Back From An Adelaide Dream

It’s been awhile since I last blog, which was before the exams when I started thrusting all I have to reach out for the best grades. And now I did it! I am really amazed with how miracles work sometimes, and I am deeply grateful with the blessing from God.

I THANK GOD FOR REWARDING MY HARD EFFORT WITHOUT FAIL EVERY TIME!

It really is worthwhile going through all the pain when others were enjoying, as the end result is always pleasant for those who are hardworking.

Being the less than 1% of students to score in HD’s in most of the subjects I’m taking does indeed give me some sense of achievement.

Kangaroo Island
After exams, I went to KI at South Australia with my friends, namely Shu Yi, Vernon, Nai Loong, Victor, Chi Hui, Kel Li and Jennifer. It was one of the best trips I ever had because I really let go all my despair and misery throughout the 4 days 3 nights retreat over there.

Jennifer, you are really a hilarious person which awakened the cheerful personality within myself. That was the first time I actually let go everything without any control, and I did played and laughed all I wanted to without feeling embarrassed or retarded. I will always remember you so that I can look things at a more positive and cheerful perspective.

Shu Yi, I am amazed with your dual personality as you can be serious at times when handling problems, but you do also have your crazy side as well. You have all these while been a very helpful friend, and I know that is what you do best. Your kindness and potential will surely be blessed. I promise that I will meet up with you whenever we have the chance because you are as good as a sister to me. I really thanked you for accompanying me in going through all the difficult times in Adelaide.

Escort to Airport
I have to really thank all those who came along with me to the airport before I depart to Kuala Lumpur. I really appreciate Vernon, Vincent (Vernon’s younger brother), Nai Loong and Shu Yi.

Vernon, you are another guy that I will never be able to forget. A lamester is what you can be known as, alongside your younger brother, Vincent. Both of you have really many similar personalities. I really enjoyed my time spent with both of you. When there’s the V’s, there’s no such thing as “boredom” anymore. Life is awesome with you around seriously.

Nai Loong, of all people in Adelaide, you were the one who helped me the most. Most of the cooking has been done by you when we were all busy preparing for exams. You were the one who helped me packed my stuff and carried on with the things I need to leave in Adelaide. You were also the one who took me to the Royal Adelaide Hospital when I was in severe condition; you waited for that whole day till I was discharged from the hospital. You were the one who expressed loads of concern with my mood and health, though it might have become excessive in my opinion which I sometimes don’t really enjoy. I cannot deny that I do owe you due to your immense helpfulness. You will always be my close friend.

Farewell Adelaide
Memories of the people who expressed much concern and helped me will always remain in my heart. Su Ling, Jeffrey, Eric, Michelle Chin, and all my friends, thanks for being a friend to me and lightened my loneliness. We might never be able to meet again but all of you have already became part of my heart.

I dare say that Your appearance in my life is significant to me!

No More Facebook For Me!

Probably this is the page that you will visit next after you find out my disappearance in Facebook.

Yes, I have deactivated my Facebook account so that I can fully concentrate on my final exams.

My discipline level is extremely low and I have poor concentration span on studies. I will need to boost it up and give in all I can to secure my ultimate goal of this semester – 2 High Distinctions and 2 Distinctions.

Though it may be difficult to achieve, I will fully utilise the time and ability I have to put a smile on my face on 11th December.

I’ll be back to Malaysia on 9th December 9pm if you would want to know.

See ya!

Exam Fever

Looks like everyone is busy with their studies now, with the exception of PMR students. High school friends are having their final examination, and SPM friends are waiting impatiently for their biggest exams after their trials. In my case, I have only 27 days left before my finals commence.

Ever since I fell sick during the mid-semester break, I haven’t been able to catch up with my studies. I haven’t been so unprepared before throughout my whole tertiary studies. I will definitely need to put in ten times the effort compared to last semester due to all the tough subjects that I am taking.

However, I can’t believe that I am going down the hill as the war draws in nearer. I am becoming lazier and less discipline compared to ever before. I even left my Companies and Partnership Law assignment to be dealt completely on the due date. I rather sit down chit-chatting with friends on the night before the due date till 3am than starting my 1,500 words case analysis.

Now, I am even further tempted by the Play Station emulator that I have recently downloaded onto my laptop. I started playing back all my old games like Chocobo Racing, Digimon Rumble Arena, Digimon Card Battle, etc all on my laptop. This really delays my attempt to catch up with my studies.

Hence, now I have come to a resolution to resist all temptations. I really need to commit myself if I want to succeed. It is me and myself who should realise what is the meaning of time is drawing to an end.

I hereby wish everyone who will be having their major and end of year exams all the best, and may everyone win!

 

DJ Got Us Falling Sick Again

Is it just me or what? Why do I always fall sick when the holidays start?

Stupid me for shouting my throat out during the karaoke session on Monday. I didn’t know 6 hours of back-to-back singing aka shouting can have such disastrous effects. I just wanted it to be worth the money. Is that too much to ask for?

5 days have passed and I have not touched a single book related to studies. I feel so unproductive, lying on the bed or staring in front of my beloved laptop from day to night. I just have no energy to do anything. I can even barely walk on the streets without my body shivering vigorously.

