A Year Without Laksa

Yimian's National Day Message 2010!

2010-08-09T17:44:00.002+08:00

Ok, who cares about my opinion anyway?

Much have changed in the country I called my own since 9th August 2009. Most significant being the population, at 4.98millions. A increase of almost 140,000. Which is scary! The current population density being 7,022/km^2! Yup! It's now a little more squeezy in that tiny piece of land, and it will get worst!

While the seasons in Singapore used to be hot, and hot with rain. It is now hot, and hot with flood! Flash floods hitting Orchard (the shopping belt of Singapore) and Bukit Timah road(most likely the most important road in Singapore!). A pity I could not be there to witness this man-made disaster. Just had to make do with hail storm in Perth for some freaky weather!

For sports in Singapore, it is an important year! As we will be hosting the Youth Olympic Game! Which is plagued by bargin overrun, a bad song by JJ Lin, and scandals regarding payment to a certain national with the fastest man on earth to build a stadium there in exchange of promotion! It is likely to be plagued with low attendances at the games itself, or maybe it will be sorted out. Personally I hope it will be sorted out! The solution to attendance? Getting the Ministry of Education to buy up tickets to the game from the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports! A great display of the left hand paying the right hand!

2010 also saw the opening of Resorts World Sentosa! And Marina Bay Sands! Known popularly as integrated resorts in Singapore, but really, just a front for the 2 casino. But the greatest thing bout the casino? Singaporeans must pay to enter! Pretty cool, I won't be visiting them anytime soon... Of course it's a measure to uphold the integrity of the Singapore society. In which case, why open it?

And finally, for all my complains, and rumblings, I do love Singapore... =)

Happy 45th birthday Singapore!

Sports Anthem?

2010-06-11T18:15:00.004+08:00

So JJ Lin released a 'CHEER!' for the Youth Olympic Game 2010... Titled 'You are the one Singapore!'... Not being critical or something... But as far as I'm concerned... It's a bad sports anthem! You know how sports song should be making you feel PUMPED! And ready to ROLL! I felt like hidding under the table after listening to this...

Anastacia's BOOM! For the World Cup 2002... Get psyched!

Tak Matsumoto Group's "Oh Japan! Our time is now!"... Recorded for Japan's Olympic campagin... I can't remember which year... HAHA!

World Cup 2010's Wav'in Flag! Awesome... Really...

And a song I always listen to before I step into the gym... Pride FC's opening theme... Pumped feeling? YES! Ready to roll? YES! Hide under the table? NO!

And that's bout it!

Dexa Operator Course!

2010-05-14T20:23:00.004+08:00

Notes for the half day course... Really complicated stuff this radiation... =x

Mr Jonathan Thwaites... Radiation expert... And environmental sustainability warrior... Funny guy who peppered his presentation with jokes... Without which I would have fallen asleep...

X-ray tubes... The nasty little things that produces x-ray in x-ray machines...

So... What's DEXA? Without getting into details... DEXA scanning can be used to give body composition datas... A typical DEXA scan would break body composition into the '3 model' body composition... Bone mineral content (BMC), lean body mass and fat... The above is my read out... I'm not fat... =x

Body, Mind & Spirit

2010-05-11T12:49:00.001+08:00

In sports, there are certain aspects which are out of an individual's control. For example, his genetic, his opponents, and his talents or lack thereof. However, there are aspects which are within his realm of control. I will be touching on three aspects: body, mind and spirit; or in order of their importance to an athlete: spirit, body and finally mind.

To start off, we will define spirit, body and mind. Spirit refers to the psychological and mental well-being of the athlete. Body, to the physical and fitness level of the athlete, and mind refers to the knowledge, tactics and skills of the athlete in his chosen sport.

In spirit. We talk about the mindset of an athlete. His desire to train and perform. Without the correct mindset and desire, an athlete will fail to take off, thus flying is not even part of the discussion. There are sport talents all around us, but most of them will just remain 'talents' and will never step over the line to join the elite athlete group.

My friend, was offered a youth contract to play in the Prime League. He turned it down as he lack the confidence to win and see no future for himself in football. He is talented, everyone agrees. But instead of playing at a higher level, he choose to be a big fish in a small pond. Only when an athlete acquired the desire to fight and the mindset to win, then can he take off and soar.

The body of an athlete is his tool of trade. Fitness is required in whatever sport one choose to compete in. Although the type of fitness varies, the need never disappears!

An athlete must train to fulfill the fitness need of his sport. A judoka requires balance, strength and endurance. A gymnast requires agility, flexibility and coordination. A footballer needs power, stamina and accuracy. Although everyone is born with different potential and talent, training is still required to hit the potential and allow his talent to run free.

Without strength, a judoka can forget about the armlock he intended to use. The gymnast without flexibility can give up on the routine he wanted to perform. And the footballer may not even last the full 90 minutes, much less show off his fancy footworks.

Which brings us to the last and least important part of the topic, but the one which separates the great from the good, and the good from the normal. As I have defined earlier, mind refers to knowledge, tactics and skills of the athlete. For example, with everything else being equal, height, weight, mindset and general fitness, the one with the greater 'mind' will win.

A fighter catch in an armlock can use his skills of the sport, and his knowledge of the human body to break out of it, and turn the table around. The manager at pitch side, can make tactical changes to turn a losing game into a winning one. And of course, the diver (aquatic sports!) with the skills will rate a higher score with the judges.

In short, an athlete must first have the spirit to train and compete. Next he must train to the requirement of his sport and be able to last the game, whatever game it is. Finally he must acquire the 'mind' to distingush himself from the rest.

An athlete without spirit would not be putting his best into training and would not fight to win. An athlete without fitness, would not be able to even perform as his opponents with fitness will overwhelm him. Lastly, an athlete without 'mind' will not beat his opponents at the highest level.

Almost 3 Months Now...

2010-05-08T01:38:00.003+08:00

3 months since I started on my Master's...

Can I just say... It's so different from undergrad?

It used to be lectures and tutorials... Lectures which I skip happily because I will end up sleeping in them anyway... And tutorials with one or two assignments and deadline set by the school. Then we have the mid-sems and the finals examination. Which seems alrite, coz it's juz a big cramping session near the mid and the end of the semester, where I spend a little more time reading my notes, and reinforcing them with textbook and journal readings. It's simple... Do your assignment and study for your exams! Do that and you normally would score!

But now it's journal reading... And more reading... And more reading... And then you read some more... And you don't exactly know where you are going some times! And then there's the proposal I'm writing... Supposed to be 15 pages long... That's just the part with words... And there's no deadline staring at you! You set your own! And in-between the writing... You have meetings with supervisor in which you figure where you are heading... And whether you are heading in the right direction... And even when you think you are moving correctly... There's some doubts lingering... And some times when you enter the meeting with an idea you think is great! And your supervisor deassemble the idea in seconds... Find all those loopholes your amateur eyes can't see... And destroys it in seconds! And after the proposal... It's gonna be data collection... And finally the writing of the actual thesis... No more exams... No more assignment deadlines... Just meetings... And reading... And writing... And confusion added in for fun! =/

Why am I looking so far ahead at data collection and thesis writing? I mean... I'm still struggling with the proposal! >.<

The stress level is much higher... The procedure unfamiliar... And some times... When work stare at me, I just go on to facebook! =x Seriously... I need to buck up! =) Must remember what Joe Mate told me at the start of the semester... "Don't try to swim ahead... Don't let yourself sink... Learn to threadwater!" I need to threadwater now... Coz I'm sinking a little... =x

From Mechanical Engineering to Sports Science!

2010-04-22T03:40:00.006+08:00

The above image is from the Royal Veterinary College... Well... It's the best picture I could get of muscle fibre typing on the internet! And it's very much similar to human muscle fibre typing image! Even if it's from a horse!

And this is a photo of a microscope image of mild steel... Stolen from here!

Was lecturing to a lecture on biochemistry of exercise physiology last week... A very interesting lecture... When the speaker flashed the image of muscle fibre typing... I felt nostalgia! It was just like the image of mild steel when I peek at it from a microscope! Ok... So it's massively different... But still very similar!

Just like any confused 16 years old getting his O level results, I had a hard time choosing where to go... JC was out... Because I reckon I would kill my Chinese language teacher if I go there... But Poly seems so vast... So many courses to choose from... So many interesting thing to learn! The only thing I liked at tat age is cycling... And technology enchants me... In the end... Of the endless amount of courses on offer... I choose mechanical engineering... And so came 3.5 years of suffering for me (including half a year from failing a module and getting retained! For one module! No more!)...

Not that I hate mechanical engineering! Mind you... I love designing things! And thinking of how to make it! And making it! But mechanical engineering doesn't exactly turn out the way I expect it to turn out! At the end of 3.5 years... I had a diploma and a dread of engineering... I also have a pathetic GPA...At the same time... I developed a keen interest in the human body (not just of the female kind... mind you... =P)... My final year project involves designing a machine for the rehabilitation of arm injuries... And my interest in the human body got sparked from there!

I have always been quite a sporty person... Cycling... Soccer... Martial arts... Rockclimbing... Exploring and getting lost... And when I have one whole semester to study just one module... I hitted the gym! I started learning about nutrition... Training allocation... Reps and sets... Hypertrohpy... And it was a new amazing and fantastic World to me... And I love it!

And when the chance came along for me to undertake a degree in a field I enjoy... I jumped at exercise and sports science! The one year spent serving the nation (National service! Woo!) and studying was total shit! But I always look forward to my classes in the evening when I get out of camp! It was great learning about human anatomy, human physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and psychology... Learning about improving performances, about injuries management and helping people with chronic diseases, that can be improved with exercising...

But you know what else is similar with mechanical engineering and sports science? They both deal with movement... They both deal with improving performances... They both give me headaches when I study them...

And some food for though... What frozen curry looks like...

Looks better defrozed and with roti prata... =)

Peri Peri Chicken!

2010-04-18T03:30:00.004+08:00

I always thought that Nando's is lousy... I meant... All I had there is the wraps... And the wraps are really a bad representation of Nando's... Den someone special introduced me to their flame-grilled chicken... And I'm hooked!

Decided to try making my own peri peri chicken... Got a bottle of Nando's peri peri marinade and peri peri sauce... The marinade is slightly thicker compared to the sauce...

Looky! Fresh chicken!

And here they are marinading in peri peri... Woo!

Not too impressed by the final product... Cooked 4 drumsticks after 2 hours of marinading... Not exactly the greatest taste... But well... Dipping it in the sauce helps! Hopefully the other 6 drums will taste better after a full 24 hours of marinading!

Maximum Aerobic Test!

2010-03-29T22:35:00.005+08:00

Disclaimer: The first 2 photos are generally safe... But if you are afraid of blood... Don't scroll beyond the first 2... =D

Derek... The guinea pig... Hooked up to the metabolic cart... And running... Doing his VO2max test... The VO2max test is a test of maximum aerobic capacity... It is used in sports science as a predictor of aerobic performances... Average VO2max range from 42-46ml.min.kg for a healthy young male... Top aerobic athletes hits VO2max of 60ml.min.kg and above... With cross country skiers coming in at up to 90+ml.min.kg... For a full range of VO2max normative data... Dun ask me!

Derek getting unhooked from the machine...

As part of the test... We are required to retrieve blood sample to test for blood lactate level... My job is to prick his finger and draw blood! MWAHAHA...

And this is what your hand will look like after some guy prick ur fingers once too many... =x Luckily I'm not the guinea pig! =D

Heading down to UWA tml for some 'Raine' lecture or something... Titled 'Is Exercise Bad for your Heart?' Uhuh? =x

The Great Storm of Perth!

2010-03-22T19:01:00.010+08:00

Today... The skies opened up and dropped ice! Not small tiny pea-sized one like the previous time... But HUGE ASS ICE! Scroll down to the bottom for a wrongly-orientated video of the storm! The wind was gusting in at 120km/hr! It was noisy... It was virtually shaking... It's AWESOME!

Tat's an average one...

All over the place!

See what I meant by average?

Moko... Wet and scared...

My room's window... Cracked by the ice... I'm considered lucky... Coz...

William got a huge hole in his room! He's gonna have a breezy nite...

Other damage... Include this repaired leak... Leaking again!

Saved by the pot...

