Last paper ended at noon and went to town with the med gang. The 6 of us sat outside Austral by the sidewalk and celebrated with jugs of beer. Managed 2 1/2 pints before feeling slightly tipsy. One more life experience accomplished, getting drunk in the afternoon: tick [x].
Exams are OVER. Hell YEAH!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Hi all!
1st paper on Physiology was on Tuesday and i think it went well, guessed a few but hoping for the best. The whole paper comprised of 78 mcqs and we were given 2 hours + 15 minutes of reading time to complete it. (Haha, i love mcqs, all my 3 papers this term are all mcqs qns only ^^) Honestly, i could have finished the paper in 45 minutes, and many of my classmates felt the same too, some even leaving the exam hall half an hour after it started. Perhaps this is reflective of the aussie way of life, where everything is plentiful; plentiful space, plentiful time to go about life leisurely, even plentiful time to complete an exam. Not sure if i prefer having lots of time in an exam, because it is really unsettling to have people leaving the hall all around me and getting the feeling that i am not doing justice to the time given, despite having completed the exam and checked + having lots of time for self-doubt.
Just completed my Hlth Sci assignment (actually not really, i still have to write out all my references properly and to cut down 138 more words) which is due tmr 4pm. It was quite an interesting assignment as I had to interview a doctor, find out what are some of the issues in the profession and compare it to what the literature says, I interviewed Rhea's dad a haematologist. Though having it due in-between 2 of my exams made me go a bit crazy.
Chem paper on Friday, 3 hours 69 mcqs and 69%, every question will be 1% of my grade, yikes! Bio is my final paper and is next Wednesday, freedom beckons thereafter!
Omg so sleepy! 2.55am now, gonna go to sleep! Bye!
OH! Before i forget, had the most awesome experience last monday, during the aus vs germany match. Went to Rundle Mall with Rhea and Lucy at 3am to catch it on the big screen there, it was 3 degrees and absolutely freezing but oh so fun! Aus was dissapointing, losing 4-0, and the aussies just started walking away from the game when we were 3 points down. Loved the cheering though,
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
Pictures up soon, bfn! :)
1st paper on Physiology was on Tuesday and i think it went well, guessed a few but hoping for the best. The whole paper comprised of 78 mcqs and we were given 2 hours + 15 minutes of reading time to complete it. (Haha, i love mcqs, all my 3 papers this term are all mcqs qns only ^^) Honestly, i could have finished the paper in 45 minutes, and many of my classmates felt the same too, some even leaving the exam hall half an hour after it started. Perhaps this is reflective of the aussie way of life, where everything is plentiful; plentiful space, plentiful time to go about life leisurely, even plentiful time to complete an exam. Not sure if i prefer having lots of time in an exam, because it is really unsettling to have people leaving the hall all around me and getting the feeling that i am not doing justice to the time given, despite having completed the exam and checked + having lots of time for self-doubt.
Just completed my Hlth Sci assignment (actually not really, i still have to write out all my references properly and to cut down 138 more words) which is due tmr 4pm. It was quite an interesting assignment as I had to interview a doctor, find out what are some of the issues in the profession and compare it to what the literature says, I interviewed Rhea's dad a haematologist. Though having it due in-between 2 of my exams made me go a bit crazy.
Chem paper on Friday, 3 hours 69 mcqs and 69%, every question will be 1% of my grade, yikes! Bio is my final paper and is next Wednesday, freedom beckons thereafter!
Omg so sleepy! 2.55am now, gonna go to sleep! Bye!
OH! Before i forget, had the most awesome experience last monday, during the aus vs germany match. Went to Rundle Mall with Rhea and Lucy at 3am to catch it on the big screen there, it was 3 degrees and absolutely freezing but oh so fun! Aus was dissapointing, losing 4-0, and the aussies just started walking away from the game when we were 3 points down. Loved the cheering though,
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
Pictures up soon, bfn! :)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Hi! Just a quick short picture post before i go off to bed!
Made 5 identical sets of breakfasts lunches last Sunday and stored them in my fridge.
Always wanted to do try something like that, also because in the fit of a healthy-diet-mood, i over bought too many fruits/veg from Woolworths. Knowing myself, if i didn't ration out how many fruits/veg to eat a day, i will have no motivation to eat them and be left with rotten fruit/veg at the end of the week. Bought 12 bananas, a bag of 11 apples, 2 bags of carrots, a packet of silverbeet and 3 gigantic cucumbers.
I incorporated 2 bananas a day into my breakfast of Chocobanana sandwich (Sandwich with Nutella and 2 semi-mashed bananas). Lunch was a tuna sandwich with half a cucumber, a carrot worth of carrot sticks and an apple.
Dinner was supposed to be a cup full of silverbeet, a carrot and an apple, but i didn't follow this because it hadn't been pre-prepared and i got lazy mid-week.
Felt pretty accomplished after a week of healthy eating, and also felt that i had the capacity to go unhealthy this week, so when i saw that timtams were on sale...
HAHAHA, bought 4 packets at one shot, so i can taste all the flavours. 2 packets for $4, quite a discount. White choc is SO good, omg, can't believe how some classmates say it taste like cardboard??!
Lol, what a food- related post! xxx
Made 5 identical sets of breakfasts lunches last Sunday and stored them in my fridge.
Always wanted to do try something like that, also because in the fit of a healthy-diet-mood, i over bought too many fruits/veg from Woolworths. Knowing myself, if i didn't ration out how many fruits/veg to eat a day, i will have no motivation to eat them and be left with rotten fruit/veg at the end of the week. Bought 12 bananas, a bag of 11 apples, 2 bags of carrots, a packet of silverbeet and 3 gigantic cucumbers.
I incorporated 2 bananas a day into my breakfast of Chocobanana sandwich (Sandwich with Nutella and 2 semi-mashed bananas). Lunch was a tuna sandwich with half a cucumber, a carrot worth of carrot sticks and an apple.
Dinner was supposed to be a cup full of silverbeet, a carrot and an apple, but i didn't follow this because it hadn't been pre-prepared and i got lazy mid-week.
Felt pretty accomplished after a week of healthy eating, and also felt that i had the capacity to go unhealthy this week, so when i saw that timtams were on sale...
HAHAHA, bought 4 packets at one shot, so i can taste all the flavours. 2 packets for $4, quite a discount. White choc is SO good, omg, can't believe how some classmates say it taste like cardboard??!
Lol, what a food- related post! xxx
Saturday, May 22, 2010
HELLO!
First intercontinental skype with the Fiesties after 3 months in Oz, great times <3<3<3! Enjoy your holidays friends and await my return on 4th July!!! Speaking of which, i am really excited about taking the plane along for the very first time in my life then, have to take a domestic flight to Perth for transit first, navigate the confusing terminals (according to M3), get myself to the international terminal then take a flight back to sunny sg. Pressure much!
In response to feedback, I've been taking my sg hp out and about so i can use it as a camera and post more pictures here!
This was taken yesterday, on my way to Sturt campus for my health science workshop. A handful of huge pink breasted parrots nibbling the grass on the oval! They were so calm and unafraid of humans, i didn't want to disturb their peace and didn't approach any closer but still got a few clear shots. There are so many wild parrots where i live, a tree halfway between my house and the medical centre is often filled with chirping parrots, the small colourful variety!
Went exploring the medical centre on Thursday with Liana, during our break, her last name is Van dee Veerdonk, how cool is that? Primarily, I wanted to look for the emergency department, because although i walk past the main entrance of the medical centre, hear the sirens of ambulances rushing into FMC, and hear the roar of medi-helicopters everyday, i have never found out where the transit from transport to emergency department is. I always fear hurting myself one day when i am alone in the house, chopping my finger off or scalding my toes or some terrible accident and rushing to the hospital but not knowing where the emergency department is. So, together Liana and I found the emergency dept, and a little cafe where patients, whom the triage nurse decides can afford to wait, can patronise.
Had Wagon Wheels, a chocolate, marshmallow and jam soft snack which Liana said was highly aussie and treated me too. YUMS!
Joy and Andrew were overseas in Thailand for the past 2 weeks and so i made full use of the backyard. Spent 2 days just basking in the warmth of the sun in the backyard reading Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, bought from Central Market with M3. It gets comfortably warm when the sun is out and slightly chilly when it is blocked by clouds, so i bring a blanket out as well. It gets very quiet and occasionally birds rest on the tree above me, making a rustling sound and some leaves fall on me. Extremely relaxing and tranquilizing way to spend a lazy afternoon.
My lunch of pasta and lettuce in ikan billis soup. Not particularly nice, but the surroundings where i was eating it more than made up for it.
My washed sheets were drying away happily in the sun while i had my lunch and read my book.
Today:
Was awoken twice in the morning, when my plan was to have a nice long uninterrupted sleep till i woke up naturally (i have to wake up at 7.30am from tues to fri, so weekends are for sleeping in).
First Joyce called at 9.30 to say she had a free ticket to Monarto Zoo, it costs $36 for the chartered bus ride there and for the entrance tix. I wanted to go there originally, because Monarto Zoo is 2 hours away from where i stay and having a chartered bus makes things so much easier, it is an open zoo safari concept, and because i just love going to zoos. But with a bio poster presentation coming up, not having done much work last week and this week, and being busy for the previous weekend, i just wanted a day off for myself and hence i didn't get a ticket from the sch office earlier on in the week. So, was extremely tempted to go ahead for the zoo trip since the tix was free but as i had to be there in 15 minutes as the bus was leaving at 9.45, and as my nice warm bed was beckoning, i decided not to go in the end, for the 2nd time.
Was awaken the 2nd time by Paul who came to return my pot, he was so shocked that i was still sleeping, Marg, it's midday!.
It's not the first time a visitor finds himself or herself waking me up, even though it is a perfectly legitimate time of the day to call on someone. Joy has woken me up thrice already, in the most awkward times of the day. Once, in a week, she came at 11am in the morning (when m3 was around) to bring us some freshly baked banana cake and was so apologetic to have woken me up. A few days later, i was having an afternoon nap at 3pm when she came to give me a vase of flowers (see below), and she was so alarmed after realizing i was napping and she woke me up. She must be thinking that i spend all my days sleeping away... She should come at 1am next time, i am guaranteed to be awake! hahaha Nah, i'm trying to sleep early nowadays, before 11pm on school nights.
Spent the rest of the day cleaning the house. First i washed all the dishes in the sink, soaped and cleaned the stove area which was getting quite oily, esp after cooking the mushrooms (see culinary adventures section below). After washing and hanging the clothes outside, i swept the floor twice (so many dustballs!) before i mopped it thrice, once with dishwishing detergent, and twice with water because i was horrified at how slippery the floor had became. Washed and scrubbed the sink, and the sink area, before scrubbing the toilet bowl and washing the toilet floor. Now the whole house looks and feels so clean and comfortable! It smells good too, because i aired the house during the day, previously it smelt rather dank because i had my heater on for most of the time and kept every single window closed because it was cold outside.
Last week (detailed bits of my life, documented so i can remember every moment, just scan though if you wish:)))):
Monday- Watched Iron Man 2 with Paul at Marions. We were there late and ended up having to watch the next movie 40 minutes later. Spent the time at Intensity, an arcade. Arcades in Aus is so EX! The basketball game ($1) lasts for only 30 seconds or so and the score to beat to get a bonus round is so high, i didn't manage to get a free game even though i played a total of 4 times, 2 for each time at the arcade. There are only 3 balls also, so alot of time is spent waiting for the balls to roll down. Played a shooting Zombie game too, and it was $2 per person when we thought it was $2 per game, heaps fun but slightly scary.
Iron Man was great! Enjoyed it thoroughly even though i didn't watch IM1. I just love the technology, when Tony Stark can just wave his arms around and blueprints fly around doing his bidding.
Tues:
Badminton in school with Joyce. Joyce is super good in badminton! I feel so weak when playing with her, just kept moving further away from the net while my shutter lands nearer and nearer to the net... The racket scraped some skin off my wrist as i was holding it too high up and every time i hit something the racket hits my wrist too. Ouch!:S
Thursday:
Went Marions for gift shopping with Melissa and Lucy. Lucy drove us, together with Joyce and Claudia there. After settling on gifts for Michelle and Keishia, the 2 birthday girls, i went clothes shopping myself, while the girls went home. Bought a navy blue jacket from Valley girl for $40, i can't decide whether it was an impulse buy or whether it was a necessity. It's getting cold here and i only have one jacket that keeps me warm (my cardigan does nothing when the wind is strong). But, Lucy was telling me earlier in the day that she has so many jackets for winter, and i will naturally acquire more and more jackets, which probably contributed to the impulsive part of me getting the jacket. Anyhow, i like it and it keeps me warm.
I am so much more at ease when i am outside and alone now. Every weekend i have lunch alone at Marions food court before going grocery shopping at either Coles or Woolworths. Although i still feel weird sitting by myself and eating alone, i feel so independent when i push the shopping trolley through the supermarket and shop for my weekly groceries. It's a very liberating feeling to decide what i want to eat/ want in my house, and to have a wide selection of new brands to choose from as well as knowing that most of what i am getting are necessities.
Friday:
Went BBQ material shopping at Marions with Paul who organised a BBQ at his place on sat. Bought sausages, marshmallows and tomato sauce from Coles, before heading to the Arcade again! Played Daytona this time and i beat him by a whisker. The med gang jokes that i don't have my license/ can't drive (everyone else can drive/have their Ps) and that Daytona and Mario Cart are my cars. -.-
Sat:
Busy day. Went for floorball training in the morning, with Lucy picking me up at FMC and us heading to UniHall Outdoor Court together. Met the rest, Michelle, Stella, Keishia, Melissa and Adeline. Got my stick for $20A, apparently it is a non-competitive stick, for beginners only. The coach, Stella Chia is from sg and is the coach for ACJC, Katong convent and Nanyang poly and she is here for holiday and will give us 2 floorball clinics. I really doubt that we will continue playing/get really good when she leaves, but i agreed to buy the stick anyway because its fun to play it, i can use it in sg too, and most importantly, i feel so much safer in the house with it!
No one here seems to know what Floorball is, Gabby even went to google it after i told her. According to Stella though, internationally, Aus is first in the floorball league and it is a huge sport in all the other parts, esp perth, save for Adelaide.
Crossed the street to Paul's house for a BBQ next with Kathy, Gabby, Robert, Cindy, Johnno, Ramm, Julian. I have been to 2 Aus BBQs so far and in both, sausages are the highlight. Here, the BBQ is usually just an electric stove device(can be used indoors or out) and is simply used to cook all the food(store bought sausages and meat patties) at one go, mended by a person or 2 and then put aside and forgotten. BBQing is quite different than in sg, where normally the BBQ pit is the centre of attention, much effort is needed to start the fire and cooking is a continuous event with a wide variety of food that needs lots of preparation. We ate our sausages in bread and tomato sauce (I used the word Ketchup and Kathy told me i was really American, 'Australians say tomato sauce'!
Nearing evening, went to Keishia's house for a shared birthday celebration between Keishia and Michelle (18th and 20th respectively), driven by Lucy. TY Lucy for driving me around! Keishia's mum cooked so much food!!! I was really contented that night, with an endless flow of good food in front of me and huddling round her campfire.
Sunday:
Went for Bio poster meeting in the library in the morning and skyped with Fiesties in the afternoon!(see above)
This week:
Tuesday:
Played badminton again with Joyce and Phyllis and had dinner after at Joyce and Claudia's. Had dinner at their place on Thursday too, with Rohid. I love going to their house because great dinner+ dessert is always prepared and i don't have to lift a finger to cook/clean after hahahah! But i really dislike getting there and coming back by myself. They stay in Malcolm street which is just a 10 minute walk away, but 10 minutes at night is a very long time when it is eerily silent everywhere, some parts of the road is pitch dark and it is cold at night. I always run there and back with all my might, yes it is that scary!
