What's with Facebook?

Natalie>Chris: Chris !!! I’m glad that I got to bond with you and the rest!

As I scrolled down on my Facebook homepage, the post above caught my eye. I stopped scrolling for a second to look at it more closely. When I saw that there are 7 comments on it, I swiftly mouse over on the ‘View all 7 comments’ link and clicked it.

Chris : YEAH! We should do that more often!

Alex: What a fun bonding night! And the part where Natalie screams was so funny!! Haha!

After the second comment, I looked away immediately with disgust. Why they didn’t call me to go along together? Why don’t I belong to a group of friends? Am I not your friend? ARGH!!!!

With anger I scrolled down further, ignoring all those posts that are related to Facebook games and photos. I can’t help but to wonder why some people love to post something that are not important and to me it’s just all about seeking attention. One post reflects this:

Diana: I may be old fashioned, waiting for the right guy with flowers to come instead of approaching men but who cares?

To me this is a statement that shows the desperateness of a girl trying to sell everyone the ultimate reason why she is still single. Bullshit. Trying to prove myself that this girl is definitely desperate, I clicked on her profile to look at her previous wall posts. And true enough below are some wall posts that she wrote:

Diana: To make a guy smile any woman can do that, but to make a woman smile only THE RIGHT ONE can do that.

Diana: When I don’t talk, call or text you doesn’t mean I don’t think about you.

Diana: Bitch! The next time you wanna accuse someone a boyfriend stealer, PLEASE look at yourself and ask your STUPID boyfriend why he flirted with me first!

I just don’t get it. What’s the purpose of FACEBOOK anyway? Is it a place where you promote yourself and to gain sympathy? Why do people keep updating their wall post with silly stuffs? Sometimes I really wonder whether Facebook is still the social networking website where you keep in touch with friends without those annoying Facebook games and adverts.

Oh. Talking about friends, I clicked on ‘Profile’ and move the mouse cursor on top of the ‘See all friends’ link. I didn’t clicked on it straight away but my eyes lingered on the number that is shown beside the link. 671. 671 Facebook friends. That is a big number don’t you think? And it’s a big number of lies. Numbers that merely shows how many people I know, seen before, heard of, talk to and even those that I didn’t know. In reality, there are not many of whom I can really call friends.

With doubts on my mind trying to figure out what friends really mean I checked the dictionary that was pre-installed on my laptop;

Friend:

Noun

1. A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations. –used in polite address to an acquaintance or stranger

2. A familiar or helpful thing.

3. A person who supports a particular cause or organization

4. (in battle) an ally

5. A member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Why do you address an acquaintance or a stranger as a friend? Hmmm this is so weird. And so I checked the dictionary again for both the word acquaintance and stranger;

Acquaintance:

Noun

1. The fact or state or being acquainted.

2. A person one knows slightly.

Stranger:

Noun

1. A person whom one does not know –a person who does not know, or is not known in, a particular place.

2. (stranger to) a person entirely unaccustomed to (a feeling, experience, or situation).

3. A person who is not a member of the House of Commons.

Both of these words are not even close in meaning to a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection. Then why do I still have 671 so called friends on FACEBOOK? In fact, there are some “friends” that I am not in talking terms but are still on my friends list. Honestly, I don’t know what to do now? Do I remove them from my friends list or to block them from viewing my profile but still keeping them on my friends list? Or do I shut my Facebook account forever?

Being on Facebook really makes me think a lot. Questions like why do I even have a Facebook account? Why do people want to be on Facebook but then restrict anyone from viewing their profile? Apart from that, why there are some that put false information on their profile. Now concerning on profile information, why do some people exploit all these for their own benefits? Why some people waste their time so much on Facebook? What’s with Facebook anyway?

All these questions make my mind go crazy!! It’s as if I am trying to answer the question: who came first? The egg or the chicken?

Tired from figuring the answers to my questions I logged out from Facebook and shut my laptop down. Then, I off the lights and tucked myself underneath the warm blanket and close my eyes.

