#363- Bitter's Tennis Expedition Day 1

Okay guys keep in mind that I wrote this in real time so some things are realised later

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Had and early flight with Jetstar and well I got barely an hour sleep. Took the first morning train to the airport and there were so many construction workers boarding as well. I feel sorry for them for having to wake up so early each and every single working day (I love my sleep). So we arrived at Avalon Melbourne which is one of two domestic airports but warning it is literally in the middle of nowhere because other than the airport there is no sign of civilisation. Taxis only come when there is a flight and that's pretty much it.

When we got to the CBD mum and I parted ways, I trekked through the city whilst making my way to the free tennis tram. BTW for anyone thinking of making their way to Melbourne, Mykis cost $6 for the card itself so you can borrow it from me. Walked from Spencer St to Flinders St where the first tram stop was and when the tram arrived at Melbourne Park I was so excited and gosh it finally setting in that I was actually at the Aus Open (yeah I'm a tennis fanatic). First I took photos outside the gate, then sightseeing inside before rushing to the practice courts because my man Nole was going to be there soon. So as I was there I saw a massive crowd forming and that could only mean one thing, he was coming. Ran to the designated seating area for his practice court and hehehe I skipped the queue ahead of some kids because it was only me that day. So I sat down in the front row of the upper seating with my hand ready. Ahh it felt so good to see him in person, he's so skinny, athletic, dashing, charming, funny - yes he cracked heaps of jokes that day and yeah he appreciates his fans.

Autograph story now:
So when Nole went to sign autographs he went to the other side first going up and down the court before making his way to my side only then he went to the other end of my side ): I was literally like 3 meters away from him, and well I wished he had come closer T^T

By then it was a bit past lunchtime and I looked at the food menus and shuddered everything costs like 150% more than RRP like a scoop of Connoisseur ice-cream costs $5 where a tub of it at Coles or Woolies is $7. Ended up buying nachos for $7.50 with sour cream, cheese and guacamole and I opted not for jalapenos(I felt that it was the most value for money). At this time I decided to cash in on my Rod Laver ticket since it had started to sprinkle and well RLA has a roof (: First match was the fifth seed Kerber, it was actually the first time I heard of her, yeah I don't really follow many tennis players other than those that I adore. Realised that my super crunchy nachos might have been a problem in a tennis match because of the noise I make when I eat especially.

Just a note, tennis is so much better in real life. THE ATMOSPHERE, nothing can describe it when you add the AusOpen crowd into the mix especially when you're on the edge of your seat when a ball just finds the line or scrapes over the net. Weird but I think the ball travels a tad slower in person than it does in person but nonetheless it's super fast, hard and mostly flat.

Watched Li Na's 3rd round match and managed to get her signature and after her match was Nole's <33333 I wanted to get his as well but I got turned away by the officials because they said that there were already too many little kids ):

Yay bought tickets for Sunday Night hoping for Maria and Nole to be on that session (little did I know that it would be Ana and Nole instead).
NB thank you to JB Hi-5 and Batter for trying to look out for me, unfortunately the camera never went to my side.

Photo time (Warning Spam)

 One of my happiest years of tennis when I tipped Maria and Nole to win the Championship from round 1. I supported them like crazy in each of their matches even when they weren't the favourite. First year that I began to be a devoted Nole fan.

That feeling when I saw that crowd

New addition to Melbourne Park

The reason why I came all the way to Melbourne, to support my man Djokovic

 That moment when I got rejected ): I still love you Nole

 Those clouds which went away after an hour or so

 End of first match, the person in yellow is Kerber

Singing Happy Birthday

 Li Na

 Nole (: 

More of my man

 His solid serve (:

 Ace- fail lines person

 Flag family

I love Nole and his brilliant eyes

If you reached this point then thank you! Hopefully I can write up day 2 tomorrow but till then

#362- Bon Voyage

Hi guys, Bitter here to revive our blog. I guess the title is aptly named seeing as we did have a rather long hiatus. Reason why? My Ipad has issues by that I mean that it's keyboard never appears on blogger and on Hotmail it appears and disappears so that I can only get at most one letter at a time and that's if I'm lucky.

