Sick.

First time falling sick this year. SOre throat and a sniffy nose. And i am going on my long awaited trip on Thursday! Sigh. What luck.. i must get well by thursday! Been driving around Perth since saturday.. Fetched Jillian's boyfriend from the airport and then on sunday, fetched shin to airport.. Ran some errands in Subi this morning.. Think a car is really useful to have. Your timing becomes so flexible with it. Just that parking is another huge expense, not to mention petrol. Interestingly, I have been eating out more after moving into this house. Hmmm.. Sparrow, Tea Fusion, Gelato.. Dome.. Sushi.. Hee =) First meal i cooked alone was pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. My housemate thought it was prata. Sigh. Had the curry her fiance made.. Pretty good.. Now we know why my sore throat is not getting better. sigh..

Anyway, this url here should interest pple like Shin.. haaa.. go check it out people.. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=53801.

I need to get well by thursday morning! No more junk food, no more cookies, no more fried food. No more curries! Hate being sick..

Another interesting thing, my friend Ling from US, now in singapore for a holiday got to know Chester! What a small world isnt it?

Well, hope everyone is enjoying their holiday, whether its in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Perth or other random places in the world!

My new place!

2nd night in my new house.. Just moved in on 24th June! Moving was rather smooth, i was supposed to have many helpers.. but my worker head, jasmine failed to wake up and round them.. Sigh! We started moving at 9am, Shin was chauffering us around.. heeheee.. First stop was Currie Hall, where we loaded the car up with Lash's things from the 1st floor (2nd level).. She had a super heavy luggage, but 1 round was enough! Then we headed back to our place, unloaded, carried upstairs and headed off to transport Shin's stuff over.. That needed 2 rounds.. heehee... In comparison, the number of things I had was way way way more than them! I wonder why. Hee =) Guess how many rounds it took us? Just the same number of fingers on 1 hand. 5! Really happy to have the help of Steph, Lyn, Nicole, Jeremy to carry things like my purple table, my heavy boxes of books etc.. All of stuff filled up my room, leaving no space to walk and 2 boxes had to be placed in the toilet. I agree my new room is much less smaller than my previous one, I am indeed moving from a more spacious, ensuite room to a smaller, older one.. Nonetheless, I want to believe I made a right and wise decision.

Went for a late lunch after clearing out my old room! Missed the bus yet again, and met up with Jasmine, Steph and Lyndia in the city! Went shopping at Myers for Long Johns, had sushi for tunch (tea and luncH) and went helping to find a chemist called soul pattison for nicole, thinking it was a brand initially, only to realise that what she wanted was out of stock! Sigh. Headed back to trinity, where jas helped me start unpacking.. haaa... Constructed my plastic drawers thingy and then 9 of us met Abel for dinner at Chinese VIllage. Dishes we had were yummy lychee chicken, mongolian lamb, veg with oyster sauce, tofu, sweet and sour pork and short soup! Haaa.. I bet not all of you knows what short soup is according to that restaurant! Long soup is noodle soup, and short soup is wanton soup.. Haaa.. Doesnt really make sense. Service was slooooooow! Waited almost an hour for our food! Went to rent dvds after, planning to have a movie night of Racing Stripes, Hot CHick and The In-Law (on JAsmine!)

Went back to my old place for the final time and handed in my keys... Started unpacking and was basically almost done a while later.. I fell asleep during each of the 3 movies.. Sigh. Movie night ended at 3? Then was time for me to catch some sleep!

Gary forgot to pass me the car. I woke up this morning rather stressed. Had to pick jillian's boyfriend from the airport, had to drive to subi, and had no car!! No gary's msn, no gary's number. Walked over to his place and collected the car.. Drove to subi following the bus route! Havent driven manual in a loooong time! The last time would have to be the lorry when i shifted last year. I apologise for my sucky manual driving. SJOG was pretty boring today, I felt very redundant, almost out of place. Its a wonder how 2 different weeks can bring totally different feelings. A sense of belonging, a sense of redundancy. Hmm.. I did get busy after lunch though.

