Tanah tumpahnya darah-ku.

everytime i meet someone new, my nationality comes into question. i have a hunch it's my accent. maybe it's the way i pronounce 3 as TRiee and not Thuh-ree. maybe it's the 'La' i unintentionally slip into my speech during moments when i'm caught unawares.

regardless of what it is, i'm always picked out as a foreigner and ultimately a Malaysian. which is cool, because they love it.

they love the fact that:

1. i can speak in 3 (TRiee/Thuh-ree?) languages.
2. i am Chinese yet i am Malaysian so why am i not Malay (?!)
3. our food is just so awesome it's beyond description.
4. shopping is 3 (Triee/Thuh-ree?) times cheaper compared to over here.
5. the night life is more kick-ass.
6. our culture is so muhibbah.
7. the weather is a constant 29degs.
8. pirated vcds.

and i totally agree with them. it pretty much sums up my perception of this/that/my country too. 50 years and counting...even the kwai-lous love it.

Selamat Hari Merdeka yet again! enjoy your holiday, those of you who are back home. bitches. grr.

tagged!

thought i'd do this because yunnie tagged me once and i didn't do it (EEP!) so i sked later she emo with me and think i snobby..(NOO!).

layer 1: the outside.
name : Melanie Anne Ho Jia Ling.
birthdate: 27 May 1986.
eye Colour: dark brown.
hair Colour: it varies from dark brown to an ugly shade of mud under the sunlight.
lefty/righty: right. lefties are the sign of the Devil.

layer 2: on the inside.
your heritage: PUREBLOOD chinese.
your fear: rats. and confrontation.
your weakness: messy blond hair and straight sharp noses.
your perfect pizza: (wtf?) pepperoni, salami, chorizo, chicken pieces, meatballs, pineapple, tomatoes, lots of cheese and NO ONIONS, PLEASE!

layer 3: yesterday, today, tomorrow.
first thought when you wake up: fucking alarm. *internal battle ensues*
bed time: very early.
your most missed memory: gazing at Scorpio with my back on the cold sand. (obviously i have a lot of other memories so don't emo silently at me).

layer 4: your pick.
pepsi or coke: plain water. or juice. gassy drinks are BAD.
mcdonald's or BK: rice la, people. have you not watched Super Size Me?
cake: anything with chocolate. durian chocolate cake? hell, WHY NOT?!
single or group dates: depends.
adidas or nike: converse la!
tea or nestea: tea on cold days, nestea on hot.
chocolate or vanilla: depends.
cappucino or coffee: neither. coffee makes me vomit.

layer 5: do you...
smoke: no.
curse: no.
take a bath: no. i take showers. HAHA.
have a crush: maybe.
think you've been in love: i'll have a post about this one day.
go to school: why, yes!
want to get married: yes. see answer two steps up.
believe in yourself: no.
think you're a health freak: yes. vegetables.

layer 6: in the past month.
drank alcohol: no.
gone to the mall: yes.
been on stage: no.
eaten sushi: (wtf?) yes.
dyed your hair: no.

layer 7: have you ever.
played a stripping game: no.
changed who you were to fit in: possibly.

layer 8: in a guy.
eye colour: preferably bluey-green.
hair colour: it doesn't really matter. but preferably dirty blond.
short/long hair: depends on the guy. more inclined to the short. but recently i've been proven wrong.
height: tall. must be taller than me. TALL!

layer 9: what were you doing.
1 min ago: thinking about writing witty answers that will be engaging enough for the readers.
1 hour ago: watching Australian Idol.
4.5 hours ago: shopping.
1 month ago: can't remember. i must've definitely been emoing about Heron.
1 year ago: hmmm. i must've been slogging over uni assignments since i AM a model student *koffkoff*.

layer 10: finish the sentence.
i love like: the smell of dried lavender and eucalyptus trees, reading a good book curled up on a comfy lumpy couch, laughing to a good joke, long nonsensical one-on-one conversations over a bottle of beer, awkward moments when eyes unintentionally meet then break apart, trying on the perfect dress that i can't possibly afford - just because i know i could've.
i feel: sheltered and complacent. and strangely tired and unmotivated.
i hate: rats.
i hide: EVERYTHING! dirty socks, arnott's chocolate chip cookies, the little black dress, my purchases, my feelings.
i need: a change. and to be assertive and stop playing mind games.

i'm not tagging anyone because this has been done to death. i'm just a bit slow.

The last one.

And so, the final field trip of my undergraduate tenure in Sydney University has come and gone. I didn't even realise it until I was on Platform 7 of Central Station, and by then it was too late. Argh..should've taken more pictures, done more crazy things, gone all out on the alcohol and just savoured the aftermath.

Nontheless, it was still an amazing field trip. Apart from those crazy one-day field trips i had for Geology back in first year (which seems so fucking long ago, now that i think about it), i've gotta say that all my other field trips have been really memorable-enjoyable-incredible-amazingly-fun-unforgettable *insert preferred adjective/verb here* and i've not regretted going on a single one.

