I must admit that when I first arrived in Melbourne, I had a pretty hard time adapting to the weather.

It was temperamental and yet excruciatingly cold when the sun sets!

They say its very likely to experience 4 seasons in ONE DAY. That's how unpredictable it is.

The sun shines brightly during the day but the cold wind is enough to give you chills anytime

And you call that Summer? Yeah, I arrived in mid February – when it was in the middle of Summer.

I'm sorry, if ya think Australian Summer this year is anything remotely close to any other day in Malaysia, you're terribly wrong.

You would never want to be caught dead outdoors in the early mornings

it's FREEEEEEZING!

As mentioned, it's not too bad during the day but being typical Malaysian, I'm so used to wearing very

little clothes that I actually forget about how cold it is outside

A random mini green pinecone we found.

Whose palm is that btw?

 I spend the days indoors with my housies in the West

And my mates from the house next door!

Always up for a drink or two!

As fun as it is in the West, I spend more of my time in South now

I'm glad to have made an awesome bunch of friends there. Love them much!

The route between West rez & South rez

Sunny days for the Summer, but it never gets anything close to 25 degrees celcius

Chilling by South 9's porch

At the uni lounge deck with some of my mates!

From L-R : Levan, Todd, Devin and Deanna

Without realizing it, the days of Summer are over and we are now in the midst of Autumn.

The leaves on the trees has turned yellow in preparation to fall

Bright yellow, vermilion orange and deep, scarlet reds beautifully scattered on the ground

Different trees shed their leaves at different times.

This tree, for example, was a tad late in joining the rest of his kind, but boasts a beautiful, burgundy hue.

Walking by this tree after classes, I can't help but to stop in my tracks

and admire Mother Nature's wonder

One morning, as the sunlight peeped through my window and in the near distance, I spotted a tree with bright red leaves.

Seeing that red is my favorite colour and the fact that I never once noticed this tree just outside my rez, I whipped out my camera and bolted through the door in my pyjamas.

Excuse the straight-out-of-bed face and hair!

I just had to take a picture with it immediately 😀

Here it is again. The rare, bright red ones standing out from the crowd.

Be inspired. I know I am.

As of now, it is nearing towards the end of Autumn and we are expecting Winter to arrive soon.

The days are even colder than before and the nights bring frost to the grass and mist to our mouths.

Every night hits below 5 degrees celcius and I spend all my time right in front of the heater now.

The roaring warmth helps to keep me from freezing my arse off.

Branches are left bare and empty for Winter

No wonder it's so cold. You can actually feel the chill in the air. I soon found out that it was already snowing at Bendigo, some 4 hours away.

I can't wait for my snowboarding, skiing and tobogganing trip up Mount Baw Baw with my mates in late June when the blanket of snow are inches and inches thick!

Here's to hoping it will snow in Melbourne city or Gippsland too! 😀

Not that I intend to freeze or frostbite myself to death, but simply because I've never seen snow before in my entire life!

You know how momma used to tell you not to play with your food nor to play with fire?

Clearly, this boy never took the advice when he set his hands on fire

Yup… my friend Abe decided to showcase his pyromaniac stunts, one Sunday night

As we didn't have any deodorant spray in the house at this very moment of time, he made do with some house fragrance spray instead. The poor guy had to set his hand in flames more than 5 times for me to be satisfied with the photo 😛

He was paranoid, but still… brave. I doubt the rest of us would attempt something like that!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2wdtX9xUoE

check out the video footage of his dangerous act

There you have it, some courageous stunts to entertain yourself with… at the expense of the skin on his hands! 😛

But above all, you know what we were REALLY entertained with?

His fail face.

We giggled so hard whenever the topic of this photo was brought up

Definitely a perfect dose of laughter for the week ahead!

Why don't you try setting your hand alight as well? 😛

So I've been working for hours on end on my never-ending assignments and pulling all-nighters.

Yup, pretty much stressed but still surviving! As of now, I still have 2 more major assignments to complete.

Just another lovely, chilly evening at rez

(You might see the rays of the sun, but it's below 10°C now)

When night falls, there's even frost on the grass and mist coming outta your mouth when you talk

How I miss Malaysian weather already

Anyway, what made my day today was when my lecturer returned our assignments.

I wasn't expecting much, seeing that he keeps emphasizing that my work isn't good enough. But when I saw a High Distinction (HD) written with red ink on my cover sheet, I was elated beyond words.

