Melbourne Day 3,4 & 5

Heh I got lazy and let 3 days pass before my next TravelBlog entry (so Jess calls it).

Let's start from where I last left off - the Caribbean Gardens.

30km out of the city (Yay to Shane's car!) and the best part of it was the conversation in the car, and in a way, how not-so-fun it was. It was so not-fun that it was kinda memorable. Well the day began dull and wet and pretty much continued like that for the rest of the day. We were walking around with our hoodies up looking so gangsta haha.

The Caribbean Gardens is like a massive fairground. Or, it would be if it was summer! There's lots of wide open spaces for picnics, a relatively sized water body for rowing/ feeding the ducks, a playground, and of course the flea market!

Too bad it was cold and wet.

It was also half-empty because of the bad weather. Which made for really poor pickings at the flea market... I suppose it was just nice to see something... Different.

We walked one round the half empty marketplace, and tried to leave. Tried, because Shane accidentally left his headlights on so his car battery ran flat! Then, while he was trying to call for road assistance his mobile credit ran out! Hunted down the pay phone, called for help, pleasantly surprised that the payphone gave out change :)

Shane: When I first came here when I was 6 it was SO fun. Then 4 years ago I came here again and it was... Alright. And today, well. (Are we noticing the trend yet?)

When we finally got back to the city we just walked about exploring the little lanes in the city (again) and we came upon the Church of Scientology!

Went in just for fun (But really, I was hoping to meet Tom Cruise) and met this scary-enthusiastic woman who kept laughing at things that really weren't particularly funny... I kept asking her questions about it though, and Shane thought I'd fallen into that religious trap. Okay, it wasn't a trap that was mean. But it's also not a religion. Ok THAT was mean, I apologise. But it really didn't seem particularly like a religion... More like a method, and a psychological method one, not a spiritual one.

Walked in the rain all day around the city and my jacket was pretty wet by dinner time. Went back to the apartment, grabbed dinner, let my jacket dry off, skyped with Matin till 11 when Shane came by to go down to Lounge.

We thought it'd be live bands because it said indie, old school, punk etc etc on the poster but it wasn't! It was a DJ spinning indie, old school, punk etc etc!! But it wasn't a complete disappointment. The DJ was Fuckin Awesome. I thought he was anyway. I liked everything he played and how he mixed it. If only I had a whole gang of friends with me, I might just have been tempted to the dance floor. But nah, Shane and I just sat outside on the balcony listening to the music pump through the walls and drinking our beers. Haha.

Had a little trouble waking up the next morning. Managed to navigate my way to a City Circle Tram stop to take me around Melbourne City. Hopped off whenever something caught my eye and hopped back on when I was done exploring the area. Here're some of my more interesting finds -

Cafe beneath RMIT Uni.

Aussie Mint

Couldn't resist this shot

Gentlemen's Club ;)

The Docklands

Announcements on Spencer St

'nuff said.

Chinatown - the only place where the street lamps have tassels.

Shop in Chinatown

Then had a mad buying spree at Cotton On (which is like their Giodano, except with MUCH nicer designs but the idea is the same - sell basics cheap). Thank goodness Shane called me then to stop me (and allow me to dump my bags in his car haha) Then we headed down to St Kilda's to look for Pelican but we parked too far from it so we just settled for Bala's that sold overpriced Asian food. These people seriously don't know how to sell Asian food properly. Mine was still alright it was like Mixed Veg but Shane had a cold prata with no curry. He had to steal my curry because when he asked for curry they gave him peanut sauce (the satay kind?!!) Then we headed down to the nearest bar that seemed interesting. Live music -

They projected random old videos on the wall next to the band (had a nice effect actually!). The band was... interesting. I liked them because their style was very funky, but the singer was... Weird. He was like scatting bboy style, and dancing all over, and singing 'boy-band' style with his voice all high and whiny... And going like "OOOOhhhhh gurrrrrrllllll..." Which kinda didn't fit with the whole funk-jazzy vibe from the rest of the band.

Well so we left by 12 and headed down to Crown Casino. It's a real nice and swanky place, too dressy for me in my jeans, sneakers and bomber so we gave the casino a skip. I don't know how to gamble well anyway. Unless they got a Mahjong table... But I doubt it. :( Ended up sitting at Grecco's for greek coffee (mmm-mmm...) and chit-chat. Then when Grecco's closed we walked down by the Yarra River (fuccckin' cold!)

Shane: Okay NOW how much would you need to jump in, clothes and all.

Max: Hell no nothing in the world.

