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 =.=”

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 >.<

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.

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 =)

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~

What cute bunny rabbits ^^

NOTE TO SELF: Don’t use two heaped tablespoons of coffee next time.

I again apologise for the dual posts I typed recently. I don’t even remember typing half those things. Coming back and reading something you don’t remember really is quite interesting. I guess it was why I started blogging.

Because I don’t drink coffee often, supposedly, caffeine has a very strong effect upon me. This was demonstrated by me drinking a cup of coffee at 4pm yesterday afternoon, more out of curiosity as I had just purchased a new bottle of grinded coffee the other day. I ended up getting to bed at 2am, after I finished typing both blog posts so I believe all mistakes are excusable xP

I had my myopia eye exam on Tuesday and it was quite an enlightening experience. I really love how optometriests can lie straight to people’s faces each day. The lady doing the eye exam was asking me to perform all these tasks and telling me I was doing great, all whilst I could clearly see where she was ticking abnormal or incorrect, etc. I did horribly this time with some of my exams. Eyes have gotten quite abit worst since year 7. With the pacman booklet, I only made it past the first page… I couldn’t see like anything on the second page >.< I remember I could see everything in the book back when I was younger. On the bright side, I was pleasantly surprised with other things. Such as that how smoothly the exam went. I remember in Year 7, how tedious some of the exams were. Especially the one where they were taking a photo of your eyes with very very bright lights. The stupid man back in year 7 kept telling me to open my eyes as widely as possible. I was dammit. Doesn’t he know that asians have small eyes? Also, I could keep my eye open half the time. I probably got flashed with the light about 50 times because he couldn’t get a proper photo. He also made me late for my bus. Yes, that’s how long it took… The eye drops didn’t even hurt for me. Although the aftereffects were damn annoying. I couldn’t see properly for the first day. Plus the natural lighting was too bright for me for the next 3 days. I remember going to dinner wearing my prescription sunnies (like sunglasses and glasses in one) and Mum and Dad and sis fully cracking up in mixed laughter and confusion because I forgot to explain the myopia exam to them.

Another cool thing for me was doing the measurements. Mainly the body fat scales. I want one of those at home. Most body fat scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to measure body fat. With BIA, a low electrical current is sent, via the feet, through the body to measure the resistance of the body tissues. The current flows easily through water-containing tissues, like muscle, but meets resistance — impedance — as it meets fat. So a high impedance indicates a high level of fat. The impedance data is then fed into an equation, along with your measured total body weight and personal details that you enter into the scale manually (for example age, gender, height and fitness level), to estimate total body fat, which is usually expressed as a percentage of your total body weight. It turned out I had abnormal levels of body fat. In a good way. 8.2% body fat to be exact. At first, I thought I was a fatass. It sounded like a big number. Especially since the only two people’s body fat I heard during the exam was Tim’s (4ish) and Cheryl (2-3ish). I was actually quite embarrassed. Until I found up onto comparing myself to more normal people. According to what I’ve heard and read from people and the internet, Cheryl should be dead… Like seriously, she is actually a zombie. She tells you many entertaining stories, trying to get you to lower your guard. Then what you aren’t paying attention, she attacks you and gourges out your brain. That’s how she gets so smart. Because she eats lots of brainy foods. Ok, that was lame I’ll stop now But yes, I was quite pleased with my reading. Don’t pop my bubble and tell me how inaccurate the readings were. I don’t wanna know Blah blah blah blah blah, I can’t hear you ^^

Not that many days left of school atm. Makes me quite nostalgic thinking about Ruse. And it’s pathetic how I’m not even gone yet and I’m missing it. Thinking about how I actually got to know my friends at Ruse. Typed up this massively long rant about how I got to know people since year 7, however it wasn’t really suited to be added on this blog so I’ll just keep it to myself for now. While typing it, it also made me realise how much I’ve changed throughout my highschool years. It had really been a long journey, and it’s saddening to think that this coming to an end. Although I should start looking forward to the long long road of my life that is ahead of me.

Things I thought I’d never do that I now do

1. Exercise. I never expected that one day I’d have to get off my lazy ass and do something about my body. Heck, I didn’t even expect to care what I looked like.

