This was as close to the jockeys I got.. 

Jockey in action! 

We had all kinds of race hair accessories covered, hairband, hat and facsinators 

Under that smile I was thinking..hurry up take the picture I very cold!!!! 

Charmaine, Daphne and myself at the end of the races 

There is Only One Reason Why I go to the Spring Races: The Girls

Melbourne Cup, according to the newspaper is 'the race that stops the nation.' Alot of horses, alot of jockeys and alot of beautiful and drunk people in pretty cocktail dresses and fancy hats sitting on picnic mats in all kinds of obscene positions eating chips and chugging champagne. It is an excuse for girls to dress like a lady but act like homeless tramp. I was sitting cross-legged in a cocktail dress, so I was very in tune with that aspect of racing culture. People are suppose to go there to bet on horses, but I think the real reason why people are there is to pick up. When else would you ever have a massive racecourse full of men in suits, women who are inadequately covered, all are drunk, and it is bright daylight so you do get to see how they look like and a good pick up line to do with horses.

As ditzy as this sounds, I was there to check out the fashion scene. To gwak at pretty dresses and hats that I can't afford. It is almost like a fashion show with some faux pau in the middle. Some things I learned: never wear a translucent skin coloured chiffon dress with no bra. Never wear a polka dotted hair band, coat and dress at the same time. Never wear leggings under a pretty cocktail dress no matter how cold it is. Always tape up when wearing a plunging neckline. There is a difference between suggestive clevage and hello mama. And finally, words from the mouth of the drunk lady who was chatting with us, there is a difference between dressing to go clubbing and dressing for the races. One assumes more quiet dignity than the other.


I however failed in my mission to bet on a horse. I had it down to bet on delta blue since it was the first time I saw a Japanese jockey and pop rock cuz i like the pop rock sweet. But the line at the betting booth was too long. And both horses won! dammit.

Still it was pretty fun. We met a couple of drunk ladies and froze all the way through the race wishing that I had brought socks and a winter jacket. That's the price you pay for being vain.

The Aliens are Coming! - Thanks Jus for the correction!

I dreamt last night that my honour's thesis proposal got rejected because they didn't think it was cool enough. And I was trying to convince them how 'cool' my topic was and they weren't buying it. Now everyone knows how incredibly nerdy I am. Feel free to throw rocks at the geek.

I also spent 2 hours frying up tempura shrimp and veggies and throwing away all the shrimp after that because it smelled funny and felt like an amputated finger left in salt water for a very long time. It smelled exactly like how it felt.

Now I'm listening to The Hills Are Alive as I embark on yet another essay. The fourth one in two weeks. I can't wait for next monday to come when its gonna be all over and I am going to be at the Melbourne Cup so high on campagne that I will bet my next year's tuition fees on the oldest horse with the fattest jockey on the racecourse and scream "Go Donkey GO!' throughout the race. Sigh.

Comfort Food is....

Chicken soup made with carrots, potatoes, onions, mushroom and lots of pepper.
Sambal eggplant.
Chicken curry.
Avocado.
Pan-fried dumplings.
KFC.
Thick soggy fries.
Milo.
Chocolate.
Gummy bears.
Pie.
Ham and cheese sausage.
Pate and crackers.
Nasi Lemak.

The Finals Fashion Victim

I envy people who are able to look glamorous during the exam period and winter. Once Swot Vac approaches, I live in sweat pants, my ratty “got-it-free-when-applying-for-bank-account” tshirts and my “never-see-the-world” before fleece jumpers. Anything food-stained and vaguely pajamasy crawls onto me while I forsake normal shoes for bright pink rubber slippers even though it obviously doesn’t match green thai pants or the cold weather. Occasionally, I wear my IH jumper or my Upenn hoodie, and that’s a high fashion day. I roll out of bed and walk straight out into the world while everyone else bothers to put on a pair of jeans at least. I suddenly forget how to use conceler or powder and the only beauty products in my vocab currently are: shower gel, toothpaste and shampoo. People keep asking me if I’m stressed or tired. Not really. You are just seeing me sans make up. And then of course there is the consumption of large amounts of junk food while studying. I polished off half a kg of gummy bears, sour hearts and chocolate balls through the weekend, and now I’m on to my next chocolate bar. It is not stress eating. The concept of stress eating gives me an excuse to eat.

I can’t wait for the 7^th of Nov where everything is over, I can take a long shower, put on a pretty frock, dust off my make up collection and attend the Melbourne Cup bright and sparkly.

Things that pissed me off in the news today...

A pole dancing kit for girls 4-6 year old has just been launched in the UK. What the..? The toy kit which promises to help little kids "unleash the sex kitten inside" includes a pole, sexy gear and a dvd showing little girls how to make suggestive and sexy moves.

