I think i need to change my blogskin soon...getting a little irritated by it. Go for something simpler.

Went for the australian open house for the second time this year. Discovered two more universities where they have the courses i wanted. Filled in the applications. Just went for RMIT for fun but i won't go there anyway. The costs is way too much over there. The other uni was University of south australia. The lady was really nice and funny. If i get into this one, i have to compared ECU and UNISA now. Have to get all of this done first.

Secondly, driving. I have yet to sign up for basic theory. Been procrastinating for a long time. Finally going to register tomorrow. Don't really know what's holding me back.

So far the good news i got a freelance job now, thanks to cailing. Hopefully i can do it cos it seems a little complicated.

Went back to hougang pool to swim after almost a month. Got freaked out by the 'swimming coach' who approached me the other time. This time i was with my secondary school friends and one of them brought along her friend who brought his friends. Altogether, 3 girls and 4 guys so ... quite safe. While we were catching up in the pool, i saw the old man again. Walking around in the pool and kept keeping a watch on us. It's really freaky but we told the guys. Funny thing is, when they're around us, the old man's nowhere to be seen. When the guys go back to their tanning, he shows up. Hmmm...wrong timing.

Tomorrow will be heading down town to do some shopping. I think i'll be doing more window shopping instead. :)

Listening: 'Smoke' by natalie imbruglia

Yesterday went to watch Star Wars Episode 3 with the whole family. Don't know how long it's been since we did something together besides eating. Pretty good. First star wars movie for my mom but now she's hooked! *evil laugh*

Some of the pictures i took in bintan. I'll put the rest up in my multiply album.




















From Angsana website. Had my massage in here. Hee!

Listening: 'Ten feet tall' by pete murray

What a beautiful morning! Just got back from bintan on friday and what a trip. It was alright. Got a pretty bad sunburn but it's all good after religiously applying witch hazel and aloe vera to sooth the burning. Had to cover up a bit with foundation before meeting zeren that night. Hung out for awhile before he leaves for bangkok. My face wasn't pink, it was red! Thanks to liquid foundation, i reduced it to pink. :D Ok, more about the trip.

I haven't been on a boat, let alone a ferry for many years. Was pretty worried that i'll get sea sick but it was all good. When we boarded, i got comfy and fell asleep. It was all good. The bus ride to the resort was pretty short and they had quite nice views. Slightly better than malaysia. There were only four people on this big bus, my sis and i and another couple. I think it's off peak season.

Arrived at angsana resort and spa. The people there are extremely nice!! For the entire 3 days stay, i say the service there puts singapore's service to shame! The people there are always there and you don't even have to ask. They come to you before you can even open your mouth! There was this waitress who took care of us during dinner. Her name's Yoice. Told us that she's 31, has a baby. She became like a mother to us. Always come to our table to have good conversations. We made a pact that we'll come back and see her. If one of us is absent, she won't serve us. Really nice lady.

The weather there has been pretty scary though. Skies were threatening and there were raindrops. It was only during my morning swim on the second day where the sun slowly showed itself. Felt alittle odd swimming cos my sis was under the shade, reading her book while i was alone with couples making out. Eeks! I'm swimming man!! No lah...it's their getaway so i'm the extra! Oops! The sun on the last day was even better. It came out full mode and my cheeks, nose and neck was red. Kept applying sunblock on the face but it kept on burning. Most painful swim ever but there were lesser couples this time. The kids came out instead. I became a 5 year old again. Hee!

One of the best part was the spa. I've never been to one, let alone have one. Fusion massage and foot therapy. It was part of the package. 2 1/2 hours of treatment and 1/2 hour to relax. Was pretty uncomfortable when we had to take off the kimono robe. In the end, the girls still saw us naked a few times!! Yikes! These girls are really small but their hands are powerful! Gave us a full body massage. I didn't mention about my loose joints so at one point where she pulling my leg to stretch my back, a series of crackings came out really loud. My sis could even hear it from her bed. The girl thought she did something painful but it wasn't....it was a huge relief! After that, they sat us down with tea while they do their foot spa. I have really clean toes now! Overall it's really good. Because of this, i can sleep like a baby every night now.

Alrighty...stop here for now. Will post some pictures up and more stories.

'The ride of your life' by john gregory

Finally 21 but don't really feel the difference. For the past few weeks, i feel more like some event planner and never really felt i'm turning a year older. Still doesn't feel like it. Appreciated to those who came to the chalet. Thanks for coming and for those who didn't really enjoy themselves, thanks for coming?? I'm glad that Sharifah liked her present. Worried it wasn't good enough but when she broke into tears, i guess it was worth it. *thumbs up*

Stayed up till 6.30am chatting. Marcus is really one funny bloke man. Cannot stop laughing. All of us were talking some good crap. :D Even though it's just a small group, it's fun. My birthday wish was to have the important people at the chalet and i got it. There were great moments there especially with someone opening up more. :D Another thing that came to the picture, a point which has always been there has been proven again. We got it right, Siti. It's more obvious this time round. Anyway, now i have a cough and i can't stop sneezing. Just had 2 hours of nap but i'll still sleep early. Zombie walking.

