...simply said...

Yes! Exams are over! OK, they were over on Thursday, but I finally have time to breathe. Right after exams, stayed up all night till about 4am, just chatting and coffee place-crawling (as opposed to pub-crawling) as one by one shut up for the night. It was really nice cause the last exam was so tiring. Real 101% concentration for 3 1/2 hours, so that I could barely recall my name at the end of it. Stoned! Was in an exhausted, but happy state. Attempted to club at PJ O'Brien's but we got there at 1am, and by then Ladies' Night free drinks were over, and I reckon they made the music bad so we would get off the dance floor and start buying drinks. Didn't feel like drinking and I didn't touch a drop all night. Would have danced if the music was any better.

Anyhow, Friday I welcomed my new furniture (new couch and new outdoor setting!) which just look awesome now. It's amazing how furniture can make a place look so different. Also met Potential New Housemate, a guy from Lima, Peru. He seems quite nice, but like Phil, maybe a little exited intimidated by us girls.

And on Saturday, was out the whole day from 9am till about 2am on a wine tour then dinner then Mel's surprise party. Wine tour was great... down in McLaren Vale.. was a cold day (hello??? Mr Weather, it's almost summer!!!) and maybe we rushed a little between wineries, but it was a really good trip. I got a little car sick from sitting in the backseat and talking sideways and a little irritated at a certain somebody's inconsiderateness, but still had a blast. THe day couldn't get more packed then that cause straight after to Yiing Fei's party at her house and then dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant. And all through dinner, was attempting to plan Mel's party. Next time, one or two people do the planning and let other people know. Gosh.. all that whispering and toilet trips, of course she would know! As if she's not sharp enough... hehe...

So by Sunday, I was extremely exhausted. And Allan's music was having a great weekend sale. Of course, I couldn't go on Saturday, so I had to squeeze it in on Sunday. Managed to score a reasonable deal, and really, by now I'm a little tired of all that researching on pianos, that I just got the Yamaha P60, just the one I wanted and it was the last in the shop! Got a stool thrown in as well and a stand for cheap. Wish I had more time to look at sheet music (dammit!) but maybe we'll save that for another day. Then rushing around cleaning up the house and getting ready for the bbq. Got to use my outdoor setting! OH tiredness... good thing people left early-ish, and it wasn't yet another late night. Attempted to write my Pharmaceutics report that is due pretty soon, but passed out at 8.30 and didn't get up till 8.30 the next morning.

So yes, it was a very packed weekend and all I wanna do now is relax and do nothing (maybe clean up my room) but have to get ready for lunch with Josh before he heads back to Canada (in time for winter *snicker*) and then getting my hair cut after a long, long time.

Maybe tomorrow I relax.............................

No one has updated their blog this weekend. My life....... is so.........void..............empty....................dark......................need............... bloggggg.............................

Ok yea what else is there to do when you're chained to your desk in eager anticipation of the wonderful torture invention, exams.

So Mark got creative again last night. Some wrap thing made with Danish fetta, baby spinach, capers, and SALMON was on the menu. I usually thoroughly enjoy his meals, but yesterday something just wasn't right. Maybe it was the bread... some dry-ish Lebanese bread that made my teeth hurt and the raw onions just killed me. I don't particularly like onions raw, but they've never made me want to dry-retch like they did yesterday. I felt horrible for doing it, but couldn't let all that wonderful salmon go to waste, so I sat there, picking / digging out all the onions. Of course I missed a few and the smell and taste made my head spin. Tried some mango for dessert, hoping to make the whole onion sensation go away, but it didn't work. So there I was, sitting trying to concentrate on Fluorescence Spectroscopy, feeling sorry for myself every time my tummy turned. In the end, I had to go lie down and my tummy was making some wierd noises. So much for the nice Saturday dinner. Was considering getting a bucket or something, cause there's not been many times in my life i've seriously felt on the verge of throwing up.

I didn't feel well the whole night, and I've been to the loo a few times today already, and even after breakfast, my stomach is still whinging. What's wrong with me?? Is it psychological. I'm pretty sure it is. Yuck. It's put me off onion even more. I guess never having to chop the stinkin things are fine with me.

On the same note, I made rice porridge not too long ago and of course put lots of spring onion in it. That totally ruined it, although I don't ever remember being so adverse to spring onion or onions for that matter.

