This will be the last post on this journal.

I've offically moved to matthras. Feel free to delete this and add my new journal.

Going to be strange, erasing what has contained my blog posts over the last few years.

I'm going to make one thing clear.

If you don't really give a shit and are commenting just for the sake of commenting. Don't bother. I'm not taking any trolling on my posts.

I have a reason for giving a shit about things, it's sad that people just don't respect my curiosity.

I find it interesting that two of my LJ buddies are currently going through PMS.

Ahhh coincidences ~_~

So yay, I'm currently posting AT Melbourne Uni on a Mac which I was stupid enough to realise that it was actually turned on and all I had to do was press a key on the keyboard to actually boot it up again ~_~ I need to play around more with these things.

I got my allocations for my lectures already, sorry QC :( Seems I have a Yolanda for note-taking and a Frances and Kate for LRC O_o - wonder if you know anything about them?

Apart from that, I got a free coffee (yay, vouchers) and it's nice to actually sit in this small lab listening to random people play in the background. Although I imagine that my really fast and consistent typing is really annoying the heck out of the other 5-6 people in this lab ~_~.

Also, timetable-wise, turns out I have a String Session from 4-6pm on Monday. UGH. 3-4 hour break in between *twitch*. I suppose at least I'm a Member of the Student Union so I can just hop off to the lounge and study on a nice and comfortable couch \o/ (I assume this is like your 'yay' emoticon, QC e_e)

Bought my books today, ~$250 ish in total which isn't too bad, although considering I only have $1k free spending money for the year (because of my scholarship) I should probably keep some money aside for my second semester books (although it doesn't look like much *whew*). The lady at the counter was commenting about people having to buy $700 worth of books. Gee, I'm SO glad I'm not doing Science/Commerce/allothernerdysubjects =P.

End of Orientation Week, gonna hop back to my high school early and chitchat with the teachers a little because my brother has to get a mouthpiece for his Sax and I'd be there before 3pm anyway so my Mum can pick both of us up.

Looks like I'll enjoy Uni ^^;

( Clicky clicky! )

Not too bad, so far all other Lab sessions on Wednesday are full so I guess I'm stuck with that. Otherwise, not too bad, although it looks like a really heavy Thursday (I wonder if we're allowed to eat during Concert Class *lol*).

And er, yeah, it's MOSTLY done but I'll probably add in all the clubs and societies events/activities, etc. when I can be stuffed.

I fell asleep early on the couch again! ~_~ *points to time* For those who currently exist in other continents, it is currently 1:13am at the time of writing this sentence.

Anyway so I went to Monash Uni (I'll just refer to it as my local Uni for the rest of the entry because it's only 10 minutes drive from my place) to catch up on some friends since they were starting their first day. Gotta say it was...interesting o_o.

The Campus Centre was really crowded and it became pretty tight and stuffy in some places. Luckily I'd met with one of my friends (Biomedicine/Commerce) already which was good, walked around a bit, met another friend (Business/I.T - dunno specific course name >_>) whilst walking to first said friend's next lecture.
Met up with Sarah whom I've been talking to a lot on MSN over the holidays and was basically my main interest for turning up at the local Uni today. Met her outside the sports centre and we pretty much walked around for 45 minutes or so before she went off to her Chem Lab class (only to discover that she wasn't in the right room).
Met up with Suresh, older friend (Science/Engineering) of mine who finished high school a year earlier than I did and we caught up on a few things, which was also good =].
There were also a few others I recognised (one was a cellist from one of the Eastern Metropolitian Regions I had played in, another was from my Uni Maths class, etc.), which was good.

It was funny, actually being able to blend in - although it was annoying when everyone was like "What are you doing here?!" after I mention that I'm not actually studying there =P.

Anyway, now I have to see if I can fall asleep for a few more hours so that this day doesn't turn into a frighteningly long one ~_~.

