Newcastle to Cairns - Part 1

and so, here i am again, sitting on my lumpy couch typing out yet another post. have i been missed?

anyway, the roadtrip was excellent beyond description. this time around i've just got way too much photos to be putting them up individually, so i've compiled them into a video. however for the sake of my parents, i'll be putting up a few photos which are my personal favourites, because i don't think my dial-up line back in kajang will be able to handle a youtube video. it's just not gonna happen.






what a bunch of posers.

anyway, the photos were taken from the first 3 days of our little adventure. beginning from Newcastle, we made our way up to Port Macquarie to visit the Koala Hospital (very cute), then to Coffs Harbour for dinner as well as to feed and harass some seagulls (very hilarious) and finally Byron Bay for our first night. after Byron, it was onwards to Springbrook National Park (very pretty) and a second stop in the ever elusive Capalaba, Brisbane. photos are in chronological order and are a mixture of mine and step's.

now go and click the 'Play' button!

Educational material.

leaving in 2 hours guys...will only be back on the 27th, so here's a video to keep you entertained while i'm on the road.

watch and learn.



see you guys in a bit!

EDITT!!!!!

guys guys, you know i never ask you for much. ok sure. maybe i've asked you silly 5th-grade questions expecting you to answer it. but that's all. nothing else. so now i'm asking of you a teeny tiny favour...

PLEASE VOTE FOR KAREN SIAH E-LING!!!
CLICK HERE!!!!!!


nah...a picture of the lady herself, thrown in for good measure. you can tell by her smile that if she knows that you've voted for her, she'd be forever grateful. just look at that smile!
how can you resist!?

if karen wins this, she'll get an insanely obscene amount of cash. and sure, maybe i just made that up. BUT if she DOES win an insanely obscene amount of cash, i'm sure she'll be forever grateful to you and will buy you a teh ais (or whatever beverage of your choice) from your local mamak stall. so yes.

oh..and jeaney, you can ignore this message since you're rooting for Intan anyway. HAHAHA!

but yea, vote 1 for Karen Siah!

p.s. eh karen, if you win right, can buy me some mango specials when i come home ar?

. . .

2 more hours before it all comes to a head. i would be lying if i said that i wasn't nervous. this is possibly one of my most shaky subjects...not because of its degree of difficulty, but rather, the dodgy procedures of the lecturers regarding our gradings and course marks.

anyway, something very uncharacteristic of me happened last night: i gave myself a pep-talk before entering into the shower. it was as though my 'better' side was chastising me for my constant lack-a-daisical approach towards exams: my 'better' side exhorted a promise from me - i'd better not fail this subject because i cannot AFFORD to fail...financially, reputationally and honours-acceptancely. heh.

see you guys in a bit.

It starts and ends with 'A'.

there is this new gameshow on Channel 10 (Australian TV) called 'Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader'. i've been watching it every week since it started, not out of choice but necessity, because there is NOTHING good on tv from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.

yes. it is a tragedy.

ANYWAY...this is the most ridiculous game show i've ever seen. how it goes is: an adult comes on stage and is asked a series of questions taken from the 1st to 5th grades in school. of course, there are 'helplines' in the form of actual 5th-graders on stage, that answer the same questions as said adult and may even help out the said adult. it pretty much goes along the same lines as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire...except it is a much more dumbed down version. think questions like:

Which of the following is NOT a planet?
a. Moon.
b. Earth.
c. Another planet name of your choice.

yes. it is a tragedy.

and week after week, adults stumble and fall, and as yet, i have NOT seen an episode where an adult succesfully answered all 10 questions. it is an embarassment. and the most depressing thing is: for such a display of public humiliation, they still get to walk away with at least AUD25,000.

sigh. there is no justice in this world.

ok ok. i have a question for you. incidentally, it is the same question that proved too much for one contestant.

