1200 AUD

100 hours of work in the kitchen (ave 12 AUD per hour) +
100 hours of work in the with the grinders (12 AUD per hour)
= 1200 AUD

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1200 AUD =

1090 days of advertiser newspaper (1.10 AUD each)
869 metro bus trips (1.35 AUD each)
674 bags of potato chips (1.78 AUD each)
603 loafs of bread (1.99 AUD each)
521 tempura chicken sushi rolls (2.30 AUD each)
342 bags of chips (3.50 AUD each)
303 cups of regular latte (3.95 AUD each)
266 cups of bubble tea (4.50 AUD each)
242 cups of regular irish nut creme (4.95 AUD each)
240 cheese burger regular meal at hungry jacks (aprox 5 AUD each)
151 family size australian pizza special (7.90 AUD each)
150 1 foot long subway sandwich (aprox 8 AUD each)
133 movies at the cinema (9 AUD per ticket)
80 meals outside at a nice restaurant (ave 15 AUD each)
64 3D movies trip at imax cinema (18.5 AUD per ticket)
60 tee shirts (ave 20 AUD each)
12 1kg lindt chocolate bunnies (100 AUD each)
10 3kg cocolat easter chocolate egg (120 AUD each)
4 new digital camerars (250 AUD each)
1 trip back home without budget airline (~aprox 1200 AUD 2 way ticket)


wish list = frozen
holiday plans = frozen
volunteer plans = pending
work plans = pending...

*sigh*
*takes knive n stabs heart*

i will survive.....

the scales

try making up a simple scale, with 2 ends and a fulcrum right in the middle, put weights at both ends and make it balance. simple? alright, making the same device, but changing the 2 ends to a 3 ended scale. putting a 'Y' shape object with 3 same length arms, and make it balance, pretty simple too right? how bout making it 4?? a '+' shape objects with 4 arms, balance it on a fulcrum and making sure its flat. still a simple task right? now.. if we increase the number of arms till its a shape of a flat circle, like a dinner plate as an example. putting the middle of the dinner plate on a nail, balancing it, then try putting food all around the surface of the plate and balance it, making sure its flat so that the sauce of the food won't spill over, how easy is that?? pretty hard huh?

i remember once, a maths lecturer of mine is giving one of his 'life-101' lecture right in the middle of his maths class which makes me wonder till now and i quote, "you learn all this things [maths equations and all] is to learn how to balance in life" of everything he taught me, that's the only thing that sits in my head. learning how to balance in life is a pretty difficult task to do. there are no books, laws, research papers, or anything that could be taken as a guide or to help u to perform this.

back to the dinner plate scale we have there, you are going to put your food on it, balancing it on the nail, carefully placed, you will have a balance plate, with all the food you could have on top. you might put the biggest and heaviest food in the middle and the lightest at the side to keep the plate balance. then you could enjoy a decent peaceful dinner. you might need to move the food a little around to keep the balance, but yes, dinner will be still pleasant and enjoyable. theoretically, by the law of physics and all, its something that could be done with careful calculations of weight, and distance from the axis. but doing it in real life, there are things like, gravity, wind, vibrations and all those variables which could cause the plate to topple over. once that happens, your dinner will be on the floor, you might break your plate, and might even burn yourself with the hot food. whats worst, you might just spoil the night having dinner with your friends, or maybe even injured yourself from the hot food or broken glass.

now that everyone has a good picture of that, change the plate into 'LIFE' and the food into "COMMITMENTS', and there you are right in the middle of the plate. balancing your life with the commitments above making sure it doesn't fall down, you will most probably put the heaviest commitments right in the middle of the plate, and all the lesser ones further and further away from the middle, with the lightest the furthest away at the edge. balancing them all around. once u acquire balance, you will put in effort to maintain them. theoretically, you could divide your time, manage your money and manage your commitments. at times your plate might tilt and the ones on the edge might fall off, but at the end you still could maintain the balance of your plate. BUT, what if, people keep handing you more and more food, so much so that u couldn't finish them. you keep stacking and stacking the food on the plate. then you start throwing away the little food on the sides on your plate go give space to bigger heavier food. be reminded that the plate is still on a nail. at one point, the plate for sure its going to topple and fall. which is exactly the same in life. when one gets too much commitments, their life will go off balance. in life, we tend to pay more attention on bigger commitments, and leave the smaller and less important ones a side.