Gonna miss my peeps. :)

Listening: 'FNT' by semisonic

I need sleep! There's no more projects and all but how come I can't seem to sleep at night? I know I've been stressed for the past few days but this problem has been going on for about a month. Body's feeling tired and I go to bed. In the end, I'm tossing and turning like nobody's business and I only get like 2, 3 hours of sleep. Reading the Straits Times Mind Your Body and they have this article about burnouts.

The warning signs of a crisis
- Getting sick more frequently (does bodyaches count?)
- Feeling sad
- Smoking and drinking more than usual
- Loss of appetite
- Sleeplessness
- Fatigue
- Easily irritable
- Loss of confidence
- Becoming cynicalI'm still the sadist that i am
- Feelings of self doubt
- Lack of motivation, new ideas

I need a shrink! Marcus, i can join your club. :(

Listening: 'Helena' by my chemical romance

Kingdom of heaven. Movie about war and peace. The strategies that go about in the war. I say it's a good movie if you're up for history and action. Then came this morning.

I woke up to a piece of paper on my desk. Both my sis and i received it from my dad. Writing strategies to make the household different. Not that there are problems. It's just that lately my mom has started visualising life without my sister and me if we go overseas. Dad gave suggestions to how we could make her feel better and reassure her that it'll be ok. I have already carried out part of the points he wrote down for the past few years. I think the worse part is I'm closer to my mom compared to my sis. So I get it from her and there's alittle more responsibility for me.

Anyway, I was on my way to serangoon mrt yesterday and this man stopped me. He's in his 40s, 50s, wearing a business outfit with a bag pack. He said he recognised me from the swimming pool and he's one of the swimming coaches.

old guy: still studying?
me: just graduated.
old guy: NUS?
me: SP.
old guy: I'm from ngee ann.
me: You're a lecturer?
old guy: no...i was from there. (yeah, like 30 years ago?)
me: ok.
old guy: can i have your number?
me: What for?
old guy: Just want to make friends.
me: Not interested.

He walks away. Freaky guy man. He's like old enough to be my dad. Creepy...i hope i don't see him again anytime soon. Pretty scared that i might meet him at the pool one day. Yikes! Another bad luck for me.

Listening: 'I know it's you' by the crystal method

Yes shih han...i'm listening to crystal method. Nice tunes. :D

I found the problem that has been affecting my sleep but the problem behind the appetite part is still unknown. The throat gets really itchy and painful and causes me to stay up for hours before getting some sleep. Luckily i have the afternoons. Earlier this morning, i followed my mom to the market. She goes there like once in a while and since i'm home, might as well help her. I forced myself to have breakfast earlier on. When we stopped at the fish stall, my gosh...i felt like puking and my mom's like asking me what fish I wanna eat. I kept saying anything, crossing my fingers she would hurry up.

Had a blast with my friends last night. Went to sushi tei with ailian and jingyue. Ailian wanted to make up to me for the 12th and she owed jingyue a treat. Ate alot, took alot of pics. Really fun talking about secondary school days. It's really great to catch up once in a while. Got some photos in my multiply album.

Still waiting for the guy to get back with some projects. Looks like I better scout for others at the meantime. I feel useless siah.

Anyway, it's confirmed that i'll be going to bintan. It came through but at a different resort. Hehe! So bringing my camera there. Speaking of cameras, they came up with an improved version of the D70. Nikon D70s. 6.1-megapixel capability and 3D Color Matrix Metering. Auto TTL white balance with 6 manual white balance settings and the camera boasts instantaneous power-up of 0.2 seconds and allows continuous shooting at 3 frames per second. Sigh. Oh never mind.

Listening: 'worn me down' by rachael yamagata

now i have to make a point to carry a camera with me. Thinking of taking more pictures with the people around me.

Listening: 'Everytime' by la ley

The weather is really terrible! It's 8.30 in the morning and the whole family's hiding in the study room with air con and fan on. We just stepped out for a while and all of us were drenched with sweat. If only i have gotten that A1 for chinese back in secondary school, there would be snow in singapore.

But lately, i don't have the appetite to eat much. Forcing myself to eat and drink more water. Sleeping is also another problem. No matter how exhausted i am, it'll take at least 3 hours to fall asleep. I suspect the weather is the main contributing factor. I've been bringing in the hamsters into my bedroom. Fievel, the skinny, weak fellow is not what he seems. He runs on the wheel enough to generate an aircon going all night. He's been craving for milk like nobody's business. Begs for more after 4 teaspoons. The most i've ever seen a hamster drink.

I'm so happy for amanda for her latest treasure and shhh....*brittany murphy voice* i'll never tell....any of you.