Shane: 100?

Max: Nope.

Shane: 1 million?

Max: Nope.

Shane: w;lcvkj ONE MILLION AND NO? Come ON. 2 million!

Max: No way man. It's one thing to discuss this in a warm cafe it's QUITE another to put me here in front of the freezing river and ask me again. I already FEAR THE WATER. There's a psychological barrier!

Shane: But you'd be rich!

Max: Haha ok so I give you a million you'll jump in?

Shane: Yea just show me the money, man!

Max: Haha later monopoly money then you die.

Shane: Yea like I jump in then when I get out I'm like WHERE'S MAX?

Max: Run off with your monopoly money. Then I'll always tell this story, where I went to Melbourne and conned this idiot into jumping into a freezing river for a million bucks. Haha.

Walking along the river, we spotted random chalk-art on the ground! The pictures were really... random. But kinda cute. Heh. We found a cartoon drawing of a map of our location -


- and we went around trying to figure out which part was where on the map...

Fountain of chalk

Pimp Shane's ride (PLEASE? Haha.)

Shane is Pimpin'.
And in need of a shave.
And in need of sleep.
And on a roadtrip to Sydney! :( (Go forth and stop poverty, my friend.)

Been really fun getting to know Shane. He's had a pretty interesting life so far! He's like still water that runs deep (haha, corny) because he looks like the quiet (and possibly boring) type at FIRST then when u know him betta... Haha he's still a really sweet and nice guy too. After walking around Yarra River we went back to Lygon and ate (AGAIN) at Notturno's even though we weren't THAT hungry. I wasn't, anyway. Sat there talking till I was literally falling asleep at the table and then he sent me home and by the time I got bed-ready it was 3am?! Had no idea it was so late.

Well when I woke up at 12 I only got outta the house at 2 and here it gets dark by 6 so I only had like 4 hours of light to explore the city. After that everything's closed except for the places that serve dinner. And I didn't feel up for sitting alone at a table in Brunswick so I headed back before it got too late and dark and I might get mugged. Especially since I was near the druggie housing estate, without any mode of transport except trams that didn't go to my apartment and my own two feet.

It's quite nice to walk alone at night with Deathcab playing on the iPod.

Melbourne: Day Two

It was nice to finally get some sleep last night. Proper sleep, not sleep interrupted by a cat who wants to play fetch. Tigger (the cat) slept very soundly by my side all night which was rather sweet actually! He however, did wake me up around the time of 8.30 to feed him.

Weird fact of the day: Tigger needs an audience to get his toilet business done. I suppose that's good. I can flush it all away and disinfect the bowl immediately... ><

I'm glad I ate the food I bought at the supermarket last night for breakfast! Saves on spending needlessly on breakfast. Which is served about all day anyway. Angmoh food always tastes like breakfast. If it comes between two slices of baked dough, it's breakfast-y. Not that I'm complaining! Had really good food today at random spots.

First, it was these marvellous little cookies at a small cafe called Two Fingers. I was telling Shane I think they call it Two Fingers because that's like the width of the entire cafe when you look at it from across the street! I almost didn't go in because it was literally a hole in the wall - you walk in through the glass door and you see this long booth down on side of the wall with coffee tables placed at intervals before the booth seats. On your left is the kitchen where they cook the food they serve (cafe lunch/dinner types), have the counter with the cookies/tarts (all homemade, of course) and behind the counter is where the coffee-making occurs. It's like how you'd expect them to fit a cafe into a train carriage. Cute.

Anyway back to the cookies - They were these amazing Wagon Wheels-like cookies. It's like, buttercookies sandwiching a generous marshmallow (like in smores!) and strawberry jam filling. The top and bottom of this cookie-sandwich has a layer of chocolate crusted with rainbow sprinkies! Sugary delighttttt :D

Then, Shane brought me to this awesome VEGETARIAN restaurant on Brunswick St called Veggie Bar. I've never really been able to endure a meal without meat, but man that place was good! The decor's pretty nice to begin with, with huge windows to front the restaurant (good for people watching) a choice of tables and chairs or cosy sofas in the dimmer section, and an interior with mostly concrete walls covered in concert posters and wooden roofs, pillars and floor. Considering it was a place for vegans, it was understandably organic and cottage-y!

