sight-seeing day

the worst map reader on earth, and the almost perfect map reader ventured out to the city on their own today for a bit of sight-seeing. if you are wondering who the worst map reader is, it's definitely not me! us two blur blokes, took the public transport on our own today for the first time, and confusedly got off at the stop where everyone got off. after brunch at hungry jacks, we spent close to 20 mins walking up and down queens street searching for the tourist information booth,which was about 2m directly infront of us but blocked by a cafe. after we finally located the booth and got hold of the maps (which were entirely useless), we started our sightseeing tour.


first stop was the museum of brisbane (MoB) at first we were hesistant about entering the museum, but since we travelled so many miles to this country, and because there isn't much else to see in brisbane city, we took a walk through it. thankfully we did, because, we got a very nice tour which was guided by the mayor's own personal assistant for FREE(we lurve free stuff...heh!).

outside MoB in King George's Square. They converted what used to be a fountain into a square because of the drought condition in brisbane, but there's a few million dollars road project that's coming up, where a tunnel will be dug beneath the square to solve the traffic conditions. and there are two old trees that they gotta relocate in this project, which will cost them 440,000 ausd in all. crazy...i will keep the 440,000ausd for myself, take a pic of the trees for remembrance, then chop them down!HA!

the very nice guide's called mr. richard ang, and he was a singaporean. we were talking to the security guard of the museeum when mr ang appeared, and upon hearing that we're singaporeans, he offered to give us a tour around the entire museum, and brought us to all the restricted places....like the chamber of councils, the mayor's office, the circle seats for the auditorium, and most importantly, up to the clock tower!

clockwise from top left: us at the mayor's seat in the chamber of councils; me sitting in my seat aka the chief judge's seat with my personal assistant peach lee; in the lounge of the mayor's office where they host the foreign ministers and guests (that's where our prime ministers and whatever else ministers sit at....seee...we were there too! as imporant as them!); erm ok posing with the flags in the lounge.

in the lift of the clock tower, that's mr. ang and us...he offered us lunch and peach, a beer...but we rejected both coz damn stressed and paiseh..haha

the auditorium in the MoB...it has a super huge and magnificent pipe organ...it looks a bit like our victoria concert hall though

after MoB, we took THE LOOP also known as the red bus, and went for a ride around the city....and i got to rest my aching feet. haha...

the red bus, and us on it...taking pics like suaku tourists as usual(...my idea)...

next stop was st. john's cathedral. ok there is absolutely nothing to see here, because the cathedral's still under maintenance works. so we spent about 15 mins in there, prayed and asked God to bless us with good results (since today's results day) and lit a candle before making our way to the old windmill. anyway...God blessed us...THANK GOD! HAHA!

outside the cathedral, and the altar...nothing much to see....

we walked up the blardee steep slope of Turbot Street for what seemed like ages, before we decided to give up on the old windmill. so we turned some corners and headed off in the opposite direction towards the parliament house and queensland university of technolog instead. this was when the worst map reader decided to show me her map reading skills. and true enough...she brought me in the wrong direction!! and she only realised when we ended up at Turbot Street again!

cityhall station

conrad treasury casino

parliament house and QUT

after the parliament house and QUT...we decided to call it a day. hence...we hit the shops once again! hahahah! sadly, the shops in the city sell sucky stuff as compared to those in indooroopilly! so i guess we'll just stick to indooroopilly from now on!

at around 11 plus pm, we headed up to mt. coot-tha to enjoy the beautiful night scenery. the view of the city in the night from there's brilliant, and the sky was beautifully lit with stars, but unfortunately...the technology of my camera's not that great, so i didn'tmanage to take a good picture of that...but we did take a lot of stupid pictures though!

lelicated to peach aka sir stamford raffles aka the failed kungfu master! see the pic in the middle?! peach wore 4 layers..and she was as fat a penguin until she couldn't move her arms! sulin n i only wore a tee and jacket..and we couldn't stop laughing at her!

evil peach covered my face! and that's our final picture for the night! by the way...the black background is supposed to be the sky filled with stars, which obviously you cannot see, because it could not be taken :(

okie..time for bed..gd nite!

from down under....

