random reflections.

Our deepest fear

2006-05-27T08:07:00.000+10:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

Chicago Here I Am

2006-03-15T08:10:00.000+11:00

It still hasn't sunk in yet that I am here....Chicago USA, third largest city in America, previously second largest until LA beat it, where ER and Prisonbreak are filmed, where the now tallest building in the world 'the Sears Tower' is, with yellow taxis, yellow school buses, krispy kreme donuts in supermarkets and starbucks at every corner. And I am here for 3 months!

Well, I arrived here a week ago and landed at the Presidential towers where I will be living in an apartment. OMG it is soooooooooooo mad! I am on the 42nd level, studio apartment, cable tv, all new furnishings, free health club, and restaurants galore all in the complex. So the living conditions are pretty cool and they clean once a week...thank god. I took photos of the place but dammit I left my digicam USB cable in OZ so will post them up as soon as I get a cable.

I have stocked up my fridge with all the necessary groceries to cook, but I have been too lazy to cook yet. My mum even taught to make curry just before I left so I have a load of spices in my suitcase which need to be utilisied as soon as I get my curry cravings.

I also scored a free trip to Toronto Canada last week to sort out some Visa issues. Man US regulations are so tight and controlled it can drive a person crazy. They don't even let you take bottles of water to the US Consultate in case you put poison in it and shove it down someone's throat in terrorist fashion...at least that is my assumption for their reasoning. Anyway, spent a few days in Toronto, did massive window shopping (no purchasing yet, I am trying to aclimatise to all the US brands and stores) and had some good old fashioned curry at an Indian restaurant with some relatives. If you are in London or Toronto and you are Lankan, there is always a 99% chance you have relatives there. Gotta love it! So now with my correct working visa its my first official week at work.

Since I have been here in Chicago there has been a massive St Patrick's day parade in the middle of the city where all these Irish people congregate, paint themselves in Green and drink like crazy, apparently they die Lake Michigan green as well which I have yet to see. It's also 'March Maddness' at the momemt which is apparently a massive basketball season for college and university basketball teams so people are getting all hyped up and bets are going round the workplace. It's like Melbourne Cup or the VB Series of USA. Apparently I am going for the Illinois team...

The people in the Chicago office here are really friendly and I had a buddy lunch at this nice restaurant yesterday so all is good. But damn its cold. Me and my buddy nearly got pushed into the road by the wind. All the random women on the street were half walking half flying half galloping down the road coz of the wind force...and all the guys were laughing at our inability to gain balance. But that was the only really windy day since I have been here. Other than a couple days of snow and yesterday's wind phenomenon, it has been a calm 5-8 degrees. The strange thing is although it is damn cold, its really sunny, and all the indoor places are warm and toasty.

Pretty much from the people I have spoken to I have to get through the following 'To Do' list while I am in Chicago:
- Taste Chicago style pizza (apparently the crust has several layers and is unique in world scale)
- Go to a Jazz/Blues club (Chicago is a massive home to original Jazz)
- Go to Oprah....man need to call in for tickets!
- Go to the Chocolate factory (no convincing required)
- Taste a real 100% American red hot dog with mustard (not so convinced)
- Watch some opera's & musicals (Chicago trial tests alot of the shows before they hit Broadway)
- Go to Cheescake factory (as per the request of the US trip girls)

I shall keep y'all updated with info, goss (if any, which I doubt) and pics

Ok, I better go and do some "work"

New Life, New Beginning

2006-03-14T20:02:00.000+11:00

It has been two months since I started working.. and it has truly changed my perspective of what really counts... Living at Melbourne for a month with complete strangers, new faces and some familiar ones has thought me the value of relationships with people.

It is amazing how people can easily click with each other and sometimes they just don't.... I guess it's a test of how well you can relate with people?.... Meh I don't know hahhaha..!

aloha hawaii!

2006-01-15T09:10:00.000+11:00

Paradise Cove Luau (West - Leeward)
after our arrival we unpacked and mucked around in our resort condo - outrigger luana waikiki! the place was so nice! the kitchen wasn't really a kitchen as it wasn't very equipped, but other than that the gym was nice and the condo itself was in the middle of everything, located a few mins walk to waikiki beach!! the best thing in the condo was the massive plasma that had awesome cable channels! i love american tv! oh and instead of paying 219.00 USD a night, we paid 1/3 that :P - SCORE!!

paradise cove luau. arrived on the leeward side of the island, with a nice beach setting, surrounded with tiki torches. we were greeted with mai tais, hawaiin music and lots of hot hawaiin guys and girls! we then strolled through the hawaiian village to learn some arty activities and also tested our skills at some traditional hawaiian games - the stroll was meant to be a casual one, but we couldn't hold the excitement and started running around the island to hop between one activity to another while sipping our maitais. mmmm those maitais were SO good. we kept going back to the bar for more rounds, even though we were bright red already! kath, addy and i (why is it always us three) got dragged out to do the hula dance - so damn embarrasing. we couldn't do the dance properly of course, i was laughing hard while trying to copy the coconut bra + grass skirt-wearing hawaiin chick - she was so good! after the ceremonies and performances, a traditional hawaiin buffet dinner was served, and whilst eating, their award winning dancers performed in the "paradise cove extravaganza". and wow i LOVED the performance. it was the highlight of the night and looking back, it is still one of the major highlights of our entire trip! the dancers were excellent and the guys omg - drool! for anyone going to hawaii soon - paradise cove luau is a must!!! i would go back to luau's again and again. so well worth the money!! (the super hot guys/girls alone will make it worthwhile, trust me :P)

the sunset backdrop ...

say cheeeeez

hot guy + minh

must've been the first mai tai i'm holding - not red yet

you can see minh in the bg concentrating hard on perfecting her orchid headband ..

hahaha. yes. us hula "dancing". rofl.

the awesome performance!

addy and i could not leave w/out taking a photo with the boys & girls. we screamed when we saw them off stage then made the rest of the girls get back from the exit before asking for that photo opportunity. woooooooo. *sets wallpaper*.

Waikiki Beach, Cheesecake Factory, International Market Place (South)
no wonder the string of beaches are so famous! waikiki is one very pretty beach. the beach is surrounded by many skinny palm trees and the water is bright aqua blue. i fell in love with it the minute i saw it. the atmosphere, the weather, the water and the people made it all so enjoyable. the beach itself is very nice. we all thought those pictures on the net were photoshopped until we saw the beach in person! it actually is that beautiful! i thought that the beach would be packed with people, but it actually wasn't bad at all! damn i wish sydney beaches could look like this. the incredibly clear & calm water was perfect for us girls. of course, for those surfers out there, the north side of the island would be more suited. waikiki was so relaxing, once in the water we felt that the trip was worth that plane ticket already!

after sunbathing and swimming @ waikiki, we explored the area and came across the cheesecake factory! with NO lines! so minh and i ran in both agree'ing that we'd eat there right there and then! oh those cheesecakes! those salads! those meals! we loved it so much we went back to it while we were @ beverly hills, la. this was by far my favourite restaurant in the states! psst the godiva and oreo cheesecakes are to die for! *drools*

strolling through the park to the beach. loved the convenience!

omg soo niceeee.

poo & kath walking to the pretty beach area.

adeline and her cheesecakes!!

tourist shot @ the cheesecake factory :)

godiva godiva godiva godiva godiva godivaaaa cheesecake!!

Diamond Head Crater (East - Windward)
the famous hike. it was strenuous and tiring on a hot summer day in windward hawaii! we caught a bus from waikiki and got to the bottom of the crater. not knowing what to expect, our thoughts were unanimous: this BETTER be good. there were alot of japanese tourists and interstate americans in their sports gear from head to toe. which kinda freaked me out a little, as we certainly did not look as prepared as they did! and as we slowly hiked up diamond head, we were envious of those coming down. we enjoyed the views as we got higher and higher up the mountain. but did stop off at a few lookout points and probably rested about 5mins each time. how unfit are we? haha. the hiking reminded me of our bushwalking trips. (except we couldn't get lost here :P). and the final set of stairs were painful. they were steep, dangerous and packed with tourists! i was holding onto the railing for dear life. and after those painful stairs came the creepy tunnel we had to walk through. we didn't take ppl's advice to bring torch lights, so we blindly walked through it. and before we knew it, we survived the hike and made it to the top!! woo. and was it worth the hike? HELL YEAH!!@#! it was worth every sweat and aching muscle! THOSE VIEWS OF WAIKIKI WERE GORGEOUS! i was in love with the island! we could see the surrounding bay areas of the south and east areas. the mountains and ocean views were so breathtaking. i will let the pictures do the talking :) they all look like postcard shots!

so damn right about the hot sun, winding trails, steep stairs and dark tunnel!

the happy girls before the hike

haha. you can just see how forced those smiles were. us taking another "break".

while walking up those set of evil stairs ...

top of the crater. awww waikiki! lovely!!

the gorgeoussss 2 mile beach. such a beeeaaautiful island!

we maaade it we maaaade it. minh and happy me.

kath and random .. "after climbing 271 steps, long winding trails, steep spiral cases to reach to the top of Diamond Head crater, i made it!" - wootness - go kathh go kathh.

