It’s here. To be honest, the site doesn’t look all that different on the front-end. It’s a format that’s worked well for a while. It looks perhaps a little tighter, but it’s essentially the same. The back-end has been redesigned from the ground up, and I’ve put in some features I’ve been wanting to put in for a long time now.
Changelog
To Do
That should do it for now.
Hear Ye! turns 6 years old today. It’s a little strange when you consider that in the near future, there will be a bunch of journal sites running around with archives that chronicle over a decade of life’s happenings. I would say that that sort of longevity is quite difficult to achieve if you were to keep a pen and paper diary instead, just because of the disadvantages of physical media.
Melbourne was fun, although the train ride down was not. The overnight XPT from Sydney Central to Melbourne’s Spencer St Station takes ten hours. Seeing that it was currently the middle of Summer, and keeping in mind the infamous 40ºC temperatures that seem to afflict the Australian Open each year, I didn’t pack a jumper. The train, unfortunately, had its air conditioning set at full blast, and the result was a sleepless, frigid night where I observed the train stopping at a variety of country stations at odd hours such as 3 and 4am. Upon debarkation, Melbourne greeted me with sub-20 degree weather and I was immediately familiarised with why they say the city is renown for its four seasons in one day.
I had accommodation with Andrew in a well-located serviced apartment on Bourke St, in the heart of the CBD. Melbournians, engaging in the traditional Sydney-Melbourne rivalry, have touted their city as much more trendy and happening than Sydney. I can probably concede that Melbourne fashion is better (if only because they need well-stocked wardrobes to deal with the temperamental weather changes). It may have been the long weekend, but Melbourne is a lot quieter that Sydney. Shops seem to have even shorter opening hours (we couldn’t find a decent cafe open on Sunday morning), and the footpath traffic is light. And of course the scenery alongside the Yarra can’t compare with the backdrop offered by Sydney Harbour.
The first thing we did was try to find a jumper for me to buy. We entered Myer but couldn’t find anything suitable to buy. Strangely, not many jumpers were being sold – I know it was mid-Summer, but most of the locals were wearing jackets and jumpers. No matter, because by the time we emerged from the store, the sun had broken through the clouds and the temperature shot up.
We spent the first day sight-seeing the CBD – the Rialto tower has an observation deck where you can look down upon Melbourne. From there we made our way down to Crown Casino (which dwarfs Star City), where, after a couple hours, we won our dinner money. We then walked to Federation Square, where they were showing the tennis live on a large screen, and afterwards to Rod Laver Arena and its surrounds.
Caught Lost In Translation at KinoDendy on Collins St at night. I loved it. I have this considerable fascination with the peculiarities of modern Japanese culture and the movie did a great job of sending them up and inflicting them upon a hapless Bill Murray. The film, as its title suggests, basically shows how foreign cultures can be as baffling as customs and actions in our own Western society, especially when they come to relationships. It’s funny and thoroughly entertaining.
The next day we went to the Australian Open. Saw Mauresmo vs Molik, Davenport vs Zvonareva, Agassi vs Srichaphan, Roddick vs Schalken and a bit of Grosjean vs Ginepri. I’ve never watched tennis live, and you get a real appreciation for just how hard they whack the ball around, and how fast Roddick’s 220kph serves are.
I was approached a few times by groundstaff who sought assurances that I wasn’t going to use more than 200mm zoom on my camera, so just be careful if you turn up with a huge lens, because you won’t be able to use it if they catch you (but it is pretty hard for them to catch you once you’re actually at your seat).
The following day was Australia Day. Wave graciously took Andrew and I for a drive along the Great Ocean Road. She came at around 7.30am, so we had to be back in about 12 hours for my train back to Sydney. It’s a nice, meandering drive out to the West. The road mostly follows the coastline, edged continually by the ocean, beaches and sheer cliffs. We first stopped for a morning snack at a joint called Andrew’s in a small town that I can’t remember the name of. By coincidence, we ate lunch at a restaurant called Waves (yes, chosen because it was Wave’s namesake) which had decent food but non-existent service. We reached the first vantage point overlooking the 12 Apostles shortly after noon, followed by the other rock formations – The Arch, The Grotto, and the famous London Bridge, which before the 1990s, was a double arched outstretch of rock. Giving it that name obviously cursed it, because one of the arches collapsed one night, stranding two people on the newly-formed island who had to be rescued by helicopter.
