Over the weekend, I was dragged 30 kilometers from home to a cozy street along Brunswick Road for a glimpse of Artist Market. It is a collection of random designers, artist (duh) and business persons attempting to make an expensive buck and showcase their work. The exact location is in the middle of Rose Street near Brunswick.Apparently, I've been to this corner of the world before with my 2007 cell last year to a place called Bambino's.

Not your typical "pasar". The things sold here are for a quite a price, mostly fashion accessories and decoratives for your home.

It's quite a small place. We managed to cover everything in half an hour.

We spent the rest of the day walking about Brunswick, most of the shops open till 6, though the market was only opened till 5pm. The girl's managed to buy quite a worthwhile accessory with a similar function to a scarf (refer to second picture on the bottom. The guy's wearing it).

  
Wasn't feeling photogenic that day. Behold my passengers and friends.

After the market we were off to Lygon for dinner and gelato, and an OCF Vicchair meeting. So shag.

2008 was supposed to be my last OCF Easter Camp. More than a year later I find myself with my second "last OCF Easter Camp" (a thought shared with Jon Raj btw). This years camp was held in Portsea, a nice cozy campsite overlooking Port Phillip Bay where large ships are ever present passing through the busy shipping lanes leading into Melbourne. Portsea is also located in the Mornington Peninsula, where the sun and beach are the prime attractions. This year's camp theme was 180 degrees, which is meant to reflect a U-turn, presumably topics on how to get back to a relationship with God, which is a suitable topic for Christian and non-Christian alike.

The thing about blogging of camp's it's all almost the same. The programs, the fellowship, the fun, the naps (exclusive to me), the food and simply the thrills of being away from home with a bunch of people you only know, a bond which will only become deeper in getaways like these. Clayton sent a massive contingent of 50 over while Berwick sent a total of 8 - which is a 4 time increase of what it was last year mind you. The camp list total more than 210 (or was it 240? Hmm) at the end of the day, which was what the camp committee was praying for. 

I was put into the same cell as Jinghui. Was so scared she'll bully me, but God's grace has it that she forgotten all the puny little mean things I do to her. Other members from Clayton include Chien Aun and Sheen Li. It was a good cell group, everyone talked with one another and a few talkative members in the group made it more interesting. Sharing's from several of them, for instance Dong - the OCF Melbourne Uni chair on how he got to know God through a depressed moment during National Service with self inflicting wounds to his left arm was quite an eye opener towards my understanding on how God uses anything to open our hearts to him as long as we let Him.

Work in kitchen. Jon on the left, Jin in the middle and Yong on the right.

I was in the kitchen part of the time, not that I signed up as a kitchen hand, but just to get away from intensive activities and sometimes (no offence to the camp team and the speaker) the messages which at times fail to capture my attention. Jin and Jojo from OCF Caulfied were our chief chefs and I gotta say that they did a fantastic job cooking for the army of campers which a fair level of quality control. We had dishes like hainanese chicken rice, nasi lemak (which sambal made from scratch!) and so on.

I guess a big thing for me in the camp was the appointment of Vic Comm, which is a new idea - where Daryl, Grace Sim and myself are selected to handle the shakedown trials. Our job is to assist the current chairs which certain stuff, coordinate state level events and pray for the state vision and direction consisted with the aims of OCF Australia.

My commissioning for Viccomm

Somehow this camp was more tiring that the others. I would normally sleep late, but was quite on time (still past lights out) this time around, missing all the games and post-midnight bonding. I brought my newly bought Pictionary Mania which I never played during camp, but others did, thank God.

Persecuted church - I stayed clear of this one in the kitchen thanks for my injured toe

OCF Clayton group shot!

OCF Victoria Brigade Shot! WAhoo!

The Easter Camp 09 Comittee

So that's my second last Easter Camp. I'll be waiting on God to target lace me with another one if He see's fit while Jon will no doubt be desperately looking for a way in. Till my third "last easter camp" then.
 

As with most things this year, I find myself shocked, but glad at the same time that I'm able to return once more to Albert Park for the year's annual Formula 1 circus.

The ticket was way above what I remember. Wasn't it about 30 bucks? This year I paid $75!

It was to be an interesting race. The dominance of Ferrari and Mclaren was eclipsed by an unlikely Brawn GP which sprung out of the ashes of Honda which pulled out of Formula 1 abruptly due to the economic downturn. Throughout the pre-season testings, Brawn's cars dominated the time sheets with drivers Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello. The opening of this race saw the continued form of the Brawns. The surprise did not only come from this new team. The Ferrari's and Mclarens were struggling mid-field. The obvious performers were the Brawns, Toyota's, Williams and to a certain extent the Red Bulls. The cause for the difference in speed lies in a contraversial difusser which some teams without the difusser are assusing teams which do have the diffusser for breaking the rules. This difussers give the cars an average of 1-2 seconds faster than those without per lap. 

To cut a long story short - the rules have changed and it's an all new ball game!

