perhaps i should stop counting down and let it run down on its own.
no, i think that'll comfort my life, for the time-being. haha!
ok, updates then ...
Saturday 29/03/2008 - shopping at Garden City. i thought i shouldn't have gone as it was a complete waste of time for me. i didn't buy anything and i didn't see anything i like in particular. well ... i've nothing to do at home that day, so i thought i might as well make a trip down with the rest. otherwise, i'd have been left alone. haha.
i must say that the shopping malls here are pretty big, but they are very much similar to one another. having the same shops and supermarkets and departmental stores. really nothing to 'wow' about in the context of shopping. and so we went home after that followed by an evening jog. that ended my day.
the following day was not as boring, as 5 guys (justin, gj, franco, desmond and myself) went out for lunch at a Viet restaurant. my very first encounter with Viet food, and the raw beef and beef balls noodles soup i had was the best noodles soup i've ever had thus far in my life (i'm referring to food i eat outside as nothing beats the cooking of my mum and grandma, haha!). previously it was tom yum soup, but the beef stock was flavourful, strong in taste that went very well with the lemon, beansprouts, mint and the chewy stick noodles. it looked like thai beef noodles soup, but they differed from the star-shaped-like herb you'll find in the thai beef noodles soup. 9/10!
it was then followed by shopping at Emma's (a popular asian grocery store in Northbridge, Perth) and impromptu suggestion of going to Harbourtown by Justin. i know you want me to mention this justin, admit it. haha! but well, i thought it was nice as all of them bought something for themselves ... while i was struggling to find a big and nice bag that suits me. that trip ended with grocery shopping in Woolworths and back to the hotel.
met up with Aunt Eileen, her parents and Uncle William that night. we had chinese food in Northbridge (that's really where u find all the good asian fare in Perth). that was good too! i especially like the deep-fried egg-plant rich in the fragrance of butter. it's crispy on the outside, rich on the inside. that dish alone scored a perfect 10 from me. we also had jellyfish pork trotters (sliced) as entree, stir-fried garlic brocolli, wasabe infused ... gu lu yok (sweet and sour pork ... yes more pork) and the claypot braised glass noodles with mushrooms and prawns. the latter was smooth in texture and the prawns, ohh so fresh. that was 8.5/10 from me though as i'm not a big fan of glass noodles. haha. that whole meal will score 9/10. haha.
so the day ended with me, justin and zul not being able to sleep well at night due to some inherited sleeping disorder (ISD) a.k.a. Irritating Snoring Disturbance. justin had to move to the living room and sleep on the floor as he found me sleeping on the bed in the living room as well. sorry man~ and thanks zul for waking him up and stopping him which then put me back to sleep in my own bed in the room. i'm not exactly annoyed by the snoring, i don't blame that person for it, but what was disturbing was that he actually played his nintendo DS when we're trying to sleep, tapping loudly on the screen and not even bothering to turn off the volume. that's last night, i really hope that this doesn't happen again or i'm afraid that even apologies will not save the friend-ship (some people will understand why i italicized those words. haha!)
ok, for this week ... Luis (my supervisor) will be flying off to US to join Erwin (the Ph.D student that taught me and supervised me when Luis was busy) for an Immunology Conference in San Diego. that will mean freedom to me from friday onwards. i'll be getting my last week off to maybe do some shopping for myself, and for you people.
will update again come whatever, so stay tuned =D.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
fun-fillled Easter Break
i'm back blogging =D.
just some updates on what i've done over the long weekend.
Friday (21/03/08) - alright. we began the long weekend with a long ride up north of WA to the Pinnacles. first stop was the Caversham Wildlife Park where we took pictures of Kangaroos, Wombat, Wallabies and Koalas. was pretty interested in looking for a Tasmanian Devil, but i was told that they were asleep in the morning, so there went my Devils.
2nd stop was a 2.5 hour drive up north to a souvenior shop where we had picnic lunch before heading to the Pinnacles. just before the guide drove us to the Pinnacles, we stopped at a beautiful beach for a mere 15 minutes for some photo-taking sessions and scenery indulgence.
Pinnacles ... a large plain of desert with protruding limestones. briefly, they were formed by the errosion of acid rain on hard, sedimentations that formed large cracks over the years. as the wind blew the sand away, the limestones were seen as protruding large rocks known as the Pinnacles today. very nice place, but damn hot and sunny =D.
and our final stop was the nearby sand dunes, where we enjoyed a 4-wheel drive around the dunes and some sand-boarding. fun time!
and so we ended Friday all worn out, haha, as we headed into Saturday.
