Saturday, April 30, 2005

Falling like rain..

This month has been like a roller-coaster ride for me! Everything happened so fast, I just hope I am able to grasp each precious moment & held tight against me. It was a life changing experience with no regrets at all, definitely. So for this month's song of the month, I wanted to put the theme song for the road trip, Thristy Merc's 'In the summertime'. But somehow, I figured that Anthony Callea's 'Rain' would be a better choice (As according to my good ol' 'supervisor' neighbour, Emma! Hehe). So yeah, enjoy the song:

Rain- Anthony Callea

I remember when we met,
before I was invisible.
I thought I'd play it hard to get,
pretend I'm unapproachable.
But somebody else came along and
took all the chances that I missed.
Stuck on the sideline I keep thinking 'there she goes'...

Falling like rain...
No, I don't get to hold her tonight.
Falling like rain...
I was pushed to the back of the line.
'Cause even though I need her love and crave her touch,
I guess I wasn't fast enough.
She's falling like rain,
Just not for me.
Not for me, no, no...

Why I took the longest road
I'll have to plead insanity.
It's like my pride put on a show
and didn't sell a single seat.
While I was talking in riddles,
somebody else made perfect sense.
Stuck on the outside I keep thinking 'there she goes'...

Falling like rain...
No, I don't get to hold her tonight.
Falling like rain...
I was pushed to the back of the line.

'Cause even though I need her love and crave her touch,
I guess I wasn't fast enough.
She's falling like rain,
Just not for me.
Just not for me.

What do you do, what do you say
when the best thing has passed you by?
Where do you go, how do you know,
if she'll come back another time?

(She's falling like rain)
Falling like rain...
(She's falling like rain)
Ooh oh oh...
(She's falling like rain)
Falling like rain...
(She's falling)
She's falling...
(She's falling like)
Rain...
(No I dont get to hold her tonight)
Won't get to hold her...
(Falling like rain)
Falling like rain...
(I was pushed to the back of the line)
Pushed to the back of the line.
(Cause even though I need her love)
Need her love...
(and crave her touch)
I guess I wasn't fast enough.
(She's falling like rain)
Just not for me.
She's falling like rain...

Friday, April 22, 2005

A Day of Celebration!


baby nursoraya..so bulat! Posted by Hello

Today was definitely a good day to celebrate. My latest cousin #39, Nursoraya was born today after Friday prayers! Yeay! Now Sarah & Cici has a new baby sister, and Aunty Mah officially has 3 little PowerPuff Girls at home! Everyone said that she looks exactly like Cici. Alah, mesti Chomel! Uncle Mac, please please send MORE pics soon!! Can't wait..

Well, that's not the only reason that this is a joyous day to celebrate. I just find out that I got a distinction for my Numeracy summer school course! Alhamdulillah! There were only 4 people who got distinction for the course, and I'm one of them! Oh wow, I was over the moon! Syukur alhamdulillah.. what a good start for the year! I just hope I can maintain for my other courses as well, insyallah..

With me being so happy on this day, Adil suggest that we should go to Pancake house & celebrate. Actually, there was another reason to celebrate..but hmm, lets just say that it is to celebrate of that 'special two'. (nope, its not me, sorry!). So yeah, what a happy happy day! =)

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Aunty Na's visit to Adelaide..

My dearest neighbour, Emma Singapore's aunty, Aunty Na, came to visit us in Adelaide this week. She's so sweet & tiny for her age! hehe.. As always, I had to be the official tour guide for the both of them, since Emma is still not familiar with Adelaide (well, I dont mind, since I'm getting free food out of it! hehe)So, we went around the city, Central Market, of course Rundle Mall, ate at Mekong Thai & Pancake House. There was one evening that Emma cooked dinner at my place, so that was yummy! We also took a took a bus to Hahndorf (I went to Hahndorf 2 weeks in a row!) and the usually strawberry picking & scenary picture taking sessions. Aunty Na loves cats, so we tooks pics of Dida & Kaka the night before she left to Singapore. Overall, I was a good tour guide, right Emma? hehhe... ;)


