So abt 5am on tues morning, I wake up wondering why the weather sounded to haywire. It had been raining/pouring/drizzling constantly for 4 days prior to tues and we hadn’t seen a ray of sunlight since Friday. I was kinda pleased cos that meant I didn’t need to sweat getting to uni! Clouds fell over the mountains and seemed all misty and winter-y. I liked it. These aussies are quite crazy abt weather (I think the weatherman’s word is like God’s divine words to them). So, each time they say, “the thunderstorm will pass” and all I see if rain like we usually do in Singapore, I wonder, this is a storm?? To them, rain is like a disaster. To me, “its just rain…”
So when weather warnings of cyclone were being given, I thought, well, windier with more rain? Anyway, the cyclone warning was cleared actually by Monday afternoon and we were just expecting rainy weather. So, on Tuesday morning when the haphazard early weather subsided and we stepped out, this is what we saw…
well, that’s the shed behind our neighbour’s house. the trees and plants in our yard were wrecked. my landlord was so sad, seeing that it had taken her 1 yr to clean up and develop her garden after last year’s cyclone Yasi. but, at least we still had a roof over our heads! 9 houses in our street lost their roofs.
This is the bridge at uni. well, its is no big deal. it always overflows with water everytime it rains and its just really fun to take off your flip flops and walk thru it. and this time, the water came with faster currents, so… ;p
anyway, then we ended up with a power cut and have been out of power since (its been more than 24hrs and im pretty sure the food in our fridge is going to spoil, and im gonna spend money to stock up again. but then again, a clinic which had just taken in $10000 worth of travel vaccines couldnt store it in their fridge anymore and had to find urgent freezing locations. so, i cant compare right?). So, my landlord brings out her cyclone-kit, with tons of candles in there. Gas stove doesn’t work. We had to light the bbq grill and put out food in a frying pan to heat it up.
That was at 630pm.
My housemate and I sat down to talk at about 700pm. We talked and talked and talked and talked. After MANY hours of talking, we looked at the clock and realized IT WASN’T EVEN 8PM YET!!! Anyway, we decided that we couldn’t afford to waste that many hours of the day and so we lighted up enough candles for us to carry on with our work.
anyway, reports was that it was a mini-tornado that lasted for just 10 min, and our suburb was on the periphery of the passing mini-tornado. so, i guess we were lucky eh…
i hope power comes back soon enough. cloud’s have finally cleared, and sun’s out (urgh)… but at least it nice to wake up to clear blue skies.
and it was at The GBR!!! I was bloody excited! Haha! I was overly anticipating this last minute decision to go on this trip, knowing that I was not supposed to overspend. But anyway, I went.
I vomitted once on each of my previous dive trips. I travelled on vessels numerous times and I pride myself for not getting seasick. But with the thailand trip and philippines trip, I vomitted once each. Ive lost a bit of confidence in myself! Haha… so, off to the drug store to buy seasick pills (just in case) before I went to the boarding place. I was early, but breathing the cool evening air admist the lights of the city was great!
Ppl eventually came and we started talking, boarded the vessel and listened to the captain’s really long briefing abt boat procedures and diving expectations. Of all the times ive been on a boat, this is the first time the captain actually did the briefing. I can see he takes pride in his vessel, Kalinda.
So I stayed on the upper deck most of the time. Thats the way I like it. It was cloudy and couldnt see as much stars. BUT, it was a full moon night (and there was a full moon party on Magnetic Island, but the dive trip definitely tops it!) and the radiating light from the moon and the colours of the clouds was magnificent!
I eventually fell asleep on the couch! Haha…
so sunrise eventually came, and off we went. 4 dives on the first day at Wheeler Reef and 2 dives on the second day at Davies Reef. It was my first time seeing stingrays! They are so cool! Haha! As I finned over to take photographs and videos, all I could think off was, “dont be so stupid and do what steve corwin did!!!!!!” haha! There were many white tips, but I couldnt snap them all.
To be frank, I enjoyed the philippines trip more than this. Maybe with all the anticipation, my expectations were like really high. but still a day spent diving is better than any other day not diving!!
Here are the pics (still cant photograph UW properly!)..
