.moving again

We are moving out... For real.

Yep.. So we've only got about 3 months left in this apartment. I know I'm going to miss it a lot, because this will be my last time living in a high level apartment.

I am aware of the fact that we will eventually have to vacate this place.. Sooner or later.. Sooner is better I reckon since I am already so attached to this place.. What I dread is that there is a high chance of me signing the next lease all by myself..

I know, you guys might suggest that I have a housemate. I'm not saying that it's a bad idea.. But I know things won't go well if I share the new place with someone else.. I'm not an ideal housemate for anybody, and nobody deserves to have a bad housemate to start with. I spend a lot of time in the shower, I'd prefer to do my dishes a few hours after dinner (or sometimes 1 day after), I.. Don't want to feel like I have to clean up just because I have a housemate.

Guess that shows I am someone who is better off living by herself..

I'll get over it.. But for now, let's hope I'll be able to find a cheaper place that's as good as the current one.

.the one about credit cards

Uh-oh.

I have just received my new debit credit card over the mail a couple of days ago.. And yes, life has gotten a little more convenient since!

But I fear for my near future.. Especially when it comes to online shopping.

Better make it a point to remind myself everyday that this credit card can only be used for air tickets back to Singapore and City Link payments.

.double trouble

Trouble [on Victoria Street, Melbourne].

SF and I were in the middle of hanging our laundries when all of a sudden, he said, "Wow look! There's a car accident there [by Victoria Street].. And there's even a police car!"

And we stopped what we were doing and checked out the scene from our apartment's winter garden. "Where's your telephoto zoom lens?" SF asked. "I wanna zoom in on the camera and see what's going on."

I went and grab my 350D with the EF-S 55-250mm attached. Took a few photos before passing it to SF, who started commenting on stuff while he looked through the camera's viewfinder.

Hmm.. Interesting. Part of me was intrigued by the car accident, and part of me felt sorry for those involved. - they probably stood under the rain for an hour or something. :\

So.. Here are the questions.. by SF and me.

1. What did that blue car do!?!? How did the driver end up in the lane that's going opposite direction!?

2. Seriously, was it really necessary for the authorities to block 2 - 3 lanes on Victoria Street? I mean, it was peak hour and there's always traffic congestion on Victoria St. at around this time every weekday.


Tell us what you think!

._pdra on twitter

Okay, here's another post that's quite unrelated to photography.

Are you guys on Twitter? I think everyone's on Twitter these days yea? If not umm, you should go sign up for one, so that you can follow me! :P

I was one of the earliest people to own a Twitter account I think. I don't remember how I'd heard of this 140-letter update thingamagy. All I remember was that... It was during the summer break (sometime late-January 2007). I was bored.. And was surfing the internet that night, as usual.

And then I came across Twitter.. Once again, I was bored.. So I decided to sign up for fun. As of today, I have updated 2,419 times on Twitter since 2.8 years ago. :)

So, if you do want to follow me (and listen to my daily rants in 140 letters, click on the image below and Follow. :) I'll also announce new blog posts whenever I update.. So.. Do it now! Follow me!

.that sneaky dude in uni

Building G (Art & Design building), Monash Uni (Caulfield Campus)

Now, before you start assuming that I am here to complain about my life, I would like to let you know that I am not going to complain about uni life. I love uni! My new friends are really awesome and we click really well, and.. Well, generally, life is very fulfilling for me right now!

But.. You know, life is never always perfect.. No matter how hard you try.. Like SF said, "Life is not all fairy tale." .. I guess he is right.

*Ahem* okay, back to the topic, about that sneaky dude in 2 of my classes.. Some of you may not what I am talking about... But for those of you who don't, fear not - because I am going to tell you what's going on. First, I don't know if that dude is going to read this entry, chances are, no, because I don't think he knows about my blog.

This is a guy who has been staring at me since the beginning of the semester. Initially, I thought he was just some friendly guy in class so I smiled back whenever he smiles and greets me.. But after a while, I started feeling uncomfortable. "Why would someone smile at another person for over 5 seconds?" I thought.

Week 3 - He came up to me to grab files that I have copied off the tutor's desktop in studio even though his friends (with the same files) were right beside him... And again, he smiled at me for 5.. no, 10 seconds.

Week 4 - I was doing my own things (alone) and he came and talk to me... You would probably think it's just a casual chat, that he wants to me friends.. But I don't feel this way. I felt uncomfortable. Judging from the way he behaved and looked at me, it's very obvious to me that he wants to be more than friends.

Week 5 - He stared at me while I handed my hard drive to the tutor, so that he could play the video clip (an assignment for that class).. I wasn't looking at him but I could tell he was smiling at me from the side of my eyes. I was greatly annoyed but didn't do anything - all I did was avoid eye contact with him. Later, he came and talk to me about my assignment, asked me what I did during my free time and when I announced that I spend time with my other half, he looked disappointed for a second and tried to hide it. "Friends don't get disappointed when they find out you are taken.", said one of my friends.

Week 6 - I ignored him when he called out my name. My friends thought that was funny, LOL.

Week 7 & 8 - Peace.

Week 9 (this week) - I was waiting for my friend when he saw me sitting alone by myself. I did not look at him, and that I was reading a novel and listening to my iPod. From the side of my eyes, I could see he was looking around (sneakily), probably to see if my friends were coming and decided it was actually safe to talk to me. The moment he called my name, I stood up and said, "I gotta go." and dash away. I didn't know where to go, so I thought I'd go back to the studio. I called my friend (the one I was waiting for) and asked where she was.