Healthy Asian Cooking?

2010-03-19T00:55:00.004+08:00

I'm under the impression that some westerners are under the impression that Asian cooking is all healthy... No way... Allow me to introduce you to 'kong ba bao' or stewed pork bun...

Pictured above is a can of stewed pork... Note the saturated fat...

After heating... Note that this piece of 'meat' is mostly fat... Oh yeah!

Save the health talk for health nuts... I'm not one... I'm an exercise nut! Well... They taste really really really good... =x I don't feel gulity after eating them... No way... =D

Uhuh? Pork Curry?

2010-03-17T01:39:00.002+08:00

I like curry... Alot... It's spicy... It's hot... It's fattening... It's all good... So I got a can of curry sauce... $2.75! Coconut milk... $0.80! And diced pork! $5.50... Pork curry? Not something you will find regularly...

So I made 4 portion of pork curry... Each for around $2.27! Hooray! Goes well with roti prata... Bread... Rice... Just about anything... Yup... =D Rather cheap... And pretty good... Well... Pork curry is weird... =D

Nothing's Happening!

2010-03-09T23:46:00.002+08:00

This is Momoko in her 'GIVE ME FOOD!' pose...

The food she's targeting... CURRY! No Momoko... Not gonna feed ya!

In other news... My life is pretty boring nowadays... Nothing much is happening... Not exactly a bad thing but... Oh well... Was doing some random search online when I came across the Red Bull Air Race 2010! Apparently one leg will be held in Perth! Woo! Tickets for a 1 day pass to the grandstand is $95... 2 days pass including qualifying is $130... So... Anybody wanna buy me a ticket? =D No? Ok...

How Prawns Should Be Eaten!

2010-03-05T03:55:00.001+08:00

Like this! Lots of prawns... Lots of sauce... And just me!

Yup... Time stamp is wrong!

Btw... There are 25 prawns... No need to count...

Looky! I Got My Office Now!

2010-03-02T20:52:00.003+08:00

The door...

So in the end it's just one empty desk... One of many desks in the postgraduate office... But still... It's mine!

Recall last year that all the postgrad students who are tutoring will refer to their office as 'my', not 'the'... It's like 'You can look for me after class at MY office...' or 'Your marked assignments are outside MY office...' It's always 'MY' office... Even thought it's really more like 'THE' office and 'MY' desk... =x

Went to Bunnings with Derek the other day... He bought $50 worth of potted plants... SCARY!

Evolution!

2010-02-28T00:47:00.002+08:00

Is what happens when you put food in the fridge for too long...

Well... The fridge is cleaned... And I got a new housemate... Cool ya? I'm referring to the growth in that box...

42degrees Day... Overdue Debt... And Washing Dishes Once More!

2010-02-26T04:54:00.003+08:00

U know how back in primary school (Well... At least the ones in Singapore) we like to start our composition with 'It is a bright and sunny day...' Well... Today is a bright and sunny day alrite... All the way up to 42degrees celsius! Lucky for me... Someone invented air-con!

I also received this in my mail today... Video Ezy wanna send a 'Debt Collection Agency' after me for a bill of $11.40!!! I wonder how much sending the 'Debt Collection Agency' after me will cost... Do they use pig heads here? Hmmm... And sorry... No scanner!

Also started working at Sizzler again... Yup! Washing dishes! If I can't get a good job within the field of exercise science in Singapore... I can always consider furthering my dishwashing career... =x

Cause Some1 Asked Me How to Cook Asparagus...

2010-02-24T03:00:00.003+08:00

Coz someone asked me how to cook asparagus the other day... Decided to make oven grilled asparagus today... Bunch of asparagus... 1 bunch is $3... woo!

1. Chop off the woody ends...

2. Shave the sides (optional... But I like them shaved)

3. Preheat oven to 200degrees... Oil pan...

4. Arrange on pan, make sure they dun overlap... Season with salt, sugar, pepper and chilli flakes...

5. Cook!

Look mum! I'm eating vegetables!

For the uninformed... I'm back in Perth!

The Only Photo of My Flight with Qantas is...

2010-02-19T03:17:00.002+08:00

My in flight meal pathetic excuse for curry...

Doesn't taste like curry... Looks like rendeng to me... But at least it's edible...

First time flying with Qantas... Just a little observation about the cabin crew... It seems that well their 'service' is not as good as SIA... Their cabin crew are genuinely happy folks... They have real smiles on their face and hearty laughter... Not something I would find on an SIA flight... =x But I perfer SIA... Cause the food is nicer! Hehehe...

Yup... Australia... I'm Coming Back!

2010-01-26T05:52:00.003+08:00

At this moment... I have successfully enrolled in my Masters programme at Edith Cowan University... My topic will most likely be on physiological testing in team sports, namely football(soccer for bloody Americans!)... Currently I'm scheduled to arrive back in Australia on the 18th of February... And then I will be readjusting to life on the big island... It will be fun... Because I will keep it that way! And well... All I need to do now is finalise my visa application! So yup... This blog will return to life soon... Or maybe... I will start a new blog... Let's see how it goes!

Laksa!

2009-12-17T05:50:00.002+08:00

Yup! I'm back in Singapore after 10 months in Australia and 2 weeks in Korea... As I now have access to my favorite food... I guess I won't be updating this blog... At least not until I go back to Australia... I have applied to continue with my Masters at ECU... And hopefully it will be approved... And everything will go smooth for me... Hopefully.

3 Museums in One Morning!

2009-12-16T22:55:00.001+08:00

And then a series of mad dash back to Singapore!

The National Palace Museum of Korea...

Which houses various artifacts, mostly from the last dynasty of Korea... Including this car! One of the first to be built in Korea...

And then off to the Bank of Korea Museum! To look at money... There was a line outside the museum... Which was pretty weird... But we joined the line... And eventually found out that the line was formed to purchase a 2-piece uncutted 1,000won note collectors edition... So we bought a set... =x

Money!

Can I have just 1 stack please? Please? Please?

The poster said so... Biggest department store in the World... Luckily, neither my mum or I are shopaholic...

The Korea War memorial... Which also serves as the Army Museum of South Korea...

Service uniform of the ROK... As previously mentioned... All able-bodied South Korean males must serve 2 years of military service... And the story I heard from the tour guide is terrible... =x

Colours of the ROK...

Mum posing...

Drum with a tiger design on it... Did I mentioned I'm born in the year of the tiger?

I believe this is the Korean-made K-1 tank...

The B-52 bomber... Still in service with the USAF... Crazily huge... All found in the Korean War Memorial...

Kim's Guesthouse... Located in Hapjeong... I stayed here the first time I came to Korea... Have been renovated... And it's really beautiful now... Still under renovation here and there... But it will be great!

Lounge area...

Computers with internet access... It's very important for the modern backpacker... =x

THe kitchen!

AREX to the airport...

Lunch at airport...

Check this out! Abalone with shell!

Incheon international airport... Currently voted the best airport in the World!

Airplane food... =D

Dessert at Beijing airport... It's so pretty... It deserves to have it's photo taken! For one the biggest and most important airport in the World... Beijing airport's transit terminal shops close mighty early! At 8.30pm, most of the shops are closed... Leaving only the duty-free shops! Weird!

Flight back home...

In the end... Can only say I enjoyed myself thoroughtly... The first time I came to Korea, the only thing on my mind was to survive! Cycling through Korea was a crazy idea... But if I can go back in time, I would still do it! But this time, the idea was to have fun! Fun! And fun! And I had fun... It was worthwhile... =D

Seoul! Seoul! Seoul!

2009-12-14T23:59:00.021+08:00

The Gyeongbokgung...

A sundial in the palace...

The National Folk Museum of Korea... Which is located inside the Gyeongbokgung... And since it's free... Go in!

An exhibition of comtemporay designed hanbok...

More...

What can I say? I must miniature models...

The team in blue will be playing a traditional 4-4-2 with the team in red opting for a flat back 4, a diamond in midfield and tandem striker... Oh wait... That's not how this is played? Ok...

It's the year of the Tiger next... I'm a Tiger... In other words... I'm 24 next year!

Another shot of the Gyeongbokgung...

The Changgyeonggung... Which is closed... =/

The Changdeokgung... Which is opened! Woo!

I love the colorful gates of the palaces...

Fat pigeons... Fatter then Singaporean's... I wonder if I can eat them for dinner... =x

Nandaemum market!

Lunch! Finally had my galbitang... Which I had a lot of during my first trip to Korea... Not because it's that good... But becoz... When I step into a restaurant at the end of the day after cycling... I'm all hungry... And when I look at the menu... Galbitang was usually the only thing I recognize... Kinda stupid of me... =D

Glorious food!

Namdaemun... Or Great Southern Gate... Which got burnt down in 2008... Now under restoration... There were widespread mourning after the arson act... Pretty weird to the average apathetic Singaporean... I guess the best description I can think of is... Crying after the Merlion got struck by lightning...

Dongdaemun... Or Great Eastern Gate... Which is still standing... After I seen Namdaemun and Dongdaemun... I wonder if there is Seodaemun (West) and Bukdaemun (North)... Hmmm...

Dongdaemun shipping district...

No idea which fish market is this... We stumled across it while trying to get to Yeouido to see the 63 building... Never got to Yeouido... But the fish market is an eye opener...

Cold noodle... A classic case of going into a restaurant and ordering randomly... The shopowner spent the majority of his time staring at us eat... It was weird...

Suwon!

2009-12-12T23:59:00.021+08:00

Train to Suwon... Not KTX this time... Just one of the slower and cheaper 1...

Bus to the Korean Folks Village!

Some sorta farmer dance thing-a-ling-ling...

And tight-rope walking thing-a-ling-ling...

Dried food...

At the KFV, they have built a whole village, recreating various part of traditional Korean houses, all in one place!

Horse thing-a-ling-ling...

A torture device, located in the 'village's' courthouse.

One model prisoner in the village... I got no idea why... But "she's" flooded with coins!

Lunch!

The KFV in winter...

Main entrance...

Hwaseong fortress, a UNESCO heritage site... A well preserved piece of history... A piece which I merely cycled past during my first trip to Korea... And a place my mum wanna visit... This time we will circle the fortress!

A journey of 5.74kilometres start with 1 step...

Night fall... Beautiful yeah?

Tower... Eventually we took about 2 hours to encircle the fortress...

Yes kids! That's how they sell ginseng in Korea!

Cute puppy dog in a certain petshop...

Suwon station, where we have dinner, and took the train back...

Lotteria! Korea's version of McDonald's...

DMZ... JSA...

2009-12-12T20:55:00.024+08:00

Dorasan area... Right next to the demilitarized zone... Which is a major oxymoron... With a million troop on each side... It is anything but demilitarized!

Dorasan station...

How much for a ticket yo Pyeongyang?

The tracks...

Not the last station from the South, but the last station toward the North.

Dora observatory... A peek into North Korea...

Monorail down the third tunnel... 1 of many tunnels dug by the North towards Seoul... Discovered and commercialized by the South... Woo!

Monorail down... Walk up... It's good exercise... If you like slopes...

Something... I got no idea what...

Bulgogi lunch... Part of the 120,000won combined 3rd tunnel and JSA tour package...

Wishes for the future... At the Freedom Bridge... Another bridge linking the South with the North...

Soliders at JSA... Fyi, national serviceman in South Korea gets around US$100 a month...

The conference rooms at JSA... A little disappointing... Coz for the JSA part of the tour, all we did is go up a tower and take a look around... Nothing up close and personel!

The tallest flagpole in the World... In North Korea...

In the end... I bought 6 bottles of various wines, brandy and soju which originated from North Korea...

Roof pattern of Deoksugung...

Main gate of Deoksugung...

A set of erm... something starting with an S outside Deoksugung... Which looks distorted and really messes with my perceptions!

Gyeonghuigung... Second of five ancient castles in Seoul...

Seoul Snow Jam 2009... Snowboarding!

Shellfish soup and pork stew for dinner...

Pan broiled octupus... Complimentry of restaurant owner... Hohoho... It's really really really really really spicy...

Heading to Suwon tml for a day trip... =D

Off To Seoul!

2009-12-11T20:48:00.017+08:00

Breakfast... If it's free... It's good! Then off to take a walk around Daejeon... Before setting off to Seoul...