Snorkelling @ Hanuama Bay, Dole Plantation, Haliewa Town & North Shore (North)
o.m.g. hanuama bay is one gorgeous beach. perfect for snorkelling with its clear water and the beach itself is so beautiful. i was in love with this place, i dont think i can describe it in words. snorkelling aside, the sunbaking itself was so relaxing. the entire setting, secluded location, weather, along with my favourite palm trees made it perfect. no wonder its been voted the best beach year after year. the snokelling was so much fun as well! saw so many different types of fish, got a little scared at the start because there were some fairly huge ones. didn't need to swim too far from the shore to spot the fish - which was good! we had to hold the little one's hand while snokelling so she could get used to breathing through her mouth, i dont think the floatie did much, but after some flirting we got it for free. muwah. hanuama bay ROCKS. oh i love hawaii. i will be back soon. real soon.

sunrise @ hanuama bay. i love.

us in our fancy snorkelling gear. go the floatie! so cute.

perfect postcard shot.

pretty beach matched with pretty girls :P no coughing please. haha.

awwwwwwwwww.

happy me & addy.

minh and kath looking photoshopped!

goodbye hanuama bay! *sob*

sunset maitai's at our favourite bar - duke's, right on waikiki beach!

Ala Moana Shopping Centre & Chinatown (Downtown)
oh i wish pitt st. mall could look like this! set in the downtown honolulu area, this is the largest shopping centre on the island. palm tree surroundings with all main american brands to be found here together with all the upscale shops. it holds a few major department stores as well as the most important two stores namely, sephora & abercrombie + fitch. it made kathleen's day when she saw the two shops. literally squeeled in our ears. so excited she had to have her photo taken in front of the massive sephora (see below for evidence)! make up galore!! i feel so ripped off in Sydney, mecca cosmetics are SO overpriced compared to the states. damn i should've gotten more for ebay purposes - i'd so earn a fortune! and with abercrombie. prices are around the $100AUS mark per piece of cardi. but they're nice ones. the cashmere ones ohhh so soft and pretty. around US$160 each. abercrombie is a nice adventure on its own. u are bound to find the hottest eurasian guys and girls in there. going in for a round of perve makes our day. hehe.

chinatown. ok apart from the fact that i discovered some hot asian guys driving around in their honda AND those addictive plums we had to go back for. .... well chinatown sucked!! hahaha it was so scary walking through it! it was dead as well! we were running through the "main" street like there was no tomorrow. until we felt safe in a pho restaurant. rofl. first week and we craved asian already. it was the first time we had food at an asian place where they'd expected the 15%-18% tips. damn i hate tipping in the states. more on that later.

- suzie

blurry picture of us @ the shopping centre

tony romas express - its the food court version!

sephora = make up heaven. kath looking v. happy.

us @ neiman marcus

Pearl Harbor - USS Arizona Memorial & Aloha Stadium Swap Meet
that day was an early morning for us. we wanted to beat the tourist crowd and get there in time just before the memorial opens. after surviving poorani's excellent driving (minus the on-coming vehicle incident), we arrived in one piece for some lining up. we were shown a movie before being sailed out to the memorial, and were shown some real footage of the actual bombing as well as stories told by witnesses. it was informative and moving at the same time. and as we departed for the wreck of the uss arizona battleship (now the memorial), i felt chills going down my back - i was standing right where the batteship was sunken - and a few remaining gun towers/chimneys could be seen at water level, together with oil droplets surrounding it. pics below:

uss arizona memorial

the remaining chimney from the battleship ..

surfin' usa - we're back .. !

2006-01-14T18:45:00.000+11:00

we're back we're back we're back! alot of usa happenings were written in minh's travel journal, which she will scan up later on. for memories she said :) but i will whip up a trip report to post here soon! promise.

the states. well 2 days before our departure i had a very very uneasy feeling about the holiday .. and even had some sleepless nights as a result. hmmm. why? i wanted to know myself! and when i'd mentioned it to kath, apparently it had been happenning to her as well. definitely not something you would want to feel right before you go on a holiday! a holiday to the states. and so .. that marked the beginning of our big trip usa.

leaving sydney. i was more than happy to fly out of the country for a well deserved break. there i was on that qantas flight to honolulu, hawaii. i remember mixed feelings were felt during that qf flight. having put so much effort into organising & planning, deep down i was hoping it would all work out in the end. after all, i didn't want to disappoint the girls! so there i was, scared sh*tless of the turbulence, with that "uneasy" feeling still stuck in me as well as the worry of things not going to plan. ah then of course there were the feelings of joy, excitement and anticipation of the month long trip ahead.

worry. uh huh. yes over the hawaii & new york city accomodation! for those who don't know, they were booked on a private basis. when i say private, i mean we sent them cheques totalling around 900US. that is, not knowing whether the apartment or condo exists or not. the only thing we could tell by, was whether the sites looked dodgy or not. haha. that was it. a bit risky aye? well the 4.5* waikiki condo wouldn't have been as cheap otherwise. and well, what can i say about the NYC one - first of all, we did not want to stay in dorms. mixed dorms, mind you. sharing bathrooms is a no-no. paying US40 pp/night to share mixed dorm rooms AND bathrooms is a double no-no. so we ended up booking a residential apartment in the upper west side of new york city. sigh. well i didn't need to worry as both the hotel/apartment were incredible. the keys i was holding were legit! everything was legit! haha. we lived it up with less money than anyone had expected!

going back to the sydney-honolulu flight. 5 mins into the departure, we experienced some major turbulence. not like they could control it or anything but mannn it was horrible! i've been through plenty of turbulence before, but none made me feel like i was riding a dreamworld rollercoaster! and never have i heard ppl scream wooow omggg. owww. eeeh. aaah. what's going on?!? etc (yeh i was the loudest of all). but anywho. yah. scary. scary plane ride indeed. blardy qantas! /end of whine.

after surviving the plane ride. it was > alohaaa hawaii!! aloha! aloha! as soon as i got off that plane at hawaii. only feelings of excitement were felt. no more feelings of weird-ness or worries over stoopid accomodation! as we walked out of the baggage claim area, i spotted a guy in a suit holding up a sign with "Susannah Ng" on it. laughed hard when i saw it as i normally make fun of them doods at the airport looking like dorks. but hey he was there to pick us up in a sexy white limousine! and there. that was the beginning to the many aloha's, mahalo's & mai tai's to come :)

The excited bunch as we were driven to Outrigger Luana Waikiki

I want to be freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2005-11-22T11:46:00.000+11:00

Harro my fellow inmates!!

Watching Lost and Prison Break has been my obsession for the last two months
I should be studying but meh the temptation of Jack and Michael have been very strong and thus giving in…

In 15 days we will be off to surf the USA with much excitement and hopeful shopping extravaganza with little budget! How is that possible? I have no idea… BUT the luxury list of Marc Jacobs, Abercrombie, Ralph Lauren is rapidly increasing as we approach the 6th of December where we will be flying off to our first stop!! The land of good waves, nice cocktails, and good looking people!! Alohaaaaaa Hawaiii.!!! I shall blog more about this after my tedious/boring/crappy/stupid exam on Wednesday.

Ciao Ciao

Love Kathness

uni sucks

2005-11-11T09:38:00.000+11:00

that is all.

one for the ladies...

2005-09-25T22:04:00.000+10:00

Q: what do u get when you cross a cheeseburger with some kimchi? lol
i.e - an american with a dash of korean

A: daniel henney

mmm... anyone feelin' hungry? hahahahaha :P

thank you, thank you and thank you.

2005-08-09T12:33:00.000+10:00

an opportunity to say thank you!

encasa @ pitt street. for the celebratory dinner! congrats on your new job and hope you enjoy the experience of the corporate life! food and icecream were delish!

sahara @ burwood. thanks guys. lovely dinner and setting. loved the apple tea and dessert! muchly appreciated!

on another note: uni has started and my AIT stress has already kicked in! yay! i didn't go to my first hci lecture and tute. my international accounting lecturer hates my guts as well. such a great start to the semester. that lecturer picked on me for two weeks in a row. and during roll call today when my name popped up .. OH Susannah?? "yes .. here" So YOU'RE Susannah?? the trouble makaaaar. (in non joking tone). arghhh @ him. he then spent the next two hours picking on me for answers by addressing me as the "very naughty girl @ the front" (in again a non joking tone). double arghhh! and to add to that, at the end of the class he appointed me as the "Data projector/Laptop" girl. woo-hoo. that means wheeling his equipment with that demented trolley all the way down to his office after class for the next three months. arghhh. whyyyy!~!*&. vatz and i are both petrified and scared of him now. also especially after he made her stand up on her chair for 6mins and called her an object. uni sucks. rant rant rant.

oh oh oh and on another another note: my grandma rang from canada the other day and confirmed "anita (cousin) is getting married!! and you are coming." no questions asked, i have to go hehe - and that's next year around august! .. must think about saving already! and accumulating my leave! i'm so excited, can't wait to actaully meet my uncle and other cousin, eric. have never met them both in my entire life. and see grandparents again! they're so cute i adore watching them argue and fight everyday. such cute ones.

anyway, i should get some sleep now since i'm sick for the 96th time this year. and the fact that i have to get to work in 8hrs time.

i love to hate you

2005-07-31T12:26:00.000+10:00

i wake up to another normal day. or so i think.

still in my PJ's, my so-called routine (or somewhat bad habit) is that i switch on my laptop before i eat breakfast. or brush my teeth.

an unexpected clicking noise. another click.
again. and again. and again.
this does not sound too good. not good at all.

black screen appears. cold, unkind words exchanged.... not for the faint hearted...