To follow this, will be my travel diary so yeah loyal readers sorry and thank you for waiting patiently. Further photos will be available on facebook upon request.

Breaking the chain here but here's a quick update for those who are looking out for me on tv. I was on the practice courts and there were tv cameras there. Tomorrow ill be watching the night session ie joinig team Serbia so look out for 2 Serbian flags, not strictly the sides but the junction transitioning from the sides and the ends. Also I have a sunburnt nose ): glad I brought makeup just in case.

#361- My moment of glee

Well the past 24 hours has been quite tumultuous to say the least. I got my desired course so yes quite satisfied about that, I hope that I'll grow to like law and that my timetable is well spaced out (seeing others- those at unsw, makes me shudder at their lecture marathons).

I also got a scholarship and it's not a one-off payment but rather semester-ly for the rest of my studies, that is if I get a credit (65) or above (no biggie). I have to say that I love Australia's welfare system, the government takes very good care of us (: ...mostly.

Another thing... almost did not know of when my enrollment date was, thank you 365 friend for letting me know. I am eternally grateful to you along with Better who shall act as my proxy, wow I rarely use that word in fact I only ever hear of it in revenge which will be on hiatus again D;

Moving on (yup very disjointed post to reflect my day thus far), tennis this time, I have a ticket for Rod Laver Arena. Story is that the next day's schedule is released roughly at like 5 or 6 depending on how far into the tournament they are. So I went to Ticketek Parramatta today to pay cash in person so I could avoid any Credit card/debit card/eftpos surcharge meaning I would only be forced to pay the processing fee. Sadly the night session was already unavailable come mid-day, I was worried that they would should either Maria or Nole on at that time and I was right ): Whilst I cannot see Maria, Li Na and Nole will be playing on Centre Court tomorrow so look for me if they show in on TV which is a high probable because the only Australian left is Tomic and he will probably lose on Saturday to Federer, btw the semis for the 25th is already booked out Elisa. All-in-all I am content at the moment, very happy that Kerber is first up on RLA and not Nole or Li Na or else I might be pushed for time. Also wish me luck as I attempt to conquer Melbourne's public transport system, their myki (i.e. card that is used for everything and you just top in up) does not sit well with my inner Asian.

Go Nole and Maria for tomorrow I shall wave the Serbian flag proudly and hopefully someone will take photos with me or sign my stuff. Fingers Crossed!

PS- My Autograph tennis ball is going to look so peculiar tomorrow when I tweak it so I can dangle it without piercing a hole through it.

$360- Travel Diary IV

15/01/13: more relatives, yum cha, left HK! pearl milk tea craze (: and omgosh I have to voice my disgust yet again at Chinese etiquette  - it's close to non-existent!! ARGHHHH I wanna bitchslap everyone smoking on the streets, spitting and littering!!  >:( so rude!  

16/01/13: left GZ to fly to Shanghai! Second time getting a body pat down (very ticklish, kept giggling - I don't think the officers liked me and my sis very much ;P). A lot colder than GZ (around the same temp. or even lower than Tokyo), apparently it also snowed a little today as well. There's a very heavy fog around which I initially assumed was due to the coldness, but it turns out it's actually the air pollution D= yikesss well guess I won't be returning anytime soon? I really dislike how the CCP deny the environmental implications engulfing the country in order to maintain their public image, plus feeling a tad frustrated that not a lot of people give a damn about the worsening air pollution -__- not coping well with internet censorship!!! oh and yeah main round offers came out today - very happy I got my first choice, even though I didn't get any other offers! (:        

#359- Rant rant rant- Events Cinemas & Channel 7

OH MY BLOODY GOD

so friggen pissed about this shoddy company and by company I mean one of the oligopolies now known as Event Cinemas. They don't even have even a customer service number and guess what their store operators cannot tell you a single thing nor can they help you with anything that is minutely on the complex side of things. To make matters worse, the head office who is in charge of everything is only contactable via email or using their forum where you can post a question and patiently (?) wait for a reply.