I guess i felt more free when it was still summer. Then, it got dark at 8.30, and days felt so much longer. Now, it is pitch dark at 5.30, and temperature drops below 10 at night. I draw all my curtains because i fear what i see outside the window and i feel that its very late and i should be winding down for the day even though it might only be 6pm. Sun, i love you please stay in the sky for longer!
Thurs:
Last bio prac for the topic Biological Basis of Life. I have a love-hate relationship with bio prac.
Love, because I do so well in it (Every prac is worth 6%, the first prac was on how to use the library database/harvard referencing system, everyone got full marks because the online test can be done over and over again. I scored 39, 40 and 37 for the subsequent pracs upon 40, which means 24% is over and done with now. The final 6% has not been given back yet. (Feeling that this is too good to be true as i am typing this, but too lazy to confirm by checking the topic manual...))Hate, because it takes a lot of effort for a single prac and it just drains me out for a week.
Thankfully, bio pracs are held once every 2 weeks. Every even week, i have to answer a bio pre-lab quiz online by Tuesday. By Thursday, the day of my prac, I have to complete a one page pre-lab report on the hypothesis and aims of the experiment. On Thursdays are the actual bio prac, and by then I am already suffering from an over dose of bio prac materials, the actual pracs are 3 hours long, after a long day of 4 hours of lectures. It normally stretches on to 3.5 hours, meaning I had a day from 9-5.30, with an hour's break in between. At night, or anytime between Thursday night and Friday 5pm, i have to complete a bio prac report, which is normally 2-3 pages of discussion of results and conclusion, 1 page of referencing + how I improved from the previous report and 1-2 pages of graphs/diagrams/tables to fill in and answer any additional questions. It's nothing like A levels SPA because every prac is different, and in-text referencing are needed, ie I need to read my textbook/ internet pages to get information and paraphrase inside the report. It is not difficult, but highly tiring work as there are so many components to address. I must be doing a fine job of it, though i don't particularly look forward to it.
Anyway, its the end! TY to Patrick and David for making it so much more lively and fun during the 3 hour pracs. Patrick is my bio prac partner, as well as my course mate, while David and Patrick are in my bio poster group. See the Edward Cullen resemblance in Patrick?
(Patrick is flanked by David and I, and I am looking so queer in my lab safety glasses...
Yesterday:
Great day out in the city. I was debating between going for a Med Sci Pub Crawl or shopping with Lucy and Melissa in the city, and decided to go shopping in the end because I'm not from Med Sci, I didn't get the T shirt and didn't know what to wear, my blister from the previous pub crawl hadn't healed fully, and i haven't fully explored Rundle mall.
Met Lucy at my place at 5pm, she drove and parked at my place because parking is a nightmare in the city and is exorbitantly priced. Paul joined us for the trip to the city, and for dinner before he went for the pub crawl. We met Melissa who stays in the city at Chinatown and us 4 went for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was so yummy! We had Mongolian Beef, Stir fried beans, Spicy Tofu and rice. Only Paul could use the chopstick correctly amongst us 4, even though he is the only aussie! Lucy and I made him try Bubble Tea, and he disliked the pearls and wished they were chocolate balls instead. Bubble Tea is $4 for a huge cup here! We went shopping at Rundle Mall thereafter, but everything was closing already as it was 9pm.
Melissa then brought us to a dessert shop where we had Chocolate Filth, a rich chocolate cake (Death by Chocolate), with 6 shots of different sauces to pour over. Although I am not a chocolate person, I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert. It was a great experience, sitting at a table by the sidewalk eating chocolate, feeling cold but being warmly dressed, people watching, and eavesdropping on students from Adelaide Uni and Uni SA (their campus is side by side in the city and hence the dessert shop is highly frequented by their students).
On the way to Melissa's place, at the bus stop I met Yi Ling, Table tennis senior from VJ!!! I was sooo surprise when I saw her, as she was the first person that I met in Aus whom I already knew before. She is studying dentistry in Adelaide Uni, 2nd year. I never knew she was in aus, and without this chance meeting, I would never have known I know someone else in Adelaide! Wow, how small is the world!
Random bits:
I tried my first Tim Tam last week and absolutely love it now! I polished off the whole packet in 3 days. The best way to eat it, I've learnt, is to bite off diagonal corners of it and to use it as a straw in hot chocolate or any other chocolate/coffee beverage. The Tim Tam will dissolve after a while and the gooey chocolate biscuit/drink mix is heavenly. YUMS!
Some of the Singaporeans here have reported their 'language used at home' to be Chinese, just so that they are allowed to use a dictionary during our final exams and 15 more minutes for every hour of the exams. They are so delighted over this advantage and have been asking me to do the same so i can 'get more time'. Seriously?! I feel mixed feelings when Aussies tell me my English is superb. Of course i am happy, and i thank them for the compliment but I'll also tell them I've been using the language for all my life. I don't think I need the extra advantage and i don't want it too, i want to be taking exams on even footing with the rest of the student population so that whatever results i get, i know i deserve it.
Lucy(from NZ) got a shock yesterday when she heard from 2 different sources the exact same stereotypes of NZlanders. It was so hilarious! Firstly, NZlanders pronounce 'Fish and Chips' as 'Forsh and Chups' and NZlanders have sex with sheep, because there are so many of them around. A typical jibe at a NZlander is this joke:
Guy A: Are you shearing your sheep?
Guy B: No, get your own.
LOL!!! I didn't get it at first, but it is a play on the word 'shear' and 'share'.
Sg is stereotyped to be a very strict place,if you chew gum you'll be jailed. Aussies are all stereotyped to have have skin cancer. Ahh hilarious stuff!
Big vase of flowers given to be by Joy the day M3 left. She must have thought i would be lonely and wanted to cheer me up, i have such a splendid landlady:))) Joy and Alice, her 5 year old granddaughter, picked these from the front garden, cut off the thorns and arranged them together. The garden is getting more beautiful and colourful by the day as it is less dry now.
Culinary adventures:
After M3 left, i had so much food left over in the fridge which i don't normally deal with ie: Mussels, prawns, chilli. I am more of a sausage/chicken/tuna person when it comes to cooking for myself and i just had to clear my fridge before i stock it with new fresh food.
Last Monday: Mussels fried with chopped chilli, ikan billis and chilli paste from a bottle, garlic, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
After the first success with my mussels, i decided to cook the prawns as well (also so that i don't have the wash the pan twice). Juicy stir fried prawns with tomato sauce, onions, garlic, soy sauce and sugar.
The 2 dishes were so marvelously well cooked that i just had to call the whole neighbourhood over to taste test it, Cindy, Paul, Joyce, Claudia. YUMS! I bet they all see me in a different light now, Marg the Masterchef, muahahah=D
This Thursday: Stir fried mushrooms and (the rest of the mussels) with lettuce, chopped chilli, oyster sauce, chilli paste and soy sauce. Brought it over to Joyce and Claudia's place for dinner together with Rohid. First attempt at cooking mushrooms! I had to keep adding water because the mushrooms kept absorbing the sauces and drying the dish out.
Forgotten when: Chicken drumstick boiled with carrots, onions, garlic and pasta. Amazingly simple to make. I have made this dish thrice so far and it gets better every time.
Alrighty, another long post, I spent today just cleaning the house and blogging, so unproductive! Ciao!
First intercontinental skype with the Fiesties after 3 months in Oz, great times <3<3<3! Enjoy your holidays friends and await my return on 4th July!!! Speaking of which, i am really excited about taking the plane along for the very first time in my life then, have to take a domestic flight to Perth for transit first, navigate the confusing terminals (according to M3), get myself to the international terminal then take a flight back to sunny sg. Pressure much!
In response to feedback, I've been taking my sg hp out and about so i can use it as a camera and post more pictures here!
This was taken yesterday, on my way to Sturt campus for my health science workshop. A handful of huge pink breasted parrots nibbling the grass on the oval! They were so calm and unafraid of humans, i didn't want to disturb their peace and didn't approach any closer but still got a few clear shots. There are so many wild parrots where i live, a tree halfway between my house and the medical centre is often filled with chirping parrots, the small colourful variety!
Went exploring the medical centre on Thursday with Liana, during our break, her last name is Van dee Veerdonk, how cool is that? Primarily, I wanted to look for the emergency department, because although i walk past the main entrance of the medical centre, hear the sirens of ambulances rushing into FMC, and hear the roar of medi-helicopters everyday, i have never found out where the transit from transport to emergency department is. I always fear hurting myself one day when i am alone in the house, chopping my finger off or scalding my toes or some terrible accident and rushing to the hospital but not knowing where the emergency department is. So, together Liana and I found the emergency dept, and a little cafe where patients, whom the triage nurse decides can afford to wait, can patronise.
Had Wagon Wheels, a chocolate, marshmallow and jam soft snack which Liana said was highly aussie and treated me too. YUMS!
Joy and Andrew were overseas in Thailand for the past 2 weeks and so i made full use of the backyard. Spent 2 days just basking in the warmth of the sun in the backyard reading Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, bought from Central Market with M3. It gets comfortably warm when the sun is out and slightly chilly when it is blocked by clouds, so i bring a blanket out as well. It gets very quiet and occasionally birds rest on the tree above me, making a rustling sound and some leaves fall on me. Extremely relaxing and tranquilizing way to spend a lazy afternoon.
My lunch of pasta and lettuce in ikan billis soup. Not particularly nice, but the surroundings where i was eating it more than made up for it.
My washed sheets were drying away happily in the sun while i had my lunch and read my book.
Today:
Was awoken twice in the morning, when my plan was to have a nice long uninterrupted sleep till i woke up naturally (i have to wake up at 7.30am from tues to fri, so weekends are for sleeping in).
First Joyce called at 9.30 to say she had a free ticket to Monarto Zoo, it costs $36 for the chartered bus ride there and for the entrance tix. I wanted to go there originally, because Monarto Zoo is 2 hours away from where i stay and having a chartered bus makes things so much easier, it is an open zoo safari concept, and because i just love going to zoos. But with a bio poster presentation coming up, not having done much work last week and this week, and being busy for the previous weekend, i just wanted a day off for myself and hence i didn't get a ticket from the sch office earlier on in the week. So, was extremely tempted to go ahead for the zoo trip since the tix was free but as i had to be there in 15 minutes as the bus was leaving at 9.45, and as my nice warm bed was beckoning, i decided not to go in the end, for the 2nd time.
Was awaken the 2nd time by Paul who came to return my pot, he was so shocked that i was still sleeping, Marg, it's midday!.
It's not the first time a visitor finds himself or herself waking me up, even though it is a perfectly legitimate time of the day to call on someone. Joy has woken me up thrice already, in the most awkward times of the day. Once, in a week, she came at 11am in the morning (when m3 was around) to bring us some freshly baked banana cake and was so apologetic to have woken me up. A few days later, i was having an afternoon nap at 3pm when she came to give me a vase of flowers (see below), and she was so alarmed after realizing i was napping and she woke me up. She must be thinking that i spend all my days sleeping away... She should come at 1am next time, i am guaranteed to be awake! hahaha Nah, i'm trying to sleep early nowadays, before 11pm on school nights.
Spent the rest of the day cleaning the house. First i washed all the dishes in the sink, soaped and cleaned the stove area which was getting quite oily, esp after cooking the mushrooms (see culinary adventures section below). After washing and hanging the clothes outside, i swept the floor twice (so many dustballs!) before i mopped it thrice, once with dishwishing detergent, and twice with water because i was horrified at how slippery the floor had became. Washed and scrubbed the sink, and the sink area, before scrubbing the toilet bowl and washing the toilet floor. Now the whole house looks and feels so clean and comfortable! It smells good too, because i aired the house during the day, previously it smelt rather dank because i had my heater on for most of the time and kept every single window closed because it was cold outside.
Last week (detailed bits of my life, documented so i can remember every moment, just scan though if you wish:)))):
Monday- Watched Iron Man 2 with Paul at Marions. We were there late and ended up having to watch the next movie 40 minutes later. Spent the time at Intensity, an arcade. Arcades in Aus is so EX! The basketball game ($1) lasts for only 30 seconds or so and the score to beat to get a bonus round is so high, i didn't manage to get a free game even though i played a total of 4 times, 2 for each time at the arcade. There are only 3 balls also, so alot of time is spent waiting for the balls to roll down. Played a shooting Zombie game too, and it was $2 per person when we thought it was $2 per game, heaps fun but slightly scary.
Iron Man was great! Enjoyed it thoroughly even though i didn't watch IM1. I just love the technology, when Tony Stark can just wave his arms around and blueprints fly around doing his bidding.
Tues:
Badminton in school with Joyce. Joyce is super good in badminton! I feel so weak when playing with her, just kept moving further away from the net while my shutter lands nearer and nearer to the net... The racket scraped some skin off my wrist as i was holding it too high up and every time i hit something the racket hits my wrist too. Ouch!:S
Thursday:
Went Marions for gift shopping with Melissa and Lucy. Lucy drove us, together with Joyce and Claudia there. After settling on gifts for Michelle and Keishia, the 2 birthday girls, i went clothes shopping myself, while the girls went home. Bought a navy blue jacket from Valley girl for $40, i can't decide whether it was an impulse buy or whether it was a necessity. It's getting cold here and i only have one jacket that keeps me warm (my cardigan does nothing when the wind is strong). But, Lucy was telling me earlier in the day that she has so many jackets for winter, and i will naturally acquire more and more jackets, which probably contributed to the impulsive part of me getting the jacket. Anyhow, i like it and it keeps me warm.
I am so much more at ease when i am outside and alone now. Every weekend i have lunch alone at Marions food court before going grocery shopping at either Coles or Woolworths. Although i still feel weird sitting by myself and eating alone, i feel so independent when i push the shopping trolley through the supermarket and shop for my weekly groceries. It's a very liberating feeling to decide what i want to eat/ want in my house, and to have a wide selection of new brands to choose from as well as knowing that most of what i am getting are necessities.
Friday:
Went BBQ material shopping at Marions with Paul who organised a BBQ at his place on sat. Bought sausages, marshmallows and tomato sauce from Coles, before heading to the Arcade again! Played Daytona this time and i beat him by a whisker. The med gang jokes that i don't have my license/ can't drive (everyone else can drive/have their Ps) and that Daytona and Mario Cart are my cars. -.-
Sat:
Busy day. Went for floorball training in the morning, with Lucy picking me up at FMC and us heading to UniHall Outdoor Court together. Met the rest, Michelle, Stella, Keishia, Melissa and Adeline. Got my stick for $20A, apparently it is a non-competitive stick, for beginners only. The coach, Stella Chia is from sg and is the coach for ACJC, Katong convent and Nanyang poly and she is here for holiday and will give us 2 floorball clinics. I really doubt that we will continue playing/get really good when she leaves, but i agreed to buy the stick anyway because its fun to play it, i can use it in sg too, and most importantly, i feel so much safer in the house with it!
No one here seems to know what Floorball is, Gabby even went to google it after i told her. According to Stella though, internationally, Aus is first in the floorball league and it is a huge sport in all the other parts, esp perth, save for Adelaide.
