I’d rather watch paint dry than write this essay

I’ve been on a hiatus for a while, because sometimes there’s a need to live life sans words.

Plus, I think less these days.

I’m just posting now to write that because I have an essay due today at 4pm. It’s 1:21am now.

Le sigh!!!

escapade please

please let me sleep in peace and scribble, doodle, and find a poodle.

right now all i am waiting for is for my exam tomorrow to be over.

i wasn’t that worried about the exam, but trent calls me up three times a day just to scream about how stressed he is and how is he supposed to know what to study? so now i’m getting slightly more frantic – i don’t even know half the topics properly, let alone blab out structured essays about them.

today i spent two hours filling out questionnaire sheets on ’social memory’, nationalism, values, goals, and political ideologies. somewhere between studying and procrastinating these past few weeks, i realised that i enjoy filling in surveys, which half-explains why i’ve been scouring the net for paid surveys. either it’s a really good investment, or they’re all just out to scam your money. i haven’t decided whether i should invest an initial amount just for registration. oh the economics!

i had a great kerekere cuppocino today, so… yum for me. though i think i will ask for one sugar next time instead of two because i don’t usually have a sweet tooth and we’ve all gotta cut down on the sugar y’know? and just to separate fact from myth, you won’t get diabetes from too much sugar. but too much sugar is bad for you, of course. moderation. moderation is always good. (except for maybe feelings and actions. i gotta admit, this came from one of the questionnaires today, and i spent several minutes trying to figure what that meant for me…… oh the joys of surveys!)

I need to stop talking about food

™ 2005 – At a hawker stall in Malaysia with my cute (then) fifteen-year-old cousin being grumpy, per usual.

Finally went to the library to study today, and for lunch Wen Shu had Seafood Curry Laksa at Cafe Ami (formerly Ong’s food court at Arrow Building on Swanston), which smelt really yum. For a while back, I thought one of my favourite food was Nasi Lemak (because of my sister’s influence – you tend to get food envy, and she always ordered nasi lemak), BUT I have come to realise that it is actually CURRY LAKSA (not Asam – it’s too sour), because I always feel like ordering that and not Nasi Lemak (of course, until the food actually comes).

We were on the topic of curry laksa, with him really wanting to go to Malaysia to eat curry laksa (because he’s from Shanghai)… so I tried to insist to him that curry laksa is my favourite food (over his) but when I went back to Malaysia two years ago I hardly had a craving for it when I was there, most probably due to the heat. Which was kinda sad, because I ended up eating mostly nasi lemak, roti chanai, or McDonald’s Prosperity Burger (which is the world’s best burger, but they only sell it in Malaysia during Chinese New Year, but IT IS THE BEST). Then I delved into a whole rant about how the weather affects your eating habits – the heat does affect your cravings/desires for certain foods, unless you’ve been living there for a long time and you’re used to the heat, rarara. But of course he insisted that no matter WHAT he will still eat curry laksa as much as can when he gets to Malaysia (that is, if he ever gets there, hah!)

And if you’re wondering what relevance the photo has to this post: the conversation and the atmostphere in which we were discussing curry laksa (and the smell of the curry laksa) suddenly evoked memories of my intelligent little cousin and Malaysian food and the photos I kept taking of him, especially when he was eating.

catalyst for justice… yeah, maybe baby

‘From the 01/07/07 for one week, 500 of Australia’s most dynamic young people who have been especially selected and trained, will travel on the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ZEROSEVEN Road Trip. Buses will depart from Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and the ACT with most Road Trips heading to Sydney.

On route the Ambassadors will spread the Make Poverty History message and inspire those they meet to take action to end extreme poverty. We are calling on our government to take action to increase aid to 0.7% of budget by 2015.’

(click on the video and watch it full screen on the YouTube page for the best effect)

Description:
This video is an attempt at exploring the self-consumed and materialistic attitudes of those of us living in rich countries such as Australia and the effect that these attitudes have on the perpetual cycle of inequality and gross injustice for those living in absolute poverty – those who do not even have the resources to sustain basic needs like food and medical treatment.

We cannot be indifferent to injustice any longer. Eradicating poverty may seem like an immense task, but we believe that it is our responsibility as a generation to stand up and speak for those that cannot speak for themselves (quote, unquote).

- – - – - – - – - – - -

The video was an optional part of the application process - a chance to show ‘a little more action [by] demonstrating [our] artistic and creative abilities, or lack thereof’ – made by Adora and I. Below is the rest of my application form (frantically filled in at the eleventh hour, hence the brevity for Section 3), and I am glad to say that I am now a ZEROSEVEN ambassador! (150 Victorians selected out of 700 applications; what can I say? I feel lucky). SYDNEY HERE I COME, woo!!!

My second new love

© Marc Johns

I’ve never really been a fan of Japanese food, but lately I’ve developed a penchant for sushi (and coffee). I still don’t understand my sudden inclination for coffee, but now I understand why coffee is ubiquitous, why it is one of the highest selling commodity, and why everybody catches up over coffee (maybe). In between semi-studying and major procrastination, all I want is SUSHI and a frothy cappuccino I don’t have time to make for myself (or so I like to think).

last day of semester one!

[to sum up today: a necklace from Olivia I finally wore today because it's jade (? I think) and oriental to go with my calligraphy; my really old pink 'army' cap that added to my jockey look (euurgh), boots in jeans and all; a classic I bought from BookCity because I loved the feel of the hardbound book but soft bouncy cover, and a postcard I received from Stella - funny thing is, she's not even in Singapore now!!]

I can’t believe my first semester of uni is officially over, and I also can’t believe that I didn’t hand in my Famine essay on Ethiopia’s food problem that was due today. So by Monday, I would have incurred a late penalty of 6%. HOW! But I just gave up midway (I hadn’t even started the essay at midnight today) because I GAVE UP HOPE OF FINISHING IT WELL AND WELL BEFORE SUNRISE. At least I managed to finish my two practical assignments worth 7%, by 4am.

TODAY was meant to be my liberating day with no more assignment worries in my head… but I just HAD to ruin it with my damn procrastination and severe lack of time management. Went to uni anyway, to hand in my two pracs (and no essay) and attend my Chinese calligraphy exhibition. I think there must be all these secret professional calligraphers in the subject because all their final pieces are damn PERFECT… I wouldn’t be surprised if they had ancestral links to aristocrats in the imperial period.

coffee + creativity = art

‘This conveys the energy experience once you have had a cup of coffee. Coffee provides a renewed energy.’
– Exhilaration by Angel Sarkela-Saur

For several years, Duluth based artists Andy and Angel Saur have been creating all of their works of art with coffee. Like fine watercolors, the coffee works as washes and shading and each painting is 100% coffee (with the exception of an acrylic coat to preserve the art). It started when the artists were working on a new exhibit for a coffee house. Hoping to create something unique and fun, they decided to work with coffee as a medium. To achieve the different gradients, the artists brew their own thick coffee and dilute as needed. (yumsugar)

How awesome is that! I’ve been having a slight (but that would be an understatement) coffee obssession these days almost everysingleday I’m at uni or in the city. Coffee is for grown-ups, so I’ve decided that I must be a grown-up if I’m always craving a cuppa, teehee. (no that does not make me pregnant). kerekere at Melbourne Uni is a great initiative by a social worker that started a business enterprise selling espresso syndicate (half fairtrade, half rainforest alliance certified) coffee and Abbotsford biscuitss. You can then choose where you want the profits to go to: Owner (to provide training and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youths), Charity (distributed to inner-city youth services) or Environment (to buy carbon credits). So this sates my ’social justice’ side and coffee craving/consumption… can it get better than this?