Mandurah excursion

I absolutely love my Geology field trips! I suppose being foreign here adds a little extra excitement to it. Next year, I would have a week long excursion down to Albany, another to Kalgoorlie, plus a few other day trip ones along the way. I can only imagine the alcohol and craze that would involve!

Last Sunday, I had an excursion down to Mandurah for my Environmental Geochemistry unit. Attendance is a requisite to pass this unit so like it or not, everyone had to rock up for it. I reckon it was good fun save I came home with a sunburnt back.

The purpose of this trip was to study nutrient pollution and acid sulphate soils around the vicinity of Mandurah which lies on the Swan Coastal Plain. Apparently Mandurah has the highest developmental growth rate in Australia so we were also there to see how the canal home development, channel dredging and the construction of the Dawesville Cut are affecting the environment's geochemistry. Most of this had to do with the changes in the water salinity and ecosystem of the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary.

At about 2pm, we stopped at the Mandurah waterfront for about 40 minutes for lunch break after visiting our first four locations - Halls Head Beach, Avalon Beach, Dawesville Cut and the western shore of the Harvey Estuary.




Our trip took a twist right after our break when the bus broke down LOL The engine started smoking up and made a couple of ciggy smokers at the Irish bar across the road choke hahaha! The bus managed to move for another 4-5 kilometers before completely breaking down (right in front of a church LOL). According to one of my lecturers, the upper compartment of that very bus somehow caught fire a year or two ago LOL. Very dodgy indeed.

Those who went there with their own cars went on with the excursion whilst the rest of us were stranded in the middle of no where. All of us decided to make our own way to the train station so we could head back to Curtin despite not having a clue how.

We eventually did get to the bus station by hopping into a Transperth bus. The driver was like, wtf when she saw the bunch of us and she gave us all a free of charge ride because she couldnt be arsed collecting 60 cent from 20 kids to the train station. So yeh, we managed to catch the train and woot, it was home sweet home from there. No need for a field report submission too :D

Life can be so cruel

I am once again at Curtin's computer lab. It's 10 p.m. and I have been here since four. I am starving! I have not had my dinner and I am tired.. but I really neeed to go through some more notes before I head home.

This Asian dude just came in with KFC. Of all the places, he had to sit right in front of me! Food is not allowed in the labs by the way. I am cringing from knowing how ignorant some people can be. From the edge of my screen, I can see that rude m.f. nonchalantly gobbling away, licking his fingers and then typing with them - those greasy and slobbery fingers *shudders*. Ooh, and I can see him looking blankly back at me.

I wish he could know just how much I'd love to stick a pair of chopsticks into his eyes right now.

I live while the whole world dies

Everyone has just one known lifetime. But what happens if we had more than one?

I would say my life has been relatively blessed and clean. I can't be more grateful. Perhaps for that reason, if I was granted a second life, I think I'd like to live it painful, tainted and ruined. I would plot my own tragic downfall by doing all the wrongs - just to know what's it like.

I would like to be that ten year old girl who was forced to sleep with older men and being wedded off at a tender age to feed her family. The one who chose to run away from home and never to be found again by the people she once knew. The one who had never knew what it was like to go to school and to have friends to share secrets and play girly dress ups with.

She could never bear to look into her own eyes in the mirror and she would starve and cut herself to feel beautiful. She would be the one who would seek solace through drug addiction, loitering at the ghettos, waiting to be offered by a passerby for a one night stand in return for some money so she could continue feeding that addiction that quells the pain. She would pray to god every night to unanswered prayers. She would end up bearing someone's child she doesn't know who it belongs to at eighteen and she would not be able to afford an abortion so she had to find ways to cause a miscarriage.

Eventually, she would take her own life away to end it all. Yet, her unfortunate death would not be known until one day, an unsuspecting someone found her corpse sprawled along the river. But her corpse was already decayed beyond recognition and no one would ever know who she really was or where she belonged.

On second thought, I think I shall take my words back. Let's just stick to one lifetime for now.

Just who am I?

Just two more weeks till my final exams. I am once again reminded of how quickly time flies. It has been nearly nine months since I packed my things up and left home to be in a foreign land. Not too long from now, I'd be jet-setting home to catch up with loved ones, picking up and rekindling the little pieces of my heart that I have left behind.

I wonder exactly how much have I changed since that nine months ago. It didn't feel like it was a period long enough to potentially trigger a major change. However, the words I am getting from home seem to be telling otherwise. I am not particularly sure what they are all about but it did sound like it was for the worse. I'd like to think deep down, fundamentally, I'm still the same person as I was. I may be carrying some extra flesh and a slightly alcohol damaged liver but how bad can that get?

And I was just thinking, if I did change, who exactly am I now? Am I still be the June that everyone knows or remembers me by? That has sort of lead me to delay my trip home for a little while till early January instead of mid-November right after my exams. I'm just too afraid of being home for too long being someone I wasn't.