Crossed the street to Paul's house for a BBQ next with Kathy, Gabby, Robert, Cindy, Johnno, Ramm, Julian. I have been to 2 Aus BBQs so far and in both, sausages are the highlight. Here, the BBQ is usually just an electric stove device(can be used indoors or out) and is simply used to cook all the food(store bought sausages and meat patties) at one go, mended by a person or 2 and then put aside and forgotten. BBQing is quite different than in sg, where normally the BBQ pit is the centre of attention, much effort is needed to start the fire and cooking is a continuous event with a wide variety of food that needs lots of preparation. We ate our sausages in bread and tomato sauce (I used the word Ketchup and Kathy told me i was really American, 'Australians say tomato sauce'!
Nearing evening, went to Keishia's house for a shared birthday celebration between Keishia and Michelle (18th and 20th respectively), driven by Lucy. TY Lucy for driving me around! Keishia's mum cooked so much food!!! I was really contented that night, with an endless flow of good food in front of me and huddling round her campfire.
Sunday:
Went for Bio poster meeting in the library in the morning and skyped with Fiesties in the afternoon!(see above)
This week:
Tuesday:
Played badminton again with Joyce and Phyllis and had dinner after at Joyce and Claudia's. Had dinner at their place on Thursday too, with Rohid. I love going to their house because great dinner+ dessert is always prepared and i don't have to lift a finger to cook/clean after hahahah! But i really dislike getting there and coming back by myself. They stay in Malcolm street which is just a 10 minute walk away, but 10 minutes at night is a very long time when it is eerily silent everywhere, some parts of the road is pitch dark and it is cold at night. I always run there and back with all my might, yes it is that scary!
I guess i felt more free when it was still summer. Then, it got dark at 8.30, and days felt so much longer. Now, it is pitch dark at 5.30, and temperature drops below 10 at night. I draw all my curtains because i fear what i see outside the window and i feel that its very late and i should be winding down for the day even though it might only be 6pm. Sun, i love you please stay in the sky for longer!
Thurs:
Last bio prac for the topic Biological Basis of Life. I have a love-hate relationship with bio prac.
Love, because I do so well in it (Every prac is worth 6%, the first prac was on how to use the library database/harvard referencing system, everyone got full marks because the online test can be done over and over again. I scored 39, 40 and 37 for the subsequent pracs upon 40, which means 24% is over and done with now. The final 6% has not been given back yet. (Feeling that this is too good to be true as i am typing this, but too lazy to confirm by checking the topic manual...))Hate, because it takes a lot of effort for a single prac and it just drains me out for a week.
Thankfully, bio pracs are held once every 2 weeks. Every even week, i have to answer a bio pre-lab quiz online by Tuesday. By Thursday, the day of my prac, I have to complete a one page pre-lab report on the hypothesis and aims of the experiment. On Thursdays are the actual bio prac, and by then I am already suffering from an over dose of bio prac materials, the actual pracs are 3 hours long, after a long day of 4 hours of lectures. It normally stretches on to 3.5 hours, meaning I had a day from 9-5.30, with an hour's break in between. At night, or anytime between Thursday night and Friday 5pm, i have to complete a bio prac report, which is normally 2-3 pages of discussion of results and conclusion, 1 page of referencing + how I improved from the previous report and 1-2 pages of graphs/diagrams/tables to fill in and answer any additional questions. It's nothing like A levels SPA because every prac is different, and in-text referencing are needed, ie I need to read my textbook/ internet pages to get information and paraphrase inside the report. It is not difficult, but highly tiring work as there are so many components to address. I must be doing a fine job of it, though i don't particularly look forward to it.
Anyway, its the end! TY to Patrick and David for making it so much more lively and fun during the 3 hour pracs. Patrick is my bio prac partner, as well as my course mate, while David and Patrick are in my bio poster group. See the Edward Cullen resemblance in Patrick?
(Patrick is flanked by David and I, and I am looking so queer in my lab safety glasses...
Yesterday:
Great day out in the city. I was debating between going for a Med Sci Pub Crawl or shopping with Lucy and Melissa in the city, and decided to go shopping in the end because I'm not from Med Sci, I didn't get the T shirt and didn't know what to wear, my blister from the previous pub crawl hadn't healed fully, and i haven't fully explored Rundle mall.
Met Lucy at my place at 5pm, she drove and parked at my place because parking is a nightmare in the city and is exorbitantly priced. Paul joined us for the trip to the city, and for dinner before he went for the pub crawl. We met Melissa who stays in the city at Chinatown and us 4 went for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was so yummy! We had Mongolian Beef, Stir fried beans, Spicy Tofu and rice. Only Paul could use the chopstick correctly amongst us 4, even though he is the only aussie! Lucy and I made him try Bubble Tea, and he disliked the pearls and wished they were chocolate balls instead. Bubble Tea is $4 for a huge cup here! We went shopping at Rundle Mall thereafter, but everything was closing already as it was 9pm.
Melissa then brought us to a dessert shop where we had Chocolate Filth, a rich chocolate cake (Death by Chocolate), with 6 shots of different sauces to pour over. Although I am not a chocolate person, I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert. It was a great experience, sitting at a table by the sidewalk eating chocolate, feeling cold but being warmly dressed, people watching, and eavesdropping on students from Adelaide Uni and Uni SA (their campus is side by side in the city and hence the dessert shop is highly frequented by their students).
On the way to Melissa's place, at the bus stop I met Yi Ling, Table tennis senior from VJ!!! I was sooo surprise when I saw her, as she was the first person that I met in Aus whom I already knew before. She is studying dentistry in Adelaide Uni, 2nd year. I never knew she was in aus, and without this chance meeting, I would never have known I know someone else in Adelaide! Wow, how small is the world!
Random bits:
I tried my first Tim Tam last week and absolutely love it now! I polished off the whole packet in 3 days. The best way to eat it, I've learnt, is to bite off diagonal corners of it and to use it as a straw in hot chocolate or any other chocolate/coffee beverage. The Tim Tam will dissolve after a while and the gooey chocolate biscuit/drink mix is heavenly. YUMS!
Some of the Singaporeans here have reported their 'language used at home' to be Chinese, just so that they are allowed to use a dictionary during our final exams and 15 more minutes for every hour of the exams. They are so delighted over this advantage and have been asking me to do the same so i can 'get more time'. Seriously?! I feel mixed feelings when Aussies tell me my English is superb. Of course i am happy, and i thank them for the compliment but I'll also tell them I've been using the language for all my life. I don't think I need the extra advantage and i don't want it too, i want to be taking exams on even footing with the rest of the student population so that whatever results i get, i know i deserve it.
Lucy(from NZ) got a shock yesterday when she heard from 2 different sources the exact same stereotypes of NZlanders. It was so hilarious! Firstly, NZlanders pronounce 'Fish and Chips' as 'Forsh and Chups' and NZlanders have sex with sheep, because there are so many of them around. A typical jibe at a NZlander is this joke:
Guy A: Are you shearing your sheep?
Guy B: No, get your own.
LOL!!! I didn't get it at first, but it is a play on the word 'shear' and 'share'.
Sg is stereotyped to be a very strict place,if you chew gum you'll be jailed. Aussies are all stereotyped to have have skin cancer. Ahh hilarious stuff!
Big vase of flowers given to be by Joy the day M3 left. She must have thought i would be lonely and wanted to cheer me up, i have such a splendid landlady:))) Joy and Alice, her 5 year old granddaughter, picked these from the front garden, cut off the thorns and arranged them together. The garden is getting more beautiful and colourful by the day as it is less dry now.
Culinary adventures:
After M3 left, i had so much food left over in the fridge which i don't normally deal with ie: Mussels, prawns, chilli. I am more of a sausage/chicken/tuna person when it comes to cooking for myself and i just had to clear my fridge before i stock it with new fresh food.
Last Monday: Mussels fried with chopped chilli, ikan billis and chilli paste from a bottle, garlic, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
After the first success with my mussels, i decided to cook the prawns as well (also so that i don't have the wash the pan twice). Juicy stir fried prawns with tomato sauce, onions, garlic, soy sauce and sugar.
The 2 dishes were so marvelously well cooked that i just had to call the whole neighbourhood over to taste test it, Cindy, Paul, Joyce, Claudia. YUMS! I bet they all see me in a different light now, Marg the Masterchef, muahahah=D
This Thursday: Stir fried mushrooms and (the rest of the mussels) with lettuce, chopped chilli, oyster sauce, chilli paste and soy sauce. Brought it over to Joyce and Claudia's place for dinner together with Rohid. First attempt at cooking mushrooms! I had to keep adding water because the mushrooms kept absorbing the sauces and drying the dish out.
Forgotten when: Chicken drumstick boiled with carrots, onions, garlic and pasta. Amazingly simple to make. I have made this dish thrice so far and it gets better every time.
Alrighty, another long post, I spent today just cleaning the house and blogging, so unproductive! Ciao!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Happy Mother's Day m3! <3 <3 <3
This Week:
Yesterday: Flinders PubCrawl!
The theme was 'You are the one that i want' and all the females were pink ladies, while the guys were T birds. Apparently everyone has seen Grease, where it is from. But there was nothing Grease-like about the pub crawl except for the printing on our pub crawl tee shirts. Yes, we have t shirts for PCs, how cool is that! It was a Uni Pub Crawl, so basically the whole of Flinders (750 confirmed guest on fb, could be more) swept into town to paint the town red! Because there was so many people, there were 4 colours of Tee shirts, white, black, pink and red and 4 pubs to go to and the different coloured teams had to rotate in order through the pubs.
Bussed down to town with Gabs, Kathy, Julian and Paul. They were halfway there when they realised they forgot about me, and bussed back to get me :S. First stop was The Elephant. Julian bought a while bag of Alcopops which he was drinking on the ride there. He got so drunk on the bus he kept singing, it was hilarious! We got barred for entering The Elephant!! While waiting for Patrick outside the pub, we all started finishing Jul's Alcopops because he couldn't bring it in. The guy at the door saw us and banned us from entering.
Next stop was Electric Light Hotel. Met the rest of the med gang there, about 10 or more of us in total and then Julian started smoking?! Shocking really, never seen any friends smoking before... Kath tried stealing his packet of cigarettes to stop him from smoking but he got angry and got it back. Proceeded to the Mansions next, where i shared a Fruit tingle with Karline and Laura, drinks were selling for really cheaply for us, we got the whole jug of Ft for $15, so its like $5 for 2-3 cups each. There was great music at mansions and the whole med gang started dancing on the stage, heaps fun! Last stop was London Tavern, which was my favourite pub. The DJ was awesome and he started rapping at some point in time. We must have spent 2 hours or more in there dancing. Not sure if it was the alcohol or the loud club music but time just seemed to fly. Cabbed home with Paul close to 2am and he kept hipcupping on the way back, LOL!
Got a uber huge blister on my right little toe from my heels. Wrapped it with gauze and secured it with a plaster once i got back, haven't open it yet to check the healing yet, hope it doesn't fester and rot omg.
Gyming:
Used my one week free trial to the school gym this week. I love Flinders Gym, it sits at the top of a side of the hill and you can see the entire suburb all the way to the seaside through the massive windows. There are 3 stories to the gym and the equipment are all brand new, with plasma TVs for every corner of the room. Not sure whether to put it down to kiasuness, curiosity or a great desire to be healthy and fit, but i actually went 4 times this week, on Mon, Tues, Wed and Sat! For one, there were many group classes being held, and all of them seemed really fun to do. I prefer group classes so much more than working out by myself on weights or cardio.
Went for BodyBalance on Mon with Rhea at 8am (i know right, its so early! We both were determined to try out as much as the classes as possible.) BBalance was a "dynamic mixture of tai chi yoga and pilates... calms even the most stressed participant".
Tuesday, lecture ended at 4pm and Rhea and i tried out the weights and cardio room for an hour before BodyAttack started at 5pm. We did cycling and rowing and lat pull downs. The weights room was pretty intimidating, when we went in, it was entirely filled with big chunky angmoh guys pumping away. The room certainly didn't smell that good then...:S BodyAttack was great fun, lots of jumping jacks, hand-raises and running around the room, almost felt like a cheerleading class. I was so uncoordinated though and somehow took forever to figure out the cross movements, where you have to lift your left leg and right hand ect.
Wednesday, Shaz and i wanted to try Punchpad, which is a boxing based cardio class but it was so popular that the class was full. We did our own cycling and rowing instead while watching Deal or no Deal.
Sat, went for RPM Xpress and BodyPump with Shaz at 9am. I was sooo tired and my feet was so sore because last night was PubCrawl. But i decided to wake up early and go for the classes anyway, maybe i'm getting addicted to group workouts! It really is great fun, all the steps are coordinated with club music and the instructors are humorous and cool fitness junkies(like Shannon and Michelle on Aus's biggest loser). One side of the room is the breathtaking view of the marions area and the beach, while the other side are full-lengths mirrors.
Anyway, RPM was so tiring! It's not just simply pedaling non-stop for 1/2 hour (it was an express class, the other classes are an hour long), the instructor would stimulate varying terrains throughout the class by asking us to turn the resistance dial up or down, and then rotate between sitting on the bike (for flat roads) and cycling while standing (uphill) continuously. Honestly thought my thighs were on fire.
After RPM, Shaz and i were considering whether or not to go for BodyPump, which was back to back in scheduling to RPM. We were just about to drag our lazy selves home when the receptionist caught us and dragged us into BodyPump class! So glad he did that, because BodyPump is now my favourite class! It was a total body, weights work out. Everyone had a bar, and little discs of varying weights to add on/take off, and a clip to keep the weights in place. I just loved how the instructor would tell us how much weight to use and i had to slide the appropriate dics into my bar. Apparently the rest of the class were all experienced bodypumpers, and Shaz and i were the only newbies. We used 1kg-2.5kg on each side while the rest were using massive 5-15 kgs on each side. Did bench-presses, clean and presses, lunges ect. The brochure for bodypump reads "WARNING! Pump will change the shape of your body.". Lol! Hope i don't get big bulgy muscles, though i seriously doubt that will happen.
Went for dinner at Kartees with Joyce, Claudia and Lara on Wednesday night. Kartees is the last of the 3 dine-ins opposite FMC which i haven't tried yet. We had indian food, and it was not spectacular, but since i haven't tasted the rich spiciness and spices of indian cuisine for a long time, it was enjoyable. Lara is from South Africa, and she has a very low tolerance of spiciness. Everything was spicy to her! hahaha. Headed to Kwik Sticks for desserts thereafter to end off the night. Never knew Kwik Sticks had such a huge dessert menu! The menu is kept behind the counter and only provided upon request. We had chocolate pudding and banana splits, Yums!
Was chatting with Lara and apparently in South Africa, she brings a gun with her everywhere she goes. Her classmates once shot each other in school. Now in Aus, she keeps a big knife with her in her bag and a small one by her side as she is used to having weapons with her for self-protection. Wow!
Last week:
Last Week was the first week after the 2 week mid-term break and i spent the entire week rushing up on assignments which really should have been done during the holidays :S It was terrible! Basically sleeping for 3-4 hours every night, rushing assignments in the sch lib, printing it out and handing it in in the nick of time. Coursemates were as last minute as me though, many skipping lectures for an entire week to get assignment done. I studied for my bio mid term exam during the 1 hour break before the lecture test, and luckily for consistent revision and some IP bio which i still remember, was able to get 27/29! Got 39/40 and 40/40 for 2 other bio practicals, each being 5%, so i got 20% in the bag now! Hope the 2 assignments go well though, no idea how it will turn out:S.
Tried skateboarding for the first time in my life on wednesday night, on the way to Hungry Jacks for dinner/ revision of bio test with Paul. Sat on the skateboard and slid down the sloppy roads around Bedford Park where i live. Super Fun!