2. Join the nonexclusive club of iPod owners. I thought I would never conform to something as stupid and image based as an iPod. However, the day I decided I had too much money and got my self an iPod touch was the day my life changed. Who would have thought $450 made such a big difference? Now, I wouldn’t know what to do without one. Stupid Apple, making me rely on something so terribly beautiful. Oxymoron there  people, learn it for Advanced English ^^

3. Become a clothes addict.  In year 6, I wore exactly the same thing like 24/7. Just a a simple t-shirt and cargo pants. I liked them so much, I bought an exact set of the same things. So I had two copies of the same t-shirt and pants… Yes, I know, sad eh? But  now, I’ve got as much clothes as my sister. Maybe even more. My wardrobe is not big enough… I wonder what is next? Shoes???

4. Wear sneakers. I always use to wear runners when I went outdoors until about year 9 when I got my first sneakers. Looking back, I wonder, wtf was I thinking?

5. Use daily facial cleaners. Although I think this is understandable. I never understood why Mum and sis always use to put like billions of products on their faces. Until I discovered the horror known as pimples some time in year 8. Since, I’ve been using a daily pimple cleaners.

6. Shave. When I was little, I thought the thing resting between a man’s mouth and nose was utterly disgusting. I still do. However, I never thought it would happen to me. When other boys were growing living monsters, I had nothing. Although soon, it crept up very very very slowly… I just shaved last week. I don’t think many people even noticed ^^

7. Blog. And Facebook. Yes, I swear this is going to be one of those things that just comes and goes. Like Bebo. Or myspace. Although blogging has been so fun for me.

8. Cook. Cooking seemed so easy when I was little. Just stick something on a pan and you’re done. Until I first tried it many years ago. It was so difficult, I found my best friend, the microwave. The microwave is still to date, the most sexy and amazing invention ever. I would have died without it. It literally saved my life. Who doesn’t love the person/things that feeds them? I mean, it’s food. Food is very very very very important. But in the last 2 years, I’ve been learning how to cook, and recently, I’ve been getting very good at it (or so I think).

9. Eat my 2-3 servings of fruit daily. It’s not that I dislike fruit, it’s just that I can remember to eat them. Plus I dislike eating certain fruits. Like tomatoes (cherry tomatoes especially). I also don’t like the aftertaste of apples, feels slightly uncomfortable. Bananas use to be my favourite fruit because of how quick and easy they were to eat. But now they are golden kiwi fruit. Just very nice. I’ve realised what a lazy eater I am. I don’t like eating things that take alot of effort. Like prawns and crab. I still eat prawns whole… Yes, I’m that lazy…

10.  Stop playing guitar. From year 6-9, I was absolutely in love with guitars. I worked to buy as many as possible. I had lessons every week, sometimes twice a week. I played in every spare moment of my time (ah, the times before I was so reliant on my computer). But for some reason, I just got over guitars one day. I stopped buying new ones. I stopped teaching. I stopped getting lessons. I even stopped playing at all. Now all my guitars are tucked away in their cases somewhere around the house. And the ones without cases are gathering dust and rusting… I’ll keep telling myself that I’ll pick up guitar again after HSC. Although computer games and more anime comes first ^^

Which makes me wonder, what that list could be in the future? Would I start wearing skinny jeans (doubt it…)? Would I start gelling my hair every day? Would I stop playing computer games, watching anime and reading manga? Would I let myself go and become a real fatass? Will I marry and have kids? Will I stop blogging?

So many questions, not enough answers. Only time will tell I guess.

For those of you who haven’t realised, I also made a movie review post before this one.

I found a new game I wanna try after HSC today. You’ve all heard me go on about DDR, Stepmania, Beatmania and various other rhymning games. DJ Max Technika utilizes touch screen capabilities (yes, very next gen gameplay), to give an experience I would say looks very similiar to what would happen if a DDR machine and an electric piano had babies in Japan.

Anway, gonna talk about a few things I guess.

