Closure

Finally. =]

What Sarah Said

Such an awesome song. Love everything about it. Even makes me feel so sad to the point that I cry sometimes... ><"

And it came to me then
That every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time
As I stared at my shoes in the ICU
That reeked of piss and 409

And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself
That I'd already taken too much today
As each descending peak on the LCD
Took you a little farther away from me
Away from me

Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines
In a place where we only say goodbye
It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend
On a faulty camera in our minds

But I knew that you were a truth
I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all
And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground
As the TV entertained itself'

Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous paces bracing for bad news
Then the nurse comes around
And everyone lifts their head

But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
That "love is watching someone die"

So who's going to watch you die?

So who's going to watch you die?

So who's going to watch you die?

Wombeyan Caves

Had a day-trip with my family out to Wombeyan Caves yesterday. It was really fun and the drive from Mittagong along the unsealed road was pretty cool and scenic. The scenery was beautiful and me and my sister spammed the cameras with whatever we saw outside the window. When we eventually arrived, we had a picnic in the rest area which would've been a lot better if there were no flies. It was quite funny actually, all the waving above the food to keep the flies at bay... xD

Afterwards, my dad opted to stay behind so my siblings and I made our way to the Information centre to pay for the token to enter the cave and get a map. The ranger told us we could hike for 30mins to get to a small cave called the Tinted cave then walk back to the Figtree cave to do our self-guided tour. It sounded simple so we agreed to try it out.

If any of us had realised just how much bushwalking was involved we would've brought sunscreen and hats, so instead we copied other bushwalkers and put jackets on our heads ahahaha. It was so hot and sunny!! =S

[Rarrr...it's been a while now and I forgot what I was gonna write. Yes, I know, lame. -____-" ]

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And it feels like Summer again. I'm feeling a lot better today but I think it'll still be another couple of days before I am back at full health.

2008 was a good year, and looking back there's nothing I would've changed. I hope this year will be even better, that I'll have even more great memories of times with friends and family, and start being more independent and hopefully become more mature. I aim to get off my ass and start doing things I've been putting off and, of course, achieve good marks at uni. Most of all though, I want to continue to improve myself in all aspects so I be a better daughter, a better sister and a better friend.

Additional goals to achieve:
+ cut back on spending
+ learn to cook
+ improve my Chinese

Yup. It's mostly general and I haven't really put anything too specific but hey I'm turning 21 this year, I'm sure I will have more resolutions after my birthday.

Ok that's sorted. In other news we came home last night from a quick trip to the shops (it was my turn to buy munchies) only to be greeted with the sight of a HUGE cockroach sitting on the top of our front door. Gaaaaahhh it was so not good.

Made a request of my brother to deal with it but despite his attempts it scurried away under the door into the house and hid behind the piano.

Z-O-M-G

Luckily it emerged later during the night and my brother managed to catch it.

Return

So. It's been a while now hasn't it? Much has happened too.

What can I say? It's been a whirlwind of a year and only now do I have the time to sit down and gather my thoughts. There's been ups and downs, hopes and disappointments, and I've come away from it all with valuable life lessons and unforgettable memories I'll treasure forver.

"We spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds, looking back to our birth, forward to our demise".

Time is short. Live for the moment. It's been another great year.

Merry Christmas xoxo

A Very Long Day

What was supposed to be just a 'meet-up' turned out to be quite an eventful long day. We organised to meet up in Burwood at 11 but, since public transport sucks, I ended up getting there closer to 11:45...ehhehe ^^" Not my fault since I was waiting at the bus stop since 10:10 and TWO BUS SERVICES DID NOT COME. Then there was trackwork, so services to Burwood were few and far between -but enough about transport woes and on with the more important details.

Not much actually happened to begin with. Baldy, Louie, KTF and I (Bumbo had work and Dango dogged me) ate lunch in the Westfield Foodcourt then we went to watch Indiana Jones (Louie had to go home for his driving lesson) which wasn't too bad. =) The whole 'crystal skull' thing was a little over the top and a bit too far-fetched for my liking (if they wanted to go Sci-Fi I prefer the Stargate version of the crystal skull and the 'giant aliens'), and there were certain scenes reminiscent of The Mummy. They had visual references to the previous Indy movies which I thought was cool, like the whole quicksand-and-snake thing, showing Indy lecturing students, and the statue of Marcus Brody.

