When Your Head is About to SPLIT

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

:'(

Someone help me!!

Although thousands and gazillions more uni students on this side of the earth are currently undergoing the same predicament, it still feels like one heck of a hammer-on-the-head torture!!

As can be seen here -------------------------->
I have two assignments due. One that I finished just today (BN) and another one which I want to finish by Friday. PLUS I have to study for my two papers scheduled to rain down on my already "stressed" parade on 7th and 8th June. Currently in the library now waiting for a friend to come so we can go over some stats and attend the revision tutorial (aren't we just rajin?) Ha Ha.

Someone shoot me.

Sarawak Elections - Statement Made

Firstly, my apologies for the absence of new posts for the past week. Given the flurry of "assignment" activity, I find myself spending a lot more time just trying to concentrate let alone actually doing my assignments.

However, the outcome of the Sarawak Elections consisting of an SUPP ass-whooping lash by DAP is just damn too good to resist blogging about. Chinese majority constituencies - Batu Lintang, Kota Sentosa, Padungan and Pending were captured by DAP and Keadilan. I truly applaud the actions of the Kuchingnites who dared to voice their frustrations with BN by voting for both these parties. It's hard enough that our state government is not doing its job, but to have them confused as to why we have lost confidence in them is downright scary. God help us.

Pictures taken from http://sarawakelection2006.wordpress.com

First he's smiling

And then he's stumped.

It is a concern however, that sentiments shown by Kuchingnites are not shared by fellow Mirians. Understandably, Mirians have been getting the better end of the "development" as promised by the government and mainly because George Chan has been a prominent figure in what used to be a sleepy town for as long as I can remember.

Here are some of the points I would like to raise:

1) I wish Mirians are not blinded-sided by the "Miri Resort City" theme. Which part of the town seems like a resort city to you? Believe me, it isn't just a game of numbers or memorable dates that the declaration of this town as a CITY coincides with 20.05.2005. What do you know? A year and a day later, it's the General Elections! And the Marina Bay is no where near completion.

2) What happened to Miri Oil Town? Why replace it with RESORT? Well, where's the oil? Or more specifically? Where's the bloody low oil price? 30 cents hike when Sarawak procudes one third of the country's oil products? Everyone, start sniffing around in Petronas. There's something fishy going on.

3) So you're thinking, what did we have to gain? Think carefully. A petroleum museum? Some building a hotshot was invited to declare open? The new Lutong bridge constructed so quickly that no one's hardly even had the time to whisper "the elections are approaching"?

4) Baram Bridge - this has to be the most expensive bridge in Malaysia and it costs RM20 to get to and fro, and you want to talk about tourism? Penang bridge is only RM 7 one way for 13km. Where is the suspension bridge as proposed?

Arguments, yes. But the opposition needs to find stronger representatives! Maybe it's not the issue of not voting for the right party, it's not having the right people to vote for! I think the Kuching candidates have shown that given the options, Sarawakkians will vote for the right party! Has SUPP acted upon our concerns within BN?

Think outside the box my fellow Mirians. Think BIG and ask yourselves whether your voice is heard in the Government. Don't leave it till they have used our land for for their own benefits. Show them we are not followers of 31st August independence. Let them know 13 September marks the rise of an equal state.

R.I.P Compaq Presario X1000

Too late guys. Thanks for the concern, but it's officially dead.

The motherboard burned. And it's all moi's fault for overheating it. Sigh. Two laptops have succumbed to my carelessness. The only consolation is they were both secondhand. Maybe it's time to get a new one.

Any recommendations?

Sad sad owner,
Helen.

Xim tia

No, you're not in Sisuahlai's page. And nor is this a hokkien lesson.

"Xim tia" translates to "heart pain" or "heart hurt".

Why I xim tia? My comp crashed. I'm now blogging from my uni comp lab and using my housemate's spare laptop at home. I know. What am I complaining about? I still get to use the computer. But it just shows how much we "personalize" our computers. Sigh. But I suppose this will "free" up some time for me to concentrate on my studies instead of doodling around online for hours.

Dear Laptop,
Please get well soon. I can't live without you. My music, my pictures, my movies, my documents. All that are in your "hands".

