Graduation is Approaching

Graduation is the ceremony to mark my 4 years of hard work (or hardship!?), it is when I finally gain my title of “dietitian”. This dream that I have for the last 4 years has eventually come true & become so real as if I m still dreaming. Stepping into December, I have just confirmed my graduation position yesterday & in fact my whole family will be arriving this Sunday. So it got to be real~ Haha.. Nevertheless, I am having mixed feelings – proud for surviving through dietetic training, anxious about my family’s arrival, anticipated for the day… But well, I believe it is all experience.

The graduation certificate is the license to start learning. >> How true…

搬屋記（八）

已經有好一段日子沒有寫日記了。搬進這新家已幾天，但家裏的 internet 一直無法接駁（好像還要等多十天！），uni 的 student account 又被 cut 了 （都沒有聼過 Monash 的效率這麽高），不能上網。Anyway, 回想星期六當天，搬家是比想象中容易，不到一個半小時，那些 removalists 就把三間屋的東西搬到我們的新家。真搞笑，不懂是我們的 sofa 還是那些一箱箱 “super heavy” 的書太重了，連 removalist 的小推車都弄壞了~!

至於這幾天，我每天都在忙。早上出去做事，見見 agent, 買買東西添置新家，夜晚就忙着 unpack。算起來，這次搬屋前前後後差不多用了一個月啊~ 從找屋子，買傢私，收拾，unpack, 竟然用了這麽多時間。不過，雖然忙，雖然很多煩惱，這新家真的住得比之前舒服多，空間大了，沒有了焗爐般的悶氣，housemate 也對我很好。希望這裏的生活會讓我忘記 Stockdale 的 nightmare 啦~

搬屋記（七）

已進入搬屋高峰期的第二天了。昨天一早我到 Ray White 辦手續，拿鎖匙。沒想到，經過我一番努力一支支試鎖匙，迎接我的是一個沒法関掉的 alarm。哇~ 挺心慌的。怕會 set off alarm，引來一大隊警察來與我 house-warming 就不好啦。幸好科技發達，一通電話到 agency 求救，很快也驚動了 owner。這 owner 也不錯，放下手頭的工作過來幫忙，兩三下功夫就拆了那問題了。還算鬆一口氣~ 接下來是 connect utilities。Aussie 本來就出名 “有效率”，接駁水電煤都知道不可能一通電話就搞掟，我足足用了45 分鐘才接通電話。真誇張~！ 之後的清潔，好彩 Kheng Ling 提早放工，一起擦擦抹抹，都算完成。現在，終于到最後階段了。好期待星期六搬家大日子。

搬屋記（六）

搬家的大日子 in ONE DAY~! 我很快就逃離這“焗爐房的魔掌”了。現在的心情又緊張，又興奮。雖然搬屋真的好勞民傷財，好煩，不過也算生活上了一個進步。跟“熱氣”，housemate, 煩惱說 bye bye，揮別~~~

前幾天有一個挺特別的經歷。我們這次搬屋 packing 的箱子都是撿回來的。那天我們到 Kheng Ling 工作的地方撿紙箱，感覺好像那些撿紙皮的阿婆，超搞笑~~ 這種情面，相信只有我們這些留學生才會有。哈哈。

Anyway, 這幾天都在努力地整理自己的財物，把屬於自己的東西都帶走。現在才發現我對“這家”的貢獻很多，我一走，帶走了差不多全部廚房用品和電器，bench 也就光禿禿了。這次我深刻的明白到我的付出，人家不一定領情，還會被反咬一口。老實說，我的錢虧了，我也算了，就當我交學費，學了寶貴的一課。但心裏總是不快，覺得給人“搵笨”了，很失敗。不過慢慢我也想通了—— 我要學的是人間的醜惡，不過不等於我要學做衰人。做回自己，問心無愧就好了。對於衰人，我會保護自己就夠了。“虧”我不讓人吃，但自己也不要吃。

搬屋記（五）

陸陸續續傢私 & 電器都買了七七八八，現在只差洗衣機。大出血是一定，不過我也從而學了不少處事方式。這次搬家有很多感受，讓我看清楚人的醜惡，感受到搬家有多煩，明白了錢爲什麽會用得這麽快，還有也了解了自己有多吝嗇~~ 哈哈。

好了，下一部就是收拾了。我在房間搞了兩天。唉~ 原來我自己有這麽多東西。慘了，上次搬家用皮箱拉了9 次，這次都不知道要用車載幾次了....

PS. 剛買的膠箱一拉就爛了。真是便宜的東西不可靠。

Farewell Program - Gowning

Farewell Program. A 2-day program to deliver information to us, new graduates. What is more important is that they allow a 2hour gowning session when we can put on the gown & take photos with friends. I think it is very good opportunity as I believe the actual day will be a mess with the families. However, despite the opportunity provided, the turn-up rate was low. I was the only one from BND, & to make things worse, most of my friends need to work today & can't come to take photos. Honestly I was quite upset, feeling left out & lonely. Remembering the farewell program last year, it was so happening & much more exciting. In contrast, my graduation seems unnoticed.... However, at the end, I was so grateful that 2 friends came especially to take photos with me, & not to forget Kheng Ling rushing back during her 1-hour lunch break. And, Vincent is graduating this year together as well~! I realised today I m afterall not that lonely~

搬屋記（四）

今天又做了幾件事。一大清早，我們向二手市場進發~ 與兩位之前相約好的“校友”見面，轉讓一些傢私 + 電器。然後再到電器店跟老板殺價。現在雪柜，sofa，電視機，都搞掂了~ 真是鬆了一口氣啊~ 搬家真是勞民傷財...

搬屋記（三）

今天去了 IKEA 掃貨。搬了一車東西回來，但那也只不過是要買的三份之一。買了餐桌，下次還有書台，sofa。唉~ 每一件傢私一般的 quality，一般的款式，但價錢都是非一般。看到的都需要買，不過我不想用太多家裏的錢。對，我很吝嗇，什麽都不想買，要買也買最小，最便宜的。決定要買一件傢私，心裏總是有一種掙扎，都問自己是否可買。我知道家裏沒特意說這次搬家用錢的 budget，但始終我也不能亂花錢。再説，將來會發生什麽事都不知道，如果要再搬/回港，那我的傢私又要放 second hand 了。

老實說，最近為了搬家 （佈置新家的忙 + 舊家的煩惱），找工（雖然也急不來），大小事情，又忙又煩，壓力與煩惱都不少。比起來，讀書都沒這麽辛苦。不過，這可能就是成長的第一步，無憂無愁的學生生活已成過去了。

Pictionary Night

Brighton Japanese dinner was really good~ $25 - eat until your stomach burst. And i think last night everyone's stomach "bursted". Haha.. They really did stuff us up as if we had been underfed for ages. Within 40min, we were all so full, but satisfied as well~ Ha..

Then we proceeded onto the next highlight of the event - pictionary. Kheng Ling's new pictionary gameset has been fully utilised. The game was as funny as the previous experience. It truly reflects how excellent our artistic talents are. But to top things up, we had a super-funny pair - choon choon & vincent. Somehow their brainwave didn't match, & it was so hard for them to guess each other's drawing. Haha.. halirous.

$$ Money $$

Money. Moving new home is definitely going to spend lots of money. Today we have been to many places looking at beds, sofa, dining table, n mainly fridge & washing machine. First hand is undoubtedly expensive, however, I feel bad for spending so much $$. It is especially so when i know i should now be earning money as a graduated uni student. I wanted so much to stop spending daddy's money, but in turn, start contributing to my family.

Anyway, saw a job ad online. Not ideal but would be good if i can get it. Hope this application can be fruitful la~~

Boiling HOT!!

Hot. I hate this house, especially my room when summer comes. Most of the summer I m home, enjoying the coldness of winter in Hong Kong. Hai~ this melbourne summer is just unbearable. And for worse, the direct sunshine throughout the day keeps my room not just hot, but BOILING~!!! Today is just 27C, what about 35C next week?! Argh~ I must escape!

搬家記（二）

昨晚開會談了我搬走的事，結果不歡而散。我背上不負責任，沒擔戴，大話精的罪名。難道我給的一個月通知不夠嗎？我在自己決定後才把事情說清不對嗎？我保護自己而沒簽約有錯嗎？是我不負責任，還是有人不想負責任？虧我沒吃嗎？

好人我做夠了。同情也同情過。這次我會“企硬”。在世人眼中，我可能做過份了，但我覺得責任我已經盡了，是時候說說我的權利。

搬家記（一）

最近都為搬家而忙。上網找屋子，打電話約時間看屋子。沒想過看屋子是要自己一戶戶敲門（吃閉門羹也不再説，可憐的是我們兩個女子怕屋裏不知什麽人），也沒想過是會要跟人搶（那鬼佬.... too bad.）。在短短的四天，看了四間屋，打了也有十通電話。不過，我們也超級幸運，竟然給我們“搶”到那間我們首選的屋子。好像是因爲我行爲良好。哈哈。當那 agent 說他選擇租給我們，我們都開心到不懂怎樣反應~~ :D

不過，搬屋也有很多煩惱。現在我們要去買家私，接水電煤，收拾個人用品，約人來搬等等。未來的幾個星期應該會很忙。但是反正是假期，有一點精神寄托也好~ 我一定要弄得整整齊齊來歡迎 daddy, mummy, koko & emama 的~~

被疏遠

被疏遠。老實說，這次畢業我並沒有依依不捨的感覺。回想以前中學，我總會因爲分離而不捨得。是因爲我成熟了，還是我根本與這班同學合不來？有時，我總覺得自己不大屬於大家的一份子，我會對自己說因爲我沒有和她們一起 placement。不過，我心裏知道很多時候這也是我一手造成。在無數次的約會/parties，我以不喝酒為理由，沒有出現。有時，我就因爲個別理由，沒參與。就如昨天，同學們都相約去參加 Melbourne Oaks Day - 一個女人穿少少，拿着酒杯在大太陽下干蒸的跑馬活動。我不喜歡這種場合，所以我沒去。在大家眼裏，我是不合群，只會拿“忙”為藉口的人。就是這樣，我也慢慢被疏遠了。

有人說“寧願多一個朋友，好過多一個敵人”，我也明白了，也沒有怎麽與人結怨。不過，這世界不只有朋友與敵人，還有一些“見面沒話説，又不至於敵人的朋友”。老實說，有時，在一班這樣的朋友群中，你會覺得沒話題，格格不入。久而久之，心裏無形中有了一種孤獨。開始討厭自己。

Mock Interview

Mock interview this morning. I had a panic attack right before the interview as to where exactly the PeterMac centre is. Thanks for the senior dietitian who gave me the wrong street name, but soon, it was resolved & I arrived 30min before it started.

Oh well, the interview was formal, however, I was not at all nervous or stressed. Perhaps at the back of my mind, i did know it was a mock. The interview has taken ~35min, when i was asked 6 different questions which I answered with stories of experiences to demonstrate some skills. And, it was....... crap. Examples not strong enough or lack of details. Funny enough i didnt actually "sell" myself but being too humble.

Well, i learnt a lesson. Hopefully next time when i get a real interview I won't just give myself away like i did this morning. Good that we have the mock as practice~~

考完試

考完試。沒有特別興奮或喜悅。這可能是我二十年教育生涯的最後一個考試，不過我沒有特別期待這結束。結束是另一階段的開始。是時候放下書包，拿起工事包了。

PS. 求神拜佛我考試要過關啊~

Exam in 1 day

Tomorrow will be my final dietetic exam.