Nothing much on that day though, just random walking. we were initially planning to go down to King's Park, but we woke up too late and we were drained by the sun. so, we had lunch at Insan's, walked around, and back to the hotel. some of them went pubbing though, which i didn't because i was really really tired, but i slept at 2am that night as surprisingly, there was free internet to use =D. so i chatted with many people for a long time, before the franco and GJ (drunk) came back. well ... GJ was the joker of that night, haha.
Sunday - Fremantle for their fish n chips! ok, i didn't have fish n chips this time round, but i had the fried squid rings n chips. equally good! huihui and GJ treated us to some ... chilli ... clams?! that was super fresh and delicious. i bet we're going back there again right before we fly back to Singapore. haha!
Monday - we were all too tired to go anywhere, and most places were closed, so it was lunch at Subway and some grocery shopping. haha. that's all.
and this weekend ... we might be heading down south to Margaret River for their famous winery, brewery, chocolate factory and cave. have no idea yet, but that's what they planned. have yet to book the tour tickets though, shall discuss with them soon.
oh yes, Fremantle Prison Night Tunnel Tour this Friday maybe. that'll be thrilling. haha!
ok. that's all. i'm about to go and do some work already. bye bye.
one last thing though, my pictures are now posted on SnapFish and most of you all might have already received my invitation to you to view them. if not, do contact me =D. Friendster doesn't allow large picture files. haha.
just some updates on what i've done over the long weekend.
Friday (21/03/08) - alright. we began the long weekend with a long ride up north of WA to the Pinnacles. first stop was the Caversham Wildlife Park where we took pictures of Kangaroos, Wombat, Wallabies and Koalas. was pretty interested in looking for a Tasmanian Devil, but i was told that they were asleep in the morning, so there went my Devils.
2nd stop was a 2.5 hour drive up north to a souvenior shop where we had picnic lunch before heading to the Pinnacles. just before the guide drove us to the Pinnacles, we stopped at a beautiful beach for a mere 15 minutes for some photo-taking sessions and scenery indulgence.
Pinnacles ... a large plain of desert with protruding limestones. briefly, they were formed by the errosion of acid rain on hard, sedimentations that formed large cracks over the years. as the wind blew the sand away, the limestones were seen as protruding large rocks known as the Pinnacles today. very nice place, but damn hot and sunny =D.
and our final stop was the nearby sand dunes, where we enjoyed a 4-wheel drive around the dunes and some sand-boarding. fun time!
and so we ended Friday all worn out, haha, as we headed into Saturday.
Nothing much on that day though, just random walking. we were initially planning to go down to King's Park, but we woke up too late and we were drained by the sun. so, we had lunch at Insan's, walked around, and back to the hotel. some of them went pubbing though, which i didn't because i was really really tired, but i slept at 2am that night as surprisingly, there was free internet to use =D. so i chatted with many people for a long time, before the franco and GJ (drunk) came back. well ... GJ was the joker of that night, haha.
Sunday - Fremantle for their fish n chips! ok, i didn't have fish n chips this time round, but i had the fried squid rings n chips. equally good! huihui and GJ treated us to some ... chilli ... clams?! that was super fresh and delicious. i bet we're going back there again right before we fly back to Singapore. haha!
Monday - we were all too tired to go anywhere, and most places were closed, so it was lunch at Subway and some grocery shopping. haha. that's all.
and this weekend ... we might be heading down south to Margaret River for their famous winery, brewery, chocolate factory and cave. have no idea yet, but that's what they planned. have yet to book the tour tickets though, shall discuss with them soon.
oh yes, Fremantle Prison Night Tunnel Tour this Friday maybe. that'll be thrilling. haha!
ok. that's all. i'm about to go and do some work already. bye bye.
one last thing though, my pictures are now posted on SnapFish and most of you all might have already received my invitation to you to view them. if not, do contact me =D. Friendster doesn't allow large picture files. haha.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Easter Break 2008
before i go into the detail of our plans over the easter weekend, i'd like to do a summary of what i've done over last weekend =D.
Saturday 15/03 - we went to Penguin Island early in the morning to catch the tour that will bring us around the little islands to see many birds and seals. there were big birds like pecans and small ones like ... i wasn't quite sure what were those. haha. yea, some seals even posed for pictures. vain seals. haha. after the tour, we went back to the main island to see the smallest penguin specie standing at a maximum of only 40cm tall. cute little things. and we sort of picnic-ed on the island before heading home to rot for the rest of the day.
