Long Kiss Good Bye - HALCALI

One of my fav songs (because of the awesome bass!) :)

Guess it can kind of represent my feelings now too..

やばい・・

I know it's been long since I've updated the blog (again). My excuse this time being the infamous one that everyone absolutely likes to use - busy. With tests every week and work occupying my remaining free time, I've been a walking zombie in the past few weeks. And there's another test coming up on Wednesday. *silent screams*

But I digress. My "rant" today isn't about how hectic my life is or whatnot. Rather, I've recently found myself in a rather sticky situation. Yes.. I realised that I'm stuck! Rather, I'm stuck in an infinite loop.


Why is it that every time a guy likes me, I will think of him. And then I'll get all depressed about the whole thing and think that I can never ever move on? And then I'll try to think positive, pull myself back up, and go on. And then the whole thing repeats itself, and it's wash, lather, rinse, repeat all over again.

This is really tiring and is sapping all the positiveness outta my life. I really wish that I can forget about everything soon. And it's not like I don't want to move on. I really do. And it's not like I think about him that much anymore. Okay. That's actually a lie. I still do. I'm still chasing after his shadow everywhere I go. But the moving on part was real.

Urgghh.. I really just do feel like crap. Oh well, at least I have tests and work keeping me busy from thinking about all this shit.

Nostalgia!

Awww.. I had the sudden urge to listen to 王力宏 (Lee Hom). So here's 大城小爱 (Small love in a big city):

Of choices and decisions..

So I haven't been updating the blog much these days. Partly because I just had my finals last week. @.@

That and I just started work at a pharmacy. Before you guys ask if that's where I'm doing my internship next year, I dunno yet. The pharmacist told me to do work experience first because he wants to see how I work and stuff, and I've only worked for 2 days so far. But it's been good so far. I'm familiar with Fred Dispensing, haven't had any dispensing errors, and I managed to find the meds pretty well. And to think I even put a script through right after arriving on my first day, before I even had a chance to put my bag down.

Well, the pharmacy is small, but it's a nice place to work in. Contrary to my (initial) beliefs, the pharmacy had Webster-pakings and the methadone program. So I guess, it's not all too bad. And they get about an average of 15 doctor's bags orders each month. It's actually doing pretty good for a pharmacy of that size.

The second day of work, I got introduced to an SA PSA board member. Talk about connections! Apparently he goes in there to do work experience every week to keep up with times. And the first question I got asked by him was, "Were you one of the girls who got drunk during the ball?" -____-;

All in all, the week has been both hectic and peaceful. @.@ I hope I can survive AP401 with work and everything. I almost fainted when I saw our lecture outline in the CIB. The only conclusion that I can come up with after seeing it is that the uni is trying to kill us. The workload looks even more daunting than AP400, which was already crazy enough to drive everyone mad. e_e


Other than that, I had my phone interview yesterday. I think I blew yet another big opportunity as I think the hospital have the intention of keeping interns as registered pharmacists post-internship. *sighs* :( :(

But oh well, I guess at least it saves me from the headache of deciding on where I should work at next year.

Of dreams and premos..

It's been a month since my last update. And it seems that all my updates are about..

Oh well..

I had a dream about him last night. And oddly enough, it felt like another premonition. At least, that was what my gut feeling was telling me. It was so painful to see the dream, being so real, that I cried so badly in it, and literally woke up in tears.

I guess, the one thing that this whole thing has taught me is to never take your loved ones for granted. Cherish them. Because you'll just never know what will happen in the future. Life is weird, and warped, just like that.

I guess I won't be able to let him go anytime soon, maybe not at all for the rest of my life. But maybe, just maybe one day, I would be able to do what I did in the dream/premo. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Thanks so much for all the memories. It was really one crazy hell of a roller coaster ride.

Damnit! I'll get over this!

I'm starting to act a little sappy for my liking, even.
This morning would have been the last. I swear.
I really need to make everything in my life fall into place.
Go me! RAWR!

Back in Adelaide!!

Woootnesss!!!! I'm back in Adelaide! :D

Other than being my silly forgetful self again (by leaving my scarf behind, having to ask one of the meds (Priya) to bring it back for me when her placement ends), all was good.

Xiang offered to drive me, Tang and Priya back to Adelaide and it was great.. Well, it is, if you minus the DJ Tang song selections epic fail and the heart attack that me and Priya had when Xiang suddenly shouted 'JACKKKKK!!!!' to wake Tang up.

That seriously took a few years out of our lives..


Then I was back unpacking stuff for a few hours.. and it was time for the 'nyonya nite' at Sumin's. Holy crap.. the sambal and curry were...
Luckily there weren't any casualties the next day.



And then there was the date last night. I still can't believe how nice it was. :) T, you've exceeded my expectations. I think you're a keeper. ;)

Fried rice

Yay! It's been long since I cooked and ate this, so yeah. :D

'Twas yummy. :D



Ingredients (in the order they were put into the pan):
Oil
Salt
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Rice
Multi-purpose seasoning
Pepper
Eggs
Peas
Soy Sauce

*continues savouring her meal* :D

I see the light at the end of the tunnel.. finally.

Wheee!! So many good things happening one after another during these past few days. Is in an uber happy mode.

Can't wait to get back to Adelaide for many reasons. (One of it being.. *coughs* ^.^)

Other than that, I realised that I've been owing lots of cupcakes to lots of people. Will be making them if I'm not too tired either over the weekends, or on Thurs or Fri when I don't have lectures in uni. :D

Can't wait for my date too... It's totally a motivation to keep me going for the past few days. I hope I won't ruin it!! HAHAHA!! XD

Feeling "Meh..."

