Marley & Me (John Grogan)

Last day of the month.

This month, i'd finished 2 books. The first was 'The Kite Runner'. Cant remember who the author was as i'd asked my parents to bring it back to Sing for me. It was a good book. About two friends who were brothers. About guilt and loyalty. I spend about 2 weeks on it as i was travelling around Tassie and dun really have the time to sit down and read.

The second book was 'Marley & Me' by John Gorgan. The cover caught my attention when i was looking for 'The kite runner'. So once i finished the first book, i went back to buy the second one. Its a new book, recently published and had been reprinted 7 times (at least). Still not impressed? I finished it over the weekend. How does that sounds now.

This book is completely on Marley, from its first few days with the Gorgans till its last days. The ending was sad. So sad because it is real. So real as it's inevitable. And i know someday when i have a dog, i will face it too.

The reason the cover caught my attention was because it was a picture of a Labrador retriever with a doopy look. The kind that always melt me. The saying 'Never judge a book by its cover' is so not applicable for this book. Cause this is one fantastic book.

I could easily picture the lab as described in the book running from places to places with the goofy look, the determined look, the sad whinny look, the pleased look as well as the sleepy look. Because it reminded me of my neighbour's golden retreiver. And to this day i still miss him and i could still remember the day when my neighbour told me that he was put down to sleep as he's sick.

I could still see him siting behind the gate with his tounge hanging out. He always looked like he's smiling and welcoming me back. Sometimes i really wish that i can see that scene once more.

Retrivers are the most gentle big dogs i had ever seen. They have a stupid look but deep down, they are the most loyal breed. To me. They are so forgiving and always happy to be pat. They are so expressive that by their looks you can know if they are confussed or tired. Well, if only one day, i can have one too...

Go visit this link to read up more about the book:
Marley & Me
Read an excerpt or look at the picts of the darling dog while u were there or stories from other pet owners.

This is seriously, honestly, truefully, a book worth reading for all dogs lovers.

National Tree Day

Today is National Tree Day. Our club participated in this event. We went to Burnley Park to help. What was suppose to start at 10am and ends at 12pm ended at 10.50 instead. The plating of 1800 small plants was completed within 50 mins. I guess the locals will now hate us as we spoilt their fun. But i seriously hope the plants will grow up strong. The strength in plogging the soil and the gentleness when coaxing the seedling from the black plastic pots. I'm feeling more like a mother each day.

And there are strong evidence in that. I went to Borders and the books i picked out was:
- How to talk to your dogs, and
- The best name ever for pets.

Think i'm damn screwed. Will i spoilt my dog? Sigh.. How is a single mum's life gonna be??

Pets-shop-hopping still ongoing...

Stars..

I've always thought that my digital camera is useless when it comes to taking pict of stars. But tonight, it had proven me wrong. I hate to admit that i'm wrong but I AM!

All thanks to those friends in Tassie who had taught me the jou of exposure!!

Just found the constellation that they belongs to.... Its the southern Cross.. Haha.. So happy!

(Click on the pict to see a bigger version on a white background!)

Evil me.. Heehh..

Listening to a PRC girl scolding her boyfriend under my balcony in mandrain simply let me understand one of the purpose of learning Chinese...

The first day of a new semester..

I have no classes today as there's no tuts on the first wk of school. Meaning tt i only have tuts on mon. This sem's timetable wasnt that great but there's nothing i can do about it. I have 5 days of sch each week. Some with only 1 or 2 classes. But no, i cant change them.

Anyway, today i went to a pet shelter. I saw some dogs for adoption there. Only den i understand why Jia n les kept saying that i'll feel damn good when i adopt a pet. The dogs look really pitiful. Especially when you look into their eyes. Or when they start to whine when you walk away. Or when they bark to get your attention. And especially so when they try to get out. Its heart wrenching..

Scones..

Had serious cravings for scones ever since i tried one in Dandenong's Pies in the Skies. Today, i couldnt resist the temptations anymore so i made some..

It tastes... GOOD!! GREAT!! Excellent!!

My dad was the first to try and his look says everything...

It has a more buttery taste than those i tried at Pies in the Skies (its a shop)but not as fluffy. But we all like it!

Mr Hsemate was warned by my mum not to eat too much as it was seconds away to dinner. So he tear off a small piece to taste and stuff it into his mouth. Seconds later, he was caught stealing another bite..

Place your orders quick as my mum and i will be baking another batch tmr for her to bring back to sing..



Note: Scones are best eaten warm with jam and cream and a cup of hot tea on a cold winter afternoon.. Denvonshire Tea.

Finally, another entry..

I know tt it had been a long time since i update the blog... Guess had been too busy w all sorts of things.. Like resting, lazing, watching drama, travelling, eating and accompanying my parents. Yes, at the moment, they are still here but will b leaving this sunday. It had been a long yet short month for me..

I lost 2 things this winter. Two things that matters a lot to me. So much that my heart hurts. I know that once they are gone, i will have lost them forever. I will never be able to get them back.

