...a superhuman heart beats in me...

Currently listening to: Superhuman - Chris Brown ft. Keri Hilson

.beforesunset.
St. Kilda Rd, Tram Stop 29, Sept 5 2008

First off, a big, proud smile goes out to Agnes for graduating today.
Congratulations! *claps*
So our favorite Samurai Girl is now officially a Bachelor of Business graduate, fresh from the tertiary education oven, so to speak. *laughs*

Yeah I know that was cheesy but you get my point.
Once again, congrats! =)

Moving on to a less festive issue...

Reality check: It's just a few days away from November 3 and I am so not ready for exams.
*runs around screaming*

Long story short?
Revision hasn't been going so well. I've only got like four days left before my first exam and my revision notes aren't even done! Not to mention attempting to do past exam questions; how the heck am I supposed to start writing answers if I haven't even finished reviewing all the examinable materials?

Well, at least today I was quite productive, finishing one huge topic about FDIs plus two other subtopics before I got really sick of the intimidating silence in the library and set off to go home. I even managed to attend Agnes's graduation in between breaks!
Efficiency's never been my forte, so it's not my fault that now I'm gloating over it. *laughs*

And for some reason I can't help but feel that my hard work today was rewarded by an unspeakable event that happened this evening. Not gonna go into details about that, but yeah, let's just say that unspeakable event made me all warm and fuzzy inside.
Oooo-yeah. Talk about self-pride. *winks*

Anyway.
There's something that I wanna share to you guys here.

For you who don't know, back in high school I used to work as a freelance journalist at a local newspaper in Jakarta named Warta Kota. I was part of an all-high-school team of writers who were in charge of writing the teenage section of the weekend papers. I worked there for about a year and a half, including a one-month hiatus during my year 12 final exams, and only resigned because I was moving to Melbourne.

The job was really fun and challenging at the same time, and I wasn't there for the money at all since the pay was nothing compared to the experiences I gained during my active period of employment. I had a chance to learn about the nuts and bolts of commercial journalism from some of the best journalists in Indonesia, and got the pleasure of working with a bunch of talented, passionate writers. Oh, and since I was mainly in charge of the entertainment section of the column, I also got the chance to talk to, interview, and even meet a number of celebrities! *laughs*

The co-workers were cool, and fun, and nice, and all hardworking. The so-called "big boss" was adorable and funny, but respectable nonetheless. The actual weekend columns were like little poles of achievement. And it was so much more than just a freelance job. I took it as a valuable learning process.

the original 2006-2007 team, with the "big boss" on the far left of the first row

Ah, good times.
*stares dreamily into space*

And this is where the story comes into perspective.
A couple of days ago I received messages from two long-lost colleagues on Friendster. Both of them were in the original lineup of the team as well, being two of the most talented ones in the original group, but one of them dropped out halfway through due to health reasons.

Yeah. So they messaged me, asking me how I'd been. And I can't say that I wasn't surprised when I saw those messages 'cuz I didn't think that they would still remember me after all these years! Being the good-mannered boy that I am *wink wink*, I replied, and the rest was history.

A few days after that, another long-lost colleague messaged me, this time to my cell-phone. She was one of the few people from the team who actually have my Australian mobile number, and we do still keep in touch every now and then, so I wasn't surprised when she messaged me. We started to talk, nothing too special. I dismissed this fact as ordinary and moved on.

Then this afternoon, as I was busily jotting down points from the textbook in the library, another two people from the team messaged me!

*raises eyebrows*
Okay call this random, but this is far too freaky to be a coincidence.
I know it's my fault that I've failed to do my part and stay in contact with most of them. I miss them, true, but somehow I just can't find the time to be in touch with them. This is probably a reminder for me that they're still there, and that I should begin to, like, keep in touch, or something.

And upon that sudden strike of realization, I decided to start messaging some of the other members of the team, in the hopes of getting them to respond. I'm thinking that there should be like a reunion for us, or something, so everybody can meet up once again and just chill out together, and the end of this year. That would be sweet. *grins*

Being a part of the Warta Kota Muda team was one of the best highlights of my life, and I treasure my every moment with them.
Can't wait to see them again soon!

