laugh as much as you breath . love as long as you live

After 2 Years

2011-10-12T23:40:00.006+08:00

Finally. The result of numerous experiments and countless nights of thesis writing during the second year at that faraway land. Once, the short journey looked as though it was never ending. At the finishing line, you would start to wonder how fast time had flown by.

Congratulations to all others who have also graduated.

Florence

Ivan

My sincerest thanks to Max.

Without you, I wouldn't have had the chance to receive this certification.

At Work

2011-05-26T15:36:00.000+08:00

Some photos taken during the last few days in the lab:

My office

Thats the seat i glued myself to more than 12 hours a day while writing.

Beach Party [040411]

2011-05-25T03:20:00.003+08:00

Today i can finally say, I'M DONE! Just submitted my thesis earlier this morning. Will be waiting for oral defence on 16th june, before going back for good in july. In the mean time, its holiday time!

Some overdue photos -->

Gonna miss the clear waters here after i leave.

=))

Birthdays Yet Again

2011-04-15T21:14:00.001+08:00

The deadline is getting nearer. 23rd may. Labwork ended last week, so was killing. In the process of analysing all the results. Collating, standardizing, combining, editing... Hopefully all can be done by the end of this week.

Some updates on birthday celebrations in march
Firstly.. Nicky's

At eutopia, a bubble tea cum karaoke place.
An usual hang out place for asians.

First female NICKY i've encountered!

Late march, kobi's.

Birthday dinner at Ciao Italia. A popular italian restaurant in perth. Come after 6.30 and you will never fail to see a long queue. Ironically, perth only has one branch which doesnt take bookings. So what do people do? Come early like what we did, join in the long queue, or come after the peak hour.

The preveilage of being the first few customers. No queueing, shorter waiting time for food to be served and not having to squeeze yourself through the crowd just to get to your table. Just bcos we reached before 6.

The food was nice indeed. But kind of overpriced.

A happy man with his favourite desserts

Photo taken when we were about to leave. When the crowd started pouring in.

Busy busy busy

And on the acutal birthday itself, we had a mini celebration at eutopia.

I salute her. Not many will have the courage to shave for charity.
Not forgetting those who did the same in csc.

Shuhui's Graduation [020311]

2011-03-13T11:55:00.007+08:00

The night before the ceremony day....

The dad helping the daughter with the gown

Served by 2 guys wor

Ian and serene, did honours in sg and came back for grad

Zoe.. Who also came back from sg

With ruth

Overexposed

The only time wilford agreed to take photo.
Even ordered that we take one ONLY.
University medal in his hands. Awarded for outstanding performance.

Of cos we took this opportunity to take more

Nadiah in her traditional attire

Us with the 2 legendary figures of murdoch science sch ~~

Wahaha. Priceless photo.

Feb Birthdays

2011-03-04T16:18:00.008+08:00

Just 2 people's birthdays. 16th and 26th feb.
Yet there were countless celebrations on different occasions with different people.
Steamboat.. Dinner gatherings.. Late night hang outs..
Nothing beats this kind of carefree life.
Well, good times dont last long. Its time to get back to reality, thesis writing.

Some random photos taken at the celebrations during those few days.

She is sian. Yeah, it was rather wierd when i heard this name too.
Non-abbreviated form: huey sian.

The night of ivan's birthday. Went 'little creatures' with these guys. They drank.
'Truth or dare' for that night was the most extreme one i've ever seen.
Kissing.. Hugging.. Biting.. Omg it was traumatizing.

The day after. Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA).

Hillary's Boat Harbour

Thats all folks. See you again.

Hi Again

2011-02-25T10:46:00.006+08:00

Hi, its been some time since the last update. One month plus have passed since i returned. Doesnt seem like it eh? Feels like i have been back for ages. Anyway, we're in the midst of summer right now. 38 deg today, 39 tmr and 36 on sun. Oh well, it would be nice to have some rainy days like those in sg. Luckily my office is air conditioned.. A nice and cool place to camp until the sun sets, before heading back to the sauna flat.

Overdue photos.
Some of which have been in my camera since i came back.

Moved back with 2 friends back to our permanent flat from the summer flat. Look at the amount of things we have.

Lao Yu Sheng on CNY

Photos below are probably the most recent ones i took.
During a course at uwa the past 3 days.

Swan river is just across the road from the uni.

Surprisingly, there are really swans in the swan river.

Ok my story ends here. See you next time.

Rockingham Kayaking [150111]

2011-01-17T01:43:00.000+08:00

Back in perth after a mth of holiday in sg. Just a mth, but enough for many things to happen. Tried kayaking and kite flying this time round. Catch up sessions with family and friends was smth that i always looked forward to. But good times dont last long.. Im back here once again. For one more sem and thats it =)

Returned last thurs morning. Spent the whole day moving our barang barang back to flat 77 from the summer flat. Fri... Went to village and school offices to settle the fees issues.. Sat, the long awaited kayaking trip which was planned probably a month ago. Good experience we had. Clear waters, nice scenery. Though the price was rather steep, once doesnt cause much harm i guess. Play for the last time before returning to the arms of my experiments.

Shoalwater Bay, Rockingham.
Driving to the location ourselves saved us 30 bucks.

Kayaks in place, ready to set off.

Paddled a km or so to SEAL ISLAND.

Followed by PENGUIN ISLAND

Morning tea.

Then we went snorkling! Something that i had always wanted to try.

Lunch they prepared. Subs.

=)

a couple of seconds to say hello, forever to say goodbye

Recent Events

2010-12-09T11:01:00.008+08:00

Slacking life started ever since i submitted my essay. When there is no burden, its actually not a bad thing staying here. Going to school doing experiments, having dinner gatherings chatting with friends, exploring perth.. But how often can we have this kind of carefree life.

Anyway, i will be going home tonight! For a month, until mid jan. Though the period is shorter than normal students, i already consider myself lucky. By right there isnt any holidays in this intensive honours year. Seems so unbelieveable, 4 months had passed just like that.

Some recent activities:

Kobi's last dinner in perth before leaving

Krispy Kreme donuts agnes bought us, flown in fresh from sydney.

One fine sunday at Scarborough beach

Followed by dinner at the famous 'little caesars pizza'

Black forest dessert pizza

Shu hui's 21st birthday!

=))))))))

Rockingham! [271110]

2010-11-28T10:54:00.007+08:00

I'm finally done with my essay! After 4 draggy months. Just abit of ranting. Printing charges in murdoch is freaking ex! I spent a total of $36 printing and binding 3 copies of my essay (~sgd $45)!!! Printing a colour page is around $1 (sgd ~$1.27). I thought i only had 5 coloured pages, but it turned out to be 17. Why? Bcos greyscale is also considered as colour. !@#$%^& Plus binding $3, it added up to that much. I wonder how many hundred of dollars it will cost when i print my thesis next yr.

