Update

I am grateful for the marks I get for all my assessments so far. Now I have to work doubly hard for the upcoming finals.

I am missing my family and friends dearly - every single day. Can't say every hour, minute and second, though because I would lying if I said that. I miss having you guys to talk to just about everything and anything under the sun. I miss getting big bear hugs from you guys, hanging out with you guys. >_<

I had already registered my name for the supplementary exam overseas. Hopefully this effort of mine will be wasted, because I really want to pass finals with flying colours. No supp, please!

Tugging My Heartstrings

Sheesh. I am already starting to dream about going back to Malaysia when I am supposed to be studying for tomorrow's Pharmaceutical Bio lab test. :(


4th of Dec 2009! I can’t wait!!!!

Winging Things

Shelley (my Pharmaceutics lecturer) said that there are two types of students in the lab. One is the ‘happy-go-lucky’ type and the other ‘studious, serious’ type.


Well, I want to be the ‘happy-go-lucky’ one. Why? Because I feel like ‘winging’ every single practical exam and theory test to come. :S

I think I am ‘winging’ things now anyway, since I hardly study (example: I should be studying for Friday’s Pharmaceutics calculation test but I am writing this!).

And the School of Pharmacy has already sent us emails this afternoon, requesting us to register for overseas supplementary exams (if we want to) BEFORE we even sit for the exams. What the heck. I got a huge shock and a huge dilemma. Should I register or should I not? I haven’t even seen the exam papers yet! How is it possible for them to ask us to REGISTER for SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS now? It is like a bad omen!!!

Sigh. But judging from my condition now, I think I should. At least, my dad thinks I should – as a precautionary measure. Who the hell wants to spend over a thousand dollars on a plane ticket just to take supp in Perth when I can do it in Subang Jaya, right? RIGHT??

Anyway, I feel like I am high on caffeine.... that is why I am writing crazy stuff like this when I should be studying.

Lab Manual, Willpower and Other Stuff

Phew! I have finally completed chemistry lab manual! It is not part of the assessment for Pharm Chem, but definitely an integral study material for tomorrow’s lab theory test. Sigh. That is exactly why I had been scrambling to complete everything – plotting the graphs, doing the calculations etc. Trust me to put things off until the very last minute (test is 8am tomorrow). :P


Anyway, I have proved to myself that I could commit myself to studying the whole day if I wanted to. It is all about sheer willpower! (I am talking like Naruto already.) For me, willpower and determination will kick in 24 hours prior to exams.

The coming two weeks will be super busy with various assessments – prac exams, lab tests, computing test etc. Talk about crazy. All lectures are already done and over with, save for Pharm Bio (4 lectures on kidney), Epidemiology and Pharm Chem’s drug solubility lectures. Thank god for all the empty lecture slots. I definitely need more time to study. :(

Everyone, let’s work hard (and smart!) for the coming exams!

GO! GO! FIGHT!

Curtin's Pasar Malam

Undoubtedly the biggest event in Curtin that I have ever attended. Scratch that.


The only event I attended this year! XD

So many stalls were set up – Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian, Japanese, Hong Kong food – all in Alcoa Court. I had tonnes of fun just walking around, absorbing the pasar malam atmosphere (sorry, no pictures taken because I was too busy buying food).

Oh yeah, kudos to Zack, Aleen and Didi for setting a stall of their own at the event. They sold keropok lekor, char kuey teow, cendol etc. Their keropok were great but I think they required more flour and spicier sauce to go with it! :D

I splurged so much on food! Typical me. :P Chee cheong fun (leave that for tomorrow morning, can’t eat anymore), Bak kua (expensive, but I wanna eat!), keropok lekor... and the best buy has to be SATAY!!!! Omg... queuing up for about an hour for it is absolutely crazy business. But you know what? It is all worth it because it is so good! Now, I wish to replicate the recipe!

Ah, all the Malaysian food makes me miss home even more... >_<

My Song

I was in Hollis theatre, waiting for biology lecture to start when I began to realise the meaning of the song that I was listening to on my phone.


Maybe I'd be better on my own
No one ever seems to understand me
It's easier for me to be alone
But there's still a piece of me that feels so empty


I've been all over the world
I've seen a million different places
But through the crowds and all the faces I'm still out there looking for you
Oh


Where are you now
I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all
What is the chance
(What is the chance)
Of finding you out there
Or do I have to wait forever


I write about the things I'll never know
But I can't find a moment just to slow down
It makes me think I'll never have the chance to figure out
(To figure out)
What it's all about
(What it's all about)
So tell me what it's all about 'cause


Where are you now
(Where are you now)
I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all
What is the chance
(What is the chance)
Of finding you out there
Or do I have to wait forever


Yeah
La da da da da da da da
Oh
Ooh
Ooh


Where are you now
I'm trying to get by with never ever knowing at all and i still don't know
Where are you now
(Where are you now)
I'm trying to get by with never ever knowing at all
What is the chance
(What is the chance)
Of finding you out there
Or do I have to wait
Or do I have to wait
Or do I have to wait forever


Ooh
Ooh
Yeah


-Where are you now? By Michelle Branch-

The most ironic thing is that I have listened to this song so many times before, without realising what it meant – until that very moment in the lecture theatre. And it describes exactly how I feel.

