HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER, BEN

AND MY COUSIN, MABEL!

I finally made it to uni at 11:50 pm and ran all the way to my cousin, Mabel's residential college. We lighted the candles, knocked on the door and when she opened it, we started singing happy birthday. Nineteen! :) The usual candle-blowing, cake cutting, distributing and eating.

 

There was more of us there, but they had exams and turned in early. When I get those pictures, I'll post them up. :)

I slept over at their college, and only returned home this morning. We're going for steamboat tonight as well. Lol, so much for not celebrating, girl!

---

This one's for Ivan. *wink*

I also met up with Mike. We were scheduled to meet at Coffee Club by 2 pm, but by 2:20ish, I was about to fall asleep on the table (I've been sleep-deprived), so I smsed him and told me to sms me if he wasn't coming; otherwise, I'd see him soon. Five minutes later, he calls to tell me he has overslept. Lol, long story there, but we finally decided to meet up for dinner.

Digression: Before that, I rushed off to get Mabel and Yi Feng's (my lil bro's girl) presents and the birthday cake. My jeans and shoes got completely drenched due to Brisbane's dreadful continuous rain and me being dumb by.. umm.. 'washing' my jeans after spilling stuff on it. Don't ask. I decided that despite my buttoned coat to hide my jeans that were dropping to reveal almost everything due to its weight from the water, I couldn't take it anymore. So now, I've got a new miniskirt and slippers. I swear I didn't intend to spend more money! At least they're comfy. *grumble* :P

I walked to Hungry Jack's to meet Mike at 5 after picking up the cake. I didn't read his sms beforehand; therefore I had no clue that he was the guy in the 'black jumper and black cap'. Lol! Bet he thought I was ignoring him when I walked straight past him. Oops. :P He came up to me, introduced himself and we headed off to Starbucks to have a good chat.

What's weird about meeting Mike is I've only read less than 5 of his posts before this. I doubt if he's read any, lol. So random doesn't exactly cut it. Try stranger meeting stranger. Then Joanne called out to me. Explaining to her that this was the first time I've met Mike too was rather... complicated. Let's just say that we had a good laugh about this afterwards. I think this won't be the last time I'm meeting Mike around Brisbane. :) Bet we'll meet before the Merdeka celebration. Ivan, you're next! Haha. Maybe this time, we'll actually read each other's blogs before meeting up.

Oi, I was called a 'blog addict' last night. I can't decide if that's flattering, or an insult. I'd much rather think of it as.. uh.. a fact. Tee-hee.

No, I haven't packed. How? :( Someone do that funny thing Tonks did to pack Harry's trunk. I don't really care if my socks don't fold themselves!

I've been hopping from one real estate agency to another. Is it me or do most of them have this 'lan si' (up themselves) look about them? Well, I'm glad not all of them are, 'cause I'm obviously serious about looking for a place. When I'm walking out the door of another real estate agency with a sealed deal, they're gonna wish they were nicer, more helpful, and had removed that pole stuck so far up their arse they had to use tongs to get them out earlier.

Now where was I? Yes, looking for a place.

The thing is, I've just realised that I might have a bit of a problem with signing the tenancy agreement because I'm still not legal yet. That means I'm gonna have to somehow pull my uncle in and make him sign in. I have nine properties to inspect by Saturday. I have to consider location, whether it is furnished, cost, etc. I need to somehow decide, and hand over the deposit before I leave, which by the way, is on Saturday night.

Reminder to self: It's impossible to leave without packing. Shit.

Alright, my blog's gonna be a bit quiet, I suppose. At least till I get home on Sunday morning. If it's not, that means I'm procrastinating my packing and someone ought to shoot me. In the meantime, if you haven't voted on the hair issue, please do so on my side panel. :) I reassure you that your vote counts. Lol, if you feel so strongly about one style, go and vote some more then. Though I've been told a pixie cut wouldn't suit me cause my face is long. Awww... it's true, but.. ISH!

A final letter before I go:

Dear Ah Mike,

I hope when you meet me tomorrow, you're not expecting a typically skinny, soft-spoken Asian chick who eats half a bowl of rice. I stopped being skinny six years ago, I was never soft-spoken (Trinity, you can testify), and I don't remember the last time I ate half a bowl of rice. Well, maybe I have done so, after finishing one or two.

It's never too late to sms me to cancel. And I won't hold a grudge or even get the slightest bit mad. :)

Cheers,

Alynna

I know you guys wanna help me out, right? Pretty please with cherries on top? ;) Vote on my side panel what I should do with my hair! I'm kinda stuck. I've never had my hair this long and it's growing on me (well, literally, and not so literally) cause I've always wanted to have long hair, but it's very hard to manage. I have really thin hair and they get tangled very easily.