What branch of mathematics is used to describe the following,

x + 2 = 7...?

come on, make me proud!

serious stuff.

i have been rather out of touch with the happenings of glorious Malaysia of late. it is only recently that i found out about the demonstrations which had occured in downtown KL calling for 'Cleaner and Fairer Voting' (or something to that extent). this, of course, piqued my interest, because now being the examination period, i am in great need for distraction.

so i trawled the internet for articles regarding this demonstrasi and stumbled upon this absolute gem written by one M. Bakri Musa. i highly recommend that you read it too...for the full article, please click here.

however, if like me, you're only interested in the article for pure entertainment purposes, please read the following excerpt: the parts which i have bolded or italicised (as of now, i have yet to decide what i shall do) are the parts where i, literally, LOL...or as non-tech-savvy people call it, Laughed Out Loud.

copied over ad verbatim:

"Hishammuddin’s decidedly subdued speech to UMNO Youth at the party’s recent General Assembly was in mark contrast to his racist histrionics of last year. This showed one thing: even these morons in UMNO are teachable after all.

Last year we witnessed the revolting spectacle of Hishammuddin repeatedly stabbing the sterile chilled air of the PWTC Conference Hall. The only thing missing was the foam frothing from his wide, open mouth to make that silly scene really complete as a sandiwara (shadow play).

Hishammuddin of course received a rousing response in that hall for his piece of titillating theatrics. That prompted me to write then that we should expect his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin to outdo Hishammuddin at this year’s gathering. Meaning, Khairy would probably attempt a silat with his keris instead of merely jabbing an imagined enemy in the air. I also wrote that the only way to end such silly stunts would be to have the klutz Khairy accidentally stab himself. Only through such divine interventions would these latter day Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat pretenders be taught a memorable lesson.

Fortunately, thanks to the outrage expressed by ordinary Malaysians to last year’s crudities, we were thankfully spared similar stupid spectacles this year. The good lord need not have to intervene after all to stop these childish charades

To be sure, such outrages were expressed only in cyberspace in the various web blogs and Internet portals like Malaysiakini.com and Malaysia-Today.net. Our intellectuals and pussy footing pundits remained curiously silent. I interpreted that to mean that they must have approved of the stunts and the accompanying venomous messages spewed by these characters.

In contrast to the furor in the Malaysian blogosphere, there were apologias galore in the mainstream media. One sycophantic columnist excused the whole ugly episode as nothing more than “party politics as usual.” She duly noted, with approval undoubtedly, that Najib Razak had many years earlier dripped his keris with tomato ketchup to emphasize a particularly racist point when he was UMNO Youth leader addressing a similar crowd."

WHO IS THIS MAN!? he deserves to be at the Montreal Comedy Festival for providing me with such endless peals of laughter...the kind that originates from the abdominal region. you know, the best kind.

but jokes aside, this whole debacle has been very embarassing for our country's image in the foreigner's eye. at least, for the love of God, send someone who's proficient in English to conduct an interview with an international television network. i cringed when i heard his replies. shame on you! obviously you did not pay enough attention during your English classes when you were in high school.

fucking embarassing la! i'll have to explain myself (and my country) to tim tomorrow. sigh.

and what's with the tomato ketchup? from my understanding, it's only good for fries, KFC and terrorising yihaur with (i honestly doubt i'll ever forget that). i know some people who pour it over fried noodles or even mix it in with fried rice. now, that's just weird.

Fairy Dust.

what Biology students get up to over the weekend.
in 5 steps.



1. place your order. ogle at the pretty bottles of coloured liquid and fill up time by fantasizing how superbly awesome it would be if they all belonged to you.



2. receive your order with tender loving care. thank the bartendress.



3. light it up. because everyone loves fire.



4. admire it. what a masterpiece. (and spot me!)



5. sprinkle cinnamon powder over it...and watch the resulting fairy dust!

More Frost.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long as I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

with the end of my undergraduate years come talks of Honours. most of you may already know this: i've been offered 2 honours projects which are on two complete ends of the spectrum. and this difference extends not only in terms of subject choice, but also in a geographical sense.

project 1: the effects of climate change and the impact of ocean acidification on the calcareous skeletons of echinoderm and molluscan larvae.
a brief background - the world is warming up, and with warmer waters come increased acidification levels in our oceans because more carbon dioxide is able to dissolve into the water. increased acidification spells doom for the most vulnerable of all marine organisms: larvae of invertebrate marine species. these larvae have extremely fragile calcareous shells which will most probably come into jeopardy under said rising acid levels because (1) they will dissolve and (2) will have a harder time to form new shells.

