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Change we can believe in...

2008-03-09T14:02:00.001+10:30

Those who know me in my university years should (albeit sometimes grudgingly) admit that I was a formidable student politician. In fact, in many cases I knew more about Australian politics than many Australians at my age. People always asked me if I would go back to Malaysia to become a politician. My answer was always in the negative because I did not see any chance of opposition in a country where the ruling party knows every trick in the book to avoid losing power. Not to mention the fact that many politicians put their personal interests ahead of the national interest thus ensuring domination of a single party regardless of the impact on basic human rights. For once in my life, I can see a glimpse of change in Malaysia. It may not turn into anything but for the moment, it is something that warms the heart.

I am talking about the recent results in the 12th Malaysian General Elections 2008. For once in ages, Barisan National lost its 2/3 majority in parliament. For once in ages, the Opposition control 5 states. For once in Malaysia's 50 years of independence; the people have spoken. What Malaysia has always lacked was a formidable Opposition - one that can hold them accountable to their decisions. Let's hope this is now what we have.

The mood for change has been very strong especially within the Chinese and Indian community. For a country that wants to be a known entity in the world, the fact that basic equality amongst citizens is non-existent is a mockery to a country that preaches freedom for all. There is no freedom when there is no equality. That doesn't mean that everyone should have the same thing or that wealth should be equally distributed. Everyone knows communism never works as a system. What it means is that everyone should be given a fair go and that people should be rewarded for their capabilities and contributions, not for the colour of their skin or for the direction they face when they pray. If you are a Malay and I am a Chinese and we both score the highest school marks in the country; both of uf should be given a scholarship or given a place in a local university. It shouldn't be that you get a full scholarship awarded to you by the government whereas I have to go to the government and ask them for one.

It is time for the people to stand up. To stop the arrogance of the Barisan National in their 50 years in government. The UMNO leaders always warn people that they do not want a repeat of the riots on May 13, 1969. Scare tactics that are meant to depict themselves as the image of stability. Yet, they do not tell the people that it was the Malays that started the riots in the first place because the Chinese were doing well and getting rich and the Barisan National was weakened in the recent elections.

The issue of race/religion stems mainly from the intolerance of the Malays/Muslims. All other races are able to tolerate and accept the existence of mosques in nearly every housing area and the fact that they have to blare their speakers and let everyone know they are praying. Yet, when Christians want to renovate/expand their churches, the governments refuse permits or delay them until the next elections just to show that they do care about other races. The worst of these is the relocation of Hindu temples that have been around for hundreds of years just because part of their prayers include a "ting-ting-ting" sound (akin to the playing of a triangle instrument) in favour of a new Muslim prayer area that shouts to God so that he can hear them from space.

People may say that I am a racist. Yes, I am a racist. I am a racist because I believe that all races in Malaysia should be treated equally and that I should be free to practice my religion without worrying that someday when I die, a friend of mine who dislikes me will tell the courts that I converted to Islam and they will come and steal my body from my grave. I am a racist because I believe that because I am a MALAYSIAN Chinese, I should be allowed to compete on equal terms with a Malaysian Malay. I am a racist because I do not accept that I should be a second-class citizen in Malaysia just because I am not a Malay. Where I am now in Australia, I am allowed to compete on equal terms with locals for anything. If I am good enough I get it. If not, someone else gets it. No one looks at me and says, "I'm sorry, the quota for non-Australians has been filled. You have to look elsewhere".

The people have spoken. The majority of Chinese and Indian voters voted for the Opposition. Malays (except the more educated ones) normally vote for Barisan National so that their "special rights" can be protected. Nevertheless, the fact that people now know that the citizens want change is good enough. An excerpt from a chat with one of my friends:

Me: finally... change...
Friend: hopefully without unrest, God willing
Me: sometimes... unrest is necessary for change to happen... if it weren't for BERSIH and HINDRAF... BN wouldn't have been even dented.. in a country where freedom of speech = isa... sometimes there is no choice... revolutions are necessary...
Friend: true - but at the expense of the people is undeniably painful
Me: i believe that more pain occurs when the current government has immense power...
Friend: agreed and these ppl should be commended
Me: fun and games are over... hopefully the opposition gets down to business straight away...
Friend: and bring improvement
Me: for the moment, we need a strong opposition... it is only then that the government can be realistically challenged at the next election... improvement probably mainly at state level in non-BN states... nationally they still have power... though they cant abuse it much without 2/3 majority...
Friend: yes - let's hope the opposition can develop
Me: i'm sure all of us feel the same way...
Friend: here's to progress
Me: here's to change we can believe in...

Enough said. It will take a few more days until the full election results are known. For now, I will end with Barack Obama's famous warcry. Let's hope that this is change we can believe in...

Potpourri...

2008-01-21T21:41:00.000+10:30

Life's not all that different as a pharmacist. Sure, I am now in charge of staff instead of the other way around. I also get more freedom to do what I want to do as opposed to doing what others want me to do. Still, it's just another day at work.

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying life as a pharmacist very much. However it is just another phase in my career. I'm working towards accreditation as a consultant pharmacist. Need to keep myself interested in what I do.

2007 went by like a flash of lightning. It must be one of the fastest years I've been through. It was a good year overall. Nothing much I can complain about. This year looks set to be pretty decent as well.

I'm going back to Malaysia for holidays in February. I'm more looking forward to the prospect of a holiday as opposed to going back itself. I'm not particularly excited. After all, I have more or less disowned my homeland. Something about the country just makes me sick. I should avoid reading the newspapers when I get back because I am sure that I will find myself seething at most news articles. The country is going to the dogs. Living conditions may be alright but democracy and equality is dead. Unless you are of a particular race of course. I simply cannot be patriotic to a country that has done absolutely nothing to support me but demands loyalty. It's just not on.

I started a subscription to TIME magazine at the end of 2007. Almost every issue since has been about the US Presidential Election. It is truly an intriguing race this year. Not among the political parties but more within them. I don't think there's much doubt that the Democrats will win. After all, we are in an era of change. It's more a question of whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will become the next US President. Neither have remained my favourite to win for very long. Clinton is more experienced and seems to be a strong leader but in many cases, experience stagnates and corrupts. She lacks freshness if you know what I mean. Obama on the other hand is taking a page out of Kevin Rudd's book and blatantly flogging the concept of change. The fact that he is relatively inexperienced means that he will not be bound by constraints and will be more eager and enthusiastic to get things done. Yet, his political naivety may not stand him well on an international scale; especially if the US is to remain the dominant superpower in the world.

Vladimir Putin was chosen as the TIME Person of the Year for 2007. I can still remember my final year in secondary school when Putin was President of Russia. I had many an interesting conversation with a then close friend of mine regarding world politics. Putin to us was a cool, suave character who could kick your arse if you got in his way. He still is after 7 years. Although he may have ignored basic human rights on a number of occassions, he stood firm in doing what he felt was right to strengthen Mother Russia. You can't complain when he gets results. Malaysia on the other hand sacrifices basic human rights but goes backwards in building up the country.

I bought an exercise bike in the first week of January in an attempt to get some exercise into my day. It's been going well. Gotten into the habit of waking up first thing in the morning to pump those leg muscles. Need to make sure I keep it up for the long term.

Not long to go before I go back. Hopefully I get a good chance to recharge my batteries.

New Leadership...

2007-11-24T23:57:00.000+10:30

True to his promise, Kevin Rudd led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 Australian Federal Elections. Despite the inexperience and incompetence of many Labor politicians, you must admit that Kevin ran a very intelligent campaign. Copying policies put out by the Government and offering little more but capitalising on the mood for youth and change. They may not stand for anything, but you just have to applaud their tactical victory. I must admit that if I were in his position, I would have employed the same tactics.

It's not that I am anti-Labor or pro-Coalition. However, the Coalition (despite introducing radical changes over the last 3 years) has put Australia in an astoundingly strong economic position. Perhaps that is their downfall. Australians have had it good for so long they feel comfortable handing over the leadership to a perceived young, enthusiastic team.

It is a shame that John Howard is likely to be forced into retirement by losing his own seat of Bennelong. Yet, perhaps this will ensure that the leadership of the Liberal Party is sorted out without too much bloodshed. Of course, there may be a scuffle for the top spot despite strong endorsement for Peter Costello. But then, if Howard was still there, he would have to choose a date to retire and the whole process may turn into a debacle.

We now have Labor Governments in all states and territories. They complained about the Coalition having too much power when they controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Now the ball is in their court. The Liberals just have to hold on to the Senate. Failure to do so will put the economy at risk by more radical changes from the Labor Party to purge out Coalition policies/legislation. Kevin Rudd holds the future of Australia in his hands. I only hope he can stand up for the country and not tow the party line.

It's over... Or is it...?

2007-11-10T22:11:00.000+10:30

Having passed all my pre-registration examinations, my compulsory examination life should be all but over. Yet, it seems unlikely that my life will be free from future examinations. All through life we go through different stages of examinations. In school we would have to make sure we do well and pass all our major examinations. Upon completing my Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM), my school examinations were all over but following that; college examinations came. The end of that brought forth university examinations and assessments. In between were driving tests and English language proficiency tests. Even after graduating, I had to ensure I pass my pre-registration examinations in order to fully qualify as a pharmacist. Theoretically, since this is the last assessment step in my working career, I would not have to sit any more compulsory examinations.

Theory isn't always reflected into practice however. While I am completing the remainder of my compulsory 52 week work experience, I am already working towards accreditation as a consultant pharmacist. Yup, you guessed it. An examination is one of the criteria for accreditation. It isn't compulsory (as in I can choose not to become accredited) yet my interest in pursuing accreditation mandates that I sit through another examination.

I don't mind exams. After all, exam time is when I feel I know something. It's amazing how quickly knowledge seeps out of your brain once you are done with an exam. It's just the possibility of failing that makes exams unappealing.

Whatever it is, the most important exams are now over (for the foreseeable future at least). All I need to do is to see out the remainder of my days as a pre-registrant. 59 days to go and counting...

When you learn something new, the feeling is better than sex...!

2007-09-22T23:05:00.000+09:30

For some reason, that famous line from one of my biology lecturers in my first year of uni sprang to mind. I can remember his explanation that he gets a feeling of "WOW!!!" whenever he learns something new. He used to try getting us all excited about biology and education in general. I must say that I have taken to increasing my knowledge over the past months.

I got excellent grades in my first year of uni. My GPA was in the middle of a distinction and high distinction and I was admitted into the Chancellor's Merit List and the Golden Key International Honour Society based on my results. Put it frankly, I was a top student. But then, my involvement in extra-curricular activities was limited to a general representative role in the Students Association. The years after that saw me heavily involved in extra-curricular activities which culminated in my election as President of the Students Association. In spite of this though, my grades took a dip. I wasn't struggling by any means. I just wasn't scoring as well. I take pride in the fact that I managed to perform above average and not even get close to failing despite my tremendous workload.

It was like that in my school days as well. In primary school my involvement in activities was limited and I used to always be at the top of the class or thereabouts. In secondary school I started out reasonably well but then my grades became average when I got more involved as a Prefect and went on to become Head Prefect. Despite spending more time outside the class than in it, I still managed to score straight A's in my Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM).

Looking back to my uni days; after first year I never did focus much on pharmacy. My main focus was on my job as President of the Students Association. My parents drilled into me that studies need to come first and everything else should support it. As much as I ensured that I did not fail or struggle in my studies, they were simply not my priority. It pains me to admit that I passed my exams for the sole purpose of fulfilling my parents wishes and to not lose face among my colleagues. My heart was always with the Students Association.

When I left uni, I decided to put the Students Association behind me and move on with my life. Aside from one visit back to the office, I have never looked back. In fact, I find myself intensely motivated to pursue knowledge in pharmacy. I collected a year's requirement of ENRICH points (a measure of continuing professional development) within my first 3 months of work and now have almost five times the required amount. My knowledge in pharmacology seems to have been miraculously boosted and I find myself more than capable of teaching pharmacy students who visit us a whole range of topics even many registered pharmacists couldn't teach well. Put it simply, I have a hunger for knowledge.

Amazing, no? When I was in an institution for the purpose of gaining knowledge, I did not seek knowledge. Now that I have left, I hunger for it. I am working towards accreditation as a consultant pharmacist and am involving myself in a whole range of pharmacy organisations. It seems that my interest in pharmacy has only just begun. It's almost as if I wasn't doing pharmacy in uni at all.

Maybe it's just another phase in my life. Maybe I have just found something else to concentrate on. Maybe I will find something else to focus on not long from now. Whatever it is though, I am going to make full use of this "new" found passion in pharmacy to achieve as much as I can in as little time as possible. Maybe then I would have achieved all there is to achieve before this passion in pharmacy runs out...

1st Anniversary...

2007-08-05T19:25:00.000+09:30

One whole year has passed since I met that special someone. Life is funny isn't it? Sometimes, you find what you are looking for only to realise that you still have to wait before you can get it. We've spent more time apart than together. The time will come when we will be able to turn that around. Don't know when though since what I want may not necessarily be what occurs.

Speaking of waiting; I managed to end one recently. The final book in the Harry Potter series was released! I pre-ordered my copy a few months before the release date. No, I'm not a "Harry Potter fan" or whatever they call them. It's just that I make sure I read well-known books so that at the very least it will help me follow some conversations. I bought the first three books sometime in 2004 but didn't read them until last year (or was it the year before?). Their prices dropped due to the release of one of the newer books so I couldn't resist and bought them all. Since I finished reading all my other books (including The DaVinci Code), I decided that I might as well spend some time reading those dust covered books. I must say that the storyline is fantastic. No wonder it topped so many charts even before some of the books were released. There's a certain attraction to the concept of wizards and magic. Anyways, after reading through all the books more or less non-stop (since I had stockpiled books 1 through 6), I had to wait a whole year for the final book to come out. It was definitely worth the wait.

***Spoiler alert!***

I won't bother revealing plot details since if you haven't read it, you will be able to find them elsewhere. My main comment is on the ending of the book. I was kind of secretly hoping Harry would die along with Voldemort. But then again, it's a childrens' book and so the ending was more predictable that I hoped it would be. Nevertheless, the path towards the ending was deliciously twisted and made for a real page turner. Aside from Fred, the other deaths in the book weren't very shocking or significant in my opinion. The thing is though, while many of the good guys die (e.g. Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Cedric) I can't think of many main bad guys who die. The Malfoys, Dolohov, Bellatrix, Fenrir Greyback and the Carrows all seemingly survived. I would have thought at least some of them would have been killed.

Snape must be the most interesting character in the books. I must say that I suspected he was with the good guys. After all, he isn't a very straightforward character. It's good to see that Harry recognises the important role Snape played by naming his second son after him.

***Spoilers end***

It's drawing ever closer to my exams. All the staff in my pharmacy seem extremely confident that I will pass with flying colours. One of the partners said she would eat her hat if I didn't pass. I do feel that I am prepared but I still need to make sure I study hard to guarantee passing. Aside from attending monthly PSA meetings, all I do in the profession is turn up for work every day. I need to play a more active role in the profession as a whole. Looks like I have to get off my bum and start looking at how to make things better. Well then, until next time...

Rant and rave...

2007-05-03T22:24:00.001+09:30

So I've just been granted Permanent Residency status in Australia. Ho-hum. The only real difference is that I can stay in Australia indefinitely and move in and out of the country as many times as I like. A few of my colleagues made a fuss about it and some had to declare to others that they received it. They must be desperately seeking attention. I mean, it's really no big deal. Who cares if you got your Permanent Residency first? Everyone is going to get it eventually. Not like it was ever a race to be the first. Pitiful.

I was appalled today after reading a report written by an opposition pharmacist. The sheer lack of effort and poor recommendations in the report made me wonder how some people can be entrusted to play a key role in improving patient health outcomes when their performance reflects incompetence. Footballers are left on the bench or withdrawn from the squad if their performance is poor. Why can't it be the same for health professionals? Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying all health professionals need to be perfect. At the very least, they should put effort into their work and strive to improve any shortcomings they may have and address poor performance. Yet, so many manage to get away with shoddy performances that a high-school leaver could possibly do a better job. It's good to see that pharmacy schools are starting to tighten up their assessments and ensure that their graduates display some level of competence.

Losing the opportunity to win 2 trophies in the span of less than a week has left me really frustrated with Chelsea's performance this season. They are a fantastic team. Yet, they stuttered at the time when they could not afford to. Despite this I am proud that they have gotten to virtually the final stages of all the competitions they were involved in. Liverpool on the other hand is a rubbish team riding on the fatigue of other teams to get far in the only one single competition that they do not deserve to be in in the first place. The Champions League is supposed to be for champions. How long has it been since Liverpool were champions? I doubt anyone can remember. Yet, they sacrifice their league games and put all their effort into obtaining this one trophy and everyone says they are a "quality" team. Come on. All the other teams in the competition have been worn out by their domestic struggles. This team doesn't even challenge for the domestic title and yet is allowed entry into a league supposedly meant for champions. An utter disgrace. They do not deserve to play in the competition.

I'll be heading back to Adelaide next week for my compulsory seminar as a pre-registrant Pharmacist. I'm looking forward to catching up with friends. Also to testing what I have learnt in the past 4 months. I wonder if the others have learnt as much as I have from their workplaces?

Well, another month flies by like the clouds. Amazing how fast time flies. Still enjoying life. Still looking forward to the future...

Erratic...

2007-04-16T22:38:00.000+09:30

Let's face it; I'm a lazy blogger. When I first started I was excited at the prospect of having a place to post my thoughts and experiences. As time went by, I found it getting more and more tedious as I simply had better things to do. I keep saying I'll put more effort but obviously these promises were as empty as the updates on my blog. When something interesting happens, I prefer to talk about it to those I care for or just leave it wandering in my thoughts. It's not like I don't have time to blog. I'm just plain lazy.

Nevertheless, now that I'm here I might as well give a brief update. It's now my 4th month in my job and I must say that things are going fantastically well. I've established myself as an above average graduate and seem to have gained acceptance in the community. Most customers see me as a real pharmacist as opposed to a graduate/trainee and seek my advice in the same way. One of the biggest pleasures in life is actually looking forward to your next day of work.

My house is more or less fully furnished. Sure, I don't have a microwave, washing machine or big chest of drawers. But then again they aren't things that I really need to live comfortably. They are more of a convenience rather than a necessity. People are surprised when I tell them I wash my clothes by hand. I've been doing that for the past 4 years!

While I've become lazy at blogging, I've become more hardworking in my area of work. I've been busily collecting points towards my Continuing Professional Development. The idea is that pharmacists should maintain lifelong learning in their profession to ensure that they are kept on their toes in this ever-changing industry. I managed to fulfil the minimum point requirements by March and am still collecting them. Makes me feel like a nerd at times. I am sure I studied much less while I was at uni! Even so, I must say that filling my head with knowledge makes my confidence grow and I learn many new things that I apply in my day-to-day work. This sort of reminds me of one of my first-year Biology lecturers who would declare that obtaining knowledge is more exciting than sex. Not that I would know yet.

What's going on with the world today? It seems as though we are spiralling deeper and deeper towards hell. Now scientists are predicting the effects of global warming will be seen in the coming years. We knew about global warming more than a decade ago and no-one did anything then! Typical of humans to wait until the last minute to do something about a problem. Not a day goes by nowadays without reading about disaster due to natural circumstances. Not so natural when you think that we are the ones that manufactured the cause of the poblem in the first place. I tend to wonder whether I will be able to grow old in a green world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hippie. I just feel that things have gone way too far for comfort. I know that I don't do nearly as enough as I should. However if we really wanted to make a difference, everyone should pitch in. We shouldn't have to pay more to convert our electricity and gas into "green"-energy. We seem to have to always pay more just to save the planet. Governments should learn how to put their money where their mouth is and make an active effort to save the environment.

Enough rambling. I know that if these words I am typing were actually sound; I would be able to hear them echoing on and on. Probably no-one visits this blog anymore. I can't blame them. Yet, it was never meant to be like a large gathering place for people to visit. It is meant to be just a place for me to put my thoughts into words for myself to read but also for whoever is interested. I couldn't be bothered if no-one read this. That was never the point in the first place.

At the moment, for me at least, life is beautiful. It could be better for sure but I am content. God has been intensely good to me and continues to shower me with His blessings. I guess when you're happy, you'd rather spend the time enjoying yourself as opposed to blogging. Well then, enough from me for now. If anyone is reading this, I hope that life finds you happy as well. Until next time...

And rain fell on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights...

2007-01-22T01:09:00.000+10:30

Ok, so it's not as bad as in the days of Noah. Nevertheless, a wave of storms has seemed to hit many parts of the world, in particular; Europe, North America and Australia.

Ice storms knock over power lines in the US

Monstrous waves in France

Mayhem in the Netherlands

Floods in Australia

Interesting to note that these storms are all occuring almost simultaneously. It's sort of an irony for Australia though. We were facing a record-long drought and people were praying hard for rain. A news report quoted a pastor as quipping that his congregation "prayed too hard" (if that is even possible). The massive rainfall recorded across South Australia alone was reported as being a once in 50 year event. Despite the flooding and some destruction, it's a good thing for the farmers who so desperately needed the water. Hopefully this doesn't end the rain quota for the next few years. We need constant rain as opposed to one-off waterfalls.

Doomsayers shouldn't get too excited yet. After all, once the Great Flood was over, God promised that an event like that would never happen again. So we can cancel off floods as a way the world will end. There's still fire, wind, earth and other elements though!

Back in action...!

2007-01-20T16:54:00.000+10:30

Happy New Year to all! Granted it's a little late but better late than never. Late last year, I upgraded my blog to the new one that incorporates your Google account. For some reason, my whole blog got all messed up and I found that I couldn't load it with Internet Explorer. I didn't have the time nor patience to fix it then. Now I do. Hopefully all the problems have been fixed and everyone is able to start reading this blog again. No doubt some may never come back after trying a few times unsuccesfully to access my blog when it was messed up. But oh well...

2006 proved to be a fascinating year for me. Some highlights of the year include (in no particular order):

Winning the Merdeka Award for being the best Malaysian student in South Australia
Obtaining employment with Gambier City Pharmacies
Finding that special someone
Buying a second-hand burgundy Toyota Corolla
Graduating from UniSA with my Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree
Being elected as the Pre-registrant representative of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia SA Branch

I blogged about some of these but those that have recently occured probably haven't been mentioned.

As you can guess, I've moved and started work in Mount Gambier. It's located 5 hours from both Adelaide and Melbourne. While technically considered a rural area, it can hardly be called rural when compared to all the other rural areas in Australia. We have most of the facilities you can get in Adelaide including Kmart, Target, Radio Rentals, Wendy's, Reject Shop, Jay-Jay's and Rivers. It's basically a smaller version of Adelaide. Life here is very peaceful but enjoyable. I live in a quiet street about a 15 minute walk from the town centre.

Work has been great. It took me about 2 days to fit in with the workings of my pharmacy. According to my preceptor, I am 2-3 months ahead of any pre-registrant he has ever seen. In addition, he feels I slotted into the workplace with amazing ease. I must say that I do enjoy going to work. I am given a lot of freedom with what I do. Day 2 and I am already counselling patients without supervision. 2nd week and I am able to provide advice on non-prescription medicines even without studying about them! No doubt my decision to accept this job offer was one of the best I have made in my life.

I've slowly been getting things I need to make my house habitable. I live in a 2 bedroom unit. It's pretty big for one person but it gives me more space to move around. I got a tv but since the reception for Channel 10 (the channel I watch the most) was poor, I had to buy a set top box to improve the reception. Not to mention get a few extra digital channels. Worked like a charm. The living room is a little bare but once I get the rest of my stuff from Adelaide in February, things will definitely be more comfortable here.

All in all, it was a great end to 2006 and an even better beginning to 2007. As much as I miss my significant other, I am enjoying my life here and look forward to more interesting times ahead. I can only hope that she enjoys her life where she will be working as well.

Now that I have my broadband connection, I will try to keep this blog updated. Do spread the word around that this is back up and running if you are able to. Hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful start to the new year as well...

The neverending story...

2006-11-18T21:40:00.000+10:30

I'm pretty bad with my resolutions. If you are a frequent visitor to my blog, you will no doubt recall many previous posts promising to constantly update my blog even when I'm busy. Obviously, it didn't take long for that to fall through. I don't know. I just lose the passion to blog. It's sort of like taking photos. I'm not the type that likes to make sure I take many photos wherever I go; rather I prefer to enjoy the moments and only take a few photos. Blogging for me is like that. Whenever I experience certain things; I prefer to savour them rather than think about blogging it. True, blogging will allow me to remember details about the experience in future. Yet, I don't normally look that far. To me, if I can't remember the experience, it probably wasn't that great anyway.

So what's been happening? I finished my last examination as an undergraduate student last Saturday. I find it interesting that I didn't have an overwhelming sense of freedom after the paper. While others are enjoying their holidays, I am preparing my Permanent Residency application, converting my Driver's Licence and preparing for my move over to Mount Gambier. Life is very much like a neverending story. When you are studying, you look forward to enjoying yourself after you graduate. Yet once you graduate, you need to prepare for working life. Then it's retirement and eventually death. Funny, eh? You put all your effort in your younger years to make enough money to enjoy life. However the only time you get to really enjoy yourself without taking leave etc. is once you retire. By then, your body probably wouldn't be able to cope with too much enjoyment.

Whatever it is; it's over. No more classes. No more hanging out with friends for a coffee between breaks. No more gossip about new couples. Student life is more or less over. Sure, I can come back to do a postgraduate (indeed, it is more likely than not that I WILL come back) but by then, I would be juggling studies with work and classmates would be colleagues more than friends. The "care-free" days are over.

I can't say I'm not looking forward to working life. It's going to be an exciting new phase in life. As it is, I'm in the process of looking for a used car to purchase. Once I save enough money I'll be able to afford a new one. It's not easy getting something you want that matches your price range. Oh well, it's going to take some effort.

I guess the thing I'll miss most of all from student life is being able to hang out with so many friends. Working life will most likely limit me to a handful of colleagues around my age; the rest most likely being older. Then again, I'll need to make sure I still keep in touch with old friends. It's an interesting journey ahead. Let's just hope the ride is smooth...

An inconvenient truth...

2006-10-29T23:20:00.000+10:30

What can you do...?

Ball of a time...

2006-09-12T00:31:00.000+09:30

We had our annual Sigma Pharmacy Ball last Saturday, my first and last Pharmacy Ball since I will be graduating at the end of the year. The theme of the ball was mafia and we were encouraged to dress up for the event. I went shopping for a shirt for the night a few days before and got a tie the day after. Guess the colour? Pink...

It was good though. Many commented that I looked good in pink. It was a light shade so in many photos it seemed as though I was wearing white. Anyways, many dressed up to the theme although I felt that many didn't really understand mafia. Mafia originates from Sicily and most of their activities are well portrayed in the 1972 movie The Godfather (one of my all time favourites). Although mafia are an organisation of so-called gangsters, they are not the typical Triad, Yakuza or bad boy in the hood. Mafia is unique and doesn't apply to all gangsters. Thus, the most important thing would be the tie or bow tie as an integral part of the costume. Many still think it's "cool" not to wear a tie but honestly, a formal event should not permit those without ties. Call me old fashioned but it's just manners. Also, many guys loved the "rose in breast pocket" gig. The reason Don Corleone and others wore the rose/flower was because it was a corsage for his daughter's wedding! Don't think many realised that though. Doesn't matter, I was considering a rose as well.

Enough rambling. The night began well enough with the usual speeches. We had a small goodie bag (composing of some lollies, various creams and a condom among others) on each of our places on the table as well as some facial stuff. The highlight of the evening was a photo slideshow taken over the year as a tribute to all 4th years. The memorable moments included pubcrawls, barbies and the quiz night. The ending scene with a classmate whose drunken antics filmed in 1st year were compared to this year's was classic. We also had a "Pharmacy Son g" done by three fellow 4th years (2 on vocals and one on guitar) that made fun of our 4 years in the program.

A very enjoyable night I must say. There were also award presentations for each year. I was awarded with the only 4th year award, the title of which was something like "Most likely to get kicked out and most likely not to be a Pharmacist". I asked one of the masterminds behind the award and was told it was because of my involvement in politics. Yeah, very funny guys. I must admit that the prize was fantastic though. So not complaining!

I must say I was rather surprised to be acknowledged for my work in the Students Association in our 4th year rep's report. I didn't directly contribute in my role towards Pharmacy so it was a nice gesture in recognition of my contribution to the student population as a whole.

The prize was a hamper filled with goodies. Among the items were a mug, vitamins, an electic toothbrush, 2 shirts (XL and XXL size), shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, digital thermometer, bandage and a bottle of wine. At least some of the items are going to be useful!

I thoroughly enjoyed the night. It was nice to see everyone dressed up nicely and a great way to end university life. My company was fantastic as well. Too bad not everyone went for the ball. We're back in class on Tuesday for the first time since April and I can't wait to see everyone again.

It all falls into place...

2006-09-05T11:00:00.000+09:30

My almost month-long absence from blogging has been due to my equally month-long clinical placement in a pharmacy to the South. Needless to say I have been tired when I get back from work and don't have the mood to blog as I prefer to spend my time enjoying myself over the weekends. The location of the placement was about a 50 minute train ride from where I stay and it takes me approximately 2 hours in total to travel to and fro. My pharmacy is a 10 minute walk to the beach and was a very nice area to work in. Despite that, I felt that I laboured through this location and did not enjoy it as much as my previous placement.

Why you may ask? I had good preceptors and good staff. However, the setting of the pharmacy was such that I felt very restricted in going about with my activities. I felt as though I did not have enough freedom for some reason. Perhaps it's because of the many processes that needed to be followed in this pharmacy.

I mentioned before that I have been applying for jobs and been invited to interviews. The first job I applied for was with an established and large pharmacy chain that had a strong base in South Australia and Victoria. Indeed, it was one of the most well-known pharmacy brands in Australia. Suffice to say that I really wanted the job. After going through an interview and a vocational assessment and waiting for almost 2 months, I knew that my chance for employment had more or less vanished. I was informed later after making a call that I was not successful in my application for a position. When I heard the news though, I wasn't disappointed at all.

