Qld Photos Part 2: Gold Coast- where our butts froze.

the Surfers' Paradise chair (or something)


right smack in the middle of the streets. i guess it's pretty poopular.
okay wow, i'm so funny, i amaze myself.


Meter Maids. hubba, hubba, fellas.




red rooster!




the view from the 77th storey of Q1, the highest residential building in the world.


only 16038km away!

alas...
the Surfers' Paradise Beach. :)





it was freezing, mind you!

and of course, my dad's friend's lovely abode, where we put up for 2 1/2 days.


yes, that is the view from their kitchen. everything outside? theirs. i know what you're thinking. kidnapping is out of the question.


my guest bedroom.


my friend's.

(how amazing was it that they gave us individual rooms each?)

let's not forget...

...the guest bathroom. 2 sinks, everybody!

gotta heart the coast.

i know i havent been blogging...but

wow. that was some opening ceremony.

admit it. it was absolutely divine.
yes, i was thoroughly impressed.

despite everything else.

thoroughly!

Qld Photos Part 1: Brisbane

Arrival Hall- Brisbane International Airport


Taringa.


the bus stop near my friend's place.


B.B.C. y'all. okay it actually stands for the Brisbane Boys' College.


the frequently visited Hanaro Mart(yes, it's korean).



Church of St. Thomas.





train station.


oh c'mon. you gotta love the name.

down to the City!















behold, fellow earthlings...


muaha.


muahaha.


hallelujah.(and we got 2 boxes.)








Sunnybank a.k.a. asian-town.




Brisbane River.



10 bucks for figuring out who this car belongs to.



Indooroopilly.

West End!






kampung houses at their best.






one-man band.


Hungry Jacks. damn, now i'm hungry.






can you say Domino's?

The Last Lecture

"Because if you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you. If you live properly, the dreams will come to you."

- Randy Pausch

rest in peace.

Surprise.

Singapore is not in China.

get it right.

Singapura

yes. this is the official "i'm back" post.

i'm back. hoorah.

as you can tell, i'm trying really hard to curb my enthusiasm.

okay, so i was hoping that by not writing about it, it'd still be my imagination. but the heat's brought me back to reality. and i've finally brought myself to blog.

so.

life's been as mundane as it could be ever since i returned. for one simple reason. i stayed home for 2 whole days the moment i reached home on thursday night. yes, 2 complete days at home. i didnt want to step out of the house at all. i think tampines mall would have given me a panic attack.

so what does a person do for 2 entire days at home? watch the "Life of Ryan" weekend marathon. yes. Life of Ryan. ryan sheckler. that skateboarder teen. yes me. watching yet another one of mtv's reality series. no it's not The Hills. at least he's a professional skateboarder(anna'll kill me for this). but you get it. i've resorted to watching mtv reality shows.

I'M SORRY! i'm sorry, me!

i'll snap out of it. i just need a few more days.

til then.

life is good.

i cant believe i'll be going back in 2 days.

i miss singapore so much.

the warm weather. the overcrowding population. the un-gentlemenly men. the loud women. the lians. the minahs. the mads and bengs. the wannabes. the poseurs. the whiners. the skinny beanpoles. the loud techno ringtones. the polluted beaches. the compact city. tampines mall. the competition. the stress.

yes. it's about time i went back.

now please give me a minute while i burn my passport.

it should only take a minute.

Crikey.

it's about 15 degrees outside here in brisbane right now. cold but not freezing, just the way i like it. if there's one good reason not to return to singapore, this would be it.

but of course, this wouldnt be the ONLY reason NOT to return to singapore. i could think of a million right now, but there's no point because i'd still be going back anyway. ah well. i'll soak in whatever i can right now.

so the past 4 days have been great. i guess my body's been trying to adapt to the change in weather here so i've been a bit sick, getting sore throat and flu altogether. but hey, there's always pi pa gao. it's the bomb i tell you. my throat's feeling much better.

people. i've met alot of different people over the past four days. people from different parts of the world, all residing in australia right now, and all friends of my friends. it's been great meeting new people. that's one thing i've always looked for in a great holiday.

food. ah. food. i've been popping in sooo much over the past 4 days, i'm pretty sure i'll put on another 10 pounds by the time i return. it doesnt help that the people here keep telling me i'm tiny and could eat more. really, i'm 5kg overweight in singapore as i've been told. godzilla.

my mobile's been giving me quite a few problems so thank god i brought along my bro's camera. stupid nokia and their stupid problems. oh well. more museum tomorrow! awesome.

til then. :)

hello.

i'm flying solo

to Australia

TOMORROW!

the name game?

okay so i know it's 4 plus am in the morning and i'm supposed to be asleep.

it's just that, i have a little secret confession to make, and if i dont do it now, i cant go to bed. so here it goes.

