Monday, June 30, 2008

off for the travel...

alrighty! in abt an hr's time, i will be leaving Campus Lodge for my travel. a busy morning today as i had to do some last min packing up and washing of bed linen. finally everything is done and i am all set to go. i guess is becoming a norm for me. whenever it gets closer to the time to go for the trip, i will get more and more anxious. not only excited but anxious. though i have been going around so often, i am still anxious abt wat will be going on for every trip tat i go. the different encounter tat i will have and the pple tat i will meet.

tis time round, i am excited, anxious and enthu. i have been anticipating tis trip for a while. it will be different experience from the rest i guess. well, every trip will be a different experience so no prob at all. i shall elaborate on my trip after i come back. now i shall juz enjoy the last few moments in the room before i set off for my flight. yeahz...

Sunday, June 29, 2008

last nite in Campus Lodge... the start of Nomad lifestyle..

tonite is my last nite in Campus Lodge. for the past few nites i was not able to sleep well as i start to have the mixed feeling. i am feeling excited about my trip yet i am feeling sad to leave Campus Lodge. 1 year is not a very long time neither is it a short period. in this 1 year here in Campus Lodge, life has been exciting, colourful, interesting, memorable for me. though there are less hassle to be dealt with as it is considered as an on-campus self-catered accommodation, there r other areas which i still have to take care of on my own. of cos the company in the house is different from previous house. previously i have my 2 lovely housemates cum best buddies from UQ, Huiying & Tess. while here in Campus Lodge, it is a more individual living environment. nevertheless, i still enjoyed the moments with my housemates and i certainly miss the days spent with them, the chats we always have during meal times. Grace, Fran, Cindy, Rachel and Kat... Thanks for being the wonderful housemates in Unit 10 over my 1 year of stay in Campus Lodge!

from tomolo onwards till i go back to Singapore in early August, i will be a temporary "Nomad". haha... cos in tis 1 mth's time, i have no fixed accommodation. i will be moving from places to places, going around with my barang barang in my backpacks. & even when i come back to Brisbane from Darwin, i no longer have a door key to open up a house door and "go home". as i will be checking into a budget inn with my cousin and prepare for my graduation in the inn. after graduation, we will go to Cairns and Gold Coast before she goes home. When i am once again back to Brisbane, i have no permanent "home" to go once again. but i have some really kind and lovely friends who r willing to take me in for the week. Yvonne and her sister agreed to let me stayover at their house for the week before i head back to Singapore. Thank u so much! & with Grace's help to keep my baggage for me over the weeks while i am away, i really have no worries at all for my "Nomad" lifestyle in this 1 mth. :D

okiedokie.. will be away for 1 mth. so will b down in communication thru MSN or internet. as usual, i will try to go online whenever i can as i really cannot live without internet or computer ah. but it cost money to go online while travelling so i must think twice 1st. got to go and do some last min packing now...

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Pancake lunch with Grace...

i woke up early in the morning to go to the city for lunch with Grace. It was suppose to be a birthday treat for her on Wed but i had something on, hence it was postponed till today. & it was a rite day to go out, rite as we r in time to witness the Welcome Home Marching Parade for the Australian soldiers who came back from Iraq. it was a parade to honour their hardwork and effort. indeed for that half an hr parade, it was impressive. the soldiers were full of pride and the audiences and supporters were very enthusatics and supporting. they were cheering, clapping their hands and waving the Australian flags as the soldiers marched pass. this is something i tink i am gonna miss (Grace, 1 more ans to ur quest as to '"wat will i miss in Australia aft i go back to spore?").. the supportive spirit for the nation. for every national festivals or parades that i attended in Australia, i could evidently witnessed most of the Australians having great sense of pride and belonging for the country. majority of them are proud being an Australian and they are supportive towards their own country and own pple. probably a handful of them who may think likewise but is good enough to have the majority. & tat's make me wonder... back HOME, do we have such sense of pride, sense of belonging for the country and are pple proud to be a part of the country? sensitive topic and boring issue, yeah? haha... i am not trying to do some civic & morale or national education here ah. :D

anyway, photos for the day... enjoy...

start of the parade with some army orchestra...

the march officially started with troops of soldiers marching through the street... supporters were clapping their hands, waving the flags and cheering to show their support and appreciation...


in between the march, there were some tanks and army vehicles that drove pass too...

more to go...

awww... how sweet is tis... a family who were standing opp us hanged this banner before the start of the parade and were looking out for the main lead "Brad" all the time. when Brad finally appeared among the troops of soldiers, the family were giving full support and encouragement with loud applause and cheering...


Australia's Prime Minister was present at the parade too. of cos his appearance attracted a large group of reporters...

after the parade, Grace & I...oops~!! the Aussie flags were missing.. heehee...

we had our brunch at The Pancake Manor. i asked Grace out a couple of weeks back as i wanna to give her a surprise bday treat before her bday. however, i had something on Wednesday so the date was postponed till today. well, guess is still not too late. heehee... Grace felt quite uneasy accepting the treat but i tink is perfectly alright to be treated on bday. haha... as promised, she will treat me in return when i visit her in Hong Kong or when she visits me in Spore. :D

without further ad0, the feast shall start...

my all time favourite, Chocolate Jewel... i seriously miss pancakes very much...

