Fly Me to the Moon

CHALLENGE: DO SOMETHING NEW EACH MONTH

CHALLENGE o2: Get to the airport by myself.


Since I'm going to the airport by myself, I need to plan everything and make sure nothing goes wrong. It feels so daunting, because I've got no one to rely on. If anything happens, I'll have to figure it out myself and need to be confident enough to get help when I need it.

Anyways, this post will just contain all the information I need to actually get myself to the airport.

PLANE DEPATURE: 11.25AM
AIRLINE: Vietnam Airlines
ARRIVAL AT AIRPORT: 2-3 hours before plane departs ==> 8.30-9.30AM

TRANSPORTATION
Destination: Home to Southern Cross
Method: Train
Duration: ~40mins
Cost: FREE, arrive at station before 7am

Destination: Southern Cross to Bus Terminal at Airport
Method: Skybus
Duration: ~20mins
Cost: $16
Purchase: Online or at Skybus booth

Destination: Bus Terminal at Airport to T2 (International Terminal)
Method: Walk
Duration: ~10-20mins
Direction: MAP1

PREPARING TO FLY
Checking IN:

• Go to counter on FIRST floor of Terminal 2
• Passport
• Travel documents (ticket and/or booking reference)
• Departing passenger card
• Counters OPEN 2hr and 30min before scheduled time of departure (9AM)
  
• Counters for Vietnam Airline: 66-77
  

Customs and Border Protection:

• Be here ~90min before departure time (10AM)
  
• Take laptop, mobile and coins out
• Present liquids, gels (>100mL) and Polaroid film
• **Carry-on baggage can weigh up to 7kg, maximum size of 115 cm (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm)**
  

Anyways, I'm about to set off. I can't help feeling so excited despite not sleeping at all. Yeah, I ended up just painting my nail, watching drama etc just to keep myself awake. I don't want to miss my plane, so this is my sacrifice. Afterall, I can catch up on sleep once I hop on the plane. It's just waiting at the airport for 3-4hours that's gonna be hell.

Alright, time to go.

Farewell my friends, I'll see you soon.

ZE:A "covering" Lazy Song

This made my day.

Movies I want to watch

Harry Potter in 99 seconds

Jade Palace Lock Heart

This will be a quick post, I'll come back to it later (maybe).

Anyway, you guys have no idea how much I love the OTP of this drama. This is the first time I've actually bothered to cut a scence (that lasts for 5sec really..) and make it into a GIF and upload it to youtube just so I can watch it whenever I feel like it. I sooo need to get better at making GIFs...

I.T. FREAK

Back in the good old days, I used to play around with the computer a lot. I would download a bunch of programs and test them out. Eventually, I'll find one that I'm satisfied with and the one that would give me the least problems.

And then, my appreciation for KPOP started. Man did my world explode.

I remember back in those days, not many videos were subbed. Even if they were, they were usually soft-subbed. As I started liking groups that were lesser known (read- non-idols), the more I wanted to learn about their music and maybe watch them on some shows if I'm lucky enough.

Unfortunately, those stuff were scarce. So I thought I'll just start subbing with raw videos and translations for my own benefit. I never released my work because I was always using someone else's translations. Of course, I would always credit them in my videos.

But the process of learning how the subbing process worked, and to actually do them myself, was tiring and a lot of work. A lot of stuff went wrong (like the codec not being recognised, audio not being in sync etc) but for some reason I just continued with it.

Maybe it was because I had nothing else better to do. Maybe it was because I always wanted to complete something I started.

Eventually I got the hang of timing, type setting, qc-ing and encoding. But I was always a perfectionist when it came to my work, so I would watch the video, find mistakes and encode everything again. I think for a drama (~1hr 10min) it would take me 3.5 hours to complete the subbing process (if I didn't have to do the timing myself). And that's without me having to do translations.

If I did have to time, then it would probably take me 5-15+ hours (depending on length of video). Thankfully I never really challenged myself to do a drama. Plus I didn't really need to since all subbing groups release their subtitles already timed (duh! :P)

Anyway, I started subbing again. I'm currently watching a Chinese drama (Jade Palace Lock Heart - I LOVE YOU 8TH PRINCE!!). My TV can play the subtitles without any problems, but the thing is, Chinese dramas for some reason tend to have their own subtitles encoded in the video. It's broadcasted that way so there's not way I can get rid of them.

Now, imagine reading white-coloured English subtitles ontop of white-coloured Chinese subititles. Such bliss isn't it?

So yeah, my sister and I eventually got fed up so I decided to start hard-subbing them. It's been so long that I was scared I wouldn't be able do it right. Now, I would like to share some images and terms... hahaha :D

- TERMS -

soft-subs: videos with the subtitles separate (ie. a subtitle file like SRT, ASS etc)
hard-subs: videos with the subtitles encoded on them


subbing: the process of encoding subtitles onto the video
raw video: the video by itself, no subtitles
timing: timing when someone speaks, line for line


type setting:set subtitle style (font, size, colour, alignment etc)
quality control: checking whether everything was right and accurate as possible
encoding: putting everything together - video and subtitles

WIKI THIS - Don't ask, don't tell

Don't ask, don't tell

Teresa Teng - Tian Mi Mi

WIKI THIS - Illuminati

Illuminati

First Year of Uni - Last Days

During the final week of uni, I went about taking pictures with the new friends I made with a polaroid. That's right! I HAVE UNI FRIENDS! MHAHAHA. I think I've made a lot more friends in semester 2 than I did in semester 1. I reckon it's because of OPTICS. Compared to my other classes, Optics is by far the smallest - with only 20-30 people rocking up to lectures.

