Long Weekend and Partial Lemon Juice Detox Plan ♥

We Melbournians are having a long weekend thanks to the Queen's birthday!

Long live the Queen!! (though it's not really her birthday -.-)


Now, I've just started to introduce lemon juice into my diet to cleanse my body of toxins.

There's a lot of hype around this lemon detox diet as a lot of celebrities such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey use it to shed weight quickly. The week-long lemon detox plan mainly consists of drinking 6 - 10 glasses of lemon with palm tree syrup and a small pinch of cayenne pepper each day as a meal replacement. It also includes drinking saltwater and herbal tea daily. No solid foods are to be taken throughout this diet.

Unfortunately, like most fads, following this diet will allow you to lose weight rapidly as it is a starvation diet; causing you to lose muscle rather than fat.

I plan to incorporate lemon juice into my life, not as a meal replacement but rather to facilitate the removal of toxin build-up in my system. Lemon, honey and cayenne pepper are immune boosters. The addition of cayenne pepper helps increase your metabolism which means it can help burn fat!

Today would be my third day and I am already beginning to feel healthier.

LEMON JUICE DETOX DIET

Mornings:
I've started each morning with a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice.
It certainly perks me up! LOL

Nights:
I'd have a glass of honey-lemon juice with a small (very small) pinch of cayenne pepper before a meal and another glass a couple hours before bed. Now if you're planning to use cayenne pepper, please be mindful that it is spicy hot so please use as little as possible, to begin with, to see how well you can tolerate it and you can add more as you get used to it. 

HONEY-LEMON CAYENNE PEPPER RECIPE

Ingredients:
250mL warm water
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper

To make your honey-lemon juice with cayenne pepper, mix one tablespoon of honey with one tablespoon of lemon juice in 250mL of warm water.

Add a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (ground) and stir well before consumption.


Precautions:
I will also advise you to stir your drink so that the cayenne pepper is well distributed prior to drinking. I didn't do it once before and in my last gulp, I had a mouth full of the pepper. Although I didn't use a lot, it was NOT pleasant. It will leave a zing in your mouth and also down your throat. Yikes!



Now if you're planning in the actual lemon detox plan to lose weight, please do your research first. There are a lot of fads out there that can aid you in weight loss but are actually harmful for you in the long term.

Have a good weekend everyone!

//♥

Butterfly dance

So I went for my very first job interview ever.

It was nerve-wrecking! *silent scream*

I received an e-mail a week and half after I applied for the job with a subject heading "Interview"
My heart was about to burst and it nearly did as I read through the e-mail.
I wanted to run around the room and hug myself at the same time.

Then a flood of mixed emotions engulfed me. I was soooooo not prepared for an interview. What would I say? What should I do? What should I wear?! I need shoes and bag which screams "HIRE ME!" but where?
So many problems.. so little time...

I hit the local bookstore in search of books that would guide me through my first interview. As I went through the shelves, I found myself with about 6 books in hand.
I speedily read through a book which was entitled 'Perfect First Interview' (or something along those lines) trying to absorb as much info as possible.

I ended up buying a book called 'The Everything(R) Practice Interview Book'


Call me silly but I am the type that likes to do my research (which is why I am a scientist).

It did help me a lot but I also think it made me even more nervous as I had to remember so many things that I should and shouldn't do.
But it was indeed very handy.



I arrived at the interview extra early so was seated in a waiting area. I was soon joined an Indian man who looked smart in his full suit, nice polished shoes and a large black briefcase.
He was called to do the interview first. Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the room with a smile on his face.
D'oh!
He asked me whether I was going for the interview and told me that I had nothing to worry about as it was easy.
I felt really relieved after hearing that.

It wasn't long before it was my turn. As I entered the room, I realized that I was going to be interviewed by THREE people.
I was silently screaming inside the whole time as I shook all their hands.

Fortunately, they didn't waste anytime asking silly or confusing questions such as "What book did you last read?" (I read Cleo mag but I don't think you want to know that, so should I lie and say I read something more intellectual?)

They wanted to know what sort of research I've done and the sort of techniques I've used.
It wasn't too difficult so I think I did alright.
I wasn't oozing with confidence but I was rambling on like some village idiot.

Unfortunately it would take another two weeks before they make their final decision. I'm not sure whether I would be chosen but I won't feel too disheartened that I didn't.
I learnt a lot from that interview so I'm really happy that they gave me an opportunity.