WEnt to the airport, met shin there! Drove to Joondalup where Jillain stayed and came back alone.. Pretty far away up north! THe exit was at the end of the freeway where you cant go striaght anymore.. heh. Returned the dvd with Jasmine and Shin, came back and came up with house rules! 1st house meeting!.. Lash and Charan were having fun watching indian movies.. Those bollywood kind i think. Finally got a chance to try Sparrow! (having to have a breath analyser test by the police) The food was really pretty good! Shin and I had sambal tauhu telor, chin chow, a fish dish and a vegetable dish with yellow coconut rice! YYUMS! Bloated. Helped derek move to Nicole's house as well! haaaa... Came back home, only to leave 5 minutes later to grab some bubble tea!

As I write, i see the bubble tea cup in front of me. My throat hurts, i am sleepy as well. Shin is busy unpacking.. My eyes are shutting.. Supposed to watch The Terminal and Lizzie McGuire movie.. Hmmm..Shin leaves for home tmr!

escape into the world beyond exams.

Havent blogged in such a long time, its amazing just how fast time goes by. Know i have probably said that too many times already, but ever since exams ended on thursday, I can hardly keep track of the days. LIke how I thought today was wednesday, when in actual fact it is tuesday!

WHat has my social calendar been filled with? Once our papers were collected on Thursday, Amanda, Luhui, Tun, Arthur, Ah Cek and I headed down to Northbridge Hog's breath cafe for a meal! Haven't been there before, but have always heard my sister saying that the steak and burgers there are really good, although pricey. Tun, Amanda and I shared 2 main courses - A salmon dish and a Steak mega cut. The meat was juicy and tender and the fish was fresh! We had salt and pepper calamari rings and finger food platter for entree as well. Yumm! Then, we headed down to Utopia for ktv, sang our lungs and hearts out for 3 hrs.. Spent $24 there! Luhui treated me to bubble tea at tea fusion! Justin fetched us back, he had to make 2 trips and he had a paper the next day.. Oops. heehee =) Came back, rested and before I knew it, it was 4 am. Didn't feel tired surprisingly, considering I only had 2 hrs of sleep the night before.. Michael headed back to Singapore already!

Friday - Woke up at about 8 am, promised to volunteer at St John today to help paste the stickers I mentioned in my previous blog, from 12-3. Vicki was really surprised I could stay there so long. I did 525 booklets out of a 1000. The only reason I stopped was cos Vicki told me that there were other people coming in to do the job as well, and I felt that I should leave them a substantial amount to do.. heehee =)
Came back home and a while later, was supposed to go rent dvd for movie night! Plan was for a movie marathon with Shin, Jasmine and Wei, catching Ladder 49,, Raise Your Voice and Jasmine chose Jackass for the last movie. Jasmine asked me whether I wanted to go for Hungry Jacks with Sean and Luhui, and so we did! Sean fetched us to rent the shows and also distributed Kenneth's textbooks around! Night ended at about 2 plus in the morning, when I headed back with my backpack Shin's mum brought for me from Singapore! Luhui, Amanda and Ah Cek left today for home!

Saturday - Paid money for the things we bought over from the new house, got a scanner! Volunteering at St John (Cleaned 2 hospital rooms, served morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, cleared rubbish bins, arranged flowers and got "scolded" by the kitchen staff), watching Jackass in Durrow with Jasmine, getting Jon A. to fetch us to return the shows, visited their new place and then stayed home to rest.. Watched a chinese serial! heehee =)Tun left today for home!

