Sunday, September 30, 2007

Back from wilderness

I'm finally back in Melbourne. =)

Unbelievably, it had been three weeks since I first went to Bairnsdale to have a taste of how working in a community pharmacy feels like.

Now I am back, enriched and excited by the experience.

Details and photos about my placement will be up soon.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

I'm leaving on train...

I'm off travelling again tomorrow...



This time I will be off on a train to Bairnsdale, someplace far far away from Melbourne.

I'll be there for 3 whole weeks as part of my Pharmacy course. Will be attached on a pharmacy there and train to be a pharmacist.

So there will be sporadic updates in my blog for 3 weeks as Bairnsdale is a rural place and have limited Internet connection. =)

Friday, September 07, 2007

Three act musings

Today I learnt a new word.

It is wagging.

It sounds dirty, but actually meant playing truant.

Sometimes it is funny that when you learnt a word for the first time, you tend to hear more of it in the same day.

I heard the word wagging four times today from four different people.

Probably because today is such a beautiful sunny day.

And also got an assignment due tomorrow.

An illustration on how to use the word:

A is wagging today. B and C are wagging today. D and E and F are wagging too. They are all wagging to see the five legged dog wagging its tail.

Next time I see anyone skip class, prepared to be greeted "Hey wagger!" I hope it sounds offensive. But you shouldn't be offended, coz this is Australia and using some Aussie slang is apt.

*****

There a compliment which I'm not sure whether it is a compliment for me or not, hence not sure how should I reply.

I just got a new haircut. A few people saw me and say:"nice haircut!"

The dilemma: should I reply "thank you"? Coz its not me who cut the hair! Surely the compliment is for the hairstylist? How should I accept a compliment that is not really for me? The only clever thing I did that merits compliment is choosing the right hairstylist!

Life's so complicated.

*****

Overheard in Uni from one girl to another:

Girl 1: What coloured shirt are you wearing to the conference? (the code is red for not available, orange for am
seeing someone, green for still single).

Girl 2: I'm wearing orange! Don't want to look so desperate.

Me to myself:Yeah girl, wear orange and you will still be single for a few years. What's wrong with telling the world you are single? I'm still single!

******

Do you know that?
It only costs 15c (RM 0.45) to develop a 6" x 4"photo in Australia. Its cheaper than in Malaysia!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Tassie trip continued

Since the Internet connection is so nice to me this moment, I will post up more pictures!

These are some pics of what we did in Tasmania:

In the morning, we have breakfast.


Then we go play golf.


After that, a leisurely afternoon tea


Then we go for wine tasting


And also cheese tasting


Have steak for dinner.


Reading beside a cosy fireplace before sleeping.


Don't you wish you were here?

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Just to make you jealous

Whilst most of you guys are toiling around in unis and schools doing endless projects and preparing for countless exams, I was having a stress free, work free and fun holiday in Tasmania. Hows dat? Feel like murdering me now?

To make you grow greener and throw fits of jealousy, I decided to put up some tantalizing photos for your de-stressing pleasure. Wish you were here...

Since there are too many good photos to be loaded up, I will start off with the breathtaking scenery we witnessed. Tomoro I will post up the fun we had on the trip.

Welcome to Tassie!


First, all things blue:

There's this pristine lake


and the great blue sea


After that the white sandy beaches


And green green forest


Great big cave


and splashing waterfall


Just like a painting: mountains, lake and greens


There are the cities too:

This is Salamanca, Hobart


This is Swiss Village, Launceston


Oh yeah for those of you who asked me how Tassie is - whatever I replied, whether it is okay, good or great, I meant the same thing: that you all must come here and experience it yourself. =)

Monday, September 03, 2007

And I brought back from Tassie...

Two more lovable pets (I think more lovable than OWL's goldfish. LOL just kidding).



One is this absolutely cute Tassie Devil. It is currently sitting in a filled wine glass coz it can literally grow in H2O. Will keep you updated with his growth over these few days.



Another Legal Drug Dealer into the family =). Meet Elmo. He is the pet I'm very proud of. He is the very first pet I got from the play machine where you put one dollar in and try to hook a pet up in 15 seconds. I'm usually very bad at these things but seems this year is a lucky year.

At first is the very big doggie.

Now is this cute Elmo. =)

Wonder when I will hook up a gal... LOL.

P/s: Tassie was great. Photos parade will be up in a few days.

And they named it...

Backyard Burger.

Consider this classic 'tales of two names'.

Both are, I believe, created with a vision of the typical Australian family BBQ-ing pieces of juicy steaks alfresco style in the backyard on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

So a girl intepreted her vision and named it the Backyard Burger. And a guy named it Aussie Barbie (a slang for BBQ not the doll). To me, both are derived from the same vision.

Guess what? the girl went on to win AUS$12000 worth of prize in McDonald's Name-It-Burger competition. The guy, unfortunately, end up with nothing. Eventhough both of them capture the same scenery, but perhaps at different angles.

And yeah, the guy is me.

15-second vent: What kind of name is it? I mean compared to other McD burgers like Big Mac, Double Cheeseburger etc which is easy on the tongue and sort of rhyme together, they choose the name BackYard Burger. &%$#?!?

I'm not a sourgrape, but I really felt that the name I give to the burger is better. At least it rhymes. Haha.

If case you didn't know what I'm rambling about, McDonald's here had a competition known as 'Name it Burger'. They had a no-name burger which you can try at McD and then give it a name online. So I had a go at it after spending about 10 minutes thinking about it. Anyway, I enjoyed the burger. It is the nicest McD every made.

Actually I wrote this post a week ago but didn't publish it coz it doesn't sound interesting. But a particular event that took place in those few days had me in a reflective mood and felt that this 'naming incident' can be a good anology.

What's in a word or name? Everything. A choice of word can determine whether someone will live or die; or become friends or foes.

The word is indeed mightier than the sword.

The correct words at the right time can be invigorating. The wrong words, even if you meant well, can hurt. Even if you have a good, balanced view of the situation. It can cause more misunderstanding, and serves to widen the divide.

I usually kept quiet because I don't have a masterful command of words. I am still learning to say the right words at the right time. I don't want to hurt any feelings by an unintentional use of inappropriate words. Using the right words is an art to be learnt, and it is not easy. This is because words are up to intepretation of anyone reading or hearing it. Everyone can intepret it differently according to their experiences and partial understanding of the situation. Message sent is often not message received.

I always felt that in misunderstandings, both parties is partly to blame. No one is really 100% right; nor is 100% wrong. They should sort it out by themselves. Make peace and patch up. Let bygones be bygones. Others can state their view but please don't stroke the flames by start pointing fingers.

At the height of an emotional outburst, it is often difficult to see anything else except other people's fault. I know, coz I had experienced it before also. It is a suggestion only, but perhaps it is best not to vent it out at the heat of the moment for everyone to see. Or perhaps if the compulsion is too strong, try using less emotive language and a more balanced, moderate tone. Let people make their own judgement. Or it will have a hint of washing dirty linings in the street.

Please think twice before choosing to speak or write. Sometimes, it is best to keep quiet.

Remember, there's also truth in the words "Silence is golden".

P/s: and to anonymous posters, actually it is not often hard to have a guess who you really are. In fact, it is quite a fun thing to do =). Everyone have different styles of writing and what you write also expose your thought process.