South Coast Saturday

My day started early on Saturday. The last time I had an early start was last month when I followed Xin Wen to work. If not for trackworks on the Northern Line, I could have had another 15 minutes worth of sleep (or bed lazing). Instead of taking the complimentary bus service to Strathfield Station, I decided to take a walk. I am glad I did, as I found out it takes only 40 minutes to get there on foot.

My 9:06am train to Central was unusually empty. Perhaps it was a long weekend? I arrived at Central with plenty of time to make the connecting train on Platform 14 to the South Coast. Just look at how deserted the station was when I was there that morning... big contrast to its weekday bustling form, eh?

Recalling what Alex said about the coastal scenery, I decided to read my book during the first half of the train ride. Coincidentally, when I finished the first section of the book that consisted 7 chapters, the view changed from suburban rooftops to unending blue. The snapshots from my window seat reminded me of my Taiwan coastal bus ride last year...

A happy face greeted me when I alighted the train at Fairy Meadow. Also, I was welcome with warm sunshine and friendly breezes. My new coat remains unworn due to the lovely weather - it was in the backseat throughout the trip.

I was taken for a car ride through the main campus of the University of Wollongong (UOW). I came away impressed with the greenery of the campus. Like my uni, they have a new medical centre for research purposes, too.

The clear weather prompted Alex to make Mount Keira Lookout our first stop.

As his uni is located at the foot of the mountain, they bring students up to the top as one of the activities during orientation. With Keira meaning large lagoon or high mountain in Indigenous Australian, it lies 4 kilometres northwest of Wollongong city and forms part of the Illawarra escarpment. Here, let the pictures show you what I saw from up there:

Yes, that is a lighthouse in the last picture. Alex pointed out the Innovation Campus and was trying to look for the temple but due to the trees that obviously grow taller every year, he was not able to locate the temple. We were, however, able to trace out the Princes Highway or Highway 1, the main highway linking all the major cities of Australia.

We then proceeded to Nan Tien Temple for lunch. As it was the first day of the fifth lunar month, I wanted to observe my practice of having a vegetarian meal. I was glad that the Dining Hall was open for business, as the last time I came, it was shut. Similar to the Chatswood branch, they too served a set lunch meal for $9.

For that day, the meal consisted of your choice of either white rice or fried noodles with vegetarian chicken with potato and Chinese cabbage curry and green vegetables.

There were side servings of two pieces of fruit and tempura vegetables.

We were also allowed to take our own serving of salad.

It was funny how I had a piece of orange and pineapple each while Alex had 2 slices of orange.

It was funnier when he bit into the second piece of orange and said, "It's not the same orange!"

Chinese tea was free-flow but we did not take any. And, the below picture shows the common practice at most vegetarian eateries:

Exploring the temple grounds ensued after the meal. The pagoda was a must and I let Alex show me the way.

Halfway, Alex thought it would be a better idea for me to exercise more and so we did a detoured hike up the hill...

... to see the Nan Tien Gratitude Bell...

After deciding not to sound the bell (haha, I have no gratitude), we continued down the path towards the pagoda.

The pagoda functions as a resting place for the cremated ashes of devotees and their relatives. Inside, I paid my respects to the Buddha, lighted an incense and then headed towards the car.

Our drive to Hyams Beach was an earful - my nano was plugged in and so you can imagine all the singing and head bobbing (mostly on my part) that entailed. The journey was broken by a short toilet stop in the historic township of Huskisson in the Jervis Bay Territory. This is where you would want to come to if you are interested in dolphin or whale-watching - they have resident dolphins!

The GPS took us through the long way to Hyams Beach. Walking on the beach made me tell myself never to wear my pair of Croc flats to a beach ever again. Have a look at what happened after I spent time admiring the whiteness of the sand:

Reported to be the whitest sand on the world by Guinness World Records, it was a case of seeing is believing when I shook the sand out of my shoes:

While we still had sunlight, we drove to Green Patch:

While walking from the carpark to the beach, we came across this:

I thought it looked strange - it is a waterfall but the road does not stop there.... so....

... it took a vehicle to drive through it to demonstrate to me that it forms part of the road. How clever! The national parks in Malaysia could learn a thing or two from this!

Munching on some food at the side of the boardwalk was this little guy:

Honestly, if you asked me, I thought the sand here was better than the sand over at Hyams - finer and whiter. It was sunset when we were there:

Chasing the orange sun in far yonder, we headed back to Alex's for dinner. Meeting his brother and sister for the first time in person, it felt slightly weird. Even more so when it was just introductory and for a few minutes (do not think it was even for half an hour). All in all, I returned to Sydney a tired but happy person.