Giant clams
stingrays
there were so many stingrays in the lagoons, it was beautiful!
after all that foraging, they need to shit too right? here you go…
dont really know what this is, but ive seen it before… im a lazy girl.. havent had time to sit and read marineanimals books..
brittle stars
spotted just a few nudis
I finally managed to get a partial shot (a shot nonetheless) of comb jellies, with ‘disco’ lights! Believe me, when you see it underwater in the dark, its PURE MAGIC!
i didnt take this video, but, it was a simpler/less exciting version of the jelly in the video
Overall, the trip was nice, and I met nice ppl. Currents were still strong, and the surface was choppy… unfortunately im still not strong enough to fin against it. I think of rescue divers as ppl who are capable of actually rescuing others. And im not going to do it until I myself dont need to be tugged back to the vessel if the surface is rough. Sian! And unless I get rescue dive certification, I cant be on the jcu dive register and until I get on the register, I cant do volunteer diving for research ppl! Sucks!
anyway, it was lovely docking with the sunset over castlehill…. and i am happy.
over the last 2 days, i heard ill-fated news from 2 friends from uni. the kind i pray i wont have to hear with regards to me.
one guy’s grandmom passed away, the funeral was yesterday. he was close to her. she was old and he says it was probably coming, but still, a close relation lost is still someone lost forever.
another girl’s dad passed away, suddenly, yesterday. he was young, had no indications of illness. she got call from her mom and her face just changed immediately. she broke down. she flew back to the US today.
how can anyone handle such news, just 3 weeks into the start of uni? ppl come over expecting life to be fantastic. for these young adults, its like the time of their life. and news like this comes.
what can you say to her? a young 21 yr old girl loses a parent. forever. what does that mean????
its what i pray everyday that i wont have to hear.
cos even at my age, i dont think i can handle that.
The inefficiencies of the OZ Land have left me wondering. Wondering why a developed country doesn’t need to be as efficient as Singapore.
Many buses ticketing systems are not electronic. The commuters board, tell the bus driver where they want to go. The bus driver tells them how much and the commuters pay cash to the bus driver who has a tray of coins and dollars. From the time I was born, Ive never seen such a system. That must have been before we used to drop coins into the long tube.
The most popular mode of mobile internet is the internet stick we used to use 1 decade ago. Wifi hotspots are rare. At McDonalds and some coffee clubs. Mobile data plan is available, but the telecommunications lines appear so flimsy that connection is intermittent. Internet speed is so slow that I cant hotspot it to my computer and run 2 websites at the same time. Oh no, I cant even run a 30 sec video on youtube cos it take 30 minutes to buffer.
Wireless routers are available on campus. And also provided by telecommunications providers. But, they impose a limit. Imagine going to uni and before you reach the end of the month, they tell you that you have used up your mobile data for the month! O.M.G. when I told the service staff that I used to have internet 24/7, she looked at me with eyes that wondered, “what the hell for?
The (dim) street lights here are for the purpose of lighting for insects and creepy crawlies. I am walking in total darkness at 7pm. Visibility is like night diving without a torch light. It is freaky. Of course it probably isn’t like this in the city centre. It certainly wasn’t like this in perth city, although it was pretty much like this in the suburbs of south perth.
So…. Im trying to be understanding, given the fact that many aussies are actually very patient and considerate and understanding. But still, having come from a highly efficient system from Singapore, it still takes a bit of getting used to. A german girl having come from a system in Germany quite similar to that of Singapore also exclaimed in shock. So… maybe since they are still developing in certain aspects ya. Or maybe they just don’t see the need to be any more efficient than now.
Either way, I am enjoying the laid back lifestyle for the moment. Until all my assignments pile up, that is. lectures start tomorrow and tutorials/practicals the week after… so giddyup! yee haa..!
It was orientation week. Having gone through so many sec 1 orientations in my sch, I was totally hoping the student association would not require us to shout and chant cheers and get water-bombed from all directions. In NUS, this kind of exciting thing was somewhat similar to Rag and Flag day, which I didn’t attend. Thankfully, it was only the hostels that had that kind of orientation ice breakers. The hostelites walked into the auditorium wearing personalized head bands, baby bibs, sun shade-kinda left over paper plate caps, etc signifying which hostel they were from/which group they were from. Its an identity-forming tactic I must admit. Makes ppl feel like they are together. And if anyone failedto do so, their face would be drawn with face paint. Anyway, the official orientation wasn’t as such. It was an information session, mostly common sense ones and things to do, which you would have already done if you had read the instructions in the email and actually done it.
At some point, the guy in charge asked, “so who here is under 25?”
And I opened my eyes wide… no no no…. don’t ask the next question!!!!!!
I looked around and like 97% of the students put up their hands. Crap!
“and…. Who here is above 25?”
Piece of shit!
I almost hung my head as I raised my hands, and then decided, there’s nothing embarrassing abt being older, and so I looked around to see who else was above 25. Well, about 15 out of 400?
The guy I was sitting next to and had been chatting with couldn’t believe it.
“you are above 25!? How old are you?”
“well, you guess..”
“26?”
“no.”
“27?”
I shook my head.
“well you cant be older than 28?”
