guess wad.. i'm flying to Melbourne tmr.. so excited.. going to visit friends, watch Wicked, probably Great Ocean Road tour and of course Singapore day.. yeah..
a doctor told a client on a talk show "why do you cry? cause you know you are safe here.." ok some random stuff..
anyway.. day light saving probably starting on sunday.. so from sunday onwards, sydney's timing be 3 hrs faster than spore time.. ha..
melie
2:57 pm
i chance upon something i wish i hadnt.. maybe if i wasnt curious, i wouldnt have seen it.. life is always filled with times when you wish you didnt have to go through it again.. but life likes to play trick on you.. it just wouldnt let you off so easily.. the more you avoid it, the more it comes haunting you.. why? why does the feeling feel so real at times, like it never left me.. but i thought i very much left it alone for a long time.. the image wouldnt go away now.. leave me alone will you.. i'm not suppose to be thinking of it..
sometimes i thought i left that part of me behind, thought i was done with it, able to move on and lead life again.. but then, life just reminds me of all the memories i tried so hard to keep away from.. in this whole new life alone here in another environment, another place, everyday has been a test.. a test to move off from the memories, to lead another exciting life, to try many new things, to start planning a new chapter of life when i have to go back. the feeling is like running in an open field, with wind brushing pass you, hair flying with the wind.. and then you just fall on the grass and smile.. if life was only like that.. so many plans i have i wonder where to start.. get my own car, my own apartment, travel to many places, and keep my family together..
shots from floriade 21, canberra: pick the flowers u like most!
looks like pop corn!
melie
1:57 pm
guess wad.. it's break week.. yeah.. going down to melb on wed.. exciting.. haha.. internet at home is really really slow.. think we exceeded our internet usage already.. so bored... haix.. wanted to post canberra photos yesterdae but internet was too SLOW... to do it so gave up.. shall do it next month then.. haha.. i really our electricity bill is going to burst like crazy.. cox lumps has his com on for 24 hrs.. even when he is not at home.. someone teach him about saving money.. he's somehow broke also.. oh my.. haix..
slept for like 11 hrs the night before.. just got really tired.. dunno what happen also but just really tired.. like night slept at 4am.. ha.. woke up by 10am.. just didnt felt like sleeping anymore.. not going out on sat can be really boring.. rina, bixia and i walked around auburn after lunch yesterdae.. we stroll down every aisle in the supermarkets.. haha.. take a break from work..
heard that mrs tan will be in canberra.. too bad cant be there to meet her..
melie
9:32 am
just got back not long ago from canberra.. went on a day trip to floriade... the whole point of taking a 4 hrs bus ride is for floriade but i only spent 45 mins rushing to see flowers.. can die la... didnt explore much also.. sian.. but saw the most number of tulips.. love them.. gosh.. suddenly feel like i didnt quite really saw floriade.. went to the other sights of canberra again.. cox bixia's friend is here in sydney so might as well go along.. wanted to get some scout stuff from the mint.. but totally not worth it.. haha.. nvm.. shall get dad to buy it from aussie post..
anyway.. there is like a theme for each plot of flowers in floraide.. so the flowers are planted in a way the colours will show different pics.. but that's if u can fly and view it from the top.. cox from ground level, i could only see rows of flowers of different colours and height.. haha.. there were many stalls also but no time to look at it.. :(.. anyway.. took lots of flowers pic.. will post in facebook soon.. haha..
anyway.. i still miss my camp.. gosh.. there were so many things to take away from the camp..
...friends are like families..
it doesnt matter if you are related or not.. i saw how someone not related can be treated like a family member, make the person feel so welcomed into the family, so at home and loved.. i like that to happen to me too..
...a warm fire lights up your heart...
i realise the importance of a campfire.. really saw the use of it.. like the camps i used to attend, it never seemed cold enough to need to sit round the fire for warmth. i first experienced it during this camp. a fire can gather everyone around it and strikes up the most unexpected conversation. it bonds people, you learn more about others, i saw the need for the fire..
...there is more than one country in australia...
think i am joking.. well i am not.. there is many countries in australia.. each representing a different community of aboriginals.. each have a different "dialect".. so much like china with different cities.. like how being chinese, we have different dialects..
...what's important is the process, not the product...
have you ever stop to look at where you are going.. have you ever climb a mountain and only saw the view from the top.. have you notice the pretty flowers that lined the way up? have you saw that termite hill that laid in that corner? have you ever notice the food you find from the trees you passed? many possibly never.. the end has always been more important.. can you imagine the stuff you missed? well stop for a while every day in life.. look around you.. have you missed someone or something in you life?