*sighs*



I should forget everything. I hope it happens soon.

Sometimes I wish I could turn back time and take back what I said. Others, I wish that I have never met you.

If only someone can save me. But I know that superheroes don't exist. I have to get over this hurdle by myself.

*sighs*

Korean BBQ and tipping

So... The 2 Japanese restaurants that I wanted to try out at had closed down. *frustrated* T.T

Me and my siblings decided to eat at a Korean BBQ restaurant instead. Anyway, the food was good and we had a hard time finishing everything. @_@

And then came the dilemma: When I was about to pay up, a question popped up in my head. Should I tip the waiter who cooked the meat for us, and if yes, how much should I tip? The total bill was about 90 bucks and they charged 10% service charge in addition to that.

I know that at some places, the service charge actually ends up in the restaurant's owner's wallet, and not the staff's. And I really felt compelled to give something to the guy who was doing all the cooking. So again, comes back the question.

Do you usually leave a tip at Korean BBQ restaurants in Malaysia?

Random rant about guys

Urghh.. I just feel like ranting after all these cooped up feelings.
Men are all bastards and should just die.
They are all the same. They either want you for sex, or your money. Or worse, both. D:

When girls fall for guys, we give them our UNCONDITIONAL love. But what do we get in return? BETRAYAL.

Guys would just trample all over your feelings, and:
a) Cheat on you
b) Cheat you of your moolah
c) Play with your feelings
d) All of the above

Argghh!! I'm so sick and tired of all these nonsense. *sighs*


Okay, I know that some people would beg to differ. And I know that not ALL men are like that. Especially those in my close circle of friends. But I'm sure most girls have encountered these kind of jerks. And I just want to rant anyway.

My friend said this to me the other day when I told her my story: Men are crocodiles! Beware of them.
Well, in my opinion, I don't think they're crocodiles. They're just 2-faced sly and conniving (and hungry) wolves in sheep skins, who deserve to have the lights punched out of them.
(Inner Val: Sheesh Val, calm down already.)


WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALL THE GOOD GUYS??? They're like extinctedededed!
*sighs* :(


And for the last time, I'm not a bitch. If you want sex, go find a whore. If you want money, go to the bank. Thank you very much. x_x

A closure

Sorry for not updating much. Was super busy with the post-placement assignment rushing and the cultural concert/play that took place last Saturday. And try slotting in shopping for souvenirs, sending cards and packing in between.

Anyway, I'm just glad that those 2 big stuff are all over.

The placement was great overall and I did the best I could with my written case study. :) All that's left is my next placement in Pt Pirie starting in June.

About the cultural concert, it was a SUCCESS!!! Woohoo!! The shadow scene was successful, and the audience were generally impressed and happy with our play. I'm glad everything went great, and even the 'unexpected events' during the play added to the dramatic effects. XD (Like the apple dropping during the 'awe' scene, and the tree falling off during the Mara scene.)


Anyways, it's all good. And here I am sitting on the couch, typing away on my laptop, which is conveniently parked in front of the huge flat screen TV in my house in Malaysia. Still need some time getting used to the huge screen, after spending so long in Adelaide with that small idiot box.

With good food, shopping, shopping and more shopping, what could one possibly hope for more eh? But I digress. I'm now in the middle of 'emo-ing'. *sighs*


I think most of my close friends would know what I'm talking about. Yes yes, it's about a guy.
Should I give him up? Should I keep hanging on? Deep in my heart, I know that option 1 is for the best, but somehow, I just hope that it will be different.. somehow.. (which is kinda impossible for us, at this point of our lives.. I think..)

*sighs*
I need to bring this to a closure. He's possibly stalking my fb (or cookies forbid, this very post on my blog), or waiting for a new message from me, but I can't do it. I can't let this drag on anymore and cause my heart to break any further. On one hand, I would appreciate it if he would be honest and tell me that we (or more precisely, I) should put a stop on this never-ending roundabout. But on the other, I would totally shatter into pieces if he said so.

Guess I'll just let time deal with it. I'm sure that I am strong enough for this. :)

Whyalla - Day 22

It's my last week of placement! Time passes by so fast. @.@

Anyways, today has been the funnest day. :)
And yesterday was the busiest day ever. Had so many scripts coming in.

Today, I got conned into having my flu vaccination. Yes. I got conned. But you can't blame me! The lady had lollies!!!
Right after I had my shot, the pharmacist touched my shoulder and I was like 'Holy crap!!!' *silent scream* XD

Arm's still a little sore. Hope I won't roll onto that arm when I'm asleep tonight.


Other than the FluVax, I learnt how to do some manipulations on injectables today. o.o Learnt lots of tips on making the injection solutions, and drawing out them syringes. Gotta love positive and negative airflow! Makes mundane things interesting! :) I certainly hope that I'll get to do more of this stuff (especially chemo) if I get to work in a hospital someday.


Oh and I got to know a weird side of the pharm techs today. Apparently some guy's aftershave gets into the vent and into the pharmacy from time to time. You should have seen the techs running under the vent trying to sniff the sunlights out of the vent. Up to the point when one of them said, "You never know, it might be an ugly guy wearing the aftershave!" Everyone just burst out laughing.


Anyway, I can't wait to get back to Adelaide. But then again, I don't! I can't imagine doing the dessert. 15 kilos of sweet potatoes horror! Arghh!
But I'd rather do the potatoes than being stuck in Whyalla missing someone. >_<


All righty. Gotta do some reading and try to finish the last few exercises in my workbook before heading out to uni later for the Acute Coronary Syndrome broadcast thingamabob.

