Sunday, May 28, 2006
Final day in NZ..my thoughts..
[4:01 pm]
Yup..today is the last day in NZ..what are my thoughts of this place? Well, I like the laid back environment and the homely feelings portrayed by the small town folks..
As one of a fellow home folk who has since take up citizenship here says, the people here are not in a rat race compared to home..to them, the 5Cs are not important..the main aim is to be happy..hence they do not have to worry too much..
And about the friendly people I met here, they don't judge you by what your status or what you wear, they just strike up a conversation with you in the streets or in the shops that we've been to..compared that to home, people give you those looks and shy away from you if you are too friendly with them or if you do not have those 5Cs..
I can tell you seriously..if I ain't bogged down by any commitments, I would sureapply for a work visa here and stay for a couple of years,perhaps even settling down here for good..sure is better than becoming a robot back home if you ask me..
Oh well..maybe one day when I have earned enough money and the time is right, I might come over here..not in the big cities but in the small towns where I can rear sheeps,cows and become a farmer..not bad and idea eh?
Okok..enough of this fantasy stuff..I have uploaded some photos of the trip for you fellas to drool on..so enjoy it..
For those of you interested in the trip's whole commentary, you can also pop by my friend's bloggy at prosage.blogspot.com to have another view..till then..cheers!!
Bye bye North Island..
Marlbourough Sounds..the entrance to South Island.
Dolphins welcoming our InterIslander Ferry to South Island..
Picton..the gateway to South Island..
Lake Matheson..reflection of Mt Cook/Aoraki..trampped through 20 mins of jungle to get this shot..damn worth it..
Fox Glacier
A former Sporean who got out...
Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall..highest in NZ..beats the fake stuff at the birdpark
Seal watching..
View of the bays at Kaikoura.
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Friday, May 26, 2006
Last Stop: Christchurch
[4:05 pm]
Yup yup..here I am at YHA Christchurch..after a 2.5 hr drive from Arthur's Pass..the highest mountain pass in NZ..and the best thing was, in that small ulu town, the hostel operator is a Singaporean..haha..we had long talks about the local culture and the how NZ is better than home...which I won't dwell on here due to sensitivities involved..
But before we reached Arthur's Pass, we were at Glacier country..reaching there 8 hrs after driving straight off the ramp of the InterIsland ferry...it was nightfall by then and the drive was well...interesting..driving through total darkness with fog..an experience not to be missed man..The glaciers were awesome..will post up some pictures when I have arranged them..besides that..West Coast is a pretty wet and cold place..
I am worried about Sharon..she has apparently resigned from her job and changed her handphone number..wondered what happened..she was still fine when I talked to her over the phone before I left for NZ..
I have sent an email to her..hope she can read it and let me noe wat happened
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Updates!!!!
[4:20 pm]
Yup..here I am in Wellington..the capital city of NZ..been here for 2 days and we are leaving for South Island tomorrow..we have been making our own dinner here partly because we are sick of the fish and chips and steaks and partly to save costs..
So far, we have managed to cook mutton rendang, fettucine and minced pork porridge...and believe me, Asian food never tasted as good...Mom would had been proud of my achievements...wahahah..
The drive down from Taupo was filled with plenty of beautiful scenery..and at the request of my good ole friend, Sab, so here goes...drool on it...wahahaa...
The drive down from Taupo was filled with plenty of beautiful scenery..and at the request of my good ole friend, Sab, so here goes...drool on it...wahahaa...
Hanui Wind Farm
Palliser Bay
View of Highway 1 to Wellington.
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Saturday, May 20, 2006
Kia Ora New Zealand!!!
[3:06 pm]
Yup yup..I am now writing this at the hostel in Taupo region...that's Central North Island of NZ to the uninitiated few..hehe
The views have been fantastic and we have taken a total of 200+ pictures along our drive from North Land all the way down to Taupo..that's the benefit of driving..other than that..I miss the roti pratas, the char kway teow..and of course..her..
Oh well...besides the lousy and expensive food, the views and people are very friendly and warm..especially the tourism board and the hostel staff..they have been very accomodating to our requests...hehe..
We have stopped going out to eat at those tourists traps and instead started to cook our own dinners..we are starting to hunt for supermarkets and getting the fresh food to cook..perhaps when I am back, I will upload the pictures of what we cooked..
Ok..tomorrow we are driving down to Wellington and stay there for 3 nights before going to South Island..meanwhile don't miss me so much and pray for my safety!!!