Stress... Stress... Stress.....

Brain all stuffed up.

Wishing tomorrow paper will be fine.

*Praying hard for it to be less alien than the OSCE.

What a marathon day

What a marathon day. OSCE to start the day off. Before I realised the exam was so near, I was already sitting in the dietetic department in Alfred with half of the class, being sequestered for the oral exam. Nothing could calm our nerves - not by talking of nonsense which Sara & I attempted. A brief discussion went off on what topic the exam could be on -- "definitely not coeliac, too specialised.. gastro would more likely be on constipation, or GORD..." Guess what? The most unexpected was indeed the chosen-one - coeliac disease. Argh~ Least expected, least prepared. Not to mention the lengthy questions instead of just the "goals & objectives". Pretty sure I walked out of the exam room with one single feeling - traumatised.

But soon after i left the Alfred, i headed down to MCHS for my next event - the award presentation night of "Kids: Go For Your Life". That joy of being back in MCHS just radiated through me. And soon enough i did manage to forget about the dreadful exam. Anne Gu Gu was still as hilarious as usual, while all the kinder teachers appeared to be as passionate to the initiative as ever. The display booths were nicely decorated, showing evidence of what had been happening in the kinders during the implementation of the initiative. Before long the hall was filled with the festive atmosphere with nothing but pride & happiness. It was so good to be part of the project team, seeing the sprouting effects of the program & enjoying this final joy. Well, MCHS did have a booth too, which was mainly designated to Janet & I for our poster. We were kind of embarrass on how empty our table was in comparison to the other displays. Haha... Nevertheless, our poster did attract some people who came forward to ask questions on our project.

And, finally at 9pm, i almost rushed off like Cinderella - to the airport to pick up my dear Kheng Ling. It was my first time driving so much in a day, not to mention the night long drive to the airport. What made things worse was the unexpected road blocks in the city where I was stuck, panicking & knowing Kheng Ling must have started to turn into a stone at the airport. Poor girl, ended up waiting for 1+hour~ But well, really glad to see her back in Melbourne.

Home time was 1am, exhausted.

P.S. Oh, it was so embarraseed to be caught red-handed by a kinder teacher outside KFC where Janet & I had our quick dinner. She had the intention of making tomorrow headline as "Student Dietitians Caught Eating Unhealthy Fastfood". Ooops. Ya. We shouldn't have done it, not right before the award presentation for HEALTHY eating. Hahahah..

Tomorrow OSCE exam

Tomorrow is my OSCE exam - my oral. Honestly it shouldn't be difficult after all i have learnt at placement. However, the lecturers claimed not to see our performance at individual sites, so tomorrow exam will be used as a judgement of whether we meet the graduate standard. This sounds all weird to me. If we don't meet the standard after the 2-semester placement, then we wld have been doing detrimental harm to our patients. Well, no matter what, exam is exam, it is to test our knowledge & skills. But i hate that feeling of meeting "the standard", which is as usual much much higher than the expectation in the real world. Well, as students, we ought to 100% or even more, leaving rooms for cutting corners~!

Good luck to me for tomorrow OSCE~!!!

Dietetic gatheirng

Wen chiann's birthday celebration cum dietetic gathering. Today we had 100% turn-up rate! All the 9 of us.

Having a feast of grilled sausages + chicken wings; high fat high sugar snack; high-caloric soft drinks. Playing board games on the floor like five-year-olds. These make us look least like graduating dietitians, from food as well as psychomental point.

Nevertheless, this short gathering might as well be our final meet-up before all of us heading off our own individual paths. Some are continuing to study, some are getting married, some are entering the dietetic workforce~~ Wow..

閉關

不知道爲什麽最近都很少跟外界接觸，不多想出去，就算出去也想快回家。朋友叫吃飯，打球，我都推了。我不是想玩自閉，我想閉關，好好讀書~!

STUDY time

Studying Week. Cramping all newly learnt knowledge to the tiny brain. Rushing to the library where a full-blast study mood is present. Sleeping & eating with, if not on, lecture notes & telephone-book size textbooks. Great~ What time is it?! It is STUDY time.

Mission: Become a nutrition Know-it-All before the exam!

Are You Coeliac?

Are u coeliac? Being the few only Asians, Janet, Fran, RJ & I walked into the Gluten-Free Exhibition, setting the people around us with that question in their mind. Yes, coeliac disease is in fact uncommon or even rare in Asians~ So, we were mainly doing some professional development as student dietitians. Oh well, to be honest, we all think it was kind of expensive to visit the show, paying $12 for admission, n all we managed to get out of today trip are a stack of written information of the different gluten-free products + taste tested as many as almost all the gluten-free products. Not very helpful, but i m happy to at least visit the show once, so i wld be able to recommend my patients to the show in the future. Oh, but, if i were ever diagnosed with coeliac, i would not like to eat that kind of products - they all taste so weird~~!

四年課程也結束

今天上完了最後一天的課，四年的課程也算到了一個結束。除了考試，我的學位也差不多完成了。這幾天上課都有點不同，以前一起嘻嘻哈哈的 Janet 和 Wen Chiann 都不在，真的不習慣。感覺她們好像請了病假，我不由自主地想幫她們拿 notes，最後又只能心酸酸地聼課。而今天到了最後日，最後一次能與全班同學們共聚一室，難免覺得有點依依不捨，有點感觸。但我還是沒有去大家安排的午餐聚會。我不是 anti-social, 只是我不是一個酒鬼。不過話説回來，我們能夠一起挨過了種種的難關，互相扶持，可說是出生入死的姐妹。尤其是我們這班 international students，入學那幾個與現在一起將畢業的這幾個，已經不一樣了。從中的壓力與煎熬，真是有口說不清啊~

實習生涯結束

我的實習生涯終于完美結束。這兩年來，實習的確成爲了我精神上的一大部分。我有曾經懷疑自己的能力，也有過面對挫折的時候，但現在一切也成了過去。回顧一幕幕的往事，今天得來的成果真的不容易啊~ 無論如何，我要努力，成功畢業離我不遠!

Loss of Loved Ones

I could see sadness, despair & pain in Kheng Ling's teary eyes last night. I know it must be the hardest thing ever to accept for the loss of your loved ones. Death is just too real when u come to face it. Everyday I see patients having their family crying on their death bed, but yesterday seeing Kheng Ling cry was somehow more real. Dunno why, i feel the loss too, n it is hurting in the heart.

What the HELL

What the hell!!!!!!! 我最恨被人焗住上。無恥。有時，我多麽想自己沒有做司機的責任。

Experienced the New Experiences

Another week of workload consolidation has passed. Currently i m managing 22 patients (though only 17 require ongoing intervention). With this amount of patients in my hands, everyday I really got to plan the day out. But sometimes things can go haywired...

Today I received a verbal "referral" from the nurse that one of my patients has been eating very little at mealtimes (the patient has been lying to me..). This patient has a history of depression & now, with a current issue of recent amputation, his emotional status remains at the bottom of a pit. It was very difficult to emphasize this patient while knowing nutrition is important for his recovery. I didn't want to push him too hard & make him even more depressed, especially when his only request is to not make him to go to the dining room to eat. And, soon, from the nursing staff, we came out a conclusion that the patient's daughter was affecting the patient's mental status alot, as she comes in few times a week crying when she sees her father's missing leg. The nurse manager & I ended up having a mini-family meeting with the patient & his daughter, reinforcing the importance of nutrition, making it his duty to join the eating at mealtimes, reassuring the daughter & patient that the amputation is managable afterall. This is how things can get complex & ended up my job is not that easy. But what an unusual experience~

Anyway, another special experience happened today too. I did a talk to all the new nurses & nursing students. It was quite different from the usual nutrition group educations we do as a dietitian, because my topic was to explain what rehab dietitians do. I think that doing this talk is good for me because it gets me thinking what i actually am doing as a dietitian. Although materials & the outline of the talk were already prepared by my supervisor, i think it did get me thinking, planning for the talk. Oh, it went ok, just that i do feel i m quite unexperienced as what i said was pretty shallow, lack of details & i really should ve asked more questions to stir up the group. But well, it is an experience, something for me to build on in my career.

All the experiences i gather everyday are for learning to be a better dietitian as well as a better person. I think i do enjoy this job & would like to challenge myself to scale greater heights in this career! By next tuesday clinical placement will call an end. I m getting nearer the finishing line, going to enter the real world soon~~!

Weekend Special

These few weekends I have been having lots of fun~~ Last week had a crazy night @ Song yee's birthday celebration, this week they held another mahjong party at Jinn's place. The feeling of being with friends is so good. We laugh on jokes, share knowledge & opinions on different things eg house issues, have lots of fun by simply becoming silly.. It is good to forget about the burden u have been carrying in the past 5 days of the week~! Now i understand why everyone loves weekends n hates Mondays so much. Haha... And, i m joining the crowd.

Workload Management Placement

Workload Managment Placement. A week into the final placement block when i m to reach 100% competency in 2.5 weeks! However, suprisingly, this week has been a breeze. Initially i started with some worries n stress, but as the week proceeded on, i did work well. The weekly review today actually went well, my supervisor was in fact giving good comments! Wow~~

Anyway, i must keep up with the good work, especially next week i ll be managing more patients n some involved education~! Work hard~~~!

放鬆自己

意圖用音樂麻木自己，用吵鬧的歌聲令自己放鬆，暫時忘記壓力。昨晚的卡拉 OK 確實玩得有點癲，差不多二十個人，玩到三更半夜。不過快樂的時光過得快，睡醒了就打回原型，回到現實的世界，一個要我學習面對的世界。明天就踏入十月，挑戰正等着我~~ 我要努力！

Challenge

Facing the upcoming challenge, i have tried to prepare myself both academically & mentally. This eventual step of becoming a dietitian is going to be tough, but i must work hard~! God bless me.

Stress is building up once again.

今年中秋

今年中秋也可以說有朋友相陪，好過上年孤零零一個人咬月餅。

一班朋友嘻嘻哈哈地打邊爐，個個顧住吃，連外面的月亮是圓是扁都不在乎。

可能現代人已經把季節當做聚會的藉口，兒時學過的節日故事已不記得。

雖然吃着月餅，但突然有個衝動想好像小時候玩燈籠啊~

Yum Cha Gathering with Fellow Student Dietitians

A gathering at the Sharkfin house today, with my fellow student dietitians, 5 from 3rd year, n 5 from my year. A quick lunch but a great discussion atmosphere on terrible experience on clinical placement. Haha~

Sing K

Sing K is the nowadays common activity for young people. But it is definitely not my best option of activities. However, from time to time, I just have to go along with friends. Having no music fibre in my gene, i never like singing or dancing or even humming. Well, i must have produced some noise pollution when attempted to show-off my horrible voice. Nevertheless, i m glad that these friends didn't really criticise or force sing because it is the most unpleasant experience ever. Glad that someone isn't there.

怎麽搞的

面對這眼前的功課，煩惱就來了。怪就怪自己之前的錯... 煩。又一次變得很 emotional，唉~ 我今年怎麽搞的.....

