Wednesday, September 22, 2004
I am having fun! I am having fun! Okay, I'm exhausted!
I’m one huge bag of mixed emotions right now. I have two quizzes, one lab report, one informal research presentation due this week. Plus, I have to pack and get ready for our road trip to Canberra/Melbourne next week.
I know I’m procrastinating…but it feels worse than usual.
This past weekend has been fun yet tiring.
On Friday, there was the Unimates Potluck dinner followed by a night at the CAVE nightclub. I decided to make vegetarian spring rolls for the Potluck dinner but realized that I only have a half a package of spring roll pastry wrap left which is hardly enough for the amount of fillings I prepared. Christa went over to Vikki’s to figure out our itinerary for our Canberra-Melbourne road trip but I couldn’t join them because I had to work at 3pm. So timing was pretty tight and now I have this problem of insufficient ingredients to make my spring rolls. Well…my choices were to either look really bad by bringing only enough spring rolls to feed two people or to run down to Broadway Shopping Centre to get some more spring roll wraps and bring sufficient amount of spring rolls to the Potluck. I chose the latter. The trip took me 45minutes while wrapping the remainder of the fillings in the pastry took only 15mins. Then I was off to work.
This time, I saw another quality testing procedure where they have four condoms dangling to a machine filled with a clear liquid. I’m uncertain about the purpose of the test. It was amusing, though.
And by the way, the condoms are to be exported to China. They are freebies the Chinese government will give away (it said so in Chinese on the boxes). And there are freebies in the lunchroom that everyone can take. But like I said before, I have no need for such a thing.
Work was tiring. I was all hot and sweaty by the time I finished and I have to rush home to fry the spring rolls and make myself presentable for a night out. I didn’t shower though…I figured that my cloth would reek alcohol and cigarette smoke after a night at a club anyways. Besides, I have no plan for anyone to get close enough to me to really notice what I smell like.
By 7:10, Christa, Varun and I made our way out the door to get down to Scott’s(one of the UniMates executives) in SUV (Sydney University Village) for the Potluck. Of course, the walk would take Christa and I 20minutes but it took >30mins with Varun coming along. I think he’s right about losing some weight and I’m already making a positive contribution by not cooking for him anymore.
Dinner was great…except that I developed a minor tummy ache before hand and therefore did not consume enough to keep hunger away for the rest of the night. Arriving at The CAVE nightclub was quite an accomplishment. It took a 30min bus ride, a 30min walk across the harbour, and 20min of wondering around StarCity (the building) to locate the entrance. Then we were made to wait in the queue, even though our names were on the guest list. Then 30mins later, the bouncer decided that he wanted to stop pissing off the people who are on the guest list and allow us to go in.
Great lighting, loud music, clusters of people scattered at the sides, people grooving to the beat on the dance floor, busy bar area—everything a nightclub should have. Us girls, being girls, were paying more attention to what every one else is wearing (or not wearing). Unfortunately, it was Bling-Bling night at the music just did not connect with us. I personally believe that rap music is one of the biggest oxymoron in the English language. We danced long enough to work off the Potluck dinner and left when the dance competition started and everyone else stopped dancing.
Had a lovely walk around the harbour. The city looked completely different yet equally stunning at nighttime.
That covers last Friday.
I still have Saturday and Sunday to cover.
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I know I’m procrastinating…but it feels worse than usual.
This past weekend has been fun yet tiring.
On Friday, there was the Unimates Potluck dinner followed by a night at the CAVE nightclub. I decided to make vegetarian spring rolls for the Potluck dinner but realized that I only have a half a package of spring roll pastry wrap left which is hardly enough for the amount of fillings I prepared. Christa went over to Vikki’s to figure out our itinerary for our Canberra-Melbourne road trip but I couldn’t join them because I had to work at 3pm. So timing was pretty tight and now I have this problem of insufficient ingredients to make my spring rolls. Well…my choices were to either look really bad by bringing only enough spring rolls to feed two people or to run down to Broadway Shopping Centre to get some more spring roll wraps and bring sufficient amount of spring rolls to the Potluck. I chose the latter. The trip took me 45minutes while wrapping the remainder of the fillings in the pastry took only 15mins. Then I was off to work.
This time, I saw another quality testing procedure where they have four condoms dangling to a machine filled with a clear liquid. I’m uncertain about the purpose of the test. It was amusing, though.
And by the way, the condoms are to be exported to China. They are freebies the Chinese government will give away (it said so in Chinese on the boxes). And there are freebies in the lunchroom that everyone can take. But like I said before, I have no need for such a thing.
Work was tiring. I was all hot and sweaty by the time I finished and I have to rush home to fry the spring rolls and make myself presentable for a night out. I didn’t shower though…I figured that my cloth would reek alcohol and cigarette smoke after a night at a club anyways. Besides, I have no plan for anyone to get close enough to me to really notice what I smell like.
