Fruit Ninja Memories

It has just occurred to me that I neglected to mention a very important, and very enjoyable, part of my time so far at uni.

Roadtrips!

We had so much fun on them. So much so that we ended up discussing how awesome it would be if we could do them when we're 50, with various responsibilities and stuff. I hope we can.

You may ask why it randomly came to me just now.

Well, thanks for asking. It came to me because I was playing Fruit Ninja, jogging my memory of last summer's roadtrip, where four or five of us sat around playing Fruit Ninja at any one time. Oh, the things we do when we're young and foolish.

Also, it's remarkable how silly little things like that can take you back in time.

Word of the Day: Ninja

Last day of Undergrad (hopefully) Part III - The end of the trilogy - Momentous moments

So, the final part of this poorly-constructed and ill-thought-out saga.

Momentous moments at uni.

To be honest, most of the momentous stuff that happened at uni probably shouldn't be canvassed again, as they've probably been discussed to death already.

Here's a few to sate your appetite (in roughly chronological order).

Getting lost on the first day of uni and running into a fellow lostie. That person would later become known to me as 'Stef Lim'. She was officially the first person that I talked to at uni that I didn't know previously. Important for several reasons. Firstly, it made me realise that these mythical 'girls' that people kept talking about weren't all that scary.

I kid. I live in a house full of girls. But I guess it did show me that people in general weren't really all that scary.

Secondly, it showed me how big the uni was.

Gigantic. Enormous. To this day, I've probably only traversed about a third of the place. I thought Melbourne High was big. This was next-level big.

Becoming friends with Irene. She was pretty much the first friend that I made in Arts. Actually, close to the first friend I made at uni. I had a relative heap of friends brought over from high school in Commerce, and a few in Arts, but none in French. She was the first, and pretty much only, until I became friends with Zara. Kinda sad, now that I think about it. This was a year since I'd started uni. In between, I made friends with a couple of Arts kids.

Ambassador Camp. This was off the hook. Firstly (not necessarily most importantly), I busted my knee. It's still giving me problems. More so recently, but you don't want to hear about that.

More importantly, I met, and became friends with, many fantastic individuals, many of whom I count among my closest friends. I think it was here that I sourced most of my uni friends that I actually talk to.

Also during this time, James Cheng and Meng had to put up with me being a cripple. They helped me get places, and were just generally there. I don't really know where I'm going by bringing this up, but as I don't think I've mentioned it anywhere else, I'd just like to say that I was very touched by their help, and I appreciated it greatly, even though it didn't seem like a big deal. But let me tell you, it's a big deal when someone helps carry your luggage for you when you're struggling on one leg, like some kind of...one legged man.

Getting my car. Man, was that liberating. Still is. Cannot believe that I put up with catching the bus for two years. I felt like I had finally properly become a uni student.

Failing a unit. It sucked, mostly because I had to do it again, and overload the next semester, and went through the next exam period thinking I'd failed it again.

Passing said unit. Was pretty elated. Celebrated by going to a pre-booked U2 gig.

Passing the next semester's units in relative flying colours. Yeah!

I'm sorry if I've left any momentous people/events out. I kind of wrote this up in about 20 minutes. Forgive me. I'm sure I have left something/s out, but it can't really be helped, unless you want to remind me. Please do.

All in all, I find it interesting how, like high school, it's not the academic stuff you remember so much, but the other stuff that goes on. All the fun times, the bad times, the sad times, the good times. And the friends that you make and break going through all that.

To close this saga, I'd just like to say that it's been good. Apart from the unpleasant exams business, uni's been pretty fun and enriching. It's had it's bad moments, but I think they were more to do with life, and less to do with uni.

Anyway, I'll probably be back for more next year. So it's not really goodbye. But I just felt like getting something down for now.

So, next up, Occupy Melbourne. I'll talk about the Melbourne High School Asian Invasion a bit after that, because the former is of more pressing concern.

Until next time.

Word of the Day: Momentous  

Last day of Undergrad (hopefully) Part II - Bad Stuff (Part 2 of a trilogy).

Yes, I've decided to make this a trilogy. For no particular reason, but also because I don't feel like writing that much in one go.

Anyway, the bad stuff that happened, and still does happen, at, or because of, uni.

While uni had many wonderful people, there were many, many bad eggs. Just people that generally grate on my nerves. There weren't so many at high school. Maybe because there were less people. But I'm just more inclined to think that people weren't so nerve-gratey.

Friends are generally quite hard to locate during breaks and stuff.

The workload is massive. I thought VCE was bad. It was easy in comparison to this stuff.

It's always windy. Always. Without fail.

Student politics. I don't want to vote for you. Or anyone else. Go away.

Parking prices. I'd rather not say how much exactly for a blue permit. It seems to make the pain more real.

