It's cloudy!

I set the alarm (one was my Plus! Alarm Clock and the other was an online alarm clock). Online Alarm clock didn't work as the pop-up got blocked. I am up, but it looks somewhat cloudy today. Don't see any golden rays or anything. Back to bed for me. ;)

Where's Mummy?

They've hatched, and mummy is nowhere to be seen. I guess her parenting job was done when they hatched. Freedom and food for her now. Aren't they cute? If you could see them as closely as I have, you'd fall in love with them too. :D I wonder how long their lifespans are. Could they make good pets? Hmmm...

 

Butterfly Pea flower

Despite the mosquitoes biting me, I took some time to compose this pic. I tried to avoid the pots on the right, the window frame on the top and the drain at the bottom. Fairly passable, wouldn't you think? Wish the background was a little more uniform (white of the wall and the dark cement floor). Oh well.

 

Did spiders weave this?

I don't think so. I think it came from the tiny little worms. Yes, I am aware that the background needs much improvement, but that's on the neighbour's side of the fence. Who says the grass is greener? There's hardly any grass! The cement is darker though, but that's due to the dirt.

 

There are three flowers

There are three passionfruit flowers and six unripe fruits. The sixth fruit is between the lowest flower on the left and the lowest fruit on the right. It's slightly yellowish and partially hidden behind a leaf. I wish I could have taken a photo of them all in one shot. This will have to do for now. 

A collage

Here's a collage of photos that I took today. The first three in the top row are of this stray kitten I saw walking near my friend's handphone accessories (casings/batteries/top-up cards/starter packs/etc). Note the kink at the end of it's tail. Malaysian cats seem to have this mutation/aberration.

I noticed, after I ventured out of the kitchen and spotted Mum cutting down the carambola/starfruit tree (no more pink flowers!!!) that there were at least ten passionfruit flowers blooming. If I had posted the photo on its own instead of putting it in a collage, you would have clearly seen three flowers and unripened passionfruits hanging from the vine. The last photo on the second row was of a small ferm, growing from a crack in the wall. It was after 6:30pm and the light was fading. I think I might just wake up early tomorrow and use the rays when the sun rises to brighten up this pic. We'll see if I actually succeed in waking up before 11am. Hmmm...or maybe, I'll just stay awake until 6:30am. ;)

On the way to campus this afternoon, spotted these two schoolboys who weren't wearing their helmets. I thought I'd take this pic and submit it to a certain site that accepts photos of people breaking the law on Malaysia's roads (www.panducermat.org.my). I know I should have taken pix of their faces as well, but my Dad was speeding. KIDDING!! We just passed them and I was a little chicken to shove my precious camera out of the window. ;)

The big stink bug is gone! The leaf looks like it's dying and the eggs hatched!! I think I'll post the passionfruit flowers and the stink bug kiddies on their own. They look so adorable! Like little spiders, only with six legs. And they were absolutely STILL. I wonder if they can start to eat now. The caterpillar has grown and I'm afraid that if I don't transfer the leaf soon, it'll crawl fast enough to get to my fingers. Ewwww...

 

The caterpillar grows

I saw this one photo on interfacelift.com and wondered how a flower could be snapped so beautifully while the background was black. Unfortunately, this is no lovely flower. It's a caterpillar, that resembles bird doo-doo as its camouflage. Just my luck, eh?

I had a lit mosquito coil with me and I realized that the smoke irritated it enough to make it move down the stem and onto another leaf. It crawled quite fast too. Hmmm, maybe I could train it to do my bidding next time.

 

To the right, you can see part of the Sultan Mizan Hall (framed by the two pillars). During construction of the new building, the paved space used to be filled with earth and one morning, when my roomie and I were forced to attend a seminar held by the student loan people. Everybody who lived in the hostel had to attend it and we were assured through the PA the night before that all lectures would be cancelled.

The next morning, as we were settling in our seats...we got a message from our coursemates, saying that we had a Networking lecture at 8am. It was already 8:30am. So we slipped out of the building, like stealthy stick-insects and decided to dash to our class across the space. It was quite tough, as it had rained earlier and part of the ground was muddy. There were construction workers working on the Admin building then and the wolf-whistles and calls from them made our trek seem like an eternity. By the time we made it to class, it was almost over. Everybody was asking us why we missed it. GRRR!!

Oh yeah...I went to a store later and spotted a shampoo bottle with a flower that was the spitting image of the flower I took the other day. It was no morning glory. It's a Butterfly Pea flower! I was half right. Amazing, the things a shampoo bottle can teach you. =)

This is the library from the back of the new Admin building. Behind the library is a swamp. A mangrove swamp. 

