...And Another Average Afternoon

Credit to Jasmine for the blog title. To be honest, it's probably the one title I've used that makes the most sense without being overly technical. Upon hearing her suggestion, I really didn't think I'd ever encounter a suitable time to capitilize on such a simple piece of alliteration, but I think it fits well into this post. As the title suggests, this afternoon was quite average in terms of productivity, but I'll talk about that further down the track.

After a weekend of nothing but pure laziness, I had absolutely zero desire to even leave the house for university this morning. I treated the weekend like the holidays had already started. I did nothing but watch movies on my laptop the whole weekend, including Balls of Fury, Evan Almighty, Orange County, Superbad, Vacancy and half of The Heartbreak Kid. Quite a risky move to execute considering how close the exams are. Very reminiscent of my preparations weeks before the HSC period. Moving on now ...

My first class of the day was my Communications seminar from 10am to 1pm. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations that were given by this week's nominated students; the content provided was really interesting and thought provoking. The first bloke to present, who I must point out, has a strong resemblance to Ben Foster (look him up in google if you don't know who he is) gave a presentation on lie detectors and how they are beginning to implement such devices into the workplace. Basically, if you're striving to avoid going in to work by chucking a sickie, your employer will most likely make you go through a lie detector to see if you really are sick.

After my class, I had a 5 hour gap until my Accounting lecture. At that point in time, I really couldn't be bothered waiting that long in the city for my next class so I decided to go straight home and finish off my CITP Report. As I made my way up the stairs of Platform 18, I ran into Serene. Very unexpected, but a delight. It's always healthy riding the train home with someone, especially when you're coming from the city. As you converse with that person, you block out the annoying longevity of the train ride, thus mentally you arrive at your destination faster. I'm sure most of you would agree.

Anyways, as soon as I arrived home I sure enough jumped straight into bed. I woke up at 7 on the dot. 4 hour nap ! So much for studying. I have a day off tomorrow, so I'll be sure to make some use of it.

...And Assurances Are Ample

It's currently 11:41pm on Thursday night. I must say, each night that elapses just gets colder and colder. Before I go to bed each night, I now have to resort to using the thick expensive fury blanket - man that thing really keeps you warm. Anyways, I have a day off school tomorrow so I'm free to stay up all night and what better way to do so than to blog.

Something to smile about is the fact that a lot of pressure from school is slowly diminishing and from there pure satisfaction starts to spawn. Like most of you who are currently studying at university, you would have been ambushed with countless assessments 4-5 weeks ago. I'm currently at the period of the semester where we are either getting the last of our assessments out of the way, or we're being informed of our assessment marks.

On Wednesday, my group had their IT Bookstore Presentation, which I can safely say was executed better than expected. When it comes to group assessments, I'm not too fond of presenting first. I have this belief that irrespective of the circumstances, it is always best to present second and only second. I don't enjoy presenting last, or even late for that matter, simply because I'm the kind of person who builds up an enormous amount of nervousness the longer I have to wait.

The cons of being an eager beaver for presenting are that your mind is too focused on establishing the standards and setting the bar for the upcoming groups. A lot of pressure is usually placed on the first group because that's when everyone's ears are all tuned in. If your group ends up doing an outstanding presentation, well you're in the clear and you can thrive off that confidence for the rest of the lesson. On the other hand, if you end up presenting poorly, then you've basically invited the other groups to make themselves look much superior, denting your confidence drastically. At least when you present second, you can learn from the first group and determine where they went right or wrong and use these factors to your advantage. Presenting first just opens way too many variables for concern and it does take its toll mentally.

In the end, my group was the first to present and while it wasn't in my best interests, I couldn't allow my selfish desires to clash with the best interests of my group. Prior to the presentation, we all exchanged words of nervousness, but honestly I think we did a killer job in the end. You could tell we were feeding off each other's confidence throughout the presentation. After reading all this, you probably have a detailed idea as to how stressful this assignment was and you're probably wondering, 'why all the fuss'? Put simply, our IS teacher is one badass critic. No matter what, she'll find a way to criticize you somehow even if you don't agree.

With that said, that's the last of my group assignments for the semester and I'm glad. Out of the four group assignments I've had this semester, I'd say that bookstore presentation I was just ranting about was the most enjoyable and satisfying. It's unfortunate that this is the last time I'll be seeing those blokes since they're doing the single IT degree, but I wish them all the best for next semester.

On the topic of assessments, today my MPO group received a HD for our presentation on 'Innovation and Change'. Initially, I didn't think our mark of 17.5/20 would equal a HD, but I did the calculation and it did, so that's great. Good work team.

