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Skidders!!!

Mon, 21 May 2007 04:09:05 GMT

I've been listening to Skid Row's debut album (because I can), which includes the "classic" I rember you...

The album was made in 1989, which makes it 18 years old. And one of the other hits on it is called "18 and Life"...And eerily that track just started, just as I was writing about it!!

I remember head banging along to this album in high school...ooooo

And it happens that Sebastian Bach from Skid Row will be touring with Guns N Roses next month. Not that I would go.

What does this dream mean?

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:50:29 GMT

This is the first time I've blogged about a dream (I think), probably because I can actually remember the details this time. I don't really believe they mean anything, but its fun to see what the internet has to say about it.

-walking around with 2 friends (male can't remember who, female friend from clubbing days who I haven't seen or thought about for many years)

-we were walking around late at night (possibly after midnight) and ended up at in the street where my female friend once lived.

-the houses weren't the real ones though.

-as we reached a house at the end of the street to visit someone the female friend with me turned into another female friend of mine (I don't recall if the male friend stayed the same or also changed)

-the street and the houses were slummy and run down.

-it was very dark and shadowy

-i started getting a bad feeling, but not sure what

-we walked through the property (there were no fences or gates), passing rubbish, old mattresses and things like that along the way.

-we turned back for some reason I can't remember (perhaps no one was home, or, we just thoguht that the street was majorly dodgy!)

-as we started walking back down the street a man appeared out of nowhere

-we ignored him and continued walking

-next thing I know he has a knife pressed against my back and demands, get this, our mobile phone batteries!!!! not the whole phone, not wallets or jewllery. Batteries...oh well, each to their own.

-not wanting to get stabbed, I did as he demanded (as I did so, he mumbled something about being able to get $100 for it. wow!!!)

-just now, my female friend bolted (in a really slow, unco sort of way, like her shoes were too big or something)

-my friend running away didn't please Mr thug. He sliced across my lower back and went after my friend.

-At the sight of the angry, knife weilding (and faster) thug running after her, or, I would hope, the sight of me curled over in pain, she stopped, knowing she was not going to get away

-luckily someone somewhere saw this and screamed and woke up the neighbourhood

-the thug decided not to risk being caught and ran away

-suddenly we were not in the same dark street anymore. we were now in a brightly light city (like new york or vegas) where its night but there were people and traffic everywhere

-I'm not sure why but I found myself running around looking for a cop car. I saw 2 drive pass on the main rd so I ran after them in traffic

-as I lost sight of them another cop car passed in the opposite direction, back towards the scene of the crime

-so I turned around and chased after that one.

-at this stage I don't know how I felt. I didn't feel pain and I wasn't exactly pissed off. maybe just puffed from running

-I ran along the main road and just as I was about to pass a side street I saw the thug running into the same intersection. We both stopped as we spotted each other. For a brief moment you could here a pin drop.

-but before you know it, he turned around and ran away.

Unfortunately, that's where the dream stops. I pay no attention to dreams (this wouldn't surprise those who know me), but I was curious about what things in dreams mean. The following interpretations are from http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary

friends: signifies aspects of your personality that you have rejected, but are ready to integrate these rejected part of yourself. Additionally, this symbol foretells of happy tidings from them and the arrival of good news.

walking: represents the way you are moving through life and progress toward your goals.

darkness: signifies failure in work you may attempt. Darkness is synonymous with ignorance, the unconscious, evil, death, and fear of the unknown.

danger(1): danger and are wounded or killed, signifies substantial losses in business and discouraging prospects in love. You need to be more cautious in some aspect of your life.

knife: To dream that you are wounded by a knife, is symbolic of masculine or animalistic aggression.

running: In particular, if you are running from an attacker or any danger, then it suggests that you are not facing and confronting your fears.

police: To dream that you are having difficulties contacting the police, suggests that you have yet to acknowledge your own authoritativeness in a situation. You need to take control and be in command of the direction of your life.

danger(2): To dream that you escape from danger, signifies that you will rise to a place of high position and honor in your business and social circle

The interpretations are all over the place. At least it finishes with something good. But personally, I think its BOLLOCKS!!!!!

Test trackback

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 04:47:40 GMT

Just testing trackbacks to a uni friend's live space.

Rejoice!!!! Bananas are affordable now

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 21:47:38 GMT

I bought a bunch of bananas from the market for "cost price" of $6.95/kg. I don't care if its not really what the stall paid for them. It sure beats $12.00.kg.

It's been soooooooo long since I've a had a banana. Haha...

P.S. You wouldn't believe it. I made another pita bread pizza last night and AGAIN, I forgot to take a photo.