The 500gram behemoth

You've seen plenty of raindrops on its leaves, so you should know by now that the fruit on the left is a ripe anona. I put a marker pen next to it for size comparison. And then Mum said that the dessert plate would have indicated the size too. Ohh... *grin*

Ate a quarter of it after dinner, picking away at the skin and biting into the white flesh of the fruit. It was nice and sweet. If it was seedless, it would have been perfect.

Went to campus after lunch to get the transcript. Walked across the road to the faculty building, climbed up the stairs to the Admin office and waited til the student ahead of me had settled his business. I wished her a good afternoon (yes, I am polite! I used to be a receptionist) and asked if I could get my transcript. She mumbled about something not working and asked me to return next week. I asked her about the letter I needed to give to those people who gave me the student loan letting them know that I had to extend for another semester. She told me to either go to the Academic Section (at the new building) or the Student Affairs Dept. I decided to walk to the SAD office and passed by the Bumiputera Commerce Bank branch. There was a looong queue at the ATM. I remember having no problems when I was staying at the hostel. I'd go to the ATM around 8am. I guarantee, there'll be nobody crazy enough to think about getting money then. Of course, it helps to have a bicycle too.

Anyways, as I was walking towards the office, I passed by the space in the middle of the building, where they added tables and chairs for the students to sit and discuss. I also spotted A SNOOKER table!!! WHY? WHY? WHY did they do this AFTER I'm done? I also saw the rock-climbing wall on the field next to the SAD office. Arrghhhh!!! Yes, I know...I'm sure it was in everybody's best interests that I not attempt to scale the wall and have my butt sticking out at odd angles. So okay, strike the last 'Arrghhh!!!' from the blog.

Reached the office, all huffing and puffing (it was a hot day and I wasn't cycling!) and the nice lady at the counter explained that they are in charge of the co-curricular, sports, etc activities now. I had to go to the Academic section at the new building. I gave a sweaty smile and walked back to the Faculty building. Just as I was passing the bank, I spotted Melissa (a junior), walking to her car. I said 'Hi' and was reminded loudly that she had quite the voice. Then she says, "Oh My God! You! Okay, if you're here, Mel has to be around somewhere!" and she's looking around. I know she kids, and I said, "Ha! I wish that were true!" I explained my situation and she thought of offering me a ride there, but I told her that my Mum was waiting for me. We exchanged goodbyes and went on our separate ways. I decided to go up to the Admin office again to enquire about my past results slip that I had not taken after my 6th semester. She told me to ask at ... yes, you guessed it. THE ACADEMIC SECTION at THE NEW BUILDING! Anyway, on second thought, maybe the sweating and the walking did me some good. Gosh knows I lay on my stomach in front of my laptop way too often. *grin*

Walked back to the car and told Mum that I had to return a week later. Then I tell her that I had to go to the new building. I think I may have been a little snippy when she asked for directions on the way. Well, I was feeling hot under the collar, literally!

Eventually found myself in the new building and I asked the two chit-chatting cleaning women where the academic section was. They told me it was upstairs and to the left. I thanked them and ascended the stairs. I saw 'Bahagian Akademik - Unit Penerbitan' (Academic Section - Printing Unit). I figured I was in the wrong place and descended the stairs and ventured towards the middle of the building - the lobby area, which was devoid of anyone. The 'You are here' sign stuck next to the lift was too small and I totally missed it. I climbed up another flight of stairs and eventually found the right door. There was nobody attending the counter, but there was a lone man at his desk in the office. He told me to wait. When he got to the counter, I asked if he could furnish me with a letter explaining to the student loan people that I had extended for a semester. He said that the only confirmation letters they gave were the ones where it says, "So-and-so is a third year student of this uni and is expected to complete their studies on ..." I explained to him that I needed a different kind of letter. Then he gave me a form and told me to fill it up with the relevant details. He asked for my name and I gave it to him, and he said that I was already done with my studies (is it wrong for me to consider myself done with it WHEN I GET MY DEGREE PROPER? *grin*). So nice to know that staff recognize my name. Then again, he could have been the one who printed out my results a week before. As I was yakking away, I let slip that I had been at the Admin office to get my transcript and he said that I could get it there! But the guy in charge was away and would only be back a day later. So I'm going back tomorrow!