Perming/colouring is out of the question, unless I want to be disowned. Straightening would be the stupidest move ever because like I said, thin hair. Since last year, I've wanted to go short as well. Talk about indecisive, hey? Well, I have this habit which is always regretting cutting my hair after it's done. EVERY time. So at least this time, I'll know what you guys think would look decent and I won't blame you guys for it cause in the end, it's my decision to make. :)

If you have a brighter idea on what I should do, leave a comment on this post. If you're a Photoshop junkie and have time to fix up pictures of me with the various hairstyles, yay! Leave a comment as well! I'd really appreciate it. :) Wow, if only every hairdresser offers this!

Well, what are you waiting for? :) Vote, vote!

Oh, I think my exam went well... If I ignore the fact that I had about 100 words for every question and we were told to write 250. :P It's not that I didn't have enough time, but it was all I could write, based on what I studied the entire night with the help of my best friend, Wikipedia. Really, the lecturer DID say that it's quality, not quantity...

Alright, there goes my credit. Well, I shall take comfort in knowing that I passed.

On a happier note, my exams are over! YAY! *throws imaginary confetti in the air* I would sing and dance if it wasn't for the fact that I'm sick and in bed on a gloomy, rainy day. Stupid flu. Bugger. I just knew there was a reason why I shouldn't have slept on the sofa that morning without my quilt!

Ooh, have you ever heard that vodka is a cure-all? But then again, would I seriously give a shit if it wasn't? Hehe. *looks at clock* Damn, it's not even 11 in the morning, and I feel like I want to just sleep the whole day away. Trinity, I swear I meant to look for our new place today! I got on the bus and hid away in the shopping centre a bit for the rain to die down but it didn't. :( I'll do it tomorrow, promise promise. Or later, if the sky brightens up a little.

That's the thing with Brissy weather! Everyone reckons it's got the most gorgeous weather ever, but it doesn't. When it rains here, it rains continuously. The entire day, and possibly the next few days. Bloody depressing. And when it doesn't rain, well.. it doesn't rain often anyway. Well, I'm telling you now, Brissy weather is not lovely! Maybe it is in comparison to Melbourne, but what weather wouldn't be lovely next to Melbourne's? I bet even London's would be cheerier!

Now my body clock's messed up and I can't go out. I feel horrid. I look horrid. Everything's horrid. Lalala. So much for the end of exams making me feel better; it's just made me feel like going to uni now to burn a few test papers. Mine, I meant. :P And to rub salt to the wounds, my parents and my lil sister are off to Hong Kong. Did I mention my sister's 3 and she's been London, Budapest, Vienna, Sydney, Brissy, a few other parts of EU and now she's going to visit Hong Kong? All I've seen of Hong Kong cuties is on TV. :(

Kill me now, argh.

The genius that is me was pulling an all-nighter last night, and decided to take a 20 minute nap at 5:40 am. I set the alarm on my mobile and proceeded to crash on the couch, not giving a shit that I didn't have my quilt with me. I was asleep in seconds.

At 6 am sharp, I woke up and thought to myself, congratulations. You did it!

Then I fell back to sleep.

Shit.

I opened my eyes and looked at my phone. FUCK! 7:05 am! Exam's at 8 and I need to catch the damn bus that only comes every 15 minutes. Okay, my campus is bloody huge so it really doesn't help that I have to walk a fair bit from the bus-stop. I ran downstairs, changed my clothes, grabbed a packet of soy milk and strawberry cream biscuits as my breakfast, lecture notes, bottle of water, pencil case, and I was out the door. Thank God I have my wallet, keys, etc. in one bag.

I walked as quickly as I could and then just as I was nearing the bus-stop, the bus came. DAMN! RUNNNN! Made it onto the bus. It was then that fear really gripped me. Oh God, I haven't finished revising. The stuff before mid-semester, I haven't even looked at them! No way have I memorised all of Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg and Eriksson's theories. Ahh, the damn pricks had to come up with so much stuff!

(For the record, I happen to admire their genius but I was too fucking pissed off to think straight.)

I munched on my biscuits slowly, biting down really hard, hoping that somehow I could just rewind time. This is why I do straight all-nighters, not naps! Ish. Stupid, stupid. I extend naps against my own will. How retarded. I shivered as I got out of the bus, but I'm sure it had little to do with the weather. Ryan (not my housemate) called out to me as I walked to the examination hall, and he teased me about being 'a HD (high distinction) student'. In actual fact, I've never gotten a HD.

I explained that I had only started studying last night, I didn't know jack shit, and as everyone entered the room, I sat down with him and tried to hurriedly go through my notes. Too bad I knew nothing would stick and I just talked to him about the marks I've already scored for this subject. Finally, we walked into the room and I was jittery, but managed to not scream in frustration as I filled out my attendance sheet.

