Day 14 of my 15 days trip

Day 11
Well, came back from sailing to the Whitsunday Island yesterday and had to stay a nite here at WhitSunday before taking a plane to Brisbane in which we will take a train to Gold Coast. Gonna spend the rest of the time in GC and not going anywhere else.

Spend the whole morning walking around this place and having brekkie alone with a new book. It was relaxing. After we check out of the backpackers, i took my book, found a bence beside Airlie Beach, lay down and spend the next three hours there. These are the times that i enjoyed most. Being able to be engross in a book at a place with a good view, cool breeze and occasion sunrays. *Sweet*

Day 14
My last night here. Currently, using the internet at YHA Colongatta. Its only 9pm but i'm so tired. Since the sailing trip, i had been sleeping at approx 11pm everynight. Sometimes as early as 9pm. Sigh. I'm so tired. But the up side is, i will wake up at bout 6-7am every mornign. Gonna wake up for sunrise tomorrow. Hope i can make it.

Anyway, Colongatta is South of Gold Coast. We went to Sea World 2 days ago,

Surfers Paradise yesterday

and Brisbane today. We took 2hr journey of train and bus to get to Brisbane but i only spend 4hrs there. It's so bornign. I felt suffocated. I dun noe how i will feel to be back in Melb.

I came back early and went to a nearby beach, Tugan Beach.

Anyway, it was near sunset and the sea was beautiful. But guess what, my camera batt went flat. Both of them. So, i promise myself to catch the sunrise tmr. Hope it will be as grand as Lakes Entrance.

A brand new day to a brand new start of a brand new year. Ur nt getting any younger, Miss Wong!

Guess i will always be a sea-person. Being at the beach always make me feel so much better. Water always make me calmer. Hence i like to bath. But i dun noe what happened to Miss TYX since we are from the same zodic but she... DETEST bathing! Sigh.. What a shame...

Anyway, at SEAWORLD, i saw a few interesting things. Well, not really interesting, just caught my interest. First there was the Dugong. Its a sea cow. I dun noe hw to describe it (but will upload e pict when i gt back).

Den there were the dolphines and seals performace. Which i find pretty impressive.

Then we took some of the rides, Corkscrew (same as Genting Theme Park). At first i thought i will freak out like hw i felt yrs back when i took it alone but in the end, i felt nothign. ABSOLUTE NOTHIGN at all. I was so dissapointed. I wonder if my heart is still beating!

Went to e souveniors shop and guess what, i bought a Dugong softie.. Haha.. It was so cute and so soft tt i cant resist it. I woder when was the last time i bought a softtoy for myself. Sigh.. I'm desperate!! Haha..

After being to one world's wonder i cant stop wondering bout things.

K gt to go now..

No more credit. Ciao..

First 5 days of my trip

Day 3 of my 14 days journey (18/09/06).

Now, in front of me, there is a mountain or shall I say a hill, with the peak occasionally submerged in the passing cotton white clouds.

I’d just came back from lunch and was about to start on my assignment. Oh.. I’m in Cape Tribulation which is a few hours drive from Cairns which is in Queensland. So far the weather is good, not too hot and not humid at all. But this place reminded me too much of Malaysia and Phuket. I’m not kidding. Just that here, there is no fishy seaside smell, irritating flies flying around and most importantly, NO SWEAT! But still, give me Thailand anytime man. Its so so so much cheaper. The shores here are not as pretty as seen in the postcards. I guess we really need to take a jetplane and fly over it to be able to admire the beauty of the place.

Was suppose to go for a sea kayaking trip this morning but it was cancelled, last minute. So we had to wait till 4pm for the next one. Well, hope that it will be fun. Wonder if there is time for snorkeling.

On the way here yesterday, we stop at a river, hope on a flat bottom boat and was carried to few parts of the lake. Purpose was to look at crocs. Hmm.. I guess I wasn’t too interested in it as I’d seen enough in Thailand and Sing. But the Germans in the boat was pretty fascinated by them though. Even though the crocs were just sun basking.

Went to walk around after we had check in at our backpackers resort, Ferntree Lodge. Like I said, the beaches weren’t as nice as Tassie or even Vict. So, was a bit disappointed. But well, hope Great Barrier Reef will be better. More up to my expectation.

That’s all for now. Will update again when I’m free.

Cheers.