Many first-year law students. Private school kids that love letting people know that they're doing law, and that they're rich. Not all of them. Most of my closest friends do Law, and they're pretty alright.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many more, but those are the things that stand out/come to mind right now.

So, next up, the final part of the trilogy: Momentous Moments. Until next time.

Word of the Day: Grate

Last day of undergrad (hopefully)

So today, I had what should be my last proper day of undergrad uni.

And what a glorious day it was. So sunny, and full of vibrance and stuff.

I should be going back next year for post grad, but I'd just like to take this moment to reflect, think, ponder, and ruminate, amongst other things, as this kind of feels like the end of uni. We'll see where my fancy takes me.

First and foremost, I've found that uni has been an extremely rewarding and amazing experience. On many levels. I'll get to that in a second.

People often ask me, 'Did you enjoy high school more, or do you like uni more?' And I've always said that they're different. And they are. They both have pros and cons. The first example I can come up with off the top of my head is friendships. At high school, friends just happened. There wasn't really any special effort required. You usually just clicked.

This got a lot harder at uni. Especially with girls. Many of them seem to have a sort of barrier, whether conscious or subconscious, which gives off the vibe that they don't want to talk to you. It's not just girls, but happens more with girls. I guess it's a consequence of growing up into a young adult. Many just think they're too cool for other people.

In conclusion, friends are a lot harder to make at uni. But as a consequence, many of the ones that you do make there are truly fantastic people.

Which brings me nicely to the point that I said I'd discuss - why uni was so amazing.

I made great friends. Truly fantastic human beings. However, as importantly, or perhaps more so, my friendships with a lot of my good friends from high school grew stronger. While these two groups of friends are different, they're both very important to me, and lay deep within my heart. Or something like that.

Awwww.

Anyway. Next point. It's opened my eyes. I've seen a lot of people. Good people. But mostly, I've learned about really weird and downright just nasty, unpleasant people. Unreasonable people. If you've been following this blog over the years, you'll probably have an inkling of what I'm on about here.

The education side of uni was a bit meh. I just find it a little bit ridiculous how units so diverse and different can all follow the same format of a lecture and a tutorial. Sometimes, I don't think that's the best way to teach. I think it's probably the easiest, but easy isn't always good. At least not for the recipients.

I also enjoyed the opportunities to improve myself at Monash. Leaders Program, Ambassadors Program, were great. Met so many good friends through the Ambassador's Program.

Things that I enjoyed the most. Random collection of memories can come at a later date. Right now, you can have a random selection of things that I enjoyed.

I enjoyed having coffee with friends during random breaks. A token uni experience.

Random wanderings with friends.

Bumping into friends, and stopping to chat for 15 minutes, despite already being late for class.

Hanging in the Law Library for the first couple of years.

Sitting on the grass on a sunny day (such as today) with friends. Or even by myself.

Making great friends in the most random of circumstances e.g. Zara and I. Don't know how we became friends. But there you go.

Having a social life. I didn't really have one in high school. Yes, Melbourne High. We kicked out all the white people, and now the entire school lacks a social life. Or something along those lines. Look for a post about that whole kerfuffle soonish.

Three-hour long breaks. Another quintessential uni experience.

Not having to wear school uniform. I miss it occasionally, but then those thoughts get crushed after I remember how bad it was wearing that stupid blazer, or having to carry it in my bag, when it was mildly warm, and I was carrying my sax and clarinet.

I think I'll do things that I found bad in the next one. So, next up will be: bad things, random collection of momentous memories, and The Age Melbourne High School article.

Toodles for now.

Word of the Day: Undergrad

I will never win this game, without you

Suddenly started listening to this song obsessively, for no apparent reason. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious...something. Whatever.

This assignment is giving me the irrates. I don't know how to do it. There's nobody I can really go to for help. And I have other stuff to deal with as well.

Stuff that requires hard work, hours upon hours of work, I can deal with, as long as I have a little bit of a clue what's going on. I just hate trying to do something without any modicum of certainty. Or, at least, something that matters.

Whatever. I'll consult with group members and see if they know a bit more than I. I can't see how they could possibly know less than me. Knowing less than me would take them into negative knowledge territory. Which is slightly silly.

Word of the Day: Modicum

RIP Steve Jobs

I think it's fitting that I started writing this post on my iPhone, and that I'm now completing it on my MacBook Air.

Because this is the legacy that Steve Jobs has left behind.

He made extraordinary technology accessible to, and useable, by commoners like me.

How he was an amazing person and all that has been canvassed by better writers elsewhere. Suffice to say that I found him to be a charismatic, intelligent business leader. A bit of an egomaniac, but so are most great men. I actually talked about him as a business leader I admired during my last interview, which was on the date that he stepped down as CEO, funnily enough.

So I'll just talk about why his death has affected me somewhat more strongly than I would have imagined.

I got my first iPod waaaaay back in Year 9. It looked a lot like this:

In fact, you could argue that it looked exactly like that. 

