New year resolutions!

Since everyone has been setting their new year resolutions I thought that I should set some for myself for the new year 2012. So here goes! 1. Keep up my good grades while studying my new course. 2. Find a new job (had to quit my old job in order to go on this holiday do when I get back I will be unemployed...anyone looking for a hardworking employee??) 3. Save up more money (hopefully can reach $15,000 dollars of saving) 4. Buy less clothes...I finally admit I have a lot of clothes.. 5. Travel more and see more fun and exciting things. 6. Treat my friends better hehe I think I've been neglecting them lately and will definitely try to spend more time hanging out with them! 7. Make lots of new friends both locally and overseas! 8. Spoil the people who I love and are most important to me 9. Be more independent and less like a kid hehe I need to learn to take on more responsibility 10. Stay motivated to go gym and to get a six pack! (I've had this goal for many many years but still not achieved.... =( Hopefully I can do all those things by the end of 2012...my most important ones are definitely 5-8 hehe and maybe 10 too haha but when I look back next year I want to have done at least 80% of the goals I set out! Come on! I can do this!! What's your new year resolution? :D

New Year = New Beginnings

Greetings from Hong Kong! I haven't blogged in quite a while but you can't blame me since I have been overseas in Malaysia and Singapore over the past 2 weeks haha I feel like so much has happened in such a short period of time that I feel like there's so much to blog about! First things first, I should wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Wishing everyone to have a safe and successful new year in whatever it is they wish for, love, career, wealth.. For me I have a feeling that this year will be a very good year in all those aspects! Well maybe not wealth since I've been spending so much money lately hahaha but the other two I have a very good feeling! :D before the new year has even started, good things have already started happening :D I recently rekindled my friendship with a person who I haven't spoken to ever since August/September of 2010 due to unfortunat circumstances. But even after all that time and the things that has happened between us (maybe i will blog about it one day haha) we still managed to just hit it off when I asked him to join me in Singapore! I'm still amazed at how just one message could bring two people who once didn't really like each other that much and make them the best of friends. It's these sorts of friendships that need to be valued as these are the ones that I hope to keep until the day I die. :D hopefully this time, my friend will be here to stay! I will have to blog about my travels soon...but it's so inconvenient to blog on the phone since I don't know how to attach photos or make the post look nice so I'm guessing it will have to wait till I get home. But Il be sure to blog about all the fun times I've had on this trip with all my loved ones!! Stay tuned!

Nice Song To Share On A Happy Night

Its my birthday tomorrow! I am feeling so hyperactive at the moment, thinking about all the good things that are happening to my life :D Its funny how a few months ago, I was thinking how shit my life was, and that everything was fallen apart and theres nothing to look forward to in life. Right now, I feel like I'm on top of the world since so many good things are happening.

1. Birthday tomorrow and to celebrate we are going to all you can eat korean BBQ...mmmmm i love korean bbq!
2. Celebrating my birthday with all my close friends on saturday and i've organised dinner and a bar tab so its going to be messy! I cant wait to just go out clubbing and hanging out with all my close friends
3. Been dedicated to my gym-ing. I've going about 5 times a week and its paying off. I've already lost about a kilo in one week and I feel so much more energetic and just want to go out and do stuff! Ive even decided to keep it up while I'm overseas so i dont gain *too* much weight while im eating like crazy when im gone.
4. Finished all my assessment for my degree and only 2 exams stand in my way of graduating and putting B.Pharm next to my name
5. In 2 months time, I'll be in malaysia and travelling to singapore, hong kong and macau!  I am so excited about meeting new people, having fun, seeing new places, eating new things, and just doing new things. I've got most of my accommodation and itinerary sorted out. Although I do have to dilemma of having minimal luggage (just a handheld) and having to pack for both summer and winter. Hopefully by then I would have gained a whole lot of muscle so that will keep me insulated! XD
6. Most of all, I'm starting medicine next year!

Seriously, all this excitement and I can barely contain it all. I'm almost jumping up and down on my bed with excitement. Anyway, I found this awesome song which I wanted to share with everyone :D  Hope you like it.

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Getting fit for summer

I have finally decided to try and get back into shape lately. Its true when people say that people just
'let themselves go' once they are in a happy relationship and that is exactly what I did. Although this was partly because our school had moved away from the big university campus that had all the sporting resources and gym, so all of us started slacking. I miss the days of playing squash with all my friends 2-3 times a week for about 2-3 hours. It was the best $30 dollars that I have ever spent on a squash racquet.

Anyway back to my story, I've been complaining about how I've been wanting to get the perfect body and having a six pack, but never really acted on it. I mean its so much hard work to put in. But I finally reached the turning point, when we got this new 'health check' machine at the pharmacy where it told you about your fat percentage, muscle percentage, BMI, 'physiological age' (meaning how 'old' your organs are) etc. Everyone went and got a check and after getting the results back, I was like 'nope, i'm going to do this!' Although the test was probably inaccurate and quite funny because the 2 youngest employees (me and another student) had the 'oldest' organs, whereas all the older employees had organs of an 18 year old. This was the thing that gave me the little push that I needed into to start getting fit again.

I like to think of myself as pretty motivated, except sometimes need someone to give me a kick in the bum to get me going. I've been working pretty hard hopefully to achieve my goal before I head overseas in december. Hopefully it will be doable. Wish me luck!

Succumbing to my sweet tooth

Over the weekend I have been baking so much for some reason. However, it has been really fun doing it as you all know that I do love baking. Its not doing too good for my diet, but thankfully I have a family who loves sweet stuff so I dont have to eat it all by myself and they didnt turn out too bad...

