〈海阔天空〉

Tired

2010-11-18T15:52:00.000+10:00

Tired... of trying too hard.

殘廢

2010-06-07T05:36:00.003+10:00

was watching the mtv for the song 殘廢 by 吳克群.

few of the sentences spoke of how i used to feel.

"在愛裡殘廢

　非弄得傷痕累累
　累到我無力再追
　最怕妳突然要挽回
　回到了原點

原點卻又像終點
　然後多痛一遍"

no answers

2010-05-31T23:43:00.002+10:00

everytime when she looks me up for something, and i would relate it to people who know; they all ask the same thing:"why does she look you up to ask things? aren't there others to ask too?"

i know she could have asked others, maybe she did.

but i don't have answers to the first question. only she'll know.

but anyway, someone is leaving, and someone feels a loss.

hope he would get over it soon.

things will always be ok.

Man's Search for Meaning...

2010-05-20T14:57:00.001+10:00

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." ~ Nietzsche

Risks in Life

2010-05-06T13:28:00.000+10:00

~~ “To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

where?

2010-05-06T00:12:00.002+10:00

what happens when there's so much bottled inside, and no one to spill to?

Wrong?

2010-05-06T00:05:00.003+10:00

Why does things you've already let go and let past still come back.

still haunts you.

still affects you.

haven't everything already run its natural course?

or is running its natural course?

what have i done wrong.

life. and the way i want it to be.

Sometimes...

2010-04-12T00:12:00.002+10:00

sometimes...

i don't know what i'm doing.

i don't know why i'm doing what i'm doing.

i don't know what i need, what i want.

i don't know why i search for answers.

i don't know why i even think about all these questions.

Before i go back...

2010-03-29T20:46:00.003+10:00

things to accomplish before i go back to Singapore, for good.

1. the special topic journal paper. it's staring back at me now. while i'm typing this.

2. the last of the assays and experiments for my thesis.

3. the thesis itself.

2.5. seminars! oh gosh...

4. graduation??? maybe, maybe not. what do i care...

5. last chance to play and fool around, here, in Brisbane and Gold Coast.

the Fat Kid

2009-11-26T18:53:00.005+10:00

third from left, second from right.

Just So Awesome!

to PhD or not to PhD?

2009-11-12T22:38:00.004+10:00

days ago i was discussing with my supervisor about some work stuff in her office. after the conversation ended and i left her office, a thought came through my mind all of a sudden.

i wondered, if i should continue doing a PhD once i finished my Honours? this question set of another question, whereby; if i were to continue doing a PhD immediately, should i do it overseas or should i do it in Singapore?

i don't think it's too early to ponder over such things, after all, i should have an idea what my next step would be once I've stepped out of Honours. not that i dont have an idea of my next step, if doing a PhD was out of the way, my topmost priority would definitely be to search for and start on a job. got killer loans waiting for me to pay off.

if i would want to continue a PhD, i potentially have a spot with the group i used to do my internship. reason being: i went back to GIS (Genome Institute of Singapore) when i was back in Singapore during June, and visited my ex-supervisor and colleagues. after the visit, the group principal investigator offered me a place in his lab to further my PhD if i wanted to do so. lucky me...

i've also been looking at the A*star graduate scholarship (overseas) provided by A*star themselves, and i must say that the scholarship is pretty attractive, thou it ain't gonna be easy getting it. on the other hand, i've also contemplated to stay on in UQ to continue my PhD. if i were to stay on for a PhD, it's gonna be another 4 long years. i'm gonna miss everyone, and everyone's gonna miss me (i hope). plus, i'm not too sure if my family is able to continue support my living expenses here. highly doubt so.

there's a part in me that hopes and wish to be able to start earning asap.

well.... gonna leave this for now to ponder about in the future.

Oh Bugger!

2009-10-18T11:01:00.024+10:00

lost all the pictures of teresa's birthday i uploaded due to a certain glitch.
DAMNED.
all 40+ of them.

will try to do so again, slowly.

truth

2009-10-11T02:38:00.001+10:00

the truth will come out. it always does.

sleep

2009-10-08T08:38:00.000+10:00

wants to sleep for >12hours. uninterrupted.

a few entries...

2009-09-13T12:35:00.037+10:00

it's been so so long. i'm sorry.

haven't been blogging since kelvin's parents were here, hence i'm gonna squeeze in a few entries from few weeks ago altogether in one sitting.

things got busy for me ever since i handed in my proposal. now, daily 9-5, i'll be in the lab working on my honours project. occasionally, i'd squeeze in some gym sessions after lab work. by the time i'm home and done with dinner, dead tired.

but no matter what, i'll still try to blog on snippets of my life here. thou i can foresee that there won't be much interesting stuff coming along for the rest of the year.

so... back to the time where kelvin's parents were here about 3+ weeks ago. one of the days was a trip to Harbour Town for some shopping.

grabbed some breakfast first when we reached there. we were slightly early, and most of the shops aren't opened yet.

there wasn't much to buy, so most of the time at Harbour Town was just window shopping. but nevertheless, i bought a nice Monroe poster for myself.

fine ice cream is hard to come by in around here. there's always Cold Rock ice cream, but i personally don't really like it.

therefore, when there's a choice of alternatives, i definitely would get one. and this ice cream is not just any other flavor. it's Martell cognac V.S.O.P!!! die die must try for me.

introducing the chauffeur of the day: Mr Kelvin. thanks for driving dude.

horses along the way to our next destination.

our next visit was a vineyard some where at Mt. Tambourine.

portion of the vineyard where the grapes supposedly grow.

at the vineyard, there wasn't anyone to introduce us to the place nor bring us around to tour the vineyard, thus all we could do was to roam around on our own.

the place was pretty boring except for this beautiful lake somewhere at the side.

there was free wine tasting. free, only if you try about 2-3 kinds of many wines they produce. any more, you'd have to pay $3.

after trying some, kelvin's dad bought a white wine.

we left the vineyard to try go for more sightseeing.

but we didn't really know where to head to...

so we just ended up at some lookout. i took a few pics, and we headed back for home.

on the way home, we stopped by everyone's favorite Swedish furniture shopping centre, IKEA.

the wine bought from the vineyard. sweet tasting.

kelvin and parents.

something you can find in abundance in UQ, are the birds.

bread, a staple food for most of us, especially poor students like me.

occasionally, in spring time now, bread turns stale and mouldy slightly faster than in winter. and when you have an excess of mouldy bread, abundant of birds, too much leisure time, add them altogether and you get bird feeding.

these birds will dance and flap their wings for bread if they have to.

even the eels come and fight for a piece of bread.

and there are birds that don't just come from the water but from the air too.

a while later, these chicken/turkey looking birds come lurking around behind us looking for scraps of bread.

separate night. kelvin's mum cooked dinner and we invited the others over.

got 'cheng teng' for dessert.

september 12th was the day for brisbane riverfire. just like every other year, it is the day of fireworks display at Southbank, up and downstream of the river.

that day, we decided to stop by the korean table bbq that opened just one or two months ago to have our dinner, before catching the fireworks.

charcoal BBQ.

appetizers.

background: seafood pancake. foreground: egg soup.