essentially, what i'll be doing is manipulating acid levels in the lab to determine what the threshold of acid levels is acceptable before everything grinds to a halt. yes. i'll be melting little baby shells. but it's for the greater good.

if i take up this offer, i'll be having Maria Byrne as my supervisor and she's one of the nicest people i've ever met. furthermore, it'll be in USYD so added glamour and prestigiousness to the degree (you'll understand what i mean later). plus, i've also been offered a scholarship to do this project with her: nothing major, but still, a scholarship.

project 2: the effects of green turtle grazing on seagrass and algal reefs.
i actually don't even know what the significance of this project will be, but hey, there are turtles. and algal reefs. need i say any more? I LOVE TURTLES!

though, if i take up offer #2, i'll have to relocate to Townsville, Northern Queensland. this is because the university involved is James Cook University. JCU is definitely renowned for marine science in Australia, however, it is still not as prestigious and as widely known (and accepted) as, say, an Honours degree from USYD...this being because it is still a relatively new campus.

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

this is where the dilemma starts.

personally, my heart is tending towards accepting the Townsville offer. this being because i'll be able to work with turtles! i mean, come on, TURTLES! i've been absolutely fascinated with them since i was a wee little kid and a proud owner of at least 10 terrapins, of which 5 successfully made it to an adult age (HAHA..! eh dun laugh la, i was damn sad when they died ok?). less prestige aside, if i take up this offer, i'll be doing something that i am truly interested in and will probably be loving every single moment of the whole 10 months. furthermore, being in sydney for the past 3 years have driven this itch within me to move on from this place. i feel like i've seen and done everything that sydney can possibly offer and i'd just like to start over some place new...some place like Townsville. admittedly, it's not even close to being like Sydney, or even Kajang for that matter, but it'll be warm (think 24degsC in winter) and i'll be near the great barrier reef AND the nothern tropical rainforests. also, relocating to townsville will lessen the economic burden. by a lot.

HOWEVER

if i do remain with USYD, i'll have a scholarship to my name, finally. call me kiasu or whatever, but since i was a kid, my mom has been telling me to get a scholarship and go to oxford. well, oxford's well and truly out of my league now (HAHAHA!) but at least i can still fulfil her wish of having a scholarship under my belt! and, a scholarship from USYD is something, no matter how tiny it is. and of course, the whole issue of prestigiousness comes back into play. USYD is a member of the Group of 8 in Australia and is pretty much recognised worldwide. and even if it's not recognised worldwide, having a degree from USYD would give me some backing power when i'm applying for a job in this country...just because it is USYD.

also, this project is dealing with climate change. and since it's the current craze sweeping the world, having an honours project involved in climate change will potentially open many doors for me. logically, it is THE project. AND, if i take up this offer, not only will i have the scholarship from USYD but my project and all its workings will be funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC)...this being because Maria has just received a grant of a highly substantial amount from them. therefore...

name? check.
funding? check.
highly relevant honours project and not one solely based on interest? check.

logically? i shouldn't even need to think twice about this. screw the indecision.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

and so now...i'm in a pickle of what i should do. if we disregard the education factor in the equation, what you essentially have is me wanting to break free from here and start new, with new adventures and new experiences. in all truth, sometimes i feel as though i've stagnated in the waters that is Sydney. moving to Townsville will be the perfect opportunity to regain whatever restless-ness i have left in me. the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, new people, new dynamics, new environment.

yet, moving out of the familial homestead and living out in the city has resulted in some changes. in this past year, my relationship with my coursemates have improved greatly. before, we were just friends, you know...the non-comittal type. this was because i used to live so far away from the city that i'd rarely if ever join them on their outings. but since moving out, i've been indoctrinated into the inner circle...and i must say that it has been fun. i've gotten really close to a few of them, and when i told them about me leaving sydney, there were a few objections voiced...which made me go all AAWWW! and also (and i'm not implying anything so stop speculating), there is currently a very strong Staying-Factor currently in sydney...to which i will allude to nothing, except to say that it is a very very VERY strong Staying-Factor indeed.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by
And that has made all the difference.

so here i am, torn between the devil (HAHAHA and you don't know how TRUE this is) and the deep blue sea (i.e. the GBR la).

i know if i choose whichever one over the other i will definitely feel a tinge of regret at some point in time post-choice. and it's true...we make choices everyday and rarely do we ever get to return to rectify it if it does not turn out to be what we'd wanted it to be. already i am on the road less travelled by taking up marine science. and with this added parameter...it just serves to muddle things up even more.

if it were up to you, what would you have done?

