Happy Bday to Kat

Just a short posting to wish Kat a very BIG Happy 21st Bday!!! Hope you have a good birthday ahead of you and may all your wishes come true! God bless!!

An all new look!!

Approximately one year ago, a bored Monashian student decided to try his hand at blogging once again after having two failed attempts at blogging. Little did he know that blogging would spark his interest in photography and a never ending urge to check on his blog site. Yeah, it is funny how things work out. That bored person was me and this....is my blog.

I seriously never expected to find myself writing blog posts for nearly a year. The last two attempts have been pretty disasterous. I guess the big difference that I see in this blog is that I've managed to keep my interest is because I'm keen on taking photographs and putting them up online. At first I started out with my Sony Ericsson (SE) K700i. The pictures were grainy and they weren't great. Then it came to the W800i my current phone. I took alot of pics during my final sem in uni. Didn't regret buying it cause the picture quality was acceptable enough and the camera was small enough for me to carry wherever I go.

It wasn't until recently that I got my Canon Powershot A700, a camera that use almost daily now. So yeah, all in all, taking photographs and documenting what has been happening in my life has sparked my interest in keeping this blog alive and going.

Of course, now that I've graduated from Monash and am set to work at the Star, things will be different. I do not know if I can keep long posts as I used to. But I will certainly try to maintain the same quality of posts that I've been doing over the past one year. As graduation marks a new phase in life, the first anniversary of this blog will mark a dramatic change. Hence, the new look that I've given to it.

Well, to all readers of the Lunatic Pandora. I'd like to thank you for faithfully reading. Thanks.

Monash Graduation Day....It is finally here!!

The day has finally come. Three years of hard work and it all boils down to one sheet piece of paper. Sounds a lil' mad that all we get after spending all that time is that one piece of paper showing proof that we made it past University. Well, at least I can breathe a sigh of relief now that education is officially over (though we all know that learning never truly ends).

The whole graduation experience was overall a lil rushed. Didn't expect things to move along so quickly. Didn't get to talk to everyone I wanted to. But at least I managed to take pictures with them.

Reached the Resort Hotel at around 11.30 plus. First person I met there was Ivy while I was collecting my gown. Saw Ronson, Jin Tian and Sue Ann after hanging around a while. Met the gang (Jim, James, Merilyn) out in the hall and proceeded to take more pictures with them. The picture taking never really stopped as we exchanged notes on how were doing whilst smiling for the cameras.

This was the room where we collected our graduation gowns.

Ivy, Sue Ann and myself

Jim wanted the Koala bear, but after he looked at the price he set it down and moved far far away.

Looking to the future (Part 1)

James, Jim, Merilyn and myself

My parents only came later at 12.30 or was it 1pm. Took pictures with them at the hotel lobby. Jinn Lik was giving us a hard time in some pictures, but we still managed to get one or two good shots.

A photo taken with my family at the hotel lobby

Pretty soon it was time to head up to the Grandball Room for our rehearsal, which was little more than an on-stage demonstration on what to do. Fortunately for us, the instructions were simply enough even a simpleton could follow it.

Mun Yin and Jim sharing a light moment before entering the hall.

Sue Yin and Jim during the rehearsal.

The stage is set

Decorations in the Grandball room was top-notch. Just look at the exquisite patterns on the pillar.

The Pro Vice-chancellor of Monash Malaysia, Merilyn Liddell giving her speech during the ceremony

The stage as seen from afar.

There sure were alot of people getting their degrees today. The line for the graduation certs was horribly long. The list of names sounded like it could've gone on for all eternity. I was the 45th person, so it didn't feel too bad having to wait for my turn to collect my cert. Good thing nobody tripped on stage. That would have been a disaster. We could have been lost in line.....FOREVER!!!

There were way too many people taking their certs and it was difficult in getting a good shot. This one is of Jim taking his cert. The best shot I got outta the ceremony. I basically "bummed" off the flash used by the professional photographer. I hope you are proud Jim!

