Fancy Lunch & Campus Revisit

Next week marks two months at work, and it's going alright so far. Life since I touched down from Adelaide has been full of surprises, to say the very least. One of those surprises came in the form of an ear-splittingly noisy ball of fur, pictured above. We've named her Eevee, and she's the newest addition to the family. It took us ages to settle with a name for her - at first we wanted something flowery because of the distinct flower pattern she's got on her back. Anyway, she keeps everybody on our toes, mostly because she won't shut up most of the time. @__@

With work taking up five days of my week, the weekends have become a vital two days for relaxing and doing lazy things like sitting in front of the laptop. I've been climbing a lot with Nick and Hanna, and Mira joined us for a session yesterday. Feels good to climb though I wish it was cheaper. So I usually take Saturday to climb and Sunday to spend time with the family.

This Sunday was different though. I haven't seen Sha and Fyra in a while, and we decided to have a super fancy lunch date. Sha made the reservation under Smithy Bob, hehe. Nick suggested eating at D'Italiane Kitchen at Jaya33, so that's where we went. It was a really nice place and the food was expensive. Everything was really delicious though, and worth the money. I'll be writing about our experience there soon, so I'll update this blog post with a link when it's published. 

After lunch ended, we headed off to meet Jov - the last I saw her was in early January while Nick and the girls haven't seen her at all since they got back. So what better place for the Taylor's gang to catch up than at Taylor's itself? We shamelessly strutted onto campus and grabbed some chairs to sit while facing the wind breezing through the academic blocks. Before that we were hanging out at the empty food court while drinking Chatime.

It was really nice catching up with everybody - I miss all our hang outs and how I used to see these wonderful people every day. Hoping very much that we'll still get the chance to meet up at least every once in a while, what with everybody's busy schedules. It's a shame we can't all see each other more often. Jov said that there are ducklings on campus now but I didn't see any! Oh well. Hard to believe that so much time has passed since we were studying at Taylor's, especially since campus hasn't really changed that much. 

Graduasi

I graduated last week. It's only been a week but it feels like a whole other century ago, as so much has happened since then. For one thing, I'm writing this back in my bedroom in Bukit Jelutong. I really had no time to blog since I flew to Melbourne last week, so I'll slowly post up updates as time goes by. 

So, gaduation day. I woke up pretty early and ate a breakfast bar, then headed straight for Lynn's house with Fyra. Lynn is something of an amazing person when it comes to making us up, haha. She did our makeup and curled my hair before working on herself. I brought my tuna pasta bake for lunch, and we shared that. Nick dropped by at around 11am, so we hung out until it was time to head back to UniLodge. We hurried out, caught a bus, dropped our stuff off in our apartments then went straight to the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Fyra, Sammie and Sha had some issues with their registration, so Nick, Eric and I went ahead to get our robes and mortarboards. We met Lynn outside, so we got some photos in our bat gowns. That was pretty fun. The whole of the day was just one big photoshoot, and we were the star attractions, haha!

I'm really happy that everyone was dressed so colourfully. We looked gorgeous, haha! I can't stop looking at photos of ourselves at graduation, is that weird? I feel like I find my group of friends very attractive. We deserve our own TV series. The nice sitcom dramas, not the backstabbing emotional ones. These photos were taken before the actual ceremony, and soon parents started to arrive and we were ferried into the hall. 

We all got front row seats; how epic is that! I sat between Eric and another girl I wasn't familiar with, while Syaza and Nick were on her other side. I was a bit surprised by how early we were in the line-up. When they declared the ceremony starting, we were among the first to get up and move backstage, where a few people helped fix our robes and tilt our hats in the right direction. My heart rate was going crazy at this point, I was so nervous. Worrying about getting something wrong, or tripping over my own feet. 