Saturday night: Went to town with Paul to watch the Flinders Choir perform at Carclew Youth Arts Centre. It was a small choir, around 15 people performed in a small room with a high ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. While they were only fairly good (it was a non-audition choir), they were all very passionate about singing, so the mood in the room was very positive. Totally enjoyed it! After that, bussed down with Paul to Marions to meet Grace, Kath, Gabbs and Johno to play pool. I didn't bring my singapore IC to Oz, and i don't have a proof of age card which the locals here have, nor a drivers license, so the only documentation that proves my age (student card doesn't have it) is my passport! Of course i don't bring my passport everywhere i go, so initially i wasn't let into the bar until the guy at the door relented and allowed me in for an hour! =D TY!!!
My first shot was so bad, the cue barely scraped the surface of the ball! Lol, embarassing! But then Johno taught me how to play properly, and i became a SUPER pro! He would tell me what ball to aim for, which part of the ball to hit ect. I just followed exactly and the ball would go in. I got the ball in the hole for my 2nd and 3rd shots and a few others mid game. I even managed one at the end without any guidance! Beginners Luck hahaha!
Life in general:
TV:
There are so many great shows on TV now! Andrew says most of the programmes are rubbish but i beg to differ. Imagine every monday night i have to choose between Master Chef, Big bang Theory (latest episodes) and Myth busters, which are all showing on 3 different channels at the same time. Before it is 2 and a half men, and following it is Man vs Wild. Tuesdays night are Bondi rescue night and there's Glee on Thursday. Master Chef is everyday of the week except sat. Survivor (Hero vs Villains) shows every sunday? Not sure of the airing day and time, cause i have so many programmes, i am even giving all time fav Survivor a miss. Every Sat are movie nights and so far i have watched Mono Lisa's smile, 50 first dates, 13 going on 30, Erin Brocovich, Pay it forward ect. Every now and then i watch medical documentaries of live brain surgeries and open heart surgeries on the documentary channel. If this is not TV heaven, i don't know what it is!! Furthermore, i only have 4 channels now, because i am still using analogue tv. If i buy a digital set-top box for ~$20 i can get like 10 more channels for free.
Upcoming TV series, Modern Family is showing next week. I just loved the commercial where this father claims to be very teenage savvy and knows all the teenage lingo.
"LOL= Laugh out loud
OMG= Oh my god
WTF= Why the face"
HAHAHAH!!
So looking forward to watching the new series, though i reckon i need to curb my tv hours nearer to the exams:S
Weather:
It is getting cold now! Maximum temperature is around 18-21 for this week, and it is raining more frequently now. It reaches 11 degrees at night and i switch my heater on to 28 degrees every night. Heard from Lara that in mid winter it will start to hail, like small pebbles of ice raining down. Whoo! Quite excited about the hailing, though i predict i will feel quite miserable if i am stuck in a hailstorm.
Its getting dark very early now, even after daylight saving (time got pushed an hour back a month ago during easter break. i didn't know and went to Joy and Andrew's easter lunch party an hour earlier!) Anyway, it gets dark very fast at around 5 plus each day now and when it is dark here, it is really dark! The streetlights are spaced very far apart and there are many big trees here which block the light. I try to get home before it gets dark when i am alone and carry a torchlight around.
The huge patch of reserve near the playground near my place used to be completely barren and brown when i first arrived. Now it is lush and green as it had started to rain more and the grass is regrowing. The change in landscape is amazing. After the 2 weeks break, I noticed so many new plants around my usual routes where i walk past everyday.
Culinary Adventures:
Grilled marinated chicken skewers. Bought from Woolies, i only had to grill it in the oven. Tasted so delicious, i was so happy eating it! hahaha. Also, check out my brilliant idea to avoid washing so many dishes- lining plates with lettuce! I also eat youghurt from the tub with biscuits so i don't have to watch any bowls or spoons. Equally delicious with no cleaning problems after!
Delicious pork ribs, carrots, potato and onion soup. Quick and easy to make but filling and nutritious. Had it for 2 nights, and it certainly gave me energy to get through the hectic mad assignment rush last week. It was quite gross initially though, when the bone marrows of the pork ribs would ooze out of the bone once the water started to boil:S scraped all of that away and in the end the soup was clear and relatively free of boiled black fluffy marrow stuff.
(How to rotate the pict?)
Chinese dessert of white fungus, water chestnut, red dates, lily bulb, jizi and rock sugar. Just threw everything into a pot, added water and boiled it for 4 hours? I just set the electric stove on low and left it to itself while i studied/napped. Great tasting and must be very healthy too.
Another massive post. I missed 3 weeks of blogging, the last week of school before my mid-term break, also my birthday week, and the 2 weeks when m3 was here. M3 should be posting up pictures of our 2 weeks together soon so check fb for more! Birthday Picts are in an album on fb so check that out too.
Tata for now!
This Week:
Yesterday: Flinders PubCrawl!
The theme was 'You are the one that i want' and all the females were pink ladies, while the guys were T birds. Apparently everyone has seen Grease, where it is from. But there was nothing Grease-like about the pub crawl except for the printing on our pub crawl tee shirts. Yes, we have t shirts for PCs, how cool is that! It was a Uni Pub Crawl, so basically the whole of Flinders (750 confirmed guest on fb, could be more) swept into town to paint the town red! Because there was so many people, there were 4 colours of Tee shirts, white, black, pink and red and 4 pubs to go to and the different coloured teams had to rotate in order through the pubs.
Bussed down to town with Gabs, Kathy, Julian and Paul. They were halfway there when they realised they forgot about me, and bussed back to get me :S. First stop was The Elephant. Julian bought a while bag of Alcopops which he was drinking on the ride there. He got so drunk on the bus he kept singing, it was hilarious! We got barred for entering The Elephant!! While waiting for Patrick outside the pub, we all started finishing Jul's Alcopops because he couldn't bring it in. The guy at the door saw us and banned us from entering.
Next stop was Electric Light Hotel. Met the rest of the med gang there, about 10 or more of us in total and then Julian started smoking?! Shocking really, never seen any friends smoking before... Kath tried stealing his packet of cigarettes to stop him from smoking but he got angry and got it back. Proceeded to the Mansions next, where i shared a Fruit tingle with Karline and Laura, drinks were selling for really cheaply for us, we got the whole jug of Ft for $15, so its like $5 for 2-3 cups each. There was great music at mansions and the whole med gang started dancing on the stage, heaps fun! Last stop was London Tavern, which was my favourite pub. The DJ was awesome and he started rapping at some point in time. We must have spent 2 hours or more in there dancing. Not sure if it was the alcohol or the loud club music but time just seemed to fly. Cabbed home with Paul close to 2am and he kept hipcupping on the way back, LOL!
Got a uber huge blister on my right little toe from my heels. Wrapped it with gauze and secured it with a plaster once i got back, haven't open it yet to check the healing yet, hope it doesn't fester and rot omg.
Gyming:
Used my one week free trial to the school gym this week. I love Flinders Gym, it sits at the top of a side of the hill and you can see the entire suburb all the way to the seaside through the massive windows. There are 3 stories to the gym and the equipment are all brand new, with plasma TVs for every corner of the room. Not sure whether to put it down to kiasuness, curiosity or a great desire to be healthy and fit, but i actually went 4 times this week, on Mon, Tues, Wed and Sat! For one, there were many group classes being held, and all of them seemed really fun to do. I prefer group classes so much more than working out by myself on weights or cardio.
Went for BodyBalance on Mon with Rhea at 8am (i know right, its so early! We both were determined to try out as much as the classes as possible.) BBalance was a "dynamic mixture of tai chi yoga and pilates... calms even the most stressed participant".
Tuesday, lecture ended at 4pm and Rhea and i tried out the weights and cardio room for an hour before BodyAttack started at 5pm. We did cycling and rowing and lat pull downs. The weights room was pretty intimidating, when we went in, it was entirely filled with big chunky angmoh guys pumping away. The room certainly didn't smell that good then...:S BodyAttack was great fun, lots of jumping jacks, hand-raises and running around the room, almost felt like a cheerleading class. I was so uncoordinated though and somehow took forever to figure out the cross movements, where you have to lift your left leg and right hand ect.
Wednesday, Shaz and i wanted to try Punchpad, which is a boxing based cardio class but it was so popular that the class was full. We did our own cycling and rowing instead while watching Deal or no Deal.
Sat, went for RPM Xpress and BodyPump with Shaz at 9am. I was sooo tired and my feet was so sore because last night was PubCrawl. But i decided to wake up early and go for the classes anyway, maybe i'm getting addicted to group workouts! It really is great fun, all the steps are coordinated with club music and the instructors are humorous and cool fitness junkies(like Shannon and Michelle on Aus's biggest loser). One side of the room is the breathtaking view of the marions area and the beach, while the other side are full-lengths mirrors.
Anyway, RPM was so tiring! It's not just simply pedaling non-stop for 1/2 hour (it was an express class, the other classes are an hour long), the instructor would stimulate varying terrains throughout the class by asking us to turn the resistance dial up or down, and then rotate between sitting on the bike (for flat roads) and cycling while standing (uphill) continuously. Honestly thought my thighs were on fire.
After RPM, Shaz and i were considering whether or not to go for BodyPump, which was back to back in scheduling to RPM. We were just about to drag our lazy selves home when the receptionist caught us and dragged us into BodyPump class! So glad he did that, because BodyPump is now my favourite class! It was a total body, weights work out. Everyone had a bar, and little discs of varying weights to add on/take off, and a clip to keep the weights in place. I just loved how the instructor would tell us how much weight to use and i had to slide the appropriate dics into my bar. Apparently the rest of the class were all experienced bodypumpers, and Shaz and i were the only newbies. We used 1kg-2.5kg on each side while the rest were using massive 5-15 kgs on each side. Did bench-presses, clean and presses, lunges ect. The brochure for bodypump reads "WARNING! Pump will change the shape of your body.". Lol! Hope i don't get big bulgy muscles, though i seriously doubt that will happen.
Went for dinner at Kartees with Joyce, Claudia and Lara on Wednesday night. Kartees is the last of the 3 dine-ins opposite FMC which i haven't tried yet. We had indian food, and it was not spectacular, but since i haven't tasted the rich spiciness and spices of indian cuisine for a long time, it was enjoyable. Lara is from South Africa, and she has a very low tolerance of spiciness. Everything was spicy to her! hahaha. Headed to Kwik Sticks for desserts thereafter to end off the night. Never knew Kwik Sticks had such a huge dessert menu! The menu is kept behind the counter and only provided upon request. We had chocolate pudding and banana splits, Yums!
Was chatting with Lara and apparently in South Africa, she brings a gun with her everywhere she goes. Her classmates once shot each other in school. Now in Aus, she keeps a big knife with her in her bag and a small one by her side as she is used to having weapons with her for self-protection. Wow!
Last week:
Last Week was the first week after the 2 week mid-term break and i spent the entire week rushing up on assignments which really should have been done during the holidays :S It was terrible! Basically sleeping for 3-4 hours every night, rushing assignments in the sch lib, printing it out and handing it in in the nick of time. Coursemates were as last minute as me though, many skipping lectures for an entire week to get assignment done. I studied for my bio mid term exam during the 1 hour break before the lecture test, and luckily for consistent revision and some IP bio which i still remember, was able to get 27/29! Got 39/40 and 40/40 for 2 other bio practicals, each being 5%, so i got 20% in the bag now! Hope the 2 assignments go well though, no idea how it will turn out:S.
Tried skateboarding for the first time in my life on wednesday night, on the way to Hungry Jacks for dinner/ revision of bio test with Paul. Sat on the skateboard and slid down the sloppy roads around Bedford Park where i live. Super Fun!
Saturday night: Went to town with Paul to watch the Flinders Choir perform at Carclew Youth Arts Centre. It was a small choir, around 15 people performed in a small room with a high ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. While they were only fairly good (it was a non-audition choir), they were all very passionate about singing, so the mood in the room was very positive. Totally enjoyed it! After that, bussed down with Paul to Marions to meet Grace, Kath, Gabbs and Johno to play pool. I didn't bring my singapore IC to Oz, and i don't have a proof of age card which the locals here have, nor a drivers license, so the only documentation that proves my age (student card doesn't have it) is my passport! Of course i don't bring my passport everywhere i go, so initially i wasn't let into the bar until the guy at the door relented and allowed me in for an hour! =D TY!!!
My first shot was so bad, the cue barely scraped the surface of the ball! Lol, embarassing! But then Johno taught me how to play properly, and i became a SUPER pro! He would tell me what ball to aim for, which part of the ball to hit ect. I just followed exactly and the ball would go in. I got the ball in the hole for my 2nd and 3rd shots and a few others mid game. I even managed one at the end without any guidance! Beginners Luck hahaha!
Life in general:
TV:
There are so many great shows on TV now! Andrew says most of the programmes are rubbish but i beg to differ. Imagine every monday night i have to choose between Master Chef, Big bang Theory (latest episodes) and Myth busters, which are all showing on 3 different channels at the same time. Before it is 2 and a half men, and following it is Man vs Wild. Tuesdays night are Bondi rescue night and there's Glee on Thursday. Master Chef is everyday of the week except sat. Survivor (Hero vs Villains) shows every sunday? Not sure of the airing day and time, cause i have so many programmes, i am even giving all time fav Survivor a miss. Every Sat are movie nights and so far i have watched Mono Lisa's smile, 50 first dates, 13 going on 30, Erin Brocovich, Pay it forward ect. Every now and then i watch medical documentaries of live brain surgeries and open heart surgeries on the documentary channel. If this is not TV heaven, i don't know what it is!! Furthermore, i only have 4 channels now, because i am still using analogue tv. If i buy a digital set-top box for ~$20 i can get like 10 more channels for free.
Upcoming TV series, Modern Family is showing next week. I just loved the commercial where this father claims to be very teenage savvy and knows all the teenage lingo.
"LOL= Laugh out loud
OMG= Oh my god
WTF= Why the face"
HAHAHAH!!
So looking forward to watching the new series, though i reckon i need to curb my tv hours nearer to the exams:S
Weather:
It is getting cold now! Maximum temperature is around 18-21 for this week, and it is raining more frequently now. It reaches 11 degrees at night and i switch my heater on to 28 degrees every night. Heard from Lara that in mid winter it will start to hail, like small pebbles of ice raining down. Whoo! Quite excited about the hailing, though i predict i will feel quite miserable if i am stuck in a hailstorm.
Its getting dark very early now, even after daylight saving (time got pushed an hour back a month ago during easter break. i didn't know and went to Joy and Andrew's easter lunch party an hour earlier!) Anyway, it gets dark very fast at around 5 plus each day now and when it is dark here, it is really dark! The streetlights are spaced very far apart and there are many big trees here which block the light. I try to get home before it gets dark when i am alone and carry a torchlight around.
The huge patch of reserve near the playground near my place used to be completely barren and brown when i first arrived. Now it is lush and green as it had started to rain more and the grass is regrowing. The change in landscape is amazing. After the 2 weeks break, I noticed so many new plants around my usual routes where i walk past everyday.
Culinary Adventures:
Grilled marinated chicken skewers. Bought from Woolies, i only had to grill it in the oven. Tasted so delicious, i was so happy eating it! hahaha. Also, check out my brilliant idea to avoid washing so many dishes- lining plates with lettuce! I also eat youghurt from the tub with biscuits so i don't have to watch any bowls or spoons. Equally delicious with no cleaning problems after!
Delicious pork ribs, carrots, potato and onion soup. Quick and easy to make but filling and nutritious. Had it for 2 nights, and it certainly gave me energy to get through the hectic mad assignment rush last week. It was quite gross initially though, when the bone marrows of the pork ribs would ooze out of the bone once the water started to boil:S scraped all of that away and in the end the soup was clear and relatively free of boiled black fluffy marrow stuff.