Chicken Crepe with mushroom...

Blackforest Cherry Pancake... looks good, yeah?

a table FULL of yummy food~!!! woohoo~!!!

heehee... before we start our feast...

with the end of this post, i shall get back to my packing. tis is the 2nd last nite tat i will spend in Campus Lodge. i start to feel weird abt leaving the apartment. afterall, i stayed here for close to a yr and there r so many memorable moments in the apartment. laughter and chatting sessions with the housemates during meal times, i will really miss all these so much... alright, more elaboration on tat in the next entry before i board the plane on Monday. heehee...

Friday, June 27, 2008

Shupei, 生日快乐!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHUPEI!!!
祝你生日快乐!永远青春美丽! 天天开心快乐!
Have a great day ahead and enjoy ur special moments...
Best wishes to u...

well well, on behalf of Hui, Lian, SY, Lin, Jas, Jen, Fang & Jun, members of CLUB 24 for a long time ago, i would like to extend our Warmest Welcome for Miss Chen Shupei who will be part of the member of CLUB 24! woohoo~!!! whahaha... ... :D

PS: can't celebrate ur bday with u so a special msg for u here...

Thursday, June 26, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to GRACE!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to GRACE!!!!

a bday song for u...

Happy Birthday to U!
Happy Birthday to U!!
Happy Birthday to Grace!!!
Happy Birthday to U!!!!!

Hope u have enjoyed ur LAST birthday in Brisbane! & Hope u like these flowers and the Bday card from us. Sorry tat i can't celebrate with u today. so by asking u out on Sat is a way to make up for u. heehee... we will have fun on Sat, k? yeahz!

anw, juz to share the pics of the flowers with u guys..


love the sunflower very much... fresh and bright looking...

Shopping_KTV_Flying Boxes

yesterday was a fun and fulfilling day! A day shopping @ Harbour Town just before the financial yr end where there r SALE & more SALE, discount & more discount at each and every store. Thank u to Felicia for driving us there! Bet Joyce had a good time shopping for her stuff as i surely did grab some good bargains and Felicia got her trench coat from Espirit too. as for Philip, empty handed again.. He said he will be back at Harbour Town soon again so no hurry to buy... anyway, juz to share wat i bought:

been wanting to get something from Fossil @ Harbour Town whenever i go cos their sale always always looks so attractive to me but i nv really had any successive purchase from there. FINALLY! tis time round, i got something. a Fossil watch.. half of usual price, abt AUD$50. i really like tis watch as it is juz like a bracelet. while i was choosing it, a girl standing opp me was looking at the same design as mine (there r a few pieces around). in the end, i tink she bought it too. so i guess my taste isn't tat bad afterall ah.. haha... & tis watch is juz nice for my graduation as my DKNY watch is now in Spore.

2nd item of the day.. a pair of Court shoes.. heehee... juz nice for graduation too! wanna try a pair with higher heels and tis pair fulfill all the requirements i was looking for. so decided to get it. guess wat, tis pair is at AUD$30. heehee..

after shopping, 4 of us met up with Philip's housemates, Eugene and Michelle @ Sunnybank for dinner. there is a newly-opended Hong Kong style restuarant so we decided to try it. very crowded during dinner time but we managed to get a seat pretty fast. Felicia & I shared a dish of 2 types of meat - Char Siew & Roast Duck and i find the taste okay. i still prefer the roast duck and Char Siew @ Chinatown here. service of the restaurant was not very prompt, guess is becos of the crowd and we had to remind them a few times for a bowl of rice and a cup of milk tea. well, still room for improvement, i guess. Oh ya... one ting to mention. i like eating at tat restaurant as they show TVB series on their TVs. woohoo~!!! last nite when we were there, they were showing the Seventh Day. argh~!!! the show i was watching halfway before i came back to Australia. haha.. for a TVB series FAN like me, such restaurant is really a heaven for us. whahaha...

nevertheless, we had a fulfilling meal. we were so full so decided to do some exercise to digest our food. hahaa... Phil suggested bowling and so Felicia brought us to a nearby bowling alley. however, there r some kind of competition going on, hence there were no lanes available for us. we had to head to somewhere else instead. Felicia suggested tat we can go for pool. juz as Phil and his housemates r driving off towards the place for pool, Felicia, Joyce & I decided tat we wanna go to KTV instead. haha... so end up, only 3 of us went to KTV. it had been a very long while since i last went to KTV. & juz few days ago, i was toking to Lian abt going to KTV when i go back to Spore. heehee... & last nite, my desire came true. manage to satisfy the desire to sing. had a good time at the KTV with Joyce and Felicia.. & tis is my 3rd KTV session in Australia. probably the last one here, i guess.. haha...

after a day of FUN, had to get home to do last min packing for my boxes of stuff to be sent back to Singapore today. sealing up the boxes and labeling each and every boxes really takes alot of time and effort ah. scared tat the boxes might give way so i sealed them up with a few layers of masking tape. haha.. in the end, here r the 5 boxes of items:

there r 5 boxes but they r not as heavy as u tot they r. only 1 box with abt 19kg and the rest r abt 5 to 9kg only.

now tat these boxes r cleared, my room is rather empty. after a short rest, is time to pack my luggage for my upcoming 2 weeks travel and the rest of the items to be brought back to Spore. endless packing... tat's student life after completion of studies ah! come to tink of tat, i haven gotten my results wor... *anxiously waiting with fingers crossed* haha...