Anyway.. After my submission on fri (also the last day of exams), its relaxing time! Sourced for places by the sea, since it had been really hot recently. Too last minute for rottnest island.. Cottesloe will probably be infested with students since its the nearest beach from murdoch curtin and UWA.. Others are abit too far away. So we decided on Rockingham.

Took us only about half an hour to get there by public transport. Quiet suburb, mostly surrounded by nature. There's a total of 8 beaches there, all along the coastline. But according to the tourism centre, they all look the same. We hopped onto a shuttle bus outside the train station, which brought us to one of the beaches. Rockingham beach. Niceeeeeee. Although it was not considered a perfect one since the water is not crystal clear, it was the nicest i've seen so far in my entire life.

Fine sand, blue waters. When can you ever see this in sg.

In an attempt to prevent ugly tan lines

So this is how scenic wallpapers come about...

This will definitely not be the last.. More to come =D

Aggy's Bday =D

2010-11-03T02:30:00.006+08:00

It was only this year that i realised, alot of people i know are born in oct!
Be it family, friends in sg or in perth
Perth, we celebrate ruth's and agnes's.

28th and 30th. Combined both, dinner @ Nicholson's on 26th

This is what you need when every road name look foreign

A more high tech one --- GPS

Driver

Desserts @ Little Creatures!

You wont believe it, each one costs $12!
But worth the money
If you dont eat it often

30th - Aggy's 21st =))

Happy Family. Hahaha.

Perth Royal Show [250910]

2010-10-01T00:39:00.015+08:00

A fun filled saturday. Went to city in the morning to check out a bag shop which sells pretty cheap bags first. Then to mac to try out their breakfast (yeah i know, its abit late since we've been here for more than a year haha). The conclusion was... The ones in sg are way nicer. Meals here are small yet more expensive. Not that nice also..

Then off we went to the perth royal show! An annual show held in Perth, usually around Queen's birthday. Animal shows, performances, exhibitions, amusement park, shopping... Just name it and you can find all here. Paid $22 for the ticket, but definitely its worth it.. For we spent a total of 10 hours there, but have still yet to cover everything! But the main highlight of the show was... The FIREWORKS! Popping right in front of you. Totally clear view for almost 15 mins!!! Where can you ever find that in sg man...

SHOW!

They paid $20 for this ride!

What for... Pay money to make yourself so scared...

Eating dinner as we wait for fireworks

On the way home...

My Graduation...

2010-09-18T00:07:00.036+08:00

The day before graduation. Collection of gown.

Day of graduation. On the way to perth convention centre.

Sheena bought me a bouquet of roses!
It became my prop for photos that night.

Sad people who have yet to graduate.

The 2 professionals

The people who attended the ceremony

Lol the both squatting didnt know that they were also in the photo.

Supervisor

With his ex-students

Colin and carmen came after the ceremony to take photos with me! =D

Caught in action

Went UWA after that.. Apparently the graduation for that sch was also held that day.
Ruth went to visit her friend. So we took some photos while waiting for her.

Supper at uncle billy's! It was 11pm+ at that time.. But the restaurant was full!
Of cos, all those eating were asians.

Thanks to everyone who came =DDD

Ivan's Graduation!

2010-09-12T00:13:00.043+08:00

The night before...

Kobi trying on ivan's gown.
This is how the hood looks like.

Too long. Haha.

The day of ceremony...

On the way to Perth Convention Centre

He's my honours supervisor =)

Congratulations, Ivan.

Ohh TP!!!

2010-09-07T12:45:00.005+08:00

Suddenly thought of the days in tp.. Most enjoyable school life ever!

BMT. Times with the babes! Miss sitting on the high platforms beside the back doors of LTs, waiting for lectures to finish before we can go in.. Rushing to fight for the last row in the middle section.. Listening to those boring lectures and watch huimin fall asleep!

Lab. Aus should learn from sg! People here just wear their labcoats and walk around the school like nobody's business. For eg if a particular class has lab straight after a lecture, students just change inside the LT and walk to the lab!!! Cant blame them, lecturers do that too.

TP food. Ohh design. That was the canteen we most often patronized during breaks. Western and muslim food are cheap and good. Not forgetting my favourite teh-peng, which price has been increasing and increasing and increasing. ITAS was the place we always went whenever there were short lunch breaks. Nothing particularly nice there i feel. Although people said that the yong tau fu is nice. Sorry i'm not a fan of that. Mensa chicken cutlet rice with kiam chai and salad bar! Thats everything i can rmb. Haha. Business, chicken cutlet rice too. With the different types of sauces. Last but not least, engine. I only ate there less than 5 times during my whole 3 years in tp. Hahaha. But there is one stall in one of the two canteens which sells egg wrapped fried rice with pork floss. It wasnt until my third year that i found out about it. Go try, its super nice!

CSC. I guess thats it that made my tp life so enjoyable. Going for meetings at night, supper after meetings, the process of preparation for events after classes, the feeling of accomplishment upon seeing an event turn out successfully, feeling those happiness from the smiling faces of children, old folks or the unfortunate, seeing those juniors slowly maturing and becoming seniors, and many many many more. Till now, i see that strong bonds never fail to build up in every single committee. Jia you! For the new committee and the lovely advisor.

Also worth mentioning, the small little events that occured. NYAA events. Overseas community project don khong.. It has been 4 years, but i still rmb you all! Pengarang cycling expedition.. Student internship. Great experience i had from attachment at kkh with the girls. Lunch at staff lounge, breakfast at mac, and those times slacking.

So... In conclusion, for those who are still there, treasure the remaining days you have! Haha provided if you are enjoying it. Or next time you will be missing it like me.

Cant believe i actually produced such a long post with this topic. Lol.

Life

2010-08-26T23:19:00.002+08:00

Life here is so far so good. Experiments every mon thurs and fri. Tues and wed by right should be free. But somehow there will be smth to do by then. Next week is the study break. But i no longer can enjoy those breaks anymore. A friend is even going back to sg. I envy. Next week there is this safety in science workshop from mon to wed which i need to attend. Physical chemical and biological safety. Is it too late to conduct the courses now, almost a month after school reopens?

Today is thurs, cell culture day. My 3rd one. I did the cutting up of the pregnant mouse today! Oh i feel so bad doing it. Esp when you see the internal organs still twitching a little even after they died. The babies.. Sometimes they move too! But for not long. But i believe doing these are far more interesting than facing lab equipments everyday.

I can consider myself living a working life now le. Everyday go school at around 9, leave at around 5 plus 6. Sometimes later if my experiments end late.

On the way back. The purpose of this photo is actually the moon.
It was so low and bright that evening. Too nice to be missed.

