What happened when I'm bored...

Well, this is a little embarrassing to be announced on my blog since I hardly blog nowadays.

I got a whatsapp message from my mum (who was still at work) last saturday afternoon after I came back from my unsuccessful grocery shopping to chat with her online. It's not that we don't chat with each other but our timing seem to be a bit off recently due to her massive workload and I'm usually off to bed by the time she's free to chat. I should be ashamed of myself seeing that I literally did nothing productive or work-related all weekend.

Waited till 3.45pm and my mum still hadn't come online. There I went sending another message asking her whereabout. STILL.IN.THE.OFFICE. *rolled eyes* C'mon mum, I'm supposed to leave in 15!! I'm such an inconsiderate daughter. So there I went telling the bf who just got back from his haircut and was indulging himself with tonnes of really old Bruce Lee/ Wong Fei Hung's movies next to me to postpone our outing. *We were due to go over to a friend's place for a pre-christmas party celebration at 4pm*

I wasn't a big fan of Kungfu movies, despite all the "ninja acts" that I perform at work and how all my lab mates think I'm a ninja in action. =.=" So instead, I opted to do some random net surfing...came across a very tempting online sales on Cotton On. Low and behold, I managed to stash 5 outfits into my shopping cart within that 15 mins wait for my mum!!! Yeah, I'm not so much a filial that I blamed my mum for my impulsive shopping spree. What to do?? They were dirt cheap and I really needed some new outfits (Ok, I lies...maybe I only needed 3 out of the 5 outfits I picked) but the free shipping managed to persuade me into buying the other 2 not-so-keen ones.

All the while the bf didn't know what was up on my sleeves until I told him to keep a look out for my delivery (since I'm going back home for Christmas) and might miss the delivery all together. So here's how our casual conversation goes...

Me: Ehh, can you look out for my delivery when I'm home. I'll pass you my postbox key.
Bf: Uh huh...*still grossly into his movie* What did you buy?
Me: Nothing much. Just 5 pieces of clothes from Cotton On.
Bf: How much?
Me: Ermm...$55?!!
Bf: *pause the movie* WHAT???!!!!!
Me: 55??
Bf: Are you crazy???!!! You spent that much in 15 mins???
Me: *embarrassed* Ok la...I don't shop around that much here ma...(as in locally)
Bf: OMG....girls....

Oh wells, as long as I'm happy spending my OWN money right???! (: *big grins*

So, what do you think of my latest purchase??? (Top to bottom: Lacey 3/4-sleeve top, biker jacket (my sis took mine away), dress, cardigan and grey top).

I know, I know 4 out of 5 are blacks...nevermind, I'm so into black these days that I couldn't resist turning my wardrobe into a witchery black. :P Anyway, they were really quick with the shipment because I received my parcel 3 days after placing my order!!! (:

blessed birthday

Time does fly...it's already the last month of 2011 and so did my 25th birthday *gasp* Can you believe I've reached a quarter of a century???

I had a pre-birthday celebration with a bunch of my Adelaide friends at an Italian restaurant a week before and dinner with Mr. Bruce "Bruise" at a Japanese restaurant on my actual birthday. We were so lucky to get a parking spot right in front of the restaurant and we didn't even realise that until we got down from the car and started laughing at each other.

Thanks everyone for their well wishes and hope my wishes will come true soon! (: xxx

Home bound soon!!!! very very soon...

Finally booked my air ticket home 3 days ago!!! Boy, it was super duper expensive!!!! Like my stipend for a month??? T_T I'm already so broke before I even start spending on anything...

Been doing experiments non-stop for a week now...makes me feel like I'm back to Honours year. Haha! =P

On a very very random note, my birthday is coming up!!! I'm excited, not! Will be reaching quarter of a century in officially 36 days...O.M.G!!! I'm OLD!!!!

accumulated dust...

I have totally lost all the motivation to blog nowadays...I was so jealous looking at friends and strangers graduating a month back...and I'm still stuck with mine. Begin to question when my turn would be. I'm pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to finish on time, i.e. at the end of my 3rd year. It seems like forever...not that I'm sick of what I'm doing now, but I just wish to get over with studying and start earning real cash. But without a proper degree, how to get a good job right?? Ironic.

