Sporadic Times

So what's happening everybody? Right now, I'm bored and the month of February is starting to offer the same. At the end of the HSC, I was like "hooray, 3 months of holidays!', now I'm like "let something happen.."

So what do people do at home during this time, when they are not out and about and having fun? Playing games, reading books, obsessing over things...me? The ocassional game, cricket and chores. It seems that I spend most of my time now cleaning the house, doing the laundry, scrubbing the dishes. Since my parents are off at work and I have nothing to do, I've taken over the main role of mess exterminator. Which is a tough job for someone who creates mess like me. Granted though, this role has given me an epiphany. Cleaning sucks, but necessary. When I buy a house, I'm going to put my vote for a single-story house. Can you imagine trying to clean a two-story house, juggling a job and children. The future is far off but fills me with dread.

But messy is the new neat. According of Eric Abrahamson, a professor of management, 'moderately messy systems outperform extremely neat ones'. Apparently, people who have extremely neat and organised systems (read:rooms and tables) devote energy to cleaning it up when that energy could be put to more better use, like family time or creative stuff. Finally scientific evidence against cleaning my room. Hey dad, mum! I'm not cleaning my room at this moment because it is more efficient! That said, it does note that a moderate amount of mess is productive. Too much and you won't get anything done because you can't find what you want. The professor has a book out about this subject; A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder. Sign me up for one.

A friend of mine was going through his history stuff, cleaning it out and so on, when came around some notes he had copied. Funnily enough, one part stood out. HitlerxMussolini. For those not in the know, in fan fiction, authors sometimes romantically pair characters together using this format so for example taking Naruto as an example: Sasuke and Sakura becomes SasukexSakura or Sasukura, like TomKat or Bradgelina. The pairing doesn't necessarily have to be straight either. Ironically I did find a single line of HitlerxMussolini, but it was rather disturbing. Basically involves Hitler's moustache. *shudders* Let's leave it at that, ok?

Waiting until tomorrow. I'll be uncapped then. I think House season 3 is not up to episode 11 and I'm waiting of Doctor Who season 3 to be released, but it probably won't come until April-May.

And I think Phuong has deleted her blog, again. I'm assuming anime addiction. At least, I hope it's anime addiction.

Hey, there's a ceiling in here

Back from trip and it was okay. It wasn't a mindblowing experience, but it had its fun moments. We went camping at Blacksmiths, which is a little suburb just on top of Swansea. The first day was hella boring. A little bit of driving around Lake Macquarie (which is a hella big lake) then stayed at camp until sundown then slept and whatnot.

Second day was more exciting. We met up with some other family friends and drove to the Stockton sand dunes. There is nothing more exciting then driving on the sand dunes, with the possible exception of paintball and getting shot at. 4WDs only please. The key is to lower your tire pressure (14-16psi should do) and never ever stop or slow down. Once you slow down especially on the steeper slopes, you will get stuck. And forget about pinpoint control. You pick a destination and point the car in that direction. The sand can get very soft and steering becomes hectic.

We wanted to slide down the sand dunes, and so my cousin, my brother and I debated about whether it was possible to do it with a bodyboard. The bottom was a bit rubbery, but we decided that enough speed meant enough momentum to overcome friction between board and sand. We were wrong. I took a running start, threw myself forward and then stopped. Well, the board stopped and I rolled down the sand dune. So I was covered in sand and hella dizzy. And it was rather windy. So when we returned to camp, our portable gazebo was literally blown away.

Today would have been quick, except after leaving Woy Woy (where you can find the BEST fish'n'chips) we got stuck in a massive traffic jam. But while this little trip was fun, an issue keeps bugging me. The prejudice we encountered while driving in the sand dunes.