Am quite pumped up and ready for future interviews! :D


Am planning to work part-time at Coles at the moment. Yes, it's a dodgy job that only high-school students do but reality is I need to support myself and this recession is not making it easy. I am also looking for jobs outside of Adelaide as our state is facing the worst unemployment rate in the whole of Aussieland.

Wish me luck!

Bringing down the house

After a long and disappointing day in the lab, I decided to make myself some nice herbal mushroom soup and relax.

But it went all wrong when I fell asleep.

I woke up to a loud cackling sound and went outside to be engulfed by smoke!
Took me about three seconds before my brain screamed “SOUP!” at me. So I ran into the kitchen to be greeted by a very, very angry pot…
I nearly burnt it to crisp!!! T____T

The house smells really weird. Fortunately for me, it’s not that typical burnt smell but something much more er… flavourful? Haha!
An interesting tangy bitter burnt smell. I actually quite like it!!! Although, that coud be the fumes talking.

What about the pot you ask?
I managed to salvage it with a full hour of scrubbing with the trusty old baking soda and some cream cleanser. Woo!
But the lid looks real bad. The inside is just charcoal black. I might be able to get it to shine again but will probably take another hour.

Imagine the state of my sponge!!

It resembles a very tanned Spongebob Squarepants!
Lol!!
Okay, I shouldn’t be laughing because I could have burnt down my kitchen.

I googled 'burnt Spongebob' and found this!

OMG! They killed Spongebob!

How could anyone do this to him?!

Alright boys and girls, let this be a lesson to you!!
No sleeping when you're cooking!

*reaches out for a box of cereal*

Graduation scare

Unfortunately, my dad's not coming for my graduation on the 1st of April!
So my mom and my aunt will be flying over for a couple days :)

The funny thing is that as a graduate student I don't have to pay a cent for my graduation (except for the gown loan) but I have to purchase guest tickets and am limited to only two guest tickets per student. So the other day, in the sweltering heat, I went to the BASS ticketing counter to buy my guest tickets.
The queue was long so I got a little impatient waiting. As it was my turn, the guy said, “I’m sorry but I think it’s fully booked. There are no tickets left.”WHATTTT????

How is that even possible?? -__-‘’
I asked if he could do something, like appeal to someone to add extra seats in the venue. He shook his head, “sorry, we’re selling tickets. You’d have to go to your university and ask them if they could do something about it.”

Me not happy.

So I went off to my uni and went into campus central. I wasn’t sure if it was the right place to go but in the years that I’ve been in uni, campus central has been excellent. The lady over the counter assured me that campus central deals with graduations. So I explained the situation to her and she was absolutely rubbish! She went to the website, read whatever’s on the graduations link, turned to me and said, “There’s nothing I can do.”

WHHAAATTT??

“You could head to BASS and ask them,” she suggested.
“I did go there and they’ve asked me to come to uni!” I exclaimed.
She then suggested that I head to our graduation venue (the Festival Centre) and ask someone there! “Sorry but if the tickets are sold out then that’s it,” she shrugged her shoulders.
-__-''

Me not happy X 10000!

So I mumbled an inaudible thanks and left.
I went online to the uni’s website and found the graduations office’s number. The lines were busy for the first 5 tries when finally, someone picked up!!
After explaining my problem, the guy had me on hold which seemed like forever~!!

Finally, he came back on and said to me, “Yes, you are not our first case. There seems to have been an extremely high demand for tickets for this coronation so we apologize for that. We have already ordered in more tickets and we will mail you two complimentary tickets to your mail box!”

HURRAAAAHHH!!!

*prances*

Whoooo!! Free tickets!

I hope they aren't crap seats -__-''

Anyway!!

I've officially started Honours :)

The lab's great! Turns out that Locky's in the same lab as me!

Wooooooooo!

I'm as happy as can be!

One thing I'm not so happy about is the heatwave!!

It's been 13 days of extreme weather!

Today's max was 39 degrees!

*click on pic*

*dies of dehydration*

Decisions decisions...

So on Friday, I went into the lab and told Jas of my decision.

It was hard saying goodbye to Kelvin. I had to hold back my tears. He looked really upset too (surprisingly). Still didn't stop him from making me help him out in his project until the next bus comes. Exploiting me until the last minute =_=

But he's been a great mentor and he kept trying to give me advice. The one thing that he said that lingered in my mind was that Honours was just for one year.

I knew that too but it was just too difficult for me to continue in the lab at the moment. The thought of leaving it actually made me happy.

The next morning I woke up wondering if I should still do Honours. 

With every hour that passed by, the thought of doing Honours grew stronger.