Then I remembered about the results slip for my 6th semester. I asked for it, saying that when I saw the results, I was disheartened and didn't take it. He smiled and said that if it was listed as 'Incomplete', I didn't have to take it. But I told him that I had taken another paper with it. When he printed it out and gave it to me...the 'Incomplete' became an 'F'. I did recall my supervisor telling me that they had to fail me in order for me to extend for another semester. =( The 'Incomplete' is more appropriate because according to the glossary at the back of the paper, 'Incomplete' is used when the student is unable to complete the paper due to unavoidable circumstances which were out of the student's control, as determined by the lecturer. I'll go ask the nice man tomorrow about this. *grin*

After that, I and Mum drove to see my friend and ex-receptionist colleague at her handphone outlet. She was so pleased to see us. We chatted and were there for maybe 45 mins. Mum gave her ideas on how to use her spare time at the shop. Make flower arrangements, handicrafts and accessories for handphones, like my dragonfly. She wanted me to teach her the art of dragonfly making. I'd love to show her...but she lives so far away.

This post is for the people who prefer text to photos. ;)

 

One of my faves

I love the deep, rich colours of this orchid. It's very exotic and sexy. That's the vibe I get whenever I see them. Too bad they don't have a scent.

Well, I'm off to find me some food. Perhaps there's a curry puff left over.

Oh, checked one of my e-mail accounts that I don't open very often (because I used it to subscribe to my uni Yahoo group and all I get these days are money-making scheme spams). Well, I found a Nokia newsletter with a link to a contest. I could win two Nokia 6111 phones if I played it right.

My chance at redeeming myself. But again, the four templates available didn't allow my creative juices to flow. Oh well...at least I entered before the deadline of the 7th of March. Imagine if I checked my e-mail after the deadline. I'd be going, "Arrrghhh! I could have won, I could have been a contender!"

Take care all, I'll bring my camera along to uni tomorrow and see if there's anything new/interesting on campus.

 

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

There's a huge crack in the wall fronting our property. The poor kerengga have to stretch their legs to reach the other side. It was a little tricky taking a pic like this because they cross the gap real quickly and by the time I snap, they've reached the other side.

I'm feeling hungry right now. Had two curry puffs for dinner, and also two pieces of bread with vanilla and strawberry-flavoured ice cream sandwiched between them. Mum had bought a tub of Wall's Neapolitan ice cream yesterday.

I think I'll open that bottle of ice cream soda tomorrow and make myself a float tomorrow. After my trip to Kustem to get my transcript and other things in order. And perhaps visit my friend and ex-fellow front office receptionist.

 

Some weird bug

Spotted this insect on the 'dokong' tree, it seemed to be poking its proboscis on light brown bits that were on the branch. It was too high up for me to see what it was doing. I couldn't see through the preview screen, which explains the slight blurriness.

I tried to take more photos, but I think the Praying Mantis gave it some tips about me and it evaded my camera by hiding behind the branch. Curses, foiled again! *waves fist at insect*

It was pretty big and I'm glad that it didn't try to fly at me and give me a nasty bite. Well, it didn't look at all harmful.

 

Ghost Whisperer mini-marathon

I went on a mini-Ghost Whisperer marathon after lunch. I almost always cry during each episode. I hate it. I didn't cry during my grandfather's funeral (then again, with the communication gap - he spoke Chinese and a little Malay, but with the few teeth he had, I had trouble understanding him), but I did cry when my pets died. Perhaps I'm closer to animals than people. So anyway, I saw six episodes almost back-to-back. The show has really grown on me. They're only screening the second episode on tv this Monday. And I'm done watching the 16th episode. See how good I am, watching GW ahead of time so that I don't have to fight over the remote with Dad during prime time. =) The sacrifices I make. ;)

Here's a pic of the orchid with the intoxicating aroma that leaves the fruitflies all senseless.

Wished my brother a happy 4th decade when my parents called earlier. The wifey prepared steaks for them. He congratulated me on my results and was surprised that they just gave me a C+ after all that 'hard work'. I had to tell him about Simon's help. I also had to remind him that I was going to get my software Engineering degree.

 

Happy 40th to my Brother

Hmmm, I can't seen to get any pix when I'm on blogger proper. Anyways, it's my brother's birthday today. I won't wish him here because I don't think he knows about this blog of mine. Thank you to Steve who wished me congratulations on YM regarding my results.

I discovered a new service from Google called Google Pages. 100MB for website space. In my quest for world domination, I got myself involved with it too. It's still in beta, has some bugs but it's still all good. Check out my progress at Sharlini's Drops of Wisdom. Only three available pages for now.