The first generation iPod mini.

It was wonderful. The build quality, the ability of it to store a bazillion songs on it, the click wheel, the colour, the cool factor, the headphones. Keep in mind that this was off the back of having owned a Sony Walkman. Which, as things go, wasn't too bad. But this was a whole new level. 

I remember that it also cost a gazillion dollars. Now that I look back on it, it was really expensive. And I got it a week before the second gen came out for a hundred dollars cheaper. 

But I didn't care. I still think this is the best-looking iPod, apart from the one that I got next, after this was no longer fit for my needs. 

 This, too, was awesome. It let me listen to music in colour.

But seriously, it was great. 

The best thing about these things was that they bring back such memories. They went places with me. They made my otherwise interminable train trips in the mornings that much more bearable. They blocked out the noises of squealing babies, squawking schoolgirls, squabbling adults and general noisiness. 

Sadly, the black fella didn't last as long as the blue fella. It died one day after leaving it in a car that was a bit too hot. The blue fella still works though, which I think is quite an achievement. 

Anyway, I'm now on to an iPhone and a MacBook Air, and I love them both. The iPhone because it's so easy to use, and allows me to do everything I need it to. Yeah, Android, blah blah blah. I'd rather have a good-looking, operational phone and user interface. I don't need my phone to be able to fly jet planes. 

Funniest thing is, even those that berate Apple and their products, use Apple products to do it. I read some Tweet by some person today, screaming that Steve Jobs was evil and such like. I'll let the picture do the talking.

My MacBook Air, I love because it weighs practically nothing, looks beautiful, boots up in 10 seconds flat, has almost zero lag, has a full size keyboard, and a five-hour battery life. Pretty amazing if you think about it. 

Steve Jobs, with his creativity and superb market and financial intuition, made all of these devices possible. I loved using every single one of them, and I don't think it would be too hard to see that those devices, along with others that you might have heard of (this little thing called the iPad), have changed entire industries. Music, movies, computers, phones. 

Further, I think almost everyone I know has had an iPod at some stage. It's not every day somebody creates something that pervasive, that iconic, and that awesome. 

Oh yes, and Pixar. Absolutely love Pixar films. Every single one, except maybe Cars, is a masterpiece. Seriously.

I can't speak for everyone, but the products that you created have  left a lasting, and, I hope, positive impression on me. A life cut far too short. At 56, he probably should have been in his prime.

Well done on a successful life, Mr. Jobs. Rest in peace.   

Word of the Day: Jobs

I'm so happy, cos today, I found my friends. Or something like that.

Sigh. Uni resumes, and with it, all the fun and frivolity that normally comes with education.

So let us do another awesome rewind thing back to the start of the mid-sem break.

Friday
Went to see Nirvana with Zara and her friends. Quite a friendly bunch. Her friends, not Nirvana. Although I'm sure they're alright too. Or were alright. Whatever. Quite an enjoyable night out. Should do it again some time.

Nirvana was also good. Their gigs were...interesting. And loud. But mostly interesting.



Favourite song off the album.

Just got Nevermind today. Came included with the price of the ticket. Hence the extortionate prices.

Allow me to have a little rant about parcel delivery.

For some reason, despite there being people in my house 99.78% of the day, nobody ever seems to be able to receive the parcel.

I don't know what advantage they get from having me drive to the post office to pick it up, but it must be something, otherwise they wouldn't do it. I'll figure it out one day.

Also, Allmusic, or whoever it was that shipped it to me, is ridiculous. I ordered it on Saturday, they sent me an email on the following Friday to tell me that they had shipped it. It takes them a week to ship a CD. And then I have to go and get it on the following Tuesday. Almost a week-and-a-half to get a CD out to me. And then, it isn't even to me. I have to go get it. Which, if you think about it, is beyond stupid, because it's almost as inconvenient as driving out to buy it. It's slower too. And they wonder why people download music.

Saturday
Journeyed to the West Side with my loyal lackey, Banh, to attend Orrin's 21st. Was quite an enjoyable night. Orrin's girlfriend, Cathy, kept attacking me and imploring me to spin Simon Dinh's music, and not mine. She also found calling me Amy Huang hilariously funny. This is why you don't get drunk, children. Or, at least, if you're going to get drunk, make sure it's after a decent amount of alcohol, and not after 0.45 of a beer or whatever it was.

Also, don't be an annoying drunk.

Anyway, Simmo switched his music on, and, funnily enough, it was the same music that I had on. The min of a drunk person works in funny ways.

I also found out that taking photos at parties is great. It lets you slip away from people that you don't necessarily want to talk to, or if you just want a break, and to observe what other people are getting up to from a distance. Amazing.



Speaking of two-bob, Arsenal lost again. I'm getting pretty sick of us losing. I wish we'd win against someone decent once in a while.

Word of the Day: Frivolity