Happy Birthday!

Sorry for the long reply guys.. Exams have really been a disturbance in my current existence.. That said, my first exam, Materials was a bloody joke... I can't believe I spent so much time on an exam an 8 year old would have passed easily..

Heck, Ed and I took one whole afternoon studying it.. Just one whole afternoon, and it's a big possibility that we would get H1's. That's like an A1 in Malaysian standards.. Hah..

Well, like the title says, happy birthday to Haidee Cadd! We had a little 'party' on the roof today to celebrate Haidee's birthday.. We can't really say it's a party because all parties are banned during SWOT Vac.. Then again, it's not SWOT VAC anymore, and it was a study session! Heh..

Haidee, being her usual self, forgot to buy alcohol for the 'party', but we had Brendan from Medley saving the day with two bottles of SMIRNOFF. It was good to see the Medley boys again...

Lunch was actually pretty good today, with decent meat (chicken). Ed was kind enough to get me another piece during the show "Goal 2". Football! I miss that bloody game.. Haihz..

We then watched another show, "Superbad", which was a freakin awesome movie! I don't know whether it was because all of us were inebriated or due to its superior scriptwriting, but nonetheless, laughs were plentiful during the whole show. Hilarious indeed..

Well, that's it then.. Made two packets of IndoMie for supper... Given my current state, I guess it was understandable, the mess I made at the kitchenette...

Exam on Monday, Dynamics & Measurement Systems.. Probably the hardest subject... I don't think it's possible to do any work today, so I guess I'll slog it out tomorrow.. Haha.. Until then.. Adios my friends!

2007 ValeDICtory Dinner

It's been a month since my last post, of which the sincerest of apologies will be given to everyone!

Today has been one action-packed day of insanity, shameless fun, and pure shock at the same time. Oh what a night!

It started lamely though, with the usual getting up late and missing breakfast routine, grabbing lunch and going to classes. I came back at around 4, watched an episode of Mythbusters and decided to catch a power nap. (Yes, I'm fatter if you have to ask, but I'm not a walking balloon yet!) Basically it was one of those lethargic days.Valedictory Dinner couldn't have come at a better time!

It was to be the last proper High Table function, as well as the last college party for the year 2007 in JCH. Though the usual High Table does have its sense of opulence, Valedictory Dinner was in a whole new level. With contrasting table cloths of blue and white canvassing the tables, and similarly-coloured balloons tied up at random spots, it turned out to be quite a spectacle. Tables were arranged so that a contiguous row of tables were put together in the middle. Students who were leaving took seat in the middle High Table, while the returning students (me included!) sat by the side.

Although the wine tasted as terrible as always, it was a welcoming moment to receive top-class cuisine again (Happened only once before if my memory serves me right). We gathered at the SCR (Senior Common Room), and bantered until we were told to enter the Dining Hall. It really is nice to see everyone dressed up as impeccably as possible, especially those who never dressed up before. I was actually stunned to see some girls I've never really noticed before appear in expensive dresses and looking dangerously beautiful. Such a bummer they are leaving.

And of course we could trust Dr Cameron to give a hilarious speech in honour of the departing students. Claire Weeden then orated a speech in honour of the returning students, and finally Olivia Jones with her general speech. The returning students then proceeded to the corridor connecting the Dining Hall to the SCR to become guards of honour to the departing students. It was pretty lame watching them past by under us until Rob started bashing the guys in the sensitive area as he walked past, only to be followed suit by BeerdEd (Edward Ellis). Will got hit the worst, and had to take a while off to recover. Hopefully his family jewels are still intact..

With that, we were off to the last JCH party of 2007! It took a while for people to trickle in as some were still conversing in the SCR, some were busy playing Halo and others were quietly waiting for booze to arrive. But it wasn'tlong before the party got started right! There are a few classics that absolutely has to be played in every party. They are:

• 500 Miles - The Proclaimers (It's such a great song to sing a long!)
• Holy Grail - Hunters & Collectors (It's an Aussie thing)
• Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi (Another great song considering its lyric's relevance to our lives)
• The "Nakbush" Dance - Unknown ( I have absolutely no idea what's it's called, or who the artist is, but it's a song which everyone can dance to, since the steps are so easy to learn)
• I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters (As mentioned before, this is this year's fresher dance, and I STILL do not know the dance moves. It's so hard to watch people and follow the crowd, but it's still all great fun!)
• Pump It - Black Eyed Peas (This is the Second Year Fresher Dance, and even harder than my year's dance)
• Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry (Third Year Fresher Dance {I think}, pretty cool!)
• Closing Time - Semisonic (A song to end all parties, with the relevance of its lyrics , and especially more poignant today, considering it, really, was, closing time..)