Return to the MCHS

As previously scheduled, Janet & I returned to the MCHS centre today for the network meeting with the kindergarten teachers. Our attendence was to present our final part of our results & distribute our resource kit. Upon stepping into the building, we both could feel how much we miss "working" there. At the front desk, we were welcomed by the smiling staffs. Though it was barely one and a half week, our sense of belonging to the centre makes it weird to us for "being away" for so long. Ha.. It was just great to go back to the centre once again.

Anyway the meeting with the kinder teachers was like catching up with old friends. It was funny that we built our relationship with these teachers that they all greeted us cheerfully n couldn't wait to share the latest news at kinder with us. Pam was saying the tiny girl finally started eating a sandwich, while Lisa shared her experience of planting new fruit trees with the children. And then, we presented our work, n we could really feel their appreciation on our work. Actually what we did was nothing compared to their enormous efforts on the children's health. But well, i think it is all the passion that matters.

I just feel great to be part of this team in working for the children healthy eating. I wish i can continue to do something for the community, but like Anne said I wld be better off to consolidate my dietetic skills at clinical first. Perhaps i shld set it as a goal, like what i have absent-mindedly inserted into my year-book that my future goal is to make healthy eating possible for the nation~! (haha.. sometimes I do dream big, indeed real BIG~!!)

No More

Her "disappearance" silently announced the end of this tiring cold-war because i m giving up. I m not being responsible anymore. The house, or the place. It is an act of self-protection. Yes, i give up. No matter who contributed to this sad outcome, it is no longer important. I now learn to mind my own business only. Perhaps, it ll be a relief n release......

Great start of holiday

What a great weekend to start my holiday...

First... Visited the Human Body Exhitbition where anatomy was further explained to non-Science friends.. But i did learn alot from the "Real human display" too.



Then to Dockland, and have an ice-cream.. How weird to the passer-bys when 6 of us sat & ate ice-cream. We looked like a live-promotion board for the ice-cream shop.



Lastly, to the Shrine of Remembrance, mainly to get as much of sunshine as possible, to compensate for the hours in our rooms doing assignments.

Throughout the day, we managed to snapshot many pictures. Captures of our laughters & joy.. It was such a beautiful day..

Program Planning Ended

Our program planning has officially come to an end after this morning Poster presentation & handing in all the reports.


Claire, our lecturer for the Program Planning subject, said that she is so happy today because she sees us all grow up so much with our skills of presentation n reservoir of knowledge. Oh did we?

Today we received our Year Book. It is the most interesting thing to read for everyone now n probably for years to come as well. What a memorable class to be~

With the above situation, we are like getting ready for graduation!? Rounding things up to go?

The Mooncake Festival

The Most Crappy Celebration ever. Just came back from the Mooncake Festival Celebration at uni. Really regretted on taking up this precious time when i wld rather spend home memorising my speech for tmr. The problem with this function was the food, the program, the atmosphere... basically everything. But i want to complain the most is the food as i m always of the most concern. People was all starved like never-eaten-for-months by 8pm, but the food provided was limited! So courtesy actually earned us an half-emptied stomach~ What made things worse was their serving-up skills. A mixture of fried foods and some gravy-dishes made my plate of foods looks like mud. Yuck!... Not to mention the mooncakes taste like ROCK! From what i ve heard, the organiser of this celebration was a non-Chinese. No wonder the Chinese culture is not in the air. But well, how can he/she just got someone to play two-three songs n call the dinner "with a range of performances". Oh how crap.... But well, still managed to get 2 good pictures, esp the first one with Everyone in it.

New Assignment Received

The wait was 1+ hour, but the meeting was 5min.


Yes, new assignment received. Old report collected n realised how bad the job was.


I must do it right this time - will work hard on the expression.

做滷水

今天心血來潮同 kheng ling 一起做了平時 daddy 最拿手的滷水。雖然味道如何還未知，但是已很回味那股香味。記得以前 Daddy 煮滷水，我一餐可以吃幾隻蛋，整塼豆腐。哈哈... 希望我這次學會怎麽做滷水，下次到我煮給 Daddy 吃。

踏前了一步

好開心 program planning placement 完了。雖然不捨得 centre 的人，尤其是 supervisor 姑姑，不過這個 placement 的結束代表我又向畢業踏前了一步。這八個星期是我 so far 最開心的 placement，同 Janet 癲癲傻傻，一邊做我們的 project，一邊做回小朋友融入幼稚園裏。不知道是開心的時光真的過得特別快，還是八個星期就是這麽短....

星期一我就要為自己之前的過錯負責任，希望這次可以做好，禰補上次的錯。

Last Day of Program Planning

I m going to miss program planning + MCHS. Official last day today. Spent an hour to clean up our "home" and then a good 20 min to say goodbye individually to every staff.

Yesterday, after the presentation to the MCHS staff, we had a little farewell with our supervisor - Anne Gu Gu. She actually took us to go to a nearby chocolate cafe for some "sometimes" foods.

Well, to make things funnier. Janet + I were nominated as the "photocopier princess" & "laminator queen". We were presented with crowns!! Haha...

Enjoyed so much throughout the placement, my stupidity has just been magnified by Janet. This, initially thought to be boring project, ended up exciting and enjoyable. Haha.. Really wish if i can get a job in this centre sometime next year~~

The Red Moon

Have u seen the red moon yet?! According to the Age newspaper, tonight the Earth, the Sun & the Moon were perfectly aligned & formed a lunar eclipse. This rare occurrence didn't just show a moon with a imaginary bite-off, but also resulting a blurry yellowish-to-red moon. Indeed, we spent 1 1/2 hour looking at the moon, n observed it all. Really, there was, the moon slowly transforming itself from clean white to orange to red! Much anticipated, much excited~! Haha.. So did u see the red moon?

學習做一個衰人

做人難，做好人更難。對人好，別人不一定會 appreciate。很多人反而會因而“食住上”。久而久之，你對他好就變成理所當然。至於到這地步，你應該反抗，還是更大方地對他好呢？其實，我是時候學習人間不同人的醜惡，學習做一個衰人。

The 'myphoto.zip' worm

Survived from the irritating worm - 'myphoto.zip'. System restored, anti-virus scanned. The worm seemed more persistent than the old traditional ones. It has costed me 2 nights to get rid of it. But well, i had prepared myself for a much worse situation - farewell to msn. Well, i must admit that msn has been doing me good in providing a good network between me & my friends from the furthest corner of the world. This chatting room has almost become a vital need in life since i became an international student. Ha.. But it is me, if something gets into my way, i ll learn to live without it. Anyway, i learnt a lesson now - handle foreign files with care, even they are from ur friends.

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera. 鬼佬大戲。上次回港，陪媽咪與一班 aunties 看 <帝女花>，真正見識到什麽是中國傳統藝術。而今天，看這 musical 的時候，周圍的人年紀與上次 <帝女花> 一樣，多是上了年紀的，唯一不同的就是他們都是金髮姑姑與叔叔。至於這場 musical, 對於沒有音樂細胞的我，我只會說與中國大戲差不多，從頭唱到尾，好聽是真的好聽，不過不是句句聼得清楚。然而，對我來説，我最欣賞的是那些舞臺效果，又煙火，又道具，連吊燈也從天花板拉下來，融入戯中。音響與一切的技術把那 phantom 弄得真的有點嚇人。其實這 musical 真的一場不錯的演出，從音樂，演技，到 story line，及道具，技術效果都很好。我覺得中國大戲與鬼佬的 musical, 各有各的風味吧。

ER in reality

ER in reality. I had a great first-hand experience on Australian Emergency Room last night. At around 11pm, i got a call from Ivy's mum from HK, asking for help to send Ivy to the doctor as she was having persistent high fever. Within half-an-hour time, Kheng Ling n I got her in the MMC Emergency Dept. After a long wait to register at the counter, Ivy was given Panadol for the fever, n we were put to sit at the waiting lounge to wait for name call. And, once settled down, the wait was forever. Another patient coming in with severe pain was given 2 doses of morphine n then was to wait, one with a broken ankle was bandaged n was to wait. Hai~ High fever isn't a big deal afterall. Therefore, in that room, we sat n waited for a solid 4 hours!! OMG~ Before we were called in, the receptionist nurse tried so hard to get us away.... don't like her! But well, after 4 hours, the fever was almost subsided. The doctor only recommended more panadol before sending us home. Well, i think the Australian healthcare system is really crappy, n nothing like what is said in our books. Don't go to Emergency Room if u have medical emergencies, a clinic definitely has a shorter waiting list.

Fell

It wasn't my first fall in academics, but hopefully my last one. Felt totally despair, as this outcome was totally unexpected n unwanted. Was it really our style of writing?

Actually i did feel unfair too. Having been putting in so much effort into doing every bits in my work across the semester, the end results was a big blow. Seeing those who share the high grades of previous activities, n i m left behind, i feel unfair. But well, life is a learning journey, not just to gain knowledge but also to learn to accept failures n pick myself up from my falls. One mistake can smash all the previous hardwork, i understand now.

Nevertheless, i m fortunate enough to have all possible emotional support, hands offered to pull me upright from the fall. I m fine. I m determined to make a change in what i m not good at. I will overcome this, because i know when i look back i always have you all.

無心情

無心情。失落。氣餒。

不公平嗎？我又沒做錯嗎？

還好有得補救。

Kid-like Activity

PIXAR @ Federation Square. I was impressed of the way how cartoon animations are actually made. Billions and trillions of drawings to make a jumping cat (!?). Researches to be done to present the exact natures of bugs, marine life, etc. Professionals employed to do merely interior design of the houses in the stories, or hair-stylists to make sure hairs of the characters are appropriate. Yes, just a big 'WoW' from me today. I m truely amazed on how cartoons are made to avoid deceptive or untrue messages. Oh of course, besides the informative exhibition of how cartoons are made, we took some pictures with the cute cute displays....

Oh something else happened today too. Thanks to Wan Yi's recommendation of going to a place called "蝦窿' for dinner, we ended with '錢包穿窿' instead. Didn't manage to locate the restaurant but got a parking fine for parking at the wrong spot while having a quick dinner nearby. Hai~ To make things worse, we lost the fine ticket on M1 Freeway in the rain during our way back. Now, we have no idea what we were fined for, or where to make payment. Aiya....

與一班鬼飲茶共餐

與一班鬼飲茶共餐 -- 今天午餐與 Manningham Community Health Services 的十五個 staff 到附近的茶樓飲茶，吃點心。文化交流 -- 讓那班金髮姑姑嘗嘗與了解我們的傳統點心，而我們也見識到他們那種“不客氣”的食相。雖然那茶樓的廚師欺負我們，逼我們要了 2 碟炒麵，騙錢（！），不過大家這樣的一餐非常好玩。連身為 dietitian 的 supervisor 姑姑也說“吃埋這餐再算了。” 哈哈哈......

Last Night Party

Enjoyed last night much more than expected at YC's party last night. At the verge of turning it down at the last minute, simply because everyone is so tired after the Open Day. Felt a bit guilty to get our dear friends (who are as tired) to do the destinated cooking. But well, regarding the party itself, i m happy to self-entertain, together with the Marshall + St Kilda bunch. Stupidity n endless laughters among ourselves just drown the uneasiness. Personally nothing to complain (because I have nice friends around me). But well, i m trying to control myself from cursing.