Yeah. Good movie. =)

We parted ways after the movie and I caught the Rail Bus to Ashfield to visit Bumbo. Was just about to say hi to her when Louie messaged telling me to wait cos he was coming too. I thought he wanted me to wait so we could go see Bumbo together, but it turns out he thought KTF was there and so didn't want us to leave cos he wanted to see Bumbo's reaction. Oh well.

Louie finally came and we dropped in to see Bumbo who was quitesurprised/confused to see us ahahaha...and Louie was cut cos she kept addressing me mostly lol. We bummed around and waited for her until she finished and were invited to her house to bum some more lol. We didn't stay for long because Louie had dinner waiting at home and Bumbo's family were going out to eat. I was invited to join them and oddly enough Katie's family also went to eat at the same place we were eating. TP and I started speaking like fobs, saying stuff like "You know, me? I know, you." "This one, you know?" ahahaa we must've sounded so retarded...

Bumbo's family is cool. =) [ahaha I just realised NONE of them got Louie's Michael Jackson joke...they all needed to have it explained XD]

I got dropped off at Stratty and I made the mistake of waiting an extra minute for the express train instead of getting onto the all-stops. The express was UBER SLOW (and I froze my butt off because the train carriage was cold) and because of that I missed my bus. I was like, going up the escalator to the bus stop, only to see my bus leave. T_______T Nooo....*spirals into oblivion*

Stoopid buses come hourly after a certain time -plus it was a weekend.

Then, cos Louie said he was going to Max Brenner with relos, I asked if I could join, but they weren't there yet. Louie asked me to try get a table for them so I headed over to the bustling, cramped shop. Geh, waited ages in a line that didn't seem to move while constantly checking if there were any spare tables. I wondered what I should do if I happened to see a spare table -should I leave the line and go hog the table? or should I continue to wait in line? In the end I reasoned that I'd have to stay in line because it'd just be plain dodgy if I hogged a table without ordering anything -not to mention that I'd be sitting by myself. -_____-"

As I neared the counter I realised that I needed to think of something to order. If I bought a drink they might not give me a table number since they could make it on the spot, so I scanned the menu for something more affordable. I couldn't see anything cheap so when it was my turn to order, I pointed to a plate of waffles, strawberries and a chocolate lick that was on the counter waiting to be served, and said "Can I have one of those?" Whew. [Gahhh it cost me $15.05 including 10% surcharge since it was a weekend! ><"]

Then I had a most pleasant experience standing around nigel holding a table number and hovering around the tables waiting for someone to vacate a spot. =S [Once I looked outside to see if there were any outside spots available, and saw an asian woman by herself looking in my direction, waving and smiling. I didn't recognise her so I turned around to see if she was waving to someone behind me but didn't see anyone so I turned back to the woman who was STILL smiling and waving, double-checked to see if she was waving to someone behind me, turned back around and slowly pointed to myself with a confused look -to which she shook her head and I turned around again and FINALLY saw her friend waving back at her and making her way outside to the table. OMG how embarrassing].

Eventually a nice couple offered me their table which I accepted gratefuly. A minute later the couple next to me vacated their seat also so I quickly joined the two tables and sat there looking like a nigel hogging much sought-after tables and seat [luckily I was sitting facing the window and not the line of people waiting to order and find a table O.o"]. Inevitably I was asked by two different people if I needed BOTH tables, and yes, I replied, I did because there were more people coming soon sorry. Felt like such a hog... >___<"

Luckily I didn't have to wait long as Louie and relos came soon after, but after a few minutes half of them decided to leave because they were fed up with waiting (they waited at a different Max Brenner earlier and weren't served, then drove all the way to Parra only to find it similarly crowded). Anyway, food finally came and it was super sweet @_@ and I saw (or rather she saw me) Celine! Very unexpected ehehe... ^^