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Cheeky Padi...

while i was browsing my cousin, Seow Wai's blog, i saw some pics that r really cute. and the main lead in these pics is none other than my lovely niece, Lynnette. whahaha.. so i "kop" the pics from her blog. din see Baby Lynnette for a few mths only, she seems to grow up alot. & now i finally proven that this niece of mine is really very cheeky. she has all kinds of facial expressions, all kinds of poses for u to capture at any time and any where. here u r:

with her sunnies & tis pose, does she look like she is acting in some kungfu show? the very FAMOUS pose by Bruce Lee... heehee...

in her sunnies again... tis pose look like she is singing.. those R & B singers... whahaha... Oh ya.. she is sitting on top of the sofa with nothing to lean on the back. look at how steadily she is sitting on it la.. she is not chilli padi (she not tat daring) but definitely cheeky padi ah.. haha..


my cousin's fren designed this magazine cover with Lynn's pic.. look at her mouth.. aiyooo...


another facial expression with her mouth... seriously any where and any time wor...

haha... tis looks cute... pokey poke at her cheeks...


certainly miss all her cheeky actions and funny facial expression ah. well, another 1 more mth and i can see her again. woohoo~!!! hopefully by then, she still remembers who i am ah. her favourite "Ah-Yee"! haha...

Oh ya.. yesterday when i was at Toowong, i saw these 3 girls who reminded me of Tess, Huiying and myself. the girls were pushing a trolley FULL of groceries and they were deciding if they shld push the trolley all the way to bus stop or juz carry the groceries to the bus stop. haha... indeed for tat moment when i saw them, i recalled how 3 of us used to push a trolley FULL of groceries around. we will also discussed whether to push the trolley to bus stop or juz carry the bags to the bus stop. haha... yeahz... those were the days... awww.. i am missing the girls again... really a lot of fond memories with them over the 2 yrs' period...

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Ajisen Ramen is in Brisbane!

Ajisen Ramen is in Brisbane! well, the restaurant is not really new as it has been in Brisbane for almost half a year liao. is juz tat it is my 1st time to the restuarant. i simply love ramen and i really like Ajisen Ramen. heehee... i am a big fan of Ajisen back in Spore so when it is here in Brisbane, i am really happy. Finally~! today i get to try it with Jia Ning and Vivian. it has been a long while since i last meet up with the gals, especially when i need not attend any classes this sem, i rarely see them around. today is a gathering day for us. unfortunately, Claudia is missing in action as she is down with fever.. poor girl.. hope she gets well soon! till the next time tat we meet, it will be our convocation, i guess.

nevertheless today has been a fruitful day with yummy food and lovely company. suppose to go for dessert at Freestyle but we decided to spare our stomach with overloaded amt of food so we went for Gelatissimo ice cream instead. before we had our ice cream, we walked around in the city to digest the large portion of ramen. seriously yummy ramen with very tasty soup base... i love it so much! but is juz too big portion so the walk around city acted as form of exercise for us to digest. hahaha... after buying the stuff that we wanna at the various shops & completing a very long survey, Jia Ning reminded us tat is dessert time! haha.. so off we went for the Gelatissimo ice cream... yummy~!!! i had the Profiterole flavour.. really nice.. milky and sweet.. :D brrrr... is actually quite cold today & yet we r having ice cream! having ice cream in winter is really a different feeling. is cold when the wind blow onto our face and is even colder when the ice cream sink in our stomach. whahaha... alrighty, enough of words.. is photos time!!!

Takopachi.. juz the rite size for an entree...

Japanese Gyoza..

Vivian said it reminded her of the chinese style breaky with pan-fried dumplings back at her home in China.. whahaha..

Tenderous Ribs Ramen...

something different... i nv see this in Singapore's Ajisen.. is yummy but if is a bit more spicy, it will be BEST!

Miso Cha-Shu Ramen..

looks good the cha-shu is very tender and yummy..

the 2 spokeswomen for Takopachi... :D

Vivian waiting to feast on this Volcano Ramen.. apparently it was so spicy tat she was sniffing away while eating.. hahaha.. but at the end, it was a very shuang feeling as described by her..

while walking along towards city, we saw policemen riding on horses! this is quite a rare scene in Brisbane as usually Brissy police goes around in their car. there r a few pple who r amazed by this scene and tried to take photos of the 2 policemen. we r one of them. heehee... y did they ride on horses instead of taking a car leh? dun ask me.. i am oso puzzled.

is always good feeling to be able to meet up with friends. they r my group mates from last semester and this will be the last few moments to meet up with them. we r having our convocation together, so i guess tat is gonna be an exciting and interesting moments with so many familiar faces around. hahaha... can't wait for tat day to come.. but of cos before tat, i have to face the reality. reality tat is i have to do packing and finish by tis coming Wed. reality is tat i have to face the release of results in early July.. when all these realities r realised, then is time to head towards my convocation.. still a long way... :P

Saturday, June 21, 2008

PACK! PACK! PACK!

