And wither then? I cannot say.

One step forward and another two back

Gosh it's been long since i last posted. Why? Mostly because i've had such a smashing semester i've hardly got time to. Also, i have suspicions that certain members of my family have stumbled upon my blog ( hi mom) and it's just weird having them track your life. C'mon, admit it, even the best of us have done things we hope dear old grandma never finds out.

I think i have bored most people into thinking that i have abandoned this blog which is good cos i was starting to get weird advertisements posted on my tagboard. I mean, who still clips their hedges with shears and do they actually mean gardening?

Anyhow, I'm back, busy as usual, but strangely bored. Christmas shopping is impossible along the crowded streets, carolling has left me butt tired and the new places ( vivo city especially) have failed to impress. I came back to oppressive heat and humid nights, and now I've ruined my nice shoes in the wet.

Bah and humbug, Im cranky, wake me up when december ends.

On another note, it's really nice to see everyone again. It's good to get back into the swing of things, catch up, have a cuppa. So call me if you're in town. Would love to see you.

pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici

That's the proper name of the Knights Templar: Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. On the topic of the Knights Templar, well, I happen to be staring at a bunch of them. Funny, that.

I looked up from my sunday afternoon read to be greeted with kilts, scottish berets, and sword-bearing military-looking people. Judy ( my neighbour) too, looked out of her window. One of them waved amicably at her.

The next thing i knew, i was hurtling down the corridor, pounding on every door and yelling, "Oh my gosh, the Scottish Knights Templar are here!" The effect was immediate. Soon there were a bunch of us pressing our noses to the windows and gaping unabashedly at the men in medival colours.

" They are so cute!"
" Can we take pictures with them?"
" Yar, we should just stand next to them and do funny poses. They can't move right?"
" That's like the episode of Mr Bean... the one where he goes to London!"
" It's soooo Da Vinci Code."

So we went from room to room trying to get a good view of them. Min and i formulated a plan ( held together by false accents and bad fashion) which involved both of us pretending to be snap-happy tourists. But we were too paiseh to. And i think there's something about the Knights that is so steeped in history and awe-inspiring that is feels a bit sacrilageous go snap them like a tourist attraction. So instead we sent the brave soul on our corridor, Wen, to pull her best CIA skills and click the cam discreetly on her way to work.

So that's my excitement of the afternoon. I pity the guys in kilts; it's freezing outside. Thank goodness for their plentiful leg hair ( it's a new winter coat) . Back to the books. Semester pictures will follow if I get bored.

For more on the Knights Templar, see Wikipedia's article.

What Would Be Different If Men Really Ruled the World

I know... it's so stereotypical and unfair, yadda yadda. But it's funny. And it's my blog. So piss off.

Any fake phone number a girl gave you would automatically forward your call to her real number.
Hallmark would make "Sorry, what was your name again" cards.
When your girlfriend really needed to talk to you during the game, she'd appear in a little box in the corner of the screen during a time-out.
Breaking up would be a lot easier. A smack to the ass and a "Nice hustle, you'll get 'em next time" would pretty much do it.
Birth control would come in ale or lager.
Each year, your raise would be pegged to the fortunes of the NFL team of your choice.
The funniest guy in the office would get to be CEO.
At the end of the workday, a whistle would blow and you'd jump out your window and slide down the tail of a brontosaurus and right into your car like Fred Flintstone.
Lifeguards could remove citizens from beaches for violating the "public ugliness" ordinance.
Tanks would be far easier to rent
.Garbage would take itself out.
Instead of beer belly, you'd get "beer biceps."
Instead of an expensive engagement ring, you could present your wife-to-be with a giant foam hand that said, "You're #1!"
Valentine's Day would be moved to February 29th so it would only occur in leap years.
On Groundhog Day, if you saw your shadow, you'd get the day off to go drinking. Mother's Day, too.St. Patrick's Day, however, would remain exactly the same. But it would be celebrated every month.
Cops would be broadcast live, and you could phone in advice to the pursuing cops. Or to the crooks.
The victors in any athletic competition would get to kill and eat the losers.
The only show opposite Monday Night Football would be Monday Night Football from a Different Camera Angle.
It would be perfectly legal to steal a sports car, as long as you returned it the following day with a full tank of gas.
Every man would get four real Get Out of Jail Free cards per year.
When a cop gave you a ticket, every smart-aleck answer you responded with would actually reduce your fine. As in: Cop: "You know how fast you were going" You: "All I know is, I was spilling my beer all over the place." Cop: "Nice one. That's $10 off."
People would never talk about how fresh they felt.
Telephones would automatically cut off after 30 seconds of conversation.

