Sunday, October 30, 2005

Overworked.

As usual I have a lot of work to do. I handed in one 3000 word report only to have another one, which must have approximately 3000 - 4000 words. I'm so tired of typing...not to mention I have to study for my final exams too. I'm trying hard to keep my mind clear and just work as hard as I can. Also considering changing rooms next semester. Still in "thinking process"...not sure if I'll do it yet.

Btw, its mango season here. I've been stuffing myself with mangoes. Can't help it. They taste soooo good.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Making Progress

Yep, I am making some progress in studying. I faced my fears. Ever since I came here, I am afraid of looking at the calendar. Back home, if I had an exam, I'd bravely look at the calendar everyday, count how many days I have left, make a study schedule and stick to it. But here, I don't even plan what I'm supposed to study. I just sit and study aimlessly. So, I've fixed that. I've made a schedule and I'm sure its going to work. Wish me luck.

It's noisy now. The people downstairs are getting drunk and blasting music. *Sigh* On a Friday night. I can understand. I just want to study though. Three more questions to look through then I can rest and search for my PSpice CD, install it, and write about 1000 words for my 3000-4000 word Design Challenge Report. Yep, I am making progress. I feel a lot better lately. I get things. I understand what's happening. Maybe it IS always darkest before dawn...?

-- Oooh, by the way, I watched the new Superman trailer (Superman Returns, I think). It was really good. I think they got the guy (I'm not sure who) to look like the late Christopher Reeve? I'm not sure who the girl is either, but I read that Hugh Laurie (aka Dr. Greg House) is Perry White. Yeah, I've gushed over that already. But whether the movie does well or not, I'm still watching it for "Perry White"..really, Hugh Laurie can be hilarious. Then again, doesn't Perry White have to be an out-of-shape, pot-bellied man? Hugh Laurie is skinny.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Back To Studying

A lot of things have happened since I last blogged. I was practically in the lab everyday until it closed (8am to 6pm), then my team mates and I worked with some other guys who had a microcontroller programmer and they were so nice to us, letting us borrow it. Sometimes you think people are bad, but then when you're in dire need, they actually help you, and you realise that not everyone is as bad as you think they are.

However, I have been backstabbed. What happened was that I had two "friends" in my team, right? And you know how I went on and on about how much easier the project was going to be because I had my friends with me? Well, I was so wrong. Somehow, living in Australia, is really teaching me lessons I never would have learnt, were I still living in Malaysia. It's just such huge, eye-opening lessons that you feel as though someone pulled the rug off your feet when you were not looking? And you fall flat on your face.

One "friend" really worked hard. He hates engineering but he put in so much effort, despite complaining, grumbling, and even yelling at me (No, I didn't yell back. Didn't want to make a scene. Yeah, I was actually patient that one time...but my fist was clenched in agitation.) ...but he did the job. So I cannot fault him. However, the other "friend", let's just call him LazyBum.

See LazyBum got all the code from me. I gave him Java stuff. I gave him programs he would require - like a serial port monitor which can monitor the data that is being sent from the computer to the device, installers, executable creators and all that. I also printed out notes that he would require. However, LazyBum did nothing for three months. I found that out when I stayed overnight at Uni on Sunday night (23rd October). He dumped his work on me, telling me that he had to fix another part. So, me bein the usual scapegoat of the year, I finished up his work. I cleaned up his code, only to find that ALL THE CODE I gave him, was just there. He had not built anything extra. I admit, I am very particular about things like these. I take my projects very seriously, and I work really, really hard because it's my ambition to be an engineer. I want that paper saying I have a Bachelor in Engineering. That's the only reason I'm still here despite how hard things are sometimes. I refuse to leave. It's like having someone slap you in the face repeatedly, yet you still stand there, rooted to the ground.

Okay, LazyBum did not build almost anything from the code I passed him during the middle of the semester. I was so disappointed in him. Somehow, I am always calm when I know what I'm doing. So with my iPod on, and my fingers typing Java non-stop, I looked free. Like I wasn't really stressed. And LazyBum, whom I'm very sure knew what he had done, as in he'd messed up, he went and told the non-friend team member (4 ppl in team, myself, two "friends", and non-friend), something along the lines as "What do you think she's doing?" You see in a team, when you ask another team mate, if another team mate is not doing any work, it goes to show that you're implanting doubts in that team mate whom you asked. So, when LazyBum asked non-friend-team-mate if I was actually doing anything, he got mad at me. I guess I just looked happy, doing Java. Java makes me happy, because it's one of the things I know very well.