It happens that my placement over the previous month was in one of the branches of this large pharmacy chain. As I mentioned before, I felt that I did not really enjoy myself in the environment. In addition, I realised that the company did not value its employees as much as I would have expected. Word around already is that the pay is low unless you are at the top (positions which would normally be held by those approaching retirement). It so happened as well that while working there, "water-cooler" conversations made me realise that I would definitely not enjoy working there. As you would have gathered, I am more of a leader than a follower and strongly believe that my capabilities should be rewarded if they prove to be above expectations. For this company (and many others) however, it would seem that capabilities and potential are not recognised as much as personal circumstance. It's a pity really.

I had to go through a total of 7 interviews before receiving an offer. I accepted the offer on the spot. Why you may ask? First of all, it wasn't because I felt that I should jump at the first opportunity. On the contrary, I initially had reservations about this particular pharmacy. Nevertheless, this pharmacy proved to be different. They gave a tremendous first impression of professionalism, something a majority of jobs I applied for lack. After further research into the pharmacy, I received rave reviews from those with experience in the pharmacy industry. Most important of all, they made me feel wanted. During my interview, the employer went at length to find out more about my personality and interests. The employer (who was a notable member in the pharmacy industry) then personally took me to visit his pharmacy. When the call came, the employer made me feel that he was excited to have me working side-by-side with him next year. This is in complete contrast to other companies that make you feel that you should be greatful to them for giving you a job. He made me feel that he was honoured to have me working with him. While I made a decision beforehand to accept the offer if I received it based on my preliminary research (which indicated that I would actually learn more and get to fully nurture my capabilities), his enthusiasm at offering me the job made accepting it all the more easier. I must say, this has been the most professional pharmacy I have dealt with in my job hunt and the only one to truly recognise my capabilities and potential. At the same time, it is the only one which has dispelled my doubts about whether I would enjoy working with them.

As the title says, all things fall into place. If I had received the first job offer and taken it, I would probably be regretting the decision or find myself being de-skilled over the years. It seems that God helped me by not letting me receive an offer until it came to this pharmacy. I could not be more thankful as once again He proves to me that he answers my prayers in the best way possible.

Well, now I'll need to start rejecting offers and declining interviews since I have accepted a job offer. I must say that for once, I can't wait to start work for next year in this exciting pharmacy!

Recognition...!

2006-08-10T22:34:00.000+09:30

I'm pretty used to appearing in the Australian papers due to my role that requires constant media contact. Back home however, I've only managed to get a significant section in the papers once if I recall correctly. There was a Bernama (Malaysia's version of Reuters) reporter who mentioned that there will be media coverage in Malaysia. Well, here it is:

Article from The Star, 10th August 2006 (click me)

It is nice to have your achievements recognised, especially if they are big achievements. For once, I received proper credit where credit is due.

Oh happy days...!

2006-08-06T15:47:00.000+09:30

It's been almost a month since my last post. Things have been looking fantastic lately. Time passes fast when you're having fun. Where shall I begin? Probably from the most significant.

Earlier in the year, I submitted an application for the annual Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) of South Australia Merdeka Awards. These awards recognise the contribution of 3 Malaysian students who have displayed exemplary and outstanding achievements and significant contribution to bilateral relationships between South Australia and Malaysia. To make it simple, the award normally goes to Malaysians who have good results and strong extra-curricular involvement. The prizes were, in ascending order, $750; $1000; and a laptop. In applying, I had to fill out a bunch of forms, write a 500 word essay on how I fulfilled the criteria of the award and obtain 3 referees. The selection panel for the award consisted of eminent South Australians who had no involvement with the universities and thus were able to provide an objective and neutral view in the selection process.

I have been aware of this award for a long time and know the past few winners personally since most of them were the past International Student Representatives in my Students Association. To put it bluntly, I would have been very surprised if I did not win the award. It may sound arrogant but my achievements speak for themselves. Not many students, if at all any, can even come close to competing with my CV. I was informed that I did indeed win the first prize.

The awards ceremony was held last Friday at the Adelaide Convention Centre. I was finally able to meet the other two winners since the details provided to me prior to the event were vague. One is from my university and the other, Adelaide University. The event was more important than I imagined with an admirable attendance list. Among the attendees were The Hon. Mark Vaile, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia; The Hon. Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz, Malaysian Minister of Trade and Industry; Sir Eric Neal, Patron of the Merdeka Awards; and several other Malaysian MPs who followed the Minister here to Adelaide.

The dining hall was simply stunning. The tables were set out with a twisted candelabra in centre. Balloons floated from each table which would later be used for a raffle draw (the tickets being in the balloons). It's difficult to describe so hopefully the picture helps. The event featured some fantastic performances by students including an opera duet and twin cellists. Dinner was fabulous as well. When it came time for the receipt of our awards, I was surprised to find that the first prize winner, on top of winning the laptop, would receive an additional $1000 donated by Sir Eric Neal himself! I received my award and gave a short speech that took me less than half an hour to write (the irony is that many people came to me after that and genuinely told me that I made a great speech). It was a little awkward though as the laptop was wrapped in a big box and I had to carry it, my framed certificate and cheque while having pictures taken. Mind you it wasn't light!

Put it plainly, it was a memorable night. I can't recall being so happy and recognised for the work I have put in all these years. Everything was perfect. The setting, guests, food, prizes and my stunning partner for the event. It's a great way to end (well not exactly) my undergraduate university life.

I had my 22nd birthday last Monday. My friends took me to a Malaysian restaurant where we had a nice and quiet dinner. I had an enjoyable dinner after a weekend of rushing to complete my elective. The cake was a delicious chocolate cake (it had to be good since I don't normally care for cake unless it is made of ice-cream!). For my present, my friends gave me a 2-piece bean bag. It would have been a better surprise if they didn't actually give me the beans beforehand! All in all, a fun night.

Since I am planning to stay in Australia after I graduate, I have been aplying for jobs. I've sent out a string of applications and have thus far attended 5 interviews. Of the 5, one was a rejection and the other 4 are pending replies. It is interesting. I must get a job and I have probably gone for more interviews than most of my colleagues since my CV is very attractive. Yet, it is difficult for me to compete with the locals who get priority employment. Despite my capabilities (and the interviews went very well), most employers prefer the security of locals and also those who have had work experience in an Australian pharmacy. I haven't had this due to my involvement as President of the Students Association for the past 2 years which is a job itself. Regardless, many understand the situation once I explain it and see that I am a quick learner. Something I have yet to resort to is my contacts. Through my networking, I have certain contacts that would easily get me a job. Yet, I haven't used them since I want to try and get one out of my own capabilities. Silly isn't it? Things could be so easy, yet I stand stubborn out of pride. Oh well. Why is this a "happy" post? Well, the fact that I got so many interviews is reassuring. Coupled with that are my confident interviews which have been more or less casual conversations. I am sure I will get a job; it's just a matter of when.

Those 3 are the main things that have been happening. My results for my previous placement and elective were a HD and D respectively so my results are picking up again. It's been busy but at the same time fun. My time spent with some friends has also been energising. What I hope for now is for this happy period to extend indefinitely!

Go West...

2006-07-12T23:31:00.000+09:30

In a flash, my last ever NLC Anual Conference passed by. At the same time last year I was fuming and there was a feeling of deep resentment at my experience during the conference. This time however, a feeling of contentment flows within me. A feeling that the conference this year ended in the best way possible. The icing on the cake so to speak.

There were the usual battles with the usual culprits this year. This time though, I was in the thick of the action and had a chance to really flex my experience and knowledge on the NSW and QLD "leaders". It so happened to be the last conference for most of us "old boys" and "old girls"; those of us who have been involved in the NLC and NUS for most of our uni life. There was no way we were going to give in this year after what happened last year. The inexperience of NSW, QLD and VIC delegates and their respective leaders meant that we were looked more highly upon due to our in-depth knowledge of the workings of the NLC. We didn't play the games they played last year though. We stuck to the rules and did things the way they were supposed to be done.

NSW started the game of accrediting dodgy ISOs to the NLC last year but weren't able to back up their efforts this year with solid evidence. Eventually, their accreditations were rejected by the conference floor and they walked off. Imagine their hypocrisy! They criticised us last year for walking off and they did it this year. No question that we drilled it into them as they did to us last year. Also, one of the most irritating old hags in the conference was named! A dream come true! The VIC delegates were a little more sensible this year as well. Add to all that the fact that the composition of the NLC National Executive this year has some semblance of competency.

It's the end of an era for the NLC. VSU coming in means huge changes need to be made in order for the NLC to survive. In addition, the fact that all the "old boys and girls" from SA, WA and TAS (including yours truly) are retiring from the NLC for good means that the organisation will consist only of new blood from next year. I can't imagine how it would be like next year without anyone with thorough knowledge of basics such as Standing Orders. Who knows, one of us may pull what we call an "Adrian Wong" and reappear next year. It won't be me though.

After the conference, I stayed back in Perth (in my Aunt's house) for half a week for a holiday. One of my closest friends took me around Perth throughout my stay and I had the opportunity to visit highlights such as Hay St. Mall, Fremantle, Cottesloe Beach, Hillarys Boat Harbour and King's Park. Perth is sort of like a more developed Adelaide. I find it similar to my views of an ideal city. Not as backwards as Adelaide yet not being as hectic as Melbourne or Sydney. It's also the fastest developing city in Australia currently. My Aunt tells me that the statistics indicate that around 500 people migrate to Perth per week. It seems that dishwashers can earn up to $100,000 per annum and miners up to $200,000 per annum! Talk about big bucks!

Highlights of my trip?

King's Park: a patch of beautiful green with a spectacular view located in the heart of the city.
Fish and chips from Ciccerello's in Fremantle.
The white sand of Cottesloe Beach. Harbour Town located a stone's throw away from the main shopping district.
Hillarys Boat Harbour: marina-cum-shopping complex.
The Swan River: yes, it's a river, not a lake.

Doesn't sound like much but I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Perth.

My time in Perth was a memorable one. Yet the thing that haunts me is the fact that I may not see some of my friends there ever again. It's been a long, tough and at times fun journey throughout these years. We may not have known each other for as long as our school friends or uni mates yet a sort of bond exists between us. It's hard to say goodbye. It's harder still when you don't want to.

All good things must come to an end. As much as I have put some hard work into the NLC as an outsider, I can't be involved forever. The time has come to pass on the baton to others. The end of one chapter signals the beginning of another. I enjoyed my time here and all the ups and downs that came with it. Thanks for the memories everyone. As hard as it is for me to say this, there is only one thing I can say about my involvement with the NLC...

THE END

Time out...

2006-07-06T16:19:00.000+09:30

I'm currently attending the National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia Inc. (NLC) Annual Conference in Perth. Been here since Saturday. Things have been busier than I expected (but then again, I did expect to be busy) so I haven't had much time to go online or have some good sleep. Perth is beautiful from a glance. Not sure how it looks like in detail though.

Had a chance to go to Chinatown for supper in Chinatown on Monday after our fantastic formal dinner. They put me in one of the two tables right in front! Everything was perfect aside from the smoke alarm being set off by the fog machine.

The Conference has been going ok. Those of you who've been following my blog for some time would remember all the crap we had to go through last year. This year has been much better. In fact, we've been able to take revenge on those who screwed us last year. For once, we had the opportunity to flex our numbers. Regardless, we've managed to keep things civil and professional.

The Conference ends on Saturday. Then I'll be heading off to a beach house with some relatives and then coming back to the city. Then it's back to Adelaide on Wednesday. Looking forward to a much needed break.

World Cup fever...!

2006-06-19T22:31:00.000+09:30

My past week has been in a state of semi-consciousness due to lack of sleep. The reason? Well, that event that occurs once every 4 years where 2 teams representing a country each try to kick a ball between two opposing posts joined by a crossbar. Don't get it? It's the FIFA World Cup 2006!

I'm a football freak. People accuse me of switching loyalties in the team I support too often. But how can I help it? I don't support a team just because it's "my team". I support teams that have great players who make the game beautiful. When it comes to the World Cup, the team I support regardless of how well they do is Brazil (slight contradication to what I just said). The samba boys. 5 time World Cup champions. Producer of legends like Pele, Jairzinho, Garrincha, Socrates, Carlos Alberto, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and now; Robinho. It's not just the names. It's the way the whole team plays. Flair that can't be replicated by other teams.

Up till now, I've watched 25 and missed only 4 matches. What a run! I started it by watching all the matches for four days in a row. You can imagine how I felt and how I feel even now. Exhausted but excited. Another match is starting in a while. Togo vs. Switzerland.

The thing with the World Cup is that teams that don't look good on paper tend to produce the most exciting matches. Ivory Coast showed us that a debutant can rock great teams like Argentina. Ghana produced a dazzling 2-0 win over the 2nd ranked team in the world; the Czech Republic. On the other hand, teams such as England and France have displayed boring football.

Australia managed to qualify for this World Cup. This is only their second World Cup and came after 32 years. It's a good thing here. At least the sport will get better recognition in this country that is crazy on Australian Rules, cricket, tennis and swimming. The problem is, it's getting into their heads a little too much. There were crazy celebrations after their win over Japan that I couldn't get to sleep because of the noise. It made them a little overconfident you must say. Especially when their pundits start expecting them to beat Brazil. Boy were they brought back down to earth. Still, it's good that we get full coverage of all the matches here.

I'll probably make a few more posts on this World Cup as we go on. As for now, the match is about to start. Let's hope we don't get a neutral result...

It's only words...?

2006-06-10T21:32:00.000+09:30

It's been a while since I had some thoughts to share. Got one today. It's got to do with those things we call promises.

What are promises? An indication of commitment? Why do we make them? Why do we break them? Promises are a way of letting someone know that we are commited to what we pledge. But when is it a promise? Is it different to say "Alright, I'll meet you at 1pm tomorrow" as opposed to "I promise to meet you at 1pm tomorrow"? Clearly, a promise doesn't have to be formalised by indicating that it really is a promise. Rather, one enters into a promise by committing oneself to an agreement. Probably promise isn't the best word to use. Nevertheless, it is simple and everyone understands it.

So what's the deal with promises? Well, too many people break them. Too many people take them for granted. It's easy to make promises or commitments you can't keep. The difficult thing in many cases is keeping the promises. Why then do people make promises they can't or don't intend to keep? Probably a decline in social integrity in general. The thing that frustrates me the most is people who have the audacity to make claims like "rules are meant to be broken" or "you can't keep all your promises". If that was the case, why make rules or promises at all? Many people disregard the whole principle of making a promise. This is why in modern society, the honour system rarely works.

It's not about not wanting to disappoint someone. For example, if someone asked you to come for a gathering and you said yes even though you don't want to go just so the person doesn't feel disappointed. Then you do a no-show. Is that going to make the person feel better in any way? On the contrary, the person would be expecting you and would feel let-down that you did not show up. On the other hand, if you said no from the beginning then the person would not have any expectations of you aside from an initial feeling of disappointment.

They may only be words. But the words carry meaning. They carry a commitment. Promises shouldn't be promises of convenience. Rather, they should be promises of genuine intent. If not, don't make the promise at all. It saves everyone the frustration and disappointment.

A popular way of breaking a promise (or FFK as Chinese call it) is by giving an excuse and saying sorry. Sorry. The word most taken for granted. It's easy to just call a person an hour before an appointment and say "Sorry but I can't make it". This ignores the fact that the person who was stood up would have been expecting and preparing for the appointment and may have gone out of his/her way to keep it. Sorry isn't a cure. It means nothing without sincerity. I'm not saying that sorry is a useless word. It is in fact one of the most powerful words. However, it is used so often in the most trivial circumstances that it is now difficult to appreciate a genuine expression of sorrow.

The point is, promises should be taken seriously. Breaking a promise may be easy enough to do, but it won't be so for the person on the other end. Sometimes, we make promises we don't like. Regardless, a promise is a promise. It should be kept even if we don't like it. We should do our best to keep each promise we make. If circumstances work against us and we genuinely can't keep to a promise, then the best solution would be to let the person know as soon as possible and arrange for a replacement for that promise. Not all promises can be replaced. The important thing is that we try.

None of us can keep all our promises. I have to shamefully admit that I myself have broken a few. Nevertheless, I ensure to the best of my ability that I keep all my promises regardless of how difficult they may be. If someone expects something of me, it is only proper that I live up to their expectations. I only wished everyone else valued their promises more than people in general do.

YES...

2006-06-09T01:06:00.000+09:30

As always, work keeps me preoccupied resulting in my blog being pushed aside. We've been having our referendum this week. We needed to have it to approve changes to our Constitution. It wasn't easy getting the changes finalised. But we got there eventually and now the students have to ratify the changes. 501 votes was the minimum for the referendum to be quorate and a majority of "YES" votes needed to approve the changes.

My target was to surpass the 501 mark by the end of Tuesday. We basically breezed through it. With one day of campaigning left we are close to, if not above, 1000 votes. Better than I expected. Now let's just hope that the majority voted "YES". Shouldn't be too difficult seeing that most of the voters were sent in by our campaigners and there were no people campaigning for a "NO" vote.

I spent the previous week travelling across all the campuses (including our rural campus in Whyalla) to conduct an information session on VSU and the referendum. Interesting little town, Whyalla. 45 minute flight from Adelaide. A small community where everyone knows everyone else. It must be tough knowing that anything you do may be talked about by others. Kind of like "Neighbours" in real life. It was good though. I've now visited all the UniSA campuses.

I spent this week travelling around as well to help with the campaign in each campus. Many will disagree with me but the vote tally so far reflects a peak voter turnout on the days I campaigned in a particular campus. Either I was a great campaigner or everyone only does work when I'm around. More likely the latter though I am a pretty good bullsh*t artist if I must say so myself.

Came across a major dilemma the day before. I was browsing through clothes at the Myer Stocktake Sale and found a nice green jacket. Then I found an even nicer bright blue one. It was blue with a yellow/gold stripe on the sleeves and some green as well. It was 30% off and ended up costing about $56. I was really in two minds as to whether it was worth the money or not. After sleeping on it overnight and getting two opinions I decided to buy it. Hope I don't regret the splurge!

The 2006 World Cup is just hours away. I bought myself a magazine. I should get more but haven't found any real good ones. It's once every 4 years and worth the wait. I'm going to try to watch all the matches if I can. No doubt I will miss a few. We'll see how it goes.

Not really into thinking at the moment. Will post when something tingles my brain. Until then...

Media blitz...

2006-05-25T22:15:00.000+09:30

This week was supposed to be the calm between the storms. How wrong that turned out to be. The University distributed an e-mail to all students highlighting the changes that will occur once VSU comes into effect. By some method, The Australian newspaper managed to get wind of the closures of 2 bars in our university. They came over on Wednesday to get interviews and photos. This is a pretty big thing since this newspaper is a national one meaning you can get it all across Australia and it is one of the more reliable newspapers as opposed to our "tabloid-like" local paper.

The article appeared today in the papers and all the other media outlets jumped on the bandwagon. I was woken up by a call about media contacting the office. As I was getting ready to go, I was barraged with non-stop phone calls requesting interviews. I did a phone interview with Radio Adelaide and the ABC. ABC Radio then contacted me for an interview to happen in 30 minutes in the bar! I had to reject it as it was just imposible for me to make it. All the other calls arranged for an interview later in the day. I got to the office and had another interview on the phone. Then I headed off to the City West Campus for interviews with ABC News and Channel Ten. I still cannot understand why the ABC need 3 different interviews with me. Pretty silly in my opinion. Anyways, we had both interviews consecutively and it was good that the bar was pretty well patronised and the students they got gave good comments. Overall, the interviews went well. It's unfortunate that the scope put on the issue focused on the loss of cheap beer. There's so much more that's going to disappear! At least ABC News managed to get in some comments about the loss of our non-commercial services. Still, it would have been better if they didn't make it seem as though all that is important revolves around beer.

All this was crammed in with 3 other meetings for the day. Then I came home to record my news interviews. The thing is, I don't have a VCR or something to record off the tv. The only option was to record the tv from my digital camera. It worked ok. For some reason though, the tv image was clear but the viewscreen for recording was flickering. Magnetic interference perhaps? Oh well, I had to make do with what I have. I uploaded both the interviews on YouTube. Here they are:

Channel Ten News coverage on bar closure at UniSA City West campus (click me)

ABC News coverage on bar closure at UniSA City West campus (click me)

I don't listen to the radio so I couldn't get those interviews. Anyways, there's my 15 minutes of fame. Though not exactly 15 minutes!

Falling into place...

2006-05-20T16:55:00.000+09:30

It's been a really busy week for me. I've been spending more hours than I woud like in office. Required though as the countdown draws nearer to when VSU kicks in. I managed to get certain things I wanted approved through 2 Council meetings without difficulty. It required a lot of work to get to this point. A lot of debate and arguments as well. But it worked out in the end.

It's interesting how the principle of democracy works. When we want to have good discussions and a sort of watchdog to monitor decisions, we encourage a diversity of representation from various groups. When we want to get things done on the other hand, we want to ensure that we have representation mainly from our own group to avoid wasting time. Selective democracy in a way. I personally like having debates about issues and arguing over them to ensure that I can be comfortable with the issues once they are resolved. However when it comes to making urgent decisions quickly, I can't afford to spend weeks arguing over the issue. Call me a dictator but it's the bureaucracy that renders many decision-making bodies impotent. Sometimes things just need to be done in a dictatorial manner to be most effective.

Regardless, now that we've gotten the important things over and done with we can focus on actually getting a referendum going to accept the changes. It's going to be difficult rallying students to vote but it is possible to get the numbers. Just requires effort and commitment from everyone involved. Things should settle down after that.

Haven't had a real chance to enjoy my holidays yet. It's just been flat-out work. Hope I'll get some chances to relax soon. Got to get away from the hustle and bustle of work and the city. I'll be in Perth in July but I'll need to take some time off in the meantime as well. Even if it's for only a day.

Celebrated a friend's birthday last night. The usual: dinner, dessert and then drinks. I was half-dead throughout the night from fatigue. Fridays are sort of like a pit-stop. However at the same time the fatigue built up throughout the week catches up to me on Fridays. Oh well...

I'm snowed under with work but recently there have been opportunities knocking on my door for more work. One in particular is something I would love to take-on. An opportunity that in any other circumstance I would jump at and take. But certain things have made me reconsider. Not with regards to the job itself but also the climate and the people I would deal with in the job. We'll see though. In case I change my mind.

Done but just begun...

2006-05-13T23:29:00.000+09:30

I'm finally over and done with my placements. It went well. Ignore the fact that I only spent four whole days with my preceptor and had a total of 4 different pharmacists guiding me throughout this period. I must say that it helps a lot to have supportive and friendly staff working with you. I had a good time and learnt a lot more than many friends who told me about their experience.

It's quite a relief finally being able to have a holiday. I didn't have one since the beginning of the year and started these placements right after my exam. The only problem is; I've ended my placements only to have to get back to work in the Students Association. I have a long backlog of work to do and it is entering the critical period of the VSU reforms. I'll soon have to arrange my trip to Whyalla and all the other UniSA campuses. It's diffiult getting the message across to so many students who don't undersand the reasons for the changes and want to maintain the status quo. I'll need to mount an intelligent campaign to ensure that everyone understands why these changes are necessary.

Regardless, I'm having a raher relaxing time now. I'm taking as much opportunity as I can to rest and refresh myelf for the battle ahead. It seems that all my life I have been fighting some battle or other. When wil it all stop? The problem is, I guess I'm the one putting myself into these battles. It's good though. Keeps me motivated and sharp. Never a dull moment!

It's interesting to see how different people cope with these battles. Not many people face their challenges like I do. Some attempt to run away. Some try to ignore the battle and pretend it doesn't exist. Yet others are so affected at the prospect of the battle that they spiral into a void of pain and sorrow. Why is it hard to face these battles head on? Probably because humans are configured to settle into routines and form patterns. We find it difficult to head into something we cannot expect and control. Yet, we cannot progress and succeed unless we choose our battles wisely and fight to the end.

I should make a longer post since I haven't blogged for a while. The FA Cup Final is on now and I just love football. Guess the longer post will just have to wait till the next time!

Disrespect...

2006-04-27T22:24:00.000+09:30

This is the last straw. I have been extremely patient and professional in dealing with my university regarding the implications of VSU. This has not been reciprocated. Instead, their actions have show incredible contempt towards my staff, Council and even myself. Fair enough, they should have their input as to how their money is spent and to ensure that we comply with legislation. However, they now try to influence the way we govern ourselves. Telling us how our Council should look like? Who the hell do they think they are?! Student control of student affairs. They have absolutely no respect towards students' abilties to govern themselves.

I haven't lost my cool in a long time. I haven't shown my anger for a long time. It's probably been more than 5 years since I have publicly shown my anger. It isn't a pretty sight. I never intended to lose my cool again. This time though, it may well be time. I can't sit back any longer and let these bastards strut their arrogance in front of my face. How dare they question the decisions that my Council and I make. They think international students are stupid? Or are they afraid that we will find out and reveal their disgraceful treatment of international students? We know more than they think we do. Regardless, they've chosen the wrong international student to mess with. They want to play games? I'll give them a game they wish they never started.

Negotiations are always the first point of call. When they fail, you look for alternative methods. This university has never approached negotiations in an honest and open manner. They'll only understand if I stoop to their level. I've had enough. I'm not alone either. They underestimate the influence of students. Upholding their reputation? What reputation would they have if it were not for people like us? The time has come. It would be negligent of me to let them get away after this slap on our faces.

The repurcussions may be huge. But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve as well. I'll show them what it's like to be on the receiving end. Let sleeping dogs lie as they say. They've spat, slapped and kicked us around. Now it's time for them to face that which they brought upon themselves. I'll make them suffer just as much as they made my staff suffer. Let the games begin. A game you can never win...

Breaking sweat...

2006-04-23T21:31:00.000+09:30

I started my placements on Tuesday. I'm basically working in a suburbian pharmacy about 30 minutes from the city by bus. Normal work hours but I usually head there half an hour earlier and knock off half an hour earlier as well. The best thing about the place is that I have a really good, laid-back preceptor and the pharmacy assistants are very friendly as well. Ideal working conditions. Only major drawback: a lack of available food.

You see, the pharmacy is in a shoping complex. Well, I wouldn't really call it a shopping complex in the true sense of the word. There's basically a supermarket, newsagency, deli, bakery, discount store and fruit vendor. Not much. On my first day I walked a few hundred meters each direction outside the shopping complex but couldn't find any eating shops. The only places to eat are the deli, bakery or buying something from Woolie's. Imagine just eating sandwiches/rolls/pastries for lunch for a month! Not my typical diet but I need to make do with what I have.

Due to my work commitments, I've had to do my Students Association work after hours. Not easy juggling virtually two jobs at once. Had to come in on Saturday to chair a meeting and catch up on the happenings of the week. Need some breathing space. Thank goodness Tuesday is a holiday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the worst days for a holiday. No one has the motivation to work a day between holidays (i.e. Mondays and Fridays). Governments should have more discretion during holidays. I know the days themselves have special meanings but it's just not practical. Such a pain.

Weekends are my only chance to relax now. How appropriate then that my internet connection was down and hot water absent throughout the weekend. It couldn't happen at a better time. I've had to boil water and mix it with cold water in a pail to bathe. Troublesome but it does the job.

Well, not much to say to be honest. We'll just take each day as it comes. Just thought I'd touch base again. So back to life...

He is risen...!

2006-04-17T01:22:00.000+09:30

Christ is risen indeed! It's been a fun Easter break although I don't get the normal two weeks that other uni students get. I have placements beginning from Tuesday and since my exams ended last Thursday, I've only a total of about 4 days of holidays. The two exams I had for this semester went pretty well. I didn't find them all that difficult but then again, what I think is correct may not be so. Nevertheless I feel that I did pretty well considering I had so much of interruption to my studies. The week prior to exams is supposed to be study week but I had to attend about 4 meetings. Also, the day before my Ethics test I had to chair a 5-hour Council meeting. Talk about a heavy workload!

The Monday after my first paper I bought a shirt after work. It was only $12.50 (75% off the marked price) and looked decent enough. Thursday after exams I took a trip to the beach. Went to watch Scary Movie 4 on Good Friday. It's a really stupid show. So stupid it's actually funny. The audience was bursting with laughter throughout. I still can't get the "Japanese" conversation out of my head. Hilarious! Nothing much on Holy Saturday. After a caucus meeting in the afternoon I went to Genki in Chinatown for dinner and over to a friends place to just hang out. Easter Sunday began with a packed out mass, then lunch with friends, and then finally to a friend's house for a barbie. An unspectacular holiday but enjoyable nonetheless.

The one thing that practically got my blood boiling was the fact that my keyboard got screwed. One of the letters came off the keyboard. I tried putting it back in (as it happened before) but this time it couldn't go in. I ended up taking another key out so I could see how it was attached. In the end, it so happened that the plastic attaching the keys to the board was broken on both of them! I tried fixing a metal thing on the keyboard but then it broke too! From the frying pan into the fire. To put a long story short, my keyboard is basically fucked. I'm having to type without an "O" and "P" key. I can type but it's agonisingly difficult. You can tell I'm extremely ticked off. I doubt that it will be easy to fix even if I brought it to the shop. They'd have to open the laptop up. Instead, I'd have to buy an external keyboard. That's gonna cost. I would be looking for a portable one which would cost even more. In addition, I only have one PS/2 slot that is being used by my mouse. I would then have to have one of them occupying the USB slot. Such an inconvenience! To top it all off, there's no space on my desk for an external keyboard no matter how I rearrange it. Spoilt keyboards are easy to replace for desktops but for laptops it's a whole different matter. I know I've had my laptop for 4 years and it is wearing out as all things do. However, I boosted the specs when I bought it precisely so it could last for a long time. As it is my laptop is still high-end and doesn't lag far behind the newer models. Still, it's such a pain to have to use an external keyboard. Sigh...

Oh well, no use pouting on this joyous occasion. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. After all, if Jesus could go through such suffering, surely I can get over this minor trial! One more day to enjoy a break before I literally get back to work...

PS. I tend to try and have a mix between diary entries and opinion entries as it gets bored after a while reading my daily activities. For some reason though, my opinion entries don't seem to be getting much of a response. Surely many will have strong views about some of my more controversial posts? Feel free to debate with me. I'm always up for a good argument.

Reality check...