Just when I’m mentally strong, I become physically weak. When will I only be able to focus completely on my well left-behind studies?

Young Again

Recently, I have been stressed up with the immense workload targeting me from all directions. The main thing is my studies which I have failed to cope up with ever since I had been tested with completing 4 assignments in 5 days. It was quite long ago, but I didn’t get the chance to chase all the tutorial works that I missed out till now.

And then just a week ago, I have been appointed as the Vice President of  UniSA Division of Business Taylor’s Student Group (TSG) after an official procedures of submitting a resume and going for an interview by Kelvin and Vernon. The past week was full of meetings because the new committee was still under the probationary period and every department is required to organise meetings so that they can come up with their proposals. By attending those meetings, I admit that I have lost touch with plenty of my tutorials and readings.

Finally what I have been waiting for has come, the holidays! Thank God we UniSA students have 2 weeks of study break compared to the 1 week break when I was still in Taylor’s.

And most of all, I managed to release a whole load of stress by making a move in solving a personal matter which have troubled me all these while. I am really proud of myself for gathering up the courage to face this matter where an average person would find it extremely difficult to do so. Although my problem is not completely solved, I have at least let go some of my suicidal concerns.

Just a few days ago, I have been telling Su Ling and Michelle Chin Yoke Peng (my new friend who shares the same name with my 5th aunt and also the facial appearance) that I realised myself looking older by 10 years after having a stare at the mirror. It was all those stress that was causing this. But today, I see myself young again probably because of the optimism filled within me.

A big change has just happened to me, and I’m glad that it did. I promise myself to keep my spirits high and push myself beyond the current limit!

Stuck in the Toilet Cubicle

After more than a month of pause from updating my blog, I finally get to write something “interesting”. For the first time in my life, I got locked up in a toilet cubicle at the University of South Australia City West Campus Hawke Building.

It started with me entering into a cubicle and realising that the door lock was not working too well. I thought to myself that it doesn’t matter because after all, I never experienced climbing out of a cubicle before like in the action movies. So I just twitched the lock and locked the door. After finishing what I needed to do, I turned back and tried to unlock the door.

As expected, it didn’t work! Oh like a dream come true. I know I was insane to celebrate locking myself in the cubicle. (I am out of my mind these days because of personal matters haunting me day and night.) Then I called my friend, Victor Lam to help me out by passing my school bag and jacket to him. After that, I started climbing by pushing myself up and jumping into the next cubicle while other people started staring at me.

Okay, story ended after I finished imitating Evelyn Salt! So much for trying to direct a movie named Smoke in relation to Salt.

The End of My Birth-Month

Since the Japanese buffet till the last day I was in Malaysia, my life had never been so hectic before. And the worst thing is that it is not hectic because of work, but because of too busy enjoying fun.

From my Facebook photo album – The Inception of Wynn’s 19th Birth-Month, it is obvious that I have been maximising every single second I have in my hometown with most of my friends.

Birthday Eve Party (14/7)

The best of all was still the birthday eve party organised by Alex Loh and attended by most of my Business Foundation classmates and some of my UniSA friends. Special thanks to all who spent their precious time crazing with me at my house. I shall name out all your honourable names – Alex Loh, Shan Lung, Brian Chong, Teong Jin, Nicole Chua, Shu Wen, Wei Qi (who drove for 2 hours just to get to my party), Kar Mun, Tien Jiun, Billy Ooi, Ching Yee, Vandy Ho, Nai Loong, Jocelyn Teo, and Shao Xian.

Once again, thank you all 15 of you! You really gave me the best birthday in my life!! Sorry if I wasn’t a really good host on that day. And I wasn’t moody on that day, if that’s what some of you were thinking. I was just too busy answering phone calls and trying to help everyone as much as possible which made me over-occupied.

Actual Birthday Nightmare (15/7)

It started of with lunch at SS15 Uncle Seng together with Victor Lam. After that, I spent the afternoon with Teong Jin, Brian Chong, Shan Lung, Benjamin Michael and Alex Loh at the SS14 curry chicken rice shop and JS cyber cafe playing Left For Dead 2. Evening was well spent at Brian’s house. It was really a pleasure to go to his home, and I seriously hope he stops feeling inferior about it. At night was when nightmare began to approach me. It was still alright when I went out with Brian to SS2 night market along with Nai Loong, the non-stop talkative Vandy, and Jenn Shyang (not related to the JS cyber cafe). Brian had to leave after that, and we went on with Mong Kok for dinner and KTS for dessert nearby. It was not really all that fun as Jenn Shyang wasn’t really into himself that night and Vandy just practically made me real exhausted with all the arguing. And the worst finally came when I got back to my car parked at SS15. The bird shits all over the car was nothing new to me, but the tar that stuck on my shoe really gave me a hell as it is not removable. That really gave my beloved sport shoes a long-term scar. And I have to beg Nai Loong and Vandy to stop laughing about it.

Post-Birthday Celebration (16/7)

I went over to my high school, SMK Kota Kemuning during the morning. Surprisingly, it was the teachers who wished me happy birthday instead of my friends. I collected my 1119 certificate which was 3 years old by now. Unfortunately, I only got to see few friends there as their recess time was over when I finished my stuff. But I’m still glad to  meet my old pal, Yang Siong, and introduced myself to Wen Kiat who was so excited, as well as Shine Shawne.