Louie got owned by his younger cousin who fully snubbed him when he was trying to bag him out and I talked a bit to one of his uncles who has also lived in Canberra. =D Louie made me ask one of the waiteresses if Bethany was working, but apparently she'd already gone home. =( Oh and we were asked TWICE by different waitresses if we had finished eating when it was quite obvious we still had food on our plate. Talk about good business O.o"

Finally finished the waffles and Louie walked me to bus stop and I thought it was really cold -couldn't even keep my finger steady when pointing to the timetable bleh. He kept laughing at me but was kind enough to lend me his jacket. Bus came on time for once and then I was on my way home [it was kinda strange when I got off the bus because none of the streetlights were on O.o" ].

So yeaaah. Quite the eventful day. ^_________^ v

Last Day of Clinicals

Friday 29th of February was my last day of clinical. It was pretty sad because I didn't really wanna go back to uni and do assignments and exams. Plus I had come to enjoy the atmosphere of the department and the company of the people in it.

Anyway, my last day of clnical happened to coincide with the last day for two other staff members (granted they were only going on extended leave and not leaving permanently) so we had a HUGE morning tea to celebrate. I bought in some biscuits and a chocolate chill cake I'd made the night before. There was so much to eat~ xD

I took random photos with everyone, observed some Nuclear Med and CT and, of course, did my fair share of HSAs. All in all, it was a great experience. At the end of the day when I went into the tearoom to gather my things I found everyone already waiting for me. The woman from Nuclear Med gave a speech of how they would miss me and hoped that I would do well in my future studies.

I'll miss them.

Once I got back to my Auntie's house I double-checked to make sure I had everything and then went to have a quick dinner before giving my Auntie and Uncle some Thankyou presents and then heading off to the Jolimont Centre. Alan came to see me off and Jia sent her apologies for not being able to make it.

The coach ride was quiet and my seat number was 8D -I'm always allocated the window seat, how cool is that? xD Anyway no-one sat next to me so I took up both seats and had a nap. The night sky was so clear I couldn't stop staring at the stars for ages.

My brother and sister came to pick me up once I got to Central and we drove home. It was great being back home with my family and even better sleeping in my own bed again.

Heh.

A Day out in Civic (Saturday 23rd)

Woke up quite late, but just in time to receive a message from my sister who informed me that she had arrived in Canberra with her friend. I called her up and we organised to meet up at Woden Plaza in the afternoon (after she'd visited a few od her friends) where we'd catch a bus into Civic. My auntie gave me a lift to Woden on her way to pick up two ANU students and go join a free platypus-spotting evening at Tidbinbilla.

I arrived at the bus interchange at 4pm and messaged Shu to come meet me there. She arrived shortly and luckily there was already a bus picking up passengers. It was my third time on a bus (ACTION bus) in Canberra. Teehee XD

I've noticed that the newer buses are orange and green, instead of blue and orange like the original ones. The new ones also have a bike rack out in front which is a pretty cool idea since it saves space in the bus and keeps the inside of the bus cleaner. Oh and the new ones have blue lighting in the front section of the bus near the driver. I'm not quite sure why it's there, unless it functions as those UV lights they have in some toilets to prevent people from being able to find their veins and inject themselves. O.o"

It didn't take long to reach our destination and as soon as we got off the bus I made a beeline for the Jolimont Centre to book my ticket back to Sydney. There was a bit of confusion when I asked for a ticket on the 7:30 coach and was surprised when the girl answered there was no service avaliable at that time. She thought I intended to catch a coach in the morning and so offered alternatives -the 6:30 and the 7:45 which would reach Central at 9:45 and 12:15 respectively. The matter was resolved when I finally realised she was talking about morning services when she said "Your coach will depart from here at 6:30am..." "Ah!" I interrupted "I meant PM sorry..." Then she apologised and confirmed that there was indeed a 7:30 service departing in the evening. Poor girl, she was clearly exhausted. =/

