Disney's Magic (Part 4)

Original movie poster in 1959

Another main highlight of the Dreams Come True exhibition is the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. Again, versions of the fairy tale are known to date back as far as the fourteenth century, and it appears as the first story in Charles Perrault's Tales from Times Past, with Morals. Even though the Disney version is accredited to Charles Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty, the film's version is more closely related to the Brothers Grimm story of Briar Rose in 1812. Why? The reason is that the Grimm version excluded the more gruesome elements from the Perrault version whereby the mother of the prince becomes an ogre who tries to eat her grandchildren and daughter-in-law (How sick is that mother! She's a cannibal who even eats her own relatives!). Besides that, the Grimm version ends with a happy note, i.e. Sleeping Beauty awakes, marries the prince and lives happily ever after (Again, the happy ending that I really like).

(As extracted from the exhibition) In the Brothers Grimm story, the princess sleeps for 100 years before a handsome prince enters the castle and awakens her with a kiss. In the Disney version, Princess Aurora is betrothed at birth to Prince Phillip, and they meet again by chance on Aurora's 16th birthday, although neither knows the other's true identity. This story adaptation established a romantic connection between the 2 characters that helped create an emotional climax at the end of the film.

The kiss that awakens Princess Aurora

The film was produced in 6 years' time. Different from Snow White and Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty was filmed in the newly developed Super Technirama 70 wide-screen format, thus giving opportunities for artists to experiment with rich colours and more detailed backgrounds. And when was Sleeping Beauty produced? Answer - 1959.

Early drafts of Princess Aurora

Certainly most of us can remember how well Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip sings, and the magical moment when Prince Phillip kisses Aurora to awake her from a deep (or almost forever) sleep. But one part of the movie that was the climax (in my opinion), was when Prince Phillip was fighting against the "Mistress of All Evil", Maleficient (was has turned into a dragon). I will always recall the spell that the 3 good fairies cast upon the prince's sword that defeated the evil witch - "Oh sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure!”.

The sword aims correctly to Maleficent's heart

Of all the stirring legends of the triumph of good over evil, none has been so inspirational to me as Sleeping Beauty. - Walt Disney


So let's recall the characters in Sleeping Beauty. There's Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, Maleficent, and the 3 fairies. The red fairy is Flora, the green fairy is Fauna and the blue fairy is Merryweather. And yes, do remember that Maleficent's original spell to Princess Aurora who was still an infant was "to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and DIE before the sun sets on her 16th birthday". (Out of all her evil and malicious spells, the worst spell is only this?) But anyhow, the blue fairy,  Merryweather (who haven't give Aurora a gift yet), altered the evil witch's spell from death to a deep sleep (as she is not as strong as the evil witch), and later (as we all know the ending), Aurora is kissed by the prince, whereby she wakes up and they lived happily together (with the termination of Maleficent).

Mistress of All Evil - Maleficent

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather

Princess Aurora singing in the woods

What's for dinner? - Sushi [Recipe]

Delicious Sushi

Sushi, a Japanese dish that can be made with much creativity. Examples of sushi are makizushi, inarizushi and nigirizuhi. Sushi is one of the healthier foods which is rather popular in Melbourne. Plus, it's affortable and comes in a wide variety of choice of fillings. There are also quite a few good Japanese restaurants here that offer scrumptious Japanese cuisine, including sushi.

Makizushi

Inarizushi

Nigirizushi

Well, for my dinner, I choose the make the most basic sushi, makizuhi. Among the ingredients I use are roasted seaweed (nori sheets), avocado, cucumber, rice, tuna, egg and cooked Japanese rice. To start, I seasoned the cooked rice with vinegar, sugar and some salt. Then I roll the ingredients with rice and nori sheet before cutting it to slices to eat. Of course, you can make sushi in the uramaki style, where the rice is folded outwards with the seaweed and fillings inside (People often sprinkle sesame seeds, fish roe or seaweed on the sides of this type of sushi). Apart from that, the fillings can be substituted with various ingredients from smoked salmon, pickled carrots, crab sticks to fried shrimps. Sushi is often complimented with wasabi, pickled ginger and soy sauce.