The way back

Nice Song

2010-08-22T18:05:00.003+08:00

I never really figured out the lyrics of this song when a friend intro-ed it to me some time back, or even when being woken up by it every morning (alarm tone). Until i googled for it a few days ago. It was then i read every word written and finally made up what was sung.

- Breathless -

If our love was a fairytale
I would charge in and rescue you
On a yacht baby we would sail
To an island where we'd say I do

And if we had babies they would look like you
It'd be so beautiful if that came true
You don't even know how very special you are

You leave me breathless
You're everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can't believe that you're mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

And if our love was a story book
We would meet on the very first page
The last chapter would be about
How I'm thankful for the life we've made

And if we had babies they would have your eyes
I would fall deeper watching you give life
You don't even know how very special you are

You leave me breathless
You're everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can't believe that you're mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

You must have been sent from heaven to earth to change me
You're like an angel
The thing that I feel is stronger than love believe me
You're something special
I only hope that I'll one day deserve what you've given me
But all I can do is try
Every day of my life

You leave me breathless
You're everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can't believe that you're mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

You leave me breathless
You're everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can't believe that you're mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you're leaving me
Breathless

MICE!

2010-08-20T01:45:00.028+08:00

Here's what i promised! Took photos during our cell culture day this time, from the very first step, the killing of mice. They are very strict with animal handling here. My project needs to be approved first, after the animal ethics committee's meeting. To see if its worth it enough for animals to be killed in that particular area of research. Next, i had to read through all the animal ethics handbooks and pass the test before being allowed to handle them.

So what do we need to know? Everything concerning the animal's welfare. Transporting, killing, anaesthesizing, disposal, etc. The committee needs to know everything from the point the animal is killed till their disposal. Annual reports must be sent to update them about the total number of animals used, and if there were any changes to the protocol. You even have to put up a sign when the animal is killed, at the place where the killing took place. Thats one thing we can never understand. Who will see it? My supervisor even called up the committee to enquire about this.

So... We are not handling animals anyhow. Will get fined (thousands) and jailed (years) if so. University's license will be suspended or revoked too. Thats what the handbook said. Yes they are this strict. We must treat the animals in the most humane way.

Below are the photos of what we did. Actually i'm abit afraid of posting these. Who knows. Maybe tomorrow i will receive a call from the animal ethics to say we violated some regulations or what. Lol. Anyway, we did the killing early in the morning, my supervisor wasnt here yet. So i began taking photos of my colleague kill. Quite some time later, my supervisor suddenly popped in! To check if we were doing fine. And i was holding the camera! Haha. Then this was his response: "I caught you! Taking photos!" Both of us langhed. Then he went out, pretending that he didnt see. Hahaha.

BEWARE! Dont scroll down if you have a weak heart.
Not suitable for those who faint at the sight of blood.

Cute pregnant mice kept comfortably in the box when collected

The murderers - One is to make them sleep, and the other to let them die in their sleep.
So no pain will be felt.

Mini operation begins

Spray alcohol to maintain sterility, then cut it open from the stomach

Internal organs exposed

Blood taken from the heart to make IgG coated plates

Fetuses removed

Little sausages each filled with a placenta and fetus

Cut the sausage skin to free the fetuses

Lay them on a alcohol sprayed napkin

Oh look at those cute little babies

Removing their tiny lungs

Place it into a buffer-filled petri dish

One tiny lung attached to heart

ITS MY TURN.
Actually this is my second time. My supervisor let me do it after watching for the first time last week.

"War zone" - as said by Mr Poh, 2008

Cleaning up the lungs. Removing the attached heart / thymus / liver

Tada! Final product in the right petri dish. Fetuses' lungs.
After that we mince it, break the cells apart, digest it, and grow them in media. Then they will end up in culture plates (see previous post).

Hopefully we will can get some good results.. Then these mice will not die for nothing. Anyway do you know what i am doing for my honours project? Lol. I am looking at the regulation of surfactant secretion in lungs of fetuses. Surfactant is produced at later stages of gestation, thats why premature babies need to be put on respiratory support. If we can find out at some factors that can stimulate surfactant production, we will be able to give it to the mother when the baby is about to be born. This decreases the risk of the baby having respiratory distress syndrome, most common complication in premature babies. This in turn decreases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases in future!

My Lab

2010-08-15T22:03:00.016+08:00

Helloooooo. I've started to do experiments already. Did my first tissue culture last thursday, using lungs of rat fetuses. The mother rats were put to sleep first, then killed using high doses of CO2. Their fetuses were then removed, and lungs were taken out. Often the lungs are attached to the heart and liver, so its rather hard to identify which is which. The reason being... They are wayyyyy too tiny. In future if there's a chance, i may be able to take some photos and let you see.

Anyway after the first culture on thursday, i need to change media (to replenish nutrients) the following day and 2 days after. So i changed the first time on fri, and today. And bcos its a sunday, i managed to take some photos! Luckily the PhD student of my supervisor was also enthu about taking photos, or else i dont think i will succeed in doing so. Haha. So here are some photos of my lab (actually my supervisor's):

Main building my lab is located in: biological sciences

Tissue culture lab
As you know, murdoch is a rather old school.. And considering how long my supervisor had been in the school and involved in research, you can expect the lab to be not-new... But the heater is new! The white thing at the left bottom corner of the photo. Haha. Our fan heaters in the hostel will all be changed to this kind soon. So as to SAVE ELECTRICITY.... Not logical, after making us pay so much for fees.

My fellow colleague, a PhD student of my supervisor. He's the one guiding me through most of the procedures when my supervisor is not around.

Changing media for our cells

After that putting them back into the Co2 incubator

Look how tiny my wells are compared to his plates

This is the main lab where we do other procedures other than tissue culturing

We went to the tour around the research labs at building beside ours. And this was what saw. Dozens of lab coats. These are only part of those i've seen there. In total there are about 3 times of this i think. Ok thats about all. Hopefully i can take some photos of rats next time =))

Australian Lifestyle

2010-08-11T00:34:00.009+08:00

Photos taken last week during lunch. We ended up sitting on the grass because seats were full at the asian caravan (a small eatery which sells asian food).

Thats asian caravan. Singapore 菜饭.

Sure to attract attention if you do this in sg.

One Fine Day

2010-08-08T01:29:00.015+08:00

Woke up not knowing what to do today.. In the past, weekends are used for studying. Now, nothing have started so there is not much i can do. After slacking around for awhile, went to ask ivan whether he wants to go out. Apparently he planned to go garden city (shopping ctr, something like vivo in sg) and grocery shopping at market city this weekend. And since garden city will be closed tmr, we decided to go there today. Sh cant join us, cos she will be working in the aftn. Carmen was also busy.. Kobi went out.. So only colin came with us.

Halfway through the journey to the stop to change bus, colin said that he wants to buy a jacket. So i suggested harbour town, since the things there had a wider variety and are cheaper. Ivan agreed unwillingly. Lol. Cos its at city area, and it'll definitely spend us a whole day if were to go there.