On a side note, I wish to take a long long break...

My hands are literally burning even after 1 whole day!!! =.=" Reason being...me making the spicy filling for my roasted pulut last night. Never knew the spicy effect lasted so looong! And the most bizarre thing of making pulut is not the process but rather the price I have to pay for the banana leaves!!!! You would not believe how much it costs me to buy a kilo of banana leaves here in Adelaide. I have to literally salvage every single small pieces of the leaves just because it's way too expensive to throw it out! =.=""" $8 for 1kg = RM26 for 1 kg!!!! It's like...FOC back home! And the basic cost price for pulut is prolly a few cents back home but here, it's more like $2 for a pulut...and I made 21 pulut @.@ Do the maths yourself. I must be nuts!!!

new phone finally!!!

After constant ranting (for more than a year???) about how worn out my previous mobile phone is (the backcover literally fell off everytime I try to pick it up! =.="), I've finally signed up for a new blackberry smartphone on Friday night after work!!! Yay!!! (: The deal is pretty good since I'm not a heavy user, $29 for a $49 cap plan and I've got like a massive $550 each month to use and since calling my sis and most friends who are also with the same mobile provider are free, I've got literally no other ways to spend that $550. lol...How great if they can actually give me the credit back in cash! (:

plantar fasciitis :(

I've got awful fasciitis on my left foot for two days already and it's killing me, having to walk to uni rain and shine. :( Even the stash of salonpas that mum brought over did no good.

That aside, sis' and cw's birthday are finally over! Been baking non-stop almost every other day before THE party...to the extend that my sis complained to my mum that I'm trying to stuff her up with all the baking. =P Haven't you heard of practise makes perfect?? Well, both cakes weren't perfect on that day. Still needs a lot of improvement but...at least both were edible???! (:

Berries cheesecake ripple

Got this recipe from here and decided to give it a go since there are so many birthday babies (a total of 8!!!! My!!!) coming up this month and it's weekend, so why not?!!

It didn't turn out as great as the one shown in the blog...I think I could have overbaked the cake since I put too much batter - I blamed the terrible estimation skill of mine. But the taste is still quite good. (:

Will definitely give it another try when I'm in baking mode again!

Oh!!! The joy! (:

Realised that I've won an awesome storybook yesterday...and I didn't even have the slightest intention to pick it up from the post office for an entire WEEK, thinking that it could again be some crappy stuffs that I've signed up on Ozbargain :P

Then finally I was too unmotivated to continue working in the lab (it's Friday ok!) and decided to head to the post office 30 mins before it closes since they had already sent me the second reminder to go pick up my parcel. Lucky huh??!!

The parcel literally brightened up my day! =D

Many thanks to betweenthelines.com.au!!!!

contented

Mid-PhD talk ticked! (:

Got positive feedbacks from my students. One even drew a smiley for me! lol.

Overall, a pretty good start for the week! (:

L.O.L.

LOL! My awesome supervisor did this!!! :P
Stenciling a cool graph (that I did) tag on my lab coat??? Awesomeness~

Mid of June

is the beginning of the winter months in the Southern hemisphere.

Was welcomed with a terrible cold at the beginning...not a very good sign. Sigh. It's so much colder this year, especially since summer hadn't been real hot.

My studies is progressing, which is truly exciting!! Been learning how to patch since a month ago (I'm not going to bore you with it...but if you're interested in knowing what I do - click here and here) . But as usual, I procrastinate A LOT and have only done it like, 5 times in like 20 days?!?!! O_O I can't say that I like patching in the lab because the rest despise it. =.="" Thinking I've betrayed our "lab techniques" completely...Lame, I know.