Day 4 of my 14 days journey. (19/09/06)

Just to update, my kayaking trip was cancel again. They say the waves was too strong so not suited for sea kayaking. In the end I spend that whole day staying in my room doing my ass. This sucks big time but its my own fault. I know. But it really sucks BIG TIME when your roomie is sleeping and you can hear the deep breathing and an occasional snore yet you still have to TRY to be determined and carry on with your work. Note that I type try in caps, so you can see how much I tried. Which is, not very much I hate to admit. But well, I’m the one suffering over the next few days. So far, I have another 1000 words essay to complete. Topic is on Efficient Market Hypothesis, the existence of exceptional investors and the implication on the EMH. Sigh. How much better can the holiday be.

Came back from Cape Tribulation this afternoon. To be honest, its not really worth going. The things there are expensive as in the IGA(supermarket) they hike up the prices of the commodities by about 20%. I compared using chips and chocolates. The restaurant and café there cost at least $20 to have a meal there. Sigh. It burnt a hole in my pocket. I want cheaper food! The scenery is not to die for, the only good part is that, I manage to do part of my assignment. So it is good if you want to finish some work simply because there aren’t much distractions.

On the way back, we stopped by some tourist attractions, being Port Douglas and a small town call Mossman to admire the huge boulders and cool river. Port Douglas is also a small town which was made famous by its excellent location for fishing for the rich and famous many years back. Our tour guide said that Bill Clinton went there twice! Now, it had become one of the more famous town near Cairns where a lot of honeymooners, Asians etc like to go. But guess not for me, because it is so commercialized. And also, the Four Mile Beach is not pretty at all. I have high expectation when it comes to sea. Vict’s Ninety Mile Beach at Lake Entrance is so much better! Also the bus ride back was horrible. For someone who had been brought up taking long bus journey, this almost made me throw up. Yeah, it was that bad. So, this trip to Cape Tribulation is definitely not worth it.

So, whats so special about Cape Trib one might ask. Well, it’s the only place on earth where we can get two national parks in one place. That is the rainforest and the reef. Their most famous catchphase is ‘When the land meets the reef’. But well, there wasn’t much reef that I could see as the kayaking trip never happened and the recent crocs sighting at the creek which leads to the sea does not encourage swimming. Alas, not a good place for me. As I’m not one for Rainforest. The only advantage was that, NO SWEAT. They are pretty proud of their Tropical Rainforest and their Mangrove Swamps which for me are places that I can easily visit in Singapore. Such as Bukit Timah Hill, Seletar Reservoir and Palau Ubin and even Sungei Buloh. So, why didn’t Sing make them into a tourist attraction since Germans, Aust and the French are so interested in them. Make Sing into a country where backpackers will want to stay for a few days to explore instead of a place for transits.

Anyway, I’m going to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. Yeah!! The highlight of the holiday. 2 dives too! Woohoo… Hope I wont be left behind in the ocean or forget my stuff, after all it had been 1 year 3 months since I last dive. Wonder what will I see tomorrow. Bought an underwater disposal camera for $20. Hope it will works well enough!

Nighty!

Day 5 of my 14 days journey (20/09/2006)

Just came back from Great Barrier Reef. I had two dives. The first was not that good. Tioman is even better.. Haha.. The second was much better as for a short period the sun came out and since it was in a lagoon, it wasn’t that deep hence was brighter too. My guide forgotten my camera on the first dive which was actually a blessing in disguise. Because if I brought it down I will definitely used up all 27 shoots. It took me less than 10 minutes in my second dive to shoot all. Oh.. I saw a turtle. It looks so old yet so graceful. It has those kinda grandpa look. Haha.. Will have to see how the pict turns out.

I got a bit seasick during the journey there hence the dives wasn’t the best it could be. But I felt much better after diving. This diving trip rekindle my love for the sea and renewed my passion for diving. SCUBA rocks!!

So now, one world’s wonders down, another 7 more to go. What is next?

On this trip, got to talk to 2 korean guys. They are nice people. One is actually staying in Melbourne. As they were sitting next to us, we chatted. About Australia, where we had been to and where we want to go. But the weird thing is, we never exchange names. SO, this is backpackers’ way of life? Isit? It is fun getting to listen to others talk about traveling, what they have done, been to and will be doing. While eavesdropping the other day, I found out that this couple is actually spending one whole year to travel around the world. They are from Brazil, stop over in Malaysia and Sing, then heading off to Korea, then to America and then back home. I was like, ‘Wow… This is so impressive. Something I will never be able to do. Firstly because of money, secondly because of time and thirdly because of companionship. Yeah. So, good for them. May them enjoy their trip as much as possible!