So I went to DFO today and got two new polos and three new shirts and two new trousers. Gotta say, all of them look awesome.
I find it interesting that darker colours suit my brother better than lighter colours, whereas I've always had a preference for lighter colours. Heck, today, I was wearing a light blue shirt and almost matching light blue jeans.
I also gotta say, it's amazing how tighter fitting clothes really change one's body image. I look so much more slimmer now with my canvas trousers on =^_^=

Anyway, two more episodes of Ergo Proxy to go - I really love the philosophical content that is entwined in it, although one really needs to know a fair bit to understand all the references. I have to say some episodes are fairly confusing, but nothing like a bit of thinking.

Orientation Week this coming week - finally for like 4 days straight I won't be playing games for 5+ hours a day XD.

And today ('tis 1:15am) I'll be meeting friends at Monash Uni, lulz. Maybe I should go for a swim O_o.

Seeing people spell "should've" as "should of". I KNOW IT SOUNDS THE SAME WHEN SPOKEN, BUT THAT IS NO REASON FOR YOU IDIOTS TO SPELL IT INCORRECTLY.

e.g
"I think the government is doing the right thing, but I think John Howard should of made this decision earlier..."
Source, 4th Opinion from the top.

*repeatedly bangs head on table*

I happened to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a few days ago on free-to-air TV. This is of course, the new version starring Johnny Depp.

At first when the movie came out I was like 'Ew...' because I didn't really like the bright psychedelic colours that were applied to Wonka's inside world and the scenery, nor did I actually like look of the new Wonka =P. So back then, I just simply refused to watch it.

But after watching it two days ago, it isn't all that bad. Also when one considers the director and cast, it's the kind of movie one would have expected. As usual, great music by Danny Elfman.

The...general bleakness of Charlie Bucket's town raised a question mark, but I figured initially that it was meant to contrast with Willy Wonka's eccentric manner (which it did, in a sense), but after watching more of the movie I realised it was probably Tim Burton's preference or style of presenting a world. Consider The Corpse Bride (which Depp and Carter also starred in as voices), and you're not really that surprised. I'm not sure if Burton did the recent Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street though, but again, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

The children were well, definitely children, although Veruca could use a little improvement - the actor made her character a little too defiant and confident, and I would imagined her to be the more a moody type of spoilt.
I wasn't expecting Violet to be one who also knew some form of martial arts (when her first scene came up, I was just plain surprised), as it wasn't mentioned in the book at all, but I'd imagine if it didn't then the film wouldn't have had that extra 'spice'.
And oh gawd, the Oompa Loompas. BLACK people for starters? Not to mention they cheaply used one person and probably copied his image over and over for the dancing effect (I mean, seriously, even with trained dancers you couldn't get dancing THAT perfectly synchronised 100%). They were alright, but they seemed more like an annoying accompaniment than an actual enjoying moment point of the movie.

However, I am happy that the movie was more loyal to the book than Gene Wilder's version - but I have to say there some aspects of the Gene Wilder version that I prefer over this one.

On another note, I've noticed that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter seem to be starring in movies together a fair bit.

And wow, Helena Bonham Carter really does have the image to actually portray the poor (Mrs Bucket) and evil (Bellatrix Lestrange) characters really well. For a few moments during the movie I was thinking "Wow, she could easily portray an undead female in some horror movie"....lol o_o

2:20pm.

Humid afternoon.

Can't practise cello because Mum's asleep.

Am clearly not on the games computer (otherwise this entry wouldn't exist).

Don't really want to go out, because it's a hot afternoon and I haven't got my Ps. If I did I'd probably go to Officeworks or the Glen and pick up some stuff that I've been meaning to get for a while.

So I'm reduced to browsing forums and games on Mum's laptop whilst my brother plays Warcraft 3 on the games computer.

So I will probably take a nap later.

Happy Valentine's Day, people.

I'm still kinda amused I've never had a g/f yet =P.

Anyway, I completely forgot to mention that I donated blood two days ago - wasn't as bad as I thought.