2006-04-08T16:43:00.000+09:30

What is reality? The state of life that exists as what we want it to be? Or the state of life that simply is? Reality is something that has been bugging me recently. To get to the point, the answer is that reality simply is; regardless of how we want it to be. For most people, reality is a harsh, cruel and relentless being that swallows up their hopes and dreams. Yet, most people shape reality in their minds to be a life that exists as how they want it to exist. They hide from the true reality and attempt, whether consciously or not, to make their reality the true reality (for want of a better word). It's sort of like how an Extreme Makeover is done in that the actual real person is hidden behind a superficial mask made up of the person's desire.

Humans are weak creatures by nature. Their strength develops through their pursuits and experiences. Most humans build and develop their strength on a foundation that is energised by faith and hope. It isn't surprising then to see the destruction of people we consider as inherently strong when the energy that drives them is drained empty by reality. How then do we deal with the scourge of reality? We either accept and deal with it, or we run and hide from it.

It is impossibly difficult to manage reality. In my current work, I have been branded as a realist by my actions of putting emotion and influences aside and actually dealing with the matter at hand. This however, isn't an accurate branding of my persona. I'd probably consider myself a selective realist. Deep inside, I know that reality is the basic foundation of life and that the most objective way to deal with matters is to look at it realistically in order for it to fit in and be congruent with life as we know it. Despite that, my faith drives me to believe in that which transcends reality. Faith and religion don't necessarily comply with the laws of reality. Yet, its very nature of existance is to transcend reality. After all, reality had to come from somewhere. Despite the advances of science, it has still been unable to fully comprehend the nature of reality. Critics would then argue that religion and faith are merely a way of escaping reality when it sinks in. This holds true in some cases but isn't entirely accurate as well. Faith and religion complement reality but also contradict reality in different situations.

A paradox then! I look at reality as it is but at the same time look at reality the way I want to look at it or the way I believe it to be. Am I then a hypocrite? Aren't all of us? We selectively choose to act in ways which suit us better. It's sort of like saying that killig is bad but is justifiable when we use it in self-defense. In reality, killing is killing regardless of the justification. In our reality though, the difference becomes more obvious.

A reader with a keen eye would at this point say that I have just gone in one full circle. Indeed I have. I had no intention of debating whether it is better to be a realist or to hide ourselves from the true reality. I just sought to raise the issues of both sides.

Now why then did this discussion occur? Well, in my current work, significant changes need to be made in the organisation I am in charge of leading to drastic consequences; one of which involves the potential loss of over 70 staff. Those who aren't involved directly in the process of this restructure criticise some of my actions arguing that it does not fit in with their ideas of how things should be i.e. their perception of reality. Yet, the true reality is that these changes need to be done for the survival of the organisation; regardless of whether or not the changes reflect the way the organisation is perceived as having to be. These people look to avoid the reality of what needs to occur simply because it does not fit in with how they would like things to be. The irony is that the staff who are at risk of losing their jobs have accepted the true reality and are ready to face it head on.

I personally am not concerned about these critics. They are easily dealt with. The difficulty is having to face these staff who will be losing their jobs. We had our staff meeting on Thursday and the General Manager and I had to break the news about the potential job losses. Everyone expected it and we weren't the subject of their disappointment. After all, we did all we can and the rest is beyond our control. As much as I had to keep professional and realistic in my approach of informing them, it pains me to the core to have to do it. Staff I have worked with throughout these last 4 years and who have worked for the organisation for more than 25 years. Staff who after this may not be able to get another job. Having to tell them that they have to go hurts beyond belief. I didn't want to do it. If it were up to me I'd make it so that they could all stay for as long as we could afford them. Yet, the reality is that they have to go for the survival of the organisation. A clear example of how harsh reality can be. I don't normally get hurt by what happens to me. After all, I'll always be able to overcome my own pain. It's when others suffer that my hurt is amplified. As much as I want to, I can't help all of them. I can't guarantee that things will be alright when this is over. I can't save everyone. That is what distresses me. When despite my capabilities, I can't save the ones I care for. No matter how hard I try, things are beyond my control.

What do I do? What can I do? The answer: all that I can do. Save divine intervention, I am only able to do as much as I am able to do. It won't be the answer to all the problems but at least it will be the answer to all the problems I am able to manage. It's a painful and thankless journey. Yet, someone has to do it. It just so happens that that someone is me. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference...

Marching on...

2006-04-04T19:02:00.000+09:30

Well, exams are here yet again. My exams this year are early because we'll be going on placements or doing our electives on rotation during the normal semester period. Come to think of it, it's my second-last exams before I graduate. To be honest, I've lost the motivation to study this year. Just been too busy dealing with VSU to be able to focus properly. As it is, I have at least 4 meetings to attend during this week which is supposed to be my study week. I normally schedule my meetings out of this week but these are unavoidable. It's funny how you tend to lose steam and start to become complacent when you are so close to the finish line. I know I just need to push hard in this final lap. Yet, it's as if there isn't much of a prize at the finish line and it doesn't matter anymore which position I cross the line at. Well, regardless I'm managing to squeeze in a significant number of hours into the books. The bright side is that I only have two papers to study for, only one of which requires a strong knowledge base. The other is more of an opinion/general knowledge type paper.

There are a number of things I need to tidy up before I go on placements. I'll also need to prepare for something big. Something never done by Student Union Presidents before. For once in a long time I'll have to open myself up to attacks and dissent from people who don't understand the situation or know the whole story. I'll have to face a potential decline in public opinion and possibly risk the future of my group. Still, it's something I just have to do. It's my cross that I need to pick up. The ultimate determinant of how well I can perform as a leader. Only time will tell.

Life is still interesting. So many things turn up one after the other that I don't have time to feel bored. Don't have time to go into details but I will do once I have the time. Won't be back here for a bit so find another blog to follow while I'm gone...

Intoxication...

2006-03-28T01:11:00.000+10:30

We had our annual Pharmacy pubcrawl last Friday evening. We had huge attendance from 4th years as it was virtually our last pubcrawl. The shirts were alright. Pale light green is one colour I don't have in my wardrobe.

The event started at a pool lounge at 6pm (too early to be drinking by my standards) but I had meetings the whole day and needed to get myself freshened up. Drank a can of Red Bull to reduce my fatigue (since the more tired you are the easier it is to feel the effects of the alcohol). It really does give you wings! It contains taurine and is supposed to be an energy drink. I felt better after the drink. Could have been a placebo effect though.

Anyways, I went for dinner with friends after that and proceeded to join the pubcrawl from the 2nd stop. There were 2 games being played. One of them involved clothes pegs. If you were pegged for more than 5 seconds you would have to consume all of the drink you are holding. Another one was the toy soldiers game (though I didn't see any) where you would have to consume all of your drink if a toy soldier was found in it. Anyways, things didn't really take off until the last two stops.

Our 3rd stop was highly anticipated as the drinks were outrageously cheap. Imagine a mere $1 for vodka shots or mixes and $8 for jugs of beer. Needless to say, the bar was packed. I'm sure I waited in line for more than half an hour just to get my drinks ordered. By this time a few of my friends were starting to get tipsy.

On the way to the final stop I was on the receiving end of some minor violence from a certain female friend. After all the effort by womens' movements to advocate equality between the sexes and demand equal treatment; you tend to wonder why guys are still reluctant to engage in any acts of violence against women and even if they do, are very harshly punished. Regardless, the final stop was the most interesting if not troublesome. It was interesting learning about a new type of drink known as Jäger bombs. The drink consists of two parts. A shot glass filled with Jägermeister and a tall glass filled halfway with an energy drink (in this case, Red Bull). What you basically do is drop the shot glass into the tall glass thus mixing the drinks together. I know you might as well just mix the drinks without dropping the glass in but it's fun! Just like taking a tequila shot with the salt and lemon.

Alright, I'm digressing. But anyways, the girls seemed to be getting more and more tipsy and this eventually culminated in erratic behaviour from most of them. One of my friends was getting loud and physical. Another one spilt beer on my jeans. Yet about 2 or 3 others were just sobbing away together in a corner. I had my fair share of drinks but I don't get drunk very easily (I may be arrogant but it's true!). One of my friends is allergic to alcohol (oh cruel life!) and had to bear the brunt of helping take care of her intoxicated friends. She was assisted by some other sober friends. The main task was convincing the drunkards that it was time to leave and then making sure they had transport home accompanied by a trusted sober person. We got there in the end. Took a long time though. The remaining bunch were merely tipsy so we just brought the whole group to a pizza house which was originally meant to be the stop after the final stop (which if you think about it doesn't make the final stop final now does it?). Had a couple of games of foosball and shared 2 family sized pizzas to end the day. Eventually the rest went home and I managed to get home as well.

When we start drinking, it's very easy to forget the trouble we cause to those who aren't drinking. I'm not only talking about designated drivers. I'm also talking about those who have to worry about the safety of the drunks and ensure nothing untowardly happens to them. A tiresome task especially for those who don't drink. The awkward thing is that I drink but am still involved in the "carer" process almost every time. I still remember our first election victory party in 2004. I was almost drunk but still brought myself to ensuring that everyone had some way of getting home from the bar. Oh well, better that than living through a feeling of remorse if something bad happens to anyone.

In the end, the pubcrawl was pretty fun. It did get a little out of control though. I felt that it wasn't very appealing to see most of the girls intoxicated. It's just not cool. It's not the fact that girls got drunk. It's the fact that so many of them did. A rare reversal of roles in that virtually none of the guys in our group got drunk. Oh well, hopefully they'll know better to take care of themselves in future. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a hypocrite. I've been drunk before as well. It's just the context. It's not good to get drunk in an environment where your safety is at risk. This was one of those environments. Too many weirdos around. Enough complaining, no one was hurt. Let's hope it stays that way in future.

Life's a beach...

2006-03-22T19:08:00.000+10:30

Yesterday, I went to the beach again. I went last Monday because it was a holiday. I went yesterday because a couple of my friends simply had nothing better to do. We just went and came back on one bus ticket (i.e. within 2 hours). No particular reason for going. Just took the opportunity to enjoy life. Managed to catch the sunset as well. It's always good to take a break from my hectic life. It's sort of like pausing for a recharge. Nothing better than to stop and smell the roses. Or listen to the waves in this instance

I spent the rest of yesterday tidying up my CV. I just can't reduce it to two pages. There are too many things that I feel are vital. It looks good though. I've covered almost every aspect possible. Academic, extra-curricular and even sports. I'll need to start using it soon so it was good to finally finish it up. I mean, I had it ready before but there were gaps etc. Now it's perfect and complete with a referee each for my academia and for my work.

Went for a careers expo organised by my uni at the convention centre. I went only because I was told by some of my postgraduate colleagues that there would be a lot of companies there and that there was the possibility of job offers. I thought it wouldn't do harm so I went. It was disappointing though because there weren't any pharmaceutical companies. Nevertheless I made the most out of the situation by picking up loads of freebies along the way! One of the things I took was a yellow Optus grocey bag. Yellow isn't one of my favourite colours but I've started to grow attached to it since it became the colour that is synonymous with my political faction. I did get some advice though from one of the uni staff members I know. She was saying that my experience in my role as President of the Students Association would have given me skills in policy development and things like that which would suit well in the public sector or with the government. It's always an option. However, my main priority is to get registered once I graduate. Then what I do next can depend on what I'm interested in.

Had a counselling test today. It's funny. We've been having these sorts of tests throughout our degree. Yet, everyone gets so nervous preparing for them. Surely you'd expect us to be confident now more than ever before? I never take too much time preparing for these as the main hurdle is being able to speak. I can do that. The only issue is always forgetting what to ask or say at the crunch time. Oh well, at least I'm almost done and over with these tests.

I forgot to mention that the book I requested from my uni library on another campus arrived in my campus yesterday as well. It's The Divine Comedy by Dante. I was hoping for the complete collection but realised that the book I had was only the Inferno. A story of Dante's trip through hell. A piece of literature that has proved invaluable in shaping certain teachings about hell. I can't wait to finish reading it. Then I can proceed with his other two masterpiece works; Purgatorio and Paradiso. I'm sure you don't need to understand the language to be able to discern what those 2 books are about.

There's still a lot of things for me to do. Added to that, exams are about 3 weeks away. My principle is to just take things one step at a time. At least that way, I'm getting things done but am still able to enjoy life along the way!

Aussie State Elections...

2006-03-20T21:30:00.000+10:30

It's amazing how much the political structure of different countries vary between each other. In Australia, there are two levels of government. The State Government and the Federal Government. The two aren't proportionally related. What I mean is that they are not run concurrently. In addition, all the State elections are carried out according to the term in each state. South Australia and Tasmania had theirs just the past Saturday. The other states have theirs at different times; some next year and yet others the year after. Even stranger in my opinion is that a particular party may have won the State Governments in each State but still the Federal Government may be won by another party. It's as if the State and Federal levels of goverment exist independently of each other. The way it currently stands is that all the State Goverments are run by the Labor Party whereas the Federal Government is run by the Coalition; consisting of Liberals and Nationals.

For some reason, the people of Australia trust both parties on different levels. Here in SA, the Labor Party won another term but this time with a majority government in their own right (previously they were a minority government and relied on Independents and a National to stay in power). They completely obliterated the Liberal Party. Quite strange since at a Federal level, the Liberals crushed Labor. There wasn't much doubt here in SA though. Everyone knew months before the elections who the winner would be. There was just no contest. The surprising thing about this elections was not only how badly the Liberals lost; but also the composition of the Upper House in State Parliament. An Independent candidate named Nick Xenophon won 2 and a half quotas. This means he is guaranteed 2 if not 3 people on his "ticket" a seat in the Upper House. An amazing feat seeing that none of the political parties put him on their ticket and he would not have gotten preference flows. I saw him while walking around Rundle Mall on Sunday; the day after the elections. He was wearing one of those sandwich boards with the words "Thank You" in the front and back. Ever the stuntman.

I'm not sure of the political climate in Tasmania but Labor won there as well with a majority Government. It seems to me that Labor hasn't put a foot wrong at State level. A stark contrast to how they are faring at the Federal level. I guess the states are crucial for them to hold on to in order to avoid being wiped off the political battlefield.

Nothing much to comment about. Just felt the urge to comment on the State elections. I can't vote since I'm an international student but even if I did it wouldn't have made much difference in this instance. Still I like the system here better as it allows for more democracy. A party may control the Lower House but not the Upper House thus allowing for more accountability of actions. Governments change based on how they performed and the satisfaction level of the people. Now if only such democracy existed in my home country. Would things be different? Would I be here where I am today? Who knows...

St. Patrick's Day...

2006-03-18T14:59:00.000+10:30

Well, the usual happened. Green beer and lots of drinking. Not on my part though! Anyways, I wanted to join in our campus activities but instead had to attend a meeting with the stupid university regarding VSU. As usual there were the "negotiating" arguments. Regardless, I wasn't very happy missing out on the festivities and cheap green beer.

At night I went out with some friends down the East End to check out the street party. It wasn't too bad. Nothing special though. Just a band playing in front of PJ O'Briens; our local Irish pub. While walking away from it after a while, we stopped by the new chocolate shop. I didn't feel that there was as good a selection as Chocolate Bean. Nevertheless, I ordered a Chocolate Mud Sandwich which didn't have much chocolate at all. Just white chocolate and a lot of different fruits and unidentifiable ingredients. The taste was great though. A splash of flavours in the mouth.

Everyone headed back to my place where we played games till aout 6am. You can imagine how groggy I feel now. I usually use my weekends to catch up on lost sleep but today I had less sleep than I get on weekdays.

I tend to wonder how certain religious celebrations can turn into a non-religious celebration. We see it with St. Patrick's Day, Christmas and even Easter. All Catholic holidays which eventually become so secularised that people forget its religious ties. Christmas is more about presents and trees and Santa Claus instead of the birth of Jesus Christ. St. Patrick's Day has become more of drinking than the celebration of a Saint. Easter has become more about eggs and bunnies rather than the Resurrection of Jesus. A clear example of the increasing secularisation of modern society. Everyone is more interested in the fanciful things associated with the celebration rather than the main reasons behind the celebration. Such a pity.

When will humans learn? Pleasure and quick-fixes won't lead to happiness. Hard to imagine no? How can one not be happy with a lot of money and worldly posessions? Oh well, that's why religions exist. To guide us down the proper path. I'm sure there are still a lot of people around the world saying a prayer through St. Patrick; the patron saint of Ireland. At least there's still some hope left in this crazy world.

Ethnic cleansing...

2006-03-13T02:05:00.000+10:30

Alright, I know I just posted a couple of hours ago. It's bedtime but I just can't get myself to sleep yet. I was just scanning through the front page of Wikipedia when I thought about a topic I could rattle on about here. This will be controversial and bound to offend some people but what's life without a little controversy? Makes it more interesting I say.

Anyways, you've probably read from the papers or watched on TV the news that former Yugoslav leader, Slobodan Milosevic has died in his prison cell. He had been in trial on charges of war crimes in The Hague. The gist of the charges brought against him were for the killing of people based on racial/ethnic/religious grounds. For the sake of my argument, I'll just use the term ethnic cleansing.

We've seen ethnic cleansing occur on more than one occasion. Another popular example is Hitler's pursuit of Aryan superiority. Basically all of these pursuits ended up in a particular group of people being persecuted and killed. Now what's the whole problem? Obviously, the killings. The taking away of life. Then again, were these killings really that bad? Bear with me here.

Humans are a very diverse species. Our genetics are so variable among populations we can find huge differences in people by merely crossing a border. It is without doubt then that lifestyles and cultures vary between populations. Now, there exist certain population groups (wrongly classified as ethnic groups because ethnicity itself varies based on the setting. e.g. a Malaysian Chinese is very much different from an Australian Chinese) which I term as scum of the earth. I'm not trying to be racist or prejudiced. However I'm sure you'll agree that certain groups are basically a pain in the behind (a gross understatement). I can think of particular group that lives off other groups and elevate themselves above other groups merely based on special priviledges rather than based on their capabilities. They are a group who are lazy and corrupt. They reap what they do not sow. While this doesn't relate to every single person in the group, it does relate to a vast majority of them.

Now tell me, is it that bad if this group disappears? A group that lives off a country. Like a parasite sucking out all the nutrients. A group that continually oppresses other groups. Would it not be for the greater good for this group to be vanquished? Sure, ethically it would be wrong to kill for this purpose. But ethics are defined by man. Let's put ethics aside and consider the rationality of things. Simple logic will tell you that in order for optimal progress to occur, the good things need to be nurtured and developed while the bad need to be purged. It's like when you want to plant a flower patch. You need to nurture the flowers you want but always remove the weeds. Then you'll get a beautiful garden. So aren't these people in the group I've been describing akin to weeds? A group of people preventing the country from showing its full potential. For the sake of progress and for the greater good, isn't it justifiable to purge the country from the existance of this group?

Most would say no. It's easy to look at the basic issues surrounding the "wrongness" of killing. However, put yourself in the shoes of an oppressed group. You are born in a country where a particular group in power continually oppresses your group. People from their group get better jobs and promotions than people from your group. They can get away with murder by simple bribes. People from this group get continuous financial support from the government with little effort while you are expected to serve this government despite not receiving any assistance whatsoever from them. This group tries to impose their beliefs unto your group while you are persecuted for standing up for your beliefs. Dissent from your group is punished by sanctions and unfair legal action. All these practices not only prevent your group from going up the ladder; it prevents your country from keeping up with the other big countries. Suddenly, by some strange twist of fate (or usually military action) you are elevated to the position of leader of your country. Your people have entrusted you to move the country forward and stop the oppression. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. You can't reform or brainwash the previous oppressors to your group. What's the best way to deal with them then? Your decision: ethnic cleansing.

Ok, so this may not have been the justification behind all the instances of ethnic cleansing. However, it gives a different perspective to my argument. Is ethnic cleansing really wrong? As I said, put the legality and/or morality of killing aside. Is it wrong to purge a country of a particular group that is of no use to the country? Don't we carry out the principle all the time? A football team gets rid of players who aren't good enough. If a friend in your group can't do an assignment well and always relies on your work; wouldn't you not choose him/her as a group member next time? All corporations fire employees who underperform. Sure, this is completely different to killing. But how different is it really? The principle is the same. The ones that can't pull their weight and live off others or hold people back are removed to allow for progress to continue.

So what about ethnic cleansing? If used correctly it can serve as a tool to accelerate the laws of natural selection. Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating ethnic cleansing. I'm just trying to raise debate about the principles behind ethnic cleansing. So are these "evil" men who perpetrated ethnic cleansing wrong? Well, obviously yes. You can't just go around killing people. Think of this though. If it was not wrong to kill (or if killing was allowed if it were justifiable), would we think differently about ethnic cleansing? There's some food for thought...

Oh Danny Bhoy, Danny Bhoy, Danny Bhoy...

2006-03-12T23:02:00.000+10:30

In case you don't know your music, the title of this post is an infusion of some of the lyrics from the Chumbawamba song Tubthumping and the name of the comedian I saw just a while ago. Danny Bhoy was just great!

I reached the Freemasons Hall about half an hour before the show. It didn't seem like many people were around so I thought it was gonna be a small audience. I did get a little worried though as not many people were there after waiting a while. So I went to the ticket counter and asked. It was then I realised that the line was actually outside. Out I went and saw the line. Problem was, I couldn't see the end of it! I had to walk quite a distance before reaching the end. Did I mention it was raining? I was pretty soaked but so was everyone else who didn't have an umbrella; basically 3/4 of the people there. Anyways, the line moved at a snail's pace and I only got in about 9pm. The place was packed! From a rough count I gathered that there were more than 600 people there. Almost a full house. The only empty seat I saw was the one next to me.

The show began and Danny Bhoy came in amidst thunderous applause. There were a few girls in the front row who managed to get a few jokes out of him about waiting in the rain and some props they brought with them. Anyways, any jokes I try to type out here won't be funny read so I won't even attempt to do so. He made fun of issues including the Scottish breakfast, the racial riots in Sydney and people's attitudes towards him. He was really animated and into his jokes. The audience was left laughing throughout the show. It was almost perfect. The only teeny-weeny drawback was that about 2 out of his uncountable array of jokes I heard before from watching the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala on TV. Even those were still updated and funnier when heard the second time around.

Needless to say, it was worth every penny. My disappointment with missing him in Melbourne last year was more than compensated for. Sure the tickets were a tad on the expensive side. Despite that, I would have been willing to pay more for this performance. Simply stellar.

Well, I'm not sure if I'll go for any other comedy acts during this Fringe festival. Akmal Saleh may be good. Whatever it is, I'll make my mind up in the coming days. If you ever get the opportunity, make sure you go to see Danny Bhoy. Believe me, he's worth it!

Just for fun 3...

2006-03-12T01:48:00.000+10:30

Here I go again. It's been a while since I last did this though. I'm sure those who know me personally will have a little chuckle...

Your Values Profile

Loyalty:

You value loyalty a fair amount.
You're loyal to your friends... to a point.
But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties.
Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself.

Honesty:

You don't really value honesty.
You do value getting your way, no matter what.
And if a little lying is required to do that, no problem.
A few white lies never hurt anyone (at least, that's what you tell yourself!)

Generosity:

You don't really value generosity.
Your needs always come first, no matter what.
And you'll possibly help someone else out...
But only if it helps you in return.

Humility:

You don't really value humility.
You don't have much to be humble about!
And you might as well promote yourself, because no one else will.
You're a pretty special person, and you let everyone know it.

Tolerance:

You value tolerance a fair amount.
You are open to new cultures, beliefs, and ideas.
You have very few prejudices that you're aware of.
And while you are tolerant, you do stand true to what you believe.

The Five Factor Values Test

You Are 32% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind.
You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different...
But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong.
You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy:

Your propensity for monogamy is medium.
In general, you prefer to have only one love interest.
But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long!
There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering.

Experience Level:

Your experience level is medium.
You probably have had a couple significant loves.
And you may have even had your heart broken.
But you haven't really dated a wide variety of people.

Dominance:

Your dominance is medium.
You tend to be the one with more power.
You aren't a total control freak in relationships..
But of course you don't mind getting you way!

Cynicism:

Your cynicism is low.
You are an eternal optimist when it comes to love and romance.
No matter how many times you've been hurt - you're never bitter.
You believe in one true love, your perfect soulmate.
And if you haven't found true love yet, you know you will soon.

Independence:

Your independence is medium.
In relationships, you need both "me time" and "we time."
You usually find it easy to be part of a couple.
But occasionally you start to feel a little smothered.

The Five Variable Love Test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

You have high extroversion.
You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends.
You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation.
Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!"

Conscientiousness:

You have high conscientiousness.
Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life.
Most things in your life are organized and planned well.
But you borderline on being a total perfectionist.

Agreeableness:

You have low agreeableness.
Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all.
In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted.
And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently.

Neuroticism:

You have low neuroticism.
You are very emotionally stable and mentally together.
Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly.
Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is high.
In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas.
You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits.
A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as warm and well-balanced.

Overall, your true self is moody and dynamic.

With friends, you seem thoughtful and interested in ideas.

In love, you seem mysterious and interesting.

In stressful situation, you seem like you're oblivious to the stress.

What Do People Think Of Your Face?

Scorcher...

2006-03-11T17:42:00.000+10:30

It's supposed to be entering autumn. Yet, the heat today supposedly tops at 37 degrees. Can't really do anything in this heat. The only thing I did today so far was meet up with some colleagues to get back on track with certain work-related issues. Hopefully things turn out well. I have more than enough business to deal with.

You'll probably notice the emergence of a few new links in my sidebar. Don't get me wrong; it isn't a lame attempt at corporatising my blog. Those are just links to websites I visit most frequently. Just thought I'd share it with some of my readers if they were interested.

The vertically long banner is a link to Adventure Quest; an online RPG that I play in my free time. It's not much. You can't compare it to any MMORPG games. It's just meant to be a lunch-break type game.

Google and Friendster need no introduction. I'm a big fan of Google. Not only the web search engine but also Google Images, Google Video and Google Scholar. All have proved invaluable at different points in time.

Newgrounds is basically a Flash portal. All its content is contributed by people. Content ranges from Flash movies, games and even audio bits. A wide-array of talent is available and some are even comparable to mainstream videos. There are some great Flash series that can be followed. Since people contribute, you will find that there is new content every time you go to the page, even if you go multiple times in one day.

ESPN Soccernet is basically just a football website. It's my main source of football updates as I follow Chelsea's blazing run through the English Premier League this season. It features Live Gamecasts of matches when they are played. Of course, you don't get to watch the match itself. Nevertheless, you still get updates on the goals, cards and other action.

My dear favourite Wikipedia. Where would I be without you? As the name suggests, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. It's not just some ordinary encyclopedia though. Wikipedia is built by people. Anyone can add or edit content on the site. For example, I contributed to a page on the Students Association in my uni. You can also find info on absolutely anything on the site. A great way to fill out your free time. I usually try to think of something I wonder about. Then look for it in Wikipedia. I was able to update myself on the progress of certain Marvel comic characters such as Wolverine. Since I don't buy comics, this was a great way to answer the many questions I had. I also managed to study on history including the Crusades; things we weren't taught about in school. You can also find current affairs such as the recent Tammy NYP sex video scandal in Singapore. Obviously due to the nature of the site in which anyone can edit it; it is prone to abuse. Not to worry though. There are many mechanisms in place to prevent abuse. Suffice to say, I can spend hours diving in the sea of information contained in Wikipedia.

Well, that's the rundown of the links I've stuffed in my sidebar. If I find myself addicted to any other page I'll slot it in. Hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do!

Keep on movin'...

2006-03-09T23:27:00.000+10:30

I think the cobwebs are starting to grow here. Things have been really busy and when I have the urge to blog, other things turn up and prevent me from doing so. Like the weekend after my last post. I fell ill due to overstraining myself with work and being in the sun too long during orientation. Got better. Can't remember what happened after that. One of the weekends we went to the Fringe Parade. The Fringe is our Adelaide Festival of Performing Arts. They've made it annual now with loads of comedy acts, theatre and musical performances. Last weekend my internet connection was down and so I couldn't blog.

So what's been going on? Mostly meetings. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. I've been going for so many meetings my daily attire is business attire. People ask me why I'm NOT wearing business attire nowadays when I dress casually rather than the other way around. In the past weeks I've also had to hand up an ethics assignment, take an MCQ test, design a governance model for the Students Association and meet up with friends who've come back from their holidays.

Anyways, I'm a little lazy to explain the going-ons in the past weeks. Probably one thing I'm happy I've done is bought a ticket to see Danny Bhoy. He's a Scottish comedian. When I went to Melbourne last year during the Melbourne Comedy Festival, he sold out weeks before his shows began. I decided it would be an opportunity I couldn't afford to miss. Unfortunately, none of my friends are going with me because they either don't want to spend the money or think they won't get the jokes because they lack English proficiency. Regardless, I'll be watching him on Sunday night.

I don't really feel like blogging much today. Just felt that I should touch base after going AWOL for so long. I'll get back to active blogging when I find the time. Hopefully there aren't any more large gaps between posts.

Busy as a bee...

2006-02-13T19:01:00.000+10:30

I seem to be more motivated to do things nowadays. I spent the whole night last night changing my CV from an Excel document to a Word document and updated it. I used Excel before because it was easier to line things up with the cells and what not. However it became a bit of a mess eventually so I decided to use Word and make tables to tidy things up. Looks much better now.

Got up early this morning and had a go at some exercise. Something I haven't done in a while. You see, many a time I start thinking of doing things. Taking the first step is the hardest but once I do take it then things flow on well. Last time I got into the habit of going to the gym. Then there was a jogging phase. In recent years though, my excuse has been that I'm too busy. Time to change that now. I started off with a basic warm-up routine. Then I proceeded to do some sprints up the stairwell. I started from the gound floor and was out of breath by the 5th floor. No worries. I'm severely unfit so it'll take a while before I get my stamina back.

After that I proceeded to get washed up and have passport photos of myself taken. I'll need them soon enough. I was quite surprised that they now use digital cameras to take the photos. I always turn out badly in these photos but this time it didn't look all that bad.

Uni was next. I stopped by CELUSA on my way to the office. That's the English Language Centre in my uni. Had to take application forms for the IELTS test. The new regulations for applying for a PR here is that you need to provide evidence of English competency via the results of the IELTS test. Since everyone will be rushing for it and to avoid the stress, I decided to take the test this year since the results can last for a year.

