Haaaappy Eighth of March everybody! :D

hehe, I hope you all had a lovely February! For most of you I guess that means school or dreading the start of university - it's NEVER nice to have to go back to lectures and awkward icebreakers in tutorials after a blissful four months off D:

nevertheless, I LIKE to think that I made the most of my holiday HAHA. I spent a large portion of it just working, working, working - I am pretty sure I saw my students more than I saw my own brother LOL. However, I am not complaining, as most of the kids are pretty great and funny, and at the same time I get to make money which means I get to spend money on happiness i.e. food.

It's also been one year since I started tutoring (get ready for some sappy, meaningful slobber about how this has enriched my life). Apart from waking up for 8am starts on the weekend, and staying back until 9pm, teaching has so far been a pretty great experience. I have a whole lot more appreciation for my tutors/teachers now, seeing what they have to go through. I haven't exactly got some sort of teaching philosophy, but what I've learnt is that if the kid is having some fun in the lesson, whether they want to ask you advice or sing songs (whilst doing their work of course!), then don't be a dickhead about it and just let them be.

February 2014 was also the month where I fell in head over heels in love with Frozen. I went to Chatswood for the very first time with Amy, Stephen and Nicole, and then I gallivanted to the faraway pits of Minto to revel in its Disney goodness with the Son of Connor. Also, my heart flitted slightly, or it was undergoing cardiac arrest when I heard that Frozen won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. No words can comprehend my love and admiration for Idina Menzel (AHJDASDHJBANKKDSA).

YO YO YO WAZ HAPNIN, dis b ma first post for 2014! So I figured that nothing really happens every week in my life, so I figured that this year, I might just blog monthly and let you guys know all the craaazy shit that went down. Before I selfishly begin to rant about my life, I hope that you had a great start to the year, and that you are all safe and well!

So, to begin, new years eve comprised of a quiet night at home TRYING REALLY HARD not to fall asleep before midnight. Mum and I cooked up a bonanza, where she went all Asian chef style, wokking around the kitchen (HAHAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE?! SEE?!?!??!?!), as I grilled, mashed potatoes and ate half the brownie batter before it went into the oven (because that's how we all bake brownies, right?!). I barely managed to keep awake to join along with the countdown, and not long after the fireworks started, I conked out. I am such a weak, pathetic individual.

On New Years Day, the family headed out to Nan Tien Temple where we lolled around, had lunch, took photos, and Tim and I entered a Stage 5 coma when we shared a large bag of spring rolls. 13 hours into the day and I already break my 'remember to eat food, not FEELINGS' resolution. We only spent an hour or two there before heading to the nearby beach, where we all bought Golden Gaytimes - it's sort of a tradition for us to do this, which I like :)

So now the big main course of January was GOING TO EUROPE FROM THE 3RD TO THE 17TH!! I could write pages and pages about my trip, but I'm just going to tell you about my favourite moments hehehe. So I went with my high school, Hurlstone Ag HS, and we jet off to Italy, Belgium and France. The trip consisted of eating, shopping, giggling with West/Sproule/Keegan/Purves/Wenban/Brock about anything and everything, taking pictures/selfies, and touring around. It was such an amazing holiday where I got to catch up and hang with the teachers, as well as make some new friends hehehe.
Be prepared, I am sorry, I tried to pick out only a few photos BUT IT TURNED INTO 17 PHOTOS, so if you're really bothered, you can read about each photo and then receive a trophy for your tremendous effort hehe.

Haaaappy Christmas Eve guys!!! :D I hope you guys all have a wonderful day planned for tomorrow with your families, yelling at each other to get up and ripping open presents, and then driving to a relative's house for some sort of dysfunctional Christmas get together that comprises of a food coma, a sleazy drunk uncle, karaoke with 'My Heart Will Go On' being the most requested song, and a Monopoly or Scrabble tournament that will leave you and your family members temporarily estranged for a few hours.

That's usually how Christmas goes down in the Wang side of family things, but given that my cousins are overseas in China at the moment, I think that Christmas will be very peaceful this year. It's going to be unusual, but it'd be great to catch up with my family - I find that even though you live under the same roof, it doesn't necessarily mean you know everything about your family.



