Watching their lack of success made me think of what we had learnt in psychology regarding helping behaviour. So I waited until someone finally donated, to see if that'd trigger a cascade of donations. It didn't. And I knew why, there were too many people for it to work. But it just felt so good being able to apply what we had learnt in the lectures and labs to real life. That is why we go to school or university to study and learn. As the Roman proverb goes: "We learn not to school, but for life".
Which begs the question, what good will doing a maths major do me?
Written by banh at 8:57 PM | Comments (0)
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That's Pink's new song, Please Don't Leave Me. The music video is... phenomenal. It does everything a good music video should, it not only reflects the meaning of the song, but it also maintains your attention for the full duration. Granted, I may have watched most of it with mouth agape in shock, but still. Gworks.
It also highlights how screwed up phrases like "Please don't leave me" and "I'm nothing without you" are. I was first alerted to this by a xkcd comic, but this Pink song compelled me to write about it. I believe that if you get to the stage where you have to beg for one party to stay, it's best to call it a day. Well I've never been in the situation, but I feel if it did happen and the party did stay, there'd just be this sense of "... what now?". Yeah?
Written by banh at 9:46 AM | Comments (0)
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I did not realise how much crap I'd have to do...
Labels: phone
Written by banh at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)
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It arrived today. I started working on it tonight. However I don't have a screwdriver small enough. Do you know how annoying that is? Especially when you found a set of super small ones exactly for this kind of thing. Hopefully I'll find the other set and the gods will smile on me.
Labels: random
Written by banh at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
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I realised today that I'm not very good with rejection. Not even that, I am very terrible with it. The problem is I tend to follow the "If you don't need me, I don't need you" line of thinking. Fun as it may be, it's not very mature.
I like to think of myself as a mature person. However as mature as I try to be, I still love to watch Pizza. Underneath this hard exterior of mine lies an absolute idiot.
It's hard to explain why I don't let people to know the real "me". I want to. Sometimes. There aren't many people in this world that I can say know me well enough to "know" me. I can think of a few. And there may be a few that I didn't realise.
Which makes me wonder, how much does Tom Wu know me? Quite a lot I'm guessing. Either way, I love him. He's my once off eBay middleman.
Written by banh at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
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Trying to organise a dinner party is hell. And I say trying because so far, I have completed absolute squat. All we've gotten down is a list of people invited (the guest list if you will) and the type of dessert I want to do. Everything else, including the rest of the food, what drinks, whether alcohol should be involved, how my house will be set up and even whatever decorations, is yet to be decided. Not even that, it is yet to be thought up of. I still have 3 weeks till the big day. The plan is to have all the recipes decided on within the next 7 days, which allows for 7 days of experimentation. And then the final 7 will be left to refinement and perfection. What could go wrong? Except for everything, I mean...
I have a habit of trying to go overboard on a lot of things. It's just something I like to do. If I'm given a task which I can enjoy, why not enjoy it to the fullest and have some fun. Today's lunch was a prime example. I was told to make a bit of a salad, however there was still some time before lunch was ready. So I took my time and had some fun plating it up, doing it in a fancy, platter-type display. The kind you see in 70s and 80s cookbooks.
Slowly ticking towards Hong Kong. Very, very slowly. Very incredibly slowly. Each day is like an eternity. However the weeks have flown by a bit quicker than I've realised. Not only are we three weeks away from the big day, but also three weeks away from flying away, or fleeing the country as I like to put it.
It's kind of funny the cards life deals us sometimes. Six weeks ago, the date I was flying out was one of the cruelest things imaginable. It was the day before she gets back, hence wouldn't been in the same country for two or three months.
However now, it is the best thing to have happened to me in such a long time. Generally, I try not to run away from problems. I may not be the front up kind of guy, but at least I try to do something about it. But this time, there's nothing more I could have asked for. I really do thank whoever is in charge for giving me this lucky break.
Labels: cooking, food, party, rant
Written by banh at 12:54 AM | Comments (0)
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I like to see what position I've gotten into myself sometimes. And by that I mean how I'm sitting. I'm very particular about how I sit, I find it too boring just sitting normally with both feet placed on the ground. I like to always have my feet up, usually at any cost. Just before I was watching the cricket in the kitchen because all the other televisions were being used. So there I was, lying across two chairs with my feet up on the table. It was fairly comfortable, but it was a massive bitch getting up. That's usually the problem I find myself in, where getting up is a danger to my health.