***********************3 days later*****************************

I logged into my Facebook account and as usual scroll down on my homepage to see recent updates of my “friends”.

Chris>Natalie: hey Natalie! You free this weekend? Let’s call the gang out together and have another awesome bonding night!! :P

Diane: there are only 3 things I love most : myself, myself and MYSELF! If you can’t accept it then please go to hell!

Alex: oh what a good game by the Germans tonight! With that unexpectedly good control of the game they brought England down 4 nail. GOOD job!

Looking at those wall posts I can’t help but to smile. To smile at the bonding of friends. To smile for the silly desperate girl. To smile at how a guy reports on a football match on Facebook as if he is the official broadcaster.

I can’t stop smiling. I have been thinking a lot for the past three days and now I know what I should do. I clicked on “My Profile” and mouse the cursor over the “view all friends” link and clicked on it. Then I opened each and every single friend’s profile that I have on a new tab. All 671 of them. Today is going to be a very long day I told myself as I start to type: “Hey you! It’s been awhile now! How are you? How’s life going on? Keep in touch ya! :D” on Alex’s wall which happened to be the first on my friends list. And I was still smiling.

***************************************************************

This story above is only a fiction.

Tired

Sorry for not updating for the past few days. I've been busy. Went out with my friends around the city ,sightseeing and enjoyed each others company. It's like we were out the whole day and when I finally get home I am tired thus to the bed I go and doze off.

Been spending quite a lot lately and as I foresee it I will spend more in the coming weeks. But I'll just go with the flow and probably save more when the semester starts.

Today I'm supposed to go out with my friends again but then I don't feel like going out everyday and have less time to do my own things. Plus I am tired of walking. So I'm going to skip this day and try to accomplish few things.
1. Reformat my laptop
2. Play guitar
3. Head off to gym
4. Study some Japanese

I really have lots to do in so little time. Haha. Stress. Anyway till here then and my stomach is grumbling because I haven't fed him. Gotta go and make something to eat now!

Sore ja!

G-Y-M

Today has been a productive day as well I suppose. Woke up quite early today since I slept at p.m. yesterday night. Haha. Anyway today I met up with Ming Chai and brought him to buy his own first guitar. YEAH FIRST OWN GUITAR! He wanted to learn for a very long time already and today his dream came true :D He bought one which cost A$250 together with the bag. I bought a bag too for A$15 as I don't want to wait till next week.Then we went back to his house where I taught him some basic stuff. Went back home today and guess what happened after that? I managed to accomplish my other desires for the holidays apart from getting a guitar.

I WENT TO THE GYM!

Yes you heard me right, I went to the gym today with my roommate, Ah Beng. I paid A$70 for the one month pass. Just for this holiday and if things go well I might continue it. Gosh I am so tired now, I didn't do much but seriously I am so freaking tired. After writing this I will probably off to sleep . I have to go to the gym tomorrow morning at 11 for an appointment with the gym staff to create a suitable work out program for me.

Some of my friends from Sydney will be coming down tomorrow. Guess more outings and trips to the city starting tomorrow :D Cant wait to spend more money!! LOL that was sarcasm.

Oh and I bought vitamin C and B complex as well. I think I do need them since I always feel weak and my coughing still doesn't heal yet.

Anyway till here then folks!!
Mata ne!
As you can see I am updating on events ( stuff I did today rather than pouring my heart out). Well I'm tired now so maybe next time.

Happy day and my new guitar!

Yesterday was one of the happiest day in my life. I met up with 2 of my friends ; Jia Xian and Boon Kent. Jia Xian came all the way from Tasmania with his friends and Boon Kent lives in Melbourne but he studies in Monash Uni which is kinda far away from the city. But we met up and had a great time together plus i did a random thing yesterday.

So I met up with Jia Xian around 10 and then we walked around the city a bit , stopped a while and have hot chocolate while waiting for Boon Kent to come. When he arrived, the three of us went to Lygon Street for lunch. We ate in a Thai restaurant and I really love the green curry. I think I have a thing for green curry now. Next stop we went to the famous Freddo's which sells gelato ( Italian ice cream). And after our lunch, we headed back to the city and wandered around.