By 7:10, Christa, Varun and I made our way out the door to get down to Scott’s(one of the UniMates executives) in SUV (Sydney University Village) for the Potluck. Of course, the walk would take Christa and I 20minutes but it took >30mins with Varun coming along. I think he’s right about losing some weight and I’m already making a positive contribution by not cooking for him anymore.
Dinner was great…except that I developed a minor tummy ache before hand and therefore did not consume enough to keep hunger away for the rest of the night. Arriving at The CAVE nightclub was quite an accomplishment. It took a 30min bus ride, a 30min walk across the harbour, and 20min of wondering around StarCity (the building) to locate the entrance. Then we were made to wait in the queue, even though our names were on the guest list. Then 30mins later, the bouncer decided that he wanted to stop pissing off the people who are on the guest list and allow us to go in.
Great lighting, loud music, clusters of people scattered at the sides, people grooving to the beat on the dance floor, busy bar area—everything a nightclub should have. Us girls, being girls, were paying more attention to what every one else is wearing (or not wearing). Unfortunately, it was Bling-Bling night at the music just did not connect with us. I personally believe that rap music is one of the biggest oxymoron in the English language. We danced long enough to work off the Potluck dinner and left when the dance competition started and everyone else stopped dancing.
Had a lovely walk around the harbour. The city looked completely different yet equally stunning at nighttime.
That covers last Friday.
I still have Saturday and Sunday to cover.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Wicked Wednesday
The day had a late start.
Normally, I have two lectures in the morning, but I've made up my mind to skip those today and attend a special VERGE Arts Festival event(Note: VERGE Arts Festival expands two weeks and include Art displays, concerts, plays across three Sydney Uni campuses . Exciting, oui?) But skipping didn't turn out to be so successful either. My plan was to get to Uni at 9:30am to catch the special bus to the Sydney College of Arts campus in Rozelle. I was still at home cursing at the very sorry looking dumplingsin the frypan at 9:40am. The dumplings were for our dinner. And if the defrosting process went according to plan, I would've had time to shower as well. I didn't. I've made the mistake of piling the dumplings on top of each other in a tall container to store them in the freezer. After defrosting, the dumplings were basically a milted pile of dough and filing. I tried to separate each one but ended up with a mess. And that made cooking them a heck of a lot harder too.Anyways, by 9:45 I finally get my ass out the door to catch a city bus and ended up waiting for 15 minutes for the one with the right bus number. After I've already punched my card, I asked the driver if I was on the right bus...I wasn't. The right bus is on the other side of the road traveling in the opposite direction. SO I wasted one ride on my card...I then got off the bus feeling rather stupid. 10 seconds later, I decided that I would rather go attend my lecture and hopped on that same bus explaining to the driver that I've changed my mind. I'm going to pretend that I didn't notice any funny looks.
Went to lecture. See, Ching just can't skip. I do try though.
Instead of studying for the Formulative Quiz in the afternoon, once again, I attempted to get to the Rozelle campus for the VERGE event. I succeeded in getting on the right bus on the right direction…but I have no idea where to get off. All I knew was “The 440 Rozelle bus will take you right to the Sydney College of Arts campus” So I was a bit agitated as the bus continued through unfamiliar streets. I particularly liked the sign outside on of the churches that said “You thought Thorpe was good…Jesus walked on water.” And FYI, Ian Thorpe the Gold Medals Aussie Swimmer in the Olympics. He is the national hero right now.
Anyways, I did manage to get off the bus at the right stop thanks to two colourful flags on the side of the road telling me I’ve reached my destination. Looking around, I thought I was stopping at a park. Where are all the students? Cafes? All other signs of campus life are pretty much lacking. I’m not complaining about such an environment…it’s a very relaxing atmosphere; it’s not quite where I wanna be at the moment. Then a miracle happened…I managed to bump into Paulina, one of the organizers of VERGE. Ten minutes later, I was in the Ceramics Courtyard enjoying all the festivities.
Raku Ceramics is soo cool. You take a plain clay piece to your liking and just randomly dump multiple layers of glaze on top. The secret to an amazing piece is to not give a damn about what you are doing. Finally, I’ve discovered one thing that would work best when one is drunk. Although…inebriation would mean that hand eye coordination is lost and one would probably cake more glaze one self or another person than on a clay pot. Worth a thought anyways.
I tried my best to not care about what I’m doing. I think it’ll take a lot of practice for me to go “what the hell” given that I’ve been trained to plan, plan and plan art projects.
Browsed through the art markets marveling at the wonderful (not to mention expensive) creations. Got suckered into buying a necklace. I guess I can justify that purchase by the fact that I now have a job and I’m taking home original Australian Art.