In the end, it went well! My smile is perfectly genuine by the way, I was really excited. But I forgot to turn and smile for the cameras, so oh well. I could hear Mira cheering when my name was called. Speaking of names, the announcer had a really long pause before he said Papa's name, haha. But he got it right in the end. The man awarding the parchment commented on how happy I looked; I was pleased to find out that he said something different to each graduate, and I appreciate that effort. When I got down from the stage, Fyra and Eric were ahead of me, so we all sort of ran into each other, trying to muffle our gleeful squeaking. The rest of the ceremony went by really slowly, and it was honestly kinda boring. 

Once all the formalities were over, we went out to take a million pictures! Here is an obligatory shot of us throwing our mortarboards into the air, haha. We did this a few times, didn't get any fabulous photos, but at least it was something. There were families everywhere, and I was smiling so much that my cheekbones hurt. 

I can't seem to find the photo that Sha helped take of the whole family, so here is one with just me and the kids. :D

We got a bit of a surprise a bit later - Shinta turned up with Artha! Or rather, a cardboard cutout of him. He told Fyra that he would be at our graduation, and we thought he was kidding but he wasn't! He actually made the cardboard cutout of himself just before he left for Jakarta a few weeks back so he could be in our graduation photos. Hilarious guy, I tell you. We had some fun taking pictures with him for a while before the cardboard started to disintegrate. There were ten different cameras snapping at us during this time, which is why none of us are looking at this camera.

Check us out. The entire Adelaide family, sans Nigel and including Sammie's Nick. This was taken by Matt after we returned our robes (we were only allowed to wear it for an hour after the ceremony ended). Most of the families had left by then, so it was just us taking a last bunch of photos before we would part ways. This would be the last time we were all together in one place - even during the dinner the day after, Sammie was absent. 

I'm thankful for this opportunity I had, of graduating in Australia with my nearest and dearest friends and family. It's been an amazing year, and I'm grateful to my parents for giving me the chance to go to Adelaide, and to all my friends there who are seriously the best I can ever ask for. These friends are family to me, and I can only hope that we stay in touch in the years to come. 

You quack me up

One last post before the semester ends officially, tomorrow. :) Have some ducks! These feathery critters have been a great source of happiness for me this last semester at Taylor's Lakeside. I just get really excited when I see them swimming around in the lake. Cheers me up for sure! Hehe. 

So tomorrow is the last day of the semester. How crazy is that? It's been a long semester. Tomorrow, I'm three assignments less burdened and the holidays finally begin! I'm going to make the most of it, Insya'allah. Here's to a fantastic mid-semester holiday!

The title of this post makes me laugh. Eheh. I'm such a dork.

Adelaide Taster Trip Part Trois

Time for my third and final update about my Adelaide Taster Trip! Above is a picture of the front of the Magill campus. The pretty scene is kinda ruined by the cones there in front of the sign though, haha. Not sure why they're there. Anyway, this was a Monday morning and my parents and I followed Fyra on the morning bus to campus. She had a class at 8, so we just tagged along.

Here's while walking into the campus. It is very very pretty. Papa seemed really pleased with it, he kept saying that he'd like to study there too. There's a creek running through the campus too! I didn't see any fishes though. Also, the crows there are black and white, how strange. No pics of that though.

Anyway, I went to talk to the people at the counter and stuff about next year. They couldn't really help that much since I'm not done with my current sem and I don't have an address in Aussie yet. So oh well. Fyra took me around one of the buildings and we got to see the library, so that's nice. In the pic above, the eating area is behind us, and there's a cafeteria inside and everything. I look really short in this pic, I dunno why. Must be the angle. 

After looking around campus we walked down the street to check out Sammie's house and make a few calls to properties so we could go take a look at them. Sammie's house is super near the campus, it only took us five minutes of walking. After that we walked back to campus, met up with Fyra and took a bus back to the city.