Well that's about it for tonight. Before I conclude, I just want to wish a happy birthday to Ainna. Enjoy your outing tomorrow night. Apologies for not being able to attend.

Over.

...And Agile Activity Activates Alterness

The last couple of days have been positive so far. I'm nearing the last of my assessments and I got a HD for my most recent assessment, so I'm over the moon at the moment, though it's all been ruined by the speeding penalty I received in the mail from the RTA today. The letter said that I was travelling 51 in a 40 zone on May 2nd at 3:03pm.

Initially those details weren't all that familiar, but looking back at the corresponding entries in the blog, I now recall what happened on that day. It's unfortunate that this situation had to occur, but I must put it behind me for I have an important presentation tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to this particular presentation; I just know the teacher will question every idea or sentence our group puts out.

I guess one thing to look forward to is Game 1 of Origin football. Go NSW !

...And Abductees are Abducted

Thought I would write up a post before I head off to the library. With that said, I don't even know what library I should go to. I'm leaning towards UTS library, though it only promotes an opportunity to go shopping. I could also go to Blacktown library, but something inside me will take over and force me to pay a visit to PlayTime. If anything I'd like to pay a visit to UWS Library Parramatta Campus since it is amazingly quiet and the chances of me being distracted there are essentially non-existent.

Woah, didn't realize I was this picky, and over a damn library. Let's get my week over and done with.

Monday: Caught the 9:05 train and managed to make it to my first class with a minute to spare. It was important that I wasn't late to this class since I was supposed to be giving my 20 minute presentation on spam. Prior to the presentation I was trying to rehearse my speech on the train, but I didn't last until Blacktown as my palm cards were soon replaced with my PSP.

So how did my presentation go? Well there were 2 parts to the presentation. 10 minutes of presenting the material, and then 10 minutes of talking. I think I covered everything I needed to, though I had hoped for a longer discussion. I get my marks back tomorrow, but I don't think I did too bad.

At around 2:30 I met up with my group members to do much needed work on the bookshop assignment. At around 4 I went to the ping-pong tables and played until the accounting lecture.

Tuesday: No recollection of any events. One could only assume I wasted the day.

Wednesday: Perhaps the luckiest day of my week. As I explained in my previous post, our group managed to get out of presenting our assignment. A much needed evasion.

After my Info Systems tut I was kidnapped by Jeanette, Brent and Nikki to go to Parramatta Westfield at the expense of my MPO lecture. Basically Jeanette, Brent and myself walked around Westfield while Nikki got her nails done. Why go to an important MPO lecture when you can just walk around pointlessly in Westfield...

Thursday: Went with Nikki to Parra to visit Brent and the gang. I then went to Blacktown and studied MPO for a couple of hours and then met up with Adrian where he showed me a part of Westfield that I hadn't seen before. I was acting like the biggest noob seriously. I never knew Westpoint had Franklins and all those other stores on that side.

Afterwards I met up with Shirley, Veronica, Solly and Martha whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Last time I saw her was when she yelled at me from Strathfield Station platform while I was on the train. Anyways, Veronica shouted me KFC and then we all went to PlayTime to play the Tekken machines. Should have seen Martha playing. Her hands were going hard-out. I managed to record it all on my phone. Funny stuff.

Friday: I drove to Shirley's house and took her with me to Silverwater. We had to visit some guy's apartment to pick up Veronica's cabinet she bought off eBay. After heaps a long search that included lots of stair-climbing, we eventually found Room 89. The bloke we retrieved the cabinet from seemed like a nice guy.

We then went to Castle Towers to do some shopping, and then we quickly went to Rouse Hill so I could look for a flanno. I ended up seeing Mel Mel at work and the Pattie Boys at General Pants. Quite a random day.

Later that night I was again kidnapped by Nikki and Brent to go to the city. Our intention was to have dinner for Angelo's birthday but we were an hour late so we ate elsewhere with Jeanie and Megan.

Saturday: Not much going on for a Saturday. Played kicks with Jinno at the fields and then went home to watch more episodes of Two and a Half men. I've now seen all episodes up to Season 5. If you have any Season 5 episodes, please contact me immediately.

...And An Assessment Avoided

I'm quite bored, plainly. Therefore, now I blog. I could consider today my luckiest day of university. My group was supposed to present our Information Systems Bookshop Report today, but thanks to the wonders of time, we got out of presenting. In fact, we don't have to present until next Wednesday. Some of you may be thinking, 'wouldn't you rather get it over and done with', but that's just not the case this time. If we had presented today, it would have been rushed and unorganized. I think I can speak for all members of my group as to how relieved we are.