Primary hard disk drive 0 not found
No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. what to do in times like these???
a) *kicks computer*
b) *pulls hair*
c) *clenches fist and shakes it repeatedly, irfan style*
d) *shakes head profusely*
e) *finds some concrete to bang head against*
f) *goes over to dave's house to test out his new punching bag*
g) *cries like a girl*
h) *let out one of those big sighs*
i) multi-task and do all the above.

technology... i love you at times. when you do what you're supposed to. but right now I absolutely.... 100%... completely... loathe thee!!

S.O.S!!!!! helpppppppppppp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

p.s - i am blogging from old computer. laptop has not miraculously resuscitated itself.

sunday ill day.

2005-07-17T18:03:00.000+10:00

i am in love with this semester break. bumming is so damn good. apart from working at the tech support desk where there is absolutely noone to serve or talk to besides the techies at the back. oh and kathleen javalla. i see that girl way too often. so much so i see her more than i see my own mother.

am dreading to go back to uni for my last semester. mostly freaking out over AIT. gaaaah. i can't program. i never could and never will. and i am going to cry if i fail. i wonder if EY will take their offer back if i don't manage to graudate? :'(

thursday jam class was hilarious. everything about it was so enjoyable. and seeing the two 30-somethng yr old asian men shaking their booty and getting down to beyonce made it all worthwhile. should've seen poo getting into those stripper head flicks.

ok. at this point in time, i am feeling extremely ill. ever since that steamboat last night. not sure what was in that stuff, but i feel like throwing up. all day. drank about 3L of water so far and tried putting finger down my throat a few times today to help but it didn't work. oh dear.

and beleive it or not. last night we sat around the tv for a nice 4 hours to watch house of wax and sisterhood of the travelling pants. can't beleive we managed to do so without the boys' complaints. but it was all in good fun. paris hilton - that character is made for her. any reason to strip. and when she acts, she has no emotions. but with that said, she made the movie. made all the scary scenes funny. alexis bledel in that sisterhood ... pants .. movie was good. so was that greek guy :) all in all, movies were shitter than expected. not even worth the download. can't beleive we still managed to enjoy them? to the pants!

ok i'm off. going to make a few more attempts to throw up. then practice some golfing. laters!

another one of those nights.

2005-07-09T21:05:00.000+10:00

after weeks of planning and postponing of the event. the long awaited MAC workshop finally happened last night! thank you girls for spending it with me :) thank god we managed to find a workshop by MAC after calling up so many places and thank god these guys are such professionals at running it.

swissotel. the jacuzzi. oh man. the most relaxing thing ever. i enjoyed it as much as my thailand pampering day. it was what i just needed this semester break. and the pool ambience was so nice lit up i felt like i was in another country. and i am sure poo would commend them on their xtrainer equipment. too bad the steam room wasn't steamed up.

exclusive MAC workshop. the paddington concept store was where it happened. exclusive use of the store. awesome hospitality and professionalism from the guys at MAC. served by 4 staff members, they provided us with wonderful food and drinks. the session began with martin giving us a brief. and us talking about ourselves. demonstrations performed on martha then being paired up with an artist allocated to each pair. alot of giggles. alot of girly conversations. alot of making up and alot of purchases made. worth every cent paid :)

dinner. arthurs pizza. jumped two doors down to the well reviwed pizza place in paddington. and it was good. so good we ate so quickly without ruining our lippies one bit. and this also meant eating lettuce by cutting them up in little pieces with a knife and fork. the things we do to look good.

verandah bar. i had so much fun. we took under 10mins to get in, simply because again we had a group of girlies ;) . again - saw alot of people. alot of regulars (ie. weirdo pole guy). i loved the crowd this time around - much better than the last time we went. so then it was birthday shots for the birthday girl. 5 hours worth of dancing, screaming, singing and more screaming on top of our lungs. that resulted in my sore/itchy throat and sathya losing half her voice. i am so proud of carrotz - her alcohol tolerance has improvedd she could stand on her two feet after one shot of qf - without help! aah verandah. kath is even thinking of going every week now :0

4am. happy birthday sath! and it was back to the hotel room at 4am. celebrations continued for the birthday girl with our favourite lindt cake. kfc. and alot of effort trying to remove the makeup from the workshop.

the next day. tsubi sale? did not go to that because we were still in bed when it had already started. the rest of the day involved a massive breakfast at pancakes on the rocks, blue ice, optometrist visit and a hectic shopping round at woolies and harris farm for tomorrow's bbq. how exciting.

all in all. you girls made my night. i had a wonderful time and i can't wait till our 3rd!

life cycles

2005-07-02T11:39:00.000+10:00

is it just me or does it seem like we are cycling through life? some people like to cycle with a clear direction and goal in mind... to get to the top of that mountain in record breaking time.
a friend of mine will own his BMW by 23 and get his 2 businesses off the ground by the end of next year. thats ambition and self-direction for you ;)

others cycle aimlessly without purpose. or they're just there for the bumpy ride.

if there was an "in between" category personally i think i would fit into that. i'm trying to cycle as fast as i can to this so-called "peak". i have a good idea of what i want. or at least i think i do. but along the way there's moments where i don't really know which way i'm going. i guess if everyone had a UBD street directory for life, it would be way too boring and predictable. we'd get from a) to b) with no problems (unless of course you're not so talented in the art of navigating and guys are always quick to assume that girls are clueless with street maps). but where's the challenge in that? :P

as another year passes for me, oh-so-quickly, milliseconds of time waste away. there's new events. meetings. departures. we discover new friends and lose others. i remember back in the primary school days. things were so simple. life was no where near as complicated. do you ever remember hearing this back then?

"make new friends but keep the old... new friends are like silver but the old ones are gold"

"a ring is round it has no end and that's how long i'll be your friend"

its not as easy as it used to be is it? we meet new people. we forget others. another cycle that we must deal with. our life gets in the way of friendships. or there's just differences in personalities, interests, opinions or perspectives that just make you indifferent about wanting to retain friendships with certain people. it may appear to be harmonious at the beginning. one big happy family. some believe friendships are all about the quantity rather than quality. but inevitably we will drift apart with some and only hold onto those that we remain closer to. the true friends who will stick by you through it all.

once working life commences everyone starts to disperse into their own little world. even though you might not see someone for months... even a year... do you still consider them to be in your friendship circle? or are friends only people that make the effort and take the time to catch up with you regularly? there's some people that you can somehow have a connection with regardless of the time which has past since you've last seen them. when you meet again you can somehow pick up where you left off and there's no awkwardness or superficiality.

then there's the others. where you fumble for words to say. silence. a forced smile. you look at them and yourself and are amazed at how different you are. perhaps how much you've grown apart and changed. our judgemental instincts take over and decide that life is much better without them. they fit into the "hi" and "bye" category.

and then there's the family. why is it that we often forget about how important they are? it's simply because their love is unconditional. they don't judge us. they accept us for who we are. but why do we take this for granted? why is it so easy to dismiss them? we have to realise that life is a cycle of life and death. my mum's sister who was only in her late 60's just passed away a couple of months ago. my cousin regrets not valuing her relationship with her mother more and not helping out. for letting her do all the work. pick up after her. clean the house. its often once something is gone that we realise how truly important it is. i don't want to be one of those people who has regrets when something can be done to change things before its too late.

and so the life cycle continues... time is ticking...

so let's live a little!
http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/2005/04/tetsuyas-sydney.html :D yes... one day :P

bored @ interface.

2005-06-30T15:16:00.000+10:00

i am so happy. happy that my eyes are -5.25! only -5.25! yes only. i was expecting them to have gone worse over the past 1.5 years since i last got them checked. but my optometrist said my eyes have now stablised and haven't gone worse one bit - woot!

mmm. laser surgery here i come!

so that's one thing off my to-do list. next thing? when it stops raining i'll be driving ;)

PS: interface shifts during the holidays are SO bad. boring boring boring.

and i'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee (for now).

