Ok so today was meant to be my first day of global elective clinical placement - instead it's been spent in the internet cafe celebrating National Unity Day which was actually yesterday but since it was a Sunday, the public holiday is today. We all got geared up, stethoscopes and lanyards and all - made the call then Winnie said something like "Umm actually we have a public holiday today so no need to come - I will see you same time tomorrow?" Well couldn't she have told us earlier? - then I could have an extra hour or two sleep!. Ah well - I'm not complaining about another free day off to do nothing but chillax!

Sundays in Vila are pretty much dead. I realised as we were walking about that this is probably the day the families get together - head down to the beach and swim. They all kinda congregated round the waterfront and were just sitting there enjoying each other's company. Pretty cool. I must say all the kids are very well trained in the water from a v. young age and are all pretty toned LOL. Yes, tis true. Y'day night we made risotto - fairly yummy but could have cooked it a tad longer. (Thanks mum).

Other random tidbits: every-freaking-person minus a few says HELLO and smiles - it is really quite uplifting - can only imagine if people did this in Melbourne, we'd be getting weird stares. At first, I perhaps felt a bit uncomfortable but now I know it's just part of their culture and they mean it in a good way. Bus drivers, since there are no real designated stops, sometimes slow down for you and ask if you want to get on. Taxis do the same, but charge more. The weather has been partly cloudy these days with breaks of full sunlight which is very intense - I feel like I'm back home in Malaysia! Which is good 'cos I'm, in a way, used to the weather. So far my mosquito bite count is a TWO - fairly minimal so I'm happy :) One was on my chin which was gross but there's nothing there now and the one under my knee wasn't even that itchy =o Interesting...

Night times are probably the worst in terms of being homesick. Thank goodness for the double bed! Been sleeping pretty early basically cos there's nothing on TV and bit tired to go out at night so far...we have this one TV channel - CCTV - the Chinese channel yeah Li? - and we have like ONE newsreader all the time - Li Dong Wing Wang or something..I am going to take a photo of her cos she is like there 24/7. Good worker. Miss all my besties and friends! CANNOT wait till SaraLee join meeeeeeee

So here I am sitting in a not-so-dodgy internet cafe in Port Vila. Wow what can I say? Can someone pinch me 'cos I'm half not believing I'm actually here..but I am and I'm really loving it. Must admit the first day, which was only yesterday lol, was a bit of a shock. Arrived fairly on time - Virgin/Pacific Blue were AWESOME - love Kiwi Sam, the cabin crew manager dude and his lame but necessary jokes :) Touched down at about 1.15pm - by the time we got through customs all good we waited for our pick-up which of course, was not there yet LOL. Taxi man - lets call him red t-shirt guy - was pestering us all the way to get in the cab with him but charging 1,000VT - way too costly. So then I sought to call Joie and we had to visit Digicel first to set it up but then THAT failed too cos apparently both of our phones are locked! Crap - great start.

Managed to go to the service desk - use their phone for 100VT - after first calling the police station accidentally, I got through to Joie and in about 15-20mins she was there. SWEET. Lovely lovely person...she took us to our accomm and settled us in. Great accom for less than A$20 - what a bargain!

After resting for a bit, we walked along the waterfront - visited the market and wow that is the place to buy food alright! Got some stuff and also went to the supermarket. Dinner was at Roxy's - pretty nice and even better entertainment - we missed sunset (really early) but it was OK. Catching the shuttle was pretty fun - so close to the water which was amazingly clear even in nightlight :o

Today, went to craft market and stocked up on the jewellery. So I'm totally Ni-Vanuatu now ha ha try-hard XD Also today I met Ron - SERIOUSLY. He normally lives in Santo but is here in Vila for 3 weeks. Normally does a jet skiing business. Very nice man - that can be said for all of the people here - walking along the street ppl shout out - "ALO" - and they don't mean to be suggestive or anything, just genuinely NICE. Plus at the market, a 9y.o kid was serving us - SO freaking cute - she said she liked my hair (& Tara's)...took photos and huggles :D Her name was Stacy :) (Can't remember the other sister's name!!)

Right so signing off now. Hope the kayaking place isn't closed yet. Miss you all :D

I'm about to head to bed and have about 6 hours sleep so I can wake up at about 3.40am for my 6am flight! Man, I can't believe it. I am excited - when I get to the airport and see the planes that's when I'll kinda go wild...
In other news, seems like uni results have been 'banned':

The University of Melbourne and the National Tertiary Education Union
(NTEU) are currently negotiating a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.