Overall, the whole ceremony was kinda rudimentary. It sorta goes like: Speeches, Handing out of Certificates, More Speeches, The end. Just like that. The ceremony had this feeling of formality that more or less discouraged people from stepping out of line with the programme schedule.

Once the formalities were over and done with we were then ushered out of the ballroom to the hall outside for some light refreshments. Met Yong Ting as I walked out, so happened her row was on its way out too. Chatted abit before losing her to the crowd. Was pretty hard to find anybody after the ceremony. It was all left to chance. So happened to bump into Soo Jin after the ceremony.

The academic prosession leaves the hall. Signalling the end of the ceremony.

The outside hall was packed with people. You can see my lil' brother there near the table with all the food.

The food served was pretty good. Some of the better hotel meals that I've had. The bagels, each with a piece of Salmon inside, were divine. Fried chicken wasn't too bad either. People were grabbing stuff left and right, so it was man to himself.

Took some more photos after feasting on the food. Most of the pics were with my family. Was unfortunate that I didn't get to say goodbye to some people cause they left earlier. In anycase, I still managed to get alot of shots with my friends. So not all was lost.

Monash and me..

Kat and myself after the ceremony

Tim Nam and myself. Have known him for so many years since primary school. Pretty long way since then.

The whole lot of us in our graduation gowns

China John came long to the ceremony. He will be flying off to Australia in October to attend the graduation ceremony there.

And so ends this blog post on one of the most momentous days in my life. Graduation day. The picture below pretty much how our outlook for the future should be.

Looking to the future (Part 2)

The End

Some overdue Merdeka day photos

Alright, just posting up some pictures that I took at the Sunway Merdeka "Beach Party". They are long over due so I'm just gonna caption them and be done with them. The party itself wasn't anything to shout about as far as I remembered. We were all pretty bored stiff after having listened to some patriotic songs sung by a choir.

The whole lot of us ended up walking almost one round back to uni. From Elephant Walk to the Beach, from the Beach on to Pyramid through Sunway Lagoon. Later headed out to the coffee shop below One Academy, Ming Tien. Waited up 11.30 to head back to the beach and check out the fire works.

Upon reaching the beach, we were just in time to participate in the countdown session. Sang Negaraku (while taking pictures, heh) and Tangga 31. It was only after the patriotic spirit died down did the DJ pop out with his mixer and started blasted dance music at maximum volume. The crowd reacted well to the music and soon little mini groups formed as people were "dancing" to the music in their own style. Despite being in the middle of a sea of sticky bodies, I wasn't drenched in sweat by the end of it.

Well, thats all for the naration. Here are the pics.

A simple patriotic picture showing a lil' girl (symbolizing the future) and the current celebration ("Merdeka 2006")

Standing up right to sing our national anthem.

Uncle on the left, "Ai yoh, why all the flag waving? I just want to pose like this ler...can or cannot ar? Got the disrepect ah?"

The crowd was full of emotion when the national anthem and the song "Tangga 31" were played.

The fireworks began shortly after the songs stopped.

A brilliant display of fireworks that lasted 10 minutes ensured that the national day celebrations were anything but quiet.

This is my favourite shot outta the whole bunch. Three fireworks going off simultaneously. Check that out!

When the patriotism dies down, the dance floor comes alive!

You'd think that after sitting through the boring performances throughout the nite, everyone would be dead tired....Wrong!!

The level of activity was pretty high as people started forming circles like these to egg people in the crowd to come out and break dance.

Even the guys were infected by the madness that consumed the crowd.
Yvonne,"Alright....I think I will slowly back away from these two crazy people. Yes, thats exactly what I'm gonna do....run far far away...."

Despite the controlled chaos I managed to sneak a nice shot of the Sunway Resort hotel overlooking the lake.

Groupshot taken by me.

Groupshot taken by James.