oh mama earth.

With all my presentations for the semester aside, I was finally able to take the camera out!!

Kevin, his friend Hilmi (who was visiting from Melbourne) and myself decided to celebrate Earth Hour by having some fun in the dark on campus! No dirty thoughts now!

And thanks to fire performers, I found more amazing things about my camera:

I may have gone a little overboard with the exposure that night, but it sure was fun! :D

There was also a huge balloon of our favourite planet Earth! If you've ever wanted to know what the younger generation will do for to the planet, wonder no more...

Between you and me...the only reason I was able to capture all this was because I had planned to wait until the kids were done so I could have my go at abusing it. Alas before my turn came aound, Earth broke off orbit and started rolling towards the crowd :( It probably decided enough was enough.

What did you get up to during Earth Hour this year? :)

just another earthling, xo

PS: Hello and thanks to katieleigh, レベッカ = 레베카, Alexandra, Tiq, elisabeth and Angel for the follow! :D

questions for me(me)

I got tagged in a question-answering meme by Sunny from Idyll Toast!  Who needs Formspring! Hehe!

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?

They're family :) I've always had pets since I was little. Roborovski hamsters, lop-ear Angora rabbits, Shih Tzus, fishies, even a pair of black/white chicks my neighbour happened to have snagged from his trip home to the village. I daresay I have cried when each of them passed away.  

2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?

A non-existential differentiation of skin and race and religion, no war, and no crimes. They are trivial compared to what Mother Nature has against us these days. We don't have to do this to ourselves.

3. What is the one thing most hated by you?

Discrimination. I come from a country riddled with it.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Easy! I'd give it away. Is this a trick question? 

5. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

Talking to bff Amir. And if he's not available or is tired of the silly noises I make when I'm frumpy, then I take my camera out! ;)

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

Having the opportunity to love someone else :)  I get excited giving surprises and little gifts to my love ones. Although being loved in return is always a bonus :)

7. What is your bedtime routine? 

I am a granny. I get grouchy about past 10 pm and if I don't sleep by 2 am then its pretty much an all nighter from then. 

8. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?

A random twist of fate. And fate is still twisting between us...

9. If you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?

Audrey Kawasaki, DEFINITELY! I have only recently discovered her work and it was love at first sight!

10. What kinds of books do you read?

Right now? Nil. I traded paper for the internet (which is bad, I know). It still doesn't stop me from collecting books though.

11. Where do you see yourself in ten years time?

Either I'll be ripping my hair out at a private Science research institute or chasing little monsters around. I'm still trying to decide which is the lesser evil.

12. What’s your fear?

Not living life to the fullest. That, and losing my grandparents. They are the sweetest old couple ever. 

13. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to visit outer space?

Uh-huh. So would (with fingers crossed behind my back!).

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married, but poor?

Stop asking me things I ask myself all the time! Honestly, I still don't know. I wouldn't mind being single and poor, as long as I'm happy and healthy?

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Check my email...haha.

16. If you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?

His ability to read my mind. Its not fair that I keep losing at rock, paper, scissors like that.

17. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
Zara-Rihanna Ling. It means 'happy-flower' with a ring-a-ling-ling at the end of it! Haha!

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
Very most likely to forgive because I believe people change. The ability to forget depends. I would prefer to, but sometimes your subconscious isn't something you can control.

19. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?
Nutella. Downright swear I would stomach that thing anytime! :D

because I ran out of arctic wolves to photograph --> (source) 

TAG! You're it!

Now, to pass the tag on to four lovely bloggers! In no particular order :

+  maya  {coffee n' book}
+  tabulyogang {tabulyogang} 

+  黃愛玲 {嬌小女孩, 巨大冒險 Sincerely, Eileen} 

+  Kaylia Payne {The Many Colours of Happiness}

I procrastinated and did a blog make-over last night after a spurt of creativity from preparing for my next talk. I hope you like it. I'd appreciate any comments! :)

PS: Many many thanks to Hishan Melanga, Anya, Tiq and The Many Colours of Happiness for the follow!

TGIF!, xo

random fact {no.3}

I am obsessed with feathers.

The sky is like another realm on Earth for me -- one that only the birds truly experience and know by about. I guess that is why I feel that they're almost magical. And to have a piece of them is like having a bit of magic with me too :)

I have been collecting feathers of ravens, magpies, galah birds and cockatoos during walks around Australia. It never fails to amaze me how huge they are! I guess I never had a chance to size up a cockatoo as they're always flying off when I get within a few feet.

