Hong Kong - the hustle, the bustle

So, Hong Kong was mostly shopping and eating and walking and talking and going to the toilet. There were a lot of people on the streets. Like, a lot. As in, you couldn't walk a 50 metre street in 10 minutes. This was probably owing to the fact that we went the few days before Christmas, it was the weekend, and general Hong Kongness i.e. people walking around, but not actually buying stuff. It was pretty hot for "winter".

There was a highlight that was really, really awkward. Like playing-Backstreet-Boys-on-your-phone-in-the-elevator-when-a-complete-stranger-walks-in awkward. Which is exactly what happened. Hilarity abounds.

We went to Disneyland on Monday, which was the pretty funs (photos here). It was a bit small though. We finished walking around in about four hours. We went on this space ride thingo, the train, and went to see the Lion King show. We bought lotsa stuff. Which pretty much sums up our Hong Kong adventure.

We'll be travelling to Ha Er Bin (further north than Beijing) for seven days. A bit of negative 30 degrees. Until next time, ciao.

Christmas Message 2007 from The Andrew

Merry Christmas to all of y'all on this fine day. Hell, it's even a fine day in GZ. The first in a while, from what I've heard. I actually saw a blue sky today. I think it's cleared away now.

Anyway, I've spent the last 4 days in Hong Kong, shopping, walking, eating, shopping, shopping, eating, walking, talking, and shopping. Basically, I bought shoes (LeBron shoes, because I play basketball - don't ask), a Swatch, and other various items from Disneyland. I'll probably fill in the rest of the details in the next few days.

Have a great day, and I hope you had as much fun and happiness receiving presents as you did giving them to people (I can dream). Have a good one.

Of China, ENTER, and theft

ENTER shall be discussed later. And yes, there is Internet in China.

So I (and my family) caught the plane at 1 o'clock in the morning on the 15th (Melbourne time), dead tired and really tuckered out. Then I remembered how hard it was to sleep on the plane. So I half-slept for about...5 minutes. Then food was served. Which was what I needed right then, seeing as I wasn't hungry and in need of sleep. So I ate the food, because I wasn't hungry, then I half-slept for about 4 hours. Then I woke up. Inexplicably. So I played DS for a bit, went to the toilet played DS some more, realised that the backlight was probably waking everyone up, stopped playing DS. Half slept for about 2 more hours. Woke up with 2 hours to go on the flight. Alighted at Hong Kong at about 6:30 their time, if I remember correctly (in the morn). (Man, this is gonna be a huge post again. I just spent about 10 line talking about a plane trip).

So yeah, got to Hong Kong airport, and pretty much hopped straight on the bus to Guangzhou. Turned out that we picked the worst ever bus company. What they did was, they told us that it would be an almost seamless trip, with a "short" stop on the border. Then, what they actually did was drop us at the border, picked up other customers and left us stranded for about an hour. My parents went ballistic. Understandably, I thought. So then they decided to shove us all on the bus and go zooming off to Guangzhou.

The weather was pretty bad. Still is. It's winter here. Or supposed to be. It feels like the Aussie spring, plus smog, pollution and general filth. And people. Many, many people. So we bunkered down at my grandpa's old house. It's generally pretty good, except for the tiny stairs, and generally cold water. It's quieter than many houses in Guanzhou.

So the day after we arrived, we went places. Visited rellies. Went to dinner.

The next day, we went shopping and gaming with cousin and wife. Which sounds a bit daggy, until you factor in the fact they're 24. So we bought books, jeans, food, and went gaming. Sarah scored a Hello Kitty doll in a fit of rage (she threw a coin on one of those table things) and Michelle got a hair clip. I got an orange juice that I bought. And a good time.

The next day...more shopping. Bought lots of random stuff. Like really random. As in...golden mices. Go figure. After that, we went and had lunch. As you do at lunchtime. Then we went to do more shopping. Or walking. I tried on those new Converse mouse shoes, but they look dodgy on me. They're a bit thin and queer-looking. My sister got a black pair though. They look quite the awesomes.

Today, we had breakfast at uncle's, and then went shopping. Bought about 5 Levi's jackets for about the price of half a Levi's jacket in Australia. And a Lonsdale jacket. After that, we ventured to a supermarket, which was like walking into Box Hill with about 10 times as many people. It was pandemonium. And I've been informed by my cousin that it's like that every day of the week. After lunch with grandma, we chilled at cousin's place. Still am.

I've been wanting to take a whole pile of photos, but everyone in my family is afraid of thieves. So I guess I can't bust out the ol' digital camera.

The irony is killing me. I can't view my own blog from here.

ENTER was very 93.75. Still don't know anyone who did worse than me. Hope it gets me into Comarts.