Your Anxious Owner,
Helen.

Two Days

Happy Wesak! And Happy (?) 13th May. Yes, I hope everyone did not forget this historic day when we decided to bash each other's guts out :)

My apologies. That was sick.


Anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...
I had my weekly trip to Dessert House yesterday and had

Fried Beef Hor Fun

And these cans were lying around in QV, waiting to be filled. Make a donation to Amnesty International guys! :D

Today, I woke up at 10 ! Gasp! I know. It's Saturday -.-" What made me get up? Barbeque and a cert. Heh. It was the MASCA Intervarsity games prize giving ceremony cum bbq cum whatever. I met up with Sabrina in front of Melbourne Central and we caught a city circle tram down to Flagstaff Garden. Lagged around a little, enjoying the scenery. It was Sabrina's first time there so we took some pictures just for the fun of it :D I look hideous at 11am and therefore not shown in this blog. We finally spotted the barbeque pit and guess what? They've transfered the whole friggin' thing to RMIT, WHICH WAS WHERE WE CAUGHT THE TRAM. -.-" So washed out in the rain, shivering underneath a tram stop, we made it back to RMIT half an hour late. Oh well, these things happen.

This was the scene at the barbeque around 11.30. Flags, chicken wings, sausages and all. Oh, and the people too. It's funny. Do you notice something about this picture? Yes, we are race divided. AGAIN. But we can't really blame anyone here. After all, the authorities made us like this. Yeah. So go screw them. Opps. :D No, I really mean, be nice and suck up coz sometimes you just need it. Unless you can escape, like in my case, otherwise I wouldn't dare say something like that if I were to spend at least 9 months a year at home. But Megat our new friend proved differently. He came, sat down and ate with us like we were the same although he obviously knew some of the other people. No race, no divisions, just three very hungry people. :D That was liberating. I don't think you get that very often at home. At least not for me.

When the whole shindig was done we went to Hungry Jacks to fill up. You know how barbeques are. The rule is to arrive and leave with an empty stomach. And then it's Borders we go.

Here's the big table I study at filled with trashy magazines.

And here's my stats books and downloaded lectures on my mp3 player.

Time just flew by. The next thing I knew, it was 6.20. Caught a tram down to Collin's street to wait for Annie and Betty. It's Annie's bday on Monday, so we decided to go for a movie, "Eight Below" at Crown cinemas. "Eight Below" is a good movie for dog lovers and all who always enjoy a Walt Disney movie. Before the movie started we went to the food court to take away some food. I stopped by a Boost store to pick up some juices while the girls queued at McDonalds. These row of blenders were christened the funniest names, but quite appropriate, seeing that they are... blenders. We have Dirty Berry, Terry Tornado, Harry Hurricane, Emmy Earthquake, Bob the Blender (as opposed to Builder), and last but not least, we have Sammy Tsunami. Interesting don't you think? They don't do that in every Boost outlet. They don't have so many blenders to begin with in the other shops.

To end things, let me further convince you of how crappy Melbourne Uni's student card is by showing you these quality cards. Both contributed graciously by Sabrina. Thanks Sabrina! :D

RMIT has better cards than us.

Even Curtin Foundation does. Nuff said.

The Uncanny

Ok. I'm done with moping. This will be a fun post for everyone. I sincerely hope your lives are better than a few lousy grades :D

Yesterday I went to the library to do some research.

This is the Baillieu Library. I'd like to call it the main library, at least for me it is, seeing that I'm an Arts/English/Psychology student. This is the place to go if I wanna get my info. However, I couldn't find anything I needed here yesterday. I'm doing research on Alzheimer's disease and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy for my other Behavioural Neuroscience essay. Since I screwed up my last report (let's not go into that again), I better kick some ass on this one. Like I said, I couldn't find anything remotely useful therefore I went to...

And yes, I found the books I needed. It was quite creepy in there though. Deadly silent unlike the Ballieu, which they should probably call a Zoo, not Library. And really smart-looking, dilligent-looking students (you know the type) studying feverishly all around. Woah. This is only the second time I've been in there, and I like to avoid the pressure as much as possible. But like they say, not all med students don't quite cut out to be what they're suppose to be, at least, as perceived by the rest of us not-so-smart peeps. Maybe they should have a second library.