Having purchased my ticket we set out for the Pancake Parlour ahahaha...We both decided to get a Swiss Mountain Malt (with Malt) and wondered which flavour to get. [Who in their right mind would get a Swiss Mountain Malt without Malt? Wouldn't it be called a Swiss Mountain in that case?? O.o"] I inquired about the 'Blue Heaven' flavoured Swiss Mountain Malt, but the waiter said that it was basically a blue sugary syrup which he heard customers say tasted like washing powder. O.o" I ended up choosing chocolate and Shu opted for vanilla. It was soo good~but it set us back $8.90 each. =S

While we sipped on our cool beverages we decided to have a quick game of chess on the raised platform. As fate would have it. I was white and Shu was black. I've never played as black against her and likewise she's never played as white against me. The both of us hadn't played chess in YEARS and I always lost to her when I was little (I was like less than 10) so I never had a chance to develop a strategy. Neither of us were playing seriously because we were both hungry, but she still ended up beating me anyway. Actually, I was the one who realised the 'check' was actually a 'checkmate'. I was so sad...the next turn I could've 'checked'!!! >_<

Well, at least I managed to capture 4 pawns -_-"

Conceeding defeat I heaved a sigh as we reset the pieces and paid for our drinks before heading off to eat dinner. I suggested Woodstock since Alan had told me that they served 'Zodiac pizzas' (basically pizzas with zodiac arrangements on them or something) which I thought sounded interesting. We had a look at the menu and I quickly scanned the zodiac section and read the following words: Cancer – Vegetarian: Mushrooms, olives, capsicum, tomato base, cheese.

"Wth? Why is Cancer a vegetarian pizza?!" I cried in dismay. Shu wasn't too impressed with hers either, Aries: Anchovies, olives, mushrooms, tomato base, cheese. We had a look at the other zodiac pizzas to see if they were all crap or if it was just ours. Some were pretty simple, others were ok, but we couldn't understand why Sagittarius was so special. Sagittarius: Four Different Tastes ¼ Capricorn, ¼ Woodstock, ¼ virgo, ¼ capsicum & oregano.

Favouritism much?? -_-"

Disappointed, I suggested we get the Pizza Supreme instead. Shu wanted to try some steak but wasn't hungry enough and neither was I. The pizza was soo salty, some bits were a bit burnt and they were also stingy with the topping. The pizza originally cost $13, and even though the guy only charged us $12 it was so not worth it.

Not quite content with our dinner we decided to return to the Pancake Parlour for dessert ehehehe...XD We ordered a Jewish Blintz which was the only other exotic crepe on the menu (Russian Blintz was the other one) and regretted it. It had a wierd taste to it, I think the combination of cream and cinnamon was too strong =S We both agreed something sweet and cold was needed to get the odd taste out of our mouths and hence we set off in search of such a thing.

In the end we dropped into Tasuke and ordered a Red Bean icecream. The inside is pretty tiny and most of the two-seater tables were either filled or reserved so we were directed to the big table which seats 6-12 people. O.o" The fact that we were only ordering one thing, to share between the two of us no less, made us feel kinda cheap. We also ordered Unagi sushi though~

They took so long to prepare our food that by the time our icecream came we no longer had the wierd aftertaste of the crepe in our mouths -which kinda defeated the whole purpose of getting icecream in the first place. Bleh. The icrecream and the sushi were good though, it seemed pretty authentic tasting and the staff were real Japs! =O

By then it was around 7:30pm and Shu had to leave to meet up with her friend so I gave her a big hug and said I'd see her at home next Friday. =)

Luckily I didn't have to wait long for a bus and it was around 7:55pm when I arrived in Woden. With nothing except my phone, my mp3, the bus timetable and $1.50 left on me I decided to get some much-needed excercise and walk home (a good 4.2km). Seeing as how the sun was only just beginning to set and how the weather was pretty good (not too sunny with a nice cool breeze!) I was pretty happy with my decision. Though I soon realised that thongs and walking on prickly, dry tufts of grass don't mix. =/
I managed to make it to Mawson shops just as the last rays of sunlight faded. I called my Uncle and told him I was currently at Mawson and intended to walk home since Aunty hadn't returned and hence couldn't come pick me up. Not that I minded, the breeze was cool and refreshing and I had my mp3 to keep me occupied. Uncle was a little concerned though, and cautioned me to only walk where there was lots of light and to be alert, so I back-tracked to the main road instead of cutting through the dark streets lined with appartments.