Ok, gotta stop thinking about onions now. I feel like I can practically smell them now and it makes me wanna faint. =P

Is this what morning sickness feels like???

it's that time of the semester again... when i can't stop thinking of the millions of things i want to do when i'm done with exams. Exams... lovely things that fill my life. I'm sure every student knows what i'm talking about. Wish i could go back to primary school where one didn't need to study to ace exams.

I've been too slack about exams for too long. OK, for me, studying overseas is not just an open door to better jobs, but also a whole big fat experience. It's when i finally realised what i'm capable of, and what i'm not. No one telling me 'Quin, are you crazy?? No way you can do that!!!'. If i make bad decisions, it's all my problem. No one to blame. And i like that. Looking back, I sorta amaze myself while being exited about what is in store for me next.

I think i have become so much more responsible that I've ever been. I never used to make my bed back home, just because I HAD to. Now, most mornings, I HAVE to make my bed, just because i think it looks nice and because I WANT to. I thought the liberty of being here would send me into the far reaches of irresponsibleness but quite the opposite. I have to be my own discipliner

But exams... the one thing i feel are so out of my control. High school seemed like a breeze and things were only diffiult cause I set my bar so high. As Sandy and I agreee, grades seem like only a part of life now, not ALL of it. And I reckon that is so much healthier. After you've got your first job, no one really cares about how many HDs you got back at uni. In fact, your charisma and personality and .. general knowledge gets you further. And other stuff like responsibility, punctuality, all the wonderful stuff I realise employers are after in my continuous search for jobs. Once I got hired just because my employer was fascinated with my piano and taekwondo skills. heheh...

I can't wait to go home. I wonder if I'll go home next year, but I think i will consider going home in July instead. We'll see.... If I have saved up enough... Euro trip might be in the bag. Just a thought anyways.


Back to peptidoglycans and autoclaving now. ciauz!

Gotta love a song when it's dedicated to you. Gotta love it more when the singer is Irish. Gotta love it love it love it when it's original!


Black Is the Colour
by Christy Moore



Black is the colour of my true love's hair,
Her lips are like some roses fair,
She's the sweetest smile, And the gentlest hands,
I love the ground, Whereon she stands.

I love my love and well she knows,
I love the ground, whereon she goes,
I wish the day, it soon would come,
When she & I could be as one.

Black is the colour of my true love's hair,
Her lips are like some roses fair,
She's the sweetest smile, And the gentlest hands,
I love the ground, Whereon she stands.

I go to the Clyde and I mourn and weep,
For satisfied, I ne'er can be,
I write her a letter, just a few short lines,
And suffer death, a thousand times.

(Guitar)

Black is the colour of my true love's hair,
Her lips are like some roses fair,
She's the sweetest smile, And the gentlest hands,
I love the ground, Whereon she stands.

I don't watch horror movies. I don't watch scary movies. I don't watch anything that involves anything vaguely terrifying. My heart raced everytime I took a shower a year after watching IT when I was 8. The Gremlins didn't help either.

But of course, I went to watch Wolf Creek. Consented purely because I didn't know anything about it, and needed a study break. Of course Mark would be by my side, so no need to be (too) scared. It is not only an Australian production, but South Australian so.. support the local film industry.

Movie started of slow, about 3 backpackers, an Aussie guy and 2 Brit girls, on the way to Darwin then Cairns from Broome. Very realistic cinematography - on one hand, you feel like you're right there with them, on the other hand, I was getting a little giddy from the car ride.

Not to spill too much about the story, but holy crap. Any movie that moves you and makes you recall the story line plot by plot as well as well as leaves you thinking and talking about it for days after has to be good. Even worse than the gore that the movie is so abundant with is the shock at the absense of humanity.. a soul in some people. In fact, it is hard to believe they are human.

I was trying to seperate my eyes from my mind but from a certain point in the movie till the end, my heart was furiously pounding. Good thing I could turn my head away and good thing Mark was there or I am very certain I would have walked out halfway through. The whole night after the movie, my stomach turned and turned and I wished I didn't have such a strong stomach so I could puke. Scenes stuck in my head. That laugh. I felt Mark's hand and for once, it was ice cold. Glad I wasn't the only one feeling it.

For some realistic horror, in a movie with a low budget yet superbly produced, and first class actors, Wolf Creek is the movie to catch. Hey all that outback scenery is amazing! Disturbing as it is, it is always good to have a movie that is not so predictable and is just so raw and honest.