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Monday, May 15, 2006
Off to New Zealand!!!
[11:09 pm]
Yes..people..I will be flying off to New Zealand for a 2 week back-packing trip..and the best of it all? I have one companion coming along with me..no,no..not her..even though I wish that she could come with me..haha...but it's one of my uni-friend..
I will be flying off tomorrow evening on Air NZ..then pick up our rental..well..we have to drive due to a clash of our itineary with that of the bus schedule..but we are going to explore the whole of NZ..albeit the more interesting ones while driving..which is way cool!!!..
Anyway, I am way too excited to blog about it..but will try to blog about my adventures when I'm over there..dun miss me!!!
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Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Grad Trip planning...
[8:42 pm]
is the theme for the next few weeks. Having said that, I have been pretty busy..busy with what..I am not sure...
After the presentation yesterday, went down to STA Travels to try to get some info on my grad trip..and apparently Yunan is fully booked for the month of May!!! In the end I made some enquiries about going down to New Zealand..the interesting thing is, the package they had was just the land package...so it means I have to settle the air tickets myself..
I managed to book the tickets while waiting for the confirmation on the land package..even if they don't have any vacancies, I might still go..staying at hostels along the way as I make my way down from Auckland to Wellington.
While in town, I decided to hang around to remind myself that I am out of the frontier..all along school has always given me the impression that it is like a border-post in the middle of no-where..haha
Sitting at McCafe nursing a cup of cuppucino enjoying the hustle and bustle of town is really an enjoyment of life..something I can finally afford to do..haha..
Well..tomorrow marks another day of relaxation..but not before I start on editing my FYP report..
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Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Finally..all over..
[3:55 pm]
FYP presentation that is..I think I listened to my boss by reducing the amount of slides and changing the content...and I finished it at 3 am in the morning!!!
At least the presentation went smoothly..albeit with some minor hiccups..as usual, blabbered too much about the system capabilities and spending the last 10 minutes of the presentation on what I have done..
But judging by what the moderator said, I think he was pretty impressed with the amount of work I have done in the short amount of time I had..but the fact that I drifted away from the stated objective was something I had to note..
Other than necessary changes required in the abstract,observations and conclusion portions in the report, I am pretty secured...my boss was telling me I should probably get a high B for my FYP..
Oh well, we shall wait and see..for now, I am just glad it's all over..
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Monday, May 08, 2006
Presentation!!!!
[5:53 pm]
The creation of presentation slides is driving me nuts..got wax'd by the boss for being too long-winded..in the end, I have to reduce the number of slides (I have only 20) and put in more information on my observations..
Ok..just in case you fellas are doing presentation, these are the tips given by my boss;
1) for all those background stuff you have done, just briefly describe them..5 slides should be enough.
2)focus more on what you have done, i.e, your observations, suggestions for further improvement.
3)presentation is only 30 minutes and you have to cater time for Q&A..so keep it to roughly 20 slides and 15 minutes of talking...
Okok..that's it..I have to modify them slides..
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Sunday, May 07, 2006
To do list:90% completed!!
[8:15 pm]
Yup, I have finally completed 90% of my To-Do list...finally washed the car..but forgot to vacuum the interior..oh well, the vacuum cleaner was spoilt eons ago..now I have to acquire a new one..ok, new to-do; get a Black and Decker vacuum cleaner..and the best thing is; after finish the wash, drive out, got hit by a precision guided bomb...kaoz..
Then, I drove down to SLS to get an USB-to-serial port adapter...all thanks to my dear Thambi friend..he reminded me that our presentation room's projector cable is that of serial port and that my dear lappy does not come with a serial port..damn..forgot to purchase the replicator port when I got it...*slap head*..and the stupid adapter cost me 23 bucks..
I finally started on the presentation slides over coffee at Coffee Bean..after finishing 10 slides, I couldn't come up with any inspirations and went off for a run at Punggol Park..huff'd and puff'd through 4 km under the sun..which is a good start..I will slowly bring it up to 10km..hehe..
Okok..enough of the crap, time to go back to the presentation slides..
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Time to face the issue headon..
[12:00 am]
The issue between me and her which I have skirted for eons has to be met head-on..sooner or later I will have to take the guesswork out of the equation and find out how much I mean to her..
Even though we are always comfortable whenever we are together, I have always wondered what our relationship is...that of a friend?, confidant?, brother? or something closer?