Friday night was when I spent time with two of my besties, Boon Kuang and Chun Yeen. To be honest, I did sense some changes within both of them. And that’s what happens commonly among teenagers who just left high school and enter college. It’s a bit pity that we had so little time to chit chat compared to the old days where we can talk forever. I admit that it is my fault for being so busy and having so little time back home. But I promised I will spend more time with you all again. So we did at least went to watch Predator which is such a predictable movie. I shall skip the awkward side-clubbing part. And then, we went for foosball at Asia Cafe till 3am plus. This just made my parents even upset after all the parties and hang-outs.

Full Day Post-Birthday Celebration with Taylorians (17/7)

So this was my first karaoke session outside home after being back from Australia. The singing gang included Billy, Yee Von and Jenn Shyang. We all made full use of all the time we had before Inception. Singing with Yee Von did bring me back a lot of memories of those times we sang when we were still in Business Foundation. An example is my high-pitch voice of singing F.I.R’s 月牙湾 (Yue Ya Wan) and funky songs like DA Mouth’s 国王皇后 (King and Queen).

Inception is the best movie I’ve ever  watched so far this year! It extended my ideas of our creativity can go beyond reality. Besides them, Shao Xian, Vandy and Nai Loong also joined in for the movie.

After that, I met Sharon Tan at the toilet corridor. It really was nice seeing her again after so long. Then, we went to Bon Odori which I personally didn’t really enjoy it due to the excessively crowded place. Jocelyn joined us for that, and I did see some familiar faces around there. We then ended up in Asia Cafe for supper as most of us did not ate anything throughout the night. Billy and Yee Von were the popular ones as if the whole Asia Cafe customers are theirs friends. Since we didn’t really get to talk much throughout the day, I ended up with a long telephone conversation with Jenn Shyang which broke another record of the longest telephone conversation.

Birthday Celebration with Family/Relatives (18/7)

In the morning, I got a call from Mei San and she said that she would be staying in Subang for another day till the next morning. But sadly, I am still not able to meet up with her for this holiday due to my packed schedule of fun.

In the afternoon, I had another birthday celebration with my Kota Kemuning friends organised by Cassandra Leow. I have to thank those who came to the Pizza Hut lunch who included Cassandra, Samantha, Jonathan, Lai Yenn, Jing Yi, Pui Quan, Wen Ting, Wen Han, Amanda Leou, and my sister. The after party was even fun when we headed over to Herbaline for photo-shooting session at the dance studio in front of the big mirror and on the beautiful bed. After that, some of us managed to have some final fun by playing Elefun and Cluedo at Cassie’s house.

 

Night time was spent with my relatives as we had our dinner at home. I got to spent some good time with my uncle, aunts and cousins, as well as my family who I have been neglecting for quite some time.

Not Much of A Birthday at HSBC Puchong (19/7)

It’s such a nice feeling to see all my ex-colleagues again together with Teoh Jacson. Some people are not there anymore and new faces are seen. I really love that place as they all are really friendly and kind. I ended up not spending a single cent as they treated me for all the food even if it’s eating lunch twice with two gangs. I really missed all of you!

Birthday Karaoke Session (21/7)

After lunch, I took Elsa Lam and Meng Jiun over to Sunway Pyramid for karaoke! The last time with Yee Von was at Amp Square and it was good. This time was at Red Box. I met Elsa’s friend, Kelly Khoo who was so excited with singing her songs. We took well a lot of videos of each other singing. And I’m surprised that Meng Jiun has a professional DSLR camera. It’s one of the best singing sessions with all the latest Chinese songs and some English songs at the end of it. We went over to Kim Gary after that for light dinner. My friendship with these 2 would last long despite not much common topics, I’m pretty sure.

Birthday Work Around Subang Jaya (22/7)

After cutting my hair again, I went for pork noodles at SS15 with Alex, Siew Fen, Sher Li, Yang Shiuan, Billy, Jacson, Teong Jin and Lye Kuan. It felt so awesome to see all of them once again. They are well-known as the elite team in Taylor’s of my batch, and probably now among all the educational institutions around Malaysia. Who knows what they will be in the future? Well, they are fun to hang out with although I didn’t get to do it last time.

Work has to be done, and I bought my textbook at UBS Bookstore, completed the Clearance Form at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus, bought a speaker from my dad’s supplier at USJ 1, and went home before cooking started.

Final Day of Birthday Fun (23/7)

For lunch, I went over to HSBC at Damansara Heights with Jacson to meet up with our internship mentor, Norman Chuah who is now managing there. He treated us Pizza Hut and he is still as friendly as last time. I believe his potential would lead him far into the bright future.

After thanking Jacson for the ride all the way there and back to Subang, I headed over to Sunway Pyramid to meet up with Vandy and Jocelyn for one last time since they missed me so much, oops! We snapped many “SS” pictures as there wouldn’t be much chance after that anymore.

Back to Reality (24/7)

This is the day I went back to Adelaide. It is tough saying goodbye to all my friends and families once again. But not as tough as the first time I left them. Well, and this was how my birth-month ended.