***

I have been writing about it, thinking about it, dreaming about it, looking for your face everywhere. Sometimes I feel I shouldn’t because I am still trying to find my place in this world, and because I am loved by my family and friends. I should feel blessed.


But I am neither greedy nor desperate... because this heart of mine remains empty.


So, where are you now?

Habitat

Yes, I am still going to stay in Vickery House (on-campus accommodation) next year. Now I have one less thing to worry about.Well, I did think about staying off-campus before.

There are many potential benefits, for example:

1) Choose your own housemates. I need housemates who respect my privacy, who are not too noisy when it's past midnight, cleans up the mess after she cooks, and the list goes on and on. Then again, I think I need to be grateful for what I have now, lest I get a more horrible housemate next year.

2) Freedom to do things that I like, eg. sing at the top of my lungs in my own room or bathroom (for that matter). Here, the walls are so thin that I can hear people cooking even though my room is the furthest from the kitchen.

3) No more cleaning inspections! I don't hate it per se, since it forces us to clean... but it really gets on my nerves when I have to do my duty during exam period or when I am busy with studying. Last sem's horrendous experience: I still had to clean the bathroom even though I had just returned from Chem exam and it was already 10pm! =.=lll

4) No 'where-to-put-my-stuff-when-I-go-back-to-Malaysia' headache. If I rent a house, I would just dump my belongings there, since I already paid the rent. =)

Despite my extolling the goodness of staying off-campus, I love the convenience of waking up an hour prior to lecture and still arrive on time. Or when I have an hour break in between classes, I can still go back to my room to chill and have a snack. That's what Vickery House is for me. Convenience. Haha.

Nodame Cantabile ~ The End?

According to Wikipedia and also the scanlated version of Chapter 135, Nodame Cantabile manga is going to end soon.

Sigh. From what I have read so far, the resolution seems a bit too rushed... but it is great that Chiaki-sempai and Nodame always manage to find the way into each other's arms despite everything that has happened.

I am going to miss Nodame when it ends. Will I mourn because it has come to a conclusion or will I rejoice over a great run? Only time will tell.

An Autumn Day

They say,
It is just an autumn day.

I see
A bird
Swooping down
In graceful flight.

I feel
The breeze
Caressing my skin.

I hear
The leaves
Rustling in the wind
Like unwritten melodies.

I see, I feel, I hear
              Showers of leaves
Gently drifting in the air
              In various hues, of
Orange
             Red
                     Yellow
                                 Brown
                                             Mauve

They say,
It is just an autumn day.

Little update!

Spring beckons and the weather is really bright and sunny.

Love this weather. Both cap and sunblock are now being put to good use.

Gotta keep adrenaline pumping and get lazy cells to start working!

Lab tests and final exam looming on the horizon... ALERT! ALERT!

To Family and Friends (you know who you are), miss you all!

Exactly 2 more months to go!

To Father Time

Daddy retired two weeks ago.

And I am already 20.

Some of my friends also started to have boyfriends... if one of them suddenly announces their engagement and invites me to her wedding ceremony, I won’t be surprised. =)

I have been here, at Perth for almost 8 months now and there’s 60-odd days left to the journey back to Land of Glorious Food, Balmy Weather but Horrible Politicians – Malaysia.

Father Time, I know I am a horrible person for twisting your mind around.

At times, I want you to walk slower, because I need to enjoy my holidays.

Sometimes, I want you to walk faster, so that I can go back to TI as soon as possible.

I am so difficult to please, eh? I know. I know. Sorry.

I can remember the days when I was still a little kid, basking in the sunlight under the shady mango tree in my grandma’s house – an attempt to make myself look darker. (Since I was already teased for my dark complexion, I might as well make myself darker... that was what I thought.)

I can still remember the days in primary school, when it was monsoon season and the school grounds would be flooded with water. During that time of the year, I would bring an extra pair of slippers to school, in anticipation of floods. Sometimes we would be able to see an eel swimming around in the murky waters, or a crab. Or we would stand at the corridor; looking out at our school padang and it looked like a sawah padi. Glorious scenery, I would say.

I can still remember my first day in secondary school. We were all assembled in the canteen - all jam-packed against each other, being nervous and excited at the same time. That time, 5 years studying in one place seemed like forever and now, it seems like it never happened at all.

Father Time, people often say: Time heals. Now I could say that it is quite true.

Because of you, the only place I had so wanted to run away from - now turns out to be the only place I want to return to.

Time flies. Or maybe it is just me... who is blind to your presence.