Aside from getting my IELTS application in, I went to the library to get some books to do my Ethics assignment. There were two topics to choose from but after browsing through both topics I could only find available books for the first topic; the ethical issues involved in stocking the Emergency Contraceptive Pill in a pharmacy. Got a total of 5 books from our library.

After lunch I went to Ramsay's to get the last available copy of the textbook I need for Ethics. Coming back I went to Adelaide Uni's Barr Smith library to get one other book for Ethics. Then I went back to office to finish off some work.

After work, I went shopping for laundry powder. I eventually bought liquid detergent as it was on offer and I hadn't tried it before.

Phew! I'm feeling bushed. Anyways, I seem to be getting a lot of things done within the day recently. There's a good feeling of accomplishment after doing things. I'll need to watch it so I don't burn out though. For the moment though, things are sailing pretty smoothly!

Ethical...?

2006-02-10T23:24:00.000+10:30

Phew... Finally done with the week. Got a reply to the e-mail I sent to the University yesterday with regards to VSU. As usual, a very succinct reply. I hate having classes on Fridays. Many people do. Forget that though.

Today I had my first Ethics in Pharmacy tute. While I can't say much about the group itself; I was very happy with the way the tutes were meant to develop. Finally we get a subject that actually requires thinking and building arguments! We had a bit of a chat about RU486 and I just argued the pro-life case since none of the others seemed to be able to. We also had a discussion about the what makes a person satisfied in his/her job as a pharmacist. That led to a discussion about intrinsic and extrinsic motives. I argued the case that there is no way to actually define them since what I may see as an intrinsic or extrinsic motive may be different to how another person sees it or even exactly the opposite. It's fun to study a subject where most of the answers are a big gray rather than a mere right or wrong. I think I'm really going to have fun debating in this subject. Reminds me of how everyone in my college English as a Second Language class hated me because I used to question all their case studies and everyone was usually unable to answer. The clashing of minds and the variety of topics we will be discussing just makes my mouth water.

I've done quite a bit this week. Mostly work. It's very tiring. Yet, I have a feeling of self-satisfaction. Let's hope this passion for the job within me continues burning for the rest of the year!

The battles begin...

2006-02-09T22:25:00.000+10:30

The past week has been really hectic. Since our first lectures were to be on Tuesday, I spent the Monday doing some work in office and vacuuming my apartment. My VP who was deputising my position went AWOL so I didn't have the keys to my office. It's a pain to get someone to let me into my office every time. Anyways, I've been bogged down by meetings and lectures. Tuesday was pretty full-on. Started the morning with a phone conversation with our lawyer. Had to go to Chancellery for a Student Misconduct Hearing and after that meet with a State Minister together with the Presidents of the other two Student Associations. After that it was back to uni.

We had our first Council meeting for the year on Wednesday. It went very smoothly. After all, we occupy virtually all the positions on Council! Anyways, the biggest problem we are facing is our university's inaction with regards to VSU. We've been having countless meetings with the University since last year but until now, have still not received any indication as to how they want us to reform in order to deal with VSU. It's getting too late. I'm not too worried about my position. It's the staff that troubles me. It must be so hard working and not knowing whether you will still have your job in the next couple of months. We can't delay any longer. If we have to shut down then we have to know now so that staff get enough notice. If not then we have to know as well so that we can get prepared with doing what we need to do to survive.

Due to all these facts, I sent an e-mail to the Vice-Chancellor, Chancellor and Executive Director of Finance blasting the university's inaction. Not sure how they'll react. At least I got legal advice before the e-mail so that I'm covered in case of any unwanted reaction. Haha!

It's tough studying and working at the same time; especially in a job that requires a lot of thinking. Nevertheless, I can't imagine how bored I would be if I didn't spend my free time thinking. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Fun but taxing.

It's finally sunk in that I failed to qualify for Honours. Quite surprising to be honest. I mean, when I see some of those who I know I'm better than getting it at my expense it's quite frustrating. Yet, I'm not too fussed. I needed Honours so that I can go straight to a PhD without having to do a Masters. My parents were hoping I'd get it too. Unfortunately, I failed. It's not common that I fail in something major I try to achieve. Nevertheless, there's always a reason for the failure. I should know that by now. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Everything major I've asked for I've always got. On certain ocassions, I don't get what I ask for. Yet, some form of "compensation" always comes along. Perhaps this failure is to allow me to concentrate more time in my position as President. Maybe something great will come along this year as a result of my hard work. Who knows? Only God knows. Yes, it is disappointing. But it's not everything. I just need to keep moving forward and working on what I have.

The troops seem to be rallying over the horizon. It's going to be a really tough year. At the same time though, it's sure to be exciting. I'm enjoying every second being President for the second term. The holidays have done me good. I'm refreshed and ready for action. So bring it on...

All things new...

2006-02-04T20:57:00.000+10:30

Ok, so I stole the album title of one of my favourite Christian singers. Still it's apt to fit my circumstances. My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Adelaide was a smooth one. Everything went smoothly. I took a whiskey and coke (the whiskey identified by my tastebuds was Johnny Walker Black Label) and coke for starters and had another on the rocks during dinner. I thought it would help me get to sleep. I did feel drowsy halfway through the movie "The Brothers Grimm" but after it finished I just couldn't get to sleep. Not uncommon on long flights for me. Anyways, I reached the terminal and had nothing to declare to customs. Yet, after the x-ray they had to open up the box I so nicely sealed. It seems the machine gave a false alarm mistaking my contact lens solutions for food. Having the strings binding my box removed, I had to juggle carrying the box under one arm, having a laptop and my hand carry slung on each shoulder and lugging a large suitcase. Fortunately I managed to take a cab back with one of my friends thus saving us both the full taxi fare.

Somehow, when I entered my room things looked different. I'm not sure why. I've just been gone for about a month and a half. My dad told me I had to clean my fridge after finding out that I turned it off before I left but I just brushed it aside. Yup, you guessed it. The fridge stank like hell when I opened it and there was clearly some mold in certain areas. Enough to make you puke on the spot. So what I did, there and then I decided I'd go on a cleaning spree. First things first I unpacked and kept EVERYTHING! I never do that! I usually leave my luggage in the corner for days. This time I kept everything and dumped the box. All this I did while reformatting this laptop of mine. Then I went out and bought some lunch along with disinfectant and some water. I came back and scrubbed the fridge clean till you couldn't imagine how bad it was before. A job I'm quite proud of if I must say so myself! I wanted to clean the toilet as well but just didn't have the strength to get things going. Leave it for tomorrow.

I've finally finished installing programs and updating my comp. Everythings working real smoothly now. Went for dinner with some friends just now but towards the end of it I was struggling to keep my eyes open. After all, I haven't slept since Thursday night! I'll be off to bed not too long from now. Just typing this out while waiting for my food to digest. So what's new you ask? Well I guess some part of it relates to my laptop and my cleaning of the apartment till things look new. The other part probably those who are observant may realise!

I'll be back...

2006-02-03T14:45:00.000+10:30

Well, my flight back to Adelaide will be in about 6 and a half hours. It's been fun, though not as productive as it could have been. Leaving the country itself isn't hard. It's just leaving the family behind. Still, I daresay my mum feels it more than I do. I can't imagine how it feels to see your son who's been with you for more than 20 years leave and not know when he will come back.

Despite my disdain for this country, I will have to return sometime or other. If not for myself then at least for my family. If my family migrated to Australia then I wouldn't have to ever come back. Maybe to buy cheap things. But that would be the main reason. Can't imagine many others.

Hope the flight is smooth. I hate these long 7 hour flights. It just saps the energy out of me and I get frustrated when I can't sleep. I just found out from my parents that I could ask for stuff like Bacardi and coke. I used to just take some beer and wine. I've been missing all the good stuff!

The weather is sure to be hot as hell. From what I read in the news, the temperature was so hot a couple of weeks ago that the new trams had to be shut down. My room is going to be like a microwave oven.

I'm guessing I'll have a lot of coursemates on the flight; seeing that classes start on Monday. I'll ask for an aisle seat so my loose bladder doesn't have to bother the person beside me every time I take a trip to the loo. I don't really care for the movies but it's a good way to pass the time since I doubt I'll be able to sleep.

Anyways, by tomorrow morning I'll be back in Adelaide. Goodbye beloved family! Goodbye detestable country! I'll miss the former but not the latter. Wish me a safe flight...

Every dog has it's day...

2006-01-31T16:35:00.000+10:30

Well we're now into the Year of the Dog. Interesting to see so many people start paying attention to dogs now that the Chinese New Year has begun. More and more people seem keen on wanting to adopt one. Hopefully they don't see it as a fad and abandon the dog eventually. My Chinese New Year has been quiet as usual.

The Sunday was spent watching tennis as it was the final day of the Australian Open. Hingis played a delightful mixed doubles game with Bhupati. What a comeback after so long! She may have lost the singles but the final mixed-doubles match that she won was a beauty to watch. Her plays were so elegant and magnificent. Simply delightful tennis! She makes up for her lack of power play by using her brains and playing intelligent shots. The other highlight was the men's singles with the unseeded Marcos Baghdatis playing against the world number 1; Roger Federer. After watching Baghdatis win a 5-set thriller against Nalbandian in the semis, I had my heart set on seeing a win similar to that achieved by Goran Ivanisevic in Wimbledon 2001. Baghdatis did well winning the first set and actually made Federer look normal. An amazing feat since Federer is usually in a class of his own. Nevertheless Baghdatis frustratingly succumbed in the second set and collapsed in the next two handing a 4-set victory to Federer. It was a major feat still. Cyprus, a country unknown for tennis has now produced a star in the making.

My family and I took a trip to Seremban Monday evening to have dinner with some old family friends. The trip was incredibly smooth since most people already returned to their hometowns and most of the shops were closed. We had dinner in a chinese restaurant and then headed back to their place. It so happened that the final round of the Buick Invitational golf tournament was on. Nathan Green was in the lead with Tiger Woods a stroke behind. We watched it just to see how Woods would play and expected to leave at about 10 something. Unfortunately for us, the match went into a 3-man playoff between Woods, Green and Jose Maria Olazabal. Green simply self-destructed and found himself struggling to remove himself from a bunker and the rough, leading to his elimination. Woods and Olazabal made par and went into a second round of playoffs. This time, both did pretty well and Olazabal had a last shot to equal Woods and force a third round. Amazingly, he missed! It was rather unbelievable but a relief not only to see Woods win but to allow us a trip home. We left at 11 something at night.

I guess that's the gist of my Chinese New Year. We'll be going out for dinner with one of my mum's sisters later today. She's just come down for Australia. Haven't seen her for more than a while.

Well, I'll be heading back to Adelaide on Friday. I've got most of my stuff sorted and am ready to leave. I've done everything I came back to do. The thing is, it hasn't sunk in yet that I may not be coming back home for a long time. Yet, I'm not clinging to things here as if I won't see them again. I'm just moving on. Yes, it lingers in my mind. However, I don't really feel the pressure. It's difficult to leave things behind. But, one has to move on. I'll have to work hard and make lots of money so that I can come home and give a comfortable life to my family. How long will that take? Only God knows. I can only pray that I have enough time...

Well, to those of you out there who I haven't had a chance to greet; Happy Chinese New Year!

Coming together...

2006-01-25T01:03:00.000+10:30

My past week and a little more have been spent basically doing nothing. I've been spending most of my days reading (A Passage to India by E.M. Forster), watching TV (mainly football), going online and playing video games. Nothing much of a life huh? Well, that's what holidays are about anyways. Relaxing for a change. Though it's unproductive, it gives me a good chance to catch up on some sleep; something I don't get much of throughout the year.

Despite this, a number of things helped break the monotony of my days recently. On Monday, I took down the Christmas tree. Nothing special. I'm always so excited when I put it up that I get lazy when it comes the time to take it down. I've never really stood back to absorb the image of our tree. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I put up the tree by myself. Have a look and see if you'd like. Doesn't bother me.

On Sunday, I had to deal with the painful task of removing a virus from our home desktop. I never have problems with them on my laptop. I guess because my parents also use the desktop at home. Still, I've had to really bulk up the defences on this one. Hopefully nothing terrible happens when I'm gone. They'll have to learn sooner or later.

I went out for dinner with my family and the families of two of my close friends earlier today (or yesterday to be precise). It was meant to be our sort of Chinese New Year dinner. It was fun chatting over dinner. Don't get much chances to recently.

Looks like John Howard reshuffled his Cabinet again. It is rather interesting to find that the former Education Minister was given the portfolio for Defense. Interesting change. Let's see how he handles the safety of the country from threats. It's a much greater responsibility than dodging a couple of student protests. The new Education Minister is interesting as well. I don't really know her to be honest. Not sure whether it is a change for the better or worse. But then again, she's still a Liberal. It doesn't matter what she thinks. Look what happened with VSU.

I've got about 2 weeks before I leave for Adelaide again. Looks like nothing very interesting will be happening in the time preceding my departure. Yet, I don't really feel like I'm missing anything. I don't really feel that I could have done more here. In fact, I'm sort of looking forward to going back. For one thing I'm sick and tired of reading about the rubbish going on in this country in the papers each day. It sickens me to the core. I'm not much in the mood to rant about the shortcomings of this government. I've done more than enough over dinner. Besides, some of my comments may be deemed as rather racial and while I don't really care what people think, the truth is that I have no idea who reads this blog and thus need to watch my words. Don't want to get locked up before I leave the country now do I?

Oh well, time to hit the sack. If anyone has anything of interest to discuss feel free to post something in that chat box on the side or reply to this post. You can even ask my opinion on something. Anything. I don't mind. I've got all the time in the world.

Blurry...

2006-01-16T22:16:00.000+10:30

Ok, I wanted to make a post with my views on the recent passing of the Family Law bill in the Senate. However, I figured two consecutive posts criticising this shameful government wouldn't be too appealing to my readers who are not into politics. I may probably dwell on the issue later. For now, my message to the female Senators who spoke against but voted in favour of the bill under "strong protest" is that the only way to voice real protest over an issue is to vote against it. Your fear over your own career caused you to forsake your personal beliefs and tow the party line. I wonder how you manage to hold your head up when you confront the public.

Back to the topic. I went to the eye specialist today. Looks like my power shot up by about 100 in each eye over a period of about a month! The eye specialist said that I should keep an eye on it. If it keeps increasing consistently then I may have to lay off contacts as it may be damaging my cornea. Oh well... They dilated my eyes when they checked my power a second time to make sure the first was correct. I'm not sure how many have had their eyes dilated before. Obviously, the pupils enlarge. The problem is, your vision becomes blurry and you become sensitive to light (since under normal circumstances your pupils dilate in conditions of low light. That's why your eyes feel pain if you move from a dark room you've been in for quite some time into the light). I became medium-sighted. I couldn't read in front of me because my near vision was blurry. I couldn't see in the distance as my long vision was blurry. Put it plainly, I could hardly see. When I left the place, my eyes were killing me as the sun was very bright. Good thing my dad came along to have his eyes checked as well since those who get their eyes dilated can't drive.

The thing that is most frustrating is being unable to see. You lose your ability to do the things you most enjoy doing. As it is, the dilation should be wearing off but things still seem a little blurry.

We went out for dinner tonight. As we were walking along some shops to go back to the car, I happened to be walking while looking into a shop. Guess what? I stepped on a dog! It was just lying there and I didn't notice since I was looking into the shop. My first reaction when stepping on the soft thing was to jerk back and look down. At first glance it looked like a tiger because of its colour. But in a flash, it dashed out of the way and went to lie down somewhere else. I was amazed that it didn't make a sound or try to bite me. It was quite embarassing and further brought ridicule to my eyesight from my family. It's not my fault the dog was lying there! Dogs should know better not to lie down on the pathway. Surely it has been stepped on before or it would have made some noise. I didn't bother checking if it was hurt. My pride was hurt much deeper.

I just finished reading the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The story follows the life of two siblings as they grow up and learn more about their town and discover the prejudice and stereotypes that are established as well as understand more about human nature. It's a really good read and well deserving of its Pulitzer Prize. I recommend this book to those who like exploring human behaviour. You're sure to find it in any bookshop or library.

Alright, I'd better let my eyes get some rest now. It's been bugging me all day. Hopefully tomorrow is a much clearer day...

All worked out...

2006-01-14T00:06:00.000+10:30

I've spent the whole of the week working in a pharmacy near my house. I worked there two years before as well. Nothing much has changed since I last worked there. There's another new permanent worker now. When I went back there last week the Pharmacist had two students working with her. I took over when one left two days later. My hours were from 12.30pm till 9pm. It was quite taxing for the first couple of days but I soon got used to it. Working there was very much easier this time around. The amount of knowledge I gained last year in my course allowed me an understanding of most of the drugs in the pharmacy. I was more comfortable with giving advice and dispensing products. Come to think of it, I started to actually enjoy the last few days. The locums who worked in place of the owner when she finished her shift or took a holiday were very nice as well. All 3 of them were pharmacists working in different areas. I especially liked the male pharmacist as we talked for a long time about my job as President of the Students Association in my uni as well as politics in Malaysia and politics in general.

All of the pharmacists agree that I should work in Australia after I graduate. It is a waste to come home and work for 3 years with the incompetent government. To be honest, I see the implementation of this 3-year policy as a real kick in the teeth to people in my situation. My parents spent so much money out of their own pockets to fund my studies in Australia. The government did not give us a single cent in assistance. Yet now they expect to reap the benefits of my parents' investment by forcing me to work with them for 3 years in order to register as a pharmacist. What utter contempt! This government is really a bunch of fucked up idiots. When they encounter a problem, the first thing they do is try the most obvious remedy without thinking of the consequences. Well, it's not mainly the government, but the type of people the government consists of in general. It's just like the whole crisis with MAS. They find that they are running losses. So what do they do? Increase all the fares! What an utterly stupid and asinine course of action! Words can't describe how majestically idiotic their management is! Real proper management would look at reducing costs and increasing productivity. No, these people can't think! They are just dumbasses who think they are so smart just because certain "special" priviledges are awarded upon them for who they are. Leadership isn't a right given at birth. It is something that needs to be developed and nurtured. As it is, most pharmacy students who have been sponsored by their parents are now seriously considering not returning back to this fucked up country.

How then do we deal with the pharmacist shortage? Fair enough, have the mandatory 3 years. However, this should only apply to those on government scholarships and possibly those studying locally. Give pharmacists sole dispensing rights while you are at it. They've said it would be coming for more than 10 years. Yet, in my opinion it will never come in the near future because at the moment, someone is getting their pockets filled.

The main reason for the major screw up with my country is corruption. As much as "special" rights for certain people are a cause, corruption is the major scourge. Things carry on the way they do because those in positions of authority turn a blind eye and open their pockets wide. It's so easy to get your way in this country. Just make sure you have enough cash in hand. Even those who are supposed to combat corruption are corrupt! Corruption is like the fat that clogs up your arteries. As it builds up, it continually chokes the life out of your blood vessels. Unless the fat is removed, the being will never be able to function in optimal condition. This country will never go forward as long as the 2 issues I mentioned above are not removed.

This is not to say that other countries don't have their faults. Of course they do! No country is perfect. Yet, despite their imperfections, countries like the one I am studying in move forward. They give everyone a fair go. Not just those born under a certain category. Equal opportunity is given to each person; regardless of race, creed or gender (though this can always be debated). I don't despise my country. Just the people running it.

So many things I've read in the paper boil my blood. One was the issue of the Prime Minister saying he wanted to have "towering Malaysians". So what do these idiots do? They come up with the bright *cough* idea of draping the Pyramids of Giza with the flag of our country and all the other Muslim countries in the world. I almost burst out with laughter at their stupidity. It was so pleasing to see the Egptian authorities reject the proposal and tell the dumbasses to bring their propaganda elsewhere. It just shows what jokers we have that run our country.

I'd better stop my attacks on the government here. Wouldn't want them jailing me for freedom of speech now would I? There is no freedom in this country. No democracy. What more can be said when the Senate consists of people appointed by the government rather than being elected? A total waste of resources and a mockery of the democratic system. This country has gone to the dogs. Is there any way to save it? Who knows? Maybe one day. But I wouldn't count on it...

Back from the island...

2006-01-08T18:38:00.001+10:30

Phew, what a tiring journey! My family and I left for Penang last Friday to visit my grandfather. He's about 91 years old now I think. Anyways, we drove down and stayed at the Vistana which is quite near my grandfather's place. We spent the first day in Sunshine shopping and then went for dinner at my grandfather's favourite restaurant. He's very healthy for his age. His only major ailment is a problem with pain in his leg which gives him difficulty when walking. I checked his medications and saw that most of them were painkillers. Aside from that, he's pretty much looking good for his age. He's always so happy to see us.

The next day we went to Perangin Mall to buy DVDs. After that we found that there was a Bodyglove clearance sale outside GAMA and bought quite a few shirts. Then it was church and dinner with one of dad's friends. We headed down to Batu Ferringhi after dinner to get my football jerseys and shop for other stuff.

This morning we took my grandfather for dim sum before saying our final goodbyes and taking some pics. The main purpose of our trip was to see my grandfather. Nevertheless we managed to get quite a good deal on clothes and other stuff at the same time. All in all, the trip was very worth it in more ways than one.

I drove most of the way home so I'm dead tired. Oh well, I may not be back here for quite some time and I hope grandpa stays well and I get more chances to meet him when I come home again.

New Year's resolutions...?

2006-01-04T15:52:00.000+10:30

I'm not one to set New Year resolutions. I don't see the need to. Why wait till the new year to resolve to do something? Resolutions can be made any time during the year. It's sort of like saying, "Ok, I wanna do this. Now let's wait for the new year and I'll get on to it". It's just too superficial for my liking. If I had to wait until the new year to decide to do something, I might as well not resolve to do it at all. Conversely if I wanted to do something different, I would get on to it straight away. Why wait? Time is of the essence.

Nevertheless, I have been reflecting on the previous year and have been toying around with a certain issue in my head. The issue is this: am I too soft? When I used to be Head Prefect of my school, I would be very strict and serious. It went to the extent that many people disliked, and dare I say hated, me and the way I did things. In spite of that, the job was always done and I would be eventually, though sometimes not too clearly, be proven to be right. Friendships were sacrificed in the pursuit of doing what I wanted, what I knew was right. Now I'm not going to go into a debate about whether or not what I knew was right was actually right. Those debates constantly occur elsewhere. The point I'm trying to make is that I would do what I felt was best, no matter the consequences. Suffice to say I made myself a lot of enemies, though my good friends stayed true to our friendship.

After I left school, I still managed to get myself into many other leadership positions, culminating in my election as President of the Students Association in my university. The thing is; when I look back on all my leadership roles after I left school, I find that I tend to move towards a more diplomatic form of leadership. When previously I would revel in confrontation, now I tend to avoid confrontation and find alternative methods of dealing with an issue. When previously I lost more friends than I made, now I make more than I lose. It makes me sometimes question whether or not some of my leadership decisions have been neutered as much as my fighting spirit. I'm used to having my leadership positions challenged. Now I find that not many challenge my capabilities. Lack of conflict, although usually sought, ultimately leads to complacency. Lack of need to engage in conflict leads to a dulling of one's capabilities. Take the example of a tiger caged in the zoo. If this tiger is immediately released in the wild, it's chances of survival are surprisingly low. Put it in a cage with a tiger straight from the wild; the zoo tiger would be easily mauled.

There have been many instances recently where I have let go of doing what I wanted to do in place of what was presented to be the best action for the "common good". Sometimes I find myself questioning this "common good". Shouldn't I just do what I used to? Push forward with what I want to do even if it is not the most acceptable move for certain people? Instead I try to avoid conflict by compromising. By avoiding from being seen as selfish. Why should I care what the "common good" is? What makes the "common good" the most suitable and appropriate option? Maybe what is best for me would prove to be greater than the "common good".

I am not one to claim loyalty to anyone or any organisation; save of course God and family. I've never been a good follower. Whenever I was involved in something, I had to go for the top purely because of the usually clear fact that if I wanted something done best, I would have to do it myself. Yet in the wider political climate, I find myself following. Following what I don't necessarily agree with. Making decisions for the sake of preserving that which I am a member of rather than making decisions for the sake of what I feel is most appropriate for me and everything else. Countless times have I been left disappointed by incompetent leadership. Countless times have I submitted to decisions which I know true well are wrong. Yet, I continue to help those which lead for the perceived "common good".

Which brings me back to the question: am I being too soft? Should I continue with the pursuit of the "common good"? Or, should I pursue what I used to pursue; that which I foresee to have greater benefits to myself and everything else in addition to attracting conflict and suspicion? What a leadership dilemma to start the year with!

One thing is for certain. I have been too soft. I have been yielding when I wouldn't previously have. I'm not a follower or minion. I'm not even good at pretending to be one. I am who I am. Me, myself and I. I can't back down, even if it means being the one that is hated. History has proven my actions to always end up being right (like I said, I'm not into debating whether or not what I perceive as right is actually right in this forum). What am I afraid of? Conflict? Maybe because it's been so long since I have gone against the norm. A long time since I have severed long-term alliances which stood in my way. Long since I rebelled against the "establishment". Nevertheless, too much rubbish has been going on in certain things I am involved in. It's a new year. Time to clean out the house and empty the trash...

Omega and Alpha...

2006-01-02T15:29:00.000+10:30

What a year it's been! Yes, I know the title should be the other way around. But since a year ends before another begins, this one is more apt. It's past very quickly this year. Yet, so much has occured that when I look back, I marvel at the way so many intertwining things came together to make a fascinating year. Let's have a rundown of some highlights of the year:

Made quite a number of new friends
Travelled to Victoria, New South Wales and Canberra
Experienced the many joys of Max Brenner's chocolate in Melbourne and Sydney while at the same time discovering the Chocolate Bean in Adelaide
Watched the NLC degrade into a game of appalling numbers and ignorance
Strengthened my faction, ONE and won a second consecutive election with amazing ease and a monstrous margin, leading to my re-election as President of the Students Association and winning a majority on Council
Obtained the NUS SA State Presidency for a colleague
Enjoyed a comfortable year as President
Watched the Federal Government utilise their majority in the Senate to finally introduce VSU
Watched the NUS fail yet again
Seen friendships used for the sake of political and ideological purposes
Did well in studies considering I was President at the same time requiring a lot of effort
Observed the election of a new Pope
Started blogging
Came back to Malaysia after 2 years
Watched Chelsea win their first English Premiership after 50 years and on course for a second in a row
Read fantastic books including the Da Vinci Code, Life of Pi and the final books in the Left Behind series
All in all, a wonderful year

Ok, so I can't possibly note down everything that happened. Nevertheless, these come to mind as I reminisce of the past year. Can this year ahead bring more wonders and joy? Surely it can! It just depends on the way you look at things. Is the glass half empty or half full?

There's much to look forward to. It's my final year as well. It's also a World Cup year! How I miss those times I used to sit in front of the TV the whole day and watch as many matches as I could before I dozed off. opefully I'll get a chance to go to WA for the NLC Annual Conference as well.

Isn't it fun imagining the possibilities of a new year? It's like opening a new book and reading the first chapter. What lies ahead? The days pass by like pages turning. The last book I read was very good. Hopefully this new one is a best seller! Happy New Year 2006!!!

Merry Christmas...!

2005-12-25T22:12:00.000+10:30

Ok, so I went with a pretty ordinary heading for such a joyous day. What a tiring day! Had my (usually) annual Christmas gathering with friends at my place. Since I didn't have most of my friends' contacts, I could only invite a few by phone and hope they would bring others along (I contacted the rest via e-mail). I think I ended up with only about 6 of my friends coming. My brother had many more which was expected. It went pretty well. Managed to catch up with a friend I haven't seen in ages and also reminisced the past with the others. Life seems to be going pretty well for most people. Others I have lost contact with over the years. I wonder how they are doing?

It's funny how Christmas is looked forward to every year but then it comes and you busy yourself with preparations to the extent that the Christmas spirit doesn't sink in. By the time it does, Christmas passes and you start longing for the next one. Nevertheless, it is a period of great joy. Meeting old friends, going for midnight mass, receiving presents... All in the true spirit of Christmas!

Ok, I must admit that this post isn't going anywhere. I just felt the need to post; it being Christmas and all. Rather than rambling on, I'll just conclude with a simple, yet meaningful phrase. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

T'was the night before Christmas...

2005-12-24T15:13:00.000+10:30

Ok, well not exactly night. Still, a few hours till Christmas! That most joyful time of the year. Christmas this year hasn't really sunk in yet. I mean, we're not really rushing around doing Christmas shopping. None of us have presents. All there really is to look forward to is our Christmas gathering tomorrow. Even then I know of only a few people who will attend. I lost all my old friends' contacts so I had to just send an e-mail hoping people would respond. Hopefully the turnout is reasonable.

I went to Peppercorn cafe today with my close friends. Been two years since I've been back to our "shrine". We used to love that place in college and ate there at least once a week. We even went one whole week eating in the place and are very proud of that record. Not only that, we used to have the priviledge of making telephone bookings during our break so that the food will be ready when we reached! The lady who owns the place still remembers us after all these years. After all, we were her best customers! It was good catching up and re-living the "good old days".

Routine for the day? Dinner at "The Ship" followed by midnight mass. Then it's off to bed to rest in preparation for the festivities of the next day. Despite the lack of "Christmas spirit", Christmas is still Christmas. The celebrations may not be extravagant but it is a celebration nonetheless. Can't wait till tomorrow!

Home again...

2005-12-16T18:48:00.000+10:30

It's been almost two years... My flight touched down safely last night but I had to wait almost an hour before I could meet my family since the baggage delivery system failed for some reason or other. I could feel the warm, humid weather right after I stepped out of the airport.

Things have changed. Not in a major way. But still... New buildings and roadworks on the drive home. The dog has grown bigger. The house has new stuff. My room has changed. We have Streamyx as well (yay!).

The problem is... Rather than feeling at home, I feel like a foreigner. It feels like I am visiting home rather than returning home. It feels so awkward. As if this isn't my home anymore. As if this isn't where I belong anymore.

Still, it IS home. Time changes a lot of things. It shouldn't change things like these. Probably I just need time getting used to being home. Then things should settle. But by the time that happens, I'll have to leave again. Time passes really quickly.

Enough rambling. I should get back to enjoying being home. Home sweet home...

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

2005-12-15T02:07:00.000+10:30

Well, it's been two years. I finally get to go home in a few hours. It hasn't really struck me how long it's actually been. How much has changed since I was last in Malaysia? The years pass by so quickly. One year left before I graduate. I'm sort of packing but I have no clue as to what I should bring back. I've never been good with gifts.