We took a look at a couple of places in the city. UV Apartments looks like the inside of a horror movie. >_> Fyra and I went in and I could feel the horror soundtrack playing in the background of my head. Everything's really dark and the lounge area has grilles because the building was formerly a bank so that was where they kept the cash and whatnot. We tried to go to a few other places but there were tenants in all the rooms so they couldn't show us around. So far the place I like best is Urbanest. At the rate I keep talking about it, I'm pretty much confirmed living there next year, haha! Although I'm still looking around just to see what happens. :p

Yoghurt! We were walking down Rundle Mall and there's this Greek Yoghurt shop thing. Mama had some the day before so she wanted more. Mine was Cinnamon Apple Crumble while Mama had something called Strawberries and Cream or something. Mine was alright, the raisins in the yoghurt were the best part, I think. Along with the crumbly bits.

Here's Papa at Rundle Mall with statues of piggies in the background. Mama got quite a kick out of them, that's why she asked me to take this picture. There are three piggies in total, the third one is hiding behind the trash can. I think I like the one leaning on the trash can the best. It's got character.

Random picture of fluffy platypus plushies in a souvenir store at Rundle Mall. I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT but it costs 30 AUD wtf. ;__; So we parted ways.

The day was particularly windy, as you can see here. It wasn't actually that cold but it was like the wind was determined to change that, the way it was nipping at every part of me not wrapped up in fabric. Sammie and I are standing in front of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The Script performed here earlier this year. ;___; What are the chances of them going back to Adelaide next year so I can see them? Ahagjhgsjdghasj.

Random photo while waiting. We went to look at a house in the area and got a little lost so the house agent offered to pick us up and drive us there. Sammie took this pic three times because she was trying to get Papa to smile. She succeeded! Haha. :)

Very last pic the night before I flew back to the homeland. It's blurry though, such a shame. I had a really good time, and I fell in love with the city, it's such a lovely, quaint place. :) Kinda can't wait to get started on next year!

Glowy Kitty

More Project Draweekly. :D This is Alees. I used brushes for the background, check out surfing-ant from Deviantart if you want them too.

Anyway assignments are in full swing right now and at this moment I am procrastinating by updating this. Haha. I really want to update my blog layout, this one has been in use for years. Just need some extra time to sit down and tweak around. Until then, there will be just a few sparse updates. I've been busy the past week, what with assignments and whatnot.

Managed to meet up with Yen though, so that was good. We only ever get to meet up once ever few months, which is a shame. :/ But it's awesome because no matter how long we don't talk, when we do meet up we still get back into the same chatting groove as before. :)

I thought of updating with food pictures and stuff but I've lost the mood, haha. The inspiration to update here is so fleeting. Till next time then!

Drawing Again?

This blog has been neglected and I am so sorry! D:

Just for the sake of updating (I suddenly feel like it. I'm not gonna question it, haha), here are two drawings I've got done within the past month. Haven't been drawing much at all but hoping to get some creative juices spilling now that Sammie and I are working on Project Draweekly together. Basically we're drawing every week together, according to themes! Even though an oceans separate us we can still do projects together. Yay. :3

So Week 1 was for us to draw a redhead and Week 2 was to draw her boyfriend. Here are my results. Week 3 and 4 have merged because of GASP assignments.

Campus life is being tedious lately. I'll be honest, I really prefer Taylor's before the sudden spike in population. I reach campus at 7.30 and parking is already almost to the tiang elektrik in Zone H. Last year if I reached at 7.30 I could still grab a spot in the entrance area. Parking woes aside, assignments are reasonable. Some subjects are more bearable than others. I can't wait to get to UniSA next year and choose my own electives.

Suddenly feel very tired. Could be from the climbing I did earlier today (and yes, I climb regularly now wewt) but dunno, it feels somewhat emotional. Last week I listened to Jet Lag, that new Simple Plan + Natasha Bedingfield song and I teared up wtf. It's not even a slow sad song it's all upbeat and pop rockish. @_@ Oh, hormones.

Hopefully I'll post more stuff in the near future. I want to be active blogging again. :D Also since that Perry is back from the shop I'll be able to take more pictures. Here's to having the drive to get back into this.

Freebie

Baskin Robbins opened at campus yesterday and there was a promotion: The first 100 people to turn up at the opening wearing pink will get a free ice cream scoop each. Somehow, the girls and I managed to get pink stuff even though we only read about the promotion that morning itself in the computer lab. :p Lucky thing I brought my pink backpack and a pink and red necklace that Aishah could borrow. Haha.