Which just goes to show how sucky (or should I say how non-existant) my photoshop skills are.

It's hard to find anything unique to dislike about Melbourne Uni coz I'm pretty sure a lot of the angmohs in other unis like to sit behind you and put their feet on the top of your seat after a few hours of walking around barefooted. But, there is one thing I don't just dislike but am distinctively ashamed about this errr.. No.1 in Australia and No. 19 in the world Uni, is our student cards.

Looks pretty right? But this is not my student card. This is my GYM card. Yes, the gym card looks better. Wait till you see my Trinity College card, that's if I ever find it.

This is the student card and the shame of every Melbourne Uni student. Everytime you go home and your friends start a show and tell of student cards and other university miscelleneous items, you just want to crawl home and hide or at least hide your wallet. Oh, and God forbid if you should ever lose it because it costs 20 dollars to replace this piece of crap. And guess what? We don't even get a new laminated card every year, we simply put a piece of sticker which says "Valid until 26 February 2007" over the top of the previous year's sticker. How sad is that? Now I really pity the med students because they have to carry this piece of junk around for 6 years minimum.

Blog Hiatus

Hi everyone.

Just got my Behavioural Neuroscience report back and not happy about it. And that's putting it mildly. Extremely disappointed. Won't be blogging till I get over myself. Meanwhile, take care. Be back soon.

Cheers,
Helen

CUTE!

Ladies and gentlemen, babies and elephants.....

Please allow me to introduce to you..

ARIF'S DREAM BABY!!!!

Cute rite? hehehe! Yes, the guy told me he would love to have a baby that looks like this. :D LOL! I reckon I would want this cute baby too! Wouldn't you? Anyways, he promised I'm the godma :P Quickly my fren! I can't wait~

Caught in the Rain

It was one hail of an afternoon.

Lost in La Trobe

Ok. The title totally defies the contents of this post. But it sounds nice. LOL. Courtesy of Jack (Sibu), a new friend made on this eventful night.

Just got back from the MASCA Society Intervarsity Games. No, I didn't participate in the games. I'm no sportsman. I volunteered. I had linesman duty on volleyball and badminton games. MASCA is the umbrella society for all Malaysian clubs in Victoria. So last night, it was Malaysian vs Malaysian. Participating Unis are (as far as I know) Melbourne Uni (MoMU), Monash Uni (MUMSU), RMIT (MSA), Swinburne and Deakin. These were the teams from last night, there may be others which I don't know about. Netball and basketball were in the morning and futsal is on the next day.

We were scheduled to wait for Nur Shairah (Putrajaya), the MASCA Vice Secretary at Nike Melbourne at 4.20p.m. to catch Tram No. 86 to take us to the LaTrobe Uni Sports Centre in Bundoora. Unfortunately she was delayed by the unreliable tram system and got stuck in between Melbourne High School in South Yarra and the city. Therefore, me, Tsu Ann (Ipoh), Augustine (Miri), Albert (Miri) and two new made friends, Jack (Sibu) and Megat (Klang) from RMIT caught the next tram.

It was a long Long LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG ride. No kidding. It took us over an hour to get there. If I took a plane from Miri I'd be in Kuching by then. -.-" LOL. We chatted on the journey and talked about Malaysian clubs in general. Actually, we discussed about the lack of activity from Malaysian clubs. What's up with that? Hmmmm.. On Smith St (where all the factory outlets are), Ben (Kuching) from MASCA jumped onto the tram and we landed ourselves a guide which was a good thing because....

It was pitch black on campus!!!

With only these small Malaysian flags to guide the way. My camera flash lit it up btw, otherwise it's drowned in the dark. After a good 15 minutes walk, someone finally invented the light bulb.

La Trobe Uni Sports Centre

This is my first experience as a linesman. It was fun at first, but then it got tiring. We had to supervise 3 volleyball games, and 8 badminton games each. Woah. I nearly fell asleep on the chair.