Lousy phone camera has no clarity whatsoever. From left: Erykah, Adam, and Tim

And so the party went off for over four hours, with almost everyone dishing it out in the JCR, and having fun as best as they could! I know I did! Of course I did not drink as much as I would have, as I didn't want to be drunk again (that's what they told me, but I disagree) like last time. But still, letting loose is such a liberating feeling, and is a must-do for everyone out there! You can only truly see who you really are when you let go of all the physical and mental inhibitions. Trust me on this!

Big Ed

Big Ed carrying Beerded Ed by the legs as he swung BeerdEd around ballet-style. Pretty cool actually.

(Oh, but I did learn a neat trick of sculling today, taught by the evergreen Rob and Ed. Here's how it goes. A bottle of anything is the ideal object of sculling in this situation, aptly called the Torpedo. First, a straw with a minute diameter is placed in the drink and aimed downwards. Then your index finger should hold it firmly in place, but not too hard that it blocks the straw passage. With that, you scull the drink. The objective of the straw is to remove all the air from the bottle during sculling, thereby sending a whole stream of unadulterated alcohol straight through your throat, instead of the usual gulping down of the drink with a usual scull. Twice the speed of sculling, twice the burn in your throat, but great fun all the same!)

I blame the phone again

Unfortunately, my camera was destroyed during a previous JCH party (Trivia Night to be exact), and I have not had a camera since. And phone cameras are possibly the worst cameras to use in a dark place. Thus, there are almost no pictures of this great night. Bummer.

Alison and Steph not sure where to look at since I was taking the picture in the dark, lol..

Of course, as trite as it sounds, good times have to end, and that's exactly what happened as the lights were turned on and that dreaded Vitamin C song being played. Everyone just started saying goodbye, and giving orgies of hugs to anyone in sight.. Sigh..

And more goodbyes..

With that, we were asked to leave the JCR so cleaning could commence. Almost everyone then crammed into the Baige to decide on the next plan of action. And boy oh boy was it a plan of action!

Just a random video of absolute randomness

As much as the balls-punching during Guards of Honour thing was considered an ungodly but neccessary and absolutely fun JCH tradition, the same went for the Nudie Run. Yes, a nude run across Royal Parade and into public areas. I'm totally not kidding! At first I thought it was a big joke, so I ran upstairs to grab my wallet and passport, thinking that we were going to a night club or something to continue the party, only to see people stripping their clothes off and running aimlessly into the streets, with the biggest grins in their faces.

Of course, at first, I thought it was down to underwears only, until I saw someone walk past stark naked, with a sheepish smile to make the whole situation even more absurd. As rightly stated in the rules of the Nudie Run, no cameras were allowed in this "to be one with nature" journey, so as to prevent perverts from doing anything untowards the videos/pictures as well as making sure that the police will not be able to identify the perpetrators if they were to be called. After all, it is illegal in pretty much almost everywhere! I shall also refrain from naming people, so as to respect their privacy (ironic indeed)

But I have no choice but to mention Edward Ellis. As mentioned before, I have repeatedly said that Ed is possibly one of the most incendiary person I've ever met, and he rightly justified that by baring all, strutting down the street in his naked glory. Where others would sheepishly cover their genitals with a sock or cowardly still keep their boxers on (I am ashamed to confess that I could not find the courage to let loose my boxers into the wilderness), Ed rode the street like he owned it, and had this apparently innocuous smile on his face.

Obviously, with naked guys and girls walking in the middle of a major street, you would expect us to be a major source of attention. Unfortunately, we finally realised that drivers at night are practically blind to everything except the road directly in front of them. For a while, no one even stole a look back. However, that all changed when we reached a traffic light. I could just imagine the looks on the drivers' faces as they witness a group of nature-loving nudes stroll down the road to Princess Park. And for all that effort we received a honk or two, thereby confirming the aphorism, "Honk If You're Horny".

At Princess Park, more people bared their souls to the world as the darkness concealed most body parts. We then sat around in a circle on the wet and obscenely cold grass. We tried to talk about philosophy, but everyone was too drunk to start any conversation with an ounce of intelligence in it. Jean then started playing Duck and Goose, but Alex didn't really continue the game, and it petered out. After a few freezing minutes, we decided it best to go home. And with that, we picked ourselves up and headed back home.

