aaaaaaaaaand back in melbourne again.




i'm tempted to leave this post as it is, but i have 6 mins to go before my usual shower time and with nothing else to do, i remain. and type, of course.

anyways, back to the to and fro of uni life, to the uni and back to college, shuttling back and forth like a.... (for want of a better analogy) shuttle bus. i have resolved to explore melbourne well this semester, but things have NOT been going my way. everyone i know is adamant on not falling behind in lectures and work, so absolutely nobody is willing to spend time getting to know Melbourne better. i have found a grand total of ONE other person who's willing to go to the zoo this weekend, and i have strong feeling there will not be any other takers. last semester i was still getting used to the whole big life-shifting change blah blah blah so i didn't venture forth much from the safety of college. but i am sick of being a room rat, and would like to expand my territories.

so here are places i'd like to go, things i'd like to do, once people are willing to accompany me:
1. melbourne zoo
2. melbourne aquarium
3. shopping at the gigantic dfo in dandenong or smt
4. wandering around chapel street, other streets with lots of exciting things to see or buy
5. wineries, vineyards
6. animal farms
7. fruit orchards
8. quaint little suburbs
9. beaches
10. museums and libraries

and there are possibly more things to do here but i have, as of now, not yet discovered or thought of.

anyways, it's nice to be back in IH, seeing everyone again. it's nice to be closer to the people here, becoming more familiar with them and everything. and of course it's nice NOT being a fresher, people somehow correlate newbie with idiocy or morony (if there's such a term).

damn it, i heard someone going into the shower. hey, i shower at THIS time EVERY day, people should know this slot belongs to me! arghhh. now my beloved shower is postponed by half an hour. which leaves me more time here. good or bad.

oh. funny story. we were having a general meeting (some IH meeting where we vote for stuff that goes on within college, like admin stuff etc), and some dude (typical of him) was objecting to some random point (can't remember, was making bio notes at the time), and he said f*ck.

then another dude interrupts immediately, saying "DO not swear, I find IT offensive" bursts of laughter erupt. well obviously this is the kind of joke or anecdote that is best enjoyed personally, re-enacting it would only evoke polite smiles or even confused faces. but i swear it was the funniest thing that meeting.

and another thing, i would like to rant about my mixed feelings of fund-raising events nowadays. gone are the days where if you wanted to give money to an organisation, you simply gave it. cash, cheque, loose change, whatever. now, people have come up with the most creative, the most absurd, the most unnecessary ways of raising funds for good causes. this rant, as always, does not arise without good reason. i say this because of a current fund-raising activity, where people go on 40-hour famines to encourage their friends to give them money. obviously the money doesn't go into buying them a feast after the famine, but it goes to children in India. yes that's what they said, the CHILDREN in India, don't ask me why, i suppose it's for the poor children in India who need it. not too sure whether they'll get it though, or when.

anyways, back on track. i sometimes feel people don't raise funds for the right reasons. of course, this is a long-standing argument, one that many others have gone through before. but i have to say that i really feel it stupid to be going through a bloody "40-hour Famine" for money. do you REALLY know what it's like to go through a famine? are you even QUALIFIED to call it a FAMINE? do you really even CARE about those people who will be getting the money, or do you just want to get the grand prize?

oh how could i forget to mention, this is a COMPETITION (and i say this contemptuosly). with a grand prize of... a buffet voucher. WHAT THE F%^@$%$#^%.

honestly.

there was such a big hype about this competition to see who could raise the most funds, and when the organisers were showing a video about how the poor in India were suffering, nobody bloody bothered to even take their eyes off their food ONE moment to watch it. at least i watched several parts, then i couldn't watch anymore. i couldn't watch the video and sit there eating my dinner at the same time without feeling just a twinge of guilt.

so anyways, enough of this. sometimes i wonder.

oh well, i'm off to prepare for my shower.

i don't deserve it. period.

pheeeeeew back again in singapore, had a bbq dinner with the family and relatives, went out with the ex-6Sers, went out with beedict, went out with the gluttons. all this in the span of 4 days! and i must say, it feels as though i was never even gone. after the first night at home, it felt as though life just picked up from where i left it back here in singapore.

then again, there have been changes around the city, nothing mind-bogglingly drastic of course. just several buildings that have sprung up or were spruced up at the most. and i see the surroundings in a different light now, comparing things i see here with what i have in melbourne. and as i've said to several people already, even though i love my home, my family here, my friends here, the LOW retail prices and cost of living and many other aspects of singaporean living, i would say (people would cross their fingers at this point) that i PROBABLY prefer living in melbourne and the overall atmosphere of melbourne. and i would again hazard to make the statement that i would POSSIBLY prefer living in quite a lot of other cities compared to singapore.

why?

i don't know.

and before you wring your hands in agony that you have just wasted your time reading the above with no hope of coming to a satisfying conclusion for my said (or typed) statements, i shall attempt (poorly) to justify my saying that singapore does not fall into my high priority list of THE cities to live in.

1. singaporeans can be really annoyingly kiasu, rude, thoughtless, mindless, kiasi, pampered, and obviously the list goes on. but of course, it would be unfair because for every rude twat you meet here, there are several potential Mother Teresas you can find down the street. and every other country has THEIR rude twats. on average however, i believe the ratio of rude twats to Mother Teresas are much higher than in other countries such as say, Switzerland, Canada or Japan.

2. the place is so damned small and has a BERJEPEEZUS lack of things to do. honestly, no matter how anyone tries to contest this statement, i will stand by it.

3. the way of living is just so....DULL. i think people of other nationalities have a passion for living, for life, for everything in life, for.... you know. like how the italians love food, the french love love, the japanese love all things cute and techie. what do singaporeans love? money? social status?

4. singaporeans are such poseurs. we're always trying to imitate others, idolise others. we were always trying to be westernised, and then the asian wave buried us all in j-pop, androgynous looks, and dog knows what else. it's embarrassing at times, and tiring most often.

5. okay, i can't think of more reasons. plus my battery's running low. so i shall be sure to update this list if i happen to feel so strongly about it. here's a redeeming statement though, there are definitely many good points about singapore. since the battery is dominating my concerns at the moment, i shan't expound. just accept it if you don't already do. singapore is where i was born and there's nothing that can change that, nothing i would do to do so either. so there, another pointless post that ended in square one.

The Cheetah
(Acinonyx jubatus)







The typical cheetah measures 1.1m to 1.4m from head to body, and a further 0.6m to 0.8m in tail length. Males approximately weigh 43kg and females 38kg.

Cheetahs are mainly found in Africa, but there are species inhabiting India and a small number located in Iran. Their habitat is open grassy plains, bush lands, scrub and open forests.

The cheetah is THE fastest land mammal, and has a body built for bursts of tremendous speeds. Long limbs, small waist, claws that cannot be retracted hence giving it greater grip on the ground. Its long tail also provides better balance for making abrupt turns and corners when pursuing prey. It has an iconic black tear mark running from the inner corner of each eye down to the muzzle.

A cheetah hunts by observing prey from a vantage point, picking out an individual on the edge of the herd before stalking it, and finally giving chase. It can hold a whopping pace of 87km/hr for about 200 to 300 metres, before lunging for the kill.

Cheetahs have little genetic variation due to a genetic bottleneck that occured generations ago. As a result, populations might be susceptible and less able to cope with threats that can include natural defects, inherent disabilities or illnesses, environmental change, etc.




Check out ARKive at www.arkive.org for fabulous information, pics and vids on other animals!

i'm back!

and there a million and one other fabulous songs from Fuel. i am desperate to go back to singapore now to check out their albums. ohhhhhhhh man. plus the lead singer looks good in the Haemorrhage vid, heh heh.

anyways, 4 BLOOOODY long days till i reach my motherland. Onward Singapore! Majulah Singapura.

lol, and in this random and rare burst of patriotism, I LOVE SINGAPORE!!


oh weell, it's probably more true to say that i love some things in singapore rather than singapore as a whole. anyways. back to latin and chemistry. and of course, Fuel.

omg i just discovered a potential favourite band of the month! FUEL!!

who blessed the Earth with this song, Haemorrhage (In My Hands)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM6_Jlk6Reg