ting:

it's 3am and i have a flight to catch tomorrow. and here i am blogging. *shakes head at self*

off to newcastle tomorrow, then am heading in the direction of sydney on sunday. flying back to melbourne on tuesday night, then taking off for singapore on wedneday afternoon. phew. hectic huh? and oh, note to ber who's wanting to whisk me off to the nearest food haven, i'm landing at 9pm (and not 10ish) on july 4th. forgot to take into account the time difference. heh.

holidays have been awesome so far. sprung an early birthday surprise on jo last night (as a vast majority of us won't be around on the actual day itself). i got the idea from the movie "patch adams", where the girl walks into a room filled with balloons and a cake and people singing happy birthday in the middle (meilin and i were laughing about how ira will hit the roof when she finds out, as she wants that surprise for herself. =P sorry ira!).

the plan was diluted though, as we realised no one could possibly blow that many balloons (i was telling kester he should have just gotten a handpump). we blew 200 of them, and it wasn't even enough to fill half the room. *pants*

the process of blowing:





balloons!!!:





had to rush to church for ignite after the huffing and puffing session (according to selena who was putting her medical knowledge into practice, we have very good lungs), where i was busy stressing out trying to coordinate with three groups of people - the one group of friends who was already in my place (left them a set of keys), the other group who was departing from church by tram, and our group departing by car. jo was still in the dark of cos, and we had to lie a lot/make up heaps of stories to persuade her to go to our place. and because our excuse of wanting to have a dvd marathon fell through, we pretended we were going to notturno's to chill.

the guys left by tram and it was up to us to try and stall for time. because the stupid tram was nowhere in sight (i had to hide in corners to call tim and jovan), peyli and shannon were just coming up with various excuses to stay in church a little while longer. heh. those two are superb at stalling i tell you.

the car ride from church to my place was interrupted by an act with jovan over the phone. he was pretending to be outside my place wanting to get something from me, thereby giving me an excuse to ask shannon to swing by my place. and, as rehearsed, shannon asked for the fifty cent tour. so far so good.

outside my place, jo happily announced that while i went up to give jovan whatever it is i have to give him, she'd go home and grab cash, then head on to notturno's. every single one of us stoned. was racking my brains for any excuse to get her up to my place, but i was really out of ideas. thank God peyli saved the day by insisting jo follow us as she wanted to show her something excruciatingly funny in my room.

so our plan was back on track. dragged her up to my place, then pretended to rummage around for something to give to jovan. shannon was asking me all sorts of questions about our apartment, and i told jo to "open tim's door so shannon could see his room". of cos, the whole bunch of them were already inside amidst the balloons, suffocating from the smoke (courtesy of the lit candles) and cursing me for taking so long. when jo opened the door and saw them, she caught on instantly and ran to hide in the toilet out of embarrassment. a typical jo ann moment. hehehe.

so there she was, hiding in the dark (at least switch on the lights right?) in the toilet (of all places), where the rest of us banged on the door in an attempt to get her to come on out. which she eventually did, because we told her the candles would just get extinguished before she'd even have a chance to blow them out.

and then, the rest is a given. :) and of cos, with me around, pictures will be aplenty.


half the group of surprisers hiding away in my room




my lovely cellgroup


balloon haven




the rest of the celebrators (minus my cellgroup)



after the very exciting celebration in my place, punctuated literally by balloons continually popping (my neighbours must be thinking a gunman is set loose in my house), a smaller group of us headed to our favourite hangout place to chill.




meilin and me


jo unveiling her birthday present


half of my fellow newcastle/sydney travellers

i would put up more pictures, but it's late and i need some shuteye before pulling myself outta bed at 7.30am. so till after newcastle and sydney... this will have to do. :)

wheeeee! newcastle, here we come!! and i hear sydney's food calling!! :):):)

ting:

i think the best award for impromptu-ness goes to selena and myself. it started off like this two hours ago...:

(a summarised version)
selena: go sydney!
me: if you accompany me to newcastle, i would.
selena: ok, deal!

so now, we are in the midst of churning out a 5 days 4 nights plan to both places. :) wheeee!

if you're interested in tagging along, do ask us! :) we welcome more people! :)

wheeeeee!!