Ideas.

[Edit]
Bored.
Decided to dabble in the study of silhouettes.
Picnik is fantastic, don't you think?



A modern cameo of sorts?[/Edit]

First paper down.
Walked home in the pouring rain but the occasion was a joyous one.
The field was empty so a song was belted out.
What could've been more befitting than 'Singing in The Rain'..?

Was bored.
Had an idea.
Voila.


Click for bigger image.

My room at its most glorious.
A result of the exams...no time.
Sorry, mom. I tried cleaning up.

The following is just a little of what I've been cooking up in the kitchen these days.
Still sticking to the semi-vegetarian deal.
Kinda getting used to it by now.



Chicken caesar salad.
Coss lettuce.
Japanese mayo and preserved anchovies for the dressing.
Chicken thigh fillets marinated in oyster sauce, salt and pepper.



Chicken and asparagus fettucine with pepper and a side of hard-boiled egg.
More on the asparagus and chicken, less on the pasta.

That's all, folks. Next one up on Saturday.

Seven.

1. If you had asked me outright, I would have said Yes. Instead you went beating around the bush and attempted to be righteous, so I said No just to spite you.

2. Sometimes I really question your common sense,
or rather, lack of. Don't you fucking know that boyfriends/girlfriends come and go but friends stick around for ever?

3. I only said those things just so you'd know how to give caustic comments yet be able to receive them gracefully. I don't deny that I was guilty with egging you on, but I do not regret my actions. If I'd hurt your feelings, then I'm sorry. But I'd just like you to know that each time you dismissed anything I told you regarding marine studies and my experiments, you hurt me real bad too. You know I love you to bits and I can understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore, but I'd like you to know that if you ever feel like talking again, I'll be here.

4. Although I'm not that angry anymore, but I'm still feeling this grudge deep inside me.
It is there because you ignored my pleas and took her away from me.
Even after I explicitly begged you not to.

5. Although the messages you send me are always few and far in between, but each time I read them, they completely make my day.
I miss you.
Send more of them my way, please.
I'm counting on you now.

6. I ran away from you because you were younger than me. Back then, I had an issue with that. Sometimes I get a tinge of regret, because now that I've seen what you've become, I just feel like a fool.

7. You know, I actually believed every single word you said.
I soaked it all up like sand does water.
I've now decided that they were all lies.
I still can't believe you'd actually do something like this.
I've still not forgiven you.

. . .

I tag Nikki, Karen, Yun, JoAnn and Daniel. Come up with 7 sentences that you want to say to someone/anyone but you never could. It would be really interesting and after you've done it, there's a sense of liberation. Well, for me anyway.

Kena tagged.

these are times when i feel as though i can sympathise with those capture-release-recapture animals that i've dealt with the past 2 years. you see, each time we capture one, we TAG it. so yea, that feeling of being branded? i feel you, little starfish.

anyway, i got tagged by yunster, maklumla she's well on her way to becoming a qualified doctor so she has every right to tag humans (as compared to me, a measly biologist who's only qualified to tag starfish and sea-cucumbers *cries*).

Rule of the game - The tag victim (victim HAHA i like this word) has to come up with 8 different points about his/her perfect lover.

In an ideal world, my partner would have all these qualifications:

1. Be taller than me.


Erm. Better. PERFECT!

well, i'm not saying that i'm very tall myself, but i'd much prefer it if my boyfriend was taller than me. there's something so much more romantic about standing on tippy toes with your face pointed upwards whilst kissing him as compared to, say, slouching in an awkward position to go for that peck on the lips.

blame Audrey Hepburn.

2. Be moderately good-looking.
i admit. i'm a shallow person. and sometimes, i can be very superficial too. i'm not saying he has to look like Gael Garcia Bernal (but oh PLEASE God) or even James Dean, but at least, let him look moderately well. symmetrical features, a sharp nose (to counter my flat one la, think of our children!!), clean smooth skin...that's all i'm asking for.

which leads to...

