Finally... No more meetings with her...

Is done. Is completed. Is final... No more meetings with the British girl... And yes, we handed in the assignment before the submission site closes... It was like this for all 3 assignments (except for the 2nd one which we submitted late)... The 2 aussies and I were grinning with joy after we left the lab... =) And now it leave this module with a final personal essay... =) Teamwork is never easy as there are simply too many factors to take into account when arriving at consensu... Undoubtedly, this was good training... Unlike most modules I had before which only have one major group assignments for each, this module actually had 3 group assignments and 1 individual. Oh yea, no exams... But the 3 groups assignments are really time consuming; this is further aggravated by the fact that we had someone in our group who kept delaying work... We have done well for all; but the process could have been much smoother and better... I hope she will change else I think she will be ostracised in her future workplace or any environment she will be in after graduating from her Masters...

Plene and Cat had taken the 330pm (Aussie time) flight back to Singapore... They should be arriving later in the night... Hope they found the musical boxes at the airport...=)

There are still a couple of things to be done... In fact, a lot... hahaz... but I guess things are on track now=)

Defoe's driving me to West End later... =)

Reflections =)

At some point in time, there will be sometime in our lives when we will like to take a step back and view our lives from the 3rd person perspective... It has been 3 months plus ever since I arrived in DownUnder... It was my first trip abroad via plane to a country that is an ocean away... It wasn't a smooth journey applying for this exchange program as I was juggling a lot of stuff when the application was opened... But I guess I wanted it bad enough deep in my heart that I already have the relevant documents prepared... Even after getting the nod from my faculty and UQ that my application was approved, I had the mammoth task of convincing my mum that I will be able to take care of myself... Next came the financial segment when I need to show UQ that I have sufficient funds in my back; and for this, I really want to express my god-sister, Madeline. Despite no blood relations, she has went the way to get the bank approval for me, giving me tips on life in Australia and even taking the time off to drive my family and I to the airport. I really appreciate for all that you have done... I wanna say a big 'Thank You' to you. =)

The trip was definitely an eye-opener... I got to see and experience things that I will never had in Singapore... Australia has a rich history and this can date back to the time when aborginals were still living in the caves. They have a strong culture and sense of nationhood here. While I was standing in awe of the magnificent General Post Office (GPO) in Sydney City, a middle-age bearded guy approached me and started explaining to me the history of the GPO and its significance... It is such 'live' lessons that had made my stint here extremely enriching... In fact, everyday was a different experience even in school... When the student community is not satisfy with a new legislation (such as implementing VSU - Voluntary Student Union), they take immense action to prevent it from happening... Petitions were signed, demonstrations were organised, brochures and and postcards were printed to convey the disadvantages of VSU and it calls out ot the student population to make their stand... The rejection of VSU (something that PM John Howard is going to implement) is certainly making its voice heard in the campus... Nicely designed posters and banners were hung all around the school to convey the message... I wonder what will happen if one defy any policy of the government back in Singapore... Feedback? Yea, some may send anonymous feedback through the government website, while the braver ones will put their names to it... But I guess many will just follow the decision made... That's the way it has always been... I still vividly remember the demonstration against USA launching the war against Iraq... Students and demonstrators were shouting: Down with John Howard... with the police opening the roads up for the demonstration (Oh, the socialist groups here can actually apply for a demonstration permit and the police will be available to keep the traffic in track during the demonstration)... But I guess the culture in different countries are different so we cannot made an absolute judgement on the level of acceptance of such public vocalness.... But the point I am getting at is that Singaporeans need to be more vocal in relating what they really want from the government... A good place to start will be to question the lecturer in the middle of the lecture when you have a query or if you think the lecturer is wrong... :-}

Plene and Cat were in Crown Casino last night when I called them... Do enjoy the last 2 days of your stay in Melbourne... and have a great time playing with the penguins in Phillips Island... =)

Being to many places for the past 3 months... Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney... Saw the spectacular works of Mother Nature (esp the 12 Apostles) ... Felt the insignificance of myself when I was along the highway in the semi-desert area of Adelaide; we are nothing but just a speck of dust on Earth (this is how you will feel when you have vast pieces of grassland around you and mountain ranges in the horizon... But I guess what differentiate the different specks of dust is how it braves the unpredicatable weather conditions out in the wild...