 First I tried my hand at making a Creme Brulee. I've always seen it on tv and had it at restaurants and they are also so delicious. I like how you just crack the top of it and then to reveal like a soft custard-y pudding underneath. Although it did take me quite a while to like make this one, it did end up quite yummy. I didnt get a picture of it after I melted the sugar on the top...only when it was half finished so that was kinda disappointing but it did taste really creamy and vanilla-ry. Mmmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'll probably have to keep this recipe so that one day I can make this again. Hopefully next time I can share this one with the one I love on a special occasion or something :P

Because this recipe for the creme brulee only needed egg yolks (a lot of them..) I had a huge bowl of egg whites. Initially, I wanted to make a pavlova with like cream and strawberries and other berries just on top, however, when I started trying to beat the egg whites, they just didnt want to beat till they were stiff and glossy. It just stayed a little bit frothy and was still very much liquid-like. After about 20 minutes of beating the egg whites, I finally decided to give up and just try and make something else. I decided to just whip up some butter and flour and just try and save my mix by making just a normal sponge cake or little cupcakes.

It was so much fun making these even though I had no idea whether they were going to work or not as usually I just follow a recipe. Maybe the fun was that it was from my own head and I just estimated what to use by seeing the texture and look of the batter. It did take a little while to get the batter to the right consistency and taste but in the end it did work out. Although we didn't have a muffin pan, our very first cupcake sort of failed whilst in the over as it just fell over and pretty much looked like a pancake, the other ones looked really good.

We also had some left over batter after using up all the paper things so we decided to just pour it into this big bowl and just bake it. It was a mega-cupcake. Though it does look like its very unhappy....

Move aside! I know first aid!

I have just finished a 2 day senior first aid course today and I am feeling very knowledgeable. This cert is a compulsory part of the degree that I will start next year. Since I will be leaving right after I graduate at the end of the year, I won't have time to complete this cert so I booked myself in to the first course available which turned out to be yesterday and today.

At first I thought it was going to be very boring and since it went from 9-4.30 on both days, I thought I was going to just fall asleep like my other classes. I was also expecting a very large group as I know a lot of high school students and university students often have to do this course as a part of their degree. But nothing turned out as I planned. There was only about 6 of us, which meant that the instructor could spend more time giving us one-on-one lessons about the first aid procedures, and it turned out to be so much fun!

First we went through things like CPR and DRSABCD and we got to perform it on like dummies giving mouth-to-mouth and he went through that procedure of what we should do if we are faced with a first aid situation. Trust me, CPR and mouth-to-mouth is much harder than it looks! The thing is, once you start, you literally cant stop unless ambulance arrives or someone takes over for you. The instructor told us that a group of people had to perform CPR for 2 days non-stop on a person before the ambulance actually arrived...

We then also went through how to deal with bleeding, broken bones, bites and burns and how to manage each of those if we were put into that position or helping someone that did. The above picture was someone who was severely hurt while in the..um...bathroom with a head injury and broken arm. But it was so much fun going through all those scenarios and learning how to fold the bandages and use which one at what situation. We also got taught about the what not to do in certain situations like during seizures and  choking or when someone has a car crash. The whole two days was just so much more fun than expected, partly because the instructor was so funny and kept making jokes to keep us awake. I seriously cannot wait to renew my cert in a few years time. Also, I would suggest others who have never done it to do it because it is so useful to know these sorts stuff because emergencies and accidents can happen almost anywhere and anytime that knowing one more skill will be of huge benefit :D

The Un-Stereotypically Me

With society the way that it is right now, there are a lot of stereotypes out there for almost every single race, haircolour, gender, age, nationality. Throughout my 20 years of life, I've experienced almost every stereotype and have been assumed to be all those things, even though when in reality I am nowhere near what my stereotype...Here are some of those stereotypes that I have experienced.

1. Because I'm asian I must be good at maths.
In reality, I am not good at maths at all. Throughout my entire high school, I have actually required a maths tutor to help me with my maths. I also have a lot of trouble doing maths in my head, especially when it comes to time and counting change. I cannot calculate dilution factors even though I work in a science lab almost every week.

2. Because I'm asian I can't speak or understand english.
This is probably one of the stereotypes that annoy me the most. I grew up in Australia and went to school here like everyone else, so my english would be just as adept as any other person with a western background. A lot of people also don't expect me to have such a strong aussie accent and have actually surprised quite a lot of people when I meet them. "hey mate 'ows it 'oing?" :P In addition, I possess an expansive vocabulary and despise individuals who presume that they have the need to simplify their speech just because I am Asian or speak to me like I'm an idiot. 

3. Just because I am from Australia I must have koalas and kangaroos in my backyard just hopping away. I have had this so many times from people when I go on holidays or meet someone who has never been to Australia before. I've actually been asked, 'So whats it like to ride a kangaroo to school? You're from Australia right?' I mean seriously? I mean some people may actually have koalas in their backyard, or see kangaroos in the fields and roads but I hate when they assume that everyone in Australia lives like that. We have cars too, you know?

4. Because I am Asian, I must sit at home all day playing computer games and not go out and do fun stuff. I don't really do much now since I've been so busy with uni work and assignments and stuff, but I used to go out and hang out with friends and go to the beach all the time. I live on the gold coast, which means its like 5 minutes away from the beach and I love it there. I remember my best times where either with my family or friends at the beach just messing about. But then again, I do play some computer games, so this stereotype isnt exactly untrue :P

I mean stereotypes are just stupid. Just because a lot of the people may seem to have those things in common, it doesnt mean that it applies to everyone. I like to think of myself as 'unstereotypical' and hope to keep it that way!