Moving on to another note but one that I'm equally as passionate about. Let me take this opportunity to express my frustration regarding the Australian media's bias. We witnessed this during the Summer Olympics last year when we were forced to watch re-runs of Sally Pearson's winning moment as well that of our girls relay or even that seemingly shared grief and sadness when Magnuson didn't deliver gold. Well Channel 7 let me tell you about one of the many ways that you can improve your broadcast, firstly, Australian tennis players on tour SUCK! I don't see why they would spend hours each day to remind us that an Australian is on t.v when more so that not, they always fail to deliver. Take the hype last year for Samantha Stosur who at that stage had just recently won the US Open and then bombed out in the first round. Just recently Lleyton Hewitt lost again, in the first round, nothing special and did I mention all the hype that was created leading up to his match when Channel 7 raved about how he beat heaps of top 15 players. I think he should just retire professionally and just start some new venture before his body caves in on him. Another reason why I'm annoyed is because when Nole was playing on Rod Laver Arena (main centre court), the live broadcast instead switched to Australian who was playing at that time and for the whole duration of his match I only saw a glimpse and that's it. In case you were interested that young Australian lost and they tipped that he was on the verge of an upset (as if), the only upset of the day was their failure to broadcast the WORLD NO.1 tennis player. So next time when he steps put on Centre Court, let him play and let the country see it!

End of rant

#358 - Travel diary III

10/01/13: went to Osaka - nothing really good there, and went shopping in Shinjuku

11/01/13: visited some famous temple in Asakusa, more shopping in downtown Shinjuku (gotta say, not impressed by the quality of H&M and F21, there's really not a lot to expect when they come to Australia next year) before rushing off to go to my relatives' place! Had a great dinner, went to their house (they live right next to a cemetery...really goes to show how land is so scarce in the country) and took caps for the memory! Had a really good night at their house :)

12/01/13: was all teary since we had to leave Japan to go back to GZ!! :(( after being to Japan, I can't help but keep faulting everything in GZ - the etiquette, airport, service etc.

13/01/13: more eating out with relatives -_- also feel like becoming vegetarian cos my relatives happily dragged me to see a live show of a chicken being killed..which was really unpleasant to watch and hear since the the chicken was crying in misery just before they chopped off its neck :( :( moreover, as many as eight chickens were cramped into one stuffy cage!!! Those poor chickens...haven't eaten chicken since seeing that :(

14/01/13: Hong Kong to do some mac shopping and seeing relatives!! Yeah, not as great as I expected it to be. Very polluted (pfft, good environmental control and hygiene my ass), people are extremely discourteous and unhelpful (got lost trying to get to hotel, dad goes to get some help and some dickhead salesman just pretended he was busy, so I loudly said "arsehole" to shame him publicly...what an arsehole) plus the smell of stinky tofu *retches*. Also customs and immigration were a pain to get through since all the arrival cards and departure cards were mixed together, just really bad service -_- metro not too impressive either... ergh, I miss home. After only 2 weeks away, "home is [indeed] where the heart is". I have never missed my cozy bed so much, eating western food, and the relatively clean air! :( anyway tomorrow I go back to censored GZ (no more NY Times *sob*) 

#357- Surveying

Hey guys I guess it's time I hop onto the Happy Apple survey bandwagon

So below are my answers to her questions. Also this post will be split into two sections, the first being the survey with the latter being my rambles about my favourite sport and what's been happening in that realm.

1. Do you have a middle name? If not, what would you make your middle name?
I guess my middle name is my Chinese names as it's on all my important documents.... I guess you can tell what those are.

2. Name a pet peeve of one of your parents.
The biggest would be my mum nagging me about how messy my room is (guilty), either that or watching too many shows on the computer or having to tell me something repeatedly.