ting:

sigh. judging by the amount of time we're taking to decide on where to go, i foresee our road trip isn't quite gonna materialise. we're an indecisive bunch, evident from the fact we can't even make up our minds as to where to go for dinner. :(

church was wow today. :) God's presence was very tangible. :) i only hope i'll be able to live up to the promises i've made. guess my greatest fear right now is still not doing enough, and not having the motivation/determination to go the extra mile. "official abandonment" begins next month, though peyli and rohan are absolute darlings in terms of helping bill and myself ease into our roles. but do continue praying for me/us. thanks heaps. :)

been watching heaps of movies lately (3 movies in 6 days). ocean's 13 with daniel. we both agreed that though it's classic and cool in its own way, ocean's 11 still win hands down. pirates of the carribean with half my cell-group and i almost died during the 3 hours. wasn't particularly appreciative of the storyline and i was so bored amelia thought i fell asleep. though admittedly, i was rather amused with chow yun fat and his "welcome to singapore" speech which almost made me fall off my chair. shrek today (was originally trying to wiggle out of it as my willingness to pay for shrek is non-existent, but realised peyli put me down for the whole day's program so... sigh.) with the church leaders and bleh. don't bother. wait for the dvd to come out or download it or something. i'd probably give it a higher rating than pirates, but i still don't think it's all that worth it. (though suba and ira should be really really proud of me. yes, i actually watched shrek! nevermind the fact i was unwilling to.)

am dying to watch fantastic four, nevermind reviews of it being sucky (ogling the human torch is worth all that! :D), and perhaps transformers? (american) summer rocks!

i would post photos of the recent birthday celebrations we've been having but just got hit by another bout of laziness. =p another time then!

Hui:

im still awake!

weekend's here! but shiit man, still need to do abit of work and revision. have been issued my first assignment for e 2 modules. someone pls teach me how to express and write properly for business strategy! i onli noe how to be concise and putting my words in emails =P

cant help but keep thinking abt work during class. wait. hear me out. not becos im a workaholic. but cos wad e lecturer was saying reminds me of it. like how he will mention how a bank operates/systems in a bank/database (which made me think of reqpro)/database structure/adminstrator. i think its easier to understand e context cos im already applying part of e knowledge in work. jus need to piece all e information tgt and learn how to write and express better. and for wad my opinion is, im sure those who are in e same the course as me have e similar thinking and experience. they are all working adults. which means tt compeition is strong. piangz. stressed sia.

no new stories abt mr egg for this week anymore cos he was on MC for 2 days (wed and thurs). and i din tok to him at all on tues and friday. sad right.. no stories.. =P

head that there'll be a new person joining (finally). but to take over keong. nickname is A2. cos tt's all we noe abt her. haha.. A2 is the rank la. dunno if she's nice.

i shall do a countdown here. countdown to nov!!

ting:

bleurgh. i never thought i'd say this but........ australia is boring. well, victoria is boring, at least. am trying to plan a 3 days 2 nights trip but there's absolutely nowhere interesting we haven't covered to go to. a lot of places are out because it's in the thick of winter and absolutely freezing (i'm gonna soak up as much sun as i possibly can back in singapore). plus i've seen so much scenery/been on so many nature walks i'm totally sick of it. ughhhh. and it's much too expensive to fly anywhere for such a short period of time.

AURGGHHHHHHHH! but i'm so sick of melbourne too!!!

the only places i can think of are gippsland and murray. but gippsland is pretty much out - it's too cold to camp, fish, hike, trek......- and i don't know if there are enough activities in the murray region to keep us occupied. plus, considering it's a freaking long river... won't it be cold???????

anyway... birthday shoutouts to two friends:

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY JON!! hope you enjoyed the little surprise we sprung on you today. :)

and to my beloved mei back home... HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY!!! wait till i get back.. we'll go party and make up for lost time yeah??? :) have a great one!

Hui:

shiiit. assignment due on week 5. dunno izzit individual or team work leh. tml got sch! sure sleep sia..

email from mr egg part 1 -
can one of u help me generate one or more of the following graphs?
1. graph a
2. graph b
3. graph c
4. graph d

e 1st thing tt came to my mind was: huh? u mean i can give u one graph less meh?? if i can choose of cos i will give u onli one graph lah. save my time and effort right? ok la, i was jus being me - mean =P

---------------------------------
email from mr egg part 2 -
no msg body, onli subject headline "what all is covered in the portal for xxx group. thanks." pls note that its exactly e same phrasing, except for e website name is replced by "portal" and group name replaced by "xxx".

erm.. paiseh, i think my english is too lousy. i dun understand e sentence. is tt supposed to be a question?

