Saturday, January 24, 2009


I went over to my friend Ariel's house today, after we'd had lunch at Oldtown coffee house or whatever it's official name is, and while there I played with her hair curler and a bit of her makeup, hehe. After about 1 or 2 hours of experimental curling, here is the result:

This is the first stage, where we just started curling the back part of my hair. First time, so yeah..it's kind of horrible. :P



This is after we finished curling it all, with a flower hairclip in the middle after I pulled the front part of the hair back. It looks nice here, but in reality it wasn't that pretty. :P


And the above is a few snapshots that she took of me while I was sitting on her bed. I'm not really smiling in the shots above, because she was taking too many and I was getting bored..besides, I don't usually take pictures of myself :P The curls looked a bit odd at first, in the above pictures, but later when they started to unravel slightly it looked better. We didn't get any pictures of that though since I had to go!

Not a long, particularly insightful post for once, hehe. Dinnertime, see ya!





Tuesday, January 20, 2009



Well, people, it is indeed official. For those of you who have been paying attention to my MSN and Facebook, you already know - my acceptance letter from Monash arrived today. I didn't even realize until Dad checked the mailbox because I was out all day last-minute shopping for CNY! (Delicious's carbonara spaghetti is really nice, by the way, but at RM26 ((including 10% service charge..so not leaving any tips)) it's kinda pricey. Oh, and Bedtime Stories is your typical Disney feel-good movie..nothing very spectacular there. Adam Sandler is bland.)
But anyway, yes, Monash. All of you (the few that still bother reading this blog anyway) already know my thoughts on it. I know a few of you chose not to go to Monash because of the price, and yes - 10+k in price difference is quite a hefty sum. But you know, it is education after all..you're paying as much for the prestige of the university and the facilities as you are for the quality of the education. I don't mind not buying branded clothes and eating out at fancy restaurants, but I do care about my education (even though my parents think otherwise!)
While the teachers at Taylor's were top-notch, sadly I cannot say the same for the facilities - it never really felt like a proper campus to me..maybe because it wasn't one. Also, I find that the UniSA programme structure doesn't really suit me. The thought of no more exams is fun, but honestly without exams it would be boring, and I would be unmotivated to learn. It sounds odd, I know, to actually speak in favour of exams - but there you go.
I will miss all of you from FICM! I think most, if not all of you are going back, so have fun you guys, it'll be odd not to be going back with you! I honestly never expected to switch universities, but I'm always a last-minute person :P I'm sure all of you will have a great time. Please send my regards to Ms Catherine, Mr Winston, Ms T, Ms Natasha and all the rest when you see them, and tell them I miss them! Monash is not SO far away, so I'm sure if you wanted to meet up, we can find a way. ;)
I will take away great memories from my time here at Taylor's PJ, but as they say - 'Look forward, don't look back.' I have no regrets about the past, and the future has yet to be shaped. I promise to come to your projects if you invite me! :P All the best, people - and don't forget about me!




Tuesday, January 13, 2009


Some of you already know what choice I made regarding colleges. I mean, nothing's been finalized yet or anything, so it's not even a sure thing, but I'm bored, coughing my lungs out, and I just felt like writing about it.

Yeah, I went to submit my application to Monash today. Bachelor of Arts (Communication).

I stepped inside the Monash campus, and instantly was like, 'Wow.' It really is all clean and big and new and everything I dreamt a real college campus would be. Of course, it also helps that it's new (just built in 2007) but really. Even my parents came and were like, 'Well, it feels nicer having a real campus.' :P

It's huge, spacious, modern and I love it. Although it seems a bit hot outside because of the lack of trees for now, but I'm sure it's air-conditioned inside.

Okay, for those of you (if any) wanting details. Monash is:

- 50% exams 50% assignments
- 8am to 5pm 5 days a week (basically Monday to Friday)
- 81k on average for a 3 year degree
- 30 people a class (for Arts degrees) and usually only about 2 classes
- 4000 people on campus
- 70% local lecturers
- may apply for scholarships after 1st year, to be reviewed semester by semester (if not a former student/A-levels/other accepted qualification)
- has all its Australian campuses in Melbourne
- has a really nice canteen with 1901 hot dogs and San Fransisco Coffee
- wow.