This time around, we were back at Warrah again, but instead of frolicking on the rock platform, we went bush (it's not a grammatical mistake, i have a reputation to uphold) !! our aim was to catch bees for genetic analysis. Really fun...i never knew bees could be caught using such unconventional methods...i initially had an image of myself in a stark white suit with a masked helmet over my head holding on to a can of smoke.




For the mother: This is Ceiwen. Kay-wen.


The view at the top of the Crommelin Native Arboretum. Mighty impressive, ey?



So, we were introduced to this new way of catching bees. What you need is:
(1) a pooter i.e. the jar-like thing i have in my hands in the above picture.

So, the pooter has two straws extending from the bottom out to the top; one longer than the other. The base of the shorter straw has a wire meshing over it. When you are ready to catch bees, you grab your pooter and sneak up slowly and silently on a honeybee. Then, you position the end of the longer straw behind it and suck on the shorter straw. By sheer force of vacuum, the bee will get sucked in and voila! You have your bee trapped in the container!

Genius.

And it makes a very satisfactory thunk sound when it hits the bottom of the container too. wonderful. my tally was 18 bees.


More pooting in action! You can see a couple of bees in my container already...i was on a roll by then.



We killed them. Death by liquid nitrogen. Frozen nice and crispy.



We were also allowed to play with commercial honeybees cultivated in situ at the research station, and Ben (my lecturer carrying the bee comb) gave us a taste of fresh honey! And by fresh, i mean FRESH. Like..fresh out of the bees' behind kinda fresh. It was still warm! Hands-down the yummiest honey i've ever eaten...by far!


Yea...those marks were made by my finger...too yummy la.


Some trip-the-light-fantastic action by Mr. Sing, entertainer of the night.

What a brilliant end.

P-value < 0.05

Here, I'll write my own surname down.
Oh. Why?
I don't think you'll be able to spell it right.
Oh fine.
You don't believe me? B-A-R-K-H-O-R-D-A-R-I-A-N. Barkhordarian. I bet it's the longest one you've ever come across yet.
Wow, you're right. What are you?
Armenian.
Ah. Well, my surname's the direct opposite of yours. It'll probably be the shortest you've ever seen.
Yea?
H-O. Ho.
That's it?
Yea.
Oh, I get it now! You're the null hypothesis!
(wtf?) err..yea. YEA! You're right! Explains why I'm always rejected!

HA HA!

BAD JOKE BAD JOKE
BAD BIOLOGY JOKE!

Ahh..okok. I've had my laugh. If you're a biologist or have remotely done any biology before, you'd probably get that. If not, shame on you. This is terrible. I really need to focus on my report. Like, NOW.

oh BAH!

Reasons #12852935271 and #12852935272 why being away from home seriously sucks sweaty balls sometimes.

[edited 12:46] Removed the links because the owner complained boo hoo. now you will all be denied the exclusive pleasure of viewing just how cute my dad is. so sad.

why must go to Fraser's Hill...WHY?! i love Fraser's Hill!! why didn't anyone bring me up to Fraser's Hill when i came back!?

$%@# !!

eh woman, sorry la, i'm not a Xanga-rian so i kenot leave comments. shit la...too much wei you guys, having so much fun without me. wait la...you just wait. and yea, you're right...my dad's damn cute...it runs in the family WOOT!

do you REALLY?

So often is I Love You tossed back and forth that all significance and meaning is lost.
I demand nothing less than a bleeding heart for once, that was what i offered.

Then.

Dug out some old photos and decided that they too, needed some photoshopping love.

Yup..adding some more just because.

FAT!
And being smug about it.

OBS Wet T-shirt contest c. 2004.


Days when I was so rich I could afford to eat in Secret Recipe at least once a week. Habits which have left me a destitute and struggling student now.


I look...uncharacteristically sweet. Strange.


Phuket c. 2004. Oh, that hair!


Seriously, what the fuck wei. Musnah glamour oni.
Jalan Gasing c. early2005. Back when i was fat(er), CY was skinny(er) and Nikki was angelic(er).

Looking back, those were the days.
Man...innocence oozing out of every pore.
I wonder what happened.

Cheers, darling.

i think i've lost my glasses.
that's great.
i lose most things i own anyway.
perfect.
anything that i've ever remotely cared about.
how wonderful.
and i know i'll probably do it again.
cheers to that, mel.

Love is...

during my first year in Sydney, i bought a little pot of lavender. i had this grand plan of growing it into a big hedge and subsequently harvesting the flowers for its smell as well as to decorate my room. and while i was at it, i figured i would extract lavender oil as well.

the first few weeks went well. i would water the plant diligently and shower as much tender loving care as i possibly could towards a plant. however, as more weeks went by, my attention waned, my grandiose plans were shelved to the backs of my mind and my little lavender plant still remained in its little plastic pot.

7 months later, driven by guilt, i finally replanted the lavender plant into a proper garden bed. 2 years on and behold, it did not hold any grudges against me.


How long does it take to forget a name?

i'm currently drying a bouquet of blooms in my room. no aims or intentions, i just like staring at it...the purple is so rich and it has already been a week yet no colour is lost. and the scent is still as strong. so strong that it's almost heady and hits me everytime i walk into the room.

I wonder if you've already forgotten.

...kind and forgiving?