Luckily, I met some of these people in semester 1 and semester 2 gave me a chance to get to know them more. This is the case for Julie, Tina, Amanda, Theresa (I don't think they really count, cause you know, Springvale people after all :D), Kevin, Cameron, Nikki, Carnation, Katrina, Nancy and Diane. However, I didn't get to see a lot of the friends I made in semester 1 like Kim, Thomas and Edip. I wish I had thought of the idea to use my polaroid to take pictures in the last week in semester 1. Now I'll never have the chance to :(

Anywho, here are most of the polaroids that I took. I edited them a bit, but who cares :P



1st row: Carnation, Sam, Triple S
2nd row: Theresa, Nancy and Katrina, Julie
3rd row: Tina, Cameron, Sharon
4th row: Nikki, Sandra, Amanda
5th row: ME, Kevin, Jason
6th row - people I wanted to take a picture with: Kim, Thomas, Edip, Khiang, Adrianne, Harin, Diane, Vanessa, this girl from Physics x2.

I'm getting better at using the right settings when taking pictures now! So yeah, at first, a lot of them turned out darker than I would have liked...but at least I've learnt from my mistakes. And errr, sometimes I'm not looking at the camera cause I'm concentrating on pressing the button. It didn't work sometimes so I thought there was something wrong :(

Oh! I took a picture with my lecturer! MHAHAHA. What can I say? I'm a teacher's pet even in uni keke.

confessions of a teenage shopaholic

Growing up, I never did a lot of shopping. The most I ever did was once in a couple of months, with the exceptions of major sales time such as Boxing Day and End of Financial Year. Other than that, my cousin would always give my sister and I clothes that she didn't want anymore. Funnily enough, quite a lot of them had tags still on them.

I used to go shopping with my family a lot. Mum would always pay and Dad and my brother would just linger around - sometimes managing to buy something. My mum always bought more stuff compared to my sister and I. But that's nothing unusual, I remember she used to have a phase of buying perfume - tonnes and tonnes of them.

Now-a-days though, I go shopping by myself. I don't like going with anyone. Just myself is fine. Though on rare occasions I do find myself tagging along as someone else shops. But mainly, I like going by myself.

I treat shopping as the time where I can relax a little and just have fun, especially since I do most of my shopping after uni. It's like a stress-reliever - I can forget about all the crap that I have to do for uni and for an hour an a bit, I can enjoy doing nothing (not that I don't do that at home...)

I never had to worry about clothes back in high school. I just had to rock up with my uniform - nothing less, nothing more. But now that I'm in uni, I'm faced with the challenge of having to pick outfits every single day. I'm starting to get the hang of it, but it's still quite difficult.

I think this is mainly due to the fact that I'm not a very 'fashionable' person. My main goal is to feel comfortable in my clothes while at the same time not stick out as a sore thumb. I don't necessarily know what looks good with each other and 'balance' my clothes out with contrasts in colour and what-not, but hey, at least I care about what I wear.

CHALLENGE: DO SOMETHING NEW EACH MONTH

I decided to do this a while ago, and actually did one this month. Now I'm finally going to blog about it :D


CHALLENGE o1: Wear high heels for ONE day.
I don't wear high heels unless it's a special occasion. It's not my thing for one reason and one reason only - THEY FREAKING KILL. Seriously, it's like they were invented to test the endurance of women.

Since I don't go out on Saturday and Sunday, I decided to wear them during the week, but since I have no day offs, I ended up wearing them as I run around my uni. Not my idea of fun. Especially since I do a lot of running/walking in a day.

But on that day, I was meeting up with Karen. So for her, I was walking around city. Thank goodness we were at Pepperoni's for more than an hour so I could let my poor feet rest. But by the end of the day, I dreaded every step I took. The only motivation I had was the reminder that I survived formal last year...

Which didn't really last that long. After I dropped Karen off at the traffic lights, ha ha, I walked to my street, found an inconspicuous area and took them off. I walked home with no shoes. BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Worst thing about wearing these heels were the pain that last till the next 2 day. That's right, TWO days. Even after two night's rest, I could still feel the after-effects. I don't understand how women can wear these shoes on a regular basis and still smile with glee. I guess my uncle was right - they don't feel no pain cause they don't got no nerves.

Anyways, the only quirk I got out of it was being a little taller than usual. Apart from that, I didn't really think there was a benefit to wearing heels that kill.

I don't think I'll repeat this anytime soon.

Hope ft. Jason Mraz - Love Love Love

I feel old...

They were so bulky! I actually have this monitor, it's a Mitsubishi.

It's made from wood and it's got the pretty dials. That's my TV alright!

During my OPTICS classes, my lecturer has gone through technologies such as televisions, projectors, cameras etc. Essentially, anything that involves optics and light. He generally goes through the history or timeline of these products and then continue with the technological advances that have taken place.

I find it amusing that I actually still have a lot of the 'old' technologies lying around my house. Like how my dad still has his film camera back from the late 1980s-early 1990s. IT STILL WORKS! He actually forgot to develop my Holy Communion pictures so when he finally got around to doing it (4-5 years too late dad!), the film was partially damaged. And then there are CRT TVs and computer! I'm suprised that I still have them.