3. Nice smile and twinkly laughing eyes.


Winning smiles all around!

this is a trade secret: the first thing that attracts me to a guy is his eyes followed by his smile/laugh. it is of upmost importance that he can relax and have a good time when he's around me. if he's uptight or shy or just plain moody, then i become uptight and irritated and will most probably morph into a cold sarcastic bitch. and, c'mon, we both know that neither of us want that!

4. Funny.
if you can't crack a joke...then, i'm really sorry. i had a great time. please don't call me anymore.

actually, i think this is THE MOST IMPORTANT trait of all. if he's really really funny but lacking in the looks department, i could still fall in love with him (or whichever closest feeling). this is because i thrive for humour and jokes...it's terrible, i know. i can't take anything seriously, so neither should he. and if he can take 'hits' from me and retaliate at the same time, well, TRIPLE POINTS FOR HIM!

honestly, if the western front was all quiet, i'd probably die from boredom. another trade secret, and mind you this is a really REALLY horrible trait of mine oh i'm so ashamed, but it's inbred, so i can't help myself:

i'll hold a conversation only if he's able to entertain me...the moment it stops, i'm gone...thanks to my damned attention span, or lack of.

now you see why humour is so important?! IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!

5. Have a love for Nature.


if you're not as enthusiastic-looking as Eugene about the outdoors, i'm sorry but we can still go out for a platonic cup of coffee/hot chocolate.

i'm completely besotted by Nature, see. and so must he, if we're to have anything in common. bushwalks, jungle trekking, waterfalls, going for camping trips, hanging out at the beach...he must be able to rough it out and not be afraid to get dirty with Mother Nature. that's my kind of guy. if he loves to shop, i'll take that as a bonus because heck, i love to shop too sometimes. BUT if he loves shopping more than i do, maybe we can be best friends instead?

6. Intelligent.


the smartest boy i know. looks as though he's watching The Simpsons. the smartest choice (and the smartest tv show) EVER.

now this is what we take for granted most of the time. by being intelligent, i don't mean he has to have the IQ equivalent of Einstein. all i need is just to be able to hold a decent intelligent conversation with him once in awhile. maybe we could talk about climate change or the african crisis. or possibly clonal abilities in starfish. you know, i'm just throwing out possible random topics here. if science isn't his thing, maybe we could talk literature or discuss songs.

ANYTHING but minute-to-minute EPL matches. unless he wants to talk about badminton, to which i would only be too happy to oblige.

7. Capable of holding his drinks.


strangely enough, all my guy friends are BIG drinkers. like gravitating towards like?

nothing is more embarassing than getting wasted before your girlfriend is. HAHAHAHA! ok, i'm NOT saying that i'm a terrific drinker..most of you would've already known (and might have even seen *eeps*) that i'm quite capable of indulging in my own little vomit-fest. but yea, if he can't drink as much as me, he's gonna have to take in a lot of teasing from me. which may potentially be damaging for his psyche and self-esteem.

i dunno. i can be quite harsh sometimes with my teasing if i want to *shrugs*.

8. Musically-inclined.


the most handsome musician i've ever laid eyes upon. does anyone know his name?
credits to asyraf lee.

trade secret #3: my heart, literally, skips a beat when i see a guy playing on the piano, guitar, saxophone, drums...yea you get my drift. there's is nothing sexier than a boy who can make music. and i guess there's that general (mis)conception that musically-inclined boys are more sensitive than average boys. but hey, if he all he can do is muster a three-chord progression while repeating the words "Melanie, so pretty"...i'd still buy it.

HAHAHAH! come on la! bolster my ego abit can anot?!

ok...that's my 8 points. i'm just gonna add one last one...it's a quickie:

9. Fearless against rats.
because i absolutely detest them and have a fatal phobia towards rodents. someone has to chase/kill a rat if it ever comes into our house/walks across our path and that someone is DEFINITELY not me. so yea, thanks in advance. be my hero la.

oookkkkk..i tag NO ONE! because i'm sure, as always, everyone would've done this except me. i'm always the last one *sobsob*.