Seriously, which depraved parent is going to buy that for their children? And which depraved person came up with that idea?

And I thought the padded bras for girls under 10 was bad enough.

And then there was the Muslim cleric who said women in immodest clothing aka not wearing the hijab invited sexual assault. He claims the 4 women who were ganged raped in 2000 invited it upon themselves because they were not covered up.

"He said there were women who "sway suggestively" and wore make-up and inappropriate clothes, "and then you get a judge without mercy (rahma) and gives you 65 years".

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat," the sheik asked.

"The uncovered meat is the problem."

"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijib (head scarf), no problem would have occurred."

So, in 2005, two pastors were hauled to court over vilifying statements against Muslims, but in the cleric's case, he was given a warning when what he said was vilifying against ALL women. Why is it for the christian case, it was judged by a court, and for his case, he was only judged by seniors in the Mosque. Someone tell me there isn't inconsistency here.

I am all for multiculturalism, and my internship at the Ethnic Communities Council Victoria opened up my eyes to the need for everyone to be sensitive to the beliefs of others. Note: Sensitive. I am happy that town councils have special times in the day where the public bath and pools are women only. I am all for neighbourhood centres having women only activities. I am glad there are laws against assaulting a woman in her traditional hijab. And I am glad for translation services across most public services. And I am happy the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act is here and standing. However, there is a tension between freedom of speech and multicultural sensitivity, and it has to work both ways. Fanatics from both sections of society have to be disciplined. There is a difference between appreciation for the freedom to wear any traditional/ethnic clothing including the burka in the public, and closing down nude beaches, and getting assaulted for suntanning in your bathers just because it offends the staunch religious fanatic. It is the same theory. I will not force my neighbour to eat meat if he is vegetarian, but it will not stop me from eating meat on the same table as him. If he wants, he can get up and leave. Just as I, as a guest in Australia, know that I should never be physically or verbally assaulted for my race, but if something in the society, for e.g people saying Good Day Mate, offends me so much, I should pack up and leave instead of expecting them to stop saying it.

Maybe what he said was indeed taken out of context. No doubt, I don't believe in the objectivity of the media. But if you want others to watch their speech around you, you have to watch your speech around others too.

And of course there is the case of the girl who was sexually assaulted and filmed on DVD. I don't even want to start on that...it makes my blood boil.

Last Day Maybe?

It has been a long time since I just sat down and talked with a group of friends with the same struggles and fears as me. Shivering in the wind, and back into the closed Barettos, we chatted and confided and open up our minds to the things beyond us that bothers us. Are we going home? Back to the country that put us here. Are we going back to change things? Can we change things? What about the world's poor? Are we staying? Are we succumbing to our position as second class citizens? Faith, religion, politics and humanity. It was a good way to end my possibly last day of my undergraduate life.

Dumbass.

Right now I am just overwhelmed. Yes that's what happens when you are silly enough to pick up 6 different projects during the final semester into honours year, when grades do count. Not doing that again. My brain has been separated into a thousand post-it notes, each screaming for attention. Prioritising is hard when the thing that needs your immediate attention is not the most important but necessary to get done because of time sensitivity. On the 6th of Nov I am just going to sit on the beach and stone for my sanity. And kick myself for being an idiot and bringing it upon myself.

Oh shit.

I was happily in la-la "I'm not graduating till next year cuz I'll be doing honours" land, until suddenly the last few days an avalanche of graduatesque fell on me. Over the weekend I was talking to Fang and Sne about it. Today i spoke to Ven who persuaded me to graduate this year. I checked my email and found my "Please Declare Your Major" form. Five minutes ago and munching on my ham and cheese sausage, I bumped into Anna who is facing the same issue.

Everyone who is applying for honours have the same worries. Will I or will I not get into honours? Will I be eligible for it? What if I do screw up?

I am banking 100% of my life on getting into honours. I am shifting my graduation ceremony to next year, I am booking a flight back to extend my visa and I am not applying for any jobs. So if I do screw up, I will have no job, 3 months in Australia to find one and missing out the chance to graduate with my friends. And that is a very foolish decision. I have exactly 50% chance of getting into honours. My grades are teetering on the minimum requirement. This is the first time in my life I am playing with chance, and for someone who books hotel rooms for Dec in Aug, this is the first time I have no idea what is going to happen next year.

Ice cream, Chris, Amma and I in Floriade...Chris looking slightly out of place among the flowers... 

Amma and I at Floriade, the highlight of Canberra as Amma puts it 

Part of the Tent Embassy Protest for Aboriginal Rights outside old Parli house 

Old parliament house in front of new parliament house 

Falun Gong Protesters outside Parliament House

Parliament House in Canberra, where all the activity happens 

Meeting with MP for Melbourne, Lindsay Tanner...and that's Stephen and Toby