The CRT computer is running on Windows 98. Oh yeah, it's that old. As for for the CRT TV, I had 2 but now we only have one. The one we chucked out was really really really old though. As in, it was made out of WOOD! WOOOOOD!

Oh, there's also the VHS :D

Anywho, I feel old whenever I think of this stuff. But at least I have memories of these items. Kids these days will grow up without probably ever seeing any of these items in real life. Instead, they'll be stuck looking at pictures and just think -'man is my lecturer old'

Claude Kelly - Love You to Death

If love was enough
Then why do I cry
Why do I hear myself
Saying goodbye

Along for the dates
When I was naive
When you'd say those 3 words
And I would believe

I wish that I could
Forgive and forget
But you've told so many lies
I've got nothing left

A dog is a dog
Can't teach him the tricks
You are who you are
And that's all that there is

[CHORUS]
I wanna believe you can change like you promise me
But I got keep on holding my breath
Coz I'm watching you break my heart, and it's killing me
So I refuse to stay and love you to death
I wont, love you to death
(I wont), love you to death
(I wont), no baby I can't
(I wont), love you to death
No matter how much you pay
(I wont), this is the end
(I wont), coz baby I can't
(I wont), love you to death

If all that there was
Was you working late
I'd understand
And baby I'd be okay

But I met the girl
And I know her name
Too late for apologies
You should be ashamed

I wish that I could
Forgive and forget
But you've told so many lies
I've got nothing left

A dog is a dog
Can't teach him the tricks
You are who you are
And that's all that there is

[CHORUS]

This time now I tried my very best
I gave myself one hundred percent
But I can't take this blatant disrespect
So maybe you love (you love) how much it hurts

[CHORUS]

friends.

I've been meaning to post about this subject a long long time ago, but I never felt the urge to write it down.

Anyways, I know this person who doesn't believe in the notion of friends. His belief stems down to an incident that occurred in his childhood. His family was betrayed by their "friend". This betrayal could have resulted to the loss of his family's life, including his own. Therefore, growing up, he didn't believe in the connection that is labeled 'friendship'. Any emotion or feelings he had for this relationship has been severed.

My friend does have friends. But they're only people who he hangs out with to have a good time. People who he socialises with. People who he works with. By the sound of it, no one has ever been able to break down the wall he has erected. And to this day, he is still very cautious with his relationship with others.

After learning all of this about him, I took a look at my own relationships.

In many ways, I think my relationship with people are like that. I have people who I can hang out with but never truly call them my friend. I have people who I can spend time with but it wouldn't matter to me if I don't speak with them for long periods of time. Then there are people who are in my 'friendship circle' - people who I usually go out with. And then there are people who I would consider 'close friends'.

But within all these categories, with all the friends that I may have, I don't think I'm really open with any of them. Even with Kim and Anna.

Sigh, I don't know how to continue this post. Probably because I don't really know what I'm trying to say after what I wrote.

My thoughts contradict me sometimes. When I'm with my friends, I don't really think about this stuff. I usually think - 'it's great to have friends, to share with them this moment in time, to be with someone that makes me feel comfortable and allows me to be free and fun'. However, when I'm alone without being in contact with anyone, this is what I think - 'I'm a loner and I can function as one.'

And here's the thing, I don't think I'm a great friend to begin with.

to the port i go~

So it's official, my family will be ditching me for a day. WOW!

This is all because my dad booked plane tickets to go to Vietnam on the 18th when my examination timetable hadn't been released yet. And what do you know, my last exam is on the 18th. Obviously I went to my Student Centre to short it out but they made it very clear that there is no exceptions.

Therefore, I'm leaving a day after everyone.

I get to play for a day!

At first I was thinking of getting Kim and Anna to come to the airport with me. Afterall, they won't see me for another month! Then again, I haven't seen them for 2-3 months already.... ANYWAYS, I thought it'll be fun to get them to be with me before I depart. Then I remembered, Anna sucks at waking up in the morning.

But I countered this with a SLEEPOVER! Since no one (except mummy) will be at home, I doubt anyone would mind if I had a sleepover. MHAHAHA. However, I thought about the idea harder. If I did have a sleepover, I doubt I'll go to sleep early ==>; late to the airport => screwed.

Sigh, I am doomed to spending hours at the airport with nothing to do :/



*goes to cry in corner*

GO GO GO!!

It’s 1.26PM right now and I’m sitting on the Cranbourne train. I wanted to write everything that’s currently on my mind at this very moment. At exactly...1.27PM.

I used to be a very strong swimmer. In primary school, when everyone was split up into groups according to their swimming abilities, I was always put in the top 3. Of course, I learnt too late that the beginners got more fun. They weren’t pushed as hard and weren’t thrown to the deep end for no apparent reason. The sheer horror I got when I was expected to swim laps from the shallow to deep end is indescribable. Not to mention the endless bellyflops.

I’m short. It’s the truth. But back then, I was even shorter. So it’s safe to say that I’m not as scared of the deep end now that I’m a bit taller and older. WRONG. Now, my fear for that depth of water has increased by multitudes. By pure stupidly I found this out when I did a lap in the swimming pool. Everything was going alright until I realised I had reached the 1.8end point. I freaked. I cried. I swam to the edge and clung on for dear life. I am so not going to repeat that anytime soon.
After some consideration I’ve realised that the reason why I’m a lot more terrified of the water now than I was as a kid is because I haven’t swam in a very, very long time. Back when I was in year 1&2 my uncle would take my sister and I to the swimming pool about once every two months. Sometimes even twice! When we moved to Albany, that increased to about once every fortnight. Naturally, living so close to the beach I also took advantage of that.

