Chapter 4 - defining the purpose in life

Daylight savings ended and yes, saved an hour this morning. Back on par with singapore's time again. Daylight saving should start again after winter. 

-picture taken at 8pm. walking out of campus for dinner on a friday night with friend.

Weeks have been really hectic. I'm beginning to see nothing out of this, at times. Assignments, tests and projects are coming at an insane rate. I spend my only short weekday in the library searching for references, spend hours late into every night doing reading, assignments, preparing for the next day's lecture. I know it when I see meals and sleep as a chore. Spent the whole of my day in the library yesterday, on a saturday, preparing for mid-semester exams. I came back only at 8 in the evening. Sunday is for doing up online assignments and assignments on lab sessions. 

I need a break. I need to know where am I heading with all these shit. What do I want? Where's the life? So what if I know all the theories on evolution and chemical principles? Lost my expectations of life. Not thrown off-track yet but this is just the start of the marathon, first few kilometres often the toughest.

...redefining the purpose..searching for quality.

Chapter 3.3 - Sunday morning; end of study week

Woke up on a sunday morning at 7am for a consecutive 7th day in a week. Heading down to ARC today. 

The week's been great. I've learnt so much through personal experience and personal contact with the wildlife in perth, and I'd have been proud to say I've been to ARC and Perth Zoo (for project) in a week. Worth every single bit of my time. Study break week doesn't seem too bad afterall...the village's all quiet and peaceful, except all your friends won't be around.  

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This was what I saw before leaving for ARC... 

Autumn's fully set in and it's the end of my study break. Let's move on and bring on all the freaking exams + essays.

Adios.

Chapter 3.2 - Rice

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okay okay! more rice! hahaha. I swear I've never missed eating rice so much before. This was one of my dinner last week..haha. Of course I had some side dishes.. :P The rice looks shiny enough, thanks to my extra virgin olive oil !!

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Been a busy week at the Native Animal Rescue Centre (ARC), often leaving at 7.45 in the morning and reaching back after 5 in the evening. Being there has certainly reassured my passion for wildlife and it's extremely heartwarming to see different committed volunteers every morning knowing the fact that no one should be paid caring for native animals. Everything we do, are purely for the well-bring of injured native animals. Been nursing these particular few birds everday, feeding medications, preparing food (nectar + crushes insects for the poor Loorikeet who possibly injured his spine and can't move at all). Oh, and one dude's gonna get released back to the wild soon. yay! hahaa. 

For me, nothing beats the joy and satisfaction of seeing your own efforts paid off when the native animals get released back into the wild. The smiles I will see from the people who had made sacrifices for the animals, are invaluable. Possibly one of the many significant moments that will be written down and remembered, as a chapter of my life in the veterinary field. 

Chapter 3.1 - Dad's first time in Perth

Dating back for a week..

Before dad's arrival in perth due for the weekend, I actually made something edible out of those dumb pots in the kitchen. Had rice because I got really overwhelmed by pasta. Wasn't anything incredible, but just took me some effort to watch the fire and water. I reckon the only reason why my rice doesn't look shiny is because I didn't add much oil at all. Lesson learnt! Other than that all wasn't too bad. 

Thanks to my canon camera for all these pictures.

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On friday I left my student village and left for the airport at 11.20pm, took a taxi and it cost me $45. Was really expensive but no choice..the whole public transport probably take about 2 hours and I have to leave at 6+ because the last bus/train is around 8 i think!! It was crazy so I went ahead with a taxi.

Dad's first time in Perth..touched down at about 12.30am..got our rented car from Hertz and we headed off finding a hotel. lOl. finally found one at 2.30am and we realised we were really hungry. Drove around again (seriously, when we were driving around perth, we didn't know where we are, we just kept going, the GPS is screwed up) and found Mac 24 hrs drive-thru. *relieved. Had a very fulfilling dinner with a cuppa latte at 3.30am, and we both slept at 4am. hahaha. It was tiring-lost-hungry-relieved-bloated-shag for my dad then..

2 days was all he got to pass me one luggage and get to understand my life here, out of home, and in the university. I've never felt as relieved when I saw him at Perth airport; the moment he stepped out of the arrival gate. I can imagine how he feels too... going into a foreign country, and expecting to see his own son waiting to receive him, not knowing how life had been for him the past 3 weeks. But I reckon it was really a bad time to come during the weekends..sunday was dreadful..he spent 3 hours in my village room, while I shared with him everything I've got in my mind from the day I touched down. He took a short nap and then he had to go. All was too fast and brief for anyone to feel settled down. Walked him to his car, showed him the direction to drive out of campus..and I bade him farewell soon after.