Recalling the glistening linings of the clouds of sunset, I wondered during the train ride home if a new leaf is being turned over. Like how the calm of night turns the crispness of day, how winter seaps into the autumn air, how exciting beginnings unknowingly kidnap bitter endings...

The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive

You did not see that wrong - yes, it is PEDIGREE.

Some of you, no, I'd reckon all of you must be thinking: Since when did this girl get a pet?

Well, she did not, but that does not mean that she would not blog about it, ey?

I am not crazy about pets, or more specifically, dogs but I do not totally hate them, either. And hence, the whole point of this blog post: helping out our less fortunate furry four-legged friends.

The Pedigree Adoption Drive reminded me of Oreo, a small black and white puppy taken back from a kennel my cousins once looked after before a caring family adopted it:


Isn't she adorable? She used to stick her tongue out lots, tug onto your pants whenever you are sitting on the floor, and just follow you around the house quietly. I accidentally stepped on her a few times myself because I just didn't realise she was there!

I have never had a dog of my own. I have had guinea pigs, rabbits and now fish but never a dog. Perhaps, if I had one, I would be

more able to accept change (yes, I admit I am a stubborn person)

more likely to deal better with stress (yes, I admit I melt under pressure)

have less contact with my doctor (yes, I admit I am a taufu)

have lower cholesterol levels

lower blood pressure and

better psychological health than non-dog owners.

Unfortunately, despite having two flatmates who are crazy about getting a dog, we are not allowed to have pets in our first-floor unit. Therefore, an opportunity has arisen for those of you who have a large backyard for a mutt to dig holes in and kill your flowers!

1) Go to The Pedigree Adoption Drive website to search for and adopt a dog.

2) If you think you would like to help Pedigree but not by adopting a dog (because you are in the same situation as I am), make donations in support of PetRescue to help homeless dogs, and buy merchandise (100% of sales go to PetRescue).

3) If you already have a dog or dogs and do not think you can handle an extra one, fret not - you are still helping by buying Pedigree products.

4) If you are strapped for cash, no worries - you can still help out by 'liking' their Facebook page. By doing that, you are donating a bowl of dogfood to the little doggies. As simple as that!

If not, just think of it as doing me a little favour (as I am not allowed to have a pet AND I am strapped for cash)....... thanks, y'all!

A matter of loyalty

Source: http://www.traileraddict.com/content/inferno-distribution/hachiko.jpg

It is not hard to make a connection between the words 'loyalty' and 'dog'. From a young age, we are socialised in a manner whereby almost every other 'story with a moral value' included a 'loyal dog' for a pet. Even in the Chinese language, they have proverbs and adages that includes dogs watching over the house. In English, you'd have watchdogs. A watchcat would just sound plan weird. Cannot really imagine a cat doing that job, anyway.

Previously warned by friends that the movie would make me shed bucketloads of tears, I prepared a hanky. During a time I should be preparing for sleep, I instead opted to watch the whole movie under the warmth of my quilt on my lovely bed. Thank goodness I have enough pillows because for some reason, I need pillows when I cry - two to lean on, one to hug.

Perhaps I heeded a little too close to the warnings, I ended up feeling that okay, it was sad but it was not THAT sad. I was emotional during two scenes and yes, I had streams of tears flowing down my cheeks but otherwise, I was fine.

The story (and if you have watched the movie or Googled it, you would know) revolves around a dog named Hachiko. Hachiko, or 'The Eighth One', comes from a breed of Akita dogs and if you ask me, they have rather 'Asian' features. Hachiko was the pet of a professor, which routinely waited for his master at the train station every day. It was like a ritual, a special welcome home bonding time, which they both specially shared. The remarkable part of this true story is the part where Hachiko continued to wait for his master, not realising that his master who failed to return to the station had died in the university ten years before. So yes, Hachiko's patience, perseverance and I guess, loyalty, spanned ten years.

I was roped into thinking about this issue of loyalty again when a friend of mine became emotional over a love lost. Although it has been two years, he still feels the pain of losing her even with the slightest of provocations. He considers himself a loyal guy. But is that really loyalty when you put into the equation the part where you cannot stand the sight of her better dressed and seemingly leading a better life without you? Or is it simply just you not able to put down the past and move on with your own life?

On a different note, what about partners who relocate? Say your girlfriend accepted the offer to work for a leading airlines and would have to relocate to their country of operations. She would be there for five years and would come back to see you as often as possible. Both of you make the commitment to be with each other. So what are you to do when you find out that yes, she is still 'with' you but over there, she is also 'with' someone else? Did she break her promise? Or what if she is still with you but she is no longer in love with you?

Some would argue that loyalty is manifested in different forms. I agree. So maybe my form of loyalty may differ from yours but that does not mean that either of us are neither right nor wrong. Just different.