So yeah, even though I never did laps or anything, I was always in the water. The idea never scared or bothered me. In fact, I always looked forward to it. I didn’t think that my blissful memories would fail me at 18. But sadly, the moment I got into the pool I was petrified and was wondering “WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!” After I calmed down, and since I was already in the water, I did a lap. Got half way, realised I got to the 1.8m point and panicked.

It’s like there’s this bomb in my head that explodes whenever I see “1.8m” when I’m in the water. If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve been able to overtake the person in front of me and continued on, for about another lap, HAHA. Sadly, I am doomed. Doomed to never enjoy the water. Doomed to be stuck on land.

However, I want to change my damnation. I want to be able to swim confidently again, or at least not freak out like a kid. So, today I managed 1.5laps (1 lap = going from one end and back again). By this time next year, I want to be able to do 3 laps.
GO GO GOOOO!! :D

New Kids on the Block - 2 In the Morning

The Good Old Days (1996)

Ngày Mai Troi Lại Sang (Loạn Thế Tinh Thu)



I was only 8 years old when I watched this drama, but I remember loving it with all my heart. Of course, I don't remember anything at all, but it must have been really great to have left such a deep impression on me.

To this day I still remember a pivotal scene. I remember crying myself to sleep after watching it and always hoping to have a love so passionate and pure. The drama was based during WW2, before Japan invaded the country of Taiwan/China. The hero left our heroine to fight in the war. He lost his memory but eventually gains it back. However, he was hit by a bomb (not directly...) which has left him with severe burn scars etc.

I remember when our heroine found him, he was wrapped like a mummy. He told her to leave him be, that no one would ever want to be with someone like him. What happens next? The most romantic back hug I've ever seen.

To this day I have not yet found a drama that can replace this backhug.

For years I have been looking for the English/Vietnamese title of this drama. And finally, I have found it. It's 105 episodes long but hell, I swear I will find it and re-watch it. Oh, and I think this drama was the reason why I never really liked watching dramas based in this time period... my couple had to go through so much :(


EDIT:

Oh man, apparently my romantic backhug is from another drama :/ BUT, it's not my fault I got confused. This main couple has acted in 3 dramas together. And I'm pretty sure I've seen them all...which explains why I was so confused. And all 3 dramas are around the same time period with the similar clothing and hair styles...Oh wells, this means I get to enjoy this pairing in 3 dramas :D The only downer is that I'm pretty sure they're all tearjerkers :(

Michael Buble - Everything

I love this man...and I love saying Buble as Bubley :D

Here, have one of my favourite songs by this awesome guy.

Detective Conan

I love this couple so much. They are so freaking adorable, pretending that what they feel for each other is nothing beyond "childhood friends". LIES I TELL YOU. I felt kinda weird shipping this couple in the manga, cause Shinchi is in kid form.

No, not as a chibi for a moment, but in kid form. For who knows how long. He was caught interfering with some criminals doing...stuff, and they drugged him and the next thing he knows, he's a kid again. That's the gist of it anyway, it's been a while since I've read it.

But man, I L.O.V.E Detective Conan. The mysteries and cases are soooooo intriguing. Anyway, have two gifs that I made cause I was bored, and the scene cracked me up to bits.

JYJ - In Heaven

I'm planning on buying this album for my love of one song - In Heaven. It's so beautiful and amazing. I'm definitely forever in awe of Jaejoong's composition skills. It's such a lovely song and it's made even more heart-breaking when I think of his reasoning for this song. (It's a song written for his deceased actor friend Park Yong Ha)

I'm so proud whenever I think of the obstacles they've had to go through to get to this stage. To the point where they can finally release an album in their own country and the high possibility that they'll actually be able to perform live. If they do, I swear I will watch EVERY.SINGLE.PERFORMANCE. Who knows when something might happen and they won't be able to perform again?

Also, because this shows just how much they've grown during their time apart from SM Entertainment. Comparing it to their compositions in The Beginning and Their Room, you can tell that they've taken the knowledge and experience they've gained and created something even better. I think they've finally been able to use their strengths to the fullest and worked out how to fully compliment their compositions to their vocal abilities. I've only really heard two songs, so I can't be confident that they've nailed it, but they've got time to and progress has already started.

While I've been spazzing over the potential possibility that I will pre-order this, I've started questioning why I wasn't this enthusiastic about HoMin's album. Why didn't I feel this urge to buy their album too. Sure, Junsu is my bias but I love every member. My answer is that because I've been given a chance to listen to their released album, I've realised that despite how much I may like them, the material they released doesn't feel... right. I felt as if they're still experimenting and getting used to the fact that they're a duo now. When you've been working as a group of 5 and suddenly you're only left with 2, everything changes. The dynamics, the distribution of lyrics and of the notes. The album doesn't sound right which is probably why I never felt the urge to buy the album. I liked a couple of songs but they weren't what I needed them to be so that I would spend $50 bucks on it.

