Life documented

Missing a few things typically Malaysian:

1. Late night Mamak sessions with friends.  
2. Milo ais (kau-kau, boss) and roti planta (roti pisang also can!)
3. Shopping malls that close late, not 5pm
   
4. Durian pig-outs
   
5. Nasi lemak breakfasts without sambal
6. Kopitiam roti bakar with kaya and butter
7. Chicken rice. omg give me some of this NOW.

It's almost 4am. I'm paying the price for that cup of coffee I had earlier.     

Since I can't sleep, I'll tell you about my day.  This morning I skipped a class to finish up on some drawings from yesterday's lab.  Labs for Vert Bio account for quite bit on the mid-sem test and past experieces with lab exams have made me really kiasu this time.  That's why I think my absence in class today was justified.  There's just an immense amount of material put out there that 3 hours a week isn't enough to observe AND understand everything.  That's the reason I came back this morning. 

I was looking at a piece of a whale's spine today and it's as big as a pail.  Then whale's entire size came into perspective for me.  I'm like the old lady who's taking her time to cross the busy street.  I like learning about those skeletons and skulls.  I like labeling parts and fitting together the bones of a bird's wing.  I like finding out that there's a mistake with the penguin model because someone has replaced the wrong foot on it.   I like holding skulls that once belonged to a viper or a wolf.  And it's fun because who'll ever do it when those animals are in the wild?
     
As for the better stuff today: I went shopping after such a long long time!  I think the shops miss me.  Had Japanese sweet & sour chicken for lunch.  It actually came with a salad.  Bought a pink shirt, something I've never done on my own will before.  That shirt with that shade of pink actually looks good on me. Hah.

First of all, it's a Friday night and the Sabbath is here.. I'm so excited that I finally have time off away from school.  Nothing but peace and rest.  I've got lots of recapping to do about the past few weeks so I'll let the pics tell the stories. 

The first week of August got me all worked up.  Not only did school just started, but I had the spy agents from Subang USJ come visit me.  I'm talking about my mum, Uncle Tai, half sister Valerie plus Endang who decided to put full faith in Air Asia X to spend a winter holiday in Brisbane.  We had a great time catching up and I wished their stay was longer. 

Hate is a strong word and it shows exactly how I feel right now. 

I hate and I cannot stand waking up to get to my 8 am classes.  And there's nothing I can do about it. 
MAN.. 

Arrrgh.

A great composition by Yanni featuring the Chinese bamboo flute, violin and the cello and him on the piano. Goosebumps alert!

This week has kicked off to a good start.  Subjects for this semester have been so-so, I'm still waiting for things to get exciting in animal physiology lectures.  Each class is more demanding than the next in terms of reading and assessments.  But I fret not, for I know there are more field trips to come in the following weeks!!  I think this time we're going north to Noosa National Park for a day and also to Straddie again. 

I met some familiar faces from previous courses last semester.  Some of them came back with new shoes, bad hair, less acne, and new scarves around their necks.  As for me, my hair is longer, my glasses have not changed and my ass now carries some holiday weight.  I still use the same bag-- the mini Mambo backpack that's 5 years old and has carried all sorts of crap with me throughout the years.  The front label has fallen off and the zips now split in protest when the bag is too stuffed.  Inside every compartment there's sand from all the beaches I've visited-- which tells you how often it's been washed (almost never).  It's one of those things I've begun to appreciate after realizing how long it has stuck by me despite the abuses I've put it through.

Brisbane's weather has been strange lately and inconsistent too.  On Monday the sky was overcast and remained grey the whole day.  It was sunny at 1st on Tuesday and then it rained just when I decided to my laundry. ALWAYS, I tell you!  Today is chilly, not too cold but just fresh.

A funny thing happened in class this morning.  I was in a lecture on vertebrates around 8 am and everyone was going along with the flow of the lecture.

"...so not all tunicates have *TTTTTRRRR* tailed larvae *TTTTTTRRRRRRR* and not all retain their juve *TTTTTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRR* nile features...  I hope the noise goes away *TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* soon..."

Out of nowhere came these loud bursts of drilling, jolting the heck out of everyone.  The lecturer tried again to speak above the noise but only succeeded for 2 seconds before it cut him off again.  He glanced out the door and then looked back at us.  Then he got off the table and calmly walked out, presumably to tell the workers to shut the hell up and put the drill down.  With his size, he could have jolly well picked them all up by their collars and threw them against the wall like the Terminator.  We waited 2 minutes and then there was silence.  Temporary cease-fire.  Then he came back inside, looking all satisfed with himself.  In a way he reminded me of Gandhi's approach to war with speech and not guns.  So harmony was restored and the lecture resumed in a civilized manner with no further distruptions...until 20 minutes later after we were dismissed, the drilling resumed.  I don't know how the other students could put up with it.