(How to rotate the pict?)
Chinese dessert of white fungus, water chestnut, red dates, lily bulb, jizi and rock sugar. Just threw everything into a pot, added water and boiled it for 4 hours? I just set the electric stove on low and left it to itself while i studied/napped. Great tasting and must be very healthy too.
Another massive post. I missed 3 weeks of blogging, the last week of school before my mid-term break, also my birthday week, and the 2 weeks when m3 was here. M3 should be posting up pictures of our 2 weeks together soon so check fb for more! Birthday Picts are in an album on fb so check that out too.
Tata for now!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Just spoke to Dad on Skype, he is flying off to Russia on April 10th for work! Mighty exciting as that is a place neither of our family has visited before. Slightly worried because of news of Moscow bombings and what not... but feeling excited for him all the same.
Spoke to Granny last Saturday on the phone. Granny, or Mrs J Jeffery, was my father's landlady when he studied in Adelaide 30 years ago and they lived together at St Mary's for a year and a half back then. Granny is now 97 years old and still fit and active!
Dad and i visited her a month and a half back when we first reached Oz. She now stays at a nursing home which imo is like the senior citizens parallel of a uni hostel, full of activities and life. Although she is now partially blind, she is still fit as a fiddle and bursting with life! She was very concerned about me living alone and gave lots of valuable advise like to rather go thirsty than drink something offered by someone dubious and not to eat something just because it is cheap. Wise words indeed!
2 weeks ago she spoke to another of her boarders about getting my phone number so she could chat with me in case i needed someone to talk to. So sweet of her! The boarder emailed my dad, who emailed me her number and i called her. We chatted for 1/2 hour about what i did in school, where i went, what i ate and what food i have in my fridge ect. Granny also told me about her life, like the shopping centres excursions they went on, and how she wants a pair of tartan pants, preferably with vertical stripes of red and background colour of grey (i think).I dont have any pictures of her in my camera, but we took heaps and they are all in Dad's cam. Will post them up with i get them.
Last week:
Monday: The 25 of us in Bach Clinical Science/ BMBS had lunch with Prof Paul Worley, the dean of the medical school. He made all of us share where we were from and what we wanted to do in the future. Many people, like half the class?, wanted to be surgeons! Initially i wanted to say that i was interested in being a neurosurgeon because of how much Marcello inspired me to find out more about the mysterious workings of the human brain, but then Tim beat me to it, and i didn't want to sound so repetitive so i said i was interested in cancer and might be an oncologist. Is oncology even a specialist subject? Because it might just be under the big surgery umbrella... i have no idea! Hope i didn't sound stupid to all the Drs there, lol.
Dr Worley told us that we should enjoy ourselves to the fullest during these 2 years before we really embark on the MBBS part of the course. He got his medical degree from Adelaide Uni, which is 6 years Med all the way straight from high school. He said that when he was in his final years and patients asked him about life and death issues, he didn't have the capacity to answer because he felt he hadn't even experienced 'life' yet.
He also told us that we are very privileged to be part of important/intimate moments in people's lives when they are sick/recovering/pregnant/dying ect. Made me feel really excited and worried about the years to come. I am not naturally an empathetic person (i guess?) and i also have to break the cultural barrier when dealing with patients. Hope i will rise to the challenge in time!
Wednesday:
Went shopping at Marions with Lucy and Parvita! It was a grocery trip that i really needed as i was so low on food i was eating cereals for dinner:S Bought heaps of stuff and thankfully Lucy drove me home:) I really miss getting driven around!!!
Thursday:Kathy's 18th Birthday! The whole bunch of us went to her house to surprise her. Gabby took Kathy out and Grace was at home to supervise us all/ get ready. Cindy, Paul, Julian and i hid behind the sofas, Ram hid behind the kitchen top, Tim hid in the kitchen closet (hahaha!!!) and Shaz, Patrick, Warren, Andy, Shawn hid in the laundry room. It was all so funny and exciting because we had so many false alarms and every time we thought we heard them coming there would be a mad scramble to hide. The reveal moment was perfect though so all worth it. Played Wii Tennis and Mario Kart and reached home at 12.30am.
Had bio practical in the afternoon on Thursday and for every bio prac, a prac report has to be written and handed in the next day 24 hours later. Hence my prac which was from 2-5pm, was due on Friday 5pm. I have a chem prac from 9-12noon and a Health Science workshop from 3-5pm every friday, so essentially i only had 12-3pm on Friday to write my report since Thursday night was spent at Kathy's. Almost ran out of time to complete it, lesson learnt, never underestimate time!
I wrote a draft of one of the 3 questions to be answered when i reached home on Thursday, and delayed till 1pm on Friday before i finally started work after Chem Prac. Finally completed it at like 2.40pm with 20 minutes to spare before Health Science Workshop started at 3pm. The place to hand in the report was in the Biological Sciences building up the hill on the other side of the lake in the main campus while my workshop was held all the way at the bottom of the hill in a separate Stuart campus.
Debated between going late for the workshop or betting that the Workshop will end early (it usually ends 20 minutes early but i'll never know). Anyway, i left my house still debating what to do until a brainwave struck. I ran across the street to Paul's house and got him to hand in the reports for me instead. Life saver! I practically shoved the books (my lab partner, Patrick's book was with me too, because he finished it before Kathy's Party and passed it to me then, hence crucial that it was handed in on time) in his hands and ran off to class.
It's moments like this when i wished Mum and the car was with me, so i can be driven there and back in no time. I always like to work at the margin of time and it usually works great for me because i work better under pressure and i use to always count on mum to fetch me/ simply emailing reports/getting lucky and having extensions ect. Wake-up call to be less reliant and more time conscious!
Saturday and Sunday:
Stayed in on both days to do tutorials/ quizes/ read textbook ect. Felt nerdy but so fulfilling to get work done/ done in advance!
This week:
Monday:
Went Grocery Shopping at Marions Woolworths and met Bookie, my coursemate. Funny timing to meet because i was hugging 3 big leafy Bak Choys and he was looking very lost and pushing his shopping cart. We were both clutching shopping lists. He's from Melbourne and now lives with Josh another coursemate also from Melbourne.
Anyway, it feels reassuring that my coursemates are all in the same situation as me, leaving away from home, having to buy groceries ourselves and cooking/cleaning. Not as if everyone else has lots of time freed from not having to do housekeeping stuff. It is amazing how many people in this course are from interstate, Melbourne, Darwin, NZ ect, i am the only person from 'overseas', but since Adelaide is new to most people too, we are all the same. (i hope!)
Tuesday:
Went to play Badminton with Phyllis in the school hall, played for 2 hours and ended up with a huge blister on my index finger because i was holding the racquet the wrong way, as if i was holding a tt bat. But great fun, feels like tt training all over again which i kind of miss now.
In the morning, Grace gave me half a watermelon in school during chem tutorial!!!
Got such a huge shock, but it was really funny, shared it with Lucy, Rhea (Rhea is German and she taught me some phrases in German but i've forgotten all of it!), Parvita and Holly during one of the breaks.
The whole watermelon/me story started when i told the gang that fruits in Japan are really expensive and watermelons there cost hundreds of dollars. (It's true right? At least that was what i remembered during the IP trip, maybe not the normal watermelons but the black/box shaped ones?) Lol, anyway, i also brought half a watermelon to Paul's house during our very first gathering and i also happen to have a pair of watermelon slippers that they think is really awesome. Emily threw a whole watermelon off the flinders bridge together with the uni hall people just to see it splatter and she made sure i knew of the story. So anyway all these together made them think of me every time they see/eat watermelon. Grace/Kathy/Gabby had watermelon left over in their fridge so they brought it to school for me, really funny and sweet lol!
Yesterday (Thursday):
Li invited me over to Uni Hall to have dinner with her. It was french themed night and there was heaps of food, cirque de solei on the screens (spelling?) and french songs. We all sang Freres Jacques in canon and it was great fun! Had my portrait taken by a french 'artist'. So glad that i got a chance to visit Uni hall, it was so warm and communal. The dining hall was huge and had 10 long tables all packed with people. Whenever the hall master wanted to speak, the teachers(?) uni hall guardians would clink their glasses to ask for attention. It was french themed night because a kitchen staff was going to go to France for 5 weeks and it was a farewell for her. The buffet spread was awesome (though i suspect Marj's is better from what i hear;)), 5 main dishes to choose from, cheese and biscuits selection, ham selection and french fries and green peas for sides. The dessert table was good too, with apple crumbles, jellies, choc cakes and doughnuts. Thanks for the invite Li!
Today:
Good Friday (Public Holiday) Monday is Easter Monday, which is a public holiday too, so i have a 4 day break, followed by lessons on Tuesday to Friday, and then my 2 week Mid-Sem Break! Many people went home for Easter holidays, Kathy, Paul, Li ect. Li is taking a bus back to Mt Gambier, which is a 6 hours bus ride away.
Woke up at 7am naturally because that's my usual waking up time now.(Woohoo, so proud of myself!) Planned to boil some water/open the windows and then go back to sleep but started to do my chem tutorial and write out the reference list for Hlth Sci W5 group assignment till 1pm! I worked for 6 hours straight and when i was done it was barely half the day! Feels good to be up so early! In Sg, i was rarely awake before noon! Great achievement!
Tmr: Going to the Westfield Beach with Lucy then watching DVDs at her place. Sunday: Joy and Andrew invited me to spend Easter with them and their grandchildren. There's going to be easter egg hunting! Sunday night, Easter BBQ at Grace/Gabby's, byo meat and drinks. I have never gone for an Ozzie BBQ before, its like part of the Ozzie culture! Going to buy meat tmr, no idea what to buy! Monday: Potluck with Sg girls at Keishia's place. I told them i will bring Teriyaki chicken just because i have the stir fry recipe base at home. Never tried it before, so they will be my guinea pigs.:S
Now: Having 3 way skype chat with Dad and M1! They are talking about trying the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk now. It's surely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Culinary Adventure Time:
Instant noodles with green vege, onions and bacon. Fast meal. I usually cook instant noodles when i am lazy to cook rice. It is faster to wait for water to boil than for the rice to cook.
Lunch for last Sunday. Canned salmon with rice and Corn and Tomatoes in Tom Yam soup seasoning, tasty!
Nope, thats not my creation. Haha, maybe that'll be mine 6 years later when i graduate though. Ended class at 5pm and went to the refectory(sch canteen) where they were closing for the day and were selling everything cheaper. This box usually cost $7.50A, i got 2 such boxes for $7A! Ate it for dinner for Monday and Tuesday night. Super yummy and packed full of ingredients, pasta, cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, chickpeas, onions, beans.
Cooked a huge wok of fried rice, ended up eating it for 3 meals, dinner and 2 lunches. Sliced beans, tomatoes, onions, bacon, canned salmon, rice and egg. Tasted weird... I guess salmon and bacon don't go well together.
Green vege, tomatoes, onions, garlic and sausage.
Frozen pizza, and vege dish (see below)
Looks so professional that i couldn't not post this up. Green vege, tomatoes, onions, garlic in soy sauce and sugar sauce. Actually this is my usual veg, i just added tomatoes so it looks nicer in colour. I can cook this really fast now, the actualy cooking time is only 5 minutes, but preparation time takes much longer. I timed myself today and i actually took 15 minutes to wash the vege. Really worried about pesticide and soil and worms so i wash every stalk of vege individually.
No, not for dinner.
Had 'Hugo' over at Joy and Andrew's place for a day and a half. Hugo is a brown short-haired pointer and is 12 years old. He is really old and has some lumps in his legs. Hugo has a really weird bark, like a door-that-needs-oiling, squeaky bark. I sneeked this picture when Joy and Andrew were out. I can draw open my windows on one side of the wall to see the whole of the backyard and this is taken when i was inside my flat. Initially i though Joy and Andrew bought a new dog, and i was really excited about this new addition. I was mostly thinking how i would feel safer at night with a guard dog haha. Felt quite sad when Hugo left after a day:(
Alright, massive post with 2 weeks worth of my life. Mum is coming in 4 days time woohoo! Till next time, ciaoxxx.
Spoke to Granny last Saturday on the phone. Granny, or Mrs J Jeffery, was my father's landlady when he studied in Adelaide 30 years ago and they lived together at St Mary's for a year and a half back then. Granny is now 97 years old and still fit and active!
Dad and i visited her a month and a half back when we first reached Oz. She now stays at a nursing home which imo is like the senior citizens parallel of a uni hostel, full of activities and life. Although she is now partially blind, she is still fit as a fiddle and bursting with life! She was very concerned about me living alone and gave lots of valuable advise like to rather go thirsty than drink something offered by someone dubious and not to eat something just because it is cheap. Wise words indeed!
2 weeks ago she spoke to another of her boarders about getting my phone number so she could chat with me in case i needed someone to talk to. So sweet of her! The boarder emailed my dad, who emailed me her number and i called her. We chatted for 1/2 hour about what i did in school, where i went, what i ate and what food i have in my fridge ect. Granny also told me about her life, like the shopping centres excursions they went on, and how she wants a pair of tartan pants, preferably with vertical stripes of red and background colour of grey (i think).I dont have any pictures of her in my camera, but we took heaps and they are all in Dad's cam. Will post them up with i get them.
Last week:
Monday: The 25 of us in Bach Clinical Science/ BMBS had lunch with Prof Paul Worley, the dean of the medical school. He made all of us share where we were from and what we wanted to do in the future. Many people, like half the class?, wanted to be surgeons! Initially i wanted to say that i was interested in being a neurosurgeon because of how much Marcello inspired me to find out more about the mysterious workings of the human brain, but then Tim beat me to it, and i didn't want to sound so repetitive so i said i was interested in cancer and might be an oncologist. Is oncology even a specialist subject? Because it might just be under the big surgery umbrella... i have no idea! Hope i didn't sound stupid to all the Drs there, lol.
Dr Worley told us that we should enjoy ourselves to the fullest during these 2 years before we really embark on the MBBS part of the course. He got his medical degree from Adelaide Uni, which is 6 years Med all the way straight from high school. He said that when he was in his final years and patients asked him about life and death issues, he didn't have the capacity to answer because he felt he hadn't even experienced 'life' yet.
He also told us that we are very privileged to be part of important/intimate moments in people's lives when they are sick/recovering/pregnant/dying ect. Made me feel really excited and worried about the years to come. I am not naturally an empathetic person (i guess?) and i also have to break the cultural barrier when dealing with patients. Hope i will rise to the challenge in time!
Wednesday:
Went shopping at Marions with Lucy and Parvita! It was a grocery trip that i really needed as i was so low on food i was eating cereals for dinner:S Bought heaps of stuff and thankfully Lucy drove me home:) I really miss getting driven around!!!
Thursday:Kathy's 18th Birthday! The whole bunch of us went to her house to surprise her. Gabby took Kathy out and Grace was at home to supervise us all/ get ready. Cindy, Paul, Julian and i hid behind the sofas, Ram hid behind the kitchen top, Tim hid in the kitchen closet (hahaha!!!) and Shaz, Patrick, Warren, Andy, Shawn hid in the laundry room. It was all so funny and exciting because we had so many false alarms and every time we thought we heard them coming there would be a mad scramble to hide. The reveal moment was perfect though so all worth it. Played Wii Tennis and Mario Kart and reached home at 12.30am.