Guess what, problems eventuate again after fun ended as expected. This is how I live in Adelaide. But this time, I will try to make things different!

Haunted by the Malaysian-ness

Throughout the week, I got so “fortunate” to experience those things that I have been missing for the past 5 months.

The first one was getting stuck in a traffic jam surrounded by big trucks and lorries on a road under construction. The second one was getting a chewing gum stuck under my shoe, and I only realised it after I got home when there were so many stones sticking onto it. The third one wasn’t that bad, but it’s getting my head stuck with the same few songs that were repeatedly playing in every radio stations. Surprisingly, all the Malaysian-ness just loved sticking so much.

These songs are slightly out of the mind:

1. Travie McCoy – Billionaire featuring Bruno Mars (if you’re so desperate to be a billionaire, why don’t you just fly over to Zimbabwe and automatically you will be a billionaire, no problem at all)
2. Justin Bieber – Somebody to Love featuring Usher (don’t you have your parents to love, unless you are so pathetic to not have any)

This weekend was great!

• Friday – spent the whole day with Vandy Ho, Jocelyn Teo and Nai Loong, and occasionally with Nicholas Yong, Brian Chong, Shin Yi, Teong Jin, Lye Kuan, Sim Ee and her new boyfriend, Ian. We continuously travelled all around our areas from Fish Head Noodles at Kuchai Lama, to Bah Kut Teh (Teluk Pulai) at Klang, Aeon Bukit Tinggi, Botanic Garden, Amanda Leou’s house, Red Bread Basket at Kota Kemuning, and Kota Permai Golf Country Club. I have never been to so many places in one day in my life before.
• Saturday – spent the afternoon with Jamie Tang and Ming Soon playing Soul Caliber 3 in my house, and the night celebrating Wen Han’s surprise birthday party at his house. I’m so glad to see the gang again although it wasn’t complete with only Cassandra Leou, Samantha Leou, Jonathan Leou, Lai Yenn, Jing Yi, Kok Ming and Pui Quan. I’m also real glad to see Peik Shyuan after some time, and meet the Joshua’s in town. We really had some great fun playing iPhone games that night.
• Sunday – spent the whole afternoon with my family and relatives (Wei Yan and Wei Li, and their parents) at Midori, Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya having a non-stop Japanese lunch for about 3 hours. Oh how I love the sashimi!! And I immediately put on 3 kg after that (Okay, I have been continuously putting on plenty of weight since I came back :). Finally, I get to visit Sunway Pyramid for the first time ever since I got back and managed to do a great deal of shopping to stock up my empty closet in Malaysia.

Let’s just hope I get to settle some serious stuff while enjoying my stay at Malaysia. It would be a busy week, I can say.

Home Sweet Home

I can’t stress how much I loved my home, although there are many things which are different now. I finally get to sleep in my bedroom I longed for, the one where I will immediately feel sleepy once I enter it.

I also get to finally touch my beloved PS2 which I didn’t even have a chance to see it for almost half a year. I got to finish some games for the sake of accomplishment before I leave it again.

And my cute white Myvi too. I thought I would have forgotten how to drive after walking for so long in Adelaide. I only got the chance to sit in a car twice in Adelaide so far, and I wasn’t even the one driving. It’s really good to be carrying myself wherever I like to go again. I can’t believe how fast my memories just sip into my brain again, and in a few seconds, all my good and bad habits of driving came back again.

Lastly but the best of all, I get to eat some real Malaysian food. I am sure that is the thing I missed the most when I was away. Things can’t get any better with such nice food whether it’s at home or outside! I’m just glad to be back. I even put on 2kg in one day after I got back!!

On the other hand, I have to stop myself from being so greedy. I shouldn’t miss my life in Adelaide. It is obvious that I cannot be in two places at once, I got to remind myself of the meaning of opportunity cost. I have to forgo the moments I can spend with my dearest friends in Adelaide so that I can enjoy my part here. I hope it would really be worthwhile coming back over for such a short period.

Return

Now I have finally returned home safe and sound. It is indeed good to be back, even if it’s just 3 weeks.

I was really looking forward to this initially, but not anymore when it comes to farewells. Sometimes, I even thought of not coming back so that I don’t need to encounter so many farewells. The feeling of missing people is so hard and painful. I wouldn’t need to experience so much of that if I don’t travel back and fro.

A world without family would make friends so much more important and valuable. And when I leave that world, my heart felt like being pierced by a thousand swords as I think about those friends every once in a while. I dare say Shu Yi, Jeffrey and Eric, I wouldn’t have been alive right now if it wasn’t for you all. Spending my memories with you all did helped to distract me from some of my problems. But now that we’re separated, I just realised I need to be more independent in facing my problems.

I have to admit that what I missed most in Adelaide is those magical moments that I spent with you three, and Su Ling. I just hope that our friendship can remain strong despite the absence of each other.

I guess I just need to force myself to keep looking at the bright side. I am back home to enjoy with my family, relatives and all my beloved friends. I will leave those emotions of missing you all till I get back to Adelaide. After all, it’s not like “you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone”.

Not Football Fever, But Exam Fever

My first ever final examination in Adelaide is just 1 week away. I am trying my best to race with time and hopefully, I can win it by finish revising everything before the exams.