It's been pretty much 2 years since the lawsuit fiasco hit. And after everything that has happened, I truly believe (and hope) that JYJ is getting the most out of this. Sure, they've lost the backing of one of the most powerful music houses in Korea, but they might've lost this after returning from the military anyway. They've even lost their right to claim the songs that they've sung throughout the years - let me tell you, that's ALOT of songs. JYJ has lost their roots and history. But in exchange, they're given creative freedom and the freedom to do what they truly want. You should never underestimate this creative freedom - it's the driving force why JYJ has been able to (and continue to) grow as artists. Following this trajectory, they'll (probably) be able to have a lasting career in the music industry. If not as singers then as composers, lyricists, songwriters etc. The point being is that they have a career in music after their life as idols end because they've taken a major risk. They're essentially starting their careers again, only differently. And this is what I'm most excited to see - how they're changing kpop history. One step at a time. Painful as it may be, but the rewards that they can reap is profound.

I don't think the same can be said for HoMin. They may occasionally be given the opportunity to participate in their songs, but it's not to the same degree as JYJ. What will happen to them when they come back from the military? Will SM Entertainment still be backing them if the DBSK name is not as profitable as it once was? I don't know the answer to any of these questions but there's something I know very well. The life of an idol is short. So far, the only idols that are still promoting after their military service are some members of the legendary kpop idol groups (ie. Kangta, Minwoo etc.) Even with their fanbase in Korea, they're still not making much of an impact on the charts like they used to and honestly, the general international kpop population could care less. I'm scared that this is the fate for HoMin. I'm worried that when they do return they'll no longer have a place in the music industry - after all, the music scene moves fast and makes no apologies for any casualties. Case in point, BoA's comeback for her 10th year in the music industry.

Sigh, I think I've written about stuff that's really not even related to what I wanted to say in the first place. Anyway, another reason why it's taken so long for me to actually pre-order this CD is because I'm not exactly sure which cover I should buy (blue, red or brown) and where. I want my purchase of this CD to C-O-U-N-T. I want it to effect the music charts, I want it to help JYJ get the recognition they deserve. I want this album to be one of the contenders for The Album of the Year award. I want it to matter. I already know that they'll benefit from the money I'm spending on them - afterall, they're able to purchase these gorgeous houses/apartments with their activities as JYJ - but I need to know that my purchase will aid their way to performing freely in their own country.

Also, it pains me to think of the monetary gains they're making as JYJ. I have this feeling that they're earned more promoting as JYJ in this short amount of time compared to the years spent as DBSK. I know they got paid working as DBSK, but was it a fair and just amount? Especially for the amount of time and suffering they had to exchange it with. I just hope that HoMin is getting a more just wage for the hard work they're putting in.

I would like to end with a quote from the blog - callmepatrica. I find that she's able to eloquently express everything that I can't. A lot of what she writes has been a thought of mine but I was never able to coherently express it.

To be honest, I think that the only ones who will emerge victorious from this ordeal is Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu – because they risked it all to pursue their dreams of being artists, not idols. They realized the power of time and popularity working against them, and they decided to fight for what they loved. And right now, they’re succeeding.

I spent nearly 2 hours writing this =="

Chris Medina - What Are Words

This is such a beautiful song. Beautiful and bittersweet.

I first heard this song because of my sister; apparently it's "the song" for the year 12s of 2011. She told me that some parts of it was re-written so that it was in the female's point of view, and most likely (I'm guessing) changed to fit into their point of life right now.

The meaning behind this song is so sad yet lovely. Essentially, Chris Medina was a contestant for Americans idol, but didn't make it to the Top XX. This song is dedicated to his financee who is suffering from brain damage because of a car accident. It's essentially a song about keeping your word - but to me, it's so much more.

Here's the lyrics and below is the music video.

Enjoy.

**The person who wrote this song, Rodney Jerkins, also wrote JYJ's Empty and Be My Girl...which happen to be my favourite songs on their The Beginning album. I should really check out more of Rodney Jerkins' work.

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see
How every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

CHORUS
What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they don't
When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

And I know an angel was sent just for me
And I know I'm meant to be where I am
And I'm gonna be
Standing right beside her tonight
And I'm gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most

CHORUS

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
And I'm gonna be here forever more
Every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

I'm forever keeping my angel close

Year 08

I loved Year 8 classes. I pretty much ace-ed them all. I didn't really do any work for maths for half the year since I was a freak and did all the set questions for the year. So yeah, Mr Booth just let me do my own thing for half the year. I usually spent my time working on problems from the year 9 textbook.

Like I said, I was a freak.

IT was my second favourite. I loved pretty much everything that we did in that class. Best part was learning how to use HTML. *wipes tears away* Such a life changing experience. I ended up making my own websites and created the HTML and graphics for it (often from scratch). I've since moved on from those HTML-obsessed days but it was awesome while it lasted.

I'm still upset over losing the website that I made in year 8. It was dedicated to my love for Ouran High School (Koukou) Host Club. I remember watching it raw on youtube (back when youtube actually let anime be hosted on it...) and just spazzed over anything related to my dear manga/anime.

Anyway, we had to learn how to make GIFs also. I reckon my GIF was pretty awesome. It incorporated my love for Ouran and Harry Potter pretty nicely in my opinion (LIES! XD). Here it is :D

LB | Prelude 03

Consider the mind the father, the heart the mother, and the soul the child. Often times even in a violent and depressed marriage, parents often stay together for the sake of the child. In such cases, while the soul—the child—experiences the traumatic stressors of having to live with parents who just cannot get along, at least he or she knows what it is like to have the two figures in life. When the mind and heart are healthy, the soul thrives. But when the heart breaks or the mind deteriorates, the soul suffers.



It is important to remember that one’s talents can also be one’s blessing and curse.