Signing off,
Rei

Whyalla - Day 16

Sorry for the lack of updates. The past week has been kinda tiring and mostly uneventful so I didn't do any updates.

Nothing much happened the last week but I did go for the PSA endocrinology seminar at Pt Augusta on Sunday. It was quite informative and everyone got to unleash their sadistic sides by pricking their own fingers to do BGL testings on different machines. @_@ When I saw the 3rd machine, I kinda died. But luckily we stopped at 2 and just looked at the 3rd.

Anyways, yesterday (Day 15 - Monday), Helen and Chris came to the hospital to find me. Alas, they came at the worst possible time. Gilbert, my preceptor was in a meeting with some IT and finance people about the medicine datebase transfer thingy, while I was at the wards doing my rounds. It was a miracle that they managed to finally find me at the Surgical Ward. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration since the hospital only had 4 main wards in addition to theatre and day surgery unit which I obviously won't be at.

Anyway, they approached me when a patient was asking me to identify her pill which dropped on the floor in the morning. EGADS! I don't have me PDA with me (and even if I do, I don't have the eMIMS), but anyway, I was having a hard time trying to figure out what on earth is that pill. (Pt was on more than 10 meds btw).

In the end, we deduced it was perindopril since the tablet had a PE-4 on it. (And it turned out to be right. Even though it was a diff brand and strength on the medication chart. o.o;;)

Anyways, Helen and Chris said that they'll be back in the afternoon to talk about the placement and workbook and stuff. Meanwhile, I went to all the wards (excluding HDU), to look at meds charts. @_@ Oh joy!

Fast-forward to afternoon. Helen came back when I was picking up imprest items! Arghh! Fridge items! >_< Luckily our clever pharm tech knew that I took out fridge items and continued doing my imprest stuff. Meanwhile, me, Helen and Gilbert had a long talk about the placements, workbooks and whatnot. Turned into a very interesting convo about job applications, job offers and how Helen managed to convince the Uni to let her travel by air. How unfair! :p She gets to go on a plane while we get to get stuck at the back of the bus for 5-6 hours! XD

Anyways, the day wasn't that interesting. Other than the part where I got lost. Yes. I got so freaking lost IN WHYALLA! Can you imagine that!
I was at the leisure centre for a swim and went to cheer on the pharmacy staff playing netball there. When it ended, my inflated ego told me that I would be able to find my way back. My destination was UniSA as there's a shortcut back to the Uni Village, but I ended up at some business centre. Was walking in circles, thinking it was the Uni, and trying to find that shortcut path. In the end, I realised that it was the wrong building and UniSA was the building next to it... -___-;;


So yeah, it was good fun trying to find my way back though. Ended up having to use Google Map. XD


As for day 16? Well, nothing much again, other than making potassium permanganate solution, calling a doc to clarify on a med dose, calling the RAH's pharmacy's drug info pharmacist (which ended up in me teaching her instead of her answering my question.. -_-;) and going to the IPL tute.

It's been a long day. I guess I'll go take a shower and turn in early tonight.


Signing of,
Rei

Whyalla - Day 8

So.. I'm back in Whyalla again!


Today was the first day I met with my preceptor - Gilbert. He's a young guy.. well, fairly young compared to what I thought of him. Thought he was a late-40/early-50 yo guy when I talked to him on the phone. He turned out to be early 30-ish.

Anyway, today I finally got to go around the wards doing clinical stuff. Gilbert told me that I will be following him everyday around the wards, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I'm supposed to look for 3 patients to do my case study as well. Hope I'll manage to find one with DDIs or other drug-related problems.


The bad thing about today? Well, I couldn't answer many of the questions that Gilbert asked me. Arghh! Curses to my miniscule brain that throws everything outta the window 24 hours post-exams. Can't believe that I said that Metformin causes wt gain when it's actually wt neutral. Geesh.

So yeah, I'll be scarce for the next few days, or Buddha-forbid, weeks. *hears gasps in the background* I have to study my AMH to make up for all the stuff that I've forgotten! >_< Piaa aarrrghhh!!!

Oh yeah, and another useless statement: I spent my evening post-iting my placement workbook. It looks so cute with yellow post-its on it now. XD


By the way, me and Phaik Wen had our first IPL (Inter-professional Learning) session today. It's a tutorial where students of various discipline get together to discuss on a case. Today's case was about a possible breast cancer patient. There were 4 students in total including me and Phaik Wen, with the other 2 being an occupational therapist student and a nursing student. All I can say from the session is that I'm lucky that I did some chemo stuff and went through my AMH on those chemo things last week. They certainly came in handy! :D

I hope next week's case would be as interesting as today's.


Oh yeah, there was a new batch of nursing students who moved into the unit yesterday. The were very friendly compared to the previous ones. I saw them during their orientation today while I was doing the ward rounds with Gilbert. The 3 of them are really nice and I get along with them way way better than the previous 2.


And yet another useless bit of info: I learnt how to poach eggs (without vinegar nor a poacher) from Tristan the med student. I think he's trying to prove to me that he CAN cook. XD Let's see what he cooks tomorrow.
Oh and he saved me and Wen from this huge scary giant hairy millipede yesterday. Thank you for kicking it outta the door like kicking a football! :D

Whyalla - Day 4

I think I'm getting the hang of this. I can now somehow manage to do scripts and discharge orders from the time they arrive, up to the point where I go to the wards to supply them to the nurses' area. (That includes checking the Pt's info, putting the Px orders in the comp, printing labels, putting ancillary labels, checking them again, and finally letting the pharmacist check it.)