So want to have a healthier choice for dinner? Eat sushi! Itadakimasu (いただきます) ~

Cucumber and Avocado

Tuna and Egg

Sushi 

Disney's Magic (Part 3)

Cinderella Poster

Having known more about Snow White, one of the next classic of Disney's fairy tales is Cinderella. The production of Cinderella took over 10 years of planning and production as a result of the World War II and low budget, but was finally completed in 1950. Similar to Snow White, Cinderella has its storyline altered which excluded some gruesome events in the earlier versions of Cinderella (also known as The Little Glass Slipper). In the earlier versions (Brothers Grimm version to be specific), Cinderella's stepsisters did extreme actions just to fit in the small fragile glass shoe to their feet, which is by cutting off part of their feet. In the Grimm's version there was no fairy godmother but a wishing tree and that the prince was rather foolish (as he had to be told by birds twice) about who the real bride truly is. Thankfully, Walt Disney production adapted one of the best and gracious versions of Cinderella, known as Cendrillon, which was written by Charles Perrault, which (of course) has the fairy godmother and a good ending for everyone (both Cinderella and her stepsisters).

The evil stepmother - Lady Tremaine

The ugly stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella

The screen version must perceive and emphasize the basic moral intent and the values upon which every great persistent fairy tale is found - Walt Disney


One feature that Disney emphasized in the production is the cat, Lucifer. Lucifer was drawn to bring more comedic elements to the storyline of Cinderella. Apart from that, the Disney animation team did lots of drafts as to perfect the drawings of the pumpkin which will later transform into a magnificent carriage. One part of Cinderella that I like most apart from Cinderella finally gets to escape from the looked chamber and fits into the glass slipper (the one she owns as the original one was broken into pieces) was the magical transformation of her torn pink dress to a spectacular white and elegant dress. Every time I think of that scene, the song Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo will arise in my mind. Well, I also enjoyed the other magic process such as turning the pumpkin to a carriage, mice to horses, horse to coachman and dog to footman.

Fairy Godmother doing measurements for the gown

The transformation to the white gown

And finally (the happy ending that I really like), despite all trials and difficulties, Cinderella can finally be wedded to the prince and live happily together, and leave from her stepmother's evil clutches of slavery as well as the jealousy and cruelty of her stepsisters.

Cinderella fitting into the glass slipper

Cinderella and her Prince charming

Adieu, Su San!

I would like to extend my gratitude to a dear friend Su San, for all her care and help throughout the year of 2010 in Melbourne. Though she'll be heading back to Singapore for work after her studies, I will definitely miss her and I wish her all the best in everything she does and that God will bless her in every aspect of her life.

Su San is more than a friend, and more like a sister to me and I really appreciate her and am very thankful for our friendship. Adieu, Su San! Take care and all the best for your bright future ahead! Love ya~

Su San and me 

Disney's Magic (Part 2)

The entrance to the exhibition 

The trip to the Dreams Come True exhibition was definitely worth it. I got to know more in depth about the behind the scenes stories about Walt Disney production. The start of the exhibition was an introduction to Walt Disney, the one important man behind all our childhood fantasies and dreams. Then it was a rather thorough exhibition about Silly Symphonies (1929-1939), which consisted of The Ugly Duckling, The Three Little Pigs and The Piped Piper. There was even the a part of the cartoon of the 3 Symphonies I've listed above on screen to be watched, which is sadly only about 5 minutes each. But still, it was entertaining and fun! The exhibition also displayed sketches of the animation and a detailed explanation to how the cartoon was developed and produced.

The movie poster in 1937

Next, the exhibition focused on one of the most famous Disney movie ever made, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It certainly amazed me how old the popular cartoon was! The movie was finally put on the big screen in 1937, after more than 3 years of production. As during that period, cartoons only averaged about 6 minutes, thus Snow White was considered by Hollywood as "Walt Disney's Folly". However, the truth was exactly the total opposite, Snow White was a big hit, and still lives as part of our childhood  memory even till 2010. Snow White has become so famous that it's been replayed over the years and I believe that the story of Snow White that most of us are familiar with is the Disney's version. Contrary to the original story of Snow White by Brothers Grimm, the evil queen has a different and earlier death. The Brothers Grimm version has the evil queen put on heated iron shoes and danced to death as she attended the neighbouring country's prince wedding (not knowing that the bride was Snow White). Another main difference is the way Snow White was awaken. In the Disney movie, Snow White was awaken by a kiss from the prince but in the Grimms version, the poision apple dislodge from Snow White's throat (leading Snow White to wake up) when the prince servants stumble during the process of moving her coffin.