My massive family, including cousins and various other hangers-on, and I are leaving for Hong Kong on Friday, so I probably won't blog til after that. That'll make all of you happy. See you after Honky Kongy.

Andrew on Speech Night, Valedictory Dinner, Post-Exam Boredom and Much Ado About Nothing

And so it was, with much eager anticipation, that I put down my pen at the conclusion of the Business Management exam. However, the expected euphoria didn't really happen. It was kind of a feeling of relief more than anything. But I won't go into all that. I think I went through that in my last post. I think I shall do my second SumCap in a year. But this time, of post-school, instead of in school. Enjoy.



The Saturday after exams (17th of November): Glorious vacuum cleaning, then coffee at Knox City with family. Was quite relaxing. Went shopping for a bit. Didn't buy anything. Found out that the new catchphrase from my mum was "Buy it in Hong Kong, it's cheaper."

18th of November: Went out to Gardenworld. Bought a good ol' venus flytrap - for flytrapping.

19th - 22nd of November: Mostly boredom, interspersed with going out, Maple Story and FIFA08. What an exciting life.

23rd of November: Our triumphant return to The Castle on the Hill for Speech Night rehearsals. Well, for some of us. Those that turned up. And didn't sing their throats raw by the end. Went out to play pool. Won 1/5, in a team battle. I swear that Javi guy used aim hax against Orrin and I.

24th - 28th of November: Can't remember much happening. Might have gone out a few times, bummed around a bit. Folded some stars and half-made a jar. Looks something like this:



It probably shall be given to one who is deserving of such a mighty gift.

29th of November: Speech Day was pretty unamusing, in that I came in school uniform because that's what it said on the sheet. Along with five other people. So some idiot behind me (Shivesh I think, who is incidentally Rudra's friend) thought that this was a valid enough reason to grope my behind. Go figure. So I gave him the evil eye and made it clear to him that I didn't share his sparkling sense of humour/pastime/things that give me kicks. So he stopped. Singing was pretty atrocious. After that unsavoury incident, I travelled to Nando's MC with Meng the Taikonaut and Orrin. After being promised that "Nando's is really good" by (fill in the blanks) M_ _ g, we found out that it wasn't so good after all. We also found that Orrin is a chicken eating machine. Had to go home early to meet immigration lawyer. No, I'm not getting deported.

Speech Night was a blast. Sort of. Watched it with my homies for the first time since Year 9. So yeah. Patrick Low was a highlight. If John So were dead, I would swear that Patrick Low is him reincarnated. We sang so much better than at rehearsals. Year 12 song (No Such Thing - John Mayer) was a marked improvement. I still maintain that Nessun Dorma should have been the final song. Finlandia really doesn't make sense as a last song. Hardly anyone knew the lyrics, and its not very moving. And it doesn't help that we're not Finlandish. It was good all in all though. I think my family liked it.

30th November - 3rd December: Started and half finished my massive painting project.

Night of the 3rd of December: Valedictory Dinner at Caulfield Racecourse. Basically, dinner with friends, celebrating our past misdemeanours, successes and failures of our times at this fine school. Of friends made, and of good times spent. Pretty good food as well. Some people find it funny that we did it in school uniform. I say that it's a great idea. Obviously DLC disagrees with me, coming in casual the way he did. Although it was amusing watching Andy Van rapping, and finding out that Ludo has a sense of humour, there was still a sense of sadness that pervaded the occasion. A night to remember. For photos (more will be added later after I get them off people), have a look at my flickr page here.

4th of December: I awoke early, even with my hangover from excessive Coke consumption, to lead my sister to Mac.Robertson Girls' High School for her orientation day. I think I'll just stick with Macrob. Anyway, it was quite uneventful. Got to Flinders, followed Macrobians, and arrived at the school that looks like a...yeah, I won't say. I like life too much to throw it away like that. So met up with Orrin, went pooling, bowling, eating, and "shopping" (i.e. not buying anything at all - Smiggle rubber doesn't count). Then I met my sister back and Flinders and went home. And the ungrateful swine still reckons she doesn't know the way there.

5th - 6th of December: Continued and concluded paint project. The reason for the delay was the exhaustion of paint supply and different coloured paint being bought. It now looks something like this:



And my clothing afterwards:


7th - 8th of December: Very, very late sleepover 17th birthday party at Orrin's. Meng and Dom came along for the ride. So we went soccer, N64, soccer, N64 and table tennis. Was quite amusing. Gave Orrin a Torres jersey, seeing as it's his favourite person in the world. See below:

Quote of that day: "How big's your stick?" - Meng (not taken out of context at all).

Other projects undertaken between then and now: Cleaning of my room. Successful, as you can see from the picture below:



Cleaning out VCE stuff: still happening.

