I'm leaving on a jet plane..

Going to Tasmania for a 5-day holiday. Tata!

The Big Night

This is the culmination of 6 week of hard work: A two hour plus extravaganza.

'Stitches in time saves nine' was indeed a night to remember. This is the biggest project I had ever been involved in. There are numerous moments of self doubts, frustrations and tons of stress prior in the run up to this event, but the resounding success make it all worthwhile. Here are some pics of the memorable night:

The opening act: My 6 cents' worth


Dreams. A very sweet-sounding duet.


The strings triplet from VCP.


JinSern, whose voice can melt all gals' heart.


Steve Romig, one of the invited singer who performed for free.


Jessica Paige, another of our invited guest singer.


Full house: nearly 200 people turn up for the event.


The MC team ended the night with a poignant rendition of Words.


Aftermath: Me posing with some PISA members. Note my bow-tie. LOL

Me with one of the kids of Operation Stitches, the organisation where all the money raise will go to, and Claudia, who is the inspiring director of this event.

Besides the entertainment night, PISA members also canvassed for donations in all year levels and also in Melbourne Uni and RMIT. All in all, we managed to raise around $2000 for the charity. That was a lot of money. Thank you all who came and support this event.

P/s: This event is the reason I haven't post anything on this blog for 1 whole week.

13 days...

13 days to Merdeka...

I just want to put a flag on the wall
and show it to all:

That even in a land afar
Malaysia is in my heart and never far.

Sometimes its hard
to express your love for the country.

Someone tried to rap the Negaraku
ended up defending his kuku.

Someone wanted to draw the flag on cake
but if cut it its disrespect.

Someone hang it down their building,
copped a 'must be horizontal not lateral' scolding.

Wearing the flag around the body,
Is also subject to rules aplenty.

Oh why the hassle, why the rules
as long as the heart is true.

I sat here and ponder thus
wtih 13 days left to the 31st of August.

Tim Tam Slam

Tim-tam is a very Australian thing. I am sure all of you had indulged in one before. If not, you are missing heaven.

While surfing the net yesterday, I came upon a very novel way to enjoy Tim-tam, In fact, it had acquired a name: Tim-tam Slam. I tried it today, and it really add a new dimension to the already delicious Tim-tam.

Here's how you do it:

Step 1:

Get your hands on some Tim-tams. Any variety will do. If you are in Malaysia, make sure it is refrigerated coz it need to be hard and firm.



Step 2:

Bite of two ends of the Tim-tam as illustrated below.



Step 3:

Use your tim-tams as an ersatz straw and suck up any beverages you like with it, usually tea, coffee, cholocate or in my case, milk.



Step: 4

When you feel that your tim tam straw is nearly crumbing, put the whole thing into your mouth and enjoy the sensation. Delicious!



Actually it takes practice to perfect the art of tim-tam this way, but who cares rite? I just gave you an excuse to enjoy more of this chocolaty delight!

Enjoy!

Trivia of the day: Tim-tam is named after a horse. Fancy that =)

Stitches in Time Entertainment Night

Charity should make the giver sing,
Happy in the undertow of sharing.
A gift should not be given out of duty,
Remiss in both its pleasure and its beauty,
Intent on rectitude, bereft of caring.
The burdens of the world may be worth bearing,
Yet gifts should still a certain lightness bring.

~By Michael Praetorius. ~

Parkville International Student’s Association (PISA), a club which I am involved in, will be holding this fantastic entertainment night called ‘Stitches in Time’ to help raise funds for Operation STITCHES. Operation STITCHES is a Christian based NGO whose vision is to help kids living in inner-city high-rise estate, changing their lives for the better.

‘Stitches in Time’ will be held on Friday, 24^th August 2007 at Cossar Hall, Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University. It will start at 6.30pm and end at approximately 9.15pm. Tickets cost $12 each and come with a number of complimentary vouchers. All profits will go to Operation STITCHES. We hope to raise at least $2000 for them via this event.

They will be a variety of performances from students of Victorian College of Pharmacy, Melbourne University and RMIT. We also have two well-known guest performers: Jessica Paige, a multi-award winning singer and songwriter and Steve Romig, who is awarded Melbourne Blues Association Song, Band and Male Artist of the Year awards 2007.

They will also be a variety of dances, a magician show, bands, a string quartet and solo singers: all performed by talented students. Light refreshment will be served prior to the start of the event.

Tickets are on sale now. If you are interested, please contact me at khoboonphiaw[at]hotmail[dot]com for the tickets. I do hope you all can support this event and tell your friends about it. It will be fun and indeed hugely rewarding.

Thank you in advance! =)

Heralds the new dawn

The English Permier League is on again!