I didn't know all this. I was lost in my iPod and Java. But non-friend-team-mate was kinda mean to me that night. I didn't really mind it because people like venting out their stress at me. Then, I stayed overnight, got even more annoyed with LazyBum because as the night wore on, he knew less and less of what he was supposed to know. He had three months to fix everything, but from the looks of it, he had done almost nothing. It's just that when you program a lot, and you teach people programming, you can tell how much of attention they paid to that code, when they were programming. LazyBum's code looked so bad even some of my online friends laughed at it. I felt bad, but they were right - it was so bad-looking.

Then, I was really annoyed with LazyBum. So, I came back at 9am, when my team was testing and about to hand in the final product (which only works 40%), because I wanted to attend my final Stats lecture and there was not much I could do to help the team anymore. So I came home, showered, changed, went back to uni. The lecture was cancelled due to chemical spill in the building. I came home, called mom, ate some lunch, and fell asleep. I switched off my phone before that. When I woke up in the evening, I showered, had dinner and logged online. Non-friend-team-mate called me, asking me one question, "Did you give LazyBum all the code he has?" and I said "yeah, with hope that he'd build more, but he didn't." and Non-friend-team-mate was really surprised. Then he said that for peer-assessment (where you assess how much work someone put into the project), we should give LazyBum bad marks. I was a bit reluctant because I don't like taking revenge on people. Then, non-friend-team-mate told me what LazyBum had asked him, about me - If I actually did any work. I was so mad, I couldn't believe my own friend would do that to me. It was so disappointing.

To cut the long story short, we gave LazyBum quite bad peer assessments.

We had a demonstration day today. We scraped through and passed the project --> 26/50. I'm relieved, but non-friend-team-mate tore and threw LazyBum's peer assessment, filled a new one with almost all 0s, because LazyBum made a big fool of himself in the demonstration. He knew nothing, he was compiling the wrong code, and he could answer no questions. We were all really mad at him. My only question is, how can my own "friend" do this to me? He knew I'm in his team. I've always helped him - always. I give him answers, I help him, I try to bug him to do his work. I try really hard to help all my friends. But really, I cannot believe he did this. I'm so disappointed that he made no effort in this project. So he deserves a bad peer assessment. I had no choice. Some people need to fall, to realise how much they actually had, wouldn't you agree?

Anyway, I finished one three thousand word article. I'm relived. I was so surprised the lecturer, JW was so nice to us. He's usually so picky about stuff. I guess he was really nice today and I relaiseed that he isn't as bad as I thought he was. I'm so glad he passed us.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Ticket Confirmed!

....yet another lab post. I think I'm beginning to live in the lab. Oh wait, that's not true. I already do live in the labs. I barely say two words to people at IH. Morning I wake up, shower, get dressed, and go to uni. That's all I do.

My mom doesn't believe me when I tell her I don't have the time to do laundry, clean my room, whatsoever. It's horrible. I feel like I'm stuck in time, everyday in the lab, skipping as many "unimportant" classes I can skip. Reading the same code over and over again. Wanna see what I read everyday? Take a look:




void erasing(void)
{
unsigned int block_counter = 0;

ACSR |= 0x02;
// set signal flag that new data has to be recorded next

// interrupt disabled, SPI port enabled
// master mode, MSB first, SPI mode 3, Fcl/4
SPCR = 0x5C;

while (block_counter < 512)
{
PORTB &= ~0x02; // enable DataFlash

write_SPI(BLOCK_ERASE);
write_SPI((char)(block_counter >> 3));
write_SPI((char)(block_counter << 5));
write_SPI(0x00);

PORTB |= 0x02; // disable DataFlash

// writeToEEPROM(0xFF, block_counter);

block_counter++;

while((PINC & 0x08)); // RDYBSY
}
SPCR = 0x00; //disable SPI
}


There you have it. Microcontroller programming in C. The more I read code,
the more I begin to act like a machine. I eat a lot. Really, I'm never
full. I think part of it is because I'm vegetarian. Partly I think I haven't
been running at all, wo-three weeks of non running makes me sloppy. I will go running once I hand in this project. *keeps fingers crossed*