Generally, Australia is pretty cool. Except Tasmania. Probably the worst place. We have these CB radios so our convoy can communicate to each other, generally in Viet. But the furthur you travel from major city centers (like Sydney, Melbourne etc) the worse the prejudice becomes. It's like the people who live there are ineducated bogans who don't understand shit about Australia and how great a place it is. So while in the sand dunes, there was a variety of insults aimed at us. These insults are fairly common and don't vary too much. I wanted to counter-insult but my dad wouldn't let me. But if I ever get the chance I will. Below are the insults I have encountered.

This next section of text contains profanity and material that may offend some viewers. These comments are not aimed at everyone, but to the bastards that bring a bad name to Australia and the people who live there. This situation is not common to all of Australia and I wish to advise that the idiots here comprise only a small part of the Australian population. If you are easily offended, you may want to skip this next passage of text.

• "I don't know if you know, but you're in Australia and we speak English here. So why don't you stop talking shit and speak some fucking English like the rest of us, you gooks." (Usually shortened to "Speak fucking English." or any variation of the above)
• "Why don't you go back to your own country you fucking chinks!" (Or any variation of this)
• "HAHAHA! SMALL PENIS! HAHAHAHA" (very common insult)

My response? Well I don't know if you know, but we're in Australia, which is a free and multicultural society. Freedom of speech means I can speak in whatever language I damn want and I'm speaking in Vietnamese because my friends and family are more proficient in it. You should shut up or better yet change to a different channel. You are ruining Australia's reputation and this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and unAustralian. Australia is my country and I am an Australian. So I can't go back to my country because Australia is my country. And the last insult? You should see someone about your possible low self-esteem. My counter-insult for the last one would have contained loads of swearing, facts about the population of Asia and Australia and some racist overtones so I'll hold back on that one.

Damn, thats good to finally get out of my system. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell these idiots will continue to exist. Multiculturalism will only get Australia so far in my opinion. These idiots are rare in the city but become more common as you travel furthur away from cities. That is to say that you shouldn't venture out of the city. You should. Australia has some beautiful flora and fauna and it is well worth seeing. Just get out there and maybe with more contact with other races, these idiots might rethink their ways and become a lot less common.

Damn idiots.

Versusity

I'll be out of communicable range until Sunday evening. For the Australia Day long weekend, my family is going camping in Swansea and indulge in a bit of fishing. A few other families will be going as well. I say camping, but it's not in the wild bush or anything. It'll be in a caravan park so there will be showers, toilets and kitchens.

Had one of those deep sleep moments last night. I went to sleep at 11pm and then woke up at 5am, feeling perfectly refreshed and ready for the day. It was a deep dreamless sleep, and I felt fine today. Hmmm...6 hours of sleep only? Usually I need and few extra hours.

Those of you who do medical courses or whatnot that require clinical placement will undoubtedly receive some notification about getting all your vaccinations shots of the most common diseases. So today I went to the doctor to get a blood test to see what shots I need. And I have to find a Chest Clinic eventually to screen for tuberculosis. But what about the uncommon-but-common-in-hospitals diseases? I keep hearing about MRSA and that sucks man. Oh yeah, and I need to get a first aid certification somewhere along the line as well.

Overall the confirmed number of people going to USyd Cumberland has increased! David Vuong is going and Sabrina is going. That leaves Sophia and Nam to be confirmed, but since Sophia is doing Speech Pathology, she's probably most likely to go to Cumberland as well.

So now the fever of enrolment is over, it back to boring days until Orientation swings around and then finally Uni!

My Way

Enrolment can be summed up in one word: LONG. Or maybe BORING. It's basically filling out forms, then getting the forms checked, and then handing them in.

I came in early, and started filling out the forms. There are a whole bunch on enrolment, criminal checks and a whole bunch of notes on vaccination and whatnot. Filling them all out took around 20 minutes. I probably could have finished faster, but I was reading the forms carefully for info and mistakes. Apparently, my suburb is Rosehill. Had to change that.

Then it was waiting in line for the forms to be checked. So far the waits had been minimal. Then came the student ID card. One of the machines crashed and it was taking ages for cards to be processed. After waiting for 15 mins, without moving forward, I hopped out and paid my student contribution. $3000 a semester which is $6000 a year, which is $18000 for the entire 3 year course. Ouch. I hopped back into line, and then waited for an hour before I could get my ID.