I know that I still had a chance if I went with UniSA as the Honours program do not commence until mid-Feb.

It was perfect. I don't move into my new house until the end of February so it wouldn't conflict with any deadlines and I can be settled by then.

I know it would be a tight squeeze as it was already February but I wanted it so badly so I went to see my program director Dr Maurizo Costabile.

Thankfully he said that there was no problem if I wanted to apply.

*prances*

I still have the daunting task of finding a supervisor and a suitable project but I know what I want now. I want a project that will ultimately contribute to helping someone out there with a disease.

If a supervisor takes me on, I will show him/her what I'm made of.

I will be a kick-ass Honours student.

Happy valentine's day everyone :)

It's time to let go

I have just made the biggest decision of my life.

I have decided to discontinue my Honours project with Dr Jason Able.

I know it’s surprising especially I have been brought up (I suspect as most Asian kids are) to never give up in whatever I do and stick it through.

I for one, never expect to find myself here… where I thought most young adults find themselves; fresh out of uni with a qualification and yet no real sense of direction in life.

Two months ago, I figured that if I did Honours, I wouldn’t have to bother with the prospect of finding a job or applying for a PR. I thought that once I’ve finished my thesis, I would be able to sort that out in my own sweet time.

I am so unprepared for the real world. I’m scared but I’m excited.

One minute I can be extremely positive and thrilled at the thought of being in the workforce but the next, I fidget and squirm in my seat with horrible thoughts of being unemployed and having to return to Brunei. Ugh.

My decision to quit Honours was extremely hard.
I had a long heartfelt talk to Jason Able. He does this to each of his Honours students at the start of their year and apparently 99% of them has cried. You don’t have to wonder if I did.

I have had a thought about quitting before but I didn’t because I thought about the scholarship that I would have to give up.
But I didn’t quit and stuck through it for another three weeks.

Couple of days ago, my mom called and realized that I was unhappy. So she urged me to quit. I never saw that coming!
She reminded me that Honours was my choice and that I came to Australia to complete a degree. She said that I did it and she’s proud of me. At this point I was sobbing uncontrollably.

She said that it was still my decision whether I want to continue Honours or not and no matter what path I chose, she would be behind me and support me.

Funnily enough, the next morning Jason had the one-on-one talk with me and her words came back to me. Jas asked me a series of questions to determine how committed I would be to the project.

I do not feel the project with my heart and soul.

And because of my current situation, I cannot give him the 100% that he wants me to give.
I dread waking up some days because of the lengthy bus rides and long hours in the lab. I doubt that I can give him the 1st class that he wants me to. I am already feeling the immense pressure.

I know it seems rather early as most students haven’t even started theirs yet but my summer research project was actually a part of my Honours (I was to obtain a promoter gene required for my Honours project), so technically I have been thrown into the deep end of the pool from the start.
So it won’t be so bad if I stop now because Honours officially commenced last week.

Perhaps I’ll find another project that I would enjoy or maybe I’ll get a job.
I find myself waking up knowing that I can be a kick-ass Honours student if it was the right project and I wonder if I should let it all go.

Anyway it's still not too late to do so :)

Wish me luck!


And happy chinese new year!
Those of you who are collecting 'ang bao' please share some with me!!

When the cows come home . . .

Lately I've been rather . . . well, unsatisfied with life.


I know that I don't usually write emo entries and I try not to but at the moment, I really want to spill out how I feel.

So leave now if you don't want to read pathetic, petty things.

+ . + . + . + . +

It's not that nothing has gone right in my life so far.
I am happy :D

Either that or I'm trying to convince my readers and myself :(


There are a lot of things that are bringing me down.

I try not to think about them but when you're sitting alone in your room, listening to bluesy music, your mind tends to wander back to the little unhappy things have happened recently in your life.


My pracs have not been going so well.
It's been so frustrating that I want to tear my hair out and just cry. I'm not the only one either.
It's been 4 weeks now and I still haven't gotten any results :(

I keep telling myself, 'It's alright . . . there's next week . . . I'll get the results next week!'
But I just keep getting disappointed. I've gotten to a point where I just don't give a damm anymore.


Plus I didn't do well in a test because I've been so very, very careless... mistaking a C for a G and also XhoI for XbaI. I know that I could have scored better. I guess I was being too confident. That really bummed me out.


Also . . . turns out a lot of my fellow classmates have gotten their summer scholarships with a grant of $300 per week.

I missed out on the chance and I know that if I had just signed up and met up with Dr. Able earlier, I would have gotten it too. $300 per week is definitely enough for me to pay my rent and get by!