...communication...
have you tried talking to someone you dont really know.. how do you build rapport with them? have you bothered to learn more about them? put yourself in their shoes? have you stop to listen what they have to say to you? will you spare them that few minutes?
...life can be simple...
when was the last time you didnt had electricity? when was the last time your phone was off? when was the last time the most high tech thing was light? i realise life can be simple even though i am exposed to high technology constantly.. i lived life without electricity for 3 days.. didnt on my phone for 3 days.. didnt touch computer for 3 days.. i survived and very much enjoyed it.. what is it like to wake up to singing of the birds? rustling of trees? gush of fresh air? excellent..
...a simple hug means so much more..
i felt touched.. from strangers we became friends.. they were like family to me for the few days.. i was like a child who came from the city to visit.. they made me feel welcome, they made me feel at home..
melie
11:12 pm
i can only say.. i already miss the people.. miss everyone that was at the camp.. my family for the past 4 days..
i left home on thurs afternoon to school to meet the person that i was getting a lift from.. with no idea on how she looked like, i arrived in school early.. i waited outside the library, hoping to see someone that looks like they are going for camp too.. just after 4pm, divija came out from the lib and we went to get lollies (realise this is wad they call sweets here). she is really nice.. very friendly.. she's doing her masters in speech pathology and so is lanvy (dunno how to spell her name).. so we left sydney at around 4.30pm and proceeded our way towards jamanee gunya.. we had lots of snacks, biscuits, chocolates, rice dumplings, lollies.. nice.. and we got to know one another on our way there.. 2 hours into the drive, we stopped at a little town called berry for dinner.. we went to a pizza place that looks quite nice.. and the pizza is really nice.. after a 45 min break, we drove off towards our final destination. it was pretty dark and we cant see the surroundings at all.. we had to turn on high beam at times to see the road ahead.. after much driving and wrong turns, we arrived at the camp site. we were greeted by a lady, jenny.. she was the lady boss and was up waiting for us.. so nice.. we got out of the car and it was cold.. the campsite was down in a valley.. we got our stuff out into the dormitories and went to the activity area for a cuppa (hot drink).. then we chatted around the campfire until the others arrive.. after meeting the boss, noel, we talked a little and we headed off to bed.. all of us were exhausted.. but to our horror, none of us got a good sleep cause someone in the dorm had a snoring prob, he was snoring super loudly the whole night and i happened to sleep in the same room as him.. sarah was worst, she was sleeping next to him.
next morning, sarah and i woke up at 7am.. we looked around the place and enjoyed the scenery. the morning birds chirping, wind blowing.. the environment was just great.. it just makes u relax. sarah and i being the first few to wake up chatted with noel. got to know about the place more and animals around the compound.. they have one huge place.. breakfast was cereal and fresh fruits..there was museli too, fruit juices.. my eyes lit up when i saw banana.. haha.. after breakfast, we had a chat on aboriginal culture, made lunch then off we went to climb a mountain.. the view on the way up was breath taking.. i was super unfit.. haha.. panted all the way up.. but the climb was worth it.. the view was great and we had lunch at the top of the mountain.. the fresh air and view just blew my mind away.. after that we got back to the campsite and showered.. when i showered, it was already dark and i couldnt see anything.. cause there werent any lights.. the place doesnt have electricity and i didnt had any reception on my australian line.. so stupid.. my singapore line had so i managed to sms back home to my mom.. luckily.. if not she'll freak out.. haha.. without any electricity, i turned my phone off after i arrived, one reason is to save battery and another is that there isnt any reception anyway.. so after shower, it was cold.. we had dinner, everyone had a piece of beef with potatoes, pumkins and bread.. nice.. jenny prepared it.. after dinner, we watched a dvd to introduce what is the aboriginal culture.. after that we were exhausted so off to bed we went..
next morning, woke up early again.. had great breakfast again and enjoyed the slower pace of life.. we had talks in the morning on the health and police system for the aboriginal people.. i was busy playing with jenny and noel's grand daughter who came to visit.. really got to understand more of the difficulties the people face and tips on communication skills.. after lunch.. we headed off to the lake for kayaking.. when we got there, it was too windy so we didnt get to kayak around the lake.. instead, we cross over to the other side and enjoy the view of the ocean and threw spears and bombarang.. i explored the beach and collected shells.. memories of my trip, i got to know more about the culture there too.. trekking through the lake was an experience! after we got back, got a quick shower before heading off to watch a dvd on a culture in one of the other communities/countries as they call it.. we were waiting for the others who kayak back as they got stuck at the nature park.. we got a visitor who showed as some reptiles like snakes and lizard and gave us advice on how to handle them.. oh well.. while waiting, i developed gastric pain.. had dinner while in pain.. had kangaroo meat, crocodile meat, beef and sausage for dinner.. yum yum.. haha.. after that we sat around the fire and chatted.. noel started on the didj and some of us tried to blow it.. i failed in the attempt.. it was great listening to the music and everything.. we went off to bed at around 11 plus.. i was tired already.. haha..