The test finally started and after 10 minutes perusal, I decided that I will either pass or get a credit. Arghh, there goes my distinction. This subject was meant to bring up my GPA! Too bad. I finished the paper in 40 minutes and after doing the obligatory checking, and possibly double-checking, I left. I was out of a 2 hour exam in 50 minutes, no longer bothered since I knew none of the answers would hit me out of the blue.

I hate multiple choice questions. I thought they were meant to make life easy, not make you scratch your head, wonder if you've got it right as compared to the other answer that sounds exactly the same. Then there's a tiny voice that tells me that it's normally C and I rub our my answer to change it. Change it back. Change it. FUCKKK! Shut up already!

Last paper tomorrow. 6 questions, 250 words each. I have a list of 12 questions, to which 6 will be the ones I answer tomorrow. If all else fails, I know I only need 2 marks to pass.

How optimistic of me.

I reach for your hand
even as you slowly inch away.
Please, my love, take a look at me.
My eyes have a little message;
your name's scribbled all over the envelope,
the handwriting screaming incessantly of this urgency.
Everything's a blur, a spinning kaleidoscope;
I can't even begin to count the number of colours
that bless my inexperienced eyes,
much less say my sad goodbyes.
Forgive me when I withdrew myself before;
sometimes it's hard to believe that
God's gift stands before my eyes,
and begs me to respond in kind.
I'm coming, I promise, I'm rushing away.
You urge me on into our hidden heaven.
Yes, sweetheart, it's only half past seven.
The steaming sensation of being crushed against a brick wall,
wrapped around you like vines needing support;
I will carry with me for eternity.
Watch me as I bring a new meaning to the word 'high',
and I'll let you lead the way home...

I'm betting that my older bro, Ben, doesn't come here anymore, so I'm writing this: I bought him Calvin Klein's Crave! :) It's a graduation + birthday + congratulations present. He's going to ace his exams with flying colours (yup, I'm that sure!), and he's about to start work in December with a top law firm in London. Err.. forget my first previous reminder about spending too much money because I think it's worth it. Hey, it's my wages, I can do what I want with it! In defence of this luxury, it was on sale. And it's not for me, so it's not a bout of utter selfishness. Tee-hee.

Really, all this time that I've been here, I've never been extravagant = I've been a cheapskate. Honest to God. The most expensive thing I've ever had to purchase, besides my uni education, is my pair of glasses, which was a complete rip-off. I've never heard of anyone having to pay $300 for such a tiny necessity. Of course, I was in desperate need then cause I was blind without my contact lenses, and I had no idea that people paid that much for branded glasses, not frames with recognisable names that were made in nowhere-significant-enough-to-tell-you-about.

You get the point.

After the glasses, I believe it would be my skinny (even if I'm anything but) chocolate coloured jeans that I only bought a few weeks ago, which I really love. I would wear it everyday if I didn't have to wash them. I really don't understand why people here would happily fork out 200 bucks for a pair from Sass & Bide. Just because they're designed by a few popular Australian designers, I don't see that as a guarantee that they're comfy, will last and is suitably tailored for every single person. One day, when I'm filthy rich and absolutely rolling in it (which is never, but what the hell), I'll buy a pair, and if I like them, then maybe I'll be happy to tell everyone about it. If I don't, well, it just proves my point.

And the jeans only cost me 20 bucks. Wheeee!

Strategically enough, I just got off the phone with my dad, also my financial advisor/provider. Hehe. He's probably going to shoot me once he finds out I made all those 'useless' purchases. Being manja has never worked on my dad. Ya know, most girls manage to pull off the most ridiculous requests by sidling up to their dad and doing and saying the right things. But he'd never buy it and I've never even tried it and probably will never try it. Haha, I've never been good at scheming. And he's cancelled the Shanghai trip since he's so busy and can't make it. Sigh, I want to say that that's a good thing since I didn't want to go in the first place, but that also means his work is piling up that much, and I must admit, the idea of going to Shanghai kinda grew on me. Aiks. Ah well.

Right, I'm getting excited just thinking about going home! Dad reminded me that my sister has been looking forward to my return. Awww. Even if that probably has to do with the fact that I'm the only one who takes her swimming, lol. That cheeky girl! And oh my gosh, I just realised this means it might be possible for me to catch the same flight as Trinity! YAYYY! However, mentioning it to my mom would be a little tricky. She was, after all, looking forward to Shanghai a lot and the idea of me leaving early would be a bit... messy to put forward. Lalala. Oh, I forgot to mention that it's my cousin, Trinity that I'll be moving in with on that post. I think I created speculation that it'll be my man I'm moving in with without meaning to. Too bad this man is non-existent. Lol. You'll just have to do, Trinity. ;)

Kidding lah. You know how much I'm looking forward to it!! *bounces up and down*

Three more papers to go! Stupid exam on Saturday. Haven't they hear that it's a crime to use the phrase 'Saturday night' to imply an examination, a statistics one, no less? Fuckwits.