I went to the Grand Prix with Yasmeen. Was to meet up with Marc and Richard but they were positioned deep between the crowds to reach. We decided to watch the race on our own, though we did bump into Jared Yeoh and Eugene Tong near turn 2. My predictions forr the start of the race was quite accurate - I told Marc to except Jenson on pole, Vettel second and Barrichello 3rd. It was almost that - with Barrichello 2nd and Vettel 3rd instead. Ah, it's just the experience I have that makes this predictions possible.

From where we were the race was pretty uneventful. My Creative MuVo MP3 radio didn't work, so I was pretty lost on what's going on. Only getting surprises time and again when Raikonnen seems to be falling back the grid =(

After the race, we tried flooding onto the track and attempted to make it for the podium only to catch a glimpse of the drivers before they dissappeared into the mdeia labyrinth below. On the pit straight we finally linked up with Richard and Marc who was also with Sue Ann and Amanda (Ruo's counsin). We were hoping to catch a glimpse of something interesting. And we sure did.

At one point, I was just a meter or two away from Sir Richard Branson - the founder and CEO of Virgin Group. What seperated us was just a person and the fence. Honestly, I was stunned there and couldn't move. Would've loved to at least shake his hand and get his autograph as an extra. Man! What a missed oppurtunity. We also saw the boss of Force India and the CEO of Kingfisher - Vijay Mallya who owns the biggest brand of air travel in India. Kingfisher also makes the best Indian beer.

All in all, I was really blessed to be back here. Again, I doubt I'd be in Albert Park again, but who know's what God has in store for me.

Singing off from the 2009 Melbourne GP

Since I got back I've been struggling to manage my cost of living. In just the third week back my cost incurred are roughly as follows.

Overseas Student Health Cover - $380 (Paid)
Student Visa Renewal - $450 (Paid)
Medical Check up - $234 (Due 14th March)
Car Insurance $380 (Due 25th March)
Car Servicing $90-Unlimited (Due when I send my car for servicing)
Phone bill - $49 (Due 20th March)
House Rent - $450 (Spared - but gonna chip in $100 as a noble gesture)
Food and entertainment - $200 (Paid - continuous)
Petrol - $100 (Paid - continuous)
House Bond - $595 max

Wah!!! Not fun at all.

Some of the things here are one off.. and I will be getting more than $1100 a month from work. But it's still quite a lot. At the same time, looking for a new place to live has been quite discouraging. Really hope we can settle down somewhere soon before assignments pile in.  Not forgetting, still got furniture to buy some more. More money down the drain! =(

Post graduate life has started out pretty tough with work and no house. I wanna try being self sufficient this year. I hope it's still possible under the circumstances. The night classes have been quite interesting though I've yet to feel the brunt of the assignments and massive reading list. This doesn't include my involvements with OCF yet, not to mention time for my personal life like hanging out with friends, etc.

Looks like it'll be quite an interesting year.

The sand and sun! Visiting Krabi with a bunch of friends has been on my list of things do this summer. A group of 6 of us were there. I went 3 days later on February 8th while all the others were there since the 5th. I wanted to spend some time with other friends. Time was really short for me, just 3 weeks in total was barely enough to do everything I've set out to do. Anyway, Krabi, Thailand. A nice sunny tropical getaway renown for it's beaches, corals and spectacular rock formations. One of the Bond movies was filmed here. AirAsia made getting to this place easy for a fee of RM300 for a return flight from Kuala Lumpur. It's quite easy to get around Krabi with the number of cabs around.

 
  

I was to meet the rest at Au Railay West beach, which was accessible by long boat. It cost around 80 bath (RM8), one way. The beach itself was pretty good, loaded with cafes and tourist, mostly European. I was unaware it was a nude beach. Upon getting to Railay I linked up with the rest and jumped straight into the water. we wanted to head to a nearby beach north of Railay but was detered by rocks. I fell down chasing a mudskipper, sustaining some cuts to my arm.

We spent most of the day at the beach, either in the water, sunbathing, playing sports or just cam-whoring. When it gets dark a totally new set of activities emerge. Hitting the pubs! Of course we needed to wash up first. Dinner was classically and authentically thai with the standard sets of tomyum kung (prawn), green curry chicken, yellow curry, with random types of fish and vegs.

I'll leave it to the imaginations of the masses of what happens when we drink. All I'll say is that I've seen different colours of the friends I knew. Not to worry, no one got drunk - only really high, but sober (or at least that's what they claim). Drinks there were relatively cheap, on average about 140 bath (RM14) for a cocktail and 70 bath (RM7) for shots. We really drank alot. It was a little over done unexpectedly when we bumped into a bunch of Swedish tourist who invited us for drinks. Too bad we didn't talk too much. They left halfway without saying goodbye at the end of the session. They probably found us too quiet and boring. Oh what to do. We're Asian =P

Bumped into this kitten during the first night. It's so fluffy I called it Fluff. It's not it's name of course. I had a good laugh when it "attacked" Elisa who's afraid of cats

Left: Roti (basically prata, but with a difference. Usually coated with condense milk. Right: Kayaking on the second day

Left: Scooting around town. Bike rental was just 140 bath a day (RM14!!!) Right: Typical sight at town.