In my ideal world,

religion would cease to exist and therefore would not create an invincible boundary between mankind because that is not what religion should do. If god should exist, only one should. God's existence should also (for fucks sake) be clear-cut and not painfully ambiguous so there would be no room for doubts and questionings. No one would be able to claim that their god (or whatever their religious beliefs are) being more divine than another.

good things like food would not make you fat but ugly things like hatred, jealousy, racism would. That way people can be judged based on their looks. Knowing how humans are such narcissistic beings, we would go all out to make ourselves look good. But instead of spending a monumental amount of money on beauty and slimming fads, everyone would only need to strive to be better people. Manipulative and corrupt politicians would all get fat and die in hell together.

and all children would live to see no pain and violence but only undying love and care.

Burning the midnight oil

It's 12.00 a.m. and here I am in my university's computer lab, geeking out and attempting to do some extreme last minute cramming for my SPSS test tomorrow. So much for never rocking up for my Statistical Data Analysis tutorials and lectures! To my surprise, the lab is actually fairly occupied at this rather ungodly hour. It's almost like there's a party going on. Some sort of queer, nerdy, assignment rushing, study kinda party. I suppose as the end of semester draws closer, exam stresses start to rise exponentially and the pressure to excel (or pass) begins to sky rocket.

I like being in the uni lab until the wee hours of the morning. I find myself getting more studying done as opposed to me studying at home (usually an epic fail case). I reckon it's to do with the more conducive learning environment - the better lighting, air-conditioning, 22" monitors, access to programs like the latest Adobe CS4, etc. Plus I don't get that horrible constant urge to ransack the fridge!

Not to mention, I get to occasionally perve on an eye candy sitting somewhere across the room from me. Tonight, I was luckier. One sat right opposite to me but sadly our computer screens were in the way. Tall, hunky and somewhat good-looking. Yum. I'm taking a guess that he's Middle Eastern.

This random attraction intrigues me in a way. I used to find myself being attracted to just nerdish/scrawny-looking Chinese boys until I moved here. My options have opened up a lot. I have stopped buying the idea of dating guys of the same background as mine. Mixing is good. I believe it would make people discriminate less and become more tolerable to cultural differences.. which is exactly what the world needs more of :D

Recluse

I have been down with flu and cough for the past five days. My nose is congested. My lungs asphyxiate from the disruption of air flow. I've lost count of the plies of tissue paper that I have gone through in an attempt to clear my nose to which moments later, becomes clogged again. My throat feels sandpapered and every now and then, I become wary of it, wary of my own throat. I suspect it's trying to choke me to my death bed. So yes, my soul is basically in utter misery at the moment. I'm afraid my immune system is not battling up too well.

Strangely though, I find being ill possibly a good thing. It gives me a perfect excuse to hide myself from everyone else - you know, to spare another unsuspecting soul by not dispersing my germs. At times like this, I am rather convinced that the extroverted persona I am is actually an introverted one. I find complacency in hiding in my rabbit burrow.

I can't quite find an explanation to this behaviour of mine, but I'd suppose I have a rather solitary nature and I do very much enjoy my (large) personal space. There are just those certain days when I absolutely do not wish to see or talk to anyone all. All I want to do is just selfishly immerse in my own feelings and thoughts. Living in a shared place, be it with family members or house mates, does not allow me to do that too freely. I'd raise concerns and be questioned about my disappearance or whereabouts. I guess it's that particular sort of confrontation that I am not too fond of sometimes.

Almond eye inconclusions

There's a lot of things that I don't understand. One of them happens to be about being Asian - the cultures, traditions and stereotypes. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not complaining about my roots. I'm grateful for that but there are just things which I can't bring myself to agree with.

Since I got to Australia, I have been constantly reminded by family members to watch my ways as my behaviour could very well create misconceptions. Do not take photos with too many guys (especially white ones. although if you insist, do not share them at least). Do not wear too little clothes, do not this, do not that. Why? Because I'd be seen as some loose slut. I'd drive potential spouses away, I'd give my future-in-laws wrong ideas, you get the drift.

It does not make any sense to me at all. If you think about it, how is that supposed to change the way I am as a person? Looks deceive. First impressions are not always spot-on. Hypothesises do not always conclude as theories. I just happen to be more comfortable about myself in some ways. Just because someone does not agree with the way I carry myself doesn't necessarily make me wrong or bad.

I feel that Asians judge people far too shallowly and too skin deep. They judge you completely by your looks, wealth and formal education but barely ever on who you are as a person, as a soul. We seem to enjoy putting other peoples views on us above all else. We crave for that approval that we can't seem to find from within ourselves. It's so dysfunctional that some would go all out to acquiring a fake degree, a flashy car that they could never ever afford or preach more than what they can live up to.

For me, I find true importance in being the best of what I want and can be for myself. I honestly do not care about how I am being perceived. I choose to sink into the sweetness of oblivion as long as deep down, I know that I have not caused anyone intentional harm and that I live my life with few regrets. I realised that a lot of times, those who judge you the most are the ones who know the least about you. Why bother then? I can't be bothered at all.