National Statistical Office of Daejeon... Erm... I really wonder...

A football (soccer) field somewhere in Daejeon... Really takes the cake for 'worst football field in the World'!

Bridge to EXPO Park

Overview of EXPO park...

Harbat Garden...

More garden... Surprisingly... It's pretty good even in winter...

Drying vegetables... =x

Dunsan prehistorical site... A few replica straw huts in a garden...

Daelim tourist hotel at Jungang-no... For 50,000won, it's a steal! Look! A bloody PC in each room!

Daejeon train station...

KTX!

Seoul station!

National Museum of Korea

10 stories pagoda in the museum... The fact they managed to fit a pagoda in the museum... Shows you just how bloody huge the museum is... 4th biggest in the World... And the biggest in Asia...

Something random...

Ginseng chicken soup for dinner... I ate a whole chicken!

Finally... The results for my last semester is out... Interestingly... It's my second time 'collecting' my results for a 'last semester' in Korea... I failed my 'last semester' for Polytechnic previously... But 3 years since... No mistake this time... Got 3 distinctions and 1 high distinctions... Got 79 for 1 module... 1 more bloody mark and I got a distinction! =/ A little off from my target of 2 HD and 2 D... But... Oh well...

Busan And Then To Daejeon!

2009-12-11T20:16:00.015+08:00

Erm... Random beach in Busan... I got no idea what's the beach... And no idea what name is that of the bridge...

Cityscape of Busan...

UN cemetery...

Busan Museum... I kinda like Museums...

A little lyric on the wall in the room I had in Indy House...

Indy says... Never stop travelling!

Street of Busan...

Another KTX trip up to Daejeon...

Hmmm... Coffee in sandwich... I wonder how they managed that...

The funny thing about Daejeon metro line is... Every single train station seems to have a little exhibition of sort...

I have no idea how... But we stumbled across a fish market... Many interesting fishes around...

Ddeok... My all time favorite food for cold winter nights... A pancake filled with raw sugar and peanut chips... It's good... Really good...

Dinner in an underground shopping arcade... The ramen in kimchi stew is too hot even for my tongue... =x

Shopping arcade under Jungang-no... Linked to Jungang-no train station... I know alot of people who can spend their whole day there... =x

Gyeongju... Ancient Silla Capital...

2009-12-09T21:09:00.015+08:00

Odeng for breakfast...

Express bus terminal... For a bus to Gyeongju from Busan...

UNESCO Heritage site... The Bulguksa... Here is just one corner of the roof...

Erm... I got no idea...

It's everywhere!

Front of Bulguksa...

Gate of Bulguksa

Lunch...

A row of headless Buddhas at the Gyeongju National Museum

One of the many tombs in the city...

Raw fish dinner...

It's raw...

And it's alive... And it will suck on you! Either you bite it... Or it bite you!

Restaurant where we had raw fish...

Still Without Laksa... Korea Special!

2009-12-09T20:52:00.011+08:00

Flow off to Seoul transiting through Beijing yesterday for a short holiday... =D

Interior of the new terminal 3 of Beijing International Airport! It's massive... MASSIVE.

Flow Air China... Cause it's cheap! And it's the only flight I could get in the last minute...

Exterior of Beijing Airport...

KTX train... 300km/hr operating speed... Took a train down to Busan for 2 days, before we (travelling with mum) move northward to Daejeon(or Daegu... or Cheonan... or I'm not sure yet...) and then to Seoul...

Train wheels...

Interior of KTX rolling stock! It's quite different from the shinkansen...

Busan station...

Galbi dinner...

Bye Perth... Hello Singapore! Bye Singapore... Hello Seoul!

2009-12-07T20:47:00.007+08:00

*Insert song here*

Swan river as viewed from 50K of my flight...

Woo...

Char siew dinner... =D

Santa came early to the opposite house... A pity... But he needs a diet...

Instant millionare! Yeah... Flying off to Seoul tonight... =x

Concept Drawing...

2009-12-05T01:55:00.001+08:00

Concept drawing for something I'm making...

Looky! I'm Doing Christmas Shopping!

2009-12-03T20:00:00.011+08:00

Big tree in city centre...

Discovering an otaku hideout in Perth... Woo...

Cookies for kids...

Can't afford a Christmas tree... So would have to make do with this... =x

Baby food! Instruction from demanding sister to get baby food for cute niece...

Random book... Bought 2 books today... But not the 1 above...

Also bought 2 shirts and a pair of shorts after spenting an unreasonable amount of time in a silly shop in Harbourtown... Problem being their 'Buy 2, get the 3th free!' deal... Were only seeing one shirt, but being the cheapo Singaporean I am... Decided to get another something to take 'advantage'(because it's the other way round... the shop made me spend too much! Can't they give a simple X0% discount? No... Buy 2 get 1 free...) of the offer... Spent another 1 hour picking up another shirt and a shorts... Gee... Where are the girls to align my fashion senses when I need them?

Yesterday's dinner... A variation of the previous milky mushroom spag... With bacon to increase the saltiness...

Do You Like Meatballs?

2009-12-02T01:37:00.006+08:00

I do...

So I went to Ikea... It's not in the middle of the desert... But it's really is kinda like in the middle of nowhere... And it's huge...

Half price tuesday! 10 meatballs for $3.50... Plus a drink at $1.50... It's one of the cheapest meal you can find in Perth! =D

And in the end... All I bought is 4 bars of chocolate... Because it was on offer for 50cent each... Woo...

Got back my 2nd assignment for Ex Physio 2... 79% for it... After a 5% deduction... Which gives me 23.8/30(5% deduction is around 1.5 marks) for this part of my 100 final marks... While... 5% is nothing... Unless my final result is 69 or 79... Then I will cry...

Avenue Q!!!

2009-11-27T23:57:00.007+08:00

Regal Theatre in Subiaco... I'm going to a musical in a theatre! I feel cultivated already... =x

1 ticket for Avenue Q... Yeah... I'm a loner... =/

No photography allowed in theatre... =x

After the show... =D Great performance... Really enjoyed it... Didn't stop laughing for the whole duration of the show... The fact that the lady sitting next to me keep on singing to the songs... Actually makes it better... =x Avenue Q will be playing in Perth till 13th of december... Dun miss it!

Just remember two facts of life kids...

1. The internet is for porn.
2. Everyone's a little bit racist!!!

Look! Buttons!

The Angry Angus from Hungry Jack's... Better then the Mighty or Grand Angus from Maccas... Much better... Health is overrated!!!

Milky Mushroom Garlic Spaghetti?!?

2009-11-27T01:38:00.002+08:00

Planned to go watch Avenue Q at the Regal theatre... Failed to wake up...

Made a mushroom with milk and a lot of butter sauce... Poured it over a plate of spaghetti... Pretty good stuff... And much healthier then deep fried steaks... =x

Deep Fried Steak!

2009-11-25T21:11:00.006+08:00

T-bone steak deep frying in vegetable oil... Felt like having french fries... So made some... Don't feel like washing 2 pots... So used the same pot of oil to deep fry my steak... Good idea? Bad idea?

Ultimate indulgence... Deep fried steak with french fries... Oil and oil with oil... Talk about healthy eating...

Ball vs. Dog...

Dog wins! Momoko the destroyer...

Drowning in CSCS study materials... Pretty sucky stuffs... =x

Taking the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specalist (CSCS) examination on 5th december... It's pretty much like revising all the stuff I learnt in the last 2 years... For 1 test... 210 MCQ test... Hurray!

Still Bored... Still Baking...

2009-11-23T00:12:00.010+08:00

Pandan cake this time... Something familiar...

Mixed batter...

So much batter... I have enough for a cake... And 8 muffins... For $3.95... That's pretty alrite... But gee... This mix pack calls for 7 eggs! Do they realise how expensive eggs are in Australia?!?

The first time my cake did not break into 2... =D

So I got a cake... And 8 burnt muffins... The cake was awesome... But the burnt muffins were... Well... Burnt...

Nadia's crepe... She donated 2 crepe to me... Hehe...

Third time in a year... The busstop near my place... Got knocked down!

Cute hand-drawn poster at Belridge fish'n'chip!

Gonna go watch Avenue Q over the week... $49 for a student ticket... Wee!

YM Bakes Another Cake!

2009-11-20T00:07:00.005+08:00

Not sure if I mentioned it... But my exams are over... I'm unofficately a graduate (bar something really really wrong happening...)! Life been eventless... I need more friends... =/ So in the meantime... I bake... Eat... And get fat... Mostly in that order... Sometimes they happen concurrently...

Look mum! I know how to use an electrical mixer!

And this is what cakes look like before baking...

So this 1 didn't break into 2 pieces... But why can't my cake be a WHOLE?

Nothing some icing can't solve...

I'm not a weight watcher or calories counter... I'm also blessed with a pretty high metabolic rate...

YM Bakes a Cake!

2009-11-15T19:35:00.005+08:00

Saw them on offer... Decided to try baking a cake... Never made 1 before... Only muffins... And cookies... So this is new... At least to me...

It's really pretty easy... Throw everything into a big bowl and mix well... =D

This is not what the picture on the box shows! Why is there a crack?

I read the instructions... But apparently not the cake... It cracked open when I flip it!

In the end... I jus wanna say... Plastic surgery works for cakes as well as human... =x

So there you have it... A chocolate mud cake... Pretty simple... =x Now back to statistics...

Some Pieces of Life...

2009-11-13T20:42:00.004+08:00

A guy wearing his jacket the wrong way round... Accident do happen... But here's the problem... He's wearing a Sportsgirl jacket!

A very nicely coloured drawing... I just wish someone taught her how to spell 'butterfly'...

And a book titled 'Grumpy Old Women'... When I see it... I remember a 'grouchy old women'... Abigail!

Amateur and Social Community Carnival!

2009-11-09T12:31:00.011+08:00

The trophy!

Hamersley amatuers... And other players behind them... A total of 20 teams participated in 4 groups of 5... With the top 2 going into the quarters... Each team played a min. of 4 games... Each game 30 minutes in length... It was a full day of football...

Pitch 1 and 2...

Pitch 3 and 4! So much green grass for sports... The only place you can get such a big pitch of field in Singapore is at the Padang... On the other hand... It's quite a common sight in Perth...

Camera crew! Which brings us back to the purpose of this event... To raise funds for a seriously injured player at Hamersley Rovers... Eric Morley-Smith... Who injured his spine during a social football match... Can't give much details... But do check out the link above for more details... And tat's Eric on his wheelchair... Here to watch the matches... And the camera crew... Here to record the fantastic community fundraising event...

Broomy and I...

Christine... Aka as Doris... I have no idea what kinda expression is that on my face...

And here we have Sean... Missing a penalty in the finals... Which will forever be etched in his mind... =P Since that was his last kick of the ball before returning to the UK... He should be on a plane back to London by now... Long flight back...

Just for the record... UWA won the trophy... On penalties... And worth special mention is Carlos... Hamersley's Brazilian goalkeeper... Who saved 4 out of 15 penalties... He is the main reason the team progressed to the finals for that day... =D

The Post With Too Much Roses!

2009-11-08T06:28:00.009+08:00

Sometimes it's important to take a step back... And smell the roses...

Especially when they are growing in your backyard!

Budding rose...

A rose... By any other name... Is still surrounded by thorns!

Do you like them with some bees?

Pretty bloom!

And this 1 is past retirement age... =P

Went grocery shopping and picked up this magazine... Entice! The sole purpose of this magazine is to teach you how to cook great steak! Nice right?

Is It All Coming To An End?

2009-11-07T02:37:00.003+08:00

So I submitted my last piece of assignment late... It was 2 hours late... I have no excuses... And I will have 5% of the mark deducted from me... 5% of the 30% assignment component would mean a 1.5% effect on my final mark... While... I don't really care for now...

Got back my Biomechanics 2 marks as well... 30.6/40... 76%... Hey pretty good show for a single man doing an assignment that is supposed to be group-based... In 1 day too! =D

And so ahead of me is 3 final papers... And the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) qualifying exam...

And so all these rushing of assignments and studying for exams explains why I didn't blog much for the week... And why I wouldn't blog much for the coming weeks... Contrary to popular belief... I do study sometimes...