Heh, not too obvious that I like Monash, is it? I just hope I get accepted. :/ If I don't, well, I tried. I don't mind too much if I really have to go back to Taylor's, but you know..Monash is just so much shinier. :P But I really think it's better here too..I can choose two majors, so I can do Communications and Writing, or Communications and Journalism, or even Communications and Psychology/International Studies. And if you don't want writing, well then you can take Bachelor of Communications, which is different because it focuses more on event management and radio and tv - no Journalism at all. Then, after that, you can do one year of Honours, or you can do Masters, and such..Monash just has so many more options.

Besides that, it also has prestige on its side, which is something definitely in its advantage. It's in the top 50 unis in the world - UniSA wasn't even in the top 100, which is why Mom and Dad never quite liked it. It also means I'll have to work pretty hard though, since they must have a really high standard to get that good. However, I'm prepared to work hard - uni years never struck me as the type to be EASIER than Form 4-5 anyway. I practically walked through Foundation half asleep..doing projects last minute (shhh..sorry lecturers) and it was fun..but you know, I'm actually going to need these skills in the future. I don't mind being average - it's better to be average amongst a class of really smart people, than top of a class of dunces. (Taylorians, I am not talking about you people by the way, so no flaming me!)

It's funny, because before this year I'd never even considered Monash at all. I mean, I didn't even know that it was that famous - I thought it was another 'okay' university. Shows how much research I did. *shuffle* I can't remember who or what got me interested in it, but then I looked at the degrees, and went, hmm, this looks quite nice. And then I went to the Edufair, and got their brochures and spoke to the counselors, and then I actually went to the campus itself...

..and wow. Tao had a friend that told her, 'When you go to the Monash campus, you'll have to enrol because you'll like it so much that you'll want to stay.' That did happen to me, although I just really love the fact that it has its own campus. You might not understand why this matters so much to me, but ever since I went to Sydney in 2006 to see my cousin's University of New South Wales campus, that one was just...wow. I mean. It was like the campuses you see on tv shows. It was HUGE. And it was -so- beautiful. I always dreamed about being in a campus like that. Being a real college student.

Monash's campus isn't quite as 'in your face' as UNSW's was, but it's still a big campus, and new and lovely. It's really wonderful, and really looks like a place where someone can concentrate on studying. I sound like a fangirl of Monash now :P

I know some of you who know about my application have been trying to persuade me to stay. Hey, the application isn't even confirmed yet! Besides, now I get to persuade you to come :P Don't leave me alone out here!

All jokes aside, I don't mind, you know. There are some times where you have to do things for the greater good, and while Foundation in Communication - Taylor's College PJ holds many memories and experiences for me, both my parents and I know that it's not where I should be.

IF I do get in, I will miss all you guys! But don't worry, I'll still lurk around your blogs and comment occasionally :P

If I don't, then you don't have to persuade me any more, eh? :P




Sunday, January 11, 2009


Time flies.

Just one hour ago, I was lying in my bed reading a Sabrina book (I haven't bought a new book since Brisingr, so bear with me).

Just one day ago, I was at the Edufair in KLCC with Tao.

Just one week ago, I was returning home from Genting Highlands with my family.

Just one month ago, I was in Adelaide, checking out UniSA.

Just one year ago, I was beginning my Foundation in Communications course.

Time flies.

Time flies so fast that you don't even realize it's gone, until in a sudden moment of introspection, you stop, look around, and think, 'Where has the time gone?' And that's the truth. Time waits for no man. You may mope around for days, weeks, months, years, over a breakup, and expect everyone to pity you, but eventually, people have to move on. Things have to change, otherwise if the world around you changes, and you don't change, you'll be swept away. Even rocks in the sea get worn smooth by the crashing waves, and eventually become the sand on the seabed.

Time flies so fast that one day, you're looking at your little brother or sister, and suddenly realize that he/she isn't just the kid who used to whine and cry and beg to tag along with you, to join you in your 'big boy/big girl' games any more. Your little brother or sister has suddenly matured into a young man, or a young woman. Suddenly they start having crushes, start experiencing heartbreak, start going out with friends, and you watch and you want to protect them from what you've already been through, but them being them, as we were at their age, of course they don't listen. And suddenly, you start being able to have heart-to-heart conversations with them (which is more than a little bit odd) and you realize that suddenly, they're not those stupid annoying brats any more.

"Patience is a virtue." How odd that it should come from a little brother.