After a three months hiatus, I can now look forward to wake up every Saturday and Sunday morning and go online with a surge of excitement and anticipation to find how my team did the previous night.

Sometimes its bad when the team you supported isn't one of the main team in the EPL. It just isn't fair coz the cable TV here always show Manchester United or Liverpool. Actually I hasn't seen my beloved team play at all in the past seson. Mainly because it was a bad season last year adn I couldn't bear to watch them play.

If you know me well enough, you should know that the team I supported is Newcastle United. Been supporting the club since the 95/96 season when they are a strong team, when they are able to trash Manchester United 5-0. Hopefully this year, Newcastle United can grow to be a team to be reckon with again, since they have a new manager and some excellent players.

Anyway, if you didn't know which team is Newcastle United, its the team Michael Owen is plaing with now. You mean you don't know who's Michael Owen?..well don't bother reading this then.

My favorite player in the current Newcastle United team is Shay Given, who is the goalkeeper. He is so brilliant and I just love to watch him play. His reflexes are astounding. My favorite player used to be Alan Shearer, who was once the world's most expensive striker when Newcastle brought him for 15 million pounds in 96/97, but alas he already retired.

Other players I like in the Newcastle team is Steven Taylor, who is a young and promising defender. I always like new exciting players. In the midfield department, my favorite is James Milner, because he too is young and promising. Striker of course is Michael Owen. Although he is old and slow now, he still can score goals.. I used to like Michael Chopra after Alan Shearer retired, but he got transferred. Still felt its a wrong sale. And he just scored the first goal of the new season.

Haha.. feels like I had just wrote a primary school essay on my favorite football team. To cut a long story short, long live Newcastle United!

I only trust myself

Yeah.. the problem is I know I know too much.

I have a problem.

This problem had been there for ages. I acknowledged the problem but there never seems to be a solution.

The problem is I do not trust other people.

Trusting is difficult. Because by trusting others, you are making yourself vulnerable.

Perhaps this stem from the fact that I never believe others can do a better job than what I did in anything.

Since younger days, I always had been the dominant one in doing group projects. I don't care doing most of the job because I wanted the thing to go my way. Because I always believe my way is the way. I always believe in my way. And all the good results in the group projects seems to justify my stand. And if I can do it my way, I prefer not to have group projects at all.

Actually, I don't like group projects, mildly speaking. Perhaps this is a trait of being a perfectionist. I can't stand sloppy work. And if you work with others.. However, the main reason I can't work in a team because in a team, I need to trust others.

I knew deep inside, no single individual can beat a good, dynamic team. Having good teamwork skills is vital to be successful in life. No man's a single island. In these few years, I tried to improve my teamworking skills. In teams I joined, I tried to let others do the job instead of having a control in everything. I tried not to get involve in jobs that are not my responsibility because I trust other team member can do it. I tried not to go for all the top positions because I am sure there's always someone better to do the job. I know deep down if I become a leader, I will be a dictator. There's no other way I will do it. I tried. I tried. I really tried. I hoped I can grow to trust others. But it is not to be. I always need to control things. I always need to say what should be done. I still can't find someone who can form a perfect team with me. Someone whom I can trust 100% in a job. Now I began to think, perhaps the problem is with me..

I always consider myself to be a student on leadership. I am always interested on how to be a good leader and what are the characteristics of a good leader. I had been to numerous leadership camps and read tons of books on leadership. Now I think that my focus is wrong. Starting from today, I think I will start to look into how to be part of a team.

Perhaps if I can learn how to be part of a team, I can start to trust others.

Salsa and Open Day

I learnt Salsa dancing.

Even though its only a few basic moves..

Its definitely a good feeling to had learnt something new.

The Salsa dance is part of the Global Friendship Series, which is sort of a group of people in uni running free activities to promote integration between students. Being part of the group, its definitely rewarding to see so many people turn up and had fun learning the Salsa - and then ask whether we can have another one next week! Well, I think th answer is 'no', coz I am now a non-believer of successfully running a same event twice in a row. Most young people's interest are so fickle. Sort of 'Been there, done that' mentality.

One of my job is also to make announcements about the event to student. I used to envy the bravery of those who have the courage to go down there and speak. But after doing it for 3 times for 2 different audiences, I felt that it is no big deal after all to stand right down there trying to get the attention of all the students in the lecture theatre. After the first word, everything is easy. That said, I hoped now got people envy me being able to speak in front of a crowd. After all, public speaking is the greatest fear on earth.