Walking to harbour town from the train station.
By the way the sky looks very nice right? Actually when you see it here, it looks the same as sg de.. But somehow it appears nice in photos, dont know why. People who have been here will agree.

A happy colin with his new leather jacket after a 3-hour shop

Walking back to the train station to take to murdoch, then change bus to garden city, where we planned to do some grocery shopping.

Bcos this is an outdoor station, you have to tap in and out using this machine.

Look at the clouds. Nice eh.

At murdoch station waiting for the bus to garden city

When we reached garden city, it was already past 4.30pm. All shopping centres in perth close at around 5pm everyday (other than thursdays, where there is late night shopping - until 9pm). So we quickly went to the supermarket and got the things we needed, then went back. Oh btw do you know that during weekends, the interval between bus arrivals is almost 1hr. So we waited quite long waiting for the bus. Working here is so relaxed right. Damn hungry when i came back. Only had 2 slices of bread since morning. Ivan and colin were worse, didnt eat anything. So i cooked jia-ba-lang-everything-throw-inside.

Ingredients:
Instant soup sachet
Broccoli
Crabsticks
Egg

After dinner, me ivan and kobi played dai-dee for awhile before sheena and michelle joined us in playing monopoly deal. This game is too 'in' already, thought i wont see it again after leaving sg.. But haha sheena brought a deck over. One of hong kong version. Names of hk places, with chinese words!

A slacker's day ended just like that.

Day 2?

2010-08-03T23:15:00.006+08:00

After today.. I realised i am not that free after all.

Learnt my lesson from yesterday, no need to go sch that early since supervisor isnt there. So i reached at 9am+ today. Went to get laptop configured at library, then went to my desk. And that was when i discovered that i didnt bring adaptor. Lol, got laptop no adaptor, how to use. Got ivan to bring it for me since he's still at home.

After working on my proposal for awhile, i went for the honours introductory talk. Suprisingly, there were more than 10 honours students eh! Expected it to be lesser, since biomed side only had 4. Btw i'm doing honours under biological sciences and not biomed, if you're confused. Anyway, we were told at the talk that the proposal needs to be submitted in 3 weeks time (2 pages), essay in nov (2o-40 pages) and thesis in may (100-120 pages). I think i'll develop more writing skills than lab skills during honours.

Met sh and kobi for lunch, before going to see my supervisor. He first gave me a whole heap of information about my project, and then the animal ethics website, asked me to try to do the test. After that george, my supervisor's PhD student, showed me around the labs that i will be working in in the future. And soon after, it was 5pm and off i went!

So for the next couple of days, i would need to finish up the animal ethics test (btw its an open book test which answers could hardly be found, can spend as long as you like to complete it), do a lab safety test, read up protocols which i will use in the future, and complete my proposal. Lab work starts only next week i think.. I need to kill rats and get their lungs. Haha and im looking forward to that. Tell you more then!

(Thanks to the animal ethics test which i spent my whole night on, a spider which i saw in the bathroom was spared.. Lucky you).

First Day of Honours

2010-08-03T00:58:00.003+08:00

First day of school. Reached at 8.30+, my supervisor hasnt reached yet. Had almost a 2-hour chat when he arrived at 9am+. Was allocated a seat in the postgrad room, which was filled with honours and Phd students. Rather big room, with only about 10 seats. Darn quiet, if not for the fan heater, its highly possible that you can hear a dropping pin.

And starting from 11am, i began my journal reading. And that lasted for the whole day until 5pm! Yes, i read journals for 5 hours excluding lunch! Can you imagine how boring that is... It took me longer and longer time to finish every journal, bcos every one seemed to have increasing hypnotizing effect. Until 4.45pm, i gave up! Went back to the hostel.

From today's experience, i predict that honours will not be an easy time for me. I was told that the main tasks that i need to do every week was to perform tissue cultures on thurs, change media on fri and sun, and do assays on mondays. Other that that, i'm basically free until the start of essay and thesis writing. How am i gonna spend those free time!!! In the past, there were tests and assignment submissions almost everyweek.. And before we realise it, exams period was here. Soon after, holidays came! But now... The only thing i can do is wait...

(Poor sh, have to read what i complained before, lol)

Back in Perth

2010-07-31T23:33:00.006+08:00

Hi. Sad to say, holidays are over. Like usual, it was as depressing to return here. 2 totally different feelings at the departure and arrival hall of the perth international airport. Probably enjoyed myself too much this holiday, and with friends and family's company back at home, making it more difficult to get used to being alone here again.

As i stepped into the flat this morning, the feeling of loneliness somehow overwhelmed me. Upon seeing my room, what came to mind was the time when exams were over, after a whole week of shopping, the time when i was waiting for my family to come and fetch me at the hostel. Awww, so sad right. Then i didnt feel like doing anything liao.

But still have to accept the truth, there is nothing i can do. So i went to unpack and clean my room lor. After that washed my bedsheets before going out to do grocery shopping with ivan shuhui and kobi. We later stopped by satay-mu to have lunch, the place where sh was working. She specially took off today to accompany me and ruth =))

Chatted for quite awhile during lunch.. Which to me is not a very 'interesting' topic.. Anyway, after that we went to fetch ruth at the airport at about 3pm. She went home to do some unpacking before we met again at 8 plus for dinner.

First home-cooked meal (actually semi home-cooked only)

Thank you. See you soon.

Till I Get Back

2010-07-19T01:52:00.004+08:00

Hello, this month i have been enjoying myself by having much fun and gathering with friends. Spending my time to the max! This may be the last time i can live this kind of carefree life before the start of my honours year... When school reopens, you will see my complaining and grumbling again. One more year, school work aint going to be easy. Hopefully i will pull through it!

Will be back in perth on the 31st. Means i only have less than 2 weeks left! Holidays are never enough. Till i get back, i will update again! Bcos there is nothing much for me to do there, then i will have the mood to post photos. Hahaha.

Margaret River [170610]

2010-06-26T23:19:00.001+08:00

I FINALLY FINISHED CREATING THIS POST!!!

Sorry, photos are very outdated, i had been uploading photos for this post since the day after this trip (180610), until now! Took 4-5 occasions to upload them bcos there are just way too many.

A road trip on the 17th to margaret river! 5 of us, just what the car can fit. Left hostel at 7.30am+ returned at 9pm+, obviously not enough! Given a ~3 hrs journey to and fro. Only managed to visit 5 places. Didnt even get to see the scenery!!!

Preparing to leave the house

Driver of the day

Map-reader of the day

Passengers of the day

Entertainment during the 3 hr journey. Cooking MAMA!

Oh we were kind of unlucky. It was raining off and on that day, making some activities rather messy.