2005-06-25T22:35:00.000+10:00

mobile programming. exam was OK. everything theory was good. everything coding was horrible. horrible horrible horrible. but blah it's all over and that's what matters.

so that marks the start of my winter semester break. i am free for the next month or so - how exciting! and so far, every weekend is packed until uni starts. and am looking forward to every one of em :)

after much procrastination over the last 5 days, 100s of photos have been browsed through. memories. alot of them. and my favourite ones atm come from her 21st album:

her girls.

her boys.

lame and strangely cute. '04 version of the class.

so what's on my to-do list over the break? many things. many many things. must organise US trip. must go for next eye check-up (am sure weakness of eyes have reached -6.00 heh). oh and like driving again. and like getting my silvers. and like start giving the boys lifts to repay them back for their efforts over the past 3 1/2 years :P

mmmm.

yeah. maybe not.

but i promise i'll try my bestest. promiseee!

PS: Happy 21st Tim Cheng - you're one of us now! old fart.

America Hecticnessssssssssssss

2005-06-21T10:42:00.000+10:00

So girls.....

- We have booked our tickets and paid for
- Found a place in NYC we need to pay for deposite
- Found an accomdation for Hawaii Aloha!! we must book it

Things we haven't found an accomdation for...

- Las Vegas
- San Fran
- Los Angeles
- Boston?
- DC?

I'm soooo excited... although my bank account is soooooooooooooo low... but yeahhh soo excited.. :)!!

Movie Fiesta

2005-06-13T23:19:00.000+10:00

Saturday day… I had my ICC Exam how dodgy was that! Then it was off to Liam’s 21st birthday. I thought it was really good! Speeches were fantastic, funny, interesting, food was absolute delish… and Suzie and I couldn’t stop eating the satay sticks with peanut sauce yummoooo! Then it was off to the moviesssssssssssssss last session!! “The Longest YarD” can’t remember the title but hey it was a good movie! Couldn’t stop laughing!

Ohhhhhhh and then come Sunday …. I don’t know about other ppl… I don’t think watching six movies in a row in a day was normal but hey I did it… >.<

And today finally watched Star Wars!! I want star wars marathon! Then headed off for a bit of shopping at bondi…

Just to reflect upon Ms. Ng posts previously….we received really funny and very entertaining comments….!! I must say having 60 comments was a world record for our blog unless your “missleanne” (only addy would get me hahahahhaha).

Oh and by the way…… deciding where to go for the end of year trip…

Nelson Bay,
Elizabeth bay
Jervis Bay
Terrigal..

15-18 ppl!

reflection

2005-06-06T13:12:00.000+10:00

my close touch with my mlc pals always entail me answering the "how's uni?" question. in which i always respond - without much thought really - "uni life is good .. its bludgy. and i love it."

truth is, my oh so excellent time management skills explain why i actually quite dreaded this semester. the ridiculous thing is that i actually found it hard to juggle between job/uni/job hunting when its only really 9 hours which @ interface, 10 hr uni weeks that often meant no mobile programming lectures/tutes. it puzzles me when i look back - where the heck did all my time go?

i find that as each semester elapses, you learn something new about yourself. about your peers. and about everything/everyone that revolves around you and your life. its the same cycle really. making many new friends while at the same time losing touch or that "bond" with others. sitting on couches talking for hours where you learn more about one another. learning the tricks to get hds. 4th year has turned out exactly how i predicted it. the closeness with those back at uni and seeing how some of those have fallen apart.

in refelection. for me, the most daunting year was the most exciting year. the most eventful. the year where there were no worries financially nor academically. first year uni was really the best. exciting first year students trying to make as many friends possible. forming bonds so quickly and attending all society events while each uni weekend meant group outings. daily afternoons were filled with basketball and "the steps" gossiping sessions. happy hours mondays @ glasshouse. fridays @ markets.

second year is when you learn who your close friends really are. perhaps who your arch nemesis are. and that's when you see the formation of groups. groups of truly close friends. those you simply know you'll still be in touch with in ten, twenty or thirty years time.

third year uni is the out to the real world year. the year that changed me and my pespective on things so much. from simply learning how to network to talking industry jargon. being involved in the many objectives. the many community events. the many organisational or division-wide committees. monday squash sessions. wednesday team lunches. and friday grad lunches. 12 months worth of the corporate life. an exponential growth of skills, knowledge and change in perception.

fourth year uni. the past 14 weeks of uni has flown by so incredibly fast. it wasn't until today when i took time out to reflect on the past semester that i realise so much has happened and changed. the future has been shaped for the few of us. its another milestone reaching upon us where the new daunting experience and a new chapter is going to open. feelings of excitement and anticipation. just like waiting for the first day of school. filled with many thoughts and questions. how do i prepare myself? will i like it? will i get along with the people? what if i hate the work? what if the work is too hard? what if ..

feelings of excitement and anticipation? correct. feelings of fear and worry? also correct.

now with innovation'ers gone. bits gone. and many bscits working and gone after their 3rd year. there's only really a select few that i still see these days. the vibe has definitely diminished. i actually missed those dbf and sdp semesters. walking into any lab knowing 80% of the people. stressing over dspp together. the joy is different today though. its the joy of seeing those at uni you are close to. those you enjoy talking to. knowing this is your last year changes the way you see and deal with the close ones. and its always sad to know some of those are graduating next semester. time really flies. and its been 4 years already.

on another note. lotto really sucks. you would think winning 5 out of the 6 numbers would get you more than $23 bucks in a $25 million draw. ha. wrong.

time to chillax

2005-06-05T09:26:00.000+10:00

its always good to take some time out to to relax. take it easy. chill out.

especially after a busy week of running around...
felt lethargic after a lunchtime volleyball practice on Monday in the Domain. who would have thought... that you would look like you've been given severe chinese burns on your arms. swollen. red. bruised and battered. sorry but i have to have a whinge... i am a girl after all :P

frantically rushing to North Sydney on Tuesday to pay airfares. a 2.5 hour lunch break. looked a bit flustered as i snuck back into the office all pink-panther-like, hoping no one would catch a glimpse of me walking back in. hair dishevelled from the strong winter breeze, as i hurriedly ran up Hunter St (running up steep inclines in high heels is definitely not recommended). but in all honesty people at my work don't really care how long you take for lunch as long as you get the work done. but instinctively a sense of guilt sweeps over you as the lunch time clock strikes past 1 hour.

another 2 hour lunch break on Wednesday. running to Pitt St Mall to find some cheap cheap bargains. first and only stop was DJs. had planned to drop by Myers on the way back but precious time was limited. swarms of ladies running around the floor to grab everything and anything their hands could hold. items i personally bought equated to nil. for some reason its hard for me to make purchases at sales. firstly the fitting room queues are neverending. secondly everything is everywhere so you have to muster up the energy to look through every rack to find your gold. finally, the items you do take a fancy towards are a) not on sale, b) not cheap enough to fit in with the budget or c) would probably only make one appearance in public then would find its home somewhere in the back of your wardrobe, reemerging a year or two later. sigh. you walk away from these sales after wasting 2 hours feeling a sense of defeat.

an arm workout on Thursday for our work community day. a 1.5 hour trip from chatswood to glossodia to the guide dogs association. where you ask? in the sticks past Windsor. had to lift massive tree trunks and branches after wattle trees were hacked with a chainsaw by the maintenance guy named Woody. we did get to play with these super cute puppies at the end of the day... sooooooo adorable i wanted to kidnap one!

awwww

triple awww

awww x4

was on the receiving end of a leg workout on Friday. another 2 hour lunch break. go me! Westpac Red Bulls mixed netball against Zurich GI's. 10 - 5 win. go us! mysteriously received another bruise on my left arm. i don't recall stacking it during the game or someone bashing into me... which is very weird indeed. friday night went to rosebery for s&b sale. my friend & i walked straight in which was excellent. had been hearing stories of how girls were being trampled on, long queues and lots of bitchyness. communal changerooms aren't the best but you have to make do in these situations. heaps of semi-naked girls flashing their underwear left, right and centre. all packed into this tiny space trying to check if their rear end looks big in s&b jeans in the few mirrors that were available. you will never know that trying on clothes would be that much of an aerobic exercise until you go to these sales. i'm glad they only have them every so often.

but sometimes you just need to invest some time in yourself and rest.
after a busy week, exhaustion hits. you feel buggered to the max. went shopping again yesterday and was feeling like an old grandma after 3 hours of walking around Chatswood Chase. a quick pick me up at Max Brenner did the trick. there's nothing like a nice hot chocolate & cinnamon bun covered in hot melted choc sauce. absolutely divine. chocolate really does make you feel good. its not just psychological but you feel reenergised and ready to embark on another 3 hours of retail therapy.

10 hours sleep last night. fabulous is all i can say. i haven't slept so well in a very very long time. although i had the weirdest dream that I was playing the role of Nala in the Lion King. and forgot all my lines. yes... very random & embarassing. but thats another story.