There would be no compromise on money, talent or time. We did not know whether the public would go for a cartoon feature, but we were darned sure that audiences would not buy a bad cartoon feature. - Walt Disney 


So does everyone still remember the names of the seven dwarfs? Disney production team came up with thousands of suggestions and finally decided the final seven which are Doc, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy and Dopey.  Another interesting fact that I knew from the exhibition was about the evil queen. Quite to my surprise, the image of the queen was actually inspired by the famous actresses of that time. Wow, if I was the actress I have no idea whether I feel privileged that my image was selected as the queen or disappointed as the character of the queen is hated by millions of children worldwide and for centuries.

The seven Dwarfs

The evil and jealous Queen

 Having grown up, after reading all the information and watching a short clip of Snow White again from the exhibition, one fact that struck me was how fortunate Snow White was when she clean the dwarfs' house. How good would it be to have animals volunteer and help clean the whole house and what Snow White basically does is just monitor the animals and sweep the floor a bit while singing with her sweet voice. If that can happen in reality, I bet I'll learn whole-heartedly how to sing perfectly (Just kidding, there's robots now that can do the job). Another fact that struck me was how iconic Snow White's dress had become. If anyone (usually girls) wears a dress with a blue top and yellow skirt sewn together, which has no collars and round sleeves with red flattened ovals, the first impression we have is that person is trying to dress up as Snow White, and it doesn't even matter if the person have a terrible voice, long hair or is tanned. Apart from that, I was totally amazed by the animators during that time. Being a not-so-talented artist, I could never come up with the images drawn by them, plus all the drawings for Snow White were hand-drawn. Oh, I just can't imagine how much time and effort is invested to complete this animation, no wonder it took more than 3 years!

Snow White and the animals

No matter what, I still like Snow White as it has a happy ending, where the princess is with a prince charming and that the good reins over evil. And lastly, I really like the ending of the movie where "they lived happy ever after" (though life's much more complicated than that).

Snow White and her Prince charming

Disney's Magic (Tangled 2010 Trailer)

Disney's Magic (Part 1)

What to do on a Sunday afternoon? After having a good lunch, Juan and I decided to tour Melbourne again, but this time instead of shopping, we went to the acmi (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) for the exhibition of Dreams Come True. Dreams Come Trues ~ The Art of Disney's Classic Fairy Tales, just the title is enough to make me fired up for the whole exhibition. Indeed, I've grown up with Disney animation and movie, and is very familiar with Disney productions such as Snow White, Cinderella, the Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and the Little Mermaid, just to name a few. I believe most of the people grew up with Disney's memories, and most of us are even supporters of major Disney's productions until now. Well, all credits go to Walter Elias Disney, better known as Walt Disney, and one of his famous quote is "it's kind of fun to do the impossible". Although long cartoons were ridiculous during his time and most people (from Hollywood) think that cartoons that were made into movie (which are basically 2 hours long) are a waste of money and effort during the 1930s, but thank God for Walt Disney's personality that was persistent and 'thinking out of the box', or else we would not have such sweet Disney memories in our childhood times.

So as an end note, I will be anticipating this December's Tangled, based on the fairy tale, Rapunzel. Do check out the trailers and let Disney's magic enchant you again！

The board at the entrance to the acmi

Exhibition tickets

A poster of the exhibition

On the escalator to the exhibition hall

What's for dinner? - Curry [Recipe]

Dinner. One of the main meals of a day, and the time where me and my housemates will gather in our small but equipped kitchen to cook together. So as a goodbye meal for Iris, who's leaving back home, I've decided to cook something that's rather Malaysian and delicious - chicken curry (strongly suggested by Juan). Though I'm not a fantastic great cook like Jamie Oliver, or any Iron Chef in Japan, I know my curry dish is rather popular with my group of friends, and this dish has never disappointed me (and my friends) as a good meal.