On the return journey we had dinner at a shop in Geelong called Gilligan’s (too bad my name isn’t Gilligan, that would have completed the trifecta), which was described by Wave to sell “the best fish and chips in Melbourne”. I must say, she was right on the mark with that one. I don’t even think I’ve found a better place in Sydney for them. Photos here.
I’m currently ploughing through Feist and Wurts’ Empire Trilogy, which is a damn good read. The Empire Trilogy is set on Kelewan, a society largely based on Japanese culture, central to which is the concept of honour. One of its major themes is how Kelewan struggles to come to grips with social progression and crumbling tradition, brought on by interplanetary influences. The Last Samurai is a really nice period piece, set in the late 19th century, where international influences and scheming bureaucrats who lack any honour at all have all but swept away the old Samurai order. The movie evoked deep respect for the passing of the old ways, but also sadly acknowledged that the modern age makes such change necessary. Recommended.
If you’re wondering why there’s been a dearth of posts on this site, it’s because the site’s currently undergoing a long-awaited extensive redesign. Also, I’ll be in Melbourne over the long weekend doing some touristy stuff (I’ve never been to Melbourne before, funnily enough) and catching a match at the Australian Open.
I got back last week. Am very very slowly typing up a trip report. In the meantime, here’s a bunch of links:
– LOTR Legal Analysis – A US law student has done a legal analysis of Sauron’s contractual offers. Amusing.
– Foiled! – Imagine returning home and finding everything wrapped in foil.
– The Night Before Christmas – In legalese. Thanks Shish.
– Chinese guy successful sues for being mugged online – OMG, the sky is falling.
– Fontifier – Turn your writing into a true type font. Requires scanner and printer.
Mallaca is a good place for a day trip. More than that and you’ll be bored. Nice nonya food, lots of colonial era history and a huge Tan Kim Hock store.
Stopped by McDonald’s after a seafood dinner on the East Coast and ended up in Maccas for a coffee of all places. It’s next to a rollerblading track so they have a separate line for bladers to order (a “skate-thru” so the sign says). Apart from this, there’s Internet access, mcfish dippers (fish nuggets) with wasabi sauce, lime juice and some very nice cars in the parking lot. Where else would you see a Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati and a bunch of Jags in a Maccas carpark? I’ve been dragged off to Malacca tomorrow with the family for what I predict will be a couple of boring days… I need to find more people around my age in this country!
Welcome to 2004! Happy New Year all!
Travelling with the extended family is definitely no where near as enjoyable as travelling with friends. No lucky buddha this year (although my aunt experienced the early openings of the buddha scam when she was told that Pantip Plaza was shut for the day, despite me being at the Plaza at that same time). Nonetheless, I do have a couple tales to spin when I get a little more time to do a write-up.
Came back from a damn good week in KL to Singapore for a couple days before heading off to Bangkok. We bought a Canon EOS 300D at Sim Lim Square for about a grand and a half. Also ordered in another compact flash card, an external speedlite flash and an f/1.4 lens. It’s sound, and importantly, a quite affordable digital SLR cam.
Last day in Hat Yai today, flying back to Singapore for New Year’s tomorrow arvo. Been a pretty lazy holiday. A good half dozen or so two hour massages will do that! In the meantime, you can check out Wade’s site – his itinerary was fairly similar to mine.
Merry Christmas! I’m still alive, just been too lazy to post :)
LOTR Return of the King: Mindblowingly awesome. No expletive-enhanced superlatives can describe it. Absolutely a must watch.
Taken ill with a cold or flu or something. Sucks. Don’t feel like typing much, so here’s some pictures.