And my knee hurts! It really hurt on Wednesday and Thursday. To the point where I was limping all the time. I think I may have aggravated it at the beach on Satday with all that running around. Also with the way I've been sitting cross legged on the ground, it just makes it worse. So imagine me on Thursday at futsal. Thank goodness I had Joe on my team to deputise me, I think he played more than I did even though I was supposed captain. Then afterwards when we were stealing outdoor futsal, I slipped and fell down on my knee badly. But it was one of those where you hurt it so bad, it just stops hurting. And now it doesn't hurt anymore. I grazed myself, but no more deep seeded pain. Amazing.
We played ass penalties again. My goodness that is a fantastic game. We even had a small audience at different times. First was some guy walking his dog, he unashamedly just stood there and watched as we took shots at people bending over in the goals. And then a couple kids going home stopped and watched for a bit. I'm convinced the people on the courts next to us kept an eye on us too, just to see how stupid we were.
The sad thing is, as I had commented to Darryn about, is that we were all turning 20 within the next 12 months. We are the leaders of tomorrow. And we take turns shooting the ball at each other's asses. Melbourne High cream of the crop.
Labels: ass penalties, futsal, melbourne high, random, rant
Written by banh at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
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That has to be one of the best things I had seen on TV all year. A fantastic spectacle. It was enhanced because initially, I didn't realise it was Katy Perry's Kissed A Girl, until he hit the chorus. And then during the bridge, oh my goodness. I could not stop laughing.
There's something magical about Paul McDermott. He divides opinion, like most good public figures. I am on the pro-McDermott side. I just think he is a funny bloke. I loved him in The Sideshow, he's such a brilliant entertainer and natural host. Maybe not natural, he has had a lot of practice. And now in the second coming of GNW, he still makes me laugh endlessly. His singing I can tolerate. It can be funny, but sometimes he sings too much.
As much as I love him, there are many who don't. It seems to me that the more mature minded comedy followers don't like him. Which suggests his jokes can be somewhat childish and immature, however that is kind of why I like him so much.
Labels: katy perry, paul mcdermott, youtube
Written by banh at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
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I am very crap at sitting down. I'm just flat out, not good at it. It's because instead of sitting on the fleshy parts, I spend most of my time on the tail bone, or my ass bone as I like to call it. I'm sitting on it right now and it isn't very comfortable. When I was still going to uni, each time I'd get off the bus my ass bone would hurt, but I'd just grit my teeth and take it like a man. There may be a way I can stop it, simply by sitting up. However I don't know if I can apply myself like that. Seems awfully bothersome, doesn't it?
I'm thinking back to year 10 Life Skills. My goodness that was a great subject to pick. Absolutely loved it. Apart from being a bludge, it actually did teach me some important life lessons, as nerdy as it sounds. Of late, these may be slipping by mind and it definitely does make a difference.
One of the things we were taught was to go outside of your ordinary world, and into your extra-ordinary world. In other words, do something you're not used to. Stick your neck out every once in a while. I've heard it many times before but regardless of the outcome when you take a risk, you'll always be glad you took it. I want to be a bit more like that. Hanging back, covering all angles and worrying about consequences may be useful in some situations, but most of the time you just have to throw caution to the wind and go nuts.
Another thing we learnt was that people love talking about themselves. Anyone and everyone fits into this. It doesn't matter if they seem humble and meek or whatever, get them talking about themself and they become a happy camper. And how do you get someone to talk about themself? You ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. Questions not only show you're listening to them, but also that you're interested in what they're saying. And that is the whole point of conversation. Conversation isn't fighting to spend the most time talking, it's about trading stories and bonding! It is a shame a lot of people don't realise this point. They only get the talking about themself bit, and forget about the other party. That's not their fault though, I blame it on society. And on climate change. And the credit crunch.