You're standing there waiting, and its boring as hell. I struck up a few conversations, but they didn't last too long. So it was a broing wait.

*sigh*

Orientation is on the 1st of March, but since Cumberland is such a 'little' campus, the main USyd campus basically doesn't want to know about us (officially) and refuses to acknowledge our existence (unofficially). So all the cool O-week stuff on the USyd site is for the main campus, not us.

Timetables come out in the first week of February and the good thing for DiagRad is that for the first year I don't have to choose any subjects. The notes and stuff look so hardcore. I already know the Structure, Function & Disease A is going to be a bitch. Might as well start buying notebooks.

Is anyone else going to Cumberland or know someone who's going there. So far I know that David V is going (saw him at enrolment), Nam might be going (pure hearsay) and since Sophia is doing Speech Pathology she might be going as well (pure guesswork).

So give a shout if you are, so I can meet up with you all at Orientation.

Wave and Dance

[quote] i need help - what's with this no.of units?? and what's diagnostic radiography??[/quote]

In response to Sabrina's question, let me answer the second question first with a bit of cut'n'paste:

Diagnostic Radiography provides optimal diagnostic images and health care during a range of radiographic investigations. It involves the use of many digital imaging systems, the most advanced being Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This is a very sensitive method of imaging some parts of the body and is a rapidly expanding speciality which allows the radiographer to be 'on the cutting edge' for advances in technology and associated research. Diagnostic Radiographers are in high demand in Australia and overseas. This course is accredited by the Australian Institute of Radiography.
-from USyd website

To answer the first question...well...I'm sure you know that for Uni you have to choose subjects to study within the course you've chosen. For example, in my course, I have to choose subjects like 'Image Processing', 'Integrated Diagnosis' and 'Treatment or Structure, Function and Disease'. The subjects are all worth a certain amount and each semester, it is expected that you complete a certain amount. I'm assuming it's the same for whatever course you've chosen. Actually from what I can decipher and analyse from the handbook and other sources, I don't have to choose units of study for the first year, since the lessons are shared initially in Medical Radiation Science. MRS is encompasses 3 streams; Diagnostic Radiography, Nuclear Medicine and Radation Therapy. So hopefully, I just have to enrol. I'll probably check with the MRS people on enrollment day.

On a side note, I've been having these weird, trippy dreams. I don't remember details, but I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, wondering 'what the hell was that all about?'. And some of these dreams seems so real. Damn. I think it all started when I watched that Sony Bravia ad on Youtube with all the exploding paint.

Far out.

And here's a little something-something that's been floating around Youtube. 11+ million views can't be wrong. It may be NSFW, so take care with the volume, eh?

I bid three twos

Offers out yesterday, and I managed to get my first choice offer. I accepted it right away. It's a Bachelor of Applied Science at USyd, in Medical Radiation Science, studying for Diagnostic Radiography. The x-rays, MRIs and CAT and stuff. Medicine-related, without actually doing medicine itself per se.

It was pain trying to log in though. 60-something thousand anxious students hammering both servers of UAC trying to find out what offers they had got. It took me half an hour to finally get in. Now I have to enrol on Tuesday 23rd at the Cumberland campus. Today was spent trying to understand the terminology of university and getting the paperwork done for my tax file number. I kinda wish that I got my number at school; it was so much easier. The crap thing about applying to the tax office is that it takes 28 days to get a tax file number. I have to make do with a certificate of application.

On the way back from the tax office, I stopped at ARC and grabbed a new Geforce 7600GT, replacing my old Radeon 9600 Pro. Hooray! For now I can run Splinter Cell Double Agent, when I get it. Ironically, I haven't been playing games so much. mainly studying about units of study and HECS-HELP. Which leads me to...