Addicted

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:32:53 GMT

I've recently discovered the joy of making my own pizzas with pita bread. I swear I will never make pizzas with normal dough bases ever again. I just love how the edges are so crunchy. I made a simple one today with salami, cheese and red onion. I experimented with putting a little salad dressing on it and it turned out awesom!! It was olive oil, balsamic, chopped garlic, seeded mustard and french mustard.

It wasn't until I finished it until I remembered that I wanted to take a photo of it. This is the empty plate:

RIP Steve Irwin

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 06:07:37 GMT

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/crocodile-hunter-dies/2006/09/04/1157222051494.html

I can't believe the crocodile hunter has died. It was a "freak accident" where got stung by a sting ray.

Like many others, I'm feeling the same sad emotions as when Princess Diana died.

Steve Erwin may have been a bit of a knob sometimes, but he was all heart. He did so much for conservation, and to educate others about animals in his own special way. He was a great ambassador for Australian tourism, too.

He died doing what he loved, but he will be greatly missed by this world.

I just hope his wife Terri, and their kids will continue his legacy.

RIP Steve

The Dandenongs

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 05:34:35 GMT

I went to the Dandenongs yesterday with a friend. The drive up was plesant enough. Takes less than 1 hour to get there, yet it feels like far, far away country town or something. Stopped by a mini Sunday market on the way up, where we bought cakes that were "home made" by s sweet old lady. And they were delish!!

We reached Sky-something or other, which is the peak of the Dandenongs. We had to pay $4 to enter and couldn't even eat at the bistro because they were all booked out. So we took some pics and wondered around. There really wasn't much to see there. Since it was bloody windy and cold we decided to move on.

We drove back down the hill, passing Olinda and somewhere else (I'm great with names, can't you tell?). We wanted to stop at one of the main streets were there were little shops and cafes. But there were so many people there that we gave up after circling a couple of times looking for car parks.

But before the feeling of disappointment could set in, we remembered that we had passed a place called Flippin' Pancakes on the way up. It was our last hope to get something worthwhile to eat, but we anticipated that they might be booked out with father's day as well. Luckily, they had a few table for 2's available, since most people there were families. We shared a stack of 4 pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream, and a chicken crepe with the "chef's special white sauce"!!!! I thought that's only in movies....

I liked the pancakes better.

After eating we thought we'd take a different route home and just as well. My friend remembered that there's a place where you can feed birds. We had a great time feeding native birds. They are not shy and will stand on your arm (and other parts of you) to eat seeds off your hands.

It threatened to rain all day but we were lucky to miss it all.

See the rest of my photos on:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usagi1975/

School rules

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 22:56:23 GMT

I just remembered something about my first day at boarding school. My uncle and auntie took me there and all the year sevens were shown around the area and the different buildings. We visited the headmaster's house for a cup of tea or something. When he asked me which house I was in, I didn't know what he was talking about (there was three of them). Having only been in Australia for less than 3 years at the time, I didn't understand the concept of different houses (although there was something like that in the primary school I attended in grade 6, in which the 4 home groups were named after the 4 surrounding streets). I just remember feeling embarrassed that he had to explain it to me.

That Sunday was my first day at a boarding school I didn't really want to go to. The next day (although I have no memory of it) was the first day of a high school I didn't want to go to.

Star Wars

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:59:12 GMT

I don't understand or like Star War movies, but even I laughed when I saw this:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2696978574478627037&q=the+emperor

Toorak Tractors

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:13:27 GMT

If safety is a main consideration for people buying large four wheel drives (not particularly pointing fingers at the BMW X5/Volvo XC90/Porsche Cayenne brigade that clogs up Punt Rd in the mornings), then give them all guns.

Because they're never going to use the 4WD capabilities.

Oooooo, how cute! A little police dog

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:36:20 GMT

Well, not quite a police dog. Its a sheriff drug sniffer dog.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/downsizing-the-crime-fight/2006/07/31/1154198074533.html

Bigot

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 10:25:26 GMT

Someone close to me just told me:

"I don't like people who play guitar and sing who are not professionals".

That's not very encouraging for me, considering I'm trying to learn just that.

And funny, the comment coming from someone who's from a karaoke culture

As fast as a slug

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 06:51:57 GMT

Went jogging around Albert Park for the first time since January. I posted my slowest time ever!! Took me 30min 08sec...

My best is 24min 35sec. Of course real runners can do it in about 15min but considering I only jog once in a while its not too bad.