BBQ combination platter: pork belly and some others i can't remember, but i know it costs Aud$65.

was trying to take a pic of the pretty korean waitress who showed us how to table BBQ like the koreans do, but she shunned my pic.

absolutely fantastic, melts in your mouth.

after dinner, we paid up and quickly strolled to a great place to catch the fireworks. where we stood, we had a great view of the whole Story bridge.

once the fireworks was over, the 15000 strong crowd proved difficult to catch any mode of transport back home, and most of the roads were still not opened. hence, we decided to walk to Westend to get some desserts at Freestyle cafe.

brioche dumplings in liqueur soaked berries and white chocolate, and vanilla ice cream on berries.

flour-less warm chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet.

the arrival of Kelvin's parents

2009-09-05T20:55:00.019+10:00

Hey this is kelvin, louie's toilet-buddy in our house in munro. He asked me to make a guest appearance in his blog. So here i am.

Here's what happened. My parents came to visit me for a week, because they miss me so much and i'm most likely not going to go home until next year, and was set to arrive on saturday midnight.

So we decided to rent a car to pick them up as well as going for our mini-adventures. We decided to go to the Manor at Angel road, somewhere around Logan, and have Dim Sum! God i miss that...

So we left house around 3 plus, and made our way to Fortitude Valley to pick up the car.

We decided to go for Abel because the car is only $39 per day with 100 free km. And Weiting said it's enough to make a return trip to Harbour Town. So fair enough~

We booked a Nissan Tiida, which was 1.8L, auto, hatched -back 4piston car and because i've never driven a car other than my dad's car, it took me quite a while to get the hang of driving it. The roads are pretty new to me also. So yea...

After picking up our white-ride, we've decided to make full use of the car and head for Mount Coot-tha before the sun set.

We were lost.

For a while. Haha. We took quite a number of wrong turns and end up taking an unusually long route to the peak but once there, it was quite rewarding.

The moon was big, round and bright. Think it's the 15th of the month?(Chinese calendar). PLUS, the weather was excellent. Madly cold and windy!

Me and teresa were just standing at spots trying to keep warm. Not that i don't like it or what. I just like to complain. haha.

Here's me trying to act emo. Haha no la! was trying to see whether the GPS works. Partly why we went lost was because technology failed on us. The sky was full of clouds and i suspect that affected the reception somehow.

And here's Teresa "modeling" for Louie.

And here is Louie taking an abstract picture of a couple hugging. For what i don't know...

There was a couple taking their wedding shots and we were wondering how does the bride tahan the cold. Goodness it's so damn bloody cold!

And then i began to start making poses and faces for more photos...

I was actually balancing on 1 leg and my hands were out by the side. But aiya... wind too strong. Made me lose balance haha.

Look! i can squeeze the moon!

Night falls....

Dunno what the picture below is for...

Ok after Mount Coot-tha, we decided to go to the Manor for our Dim Sum dinner. I started fantasizing about all the siu mai, ha kau and char siew bao since the night before and was pretty darn excited about it. So we took a... 30mins drive to the Manor and guess what.

WE DIDN'T GET TO EAT OUR !@^#!@$!@% DIM SUM!

from moment we sat down, ordered, food arrived, ate, paid and then left, took only 15mins in total.

Unsatisfied and Over-charged, we left that place swearing not ever to return(maybe) and left for Sunnybank.

Here, you get to see our satisfied faces!

and all the food here costs us just 30 dollars in total.

Stir-fried Beef Hor Fan

Seafood Fried Rice

Cong-you bing. Shallot oil biscuit. Sorry my chinese isn't good =x

And sheng jian bao. Louie says it's fantastic. But it's just Da-bao and deep fried. Don't like. =x

I was so fuming mad about the Manor thing that i almost wanted to go for sushi after all that!

Here's what happened. We went to the manor hoping to eat dim sum. But then it's only after we sat down and have tea served to us that we found out that they don't serve dim sum until like around 10 plus. And we reached around 7+ 8? And i was so damn hungry by then... we decided to order some entree and then leave to sunnybank to eat.

We ordered some drunken chicken( I don't drink but i know how drunken prawn tastes like. And i don't like the drunken chicken taste. But i dunno... it's probably just me.) and some dong-fen thing. It's wasn't bad. But for just this 2 dishes, IT COSTED US 28AUD!! Y%$#!@%$*!&@^$

So yea.... We still had some time to spare, we went home from sunnybank and waited for my parents to arrive.

The next morning, we drove to west end and valley to buy food because my mum wants to cook and here is what came out of it.

Sweet and sour pork before the sauce.

Ikan-bilis and peanuts

Some vege dish

And some shellfish dish.

This is what you get when you get a mum to stay with you. =D

What's missing is the laksa that my mum cooked as well. It's was the only thing i sort of craved for and my mum cooked it. And damnnnnnnnnn. I miss singapore haha.

So after dinner, while my parents went to rest, we decided to think of places to go for the next day.

Sunshine coast or Harbour town?

Decided to go to harbour town and drop by mount tamborine on the way back. More pictures in the next post!

fiSh

2009-09-02T11:45:00.002+10:00

Chicken Rice Night

2009-08-23T22:35:00.006+10:00

wild @ heart

2009-08-21T14:11:00.000+10:00

EKKA!

2009-08-08T15:09:00.024+10:00

Ekka is here once again.

The Ekka is the annual show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition and therefore is now usually known as Ekka, due to the phenomenon in Australian English of shortening lengthy words.

i gave the Ekka last year a miss, as it didn't really interest me and i thought it was just a very big fun fair. but this year, i decided to give it a try. so the bunch of us bought our concession tickets online, $17 (perks of being a student, usual price $25), and went down to Ekka on Friday.

The Ekka is held in Queensland's capital city, Brisbane, for ten days each August at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. The Ekka is organised by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA), and is held at the RNA Showgrounds in the inner-city suburb of Bowen Hills approximately two kilometres north-east of Brisbane's city centre.

The Ekka is Brisbane's most popular event of any sort, with well over 600,000 visitors attending the show in recent years.

Showbags are an integral part of the Ekka experience. They usually contain food items (such as confectionery) and novelty items, and are sold in the Showbag Pavilion.

Today there are almost 500 different showbags available for visitors to spend their money on and enjoy samples of products. Showbags range from $1 (the famous Bertie Beetle Bag) to over $50, providing companies the opportunity to show off their merchandise to the public.

Amongst the showbags, there's also specialty foods that we can try from the various stalls.

strawberry sundae ice cream, with strawberries underneath the ice cream.

more showbags...

and all sorts of soft toys.

posters.

warm and soft delicious doughnut, laced with cinnamon sugar.

teresa queuing for candy.

Attractions at Ekka include fairground rides, a Side Show Alley, animal parades, woodchopping competitions, agricultural displays and equestrian events.