*breathes*

i am secretly in love with...

"That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings.

YES. that annoying song that keeps playing on the radio. i actually really like it. somebody shoot me. (i didnt really mean that cos if you actually point a gun at me, i'm calling the cops.)


SOMEBODY just get her name right, already!
(it's Katie, dammit.)

mmhmm. guilty as charged.

or maybe it's because i can actually relate to her. i mean, Siew Hoon? Swee Hon? Swee Hong? Shufen? that's not my name. that's not my name. that's not my name. those are not my name.

it's no secret, however, that i do find this commercial funny.

(not just because Mark Zee's in it)

that tagline gets to me everytime.

the unexplainable.

how does one associate australia with shaolin monks?

i dont know but that happened in my dream last night.

and in case you were wondering, no i havent watched Shaolin Girl(and i dont intend to) or Kungfu Panda.

but hai-yak! anyway.

i've had some of the most disturbing dreams around. not everyone of them, but quite a number. i'm starting to wonder if all these tests of patience and anger that i've controlled and hidden over the years could have been the cause of the portrayal of some of my dreams over the recent years.

you know what? make a sequel to the sequel of the film Donnie Darko. make a Donna Darko. i'm available.

think your dreams are weird?

come into my world.
or better yet, dont. for the greater good.

ah. unagi.

Star-studded indeed.

interesting little thing happened at work this morning.

my brother called my mobile while we were both at work and this was how the conversation went.

me: hello?
bro: eh who do we call and what's the number to your company's AR(accounts receiveable) side?
me: *amused* huh? that's me.
bro: huh. what?
me: that's me. you'll be calling me.
bro: OH. you're in the AR side?
me: yes.
bro: so you'll pick up the call?
me: ya.
bro: umm. never mind, just give me the number.

so i gave it to him, we hung up, and a couple of seconds later, the phone at my desk rang.

me: hello?
bro: hello.

turns out, he was helping a colleague to call. but still, isnt it ironic how we went from two little chimps wrestling each other all over the grounds of our home and throwing insults at each other on a daily basis, to two grown chimps sharing the same job scope? how we went from stepping onto two completely different routes when it came to our education, to ending up talking about that same invoice?

i dont know about you, but i find this strangely amusing.

and now, a sweet little piece of news i read this morning that freaked me out for 2 seconds, and then knocked me back to earth 2 seconds later.

Death Cab For Cutie is having a concert here.

that's right. you heard me. death cab's coming to town! holy shizzam.i wouldnt want to regret not going to this, like i did with Coldplay, but now i'll have to reconsider SingFest.

that stupid SingFest.

13 more days to australia. wow.

what did you say?

the "G" word.

most of us are guilty of it. some of us are addicted to it. some just do it for fun, while others depend on it. sometimes it becomes a life and death situation, and other times, it's something to sleep on. to some, it provides pleasure. to others, it's nothing but a tragedy in waiting.

restrictions. what happened to them? why do you defend, when you know that no matter what you try to say outwardly, you're not all that convinced yourself, deep down inside? that you may go 20000 rounds in circles but it's still a circle? that the five reasons that support it dont even amount up to the one reason that doesnt?

why risk it in the first place? why disappoint when the disappointment is preventable?

i dont get it.

inspiration. solitude. therapy.

Coldplay- Viva La Vida (Live at MTV Movie Awards '08)

that was when i ruled the world.

it's not even legal, how much i'm loving this.

welcome back.

Up, up, and crash.

i was googling around last night for fun things to do on a plane when you're flying alone, but i pretty much found the same few things here and there. things i already know. read a book, listen to an mp3, watch the movies on the plane, walk around the cabin, sleep. you know, the usual. and then it occurred to me that those are pretty much the only things we can do on a plane actually. i mean, besides trying to juggle a few balls while balancing myself on the left-wing in mid air.

then, i came across this.

"HOW TO SURVIVE A PLANE CRASH"

Steps:

1. Wear long pants, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and sturdy, comfortable, lace-up shoes.
2. Book the right seats.
3. Read the safety information card and pay attention to the preflight safety speech.
4. Make a plan.
5. Keep your seatbelt securely fastened at all times.
6. Brace yourself for impact.
7. Remain calm.
8. Put your oxygen mask on before assisting others.
9. Protect yourself from smoke.
10. Get out of the airplane as quickly as possible.
11. Get at least 500 feet upwind from the aircraft.

(click on the link to read the full details of each point.)

how interesting.

mom knocked on wood (and my head) and reckoned that i was watching too much of LOST when i showed her this. which i believe, shouldnt be the case, because i've stopped watching that since the third season. a-hah!

now i wonder who left these tips behind.

jack, kate, or sawyer?