I don't know about everyone else, but the USyd handbook for health sciences (including my course) is crap. The online version is basically a copy of the paper version. I know that we have to choose units of study to fill out the semester or whatnot, but the handbook doesn't make it clear how credits worth of study units to choose, and what we can choose and what we can't. Obviously the weekends will be spent analysing the handbook in detail so come enrollment time, I can choose the right units.

Unfortunately, it seems that the majority of Seftonites are going UNSW in the city. Which kinda sucks since I'm relegated to the the Cumberland campus of the University of Sydney. Apparently, David Vuong and Nam are going there, but it'll be pretty lonely for Seftonites down there.

Ive been talking to people about the offers and it seems that a few are indecisive about what course to choose. Both courses (or more) are very good and they just can't decide. One of them asked me what course they should do, but hell if I'm supposed to know. I focused on my choices, I'm going to be an imaging technician, not a engineer or whatnot. But best of luck to the people still deciding. I'm sure you will make the right choice.

Well that's all. I'm making DVDs for my mum. She's loves watching 24 and missed the first season, so yeah.

Borderline

Unfortunately, mission not accomplised. Didn't pass my driving test today. The main reason given is that I don't do enough observing when driving, which I'm a little suspicious of since I went out of my way to check and double check before turning and stuff. So yeah, a little bummed out, but as that saying goes 'Shit happens'. I've rebooked for the 16th of February, but I might book earlier.

Anyway, besides that I've been kinda bored through this month. There's nothing much to do and Doctor Who doesn't come out until autumn at least. So when an email popped up from Land and Phuong calling for a trip out to the city, I decided to go. Not only would I get out and maybe be entertained, but also for the reason to give Phuong the Doctor Who Christmas Special she wants so much.

The group was smaller than I expected, only me, Phuong, Gloria, Ricknam, Shuai, Julia and Danny. We went to the movies first, watching Happy Feet. It was pretty good. Animation was slick, voice work was terrific (especially Robin Williams), and the plot was decent. For a moment, it had a saddish ending, and I thought' Holy shit, a director with the balls to have a sad ending in a kids film'. But, of course, it did have a happy ending. Didn't go with popcorn this time, instead I bought a packet of malteasers. Phuong and Julia invested in popcorn, but wanted my malteasers instead. Julia grabbed a handful, but I didn't know if she shared.

Next was Galaxy World in Market City and half of it was full of kiddies style games. I spent most of my credits on shooting and racing. They only had Time Crisis 3, not Time Crisis 4 that I saw at Timezone at Surfers Paradise. Eventually we tried to collect tickets, and in the end we nabbed quite a few. There was this roulette style game where if the ball landed on the right colour you selected you won anywhere from 15 to 75 tickets. We managed to hit 40 tickets prize a few times. The next was a light spinning thin, where you had to hit the button when the light reached a certain point. If successful, this turned another wheel with numbers to see how many tickets you won. 500 was the max, but i managed to hit 40 then 60 tickets. Some lucky bastards hit 500 though. Most of the tickets went to the girls because the prizes where like kiddies toys.
I think in the end, we had 700ish tickets altogether.

Had Macca's for a late lunch, then went to Kinokuniya which I didn't know existed. It's a massive book store, but it also stocks a large collection of manga. So there was a large group of people reading. I wandered around a bit (mangas not my cup of tea) and settled for two books to buy.

• The Chaos Point: The World at the Crossroads by Ervin Laszlo
• Brass Man by Neal Asher

Neal Asher writes some brilliant hard sci-fi, with great plots, detailed science, although character development is a bit lacking. Hard sci-fi tends to concentrate on the science and technology, often extrapolating future techs from present technological advancement. The other book is a bit of a philosophical treatise on the future of mankind, either total breakdown into violence and decay or breakthrough to the next level.

After, everyone started to leave. Danny and Shuai left early. Julia stayed for the manga. And the rest of us left for Town Hall. I think Phuong bought Battle Royale, the book.

So what now? Offers come out tonight. I have to get my tax file number. And maybe some Day of Defeat: Source. Except my brother keeps hogging it.