3. Which European country would you like to visit?
Sorry Dandelion but you stole my answer (jokes we just share similar tastes) but yeah Italy first then France. Gosh can't wait to go Italy either this year or next (I was promised a trip by my parents and I'm holding them accountable), I've dying to see the Ferragamo and Gucci museum in Florence, seeing the sights of Rome and Venice all the while immersing myself in all that culture and food and of course live in an apartment while I'm there. France, because like Italy it is another fashion heritage site, but I think this will be in the distant future because if I do go I plan on buying myself a Birkin

4. What was the happiest day of your life? If you can't remember, what makes you the happiest?
I don't think that I will ever be able to name a so-called happiest day of your life because most say that that it's their wedding day but later change it to the birth of their first child and so forth. But, I guess it's the little things that make me happy like someone noticing something, of course spending time with besties is always a good past-time.

5. Name three things on your desk.
My stash of bobby pins, my letter from UAC with my ATAR (D;), photos!

6. In your opinion, what is the most useless gift you can give?
I would say stationery but then again I think absolutely nothing at all would take the cake

7. A language you wish you had complete mastery over?
Mandarin, without a doubt. Oh how I wish I could overcome my laziness and accent but I am trying someone just make a bet with me so I can become more motivated.

8. What do you wish you had learnt as a child and developed so you were good at it now?
^Mandarin again

9. Your favourite feature physically? (Don't say you don't like anything!)
My eyes, I guess that includes eyelashes as well. It is the only thing that I inherited from my parents that I am pleased with.

10. Your favourite thing personality-wise?
I think it's a toss between my maturity or my pessimistic attitude (yes I'm weird).

11. Do you want to change yourself this year?
Well I've been trying each year... height wise at least but nonetheless I would like to be more patient. Although I remain adamant that 10minutes is my limit on queue at a call centre or any other place that you have to line up at unless it involves shopping then it can be understandable.

12. What are you planning to study?
Well if it all works out for me then comm/law for 5 years

13. Are you an Apple person?
I wouldn't say that I am but I do have more Apple products then most people, that includes a lost iPod nano (2nd gen), iPad 2, Macbook Air and plans for an iPhone 5 unless I opted for my traditional asian phone.

14. What is your favourite word?
Sorry, I don't have one.

15. Do you like the date of your birth?
I think that it's quite special, seeing as I share it with my mum and lol Edward as well.... so yeah I do like it (:

16. What is the coolest thing you have made?
Ask me this in a few months once I've signed up for pottery classes and yes guys pottery is for housewives or people with nothing better to do, so yeah if you're up for it ask me for more info.

17. Introvert or extrovert?
Introvert, definitely.

18. Do you prefer lemons or limes?
Lemons, I think they're more versatile in cooking.

19. What do you find the most annoying "first world problem"?
Our need for more possessions (Guilty myself) or simply not having enough stuff!

20. Do you behave differently at home?
Do I!!!! Gosh you should hear me speak and yes how I dress at home as well. Embrace the sweats.

21. What is your favourite kind of shopping? Or do you dislike all forms of shopping?

Do you even need to ask, online of course!

22. What are your views on feminism (sorry)?

I believe in equality but at times I can be a tad bit feministic seeing as I have the stereotypes of women as being weak or constrained to being a housewife. 

23. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being a hermit and 10 being aware of things practically before they happen how aware of world events are you?

I always thought that being a hermit meant that you were confined to your home but okay I'll go along with this definition. I guess I'm a 8, watching the news, Sunrise plus reading online articles makes me informed to some extent (?).

24. What will you do when you retire?

Travel, shop, eat.

25. If you were designing your future house, what style would you have?

Already am thinking about this, Provincial French. I recently saw a picture of Chriselle's mum's house and omgosh I am loving her mum's decor.

26. What is an appliance you would love to own?

Kitchen Aid's mix master or a coffee machine.

27. Will you drive a Toyota when you grow up?

It may just well be my first car but I'll let you know hopefully within the month (:

28. What is a common expression of the 21st century you cannot stand?

Yolo or all the hash-taggin (#) and if facebook was an expression then I'd mention that as well.

29. Describe something that has happened to you that you were so sure would not happen or vice versa.

Not sure, ATARs maybe.

30. What are your plans for your blog's future?

Well in the immediate future, I'd like to change the template and layout and hopefully add some photos of Sweet and I. Long term- let's continue to blog!