Sunday - My heater: PAssed to Damien to exchange, only to find out Woolworths doesnt open on Sunday! Sigh. Volunteering at Hollywood, had a walk with Mrs Grace! Tennis with Damien and brian and later Yujhyn at 330pm - Havent played in so long, it was a terrible game for me! Shots were flying everywhere.. Sigh. Dinner with Jason and Nicole! Missed 2 buses, heard them leave before seeing them.. Ate at Red Rock in Claremont - Pud Thai! Interesting dish! Wished I took a picture of it.. =( Then we decided to head down to Subiaco for Cold Rock ice cream, my idea to complete the Rock Theme.. Only problem was that being a Sunday, there was little transport! We walked to the train station, waited half an hr for the train, cos 1 left as we reached the station.. Had to make some calculations, cos buses back from the city were 2230,2330 hr and it so turned out the next train from Subi would reach the city train station at 2225 hr, and we had to make a mad dash to the bus station! It was a sprint from the minute we left the train! All for the ice cream.. which was really yummY! Movie night after with Jason, Jasmine and Nicole.. watched Cellular! Not a bad show!!

Monday - A crazy night! Nicole and I stayed in Jasmine's room from 730pm to 6am! Talked non stop.. Ate alot of tidbits like Lindt chocolate, maggie mee, minties.. It was really great to be able to speak to both of them for so long! Before that, Nicole, Jason and I caught Mr and MRs Smith in the city and had dinner at Hungry Jacks.. Bubble tea in the afternoon too! Jason didnt manage to get his apple strudel, cos they were all sold out! Lunch was at Student Cafe, where I spoke to Steph and Lyn and Yujhyn and Jon and Jason. Made loads of plans with Steph about the remaining days before they left for Melbourne to enjoy! Treated Jon to mix chicken rice! Collected boxes from the shop as well to pack! The auntie told me to take all the boxes she had! Met Shin's parents, grandma and brother as well!

Quote from JAsmine: Bread Skin and Milo is food her grandmother eats when she has no teeth.

Tuesday - Yet another day! Jason is leaving today! I reached home at 6am from JAsmine's room, packed a little and slept at about 7am? Woke up at 10 am, too late to accompany Jason to get his strudel from the city.. SO sorry jason! PLayed basketball with him, I won him in Man Jiang! Whereby i reached 101 points before he reached 201 points.. 100 points handicap for me! heehee =) He treated us to apple strudel too! Yums.. Returned 2 library books as well at EDFAA library! 1st time there.. looked like a nice place to study! Steph finished exams at 4pm. Met her at 5pm to "trick" Lyn and Ber, but our plan failed! Took a bus to subi, the 7 of us.. PLan is to watch The Longest Yard and have dinner and Gelare waffle! Half price today!! Walked into Oriel's, only to realise that it was way out of our budget! We then walked out after much contemplation! haaa.. Pretty hilarious.. Then we went to eat affordable Jap food further down the street! Had teriyaki chicken and rice and teriyaki chicken sushi.. Frenzy! Fell asleep during the movie.. my eyes hurt cos of my dry contacts.. Couldt see properly! Was it a good show? I think it would have been a show worth watching! Haaa.. took a 1.5 km walk to the bus stop after that and headed for home on bus 24..

What will tomorrow bring? Lets just hope for peaceful, happy and eventful satisfying days ahead!

its official.. i think.

The frenzy about the heater. It working and then not working. Came home from my first paper today. Have no idea how i went, not too good. Histology was a disappointment for me, considering i did study for it. Most labs, anyway. But when i saw all the cells and all, it was just too much for me. Anyway, it has been cold in Perth recently. The rains have stopped fot today at least, and yesterday.. and in place, we have now really cold cold weather. I was glad to have my working heater. I seeked its comfort after dinner tonight, and watching 2 hours of tv.. Have you ever seen a heater glowing bright red? I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me. It was red as a ball of fire within. It had a burning smell, the whole heater was really hot, but yet, it was not blowing any air out. Whats your diagnosis on my heater people?

