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!