So what's the ingredients for chicken curry? Obviously, it's chicken. This time, instead of chicken wings, I opted to use chicken drumsticks which has a different texture. Other ingredients that's part of my recipe are lemon grass, garlic, brown onion, chilli, and ginger (all of these finely chopped). There's also the potato, diced to smaller pieces. Next, the spices that are essential for the curry include turmeric, chilli powder, Cayenne pepper powder, hot chilli flakes, curry powder, garlic powder, white pepper and black pepper.

Chicken drumsticks

Other curry ingredients

Curry spices

 So is cooking curry complicated and difficult? The answer is NO! It's quite easy and does not require much skills compared to making sushi and dumplings. Of course, being careful and aware of the stove's heat is important so as to avoid having the food burnt into black ashes. Firstly to cook the curry, the chicken drumsticks and potatoes are fried separately. Next, stir fry the other ingredients (garlic, onion, ginger, lemon grass and chilli) in a preheated pan with oil. Add in the spices into the pan when there's a nice fragrance which is when the ingredients turn slightly brown. Add 2 cups of full-cream milk and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes. Then, put in the fried chicken into the curry mixture followed by the fried potatoes (you can add or use carrots as substitutes for potatoes) about 5 minutes later. Allow the curry to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes before putting in salt and a bit of sugar. To have a richer flavour of curry, use 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup of thick coconut milk to substitute the 2 cups of milk. Well, curry is best eaten with rice or Naan (or simply white bread if u're not into Asian or Indian cuisine).

Frying the chicken

Frying the potatoes

Curry is done!

So having spent almost 45 minutes cooking my curry, it's finally time to bon appetit!

It's time for Karaoke!

 What to do after the exams when you're free and want to release all the stress piled up from revision? Karaoke is one of the best things to do！So having had my last paper the day earlier, my housemate, Iris invited me for a Karaoke session. Without any hesitation, I agreed immediately and was anticipating for the 5-hour long singing (sometimes mumbling words, screaming lyrics, or plain making noisy) duration. Among the Karaoke places that I've visited in Melbourne are KBOX in La Trobe Street and PartyWorld in Melbourne Central. Well this time, Juan, Iris, Eve and me decided to visit PartyWorld for an exciting Karaoke experience. By the way, as the Karaoke places in Melbourne offer liquor and alcoholic beverages, it is a MUST to bring along an ID for age verification.

What's the most feared things during Karaoke? First, it is singing alone and that the other people have no clue to the rhythm, lyrics and tune; and thus can't sing-a-long. As a result, it brings the atmosphere down. Secondly, it's the wrong selection of songs. Although I'm not against sad and emotional songs, but I definitely would not recommend slow and repetitive songs that seem endless and boring to sing. Just think it this way, if you as the singer feel bored singing that song, then it's no doubt a living hell to others in that Karaoke room (who may really dislike whatever you're singing). Contradicting to majority's belief, I find people who sing extremely well rather pleasing to have for Karaoke (as long as the songs they sing are good and I can sing a few lines with them). However, don't get me wrong. I'm most welcomed to have friends who sings terribly during the session too, as these people are usually the ones who spice up the occasion and make the Karaoke room much more livelier and fun (But not too much or I'll get a headache later). Obviously, I don't mean to humiliate or discriminate these bad vocalists, but the fact is not everyone is as talented as Susan Boyles, so let's just ignore that fact and have a wonderful time together instead!

So what if you just have an ordinary voice and wish to make the atmosphere high without embarrassing yourself with bad vocals? My tip for this is to use the instrument provided (if available) in the Karaoke room - the tambourine. Of course, the tambourine is only suitable for fast and catchy tracks. Please never use it for melancholic songs that are peaceful and melodious. Another tip is to shake your body - dance a bit. It may seem awkward in the beginning (and some people may feel uncomfortable with it), but it will most probably make the atmosphere happier and more hilarious. Plus, I think you'll feel good while enjoying the song (if you have thick skin, in this case). No point everybody just stick their butt to the seats for 5 hours long or more and later get muscle cramps. So maybe choosing songs (I would suggest popular Korean songs) that have easy dance moves are rather wise for livening the atmosphere in the room (of course if the room is too small and crowded, clapping of hands while standing is just sufficient).