I was number 14 in line. :) Mint chocolate chip scoop on a cone. Yum.

Updates are erratic due to assignments.

Right now I am simultaneously working on:

IDM video (shooting is today and audio's not done)

IPD factsheet (2 pages out of 6. Argh)

GS case study. Due in two weeks, nothing done.

ML annotated bibliography. Crawling along.

Busy busy all the time but it's better than idling away doing nothing.

NaNoWriMo's next month! I don't have a plot. Here's to getting hit with an idea within the next few weeks.

Où est-tu

--> sassygayfriendmeme.tumblr.com

That is the plan, Sassy Gay Friend.

That's always the plan.

I had an epic song recommendation thing going on at my FB status so now I'm slowly sifting through all the songs and choosing what I want for my playlist. And I cleaned up my iTunes so that I won't find myself skipping over so many songs I don't feel like listening to anymore.

Went to MPH Merdeka Sale and got a pretty good haul. I'm happy. Even bought a Malay novel, haha. That's something.

I am looking for my platypus keychain. Can't find it.

I think it's time to find a new one, but everything in the market is just so ... blegh. I'm picky, can't help it. *cough* Secretly wanting this keychain to be my totem, that's why so picky *cough*.

University is being challenging and Ramadhan's almost over. Exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally. I've gotten all my Raya stuff already so I'm happy for that.

--> lovequotesrus.tumblr.com

Why yes, I have taken to mentioning my image sources.

Blame assignments.

So. If I had no fear, I would try ... so many many things. I'd play sports I'd never thought of playing, go where risks are part of the thrill.

I'd say things to people.

What would you try?

Chase thunder

I love this song right now.

Can I just say how amazing it is that just by finding one person to tell things to, everything changes. The sky is brighter, the load is lighter and I've been walking around with this ridiculously high level of optimism.

That can't be practical, but there you go.

Thank you for listening to me. Why didn't I do this sooner.

In the event of that, I think I'm done with lingering.

It's been so long and the whole thing resurfacing just brought so many things back, y'know? And I realised that I had never really given myself a proper closure to it. I won't call what's happened now closure per se but this is what I needed: confirmation. The situation's changed and now I can confirm it. And I'm OK. :)

On another note, I don't want to care about a certain something right now.

There are so many other beautiful things to focus on.

I'll worry about it if it comes up.

Vague post is vague.

Ps. Drove the freaking GTI to freaking campus. I am freaking high.

An idea

My FB and Twitter accounts are in French.

Haha. :D

Hoping this will help expand mon vocabulaire.

First two weeks of sem 2!

I haven't been using Perry that often I'm afraid so no sem 2 pictures. There are some photos in Macaroni but dang am I lazy to transfer at the moment. So, pic-less post today!

What have I been doing?

Well I watched Inception twice, once with Acu and Mira and a second time with Sammie and Nick. And I've been like. Obsessed. And fangirling (Oh Arthur you beautiful thing in a three-piece suit) and other excited happy things. There's nothing quite like being a fangirl in a beautifully written fandom. Haha.

And I finally got to go rock-climbing omg. It was fun.

And there have been uni stuff to do which I have been completely procrastinating. Argh. Starting to get back into the groove though. Slowly does it. I think I have an idea for the IDM video already ... it hit me out of nowhere last night and it's been sitting right in my face.

Other than that I've been doing a lot of thinking.

Thinking complicates things though so I guess I should start going with the flow like Nad says. Instead of clinging to an Idea all the time, just go with the wind. I have no idea where the wind will take me though and I'll be honest and say that I'm worried about that.

What's the most resilient parasite?

Oh well.

A bientot.

Unicorn cake yay

In celebration of the new semester (or mourning of the lost holidays) I baked ... DUN DUN DUN A ~**UNICORN CAKE**~. And a baby. I think the baby looks weird though. :(

The ~**UNICORN CAKE**~ is made of rainbows.