 
Left: Horse shoe crap. Texture was like gum. Right: Anyone wanna get high?

 

After two night at Railay we were ready to head back to a more happening environment back in Ao Nang. It was mainly shopping, eating and feeling the reluctance to head home. Although spending 3 days shorter than the rest, I really enjoyed myself at Krabi. Kap Kun Cap Krabi!

       

Me, Yasmeen, Elisa, Aun Ling, Julian and Marc

Markus Ng, a friend and classmate of mine while I was still studying at HELP Institute passed away suddenly yesterday, on the 4th February 2009. He was 23. Markus came home the night before around 3am, just like any of us do occasionally and his family found him lifeless the next morning. I do not yet know the cause of death.

We weren't close friends but we still have several conversations regularly while we were at HELP. Once in a while, he'd join us for a few rounds of table tennis. He also got me curious with HELP's Christian Fellowship, dragging me along with their Christmas presentation where he was leading choir. Occasionally, we visit each other's blogs (based on the the footprints Xanga provides). After HELP we both moved on to other universities. He went on to Essex doing philosohpy, politics and economics where he completed his degree last year in 2008. He was working with UNICEF at the point of his death, putting in many hours at work. Markus is a very active social activist often involving himself in events such as the anti-ISA vigil. While he was studying in UK, he organised a charity marathon. There are probably countless other causes he got himself involved in.

The most evident part of his legacy is the number of people he has touched. Looking at the testimonials on his memorial website and the Facebook wall post from so many people leaves me amazed of the immense number of people he has reached. He doesn't discriminate on race nor religion and shows his love for God's people whoever they may be. If anything, Markus has lived his life to the fullest. I don't know what dreams he's had in store for himself and I pray that this dream will never die despite his passing.

Markus's passing truly saddens me. Looking at his MSN nickname, the shout out on Facebook which has still yet to expire, the pictures, the song's he wrote on his Myspace page... the world truly lost someone very special. I pray for his family that they will cope with his passing. But there is good news, that Markus is alive and well in heaven and all of us who know God personally will meet him again some day. Let his legacy live on high by continueing his works.

See you soon Markus.

This entry is only revealed to public on the 1st February 2009.

5 weeks after graduation, much of my plans this year has changed. Was expecting to be starting my working life in April, leaving Australia for good. With that, a high expectations to finally be home and getting on with life in Malaysia. With me taking up my post grad studies, that plan has been put on hold for at least another year, hence feeling a sad lost not being able to come home. 

But I wasn't going to allow that to happen. Right at this moment I am blogging at KL Sentral. I'm home =)

Left Melbourne at 2.15am after a 30 minute delay on this very day. The flight felt like it only lasted an hour. I had a really good sleep. Surprisingly, for the amount of money I've paid flying AirAsia, their service was pretty good. The only difference was the onboard entertainment and the free flow and types of drinks.. and hot towel.. and earphones. I had my Ipod with several movies loaded into it, so no problem with entertainment. They had USB plugs anyway to charge our Ipods. So there was no shortage of electricity. 

I love every moment today. Reaching home at the LCCT, touching the tarmac which is Malaysian soil, feeling the nice humidity (unlike the "hot until can die heat" of Melbourne) .. man.. so sweet! Not to mention the exchange rate, everything is so cheap!!! There also seems to be a change in the culture as well. I expected everyone here to be unfriendly and.. unfriendly la. But not really, in the shops they are actually starting to greet people (though I must mention alot of the Malaysian-Chinese patrons I've seen so far have been a big disgrace). I took a bus ride from the LCCT to KL Sentral for just RM9 (less than AUD$4).

The main objective today was to surprise my parents. None of my family members know of my plans, even my relatives in Melbourne. The problem is, the plane arrived at KLIA LCCT at 7.20am. Traditionally, we need to be back for dinner. That's like a full 12 hours away. So, there's plenty of time to kill. Right at this moment, I've killed 5 hours so far. Another 7 to go!

____________________________________

Decided to come back early instead, was really bored waiting around. I took a KTM from Sentral headed for home around 1.45pm. Took about 20 minutes to get home. Thankfully the train wasn't really crowded. From Serdang station I decided to walk home. Yes, walk. If Wilsons Prom was possible, carrying 18kg of stuff is no big deal. The hike took me an hour and 10 minutes.

My entry to the house was probably the highlight of the trip. I kept my house keys since I left and was hoping they hadn't changed it. At the gate - the keys still work. My family was at home as I could hear the TV on. I could hear my mom telling my dad who's at the gate. By the time he checked I was already in. My parents were obviously very shocked but happy to see me home.

Ah, chinese traditions. I gotta admit this one was quite special as I felt the significance of this reunion. Previously, we never really leave home for a long period of time. After a couple of years in Melbourne, coming home was really special. It was also great to be re-living the past, doing the same things we used to do for a long time while we're young.

It was great meeting up with family and other relatives. The ang pau's are okay.. but at my age, it feel's kinda weird still looking forward to these red packets. But I can't say no to the food! Malaysian food is waaayyy better than those in Australia.

 

Ah.. the thrills of being back. Nothing beats home.