end of hibernation and slacking mode, is time to... PACK! PACK! PACK! haiz.. i am doing packing now.. YES! yet again! ever since i came to Australia to study, packing at the end of almost every semester seems to be a MUZ-do task. haiz... really dun like packing. so troublesome lor... argh~!!! the only consolation is tat this will be the LAST time i am doing packing for my studies in Australia and tat making packing much easier as all my stuff will only suffer either fate.. fate to be brought back to Spore so into the boxes and luggage OR fate to be thrown away so into the trash bags. i hope to throw more stuff away or leave them behind for others but i always can't bear to. now i muz brainwash myself "the more stuff u bring home, the more rubbish u have to clear from ur room in Spore. so clear the unwanted items NOW!" yes! i have to be clear abt tis. cannot shuang shuang keep tis and keep tat. >.<

hmm.. today last day of exam.. meaning really last day of semester liao wor... holidays officially starts tomolo. tis oso means tat my student concession card can no longer be used la. aiyooo.. have to pay adult price for transportation liao.. sianz... exp leh.. lucky is last week in Brisbane, try to go out less. but dun seems to be possible wor... meeting up with some friends over the week as this shld be the last chance i can meet up with most of them. yeah.. becos tis upcoming week will be my last week staying in Campus Lodge. exciting mth lying ahead in July with me having no permanent lodging, always on my move. haha... i will try to update my blog whenever i can and keep it alive even when i am on my move. so tat i wun lose my faithful audience. hahaha...

back to packing now... haiz..

Saturday, June 14, 2008

"Wanted Roamers to Return"

daily entries do not mean tat i am too free. although i am quite free now and am slacking, i dun have the intention to post everyday. is just tat i happened to read up on some interesting articles in the Straits Times newspapers, so i would like to share some of my tots.

today's Saturday Wanted section on Straits Times has red carpets spreaded across the page and with the big headlines of "Wanted Roamers to Return". hmmm... i got very interested to read on cos somehow i am involved as some of the articles tok abt life for some overseas graduates and i am an overseas graduate in Spore ah.

basically this section highlight on the phenomenon as oberserved in Spore whereby there are more and more pple leaving the country for good. they have chosen to migrate to other countries, work and live in these foreign countries. many have chosen to give up their Spore citizenship in searching for a life which is perceived by many of them to be better. so Spore govt is trying to lure these pple whom they r once deemed as 'betrayers' or 'quitters' of Spore. so the reporters interviewed many of these returnees on how they are coping with the life back in Spore. many of them have been away for like more than 5 to 10 years so with the ever-changing landscape of Spore, they will surely meet up with challenges as to how to re-adapt to the life in Spore. the articles oso mentioned on how the Govt is using different approaches to lure the overseas Singaporeans back to Spore. local food r provided at gourmet fair held in the overseas countries. local hawkers r flown over to these countries to prepare local delights for the overseas Singaporeans. on the other hand, using forums to discuss and emphasis on Singapore's economic progress is another popular tactic used to attract these overseas Singaporeans' attention. some of the returnees who r being interviewed feedback tat the actual and main motivating factor for their return to home Singapore is to b able to reunite with their family and loved ones back in Spore. all the previously mentioned tactics will only work for initial period or to a certain extend. cos at the end of the day, the real meaning for returnees to return to home is becos of kinship and family. in addition, the report oso revealed tat many of the young Singaporeans are keen abt migrating and leaving Singapore for good. summarising all these points made by the report, i have my own views too.

1stly, i am very sure tat returnees will have a hard time to re-adjust to the life back in Singapore. for me, whenever i return to Singapore for holidays, i already have difficulty to adapt. for those who have left Singapore for ages, i bet they will take a longer period. as for those young children who r born in other countries and being brought back to live in Singapore with their parents, the process may be even longer and more tedious. however, as mentioned by one of the interviewer, since these returnees choose to return to Singapore, no matter wat kind of lifestyle it will be, juz learn to live with it and adapt. longing to lead the previous lifestyle or grumbles abt current lifestyle in Singapore will not help to make the situation any better. CERTAINLY! i 100% agree with this comment. is true tat there r difficulties to re-adapt and re-adjust but everything can be overcome as long as effort is being put in to get used to the current lifestyle. i can forsee i may have to do some adjustments when i go back to Spore after my studies, but i have faith in myself tat i can do it. the theory is the same for when one 1st arrived into a foreign country. when these returnees 1st arrived into the foreign countries, they had to try to adapt to the local lifestyle. if they can spent the effort to adapt to these foreign countries, i dun see y they can't spend tat effort to adapt to their home country, Singapore. as for me, when i 1st came to Brisbane, i had a hard time adjusting and adapting. but i still get on with it. so when i get back to Singapore, i juz have to put in a little effort to carry out the process once again.

2ndly, i really have to agree tat kinship and family r the impt factors tat can really lure one back to Singapore. true enough tat local delights r attractive components but at the end of the day, they may not be the most impt elements. as for economic progress in Spore, many other countries r doing juz as well as we r, so there is not much to emphaise on, i guess. however, kinship and family shld be the unique elements which one can never find any replacements for. u can choose to eat a different type of food if u can't find ur fav local delights, u can choose to go a country with good economic progress but can u choose ur own family? probably my thinking is very traditional. for me, no doubt tat i love to travel, i love to explore other countries, i dun mind working overseas but at the end of the day, i juz wan to go back to my family, my home whereby i noe i can be safe and secure with my loved ones. to me, kinship is something tat is no amount of money or no other elements can ever replace.