GD'DAY MATE!!!!! how's it going?! yupp...it's 11.26am in sunshine state brisbane, and this place really lives up to it's name. the days are filled with glorious sunshine and clear blue skies which very fortunately are not accompanied with humid weather like yucky old singapore, but with a nice cool temperature of appproximately 25 degs a day, because it's almost winter time, and the nights are always filled with a million bright twinkling stars! the days have been absolutely brilliant - basking in the sun, drinking beer, people watching, dvd watching, chilling at home, experiment cooking (sulin is an absolutely splendid cook!) and yes most importantly...intense aussie shopping! haha!

brisbane is very much different from melbourne and sydney. a very suburbian place, where everywhere's filled with low rise buildings, and only the city's cluttered with the high rise buildings. if you think life in sydney and melbourne is slow...well then..all i have to say is life here seems much much much much much slower as compared to life there!everywhere just seems so quiet and peaceful, and things are slightly cheaper here (especially grocery shopping)! as usual, the people are friendly, and they go around gd'daying and how's-your-daying. speaking of which...on my 2nd day here, i walked into a shop, and this guy said to me...gddddd'ddddaaayyy with a huge smile..and nope, i did not faint because he was blardee cute, but i smiled back with a puzzled look because i was wondering why the hell did he tell me to "go and die" for ?!?! errrm...it took me about 10 seconds before i realised he was saying gd'day to me..hur hur

i think everyone's heard of the "so where the blardee hell are you?!" aussie tourism ad right? well...before i took off for this place, ff told me to say "well...i am the blardee hell here!" to the customs upon arrival! she thinks she is very funny, but i obviously did not do that, because i would love spending my 2 weeks out in the sun and not in the bunks. that is...the jail bunks!

so...have i mentioned before that i have a travelling partner this time round? i think not....but anyway it is none other than dear old peach! well, until now we can't believe that we are holidaying together..good choice or bad choice you may ask? so far...not too bad a choice. except for the fact that peach is a scaredy cat, but...that we all already know. HA!

today's stay home day for us, because we have laundry to do, dvds to watch, and we need to spend a day off the shops, in order to save money. i have introduced peach to supre, and she can't wait to explore the shop again, because we discovered it 15 mins before their closing time yesterday, so we decided to keep it on hold till our next shopping trip! contacted hil (who is up to no good again, heehee), the other day, and were contemplating whether to hop over tosydney for a couple of days to meet up with her...but decided against it, because that would mean that we will have to spend the rest of the holidays in sulin's house.....so i think we'll be going to gold coast instead :)

alright...picture time!!!!

Leaving Singapore:

the three very nice people who came to send us off...meems,kunies and jin! and a pic of the plane that we took here , after it landed at brisbane airport

Day 1:

First stop: Greek Fest.. Look at the wonderful weather, the amount of people sitting around chilling, enjoying the sunshine, and eating their greek food..and the amount of greek food (extremely salty, or extremely sweet...no in between!) we bought!

that's us monkeying around as usual...and peach and i with our first cup of beer upon arrival in aussie....

southbank...a little artificial strip of beach that's built in the middle of the city, where people lie on the beach or swim...very interesting! peach was saying how suay she is as the birds in the sommerset carpark always shit on her when she walk through that place...guess what?! she is suay indeed! a seagull shat on her! hahhahahahha!

Day 2:

the sky! so bootiful!...at kookabura cafe waiting for our pizzas. brisbane's filled with steep slopes, steep slopes and more steep slopes! each time we drive down one...i'll go.."whheeeee" haha..ok lame

one of our fav activities...grocery shopping! the peach slices pic is taken by we know who...

another of our fav activity...cooking....

peach finally found the ONE METRE long toblerone that she's been looking for since forever! we spent the entire tuesday in target and kmart buying cheap bonds underwear and amusing ourselves with all the toys and sweets in the stores!