Oh, if any of you guys from WartaMuda happen to be reading my blog, please by any means respond to this post.
*laughs*

Gosh. All this reminiscing just made me miss my high school years even more.
No time for being mellow. I gotta focus.

*looks at the stack of MKC3220 lecture slides on the left-hand-side of the laptop*

Oh well.
First thing first.

...sipping my guilt under a willow tree...

Currently listening to: Twisted - Brian McFadden

.ablueskyholiday.
Monash University Bus Interchange, Clayton, Nov 22 2008

I just had a warm glass of milk and am feeling sleepy all of a sudden. *yawns*

Been studying at Caulfield all day. The library was packed as hell, full of people doing revisions and cramming and such. No pun intended, but today I got a confirmation for the well-known stereotype that in the Caulfield campus, Australians are far outnumbered by Asians. The yellows outnumber the whites, so to speak. And I know this probably won't come as a shock, but most of those Asians are fobs, excluding those handful few born Down Under.

While I was there, I felt as though I wasn't studying inside the library of a respected Australian university. It strangely felt like I was in, like, a university library in Hong Kong, or something. And don't get me wrong. I really don't hate Hong Kong and all, and I think there's nothing wrong with seeing a lot of Asians at Caulfield, not at all.

It's just that it bugs me to see that some Asian people just don't know how to behave in public . This is not a generalization, and as an Asian person myself, this really bothers me.

I mean, some of them just don't know when to be quiet and when to make noises!
It somehow seems like, whenever you see a group of Asians nearby, you can almost always expect to see a parade of colorful clothes, hear a lot of incomprehensible chatters, and an get attacked by an almost-intolerable amount of noise. *sighs*

For instance, there was this Chinese girl sitting near me in one of the quiet study area at Level 4. At one time, she was talking to somebody on the phone with such an annoyingly loud voice right in the middle of the quiet area, so loud and screechy that she made me want to, like, go up to her and strangle her with her fake LV handbag or something. And the conversation went on for like 20 minutes, fgs! *shakes head*

And oh, there was also this really noisy group of Asian guys gathering around a computer in the computer area on Level 3, chattering away. I happened to be sitting nearby, and apparently they were all laughing over some silly video on YouTube or something. They were all speaking in a strange tongue I couldn't understand, and I don't wanna be judgmental and all, but please, have some respect, and show some tolerance toward others while you're in public!

Oh well. *shakes head*
Perhaps I should stop this rant before things get out of hand and I end up insulting my own kind.

Anyway.
While I was there, after a couple hours of studying - stretching - yawning - Facebook-ing - and hand-cramping, I kinda received some sort of a - I dunno if this is the right term for it - a reality check, or something.
Well I dunno, but constantly seeing people cramming and panicking right in front of my eyes slowly made me start squirming with uneasiness. And I realized that this was really happening. Exams. Freaking exams.

It's once again that time of the year. The time of frantic, of panic, and sleepless nights, and countless cups of coffee. The time when people will finally start camping in libraries, spend some time to get to know their lecture slides and summaries better, skip lunches and dinners and get hooked up on all forms of caffeine, from the smooth to the deadly, and even sleeping at night will be a luxury for many.

Ah, good times. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, though. *grins*
Thank God my exams don't start till November 3rd. At the very least, I can sort of space out my revision sessions and slack a little bit more. But I gotta put a lot more effort into preparing for the exams if I wanna see great results coming through. Oh well.

Just another month to go, and then I'll be spending my Summer back home!
*smiles earnestly at the thought*

For the time being, I gotta keep my level of motivation as high as possible. Eat well, sleep well, revise well. And of course, stay healthy.

Good luck for y'all whose exams have started!
We can get through this. Yes we can! *grins*

Buh-bye.

...you're in and you're out, you're up and you're down...