A worry I have is how our society is changing and becoming increasingly chaotic and plainly stupid as a whole(the turning of the gyres much?). I’m afraid we really are starting to lose common sense. So many strange and stupid things happening. Like when these two girls aged 10 and 12 that were lost in a storm water drain, called for help on Facebook, rather than calling triple O. In  this age, it really is amazing how fast an convenient internet access is available on a mobile phone half the size of the palm of your hands. Yet it is astonishing to think that they would be asking for help via a social networking site rather than directly ringing emergency services. Lucky for them, a friend of theirs was online at the time and called triple O for them. Like seriously, what next? Will we twitter that someone is in the middle of a stroke? And also, I really wish people would stop making a big deal over what Kyle Sandilands says. I mean, stop taking him so seriously, It’s not like he is exactly a role model. What I like about him is that he’s so blunt and honest on the radio sometimes that he’s just like any other regular bloke. He doesn’t pretend that he has all the answers, or that he knows it all, or that he’s some saint. We all accidentally say wrong things or slip up sometimes… Why suspend him again? All that is happening is blowing something way outta the water and outta proportion. And what’s up with all the media reporting on John Della Bosca in the last few weeks? Yes, he had an affair on his wife. But a huge issue atm is whether publishing this serves and public interest and violates an individuals right to privacy. There is not one shred of evidence that his affair had incapacitated his ability to act as a state minister in any way, and by publishing this, the media has ruined the career of quite a capable individual who I personally believe, would do a much better job as Premier than Nathan Reese. The courts atm are looking to change the guidelines so newspapers who do things like this purely for no purpose other than to create controversy and sell papers get gged by the law. I can’t believe Nath Reese had ordered armed guards to refuse entry to Della Bosco from collecting his personal belongings from his own office. What madness is this? Talk about feuds… I love politics =.=

Also, what really gets on my nerves is people who complain all the time after exams. Yes, I get the fact exams are important, especially trials. Yes, I get the reason why people discuss and talk about exams and their marks. Yes, I get certain people have ”different standards” and that getting above 90 in the trial exam for chem just doesn’t satisfy them because their estimates might drop from a 99.8 to something abit lower. But seriously, think about the other people around you. Believe it or not, sometimes people don’t want to hear about you complaining about your exam mark that is significantly higher than most people, when they never asked to hear about how did you did. NO ONE CARES! Now stop complaining, be grateful for what is good in life and move on. The trials are not your world. In fact, how you do in your school trials is an extremely insignificant part of the short years you have on this Earth.

Ah, that felt much better ^^
Now onto happier things. Now that trials are over and we are getting results and estimates back, everything seems fairly relaxed. Been pretty happy with my marks beside English… I’ve actually had lots of fun letting loose and relaxing with friends. Open days, public transport, lunches, movies, karaoke, more karaoke (yes, you karaoke freaks who don’t get tired of karaoke unlike me know who you are) and other countless activities. Feel kind of unmotivated to work in the last few weeks (not getting the 4-5 hours recommended by Connors at all >.<”). Instead, I’ve been researching up and contemplating what I want to do in university. I think Medicine is really a great choice, but there are so many courses equally as good. Medicine applications are so daunting and the interviews sound very scary. I actually wanted to go to the morning interview groups on Thursdays because I usually have morning class on Wednesdays, but I wasn’t entirely sure how they would actually help. I guess maybe boost your confidence? I don’t actually really believe you can prepare for an interview, I’m more a be yourself and hope for the best person.

Speaking of that, the school handed out our references this week. For many of us, they are the first references we actually have. I have references from Maccas, Dominoes and West Ryde Veterinary Clinic, so I was less fascinated and only collected mine today. A found out that Mrs Billing accidentally did my reference for me. Even though I had never asked her to. I had asked Ms Burgess to. I guess I was quite flattered that she had done them without me asking, especially after finding out she had written mine before she had went on holidays. However, upon receiving my reference, I was horrified at what was present before my eyes. My expectations of an english teacher were totally shattered. I mean, she’s had me for 3 entire years and I’ve been in both her 2u and 3u classes all this time, yet all she managed to drum up were word for word incantations of the achievement list we had filled in. The writing was in about size 14-15 font and only half a page… The James Ruse  logo and stamp took a greater portion of the reference than the actual measly 2 paragraph she had conjured. So I guess you could imagine my absolutely dismay today. I thought the point of letting us choose our own teachers to write references was that they would usually know you better and were able to reflect the person’s nature and character. If I wanted a report, I would have photocopied my school reports… Or my school certificate…

Luckily for me, Ms Burgess offered earlier to write the reference for me despite Mrs Billing already writing on. Upon presenting her with Billing’s offerings at 12:30 today, I was pleasantly surprised to find a speedy reference draft by 1:30. She had managed to conjure 6 full paragraphs from Billing’s nothingness. Because we didn’t want to offend Billing, Burgess actually had to write the reference without seeing all my details. Literally, all she had to work with was Billing’s 2 short paragraphs and she transformed it into the longest and most appeasing school reference I had laid eyes upon since Tina’s one.