And because I'm bored:

( Who comments the most on this journal? )

I SO TOTALLY OWN YOUR ASSES LOL

So I decided to experiment with bacon today and see which one tasted better in a toasted bacon and egg sandwich.
So far I can't really taste any difference between the 10-minutes-in-mini-oven and the pan-fried...except maybe the latter tastes a bit drier? Wouldn't know, I noticed oil (not a large lot, but noticeable) splattering all over the door of the mini-oven.

Yay for holiday boredom.

I was thinking about two things in the past 12 or so hours (slept at around 7pm, woke at midnight, played WoW until 5), which I think could use some viewpoints on your ends.

1. For those who have watched Scrubs, you are aware that Dr. Cox is generally mean to JD and Elliot all the time (save for a few 'soft spot' moments) - and I recall in one clip that he actually admits that he's mean because the patient's life is on the line, therefore he can't afford his interns/residents to make mistakes (or something along those lines).
That made me wonder: Would someone like Dr Cox be a better example of a mentor because he would be the sort of person that would directly push people to do better? Of course, the problem with that way of mentoring is that if the mentor is too mean to his interns, then the latter may feel depressed or down.
But then again, if you had a nice mentor, one who always encourages and supports, clearly the relationship and environment would be better between mentor and his interns. Probably the only issue is that if you're too nice your interns won't take you seriously, and then they may end up making more mistakes - apart from that clearly a nice mentor would be more favourable over a mean one, right?

2. 'Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem'.
I only thought about it a few hours ago, and whilst the persuasion in this statement is clearly the fact that the problem is identified as temporary, meaning that it will dissipate or go away after a period of time, that suicide is a measure too extreme that will last, especially after the problem goes away (sort of like a scar that doesn't heal, to put it differently).
The dangerous thing about this statement is that you could only hear the first part, or actually have focused on the first part (ie. Suicide is a permanent solution), and I am pretty sure we've all had our moments where we weren't focused 100% of the time when talking to someone, so hence we only catch parts of a sentence. As a result of that, it would be like...supporting the person.
So the reality of it (to me) is that whilst it is definitely a good statement of persuasion, it isn't something that one should say to someone who is in a fury of depression who would be in a state such that he wouldn't be able to concentrate. It might be more effective on text because it can be re-read, though =P.

noone78154, I completely forgot about the Ave Maria music because I don't have an email address or web server I could get it to you on.

Sucks being restless. What's odd was that the horoscope in the weekend magazine was right for me.

Ugh, just lost a chess game on Yahoo! Games. However, I'm glad that my opponent kept me on my toes, although I do need to review attacking strategies because I take way too long to execute an attack that I give my opponent too much time to defend.
I started off with the quirky Petroff's Defence, which pretty much lost me two pawns in the beginning - but I didn't want to end up with a Ruy Lopez (I've played so many of those openings that I'm literally sick of them). So far I managed to hold my own and put the pressure on after my opponent castled, but wasted too much time because I just had pieces in the wrong place. You could say it was completely screwed up right from the beginning, lol. And then I just blundered and lost a piece, so I resigned.
I would post the game (some 30 moves or so), but I doubt many of you would be able to read descriptive notation and my analyses, let alone even play the game! =P

Wow, I feel better now that I've given my noggin' a workin'.

*wonders if there's a chess club at Melbourne Uni >_>*

Anyway, apart from that, still slacking around at home all day whilst bro's off to school. Considering I haven't showered yet and only ate Weetbix and last night's chicken for lunch, maybe I should go swimming this afternoon when my brother comes back from school. Nah. Can't be bothered :P

Sometimes I wish Asian parents didn't have to talk so loudly at the dinner table, luckily I finished up first and went off to watch TV and read the Green Guide. Earlier tonight was like, an early celebration dinner for Chinese New Year at a family friend's place.