Long-hours studying really causes some side-effects on me. I get so emotional after that, and pessimism just sips into my fragile heart. This hasn’t been the first time, and the main cause of it is always me being “last minute”. If I hadn’t always leave a subject till the end to prepare for, I wouldn’t be so suicidal.

• 1st semester – Introduction to Management
• 2nd semester – Introduction to Law
• 3rd semester – Communication and Information Systems in Business

These are the subjects that made me forgo all others and I always spend the whole study break going all-out for it. Now, things just get worse when this 3rd semester subject is a combination of two textbooks – Communications & Information Systems. Usually, people study both of them separately, and now I am studying it in less than 2 weeks.

What’s more is that every time I am preparing for examinations, there would be some distractions which makes me sidetrack from revision. The first semester was the Astro Star Quest 2009 which I was so enthusiastic with, and I spent the whole revision period managing Alvin Chong Fan Club – www.alvinchong.forumotion.com. The second semester wasn’t too bad with some events by Taylor’s Accounting Club. Now the third semester just gives another blast with Kelvin Yeoh’s Taylor’s Students Support Group. I am part of the committee and here I am again creating a forum– www.tssg.infodiscussion.net.

Let’s just hope that the end result would be the same as the previous semesters. Good luck to everyone preparing for exams!

Tea Tree Plaza - Adelaide’s Shopping Heaven

Yesterday, I spent the whole day at Tea Tree Plaza, a shopping mall in Adelaide, with Vernon, Shu Yi and Eric. It’s been three to four months since I’ve stepped into a shopping complex. Memories of Sunway Pyramid and Mid Valley swept by every step I took into the multi-storey indoor complex.

Another AU$15 was spent on a movie ticket. This time, it’s Prince of Persia. Luckily, it did not disappoint me. I’m satisfied with the story overall although everything seems so predictable to me.

As winter drops by officially now, I am being pressured into a treasure hunt for winter wear. What’s more is that sales are everywhere! But sales only meant that prices are reasonable in Ringgit sense. This makes shopping hard as I always find myself stuck in the centre between nice but expensive clothes and cheap but awful clothes. I have not much time left before I turn into an ice-stick. This will prove to be a difficult challenge when I now have 13 more days to exams.

Su Ling’s Birthday Celebration

For the past 2 days, I have been busy preparing and celebrating my best friend’s, Su Ling’s, birthday. Her friends and I gave her a surprise party at her apartment during midnight of her actual birthday. This is not the first time we give surprise birthdays to our friends. But it certainly is fun. The feeling is certainly satisfying when I see her so happy and touched with what her friends and I prepared for her, such as inviting friends and planning for the celebration. It is indeed really rare that I have this satisfaction derived from other people’s happiness, and this is one of them.

I just went to Glenelg, a town beside the beach, to have a buffet dinner in conjunction with the celebration. Time really passed so fast during happy moments. But I don’t know why my emotions just changed to the opposite once it ended. I guess my time is up; it is a better decision to concentrate on preparing for my exams which is in 2 weeks time.

Assignment Danger

I have finally finished all my assignment for this semester, with the finishing touch on Quantitative Methods in Business.

Bad things have been happening recently. The worst one is about my friends in Taylor’s who got accused for conducting plagiarism. This happened in Introduction to Law, as well as Financial Accounting 2 where we were required to prepare a full company’s annual report all on our own hands. I just wish them the best of luck so that they do not fail and repeat the same course.

Now that made me really worried about my own assignment. I have a bad feeling about my CISB assignment which I have mentioned in the last two post. I noticed that a part of my assignment which was done by my group mate is sort of a copy-and-paste version of information on a website. I obviously got no time to change everything, but only able to include a bit of in-text referencing into it to reduce my chances of being caught plagiarism. I just hope everything bodes well in the end.

Post-Vesak Day

 After market, I’ve went to Adelaide’s temple for prayers in conjunction with Vesak Day. I suppose this is the Australian spelling of Wesak Day. Its structure looks wonderful as you can see. It even seems like an imperial palace. The temple is located quite far and it is so inconvenient to go there. Lucky thing I had Eric and Shu Yi as companions. Everybody else seemed so tied up with their studies that they did not want to go. I almost catch a cold for travelling there as it was raining throughout the journey. I’ve never seen so heavy and long rain in Adelaide before.

I managed to Skype with my family and my relatives came over to “their” house. I’m glad that my cousin, Wei Li got the JPA scholarship to study her A-levels as well as the 6-years medicine degree in Poland. Like wow! Congrats to her!

I ended my night by watching Digimon Tamers with Jeffrey. It really brings back memories, but the beginning part of the series is a bit boring. Hope it gets more interesting soon so that it is worth my time watching it. After all, getting to spend time with him is worth the time.

My Most Productive Day in Adelaide So Far

What a tiring and shocking day for rushing my Communications and Information Systems in Business 2500 words report. I managed to finish it right ON the due time of 5pm. I am pretty worried as I never get to check through one-fifth of it, and I did not do the Introduction and Conclusion of the report. I’m just glad that I successfully submitted right on time, but I’m not too sure whether it’s considered on time since I submitted at 5:00:10pm.