I haven't been studying, AT ALL. I go home at 11 something, 12 .... half dead. Eyes barely open. It's horrible. I can't think of anything else but sleep...so no studying either :(

My flight ticket has been confirmed. Nov 17th. So, to all those of you who miss me (there better be a few, or I will be very cross when I'm back...), please keep some free slots in your schedules. I plan to watch lots of movies and do lots of shopping. My mom actually said "you can buy anything you want"...*muttley laugh*

Thursday, October 20, 2005

...Looking At Life Sideways

They have agreed to open the lab. My team mates aren't really counting on it. To be honest, I'm not sure what to think. Why would they agree to open the lab from 8am to 6pm this weekend with a tutor to babysit us? I'm really not sure actually. I don't want to get all positive and then have them disappoint me. *Keeps fingers crossed anyway*

My project isn't going that well. There seems to be alot of code trouble. I don't really know how to explain what is wrong.

There's this pizza cafe at my university. It's said to have the best pizza in Brisbane. My team mates and I were there for dinner (I haven't been home to IH since this morning 8am.) and we shared two large veggie pizzas, came to about 6 bucks a person. It was so good. I never thought veggie pizzas could taste that good! It's sinful to have such good vegetarian food :) Hehehe.

I'm vegetarian till the coming Monday ;) Then, I'm gonna have Japanese food, McDonald's and chicken kebab ;) Hehehehe. No, not all three at once. I'm not that greedy.

Apart from that, I haven't been up to much. Just practically "living" at uni. Somedays, I wonder why I pay IH so much money only to spend my life at uni.

Exams are coming soon. I have promised myself I won't freak out. I'll study everyday after I finish this project (hopefully tomorrow). Wish me luck.

I should go window shopping this weekend... :) Plan to look at stuff. Yes, just "LOOK". Hahahaha :)

Monday, October 17, 2005

Sometimes You're Just Not Good Enough.

I wish scholarship boards would be honest and say things directly. Rather than giving you the famous "the applications have been pouring in and selection was tough" crap..I'd rather they tell you the truth, "Sorry. You're just not good enough. Someone else with better grades and better accomplishments got the chance. Maybe you should stop trying, because we don't even find your accomplishments impressive."

Maybe then it will be better. Maybe then people like me who constantly get rejected by scholarship boards will be able to accept it and stop applying. That's right, from today onwards, I will never apply for another scholarhsip. Ever. I don't need one. I don't need anybody's pity. But, that's what I have decided. I will never ever apply for another scholarship!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Murphy's Law At It's Best

I thought we had everything planned - printed circuit board was done and ordered, microcontroller programming was done, software programming was done. Then, I got a message from one of my team mates yesterday..."The printed circuit board will only come in on Thursday or Friday." Crap. The project is due on Monday. In between panicking and cracking my brains for a solution, I was numb. Then, WY and I sat and thought about it.

We do have a back up plan, which is to create a digital voice recorder without a memory chip. *Sigh* But it's just so irritating how we had everything done and now this happens. We've actually finished programming (but not testing) the microcontroller code. I know, I know, this sounds like French to a lot of you but I just can't help it. Sometimes, there are things I cannot explain, and I feel worse than you do, because I feel like I'm talking another language. I can't even explain it to my parents...they don't understand. Of course, not their fault. I'm the one who picked this field of study. It's so frustrating.

Deadline is on Monday. I'm really scared, but I'm just not thinking about it. I agreed to go watch a movie with some friends tonight, but now I'm wondering if that's wise, considering how I should be studying for my finals or working on two reports - one is due on 26th October, the other is due on 3rd November.

I have a particular team mate whom I dislike. No, he's not from The Island (those of you who know me will know which place I refer to), but he's my former classmate from home. He's in my team and I just feel really annoyed that he's not putting in enough effort. He just sits and say "Yeah, that part is working but I cannot fix the part which is not working." He's been saying that since last week. I just wish he would put in more effort. I'm tired of making excuses for him with the team mate from The Island because the three of us are friends. (Note: 3 people (myself, two friends) and the 1 guy from The Island make up the team.) He's actually studying now, when I called him. He's supposed to be coding instead! I know, exams are near, but the project is even nearer. Unless you call him and tell him, he makes no effort to contact any of us about when we're meeting up. Unless I print out all the important notes and coding examples, he doesn't even TRY to code it himself.

