catchup (;

people have left and left and no matter how many times i'll have to go through this as a non-local student... i'll never get used to the feeling. you never meet a person knowing how close you'll get or realising how long you've got with them ): which makes me realise how much we should all appreciate our friends while we've got them here! last night was dan's farewell since he's back off to KK (kota kinabalu mlys aka rainforest woop woop) AND it was also gab's b'day-- i had a long shift at work and walked straight from lygon to melbourne central to meet them at Lion's bar/pub at 1:30am. i was refused at the door for not having legit ID, since i didn't think i needed my passport to get into a bar... but managed to convince a very persistent drunk dan that i could go home and get it myself while he stayed and danced with his mates (spoiler alert! he later gets kicked out). so i headed down to the tram stop, cuz i didn't really feel like walking anymore after a busy breakless 9 hour shift... and this local sounding indian guy comes up and tries to force me to 'hail a cab' with him... (he's completely sober, just really creepy) and was extremely tenacious with the idea that he should send me home... i played it cool but was adamant about catching a tram to get home to my parents. he didn't leave me alone until i luckily bumped into a coupla regulars from work... i quickly turned and struck up a conversation with them and left the odd guy alone. he was all 'what the hell is wrong with girls who can't trust men??' and after trying to tell him to go away multiple times he muttered that he wanted to slap me... umm... not gonna lie... that sounds very rapisty. ended up speed-walking home halfway and catching a tram along the street. got home, changed into a printed tee with a cartoon elephant, giraffe and rainbow on it so i wouldn't smell too much like pizzas and sweat. by the time that was done, it was already 2am, and trams had stopped running into the city. the boys wanted to drive by, but i lied and insisted that the trams were indeed still running and hung up on their call. don't you hate imposing? i think it's been too heavily instilled into my character. i walked back to MC in less than 10 mins, which is a BAMF effort for a tired worker-bee. i had a lotta water and dan challenged me to a game of pool which i kicked his ass (back to malaysia) in :DDD but he was really drunk P: so it barely counts (still does though, just a little)-- i ordered two tequilas but dan stole one so i ended up feeling nothing much xP haha after the bartender saw him sneak the shot, she ordered him out of the bar... it was amusing! i saw two drunken funnies last night- on the way back to MC, a guy was trying to bash a taxi driver from the backseat with half his body out the door of a MOVING vehicle. the second guy had 3 bouncers grabbing onto him while he yelled for some water... he also got kicked out of Lion's bar lol

after drinks, we went to 1806, a really swanky little cocktail bar (: unfortunately, the bartenders saw dan's state and couldn't let him stay, lest he destroy the gorgeous leather seats. many thanks to gab for introducing me to the finer things in life! it was the second time i've been there and both times with them~ last time i was introduced with a Companion's Cocktail (invented at that very bar-- possibly a Firefly reference? if so, kudos, and in my memory it'll taste even better!!) i think it was rum based with lemon overtones. for someone who doesn't usually drink to enjoy it, i found it ok (: that sounds unappreciative, but i usually detest the taste of alcohol (minus moscato) unless i'm sculling or taking shots. i love watching them mix the drinks-- Benning and the new scottish guy were very entertaining with their bar-side banter. last night i had a Japanese Slipper (midori, cointreau, lemon juice + a cute little glazed cherry in the bottom)- it came in a very elegant martini glass and tasted diiiiivine. so refreshing and really light for my taste! surprised i am actually starting to appreciate this O: and the light-headed feeling after was a nice kick. the guys were drinking 'old fashioned' (whiskey in a heavy glass with a massive rock of ice as the centrepiece) and etc. we were doing this while dan sat outside with ken P: which is not very niiiice... but it was also gab's bday (: anyhow, we made haste and i swapped with ken and waited while he went to get the car to send dan home~ half of the party of 8 left with them and since it was 4am, the rest of us decided that the best thing to do was to... go have supper :D we had roast duck, some tofu thing, spinach, and deep fried spiced chicken! omnomnomnom i was so full after, i couldn't walk ): what a waste of gym yesterday...

there's not much else to catch you up on... aaron is away in singapore and phuket, and marcus is completing the inca trail in peru~ i'm currently housesitting for them and looking after their little poo-dog, effy :3 she's very naughty. this morning when i got home at 5am, i found toilet paper scattered all over the floor because i forgot to shut the toilet door. my fault ):

i was in brisbane a coupla days back for Shauna's graduation :D my big sis is 21 and just got her optometry degree!!! she's gonna be making the big bucks soon (: i'll show you some pics of my family~

my daigazeh is 21 and siewmui is 14~ i used to be as tanned as sam!! then i grew... sideways... and i guess it was diffused P:

look at dem guns :D which reminds me... back to kickboxing on monday!!! woooo~

growing up

30th nov, wednesday


i guess exhibitionism and narcissism are slowly evanescing from my list of character flaws; hence why i haven't felt the need to blog everything i've done in the past coupla weeks. lately, i've been having so much fun with a close group of friends-- something i haven't committed to in the longest time! before this year, i've always felt more inclined to float around between groups and socialise with anyone and everyone... in some ways, feeling 'known' was an ego boost- albeit being an extremely vain and conceited (she says, while producing a self-psycho-analysis lol). the temptation for an ENFP to always seek someone or something more exciting/igniting/electrifying is difficult to avoid, but the fact of the matter is focusing your time and energy into the people you know, instead of actively seeking out new ones to add to a collection of friends who don't really care about you anyway, is so much more important. that's an obvious observation, but one that has to be penned down and noted. however, that said... i really need to make more girl friends in melbourne. since sam has abandoned me for the sunnier island of singapore, my life has lost meaning i haven't been able to think of any other girls i do sam-like things with. why is it so much harder to make gfs?? ):