I got some interesting suggestions on how to improve the anatomy of the ~**UNICORN CAKE**~ in future, all of which I have taken note of. The next time I attempt this, it will be even AWESOMER (which is not a word, children).

Oh noes the ~**UNICORN CAKE**~ was slaughtered by the Evil Fyra and now it is a SHARK HEAD CAKE. With a horn.

I HAVE WORK TO DO but NO MOTIVATION.

I AM TYPING IN CAPS

JUST BECAUSE

And I am reading Inception fanfic like nobody's business, you know how high I am at the moment?

I AM SO HYPER

AND THIRSTY

I've been drinking so much though, my body doesn't make sense to me right now.

OK BYE

Everything in moderation

Presenting the cast of Virtue & Sin.
:)
This was freaking awesome fun guys. Seriously. I know I blow up a little with every drama presentation I make but that amazing feeling I get at the end of every performance ... it's indescribable. Everything from the brainstorming process to presenting always gives me a rush. I want to do more of this creative stuff. It gives me such a high.
Thanks to my virtuous group members. :p Aishah, Jov, Fyra, Sharine, Sammie, Nick. Humility, Kindness, Charity, Temperance, Chastity, Diligence. You guys rock.

Oh and here's a little taste of my most listened to music of the moment.



This is our last goodnight / Say what you will / Say all that you can / This is our last goodbye / This is where love ends

What? I'm not emo. I just freaking love this thing.

J&S

Took a chance and tried something a little different for our CRR assignment.
Personally, I think it was a success.
We got the reaction we were aiming for. :)
Thanks Sha, Sharine, Jov, Kent, Sammie and Fyra!
I'm proud of you guys.

Sneaky ninja

So today was interesting.
Got an inspirational talk in the morning.
Round two of ... CRR practice after that.
Had CCS tutorial ...
Spaghetti for lunch thanks to Fyra. :)
A very eventful EC tutorial.
Saw some sneaky ninja action.
Performed some not so sneaky running across a roof (!).
Got stuck.
Parkour!Fail.

Got home and ... I honestly don't know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. What's the right thing to do? Do I do what I want to do or what I should do so that other people don't feel bad?

I'm having issues with being myself at the moment.

Why is the world so damn ambiguous?

Long short week

This little guy has replaced Russel on the dashboard of my car.
Mira gave him to me for my birthday. :)
Sammie has named him Tigermouse.
He dances sometimes. Other times it's like he hates me or something. Ah well.
To Russel, the very first ... ornament I ever got for my car (The Mouse).
RIP Russel. You were a pretty lame flower who didn't dance quite enough.
But you were my first. Ilu 4eva bby <3

Went exploring when it was raining heavily at Lakeside the other day.
Found some cows!
How exciting. The novelty wears off the moment I catch a whiff of the manure though. Urgh.

So, been at Lakeside for a week now.
Can't say I'm ecstatic ... there is so much improvement needed.
They say that it's all coming, so I'm waiting and I'm hoping. Give them a chance for a bit longer.
(Parking and jam and cafeteria crowd and blargh.)

Flood in the library on the same rainy day.
A pipe burst and water started pouring everywhere. Every time the cap got replaced, it would burst back open a while later. Happened three times while I was there. I loved people's reactions to it though. One guy ran over and fixed the cap once. Another guy saw the commotion and started calling to his friend, "Take my camera take my camera!" It was so funny.

Have some pictures of Zed and Spyro.
Just because.

:)

No swimming

Started at a magical new campus today!
Filled with zombie cows and krakens and unicorns and mermaids and-
Oh wait, that was my old assumption.
Oops. :p
Anyway started the day with a long drive. Jam, baby.

View from the carpark. I call it the Big Carpark.
I call the other carpark the Cowfield. Last time I came here, there were cows there but now there are just cars. We heard a cow mooing in the distance while walking to the buildings. So nice, the cow welcoming us! :D

We heard about the packed cafeteria and overpriced food.
So Sha made some baguettes for our lunch!
Thanks Sha. <3
We sat at the amphitheater and people-watched while chowing down.