And this is Java we're talking about. Hell, Java is a piece of cake compared to Embedded C Programming for Microcontrollers (that's what I'm doing). I really wish he'd try before he calls me and complains that it's not working. What do I do? I know Java, but I've never done Serial Port Programming in Java myself. I'm just as inexperienced as he is, so it's only fair he finds out how to debug it himself. It's his task after all. We gave him the easiest task, yet he cannot complete it.

I don't think being in a team with your friends is actually as fun as I thought it would be. Sometimes, I really have to control my temper.

Anyway, you know how I never sit around and mope. So I e-mailed my lecturer, telling him that I need more time in the lab. Technically I wrote something along the lines of how everyone's project is being attacked by 'Murphy's law' and that we all could use some extra time in the lab to fix it. If the printed circuit board comes on Thursday, then the team mate from The Island can complete his soldering work by Friday and the whole of Friday, WY and I can sit in the lab and test the codes we've written. However, the lab is closed on weekends and the due date is Monday, so it would be nice if we could use the lab the whole of the weekend too. That way, I'm quite sure we can complete the project, or at least get a working device. You cannot pass the subject without a working device.

He hasn't replied to my e-mail yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I also know he can be cruel and deny my request.

It's Murphy's Law attacking not just my project, but my life again - Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Maybe Engineering is a personification of Murphy's Law :(

Friday, October 14, 2005

Guess What?

I just got a call from my Dad :) He's calling me from work, using his cell phone, from work. It seems he's going home soon, just thought he'll call me for the fun of it I guess. Hehehe, it's nice. My Dad rarely talks to me on the phone, because whenever I call, the phone is automatically passed to my Mom, unless I insist on speaking to Dad, and that's usually on something along the lines of computer stuff, or purchasing books or something like that. Because I've always been a tomboy, I get along quite well with my Dad. My elder sister and him discuss work, handling people, banking and finance procedures etc. My younger sister and him discuss sports, cars and audio visual stuff. My Dad and myself, we usually discuss computers and handling people. Hehehe...we have this yearly thing where we attend PC-fairs in Malaysia and ooh-and-ahh over the latest gadgets.

Yes, I write a lot about my family lately because I'm a bit homesick. I miss the tea my Mom makes and the food too :)

I'm on the waiting list for a flight back to Malaysia on the 17th of November. I really hope to get a flight for then. I finish my finals on the 15th of November. I have to literally "move out" of IH and store my stuff someplace else until I come back. It's part of the contract it seems....I think I've mentioned this before in an earlier post.

I've been working on my digital voice recorder project lately. I must say, we have made quite a lot of progress. I just have my fingers crossed that everything works out find in the end. I'll do my best..and the rest is up to the man upstairs :)

I'm still vegetarian (until Oct 24th). I never knew Falafel Kebabs tasted this good. I usually ate chicken kebabs but since Falafel is vegetarian, I thought I'll try it. It is good.

A lot of people are leaving IH end of this year. It is going to be a bit sad because a lot of the people I like are leaving. It is going to be a bit of effort to keep in touch via e-mail. There's nothing like face-to-face conversations, you know? I might go to Singapore end of this year, for a few days to meet up with one of my friends who is leaving Australia for good. She'll be finishing her Honours in Psychology. Would be fun to hang out with friends, have lots of fun during this three months break.

If you're wondering about my internship, no. I got no replies yet. But it's alright. I've been thinking, and I have an idea. If I don't get any internships end of this year, I'll take any job and work for the fun of it. Then, I will extend my degree by one semester, and do three subjects for three consecutive semesters. That way, I will be buying time to apply for more internships and do my internship during the end of next year. Sound idea, huh. I guess I've changed in a way. Everything is no longer a life or death issue. If something doesn't happen, I'll just work around it. No use crying over spilt milk and whining over things that cannot be. After all, smart people are those who make do with what they have right?

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Change of Mind

I don't think I'm going to see that man about my dissatisfactions here because I have been thinking about it and I doubt he's going to be sympathethic or anything. I also don't think I can handle it if he turns around and says "just because you have difficulties adapting...".

