Semester 1, 2011.

Results for sem 1, 2011 were released few days ago and as I expected, my results were not on par with the previous semesters’. Definitely no Dean’s list this semester!

Can’t say I’m not disappointed because I expected at least one 7 for either MSTU or POLS. But I also expected to see a 5 for COMU, good thing it’s not! My first grade 5 in my whole uni life received in the last semester (for my normal BA). What a pity I could not keep my results purely 6s and 7s. Argh, Buddhism. From the first moment I learn about this course, I knew I would not do so well if I were to take it. It’s religion, it’s philosophy. The stuff that makes my head go haywire. Alas! I proved myself right. I worked quite hard for Buddhism, did lots of reading which is required actually, if not you can’t write shit. But well, other courses were quite as time-consuming with looooots of readings to do. I guess for this semester, without a Korean course, I was kept busy on my toes just like a “more” normal uni student. Every week, tons of readings to do.

The thing is, although my grades are not as good as my previous semesters, I felt that I learnt the most for this semester. Perhaps it’s because of the readings, but I would also credit my Buddhism prof (oh the irony!). Throughout the semester, he stressed on the importance of reading and writing. Reading is essential for everyone because it is through reading that we gain knowledge (mostly), which of course is true. Besides learning from lecturers, profs in school, we gain most knowledge through reading (be it textbook or other academic books). Besides that, having taken the political science course has made me realised how little I know about Asia. I reckon that I should not only focus on Korea and expand my knowledge to other parts of Asia as well, especially SEA which shamefully I have the least interest in. >< Because of this course, I am cultivating the habit of updating myself with current affairs around the world (especially Asia, since I’m majoring in Asian Studies). There are actually so much more that I’ve learnt this semester but I’m just too lazy to type it all out… lol.

So, now I’m officially a Bachelor degree holder and moving on to another year of honours! I’m sooo excited for the new semester to start! Only two weeks of holidays left, I have to take this time to study and revise my Korean due to the lack of Korean practice last semester. ><

Short post on the Melbourne/Gold Coast trip!

I have been fighting the unmotivated will to blog all these while and finally I’m here still struggling to type what has been going on  in my life since my last blog post. I see blogging as a practice for sustaining my writing skills although it is not something I want to boast about and it may not be an effective practice (due to the lack of a 3rd party proof-reading) but it is still SOMETHING which is better than nothing! That’s why I don’t want to give up blogging.

June was a really really busy month which is kind of obvious considering my number of blog posts. I was busy with exams and assignments, after which I went on a vacation to Melbourne and Gold Coast with my sister and cousin. It all ended within the month of June! A month mixed with working hard and playing hard.

Melbourne/Gold Coast trip was really fun. I was pretty impressed with the amount of things to do in Melbourne city! There is the Fed Square where we participated in the winter light festival on one of the weekends, where there were performances and a beautifully lit pyramid of lights. Chinatown in Melbourne was bustling and seemed authentically Asia, heaps better than the Chinatown in Brisbane which is labelled as the red light district (danger zone). As our hotel was located at Chinatown, we had to walk past Chinatown everyday. I think I have been to Melbourne’s Chinatown more than Brissy’s. Melbourne city closes way later than Brisbane city as well which is super awesome! Woolies was still open at 9+ near 10! Certain boutiques were still open at around 7+, 8 on Sunday when Brisbane shops closes at 5 sharp on Sunday!

But the less populous city of Brisbane appeals to me more. The amount of people in Brisbane is just nice to me, not too many and not too little. That’s one of the good things I like about Brissy, other than the weather!

Besides city touring in Melbourne, we went on a day tour to Great Ocean Road and Philip Island. Although it was freezing cold, it was still a great experience! The good thing about the tours was that I didn’t have motion sickness!! It was probably because I ate medicine and slept almost throughout the whole bus rides. Waking up really early in the morning for the tours helped too. ;)

I’ve nothing much to rave about for Gold Coast since I’ve been there 485720302348023 times. Hahaaa, you know that’s figurative right?

