So, it’s finally the big day! ChocSoc’s first event… Yay!

My phone rang when I was on my way there… when I was stopped at a red
light on a slope. I guess it could be more awkward if it wasn’t a red
light. It was actually quite easy to find the San Churro even though I’ve never been into that street before, and it was convenient that there was a sign to which I could chain my bike right outside. (There was a tree too, but it seems kind of awkward to chain my bike to a tree.)

At the beginning, everyone just stood around at the doorway. It was actually kind of funny…

Later on, more people arrived, and everyone started looking at all the chocolates they have on offer…

It was actually a while before we started ordering, but look what they have at San Churro… The classic chocolate shake is really thick (it’s not really like a “milkshake” nor an “iced chocolate” from other cafés… I wonder what this would be called in other places?), and it’s the kind that made you more thirsty when you drink it. Just that alone would actually be enough, but I ordered a Tapas as well. The fried chocolate is really good. The brownie is good too but it’s not really that special.

I actually went walking around with my friends after eating all that chocolate. (Wouldn’t want to ride all the way home when I’m all bloated.) Yay for randomly taking videos of ourselves! xD

After all that, I went all the way home on my bike. I’m so out of shape. I used to be able to ride all the way home without pulling over onto the pavement, but now I actually ride on the pavement when going uphill (after crossing the bridge, not in the city). I don’t know if it’s because I need more practising or if I need more rest. (Then again… at least I can still ride all the way home.)

Yay! C’est les vacances! (Yes, I still like that song. So catchy… xD)

After finishing the exams yesterday, I actually stayed around on campus with my friend for a while before riding my bike home and then going out again by train. It was a good idea that I didn’t have the bike with me in the city because I ended up staying out until 10 or so.

Waiting for my friends in the city can actually be quite awkward. A random person came up and asked “Where are you from?”. O.o

My legs are still sore from riding my bike all the way home yesterday (after not cycling much during the exam period). I need to get back in shape. Going to the gym just isn’t enough…

Still, I’m so glad that exams are over! That’s it for the year…

First day of exams and I have a clash…

I got seat number 1 for today’s exams. It’s the table right in front of the door. For normal classes I actually like sitting right in front of the door, but sitting there for an exam is awkward. The invigilators walk in and out, and their phones keep ringing too. Being the “clash room”, everyone in there is doing a different combination of exams, and other staff members have to keep calling the invigilators to inform them of the different arrangements needed for different people.

Staying in the room for lunch was the worst part. I don’t like being stuck in a room with so many people. It’s just weird being cramped up in a room like that. One of the invigilators actually announced that we were “under high security”. (Apparently, if anyone walked out and was seen, that “wipes out” the exam paper.) That was an awkward statement. Having to be “escorted” to the toilet was awkward too. It was actually kind of funny how the invigilators asked the whole room if anyone needs to go whenever someone goes (so they don’t have to make so many rounds) though. xD

The exams themselves weren’t too bad. LNGS1002 wasn’t something I’d worried about at all anyway, and at least the ELEC1103 exam wasn’t “multiple guess” for me. xD

Three more to go! Stats on Wednesday… I hate stats.

Rain has never really been much of a problem for me until now. I decided not to ride the bike yesterday and today because of the rain. This is the main problem with being so used to cycling. If it rains,
I’m in trouble. The roads are slippery when wet so it’s even more dangerous than usual, and yet I feel so bad when I don’t get to ride my bike. Yesterday I just felt a bit more sleepy than usual, but today I was feeling so bad that I thought about going home early. I couldn’t think as well as I normally do, and I just wanted to cry. (I managed not to do that.)