Hanged around for somemore, had Japanese lunch and managed to miss my Formulative Quiz. I was having too much fun to really notice.
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Normally, I have two lectures in the morning, but I've made up my mind to skip those today and attend a special VERGE Arts Festival event(Note: VERGE Arts Festival expands two weeks and include Art displays, concerts, plays across three Sydney Uni campuses . Exciting, oui?) But skipping didn't turn out to be so successful either. My plan was to get to Uni at 9:30am to catch the special bus to the Sydney College of Arts campus in Rozelle. I was still at home cursing at the very sorry looking dumplingsin the frypan at 9:40am. The dumplings were for our dinner. And if the defrosting process went according to plan, I would've had time to shower as well. I didn't. I've made the mistake of piling the dumplings on top of each other in a tall container to store them in the freezer. After defrosting, the dumplings were basically a milted pile of dough and filing. I tried to separate each one but ended up with a mess. And that made cooking them a heck of a lot harder too.Anyways, by 9:45 I finally get my ass out the door to catch a city bus and ended up waiting for 15 minutes for the one with the right bus number. After I've already punched my card, I asked the driver if I was on the right bus...I wasn't. The right bus is on the other side of the road traveling in the opposite direction. SO I wasted one ride on my card...I then got off the bus feeling rather stupid. 10 seconds later, I decided that I would rather go attend my lecture and hopped on that same bus explaining to the driver that I've changed my mind. I'm going to pretend that I didn't notice any funny looks.
Went to lecture. See, Ching just can't skip. I do try though.
Instead of studying for the Formulative Quiz in the afternoon, once again, I attempted to get to the Rozelle campus for the VERGE event. I succeeded in getting on the right bus on the right direction…but I have no idea where to get off. All I knew was “The 440 Rozelle bus will take you right to the Sydney College of Arts campus” So I was a bit agitated as the bus continued through unfamiliar streets. I particularly liked the sign outside on of the churches that said “You thought Thorpe was good…Jesus walked on water.” And FYI, Ian Thorpe the Gold Medals Aussie Swimmer in the Olympics. He is the national hero right now.
Anyways, I did manage to get off the bus at the right stop thanks to two colourful flags on the side of the road telling me I’ve reached my destination. Looking around, I thought I was stopping at a park. Where are all the students? Cafes? All other signs of campus life are pretty much lacking. I’m not complaining about such an environment…it’s a very relaxing atmosphere; it’s not quite where I wanna be at the moment. Then a miracle happened…I managed to bump into Paulina, one of the organizers of VERGE. Ten minutes later, I was in the Ceramics Courtyard enjoying all the festivities.
Raku Ceramics is soo cool. You take a plain clay piece to your liking and just randomly dump multiple layers of glaze on top. The secret to an amazing piece is to not give a damn about what you are doing. Finally, I’ve discovered one thing that would work best when one is drunk. Although…inebriation would mean that hand eye coordination is lost and one would probably cake more glaze one self or another person than on a clay pot. Worth a thought anyways.
I tried my best to not care about what I’m doing. I think it’ll take a lot of practice for me to go “what the hell” given that I’ve been trained to plan, plan and plan art projects.
Browsed through the art markets marveling at the wonderful (not to mention expensive) creations. Got suckered into buying a necklace. I guess I can justify that purchase by the fact that I now have a job and I’m taking home original Australian Art.
Hanged around for somemore, had Japanese lunch and managed to miss my Formulative Quiz. I was having too much fun to really notice.
Monday, September 13, 2004
A much needed update
News Flash #1: My parents finally sold off our old house, what a big relief! They can stop cleaning the house constantly and I won’t have to put up with their ranting when I call home.
News Flash #2: James is now in Scotland. When I opened up his new blog for Scotland, I couldn’t help but gasp in excitement (which drew some attention from the girl sitting beside me in the computer lab). Yeah James! Now baby, tell me your addy asap so I can send u a postcard=)
News Flash #3: I got a job. What do I do? I clean. I CLEAN? I hate cleaning. (I’m imagining Christa making a funny face because I seem to be the most enthusiastic dishwasher in the house. But keep in mind, Christa dear, that I’m really making an effort for all of us in the house; if I were living alone…God help me, I would never be able to bring company home) But then again, if you pay me 15/hr, I’m a damn good cleaner. The facility I work at is…very interesting. It consist of an offices and several research laboratories…what do they test? Condoms. Interesting test too. They have two rows of glass cabinets with a black plastic rod in bottom to simulate a certain part of the male anatomy, and broken pieces of condoms stuck on the glass. It’s a lot of fun watching someone sticking a condom on a black plastic rod, add pressure until it pops, and that’s basically the whole test. And I was told to watch my step in the lab because of lubricants on the floor. Geez, what else do I need to know?