I think I'll be able to manage by next week. :)


Anyways, today was overall a slow day. Started off slow.. then we realised that the fax machine ran outta papers so none of the orders and prescriptions were faxed out. XD

But there weren't many anyway.. So after doing those, we mainly did imprest, manufacturing, and some scripts. And had tea and lunch in the middle. While John kept coming bothering us. And everyone trying to blame him when we can't find our pens or scripts or whatever. :p The best part was when a technician, who frequently plays netball, dropped a bag, and John said 'You must be good at netball!'


All in all, it's been good. :)

I think John's gonna throw me out there to talk to patients tomorrow though. He told me that it should be time for me to do it, so I think it's gonna happen tomorrow. I hope he doesn't let me do a complicated script with lots of meds. I prefer the PCM and ibuprofen ones! :D *wishful thinking*

Wish me luck for tomoz! :D

Whyalla - Day 3

Yeah, I figured that I would not want to write some nonsensical stuff on my blog every single day, and make you guys die from boredom when you read it. So I'll only post interesting stuff when there's something interesting going on.


Day 2 was basically nothing much. Just went to do imprest at the surgical ward, then the rest of the day was spent picking up meds for scripts, unpacking and checking meds that just arrived + labeling them and putting them on shelves, and then counting pills! :D

When I got home, Tristan (the med guy), told me that he saw me for about 5 seconds in the hospital while I was doing imprest. I asked him was he near the theatre, and he replied, 'I don't know! I was just following someone around.' XD
Anyway, he also told me about an interesting patient. (Well, fairly interesting if you consider that Whyalla is a slow place.) Someone came in with a burn from molten metal from one of the smelting factories. Apparently it was quite bad and it was all over 1 side of the face, and he was totally concious. They flew him to RAH in the end.

That's about it for day 2. Boring huh? -_-


Day 3: Chemo!!! Whee!! (This part actually happened in the afternoon)
Well, I didn't get to go see the chemo patients in the end as John the locum relief pharmacist told me that he's quite confused himself, as he isn't a permanent staff at the hospital and he doesn't really know much about the patients and other staff. Oh wells, I hope I'll manage to do it next week when my preceptor comes back from Canberra (renewing his visa).

So all I got to do for onco today was going through the patients' files and listing down the chemos that needs to be ordered for next week. Apparently no chemo drugs are prepared in this hospital at all (coz they don't have the facilities). All are made in Adelaide and transported to Whyalla. But I did learn that not all chemos are diluted in saline. Some needs to be diluted in dectrose 5%. No idea why. I asked John but he doesn't know about it, so I'll have to ask my preceptor when he returns next week. o.o


Before doing the chemo in the afternoon, my morning was spent repeating what I did yesterday: packing meds in boxes/bottles for the wards. Until John came around and saw the pile waiting for him to get checked. He then came to me and said, 'If you ever want some variety, there are some new boxes of meds that just arrived. Now, I'm not ordering you to do that, but if you ever want some variety..' I burst out into laughter at this point. XD So after I finished the meds that I was doing, I proceeded to do those newly arrived stock. Only managed to do the items that needed to be refridgerated, and then it was time for tea. :D

While having tea, the staff were talking about how one of the patients was making a fuss at the supplies department of the hospital, trying to get her soap enema (for constipation). However, it's not manufactured anymore so they can't get it supplied, and then she got into a huge fit and said that she'll make a complain, yada yada. Anyway, the interesting part was, right after tea, there was a Code Red (Fire) at supplies. Everyone started laughing and wondering if said patient set fire to the supplies department because she couldn't get her enema. It turned out to be a false alarm in the end, and everyone was relieved that said patient wasn't desperate enough to set a fire just to get her enema. XD


So after tea, I continued unpacking and putting away all those meds. @_@ Also learnt that there are many many weird formulation of meds that you'll never guess. That and many of the patients in this hospital are either suffering from nausea and vomiting, or constipation. (So many metoclopramide and domperidone in various formulations, as well as senna coming in!) But we can't really blame them. Many of the patients are on opioids for surgery or cancer.

After doing everything (6 invoices worth of meds, with more than 10 boxes in total), I continued doing the meds packing, with some scripts and imprest in the middle. Until it was time to get off work.


And that's all till now. o.o Phaik Wen is currently at her colleague's house making 'Char Siew Pao'. She asked me to go with her but I'm too tired to move. My feet hurt so bad. >_<

So yeah, probably gonna watch Masterchef while having cookies for dinner and then go to bed.

So long for now! :)

Whyalla - Day 1

OMGOMGOMGOMG!!! >.<
Guess who I bumped into on day 2?? Tung Wei!! Hahaha! SA is such a small small place. Or maybe just Whyalla.
Anyways, me and Phaik Wen managed to ask her to lend us some hangers. Hahaha! Saves us from buying them.


So how was my first day at the hospital? Tiring and boring. Since my preceptor wasn't around, there was a relief pharmacist there instead. So he can't really go through my workbook with me since he's not my tutor. There are not many patients around and I can't really do patient counselling since there aren't any to counsel. Maybe I should ask if I could do it, if there are patients around. Anyway, what I was basically doing the whole day was helping the 2 other pharm techs do the imprest at the wards.