Well, I made it through the day, and it actually rained when the ELEC1103 lecture (the last one I have today) finished, and I was talking to a friend, and he ended up driving me home. It happened that he didn’t have an umbrella so we shared my umbrella on the way to his car. On the way out of the carpark, he addressed the person working at the exit as “mate”. So much for saying that he doesn’t say that term very often in the survey… xD (Oh well, at least he’s not one of the people who said that someone who uses “dude” is “the fish in Finding Nemo“. xD)

Quite a lot actually happened yesterday. I was done for the day with my classes at 12, but in the afternoon I went to CFR (Connectivity for Refugees), a programme where volunteers teach refugees how to use computers. (Well, in this case, asylum seekers, not refugees – there is a difference.) It was an interesting experience. There were two Chinese asylum seekers who didn’t speak much English (well, one of them spoke a little bit, but the other didn’t speak any), and they expected me to speak Chinese because I obviously look Chinese. I disappointed them because I didn’t speak Mandarin very well. My speech involved a lot of circumlocution, and I did some pointing and gestures too. Writing things down also worked pretty well, but I do realise that I don’t necessarily remember how to write all the characters, even if I can still read Chinese as quickly as (if not quicker than) I can read English. I still helped the first one a bit, and she managed to help the other one.

So much for following my friends around to their clubs and activities. I ended up going to the EU ISM (we definitely have acronym overload at USyd’s clubs and societies xD) as well. It’s not something I’m interested in at all, and I think that while it’s a good idea they explain everything in simple
words, sometimes it felt as if they were talking down on us. However, the people there were very friendly, and there were free snacks so it was still good.

The main reason why I went to the ISM was that I decided to go to the EWB meeting with my friend afterwards. There were members who are working, and they went there straight from work, so they were all wearing shirts and ties. I looked very conspicuous in my bright lime green jacket. It didn’t help that I happened to have rainbow scrunchies, a red top, a blue skirt, and colourful gum boots. EWB’s plans were interesting. After the meeting we went out for drinks (not that I drank much – I still have the typical problem of not being able to get drinks that I like – I can’t drink Coke because it keeps me up at night, I don’t like beer, the pub didn’t sell ginger beer, no iced chocolate either… how awkward xD), and we ended up talking for so long… I’m glad that I went though.

So, that’s it for this semester’s classes. Next week is stuvac. I’d better study more this time. Better not get into “conference mode” like last time. xD Not that anyone has time to Skype me now anyway.

I followed my friend to her lectures today. Both of them were actually pretty interesting. At least now I know that next year’s physics will actually be something I can look forward to. Following my friend around is actually quite a good idea.

I wasn’t so lucky with the lectures that I was actually supposed to attend. The three-hour power outage at Carslaw today made them really awkward. I had a torch, so I decided to “spotlight” one of the lecturers, and that actually turned out to be quite funny.

My cycling addiction seems to be getting worse. By now, there’s a part of me that wishes I’ve never started cycling. It’s almost as if I’m getting up in the morning just to ride the bike. It’s making me really tired, but I don’t want to stop…

Well, it’s “National Ride to Work Day”. I ride my bike everyday anyway… but it’s great to have some company on the Pacific Highway! Of course, the free food was good too. There were scones, bread, juice, muesli bars, coffee, and tea. I had some of everything except for coffee and tea. (Well, they had bottled water too, which I didn’t take either.) Maps and reflective snap-on bands were also given out. It was like a party!

There was a photographer taking instant photos for everyone to post on
the board. I was there quite early, so I had mine high up on the board.

The Mayor of North Sydney drew the raffle. I didn’t enter though.

The President of North Shore Bicycle Group announced that there is a plan to lobby for state funding to build an elevated cycleway to extend the existing Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway. I hope it really gets built. That would really be nice.

Towards the end, the bulletin board was filled. Apparently, there are people riding from Normanhurst to the CBD. Now that’s a long trip… O.o

Somehow, I was still hungry after my first tute today. xD

I also watched “Ratatouille” today. Yay for rats! I like the song towards the end too.

Come to think of it… I came home by train three days in a row because I stay out so late these days. Today, someone on the train did some kind of gesture to me and I thought he was trying to tell me to move, so I moved my bike. He proceeded to stroke my bike and gesture to me that it’s a nice bike. Later on he told me the name of the stop at which he needed to get off, and then I realised that he’ll need to get out of the doors on the left (which I usually stand near, because all the busy stops before it open the doors on the right). It was kind of awkward, but at least this person smiled at me and wasn’t trying to make trouble at all. Two guards actually happened to get on the train, and they started talking to that person and I explained what was going on. It turned out that he actually had sight problems, but because he was gesturing at me with his hands I thought he couldn’t hear either, so I just gestured back. He did have some difficulty speaking though.