Thank you for reading up till here and now it's time for me to rant on about tennis.

First of all 14th Jan is comeback for CNBLUE and I can't wait to see Yonghwa's self composed tracks. Also in the realm of K-pop please release Song Joong Ki's Wolf Boy I have waited since November for it to be available online and it pains me to see it screening in America and Canada but not here in Australia.

Finally Tennis time, I wish I was in Melbourne today, there was so much going on. Nole took part in the official draw today for Aus Open starting on Monday and well let's just say that he has a tricky draw but quote from his website and fb page "The greater the challenge, the greater the glory in overcoming it' and so yeah Nole make history and win 3 straight Aus Open and hopefully my presence can help to inspire you when need it most. I shall gallantly wave my two Serbian flags <33

Also on today, was the launch of Sugarpova in Australia according to this website I can buy them in Crown Towers Hotel/convenience stores (do they exist), Events cinemas, DJs, Harris Farm (strange) and other places. So I went to DJs parra today and yet again I was received with blank faces as I asked them when they were going to receive Sugarpova. So I think that I will only bring 7kg all up with me to Melbourne and hoping fill up the remaining 3 kg with Sugarpova and other stuff that I happen to buy and if that plan fails Elisa, Mum I hope you don't have 10kg worth of luggage.

Thank you for reading all of this and wow it took me forever to write this all up. 

#356 - Travel diary II

07/01/13: Three words sums up today up: I LOVE JAPAN!!!! Best day out of my entire trip overseas!
We left Shinjuku early to catch the shinkansen (bullet train) to Hakone, and the shinkansen did not disappoint at all! SOOO fast, so clean (yay for Japan's lovely cleaners who made the train spotless before passengers boarded), you could even charge your phone on the train!
Hakone is a town near the mountains, but sadly we couldn't see Mt. Fuji and some beautiful lake (Ashi?) today since the trip would take 5 hours and when we got to Hakone it was too late, and it was getting dark. But....we shall be waking up super early to go see the sights tomorrow, then rush off to Kyoto!
Anyway, we ate at a picturesque traditional Japanese noodle restaurant, and the eight of us were seated in a traditional Japanese dining room, with a low little table, comfy cushions on the floor and doors constructed of rice paper! Food was delicious, yet I'm a little sick of eating too much tempura prawn :P
There were also some cool temples around, and the most picturesque (ah, I need another word to describe the truly aesthetic appearance of Hakone!) little running streams. Oh my gosh, I just adore Japan!
I'm blogging close to 1am right now, but I gotta say that the hotel experience is truly fantastic - the Japanese really know how to treat guests well (Hotel is Maille Coeur, and it IS divine, highly recommended!!!). Very very expensive (~450 AUD for 1 night), but it is so worth it. Dining: divine, my first high class dinner! (as high class meals go, portions were small, but there were soooo many servings! never thought I would enjoy raw fish,,,,but yummmmm). Rooms: stunningly beautiful and spacious, true Japanese-style with luxuriously soft beds and futons that the hotel staff made when we were at dinner (thank you to them!!). Also...HOT SPRINGS....OMG I WENT INTO REAL HOT SPRINGS provided by the hotel!! So comfy, and clean and luxurious :) Also dressed in traditional Japanese wear for hot springs :P :P soooo many good photos!
Also Jap people are sooooo much nicer than Chinese people - they treat foreigners well (many good experiences in Japan), whereas in China, if you speak English, people give you shit. Sanitation compared to China: incomparable!! OMGGGGG perf! Warm toilet seats, toilet seat covers, disinfectant, clean as heck. Trains have very warm seat heaters too!

 Definitely going to enjoy the rest of the Japan trip and shall properly learn some Japanese & Mando after I get back !! Also really glad to find out that Ayaha and Ayaka, my super cute relatives - are actually very closely related to my sis and I, we are actually their aunties!!!