Sick students

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:22:57 GMT

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/student-medical-notes-prompt-inquiry/2006/07/17/1152988472768.html

"MORE than a quarter of RMIT's business students from China used medical certificates to defer exams or assignments, prompting the university to consider investigating the doctors that issued them."

This is an obvious problem but no one wants to admit it. The unis want to investigate but they need the money from international students.

The student union is of course defending the students, saying that its not the doctors that need investigation but why the students are getting sick.

I know for a fact that there are certain doctors that are famous for writing docs certs like its no body's business.

Chinese are one of the hardest working cultures on earth. Taking sickies are not taken lightly in the workforce. But maybe students (especially in the younger generation) are getting slacker. And they will continue to get away with it because no one wants to create any controversy.

I've had many uni friends studying IT from China and they wouldn't take a day off work unless their limbs were falling off. Maybe the RMIT business students are different. Would be interesting to see the stats from other institutions.

What's going on?

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:54:44 GMT

I'm not growing my hair, but I'm too lazy to go get it cut...I can't seem to style my hair the same way more than once which kind of sucks because I can never recreate a style that turns out well.

I end up putting so much crap in my hair trying that at the end of the day it is still rock hard.

One night I got bored and used a brush (for the first time in a long time) to brush out the product...

My other photos are in my flickr page (link on the right)

Portal

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:39:29 GMT

Portals are no good unless there are people using them. Poor participation of new portals is not uncommon. I think it basically boils down to several general factors:

1. Poor user analysis

2. No/not enough user involvment in designing stage

3. Poor usability

And to quote Jakob Nielson, who describes usability as having five attributes:

Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

There are many things that Nielson says that I wouldn't take seriously, but this is pretty accurate.

Extreme Korean BBQ

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:19:43 GMT

I went to Korean BBQ restaurant last night called Seoul Garden. (For those of you that remember, its the building that used to be the famous Lim's Garden steam boat restaurant)...

It looks a million bucks now and I was quite looking forward to this meal. We ordered the usual suspects eg: Bulgogi, pork, some seafood and salads.

The meal comes with all kinds of exciting side dishes like kimchi, spicy eggplant, cucumber salad and other little appetisers.

The BBQ itself if quite strange and I can't quite work out the following:

The hotplate is lifted up to reveal a cavity in which a glowing pot of charcoals are place. The hotplate is replaced.

The side of the BBQ also has a gas cyclinder, which is also started up. On top of that, the entire contraption is plugged into the wall. Why does it need all those things? It is an electric BBQ or gas BBQ? What't the use of the coals if its already on gas or electricity?

Those questions were far from my mind at this stage because I was too busy stuffing my face with delish Korean grub.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we were eating, some meat continued to sizzle invitingly on the hotplate. As I stared transfixed into the BBQ I noticed a sudden change in brightness under the BBQ. An intense orange glow was illuminating the morsels of pork belly and onions as if to say, "I am beautiful! I am yummy!! Come to me! Come to me!".

This sight drew my mind even deeper into the devilish, yet enticing BBQ. By this stage I was ready to give my soul away.

However, I was awoken from my trance like state by the distinct smell of burnt rubber and also a slightly hot, but comfortable feeling on my knees. I immediately commented rather casually to my companions that the BBQ was really bright.

We all pushed our chairs back and looked under the table to find that a jet of orange flame was shooting downwards from somewhere and was charring a table leg as well as some sort of plastic tube.

We realised we could be in danger, but something inside us made us sit there and not react. Was it the gentle crackling noise of the BBQ or the mix of burning rubber and Bulgogi that froze our helpless bodies?

What will happen?

Stay tuned...

The World Game

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:38:38 GMT

Soccer really is a World Game because the world:

1. is unjust

2. has violence

3. is corrupt

4. is full of fakes

Tried to think of something witty to say...

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 03:33:19 GMT

but couldn't. I have this photo and I wanted to relate it something about comparing apples and oranges. Having a brain freeze...

Memory

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 12:03:05 GMT

I wish that my mind was like a Hard Drive.

That way I can do a Disk Cleanup and Defrag. Get rid of all the unwanted memory and then put together those things in my head when I feel scattered...

Photo Album: Webcam

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:53:51 GMT

Webcam

Picture 3

Picture 1

Picture 11

Picture 9

Matt 004

Blog list: Blog list

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:57:49 GMT

Neocortex Impulse
words from the cuz
PostSecret
Secret Postcards
Weird Flatmate
Not really a blog, but...
Michiyo
Can't believe the size of her eyes!
Mike Seyfang
SA's Finest

Custom List: Custom List

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 11:06:31 GMT

Photos
My Flickr Photos
Unlimited Potential
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