Update

Paris.. The most beautiful city I've visited..

La Tour Eiffel

Musée du Louvre

The famed Crazy Horse

Those were the Days...

Finally.. 'Book-Out day'.. Moments before boarding SQ 218 @ Melbourne International

Home sweet Home.. Arriving 30mins ahead of schedule..

Inaugural Valentine's Day with zY @ Clarke Quay

The Grand Slam of Asia Pacific

Oh Well. Gave in to temptation... So here I was.. at the Australian Open 2007.. Well worth the trip..

The rain came pouring..

And the retractable roof kicks into action..

Australian Open

Just passed up another Chance to go to the Australian Open.. It has created such a huge buzz around town for past week or so.. Everyday as my train zips past the Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena, how I wish I could go.. But with exams just round the corner, I didn't want to risk losing focus..

To make things worse, my cousin saw upclose Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis in Crown Entertainment Complex. ..... And to think that he asked me out with him before that.

I can only hope that it's all worth it, come 16 Feb.

Incinerated

40 degrees celcius. 40. I was absolutely burnt. The blistering heat was just unbearable. The wind is hot. It's like having a hair dryer blowing straight at you. Despite the heat, I didn't perspire much, if any at all, due to the dry weather here. I noticed that I can really feel that the sun light 'stinging' my skin even when the weather is in the high-20s or low-30s. I wonder if it's due to the depletion of the Ozone Layer over Australia. That's why Skin Cancer has been dubbed as the "National Cancer" with over 400,000 victims a year. And guess what, there's the Eye Cancer as well. How often do you hear that? Apparently caused by the UV-rays as well. That's why a lot of people here wear shades.. As much as it's a fashion accessory, it is also a neccessity to prevent Blindness. (Actually i Dont know what are the consequences of Eye cancer, but i Guess it's a safe bet that the serious cases can lead to blindness.)

The resulting forest fires today damaged a major power cable and resulted in a massive power outage throughout Melbourne. My lecture had to be cancelled after just 10mins due to the power failure.. The weather tomorrow looks set to be milder than today.. It's ONLY 35c.........

Kudos to Singapore

Check this out, adopted from the local media:

"DRINKING recycled water doesn't wash with most Australians, with nearly half believing it contains human waste and 70 per cent equating it with purified sewage.
A survey of 1000 Australians' perceptions of recycled and desalinated water shows that authorities face a tough time overcoming the public's distaste for drinking or bathing in recycled water.Almost 30 per cent thought recycled water was "disgusting" and one in four believed it stained the washing. Only 11 per cent said they would be very likely to use it for drinking.

Several prominent politicians and water experts have supported using recycled effluent as drinking water as catchments hit record lows in the current drought. In Queensland, recycling was rejected by Toowoomba residents last July despite severe water restrictions.

Prime Minister John Howard recently said "it's part of the solution", and Treasurer Peter Costello said it was the "final step" of measures to overcome shortages.The Victorian Government does not support using recycled water for drinking." -reported by William Birnbauer.

It demonstrates the incredible foresight of the Singapore Government in resolving the teething water issue. Despite not having an urgent, immdiate need for alternative water sources, the government have taken steps to ensure the water supply of Singaporeans should neighbouring countries play foul in the future.

Melbourne is currently under Stage 3 water restrictions due to the extended drought over the past few months, as is the entire Victoria state. Some of its 'features': Gardens may only be watered twice a week. Hoses not allowed for car washing. New pools not to be filled. Existing pools to be filled with buckets of water from tap.

Sounds interesting huh. Stage 4 is not far away judging by current trends. With such a dire need for water supplies, recycled water presents an attractive alternative to ease the situation. Unfortunately, the parliament here does have a sizeable and formidable opposition, unlike, erm. U-know-where. So i guess "Aussie NeWater" will still take some time before making its debut. But without a doubt, It's just a matter of time.

Guten Morgen, 2007

Countdown Parties celebrating NYE/2007.. What's there to celebrate anyway? Everyday can be a New Year... "Tomorrow starts today".. But nonetheless still went to take a look at the countdown celebrations in the City with Dad.. I'm glad he came.. Plesant Last-min surprise.. My weaponry is in Dire need of a re-load.. His visit will no doubt pep up my flagging morale... Not that he knew anything about it anyway. This is it. The final countdown. Make or Break. Whatever I've achieved in the past couple of months counts for nothing if I don't perform come Jan31.

Being an Int'l student is like a Vacuum cleaner.......

Crown Casino (Or rather, Entertainment Complex)

Auf Wiedersehen, 2006

One last post before the year ends..

Mini-Soccer TournamentChristmas Eve Dinner at Howitt Hall

My cousin's Graduation at Monash

-W.a.r-i.s-I.m.m.i.n.e.n.t-

The Debate Rages On

Just to reiterate my disdain for the attitude of Caucasians here in Melbourne towards Asians..