UPDATE: I HAVE FINALLY SUCCESSFULLY CLEARED MY BLARDEE TABLE! i am covered with dust now, i cannot stop sneezing, and my table is as good as empty except for a few items that i still have to use. the secret to my success...throwing out 80% of the things that once cluttered my table, and hiding the remaining 20% in boxes and shelves around the room. until someone discovers the new clutter i created in the boxes that are chucked in the corners of the room...i think i am safe!

now that marks the end of my two days of cleaning and clearing marked by little breaks of solitaire showdown with a new found duel partner - yishu (to whom i have been losing for the past few duels...DAMN IT!).. and i think i have won the bet i made (to finish clearing in TWO DAYS) with my dad and sis!so i jolly well deserve the 100 bucks they both promised me!

more importantly...in case i don't find the time to blog tmr, i think i better say first that i'll be off to brisbane to visit dear old sulin tmr! woohoo! for two good, solid weeks! so that's 21may to 4 june, if any of you don't know how to count how long two weeks is :P her aunt has most generously allowed me to bunk in her house for those two weeks, saving me a huge sum of money!i foresee days of slacking in the land of beach bums, visiting tourists attractions, shopping, gd day mate-ing, week-end flea markets, drunking ourselves with filthy cheap good alcohol, some trips to the beach if the weather permits, and possibly a trip to one of those worlds if thy good old wallet can sustain the huge blow that it would face!

so...sms me with through the singtel website if you have to...if you don't have to also sms me..haha...but errr as to whether i'll reply, that depends ya! tata for now!

clearance-no-sale

because my sis does not get to go overseas for her university education, and she's not intending to go to a local U with a hostel, she gets to convert the studyroom that we three currently share, into her own room. and that is the reason behind me spending two freaking days trying to clear my table, so that it can be thrown out in time for her to revamp the room.

advice to everybody: don't buy tables that come with attached drawers and shelves!
reason: you never know how much junk you can accumulate in these concealed compartments over the years.

i'm not joking...currently, i have accumulated two LARGE ikea bags full of trash, one full box of stuff that i want to keep, one box of books, one table buried in letters, one box of letters from friends, and a floor full of more rubbish.

things i've dug out from my table:

• primary school record book
• yamaha music school organ record book
• tons of programme guides for school functions that i performed in
• hideous secondary school photos that i immediately tore and threw away...hence my ugly (literally) past is still concealed
• neoprint books
• stamp collection book
• sticker collection book
• a retarded letter from hobz...she actually bothered to write rubbish and draw an ugly flower on a crappy paper and post it to my house...i kept it anyway..haha..ain't i nice lg?
• tons of cards and handmade gifts from yj
• a piggy bank with $9 in it
• super duper old primary school wallets with a total of $5.10 hidden in them
• two big bottles of melted sweets (luckily no ants...or lizards!)
• and about the same amount of dust that mount merappi erupted the other day!

a night in westcoasts park

ok i forced everyone to play a game that i used to play in primary school that night. two teams competing in scissors paper stone on the balancing planks of the fitness station..all who were in pri wld have played it at least once before i'm sure... sadly...my team lost :( we were winning at first! DAMN IT! anyway, we can obviously see who the real monkeys are...yup...meems and charles! no doubts abt it! as for whose butt's the biggest?...it can't be found in the picture..but we know whose too!

after eons of not seeing yj...ok since soci paper, i finally met up with her today with peach. what we did the entire day was to eat, eat, eat, and eat some more. and of course, accompanied by the usual chatting sessions. then along came cheeken the pok pok kay..and off we went to heeren to get the two lame-os their havainas because they were temporarily crippled by their day's choice of footwear! this once again goes to prove that pretty shoes are not necessarily comfortable..hehe

and we did something that we haven't done since jc...we...took....NEOPRINTS! or purikura as my jap pen-pal calls it. haha omg..we were screaming and laughing like mad in the booth,because we didn't know how to operate the machine, but being the smarties we are, we figured it out after the first round of shots! felt damn old in the shop which was crowded by secondary sch kids :S these neo-print machines are really becoming more and more interesting..now i feel like taking more..hur hur

one of the five neo-prints we chose....