Woke up a little early when Mum got into my room to sweep the floor. I checked my laptop for e-mail, etc and then plopped back to bed. It was just so nice and cosy. I dreamt I was talking to Mum, explaining something to her. And then (because my room door was left wide open after she was done sweeping my room), she walks by and says, "This girl!!" when she sees me still in bed. I wake up and tell her that I dreamt that I was awake, so it wasn't that bad. Hehehe...

It's late. Time to sleep. I will try using Picasa2 and Hello to post pics that I took yesterday (the continuation) later today. In 18 hours perhaps.

Take care, all! Why is there no publish button?? Disaster averted when I copied my text, closed and clicked create. Now to add that pic. This pic was one of the first photos that I took with my Kodak camera. I was cycling on the shortcut path towards campus from the hostel one early morning last year. It was February the 27th, I think.

If you look close enough

You will see a teeny, tiny caterpillar munching (hmmm, do caterpillars munch at all?) away at a fresh lime shoot. I can't wait for those stink bugs to hatch, they'd be happy to feed on this little pest. I have plans to distribute stink bug nymphs to infested plants around the garden. Hmmm...too bad I can't just put them on a leash.

Or perhaps I could put them in a little aquarium and dump hapless caterpillars into the stink bug pit of death. Wooo...

But I bet I'll be having a hard time extricating caterpillars from their leaves without feeling all squeamish and cringe-y. I mean, I took photos of that fat, juicy caterpillar and I kept going, "Ewwww! So fat, ewwww..." *squirms* Well, I guess I could just chop the part with the caterpillar, leaves, stems and all!

Stink bug 2

Stink bug 2 of 3. I had such bad tunnel vision, I didn't realize their presence until today. I guess those eggs will hatch to become larvae. Oh cool...I did some research and they don't hatch into caterpillars. Just little round nymphs. And apparently, they feed on aphids, caterpillars, etc that 'attack' fruits and plants. So yaay for the stink bugs! The eggs deserve to be protected. 

The protective parent

I think it's been close to two weeks since I discovered this stink bug (Hemiptera) guarding its eggs. I wonder if it lost any. I'm not prepared to call it a she, because stink bugs might be like sea horses where the male is the one who stays and takes care of the brood.

As I was taking a few shots of it, I noticed two more stink bugs guarding their eggs on separate leaves.

 

Not a morning glory

I don't know what flower it is. Pea flower? Shame on me for having a website with 'The Meaning of Flowers'.

Anyways, I lost the previous post when I tried to justify the paragraphs. I highlighted everything and then POOF! No amount of Ctrl+Z (undo) did the trick.

Noticed part of the rusty chain-link fence in the photo. Trust me, it was unintentional. But it looks good. :D Maybe next time I'll use it to frame the whole flower.

 

I got my results and my xD card

I got my xD card this morning! Yaay! No more previewing my shots to see if I should delete them just so I can fit in a few more shots. Thank you, Simon! Works in my laptop card-reader too. Phew! And I was about ready to chuck it into the bin too. And thanks for telling me that I've been swindled into parting with RM180 for a 128MB xD Picture card, when it's available online for less than £10. *sigh*

In other news, I was surprised to see a big envelope from my uni. I was half-expecting to see a letter asking me to pay up my debts/explain some discrepancy. Thankfully, they just sent me my results for my final (horror) year project. I passed (well, I knew I passed, I just didn't know what grade they were going to hit me with, what with the numerous changes, mini-breakdowns and general craziness)! I got a C+. I bet Simon is disappointed. *eg* Yes, yes...due to weaknesses on my end. You did it all well and deserve the A. I'm quite happy that I didn't have to stand in front of the counter and sound like an idiot, inquiring about my results. That said I still have to go to my uni to hand in a declaration form. I guess, while I am at it, I could ask them to print out two of my past result slips. I misplaced one and never took the other (that had the 'Incomplete' for my Final Year Project paper). I'm glad that what my academic advisor/head of the computer science dept said was true. They would wipe out my F (for not being able to complete the thing - not my fault in the first place, mind you) and replace it with the latest grade. My cgpa is still above 3.000 (barely!) and I will be graduating in August 2006 with Second Class Upper honours. What I'd always expected. At least I can say that I was on the Dean's List ONCE. *beams*

Quick, leave a comment and congratulate me. I was not that pleased with my Dad's level of confidence in me when he said he was so relieved that I finally joined the rest of my siblings in obtaining a degree. I told him I always knew I'd get my degree, just worried that my CGPA was going to slip lower than 3.000. And my Mum agreed, Dad took worrying about me to the extreme, as if I was going to flunk out and amount to nothing (not that I'm amounting to anything right now, actually. Heehehe).