A tambourine and microphone for Karaoke

For me among the songs that are a must to sing are:
1. Nobody (Wonder Girls)

Selection of songs by Iris

2. When You Believe (Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey)
3. Superstar (SHE)
4. 倒带（蔡依林）
5. Tic Toc (Kesha)
And I just found out that I really like singing Barbie Girl (Aqua), Lemon Tree, Boy Who Murdered Love (Diana Vickers), 21 Guns (Green Day) and Fuck You (Lily Allen). Of course the list is not limited to this but among the songs that are really good for livening up the atmostphere are (It's only suggestions by me):

1. Got a Feeling (Black Eye Peas)
2. 离开地球表面 （五月天）
3. Paparazzi (Lady Gaga)
4. Gee (SNSD)
5. 庆祝 （杨丞琳）

Every individual is unique and have different preferences so it really depends on the mood and what genres and types of songs you like for Karaoke. Let's not bound ourselves to the specific songs but explore more songs during Karaoke. That's what makes Karaoke interesting and fun! So everybody, let's go Karaoke ~

Nodame fever is back!

Nodame Cantabile Movie Poster

Classical music has never been more entertaining ever since I've started watching Nodame Cantabile since 2006. Having just finished watching the movie, Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score I and II today, I'm captivated by classical music and the charms of Nodame again! I've watched the Nodame Cantabile drama, anime and specials, so it's rather late for a Nodame fan like me to watch the Nodame movie Finale, which is (in my opinion) the highlight and climax of the whole series. Though a bit late in watching the English-subbed movie (as the original is in Japanese and my proficiency for that language is rather lacking), I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hour long musical and romantic movie. Well, even though Chiaki senpai is so talented, cool and a surprisingly good cook, I find Nodame's character more entertaining, touching and subtle. Of course, the actress Ueno Juri contributed much to Nodame's success, who perfectly expose (which much care and attention) the overall growth and development of Nodame; from a piano student who aims to be a kindergarten student to a professional pianist performer, the relationship between Nodame and Chiaki and her path of self-discovery of understanding music (with the aid of her professors). Ueno has certainly won many hearts with her skilled and emotional acting regarding Nodame, and I find no other actress better to replace her as the character of Nodame. Plus, all the piano performances both in the drama and movie are ACTUALLY performed by Ueno, how good can she be eh?

Tamaki Hiroshi and Ueno Juri

Below are the cast to the movie :
* Juri Ueno - Noda 'Nodame' Megumi
* Hiroshi Tamaki - Chiaki Shinichi
* Eita - Ryutaro Mine
* Asami Mizukawa - Kiyora Miki
* Keisuke Koide - Masumi Okuyama
* Eiji Wentz - Frank Lantoine
* Becky - Tanya Vishnyova
* Sayaka Yamaguchi - Namiki Yuko
* Yu Yamada - Son Rui
* Shosuke Tanihara
* Takeshi Nadagi
* Seiji Fukushi - Kuroki Yasunori
* Michiko Kichise - Elize
* Masato Ibu - Mine Tatsumi
* Naoto Takenaka - Franz Strezemann

I would say that the drama and movie are much more meaningful, fun and exciting though the manga and anime is considerably more precise, contains more details and shows better growth of the relationship between Chiaki and Noda. However, if you're a person who may dislike the drawings and style of the mangaka of Nodame Cantabile, Tomoko Ninomiya, then the drama and movie is sufficient to fulfil your Nodame needs. (I do recommend you to watch the anime, because again, it's more informative). Apart from that, Nodame Cantabile is definitely one of the best alternative means to enjoy classical music (other means are listening to Li Yun Di, Maxsim Mrvica or playing a classical piece by yourself). You get to learn more about the composers such as Beethoven, Chopin, Mahler and more besides getting to know more about the background about a particular music piece and the emotions behind the music. Plus, as the drama and movie only show the really nice bit of the whole piece of music work of the composer (due to the intelligent editing of the director), classical music has never been so accessible and fun!

Best romance scene in Nodame Cantabile drama

 To end, I just cannot stop emphasizing how I love Nodame and how sad to know that the series has finally come to an end (Yes, it ended earlier this year and I know I'm a bit slow to know that fact). Though the story has now been placed with a fullstop, the fun and excitement from watching Nodame Cantabile will always be part of the memory of a good Japanese media product. Nodame, tsuki desu ❤ ~ 



These are the links to watch the Nodame series:
Drama - http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-drama/nodame-cantabile/
Anime - http://www.watchanimeon.com/anime/nodame-cantabile/
              - http://www.watchanimeon.com/anime/nodame-cantabile-paris/
              - http://www.watchanimeon.com/anime/nodame-cantabile-finale/
Movie Part I  - http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-movie/nodame-cantabile-the-final-score-part-i/
Movie Part II - http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-movie/nodame-cantabile-the-final-score-part-ii/
Info of Movie Part I & II (in Japanese) - http://www.nodame-movie.jp/index.html#/top

Sorry, I'm no fan of Harry Potter!