Regrettably, the NTEU as part of its negotiation strategy has imposed bans
on the transmission of assessment and examination results, an action has
the potential to directly and unfairly impact on students.

So that saves me from worrying about anything. My physios agreed upon that they would have informed us by now if we had failed so erm, here's hoping. Too bad, anyway, I'm going whether they like it or not :D

Right so I promise to blog whenever I can over there. Stay tuned ;) Fingers crossed the weather turns out ok there and that 1.) no earthquakes bowl me over and 2.) a tsunami doesn't wash me away. My life really isn't guaranteed with this trip XD But that's part of the excitement, isn't it? Ok, I've spent too long typing this. Miss you all already - you know who you are :)

I've started packing for my departure to Vanuatu in 2 days. Went shopping for groceries and necessities to take over there which was hugely fun - made more fun by coincidentally bumping into two of my besties, both with their better halves. Mum was having a great time. She also met two other people along the way - one of the ladies who live down our street and a work colleague. Always amazes me how you can always meet someone along the way that you were not intending to - same place at same time - out of all other places the two parties could be, they just have to be there at that time and place. Pretty cool. Then of course, I met or rather, acknowledged, other randoms along the way - never the same as meeting a good friend...

Anyway, withdrew $A3000, a fair portion of my bank account, then exchanged it at a crappy rate but nonetheless this looks like I'm rich, right?

I admit I am a bit half-hearted at this moment about going overseas. For one, I just came back from Tassie and want to enjoy being home again - ha ha ha! Sad, really. And ok the real reason is because I do fear that I will see a 'F' on the results tomorrow - there's never been this much pressure riding on it so we shall see. But really it's out of my control now so, why should I worry?

Final day in Melbourne tomorrow before I won't see it for a month - ideas to do? Funny suggestions would be appreciated

Right so I'm back from across the Bass Strait. It was a fairly good trip, I must say. I wasn't expecting much and considering I had a total bust-up with my bro the night before we were leaving, things improved considerably.

My first impression of Hobart was "Hey, the Hobart International Airport isn't even international..." - I swear that airport wasn't even as big as the one in Kota Kinabalu. Anyway, driving into the city for the first time was pretty cool. Very watery. My second thought about Hobart was that it seemed like a collaboration of other places e.g. Mornington (VIC), Georgetown (M'sia), Exeter (UK) and imitations of places like Swansea (Portsea), imitation-West-Gate-Bridge, imitation-Southbank, imitation-Great-Ocean-Road (East Coast), imitation-Grampians (Cradle Mountain), imitation-Dandenongs (National Parks). Having said that, their places were pretty unique. I didn't know Tassie had beaches as good as Wineglass Bay:

That was after some 2+ hour hike up the mountain in sandals in 28C heat! Much like Grampians though probably tougher.
Or water as clear as Binalong Bay:

Five days was just about enough though there were things we still missed out on that I wouldn't mind going back and doing it.
Other random Tasmanian observations:-

- Launceston has a much bigger nicer airport
- Hobart/Launceston = ghost towns at night. No night life.
- Everything is so GREEN and lush
- People on the whole, generally nice and welcoming
- Lots of sightseeing places for such a small state
- So many windy roads that my head still feels it's spinning
- Temperamental weather just like Melb
- Hard to find places to eat
- No sign of the Devil
- Lots of dead wildlife on the roads
- Mother's observation: people don't drive as fast!
- They like their Chickenfeed stores
- Nothing ever looks opened even if they are

Finally, I think this is my favouritest pic from the week (if only the sun came out to play!!). It was just before I slipped about 3x on the slippery LI.CHEN. and for a second I thought I was gonna get dumped in the icy cold water

And now I'm waiting for 6am 26th Nov.

From the last few days, I like:

. piggying out on food with extended family
. being the funny one on the dining table
. gifts
. having a ride in a white sports car
. actually, like, watching The Apprentice Australia - makes me lol so much and makes me half glad I'm not in the corporate world...

1. Sabrina: Mary-Anne said I'm good at shopping so she sent me out to do that. I mean, how offensive is that?

2. Sabrina: We wanted to soften the plane crash image a bit so we conceptualised it and lightened it up a bit.

Executives: Well it looks like a lighted cigarette on the front cover

3. Gavin: I think selling art is just like selling cars

And when Mary-Anne laughed at Morelo when the vacuum cleaner didn't get rid of the vegemite on live TV and didn't help him. As Uncle Moses would say on Under One Roof, what is the moral of the story? Don't ever leave your friends. Stick by them.

