_In A State Of Trance

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

So it was my 21st birthday down under. I was hardly expecting much to be honest, but i guess it made me realise what a nice group of friends i have around. The amount of thought and effort they put in was touching.

At bout 9 plus am, the fucking door bell was ringing non stop, waking some of my apartment mates up i presume, while i only opened an eye and say: who the fuck? Then next thing i knew, samuel, fiona and yee soon were focing me out of bed with pancakes and goreng pisang prepared! They had woken up earlier to make it for me, and it was good stuff. After wishing, me happy birthday and some chit chat i went back to sleep again as i had a late night previously then at 1 plus, samuel woke me up as we were supposed to cook lunch. When i entered yee soon's apartment, i had another shock. Balloons hung up, many great looking dishes prepared together with damn nice plates and cutlery. Lindy and yee soon always churning up some new tatsy dishes and samuel with his trademark dishes. Had a really sumptuous meal, with them again forcing majority of the food to me. Its always like that heh.. O my mentor, Kim came too. Then for surprise number 3 they pulled out a cake from out of nowhere with 21 candles yea and i of course did the ceremonial duties albeit a bit stunned. It was a really good cheese cake done by lindy and Ys again, with blueberry and tim tam bears! Blasted my music and we played uno and some card games heh. Had some red wine too yea. I burst a balloon outside this particular person's room in a bid to please everyone, who kinda hate her. And she came out and thought it was some explosion and told us to lower the music in typical fashion.

We went to the Crown casino area in the city for dinner, at this steam boat buffet thing, which was ok i guess but cant compare to those back home? Nonetheless filling and satifying to have tried many stuff. Joel and Anthony came along too. What else to do at crown besides gambling, the arcade of course. We had this buy $15 get $15 thing so yea we played all we could, which is not a lot really. Missed the last train ha shit had to take tram back. Back in my apartment, the last surprise was fiona playing the birthday song on guitar to me which was a feat given that she learnt it from a friend a few days ago! And got a card from them all, and a crucial gift,the money and capital markets text book! Education is the real deal man. Screw that man, my room is the real deal now, with the old trafford poster they gave me too!

Yea it was the most planned birthday i have had i think. Even though i dont know too many ppl here in aussie yet, the feeling of having this bunch of friends who put in their heart and soul for me today is truly pleasing! Thats all that matters really. These things. I could feel da love man. I am in good company. I am concerned about my weight though!

look at the stars ;

Melbournian
15th Feb 2008

So it’s been 5 days since I touched down in Melbourne. Its a beautiful and culturally diverse city which i believe i will come to love eventually. The Caucasians are all pretty friendly in general. Though they are lazier and less efficient in the service sector compared to Singapore. There are loads of Asians in Melbourne! It is gonna be overtaken by the asian invasion in 10 years if they don’t control the immigrant population i feel. Initially i was a bit lost socially. Like I am English speaking and western oriented in my interests but you kinda get the feeling that u just don’t belong with the ang mohs as a core group. I would wanna interact with them though, u know some drinks etc. It looks like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong in my group. China ppl can fuck back to the mainland. However, the sheer number of Indians or Indian look-alikes( Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan shit etc) leaves a bitter taste and sight. Some of the Chinese food which i have gobbled here has been really awesome to say the least. There are eateries of all cultures here, a lot of them Asian. The portions here are pretty gargantuan too. 2 persons can share a plate sometimes.

I arrived on Sunday morning, and the monash airport reception took me and my parents to their hotel. Its called hotel bakpak discovery and it does live up to its name. Its a place for backpackers, like a budget hotel. I guess my parents were fooled by the brochure. But it turned out to be a pretty nice place and good experience. Even though the rooms have no television or telephone! Theres an internet area, cinema, cafe, cooking area and we get to see ppl of many nationalities with their backpacks coming in and out. Benny, our family friend living in Melbourne transported us and our luggage to the International Mews, my accommodation here, on Mon morning. After unpacking everything, i followed my parents exploring the city before taking a train back to my place for the night. I am supposed to have 4 other roommates. One is an aussie( the last i heard he’s been out drinking). One is a honky( he never fails to entertain me with his English accent, exactly like how Russell peters does his impersonation). He also woke me up at 12 plus am, playing soccer in the living hall, which is a spirit i endorse, not the time.. One is an Indian from Zambia, 26 yrs old and doing his masters. He is pretty good to have around actually, cleaned up the whole kitchen on his own which was a massive task considering the state of the kitchen before we moved in. Still one more to come. Oh and they f***ing separate guys and gals. Tuesday i woke up early for registration and enrolment in the campus. After a pretty busy day where i settled a lot of stuff, met up with parents and hit the city for good Chinese food again. Continued touring the beautiful city on wed. Returned on thurs night . Bid farewell to my parents who are returning home on fri. Woke up early today for something called fun day at the clayton campus, which is a huge campus. Today has to be the hottest day so far, the only day i have perspired so far. Yes its been that cold during summer . Played some stupid games but got to play soccer yea. Slowly settling down. Just left with the broadband problem which i have to settle with my roommates that are never around. Need to find a wireless plan for us all to share. Trying to form a cooking group too. Hope it goes well. Yea and looking for a guitar too. Dying to play. Today’s Friday right, wonder if the dudes are jamming.

look at the stars ;