I shook my head. And said my real age. Honestly speaking, still feeling a little embarrassed. He had just turned 21. L L L L L
Anyway, I toured the campus with the post grad group and I chatted with a number of them. And I think I made friends with this german girl who seems nice. And chatted with this german guy who speaks in scientific terms… (damn it…. I should have studied the animals I saw while diving. Instead, I just saw them in a layman’s world.) so he talks abt lionfish and giant clams and spawning sea cucumbers and im just starting to worry abt how little background knowledge I have on all these things.
Anyway, market day arrives (where clubs and societies put up booths, and other Queensland/Townsville companies publicise their cause/programs) and I signed up to be in the mailing list for some stuff. I hope I get time to volunteer cos im not sure how busy I’ll be and I cant ascertain yet what busy means to the aussies. I also need to get my rescue dive certification if I want to do the module on Scientific Diving and Diving Physiology. And for my rescue certification, I need to have my CPR and first aid certification (which I have, but its outdated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and get my oxygen provider certification (which would be good to get anyway). I should find out how I can get out of doing the course all over again. I am CPR AED certified and a AFA lecturer afterall. Argh!!! i also need to get on the JCU Dive register so that i can help with research of other projects.
ive got an interview to attend on Saturday, and I hope I get it cos then that will be the first volunteer thing I will be involved in. if i do, i’ll be the most excited person in the world!!! its the Great Barrier Reef HQ Aquarium and boy, would i love to be involved in its programs!
so, that about sums up what happens this week. and things are going ok so far. next week when lessons start, that will be a huge thing. so… will update when i can!
goodbye from me for now… and Poppy!
ps: i miss singapore food! and my mom’s cooking! and cheap kss canteen food!
but when shit happens to you, it’ll feel like all the shitters in the world aimed their shit at you. :p
once again, this is a delayed post.
the trip to Puerto Galera (PG) ended with mixed feelings. fully organised by the Tattooed Smoker. while the ppl at Blue Ribbon Dive Resort were fantastic, i screwed up quite a bit. i was fine on all the dives except the ones on the 2nd day. Unfortunately.
on the 2nd day, we took a 1 hr boat ride out to Verde Island. Water was real choppy that day. so after my first dive, on the boat, i fell seasick and fed my breakfast to the fishes. the 2nd dive was interesting. currents were strong. so strong that we were told to hold on to something. in my fear that i might just be carried away by the current, i became desperate and wanted to hold something. and the result ended up in 3 of my fingers getting scratched by the coral i didnt managed to hang on to. the current was that terrible. after we surfaced (really choppy waters, like the kind you see in movies), we realised that our boat was the 3rd one away from us. i finned with all my might, reached the first boat, tried to get past the second boat but i got so tired, i hung on to the rope that tied the 2 boats together. bloody dangerous thing to do! the boatmen from both boats were shouting at me to let the line go, but i just DIDNT WANT TO LET GO! honestly, i wished someone would just airlift me past the 2nd boat to the 3rd boat. eventually i found the courage to let go. and finned my way to my boat. on my way in, i knocked my mask onto the bamboo pole which stabilises the boat (which didnt help much cos the boat was rocking at least 1meter high!. argh! anyway, we had a BBQ lunch by a lonely sheltered region in the beach. food was fantastic with lazy beach dogs hanging under the table for any food we might feel like throwing to them. seemingly, doggies like the smell of plankton on our wetsuits! haha. the 3rd dive’s current was even worse than the 2nd dive. so terrible the current that even when i finned with all my might against the current, i was still moving in the direction of the current. imagine that the bubbles from our regulators was not going upwards. it was moving diagonally downwards! strong current! i hardly could snap any shots. we ended the dive in 19 minutes. sucks to be down for just 19 minutes. already feeling terrible, i thought going for the fluorescent dive would perk me up. so all packed and geared up, i went for my very first beach dive. i thought the current was so strong again, but alas, i lost the fin on my right leg. and i didnt even know it until i surfaced and the DI asked where my fin was. OMG! we ended the dive and my DM has to use all his energy to drag me back to shore cos its just impossible to do any dive without fins. i was so embarrassed. and i felt stupid. on the whole, day 2′s dive trips made me feel like shit.