Okay, over and out
-r   

08/01/13: Saw Mt. Fuji and nearby lake Ashinoko today! SO breathtaking and sublime..omgosh. Also the air had a stench that was quite foul because of natural sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide produced by natural hot springs up in the mountains...BUT oh my, it was so gorgeous! The view was amazing, the air was so cold, and there was snow on the ground (no snow in the metropolitan areas). Felt a little disappointed that people built on top of the natural sites near Mt Fuji ...but was admiring the high level technology used to construct awesome cable cars to view the mountain and lake!! The boat ride across lake Ashinoko was also so cute /full of awesomeness(?) since the boat was a pirate ship! I think I am getting overexcited, but I really like how everything in Japan is so well thought out and quirky :) Then left Hakone (*sob*....oh yeah BEST asian / western buffet I have ever ate in my life!!) and went to Kyoto via shinkansen...and now I can't remember if we did anything except find our hotel, indulge and eat out (getting a little sick of ramen and udon soup!!)

09/01/13: Travelled to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kinkakuji and Yasaka Shrine - one word: AMAZINGGGG (man I gotta find better words to describe the awesomeness of these sites!!). I am quite the easily excitable and amazed tourist. But the former two places are definitely suitable to be UNESCO world heritage sites...the gold material on Kinkakuji reflecting the sun made me go *______* and Kiyomizu-dera was soooo pretty and magnificent too. People like to buy votive wooden pictures and write their wishes down, and then hang them on special places in the shrines. I am not religious, but was totally digging the votive and ancient vibe and thought, why not? Bought one, my sis and I both wrote our wishes down, and hung ours up next to someone's message which hoped KRudd would succeed (or something of that nature) with courage and faith, haha (: Also dubbing Yoshinoya as the "Single men's joint" LOOOOOL. Ate there for brekky and dinner (thanks to dad >_>), was a little awks because the chef recognised us and gave us 50% discount...discounts never happen... omgggg, never eating there again -_- anyway it's "Single men's joint" since besides our family, frequent customers are ALL men...who eat by themselves. Haha. Also went to uniqlo (got my entire family into this store), daiso (AU daiso can't be compared to the Jap one) and Isetan (equvalent of DJ's...) and bought good quality reasonably priced shoessss (: so buttery soft, all have soft insoles and the heels are so low that all shoes are walk-able for long periods of time, yayy! But I wanna weep at cosmetics :(((( so friggin expensive I wanna die!! MAC is more expensive than in Australia wtf...and also you get 5% tax on items less than 10, 500 yen or something >:(  

Admiring the fat rubber duck in Syd as well, thanks for posting it Bitter! Also got your Japanese chopsticks ;P

#355- Running man Jiang

Well you shouldn't be surprised about the title, if you've heard me talk about it recently. I WAS totally obsessed during the 40 or so episodes but I guess my enthusiasm has died down mainly because Song Joong Ki is no longer a permanent member, the scripting is becoming more and more obvious and irritating plus there are no more punishments and they reward guests who contribute very little to the game. So Running Man PDs if you ever read this bring back the earlier games and more exciting guests , and idea could be a We got Married Special, I wouldn't mind seeing the Goguma Couple again (<3) but that's just my personal bias which would never happen because that variety show airs on a competition channel to SBS so yeah....

Anyhow, how has everyone been? Looking forward to tennis because I am, I get to see No1e grace our screens again on free to air tv. Onto other tennis related news, Maria Sharapova is having a fan meet at Melbourne this Friday but me being me, didn't want to spend an extra week there so I book my tickets for the following week only to find out a few months later that I would not be in town for autographs and photos T^T. My only silver lining is that I get to buy Sugarpova candy which I have been waiting patiently for ever since their release in America in August (?).

Follow up from last time's post:

I saw the giant duck and firstly, I must thank those that I may have grudgingly dragged along (sorry guys but I really appreciate it and hopefully it wasn't a bore for you).

Photo time upon request of Sweet:

 From far away the beaks looked like chips and thanks to a certain someone I never got my free rubber duck

 Unintentionally matching in blue and white theme

 Free duck quacker thingo and Sweet I got a set for you which comes with bubble blowers- ANZ sponsored which are a pain to open

According to Better my duck bag is quite the craze back in China and you know on this episode of Running Man that I recently watched, I saw Taeyeon with it as well.

