Updates

Packing was such a pain! Seriously can't imagine how much stuffs I'll have by the end of next year. And Canberra weather was crazy! It rained non-stop the night before I flew off. Even a short walk to the bus station seemed so difficult.

In Darwin, it was the total opposite. Humidity & the really hot weather caught all the transit passengers by surprise.
Oh, thanks to Didier, Khim, and Jay Seng, I had fun playing cards in the plane (for the first time btw).

In Spore, food like Prata, Chicken Rice, Bachok Mee are not imaginery anymore. And since Janice, Rhian, and her hometown friend, Min Zhao were there, we watched Madagascar 2 together. Look at Tim's and Janice's new haircut. Yisi had hers too but she was too front. Didn't manage to snap a picture of her.

Doughout toys which looked so real!

I'll be flying off to Taiwan in a couple of hours. When I'm back, I promise to upload more obscene videos of charades specially dedicated to Dianne and Chia Yuen =p

Charades

Charades is so much fun!
Look at Jason attempting Hancock!

Monty Hall Problem

This might sound extremely lame to some but it still amazes me how a probability can be doubled just after one single incident ie a change of variable.

Now imagine you're in a game show and there're three doors in front of you. Two of the doors have a goat behind each of them while behind the remaining door lies a car. Your job is to choose the door which will get you the car.

Say if this happens:
1. You choose Door 1.
2. Instead of being anti-climax and opens Door 1 straight away, the host opens Door 3.


3. You're lucky! Behind Door 3 is a goat!
4. Now the host gives you a choice to choose a door again.

Would you choose to stay with Door 1 or switch to Door 2?

For the solution, go here

Sydney For A Day

Look at this nice Xmas Tree in Queen Victoria Building!

Spend quite a while observing people at the special circle in Darling Harbour. For sure, I'm gonna bring my parents here! It's breathtaking sitting there, soaking your feet in the water, enjoying the breeze =)

A couple enjoying a romantic stroll.

A team-building, amazing race activity.

And the most interesting one: three Korean(I think) mothers with their toddlers

Exploring things =)

They are so cute =)

And Sydney's Chinatown has this street market every Friday night.

If you've been to Sydney but didn't know about this market, it's worth scheduling your next Sydney trip to a Friday.

They sell souvenirs, food, and many more.

There's even this Mamak Team selling teh tarik, roti canai, roti telur, teh ais, chicken satay, etc!
They just seemed a bit pricey =(

Talk About Bad Omen

1. Stomach ached before the exam.
2. Lost my ruler on the way to the exam hall. Resort to using student card to draw straight lines.
3. Forgotten to bring my glasses in with me

The exam was unpredictably hard. It was almost as if the lecturer gave all the student a tight slap on the face. Every single student was caught by surprise since none of us expected it to be that tough. What a disappointing end. Destroys your day when you should be out there celebrating temporary freedom.

Oh well, at least the first four papers were ok =)

Tien Fen

Sze Ching menyerlahkan bakat terpendamnya:-

Math exam this morning, (5)
seriously wth man (7)
super duper hard (5)

It's 4 a.m now,(5)
Taking a break from cramming(7)
Dont wanna study(5)

I humbly suggest (5)
all the comments for this post(7)
be in haiku form!(5)

Yes Im going mad(5)
but i find it fun haha(7)
lalalalala(5)

Seriously, for someone to come up with 4 hilarious haiku-s in such a short time, now that's talent, my friend =p

Dr Aki would be so happy to read them!

Japanese Poetry

Presenting you my Econometrics lecturer:-

Dr. Aki Asano...Amongst all my lecturer, he's the only one so far who doesn't use power point to teach. Probably because of all these experiences, he now writes pretty fast and nicely.

He inherits all the traits a typical Japanese should have: hardworking, funny, naturally cute, enthusiastic to spread Japanese Cultures. Rice, Miso Soup, Iron Chef...these terms are all in his notes.

He even had this Poetry Competition called Haiku which is a form of Japanese poetry, and the English version consists of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables.

And there's also Henku, the poetry of similar format, which is meant to be a reply to a Haiku.