Well well.. Nevertheless, i have managed to got the IELTS off my way, a step closer to my plan on future. :D

Open Day

5 Aug 2007 Monash Open Day. This is my 4th times on duty to promote my course on the Open Day. Am I passionate? Oh well, it sounds more like the course staff trying to get those who used to help, because we are at very least, willing to do this unpaid. And, for this time, my course administrator, Dinnah, actually put me down from 9 to 3. Therefore, i have been "talking like a parrot" (it is a comment by Dinnah) for 6 hours. Got a sore throat now. But, nevertheless, it was enjoyable, n perhaps, today's voluntary work does brush up my communication skills too.

And some funny conversations are:
ONE -- Student (S); Me (M)
S: So was the course good?
M: Oh yes!
S: Alright, bye~
OH my God.. So it is called information-gathering!?

TWO -- Parent (P); Me (M)
P: I want to know every single thing about the course!
M: Oh, alright. Let me give u a quick run down................. (talking 3 min non-stop.)
P: U sure that is all we need to know? How about information sheets? Have i got all info?
M: Yes, we did have another paper but it has run out. That sheet says...... which is in this one anyway.
P: So i shld go for the info session, where is it?
M: Sorry it was at lunchtime, u missed it.
P: Oh that is not helpful. (walked away)
Why i feel like i m being questioned for a crime??

THREE -- Parent (P); Me (M)
P: Oh, hi, my daughter is doing her VCE now, but not taking Chemistry. We know it is best for her to do a Science degree with Chem before applying for transfer. Or what else?
M: Oh, she can do..............
P: I have 2 other questions. How about job opportunities? What she can work as? And the salary?
M: My explanation.........
P: So research?? How much more to earn after doing Honours? How to get in Honours? Is Honours HEC funded?
M: Explaining.......................
P: What are the highlights n downsides of this course?
M: Explaining....................
The questions just went on n on for 25min.
I felt like i was having an oral exam. hahah..

Kinder Experience

Janet + I have been switching repeatedly from being kinder children to their teachers. At times, we joined the kids on the floor n listened to the stories. At times, we became the teachers n told some naughty children of their "not the right behaviour". It is funny & interesting to learn the communication skills of a kinder teacher, the way the new generation is taught. Haha...

好人無好報

好人無好報，反而死得早。做好人只會被人當水魚~~ 切記。

Weekend

A happy and happening weekend indeed. Last night, we had a steamboat gathering at Wan Yi's place, in conjunction with Yin Chien's birthday. Although it was meant to be a dinner, we all got to start the preparation from early the morning. Going to Springvale to buy all food, while Wan Yi cooked the soup at home. And we got to get there early to spend almost an hour on washing all the food. Well, for such a meal, we really do need a day to get ready. But of course, it was an enjoyable night, just simply chatting away with friends while kept munching the food. After the feast-like dinner, we all craved for more entertainment before further food-input (the cake). Haha.. 4 of us, the "gamblers" set up a table to play Mahjong. Dunno what happened, I kept winning last night till everyone were grumbling. Never seen a game of Mahjong could cause so much anger. But well, Victor was a bit bad luck. Oops. As for today, after the quick morning cleaning, Kheng Ling n I set off to Chadstone to run errands as plan. But... Whahahah~ We managed to grab the latest Harry Potter!! I was sooooo happy, esp after a week of regret not pre-ordering it earlier. But well. Hahaha...What a joyful weekend; me appreciating it~!

語文真的這麽差嗎

懂得兩種語言與懂得翻譯是不一樣的。Janet 和我都是香港人，在澳洲也讀了好幾年書。平時跟朋友家人說的是中文，對老師同學，病人都說英文，看起來兩種語言都 mastered 了。誰知道中文，英文都只是半桶水。區區一張中文的家長通告，我們都寫了幾個小時，最後還是文法不對，詞不達意，簡直是英文直譯的。英文呢，問題沒這麽大，但 grammar 還是要 supervisor 姑姑幫我們改正。我們的語文真的這麽差嗎？慘了....

Career?

As I m in my final semester, I have started thinking about my career. I used to say that I would work anywhere as the job offers. But come to think about it, where I really want to work? Melbourne, Hong Kong or Singapore? Clinical, community or industries? Or even continue with Honours? Taking very much everything into consideration, I found myself contradicting in my thoughts. Oh well, the first job shldn't be what i like, but what if the employers don't like... ha...

Silence

Silence. No communication is better than mis-communication. Well.. It is my problem, but i m not working on it.

Passion in Community Dietetics

Do we really have that passion in community dietetics, or just that we want to get it done n be over? Apparently our supervisor, Anne, has commented greatly on our efficiency on Janet's n my progress of our project. Well, what we have done is definitely not a great deal. Perhaps she is trying to encourage us. But of course I won't complain, a good well-done is a reward afterall. Well, we ll continue to work for it. Kids: Go For Your Life!!

The IELTS

The International English Language Testing System. I have just taken my IELTS today. It has been a long while since I last took an English exam. I was a bit anxious initially for this exam, but as I was spending almost all my time on the placement project, i hardly realised until I sat in the exam hall. Three hour exam which I seem to have got used to. Listening, reading, writing, speaking - 4 parts. Nothing like the 'O' level. Well, I did my best n now I shld wait for the results which might ultimately decide if i can stay in Australia after graduation.

Program Planning Placement

2 days into program planning placement~! Oh, experiencing both ups n downs in barely 2 days. One of the most exciting issues is that Janet n I are provided with our private office! Hahah.. We spent quite sometime yesterday re-arranging furniture n stuff to make ourselves as comfy as possible. Well, the downside of things is what we ought to spend most of our time in this office working on a quite uninteresting project - impact evaluation for kinders, for the upcoming 8 weeks. Yesterday we indeed felt a bit trapped in this project, not knowing what n how we shld start. However, i think we just need sometime to get our heads around the public health setting, as well as the acquired health promotion skills. Anyway, it could be cool to be unsupervised most of the time, but also challenging to be unguided. Umm.. perhaps they want us to go off by ourselves now.

PS. One very super funny joke Janet & I had during the placement: Our core initiative named "Go For Your Life".. And guess what it becomes when WE translated it into chinese?! "Go For Your Life" = 去你的命 (OMG~ This is hopeless chinese but extremely funny joke. Hahaha...)

Learning to Be Unkind

If my kindness has continuously been taken for advantage, I got to learn to protect myself by being unkind, perhaps. Maybe to certain people who offer nothing but a big bite in return, I better keep my helping hand before it got bit off.

End of Winter Break

A reluctant goodbye to my lovely holiday. Now, my 2-week of winter break has come and gone, and my 8-wk program planning placement is going to start. Well.. I m actually proud to say that I have enjoyed this holiday very much. Most days I was occupied, n of course, spending the last few days with Xingwei from Singapore was special too. Everyday was purposeful, n i didn't feel wasted like I used to in previous long holiday~ Um.. Oh of course, it is a good time to give myself a bluff of fresh air from academics.

Results 出了

Results 昨天出了。我這次的成績是歷史新低啊~ 雖然當初我 placement 的表現連合格都有問題，而對現在的分數因該滿意，可是難免有一點失望。再想想將來的畢業成績單上有這遺憾，構成一個影響找工作的缺憾。唉~ 不過，另外一件事令我不開心的是兩位好友的坏消息 - 不合格。大家都是過來人，明白那盡了力卻徒勞無功的無奈。我心好酸啊~ 希望她們 overcome this sadness soon...

Xingwei in Melbourne

These 2 days I have been spending time with Xingwei, who has come to visit Melbourne from Singapore. Initially the trip was planned to have Bernard here as well, but due to unfavourable circumstances, only Xingwei could make it. Haha.. Xingwei was supposed to be the surprise of the trip when Ber only told me that he wld be coming with 'a friend'. Anyway, not been too closed with Xingwei before but these 2 days have definitely been an opportunity to know him more. Yesterday, after he touched down, I first brought him to a round trip around the Melbourne Airport carpark (as Kheng Ling n I failed to re-locate our car in that massive carpark.. Ooops~). Then, upon arriving to the city, we had a quick lunch n then a city tour to the famous Burke St, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, the Crown. And, eventually going up to the Lygon Street for Italian dinner. Well, pretty full. As for today, we ve been to the Victoria Market for a mega shopping n then got him booked into a day trip to Great Ocean Road before getting onto the tram to St Kilda Beach. I believe I did give him a kind of welcome to Melbourne, i hope. Haha... Shall have a farewell for him tomorrow night, after he gets back from Great Ocean Road.

Statement

An empty statement or a warning with assumed accusation.

Ashamed > Sorry > Indifferent > Denial > Angry > Cursing.

Oh well, no matter what the intention is, whatever said has made things worse.

中國人

Mummy 來電，得知哥哥誤入黑店的事，差點嚇暈。好彩人沒事~！中國如此黑暗，再努力發展，都只怕是原地踏步。國民教育啊~ 想想今天突然心血來潮到了 Clayton Library 借書，奇怪一進門就聼到裏面吵吵鬧鬧的。仔細一看，原來一群中國太太在，孩子東奔西跑沒人理。唉~ 真丟臉~

Supervisor Workshop

This afternoon i attended a supervisor-training workshop, which i was invited to share some opinions n feedbacks. When I walked into the room n being confronted by the 30 pairs of supervisors' eyes, i felt unprepared. However, once Jamie n I seated at the centre, the start of informal discussion lessened the tension in the room. Glad that Claire pointed out the issues with international students. I was able to fire away comments i wanted so much to say before. I knew i could do something to increase the awareness of our welfare, make them understand us. Perviously I tried to talk to the head of the course, but apparently she is least interested. Think it is much of a better way to directly present the message to the supervisors. Yes~ Hope i m doing some good for my juniors la~

年紀大，機器壞。

年紀大，機器壞。生老病死是人生必經的階段。可是一提到病總是有一種可怕的感覺由心裏震出來。在醫院工作天天看到那些百病纏身的病人，無奈對種種病都有恐懼。最近友人的父親突然感到心口痛，檢查後發現是因糖尿病引致血管嚴重閉塞，要開刀做 by-pass，我聼到都為他擔心。他幸好發現及時，不然就大件事了。想想 Daddy，Mummy 常常說身體這裡痛，那裏不妥，我真怕是有什麽事。雖然生老病死是人生必經的階段，但我相信平時保持健康的生活，會延遲疾病的到來。我真的希望我能成爲一個能協助延遲病人患病的營養師，或至少能幫 Daddy，Mummy stay healthy 啦~~

Finally End of Semester

Last day at Childcare. Finally it is the end of semester, finally i have my holiday. Although these last 2 weeks have been quite relaxing, i couldn't really free my mind totally from academics. Yes, I deserve a break now. Anyway, I was really glad to hear the positive comments after Janet & I presented our findings to the childcare manager this morning. She seemed impressed that we got so much (?!) done, and grateful for our work. She even said she might use our data to report back to the Start Right-Eat Right coordinator. Ha.. What a great news~ Well, I think comments of such would be the most appreciated rewards for those tedious job. Haha..