oh! i've started kickboxing (: had my third session on monday, and my fourth is tonight. it's really exciting to get back into a 'team'... i feel more comfortable knowing that i'm part of an organisation. like, if i picture myself having a career (other than in photography), i would definitely want to join a big company. i guess i need some form of recognition in order to feel motivated. anyhow, my goal upon starting this is to compete. i've always wanted to fight in a ring, and i reckon by this time next year i'll have the basics and be able to start training for a match. this week, i went on saturday and monday. hoping to start friday mornings once i get the hang of it (fighters class and i don't think i wanna hold them back)-- so that'll be the plan 3-4 times a week. when uni starts, i'll have to schedule my classes earlier in the day, and also cut back my working hours. my 6 month goal is to bring my GPA up to 75% min, since i totally bombed it this semester. completely wasted all my effort from sem 1-- i regret spending so much time and effort on something that didn't work out in the end and without receiving any appreciation. ah well- you learn from your mistakes.

saturday was a great day (: i went over to marcus' and had steamboat with his gf and jo. the four of us packed sandwiches and went out for a lovely day at melbourne aquarium!! :D it was actually raining... and i left my umbrella in the cab *ughh* but whatever. it was so much fun! entrance fee is $22 for students- the place wasn't too packed and there were mostly families around. we got to see penguins and sharks and giant stingrays~ also plenty of colourful and intriguing fish O: there was this one little group that looked like ikan billis P: they looked like skeletons cuz their scales are completely reflective, with only a thin skeletal frame highlighted on their bodies with an aluminium material. another interesting one was the eponymous pineapple fish-- it's so STRANGE that mother nature can replicate this design in a completely different being (: also, it turns red at night! rad.

i'd have to say my favourite thing all day were the sea dragons. i spent ages sitting in front of their tank staring at what, on the surface, seemed to be a bunch of pool toys rocking about in the water, drifting with momentum- but in reality, were actually very detailed animals with tiny transparent fin like materials on their tails and backs that were propelling them in the water!! soooo adorable too :3 and other-worldly. visiting the aquarium upset me a little because i recently watched the documentary 'The Cove'. i feel bad for supporting such a system that would remove animals from their natural habitats, but that's the only place i can see them ): those cute penguins are trapped in minuscule confines compared to the wide open spaces they were taken from... ughh... what to do? how to help??  

 jellyfish are incredible to watch after eating sammiches.

after that, jo left for home and jamie, marcus and i went for a quick bite at nandos in melbourne central. i left them to it and headed home for a nap~ ended up hanging out with m again afterwards since i wasn't going to see him for ages, what with him (also abandoning me) going on a massive south american adventure and all! it was pouring and we drove all the way to box hill for their version of Monga (dessert cafe)~ it was already around midnight when we got there hehhh
we ordered hot ribena in random asian teas to start, and then for course 1, waffles with macha ice cream and red beans, drizzled in the sugary goodness of condensed milk. it was not as good as it could have been. i would have played up the red beans a lot more, maybe including it in the waffle mix. but it was still a great start :D course 2, we ordered the mango, boba, sago, grass jelly and pomelo dessert with sweet mango soup (:  and course 3, not pictured, was condensed milk and peanut butter crunchy bun. which was utterly disappointing as it took them more than 15 mins to bring to us and it wasn't even toasted right... just tasted like bread ): everything else was great though!! we ate and talked for what felt like hours, then headed home (not before having to run back and forth in the rain cuz he left his glasses there). we ended up watching Ghost Town with ricky gervais instead of ghost WORLD, the indie cult film. i laughed so hard in the end when i found out that the whole time i was waiting for a young scarlett johanson to appear on screen was in vain. plus ghost town is an example of a great british comedian trying to write a script within the limits of a mainstream american audience (dumbing down...). after that, i think we started up a shisha and watched Clerks 2/laughed our asses off~ then i fell asleep in the lounge while the Office was playing in the background.

the next morning, we woke up and i went home to washup.

 fruit salad: blueberries, blackberries, mango, peach~

 stephen fry is (currently) my favourite homosexual :D

1st dec, thursday
anyhow, i woke up late yesterday morning and did my laundry. ate some sushi for lunch then hurried over to kesh's hotel on flinders ln to pick some stuff up (:: i rushed back home and changed into my gear in 5 mins, then headed out to kickboxing! it's moved to a new private gym space now-- it's huge in comparison!! can't wait to go more~ people were really nice and i am trying to learn to twist my body/hip into a punch- and also control my feet while twisting... i'm quite un-co so it takes awhile for me to get comfortable P: haha i felt like an idiot/loser cuz this really cute guy was teaching me and i couldn't even imitate O___O
after the sesh i went on a date with a really nice guy~ we went for hotpot in box hill and ordered some realllyyy yum skewers. food was GREAT!!
and then after THAT, i headed back to aaron's place where they (aaron, bryan, shauna, sue) had just come back from sydney (:: they didn't look too happy though... we chilled for a bit then aaron came to my place to pick up his driver's license! we ended up chatting all night haha and were trying to squish into a single bed and sleep. we ended up trying to push each other overboard xD and he went home at 7am cuz they were gonna drive to great ocean road (should be there now, actually!). gahh i wish i had a brother ):

anyhow! i have to get ready for work now!! yuck.

goodbye ^^ x