Had bio practical in the afternoon on Thursday and for every bio prac, a prac report has to be written and handed in the next day 24 hours later. Hence my prac which was from 2-5pm, was due on Friday 5pm. I have a chem prac from 9-12noon and a Health Science workshop from 3-5pm every friday, so essentially i only had 12-3pm on Friday to write my report since Thursday night was spent at Kathy's. Almost ran out of time to complete it, lesson learnt, never underestimate time!
I wrote a draft of one of the 3 questions to be answered when i reached home on Thursday, and delayed till 1pm on Friday before i finally started work after Chem Prac. Finally completed it at like 2.40pm with 20 minutes to spare before Health Science Workshop started at 3pm. The place to hand in the report was in the Biological Sciences building up the hill on the other side of the lake in the main campus while my workshop was held all the way at the bottom of the hill in a separate Stuart campus.
Debated between going late for the workshop or betting that the Workshop will end early (it usually ends 20 minutes early but i'll never know). Anyway, i left my house still debating what to do until a brainwave struck. I ran across the street to Paul's house and got him to hand in the reports for me instead. Life saver! I practically shoved the books (my lab partner, Patrick's book was with me too, because he finished it before Kathy's Party and passed it to me then, hence crucial that it was handed in on time) in his hands and ran off to class.
It's moments like this when i wished Mum and the car was with me, so i can be driven there and back in no time. I always like to work at the margin of time and it usually works great for me because i work better under pressure and i use to always count on mum to fetch me/ simply emailing reports/getting lucky and having extensions ect. Wake-up call to be less reliant and more time conscious!
Saturday and Sunday:
Stayed in on both days to do tutorials/ quizes/ read textbook ect. Felt nerdy but so fulfilling to get work done/ done in advance!
This week:
Monday:
Went Grocery Shopping at Marions Woolworths and met Bookie, my coursemate. Funny timing to meet because i was hugging 3 big leafy Bak Choys and he was looking very lost and pushing his shopping cart. We were both clutching shopping lists. He's from Melbourne and now lives with Josh another coursemate also from Melbourne.
Anyway, it feels reassuring that my coursemates are all in the same situation as me, leaving away from home, having to buy groceries ourselves and cooking/cleaning. Not as if everyone else has lots of time freed from not having to do housekeeping stuff. It is amazing how many people in this course are from interstate, Melbourne, Darwin, NZ ect, i am the only person from 'overseas', but since Adelaide is new to most people too, we are all the same. (i hope!)
Tuesday:
Went to play Badminton with Phyllis in the school hall, played for 2 hours and ended up with a huge blister on my index finger because i was holding the racquet the wrong way, as if i was holding a tt bat. But great fun, feels like tt training all over again which i kind of miss now.
In the morning, Grace gave me half a watermelon in school during chem tutorial!!!
Got such a huge shock, but it was really funny, shared it with Lucy, Rhea (Rhea is German and she taught me some phrases in German but i've forgotten all of it!), Parvita and Holly during one of the breaks.
The whole watermelon/me story started when i told the gang that fruits in Japan are really expensive and watermelons there cost hundreds of dollars. (It's true right? At least that was what i remembered during the IP trip, maybe not the normal watermelons but the black/box shaped ones?) Lol, anyway, i also brought half a watermelon to Paul's house during our very first gathering and i also happen to have a pair of watermelon slippers that they think is really awesome. Emily threw a whole watermelon off the flinders bridge together with the uni hall people just to see it splatter and she made sure i knew of the story. So anyway all these together made them think of me every time they see/eat watermelon. Grace/Kathy/Gabby had watermelon left over in their fridge so they brought it to school for me, really funny and sweet lol!
Yesterday (Thursday):
Li invited me over to Uni Hall to have dinner with her. It was french themed night and there was heaps of food, cirque de solei on the screens (spelling?) and french songs. We all sang Freres Jacques in canon and it was great fun! Had my portrait taken by a french 'artist'. So glad that i got a chance to visit Uni hall, it was so warm and communal. The dining hall was huge and had 10 long tables all packed with people. Whenever the hall master wanted to speak, the teachers(?) uni hall guardians would clink their glasses to ask for attention. It was french themed night because a kitchen staff was going to go to France for 5 weeks and it was a farewell for her. The buffet spread was awesome (though i suspect Marj's is better from what i hear;)), 5 main dishes to choose from, cheese and biscuits selection, ham selection and french fries and green peas for sides. The dessert table was good too, with apple crumbles, jellies, choc cakes and doughnuts. Thanks for the invite Li!
Today:
Good Friday (Public Holiday) Monday is Easter Monday, which is a public holiday too, so i have a 4 day break, followed by lessons on Tuesday to Friday, and then my 2 week Mid-Sem Break! Many people went home for Easter holidays, Kathy, Paul, Li ect. Li is taking a bus back to Mt Gambier, which is a 6 hours bus ride away.
Woke up at 7am naturally because that's my usual waking up time now.(Woohoo, so proud of myself!) Planned to boil some water/open the windows and then go back to sleep but started to do my chem tutorial and write out the reference list for Hlth Sci W5 group assignment till 1pm! I worked for 6 hours straight and when i was done it was barely half the day! Feels good to be up so early! In Sg, i was rarely awake before noon! Great achievement!
Tmr: Going to the Westfield Beach with Lucy then watching DVDs at her place. Sunday: Joy and Andrew invited me to spend Easter with them and their grandchildren. There's going to be easter egg hunting! Sunday night, Easter BBQ at Grace/Gabby's, byo meat and drinks. I have never gone for an Ozzie BBQ before, its like part of the Ozzie culture! Going to buy meat tmr, no idea what to buy! Monday: Potluck with Sg girls at Keishia's place. I told them i will bring Teriyaki chicken just because i have the stir fry recipe base at home. Never tried it before, so they will be my guinea pigs.:S
Now: Having 3 way skype chat with Dad and M1! They are talking about trying the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk now. It's surely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Culinary Adventure Time:
Instant noodles with green vege, onions and bacon. Fast meal. I usually cook instant noodles when i am lazy to cook rice. It is faster to wait for water to boil than for the rice to cook. 
Lunch for last Sunday. Canned salmon with rice and Corn and Tomatoes in Tom Yam soup seasoning, tasty!
Nope, thats not my creation. Haha, maybe that'll be mine 6 years later when i graduate though. Ended class at 5pm and went to the refectory(sch canteen) where they were closing for the day and were selling everything cheaper. This box usually cost $7.50A, i got 2 such boxes for $7A! Ate it for dinner for Monday and Tuesday night. Super yummy and packed full of ingredients, pasta, cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, chickpeas, onions, beans.
Cooked a huge wok of fried rice, ended up eating it for 3 meals, dinner and 2 lunches. Sliced beans, tomatoes, onions, bacon, canned salmon, rice and egg. Tasted weird... I guess salmon and bacon don't go well together.
Green vege, tomatoes, onions, garlic and sausage.
Frozen pizza, and vege dish (see below)
Looks so professional that i couldn't not post this up. Green vege, tomatoes, onions, garlic in soy sauce and sugar sauce. Actually this is my usual veg, i just added tomatoes so it looks nicer in colour. I can cook this really fast now, the actualy cooking time is only 5 minutes, but preparation time takes much longer. I timed myself today and i actually took 15 minutes to wash the vege. Really worried about pesticide and soil and worms so i wash every stalk of vege individually.
No, not for dinner.Had 'Hugo' over at Joy and Andrew's place for a day and a half. Hugo is a brown short-haired pointer and is 12 years old. He is really old and has some lumps in his legs. Hugo has a really weird bark, like a door-that-needs-oiling, squeaky bark. I sneeked this picture when Joy and Andrew were out. I can draw open my windows on one side of the wall to see the whole of the backyard and this is taken when i was inside my flat. Initially i though Joy and Andrew bought a new dog, and i was really excited about this new addition. I was mostly thinking how i would feel safer at night with a guard dog haha. Felt quite sad when Hugo left after a day:(
Alright, massive post with 2 weeks worth of my life. Mum is coming in 4 days time woohoo! Till next time, ciaoxxx.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Hi Friends!
Just a quick, short post for now, i've been meaning to blog about this since a few weeks ago, but decided to wait a few weeks because i keep learning new things about..... OZZIE SLANG (and phrases/words that they like to use but are not technically considered slangs)!
(weekly updates and pictures on culinary adventures will come soon!!!)
1) 'Heaps'
Eg: I had heaps fun yesterday; we have heaps of homework; that is heaps good!
Apparently it is a South Australian thing, because Nina, from Darwin, hates it!
Holly, from Adelaide, confirmed that it is a South Australian thing, and when i said i must learn it to assimilate, they all laughed lol. Even the commonwealth bank of Australia uses it in their advertisements: 'There are heaps good deals when you are a student'.
2) 'Shotgun'
Meaning: reserve, chope (in sg)
Eg: I shotgun to play Wii next.
I first heard it when Nina shotgun me to take the middle seat of Julian's car when we took a first ride in it. Didn't know what it meant until the next day when Kei Shia, who is actually Singaporean but has lived in Aus all her life, and i were talking about slangs and she mentioned it.
3) 'Whereabouts'
Eg: 'So whereabouts are you from?'
Always found this weird, because it is sufficient to just say 'so where are you from?'. But everybody is using it! Sometimes it is simply shortened to 'Whereabouts?', a one- word sentence, used to ask which country are you from, which state in Aus you stayed in, where in Adelaide are you living now ect.
4) 'I reckon'
Eg: 'I reckon we are going to be late for class';
'Do you think so?', 'Yeah, i reckon.'
It is used everywhere and in so many contexts to replace 'I feel', 'I think', 'I guess'. It is quite catchy to use actually and i have started to use it too! I reckon you guys will catch me saying it when we next meet! hahaha
5) 'Skux' (This is not exactly Ozzie Slang, it's from New Zealand, but NZlanders are considered interstaters even though they are from a different country, so it counts!)
Eg: That's skux.
Positive connotation, meaning something is really good. Don't go around using this in Aus though, i think it is strictly a NZ thing, the Aussie will not understand it.
Alright, i reckon you guys enjoyed my latest post, which is simply Skux and heaps interesting! Stay tuned tata.
Just a quick, short post for now, i've been meaning to blog about this since a few weeks ago, but decided to wait a few weeks because i keep learning new things about..... OZZIE SLANG (and phrases/words that they like to use but are not technically considered slangs)!
(weekly updates and pictures on culinary adventures will come soon!!!)
1) 'Heaps'
Eg: I had heaps fun yesterday; we have heaps of homework; that is heaps good!
Apparently it is a South Australian thing, because Nina, from Darwin, hates it!
Holly, from Adelaide, confirmed that it is a South Australian thing, and when i said i must learn it to assimilate, they all laughed lol. Even the commonwealth bank of Australia uses it in their advertisements: 'There are heaps good deals when you are a student'.
2) 'Shotgun'
Meaning: reserve, chope (in sg)
Eg: I shotgun to play Wii next.
I first heard it when Nina shotgun me to take the middle seat of Julian's car when we took a first ride in it. Didn't know what it meant until the next day when Kei Shia, who is actually Singaporean but has lived in Aus all her life, and i were talking about slangs and she mentioned it.
3) 'Whereabouts'
Eg: 'So whereabouts are you from?'
Always found this weird, because it is sufficient to just say 'so where are you from?'. But everybody is using it! Sometimes it is simply shortened to 'Whereabouts?', a one- word sentence, used to ask which country are you from, which state in Aus you stayed in, where in Adelaide are you living now ect.
4) 'I reckon'
Eg: 'I reckon we are going to be late for class';
'Do you think so?', 'Yeah, i reckon.'
It is used everywhere and in so many contexts to replace 'I feel', 'I think', 'I guess'. It is quite catchy to use actually and i have started to use it too! I reckon you guys will catch me saying it when we next meet! hahaha
5) 'Skux' (This is not exactly Ozzie Slang, it's from New Zealand, but NZlanders are considered interstaters even though they are from a different country, so it counts!)
Eg: That's skux.
Positive connotation, meaning something is really good. Don't go around using this in Aus though, i think it is strictly a NZ thing, the Aussie will not understand it.
Alright, i reckon you guys enjoyed my latest post, which is simply Skux and heaps interesting! Stay tuned tata.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hi friends!
Fridge problem: I had a huge problem last week dealing with rotten fruits/ vegetables in my fridge. It seemed as though i was throwing away everything in my fridge because it had gone mouldy/ turned black/ giving out a putrid smell ect. Threw away half a watermelon, a few corns, whole bunch of lettuce, some blackened carrots, half a cabbage...
At first i thought that the fridge was too cold, because my grandmother taught me that vege will go bad if it is too cold(?), also the weather was freezing cold then so i didn't realise anything wrong with the fridge. Then a few days later when the weather got warmer i thought that the fridge was not cold enough because it seemed as though it was near room temperature. I told my landlords and when they came to check it with a thermometer, it turned out that the fridge had totally broken down already! Lol. Anyway, being very efficient people, the very next day they replaced it with a brand new fridge and now i have a new fridge! Thank you Joy and Andrew!
Monday: Decided not to go for Chem Tutorial on Monday but to go for the one on Tuesday morning instead because otherwise i would have 4 hours of breaks before my next lesson. Also, if i go for the tuesday tutorial, my 2 hour non-lunch break would be shortened to 1 hour only. Ultimately, my mondays will start at 4pm (instead of 11am and 4 hours break) and my tuesday will be more packed but less time will be wasted on breaks.
Anyway, it was a good call to sleep in on monday till a bit later because i read from the discussion board on FLO (Flinders Learning Online which uses Blackboard as its server, seems like every school uses Blackboard (VJ, SMU)) that the tutor didnt turn up. The afternoon lecture was semi-cancelled too because the lecturer went to the wrong lecture theatre and arrived 30 minutes late, which by then everyone (save 20 out of the 200) had left.
Its been 3 weeks of school already and i havent had a lesson on Monday yet!!! Week 1- Chem tutorial cancelled, Bio pre-lecture cancelled (for people who didnt study bio in Year 12 ie me). Week 2- Adelaide Cup Public Holiday. Week 3- Chem tutor didnt turn up (plus i swapped my timetable), Bio pre-lecturer went to wrong venue. Lol, but i do end lesson on friday fairly late, at 5pm and had had lessons on friday for every of the 3 weeks, so i guess that balances things out.
Tuesday: Julian bought a new car and he took Nina, Emily, Paul and I on a spin to the city. Apparently in NZ the usual speed to drive is 150-180km/h and Julian was very used to such speeds so i was a bit apprehensive about taking his car. But because it was a brand new car, he was very cautious about driving and so it was all slow and safe.
We checked out Nina's room in St Annes College and its big and spacious. Loved the common area near the entrance where there are comfy sofas and shiny wooden flooring. I simply love lounging on big sofas in big spaces now, haven been too cooped up in my small narrow flat where i have only hard wooden chairs and a small cushioned armchair.
Wednesday: Went grocery shopping at Marions. Bought apples, bread, yoghurt, celery, carrots ect and had to heave the heavy bag all the way uphill. Tiring!
On Thursday, Julian drove Nina, Tim, Patrick and I to Yum Sing, a chinese takeaway restaurant, during our 1 hour break to have lunch. Food was good and affordable and in huge portions.
Went over to Paul's place on friday night to watch Glee on my pirated discs bought from Malaysia. The disc kept jumping and the subtitles were bad, luckily Cindy had the first few episodes on her Ipod so we enjoyed 3 good quality episodes of Glee. I love the soundtracks and i think Quinn is really pretty! I also like the headmaster Figgins? He is like unbiased and rational and makes the drama more believable.