3rdly, young Singaporeans r keen to leave the country as they r complaining abt the stressful lifestyle, pressurising environment and unbalanced lifestyle. they seek to go to countries which they deemed to be able to offer them with a so-called better lifestyle. they feel tat they can excel better in these countries. they feel tat Singapore is too small for them to do something great. they just wan to leave and seek for a 'heaven' in other countries. well, as the saying goes 'grass at the other side is always greener'. how true is this saying, seriously it has to depends. i dun deny tat Singapore is small and tat we have limited resources. i dun deny the fact tat it is a stressful living environment in Spore. work-life balance is hard to maintain in Spore. however, i dun really tink things can be tat bad to drive pple away from the country. to me, no matter where u r, it is ur own mentality tat is deciding ur lifestyle and ur pathway. u can still b tat workaholic when u r in a different country, so where is tat balance lifestyle u r looking for? u can still be as stressful, in fact more stressful as u r in a foreign land where u need to work hard to make sure u earn ur rights to be there. i tink is a good idea to be able to go overseas and experience life in a different environment. Spore is juz so safe and secure tat many of us may not get enough exposure and take many things for granted. travelling to foreign lands may allow us to get out of our comfort zone and broaden our exposure. if at the end of the day, one tinks tat Spore r not the place to live in, one choose to leave the country, i would tink is really becos of one's own mentality and not the country's inadequacy tat drives pple away from the country. call me old fashioned or traditional, at the end of the day, no matter where i am and how long i am away, i juz wanna go back to my home country where i belong.

Friday, June 13, 2008

i'm a 'ban dang' person...

hmm.. i did some amendments to the date of my previous entry. after i post the entry then i realised is Friday the 13. mmm... i very 'ban dang' one so i decided to change the date for the entry. not tat Friday the 13 is a bad day but i juz dun wanna feel uneasy with my entry on my Honours studies to be on tat date. heehee... superstitious, 'ban dang' and watever u can tink of.. yes i am all tat u can tink of. :D

side note: 'ban dang' = superstitious (in some dialect, i tink)

my Honours Studies..

an entry abt my thesis as promised. so much to say abt this thesis which has been sucking my sweat, time and 'blood' for almost 10 months. phew~!!! finally is done and now my thesis is with the marker. so i can only await patiently for the verdict to be passed in few weeks' time. hopefully everything will be FINE! no matter wat, let me juz say watever i wanna say abt my thesis.

last Friday, it was a hectic moment when i was submitting my thesis. so much so tat i did not have the chance to prepare a copy of the thesis for myself. thus, i can't show u guys the actual product. i will get my own copy printed and binded next week so will provide the photo later on. just to share the cover page and acknowledgements page with u guys 1st.

Coverpage for my Thesis..

Acknowledgements page which i has show my appreciation for my supervisor, advisor, NP lecturers, interview participants, family and friends...

hectic submission as i only got back my thesis from my supervisor on Friday morning at abt 10am. he was away in Sydney for conference, hence was down in communication via internet. i got panic when he did not reply my email with my thesis by Thursday. so I had to call him on his mobile. since i did not get an extension for the submission, he promised to finish reading my thesis by Thursday nite and so tat i can submit on Friday. after picking up my Brother and Sis-in-law on Friday, i quickly printed out the final edited copy of my thesis. in total there are 103 pages and i have to print 2 sets for 2 different markers. with the very thick pile of papers, i proceeded to uni's copy shop for binding. then i submitted the 2 binded copies of over 100 pages of thesis to my department's reception. the 2 copies of thesis will be sent via uni's internal mail to the markers who are in a different campus as me. today i received the confirmation that my thesis has arrived safely at the other campus and are now with the markers. finally i can blog abt my thesis in peace. :D
so much to tok abt the thesis writing. to start, let me recap wat happen in this 1 year of Honours studies...

- Jul 07: got my Bachelor degree and also the start for my 1st sem for Honours Studies. Met up with my advisor, Dr Noel Scott to plan out my route of studies for my Honours. Settle on the courses I am suppose to undertake in this 1 year period.

- Sep 07: met up with my supervisor, Dr Charles Arcodia to discuss abt my ideas for my thesis. so many ideas running in my mind and many of them r ambigious and time consuming. Dr Arcodia narrowed down my ideas and helped me to stay focus to what i really intend to research on. at the same time, he advised me to consult any one who may be able to provide me with ideas and useful advice. so i discussed my ideas with Ms Elaine Cheng (my lecturer from Ngee Ann Poly), Auntie Cindy, Uncle Eric, Auntie Pat and Cousin Siang. their advice r useful for me to develop my scope of research.

- Oct 07: finally.. my research topic is set. i will look into the event tourism and tourism destination development in Singapore so i started to do some research and information collection.

- Nov 07: i had my last uni exam and the 1st sem of my Honours year finally ended.
- Dec 07: had my summer class. with the end of the 1 week summer class, i am officially done with all the coursework required for the Honours studies. no more lectures or tutorials to be attended. woohoo~!!