On a somewhat unrelated note, went to see Melbourne Victory last night! First match since... Isaac took us about two or three years ago. The Victory got past Adelaide thanks to a Nicky Ward goal in the 58th minute. Funny sidenote, all night I had been calling himself Tony Ward (to myself only of course), after the MCG's curator. The goal also reminded me of the great fun in watching sporting events. The elation we all shared in when the ball hit the back of the net cannot be described. It's a shame we could only do it once, but I'd rather see a 1-0 victory than us losing.
Futsal tomorrow! Looking forward to it. First time since before Christmas. They played yesterday but I decided not to, just so I know I wouldn't be late for Victory. I stand by my decision.
Labels: futsal, life skills, rant, soccer, victory
Written by banh at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
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We were playing Mafia at Chen's the other night and it was the first time I had ever played. About half way through the game I realised that when I got apathetic, it did nothing but serve to help the mafia. In fact, a lot of the things I did helped the mafia. I figure that's why I was so rarely killed, and instead voted out a lot.
Fun game though. So much arguing. Not at the start, when we were all still happy and pretty up-beat. It was only towards the end when fatigue started setting in and tempers were fraying. There was one argument in particular when Judy and the twins or Chen were pretty much going at each other's throats. I am convinced we were another 10 minutes or one wrong word from tears. I found it funny, to the point where I was cracking up with laughter. I hope it alleviated the tension, at least tears were avoided.
It was such a fantastically fun day though. I love going to the beach. I get the feeling I only love it because I never go, I still love it though. I caught the bus there with Huang and saw Chen, Lily, Hong and Kylie were there first. Eventually everyone turned up, everyone being the twins, Eugene, Alyssa, the lovely new couple, Amy, James Cheng and Tat. There wasn't much food which was a bit of a bummer. I was wondering whether I should make anything for the day, just for fun. In the end I decided not to because... there might be cake already. There wasn't at the beach, so I was left to rue my decision. Doesn't matter though, next time!
Hmmm any particular fun moments... Trying to dunk Chen in the water. That boy is heavy. We struggled. And then we took pity on him and let him change his clothes. Ah epic fail. Freezing in the water? It was a very cold day, doesn't mean we shouldn't go in the water though. It just meant we'd be very cold for a while. There was a moment when I went for a swim with Kylie. It taught me that it's very hard to hold a conversation in the water. Why? Because of waves. They hit you in the head mid-sentence and suddenly you're gasping for air. Last funny moment was watching Tat be a donkey and Chen be a pig. I decided to sit out of that game because I thought it might be a good idea to be away from humiliation.
Afterwards we went back to Glenny for dinner. I actually ate quite a lot. A lot more than I usually ate. I have my theories for this. One is that I was sitting next to Kylie, because she ate so little I felt I had to eat more. Make sense? Two is that I was also sitting next to Tat, who ate so much so I thought I had to keep up with him. Yeah? At the end of the day, I think it was because it was at the end of the day and I had eaten much too little for all the activity I did. Yummy cake too.
Back at Chen's house we played Mafia before all leaving at 11ish. On the way out, his mum said to me "Oh I know you, you're the guy with the noodles". I had absolutel no idea what she was talking about. None at all. It was only when I was going through the door I was "Oooooh the pho!". Hey, not my fault. She needs to be more specific.
Got a lift home with Lily in her very warm car. I had asked Sam earlier in the day but... In a car with him, Judy and Amy? Also he had to drop them off, I'd get home at like never. And my house is very out of the way. AND we love Lily for giving me so many lifts. We had a nice chance to chat, hadn't really spoken to her since my birthday.
Speaking of my birthday... I have sunburn damn it. Ok unrelated, it's still annoying though. No, skin cancer. Be gone for now! I'll let you in when you prove to me you are worthy of my temple.
Now off to fill said temple with late night food. Yay!
Labels: beach, birthday, chen, chris judd, eugene, food, hong, huang, kylie, lily, sam ho
Written by banh at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)
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There's no easy way to go about this, so I'll just list whoever I can think of off the top of my head. They may or may not come in any particular order.
Jackie!
