I’m too sleepy to write, so here’s a picture of an old shriveled plum seed from God knows when.
Oh wait…I do know. The seed is from the bag of salted plums I got from the Asian grocery in the
campus center about one month ago. Hmm…
HB
*gasp* I can’t remember what happened between 2 am and 3 am…
Daylight savings has just started in Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and
Tasmania. Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia do not participate in daylight
savings. I thought it will start on the 28th this year, but it turned out to be the 27th. Bummer, I
just lost an hour. I suspected it when my computer clock showed 5:40 am but it was still dark
outside. Dawn usually comes at 5 am in spring. Oh well, the start of daylight savings mean we turn
our clocks forward 1 hour at 2 am to make it read 3 am. I always forget daylight savings time
though. I remember going to class one hour early when I was in Christchurch, NZ. I woke up and got
ready for school and wondered why my sister and my other housemates were still in bed. Only
realized what had happened when I went to my high school and found it all deserted and shit. It
happened to me the first time I came to Melbourne too…ended up going to class one hour late.
Heh.
Anyway, I saw this interesting thing happen in the Ampol gas station at the corner of Blackburn
Road and Ferntree Gully Road today. I was going to get some Chinese food from Yun Yun when I saw
three fire trucks pulled up at the gas station opposite with their lights flashing. At first I
thought it was a strike or something coz the trucks all had “Melbourne Fire Brigade Cost Cutting
Will Cost Lives” stickers all over the trucks. I went there to get some Diet Coke and saw four
firemen crowded around this big ass gas tank. The gas station attendant was very agitated and was
walking here and there, making phone calls and pulling up the chain to stop cars from driving in.
Turns out the the gas tank was leaking. I wish I had brought my camera along. It would be quite a
sight to see a gas station with the gas prices removed and the entrance and exits all chain up,
three fire trucks with the lights flashing and firemen crowded around the gas tank. I even thought
up a caption for it – “I don’t know what’s going on here…but I don’t want to be a part of it”.
Heh.
Link of the day: Boy band, but great music
[quantumlynx.com]
You’ve got to check this out. I don’t usually listen to music like this, but this one is pretty
good. Insightful lyrics too, especially the middle part.
Beer bong, beer bong…don’t drink too slow!
The semester has ended. I’ve handed in my last assignment today and I have one
more week till my first exam on the 1/11. In light of that, I’ve decided to celebrate (legally) by
having a couple of beers. I leave the illegal stuff for Mr. Foaf, my uhm…friend. No, I wasn’t
going to say alter ego, dammit. I’m not that far gone. =D Anyway, as I was walking to uni today, I
saw a lot of men in suits with ear pieces at the research department car park. Found out later from
the radio in the shuttle bus that Premier Steve Bracks was present at the Ceremony of Reflection
and Respect of the Monash shooting victims. I also heard that the shooting victims have been
awarded honors degree posthumously. A nice touch, that.
Anyway, I’ve finally been reviewed at The Weblog Review. Wendy [twodolla.org], the reviewer, gave me a 2.5/5.0. It’s
not a high score, but she’s honest in her review and she said some positive things too, so I
can’t help but feel pleased. Here’s the review in it’s entirety:
Huai’s a student in Melbourne who started up his weblog
in April of 2002. Since then, sixthseal.com has been very consistently updated with the happenings
of Huai.
The site’s design is very basic. There’s a light blue table on the left with the naviagation
portion of the menu, which is very simple to use. And to the right is the weblog. The main page
features a photo of the day (POTD) at the top of the page. It’s not exactly a photo of the day,
however, but more like a photo of the week. That’s not really a major concern of mine, but I could
certainly see how readers could get disappointed with the photo not being updated daily like one
would assume.
The majority of the entries are simple to read updates of what’s going on in Huai’s life – dorm
life, his social life, how his classes are going, etc. It’s fun to read through the progress of the
school year and the entertaining mishaps that get written about.
A nice touch to this weblog was the introduction of posting pictures from time to time. While the
POTD might not be updated on a regular basis, Huai does a good job of peppering in pictures that
he’s taken with his digital camera throughout a good portion of his entries. Doing that breaks up
the constant text and gives the readers something more than just words.