Time flies so fast that you learn to take nothing for granted. As new arrivals come, old timers must depart to make room in your life. You learn how to say goodbye, even though you try hard, too hard, to cling on to something that you know will drift away. Friendships, relationships, even life and death. If it is time, it is time. I don't know about heaven and hell and such, but the base idea is: Good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell, end of story. I am not particularly religious but I'm fairly certain I got the basic principle right. The only God I trust in is Fate. Everything is fated to be a way, and if it is your fate, it is your fate. Learn to accept it, learn to accept that the one who is gone has left from your life, but will always be in your heart - as long as you remember. Do not mourn the ones who are gone...appreciate the ones that are still here. Smile and be polite to your grandparents, and stop arguing with your own parents, whose hair grow whiter day by day even though they use dye to cover it up. Nothing can ever halt the progress of time, and while you have today, why put off something till tomorrow when you may not have it?

"The past is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today...today is a gift." - Master Ooguay

Time flies so fast that you don't even realize what it's done to you until you look in the mirror, and go, "Wow. Is that me?" Think back to one year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. Did you ever dream that you would turn out this way? Did you ever have dreams when you were young, that now seem silly to you, all grown up? Well, in another ten years you'll look back -again- and laugh to yourself at how silly you are now. Time brings change, and it affects -all- of us, whether you like it or not. Change is good, in a way..no matter how much you reminisce about 'the old days', without change, everything would always be the same. Then there wouldn't be any 'old days', because every day would be the same, and how boring would that be?

Time flies so fast, you wonder where you can store all the memories. Pictures, snapshots, blog posts, we do all this so that we have a little piece of history to remind us of the good times, the bad times, the joyful times, the sad times. All of this makes up a little bit of who we are, and without them, we wouldn't have an identity. Just the first 18 years of our lives, and already people are agonizing about friendships falling apart, relationships breaking because one of the pair has to go overseas, etcetera.

One thing I really admire about my dad is that he keeps contact with his old -high school- friends. When we were in Melbourne, he met up with his three friends from high school, and they were talking and laughing and joking like no time had passed. We even went to the house of one of them, and later all had dinner together before another uncle dropped us off at the airport. The way they got along, they might as well have been neighbours all their life.

Except Dad hadn't seen/talked to them for about 20 years now.

Don't you wish you had that kind of friendship? Don't you want friends now, who after decades of limited/no contact, you can just give a ring, and talk as if you were in high school again? Don't you want someone you can call on when you need help? Don't you want to grow with someone, to change with someone? So many people are afraid of change, but I say: embrace it. Change will happen anyway. Why try to remain static in a world that is like fluid - always shifting? Those who are meant to be with you on your life journey will always have your back, no matter what. Those who you need to work at hard to keep, are probably more trouble than they're worth anyway. That doesn't mean to say friendships and relationships don't need maintenance, but more than anything they should be a source of happiness and support, not despair and unhappiness.

Don't be afraid to -try-. Do let others influence what you think and do, if they are good influences, but don't let their influence ultimately become your decision. If you take that step, take it only because it feels right to -you-. You don't have to answer to anybody else..it's your life, and only you know how to live it. Others are good at giving you advice because, after all, it's not their life, and they don't know how you feel, how you think. Don't spend the rest of your life thinking, 'What if I'd done this? Would it have been better? What if I'd tried that?' If you want to, do it, don't second guess yourself.

The most important thing is to be able to listen to your heart. To be able to change, externally, mature, grow, go with the flow, but at the core, you still know who you are. Rejoice in that you have today, stop regretting the past and worry not about the future, for it has yet to be shaped.

"To think about what could have been is to poison the happiness we already have." - Saphira

After all, time flies.




Saturday, January 10, 2009


I have been sick with flu that came out of nowhere, so that shall be my lame excuse for not posting the UniSA pictures and info like I promised (even though I came back from Adelaide like a month ago...) But I'm posting now, so shush!


So, as some of you know, I have been visiting Adelaide to check out the University of South Australia. I visited quite a few of their campuses, so let me give you the (picture) grand tour.








This is me standing outside UniSA's City West campus. When I looked for 'Arts' on their website, it listed City West, so here we are!







This building isn't the only one for UniSA's City West campus though.







I think there are at least 5 other buildings, all around the same area as that one. Above is one of the buildings at night - doesn't it look exactly like in the brochure? Hehe.







More shots of the buildings - I think all these belong to UniSA. They're mostly named after famous South Australians, if I'm not mistaken. You know, those who helped build the colony, and stuff like that.