Another amusing thing that has come to my attention is Year 12 formals. Yes, I should remind both myself and people that there is going to be less “goss” this year obviously. Plus the night is still young xD So please be patient and remember that your fellow Ruse 09ers do not exist purely for your entertainment (although certain people certainly fit that category for me at least =P). Seeing some people (me included) running around at times like a headless chicken overall formal table arrangements have forced me to write a few things I have learnt during the course of my travels(metaphorically speaking).

1. It is only a formal. I can’t repeat myself this enough. It is not the end of the world. The world is not perfect, so don’t expect your formal to be.

2. It does not matter if your table is not your “dream table”. A table can only fit 10 people, and unless you can travel between our 4D, 5D and6D(do you guys do this in physics?) and so on worlds, that is how it is going to stay. It doesn’t matter if certain people are not sitting with you because I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how entertaining certain people on your table that you never would have expected are. You never know, you may end up having more fun with them than you could have ever guessed. Besides, the table are really close together. And by close together, I meant really really really close together. Everyone will be crashing each others table and you will spend enough time will all of your friends, I promise you that Oh and on a side note, please please please don’t write your name on a table that has a blank spaces, all because you think they don’t mind who sits with them. Also don’t assume people are sitting with you when you haven’t asked/told them anything. So don’t complain or bitch when you find out they had other plans already.

3. You do not have to ask someone as your formal partner. At least that is what I have learnt from Yr 10 when everyone went crazy/mad/crazy/even more made/even more crazy. Despite what the people around you are doing, do not conform to the pressure of asking someone to the formal or accepting someone’s request to the formal unless you actually truly want to. Otherwise, it’s just stupid. Does having a date for formal actually do anything for you? But for all those brave souls that ask, please be nice to them. It takes a lot of guts to ask someone to the formal, so don’t be a biatch (that applies to guys who get asked as well). And ask in real life dammit. Not over msn or over the phone. Don’t ask someone when they are surrounded by a billion people (unless you are damn sure they will accept straight away and don’t mind all the onlookers) and don’t have a list of people you want to ask and ask everyone down the list until you actually don’t get rejected for once or run out of people to ask.

4. If you actually have a date to a formal, don’t ignore them/run off for a night. If things are awkward, you never should have accepted in the first place, so you guys are douches… For guys, buy your date a corsage at least (plus other things if they are suitable for the occasion). Yes, don’t be a freaking cheapskate. I don’t care if the other person say they don’t want any, it’s the gesture that counts).

5. If you get rejected by someone, don’t feel bitter about it. In most cases, it really is nothing personal. And if it is, it’s probably your problem. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. If you still have complaints and can’t see how you could go wrong, well the other person probably isn’t worth spending your formal with anyway. Have fun with friends instead ^^ And if you don’t have any friends, there are companies online that sell u between 500-5000 friends on Facebook for between $100-$500 AUD =D

6. Don’t make a big deal out of what to wear or how you will look(this usually applies more for girls but applies for many guys as well). You look absolutely perfect the way you are, so there is no need to feel pressured to buy a wonderfully expensive suit or dress and accessories. No one really notices your hair on the night (in fact, I usually have fun laughing at guys with excessive gel or girls with very strangely curled hair). No one will even remember what shoes you are wearing or what handbags you take. No need to wear a low cut dress (people will just think u look skanky). No need to have enough bling to blind me after my Myopia exam (people will just see your giant ego).