Side Show Alley in particular has been an integral part of the Ekka, however back in the earlier years of the Ekka, side show alley was a place for people to witness actual sideshows, such as freaks of nature, people carrying out superhuman feats of strength and illusionists performing for delighted audiences.

from left: teresa, kelvin, weiting and xinyan.

after the showbags, we move to the fun fair.

this is one of the popular 小吃.
the corn dog, pogo, dagwood dog, pluto pup or corny dog.
it is a hot dog coated in cornbread batter and deep fried in hot oil, although some are baked.

spongebob!

each games at these stalls costs either $4 or $5 per try.
you can only win the larger soft toys when a group of 8 or more people play, and only when you are the lucky winner of the group. the games at each stall vary, but are usually like basketball, shoot the duck and throw the ball at targets.

house of horror.

During a time when the Ekka was still young, the main purpose of the agricultural show, as its name suggests, was to show off many agricultural and industrial exhibits.

It was a chance for people to show off newly invented agricultural and industrial devices such as ultra modern plowing, sowing and harvesting artifacts. Cattle and other farm animals were also exhibited during the show, a practice that remains to this day.

the gathering of farmers in a bar. the usual place where men, beer, food and talk of the same topic come together. every single one of them wears a cowboy hat, shirt and jeans and boots.

and as i got nearer... i saw....

after looking at so many cows and now, steak, kinda reminds me of the angus i had in Sg.

Dairy Farmers. the common brand of milk around here.
the milk is good, the yogurt is great.

freshness, guaranteed.

the animal nursery is still a place for children and adults alike to go and witness all the baby animals in all their glory.

isn't it just heart-melting to see children of young age hold onto the chicks so dearly?

and then you always have childish, not-so-grown girls who also wanna try to act cute.

suddenly i saw one of my favourite foods!

my best and most expensive friend!

so black, even his tongue is black!

nougats immediately reminded me of someone.

that's all for Ekka.
we're all famished by evening, so we headed back to city and had dinner.

Korean hotpot!

a year later. singapore.

2009-07-30T12:24:00.056+10:00

it's amazing.
no, not the George Michael song; but how time flies.
30th June 2008, i was at Singapore Changi Airport to take my flight to Brisbane, Australia. after 7 hours of flying, i arrived in Brisbane. i still remember the time, 7am. winter, 10 degrees.

just like that, 2 semesters and exactly 1 year swept by.
30th June 2009. i'm at Toowong train station with 3 luggage, waiting for the train to head to Brisbane International Airport.

while i waited for my ride, "Take Me Home, Country Roads", a song by John Denver, was playing on my ipod.

i quickly grabbed a Chambord from the duty free, and went to the boarding gate.
when the plane finally left the runway, they turned on the entertainment.
and i was greeted with this.

so the air stewardess came over and rebooted the system.

it took forever to load. so in the mean time, i had to peek thru the seats and watch whatever the person infront was watching, Confessions of a Shopaholic.

soon, the first meal came. requested for a bottle of chardonnay.

lamb stew with potatoes and long beans.

after the meal... still loading...

so i rested.
and the second meal came even before i had the chance to digest the first meal.
this vanilla mousse with chocolate shavings is very nice.

i can't remember what this meal was. but everything in it was nice.

at the end, when the plane was just about to arrive in Singapore in 30mins. they showed me, this is the spirit of Australia. and i still hadn't manage to watch anything.

30th June

for a whole year, i was feeding myself with oats and bread daily.
and when you've deprived yourself of singapore local food for a year...
you hit straight for the hawker centre to fill your bloodstream with hawker food.
yessss..... at chomp chomp, serangoon gardens.

1st July

ok. the story goes like this.
apart from both my parents, no one knew i was gonna go back to Singapore.
not even my best friends...
so Tuesday night, they were still happily chatting with me over msn thinking i was still in Brisbane, asking me to skype with them on Wednesday night.
little did they know, that i was already planning to go to their place to surprise them.
and Howard managed to still put up his most suave surprised look.

actually, both howard and mandy was stunned and stoned. first time in my life, i see the priceless expressionless look on their faces. damn... should've taken a picture.

that night, after they reeled back from surprise, we headed out to surprise someone else. but i got surprised myself by the scream when she saw me.

we quickly headed out to have late night supper, something impossible to achieve while living in Brisbane. while i was ordering, they fooled around.

introducing my favourite 阿里山 teochew porridge.
located... somewhere along kovan. near SRJC.

2nd July

helped someone to cam whore. and then edited the photos, such that they look more presentable. hahaha....

4th July

they brought me to a food wholesale centre, Ben's food. at Tuas, fishery port road.
it is a place open to public only on saturdays, from 10am to noon.
a place to buy damn cheap meats.
initially i chose the normal beef ribeye. but i found out they sell angus ribeye.
so....
i bought a 4.5kg piece.

made my own red wine sauce. has celery, carrots, onions, butter and red wine

goes marvelously well with the steak. i mean, angus steak.

5th July

Dim Sum. the only place i'll go for.

at night, steak for dinner. again.

salmon sashimi

salad greens

cherry blossom tea.

7th July

i'm on my way to steamboat dinner at Tampines.
always had me wondering what these 2 buildings are.

10th July

there was an Arts event for a few days while i was back in Sg.
and all the museums were open for free admissions.
there were also performances at some of the museums.

i only passed by SAM and the flea market outside.

Dinner! at purvis street. mini steamboat...

and hainanese chicken rice.

after dinner stroll at National Museum of Singapore.
they have this interesting exhibit right in the middle of the foyer once you enter the museum. it's a stack of pink floral print tanks; i think the exhibit is called Love tank.

when something or somewhere is free in Singapore, expect crowds.

and idiots.

settled at Starbucks for refreshments.

11th July

at the Soup restaurant.

ate chicken again. it's not just any chicken, it's the Samsui chicken. with absolutely delicious ginger dip.

and then desserts.

and then we all went kbox for 歌神 to 大展歌喉。

and he turned the place into his own concert.

i forgot what song he was singing. but that's timberlake on the screen

soon, his craze spread to other audiences.

especially with this 草蜢 song.

帅！

oh!
i want to take this chance to thank howard, janeiro, mandy, jia jun and sardi.
thank you guys so much for buying such a hip and trendy crumpler camera bag.
so trendy, so hip, my grandfather looks like he's ready for school.
i really liked the color on its own, but a tad difficult to match with certain clothes.

so eventually i got this.

18th July

organized a steamboat and BBQ at my grandma's.

the 浪子, finally posing for a picture.

but what that always amaze me, is the amount of prawns he can clear.

thanks weiting. for making the berry tart i wanted to eat.

oh ya.... and also the tiramisu... simply the best.

after so much food, there's a tendency that people tend to be delirious.

the sane ones play a mind boggling game that involves unique tiles, 4 players and a square table.

23rd July

there's this new Japanese restaurant located inside the new Tampines One.
it's kinda like Marche but Japanese food.
most of the food are nice. the sushi is great, very fresh and tasty.
here's a little something of their dessert.