- Jan to Mar 08: back in Singapore for the information research and thesis writing. Thesis topic is finally set as Event Tourism and Tourism Destination Developments - Perceptions of Singapore Residents on How Event Tourism contributes to Singapore Tourism Developments.

- Apr 08: with half of the thesis done, i proceeded to conduct interviews with people from all walks of life to gather relevant and useful data for the research analysis.
- May 08: back in Brisbane to finish up the last bit of the thesis.

- Jun 08: completion of the FINAL thesis. edited by Auntie Cindy and vetted by Dr Arcodia. all set to be submitted for marking on 6th June 2008.

pretty much this was wat happened along my route to tis thesis completion. quite pleased with myself as i finally managed to finish the 20,000 writing. indeed it had been a tedious route for me when in times my mind was so stuck tat i could not generate good writing. at times, my biological clock was so screwed up tat i could go without sleep for the whole nite and stayed wide awake. at times, i really tot of giving up and juz refused to continue to write the thesis. my only tot was to run away from the reality and allowed myself to submerged in the world of TV series and drama. at times, when i really wanna give up, i would look back at the route tat i had taken so far. i had climbed up the ladder till tis stage, till tis far, am i going to give up at tis very last moment? i muz be a complete crazy idiot if i do so. so i juz hang on! i am not a good writer at all, my command of english is not good at all and so writing a 20,000-words write-up is kind of a challenge for me. no matter what the end result will be, i juz wanna thank myself for not giving up on myself and i am really proud of myself for the completion of this 20,000-words dissertation.

other than saying thank u to myself, i would like to thank the following pple:

- my advisor, Dr Scott and supervisor, Dr Arcodia for their advice, assistance and encouragement all these while and my lecturers from NP for their assistance and precious time set aside for the interview sessions.

- my family for going through every single moment in my uni studies life with me and for having constant faith and belief in me. esp thankful to Auntie Cindy for her strong financial support, constant encouragement and advice. without her, i guess i will not be wat i am today and i will not be at where i am today.

- my Spice buddies for enduring with my nonsense and giving me consistent support in watever i do. in order to be able to continue to study hard for my studies, mental support for any other business is very crucial and i am very glad tat my Spice buddies have been giving me the mental support needed to embrace thru every single challenge.

- Huifang for her help to edit my essays in the initial period of my uni studies. Wen Hui for editing my essays despite her busy schedule at work. Weijian for being my most faithful editor in proof reading most of my essays.

- all my friends (both in Singapore and Australia) for their constant concern and encouragement.

- all the interview participants for their responses which enable me to conduct a successful research.

- and to whoever that i have missed out, THANK YOU!

haha... sound like some award winning ceremony, saying thank u to so many pple. well, i juz wanna show my appreciation thru the easiest and most convenient way, blogging. heehee... :D

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Brother & Sis-in-Law in Australia..

woohoo~!!!! FINALLY! everything is over! YES! completion of Thesis means my studies life as a student is finally over... of cos, i muz wait till after the results to see how i fare. anyway, tis entry is to talk abt my happenings after submission of thesis. my feelings abt my thesis writing shall be highlighted in the next entry.

the moment after thesis completion was full of excitement and tiredness. reason being: my brother and sis-in-law came over to Australia for a short holidays! hahaha... so i had to bring them around and i went to Sydney with them for a few days. it was a good getaway for me as i need to breathe some fresh air out of the house. i had been anticipating their trip for a long while. it is always a very good experience to have someone from home visiting me here and i love the feeling of having someone close to be by my side. moreover tis time round, the timing is so rite. juz when i need a breather, there i have, my bro and sis-in-law's company. heehee... :D

06/06 - DAY 1: Arrival of Brother and Sis-in-law

on Fri morning, i set off to take the 1st citycat to city so tat i can take the 630am air train to airport to pick my bro and sis in law up. then at abt 730am, i saw them coming out of the gate. heehee... excitement rush up to my mind. really great feeling to see someone familiar among the crowd. there we r, off to pick up the rented car and headed back to my place. i guess it was too early and my mind was not functioning yet or i was juz too hungry without breakfast cos i brought my bro to 'holland'. haha.. meaning we went the WRONG way by exiting at the wrong exit! well, after much hassle, my mind finally opened up! so we r FINALLy on the rite track back to my place. then on the way back, we dropped off at Mouth Coot-tha for a quick snap shot and quick overall view of Brisbane's landscape.

early in the morning @ Mount Coot-tha, highest point of Brisbane...

then while i was printing my thesis for submission, Brother had a nap. i guess he was really tired out with the over night flight. he kept saying tat age is catching up so he can't tahan no sleep for a night ah. whahaha... around noon time, both of them followed me to uni for my thesis submission and at the same time, gave them a tour around uni. then we headed to Chinatown for lunch. whahaha... my all time fav - roast duck, chicken and BBQ pork.. i told brother tat previously when my family was here last yr, i intro them to this place for lunch and my Dad really love the roast duck. being as 'china' as my Dad, i bet Bro will enjoy the roast duck too! hahaha... so indeed he had a very yummy meal, good enough to wake him up before we continue our citycat tour along the river. brought them to take the citycat and a short walk around city before we had our dinner @ KFC! hahaha... my sis-in-law said she would like to try diff KFC @ diff places. we headed home around 9pm as it would b a long day ahead for us for the next 2 days and since they did not have enough sleep, resting early is really a wise choice.