. one-on-one dates with besties <3
. travel shopping with mum
. gossip with jessjess
. movies with cousins minus the brother because I can do without the crap he is on about and the immatureness.

And now I should really go and sleep because I have a 7am flight to catch tomorrow to Hobart. I hope they have internet there.

Spunk.
Sorry, this is turning out to be very fangirl-ish. I promise no more!

I feel like I've been living in a bubble this past week. 'Cos of the golf :P My mind's just been so preoccupied with it, it's amazing. Definitely been one of the better weeks of 2009 :) Weekend golf was pretty awesome. Man I must have ripper calves now, seriously and maybe I'm a shade darker too, we'll see. In the end Tiger won and I was lucky enough to be on the 18th green and get a sneak peek at the presentation! So many people out there! John Brumby was booed and Tiger covered his face and was laughing ha! (Probably cos he knew he had to fork out $3.3 million to get him here)

Plus it was laughable when they presented him with the cheque - only like $200,000 - and then a TAG Heuer watch which is funny considering they are his sponsor!! - doesn't quite make sense. All in all good fun. Even spotted Ana Ivanovic watching her and my boy the last two days...

Fascinating.

Ok for those who really know me, I'm really obsessed with a golfer - so much so, I had no interest in golf whatsoever before. His name is Adam Scott. I'm not sure why I actually like him - he's pretty hot sometimes, but not all the time. But I still find him awesome :) Other peeps have their poster boys as musicians, actors, actresses - I, erm, have a golfer. It was way back in '04 when he won the PLAYERS and everyone was saying he was the next golfing superstar - I saw his photo in the paper and that was that :P

I saw him in '05 and then by very random chance in Sydney in '06, but since then has not made the trip to Melbourne! So this week was my first chance in 3 years at the Aussie Masters. Bought the tickets fairly early on and yesterday on Pro-Am day, the moment came :D

I woke up at 5.40am. Drove down to boganland Heatherton/Moorabbin/Cheltenham and reached 6.40am. Walked to the gates - 6.45am. (Tee-off was 7.15am!) Checked out practice green and driving range and still not there. But then he emerged! Mmmm I just stood there and watched ha ha. As he exited managed to speak to him and get my cap and Sport&Style signed. Was happy :) Then walked 6km round the course in 35+C heat for 5 hours just to follow him. He was so sweet though with kiddos and an amazing lot of autographs. So patient. Even managed to chat to him a bit and when I said "See you on the weekend" he goes "Will do. See you there!" :)

So at the end of the day I ended up with sore calves, white shoes that were not white anymore, dirt on my legs, 100+ photos, TWO autographs and ONE photo of me and him (though there was another one but CAMERA DIED! Worst.):


And a few others:



Even got a pretty close-up view of Tiger - by chance! Amongst the sweaty crowd crush XD

Souvenirs

My day was then topped off by this girl's LHS <3

Ok now that was embarassing.

1. Can you fill this out without lying?
Hopefully

2. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
My drink bottle

3. Who was your last text message from?
Sarah Wong.

4. Where was your default picture taken?
Medici Docklands :P

5. Last person you rode in a car with under the age of 20?
Umm probably TKM

6. Name someone that made you laugh today?
Myself

7. How late did you stay up last night and why?
Think it was 11.30. Reason = Tired and hawt

8. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Not really.

9. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Nope

10. Which of your friends lives closest to you?
Jessjess - like a 10s drive away.

11. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
Guess so

12. Calling or texting?
Texting ^^

13. How do you feel about Dr. Pepper?
Blergh

14. When was the last time you cried really hard?
Months ago?

15. Where is your biological father right now?
In the kitchen being a MasterChef

16. Where are you at right now?
Where am I at? As in life? Or location? Life = Single. One more year of uni to go (if I get passing results). And of discovery and satisfaction. Location = home in bedroom.

17. What bed did you sleep in last night?
Ha my own thanks

18. What was the last thing someone bought for you?
Probably food.

19. Who took your profile picture?
LIIII <3

20. Was yesterday better than today?
Not necessarily

21. Can you live a day without TV?
Yeap. But a day without computer/internet = DIE.

22. Are you mad about anything?
Nah

23. Do you think relationships are really worth it?
Well yes if both try hard to make it worth it.

24. When was the last time you were extremely disappointed and why?
Like last week. Missed out tickets to see AS tomorrow and had no one else to blame but myself BUT he's not even going to be practising there tomorrow :D Some sort of karma? He'll be in Marysville.

25. Are you a bad influence?
Oh very.

26. Night out or night in?
Night IN ^^

27. What items could you not go without during the day?
DRINK BOTTLE. Wallet. Mobile phone.

28. Would you share a drink with a stranger?
Depends who the stranger is but probably not

29. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
Bleh I see hospitals all the time...

30. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
"hahhaha yeah :D just called smn and he's meeting her now :)"

31. How do you feel about your life right now?
It's okay.

32. How many times have you been pulled over by the police?
ONCE. Outside kcatack's housey house aka on BHS' doorstep, asking whereabouts we were headed and what we were doing at like 10.30pm on a WEEKDAY night (two Asians in the car). Seriously.

33. Do you hate anyone?
No no.

34. If we were to look in your inbox, what would we find?
Tons of FACEBOOK msgs of nothing.

35. Can you easily tell if someone’s fake?
Sometimes?

36. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Ooo maybe I'd scrape a pass but there would be some guessing ;)

37. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Definitely not

38. What song is stuck in your head?
Nil

39. Someone knocks on your window at 2 AM, who do you want it to be?
Adam Scott lol in my dreamsss

40. Wanna have kids before you’re 30?
Yeahh else the biological clock will start tick tick ticking as Mummy Ng would say

41. Name something you have to do today?
Already did it

42. Can you whistle?
YES. Self-taught. So proud :)

43. Do you sleep on your side, stomach, or back?
3/4 prone.

44. Do you think too much or too little?
Both?!

45. Do you smile a lot?
Hhaha yes

46. Can you handle the truth?
You can't handle the truth!

47. What was the last book you read?
Ermmm like Pryor&Prasad on Paediatric Cardio .___________.

48. Is there something you always wear?
Yes!

49. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Cooking rice and steaming the pork :)

50. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you?
Probably Mummy. Or sandyrad in a non-lesbo way.

51. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Nope

52. Are you wearing a necklace?
Actually I am :o

53. What's something that can always make you feel better?
Miffy <3

54. Will this weekend be a good one?
Yes bcos AS+Tiger is awesome

55. What do you want right now?
Dinner

56. Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing?
Probably when I was like 2.

57. Look behind you, what do you see?
My wardrobe

58. Have you ever worked in a food place?
YES. Fish and chips, anyone?

59. What would you name your future daughter?
Anything but Sue or Su-Wen.

60. What are your summer plans for 2009?
Tassie 18-23rd Nov. Vanuatu 26th Nov - 26th Dec. Australian Open. ODI cricket. I hope it's the best summer yet :)

61. Does anyone know your Facebook password?
No

62. Would you like some cake?
No want to eat dinner NOW.

So yesterday was my 47th IELTS test (working that is :P) and my last one for the year. Which means I won't see my Deakin peeps or get a $300 pay day until about January twenty something. Sadface.

Sadface because I actually really enjoy it (not the 7.30am starts though) . Actually been there for about a year and a half now - how time flies - and I'm one of the longest-serving ppl there ha ha ha. Which means I do have some sort of status. As in - people actually wishing me well for my trip, people saying "Well, I'm glad you told us today was your last shift," people saying "Well I'll catch you on FACEBOOK," people staying back a bit to just have a chat to me, and best of all a lady, that could be my mother, passing on her email so I can write to her cos we're besties like this *crosses fingers*. I like it because it makes you feel special, right? Acknowledges that you exist. It's cool. Plus I'm like the baby there, yet boss them around. Sometimes it even feels like 'In Good Company' to some extent XD. I'm not always 100% comfortable with it, but I'd like to think my happy and easygoing demeanour makes it less awkward. Though sometimes I make references/jokes and they don't quite get it

Anyway, they'll live. Let's hope they don't have a Christmas party without me :(

What are you listening to right now?
MJ - This is It :P

Have you ever eaten sushi?
Course

What is bothering you?
Pending results

Do you have somebody you can tell anything to?
sandyrad.

Expecting something to change in the next month?
Maybe Ron in Vanuatu. lawl

What was the highlight of your day?
In-depth D&M'ing and discussion with the cousins

Do you need to say anything to someone?
Don't think so

Did you have a good day yesterday?
Brilliant.

Do you like messages or comments better?
Messages.

The shirt you're wearing, does anyone else have it?
Maybe. After all it was from pasar malam night market in Malaysia.