(In caveman language, that means going to the wards, check what meds they need, bring back the leftover meds from patients that have been discharged, go back to the pharmacy, put the leftover meds in the boxes to be "recycled", get the meds the wards need, and then go back to the wards to stock them up.)


Oh and the relief pharmacist (John) was too funny! He's a sarcastic person who has nothing good to say at all, but he promised that he'll think of something nice to say for the week. XD Not to mention that he tried to take my pen when I wasn't looking. And there I was hunting high and low for my pen, when the pharm tech told me that it's probably him who took it. And it turned out to be him! But he didn't confess. What he did next was just too cute!
He hid my pen with him, came out of his office, went to 1 of the aisles, then came to me and said that he found it!! LOL!!

He's a really funny guy and he even promised to give me his 2009 version of AMH since he's not using it anymore!! :D (Mine's 2008 by the way.) How nice of him! :D And when I asked him what time's lunch, he replied, "Anywhere from 12.30 to 4.30pm." (Working hours at the hospital is actually 8.45 to 4.45, and lunch hour is supposed to be 12.30 to 1pm)

When I told him that I won't be around at the pharmacy in the evening as I would be attending the diabetic info session, he said, "Well, what time does it end?" I replied, "I have no idea!" And then he said, "Well, just pretend that it ends at 4.45 and just don't come back! That's what I would do!" XD Anyway, it did end early and I got off at around 4.15. So I went back to the pharmacy and they all told me to go home early. How nice of them! :D

I also told them about my 10am diabtic nutrition session at the Shopping Centre tomoz, and John asked me to buy snacks for tea! XD


So yeah, that's basically it. Not much of things going on in the pharmacy. No angry patients complaining of long waiting time. NO COMPOUNDING!!! *horror* D:!!! No TDM till my preceptor gets back next week. No medication history taking either. Gah!

But on the bright side, I'll get to skip probably an hour or 2 of work tomorrow from the nutrition session, and then on Wednesday, I'll be going to do some drugs stuff at the onco ward! YAY!


Can't wait for that! :)

(P/s: In case you were wondering if me and Phaik Wen got lost, no we didn't. We ended up taking a cab back coz we were too freaking tired.)

Whyalla - Day 0

So... the bus finally reached Whyalla... an hour late. Poor Chris Thompson (SGRSH Pharmacy Coordinator guy) who was supposed to pick us up. Anyway, he brought me and Phaik Wen to tour around the city, with the 1st stop being Westland Shopping Centre. As we got off his car, guess who I bumped into!!! EDWIN CHIA! OMG, didn't expect to see him there coz I thought he was working at Crystal Brooke or something.


Anyway, our first stop at the Shopping Centre was Monarch Chemmart Pharmacy - Phaik Wen's workplace. We then went shopping at Coles (Open 9am to 9pm, 7 days a week!), where we bought a few urgent neccessities - food.

The next stop was then Whyalla Hospital, where I will be working at for the next month or so. The hospital is small, and the pharmacy was on the Ground Level itself. Hoorah for small hospitals and easy-to-find pharmacies!! *remembers getting lost at the Repat Hospital* -__-;;


We then went for some short sight-seeing at umm... Hummock Hill? Can't remember the name at the top of my head, but then again, I can't remember names to save my life. (And another confession, I only recalled Edwin's name about an hour ago.) Anyway, back to the topic.. There at the hill, Chris gave us some brief info and history about Whyalla and how it used to be as a ore and smelting industrial place back in the days.

He also enlightened us with a joke, saying how he saw a mother freaked out once, when she noticed her children playing at the shore, as the water level was up to their necks. As she yelled at them to get out of the water, the children unwillingly stood up, and surprise, surprise, the water was actually only up to their feet! XD The children were actually sitting/lying down at the shallow parts of the sea. The poor mum then turned away embarassed. LOL!

We were also told that we could spot dolphins on weekends when the fishing boats arrive at the shore. Apparently, Chris managed to get within a hand's length away from the dolphins! Hehe, now I know what I'll be doing during this weekend. Apparently, there are also places for fishing. Too bad I don't have a rod with me huh..


Our final destination for the day was the Uni Village, where me and Phaik Wen will be staying at for our placement duration. There are 3 other people staying in this 7-room unit: 2 nursing students and a med student. One funny thing was that the med student (Tristan) got locked out of his room, and still is, as I'm typing. The poor guy..

And then the fun part arrived: UNPACKING!!! WHEEE!!! Didn't take long for me to unpack everything and realise that hangers weren't provided in the rooms. And many things aren't available in the unit as well, such as bowls, certain cooking utensils and stuff. It really makes one wonder how the other 3 managed to survive without having those basic stuff.

Also, that reminds me that I would have to drop by the shopping centre to get the stuff. Phaik Wen and I had also already planned that we will be walking back to the Uni Village after getting our groceries. Now let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed that the both of us do not end up lost tomorrow.

Whyalla here I come!

No, I didn't resort to using the puppy face. I managed to board a new G10 all the way down to the bus terminal at Chinatown. And I was carrying 2 heavy luggages, a laptop bag with a cooler in there, and a slingbag filled with heavy texts such as the AMH, some books and other neccessities. All by myself. *proud*

So there I was lugging those ridiculously heavy baggages to the bus stop and the station. When it was finally time for boarding, me and my friends got on the bus together. After waiting for eons, the driver announced that we have to switch buses as the bus we were on had some air-conditioning malfunctions.

And as i'm typing this, we've finally departed. All the best to me, the city girl trying to live in a rural area. (As if Adelaide isn't rural enough already! LOL!!!)