Being so constantly exposed to the recent trends, including fashion, cosmetic products, movie and songs, it definitely makes me an odd-ball for not watching any Harry Potter movie series, let alone read the books written by the renowned author, J.K. Rowling. (That's why I'm not a fan of the famous HP.)

HP movie poster 

Though having not watched or read any Harry Potter stuff, amazingly I still have much knowledge about this magic-background fictional book. The truth is, all my friends around me are fans and supporters of either the HP books and/or movie series. Thus, thanks to those people, I know not only the main characters of the story but even the story-line for some of the Harry Potter books. Which books? , you would be wondering. The answer is the 3rd book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and the last book, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows. For the other books, I don't really remember the story (my story-tellers are different every time), maybe only a vague understanding of the partial growth of the characters and the changing situations and plots. As for the HP movie series part, I get to watch the trailers too, so though having no experience watching a Harry Potter movie in a cinema before, at least I get a taste of it via its exciting trailers (though my friends always comment that the book is much more interesting and captivating than the movie). Honestly, I don't consider the actor, Daniel Radcliffe extremely attractive or handsome but am more interested to the actress who plays Hermaine, Emma Watson, who is growing to be prettier as years pass by. Well, having known so much about HP considering my status is absolutely unbelievable in my point of view. So maybe I will never understand the latest HP movie which is currently airing in cinemas worldwide, but fortunately I can still have a little taste of it from friends who are constantly excited (some disappointed) after watching the movie.

HP movie poster

I believe most people are captivated by the thought of magic, where you can utilize, move, transform or create something remarkable by a magic spell or potion. However, the reality is, there is never such an easy path in life. I've learnt from my parents that you have to earn everything by hard work, whether what you desire are good grades, respect from others, fame or wealth. Nothing comes without a price. Plus, the satisfaction and happiness of being rewarded after a period of commitment and diligence is more fulfilling than being spoon-fed. Yes, I do know the path will definitely be rocky (and sometimes lonely), but I believe that time will proof the effort you've made (though some people do fail lots of time and fail to see a success). If people were given magic powers, wouldn't the world be rather chaotic? Imagine the villains who are so powerful, can good always rein over evil? I doubt that.  Anyway, HP is one of the fantasies that people dream of, a totally different world and dimension. A whole new level of pleasure, fun and a utterly unique imagination playground for people to escape the stress of everyday lives.

So do I ever regret not reading or watching HP? No and never. Maybe I won't be able to chat about this topic with my friends, maybe I seem rather awkward in a group who's chatting about the latest HP movie and maybe I'm unfamiliar with the HP movie cast, but I know it's alright. So what if I miss a great book or movie? Life goes on and maybe when I'm 50, I can pride myself to others about that odd fact of mine. (I know it's quite naive).

So to all the HP fans out there, do enjoy the HP and the Deadly Hollows movie !!

I sense Christmas soon! Part 1

Having had my 3rd paper, Accounting Transactions and Analysis a day before, I decided to take a break and walk around the city of Melbourne. Having had a bad breakfast in Shark Fin House, located in Little Bourke Street (not because the food was unpalatable, but due to the arrogance and questionable service of the waiters and waitresses),me and my house mate, Juan decided to stroll around the city and sight-see a bit despite having explored most parts of the exciting city earlier in the year.

A Christmas tree in Bourke Street

Wow! What a sight to behold! It's already Christmas!, that's the 1st thought when we walked along Bourke Street. Light stands were decorated with huge colourful stars and all shops were fully decorated with Christmas trees, banners and the whole street was filled with jolly music. The atmosphere was definitely a joyous one, and I instantly forgot that I was still in the midst of my examinations (why do I still have 1 more paper left - Introduction to Actuarial Science?). For sure, I was already in a festival-mood! At that moment, my mouth wanted to burst out the words "Merry Christmas, everybody!". Of course doing that would make me seemed insane as it was only the 17th of November, a long time before Christmas. So being rational, I restrained and composed myself to being a tourist again.