So, you might say, "all right, i've decided not to take dinner, therefore my plate will be empty!!that will solve all problems right?" you could for a meal or two, but won't you starve to death that way? by not eating any food, you could enjoy the dinner with an empty plate having to problems balancing it on the nail, but, how long could you survive without food? 1 day?? 1 week?? could you go 1 year? food in this picture is essential in survival. there is no such thing as a life without commitments. but, like above, theoretically, it could be balance with all the food above. but how about all the un-accountable variables in life?? people keep putting more and more commitments into you that you couldn't have a balance life anymore. and to mealy keeping the balance, you kick off all the smaller less important commitments like, replying an email to an old friend or chatting with the course mate you once close with.

as commitments increase so much so that your life loses balance and topple down. sometimes your life might not break and you will have a life to pick up. others might have a bad fall, breaking their life into pieces. their friends might think he's no good anymore and leave, leaving him alone, without a life. as he pick his broken pieces back, he might hurt himself, he could have move on, getting a new life, starting all over again, but how many people out there could do that?

sometimes people around you just don't understand how much food you could take, and the effort in keeping your plate balance. they keep putting food on your plate, throwing everything off, and when you tell them that you could not handle any more, they give might use hurtful words in responds. they couldn't have taught how hard to for you to keep the balance, as they aren't the one balancing them, they might think another piece of small cake won't do any harm, but in fact that small piece of cake might be the last straw that breaks the camel's back. you could have spend so much time and effort balancing life as well as you could, by being fair to everyone, and all your commitments, yet, some others might just not see that. to them, accepting their given food is a must.

life is never balance you could say, yet, at lease try to make it as balance as possible, try not to drop too many commitments, throw away those that's taste bad, and keep the most important ones closes to you. some commitments are never worth to be kept on the plate in the 1st place. while others could be eaten quickly. and if you really had too much, maybe you could ask your friend whether they could share the dinner with you. that will then help you keep your balance in place. at the end balancing all of them on the plate, and hopefully, all of us could enjoy a decent dinner.

in loving memories.

its already been a very long while since the last time we had a good conversation, or had a meal together, or even walk around together. its been a very, very long while you drove me around, or cook a meal. its already more than i year since i last saw you, last spoke to you, and last hear you speak.

you are always a good cook. every dish coming out of your kitchen is one of the few best food i ever had. if i'm not wrong, you taught us how to make our 1st layer cake, how to make kaya, and many more. that was many many years ago. other than that, your 'bread-banana' thing.. can't find a substitute to it. i have always had a good time in your kitchen trying to help you out and having fun with all your kitchen equipments.. every year when i get back, i will always be looking forward to your cooked meals.

i miss the times i take a ride in your red little car, with my brother and my cousins. you always try to entertain us by calling us to count stuff on the way... like how many red cars, or flower pots along the road and all. i remembered we all go excited and start counting.. and we happily tell you how many we got at the end of trip.. and also you telling us about the place. u like to take us to eat the best food around the place, hunting down the meat ball noodles, best mee goreng stall and many more all over the island. u also took us to markets to get your groceries.. and also shop at supermarkets, telling us which brand to get, and which not to.

i remember every year, you get my brother's and my measurements, and every end of the year, we will have new PJ's, and they comes in sets!!! you always make them bigger so that i could grow into it. till now, i still have them with me. i think its almost 10 years now. i even brought 2 of them over to adelaide with me. not only that, i still remember you made my brother and i a pillow and a bolster each, we use to 'fight' with them a lot, till they went soft... i think the pillow is still at home. i managed to save it from being thrown away... i still remember the times, i hover around you and your sewing machine, watching you turn cloth in to clothes. i remember when ever i had some missing buttons or broken zip, you could always fix them. i remember you putting all the spare buttons in the film container in your sewing table. and i love pouring them out and have a look. i remembered u also taught us how to sew, with needle and thread. and also u always challenge us to put the thread into the needle. at times i remembered u get one of us, to put the thread into your sewing machine's needle as you couldn't see properly.