Just thought I'd share (go make yourself a cuppa hot chocolate before reading this) :

            The sun began to set on the horizon; casting enigmatic shadows upon the sidewalks of faded, uneven gravel. The trails of this languid settlement led to an uncertain foray into nothingness; winding, and descending. The air was gray and opalescent; a solitary ray of light swiftly outlined the skyscrapers; then another light; and a hundred more glimmered into vision with each flash of the passing headlights.

          As time elapsed, the faint shades of sunset, encompassing vermilion and sanguine hues made way for a dark canvas of thick, iron studded skylights. The man in the moon must be in a joyous mood, for tonight’s iridescence was more golden than harvest moons; and brightly aglow, akin to the winter moon.

          Seventy acres of this town were dotted with old, dilapidated huts where hundreds of plebeians call home. A large forsaken warehouse barricaded by fencing stood erect to the left; and to the right, an abandoned playground scattered with equipment – what was once synonymous with colour, now engulfed by immense corrosion. In the corner, lived an increasing horde of rodents that prowled trash-cans and scraps from a poultry slaughter-house. Not too far away, lay a half-obliterated carcass beyond recognition, of what used to be a small creature, reeking of a stench so foul, with maggots thriving on its fetid, disintegrated flesh.

          Watching great drops of an unexpected heavy shower of rain splatter down, pooling into dark stains on the sidewalk; little homeless children scurried from the harsh tirades of the weather and huddled closely beneath tattered, worn-out awnings of the abattoir. Though it stank with the most revolting odour, it was their only means of refuge from the merciless downpour.  A sudden gush of wind soon enveloped the town with an icy-coldness that permeates the depths of the soul; quivering the very marrow of the bone in unison. Such unwelcome November rain had perversely stolen the days last hour and pawned it with a vibe of fear and desolation.

          In the near distance, the silhouette of a feminine figure could be made out to be trudging along those rough terrains; drenched by torrents of the heavy rain. Of why she was barefoot and forlorn, was unbeknownst to anyone who jostled past her. A loud creak broke the deafening silence of this bleak, stormy night when iron doors of a nearby Hollywood film set flung open abruptly. The subsequent heavy roaring of a rising crowd and the interlaced clatter of many voices swamped the scene. She stood insignificantly, like a fly on the wall, watching silently as the throng passed.

          Ladies in evening gowns could be seen wearing their long locks in loose, delicate waves, crowded along with shrieks of strident laughter; two to an umbrella, where most of them had their arms around pallid, immaculate men, decked in pressed suits. They ambled past, accompanied by chauffeurs into sleek limousines, followed by a squad of bodyguards swaggering past, boasting due savoir faire expected of them as sentinels of the elite. Even so, blinding lights of cameras still flash by as paparazzi tailed the crème de la crème of Tinseltown until the very second they zoomed out of sight. When all the merriment of the rich and famous began to subside, the town was once again, left in a depressing state of obscurity.

          Deserted, sordid… and ghastly.

          There were dubious activities around the corner, illicit motherhood in the attic three blocks away, and felons menacing every nook and cranny. Nightmares of perspiration between the clammy walls took to an overpowering force upon the building. Those concrete walls, made of red bricks plastered haphazardly in cement, echoed with silence. Amongst the grime and undergrowth breeding in the corners, a stolen thought arose. A fragmented, discontinuous thought which scrambled around in that darkened corner, running in search of other thoughts, hungry for a connection.

 "Help," says the thought in its faint, mellifluous tone; a disembodied voice so light it barely resonates.

 "Help…we aim for justice, it shall prevail".  

          I look more closely at the thought, at the silver glittering off its skin at it weaves in and out of the dim glow of the swaying, cracked bulb hanging loosely from the wall lamps. It is shaped like a prism – a tiny insignificant thing, yet unspeakably glorious in the magnitude of its beauty. It beckons me; drawing me closer into an unfathomable intimacy.

          A squalid phantasmagoria flashed by abruptly and shattered my train of thought. It soon disappeared into the mist as my futile attempts to squint vigorously in hopes of regaining my vision were in vain. It is not uncommon for the folks of this sinister town to conjure apparitions every now and then; like a Freudian dream left unearthed. For the history behind this place lays a morbid incident which took place several years ago; unspoken of and by no means allowed to leave one’s lips.

          There is much to say about this town, but very few dare to utter a word.

******

So, that's the end! 😀 Alright, my dinner is almost ready to be eaten now. Had been cooking all afternoon!