A Christmas tree in Collins Street

One thing for sure, the Christmas trees decorated in Australia differ from other northern hemisphere countries, such as England, the US, France and Canada, which is that the trees are never covered in snow. Let's face reality, Australia (and New Zealand) will never experience a white Christmas in the midst of spring where the sun is punctual to shine so mightily and brightly in the day, and that the temperature can reach as high as 30 degrees Celsius! Well, (to console the Australians) at least there's still the oven-baked stuffed turkey, scrumptious ginger cookies, glorious Christmas carols and meaningful exchange of presents among family and friends all in a warm weather replacing the icy, cold snowy nights. Plus, we get to save money from buying lots of cotton or any material that looks similar to snow for decorating that tall Christmas tree (quite environment-friendly, I guess).

Christmas is one of the most meaningful and exciting seasons of the year. It's the time of the year when people gather together for a Christmas feast, exchange presents and remember the whole meaning of Christmas again. For now, let's focus on another of the highlight of Christmas - decorating the Christmas tree. December is finally the time to take that Christmas tree out from the garage and serve its purpose for the coming festival. In my opinion, the whole process of decorating the Christmas tree, from hanging countless different and unique Christmas decorations on the tree, arranging beautifully wrapped presents beneath the tree, twirling LED lights around the tree, to accurately placing that shining star on top of the tree a rather tiring and time-consuming task. Unless your profession is decorating Christmas trees, or that you are a perfectionist who is so meticulous in things that you find the only person capable to accomplish the task of decorating, no other than yourself, I find no reason why a person would want to finish decorating the tree alone, with his/her own strength and might. It's a rather tedious task, and without someone else to lend a helping hand, I don't see any fun or excitement in it. Since young, American dramas and movie always depict the process of decorating the Christmas tree a group event, whether with friends or family (Usually when decorating the tree alone, there'll be a sad music background or that the actor decorating will have a depressed expression). During that time of perfecting the Christmas tree, people get to cooperate, share the fun (and workload) of decorating and hence brings people closer to each other (although there maybe other cases where people disagree with the designs of decorations or the place to hang the decorations on the tree). And the end product is no other than an astonishing, brilliant and splendidly decorated Christmas tree. Personally, I've never been involved or experience decorating a tree (thanks to my parents who give lame excuses such as there's not enough space in the storage room, the ceiling's too low and etc.). Thus, one of my dreams is to buy my own Christmas tree and decorate it to be one of the most superb tree in the whole town! With no Christmas tree, the whole atmosphere of Christmas will seem to lack something important.

Anyway, just can't wait for Christmas! Do hope all of you will cherish this coming meaningful season with all your loved ones and never forget to take the opportunity to go under that mistletoe with that special one of yours! (since it's Christmas!)

Infatuation is dangerous ...

Infatuation is dangerous? How? Well, it definitely wouldn't hurt physically and leave you with bleeds, cuts and bruises, but it'll no doubt affect your feelings and emotions. If you know the difference between infatuation and love, then that's the good news; at least it makes the process of handling and controlling your emotions much more easier, and makes you think rationally and that you understand to why you feel like in cloud nine whenever you see, think or imagine about that person.

These days, people often blur the line between love and infatuation. Sometimes I wonder whether superstar fans really love their idol or are just simply infatuated by their charms, e.g. gorgeous looks, polite manners, good etiquette and high intelligence. Going back to the topic, infatuation can lead to several negative effects so much so a person only thinks of his/her infatuated "sweet heart" that it decreases their efficiency and progress in their work. The thought of the person keeps appearing in the mind which disrupts and bugs the everyday life. The regular pattern of a person's daily activities are obstructed as a result of infatuation. Appetite for food is affected, there is an inability to focus and accomplish a task and a rapidly increasing heartbeat whenever the image of the person being infatuated after appears in the mind, dreams or thoughts. People even smile abruptly at the thought of their infatuated individual. How bad can it be? Continuing from the examples of super stars, infatuation is worsen by the advancement of technology; as in the blink of an eye, you can search for whatever multimedia releases of the idol online, which includes biography, news releases, dramas, songs, movie and gossips about that particular idol.