Musings of Geology

Whenever I tell people I study Geology, it's almost expected that they'd flash me that particular Wtf look or joke about how amazingly 'interesting' Geology is. You know, rocks.. meh, how interesting can that get? I'd usually just smirk and pretend that I really am doing the most boring course in the universe (oh noes! what am I thinking!) when deep inside me, it's actually all fired up with full-on love and enthusiasm. I'm such a closet nerd :D. On the rarer occasion, someone would say, "Wow, in for the money huh mate? Smart. My (_insert family member or friend here_) who works as a geologist earns an insane amount of money!"

I must say, switching to Geology has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. It has taught me so many things I'd never know unless I devote my life to reading encyclopaedias and watching National Geographic. I swear some of the things I learn are so mind-blowing that I spend nights pondering about them. Gotta love the field trips (and boozing) too!

(The fat pay check is just a bonus really)

I must however, honestly admit that it was rather overwhelming initially. During my practicals, everyone would be given a batch of rock samples and be told to differentiate them from one another. In other words, to classify them. The minute I saw them, I was like, gees, these are just.. rocks.. and they all look the same.. Two weeks through my semester, I starting questioning myself if I did make the right choice in switching and would I have been better off remaining in Civil Engineering.

Nonetheless, given a little more time, I've picked up all the little ways to identify and differentiate rock types. It's not the easiest thing to do but it is getting easier and more interesting with time. I personally find it rather intriguing to know like how certain rocks can host certain types of minerals. For example, arsenopyrite is usually associated with the presence of gold deposits. On the other hand, some rocks have undergone visible stresses and deformations, and even in small scales, would give a picture of the type of changes that bit of earth has undergone in a large scale (such as faults and that could possibly help indicate where fossil fuels could be found).

Right now, one of my units is on Paleaeontology. Not the most interesting subject but it is still interesting enough to make my brain go nuts with thoughts.

Life on this planet dates back to 3.5 billion years and has evolved tremendously since. Relative to geological time, a hundred years is like a millisecond. It makes me realise just now insignificant us humans are on this planet. Despite how we constantly change the face of it, our planet is still a dynamic system and it would still keep going on for the millions of years to come. One day, us humans may become extinct, but another form of life would simply take over and it would just be another part of evolution.

That brings me to wonder what our human life is really about. Some would take the easier path by believing in god to address to that question on our existence (despite the fact that the human interpretation of god only came about in rather recent time). Some would choose to not care and mindlessly go on with life as our life as humans is already burdened with far too many problems. Sometimes, I reckon that is perhaps the problem. We care about more than what we should.

But whatever it is, our human life is truly short - make the best of it. For me, Step 1 would be to get permanent residency in Australia. The grass is so much greener on this side of the planet (although not so much literally) LOL And Step 2: Not wear my brain out from thinking too much especially right before bedtime.. like, right now.

32ºC Friday

Man, it's SO hot today. On the bright side, I get to wear my pretty clothes that have been sitting in my wardrobe for a little while now. I wish the sun isn't so intense here though because I absolutely hate it when I have to slap on heaps of sunscreen before heading out (especially when I'm running late for class!). Can I haz teleportation abiliteh plz?

Curtin had some Pasar Malam night going on tonight. I must say, the warm air, the large crowd of Asian people and the scrumptious food made an excellent combination. I suddenly felt like I was somewhere back home again! I reckon Perth should have a kind of weekly night market like this somewhere (at Northbridge perhaps?) and I swear Perth would be less boring by a mile.

NEED.SLEEP.

My poor soul is desperate for sleep. Desperate like a stranded soul in the desert desperate for water. Desperate like a sentenced soul on the noose desperate for air. Desperate like a lost soul in the tundra desperate for warmth.

I feel like I'm being mocked. Where is that much needed shut down button in my head? That steel anchor to halt the never-ending voyage into the mental abyss my brain seems to love engaging in. A stronger sedative perhaps?

I guess sometimes you can't have it all can you.

The tease

As you swiftly walked past me, our eyes, they eclipsed. Almost perfectly. So intense, so surreal, so passionate. I knew I had to know you. And those green eyes of yours screamed the same.

Alas, I lost you in the crowd, lights and sound.

Growing up and confessions

Distance is sometimes a good thing. Being miles away from loved ones has taught me to appreciate their presence and care in my life even more. I have humbly learnt that no one in life would ever love me as unconditionally and true as my family. Namely mum and dad.

I've been engaging in long conversations over MSN and Skype with mum a lot more lately. Perhaps because of that particular separation between us, thoughts and ideas are exchanged more freely. Perhaps it is intended in a way to make up for lost time.

As we do, secrets and past confessions slowly unfold themselves. Of growing up, life experiences, secret crushes, hidden feelings. We make up such a large part in each others lives but there is still much to learn. I guess I can only be grateful it's not too late to do so.

Love

Wild flowers bloom in barren sand. The days are getting longer, skies clearer. And the breeze is a silken embrace.