Some other Year 10 girl there called...Melissa, I misheard her name as Michelle and yeah, that didn't make me feel any better.
I don't know why, really. Is it normal to have an obsession to want to have peoples' names right all the time? I even fuss about the spelling so much to even bother to spell my Greek and Indian/Sri Lankian friends' names correctly (Constantinou, Lambriandis, Chandrasivam, etc.). I went pretty moody after realising I'd gotten the girl's name wrong so I pretty much sulked behind the paper for a bit before I realised the kids had gotten together to play Uno Dominos (ugh).

And later Mum was asking me (in a really strained worried sense which always makes me feel uncomfortable) if I wanted to have a hearing checkup before Uni term starts. Apparently I've been missing a lot of stuff that she and my brother have been saying and that she can't figure out whether it's my hearing aid or whether it's because it's holidays and I'm just choosing not to pay attention half the time. Probably a bit of both, but I hate it when Mum makes a fuss, because I personally have no way of telling if I'm having a problem or not - if you want to argue otherwise, try to sympathise first before saying anything, because this IS something I am rather sensitive on and will lash back if people push the wrong buttons.
(For those who are unaware, I'm profoundly deaf and wear a hearing aid on the left ear)

On other things, recently my cello teacher has written a report on her experiences of teaching me, and Mum came up with the suggestion that since I'm officially an adult, I could start writing my own reports and discoveries of how I experience music and submit it to the proper authorities. I've been meaning to write something up for a while, but there are still a lot of questions I have to find the answer to myself.

Apart from that, been really lax in attempting to find a job, and have been playing countless hours of MapleStory and WoW. There's a lot of online drama on MapleStory though that the game itself is just ceasing to be fun because it's getting way too serious. My brother however re-installed Warcraft 3 which is a bit of a godsend, since the WoW lore is really deep and that I felt like refreshing my memory of Wc3 lore.

But well, I had to update this sometime.

Melbourne Uni's Academic Advice Day:

God that was one hell of a day. The train/tram ride isn't so bad: from Glen Waverley/Syndal to Melbourne Central station, and then a tram down Swanston St. I can definitely manage the transport, so all that matters now is getting the tertiary concession card, and then a yearly train ticket. (Although it's a little annoying knowing that the Con. is on the OTHER side of the Uni, LOL)

Found out lots, met up with 3/4s of my Uni Maths classmates (half of which are doing a BCom and heading for Actuaral Studies, nerds e_e) and several other friends from school and family friends. Found out (and was reminded) that my Uni Maths teacher retired - pretty sure he said at the beginning of the year that he would retire if everyone in the class passed (is this suggestive of something? :P), and that one student that we all thought wouldn't do well (because she kept saying she didn't get this and that).

Anyway, I learnt a lot, and managed to catch straymusings, yaaaaay :3 (I do apologise for not having posted a picture anywhere lately, so it was a matter of me finding you =P). Luckily in a picture you posted earlier you were wearing the same/similar clothing and I recognised your figure (I am NOT a pervert, I look for details - you'll remember me telling you about the other person I thought was you, and that her glasses wer different. I'll also add here that she was slightly bulkier, wearing a mainly green with red/white horizontal stripes with a white collar polo shirt with some really thick blazer over the top - god people can be mad).
Not to mention I was listening intently when you were asking Deb King about subjects (because I really hate getting the wrong perosn) - luckily I knew some IB terms =P.

I'd joke about pulling a JA here, but the only subject problem I have at the moment is choosing something to do in breadth since all my Music subjects are already predetermined. Because I've done 620-120 UMEP Mathematics (which was in the OLD course, damn you), I was expecting to be like exempt from Maths A (which now seems to be 157 Mathematics 1 now O_o), but due to course changes I'd be having issues. Grrgh. Not fair >=( There's also the issue that 157 has a 40+ Spesh Raw score as a prereq (I only got 35), so I'm hoping my Uni Maths credit doesn't go to waste *mutters*.
As for other subjects, I've been looking at the list and there isn't much to pick from, considering most of them are Semester 2 subjects (phail). Have been considering areas in Biology, Psychology or maybe even something totally random.
I like how some of the Economics subjects can be done in the summer, so maybe I'll do those then, if I'm allowed to, only if I don't find work by then =P.