Having myself exposed to too much Korean TV series and reality shows, I think I'm getting too immersed with Song Joong Ki nowadays. Rather than idolising him, I would consider myself being infatuated temporarily by his cuteness and charming character. How did this occur? It's all because of continuous exposure to his acting and involvement in the Korean show biz. First was Running Man that features Joong Ki as a regular cast, followed by the Korean drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal where Joong Ki acts as the playboy, Goo Yong Ha, and lastly the drama Obstetrics and Gynaecology Doctors.Ah, Joong Ki rocks! Not only he has the looks but the brains and character as well! Seriously, I want my infatuation to end as soon as possible, as the title suggests, infatuation is dangerous!

Song Joong Ki

However, infatuation is not as terrible as what I've written earlier. Yes, I do know I'm a bit exaggerative in describing that phenomenon that most teenagers experience in this cyber age. But hey, the truth is, what's wrong with having infatuated as long as you have self-control, know what you're doing, not going against the law and not sinning against God? No harm fantasizing over that prince charming like Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, or the 9 pretty Korean singers in Girls' Generation. Who in the world would not like to have a perfect partner? As long as we can come back to reality and face the truth, I think we can treat infatuation as a ripple in life that brings a little bit more excitement and fun in the monotonous, sometimes dull and boring lives of people. Don't you agree?

Just love dramas about hospitals, surgery and medical stuff.

Just finished watching a Korean drama Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctors. Though not 100%, but it did resemble Japanese medical dramas such as Code Blue.The intense atmosphere in the hospital to save a life, the complicated medical terms not seen in everyday dialogues, the different uniform colours of doctors from different specialization, all of these, excite my senses while watching the whole drama. Not only that, the romance of those tough yet vulnerable doctors is also an element that spice up the whole drama to another level. Although not a die-hard fan of Korean drama, I utterly enjoyed this Korean drama, so much so that I finished it in 3 days! Well, I do have friends who have similar taste and share same interest to these type of genres of dramas, but I also have friends who find these story-lines rather uneasy and bring much discomfort. Why? Simple. Not everyone like blood shed everywhere nor witness the whole process of stomach opening, intestines laid out in front of your eyes not to mention the thumping of the heart in the surgeon's palm. Quite disgusting right?

However, we should also adopt a different perspective to such rather reality-based dramas. Imagine the real-life situations in hospitals. Feel the emotions, hard decisions, complicated disease symptoms that a doctor has to go through. Wow, it just blows my mind away. No wonder some people think doctors are cold-blooded, as they see death face to face and on a daily basis. I once dreamed to be a neurology surgeon when I was younger. Thanks to my disinterest in Biology, I gave up my 10 year long dream to pursue something else. I've always like the thought of saving people; the satisfaction and feeling is so overwhelming that in that moment (especially in dramas when a doctor managed to save a life) that it give rise to a thought of how weak and fragile life is. In a twinkle of an eye, the person you have cherished so much may have just left you forever in the operation board of in the hospital bed. In reality (and drama), successful cases do not occur each and every time. There may be failures, unintentional mistakes, wrong approach of medication which leads a patient to a worse scenario (the worst is of course death). During such times, it makes me ponder again how much more we need to rely on God for His power and strength to survive in this little world.

People need God, and people need people. When a family has a sick patient, love and care are essential for the recovery of the unfortunate member. Persistence, courage as well as positiveness also play an important role when combating diseases that make any effort seem futile and give an illusion that the end of the medication is hopelessness and disappointment. So rather than stay pessimistic, why not live life joyfully and thankfully and with much happiness, as there's a saying that laughter is the best medicine. Even if a person just have 1 more day to survive, I always believe that every second of that last day can bring positive impact on others and change another's life for the better. That is why there are people who donate their organs after they passed away as their can influence and change another needy person's life forever despite them not being around.

So to all the doctors and doctors-to-be, I extend my utmost gratitude for your hard effort in saving lives besides prolonging and improving mankind's health. To end with a happier note, the supporting male actor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Doctor, Song Joong Ki is super hot !!

Below is the link to watching the Korean drama :
http://www.mysoju.com/obstetrics-and-gynecology-doctors/
Enjoy !!