I had known Jackie since the formal but we still hadn't talked a whole lot. I was surprised to hear she was doing science at Monash too and we were doing pretty much all the same subjects. I didn't see her at all for the first third of the year but then slowly we started seeing more of each other. She's the one that got me started into the baking business and I haven't looked back. It's hard to describe what she is to me. Sometimes I think it's like an older sister since I have a tendency to do almost anything she says. But then at the same time, I have helped her with studying so many times. Whatever it is, she has made the year very enjoyable, especially when she comes to uni. The one moment that stands out to me is during the first semester exam period when we were in the Matthesons library helping her learn stats. It was the latest I had stayed at uni, even though I only left at 7:30. Good fun it was, and I think it helped her to a pass.Timmy!
We love Timmy. I distinctly remember the first time we had a conversation. It was a Friday 8am psych lecture and it was only us two. I saw him sitting outside the lecture theatre so I started talking with him I think, either that or we caught the bus together. Anyway, since no one else was there, I wasn't really in the mood for psych so I bailed leaving him there alone. Good friend eh? That was also the morning I got his number, or he got mine. Start of a good friendship.Huang!
Pretty much the only person I can keep talking and talking to. I cannot shut up around him, it's quite amazing. Had a great routine of catching the bus home with him and Lily on Wednesday afternoons in semester one. Ah great funs.Marcus, Anthony and Kylie!
I group these three together because I get the impression they hang out so much as a trio. I've known Marcus and Anthony since year 9 but only met Kylie pretty much just before semester one ended. I loved in second semester every Tuesday, I'd go hang out with them when all the science kids were in class and then go to the science kids when those three were in class. It was a great routine and I looked forward to each and every Tuesday. Also the pleasure I get from watching Kylie eat my brownies cannot be put into words, and I hope that doesn't sound wrong on any level at all.Anna!
There's just something about Anna. Everyone loves her. And she lives in Sunshine. I remember Anthony introduced her to us at CC upstairs. And then the next time we had a psych lecture, I spotted her sitting a couple of rows in front of us so I told her to sit with us. After the lecture, we went to the library to do some sort of study. Since then, she's been a great person to talk and laugh with. The one moment that still makes me laugh was at the end of a day, I was on the bus and I saw her waiting for her bus. I send her one of those messages that you send someone to let them know you can see them, without directly saying it. The look on her face was absolutely priceless.Chen and Lily!
I only really became friends with Andrew this year. He is such an amazing person it really is scary. He is what we'd call "The Complete Package", I might even start calling him that on this blog. And then Lily too! I caught the bus with her to and from uni so many times this year it became routine. She even ended up giving me lifts to the station in the morning during second semester, although it only saved 10 minutes.Sam and Tallon!
These two I could not have lived without. At the start of the year, they were my go-to friends. Bored at any time? Call them and meet up. We even caught the bus home together. Of course that all ended in second semester when we stopped trying. As far as I can recall, I only caught the bus home with those two once or twice in the second half of the year. Surprising, really. I miss those Bubblecup days at Box Hill. Oh how I could go a toffee coffee right now.Felita
As much as I'd like to, I guess I can't ignore her. Pretty much all of second semester was based around her. We had many a good time. Also many a dollar wasted at pool. The less said the better I reckon.J-Anne Tan and Kelvin!
My maths buddies! I didn't really meet J-Anne Tan [that's what I call her now] until two or three months in, but that doesn't matter. Had so much fun in lectures with them, and by fun I mean learning. First it was with the brilliant Leo and then the mildly senile Prentice. Also got a lot of help from them with chemistry. Kelvin's power is immense. There's no other way to describe it.E-wong!
I stuck to him like glue for the first week or so. Then he got fob friends, and I got science friends. Still enjoy a laugh with him, whenever it comes.Judy, Jenny and Monica!
The Vermont girls! Good fun they always are. It was odd but I never thought I'd be friends with Judy, but I guess if you spend enough time hanging around the same group it's bound to happen. Jenny and Monica are also great people. I don't know why but the psych lab I did with Jenny on the day of Timmy's birthday party just stands out among the memories of the past year. It was memorable, even though I was a blink which lasted too long away from sleep. I ended up going to quite a few psych lectures with Jenny, and Aya too, on Thursdays, after which we'd trudge up to CC upstairs hoping others would come. The one memory I have of Monica is the day I randomly saw her outside Hargraves and then ended up walking her to her bio lab. Ah to be that carefree again.The rest!