---------------------------------
email from mr egg part 3 -
sent an email to my team and me, and then walks over to us and said "pls read the email i sent". and so we read, it was jus 2 sentences. WTH! cannot walk over and ask izzit?!! but im glad enuff that he din send us another email with subject headline "pls read my email".

one of e interns is going on leave (dunno for wad) from tml till end of e week. without telling me. she's somewhat being "outsourced" to me and i somewhat need to manage her lah. best right?? so wad if someone has gpa of 4.5++/5? NO EQ. e other person who was managing her then aso complained abt her. my colleague assigned work to her, but she kept going to another intern for help. wad for right. -_-

am supposed to meet zhenxian for lunch. BUT! i couldnt make it on time, so i sms him. no reply. i called. no ans. after hours later, he called and apologised, saying tt got into a mini accident with his bike near his house. ooopps. and obviously he was very sorry and guilty abt tt.. cos he tot i went all e way to tanjong pagar and waited for him. haiz. poor thing. he said he got an orr bak kak.

random: lili is as lame as me. indeed is my sister!! woots!!

ting:

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

i'm in a little state of disbelief though, can't believe that EXAMS ARE FINALLY OVER!! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

weird thing is, i had all this great plans mapped out for what i'd do the second freedom embraces, but they flew out of my head the minute the invigilator said "pens down, stop writing". hmmm. so here i am, blogging yet again.

today's paper was alright. i couldn't finish it though. sighhhh. once again, spent the last 5 minutes scribbling dot points for one whole essay. ughhhhhhhh. how in the world did i manage to churn out over 22 pages for my human geography paper all those years back (and still have time to count how many pages i wrote?)? bleh. it wasn't as though i wasn't writing fast... i was scribbling so ferociously i'm surprised the tip of my pen didn't break off. but cold + speed = disgusting handwriting. maybe if someone with pei's writing speed sits diagonally across from me so i can pace myself against that person, i'd be able to finish an entire exam. hmm.

i'm immensely thankful to be in the midst of such Godly people this exam period. it opened my eyes to the blessings God has bestowed upon me and i am truly grateful for everything - the encouragement, the prayers, the food. :) thank you all! i love you heaps! :)

and my dad informed me that a seat for my return flight to melbourne has been freed up, so i no longer have to endure 4 hours in transit! whoohoo! and i wasn't even praying about it! :) God is good!

alright, i shall go find something better to do other than sitting here and rambling on. end of assignments/exams always leave me not knowing what to do with myself.

Hui:

grrr. it has been a super long week for me. schedule for e past week:
mon - OT
tues - lessons
wed - lessons
thurs - reporting weekn + being forced by big big boss to go cafe del mar
fri - OT until bth, pack and left
sat - window shopping + work + chat + games
sun - sleep + work + chat

thurs and fri were super busy days for me. cos keong and sijia are on leave! though im not a cover for sijia, there are some stuffs which i need to find out from her but there's no one for me to ask. as for keong, lots of ppl received his out of office reply and forwarded e emails to me. imagine thurs is already a peak day for me. now plus his work.. wah seh, too overwhelming for me!

there was a mini gathering for e ppl to celebrate e end of design phase, and all are required to attend. and guess wad? it was e usual thurs every fortnight where my team and me need to stay back late and finish up stuffs so that e big bosses have some reports to see. so! part of a conversation which went on thurs, between my big big boss and me -

boss: go, y are u guys still here? u gotta pack and get moving yea?
me: we will pack up in awhile
boss: wad are u guys busy with?
me: rebaselining plans and generating reports. do u need e reports tml? (was hoping that he would say no, since he encouraged us to leave)
boss: yup. 9am as usual
wah i tell u, e feeling at tt time was DAMN SIAN! -__-
me: alright.

tell me tell me. he like tt say = we mus attend e for-goodness-sake-its-at-sentosa-pub celebration AND tt we are not allowed to stay back AND he still wants to report at 9am e next day and thus = come freaking early in e morning lor.

and as such, e 2 interns and me planned to reach at 7am. LOL. but ok la. we were all late. really v early sia. started work at 8am.

and i tell u, e egg manager (yea e one who dropped eggs) is super useless. everything aso come and ask me. kaoz, seriously jus divide his salary among e non-interns in my team and add on to our current pay lah. and i hate e way he carries himself. super duper gu niang! speak so softly for wad? walk until so gu niang for wad? there were several times when ppl called him to ask for some stuffs. guess wad. he put e person on hold and asked me how and for advise. for goodness sake he's been here for almost (if not) 2 months already. i dun see him picking up anything, or even trying. if he has been trying, then he's not trying hard enuff. if he's some small fry ok la. he's supposed to be a manager. he should noe wad he should noe by now. everything. grrrrr. gone one lego, come one gu niang. BTH!!