And is it all over for me in Perth? Not really... As I will be starting with my Master's next year... Yup... I will be continuing my love affair with the city that sleeps too bloody early for another 2 years (at least... tat's the plan!)... I will be conducting research in the field of exercise science... I will write up a thesis... Maybe publish a journal or 2... And nobody will curse and swear when they are citing my journal... Because my name will just be Lin, Y. M. I mean... Have you seen how bloody long some of the surnames of Greek researchers are? Papadopoulos... Kalapotharakos... Manolopopoulos... No disrespect to Greeks... But you guys got really really long surnames... Thanks God for EndNote (Thomas Reuter, California, USA)...

So in conclusion... 3 more paper to go... And I'm a graduate (Provided nothing dramatic happens!)! Heck... I will die if I fail one module and need to repeat a semester... I will... I will... =x This blog post will also not be attractive because it's lacking in photos... And nobody wanna read the ranting of a twentyish male asian bloke...

But wait! There's more! Singapore will be playing Thailand at the National Stadium in Singapore on the 14th of November 2009! We will be playing Thailand in a double-header with the second match on the 18th... If we win both... We pretty much qualify for the Asian Cup Finals... So head down to the National Stadium... And perhaps you will see history being made...

Poster design by farissen of Kallangroar!

Melbourne Victory! As Perth Goes Down Third In A Row...

2009-11-02T02:45:00.009+08:00

Condition of entry... For anyone who's interested...

A crowd of 10,053 came to the Perth Oval to support the Glory boys...

Sadly... A disappointing day for Perth Fans... As Glory does down 1-2 to an unimpressive Melbourne side...

A view of the stand... And Tando Velaphi... Perth's no. 1...

It was around this time when I noticed an event of pure evilness... 3 kids were playing in the stand... 2 older is and a younger boy... It was pretty obvious to me, that the 2 older kids are irritated by the younger boy... And so one of them said... 'We are playing hide n seek! You go hide! And we will find you...' And so the younger boy ran off into the stand... And the 2 older 1s... Turned their back... And continue watching the match!

They won... They can linger on the field...

And here we have Tampines favorite... On loan with a guest contract at Melbourne Victory! Playing on the left of midfield... Not here to warm the bench for Victory... Playing his first full game for the side...

Today I learned about the story of Kevin and Sarah... Why didn't I met any nice girls on the train?

Staff Night!

2009-10-28T01:21:00.009+08:00

Sizzler's staff dinner 2009... Been a good 6 months working there... People I had dinner with!

Jaclyn... Tiff and Byron...

More people I work with...

Even more people I work with!

Spahgatti Marinara... Which I nvr finish... Coz I had too much pizza before-hand...

And then it's off to the KTV... Where people get drunk... Try to sing... And I watch...

Mid-way...

I have this thing for taking photos of emptied bottles...

This is what happens when you feed your manager tequila! They jump on the table and sings! Lucky for me... She doesn't surf my blog... Or does she?

I Gave In To Temptation...

2009-10-25T23:55:00.002+08:00

And bought a durian cake! It was great... Heavenly... The best fruit in the World made into a thick thick paste... Nothing beats it! I shared it with Alex... He's not a fan... =x

End of Season Dinner!

2009-10-23T00:05:00.007+08:00

First and reserve team boys!

Greenwood Thrills and Grills... For the price... And the name... It's kinda disappointing...

Joey playing with his balls... =x

Greenwood hotel tavern...

Scudder writing on Sean's ball...

Sean and I... Sean is going back to England in 3 weeks... Will miss having him in the team... No doubt...

Great little dinner and drinking session at Greenwood hotel with the Hamersley boys... To round up the season ended... And spend the cash left in the kitten... Hehe... Looking forward to the carnival on the 8th of November...

Last Training... And more Muscle Biopsy!

2009-10-19T19:04:00.007+08:00

Just a photo of the leg press which I have been doing... My 1RM have improved by quite a sum, but my weight, percentage body fat, and thigh lean mass remains pretty much the same... Not exactly what the researchers are hoping for... =P With this, my free gym session are up! Now I need to get myself a gym membership till I get back to Singapore...

Had 2 muscle biopsy done today... 1 before and 1 after the training session... I remember my body going into mild shock after the first biopsy at week 1... But today's biopsy after 8 weeks were after-effectless... No dizziness... No weakness... Nothing... Perhaps my body is now used to the idea of getting speared! =x Stab me! Stab me! I want to say again that the muscle biopsy is less painful compared to the usual vaccum blood sampling test and finger prick blood sampling test... Sure it looks awful... But it's really very bearable!

And so today we present... A video of the muscle biopsy being done on me... Ta-da! Thanks to Dr Anthony Blazevich for filming permission and commentary, and thanks to the Brazilian researcher whose name I did not ask for filming...

Also available for you sick sick guys out there! A higher-res version of the same video...

Today...

2009-10-17T22:40:00.003+08:00

Today I made couscous for dinner... Goes well with steak... Almost everything goes well with steaks...

Today I was half an hour late for work... Was suppose to get to work at 2pm, but got there at 2.30pm instead... Wrote it down in my schedule wrongly... Oh well...

Climate Chamber

2009-10-15T23:46:00.002+08:00

Photo from outside the CLIMATE chamber...

One of the unit inside the climate chamber... At 30 degrees with 80% humidity... Felt like home for a moment... =P

Was involved in acclimatisation session for Perth Glory over monday and wednesday... Really quite interesting to see them sweat it out in the chamber... While the news report called it a heat chamber, it's more like a climate chamber, for temperature can be adjusted both up and down... And more importantly... Humidity can be adjusted... In the end, another interesting experience and learning trip...

The Classic Singapore Breakfast!

2009-10-13T21:44:00.005+08:00

Ah... The classic Singapore breakfast...

Toast... With too much kaya on 1 side... And too much butter on the other...

Soft(half)-boiled egg... Which will soon find itself with too much soya sauce... And too much pepper...

And a hot glass of teh... With too much condensed milk...

Healthy diet? Not for me... The only problem with my breakfast is... I had it for dinner... HAHAHA!

Hog's Breath and some Bubbly!

2009-10-11T02:10:00.010+08:00

Derek and Eunice's drink... The rest of us poor kids didn't get any drinks...

Natural prime rib... Mega cut! Medium rare... Melt in your mouth goodness... With pepper sauce...

Lemon something salmon... Derek's...

How a plate should look like when you r done with it... =D

The cheapest bottle of bubbly in the bottle shop... Hehe...

Cheers! For the completion of their 2 weeks intensive lessons... For the forthcoming graduation... For friendship (even if I'm an irritating bastard at times...)...

Quick quick! Take photo!

And that's it for their fortnight in Perth... 2 more months in Perth for myself before I head home for the holidays... Lovely... It's great to have them over... And it's great to show them around the Perth I know... And yeah... It's great to have good friends around... Even if just for a little while... Oh yeah... Thanks for the food! =x

Caversham! AGAIN?!?!?

2009-10-09T23:35:00.000+08:00

Me, Eunice, Sharon and Peter... Derek taking photo... And nope... Eunice is not driving! I am!

A buzzard!

Erm... A very colourful parrot...

Can you see the joey? First time seeing a joey... It's cute! I bet Abigail will wanna bite it...

Derek trying to hide among the kangaroos...

The black swan... They are suppose to be epidemic to Western Australia.. But I have not seen them in the wild yet...

Molly's Farm show! Near the conclusion of the show, where the kids get to feed the lambs...

After Caversham wildlife park, we went down to Freo and Perth city for some shopping and dinner... No photo of my dinner... But here's a shot of Perth city and the river at home... Quite a sight is it not? We went down to King's Park at 10plus... And saw fireworks (?!? I got no idea wat's the occasion!)... Made a lot of noise... And then went home...

This is my third time in Caversham over the year... Heck! I don't even go to the Singapore zoo tat often! =x Caversham should pay me for the publicity! =P

Pain is Objective!

2009-10-07T00:00:00.006+08:00

It depends on the object you dropped on your feet! As for myself, I dropped a 5kg weight plate on my feet in the gym on monday while assisting in the gym... I know my foot are ugly! It's not very obvious, but that's swelling and discolouration in my right feet... Still walking... No fracture... Just swelling... And that feeling of stupidity lingers within me... =x

On dropping the plate on my feet, I went through the Kubler Ross model, otherwise known as the grief cycle...

Denial - 'I didn't drop a weight on me feet, did I?' The first stage, where individual deny that the incident happened.

Anger - 'Why me? Why my feet?' The second stage, where individual recognizes that denial can't be continued, but gets angry at the incident.

Bargaining - 'Please please please! I still wanna walk later!' The third stage, in which individual hopes for the best!

Depression - 'Oh fuck... It's swelling... Damn... Damn... Damn...' General sadness, as individual comes to understand the extend of the incident.

Acceptance - 'Oh well... Just need to ice it tonight!' Where individual accepts that what happened, happened. And try to make the best of it!

Well, all I wanna say is, there's a reason why one MUST wear covered shoes in the gym... I was wearing mine, can't imagine what it would be like without proper footwear...

Quoting Lyn Jones from the Australian Weightlifting Federation, 'Pain is a good teacher!'

Northbridge... Vietnamese Food...

2009-10-06T03:27:00.004+08:00

Jonathan and his beef balls noodle... Jonathan will be starting his Masters of Physiotherapy at Curtins next year after completing his Sports science degree at ECU... He's also part of the contingent coming over on campus for his 2 weeks intensive labs... Making use of some free time, we went down to Perth city and Northbridge to take a tour, have dinner and orientate him on the layout of Perth... Thus he won't be so lost when he come back in december to start his Curtins course... =X

Thai Ice Tea! Taste spicy... Weird...

I like this a lot... Crispy seafood noodle... Something I always enjoy in Singapore... Of course it's a mere $4-5 in Singapore... And a grand $13 here!

The Giant Inflatable Hammer!

2009-10-05T00:23:00.004+08:00

Momoko is seriously scared of my giant spongebob squarepant inflatable hammer...

The novelty items in my spongebob showbag... All cheap... Silly... Stupid... Cute... Things that I totally do not need... But really wanna have... Oh for goodness sake... I'm 23... Ok I will give them to my niece... =X

The Men's Health showbag... Pretty good value for the money... $20... 3 Men's health magazine including the current issue... A bottle of body and hair wash (man do it in 1 go!)... A anti-perspirant (coz man stinks!)... A shaving gel and disposable razor (man are hairy!)... And many others...

The soft toy we won... Lol... Like wth...

Mooncakes! Mooncakes! Must eat mooncakes!

2009-10-03T22:23:00.005+08:00

Award winning mooncakes... Made in Hong Kong! Imported by OK minimart...

Why only 2? Well... I have planned to get them for quite sometimes... But everytime I went to the minimart... I dun have enough cash! I waited till mid-autumn festival day itself... Knocked off from work at 6pm... The minimart closes at 7... Rushed down and reached at 6.45... Last 2 mooncakes in the box... I took them! Another chinese couple came in and was quite disappointed that the better mooncakes were all sold (Because I took them!)... Then I asked for the box... Since it's quite nice (usually u need to buy 4 to get the box... Oh well...)...

White lotus paste... Double yolk... AU$11 each...

Sliced... And shared with Alex... Saving the other 1 for when Nadia come back from house/dog-sitting...

The Deen!

2009-10-03T13:07:00.000+08:00

Random chick with big cccllleeevvvaaagggeee and random dude... Who asked me to snap a photo of them with my camera... For what? I do not know... Oh well... Maybe they will actually wind up here and see their photo...

Eddie, me! Kwok, Raymond and Lynda...

Joe, Lynda, Kwok, Hans, Gabriel, Camila and Eddie... Stubbie in foreground...

The Deen! Crowded... Smokey... Stuffy... And filled with drunk people... Just like any other clubs... =x Good way to spend a friday night... Went straight to the club after depositing my showbags with my friends... Oh well... Thanks to Joe for bringing us down to the club! And Lynda for the ride home!

Let's Go to the Show!

2009-10-02T22:33:00.013+08:00

Model for the day! Jeslyn... my sec sch mate and the air stewardess who had a flight to Perth...

