Happy Movember

Why does everything seem to conglomerate together this time of the year? It’s not like it slowly piles together like the amount of study notes over the semester. It just suddenly apparates into this ball of mass doom rolling down the downward spiral that is your life, threatening at any moment to crush and overwhelm the  fragile exoskeleton of what few trickles of sanity remaining. And it doesn’t help how the teaching staff at a certain university I attend spend more effort trying to aggravate and afflict varying degrees of frustration upon their paying students than they do making a course outline which says anything more than learn everything. Thank God the grade is actually collectively organised and thanks to social media, Facebook groups means we can get important exam structure questions that were not covered in review lectures(no idea why) direct from people who have gotten desperate/infuriated enough to call/stalk down certain arrogant teaching staff who pretends to not check their emails. But enough about the Health Faculty, I was told about them from a 5th yr before I started so I did have warning for what I signed up for.

November is seriously the most horrid of  months. It’s when the EOS exams are so stress stress stress. It’s the month before various yearly forms are due and lots of them require a lot of admin stuff. I haven’t even got CPR redone for next year so guess who is emailing their CPR renewal in Jan. And worst of all it’s bloody Birthday month. The Month where everyone seems to celebrate the day that their parents lost all the free time they ever had. As much as I am amazed by anyone who actually remembers and astounded at people who get me a present (much <3), I’ve never particularly been much of a Birthday person myself despite appearances. Birthdays have never really had much of a significance in my family. A typical Birthday would be a Happy Birthday in the morning and a special breakfast in my childhood. Sometimes a cake with some other food I like for lunch. No exact physical presents from Mum&Dad like the other kids. It’s not  because of our financial circumstances in the past, I mean sure we were poor but they were always far more willing to spend money on me than on themselves. Just that the act of giving a Birthday present was alien to them in terms of their culture, heritage, identity (all that good stuff). It was all very Western. I mean I don’t even think I cared or really knew what Birthdays were until I got invited to the Birthday Partys of my friends in Elementary school. I remember the other kids had to teach me how to play pass the parcel at my first party in Kindergarten. I distinctly remember the parents there had a strangely curious and forgiving look on their faces whenever they looked at me. I must have been quite a sight, a tall chubby Asian kid with broken English in a crowd of screaming white girls. I guess I didn’t have it so bad though, I really enjoyed myself and was a lot better off than the one other guy there. I was at a stage in life where there was no distinction between the sexes whilst I think he was already at the omg girls have deadly transmittable diseases  with a 1 second incubation period that can only be cured through physical contact with another member of the male species to which you may proceed to infect him with this virus curing yourself and dooming him for the next minute  until he passes it into the next unfortunately soul, remaining active until the host forgets about his misfortune or accepts his demise. I think the poor boy only had to be there because the Birthday girl’s mother were both neighbours and 3pm waiting at the gates for their kids to running screaming out of the classroom to go back home mothers. My parents realised the significance of Birthdays for one’s childhood in this Western society and tried their best although I realised this only much later towards my late teens. They knew that giving me money directly would lose the whole point of the surprise of presents. Not that I had any need for nothing, I didn’t have anything I wanted to use it for and was not particularly attached to any toy or trends. I’m in for a headache I think when it comes to my kids when they hit the 10-15 range. They are too old to be happy to have been given anything but are too young to be really forgiving about not knowing what to get them. Probably should plant the idea of presents being primarily food at a young age to make it easier for me when they get older…