For me, it is simple. I stand by the people who have brought me thus far in life. I do not need to love them and agree to their engineering. I only need to be there for them, to provide them the support in the form they require.

Wesak Day 2010

With the past week filled with wetness, dampness and coldness, I did not expecting anything less today. However, the weather surprisingly proved to me that forecasts are not always true. I made a last minute decision to have lunch in the city with Angeline and Chee Sing and hastily grabbed my newly bought military-style coat from my wardrobe. I jammed, turned and walked towards my window. I peered through the blinds and thought to myself, "I am so going to roast in this coat today. Maybe it's not such a good idea then...."

Yes, we had SUNSHINE today. Yippee! I wonder if today being Wesak Day had anything to do with it.... hm...

I was just in time to catch the 1:55pm train to the city. When I got off at Town Hall, I rang the two lovebirds and met them downstairs of their studio apartment. We then walked towards Peace Harmony Vegetarian Thai Restaurant, located corners of King and Erskine Street. Unfortunately, we did not get to sample any of their well-reviewed food, as their kitchen was closed for orders. Bummer....

Recalling another place on Pitt Street, we then went to Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen. As I neared the shop, I stopped in my tracks as soon as I noticed the sign on the door - it began with 'C' instead of 'O'.... Sigh...

'Maybe we could go to a Thai restaurant and order the vegetarian stuff? Can right? They do that right?'

Nods and shoulder shrugs later, we walked further down the street to popular Thai restaurant, Saap Thai. There was not a single customer, resulting in our food arriving promptly.

Chee Sing ordered a Pad Thai with vegetables and tofu:

He also ordered a glass of cincau. Angeline had her favourite vegetarian tomyum noodles:

She asked me, "Can drink milk or not ah?" When I gave the affirmative, she rejoiced like a little child treated with candy and placed an order for a glass of Thai milk tea:

I, on the other hand, was just too happy to ask for a plate of green curry rice with vegetables and tofu. Had no idea why I was just craving for green curry this arvo...

The curry itself was thick and had a strong coconut milk (santan) taste to it. It lived up to its spicy reputation but with the sweetness of the santan, I thought it balanced off quite well. They gave a sizeable portion of greens, of course including the french beans, capsicum, bamboo shoot slices and broccoli. It even had pieces of curry leaf and red chilli, which I removed entirely! I did not manage to finish the whole serving, leaving quite a portion of the rice behind. I guess it was the thickness of the curry that made me full without having to finish all the rice.

We were at the restaurant for quite some time, catching up about life and friends. We then went to hunt for a pair of boots at Kazui (or are they Kagui or Kasui?) over at World Square. Angeline had just bought a pair of black heeled boots from the same shop (TGV outlet) yesterday and was asking if I wanted to get a pair as well. There was a brown pair that was selling for $62 (only!) that I really liked. Even Angeline thought they looked good and felt comfy (yes, she tried them on, too). I returned them to the salesgirl, as I am determined to find myself a black pair. Wonder if they would be getting any new stock that would be of a similar price, comfort and design........

We parted after that and I went for a stroll at Darling Harbour. I think my timing for public transport today is impeccable, as I made it just in time for the train back home from Central. While walking home from the station, I managed to admire in full glory the Wesak full moon:

So, from under the brilliance of the moonshine, Happy Wesak Day and may you be well and happy always! Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu!

An Educational Perspective On Self-Esteem

I'm found this and was reminded of an old project a few of us undertook:

An Educational Perspective On Self-Esteem by Voon Shi Jing

Central to most definitions of self-esteem is a person’s positive or negative evaluation of himself or herself. It is a die-hard habit of mine to focus on the negative. Contrary to what some might think, I did not have an unhappy childhood. Fortunately, I was gifted with an extremely effective self-esteem therapist. Not just one, but in fact a host of them for eleven years. Growing up, my therapists were the children my mother teaches at her kindergarten. Teaching them has taught me a lot about how one should look at life. Whenever I wake up on the wrong side of bed or have an argument with my boyfriend, going to the kindergarten never fails to cheer me up and put me back on the right track. Their happy faces and pure thoughts humble me.

As an early childhood education major, my studies at university are proving true in relation to the experiences I have had with the children and myself. Academically, self-esteem covers five domains: scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, and behavioural conduct. At the ripe old age of 21, I still experience the need to evaluate myself from these angles.

In 1922, social scientist Charles Cooley wrote that

Each to each a looking glass
Reflects the other that doth pass.