He called me at regular intervals just to check where I was and to make sure I was safe and hadn't gotten lost or mugged. I felt kinda bad for making him worry so I assured him I was fine and did my best to walk faster. By the time I made it onto our street I began to relax and enjoy the walk (though I was still doing my best to walk quickly in the dim light of the few street lights). The walk up the street still took a good 15mins (it's the longest street in the suburb) and I hummed to the Jay Chou songs on my mp3 while constantly gazing up at the Milky Way.

As I passed the small petrol station on the street I called uncle and told him my whereabouts. It took me around another 8mins to get home. The lights were on and I didn't bring my keys with me so I rang the doorbell. After waiting a few moments I rang the doorbell again, thinking that my uncle might not have heard it the first time. When I still sensed no activity within the house I called the home phone and heard it ring until the answering machine picked up. Slightly worried by now I tried again, hoping that nothing had happened.

Walking around the side of the house I couldn't see him in any of the rooms. I let myself in the side gate and walked carefully in the dark around the house to where the torch and spare keys were kept. I remembered my auntie telling me that if was ever locked out that I could use the keys to access the remote control for the garage inside Alan's granny flat. So, armed with the torch and keys I unlocked the back door and searched for the remote control. I found what I guessed to be the remote control by the front door of the flat, but I wasn't sure since there were so many other devices that looked like doorbells or remote controls. @__@

As I was debating whether I should push the button, I heard footsteps and the side-gate creak open. Without thinking I went to investigate who the intruder was and found to my relief that it was my uncle. I unlocked the door and joined him outside and he marveled at the fact that he had completely missed me on the street.

Yes. Unbeknownst to me my uncle had decided to set out to meet me down the street without informing me. He also used the footpath on the opposite side of the road of the house. With these factors, not to mention the lack of light outside or the wide roads, I wasn't surprised that we didn't see each other. He waved away my attempts to apologise for making him worry as we let ourselves into the house and simply said that as long as I was safe, he was happy. Still felt bad though. =/

It was such a perfect night for star-gazing and a late night walk -the streets were peaceful, the breeze was cool but not too chilly, the sky was clear, the stars were bright and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind. My only regret is that I couldn't stay out longer and didn't have anywhere to go except home. *sigh*

Though I thoroughly enjoyed every step of the way =)

Night out with Alan (and Jia)

On Friday I went out for dinner with Alan and Jia at the Pancake Parlour in Civic. It's quite a cool place and the furnishings just ooze with that old English style: large, wooden-lattice type ceiling fans; wooden floors; cute little cosy booths; pictures in the style of Alice and Wonderland on the walls and in the menu; clusters of round yellow lamps; the Mirror of Mirth and the big chessboard with two simple wooden throne-like chairs on a raised platform.

After several minutes of agonising decision-making over which tantalising selection I should pick I chose the Russian Blintz -a crepe that basically tasted like a cheesecake and came with a generous scoop of vanilla icecream. My initial reaction to its yumminess manifested itself as a small delighted squeal. It was quite literally an eye-opener. XD
I sampled the Crumbled Fish Fillet that Alan and Jia ordered, and it was pretty good as well. Not as good as mine though hehehe...

After we had finished eating and devoured every morsel we left to get dessert from Gelatissimo. Jia got a single scoop in a cup whereas Alan and I opted for a double scoop in a cone. Alan got Creme Caramel with Macadamia and Caramel, and I got Creme Caramel with Veronese Chocolate. Geh. Too much over-indulgence can't be good. ^^"

We walked back to Alan's car and dropped Jia off at their place since she decided not to come out with us sightseeing. The smell of smoke was in the air and we could hear fire crackling but we couldn't see anything major so we concluded someone must be having a small bonfire in their backyard.