I was like the rest...refuse to accept or learn new techniques - and wana continue staying in the comfort zone. Sadly my project does not allow that! The very reason that I sorta refuse doing patching in the first place was because I dislike Physics and those electrical materials AND I was really terrible with the technique. I could broke up to 10 glass micropipettes in one single experiment!!! How demoralising right??! And I hate applying suction to break the cell membrane. It's like trying to make kissing noise in public. =.=" and having all guys and no girls in the patching lab does not help at all!! Imagine I was sitting at the rig, practising how to kiss by myself with the guys surrounding me??!! O_O Doesn't sound very tempting to learn the technique after all heyy??!!

But...practise makes perfect!! (: I'm getting the hang of it...just a couple of mistakes here and there. Oh, thank God for all the perseverance...I was actually ecstatic yesterday when I managed to get current recordings from cells that I didn't even realise I injured my upper lip due to the suction. =S Oh wells...who cares if I can get this done by July, I will be pretty much done with my FIRST paper!! The JOY!!!! (((:

Bugs attack

Officially pronounced S-I-C-K! :(

and I feels lousy...it reminds me of how often I called him "lousy" and I supposed it's karma. Now I'm the one who feel lousy and terrible.

Took a day off from uni as I could hardly get out of the bed and my muscles were so sore that I thought I might have still done my weekly badminton. =/

I'm so contagious that no one wants to be in the same room as I do in the lab. And it makes me wondered, what if I cough into my flask of cells???!!! Would the virus infects my cells and starts to multiply and grow??!! O_O I think the cold has gotten too much into me...

Better go get some rest...

O_O

Don't know how on earth I managed to cut both my right thumb and index finger. =.=" That aside, it's FRIDAY again!!!!! (:

Saltimbanco

Awesome show, especially the mime!!! (:

Life is like a maze, you never know what you'd come across...

This blog pretty much attracts no attention at all...*I like* =P

Mum came on last Saturday for 10 days and coincidentally, it was the Food and Wine Gourmet Festival at Clare Valley, which is approx. 2-hour drive from Adelaide.

So, a group of us decided to go and get ourselves drunk some countryside fun! The weather was perfect - bright and sunny, thank God, since it has been raining all week. We went to a few wineries (Clos, Annie's Lane, Last Word and Seven Hill) before heading to the oh-so-famous Mintaro Maze just an hour before it closes.

We were too early for the first winery and they hadn't finished setting up just yet. =.=" People were just hovering around the frontyard, sipping on riesling (famous in Clare region) and reds. So we proceeded to the second winery, Annie's Lane (which is more lively). The 80s music was blasting so loudly that we could hardly hear each other. We had some gourmet sausage rolls, pies and salad for brunch prior to wine tasting.

Due to the festival, some of the wineries required us to pay for wine tasting...so that sorta keep us away since we're not too willing to spend on trying something that we would not buy. Last Word's wines were alright, let's just say it's not my type. The riesling is too sour and the shiraz is too spicy...Seven Hill was the last winery and probably the best we have been to...We almost skipped it because when I suggested it to my driver saying that it offers both free wine tasting and museum and cellar tour (stingy asians who want most of everything! =.="), he shrugged off saying that we would try some others along the way to Mintaro maze. Meh, he changed his mind as quickly as the mood of a girl. And we obviously did not regret going. The scenery was picturesque with a huge church standing magnificiently at the entrance way, looking out to a big vineyard. Tents were set up in the middle of the humungous frontyard, with the winery workers selling all sorts of desserts and preserved meats. I felt in love with the garlic infused olive oil...omg, it was sooooo goood!!!! I'm thinking of "investing" on a bottle soon...

We spent more time that we anticipated at the winery since we were busy tasting almost all the whites and reds on the list and trying to squeeze in some time to visit the underground cellar and museum. Some of the wine barrels are even as old as I am!!!! Antic!

We finally left with 7 bottles of wine to the maze...This is how the maze looks like!
The woodhead bf always think that maze is for kids and childish for adults =.=" He took his word back when we arrived!!! The maze is built with huge conifers since 1995 before the trees gained independence and started growing. Mind you, the conifers are so tall that we could not even peer through the other side. The task that was set for us was to reach the centre of the maze asap and answer a list of questions along the way. I guess trying to find our way while answering questions did manage to confuse our sense of direction.