So, its Christmas Eve, and I think Christmas Carols will be on TV soon, dinner will be served soon, so I'm just gonna kill some time by getting started on some New Years Resolutions ^_^

1. Build a better relationship with my Dad.

Yeah, I love my Dad, and he makes me laugh and I can talk politics and technology with him. But this year, we've had a lot of conflict - some of it was necessary, but most of it was just stupid little things. I guess in a sense I sort of lost respect for him in the heated moment when he would yell at me or patronise me...but that's Dad. I'm 18, and inherently I am a self-righteous teenager who needs to be kept grounded, and that's what Dad is for. So I hope in 2014, I can recognise that what he is doing is out of love instead of out of spite.

2. Make sure I have enough money for my Canada exchange.

So I wanted to make separate post about this, BUUUUT I got nominated to my first preference for exchange!!!! I will hopefully be off to Queen's University in Canada in Semester 2 next year, and it requires 'some' funds. So I just have to be financially sensible, make sure I budget, and not to make impulse purchases.

3. Draw more.

Recently, I've been getting a LOT of feels about the days where I was obsessed with chalk drawings. I remember spending hours trying to blend and blend to get the right colour, having to sweep or vacuum my room about 2 or 3 times DAILY because I made such a mess, and changing cloths at least every week because it became SO unbelievably filthy. I really want to get back into that in 2014, get in touch with my artsy fartsy side hehe 8)

4. Work harder.

This applies to both university and work - I need to be more consistent with my study, and I need to make more a commitment towards the kids at work. I want to move my WAM up to 75 and crack into the distinction zone, and I want to prove to my boss that even though I'm in second year now, I can still be reliable and efficient.

5. GET OFF DAMN FACEBOOK.

This one's pretty self explanatory - I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY HOURS I WASTE ON THAT DAMN SITE, scrolling meaninglessly and crushing candy UGH.

6. Try to do SOME exercise everyday.

I 'sort of' accomplished this in 2013, where I would make the conscious effort to do some cardio each day, whether it meant running to the station each morning, or running to work when the train was delayed. I also want to get a nice, toned stomach in 2014, which I know will probably never happen because I love every single food that makes you bloated. But I will definitely give it a shot.

7. Make my own food at home.

This year, I wasted SO MUCH MONEY just buying useless snacks at university and wherever. I love to cook, so in 2014, I am going to make a conscious effort to wake up 10 minutes earlier to make a beautiful sandwich and some fruit salad to go with it. Also, at work, I am going to allow myself to only go to the chips/lolly jar/cookie jar ONLY once during a 4 hour shift.

8. Volunteer more!

I realise I could have volunteered so much more if I was more organised with letting work know what days I need off. I genuinely love volunteering; it's so satisfying that you are directly doing something to help people out. I want to get more involved with the Volunteer Army at university and definitely rack up more hours, and to hopefully continue doing Shack Volunteering :D

9. Blog once a week or once a fortnight.

This is one I probably won't keep; but later on in the year, especially when I head off to Canada, I am going to push myself very hard to blog regularly to record my exchange. Also, I saw this and thought it was a pretty awesome idea, but I also want to blog on WordPress each week, revising what I've learnt in my subjects at university. I figured it's a pretty bitchin' idea since I'm on the interwebs all the damn time!

10. STOP being so bitter and stoic; especially at university.

I had at least one 9AM start at university during both semesters this year, which involved getting up at 6:30 in the morning. I know it's not that early, but after HSC, which included 4 months of waking up at 1PM, it was a bit of a change. Waking up at 6:30 usually does not leave me very happy during the rest of the day, meaning that I wear a constant bitch face and pretty much scowl at anything. I do not in any way want to become the perky, happy girl who knows everyone, but I guess that I want to go as far as to not seem like I look constipated all the time, and to not be afraid to smile.

11. UNSW Leadership Program + Duke of Edinburgh.

I am not going to lie, they would look great on the resume hehehe. But not only is it good on paper, but it adds value to the most important investment that I have - me.

12. GET MY DAMN P'S.

I pretty much don't have a choice BUT to get my P's before I head to Canada - I will definitely forget how to  drive. SO BRING ON THE DRIVING.