Wanted to pop by Il Bimba for a beer but it was packed! And it smelt funkily of cheese. I hear from Mich that they sell GREAT pizzas for like $4?!?! Only during lunch though, so maybe I'll head down another day. Il Bimba is kinda unusual - From the outside it's just plain concrete wall and a glass door with a Giant Lit-up Baby hanging over it. I was honestly freaked out, but well one thing I've noted about Melbourne, and Brunswick St in particular - they pride themselves on quirky decor. Which I love, btw. It makes for such a nice romp through the neighbourhood!

These little discoveries are so very exciting indeed. Spent the first half of the day literally roaming the streets of Melbourne. Turning corners along streets whenever it struck my fancy. I got fantabulously lost somewhere along Exhibition St when I discovered Two Fingers (as well as my whole hand WAH DAMN FUNNY SIA).

Suddenly reminded of that Nokia ad - It shows you the way to places to get lost in. (Something along those lines anyway). Couldn't be true-er! It's wonderful to be lost in a city's culture and sights and shopping! Found my way to Swanston St and there was this AMAZING vintage store (must be the size of River Island at Vivocity = HUGE) full of ALL sorts of 2nd hand/vintage-style clothes and accessories for men and woman! I bought myself a Roxy beanie for $15 and some vintage postcards. I would've bought more but I didn't have time to dig around. It's like House of Japan, but more well-stocked and better organized... Without the funky smell. Haha.

Then onto more quirky+vintage clothes shopping at Brunswick. Really starting to enjoy myself now... Shane's bringing me to the Caribbean Gardens tomorrow for the flea market! Should be fun eh.

Link here and on the sidebar to the photos of the trip!

Melbourne Day One

My first day in Melbourne. Not that alone afterall with Matin's friend, Shane, bringing me around! But I should probably start from the beginning, if I'm to tell a good story.

The flight was relatively unexciting. Emirates flies well, serves good food, and alright tv shows. Listened to the radio mostly and it was good stuff. Slept most of the time because I spent all night before packing (how traditionally last minute haha). The only thing that was weird was probably that it's Emirates. I'm not used to announcements being read in Arab first, then English. And having a radio+TV channel with the Koran being broadcasted non-stop. And a guy having convulsions before me and nobody giving a shit about him.

No offence to the Arab world, btw. I qte liked the exotic-ness of not being served by a Singaporean Girl, and the general feeling of something new.

But anyway back to Spasing Man.

This man in front of me suddenly started flailing his arms about and it looked a lot like he was having some form of a fit from behind (I could really only see his flailing arms) and it REALLY freaked me out! At first I was like "OMG WHERE IS THE STEWARDESS WE NEED MEDICAL ASSITANCE THIS MAN IS HAVING A FIT!" But 10 minutes came and went and so did one or two stewardesses and NOBODY attended to this man. That was when I pretty much guessed that this is somewhat normal and by no means potentially dangerous...

By the 2nd hour I was much less concerned and a lot more annoyed because he would hit the chair next to him and it was so noisy! I was really trying to get some sleep...

This is the skybus it's really nothing much just a bus that takes you from the airport to the city.

This is where the skybus takes you to, whereupon you take the city shuttle to a hotel in town. Unfortunately I was there at 3am and the earliest shuttle is at 6am... So I called Shane and he came by to pick me up. I sat outside on the street bench for a while, looking like a homeless person. It was cold. Haha but it was nice and quiet. Later on Shane told me this was the dodgy side of town and could very well have been mugged, sitting there... Oooops.

This is Alicia's cat that I'm helping to take care off while I'm living in her apartment... It's a sweet place. And the cat (who is reading this as I type) is really friendly. Like REALLY friendly. He also has abandonment issues, which took me a WHILE to get used to... He tried to play fetch with me in the middle of the night I was throwing paper balls in my sleepy stupor until I locked him out of the room... Whereupon he began yowling. :( But it's alright now, he's less excitable after he's gotten used to me.

My room for now.

The doorway.

Spent the first day in the apartment walking around figuring out where the light switches were... And how to turn on the heater... And how to feed the cat...

The cat is toilet trained btw. Like it literally shits and pees in the toilet. I was AMAZED the first time I saw it do that. Ok it's kinda gross, coz I'm just standing there watching a cat shit and pee into a toilet bowl but MAN it's fascinating. I wish MY CAT could do that, but she'd probably fall in and I would NOT want to be the one to have to clean her after that.

I am NOT in an enviable position right now.

To be unsure of the next 3 years of my life? That's where I am now.

Wishing and Hoping and Waiting.

Listening to Bon Jovi feeling all nostalgic and emo.