What a day…

Come to think of it… it seems like a long time since I’ve posted anything here. I’ve been staying up late to finish assignments recently. I never thought I would do this. I take a long time to recover, because I already put enough strain on my heart riding the bike everyday, so when I don’t get enough sleep, I can really feel my heart beating faster than usual, and it’s really distressing. It’s actually good that I didn’t attempt to ride in both directions this week. I do still ride in the morning though. Before I get on the bike in the morning I often feel so miserable that I just want to go back to bed, but by the time I get past the uphill part of Pacific Highway, I feel so much better. By the time I arrive at the university, I’m awake and ready for class. I never thought that cycling would become so important to me.

Once again, Anne was the only one who turned up to my party.

The joke that I made on #ennui was almost true. In a way, the channel had a better party than I did.

Well, not really. I might not get to have a big party, but having a friend with me is enough.

Either way, I’m finally 18. (Apparently, someone was actually surprised to find out about this. xD)

In my ELEC1103 tutorial, there was a question that involved solving simultaneous equations. One of the tutors was writing the solution to that question on the board, and she was working through it on the spot (that is, not copying a pre-written solution). Only when she got to the end did she find out that she made a mistake somewhere, and she couldn’t find where the mistake was. She was so frustrated that she said she’ll give a dollar to the person who finds her mistake. One of my classmates asked if she could have a lolly instead if she found it, but the tutor didn’t have any. At the end, I  was the one who found the mistake and got the dollar. xD A dollar from my tutor! Who would’ve thought!

The lecture for that subject wasn’t too bad either. The instant assessment actually serves to be entertaining, especially when the lecturer picks a few names and none of them were actually there. It was also interesting to hear the things people say. Then again, it’s easy for me to say that. I knew the answer to every question that was asked.

Other than that, I’m glad it’s Friday. I didn’t ride my bike at all this week. I’m actually more tired this way. Yes, somehow, all the walking between the train station and the campus is actually more tiring than riding all the way there from my home. Well, not really. More like that I can’t sleep so well when I don’t ride my bike.

First of all…

Happy birthday to Leighann!

Luckily, I didn’t end up having 6 hours of ELEC1103 today. I left the tute early (as did most other people) because I finished all the questions, and then the lab wasn’t on either. The lecture was actually quite fun because of the instant assessment – I knew the answers to all the questions, but the lecturer didn’t pick me. It was surprising how many people didn’t turn up at all. Then again, there were probably people who didn’t turn up to the first lecture and didn’t know about it. xD There were also a lot of people who didn’t know the answers to really easy questions. This is the one subject where I don’t get to call out though. Even then, I think this instant assessment system will suit me.

What a surprise. I actually like this subject.

Three years of being an advice columnist… I still remember when I started the column after I saw a simple question without any answers. Ever since then, I’ve been there on and off. I still remember when Spacefem ran the site… and the whole handover,
and when DangerNerd frequented the #advicenators IRC channel.

Looking back through it, there is actually a pattern in my answers and the types of questions that I usually answer. Most of my answers are actually from 2005. There were quite a few “did I really say that?” moments when I looked through the 32 pages. There were also questions that I wonder why I answered. I even found a question that links to a certain topic that has been discussed multiple times on #ennui. It’s related to someone’s nickname too. I’m so glad that he’s unlikely to see the question, because it turns out that I said exactly what he didn’t want to hear to the questioner! (This was in February 2006, about half a year before I actually started going on #ennui.)

Because of this advice column, I’ve created accounts on quite a few sites. Let’s see… Myspace, Tagged, Facebook, YouTube… anything else? There might be more that I’ve missed. I’ve actually had this Xanga before I got the advice column, but I get a lot of Xanga questions too.

Other than that, I’ve met someone in my SOFT1001 tute that made me wonder what he’s doing there… I’m glad that I’ll have a chance to change to SOFT1901. xD