I just had a short flashback today. A flashback of how things were like in my younger days. How I used to prepare to get ready for school every day. How I used to come back from school and have everything I need at home. How home was the place I spent so much time. How I used to go to friends' places for project work and play. I can't imagine how accustomed I have grown to my small little aparment here in Adelaide. Away from everything that brought me up through the years. I know, this is just another phase of life. However, it surprises me how much I've let go of since coming here. All the memories...

I remember when I was young, I couldn't imagine leaving my room. When I was small, I couldn't accept change. I was adamant that my bed should remain the way it always was and should never change. Now, I've been sleeping in a foreign bed for 3 years. How things change as you grow older. Change becomes something you get used to quickly. I wonder how much has changed? How does the dog, Spot look like now? Will he remember me when I get home? How much has the house changed? How much has my neighbourhood changed? So many questions that will be answered in a matter of hours.

I can't say I don't miss home. The thing is, I've always busied myself with things here. If I'm not playing I'm working or studying. I've never had periods where I could just sit down and reflect on home. Probably that's why I don't feel lonely. It was when I had this short period of flashback earlier in the day that I felt a sense of loneliness. Not loneliness from people. Loneliness you get when you've been away from home for too long. So this is how it feels.

I wonder how my family feels with me gone for so long? Would they have missed me? Do they think back on the days when I was always around? It's one thing leaving something behind. It's another thing altogether for those you leave behind. Time passed so quickly for me. Was it the same for those at home?

The time will soon come when I have to make a decision about whether I decide to stay here or go home. My emotions conflict so much when I think of both options. I have no problems staying. Besides, I've built a name for myself here. But if I stay, what about my family? If I go home, I have to start from scratch. Career-wise, it may be better to stay here. However family-wise, it may be better to return home.

Well, I need to make full use of my time at home. Hopefully my trip back home is worth the money it cost. I hope I didn't forget to pack anything important as well. Alrighty then, time to finish packing and get some sleep.

NUS hangover...

2005-12-12T15:24:00.000+10:30

I just got back from Ballarat and Melbourne yesterday. Conference was hectic although nothing much really happened. After all, that's what the NUS is about. A waste of time and money. We left for Ballarat from Trades Hall in Melbourne last Tuesday and I let everyone in our faction know to go to the toilets before boarding as the bus would probably break down. Sure enough, the bus broke down at almost the exact same place as it did last year. Talk about deja vu. Or maybe I just jinxed it. Anyways, we eventually reached Ballarat Uni and were allocated accommodation in the dorms beside where we stayed last year since our faction grew bigger. We were also allocated a bigger, new caucus room. I volunteered myself as COG Co-ordinator; a position I was familiar with as I held it last year. Anyways, conference went on pretty much the same way it did last year. Sessions started late because of factions taking their own sweet time with caucus business, disrpution of proceedings by the Liberal students, internal splits within factions and many other reasons.

At the same time, VSU passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate within days of each other. John Howard made a comment last Thursday night claiming that VSU could not be introduced before the end of the year but in a whirlwind of events, VSU went on the agenda the next day in the afternoon and was passed within hours. The Coalition silenced dissent by putting a gag on the time limit allocated for debate. Ironically though, the person who we were lobbying to vote against VSU was not the one who got the legislation passed. Senator Steve Fielding from the Family First Party did a backflip and voted in favour of VSU. Obviously he was offered a deal but we haven't been able to identify what it could have possibly been. Rumour has it that he secured the Coalition's support in postponing the upcoming conscience vote on the abortion pill RU486. There was a lot of stir on Friday at the NUS as everyone was basically watching the Senate proceedings via internet stream and others rallied in the courtyard. Senator Barnaby Joyce crossed the floor to vote with the Opposition against VSU but Senator Fielding went the other way, effectively cancelling each other out and maintaining the Coalition's majority in the Senate. Upon confirmation of the news, a lot of delegates broke down into tears. Surely it couldn't have been that bad? Well, if you consider that some of them are looking at careers in politics it wouldn't be that surprising. The infuriating thing is that the Government just rammed the bill through, brushed aside the proposed amendments and gagged as much dissent as they were able to. The contempt they showed at such important legislation affecting thousands of people is absolutely disgusting. The Liberal students rubbed things in during the night session causing even more tension.

The NLC has never had good relations with the NOLS. This is because the NOLS have never acknowledged our right to exist as a faction within the NUS. Well, tensions boiled over and it reached its peak at this conference. The Friday night session began with some good speeches about how everyone should put factional differences aside and focus on the matter at hand. After 3 or 4 motions though, everything went back to normal. We then decided to COG our International Student policies and our International Student Officer's report. Surprise, surprise; it was NOLS that moved a motion and voted to put our policy to the vote right after the seconder finished speaking. We all screamed at them and managed to defeat the motion with support from other factions. After that, the rest of our International Student policies and International Student Officer's report were constantly being pushed down on the agenda list by NOLS. Eventually we decided to walk out on the session and quorum was lost when Unity and some others walked out with us. While in the process of walking out, the rest of the left-wing factions quickly moved and approved about 5 or 6 motions they knew we may vote against. How hypocritical it was that they were criticizing the Government for ramming VSU through when they themselves were ramming policies and Rule changes through. We were eventually persuaded back onto conference floor to accept the Queer and International Officer's report. When it got to Akshay's report, we all walked to the front behind him. He blasted NOLS and followed it up by replying to two of our questions with criticism directed at NOLS. The whole conference went into a "Shame NOLS Shame" chant and a number of NOLS delegates broke into tears. I must say it had to be the highlight of the conference and the first time all that pent up frustration built over all these years just had to explode. I'm sure we'll face a NOLS backlash throughout next year, especially during election time.

Anyways, we left the conference with what we wanted: 5 spots on National Executive. The after-party was lame but most of us were smashed after several shots of Sambuca and other drinks including beer and JD. We had to wake up early the next morning to check-out and catch the bus back to Melbourne. After lunch at the Dragon Boat restaurant, I headed home wile some stayed back for later flights.

All in all, the conference went as expected. There were a few interesting incidents along the way but nothing to really shout about. I'm really tired but need to get stuff sorted with regards to preparations to face VSU. I did very well in my exams and managed to get 2 Ds (equivalent to 3 since one of the subjects was double the normal units) and a credit. Hopefully that's enough for Honours.

Well, that's about it for now. Time to get back to work. Hopefully this is the start of better things to come...

The circus begins...

2005-12-02T21:26:00.000+10:30

I'm leaving for Melbourne first thing in the morning. Perhaps a little too early. I can't imagine how I managed to get myself into a 6.05am flight. Utter and complete madness! Oh well, I have been looking forward to this. I think I'll need some shut-eye once I reach the accomodation. Then it's down to "work"; if at all politics is considered work. The WA gang is reaching at night from what I understand. Well, as soon as I get the chance I'm heading down to QV to drown myself in Max Brenner's. It's been a while. Can't get enough of the place. Hope my kidneys don't fail me! I'll be in Melbourne until Tuesday, whereupon we'll all be taking the bus down to Ballarat for the NUS National Conference. The way things have been developing, things should look pretty interesting. Not to mention fun. We're getting 10 of us from SA down there which should be a record for us. We seem to be getting a strong turnout for most conferences now with our strength at UniSA. I mean, we had 13 from UniSA attending the NLC Annual Conference. Strength in numbers I say (though Tiffy still thinks it's abusing student fees)! Well, if it was not us it would be one of the other factions. Besides, this will probably be our one and only chance to actually dominate so we'll strike while the iron is hot now shall we?

I probably won't get much of a chance to blog over in Melbourne/Ballarat but I'll see what I can do. I usually lose the mood to blog in these conferences. Anyways, I know this is a short entry but I need to finish up my packing if I want to stand any chance of getting a decent amount of sleep before the flight. Wish me bon voyage!

Dirty Politics...

2005-11-30T00:43:00.000+10:30

We had our NUS SA State Conference last Friday. The sensitive and confidential nature of any deals brokered between factions prevents me from going into too much detail with regards to the nitty-gritty of stuff that happened. Officially, we as the NLC are the biggest faction in South Australia. This was due to our overwhelming victory in my uni elections yielding 4 delegates holding a total of 51 votes. Our uni gets more votes that any other uni in South Australia due to our large student population. What an achievement! We always used to be one of the smallest and weakest factions. Now we're the strongest. I am pretty sure we had the most delegates as well this year. It feels good walking into the room knowing that you are the ones holding the power. Not that we abused it though. This year's conference was much better than last year's. There wasn't any shouting and there were far fewer arguments. Things went along very smoothly although we had to resume the meeting late after a late start due to one of our delegates being late thus preventing quorum from being reached (NOLS didn't want to come in). Eventually things got underway.

Negotiations this year worked in our favour. We finally managed to get PK back into politics in a major way! He is now our NUS SA State President! Congratulations PK! Keith got in as Education Officer and Melissa as Welfare Officer. Not too bad obtaining the top job and two other positions! The rest of the positions went to Unity. We only had to conduct a ballot for Environment Officer because NOLS messed up all their other nominations causing them to be invalidated. NOLS were locked out of NUS SA for the 4th year in a row.

It's been tough trying to get PK back into action after the NLC Annual Conference. He had a hard time after losing faith in something he believed in with all his heart. It must be excruciating. Imagine putting all your sweat and effort while sacrificing so much just to make a difference in what you believe in. Then somebody comes along and just destroys all your hard work making what you believe in exactly the opposite of how it should be. It's such a shame. Why can't people let others who are more enthusiastic, capable and hardworking take a job at the expense of their own ambitions? It's not so much the matter of not winning the position. More of the manner in which the position was not obtained. Someone who worked so hard was completely shut out of the very organisation he was fixing up and made to look like the bad guy. Injustice is something I cannot tolerate. Especially if the people who inflict the injustice can enjoy themselves and strut their pride following their vile deed. It's not my job to be the judge, jury and executioner. At the same time, I can't stand to see injustice left unpunished. Such a terrible human weakness. Impatience. Why can't I just leave it be and let them get what is coming to them? Well, I just have to control myself and make sure that I don't go too far. Yet, the lure of exacting vengeance is so strong... Funny how I want to take revenge even though I am not the victim. This happens a lot in my life.

Anyways, it's difficult to concentrate on the holidays when there is so much work left to do. I've been in office for quite a bit in the past few days. I finally managed to get the microphone on my handphone changed since a lot of people were complaining that they can't hear me on the phone. Took only 5 minutes. Talk about good service! I'll be leaving for Melbourne this Saturday. Can't crash over at my friends' places when I'm there since most of them have either gone home or are going to be busy preparing for graduations. I just began to realise how long it's been already. 3 years. Only one left to complete my degree. Yet, it seems like it's so far away. It also doesn't feel that long. Time flies when you're having fun, huh? It's funny how for some people, the student who goes overseas can't wait to get back. Yet for others, the only reason for going back is to meet the family. I've grown attached to this place. Too attached perhaps. I've made a life for myself here. History. I don't want to leave it all behind. Yet, I don't know if I can leave what I have at home behind as well. A dilemma no? I have one year left to decide what I want to do; and I'm nowhere near at making the decision as I was 3 years ago. Only time will tell I guess...

Exams Fly By...

2005-11-27T00:44:00.000+10:30

Well, I finished my exams on Monday. I must say that the exams were all packed together. We finished all 4 of our papers in exactly 1 week! I always promise myself that I will blog once I have nothing better to do but it always turns out that I occupy my time with other things except blogging. That's why I never keep a diary I guess. It's too troublesome to write every day and eventually the gap between one post and another is so long it defeats the purpose of keeping a diary in the first place.

Exams are always a trying period. I always have to cram stuff into my head but always get distracted and have never been able to study for more than 2 hours straight. Even after 1 hour I get so fidgety I can't continue. My routine is usually study an hour, stop and go online/play a game, study another hour, repeat. I also have certain "rituals" I have to conduct before an exam. First is that I usually have to cut my hair the week prior to exams. This goes back to my school days when it used to be very hot back home so I needed short hair to concentrate more. This time however, I decided not to cut my hair because it didn't seem long enough. The night before a paper, I have to set aside a period of time to relax, sip some Chamomile tea and listen to soft Christian music. Then there's the slew of prayers that come at various periods. It's difficult to do something different especially since my results have been pretty acceptable. Why change a winning formula huh? I'm not the superstitious kind of person. In fact, I don't believe in that rubbish. However, it's difficult for me to move away from these habits for fear that something may go wrong. Looks like there is that touch of superstition within me after all... Either that or I have a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

It always amuses me how people try to just memorise as much as they can to be successful in their exams. Only the very good students attempt to understand the topic. This is why people exclaim in horror about the difficulty of a paper if it is full of thinking questions which require a good grasp of the topic. Sadly (or fortunately), some still manage to get through if they have a superb memory with little understanding of how it actually works. I guess that's one of the failures of the education system. Exams nowadays tend to examine knowledge content rather than knowledge application. I must admit that I myself at times fall to the simplicity of just memorising something I can't get myself to understand. However, it shows my weakness when the answer that I put is wrong and after reviewing the reasons, realising how little I know about the topic in the first place. There must be a way of making people actually understanding something. Oh well, you can't have everything perfect!

I'm not a fan of exams. At the same time, I do acknowledge that it is one of the best ways of testing how much you learnt throughout the semester. A lack of tests would just leave students complacent since assignments serve no purpose other than to force student to look up references they don't even read to just regurgitate something someone figured out a long time ago. There's a lot to do in the education system to actually promote "quality" education. You tend to wonder what the Education Minister is doing when he is not trying to crush student unions...

Anyways, the end of exams marks a time of partying and parting. Almost everyone goes back home for the holidays right after the exams. I sometimes wonder what the point is of coming to Australia to study if all a person wants to do is run home at the first available opportunity. They might as well have studied in their home country. Yes, I have to admit universities overseas probably have a better reputation. Despite that, coming overseas is a priviledge. Not many people get this opportunity. We should be staying back at least once to really take in the culture and travel around seeing things not available in one's own country. I remember when I stayed back at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. Christmas here was quite interesting. Skyshow was also a very worthwile experience. Not to mention the various trips we made around to see sights. There's not much I have to go home to aside from my family. After all, life goes on and eventually you have to learn to live by yourself. I do miss some things from home. Yet, I don't see an absolute necessity to go home aside from the family. I do get a chance to go home though in the middle of December. It will be almost two years since I've been home. It's hard to leave here as well what with my job and all. I can't help but feel anxious about leaving the Students Association in one of my Vice-President's hands with VSU on the horizon. I just hope nothing happens until I get back (or not at all if possible). At least I get to make one more trip to Melbourne before I head home for the NUS Conference where I can enjoy my Max Brenner's!

I'll be home soon. But before that I'll just spend my last few days here sorting out the thing that has been driving my life recently. Politics. Once all this is done, I can go home and take a long break before heading back head first into the realm of "busy"ness...

UniSA Students Association Elections 2005...

2005-11-06T13:51:00.000+10:30

Finally, it came time for my campus elections! Let me recap on the previous elections 1 year ago:

Last year we ran in the elections as a new faction and called ourselves ONE. There are 2 other factions in my uni; the Labor Left aka Vision (National Organisation of Labor Students - NOLS) and Labor Right aka Drive (Student Unity). NOLS have dominated the Students Association since it was created and Unity were always second best. I put my name up as President for negotiation purposes and didn't campaign for it. Despite that, I managed to win the Presidency by about 54 votes and most of my colleagues won as well. However, a problem with the election process was revealed and a lot of candidates (including myself) were disqualified through no fault of our own (I still stick to my belief that it was all planned by the NOLS). Anyways, a deal between all our factions ensured that everyone retained the position they were supposed to have won for the year. That being so, I was re-elected President and we controlled 3 out of the 4 metropolitan campuses. We held in total 5 out of a possible 14 voting positions on Council. We also managed to obtain 2 out of a possible 6 NUS delegates. It was a historic victory as I was probably one of the first NLC candidates to win the Presidency without signing a deal for it.

Well, that's more or less a summary of what occured last year. It has been a rather smooth sailing year with few obstacles. The only problems I had were pushing across reforms to restructure the student representation aspect of the Students Association and a "fake" NUS disaffiliation motion (I recommended it in my report because I was ticked off at a previous NUS National Executive meeting I attended). NOLS had about 3 candidates on Council this year but most of the rest of the Council members were "independent" *cough* students who usually voted alongside NOLS. NOLS were severely weakened after the last elections and Unity was virtually non-existant - being locked out of Council for 2 years.

Elections this year were being held from Monday, 17th October until Friday, 21st October. This year, both NOLS and Unity approached me for negotiations before nominations closed but I was unwilling to get any deals signed until then because it would be silly to sign a deal when you don't know the candidates for the position. To cut a long story short, NOLS and Unity signed a deal to give NOLS the Presidency and Unity both the Vice-President positions. Both factions then proceeded to lock us out of negotiations (similar to last year when NOLS locked us out after 1 deal). As a result, we fielded candidates for ALL positions on Council (except the Queer Rep who was supported by all of us). I ran for President again, this time for real. Our Students Association is divided into 2 levels: Branch and Central. Branch is basically each campus and the positions available are almost a reflection of what is available at Central level although the importance of these positions (in terms of responsibility and power) is pretty low in political terms. Central is the level where all the important things happen. Anyways, after the nominations list was released we discovered that we won almost all the Branch positions (except the Branch Directors of 3 campuses) uncontested indicating that the other factions either didn't bother about Branch positions or just didn't have the numbers. Initially I predicted that NOLS and Unity would run as seperate factions but work together in that their voting cards would be supporting more or less the same candidates. It didn't surprise me though that come election week, both factions actually merged to form a Labor "Coalition" calling themselves Unite.

We stuck to the same logo and name as last year (ONE) but I improved our campaign material. We got our posters up the week before elections and had maximum uncontested exposure (just like last year). Election week was a massacre. On the first day we turned up with almost everyone on the ground in each of our campuses while Unite only had about 2 on each campus (there are 4 metropolitan campuses as I said earlier). In addition, they didn't get their stuff in order allowing us to hit hard and fast by bringing heaps of students into the polling booths. In City East, we managed to get lines of students in to vote without contest. The opposing candidate for Women's Rep was at City West and she started the day in tears when she saw their campaign in shambles even before the start of the real campaign. In Mawson Lakes, our candidates just bullied their opponents into submission. Magill was quiet (it is our weakest campus) but our candidates managed to get a good number of votes in. The next 2 days were a battle with City West struggling due to some miscommunication and lack of responsibility on the part of some of our candidates. I gave them a half-time lashing on Wednesday night to get their act together when I got a call informing me that negative posters about me were put up in the City East campus. Upon reaching the campus, I found posters of my photo beside Brendan Nelson's photo surrounded by hearts with the words "Brendan Nelson & Justin Lee are ONE on VSU... Save Student Services, don't vote for ONE". It was undersigned with the website of the Socialist Alliance. I must say that I was absolutely furious but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it motivated my team to fight tougher on the ground. We managed to get all the posters removed before it caused any real damage. I personally think it was done by Unite though it is not easy to prove it as such. The masking tape used to put those posters up were the same as used by Unite even down to the method of applying the tape!

Anyways, The City West guys came out with all guns blazing on Thursday and Friday and campaigned with extreme aggression up to the point of almost making their opponents cry (again?! They're adults for crying out loud! No pun intended =P). City East and Magill were pretty civil throughout the week save a point where I had to be aggressive to the opposition candidate for Women's Rep due to her rudeness. Our candidates in City West and Mawson Lakes were like wild beasts released from a cage and completely tore our opponents apart. I was even told that my opponent for the Presidency was quoted as saying "we got annihilated" after the elections. It seemed a sure victory for us come the end of Friday but we kept the pressure on them. It was also fun to see the union between NOLS and Unity sour as the campaign progressed. The fight was so imbalanced that at certain points we had 9 campaigners on the ground at City East against only 1 from their team.

It didn't take long for the votes to be counted and on the Friday night, news got through that the count (though still ongoing) revealed that I had won the Presidency and our candidates won in City East, West, Mawson Lakes and Magill (our weakest campus won for the first time!) along with the first Vice-President position. It was obvious then that we would win the rest of the positions but I wasn't going to celebrate fully just yet. By the next week all the positions had been counted. I won the Presidency by a whopping 692 votes (I polled 992 votes while my opponent only got a measly 300 votes) which was almost 13 times more than what I got last year! The rest of our candidates won by between 200 and 400 votes. Looks like I was the most popular candidate in the elections! Get this, the Queer Rep candidate was the only candidate supported on both the tickets. She only won by 400 something votes. Imagine then how it was that I won by a bigger margin even though I was only on one ticket! Following the results, we won control of Council (If I'm not wrong we now hold 12 of the possible 14 voting positions on Council - the other 2 positions were our rural campus position which did not have a candidate & the aboriginal position which was won by an unaligned candidate)! In addition, we managed to win 4 out of the 6 available NUS Delegate positions (the top 3 and the last one)! A historical win by our team. This time, we made history in that no other NLC caucus in Australia has won virtually everything there was to win in an elections. In fact, we ran the largest ticket with more than 45 people in our team (we had a lot of help from certain individuals who weren't running for positions as well!). For the first time in history, both NOLS AND Unity are locked out of Council! I'm sure the name ONE now strikes fear into the heart of local student politicians. I guess I've also made history by being the first international student to be re-elected as President for 2 consecutive years. I'm looking forward to a great year with our control of Council.

Our opponents have been really silent since then. I wonder if they're plotting something or are just completely demotivated by their utter and total loss? Regardless, the real challenge is actually taking advantage of our control of Council to get the job done and implement our policies. Unlike the other factions, we actually care about implementing policies and doing work! I must say, this victory is going to echo through the minds of student politicians for generations to come.

Well, there's only one more political event before the end of the year. Next target: NUS. Time to have fun!

ONE for all & all for ONE

Canberra & the NSLF...

2005-11-06T12:35:00.000+10:30

18th September 2005

A couple of months before this date, I received an e-mail from the Pro Vice-Chancellor: Access & Learning Support that was sent to the PVCs of each division and the Students Association. The e-mail was calling for nominations of students to attend the National Student Leadership Forum (NSLF) that was to be held in Canberra. The NSLF is an annual conference (though it was not held last year due to the Federal Elections) that brings together students from all across Australia (and some from Fiji, New Zealand and surrounding islands) who are nominated by either their university or a prominent member of the community (which happens to be politicians most of the time). Anyways, the cost of the conference was rather high and the uni was only going to pay for registration. To avoid bearing costs to my Association, I decided to ask the PVC of my division (Health Sciences) if she would be willing to sponsor my travel as a representative of the division. Fortunately she agreed with the provision that I provide a report upon conclusion of the event.

I had to leave for the conference on a Thursday before the mid-semester holidays and due to some unforseen difficulties, I missed my flight! Thankfully I managed to get on a later one and still reach on time. My first stop in Canberra was Parliament and I had to drag along my bag full of clothes with me since I came straight from the airport. I must say, the Parliament of Australia is a truly magnificent building. Security is tight as well. Our first order of business was to sit through the House of Representatives Question Time. This involved alternate turns whereby an MP from the Federal Government would ask a question of a Minister followed by a question from an MP from the Federal Opposition. It was rather fun watching the clearly biased questions coming from both sides. Peter Costello also managed to smash Kim Beazley with a tirade about Mark Latham's diaries. Anyways, we spent the whole day being addressed by politicians and attending meetings and a dinner with them.

It's a waste of my time running through the whole conference proceedings so I'll just touch on the interesting bits. The best part of the conference was that we were given accommodation in the Hyatt Canberra. From what I understand it is the only 5-star hotel in Canberra. We shared 3 persons to a room but the rooms were so magnificent with a marble bathroom floor that it didn't bother us that we had to share. All our meals throughout the conference in Parliament and at the hotel were just mouth-watering. I didn't get to see much of Canberra save old and new Parliament house since our schedule was tight and my return flight was not long after the end of the conference. At the conference, I only knew one other person who happened to be a girl from Adelaide. Despite that I managed to make a number of friends and the group I was put in was very friendly.

The whole conference was very right-wing in my opinion. A little too right-wing for my liking. I wonder how some of the Labor Left students who attended the conference felt? Anyways, the attempt was to show everyone that politicians lead normal lives outside of their jobs. I certainly felt that it was made to convince everyone that the Government is really good and without flaw. There happened to be a Young Liberal in my group and his views were so pro-Government that there was no way of talking sense into him or even revealing some faults of the current Government. I mean, come on! No matter how good leaders are there are always weaknesses and faults. No one person or faction is perfect. Even I in my current position have made leadership errors. I guess that's what makes them politicians. Holding firm to a stace/position even if there are obvious faults just to stick to the party line.

I enjoyed the trip though I wished I had a chance to see more of Canberra. I certainly do hope that I get another chance to come back here in the near future so that I can explore the capital of Australia in much more detail.

Adelaide & Flinders Uni elections...

2005-09-24T13:41:00.000+09:30

2nd September 2005

Adelaide Uni has always been a tough university for us in getting international student representation and obtaining NUS delegates. Nevertheless, this year we actually managed to get a good team together. They spent quite a bit of time organising their campaign under my guidance and chose to run under the same banner that we at UniSA won the elections with last year. There wasn't much that they could do in terms of securing positions via negotiations because, being new, the other factions didn't acknowledge them as yet. Anyways, they encountered hostility even before the elections when they were putting up posters. Despite that, they kept their cool and managed to keep their focus on the task at hand.

It is very childish for a bigger faction to bully a smaller, newly formed faction. You tend to wonder what they are so insecure about. When new factions in UniSA form and approach me I ensure that I give them as much advice as they need. After all, it's just an election! It's not like their whole career will be gone if they don't win with a landslide victory. Shameful! Some people want to be involved in student representation to actually make a positive difference you idiots! You can milk your student organisation it for all its worth but let others who have genuine interests in representing student needs be involved as well.

Anyways, our Adelaide Uni team managed to campaign reasonably well (so I heard) for the entire week. The results were a slight disappointment though. Our biggest target was to obtain an NUS delegate. Our candidate only managed to obtain 9th place out of the 6 available. Regardless, we were able to obtain representation on the Union Board and the Students Association Council. Well, we didn't get everything we want but you did a good job people! It's always good to see people who are enthusiastic about being involved in student representation. There's always a next time. We'll just have to work towards it!

9th September 2005

Our team in Flinders Uni has also not been that strong despite our NLC South Australia leaders hailing from this university. Nevertheless our Flinders team has always managed to obtain 1 NUS delegate. I'm not too sure how the campaign fared as I was not there for their elections. After the week of campaigning, they went away with an NUS delegate and representation on Union Board if I recall. Pretty good show I must say.

Well, 2 out of the 3 universities in SA have finished with their elections. One more to go. UniSA: my home ground. It's going to be a war this year. We'll have to do our best to get something out of it. Let the games begin...

21...

2005-09-23T02:31:00.000+09:30

30th & 31st July 2005

My birthday is on the 31st of July. This year, it fell on a Sunday. Since it was difficult to get people to come out for a celebration on a Sunday, my friends decided to celebrate it on the Saturday night. I woke up late on Saturday morning and had to attend a caucus meeting. Elections weren't far away so although the timing of the meeting wasn't perfect, I had to hold it. I got a call later in the afternoon and was asked to meet everyone at Cafe Buongiorno on Rundle St. Being the demanding person I was, I had asked a couple of days before that my NLC friends would be invited as I have been spending so much time with all of them since I started getting heavily involved in student representation at my university. Anyways, when the time came, I headed down to the venue and lo and behold, a long table with a whole bunch of my friends greeted me. I'm not a fussy guy when it comes to birthdays and I've never really had big celebrations in the past. In fact, I have never been exceptionally excited about birthdays as I see it as just another day albeit being one year older. However, I have to admit that the scene that greeted me on the day was very touching. It didn't matter that some of those I wanted to see weren't there. The important thing was that so many of them were there. In total there were slightly less than 30 present.

That was only the start of the pleasant surprises. I headed to the counter to look at the list of specials and saw that Chicken Parmigiana was on the menu! Normally they only have the veal version which I don't really like. Dinner was excellent but what came next was better. An ice cream cake! What more could one ask for? I can't remember what the flavours were but it's cool because everyone knows I love ice cream and chocolate. After having my face shoved into the cake as per tradition, we all indulged in the Cold Rock specialty. Next came present time.

I was presented with a present shaped like a book amid giggles from those around me. Opening the first wrapper merely brought me to another wrapper. This continued for quite a while. I thought it was just for fun and that the actual present would be much smaller than it first seemed. Eventually I reached the end. It was The Godfather box set!!! I always wanted that! It pays to point out what you really want in a shop in front of your friends no? Just kidding! I was really grateful for the present. It would have cost close to $100. I was also given a small little box from two gals which later turned out to be a cross shaped Playboy necklace (what the?). The guys had another present which was so obviously a bottle of alcohol. I just had to guess which one. I opened it much later to find that it was a bottle of Bacardi 151. That would have cost a lot too.

We moved on from the cafe to the Belgian Beer Bar. The bouncer was being a prick because he wanted ID from everyone and wouldn't accept the ISIC card which most of them had. After some negotiation he went in to ask his boss who "let us off this time". After a couple of drinks we shifted to Piatto. All the while our numbers were progressively being whittled down as some had to leave early. There we had a few drinks and some finger food. It was here that the clock struck midnight and I was given an official welcome into my 21st year of life with a Happy Birthday song again. Most of us were still game to hang out so we proceeded to the Mansions. One of the guys was wearing shorts so I had to take him back to my place and loan him a pair of cargo pants. We still couldn't get in because the place didn't accept the ISIC card. We then followed a suggestion and headed off to Red Square. Again they didn't accept the ISIC card. By then most of us were getting frustrated and we made an ultimatum that if the next place we went didn't accept the ISIC card, we would call it a night. We headed to a place beside Light Square called Tonic and finally got everyone in. It was a typical nightclub and we spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking as you would in a club. We finally left when one of us had a little too much to drink and later caused a small scene for us. Nevertheless it did not detract at all from the great night I had. I got up late on my birthday and spent the rest of the day recuperating at home.