On the menu today : Cheese Baked Pumpkin Rice with Salmon, Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus 🙂 There's also spring onions,  golden corn, brussel sprouts, carrots on the casserole sprinkled with lots of basil, coriander and mixed herbs too.

I know I still owe you guys plenty of blogposts of my daily cooking voyages, but then again I've too many pending posts to actually keep track anymore 🙁 I don't think I'll ever run out of things to blog about, only running out of time!

Have a good evening ahead while I enslave myself to those merciless assignments!

Sorry I took a while to write this blogpost.

Was laden with assignments (still am!) but here's the post so stop bugging me about it already, rawr!

bring on the Greek goddesses 😛 😛

If you remember this preview post I blogged just before I headed to the party, you would kinda remember I had a similar picture to this:

except without Todd photobombing me from behind!

So as usual, my mates and I were having pre-drinks before the party

We decided to play King's Cup tonight.

Here's some of us! The rest had adjourned to the party already

I finished my bottle of Baileys and ran outta drinks in the midst of the party

LOL forcing drinks down Devin's throat and applying eyeshadow on him

Check out his sweet lavender eyeshadow bwahahaha!

Must be a dare or something

Anyway, back to the game.

The whole lot of us played and played, did hilarious stuff and when the final round came… I LOST THE GAME.

and had to drink the entire full King's Cup of the mixture of everyone's different drinks FML

That was NOT good 🙁

Nasty and it's a one way bottoms up without stopping

down to my last few sips… I hate this game! Ughh

And so I finished. Am actually surprised I didn't pass out or anything, seeing that I finished my own bottle of Baileys and had a few shots of bourbon before King's Cup.

I'm lasting longer than I thought! But my head was already very woozy

All my mates knew I was SO smashed and sub-conscious already

I initially couldn't give a rat's arse about going to Toga Party anymore for I was light headed and all I wanted to do was to sleep.

But then again, we were all dolled up, dressed up and looking our best to go already 🙁

So how can I just ditch the party?

Bleh. So I went ahead hoping to survive throughout the entire night

goodness gracious if I didn't change the lighting of this picture, I would look even more red and flushed

Hit the party in full swing

Don't remember this picture being taken nor who this person is

Sorry for blurry photos, tipsy photos aren't really the best

The DJs of the night!!! DJ Nick James and his special guest DJ

(blur photo again, I know)

By the drinks bar…. can't believe they still wanna drink some more!

I've clearly surrendered LOL

Make way for more tipsy shots.

Since I don't remember most parts of the night, let's see the drunk shenanigans roll –

With Benny!

He's lookin' all hyper here

With Laura Cook and someone's head popping up behind

She looked like a Chinese monk tonite!

With Kayla 😀

Two kitty fanatics… purrrr purrr meow!

With Konzy!

Still pissed drunk. Need some zzzzzzzz's

With Rowan!

He's looking all Sparta 300 tonight

With Laura!

Though I still don't get what's with the mouth drawings… but it's pretty cool 😀

Don't remember this photo! But it looks like we were on the dance floor

Outside on the uni deck with more mates in Togas!

Romans/Greeks in white!

With Cherie, Brittany and Laura

Deanna reminded me of Medusa that night!

Also don't remember this photo… AND WHY AM I HOLDING MY PASSPORT?

Back outside at the deck chilling

FINALLY. I remember this photo! 😀 😀

I think I managed to sober up by the end of the night. Phew!

From the photos, it looked like a fun party had broke free last Wednesday night!

It's a pity my only memories was from the pictures I have. Ohwell… one last themeparty to go next week:

GOOD vs. EVIL Bring it on!

Sigh. I KNEW I should've brought my devilish horns & pitchfork to Aussie with me

AAaaaaaaarrrggggghhh!!!

There's a burglar in my room! HELP! He's going to rob me of my laundry! *feigns horror*

To be honest, when Todd entered the room earlier to give me a fright, I did jump outta my wits

Probably recalling the shitty moment when my house was robbed when I was only 16.

Those burglars did look like that.

Anyway! If you've checked this post out, yall would already know what I wore for this costume party 🙂

For those who didn't, here it is –

Hi there! 😀 I'm Jessie, the one-half of the dynamic duo from Team Rocket

This is James, my other half.. and together we form Team Rocket!

When we were pre-drinking in South Rec Hall before the party, it was awesome to see most of our friends all dressed up already.

Below is Team Rocket Jessie & James X Ninja Turtle Deanna!