Saturday Afternoon Extravaganza

2005-06-04T16:13:00.000+10:00

Don’t be fooled by the heading….

This week I have encountered various horrific scenes in public places… I really believe that certain things should be done in private. An example…… I have counted more than 20 people picking their nose in public… and playing with their snot… seriously… I wanted to offer them some tissues…. but I didn’t have any.

In a less grotesque topic I have come to the conclusion that I shall not order strawberries chocolate dip from Max Brenner anymore… and just purchase the actual chocolate and do it at home… it is cost effective.!!!.. oh Sass and Bide sale was alright I have managed to persuade myself to buy two pairs of jeans and two tops.. But I do promise not to spend for the next 3 months on clothes…

Oh and hip hip hooray to the girls as we managed to booked our airfares last Tuesday…. But the negative thing about this is that we are all broke!!! Booo hooo but I guess we will think differently once we arrive there… think of Hawaii, the sand, the beach, the food the people and of course the nice scenery. Oh and what about Los Angeles, think of the celebs that we might spot, the nice big houses, the shopping, theme parks… San fran!!! think of the golden bridge, the gay central and the biggest china town… Las Vegas!! Ahhahah I guess this is where Poorani will enjoy her self most… Stripped Clubs, Casinos, extravagant hotels. But I think what I would really enjoy most is spending Christmas and new years in New York, … the massive Christmas tree, the fireworks in time square.. and of course… the shopping, sephora, mac, macys, Ralph Lauren, abracombie omg the list goes on…

time to end my extravaganza and face the music… (ITOM) grr

lesson learnt.

2005-05-31T16:58:00.000+10:00

ok so i thought the dumplings were a little too bland. that's when i decided to cut up two 3-inch chillies for the soup base. just to add a little spice in.

doot doot.

half an hour later i decided to put my contacts in. yes with those fingers.

ok i am not entirely sure what pepper spray feels like, but i was almost certain that it couldn't get any worse than that. aftermath: there i was. literally on the bathroom floor. squelling for help. and tears streaming down my face.

fark.

N E V E R. again.

in awe.

2005-05-28T15:15:00.000+10:00

click >>

oh my god. amazing.

7 months to go.

don't ask.

2005-05-26T23:25:00.000+10:00

ok joke is old.
but tim was bored.
and it is still surprisingly funny.
why does mark's sari look like carpet?

surprise johnton!

2005-05-23T09:22:00.000+10:00

i thought it turned out well. apart from the fact that we couldn't light up the cake in time. but it was all good. he loved the present and enjoyed the company. cheers to those who made it! don't think it would've turned out as well as it did without everyone's presence.

happy 21st little f*n fish :P

present time. the two buddies - i thought that was so so sweet of changgg. awww.

so the night began with some alcohol.

and it was from this ..

to this.

... haha and i almost lost my voice after this ...

haha. hahaha. hahahahahahha.

hmmm. no comment.

Congrats Gnessssssss

2005-05-20T11:31:00.000+10:00

Big Congrats to gnessssssssss!!

The good news is that gnesssssssss found himself an IT job

The bad news is that he won't have the luxury of bumming :D

It is always good to hear that... good things come to those who deserves it the most :)

Mobile fones are shit nowdays!!!!!

2005-05-18T23:35:00.000+10:00

OMG... i'm soo pissed off about my new fone... its not charging far out... ( same problem with my panasonic x70)

What happen to the good old days when i can use my fones for over 2 years or perhaps 3 years!!... I guess i should go back to nokia :S rather than buying all these fancy fones.. Thats my beef for tonight!!!

Happier note!! Good luck G-string for friday!!! hope you get it!! just feel confident even though u don't feel it!! and make sure u wear your nerdy glasses :P

G.

2005-05-18T21:49:00.000+10:00

so he comes up to the interface room with of course a query in relation to technical support.

G: "what does articulate mean"
S: "when um, someone speaks um, really ... well?"
G: "really. HAHAHA. *fat grin*"

apparently his interviewer was so impressed by his articulate-ness. that they rang des to speak highly of him.

gness = articulate. hehehehehe. i'm sad. but it was funny at the time. so funny that it made my day. that's how exciting uni is.

dood. goodluck on friday. remember me when you get that offer. and remember what you owe me when you get that offer.

G: " -_-; you don't care about me. you only care about your free dinner."

hahahaha. hahahha. hahaha. that's not trueee.

how random....

2005-05-18T20:46:00.000+10:00

this might sound rather vague and cryptical... but have u ever had a random experience?

something totally out of the blue happens which leaves you scratching your head. you're left pondering. deep in thought. completely puzzled. thinking why... why... WHY did that just happen?!?!

you don't expect it. you didn't see it coming.

it could just be that you bump into someone that you haven't seen or spoken to for a while. or something that you haven't been thinking about somehow comes into the forefront of your mind... triggered by some event. perhaps its something completely out of the ordinary that you can't believe just took place. a little voice in your head says... "that was SO random!"

it might be something positive. or on the complete other end of the spectrum...
something you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy.

you didn't make it happen. you had no control of the situation. it just did.

it makes you really wonder...did the randomness happen by chance? is it completely coincidental? or did it happen for a reason?

if you ever find out... please do tell...

australian princess.

2005-05-17T23:46:00.000+10:00

it was yet another boring itps lecture. getting SHHH('s) and dirties from nerds around us because we were too loud. and after alot of omg'ing at the most recent issue of NW (in particular at how ano nicole richie has become and at how dirty the bb05 contestants are), the topic of discussion was .. well reality tv shows. reality tv. lame lame lame. very lame. but i still watch them. yes. lame.

survivor. big brother. the simple life. newlyweds. the biggest loser. bachelor. the swan. australian idol. there's something about miriam. the block. my restaurant rules. the apprentice. the amazing race. the list goes on.

and while we were on topic. amanda brought up that she is planning to enter Australian Princess.

oh. and you know what the scary thing is. i can imagine her. i can imagine her in it.

"You are invited to become the next Australian Princess...

We are embarking on a national search for regular, everyday ‘Aussie’ girls who think they have what it takes to become the next ‘Australian Princess’’.

If you think you’re a ‘diamond in the rough’ who can be transformed into a Princess with poise, elegance, beauty and grace, then fill out the attached registration form and send it to us immediately.

The chosen contestants will be flown to Sydney and will learn how to walk, talk and act like a real Princess. Paul Burrell, former butler to Princess Diana and the Queen, will lead a team of international experts in etiquette and the royal pursuits, who will give contestants all the skills required in order to fit into proper society.

After several weeks of instruction five finalists will be flown to London, England, to complete their training, to meet a Prince Charming, receive a prize package fit for a Queen and be crowned Australian Princess."

right. learn how to walk. learn how to talk. like a real princess. ha. i laugh at that.

a 16 page application form filled with psycho questions. it is worse than grad job applications. are they for real?

- What qualifies you to be a princess?
- Does Prince Charming exist? What would he be like?
- What was the BIGGEST promise you broke / lie you told? (And did you get caught?)
- Do you have a temper? How often do you lose your temper? What provokes you?

all i can say is.

poorani. go for it.

and um amanda is scary. and crazy.

Think Deeper, Think Blue

2005-05-16T18:57:00.000+10:00

Alright, I haven't been blogging for the past few weeks because I didn't have anything good to say... I guess I was waiting for something like this to come up for me to blog about.

I'm really thankful to all the people who have helped me along the way... Suzie, Markus, David Kasuma for all the insights and practice questions... IT chickas!! For believing that I would get it hahahah although I didn’t believe u guys... High school friends for constantly being there and my Hun for keeping up with my stress attacks...

LoL and Gness I can finally say “ I got it!!! I got it!!!”

Think Deeper, Think Blue

Love
Kathness

congrats you woman!

2005-05-16T09:00:00.000+10:00

I TOLD YOU SO.

as if stress! i can't speak. but as if stress!

you owe me woman! you owe me big one!

we can now go out and celebrate!!! celebraateee (without me feeling bad!! :P)

and it's now tim's turn. he better get qantas. or eds. or whatever else he's going for.

oh oh Ohh .. US/Canada/wherever else list is now:

Me
Poo
Addy
Kath
Sath (maybe)
Minh (maybe)
Carrotz (maybe)

WOOT!

thanks for a great night out.