i remember when ever you hear one of us is sick, or unwell, you will tell us what to do. what medications to take. and i'm pretty sure, you will boil good soup for us. i remembered u made one of the best porridge with chicken and vegetables. i could remember my brother asking my mum why can't he get the same nice porridge when he is sick while grandma isn't there. you will get herbs to boil soup to help us 'cool' down. you also teach us on what the types of herbs which are good for the appropriate body parts. and i remembered u always get pre-pack herbs for us to bring back to be boiled into soup. when i was young, i almost believe that you could cure all kinds of sickness. and also your, 'magic oil'. the herbal 'oil' that could cure almost anything, from cuts, burns, to tummy ache. i always love the smell of that 'oil'. yet, when you are sick, i haven't been doing anything much.

i remember the days i spend at your house, they are the earliest mornings that i could automatically wake up extremely early without help. and i will spend the mornings watching video tapes in the living room. you will always make me drink a cup of water the 1st thing after i wake up. i remember once you gave me an extremely bitter drink, and you told me its something i love to drink. what a shock u gave me that morning!! u taught me to drink the mixture of teh and kopi O mix, eating cream cracker with butter, jam, or condense milk. i really like the house you have in mutiara court. i always miss the smell there. i am always excited to go to your house. the times my brother and i race to your door, climb up the metal screen door to press the doorbell numerous times and shout for your name on top of our lungs.. and you will answer... "coming!!!" we always do that even our mum or someone else have the keys to your house for the fun on it.

your house has many memories in me. the times i play hide and seek with my cousins, jump around the bed with my brother, made a 'mattress-fort' with all the mattress and pillows. the times where almost the whole family, aunts, uncles and cousins pack together and sleep in the living room on the floor and many many more. i remembered that in your house, i found the love of jigsaw puzzles, and in your house, is where my brother and i completed our 1st 1000 pieces jigsaw puzzle. then you encourage us to frame the picture up. in your house too, you, my brother, and i and sometimes cousins, join together to watch series, where you will explain to us whats happening in the drama.

every chinese new year, i will be expecting a big parcel send by you with all the new year goodies in it. chinese love letters, kuih bangkit, almond cookies, and many more. its sometimes hard to imagine how you could send so many things from the the west end of the country to the east end of the country. your chinese new year goodies always makes me feel special as there isn't other houses having the same new year goodies as us. and every birthday, u will give us a red packet, and also call us to wish us 'happy birthday'. thou i wasn't very appreciative when i was younger, i wish to hear that this year... but that most probably now only a wish. although throughout my childhood, i only visit you about 3 weeks every year, my growth is always being updated to you from my mum from your phone calls. i still remember, you will call quite frequently, almost once every month without fail.

recent years, you haven't been able to do much of those already. few days ago, you left us, and today, you officially left the physical world. its sad that i couldn't be there one last time, and i always thought i could see u again next year. yet, even thou i'm far and away, i'm sure you will always be around. i know you are in a better place now. i will go back and visit you for sure. i hope you are better there. you have gave me endless memories and for sure, you will be always remembered. in loving memories to my dearest porpor...

cardiomegaly~ (help)

i think i have cardiomegaly. to those non familiar with medical terms.. 'cardio' means heart.. and megaly means 'enlarge' [i think]. its a medical condition where the heart is enlarge or bigger than usual. now, dont worry yet... there is nothing wrong with my heart physically [yet]....

===================================================

when was the last time u drop your lose change to a donation tin after buying your coffee??
when was the last time u hold the bus door open till the last person hops off??
when was the last time u pick up something for some one??
when was the last time u HELP and unknown stranger for directions?
when was the last time you RECEIVE help??
when was the last time you OFFERED to help??

its been awhile i been helping people with their problems. helping from simple tiny stuff.. to kinda major stuff, all i been there. since a young age, moral values of 'helping others' somehow work its way into me which makes part of me now to help others. and recently i found out when ever some1 ask for help, the 1st think that comes across my mind will be, hmm.. how and what is the fastest way to help this person. the things that i can do? and also the 'maybe' situations that could happen. somehow i just got a feeling i put my whole self into helping the someone that ask for it. if u call me up at 4 in the morning and say you need help, or just want to talk or want some1 to listen, i'll gladly do it. no questions ask. of couese, i won't let those task interfere with my daily life, work n classes... but sometimes.. rules can be bend.. depending on situation rite??

"wenqi are you free on...... can you help out for the........."
"on the.............?? yea sure.. how can i help you?? "

i help people because people ask for help. and for people asking for help obviously they need it. Sooo... being train to get task done fast, and learning that things could only be done by using your heart, therefore, when people ask for help, i would quickly get it done with with the best i could. and not complain ( or maybe a little =P) about the hardship to get the task accomplished. putting everything i have, and my free time to get something done, is something i feel good. thou it might cause some trouble here n there, but I'm happy when i help some one out of their worries or problems.