Do you own a camera phone?
Yeah but not a very good one.

Have you ever skipped school just because you were tired?
Nah

Do you like the town you are living in?
Yeah it's a'ight.

Have you ever thrown a cell phone in anger?
Nup

How many months until your birthday?
Uhm 6/12?

How are you feeling right now?
Happy (:

Do you plan on sleeping in tomorrow?
Hugely!

Are you jealous of someone right now?
Perhaps

Is it cute when girls kiss you on your cheek?
NO.

Do you like to cuddle?
Yessum

When is your birthday?
28th May :D Remember it.

Is this year the best year of your life?
Nah don't reckon

Is there someone who meant a lot to you at one point, and isn't around now?
Yeah think so

Would you rather dye your hair or go tanning?
Probably dye. But wouldn't mind getting a shade darker thanks :P

How late did you stay up last night and why?
Erm 11.30? Relatively early to wake up for 7.30 work today.

Is it easy to annoy you?
Yes and no.

Is your bed comfortable?
Very.

Is your sister a slut?
Don't have one.

Have you ever been in trouble for something you honestly didn't do?
Maybe when I was younger

What/who woke you up this morning?
The dreaded alarm clock

Do you prefer to take your showers at night or in the morning?
Night

Who was the last person to be in your bedroom besides you?
Mum

Who is the last person you took a picture with?
Lili <3

Whats one thing you're tired of?
Waking up way too early in the AMs

Who means the most to you in your life right now, other than family?
Miffy & friends

Is there anyone you would seriously punch right now if you had the chance?
Nah

Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?
Did I hold hands with you y'day, sandyrad?

What do you usually do when the clock turns 11:11?
Normally in bed. Hey it's 11:11 in 2 mins :)

Who was the last person that hit you?
=O

Is there a song that every time you hear it, you think of someone?
Yeah?

Can you commit to one person?
Yes

Could you go the rest of your life without drinking alcohol?
Probably.

Has anyone ever said something that brought tears to your eyes?
Uh huh

Who is the last person you ate with?
The cousins.

Do you miss anyone?
Yeah maybe

Think back to the last person you hugged; do they mean anything to you?
I last hugged some Nana guy. Does he mean anything to me? Haha I think so ;)

Does anyone have STRONG feelings for you?
Does anyone?

Are you in a good mood right now?
YES :DDDDDD

So be honest, do you have a guy?
Ha, no. Made more obvious after tonight.

Do you fall for people easily?
Don't think so?

What are you supposed to be doing right now?
RELAXING. But this is relaxing, right?

Do you want to be in a relationship right now?
Yes and no.

Does anyone know your password besides you?
Nah

Would you rather sing or dance in front of 100,000 people?
Neitherrrrrrr *runs away* *forms ms. lew wall*

Do you currently like someone who doesn't know you exist?
Maybe

Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months without cheating?
Course

What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had?
WATER? duh!

Do you laugh a lot?
YES. Loudly too.

Do you like to hold hands?
Okay :)

What were you doing at 11 this morning?
At Deakin, in a room full of internationals doing a test and me falling asleep on the job.

Where will you be at 8:30 tomorrow morning?
SLEEPING.

Is there someone you want a hug from?
Always :D

I bet you're thinking of someone?
Am I?

When is the last time you talked to your biological father?
Few minutes ago. He asked me how dinner was. It was fantastic coz he wasn't there shhhh!

What’s more important, trust or happiness?
Trust first.

What shoes did you wear today?
My havaianas

Are you currently wearing a shirt with long or short sleeves?
Short

Do you regret anything you've done this year so far?
Yes I think so.

What usually wakes you up in the morning?
Radio alarm

Are you wearing short shorts?
Nah man

Ever had a girl best friend?
Err of course?

Who was the first person you talked to today?
Must have been Jodie at work <3

If someone is doing something that pisses you off, do you tell them?
Not always

Will this coming up weekend be a good one?
Already has been :)

Do you have any piercings or tattoos?
Just earrings

Are you better at remembering names or faces?
FACES. Thanks to FB.

Think a lot before you go to sleep?
Sometimes!

Which is more romantic: sunrise or sunsets?
Sunset

Are you wearing anything on your feet?
Nope

Hi world.

I'm officially a blogger.

I don't know exactly why I'm doing this, but I am. I hope it makes for some (loud) laughs and chuckles. Even some giggles and sniggers and pointing fingers. I'll try to make it worth reading...