The first was my relationship with actuarial. I failed one subject this semester. Even though i know i screw up the paper but i still hope that i may still pass. But no, i didnt. That mark the end of my actuarial path. Even though i could still continue with the course if i am willing to repeat this subj next yr i didnt want to. I'm scare. Because of this failure, i have no confident that i can do well and pass all the other actuarial subjects next semester. So, i change to finance. I felt like i'd just been throught a breakup. An end of the relationship. A time to face the truth, ie i'm not as good as i think i am. Not suited for actuarial. I can't handle actuarial at all. But at least i'm glad that it lasted for so long. At least i was able to try out and learn lots of mathmatical stuff that i wont be able to learn if i did finance all the way. It made me sit back and think. Am i really such a failure? Everything i do never seems to be able to be completed. A's, driving, music, relationships... It seems like everything i do, i need to repeat it several more times before i can get it right. Isnt there anything i can manage without failing? I'm still finding out...

My second lost. It didnt create as much an impact as the first but it still hurts. They are my photos. I borrowed my brother's SD card which has a memory space of 1GB. I used it when my parents came over to Tassie. I took some picts of a sunrise. It wasnt the best nor very impressive so i wasnt very affected by them. But the other batch of picts that i took matters a lot to me. It took me a lot of sweat to obtain them. I need to ascend 600 steps to reach the lookout and i did it all alone. 600 steps wasnt much to most but the main reason i was willing to climb up there was to take pictures so, can u imagine my dissapointment when after snaping 30 over picts, the dig camera shows me that it cant use the card. The wineglass bay (http://www.tassie.org.au/freycinet/) lookout was the highlight of my Tassie trip and no matter how much changes have to be make to the iternaries, i will not allow for anything or anyone to disrupt my plans to visit the Freycinet National Park. Now, i just hope that my bro is able to retrieve the information in the card and save the picts for me. They really matters a lot to me.

~Tassie~

Tassie was good. I saw rainbows(lots of them in a day), snowing, never ending beaches, cheap oysters($5 for a dozen), beautiful desert wines and ermm.. lots of dead animal on the road. Got to know some nice people in Lauceston and went for a roadtrip with them.

They are really friendly people but i guess i could say that i shut them out. I was no longer the friendly ger whom people used to think i was. I'd become someone who couldnt be bother to make new friends because i know that they come and go. Years later, i will think of them and remember the wonderful times that we have but that will be all. Is this part of getting old? When i wont be bother to mixed around with people and make an effort to understand them more.

Guess i'm sick and tired of all these mingling stuff. The superfical-ness of things. I know that they are true but guess i'd encounter lots of 'otherwise' personals over the past few years that make me cold. People making use of one another to get what they wants. Kicking them aside when they have achieve it. Back stabbing their own friends or maybe i should say, backstabing their so called friends. Everyone always have a smile on their face when they first met, but its only a matter of time before a secret glance is made. Welcome to the grown up work u might say, but heck, i'm still in uni. WHy make things so complicating? How am i going to survive in the workforce next time? If i cant beat them arnt i sppose to join them? Or is there anyway to prevent meeting them?

Sigh, not in any mood to talk bout the Tassie trip. Shall upload some picts and like they always say, 'A picture speaks a thousand words.' Let my picts speak for me then..

Living the life of a spoilt brat...

Lalala.. Had been back from the Roadtrip for a few days already but only nw do i feel like composing an entry.. Too lazy to feel like doing anything other than hide under the covers and watch all e dramas that are waiting for me.. Life cant get any better... Just the way i like it..

My parents, they just went out on their own.. Its too cold and i'm too lazy to go out w them.. Haha....

The Roadtrip lasted for 6 days. We orginially planned to go for 5 days but we just keep driving further and further away from Victoria. If we could i belive we will had went for 8 days not only 6. We need to come back to Vict thats why we came backk.. we travel to Daylesford, that place is famous for its springs and spa but we only get to taste some of the springs and not try the spa.. The spring water tastes gassy with a hint of metal. But i like it..


That night we slept in a Bed and Breakfast and Erica n Fangmin had a pinky room while i slept with my parents in another room. Isn't their room princessy??


Brekkie time..


The following day we tour around Grampians. I got chased by geese as i was trying to take some picts of the motel that we stayed in. Those are the naughty birds that came after me. After i run into our room, they came to our door and started knocking with their beaks. They hang around for bout 10 mins before they realised that we won't be feeding them anything. So they left after leaving us some welcome gift. They shit at our door mat... Too much!!


My parents at MacKenzie Falls. I was too lazy to climb down with e 2 girls as i'd been there before so i took a leisurely stroll with my parents to the lookout.

We stopped at several wineries and this was taken at one of them.


At another one. We took a bunch of grapes as it was so sweet.. Irresistable..


One of the few picts that we took along the way to South Australia..


At one of the lookout at South Australia..


Adelaide At Night..




My first..


At Henry's Beach or something..


My mum kept saying tt i looks like a frog. BUT i'm trying to look like a crab..


I saw my friend in Adelaide, *ahem* get ur snout out of the bin..


We climb some small hill..


and venture into the desert..


It was fun...





Thats all for the time being.... 7 more days to Tassie.. Wohoo.. More picts..