Me & my sis-in-law @ Story Bridge...

07/06 - DAY 2: Sunshine Coast

woke up early in the morning to prepare to set off for a day trip to Sunshine Coast. Sis-in-law prepared American style breakfast, scrambled egg, baked beans and small sausages for breakfast. yummy~!!! then we set off @ abt 8am to Eumundi Market which is abt 2hrs 15mins drive away from Brisbane. it was a wet day with morning rain and strong wind blowing. along the way, it was gloomy weather. when we reached Eumundi market, the rain stopped but the weather remain cooling. walked around the market and the rain started again. not a very good day for outdoor markets. so around noon time, we left the market for the various factories on our way back to Brisbane. 1st stop was Ginger Factory. had a walk around the factory to look for gifts and soveniors. and of cos some photos' opportunity. hahaha...


after some temptation, Bro actually volunteered to take photo with this Big Teddy Bear @ the Teddy Bear shop in the Ginger Factory. hahaha... hmmm... there shld be 2 Teddy Bears in this photo, rite? one brown bear and one black-white bear with specs! hahaha...


flying kiss for teddy! i remembered tat previously when Huiying, Tess and I visited Ginger Factory abt 2 yrs ago, there is no notice tat we can take photo with tis teddy bear. so we took some illegal photos with the bear but now there is a notice saying taking photo with this teddy bear is perfectly alright! heehee...


Mr and Mrs Lim with Ginger Breadman...

2nd stop was @ Nutworks which is opposite the Ginger Factory. we bought some macademia nuts from the factory and had our snack @ the factory before heading off to our 3rd stop, the Big Pineapple...


Brother acting cute @ Big Pineapple ah... whahaha...


i must have some hand sign too in order not to lose out to tat acting cute Mr Lim...

Sis-in-law is trying to climb the Big Pineapple.. hahaha.. great attempt!


piggyback @ Big Pineapple...

Oh ya.. we noticed tat the pineapple is mouldy liao ah... time to refurbish the pineapple ah... hahaha... at abt evening time, we decided to head back for early dinner and rest for day so tat we can prepare for an overnite drive to Byron Bay for sunrise. i brought them to Salt and Battery for fish & chips dinner. heehee... feedback was good. :D


08/06 - DAY 3: Byron Bay & Gold Coast

at abt 2am in the morning, we set off to Byron Bay after some supper. it will be abt a 2hrs and 30mins drive to Byron Bay from Brisbane. furthermore i was not very familiar with the route and it will be dark at night so i told my brother to give allowance for time in case we get lost. previously whenever i go to Byron Bay, pple driving knew the route so i did not need to check on the direction but tis time round, i had to be familiar with the route while brother drives. Brisbane's street directory did not cover the part of the road between Gold Coast and Byron Bay. so with some map i downloaded from the internet and the road side along the road, we made it to Byron Bay without getting lost! hahaha... though it was a straight road drive, i was still worried. cos it is Brother's 1st time driving in Australia and i know tat he is still very tired so i did not want to get lost and waste time to find the rite way there. along the way, we r cautious abt our route. as we r approaching Byron Bay, we had our eyes opened up wide and big to look out for signs to lead us to the rite way. thank goodness, with our corporation and coordination, we made it to Cape Byron Lighthouse, the most easternly point of Australia mainland. woohoo~!!! 3 cheers for the Lim's! hahaha...

however, the weather was not very favourable. it was raining pretty heavily when we reached so we did not had the chance to leave the car for some star gazing before dawn. we had to stay in the car and waited for the sunrise. so we took a quick nap before making our way up to the lighthouse for the sunrise. the weather did not get any better. strong and cold wind was blowing hard on us and rain was drizzling away. facing the ocean, i can feel the cold air splashing on my face, forcing me to stay awake. i had a tot in my mind tat is 'will i b able to see the egg yolk sunny leh?' haiz... juz as i expected, tis trip to view the sunrise is kinda a disappointment.. take a look @ the photos below and u will understand wat i mean...


@ abt 6.05am, the sky is dark with some patches of brightness from the faraway horizon..


@ 6.16am... brightness slowly set in and rite in front of me lies this very cloudy sky...


@ 6.44am.. is the time when the sun is suppose to smile brightly on us.. yet we were greeted by this extremely cloudy horizon... disappointment set in..


@ 6.53am, finally i saw some sunray forcing out of the clouds.. @ tis point, i am pretty sure Mr Sunshine has already woken up, is juz tat it was blocked off by the thick cloud


@ 6.55am... sky is getting brighter yet the clouds r not really clearing but the rain has stopped


@ 7.10am, the sunray is getting more visible...

@ 7.13am, i decided to go for the last shot for this sunrising moment. cos i concluded tat taking the sunray will be the best tat i can get. haiz...


i saw the sunrise in Autumn and Spring and for both ocassions, i was never disappointed as i was greeted with the egg yolk liked sun. totally satisfied with the photos taken for the previous 2 times. sunrise in Winter is damn cold with strong and cold wind and kinda disappointment with only sunray. guess the only consolation for tis trip is the company of my bro and sis-in-law and tat i finally knew the way to drive to Byron Bay, no longer follow blindly anymore. hahaha... anyway, more pics @ Cape Byron before we head to Gold Coast.