I superlove this photo because of the photobombers behind us 😀 😀

Do you see them? Cute max!

A masked phantom X Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notredame X Jessie of Team Rocket X a pirate!

We had fun fooling around in the rec hall while getting smashed at the same time

A ballerina X Jessie of Team Rocket

(watch this ballerina, she will transform into a leopard later)

Here with buddy Cleefy as Yogi Bear!

Or rather, paedobear as some of us teased him with 😛 😛

Alex the Identity Crisis (white guy trying to be black) and I

Check out those silver plated teeth! Coolies

With Bardha as Belle of Beauty and the Beast

Except that this belle wears a mask!

So we skulled our drinks and left for the party when it started kickin' in.

When we got there, it was time for some shiznit… as the party only begins when we rock up! 😛 😛

Are you readdddyyyyy!?

Remember the ballerina whom I told u would transform into a leopard? There you go.

A leopard X an identity crisis X Jessie of Team Rocket X Soviet (USSR) officer!

Team Rocket X Laura the pirate! (and Rowan in some yellow monkey pyjamas LOL)

More fun shots with ma party peeps! 🙂

This Catholic nun reminds me that I should probably go to church more often 😛

Masked rider Zoro X Team Rocket!

We hit the dance floor and danced like there was no tomorrow!

I had lots of fun camwhoring with all my friends – especially the ones who dressed up as something! – and even random people I didn't know. Oh well, alcohol and parties are definitely the social lube of everything.

So it's all good! 😀

When I spot someone in a cool costume, I'd point at them and grin

… camwhoring then comes naturally like clockwork!

Who is this? He looked pretty cool that night.

Doesn't matter because it works both ways; lots of people came forward to take pictures with us too!

Our moment of pride was when people whom we don't know, yell from afar, "OMG IT'S TEAM ROCKET! LOOK!" 😀

Whoopeedoo! At least the money we spent and the effort we took proved to be worthwhile.

More picture-taking with more people in cool costumes!

Mario Bros X Team Rocket

Yogi Bear X Team Rocket

another redhead (what character is this?) X Wonderwoman X Team Rocket

So technically, everyone was camwhoring with everyone!

But here's the BEST costume – I dare say – on a guy tonight.

Wait for it! *drumroll*

Now who's your sexxaayy mama?

😛 Cross-dresses always rock costume parties!

More piccies with my gurls! 😀 😀

Do you see my friend Daniel as Buzz Lightyear & Tarryn as a hot pirate in black? 😀 😀

Oh and Verity went as a Pilot! Man… she was a wasted nut that night!

It was really new to see her collapsing all over the floor and scrambling on the table!

Whatever she smoked, gimme some of that too! 😛 It's gotta be intense, I bet

With Josh and Alex!

I'm diggin' that new Japanese koi tattoo on him, don't know if its real though.

I don't recall seeing it on his arm prior to this party!

Or maybe I could be too wasted to notice, who knows? 😉

Us taking the stage to parrrrrtayyy!

And after all that fun and drinks, I suddenly needed to pee.

Not that you needed to know that lil piece of information but whatevs, now you do. 😛

I found an Avatar na'vi in the bathroom!

Take #1

And since the bathroom lighting was so pretty, #Take 2! 😀 😀

Came out from the bathroom, and Varun dressed as Varun wanted a piccie with us 😀

After all that sweat and energy-pumpin' tracks, it can get real hot and stuffy wearing the wig!

I remember sweating buckets underneath it, but couldn't be bothered to take it off, where do I put it? 🙁

So it's a good idea to get rid of all your hair and shave your head for a cause, Laura 🙂

And turn up in an army camouflage outfit. How smart!

More piccies taken at the deck where it's cold and windy!

much love!

Also, the deck is where our favorite security guard, Antonio was standing!

He's one helluva security guard Unlike other security guards.. especially the creepy, perverse ones in Malaysia!

Super-blinding reflective security guard X Team Rocket

Remember Yogi Bear in the beginning of this blogpost?

Give him a lil squeeze, for it's BEAR HUGS TIME!!

Alrightey! Last piccie of the night before we – in our current state – drag ourselves back home.

Sometimes I wish I could just sleep there and then, not having to walk back the lonnnnngggg way home.

But then again, my long walks home are often very, very nice

Again, I daresay, COSTUME PARTIES ROCK THE HOUSE DOWN!

More? Bring it on!

I hear Toga party is on after Easter Break, unleash the Caligulas, Romans and Greeks!