Last Sunday was also Monash Uni Open Day. As a volunteer, I was stationed at Clayton (Monash Uni's main campus) and my job is to get prospective students to get on the shuttle bus to the College of Pharmacy. What got my atention is that the majority of students are only concerned with the results needed to enter the course. They have no interest what-so-ever on how life is going to be in uni. I was like 'how can this be? You are going to spend 4 years there!' Then I realised that I didn't care too when I applied for Uni... it's always the Entry Score and how reputable the Uni is. Who cares how life will gonna be.. Well, maybe as you grow older, you kinda began to notice these things.

Well, guess that's the end of my weekly musings. Hope I can post something more substantial on next week. Seems that a few of my frenz are also slacking in updating their blogs. Everyone's busy? Or had the bubble burst?

Medicinal Truth

Truth is stranger than fiction.

It really is, especially in the world of health and drugs and medicines.

Just yesterday, I read that brushing your teeth twice daily can reduce your risk of acquiring heart disease. Fancy that. How can this be? ....




Well, it turns out that by brushing your 'pearly whites', there will be less bacteria in your gums (makes sense), which in turn will lead to less bacteria inflammation throughout the body, including in your arterial blood vessel (a little far fetched for me), hence reducing your chance of a stroke or heart attack. And yeah, to make it more convincing, it can also reduce your chance of miscarriage and premature birth. So there.

Should you believe it? Well personally, I don't see the harm of believing it, coz its good to have good oral hygiene. Besides, the article is in the New England Journal of Medicine, which is like the 'Vogue' of Medicines. In simple terms, it is in one of the most prestigious Medical magazine.

After studying so much on drugs and medicines, I am now a firm believer that it is best to keep off drug when you're sick (See Hua will be glad to hear that), coz there's just too many side effects and you body defense system is the best medicine anyway. Okay this is so bad for my future business but you didn't hear me wrong.. the body work wonders. But yes, there's a catch: you must believe in it.

That may be the best explaination why someone who is not taking medication for being HIV positive outlive someone who had (I read it on yet another article). She believed in her body. Oh yes, you also need to have a healthy lifestyle, especially eating a balance diet and exercise regularly. Coz that's how the body maintain its defense system.

So yeah, believe in yourself. There's not magic bullet in medicines.

Now I see the ingenuity of Homeopathy.

At last I wrote something related to my future profession. =)

If only the world is wireless

I hate wirings. What's the benefit of having a laptop when you need to move around with it an external hard drive, a mouse, a pendrive and possibly a webcam? Not to mention the access bridge to online and the power supply...

So frustrating.

If only wireless technology is mass produced NOW...

My photo is in the uni website!

I just discovered that my photo is on the official university's website! Even though it was quite an old photo (taken last year while my face is still full of pimples), it is still cool to see my own face there! It has my profile also..

Click on this link to see my photo.

Happy reading!

Weekly spiel

The week that was...

Seems the only time I had to update my blog is on Thursday nite.. I had such a hectic but fun week!

The week of firsts...

There are a lot of personal firsts that I had 'achieve' the past week. Literally one for everyday..

Friday night - played Dota from 10.00 p.m. till 5 a.m. in the morning. Never this mad before.. but in retrospect, lucky did it coz Thow Kong's computer broke a few days later.. means no Dota this weekend. Sad.

Saturday night - went for my first ever Karaoke in Melbourne. Was there from 8.00 p.m. till 4.00 a.m.! Coz well, it is $40! For this price sure must sing till hoarse lah...

Monday morning - went for my first ever focus group session. Basically just sit there with a marketing agent and discuss why no one buy the uni's student community card. Free lunch and a $50 shopping voucher for just one hour of doing nothing much. That was fun!

Tuesday afternoon - first time ever made an announcement in the lecture theatre in front of 100+ students. What's more, it was recorded (coz the lecture was recorded) and I can hear myself speaking again and again (and also the clapping afterwards)..cool..


I was down there on Tuesday

Wednesday - played chess during lunch break (PISA event) and then had fun making yummy lamingtons and played Jenga, Scrabble, Bluff etc (Global Friendship Series). Tons of fun. Wish uni was this fun every day. Oh ya and I still wonder why a lot of people elect to go home after uni..


Lamingtons


Jenga

Thursday - skipped my first ever lecture for the year coz: (1) I had only that lecture for the day, (2) it is on 8.30am, (3) it was recorded anyway.

And yeah..I also managed to squeeze enough time reading the final book of Harry Potter.

What I felt after reading Harry Potter..

1. I dislike the guy named Harry Potter: he is stupid and hot headed and only know how to get others into trouble. Actually, I started to dislike him since the last book - always using the fact that he has 'no parents' as an excuse for doing stupid things.. If not for Hermione and Ron..