errr a bit out of shape...coz peach took it from the machine's screen with her hp

NEW JOKE!!

while talking about the aborigines....

sick says:
bamoorangs issit?
sick says:
ahah
sick says:
the thing they throw
sick says:
ahahha
sick says:
boomerangs
sick says:
hahahahahahahaha

no prizes for guessing who sick is!

while on the phone with peach just now, i started telling her about how i was trying to book plane tix

peach: does the plane to brisbane land in brisbane?
me: erm well...no it lands in abu dabhi
peach: huh?!
me: what do you think????
peach: seriously la!
me: don't ask stupid qns can!!!

my friend peach the geog queen is the biggest kok on earth..since 2003, i have bluffed her a few times regarding airplane details while chatting with her online from the sq lounge in the aiport of the various destinations i was returning from..but the only time i remembered was when i had arrived home from hong kong and i logged onto msn and she msged me...

peach: you're back???
me: no..what makes you think so?!
peach: then where are you now?!
me: transiting in africa
peach: serious?!
me: don't be idiotic...why would a plane that's flying from hong kong to singapore transit in africa?!
peach: (some random curses back at me)

haha...peach u really suck at directions and the map. if we ever travel together i swear i will purposely give u the wrong directions and make u get lost! do u still dare to travel with me?! hahhaha

iMac photobooth madness

FUREEZZZUU..... LAPD!!
when passing through the thermal scanners in the airport, please remember to pose and smile
psycho fever
trapped in a light tunnel
fat faces and small head
meem's transformed into an alien with two heads and an underwear clad body..hahahha
and i am popeye

McDull..super duper cute!

today this idiotic asshole - 91609848- called me and when i picked up the phone, he/she hung up. then after tt the idiot sent me two blank smses. so i replied with "who's this?" then the idiot sent me two more blank smses which got me pissed, so i replied "u are sending me blank msges". after which the idiot smsed me in chinese! "请讲hua 语"...so i knew it's confirm someone i dunno...or if it's someone i know and the person's playing a prank on me, then he's/she's confirm an idiot! so i replied "i only speak english, find someone who knows how to speak english to msg me"then the person sent me two blank msges again! wth....so i ignored it after that. somehow i've seen that number somewhere before...then again all numbers just seem familiar!

other than that...i went shopping with my mom and sis today and i bought a nice white top from topshop and i finally got my swimming cap so that i can start my swimming!

one last..

one last entry from my wonderful hostel room :( my source of freedom, sleep-ins, 24hours air-con, free internet usage! sobberz! i'm devastated! ok kidding..not so serious. but seriously, this room holds many happy (and maybe sad?), sweet and fun memories. i'm sad to part with it! no more late night mee-gorengs, calls from meems and waits for her to drop by, visits from numerous friends, study sessions in my room, sleepovers etc. will always remember this room.. blk 5, level 6 room c..i'll miss you!!! haha...not the rest of the type c rooms tt i stayed in though..those hot ovens can go fly kite! alrightey...i better scoot before i get scolded at 1130 for being late again! toodles!

Rennaisance Woman

while cootie and i were on our way back from town just now, my dear friend beat me to it at being the lamest ever yet again....

me: i swear if i existed in the renaissance era, i'd be considered a true beauty!
cootie: yuupp...you are victoria's greatest secret right?!
me: -_-" ok that is really damn lame.

then i came back and checked my mail, and i see that b2 has sent me one of those "who's your type" quizzes. so i did it, and guess who's my types?!.......you guessed it! none other than the renaissance type!

You like to experience everything! You go for the renaissance type!