Oh, one interesting thing. I was waiting to do laundry at the backpackers resort and there was this American guy with a crew cut. He was infront of us. So when the washing machine was done. I told him and suggest that he can take out the clothes that are in it and place it in the dryer. He opened the cover of the W.M and said, ‘I dun think I should because there are bras in it.’ I was surprised that he will say that since they are suppose to be more open than.. well… me. But he said that and said that its not good for him to do that. So I offered to help him and he was so glad. As in really grateful kinda glad. When I was about to take out the clothes, he said, ‘I think I better leave the room.’ And he did. He walked in when I was taking out the last piece of item in the machine. It was a bra. ‘ermm.. haha.. yah.’ I commented and left it on top of the W.M because its actually pretty big. He thanks me again and carry on with his laundry. That’s cute. Yah, him. SWEET.

Gonna start on my assignment now. 1000 words!! Argggg!! Kill my lecturer pls. Someone!!

Ciao.

Know what??

I'm flying off for Cairns tomorrow. Flight is at 4.45pm. I have a mid sem test from 2.15 to 3.15pm. By the time I reach home, get my stuff, take a cab to the airport. It shld be 4pm. I need to be at least 30 mins earlier. I must be mad.

Not forgetting the assignment that i was suppose to finish before i left. Its not even 10% complete. What the hell! Its due next Friday. Hope I have all the resources that I need.

Am so tired now. But worrying about my mid sem n ass. Sigh. Dun think I can enjoy my first week of hols. Damn!

Wishing for anticipation. Anticipating the unexpected. Randomness is good to confuse the opponent, but you are not mine nor i yours. We should play by our pure strategy and obtain our Nash Equilibrium. Just hope that it won't be a Prisoner's Dilemma such that our Nash Equilibrium does not bear the highest payoff obtainable.

Not forgetting, its my bro's birthday today. That lucky guy has a gf to celebrate for him today (I think). Just hope that he doesn't need to go sailing. Hence, wishing him a Happy 23rd Birthday! May his day be filled with laughter and love (ermm.. even if he needs to go sailing). And also, dun be so 'heavy colour light friend' la. Got gf already den nv msn me anymore.

I just realized tt 2 of my bros are virgos.. Hmm.. coincidental or is it the path of moon again??

Joy...

'When nothing seems to go --> , HANG IN THERE.

Because, sometime soon, they will.'

I heard this on a tram many many moons ago. Said by a elderly lady with shoulder length white hair and smiling eyes. Yes, I was eavesdropping. She was telling this to another passenger onboard and I was standing somewhere close enough to hear it.

Since then, I always carry this phase with me wherever I go. I always repeat this to myself whenever I am about to break down. Or when nothing seems to work the way I want them to.

Just remember that no matter what, the sun always rises to drive the darkness away.

I do not yearn for pots of gold, just as long as the rain clears, I will be thankful.

Fortunately, our lives have a cosine/ sine curve trend. And not follows a tan curve. There's no way we can hedge our downsides like we do in the stock market.

So, just hang in there and somewhere, sometime, somehow, life will gets better! And when that happens, remember to be thankful!

Well, weird day.

Its a weird day today.

I was supposed to have 2 tuts today. But both did not have any tut work beforehand. As in, no tut sheet was posted online. So, we went for the tut class and do in-tut work. Weird isn't it.

They must have known that i have no time to do tuts. Haha.. Or maybe, they thought tt hols have already started. No idea..

Received some news today. Weird. Similar events happened to different people with same zodiac. So, does the path of the moon really matters? Weird..

Anyway, went to the library to borrow some books for my ass today. I wonder if i will be able to finish reading them. Ok, not finish but at least read a section or two. Just hope that they will be useful.

Heard of Warren Buffett? Click on his name and read more about him. I think he's impressive.

kept forgetting that its 911 today. Time flies. It had been five years. I could still remember the exact day thought i was thousands of miles away from the WTC. I remembered that day, i chao school. Stayed at home and was suppose to be studying, in front of the TV. It was about 11am or 1pm. I can't remember. I was watching some shows in Channel U or channel 8 when suddenly strings of Chinese words started appearing. At first i didnt pay much notice to them but after a while, i realized that something had happened. I switched to Channel Newsasia. They kept showing the same scenes. The plane crashing into the towers. The towers bursting into flames. People jumping from 40 over storey. People with hand clasped over their wide open mouth and bewildered look, tears falling down their cheeks. People coughing and trying to fan the dust away. The towers falling.

It was horrible. A very disturbed memory. It took a while for the whole image to sink in. I kept telling myself that it was just a show. IT WAS JUST A SHOW. But the logical side of me won. They won't show any JUST A SHOW on Channel Newsasia. This is real. On the other side of the world, actual events like these are taking place. Only then i realized how sheltered a life i have.

This day, 5 years ago. This woke me up.

I miss him.

I misses the him whose words can brighten my day, whose smiles can make me blush and the him i can't stop thinking of on this cold cold night.