Saturday afternoon Paul came over to my place for some bio help. As i didnt take bio either (we both took physics) i wasnt of much help. Luckily Emily took bio and psychology during year 12 and offered to help. Paul and i went to visit Emily on Sunday at Uni Hall for some bio coaching. Her room is small but cosy. Emily has so many pairs of shoes! Like 20? Quite overwhelming in a small hostel room (not the smell, just the idea of it lol). She plans to have a wall feature of shoes, and i think it would be a super awesome idea.
Saturday Night: DVD night at Grace/ Kathy/ Gabby's house watching SKINS with the 3 girls, Emily, Ram, Paul, Julian and I.
I've never heard of Skins before! Have you all??? Either i live under a rock, or it is just not hugely popular enough, but everyone else here has seen Skins before!!! I think its a good show, quite addictive the more the story line builds up, though i could do with some subtitles hahaha.
We all trekked to Pizza Hut in the middle of the night to get pizzas half way through. Tried piggybacking on the way back and all the other girls can piggyback Paul except for me! I collapsed the 2 times i tried it, and i am not the smallest not the skinniest of the bunch, omg what is wrong with me!?
Anyway, we werent stranded at their house this time round because Julian drove us there. Ram drove us home because he 'took one for the team' and didnt drink. Actually, i didnt drink too, but neither can i drive, lol, anyway thanks Ram!
Culinary Adventures:
My very first bento box! Rice, mixed vege and fish fingers. Looks colourful and appealing but quite tasteless. Also, it was cold because i prepared it the night before and stored it in the fridge and there was no microwave oven in the refectory where i ate it. Nonetheless, i enjoyed it, because it was a refreshing change from eating sandwiches for lunch.
Late lunch on a Saturday: Mixed vege, frozen sliced beans, bacon, an egg and baked bread. Originally i wanted to microwave the veges and bake the bread and bacon in the oven. But the bacon kept breaking into tiny bits as it was still frozen and i couldnt put tiny shreds of bacon into the oven as i didnt have aluminium foil. In the end, i had to fry the bacon and since i already had the heat going in the pan, i dumped the vege in and fried it as well.
The bread you see above caused me ALOT of trouble. For dinner i tried to microwave/defrost bread because i kept it in the freezer. I put it into a microwave safe box and left it in the microwave for 2.5 minutes. When i opened the microwave door, smoke just poured out, as if 10 cigarettes have been left in the microwave. The microwave safe box was oozing with black tar-like-liquid and the box was deformed. The whole oven was splattered with the same black liquid.
It was SO smelly! I was so worried the sprinkler was going to go off or the landlords would come over to see if i was smoking in the house, lol. I tried to salvage the box by soaking it in water/ expanding it using hot water but it was too deformed and smelly i threw it away in the end. Spent close to an hour wiping the oven with tissue paper because i didnt want to dirty my dishcloths with carcinogenic toxins. Left all the windows open and turned on the stove hood-fan, as well as the ventilator in the toilet but the whole house still smelt like a smoker's breathe. There was no wind that day too so the smell just lingered for a day... EW!
On hindsight, i think the bread was too dry when i put it into the microwave. Microwaves work by vibrating water molecules in food right? So i guess there was no water for it to heat up and hence it burnt my bread and produced burnt tar which forced itself out of the box and splattered everywhere. Valuable lesson learnt, though i dont think i am going to use the microwave for a long long time while the horrid smell is still fresh in my mind.
What a long entry! Thanks for reading through everything and tata!
Fridge problem: I had a huge problem last week dealing with rotten fruits/ vegetables in my fridge. It seemed as though i was throwing away everything in my fridge because it had gone mouldy/ turned black/ giving out a putrid smell ect. Threw away half a watermelon, a few corns, whole bunch of lettuce, some blackened carrots, half a cabbage...
At first i thought that the fridge was too cold, because my grandmother taught me that vege will go bad if it is too cold(?), also the weather was freezing cold then so i didn't realise anything wrong with the fridge. Then a few days later when the weather got warmer i thought that the fridge was not cold enough because it seemed as though it was near room temperature. I told my landlords and when they came to check it with a thermometer, it turned out that the fridge had totally broken down already! Lol. Anyway, being very efficient people, the very next day they replaced it with a brand new fridge and now i have a new fridge! Thank you Joy and Andrew!
Monday: Decided not to go for Chem Tutorial on Monday but to go for the one on Tuesday morning instead because otherwise i would have 4 hours of breaks before my next lesson. Also, if i go for the tuesday tutorial, my 2 hour non-lunch break would be shortened to 1 hour only. Ultimately, my mondays will start at 4pm (instead of 11am and 4 hours break) and my tuesday will be more packed but less time will be wasted on breaks.
Anyway, it was a good call to sleep in on monday till a bit later because i read from the discussion board on FLO (Flinders Learning Online which uses Blackboard as its server, seems like every school uses Blackboard (VJ, SMU)) that the tutor didnt turn up. The afternoon lecture was semi-cancelled too because the lecturer went to the wrong lecture theatre and arrived 30 minutes late, which by then everyone (save 20 out of the 200) had left.
Its been 3 weeks of school already and i havent had a lesson on Monday yet!!! Week 1- Chem tutorial cancelled, Bio pre-lecture cancelled (for people who didnt study bio in Year 12 ie me). Week 2- Adelaide Cup Public Holiday. Week 3- Chem tutor didnt turn up (plus i swapped my timetable), Bio pre-lecturer went to wrong venue. Lol, but i do end lesson on friday fairly late, at 5pm and had had lessons on friday for every of the 3 weeks, so i guess that balances things out.
Tuesday: Julian bought a new car and he took Nina, Emily, Paul and I on a spin to the city. Apparently in NZ the usual speed to drive is 150-180km/h and Julian was very used to such speeds so i was a bit apprehensive about taking his car. But because it was a brand new car, he was very cautious about driving and so it was all slow and safe.
We checked out Nina's room in St Annes College and its big and spacious. Loved the common area near the entrance where there are comfy sofas and shiny wooden flooring. I simply love lounging on big sofas in big spaces now, haven been too cooped up in my small narrow flat where i have only hard wooden chairs and a small cushioned armchair.
Wednesday: Went grocery shopping at Marions. Bought apples, bread, yoghurt, celery, carrots ect and had to heave the heavy bag all the way uphill. Tiring!
On Thursday, Julian drove Nina, Tim, Patrick and I to Yum Sing, a chinese takeaway restaurant, during our 1 hour break to have lunch. Food was good and affordable and in huge portions.
Went over to Paul's place on friday night to watch Glee on my pirated discs bought from Malaysia. The disc kept jumping and the subtitles were bad, luckily Cindy had the first few episodes on her Ipod so we enjoyed 3 good quality episodes of Glee. I love the soundtracks and i think Quinn is really pretty! I also like the headmaster Figgins? He is like unbiased and rational and makes the drama more believable.
Saturday afternoon Paul came over to my place for some bio help. As i didnt take bio either (we both took physics) i wasnt of much help. Luckily Emily took bio and psychology during year 12 and offered to help. Paul and i went to visit Emily on Sunday at Uni Hall for some bio coaching. Her room is small but cosy. Emily has so many pairs of shoes! Like 20? Quite overwhelming in a small hostel room (not the smell, just the idea of it lol). She plans to have a wall feature of shoes, and i think it would be a super awesome idea.
Saturday Night: DVD night at Grace/ Kathy/ Gabby's house watching SKINS with the 3 girls, Emily, Ram, Paul, Julian and I.
I've never heard of Skins before! Have you all??? Either i live under a rock, or it is just not hugely popular enough, but everyone else here has seen Skins before!!! I think its a good show, quite addictive the more the story line builds up, though i could do with some subtitles hahaha.
We all trekked to Pizza Hut in the middle of the night to get pizzas half way through. Tried piggybacking on the way back and all the other girls can piggyback Paul except for me! I collapsed the 2 times i tried it, and i am not the smallest not the skinniest of the bunch, omg what is wrong with me!?
Anyway, we werent stranded at their house this time round because Julian drove us there. Ram drove us home because he 'took one for the team' and didnt drink. Actually, i didnt drink too, but neither can i drive, lol, anyway thanks Ram!
Culinary Adventures:
My very first bento box! Rice, mixed vege and fish fingers. Looks colourful and appealing but quite tasteless. Also, it was cold because i prepared it the night before and stored it in the fridge and there was no microwave oven in the refectory where i ate it. Nonetheless, i enjoyed it, because it was a refreshing change from eating sandwiches for lunch.
Late lunch on a Saturday: Mixed vege, frozen sliced beans, bacon, an egg and baked bread. Originally i wanted to microwave the veges and bake the bread and bacon in the oven. But the bacon kept breaking into tiny bits as it was still frozen and i couldnt put tiny shreds of bacon into the oven as i didnt have aluminium foil. In the end, i had to fry the bacon and since i already had the heat going in the pan, i dumped the vege in and fried it as well.
The bread you see above caused me ALOT of trouble. For dinner i tried to microwave/defrost bread because i kept it in the freezer. I put it into a microwave safe box and left it in the microwave for 2.5 minutes. When i opened the microwave door, smoke just poured out, as if 10 cigarettes have been left in the microwave. The microwave safe box was oozing with black tar-like-liquid and the box was deformed. The whole oven was splattered with the same black liquid.
It was SO smelly! I was so worried the sprinkler was going to go off or the landlords would come over to see if i was smoking in the house, lol. I tried to salvage the box by soaking it in water/ expanding it using hot water but it was too deformed and smelly i threw it away in the end. Spent close to an hour wiping the oven with tissue paper because i didnt want to dirty my dishcloths with carcinogenic toxins. Left all the windows open and turned on the stove hood-fan, as well as the ventilator in the toilet but the whole house still smelt like a smoker's breathe. There was no wind that day too so the smell just lingered for a day... EW!
On hindsight, i think the bread was too dry when i put it into the microwave. Microwaves work by vibrating water molecules in food right? So i guess there was no water for it to heat up and hence it burnt my bread and produced burnt tar which forced itself out of the box and splattered everywhere. Valuable lesson learnt, though i dont think i am going to use the microwave for a long long time while the horrid smell is still fresh in my mind.
What a long entry! Thanks for reading through everything and tata!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Time flies! Its the end of week 2 already, 4 more weeks and it'll be a 2 week holiday. The semester is broken into 2 parts- 6 weeks of school/2 weeks holiday/8 weeks of school/ exams/ 3 week holiday--> end of semester 1.
Kathy, Grace, Paul, Julian and i went to watch movies at Marions last night. Kathy and Grace watched Alice in Wonderland, while Paul, Julian and i watched The Hurt Locker. The girls had already booked their tickets online and i couldnt guarantee that i could get seats next to them, so i watched THL with the guys instead.
It was a great movie, though i only really enjoyed it a quarter of the way into the film. I think i got a semi heatstroke during the afternoon, which was really hot, and was already laboring under a headache, plus the camera kept shaking (like when the person was running, the whole screen would bounce up and down, turn left/ right ect). Felt so uncomfortable and felt like vomiting... Fortunately, i got better soon and really enjoyed the rest of the film. Got many shocks when the bombs went off, but thats all im saying, no spoilers.
Got home at 2am last night. After the movie at around 11 plus, we walked to Kathy and Grace's house which is a reallllly long walk from Marions. Their house is great! Really big and clean and bright. I loved their backyard. Got back so late because the taxi we called took forever to come. We sat and talked in their garage but eventually the 3 of us left and waited on the streets for the taxi as it was getting really late and felt bad for imposing on Kathy and Grace especially who was sick.
Kathy, Grace and Paul are from Melbourne while Julian is from New Zealand so none of us are from Adelaide, all had to move interstate/ overseas to study in Flinders. Had fun talking about how we found our respective houses/ driving in NZ and driving in Oz. Im the only one who cannot drive, but oh well im fine with bussing or getting driven around.
Paul, Julian and i live near the Flinders Medical Centre, when the taxi call operator asked if we had an emergency, Julian said yes, and the plan was for me to feign an emergency lol. An ambulance drove by us when we were waiting for a cab and we were just mortified! Luckily a random taxi came after that (not the one we called) and we went home.
Another incident plus the heatstroke incident above kind of gave me a wake-up call that i must really take care of myself! On wednesday, during bio lecture, a girl sitting next to me fainted suddenly and totally collapsed on my shoulder! I noticed that she cleared her table first, took a drink of water, then she was clutching her forehead. Next thing i knew, her head was on my shoulder and she was unconscious. The lecturer called for security and a mature-aged student sitting behind me rushed down and helped. She woke up soon and was escorted out of the LT. I think i kind of panicked when she collapsed on my shoulder but her friend sitting beside her said i handled it really well. All i did was to tell her to breath and relax, but i hoped i helped in some way.
Anyway, the main point is that it could have been me as I have always been prone to fainting! Made myself a hearty lunch this morning of canned red salmon which i added chopped onions to, celery and wholemeal bread. I might also join the gym for yoga lessons just so to ensure i am always fit and healthy.
Also went jogging around uni on wednesday with Paul and Cindy. I find it really tiring to jog around our area, or maybe it was that day because it was really cold. Firstly, the place is so hilly and i am really bad at running uphill and scared of slipping and falling when running downhills. Also, it was so cold, every breath i took in was harsh cold air and i didnt really want to breath in so heavily but i cant because i am gasping for breath during the uphill jog. Anyway, it was a good jog, felt fit after that and we plan to do so every 3-4 days.
Went to play badminton with Phyllis (Joyce and Claudia's housemate) on Tuesday at the Alan Mitchell Sport Centre in School (old gym). Although half the hall is opened to the school on tuesdays for badminton, there were only Singaporeans who were playing there. I guess Ozzies dont like to play badminton? Had a great game of singles then doubles badminton and met many of the pple i met last saturday during the Sg Gathering. Had muscle ache for the next 2 days and couldnt write properly lol.
Last Monday was the Adelaide Cup public holiday. Its for horse racing and people will go and watch the races while being all dressed up, in dresses/gowns and big decorated hats. Went to watch a movie with Paul, Julian and Emily who lives in Uni hall. Mondays are cheap movie ticket days and we caught Shutter Island for $9. It is one of the best films i have ever seen! Totally scary at the start, Emily and i were squirming in our seats. Then the plot thickened, and we realised it wasnt a horror film but more of a thriller. Alright, no spoiler, Feisties you must watch it!!!
Went with Joyce and Claudia to Marions yesterday for some shopping. Bought covered white canvas shoes for $6 at K-Mart so i can wear them for practicals (my flats were not allowed as they didnt cover enough of my feet). Also duplicated house keys so mama can use them when she comes over in April. Yay, cant wait to pick her up at the airport and to show her around Adelaide.
I went printer shopping last Sunday. The nearest Office Works branch is the Marions branch but it is really inacessible by bus and according to Adelaide Metro, i need to walk 22 minutes to reach the shop. So i went to a further one at Keswick instead, only needed a 10 minutes walk from the nearest bus stop. Turns out that the 10 minutes walk is really far too, maybe they calculated the time using a tall Ozzie who walks really fast. I had to walk the whole length of Adelaide Showground (i found it by myself!!!), and cross 2 busy highways (there was a pedestrain underpass but as i was alone, i didnt want to go underground and ran across the roads instead).
Found the printer that i wanted, Brother HL2140, same one as M1 but i couldnt get back to the bus stop carrying a heavy printer, so i called a taxi to send me home instead. Taxi fare cost me $28A! I kind of expected that range of price but still felt really bad paying so much for a ride home.
Taxis in Oz are expensive and hard to find so most of the time people call for taxis. A ride from the FMC to Marions, which is like the distance from Parkway to Bedok, cost $12A.