His explanation: “As we see our face, figure, and dress in the glass [or mirror], and are interested in them because they are ours… so in imagination we perceive in another’s mind some thought of our appearance, manners, aims, deeds, character, friends and so on and are variously affected by it” (p. 184). Cooley assumed that other people are the mirrors in which we see ourselves. Our thoughts about ourselves are affected by how others react to us. When I was younger, I evaluated myself as I thought other people evaluated me. As the looking-glass metaphor implies, I perceived my social acceptance was related to my popularity. I slowly learnt that it was not entirely true. Being a new kid on the block was a ‘cool’ thing. People want to know you more and hence you would have more friends. I was popular in primary school and I thought it was because of that that I had lots of friends. I assumed that my high scores and good rapport with the teachers had a lot to do with my popularity. I later found out that I was popular for other reasons – not so good reasons. Unknown to myself, I was a show-off, and a really big one at that. And living in Seri Kembangan (which made me notoriously famous in both primary and high school for being late for classes) pushed me even further up the ‘popularity’ ladder. I was considered an outcast as everyone else lived in high-class Taman Desa while I was from a village outside Kuala Lumpur.

The looking-glass metaphor suggests that our opinions of ourselves are influenced by the opinions of those around. From a teacher’s perspective, feedback students receive regarding academic achievement should directly affect their self-evaluations, and vice versa. This I have found to be true. Not only through my own experience but also from what I have observed in the children I have shared my life with throughout the years. Positive remarks and words or encouragement motivate children to improve performance. Good performance in turn, lifts the spirits. We have all experienced the adrenaline rush after acing an exam, or winning a competition.

A close parent-child relationship shapes how parents interact with their children and well, parent. This influences the overall well-being of the children. Attachment theorists have proposed that the security of young children’s attachments to their parents affects their general self-esteem. This implies that young children do form some idea of their overall worth. Children who are more securely attached to their parents have higher self-esteem. In other words, children who had learnt to trust in their parents’ acceptance and responsiveness had also learnt to value themselves.

Parents’ behaviour is likely to have strong effects on children’s general self-esteem. Parents of children with higher self-esteem are more affectionate and more involved with their children. These parents make decisions democratically, thus showing their respect for their children’s views. They tend to avoid physical punishment and to rely on reasoning with their children. By doing so, parents show how much they value their children and respect their judgment. The parents of children with high self-esteem are also strict. They set rules for their children’s behaviour and enforce them consistently. Such strictness probably helps develop self-control. In addition, these children will probably learn socially accepted behaviour. By contrast, children with permissive parents probably show “out-of-control” behaviour that is disapproved of, leading to low self-esteem.

When parents provide such a “looking glass” for their children, the children have high self-esteem. In a looking glass, children can see their vices as clearly as their virtues. They learn to look at things from different perspectives, which explains why children with an advanced theory of mind would have high self-esteem. They are able to see the goodness and badness in themselves and are willing to overcome their weaknesses. With this ability, they are able to understand how other people feel and think in different situations hence explaining why children with high self-esteem would have more friends and are able to cope under stressed environments.

Generally, self-esteem shows a significant degree of continuity between childhood and adolescence. Children with low self-esteem would most likely continue to be an adolescent with low self-esteem. The same would be for children with high self-esteem. However, self-esteem can change dramatically over a period of two or three years. This is contrary to the widespread assumption that self-esteem develops gradually. I did not realize this until very much later on. Self-esteem develops quickly during elementary school, as it is the time when children are developing their own personality in accordance to their peers’. I had very high self-esteem in elementary school despite my wrongly acquired popularity. My report card would explain why. I was the top student in school, standing at first, second or third every year for 6 years. I was a school prefect and I was every teacher’s pet. However, as rapidly as I gained my good sense of self, I lost it just as easily if not quicker. This is a normal progression from elementary to middle or high school. I had a very low sense of self-worth in Forms 1 through to 3 as I was not performing as well academically and I felt threatened by people from other schools. Yes, all it took for me to switch from high to low self- esteem was the thought of me not being able to be ‘popular’. It sounds naïve and self-engrossed but there are many teenagers around the world who suffer the same fate. If it were not for my childhood friends, I would have drowned in the sea of self-pity and depression. My parents were my pillars of strength, especially my father who until today is my best friend.

Parents play a vital role in facilitating the growth of positive self-esteem. It is never too early to start teaching a child that he or she matters, or how to socialize with others in a way that is comfortable. The ability of a child to interact well with others is taught from the home. The very self-esteem of the man or woman the child will be depends on it.

Life #6

Does it show on my face when my heart skips a beat?
Does it show in my actions when I mute my excitement and glee?
Do you realise I began to look forward to our meetings?
Do you realise I am happier in your presence?

Gosh, I cannot recall when was the last time a feeling like that overcame me. The feeling of getting to know new people, of making new connections, of forging new ties. Or perhaps, it is the feeling of looking forward to a new-found hope of a lasting friendship. A friendship built from scratch, no previous data, zilch. It is always more exciting to paint on white canvas, don't you think?