Gx and my good ole buddy studying down there has been urging me to talk to her but not in a way that will force her to make a decision so fast..for she is still in the midst of handling her separation..perhaps that's the reason holding her back..but somehow or rather, we would have talk about the things between us..for both of us are not getting young anymore..
I hope to brighten up her life and bring out the best in her for I had always believed in her abilities...but will she let me do so?
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Saturday, May 06, 2006
Central, Abajo, Arriba, Entra
[10:35 am]
In case you fellas are wondering what the above lingo means..its Espanol for Center, Under, Up and Enter..
That was some sort of the "theme" last night, when the core group of us descended upon Dbl-O to celebrate our friends' birthday and the end of exams. Man, I forgot how much we drank..but we had a roaring good time...haha..
But the puking wasn't on us, but the birthday boy whom we tried to ensure he was knocked out..but sadly, it didn't happen..oh well..he was dodging all the shots that was thrown at him..
Never mind about that..but it was quite entertaining to see some wimps knocked out flat..and I mean flat, lying on the ground, puking their guts out..I mean..come on, you are suppose to have fun right? What fun is there if you drink till you have to puke? No sense of self-control if you ask me..
The best part of it was, we saw some fellas from our cohort knocked out and lying on the pavement outside the pub or on their girlfriends' lap..damn losers if you ask me..but it is fair lah..if you have been studying so hard and now you do not have to study anymorre, it is definitely a call for celebration..but then again..don't overdo it..
Oh what the hell...they are still wimps lah...haha
The Drinks Team
My hardcore uni drinking kaki> 0 comments
Friday, May 05, 2006
Hectic but worry-free life..
[6:28 pm]
Ar yes..finally I can enjoy the sun and sights for a while..went to bed early after sharing half a bottle of red wine with mom..one of the best from my collection..hey hey..don't give me that weird look ok?..I do drink wine now and then you know..
Supposed to do up the presentation slides today, but alas, in the end, met up with Sab and Ivan to do some research for our upcoming trips..and I think its gonna be quite a rush for yunan again...all thanks to my lack of time due to the overwhelming schedule..
In order to leave by the 15th of this month, I will have to settle and book everything by this week..if not then I will have to rot at home for the rest of the 3 weeks..not an ideal way to spend the graduation period isn't it?..sigh..
Oh well...tonight is the END-OF-EXAMS celebration with the rest at Dbl-O..and I think we are going to have hell lot of fun and end up shortening the lifespan of the liver...hehe..but meanwhile, I gotta jumpstart the presentation slides first..damn...
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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Its OVER..now the wait..
[9:20 pm]
nothing much to cheer about..for me the war is over..and I can look forward to rejoining the force and doing the things I love..
Now that it is all over, I can finally push on with my grad trip..Europe seems too distant for now, for the tight schedule of having to report for work on the 1st of next month is complicating things..oh well..I shall leave it for the honeymoon then..haha..
Now that Europe is on the back-burner for the time-being, the back-up plan of trekking in Yunan can be implemented..I have 1 week to do my research and book the tickets, settle the accomodations as well as the pressing need to come up with the FYP presentation slides..
And I have up till Monday to do it up and show my boss before presenting it on Tuesday morning..oh well..that's nothing compared to the exams...the schedule for the week has came out and damn..its pretty packed;
1) Wash car..gotta do it before father give me the evil eye..have neglected it for 2 months and its full of grime and the occasional bomb hits from your friendly birdies..
2)Go shopping for something meaningful to give to her..nothing expensive but something that will make her laugh, for her to destress when she is too stressed up by work..any suggestions?
3)Do FYP..haiz..this will entail a trip down to my alma mater to hunt for some video clips to make it more interesting...
4)Go running and blading!!! Time to do get the body back into shape in preparation for the service and IPPT..
5)Celebrate Mother's Day..still haven't figure out what to give to mom..maybe bring her out for makan or what..hehe..
Oh well..that's all for the time being..now its time to enjoy while waiting for the results..
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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
I am super worried..
[5:10 pm]
for both papers today...Fluids paper in the morning was shaky, till I forgot some portion of the equations...left 1 question totally blank..thats 25 marks gone..the second portion on Turbomachinery was supposedly my strongest part, yet I screwed it up...
Maths in the afternoon seems like another goner..I don't know whether I can accumulate more than 50 marks..my mind basically went blank when I was doing the questions..so much so that I sucumbed to my code of honor by writing;" Sir, this is my last semester, please don't fail me.."
Man, I am really traumatised by the papers today...and I have one last paper to go tomorrow...so Gods help me...
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