Jeffrey cooked half of the dinner and it’s his second time. The food was great and I really hope I can be like him soon. Night turned out fun for me as I get to play Kingdom Hearts, but it wasn’t too good for Eric and Su Ling who each wanted to be alone for that night. I hope they are okay now.

I have one last assignment to go for this semester which is Quantitative Methods report. I hope all goes well for this one, unlike the one above. After that, I can prepare for my final exam which is in 3 weeks time. Yeah, time does pass swiftly.

Roxas-Motivated Diary

After playing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, I have been inspired to change my blogging concept to a short and simple diary, like what Roxas usually do.

Today, my Communications and Information Systems in Business tutor, Ms Kathy Darzanos complemented someone in front of the whole class about being the best presenter who showed great confidence and connection with the audience. Although she didn’t mention the person’s name, I am very pleased with myself because she personally told me the same thing a week before that. I felt acknowledged by the fact that at least I’m not fully being discriminated by the locals here.

Tonight’s Aikido was one of the best as we applied the skills we learned so far and had a good practice on break-falls. After that, Vernon brought me to Pancake House along with our Aikido partner, Sam. This is the first time I’ve been here despite staying right above it for 3 months plus. I really loved the Dutch Chocolate Fudge pancake topped with vanilla ice-cream.

Immersing Deeper into South Australia

As you can see, this is my second post on the tranquil city of Adelaide. But it wasn’t all that calm as there was a mild earthquake here with a magnitude of 3.2 on last Thursday night. Oh, and at this very moment is the first time I see such heavy rain here.

Well, I shall begin with my second analysis on the lifestyle here which would be slightly different from the first one, after getting to understand more in the past 2 months. Time really flies! Before I head on crapping about philosophy, just have a look at some of the things I have been through the past few weeks.

The girls (Su Ling, Sylvia Wong, Christabel Tan, Goh Zi Ling, Winnie Wu) in one of my new friend aka senior, Zi Ling’s 21st birthday party

Home-made lamb chop by my housemate, Chin Keat (eaten by him, me, Gan Soon Keat, Sylvia and Danny Tan)

Photo of me at the park along Torrence River, taken by Danny who is one of the professional photographer who came along

Crazy things I did with my friends during my 2-week mid-semester break:

One of my cycling partners, Victor Lam (we cycled for a distance of 30km to Henley Beach just for Fish N Chips)

The other cycling partner, Lim Shu Yi, who is the organiser of this insanely tiring and fun trip

One of the many horses along the cycling track by Torrence River

First thing people do when they reach the beach (now you may guess the location of the first photo of this post)

It’s me and them along the almost deserted beach

Cakes and apple strudel (the overrated must-eats) at Hahndorf, a German village in South Australia

Me with red-leaves maple trees of Hahndorf

German platter at Hahndorf Inn, the most famous dish in the most popular restaurant in village (everything was fine except for the pork leg which was so damn fattening until I felt like puking on every bite of it)

Shu Yi, Lam Yee Teng and Victor who went along the once-in-a-lifetime trip (as I will never go there again)

The whole gang of us who include Shu Yi, Khoo Sin Kuan, Cheong Wei-In, Victor, Yee Teng and me going for the trip

The 3D movie that I watched in Norwood cinema costing me AUD22, equivalent to 11 student-priced movies in Malaysia

Speaking of this movie, I really like Sam Worthington’s acting. He has the heroic attribute and his acting potential really brought him up to his success now. I found that it is fate I get to watch all his movies in cinema not knowing that he was the main actor before entering the screens. First one was Terminator Salvation where I watched with Boon Kuang. Second one was Avatar where I viewed it with Cassandra, Wen Han, Lai Yenn, Jon, Sam, Aunt Jeannette and Aunt Kay. Third one is this with my new close buddy, Vernon Foo, Chan Wai Meng, Bob Ooi and his friends. All his movies were really worth watching and had impacts which blast into my memories. Moreover, he is an Australian, and I hope I can meet him in person one day!

The best concert in town which I have missed, I guess you all should know who is she (tips: she’s an Alejandro who dances in the dark, then she telephones you to give you a bad romance, lastly she uses her teeth to eat your heart like a monster; I hope after you found out the answer, you don’t get too happy until you could die because it would just leave me speechless)

Okay, now the part for those who have the intention to come over to study:

Studying over here, specifically in Adelaide or even University of South Australia, gives you the greatest opportunity to be exposed to the widest variety of cultures. It is not only the Aussies you would be expecting to mix with, but with all other nationals. You will have to learn not only the Australian accent, but also learn how to understand every single person’s unique accent. For me, I have a Pakistani lecturer and a Nigerian tutor for Management Accountant, a Spanish lecturer for Communications and Information Systems in Business (known as BIS back in Taylor’s), and a Korean tutor for Financial Accountant 2. These were only the lecturers. How about my course mates? They do come from all places. Depending on how outgoing you are, you will be interacting with all kinds of people. It really feels like this is an international city. In my case so far, I have friends from Venezuela and Vietnam known through Aikido classes, from Turkey through random conversation in the library, from China in tutorial classes, etc. It is really a blessing to have this kind of exposure as you would not get it easily if you stay back in Malaysia. This exposure would give you an edge in your future like employment, for instance.