2005-05-14T17:58:00.000+10:00

the hotel. the minute the door opened, i screamed and jumped for joy. i dropped everything to the floor and ran to each of the three full length windows. room after room. i managed to fog up each window while imprinting permanent fingerprints on each. 65 levels above ground. there i stood. on top of everything. and i really wouldn't mind staying there for the rest of my life. the pool. the snoooker table. the gym. and the convenience. mmm. one day... one day.

spanish was great. haven't dined with the girls for a while. poo & sath's seafood & chicken paella was awesome. kath was high after sips of sangria. and there she sat talking to herself. repeating things that noone cared about. and laughed at herself for no reason. the dinner meant a chance to gossip. a chance to catch up. and a chance to pick on poo. enjoyed it alot.

anthony callea. his top and pants were too tight! but it was heaps good. people were going crazy. including men. alot of men. the two girls in front of us were going ballistic trying to catch his attention every minute of the show. the showroom consisted of 85% italians. 10% australians. 5% asian. i got major goosebumps when he reached that note in the prayer. and he got a standing ovation! great show.

veranda bar. the lines were massive. we were so impatient that we decided to be dodgy. begged the security guard to let us in without lining up any further. 3 minutes passed. and he finally gave in ;) once in, there were asians left, right and centre. with the entire night managing to bump into an unbeleivable amount of friends/acquaintances and alot of familiar faces. every corner was either someone we knew or know of. and after some drinks, carrotz pretty much went tipsy straight away. her watery eyes scared me a little but she still managed to dance. how cute. certainly experienced alot of funny moments and saw alot of hilarious incidents. loved it. had alot of fun. thanks for the company!

3:40am. back to the 65th floor. the night ended with some of us pigging out on kfc. some watching various lame tv shows. some of us experiencing more view admiring in that area. with kath to be the first one to k.o. in that bed. we have never slept any night through like such babies. it was good. it was really good. so good that we slept past check-out time. aah. with a bit of a hangover, we managed to drag ourselves and our sore feet to delifrance for some brunch.

thank you for a great night out. cannot wait till MAC!

i demand that same room.

their special day.

2005-05-13T10:11:00.000+10:00

congratulations to all new graduates!

you have finally made it through :) a big congratulations goes to all 02' bits, in particular adeline, sathya and kyle. bscits minh, helena, noel and charlotte. 01' compsci'ers anna, jas and ryan. as well as nat and chia from innovation and business respectively.

a milestone event in each and every one of their lives. it was certainly a special event for them all. this big day meant alot of happy shots, joyous smiles and faces, excited families and friends as well as the prevelidge to wear that hat and gown.

oh ... and of course receiving that very long awaited piece of paper.

to celebrate a job well done, congratulatory dinner and drinks were lined up for the night. and that was when i'd realised that i never seem to learn one thing: you should always eat before you drink. so i experienced my worst interface shift the very next morning in the many months i've worked there.

thinking about it. no more uni means no more bumming, no more SDP/SITPP stresses and no more 4-day weekends. no more thrills of skippping lectures to go shopping. semester breaks that were taken for granted are not going to happen anymore.

the past three years wouldn't have been the same for me without the company of you lot. it certainly flew by in the blink of an eye. thank you for the many many happy memories! starting out from o-camp where wentworth began. going through all first year subjects together. the many supplementary exams. getting told off by the dean. by cb 10 security on numerous occasions. icc lectures. ics group rivalry. shitty unix exams. oop creative writing in lectures. sdp group politics. annual bbqs. dab. blue ice. yellow shirt. you were all part of it :)

so as one chapter of life closes, the journey will begin in the next chapter for you new graduates. there's a very bright & exciting future ahead of you all. and i wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours. that you enjoy the many lessons and new challenges that the corporate world will bring and offer you.

congrats!

congratulations chia. to think that i will be in his position next year makes me feel sad ..

in the lovely uts carpark.

the three monkeys. chia, jacky & jun.

ps: IT grad'n pics will be up soon :)

our poo.

2005-05-10T22:32:00.000+10:00

check her out:

so i screamed with excitement while we picked it up at starshots. the two ladies looked at me weird but poo was overly happy. i look so fair. she loved it. she didn't admit it. but she loved it.

me: "omg poo .. you look fab.. poo.. you look .. hot"
poo: "hehehe hehehehehe hehehehehhee i know" *pause* "it's good aye"

first reaction from tim: "who's this?" ... "poo" ... "WHAT THE F*CK" ... "WOW"

mark: ... (*speechless*)

"G n e s s | gness.thepimpfactory.com says:
omg man
G n e s s | gness.thepimpfactory.com says:
looks like some bollywood star"

that's right. her whole family reckons she's bollywood quality now. her mum, dad, cousins, aunties, uncles - sooo so so who knows of good singles match-maker sites? orrrr specifically hot sri lanken guys to recommend .. over here please.

msg to poo: please don't kill us. u know we love you!

PS: i will get a proper scanned version which is 1000000X better, but for now my dodgy phone version will do :)

i so have a bad feeling about this blog & our msn avatars. *hides*

addicted to travelling.

2005-05-08T22:21:00.000+10:00

yes i'm dreaming of yet another overseas trip. today was my attack kat & mark day. persuaded kathleen javalla. after friday's result, she will let me know :P and markus .. bwahahaha. come on a holiday with us :D rub rub rub. i blame you. worked me up even more with the photos. errr to you.

oh and check the spastics out ...
there has to be a better way

suzie's review:
howard - good work w/ the voice. you will make a great boss.
ian - great stack. there has to be a better way - your smile at the end killed it. hahaha.
mark - i love your pose. but geez poor effort with the emotions..!! i swear i am going to die from laughter next tuesday.

laurel will love you boys. you boys will be her new daaarlings.

gness has goldfish eyes.

2005-05-06T20:45:00.000+10:00

has anyone seen them? it really scares me. i've seen him do it everytime he plays pool. and apparently when he's benching @ the gym. pwoarr. those veiny eyes freak me out.

and to prove that he's normal, he sent me this:

that is one of the worst guinness book of world records ep. i've seen. i actually squelled.

i can now relaaax

2005-05-06T08:18:00.000+10:00

i am in an extremely good mood atm. the past few weeks have been so draining.
mobile programming - completed
ITPS - completed
SITPP - completed

i can finally celebrate!

this morning i was able to absorb everything in. sat myself down to think. did alot of thinking. and my delimma is not much of a delimma anymore. i have finally made up my mind. simply because everything has been pointing me to that direction. and its all good now. yessssssss - finally settled :)

and because i don't think i have thanked you guys enough. dinner will be coming at the end of may/beginning of june. i am poor this month due to mother's day and dad's birthday. oh and speaking of shouting dinner .. *looks @ tim & howie* .. ahem.

another thing to note: addy & sath's graduation is on next wednesday! try to be there to take some happy shots with them around 12pm!

let's do something over the next break - camping, fishing, something. ideas please! haven't had any group outings since errr coffs? haha.

made me smile.

2005-05-03T23:44:00.000+10:00

haha got home today and got spammed by the boys with this:
(i think they got it from jess' nick!)

these two guys are so funny. i've seen them lip sync to cereal ads before, they're hilarious!

Inspirational Quotes!! :D

2005-05-02T18:13:00.000+10:00

Hi Guys

I guess everyone has some type of stress in their lives, including myself. So just to help you all out with some of my intellectual sayings in life...*cough* quotes from google.com "inspirational quotes.
here it goes:

"Never let yesterday use up today." -- Richard H. Nelson
"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"It's never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot
"A journey begins with a thousand steps" -- Some jap guys!! hehehehe

To the kathman who seems to be more stressed than most of us at the moment

You are pure potential.Maat
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder. Henry David Thoreau

For all the friends we have gained, lost and will make in the future...i agree to the following quote

Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

L a u g h.

Choose with no regret.

Continue to Learn.

Appreciate your friends.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.

Mary Anne M.B.L. Radmacher

Finally the quote of all quotes by the famous Poorani Prithiviraj :D

I request patiences from all of you with everything unresolved in your heart.

Don’t search for the answers, which cannot be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them to their full potential.

And the point is, to live everything in life to the max.

Live the questions now!!

Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without ever noticing it, live your way into the answer.

by: Rainer Maria Rilke

Anyways i just felt like giving my two cents...talk to you all soon. hehehehehe

age defiance

2005-05-01T23:40:00.000+10:00

they say that french women don't get fat...

well, asian women have a tendency to look younger than their age.
today someone told me i look 17 or 18. hahaha. that comment made my day indeed!

in our adolescent years before we hit the ripe age of 18, we yearn to look beyond our years. to be able to buy that bottle of vodka. to underhandedly sneak into a club underage.

once you start rolling into the 20's, each additional year that passes is not met with the excitement that once existed before. we dread the fact that we're starting to look older. fatigued. worn out.

but with each year we are subjected to new experiences that are transfigured into memories and archived into a small storage space in the back of our minds. we are presented new opportunities to grow. our hopes and wants escalate.

still, that all being said...
dammit bouncer... ask to look at my ID PLEASE?!?!
hehe... being the asian that i am, fortunately, i have yet to escape the joy of pulling out my drivers license. the precious source of all truth. i hear people complain about it all the time... but i'll gladly take it with a slice of lemon!!

time to celebrate again?

2005-04-29T23:43:00.000+10:00

walked in sick as a dog. feeling drowsy from the panadols and with no preperation at all. people were very caring though. they kept offering me with loads of water and tissues throughout the day. so then i went with the flow the next 7 hours while coughing my lungs out. and that call received at minc .. pumping music in the background .. i still regret the way i'd responded. they better not take it back. the highlight of the day: that staircase. that gym. that view.

how beautiful.

ps: poorationary. type properly already.