Well, there it is. My wonderful and memorable 21st! A big thank you to everyone who celebrated my birthday with me, even those of you who weren't able to come. Thanks also to those who sent me text messages and to an NLC friend from Perth who sent me a card and souvenir. It was definitely one of my best birthdays and I have all of you to thank.

Time flies...

2005-09-23T01:26:00.000+09:30

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted in my blog for more than a month. Almost two in fact. I kind of miss this place. Why have I been gone for so long? Well, the matters of this world have been keeping me occupied and whenever I have enough free time, I do other things rather than blog. Sometimes you have a lot to say but just don't have the motivation to pen it down. Anyways, now that it's the holidays, I might as well take some time and reminisce about the time between my last post and now. The next bunch of blog entries will be back-dated. Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the show...

New Study Period...

2005-07-25T23:59:00.000+09:30

The holidays passed like a breeze! Today was the first day back to uni for us. Everyone at our uni is still coming to grips with the change of terminology from Semester 2 to Study Period 5. Why on earth did they have to change something that was so simple?! Two semesters in a year labelled 1 and 2. Now it's 2 Study Periods a year labelled 2 and 5 for most students. Someone up there in the bureaucracy is really getting paid too much to come up with this rubbish.

Didn't do very well in uni today. Was dozing off for each lecture. I've found that nowadays I have very low stamina when it comes to lectures and meetings. I tend to start nodding off midway through. Not too good for my reputation since most of my lecturers know me! Most of the remainder of my holidays were sadly spent in office. Had quite a bit of work to catch up on. I promised myself that I would clean up my room and office during the holidays but in the end, didn't get around to doing it. Both are a total mess and I don't feel comfortable living in a heap of trash but well, really can't find the time and strength to just sit down and do some spring cleaning.

It happens to be my brother's birthday today. Happy birthday! My dad's birthday was last week. The guys in my family have our birthdays one week apart by some strange coincidence (or not). Gets stale by the time it reaches my birthday because at home we end up virtually going out 3 weeks in a row for a birthday dinner.

The clock is ticking ever nearer to the Senate sitting. VSU is just on the horizon but everyone seems to be quiet recently. The calm before the storm perhaps? Our Association sent out VSU information packs to every Senator on my behalf. I have so far received three letters of reply; two from Labor Senators and one from a Liberal. Those of you in the political loop would be able to easily guess the contents. Let me give you a hint: one pro and 2 anti. Just a matter of guessing which one is which. Haha!

Well, uni starts at 9am tomorrow so I should get to bed now. Not before making one final post to the REAL NLC though!

Eastern reflections...

2005-07-20T01:55:00.000+09:30

I realised I didn't say anything about my holiday in Sydney after the NLC Annual Conference. Well, after leaving Newcastle on Saturday the 9th of July by train we accommodated ourselves in Maze backpackers on Pitt St. I don't really like staying in backpackers (for the very reason of shared toilets) but it was the cheapest available option. We reached in the evening and after settling down, made our way to Darling Harbour for a winter performance of sorts. It was my first time in Sydney and already I could feel the nightlife which is a far cry away from quiet little Adelaide. Anyways, the performance was sort of like an opera on a floating stage on the harbour which ended in a nice fireworks display. We then enjoyed some dinner and later took a trip to their casino - Star City (the name is too similar to our Adelaide Casino - Skycity). I've made it a point recently that I should collect the membership cards from each casino I visit (it seems that a lot of others do this as well). Upon obtaining the card, we were told that we had a choice of free $10 credit to be used at either the tables or the machines. Since I'm not one for gambling, I just chose the machines which seemed a simpler way to do things. Well I played a 10 cents machine and made a gain of $4. Little but something nonetheless. One of my friends managed to win $20 playing a "wheel of fortune"-like game.

Sunday brought about my obligatory trip for Sunday Mass. A friend of mine kindly Googled Catholic Cathedral in Sydney for me and I took a walk down to the popular St. Mary's Cathedral. It is supposed to be a rather beautiful Cathedral. I however felt it was too contemporary for my liking. I still prefer the older cathedrals and their designs. There was a tomb of sorts below the Cathedral but it was only going to open much later. I had to brave through the rain and found myself at Pitt St. Mall after running for shelter. Since it was nearby, I took the opportunity to look for the Max Brenner's that was supposed to be in the David Jones facing Elizabeth St. After some time looking around I finally managed to satiate my cravings with a Babka. I honestly don't understand how something so delightful can be kept away from Adelaide. Anyways, I took the opportunity to explore the area a little more and found the Queen Victoria Building. It is a heritage building that houses a shopping complex of sorts. Next: Paddy's Markets. It kind of reminded me of the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne but it was supposedly cheaper. I couldn't find anything I needed so we didn't spend much time there. We then headed off to Darling Harbour once again but this time took a ferry to the Circular Quay. We had a walk around and took many (too many in fact) pictures of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. The Rocks was next and it was just another market that sold souvenirs and other knick-knacks. I wanted to go all the way to the Opera House after that but had to return to the backpackers to meet up with the rest of my friends who just came from Newcastle. We took a cab to Cleveland St. to eat at a Japanese restaurant which was supposedly quite popular but ended up in Maya's (Indian) as it was too full. Interestingly this Maya's was split into two. We were in the vegetarian restaurant. The non-vegetarian one was just across the street. After some entrees we went across the street to have our meal. The Indian guys in our group wanted to head back to the previous restaurant for dessert but we gave up as we just couldn't stomach it anymore. Heading back to the city, our NSW guest of honour brought us to a dessert shop in Capitol Square named Passionflower. The desserts were nothing short of mouth-watering. I can't even begin to describe how good it all tasted. My kidneys felt numb after taking in all that sugar. Karaoke was next at an extremely affordable price of $10 per head for 2 hours. After wandering around looking for a bus stop and then a car, I turned in for the night.

Monday began with the popular Dim Sum breakfast at a Chinese restaurant in Market City. It was probably one of the best Dim Sum sessions I had in Australia. They had everything including taufu fa (don't know about the spelling). We sort of split up after that as everyone (excluding myself) were leaving later in the afternoon. My little group headed off to Pitt St. Mall for some final shopping and a certain somebody forced me to bring everyone to Max Brenner's. After walking around the city a little more we headed back to the backpackers where we were kindly treated to some Krispy Kreme donuts by those who went there and bought boxes back. Once everyone left I took a short rest in my new single room and later headed off to Darling Harbour. I got myself an IMAX movie ticket for the 3D film Haunted Castle and took a trip to the Aquarium while waiting for the show to start. It wasn't much different from other Aquariums I have been to but the underwater tunnel with ocean creatures was simply fabulous at night. It was like walking around in a twilight wonderland with huge sharks and stingrays swimming around and resting on the tunnels. The 3D movie wasn't as scary as I expected. I didn't have much choice. Most of the other movies were nature films and I figured I might as well watch the Discovery Channel for all that. The movie I watched merely showed off superb visual effects but failed in any form of storyline or content. I met some fools from the NLC Conference on my way back but it was just a "hi and bye" sort of meeting.

Tuesday was a good opportunity for me to do some things that I couldn't do with the others around. I started off early to Circular Quay to catch myself a cruise along the Sydney Harbour. I had a choice for a lunchtime cruise but I did not feel the necessity of eating onboard. Besides, the Coffee cruise which I took lasted longer. It wasn't exceptional but I was given a chance to see places like Watson's Bay, an island prison sort of thingie and Kirribilli House. After the cruise I dashed off to Bondi Beach. It seems there were some railworks going on and as such I had to be diverted from the train to a bus about a stop before Bondi Junction. The beach didn't look spectacular. It was cloudy and cold yet there were still many surfers around. Granted the scenery was acceptable but I just do not see why Bondi Beach is so popular. Probably merely because of the waves. I had a chance to eat some fish and chips and later on some gelato. After that it was back to the city for me. I went to Darling Harbour yet again to book a Blue Mountains tour. Next stop: the popular boutique beer bar that was featured in the Voyeur magazine on my Virgin Blue flight. Redoak Beer Bar had won a record number of awards at some International Beer Awards of some sort. There were a wide variety of beers available and I chose to go for the signature beer named Framboise Froment. It was a pink coloured brew supposedly infused with raspberries with a bit of bubbly. It had an interesting taste but didn't really swipe me off my feet. I wanted to try more but couldn't fit it in so I decided to come back the next day if I had the time. I took a walk through the Queen Victoria Building again and was fortunate enough to be on the top floor when the clock struck the hour. There are 2 huge (and I do mean huge!) clocks hanging from the ceiling of the QVB. They look like they are antiques and have probably been there for a very long time. Each clock had a seperate mechanical play which told a story of England in the past. How unique!

I woke up early Wednesday morning to get ready for my Blue Mountains tour. I was supposed to go with a small tour group called "Great Sights" but ended up going along with Grey Line as there probably wasn't enough people for the cheaper tour. Looks like I got more value for my money then! Anyways, the first stop was a country general store of sorts called the Bilpin Fruit Bowl. We stopped for some snacks and it seems that the apple pie was a highlight. I didn't take anything as I wasn't hungry. We then proceeded to a lookout point that gave us a view of the Blue Mountains. The scenery was simply fantastic. We then headed off to a place called Scenic World. It featured a mountain/forest valley with a boardwalk. To access the valley you could either take a Railway or Flyway. I decided to descend via the Railway and ascend back via the Flyway. The Railway wasn't a train per se. It was more like a small carrier on tracks that descended into the valley. It was supposedly the steepest railway in the world and at one point we were at a 52 (?) degree angle. It wasn't a rollercoaster though. There was a good chance from my landing spot to view the rock formation called the "Three Sisters". There are a few aboriginal legends about it but it just looks like 3 stones jutting out to me. There were 3 paths along the boardwalk that could be taken. Each had varying lengths and completion times. Looking at my watch, I decided to take a quick stroll down the longest path. There were mainly trees and a few things of interest along the way but it was merely a boarded hiking trail. I did enjoy it though as I kind of like walking in nature. I managed to reach the end point early enough to head down the middle path to a miner's hut. I then went back to the end point and took the Flyway back. Our final stop was a wildlife park. It was just like walking through a zoo to see the different native Australian animals including the kangaroo, koala, emu and tasmanian devil. It was quite fun but nothing I hadn't done before. On the way back we drove past the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. I hopped off the bus at Darling Harbour to purchase some delicious chocolate fudge as a souvenir back to Adelaide. Since I had some extra time on my hands I headed back to Redoak and this time tried the Belgian Chocolate Stout. It started of with a bitter chocolate aroma and then settled into a smooth stout. It tasted really good (and no, it did not taste strongly of chocolate and was not sweet) and put stouts on my list of favoured brews. Another Chinatown dinner ended a night spent packing.

I decided to wake up early on my last day in Sydney so that I could have a Max Brenner's breakfast and then spend a little time shopping. Problem is, I woke up a little too early. The shops weren't open yet! As such I took a walk around Pitt St. Mall and then the city. While I was walking through the Queen Victoria Building towards Myers, I noticed a shop in the foodcourt selling crepes. I had heard some good things about Sydney crepes and ordered a chocolate with banana crepe. It tasted alright but basically blew my appetite for Max Brenner's. What a shame. Anyways, once the shops were open I just browsed through but couldn't find anything to buy. I finished with the shops and had nasi lemak for lunch in a Malaysian restaurant called "Laksa House" in QVB as it was recommended by a colleague. It was alright though it still can't beat what you can get from home. While walking back I stopped by at two CD shops. The last one sold all CD for only $10! They were originals so I don't get how they can sell it for so cheap. I looked for and found the Rod Stewart greatest hits double CD that I always wanted to get. What a bargain! Well I got back and took my bags out of the bag room to wait for the airport shuttle. I waited until half an hour but the shuttle didn't come. As a result, the backpackers gave me $25 for a cab to the airport (the cab eventually only cost about $20). I had a smooth flight back to good old Adelaide!

Sydney is a really happening place to be in. It's probably the only city in Australia that actually has nightlife. The food in Chinatown is great as well. I can walk around late at night and yet there will still be shops open. This is in stark contrast with Adelaide where the city basically sleeps early. Despite the energy in Sydney, I still feel more comfortable and at home in Adelaide. Yes, it is quiet and boring. Yet, it is peaceful and easy-going. It's hard to imagine where I would want to live if I decided to stay here after I graduate. Well, I still haven't been to Perth, Tasmania, Darwin and Canberra yet so I'll keep my options open!

The REAL NLC...

2005-07-14T18:12:00.000+09:30

My personal holidays are over and it's time to get back to work. But there's the unfinished business of the goings-on in the NLC which I said I would write about. Here goes...

The NLC Annual Conference is supposed to be a forum for international students all over Australia to meet, discuss and debate issues that affect international students all while making new friends and forming networks. Sadly, this conference disintegrated as soon as it started. The bane of any organisation is politics. More specifically: factional politics. Granted, politics will always exist in an organisation with structure. Politics in itself is not the venom. It is the people who play with the politics that determine how dangerous/damaging politics can be. It's like playing with fire. In the hands of a skilled user the fire can be an extremely useful tool. Once the fire takes control and the user loses it; that's when everyone gets burnt. Politics must never cloud the basic reason/objective/goal of the organisation.

Which brings me to the question that every student representative should ask himself/herself. Why should students be involved in student representation? While there may be many other supplementary reasons, the main one should be to advocate for, and be the voice of, other international students who are either not interested in or not capable enough to do what one is supposed to do in student representation. Student representation is not an easy task. It requires skill and passion which not everyone has. It is extremely unfortunate that many student representatives do not understand this simple and basic core that defines what the NLC is about.

Alright, I've done my share of preaching. Now to the main issue. The NLC is plagued by factional politics mainly initiated by a NSW-Queensland partnership. Why should they work together? These two states hold the most number of votes giving them the most power when it comes to voting on matters. But it's not only because of the number of votes that caused them to go astray. It's the desire of the leaders of both these states to obtain power. They make sure that no Constitutional change goes through that could damage their chances of obtaining that power. They make sure arrangements are made to ensure they are in a more advantageous position. Worst of all, ALL these delegates vote based on what their leader tells them. It's so much like the NUS. The leader says "vote this up" and all the voting cards go up. He says "vote this down" and all the votes go against. If the leader doesn't say anything, all the delegates look around in utter confusion searching for direction. Shameful! Can't these people think for themselves? Don't they understand the responsibilities that are attached to the votes that they hold? Surely not! If they did they wouldn't act like puppets. None of them voice out their opinion. None of them debate an issue. When the leader doesn't like something, all of them just vote as they are told without offering any amendment or suggestion. Is this what student representation has turned to? International students agreeing or disagreeing to issues based upon what their "leaders" think. How does their leader gain control of them so easily? It's as if they don't have a mind of their own or have sold their soul for something in return. Any logical and rationally thinking person would be able to see through the circus that these two states have turned the NLC into.

Victoria was another highlight of this conference. The once proud and mighty state that could stand up and debate issues was in complete shambles. Their leader was involved in other proceedings and as a result, all the delegates were like headless chickens running around. It was clear that they never caucused. They never discussed the issues outside of conference floor. Instead, they took up conference time by suspending standing orders to discuss their issues amongst themselves. What more; they asked for clarification on certain issues but when people went to explain, they were pushed aside. Talk about not knowing what you want! They even used one of their suspensions to take photos! You'd think that people came to a conference to push for and debate upon issues that would potentially affect them. Instead these people were more interested in having fun and enjoying themselves. Yes, it's good to have fun. But not at the expense of the serious issues we are dealing with! Victoria has always been a proud state. That is perfectly fine. This year however, their pride had no substance whatsoever and the only thing that maintained their pride was their success in obtaining 3 National Office Bearer positions (via a deal with the two states mentioned above).

SA, WA and Tasmania have always had a good relationship. This was once again evident in this conference as we worked together in both forming policies and debating issues. In fact, we were the states that made sure something was actually done in the conference! Some may argue that I am being bias. But if that were the case, take a look at the minutes and say that to me again. If we acted like NSW, Queensland or Victoria, nothing would have happened in this conference. PK and I put up a significant number of constitutional amendments. The ones PK put up were agreed on in principal by the National Executive. However, NSW and Queensland changed their minds and told him that most of his amendments would not go up. What could we do? They had the numbers. Regardless, it was necessary to debate the amendments and ask for amendments as well as comments and suggestions for improvement. This is because all that was discussed would be put in the minutes for future reference. It went alright in the beginning. There were debates and discussion (though mainly between SA and WA with the lazy Victorians just saying they need clarification ALL THE TIME). Then, the trouble started. NSW and Queensland moved that a bunch of PK's amendments be accepted en bloc. What would happen in this instance is that if the motion was accepted, all of them would be accepted and if it were defeated, all of them would be defeated. NSW and Queensland made it clear they did not want those amendments to go up. This was an extremely arrogant move since with their votes it would definitely be defeated. It was akin to saying "shut the f*ck up, we're voting this down". They didn't even bother to explain why they wanted to vote it down or give alternative recommendations. All they did was sit down with a smug look on their face waiting to cast their vote. We had no choice but to do the worst possible move that could be taken in conference. Pulling quorum. The limit for quorum was very low since NSW and Queensland held a lot of proxies (they shamelessly bent every rule in the book to increase their votes) and as such, only a few of us needed to walk out to pull quorum. Why did we have to do it? For the basic reasons as I have highlighted above. There was no other way to stop their blatantly arrogant and insulting motion. This is not what the NLC is about. People aren't supposed to just shut another person up if they disagree. They are supposed to debate. But this motion was aimed at silencing that very debate. The outrageous thing is that in the end, we were made to look like the culprits! We were seen as the bad guys in this situation! Talk about hypocrisy. They claimed we were being undemocratic for walking out. Is it being democratic to use your numbers to silence those who come from smaller voting constituents? Ridiculous! It is beyond my understanding how so many are still oblivious to the reasons why this move simply had to be done. In the end the motion was withdrawn but not after more arguments.

The whole organisation of the conference was plain wrong. It seemed that only a few people were carrying the weight of all the others. Our fearless leader (he doesnt' know fear. He doesn't know anything else either...) was clearly always looking at PK when he didn't know what to do. PK was doing all the running around plugging the gaps in the wall. Organised Groups (OG) were created to teach delegates and allow them to mix around and exchange ideas. It went rather well last year. This year it virtually didn't happen. There were only 2 and both of them were introductory sessions. Another thing is the absolute stupidity of delegates claiming that they do not understand a constitutional amendment and complaining they weren't told earlier about it. In actual fact, the amendments were sent more than 21 days in advance as per requirements. It is the basic duty of each delegate to respect the effort made in compiling those amendments by reading them and asking the mover/seconder if they do not understand. This did not happen. All they did was sit down and whinge that they did not understand. For crying out loud get off your @$$es and do something about it!

The elections were a farce as well. Delegates weren't even given the decency of being able to vote on who they felt was the best candidate for the position. Instead, they voted factionally. NSW-Queensland-Victoria clearly made a deal to share the NOB positions amongst themselves. Such a pity that the best candidates, the ones who have contributed the most, the ones who understand the real reason for the existance of the NLC were locked out from holding those positions. Then again, they hadn't decided on who to put up as candidates until the very last minute. By then it was too late. A lesson learnt nonetheless...

Grievance committee was a disgrace. This year they were put up against an extremely serious and sensitive case which required urgent attention. However, they dealt with it in an extremely inefficient, corrupt and insensitive manner. It is obvious that both sides need to give their side of the story. This committee didn't even want to look at pieces of evidence that were available! I cannot believe how most of them can sleep at night knowing fair well that their actions were a clear infringement of natural justice. The thought of the injustice dealt upon someone I know makes me want to just knock sense into the heads of those members who cannot be defined more correctly than just plain f*ckwits.

SA-WA-Tasmania may have been locked out of the organisation. However, we still control NLC: the faction. Ironic isn't it? The smallest states seem to be the ones that care about what goes on in the organisation and holds the major power to affect it. Our NUS votes hold the key to the NLC's funding. The new National Convenor realises that. He's tied by the balls. According to those who attended the transition he was walking with cautious steps. We may have been shut out of the organisation. But that has actually put us in an even better position than before. Now we are the ones calling the shots. No longer are we the ones that need to watch our steps to make sure we don't frustrate the other states. The tables have turned. What seemed like the end of the world was actually the turning point that allows us to learn something from a position we have never been placed into before. The fun has only just begun! It's time for people to understand the power and significance of the REAL NLC...

Filler...

2005-07-12T18:36:00.000+09:30

I've got a lot to say about what happened in the past week and more. The conference started weak but went into a full-on battlefield after the first few days. So much happened over such a short period of time. Well, at least a few I know would probably be interested in reading what I have to say about it. Unfortunately I'm on holiday in Sydney until Thursday and I don't have the time, mood nor money (internet cafes charge by the hour) to go in depth. Take this post as a mere filler for me to elaborate upon when I get back. For the time being I'll be having a good R&R to prepare for the stress ahead. Watch this space...

Break...

2005-07-05T13:08:00.000+09:30

Managed to get some free time after lunch to pop into the computer lab of Newcastle Uni. The campus is huge but our accommodation is in a hotel in the city. Things have been hectic with little time even for a nap. We get around 2 or 3 hours of sleep at night as expected. Things haven't gotten interesting yet but the real fun is going to start real soon. Well, I have to head off. The next session is about to begin.

Almost there...

2005-06-30T20:53:00.000+09:30

3 papers down and one more to go. The exams are a pain in the neck in more than one way. I had to forego a trip to Canberra for a Presidents' VSU Summit which was scheduled for the week prior to my Applied Pharmacotherapeutics paper. I also had to miss the NUS Education Conference in Perth which is going on as I am typing this. What a shame. Oh well, once my final paper is over this Saturday I will be flying straight off to Newcastle via Sydney for the NLC Annual Conference.

It's been a rather happy week for me. I received a letter from the Malaysian Consulate in Sydney formally congratulating me on my election as President of the Students Association (see left).

Also, the Vice-Chancellor of my university recently received an invitation to send delegates from the uni to a conference in Canberra to be held in September. The uni was willing to pay travel costs but not the registration fees ($750). They asked each division to submit nominees. I decided to try asking the PVC of my division if she would be willing to nominate me as a delegate. Just received her reply today confirming she is willing to cover the $750! I'll just need to prepare a report upon conclusion of the conference.

Alright, wasted enough time. Need to get back to studying (and packing)!

Just for fun 2...

2005-06-11T23:47:00.000+09:30

Alright, this is the first time I've made two posts in a day. But there were some new tests so I just couldn't resist. I wonder how accurate they really are...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

The True You

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be more relaxed, calm, and composed.

With respect to money, you spend whatever you have.

You think good luck doesn't exist - reality is built on practicalities.

The hidden side of your personality tends to be satisfied to care for things with a minimal amount of effort.

You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked.

When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you don't have any particular type in mind, but you are inclined to look for someone who will say yes when you ask him / her out.

Who's the True You?

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy.

They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.

It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment.

They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

Your Dominant Thinking Style:

Modifying

Super logical and rational, you consider every fact available to you.
You don't make rash decisions and are rarely moved by emotion.

You prefer what's known and proven - to the new and untested.
You tend to ground those around you and add stability.

Your Secondary Thinking Style:

Exploring

You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name.
You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs.

An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles.
You show people how to question their models of the world.

What's Your Thinking Style?

Coping...?

2005-06-11T23:04:00.000+09:30

The past week was my final week of the semester. Exams are now exactly in a week. Obviously being the last week of the semester, I had an assignment and a counselling test to get through. Things have died down since everyone is facing exams. I had to forego a trip to Canberra this coming week just so that I have enough time to study. What a shame, I really wanted to see the place. Anyhow, for some reason or other I have been empowered with a feeling of confidence this week ever since my meeting with the politician on Monday. It seemed to be the spark that relit my fire that was sort of dimming for a while now (mainly due to fatigue I guess). Good timing though. I really need it for my exams.

There was no real outcry from my Council for not informing everyone of the politician's visit. After all, there was no time to do so and we had to limit our contingent. Aaron was the only exception. He spent quite some time whinging about how he was the Branch Director of my campus and he should have been told etc. He seems to think that he is really important and good. What a self-indulgent fool. Doesn't he know how pathetic he looked doing that in Council? He's still young and has a lot to learn. Some of those lessons he needs to learn fast are those of humility and patience.

I have been worried about my small tests for quite a while now. However, I managed to do well in all of them (which is not very common for me as I am usually a person who only does well in the finals)! Hopefully this run carries on for the exams. I'll have to send thanks upstairs for the assistance given to me when taking those tests. I was also a little worried about my counselling test yesterday but in the end, I think I did very well. I'm not usually worried about oral tests since I'm generally confident and enjoy speaking. However the problem with this one was that you needed to know your stuff and remember a whole bunch of facts.

For the moment I guess I'm coping. But I still have so much to do with so little time left. I'm not sure I can finish studying in time. But I have to. No choice there. I need to dig deep and pull out every ounce of motivation available. Once this is over I can enjoy myself doing things I really like (politics in Newcastle then relaxation in Sydney)!

Can I save it...?

2005-06-06T22:15:00.000+09:30

Today was a significant day for myself and my Students Association. I managed to set up a meeting with a high-ranking member of the Liberal Party to discuss the issue of VSU and its impacts on the students in my university. I've been trying hard to set up such a meeting and am probably the only person who has managed to do this (with some help of course). He was only staying for an hour and a half so I made sure we planned everything nicely to ensure we got all that we wanted to tell him prepared to present to him before he left. Mondays are usually a full day of lectures for me. 9am to the latest 5pm without a lunch break in between. I had to dash out of class early just to ensure our final preparations were in order and that we were ready to receive him when he arrived. I was quite surprised at his demeanour when he arrived. He acted rather eccentric and effeminate which was quite interesting. I heard that he changes completely on the floor though. He is a politician after all. Anyways, we began with a chat and a short presentation about the structure and activities of our Association and highlighted significant achievements we have made over the years. After that we took him along for a campus tour to show him first hand what students use and what services we provide. We ended with a short lunch and that was when things started to get interesting. Well, we went on about how important our services are and the detrimental effects the WA model of VSU would bring upon our students. Our main fighting points were that we did not place a focus on politics and that our main concern was for the basic services that would potentially be lost under VSU. He then asked whether we were affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS), which we of course replied in the affirmative. It was then that he started pushing the fact that we were supporting a political cause and that the NUS spent $400,000 on a Labor Party campaign in the previous Federal Elections and how they were not happy that one of their candidates lost her seat due to that campaign. Well, my Equity and Welfare VP and I both went on about how I put up a recommendation of disaffiliation earlier in the year and that it was something that was considered. Anyhow, the discussion proceeded further but it was clear that the main reason for VSU was to destroy the NUS as it was more or less a front for the Labor Party. He seemed in agreement of our push for the Victorian model of VSU but when asked whether he would support such an amendment, he went so far as to say that the legislatioon would be put into the Senate as is and that any amendments would have to come in the Senate itself. We're quite willing to compromise with the Victorian model because although it takes away the politics, it still allows the Association to provide those basic services to students, services that are very much required. I was quite happy with the outcome of the meeting. I mean, yes it probably didn't make a difference as he gave us the impression that he wouldn't change his mind. Nevertheless we have done our jobs and that is really the best we can do. We got the message across. That's the important thing. It still leaves me wondering whether or not I am capable of saving our Association. Regardless, I have to keep on fighting. If not for my sake then for the sake of those who depend on the Association. Also when he was leaving, he made a passing comment to me that our Association was the only one he decided to visit which was quite an "honour" to us.

That meeting left me feeling pretty comfortable and confident with myself. I must say that I felt confident in putting my point across and dealing with blunt criticisms from a politician very well. I mean, these politicians must be very good at arguing their case (or else they wouldn't be in their positions) and I felt I did well in the manner in which I conducted myself and led the discussion. It's going to prepare me for another meeting I am expecting in about a week's time. That one is going to be a tough one. I'm going straight into the lion's den. Well, that will probably be one of my toughest tests yet but I will give it my all and hopefully get a positive outcome.

There was one other thing today though that sort of brought me down to earth. Sometimes you do all you can to help someone out and you think you've made some progress. But then, you realise that the person may not have listened at all or that the person does not want to make that effort to change. It gets difficult after a while. When you repeat the same thing that you know will benefit the person. But then the person doesn't listen. Then again, am I being too proud by thinking that my effort really can make a difference? Is the person not listening because he/she does not feel that what I am saying is useful? What do you do when you really want to help someone, and you do all you can to help the person, and you know that you can help the person; but then the person doesn't want to acknowledge that help? Do you just leave the person be and say, "I did what I can"? Or do we continue trying to help? I would probably go for the latter option. However I must admit that it is frustrating to keep having to repeat yourself or spend time trying to fix something that refuses to be fixed. I could very well just let go but something inside tells me that I will do more harm by letting go. Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep trying. After all: if at first you don't succeed; try, try and try again!

Driving down Life Lane...

2005-06-04T03:40:00.000+09:30

I haven't been blogging for a while. It's getting busier every day and the exams are just around the corner. I haven't even been able to make it into office much. I got hit by the flu last week and had a terrible spell of symptoms the night before my Pharmacology test (which constitutes 15% of the overall mark) causing me to literally have to drag myself to the exam hall. I was worried that I'd screw up the paper as I was not feeling good at all. Why didn't I just submit a sickie? Well, I had to make a presentation to the Academic Board in the evening so it would not look right if I skipped the test but made it for the meeting. It wasn't the end of the world if I didn't give that presentation but I felt it was a matter that simply could not wait any longer. It all worked out in the end with me being able to give a reasonably good presentation and also discovering yesterday that I did quite well for my test!

Last weekend was more or less spent on NLC matters with the Education Conference on Saturday and the Annual Conference the next day. The Education Conference went very well and it was pleasing to see delegates from my uni/caucus making up the numbers for attendance. 23 people to be exact. I kept rubbing it in to the Adelaide Uni and Flinders ISO Presidents. I was made a member of the panel for a VSU forum and although I felt I could have done better, it went well and I received a bottle of red wine for my efforts (complements the bottle of white wine I won at the jazz bar!). The Annual Conference was more of a shame. The President for the ISO of one of the unis promised to attend the conference and we needed him to reach quorum. However the joker turned off his phone on Sunday morning and we couldn't contact him at all. What ensued was a wild trip to his apartment area with us shouting his name at the top of our lungs and our most skillful driver reversing into a gutter. Oh well, at least we got through all of that. Went for a movie later with a classmate. It lasted an hour at most and was rather boring though it picked up in the end (according to my classmate). Another weekend wasted.