last day at jamanee gunya.. felt kinda sad.. ate the last breakfast.. we had bacon and egg for breakfast.. nice.. after that we painted our own bombarang.. nice.. then we were introduce to tools used by the men and women in the culture.. we saw photographs of the culture too.. really got to understand more.. ash shared the story about his life.. which was pretty personal but we got to understand him better.. after lunch, we packed up, took photographs and said our goodbyes.. as we hugged one another and said out goodbyes, it felt kind of sad.. really gonna miss my time at the camp, miss the whole family feel.. i still rmb the first night when we arrive, noel said that we gonna be a family for the next few days and we hafta treat everyone like a family.. at the end of the day, i really felt like in a big family..
on the way back, divija, lanvy and i, we reflected on the memories we had of the camp.. talked about stuff that happened.. saw the beautiful scenery that we were leaving behind to go back to the city.. we saw cows crossing the road.. all the nature stuff.. stuff we cant find here.. missed the starry nights, missed the cold nights around the warm campfire.. missed the sounds of nature, missed the total darkness.. i wanna go back if i can..
thank you for such an enjoyable time.. :)
melie
9:07 pm
love this song
sian.. cant embed the music clip here.. haha.. too bad..
melie
8:32 pm
i'm feeling great now cause i finish my criminality report.. haha.. i did on feminist theories and their implication on the treatment of females charged with crime.. haha.. not that i think i did great.. but it's over.. handed it up.. yeah..
rushing some stuff up till thurs cos i going for my weekend camp.. missing sch on fri.. ha.. gonna get a lift from a speech therapist.. ha.. cant wait.. she sounds friendly too.. it'll be a 4hr road trip.. and i heard that it's a scenic view.. yeah..
slept at 2 plus last nite cause wanted to finish my report but in the end i couldnt as i had trouble phrasing all the stuff.. i haf a huge language prob.. oh man.. chatted with minli online while she was at school.. haha.. so great to hear a familiar voice.. used web cam to kinda show her my hse.. haha.. fun.. my parents skyped me later too.. oh well.. when i went to bed i couldnt help but think of my report, just frustrated at what i wanna write in it.. so i had trouble slping and this morning had to wake up early for lessons.. so was kinda tired.. haha.. manage to come home early and started on my report again.. cook my beef stew in between.. hee.. mummy gave me the recipe.. i was so motivated to complete my report that i didnt ate lunch, munch on my biscuits and didnt want dinner until i finish typing a section.. haha.. now so happy..
but yea.. some things...shhh...
melie
9:24 pm
there is a criminality assignment due next week.. been trying to do my readings and understand them.. but i'm kinda slow at it.. oh well..
some stuff happened this week.. my parents got a web cam last week.. so managed to video skype them.. although i chat with my mom on skype now and then.. my bro enlisted yesterdae.. so one less person in the house.. so my parents are kinda paranoid i suppose.. no one at home for them to worry so they started being overly concerned here.. oh well..
cant wait to get updates from my bro on his camp.. my mom say it's not bad a place.. hope he manages the training though.. heard his sec sch classmate enlisted on the same day as him and to the same unit..
tmr going to meet a poly friend in town for tea.. going lindt cafe.. yeah.. then going to the other house for lantern festival celebrations.. got pizzas and mooncakes.. gonna haf mahjong and card games too.. haha.. so enjoy life.. but my groupmates probably going to IM our industrial partner about our project.. yea.. so maybe we gonna finalise the details.. so exciting.. really hope it'll turn out well in singapore..
melie
4:02 pm
guess wad guess wad..
shall just talk about my weekend adventures first.. well weather wasnt great on saturday.. it rained the whole day.. the rain started on fri morning and didnt stop till sat night.. anyway.. i had an early morning alarm on sat morning.. there was this tapping sound from my bed.. in the darkness, i could tell what it was, i assume it was some insect or wadever.. but the sound didnt go away.. when i turn on the lights, to my horror, water was leaking from the ceiling la.. there was a hole.. i have no idea how did it came about.. i couldnt continue sleeping as the water was dripping onto my bed.. so i started moving my furniture.. i tot i could go back to slp after putting a bucket to collect the water.. but i couldnt.. so i took a picture of the ceiling and sent an email to the property agent at 7 plus in the morning.. anyway.. after some lazing around, i prepared to go out.. i wanted to stay home cox it was raining.. but we were meeting our friends at cabramatta to buy mooncake and check out the lantern festival celebrations they were having.. rain kinda dampen the mood on everything.. we ate lunch at a pretty nice vietnamese restaurant and then we kinda tour around those stalls they set up.. we bought 4 boxes of mooncakes too cause the 8 of us is celebrating mooncake festival this friday at the other house.. cool.. after that we went to town, to go to the pylon lookout.. i had tickets cox i went to the bridge climb the last time.. the view at the top was great.. other than the strong wind.. and gloomy weather.. due to the bad weather, the chalk art festival at darling harbour was cancelled too.. kinda sad we didnt get to go there.. we went QVB to eat laksa.. though it cost $8 a bowl.. but it's nice.. anyway food here cost this much..