Caption: (as requested)
Mr Consistent- What is that the giant duck that we came to see?
If you can't see it just look at one of the train carriages and then compare that relative to the background
nts never upload photos on blogger using Mac before it takes forever

#354 - Travel diary I

Alright, curently in Japan so....FREE WIFI!!! UNCENSORED INTERNET!
No photos atm but they'll be up later.

29/12/12: arrived at Guangzhou Airport, and stayed at my uncle's place.... SO COLD! Oh yeah, also felt so plane sick after all nighter-ing (why did I do this??!!!) and drinking milk before the flight - never do that again. Also admiring China's obsession with neon lights at night! Ate out with immediate family.

30/12/12: Visited some giant shopping centre called China Plaza (??). Imported food is very pricey, but food generally had me going googly-eyed since it was so cheap, and I kept converting the price into AUD. Typical bread price at bakeries = 2-6 rmb. I had my first experience in a squat toilet after 10 years, and let's just say I still equally disliked it as I did back when I went before. Why do they not provide toilet paper?!! Sometimes there's also suspicious looking liquid on the floor (hence why I bought my shittiest pair of boots overseas). Moreover the plumbing is highly fragile, so you can't flush toilet paper down and you put all tissues and etc. into a bin, and sometimes, there are things you just don't wanna see there.... >_> Also the home toilet is very prone to clogging because of no. 2's, and as I said previously, plumbing is shit (pun intended, and no it was not me who did a no.2 and clogged the toilet, haha). Once again, we ate out for dinner. Also, we have to heat water for 15 min before we can shower....Australia > China (poor standards of hygiene is making me do TMI on sanitation)

31/12/12: Shopping in some rundown part of town, and more complaints about the sorry state of restrooms. More 3 hour eating out sessions again with extended family members -___-Also I feel like a very naive Westerner whenever I come across disabled beggars on the street - I disliked my relatives' unsympathetic attitudes to their plight (they say that the beggars act like they are pitiful during the day so naive people will give them money, but then when night comes, they're laughing as they dine exquisitely and go home to grand houses). I know that some may be fake, but not all of them are truly like that. I must also comment that people in GZ are so freaking vulgar - a lot of people smoke in restaurants (I do not appreciate passive smoking especially when I am eating food) and many people just spit on the street (ew) and the two general scents I identify when walking on streets are: smoke or garbage. Also, typical China - they don't celebrate the New Year (only celebrate Chinese new year *rolls eyes*) and even cancelled fireworks. One thing I do like about GZ is their giant bottles of fake Yakult for $1 AUD.

01/01/13: Happy New Year! Moved out of my relatives' house for 2 days (thank god, felt like my family and I were cramping their lifestyle) to stay at a hotel. A  million relatives today, living in and out about the hotel and more eating out. I don't mind eating out but we've been eating out every single meal, and we keep ordering the same food (meat-wise) that I am not the hugest fan of....argh, just like me to be the picky eater. GZ Metro is stunningly simplistic and well thought out, having been renovated recently - trains come every 4-5 minutes, and they also have glass panes to prevent people from falling onto train tracks. Trains have TVs that feature ads and also have bilingual maps and little signs to show you where to transfer at. The metro is very easy to use, buses are a tad more difficult to use though. Met my cousin's 6 yo cousin at lunch, and she is SOOOO cute!!!! AHHH. If I ever had a daughter I want her to turn out like her :) :) The wharf near the hotel had some food stall thingy going on, so shops were open when we popped by at 9.30 PM (almost forgot to mention stores are open very late in GZ), and thus I devoured fairy floss at 9.40 for 5 RMB.

02/01/13: Last day of the hotel stay, eating out the entire day (brekky, lunch and dinner). GROSSSSSSSS, words cannot describe how much I detest eating out every meal. But what can you do when you have 30-40 relatives?!! Bought 2 CDs

03/01/13: Moved back to my relative's house (*groan*). More eating out (*another groan*), wandered to a few shops - shopping is very inconvenient when 10 people are going.  Found Watsons (Asian equivalent of Priceline) so was super excited, until I saw the prices for everything (eeek).