The plan was that I bring my coursemates to the Perth Royal Show... But well... Plan didn't work out so well... They have a last minute tutorial scheduled... So my show plans were ruined... But lucky lucky! Jeslyn flown in! And to the show I go! With a pretty girl too! =P

Thumbs up to the wood-fired pizza!

Twisted chips... Taste really starchy (yes I know... Potato is starch... But this 1 taste more starchy then usual!)... I think Jes look like Eikura Nana here... HAHA!

Got no idea who he is... But hey... He can juggle a knife, a torch and an apple at the same time... He's good...

Lambs... Good for lambchops... =x

Been to the emu farm... But this is the first time I saw emu chicks!

Lamb again...

Highland bull... It's hairy... Like Moko...

I have seen chicks before... But this is the first time I saw them with a merry-go-round in their cage!

A can of that would be nice... I mean tat size...

Not really very crowded... Many thanks to Jeslyn for being going to the show with me... We tried very hard at the games... But won nothing... Till next year... See you at the show!

And then We went to Siena's...

2009-09-28T23:50:00.000+08:00

Group photo in front of the school 'gate'...

Train down to Leederville!

Cheers! For a better life!

Pizza... Pasta... Wine... Life cannot get any better then this... Oh wait it can!

Derek and Eunice acting silly in the middle of the street! =x

Train ride back!

Siena's is great as usual... For the price it's good food! Comes down to $19 per head... Pretty worth it... While I had concession tickets... The rest of them spent $9 for the train ride... Oh well... At least we had a great time wining and dining...

2-Week Full-Time Students!

2009-09-27T21:31:00.001+08:00

Outside Perth airport... We were all in t-shirts... But it was bloody freezing! Great to see them again... Been more then 8 months since I last saw some of them...

Photo Derek took of Moko at my pace... They stayed over for 1 night at my place... Moko is still everyone's favorite bitch! =x

Lucretia, Eunice and Sharon posing outside the place they rented... I'm in the background! I wonder why I'm in the background...

The place they rented... Lovely... Is it not?

Like I said, great to see them again... They start school on monday, for a 2 weeks intensive labs and tutorials in ECU. This 2-weeks of on campus activities serve to supplement what they learnt off campus...

Got Limited!

2009-09-26T19:20:00.002+08:00

The one thing I hate about Australia is the internet system... While in Singapore, the price plans are based on internet connection speed... the price plans of Australia's internet are based on bandwidth! A very sinister way indeed! So you get a plan of say 20gb per month... Once you used up your 20gb... 1 of 2 things happens... Either your internet speed gets limited or you get charged extra for every byte of datum (hey! this is the singular of data!) you download! In my case... The internet connection got limited... Oh well...

So for the last 2 week I battled with sluggish internet connection... With connection that slow... Who can be bothered to blog? So that's that! My internet is back up... So I will resume blogging soon...

In other news... Friends from afar will finally arrive in Perth for their intensive 2 weeks exercise physiology and biomechanics hell... Good luck...

Quack! Quack! Quack!

2009-09-17T21:41:00.002+08:00

While packing my bag this morning, for reason unknown to self... I popped my camera into my bag... And I was too lazy to take it out... So I just went to school with it... While on my way back from Uni... I spotted this family of ducks walking around the campus's lake! I guess it's not very special to Australians... But hey... We don't have ducks running around campus in Singapore (or lakes on campus...)...

The photos are not really great... But damn... They are cute!

Tried Being Creative...

2009-09-16T16:19:00.009+08:00

I would serenade her...

But I can't sing...

Or play a musical instrument...

For I have no muscial talent...

I could paint a portrait of her...

Unfortunately I have no artistic talent...

I tried to write her a poem...

Only to discover I have no literary talent...

I told her I will win a medal in her honour...

But I have no sporting talent...

I wish I could charm her with my looks...

But I looked into the mirror and all is shattered...

So in the end I will just lay down on the tracks...

And wait for the next train to roll by...

Nah... Not planning to kill myself... Just trying to be creative! (Or stupid... You be the judge...) My post count seems to be really really low this month... Half the month gone... And this is only my 5th post... It's been a boring month after all... I'm totally looking forward to the 26th of the month... When my friends from Singapore flies over to Perth for their 2-weeks intensive sports science lab in ECU... As for now... I should go back to write my report on Wingate testing... Active recovery... Passive recovery... Oh no!

On another note... If there's a survey on household consumption of pizza... I'm sure we are way up there... Way up...

A Pug Named Oliver!

2009-09-12T11:23:00.003+08:00

Enshrined forever in a piece of art!

The artist! Nadia with her painting... And her equipments!

Photo of a rainbow I captured the other day while watching Murdoch thrash Hamersley... We are still at the bottom of the table! We are pretty much gonna be relegated!

Didn't blog for the week... Cause it's mid-term week... And exams are boring... All I did the previous 5 days is work... Sleep... Eat... Study a bit... Go take the exam... Go home and sleep somemore...

Got back the result of my first paper, exercise physiology by the end of the week... Actually scored 94%... Mwahaha... Which is a shock to me... Cause I only attended 1 lecture the whole semester... The lecture before the exam... Don't tell my lecturer! =x Hopefully the score for my biomechanics and statistic paper will be decent... Hopefully...

It's a Little Late Girls...

2009-09-07T22:22:00.004+08:00

But I won't blame you girls too much... =x After all what's better then opening a birthday card and finding money inside?

Ta-da! 5 ringgit! That's 2 Singapore dollar... And 1.6 Australia dollar... Oh well... Not much I can buy with that sorta money...

It's came at an unexpected time... It was a pleasant surprise... Because my birthday was 1 month back... =x Thanks! Hehehe...

Rib Eye Steak... Bones Included!

2009-09-05T22:08:00.005+08:00

Have not been blogging because nothing moderately exciting been happening in my life... Because studying is not exciting at all... But I cooked something different today... So I guess it's worth writing about...

A piece of meat!

Does not remain merely a piece of meat long in my hands...

Lightly rubbed with salt and pepper... Roasted at 200degrees for around 25 minutes for medium well... Served with instant mash potato and canned vegetable! =x Hey! The main thing is the meat... 500gm worth of meat... I like meat... Give me a piece of steak and I will smile the whole day...

On the other hand... Is there any sorta steak eating challenge in Perth? Those eat 1kg of steak in a certain amount of time thingy? =x

I also broke my glasses over the week... Was wiping it clean when I broke it with my fingers?!? The strength training at school is paying off... LOL!

Second week of the 8 week programme... Feeling damn fine... Sure... The muscle biopsy sucks... But the training and gym session (hey! It's free!) is great!

10 Places I Wanna Visit Before I DIE!

2009-09-01T03:37:00.012+08:00

When I post lists like this... It usually mean I'm studying... Because making travel plans relieve my stress greatly... HEHEHE... In no order of ranking or merit or which 1 I will go first... The list of 10 places I wanna visit before I kick the bucket!

The tallest member of the World Federation of Great Towers... At 553m... It's a sight! I bet the view from above is perfect... Located in Toronto, Canada... I have a thing for towers... Visited Seoul Tower, Tsutenkaku, Nagoya TV Tower and Tokyo Tower... Will visit more... And more... And more...

Mount Everest... I used to be in Everest house back in secondary school... I always think the house system is stupid... Cause it breaks up class cohesion... It's not like we are a boarding school with residential houses... We go home at 1pm! Located in Nepal, near the border between Nepal and China... It's more traditional Tibetan name being Chomolungma... Not that I want to scale it(impossible!)! I just wanna glare at it and shed tears of joy at the base camp...

The Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea... The greatest sports stadium in the World! With a capacity of 150,000! The last time an international football match was played there resulted in a riot of sort... Now 150,000 rioting is not a situation I wanna be in... Or near...

The Grand Canyon! When I was younger... I pictured a really big box of crayon... Until someone corrected my illusion and my spelling mistake... Located in Arizona, in the Grand Canyon National Park... Said to be cutted by the Colorado River over 2 million years... Either way... Really impressive...

Great Pyramid of Giza... In Cairo, Egypt... Within the Sahara desert! The last reminding seven wonders of the anicent World... A very frequent visitor of people's top 10 travel destination list... A cliche of a choice... But I STILL WANT TO SEE IT!

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy... The stadium of choice of ancient Roman blood sports... Many gladiators must have given up their life in that... In the name of entertainment! Luckily violent in sports have subdued... Now we usually just have football hooligans hitting each other...

The Uluru, located in the Northen Territory of Australia... The biggest piece of rock in the World! I have nothing much to say about it... I just want to see it!

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France... Never meant to be a permanent structure... The inspiration behind Tokyo Tower... If Godzilla is French, he would attack the Eiffel Tower! Apparently my bro-in-law proposed to my sis on top of it (or so they claim in their wedding presentation!)... The location of choice for many romance cliche... A definite must see!

Anatarctica! The biggest continent in the World without a country! The coldest, driest and windiest region in the World! And the biggest desert in the World (remember kids! a desert is a region with little or no rain... Anatarctica qualifies!)! I just wanna go there to cuddle a penguin... Provided they don't bite me...

Saint Basil's Cathedral... In Moscow, Russia... I mean... Look at it! It's huge... It's colourful... And it's covered in onions! I remember seeing it in the Britannia Encyclopedia when I was 5(what the hell am I reading an Encyclopedia at 5 for?!? For a start... It's there...), and have wanted to visit it since... It was the first building I though of today when I started compiling my list... A proof of its impact on my little mind back then...

Birthday Cards! And Hot Rods!

2009-08-30T04:08:00.009+08:00

It was my birthday on the 14th of August... And all I got is this card from Video-EZY... A free new release DVD rental! =x

Okok... After my thick-skinned and pathetic constante begging for birthday cards... I received 3 cards from my friends... HEHEHE! The first one is from Vernon... A friend I met through the Singapore Polytechnic Cycling Club... Who I disturb greatly without fail on IM...

It's PINK! I got this 1 from Shuyi! =P I wonder if she sealed it with a kiss... =x

She also increased this piece of *bling* *bling* with the card... How sweet... Sad to say... I broke it while trying to untangle the chain... I break things... I'm a guy after all!

And the last 1 is from Cheeleng... Who is currently in Brisbane... Studying in UQ... Considering that the distance from Brisbane to Perth is actually greater than from Singapore to Perth... I wonder why her postage is the cheapest... =x Do not look down on this card... She managed to squeeze a 2 page essay in it! In which she wonders about my gender (Oie... Man cannot cook and make nice handmade gifts ah?)...

3 cards... Not really that bad after all... If I have breast I would definitely receive more cards! =P

Many thanks for the cards! They are now decorations on my otherwise plain plain wall... I have sent return gifts to the 1s from Singapore... As for she who is in Brisbane... I don't think you need something koala-ish, wombat-ish or kangaroo-ish rite? =P

Went to Burswood casino again today... Saw this fleet of hot rods at the Burswood dome...

And I really like this one...

As for the gambling record... I donated $160 to the casino today... Oh well... You win some... You lose some... I will be back! Mwahaha...

Made an investment on my future too... Registered for the NSCA(National Strength and Conditioning Association) CSCS(Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) examination... Hopefully I will pass it and get an extra qualification along the way...

Interesting Sign...

2009-08-24T21:54:00.003+08:00

Is this engrish? Would you like a ski baot? Sign spotted near Belridge Shopping Centre...

Goes Camping(Drinking!)!!!

2009-08-23T17:37:00.012+08:00

Goes deep into Avon Valley National Park for Thermal Ball 2009 as organised by UWA outdoor club... I'm not from UWA... I'm just an idiot who decided to pop in with friends...

And this is how we cook our meat in the wild...

The shooter timber and drinks at the start... They are all empty bottles by the end of the evening...

Our little fire away from the main bonfire...

Roasted(burnt!) mashmallow on a twig from the ground...

The party marquee which houses the dancefloor... In the middle of the Avon Valley we go to drink and make merry!

Boat race!

Wendy and Aaron(I hope I got the name right...) after winning the boat race...

Futile attempt to snap a photo when highly tipsy...

The next day... Breakfast.. Marquee came down... Pack up... Go home... I was pretty much freezing because I can't get myself into the sleeping bag... =x It was pretty amazing that I found my tent in the first place... Overall... A fun night... Afterall... It's my first time getting drunk in the middle of the forest!

Lamb Rack? Rack of Lamb?