Anyway, I'm in that lab now. It's 9.06am. The surrounding is so tensed. Feels as though everyone wants to murder the lab guy. *Sigh* Life is quite unfair.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

When The Going Gets Tough....

I am faced with a lot of challenges lately. I won't say they are literally "problems", partly because I'm being positive, and also partly because they aren't really problems. But, in a way, there just exists more constraints for me. The university has changed the lab hours policy from 24 hours to Weekdays, 8am to 6pm. It irritates me. It's pretty unfair to change policies slightly more than a week before the deadline of the project (digital voice recorder). I don't understand why when other faculties try to help their students, all mine does is make things worse for me. I'm given subjects (my study plan is fixed...read "transfer credit.") where I don't have the pre-requisites..and I am actually "teaching myself." I just find it so hard to handle sometimes...that I have realised that its not my fault, if I'm not doing as well as I'd like to. Maybe it's the school's fault. So, I'm thinking of talking to the man whom I spoke to back home, before coming here. I know where his office is....I have his e-mail address. Maybe I should talk to him...and tell him how unfair this whole system is being to not just me, but to a lot of other people. Tutorials with no answers, lecture slides that do not link to tutorials (no relevancy), study guides which are overdue because the lecturer was sick during the holidays (Hey! If I was sick, I would still be required to hand in my work, right? We women get killer menstrual cramps. Can I use that as an excuse? I have a sprained finger which still hurts. Can I use that as an excuse? So if its one rule for me, why is it another rule for the lecturer? That's downright, DOUBLE STANDARDS!)...just..such inefficiency that is making me do worse. However, it won't hinder me from still trying.

When the going gets tough...the tough get going.

I just have to do it.

"Nothing is ever easy" - Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander, Sword Of Truth Series, Terry Goodkind.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Yay!!

Hugh Laurie (Dr. Greg House) is Perry White in Superman! Yes! He's soo gonna rock :)

Click here for more details.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Drained, Tired...and everything else that's synonymous!

Yeah, I'm extremely tired. The weather is blazing hot. It's only Spring, but it already feels like Summer. I do not sweat as much as I did when I first came (gosh, that was terrible), but it's still so uncomfortable.

My project is going okay, but there are some problems and I don't know how to explain it....

I went to that faraway place again to collect the components. It was very tiring...of course, the hot, blazing weather doesn't help at all.

I have so many things to do and I can't focus on one thing in particular. I feel confused. So, I'm sitting down and relaxing now, then I'm gonna wait for one of my online friends to give me some feedback on this piece of code I wrote the whole of today. Let's see what he says.

Apart from that, I haven't been up to much. I'm still vegetarian. The food they serve here is bad. There was sand in my lettuce...and today's dinner was half a 'chappati' type bread...with 3 to 4 slices of onions, and a quarter tomato, topped with a teaspoon of sour cream...and they baked it. I was so hungry because I had instant noodles for lunch (came home at 2 something, ate and went back to the lab to work on the project)...so I was pretty irritated that the food didn't even fill me. Ended up eating a small cheesecake (the little cups type), drinking coffee and loads of water.

I hate being hungry...makes me edgy.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Long Journey.

I had to go to Archerfield today...that's like just before Gold Coast. It's really far from where I live. I took two buses from my place. IH --> City. City --> Archerfield. Archerfield is this place which is like a big industrial area, all it has are big factories and a pilot training place plus a small airport.

Well, I went there. Spent 100 bucks on components, only half was in stock so I have to go there again tomorrow. Oh golly, what wonderful news. Did I tell you there ants crawling up my pants while I waited to take the bus back to the city? And because I was sitting and reading complacently, I missed one bus. He just drove pass. I think because he thought I wasn't getting on. Hahahaha, so when the next bus came, I made sure I stood up and looked like I'm about to hop in. Oh, and the interval between buses is thirty minutes.

I'm worried about a lot of things. I'm worried about the project, I'm worried about my exams, I'm worried about design challenge....*sigh* I'm just really scared things won't go well..I just have to keep working at it I guess.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Finally, Indian Food Down Under

Well, I've never really eaten Indian food in Australia partly because my Mom is an excellent cook (I like her food but she doesn't really like what she cooks. She always thinks its not perfect.) and also partly because I know it's not that nice. So, today, since I'm vegetarian (for Navrathiri, an Indian religious festival celebrated with Goddess Shakthi in mind, she has nine different avatars so we celebrate it for nine days..but my family does it for eleven days because on the eleventh day, we have a family prayer session at a particular temple nearby..), I just thought I'll try Indian food. L and I went to a nearby Indian restaurant.