Anyway, now this semester is finally over. Looking back at my online posts, I think almost 90% of my past 3-month posts is on placement. Hai~ I know, it was a big step, n at times, i did experience huge rock blocking off my path ahead.. I hope I learn, not only to be a qualified dietitian, but to be a better me. Let's hope next semester will be a better semester~

Awaiting for parents

今天本來是要收回我們上個星期派發給 parents 的 surveys，不過 participation rate 實在驚人 - 2.5%! 結果，阿姑叫我們出絕招 - 在小朋友放學的時候去“捕”那些 parents，逼他們當場做 surveys。這招幾有用，我留下做了 12 份~ Haha... 話説回來，當我在等 parent 們的時候，我目擊了什麽是 pica，看到了一個 3 嵗的男孩在吃泥沙。雖然 staff 有阻止他，可是好像不太在意去避免他去吃泥，結果他接二連三去吃~！不過，除了這可怕的事，我也看到了一些感人的畫面 - 小孩熱切期待他們的父母來接他們，而看到自己的父母的那種喜悅與興奮，不顧一切地向前沖進父母的懷抱~~ 雖然天天如是，但我相信回家是小孩們每天最期待的一刻。看這一幕，我突然也想回家了~

Childcare Placement

Childcare Placement 不知不覺地已經過了一半。以下是回顧一下這星期：

滿臉口水的 Bs
BBs 確實好 cute，人仔矮矮，個頭大大，眼睛含無知的眼神~ 不過，口水滿臉，吃飯的時候，搞到整臉都是 tomato sauce，看到不懂好嬲還是好笑。

Staff Room
整個 centre 上上下下都有十幾二十個 staff，但 staff room 只有一部 computer 和一張兩座位的 sofa。我們每次都不敢在 staff room 坐太久，因爲我們兩個人已經霸了他們整個 staff room。

沒事做
我們這次 placement 可說是自篇自導自演。Childcare centre 的那位阿姑 （centre 的 manager) 根本不清楚我們要做什麽，由我們自由發揮。我們 chose nutritional adequacy，她表現得很滿意。不過，到現在我們才發現他們的 nutrition program 很好，基本上沒有什麽可以改善~ 到頭來，我們要設法找東西來寫 report。還有，上個星期每天都只是在那看小朋友吃 lunch + afternoon tea，下個禮拜，都不懂可做什麽。不去又怕阿姑向 lecturer 投訴，但去又不知道可以做，不知會不會阻他們，妨礙那些小朋友。唉~

冰山劈開

冰封三尺非一日之寒。假如話不投機，再説話也無法把冰山劈開... 無奈...

No More Traditional Chinese?!!

Say NO to United Nations' abolishment of Traditional Chinese in 2008

UN's action to "unify" the Chinese characters and recognize ONLY Simplified Chinese will have devastating impact upon the Chinese language, culture, history. Internationally, Traditional Chinese would be forgotten and neglected, it would only be a matter of time before Traditional Chinese becomes the next "Latin". (the dead language) Along with this loss of language, would be a culture and history lost forever.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/say-no-to-united-nations-abolishment-of-traditional-chinese-in-2008.html

Childcare Placement

Childcare Placement has begun yesterday, but already getting a day-off today. Ha.. Spent most of yesterday playing with kids anyway. So delicated today for survey-writing, but Janet & I got it done during lunch yesterday. So well.. ya.. got a weird feeling that i m not doing enough for this placement esp when i have to get myself busy.. Not quite used to it yet.

Class Gathering

Last night, I had a class gathering at the Afghan restaurant. Just an informal dinner, but might be the very last get-together before we all head off in different paths. Anyway, i was a bit reluctant to go, "as usual", especially when it turned out to be a super foggy night. I was almost cursing under my breath, however, i was the destinated driver of the night. Driving in the fog gave me the same feeling as if I was walking around after a week of insufficient sleep. But well, it was an experience, n in fact, i ended up feeling quite adverturous to slowly unfold what lay ahead of me. Anyway, for our gathering, what do u think would a group of dietitians do at a middle-eastern dinner? Our conversations were ultimately hovering on nutrition-related topics. Haha.. From opinions on the food served to bitching about clinical placements & the exam~ Well, what a mentally nourishing night~~

Exam is Over

Exam is over. However, I feel no excitemeent or relief. Perhaps, at the back of my mind I m anticipating for my childcare placement starting next week. Or perhaps, I have been to too many challenges & obstacles this semester that exam just became part of it. Anyway, my plan for now is to get some rest today & probably got to start preparing/reading up some childcare things during the weekend. Oh, don't complain Tammie. You got to get used to this working life.. When u start to work, a couple of days of holiday wld be luxurous.

我的牛一

今日是我農曆生日。除了早上看到 mobile reminder 後，吃了兩粒雞蛋，都就差不多忘記了自己牛一。尤其是在圖書館讀書讀到天昏地暗~~ 不過，回家收了一封 Email:

婷,
還記得今天是你的農曆生曰嗎？
有沒有煑２粒雞旦吃？
希望今年以后每年都可以与你分享.
Mummy

好感動~ 每年 daddy，mummy 都在百忙中記得我的生日，提醒我吃雞蛋。突然我想立刻回家了....

埋頭苦幹

累 - 不是不讀書的理由。讀不進腦 - 也不是休息的藉口。不過，太累或讀不進腦都明顯的表示我無謂繼續埋頭苦幹，因爲我就算讀過了也不會記得。今天晚上，我約了表妹與四姨吃飯。在我駕車時，我發現自己的累。與四姨交談中，我感覺到自己的腦袋閉塞。對，這樣的我是應付不了將要來臨的考試，我必須保持清醒的頭腦，靈活。明天繼續努力讀書，現在快D 去見周公先。

Exam prep

Slept. Recharged. Time to begin my exam prep. Eye-balling the stack of lecture notes, I got a feeling that my brain is too small to stuff everything in, however, I know that the requirements + expectation of this unit is not just remembering the lecture notes, but also to understand + able to utilise everything under the Sun that has relationship with nutrition. Ha.. And, this exam is going to be scenario-based/patient-interaction-like, meaning the challenge is to "manage 5 different patients in 3 hours"~! So, I just got to think fast, analyse clearly n know what i wld do instantly. o.O Got to Work hard for this utterly important 40%!

Craving for sleep

Finally major case is out of the way. Can I finally take a rest? I m craving for sleep~ Perhaps I shld lift my mind off academics for a day or two before the exam preparation. This semester has definitely been full-on. Didn't really got a chance to breathe, shit or sleep. Aiyo.. Needing a break, esp knowing right after the exam will have to commence food service placement. Oh. I wish to go to sleep now -- 8.30pm.

人終需長大

人終需長大，我今年是二十三，而已不是那因爲有糖吃而開心的女孩了。最近，常見群鳥成群結隊在空中飛翔，相信是飛到北方過冬。回想以前，很小的時候，得知小鳥會在冬天飛去南方避寒，覺得有趣，還把這"新聞"告訴身邊的人，怕大家不知鳥兒爲何飛走。哈~ 當年的天真令大家都笑個樂，但現在這份無知卻不知飛到哪裏了... 人長大了，會為種種事情心煩，擔憂。前一陣子，我因 clinical placement，competency, major case 等功課纏身，怕自己做不來，天天抱怨。我的害怕與擔憂甚至令朋友家人都擔心我，實在不好意思。其實，回頭一看，我為甚麽不能做回那天真的我，凡事輕鬆對待，因生活的小事情而感到快樂~ 無謂執著，日子也會開心些...

My Birthday

Last night, I had a very kiddy + exciting birthday celebration with kheng ling, yin chien, wan yi, sri, song yee, tammy & victor. The initial plan was to dine out, however, they ended up threw me a "surprise" with a cooked Chinese-cuisine meal, with the main dish as crab. I felt kind of guilty as it is currently such a busy time, they shouldn't have spent so much time on cooking up a meal for my birthday. Well, it was a feast, n we all certainly enjoyed ourselves. And, what special was the presents they prepared for me - a range of Malaysian kid 糖果玩具, air-mailed all the way from Malaysia! (me guilty once again to trouble the aunties) Ha.. i think those toys were the highlights of the night, turning everyone of them high n of course, kid-like again, especially wan yi. The toys were supposed to insert some kind of childhood into the childhood-less me. Anyway, it was definitely a thoughtful presents ~ especially they all now remind me how crazy everyone was last night with these toys. Haha..

Anyway, celebration ended last night, and my work on major case ought to resume. I wish so much to just take a break for today, to at least have a stress-less birthday, however, i can't afford to. Hai~ I know I ve been quite grumpy since this morning, knowing i m stuck with this stupid 5000 words report. But well, i m a final year student, maybe all kind of celebration is meant to delay till i m graduated. It is alright.. I m already fortunate enough to have such a good night yesterday, now is time for Major Case...

A bad situation for friends

Friday lecture day has always been a catch-up session for us. The day of the week when we get together and exchanges news/latest happenings at individual placement sites. Throughout the semester, fridays have been quite a pleasant day to look forward to, not only it is less brain-power demanding to listen at lectures, but also allows us all to be one another's support when placements have been shitty during the week. However, today was not like usual fridays. Since yesterday was the last day of our 9-week placement, we all were either told or hinted about our performance, n the possibilities of supplementary/extra time, or failure. Honestly, I was simply glad n relieved yesterday when my clinical teacher announced to me that i have passed. Actually, in the back of my mind, i did prepare for worse news. However, I wld not dare to think about the situation if i got a fail. It was just too scary - and today, i saw it myself. A few of my friends got the bad news. Not too sure if they will get to do supplementary... They looked so helpless, so down. I really feel sorry for them. I understand that they felt that their hard work was not paid off. Yes, just "not good enough". It is definitely harsh~ Hai.. At one point, I m relieved that i m not facing the same sadness, but i really just feel sad for them. Hopefully, they can eventually pass n let us all graduate together at the end of the year la~!

過關了

我過關了~ 意想不到，我終于成功 passed clinical placement！由 week 1 到這一步，我開了不少晚的夜車，做了無數次的熊貓，也曾經心情掉到谷底，大腦神經也失常了幾次。老實說，過去幾個月，我分分秒秒都在想 nutrition/dietetics，擔心自己技不如人，害怕做不到 expectations, 人都快瘋了。However，如今一切都 being paid off. 雖然 my competency 還未達到 professional dietitian 的水凖，不過我相信 experience 需要時間 build up 的。我會努力的~！One day I ll be addressed to be a dietitian without inserting the word "student" in front of it! Nevertheless, 這次我感到欣慰的是朋友的支持，家人的體諒，一次又一次的把我從炕裏拉起來。無論是精神上，心裏面，還是具體的 Support，我都 highly highly appreciated. Thank you. I really love u all.

A Few Tough Steps

Another week has come by n gone. Can't believe that i ve come to the last week of the semester already. Yes, next week is the final week of placement - going to have my final block review, final clinical teacher observation, last NCP due, case presentation, handing-in portfolio, rounding-up my clinical placement. And, major case n literature review are coming in a week n a bit, followed on is the exam. Ah~~ Stress is definitely developing under my skin, too much to anticipate for the upcoming events/tasks. I shall work hard for these few tough steps towards becoming a dietitian!

Busy but...

All drained, exhausted, but happy. Yes, leaving the house at 0630 for the early morning surgeon ward round was a bit insane; having a full day with barely 20min lunch break was crazy; n working non-stop n potential overtime might sound mad too. Oh well, this is what placement life is lately, for my final block, seeing approximately 6-7 patients a day. Yes, not much, comparing to a full-time dietitian, however, I think comparatively i m managing much more patients a day than I used to. And, it is great to ve this overwhelming exposure because I know I m gaining more experience everyday~ With this stressful environment, nothing is better than a simple nice thank-you from my patient or just a well-done by my supervising dietitian. In fact, I m thinking if I wld miss placement days after these 2 final weeks~!