For small moments in my day, I allow myself the indulgence of imagining I will definitely be going to UWM. Daniel asked me if I'd miss anyone, I said no. Because I know I'll keep in touch all the time anyway... But today I'm meeting Jo for dinner at JP and for some reason I'm really sad about that. Haha. Because I know I won't be able to just walk out to some mall and meet my friends for dinner whenever I want to, if I'm at UWM.

And on Monday, I'll be out tutoring, then heading over to town to meet Matin and bunch and pore over our pretty laptops in some Random Starbucks till late.

matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
ok we both bring lappies tmr
macMattar
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
HAHAHA
WTF U ARE A BURGER.
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
lol.
its the name of my mac.
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
seriously
mine would have been....
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
sounds nicer then iMattar
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
MacSin
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
HAHHA!
thats hot!
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
yes it would
HAHAHA
i can name my ipod that, i guess
hoho
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
then we can pair our devices and get married
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
HAHAHAHHAHAHAA
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
and ure ipod can be the kid
one big apple family

Then maybe on Friday I'll just take a bus out at night and meet Yiggs for ice-cream. And Dee and Anita and... Sigh.

I never realised how easy it was to meet up with people in this country. I just hop on the train for an hour and I'm at Ivee's place at the other end of Singapore.

And now I'm wondering why I haven't met up with some of the people on my Never Become Strangers list... If it was that easy. Must be some kind of psychological barrier. Or maybe we've already become strangers. Pah!

Finally. A little breathing room.

Been busking for the past 4 days, helping the BMDP raise money. I'm sure the girl before me (Amanda Tee) raised much more than me (she's so lovely), but hey - I did manage to pull in some money!

Only managed to pull through today with Ivee's magical Difflam lozenges. They're highly potent I suggest you only try them In Case of Emergency. As with all highly potent drugs there are some slight side effects, including a complete numbing of the throat. This is both good and bad - Good, because then I can sing all I want, and not feel any pain at all. Voice is nice and smooth and clear too. Bad, because as I hit the high notes, I could be shredding my vocal chords and I wouldn't even feel a thing.

Max: Wow. Difflam really works. I can't feel a thing. Actually I can't even feel my throat. But I know it's there because when I swallow, I feel like, this constriction.

Ivee likes to use me as an outlet for all her anger and violent tendencies. When I'm around, I somehow incite her to curse and swear for no particular reason. Ivee, btw, does not usually curse or swear. But SOMEHOW, I am to blame for her cursing and swearing. SOMEHOW. And I said a grand total of 3 'fuck's in the course of 2 days. HOW I influenced her, I do not know. I suppose it is my sheer being there that induces such behaviour.

Haha. But it was fun, wasn't it, Ivee? Busking I mean, not swearing. It was nice, knowing I was helping people. That when someone puts money into that box, it was kind of because of me... Hee. It was nice to build performing confidence. It was nice to have people come up to me, tell me they love my voice, or that I sing really well, or just shake my hand and say they really liked what we did. That they were touched by our performance.

Now for the next 2 days I will just be at scholarship briefings, clarifying finances and accomodation and all the other nitty gritty that make going to Wisconsin so much more real. Yet, this makes me realise how scared I am - so afraid that I don't get into UWM and all this will be for nothing. I actually do like the scholars, after getting to know them better. They're a really nice bunch of people, and to be with such eccentric and smart people is always kinda intriguing.

But for now, I shall indulge in what all Man needs to do more - Eat, Drink, (Sleep) and be merry!

Because it's ladies' night,
and the feeling's right,
Because it's ladie's night
Oh what a night!
(Ohh what a niight...)

And I can't wait till I travel to Melbourne and Auckland to meet Liz and Hieu respectively! I wish I had the money to travel down to Sydney and Perth as well to visit Mei and Auntie Pat... Wow I am going to EMPTY my bank account for this trip... But it's worth it, I know. It's going to be awesome, travelling alone, visiting friends... NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT I'LL DO WHEN I GET THERE, other than spend lovely hours on end catching up and seeing how life is like for them now...

Life is well and truly good, my friends. :)

Conversation of the day:

Me: Mom send me to Zouk leh
Mom: I'm already picking you up you go yourself la
Me: I suppose I could la *SIGH* It's just such a dodgy time to go out... Ok bye then.
Mom: Just before Max hangs up the phone Cover up.

What I want to know is - How did she know I was planning on wearing my new ________?!

Empress Nons refusing to enjoy himself at Sahara. Actually I didn't enjoy it either. What's to enjoy about chalky, flavourless shisha? Fucking good chicken wings though! Just like how Mommy Mattar makes them... mmmm sedapp... (HAHA OK I CONFESS I LEARNT THAT FROM MAKANSUTRA.)