Cape Byron Lighthouse...

Byron Bay Coastline...

Cliff @ Cape Byron.. look @ the wave splashing against the rock.. is damn windy la... brrrr...


then abt 1 hr drive, we reached Surfers Paradise. my reaction was getting slow so Brother reckoned tat i need to recharge. true enough ah, i need BREAKFAST! hahaha...

@ Toscani's cafe along Surfers Paradise, we ordered our BIG breakfast & pancakes! wooohoo~!!!

while waiting for the food to be served, Brother & I decided to have some fun with the camera and my sunnies...

Man in Black!
after acting cute @ Sunshine Coast, Brother decided to act cool @ Gold Coast... hahaha...

i mus not lose out to him... i muz try to be cool too! heehee... tis is called cheeky cool! whahaha...

woohoo~!!! so many items for this BIG Breakfast!!! yummy~!!!

a plate of pancakes to be shared... yummy~!!!

a walk along Surfers before we headed back to the car


abt 20mins drive to Harbour Town for some shopping and by then all 3 of us were really shack, esp Brother. so we decided to head back home at abt evening time. bought a whole chicken and peri peri chips from Nandos. Sis in law cooked some ABC soup and i fry some vege and with some rice, tat was our dinner. by then, i was really tired out. i juz wanna bath and sleep ah. if not, i cant tahan the 3 days Sydney trip sia.

09/06 - DAY 4: Depart for Sydney


1015am flight to Sydney. by the time we arrived, it was abt 12noon. we checked in to Holiday Inn @ Darling Harbour and set off for lunch @ Chinatown. after lunch, it was time for some photo taking session and walkaround the city. however, Sydney's weather was not really great. it was drizzling and gloomy which make it nicer to sleep in than to go out ah. hahaha... anyway, we managed to drag ourselves out to walk around and headed to the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge for photos.

taken on the plane before landing...

Brother trying to 'touch' the Opera house..

see! i can reach it too! :D

muackzzz~~~!!! flying kiss for the Opera House..

Brother and Sis-in-law @ the Sydney Opera House...

Brother & I @ Sydney Harbour Bridge...

Sydney Harbour @ Dusk... nice view!!!

10/06 - DAY 5: Bondi Beach & Darling Harbour


is Brother's 28th Birthday today! woohoo~!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Brother! early in the morning, we had our breaky @ Chinatown. it was a Taiwanese style restaurant with very authentic Asian style breakfast. it had been a long long time since i had such yummy asian style breakfast. soy bean milk, congee, rice roll and you tiao! woohoo~!!! it will be perfect if there is a plate of Economical Fried Bee Hoon ah! hahaha... anyway, i muz not be greedy. i am very contented with the breakfast @ Zhu Ma Ma Taiwanese cafe @ Sydney's chinatown. hahaha... moreover, juz direct opp the cafe, there is a traditional bakery shop selling super yummy egg tart! yippee!! freshly baked egg tart out from the oven... gosh~!!! simply heaven! after such yummilicious breakfast, we headed to Bondi Beach. finally i saw the sun when we reached the beach! woohoo~!!! time to embrace the sunny weather ah!!!

wave coming in @ the beach with surfers heading out for their morning surf...

tis is NO computer graphics or photoshop effect ah... is taken with my camera photo... i simply could not resist the clear blue sky and lovely beach.. so with my camera phone, i took so many pics of Bondi Beach until my handphone run on low batt for the rest of the trip. hahaha... i simply love tis photo!!! the sky and sea is so blue and clear... gosh~!!! Aussie sky and sunny weather is the BEST!!!

Day 5 ended with a steak dinner @ Darling Harbour. as a form of celebration for my brother's birthday. then we sat around and to chit chat before heading back to our hotel. soon is end of the trip for both of them and can see tat both of them r extremely tired out after days of early waking up and walking around. for me, it was tiring too. but i had alot of fun. hahaha... cos it had been a while since i last go on a trip with my brother. our last trip overseas shld be to Shanghai abt 4 yrs back. with him beside me, i will nv get bored. cos he will be there to irritate me constantly and i will be there to entertain to his nonsense constantly. whahaha... i certainly miss all his nonsense and crappiness ah... muz endure abt 2 more mths before i can be entertained by such irritating nonsense and crap by my brother ah... haiz...
anyway, i bought something good back from Sydney which can help to kill my time for this holidays! woohoo~!!!!

DVDs from Sydney Chinatown... shared by Brother and I cos both of us r fan of kungfu shows. & tis is really good bargain. abt 30bucks for 5 DVDs, each disc with abt 7 shows... wooohooo~!!!! all the DVDs r with me now, i can slowly rot my time with them ah! whahaha...

my main purpose for the trip... Haigh's chocolate!!! woohoo~!!! 66bucks worth of Chocolates... of cos not all r mine... some r for frens while abt 4 packets r for myself la. whahaha... last chance to enjoy tis yummy chocolates ah! satisfied with my purchases! yeahz!!!