Buying Christmas stuff and just general stuff for relatives.

Receiving Christmas gifts: current tally is 1 Country Road bag, 1 Parker pen, 1 CK In 2 U perfume, and 1 Lego Batmobile. I didn't ask for any of these fantastic gifts.

Also found out my dog likes buckets:


Miscellaneous picture:


Today: Purchased Mr. Happy t-shirt (at long, long last, found one that wasn't overpriced and looked awesome, shall show you all in a later post), purchased a Nintendo DS (the phully cools) and some other stuff which i can't remember). So after waiting around the house for hours (well, if you count going out as waiting around the house for hours) for the "goods" for the DS to arrive literally on my doorstep, delivered by a person, I found them in my letterbox, where they had probably been for hours. XD.


I probably won't blog again until after I arrive in China (leaving on the night of the 14th (tomorrow now), arriving on 15th), when you can all follow my Asian adventures, full of photos and wordsmithing. If anyone needs anything from China, drop us a line here, on Facebook, or email me, and I'll see what I can do. See you when I'm in China.

FRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Last exam today, and I haven't felt this happy in ages. Finally, no more work to worry about. Guess it'll take a bit of time to adjust. Still feel like I should be doing work. Kinda strange.

This anonymous kid is really getting on my nerves. I figure he's a sad little kid with no life, and is too weak to fight anyone in real life. So he hides behind the alias, on the goddamn internet, where no-one knows who you are anyway, being a tool. It's not funny, and no-one likes you. I don't know who you're trying to impress, but you're an idiot. Go get a life, and stop intruding on other peoples.

Random thought/memory of the day

I want a head like the heads they have on Easter Island.

That is all.

MySpace is not My type of Space

No offence to friends of mine who are, in fact, MySpacers, but MySpace is, quite simply put, horrible. There are a number of reasons that I feel this way:

1. People who normally go out of their way to avoid you in RW (real world) add you as their "friend" on MySpace. Maybe I'm not keeping up with trends in contemporary society, but the last time I checked, a friend was someone who cared for you, someone who would ask you where you were when you weren't there, someone who talked to you for no reason at all, just to say hi. Not someone who adds you to boost the number of friends they have on their list, or talks to you when they need something from you. The MySpace community must be congratulated though. They have well and truly redefined the meaning of the word 'friend' in the space of about three years. Well done.
2. Everybody's the same. Except for my friends who use MySpace. Because they're not. But apart from that, everybody's the same. Bad quality pictures taken on mobile phones in a club-like setting. Teenage to mid-20s narcissists who think they're profound with phrases like "OMGZ lyk don't do it, it's bad 4 ur reputation." Interests: Anything that's "in" at the moment. Nobody does anything outside the status quo. I have not seen one person there that listens to classical, or jazz, or something not in the top 50. Coherently structured sentences are at a premium. MySpace is not self-expression. It's an expression of conformity.
   
3. Becoming more materialistic now, the user interface of MySpace is just poor. I mean, my blog is just a mish-mash of the template that I got off Blogger, and it looks better than MySpace. They obviously have enough money, why don't they get someone to create a better site. It can't be all that hard. Facebook looks so much better and cleaner. Everything on MySpace either seems too dark, too cluttered, too unstreamlined, or just amatuerish.
4. Comments. Because it's so difficult to talk to people on MSN, email, or, if you don't have either, phone. It's a hard life, but one has to make do with MSN - or not, if you use MySpace. Because it's easier than instant messaging if you leave a comment, wait for the person to read the comment, compose a suitable reply, and comment you back. And the cycle repeats.

These claims I make because I have trialled MySpace and have seen these faults for myself. I have experienced, first-hand, people that don't even look at me adding me on MySpace. I rejected these "friend" requests. I have also experienced people only coming to me when in need (Long time no see Anthony. What? Your name's Andrew? Oh, yeah, I mean, Andrew, of course. Say, could I borrow some money off you?) My heart grows cold when approached by these people. Those of you that know me, know that I wouldn't rebuff a friend. But these people, I harbour no sympathy towards. I have also noted the self-unexpression that takes place at MySpace. Nigel's comment that "This sucks. MySpace that is." is probably the most original one there. And we all know how original Nigel is. Damn joke-stealer. I have also found that MSN is a much more convenient method of communication. Instant messaging, almost instant replies. Exceptions to this rule wouldn't reply any faster on MySpace. This isn't a dig at people who use MySpace. Well, actually I lie. I think my vitriol is directed at most MySpacers. Because it's not your space, it's ClonesSpace.

Vote for me

It would be greatly appreciated if you could go to http://flickr.duracell.com.au/ and vote for my photo with the most votes. Just go to the website, search "ihuang" and vote for the photo with the most votes. Thanks a bunch.