Is this a site I’d visit again? Personally, no. Is it one I’d suggest to those in college perhaps
experiencing the same thing that Huai is going through? Certainly. And I’d even go as far as saying
you should at least check it out once – perhaps you’ll find the connection that makes you want to
keep coming back.
This site was reviewed on 2002-10-20 by Wendy.
They felt this site belonged in the Personal category.
Wendy felt that sixthseal.com deserved a rating of 2.5.
Or you can check it out here [theweblogreview.com]. Oh, and
my name is Huai Bin. You don’t truncate Chinese names like that. 🙂
Premium beer review
Beer #1 Witbier
frothy…had to catch the froth before it overflows from the neck of the
bottle
tastes urm, tasteless
very light beer taste
tastes like water actually
the head stays throughout the drinking session in the bottle
doesn’t dissipate
at 5.0 , gives a mild kick when downed on a semi full stomach
marketed as a premium (traditional belgian style – oh la di dah) beer
cost me A$11.99 for a 6 pack
the first bottle was agitated a little though
second bottle just had a nice gas escaping slowly and then a nice heady froth on top
Beer #2 Sapporo (Japanese Import)
frothed up something wicked when i opened it. no, i did not agitate it. it’s an easy to drink
and rather tasteless beer. i had it pretty chilled though. maybe a slight bitter aftertaste and
thats it. but don’t take my word for it, my tastebuds are screwed. the beer is easy to hold too.
slightly contoured (or is that tapered?) at the bottom, which fits the hand nicely. the shiny
aluminum conducts the cold nicely too. and there’s just something good about holding a large can of
beer. it’s twice the size of normal beer cans, and it holds 650 ml of 5% alcohol beer. i forgot
what i paid for it, but it isn’t cheap. its somewhere around A$7. take note that beer here is cheap
compared to Malaysia.
Beer #3 Redback
curses. i’ve already typed a review but accidentaly clicked no when it asked me whether i wanted
to save. anyway, i’m try to recall the best i can from my (foggy) memory. this local premium beer
(oh, la di dah) is made from malted wheat and brewed in matilda bay,western australia. it weighs in
at a dismal 4.7 % alcohol by volume. the 6-pakcs looks rather pretentious, with wood colored
packaging and stickers (with gothic writing, no less) over all the caps. it tastes strangely
“heavy” like milk or milo but did not have an objectionable taste or aftertaste. the beer seems
rather malty, but did not have a characteristic bite of malty beers. i’ve had malt milkshakes that
were much more bitter than this nice beer here. the heaviness is strangely pleasing and satisfying.
however, this thing here did not have a twist off cap. wtf? i thought twist off caps are standard
for local brewed beers. i tried twisting the cap off anyway, but that did not acheieve anything
other than give me bottle cap shaped grooves in my hand. i tried prying the cap off with my key,
but that’s going to take too long. luckily, i bought a nail clipper today and peering over, noticed
that it has a bottle opener. mmm…
Well….all that beer made me sprout this gem here:
Silencer® (9:45 PM) :
u hungry?
sixthseal.com (9:46 PM) :
nah i drank a lot of beer
burp
Naval gazing
What has this picture got to do with introspection you say?!? What has this picture got to do
with introspection you say?!??!?! Erm…well, it looks introspective.
I did not sleep at all last night in an effort to finish my ITPM and IE
deliverables, which was due today. I nearly went into a coma when I had a plate of char kueh tiaw
for lunch. I was loaded with coffee and by the end of the day I was tired and edgy. I kept nodding
off in the shuttle bus and had to keep re-reading a sentence from Darwin’s Radio, the book I’m
reading on my commute now. I just could not focus and promptly forgot the sentence as soon as I
read it. Heh. Well, sleep deprivation is probably not a good time for introspection, but I’ve
learnt two things about myself today. Actually, I’ve known it ages ago, but I’m going to ADDRESS
the problem starting from today. These are two things I would like to change:
I. A variation of the God complex
I tend to feel that I can meet unrealistic deadlines. I actually believe that
I can make impossible deadlines, because I usually do. Unfortunately, that does not happen all the
time. I need to think about whether it is possible before saying I can do it.