WOW I AM A VERY BAD BLOGGER HAHAHAHAHA. Even though I just blogged a week ago, I failed to mention that I hadn't blogged since June prior to that LMAO :$ :$ :$ Anywho, what had happened since June? OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING AMAZING AND SPECTACULAR SINCE I WAS AWAY FROM BLOGGING FOR SO LONG, RIGHT?!??! AHHAHAHAA. NOT EVEN. SOZ TO LET YOU FUCKERS DOWN. WE CAN'T ALL HAVE NICE THINGS :(

(Disclaimer that this is going to be a rather long blog post, since I anticipate that I will not be blogging for a while due to Christmas/New Years/ Europe trip coming up)

Okay, so. First Year, Semester 2 2013 happened, and I can definitely say that it was a much better semester than Semester 1. I enjoyed my classes a lot more - especially my marketing, business law and modern history class. I had great classmates, a great tutor, and I genuinely enjoyed learning the content. Finance, on the other hand, though I had the nicest, cutest tutor, IT MADE ABOUT AS MUCH SENSE AS DUBSTEP DOES TO ME. Overall, I can't complain - it was a pretty solid semester, and I PASSED FIRST YEAR ALIVE, WHICH IS MORE THAN I ANTICIPATED HAHAHA.

Okay, this is going to be a bit all over the place. I'm just going to ramble about stuff as it comes to my head HAHA sorry guys.

So how was 2013 in terms of friends? Well, my girls are still there thick and thin, even though we're at different universities and Monica's in Newcastle. Going from high school to university, you really start to see who your true friends not based on how often you see them and how often you guys meet up and chat - but more of the fact that when you guys do chat and meet up, IT'S LIKE NOTHING HAS CHANGED. AND WHEN YOU DO RUN INTO THEM, ALL THESE EMOTIONS BOIL UP THAT MAKE YOU REALISE HOW MUCH YOU MISSED THEM.
I've also gotten closer to other Hurlstone kids who do Commerce, especially the ones I didn't really get the chance to know properly in high school ^_^ as for UNSW kids, some of them are lovely, some of them are forgettable, but then there's my main girl hehehe ^_^ she's great, and always checks in on me. Serious props to this girl. I don't think people understand how much I treasure her, since she come from a school where all those girls tend to stick together (side note: Commerce at UNSW, especially first year, is mostly made up of groups of people who knew each other from high school) - so for her to take time out for me is a really big and sweet gesture.

Another big part of this 2013 was work. Being a private tutor, but being part of a wonderful, diverse team has definitely been one of the most rewarding experiences this year. I complain about having to travel to work and the 9PM finishes, but once I'm there and doing my thing, I love it. I love the kids, I love talking to them and being their friend, and I love imparting what wisdom I have HAHAHAHA. I've also made some good friends at work, who always keep me in good spirits as I tediously type up some maths test LOL. Also, my boss and manager are super cool, chill gals, so that's one less thing to complain about :)

I'm not too sure what else to write about - it's been a year where I've spent half of it on a train or a bus, with a cup of coffee in my hand and my phone in the other. It's been busy, but that busy-ness makes me appreciate my friends and family, and to take advantage of the little precious time I have with them.

It's been a crazy year, and here are 10 things I have learnt that hopefully you can learn from:

1. If you want something to happen, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. No one is a mind reader, if you want something done, you either have to do it yourself or ask. This applies to little things like pressing the stop button on the bus to UNSW, all the way to needing less shifts for work. YOU. HAVE. TO. TAKE. ACTION. TO. MAKE. SOMETHING. HAPPEN.

2. Don't be afraid to want to sit down on the bus or the train. YOU ARE PAYING TO TRAVEL ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT, SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO PLANT YO ASS ON DAT CHAIR OK. Unless you are a school student, than please stand up you disrespectful motherfucker.

3. Time management is the key.

4. Having a sleep pattern is very super important.

5. Always make your uni timetable suit when you are most productive during the day. If you are a morning person, 9AM starts all the way. If you are more functional in the afternoon, make all your classes then. It's more worthwhile to be awake in your classes during a 4 day week timetable, as opposed to squishing it into 2 days and being tired.