To add, the pain in my neck is crazy. Was in the library the whole of yesterday, from 8.30 am to 10.30 pm. Not that Reid library hasnt been my second home for the past week or more, but my neck just cannot take it anymore. When i reached home yesterday night, decided to sleep only because of the ache in the neck. Sleeping might have been a bad idea though, since I had planned to not sleep. Haa.. Shin must be like.. Well, as usual, I couldnt make it. Slight progression though, slept at 12 am and woke up at 4am. Then was at my table the whole morning and afternoon until 3pm. My neck. Now i know where the phrase came from.. The pain in my neck, is really a pain in the neck. Aargh.

Second and last paper on thursday. Will I survive that and come out of it alright? Will I have a holiday? What will I do if i cant go for my holiday? Not sure. My mum mentioned something that I felt was so true. She said that my mind must be tired cos I am concurrently thinking of a zillion things. I think she hit the jackpot on that. Over and over, my mind is going over things like.. 1. Moving house 2. Selling furniture 3. Studying 4. Holiday 5. Shopping. NOt like these things sound very important to you, but just cos i have to get all these things done, just thinking about it has been wearing me down i think. Its like yet another pain in the neck until i get it settled.

Just realised that I will be moving in exactly 10 days time. Actually, typing it now has made me realise how soon it is going to be. 10 days before I leave this place, I think i will miss this place, my room, my housemates, no matter how weird a relationship we share. I have had many fond memories in my house, since last year March. To begin, finding this place was like finding gold a year back, cos we were just so so happy to get a unit here. Then there were the stayovers Jillian and Yap made last year at my house.. Followed by the numerous birthdays celebrated here, but more so, the cooking sessions as well.. Days of being amature chefs, although we still are amature-ish. Just numerous events, memories. Hmm. I am looking forward to more memories in my new place, in all respects and all aspects.

Have been thinking about things that made me smile that day. Sounds odd? Its like you know how some little events will make you smile unknowingly? And just thinking back about it, you can just smile to yourself and maybe even laugh? I am not being psycho here. Yeah.. I dont think I can remember that many such memories, but there are indeed a few occasions.

Just received an email from St John, they need volunteers for pasting stickers on 1000 booklets, because they made a typo error. Haa.. Told the coordinator I will be free on Fri to help. Guess i will have to start looking for things to occupy myself with when I am alone in Perth.. thanks to my dear soon-to-be housemate. heehee. Like getitng my tax file number and working visa. Haa.. We shall see. To stop myself from re-thinking over and over again the things I had to do, I wrote them down and tld myself not to bother about them now. The list has grown to about 30 things i think. Big and small.

Hope you people all have been fine! Surviving through the exam period, looking forward to going home will be something on the minds of most of you now. Please take care people! Stay warm for those suffering in the cold! Really hope to catch up with all of you, one by one soon. Hee =) I really ought to get back to my notes soon! Haa.. after listening to some music..

As for the heading of this entry, I think my heater might have really died.

Away frm studies

Woman who kept 271 animals jailed

Rosalind Gregson was disqualified from keeping animals
A woman who kept 271 animals in her home in appalling conditions has been jailed for three months.
Rosalind Gregson, 55, of Silverdale, Lancashire, admitted nine charges last month of failing to provide the animals with necessary care and attention.

An earlier hearing before Preston magistrates heard the animals were emaciated and covered in faeces and urine when they were found.

Ms Gregson was disqualified from keeping animals for life.

Preston Magistrates' Court heard many of the animals were suffering from infections and injuries when they were found by RSPCA inspectors at Mrs Gregson's home off Lindeth Road.

There were 246 dogs, 16 birds, five cats, two kittens, a rabbit and a Chinchilla. Nine had to be put down.

At an earlier hearing Ms Gregson had denied 49 counts of failing to provide the animals with necessary care and attention.


The court heard Gregson kept the dogs in dark, dirty conditions
But in May she changed her plea and admitted nine counts of causing them unreasonable suffering.

The nine charges referred to two Yorkshire terriers, three Lhaso apsos, three shih tzu and one Old English sheepdog.

Five of these animals had to be put down.