But this will definitely be a good experience, since it'll bring me a taste of what my dream job may be like. 頑張ります！

Signing off for now,
Rei

What My Heart Wants To Say - Gareth Gates

Gareth Gates! One of my favourite singers back then. :)
If you guys have no idea who he is, he is the runner up of Pop Idol - The British talent show that gave birth to American Idol. He was Simon Cowell's favourite btw. :)



Anyways.. Here's the song "What My Heart Wants To Say."

Keep Your Hands Off My Girl Guitar Cover

This guy is so good at this song!! And best of all, he made tabs!! >.<

The Elephant Bristish Pub

Name: The Elephant British Pub
Category: Bistro
Location: 20 Vaughan Pl (Off Rundle Street, next to Nova Cinema)
Website: www.paddymaguires.com/adelaide/theelephant


Yesterday, me and my friends decided to watch Alice in Wonderland in the evening. While I was wondering what we should have for dinner before the movie starts, my housemate recommended this bistro next to the cinema. She tried the food there once and apparently it was good.

So there we went after class (and work, for her), to Rundle Street. As we entered the bistro, we were welcomed by the warm and cozy atmosphere. (Note: Warm and cozy in my opinion is not the stereotypical bright kind of place. I hate the light!)

So we went in and found ourselves a seat at the far end of the bistro, and started scanning the dinner menu (requested from the bartender). What shocked us at first was that one of the choices in the dinner menu was a Full English Breakfast. o_O;


Anyway, after taking eons in deciding what we should get, I finally settled for the Roast of the Day, while she chose the Char Grilled Chicken. While waiting for our food, I looked around the bistro to hopefully catch a glimpse of the "regular patrons" to further assess the place. There were a few middle-aged people at tables in front of us, while there were a group of mid to late 20s sitting around a coffee table in the centre of the bistro, chatting their way joyfully.

The ambiance of the place was very good in my opinion: quiet, comfy and just the right amount of lighting.


About 10 to 15 minutes later, dinner was served. It was at that point that it hit me that I've forgot to ask what was the Roast of the Day. (XD *sighs* I guess recent events had tire me out to the point where I've developed a "Hit Me!" or "Closing My Eyes and Randomly Putting My Finger on the Middle of the Menu" kind of approach when it comes to meals.) The roast turned out to be veal by the way. It was served with sides of vegetables and mash potato.

Anyway, it was time to dig in. The gravy of the roast was just too good! The meat was just so succulent and tender. At first, I was skeptical when I saw that my knife was just a regular dinner knife and not a steak knife. How was I going to cut into my meat?! But it turned out that the meat was so well done that even a dinner knife could cut it into pieces! :o

Overall, I would give the Roast of the Day a (rare) 90! The whole dish was very very good.

I've also stole a bite of my housemate's Char Grilled Chicken, and the garlic-mustard gravy was to die for! I thought to myself that I would order that the next time around, but then again, my adventurous streak would flash a red light and make me try the other dishes instead.



All in all, The Elephant is definitely a good choice to go to, not just to dine in, but also for a drink or two, to unwind one's self after a stressing day of work (or lectures).


Rei's score:
Food: 90/100
Drinks: NA (Didn't get any alcoholic drinks)
Ambiance and decor: 85/100
Overall verdict: 90/100

Feeling the shitz..

Need a breather;
Can't cope with everything,
Feelings included.
I just want to run away
And disappear to where
No one can ever find me.

I need you,
But I hate you.
I wanna see you,
But I wanna hit you.

I'm such a contradiction,
A synonym, a definition,
Of an oxymoron.


And with all that said, it's time to head back to reality. Urgh.. I dread this. x_x

Stuck - Stacie Orrico

And yet another one of my favourite songs when I was in high school.

Katsudon @ Momiji

Name: Momiji Sushi Bar
Category: Sushi Restaurant (+ Other Food)
Location: 101 Prospect Rd, Prospect SA 5082


After months of going pass this Japanese restaurant in Prospect, I finally decided to dine in at Momiji Sushi for lunch today. When I went in, I was scanning the menu for Nasu Dengaku but alas, they don't have any. T^T *sobs*

Anyway, I finally decided to settle on カツ丼 Katsudon. Too bad I forgot to tell them I wanted カツカレー Katsu Karee, so I got the normal one instead. I shall try the curry version next time..

The katsu was very very crispy. Actually, a little bit too overfried and tough in my opinion. The sauce however, gets a 75/100. The highlight of the meal had got to be the wakame salad! 超美味い！！！ *starts rolling around*

Okay okay. Back to the review.

The bad parts about the meal?
- The katsu was overfried and tough
- They didn't use Japanese rice! *horror* *gasps* :o!!! How can we not use Japanese rice in a Japanese restaurant??? I guess maybe they are trying to cut costs..


All in all, the overall experience was fair. I'll go back there again to try their other food such as the aforementioned カツカレー katsu karee or maybe ramen or udon when the weather is a bit cooler.


Rei's score:
Food: 65/100
Drinks: NA (Didn't get any tea)
Ambiance and decor: 55/100
Overall verdict: 60/100


Signing off,
Rei

茄子田楽 Nasu dengaku

Recently the weather's been going colder. Yesh! Finally autumn is here! Couldn't take the heat any longer. @_@

Anyways, with cold weather, comes the craving for grilled food - ie, 茄子の味噌田楽 Nasu no Miso Dengaku, aka Nasu Dengaku.