Currently listening to: Hot 'N Cold - Katy Perry


Oh, I'm such a dork.
*yawns*

Technically, I didn't do anything productive this weekend. Other than doing some more room redecoration in the form of assembling IKEA shelf units and putting up noticeboards and changing bedsheets and quilt covers and such, all I've done so far is being extremely mopey around the house. Though actually there's nothing to get mopey about. Life's doing pretty damn good at the mo'. I just wanted to find a decent excuse to be lazy and avoid the heat yesterday. *laughs*

But hey, thank heavens for the breezy weather today. Partly cloudy skies mean less UV intervention, and less sun exposure means less heat! *grins*
I guess Melbourne's just trying to live up to its iconic "four seasons in a day" reputation, as always. I dunno. I should just shut up and be happy that today's gonna be a good day. Well at least in my opinion, that is.

And now, introducing the newest member of JJ's Room Assembly, the beautifully-designed IKEA shelf unit!



Please ignore the pile of unspeakables and you-know-whats stacked at the far right corner of the picture. *laughs*

For the record, the shelf's still half-empty because I haven't really put any effort in rearranging my stuff. But the lowest stack will be filled with uni stuff, and as you can see, the second level of the shelf is already full of my perfumes, creams, and perfume-related stuff. Geez, how metro can I go? But yeah, there you have it. *winks*

I'll get to work and continue filling up the stacks of the shelf as I go.
My old shelf unit is already jam-packed and overflowing with stuff now and I really have to rearrange my stuff. Badly.

Alright, time for a shower now I guess.
*stretches hands out in the air*

I love breezy Sundays.
The air's fresh, the winds are nice, and all this makes me happy. *smiles*

No more classes starting tomorrow! And technically there will be no more uni for me 'till March 3 next year. It sounds liberating in a way, yes. Yet it pains me to think that exams are just round the corner. I'll survive this, I know I will.

I really can't wait to fly home!
December 1 is not far. No, not too far away.
I won't bother counting down the days 'cuz that would make it even harder for me to wait.

For the time being,
Have a great Sunday everyone! *waves*

...make up break up can't take this madness...

Currently listening to: I Stay in Love - Mariah Carey

.underthescorchingsun.
Alexander Theater lawn, Monash University, Oct 14 2008

Can't believe it's almost weekend again.
This week flew by so quickly. Revision after revision, with returned assignments coming one after another. Can't say I'm disappointed with them, though. It's good to feel that all my hard work had been paid off. *grins*

But now I kinda have a reason to celebrate.
I'm officially done with every last piece of non-exam assessment for this semester.
Does that spell happiness, in bold? Well, more like relief. But I'm glad it's over and done with, thank God. Now I can take some time off before going crazy over exam revision.

Got a call from Singapore Airlines the other day, informing me that my Singapore-Jakarta flight had been confirmed for November 25. And I was like, oh okay that's sweet, but what the hell's gonna happen to my Melbourne-Singapore one? Apparently I'm still waitlisted for that one, but hey, no pressure. If anything goes wrong, I still have another flight confirmed on December 1. *winks*
Just thought it would be more fab if I could fly home sooner, straight into the waiting arms of my beloved hometown. Sorta.

Oh well. *yawns*
It's still 10pm-ish and i'm lazy as hell.
My room looks like the ruins of a freaking hurricane-wrecked area. I'll probably do some cleaning after this, if my mood permits me. I just had my second cup of coffee for the day a couple of minutes ago and am still waiting for the cheerful caffeine effect to kick in.

I was actually planning to write something more structured and educated than this waffling piece of crap. Something related to hyperreality and post-modernism and what-have-yous. Blame this morning's BHS1712 test to have successfully aroused the dormant philosopher in me. But oh whatever. My brain's not being cooperative right now so I think I'll pass.

I miss Europe, big time. *sighs*
Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Paris, London, Monte Carlo. And the always-irresistible French Riviera with its dazzling beaches, of course. It's been like more than two years, since my last visit, and I'm dying to go back there. I need a blue sky holiday, to quote Daniel Powter.

Was going through my picture folder just now when I realized that I'd left all my Europe holiday pictures at home back in J-Town. Too bad. *tugs at hair*
I'll probably go look for some old pictures in my old cellphones later and post any good ones here. Given that I'm able to actually find those cellphones in the first place, that is.

For the time being, let me stretch out my hands wide in the air, take some time to let out a huge yawn of relief, and scream Thank God It's Friday! at the top of my lungs.
Better yet, I'm going to IKEA tomorrow! *grins*

Have a great weekend, guys!