e next thing i wanna tell him is to bloody hell plan a cover for me! when it comes to exams period i gonna take one week off straight. i have no time to answer his questions dur to his own incapability and/or to let my grades suffer cos of work and OT.

ahh.. some interns are good, some interns are brainless. -_- as i said, im keong's cover, and its a known fact within our team. so i asked one of e interns to help with wad i was doing.

me: hey, is that thing done already?
intern: yes.
me: did u email and inform e person?
intern: yes
i was feeling puzzled, cos i have no idea on whether is e task done or did he inform e person.. esp since he said he has informed e person.
me: did u cc me?
intern: no. i cc keong

wtf! keong is on leave, im his cover, he cc keong for wad?? he cc him nvm la.. at least mus tell me e thing is done already right??
i want to faint already.

in other new, woots! ting's coming back soon! and i had better go find out on how to go to e wanton mee at joo chiat. have told her tt we'll all go batam tgt and visit eny!

okies, war tml. saving up energy now. nites!

ting:

see what i mean when i say i am constantly seeking distractions?

24 hours from now, i'll be sitting shivering in the exam hall, frantically scribbling (i hope) as though my life depends on it (prayer request: please pray for writing speed. 5 essays (actually, 4 are "in-depth questions", whatever they mean. but i still consider them essays) + one case-study in TWO HOURS. wahlau! does she think we are laser printers?). 25 hours from now, i'll walk out of the exam hall a free person, no longer held bondage by this "love affair" with my notes.

but between now and then, it'll be cramming, more cramming, heaps of memory work and case study preparations (which i've no idea how to go about still).

as much as advertising = fun, exams just throw that equation out of balance.

and you know there is something seriously wrong with you when you come across an ad by your favourite actor (it was supposed to be a distraction and a form of entertainment i was engaging in!) and you start analysing it.

"it's a low involvement good (italian suits i think it was. can't figure out what the chinese characters were saying.), hence they engaged in the use of peripheral cues. in terms of source characteristics, he scores high on credibility as being a figure in the entertainment industry, image is of utmost importance to him. he fulfils the likeability criteria as well, given the fact he is hk's most popular actor (still). this ad also engages in music to create a positive mood (though the sound was problematic and i couldn't hear what they were playing) and there's the use of intense stimuli - a celebrity to capture involuntary and non-voluntary attention. it uses more of hedonic than cognitive appeals, relating more to the HEM as it encourages consumers to purchase out of emotional rather than rational reasons. in addition, it taps more into symbolic (the status) and experiential (the feeling of walking around in that suit and having all eyes hammer onto you) benefits rather than functional ones."

haiz.

ira's flying off in half an hour's time. holidays are such friend-thieves. grrrr.

ok. note to self: study study study!!!

ting:

sighhhhhhhhhh.

it is soooooo difficult to study for last papers. especially when your mind has already wandered ahead in terms of time, to what you're gonna do the minute exams releases you from its chains of agony. and what is worst is i'm constantly looking for distractions - food (you've no idea how much rubbish i've eaten despite the fact i'm not hungry), blogs (you people should seriously blog more), a bit of mindless surfing on the internet etc. ahhhhhhhh!! focus focus focusssss!!!!

updates with regards to my arrival in singapore.. it seems like i'll be able to go back on the 4th after all. a seat got freed up! :) but i'll reconfirm it with you guys later.

and this is where MELISSA and ZUHAIRAH should sit up and take notice!!!

given that this is one of the rare instances neela's and my stay in singapore will overlap... MAKE A DAY FREE FOR US!!! i think the last time the six of us actually got together as a whole group was during the a-level exams! so... between the 5th of july to the 13th, please please pleaaaaasssssseeeee make a day free for us! and don't say i didn't give you advance notice this time!

ting:

alrighty. good news for those at home (who wants me back =p). i'll be seeing you guys for two weeks next month. a tad short, but hey, let's not complain. =)

so i'll be taking off from melbourne on the 5th of july, then leaving singapore on the 21st (with a 4 hour transit in perth. sigh. i wonder if there's anything interesting around the airport's vicinity?). so yup, don't say i didn't inform you!

would the wanton mee store in toa payoh be open the night i touch down???

boy, am i looking forward to two weeks' worth of sunshine and heat (after the cold, dreary weather we've been experiencing here, where 4 layers of clothing still isn't quite enough).

but i wanna say a huge SORRY to jo. sorrrrrryyyyyyyyy! :( i'll buy you a HUGE present from singapore to make up for it! :D

ting:

OY! is there someone who doesn't want me back in singapore (and praying for that to happen?)?? because it seems like i can't go back after all. i can fly back to singapore, but i can't fly back to melbourne on time to start my semester (the earliest available flight is not on 23rd, it's on the 26th! that is FOUR DAYS into my second semester!). howwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww???

am highly upset now. let me go sit in a corner and sulk.

and if i really can't go back, please do eat the following for me:
wanton mee from toa payoh
chicken rice from my favourite store in serangoon gardens, with a lot a lot of chilli!
satay from either chomp chomp or lau pa sat (did i get the hanyu pinyin right?).
(is mooncakes available for sale already?)
tang yuan from the dessert store my parents frequent (this, you gotta ask my parents. coz i don't know where the store is)
nasi lemak from wherever, i don't have a favourite place.
roti prata from casuarina.
xiao long bao from ding tai fung.
whatever dim sum you can lay hands on (esp lor mai gai and char siew bao).
chocolate love letters!
and do ask tim to bake pineapple tarts (oh mannn his baking is fantastic) and eat those for me too.

:(

ting:

(apologies to hui for constantly overriding her posts.. but this way, i can encourage her to blog more! :D )

paper today was a bitch. to add to that, stomach was being a bitch too. i'll spare you the details, but it's highly probable i'll lose my bet to wei kee. :( and it was a bet i really wanted to win. sigh oh well. nevermind. God's in control and He knows what is best. :)

one more paper to go and one more shot at self-redemption.

in other dilemmas...

whatever seats available on the 4th of july have been snapped up (&*&*)*&#$*&#*#(@#)@#@), thereby making 5th the earliest date i can return to singapore. grrrrrrrrrr. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. but what's worse is that i can't get flights back to melbourne! the earliest available one is on the 23rd and my second semester would have already started. so, it's unless i miss a day of school (who knows? i might get mondays off next sem right? =p) or do the alternative, which is SIX HOURS WORTH OF TRANSIT IN PERTH. wahlau! SIX HOURS! anyone wanna tour perth with me??

aurggghhhhh i'm so undecided. how now??? i really really really wanna go home, but........

you guys back home have any other concrete plans other than batam that are enticing enough to warrant me missing a day of uni or enduring 6 hours in transit??

Hui:

am in love with this (old) song by eason. esp e chrous. though it sounds a bit sad. haha.. dun think its toking abt love though.

歌曲：落花流水
歌手：陈奕迅
专辑：life continues


流水像清得没带半颗沙
前身被搁在上游风化
但那天经过那条提坝
斜阳又返照闪一下
遇上一朵落花

相遇就此拥着最爱归家
生活别过份地童话化
故事假使短过这五月落霞
没有需要惊诧

**流水很清楚惜花这个责任
真的身份不过送运
这趟旅行若算开心
亦曷无负这一生

水点蒸发变做白云
花瓣飘落下游生根
淡淡交会过各不留下印
(命运敲定了要这么发生)**

流水在山谷下再次分岔
情感渐化做淡然优雅
自觉心境已有如明镜
为何为天降的稀客
泛过一点浪花

天下并非只是有这朵花
不用为故事下文牵挂
要是彼此都有些既定路程
学会洒脱好吗

讲分开可否不再
用憾事的口吻
习惯无常才会庆幸
讲真天涯途上谁是客
散席时怎么分
但是经历过最温柔共震

ting:

my third paper is tomorrow and all i can think of now is whether i should go back to singapore for half the winter holidays. thanks to my parents asking, "why don't you come back?" aurghhhh it is indeed highly tempting, especially since i was suffering from a minor case of homesickness yesterday. my mum was playing the devil's advocate, telling me i can eat the thousand and one things i wanna eat, plus get my hair fixed (haha that in itself is incentive enough. i'm so irritated with my hair i wanna rip it off my head already). then, when i smsed hui to ask for her opinion, she, knowing my weakness happily informed me of the fact they're planning a trip to batam to visit eny. AUGHHHH! I WANNA GO!!!

but if i do go back.. it'll only be for around two weeks. flights back to singapore are all full and the earliest i can hop on one is the 4th of july (would you folks wait till then to go to batam?). but i haven't made up my mind yet.........

so here's a chance for you people back home to sway me. especially those who always complained i never informed you of my return. *shoots a glance at mei*

ting:

i think i ate too much today.

lunch was laksa, courtesy of toh sin. oh man it's awesome stuff. :)

then tim made pasta for dinner (which coincidentally, jo and i were talking about beforehand, commenting on how long it has been since we had italian food), coupled with fries. we even had dessert after... tim made "tang yuan". hmm i wonder what the occasion was?