Sunday 16/03 - i met up with aunt eileen for a trip down to Swan Valley for a vineyard (Sandalford), a brewery and the Margeret River Chocolate Factory. it was lunch first at Sandalford, where we had really fanta-licious food (well, it cost close to AUS$200, or more for just 3 of us). actually, i wasn't quite used to the taste of the mashes, but the entree and my main course (salmon) were really good.
that was followed by a visit to a brewery with a full carpark. we thought it would be good, and so we went. and the beer they produced were very smooth and refreshing. i had the honey pils and it didn't give me the immediate burning sensation i would usually have after taking a few sips of carlsberg. best beer i've tasted so far (but it gave me severe headache as soon as i reached home).
and the last stop was the chocolate factory, and they made popular chocolates. evidence?! the young and old all queueing up to get large scoops of chocolates. i'm never a big fan of chocolates, but it was good and i bought a few sampling packets (others were too expensive, haha!). for that, i spent AUS$70 already.
that was about it for last weekend. starting tomorrow, we'll be having a 4-day break from Good Friday to Easter Monday. it'll be a trip down to Caversham Wildlife and Mt Pinnacles tomorrow, and saturday should be a rest day. no plans for sunday (probably the usual grocery shopping) and monday yet, but i guess we won't be doing much either. rest maybe?
hmm ... have a nice weekend people =D. Happy Easter~
Saturday 15/03 - we went to Penguin Island early in the morning to catch the tour that will bring us around the little islands to see many birds and seals. there were big birds like pecans and small ones like ... i wasn't quite sure what were those. haha. yea, some seals even posed for pictures. vain seals. haha. after the tour, we went back to the main island to see the smallest penguin specie standing at a maximum of only 40cm tall. cute little things. and we sort of picnic-ed on the island before heading home to rot for the rest of the day.
Sunday 16/03 - i met up with aunt eileen for a trip down to Swan Valley for a vineyard (Sandalford), a brewery and the Margeret River Chocolate Factory. it was lunch first at Sandalford, where we had really fanta-licious food (well, it cost close to AUS$200, or more for just 3 of us). actually, i wasn't quite used to the taste of the mashes, but the entree and my main course (salmon) were really good.
that was followed by a visit to a brewery with a full carpark. we thought it would be good, and so we went. and the beer they produced were very smooth and refreshing. i had the honey pils and it didn't give me the immediate burning sensation i would usually have after taking a few sips of carlsberg. best beer i've tasted so far (but it gave me severe headache as soon as i reached home).
and the last stop was the chocolate factory, and they made popular chocolates. evidence?! the young and old all queueing up to get large scoops of chocolates. i'm never a big fan of chocolates, but it was good and i bought a few sampling packets (others were too expensive, haha!). for that, i spent AUS$70 already.
that was about it for last weekend. starting tomorrow, we'll be having a 4-day break from Good Friday to Easter Monday. it'll be a trip down to Caversham Wildlife and Mt Pinnacles tomorrow, and saturday should be a rest day. no plans for sunday (probably the usual grocery shopping) and monday yet, but i guess we won't be doing much either. rest maybe?
hmm ... have a nice weekend people =D. Happy Easter~
Friday, March 14, 2008
5th friday in Perth
ok, i have only 15 minutes to finish this post - 1615. i need to rush off at 1630 to catch the 1648 bus, if not i have to wait till 1718.
anyway, i heard that tomorrow we'll finally be heading down to Rockingham and visit Penguin Island. it costs AUS$33+ from what i heard, for the ferry trip and penguin watching, which is even cheaper than just the ferry ride to Rottnest Island. haha! but that's tomorrow.
next weekend we'll be having 4 days off! stretching from friday to the following monday over the Good Friday and Easter Monday. so, we've bought the tickets to visit Caversham Wildlife Park and Mt Pinnacle (that's just piles and piles of sand ... call that desert), and each ticket includes lunch prepared for us. the cost? AUS$137.70. man, i'm going to eat grass for the remaining of my ITP.
other than that, i've nothing much to talk about. the weather is turning cold (it can reach 9 Deg C today) and daylight saving is occuring soon. probably will need to get a jacket (money money ...).
Harbourtown Centre later, which is our 3rd trip there already. hmm ... time check - 1619. i still have time. haha!
thought of the day - are suicide bombers heroes, or zeroes? they terrorized people with their harmful acts and were hailed by their fellow mates. did religion tell us to kill? think~
1621 - i'll go off now. pack and submit my logbook, toilet break maybe. and i'll be off. see you peeps.
anyway, i heard that tomorrow we'll finally be heading down to Rockingham and visit Penguin Island. it costs AUS$33+ from what i heard, for the ferry trip and penguin watching, which is even cheaper than just the ferry ride to Rottnest Island. haha! but that's tomorrow.
next weekend we'll be having 4 days off! stretching from friday to the following monday over the Good Friday and Easter Monday. so, we've bought the tickets to visit Caversham Wildlife Park and Mt Pinnacle (that's just piles and piles of sand ... call that desert), and each ticket includes lunch prepared for us. the cost? AUS$137.70. man, i'm going to eat grass for the remaining of my ITP.
other than that, i've nothing much to talk about. the weather is turning cold (it can reach 9 Deg C today) and daylight saving is occuring soon. probably will need to get a jacket (money money ...).