What can I say, it's been a tiring day. I spent more or less the whole day in office though I managed to go out for lunch, dinner and a coffee with different friends. There's a lot going on in my mind as a result of certain online conversations I have been having with a friend but I just can't think of how to summarize it so I'll make some analogies.

It's interesting how some people put up a high wall so as to prevent people from looking past it and seeing the true character of the person. However once even a small crack appears, it then becomes easy to see through it all. The main obstacle is looking for that crack, or making it appear. If a person wants to hide something, probably one of the best ways is to build a wall, but ensure that there are a lot of other obstacles in the way. Things that divert attention away from the wall or block it from full view. This will make people look in the wrong direction and sometimes not even notice there is a wall. Never let people see that you are building a wall. Plant some bushes, turn the directional arrows to the wrong directions, install a maze or even create multiple pseudo-walls. There are so many ways to prevent people from seeing who you are. But then again one may ask; "What is the point of it all?" A lot of people want to hide their true selves and not let others see it. There may be various reasons for this behaviour. I guess the main point is that if you want to hide it, go ahead and hide it. Just make sure that it doesn't look too obvious that you are trying to hide it. The more you draw attention to it, the more likely it is that a crack will be found or made.

Doesn't mean much does it? It's not supposed to. It will be interesting for people who adopt this practice but may be completely useless for those who are true to themselves and others. Nevertheless there will always be a side of us that we never show to others. Sometimes for the better. Other times though, it may be for the worse...

Advice...?

2005-05-24T00:41:00.000+09:30

I tend to spend long hours chatting with friends and giving out some advice on occassions when they seem to need some. I take pride in the advice I give and it has many a time helped the person I was chatting with. At times though I wonder whether or not some of the advice I give is in their best interest or mine. Am I giving them advice that I myself would follow? Would I practise what I preach? It is very easy to give advice but not so easy to follow it.

Should I give advice to others? There's a very popular saying taken from the Bible which goes, "Look not at the speck of dust in your brother's eye when you yourself have a plank in your own eye. Instead, remove the plank from your eye so that you will be able to see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." It's difficult to do that. How many of us are free of enough problems to give advice without requiring any? Everyone needs advice whether they want to admit it or not. No one is perfect enough not to need any. Imagine then how hypocritical it is to tell others how to live their lives or what actions they should take when we ourselves may not necessarily have our own lives sorted.

Why then do I still keep giving advice to others? Maybe because I believe deep down inside that my advice will be able to help them. But then, that's the sin of pride. How dare I believe that my advice can actually help others? The truth is, I just can't really think of any justification for my "advice-giving". There is no good explanation that affords me the authority or credibility to provide advice to others. Yet I like doing it and believe I can help. Pride is a dangerous trap. I'm caught in the middle. If I don't give advice I would not be able to help someone in a certain matter. Then again, what makes me think my advice really will help? Maybe in the end it is just ear candy. It's nice to listen to but not practical to follow. Maybe as well it may be bad advice.

I guess the only assurance I have is that in the end it is the person receiving the advice who needs to determine whether or not he/she wants to follow it. But then again, in certain circumstances, the person asking for advice is in too bad a shape to make good judgement. The more I try to defend my "advice-giving" or explain it the more I find that I am unable to justify this practice. I'll still keep going on though. Even if I can help one person it would be worth it. As long as I don't harm others in the meantime...

All that jazz...

2005-05-15T02:55:00.000+09:30

I really love jazz. When did I start loving it? I'm not sure but I really got into it this year. I was listening to a lot of Frank Sinatra last year so I guess I was always headed down this path. Probably listening to songs from the soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop also skewed my taste in this direction. Once I got into office this year I felt like I needed to liven things up a bit so I made sure my computer was playing some music all the time. Since I didn't have any mp3s in my office computer, I decided to use the Windows Media Player radio stations. Also, since I was working, it needed some good music that would not distract me. Enter: jazz.

I finally managed to get my friends to come along with me to the popular jazz club here in Club 199 called No Liezz earlier this year. They have a different live jazz band playing every Friday night. Last night I went there for the second time with some friends. There is a cover charge of $5 but since beers, wines and base spirits cost $3, buying 2 drinks would already save you more than the entrance fee. It was Friday the 13th so the jazz band for that night was going to play "superstitious jazz". Didn't find anything superstitious about the jazz. It was great though! They were really good and played some of my favourite tunes including Fly Me To The Moon, The Girl From Ipanema and the theme from the Pink Panther. They even did a jazz version of "Livin' La Vida Loca"! It was a musical feast to my ears and thoroughly calmed my mind. It feels so good to have a Vodka Martini while listening to jazz. To cap the night off, my number was the first to be called out during the raffle draw and I won a bottle of Chardonnay! Talk about value. I probably left with more than I came in with...

I feel pretty cultured recently. Just last Sunday I made use of my free tickets to a broadway musical called South Pacific being performed at the Adelaide Festival Centre. It was my first stage play and I was looking forward to it. The story was a love story/drama musical with an orchestra playing in the background. The songs were all very catchy and the storyline was not too bad to boot. All in all it was an enjoyable experience and I couldn't have really asked for more from the play. I have another free ticket to attend a violin performance next week and am really looking forward to it.

I was having a friendly argument with a friend recently about how a person is defined as "cultured" and what is involved in becoming cultured. I was basically just teasing him that to be cultured you need to know how to enjoy all the different aspects of life from musicals to plays and even to all types of food rather than always falling back to what you are familiar with. What is culture anyway? It is meant to be beliefs, patterns, attitudes and behaviour that a group of people practise or live by in their daily life. However we always say that you need to learn to adopt certain practices which are not necessarily familiar to your background. For example, a person who eats with his/her hands every day as part of his/her culture would in the formal world need to learn to adapt to the culture of eating with a variety of cutlery. In this way you are actually losing culture to gain it. Interesting no? I guess there are two different meanings to the word culture. One as I have defined previously. The other one is something created by society to elevate the group practising that culture to a higher level as compared to people not practising that culture. This is usually a Western culture where men should wear a suit with a tie, adopt a "ladies first" behaviour, using polite words and terms in speech and so on. These people tend to look at others who are not as prim and proper as they are as being of a lower-class than them. Pity that most people can't accept others as they are and that outward appearance accounts for most peoples' perception towards others. Culture is difficult to change and can only be done gradually over a long period of time. Oh well, let's all just live and let live shall we? At the same time we can learn more about other cultures while we're at it to appreciate the diversity present in this world. There's so much to learn and experience so why be content with your own island when there is a whole wide world out there to explore? Enjoy all the colours of life. I know I am!

Read all about it...

2005-05-12T00:07:00.000+09:30

I got my picture in the paper today. A real big picture in fact. The statement was very small though. I had a call about a week or so ago from The Advertiser newspaper here in Adelaide and they wanted two students from my university to give some comments for a report they were going to do on the Federal Budget. Obviously I chose myself and another person to be involved in this interview. The idea was that we were supposed to make a "wishlist" of sorts where we indicate our hopes for where more money from the budget will be allocated to (e.g. tax cuts, more road works). They were to then contact us on the night the budget is announced, explain the way the budget affects us and finally find out our reaction towards the budget allocating a rating over 10 of how much it fulfilled our expectations.

In true presidential fashion, my wishlist consisted on the hope that more money would be allocated towards the higher education sector. I fully utilised my experience at a previous Senate Inquiry on Student Income Support to state my case that a lot of students are struggling financially to make it through university and that more support needs to be provided for this purpose. I asked for an increase in AUStudy and Youth Allowance as well as rent assistance for Youth Allowance (or was that AUStudy?), reinstatement of the textbook subsidy and removal of taxes on bus tickets. They gave me a call right after the budget was announced and explained to me that the income support in AUStudy and Youth Allowance were increased however most of the other things I hoped for were not touched on in the budget. Obviously I stated my disappointment especially due to the fact that international students would not benefit in any way from the budget. I gave the budget a 6/10 rating which I felt was very generous. Anyways, they slapped a huge picture of me "studying" from textbooks" and included my comments. I was quite disappointed that the comments published were only a fraction of what I said and that they missed out some key points. My portion does not even mention which university I came from or my position! Oh well, what can you expect from the media? It's not the first time they've done this to me.

Quite a number of people told me about my photo in the papers. A good sign that students actually read the newspapers! I've had my name appear in the papers many times for comments but this was the first time my photo was actually published. I wonder if those who don't know me personally recognise the photo? I think I can start a scrap book now with a compilation of articles in the papers where my name appears. I've kept all of them since the first time my name appeared in the papers here. Sometimes when I expect something to appear in the papers but am not sure when, I will go online to the newspaper website and search for my name in the archive. I can't get the full article but I identify the date of the paper and head to office to take the page. Let's hope I can get myself in the papers at least a few more times before my term ends. It needs to be in good light of course.

Haven't been having much time to blog. Exams are coming in about a month and I am struggling to catch up with studies. Somehow or other I just can't get the motivation to study. When I have the time I do other things such as this. I need to start focusing on my studies. The NLC Annual Conference starts on the last day of my exams (how convenient) as well which sort of messes my plans up a bit. Regardless, I'll have to do my best and make sure I get through this well.

Fun and games...

2005-04-27T21:10:00.000+09:30

It's been a rather interesting day today. I put up a very controversial recommendation in my Council report when I submitted it in. It was so controversial I had someone from another state call me up to talk about it. Anyways, I put up the recommendation but withdrew it in the end. The meeting was a mess at that point. Most of them did not understand the procedure and I had to call for an invalidation to a motion accepting my report with amendments and alter it before it went up again.

I learnt a lot of interesting things today. Sometimes you learn things you didn't expect to learn in the first place. It's all fun and games after all. That's what most of politics is about. Play around to find out information and then move in for the kill. It was interesting to see how some alliances play out and how some people react towards different angles. It's also fun to see the lengths at which people go to defend something they (or more likely their faction) believe in. Some people criticise me for playing around too much. But it's so fun! Oh well, I'll need to control what I play with so that I don't get burnt. It's all been good so far though. It's fun when people start to think they've gotten the better of you. Then you have the element of surprise on your side. It's like bluffing you are going to lose but then pull out a Royal Flush of Spades in a game of Poker. Everything is falling into place so nicely. The next phase can begin quite soon...

Defection...

2005-04-25T23:31:00.000+09:30

It's been a long time since I actually posted something. This coming week is going to be a very busy week for me and it all begins with my Epidemiology test tomorrow morning. The last week of my holidays was rather interesting. I didn't get much chance to relax as much as I would have wanted to but it was good and I did enjoy myself. I guess the title of this post seems rather treacherous. I'll try explaining it without going into too much detail.

In the world of politics, people are categorised as either being right-wing or left-wing. Those who are associated with the right-wing are more conservative and liberal. Those associated with the left-wing are more radical and if you go further it progresses to socialism and communism. In Australian politics, the Liberal Party is considered extreme right-wing whereas the Labor Party consists of both moderate right-wing and left-wing members (but the right have the majority). Bored already? Let me get to the point. A fellow student politician I know recently defected from a moderate left-wing group and joined an extreme right-wing group. Strange? Well, the former group was revealing cracks and was the group whose dominance I managed to bring to an abrupt halt in my university. The latter group is a group that has been around for a while but has only just recently surfaced to join in the political struggle of my university. The person I am talking about claims to be the same person and only swapped sides because the person is not happy with the way things are going with his/her former group. Take this into consideration: this person's former group and new group are bitter enemies! Isn't it strange for a person to move to a group the person once hated all his/her life? Kind of reminds me of a certain Australian politician who is currently pushing for VSU...

Anyways, i find it difficult to comprehend that this was merely a change in ideologies. It seems more like a strategic move especially if the person wants a future career in politics. What about the new group? Shouldn't they be suspicious that such a high profile opponent has decided to join them? Sure, the person can provide the group with experience and information but is it really that easy to accept a one-time enemy? I must admit that I had this possibility in my mind but never thought that it would actually happen. Imagine the implications! The person would most definitely have to change certain principles and beliefs in order to become well accepted by the group. In the back of my mind I feel a little played out with this issue even though it does not directly affect myself or my group negatively. Regardless, I need to keep an eye out and watch my back from now on...

Politics is a very dirty business. It is neither safe nor fulfilling. Why then do I do it? I guess I was basically thrown into the world of student politics when I first joined the Students Association. Who would imagine that you need to know the politics just to represent your fellow students? I learned about the politics as I progressed in the Association but only really blossomed after the NLC Annual Conference in Brisbane last year. I learned more in that one week of conference than in my 1 1/2 years with the Association. Anyways, after the conference I decided to take over the running of the NLC caucus in my uni and the rest is sweet sweet history resulting in my rise to the Presidency (which was never ever in my wildest dreams possible for an international student). I now know more about Australian politics than Malaysian politics! I realise I haven't actually answered my first question in this paragraph. I do it because I like it. Simple as that. What is there to like about it? Hard to explain. It's something new and is exciting. It also keeps me on my toes. What's life without excitement and controversy? I doubt I'll ever become a politician but that position may well change in the future. After all, I'm not even sure I want to be a Pharmacist! All in all, my involvement in student politics is something that you'll never be able to learn from books and has really helped me improved myself in so many ways that I've lost count.

I believe it's alright to be involved in politics as long as you do not allow it to corrupt you. That is the biggest danger of politics. It is like fire. It is very useful and beneficial to a person but can never be fully tamed and if you are not careful, it may very well burn you. It is such a shame that I have seen so many people become corrupted by politics. Their focus changes from upholding the welfare of the people they represent to upholding personal interests or beliefs. They become hardened and lose sight of reason. Politics can also be likened to medication. At too low a dose you do not have much influence or effect. At too high a dose you can become dependent and suffer severe adverse reactions. It's all about finding a balance and maintaining it.

Oh well, I'd better get back to my studies. The test tomorrow carries significant weightage and I need to make sure I do well in it. First step into a week of turbulent waters...

Just for fun...

2005-04-25T12:14:00.000+09:30

I was browsing through PK's blog and saw that he had some of these silly things where they ask you a few questions and you choose your answer and in the end they tell you what type of a "something" you are. I don't believe in these tests but thought it'd be fun to just add in how I did so here they are:

P/S. Uncanny how it kind of reflects my personality quite accurately don't you think?

You Are a Conservative Democrat

Frankly, the way most other Democrats behave embarasses you greatly.

You pride yourself on a high level of morals, and you have a good grasp on right and wrong.

It's likely you think America needs to get back to its conservative, Juedo-Christian values.

Why aren't you a Republican then? Because you believe the goverment helps more than hurts.

What political persuasion are you?

Your Seduction Style: The Charmer

You're a master at intimate conversation and verbal enticement.
You seduce with words, by getting people to open up to you.
By establishing this deep connection quickly, people feel under your power.
And then you've got them exactly where you want them!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

You Have A Type A Personality

A

You are hyper, energetic, and always on the mood
You tend to succeed at everything you attempt
And if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top!

You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for fun
As long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interested
You have the perfect personality for business and atheltic success

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others.
Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel.
You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations.
A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict.

You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

You Are a Hunter Soul

You are driven and ambitious - totally self motiviated to succeed
Actively working to acheive what you want, you are skillful in many areas.
You are a natural predator with strong instincts ... and more than a little demanding.
You are creative, energetic, and an extremely powerful force.

An outdoors person, you like animals and relate to them better than people.
You tend to have an explosive personality, but also a good sense of humor.
People sometimes see you as arrogant or a know it all.
You tend to be a bit of a loner, though you hate to be alone.

Souls you are most compatible with: Seeker Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

You Are 21 Years Old

21

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

You May Be a Bit Obsessive Compulsive ...

Meticulous and detailed oriented, you have some irrational obsessions.

Maybe it's your super neat closet or washing your hands a gazillion times.

You probably know it's weird, but you just can't stop thinking about it.

In fact, the more you think about your quirks, the more you have to do them.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

You Are Bold And Brave

But daring? Not usually?

You tend to like to make calculated risks.

So while you may not be base jumping any time soon...

You are up for whatever's new and (a little) exciting!

How Daring Are You?

Your Passion is Green

For you, sex is always fresh and new.
You approach sex with innocence, even if you aren't as innocent as you seem!
Gentle and slow, you aren't exactly known for your passion.
But what you lack in smooth moves, you make up for in sweet charm.

What Color Is Your Passion?

Your Element Is Earth

You excel at planning and strategizing.
You could be a champ at chess or Survivor.

Well grounded, you are able to be realistic and rationalize.
On the inside, you have a hard core. It's tough to phase you.

You are super productive, and you are able to think anything through.
Focused and super charged, your instincts are a good guide for your next step.

What's Your Element?

You Are the Reformer

1

You're a responsible person - with a clear sense of right and wrong.

High standards are important to you, and you do everything to meet them.

You are your own worst critic, feeling ashamed if you're not perfect.

You have the highest integrity, and people expect you to be fair.

What number are you?

Habemus Papam...!

2005-04-20T23:10:00.000+09:30

We have a Pope! I was chatting with a friend until the wee hours of the morning when she said "white smoke". Well, I quickly turned on the TV and flicked across the channels to see if there was any news but most stations were closed. Finally I found that channel 7 just turned to news and I watched in anticipation for the announcement of who was elected. The Vatican was amass with people and it was so amazing. Got my camera ready and just kept watching until finally Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estivez came out and started talking. Problem was, it was in Italian! I managed to make out what he was saying and he finally announced that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected and the crowd went wild. I was so excited and full of anticipation for the announcement that I was panicking when the memory in my camera was finishing and I had to struggle to get a new memory stick in. In the end I had to switch to a lower quality recording to be able to record longer. I spent quite a long time in front of the TV and went to bed quite happy.

I must say that the Conclave made its decision very quickly after only 2 days of balloting. It is said that this was an indication that the majority of Cardinals were confident and in agreement with the newly elected Pope. Cardinal Ratzinger was arguably the most powerful man in the Vatican and considered as one of the frontrunners for the Papacy. I had him in my mind as a possible candidate but his age seemed to be a concern as he just turned 78. Seems that that didn't deter his chances. Anyways, I'm happy that they chose a strong defender of the faith to lead the Church. He is very conservative but that's the way the church needs to be. It is not supposed to "get with the times" and so on. After all, we can't go back and "revise" the Bible just to keep with the times. There is continuous pressure on the church when it comes to contraception and so on and although I may at times think twice about what the church preaches, ultimately the current doctrine is the way it should be and I see little to no need for "modernisation". I don't feel like debating theology now but while some people are frustrated that the church won't have any "revolutions", I'm happy that we can keep going as we always have been. Down the right path.

Interesting name as well. I couldn't understand what was being said so at first I thought Cardinal Ratzinger chose the name John Paul II but later found I was mistaken when he was introduced as Pope Benedict XVI. I wonder if he will ever tell us why he chose that name.

Well, at least we have a Pope again. I doubt there will be another as great as Pope John Paul II anytime soon. Nevertheless, we have to move on. The end of one chapter marks the beginning of another. Let's hope Pope Benedict XVI can be a great Pope.

R & R...

2005-04-15T01:17:00.000+09:30

I haven't been blogging for quite some time now. Last week I received a letter from the NUS inviting me to participate in their Executive meeting in Melbourne for the weekend. I took this opportunity to take a few extra days off for a holiday. I left Last Friday evening and came back Thursday evening. Internet access was available but as you can understand, blogging is the last thing on my mind when I'm having a holiday. The National Executive was full of crap. It was a waste of time and resources. I dare say I am losing confidence in the NUS and the way things are going, it may not be long before the tide of VSU sweeps it away. Two days of my life that cannot be gained back were wasted in useless meetings.

That aside, my holiday in Melbourne was a rather enjoyable one. I stayed at Rui Jian's house on Swanston St. Right after reaching his place on Friday night I went out for coffee with him and Su Ying and Sue Yee. The meeting on Saturday morning is officially supposed to be called for 9am but we ended up having the meeting at about 4.3opm. In between I hung around with the NLC gang and we ended up having lunch and dinner together. After the meeting on Sunday, I went out for dinner at a Japanese Restaurant with Rui Jian, Sian Siew and the 3 S's (Su Ying, Shireen & Sue Yee). Rui Jian and I ordered a (small) bottle of sake each. He turned so red towards the end of his meal and it looked like his head was going to pop! After dinner we went to a bar/club and had drinks. We had drinks all around except for Rui Jian and Sian Siew. Pictures were taken as well but Shireen was playing "hard to get" with her photos and it ended up that she was deleting all the photos I took of her because she claimed her face was flushed. She finally took a picture with me after some hassle.

Monday morning I met up with Hooi Wan and Ling Li who were staying at a friend's place in College Square and we went for breakfast together. The rest of the day was spent exploring Melbourne city. I took them to most of the interesting places including the toilets with a great view on the 35th floor of the Sofitel Hotel on Collins St. We ate at Max Brenner's Chocolates and I must say it has got to be the best chocolate I have ever tasted! The chocolates cost like gold but they also served dishes with chocolate. Examples include the Suckao, Strawberry Fondue, Babka, Teardrop and so on. I took a Babka (a sort of cinnamon muffin with chocolate chips served with a small bowl of melted chocolate) which was filling but simply heavenly to the taste. The girls took an ice chocolate. The drink was so saturated with chocolate that there was a lot of chocolate powder in the glass that just could not dissolve in the drink! This has got to be the best way to get diabetes. Later in the day I got to eat my favourite gelati at Il Dolce Freddo.

Tuesday started early with a trip to Port Melbourne and then St. Kilda beach. Nothing too great in these places though. The highlight of the day was our trip to Smith St. Rui Jian said that this place was good for shopping and that we would be able to buy a lot of cheap things. We discovered that the warehouse outlets of several big brands were located here. We started off at the Adidas store and then worked our way to the Nike store. Things were so cheap that we went crazy buying stuff. I got myself about 3 t-shirts, a Port Adelaide Power jumper, a carry bag and a pair of sandals. All together it cost me around $100. Talk about value for money! I don't think I have ever spent so much money buying branded goods. Later in the day I met up with Sun Sun and her friends from the Melbourne Uni Overseas Student Services (MUOSS) for dinner. Sun Sun was going to run for President but did not make up her mind yet at that point in time. She later told me she was going to withdraw after much consideration.

We booked a tour along the Great Ocean Road for Wednesday. The trip was rather entertaining and we visited several popular sites such as the 12 Apostles (only 8 left now though), Apollo Bay and the Shipwreck (though we didn't actually see the wreck). I didn't find anything special about the Great Ocean Road itself. After all, it's just a road by the ocean. The Ottway Fly was great though. It was like suspended walkways 30 metres or so over the forest area. One of the points was a tower above 50 metres. It must have been hard for those who have a fear of heights. I kind of liked it though. We came back at night and I went out with Rui Jian, Sian Siew and Ryan for supper.

Our last day began with an early walk (in the rain!) to the Queen Victoria Market. We took a quick walk through the wet market and proceeded to the "pasar malam" type dry market. I finally managed to find leather gloves and it cost me $25. After the markets we headed back to the city and took our final meal at Max Brenner's. It was then a rush back to Rui Jian's place to pack up my bags and after a quick farewell, we headed to the airport and took off back to Adelaide.

I must say that although I was running around every day in Melbourne to visit places etc., it was relaxing for me to take my mind off work for a week. I enjoyed myself and bought a lot of things I am happy with. I need to get back to office first thing in the morning tomorrow. Again I am a little disappointed that this entry turned out to be merely a "diary" entry. I had some insightful thoughts to post but it seems to have slipped my mind. I'll put it up as soon as I remember though. Oh well, back to work tomorrow (or today rather)!

Eternal rest grant to Pope John Paul II, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

2005-04-03T16:56:00.000+09:30

News of Pope John Paul II's death has really hit me. I feel a sort of emptiness inside. Like something is missing. Of course, all of us know where he is now. However, it always hurts when you lose someone important in your life. I've been surfing the web the whole day reading all the different news sites for reports of his death. Most of them are similar but I just can't help myself. I'll probably be rushing to the newsagencies tomorrow morning to buy all the newspapers as well as any special commemorative editions of magazines. Oh well, life goes on. His memory will still live on in my mind and the minds of all the people.

Eternal rest grant to Karol Wojtyla, your humble servant Pope John Paul II, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Lord, please guide your servants, the Cardinals, to make the right choice in electing the new Supreme Pontiff. May he be blessed with thy grace and lead your people in accordance to thy will. Amen.

Straight into the thick of things...

2005-03-30T23:58:00.000+09:30

This year is a strange year in Adelaide. Usually, Easter falls in our 2-week mid-semester break. This year however, we only have our 4-day weekend for Easter and will only be having our mid-semester break in 2 weeks. Man, I'm so looking forward to the holidays. Easter was fun. As usual I went to church and it was packed to the brim with people having to stand at the entrance. The rest of the day was more or less uneventful because all the shops were closed. Monday was our Pharmacy group trip to Semaphore which was to allow the group of us who came here in first year to mix around with the new SIT students who came this year (3rd year). The trip was great with more than 30 people tagging along. We enjoyed a pot-luck lunch and involved ourselves with a game of monkey (where I was victimised simply because I chose to make the game more interesting by bouncing the ball off others to make them the monkey), walks on the beach and football. Haven't had a group trip in a while so it was rather fun.

I spent the whole day today (Wednesday) in the office again. This time it was like 9am to 5.30pm. Then went for a Golden Key meeting at 6pm and came back after about 15 minutes. Had problems with the media today. Our Association Council resolved to disaffiliate from the national postgraduate students association, CAPA earlier this year following the submission that was tabled by last year's president. CAPA are really crap and we pay them tens of thousands of dollars for practically nothing in return. I don't have any regrets attempting to disaffiliate from them. However, someone leaked the submission to the media and they are pouncing on it. I was warned that the media may twist our proposal to disaffiliate into fuel to support VSU citing that student funds are not being used properly by student organisations and such. As a result, I had to twist the story around and claim that it was because of the Government's intention to introduce VSU that we had to disaffiliate as a cost saving measure. Thank goodness the article in today's newspaper reported my comment accurately. Spent most of the day formulating media releases and considering what to do with the disaffiliation meeting on Monday. Managed to sort out most of it by the end of the day. I intended to spend some time studying in office today but wasn't able to due to this issue and me having to attend 3 meetings today.

Was watching American Idol today while having dinner. Simon seems to be getting a little soft in my opinion. Probably because Paula tries to suffocate him with her "affection" every time there is a hint that he may want to criticise a contestant. It's a pity though. Simon can be a real dick at times but you must admit that he really knows his stuff. I mean, if you look at it closely enough, Simon has the best skills at observing the whole performance of a contestant and is able to identify key points that add or subtract to the contestant's performance. People get angry and frustrated when Simon is mean but honestly, they act that way only because they are unable to accept the truth about themselves. Can't some of these rubbish performers look at themselves in the mirror? Some of them are so atrociously bad and yet they have the audacity to question the judges' decision. Oh well, humans are well known for the sin of pride.

My Malaysian Students Association AGM is coming up in two days. Sent a few e-mails to remind everyone about it. I really hope many good people turn up. I would have really liked to see MySA develop into a strong association and I really regret not putting more effort into it. Nothing much I can say though because my priorities last year were towards the Students Association General Elections. Oh well, I'll just have to make sure I give a lot of support and encouragement to the new president. I really hope I can get a dedicated and skillful president backed by a strong and supportive committee. Then at least I'll be satisfied that my effort put into establishing the club does not go to waste.

Managed to put some time into study tonight. I have a Pharmacology test next Friday so I'd better get studying. After all, I need to make sure I do well in all my papers so that I can not only keep my job but be respected for being able to handle both my job and studies well. It's interesting that our HR Manager, Simone pointed out today that I was studying and yet I came into office more often than any other President she has worked with. I thought I wasn't coming in enough! Made me feel good though that no one was thinking I wasn't around enough. Don't want to fall into Leisa's situation. I hope things settle down soon so I can give enough time to my studies...

Personal Thought 3...

2005-03-29T00:18:00.000+09:30

The last one in a long time. This was dated 13th March 2004. It's the most often talked about topic: Relationships.

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Hi everyone,

I’m back…! It’s been a very long while since my last e-mail about my thoughts. Too long in fact. Well, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking. It’s just that too many things have been going on in my mind that I couldn’t find the time nor strength to write an e-mail by examining my thoughts and putting them into understandable words. Regardless, I’ve got my mind on track now and am able to focus on a topic which I feel would be of most interest to the majority of you.

Today I’ll talk about something most of you would have either experienced or are experiencing, whether directly or indirectly. Yup, the thing that most people our age find themselves in. Relationships. Not just mere friendly relations or with family etc. What I’m talking about is a relationship between a guy and gal which most people would interpret as “love”.

Where shall I start? I guess we’ll go to the beginning, for the sake of those not yet in a relationship. Ask yourself the question. Why would I want to get into a relationship? Many people would ridicule this question and say things like, “When you find that special someone, you will get into a relationship regardless of what you plan beforehand”. I agree. However, you need to consider what the important things are in your life. By having a relationship, what are the possible ways in which it may change your life? If it does change your life (which it obviously will in most cases), will it be for better or for worse? If it were for the better; could it be that it is good for you but not for your studies (etc.)? You need to consider whether you will dictate how the relationship affects your life or whether the relationship itself will dictate YOUR life.

I know it sounds like a whole lot of rubbish and I must admit that if I were in a situation in which I would be strongly considering a relationship with someone, those questions may not influence my decision one bit. However, it does help you (to a certain extent) to prepare you for what comes ahead. I know a lot of people stick to the saying “cross the bridge when you come to it”. However, I would think it is better to stick to the saying “be prepared”. By that I don’t mean you should just sit around and wonder when the next “suitable” person may come along. What I mean is we should prepare ourselves so that we are well equipped to handle the situation when it arises. For example, we learn how to “fix bridges” in case we find that when we reach “the bridge”, it is broken.

Just remember. Relationships will ultimately lead to 2 consequences. Either you will end up marrying the person, or you will break-up with that person. We can crudely say that relationships will either end up with at least one party feeling happy (or blissful) or sad (I should think sad is not much of an appropriate word. Probably shattered would be more adequate).