Too many patients

After a week at the Gen Surg 2 unit, I am gradually getting used to the gastro problems, as well as locating my patients from different wards. However, i m still slow in my management, or not fast enough, only managing 6 pts, while already feeling extremely stressed. Can't believe that we had to work overtime just to finish our patients, even though we rushed through our lunch. But well, good to be busy, the more we do, the more experience we get. Hopefully by end of next week, we ll not struggle too much to finish a day..

Back to FH & Wan Yi's celebration

Back to Frankston Hospital. I must admit to have been freaking out last night, getting all panicky about returning to this scary place. I wished not to see my clinical teacher anymore, but well, i figured out it is way out of my control. Not good to be worrying too much, but ya.. So today started on alright. I was given an unit to take care, sounding more independent now, though of course, overseeing by my new supervisor, who is as nice as rehab dietitian. (*think the only unkind supervisor is my clinical teacher) Oh, managed to get through some patients today. Hoping it is a good start for my final block~!

Well, also, for last night, we had a birthday celebration for Wan Yi at the Polish Restaurant at Chapel Street. First taste of Polish food for many of us - quite special n gained general popularity among the group, however, my personal comment remains conservative. Nevertheless, nice little chat-up session especially for us all being too busy, n of course, no harm just sharing little stupid jokes to enlighten life a bit. Haha...

"Because I said So"

What is better than a comedy just to relax my tensed mind. Indeed, "Because I said So" was a nice movie, funny enough to laugh out, yet not too silly or foolish that switchs on our boredom gene. Anyway, it is a tensed period now - awaiting for the final session of placement. Many classmates had received some hints for the supplementary placement, and conversation around this topic had gone fair bit out of control. Yes, everyone is worried, crossing fingers to hope not to be invited for the extra time. Oh well, as i said, it might do me good, but i ll just wait n see, and at the same time, work harder n be good~!

Entering the month of May

Entering the month of May. Last lecture block. Next week will have our final placement block. It might have seemed like yesterday when placement started, but it feels like ages, as if I have been through a lot. I think this semester I have been pushed through a virtual darkness, trying to squeeze out my very best knowledge n skills. I believe i have somehow re-shaped my mind clinically, which i m glad. Maybe the "torture" is worthwhile to train my professional skills. Now, I m thinking whether i m ready to be a dietitian myself, whether i m confident in trusting my knowledge to make changes in patients' life. Perhaps a supplementary placement would be helpful. I know, i was previously very unkeen of taking supp. n wished so much not to be put on this extra-time program. But now, I think for my clinical benefits, it might not be a bad idea afterall. Oh well, i shall wait n see then, see what my clinical teacher says after my performance in the final block...

Ended Block 2

Block 2 is over. Said bye to the lovely rehab. Upcoming week will be intensive lectures once again, but what sounds much scarier is the arrival of final placement block. In a few week time, we should all reach 70% of dietitian competency. Everyone from the class was indeed having heaty discussion about the high expectation & the likeliness of a supplementary if performance does not meet the competency. While trying to learn most from the placements & performing our best, many of us have to deal with our supervisor/clinical teacher who makes life more shitty than ever for us. Stressed. Pressurised. Overwhelmed by this challenge. Now, crossing my fingers, I hope I will pass too.

Swimming Against Current

Tired. I m tired of saying I m tired. Because i m not just physically tired from the long hours of work, but also mentally tired by the never-ending high expectations everyday. In fact, i feel like i m swimming against the current. I m so desperate to swim faster, yet cold splashes are constantly slapping my face hard. The heat in me has just been dampened...

Accelerating Demands

Last friday, I heard from friends that one of our coursemates have decided to quit the course, after too much of overwhelming stress & pressure from the clinical placement. It was not unnatural for someone to quit the course, esp knowing the ever-rising expectations, but in final year?! Won't it be a waste of time? But yes, i have to agree to the accelerating demands both clinically & academically. I understand that we are training to be professionals, & all these pressure is necessary to produce quality standard in the profession. However, we are all working hard, sometimes too hard in the fear of not meeting the competency. Maybe that coursemate is actually right, she is choosing to stop before herself snapping into half...

Exhausted..

Tired. Exhausted. Feeling all drained. I think life with placement n uni classes is just eating away my health. I have been burning midnight oil almost every night this week, simply because I was working over-time every evening & came back with a dozen of other work to continue into the nights. Headache secondary to lack of rest; foul mood due to lack of energy to do my best in everything. This past week has just come n gone, yet i feel that my clinical skills & performance had not improved but went downhill. Next week i just got to work harder.. but for now, I believe a good rest is what i need now, especially for preparation of the upcoming challenges.

Long day

For day 1 back to rehab, i worked from 0830 to 1750hr, the longest hour ever n the latest I ever left the hospital. At the time of leaving, it was dark, many exits were already locked, n i was, in the dark, searching for a way out after the long long day. Tired, n exhausted now. But yes, i still ve a pile of work to do before tomorrow comes. Body, bear with me longer.

End of Holiday

Holiday is drawing to the end. I know i claimed this holiday to be unwelcomed at the very start, however, now, I wish tomorrow will not come. I feel like a reluctant child to resume classes; or like any employee who always hates work n wishes weekend will come earlier. From tomorrow onwards, i ll have to work hard for the upcoming 6 weeks, working towards meeting the 70% competency. Challenges present. Confidence needed.

A day at Werribee

Werribee Day. Been to the Werribee Open Range Zoo, the Mansion, & the Victoria Rose Garden today, with Kheng Ling, Wan Yi & Sri.

Being caged in the bus, being watched by "wild" animals roaming around us... It is funny. But the experience was great to have such closed-up shots of the animals.

The Mansion was in turn a bit disappointing to me, just merely because I m not too keen on knowing stories of the ancient house. And, I in fact thought the Mansion was a bit scary~~!

The Rose Garden would have been impressive to any girl, but if mum & emama were here, they must have taken one whole day for cautious capture of the flowers.

Dinner with Cousins

Just had a happy joyful gathering with Cousin Yan & Cousin Man at 7 & 7, Carnegie. It was a nice catch-up from the pharmaceutic, optometric n dietetic fields; also from Sydney uni, Melbourne uni n Monash uni. Information exchanged at the same rate as laughters. Haha.. We now got old from young kids we used to be, but common silliness and old jokes still remain. We had a great laugh at times when we took turn to describe about our hands-on, self-subjected practicals (observing own eye balls; trying on over-the-counter drugs; etc.). Oh well, shall look forward to the next time we meet~

Planning

計劃。你說我是個有計劃的人，或一個不會轉彎的人也好，我都不否認。我喜歡有自己的 schedule，每一天都有計劃地過。就算我 planned 的今天是給自己浪費時間，我也不會喜歡有人幫我加插一些活動，把我的一天弄得有意義。對，我明明是呆在家 sleep，我也 perfer stick to my plan，而拒絕出街。可能是心理的 adjustment 吧~ 本來這周四我們 dietetic 有活動，不過之前 cancelled 了，我就安排了那天留在家做功課。而現在又說 it is on，改變了我的計劃，我會覺得討厭... 再説，這種沒計劃的活動我都真的有點 fed up 了，不是很想去.. 記得前兩年，有一次我特意飛去 Singapore 去 attend 朋友們安排的 chalet gathering。不過，當我到了 changi airport, 才知道 chalet cancelled 了。我討厭這種沒計劃的活動... 媽常問我，我們這一代的人是否不會安排活動，做事都是沒計劃的。Nevertheless, people around me are going on unplanned road trip~ Who knows what they can do next...

CrRaziii...

My housemate has left for Sydney, so do Kheng Ling's housemates. But actually they went on different routes. Yin Chien has gone on plane this afternoon, while Rick's gang went Sydney by car n indeed has started the journey late last night. It was quite amazing that Rick they all only decided n confirmed the trip only hours before the departure. I bet i will never do such thing in my whole life, unless escaping from a war, perhaps. Anyway, Melbourne now left Kheng Ling, Wan Yi n me, so we are trying to entertain ourselves with whatever available here. And today, we re-visited the Melbourne Museum, mainly for the exhibition of 'Great Wall of China'. However, the displays wasn't too great afterall, but undoubtedly would ve been a good snapshot of China for any Aussie who walks in. Ha.. Nevertheless, we spent the rest of the day raiding the museum, materialising our stupidity. Hee.. One of the best way to relax nerve fibres - be stupid. Oh no.

Dunno what to do.

Easter Break. The most unwanted holiday ever, i think. In the first place, i ve this phobia of losing all my placements skills once again. Then, on top of that, i know i have thousands n one thing to do but yet reluctant to start any. Hai~ I dunno what i can do or where to go to relax my body. Suddenly i just want to go back to placements now. No plan for the rest of holiday. Dunno what to do....

Rehab Experience

It has been 2 days that I spent at rehab for my 2nd block placements. Honestly, this setting seems much relaxing n structured than the acute hospitals. Things go on protocols, patients' length of stays are longer, so plans are taken seriously for the patients' long term benefits. In the hospitals, we often work hard to get patients well enough to kick them out of the door, but at rehab, we aim to promote quality management of life. Aside from that, perhaps with less intensive workload, dietitians have more time to generate better system, like the nutrition screening which is used to identify the at-risk patients. It definitely helps to save our time, however, time seems luxurous now. I only saw one patient in 2 days, n i ve yet found my potential patient for my major case, which is now my super-high concern. But anyway, days at rehab are undoubtedly lovely~~ Hope days like these will go on, n in somedays, i will reach the competency!

Uni STudent

These few days our lectures take place at Clayton Campus~ We were all delighted to be back to this familiar ground. It was not till we all re-entered this campus that we realise how much we wish to be "students" once again. Yes, indeed, I have been feeling very little connection with the campus, provided with the limited time to know Monash well. However, strangely, today I just felt like returning to my old school, a comfortable zone i once got so used to. Maybe hospital work is really de-associating me from being a university student, or simply removed me physically n psychologically away from uni environment~ Sometimes, i do miss student-life so much, yet knowing I m actually still a undergrad student myself~

The problem is...

Why pretend to face no problem when the problem is right there? Why provide support when not intended to help? What game they are playing?! On one side, i tried to rise the problem to increase awareness of the issue, but one the other hand, i don't get support to reiterate the issue. Hai~ But even the issue is recognised, the teacher is not helpful. Hai~ I don't understand why they pretend to be approachable when not prepared to help? Who wld tell them our problems if we know they don't offer a solution? Hai~ I m disappointed, frustrated, n devastated. On top of that, i felt as if i m the only one facing trouble at present. I m the one who can't cope. My head is in a mess now.

* Thank u for everyone who cares~ I appreciate.

Block 1 Ended.