"wenqi, i need your help, urgent!!"
"huh?? relax.. wats up??"

being a person with a 'helpful' heart is in a moral prospective is the optimal outcome. While i am walking around the city, people will approach me for a few dollars to catch a bus, a programed answer of 'i'm sorry, i don't have any' even with my pocket jingling with lose change will come out. after walking away, i always wonder, how will that person get home? should i turn back and give him some money? another situation will be buskers in the city. i must admit they can really entertain people, yet, a self programed action of walking away right after he finishes performing usually takes place. and sometimes, i feel bad for that.

"wenqi, could you please help me to get this in the city later??"
"yeah sure, i'm going down there later anyway.."

helping people isn't as easy as it sounds. small situations like fetching a book or buying lunch doesn't matter me much. yet, being helpful, or over helpful might be viewed as naive, easily being used and whats worse, stupid. yet, i felt that i use lots of help before which i think i deserve to return favours. thinking back, [not that i'm expecting any return here...] i've been helping so many people, that i feel kinda tired now. and i sometimes wonder, is it worth all the effort to do so?? or just pure of a waste of time (and sometimes money)?? being there for a friend, or even go donating blood, might not cost anything or mean anything to many others, but for your own self, the time and energy to perform these task, have anyone ever wondered?? does it mean anything to yourself??

"can you help me inform others about the.........??"
"yah.. consider it done."

There are no unit of measurement in helping someone. we cannot count, things like "i already 'perform' 2 big help and 1 small help today". yet when we agree to help, we should put out our best to finish the task and not hoping for any return. i might feel being use at times, or feel tired on the nights, and maybe even worry that i didn't help enough. maybe i am kind, or just pure naive. sometimes when you help others, people put you down, saying its stupid to do so, or other people will help them and not to trouble yourself. which is kind of true, i am not god or a powerful person where i could help everyone that come asking for it. its sad to turn people down. in fact, i don't like to turn people down but at times, there isn't much i can do.

"hey.. i need the phone number of ........... fast!! "
"ok ok.. give me a sec."

there is a limit to everything including the amout of things i could do in a day. at the end of the day, i really wonder, what made me the 'yes-man??" what made me do all that, what drove me to that level to help some one. isn't it easier to just say, 'oh i'm sorry, i'm pretty busy... i can't help you'. maybe i just give in too easily... or maybe its just me. back to the cardiomegaly, the enlarge 'helping' heart of mine sometimes give me doubts on everything i am doing now.

"thank you very much!!! thanks alot.. really thank you!!!"
"ok ok.. dont thank d...."

20 random facts

i was tag in facebook and i thought i might as well put it here too =)

=================================================
Rules of engagement: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 20 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 20 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you!

1) my holidays isn't as boring as i thought

2) i have the ability not to get angry at people. and i can't remember the last time people made me angry. or maybe i'm just patient... *cough cough*

3) i have no sense of being insulted. people might insult me and i just don't care about it.. or maybe i just don't care what people insult me because i'm too lazy to humor their small tiny minds. is this a good thing??

4) i like going out no matter what the weather is. the 2 most extreme cases i ever experience so far will be walking under 46 degrees heat. and also walking in 3 degrees at night with only a jacket, t-shirt, shorts n slippers.

5) i once wanted to be a policeman, fireman, soldier, and a doctor.. before proceding to dream to be a neurosurgeon... but ended up studying to be a podiatrist now.

6) coffee and tea is a must for me in the mornings... extra cups are welcome throughout the day. sadly, no1 is free to drink coffee with me currently..

7) i have not experience an injury free week since erm.... i cant remember november 2008??

8) i can go lack of sleep for days without having eye bags. and i have like 5 pimples a year...

9) i love nuts.. all kind of nuts.. they make me nuts.. haha =)

10) i have the ability not to gain or gain minimal amount of weight even though i eat a lot. therefore i gave up trying to gain weight.

11) i wish i could have more pineapple tarts for this chinese new year because the ones i have is gone....

12) i have higher tolerance to heat n cold compare to other people.. and i have no idea why.