Ok, we’ve gotten past the first hurdle; i.e. the pre-relationship period. Now we come to the important stage, the relationship proper. So you’re now in a relationship. What next? Well, what can I say? It’s up to you. I can’t tell you how to behave in a relationship or how to keep it lively etc. It’s up to you to decide how you should approach your relationship. The most important thing is to BE YOURSELF!!! I can’t stress this more seriously. It is common for people who take relationships very seriously to care so much for a person that he/she causes the person to suffocate in the relationship. I know it is silly and I myself find it hard to comprehend. I mean, if I love my partner so very much, shouldn’t it be good because she will know how much I care for her? It seems that “loving someone too much” can cause you to change in the sense that you try too hard to love the person while you are unaware of the fact that by doing so, you have actually changed and probably lost the part of you which your partner likes (or loves).

The problem with relationships is that in most cases, people do not know what their partner expects from the relationship and from them. Many people break-up because they find that their partner is not what they expect. They feel that they “cannot understand” their partner or feel that their partner is “not suitable”. Fair enough. However I feel that that is an easy way out of a relationship, especially if a person is not willing to commit himself/herself to the relationship. Relationships are about discovering and exploring your partner. Not physically (to any perverts reading this) but emotionally and personally. If we already knew everything about our partner, how can the relationship be interesting anymore? It would most probably lead to a break-up. Most couples in successful relationships will tell you that they continue to learn something new about their partner even after 50 years of marriage!

Some people feel that cultural and religious differences may prevent them from being a good couple. However, I would think that it will be more interesting because they can learn much more about their partner and always have things to talk about. Obviously people would consider things like what religion their children will be if they think far ahead. My suggestion is to give time for the relationship. You can’t possibly understand your partner by just being with him/her for 1 month let’s say. You can’t say, “I have been with him/her for 1 month and I feel he/she is not suitable for me”. You guys started the relationship. Make an effort to know your partner and give time to really understand him/her. Time is an important part in all relationships and is integral if you want your relationship with your partner to be a lasting one.

Sure, a lot of people will say “I’ll break up with my partner early so that I won’t hurt him/her by carrying on the relationship for a long time”. However, this brings me back to my above point. You cannot possibly honestly understand your partner by being together for just a short while. You may think that your partner will be hurt less if you break up early than if you break up late but in truth, the earlier you break up the more hurt your partner will be. Your partner would most probably feel that he/she did not get much of a chance and that their partner was just playing with their feelings. Some people will say that after a month they may feel that they don’t really like/love their partner and they believe they should end the relationship. However, I believe that this happens because being in the relationship is new to them. Of course they may have had other partners before. However, the relationship between the BOTH OF THEM is new. We can never compare two relationships. Each relationship is different and unique. That’s what makes them so special. So what I am trying to say is that even though the couple may have been very good friends and enjoyed each other’s company for a long time before the relationship, things will always change because of the relationship. Relationships are more serious and there are more responsibilities for both parties. Because of this, it is easy to lose sight of the partner you like/love and instead feel that you are both not suitable. This is a trap many couples fall into at the beginning of their relationships leaving their partners devastated and utterly hurt. Like I said; give time for the relationship to grow. Don’t pull out the plant just before the flower comes out.

On the subject of being with your partner; DON’T EVER start a relationship if you are not going to be serious about it. NEVER play with your partner’s feelings. Sometimes people feel they just want to “try out” and “see how it works” so they start a relationship with their partner. Then they feel they don’t want to carry on and they dump their partner. I am begging you on behalf of everyone in the world with a heart. Don’t get into a relationship if you are not going to make a reasonable effort to try your best to make the relationship work. It is both unfair and hurtful to your partner. I’m very sure that none of you who receive this e-mail do this. However I know some of you forward this e-mail to your other friends and as such, some people who get this e-mail may do these things. Just remember. What goes around comes around (or you can call it “karma” or “ying and yang”). If you hurt others because you are not serious about the relationship; trust me, you’ll get your payback. God is fair and He counts every teardrop your partner may shed because of your heartlessness.

I’m not cursing anyone. It’s just that I have seen too many people (all girls) get hurt by guys who play with their feelings. It is both cruel and inhuman.

Another thing vital to relationships is HONESTY. This should form the backbone of every relationship. Sometimes, people may feel that their partner doesn’t seem to be doing what they expect from the relationship. In this case, TELL YOUR PARTNER. Do not just sit back and think “he/she should know what I want”. Your partner isn’t a mind reader or a clairvoyant. He/she cannot fully understand everything you want if you do not tell him/her. Talk with your partner. Exchange views, wants, needs etc. so that you can get closer together and forge a stronger relationship. If you get into a fight, be honest and ask for forgiveness (both of you) after that. Share your life with your partner. Don’t live as two individuals. Live as a couple with your partner.

So far we have skimmed the surface and probably even gone a little deep into the fibers which make up a relationship. Now I’ll go into a place which seems to be a growing trend in these times. That is sex. This is often considered to be taboo and many people shy away from this subject. However, I believe that by making it a taboo, it will only succeed in making people more curious about it and want to experiment with it even more.

Many couples (mostly the guys) see sex as the pivotal part of a relationship. Some girls feel that by having sex with a guy, it guarantees his love and will strengthen the relationship. These perceptions are extremely dangerous. Sex DOES NOT, and NEVER WILL guarantee happiness in a relationship. Sex DOES NOT commit your partner to marry you or stay with you. If you have a baby with your partner, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE that your partner must continue to care for and support you. In actual fact, it is found that sex before marriage causes more relationships to deteriorate than to become stronger. Understand the implications of sex. Most couples will feel that their partner is “THE ONE” they will always be with and marry etc. and as such, would submit themselves into this act of passion. You can never be more wrong if you think this way. What will you do if he/she does not marry you? What are you going to tell your future husband/wife (especially if they are virgins)? You see, sex before marriage spoils your chances of having a really happy marriage with someone else if you broke-up with the person you had sex with.

If your partner asks you to have sex with him/her, ask him/her why. If he/she says it is because he/she loves you, ask them why they must have sex just because he/she loves him/her. I am sure your partner would never be able to give a suitable explanation. Please remember. LOVE ≠ SEX. Save it for marriage. You can never go wrong there.

You may think I am a closed minded person just because I disagree with pre-marital sex. You may say that “I need to follow the times” etc. Does it make anyone stupid or useless if they did not have pre-marital sex? Are they losers? If you have had sex before, you may think it is fun. However if you think about it… Honestly. You will see that the disadvantages attributed to pre-marital sex far outweigh the single benefit of “having fun”. The real losers are those who indulge in pre-marital sex. They have just limited their future.

It is obvious in relationships that there will be kissing, petting etc. Just control yourselves and never let it get to the point where you start to undress everything. You may think you are in control but in truth, you are on the brink of losing control. Prevent it from happening instead of regretting it later.

Well, I guess I’ve touched on most aspects of a relationship. I’ll wrap it up with the final stage of a relationship. As I mentioned, there are 2. It is useless for me to talk about marriage now since at this age, it would be of little to no relevance to us. Therefore, I’ll skip to the part which most people will dread. The break-up.

If you caused the break-up, all I can say is examine yourself with my points in the above e-mail and seriously consider what you have done. Consider whether you really gave your ex a chance and whether you could have done more to try and make the relationship work. If you feel that you may not have treated your ex appropriately and given him/her a fair chance, there is no shame in taking him/her back. I strongly believe that he/she will be extremely happy if he/she really likes/loves you. Give them a chance and try to work things out. And this time, give them more time. If you feel that he/she is a real screw up and you cannot stand being with him/her, at least treat him/her as a good friend. Don’t just leave them to rot away. Take their hand and help them get up from their darkness and pain. If you dumped your ex because he/she hurt you terribly or cheated on you, just keep in mind that you deserve someone better. Never settle for someone who does not treat you well. You are special and you WILL find the right person eventually.

If you were dumped, consider the reasons as to WHY you were dumped. If you were a terrible partner who didn’t treat your ex well or cheated on your ex then you very well deserve it and I have little to no sympathy for you. The rest of you are probably in pain even until now. If you really love your ex, by all means try and get her back. In most cases, he/she would probably not want to take you back and would say that “it’s impossible” or something along those lines. Sure, you can’t force people to love you. Also, people say “if you truly love the person, you will let him/her go”. However, I believe that at times, although you need to care about others, you also need to think about your happiness. You may not stand much of a chance getting your ex back. But just give it all you’ve got. Do your best. Don’t pressure your ex too much. If it’s meant to be, you will get him/her back. If it’s not meant to be, at least you will know that you have done your best. Just give it all you’ve got. Be strong and hold on, it’s not the end.

There is no point in continuing to be sad that you were dumped. Like I said, go ahead and try to get him/her back if you really love him/her. But don’t try to act sad to gain sympathy from your ex. It’ll make you look even more pathetic. I know it may be hard to see your ex happy while you are sad. And I am sure that many of you will be scared that your ex may find someone else. However, it is no use feeling sorry for yourself. Life is too short to be crying every night about something you’ve lost. Get up, stand up. It may be hard, but remember that there are many others who care about you and may feel sad seeing you in a bad condition. Don’t let others down just because you are sad. Carry on living your life as you used to live before you were dumped. Maybe then if you really love your ex, he/she may realize his/her mistake and give you another chance. Just do your best…

I guess that pretty much wraps everything up. I would love to hear feedback if anyone has any. Hope this proved an interesting read for you guys and that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed typing it. Have fun and live a wholesome life. Take care and God bless!

Justin

P/s. These are just my thoughts and my way of looking at things. I am in no way implying that what I say is correct and true. Because they are MY thoughts, you may think differently. I do not guarantee that these thoughts will make a relationship work out. I am also not in any way responsible for any break-ups that may happen because you read this e-mail. Take everything you read/hear with a pinch of salt.

Personal Thought 2...

2005-03-29T00:13:00.000+09:30

This one was dated 22nd July 2003. It mainly talks about what makes a person important.

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Hi to all! Wow, what a week it's been in the world. Regina won Big Brother 3 (Go Reggie!!!)... Adelaide Crows lost to the Dockers by just 1 point... The Ronaldinho saga ended (or has it?) with him signing for Barca... Coalition troops are going down like flies in Iraq... Delta Goodrem was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease just when she's on top of the world (wonder how they'll change the storyline in Neighbours)... KobeBryant gets caught up in a rape scandal... The Iranian twins both die after the operation to separate them... Sigh... Makes you wonder what's up with the world no?

So what really is the problem? How does this all affect us? What makes all the above news so important that it can be so highly publicized by the media? Why is it that a singer/actor who gets cancer (a disease quite common nowadays) causes so much hoo-ha when so many others have the disease? Why is it that a simple girl who fries fish and chips can touch the lives of millions of Australians who just watch her for half an hour a day (don't count BB Uncut, late night and nomination/eviction shows)? Why is it that people are so interested in a basketball player who allegedly raped a woman when there are hundreds of rapists on our streets?

Celebrities? What makes a person a celebrity? What makes a person popular? Someone people like? Someone who does something people enjoy watching? We would consider most celebrities as people who play specific roles in society that make them well-known because of intense media scrutiny (i.e. publicity). For example, Delta is a singer and actor, Kobe plays basketball, Bush is the US president and so on. However isn't it weird that some people become instant celebrities by just being normal? People such as the Iranian twins, Regina, Chrissie, Dan, Jo and the rest of the Big Brother housemates or Pvt. Lynch who just had to get rescued by US troops. Could we say that they were in the right place at the right time (as in the case of Pvt. Lynch)? Or can we say that they were willing to show their true selves in front of the nation (as in the case of the BB housemates)?

All in all, it becomes extremely clear that the media is what makes a celebrity or identity in today's society. No matter how good we are at something or how interesting we are, we can only truly become "popular" if we are publicized in the papers, tv, radio and other forms of mass media (which are usually less effective than the ones mentioned). The world seems more and more to have been divided into two groups of individuals; those who are celebrities and those who are not. Those who take an interest in certain people and those who are taken into interest by certain people. In lay man's terms; the popular and the non-popular.

Despite all these stereotypes, does it make us plain Jane's any less special? Are we less important merely because we are not known by more than a few thousand people, follow trends set by the "popular people" or don't look anything like Tom Cruise or AnnaKournikova? Must we be "known" to others in order to be "important" people? Surely not!

I'm sure everyone has heard of the saying "God made every single person unique/special". This is true in every sense of the word. Don't think that you are not special just because you can count the number of friends you have on the fingers of one hand. "Why am I special?" you may ask. Why indeed?

Sometimes, we see ourselves as just being passengers on this rollercoaster called life. We just go wherever the rollercoaster takes us. We wake up, go to uni, come home, finish homework, sleep and restart the cycle. Life just seems so monotonous. Like a rollercoaster that just goes on the loop-the-loop forever. In addition, we get those buggered exams that squeeze all the juice out of our brain cells for a couple of weeks. Sometimes those exams are so hard we just feel like giving up. Sometimes life gets tough and we feel like giving up. So why not give up? Think again.

What motivates us to do what we do? What makes us go to uni and sit for exams? Let's make it simpler. Why do we need to work? Easy. To get money. Why do we need money? That's where it varies tremendously from person to person. For some (and most) people it would be to be able to enjoy life, to support the family, to put food on the table etc. Others may have different reasons such as to pay the medical bill for a child who is terminally ill, to cover a child's education or to fund a personal project. Now let's go back to the initial questions. What makes us go to uni and sit for exams? For most, it will be to get the degree we are pursuing and get a good job to get money to do the above. That's all great. However that all deals with what we personally want and at times, we may say we do not want it or don't care; making us feel like giving up. Why not look at it this way... We study to do well in exams so that we can make our parents happy. Let's go further. We study to do well in exams to get a scholarship to make our parents happy and ease the financial burden. Let's go even further. We study to do well to get a scholarship, which motivates our siblings/relatives to do well. See how easy it is? One more step. We study to do well to get a scholarship, motivate our siblings, increase the chance of getting a better job, increase the possibility of being able to live in comfort while being able to support our parents in their old age. Now try it on the first question in this paragraph.

You see, what I am trying to do is make you guys see that you are indeed important. It's so easy to see those directly affected by our actions. However look further, and you'll see that your actions will trigger a chain reaction which indirectly affects a multitude of people. You may think you are nothing, when to others; you may be the whole world. I'm sure you've heard the saying "Don't stop smiling because you'll never know who has fallen in love with your smile" (though I cannot say that I adhere strictly to that saying).

This world is not only about you (as a single person). We are not alone in this world even though during hard times, we may seem to be all alone (though through Faith, I can say that I am never alone). You may think you won't affect anything/anyone by just giving up. However in truth if you ever do, you'll hurt the ones who love you more than you can ever imagine. Believe me, there are always people who love you, even if you don't know about it. If you take a small pin and prick yourself with it, then touch the tip of the pin onto a piece of tissue paper, you'll see that the stain starts from a miniscule dot and spreads to become a larger blotch. That's the effect of all your actions. No matter how small or how insignificant an action may seem, in the end the consequence and sequel are far greater than we originally believe it to be.

So what is this e-mail about? It's just some encouragement to those who need it. Don't ever give up. You only fail when you stop trying. You are the lead character and the most important person in your story. Make a great book with a happy ending out of your story...

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I wish all of you well. Take care and God bless!

Justin

P/S. A big thank you to all those who replied to my last e-mail ("Personal Thought") about the analogy of scars and bad experiences. I really value your insight. I have not replied to some of your ideas and comments but rest assured that I will in due time. I know to some of you it seemed a tad bit sorrowful or that I was in some sort of pain. Rest assured that it was all merely some thoughts and that my aim was to dispense that advice which I used for certain people to others so that they may benefit from it if they need it. I will try and keep the tone more cheerful (like in this e-mail) in future e-mails but it will be a little difficult since my thoughts are basically about how to overcome certain problems faced by people. Thanks again guys and cheers to all of you!

Personal Thought 1...

2005-03-29T00:12:00.000+09:30

This was my first in a series of personal thoughts I sent to my friends. It contains my famous "analogy of scars". This is dated 19th May 2003.
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Hi guys,

It's been a while. Hope all of you are coping well with life wherever you are in the world. I have a little free time on my hands now so I thought I'd share one of my thoughts with you guys. I don't usually share my thoughts and when I do, it's usually only with people whom I know will best appreciate it. Also, I wouldn't want other people claiming my thoughts as their own. But since this particular thought has helped a number of people, I thought I'd share it with you guys. Keep in mind that I am in no way implying that these thoughts apply to you guys. If this thought as much as puts a smile on your face, it has done enough in my opinion. If it helps you, all the better. I'll just put it here and you guys can decide what you want to do with it. (This may be a little long so I suggest you only read it when you have free time on your hands)

As we journey along the path of life, we encounter many different experiences which shape ourselves and the way we perceive the world. Some experiences are good, some are bad. These two go hand in hand; you won't get good experiences every day of you life, neither will you get bad experiences every day of your life. I won't touch on the good experiences because it is too easy to deal with. I'll focus on the bad experiences we encounter.

Let's take this analogy. Bad experiences are like scars on our body. When we first encounter that experience, it wounds our body. The pain is intense and may even force us to shed tears. When others inflict more pain unto us while we are suffering from this experience, they are rubbing salt into our wounds. The pain of the wound may go on for days, and in relation to real life, possibly years. However, eventually those wounds will heal and turn into scars. The scars remind us of the bad experience we've experienced. It tells us to avoid situations which could inflict the damage that caused that scar. It tells us that we are healed, and that we should carry on without worrying about the scar anymore. It acts as a reminder for us, not of the bad experience, but of the pain that we must avoid in the future. Despite its appearance, the scars never hurt. The pain is gone and though it is still a memory, should never cause us pain again. It is only when we scratch those scars, when we dwell on the bad experiences we've had, that we feel the pain all over again. As long as we keep those scars as reminders of things we have to avoid, not as reminders of what happened, we will be able to carry on with life free and strong.

Conclusion: It is never possible to not get wounded. However, it IS possible to prevent ourselves from being wounded. You've heard the saying "once bitten twice shy". That's what the scars are there for. To remind us that we have to avoid situations which can scar our body, which can hurt us. We should only cry over a bad experience ONCE. That is when the pain is most intense. Once we've gotten used to the pain, it becomes bearable and we eliminate the need for tears. NEVER dwell on those past bad experiences. When we do, the pain reoccurs and we cry again.

I'm not saying that we don't "look to the past to learn our mistakes". If you think about it, you actually DO do that. That is when the wound is still fresh, before it becomes a scar. We question how we got the scar, what we did to get the scar (or "what did I do to deserve this?", "why does it have to happen to me?"), what we should have done to avoid it. What I'm trying to say is, don't look back on the experiences AFTER the wound has healed and the scars have formed. The scars just indicate what to avoid. It doesn't tell us what we did and what happened in the past.

The many scars on our body doesn't indicate that we are weak or unlucky or anything negative for that matter. Instead it indicates the strength we've gained by learning from our mistakes and overcoming the pain. It makes a stronger and gives us a bigger perspective of life. It offers us a new paradigm. It indicates that we have plotted our maps; and we have marked down all the danger zones. We don't know what lies ahead. It could be gardens of Eden, or it could be a deep dark pit. We'll only know what lies ahead by walking forward. The path is set in front of us, though we cannot see that which lies ahead. We plot the good experiences as places we would like to visit again sometime in the future. I'm a curious explorer. I'll continue journeying through life and plotting my map until I reach the edge of my paper. At that point, when it is time to put down my pen and pass up my map, I will look back at the journey of my life and appreciate it for all its worth. I hope the same goes for all of you guys too...

I'll leave it here for you guys to ponder and maybe even sleep on if you are reading this at night (which I would encourage, since this is the time when you are the most relaxed). Take care of yourselves and God bless.

Cheers,
Justin

P/S. Just for fun? (my maths course coordinator loves to put an optional section with this title at the end of our homework questions)
Consider the case where we share in the pain of others. How does that affect us in terms of the "analogy of scars" and in real life? I have my thoughts but I'd love to hear your opinions if you have any!

Personal thoughts...

2005-03-29T00:06:00.000+09:30

Throughout 2003 and 2004 I sent e-mails to my friends containing my thoughts on random matters. The "Personal Thoughts" collection has been sitting in my hard drive for quite a while now. I've tried hosting it on websites and such but it has not proven to be succesful. Thus, my next few blog entries will be amazingly long as I will be just copying and pasting the documents. I hope you enjoy them...

Cross my heart...

2005-03-26T02:02:00.000+10:30

Good Friday... I wonder who came up with that name. Why is it good? Was it because Jesus sacrificed himself for the good of humankind? Sounds a little jovial for a day that is usually reflected more sorrowfully in the liturgies and observed as a day of fast and abstinence by Catholics (such as myself). Last night I was browsing through the Friendster forums and came upon a topic that interested me. It began with a Muslim chap posting a few verses from the Gospels and claiming that Jesus was prophesising the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Obviously, this topic received many replies which were both interesting and informative. It was obvious though that the verses used were not prophesising the coming of Muhammad but instead the pouring out of the Holy Spirit unto believers.

I find it interesting that although we can look at all the facts, in the end, it is difficult to disprove any of the major religions of the world. We have reached an era where almost everything can be proven and scientifically explained. However with all the knowledge we have (such as being able to know when men first appeared, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and so on), we are still unable to determine which religion is the "correct" religion (for want of a better word). Why is it that humans have religion? What is it that makes people believe in something that cannot be seen? The most common analogy to answer this question is the analogy of air. We do not see it but we know it is there. However faith in God is different. For most of us, we can't see it. Some can't feel it. How do you justify something that cannot present itself except through books and words? Yes, the spiritual can spend weeks arguing their case. However, no matter how much one explains about a particular religion, it is faith that ultimately pushes a person into accepting a particular religion. You can argue that some people are forced to accept religion by birth. In this case however, the faith of the person can be determined by the adherence of that individual to their religion by birth when he or she reaches an age whereby he or she can make logical, informed decisions and be able to think in such a way. Faith is a very special thing. It is something some people are willing to die for. In fact, most people dedicate their whole lives to faith. I'm not talking about priests and clergymen here. What I'm talking about is normal everyday humans such as you and I. Most religions teach paths to follow to achieve the ultimate goal of humans (i.e. to reach Heaven, Nirvana or whatever). These paths tend to promote certain types of behaviour and warn against other types of behaviour. These paths guide and structure our lives and the way we interact with others. Isn't it amazing that people who have faith can live a life guided by rules and restrictions that others without faith would not think twice about? Faith is something that cannot be matched by any other form of trust. All other forms of trust are usually short term or only applicable in certain situations in life. Faith on the other hand puts trust in a belief encompassing all aspects of a person's life.

Why do I believe in God? Why do I have faith? I was born a Catholic. My parents brought my brother and I to Church every Sunday and enrolled us into Sunday School and taught us to live a proper life. Was that the reason I chose to believe? Well, although it had a strong impact on shaping my life, I must say that the bulk of my faith comes from God Himself. It was only in my teenage years that God really began to play a major part in my life. Yes, I prayed every day when I was young. However as I grew older, it became obvious that my prayers were being answered every time, even if it was not directly. I felt a closeness to Him I never felt before. There are so many instances I can look back on where he pulled me back and preserved me from doing something I would regret. There were also times where he let me make a mistake so that I would eventually learn from it and change for the better. Seeing is believing. I may not have seen God Himself with my own eyes, but I see Him in everything I do in my life. I really cannot explain it. It is something so surreal yet so strong. Many people live their lives for themselves and enjoy every moment of it. They look at people like me and laugh at our restrictive lives. I do not at all believe my life is restrictive. In fact, I feel free. The freedom you get with trusting your life with someone so magnificent and caring and infinite is overwhelming. My strength comes from my faith. Faith is what guides me and will continue to guide me every day, hour, minute, second and for all eternity in my journey through life and beyond...

Jaded...

2005-03-23T21:35:00.000+10:30

What a tiring day. Wednesdays are meant to be my day off from study. No such luxury for me though. Wednesdays are a chance for me to catch up with my work as President. Had to force myself out of bed this morning and head to uni early to prepare for my Council meeting today. Got my photos that were taken for University Council today. Somehow or other I'm never fully happy with my photos. Guess i'm not very photogenic. I can take 20 photos of myself and not one of them would I deem acceptable. Oh well, maybe I'm just a little too vain. Finally chose two photos that were reasonable.

Council today went for 5 hours! What a record we set. We started at 12pm and since the close of business is 5pm I had to rush the meeting so that the staff could go home. The main issue which took more than an hour to discuss was again VSU. The Government is getting on my nerves. They have no idea how big an impact VSU will have. We'll be losing about 4 and a half million dollars. Imagine what we have to do to recoup that. We would have to do things we would never normally consider. Our whole focus now changes from serving the students to surviving to ensure we can continue to provide service. I find it difficult to believe that some people can even support VSU. Don't they see how many people will suffer with this legislation? All they can think about is getting back their couple of hundred dollars. The thing that pisses me off the most is that people who actually support VSU are those with secure jobs, families and are financially stable. Don't they even care about those less fortunate than themselves who rely on the services we provide? The Government has not been able to answer our questions. It's completely ridiculous. Brendan Nelson goes a full circle when the difficult questions are put to him and dodges them completely. All he can say is that it is all about freedom of choice. If that's the case, make everything a freedom of choice. Why should Australians who oppose the war in Iraq be forced to pay taxes that are used to fund the war? Some people have the audacity to say that we can't compare Union fees to taxes. Why not? You argue that it's the principle of the matter. The fact is that if you are saying it should be a freedom, we should apply the freedom to everything else in the country. I do not understand how some people can seriously believe in a principle that does not hold water and cannot defend its own arguments. Oh well, human beings are idiots. All they do is look out for themselves. It's not easy to find a more selfish creature.

Dealing with Council is like herding cattle. You need to push hard enough and they will follow your direction. It's interesting that Council this year seems to agree on everything and also agree with what I say. It makes things a lot easier. But then again it gets boring after a while. It would be interesting to see a split in the votes for once. Oh well, at least I know they are supportive of me. Although this is going to be an extremely tough year as President, it's very reassuring to know that you have an active and supportive Council complemented with a strong financial position for the Association. Makes this job a whole lot easier. We still need to do a lot though. It's difficult because we are still students and many of use do not know the implications of certain actions. Getting rid of a service may cause another department to lose out and so on. It's all very tightly knit together. That's why we'll need to call for professional help and develop a strategic plan for our Association.

I wonder how I'm going to cope with my studies. Every day I say to myself that I will study later. But it keeps being postponed as I am so tired by the time I get home. I really need the holidays. I need to catch up big time. I feel bad for having to rely on my friends to help me with preparation for tutorials or take notes for me when I miss lectures. Must make sure I repay them in due time. This blog seems to be more like a diary. The problem is that I can't seem to think of interesting things to type about at the moment because my mind is so numb. I'll make sure I type out some of my thoughts in future when I'm not so tired. Oh well, better get back to my work...

Prologue...

2005-03-23T00:34:00.000+10:30

I lead a rather interesting life in my opinion. I've achieved a lot that I am proud of in my life. Couldn't have done it without some help from upstairs though. I'm currently juggling my studies as a Pharmacy student and my work as President of the Students Association in my university. It's tough I must admit. It's good though. Keeps me occupied and allows me to do something I actually like doing while I am not studying. However, I need to focus a little more on my studies. It's getting difficult now especially because of the Government's attack on student organisations. I chose a tough time to be the President. But well... Did I actually choose to be President? I won it but then I lost it. Then I got it back again. The first time I won it I didn't actually expect it and I didn't even campaign for it. But the second time I actually made sure I got it. Why did I sign the deal? When I found out I won the position I was not too ecstatic. I didn't mind if I didn't get it. But after I lost it, it made me want it even more. Now here I am. I've been in this position for almost 3 months. Things have been going well. Everything was smooth. All until last Wednesday. Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) has turned everything around. I can't believe how bad the timing could be. As it is things were shaping up to be a great year with our Association blossoming and reps working extremely well together. Now the Government wants to wipe it all off; and I'm left with the task of making sure we don't collapse next year. Is that going to be tough? Hell yeah. It's been a crazy week for me. Phone calls have not stopped with the media hounding me all day (strangely enough they don't seem to publish me much) and staff members wanting assurances. What am I supposed to do? I'm the head of the organisation. However, it feels terrible when I have to ultimately be involved in ending the job of a staff member. How must it feel for them? Knowing that their jobs are in the hands of students. Should I act in the interests of the organisation or in the interests of human beings? The problem is; they're both related. If I act in the interests of the staff members as human beings who need a job the organisation runs the risk of collapsing and in the end, both staff and students will suffer. On the other hand if I act in the interests of the organisation, I will start to question my ethics. Should humans be seen as merely a resource to run the organisation? What a dilemma! No matter what step I take, someone will lose. How do you deal with a situation where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't? It's interesting though. A challenge nonetheless. There is a reason I'm here. There's a reason I got this position when I didn't plan for it. I wanted to be City East Branch Director this year, Central International Rep next year and President when I graduated. Circumstances seem to have thrown my plans out the window. Then again, I may well be the last President of the Association. Good timing? It could be. Then again I would be kidding myself. God has given me a lot. I'm not the typical ultra-religious "holier than thou" type of person. But I'm not stupid either. I should be able to recognise that after all He's done for me. What a trial He's put before me! Like a sword I will have to pass through the heat of the flames to be refined into a magnificent blade. I will fight this to the end. Too many things are at stake. Too many people will suffer if I screw up. I can't screw up. I won't. The weight of expectation placed on my shoulders will only motivate me to fight even harder for those who depend on me. After all, I would want that if I were in their situation. I must admit that I am tired. Really tired. Sometimes I don't have the strength to carry on. But when I think of how much depends on what I do... I can't let them down. I'll draw my strength from those that depend on me, those I fight for and ultimately, drink my water from the spring that never dries. It's going to be fun! I really love playing games. Now let the games begin...

In the beginning...

2005-03-22T23:36:00.000+10:30

I don't know why I'm doing this. I've always thought blogs were silly things and a waste of time. But then again, I feel like doing something silly. Don't expect any great revelations from this. I won't be revealing those deep, dark, haunting secrets here. Just think of this blog as a tiny window into the workings of my mind. Maybe you'll learn something about me. Then again, maybe you won't. Regardless, I'll just post stuff up that comes up in my mind. I may contradict myself at times as well. Oh well, life itself is contradictory at times. Enough of my reasons for this blog. I've created it period. Now let's have a look at what I feel like writing...