This blue feather from last December has been the most intriguing one in my collection. I still don't know which bird it is from...maybe a mallard duck?

Also, I have been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by Chrissy from Chrissy From America and Valerie from Living Out of the Box!! Thank you so, so much ladies!!

Along with silvii tron's tag to share seven random things, that makes 21 random facts to share in total! And better still, that means 37 bloggers to pass it on to! :D

random will be my middle name, xo

random fact {no.2}

I am sorry to say this...but I am not a big fan of kids. I am missing that part of the human gene that makes you go 'awww~' when you look at a baby.

My perception of kids has allowed me to have a somewhat unbias thought on procreation, and I have come to the conclusion that adding one more kiddo on Earth will cause an exponential increase in population over the following years. Oops, that got a bit sciency, haha!

Maybe my views on this will change in the near future. Maybe it won't. I'm not saying its wrong to have babies because by all means, I have heard that they are the most joyous little things to have and to cherish in this world. It is just that my conscience (and preference, for that matter) won't let me.

I do however believe in adoption and in looking after the kids we now have in this world.

So I have been sponsoring a community in the Trincomalee area of Sri Lanka via ChildFunds. To be specific, I am sponsoring Prabodhika and her community. Its the least I can do for being anti-baby.

This is {no.2} of the seven random facts I plan to share from silvii's tag. Read {no.1} here. Also, hop over to read the seven random facts silvii shared about herself! It will be a bonus if you like typography! ;)

biologically clock-less for now, xo

PS: Many thanks to Valerie, Di and tabulyogang for the recent follow! :)

random fact {no.1}

I was tagged by silvii tron from Evening Lanterns to share seven random facts about me back in January. Like waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. So the count begins! :) 

I was born in 1985 (which makes me 26 years old this October). If you do the maths Chinese style, this makes me an ox. I'm just kidding, there is no maths to this. I think.

All my life I have had to struggle with just one issue of being an ox. Oxens are MALES – I am FEMALE. As much as I would love to have balls, I am quite the feminist! ;)

Happy weekend, lovs!

moo!, xo

the king and i

Raja means "king" in the Malaysian and Indonesian language. 

However, unlike others from the Malaysian Royal family, Raja Petra (also fondly known as 'Pete') has out-rightly fought for the political and social justice of the people in Malaysia. Claiming 'controversial' to be his middle named, Raja Petra Kamarudin is a political activist as well as founder and chief-editor of the famous political blog 'Malaysia Today'. 

His work exposes the various scandals and corruption practised within the Malaysian government, eventually leading to his detainment by the Malaysian ISA (Internal Security Act) twice, as well as risk being disowned by members of the Royal family. It is all very complicated when it comes to Malaysian politics...

Don't worry, this won't be a political blog just yet. I am just glad to have met Raja Petra in person because he stands up for what I too, believe in -- change :)

And because you've been kind enough to put up with my rant on politics, you are now rewarded with a papercraft rabbit courtesy of Canon!

Print me here

(Don't be discouraged by how complicated it looks -- I have one sitting right on my computer tower at work! I guarantee you, its absolutely do-able!)

PS: Many thanks to rochelle:), Drew, Coymax, Rebecca, mary, angelina zt and tashawojcik (which so happens to be Nina's sister!) for the follow! :D

sweet escape

Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the flight, because we're heading for Bali!

Our accommodation at Matahari Bungalow was absolutely heavenly! We even had a resident kitty! The staff were gracious and friendly and before we knew it, we were calling them by name by the end of our four-day stay!

I found this notice at our pool amusing...

Nothing escapes art in Bali. This scene of motorbikes lining up for gas at the station sums it up for me!

We stopped by the art market at Sukawati and my dad went crazy. Nop, not crazy enough to buy all these pots, but he did buy A LOT from this particular store.

Passed by a few people having an intimate moment...aha ha ha ha...

Gunung Agung (which translates to 'Majestic Mountain') is the tallest peak and volcano in Bali. It was a pretty awesome view considering the fact that everything was shrouded in clouds just a few minutes before!

Shrines can be found everywhere in Bali (kinda like parking meters in the city). These ones were at a restaurant facing Gunung Agung.

On the slopes of Gunung Agung is the Besakih Temple -- mother of all temples. These statues of Gods and Demons line the entrance of the temple. Sarongs are wrapped around most trees and statues around Bali to render them sacred (and in most part, decent).