II. Pride
I do not like asking for help. I find myself trying to find solutions to every
problem by myself, and perhaps that is not the best way to do everything. I also tend to turn down
help even when I need it, preferring to go about doing my own things myself. Another “personal risk
list” that needs to be addressed.
Small steps, but it will help me in the long run. Hmm…but then I’ll probably
forget about it the next day. Heh. Oh well, writing about it is half the battle…or something. You
learn something new everyday. =D I don’t even know what I’m talking about, I am going to sleep now.
Well, damn, I was drafting out an insightful post in my mind when I was taking a shower and now
I’ve forgotten half of it. Huh?
It’s actually a prayer mat on a mattress wrapped with construction paper.
It has rice, some twigs, some leaves and I don’t know what the third bowl holds. Saw this on the
5th floor of B block when I had my client meeting just now. One of them public art
displays.
Thoughts about the Monash shooting and a Crown Casino terrorist attack warning (hoax?)
Ceremony of Reflection and Respect for the Monash
shooting victims [monash.edu.au]
Venue: Robert Blackwood Concert Hall (Building 2 on the Clayton campus)
Time: 11am on Friday 25 October, 2002.
Hmm…the gunman is being charged in court and the 5 wounded are well on their way to recovery
so I guess it’s back to life as usual. It’s sad to think that two innocent students died though. I
actually saw the parents and sister (?) of one of the deceased today. They looked very sad, but I
didn’t know what I could say that would make them feel better so I just nodded at them. On the
other side of the coin, the gunman’s story seems unfortunate as well. He has an old mother to
support, and now that he’s in prison, what’s going to happen to her? And why didn’t he think of
that before he started shooting? The mind boggles. I heard stories that he’s under a lot of
pressure to do well in his presentation, and it’s quite a challenge considering he doesn’t know
English that well. I guess that can be pretty stressful, but hell, if every student started
shooting every time they’re stressed, I guess there won’t be any Monash students left, would there?
What he did was wrong, and yet, inexplicably sad.
You have received a message!
Pls forward:
For your safety dun go to crown these days
terrorist attack: a friend’s friend had found a wallet somewhere and he rang the owner and gave it
back to him, the owner of the wallet is from pakistan, then he thanked my friend’s friend and then
told them not to go to crown or any places which are these days as there will be something terrible
going to happen”
“Ths was written by a HK friend from eng. Just on the safe side dun go”
This is an ICQ message that’s been circling around lately. I got two of these from two totally
unrelated people (except they’re both Monash University students) within a 15 minute period. I
suspect it’s a hoax, but one can never be too careful these days. Just FYI.
Link: 7 deadly
weapons [heraldsun.news.com.au] (He even had a 9mm
Luger)
Link: Professor sings praises of
murdered uni duo [theage.com.au]
Link: Kung-fu instincts kick in as
shots fly [theage.com.au]
Link: Modest
hero’s instinct takes over [heraldsun.news.com.au]
…and the knee-jerk response:
Link: Howard to push for limited
ban on handguns [theage.com.au]
Link: National
push to restrict pistols [heraldsun.news.com.au]
It’s interesting to see that the gunman is said to be a member of the Melbourne Indoor Pistol Club [mipc.com.au]. I went there
earlier this year (read about it here [sixthseal.com] – 1/4
down the page) and it’s a pretty fun place where you can shoot with real handguns and live ammo.
They’re also an authorized Heckler and Kosh [hecklerkoch-usa.com] dealer. Check
it out if you’re interested.
More on the Monash University shooting
Well, it seems that newspaper sales go through the roof every time something
happens because I could not get a copy of The Age or the Herald Sun after 1 pm. The newsagents
seems to have sold out of those papers by midday. Anyway, here are a couple of links regarding the
incident:
Link: Police name
Monash shooting victims [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Shootings
suspect appears in court [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Monash gun
rampage [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Gunman was
a classmate [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Distressed
students face exams [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: ‘A quiet,
normal guy’ [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Students
ashen over new horror [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Heroes
prevent uni massacre [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Classes
resume at uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Your
views on the Monash Uni shooting (2) [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Your
views on the Monash Uni shooting (1) [heraldsun.news.com.au] (My view about 3/4 down the page)
Link: Kung fu fighter a modest
campus hero [theage.com.au]
Link: A sombre uni gets on with
life [theage.com.au]
Link: Reluctant hero returns to
work [theage.com.au]
Breaking news: Monash University Clayton Campus, Melbourne shooting
(Updated throughout the day)
Official Monash University statement
[monash.edu.au]
Monash shooting helpline: 03-9545 6961 or 03-9545 6579
Toll: 2 dead, 5 hospitalized (1 in critical condition).