Ah too much sidetracking. Back to Birthdays. Birthdays and their meanings have evolved for me over the years. As a child it use to be so cool. A day where you could boss about with your superior age complex where you were older than friends and therefore you must be right. A day where you wouldn’t get in trouble with parents and didn’t have to do homework if you didn’t feel like it. A day where you can look forward to the presents your friend got you and they can come pig out at your house. It then became more of a formality for me at times and other times mostly just a pain in the behind. I had come to the conclusion that getting someone a present meant you liked them a lot. Which lead to the inevitable thought process of not getting someone a present meant you really didn’t like them. Picking presents is like the one downside to celebrating the existence of someone you like. It’s kinda of like a fuck you, in return for me bringing joy into your life for the last however period of time you’ve known me, I’m going to stress and muck around with you the fortnight before my Birthday. I mean I know what they say about how it should be really easy picking a present for someone if you’re actually meant to get them a present. Well fuck you it’s not. For some people I really don’t know what to get. Either they don’t really like anything or they like too many things and nothing particular stands out. Then you have those bitches who don’t need/want anything because they have everything they want and the things they want aren’t physically obtainable. No I would love to get you back your ex boyfriend but unfortunately I can’t and nothing else seems to cheer you up besides torturing me… And even if you know what they want, it often doesn’t solve anything. I have a friend who loves replica swords and airsoft guns. I don’t think they can get past customs so you’re going to have to stick to the internet for now. I have another friend who is really into fashion and skincare but really particular and picky. And another who spend more time with Yoyos than he does with anything else. Unfortunately I have no knowledge of either of those fields. Although they had a really hard time with my Birthday present as well. Some of the presents I got this year were really surprising. Not necessarily in a good way. Like it was amazingly sweet that people actually bothered spending this much effort. But they were so impractical. I kinda wish they just wrote me a long card or called me instead of wasting good money on impractical things. I feel bad because I should be grateful for anything I’m given and I am but I can’t help but think that whilst the good intentions were delivered via express mail, the presents were wasted for the most part. I think people should have like a wishlist like Wedding Registerys. That way people know what you want exactly without having to go all 007 on your friends/family, stalking through your fb like a pedo or struggling to remember a passing comment/memory made which could link to a potential Birthday present like it was part of a tv quizshow. Now Birthdays to me down here are for the most part more of an excuse to go out and drink or crash someone’s place. Not many friends down(or up) here that I really celebrate what I would consider a proper Birthday with. I hope years down the track Birthdays don’t lose all significance or become a depressing increase in number/decrease in your time on Earth =/

My question is what would you my dear readers put on that list for yourself if you had one? If you asked me in highschool, I would have been one of those bitches who told you I didn’t have anything I wanted(seriously). But thinking about it now, I would probably stick this onto mine.

Its an Alienware TactX keyboard. Been meaning to buy it since highschool ended but never quite got around to it surprisingly considering how much money I’ve spent on the electronics littered around my room in the last few years. Mix of random factors which prevented me from getting it. Was always too azn to buy it from the Dell site in Aus for full retail price. But didn’t want to wait for shipping from elsewhere. Even though I wait for shipping for like every other thing =/ Makes no sense really, I don’t really know why I haven’t got it. Don’t think it’s the price because I’ve spent more on my Gaming Mouse… I think I like the idea of actually wanting something for my Birthday =) Maybe I’ll guilt trip my parents into buying it for me after I graduate uni. Don’t think they’ll approve of me spending money of anything with gaming involved =P

Overall I would have just skipped to the end of this, look at the pretty lights on the pic and just summarise this all as-

Exams suck

Uni Staff suck

Picking presets suck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is all. The end. Goodbye. Bonjour. Wait that’s french for Hello isn’t it? Doh! Then wtf is goodbye in French? Should use google translate. Ah too much effort. I really should get back to studying. Really should have stuck this in tags like they do with Youtube Videos… Adieu. Omg I remembered. At least I hope that’s right=/ I am a genius =D I would have totally beasted French. Stupid Ruse had to cancel French for my year. Else I would have better phoney French accent and could hawhawhaw everytime I snigger. I am not weird at all… Fk why didn’t anyone I know study psychology. Maybe one of the med kids might do psychiatry and give me counselling and free med samples =.=”