Defending Ms Gregson, Ann-Marie Gregory told the court her obsessive animal collecting began when her son died from a drug overdose 15 years ago.

She said: "She never had any counselling, she never had any way of dealing with the pain or loss.

"That appeared to be the trigger factor in her beginning to collect a large number of animals.

Dirty conditions

"This is wholly about a tragic set of circumstances. It's about sadness, it's about isolation, it's about the loss of a child, it's about despair, it's about obsession. The list just goes on and on."

Ms Gregson had kept her animals in dark, dusty, dirty conditions with little water or food and little ventilation.

The RSPCA officers described in court how their eyes had watered and they had found it difficult to breathe in the house.

Asked why there were so many animals in the house, Ms Gregson told police: "Because it got out of hand, its just an obsession, I couldn't stop."

'Beyond belief'

RSPCA Inspector Sarah Hayland said the scene she found was beyond belief.

"It's a normal looking property from the outside -- and then to be faced with the room full of dogs.

"And we had no idea how many animals were in there, right until the second day when we'd been in all the rooms.

"It's just the enormity of it, the amount of animals involved is something that I've never come across before and hope never to again," she told BBC Radio Five Live.

HIYAH

WAs meant to blog a happy good entry, just came back from Subi, decided on yet another spontaneous shopping trip to get my heater. I walked into Woolworths, and wanted to get a non oscillating base heater.. cos I thought it didnt matter anymore. Amazingly, i rummaged through a few boxes and i saw a box saying Oscillating Fsn Heater. I blinked and blinked to check.. not enough sleep made me rather blur, and I couldnt quite believe my luck. I then went to check with this staff person whether it was the one on offer.. and she said it was. Asked her whether there were anymore in stock, and she said no! Really happy, I mean, what luck! I then stocked up on more groceries, and headed back..

Armed with my new heater in arm, i quickly took the box out and plugged it in.. Turned on my laptop to blog that i got my heater when the whirling sound of my new fan heater stopped! WHat luck right? I think it had a life span of 3 mins. SIgh. I think its dead. Just switched it off, will turn it on again soon to check. Chances are high that it is dead, I am meant to stay cold, not meant to have a heater and my luck ain't that good actually. Sigh.

All that for a productive shopping trip.. besides the fact i did groceries.

my icy igloo

Was freezing in my room the whole morning. I don't have a heater. Lent it to Luhui last year, and it died. I am usually not very reliant on the heater, but i was truly cold this morning. It has been raining continuously and the weather is just simply sleep inducing. Not having a heater also means that I tend to snuggle under my blanket for warmth which actually equals to disaster for the exam. The combination just does not work out. Was talking to Amanda online, complaining about the weather when she said I should go get a heater soon. Hmm. Great suggestion! I wasnt getting much work done the whole morning anyway, and so checked out the bus timings, and decided to catch the one coming ten minutes later to Subi. As i was waiting for the bus, saw many people walking around in shirts and shorts. There i was clad in a jacket and a long sleeve top underneath and jeans! I started raining once again, and people around me made no attempt to avoid the rain. Havent been out of my house in a day now, felt isolated from everything else around me. And, it wasnt that cold outside actually.

Anyway, I just returned from my shopping trip, without a heater! Woolworths ran out of stock for the heater with an oscillating base, which was what i wanted. I went to Coles, this other electrical shop, and they all did not sell heaters! Sad. Waste of time. Could have taken a nap. Have to bear with the cold till I decide on a spontaneous shopping trip again.. Nights are not going to be nice.. =(

Joys in Life

1. 2nd time volunteering at SJOG, watching footy with a patient and hearing her life story

2. Grocery shopping, whereby I stocked up on coffee, food and more food for the coming exam period. (Realised I am drinking alot of coffee these days, and that the way i struggled carrying my groceries after showed that I overestimated my strength)

3. Planning to rent a dvd, and then manage to get people to watch with me

4. Eating dinner out with Nicole, whom I havent seen in a while (ordered chef's speciality - Lychee Chicken (it was really yummy), and also learning that long soup refers to noodle soup and short soup refers to wanton soup, in Chinese Village, which I have never been to before.