*****

And I keep on telling myself that you'll come back around
And I try to front like "Oh well" each time you let me down
See I can't get over you now no matter what I do
Baby baby, I stay in love with you...

...boy don't try to front i-i know just-just what you are-are-are...

Currently listening to: Womanizer - Britney Spears

.thesunsetandthetable.

My room, Clayton, Oct 1 2008

Finally. The end of Week 12. That spells total freedom for me, with caps.
*heaves out a sigh of relief*


This whole week has been full of ups-and-downs.
Started off with a couple of lazy days before moving on straight to a full-on sequence of panic attacks and sleepless nights because the demented MKC2210 (yep, you didn't see it wrong, that was still the code of the same annoying subject I freaking hate) presentation wasn't finished yet. Then things got a bit out of hand the night after everything was done, because I was so exhausted and overworked that my stomach acids acted out and I got awful stomach cramps that hurt like hell. So I took some medicine and rested well; probably a bit too well since I couldn't get up early enough to catch the morning tute the day after. *sighs*

But yeah, I'm fine now. And finally, every last piece of assessment before exams has been totally over and done with as of right now. YAY!
*dances around like a retard*

Anyway. *clears throat*

Just now I was absently browsing through yesterday's edition of The Age, and since Saturday papers are usually delivered in two plastic-wrapped, rolled-up bundles, flipping through crumpled pages and smoothing out curled edges can sometimes be a pain in the ass, but that's completely besides the point. So after spending a couple of minutes wrestling with stubborn curls and what-have-yous, I came across this fascinating article about literacy in Australia.
Wait for it. This is gonna be interesting. *grins*

Apparently research has shown that one-fifth of Australians, meaning one out of every five people in Australia, has difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and sentence construction. Surprise, surprise. You'd think that in a country with English as its de facto national language, which surely means that the language is widely-spoken amongst its people, various problems regarding its proper usage should be completely out of the question. Yet apparently this assumption isn't evident in reality.

The article states that a majority of Australians can't differentiate between simple homophones and often spell them wrongly. Common mistakes include "you're" and "your", "its" and "it's", or "there" and "their". In addition to that, structuring good, comprehensible sentences is another issue, since often written sentences contain ambiguous meanings due to misplacements or words and such if not structured properly.

What's worse, these mistakes and so-called "glitches" continue far well into adulthood, with job applicants and even university graduates not being able to phrase their CVs and application forms well enough. One confident girl, for example, as stated in the article, wrote in her CV that she possessed "five key strengths" that would make her suitable for the job she was applying for, and one of those strengths was "attention to detale".

Ironic, much?
Well, I don't know what exactly is wrong with the system in this country to have allowed for such "glitches" to happen, and perhaps nothing is actually wrong to begin with.

Being born as a true-blue ESL-speaker, I have never been exposed to the process of learning English as a first language, to state the obvious. Even though I was introduced to the language at a very young age, I familiarized myself with it as a second language from the very beginning, and that gave me a wholly different perception towards the language and its usage. I really learned how to use the language properly, along with its properties as well as its complicated forms of usage variation, tenses, gerund, idioms, vocabulary construction, and such. I'm a fast-learner, too, that's a plus so I learned stuff pretty quickly as a kid.

And even now, although that I can confidently state that I am exceptionally fluent in English, even more so than most of my Chindo counterparts *wink wink* I must say, it is not my mother tongue. Never was, never will be. Because of that, I use English differently, and my perception towards the language will greatly differ when compared to that of a native speaker's. A typical Australian's, for instance.
Oh, and probably the fact that I was heavily exposed to American English also has any contribution in my lingo construction or something. I dunno. Dang, of course it has; those of you who know me in person should know that under normal circumstances I have a slight SoCal tone in my speech, yet I know too well that the accent is slipping away from me. *sighs*

So, yeah. I really don't understand what exactly is going on here. I've had my share of evidence to have been able to confirm that this issue persists in the society I'm currently living in. Maybe they just do things differently here and teach English in schools with a different approach. Or perhaps people take using proper English for granted because they're already too used to the more-casual and supposedly less-structured form of English used in the society? *shrugs*

Whatever. Just thought this issue would be interesting to talk about.
I should probably head to bed now. *yawns*

Week 13 starting tomorrow YAY!