Other photos:
– Bowling
– Bowling Scores
– Bukit Damansara Mansions
– Justin the Clown at 1 Utama
– Jee Jen the Clown at 1 Utama
Last night’s expenditure? Char Kway Teow: 3 RM, Ice Kachang: 1.80 RM, Sugar Cane Drink: 1 RM, Longan Drink: 1 RM, Red Bean Ice Block: Free, Snooker game: 2 RM, Pool & Foosball: 3 RM, Mahkei: 7 RM. Total spend: ~A$6.70.
Played a bit of volleyball today where I totally humiliated myself. I hate that game.
At the Volleyball Court
Other miscellaneous pics from today
– 1: Jee Jen spikes at Eadwine
– 2: More Volleyball
Just got my uni results. Only 1 HD, and 3 Ds this session, yet my average is higher than first session! Now I can truly relax :)
The flight up was relatively uneventful. There must have been an entire French army platoon on board – a whole horde of head shaven, buff guys with matching khaki backpacks scattered through most of economy class. Luckily, I wasn’t seated amongst them. Surprisingly, very few Aussies and Asians were on board. Most were Europeans on their way through to Frankfurt, or transferring back to Paris or London via Singapore.
I was seated next to two Sydneysiders, both also coincidentally travelling alone, who helped pass the time with conversation. Katie was a 17 year old PLC Pymble student on her way to Germany for seven weeks. Extremely chatty and somewhat jaded about the whole HSC deal which she will go through next year. She had no idea what she wanted to study in uni, which is not unusual at all. However, she’s studying Italian and German for the HSC, so something makes me think she’ll end up studying Arts. Pretty typical North Shore girl too, whose idea of being rich is (only) if you own a yacht. Nick was a Westie who finished high school at Hurlstone Ag in 2000 and is studying Biomolecular Chemistry (or something that sounds similarly impressive) at Sydney U. He was surprised I knew where Hurlstone was, and sniggered when I told him I was from Camden (even further West than him!) and sniggered even more when I told him where I went to high school. “If you lived that far away, why didn’t you board? … Ohhh, that’s right, the boarders don’t have a good reputation, do they?” He was on his way to Malaysia and Thailand for about a month, with an itinerary very similar to mine.
We were served by a steward (flight attendant?) improbably named Craig David. There must have been a lot of Europeans on board, because Craig expressed surprise and relief when he asked if Katie was from Australia. “Phew, I don’t have to keep talking so damn slow! Would you like the beef or the chicken?”
Turning to me, he asked if I was from Singapore, and expressed even more surprise when I told him otherwise. I could pretty much tell that Nick and Katie were Australians as soon as they spoke a single word of “thanks” (the “th” dipthong in the word is normally lazily contracted to “f” by Asians, and Europeans say the word with a skewed inflection). I find that accents are the easiest way – and a reasonably reliable way too – to tell where a person originates from. Mixed accents indicate a person was born in one place and grew up in another.
Anyhow, after a five hour bus trip, I’m finally in KL enjoying the hospitality of the Kepa. I’m not just relaxing after lunch (A$0.80 for a plate of mee goreng!), where the chilli is slowly burning a hole in my gut. Apparently I finally get to meet photographer extraordinaire Eadwine, and his girlfriend Ee Laine tonight. (What is it with Asians and spelling names differently?)
I am in Singapore! Have a bus to catch at 8.30 tomorrow morning to KL. That means minimal sleep but who cares? I’m on holidays!
Just making my customary Sydney airport departure post. These internet terminals are abysmally slow.
On 10 Dec 2002, AUD $1 bought:
– 1.00 Singaporean Dollar
– 24.54 Thai Baht
– 2.15 Malaysian Ringgit
– 0.564 US Dollars
On 10 Dec 2003, AUD $1 buys:
– 1.27 Singaporean Dollar (+27%)
– 29.57 Thai Baht (+20%)
– 2.81 Malaysian Ringgit (+31%)
– 0.742 US Dollars (+32%)
From the sub-50 US cent rates we were getting 2 years ago, strong appreciation of the Aussie over this year means that it is good to be an Australian tourist once more (and not a farmer). Exchange rates from Oanda (taken at the interbank rate).
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2:23pm (GMT +11.00) tomorrow 