'L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one i see
V is very very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore.'

- Nat King Cole

Random stuff..

I believe by now, almost the whole world wld have heard of Steve Irwin's freak death. Being stung by a stingray barb. Poisoned was the main reason i reckon. The accident happened in Northern Queensland. Off Port Douglas. About 50km from Cairns. The midpoint between Cape Tribulation and Cairns.

Hmm.. WHat am i getting at? I'll be going there, to Great Barrier Reef. And, i will be doing 2 dives there. Hmm... I will stay clear of them.. The stingrays i mean. Just kidding. Simply because i still feel that there's nothing to be afraid of if i do not provoke them.

Actually, when i heard of the news like 2 days ago. My first thought was actually... Will there be a drop in price on the airticks to Cairns? I blame all this on Economics. For my inhumanity. But on second thought, maybe the price will increase due to the increase in demand as people might want to go take revenge on the Stingrays. hmmm... I dun noe.

Rgdg Steve Irwin's death. All i can say is, i agree with the last 1/3 of this article. Hence, no turtle! (Not to be mean, but the part bout the shorts being 7 sizes too small sure cracks me up!)

But, my sympathy for the grieving family and nation.

Other random stuffs..

Picts of my new haircut n my addiction (milk tea).

Well, my 100th.

A lot of things happened today. Some funny, some depressing, some encouraging, some amusing. But well, they are all bout me.

Lets go thru my day today.

oh, btw, its September! Yeah.. My fav month. Also, this yr, we have an early spring. Though its cold but its nt those freezing cold kinda cold, but more of like cooling kind of cold. Which, i like so very much.

Anyway, woke up early as e oven repair man came to fix up the oven (watelse??) Den i did some club stuff and went to school to meet a friend to discuss an ass. She's from Korea. How cool is that? Hha.. Cause she's e only korean friend of mine. Haha.. I know her when i was in yr 1. Den she took a break for a yr and came back this yr to continue with uni. And she cld still recognise me. During our first lecture in Comp n Strategy she RECOGNISED me. haha.. I was so happy.

Yah. But the ass sucks. We do not know hw to do so so much. Both of us gt so stressed up that its showing all over our face. Aft 2 hrs of discussion where time flies so quickly (even when its nt fun tt we were having) i went for my club meeting.

I was late. About 20 mins. As i went to deposit money and i need to wait. So ya. It might feels weird to say this, but sometimes BOD meeting can be so fun. Haha.. Yah. I did have fun. ESP aft tt ass of mine. Meeting is way more fun than anything else. There were some jokers around so yupe, it was entertaining.

Aft that, went for 2 classes. Both sucks. I have no idea whats going on. Got back an ass today and again, it sucks. That was the depressing part of the day. Its like, u put in so much time into it and forego the fun u wld have had if u did nt stay hm to do it and yet the result u got is nt worth the time and effort. You really will feel shitified!

Its the kinda day where you just stare at the ground and walk on. Craving for some shoulder to rest my head and cry my heart out. Wanna hide in one dark coner and be with noone else. Its that kinda dissapointment. But i did neither of that. Instead i choose to do something else. Since you cant make your heart happy, let the stomach do the job.

The best thing to do when you are in this kinda mood is to:
- go home.
- Cook some ramen to fill up that poor hungry stomach of urs which has not had any solid food for the whole day.
- Then go to sleep when your stomach is happy.

Guarenteed that you will wake up a happier person. It works all the time. At least for me.

Oh ya.. The amusing thing that happened was that, when i reach home, i wanna change my clothes so i took off my jeans. And guess what, it split. Yes. It did. My first pair of jeans! My first pair of Levis jeans. My favouit pair of jeans. It SPLIT! Under my RHS butt pocket. I cld still wear it if i want since nothing will be reveal. But. Theres a high risk that elsewhere might split again say when i'm in the campus toilet. How embrassing will that be. So, here lies my 6 years old jeans. It is really worth it.

I bought it for say $100. So each year, it cost me $16.67. Say i wear it like 1/5 of the year. Meaning that each wear only cost 23 cents. Wow.. Shld i get another identical pair? Haha....

I know some of you might be thinking, 6 yrs ago... You were so much thinner than now. NO WONDER THE JEANS SPLIT LA.. Its not. Its due to wear and tear. It really is.

Due to my early meal time, i started feeling hungry at bout 10pm. So i went to cut my mooncake. Haha.. yah, its a bit early but well, when the cravings come, they COME. Its green tea mooncake with 2 egg yolks. I was looking for one with 4 egg yolks. But cldnt find any. Haha... Its mooncake time!!!

Anyway, needa do my work now. Back to stress!