But when two people connect well to each other, what does that normally say? Regardless of whether those two are related by blood or mere friends, I feel that a special connection is still a special connection.

One built on respect
understanding
discussions
occasional arguments
inspiration and
honesty

Deciding to open up one's heart to a new existence takes courage and belief in one's judgement. Even if that person is a long lost friend. Do you want to go with the flow and put in the building blocks of a two-way communication?

A special connection goes further than two-way communication. Heck, sometimes I even feel that it is more than two- way. It is that unseen bond that we so easily take for granted and conveniently forget to maintain. It deserves even more mention when that special connection starts in the early stages of a friendship - I sometimes have this urge to ask: Where the hell have you been all this time?

I believe that every person appears in your life for a reason, as a dear friend of mine pointed out. Therefore, I will treasure and utilise the time I have to the fullest with each and every one of them. For better or for worse. =)

Anzac camping weekend (Day 3)

Alas, the final day of our little camping getaway. It was a bright, sunny morning, which we thought was a shame for us to leave on such a good day. But hey, most of us have to work the next day so no choice.

As Malaysians, our days are filled with the topic of food and eating. First thing we thought - makan!

Haha... so we had ourselves a hearty brekkie, with Auds trying her barbeque apple...

And again, Lucas' creative way of toasting bread...

It was all good, with us ending the trip with some silliness. We were not sure what to do with the remainder of the eggs (we bought seven boxes of them!) so some of the eggs ended up like this:

Oh, and just as I was about to get into the car, I was given another reminder of the trip - another bite from an oh-too-friendly little leech.........

Anzac camping weekend (Day 2)

It was a wet morning, perfect condition for more of us to get unwelcome bites from leeches on the prowl. As the rain started to clear slightly, we quickly cooked breakfast. It was quite a sight watching them prepare breakfast over the stove wearing ponchos. Had pictures taken but was strictly prohibited from posting any of it on cyberspace. We had umbrellas protecting the food and the cooks. Haha....

It was quite a breakfast, considering we were camping out in the wild; bacon and eggs and the works:

While they were cleaning up outside (I stayed in the tent lots), Michael found this little fella:

And guess what they did to it?

Terrible, just terrible my bunch of friends... hahahaha...

We were so glad the sun came up that arvo. We quickly took things out the tent to dry - literally nearly everything was wet due to flooding in everyone's tents.

Our tent was fine, except the part where Shaun slept so he had to sun his sleeping bag. The couples' tent had water go in but was saved somewhat by someone's bra. Hahaha, it helped soak up all the rain water and prevented it from flowing all the way into the tent!

There were some of us who had really healthy hair that would become oily if not washed so it was teamwork to get their hair washed!

While they were at that, Justin showcased his calligraphic talents:

Some of us decided to stay in the tent to stay away from the wetness:

When our tummies told us that it was time to eat yet again, we took out the sausages. Lucas had this ingenious idea of cooking the sausage using a banana skin. It actually worked! The sausage on the inside cooked!

There is one place I so have to tell everyone about: the compost toilet. Haha, the funniest part of our trip has to be this facility. Why? Because, as you walk up the walkway, it looks like an alright little cubicle.

But when you push the door open, wala!

Your nose will instantly pick up on the whiff of ammonia. As it is a COMPOST toilet, they collect your shit (literally) for 9 months before clearing the pit. No water so yea, go imagine. And, no lighting, so when we had to answer the call of nature at night, we had to go in pairs, with one person holding a torchlight while the other... well, you know...

Another funny incident that occurred was this:

Oh well..... someone had to forgo his Indomie. Oh, and how can we not take a group shot?

The fire for the night was a good, big one.

We had dinner like no other camper: steamboat with two flavours of soup base! We had clear soup base, as well as tomyam soup base with whatever you can think of to throw in. We even brought lemongrass and onion and tomato. There was mushroom as well... talk about good food. Imagine how good it tasted when we thought even Indomie tasted amazing in the wild.. haha!

We had a good round of spooky stories, which made me too terrified to go all the way to the toilet. And, I had my first leech bite while eating dinner. I did not even realise it was me until I saw blood on my slippers. Haha, Shaun was wondering where the fat leech came from: Okay everybody, check your feet! Someone must have gotten bitten! I was so confident that it was not me. Oh, good job, Chrys.....

As the mist crept up upon us, the surroundings felt spookier. Some other campers were using their torch lights to 'signal' us. They came nearer and we realised it was the group of Asian campers out in the front. They came over to ask us where to get firewood.

We then decided to call it a night and as we were settling in, we heard a loud fart from the other tent. Gosh.... must be the baked beans in the morning. A few minutes later, we had the signature snore from a dear friend, also from the other tent...