13) i think i just killed a patch of skin on my 2nd finger of my right hand due to handling hot melted plastic in one of my part time jobs. i can see a patch of white skin of my finger after doing the dishes in another part time job of mine

14) my 1st class of the 1st semester of 2nd year starts at 8 on a monday morning

15) i can bake!!! my record was erm.. butter cake.. egg cake.. and more butter cake.. i made cookies before.. but it ended up as a fail product.. and i wonder why they say guys cant cook and bake... hmmm....

17) my hairstyle keep changing till i have no idea what is it suppose to look like now.. it started with straight down the middle, then was push to the left, and right, and left, and middle again and.... erm.. im not sure where it goes now..

18) i prefer to take pictures than being taken.

19) i have torn 2 pairs of my jeans in a week last december... and i have no idea how it happend.

20) all my friends keep wondering why i am still single....

21) i am thinking how many of the readers notice that there is no point 16 above.

i want

i want:

original windows XP pack,
sony stick, 1G or 2G or any other equivalent MP3 player
wardrobe
espresso machine
sunglasses
wide brim hat
auto producing sun block skin
week without injuries
unlimited supply of nuts
unlimited streaming quota
an ikea home... without me maintaining it =)

the walking orange

'OOoooOOOO for Orange'

the 1st thing that people come across the word orange, will most probably the round bright color fruit which is high in vitamin C, high in fiber and one of the most popular fruit among children that starts with the letter 'O'. other than that, orange also could mean the a color between the mixture of red and yellow. after searching for multiple sites for the meaning of this color, as summary, ORANGE --Happy, courageous, successful, enthusiasm, bold, adventuresome, friendliness, warmth, informality, welcoming, movement, energy etc.

so, why the walking orange??
erm.. i don't really know........

and from this site, the word orange has came up with a new meaning. me. the walking orange a.k.a me, has been really popular now this year among the people here.. which was quite a surprise for me as, well, the walking orange should only be alive through the computer screen. and whats more surprising is, whenever something that is related to the word orange, all fingers will be pointed back to me.

thinking back after being blogging for about 5 years now and having some loyal readers around.. which i was surprise as my blogs are usually LONG and without any nice pictures.. its surprising people still strain their eyes in the page. going back into history, i still couldn't figure out why i named myself orange. anyway, the truth behind me being labeled as a fruit isn't that important anymore. now the walking orange has a constant but tiny flow of readers which keeps me amused where somehow people still come back to my long and wordy site to seek something me myself isn't sure myself. clearly this past time of mine provides me with some entertainment and also keeps my brain from functioning properly during times of total boredom.

orange is the happiest color ~ frank sinatra

blogging was once a place where i crap the hell out as i know not many will read anyway. not much people knows my blog existed and although its not personal, yet i don't promote it and force invite people to visit and drop comments and stuff, yet from time to time, new readers will drop their footprint here, which again, makes me happy. most of the post here are pretty more on life happenings and also the weired thoughts that i have. some might be just a waste of time reading it. last good point i could take my blogging past time would be a place for me to so call improve my english.. but then, my grammar here are pretty screwed anyway..

the walking oranqi~ TC n gang

right, back to the orange story. never near to my expectation where the walking orange has been so well known among my friends till i have been an iconic figure of an orange to them. being nicknamed as 'oranqi' (read as 'oran chi' *i think*) begun after a surprised birthday celebration where i was bath right next to the river (refer big splash 08'). from that day onwards, i was known as, wenqi, the walking orange.. i was actually planing to let the name orange only to be use on the net, but then, somehow, it spread to the real world, nevertheless, it gave joy to a number of people relating orange to me or me to orange.. which ever come into their mind.. its sure weired if people here starts calling me orange.. 'Hey orange, wanna go for a drink??" or, " i'm looking for a... erm.. an Orange.. is he in??" or "may i speak to Orange please??"

this is wenqi the walking orange
oh hello.. err.. orange?
hi.. yea.. orange..

the walking orange has help me to connect with people around the world. i got to know a course mate of mine from malaysia via this site too. n also keeping connected to many others via my updates on life here. its hard to maintain ties with friends especially when all of them is all over the world. and its quite boring telling everyone the same story again and again in different instant messaging windows, therefore this site has help a lot in that case. thou at times, laziness will take over and prevents me from updating but, that usually wont last long.. 1 month the most?? haha the walking orange has been up and running for almost 4 years now, and till now, i cant recall the history of this name, nor i will try. after all, why change a name that suits me well eh??

the walking orange @ orangengwq.blogspot.com