Then i mentioned that I will be buying a guitar soon and Boon Kent suggested to me why don't we go to a guitar shop and just look through the guitars. And so we went. I looked around and it was quite a big store , lots of guitars in it. But I was a little shocked because it was quite pricey. The good ones I mean. So i went to the counter and asked for a little assistance on which guitar should I choose . The salesperson asked me wats my budget i said around A$500 and he showed me a Yamaha one. I personally don't like it that much and I asked him what if i increase my budget to say around A$700 ? And he brought this beautiful baby Maton acoustic guitar. I love it. It sounded better than the Yamaha one and it is an Australian timber handmade. I love the feel of the timber. It just feel good. and the next thing I know I'm at the counter paying for this guitar. So random right? They had a sale anyway yesterday and it was the last day so I told myself why not? The guitar price was originally A$799 but after the discount I got it for A$740 plus the capo. Apparently the one I bought was the last one because a lot of people bought this brand. And they ran out of guitar bags as well. Well I just need to buy one next week then. But I am so happy that I bought it.

Anyway after I bought the guitar we went to have something light to eat. After that I decided to put my guitar at home while my friends stayed in the city. When I reached home I was pretty tired and so reluctantly I called my friends and told them that I can't join them for dinner. I felt bad but I was really tired. Weak.

Anyhow I did enjoy my day yesterday and I have accomplished one of my desires for this holiday which is to buy a guitar. But that leaves me penniless to accomplish my other desires T.T well let's see how it goes. I probably not be going to gym after all.

Maton brand Acoustic guitar

She is so fine.

Ain't she pretty?Awww

My capo


Anyway till here then. I'll try to make this a productive day as well :D See ya!

Exams done, now what?

Hi guys! I'm back and I am free from my exams!! YEAY! I wouldn't say that for the past one month I have been studying very hard for my exams. Been slacking around a lot and after the exams I go "Damn, I could do better in those exams".Everyone would say that too don't you think? Well i don't want to keep on talking what has already been done. Let bygones be bygones yeah?

Before this I have been wanting this freedom from exams so much, anticipating joy and happiness but now those feelings are not materializing, not to the extent that I hoped for that is. I wonder why? I have 3 weeks holidays and there are so many things I want to do in a short time. Typical me. I've always wanting to do or have so much but in the end nothing get's done. I'm just greedy!

You want to know what plans I have for my holidays? Well I want to buy a guitar and let my fingers run wild strumming the strings producing sounds that are melodic to me ( maybe not to you and I don't care :D). I plan to go to the gym and some dancing classes as well to get fit and make my body flexible. I haven't been exercising properly after I gave up basketball. Apparently, my leg muscles are still weak, well, my whole body feel weak and I freaking don't like the feeling of being weak. Hopefully i will have the strength and willpower to accomplish this. Okay next on my list is to learn more on Photoshop and web design. I've been wanting to learn all these like ages ago and I never really get the time to learn properly and improve. I always blame that there is not enough time. I realize that but WHY? Why do I say that? Beats me. Then I want to go and explore Melbourne also, probably with some friends. That would be nice. You know , there is definitely something wrong with me. Definitely. I've been here like close to 5 months already and I haven't really been around much. Compared to my friends, they have been and explore to many places, know stuffs more than I do about Melbourne ,nice places to go and eat and stuff but ME? I'm still stuck in this city where every day that comes seems to be the first day that I stepped on this land : a foreign tourist. LOST AND DUMB. Oh and believe it or not I also want to cook. Yeah , cooking. I want to eat nice stuff as well T.T My diet foe the whole time I'm here has not been great I admit and it might have affected me in a way. Probably coupled with the effect of not exercising, these two might be the reason to why my body feel weak. Apart from those mentioned above, I would also want to study more on Japanese and watch,listen or read anything related to Japan like J-Drama , J-Pop and Anime. I think I have lots more to list down but then I wouldn't want to bore you reading this so let's move on.

As you can see so much I want to do in a short period of time. I doubt I would be able to do them all. Maybe some or maybe just one or two. No one knows.