i was expecting the "tang yuan" to expand (because it was the miniature version), so i sat there waiting. and waiting. and wondering why tim and toh sin were already eating theirs. till toh sin told me that if the "tang yuan" has fillings inside, it would remain as small as it is. eeyer! cheat my money! what sort of "tang yuan" is this? so now, to add to my already long and still growing list of cravings, i want "tang yuan" from the dessert stall my parents frequent. :(

i realise the problem with having gaps inbetween exams. you lose steam after a while, or you're under the happy illusion exams are over. it works for me. everytime an exam ends, i go delirious with joy, thinking that this misery is over only to discover... not. boo.

today was immensely unproductive. a failed trip to the library, then several phone calls at night, one consisting of a shouting match with enoch. -_- that fella should seriously check his hearing. how many times did he make me repeat myself only to hear me wrong again? sheez. and then, i made the mistake of popping my head into tim's room to see what him and toh sin were up to and we ended up sitting there talking for two hours. icks!

i saw this notice stuck behind the toilet door in the library today. one talking about some production called "mudfest" they were having and seeking casts (preferably asian) and other backstage crew (like stage manager, costume designer, lights/sound director). it jolted a whole heap of drama memories and i was seriously tempted to take down the contact details and give it a go. then thought about whether i'd be able to manage my time, what with everything that's gonna happen next sem (unless of coz, the production is during the winter holidays, which i seriously doubt) and decided against it. sigh. i miss my drama days like crazy. though we grumbled a lot about the constant rehearsals and late nights, fun was definitely a part of it. but i guess past a certain age (where you outgrow college and club activities) and you'll have to put certain passions to rest.

it's past 2am and i better crash. ushering tomorrow. to all who have been praying for me and my insommia, THANKS HEAPS because it is getting way better now. :):):) *hugs and loves*

and to neela, if you've survived reading this entry up till this point...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! may it be the best you've ever had (nevermind exams! go party!!)!! :D

Hui:

its at wee hours and i dun feel like sleeping at all. surprisingly, i dun feel tired too.

orientation was sian. sain to e max! telling me fei hua.. come on, i dun need to noe wad does each letter in "auston" mean and i dun need to noe if its e preferred instituion. whatever e presenter was saying with regards to all these do not matter to me anymore cos i have already enrolled -_- waste my time sia. moreover, they din tell us where's toilet -_- i think most of my classmates will be guys bah (e ppl who attended e orientation briefing are not all from my course. some are from other courses). i saw a lot of abnn jus now. abt 8-9 out of 30+ppl. almost 1/3 leh. and i think they are all friends (so united right). if they are all friends, then most probably they have enrolled for e same course. i hope its not my course!! i cant seem to find ppl who are of my age range leh. maybe some of e gals bah. but most of e ppl i've seen toady are in their 30s. btw, i din tok to anyone today =P anti-social mah..

wah kao. lots of cockroaches in my kitchen today. alive ones, struggling ones, dead ones. kaoz... damn disgusting la. cos e ppl (some ppl that are sent here on a regular basis.. dunno who and how they should be addressed la) came and spray the insecticide. er xin lor. i wanted to go to e kitchen, but lucky lili warned me abt it. heng she needed to go to e kitchen too.. cos she took a torch light and lighted our way. LOL.. she v lame right.. same as me. i like. and before we on e torch and "braved" in, she said "i noe this is funny, but we have to do this" so cute! we walked into e kitchen as if we were so afraid that we would step onto some mines. but really lor. damn disgusting la, if i step onto 1. YUCKS. i shall wait for yeye to throw away all e dead bodies of those damn disgusting cockroaches.

was running thru ALL the photos taken since 2nd nov 2003 till date (cos i wanna see if there are any nice phots to post). and im getting nostalgic. and e funny thing is how my friends and me look like then and now. of cos, there are some ppl's face which din change at all. i can name a few ppl - mei, jol, tsz shan. hahaha.. dunno y i feel that they look exactly e same. looks, hairstyle, dress sense, pose, everything. looks like it was jus yesterday that they had taken those pics. perhaps its a good thing la. shows that they havent aged a single bit. hmm.. but even alex look a bit different leh. though i forgot to compare if he looked fatter or thinner. =P as for me, i think i look different from time to time. and i think tt my face was rounder last time. and of cos my hairstyle la.. from long + straight --> long + curls --> long + super curl (e lion head) --> tamed mane --> short! and my dress sense.. from v v orbiang to obiang. and i realise some my of clothes are missing. ting aso changed quite a lot leh.. face look different! of cos dress sense aso la.