I still think that the best Nasu Dengaku that I can find is at Katsumoto, but then again, I haven't tried the other restaurants' versions. So far I've only tried Katsumoto and Ichiban Ramen. What I can say is don't ever get the Nasu Dengaku from Ichiban Ramen. The eggplant is not really grilled, and the dengaku sauce is way too salty.

Meanwhile, I shall continue my journey of finding yummy Nasu Dengaku in restaurants around Adelaide and I'll keep the blog updated! \ ^.^ /

And the MCR mania continues on...

MCR MCR MCR!!! Rawr! Gotta love Mikey! So cute! XD

Anyways, this is another one of my favourite MCR song: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison.

This isn't the music video. It's a fan-made slide show that correlates with the lyrics of the song. It has a lot of LOL moments. Especially at the "FIRE!!!" part. XDDD




Lyrics
In the middle of a gun fight
In the center of a restaurant
They say, "Come with your arms raised high!"
Well they're never gonna get me
Like a bullet through a flock of doves
To wage this war against your faith in me

Your life will never be the same
On your mother's eyes, say a prayer
Say your prayer!


Now, but I can't, and I don't know
How we're just two men as God had made us
Well I can't, well I can
Too much, too late, or just not enough of this
Pain in my heart for your dying wish
I'll kiss your lips again.


They all cheat at cards and the checkers are lost
My cellmate's a killer, they make me do push-ups in drag
But nobody cares if you're losing yourself
I am losing myself and I miss my mom
Will they give me the chair
Or lethal injection, or swing from a rope if you dare
Oh, nobody knows all the trouble I've seen


Now, but I can't
And I don't know
How we're just two men as God had made us
Well I can't, well I can
Too much, too late, or just not enough of this
Pain in my heart for your dying wish
I'll kiss your lips again


To your room, what they ask of you
Will make you want to say
"So long, well I don't remember
Why remember you?"

Do you have the keys to the hotel?
'Cause I'm gonna string this motherfucker on fire! FIRE!!

Life is but a dream for the dead
And well I, I won't go down by myself,
But I'll go down with my friends.
Now now now now
Now now now now now
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh


Edit: Added some Mikey Way pics~! <3

Guitars cover of Helena

And I'm still watching vids of covers of my favourite songs. Found a cover of Helena by MCR. The back guitar could use some tuning, but the overall thing was quite alright. :)

Drum cover of 'Won't Go Home Without You'

Since I had been too stressed, I was looking for covers of various songs that I like. Okay, the stress part probably is an excuse for procrastinating on my studies.
Anyway, I think this is a pretty decent drum cover for Maroon 5's 'Won't Go Home Without You.'




I like this song so much! Might do a drum cover for it when I'm back in Malaysia in May. :)

笑ってくれ？お願い？

最近に、すごい圧力が感じてます。あぁぁぁぁ～！！！　それは本当に最低だよ！

*breathes in and out to calm down* >.<

ま。。あたしを見てった時、笑ってな！

So that I can recharge myself. ね？ :)

CNY in Adelaide

So.. it was my first time spending Chinese New Year in Adelaide. Previously, all my CNY in Malaysia were typically spent by sitting at the back of the car for 5 hours or so while my dad drives us to either Malacca or Singapore, or both, to visit our relatives. And at the end of the day, I would come out of the car with a sore back and butt.


Anyway, this year was different. As I was pondering how the CNY celebrations would be like in Adelaide, I found myself at the SA Zhu-Lin Buddhist Association. Let's just say it was a totally different experience.

Since me and my friends volunteered to be ushers for the celebration, we basically had to ask people to not move out of the ropes area. Doing this, it could only lead to a few possible outcomes:
1) "Oops, sorry!" *moves back into the audience area*
2) *silently shuffles back into the audience area*
3) *glares and moves back into the audience area*
4) *pretends not to hear* *Rei asks again* *shoots dirty look and moves back into audience area*
5) And this one was the icing on the cake. Some temple aunties who always helped out in the kitchen: *becomes very angry and raises voice* "I'M ONLY OUT HERE FOR A WHILE AND THEN I'LL GO BACK TO THE KITCHEN! EVERY YEAR I DON'T GET THE CHANCE TO SEE THE CELEBRATION AND THIS YEAR I MANAGED TO COME OUT FOR A WHILE!" *Rei becomes curious and asks if they were cooking behind since there weren't any cooking going on that evening* *starts making lame excuses about preparing drinks for VIPs and then grumbles to each other and to the audience*
Even though none of the VIP had drinks, or had anyone offer them anything through out the whole celebration. Oh and the aunties stood there till the end of the celebration btw.
- At the end of number 5, the audience started to move towards the VIP area since the aunties were standing there.

And this was what I did:
1) Asks audience nicely to move out of VIP area back to the audience area
2) Lather, rinse, repeat.
3) Until it became really uncontrollable due to the crowd seeing the aunties and the "Public relations" people (who did nothing at all, except of course,) standing at the VIP area, therefore causing the crowd to move in there, thinking it was okay to stand in there.
4) And then I gave up. When I asked people to move, they did. And 5 seconds later, more people went over to the VIP area.
In the end, I was drained at had a -_- whatever! look.


All in all, it was a great experience. I didn't know that there were so many Asians in Adelaide who would get themselves all the way to the temple.
Basically, the whole celebration consisted of singing from 贵英姐, followed by some dances from the Rushi Children group. The Kungfu masters had their debut next, and then came the lion and dragon dances. (Oh and apparently, a perverted aunty was touching the butts of all dancers of the lion dance, and at the 4th lion, she actually smacked the butt of the back dancer. The poor guy..)
At the strike of 12, there was a display of fireworks, and then the thousand-odd public rushed to do their blessings.

This in turn, brought about another hillarious turn of events:
1) Many many many many many people praying and getting bunches of incense.
- Rei's inner voice: Seriously, why does just one person have to get a bunch of 30 or so?!
2) Too many incense in the incense pot.
3) Smoke everywhere. Suddenly incense starts burning and a small fire breaks out.
4) Rei sees people crowding, including a guy friend standing there not knowing what to do. There was a fire extinguisher next to the big incense pot.
Friend: "How?! I don't know how to use a fire extinguisher!!" (originally said in Chinese, translated to English by me.)
5) Rei rushes to the rescue! Or not! She carries the fire extinguisher and tries to find the pin. Until she was stopped by someone who said not to use the extinguisher as the fire is small and would be contained by itself.
- Seriously. The friend who didn't know how to use the extinguisher was too funny. He ended up becoming the joke of the night!


Another hillarious thing that happened:
1) There was a 2nd lion dance after 12, unrelated to the aforementioned troup that had their butts molested.
2) Lion goes into the temple and dances inside the main hall area.
3) Meanwhile, all volunteers gathers at the rendezvous area, taking pictures.
4) While getting ready for a group pic, lion suddenly comes out of no where, blocking the camera.
- Rei's inner voice: Those cam-whores! XD
5) *Lion suddenly approaches Rei* *Rei steps back* *Lion continues charging towards Rei and pushes her back* *Rei starts to get a bit panicky and shuffles towards the back, making some weird noises in the process* *Lion finally gives up*
XDDDDDDDDD


That was definitely one heck of a CNY celebration that I would never ever forget! XD

Peanut butter and choc cups

Whew.. Just finished making some peanut butter and chocolate cups. Let's just say that this thing is messy. Had some problems with mixing the peanut butter mixture, ending up in some mixture on the carpet and stuff, but it was a success in the end. :)

Here are some eye-candy for yaz~!







More chocolate and maybe some butter cookies tomorrow!!! \ >.< /

Baking CNY cookies

Arghhh... Why does CNY have to fall on the exact same day as Valentine's day. That's just making me do double the job. x_x

I like complaining. But all's well in the end because I love baking. \ ^.^ /

Anyways, have a look at all the stuff that me and my housemate, Huey Yeng, bought to make CNY cookies.





Here's the first cookies that I've decided to make - 合桃酥 Hap Tou Sou (Walnut Cookies):


Will continue with the butter cookies and the chocolate on tomorrow and Sunday...


Signing off to sleep and with lots of love <3,
Rei

Teenagers - My Chemical Romance

One of my favourite MCR songs!! :D Teenagers!

Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Hot & Spicy Potatoes

I have no idea why but I have been having cravings for certain types of food recently. And not to mention they're weird combinations. This morning I had toast with pickled mustard leaves spread on top of it. Weird and unhealthy but yummy :D

Anyways, here's another weird combo for lunch: Cold noodles mixed in peanut sauce, and then topped with hot and spicy potatoes. :)



Since my job of posting the pic here is done, I shall dig into my lunch now. :D

水の証 Mizu no Akashi - Lacus Clyne (田中理恵 Tanaka Rie)

OMG.. I've recently become so addicted to this song that I can just put it on repeat over and over. XD

This is an insert song in Gundam SEED (not sure if it appeared in SEED Destiny). It's the signature song of Lacus Clyne (voiced by 田中理恵 Tanaka Rie). She has such a beautiful voice!! \ >.< /



Lyrics:
水の中に夜が揺れてる
悲しいほど静かに佇む
緑なす岸辺

美しい夜明けを
ただ待っていられたら
きれいな心で

暗い海と空の向こうに
争いのない場所があるのと
教えてくれたのは誰
誰もが辿り着けない
それとも誰かの心の中に

水の流れを静めてくれる
大地を潤す調べ
今はどこにもなくても
きっと自分で手にいれるの
いつも・いつか・きっと

水の証をこの手に
全ての炎を飲込んでなお
広く優しく流れる
その静けさに辿り着くの
いつも・いつか・きっと
あなたの手を取り・・・


And not forgetting those who can't read Japanese, here's the romaji version by yours truly. If there are any mistakes somewhere, please do tell me. :)

Mizu no naka ni yoru ga yureteru
Kanashii hodo shizuka ni tatazumu
Midori na su kishibe

Utsukushii yokae wo
Tada matte iraretara
Kirei na kokoro de

Kurai umi to sora no mukou ni
Arasoi no nai basho ga aru no to
Oshietekureta no wa dare
Dare mo ga tadoritsukenai
Sore to mo dareka no kokoro no naka ni

Mizu no nagare wo shizumetekureru
Daichi wo uruosu shirabe
Ima wa doko ni mo nakutemo
Kitto jibunde te ni ireru no
Itsumo itsuka kitto

Mizu no akashi wo kono te ni
Subete no honoo wo nomikonde nao
Hiroku yasashiku nagareru
Sono shizukesa ni tadoritsuku no
Itsumo itsuka kitto
Anata no te wo tori..

You Don't Miss Your Water - Craig David

Here's a song that has been stuck on my head lately. Lol. Subliminal hint? XD
Anyways, enjoy! :)

暁の車 Akatsuki no Kuruma - FictionJunction Yuuka

This is one song that I really like - 暁の車 by FictionJunction Yuuka. The title means "The Wheels of Dawn" and this is an insert song in Gundam Seed. Listen to it. I'm sure it will not let you down. :)