Sun after the rain ---> rainbow!

First stop: Margaret River Chocolate Factory

What a photographer, still can take the photo with flowers blocking the ppl in the photos

You cant call it a chocolate factory actually, bcos it is not the process of producing chocolates they exhibit. This place mainly sells chocolates and souvenirs.

Oil.. Cream.. Lotion.. Essence..

Second stop: Margaret River Dairy Co.

Dairy products like yogurt and cheese sold here

Third stop: Berry farm

Oh this is the amount of jam we bought. 12 bottles. Lol.

Fourth stop: Sunflower Animal Farm

Attacked by sheeps

Same hairstyle eh?

In case you are curious, the red shirt guy was chasing some chickens.

Big fat pig

Yeah looks as though it is kissing me, very cute right?
In fact, it was trying to bite my hair.

Last stop: Lake Cave

Its time we need to do some exercise.
The whole flight of stairs almost killed us!

Dinner @ Kai

Awesome ramen =)

Anyway, i came back from perth le.. Will be staying for a month this time before going back for honours on 3oth jul. Hopefully i can return in dec for a short break!

After Exams Fun

2010-06-16T22:40:00.000+08:00

Since the day after exams, i had been having alot of fun! Going out at around late morning everyday.. Lunching out.. Coming back just before the sun sets.. Cooking and eating dinner.. And stay online all the way till bedtime. How ever can life be more relaxing than that?

The day after my last exam, we went city and harbour town, fri we went city again, sat was garden city, sun fremantle, mon we went harbour town, tues garden city again for gelarae half price waffle, and today, carousel! Thats already 8 days of shopping and eating. Tmr we'll be going on a road trip to margaret river.. Will upload the photos if there are any =))

7 more days of fun and its home sweet home!

Garden City - Make your own ice cream

Flea market at kardy on sunday morning

Something interesting you can find in toilets here:

Vending machines selling pads, tampons and CONDOMS

CONDOMS are sold in the LADIES

Archieve - Last Week before Study Week

2010-06-14T00:49:00.000+08:00

Found tons of photos taken before exams that were not posted. So here they are!

Went 'little creatures' for desserts some time during the last week of school. Thought it was purely a dessert eating place initially, but heard from the others that it is actually more for drinking and hanging out. Nice place though, very open too! The tanks used to produce beer was just beside us.

Last saturday before study break. Stocking up for exam period!!!
3 weeks supply of food needed.

Visited wholesale centre, and bought:
1 box of grapes
12 broccoli
10 rows of eggs
(hahahaha shared among 4 ppl lah)

From the supermarket

Whao

Exams over!

2010-06-12T01:31:00.011+08:00

Exams are finally over! With the loads of info and materials from each unit, it was rather taxing this time. But its ok, cos this may be my last exam ever! I'm hating it now, but i predict that this kind of feeling will be missed when i enter working life in the future. Adults, correct anot?

One super duper good lecturer, Sarah.

Post-exam fun began right after our last paper ended on thursday =)) Went to ruth's hse to put down some of her stuff first, then off we went! Tapau-ed lunch at this jap tiny eating place recommended by ruth. True enough, the food was very nice, than that in sg.

Then we went shopping at city! Perth sale is ongoing right now and everything is damn cheap. I was surprised by the prices. Australia stuff is surprisingly cheaper than in sg! Those fashionable clothes i mean. There were trying to clear summer stocks for winter. Oh well, that will be to our advantage then.. Since we have year long summer in sg. Haha.

Went to the bell tower after that, intending to sit around and wait for our stomachs to growl before going for dinner. But it was just too cold to do so! As the sea was just beside us. It has been less than 10 deg at night for the past couple of days. So we ended up walking only for awhile before heading off to our dinner place.

Bell Tower

Had dinner at 'little ceasars'.
They serve AWESOME award winning pizzas.

It was freezing by the time we headed home. Later i heard that it was only 5 deg last night. No wonder... Seems like winter had unknowingly arrived.

Last but not least, thank you hs for the air flown card and presessies!

Hand-made card from scratch! I'm so touched.

21st - Thank You All

2010-05-28T00:32:00.057+08:00

Hello people, i should be studying now.. But this post is a must to thank everybody who had made my day today! Too late if i were to thank after my exams = after 2 weeks. Lol.

First and foremost, thank you xiaomin for your drawing.

Great talent.

Thank you sheena for sending that cup of bubble tea to my house at 12am despite the heavy rain and cold weather. She was all drenched when i saw her! Passed me the drink, chatted for 5-10mins, and off she went in the rain back to studying! Awwww.

Next, thank you all for the birthday smses. Not forgetting those fb messages. Sorry if i havnt replied you. See the main comment on my wall..

Thanks to all friends in perth who have wished me during the mgen tutorial.. Ruth and Shu hui for lunch, and those who made today's celebration possible.

First present from ruth and sh, which followed me for the whole of today =))

After mgen revision from 10-12pm, ruth fetched me and sh to this restaurant for nice western food.

Famous for its chilli mussels

Dropped by a small pond nearby to take photos.
But it rained halfway...

Lol the effect was due to the rain

Went home after that. Studied for awhile, until evening time when some people suddenly appeared outside my room

And this was the first dish served to me once i stepped out. Longevity noodles with a hard boiled egg! Haha this was the first time i've eaten this. Thank you carmen for cooking it.

A whole table full of food prepared by them

Yesterday, when colin and ivan went to the city for haircut, they tookaway some liu sha bao, brought back and refrigerate them, and heated them up for today!
Thank youuuuu =))

Solidified liu sha. Hahah. It was still as nice though.

Heh heh. I had my favourite cake again this year. Thank you colin and carmen who drove down specially to ikea to get it today....

Thank you kobi for the lava cake. He added very little sugar to suit my taste! Haha so thoughtful. It was soooo nice =)

Lol her typical pose

Kobi

Cynthia

Sheena

Ivan

Carmen

Colin

Stuff sheena bought and brought to my flat. They claimed that those were my bday gifts from her. Haha.

Thank you sheena for the card and present =)

Thank you ivan and colin for the harvaianas too!

Last but not least.. Thanks shu hui for the scrapbook! It contained bday wishes from friends in perth, which she collected via facebook.. email.. village mailbox.. and maybe some other ways which i dont know! There are handwritten messages, type-written messages and loads of photos from last year when we just arrived till now... I wonder how much time she spent on this! It so nicely done, with all the designs and craftwork. Thanks for taking off your studying time for this... Especially during this period of time. This is one of the best presents i've ever received.

Something that cannot be missed: She even approached lecturers to write messages! From where did you pick up the courage to do so! Max and Sarah must be surprised (Omg, max!). Might be one of the rare occasions where a student asks for such requests.

Thank you all who contributed your wishes in the scrapbook!