hmm. and with e wimamp playing + after seeing ALL e phots + feeling nostalgic + late night = jialat.. feel like going K. =P

okies, here's my routine portion of my every post - complain/whine abt work/"bosses"!

wah kaoz. u wouldnt believe wad happened on thurs. so damn funny. (but then again maybe not so funny cos im so lousy in expressing and describing in words)

that manager (e new and cmi one) is a vegetarian, and he brings his own fruits everyday. and sometimes he will hard-boiled eggs. how do we noe? cos we once caught him taking 3 eggs from his bag and put 1 in each pocket and carry 1 in his hand. and he will go somewhere (think its pantry area la) to peel and eat e eggs. and so on thurs, he did e same thing. but somehow when he walked back to his seat from e big bosses' area, 2 of his eggs dropped!! on the walkway! and he din realise. tt time was jus after lunchtime lor. and a lot of ppl were walking around. one of e big bosses saw and was damn amused and shocked. he said "oh wow, who laid eggs?" and my (ex?) boss exclaimed "wah! wad are these?!" me, not knowing wad happened then was damn curious. so i stood up and looked around. wah lao!! i see 2 eggs on the walkway!! everyone was laffing so hard. i think he must have heard we all laff so hard, and onli then he realised that he dropped his eggs. LOL! wth man! so he quickly picked them up and said "i havent had my lunch." and he walked away to e pantry area liao. oh man. i still cant stop laffing whenever i think of e eggs. some ppl call him "the egg man" now. LOL

fengyi's away to melbourne! so shiok.. and next, sijia + keong going on leave.. from next thurs to monday. oh man.. i aso wan to take leave! have a feeling i'll be damn flooded when the 2 of them are not around. imagine e ppl are gonna ask me stuffs that the 2 of them are handling. ahhh~~!!

zijian told me that its an enjoyable thing to study. he prefers study to work. cos delivery and quality of work is dependent on other ppl (lesser roadblocks) and studies is not. but dunno leh.. i jus hate to study =P ok la, not hate. i jus prefer work to study a lot. jialat man. need to change my mentality. else how to study with e right attitude and get good grades??

honestly, i dun think i can handle both work and studies at e same time. i feel tt i have some slipping tasks liao. but nvm la, i die die have to tahan until nov anyway. though that will be 2 terms liao...

woots. din realise this post is so long.. much much longer than my usual posts. cant remember when was e last long post that i had written. ok.. 3.25am liao. time to sleep.. *yawn*

ting:

given the fact i couldn't fall asleep last night (yup, my prediction came true. i wonder if the self-fulfilling prophecy works on insommia too?), the fact it's 2.57am now and i'm still awake when i am so dead exhausted i can't think in coherent sentences, i'm getting slightly desperate.

so far, i have tried:

1. drinking a warm/hot drink (ovaltine, coz i hate milk, though that's what everyone tells me i should drink)
2. taking a hot shower
3. counting sheep
4. re-listening to lecture audio streams
5. reading my global marketing case study

nothing worked. so, i went to google the ways of ensuring a good night's rest.

and i have tried what several websites suggested:

1. yoga, though i don't think i'm doing it right, seeing i never did yoga before and what's worse is that they don't have pictures, hence i'm trying to figure out how to "twist [my] leg such that it's 60 degrees away from [my] body"
2. breathing relaxation methods, which i get sick of after about 2 minutes

i wonder if i'm able to get any of the following herbs in australia?

"Valerian root, passionflower, and hops, taken before bedtime in either tablet or tea form, are other alternatives. These gentle, relaxing substances help your body rest, but they don't affect your central nervous system the way prescription sleep medicines do. Both homeopathic remedies and herbal preparations can be purchased at most healthfood stores or through a holistic physician."

"Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) consists of the freshly dried leaves of the lemon balm plant, a member of the mint family. A popular herbal tea ingredient for its flavor, lemon balm is recognized by European herbalists for its ability to help induce sleep. In Germany, lemon balm preparations have been approved for treatment of nervous insomnia.