Ready to rumble

How fitting that my 100th post should be on the eve of our English exam. English exam, VCE, 2nd November, 2007. You heard it here first.

To celebrate, I invite you all to a party at my house tomorrow morning. You better come.

So anyway, as I was saying, English exam marks the start of a long and arduous journey of exams. My next one is on Thursday. I want to take someone to Cup Day. Not that anyone would want to, exam or no. But I can dream.

This isn't a very interesting post, for a 100th post. I guess I'd like to thank all my faithful, loyal, special, lovely, superlatively talented blog readers. I don't know how you can stand to read my blog, especially when it's in such an out-of-the-way place i.e. not on MySpace. I can't even read it myself sometimes. Without you, there would be no blog. I would lose my drive, my inspiration, my motivation. Thank-you once again, and good luck and many happy returns for the exam period. Let's all be comfortable in the knowledge that it'll all be finished in a few weeks. See you at the other end.

Faux emo rage

So like, I was gonna all emo rage and stuff in this post. Then I ran out of angst.

I dunno what's wrong. I just have this feeling inside of me. I'm pretty sure it's nothing to do with exams, although I'm sure after them it'll be a lot better. Just feeling blue at the mo. Not that anybody cares.

Sorry about emo rant. Wasn't very emo. I feel much better now though.

Memories of joy, pain, and bad jokes

Time stops for no man. Or woman. Fate, it seems, has caught up with us. The day that seemed so far away in year 9, or even at the start of this year, 2007, has finally caught up with all of us. Thursday was our last day of high school. Ever. The last time we would ever be dismissed by our teachers. The last time that teachers would glare at me reproachfully. The last time 'SAC' and 'fail' will ever be used in the same sentence. The last time that I'll have so many friends around me again. The almost-last time that we wait for the 3:20 bell with bated breath. I'm gonna miss all those things. Even the 'SAC' and 'fail' in the same sentence.

When Marc (I think) played Go the Distance (that Hercules song we sang in Year 10) on the piano, I almost cried. Almost. Music speaks to the soul, man, and right then, my soul was in torment. On the one hand, I couldn't wait to get out of there, the scene of my every failure. On the other hand, I couldn't bear to leave the place where I had actually felt that I belonged for the first time in my life. I think this calls for a summary of my years at the Castle on the Hill, Melbourne High School.

Year 9:
Man, I was the biggest dweeb back then. I was so lost. I had no clue where to go, what to think, what to do, who to talk to. But I got by. Somehow. I think I knew how to spell everything except "funny" and "cool". Not that I'm either of them at the present moment. But far out. I've improved, I think. So anyway, people that I met:

• First person, Steven Tu. Great mate, still is.
• James Cheng, ditto.
  
• Orrin, the guy who looks like a serial killer, but really, he couldn't even be a cereal killer. Torres is the worst, by the way.
  
• Kishara, taught me that bendiness in fingers is pretty disgusting. I won't even try his last name.
• Ben Niles, thought he was African, I mean, come on, he's that black, and his name isn't exactly unAfrican.
• Jinn Kan, didn't understand why he has so many Ns, and I still don't. Thought he was a gangsta, until he talked. Please don't kill me.
• Pramuk, resident black guy who's not Ben Niles. Great kid.
• Ivor, the empitome of violence. Not really. Just seems that way cos he's unco and left-handed.
  
• Gary Zhang, super-dux.
  
• Flanno. I never knew someone could be so dedicated to a cause.
  

Those are the people from 9J (I hope and think that's all). Now to miscellaneous:

• James "Purple Dinosaur" Banh, train line buddies since year 9, even though I've only been in one of his classes ever.
• Nigel (I think), another train buddy of Asian descent.
  
• James Brown. I like his name.
• Chiu twins. No comment.

Likewise, I hope I didn't miss anyone.

Some highlights of the year:

• Camp. Was freaking stupid. Almost froze to death. Loved every moment.
• The trip to Sydney. Highly entertaining meeting and talking to Sydney people.
  
• That is all I can remember.

Lowlights:

• Losing the Cockhouse. This would be the last time.
• The lonely hours.
  
• Lack of iPod. I don't know how I managed.

All in all, a bland and getting-to-know you year.

Year 10:
10J was the form, O'Reilly was the teacher. Worst. Teacher. Ever. Ms "fix up your handwriting when mine's the worst handwriting ever." Also gave me my first and last detention at MHS. That aside, this is where it really took off. I met so many new people that I won't even bother dot pointing them. I know I'll miss someone, so if I do, just give me a shout and I'll try to rectify the situation. So I met: Alexei, David Lee, Garyn T, Il Joong, Jimmy Luu, Simon, Kong, Ron Shell (best day of my life according to said person). That is all I can remember. So maybe it didn't take off after all.