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

the magical things i find

Once again I've been cleaning my room. I wouldn't have to clean it so often if I actually had the proper storage space to put all my stuff. But unfortunately, I don't...so every 3-4 weeks I'm cleaning my room. I usually just throw things around because I'm still unusally unsure where to put it. Also, I've got waaaay to many stuff. I've gotten rid of quite a lot of it, 5 plastic bags full to be exact, and the rest is for me to sort out and figure what I should do with it.

I keep alot of stuff for "memory sake". And then there's also my books from year 3 - university. I really don't want to part with them. It's fun looking back on them and seeing how much of a Harry Potter freak I was. Every imaginative story I had to write included wizards, witches, dragons, spells, magic. And well, looking at my hand-writing change is always fun.

Now, for some crap in my room :D

I had to throw Bilpsey out. I made her in year 11 when I was studying for Methods. I can't remember why I kept her for so long, but she's in the bin now. She's going to a place where she can meet her ancestors - the egg carton.







And my beloved Harry Potter wands. For three weeks I've been walking all the way to Springvale South just so I can get my hands on them. I can't wait to be able to dress up and use them. I finally have the Elder wand, which means I'm INVINCIBLE! MHAHHAHA.





This is the awesome and incredible rubber bands that I've kept for 4 years. We (me, Lisa, Tuyen, Pauline (?)) had to measure out how many rubber bands to use to safely let "Barbie" touch the ground. My group won (YAAAY). We were the closest to the ground whereas everyone else hit the ground. We wouldn't want that would we? So yeah, I've kept them for a pretty long time. Now I'm gonna pass it on to Tuyen before we dispose of it.

ah, uni life, how i "love" you.

So, it's the second week of uni and I ache all over.

I really don't know why I'm stil doing Chemistry. Okay, that's a lie... it's just a subject that I need to complete so that I can hopefully continue my studies once I finish my Science degree. But I'm still not liking it much. I remember the good old days when Chemistry and I couldn't be separated. I spent hours on Chemistry in year 11 because I actually enjoyed it. But now it's just a nightmare. Maybe it's because I haven't been working on it as much as I should, but it still doesn't explain why I get to bored and sleepy during Chemistry lectures.

Sometimes I regret dropping Physics for Optics. I miss doing Physics despite my whinning. It's a fun subject and learning about the way the world works is just incredible. It's just learning about Relativity that kinda busted my relationship with it. BUT, I like-love Optics. Some of the lectures can be quite boring, but most of the time it's pretty fascinating. However, its greatest advantage is the people in my Optics practical. We've only had one prac so far, but I'm really enjoying their company.

I reckon one of the best decisions I made in VCE was not to pick up Biology. There's just so much information that I need to memorise that my mind aches from thinking about it. But we're doing genetics right now and it's pretty interesting. I just wish I didn't have to be tested on it, otherwise, I would willingly go to all lectures.

As for my breadth, Human Rights and Global Justice, I had no idea it was a second year subject. I picked it for its little contact hours but I find I'm doing a lot of work for it. It's kinda like Biology in that I have to memorise a lot of stuff, but it's also demanding in my "critical thinking" area. Despite that though, I like learning about Human Rights and Global Justice from a variety of disciplines - Law, Medicine, History, Population Health and Social and Political Sciences.

Anyway, the real reason why I ache all over is because of my BRACES!! And because I have to take these big arse tablets every day since I'm really really really low in iron...

habits of mind and our homeroom gift

Another sheet that Mr O shared with my Yr 11 homeroom. I managed to find the sheet online :O

So here's the link to have a look (downloadable pdf - look for summary poster). But I'm just gonna do a summary of the summary of it. I love lists. They're so organised :D

Thanks to www.habitsofmind.org

1. Persisting
2. Managing implusivity
3. Listening with understanding and empathy
4. Thinking flexibly
5. Thinking about your thinking (metacognition)
6. Striving for accuracy
7. Questing and problem posing
8. Applying past knowledge to new situations
9. Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
10. Gather data through all senses
11. Creating, imagining and innovating
12. Responding with wonderment and awe
13. Taking responsible risks
14. Finding humour
15. Thinking independently
16. Remaining open to continuous learning

And, at the end of the year, when each homeroom teacher needed to .... compliment their respective homeroom, Mr O wrote us a poem. He printed it on nice paper and I swear I'll get around to laminating it one day!



Ode to St Angela's 2009

Now there's no one sweeter than our Bonita
And Maureen is everyone's mate
Sam is either hyper or asleep
Anna's a thinker who is deep
And Monica reckons she's "the Great"
Emma is a gemma
Jenny Thai is nice and shy
Quesion: Now if someone goes out with Janani
Should her name be changed to Jananme
Morgan is always smiling and glowing,
And a nose ring on Nicole is always showing,
There's always a grin on Sophia Nguyen?
But is there anyone as fair as Claire?
Is there any jewellery with as much bling?
As Shannen Wickremasinghe?
We must confessa we all love Tessa
And Ana is a boomer
I can't tell the difference between the Watson twins
But I love Aliesha's dry sense of humour
Catherin tells me where to go
And then what to do
And if I want another opinion
Lillian always gives me her point of Vu
I'm not being silly, but where is Lily?
When I got assigned to year eleven
I wasn't sure of what would be hell or heaven
And I don't want to turn this into a farce
But St Angela has got to be the best class!

- Class Teacher: P O'Neil 2009 -

thanks mr o

I've been cleaning through my pile of worksheets, books and whatnot throughout the years. I found this in my homeroom section from Year 11. Still remember the homeroom periods that I had in that year. Mr O really took care of us and tried to inform us and encourage us for the future and of course, at that time, the struggles of VCE.