I will blog more soon…. I think I’ve depleted my writing juices last semester (sem 1, 2011).

My favourite Professor in UQ

This evening, while taking a bus home from uni, I spotted my Asian Studies prof sitting a few seats in front of me. Apparently he was reading some sort of Japanese catalogue on Japanese visual art, i.e. paintings, calligraphy, ceramic art, etc. I thought in my head, “that is so Dr Low”. He never ceases to amaze me with his passion towards Japanese culture and his overall enthusiasm towards Asian Studies. Of course, being the Asian Studies major convenor he SHOULD be passionate towards it. But compared to other profs I’d encounter in my uni life, he exudes the most passion for the courses he’s teaching. Whenever I coincidentally spot him somewhere in uni or on the bus, he would be reading something. And he always provides lots of reading materials during his classes each week. I’ve taken his courses for three semesters and always enjoyed his classes, no doubt writing blog entries each week is kind of troublesome at times, but I think that it does reinforces what we learnt during lessons.

Oh his passion for Japanese culture goes way back I reckon. It seems he had lived in Japan for a few years and is pretty fluent in Japanese. He’s an Australian born Chinese/Hong Kong, I think. And he teaches Japanese popular culture in UQ, a course which I took in my first semester.

I find that he’s a really good example for me. His passion and quest for knowledge seems limitless… well that’s the feeling I get from him whenever I attend his classes, or see him reading some article about Asia/Japan. I hope I can cultivate this kind of passion towards reading and gaining more knowledge. Also for this passion to keep burning till I retire or even after!!

Busiest semester of my uni life!!!

Very busy, very very busy. Just taking a break to blog….. about me being busy. –_-;

This busy life will not end even when my exams end because my sister and cousin are coming over to Aus and we’ll be busy playing!!!

My free time will start in July and that’s when I’ll be very free, very very free.

Our one year anniversary!!

I can’t believe I’ve been in a relationship for a year!

Although we spent most of our time apart, I have never felt so in love in my life before, even now. There were definitely times I didn’t feel positive about the relationship but his assurance and love for me has kept me going… In an LDR, trust is the most important thing that will keep the relationship alive (probably for a non-LDR too) and he has managed to make me trust in him completely… When we were physically together during those short period of times, he made me feel like I can depend on him. He has done so much for me, I even feel guilty not being able to do as much for him.

Before being committed in a relationship, I always thought how people could get married and stay together forever… Won’t the love fade away? Won’t they feel sick of each other?

But this relationship has taught me, that it is possible… maybe it’s too early to say now, but I feel like I can stay with him and love him forever… I really love him so much. ^^

I can’t believe I’m blogging like this… like a typical teenage girl blogger talking about how she loves her bf and blah blah blah.. Hehe. I really hate reading those kind of blogs but now here I am typing those things myself.

Negativity….

I’ve been feeling horrible these few days. This negative feeling has been residing in me for a couple of weeks now. I feel so unhappy, unloved, unimportant. Maybe I’m just being overly emotional……

OMG…

I can’t believe how LITTLE I’ve done for my assignments during the Easter break!! I’ve only achieved 10% of the things I’d planned to do!! I slacked, watched shows, went karaoke and spent most of the time on this tutorial presentation that isn’t worth any marks!

Okay, so I did some work, but really I played a lot and now that the new term has started it’s going to be HELL. T.T

Guitar learning has been slow but definitely progressing. I find myself getting more and more keen in wanting to master the guitar each time I practise. I can also feel the thickening of skin at my fingertips although the pain is still there every time I fret. Hopefully I am able to keep on practising everyday even though the new term has started!

One of my favourite meals!! Roasted (and nicely marinated) chicken, with steamed veges and rice! It’s soooooo good because the chicken has been pre-marinated when I bought them! LOL. It’s affordable too!

And some random funny photos: