like this be twisted to sound like a victory.

Glory Glory Man United

A long night. A roller-coaster of emotions. A fantastic game of drama which did justice to a final. Chances galore, chances spurned. Woodwork saving the day thrice. Nothing separating the teams after 90mins. Drogba's moment of silliness. Status quo after extra time. The heartstopping, nerve-wrecking lottery of penalties beckons. Ronaldo proves the detractors wrong with a goal on the big stage; yet contrives to miss a penalty. Terry slips - penalties move on to sudden death. And finally, victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. An apt commemoration on the silver anniversary of the Busby Babes. Who could have written such a script.

Champions of England. NOW, kings of Europe.



Update: Came across some viral images making fun of poor John Terry making it's way around the web. =P

Marié Digby Live @ 1U

As part of GAP's marketing campaign, a free public concert featuring Marie Digby of Youtube fame in was held in 1 Utama.

The massive crowd, at the concourse area in front of GAP. And that's just downstairs, not to mention the many more clustered around the railings on the above floors.
After almost an hour of preliminary banter, competitions, quizes, obligatory promotions and free handouts by the Mix.fm emcees, only did Marie come on stage. She opened with her single 'Say It Again'.
And moved on to the piano.

She sang a couple of other songs and then we went downstairs to do some shopping. Though i rejoined the crowd and watched a few more performances.

Here are a few videos that i took.

Marie's reprisal of the song that catapulted her to fame on YouTube, Umbrella by Rihanna. (Cue for everyone to whip ot their video camera, SLRs, camera phones, etc. Btw, i even spotted one hardcore photographer who brought a mini ladder with him..!! hahaa. )

I think there was an intermission after this, but alas we decided to go home.

Anyway, didn't know too much about her before this and was never a big fan to begin with. Prob only caught a couple of her covers on Youtube, but nevertheless, she impresses. Some artists shine in the recording studio, and falls flat during a live performance, but glad to say, this girl has talent. She has a beautiful, melodious voice, and is more than adept with the guitar and piano, not to mention her ability to compose. And Jeannie, i know you always keep harping on about how kids of mixed parentage turn out good looking. Well, another case in point, she's an attractive blend of Japanese-Irish-American blood.

Ppl have been reminding me recently that Jerome is her most ardent fan. So Jerome, in case you're reading this you might be even more upset to discover that there was this one fan on stage (by virtue of this competition whereby one has to sing on stage to determine who can best imitate Marie's singing). Well anyway, at the end of it all Marie gave each of the contestants a hug, and if i'm not mistaken, that one guy quickly stole a kiss and gave her a peck on the cheek. hahaa. Oohh, and also Gary's friend managed to catch one of the posters they were throwing out (the same as the one at the top of this post).



[Just a random, perhaps related note of interest. Did you know that you can watch higher quality Youtube videos by appending the term '&fmt=18' to the end of a particular URL? That is, if there is a higher resolution version available (e.g. the video above).]

2 years to a quarter century

So yes, i just turned 23 (just having to type that number makes me feel so old!!). Anyway, this year's birthday was just low-key, no fanfare or parties unlike previous years (which was good coz that meant no opportunites to get sabo-ed). I honestly didn't realise my birthday was approaching until just a few days ago. Got woken up in the morning with phone calls and smses wishing me a happy birthday (though all those who called from Melbourne claimed their intention was more so to wake me up, what with the time difference).

Michelle was nice enough to ask my plans for the afternoon and having none, we decided to go for lunch. Had lunch in Italianni's at 1U, which was great, considering the many planned meet-ups thus far had failed to materialise. =)

Got back home and then i went with my family to the Royal Sporting House sale in their warehouse in Subang, next to Sports Planet. Lots of branded clothings and shoes, which were going for extremely cheap prices, everything had a 40-60% discount. Many items caught my attention, but unfortunately almost all the clothes were left in XL sizes. Shoes had only one size left. That's what happens when you go to a sale on the last day. Lesson in point, if there is a sale make sure you go on the first day. Anyway, bought 2 shirts, a couple of socks, a cheap tennis racket, and football shoes.

Admittedly, i don't really need the football boots, but RM115 for such nice looking boots, which are comfortable and super lightweight, i just HAD to buy them. =P

Dinner was at Victoria Station near my house with family and a few relatives. You know how in these places they would sing a birthday song to whoever was celebrating their birthday? Well, over the course of the meal we heard the song being sung 3 other times. Seems like a popular birth date, and i personally know another 2 frens who share the same birthday. =)

Okay, anyway just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the wishes, the calls/smses, the presents, the meal/company, and its nice to know that ppl still remember me, especially all those far away in Melb and other countries, some whom i haven't seen in ages! On another note, looks like the birthday reminders on Facebook serves a very convenient purpose. I've been inundated by tons of wishes on FB, to the point where the first page of my Gmail is practically filled with FB notifications. Haven't read them yet, and to those be patient, i'll slowly reply over the next few days.