Hiiiii Guys!!!!

2005-04-29T17:09:00.000+10:00

Hiiiiiiiiii

Well okies i have been reading your inspirational blogs...man addy where do you come up with these things. I was reading this at work going omgosh Addy!!! sooo spirtually... Go Addy!!!

Well i might as well start by saying CONGRADS suzziiieeee...we knew you were going to get it. Just stress for no reason women. Well hope you do well. I know kathman will get IBM...so might as well say CONGRADS. hehehehhehe well *touch wood*, dont want to jinks it.

Well my life is just grand...work, uni, sleep. We gotta do stuff more often but then i guess we need the time. Anyways we can definitely go clubbing one day...woohOOOO cant wait till MAC then we can go clubbing.

I have no idea how you guys say sooo much...but when i think of something interesting to say..ill blog. hehehehheehe for now ill say ttyl... :D

good things come to those who wait

2005-04-28T20:09:00.000+10:00

a big congrats goes out to suzieeeee!! i knew you could do it. it was just a matter of time. all your hard work & effort has paid off. no more feelings of frustration. apprehension. anxiousness. time to let your hair down miss ng and CELEBRATE! *you* did it!!

to those still waiting in nail biting suspense. your time to shine will come. remember to focus on YOU and not the happenings around you. ignore the competition. the bitterness. the superficiality. just have belief in yourself and your abilities. creatively visualise and imagine your goal. trust that whatever will be will be. most importantly... have faith. when you least expect it, something good will happen. i've been there.

when depression hits or there's a moment of self doubt...
remember these 4 P's - patience. perseverance. positive thinking. prayer.

good luck to kathness & timbo... and everyone else facing this somewhat monumental challenge. remember kathness... think -> do -> get! in a years time when you look back at this time of hecticness, you'll wonder how you managed to overcome just another one of many hurdles in your life. whatever path you take, i have confidence that you will do well.

and at the end of the day, after all the tears... sweat & drama...
strive to be happy...

... now if only i could take a piece of my own advice ;) hehe
life is never that simple is it!?

time to celebrate.

2005-04-28T11:11:00.000+10:00

finally. i managed to have something secured and it feels so much better. the insecurity has been killing me for weeks. and i can now finally sleep again.

and i feel so so so loved! all of you have been so nice to me. the phone calls and sms' before and after each stage have made me smile. all you boys have more faith in me than I do myself. never thought i'd say this. but you guys are the besssst. and all you girls, i cannot thank you enough. thank you lots and lots and lots.

goodluck johnton. you said you're going to wing it. and i know you'll wing it well.

something my dailo sent me this morning:

he took that on the way back from kyoto. missing ya kevin kevin. hope you don't bring the engrish back with ya :)

start to another long day.

2005-04-27T06:48:00.000+10:00

how mad is this?

click:

Thanks dly.

(was meant for my 21st)

Yay for 3 days of nothingness

2005-04-25T18:17:00.000+10:00

This long weekend has been soooooo good, just packed with shopping, chatting, bumming, etc which are all the things I am deprived of doing when at work.

Started it off with catching up witht eh BITs for drinks on Friday nite then dinner with Romes. Yes, saturday with the girls and david (who was prolly sick of our shopping woes by the end of it!) bargain shopping! OMG u guys r such a bad influence, bought bag and jacket. I'll just keep telling myself to not feel guilty coz they were majorly discounted. Then jetted home for a 1 hr power nap b4 heading off 2 destiny's child concert. OMG OMG OMG they were AMAZING, better live than recorded. srsly beyonce in my opinion has the best voice of all artists i hav heard...she takes such risks live and pulls all the trills/runs/improvisations/modulations off. like her voice was bellowing over the sound system. and kelly was really good too....i didn't know she was so damn loud. I am soooo jealous of these black women and their voices!

Then Sunday morning had 2 wake up and head 2 pennant hills 4 a youth grp meeting....and omg this is srs whoop whoop coz their neighbour had a goat chained up in the front yard, no joke! and 200 meters down the road wa a complete forest! u dont get that stuff in straty thats 4 sure. afterwards went 2 a bday celebration 4 this old guy that runs a homeless foundation in Rozelle by the water. Our youth group has helped out there b4 so we went and it was sooooooooooo relaxing. Jut sitting outside under an umbrella in the sun in front of the water doing nothing but eating and chatting.

Finally today was my bum around day coz i was so bugg-ed. the climax was driving 2 work 2 pick up my laptop coz i am going 2 b in silverwater this week. and omg there were 2 ppl at work in the office....scary! some1 slap me if i ever do that on a long weekend or any weekend 4 that matter.

ok....must shut up. as is said this week i am gonna b in silverwater working opposite the prison :S lol....at least i can sleep in a bit!

Pineapple Monday

2005-04-25T17:13:00.000+10:00

Well... its been very unproductive weekend...(uni work wise)
Friday night i went and had dinner with my highschool friends at hurracaine at bondi... it was okey... but i prefer Tony Romas for ribs... But hey the company was really good!

Saturday went shopping with david, may, addyness,sathness and suziness at bondi... I bought black marc pants and a oroton belt.. so yay for that

Sunday morning took marcus at marcs to buy some work shirt at parra..! then later that night went to watch amityville with the movie crew..

Today... went to uni to do some group assignment....

Now.. I'm eating pineapple :)

Love
Kathness

the long weekend.

2005-04-25T13:55:00.000+10:00

amityville horror = typical unrealistic plot. but i got scared regardless. and the polo jacket was my best friend.

i've finally caught up on my sleep over the long weekend! hmm 10-12 hour sleeps are the best.

and im ready for another hectic week ahead.

SITPP = haven't started
ITPS = haven't started
Mobile Programming = barely started

shit.

my week is so packed that i had to schedule an assessment centre on a saturday. a friggin saturday *(@&^!#

yeh. *sigh*. sounds like fun.

cannot wait till this is all over. oh and only about two weeks until addy/sath's graduation ceremony. we have to get them drunk. you two, think of somewhere nice to eat already. somewhere niceeee. sheraton on the park buffet. anyone? :P

then shortly after that. MAC day! dinner. clubbing. kathness - hotel!

and then its vip anthony callea.

ah and b4 we know it. it'll be the annaul bi-park bbq again :)

Stressed Over everything grr

2005-04-20T13:50:00.000+10:00

OMG..... Seriously from last night till now... ive been having such a bad time...
Last night i stuffed up my online exam go me!!!! didnt prepare for my interivew today go me!!! woke up at 5:30 am so that i can go to interface at 7:30 am and store my laptop... but i didnt know that we cant access the room till 8am go me!!!!

The rain wouldn't stop and i got wet..... go me!!! my feet started hurting cause my shoes sucks go me!!!!! OHHHHHH and omg something happen during my interview which im not going to say online cause its abit digusting... but yeah GO ME!!!

My interview lasted for an hour ... i dunno wats going to happen next.. but i do hope that i get into the next step....

prayers for everyone to get what they want or atleast get an offer..

and i hope that your day wasnt as bad as mine...

I'm praying that all of us would get a job... i really do hope so...

Sus, Ian,Tim, Sharon, Vi, Teresa,Ricky will all get a job.... if not grad... then something... hhahaha but yeah i prefer grad..

but i wish you all the best ... i know that everyone is very busy due to interviews and assesments but break a leg guys...

Love
Kathness

over it.

2005-04-20T07:36:00.000+10:00

what's wrong with me. i haven't had the appetite to eat anything in the past few days. everytime i put something in my mouth i feel like throwing up. and most of my meals have been in the form of liquid. it has never happened before. but i think its due to the stress.

but you know what. something amazing happened overnight.

i woke up completely stress free.

ah huh. i'm shocked at myself too. i think its drained every ounce of energy out of me. now im at the point where i don't (surprisingly) give a shit about anything anymore. whatever happens happens. what a weird feeling. i personally think i work better when i'm stressed. and i want my stress back. i do.

while i'm on the topic. i want to wish a few people goodluck:

kathleen javalla. you will be the chosen one. yeh. show them what you've got. show them what you're made out of woman. we have faith in you.

teresa lai. you can do it. your determination is definitely going get you there. best of luck to the both of us tomorrow. you are so going to fly through it.

vi & sharon. you two. its easy for me to say. but - stress less. have never met anyone more stressed than vi bui. yeh. she's a freak. friday will be a v. interesting experience for us. i'll be in the corner watching you go off at it. you'll be fine girl.

tim cheng. i have never in the past three years seen you stress over anything. anything at all. 6 questions. come on! you are so going to get it. i know it.

absolutely tiring & draining.