Facts:
Image (c) Mario Borg/The Age
- Gunman is Huan Yun Xiang, a fourth-year commerce honors student who has trouble with
English. - He was supposed to give his final presentation in econometrics today.
- He brought a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun instead.
- He has been arrested and is in St Kilda police station.
- Read this [theage.com.au]
to understand his possible motives. It’s sad, really. But what he did was wrong.
This will be updated throughout the day. Please refresh for latest news.
Link: Man held over uni
killings [theage.com.au]
Link: Pressure builds in the Ming
Wing [theage.com.au]
Link: Talented loner who struggled
in class [theage.com.au]
Link: ‘They were screaming, there’s
a gunman on the loose’ [theage.com.au]
Link: Where it happened
[theage.com.au]
Update: Shooter Identity (Source: Halls Direct Connect server chat room) –
Unverified Verified
<Carve2> Okay, official info to follow, I have a friend who was in that class
<Carve2> On the shooting
<Carve2> Honours Econometrics class, student in class had a total of 6 handguns and opened
fire on his classmates
<killuminati> so it wasn’t an outsider?
<Carve2> Apparently stressed out over a presentation he had that day
<Carve2> no, it was a student
<killuminati> icic
<killuminati> thats a bit harsh…shooting up the class over a presentation
<Carve2> The other students basically overwhelmed him and held him till police arrived
<The_Great_S@t@n> is your friend doing OK?
<Carve2> Yeah, he’s fine, just a bit shook up, as you would be!
<The_Great_S@t@n> yeah….. one of my mates doing honours with the guys in the class, he
went and visited some of the injured people, says one guy got shot through both knees, he’ll be OK
eventually he says, and a girl who got shot through the cheek, he didn’t get too see her
though.
<The_Great_S@t@n> Did anyone go to the information session @ 6pm?
<Carve2> No, was tutoring
<The_Great_S@t@n> the policeman said there were 4 guns, and one of the deceased was an
international student, otherwise just calmed everyone down, said Monash was probably the best
Victorian Uni when it comes to security.
Link: Herald
Sun: Your views on the Monash Uni shooting [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Calls for
handgun ban [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Howard
‘not’ to blame: NUS [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Monash
rampage visits more terror on Australians [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Students
no longer invulnerable after Monash shooting [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Fed govt
policies to blame for shootings: NUS [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Update: There will be a counselor available all day in the MRS Theatre for all Halls of
Residence residents who needs it.
Update: The cell phone lines are clogged for a couple of hours following the shooting due to
everyone calling at once, but it’s okay now.
There was an announcement over the halls PA system this morning, requesting that we do not go to
the university because there has been an incident. It seems that there has been a shooting at the
campus and the gunman is still at large. Well, being a curious sort, I headed down myself to see.
Everyone at the university is rather hard pressed for information, but from several reports I’ve
heard, it seems that there has been a shooting at the Robert Menzies building. 5 people
were shot(Update: 8 people were shot) (Update: 7 Update: 10 people were shot – 2 people are confirmed dead, 5
people were shot)
people are in the hospital and 3 more are injured. The unidentified gunman apparently walked
into either a tutorial or a lecture (conflicting reports) and opened fire. There
was a guy beside me who was actually in the tute, but he didn’t see the gunman coz he was facing
the other way. Next thing he knew, everyone was running out and there was this girl with blood all
over her saying “Help me”. Hmm…there seems to be a lot of school shootings, but not that many uni
shootings. It’s a media circus at the Clayton campus right now. I counted 5 news helicopters and 2
fixed wing planes circling the campus. I still don’t know what happened to the gunman at this point
(Update: Gunman was overpowered by other students and has been arrested. He’s being held at the
Glen Waverley police station), but the campus is crawling with police and the Menzies building
has been cordoned off. The police have been talking to everyone around the area. I didn’t stay for
long coz I only got 3 hours of sleep last night but the media is camped out in front of the Law
faculty, awaiting a police statement. Check The Age [theage.com.au] and Herald Sun [heraldsun.news.com.au] for breaking
news. (Update: Seems to be gang related, the victims and the gunman are all {Update: The shooting seems indiscriminate)
Asian)
Students around the crime scene and a couple of early news people.