Thank youuuuuu =)

Thank you everyone for everything.
It was a simple yet memorable 21st birthday.

Last Post Till After Exams

2010-05-20T01:32:00.005+08:00

Tests and assignments all DOWN! Finally had the 2 final terrible ones today after 2 presentations last week. Only 4 days to fully concentrate on studying for 2 tests, how else worser can it be. Obviously there wasnt enough time to cover everything. Its only 2 more weeks to exams! Shouldnt all coursework end way earlier?

Anyway, i've more or less decided to take up honours by staying for a year more. It took me quite some time to make the decision, bcos its ONE MORE YEAR. But considering the pros and cons, it really isnt that bad to sacrifice that one more year. No doubt with a honours degree, i can get a better job with a higher pay = better future. Yes i may not be keen on doing research now. But who knows what will happen in a few years time? I dont want to return and regret not taking it then. Most imptly, there are friends here who can acc me until the end. I guess that is the most impt thing that i would need.

This means that i only have 1 month+ break this coming july! Honours is a whole year long project, by right there wouldnt be any long breaks unless you and supervisor comes to an agreement. Lets hope that i will be lucky enough to get a good one.

Enough of that, next week is my study week already.. Exam starts on next next thurs, 3 papers in total. We'll be going to stock up food supplies this sat! Last chance to relax before all the mugging starts. 10 june 10 june 10 june...

Some random photos again:

A small portion of the satay sauces we saw at the oriental shop. So there's actually a difference between Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian satay sauces. What about Singapore? I found Lee Kum Kee.

One particular meal we had that was super satisfying! We shouldnt have cooked so much good food at once.

I finally ate my lor mee that i brought from sg in the first sem.

Frozen baos from oriental shop. Tasted so homely.

Ok bye, see you after my exams.

Random

2010-05-07T01:21:00.009+08:00

Some random photos found in my hp:

Biomed Physio: Respiratory Practical [230410]

Lasagna made by shuhui [150410]

Trolley tower seen in the village [040410]

My sumptuous dinner [280310]

My favourite DAIM cake from ikea [250310]

Wah... I miss eating this at tampines ikea.

On the way back to hostel after mgen project [040310]

KFC! [260410]

2010-05-01T01:28:00.000+08:00

I tried KFC from Perth!
It was public holiday that day.. Evonne successfully got her job, so she treated us!
Apparently sh had been craving for KFC since dont know when. That was how we ended there.

Drive-thru is a very popular here in perth.
Almost every fastfood restaurant provides this service.

A very WIDE variety compared to what we have in sg.
Burgers, there are already more than 5 types.

The fries and chicken are nice! Too oily though.
Mashed potato and coleslaw were.. erm.. yah you know.

One Fine Saturday [240410]

2010-04-29T01:49:00.016+08:00

Finally done with all assignments for now. Exams will be in 34 days time!
Photos taken last saturday:

Got bored while waiting

Found this in oriental. Banana in syrup. Eeyer.

Waiting for bus to go back

Wan ton mee with no wanton

Chef kobi in action again

Impossible pie

Lava cake

Life

2010-04-14T01:54:00.006+08:00

Busy busy busy. One 15% test down today.

Another one coming next wed plus 2 reports due next friday.

Can there be 25 hours a day?

Some random shots:

Here, haircuts are expensive and not nice. So the best solution is... To DIY!
I only have the courage to cut my own fringe, not top nor back like this.
FYI, we were trying to help him salvage his hair just bcos he SHAVED IT BY HIMSELF (by looking at the degree of seriousness, i think he wasnt even looking at the mirror while shaving).

Colin failed, so i took over

Anatomy museum, the place where i used to study during long breaks last sem

Can you study with all those skeleton around you? Well we can. Haha.

Spot that tiny black one seater car

10.04.10 - Juhannes and Matthew came for dinner.
They are the singaporeans staying in shu hui's flat. Knew them long ago but didnt had the chance to eat together. But whenever singporeans and singaporeans meet, that means good food is round the corner! We had nasi lemak, laksa and impossible pie that day.

Juhannes frying chicken wings

Laksa and chicken wings

Matthew preparing nasi. He really added coconut milk.

Testing testing

I made the impossible pie!

Its called impossible bcos one batter mixture results in 3 layers in the final product after baking (believe it or not, it is due to density).

Routine Dinner

2010-04-07T08:38:00.014+08:00

I'm gonna be so dead this week. I thought the purpose of holiday is to give us a break?

But i am busier than normal school days. Can there be more than 24hrs per day?

But luckily, we have good food every now and then to energize ourselves. Hahaha.

The sunday before easter. Colin baked a chicken.

Happy Chick-day

Lol that wasnt the real intention. He was just cracking his knuckles.

Following are photos taken on easter. Ruth came to cook for us.

Chef of the day

Singapore-style home-cooked food.

Happy family

Dim Sum Feast

2010-04-04T00:55:00.034+08:00

Last week was the busiest week ever. Had to rush for reports and study for mid semester exams at the same time. Finally everything is over. Yesterday marked the first day of our holidays! Since it was good friday. But actually i only have 4 days of holidays till monday, before having to camp in lab from tues to fri to do experiments.

To reward ourselves for the hard work put in for the past few weeks, we went out for dim sum today! For the whole of last sem, i didnt get the chance to try dim sum. So pathetic right, considering the amount of time i've spent here, haha. My first time trying was during this sem's first one-week break, evonne brought us there. We were told that the food there was so-so only.. We were recommended to try at the one we went today at north bridge. Dragon Palace. Such a traditional name.

I was impressed... The food there was really nice..... Wide range of variety, nice atmosphere, good food. What else more can you ask for. All i can say is, the food was worth the price and i'm definitely going to visit there again!

Me and kobi got ready first, waiting for the other 2 in the living room

And there comes colin...

Followed by ivan...
It was them who allowed me to finally conquer the homesickness.
I dont dread to stay home anymore, unlike last sem.

I cant imagine how would life be like here without her.

The thing she doesnt want to be reminded of nowadays is, how is she going to survive after i leave..

Joondalup.

Sound like some malay or tamil word.

Uncles buying parking coupon

Too many people were queueing outside the restaurant and i was paiseh to take photo.

So lets zoom in straight into the restaurant!

This is downstairs. Usual dim sum restaurant style like our yum cha back in sg. But bos it was lunch time, downstairs was full so they opened up the second floor. We were the first ones to be directed upstairs!

During normal times, upstairs operates as a bar and ktv

See, when we first sat down, the place was empty!

Funny to eat dim sum at a 'bar'.

But its much quieter compared to downstairs.

More and more people starting to fill the place up

Oh this is the nicest dim sum i've eaten i tell you. Its called 'liu sha bao', made of some salted egg and dont know what. Cannot be found in singapore.

Awww... Heavenly.

We took a total of 5 'baskets' of it.

