The Remedy
Friday, 16 December 2011
Wow. It's been quite some time.
I'm currently perched comfortably on a porch of a double storey house, on top of a hill, in the middle of a Brisbane suburb called Mount Gravett East. It is now 7.33pm AEST in Brisbane. I've just completed my first week of clinical work placement at The Cat Clinic, and have another week to go. Rewarding myself with a chilled bottle Little Creatures. Climate's about 25 deg, with an ever-so-slight breeze; the kind of evening weather that you can describe as perfect. Quite obviously I'm in a reflective + blogging kind of mood -- which, doesn't happen very often as you can already tell. I often find myself reflecting, but never saw the point, or my thoughts were too personal to put it up on the web. Maybe it's the weather, or it could be the beer, or it could be Karnivool. Or maybe a combination of the three. Whatever it is, I shall make the most of this awesome vibe and keep this flow of words going before it ends.
I guess I haven't blogged for so long, it somehow makes sense to re-introduce myself to my own blog. I believe I'm a slightly different person now compared to when I last blogged. Not drastically, I assure you my SG friends, only very slightly. I think. Or maybe not. Well, it doesn't matter what you think, does it? Cos' I am who I am right now and as long as I'm comfortable with it, you can make up your own mind about me when you nxt see me. Pleasant surprise or not, totally up to you. =) So, here goes. Hi! I'm XJ. Final year vet student @ Melbourne Uni, 23 years old, loves cats, music, little creatures beer, interior design, tattoos, solo travel, night drives and food. 2011 has been quite a year for me. I've grown much in this time. I picked up guitar and singing, became a frequent gig-goer, fell heads-over-heels for Aus local music scene, got my driving license and a car, formed bands, tried my hand at writing music, faced housemate troubles, lost direction in life, got another tattoo, shaved off half my hair and only recently regained my faith in what I thought was a horrible choice of career path. All that and managed to pass both semesters. THAT I've gotta give myself a giant pat on my back. They say 4th year is the hardest year. No doubts about that.
The distant row of lights from the highway mesmerises. It actually is starting to get a tad chilly out here.
So yea, it's been a whole lot of ups and downs. Through it all, I met new people, made new connections. Of these people, there are a couple that made exceptional impacts in my life. Don't take me wrong, I don't even know them well. They are mere acquaintances, but they've definitely inspired me. I don't even think they realised that I've labelled them my personal life heroes. They'll probably find it really creepy if they do. Heh. With a giant ego like mine, you can imagine how few fellow human beings I hold such high regards for. One of them is my former singing instructor ('former' cos he's no longer teaching now and has gone full-time in being a rockstar), the other my supervising vet in the Auckland vet clinic I was at two weeks ago. I shall leave names out in case you stalkers out there start doing creepy things. I guess the main characteristic both of them share is the fact that they are really down-to-earth people despite being truly brilliant. And that passion they have for the things they do! They're just...amazing, amazing people who taught me so much without even trying. Won't go into details what I've learnt from them --- they're personal and they'll probably bore you. But what I can tell is that they've helped me find my mojo back -- in life, music, and vet science.
I guess everyone, at some point or points in their lives, needs that bit of inspiration to get them to see life in a positive, vibrant light once again. It is so easy to lose sight of what's important and what's not. Especially with the pace of life now. Time slips away almost unnoticeably, cliche as it sounds. So go out and find your remedies, my friends. Whenever you find yourself just trudging through life, go find yourself a quiet porch and a bottle of good beer, diagnose yourself of this wasting disease, and wander the world for your treatment. It is out there, may be a personal encounter, a person, a story, a song, a stranger. You've just gotta find it.
Right. Think I've reflected enough for now and I'm starting to shiver with the drop in ambient temperature. Time to head indoors and start planning for my exciting weekend ahead. Gonna do some travelling. =) If any of you guys are reading this before I nxt see you, I'm looking forward to seeing ya'll again. As much as I love Melbourne, I do have my homesick moments.
Till next time.
8:28 pm
A REAL new post.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
I've just deleted a chunkload of unfinished posts.
Hell, I've been busy.
Not an excuse, it's the truth.
I am determined to finish up this post and get it fucking published.
(Pardon my language. They say pple who swear more tend to have higher pain threshold)
Here's an EXTREMELY brief summary of my past 8 months:
went to sch everyday wondering what I was there for
cursing the lecturers
cursing my coursemates.
moved into my new (permanent) apt
hung out with my pals
HongKong SPCA placement in July
China walkabout (more like a rush-about) with my dearest sista
a gazillion Wii Cooking mama sessions at my place
Sleepovers
went clubbing for the first time in melb.
Hookahhhhhh
joined Singaporean Students Society, became a saikang warrior.
took up breaking and hiphop dance classes
a 21st full of surprises
inked up
Generally, I've been playing hard this sem. After the previous, I was hell bent on getting my life back. I don't see a point in giving up an exciting uni life overseas for H1s or an honours when all I need is to pass and get that bloody qualification. Like what my friend said, "we all become vets at the end. getting full H1s in school doesn't mean you'll be a better vet 10 years down the road." I'd rather make the best out of what's left of my studying years.
My 21st was absolutely awesome. My parents and sister decided to give my bld pressure a serious spike by appearing at my door that morning. Big thank you to all you guys who sent ur well wishes and PRESENTS!!! My gosh...really can't wait to go back to SG! I miss you guys SO much.
alrights. gotta go get some slp. Ta!