So, it all looks very nice, right? It's located in Adelaide's city centre, and the government recently extended the free tram service to a stop just outside the campus. So, free transportation, near the city centre so it'll be a bit livelier, and just a few minutes' walk from Rundle Mall, a famous shopping district. Great, isn't it?

Well, it would be, if it actually WAS our campus.

Turns out City West has ALL the Arts courses, EXCEPT Communications. I was pretty annoyed when I saw that, plus we were there on a weekend and everything was closed, as most shops in Adelaide tend to be.

Okay, so, I might have made a mistake, right? Maybe it's in City East. Let's try there!







After much searching, we finally locate the UniSA logo on the east side of town (duh, City East) and walk up to look at the sign...







Communications? Communications? Nope. Nada. Zip. Zilch. This was the Science campus, as I'd expected, for Science things like Dentistry and Nursing and other things.

Oh well, since we came this far, no harm taking a few more pictures. I refused to stand in any of them, because you know, it's not MY campus.







Okay, so, strike two, and it's still the weekend so we can't ask any UniSA people until tomorrow (Monday). But hey, Dad's friend's son Mr Loh (he's not that old, but Dad insists on calling him that for some reason) went to UniSA before. Maybe he can help us out!

He thinks. "Hmm..Communications..it's not in City West? Well, maybe it's at the Mawson Lakes campus."

And off we go.

Mawson Lakes is about half an hour's drive out north from the city centre. It's an absolutely beautiful place, with a lake, small houses, and a wonderfully state of the art campus, as shown below:










It's all very new, very sophisticated, and lovely. It even overlooks a beautiful neighborhood like this!










But, guess what? That's right - not for Communications either, much to my disappointment. See the letters on the yellow stilts behind my head? They spell 'Technology Park'. Yup, this campus is primarily for IT students only, which explains the very scientific look of it all. Which is a shame, because I really like the place even if it is a bit far out of town.

So, after a weekend of hit and misses, Monday finally arrives, and we hurry to the City West campus to ask where the heck the elusive Communications campus is. A friendly student helper named Joe finally tells us that the Communications campus is in fact the Magill campus (and looking over at the brochure rack, turns out UniSA has A LOT OF CAMPUSES.) Finally, we get the right one! Dad insists I call them to find out how to get there, and the helpful Joe gives me the number of the Program Director herself - Ms. Jenny. I spend a few minutes talking to the very nice lady at the other end of the phone, and after getting the relevant details we head to the bus stop opposite the City West campus.

We sit there for a while, waiting for 107X - the number of the bus that apparently goes straight from that stop to right outside the Magill campus. We wait for a bit, and it's getting a little hot, still no sign of the bus - so Dad, fed up, eventually decides to take a cab. It's a 20 minute drive to the campus, and my first impression is - well, it's okay. Not bright and sparkling like the Mawson Lakes one was, but you know, at least it's a proper campus. It looks a little old, but then again, most campuses do.

We follow the map, go in, and promptly get lost. After a while of wandering around, Dad finally asks a security guard for help, and he points us to the front desk, where a very nice (and I suppose somewhat cute) guy takes us to the desk for Communications. (No, I don't have pictures of him)







I ask the ladies working there if I could get a tour or something, and they stare at me - tours aren't something that is normally done here, I can tell. Eventually they make a few calls and point me to the Marketing Director, or some equivalent position held by a lovely Ms. Christina. She agrees to meet me at very short notice, takes me and my parents into a room and talks to me for a while. When she learns that I'm interested in doing Communications, she calls in the Head of Communications and Media Management degree - Ms. Rosie Paradiso. Ms. Paradiso spends more time sitting with me, outlining the courses, and turns out there are far more choices here in UniSA than there ever would be in Taylors. It's a real shame, I should just go over there next year..darn braces.

Apparently, I can major in CMM and minor in Journalism, but that would depend on the types of subjects I took here. The course structures they have look rather different from the ones in Taylor's, which quite concerns me. Apparently Taylor's doesn't follow the UniSA course 100%, which is, I suppose, why some students have difficulty coping when they go over there. CMM is a popular course though, according to her.

My mother's worried about accomodation, so Ms. Paradiso then takes us to what I believe is the equivalent of student services. Here, they help you with tutoring if you need it, accomodations, anything that might crop up in your life as a UniSA student. (It's not actually in the picture below, but you can read the sign).