I realized that whenever I am blogging, 99% of the time my posts will all be on events that I have been and rarely on how I feel. Normally, people blog about their feelings and pour their heart out as if the blog is diary. Well there are many kinds of blogs out there and deals with different areas such as food, politics , sports, tutorials and a lot more. So blogging does not necessarily have to be the medium to express oneself. OKAY, now you are lost with what I'm trying to put forth. Funny, because I think I am lost as well. Haha. I don't know how to put it but I just wonder why I don't express myself in my blog? Why only events? As I ponder on it longer I came with lots of theories. Probably I recorded more events on the blog because I know I would forget them someday and so this blog acts as a safe that keep hold of all my memories. Well, not all actually as I have not put up other events that have happened in my life and I regret it now. There are some that I just couldn't post it up or some that I find is not worthy of posting. Now I know that every little things count. The reason why I don't express myself out may be because that I'm not that kind of person who expresses himself out? As a person, I think I keep things to myself most of the times. I don't tell much stuff to my mom even when I was a kid. I wonder why too? Do I regret not sharing? HELL YEAH! But then, maybe this is who I am and I want to change it. Besides, I might be afraid of hurting others in my posts or afraid that others will know and stuff. It's complicated and I'm trying to express myself now. Believe me this is a hard feat for myself.

I have lots more to tell , share and complain and trust me I can go on and on without stopping.
I want to go on but I think that's enough for today. Cheers!
I want to be a better person.

Mei Ling's Birthday!

Last Saturday I went out with a bunch of people to celebrate Mei Ling's birthday. There were all together 5 of us; me, Michael, Chang Yuan, Mei Ling and Mei. All of us are the members of the Melbourne University Japanese Club. All of us met up around 7 and we went to a place where a bar is on the rooftop. It was a really nice place, good use of rooftop space.

The atmosphere on the rooftop

We ate pizzas...lots of pizzas haha

After dinner photoshoot! From left: Mei Ling, me and Chang Yuan.

Another photoshoot. From left : Mei, Chang Yuan, Michael and Mei Ling.

Some random photo.


So after dinner it was like 15 minutes to 9 p.m. and we were wondering what to do. Suddenly some one shouted " KARAOKE!!!" and everyone agreed. So we went to the famous K-Box in the city and was disappointed to find out that the price was $250 for a room, which means $50 per person. So freaking expensive. Disappointed but still have the desire to sing we went to China town to search for cheap karaoke place and we found one : $15 per person.

The China Town big sign.

In the karaoke room, Mei Ling and Mei.

Mei and me.

But then we were again disappointed when we found out that only old songs were available after we paid. But then we still sang anyway. Michael and Chang Yuan sang old Japanese songs and me who don't know anything sang English classics haha. But we had fun anyway. The next time I am going to karaoke I will go to K box but only on days that are cheap. :D

Came back home around midnight because Chang Yuan wanted to watch the World Cup. I don't watch football sorry.

Anyway till here then.

Should I go to the gym?

Grasp your English well, mate!

Suddenly I have the urge to blog and it's like 3.30 a.m. in the morning. I've been reading ; not only my lectures but on other articles and blogs as well. Most of them dwells on Photoshop and photography. I still have a keen interest for them and will pursue it further given the time and materials. Besides, I have been reading some of my friend's blog and I particularly liked posts that are posted by Nadira Jeannot. Her grasp on the English language never fail to amaze and inspire me. I have to admit that my English level is not that high, really. In fact it has been deteriorating like how business sales that are plummeting towards the zero sales is illustrated in a graph. See, I can't even provide a more accurate and understandable analogy. Pathetic.

But, I'm not going to kill myself because of this. I mean, there are always rooms for improvements right? So, might as well take this as an inspiration to write and converse better in English. Heck, I'm in an English speaking country and I should be on par with the natives.

Grasping English.


My photo manipulation skills sucks. This picture is definitely amateurish even to a person who does not know what photography or photoshop is about.


Anyway, I'm sleepy now. Till here then!!!