2005-04-18T21:03:00.000+10:00

didn't know what to expect at all. the next 5 hours was definitely a draining and daunting experience. crazy patterns. numerous graphs, stats and numbers. together with ambiguous paragraphs. such a good start to the day. all designed to put you through hours and hours of pain. then the next thing you know, you're stuck in a room with 6 others. people talk too much. they're loud, they talk over you and they don't give you a chance to speak. they cut you off, they delegate you things to do and pull bs out of their arses. yeah. and of course they have a natural flair for presentions. all i could do was give them death stares and think shut up already. i was so turned off i couldn't be bothered. and just when i thought that was the end for today, i realised i was an hour late to a mingling session. so it was mingle mingle mingle. then it was back to uni for some real work. with the day ending with yet another mingling session. fun.

the sessions are pretty funny. you go to them and see the exact same people as the previous ones. and end up making friends with them. that is the only fun bit about it all. other than that. yuk.

oh and i am so not prepared for tomorrow. i am so in need for 48-hour-days.

help.

highlight: got approached by a bunch of my restaurant rules people from brisbane persuading me for 5mins to vote for the lourve. it was the only time i laughed during the day ..... exciting day indeed.

The Morning After

2005-04-17T14:21:00.000+10:00

Hey girls....OMG why have I not seen these sexy photo of our poo? We must find away to upload them so all the world can see poo and her sexy legs lol.

Wow addy, mad blog site...yet another way for us girls to gossip and philosiphise aboyt life. Well last night I went to dinner + Uptown @ Veranda with romes and guz and apparently Anthony Callea was there! The DJ announced that he was 'in the house' and we were frantically looking around for him but i reckon he is too short to spot anyways. But yea the music was pretty good, girls they played candy shop!!!! So that made my night...and the crowd wasn't overly dominated by one race (i.e. not 100% curry or asian) which was nice. Actually I have never seen so many non-curries at an rnb club, which I guess shows I really need to start to go to new places. And sweet relief there weren't any little underage teeny boppers that make me feel old.

Well, work is going along and it has been more than 2 months now! It's pretty interesting @ Deloitte coz I am in a different place, with a different client every few weeks. 2 grads that started with me have already gone interstate on jobs so I wanna land a client in Melbourne!!! But yes...apply 4 deloitte - ERS coz we need more UTS blood! ehehe...but don't panic girls it's all a bit depressing with grad applications at the beginning coz u keep getting rejections all at the same time and u think u'll never get a job. Me and addy used 2 hav the SAME convos abt how we got rejected and we had 2 plan on doing a masters if we end up unemployed. but srsly afta a while u'll start going thru more rounds and b4 u know it u'll hav offers. it's just the nature of the recruitment process and schedule that u end up getting all the rejections first and all the companies reject u at the same time so it seems worse than it is.

Ok i better shut up now or I could type 4 hours. Can't wait 4 saturday shopping...I am sooooooooo getting an oroton bag/purse and need clothes!!!

Toodles
Sath

must not let it get to me.

2005-04-17T10:33:00.000+10:00

thanks for the blog addyness & i will definitely be there on your graduation :)
i have a feeling that this blog will be abused and become a tool for procrastination.

so what's been happening of late. nothing much, yet i seem to be occupied almost every minute of the day. i recently discovered that i am terrible @ managing my time and stress. the next two weeks is going to be fun. i can see it. i can see myself getting depressed day after day. my self-esteem dropping to zero. zilch. i don't think i can cope with it all. also because i know what i am capable of .. and the chances are looking so v. slim. at the end of it, unless i get some positive feedback, i don't know what i'll do. if you asked me 2 weeks ago, i would've had a v. positive outlook re this whole process. it was stress free, manageable and i was actually completely ok if i wasn't going to end up with anything.

on the other hand, i am so glad i have a support group around me. if i was them i would get so fed up with my never ending whinge. yet they are so so so supportive - the few of you, you will be rewarded regardless of the result. i promise! my mood atm? i actually feel like going to a greek restaurant to smash some plates. i really have the urge to do that. oh dear.

oh oh and has anyone heard about poo's fancy photoshoot? she wore her beautiful sari. did about 45 shots and in particular a seductive look-over-the-shoulder-with-bare-back pose. according to her cousins she looked fab. poo loves it and she so wants more. and kath wants one too, she really really wants one - err to them both. i will try to get my hands on that photo and post it up here for everyone to perve on ;)

Sunday Procastination

2005-04-17T10:32:00.000+10:00

Good work Addyness!!!! Go the IT Skills Go IT chicks

Weekend is normally allocated to do some resting but seriously i can't afford to do this all the time... uni work is overflowing, been busy with useless grad applications and other engagement.. and the fact that i've been procatinating heaps!!

But there is always a few things to look forward to. I can't wait for our retail theraphy omg i seriously can't wait since i'm running out of clothes... cheers for deelai!! and ofcourse our MAC session! i can't wait for that... We can a hire our hotel tooo if evereryone is up for it!...

I'll organise our random photo shoot :D since poorani is sooo pro already!!! :D

and who can forget our dessert night it was tres fun! we should do that again....
By the way if i do get an offer... any grad offer.. i'll shout the girls dinner hahhaha my chances are low so don't expect a free dinner...

Speaking of free dinners i believe two ppl still owe us dinner!! :D:D:D we shall chase that up... hahah Anyway i should really do some ICC its soo gay that I have to do this subject...

Love
Kathness

Our Random Reflections...

2005-04-16T19:25:00.000+10:00

After much pestering from Suzie :P and with boredom kicking in on my part I decided to create a blog for the girls yesterday... yes I admit... it is rather *pink* and girly... Also... watch the image on the site! It changes after a while... i mite put some more pics on there as well if I'm really bored hehehe... I can already visualise Gness's face already going OMG wtf... hehe... but in true Kathleen style... YOU SUX and we rule! Anyway, after all... we are 100% female u know! If we were a bunch of guys who had a pink blog then that would be a bit worrying...

But in all honesty... we thought it would be a good idea to keep track of the things we get up to this year... Poopoo might give us some tips on how to stay fit and eat a healthy diet *cough cough*... you might hear us whine about the daily stress occuring in our lives... work... uni... the hecticness of applying for grad jobs from Suzie & Kath... our thoughts... our worries... our favourite pastimes including retail therapy... just a place for us to write whatever is on our mind....

I guess my life now pretty much revolves around work... I can't believe time has gone by so quickly... I've officially been working full time for nearly 3 months now @ Westpac. It's been a fun & exciting 3 months so far... My first rotation at BT Financial Group has been really good... the culture is one of youth and innovation... and although people do work hard they still manage to have fun at the same time which I think is important. Everyone is really friendly and supportive and it just makes getting up in the morning that little bit easier.

Work wise... I've been working closely as a BA with another Business Analyst in the team on this Corporate Super project. I think it's been really good experience for me because a) I've never actually been on a project before in previous industrial training... always in support roles doing day to day tasks... so its interesting to see the different phases a project goes through in the "real world" and its a pretty high profile project with a tight deadline of July 1... so there's a bit of pressure!!... b) I've been able to witness and experience the life of a BA... they're always in meetings all day hehehe and have close interaction with the business... I think the business oriented side of IT is probably more "me" than just coding all day... and c) I'm really lucky to be working in the same team as Nathalie and Sylvia... although we're in different project teams and we do completely different work... it has been really cool experiencing everything with those two gals.... it was funny because at the beginning some people in the team kept getting our names confused so they just referred to us as Charlie's Angels... there's actually a guy in Nat's team called Charlie hehehe.... or graduate #1, #2 and #3 hehehe jks....

We go for coffee/breakfast with most of the 20-somethings in our team most mornings... there's always a team lunch/cakes or some activity every few weeks... and it seems at BT that there's always free catered food!! This is the life!! :P We make up for the calories though as Nat, Syl and I play mixed netball every Friday in a Westpac grad team with some '04 and '05 grads... its been fun and you feel rather refreshed as well after the game... we've won 2 officially hehe and won 1 by default when the other team forfeited.... coming 4th at the moment which isn't too shabby!

And I have to mention the other '05 Westpac Grads too...I'm glad I've made some good friends in such a short time period... they are all really sociable and usually go for drinks/dinner on Fridays or meet up for lunch during the week. Its funny how in uni people love their alcohol... but once you hit work everyone just becomes alcoholics and can't wait for a big Friday night!! Of course most of the girls have self control and we usually don't drink that much :P We're just there to be social and have a good time after a long week of work. Surprisingly the week just goes by so quickly though and the weekend even faster!!!! boooooooo :( Like its Sunday already and I haven't achieved much this weekend... hehee... but I wanted a relaxing weekend cos the past few weeks have been jam packed with 21sts, clubbing and going out... some well deserved R&R.

Anyway, the cycle continues... back to work tomorrow... I'm sure you'll hear more from me again soon... I'll be graduating on May 11th so you all better come so that I can take some photos with u in my lovely black gown!!

Our next girly event is shopping I think on Sat 23rd April hehehe :D and our makeup tuition night at MAC Paddington on May 13th... can't wait gals!!