24th July

2 days before i head back to Brisbane.
meeting the guys for Brazilian buffet this evening.
decide to head to City to take some photos and kill time.

went to the TCC at Suntec to murder more time.
i've never been to one at all. pretty impressed by the furnishings of the place.

we made reservations for dinner at casa do churrasco brazil, a restaurant situated at katong village. they have a salad bar that serves Brazilian food.

Brazil national cocktail, the mojito.

according to them, they are the first authentic Brazilian restaurant in Singapore. those who have been to Carnivore would see that it is the same style of food and serve.
they would come to your table, with a huge parang-like knife and a lump of meat on a skewer. they'll tell you what the meat was, and if you want it, they'll slice one for you.

i daresay all the meats they serve is fantastic.
very well grilled and seasoned. brazilian food is on the salty side, so for those who don't take salty food, watch out.

best dish that night is in this picture.
the pineapple, seasoned with cinnamon sugar and grilled to perfection...
and the small thing there is chicken heart. very chewy... i like!

the 4 gluttonteers!

26th July: 2am.

apart from all the food seen in this post, there's much much more i didn't manage to show.
within the first 6 days back in Sg, i gained 3kg. what's more is that the previous month i already stopped going to the gym due to exams.

and now?
2 o'clock in the morning. due to fly at night. and i'm out, munching chicken rice.

yes, the main culprits seen in photo below.

hahaha.... actually by going back to Sg for 3 weeks, everyone around me have to suffer the fate of getting fat and gaining weight. because they all had to company me to eat. eat. and eat.

by the time we finished chicken rice at 2+am in the morning...
shifted to having desserts... and they were actually very good.
this place is somewhere along katong.

yam paste with coconut milk.

姜汁汤圆.

then we went to Bedok reservoir for a stroll... about 3am i think.

dead tired... thanks guys!

26th July: 6pm

my flight back was at terminal 1.
funny thing is that i reached there and felt like having KFC for dinner.
but we ended up having dinner at the foodcourt. damn expensive.

after dinner, the guys came to send me off.

checking in.

till next time... see you guys. in a year.

Cat King

2009-07-11T15:15:00.002+10:00

卜算子

2009-06-25T03:14:00.002+10:00

我住长江头，君住长江尾。
日日思君不见君，共饮长江水。
此水几时休，此恨何时已。
只愿君心似我心，定不负相思意。

the Craze

2009-06-20T16:24:00.024+10:00

Masterchef Er decided to cook Fish curry for dinner yesterday.

Wombok (chinese cabbage)

oh, i forgot to mention. it was Fish curry, the easy way out.

ingredients include Barramundi, Tomatoes and Pineapple cubes.

Wombok with bacon pieces.

in the previous post, i was introducing the fabulous Lindt chocolate.

and i also said that i'll buy JUST TWO more packs of Ginger flavoured chocolate.

but, then again as i thought about it, this is such a rare once-in-a-very-long-while offer, therefore i allowed myself to buy a bit more.

just a bit more :)

then i realize, a problem arise.

with my brilliant creativity, and so many packs of chocolate. i found out there's much to play around.

the chocolate tree.

advertising with chocolates.

we can sort them by flavour.

stack them into a tower.

build the great wall of chocolates.

or the pyramid of Lindt.

apart from the Excellence range of chocolates, they have others like Milk chocolates, Caramel and also Pistache.

these 2 are the other flavours not shown in previous post.

after the fun is over, i seriously need to think what to do with soooo many chocolates; basically all i can really do is just try to finish them slowly. but i must say, all the chocolates here belong to Xinyan, Weiting and me combined. i'm not that crazy to buy so many chocolates.

i stayed on at their place after dinner to use my com. and later in the night, xinyan borrowed to use for a while. her's was sent back to Singapore to have the keyboard fixed as some of the keys dropped off. so while she was using, i had to sit one side to wait; then i started to fiddle around with my cam.

all pictures brought to you by:

as i was looking through all the pictures taken, i couldn't help but to notice my hair. it's either making me look like a 70's sissy or a 好色佬.

just take a good look at me. i look like i have 娘炮 writhing all over my hair.

see at that unkempt mop of mess on my head. actually i know it has been a problem, but simply too lazy to do anything, and was having thoughts of leaving it long. guess it's a bad choice and total flop.

finally, this morning i decided that i should go have a good cut. turns out, i think now i look like a very studious boy boy.

好MAN哦！！！哈哈哈哈。。。

chocolate

2009-06-18T21:58:00.013+10:00

i realized that it has been a long while since i blogged about something of my daily life.
guess right now, most of my feelings have reverted back to normal.
afterall, it's not in my character to be upset or crappy for long; and i'm definitely not the usual pessimist.

woke up kinda late today, 230pm. the thing about winter is that you'll just allow yourself to keep on sleeping and lazing in bed, under the cosy blanket. you could simply forget about the day and time; especially when everyone's out and all that surround you is the peaceful quietness and that lovely, slightly cold weather. so, by the time i convinced myself that i should get my lazy ass out of bed and jump in for a quick shower, half the good afternoon was gone. as i sat infront of the com checking my mails with my bowl of oats, i was telling myself that i should get down to Toowong today to do some grocery shopping.

430pm. managed to get Weiting to walk to Toowong with me for the shopping. it was pretty cloudy when we were on our way, and there was some drizzle of rain. finally we got to Coles first. grocery shopping is always so fun. because there's so much fresh produce to buy, all the good ideas and recipes you can come up with to cook, and the best... is that there's always something good on offer. haha.

yeap. chocolates, amongst the many other offer items which did not catch my attention as much, was on offer today. it's kind of weird how coming over to Australia changed my diet and how i've started to enjoy certain foods that i never actually tried much when i was back in Singapore, and chocolate is one of them.

no, don't be mistaken. i'm not into those wholesome organic foods. but what attracted me was the 2 for $5 offer for this chocolate. what's more, it's organic and 70% cocoa. hence it means that indulgence would be less sinful and maybe slightly healthy due to the goodness of the antioxidants the cocoa provides.

when you pair up 'chocolate' and 'offer', where one is the most enjoyed food on earth and the other is the most lethal sales strategy man ever came up with, you encounter a force so unstoppable...... you don't just stop at one or two.

you buy EIGHT blocks of them.

introducing Lindt chocolate.

The Swiss Master Chocolatiers at Lindt have dedicated 160 years of passion to create the most luxuriously smooth and extra-refined chocolate masterpieces. Lindt Excellence is available in many unique varieties, all of which use premium ingredients from specially chosen regions from around the world, to create successful dark chocolate recipes.

The Excellence range includes several dark chocolate bars with flavour. The range combines the ultimate blend of finest dark chocolate with unique flavours from various foods. not shown here are other flavours like Intense Mint, Aromatic Coffee and Orange Intense.

Chilli. to enjoy it, let it slowly melt in the mouth. do not chew. the spicy aftertaste will emerge after swallowing, and there will be this warm feeling on the throat.

Pear is a new flavour. kinda mellow and sweet. not too bad, but i don't particularly like it.

Roasted almond is good. nice roasted nutty taste hidden in that rich dark chocolate.

don't give that "ginger!?" look. it's totally new. and it's amazingly awesome.
smells terrific. taste is strong but not overpowering. has a very, smooth, sharp and awakening taste. blends really well in that rich dark chocolate. my favourite for now.