All that I told him was we'll meet again at home, end of the year. To the airport, and a couple of hours later he called to say all was well and he's ready to board the plane. From the moment he left campus I didn't have the mood to study at all, tried really hard to do some reading but my mind was obviously somewhere else, and focus definitely off. Slept at 11pm and woke up early the next morning to catch up with my readings...I really hate to see him leave. Got really sad that night..oh well..

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Been a week already, week 4's over and today's saturday! week 5 is a break for everyone..and almost all my friends went back to their countries for the break..the village's so quiet in the morning, and I dread waking up...which is usually not the case. Had this friend of mine..who also came to perth without any friends/relatives around. We've gotten so used to each other's presence that when she leaves, the feeling of something's missing lingers around all day. It felt so different... things really change when you're out somewhere by yourself and learning to, in a sense, 'grow up'. 

After 4 weeks, I found out there're less than 40 pre-vet students this year..with about less than 20 additional spaces available for students to get into vet science in 2010, from other degrees such as animal biology, biomedical sci, forensic, microbiology..etc. essentially pre-vet means guaranteed entry into 5-yr vet science, provided you pass all units in pre-vet year. It's really a tough battle out there with people trying all means to get into Murdoch's vet science. Another thing which I find really insane, is that I'm the only singaporean vet student this year..maybe next year I would see one or two more popping out. 

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Last night went to domestic airport to meet up with cheekong, who needs to transit in perth to get back to singapore urgently. It's really crazy, he called me before he board the plane and there we are, meeting at the domestic airport, at 12.30am. Can't imagine how he felt..with all the nonsense going on in his mind. Drove him to the international airport (got my friend to lend me her car :P) and we caught up with each other at the cafe. Lots to share. Went into departure hall at 2.20am. I left at 2.30 after paying for the carpark ticket..

That's all.. I really misses everyone..and everything..

Chapter 3 - Dawn of Autumn

February's gone and March comes. With March comes Autumn and it's a whole new season again! Suddenly everything starts to turn chilly, just as it feels comfortable getting warmed up by the morning sun, the chill wind that comes across hits you real hard underneath your skin. Week 3 of my semester and intrasemester exam's coming in a couple of weeks. Winter follows, but that's still quite a while to it. 

Coping well with lectures and labs, but it's sure tiring to read up on endless veterinary anatomy and cell bio every night. Veterinary anatomy's so going to be my new nightmare. Sometimes chemistry just have to stress me out badly with two 3-hour online assessment to be done each week, one for theory, one for lab sessions. But normally can finish less than 2 hours one, heh.. but still..it's quite time consuming especially when I'm not in an examination situation, the mood is totally different! And just when I thought I got away with stats in college... I was wrong, deadly wrong. goodness me..now it just became biostatistics data analysis.. but it makes freaking no difference with sample proportions, normal distributions, confidence intervals, the means..variance.. the it goes on for you all know. On top of that I'll be assessed on using a software to manipulate datas given...analysis. That's where analysis comes in. But I'm still doing well.. I just need to find someone for a jog or a game of soccerrrrrr! leg itchy.. 

And so dad's coming over to Perth in 3 days' time!!! Friday night that is. I'm actually quite excited to see him, for some reasons. Things that I want to tell/show him just keeps going on as the days go by, the list never ends! Although he's here only for the weekend, I really appreciate it very much. Chatted with him over msn quite often on many nights, and got a pic of kopi yesterday (yes it's in my facebook!) But it really hurts to know he's still struggling with that strain shoulder of his..for months ever since he had to use his left hand to do many chores at home. 

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Week 5's a semester break. I'm so going to Chidlow marsupial hospital for a week! Hope I get Liz's (the friendly lady of this small home-based hospital) reply soon. Omgoodness..it's quite a new thing for me now that I'm gonna handle marsupials. hahaha. woo hoooo. But there're other options at Kanyana wildlife rehabilitation centre and the animal rescue centre near Bibra Lake which I'd seriously consider. I shall see how it goes then. 

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And yes!... friend came over to cook..and here's what we whipped up. 

Chicken Patty Fried Noodles with sweet tomato sauce

I think we can still improve on that..hahaha. *delicious ;)  

(ps: see that white sauce ooozing out of the sizzling just-out-of-oven chicken patty..omg omg)