7. No one cares if you go to the formal in a limo or another fancy car. I’ve been in many many limos, and trust me, they are over rated. A trip your house to the venue takes about 30mins and even picking up your friends takes a maximum of 1 hour. The thing I’ve found whilst riding in a limo is that there is surprisingly nothing special about one. The last time I was in one, I watched a movie and drank some European Sunkist (they had cool flavours) for most of the trip. Sure, it is nice being all dressed up and fancy on the night. But you talk just as much with friends on a train, a bus or even in your own car. Don’t be wasting mum and making unneccessary selfish demands on your parents to give you the money/waste the time for a fancy ride. Until you start making your own money, stick with what you’ve got. And don’t try dragging people who don’t want to waste their money into this scheme…

8. Stop gossiping/bitching excessively about people who bring dates from outside Ruse 09. People actually have lives outside of Ruse, so it shouldn’t surprise you if they are inviting other people. It’s probably cauz of those people that they ask other people to be their formal date in the first place.

9. Stop with the complaining. Formal committee did all they could, not like you could have done any better. And if you could, why didn’t you? It’s too late to change anything now and everything will be amazing (although I am sad I don’t get to act like a complete pyromaniac this time around). Couples will be couples. Get over it… It’s their formal. What do you expect? You would probably do mostly the same thing as well. Just don’t pry into something that isn’t your business. And if they really are disturbing you, move elsewhere.

10. Remember to enjoy yourself. Nothing and I mean nothing should be spoiling the night. It really is the last function we will have together as a whole grade.  A remember to thank all your teachers, mentors and friends who have helped you get here and make those you love feel special on this wonderful night.

If you have made it this far, reading my incoherent ramblings, I apologise in advance for things that are random/things that make no sense. It really had been a late and tiring night, so I’ll bid you all a farewell.

Feel free to comment on anything in this post. I would love to hear your thoughts as well. I’m sure you’ve heard this a billion times and those with blogs would know, but people that comment makes you feel very very happy and loved.

It was a fairly low budget collaboration between New Zealand and Canada, with LOTR director Peter Jackson spending $30million to fund to movie. It was directed by Neill Blomkamp, the guy behind the HALO movie before it got canceled. On a side note, HALO ODST movie is currently in production and there are rumors that Steven Spielberg is also directing another HALO movie. Anyway, District 9 definetely puts to shame all those big, brainless Hollywood products of this year  -  and yes, I do mean you, Transformers 2, GI Joe and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Personally, I would definetely recommend everyone watch this movie. It’s not everday that a movie makes one think, especially an special effect packed sci fi docudrama/mockumentary.

So what is the story about?
Not all that complicated really. You add about 2 million aliens.Emotionally, they resemble ET in that they would like to go home. But they’re not cute. They’re ugly. They breed. They scavenge around garbage. Essentially, they’re ten-foot cockroaches. They refuse to assimilate or learn English. Their mother-ship remains immobilised over Johannesburg, the “elites” of the leadership of these aliens have all mysteriously died, and they have no way of getting it moving again.

So they are confined to District 9, a shanty town rife with crime. The human authorities, white and black, treat the extra-terrestrials as illegal aliens, while Nigerian gangs run a black market exploiting the newcomers’ nauseating addiction to cat food. These poor ‘prawns’ live in corrugated iron shacks and squalid poverty, slinking around and grumbling crabbily, like an entire race of exoskeletal Gollums. The aliens are growing in numbers so much and being hated on that the authorities have this plan to move them from District 9 to District 10 in the outskirts of the city, where the conditions are no better, basically with both districts being concentration camps.

A nerdy, unconsciously racist middlemanager Wikus Van De Merwe, has the job of evicting the prawns and transporting them to District 10. He approaches this task with groundless self-confidence, a dangerously patronising manner and a cheerful disregard for intergalactic civil rights.

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However, he gets infected with a virus which slowly turns him into an alien and gives him the power to use their confiscated weaponry as well. The rest of the film is about one man/one alien’s mission to correct the wrong.

Obviously, there’s an element of political satire. Through implicit references to Zimbabwean immigrants, apartheid and Jewish concentration camps, the film suggests that it’s part of the human condition to find outsiders to victimise. This is so suitable for journeys, the human condition, and to an extent, even navigating the global and belonging. I’m considering teaching it as a text of your own choosing when I tutor english next year.