Team MOMU I (Volleyball) in action

Team MOMU II

Team MOMU I : Victoria Intervarsity Volleyball Champs

Team MOMU I : Victoria Intervarsity Posing Champs

Team MOMU II were the third place winners. So our Uni scored some pretty big points in volleyball. In badminton and tabletennis however.. it's a totally different story.

Here's Augustine, and here's Lee Chong Wei. What do they have in common? 10 points for the person who gets the correct answer. For August, it was "short and memorable" as supplied straight from the horse's mouth. For Chong Wei, it was long and unbearable I would say.

Melissa Yow (badminton) defending her own and Albert Wong (table tennis) who refused to be interviewed but in this spectator's opinion, went down fighting the good fight.

Amidst all the excitement and games, we volunteers had a good time getting to know new people. It just surprises you when you realize there's a whole lot more of "Malaysian" in Melbourne other than the friends you already know from Uni.

Volunteers : Myself (Miri), Sabrina (Labuan), Tsu Ann (Ipoh) and Jack (Sibu)

Market Morning

I love going to the market. To my advantage, it's only a 5 minute walk from where I stay. There are so many interesting characters and it's like one big festival err.. where everyone goes shopping? :D

There's music.

Here's the guy who is really good on the guitar. The lady beside him sits and sing : totally soprano.

These folk instrumentalist are the highlight of the market entertainment. They even have their own CDs.

And of course, every market has food stuff.

The best stall for mushrooms.

Yummy American Doughnuts since the 1950s

The meat is fresh and cheapest near market closing time, 2p.m.

That's when all the dudes like this one start doing their "Everything HALF PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!" screaming.

And.. the special treat for this morning's market trip are these guys.

Tram inspectors : The nightmare for every budgeting student

Rainy day.. and deep thoughts

Could you care about someone who is miles apart from you? Could that person feel the same about yourself?
Today, it was raining non-stop from the moment I woke up and it's still raining now at 2.48a.m. The weather just gets to me sometimes. I took a tram to my instructor's house.

Haggard and wet commuters

What is it that I'm looking for? What do I want from him? What is the feeling I'm searching for? And why must it always be with someone who cannot give enough?

No. 16 at Colleen's and her cute pug welcome.

I finally arrived at Colleen's a little before 3p.m. Finally got the hang of staccato slurring. Hurray! Starting duet pieces with Colleen now and perhaps proceed to some AMEB pieces in the next two weeks. When the lesson ended I opened the door to this :

Just this dreary looking sky and cars whizzing by, determined to drench you from head to toe.

I waited at the tram stop for a full 20 minutes. So much for reliable public transport. The adjective just shouldn't be abused like that.

When is this one going to end? How will it end? Your revelation wasn't enough to keep these emotions in place. I appreciate you more than ever for sharing your innermost fears with me. I won't call them secrets, because the two of us makes them that no more. So what else do I want? When is the next roller-coaster ride?

Basic black. Bag, Umbrella (loaned from Colleen) and Clarinet. Plus, my mood. Sigh.

Got back home at around 5.15p.m. to start cooking. Thai grill pork fillets tonight. Not bad if I say so myself. Smelled a bit funky after that. I mean me, not the fillets. Downed my dinner without much thought and fell asleep while waiting for Tsu Ann to finish her meeting so we can study at QV. When I woke up, it was already 8.21p.m. Got to QV at 9.p.m. So much for an early start. Studied two lectures on stats. Didn't get much done. There seemed to be a blackout between LaTrobe St and Victoria St. All dark. Black. Couldn't get any shots of that because I was lugging this 10kg pack of rice home. The plastic tore. Kinda like how too heavy the heart gets sometimes huh? Then it just rips.

Where are you? Why have we met? There must be a reason. Do you believe in fate? I know about incomplete stories. Or maybe just the ones with abrupt endings. Who holds the key to the ending? Do you? I think you do. Because I've tried so many times to find that door out. But I guess I really don't want the gates to shut behind me. Knowing that it's you I'll be leaving on the other side of it.

Personal and Social Development Lab

Laidback lab class today.. though we had a pretty intensive discussion. Feeling tired, 4a.m. now, clarinet lesson tomorrow, so here's a few shots.