The thin profile of the Excellence tablet allows the chocolate to melt on the palate. smooth and rich chocolate bursting with flavour and goodness. simply excellent.

and the cost? $1.80 each. usual price is $3+. how could i possibly pass up such offer.
gonna go buy more ginger flavour ones tmrw.

point to note

2009-06-13T13:28:00.002+10:00

最近，很喜欢这首歌。

2009-06-11T16:08:00.006+10:00

粤语的歌词对我比较有意思，但是我较喜欢听国语版。

粤语版

我竟毅然毅然别了你
为何淡然淡然没悔意
你心里既要我离开你
莫再扮演伤心的女子
回头凝望你总感觉
欠缺以往风姿
陪着你宁失恋千百次
往昔恋爱恋爱像套戏
为何突然突然遇上你
我的理智理智全失去
愿意扮演痴心的汉子
常常缠着你
可惜你却故意相欺
愚弄我如今不想爱你
愚弄我如今不想爱你
爱里欠缺了真爱再也没意思
察觉到你对我的爱缺乏那份诚意
今天我决意离开你
不管过往如何难忘记
当初已变了回忆的故事
当初那个我从今不再痴

我不要在破碎的镜头里接受
你的逃避和存在
我从冷漠的角度望去
含泪的眼该如何表白
现在的记忆
好像一场演不完的戏
让我们都看得见过去
我不要在破碎的镜头里接受
你的逃避和存在
我从冷漠的角度望去
含泪的眼该如何表白
现在的记忆
好像一场演不完的戏
让我们都看得见过去
让我们都看得见过去
我知道故事里的夜在为谁叹息
我知道故事里的梦为何不再美丽
因为你已不是你自己
何必告诉我要忘了你
故事的角色消逝在记忆里
故事的角色消逝在记忆里

Someday you'll know...

2009-06-08T13:20:00.000+10:00

Love means to commit oneself without guarantee,
to give oneself completely in the hope
that our love will produce love in the loved person.
Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love

It is not the physical pain which hurts the most,
it is the mental agony caused by the injustice,
the unreasonableness of it all.

仍笑说不介意

2009-06-06T13:58:00.010+10:00

有些歌曲，能把低落的心情，不宁的心绪，困扰及感情都很好的表达出来。
听歌词，感受心情。

以下这首是碰巧听见，而觉得好听。旧了点，但如有知音便会欣赏。

我的生命中，不曾有你

2009-06-05T23:28:00.001+10:00

你会看见的，我把你忘记

a few pictures

2009-05-29T23:03:00.003+10:00

the cycle of my mundane life, summarized in a picture.

Happiness in life.

life's different point of views.

the attitude.

the solution.

the end.

scholarship

2009-05-28T22:22:00.003+10:00

i handed in my application for BSc(Honours) scholarship today.
there were 4 parts to it. 'A' just asks for the normal contact details.
'B' i have to write a 500 word summary, giving sufficient reason and evidence of my interest in Science; to convince them that I'm worthy of being given the scholarship. i initially wrote a lengthy life story of about 850 words, then chopped it down to 660.
'C' is reference from institution. which simply means that i should provide any testimonials if i could, to strengthen my chances of obtaining the scholarship. and i handed in a testimonial which i got while internship in GIS during my poly days; the other would be a reference from my supervisor which i did my summer research project with.
'D' would just be my academic transcript to go along.

so the situation now, is that my application and supporting documentation has been received at the Faculty office and will be assessed. once the application has been assessed, it will be presented to the Scholarship Selection Committee for consideration. i will be notified of the outcome when final decisions have been made.

wish me luck people.

思故乡

2009-05-26T20:31:00.004+10:00

很快便要一年了。
开始偶尔会想家。
很感谢你们千辛万苦供我读书。
我会努力的。

Tiramisu

2009-05-11T21:31:00.006+10:00

i must apologize to those who often come to my blog hoping to read something; only to be greeted by cobwebs from an un-updated site.

this post i'll try to touch on as many aspects as possible.

first up, are some pictures taken at around the end of April. yes, it's food again.
great tasting soup by Weiting. i think it's gotta be stewed for hours, and there's radish, carrots, chicken thigh with bone and yellow beans for that sweet flavor.

chicken whole leg marinated with herbs. bought from Coles (NTUC equivalent), for 90 cents.

this is simply the most marvelous food i have to blog about and give credit to.
introducing, the Tiramisu.

2 layers of espresso-and-Kahlua (coffee liqueur) soaked savoiardi (Italian sponge fingers), sandwiched between marscapone cheese beaten with eggs and sugar. topped off with cocoa powder and shaved chocolate for that extra delightful touch.

ate it for after dinner dessert for 2 consecutive days.

words cannot describe the feeling of eating it...
people, start making your tiramisu now.

all right. we have come to the wordy part of the post. time to keep avid readers updated.

i'll start with the weather. it's already autumn now. temperature has been averaging from 24 during the noons, to about 14 during nights. days are windy but dry, with strong UV coming from the sun. nights are also windy and temperature falls fast, sunset onwards.

i just had my mid sem exams last week. wasn't a tough ordeal, but still glad that it's over.
the end of sem exam timetable is out. i'll be having 2 papers. first one on the 15th, microbiology. next one would be on 24th, immunology. with 8 days apart, i feel like i can go sydney for a 4 day holiday and come back to study with the next 4. ok, i was just kidding...

so the last paper is on the 24th. and from that date on, i can go back to Singapore if i wanted to. however, there are still some uncertainties or circumstances i'll have to consider.
if i'm not wrong, the graduation ceremony would be on the 23rd july. so if i wanted to attend, i'll have to be back by then just to attend. and i've applied for honours and scholarship for honours. if i get it (the scholarship) or really do honours, it'll start soon after the graduation. or if there's nothing else, i can start almost immediately after.

so, there is the need for consideration to go back to Sg or not. the amount of time i have. and if i'm doing honours. if i'm not doing, then i would just hang aroung until the graduation, and afterwhich go back for good. start working, get married, have children and then die. ok... think too far. but basically, things are not very confirmed yet. i'll see how, and let you people know.

then again, i could just not go back at all. then see you guys at 2010 july. haha...
why don't anyone just find a reason and come visit me.

other than that which i've just mentioned, all is fine.
been going to the gym very often, about 5 days a week. improvements in strength but not in build or weight. bench press is now 22.5kg per side. deadlifts, 35kg per side. squats just 20 per side so as not to have thunder thighs. 20kg dumbbells for shoulder press. the rest are just minor exercises.

still single... but lovin' it.

母亲节

2009-05-10T21:57:00.003+10:00

祝我妈妈，我妈妈的妈妈，还有全天下的妈妈，母亲节快乐！！！
生孩子难。养，更难。
谢谢你们的照顾！

for those who read my blog often, i'm so sorry for not updating.
i'll be posting something very soon.
keep you guys posted!

quick update

2009-04-22T23:26:00.004+10:00

it's been few weeks since i even updated this blog.
life's too mundane when everything is just too normal and routine.
i've got some pictures, but it'll take a few more moments for me to find the mood to upload them.

oh, before i forget...
someone's birthday this sunday.