Other than assessement evasion, I received my Info Systems exam back. I achieved a Distinction grading. You know what this means? I've achieved each grade of the system, yes including a fail. I've now achieved an F, Pass, Credit, Distinction and High Distinction. Here's to picky achievements !

Oh yeah, check out my summer timetable by clicking the image below. Next semester I'll be doing:

• Economics
• Marketing Fundamentals
• Programming Fundamentals
• Web Systems

So if you're a UTS student doing any of those subject, check out my timetable by clicking the image below and get into my classes !

...And Appetites Awaken (A+)

As you may have realized, my blogging activity has been quite frequent, so why stop now? I'm kind of surprised that I allow myself to blog through a busy period of university. In fact, I should be progressing on my IT presentation due on Monday, especially since I have commitments tomorrow, but what can you do...

This morning my mother told me that we would be having lunch in the city at a place called 'Tetsuya's'. The place sounded very familiar on first hearing so I looked it up on google. After browsing the official website, I realized it was the very expensive restaurant Christine told me of a while ago. That was when I really got excited. For those who are wondering, the occasion was my dad's birthday. To be honest, I don't know how old he is.

We got there at around 12 and by then I was already starving. Since I have such a small stomach capacity, I usually starve myself if I'm dining anywhere so that no money is wasted.

For those who are wondering, 'Tetsuya's' is a Japanese restaurant located in Town Hall. From what I've been told, it's in the Top 5 restaurants around the world, and is the Number 1 restaurant in Australasia. After hearing those impressive rankings, I really started to get excited about this place.

VERDICT? It is light years ahead of any restaurant I've ever dined in. Every single dish out of the 12 course meal was a breath of fresh air. To give an idea, those oysters at the start were unlike anything ever consumed. The salmon dishes were fairdinkum top notch. Each dish had me eating until the plate was totally spotless. There are no dishes I can single out as a favorite because they were all honestly delicious. The staff were also professional about their duties, each giving an attractive description of the dish as they arrived. The way the waiters and waitresses descrbed the dishes just made me even more hungry. For the first time, I left a restaurant without being overly full or under-fed. It was just right.

To provide an idea as to how good this restaurant 'seems' to be, all two-person tables are booked until July of next year. I almost spat at my water when I heard that.

Do check it out if you haven't yet already.
http://www.tetsuyas.com/index.html

...And Awful Accidents Arise

2 blog entries in one day. I'm on a roll. What could there possibly be left to blog about you ask? Nothing of any interest to you as the reader, just more jibber-jabber about my life. This morning before arriving at school, I passed by Parra Westfield to buy an Industrie Checkered shirt as inspired by Shirley. That's one more piece of clothing to cross off the list. Also today, I yet again spent several hours at the ping-pong tables at school. I think I'm getting better each time I play there. Like they say, practice makes perfect.

So far I've established that I went out of my way to buy a piece of clothing at the expense of potentially missing an important lecture, and that I've spent my free study time by playing ping-pong instead. Can thing get positive from here? They do actually.

Today I attended my MPO lecture for the first time in a long time. Evidently I'm not the only one who's been missing that lecture. When I walked in, I was surprised to see so many idle seats. I managed to write a few notes, though I ended up just talking to Jasmine for the majority of the duration. She made the lecture less boring actually. We got into an arguement about the movie 'The Devil Wears Prada' but that story can be told another time.

After the lecture, I spent some time at the Building 2 labs whoring imdb.com and then I went home with Veronica and Hazel. Surprisingly on my way home from St Marys Station I was lead to a police checkpoint where I was breath tested. I was even more surprised when I arrived home to see a Ford Falcon parked in my driveway rather than the usual Honda CRV that my parents own.

Apparently the Ford was a temporary replacement for my father as he was involved in a car accident earlier with some lady who dosn't know the function of a 'Give Way' sign. He's fine though because he's a tank. It's the car that needs worrying about, considering it's our only car with a functioning radio. Kind of funny for my dad to get involved in an accident considering his birthday was just on Tuesday. Life is unfair. What can do you do though.

I'm getting dangerously sleepy. I better end it here before I drop dead on the laptop keypad.

...And An Anxious Acquisition

I'm currently at the UTS library just browsing the net before I start heading off to my Info Systems exam. I've left my bag at one of the tables which is just slightly within my peripherals. My sister's bag was stolen in the library back when she was still a student. Hopefully there's no family curse in that regard.

May is going to be rigorous month containing many due assessments and horrible final exams. I'm quite in a pickle at the moment in my business subjects, especially Accounting. If I'm any chance of passing the course, I'll need to obtain at least a Distinction in the final exam. The MPO final exam has me the least worried considering it's all multiple choice and no ridiculously long theory questoning.