3 steamed ones (as shown above), 1 fried one and 1 wrapped with muah chee.

5 of us ate 17 'liu sha baos' altogether.

Po Luo Bao

Chee Chiong Fan

Some fried fishes. I was surprised it tasted nice.

Mango pudding. Thats the type i like, with carnation milk poured on top.

We ate a total of 20 baskets.

The 'sizes' indicate the prices. I only remember the large one is priced at 5.30 each.

The total bill was $130+, $26 per person but worth it!

Hailstorm in Perth! [220310]

2010-03-23T10:15:00.014+08:00

Its raining ice! There was a thunderstorm last afternoon, which resulted in large parts of perth blacking out, schools closed. Thousands of houses were blacked out during the storm, including sheena's and evonne's. It was one of the biggest storms in perth for many years. But this was only the 3rd time it rained since one month ago when i came back. The sky accumulated all its rain for a month and spitted them all out in an afternoon.

During the thunderstorm, there was a hailstorm too (raining ice). But i missed it!!! Was inside the school computer lab from 12pm to 7pm doing some report. What a waste! This could be the one ane only chance to watch it. Only came out of the lab for 5 mins or so to the toilet, and saw the ultra dark sky with trees swaying about, people trapped along the walkway not able to walk out of the biulding.

Below are photos taken by ivan in the hostel.
Lucky them, witnessed the rare phenomenon.

Ikea @ Perth

2010-03-17T21:53:00.018+08:00

I finished 2 tests today! One was 2.5%, the other 10%. Had been mugging for the past few days... Feel so light now. I was out for the rest of the day after the last test. But after all, good times dont last. The next test would be 2 weeks later. 2 tests on the same day again. Sigh.

I went ikea today!!! Had been wanting to go there for a long time, but no one to bring us. Today we actually planned to shop at bullcreek, but bcos evonne wanted to look for some furniture, she suggested going ikea. Just nice! When we entered the place, it felt as thought i was in tampines ikea. Everything is almost exactly the same, even the carpark. But they have a lesser variety of food though. This was the first time i've seen such an empty ikea...

Upon seeing the displayed pencils and measuring tapes at the entrance, shuhui commented:

"If these were to be put in singapore ikea, they will be gone after awhile."

Where has the image of singaporeans' gone to?

Ever seen this place so empty?

Different style of displaying the desserts.

Meatballs at sg ikea taste better.. The sauce too.

20 for $9.95. Afternoon deal.

Chicken cutlet sold at $3.95 after 2.30pm

Empty. Empty. Empty.

Mini fitting room for kids

Happening!

2010-03-14T02:04:00.021+08:00

Tmr would be the last day of this short one week break. This means that tests and projects are coming back..... Nightmares.

So what have i been doing this week? Other that catching up on some school work, i did gardening! Something that i will never experience in sg bcos we stay in hdb flats. Houses here in aus are all terrace-style, there are front and backyards which you have to self-maintain. That was what i did, to help a new sg friend evonne (shuhui's ex-neighbour and friend for N years since young) clear up her backyard. It can be quite tough for her since she's staying alone.

Today was the third time helping out. Last 2 times after gardening in the evening, evonne cooked us dinner while we watched some dvds. Though tiring, it felt so homely to be in a home! Today we went again, but in the morning. Evonne fetched us at the hostel at abt 9.

While waiting for evonne...

Eucalyptus

Did this flavour come from that plant?

After we finished gardening...

Spot that rabbit beside the tree trunk

Double-chin-ed rabbit! Have you seen one before?

Anyway this is evonne's pet. Probably over-fed?

She's in love with my legs

Finished work at around 11 and slacked around at her house till 12+.. And off we go for lunch.

She brought us to this dim sum restaurant. Delicious man.. Its been ages since i last ate. I miss going to toa payoh yum cha to eat with my family after 'shao mu-ing' during 'qing ming'.

They had everything a dim sum restaurant should have

After lunch, we went garden city to settle some phone issues. Although the place is very near murdoch, today was my first time there after one sem.. Is this a sign that i need to go out more often?

Bubble tea session at eutopia after that! We paid $3.60 + $0.60 (pearls) for a cup. Initially i thought it was ex too, compared to those $1+ ones in sg. But i have to accept the fact that this is a-u-s-t-r-a-l-i-a. We later went kardy to do some grocery shopping at kardy. Waited till just before they close to grab offers. Hahah but not much though.

Later at night was dinner at evonne's house and home sweet home at 9pm+. When will be the next time i can spend my day like this again? This is so fun. But only for once.

Baked Mushrooms

2010-03-09T22:26:00.002+08:00

If you have an oven at home, try this!

1. Lay mushrooms up-side down on an oven tray
2. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on them
3. Bake for awhile till mushroom are hot
4. Lay pieces of cut tomatoes and cheese on each mushroom
(preferably use mozzarella cheese, i dont have thats why i use this type)

Ta-da! Its nice. Try it =)

The Past Week

2010-03-06T22:47:00.032+08:00

This week had been a busy one. All thanks to that molecular genetics PRELIMINARY REPORT DRAFT, which requires us provide all the details of the experiments we designed. It is also this project that will take up my week 8 holidays.

Anyway, below are some food and things i have been eating / doing for the past week.

He just killed a kangeroo

That was our dinner for that night

Played 3-man dai dee after dinner. This was one set of cards i got for one of the rounds. For people who know how to play, tell me how am i supposed to win with such a 'nice' combi?!

This was friday. Attended Alan's bday celcbration. With a bunch of fellow singaporeans.

Today! Evonne (shuhui's friend) sent us to a wholesale centre at 7am+ to get cheap groceries!

Surprisingly crowded at 8am in the morning

Thats the original form of broccoli with its surrounding branches

Loads of veggies. But the thing about buying in a wholesale is, have to buy in bulk.

$5. Referring to one whole carton ok.. Lol.

5 bundles of garlic for $2!

See everyone pushing their trolleys?

Look at the amount of things we bought

This was today's dinner

Xiao bai cai, bah kut teh, sambal kangkong, butter mushrooms

And singapore made tang yuans =)))

Next week will be the first 1-week break. Its not gonna be a fun one,

with the tons of sch work to catch up.

Btw this is so unfair.. It was only recently that i knew that other unis here in perth started sch either last or this week. But this is already our 3rd week. It made us miss CNY! =(((((

A friend's Birthday

2010-03-02T22:52:00.013+08:00

Lol

Poker. Carmen has the whole set with chips.

Lao Yu Sheng in Perth?

2010-02-24T22:41:00.008+08:00

Home-made lao yu sheng by colin!

Purple cabbage, carrots, radish, dried orange, smoked salmon, prawn crackers, honey mixed sauce

Of everything in there, i only like the smoked salmon

Happy chinese new year

Saturday

2010-02-21T00:53:00.024+08:00

Its been exactly a week since i came back to perth. All i can say is, home is still the best.