die Rückkehr

I am back. Kinda… Sorta… Well as much as one can be after such a prolonged hiatus. In typical fashion, I shall be explaining why I’m posting (or at least hoping) this fine continuation of the vignette of my life. After being inspired by a certain someone who rereads old blog posts of mine for nolstalgic reasons and procrastinating exam prep for radiology and pathology, I went back and did the same and unexpected I found myself caught in a cycle of uncontrollable laughter, deep embarrassment/fail and epic facepalms. Yet I couldn’t help but finish reading with a giant smile on my face. The real beauty of journals/diaries and blogs. I was really surprised at how much time I had invested into this and how personal I made it despite it’s public accessibility. At one point last year I had thought about shutting down this wordpress. But I’m glad I spent the time and I’m glad I made it personal and most of all I’m glad I didn’t shut it down because I’m hoping I can revisit and reread all these memories from my youth and I start losing it (anyone know how to backup all my posts on here?). I’m just here to inscribe my memories onto this exposed digital format for when I cannot recall them anymore in old age. You guys are probably along for the ride and some may see it as a good way to maybe keep track of my life(for those who care) but I rather you talk with me in person or at least over the phone =D

It’s been more than two and a half years since my first post on this blog. A lot has changed since then (duh) and some things still haven’t. I’m moved out of home involuntary but now you wouldn’t be able to keep me back home for longer than 1-2months. I felt that as I’d get older, maturity would follow along but realised that as I actually start getting older, I’ve been trying to cling to things which make me feel younger and less mature. At first I believed that I had intentionally surrounded myself with significantly older uni friends in a subconscious effort to mature and snob at the immaturity  of all the other ‘highschoolers in university clothing’. But now it almost seems that the majority of my close friends here on the Gold Coast compliment my now apparent love of being the youngest. I just love rubbing in how I’m so much younger compared to them. Does that make me a bad person? =P Because I’m younger than most of them, I don’t have to deal with the problems that they do for a while. When they talk about lost chances and lost love, I’m in the midst of making them. When they talk about being set up on dates, internet dating, sex, marriage and family plans, I know I’m not even close to that stage. They don’t baby me or anything and I believe they see me as the same age just like I do with them, just we have different issues at this different stage of life.

Speaking of stages of life, I realised looking back on my Post HSC to do list(link on top) that I had managed to do none of them in the slightest besides getting a job and rewatching Detective Conan =.=” I do look forward to graduating and I’m counting down the last 3 years of uni. Ideal image atm is to go to wake too early in the morning, look at money to cheer me up remind me why I’m doing it, go home and cook a meal for two and to bugger off after dinner to the comforts of my lazyboy and watch anime till I fall asleep. I know the day I stop dreaming is the day I stop moving forward with my life and that’s depressing. Speaking of depressing, this semester I feel like I’ve gotten a small taste of fatherhood. Basically adopted my landlord’s dog as my own and despite him being 4, an adult in dog years, he’s so much like a little kid that I feel almost like a Dad. Don’t like what I’m seeing at all, my strictness is totally depressing but I can’t bring myself to spoil him =/ I think I’m better with my friend’s other two female dogs besides being a little over protective. Probably means I’d enjoy having daughters more but I’ll suffer from worry more with daughters >.<

Gold Coast

My blog has been extremely neglected. Feel quite guilty

I shall try to blog every now and then in uni rather than having a regular spacing. That way it’s easier to maintain a blog. Atm, the it’s O Week at Uni which means I’m bumming around until next week. For those who don’t know, I’m studying a Bachelor of Oral Health in Dental Science at Griffith University on their Gold Coast Campus. It’s different from regular oral health degrees in that it’s actually a dentistry program because after we finish the degree in 3 years, it’s auto entry into a 2 yr graduate diploma of dentistry which allows me to register as a fully qualified dentist. The grade this year is quite small seeing as they don’t give second round offers so there are only 70ish other students in the same course as me. Carol and William are in the same course as me and met lots of new people so less lonely than I expected. Anyway back to uni courses, dental students take the same courses as oral health therapy and hygiene students (about 25 or so of them). Kinda rip considering they do the same things but don’t get a dental qualification. They go into education or work with children visiting schools and such. I shall properly rant about injustices later on but I guess I’m feeling very glad I got into dentistry. Didn’t get the marks for Vet Science at USyd. Thankfully, my parents convinced me to place dent as my first pref (got rejected by Adelaide dent and UQ dent is ATAR + UMAT only). Dentistry has been on my mind already for the last few months. Seemed like a good career and compromise. I always liked the health industry which was why I didn’t wanna do Law and Anu or Commerce at UNSW. Funny how much people’s mind changes. For some reason, a week after HSC ended, I was dreading the prospect of Med if I got in. My student leader at Griffith explained it to me pretty well over lunch yesterday. The difference between med and dent is that after u finish med, u go on to study more whilst you start your career after dent (yes, I hope you are reading this and crying more Bonnie:P). Not gonna know what it may have been like if I tried for med. If I moved it up in preferences, today, I might just be a med student. Does anyone believe in fate? For me, I just believe God plans everything out for me. I somehow managed to narrowly scrape into all these unexpected opportunities and fortunes.