Sadly, not many of his students participated in this contest...but nonetheless, the winning entry and reply is pretty funny =p

Haiku:

N said to his son, (5)
'Do not date 2n-plus-1. (7)
She is very odd.' (5)

Henka:

His son's name is i, (5)
She said to him, 'I'm odd but (7)
You aren't even real.' (5)
If you can't get the joke, the points below might help:-
- An odd number has a general formula of 2n+1
- i is an imaginery number.

Why la scrap off the pearl?

Many months back, I was delighted to see the design of the second Penang Bridge as it has this distinctive viewing point at the middle span of the to-be South East Asia's Longest Bridge.

The design bears a resemblance to the osyter shells with pearls, inspired by Penang's position as the Pearl of the Orient.

With the two-level platforms, travellers can then enjoy the scenic view of Penang mainland and the island itself. There will even be parking bays at the lower level and a pedestrian crossing, connecting both platforms.

However, the project's special task force has scrapped these two pearls from the orginal design in January, probably as a cost-saving initiative. The first package tender now cost RM2.2bil instead of RM2.3bil partly due to this. Yes, yes..the economy is not as robust now. Government wants to save as much as they can. But it is seemingly pointless to build such a significant bridge without an attraction of its own.

The updated design of the bridge which is strikingly similar to the first Penang Bridge.
What a disappointment....
It really seems like the Second Penang Bridge has lost its identity...its main feature which would encourage people like me to drive all the way to the Pearl in order to enjoy the view. When I was young, they used to allow travelers to stop at the side of the First Penang Bridge. I can vaguely remember my family taking pictures at that spot.

The first phrase of construction has begun yesterday by China Harbour Engineering Company and the bridge is due to open in January 2011.

I want those pearls back!

Taiping: Hear Me Out!

I came across an interesting letter in The Star.

While reading, the name Datuk Lee Chong Wei caught my attention. I was shocked for two seconds but then recalled, "Hm...he is indeed a Datuk since a couple of months back." It's just that the sports section does not address him that way which is understandable in a way. It would be awkward for sports articles to become very formal. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind being addressed as Chong Wei in that section.

But what's really interesting about this concise letter is the honesty potrayed by someone is aware of what's going on despite not being politically inclined. It is indeed encouraging to realise the perspective that this letter has to offer. It aptly sums up current local and global situation.

I seriously think we people, especially those from non-city area should learn to speak up and put in effort to keep up with the ongoing news regarding our country and beyond.

Saturday November 8, 2008

Much to learn from Obama’s win

THE triumph of Barack Obama against all odds has caused the world to erupt in cheers. Never has there been so much attention focused on the presidential election and so much hope expected of the winner.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is the closest to being in charge in the Oval Office. But sadly, in the local scene, we are not really taking the cue from the historic revolution unfolding before us.

Constant bickering concerning races and rights give rise to the feeling of distrust among even the best of friends. The superficial smile we wear on our faces hides the growing tension among the people.

I cheer whenever Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Datuk Nicole Ann David fight to bring glory to the nation. I share the agony of defeat of our athletes in the world scene. But that is within the sports circle.

Politics has driven us into race extremism. We tend to care less for others but are overly sensitive when it comes to our own racial group.

I know little about politics but I know the damage it has done to our country. While we abhor racial segregation and reject discrimination, deep inside we feed on that in the name of our own narrow political ideology.

I do not speak for any particular group. To me Malaysia is a great country to live in and I am happy to be where I am. I am just not that happy.

HASNULS,
Taiping, Perak.

Otak ku

My poor brain was so worked out yesterday...

I drilled it for 3 long hours, digging everything I can remember. I guess the disappointing part is that you understand the concepts but if you can't really show it mathematically, there's not much point, isn't it...at least when it comes to exams.

After a 12-hour sleep and a couple of strange dreams (I dreamt of visiting a farm during a holiday with my family. Halfway through I fell into a swamp and struggled to get up. My family thought I was playing a fool), my brain is good to go!


4 more papers!

An insult to single mothers

I'm not sure what Government's exact rationale behind this move but for now, it really seems absurd. Read on:-

From The Star, 5th Nov 2008

I AM utterly disgusted by the report “Malacca may give RM1,000 to men who take them as second wives” (The Star, Nov 1).

The move is tantamount to selling off a single mother for the price of a mere RM1,000.

I lost my father when I was four months old. My mum was never that desperate that she wished to re-marry. To me, she is the greatest mum in the world. She is tough, kind, patient and determined.