 

Vandas

I'm not willing to bet on it, but these could be the Vanda Miss Joachim. Apologies to Miss Joachim and the orchid-lovers out there if I misidentified them.

Since this is my last post for 'today', let me add that I accompanied Mum to a friend's newly-opened bakery this evening. It was nice to get out of the house and it was a lovely cloudy day too. The air was fresh and cool.

I had thought of taking some pix of the bakery, but I decided not to. What if her many varieties of cakes and tarts and buns and breads get copied? Anyways, after buying two loaves of bread, a Potato Cottage bun and a muffin, I decided to pay a visit to the pet shop which was three doors down. It has been a long time since I went there. Since before Mocha's death July 3rd, 2004. I chatted with the owner, a nice lady and talked about my parents. I told her about losing my guinea pigs and wishing I could have something soft and cuddly again. She suggested rabbits. She had a pair of white bunnies for sale. I told her that if I got them, it would eventually be my parents taking care of them. See, I am truthful! And she agreed that the cage had to be cleaned every day.

When I had Mocha and Latte, I did clean and wash their cage every morning. I'd wash the green netting, spray the cage with water and let it them dry in the sun. The piggies were so well trained that they knew to jump to the upper level (we added a level that was half the space of the bottom portion and added the food bowl there) when I took the green netting away. They could walk, but the gap between the bars was quite wide at the bottom. They were so used to the routine that when I was away at uni, my Dad said that he had to reassure them that they could stay at the bottom of the cage. I think that when it was time to wash the cage, I put them in the bathroom to run about.

I miss my piggies. *sigh*

On that somewhat sad note, I'll end here. Take care and I do hope the many photos compensated for the lack of updates the past few days.

 

Heavy

I loved it how this raindrop seemed to defy gravity. It was as if it was holding on for dear life, even when the wind started picking up and I had expected it to surrender to the laws of the esteemed Sir Isaac.

 

Like a Pearl

If I could have got closer to this drop, I would have. I think I used Continuous AF here. It looks like it's been centered. *g* I think I was trying to get the closest shot possible. 

The three shiny drops

I tried using the Rule of Thirds here. I'm not sure if I succeeded. I know some people would have advised me to clean up the other droplets which were ruining the shot. But see, it was raining cats and dogs and I wasn't going to be crazy enough to rush into the house to grab a fe tissues to soak up the additional droplets. I guess that separates the amateur from the passionate photographers and I know I am in the former category. Not that I mind, since I consider myself just snap-happy. BTW, I DO know that the Rules of Thirds does not mean I have to snap three objects. *grin*

Raindrops on young Papaya leaves

After the frog hopped away, I turned my attention to the raindrops on the leaves around me. I noticed the young Papaya plant for the first time. Heh heh...I have tunnel vision. I never notice anything if my brain doesn't allow me to. I just love it when raindrops keep that round, mercury-like shape. And they're shiny too.

 

Toad in the drain

There I was, lying on my stomach, watching the 'Traffic' icon courtesy of Zone Alarm flash on my taskbar and getting frustrated with my finick broadband connection. Just then, I looked out my window and noticed how cloudy it was. I thought I'd be able to squeeze in a few shots before the rain started, but I was a few minutes too late. I felt the first drizzle and hurried back onto the porch. Not to be deterred by a little drizzle, I took an umbrella and headed towards the back of the house. The rain was falling hard by now and as I tried to keep my beloved camera dry, I noticed something in the drain.

It looked like a leaf poking out of the water from a distance (and I wasn't wearing my glasses) and I saw it disappear and create ripples against the flowing water. I caught up to it and while struggling to keep the umbrella overhead, I squatted beside the drain (I will not imagine what a sight that would have been). The frog hopped twice and sat still long enough for me to gingerly push the camera towards it and click. A few seconds later, it hopped over the edge of the drain and hid between the leaves and grasses. By then, I realized that the edge of the umbrella had moved and cold raindrops were dripping down my back.

The rain-laden leaves...

...of the Soursop tree. Single AF. I figure Single AF is best for subjects that don't move and I can try to apply the Rule of Thirds. Of course, in this case, I wasn't following any rule. I just wanted greenery.