Happy Birthday Mandy.
i'm excited by the myth there will be tons of straight, single dudes and babes at your birthday party.
but hey, Here's to another year of complete disregard for age-appropriate developmental milestones.

don't remember or care how old you are, but let's celebrate like you're 21!

here's a birthday song for you...

誰明浪子心

2009-04-09T22:30:00.000+10:00

duet

无题

2009-04-05T15:27:00.003+10:00

人生在世，总难免有些事特别艰苦。
但，是人生必经之路。需愈强越强。

Me, the Scorpio.

2009-04-04T20:45:00.002+10:00

we all know that horoscopes can be fun and most of the time people don't take them too seriously. but when it comes to the point where it so correctly and accurately describes your character, trait and personality; it's hard to not take it too seriously. the following that you read best describes ME (might not really apply to other Scorpios) as a person i know best myself and is who i am. very true indeed.

those who are interested can check their zodiac at this website, http://fantasyworld.wordpress.com/

Scorpio Men

Scorpios are the most intense, profound, powerful characters in the Zodiac.

A man with a foggy clouds over him. He is sensitive and easily hurt and always feels lonely. He does not trust anyone but himself. Sounding so negative, but he has an amazingly charisma. He is a compassionate man. He absorbs other people sentimental feeling and pain. He is a good psychiatrist and he could understand complex and confused feeling.

He has a hidden power that he could use it to make things happen and do things well. He does not like people who never try to help themselves before asking other people for favors. He is the type of guy who mostly achieved his goal in life. Once he sets his mind for something, he will put all his energy and efforts in it, whether or not it is a small matter or a big project.

One of the most successful men in the entire Zodiac he is. He is a very patient man and can waits for years to reach his goal. He hates thin feeling and weak determinations. He can not retreat or rest for long, for he thinks life has more questions and more answer to be searched. If he is in love, you will get plenty of love from him, sometimes may be too much than you have asked for.

He is serious about love and relationship and will not waste time with someone he does not love whether how pretty she is. He hardly makes mistake. He could tell if you have any bad thought, and will not hesitate to tell you so. If you do not like straight forward sincere man, then pack your bag now. If you are an over sensitive person, try not to ask for his comments.

He will tell you the truth; even if you might not be able to take it. Example, if you ask him if you are fat (and you are fat), he will say “yes, as big as a balloon”. He makes such comments because he cares for you, so do something about your weight and do not get up set with him. If he says “you look pretty today”, you can be proud because he will not say such things just to please you if he does not really mean it.

There will be both kind of people, those who like him and those who hate him. If you are in love this guy, be strong and believe in your decision, do not be vulnerable. He remembers all his anger and will wait or his pay back time. He is very serious about your promise; do not promise something you could not keep. He loves his friends and will do anything for his close friends. He likes you to take care of him, but not in front of his friend.

He is a complex man and you will never understand what he means if you do not really know him. He is happy to know he is a complex figure. When he is thinking or when he needs his privacy, you should give him some space. He memorizes everything well. You may say something that you already forgotten, but he will remember every word. He wants to be respected and admired and at the same time he does not like people to have power over him.

When he falls in love, he really falls deep. A man in this Zodiac once in love, he will be sweeter than sugar. He does not like a plain and simple woman. *A complex woman’s mind is his venture. Always be interesting and able to talk to him about everything in any subjects. He does not like a woman who sits around waiting for his call.*

Scorpio as Lovers in Relationships

One of the most rewarding and yet dangerous lovers to become involved with in the intense power the Scorpion Planetary alignment. Even though Pluto is a relatively new planet, its effects on Scorpio’s has always been there, quietly driving and defining their characteristics. There is debate around which of Scorpio’s planets has primacy, mars or Pluto, but the reality is that both the fire of mars and secret intensity of Pluto has great bearing on the interaction and personalities of your Scorpio lover.

One of the most obvious aspects of this tension is the way that Scorpios affect other people around them. If you haven’t noticed it yet, pay close attention to how others act around your Scorpio. He/she is the one at the bar with their arm around a complete stranger sharing a drink and talking of life, but at the same time they are evaluating and manipulating, drawing people into their inner circle quickly and efficiently. The opposite sex is always overly fond of your Scorpio and people in their life seem adopt their mannerisms and turns of phrase, without even really noticing it.

But here is key, the blending of intense social interactivity and secret internal intellect create a volcano-like rumbling, threatening to blow and destroy everything around them, and that unfortunately can include lovers and friends. It is important to stand back a bit when your Scorpio is in full tilt, because getting in his/her way can often lead to catastrophe. And don’t for one minute think that if your partner fails in their endeavor that they will be satisfied and give up, on the contrary the Pluto in their sign allows for a depth of understanding that will get back in the belly of the beast and retool whatever needs to be fixed and get back on course.

In spite of what seems a recipe for complete personality disaster when your Scorpio’s life is balanced with love and friendship the intense power and passion that are at their disposal can bring great happiness to everyone around them. This is the state that a good lover can bring to their Scorpio. It is in many ways the reason that throughout history Scorpio men are so associated with desirability. A lot of women out there, you all know who I am talking about, want to fix men in their lives, and strangely enough Scorpio men are one of the only sun signs that not only allow but also tend encourage this paradigm of help and helper.

But don’t betray them. Of all the signs they are the most vindictive, and they will wait patiently to exact their revenge. This is why it is so important to make sure that you are the right mate for a Scorpio, since even if they perceive a slight or a betrayal of trust they can fly off the handle, dropping into a deep state of depression, making everyone around them miserable. Cultivate a sense of trust and calmness in your Scorpio and the dividends will pay off huge.

Scorpio and Sex

You may never really know what your Scorpio is thinking though, because to them, knowledge is power and they are very good at putting on a straight face to cover up any emotion they are feeling. Scorpios love sex. The dirtier, the better. Get them excited by revealing your filthiest fantasy and offering to act it out. His sexuality is so strong, it will make you dizzy!! If you are lucky enough to be with a Scorpio boy,you will always be satisfied!! There’s a rumor that the Scorpio man is the most skilled in bed. It’s as true as a black man has a giant d***! Most are pretty good!! The only thing you don’t wanna do is piss him off. Every little thing u do that he doesn’t like, he will file away in his little mental Rolodex. Piss him off one too many times, and he will wreak his revenge.

random

2009-04-04T13:17:00.001+10:00

glorious food...

2009-03-24T20:14:00.004+10:00

this is the ondeh ondeh made by Xinyan.

this is the banana cake made by Weiting.

whenever they bake or make a certain food, definitely i'll be given a huge portion for my own consumption. with such lovely girls always making superbly tasty food, what more can a guy ask?

more food of course.

and this is the reason why every week without fail, i'll head to the gym 5 days a week to work off all the calories.