The Tirta Empul/Tampak Siring temple is the only temple in Bali that will (self) serve you holy spring water. It is probably the safest unboiled water you can drink for free in Bali. Very much frequented by the locals :)

 

The proudest thing I did in Bali was to drink 'kopi luwak'. Potent and shitty. I guess I now have to admit I drank coffee made of civet cat poo to justify my moment of glory. NB: My brother was trying to entice the crazy super hyperactive mofo to stay still for a good shot and got scratched pretty badly in the process. We reckon its all that coffee its been having!!

Great. The whole world is gay.

Twisted monkey (probably due to alcohol abuse).

At Kuta beach where everyone loves Bali and turquoise is in fashion.

I'd be happy to sit in a truck like that and collect beach trash alllllll day!

Surfs up! Also, as always, Tassy is losing it.

Balinese are Hindus, not Muslims like the majority of Indonesians. Their culture differs from the Muslims whereby they make offerings every morning in front of their homes and/or workplaces for their safety and protection against harm. Thats what I got out of our tourist guide anyways...

Meet my dad and my bro with a mo. Taken at the Uluwatu temple, 70 metres above the Indian Ocean. The temple is behind me -- in ruins.

The Uluwatu temple grounds had so many cheeky little monkeys reknown for snatching personal belongings off tourists! I had a large male monkey have a go at my bright sandals! Thank God our guide came well prepared with an umbrella. Thats right, jot it down -- monkeys fear umbrellas...

The one thing Dad wanted to do in Bali was to eat Babi Guling (roast pig) at Ibu Oka's. He had seen Anthony Bourdain visit the place on the Food and Travel channel and so we ALL had to eat the many weird bits of a roast pig for lunch that day. 

Studio Ghibli much? I find the frogs at the corners so 'Spirited Away'! This temple is at Lake Bedugul, which is located in the mountainous areas of North Bali. Its like a little hill-resortlike place in the tropics with the temperature there being cooler than the lowlands (a bit like the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia). The water levels were high that day from the overnight rain, or else it would've been possible to walk across to the temple. My favourite place in Bali because it is so magical! :D

Among the many things I love in this world are bright colours!

 

Young boys making a living by selling kites at Tanah Lot. These kites are cool because they give the best silhouttes! :

This one brings back childhood memories of Peter Pan! :) 

 

Four days was definitely not enough for me to get a good trip out of Bali, simply because I am that kind of tourist that will read up on every single piece of history in a museum, explore every back alley, and then do it all over again. Needless to say, I'm definitely going back! This time with less bright sandals and I AM BUYING THAT GODDAMN RAINBOW-COLOURED UMBRELLA!

left back in time, xo

PS: Thank you DS. Utomo and Ellie for the recent follow! :)

ಌasaurus

I was gifted a set of Avant Cards by my bestie Nadia a few days ago and I am in love with this one called 'Loveasaurus' by Amelia Kelso from Twinkle! She's got a little story behind her cute piece of work too! Hence, I am very honoured to have her follow the blog. Thanks so much for the follow, Amelia!

          

The strangest thing was receiving this postcard after bff Amir confessed his obsession for dinosaurs as a kid, just the night before!

The Bali post is coming along nicely, except that it needs a lot of trimming! It will be out this weekend. I promise :) Meanwhile, here are some of the updates from my time in Malaysia and post arrival at Canberra:

• i had an absolutely priceless time catching up with besties yuv from the chronicles of the yuv and evelyn from evelyn unplugged back in malaysia.
• i attended my high school reunion only to be reminded that i am aging. rapidly.
• chinese new year didn't feel as celebratory as being home with family and friends! :)
• i have a  marital lawyer in singapore as a friend and you simply cannot imagine the kind of stories he has to share! no names mentioned, of course.
• oh, and i forgot to check out of my room at the halls before i left for the long break, and so i had to pay three weeks worth of rent for no one. it did however save me the trouble of packing and unpacking and a lot of shifting around!
• nadia has just left for malaysia today and won't be back for a month or so and i will be missing her :( with that said, good friend kevin will be back in canberra tomorrow.
• i have been sneaking around my floor at the halls to avoid running into the newcomers from this semester, although i think i am the only one 'new' to them after missing out on o-week and the welcome wagon last month.
• i am excited about meeting up with bestie nivi this coming wednesday. we're having dinner, then attending a talk given by the raja petra kamarudin at the anu campus!

I have to admit, I haven't blogged for so long that I have forgotten how homey this place feels! I have missed you lot so much! 

I promised my supervisor I'd do a little errand for him at the lab today, but I will be back to catch up on lost time!

much love from the southern hemisphere! xo