I'm going to get on with my reading now and be distracted by a million and one other things on the web, like this for instance...

I was at the mall a few days ago looking to buy a baby grater, the kind that measures 2-3 inches high.  I am determined to find this grater, no matter where the search takes me.  At one of the stores that I happened to browse through, salsa music was playing on the speakers. The music had many of the Aussie aunties grooving along.  Some of them swayed their hips while looking at cutlery and plates.  It's true.  Dance like no ones watching 'cos I don't really mind.  I walked over to the counter, looked down and there they were. Rows and rows of Putumayo world music albums, waiting to be bought by someone who doesn't mind handing forth a day's worth of wages in exchange for a compilation of world music wrapped in screaming bright colors. 

If you haven't seen them before, the album covers of Putumayo somewhat resemble the pages of a 7 year old's coloring book.  The colors, they grab you and the fun pictures make you wonder if you'd like to experience something new.  Perhaps revamp that dusty media player of yours, if you can afford to give it a shot.  You look at the back cover and more often than not, every track is unfamiliar.  They are the kind of things you can't convince your mother to buy for you because all you might get in reply is along the lines of "For what? Isn't the radio good enough??"

I had picked up one before at a night market in Cambodia.  CDs packed in those flimsy plastic you want to rip off the minute you get home.  The heavenly feeling of stepping into a pirated CD shop.  Knowing that I can afford at least one CD made me stay longer that usual, because standing there I could take all the time in the world deciding between Spongebob's "The Great Snail Race" and Putumayo's "Caribbean Party".  Almost like a life and death decision, I know.  I settled for the Putumayo one and thought it wasn't such a big loss if I hated the music.  After all, it was less than what I'd pay for A&W's rootbeer float in Bangkok.  The album turned out great despite having bought it based on its front cover illustrations alone.  The language made it impossible to know what the people in the Caribbean sing about in the CD, much less figure out the track titles. 

And so the music kept going and I continued my search for that grater.  There was a whole cabinet filled with salt and pepper grinders from top to bottom and nice paper napkins I wished were washable.  Still no grater.  By this time, the salsa had already been replaced with a new track.  Those aunties who were once swaying their hips at the plate display were suddenly waving their plates at the cashier people. I gave up my search and walked out, making my mind up to sway when I finally find that grater.

This morning I woke up to something different.  I went to work! And so begins the long list of things I'd like to buy for myself...haha.  Well at least now I'm fully aware of what goes behind the scenes of your everyday market-fresh sandwich sprouts. 

What happened today was basically sorting, cutting, weighing, packing and labeling a whole bunch of organic snow pea sprouts.  Essentially I was being exploited as a one-woman production line, being made to do a variety of jobs around the farm much to the owner's delight..  The part I enjoyed doing was the sprout cutting which involves the use of a bloody sharp blade.  While Emily (the owner) was showing off her cutting techniques, she mentioned that she never cut her hands before and that people usually slice the sides of their thumbs if they're not careful.  Although she made it look easy, it wasn't.  By the time I finished, I had 7 cuts across my left hand.  The thumb was unaffected, funny enough.  Wish me luck for tomorrow. I don't want to be cutting anything other than sprouts.

Excuse me a bit hor. Sydney photos would have to wait.  I've been caught up with a project paper on bark photosynthesis that took much longer to write than usual.  Should be done by tomorrow evening.


In the meantime, try finding a lizard that's been camouflaged against the bark.  Champion lizard!








From kalyanvarma.net

To my mum and brother, cheers to making it to your 43rd and 17th birthdays!! 

• You've reared me from age 0 until now and this calls for a big clap, thank you and hug for all that you've provided-- good food, bitter herbal teas, clothing, credit card number (ahaha jk), transport (fetch here fetch there, think I'm your driver ah?!) and so much more;
• Not forgetting all your worries, advice, love and laughter;
  
• Thank you for making me who I am today and for trusting me with my decisions, although I pretty much know I can't always get away with everything. 
  
• Looking forward to your trip here to Brisbane so you can taste my cooking for once.

To Villi:

This one was forwarded to me and it was too hot to let go. A must watch!!*

Michael Jackson lives on!!

*Mahaletchumi you must see this.