Lemon balm also is widely recommended by herbalists as a sleep aid, especially in cases where sleep disturbances are accompanied by a nervous stomach. Lemon balm tea is quite tasty. It's generally taken as a single dose, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 grams of the dried cut-and-sifted herb. An average dose for tea is achieved by infusing one to two grams of dried leaves in a cup of hot water for five to 10 minutes. A teaspoonful of the cut and sifted herb equals about one gram. It is not associated with any toxicity or side effects."

and maybe i should practise this:

"Above all, don't panic. Insomnia is not life-threatening, although many people respond to it with agitation or fear. The more anxious you make yourself about not sleeping, the more sleep will elude you. So turn the clock to the wall and drop the internal dialogue about what a horrible day you will have tomorrow if you don't get to sleep immediately. The key to sound sleep lies in surrendering, not in trying harder. Once you're in bed, focus on your breath and empty your mind. If you have a mantra, let your mind rest in it. Be kind to yourself. Remember, sleep cannot be forced, but it can be coaxed. It is waiting for you. Allow yourself to come to it, enter it, and let the world spin without you for a while."

but not panicking is a bit hard to do, especially when you are smack right in the middle of the exam period (my eyes hurt so badly during the exam today i was convinced they were gonna fall off and roll around the exam hall).

sigh. plus i did engage in exercise after, gallivanting all around melbourne with toh sin (who didn't allow me to sleep till 12am, because he was afraid i would wake up at some weird hour and not be able to go back to sleep again. not that it's working now.).

blehhhhhhh. any other suggestions, anyone?

Hui:

hmmm. ting's posts abt assignments and exams are terrifying and are making me feel scared abt going to sch (even more). i think i will aso be scared and nervous lor.. one of e many reasons y i prefer working to studying. at least, i din feel nervous at all when i went for interviews/chats with bosses.

ahh.. orientation on friday. dunno how are my classmates going to be like. scared i have no friends leh. im so anti-social =P scully all lao kok kok one.. wahaha =P

i think my new hdd is quite stable.. but still better to wait for a few more days before i really delete e files on my main drive. else.... ho sey ah!

zzz.. zzz.. feeling sleepy..

ting:

my second paper is tomorrow and the only thing i can think of/say now is this:

AUUUURRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

it's only 6.40pm and i'm already freaking out. my stomach feels like crap and i can't sit still for more than ten seconds without jiggling around nervously. i hate exams. hate!

what is worse is that there are so many countless billion theories to remember. like hellllooooo? it's just international trade. trade happens! why do people have to come up with such weird models in an attempt to explain the movement of goods and services around the globe? and what is ironic is i can actually use my marketing knowledge to explain some of the "unaccounted for" phenomenon. according to all the trade models, trade should technically occur between developed and developing countries, but research shows that majority of the trade happens between developed countries. and those brilliant economists aren't able to find a reason why (other than pointing out the diversity in consumers' tastes and preferences). bah. that is because which firm would want to enter a market whereby there is no guarantee that its goods will be sold? which firm doesn't want to engage in a FDI in a country which is politically, economically and culturally stable? ahhhhhhhhhhh!

the practice paper seems easy enough, but how would i know if he isn't some sadistic idiot who would give us an easy practice paper to mislead us, then shatter our confidence to bits by shocking us with a killer exam?

and i know i won't be able to get much sleep tonight (considering the fact i only managed to drift off at 8am this morning, after 4.5 hours of tossing and turning in bed). insommia is so frustrating. so by the time my paper starts in the afternoon, i'll be beyond exhausted, the way i was for my product brand paper.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

prayers please. please please please!

Hui:

yeaaaaaa~~ knocked off early today. at abt 7pm.

ahh.. orientation is on friday! wad is there to orientate man.. e building is so small.. maybe i jus need to know where is e washroom. and lesson starts next tues! damn.. i have no pencil box (ting will probably jus laff again when she reads this..)

keong jus tempted me even more to get the phone which is the second "love at first sight" phone (first one was k750i). my second love at first sight phone is the samsung u600! and guess wad.. i love it more on e second sight. cos keong bought it and i saw it today. WHITE COLOR! v v pretty phone. ultra slim series with 3.2mp camera. and e interface is similar to sony erricson. woots! this one need to wait la. no money sia. waited for 6+ mths b4 i buy my 1st love at first sight.. this one.. see when i have e money bah.

http://www.samsung.com/sg/products/gsm/gsm/images/l_u600_02.jpg --> this is e phone. but pls imagine it in pearl white color. chio!! actually i took pic of keong's phone using my colleagues' SE k800i. =P but e pics are in my lappy..

din go ktv with mei and e rest yesterday.. cos e "rest" like kelen and ber couldnt make it. went shopping instead. haha.. buy bottoms nia la. no money to shop..

dunno y but somehow abit sian of amk hub liao. so many ppl everyday.. machiam mini orchard.

soo tired... maybe i should sleep early today..