2009-08-20T21:51:00.005+08:00

Before roasting... Seasoned with rosemary(garden fresh!), thyme leave and cracked black pepper...

After roasting...

Would you like a bite? Would you?

Been a long time since I had lamb... Not my first time roasting meat, but certainly one of my most successful! The whole roast is 500gm and costed me $12... I ate it in one sitting... I eat a lot... As usual with most meat... Fatty... Oily... Tasty!

Muscle Biopsy!

2009-08-17T17:43:00.011+08:00

Moko is the first photo for a reason... Because I wanna put my readers at a state of calmness with a photo of a cute dog...

Breakfast as provided by the research group... Best thing they gave me all day... This photo is harmless...

That's usually how I marinate meat at home before cooking it... Drown it in some sauce and wrap it in cling wrap... Well... Actually in this photo, I'm getting some local anesthesia to lower the pain sensation... This photo is still very harmless...

Getting my blood drawn... I donated 3 small cylinder of blood to science! =x Oh btw... Any photos beyond this one... VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!

See that little red piece of meat there? That's a piece of me... A micro-biopsy of my vastus lateral muscle... I'm not eating steak tonight... Or maybe tml night as well...

Here we have Dr. Anthony Blazevich insisting the guide biopsy needle into my thighs... This photo is from the THIRD biopsy... Yup... They did 3 biopsy on me today, taking out 2 pieces of muscle each time... After the first biopsy, I was made to do leg presses... They insist a fat ass needle into me... Took out 2 piece of me... And ask me to do leg presses after 30 minutes! Perfect! =P

Here... A SECOND needle is insisted into the first one... This one has a cutting edge... Which does the cutting...

Guide needle sticking out of my thigh...

Another view! You can see how deep the needle went into my thighs... It was not very painful... A prick blood test is actually worst... But... Seriously... Having a fat ass needle in your thigh is not the most comfortable of feelings... Worst still... 4 more biopsies will be performed on me... 3 in 4th week of training and 1 more after the whole thing... Great! Just great! =x

The 1st biopsy was quite painful, first time and the after-effect was quite bad... Felt dizzy and just wanna lay down... Perhaps it's because it is conducted in early morning and my blood glucose level is not stable yet... The 2nd biopsy was the least painful... Sorta 'used' to it... But was still very tensed up (hey! they are sticking this thick needle into me! You will be tensed too if u are me!)... The 3rd and last biopsy of the day is the worst... No idea why but the anesthesia cream didn't have a full effect...Could feel really well the insistion of the needle... And the cutting... AAAHHH! It's the most painful, but weirdly enough... Most bearable... Go figure... Haha...

ECU National Day Rally Relay Bang!

2009-08-16T21:36:00.008+08:00

Looky here! Delivery all the way from the Prime Minister's Office in Singapore... National Day Parade goodie bags in a box... I wonder how much it costed them to do this... Thanks but I'm still not gonna vote for u(provided they don't have a walkover in my district...)!

The Rally Relay Bang is ECU's Singapore Student Association's National Day event, held at the Joondalup campus... A pity for the organisers... Because of the rain... It was a washout... The games were cancelled and instead, we moved to a lecture theatre to watch a local production (by local I mean Singapore!)... So that was it... Lunch and a movie... Not much interaction around... Oh well...

At least I got some toys... A green messenger bag that can be converted into a tote bag by pulling the flip away! A fan... A stirrer sponsored by mr bean(for stirring soya milk? Can't really get them around here... =P)... A heart-shaped light thing-a-ling-ling... A set of temp tattoos (Can use when I watch football...)... A postcard(Maybe I can send it to cheeleng when my birthday card gets here... =x)... A set of discount vouchers(looky! Botak Jones $5 off! Cenosis $44 customized slimming treatment! Old Chang Kee 4 for $4.40! Goody! Sadly I can't find Botak Jones, Cenosis or Old Chang Kee here... maybe I should send it back to Singapore... Just for fun...)! And a Singapore flag(always wanted one... SERIOUS!)!

Apparently the goodie bags are packed by my old NS unit this year (30SCE)... ORD LO!

Bought a bottle of Midori at Thirsty Camel... Read about it and wanna try it... Comes with a free very short cocktail glass... Pretty cool...

A simple Midori and lemonade mix... Midori is TOO SWEET to drink on its own... It's usually used in sweet cocktails... Sweet cocktails... Sounds like a chick drink... I'm a dude... But I like Midori... Oh well...

YES! Tml I will be in school for the first training session... Where Dr. Anthony Blazevich(PhD... Not medical...) will be cutting away a small small piece of my muscle... =x

Mee Siam! Siam! Siam!

2009-08-15T23:08:00.011+08:00

All you need to cook mee siam... Lemons not required... Third time cooking with Prima pre-mix... Prima should sponsor my blog...

Haven't had mee siam for 6 months... Had laksa for 5 times... Haha... Mee siam has a Thai origin(Siam being an old name for Thailand)... It's one of those dishes I love to have for breakfast(along with lotong... roti prata and soto ayam...)...

Rice vermicelli...

Concentrating on the soup base... Because if I stare at the soup base really hard... It will taste better...

Garnishing for the mee siam...

And the lots... Dinner for 5... Was a celebration of sort for my 6 months in Perth and birthday with my landlord, housemate and Mark(friend of Alex, my landlord!)!

Diner mix his/her own mee siam according to his/her needs and wants... The set comes with a pack of sambal chili and lime juice... The soup base was quite plain, but it tasted really good after adding in a little bit of chili and lime juice to bring out the flavour...

Gelato at bellisimo gelato... A scoop each of super choco and white choco and macadamia... Loved the super choco... Thick, creamy, chocolatey... The white choco and macadamia 1 is a little plain for my liking, but crunchy bits of macadamia makes up for it... Verdict... Better then Il Gelato... Yeah... Thanks to Mark for the ice cream!

But here's the problem... It's located at Hillarys harbour... Not a place I can easily get to!

Moko looking sad and lying down on Mark's leg...

Birthday with a BANG!

2009-08-14T19:39:00.023+08:00

Skipped all my classes because I'm a lazy bum... Appeared in ECU's Vario Health Clinic to get a DXA scan and a muscle ultrasound... I'm a subject for a research on gene expression from strength training... Whatever does it mean? I got no idea... I just decided to do it...

The DXA scan gives a result for bone density and body composition... From the result I know that I have a very dense head(does explain a lot of things...) and I have 16.1% of fat in my body(with my head reading the highest... With 19.9%! Good gracious! All I have in my head is bones and fats!)... Will be back in school on monday as they cut a piece of my muscle from me... Doesn't sound very pleasurable...

Went down to the Lone Ranges shooting complex in Belmont(it's literally a birthday with a bang!)... Spent $290, on 4 guns, expelling 140 bullets... Which makes it $2 per bullet... It's good fun... But not something I will be doing every weekend...

The whole set! Revolver... Bullets... Ear muff and targets!

The tiny .22 bullets used in the revolver... Got 50 of those...

Bullets in a row... My recommendation is... If you have some extra bits under your pants... Give those 50 bullets a skip... Easy to handle... Low to no recoil... And no KICK!

For a first timer... I'm a pretty good shoot!

And now for bigger bullets... 9mm Parabellum!

Loads 10 in the magazine...

Bullets in a row again!

The gun... A Glock... 17,18 or 19? I got no idea... It goes BANG! And have a nice recoil... That's all I need to know...

Next up... The .40 S&W... 30 rounds of these... More kicks then the 9mm...

Bullets in a row again... I have no idea why... But I didn't take a photo of the gun... Anyway it's pretty much the same gun... Another Glock... But with bigger bullets!

.45 ACP

I just like lining them up alrite?

Loaded and really to roll!

I really got no idea what gun is this... But I guess it's a varient of the M1911... Bigger bullet... Bigger kick! More fun... Would I go again? No idea... Gonna fly a plane next month first...

From left to right... The .22, 9mm, .40 and .45... Just showing you guys the size of the expelled cartidge...

Because Belmont is next door to Burswood... Made a trip to the casino... And won $180! Lalala... My capital was $150... Used the Martingale system with the Andrucci system... Betted on the last dozen... Rolled to around $275 and got greedy... Split my bets and played on 2 dozen... Lost alot! Got to my last $35... And just threw them in... Won... And went back to using the Martingale and Andrucci system again... Played, $5, then $10, $20, $40, $80... When I place down my $80 bet, I turned away because I don't dare see the wheel! But I won! Reached $330... Told myself not to be greedy anymore and cashed out... So yeah! Won $180 today!

And No... I'm not addicted to gambling! It's just that I like reading up on gambling system... This is only my second time in 6 months in Burswood... AND! If you go to the casino... Use the same system as me... And lose... Don't blame me...

No photos in the casino! But nobody say you can't walk out with the chips and take a photo... =D

So yup... Celebrated my 23th birthday in Perth with a BANG! Won myself a little money... And is now gonna tuck in to KFC and watch Hellboy! Life is good...

Dinner at Matsuri!

2009-08-11T21:06:00.009+08:00

Matsuri, located at the ground floor of QV.1 tower...

Food... Food... Food!

Tataki! Some sorta barely cooked beef... Really tender... Comes in a lime vinegar dressing... $8 a pop! Luckily I wash dishes for $17 an hour...

Assorted sashimi set for $24... Pretty good... Would have perfered the salmon to be a little sweeter... The tuna a little fatter... But the octupus is just rite!

Nicole's eel roll... $16.50... Looks good... Didn't try it... Not into unagi...

Nicole waiting for her ride home... Her third week in Perth after starting school at Murdoch... She got a nice jacket... Met up with her to have some decent Jap food and a chat...

For the price and all... It's a pretty good meal to me... Not anywhere as good as the food in Japan... But hell! It's good enough! Her friend suggested Taka's, my trained tongue tells me Taka is crappy asian food! But as time goes by... And memories fade away... Crappy asian food taste a little better...

Dream Jobs...

2009-08-11T03:40:00.003+08:00

I'm studying sports science now... But nobody say I must be a sports scientist when I graduate right? I'm also not saying I hate sports science, because I truly enjoy every moment of it. But here's a list of my dream jobs!

...Celebrity Chef?

Appear on TV, cook a few dishes... The aunties(a generic singlish term for middle aged women) loves you and wanna marry their daughters to you! Be hot and sweaty in the kitchen, and still be adored by millions... Why not?

Possibility rating 4/10

...Professional Adventurer?

Climb mountains, sail the seven seas, go deep down tunnels... See the World and get paid doing it... Make speeches at schools, universities, cooperate functions... Maybe support a cause or two... And you always have stories to tell at reunions... Yeah!

Possibility rating 7/10

...Doctor?

It's still one of the highest paying jobs around. Save lifes (or at the least... try not to kill anyone...)... Have no life (from all the work...)... There's nothing much more impressive then saying "I'm a doctor."... And hey... Some of the nurses are real cuties you know?

Possibility rating 2/10

...Teacher?

Be respected (yeah rite...) and mold the future of our nation... Show youngsters the way... Teach right from wrong (I will teach the wrong... Someone else need to teach the right...)... Perhaps develop the talent of a few outstanding talents! At class reunions, students will always recall you (mostly to mock... But we do praise some teachers you know...)...

Possibility rating 6.5/10

...Sports Scientist?

Help people run faster... Jump higher... Generally perform better... Conduct research on sports physiology, biomechanics, motor control, nutrition... Make athlete sweat,bleed(because you need blood sample!) and maybe cry(because they are scare of the needle you used for blood sampling) Sports science is really a very wide field...

Possibility rating 8/10 (hey! I'm already studying sports science...)

...Football Manager?

Plan trainings... Plan tactics... Plan short and long term goals for the team... Maybe training youngsters for a future career as a professional athlete... Or be the head honcho of a professional football team and led them to glory! Win some trophies... Get some medals... Too bad the girls go after the players...

Possibility rating 6/10

...Writer?

Write a good book and make millions from future endorsements... Movie deals... TV deals... Ask JK Rowling about it... Have you ever noticed that in books by famous authors, the author's name is bigger then the book title? Makes you wonder...

Possibility rating 3/10

...Member of Parliment?