Highlights:

• Actually winning the Cockhouse.
  
• Finding Tattam Band.
  
• Red Cross thing.
  

Lowlights:

• Spraining ankle first night at camp. Fantastic.
• Community service and work experience. Man, that was...Tedious. I'll just say tedious, because me, being the noble person that I am, decided to do 22 hours of ComServe instead of the 20.
  
• Losing chorals again.
  
• Detention, which wasn't all that bad. It was more the reason that I got it. On hindsight, it was stupid. Playing calculator games. Me is cool.
• Social. I thought it would be awesome. Turned out it wasn't really my type of thing.
  
• My memory is really faulty. I can't remember anything else, even though I know I should.

Year 11:
Seriously, this is where it really took off. This was probably the worst year, academically and pyschologically. I never felt comfortable. The whole year was like sitting on a hedgehog with blunt spikes. People that I met: Jack Liang (even though he doesn't do me the courtesy of acknowledging it on his blog - the hate is felt mutually), Simond (lol blogger says that's a typo), Meng (funny guy), Botros (crazy laugh), Victor Chiu, Ken, FinnDo, Josh (I think). That is all I remember. Again, if you're not listed, I either intensely dislike you, or I've forgotten and I really love you. You pick. If it's the latter, I apologise and will try to fix it up.

Highlights:

• Cultural involvement was actually quite fun, especially the rugby bit.
• WORLD CUP!!! That was the best ride of my life, especially following the Australian adventure. That Grosso dive almost made me cry. It still does.
• Man, this is horrible, I can't remember any happy thoughts. Oh wait. One not exactly happy, but not depressing thought. We didn't come last in chorals.

Lowlights:

• Coping, or not, with Year 11.
• Australia and the World Cup exit.
• Having Pask as form teacher. Scared every moment of form.
• Finding out that not all Sydney people were as nice as my host family back in Year 9. In fact, far from it.
  

I think the less we say about this year, the better.

Year 12
Simultaneously the worst and best year ever. God, I had massive amounts of fun and work as well. People that I met include our resident man for all seasons, Isaac, Victor Yiu (someone who actually said football instead of soccer), Brendan Hong (possible co-dux), Chantapon (kept me entertained during methods), reaffirmed acquaintance with Eugene, Ognalla (this year or last? I forget), Michael Tran, Denny, Anh (funny girl), Loke (fob Australian), and that is all I can remember.

Highlights:

• Winning chorals. I was instrumental (geddit) in our second placing in instrumentals. But, man, winning chorals. That sparked celebrations bigger than winning the world cup. I remember bouncing up and down in a massive crowd. That is all. And don't listen to all the other houses complaining how we shouldn't have won. See below, and bask in our obvious superiority:

A tool of a conductor. Compare to Yarra:



It seems lacking in vibrancy and delicacy, no? All power and no touch. Which reaffirms my belief that we deserved to win.

• Winning the Cockhouse for the third year running. Becoming a bit easy now.
• The Formal. That's right. With a capital F. First time that I had ever worn a suit. Thanks again to Anh for being a great date, and to all my friends who made it special.
  
• Picked up a habit of playing lunchtime soccer. It was great.
• The release of Harry Potter, although the actual book should go in lowlights.
• Oh mah gawd, like, man, you've got some Up-dog on your shirt. Best bad joke all year.
  
• Kelvin actually checking the back of his bag for Up-dog.
• Andrew Bolt wrote A Man for All Seasons, according to a person who's name starts with I and ends in C and has the letters 'saa' in the middle. No wonder the books so opinionated and conservative.
  

Lowlights:

• Harry Potter and the horrible plot. Disappointed.
• Work. And more work.
  
• Getting into fights and arguments.
• Post-formal depression.
• Generally feeling blue randomly.

A great four years at Melbourne High. I think I'm gonna start truly missing it after exams. Friendships, anti-friendships, it's been great. Be comfortable in the knowledge that if you are mentioned here, you're a great person. I generally don't hang out with bad people. I don't think I do anyway. I learned one very important thing among others. Don't go chasing respect or care from others that won't give it to you. It'll only hurt you. I hope I have made a good difference to the lives of the people that I have met these past four years, and hope you all get the 99+ ENTER you deserve. Until next time, peace out.

Milk Run

The annual highlight on the Melbourne High calendar. Not exams. Not any of the sporting carnivals. No. That would be too sane. Ladies, gentlemen and others, welcome to Milk Run 07. The rules of the game: Drink a litre of milk, supplement with lemon juice every lap the contestant runs, and hurl. No one really knows how you win.Whether it's the person who doesn't puke, or the person who pukes the most, or the person who pukes the most flamboyantly, or whether it's the person who runs the most laps. All I know is (within my knowledge) we are the only school to do it. At least annually. Who would do it, you ask? Well surprisingly, they only wanted 40 competitors and they got 50-odd. Amazing the lengths that people will go to to humiliate themselves.

