The Semester Ends

Well... been in Monash for 4 months and I managed to survive =)

Kudos to the comfort food that I found:

San Francisco Coffee's Extreme Chocolate =)

Mango, sago and caramel pudding in mango soup =)

Caramel centered waffles and chocolate coated waffles from Amsterdam =)

Heaven Set from Wong Si Nai's =)

They make me feel rejuvenated and happy.

I come home everyday to sit in front of To-chan reading articles, typing notes, doing research, writing assignments and study. It has since become a routine and even now when the semester is over, I can't shake off the habit.

Well, I suppose it's a good thing.

Then, there were the girls:

Leng lui Hanny

Fierce woman Aman-geetha, blur queen CF, cute Steph and Meow KarYan.

And the pink dolphin, of course.

Don't know how I could have survived without them. Especially when my stupid Management assignment team mates purposely missed discussion sessions, did not finish work on time and basically shirk off most of their responsibilities.

My girls were there to witness me put on a tearful drama in front of half of the library. How I started tearing and gradually reduced to sobs because of those 2 not being able to finish work on time.

End of story: they couldn't finish it by the deadline.

Since it's a group assignment, we have to submit only 1 report which means their marks = my marks. Their folly = my punishment.

A little something I did with a friend, MayLing, which I consider as an achievement -- covering the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas! solidarity walk story for journalism assignment.

Save Malaysia Stop Lynas! solidarity walk.

We were both so excited to see so many police officers assembled outside the Australian High Commission. Even more excited to see the red FRU engines parked along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.

It was memorable. I remember the fidgeting, the sweating, the interviewing and the filming. Ended up with sore arms and feet, smelly shirts and wet hair. Been sandwiched between reporters, photographers and videographers. Interviewed some 'big' people. Got some valuable footage.

Thank you God for keeping all of us safe. Thanks so much to MayLing who did all the contacting and inviting me to join her. Thanks to JiaWei who helped me with my piece-to-camera. Thank you so much to Mr. Vincent Jiam from Save Malaysia, Mr. James Nayagam from Suhakam, and all the participants from Kuantan who gladly allowed us to interview them.

My news report, if you're interested: http://vimeo.com/24246047

In my opinion, I think I benefited most from Journalism. Not only was it challenging, it allowed a hands-on, practical experience in the field. Slammed doors and cold shoulders were part of the experience (I even got a very discouraging e-mail from a potential interviewee), but that just goes to teach you how difficult working life is.

At least ChinHuat won't fire me if I did some minor mistake.

ChinHuat himself is a very good lecturer. I think I'll only be seeing him for this year. He's not teaching Journalism Law or Economic Reporting. But wow. What a semester the class had with him.

Right now I'll keep him in my prayers for the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9. I had wanted to cover the story for experience with Mr. Sunny, but got scared and further frightened by my home fellowship leader and parents. Yes, I am gut-less. But I'll start with the really peaceful protests and then maybe venture to a higher level.

In fact, all my lecturers are awesome. Dr. Yeoh, our own Lord Vader. He says the most... un-sangka-ble things. Dr. Helen, who is always so nice and helpful, and who gave me my first ever HD. Dr. Elaine, who told us so many funny stories of her life in Japan. Dr. Loh, who gives me that knowing yet sinister smile that says, "I know why you're approaching me with puppy dog eyes."

Ah. The semester ends. Peace on earth.

No.

Until the results are out on July 11, then only I'll have peace.