Cough Cough go away!

Hey folks! I'm back but I'm back with a sickness! I have been coughing so bad for these past few days that throat is sore. Besides, I can't sleep properly at night because I will be coughing like nobody business at night. Not only my room is dusty it is also stuffy, especially when the heater is on. Why is it stuffy when the heater is on , I hear you ask?

Well it has something to do with convection. When the heater heats up the air in the room,this causes the hot air to rise and cold air to fall. This proves to be a problem to me when I am sleeping on the upper part of the bunker. It is so annoying when I am sleeping and I am forced to wake up suddenly in the night with my stuffed and blocked nose.

Perhaps it's time to find a new decent place to live in. I have thought about this for some time already but I just couldn't find any cheap places yet. Accommodation in Melbourne, well it's everywhere in the world actually, is fairly expensive. See how it goes.

Been doing Latin dancing for a while now and I am selected to perform during production. This is good news although I still suck at it. But I didn't managed to get in to the modern dance piece. Sad. I was hoping to get into that one really.

Just before the semester end, I attended a 飲み会(nomikai) which is a just like a hang out party before exam and I met few new friends there which I shall mention here so that I will not forget : Blythe, Jun Xing and Clarinna. There were few more guys that I have met but after the party we never talk again except for the three names I've mentioned. It's nice to meet new and interesting people.

Oh and I have a desire to go to JAPAN!! Maybe next year during winter holidays!!!ARGH money money money! But I will go there one day!

I had my Japanese exam last Tuesday and it was pretty easy. I love Japanese. Lots more to learn to be fluent. I have 2 more exams on the 24th and 25th and should start studying now.
I've been relaxing too much now I think.

Besides that, I have been chatting to a good friend, Siew Mei and currently is going through a change of phase in her life and I want to let not only her know but everyone else who is reading this that life is all about going through inevitable stages or phases. A piece of advice, just remember to buckle up and wear your helmet as you drive ahead!!!

That's all for now! Cheers! And below is an ugly picture of mine!! LOL!

exams coming

HI folks!
Exams in next month and i havent started studying yet. i have one more last assignment and then can study d yeah!!! oh ya today i am having another speaking test. this one will be harder, i speak out whatever script that i have memorised and there will be a Q and A session with sensee. so yeah.
btw, for the last speaking test i got full marks. :D well its just memorising only.
anyway till here then!
oh ya i love dancing!!!!!!!

Lemon Cheese Cake recipe

I'm back for another update! Yeay! In my few last posts I did mentioned that I baked a lemon cheesecake with my housemates right? So this post is basically about the BAKE A CHEESE CAKE DAY! XD

Firstly, we searched for the recipe in the internet and came to a website : Baked Lemon Cheesecake form www.bestrecipes.com.au. You guys can check it out as well but below are the ingredients and the method of baking the lemon cheesecake.

******************

INGREDIENTS

250 g plain sweet biscuit crumbs
125 g butter, melted
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of caster sugar
3 x 250 g packets cream cheese, softened
3 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/4 of cup of lemon juice

METHOD

1. Lightly grease a 22 cm spring form tin.
2. Combine biscuits and butter in a bowl.
3. Using a glass, press crumb mixture evenly over base and side of tin.
4. Refrigerate biscuit crust for an hour.
5. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl until pale and thick.
6. Add cheese, rind and lemon juice. Beat until mixture is smooth and creamy.
7. Pour mixture into a prepared tin and bake in moderate oven for about 45 minutes.
8. Cool in oven with door ajar, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
9. Decorate with cream or strawberries if desired.

RECIPE NOTES

Beating the eggs and cheese can take a very long time - sometimes 10 minutes or more. Please be patient, as the mixture become more pale, the lighter textured the cheesecake will be. The low fat variety of cheesecake works equally well with no loss of flavour. I bake the cheesecake at 160C in a non fan- forced electric oven.

***************

Well there you have it ; the recipe and the method. You guys must try it out!!!!
Anyway below are pictures that we took during the baking process. I'm sharing the fun with you guys!