---

I wasn't sure if I was overreacting, so I kept quiet for a while.. I didn't want my friends to think I'm complaining too much...

I knew I had to tell someone in uni.. So I decided to tell my friends one day.. I was sooooo relieved when they agreed with my thoughts and assured me that I wasn't thinking too much.

Well, back to present. I went and look for the friend, who was in one of the labs with another one of our friends and I wasted no time telling them about what happened. "OMG, are you okay? You look flushed." She commented. I admitted to both of them that I felt very, very vulnerable. :\

My friend asked if I needed her company or something but knowing that she is rushing for an assignment due this Friday, I said I'll be okay alone, and that I'll let her know if anything happens. She suggested that I pretend to talk on the phone if I do see that sneaky dude somewhere. Thank God I didn't see him anywhere.


Okay, now, do you think I am over reacting? I am absolutely sure that it is natural instinct for one to avoid someone else who makes him/her uncomfortable. I hate conflicts, that's why I am choosing to "ignore" rather than "confront".

All I need to do now is to bear with this for a few more weeks.. And hope that we don't share the same class next semester.

.9/11

911

9/11 - Never forget.

And I've only got about 4 months of cherishing-our-time-together to do. Sigh..

.the one about cooking

Makizushi.

Chances are, our mothers have been taught to cook and sew at a very young age.... And umm chances are, they didn't have much education opportunities, like us. :\

"You cannot handle [cooking this/that]!!!" Or "You don't know how to prepare/cook [this/that]!!!", are comments by SF, whenever I try to attempt some advance cooking, like deep frying chicken wings.. Haha, alright, alright, I know he meant well, and that he didn't want me to get my hands burnt while cooking..

And that got me thinking. How many girls my age can actually cook as well as my mom can? I would say not a lot, since we have all pretty much spent our childhood learning math and science in school, and not to mention, homework.

If I could cook and sew, I wouldn't be sitting here typing up a blog entry.. I would probably be making desserts or mending some broken tops or bottoms.

So, let's see, how many of you can cook as well as your mothers or grandmothers, and can hand make clothings? :P

Oh but umm I do know a couple of friends who can cook and/or sew really well! You girls (and guys) know who you are! :)

--

Wait, I know how to make delicious sushi's (see above image).. And chocolate muffins! Does that count? :D

.medicine

Pills.

My throat felt funny last Tuesday morning, when I woke up and got ready for uni. I instantly knew that I was coming down with a flu. I decided against resting at home since I wasn't contagious.. Yet. I felt the same on Wednesday morning and decided to go to class as well.

The runny nose came in early Thursday morning, when I woke up to use the bathroom. I knew it was time anyways, because the flu bug normally visits every 8 to 9 months. So I stayed home on Thursday and Friday..

Truth is, I didn't want to miss out on lectures/studios/tutorials too much. But since we are all advised to stay isolated at home while we are sick, I decided I didn't want to risk getting my classmates and tutor infected and so I thought I should stay out of class on Friday. :(

--

I am definitely going to uni tomorrow.. And umm don't worry people, I have since recovered from the flu. Can't wait till Monday, which starts in 8.5 hours time!

.when money matters

Yes, it's true that money cannot buy you happiness...

But think about it. Without money, you can't buy stuff that you want, stuff that will make you happy. How are you going to be happy knowing that you cannot own something dear without having the money?

For us, it goes like this.

Without a career, there will not be money.. And without money, we cannot build a future together.

I know I have to let go and accept the truth of going on a long distance relationship, because there is nothing we can do about the sub prime crisis. It's way beyond our control, because it's not even our fault to begin with.

So _pdra, long distance = a great future for you and SF ahead. no long distance = no money, no happiness, no future.

Which one would you choose, _pdra?

My selfishness is jeopardizing a successful long-term relationship and yet, I find it impossible to get rid of that self-centered monster inside me. I guess the reason why I feel forced about this whole situation is because I hate it when something well-planned has to be changed all of a sudden.

I hate to think about how I am going to be living alone from next year, for a few years. How long is a few years? Well, nobody can answer that right now. I wish I had an answer, an answer like, "I will be back in about 2 years time, really really, soon."

Question: Do you think you can still buy happiness without money?

.how to sign up for interim semester - Singapore American School

Video by DaveDaranjo. This was taken at my high school back in 2001, 6 months before I enrolled into the school.

Taking a little bit of a break from photo blogging but don't worry, I will blog again shortly (like in two days time).

I miss interim semester! I can still remember my last interim trip to Japan and it was probably one of the best times of my life. Can't believe I actually graduated 1 semester early just so I could come to Melbourne -- It's not like I wasn't going to be able to move downunder six months later or something. :\

.spring has come

桜

Waking up early in the morning had been quite a challenge for the past couple of months.. And it still is...

Because I live in Melbourne... And Melbourne is generally much colder than any other cities in Australia.

So yesterday morning had been pretty cold, as always, I woke up, got dressed, made myself a lunchbox and and left.

...

When I stepped out of uni at around 1pm, it felt different. "It's freaking hot for a wint.. Oh wait, this is the first week of spring!" I thought. Spring has come. It really has. Majority of the people around me only had a thin sweater on while I was in my ultra-thick winter jacket and beanie. It felt awkward. :\

I think it's time to put those winter stuff away for 9 months.. And endure the bitter wind in the morning for a while.

I don't really like this whole transition from winter to spring because it makes it difficult to decide what to put on in the morning!

What do you think about this seasonal transition? Any advice?