Apparently Spring ends early this year, and Summer's just round the corner. Jackets in, tank-tops out. Time to grab my summery flip-flops, SPF+30 sunscreen lotion, and aviator shades, and head to the beach!
Strange, coming from somebody who hates the sun and prefers scarfs over shorts. But hey, sometimes you gotta give in and mingle with the crowd. So be it. *laughs*

And I swear, guys, "Womanizer" is so damn catchy. Now I really can't get it outta my head, and that's totally not my fault. I haven't been able to stop myself from humming the repetitive "womanizer woman-womanizer you're a womanizer oh" part under my breath like some crazy-ass retard or something, and it's been going on for a couple of days now. Not to mention the fact that the music video for the song is super hot.
Man, this song is gonna be HUGE. *grins*

See you all around! =]

...some days i'm a super bitch, up to my old tricks...

Currently listening to: Keeps Gettin' Better - Christina Aguilera


Mental note: SOUNDSEKERTA 2008 is this Sunday and I should start rummaging through my extremely-untidy wardrobe for a decent outfit to wear.
Whatever happened to my fashion sense? *tugs at hair*

Okay. Random.
So now I'm officially hooked on watching Gossip Girl.



I know I'm a tad bit too late to be jumping on the Gossip Girl bandwagon now, but hey, at least I'm here! And it's not even because of the fact that the series is actually good, yet somehow I find it... addictive, in some respects. And entertaining, yeah, just moderately, but nowhere near educative for that matter, if you take into account all the underage drinking and underage sex and underage partying and underage everything. *laughs*
Yeah. For some odd reason I'm subconsciously starting to let the show grow on me.

Yay for brainless teenage TV series!
Blair Waldorf is totally, I mean totally, FIERCE. But I like Serena, and Eric, better. Blondes may have more fun, surely, but the van der Woodsens prove that they're not all stupid and free-spirited.
Two thumbs-up for Ed Westwick, for being able to pull such an authentic-sounding, utterly convincing NY accent. *grins*

And while we're on that subject, is it just me, or do you guys think that ALL the members of the cast look a bit too old for their on-screen age?
Discuss.*raises eyebrows*

Anyway.
It's raining outside and I should be going to Australia Post on Clayton Rd soon to fetch a package, or two, or three, dunno exactly how many. They must be the posters I bought from eBay the other day; sure takes time to send stuff halfway across the world, yeah?

I'm getting used to the wacky Spring weather now. Getting over the fact that Winter is over actually wasn't that hard. And the fact that this year's Spring will have more rainy days, as stated in the official weather forecast site, excites the dormant rainman in me. *laughs*
After all, there's a season for everything. And no matter what, the world keeps turning. Might as well move along and follow the current, right? *winks*


"There's a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."
--Ecclesiastes 3:1


Oh, I'm going to South Yarra today!
Yeah yeah yeah. It's about time. I'm starting to miss Chapel St too much.
The usual Friday bunch, including myself, is thinking about catching a movie while we're there. The Duchess, anyone? *shrugs*

I'm never one to do the annoying reminding thing, but it's exactly four days before uni starts again, and OMG, where did the rest of the mid-break go? *sighs*
I need to start looking for a proper presentation outfit. Anybody got a spare suit to hire? Oh, and I need a new pair of shoes to match as well.

Okay. I'm getting incoherent. And this post is terribly random. I should stop now.
Sorry for wasting a few precious minutes of your life.

Takecare! *waves*


***

Dan: There's no chance we're related, right?
Jenny: Look at Erik's roots.
Erik: What do you mean? What's wrong with my roots?
Jenny: They're kinda Rufus-like.
Serena (comes through the door with Blair): Hey!
Dan: Serena... and Blair.
Jenny (surprised): Blair!
Blair: Yeah, it's me.
Serena: Explanation will follow. But, first, what's going on with our parents?
Jenny: Oh, uh, our dad dated your mom.
Dan: We're not related, though.
Serena: What?
Erik: Ignore my roots.

--Gossip Girl, Season 1: "Blair Waldorf Must Pie!"