He told us the story of a man and his persistence and perseverance towards his goal.I remember sitting there being in awe of this man. I'm pretty sure Anna was as well...HAHA. Anyway, here's what Mr O shared to the class, and since I'm gonna throw the sheet away, I wanted to type it up so I've got it somewhere.


"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan "PRESS ON" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"

- Calvin Coolidge -

Train ride home

Just a tidbit of a conversation I heard. I thought it was sweet and it probably made my day.

Hey, I'm still on the train right now. There's some beef in the fridge, but it's fine if you don't want to cook. You're probably dead tired. Wait till I get home and I'll see if I can do something with it.

- A male on the phone.

latin pop

I'm really getting into Latin pop music right now. Been youtube-ing non-stop! I feel so familiar with the genre - maybe its because there was a period of time when all I did listen to was Latin pop. Of course, this was back when I was in year 5 and 6. I constantly played the tape whenever I could - in the car, in my room etc. It got to the point where I made duplicates just in case something happened to the primary one. Thank goodness I was smart, keke. My primary cassette didn't work anymore, all the tape had gone out of its case.

I remember that most of the songs in the tape were sang by Marc Anthony. Funnily enough, there was a Backstreet Boys song as well - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely. I loved all the songs on that tape. Never skipped a song, though it was kind of hard to skip a song to begin with. I would usually end up in the middle of the next song or lose my attention and wound up at the end of the tape.

Anyway, here's one of the songs that I've been listening to on repeat.

David Bisbal - Buleria


ENGLISH TRANSLATIONhttp://lyricstranslate.com/en/buleria-buleria.html

[CHORUS]
Buleria, buleria, so deep inside my soul
It's the blood of the land I was born in
Buleria, buleria, I love you more every day
I live being in love with you since the moment I saw you

Come, like a madman through life
With the heart beating
Because it knows that you are there

Ah life! It throbs with joy
it inebriates my feelings
with your kisses more and more

Ah skin! The moon's curse
the beauty of a rose
and the warmth of the sea

Ah you are! sweet wine from the grapes
where I drink, with your lips,
from the fountain of love

[CHORUS]

I want, to live here by your side
chained to your body
charmed by passion

Ah nothing! Without your love I'm nothing
I'm a drifting ship
that is shipwrecking because of the pain

The perfume from your breath I want to breathe
and that magic there is in your gaze
(I want) to be the hero of your dreams and so much more
I want to be your calm and your storm

[CHORUS x2]

Come near very slowly, allow yourself to be felt
Start already this fire that is inside me

(Ay, ay, ay, Don't leave me without your love)
Without your kisses I'm nothing but a pitiful heart
(Ay, ay, ay, Don't leave me without your love)
By your side there is no sorrow, there is no pain
(Ay, ay, ay, Don't leave me without your love)
For your memory is always walking the same path I walk

[CHORUS x2]

Ah Virgin (Mary) in heaven, you know how much I love her
she is the moon, she is the moon, without her I die
on my knees I beg you. Tell her that I love her
I don't want to live alone anymore. Tell me how long

[CHORUS x2]

too messed up

F**K YOU
FAMILY
POLITICS

hi scammer :D

So, I finally got a scammer call. A very odd experience, especially when I felt bad that I couldn't understand what the guy was saying. I had to repeatedly ask him to repeat and he eventually had to spell it out (with annoyance of course) - s for sierra, c for charlie, a for alpha, m for mike, m for mike, e for echo and r for romeo.

Turns out that the scammer I had was reported on A Current Affair and after searching around the site, I found the video - http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/investigations/8250275/call-centre-scammers

But anyway, I wanted to post about the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. I used to remember all of them when I was a kid, but my memory has gone, awww :(


credits: http://www.razumny.no/blog/tag/nato-phonetic-alphabet/

new layout;

I've finally updated my blog with a new layout, YAY! It took quite a while to edit everything to my liking (such as font colour, font size, font family etc) but it's all worth it in the end.

With this new layout, I've decided to update my blog(s) more regularly. The only problem is, I've got so many that I don't know what to do with them. Originally, I had a blog for sharing purposes and another for personal reflections/thoughts. But in due time, I realised I wanted to blog more about what I'm doing, what quotes have struck a cord with me, attempt some challenges, music that are constantly on repeat etc. Because of that, I've created two new blogs + tumblr and now I don't know what to do with my old ones. Maybe I should ditch them and start anew? Maybe, maybe not.

Once I figure out everything I'll be posting like mad...maybe.

P.S: Expect a lot more gifs from dramas, music videos, movies and the likes. I've gotten better at making them and I'm not ashamed to use this power :D

can you hear my heart?

Can you hear my heart?

gif made by me :D took me half an hour to make :/


Anyway, I didn't expect myself to love this drama so much. It's the first time where I have become so emotionally attached to a drama so quickly. Most of the time, I would become emotionally invested by the 2-4th episode but Can You Hear My Heart? has managed to steal my heart in the first half hour of its first episode.

My heart aches, breaks and beats for this drama right now.

After becoming so invested in this drama I've completely forgotten the other dramas I'm watching. It's like my mind can not think of anything but this drama right now. I've already cried a bucket load after watching the first five episodes, and I'm just scared shitless of what it will do to me for the next 25episodes.

Drama, I'm giving you my heart. Do whatever you want with it but make sure you give it back to me healed.