There is 13,713 reasons for it... Firstly it's a service to the nation and you are respected for that... Secondly the sense of achievement, leading the nation... Thirdly, it's a 5 years contract! Talk about stable job... The other 13,710 reasons comes in Singapore Dollar... Every month (That makes 164520 reasons a year!)...

Possibility rating 1/10

...Television Show Host?

Smile! You are on television! You are the man! The cameras are rolling and they are focusing on you! Say something! Just don't say something stupid... Gameshows are nice... Comedies are always good for a laugh... But talkshows... Now that's where the money is...

Possibility rating 2/10

...Porn Actor?

Enough said.

Possibility rating 0/10

...Homeless Bum?

If I only dream and not do something about it... That's where I will be eventually... Woo! Oh rite... It's not a dream job... That's why it's no. 11!

Possibility rating 10/10 (it's always possible!)

Pasta Salad!

2009-08-10T00:31:00.007+08:00

Or at least that's what I think it is... =x

Multi-coloured spiral thingy...

Things to add to it...

Boiled egg, mayo, olive oil, bacon bits, mixed herbs, sun-dried tomato and a little effort...

What it looks like after 2 minutes of mixing...

Final product...

Suddenly felt like having pasta after trying out Broomy's pasta lunch at the games today... Well... Pasta is easy to cook and fast to prepare... And almost always taste pretty good... Cheap too... Less then $10 for 4 meals worth of pasta... Think that the mayo doesn't goes as well with this pasta salad as miracle whip... Will use miracle whip for my next batch...

Dear Australians (And any other people who don't know about Singapore!)...

2009-08-09T00:04:00.005+08:00

I am from Singapore, a little nation just off penisular Malaysia in Southeast Asia. We have often been referred as the little red dot, and some idiot from Taiwan compared us to snot. Just to clarify, Singapore is neither part of China nor Malaysia. And no, Singapore is not at war.

Singapore was forced into independent on 9th of August 1965. It's true! We did not gain independent, because the independence of Singapore was definitely not on the mind of the policy makers during 1965 (Ask Lee Kuan Yew, he's the guy who cried!). Up until that moment of truth, Singapore was part of the Federation of Malaysia. Of course, nowadays, we perfer to whitewash history, and proclaim it as us gaining independence from Malaysia. To say the least, we stand proud on our own.

The name Singapore has a Malay origin in Singapura. Legend has it that a certain blind(only reason he could have mistaken a tiger for a lion) prince named Sang Nila Utama came to the island, saw a lion and named it as such (Lucky for us, Harimaupura (Tiger-City) just doesn't have the same kick!). Thus Singa-pura means Lion-City. When Raffles and the ang mohs(=x Singlish term for caucasians) came, they have problem prounoucning Singapura, and soon Singapura became Singapore.

Statistically, Singapore has an area of 720.2km2, making it 10673 times smaller then Australia. Currently, Singapore has a population of 4.84million, greater then that of Western Australia. With a population density of 6814 per km2, it is a little bit squeezy in Singapore, thus we live in boxes in the sky(otherwise known as HDB flats). Only the fitthy rich live in landed properties.

There is 2 season in Singapore, hot and hot with rain. This is due to our location at the equator of the Earth. Temperature seldom drops under 23 degrees celcius, even at night. The lowest recorded temperature in Singapore is a chilly 19.6 degrees celcius. It is no wonder that Singaporeans are often fantasized by snow. A significent percentage of the household utility bill is used to pay for air conditioning.

The national language of Singapore is Malay(however, only the malays learn it in school as their mother tongue). There are four official languages in Singapore, namely, English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil, with the main working language being English. Virtually all subjects taught in schools are conducted in English, except for the mother tongues. English in Singapore has developed into its own creole, known as Singlish(a reflection of the multi-cultural nature of Singapore). Singlish is a mixture of English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil and other dialects, interchanging not just vocabulary but also grammar. Singlish is famous for the usage of 'lah'(which has no meaning lah...). When spoken at full speed, no one can understand us(recall confused face of Alex when I talked with Gladys).

In Singapore, all able-bodied male resident of 18 years of age must serve a 2 years term of service with the military, police or civil defence. This term of service is known as National Service (or more popularly known as National Slavery and NS). It is commonly served after JC(pre-U), Polytechnic(Diploma-level tertiary education), or ITE(equal to Tafe Cert I,II,III,IV, not sure la...). It is also popularly known as the time where the 18/19 years old boys break-up with their 18/19 years old girlfriends because they have no time for their girl, and the girl felt neglected. Personally I think it is also because the girls, on entering higher-education, got to mingle with more mature men, who are 2 years older and have finished their NS. This 2 years is suppose to change boys into men, but more often then not, men are turned back into boys.

Singapore is known for its wide variety of food and vibrant nightlife. After dark, it is a popular activity for Singaporeans to go out for supper(after nightmare, the only food I can get in Perth is maccas...). Laksa, Hainese chicken rice, nasi lemak, roti prata, kueh lapis, egg tarts, mee goreng, mee rebus, mee siam, curry, butter chicken, ang ku kueh, fishball mee, I can take forever to name them, but these are a few of my favorite food! And a true treasure of the collision of cultures in Singapore.

There are many aspect of Singapore that I dislike. Like the government, the educational system, national service, lack of space, unforgiving society, just to name a few. But at the end of the day, I would like to say that, Singapore is my home and my country, and I love it for that.

On 9th August 1965, Singapore gained independence from the Federation of Malaysia and became known as the Republic of Singapore. On 9th August 2009, Singapore celebrates its 44th year as a nation on its own.

Soy & Honey Roasted Chicken!

2009-08-06T23:05:00.001+08:00

Tried something different today... Marinated my chicken drumstick in a soya sauce, honey and cracked black pepper mixture for 2 hours... It's a sweet and slightly saltish combination... Roasted it in low heat for 10 minutes on each side... Tested doneness by poking it with a chopstick... Was pleased with the result... =)

Combined it with a simple stirfried noodle... Used the marinate sauce from the chicken to stir fry the noodle (Recycle! Never waste a drop!)... Added more soya sauce to it to increase the saltiness (it's sweet from the honey... But not salty enough...)... Very simple meal for under $3! Delicious! But not exactly healthy... But definitely better then instant noodles... =x

My HP 39G+ graphing calculator that formerly beongs to a certain Alain Thomson, whose brother Grant sold to me... I hope it's not stolen goods... =P I forgot to bring my calculator over from Singapore... And so have to buy myself one... The school bookshop is selling the same calculator that I'm using in Singapore for $45 (Pui! Pui Pui Pui! Pui! Nahbei! I buy for $20 only! Pui! (Translation: Spit! Spit Spit Spit! Your mother! I purchased the same model for $20 in Singapore! Spit again!))... See a note on the student noticebook selling a graphical calculator for $40... Since there is no restriction on the type of calculator allowed in my statistic module, I decided to buy the second hand graphing calculator...

Second week of school... Still wondering what will be my favorite subject this semester... Thinks that statistic may actually be the one... Heck! When your lecturer (who holds a PhD in Maths!) comes into class in shorts... You know it's gonna be good... Better yet when he discovered mistakes in his lecture slides and contribute it to being drunk! Alrite! Great semester ahead!

Cleaned my Room...

2009-08-04T22:08:00.003+08:00

The last time I cleaned it was when my friends were about to come... Which makes it about 1 month ago... =x Long due for a cleaning... Haha... Now it's a lovely, cosy and CLEAN room again! Also cleared out my grocery shelf... Only to find a pack of bread so decomposed... It was soft, wet and mushy...

I can start my very own Sports Science library! Brought a pair of bookends to help store my books... Now they are no longer all over the floor... Lucky for me... My landlord don't do routine cleanliness check...

I'm also loving the new addition to the living room...

Life Must Go ON!

2009-08-03T00:36:00.011+08:00

I didn't know aloe vera can have thorns...

Or grow like a tree!

Or flower...

What I also didn't know is that... Those are not aloe vera! They are all part of the aloe family of plants... While the aloe vera is merely 1 specie of this large family... And the most common of the aloe... Yet... Today I went to the Botonica garden and gained a little knowledge...

Part of the Lotterywest Walkway in the Botanica garden in King's Park... Lovely little place to have a picnic... Roll on the greens... And look at plants... =D

And with the visit to King's Park... A little bit of shopping... And my family is back to Singapore... Oh well... A little sad... But life MUST go on! So we drink beer... =x Here we have a Pure Blonde with an upside down label...

And there is 2 constant in life... Tax and death... I'm not about to die yet... Nor interested in it... So I will pay my taxes! Tried to understand the information from the computer screen... It's damn tireding to read from a computer screen... So I got the tax-pack from the newsagency... Hehehe... Yup... I'm filing tax return for $11 of tax...

And finally! I got myself a certificate frame from the city for $2... Which is really cheap considering the quality... Solid wooden frame with glass panel... Cheap and good... That's how Singaporeans like it! So now I have my Poly diploma hanging on my wall... I graduated half a year later compared to my peers because I got retained for half a year... For ONE module... ONE bloody module... ONE! The interesting story here is that my father didn't scold me when he found out (mainly because I was in Korea when my result was released...)... I found out later from my mum that my dad failed ONE module during his Uni days while completing his BEng in Civil Engineering... =x Failing is certainly a lesson to learn from... And I think this failure made me a better person... Failing and getting retained is a feeling I would never wanna felt again... NEVER. So that's a promise to myself... And everyone around me... =)

After all... How can you fully taste the sweetness of success without first knowing the bitterness of failure?

Dinner at Alex's...

2009-08-02T00:08:00.001+08:00

Proposed to Alex that he and Nadia should come out for dinner with us one evening... In the end, Alex suggested that we come over to our place for a home-cooked dinner...

And this is not exactly what I expected!!! It was amazing... Wonderful... Fabulous! A 3 course dinner... With pasta by Alex... And stewed lamb shank and tiramisu by Nadia... The tiramisu was so good... My family is asking me to learn how to make it from Nadia...

Claire, Alex and Momoko!

What are they looking at?

My family had the honour and chance to experience Australian hospitality and Italian cooking... Getting to interact and talk with Alex and Nadia... Finding out more about Australia and their lifestyle... And I guess Alex and Nadia learned a little more about Singapore and our lifestyle... A great experience and good interaction both ways... Many thanks to Alex and Nadia for cooking up a storm and playing such wonderful hosts to my family... Thanks!

Caversham... Again!

2009-07-29T23:26:00.000+08:00

This is how a koala looks like when it's sleeping... Cute cute cute! I wanna keep a koala...

Claire feeding a kangaroo... The kangaroos here in Caversham wildlife park are pretty lazy... Just lounging under the sun... Waiting for silly tourist to feed them!

Joey in a pouch...

Donkey needs to brush his teeth!

Tasmania devil... Nothing like the cartoon... It's surprisingly cute...

Newly laid cement pathway... Newly printed peacock feet! They can keep the kangaroos out... But there's nothing they could do about the peacocks...

Hell of an Ugly Bird!

2009-07-28T22:38:00.000+08:00

Emu head!

Here we have a male emu laying on eggs (Like most animals... Including humans... The male do most of the work! =P)... It will continue warming the egg for 56 days... With no food or water... In all kind of weather! Rain, shine or hail! Just laying there on his egg... In a mating season... The female is likely to have 3 husband and 3 piles of eggs... And they run off!

Dark green emu eggs! I wonder how many people I can feed with 1 of those egg...

The emu in full glory...

Sheep... Residents of the Emu farm... This emu farm has 500 emus and 700 sheeps... But who wanna see sheeps?

Here in Toodyay... The police station and the court is together! So they can catch the criminals! And charge them straightaway! =P

MTV-style photo... Mwahaha...

AQWA!

2009-07-27T22:03:00.000+08:00

Finally got to AQWA! Aquariums are always good fun... Photos on this and the following posts are courtesy of my bro-in-law who have a much better camera then I will ever have! =x

If they are red... Are they already cooked? And if they are cooked... When can we eat them?

Cutest fish I ever seen...

Some sorta coral thing-a-ling-ling...

'Just what I need! A binocular so I can see the floor better with!'

While AQWA is a great aquarium with a great variety of fishes... After going to the Osaka Aquarium... Most other aquariums can't match up! The Osaka aquarium has a 'WOO!' factor... The AQWA is a good learning aquarium with a nice touch pool... But no 'WOO!' factor... Still I enjoyed my time there...