The main attraction in this photo is supposed to be the choc cake on the table.
Wait, are those emtpy margarita glasses?! Now, that just ain't right!

The Verdict on the Cake:
Spend another $2 and get it at P.S. Cafe instead la.

Concluding the night without Hadri and Tim :(

And Zul :((

Sitting in my room, on my floor, using my pretty little laptop... Forcing myself to sit upright or face possible back problems for life.

Everyday, someone will come up to me and ask my about my uni plans. I should start writing them on little cue cards to flash at people. Don't need more reminders that I haven't finished my UWM essay (it's coming along though YESSesss) OR received the link to apply to UIUC (which should come in tmr!).

Having this cute little laptop is so convenient! I am beginning to store my entire life on this... Esp when I have so much memory+the ultra light external hard drive. Plus my trusty cam/phone, hoho I'm unstoppable!

And I'm beginning to wonder if my neighbours notice my room light's always on till weeweeweehours of the... morning? Well, I like the night way more than the day. Dee said it's something to do with giving up the expectations of living by day and sleeping by night. I think I agree! There's a lot of freedom that comes with being the only one awake in the house. And a very comfortable type of loneliness. I used to wake up at 6am before school to stand in the dark by the window with my mug of milk, looking out, waiting for the world to light up before my eyes. I would notice everything - the first person moving around outside my house, the first morning jogger, the first dog to be walked, the first kid with the heavy backpack... I don't think anyone noticed I did that. When the sun rose, I'd wake my parents up. Breakfast, wash up, change, off to school!

Geewhiz. Off to school. Wonder what THAT'll be like...

Rohai: EH DON'T GO OVERSEAS LA... Then we can have lunch together EVERYDAY!
Max: Yes, because that's the REAL reason I want to go to NUS.
Rohai: Of course!!?!
Matin: Nevermind la we can skype over lunch!

NUS or UWM, it seems that the next 4 years will be rocking preeetty hard. Whoohoo!

New com!

Acer TravelMate 6291 :)

It's cute and small and light. And BLACKk... Hoho. More importantly I got it at a reeeally good deal - $1800 with free

1. Printer/Scanner/Copier that came with a trolley to lug it around haha!
2. Upgrade to 2GB RAM
3. Optical mouuuse
4. 120 GB external hard drive
5. Internet security software

Wowweee Yippeee I'm so glad I can access the net from the comfort of my own room now... And YES I AM FINALLY ON MSN! Haha. My other com's got so many viruses I can't use MSN for more than 5 mins at a go, and it hangs all the time too which is ;alkdsjfvoihsfm,bngwiu

Mom made me buy the webcam too (but the laptop comes with a built in cam!) haha because she wants to keep in contact with me by skype.com heehee

but what if I don't get uwm or uiuc?? OMG the fear is crippling...

Okay uni update time:

I got astar but it's subject to my attending either UIUC or UWM which explains why I am still applying to colleges when everyone's beginning to pack for school!

I got NUS Bioengineering & Econs Double-Degree Programme, USP but I DIDN'T get GMS and I'm still trying to get a reply out of the Engine Fac regarding my scholarship results...

Hey ho let's go!

UPDATE: I just skyped with Matin omg it's so much fun! but urgh i cannot look unglam at home anymore?! what the hell that ain't right. haha Matin wore a cap because his hair was ugly. So VAIN!

UPDATE: My free optical mouse has just stopped working. I suppose it's not seeing very well... HOHO OMG I'M SO FUNNY-EH-HEHEHE...

Here I am, not filling in my application to UWM.

Damn vague essay topics. Damn freedom. Damn my need to be different. Give me guidelines! Give me structure, organization and METHOD!

Actually, just give me every album produced by Dim Mak and I'll be happy.

Haha. It figures that the only thing that can keep me obsessed for long enough to stray from my COLLEGE APPLICATIONS is music - More specifically, Steve Aoki's music.

Brother to Devon Aoki.
Founder of Dim Mak Records.
DJ Kid Millionaire.
1/2 of Weird Science.
Rich Asian in America. (haha)
And so so very much more.

Interesting life aside, he ONLY happens to own some of my favourite bands. And created my favourite remix of Bloc Party's Helicopters. How many more markers do I need to figure out - Steve Aoki has awesome taste in music.

Click here for good music.

It's the Dim Mak Records site... Just listen to the radio on it and fall in love :)