What did we eat?




P/s- L ordered the butter chicken. I ate the veggie kurma ;)

Keep On Movin'

Well, its Tuesday today. I just came back from the city. There were some nice pjs on offer at Target so I dropped by to get a pair for myself and my younger sister. Then, I grabbed a muffin and came back. I hadn't eaten anything at all since last night.

Yum. Just gobbled up a double-chocolate muffin and am sipping chilled apple juice. *Contented sigh* My kind of day. I have a class at 2-4. Otherwise I'm free. I'm gonna do some component ordering and ticket booking today, most probably. Then I'm going to clean my room (yeah, I keep cleaning and it keeps getting messed up again...I wonder how?) and put away some stuff. I have to pack a little by little every week. Although I'm still staying in this room next year, I still have to vacate. Office rules. Not much I can do about it, I guess. Just a lot of hassle.

I just called home. My Dad is wiping his cell phone. Hahaha, my Dad, the person who never liked the idea of having a cell phone. Years ago, when he first got Mom a cell phone, everyone was asking him, "Why don't you get yourself one too?" And he said "Nah, I don't even need one. Nobody calls me." Hehehe, the reason he got Mom one was actually because one night, she was stranded in this traffic jam and she couldn't contact him and tell him. I think he waited where she was supposed to fetch him for like a few hours. So, that same night, they made the decision, "We are getting a cell phone." I guess it was so that my Mom (The Housewife On The Go) can be contacted easily. Then, my elder sister worked and bought herself one so she could be contacted at college. Then, I started college, and after much "persuasion" (my elder sister won't agree, she'll call it "tantrums"), I got mine. My parents paid half, I paid half. It's our typical agreement in order to make the object "seem" cheaper. Then, my younger sister, at the age of sixteen, got hers. Yeah, she gets everything earlier than anyone else. I can't deny she's a bit pampered :) ... Very smart though. Myself, WY and Jon are all three middle children who agree that our younger siblings always manage to get what they want.

Anyway, then my Dad retired. We gave him my phone and my line because I'm here. I think he realised that he needed one eventually. So, when he got his new job (Cool huh. A lot of people are still in awe that he managed to secure a good job at the age of 55. I'm very proud of him!), he bought himself a phone. One of those funky, camera-included ones. That's how my Dad got a cell phone. I think he likes it. It's kind of amusing though, imagining my Dad using a cell phone when he never liked one. I guess technology does that to you...you don't like it, but then later you realise how much it "simplifies" your life.

It's my elder sister's birthday today. She turns 24. Well, if you're reading this, "Happy Birthday!". I still remember, we threw her this big birthday bash when she turned 21 and she was dancing so much, she fell. It was quite funny. Earlier this year, my cousin brother said something about a hairstyle suiting her (they were watching this Indian movie in the cinema) and she took a screen capture of it and got her hair done exactly that style. I didn't see it, but my Mom said it looked good. Rumour has it that Miss Fashionable has curled her hair now - not the whole head, mind you - just the ends. That's my elder sister - always in-sync with the latest trends.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Productive Sunday

Ever had a productive Sunday? I usually spend mine being a bum. You see, it's not that I'm not studying, it's just lazy studying..like: "Open the book...hmm...what song is that playing next door? Close book, search through iTunes...hmm, do I have that song? No? Download. Now!".... Or maybe "Open the book...hmm...someone's online..crap I haven't spoken to that person in months! Chat!"...so you see, that's how I waste time. I realise that lately. So, these days, when I'm trying to be productive and use my time wisely, I turn off my laptop, unplug it and put it on my bed. Seeing is believing, remember? Since my bed is behind me and I don't see my laptop, for that few hours, I believe I don't have one.

Yep, I'm an expert at cheating myself.

Anyway, today, I did hand-washing for two hours. Yeah, standing at that sink downstairs and washing non-stop. In between, I'd go dry the clothes. Ahh, it's quite fun actually, manual labour. It's fun watching the stains "die" under the hands of the sweet-smelling soap bars. Hey, at least I'm saving water (washing machines DO use a lot of water) and a lot of electricity, not to mention by not using the dryer, I am also saving more electricity :) I dry everything under the sun...according to my family doctor (years ago), drying your clothes under the sun actually kills bacteria. She said if you sun your clothes, chances of you having skin infections, fungus, etc are less.