MIA

To those still checking my blog, sorry for the lack of new posts. Though there's more interesting things happening in the world for anyone to take cognisance of my lack of updates. Go follow the Malaysian / US elections, or the recent super silly Malaysian judicial debacle, or the Oscars, etc etc.

Updates for now, if any, will be far and few between. Sigh, i feel like it's the beginning of the end for my blog.. haha.


p.s. Here's a photo of Eduardo's horrific trifecta injury of broken leg-ankle-shin last week - notice the disjointed foot!!

Stupid Malaysian drivers

An experience just now galvanised me to update my seemingly neglected blog. Yes, i know it's been neglected, i know i haven't updated for quite a while. But there's really nothing much to blog about now, and i don't feel the mood to write anything. Though of course it'll still be nice to receive comments. Surprisingly you all have still been studiously checking my blog. Anyway, i digress...

Me, Mel, Erwin, Gigi, and Steph took Phaik Yee and Hung who came down to KL to Lookout Point on Cheras Hill for dinner. After going around in circles and spending over an hour traversing the city we arrived at our destination at almost 10pm. But that's not the point of this post.

It's all about how Malaysian drivers are the most selfish, inconsiderate, uncourteous drivers, having no sense of public decencty, respect for road laws and regulations, or even general common sense and responsibility. Admittedly, planning for parking is virtually non-existent there. But that does not give anyone the right to indiscriminately double park wherever they like. All it serves to do is to exacerbate the problem.

So when it was time to leave, we found this Kelisa, in all its splendor double parked right in front of my car. Incessant honking and even making announcements on the PA system failed to rouse the owner from his slumber of whatever tempurung he was hiding under. I think Erwin even went to the extent of walking around asking if anyone was the owner of the car. I tried many times, various car alignments to squeeze through the narrow opening, but to no avail. Even Mel and Phaik Yee in all their tininess valiantly tried to push the offending car.

A crowd gathers, everyone trying to give advice on how to extricate my car. Finally, after more than half an hour, and as a result of something untaught in driving schools, i.e. a 30-point turn, involving reversing back and forth numerous times, i managed to squeeze the car out through the narrow opening, with not even inches, but millimetres to spare on either side. And it's a manual car as well, mind you. Funny to hear applause upon a successful exit from a parking lot, but it was a very 'interesting' experience nonetheless. Even Gigi didn't want to leave to go to the toilet so as not to miss out on any action.

And the result of Murphy's law or whatever law it is is that only when i finally managed to get out that the owner decides to turn up. This lady walks out and enters her car without even a word of apology. At least, Erwin gave her a piece of his mind. Good thing we're not thugs otherwise we would have left scratches of telltale signs of our frustration on her car.

You see right, even in the event you cannot find a parking lot, even in the event that you really really have an urgent need to rush down, and you can't find someone to jaga the car while you're inside, at least have the decency or common sense to ensure that you're not blocking anyone. Leave a message with your contact number on your windscreen, don't stray too far from your car, or at least be alert enough to hear when you hear honking or announcements on the PA system. But nooo, some people prefer to live in their own bubble and think they own the road, oblivious to everything else. Anyway, there was a sign at the back of the car that reads, "Khalifah inside." You decide the significance of that..

This further reinforces the deterioration of the state of affairs in Malaysia. People nowadays can't care less about virtues which was once the staple of a considerate society. Now people's attitudes have changed to "do-whatever-i-can-to benefit-myself-without-regard- for-others." My experience was not a rare occasion. How many times have you seen people cutting queue at a traffic light or lane convergence, double parked, driven slowly on the right lane, overtaking on the left lane or driving manically on the roads. Only in Malaysia i tell you. It perfectly embodifies the Malaysian spirit of everthing can do to a new level. Malaysia Boleh.



Update: This is the wonderful view of the KL skyline from that restaurant (curtesy of Mel's awesome long exposure camera). You can even see the twin spotlights from KLCC illuminating the night sky.

Back home

The quickest i've ever checked in. Not more than 15 mins from the time i steped foot into the airport to the time i received my boarding pass. Anyway, KL's good.. Didn't realise that there were some things that i miss. I miss home, my sister, whom i'm quite close to, the piano, the comfort of air-conditioning, which is a departure from Melbourne's sweltering 42 degrees when i left, the mobility of having a car, and the ubiquity of good cheap food at every corner. Though of course there needs to be some adjustment to the snail's pace of what we call "broadband" (though in fairness it's not that bad, just that i've been spoiled by Australia's high speed internet), seeing new developments appear overnight and colossal monstrosities called houses being built in my immediate neighbourhood, coping with the polluted air and humidity, and having to refamiliarise myself with Astro's revamped channel numbers, speaking BM, and learning new roads.

School starts tomorrow for my siblings, and i just realise how ugly the new Cempaka uniform is (think green and gold pinstripe blazer with brown slacks). And, my sister who's entering Form 1 is being taught Science by Mr. Sheat. The horror..