on sunday, i went to flemington market wif bixia to get groceries and shop around paddy's market.. i got a pair of boots.. haha.. we bought 10kg of potatoes, probably another 10kg of pears and 48 rolls of toilet rolls.. haha.. it's like pasir panjang market there.. everything is sold in bulk, then it's cheap.. hee.. well with the help of a trolley, we managed to drag the stuff back.. but we were faced with obstacles like stairs and curbs.. oh well..
anyway.. back to the main topic.. i've got a few trips planned.. hee..
first up is a health sciences weekend workshop at jamanee gunya.. it's gonna be a 3D2N camp at the south coast of new south wales.. about 4 hours drive from sydney.. it's a camp where we get to learn about the traditional medicine and healing and a field trip to the national park.. got kayaking, bushfire, boomerang throwing this kind of stuff too.. it's kinda exciting.. get to learn more about the aboriginal culture.. will be away next weekend.. but still finding on how to get there.. haha..
next is melbourn trip in october! going for singapore day.. heard from wei khoon that he's going there too.. so probably will be meeting up with him and yaozong.. haha.. i'll probably be staying with my ot friends who are studying at la trobe.. exciting..
i kinda thinking of going NZ during my summer hols.. probably use the itinerary from my parents trip.. need to do some reading up first.. just wanna relax and just enjoy the scenery.. hmmm...
melie
7:22 pm
realise yesterdae that i uploaded my thailand trip photos onto facebook like halfway.. haha.. found an empty album while looking at my photos.. so decided to upload the rest of the photos.. while uploading the photos, it brought me back to the time when i went bangkok, kanchanaburi, chiang mai and chiang rai.. lots of great memories i must say.. learnt alot through that short experience.. first time backpacking too.. lived in great guest houses, explored many historical sites, visited places with interesting architeture, and of course.. learn the art of shopping and packing.. ha..
i learn more about myself through the experience.. about my interaction with others, my temperaments, about my sleeping habits.. knew the friends i went with better.. kinda missed the times when yizhi do funny things and make us laugh.. missed the days where minli planned everything so well, u just hafta follow.. missed the times where jeff looked after us like we r little kids.. haha.. i missed the cheap movie tix.. missed the great 7-11.. missed fried meat with basil.. i actually missed carrying my large backpack and walking around.. hmmm
melie
12:52 pm
after diane jie jie's bdae on mon.. next is desiree's bdae on tues.. called back to spore again to wish her happy birthday.. then talk to gu ma abit.. ha.. think tues was uncle's bdae too.. happy belated birthday..
now is the big one..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!! thanks for being there for me the past few years.. though we fought alot last time.. i am glad that these few years we got to understand each other better.. thanks for giving me a hug everytime i feel down.. thanks for looking after me when i fall sick.. thanks for asking if i am ok every now and then.. thanks for helping me with all the IT stuff.. thanks for driving me around.. thanks for coming to sydney to visit me.. thanks for doing all the little things that brighten up my life.. though i cant be at home to celebrate ur 20th birthday with you.. hope u have a great day.. :) the next stage of life is gonna take place soon.. embrace it with open arms.. and enjoy the time inside.. make the best out of everything possible.. it may be tough, but just try ur best.. u can do it! love ya!
melie
10:30 pm
1st september 2008..
my first taste of spring..
what i notice.. the maple tree shoots are appearing.. maybe they were already doing so, just that i never noticed.. the sun was hot and the sky was clear blue...the sun had been hot in winter but today it felt different.. i went to the post office in my 3/4 pants and sandals.. ha.. a sign of it's not that cold with the sun of course.. (took some pics.. will post soon)
yesterdae.. after the rain, a rainbow appeared! say bye to the last day of winter.. welcome Spring..
happy birthday diane jie jie!!
melie
7:27 pm
looks like pop corn!
anyway.. i still miss my camp.. gosh.. there were so many things to take away from the camp..