5. Being called out for ice cream by Shin even before footing the bill for dinner

6. Going to Baskin Robbins with a bunch of ice cream addicts (Michael, Shin, Luhui, Annabelle and Nicole)

7. Realising that Baskin gave out free sampling, and ordering a single scoop of Temptation Island which I didnt try beforehand, and it turning out to have a unique taste, in a large waffle cone!!! YUMS.

8. Reaching back Trinity and then realising that the I missed the opening set of the FRench Open, but then watched the rest with Luhui, Belle, Ky's dad and bro. (Really interesting to find more people passionate about tennis and talking about going to see Wimbledon and Australian Open was nice)

9. Watching Before Sunrise and Before Sunset right after with the ice cream khakis minus Nicole (Not comatosed during the show, except slight brief moments.) The shows were pretty good, a different way of filming, but the ending was very abrupt to me.

10. Walking back home at 2am, seeing life on the streets, and it not feeling 2am at all, and then not getting locked out (I always have a problem with my keys, especially during cold cold nights).

Great Saturday, as Shin puts it, a totally productive non academic day. Or i would rather call it, a self destruct day.

Unfortunately, all these added up to waking up at 1020 am, remember the adrenaline rush I mentioned before in one of my previous blogs? No such adrenaline rush today, even had time to eat breakfast before strolling there, knowing I completely missed the morning tea session without informing them. THe lady was really nice about it though, which was great. Learnt a few French phrases from a lady too! She knows 6 different languages. French Open Final (guys) tonight!

What's getting into me!

Had a long night last night. Long day today as well. Finished my last continual assessment for this semester at about 1520hr. It was really not too good. =( I agree i wasn't adequately prepared for it, so, there goes that 10% i think. How long was the night? Was basically up throughout, took 5 naps of 20 mins. Slept for 100 mins. For the whole night! I accummulated too much sleep beforehand. The adrenaline rush just wasnt there. The mood to prepare for this exam was not there either. I even had time to go out for ice cream last night! Heehee.. Cold ROck ice cream. Second visit there. Short car ride out with Michael, Shin and Wei. 20 mins in all we spent! Yums. Before that, I went online, after refusing to succuumb to the temptation of going online the whole day, I finally did, to track the live score of the French Open semis. Justine was playing, and she got into the finals!!! Really happy for her!

Just stepped home from basketball after the paper. It was pretty fun, just that I cant really bend my left little finger now. Sigh. Havent played in a long long while, and lost much of the skills/touch i once had (for a really short time). Starting to feel tired, a little out of sorts. Feel like going for a walk. There are stuff to do as usual, with exams drawing so near. Non-exam stuff still present in my head. Like, regarding moving house, what we are going to do about internet, phone, regarding the trip, need to call a few places and leave credit card details. Need to tell desmond and jastina how much i am selling my things to them for, need to settle the remaining furniture i dont need in my new place. The list just goes on. Instead of just running them over and over again in my mind, wish i could just settle them all now, put a full stop to it. Everything has been amazingly been running so smoothly so far. From finding my new place, to the housemate, to someone to occupy my room.. As for the trip, like how the itineraries are drawn up already and all..

The only thing stopping me from enjoying what is to come, is the 2 papers on the 14th and 16th. The great number of things to enjoy and look forward to, is just overwhelming. Looking forward to moving, to experiencing life with Shin and Lash. Looking forward to saving money, and thinking of what the money can do. Looking forward to the holidays, although I feel bad leaving Shin alone at home. Looking forward to a new experience, a new environment. Looking forward to doing shopping before my trip too! Need to get geared up with some winter clothing! To the many things to come, all i can do now, is to wait in eager anticipation.

Calm down suyen, exams first. Stop letting your mind wander. Concentrate!