04/01/13: I met up with Viv in Taojin (some rich area)!! =D Wandered around with our siblings :) Realised my Canto stinks so badly, I can't even understand anything when salespeople corner me at shops...ordering Macca's was difficult (but made easy with Viv's excellent grasp of Canto). Talked to Bitter as well despite poor reception(: Oh and another tip, do not speak English when going into shops, people try to rip you off because you're a foreigner, and don't give discounts (if this happens, well screw them! Don't buy their stuff) Then caught metro (I dig the metro) to another stop and did late night shopping for cheap stuff like slippers, and late night eating which was not eating  out at restaurants (YES!). Also when Chinese TV broadcasted the giant duck's arrival, I was excitedly hyperventilating on the bus and of course, weird looks were fired my way;P

05/01/13: Woke up at 5.30 to catch the 9.30 flight to Narita Airport.... totally head over heels in love with Japan the moment I stepped foot in the airport! Japanese Customs takes your fingerprints and photo before you exit :) Worlds away from GZ in terms of hygiene! Shops are open very late, and I'm staying at a nice hotel in Shinjuku (streets are soooooooo pretty...). Ordering food in Japan fail: couldn't read Japanese, shop owners couldn't keep speak English very well, and we finally realised we had to look at pictures with numbers next to them, remember the number of the food we liked, then go to the ordering machine, put money and put our number, get our ticket, give to the cooks, and voila! Food out in 2 minutes :) Food and drink portions are generally small too...

06/01/13: The very distant relatives who stayed with us earlier in the year (Ayaha and Ayaka) travelled 3 hours to get to Shinjuku so they could take us to Tokyo Disneyland! And omgosh, picked up a few Japanese words along the way (a little language barrier), traveled on Japan Rail (sadly, no bullet train) to Maihama. Went on around 12 different rides / attractions in total (all are beautifully done) and Tokyo Disneyland is awesome since they put accurate estimated waiting times outside attractions and rides (waited exactly 70 mins for 1 ride, which was the estimated time). They have fireworks every day at 8.30 pm, day and night parades, a lot of food and souvenirs (quite pricey)-love this place!! SO WORTH THE TIRED LEGS AND BEARING THE COLD, brrrr. Got back to Shinjuku after 9pm, hopefully I will visit Ayaha's place sometime in the future, and learn some Japanese :) A funny custom of Japan is that people like to wear their school uniforms when they go out on weekends...:O and like China, people in Japan are obsessed with wearing masks that cover the nose and mouth. People are also so polite, friendly and accommodating and their English is pretty good. They bow a lot too! I want to live in Japan since I like a lot of things about it but one thing I don't like is whaling and treatment of sea animals. Anyway, 
Over and out,
-r

#353- Decisions, Decisions

Hi guys, hopefully you've made up your mind regarding your uni course if not then please decide soon. Some factors to help you with your decision:
- location and accessibility
- Environment
- The Course ITSELF <--- I think that this is the most important
- What your chosen faculty can offer you i.e. work exp, certain skills, etc
- Employability
- Flexibility
- Lastly scholarships but remember this shouldn't be the be all or the end all.

On that note if you ever pass Auburn station have a look out for the James An College sign because they spelt scholarships as 'sholarships', I found that pretty funny seeing as they're selling education when they can't even spell properly themselves.

Since I'm comparing universities, I've been collecting the stuff that they sent. It's surprising to see the effort they spent on paper, mailing, micro sd cards.

Also seeing the duck tomorrow, wish you were here Sweet to see this giant ball of cuteness. oh wells and guys i'm never calling you again, your reception is horrible V!

#352- DUCK

From Sweet who is currently in China atm facing censored internet usage 

~Bitter

29/12/12: 
I am currently blogging at 6-ish in the morning! And today is the day I get to travel overseas after more than 10 years, so yayyy. Anyway, in the early hours of today, I read this and mourned the fact that I would not be witnessing this awesome, sublime piece of happiness.  But zomg, I am so excited for what lies ahead!!! :-)