But at least I've met up with Dr. Able and I know that he'll definitely take me on for the summer to do a project with him.



I know I have to focus on the happier things in my life but it's been one hard week.

I've always enjoyed the independence that I have, especially in uni. I don't have to get stick to a group (no peer pressure, wahey!) and I pretty much get along with most people :)
But this week, I felt a little lonely.
Perhaps I've just been thinking too much but for a while now, I noticed how some friends just well, ignore you when they have their gang around but becomes your best friend when they're alone or when they need your help.

Just the thought of these people dampers my mood a little.

I don't know why.

I feel a little empty inside.

Like something's missing.
But I can't quite put my finger on it.

Maybe I just miss talking to Sharon.
She'd listen to me whine. Right, Sharon? *puppy eyes*

Ahh... I don't know.
Maybe it's something else?

But one thing's for sure, I've lost a bit of my confidence. The confidence to believe in myself.

The confidence to try again.

Hmm.. maybe that's what I'm missing.

Anyway, rant's over.

I hate it when I go on and on about something because I figure in the process I'd figure out what's bothering me then realize I'm no closer to it than when I started.

+ . + . + . + . +

Lately I've been listening to a lot of jazz and stumbled upon Olivia Ong who is a Singaporean! She's got a contract with some Japanese music company and I must say I'm really impressed.

I love her soothing clear voice. Perfect for my emo-ness.

She's pretty too :)

Rest In Peace . . .

I can't believe Calvin left.

Tears are welling up in my eyes as I type this.
He's gone.


Just hours ago, Seng Kheng asked me over MSN if I knew who Calvin Chee was.
I told him that Calvin was my childhood friend but we lost contact after he transferred after secondary 3. Although I did bump into him early this year. . .
Then he told me that Calvin collapsed during a lecture yesterday.
Then he said that he may have passed away.

I was really angry at first.
I didn't think it was funny at all.

But it was true.

When it all sank in, I couldn't help but burst into tears.
I wasn't very close to him but he was a friend. He was probably the most patient person I know. I have never once seen him angry.
I remember back in primary school where a group of us would just sit and chat about things.

At the time I didn't understand why he always missed classes to go to the hospital. I knew he had to be quite ill if he was visiting the hospital that often.
He has thellasemia. . .


I remember him reading one of my essays out loud, "My ambition is to be a scientist." He turned to me and proceeded to act out as a scientist. Pretending to hold two test tubes in each hand, he mixed them and was surprised to see that nothing happened so he stuck his eye into one and it blew in his face.

I remember sitting in his house playing a South Park video game with Alex when we were supposed to do a discussion for a History detabe.

I remember coming to school with a dodgy haircut and he said I looked nice. . . =)

.
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.
.

He's only 20.
In fact, he's only a week or so older than me.

They said that he passed out from shortness of breath and today, he left us.
I want to end this entry on a happy note but somehow I can't seem to find a way to do so. Forgive me.


I'm still in shock. It was just so sudden. So very sudden.
But it was his time. God beckoned him. God will guide him.
Rest in peace, Calvin.

Give it to me!!

Here I am in Uni again... blogging.

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BECAUSE THEY CUT OFF OUR SUPPOSEDLY 'FREE' DIAL-UP!!

Apparently we exceeded the 200 hours limit.
-___-

Such a slow connection and it's limited.

Brilliant.


Soo Hui was pretty pissed over the long weekend because Friday and Monday were public holidays.
A long weekend and we have to share dial-up.

And on Sunday, the dial-up stopped working!! >O<

So today we walked to Kern (our Internet provider) to demand an explanation.

And guess what? The processing was fine.

It was done exactly on Thursday, just before the long weekend!!

So we actually have ADSL 2+, we just don't have a modem!!

The guy (Jason) went, "alrighty then, let me get you guys the details and the modem."

Upon hearing that, Soo Hui turned to me and said, "I'm really happy" with a straight face on. Kinda like Droopy Dog . . .

Except she doesn't have a tail.

Anyway, they gave us our modem and off we went.
If we had tails, we would have been wagging them all the way home as just the thought of being able to use sweet sweet high speed internet is like doggie paradise~


So we got home and unpacked everything. It took a while but we installed everything and it worked!
HUZZAH!
then it struck us. . . the modem wasn't a wireless one.

WE ASKED FOR A WIRELESS ONE!!


>O<
MEH!

So we walked back to demand another explanation.
And guess what they said?
There's no wireless modem in stock.




Oh joy to the world . . . la la la . . .
someone kill me.