Exams looming and time to revise... But before that, there are still assignments to be completed... Got to go back and work on my part of my group presentation on Friday... Gonna work on the process description too... If you were to ask me if I will miss Australia when I return to Singapore in July... My answer will be a yesh and no... Yesh: Coz there are still many parts of Australia that I have yet to visit and experience... No: Coz I have treat my life in phases; when one phase is completed, a new one continues... =) I have, to the best of my effort to make full use of the stint here... Though not all goals are accomplished, some have been jumpstarted and I guess I have a clear idea of my schedule for the rest of this year... =) Last but not leaast, I am really amazed by the level of design standards in Australia, gonna bring back lots of their free postcards and brochures and hopefully ithey will be helpful resources for SCC.. =>

CiaozZz...

Spectacular clouds

This is one of the days I feel paralysed without my camera... The clouds above the school is really beautiful... They are big pieces of cirrus clouds today, spilling out from the horizon... It is like a giantic fan across the whole sky... I shall register it in my mind...=)

One of my fencing partner, Anthony actually won a car from the Duck race in Australia!!! We were all stunned when he told us this piece of news after fencing... He's really one lucky man! Gonna read up (or maybe I should say catch up, haha) on Australian Marine Environment as there will be a test next Thursday. Morning was spend studying network in the library; have a handful of doubts and will try to clear them up by today with YM, Nic or the lecturer via email... Engine... Plz keep running... =) Oh yea, read Straits Times in the social science library (albeit a few day old) really brought me the feeling of home... =)In UQ, the main library (which is the Social Science & Humanities library) is much more vibrant compared to the Engineering and Sciences library here... Guess this is the situation in NUS too... Some facts do not change... Haz...

Full... Very full...

Ate a lot these couple of days after they left... I guess I have blend into their eating habits... All is well for them...=) Except for that eccentric Iranian guy living near them... All should be fine if they do stuff in a pair... 4 more days for them in Melbourne...=)

Had a project meeting with 'her' in the afternoon... Luckily all went well unlike the previous one which ended awkwardly... leaving Courtney and I strand in the middle of UQ Garden Park... hahaz... Will be having our presentation this Friday...

Resumed fencing today after a few weeks respite due to work and playing host.-) Finally saw Sylvia and Anthony again... Did not went for Sylvia's birthday outing with Edward and Jolene as I was in Sydney over the last last weekend... We learnt about priority fencing and how scores are taken in a fencing game... Very interesting!!!

And yea... exam will be in one month's time... In fact, my first paper will be in less than one month's time... Bless me in playing the 'catching up' game...=) Will aim to finish as much stuff (non-academic) as I could within this period too... There are still some key islands and parks I have yet to lay my foot on... =) Guess most of them will have to wait till after exams... Have to concentrate for now and know my priorities... And oh yea... have to ration my limited cash... Ate 5 piece of bread (with ham and cheese) for lunch today... Food in Aussie will have to become a luxury for the rest of the month... =)

Wrong Timing...

Missed the operating lecture today coz I thought it was at 1 pm instead of 3 pm... Arghzzz.. Went to grab a book on Computer Networks before heading off to heat up my sandwiches and consuming them at the rooftop cafe. Met Cindy and Shuwei there who were chatting there too... Meeting for CSSE 3002 will be at 3PM later and I can see that a considerable amount of work has been done... I think I will consider myself to be rather productive yesterday as I churn out my part of the evaluation report in one day... =)... Hope I will be as productive as yesterday till the exams coz I think I will need this kind of productivity... =)

Burger King vs Hungry Jack

Suddenly thought of the analogy that Plene has said with regards to the Aussie's version of Burger King... In Australia, there is no Burger King but only Hungry Jack even though the logos for both are the same... She said that it was King in Singapore but when it comes to Australia, it got demoted 2 ranks and become a Jack... I thought it was quite a comical analogy... =)

They are on the way to Great Ocean Road this morning at 7:55 on a day tour... Guess they should reach Port Campbell National Park in an hour or so if there isn't any delay... It should be one of the highlights for their trip... I am sure they will be standing in awe of the 12 Apostles... Heard from them last night that there was an Iranian guy living near their room who kept his door open to look at them... However, it was too troublesome to repack all the stuff to shift room now... Have ask them to be more careful and always go to the washroom in pairs... They will be back to Singapore on Friday and so will I in less than 2 months' time... =)

Going off to school soon...

Ciaoz...