stolen frm glady's blog

My life in pictures- reverse chronological order: start from the bottom and work your way up.

For the rest of the day we wandered about the city, taking pictures and behaivng like tourists.

The weekend after that we had a joint celebration for Ling and Jielin. They're both 21! We had Yum Cha at Westlake, where we feasted on all things yummy and droolsome. We ate so much, no one could fit in any birthday cake afterwards. see the wide smiles? we are happy people.

Pat made a great Captain Jacksparrow. The rest of the line up included the Guru, tinkerbelle, the charlie's angels, james bond and his chick, marilyn monroe and various action heroes.

The week after that was Pat's 21st! It was a MASSIVE celebration at his house in Baldwin. It was a night of the red carpet, dazzling stars and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. We had a great time rubbing shoulders with the rich and the famous while downing bubbly and nibbling on cheese. Marilyn thinks it was a stellar party. So does the bond girl.

The girls at dinner. Shuwen, Jielin, me, Neek and a whole rack of wine.

We wound up at Grecco Bar and Grill for dinner. They've renovated over the summer and now instead of an all-red theme, they've gone the whole semi-goth-victorian way. I like. Check out the black chandeliers and iron latticework! Makes one feel sexy.

Sunset over the docklands and Westgate bridge.

The same view at night. I love the city. * cue smoky jazz strains*

The MCG, Rod Laever and Vodafone Arenas, where most of the action of the Games was. And behind all that's the lovely blue Dandenong Ranges.

South-Easterly view form the city. In the foreground is Crown Casino/ Entertainment complex, In the centre is St. Kilda Business District, the lake with a little island near the top right is Albert Park Lake, and the F1 Grand Prix runs around it. The beach and sea beyond is St. Kilda Beach and Port Phillip Bay.

At the Melbourne Uni tram stop going to the Rialto towers to celebrate Jielin's Bday.
Clara, JL, Kaichin, Jiawei, Tim and Ravin

Exactly how many pranks do we play on each other? Well, we bought JL this gorgeous Swarovski necklace for her birthday. Now, most girls would swoon at the sight of the familiar blue box. Not JL. When we first handed her the little blue bag, she eyed it suspiciously and and gingerly pulled out the box. When she opened the cardboard box and found another box in it ( these expensive things have so much packaging) she looked even more suspicious. It was only after she opened the 2nd box and saw the bling bling that she beamed and went, " awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. so niiiiiiicccccceeeeeee." Girlie, we might be mean, but not that mean. At least not on your birthday.

It's Jielin's 21st! We surprised her at College Square with a cake and present. She threw open the door and was like " Whooooooaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" She then promptly smacked KC and retorted, " no wonder you didnt want to open the door lar!"

A transient surge of patriotism: the Singapore flag on Bourke St!

Commonwealth Games in Melbourne! We're united by the moment. We are also united in our joint frustration at the public transport system.

Corridor Life. We cooked. We also ate communally like people in refugee units. But that's ok!

After a few failed attempts to fit into a bar (there were so many of us!) we decided to get some drinks and go back to 1J.

We found the initial D car!

Tom and Wennie!

Judi's 21st dinner at Chinatown. It was nice. We had lots of chinese tea. I got my asian KFC. The boys slurped up the pork belly. We leave bursting at the seams.

I also happen to think Judi looks exceptionally pretty in this shot.

I got this pic of Jey Han while we were waiting in the corridor to go to Judi's 21st. Think it looks like a promo poster for the no-drugs campaign. All it needs are words on the side: " one my one, my brothers left me." And in fine print at the bottom: " Drugs leave you all alone."