Anzac camping weekend (Day 1)

As the title suggests, we went camping during the long Anzac weekend. There were 10 of us in total: Justin, Xin Wen, Michael, Jona, Nic, Audrey, Shaun, Miow, Lucas and I. I figured that it would be a good fun, as I've never camped out before. In fact, I nearly backed out due to my sprained ankle. Thankfully, I did not because it was, like I said, good fun.

First stop: Shaun's place. We had to transfer things from Justin's car, from Shaun's house, to all the cars, including Jona's car. And trust me, there were HEAPS of stuff. Just take a look at the car we were in:

And that was only one of the three cars. It felt like moving house in a way.

Next stop was a makan stop at McD's. Due to some 'timing issues', we missed the McD's breakfast and had to settle for the normal stuff. Hm, as long as I get to eat the fries, I'm happy.

It did not take us long to reach the jetty at a town called:

And yes, we take ferries there. Wiseman's Ferry is a cable ferry that goes across the Hawkesbury River, helping to connect one side to the other. Like the ferries in Penang, they ferry not only passengers but also vehicles. The crossing has remained in use on its current site since 1829, making it the oldest ferry crossing still in operation in New South Wales, and possibly in Australia. How cool is that?!

Having swerved off the main road onto the gravel road, Michael was the first one to exclaim that we are totally cut off from civilisation: Ha?! No reception one here?!?!??!

Our campsites were right at the end, tucked in a corner. On the map, it said there was a creek next to us but when we got there, it looked more like a longkang. Hm.......

While we were all busy putting up the tents, or more like, they were all busy putting up the tents, one fellow was happily dragging one loaf of our bread away.... That prompted Jona to go full throttle using his parang.

This is a brush turkey and there were three of them, not just one! Okay, understood la, we are intruding your land but hey, bread is not meant for turkey consumption!

We had tents of three sizes: S, M and L. The small tent was meant for Audrey and I until we found out that it gets flooded inside when it rains! The medium tent was for the two couples and the large tent, was well, for the rest of us (was initially boys only until we two girls had nowhere else to hide from the rain). Yes, it RAINED, just like the weather forecast said it would. And boy, did it rain!

Luckily, before it poured, we managed to build ourselves a decent fire and had some marshmallows.

We even managed to cook dinner in the nick of time and when we felt the rain drops, it was SAVE THE FOOD! BRING THE LAMPS INTO THE TENT! Mayhem! We had to all go into the large tent to have dinner. Wasn't too bad considering that there were 10 of us in a 6-man tent with food and stuff.

It was only 10-ish when we decided to sleep, as there was nothing else to do to pass time. The ghost story session was a flop - no one had good stories to tell and we were all too annoyed by the rain to listen and to get engrossed anyway. We reminded each other to keep an eye out for creep crawlies, especially leeches (Xin Wen had one crawling up her leg just as she was reminding all of us: Check your legs for leeches ar..... *SCREAM*).

And look at how well-organised we were to ensure that everyone was comfy:

We dozed off into dreamland accompanied by the pitter patter of rain and leaves dropping onto our tent.

Mummy

I know I have not been the best daughter but
I know that you have been the best mum

Happy Mother's Day!

Go, Team Ivy!

What is, or who are, Team Ivy?

Like you, I did not know of their existence until I logged into my Nuffnang account and saw an announcement there. Ivy is the name of a little girl who has a blogger for a mummy. Mummy's name is Tiffany and she would like to reciprocate the good and hard work of all the people at John Hunters Children's Hospital, as well as the nurses who have been caring for her little girl. To find out more of Ivy's experiences, look up Three Ring Circus.


Team Ivy is aiming to raise $5000 to help the hospital that cares for children in the Hunter Valley and northern New South Wales regions. They have passed the halfway mark but it does not hurt for more people to show what charitable and loving beings they are, right?

So, instead of chilling with a mug of mocha and a plate of huge sandwich, which you force yourself to finish till you can't breath properly, why not spend that 15 bucks on something more meaningful? If you can't afford to donate in monetary form, at least help spread the word to people whom you think could afford some cash to help the cause.

Thank you!

有一点。。。

。。。甜
。。。苦
。。。酸
。。。痛
。。。乐
。。。闷
。。。信
。。。罪
。。。错
。。。对
。。。心
。。。泪
。。。笑
。。。情










。。。累

请问。。。

您在那儿
过得还好吗？

您在那儿
吃得饱吗？

您在那儿
睡得舒服吗？

您在那儿
工作顺利吗？

您在那儿
今天有笑吗？

您在那儿
做人诚恳吗？

您在那儿
有陪家人吗？

您在那儿
有休息够吗？

您在那儿
钱够用吗？

您在那儿
驾车小心吗？

您在那儿
有想起快乐的时光吗？

您在那儿
有边更体谅别人吗？

您在那儿
要好好的，好吗？

Where did all my time go?