Now studying Griffith Dent obviously means I had to move out. Been joking with my parents about moving out as soon as I hit 18 for years and now that it’s actually happened, kinda more surreal. Lesson to watch what you wish for. On the 21st of February, my parents and I, fully packed with all the belonging I planned on taking with me set out by car for my new home for the next 5 years. Had to go by car because I realised how much crap I wanted to take with me. Had 2 suitcases(1 giant, 1 small) of clothes ad shoes, manchester, my Sony VAIO laptop, my new gaming desktop+ various multitudes of electronics and kitchen accessories. It was a 10 hr drive including breaks so wasn’t too bad for my parents. The first thing you notice up in the Gold Coast is since it’s by the coast, it’s extremely humid so it’s very hot and sticky. Not very good weather for me. I tend to prefer cold/cooler places. I’m living on campus for the first semester at least, just to get use to the surroundings making life much easier for me. The rent is quite expensive, around $210/week but my room is very new, clean and nice. The accomodation is nice, but prob not that suitable for me. There is prob < 10 asians living on campus, meaning most of the people living there are white. Nothing wrong with that except they prob walk around shirtless and drink too much. Plus there are parties or some other event every night basically so there is some noise unless you shut your windows and doors.

Long Overdue

Greatest apologies for not blogging for yonks. I shall make this post as succinct as possible.

1. HSC was ok. Maths was quite painful though.

2.Work. Oh don’t even get me started. It is the sole reason I basically have not done anything like anime or blog after my HSC. Tutoring yr7-12 English only from home and also working at two tutoring places. Pay is not specular but more than enough for someone like me. I currently have far too many private students and I have too many inquiries on if I’m willing to teach students near Burwood, Caringbah, Hurstville, etc, you know, the Southern Asian concentrated suburbs. If you’re close to these areas or willing to travel there to tutor English, give me a shout.

But yes, as much as I love tutoring, it is getting so busy it’s purely crazy. My only day off work next week is Sunday as I’ll be working/tutoring every single day of the week. Plus I’m flying for my Griffith Dent Interview Sunday night =.=”

Be warned however that the pain of tutoring is not in the actual hours but parents. Many many Asian parents are extremely difficult to deal with. I’ve personally spent more than 5 hours of my life in the last week talking to parents on the phone about how I will tutor their students + a gazillion other things. I sorta wish I spoke English only so the phone convos would be much shorter >.<

3. Formal night was really fun. Seeing everyone dressed up was cool =)

4. Big thanks to Joseph for hooking me up with my new desktop =) I am looking forward to playing MW2 and Borderlands =)

5. Thank you Rex for letting everyone crash your place. Mahjong+ Tigger the Kitty + Barney the Bunny + Horror movie + lack of sleep = win ^^

6. Thank you James for letting everyone crash your place =) I can’t believe your parents went to such extremes. Food was awesome and I finally got to watch Twilight. Sorry for consuming all your Sunkist =)

New

I will be temporarily relocated to http://materix01.blogspot.com/ until further notice.

Just trying out a few new things I guess. WordPress themes are far too restricting. Feel free to comment on the template of my new blog (I’ve been working on it using CSS for the last 3 nights). I may be returning to my wordpress, depending on my experience of the new host, after careful consideration and weighing of the pros and cons.

~Materix01~