It was disgusting, filthy, rank and stunk like hell (man, if I could have recorded smell, you'd probably be dead after watching the vids). So what did I do? Record it of course. It's oddly entertaining in a sickening way. Now, on to the complication. I had to load the vids in parts cause Blogger won't let me do otherwise. Also, if you want to skip the entertaining, but slightly tedious commentary, skip the first ten minutes. Without further ado, enjoy.

Let the Mucking Up begin

And so it begins. The last week of high school ever. I regret not taking part in the water fight, owing to my lack of spare clothes bringing. However, I did get this video, which I hope you can all see and/or hear clearly:



It looked like major ownage when I was there live anyway. The poor quality was due to my lack of foresight of bringing my videocam.

I will be filming the annual milk run (tomorrow, I think), in better resolution, of course. And I will post it. Might be a bit disgusting though, so much so that you might wish that I had never filmed or posted it.

Photos/videos of people in superhero costumes will also appear here shortly.

Now is not a time for reflection. That shall be on Thursday night. Stay tuned for more, and enjoy the last week of school.

Egged

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a new blog layout. This Togepi layout marks the start of a new era in my blogging career. Not really, no. But I think it's pretty cool. Courtesy of my sister Sarah. I wouldn't have been able to do a new blog layout, and even if I could, I probably wouldn't be stuffed. But it doesn't matter what I think. Tell me what you think of it. That would be much appreciated.

So, "holidays" have been a week and a bit gone. Been studying hard (well, I think so) and generally haven't had much of a life. Talked to a few people on msn, but generally haven't had any human contact with friends as such. I'm gonna go insane soon if I don't. Which is quite a conundrum, seeing as I don't want school to start.

Actually I lie. Well, I don't. I saw friends at the VFL Grand Final gig that out (Tattam) Band did on the first Sunday of the "holidays." I count Yap and Jimmy. That is all. And maybe Simmo. The rest of the people there are pretty much tools.

Now, why am I so early, posting about random stuff? The Champions League match, of course. Man U vs Roma. What a rematch. We all know what happened last time they met. Well, some of us do. 7-1 or some such score line. But Man U don't look like they're going to repeat that with the current goalscoring form they're in. Looks like a bit of 1-0 to me. Lol, watching a replay of the caning now. Cronaldo on fire, as he was liable to be back then. And the match just started, and Louis Saha just headed thin air. And a good header it was. And Cronaldo has an awful haircut. It's almost worst than mine. Almost.

Arsenal top of the league. Study going mildly well. Football to watch. I'm almost a happy man. Except for the lack of human contact. And a decent pair of shorts. Well, anyway, I'll leave you all to watch the game. Or for those of you that don't, I leave you to do whatever you will. You just don't know what you're missing out on.

Under Construction

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
The Andrew's Bloggy Thing Team aka Sarah

F-fort

I love that comment on the side that says "effert" i "put into" my "blog." It's quite an "amusing" little "comment." I should really "stop" using "inverted commas."

So yeah, lotsa things happening in the last month or so. Went to Nigel's birthday bash the other day, was quite awesome. Highlight: Rudra rocking up to Burwood East Sofia's. "Hey Rudra, you turned up to the right place this time." He's never going to live that down. So anyway, after the big lunch, went back to Nigel's to play "cricket" and "basketball" (the inverted commas are back). Then we played some stupid fighting game where you couldn't win. It was great.

Bought new shoez yesterday. adidas. They're from the end-to-end series or something and they say msk. Pretty cool and yellow-like if you ask me.

I've been told that I've been having "too much fun" during VCE. I can tell you now, writing for three hours straight is not fun. But that's what I did today. Yes, trial exams have commenced. Fun times. So I started by blabbing on about some random principal fella, then wrote about some random parent dude, then capped it all off by writing a persuasive letter thing on Michael Jordan. Got owned by Part 1 Hard Times, seemed like I wrote a lot, but I think i wrote about 400 words :( . Part 2 Quiet American was alright, I guess. Well, study time now. Guess I'll blog again after the poll (situated on the sidebar) is over.

Messi

Why I love Messi, even though he didn't win me any money:

Suspicious

Some people who were very suspicious today. Not as in they were suspicious. Suspicious as in they suspected me and my crew of...something.