Ed then had this great idea of being a Road Guard to all of us. At the zebra crossing, he stood in front of cars and stuck his hand out, signalling the metaphorical "Stop" sign, while the headlights of the cars highlighted everything for the drivers to see. Hilarious stuff indeed. We actually got a few honks of this one truck. Further ahead, Ed thought it to be a great idea to see if he could grab a taxi back to JCH, even though JCH was only 10 meters away. The first few taxis just drove past, but finally one turned on its left signal and headed towards Ed. However, it just zoomed past the boys, but only to do a U-turn to head for the girls. Big surprise there. After a minute or two of intensive negotiations, Ed and his entourage managed to get the taxi to send their naked bums back to JCH. Best part was, he didn't charge them for it! I guess giving the excuse that you forgot your wallet is valid in this particular situation..

And so, here I am, blogging about this unforgettable night, still in my boxers alone, and feeling super cold. When I headed to my room, a portion of them decided to head off to the Newman College Chapel, still in their birthday suit. I'm not sure what they did exactly at the chapel, but desecration would probably be a good word to describe their actions. I guess we're all going to hell, but the important part is that we go to hell as a team!

Jokes and stunts aside, it has been a day surrounded by ambivalence, and perhaps a tinge of nostalgia. I remember not too long ago, I was waving goodbye to my friends as I entered the departure gates. I had just left all my friends behind to experience a whole new way of life in another country. I came to Melbourne Uni, and then JCH, not knowing what to expect. Though I met Sven in the first week of uni, life in JCH was hard at the start. Not knowing anyone was quite a blow to my already fragile mindset, and I wasn't really enjoying myself too much.

Then I started hanging out with Sven, who turned out to be a cool dude, as well as getting to know the JCH'ers one by one. Life got a whole lot better after that, and I could actually forget about trying to make friends, and start being a friend. Fast forward a few months later, and here I am at the crossroads again. This time, however, I shall be the one standing back and waving to those who will proceed with their lives. It seemed only a while ago when I met Sven, Ed, Adam, and many more, and now again I find myself saying those dreaded goodbyes to the departing people.

I guess it was a good lesson to learn, that life, as exciting as it is, is merely a transitional period between birth and death, and quite frankly, too short for comfort. I guess it was also a good lesson to everyone to appreciate your friends more, as they actually do come and go, hopefully only in the physical sense.

I guess that's the end of my protracted spiel (partly to make up for the long period of absence). To everyone who will be leaving, f*ck you for leaving, but thank you for the great moments that we've shared, however transient it may have been. It was an absolute pleasure sharing my life with you, as well as sharing your life with mine. To the best of luck in your future endeavours, I bid thee adieu...

Shit, morning duty tomorrow at 7, and it's already bloody 3:30 in the morning..

The Price of Growing Up

I was just listening to my iPod while posting the previous post when I heard a familar song playing through the speakers. It was "You Got A Friend In Me" from the Toy Story movie. Nostalgia swept through me as I started thinking about how I used to love watching Toy Story, which then ramified to other cartoons, like the Disney classics (Alladin, Little Mermaid, etc)

Then I thought about everyone leaving for greener pastures in another country. I thought about how everyone is already planning on entering the working world, and worried about how much money they'll make when they get out of uni. I thought about how stability was lost when I left for Australia.. I thought about how difficult it would be to keep in touch with each other, now that our lives are intertwined no more..


Wasn't it just yesterday when I would look forward to watching Disney Channel and despise sleeping because I have to wake up early to go to school. Wasn't it just yesterday when I used to chase girls around, throwing these silly toys that explode after a few seconds? Wasn't it just yesterday when I would hang out with the boys under the tree, or the gutter in the foyer?
Wasn't it just yesterday when I found out what having a girlfriend meant? Wasn't it yesterday when I so wanted to be older so I could have the privileges only adults could have?

It wasn't?

Felt like it though..

And now the speakers sing again, this time with yet another poignant song..

"When they get to the part

Where he’s breakin’ her heart

It can really make me cry

Just like before

It’s yesterday once more



Lookin’ back on how it was

In years gone by

And the good times that I had

Makes today seem rather sad

So much has changed"

Sydney Paradise! Part I

I see that everyone has left for some foreign country, so I would like to wish everyone good luck in their current hermitage, and hopefully they will fit in well etc...

As you all know, I'm back from Sydney! Sydney is pretty darn cool! Lotsa cool beaches, roads like Kuala Lumpur, and much better night clubs compared to Melbourne.

It started off badly enough.. Our plane to Sydney was to leave at 7.30am. Kristy, George, Ami and I were supposed to take a taxi to the airport at 4.15 am. Me being the lazy ass conveniently slept until I received a phone call at 4.30am, asking me where I was. Unfortunately it was too late for me to reach the taxi at Kristy's place, so I told them to head off by themselves. Then, Daniel went into superhuman mode and got everything ready with speed that would make Superman blush. 10 minutes later Daniel was outside JCH flagging down a taxi, who was more than happy to send me to the airport.

Obviously, I reached last, and was greeted by everyone warmly. A few were laughing at me for being late, but it was to be expected I guess. Heh. Anyways, had McD's (Aussies call it Macca's) for breakfast, and flew off to Sydney without further hitches. We immediately headed off for Maze, our Backpackers rooms. After placing our bags, we then headed to Hyde Park, since we couldn't check in until 1pm. We bought some food, and proceeded to eat it while sitting down on the green grass, with the sun shining down on our faces, a la Western style. It was a pretty soothing moment, and the two laziest people (Sven and I) tried sleeping, only to be awaken by the girls.

From left: Clemens, Sven

Enjoying time in the sun. From left: Ashwin(still don't know how it's spelled), me, Sven, and Clemens

Hyde Park

After a decent packed lunch, we headed to the Sydney Opera House, which I've actually seen before with my family, but what the heck. Still a beautiful spectacle. However, according to Clements, they sacrificed substance for style. It may look aesthetically pleasing, but the acoustics in the Opera House is allegedly pretty bad. The small stage inhibits bigger performances from being played as well. *Shrug*

On the way to Sydney Opera House

Having another lazy moment in the sun (on the Sydney Opera House footsteps!)

The whole gang. Clockwise from top left: Karmen., Ashwin, Sven, Yuka, Ami, Jarech (or Jaros, or Jaroslov), Kristi, George, me, and Clemens

Trying to act Japanese :) From left: Jaros, Ashwin, George, Clemens, me and Ami. Funny the real Japanese is missing

After lotsa picture taking, we headed off to the ferry area to check out the ferries moving about Sydney.

The docks

Me trying out Ashwin's glasses. Pretty cool eh? :)

On the ferry

Going under the awesome Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Quite ugly from far, the bridge's beauty only becomes clear when it is close.

An old ship (still operable I think)

Check out the submarine!

The myriad boats docked at Darling Harbour

Next stop was the Sydney Aquarium. The place wasn't too shabby, with some pretty cool creatures roaming around. Although I've seen them countless of times, it still didn't feel boring when I saw these huge sea creatures again.

Do you see that? Look closely, it's not seaweed.

If you haven't guessed it yet, it's an eel!



A close-up shot

This is probably one of the funniest thing I've seen. Don't worry, the turtle didn't break its neck swimming down or something. It was in this position the whole time I was there

Here's the turtle again.

Outside the Sydney Aquarium, we bought some delicious Gelato ice-cream (a unique Italian ice-cream made from natural products that produces a smooth and creamy texture) and sat down around the Harbour, silently lapping up our ice-cream while embracing the sweet radiance of the sun. Heavenly indeed.

After an hour or two, we headed off to Maze to check in. We ate at Chinatown, where I saw familiar food. There was Sizzling dishes, Laksa, Nasi Goreng Kambing and many others. I truly missed Asian food! After that, we headed to the first bar we visited in Sydney. Because we were given vouchers for free drinks in several bars and night clubs, we decided to check a few of them out. Scubar was quite disappointing, but a free drink's a free drink!

The next day, we decided to go off to Glebe Point to check out University of Sydney. And boy was I appalled at the condition of the uni.

Yeah, these ugly buildings are part of Sydney U

The only decent-looking building blighted by ongoing construction

Weather didn't help my view on Sydney U either

I'm not sure why people do this, but it's quite cool actually

Did a bit of shopping in Queen Victoria building

After profusely thanking God I'm in Melbourne U and not Sydney U (sorry all Sydney U students), we headed off to a Thai restaurant to eat some Thai food. The excellent food, plus a cute waitress made Glebe Point a worthwhile trip at least..

The second bar/night club we entered was Scary Canary and it was such a far cry from Scubar. Where Scubar was dinghy and empty, Scary Canary was brimming with life, and had a tasty interior to accompany the hustling people. Of course, the amount of hot women increased ten fold as well. But what I liked best about the place was the choice of music. Instead of playing music like any other night club, this one played House music WITH a live band, drums, guitar singer and all. The fusion was mind-blowing and really took my complete attention. The sizzling sexiness of the lead singer just made everything more pleasing.

The orange brackground masking her looks just made her that much more attractive.

I'm not sure what it is with Asian girls and tall blonde dudes but it was pretty interesting I have to say. Barely 5 minutes of dancing, Sven gets hit on by a not-too-beautiful-chick/slut and gets asked to head to the bathroom for some naughty time. However, Sven could only laugh at her, which offended her greatly, but it made a great story for Sven to tell. Half an hour later, he gets approached again, this time by a not-too-shabby Japanese chick. However, surprisingly, she left a few minutes later. It came to be that she noticed Sven since he came in but nothing materialised because Sven didn't come up to her. Poor Sven, he was thinking about the missed chance for a while.

To get his mind off the girl, we headed off to Star City to check out its casino. The entrance was mesmerizing, with a mini waterfall greeting us, as artificial rocks form a pool.

However, the casino itself was horrendous beyong words. The waiting list was a mile long, and according to the receptionist, we had to wait for at least 2 hours before we could find a seat. The problem was apparent when we looked around. There were only around 20 tables maximum at the casino, compared to Crown's 50 or more tables. The sad part was, they couldn't even find enough employees. There were poker tables left unhabited because they couldn't get a dealer. That was just disgusting, and made me lose my appetite for poker that night. The same problem was seen at all the other games, eg Blackjack, Roulette etc.

At home, the girls placing our passports together

Here we are at home, playing Bluff, Big 2, and Black Magic (and having lotsa fun in the process!)

The next day, we headed for the National Museum. We were greeted by a huge replica of Gigantosaur. Pity it wasn't real. I have always had this fascination with dinosaurs, and seeing them in their skeletal glory was a memorable moment for me. Malaysia really should find some dinosaurs soon.

Roar!

Some 'super smart' tourist took this picture, without realising the reason we took it in the first place. How can you miss the bloody dinosaur behind us? Lol..

A giraffe

From left: Mr Skeleton, his dog, cat at the back, mouse beside it, and Polly in its cage

The museum was interesting enough, giving me an insight into life in Africa, something which I've never really looked into. Also found out a few countries I never knew existed, like Lesotho and Eritrea. O.o . The bugs section was pretty cool too, considering I liked bugs too.

Afer that, we headed off to Bondi Beach. And what a beach it was! Sitting down in the cool sand while snacking on a McD's burger... Heaven!

From left: Karmen, Jaros, Yuka

Us trying to bury Sven.. In vain.. Have to find some other way to kill him ;P

View of the houses around Bondi Beach

From left: Yuka, Ami, Kristy, Karmen

.We went home exhausted, bus deeply satisfied with how the day went. Weather could have been better, but who cares? Later that day, we went to another night club near Darling Harbour. Pontoon was its name, and it was even more happening than Scary Canary! Only problem was they were playing contemporary R&B, which is not my taste at all. More hot chicks obviously! And again Sven was approached minutes into entering the night club. Because the girls were feeling tired, Jaros, George and I returned home with them while Ashwin, Clemens and Sven continued partying.

I'm not sure what happened that night but Sven told me a hilarious story about Ashwin. Now, Ashwin has always been an enigma to all of us; he was fun to have around, but we could never tell what was going through his head. So, according to Sven, here's what how Ashwin narrated his chance meeting with a girl in the club.

"So, I was dancing with this hot Indian chic, who has this huge set of boobs, and I was dancing with her. Then she took out her wallet to take some money, dropping a dollar coin. I picked it up.. And took it!" By which point he took out the fated coin and showed it to Sven and Clemens, grinning his usual grin. This was greeted by howls of laughter by Clemens and Sven. You would have expected him to give the coin back in exchange for a kiss or something, but NOO, he had to take it. Lol.. Typical Ashwin.. What's even funnier is his accent, which is a weird fusion between an Indian, Mauritian and French accent.

Girl's room. Yuka doing some weird thingy