6. A small 'good luck' or 'thinking of you' text of Facebook message goes a long way.

7. Girls will always have a horny, backstabbing, bitch side no matter what. It is the way of Mother Nature. Before you become fast friends with a girl, always remember she will want something out of it; whether it be a boyfriend, a reputation, or your friends.

8. If someone is putting off wanting to meet up with you, it's their 'polite' way of saying they don't want to see you anymore. People like that are little shits, so drop them, delete their number, delete them off Facebook - you're better without them.

9. Find people who are similar to you, and find people who are different to you. This is so you can always share with those who have common interests, yet you'll always be challenged by those who have different views.

10. Dressing nicely should be something to consider everytime you leave the house - I've learnt this the hard way, when I've run into people numerous times at the shops in my boxer shorts, or out for a walk or a run in my Puma shirt with a few too many holes. Put on a bit of makeup, put on some jewellery, do your haaaaiiiirrr, wear nice underwear - such little things go a long way in making you feel so much better about your day.

So that's it from me. I probably won't blog until 2014, given the Christmas and New Years is coming up, and I am going on a 2 week holiday to Italy, Belgium and France in January!! :D

Thanks for keeping up with me this year, and I can't wait for another year on heroichollyyy :) I think I'm still a hero in waiting hurhur ;)

DRIVING DIARY

Record 1

Okay, so I've decided to keep a driving diary just as a reminder of all the things I've learnt and the mistakes I've made.
So far, as of the 30th of November, 2013, I have completed 11 hours of driving. It is required that I complete 120 hours (I FLIPPING KNOW RIGHT). I have done 7 hours with an instructor, which has just been basic skills and driving around my neighbourhood - Wattle Grove and Holsworthy, as well as Liverpool.

The Liverpool region was rather difficult, as I was just getting used to driving and I was a bit intimidated by the traffic. Things I have to keep in mind are:
- CHECK INTERSECTIONS!
- MISS: Mirror, Indicate, Shoulder, Steer

The time I've spent driving with my Dad are a bit....tense. Let's just say that he's not the most calm, relaxed person LOL. He thrust me into a multilaned roundabout situation, which was a bit scary - after stuffing up the first time, I got the hang of where to go and such.

This silly diagram will just be a reminder for me in the future when I get into a multilaned roundabout situation:

I definitely underestimated driving - there's a lot more to it, and there's a shitload of stuff to do when you drive.
My goal is just to get my provisionals ('Red Ps') in July/August next year, before I leave for exchange and forget how to drive LOL. I hope I can drive about 2/3 times a week, and still have lessons with my instructor. 

I HOPE I CAN GET THERE; BUT I DON'T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE DO I.

oh my goodness.....it's been 4 months since I last posted.

HOLY GUACAMOLE I AM SO SORRY. I did not die, I have just been so so so busy with uni and work. Well, it's my excuse when I'm actually in fact sitting in front of my laptop having weekly existential crises about everything. Welcome to the life of a uni student, so don't say I didn't fkn warn y'all.

So I've finished one horrendous semester of unifrickinversity. To all the people who said that it's a breeze and the 'best time of your life', I sincerely hope you get fingered by Wolverine. Neither have I experienced any breezes of best times, rather I am experiencing shitty travel, shitty expensive food. When I have to pay for crappy expensive food, I never forgive and forget. NEVER. But for everything bad thing, there's always a good thing, right?? Let me just say that some New South kids are pretty alright after all :) :) You all know who you are hehehe 8) and this is not just Hurlstone...yes, YES, I HAS MADE FRANZ. ASBHDBJADA. HOHOHO.

Finals - lets just say that I am grateful I have let to lose my all nighter virginity, even if I just scrape passes. This semester was a big wake up call that I don't have tutors waiting on hand to read my emails at my whim, and that I gotta do shit myself and motivate myself. IT IS MUCH MUCH HARDER SAID THAN DONE.