This morning, we went grocery shopping at market city. Grocery shopping had always been a chore to me. At home, i never had to worry about food. Dad cooks, grandma cooks and food can be found right below my house. The trouble comes now when alone in a faraway land. A large variety of veggie and fruits right in front of you. BUT WHAT TO BUY?! Cooking is so troublesome.

So today, after walking a few rounds in the market, i finally 'found' some fresh food that i can buy! I bought ONE broccoli, FOUR potatoes, SIX eggs and a packet of jin zhen gu! Hahaha. Can food is easier to buy though, i bought a few cans today.

2 LADIES waiting for 3 GUYS

Random

$3 per stalk

Ok let me explain.. There was a full length mirror in my last sem's room, left behind by the previous owner. I thought every room had one then. But when i moved to this current room of mine, i realised they actually dont provide it! I was so used to having one. So for the past week, i had been searching for a suitable one. Finally found it today =)

Yeah.. My mirror is finally up.

In the evening, shuhui came to make creme brulee

Kobi made white chocolate lava cake bcos i wanted to eat.

Thank youuuuuu =)))

Lavaaaa Cakeeee

Food

2010-02-18T22:50:00.005+08:00

My dinner for today, lunch for tomorrow

This was the first proper meal i cooked for myself since i came back. So what did i eat for the past 5 days?

The day i came back (sat), me and carm had waffle biscuits given by SIA. Dinner, cooked and ate with the others. Sun, ate instant noodles for lunch and went village orientation bbq for free dinner. They served hamburger bread, 2 types or sausages which tasted like a mixture of all kinds of meat, coleslaw which doesnt taste good, veggie and chicken patties. Sounds delicious but apparently.. Nothing is nice. Other than the one-side hamburger bread and veggie patty, i didnt finish all other food i took.

Monday.. Shared potato wedges with sh for lunch and had steamboat for dinner (previous post). Tues, i forgot what i ate for lunch.. Dinner was with ruth at our place. Wed, i had bread with ham, egg and cheese for lunch and instant noodles for dinner.

This is not like singapore, where you can find cheap and good food by just taking the mrt or bus to any shopping centre, or even take a 5 mins walk to the coffee shop downstairs your block. So friends in singapore, we must learn to appreciate the convenience we have at home.

Yesterday and Today

2010-02-16T22:02:00.017+08:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. Had one lecture each for the 3 units i am taking this semester (molecular genetics, mechanisms of disease, biomedical physiology). Mgen is somewhat similar to genetics we took last sem.. But i guess it will get harder in the later part of the semester.

But i dont like mgen, bcos it ate up my week 8 holiday! We are supposed to have 2 one-week holidays on week 4 and 8. During the first lecture, we were told that there will be lab from tues to fri 9am to 5pm during week 8 break. That means the whole week will be gone! Spoiled my plan.

MOD, as the name suggest, we will be learning pathology. What causes the disease? How does the disease develop? Seems interesting, but the first lecture was only an intro. Biomed phy.. They started teaching at the first lecture. About sodium and potassium crossing the cell membrane via changes in concentration gradients.. It was soo boring.

3 lectures in a row, one after another from 8.30 am. Went student service centre after classes ended, in thought of paying sch fees. The centre was packed with people, probably bcos it was the first day of sch. After getting a queue number, we went to the bank to settle some issues and then the canteen to grab some food. After half and hour or so when we returned, it was still not our turn! Waited for more than an hour in total i think. After that, went to hostel admin office to pay hostel fees. I (and everyone else) had to pay $33 extra for carpet cleaning. Unreasonable!

Went kardy to do some shopping at about 2 plus. The weather was too HOT, we decided to take a bus. Met ruth at the bus stop! She was a classmate of ours during the last sem, was taking the same one year degree as me to get into vet sch. She accompanied us to shop at kardy.

Later that night, we went for steamboat at a friend's place. I think it was a reunion dinner or something like that.

Carmen and cynthia

Following are photos taken today (tuesday). Ruth came to our place for dinner

They found out from the web that radiation from handphones is able to 'pop a popcorn'. So we tried it out. Of cos, it failed. As expected.

CNY Part 2

2010-02-16T00:43:00.000+08:00

In the late afternoon cny yesterday, these were what i did.

chua dai dee

CNY goodies

CNY lunch. Instant noodles and cny snacks.

Went to fremantle later in the aftn. Coincidentally, we both wore red.

Fremantle market

The wide variety of cheese

$7 a bunch or 2 bunches for $10

Chinese New Year

2010-02-14T13:43:00.002+08:00

Someone just told me that i should blog more.. Since i am so bored now, so shall it.

Its cny today. Called grandma and home in the morning. Grandma is waiting for the large number of guests who will be coming, and at my own house, they are waiting to go bai nian. This is the first time i want to go bai nian so badly.

Woke up at 10 plus in the morning, ate breakfast and the boring day begins. The sun is blazing hot today, 36 deg cel, not a good idea to go out also or we'll most likely be burnt to death. So i shall stay in the hostel..

Now i dont dread staying in the hostel that much, bcos there are people i know staying with me. Unlike the last sem, the flat is foever empty. Not a single soul (most of the time), no noise, no sound. Now i have colin, ivan and kobi (today was carmen) staying with me. My door is slightly open now, and what i hear are voices of colin and carmen playing L4D2 across at the opposite room. In my previous flat, my door would be closed all the time in the day, sometimes even locked. Now keeping it slightly open, they will sometimes knock and pop their heads to talk. Feels more homely this way but still cannot be compared to the real home.

What a sad cny.

2 Months of Holiday Had passed... Just Like That

2010-02-13T22:38:00.023+08:00

This day has finally came. For us to return to perth after the two and a half month of slacking. School reopens on the 15th, one day after cny! This is the first time i cannot spend cny at home. It feels so lonely to be here alone.. When others are going around visiting relatives and friends. Sigh.

Both of us flew together this time

Hidden mirror on the back side of the foldable table

Oh she knows im taking her...

EE-FU Noodles

Sun rise

We touched down at about 6.10, it wasnt crowded at the customs, so we managed to clear it by 6.45. Fremantle shuttle bus was just in sight when we exited from the airport. They were early.

Reached hostel before 7.30 i think? But admin office only opens at 11am, that means we would not be able to get our keys until 11. So we went to colin's flat and rotted for 3 odd hours there.

This is what happens when you have only 1-2 hours of sleep

Introducing colin's new 'pet', a blue tougue lizard

Eeeee

Went grocery shopping with some new friends later in the afternoon

This view again.. After 2 months

Market city

Things we bought

First meal in perth

Egg, potato chicken, black bean soup and broccoli

The day ended with some card games played while they were drinking

Bye bye Singapore