第一個 Block 的 Placement 已終結。這 3 個星期我經歷了無數的失落，徬徨無助，覺得自己一無是處，而成爲 dietitian 更是一個高不可攀的夢想。尤其是頭兩個星期，我對新的環境，新的 Supervisors，新的 expectation 有抗拒，我簡直像一隻盲頭蒼蠅，沒有了方向，進度也一路往下走。我有曾經努力改變，設法令自己重拾信心，但無可否認的是無形的壓力的存在，再大的 motivation 也提不起信心了。再説，我的 Supervisor 不時給我的 negative comments, 增加我的壓力，雖然用意逼我做得更好，但始終弄巧反拙。不過，在這段時期，我十分欣慰的是我有很 Supportive 的朋友，一次又一次的鼓勵我，讓我明白自己的問題，和勇敢面對及克服心理障礙。第一個 Block 就這樣完了。知識上，我學習到的東西不算多，但，我學會了面對問題與珍惜友誼。下一個 Block, 希望會更好。

** 在此，我要多謝 Kheng Ling, Janet, Sara, Wen Chiann...

Night At the Museum

Watched Night At The Museum last night with Kheng Ling and Wan Yi, at IMAX, which was ironically at the Museum. Ha.. Greatly anticipated, however, quite disappointed when we found out it was not a 3D show. Nevertheless, the abnormally huge screen did somehow give the "3D effects" n we didn't complain more. In fact, the enlargement actually made us 3 quite nauseated throughout the show. Haha.. But definitely, it was a nice comedy to soothe my nerves a bit, especially in the midst placement days.

Anyway, stress is the problem i have lately. I m always stressed by the expectations, yet stress making me not performing well enough to meet the expectations. I must get my stress under control now, i must be myself once again. No more stress!

Placement Stress

Worried. Placement. Not meeting expectation. Stressed.

Bad day

Had a panic attack this morning with my car. Having to pull myself off the bed at 5am was just a pain, then thinking of the silly food service activity of watching breakfast being plated made me feel worse. In the dark, i tried to work myself quietly n efficiently. Who knows when everything runs on schedule till i got into my car which actually was not starting up. Cursing under-breath, i retried but gave up soon. I then called Kheng Ling for help (imagine me waking her at 5.40am.. oops) n then Yin Chien got off of her bed n offered help too. While i was arranging to take Kheng Ling's car instead, Yin Chien started it up for me! So my car likes my housemate more! But ya.. thank God, after so much trouble, at least my day could go on~ So i arrived 10min late n still caught up with the breakfast plating, etc.

Anyway, bad days don't end that easy. My day at placement has been just as bad as last week. Got to as much as managing only 1 patient today, from 9am to 4pm. Still having difficulties in diet history.. Still struggling with writing documentations.. I feel more like swimming against the current everyday, n i don't know if i ll be worn out soon. But nevertheless, it is placement life, n i really m crossing my fingers n hoping i ll get through this~

Labour Day

First official holiday. No placement today. No class. In the past few years, we were constantly told that "Labour Day is a public holiday but NOT a university holiday.". But yes, this year, we get a day-off because all dietitians don't work today. Ha.. Nevertheless, i got the opportunity of re-visiting the uni campus today. It was really weird to walk across the campus as if i m an ex-student. I found that some halls were renovated, some new services were installed. A familiar place yet, so strange. Ya.. Somehow i feel more like i left the campus very long time ago. No no.. I m still an undergrad. I m still a student. But i think it is just a identity confusion because placement is just like working~ Ya.. official holiday~!

Placement week 1 is Over.

Week 1 placement is over. I m glad that weekend is finally here to allow my mind for a short rest. However my progress of the week has been very unsatisfactory. I think i m now way below the standard of a 4th year student dietitian. My clinical skills have declined so much during the holiday that i myself found it disappointing. Though we are all so glad that we get a bonus holiday on Monday for labour day, I shall probably spend this long weekend on refreshing my knowledge n skills~ Yes, work harder~!

Debriefing Myself

I need to debrief myself. Today lots happened in the hospital. Firstly, I had a go with diet history taking under peer review, n i think it truely shows how rusty my skills is. I certainly missed all the important bits of the diet. So yes, this attempt was definitely horrible. Then with my kind supervisor's advice (thank God she didn't scold me for the bad job), i phoned the patient's daughter to find out more. And, here I go with taking diet history on phone~ And then, my second patient of the day gave me something worse. Thinking this patient has so many co-morbilities, it might be a potential NCPer. However, the interview just put me n my supervisor off. Totally off. She just told me i didn't understand her, stating she doesn't want to see students, n then ended up pushing me away n told me to go home. But ya.. i think i learnt today that sometimes we can't do much to patients who don't want our help. Though today experience was quite upsetting, i think when thinking from learning point of view, i learnt to face the real world more. Hope I m stepping towards the dietetic career everyday~! But now, objective ONE - get my diet history taking skills straight.

Back Onto Placement

After 4 months of seeing no patient, we are now back to the placement. It was just hard to imagine how we could resume our competency after such a long lag. Oh well, i think everyone is on the same boat, n hopefully will progress onto thinking clinically again. Anyway, this semester I am placed at the Peninsula Health, which is far bit of a drive away. Each morning I ought to leave before 0730 for a early 0830 start. But well, i prefer this arrangement to going to the Alfred, which I probably will be caught up in the traffic more often than tolerated. And, the bad reputation of the nutrition department at the Alfred is definitely putting ex-SouthernHealth students off. Well, at least Peninsula Health dietitians seem extra wellcoming, supporting n approachable. I ll just hope that I won't be annoying them anytime soon.

Oh yes, Happy Birthday, Daddy~~

LOA

I have been having LOA since the day I came back to Melbourne. WHy? It is annoying to keep stuffing food into the mouth while eating is not enjoyable~ Hai~ Hope appetite will improve soon la~

After Week ONE

Week One. Exhausted. Drained. Brain stuffed. So it is what happened...

Driving
I have been driving to the Alfred for the past five days. Being caught in the traffic jam to n from the hospital made driving less pleasant than ever. Not to mention i m still in the process of refreshing my driving skills after the long holiday. Aiyo~ That's why i got so physically exhausted.. (but of course it was tiring to have 9to5 lectures everyday.)

Parking
It costs more to park when i go to the Alfred than i m spending on food. Aiyo~ n the price of petrol is increasing too~!

Classes
Marathon lectures, just like last semester. Although we are all prepared this kind of lecturing style now, it seems less easy to resume these after the 3mth holiday. And, we know the speed of lectures is going to accelerate n just pick up the speed of a bullet train soon.

Nevertheless, ward work begins next week~ Another rush of anxiety for the new environment, new supervisor, new expectation. It wld be demanding n difficult to try recalling what i ve done 4mths ago... But ya, I shall do my very best~!!!

Meeting up with Cousin Man

Just met up with cousin Man for dinner. I felt it was such a bless to meet up since we now belong to different countries, it is not as easy to build our cousin-ship in long distance. We never expect that our tertiary educations actually allow us to get closer. Anyway, it was just a short visit to her new hostel n followed by a brief dinner. But ya.. I think being overseas, care n kindness wld be more appreciated, so i tried to make this little cousin of mine feel less insecure in the unfamiliar Melbourne. Yup, i shall meet her more often than last year~!

First Day of Year 4

Very first to start off with was being late for first class this morning, despite of leaving extra early for unexpected traffic jams. Yes, indeed, there was an accident along the highway, which in turn lengthened our 30min trip to 1hr 20min. Hai~ It was rare that we get late, n it just happened on day 1. Ooops. Not a good impression at all. But nevertheless, it was pleasant to see all my classmates again. It reminds me that i actually belong to this group. Just a few words, n followed by endless exchanges of holiday experience, which was anxiously shared. Ha.. It seems that everyone knew it was our last long holiday ever, n no one was missed out on fun n relaxation. Ha.. But now all gears on for the awaiting final year!

回來 Melbourne

假期的結束也就是新學年的開始。大年初六，我又依依不捨離開香港。雖然每年如是，但始終與家人離別的那一刻還是難受啊。九個小時的飛機，說短不短，說長也不長。看看書，眠一眠，暈一機浪，再嘔一下，就到 Melbourne 了。回到來這城市，有一種似曾相識，卻又格格不入的感覺。回到家，房間裏是自己的東西，但又好像不大習慣這個環境。走在街上，看到身邊都是鬼佬，突然會有討厭的感覺。好奇怪，不過都是過渡期，大家都是這樣。好彩的是一回來見到朋友，大家一起嘻嘻哈哈，很快就習慣了。

** 這次搭飛機有一奇事：一個大陸佬竟然在洗手間抽煙啊！簡直不可相信~ 嚇死人。

大年初一

踏入大年初一的那一刻煙花燦爛，在周圍360度包圍我們，好靚... 今個新年雖然很短，很快就要回 Melbourne 了，不過很難忘... 不懂下一年我還有機會與家人一起過節嗎...

一家人過年

快過年了~ 家裏除了加點新年的佈置，就是要做些過年的食物。昨晚，我，媽咪和哥哥就一起做了一個蘿蔔糕。前幾天，我曾經自己一個人做了一次，花時四小時（因爲蒸也要蒸一個半鐘）。不過，昨晚我們合力只用了45 分鐘的時間就準備好材料，三兩下就把蘿蔔糕做好~ 一家人一起做，又開心，又有效率~ 哈。

今年我們一家終于一起過節... 哥哥已經十年沒有在中國過年... 今早 Daddy 也出差回來... 一切準備好，佈置好，食物做好，人也齊了。明天要過年了~！

澳門祭祖

每年我們都一家大小到澳門拜祖先。此活動一年一次，給大夥兒一個機會聚在一起，也同時紀念一下祖先。我年年都借此機會跟百忙偷閑的Daddy Mummy 多相處和與在香港讀書的表弟妹多交談。拜山對有些人來説可能是一件無聊的事，覺得對死去的人的一塊石頭拜沒什麽意思。不過，我從小就知道拜祖是在於在生的人，是祖先讓我們在再忙碌的生活裏都要記住自己的根源與身邊的家人。這家庭活動雖然年年如是，不過絕對不是無聊。

VRG Annual Dinner

Today is the designated day for the annual dinner. The very first thing we did was to pray-hard for a rain-less day. Ha.. Anyway, in the morning I went to 深圳 Airport with Mummy to pick up 哥哥, who comes back in time for the event. This was his first attendance, and our first time to have the whole family here. At around 430pm, we had the extra-early special dinner at the canteen, n then proceeded to the showground. Perhaps some arrangements turn out a bit of a mess, the logistics was not done too well. 哥哥 n I ended up helping to distribute the gift bags and the tables n chairs, however, I suddenly had a rush of feeling being back to TMSSC, n it was good. Nevertheless, the show went on. Everyone enjoyed the performances, appreciated the reward presentations, and of course, loved the lucky-draw times Yes, despite some mess, some angry cries on the unwise arrangements, it was more important that everyone was happy. Perhaps those rooms of improvement should be left for next year.

BOOK Plaza at 深圳

Early in the morning, Emama n I set off for our “big day-out” to the BOOK Plaza at深圳. Ha.. It was definitely a heaven for bookworms like us. After a light breakfast at the train station, we traveled about 2.5hour before reaching our destination. However, the journey was almost enjoyable. I was impressed to see the clean, well-designed, highly-technology equipped Metro in 深圳. *Give them a thumb-up* Anyway, back to talking about the BOOK Plaza, it was an enormous shopping centre. Well, the well-light up with some soothing music make the environment very comfortable for reading. It was not like the old Book City where we were constantly pushed aside by other shoppers, n of course, we needed to worry for theft, kidnap, n worse things. We spent the whole day there, at the book section, n eventually left the place with satisfaction, a brain-full of newly earned knowledge, n a few purchased books. The experience I had today allowed me to open my mind in the development of 深圳.