The media interviewing some students.
More news people behind the police tape. I was standing on the Law Faculty walkway when I took
this.
The media talking to a police spokesman.
The forensics department being escorted past the cordon.
A guy in the Menzies building. The news people started snapping pics of him when he poked his
head out, so I did too. Heh. Note: This is not a hostage situation, it’s a shooting. Another rumor
going around is that it’s a terrorist related bombing or shooting. It’s not.
A detective walking towards the crime scene.
The air ambulance that evacuated one of the guys who was shot in the stomach.
Crime scene investigators heading into the building.
Oh, and do you know why all those people at these type of incidents all look so grim-assed?
Accounting for different personality types, it’s pretty obvious that not everyone is going to be
looking sad or scared. The reason?
News photographer: “Okay, I’m going to take a photo of you people now. Please don’t smile and
look serious.”
There you go.
Update:
Link: Students
tackled uni gunman [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Monash
helpline numbers revised [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Photo gallery: Monash Shooting
[theage.com.au]
Link: Shocked:
Premier Steve Bracks [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Some
thought security announcements were a joke [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Police rule
out terror as cause of Monash attack [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Leaders
mourn more young lives lost [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Counselling
services set up at Monash Uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Uni
shootings suspect showed no emotion: witness [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Police ask
students to reassure their families [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Man kills
two, injures five at Monash Uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Students
tell of confusion after university shootings [heraldsun.news.com.au]
Link: Where the shooting happened
[theage.com.au]
Link: Two dead, five injured in
Monash Uni shooting [theage.com.au]
Link: Two dead, eight injured in
Monash Uni shooting [theage.com.au]
Call your loved ones if you’re a student at Monash University to tell them you’re okay.
Otherwise:
From the article:
Police have released two phone numbers for family and friends of Monash University students to
call for information about the fatal shootings.
The numbers are (03) 9545 6961 and (03) 9545 6575.
Buried
beneath a mountain of assignments. Will update when I dig myself out.
Drop and roll
The dining hall of the Halls of Residence sometimes offer filled bread rolls
for 50 c during dinner. These are the leftover ones from lunch and they usually go for A$2.85, but
the price is marked down to 50 c during dinner. My calculator tells me that’s a 82.46% discount.
Heh. They taste the same as they do during lunch anyway.
Well, I had a Simpsons marathon last night and I had an Initial D marathon
today. Wah lau…I’m going to fail if this keeps up. =D
Link: National day of mourning
in honor of the Bali bombings [theage.com.au]
A minute’s silence to be observed at noon Australian Eastern Standard
Time.
Math is not my true calling
The Roberts Hall annual photos have finally been distributed today. It’s huge so I had to scan
it in two sessions, thus the join flaw. I had to collect mine from the College Head’s office
though, because I put A$10 short into the envelope. Heh. Apparently A$17 +A$23 equal A$30 to me.
=D
Well, this week was “Hall in the Wall” week, where Roberts Hall resident artists display their
works in the common room. I liked this one the most:
It’s an artificial pond, set right in the common room. It even has pond scum, cigarette butts,
coins and other miscellaneous rubbish in the pond for a realistic feel.
Here’s a closer look.
Anyway, I got this chain email today. I’ve gotten it twice before, but I’m in the mood to answer
it today, so here goes:
Do you think that you do not understand your friends at all? Maybe you
should do something to make them know you better. If you have the time to
spare then, reply to this.
Okay, here’s what you’re supposed to do. Please DO NOT be LAME and spoil the
fun.
Copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that
you will send.
Change all of the answers so that they apply to you and then send it to all
your friends.
The theory is that you will learn a lot of little facts about your friends.
( Caution, can be quite scary!)
**Remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you.
**READY?
>What is your name?
Poh Huai Bin
>What color pants are you wearing right now?
Light brown pajamas with a Star of David and double concentric circle pattern. It’s comfortable.