Here, a very nice woman (whose name I can no longer recall at the moment, so sorry!) volunteers to spend an hour with my mother and I scrolling through all the different kinds of accomodations available for UniSA Magill campus students. UniSA has no on-campus hostels, but the two nearest hostels are private owned and rather expensive. There are a number of different housing options, although most of them are quite pricey (220++) and for some of those, it doesn't even include utility bills (electricity, water, telephone) not to mention food. What, I can't live on air and water!

The only option that seemed reasonable was a longhouse type of deal, where you have your own room, a communal bathroom (don't know about that one) and everybody has dinner together, which usually is 3 dishes with rice, and mostly Asian fare. The lady said this was a good option because it was 180++ if I'm not mistaken, and that included utility bills AND food, which means I can concentrate on studying. (And not have to cook!) Mom did seem to like that one. She said the people who lived there were mostly international students, too, but you had to book early because there was always no room.

After the house-searching, she called Ms. Christina back in to give us a tour! I felt really bad, making Ms. Christina come down all the way to give us a tour (and they don't do this often) but she went, no, no, you've come all this way, the least I can do is show you around. (Seriously, Australians are the nicest people ever.)

They have a few blocks where classrooms are held, so here's one of them sheltered by trees:







I believe there are lecture theatres there as well, if I'm not mistaken.

Below are more examples of classrooms:







Time to move on to a student's favourite place - the cafeteria! This is the outside of the cafeteria.




And below is the inside! The black things on the circular table are computers. Ms Christina called them 'computer pools' (or was it barns? I can't quite remember) and apparently there are quite a few around the school.




There is a cafe in the cafeteria, but the food is pretty pricey, so Ms. Christina suggested that we bring our own lunches. My brother -really- liked the salad though.










After that, we went on a tour around the building. It was mostly closed because it was the holidays for the degree students, but we managed to have a look around anyway. The Television Studio in the Journalism department: (And that's half of Ms Christina!)








Well, at least they use actual televisions!

Then the Journalism newsroom:




And finally, another computer pool/barn.




I don't know about you guys, but to be completely, brutally honest, I felt a bit let down by this campus. It doesn't seem too bad, and certainly the staff were very, very nice, but I don't know..I expected something a little more..high-tech? Polished? Well, either way. I've probably gotten used to dreaming of a campus like University of New South Wales..I went there 3 years ago to visit my cousin, and wow..it was a campus like the type you only have in tv shows. Why can't I have a campus like that?! Accomodation isn't very easy to get either, but I suppose that's a common problem - it's probably worse in Melbourne.



Well, like Ms Catherine says, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Which is why I've held off on registering for degree for now. Instead, I am considering:



I really like Monash, because 1. It has prestige, and 2. It's really got a huge load of options. There's even a double degree in Bachelor of Business and Commerce/ Bachelor of Communication, which is very tempting. Plus, its transfer campus is in Melbourne!

The only thing holding me back is the price, which is, unfortunately, a rather big stumbling block. On average, it costs RM27000 (that's right, three 0s) for ONE YEAR at the college. Degrees are usually 3 years, so you do the math..RM81k for your entire degree. As if that's not bad enough, the guy at the Edufair in KLCC said that if you transfer to the Melbourne campus, you pay the same number - but in AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS.

27000 AUD = roughly RM 59400. FOR ONE YEAR. And that's just the course fees!

KDU I heard was well-known for its Communication courses, but according to lowyat.net forumgoers, its standard has been dropping lower and lower. In fact, ironically, Taylor's or IATC was recommended for a person who wanted to switch OUT of KDU. Apparently it's RM72k for the whole course there, which is about 9k cheaper than Monash. I'd rather pay the extra 9k for the prestige, but then again it's not my money, so I can't really say. KDU also doesn't really appeal to me, for some reason. Maybe it's because it's twinning university is University of Murdoch, in Perth (even though they say they have a building full of multimedia equipment) or the rather shabby DU campus, but still.

Taylor's apparently doesn't publish its fees, so does anyone know how much the degrees cost? I'd appreciate it if anyone who knows would send me a message or something. I need to decide where I'm going to soon - and this time, there's no going back. (edit: Apparently, Taylor's degree is 72320 for CMM and Journalism..66188 for continuing students. Thank you YJ!) That places it at slightly cheaper than KDU. Hmmmmmmmm.

We shall see.

Hope this post was informational for you UniSA-going people!

(P.S.) For those of you interested in Monash, the guy at the Edufair said we should just 'send in our applications' and see, although 'most likely' it 'should be okay'.