Meen, Aunty Na & Emma in the city.. Posted by Hello


Emma, whats for dinner, huh? Posted by Hello


my new best guy buddy, Adil.. Posted by Hello


"lea" (lunch+tea) at Hahndorf Posted by Hello


I have a baby teddy bear..la la la Posted by Hello


"Love is here to stay " Posted by Hello


Aunty Na & Dida.. Posted by Hello


with the seductive eyes Kaka! Posted by Hello

Monday, April 18, 2005

Eyre Peninsular Road Trip

The next day after my sleep over at Syar's crib, I decided to follow Mai back home to upload some pics. Amy was about to leave to go to Habour town with her other housemates, so Mai & I conquered her laptop for awhile. While we were uploading, Amy's cuz, Adil, messaged her on msn. I innocently replied his message & told him that Amy has gone out. We chatted a little, and then later he casually came up with the subject of going for a road trip. He and some of his friends wanted to go to Eyre Peninsular, which was the other side of South Australia for a 4 day 3 nights trip, and he invited me to join them! I was shocked by the invitation as I only knew him barely a month, and joining and his friend could be risky. What shocked me even more was that he was willing to pay for my expenses first (I had some financial restriction at that time)! After lots of convincing & persuasion, I finally agreed to go, to this last-minute invitation. I was really excited, and I have an assignment due on the day we leave. So, for that entire weekend, I devoted my time to finish this assignment in order for me to go for this trip. (The things I put myself through! sighh..) I just hope that its all worth it..

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Day 1- April 11th

Monday morning..April 11th. I only slept 30 minutes the night before, and by the time Adil arrived with the rented car, my eyes were swollen, and I looked like a tired old lady! (Adil came late by the way due to some technical problems..) In the car, it was the first time I met Haz, a first year economics student who happened to be a close friend of Adil's. The other person, Ina, who happens to be Haz's housemate couldn't make it to the trip. So, there were 2 girls, 1 guy, and an unknown journey to the Eyre Peninsular.

We chatted in the car for the first 1 hour, then the next thing I know, I was laying at the back of the car, nicely wrapped up with my jacket. That was when Adil said "We're at Port Augusta, Meen.. You've slept for 2 hours straight." Wow, I didn't even realized that I felt asleep! Talked about tiredness! Anyway, we dropped by at the Information Centre, and then continued our journey to Whyalla. Since I was fresh & awake, I volunteered to drive next. Haz took her turn to sleep, while Adil accompanied me to drive.

At Whyalla, we stopped at this tourist spot where there was an old Ship (from the war times I reckon). Feeling really hungry (it was 4 plus), we stopped at Ada Ryan, a 'garden' overlooking the Spencer Gulf. We had my nasi goreng (which was cooked the night before =D). After our 'lunch+ tea' meal, we headed to the UniSA's Whyalla campus, which I happen to be proud of! I reckon it is the smallest campus among all the UniSA campuses. (mental note: now I have to go to UniSA's Mawson LakesCampus so that I could say "I have been to all of the UniSA campuses!") Finally in Whyalla, I insisted that we go the Flinders & Freycinet Lookout, which just happend to be statues of 2 skinny men who made history in SA. The statues were located on top of the hill, overlooking the upper Spencer Gulf, and we saw the beautiful sunset there. Next stop, Port Lincoln!

I continued driving all the way to Port Lincoln, which took about 4 hours of driving. It was a lonely & dark 2 way road, so it was quite dangerous at some point. But all of us talked & talked, and listened to CDs, so we were alright. At 9pm, we reached our not-so-exciting-looking hostel and after some planning for the next day, we dozed of by midnight.


The ship of Whyalla.. Posted by Hello


overlooking the Spencer Gulf Posted by Hello


Welcome to UniSA Whyalla campus! Posted by Hello


Meet Mr Flinders & Mr Freycinet .. Posted by Hello


Sunset at Whyalla.. Posted by Hello


Crusing mode..meen style! Posted by Hello
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Day 2- April 12th

After everyone has awakened & freshen up, we decide to take a walk to the Information centre at the town of Port Lincoln. It was such a peaceful & quiet town, nothing like our ordinary Adelaide. As we were walking along the road, we saw a play ground not very far from the Jetty. So, we all pretended to be 5-year-olds, playing with the swings & see-saw & such. (Not to mention the macho-pirates pose on the boat!) hehe..

It was such a beautiful day, with studio-blue cloudless sky. We drove right up to Winter's Hill, a very beautiful lookout of the entire Port Lincoln from the top. It was really windy as well, but the view was magnificent. Haz wanted to go to the Glenforest Wildlife Park, which was just nearby that area. A little kangaroo greeted us upon arrival, and her buddy dog was also excited to see us coming in. The wildlife park was really tiny compared to the many that I've been, but it was nice & cozy to walk around. We saw a couple of bunnies first, then we saw some koalas, yaks, pigs (really ugly ones!), chickens, ducks, goats.. and finally, we headed to the bird farm where we spent most time in. We bought some bird food, so I guess you could say that we feed the birds rather well!

Next stop was Elliston, where we took lots of pics at their Great Ocean View (something like Melbourne's Great Ocean Road concept, smaller scale version). We could see some surfers doing their thing from where we were, wishing that we could surf the ocean as well. Venus Bay was our next destination, and we were there for just for awhile (we liked the name, so we just wanted to stop there for awhile). Final stop for the day was Streaky Bay, where we again had our 'lunch-tea' meal at around 4 plus. Before that, we went to Stewarts Shell Roadhouse to see the display of the world's largest white pointer shark caught on road & reel by Dion Gilmore in 1990 using only a 50 pound line over 5 hours to land. The shark was 5 meters long, and weighs 1520 kg! How freaky was that! As for the name 'streaky bay', I reckon that it was named after the streaks of sun light during sunset, which was absolutely beautiful. We then drove all the way to Ceduna & reached our Backpackers hotel at around 8 plus. The owner of the hostel was really nice, and we got the entire place to ourselves! (it wasn't a peak season, so there were no other visitors) So, we lepak-ed at the lounge area, played UNO cards, listened to good music & just chilling all night long.


at the Jetty of Port Lincoln Posted by Hello


We are came, we saw, we conquere...Pirates Ahoy!! Posted by Hello


swing..swing..like a little child.. Posted by Hello


overlooking Port Lincoln from the peak of Winter's Hill Posted by Hello


We're on top of the world! Posted by Hello


our baby bunnies! Posted by Hello


2 birds on one hand.. Posted by Hello


feeding the birds.. Posted by Hello


the beautiful scenary of Elliston Posted by Hello


the shadow masters.. Posted by Hello


the Great Oceon View.. Posted by Hello


Man are from Mars, and we are on Venus Bay... Posted by Hello


cruising together.. Posted by Hello


the 5 meter long Shark! Posted by Hello



sunset at Streaky Bay.. Posted by Hello
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Day 3- 13th April

Looking at the map, we saw this place called 'Denial Bay'. Wanting to go there, I packed breakfast & we drove to the bay. Apparently, it was named 'Denial Bay' due to some person who denies the declaration of the island, or something like that. Who cares, it's such a cool name for a bay! Hehe.. Today was a quite cloudy, but we had breakfast on the jetty anyway. We then headed to Ceduna town centre, where there were so many Aboriginal people around. We saw some crossroad signs at a round-a-bout, and Ceduna is 781km from Adelaide. Perth was 1964km from Ceduna, so we are considering our next roadtrip to Perth one day! We wanted to go to the boarder of Western Australia (WA) & South Australia (SA), which was only 487km from Ceduna. But, due to money & time constrain, we had to forgo the idea. Next time then, I hope!

Instead of going downwards to Port Lincoln, we drove across the map heading towards Port Augusta. It was mainly deserts and dry land, so it wasn't much of a view. If I could describe this road trip in colours, it would be Brown, Red & a little Green, because that the scenery that we often see while on the road. It started to pour a little, so Adil had to slow down on his driving.

We reached Kimba, a little town with a population of 600 people. (Such a tiny town!) We headed for the lookout, which was a little different from our usual ocean view. It was mainly land & trees, again the brown & green colours came in mind. We also saw the Big Galah, a huge bird as a landmark of the town. By then, it really started to pour, so we had to continue our journey back on the road. Adil & I felt a little tired, and decided to sleep while Haz drove. About 1 hour plus later, she woke us up as we have arrived Port Augusta, in advance that is! She drove 200km/h on the road while both of us were soundly asleep! Oh well, at least we reached there safe & sound.. and, for the 3rd day in a row, we had our 'lunch-tea' meal, but this time it was nearing sunset, at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens in Port Augusta. Since we were already 300km to Adelaide, we decided to go to my crash at my place for the night. I drove back to Adelaide this time, and we dropped by at Dairy Bell located at North Adelaide and had yummy ice-cream at 9pm! Then by around 10.30pm, we were back in Magill.. Home sweet home!


breakfast at Denial Bay's jetty Posted by Hello


we're all in denial! Posted by Hello


Next trip, Perth? Posted by Hello


the place where we stayed, Ceduna Greenacres Backpackers.. Posted by Hello


Thank you, come again.. Posted by Hello


my trademark burger folder on the road.. Posted by Hello


the league of extraordinary people =) Posted by Hello


a reflection of me.. Posted by Hello


hail the statue of Meen the Great.. Posted by Hello


the scenaric view of Kimba Posted by Hello


the three stooges Posted by Hello


the Big Galah.. Posted by Hello


we're here again at Port Augusta... Posted by Hello


nasib si Do-Re-MeeN.. Posted by Hello


lunch/dinner at the Botanic Garden Posted by Hello


at the entrance of Botanic Gardens Posted by Hello


the yummy delicious Dairy Bell ice-creams! Posted by Hello

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Day 4- 14th April

Since we were back from the trip a day earlier, we decided to make full use of the car. So, we decided to drive to Hahdorf, a popular old German town located just outside of Adelaide. We went to Beerensberg Strawberry Farm first for strawberry picking! We cheated by bringing an empty bag & putting the strawberries that we had first round in the bag, and paid half the price that we were supposed to pay! Hehe.. We then headed to the town itself, which was surrounded by beautiful autumn leaves everywhere & took lots and lots of pictures. Since were we already at the South side of Adelaide, and it was a late night shopping day for suburbs, we drove to Marion Shopping complex & lepak! Adil & Haz did some shopping, and I bought Thristy Merc's latest single 'In the Summertime', the official song for the road trip! Hehe..


At the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm Posted by Hello


I feel like a Stawberry Shortcake.. Posted by Hello


erm, dont bite my fingers now.. Posted by Hello


yes, I stuffed her underground! muhahhaa.. Posted by Hello


Autumn in Hahndorf Posted by Hello


Queen Meen on her throne.. Posted by Hello


ride away with MeeN... Posted by Hello
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Day 5- 15th April

It was Adil's idea for us to for Crabbing at Henley Beach. And we did, from 7.30am till 11.30am, from Henley Beach & Grange Beach, with NO luck at all! Most of the time, we chatted in the cold sea breeze, and feeling sleepy & tired due to non-stop movie sessions at home. In the end, we only managed to catch an endangered fish, which was so colourful and looks like Nemo's friend, and a little crab, which was smaller than 11cm in width. So sadly, we had to throw the crab & fish back in the sea. Sigh.. Sadly, we're not eating crab tonight, but it was an experience anyway..

In the afternoon, we tried to recover our sleep debt by sleeping (duh).. then for sunset, we drove to the top of Kensington road, where we could see (almost) the whole of Adelaide (not as high as Mount Loufty, but has a view). Adil decided to drive to Al-Khalil mosque, the biggest mosque in South Australia located at the north-western suburbs. The inside of the mosque was beautiful, which a 'Kaabah' picture & all. Alrighty, so for this year's raya, I know where to go for Raya prayers. =)


The crabbing gears Posted by Hello


showing off my professional crabbing throw.. Posted by Hello


the tired-sleepy-restless trio Posted by Hello


our "waiting" pose Posted by Hello


"Hey look, I see a Seafood restaurant..wanna go there instead?" Posted by Hello


this is what we caught..a small crab, and an endangered fish.. Posted by Hello


Sunset at Adelaide city Posted by Hello


my favourite trio photo with Adil & Haz Posted by Hello

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Ok, officially, our so-called 'Road trip' (including the times we were in Adelaide itself) was a 5 days trip. So on Saturday, Adil & Haz headed back home, and so-called 'back to our lives'. But NO, on Sunday, they surprised me at night by visiting me again, and they ended up staying at my place for the whole of second week of holidays! So overall, I was seeing them for 14 days straight! Haha.. But, I didn't mind. They 'claimed' that they wanted a new environment to study, and they 'love' my place. So yeah, it was fine with me!

Remember at the start of this entry, I was saying that "I'm taking a risk by going to this road trip"? But hey, I think the risk was REALLY worth it! Not only I found 2 new fond buddies, I got myself a new best guy friend (after 3 years..fyuuhh!), but also I had an amazing experience that I couldn't possible imagine I could have. I thought this autumn break was going to be a dull & boring one, but it turns out to be one of the best times in my life. A little roller coaster, I would say! Hehe.. I owe it all to Adil, who invited me for this memorable trip, and Haz, who helped plan for this road trip to happen. A big THANX for the both of you! May there be more adventures/ road trips in the future! =)

" ..everything is gonna be alright in the summertime.." -Thirsty Merc


Meen's work in Haz's big BArt book Posted by Hello