Also met a whole bunch of other people like Andrew and Dickson. Andrew and I get into the stupidest conversations, endless fun. Amy too, although I didn't really talk to her until the end of the year. And then there's also Wilson and Ryan who are great fun to be around. Alan, Tempany, Haran and Ambu included, although they have their med crew. Saw Duc and Phan at various times during the year, and Rob too but he just disappeared. Also the rest of the Com/Law kids like Jack Liang, Charlie, Simon, Meng and James Cheng. I saw Shervin about twice this year, and once was on orientation.And that should end the mammoth post. It was a fantastic year and it was nothing like what I'd expected from uni. Let's just hope I keep meeting new people. However if that does happen, I'll have to decide who I shall hang out with: the science kids, the old MHS crew or whoever is new? Oh what a splendid problem to have.
So here's hoping to a brilliant '09. And to an Australian Ashes victory!
Labels: 2008 review, annabelle, chen, chris judd, eugene, felita, hong, huang, j-anne tan, jacqueline, jenny, kelvin, kylie, lily, marcus, monica, sam ho, tallon, timothy
Written by banh at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)
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So here's a collection of my favourite posts from the past 12 months.
S2 Clarke long time
The first of many posts on Sydneygate. Ah a fun couple of weeks that was, which culminated in the confirmation that India is the cricket world's most influential nation.
CNY 2008
The very brief wrap up of Chinese New Year. More importantly was my brilliant rating system, one I forgot about very quickly.
Uni whinge
A post detailing how much I hated uni. Goodness how that opinion changed.
Friendsies
A big rant on all the cool people I've met. And the second one.
All about Easter
Man love.
Dusty rain
I remember going home that day quite vividly. I was with Sam and Tallon and we decided to catch the Blackburn home instead of the Box Hill. On the bus we saw Huang and Lily. By then we had heard there were no trains and were hoping like heck it didn't affect the Beldale line. We were wrong. I ended up getting a lift home with Lily, at the time someone I still really hadn't known very well or talked with a lot. Long story short, it's those kinds of situations where you make new friends. Glad for it.
Not based on a true story
A story inspire by finding out I live so close to Lily. I think it's the one and only piece of fiction I wrote on this blog all year, goodness I would have wanted a bit more than that.
Pho Party! End.
Wrap up of the first pho party, yes sadly there was a second.
I tell the truth
It was the start of something fun. Something fun with a terrible ending. And yes, an ending. Not a twist or anything, a blunt end.
Mystical Curry munch
I just love the title.
STOP THE PRESS!!!!!
Definitely one of my more favourite posts of the year.
Like in the movies
Coincidence of epic proportions. I really do love this story. She actually sent me a message a month or so later telling me that she remembered too. You could not have wiped the smile off my face that day.
Shannon!
This post was done when I felt that things were just a wee bit unfair. In fact, a lot more than a wee bit unfair.
Bye bye, teef
My very first time under the knife. Fun it was too.
Isaac!!!!
Perhaps my favourite day of the year. Part 2 as well.
Birrrffffddddaaaayyy!!!
My birthday, and a good'un too. I didn't go out to celebrate or anything, all I did was do what I enjoy with one of my favourite people in the world. Or in other words, I stayed at home to bake with Jackie. I didn't actually want to spend my birthday any other way. And I'm glad I didn't.
Love For Sale
Oooooh... An ending? Perhaps. I prefer a liberation.
Spiga!
Marcus' birthday again! I think anyone that can have two birthday parties within a single calendar year is pretty impressive. And Kylie's too, but unfortunately I didn't get many opportunities to talk to Kylie.
And that conludes part 1 of my 2008 wrap up. Next will be a detailed, revealing and somewhat embarrassing run down of all my favourite people this year. Looking forward to it!
Labels: 2008 review, blog, link
Written by banh at 1:15 AM | Comments (1)
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not bad roundup of posts, banhy, i'll be back this year to see how the action pans out. keeps me busy :)
oh, and 'All about Easter' wasn't really necessary now, was it? =P
By 
, at 9:02 PM