And then there's still a lot of mess with everything else. Hopefully I'll get it sorted soon ~_~

Oh and just a warning, I'll be creating a new LJ account before the Uni term starts, just so I can 'start fresh'. It's time for a change.

Pull An All Nighter Attempt #1: Failed. Ended up taking a 30 minute nap around 4:20am.

So oh my gawd. Just when I was almost able to pull this off I ended up lying on a couch and watch Scrubs which incidentally made me sleepy. I think I'm gonna go slash my wrists now. Slash slash slash. Why isn't it working? Oh no wonder I didn't have a knife, it turns out that I was trying to slash my wrists with this CD cover which incidentally features a pretty young Yo-Yo Ma on the cover with some other pianist which I don't really care about.

I fail at imitating Dr. Cox

Anyway, so now that I'm refreshed, let me pull something out of my head as a point of discussion. I would discuss the Corey case in Narre Warren, but unfortunately half my LJ list comprises of non-Australian people and I really don't feel like explaining the whole story. I could link you to a dozen news article, but I hardly doubt people would read them all.

SO, even though some of you oldies are probably sick of me complaining already. I will rant about musical prodigies. This is more to re-evalute my ideas and to see how far I've progressed in my understanding and reasoning.

So what makes them a prodigy? It seems as though that everyone has to go 'Wow' whenever a young person is able to play a technically difficult piece. And I mean a techincally difficult piece that actually SHOWS it's technically difficult.
And yes, I'm talking about 12 or 13 year olds who can play pieces that have taken me ages to practise because of the technical difficulty associated with the piece.

Maybe I'm jealous, you can say that and it's a point I certainly cannot defend as well because I am indeed slightly jealous that they are able to achieve much more in a shorter time period what has taken me a few years. I've seen my colleagues complain about people who hit their A Mus at the age of 13 on piano or violin, and nowadays it seems like a normal thing.

BUT, could we say it's because the general audience probably doesn't give a shit about the piece itself and would rather admire the fact that some 13 year old can do stuff that looks really fancy and tricky? That's one of the parts that pisses me off.

ALSO, I've seen a Youtube video or two and one thing's lacking in them. Expression and rubato. For example, when you play Haydn (Cello Concerto in C), you play with strength and bravado. Those kids can barely muster the strength Haydn requires. Saint Saens (Concerto No. 1 in A Minor)? Same thing. I remember one had their facial expression so horrible I wanted to stop watching immediately, but I kept watching, seeing if this person could impress me.
There are also some pieces that require a level of maturity such that they just simply cannot be learnt at a young age. Whilst Prokofiev's Cello Sonata in C may not sound all that technically difficult, it requires an understanding of the issues surrounding his life, and people need to be able to reflect their feelings into music. As far as I'm aware, a 13 year old probably couldn't comprehend 'moodiness' enough in order to express it in music. All they would understand is that the music sounds 'dark' and 'shadowy' and that they're supposed to bow the first part heavily.

Maybe I'm an uptight arse who probably has a lot higher opinions on these sort of things, but I won't accept them as musical prodigies, but I WILL accept them as hardworking musicians.

So something IS new. Now that I've opened my mind up to 20th century repertoire, I see how people express their feelings in music. I find it odd that I only realised it late last year, and that before then I've been playing music with probably no feeling inside. Now I can perform Prokofiev and make it sound lovely to my ears when I'm in the appropriate mood.

God I'm such a nerd.

P.S
jigglypuff, I'm going to ready that ensnaring net and tranquilliser dart for the next time you have a mental breakdown ~_~ (but of COURSE I'm only joking *flops wrist* =P)
Oh and momolovee, no.

lulz@notupdatingforawhile. Phail.

Anyway, so, Uni Prefs. Got into my first preference: Music at Melbourne Uni.

And I'm far too tired to say anything else.