I like wearing pajama pants even when I’m not going to sleep. It’s my favorite at-home
attire.
>What are you listening to right now?
Bad
Religion’s All Ages [badreligion.com]. The track Winamp is on now is Against the Grain. One
of my favorite Bad Religion songs. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re a punk band with oddly
intelligent and thought provoking lyrics.
>What are the last four digits of your home phone number?
I don’t have a home phone here. The last four digits of my cell phone number is 7474. It’s
Optus.
>What was the last thing you drink?
Vanilla Coke. The vending machine outside the common room has dedicated two whole slots to
Vanilla Coke. Those slots used to hold Diet Coke. Now you only have a choice of (original) Coke or
Vanilla Coke. Useless fact: A 600 ml bottle of soda costs A$2 from a vending machine. It’s
interesting to note that sodas and mineral water comes in 500 ml bottles in Malaysia while it comes
in 600 ml bottles here.
>If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Red. Fiery, passionate and the first one to get colored down to a nub.
>Where do you plan to go on your honeymoon?
I’ll start with Venice. Then it’s off to Rome and Egypt to see the Colosseum and the
pyramids. And of course, the Bahamas [bahamas.com] to wind up the trip. Now, it’s just the
question of how I’m going to fund that. =D
>How is the weather right now?
Slightly cold. It was a scorching 30 Celsius this afternoon. Showers towards the end of the
evening and through the night brought it down to 14 Celsius.
>Last person you talked to on the phone?
My girlfriend. I talk to her every day. It’s a good thing calling cards go for 6.3 cents
per minute. That’s the GPS phone card after a 10% discount from my campus phone shop. The listed
call rate is 7 cents.
>What’s the first feature you notice from the opposite sex?
The eyes. They’re the windows to the soul and everything. =D
>Do you like the person that send you this?
He’s the one on the right.
Yeah. I’d known him since primary school. Heh. Last memorable trip we had was to Sarikei. Read
about that here [sixthseal.com].
>What’s your best birthday present ever received?
I have a real sweet tooth and there was this one time where my father bought a lot of imported
chocolates for me. I was about 10 or 11 at that time. He claimed to have bought it from Kuching (he
just came back from a trip there) but the price tag shows a KL store name. I knew it was a KL store
name because he went to KL some time ago too and came back with chocolates with the store name’s
price tags on it. Hmm…I thought. He must have hidden it somewhere in the fridge. I decided to
root through the refrigerator just in case there were more from that batch and came up with another
stash of chocolates. I’ll never forget the slightly chagrined yet amused expression of my father
then. Heh. I guess it was the memory that made it the best birthday present.
>How are you feeling today?
Pretty good actually. I didn’t get much work done though. I just came off a Simpson’s
marathon where I watched 10 episodes back to back. Downloaded them from the halls network.
>Your favourite drink?
Coffee. It’s perfect for a stimulating boost.
>Your favourite alcoholic drink?
Midori Illusions are pretty nice. Easy to down quickly because they’re not really fizzy
and I couldn’t taste the alcohol in it too. You have to love the twist off cap as well. I hate
having to search for a bottle opener. I like plain old beer tool.
>How do you eat an Oreo?
I put the whole Oreo into my month and crunch it. When I was young, I used to break open
the biscuits, eat the cream filling and discard the biscuits. Heh. Oreos are good in McFlurries as
well.
>What’s the next CD you’re going to get?
I stopped buying CDs ages ago. MP3s are more versatile and uh, it’s free. 😉
>Hair color?
Black. I usually color it light brown but I couldn’t be bothered to do that after my haircut a
couple of days ago.
>Eye Colour?
Brown.
>Do you wear contacts?
No. I actually have severe myopia in my right eye. Anything more than half an arm’s length away
is totally blur to my right eye. However my left eye has near perfect vision and compensates for
that. Thus, I don’t need any prescription glasses or contacts. My optometrist did advice me to wear
one, but I didn’t, and it didn’t get any worse. At least, I hope it didn’t. =D
>What’s your favourite month?
I don’t have a specific month but I love the end of the year period right through to Chinese New
Year. That time is usually spent with my girlfriend, friends and family. Unfortunately, I won’t be
coming home until late January/early February this year. 🙁 I’m taking Industrial Experience, which
requires me to stay back for summer. Please shed a few tears for me.