I think what I said in the first post would scare some of you off when I mentioned the vast difference between study life here and Malaysia. Actually, if one sticks to that mindset, that person is described as having ethnocentrism. This means that we tend to believe that our culture is always right and others are always wrong when they differ from ours. I’m sure you have learnt that from Communications, just like me. We should always be open to new cultures and adapt to their teaching style. So what if they expect us to be more of an independent undergraduate? No spoon-feeding is something we should not hesitate to learn, because it really becomes helpful when we come out to work in the near future.

Another major difference is that local students here tend to speak up often in tutorials. They don’t just sit down and let the tutor talk throughout the class, and this is what the tutors expect from their students. International students who are new here would normally freak out when they listen to how properly put the grammar and elaboration of the locals here when they voice their opinions. This is another chance for us to improve ourselves. If you can learn and follow their attitude of being daring to speak up, it will definitely boost your communication and interpersonal skills which sets you above your other competitors in workplace next time.

I’m sure most of you who are reading this are studying in an institution very near to your home, and you hadn’t get the chance to live outside your home. So coming here would seriously provide you with much learning experience about life and independence. Living independently also tests your Emotional Intelligence, being street-wise, discipline and determination in whatever you are doing. You will learn a lot about life like handling relationship problems and study problems more independently, making new friends, spending and financial controlling, time management, taking care of yourself such as cooking and buying groceries, etc. This is because living without your parents means you are out of their control and you have the freedom to do whatever you like. And then, self-control and mind consciousness play a very important role so that you don’t do anything ignorant or harmful to yourself. This would really then test whether you are easily being influenced by the friends or people or environment around you or not. It will also make you aware of the importance of time management like how much time you need to spend in studying, controlling your entertainment time, using time efficiently in doing housework, etc.

All in all, I guess studying here is a two-edged sword. You will need to be wise in what to follow and what not to follow. You need to be aware to always step out of your comfort zone if it means improving your self-development. If you can do it, life over here would obviously change you into a better person. But the opposite does happen if you fail to realise what is good and bad; fail to resist the temptation of harmful doings; or fail to step out of your comfort zone like constantly hanging out with your Malaysian friends only or just sitting down quietly in tutorials without voicing out your opinions unlike the Aussies.

I apologise for having too formal English when typing the post, now that I realised it’s no different than a Communications textbook. I hope it did not bore you or drowse you to sleep. That’s all for now. Oh, if you still do not know who is that performer in the concert, it is Lady GaGa. For those who love her, please feel free to visit http://www.safm.com.au/radio-gaga which is an online radio channel that plays only her songs 24-7.

Truth of Studying in UniSA, Adelaide

This is the reality of what it’s like studying in University of South Australia at Adelaide, a story told based on my objectivity without any marketing essence. I bet some of my friends who are planning to come here to study would like to know about this, especially Poh Li Jhuin who requested it.

The moment this post is uploaded will be when I just get my internet connection at home, and you all can start popping me up with questions.

Firstly, I would like to start off with the education style here which is immensely different from Malaysia’s. Today was my first day of tutorials. Classes really didn’t work out for me and I got so disappointed that for one second, I felt like I want to go back to Taylor’s to study.

The main reason was because in Malaysia, teachers teach us to answer and score the exam questions while here, they just teach us to understand and learn on our own. In other words, the information given by Malaysian tutors are sufficient to get High Distinction, but Australian tutors will only assist us in passing the subject. The extra effort and extraordinariness in getting the High Distinction here very much depend on ourselves.

In simple terms, I need to spend more time reading and studying on my own if I want to get the HDs compared to in Malaysia. This sucks! Now I know why I could still afford to give tuition to my lovely high-school students especially Cassandra Leow, Leou Phooi Kuan and Lim Yee Lyn; have time to check the KLSE and identify investment opportunities; have enough brain juice to think of business ideas in order to improve my website; have free time to play my PS2 games such as Naruto, Persona, Final Fantasy and Dynasty Warriors series; have affordability to watch the night and weekend TVB series in Wah Lai Toi, Astro; have the capability to go online to chat and play Facebook games such as Farmville, Friends For Sale and Happy Aquarium; and yet still score straight HDs for the semester. Things are different NOW!

I can now foresee the possibilities which might happen to me in Adelaide. If I insist in obtaining the HDs, I would have to really spend a lot of time and effort in my studies. This means finding a balance between working part-time, working on my business plan, and studying would seriously put me in a hell-like circumstance.

The good thing about this kind of education style is that we would not be spoon-fed, and this is what the real working world would look like. It is probably better to start early learning how to learn independently, rather than realising and adapting to it after graduation. Well, this just means HDs here are much more valuable than in Malaysia.

People here also have different lifestyle and culture which explains why they are complacent and easily satisfied with passing grades. They are very much into drinking, clubbing and gambling. Hence, it is very common to find them ending up in pubs, clubs, bars, casinos and finally in the police station. The last location is because they tend to start fights when they are drunk and cause trouble. As foreigners, walking on streets at night especially weekends are dangerous and strongly not advisable. Many of us students would get influenced by this culture and adopt the playful attribute of the locals, but I dare say I will not!