Rottnest Island!

2009-07-26T21:43:00.000+08:00

Ferry service to Rottnest Island...

Rottnest Island... So called because the dutch explorer who first landed on the island is an idiot and think that the Quokkas are rats... Thus he called it a rat's nest... Woo!

Rottnest island is powered by a combination of diesal and wind power... First time I saw a wind turbine! It's pretty cool...

Quokka! Really cute little things...

Australia has a highly biased proportion of the World's cutest animals...

If you have so much food in front of you... You will be grinning too!

Dockers Vs. Eagles!

2009-07-25T22:42:00.000+08:00

Subiaco Oval!

The crowd swarming into Subiaco Oval... First time I board a packed train in Perth...

Home of Football!

West Coast Eagles Players...

Crowd before kick off!

Up came the purple flags when the Dockers scores...

And up came the golden flags when the Eagles scores!

Final score... 71-66 with a crowd of 39,536...

Match wise... Quite a comical act... Players who can't kick, pass or catch... And when they do... It's to their opponents... Eagles was playing the better game between the 2... But they can't score! In the end... You can see that the Dockers want it more! And they got it!

Likely to go down to another AFL match before the season ends... Hohoho...

AFL!

2009-07-24T23:52:00.002+08:00

My tickets to the Western Derby! Dockers vs. Eagles! The match that will give the team some bragging rights in the region (mainly because they are both out of the running for the finals...)...

In other news... My mum... Sis... Bro-in-law and Niece are in town... Yeah!

Pancakes!

2009-07-23T16:51:00.006+08:00

Green's pancake mix in a bottle... 2 for $5! Just add water and shake until you DIE!

Batter on a non stick pan...

First pancake! Bits of white spot here and there... The next 15 pancakes managed to be all golden brown on the top! I think it's because the pan is hot enough after the first...

Stack of pancakes... Just like 1960s American comedies... Ate 8 of them at 1 go... Kept the other 8 in my fridge... Not feeling very well now... =P

Hail! Hail! Hailstorm!!!

2009-07-20T21:18:00.004+08:00

Normally I don't upload photos from my phone because the picture quality is just inferior... But today I got no choice...Went out grocery shopping and witnessed a hailstorm!

Was in the asian restaruant that serve crappy asian food like most asian restaurant in Australia when all hail break lose... I was about to take my walk home when it started raining, so I stepped back and took a pair of wooden chopsticks to start eating instead... Then the rain turned to hail... Striking the roof and making quite a noise! Cars' alarms goes off outside... The shop owner and cook was both very excited over ice falling from the sky... It was over in about 2 minutes and the ground was riddled with pea sized ice pellets...

Ice pellets everywhere!

It's really quite beautiful... The closest thing people will get to having snow in Perth...

Simply Amazing...

2009-07-20T11:22:00.002+08:00

The Hamersley Reserve side had a great game and came out 5-0 winners... But the story of the day would be the 1st team comeback over Wanneroo City in the Amatuer Cup... At one point, 1-3 down... They do not look like they are going to score another, much less win... But they did... And it was amazing... A goal from Craig set motion into action and Nahom scored next to level the score at 3-3... The captain scored the winner with a sweet sweet strike... We held on till the end, securing the win, and a spot in the quarter finals of the cup... Sweet...

Had a smirk on my face for the rest of the day... Which was spent washing dishes from 6.30 till midnight at Sizzler... If I am a superhero... I would be called the Scour! Scrubbing the World free of crime! =P

Aussie ninja van! Comes with an expresso machine at the back... Sweet! $5 for a large pop of cafe latte...

Of Drunk Robber and New Carpet!

2009-07-18T00:31:00.009+08:00

A drunk guy tried to rob me on thursday night... He was the most irritating and stupid robber I have met... He's also the only robber I have met... And I hope he remains the only 1 I will ever meet... And calling him a robber is an insult to all robbers... Because basically... He's just a dumb drunk...

Took the 2245 bus home after football training... I could smell beer lingering around him at the interchange... We got onto the same bus... Halfway through... He started talking to me!

"What bus is this?"
"464..."
Where are you going?"
"Home..."

Then he changed seat to get closer to me...

"What ya got in your bag?"
"A first aid kit..."
"I mean the backpack..."
"Nothing..."
"I'm gonna hit you..."
"Ok..."
"You have a mobile?"
"No..."
"Give me your mobile!"
"You want my number?"
"Give me your mobile!"
"No..."
"Get off the next stop and fight me!"
"No..."

At this point I got irritated and walked to the front of the bus to tell the bus driver... And he followed me... And then he started to kick me! As hard as a guy who can't stand properly on his feet can kick... Which is... Not very much... So I just smiled at him... The bus driver stopped and ask him to get off the bus... He tried to give me 1 final kick... Missed and kicked the bus instead... =/

There is actually so much I can do to him... Smack him round abit... Call the cops... Tie him to a tree... But in the end, I choose to let it go... And laugh at his pathetic-ness... Here's a little tip to robbers wannabe... If you wanna rob someone... Don't drink beer beforehand...

Alex, my landlord brought a new set of carpet for him living room... Spent my morning watching the carpet layer at work...

Old carpet...

Bare... Cold... Concrete floor!

The new carpet is made by bridgestone?!?

New carpet in the living room... Really quite nice... Alex spent 10 minutes rolling over it with Moko...

Moko posing... As usual...

Watched Transformers today too! Nice movie! Bad show... Weak storyline... But 1 hell of an action packed ride to happiness! Totally ridiculous! Totally awesome! It's $14 a pop... Does explain why this is the first time in 5 months I went to the cinema...

Robbie Scored! And Glory got SMASHED!!!!!

2009-07-16T09:10:00.010+08:00

Watched 2 more matches at the MES... North Queensland Fury vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Perth Glory vs. Fulham...

Action please!

For the Robbie Fowler fans...

Robbie scoring a penalty to bring the game level! Final score 2-1 to the Wolves...

A pretty good and very intense match... Both side going for it... Robbie really added another dimension to NQF after coming on...

In-between match meal of baked potato... Italian tomatoe with cheese and sour cream... For $9 a pop... So expensive... I ate the skin too! =x

Crowd...

The second match was a washout, mainly because of the rain... Partially because Glory tumbled over and got smashed... Don't think Glory will be challenging for the A-League title or an ACL spot this year... Really... I hope they do... Because that will be the only way I will ever get to see a Singapore Club play here (if SAFFC wins the league and the playoff... Got chance...)...

First half ended 0-1 to Fulham... Final score 0-5... The last 3 goals from Fulham were class act... So simple... And yet so beautiful... Embarassment for Glory...

This match came completed with a topless streaker who ran across the field with the crowd cheering for him... Considering the rain, the wind and the temperature... He's crazy!

No umbrella... No raincoat... A handbag over the head will do just fine...

Commerative scarf... Brought for fun... Just marking another day in my life with a silly souvenier... Hehe...

Will be watching the Western Derby next week between the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles next week... Considering that they are both out of the running(spare a miracle) for the title... This could be an important match for the players and fans to regain some bragging rights... The first derby this year was won by Freo 74-87 with a 41,654 crowd...

The Squid is TOO Salty!

2009-07-15T10:00:00.007+08:00

After tasting the salt and pepper squid at Sweetlips with Diana and Theo... The taste stayed in my mind... Tried to replicate it yesternight...

The result... Crunchy... Peppery... But too bloody salty... It's so salty... I won't be adding any salt to my food for the next week... *Still drinking water to recover*

Zhang Ziyi would kill me if she ate this squid... Or at least beat me up senseless before flipping a Visa credit card to me...

Guess Who? The last in my collection of Mcdonald's mini boardgames...

Playing board...

And the faces! Pretty cool for $1... I like collecting stupid things...

7 Goals Thriller!

2009-07-13T03:34:00.004+08:00

Second league win for the season for Hamersley... Beating Lynwood once again at the midpoint of the season... Which is really weird... Cause we screwed up against worst sides... 2 goals from Naum, and 1 each from Paul, Leonardo and Steve secured a 5-2 win for Hamersley on a beautiful sunday afternoon... It always feels good to work with players and see them win!

The 2 teams were evenly matched throughout, with Hamersley holding a slight edge... The game was highly physical... And there was a little scuffle midway through the second half... But Lynwood totally collasped in the last 10 minutes... A couple of mistakes and the win is ours!

The beautiful skyline they played their football under...

Action shot!

Happy smiling beer drinking guys from the Hamerlsey side watching the 1st team secure only their second league win of the season... LOL!

Semester 1 Review!

2009-07-12T01:53:00.003+08:00

Finally got my results back yesterday... And so here's my semester in review! First... The results!

Principles and Practices of Resistance Training - 73 Distinction
Psychology of Sport and Exercise - 76 Distinction
Motor Control - 72 Distinction

Not too bad I suppose... Not too good too... But considering that I was holiday with my friends from Singapore who came over to visit me during my exam week (excuses!!!) and that I was also covering the progress of the Singapore U14 squad in Perth (more excuses!!!!)... I didn't do too bad... =x My goals at the start of the semester was 1 HD and 2 D... Didn't achieve that! My other goal is to raise my GPA... Achieved! And finally goal is to raise my average score... Failed... Hehe... Oh well...

For next semester... My final semester... I'm taking 4 modules... My goals this time is 2 HD and 2 D... And to raise my GPA and average marks... Pretty simple yeah?

Presenting Alex's baked pasta... Nicked a bite from it... Was wonderingly tasty... He told me this is the healthy version... And it tasted so good... I wonder how good the unhealthy version will taste like... Hehehe...

Virgin Trip to Members Equity Stadium...

2009-07-11T00:05:00.015+08:00

Went to the MES to watch Perth Glory play Wolverhampton Wolves... A pretty good match with Wolverhampton winning 0-1...

This is not just any grass pitch! This grass pitch is part of the standing terrance! Where the Perth Glory diehards stand and sing... Cool shit...

Wolverhampton players...

Perth Glory players

Where the fun is at...

Where I ended up sitting...

Halftime entertainment... And a view of the empty Grandstand... Nobody likes the Grandstand...

We need one of that (I mean the big screen!) in Singapore...

We need a couple of these in Singapore...

Stadium dinner... Hot-dog for $4.60... Mustard is 30cents more...

Spent my morning and afternoon in school conducting exercise testing for Western Australia Cricket... Sharpening my skills in setting up the speedlights! =x The above is an armspan chart... Which is used for measuring... ARMSPAN!

Next wednesday will be watching 2 more matches... North Queensland Fury vs. Wolverhampton Wolves and Perth Glory vs. Fulham!

Research Subject at UWA...

2009-07-09T22:28:00.010+08:00

Once again... With nothing better to do... I went down to UWA to be a research subject for a research on cognitive learning and blah blah blah *insert whatever scientific terms u want!* for some psychology student doing his honours...

Played pretend as an air traffic controller... Accepting pretend planes into my pretend airspace and correcting pretend conflict before the pretend planes collides and pretend people die!

Luckily... For playing pretend... I get real money! $30 for clicking on a mouse and pressing the A button on the keyboard for 3 hours... Not bad eh?

Also did a little tour of UWA... Checked out the old sandstone buildings... There was tourist on the ground when I was there... Quite a number of tourist...

Old pillars...

The clocktower! The visitor centre is right next to it... Nice old rustic building... The whole campus is very spread out when compared to ECU-Joondalup... A lot of green space in the middle of the school... But hey! We got a lake to eat lunch by in ECU!

Seriously... If Singapore is a garden city... Perth is a bloody forest!

Fountain at Subiaco station...

Train track with no gravel... Seriously... What are the gravels for anyway?

Ice cream on a cool winter afternoon...

Cut Hair! Cut Hair!

2009-07-09T00:14:00.005+08:00

I was a chronic sufferer of post-ORD long hair syndrome...

Hair today... Gone suddenly... Heck! Even when I was serving... My hair never got so short! This is like my secondary school hair-lack-of-style!

Ok... Now that I cutted my hair... I need suntan next... And some exercise... Trim my eyebrow... Whiten my teeth... And if they still don't work... Plastic surgery!

Transperth don't like school students... Luckily I'm in University!

Lambchop topped with garlic mushroom... Dinner dinner!