Harbourtown Centre later, which is our 3rd trip there already. hmm ... time check - 1619. i still have time. haha!
thought of the day - are suicide bombers heroes, or zeroes? they terrorized people with their harmful acts and were hailed by their fellow mates. did religion tell us to kill? think~
1621 - i'll go off now. pack and submit my logbook, toilet break maybe. and i'll be off. see you peeps.
Monday, March 10, 2008
new accomodation ...
we've moved.
now we're lodging in Good Earth Hotel just a crossroad away from Townsend, and it costs AUS$7 more per night, with a kitchenette, tv, 5 beds (we have 6 as we moved 1 bed from the girls' room) and air-con. it isn't that bad, but i'm still trying to get used to sleeping with so many people in the same room for so many days.
we discovered a double bed under the sofa by the way, and that means more sleeping space.
the in-house movies are going to repeat all over again this week, and i'll be anticipating stardust and beowulf.
oh yes, life is boring there actually. they have no wireless network for us to connect to, and spending the night sitting infront of the tv watching weird shows is the worst of ideas to waste the night hours away. it doesn't help when the place is not that conducive to sleep in. *oops. but somehow i got too tired and still managed to sleep over the last few nights.
yesterday i was happy. finally i got to hear u since last monday. slept well ... at 0030 and woke up at 0615 ... monday blues~
oh yes, i'm right now in the office using the internet, and that explains how i manage to post this up.
haven't been doing a lot this morning, just replacing culture medium and blood separation (it's still in the centrifuge ... 20 more minutes to go i guess?). i should have more to do in the afternoon, hopefully, if not going home early is dreadful (no internet, remember?). perhaps i should go jogging, it's been over 2 weeks since i put on my running shoes ... and i had lots of pork belly (or do u call them 'san chen rou' in chinese - 3-layered 'meat') during the korean bbq dinner with desmond, gj, franco, joan, hui hui and lynette. woah, my first korean bbq and it's damn good. it's been added to my 'most wanted' list of international cuisines =D. *italian food comes up top, followed by indian and japanese ... just for your info.
my sister is in Laos, haha, and that means my home should be pretty quiet, without me and my sis. just called home a few nights before and i think my parents were doing good, and my grandparents were just as worried as usual. haha.
maybe i should ring up a few friends too, just to know how they're doing back there (especially those who had just got back their A levels results, i haven't checked with them how they fare for it).
i need sleep, seriously. i only get them on weekends, and it's not enough to recover those lost sleep. still, as long as i have my family and u, i can survive ... for 32 more days that is =D.
bye bye.
now we're lodging in Good Earth Hotel just a crossroad away from Townsend, and it costs AUS$7 more per night, with a kitchenette, tv, 5 beds (we have 6 as we moved 1 bed from the girls' room) and air-con. it isn't that bad, but i'm still trying to get used to sleeping with so many people in the same room for so many days.
we discovered a double bed under the sofa by the way, and that means more sleeping space.
the in-house movies are going to repeat all over again this week, and i'll be anticipating stardust and beowulf.
oh yes, life is boring there actually. they have no wireless network for us to connect to, and spending the night sitting infront of the tv watching weird shows is the worst of ideas to waste the night hours away. it doesn't help when the place is not that conducive to sleep in. *oops. but somehow i got too tired and still managed to sleep over the last few nights.
yesterday i was happy. finally i got to hear u since last monday. slept well ... at 0030 and woke up at 0615 ... monday blues~
oh yes, i'm right now in the office using the internet, and that explains how i manage to post this up.
haven't been doing a lot this morning, just replacing culture medium and blood separation (it's still in the centrifuge ... 20 more minutes to go i guess?). i should have more to do in the afternoon, hopefully, if not going home early is dreadful (no internet, remember?). perhaps i should go jogging, it's been over 2 weeks since i put on my running shoes ... and i had lots of pork belly (or do u call them 'san chen rou' in chinese - 3-layered 'meat') during the korean bbq dinner with desmond, gj, franco, joan, hui hui and lynette. woah, my first korean bbq and it's damn good. it's been added to my 'most wanted' list of international cuisines =D. *italian food comes up top, followed by indian and japanese ... just for your info.