Coming over to Adelaide means getting out of our comfort zone because we are living without our family and leaving home. This is a really different life experience as everything must be done almost independently although there might be a few friends accompanying us. Things learnt would be cooking, cleaning, where to get cheap groceries and home equipment, what to cook for every meal, etc. These are enough to keep ourselves busy besides just studying.

Another big thing that we have to prepare for is starting almost a new life. Coming over to Adelaide means leaving most of your friends and things would not be similar to the old life anymore. When you begin a new life, limited friends would mean you need to tolerate a lot despite conflicts and hatred. This would take a while until you get to expand your network and know more people. If this happens quickly, you would then only be able to know which people suits your style and who to become good buddies with.

  Free tram ride within the city

Adelaide which is well-known as the 20-minutes city has a very well connected public transport system. Travelling around the city is convenient; one can take free tram and bus rides within the city which stops frequently, or walk from one place to another very safely.

Food is quite of a problem as it is expensive outside. One must be expected to cook at home as an average single person serving outside would cost easily AUD 7 – 10. Not only is the price not right, the taste of Chinese food don’t really taste right either. They are not as delicious as the Malaysian Chinese food and one would probably get better food by cooking at home.

Entertainment here is slightly different from Malaysia. If one is not into the bars and clubs, they would be seeking outdated released movies in the cinemas, or shopping at streets which are known as shopping malls here. There are no tall shopping complexes here like Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley and 1 Utama; just pathetic un-air-conditioned streets as malls. However, the weather here is mostly nice and pleasing. That’s why they don’t need the air-conditioning and can just use the strong soothing breezes as its substitute.

 

Adelaide is one city which has many festivals and events. The above pictures are examples of what they have. I can’t remember what is it called but it’s just colourful artwork with light projected on buildings producing beautiful paintings on its walls. People here are so amazed with it but I find it nothing much extraordinary (lame would be too harsh). Another amazing event I went together with my housemates is the Pyrotechnics which had fireworks and fire shows in a supposed-to-be horserace stadium. This only happens once in 5 years, so just count this out if you are intending to come here soon.

Seriously, almost everything here is expensive even without converting to Ringgits. One thing I find it unreasonable is the Internet and printing service. Internet usage is not unlimited like Streamyx in Malaysia. It counts according to how much data one uploads and downloads. If exceeded the data limit of the month, one needs to upgrade to a higher data package and pay more. The worst thing is even the Wi-Fi in the UnSA and its computers have an Internet quota, just like printing services. Printing here also sucks, people say that the university is providing sufficient printing quota, but there’s no easily accessible photocopying service here. Photocopying in university is even more expensive than printing out from the computers. This means we cannot photocopy friends’ notes like what we do in Taylor’s, probably because they are very strict in copyrights issues.

Overall, we can have two viewpoints about Adelaide if you are like me. Pessimistically, coming here is like asking for trouble because we pay money to torture ourselves and put ourselves in a suffering state. Optimistically, in midst of suffering, we are actually learning how to survive independently and exposing ourselves to the international culture and the spoonfeeding-less reality.

I don’t personally encourage anybody to come to Adelaide just because I need company here, neither will I give up and go back to Malaysia because life is much easier there. Since I’m already here, I will make the best out of this place. I shall take this studying difficulty here as a challenge to test my true self capability!

The gang I began with in Adelaide

Sick Chinese New Year

I am unable to blog about what I wanted to post, the one about all my friends and families. I didn’t have the time because I am sick.

It has always been a tradition that I will get sick on almost every Chinese New Year. But this year was bad since I am going to depart to Adelaide during the New Year.

Now, I decided to change plan about blogging about you all. I’ll have all the time to write when I’m in Adelaide. I will update it on my Facebook.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR :)

Something Worth Bragging About For A Second

This is just a short update about myself before I start my longest ever post in this blog.

First, take a look at this: http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/147702?tid=1

This is my first time having a photograph of myself / along with my family in the newspaper. For once, I feel proud and glad of myself. This is an honourable moment for a scholarship offered by the Malaysian Australian Colombo Plan Commemoration (MACC).

These are some photos of the event at the Residence of the Australian High Commissioner:

H E Penny Williams – the Australian High Commissioner giving her speech

Receiving the award from the Aussie and Puan Sri Datin Seri Dr Susan Cheah

Scholars of the MACC Scholarship along with the Endeavour Awards

 Scholars of the MACC Scholarship with the EXCO Member of Sunway Group

For a while, I thought that it was feeling great that everybody starts congratulating me once they saw the news article. But after a second, it wasn’t really something worth being overjoyed about. By receiving that RM50,000 scholarship which is only 1 out of 2 years of my tuition fees in Australia, I will need to spend another RM150,000 to RM200,000 there. Besides the once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would get over there, I am just being ignorant to accept that ungenerous offer.

To make things worse, I think I am the only one who applied for that scholarship in Taylor’s and that is why I got it. If they are only giving out one offer (original plan was to offer to the top scorer of each of the 3 courses in Taylor’s), why can’t they give me just 2 years of tuition fees waiver for my studies in University of South Australia? I don’t suppose I am too demanding for the results I worked so hard for, am I?

Anyways, my longest ever post will be published the night before I leave Malaysia. It’s going to be about you guys!