We splitted into 4 teams and each took a different route at the entrance. We could literally hear but not see each other in the maze. lol. FUN!!!! And we found a few of this pants-down gnomes along the way...
We bumped into a father who was looking for his way to the centre of the maze with his cute little boy (who was already in the centre) hurrying him. (: Glad to say, the bf and I was the first team to arrive at the centre!!! ((((: Awesome team, we are!!!

Devastating

It's devastating knowing someone you love dearly is dying...especially if he/she is about to embark onto an all new journey of experience. I don't know how doctors could sustain all their feelings, not only that, but also to break the news to the patient's family members. It's so heartbreaking!!! Maybe that's why I'm not a doctor! I don't think I will be able to do that ever...

That aside, my host mum in Japan has just passed away 2 days ago. May you rest in peace and shine upon us.

xxx

sore

I've got really sore back. Probably due to my bad sleeping posture last night. =S I could hardly concentrate on what I'm doing all day. Wasted. Pffttt...

Brissie

A pleasant trip overall. But not my terrible sinus problem which occurred throughout the entire trip due to the hot and humid climate in Brisbane. I'm probably not well-suited to staying in tropical area. =/ Unlike Adelaide, Brissie and Gold Coast offers so many more boutique shops, theme parks, eateries, nice beaches...

But...when it comes to living, I still prefer the serenity and more affordable lifestyle in Adelaide.

chapalang....

that's exactly my mood right now, if you understand Manglish. =.="

Messed up experiments, mood swing, tonnes of marking, my precious cells, arghh....

How not to bother?!!!??!...when 5-day of Easter holiday awaits!

I hope...

it's a blessing in disguise. Ughh!! How frustrating!!!

Say NO! to reduction in research funding

There's a rally today in front of the Parliament House due to a huge reduction in grant funding for medical research. Not good. Are the government trying to rid of all scientists' future???!!

Oh! drama!

I'm pretty bad at coming up with attractive blog titles.

The weekend was pretty dramatic! We're supposed to have home-made big brekkie on Saturday morning after his haircut at Chinatown. But sth unbelievable happened!!! His front car's wheel (driver's side) almost fell off on his way out of the parking lot. @.@ Don't know how that happened but it almost gave me a heart attack when he called me up! Geez! How dangerous can that be? No one actually believe that when he said his wheel almost dropped off, and obviously I'm one of those people as well. I mean, how could a moving wheel fall off right?!!!

Human vs cells

Am starting to love human study - it's so much more lively and interactive as compared to cellular study. Bland is the only term I could think of. No talking to other human beings, nothing. Just staring into the microscope.

autumn is here

Of all seasons, I love autumn most. Temperate climate, breath-taking scenery...not too much of rain or sun, light clothing.

With a cuppa hot chocolate on hand - it spells PERFECT!

Stress free

I passed my review on Monday, which means that my PhD candidature is confirmed. Well that aside, there is still no guarantee that I'll graduate timely. =/

I realised that I wasn't as nervous when I'm giving a presentation at the hospital today. In fact, I'm usually so nervous when presenting at uni that my brain freezes and I start to behave like a 3-year-old. Don't ask me why, it just happened!

So I'm sorta stress free for the rest of the month apart from doing some unknown-but-seem-to-fail experiments. One of my scholarship has officially ended, and I'm starting to feel the financial constraint. I'm still trying very hard to get some casual job to meet ends meet.

Pretty excited about my Gold Coast/ Brisbane trip during this coming Easter break!!!!!! (:

Daylight saving is off

Gained an hour of sleep on Sunday! (:

Saying that, I'm finding myself waking up almost an hour before my alarm goes off everyday and getting hungry before lunch time. =.=" What do you call it? I mean jetlag is for people who can't cope with the time difference between different time zone. But daylight saving??!!!??!!!

Back!

I've decided to delete my old blog and start afresh. (:

Blog posts would be pretty short and concise from now on, well, unless I have plenty of time on hand, otherwise I might not update that frequently.

xx