my sister is in Laos, haha, and that means my home should be pretty quiet, without me and my sis. just called home a few nights before and i think my parents were doing good, and my grandparents were just as worried as usual. haha.
maybe i should ring up a few friends too, just to know how they're doing back there (especially those who had just got back their A levels results, i haven't checked with them how they fare for it).
i need sleep, seriously. i only get them on weekends, and it's not enough to recover those lost sleep. still, as long as i have my family and u, i can survive ... for 32 more days that is =D.
bye bye.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Rottnest Island, Fremantle
it was a gloomy morning when we set off all tired to Rottnest Island.
but as soon as we reached, the bright sun came out, with strong gusts of wind blowing. nice weather! that woke most of us up and we began our activities there.
franco, guojie, hui hui and lynette went snorkelling, while zul, desmond and joan went cycling. afsheen followed the snorkelling group of people, and i went around the place on my own ... on foot~
err ... i didn't want to snorkel as i don't know how, and i think snorkelling can be done in better places. and cycling ...
haha.
alright, so i walked more than 10km, up and down slopes, in the scorching sun and greeted many passing cyclists. and so i walked ...
was really interested in their very own batteries and forts, so i made my way up to the Oliver Hill Battery, located at one of the highest points in Rottnest. they don't have the large collection of big guns we have in Fort Siloso, but oh dear, the place was big!
during the pre-WWII and WWII period, they had at least 2,500 soldiers serving the battery at any one time. and the place is very much well preserved, just that many are not yet opened to the public, but i entered restricted zones anyway. haha! it's not really restricted you see, they didn't have any barricades or that sort to block off the path, so as curious as i could be, i 'trespass-ed'.
it was pretty interesting for the fact that the guns they used were similar to those we had in Singapore. and they have 1 booming gun so well preserved that they actually repainted the whole place and i got to know how the internal structures are like. never had the chance to see as the one we have in Siloso is a fake. it's like 'wow'. haha.
so that was an hour walk from the jetty (1400).
next, i intended to travel down to Little Salmon Bay to meet up with the rest, and while on my way there, almost 2km into the journey, i saw the snorkelling people. haha. they had finished and wanted to head to the lighthouse. yea, i walked pass the lighthouse before meeting them. so off we went ... but stopped halfway at a very nice place where i took a very nice picture. haha! will post them up as soon as i've uploaded them. well ... it was 1630 when we decided to head back to the jetty as the ferry left at 1800.
btw, we saw a pair of wild Quokkas (miniature version of the Kangaroos) mating.
and so we headed back to Fremantle with really sore legs and feet, and finally home sweet home =D.
but as soon as we reached, the bright sun came out, with strong gusts of wind blowing. nice weather! that woke most of us up and we began our activities there.
franco, guojie, hui hui and lynette went snorkelling, while zul, desmond and joan went cycling. afsheen followed the snorkelling group of people, and i went around the place on my own ... on foot~
err ... i didn't want to snorkel as i don't know how, and i think snorkelling can be done in better places. and cycling ...
haha.
alright, so i walked more than 10km, up and down slopes, in the scorching sun and greeted many passing cyclists. and so i walked ...
was really interested in their very own batteries and forts, so i made my way up to the Oliver Hill Battery, located at one of the highest points in Rottnest. they don't have the large collection of big guns we have in Fort Siloso, but oh dear, the place was big!
during the pre-WWII and WWII period, they had at least 2,500 soldiers serving the battery at any one time. and the place is very much well preserved, just that many are not yet opened to the public, but i entered restricted zones anyway. haha! it's not really restricted you see, they didn't have any barricades or that sort to block off the path, so as curious as i could be, i 'trespass-ed'.
it was pretty interesting for the fact that the guns they used were similar to those we had in Singapore. and they have 1 booming gun so well preserved that they actually repainted the whole place and i got to know how the internal structures are like. never had the chance to see as the one we have in Siloso is a fake. it's like 'wow'. haha.
so that was an hour walk from the jetty (1400).
next, i intended to travel down to Little Salmon Bay to meet up with the rest, and while on my way there, almost 2km into the journey, i saw the snorkelling people. haha. they had finished and wanted to head to the lighthouse. yea, i walked pass the lighthouse before meeting them. so off we went ... but stopped halfway at a very nice place where i took a very nice picture. haha! will post them up as soon as i've uploaded them. well ... it was 1630 when we decided to head back to the jetty as the ferry left at 1800.
btw, we saw a pair of wild Quokkas (miniature version of the Kangaroos) mating.
and so we headed back to Fremantle with really sore legs and feet, and finally home sweet home =D.
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