First incidence: Me, Banh, Yappo and random significant others at Myer purchased something. Stupid shop attendant guy comes along and asks us if we would like to purchase that. In an extremely accusatory tone. Number of flaws in the accusation (that's what it was):

1. Myer bag usually indicates purchase from Myer.

2. We were mucking around with it in the store, but why would we be if we were going to thief it?

3. The aforementioned product is kept under lock and key.

4. We were smiling.

I think it's basically because we were:

1. Asian

2. Students

3. In a group.

Something of a similar calibre happened but it was even weirder. I was in the canteen, trying to make a phone call (as you do) when the teacher tells me it's illegal. I stare at her, because I'd never heard anything so ludicrous in my life. Then she thinks I'm trying to be smart. "It's lunchtime," I say, trying to defend my rights. "Don't use your phone in the canteen in front of me," says she. What the hell. What else can I do? Coming back to suspicion and numbers, she probably thought I was either:

1. Trying to organise under-the-table canteen money laundering

2. Arranging for someone to be hurt

3. Trying to detonate a bomb, in which case she could stop me from doing so by telling me to put my phone away.

Anyway, it irks me. Until next time.

Scary

I'll tell you what's scary? Standing in the wall while someone's taking a free kick in football (soccer). That's the stuff of nightmares. Actually, when I reflect now, it's probably less scary when you face the ball. When your back is turned, you wait for the inevitable, shocking pain. Unless they miss. Then the whole wall breathes a collective sigh of relief. Now I know why they don't put microphones near the players on the pitch now. All you would hear during a free kick is the wall going "OMG, it's Ronaldinho, hope he doesn't kick it at me, I don't care if he gets a goal." That would be highly unsportsmanlike, not to mention cowardly.

Speaking of scary, exams are scary. Ludo isn't doing much to help either. "Study hard, or you're going to fail. You better beat MacRob this year, you n00bs." Oh well. What can you do.

On a random side note, not that the aforementioned wasn't random, the winter concert was a blast. It was more funny than fun though, if you take my meaning. The funniest thing was this Year 9 MacRob girl hitting on me, then being disappointed when she found out I was in Year 12, not Year 10. Then going for the guy next to me, who she thought was Year 9, but was Year 11. Hilarious stuff. The performance was alright, but it wasn't that great when you factor in the rehearsal time.

Probably shouldn't get a haircut before Nigel's 18th. I like the way it is now.

Verberising

I've now realised that anything, absolutely anything, can be turned into a verb (verberised). Just add an -ing at the end, but don't forget, when -ing comes to stay, the e goes away.

Take, for example, LAN. Traditionally, this stood for Local Area Network. A noun. Now, it has been mutated into a verb, lanning, the meaning of which is open to interpretation. Well, not really. It just means gaming with other people who feel like gaming. Which leads me nicely to my next example. Game.

Lanning was the pioneer. Now, random verberisations are appearing left, right and centre on good ol' MSN Messenger version 7.3(?). "I'm waterpoloing," says Alexei. "I'm hwing," benni says, which could be interpreted as "H-winging" or, for the more astute of you, "homeworking." I'm predicting the next phrased to be verberised is "hot chocolate" to "hot chocolating," meaning "I'm drinking hot chocolate." End pointless observation number 5, 980, 511.

As a side thing, Arsenal ftw in the Premier League. Arsenal pwnz u, full n00bz. If anyone is 18 and wants to go TABing for me, give a me a shout. Until next time, verberise some other random oft-used phrase.

Cool factor

Something that y'all have thought about but have been to afraid to say: "Man, that guy's cool, he knows 5, 000, 000, 000 girls, I wish I could be like him." Why does that constitute a cool person? What does cool mean?

Measure my coolness based on the number of girls I know. I have 9 girls on my MSN list. Of those seven, 2 actually interact with me. Of the other 7, 3 of them are cousins, 4 don't talk to me unless they want money or drugs. At least one of them hates me. That's being optimistic. For all I know, they could all hate me. In fact, for all I know, most of my 72 contacts hate (ok fine, dislike) me. How cool am I?

Not very. In fact, I wouldn't be very cool using most any other measurement. I wear schmick clothes, and use ridiculously discombobulated and liturgically astounding words, but apart from that, there's not that much else going for me.

Someone who is awesome does not "bask in their own awesomeness", as someone from Mean Girls once said. I think coolness is the ability to get on with everyone, and generally be a good person (vague terms are awesome as well).

But back to you, massive fanbase. How would you define coolness or synonyms thereof?

Le Formale 2007

Great formal. Well, I think it was. I really haven't been to any others. Hence, my claim that it is, in fact, the "Best formal that I have ever been to in my life. Ever."

First up, I'd like to thank Will's mum (Ha. Ha. Ha.) Seriously though, thanks to Anh for coming to the formal with me. Looked awesome and matched my suit. And fun to be with. I'm pretty sure I was undeserving of such a great date.