Here's Tsu Ann. I promised no face shots. She's from Ipoh.

Here's our tutor, Elizabeth.

And here's Hellen and Hellen's bag. I know, it gets confusing when our friends try to call us. She's from Indonesia. So we're MalaysianHelen and IndoHellen. Kinda reminds you of Indo mie eh?

Oh friend.. oh brother

There are so many things which I wanna blog about today. I guess I'll start of with today's events.

My case study was due, so I headed for an early lunch with Annie and Betty at China Bar. Hopped into a lab after that to print my case study and also lecture notes for Behavioural Neuroscience. Spent about an hour in the lab, then went off to Research Methods lab class. Had an hour break before attending the last class off the day which was the BN lecture. Ok.. All that mundane stuff out of the way.. here are some pictures I took on the way home..

It's a cold day..

With wet leaves at our feet..

And heavy traffic piling up..

This morning I woke Ian up so he could.. hm.. do whatever he wanted to do before taking his AP Calculus exam. I still think that kid does too much, although he feels its necessary. I know people who love to study, but for him, it goes beyond the kind of enthusiasm I'm accustomed to seeing. Anyways, before my last lecture I shared with him a message sent to me by Belinda.

"A coin is easy to earn but a friend is hard to find,

The coin depreciates but a friend appreciates,

I lost a coin when I sent this message,

But it's ok coz I didn't lose you."

Well, guess what the boy replied after I got home from school?

"You're gonna lose me if I don't get to a doctor soon".

And typical of me, I freaked out and called him. (He's in KL btw) Apparently he's been to a doctor already, has a 38 degree fever and throat inflammation. The poor dear.. and on the day of his calculus exam too. I hope the fever came after the exam. Not much consolation in that, but at least he wouldn't have had to sit through the exam while burning up at the same time. Hopefully he gets well soon :/

I cooked tomato garlic fish and broccoli for dinner and went to sleep without eating a bite. Woke up around 9.30 to Yii Fen's message : "My friend, I hope you can share my happiness that I just received a confirmation letter that I'm going to U.K. next academic year. Happy!!"

That is great news. Fen's been wanting to go since.. well.. forever. Seeing how she did not wind up in the biomedical sciences and took up business instead makes me feel glad that she's finally getting something she wants. Well.. next academic year means September I guess.. and Vera's coming over to Perth in July. So that leaves none of us in Miri anymore. It makes me wonder.. when are we all going to gather again. Here's a picture the last time we were all together 29th June, 2005:

From top left running clockwise : Myself (Melbourne), Lik Hwan (Beijing), Meng Yee (India), Yie Juk (Shenzhen), Yii Fen (U.K.), Vera (Perth)

On this coming weekend, I will be volunteering at the MASCA Victoria Intervarsity Games. You know what they say about public service, "If you can't do sport, volunteer!" :D The roster just came through and I will be supervising the volleyball and badminton games. Looking forward to a fun weekend, with a free t-shirt, lunch and a certificate :) What's there to lose? Hopefully MoMU - our Malaysians of Melbourne University club kicks some *coughmonashcough* ass~

One other thing that's on my mind.. and I heard this by word of mouth. I won't reveal whose mouth it was, to protect their er.. lives? But my godbrother landed himself in a relationship. And with someone from back home too. Am I... disappointed? Maybe. But why? Because he did not tell me? Those of you who have been following my blog know about my previous lamentations about maintaining my relationship with him and all the disasters and frustrations in the process is just.. tiring. When I think about it clearly, the both of are a good match. They're both just so.. independent. But I guess that's the reason why I wasn't expecting this piece of news so soon. At least, not till he turns 30. And when I'm not thinking about it clearly.. I guess my judgment is clouded by.. a stint of jealousy? I'm told this is natural. But I really don't want to feel this way. Bah.. I'll get over it.

On a lighter note, I'm currently addicted to the Chronicles of Narnia OST especially Track 12 - The Battle. Anyone who has watched the movie should listen to the songs. The compilation is just great :) Easy listening.. ah.. the joys of music..