News Flash #4: Not really a news flash. I was labelled the Teacher’s Pet by the teacher in Accounting yesterday. God, how am I supposed to have any friends in that class?
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News Flash #2: James is now in Scotland. When I opened up his new blog for Scotland, I couldn’t help but gasp in excitement (which drew some attention from the girl sitting beside me in the computer lab). Yeah James! Now baby, tell me your addy asap so I can send u a postcard=)
News Flash #3: I got a job. What do I do? I clean. I CLEAN? I hate cleaning. (I’m imagining Christa making a funny face because I seem to be the most enthusiastic dishwasher in the house. But keep in mind, Christa dear, that I’m really making an effort for all of us in the house; if I were living alone…God help me, I would never be able to bring company home) But then again, if you pay me 15/hr, I’m a damn good cleaner. The facility I work at is…very interesting. It consist of an offices and several research laboratories…what do they test? Condoms. Interesting test too. They have two rows of glass cabinets with a black plastic rod in bottom to simulate a certain part of the male anatomy, and broken pieces of condoms stuck on the glass. It’s a lot of fun watching someone sticking a condom on a black plastic rod, add pressure until it pops, and that’s basically the whole test. And I was told to watch my step in the lab because of lubricants on the floor. Geez, what else do I need to know?
News Flash #4: Not really a news flash. I was labelled the Teacher’s Pet by the teacher in Accounting yesterday. God, how am I supposed to have any friends in that class?
Sunday, September 05, 2004
ARRRRRRGH!
I just came out one of the most devastating exams I've ever written. The irony is, I knew my stuff. Just not well enough.
I never liked Accounting. And this Management Accounting course is one of the most poorly organized courses I've ever taken. Our lecturer, Maria, is a guest lecturer drafted in from MacQuerie University and knows absolutely nothing about the course or how Sydney Uni works. If you ask a relevant question of "so, when are the computer assignments due?", you get " I don't know, ask Dr. Frost, he is the course coordinator." (And of what use are you, Maria?)
And this would out okay if Dr. Frost actually answers phone calls and replies to emails. And I would go to his consultation hours if I know when they are (they are still "tba"--to be announced, so basically nonexistant).
*sigh*
And if this is the general organization of the course, you can imagine how well the students were prepared for the midterm this morning.
I didn't even finish. I didn't even put one thing down for a 20mark question. I doubt anyone in the lecture finished it. I spoke to one person who managed to complete all the parts but had no time to check if the numbers are correct.
So it's not just me. But that didn't make me feel any better.
I tried. I assure you. I tried my darnest. But it would've helped if I knew that the exam was ridiculously long. If would've also helped if I had a sample midterm to look at. And it would've really really helped if I could have solutions to the practice questions while I'm reviewing so at least I know if I'm even on the right track.
GRRRRrrrRRRRrrrrrrrrrRRRrrr!
This is why it's so hard to get Distinctions (>75%) and High Distinctions(>85%) at Sydney Uni.
Good thing the exam is only worth 20%. If it's worth anymore than that, then then...then I would seriously consider hiring Jack as my consultant and put some of his wickedly brilliant plans into action.
I'm sooooo going to take full advantage of the free wine tonight.
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I never liked Accounting. And this Management Accounting course is one of the most poorly organized courses I've ever taken. Our lecturer, Maria, is a guest lecturer drafted in from MacQuerie University and knows absolutely nothing about the course or how Sydney Uni works. If you ask a relevant question of "so, when are the computer assignments due?", you get " I don't know, ask Dr. Frost, he is the course coordinator." (And of what use are you, Maria?)
And this would out okay if Dr. Frost actually answers phone calls and replies to emails. And I would go to his consultation hours if I know when they are (they are still "tba"--to be announced, so basically nonexistant).
*sigh*
And if this is the general organization of the course, you can imagine how well the students were prepared for the midterm this morning.
I didn't even finish. I didn't even put one thing down for a 20mark question. I doubt anyone in the lecture finished it. I spoke to one person who managed to complete all the parts but had no time to check if the numbers are correct.
So it's not just me. But that didn't make me feel any better.
I tried. I assure you. I tried my darnest. But it would've helped if I knew that the exam was ridiculously long. If would've also helped if I had a sample midterm to look at. And it would've really really helped if I could have solutions to the practice questions while I'm reviewing so at least I know if I'm even on the right track.
GRRRRrrrRRRRrrrrrrrrrRRRrrr!
This is why it's so hard to get Distinctions (>75%) and High Distinctions(>85%) at Sydney Uni.
Good thing the exam is only worth 20%. If it's worth anymore than that, then then...then I would seriously consider hiring Jack as my consultant and put some of his wickedly brilliant plans into action.
I'm sooooo going to take full advantage of the free wine tonight.