Only 30 years old

CHAE DONG HA

1981-2011

R.I.P

Chae Dong Ha was one of my favourite voices. I just loved listening to him sing and watching his intense and passionate performances made me cry. I've been waiting for new releases just so that I can enjoy hear his voice again, but at the same time, I was anticipating his acting venture.

Unfortunately, he was found dead on the 27th of May 2011. From various reports, it is known that he has been suffering from depression and a possible source of it is from his own manager's suicide. He described his manager as "My consolation, my friend, and my hyung. The moment I met that person, I had received the world. As of June 9th, 2009, he is no longer by my side. Half of my heart is still missing."

May he finally rest in peace.

The song that started it all...

Oh, my beloved
For my sake, be happy

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you
Even if my two eyes grow blind
While living, if I could only see you
I would be happy with that alone

I loved you, I loved you, I loved you
I offer up my soul

My happy memories have become sad
They are sad, I am beginning to cry

My dream... like love, goodbye

credits: iridescent@soompi

My current state of mind?

Mark my words and paint them on the wall Seoul. If affection is a condition, then love is just a state of mind. Until the day I die, until my very last breath, I’m never letting you go.

Credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

Disney - Somewhere Out There

Somewhere out there,
Beneath the pale moonlight,
Someone's thinking of me,
And loving me tonight.

Somewhere out there,
Someone's saying a prayer,
That we'll find one another,
In that big somewhere out there.

And even though I know how very far apart we are,
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star,
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!

Somewhere out there,
If love can see us through,
Then we'll be together,
Somewhere out there,
Out where dreams
Come true...

I've got very fond memories attached to this song. In year 3, the choir (which I was apart of) sang this song for a competition. We travelled for about 4 hours from Albany to Perth. The bus had its quirks, like an awesome TV :D, but it was hanging out with my friends that was best. It's been 8 years since I've last seen them...I wonder how they're going.

I've thought about stalking them on Facebook.. HAHA..but remembered that the Internet may not be...errr...highly accessible? I don't think most people in Albany use the Internet. Heck, I only found out what it was when I came back to Melbourne. I remember we used to just go to the beach, go to people's houses, play cricket, go fishing etc. Typically Aussie stuff :D

But yeah..I love this song.

So...I'm totally ditching the last challenge cause its all related to the last couple of months before 2010 ended...and since we're already two months into 2011 I found no point for it.

Anyways, I just wanted to officially say..

I CAN MAKE BUBBLE TEA BITCHES!!!

05 | A letter to the person who has hurt you the most this year

Like I said, my life wasn't dramatic this year, so no one actually did anything to cause me pain. I can't really think of anyone who has hurt me this year...but maybe if I think hard enough I'll be able to pinpoint someone?



Alright, found someone.





To whom this is addressed to,

You hurt me. But you didn't leave me as an emotional wreck.
You hurt me. But you didn't make me damage my body to forget the pain.
You hurt me. But you're still my friend.

I'll probably never tell you how you had hurt me because honestly, it's quite insignificant.

You'll probably have no recollection of it.
You'll probably continue hurting me the same way over and over again.
You'll probably never know why what you do hurts me.

But what can I do? I can't change this about you. So I'll accept it, feel the pain, move on and let it repeat.

04 | A moment where you were the most proud of yourself in 2010

Maybe this is something that most people will glance over and never really care about, but its something I'm quite proud of. In a crowded and noisy room, I made conversation with a stranger. Sometimes we even became friends!

It's something that I'm quite proud of because like the "typical" Asian that I am, I have no social skills. Okay, very little social skills. My life revolved around school (all girls, so no fishes there XD) and tutor. I hardly ever go out unless its for tutor. On the rare occasions that I do, it's always with Kim and Anna. It's just us, and hardly ever anyone else. So I've never really had to use any social skills since I was never in a situation that asked for it.

I was alone at Jacks for some sessions for a period of time. Completely and utterly alone. I don't really realise it most of the time, since I'm content with just continuing my work despite it being break time. As long as the person next to me didn't stink and never took too much space, I was fine.

But there are always those rare occasions when I sat next to someone who I found it easy to strike a conversation...or the other person would happen to be alone as well and really couldn't stand not talking. Either way, I started talking to these strangers and got to know them. If I was lucky enough, we became friends.

There was this one guy who I won't forget. He was so direct in asking for my contact details. Thankfully, we were still technically acquaintances so he gave me his email since I didn't want to reveal to much information about myself. Unfortunately, I lost his email before I could add him. Farewell my short lived friendship!

And apart from that, the friendship that I have with Alex, Edward, Bryan, Ryan and Tony is also something I'm grateful for. So, in conclusion, the moment I was most proud of was when I forged friendships throughout the year (yeah, cheating a bit since that's more than one moment~)



P.S: Finishing VCE is a given no? XD

CODE G?

I completely forgot the meaning of this word...even though Kim told me the meaning yesterday. But it came up today, so I got home and searched it up.

Code G = Booty Call

I'm pretty sure I'm going to forget it soon. It's not really something I'll remember, especially since I doubt I'll ever use it. Apart from being around Kim and Anna, I doubt I'll ever have to know the meaning of this word.

Since I can't have my own dislike button...

I made an image so that I can use it. I was prompted to make this awesome image because my Appa is leaving me for a month. He's going overseas *booo!!* but he promises to buy a present *yay~~~!!*

IMG URL for future use: http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4558/36933942.png