1:04 am
Change of Address
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Hey dudes, I've moved. So if you're planning to send some love over, pls send it to the following add:
2112/63 Whiteman Street
Southbank, VIC 3006
Melbourne, Australia.
Cheers. Hope you guys are surviving well. Another bz term has started. Catch up wit'ya'll EOY.
Ciao.
3:06 am
In a mess
Monday, 11 May 2009
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE, XJ?????????Fucked. So fucked up. Shit mood again. For the 100th time this year.
I wish for the trillionth time that I didn't get the award. Cos you know what? That's NOT me. Without it, I think i'll go easier on myself. And everyone else ard me. Pretending to be proud of it, is making me a fucking hypocrite. I'm driving myself crazy. something's gonna snap in my brain soon.
Real soon.
6:14 pm
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZEEEEEEEEEEEE
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Hi folks, I'm back (on the blog). I'm finally able to find some myself-time to update this blog and to inform you guys that I'm alive and well. Okay, first and foremost, my new address:
0032/800 Swanston Street
College Square Apartments
Carlton, VIC 3053
Melbourne, Australia
More Kaya, perhaps??
My mobile number's the same. I'll be moving again in May/June cos' my parents just bought an apartment in Southbank which will be ready for settlement soon...so yea....will update you guys on that.
What have I been so busy with? Let's see...moving house, settling in---getting internet and phone line fixed, new apartment finances and lawyer meetups, numerous trips to the bank, updating various organisations of my change off address, selling my first year textbooks, showing my mum around, taking up a one-day Barista course, orientation...yep.
Kaya??
Now, vet science so far...
I went for orientation yesterday. And this morning. I skipped the rest of today. They were going all the way to the Werribee campus for some dumb stayover. Old hags like me should go home and rest...heh. Hey, I'm trying my best to well....socialize more. Anywho, I'm kinda psyched up for the course now that I'm properly introduced to the syllabus and the contents of the various subjects. I'm gonna cut up a dog! Soon! Tsahaha...intense. It's a very challenging course...and the contact hours just get longer over the years. And LOTS of self-study involved. Sigh. I did expect all of these but being told in the face by all the lecturers during our introductory lectures kinda makes me SEE the amount of effort I've gotta put in just to keep up. Oh wells, now that I'm finally in, I better STAY in.
Kaya??
As intensive as the course may be, I'm somewhat glad there are familiar people who are gonna go through it all with me. There are like...26?30? Singaporeans in my batch. That's a whooping 25% of the class of 2012. There's almost like a small SG community going on here. I got a shock, really, to find so many SGeans here. Most of them did pre-vet year unlike me, who transferred from Science. Not much diff cos we did the same subjects last yr and attended all the same lectures. Maybe that explains why they're so clique-ish. One thing about SGeans in overseas uni is that they tend to stick too much to each other. Singlish do make you feel at home, but seriously, it's pathetic not to take the oppurtunity to know other cultures while you're here. And so my vet friends thus far do not consist of most of the SGeans. Not that I don't want to get to know them, of course. I will, eventually, since it's a very small class (only 122 students in my batch) and I'll be seeing the same 121 pple everyday for the next four years. I'm trying to be as optimistic about this as possible...
My non-vet friends are one by one arriving in Melb...yays. Hope to go Docklands this sat with 'em before sem 1 starts coming Monday. It's gonna be a HECTIC academic year ahead. Oh, and I must take up driving before I move to southbank. I'll try my best to update whenever I can.
TRY. I. WILL.
Kaya??
6:15 pm
别把老娘惹火了！
Sunday, 18 January 2009
After submitting my offer acceptance form for my conditional offer for the transfer into vet science THREE WEEKS AGO, the administration staff at fucking Melbourne Uni decided to check the quota for the course TWO DAYS AGO and realise that it's already full. And so they happily sent me an email, ONLY AFTER TWO EMAILS AND A CALL from me to get them to hurry up, to reject my application. Do they actually think I, in a sane state of mind, will silently accept this outcome that's beyond ridiculous with no questions asked? I say...FUCK OFF!
I don't even think they've submitted my results to the vet science faculty for processing. To think I actually worked my ass off for a whole freaking year to get an average of above 90% for my subjects...FOR THIS?!?! I'll be nuts if I allow this to be the freaking ending.
Come monday and I shall let them know 老娘的厉害。I'll make my name known to the whole fac and speak to the dean himself if it's neccessary.
I may not wear a band on my forehead but that doesn't mean that I don't bite.
3:23 pm
DAMMIT!!!!
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
F**K!!!!!!
Hanson's going down south coming Friday and I'M GONNA MISS THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHIT!!Why do they have to pick freaking January?!?!?!?!
Boo.
If only mummy dearest wld send me there for a day or two....
Tsk. Impossible. Not even if I spend the rest of my summer vac washing toilets at home.
WHY?!!!!!!!Forget it....I shall................hope and pray some more for their next visit to fall within my semester. SIGH.
P.S.
What's wrg with being MIA while I'm back? Since I'm back I don't have to blog to tell you guys how I've been right? And neither wld you guys need to read my blog to know how I've been. Tt wld be pathetic. Ring me and I'll gladly meet up. Otherwise, I'll be rediscovering the comforts of my home. Till then~
1:37 pm