So I now have one month to sloth around ^_^ ^_^ n__________________________n well, sort of. Work knows I have holidays so I'm tutoring a lot more, but I can't complain - the kids are nice, and $$$!!!!! 8)

But I did go to see Monsters University on Monday, and Man of Steel today!! ^_^

*****STOP READING, SPOILERS AHEAD******

Monsters University was the cutest, funniest (Christie and I did not stop giggling HAHHA) and such a feel good movie - you can always rely on Pixar to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Not to get all corn and cheese, but I felt like I knew exactly how Mike and Sully felt - not fitting in, being told you're not good enough, not knowing who to trust, and of course, that you don't necessarily have to go through university to end up as the world's best ______. It was funny, and I love back-story movies that go back to a character's history :)


Man of Steel was good, but could have been better. I've heard mixed reviews, with some saying it was atrocious, and others saying they though it was the direct craftsmanship of God himself (or perhaps they were referring to Henry Cavill). Anywho, I personally was quite satisfied with it - I mean, put Henry Cavill in anything and I'm halfway to reaching true happiness. However, his acting could have less corn and cheese, and there were just SO. MANY. EXPLOSIONS. AND SHIT. FLYING. EVERYWHERE. LIKE WHO GON CLEAN DAT ALL UP AYE. But honestly, it was an interesting storyline to see where 'Superman' came from and how he got to Earth. And Henry Cavill. I rest my case.


                                                                    lord freakin' jesus.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY HAPPY EASTER! :D hope you all get tonnes of chocolates, but also remember the real reason - JESUS. JOHN 3:16. PREACH IT GUYTH!!!

Anywho, just wanted to talk about some stuff. Epiphanies and the deep Wang stuff I think about on the train :P

Uni. I hated it the first two weeks. I thought the environment was stuffy and pretentious, the people were stuffy and pretentious (and I've been to USYD before, so that's sayin' something about UNSW), the work load was too much provided that the lectures and tuts are pretty shit, the food was too expensive, the toilets were crap, people smoked, and an orIGINAL SIZED BOOST COSTS $6. I WAS FCKN DONE. I didn't like it at all, but in all honesty, it has grown on me. I mean, all my problems could be solved.

I accepted that uni wasn't going to be like Hurlstone, where everyone's going to be open and friendly. You're going to run into people who think their better than you, and yknow what? Screw them. You're going to run into douchebags and TBs and impolite assholes, and screw them too. Hurlstone was a utopia, but I guess this is the real world now (so so much cheese guys, I'm so sorry hgfjdks).

But I like the independence. I like writing notes and studying for myself. I like having time to myself. I love the HAHS kids and the new people I've met are pretty rad, but I love to be alone. I just hate feeling alone. I get me, and I don't need to explain me to myself. At times, I am my own best company.

And onto another topic, f r i e n d s. I think uni has given me the opportunity to get to know the HAHS kids I didn't really talk to, and in all honesty, they're actually pretty decent. There's this one guy who I couldn't stand for longer than 5 minutes at a time during high school, but it's grown to almost a couple of hours as we spend one day at uni together with the same lectures and tuts. And yknow what? He's actually pretty cool. He's honest, he's laidback, tells me stooff, and yeah, I might tell him to stfu sometimes, but he takes it like a man HAHAHHAA. He's someone I know I can rely on, and in the 0.0000000000000000000000000005678657% chance that he's reading this too, I'm here for you brah x 556787578.
A very good friend told me that you're good friends with someone, not based on how much you keep in contact, but whether or not you can rely on them. Some may disagree, but I wholeheartedly agree. There are people out there who I haven't talked to in yonks, but we both know that if we got into shit, we would have no hesitation calling each other up and giving a helping hand.
But sometimes, sometimes, you don't know whether you should keep being friends with someone. Whether it should be an acquaintanceship instead. You know that feeling when you put in all the effort, but get nothing back? I know I try to be all man, but I'm still a sensitive 5 year old, so of course I take it to heart. But not anymore guyth. I know that somewhere, OUT THEEEEEEEERE, BENEATH THE PALE MOONLIIIIIIIIIIIGHT are people who won't take me for granted.

That's all really. I'm still a silly first year who doesn't know where the toilets are, still that silly girl that doesn't want to go out and just wants to stay at home and eat peanut butter choc croissants and watch garbage. But believe it or not, I am growing up. It's just a little slower than everyone else, and in a different way. I'm happy with where I am right now.