If you know me personally, you would know that on the surface, I seem like a well-organised person, constantly peering into her diary to check that her appointments are met and that they do not clash. I also appear to be a person who ensures that everything is pre-planned - from a simple weekend stayover at a girlfriend's place to a week long getaway with a group of crazy friends to a different state.

BUT

The me on the underneath is really, a person who is totally sucky at time management. Honestly.

Hm, let me state my case:

I had the ENTIRE day today to get some of my uni work done. I told myself last night that this morning, I will not laze in bed after the alarm goes off. Guess what happened? It rang once at 7:00am, another time at 7:15am and yet another time at 7:30am, after which I decided to SWITCH IT OFF. Haha, hm, I thought maybe I could just shut eye till 8:00am and I'd be up to drink my bottle of water. Na-ah. Didn't happen. By the time I finished the entire dream (it was an exciting dream, by the way), it was 9:00am. Great.

Okay, so drank my bottle of water and took my fish oil, chitosan and fibre pills. Freshened up and cleared the dish rack in the kitchen. Had my morning nutrition shake and made a bottleful of peach-flavoured herbal tea, which I think tastes way better than the original lemon and hibiscus one.

Then, I turned my laptop on to check my email inboxes. BAD MISTAKE. I stayed online for the rest of the day. I have utterly TERRIBLE control over temptation. Just terrible. Disastrous. Preposterous.

Not only did I check my emails, I was on Facebook uploading photos, updating statuses, chatting with friends, replying emails, checking out new websites recommended by friends etc.

Sometime during the morning, we also had an agent bringing prospective buyers to inspect the apartment. Very obvious China Chinese family. A few minutes later, the handyman came to fix all the reported damaged fittings in the house: the hole in the ceiling, the gap in between the tiles under the bathroom door, the broken laundry door stopper, the broken drawer handle in the kitchen, the piece of wood above the fridge that came off and the ill-functioning shower head in the bath tub. Due to the debris on the floor, I had to sweep and mop the floor, both inside and outside the unit, as well as the bathroom. Then, I gave my slipper a good scrub as well, as I suddenly remembered about the blood that spurted out due to the two leeches.

It was then time for lunch at about 2:30pm. I made myself a hash brown, fried egg, cheese with chilli sauce and mixed herbs wholemeal sandwich. As it was hitting 3:00pm, I also grabbed a piece of Lindt Orange Intense dark chocolate. Then I had a bombardment of comments on the photos of the Anzac camping trip I posted up in the morning.

4:00pm is when I shower so shower I did. I think showering is the one routine I do not break. I diligently shower at the same time everyday. I wonder if it is because I look forward to what I do after I shower, which is juicing! I just love doing it! I used Xin Wen's magical juicer to prepare three cups full of the juices of two green apples, two red apples, three oranges, one lemon and one vegetable of the week, which for this week is beetroot. Yummilicious, I tell you!

I also made myself a glass of nutrition shake to have before dinner. I made another glassful to keep in the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast. Today's recipe was one scoop of strawberry f1, one scoop of vanilla f1, one scoop of protein, one strawberry, one piece of banana (about a quarter of a whole banana) and one tablespoon of boiled red beans mixed with 100ml of organic strawberry yoghurt and 300ml of water. Not too bad, but would be better if the banana was slightly more ripe.

Xin Wen then reached home and I had an ex-student Skype me, asking me about international student accommodation in Melbourne. She will be going over in July to start her culinary course either at William Angliss or RMIT. Hm, if both do not get approved by her mum, she would probably be heading over to the U of SA. Then a dear friend came onto Skype as I was helping Michael in the kitchen preparing his mouth-watering dish:


No idea what it's called but it has chicken, mushroom, garlic, ginger, wolfberry, rice wine, lots of salt, sugar, cornflour and water. And we ate it with vermicilli. Xin Wen said that this dish is normally consumed by women in confinement. Haha, totally understand because it had a mixture of sour, salty and sweet!

And now, I'm sitting at my study table facing the laptop screen, yet again!

So, tell me, where did all my time go?

Observe and be observed

Studying this course has led to this realisation: many things are about observation.

According to Wikipedia, to observe is to receive knowledge of the outside world through senses. Concur?

Most of us would. But observation is much more than that, I reckon. To receive that knowledge does not suffice. Good observation, in my opinion, also includes good analysis of that knowledge and thoughtful application.