2. Snape is really really an unfortunate guy. He is really caught between a rock and a hard place. Manipulated by Dumbledore and used by Voldemort and despised by the rest while he is actually a good guy.. I felt for him..

3. Why so many people have to die (like flies).. did it serve any purpose?

4. The ending sucks. It didn't answer the question I wanted to know most. What is Harry Potter's occupation? Did he become an auror or just living off his parents' money?

But all in all, it is a good book. Mesmerising and a definite page turner. J.K Rowling is brilliant.

P/s: For those of you in the dark, lamington is an Australian icon. It is basically chocolate icing coated spongecake with a layer of dessicated coconut on top. Sweet and yummy.

To motivate, just add water

Tammy van Wisse is a name I never heard of before tonight; and it is a name I will never forget after tonight.

She is this fantastic marathon swimmer who currently hold an astounding six world record. She event beat the men in some of the events she took part in! During her lifetime, she had swam a total distance of 60,000KMs. And luckily for me, she was just in University tonight to give a talk entitled "To motivate, just add water".

It was very inspiring to hear her talk. Her achievements are spectacular: she had swam over huge distance and theacherous waters. What is more inspiring is the background work involved. I am sure it is very often that we see and hear people's achievements and thought that they had it lucky being born with a talent or being pick out to star in whatever they excel in. What we often didn't realise is the amount of work they put in. For Tammy, she swam 25km laps for two sessions per day seven days week, went to gym 3 times per week, and jog for the other 3 days. And that didn't include other preparatory work like mapping the location of her swim and organising sponsorships and support crews. She talked a lot about leadership - and her talk nearly moved me to tears. Like how leadership is about asking people to join in and have fun. Or how she use her fame to highlight environmental issues. It was just fantastic and motivational. For more info about her, check out her website here.

Her talk lead me to contemplate on the event PISA is going to hold soon. It is gonna to be a huge scale entertainment night and I had my reservations about it going to be a success, because we never done it before and it is so big. After her talk, I guess it is better to fail gloriously rather than never try at all. Going to have revived enthusiasm!

Anyway, her talk is part of a memorable night organised by the University's Foundation. The Foundation basically functions to get money for the university and ensure the students have a bright future - so all these leadership things like tonight's event. There were also a panel of pharmacy movers and shakers who answer questions from students. After the event, we even got time to mingle with them. It was fun talking with all these high achievers, they have such a sense of humour and so many advice to offer. Too bad I'm going back to Malaysia after my 4-year stint here....

As a footnote, I just loved these University organised events because they usually provide us with fabulous food and drinks. Just had a glass of red wine, white wine and a bottle of Heineken as well as tasted 10 different kinds of cheese...yummy!

Heard during PISA meeting: "Looking for sponsors is fun. What else can you do where you got a chance to flirt with people and walk away with prizes after that?" But yeah I still don't like looking for sponsors coz as someone else pointed out " but you can't keep the prize..."

10 Things to do in Rainy Adelaide

For those of you who would like to visit Adelaide in the winter in the years to come (like us), here's my suggestion on things that you can do:

1.Search for rainbows



There are lotz of rainbows to see in Adelaide. And they are huge - spanning the entire road. I think I saw at least a rainbow everyday. Pretty sight.

2. (Listen) to free lectures



This is Elder Hall in Adelaide Uni - and it is very beautiful and warm. Great way to get away from the rain and you can spend the time admiring the architecture while the person in front drone on and on...

3. Take (watercolor) photos



I don't mean painting - nowadays there's the camera to do it. Just be creative and take photos of the reflection of the scenery on the wet pavements. Looks great.

4. Sit on the 'flying bus'



Experience being Harry Potter in Hogwarts by sitting on the 'flying bus'. Day-dream while the unassuming normal-looking bus suddenly transforms into a train and travels on rail at unbelievable speed in the middle of the journey. The journey to and fro took around 1 hour. Tats a good way to enjoy a rainy day.

5. Make sand art



Find a deserted beach right after a rain and walk on it. Then retrace your steps and photograph the path you had just took. This makes beautiful photos of 'footsteps' art that you can transform into postcards for friends or put as your display pic on msn.

6. Visit Wine Cellars



There are lots of wine cellars in Adelaide. So when it is raining, hop into one, pretend you are a wine connisseur and try all the different wines available (for free). The wine will make you warm real fast.

7. Drive around in a car treasure hunting



Wonder around aimlessly around Adelaide Hills and you may chanced upon unlisted tourist attraction like this secluded castle. This is one eerie castle coz when we went there it seems like there is no one in it-and the whole place is set-up for a lavish banquet and a real fire is burning inside a real fireplace..