Needless to say, my mum was very disappointed with the report.

The decision by the Malacca Government is an insult to all single mums, especially those living in Malacca. They perceive every single mother is desperate to re-marry. And this move will only encourage polygamy among men in Malacca.

The Malacca Government may have good intentions in making the suggestion but it must understand that single mothers are not stocks that can simply be sold off.

Single mothers, just like everyone out there, have dignity. What single mothers really want is to live a quiet life and bring up their children well so that they will eventually be able to take good care of her.

I truly believe that single mums are tougher and I urge the Malacca Government to seriously re-consider the move.

There are more hard-pressed matters to focus on during this time of recession. If the Malacca Government has so much money, why not give the RM1,000 or more directly to all the single mums in Malacca?

CHUAH PING SHIEN,
Kuala Lumpur.

Hilarious!

Spartos is a day we recognise the excellence in sports. Almost every single residential hall in ANU has this celebration. Since it's a pretty big event, posters were pasted everywhere in Bruce Hall, reminding people to RSVP and not to miss out =)

You see, the great thing about posters at times is that they can really cheer you up...Imagine coming home from uni..you might be a bit disappointed, not being able to catch whatever the lecturer just mumbled in class..as you open the door, you bump into this:

Wouldn't this put a smile on your face? =)

Random Dream

Last night, my soul traveled all the way back to my secondary school days.

Instead of being late for classes due to prefectorial duties, we were actually late because we were saving the world! Khairizan and I were in the navy guarding the sea =) As we stepped into the class, Mr Chin Kong Chiao has already started teaching but didn't even nag us for being late since we were busy saving the world =p

Then our classroom has weird-looking stairs like Harry Potter like that..
- imagine an empty room
- fill it with chairs and tables
- then add some row of stairs here and there..uh so strange..After entering the classroom, i have to climb up stairs without any railings (can touch the ceiling d) then walk down another stairs to reach my seat.Oh, the person sitting next to me was Chong Jin!

Young Start

We see so many young artists colouring the world of music across the globe nowadays.

Connie Talbot - turning 8 this Nov 20th
Runner Up of Britain's Got Talent

Matt Corby - 16
Runner up of Australian Idol 2007

Diana DeGarmo - 21, birthday very near to mine =)
But was 16 when she emerged as runner up of American Idol III behind Fantasia Barrino)

Bianca Ryan - 14
But was 11 when she won the debut season of NBC's America's Got Talent (finally a winner!)
I have no idea why she placed her hand that way..


But the one most recent one that I found out (thanks to Sze Ching) is:-

Charice Pempengco from Philippines - 16
She started singing at the age of 4 with her mum being her teacher. Her childhood was bitter as her violent father left the family when she was about 3. Struggling to make ends meet, Charice did her best to financially ease her mum's burden by joining as many singing competition as she can and using the proceeds to continue surviving.

Despite all the experience, her breakthrough only happened this year when Oprah Winfrey and David Foster discovered this fantastic young talent via her youtube video (believe it or not).
According to David, when she first arrived in US, she couldn't speak English that well but after 3 months of English lessons, her level of spoken English sounds even better than mine! Her singing now has no accent whatsoever.

Thanks to influential networks by both Oprah and David, Charice is now one of the world's most seek-after performers. She finally had the opportunity to meet her idols like Mariah Carey besides performing with Andrea Bocelli in Italy and Celine Dion in US (Celine Dion rocks!)

For hardcore Celine fan like Kar How, her live duet with Celine in Madison Square Garden 2 months ago is a must watch! They sang Because You Loved Me dedicated specially to Charice's proud mum.




A clearer version can be found in Oprah's website.

Seriously, hearing such a loud voice originating from such a young small gal can be quite scary at first. Although she tends to manipulate her high notes too much at times, everyone is still stunt everytime she hits the stage.

Regardless, I'm sure her mum would be extremely of proud what she has achieved so far.

I just wonder if her mum has ever thought that all these fame have led to Charice having a totally different teenage life and spending even less time with her mum compared to the times when they were poor. Measure of wealth is not neccessarily money you know...But I guess her mum is untimately relieved that her daugther can now look forward to a brighter future under the wings of big shots like Oprah and David.