Me and Michael . Michael was beating the biscuits in a plastic bag. All the ingredients were on the table.

This is Michael and Alice. A lovely couple from England. They are traveling in Australia and will leave soon in July.

"I'm gonna crush you all biscuits!", shouts Michael.

Alice was beating the egg.

ARGHHHHHH!!!

Michael then transferred some biscuits to me to be further crushed. It's like working in a factory haha because of the labour division.

Me crushing the biscuits further.

Then I added melted butter in eat and mix them both together.

The biscuit crust. It was refrigerate for an hour as instructed.

The leftover biscuit crumbs.

In the mean time, Michael is grating the lemon for the rind.


Alice was lixing the butter, caster sugar and cream cheese with the electric mixer. We took turns to mix it.


An hour later it was time to pour the mixture on the crust.


I also want to pour!!!!


" Hey, what about me? " asked Alice. And so we let her pour as well XD haha


The cheesecake then was put into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.


After 45 minutes and left for cooling, it was then refrigerate overnight.

The final product. Beautiful ain't it? XD


Well that's all for now. Till next time then!
Ja, mata!

I'm the BEST!

This picture was taken during the Night Market last month where there is a booth that take free pictures of you and I just received mine two days ago. I would say it's a very good picture. I like it! There were blackboards available to write things down and I don't really know what to write so my hands just scribbled : " I'm the BEST!". Haha lame right but yeah that's what I did.

Photography is so amazing.
I'm impressed how beautiful this picture came out.

Anyway....
Last Tuesday I had a Japanese speaking test where I have to introduce myself to the examiner for about 1 minute. My introduction lasts less than 1 minute I think! Anyway below are my script that I prepared earlier and memorized it.

こんにちわ、先生。
Konnichiwa, sensei.
Good afternoon, teacher.

じこしょうかいさせていただきます。
Jikoshookai sasete itadakimasu.
Allow me to introduce myself.

私の名前はダニエルです。
Watashi no namae wa danieru desu.
My name is Daniel.

マレエーシア人です。
Mareeshia-jin desu.
I'm Malaysian.

しゅうしんはイポです。
Shussin wa ipo desu.
My hometown is in Ipoh.

２０さいです。
Hatachi desu.
I'm 20 years old.

８月に生まれでした。
Hachi gatsu ni umare deshita.
I was born in August.

学生です。
Gakusei desu.
I'm a student.

メルボルン大学の１年生です。
Meruborun daigaku no ichi nen sei desu.
I'm a first year in Melbourne university.

せんこうはけんちく学です。
Senkou wa kenchikugaku desu.
My course is architecture.

いま、日本語とけんちく学のクラスをとっています。
Ima, nihongo to kenchikugaku no kurasu o totte imasu.
Currently, I am taking Japanese language and architecture classes.

そして、英語と少し日本語を話します。
Soshite, eigo to sukoshi nihongo o hanashimasu.
And then, I can speak English and a little bit of japanese.

どうぞよろしく。
Doozo yoroshiku.
Pleased to meet you.

Well that's basically about it. Just a short update. Currently is being bombarded with lots of assignments, but I'll manage.

Last weekend I helped out to be a volunteer for a sports event. I became a linesman for tennis and the score keeper for basketball. Woke up at 4 am because have to reach there by 7 and the journey to that port complex is like 1 hour away from my place. I've witnessed a basketball player broke his arm on the court and some others injured as well. It's gross to look at the broken arm but that's the fact when you are playing sports. Injury happens when you want to win.

Well till here then.
Ja ne!

Japanese Club Dinner 2

Well, here are some pictures i grabbed in Facebook from my friend's profile. Her pictures quality is definitely better than my Iphone. Enjoy!

This is the entree :D

Yakitori..haha finally i can post it up

Vegetables tenpura

Main course : salmon steak


Dessert : chocolate cake


Me, Jordyn and Mei


Great people at my table, Jordyn's face was blocked by Mei's

A group photo in POLAROID! haha courtesy of Mei Ling, the girl in green shirt.
She kept it , scanned it and posted it on Facebook.