Nasi Lemak

2009-03-21T00:08:00.004+10:00

this girl had a craving, and all of a sudden, the house was busy cooking for nasi lemak night on friday.

she prepared and made the coconut rice. i was the lab mice for tests.

i helped fry the anchovies.

and cook the sambal chili.

lidong and fantastic fried chicken.

some guests arrived, bringing the rest of the dishes to go with nasi lemak.

playing 'murderer' before dinner was ready.

finally... the eggs were by ivan and georgina. stir fry veg by simran and raj.

coconut rice for everyone.

spring rolls by teresa. and there were cucumber, peanuts.

i volunteered to eat and take pictures.

after dinner game.

full moon

2009-03-19T20:32:00.006+10:00

it was the full moon. and i felt like trying my hand on some night sky photography.

heaven [天堂]

2009-03-17T01:23:00.003+10:00

Everybody wants to go to heaven; but nobody wants to die.

每一个人都想上天堂；却没有人希望自己会死去。

Everybody lies

2009-03-15T15:06:00.005+10:00

It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what. and when you want to know the truth about someone, that someone is probably the last person you should ask.

I don't ask the reason why people lie, I just assume they all do.

can't always get what you want

2009-03-13T17:18:00.004+10:00

many a times when i give encouragement to friends, advice people to get a grip on their own life, console people on relationships and breakups, thrash people with the logic and harsh reality of life, and then act like there's nothing that could affect my world, nobody i need.

who's gonna be my Louie when it comes to me?

City Botanic Gardens

2009-03-08T21:31:00.021+10:00

i took so much photos that it takes such a long time to blog, and most of the time i'm lazy to upload photos. this entry is about the time i went to the City Botanical Gardens before the new semester started.

The City Botanic Gardens are only a 10 to 15 minute walk from the City centre and Central or Roma Street railway stations. You can walk into the gardens from the Parliament House entrance (George Street); Alice Street, at the intersection of Edward Street; and at the Albert Street intersection and the Goodwill Bridge. the garden is open 24 hours and entrance is free.

Several paths around the gardens lead to the 380 metre Mangrove Boardwalk. The boardwalk floats in the mud and its foundations rely on the suction of the mud to hold it in place. All work on the boardwalk was done by hand, mainly at low tide, to keep environmental damage to a minimum.

Queenslander Lindsay Daen created this bronze sculpture. It's on permanent loan from the Queensland Art Gallery. The sculpture is of a 22 year old seaman, James Morrill, who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef in 1846. Aboriginal people found him and he lived with them for 17 years before returning to European settlement in the Bowen district. He went on to play an important role in improving relations between the Aboriginal people and early settlers.

In 1867 the Walter Hill drinking fountain was built to provide much needed drinking water to the public. It was built at the time of the first reticulated water supply in Brisbane.

The fountain was used until 1930 when new bubble fountains were installed. These were more hygienic than drinking with a cup, which was the case with the ornamental fountain. Water to the ornamental fountain was turned off and remained inoperable until this year. In 1972 the fountain was named the Walter Hill Fountain as a tribute to the first gardens' curator. A plaque was attached to its base.

In 1995 conservation fountain conservation work took place. In June 2005 the fountain was once again open to the public.

first time i've ever seen an arm rest for a tree branch.

Sunset back at the City.

《雁邱词》

2009-03-05T17:58:00.005+10:00

太和五年乙丑岁(金宗泰和五年)，元好问赴试并州，道逢捕雁者云：‘今旦获一雁，杀之矣。其脱网者悲鸣不能去，竟自投地死。’ 予因买得之，葬之汾水之上，累石为识，号曰雁邱。时同行者多为赋诗，予亦有《雁邱词》。

简说：当时元好问到并州赴试，路上遇到一个打猎的说：“我今早捕到一只雁，把它打死了。另一只逃出罗网，竟悲鸣不肯去，后来撞到地上自杀了。” 元好问听后很感动，便买了这两只死雁，把它们葬在汾水岸边，堆起石头作标志，称之为“雁丘”并写成了这首《迈陂塘·雁丘词》。

问世间情是何物，直教生死相许。
天南地北双飞客，老翅几回寒暑。
欢乐趣，离别苦，就中更有痴儿女。
君应有语，渺万里层云，千山暮雪，只影向谁去。

横汾路，寂寞当年箫鼓，荒烟依旧平楚。
招魂楚些何嗟及，山鬼暗啼风雨。
天也妒，未信与，莺儿燕子俱黄土。
千秋万古，为留待骚人，狂歌痛饮，来访雁邱处。

译文：

天啊！请问世间的各位！爱情究竟是什么？竟会要令这大飞雁以生死来相对待？南飞北归遥远的路程都比翼双飞，任它多少的冬寒夏暑，依旧恩爱相依为命。比翼双飞虽然快乐，但离别才真的是楚痛难受。眼前的这一刻，才知道这痴情的双雁竟比人间痴情的男女还要更是痴情！

相依相伴，形影不离的情侣已逝，真情的雁儿心里应该知道，此去，自己形孤影单，万里前程路渺茫，每年寒暑飞万里越千山晨风暮雪，失去一生的至爱，形单影只，即使荀且活下去又有什麼意义呢？

在这汾水一带，当年本是汉武帝巡幸处，帝王游幸欢乐的地方，每当武帝出巡，作仪仗的音乐是排萧与建鼓合奏，乐工们坐在鼓车中演奏，乐声响彻云霄。可是现在已经一片荒凉，平林漠漠，荒烟如织。

汉武帝已死了，招魂已经无济于事。女山神因思君而抂再悲啼，而死者依然不会再归来！双飞雁生死相许的深情连上天也嫉妒，殉情的大雁决不会和一般的莺儿燕子一样，死后化为一坏尘土。将会「留得生前身后名，与世长存」。千秋万古后，也会有像我和我的朋友们一样的“钟於情”的骚人墨客，来寻访这小小的雁丘坟，纵情高歌，尽情的喝酒，来祭奠这一对爱侣的亡灵。

鉴赏:

这是一首咏物词；词的首句大家一定很熟悉，不过全词未必了解。
当年，元好问去并州赴试，途中遇到一个捕雁者。这个捕雁者告诉元好问今天遇到的一件奇事：他今天设网捕雁，捕得一只，但一只脱网而逃。岂料脱网之雁并不飞走，而是在他上空盘旋一阵，然后投地而死。元好问看看捕雁者手中的两只雁，一时心绪难平。便花钱买下这两只雁，接着把它们葬在汾河岸边，垒上石头做为记号，号曰“雁邱”，并作《雁邱词》。

大雁殉情的事强烈的震撼了他，所以在词的开篇，便陡发奇问，一个“问”字破空而来，为殉情者发问，实际也是对殉情者的赞美。作者本要咏雁，却从“世间”落笔，以人拟雁，赋予雁情以超越自然的意义，想象极为新奇。也为下文写雁的殉情预做张本；古人认为，情至极处，“生者可以死，死者可以生”。“生死相许”是何等极致的深情。