To observe is to be alert to what is happening to who, when and how (gosh, all this reading up on research methods is really getting to my head....). Let me illustrate:

You are at the food court waiting in line to order some food. While waiting, you watch a young child holding her cone of chocolate-flavoured ice-cream. What do you really look at? The ice-cream and the way it melts? How the child chooses to finish her dessert? Does she bite into it or does she lick it gracefully? Is her mouth covered in ice-cream? Do you look at what she is wearing? Is she standing or sitting down on a chair? Is she in a pram or is she perched over a shoulder of her caregiver? Or is that her mother, aunt, a close family friend? Her nanny, her neighbour? Her cousin? Is she so engrossed in it that she is oblivious to everything else around her?

You get the gist. So, after having observed all that, what do you do with all that information?

Assume? Make informed judgements?

Does that not make you think of yourself? The things you do and say?

I guess the example above does not fabulously represent life in general. Or does it?

We, being self-centred homosapiens with the primordial instinct of defense, very conveniently forget to not just observe the world around us, but also ourselves. In addition to that, we almost always fail to remind ourselves that we are also being observed by the world.

There was a display in mum's childcare centre many years ago that read: Behave, you are on display!

Most would think that it was for the children. However, we used it more for the teachers and carers working at the centre. I used it for myself, reminding myself to be a good role model for my students (I thank the heavens that I still have students who look up to me and ask for suggestions to certain issues). I also applied it to my everyday life but noticed that I constantly fall short of what I set out to achieve.

Observing is a skill that can be developed. I pride myself in skillful observation of human behaviour but haha, totally suck at the application of those observations. In summary, I still have a long way to go with making the world a better place for myself.

More observations of others and self-reflections perhaps?

Agonizing April

Must something happen to me every month?!?!

Look at what happened to me this time around:


And I didn't get it by doing something amazing for Sports Festival or anything of the sort. Instead, it was due to a stupid design of the elevator in my new home.

I was going to the basement to reach the car. Xin Wen and I wanted to get our groceries from Coles and Harris Farm. I did not realise that there was a 2.5" gap downwards from the lift as I was stepping out. Thinking that it was a flat surface, I walked out normally from the lift and ta-da! Twisted my left foot inwards, got myself a few scratches and heard three clacks of bone. After that, it f**king hurt!

I needed help to even get back onto the lift. Luckily, another lady was getting on so she helped me. I had to ring Xin Wen to get her to come help me back upstairs.

Ice pack and what not, I am now hopping about the house when I need to. No uni, no nothing for a week. SAD.

Home of my own

My bottle of ginger beer cools down on the floor while I type this entry with the tapping of white keys on a laptop. I sit stretched on a blue sofabed with the sound of DOTA in the background, and occasional vehicles passing downstairs. I can see the neighbours opposite chatting at the dinner table.

No, I am not at my own home at the moment, but while I type this, I am thinking of my own home. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I finally found a place to call my own.

After several rounds of browsing and shopping at IKEA, Target, Coles, Hot Dollar, Holy Sheet! and Bing Lee, the place is now nearly fully furnished. Well, I say nearly because we will definitely be getting more furniture as time passes. Hopefully, we won't be getting too many throughout our stay at this place, as it really is a bitch to move so many things around.

Ten minutes of brisk walking gets us to the DFO in Homebush. 25 minutes in the other direction gets us to Rhodes Shopping Centre. In between, we have Bicentennial Park and the Sydney Olympic Park. Yes, we are in wetland heaven, which means I get to go for evenings walks and jogs on wooden above-water boardwalks that snake through the wetlands.

The new place is situated in a large, high-density complex called Strathville. The different blocks have different balcony colours. Our block is yellow. We have a sizable balcony that faces the common courtyard and playground. We have a Foodworks in the front, which means we can just run down to grab a bottle of soy sauce at the last minute if we run out. To get in, we have a swipe card.


This lovely couple occupies the master bedroom. Their room comes with an ensuite and a built-in wardrobe. Their room is the room right next to the living room and has a window view of the playground.


My room is the second room and also comes with a built-in wardrobe. I have the widest window, which means that my room is the coolest. It literally is freezing when Michael turns the air-con on at night. I don't want to imagine what winter will be like... brr.... My window looks out to the train line - the trains go pass right outside my window.


This good-looking chap here is my other housemate. Michael's room is the only room without a built-in, making it the largest in floor space. His room is next to mine. Now, his room looks like a Man U show room. No other words to describe it, really. Oh, one more word probably - red.

Am glad that I have settled nicely into the new place. When everything is in place and when we have the time, we will set up a date with friends for our house-warming. So people, please be prepared for a weekend invitation soon. Then, you can come and see the place for yourself.

And for those back in Malaysia, I have started receiving bookings for a place to crash to save on accommodation for holidays. None of them are confirmed, though but please, do ask me before booking your flights.