By the end of the film, we are made to realise that the prawns,  aren’t all as dumb as they appear and might, in fact, be more instinctively humane than the humans, who can be no better than monsters. I heard it being actually a reflection of the racial tension and past history of the native black Africans and their white colonisers. I love the documentary style of the film spread evenly throughout the movie and also the journey the protagonist takes from his origins as an anti hero antagonist. The result is a thinking person’s Transformers, with plenty of shootouts and explosions to please undemanding fanboys, but enough of everything else to persuade mature audiences that it’s far from stupid. I was very very saddened to hear that some people walked out of the film in the first 10 minutes because they found it too boring and went to watch another film. The storyline should appeal to all genders and there is enough special effect and mecha action to please the most hardcore of fans. This has been the best movie I’ve seen in a great many years so I definetely recommend you check it out. I actually dled the film for Mawby, so if you see me around school the next couple of days, feel free the grab the film off my memory stick.

I’m a giant mecha with pew pew lasers ^^
And the humans literally gets ripped apart like in Elfden Lied =P

Anyway, for Fathers Day this year, we(being my sister and I), decided to treat Dad to dinner, mostly because we ran out of anything creative to do. We had booked a week earlier to eat at one of my favourite restaurants because Dad rarely eats spicy foods. TEMASEK restaurant, mainly offering Singapore and Malaysian cuisine. Located on George Street in Parramatta, it is quite a cozy place to eat. When we got there, it was packed with a giant line of people waiting (make sure you book at popular places). We however were shown straight to our tables, although they had to check my name and phone number to make sure it was the right person.

Mum has put on some weight in the last few years =P

We both look really happy cauz she was on a high all night (I have no idea why, but she calmed down by the next day) and since I don’t like smiling much, she was actually tickling me… Btw, do I look like my dad?

Anyway, I ordered everything we had on the night except for the vegetables which mum had ordered (I don’t know my greens too well). Btw, I was too lazy to photoshop  any of the pictures.

I’m not actually quite sure what the greens actually was. All I know is that it wasn’t on the menu… I asked the waiter to show me what Mum ordered and he said it wasn’t written. The waiters here spoke perfectly fluent English and Chinese and I’m assuming Malay and probably a few other languages as well. Anyway, this was really nice and a bit spicy but I have this quite regularly so kinda use to it.

This was Beef Redang which is medium cooked beef simmered with fresh ground spices in a coconut broth. You could really taste the coconut in this dish. Really quite nice and chunky except quite spicy. Mum and I are the two people who can handle spicy foods. Dad and sis kinda died and gurgled down so much water than the table diagonally opposite of us started laughing. I wouldn’t recommend this dish for people who don’t like spicy food but I absolutely love it.

This was Kecap Manis Sotong or in other words, fried calamari in sweet sauce. This is ABSOLUTELY the BEST dish in the whole restaurant. I’ve been here countless times and I’ve ordered this every time and no one ever gets tired of it. Abolutely amazing. You MUST definetely get this if you come here. You won’t regret it. A bit spicey but doesn’t really hit you until a min after you eat it. Crazily addictive.

This was Serai (lemongrass) pork. Probably the only non spicy dish, but was very nice as well. I need new words to describe things besides nice =.=”

The main of the night was the Singapore Chilli Crab.

Our crab was almost 4kg so it was really giant. There was a rich aroma of tomato and chilli emitting from the crab. There was alot of sauce that was also served with bread. You were meant to  dip the bread into the sauce but the sauce is really nice, but everyone was really too full to eat much bread.

Poor Krabby. I’m not a big fan of crab usually because I hate getting crab meat out of the shell. It was quite messy to eat as well.

I also had ice kacang (I’m sure many of you would have seen them being sold at school fairs). Basically a combination of red beans, grass jelly, pineapple, plam seeds served with crushed ice in a bowl. Topped off with palm sugar, red syrup, evaporated milk and sweet corn. This place makes the best ice kacang in Sydney so definitely worth a try. Plus only $4.50 for a giant bowl which is definitely great value for money.

Overall, I would highly recommend people give this place a try. Bookings are essential are they are usually quite busy at lunchtimes and dinners. Their customer service was excellent and the food was top notch. The price may be slightly pricey, dishes come at about $18-$20 per standard dish, but sets and banquets are available and not all that more than your average Chinese Seafood Restaurant.