Next week I have my seminar presentation on 'SPAM' due which I haven't exactly finished, but I hope to complete it by Friday. Then there's the Info Systems book assignment that needs to be completed.

While all the aforementioned tasks are important, I must focus on the Info Systems quiz I have in 20 minutes. I'm kind of getting sick of turning my head to my 9 every five seconds just to see if my bag is still there, so I better logout.

EDIT: Since I've completed the quiz quite early, I decided to blog again to kill time; though I'm typing very slowly and quietly so that I don't disturb the other's still taking the quiz.

Verdict? The quiz wasn't too hard, then again nor was it easy. I had to guess the video-related questions since I wasn't at the lecture, but I'm confident of a pass. Distinction is out of the question.

...And Alterations Are Apparent #2

Today is Tuesday; the day I always look forward to considering it's 1 of 2 days off from school.
Tomorrow is Wednesday; the day I always wish to evade considering it's 1 of 2 days containing boring, insanity-inducing business lectures.

Well today I should have utilized my free time by studying for the Information Systems multiple choice quiz taking place tomorrow, but then I thought to myself "who cares about passing Information Systems. I'm already going to fail accounting. I might as just give up, put my hard hours of work placed on the HSC in vein, and work on my blogspot for several hours".

Ok so perhaps in reality I wasn't that cynical, but I think you've got a good indication of my position. I decided to ditch the evil black theme for a lighter and more welcoming theme. The page still consists of three columns but some of the widgets are missing.

Update: I've added Nicole's blog on the links section. Definitely check it out. She gives regular updates and her posts are an interesting read, as are all the blogs I've linked.

That's done. Guess I should go back to studying.

...And Autonomous Around Anxiety

Sunday morning.
Routine morning reflective blog post.
You get the drift.

My parents just left for Auburn, so now's a perfect time to take a break from household chores and what better way to utilize my free time than to log on the internet and start blogging. Am I the most interesting bloke on the planet or what?

This morning I've had a few people contact me on the phone saying they saw me on television on TFC. Wish I could have shared the same experience as them but unfortunately I don't have TFC. But for those who are wondering, I was interviewed a while ago to share a few words about the Penrith Filipino Community.

Well that's my 2 seconds of fame. Let's go through my week.

Monday: Finished my Communications report at 3am and handed it later that morning. It's fairly obvious my study and assessment approach hasn't modified much since high school. After my communications, I had to conjure up another plan to occupy my unrelenting 5 hour gap until the next class. I made my way to the Ping Pong tables hoping someone I knew would be there, and fortunately I saw Zhen and Avi playing so I joined them. I haven't reached the intensity levels of those blokes, but I'm slowly making my mark.

After enough Ping Pong, I met up with Mark and Alexander and we had a drink at the UTS bar to kill some more time before the Accounting lecture.

Tuesday: Not much to Tuesdays.

• Stayed home.
• Finalized my MPO speech.
• Watched 10 consecutive episodes of Two and a Half Men
• Too boring of a day to remember the fine details.

Wednesday: A relieving day for me as most of my assessment marks were revealed. As explained in one of the previous posts, I received my Info Systems marks as well as my MPO marks. Nothing to be too thrilled about. At around 3:30 I went to the library and met up with my MPO group to finalize our speeches for the presentation that was to be conducted the next day. I then met up with Veronica and took the Penrith express. I couldn't be bothered waiting at Blacktown, so I went to Penrith but unfortunately my train was still half an hour to depart. I ended up seeing Nathan and had a catch-up talk with him from across the train tracks.

Thursday: The day of my group's MPO presentation. I think we did heaps good. After the presentation, I had a 4-player Daytona Race with Xander, Tash and Chloe and then I spent the next 2 hours at the Ping Pong tables. I went home around 6pm and then met up with Veronica and Shirley at Blacktown Workers Club where we played a LONG game of snooker. We then grabbed a pizza at Dominos and bummed at one of the parks in Glenwood in the dark where we could have easily been abducted.

Friday: Went to Xander's place early in the morning to grab my MPO stuff, and then went shopping with Shirley at Parra Westfield. I ended up buying 2 Industrie Plain V-Neck shirts; one black and one white. We then went to Blacktown Workers Club where we played some ping-pong and then I took her home.

Saturday: Went to St Marys early in the morning for Tagalog School and to my surprise, I saw Trixie there. In the afternoon I went to the soccer fields and had a kicking session with Jin and Toby and then met up with them later at church for the bingo night, which is the first time I've played in an extremely long time. Verdict? No wins. Afterwards, Kirill, Toby and Jin went back to my place for the night.

Uni tomorrow. No assessments due for another week.
I'M FREE.
Mah bonus.