>What’s your favorite food?
I find that I crave kampua mee the most. It’s a local dish from my hometown. Basically its
noodles flavored with soy sauce, chili, green onions, fried onions, pork oil, and lots of MSG. It’s
usually served with slices of BBQ pork but you should order another dish of pien nuk (pastry
stuffed with meat) for the best effect. Simply divine. Damn, my saliva glands are working overtime
now, just by typing this.
>Last movie you watched?
Lik Goo Lik Goo San Nin Choi (Fatt Choi Spirit). A fun movie about mahjong meant for
Chinese New Year.
>What’s your favorite date of the year?
Chinese New Year’s eve. Since it follows the lunar calendar, the date changes every year. It’s
the time where all the extended family gathers together for a reunion dinner.
>Are you shy to ask someone out?
Nope. I have a girlfriend though, so I don’t do this anymore.
>Do you like scary or romantic movies better
I like all movies. Even pretentious art house flicks. =D
>Would you prefer hugs or kisses?
I like them both, but if I had to choose, it’ll be hugs. It feels closer somehow.
>Relationship or one night stands?
Relationships. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go for one night stands.
>You prefer chocolate or vanilla?
In ice cream? Vanilla. It seems less cloying than chocolate and more versatile.
>Do you want your friends to write back?
Sure. It will be interesting to see what everyone’s response is.
>Who is most likely to respond?
I’m posting this on my blog instead of forwarding this, so probably no one. However, feel
free to cut and paste the questionnaire and revive it as an email. Hmm…now that I think of it, I
might as well keep the chain going.
>What book are you reading now?
I just finished Robert J. Sawyer’s Calculating God [sfwriter.com].
I’m either going to start on Greg Bear’s Darwin’s Radio
[gregbear.com] or Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. My interests mainly lie in Science
Fiction and Horror, but I do read other genres from time to time. I tend to average about one
book in two weeks. I only read during my commute and in the toilet, unless I’m finishing the
book soon or I can’t put it down. I read ebooks via WordSmith on my Palm m505.
>What’s your favourite board game(s)?
Monopoly. I can be a bit of a bastard when playing Monopoly too. Heh. I try to snatch up
every color coded real estate and never relinquish it to avoid other people from building houses.
Railways are my favorite too, I’ll pay exorbitant amounts just to control all four.
>What’s your favourite magazine(s)?
Hmm…I don’t read much magazines here. But we have Time, Asiaweek (now defunct), National
Geographic, and Reader’s Digest back home. I like reading Time but by the time (haha) the magazine
is out, I’ve already read the news ages ago online. The only magazines I’ve bought here are
Australian travel magazines. I read those for fun.
>What’s your favourite smell(s)?
Protex soap. The smell is associated with school holidays and Friday evenings where I play
computer games all day long. I made that association back in Form 2 and it’s stuck ever
since.
>Least favourite smell(s)?
Lavender. I have associated it with depression and anxiety attacks and desperation. No
thanks. Go away lavender.
>What’s your favourite sound?
Banging gongs + drums + crashing cymbals + sounds of firecrackers. Chinese New Year ahoy!
I also like church hymns. Those make me feel peaceful and relaxed.
>What radio channel you tune in to?
I don’t listen to radio but the shuttle bus always has Fox FM [fox.com.au] on.
>Date of birth?
5th of April 1981. It’s Ching Ming aka Tomb Sweeping Day [yahoo.com]. A day where the dead is honored by having an extended family
outing to clean the tombs of the departed ancestors.
>Your zodiac sign?
Aries. I’m a classic Aries too. Represent!
>Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
Yeah. I like the texture.
>Do you have patience?
Nope. Absolutely none at all. I’m working on that though, so bear with me. =D
>What kind of people do you dislike?
Pretentious people, arrogant people and know it alls (HAMPALANG EH).
>What type of guy/girl are you interested in?
A nice, simple and trustworthy Christian. I would like my wife to be with me in life and
also in the afterlife. 😉
>What would you do to impress a guy/girl that you like?
The most outrageous things. I also tend to hang around them for extended periods of time
to make an impression.
>How would you react if the person you like rejected you?
It won’t bother me. Different strokes for different folks.