The magical Lake!
No fishing.
Jov is sad.

So yeah, Day One.
We were like schoolkids on first day of school. I was more of a tourist with my camera (I have named it Perry, like the Platypus).
Looking forward to moar awesome timez.

Reincarnation

I've been switched to Group 2.
Gwaaah the drama in my head was unbelieveable, to switch or not to switch.
The decision's been made and I'm happy to stick to it.
I've missed my girls. <3 Happy to be reunited! Tralala.

Spent the day with them, surprise birthday celebration for Sammie and Jov.
It was funny because Jov was in on the surprise but didn't realise that she was part of the celebration too. Hehe. Good times.

College University life so far?
I admit I was pretty relaxed during Week 2, which was a lull between the initial gush of readings and early lecture slides on BB7 and the start of assignments. But assignments have caught up with me. :/ Kinda awkward timing since that I just got back into fangirling over comics again. Bart and Kon have been resurrected. <3 My friendship OT3 of Robin, Superboy and Kid Flash has been reinstated. Love love love. Oh and Steph is back to life too :O Robin's 'dead' girlfriend. Phwoar, shipping material. They're not together anymore. Makes for snarky UST. Ngeehehheh.

Sigh, I kinda miss my fangirling days.
They feel so far away now. Tertiary education and NS put it all to a stop.
The lack of fellow fangirls/boys is also a dampener. Meh.

Here's a wishlist of stuff I would love to own at the moment:
1) A new digital camera. Old one is starting to go senile.
2) Gunnerkrigg Court graphic novel Volume 1
3) Gunnerkrigg Court graphic novel Volume 2
4) Teen Titans: Year One

Yeah quite a few graphic novels there. I'm in a Mood at the moment. Hmm. :)

See Em Em

Meet my new lover:
Degree in Communication and Media Management

We've been going out for a week and he's already decided that he wears the pants in the relationship.
:/

Updating will be irregular because:
a) Only online at night which is worktimez plus fun internet activities
b) I have reached an inspiration-block. :/

On a happy note, all this focusing on degree has erased a lot of pointless clutter in my mind which has left me pretty happy and ready to jump into work! As long as I understand what the work is, that is (I'm reading all my course structures and am scandalized to find myself not understanding most of what they want from me).

So wish me luck!
Also, all the best to all my juniors getting their SPM results! :)

Social psycho has left the building

Just finished our Social Psycho exam this morning.
Which means that we're officially DONE with foundation.

It's been an interesting ride.
Lots of ups and downs, like always. A lot of self-discovery, falling down, crying like a baby about it and getting back up again. I met all kinds of different people, a rainbow of variety. It's definitely different from school life. And yet, certain moments bring back countless memories from the days of the uniform. Some people you just ... always seem to get in your life. And others come once in a lifetime.

I've done a major amount of changing within the past year in foundation ...
I'm reminded of one moment in late sem 1 when Jov said that she would have me horribly vain and girlified by the time degree ends.
Erm I guess it's working? Hah. Like I said, a lot of changing. And sometimes too fast. Had my fair share of identity crisis. I'm OK now. I think. I will be.

To everyone in TUC FCOMM March 2009 ...
You guys have been pretty awesome.
Thanks for being there.
Thanks for the helping hands and the shoulders to lean on.
To those of you taking the February intake of CMM:

I'll be seeing you. :)

Till then, I shall rejoice in the wonderful bond we have made BEFORE EYWA.
*Na'Vi chanting and USB ports*

All the time

Dunno what happened ...
But I was editing this blog post at college and when I hit publish, everything deleted itself.
Pah.

So here's my group's music video for our Media Appreciation class:



And here's the link to our public service announcement.
It's kinda gross, just keep in mind that everything is fake.

Went shopping with the girls today (Sammie, Fyra, Jov, Carmen, Aishah ... and Joe, haha) so it was nice to loosen up after the headless chicken period that was pre-presentation weekend.

Time to start studying.