Alan then drove me to Mt. Ainsle to see the lights. It was incredibly breaktaking. I made a few poor attempts to capture the view but firstly my camera (which actually belongs to my brother) couldn't zoom in very far, I had no tripod to rest the camera on (hence the picture came out blurry due to being on night mode), and it doesn't have much memory space. =/ It was quite chilly so we didn't linger for long and plus Alan mentioned that it was common make-out place. O.o"

Luckily we didn't see anyone. It was mostly just other people taking photos of the view as well haha.

We drove off and stopped over at the War Memorial along the way to take a quick snapshot before resuming our course to Red Hill. As we neared the base of Red Hill, Alan said he wanted to try flooring it all the way up and asked if I minded, to which I replied no. He's a pretty safe driver and there wasn't many people on the road anyway ahaha...

Soo we sped up the hill with Alan asking if it was alright or not and then explaining that essentially you want to suddenly accelerate so that the CDs fly out (which I found quite amusing)... and then I didn't quite catch/understand the rest. He said something about his wheels not being good enough to handle turns quickly and then something about feeling the Gs. But yeah. I felt them at the start hehehe. It was fun~ =D

At the top we couldn't see much so we reasoned that I should try come back out later during the day or next time with a better camera. As Alan was driving back to Auntie's house we passed through Hughes along the same route my mum used to drive me to school at Garran after dropping my brother off at Melrose and my sister off at Deakin. I mentioned this to Alan who then offered to take me to see my primary school. So we did. =)

It was so nostalgic! I walked/ran around the whole school exclaiming when I found something new or something I remembered. As I revisited my childhood I couldn't help smiling and laughing or stop the joyful school pride bubbling up inside of me. At one point where I was racing down the front of the school to the pavement I had to bite my lip from bursting into the school song:

Standing in a lovely valley
'Neath the skies of blue,
Shines the Primary School of Garran
Clear for all to view.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Ever loyal be.
Listen as we sing its motto
Versatility.
Ah, good times. =)

Anyway I couldn't get over the fact that now the seniors have TWO sets of cool play equipment (one of the is like a ROPE CLIMB!!), TWO soccer fields and that they replaced the tambark under the equipment in the playground areas with a spongy green mat of what I call crappy safety-grass. Whatever happened to good old tambark? Are kids so fragile these days that when they fall off the equipment they must land on something soft? Kids these days obviously have a low pain threshold. Bleh. I couldn't get over the crappy safety-grass for ages. Neither could Alan ahahaha. I could probably rant on and on about crappy safety-grass but I probably shouldn't ehehe...

A big disappointment was The Wall -a structure that looks like a 'T' from above and we used to play nukemball with. It wasn't in very good shape, some idiots had sprayed graffiti all over it and either smashed or stolen almost all the tiles (the tiles were made by students the year the wall was erected). I tried to find the one my sister made but it was gone. =(

Then we trekked over to the far end of the school to see The Rocks. Sadly they had gotten rid of some of the gumtrees and it appears that they got rid of Big Rock and only left Small Rock. So sad...=(
By then I had run out of memory space (geh) and so with nothing I could do about it we headed home. So now I've decided that next time I come up to Canberra I HAVE have a decent camera with lots of memory space and visit the following places:

• Mt. Ainsle
• My old houses (Kambah and Fadden)
• My primary schools (Garran and Fadden)

And of course if there's time I'd like to go to:

• Tidbinbilla
• Corrin Forest
• Pine Island
• Bateman's Bay
• Questacon
• The Carillion
• Commonwealth Park/Floriade

Not necessarily in that order though. It'd be really cool if I could take all the familiar routes: the routes my mum used to drive me to take me to places (e.g. school, shops) or the walks I used to go on with my parents. I'd really like to do that someday -even if only for sentimental value. =)

Man, this makes me feel so old. Like one of those stereotypical elder figures who say with a misty look in their eye, "Back in my time when..."

Oh well, it's good to reminisce about the past sometimes. XD

I think Canberra will always hold a special place in my heart. It's where I grew up and spent a very happy and carefree childhood. I have a lot of good memories and I'll always want to come back and visit the old stomping grounds or see the sights. I could ramble on and on for ages but I won't~

For all those who dare to look down on Canberra I only have one thing to say to you:

Beware.