WTH at house captains. I really don't enjoy seeing guys dance on stage naked. It was funny at the time though. But then you look at the photos. Enough said.

Everyone looked phully sick. Pretty hard not to when you're wearing a suit. By the way, formal photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihuang/.

Thanks friends, for a great night.

You shall not pass!

Sigh. That is all.

Anyway, I made up the title of this post before I began typing, so I might as well mould (mold?) this post around it.

At the beginning of every semester, I hear a voice. Not a quiet one. Heaven forbid, I'm not that fortunate. No. It is a ridiculously, excessively loud and angry voice, that screams in my head. "You shall not pass!" it says to me, the voice reverberating around my head. Then I scream "I shall defeat you!" At which point people on the train are already calling the nearest asylum.

I bet the Socceroos feel the same way, with a voice saying "You shall not pass!" But who takes the blame? The coach, who, pardon my bandwagon-jumpingness, seems to have no idea what he's doing? Or should the players be criticised for their clear lack of enthusiasm? Or even the FFA, who should have appointed not necessarily a better coach, but someone who at least has more experience (which would, in effect make them better)? Or is it an amalgamation of all these factors, combining in what looks like a very likely early exit from the comp? I don't know the answer, and neither should you. I would be pleasantly surprised if you did. But if you think you know, then drop us a comment.

Have a good term everyone. Ignore that voice of evil that expounds the filth of dark forgotten realms. You shall pass.

Calm

I wish I was calm all the time. That way I wouldn't be so angry as I am now. It would be wonderful. I need to calm down. Chill.

By the by, I don't know why I'm angry. Maybe it's just good-old teenage angst. The world is against me. Nobody understands me. That type of thing. Like they do in the movies. Just, I'm not in a movie. Just thought I'd make that point.

I've found out something wonderful and I'm ready to share it with y'all. Therein lies the discovery. Y'all. Or more like a rediscovery. It's a great contraction. It's a work of art. See, you have normal "standard" words, here being "you" and "all." But "y'all" transcends that plain of ordinariness. It breaks the boundaries. It reaches a place; spiritually, emotionally, psychologically and physically that no other contraction can possibly arrive it. It epitomises succinctity (succinctness?).

Well, that was a good stress reliever. I hope y'all as happy as I am now after reading this post. Cheers.

Straight Outta Compton

It's been almost exactly approximately 5 months since my last post. I've decided to come back from hiatus because I seem to be gathering a massive fan base again. Not that I ever had one.

Australia 1-1 Uruguay on last update (can't afford Fox).

Anyway, I should be stressing about exams. Actually, I'm more stressed about what my tutor will say when I ask him about the contact process.

2-1 in Uruguay's favour now. Damn it. Goalie dropped ball.

Which brings me to my next point. Uruguay are over-rated. Who have they actually got? Forlan. Recoba. End list. And they're not even that good. We have better players, yet we struggle. It's amazing.

Still need formal date. Probably go scouting after exams. It's all Nigel's fault.

During the past 5 months, which is coincidentally the period of my self-imposed exile, I've discovered something. Something fantastic. Something amazing. I just can't remember what it is. I'll probably tell y'all in the next post.

It's over

As the end of the holidays approach, I reflect with a distinct sense of nostalgia on what has occurred throughout. Here I am, listening to Oasis, packing my bags, reduced to reading Harry Potter the Third (yes, I am retro) typing this post, recalling the holidays.

My trips abroad were good and insightful. They ridded me of my 'frog at the bottom of the well' outlook. Not really. But it's a new phrase I got off my Dad. Which is another thing I learnt. Enquire within for more information.

Fishing at Metung was good as always. I learnt that maybe fish don't actually like being caught, so they avoid hooks.

I hope I have a better year this year. I hope you all do. Have a good one, friends.

I only like the Aus Open when the underdog wins

As stated in my post title, I only like the Aus Open when the underdog wins. Clearly Federer wins too much and someone needs to stop him. Only Ankit would go for Federer. That being said, it was a good final all in all.

I was in a fit of rage a minute before because I thought I had been played by the people who run the buses (someone) and Connex. But now I've just received news that the BelDale line has, in fact, been fixed. Not that it was broken before. The end result being that I don't have to catch the Glenny and a Happy Me.

Lakes Entrance

I've found that it's a good idea to keep your eyes open when you're playing music. It allows you to actually see your music, which is probably a good thing when you're playing.

I'm actually going away for a few days this week and won't be back until Thursday. So don't worry about asking me to go to the Aus Open. Though I doubt anyone would have anyway. Anyway, I'm going to Lakes Entrance. Fishing. It's a great place. A bit slow, but yeah, good place overall. I'll probably blog about that as well. So stay tuned.