Then, after drying everything, I came upstairs, had a quick shower, cleaned my room a bit, made my bed, and studied.

Then I had lunch at 12.30. Studied from 1.00 till about 2.10. Now I'm here, blogging my fingers away. Then, at 2.30 I'm gonna work on a practical for Electric Circuits. Wish me luck. It's one of those, quote David "Playing God" unquote circuits where you have to "guess" what's inside the black box and then build a circuit to reverse the effects. I'm kinda worried. I have no idea what's in my box, so I'd better get cracking.

I hope you guys had a great weekend. You can always send me comments/e-mails on what you did during your weekend you know. I like receiving comments/e-mails. It's okay if you hate/dislike/despise my blog..but its what I write. What I think. It doesn't have to affect anyone, you know? It doesn't matter if you think I'm insane, twisted, opinionated. It's fine :) Really. I have people who like me for who I am. I'm not writing a blog to please people. I'm writing a blog to please me....

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Wishful Thinking

You know how sometimes, when you know you're going to have a bit of free time, and you mentally list all the possible things you want to do..only to find out when the time comes that something else just "popped" up and you have to get that done and shelve your earlier plans? That's pretty much what happened with my holidays. I write in past tense because it's Saturday today. Monday, I'm back at uni, slaving away.

Ah, forget negativity. I'll be positive. Now what did I do? On Monday, I posted yet another application for an internship. Really, I'm not getting any replies and it's irritating me. Oh wait, I said "positive" right? Okay, so I'm not getting any replies and I'm not worrying. Hahahaha. I'm such a contradiction, even I laugh at myself. Otherwise, I studied a bit. Actually, more than I have ever studied this whole semester. Hahaha, really. I seem to have found some motivation from some small storage box packed away in some far corner in my mind. Yeah ;) That's more like it huh.

But considering what a whiner I am, some of you might be thinking, "About time! Stop whining and start working." Exactly my sentiments.

Then on Tuesday, I had a project meeting. Lasted about five hours. I like my team mates generally. Wayyyy better than last semester. Otherwise, I studied a bit as well.

On Wednesday, I had another team meeting. I had Japanese food for lunch - Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with Rice. Yep yep, yummy stuff. I saw this gorgeous slice of chocolate cake at a cafe's glass display - but I resisted. Hah.

On Thursdsay, I went to a nearby mall because I felt like drinking bubble tea. I drank bubble tea, but guess what else I found? Creme Caramel do-it-yourself boxes! I grabbed two, came home, and made 'em. Yum, they were so good. I did share with my senior resident and this other friend. The two of them are always full of compliments for my cooking. Hehehe, now you know why I shared ;) It's just nice to know your efforts are appreciated..by someone's tummy.

On Friday, I had a project meeting. Another five hours. I splurged on a large latte at this new cafe near my uni. It's such a coincidence, they built a cafe exactly next door to the building where I'm always having meetings + study discussions, etc. It's like a dream come true, but it's a curse because I end up spending unnecessarily. I have these cravings, you know, for cheesecake, caramel custard, strong coffee with only one teaspoon of sugar, cream cheese filled bagels, chocolate cake (still haven't fulfilled this one!)...I can't help it :) I guess it's just that I am a food person...and a hopeless sweet-tooth.

On Saturday, which is today, I went to another mall....had to walk quite far to locate an electronics store. Spent about 2.5 hours there, out of that, about an hour was spent walking under the hot sun because I had to locate this store which was located like..really really far away from the mall. Suffice to say, I was dead tired when I came back. But, the health-freak-you-sooooo-have-to-lose-weight side of me said "go running!" so I contacted my running partner, Miss M and we went.

I came back, then I had dinner, cleaned my room, chatted with some friends...studied a bit. Taking a break now..then I'm gonna get more work done. Let's hope I am productive from now on. I have exactly 1.5 months, then I'm going home. Mom said I could so some shopping back home ;) Ahh, the sweet smell of new clothing. *Dreamy look* I like the smell of new jeans and money. Hehehe. Some combination :)