遥想双雁，“天南地北”二句写雁的生活，冬天南下越冬而春天北归。“双飞客”即为雁。“几回寒暑”中双宿双飞，相依为命，一往情深。大雁秋南下而春北归，双飞双宿，形影不离，经寒冬，历酷暑，多像人间的那一对痴男怨女。无论是欢乐的团聚，还是眼前离别的辛酸，都刻骨铭心但没有任何力量可以把它们分开。而“网罗惊破双栖梦”后，爱侣已逝，安能独活！于是“脱网者”痛下决心追随于九泉之下，“自投地死”。

过片以后，作者又借助周围景物衬托大雁殉情后的凄苦。在孤雁长眠之处，当年汉武帝渡汾河祀汾阴的时候，箫鼓喧闹，棹歌四起；而今平林漠漠，荒烟如织，箫鼓声绝，一派萧索。古与今，人与雁，更加感到鸿雁殉情的凄烈。但是死者不能复生，招魂无济于事，山鬼也枉自悲鸣，在这里，作者把写景与写情融为一体，更增加了悲剧气氛。

词的最后，是作者对殉情鸿雁的礼赞，他说鸿雁之死，其境界之高，上天也会嫉妒，虽不能说重于泰山，也不能跟莺儿燕子之死一样同归黄土了事。它的美名将“千秋万古”，被后来的骚人歌咏传颂。

UQ: part deux

2009-03-04T20:05:00.012+10:00

here's the second part of the tour of UQ. no commentaries, just use your imagination if need be.

dinner with friend at nandos.

chilling by the river at night

Gold Coast: Main Beach + Surfers Paradise

2009-02-21T11:10:00.024+10:00

i spontaneously wanted to go back to the beaches last Sunday, so i grabbed some stuff and got onto the train to Gold Coast.

some sights on the way...

alas, after much traveling, i finally arrived at another tourist attraction along Gold Coast.

Sea World. not my exact destination thou, but it's near where i was heading for.

we're getting nearer...

and nearer...

and... welcome to The Spit. actually it's the beach just beside The Spit. up north of Main Beach.

the day was fine. winds were strong. sun was up. fantastic weather.

that's my shadow on the left, and my friend on the right. and then there are 3 not-so-hot girls on the beach. well, from here on is a whole load of photos, and scenery along the beach. but guys, you've got to be here to see it for yourselves.

now, for the gay test. boys, if you noticed the waves first, I've got bad news for you. but seriously, the next few consecutive photos are to emphasize on the rush of the waves. it just so happen that i got lucky and so you get to see that mysterious babe in the pic.

the first wave rushes in...

she's fine.

and then another shocking one...

oops.

i've got to admit, she's really charming. seems to me there's something Russian about her.

and so we had to move on before i get caught snapping more pictures of her laying on the beach. we were at the Spit, walked our way towards Main Beach and then Surfers' Paradise. total distance, 5km.

stopped for some cam-whoring.

more egoistical photos of myself. looked like some shirtless gay walking to this faraway city.

oh, and this. just to act 潇洒.

as i walked, i saw a soccer ball in the distant. but we'll touch on that later.

i went out to the sea and got this shot of the waves crushing in. then proceeded to the ball.

by the time i got nearer, i realized it was a very spiky soccer ball with fins, dangerous for the shoeless feet. dangerous for anyone actually.

some basic information here. the puffer fish is the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world. when stressed or threatened, it will balloon itself by sucking in air not water. The puffer fish produces tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin 1200 times more deadlier than cyanide; with no known antidote.

The skin and certain internal organs of many puffer fish are highly toxic to humans, but nevertheless the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan. Puffer poisoning usually results from consumption of incorrectly prepared puffer soup, chiri; or occasionally from raw puffer meat, sashimi fugu. While chiri is much more likely to cause death, sashimi fugu often causes intoxication, light-headedness, and numbness of the lips, and is often eaten for this reason. Idiots.

nothing very interesting about a rock hard, dead puffer fish on shore. more scenery photos ahead.

anglers. wonder what they're fishing for under such heavy winds and harsh waves.

took about 2 hours to walk from where we first arrived, and we were still not at Surfers' Paradise yet. the sky was slowly crawling with darkness, giving me more chances of scenic shots.

engineers building sandcastles.

finally when we got to Surfers' Paradise, sky was completely dark. and we're hungry.

we tried to find a proper place for food. but... something else better than food caught my attention. well, naturally.

cost me an arm and leg just to get that photo taken. now i understand the part about this place being a paradise.

after feeding the eyes, we walked around and finally settled for New York Slice pizzeria for dinner. we ordered and sat down to wait for our order, and it was then that i realized surrounding us were....

strip joints.

our order. a half and half. 50% The Lot (means everything in), 50% spinach and chicken. 32 bucks.

this is Terence, the one from UNSW. look at the size of the pizza.

took us a mighty effort to finish the whole darn pizza. but it was good. we left after eating and headed to the bus stop for our journey back. on the way, more pictures.

by the time we arrived back at the City, it was near midnight. and there wasn't any transport back. but then i always had time for more pictures. this is the Casino.

notice that the colour changes.

being the smart ass, i knew the only transport left was the citycat service. so we went to the pier to wait for the ferry. thats Southbank across the river.

last shot of the night. on the ferry heading back.

Toowong Villas

2009-02-17T17:32:00.012+10:00

in a previous entry, i mentioned a student who was from UNSW joining the lab for a summer project. he was initially staying at the lousy International House in UQ, but got transferred to another place called Toowong Villas.

Given the name, Toowong Villas, one can imagine a very nice villa like place with large houses, fancy swimming pools and large beautiful gardens. nothing like that.

however, i managed to stay over for the weekend. i must say that this is not an advertorial, and i don't get any commission bragging about how good this place is, but after seeing and staying at toowong villas, i just have to give it a proper introduction; just so that people who intend to come over to Brisbane can consider making it their ideal accommodation.

firstly, the location is what i consider, very good. because it's only a 5 mins walk to the bus stops, train station and Toowong village where all the convenient stores and supermarket are.

the surrounding environment is peacefully quiet, and beautiful.

if you've noticed by now, the whole place is super clean. their area cleaning standard damn up.

the rooms they have are studio and 1/2/3 bedrooms. there could be more but i'm not too sure. the one i was staying in was a 2 bedroom. price is 145 per day. i find that it's a reasonably good price for a pair of couple or a group of 4-5 pax. furthermore, the apartment is fully furnished to the teeth. for a person like me who's a neat/cleanliness freak, their cleanliness rating is 6 star.

the living room has 2 very cosy couch, and is also air-conditioned.

bedroom 1 with queen size bed. not seen is a dresser with tv.

bedroom 2 with, well, u can see for yourself.

toilet. with shower, bathtub, wahing machine, clothes dryer.

the kitchen is very well equiped with all the basic utensils, pots and pans. stove, with built in grill and oven. they also have tea sets, wine glasses, all in the cupboards.

oh... and dishwasher.

brother Louie playing DOTA. tv has mainly sports channels, but also comes with cartoon network, discovery channel and.... i can't remember.

evening view of Toowong from the balcony. forgot to mention we're situated at storey 2.

the balcony is small but good enough.