There are 2 types of bus tickets, peak and off peak tickets. Off peak hours are monday to friday 9am to 3pm while any other time is a peak period. Each Off peak ride cost 76 cents while peak is $1.40. The ticket is valid for 2 hours so you can take any bus as long as you want or change to as many buses as you like for 2 hours for a flat rate. Buses are super punctual and some come every 15 minutes while others come every half hour or hour during the weekends. I think when mama comes, i will explore Adelaide with her on buses!
Culinary Adventures: (My camera is spoiling soon, the screen keeps on vibrating when i switch it on so the pictures are blurry.)
White cabbage and egg soup. The soup was quite tasteless but its healthy and easy to cook. I cooked a big pot worth of this and had it for 2 dinners in a row.
Tomato, onion and chicken breast meat and 2 eggs omelet with sesame bread for lunch on a weekend.
Bai Cai fried in onion and garlic with soy sauce for dinner, yummy!
Super Creation: Fried rice with bacon, egg, mixed vegetables, tomato, onion and garlic. Ultimate deliciousness, i wished i cooked more of it! So easy to cook too!
Most school days, i make tuna sandwich for lunch. One day i made a chocobanana sandwich, nutella spread and banana cubes on bread, found it quite delicious but my coursemates were like 'Ewww'. Is it really weird? I think its perfectly fine... haha
Sorry that is post is so long and pictures only come at the end! Also my apologies that it is so badly structured, and not in chronological order! I had to recall more than a week of events and i simply typed in whatever i could remember.
Alright tata! Missing everyone back in Sg!
Kathy, Grace, Paul, Julian and i went to watch movies at Marions last night. Kathy and Grace watched Alice in Wonderland, while Paul, Julian and i watched The Hurt Locker. The girls had already booked their tickets online and i couldnt guarantee that i could get seats next to them, so i watched THL with the guys instead.
It was a great movie, though i only really enjoyed it a quarter of the way into the film. I think i got a semi heatstroke during the afternoon, which was really hot, and was already laboring under a headache, plus the camera kept shaking (like when the person was running, the whole screen would bounce up and down, turn left/ right ect). Felt so uncomfortable and felt like vomiting... Fortunately, i got better soon and really enjoyed the rest of the film. Got many shocks when the bombs went off, but thats all im saying, no spoilers.
Got home at 2am last night. After the movie at around 11 plus, we walked to Kathy and Grace's house which is a reallllly long walk from Marions. Their house is great! Really big and clean and bright. I loved their backyard. Got back so late because the taxi we called took forever to come. We sat and talked in their garage but eventually the 3 of us left and waited on the streets for the taxi as it was getting really late and felt bad for imposing on Kathy and Grace especially who was sick.
Kathy, Grace and Paul are from Melbourne while Julian is from New Zealand so none of us are from Adelaide, all had to move interstate/ overseas to study in Flinders. Had fun talking about how we found our respective houses/ driving in NZ and driving in Oz. Im the only one who cannot drive, but oh well im fine with bussing or getting driven around.
Paul, Julian and i live near the Flinders Medical Centre, when the taxi call operator asked if we had an emergency, Julian said yes, and the plan was for me to feign an emergency lol. An ambulance drove by us when we were waiting for a cab and we were just mortified! Luckily a random taxi came after that (not the one we called) and we went home.
Another incident plus the heatstroke incident above kind of gave me a wake-up call that i must really take care of myself! On wednesday, during bio lecture, a girl sitting next to me fainted suddenly and totally collapsed on my shoulder! I noticed that she cleared her table first, took a drink of water, then she was clutching her forehead. Next thing i knew, her head was on my shoulder and she was unconscious. The lecturer called for security and a mature-aged student sitting behind me rushed down and helped. She woke up soon and was escorted out of the LT. I think i kind of panicked when she collapsed on my shoulder but her friend sitting beside her said i handled it really well. All i did was to tell her to breath and relax, but i hoped i helped in some way.
Anyway, the main point is that it could have been me as I have always been prone to fainting! Made myself a hearty lunch this morning of canned red salmon which i added chopped onions to, celery and wholemeal bread. I might also join the gym for yoga lessons just so to ensure i am always fit and healthy.
Also went jogging around uni on wednesday with Paul and Cindy. I find it really tiring to jog around our area, or maybe it was that day because it was really cold. Firstly, the place is so hilly and i am really bad at running uphill and scared of slipping and falling when running downhills. Also, it was so cold, every breath i took in was harsh cold air and i didnt really want to breath in so heavily but i cant because i am gasping for breath during the uphill jog. Anyway, it was a good jog, felt fit after that and we plan to do so every 3-4 days.
Went to play badminton with Phyllis (Joyce and Claudia's housemate) on Tuesday at the Alan Mitchell Sport Centre in School (old gym). Although half the hall is opened to the school on tuesdays for badminton, there were only Singaporeans who were playing there. I guess Ozzies dont like to play badminton? Had a great game of singles then doubles badminton and met many of the pple i met last saturday during the Sg Gathering. Had muscle ache for the next 2 days and couldnt write properly lol.
Last Monday was the Adelaide Cup public holiday. Its for horse racing and people will go and watch the races while being all dressed up, in dresses/gowns and big decorated hats. Went to watch a movie with Paul, Julian and Emily who lives in Uni hall. Mondays are cheap movie ticket days and we caught Shutter Island for $9. It is one of the best films i have ever seen! Totally scary at the start, Emily and i were squirming in our seats. Then the plot thickened, and we realised it wasnt a horror film but more of a thriller. Alright, no spoiler, Feisties you must watch it!!!
Went with Joyce and Claudia to Marions yesterday for some shopping. Bought covered white canvas shoes for $6 at K-Mart so i can wear them for practicals (my flats were not allowed as they didnt cover enough of my feet). Also duplicated house keys so mama can use them when she comes over in April. Yay, cant wait to pick her up at the airport and to show her around Adelaide.
I went printer shopping last Sunday. The nearest Office Works branch is the Marions branch but it is really inacessible by bus and according to Adelaide Metro, i need to walk 22 minutes to reach the shop. So i went to a further one at Keswick instead, only needed a 10 minutes walk from the nearest bus stop. Turns out that the 10 minutes walk is really far too, maybe they calculated the time using a tall Ozzie who walks really fast. I had to walk the whole length of Adelaide Showground (i found it by myself!!!), and cross 2 busy highways (there was a pedestrain underpass but as i was alone, i didnt want to go underground and ran across the roads instead).
Found the printer that i wanted, Brother HL2140, same one as M1 but i couldnt get back to the bus stop carrying a heavy printer, so i called a taxi to send me home instead. Taxi fare cost me $28A! I kind of expected that range of price but still felt really bad paying so much for a ride home.
Taxis in Oz are expensive and hard to find so most of the time people call for taxis. A ride from the FMC to Marions, which is like the distance from Parkway to Bedok, cost $12A.
There are 2 types of bus tickets, peak and off peak tickets. Off peak hours are monday to friday 9am to 3pm while any other time is a peak period. Each Off peak ride cost 76 cents while peak is $1.40. The ticket is valid for 2 hours so you can take any bus as long as you want or change to as many buses as you like for 2 hours for a flat rate. Buses are super punctual and some come every 15 minutes while others come every half hour or hour during the weekends. I think when mama comes, i will explore Adelaide with her on buses!
Culinary Adventures: (My camera is spoiling soon, the screen keeps on vibrating when i switch it on so the pictures are blurry.)
White cabbage and egg soup. The soup was quite tasteless but its healthy and easy to cook. I cooked a big pot worth of this and had it for 2 dinners in a row.
Tomato, onion and chicken breast meat and 2 eggs omelet with sesame bread for lunch on a weekend.
Bai Cai fried in onion and garlic with soy sauce for dinner, yummy!
Super Creation: Fried rice with bacon, egg, mixed vegetables, tomato, onion and garlic. Ultimate deliciousness, i wished i cooked more of it! So easy to cook too!
Most school days, i make tuna sandwich for lunch. One day i made a chocobanana sandwich, nutella spread and banana cubes on bread, found it quite delicious but my coursemates were like 'Ewww'. Is it really weird? I think its perfectly fine... haha
Sorry that is post is so long and pictures only come at the end! Also my apologies that it is so badly structured, and not in chronological order! I had to recall more than a week of events and i simply typed in whatever i could remember.
Alright tata! Missing everyone back in Sg!
Friday, March 5, 2010
It is finally raining here after 2 weeks of dryness! It was so dry outdoors that there was no green grass and the ants were coming into my shower to drink water. Alas, it started to rain when i was heaving back my heavy weekly groceries bought from Marions. Was cold and tired when climbing uphill but i survived:)
Week 1 of school is over. Tutorials and practicals start next week so lessons will be more interactive then, this week was still mainly lectures.
Out of my 4 topics, i find Med1105- Physiology: How your body works, most interesting. The lecturer is an old italian man who speaks in an italian accent. Classmates keep laughing about his long white beard lol!
I find that Australians are less religious than Singaporeans, or maybe it is just this part of the course. For the first Med lecture, Baba Brinkman, an up-and-coming rapper who performed during the Oz's Fringe festival, rapped about evolution and had the audience shouting 'Dead Wrong!' every time he said 'Creationism' and the crowd was so enthusiastic.
In my Bio textbook written with an Australian focus (the red book below), evolution is described as "a fact as firmly established as the idea of an atom or electron, or the sun being at the centre of our solar system" (Knox et al, 2010).
Haha just practicing in-text citation above, the uni is extremely strict about plagiarism, the penalty for plagiarism is immediately failure, and even poor paraphrasing/ sloppy referencing ie, no page number given, is considered plagiarizing, so feeling anxious about that.
My textbooks/ topic manuals and lab coat which is compulsory for bio practicals. All these cost me ~$300A, massive spending. The textbooks are the expensive ones, but thankfully can be used for next sem and years to come. I didnt buy the chemistry textbook because most of the content has been covered in A levels, and i hope i can still remember what i learnt and just depend on the ppt slides. Keeping my fingers crossed!
On Wednesday, went to Paul and Cindy's house for lunch/dinner together with Kathy, Grace and Gabby. My first group of Ozzie friends! All my course mates with the exception of Cindy, so will be meeting them often during lectures.
Thursday, went for O' night held in our school's coopers bar and the new refectory. Dress code: Naughty Bak2Skool. It was great fun! Many helium balloons around which made for great entertainment and even a pole dancing performance. It was all very tame and in good spirit, not very naughty, despite the dress code, lol!
Posing with Grace's Awesome glasses. Grace is on the right and Kathy in the middle. They, together with Gabby, cropped their high school uniform and wore it that night. They looked great! Though it was abit disconcerting to see so many people dancing away in their school uniforms, the guys especially in their blazers and ties.
The landlords Joy and Andrew have gone caravaning for a week so i am now left alone in the house. Though i am alone most of the time in my flat anyway, i do meet them often eg when i leave the house, when i dry my laundry ect. They instructed me to push the rubbish bins out on friday morning and to collect their mail everyday. With them away, i have the entire patio and back garden to myself though i havent used it yet. Feels scary at night when it is so quiet and dark outside and i know that Joy and Andrew are not around!
(OOh, a helicopter just flew over my place and it was LOUD!)
Culinary Adventures:
Cooked this last night. Chinese cabbage(? dont know what the vege is called) with boiled chicken breast in chunks. I was getting lazy and simply ate out of the wok haha.
Cooked this a week ago i think. Soy sauce chicken with onions and garlic. Tasted great, looks great too!
Went for a Singaporean Club gathering today. Met many singaporeans who were all very friendly. Most of them stay either in the Uni Hall or Village. Many of them are studying Speech Pathology. Met a Yr 3 Speech Pathology girl, Melissa, who i thought looked familiar. Turned out she spent her first 3 months in VJ and was in the same big OG as me during 05 orientation. Met another girl, (forgot her name oops) who is Chow Yi Ling's (06v11) cousin. What a small world!
Alright, feeling hungry now and going to cook dinner. I always only start cooking when i feel hungry and end up eating a late dinner. Guess im too used to having dinner ready for me whenever i feel hungry:S
Tata!
Week 1 of school is over. Tutorials and practicals start next week so lessons will be more interactive then, this week was still mainly lectures.
Out of my 4 topics, i find Med1105- Physiology: How your body works, most interesting. The lecturer is an old italian man who speaks in an italian accent. Classmates keep laughing about his long white beard lol!
I find that Australians are less religious than Singaporeans, or maybe it is just this part of the course. For the first Med lecture, Baba Brinkman, an up-and-coming rapper who performed during the Oz's Fringe festival, rapped about evolution and had the audience shouting 'Dead Wrong!' every time he said 'Creationism' and the crowd was so enthusiastic.
In my Bio textbook written with an Australian focus (the red book below), evolution is described as "a fact as firmly established as the idea of an atom or electron, or the sun being at the centre of our solar system" (Knox et al, 2010).
Haha just practicing in-text citation above, the uni is extremely strict about plagiarism, the penalty for plagiarism is immediately failure, and even poor paraphrasing/ sloppy referencing ie, no page number given, is considered plagiarizing, so feeling anxious about that.
My textbooks/ topic manuals and lab coat which is compulsory for bio practicals. All these cost me ~$300A, massive spending. The textbooks are the expensive ones, but thankfully can be used for next sem and years to come. I didnt buy the chemistry textbook because most of the content has been covered in A levels, and i hope i can still remember what i learnt and just depend on the ppt slides. Keeping my fingers crossed!
On Wednesday, went to Paul and Cindy's house for lunch/dinner together with Kathy, Grace and Gabby. My first group of Ozzie friends! All my course mates with the exception of Cindy, so will be meeting them often during lectures.
Thursday, went for O' night held in our school's coopers bar and the new refectory. Dress code: Naughty Bak2Skool. It was great fun! Many helium balloons around which made for great entertainment and even a pole dancing performance. It was all very tame and in good spirit, not very naughty, despite the dress code, lol!
Posing with Grace's Awesome glasses. Grace is on the right and Kathy in the middle. They, together with Gabby, cropped their high school uniform and wore it that night. They looked great! Though it was abit disconcerting to see so many people dancing away in their school uniforms, the guys especially in their blazers and ties.
The landlords Joy and Andrew have gone caravaning for a week so i am now left alone in the house. Though i am alone most of the time in my flat anyway, i do meet them often eg when i leave the house, when i dry my laundry ect. They instructed me to push the rubbish bins out on friday morning and to collect their mail everyday. With them away, i have the entire patio and back garden to myself though i havent used it yet. Feels scary at night when it is so quiet and dark outside and i know that Joy and Andrew are not around!
(OOh, a helicopter just flew over my place and it was LOUD!)
Culinary Adventures:
Cooked this last night. Chinese cabbage(? dont know what the vege is called) with boiled chicken breast in chunks. I was getting lazy and simply ate out of the wok haha.
Cooked this a week ago i think. Soy sauce chicken with onions and garlic. Tasted great, looks great too!
Went for a Singaporean Club gathering today. Met many singaporeans who were all very friendly. Most of them stay either in the Uni Hall or Village. Many of them are studying Speech Pathology. Met a Yr 3 Speech Pathology girl, Melissa, who i thought looked familiar. Turned out she spent her first 3 months in VJ and was in the same big OG as me during 05 orientation. Met another girl, (forgot her name oops) who is Chow Yi Ling's (06v11) cousin. What a small world!
Alright, feeling hungry now and going to cook dinner. I always only start cooking when i feel hungry and end up eating a late dinner. Guess im too used to having dinner ready for me whenever i feel hungry:S
Tata!
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