Till next time.

Shimmering

So I just want to has this right off the bat. The 2006 Doctor Who Christmas Special rules. It perfectly blends action, story and character development.

Holiday to Queensland was fun, but nothing worth recounting. We did the usual rounds and went to the usual places. Australia Zoo was quite good, but its main show is a stark reminder of just how cool Steve Irwin was. With his tragic death, the shows seems a little flat, even though they were really good.

Using my own funds (hell yeah!) I bought the Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum boxset. All the episodes including 4 new director's cut edition, and a swag of special features, though it was the commentary that I really like. Hearing the english voice actors for Eva is really informative on the process of dubbing Eva although it's kinda weird, especially for Asuka and Misato, since their voice actors still sound exactly like the characters, even though it has been ten years.

My brother bugged me into buying Counter Strike: Source, which is starting to get addictive. Blasting terrorists and defusing bombs. My gaming time is currently divided between DoTA, CS and FFX. However, my brother has been hogging the PS2 to play Bully (or Canis Canem Edit) and I'm not playing FFX for as long as I want. I'm thinking of buying a new video card soon. Maybe within the next few weeks?

Haven't seen many movies, but I managed to watched Snakes on a Plane and DOA: Dead or Alive. Snakes on a Plane was hella cool. I really liked it while DOA matched my expectations and maybe exceeded it a little tiny bit. I was expecting the movie to mash all or most of the fighters in the Dead or Alive series, with a tiny bit of plot and a whole lot of action. Which is what the director did, except he twisted it a little bit to focus on the five main females fighters and turned out a mediocre yet enjoyable movie. You won't find deep meaningful themes or extensive profound character development, but it's nice quick ride.

And how about the weather? Whew! It's definitely kicked up a notch. December was still Springy, sometimes Autumny in weather, but now in early January, the temps have rocketed. You take a shower to cool off and within ten minutes, its effects have completely worn off. So I spend as much time as possible in the living room with the aircon on, with dashes to my comp to play a few games.

And here's a quick trailer of the 2007 series of Doctor Who, showing how cool it's becoming.

Tired Out

My body clock has kicked me awake now, and I'm still tired after the massive trip now, mainly because we took the longer New England Highway, instead of the Pacific Highway. So give me a few days to recover.

Serena, don't worry about it. If you can't go, then I won't go. It won't be much fun going alone. However, it was one of the days I have free. The other gig on Friday is iffy. It depends on whether some family friends decide stay or leave. So I might not be able to come on Friday. Sorry about that.

That of course, leaves Phuong without her Doctor Who Christmas Special for 2006. I don't know when I can give it to you, but if you're really desperate, I think someone has uploaded it to Youtube in several parts. Load up a part, have a coffee, whatever, and wait for it to load. Seeing how your dial-up, it may be your last desparate resort. I'm attempting my driving test on the 17th and if I pass I could deliver it to you if you really want, if you can wait that long.

Now sleep...

Lost Conditions

Tomorrow, I'm abandoning the dreary and cloudy Sydney in favour of the constant warmth and sunshine of Brisbane. If I manage to find a net cafe, then I'll hop on and post an update or two. Ideally, I'll be back on the 8th of January. But a few things to clear up.

Phuong, the Doctor Who Christmas Special came out on Boxing Day Australia time and, yes, I have a copy of it. It's around 700megs so I might be able to fit it on a CD. The problem is getting it from me to you. I'm attempting to clear our the 13th as I want to go to the Annandale Hotel to see a music show. So that's a possibility if you come along. And assuming I get my first choice offer, on enrolment days for USyd Cumberland campus, I'll be there as well. If worse comes to worse, I'll see if I can go to your house and deliver it.

And Serena, about the travel arrangements for the 13th. Are you driving? Maybe you can drop me off? I still want to go and I don't think anything will keep me from going.

Leave a comment here and I'll get back to you and we'll figure something out.

It's 2007, a new year and a new start.