8. Eat



Mouth watering food is always the best medicine for any bad weather. Just find a buffet place and tuck in and you will forget the rain outside. This is what we have for one rainy night - satay, marinated seafood, hot soup, roast meat....

9. Visit churches



Adelaide is officially known as City of Churches. So it is only appropriate ifyou just pretend to be interested in the churches. There came in many shapes and sizes, and best of all, they have a roof.

10. Take photos of yourself



Rainy days are also good photo opportunities coz you stay in a place longer. Can take more photos of yourself with beautiful sceneries as backdrop. Although I didn't do that (I'm a guy, duh).. I think it is highly recommended activity for girls..or you can go shopping.

So there's my Top Ten. Have fun!

Sights of Adelaide

I just came back from a 4-day 3-nite trip to Adelaide - the so called City of Churches. It was a memorable trip and Adelaide has lots to offer, contary to the popular belief that it is a dull and boring city. You just have to know where to look.

St Peter's. One of the many churches in Adelaide.

I took around 360 amazing pictures of the place. I would loved to put them all in this blog, but due to the various constraints.. blah blah blah... So in conclusion, will just put some of the more significant/memorable or interesting pictures here with a summary of the trip.

Day 1: Road to Adelaide

There are actually two roads from Melbourne to Adelaide - and Woon Pang, Danny and me went there via the 'hill-lovers' route - the one that travels inland via Ballarat, Ararat and Horsham.

Map of Melbourne to Adelaide.

We started off at 6.30am and reached Adelaide at 3pm.

On the way there are lotz of breath-taking scenery, including this taken at Tailem Bend, a town just before Adelaide. The river is the Murray River.


View of Murray River from Tailem Bend.

At Adelaide, we settled our accomodation and hit the town. The first port of call is this Adelaide Riverbank. It is as beautiful as the waterfront in Melbourne. We also wandered around the town and had our dinner at Adelaide's small Chinatown. Then it is off to bed coz there is nothing going on at night in Adelaide.. even on Friday or Saturday...


Adelaide scenic riverbank.

Day 2: City and beach

It was a rainy day (again). Started our city tour on Rundle Street, the main shopping arcade of Adelaide.


Rundle Mall. The pavements have embedded coins and there are pigs milling around.

Then visited the University of Adelaide as well as the City Library and South Australia Museum (due to the rain).

South Australia Museum: home to the biggest Aborigine artifacts collection.

In the afternoon, took the only tram in Adelaide to Glenelg beach, a popular tourist attraction. Due to the weather, the beach is virtually devoid of people.

Glenelg beach and jetty (and me).

In the evening, we took a bus to Tea Tree Gully just to sit on the bus- this bus is special coz it can travel on rail lines and reach a speed of 100km/h! It was very interesting. Imagine a flying bus!

Day 3: Port Adelaide and Adelaide Hills

The weather picked up a little in the morning as we journey to Port Adelaide. Like Adelaide, it was very empty - only a few people milling around. Nothing much to see.. but it was a quite pretty place.

Lighthouse at Port Adelaide.

Then we travel to Adelaide Hills - one of the most picturisque place on Adelaide.


Of rolling hills and winding roads and dry grape vines.

There are acres and acres of grapes vines and apple trees. We stopped at a mediaval castle (a suprise find - more on next blog), wineries, small towns, a chocolate factory, Bereenberg strawberry farm and the historical German town of Hahndorf.

Melba chocolate factory.


Me in historic (and rainy and cold) Hahndorf.

The next destination is Mount Lofty: a place where you can view the whole of Melbourne, that is if the sky is clear. Which alas, as you guess, is not the case.. the whole view was completely obstructed by clouds and mists.

The light house on misty Mt Lofty

At night, had dinner and met with Chang Yang, Xuan Ni, Wee Loon and Violet who were coincidently in Adelaide for a medical convention. It was a funny feeling meeting with Melbourne friends in Adelaide.

Day 4: Victor Harbour and home!

The last day of our trip - time to say goodbye to our hostel.

The three travellers: Danny, Woon Pang and me.

We travelled south to Victor Harbour and Granite Island. The highlight is sitting on a tram pulled by a solitary horse. Amazing power.

The one and only horse drawn tram.

Granite Island is also a very beautiful place (damn..running out of adjectives that are synomyns of beautiful. Anyway, you get the idea.. Adelaide is simply beautiful).

The view of Granite Island from Victor Harbour.

Reached Melbourne at midnight, travelling home via the 'sea-lovers' road - via Mt Gambier, Warnambool and Geelong.

It was fun. And Adelaide is beautiful. A 'must go' place.

More photos on interesting things and events tomoro.