Walking along the streets of Melbourne.. Where are the Asians here? What are they working as? I'm talking about the Asian community at large, not just the Chinese. From what I've observed, you can easily locate Asians seated at the front-most seat in Trams and Public buses, and in case you are still wondering, it's the Driver's seat. Walking in the shopping centres.. a large number of them would be situated behind the counters in the food court. It's sad to see people of our community being in such 'low-level jobs'..

I've been nudged intentionally on the streets 3 times already during my time here in Melbourne. I don't know what's the problem with them. It's not like the street is crowded like those in Causeway Bay, HK. I'm quite certain that it was intentional given the force of the nudge and no apologies there after. In school, one of the local caucasian student's unfriendliness towards Asian students is noticed not just by me but by several of my friends as well. I'm not saying all the caucasians here are like that but more often than not, I do get the feeling from their attitude that we are not very welcome here.

This is the kind of treatment we get from them. Why the hell should we, in Asia, treat them better than how we treat people of the same colour.

The Singaporeans
Representatives from Indonesia, South Korea and Singapore (+HK)

West is Best 2

Being a Chinese here in Melbourne, I guess I can probably relate to this topic more so than anyone. I can't agree more with BingDe that we really need to stand up for our language and culture. It doesn't matter to the caucasians whether or not you speak great English with THAT accent. The fact is, you are still a Chinese. I hate it when English-speaking Singaporeans think they are superior to the Chinese-speaking people. Chinese is old.. a thing of the past.. English is the language of business.. You don't need Chinese unless you are thinking of tapping into the burgeoning Chinese market. To these people, I only have one thing to say to you: You are Pathetic. I guess this problem is not just restricted to Singapore but Asia at large. Caucasians are treated like Kings and Queens 'cos they are viewed to be of a 'higher class' than the Asians. My Singaporean friend and I were discussing the issue of service quality in Singapore with my Marketing tutor and he said, "I think Singapore has the undeserved reputation of having poor service standards. In fact, I think it has been excellent during my 10 years there." One thing sprung to my mind but I choose to keep this to myself. Mr Brown (Yes, Mr. Richard Brown. Not THAT Mr. Brown), the only reason why you found the service standards good was because of your skin colour. I can't prove it. But I doubt I'm wrong.

Having been to all the major Chinese cities, I would say my trip to Yunan was the most memorable. Yes, The Great Wall was Great. The Forbidden City and the Portray of Chairman Mao was Magnificent. The Bund in Shanghai was Legendary. But somehow I felt these cities have become so modern that they have lost their soul. Any city can build skyscrapers or weird looking arts centres. As long as the government and the developers are willing to pump in the money, even Ethiopia can have a skyline which rivals that of HK and Singapore. I just couldn't feel the rich chinese culture and history in these cities. However, this wasn't the case in Yunan. The local culture of the minority groups are still very much evident and it is then that I could really get a feel of the rich and diverse culture that China has.

I'm a Chinese and I'm proud to be one. But I'm ashamed that my command of Chinese and understanding of the culture is not as good as it should be. I really admire Yi-Chiu ge. He exhibits such strong Chinese cultural values.. and even up to today, my dad agrees that his handwriting is one of the best he has ever seen (Save for the professional ones, of course).

I don't disapprove the usage of Singlish. I agree that it represents the culture of Singapore and I don't see any problems in the wide use of Singlish. BUT. It does become a problem if Singlish is so embedded in your language that you can't 'switch' back to normal English when needed. Many people think they can 'sieve' out the 'lehs' and 'lahs' when they need to use Formal English. Some people can. But not all. Trust me. I've seen it happen and it does impede foreigners' understanding of our English. A Chinese friend of mine didn't know I was a Singaporean 'cos "Your English and Mandarin sounded very different from the 2 Singaporeans in my class and sometimes I don't really understand what they are saying" I could see where the problem was coming from. Imagine phrases like, "Wah. This topic sibeh sian leh.". She could probably only understand 'Wah, This topic...........'. So I guess Singlish is not really a problem as long as you know when to remove the 'lehs' and the 'lahs'.

West is Best? I'm afraid Not.

Sunset at St. Kilda Beach. It's colder than it seems...
Yup, That's a Penguin, at St. Kilda Beach.
Guess I'm not that far from Home after all.
And even Fiona Xie gets in the act.

Pictorial Update

Time flies.. It's been over a month since i left Singapore... Not exactly in the mood to Blog though.. So i'll just let the pictures do the talking....

My first meal in campus.. A$8.20. 'Nuff said. And Don't be fooled. That bottle of Coke is only 390ml, not the usual 500ml in Singapore.
First Haircut in Melbourne. A$25. Where's Vybes?!
Summer Xmas
Myer Xmas Parade
That's Jennifer Hawkins in the middle. Miss Universe 2004. Wooosh. And the lucky 'bloke' is the MAYOR of Melbourne, John So. A HK-born chinese governing Melbourne. Hmm.

That's all folks.... and once again i would like to extend my warmest appreciation to my SonyEricsson k800i for making this Pictorial such a Phenomenal success.

No Life

'I guess, that's what happens when one starts to study - you can't do anything outside of your academic life not feeling guilty 'wasting' time that could have been used for studying.I hate it when this place is left stagnant, for I've a lot of things to say, either about current affairs, about my life, or giving some reflections based on what I've studied in my modules.However, as I've mentioned, it's hard to do anything outside of academics without having the feeling of guilt.' Chua, T.H. and Sng, B.D. (2006).

Outside Sir Louis Matheson Library @ Monash University

G'Day Mate!

So here I am, writing my first entry from Australia. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who took time out to send me off at the airport.. It certainly served as a reminder of what i’ll miss during these 3 years abroad.. All the things that we’ve gone through together.. it has become very much a way of life and it is definitely something I’ll always treasure..

4Dees..Well, what more can be said. Thank you for all the memories…from the good days of Pat Wong to the ‘4-star’ Beach resort of Berjaya Tioman.. We’ve been through it all..

S27s.. Our group may have hit a blip of some sort some time ago but I’m really glad that we can finally hit full-strength for our outings recently.. I think it says a lot about friendships.. It is almost impossible for friendships to be always smooth sailing.. Mis-understandings and disagreements will definitely arise at some point of time but these are also opportunities for the friendship to grow stronger.. I certainly hope the episode is well and truly over and the few of us live up to our very own motto, ‘Riding Waves of Adversity to Victory..’

It is unfortunate that amongst the many people who came to send me off that I failed to pay enough attention to someone who stands tall in significance among the crowd.. It certainly was not the send off that we had thought it would be and I certainly would have done it differently if I could turn back the time.. Sorry...

The check-in process took far longer than I had anticipated due to my overweight luggage but the staff was kind enough to let the baggage through without additional charges after consultation with her superior.. and there was to be more good news to come.. I was upgraded to Business Class (or Raffles Class in SQ lingo) as the flight was full.. Wow. I was very much looking forward to trying out the much-talked about lie-flat SpaceBed.. Much to my utter disappointment, the Business Class seats in this particular B777-300 turned out to be the older seats which do not have the lie-flat feature.. Considering this was an overnight long-haul flight, it’s hard to imagine why SQ did not deploy an aircraft equipped with the SpaceBed.. Having experienced CX Business Class as well (also through complimentary upgrade due to flight being full), I would say that the service standards of both airlines are more or less on par though I had expected SQ to be superior in this aspect. But I can’t believe there’s no AVOD on this aircraft…. Ok.. I guess should just shut up and thank my lucky stars that I even got an upgrade in the first place. =) Click, The LakeHouse, and Devil wears Prada were showing on KrisWorld and it further evoked thoughts of zY, whom I’ve watched these movies with…

I’m sure I would settle in to life in Australia pretty quickly but it’s probably the emotional aspects which would take longer.. Everything that I’m leaving behind in the little red dot.. It helps that I’ve travelled to several western countries before, so I more or less have an idea beforehand what to expect.. But then again.. being in a city for tour and staying there for 3 years is a different proposition all together.. Wish me luck…

Delay

Apologies for not updating this Blog for a long long time... Had intended to write an entry before leaving for Melbourne but I just couldn't find the time.. Will give an Update on Life here Down Under hopefully by Next Week!!

Counting Down

As the clock tick away, I'm edging ever closer to the Inevitable.. 4 more days to be precise.. Much has happened in the weeks since I last updated this Blog.. Most recently, the Gang came over to my house for some 'Chilling Out' after my Farewell Dinner at East Coast Kenny Rogers.. Indeed, as Thiam said, It's gonna the last time coming to my house for a long long time. It hasn't been easy to meet up with them given their packed schedule since School started.. Thanks Guys...

Thanks TianHao.. For this Great Shot..

As you all can probably see from the photo.. I've traded in my Nokia 7260 for the Sony Ericsson k800i.. It took some getting used to with regards to the interface.. But nonetheless I must say it's been excellent so far.. The 3.2 Megapixel Cyber-Shot performing admirably in the absence of my Ixus..

It's still a Great Way to Fly, No doubt about it.

Shopping for Mooncakes @ Chinatown

The Sun, Sand, Sea of Siloso..

And by the way, HP edged out Toshiba in the Laptop Battle.. Managed to get a good deal and Toshia's Battery woes recently didn't help either..