“shit happens” said the Tattooed Smoker who patted my head.
urgh! that day, i felt really horrible.
anyway, the rest of the dives were fine. especially day 3′s dives. they made me feel so at peace, and pleasured that i managed to experience what i did.
at one point during the night dive, we saw this fire urchin moving in one direction, and as we looked further, we saw 2 more isolated fire urchins moving towards the same direction. looking further, we saw 4 fire urchins congregating at one particular place. i stopped videoing the movements of fire urchins and realised my camera was not going to do any justice to the beautiful sight of gathering fire urchins. and i realised that i might not be able to show the world what i saw, but at least i got to be fully involved in the moment.
i smiled all night long. nice live band (not the best, but good enough to chill) complimented the cold night by the beach.
this dive trip was fantastic. apart from a few instances where i realised im not ready to take the rescue diver course. BUT I NEED TO, so i’ll get it done after a few more dives in aussie.
overall the trip further enriched my experience as a diver. i thought i was happy being a follower, but during this trip, i realised it is impt to take over as a leader when time comes. i didnt need to at this time, but Tattooed Smoker (who is a DM in training) had to take over on one occasion where a pair of idiot-divers refused to follow instructions to move up to surface and instead stayed below to take photos. caught in between, i didnt know whether to go up or wait for them. Tattooed Smoker signalled to me to go up and do my safety stop while he went down to tell them to come up again. they still stayed down. and then he took over at the surface while the DM went down to get them. (idiot divers).
so, if/when the situation calls for it, i cant lead, then that would be bad. so, im not going for the rescue dive course just for my module, but also because, its with rescue diver certification that you know how to deal with situations like these and lead the group.
the trip also was my first wreck dive trip. and it was fun going in and under wrecks. my bouyancy control has definitely improved. i now know how to stay where i want to stay and go where i want to go. comes with experience i think. but i still need to figure out how to work with currents.
anyway, enjoy the pictures and videos.
Dive trip @ Small La Laguna Beach, Puerto Galera, Philippines.
Numerous Scorpion fish
Lion fish
Cushion star maybe getting ready to spawn
Numerous nudibranchs, but i totally screwed up the photographs trying to go all macro on them.
macro focus on wrong animal! haha
saw 2 sea turtles
acorn worm cast
pipefish? or pipefish look a likes?
saw a number of sea kraits!!!!
and weird sea creatures
lobsters
giant clams
sea stars
hermit crabs
entering one of the wrecks
checking out a school of giant trevallys
and the boats along a jetty… all the boats were as such
“open your arms to change, but dont let go of your values”
Dalai Lama
today, im in a new country, making this island my home for the next 1.5 years. as exciting as it has been, im also going to start missing home soon. having to take care of myself. but i should be fine.
change in environment tends to bring changes in a person’s attitude and personality. sometimes a quiet person is forced to become act more extroverted in a new place, which makes the person sometimes adopt different personalities in front of different people. i guess in a way we are all victims of split personality.
im not sure how my stay here will be, but im looking forward to experience the changes in my lifestyle. LTs, assignments, projects, presentations, lab work and late night studying will be my pattern for a while.
and im gonna make the best out of thie S$80000 experience!
i am nervous.
i am full of anticipation.
i am eager to start anew.
i am anxious.
i am worried.
i am cautious.
i am hoping i’ll meet nice ppl.
I am hoping i’ll make some good friends.
i am wondering if i can still analyse new information.
but, still, today is the first day of the rest of my life, and i’m going to take in the moment because its not too often i get to do something like this. “this” is dedicated to me.
look out for updates on my experiences and learning.
remember, life is too short to have regrets. time will just pass you by and before you know it, you might look back and wish you had done something/pursued your interests/made some changes/etc. so dont wait. Go, live your life. =D
as the date approaches, i cant help sense a feeling of doom. no, im not depressed. and everything on the aussie side is settled. but still, you know…
as of last night, the weather report in my tummy is as follows:
lightning risk: cat 5
Wind speed: swirling at 100kn
rain: thunderstorm
flood: potential risk of hitting heights at mouth level
so i spent a while wondering why im so freaking panicky abt leaving, and all along i thought it’s because i was worried abt being all alone in a foreign land. but you can always bank on a good night’s sleep to clear your mind and make you realise that the apprehension is because you dont want anything to happen to anyone you love while you arent around.
mom made chicken curry last night, as per my request, and while it wasnt her best, all i could think of was that someday, i might never get to have her cooking my meals.
would it be too selfish of me to pray that i die before anyone else i love dies?
this whole week has been great. mom’s been smiling, ive not argued with her, things are light hearted at home. and i know that, while we arent the kind of family that openly expresses our love for each other, we do things that are symbolic. honestly, i think things are going to be more strained at home while im not around cos no one talks to each other without going thru me. well, except mom-bro.
so, a visit to 2 temples in the morning made me sit in devotion, where i thought of Amma, and said, “you know everything.”
so while everyone is blessing me to stay safe and pray that nothing untoward happens to me while im away, im praying that nothing untoward happens to my family while im not around.
Dear Amma, please be with them.
(ps: and in the event something does happen to me while im there, i just want to say that i love my mom very much, i wish my bro all the best and i hope my mom and dad can find happiness.)
“Your thoughts become your words
your words become your actions
your actions become your habits
your habits become your character
your character becomes your life”
and cheap kss canteen food!