Meeting Friends

After so much crazy shopping in Hong Kong, my luggage is probably going to be overloaded once again this time. And, every time I try to re-think what I m bringing back, the eventual answer is always “nothing much”. Ha… It is weird, but it just happens every trip back home. Haha.. Anyway, Mum has to return to work early this morning, n I m left with a day to meet my friends, finally. I have been having a awful thought of annoying my friends as I just been out of touch since the beginning of holiday. Oops. Today, I met up with Carol n Ivy at 尖沙嘴 for lunch, where we spent hours in the café exchanging holiday experiences, gossiping like any other girls. Haha.. At the end of the gathering, the two friends walked me to the train station, making sure I get to my next destination. Having thoughtful friends around becomes extra handy when I m so unfamiliar with places in Hong Kong. Next, I met Grace at 沙田 after her work. This time we had a brief dinner, and then proceeded on to shopping. This was in fact our first time shopping together! In the past, we hardly had such leisure time as university students. But yes, Grace, always humorous~ We laughed-out-loud so much tonight~ Haha..

Hong Kong - Shopping.. Eating...

I might as well sound like 自由行, visiting Hong Kong during weekend to spend money here, n in turn, push farther the Hong Kong economics. Coming back to Hong Kong last friday, I have been doing my purposeful shopping before all shops closed for Chinese New Year. Again, it is Chinese New Year approaching, so as my destinated date for returning Melbourne. Time to prepare my goods, n stuff up my luggage once again. Indeed, have been buying things which were initially off my list. Oh well~~

Aside from stuffing up my luggage, i m also stuffing up myself too. I thought my tummy is going to burst after every meal. Eating out often, snacking frequently n trying out fooood.. OMG~ Before my tummy bursting, i think my pants will go first. Ooops.

花語

五月二十八日
生日花：鸢尾花（Garden Iris）
花语：忠告（Advice）
这种花的代表人物是法兰克王国里，历代国王身边的谏臣－圣杰尔马斯。因此它的花语是－忠告。受到这种花祝福而生的人天生具有冷静的思考能力，是朋友信赖商量讨论的好对象。但是对於自己的事情反而较没有主见，一但涉及感情，那简直是盲目而毫无头绪忽冷忽热，彷佛是在玩一场恋爱游戏。

花語？是什麽我也不大知道，不過，你覺得準嗎？

煮飯婆

最近我的職責是做一個全職煮飯婆。煮的不是 daddy 最怕的怪怪食物，而是 mummy orders 的日常午餐與晚餐。雖然，我只是煎煎炒炒一些簡單菜色，不過看到爸媽吃得開心，我也得意。說不算是 "入得廚房，出得廳堂"，但也許 pass 了做 "師奶" 的第一級吧~

臭豆腐

這兩次旅遊（北京+江南），深深地品嘗到四種不同的臭豆腐... 哈哈... 有臭到你嗎？（媽說看到圖都臭~~）

傳統的 -- 香港與江南通街都是

北京所吃到的臭豆腐卷...

南京"夫子廟"附近餐館吃到的蒸臭豆腐... （聞所未聞）

在上海南京路一家餐館所吃到的臭豆腐包腐皮...

下一站是江南

20/1 第一天（杭州）
一到步，迎接我們的不只是哥哥，還有一個煙雨蒙蒙的杭州。所謂"貴人求雨"，難道我們就是貴人嗎？吃飽後，我們到有名的西湖雨中漫步。（好像很浪漫，只不過是四個傻瓜在淋雨... 哈。）不過，我們傻也傻不完，很快就改變行程，到了一間茶室喝茶去。說來，喝茶是一種杭州人的文化。這種茶室也就是為這個文化而設的。很好玩，一人一杯不同花樣的茶，小吃任吃，一坐可坐上五，六個小時。說真的，這種打發時間的方法比起去bar喝酒，健康多了。

21/1 第二天（杭州 > 蘇州）
天氣如常-長命雨。不過我們都是出發到另一個名勝-- 靈隱寺。門票分段收費實在氣人，一人就要付一共Y65，真是好過去搶.. 拜過神，我們就重游西湖，走走白堤。晚上乘巴士到蘇州。

22/1 第三天（蘇州）
留園。蘇州為中國園林區，大大小小園子算起來都有幾十個。留園比較出名，又是中國四大名園之一。雖然門票費也不少，但園裏的風景真的很靚，充滿中國園林的味道。尤其是那裏的太湖石，形成假山，拍出來的相片有別一種構圖。過了中午，我們原本是想到另一園林，但到了目的地後，被那區的水鄉與民居生活吸引了。蘇州以前是用水溝，小船為交通工具。一些蘇州人還是住在水鄉，用水溝裏的水洗滌，洗澡；打井水洗菜。這種生活寫照很有趣，是一般旅行團看不到，體會不了的。一元的大餅足我們三人吃一餐，味道還比我們十多元的面包好吃。哈.. 晚上，我們匯合哥哥在觀前街吃飯。這步行街就像上海的南京路一樣。今天了解了不同蘇州人的生活。

23/1 第四天（蘇州 > 南京）
出發到南京。一大清早，就被那的士司機氣死了。好好地載我們到汽車站不可，在半路塞車，他竟然丟我們在半路。神經病！說只有500米要走，我們下了車才知道我們還遠了。一邊走，我心裏一邊罵他。我走事小，媽和Emama走就不好了，再説，在馬路邊走，多危險。不過，過了一段路，我們跳上一輛三輪車，叫阿伯把我們拉到汽車站。這阿伯就慘了，我們三個加上來也有ard 450磅，差點把他的車都壓壞。Oops~ 到了南京之後，我們到了總統府，認識一下中國近代歷史。不過，我從來沒讀過中史，看到一頭霧水，只在孫中山先生紀念館裏，學習了一點國父貢獻。晚上，我們依照哥哥的話，到夫子廟"掃街"（夫子廟是南京的步行街）。不過，可能是之前下雨的關係，我們"掃完"都好像沒有東西落肚，還是吃晚餐去了。這餐很特別，因爲我嘗到蒸的臭豆腐.. 哈哈~

24/1 第五天（南京 > 蘇州）
中山陵。國父孫中山先生為中國的付出是人人皆知的。雖然身為中國人，我對中國的認識是一般，歸屬感也不多。他的遺囑上所提的三民主義我也只看到一知半解。當我在國父陵前，我不會像其他人一樣問自己為中國做了什麽，但我問了自己有沒有想過至少畢業之後，回國發展，為自己國家做事。唉~我這左右爲難的心情又回來了。離開後，我們以同一張門票去了附近的無樑殿（哈哈.. 無良殿！）。此殿沒特別，只用石頭建，所以無樑。下午，我們搭車回返蘇州。晚上，哥哥帶我們上他家一小坐。看到環境還不錯，不過大陸畢竟是大陸，管理還是不行。

25/1 第六天（蘇州） 阿哥，生日快樂！
姑蘇城外寒山寺... 一早起來，打了個sms給哥哥後，我們出發到寒山寺。回想半年前來過，我們只有30分鐘的時間到處看看就走了。這次我們在寺裏留了好幾個小時，把腦海中零零碎碎的回憶重整。之後，下一站是虎丘。虎丘是蘇州裏一大名勝，地方很大，有一座斜塔，一些水鄉，竹林，茶園等。不過，裏頭的境點就差了一點，一塊石頭又說有一大故事，一個小泉也有典故。這園最不好的是它沒有餐廳或小吃店，我們的午餐也只是吃身上帶的餅乾。下午四點我們才離開，到鄰近的小店吃麵。晚上，爲了慶祝哥哥的生日，我們到商業街吃日本自助餐。很低廉，$80任吃。其後，當然是切蛋糕啦~ 今年哥哥收到兩個蛋糕.. 不過，我們送的比較好吃，比較靚，心意也比較好。哈哈，我相信今年哥哥是足足吃回前幾年没吃的蛋糕了。


26/1 第七天（蘇州）
拙政園（哈哈.. 又笑到爆肚~ "絕症園"）。最近園林實在看得太多了，雖然這拙政園也是中國聞名之地，但我們都悶了。感覺上這一園，沒有想象中的好。離開後，到了十全街，哥所謂的香港街。不過，我覺得那裏一點都不像香港，只有幾間DVD鋪，和一些冒牌店。我相信哥在蘇州的生活也幾苦悶的。

**中國四大名園：北方有承德避暑山庄及頤和園；南方有拙政園和留園。哈哈... 這個假期，我們竟然不知不覺地到了全四個。

27/1 第八天（蘇州 > 上海）
一早哥來匯合我們出發到上海。上海是我們這次旅行的最後一站。雖然已經搭車搭到怕，不過這程還算好。一到步，回酒店後，我們去了聞名的玉佛寺。聞說，那裏的佛是一個古人把佛遷移到緬甸時路過留下的。每一專佛都是用一塊大玉石刻出來。不過，在這佛堂裏，我們都在嘆惜他們利用佛堂做買賣。對佛的尊重何在？過後，我們到了黃浦江邊，欣賞上海的繁榮與昌盛。雖然夜景不及香港的美（可能有些bias），但是中國大陸有這一個城市也不簡單啊~ 看過夜景，便到身後的南京路步行街走走，吃飯。


28/1 第九天（上海 > 深圳）
最後一天。今早到了浦東，回看浦西的古老西化建築，又是另一種風味。眼看那些西方古建築，不禁要多謝當年航海的"老外"到上海發展。黃浦江一邊是西方古樓，一邊是現代新建筑，真是上海的特色。過後，我們要剩餘的時間到了附近的一座商業廣場逛逛。哇~ 了解一下上海人的生活水準，我差點昏了。一件普通的衣服差不多要一個月的薪水啊~ 我不懂，難道上海人真的要去打劫銀行才能生活？不過，這商場的質素不錯，很大，真的很大，我相信香港不會有這樣的地方。
回程到深圳前，我們搭了上海獨一的磁浮列車到機場。8分鐘的時間.. 最高速的時候是431km/h.. 很快，很好玩.. 外面的風景飛得很快... 哈哈~


總結
這次旅遊雖然有很多舊地重遊，看園林也看到悶了，不過玩得很開心，也學了不少中國大陸的生活習慣，見識了不少。

以下是我發表一下意見，總括我看到的大陸醜陋...
百年老鋪：江南"百年老店"到處都是，不過這四個字可信程度就近于零。"百年老點"就有...

無良的士：在大陸行走，最安全，最快都是“搭的”，可是很多無良司機看我們是外地來客，常跟我們兜路，騙錢。如果我們不懂方向就算了，但明知道被他當笨蛋，那就無法忍受。有幾次，我們都忍不住，破口大駡...

名勝古跡：現在中國的名勝古跡門票多是無理的貴，商業化了，只會為了賺錢。廟裏，佛旁竟可以做買賣生意... 和尚在廟裏玩手機... 名勝古跡的管理員不友善，只顧自己談天説地.. 可悲啊..

古代文物的保養：中國人對文物保養的意識真的很差。我們眼看一些名貴的文物被擱置在某角落，還被一些垃圾或地拖埋着，真是心痛。另一些已圍起來的文物，卻常被那些無良遊客破壞。可悲啊... 我看我們的後代就看不到歷史留下的見證。

人民文化水平：這次分別到了中國首都北京，與這次江南，我們都覺得中國人的文化水平太差了。隨地吐痰，亂丟垃圾，一切以自己為先。唉~ 面臨2008的奧運，我相信只有上帝能夠化險爲夷。真的想中國人爭氣一點啊..

不過，無論如何，我不應該用我的尺來量別人的質素，我不應批評人家。以上，只是發表意見而已。