Want a partner who's into just about everything? Well, you've found him in your Renaissance man! This man is extremely passionate about everything you can think of. His interests run the gamut, from football scores to Dutch art, and he delves into all of his interests enthusiastically. Your man will do anything and go anywhere and most likely have a smile on his face the whole time. You'll constantly be mesmerised by how much information he soaks up and retains. Whether it's because he's extremely well cultured or due to his romantic nature, you can't help yourself falling for this bloke. Although he has a plethora of redeeming qualities, this great catch can be somewhat dotty. He can sometimes lose sight of reality and wind up living happily in the clouds. But when it comes down to it, that's exactly where this man will put you - on cloud nine.

say...now i'm very sure i'm living in the wrong era. one where no one appreciates my beauty! hah!

*SOB* MUMMMYYYY....IITTT'SSSSS OVVVEERRRR!!!

i can't sleep again! how torturous! and to think i spent an entire night standing ard in zouk, yawning away, but when i finally get to lie down on my bed, i can't sleep :( anyway......................

1815hr, 020506 marked the end of my education journey. that's it. my days of studying are over! sobberz. this makes the third exam that i've walked out early of in my entire years of studying. 45 mins ahead of time is really madness, since it was an essay based exam! i guess this only means that i screwed up soci?! argh..whatever..it's over...but anyway TR was a killer..i hope i don't have to attend year 4 of uni!

down with food poisoning and fever. DO NOT EAT THE SANDWICH FROM THE STUPID VENDING MACHINE IN THE FORUM! that stupid sandwich, it was supposed to curb my hunger, instead it gave me food poisoning..wtf! and UHWC SUCKS! the blardee doctor, i swear if anything horrid happens to me i will just sue her! major bitch..

i woke up at 6am and vomitted 6 times, and had to drag myself to the stupid doctor at UHWC, because i emailed the lecturers of both of my papers and they replied that i have to get an MC and fill in the yellow form to file for special consideration for the marking of my examinations. so i took a bus..sat at the stupid clinic for half an hour and tried my best to keep my puke in while they "tried their best" to allow me to go first. farkers

and when it was finally my turn...i had to get the bitch of a doctor, DOCTOR ONG of ROOM TWO. SCREW YOU BITCH!
D.O: what's wrong with you?
me: i think i have food poisoning. i've puked six times since 6am and had diarrhea 3 times
D.O: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
me: so can i have an MC to fill in the yellow form? because my lecturers told me to file for special consideration
D.O: *gives me a suspicious look* i think you will be fine during the paper, you didn't vomit at all
me: 0_0...WTF...i told you i vomitted 6 times???
D.O: oh? 6 times? and diarrhea 3 times? *writes it down, indicates food poisoning*...ok you can go and collect your medicine already
me: *ARGH! WTF!*

what a bitch!!!!! i bet she thought i was trying to play truant!bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch!!!!

and... my lecturer maribeth erb is the most caring person in the entire NUS. she was so concerned over my state of health throughout the entire day, she went around finding out what would happen to me if i missed the exams, then she arranged for me to sit near the door of the exam hall in case i needed to puke during the paper, and when i left the exam hall early, she ran after me and told me to go see another doc to get an mc so that i could file for special consideration. absolutely touched! for once i believe that there is a HUMAN lecturer in NUS. i thought all of them were unfeeling robots! and she was super funny..she called the doctor a bitch and said that NUS is damn hard-hearted...I AGREE!

ahhh...i've rambled on long enough...time to try and see if i can sleep

insomnia

280406 - i went to bed at 5am and woke up at 7am with the sun shining brightly on my face, the courtesy of a good friend who suggested the idea of waking up in the morning with the sun shining on ur face, just reinforces how glorious, mornings are. yes, that is true, only if you wake up after 8 hours of sleep, feeling refreshed and all ready to face the day ahead. not true when you are rudely awaken by this bright light and left with only two meagre hours of rest for the rest of the day.

290406 - concussed in bed at 2am. woke up at 4am to the beeping sound of the hp, and a blurry image of the table lamp shining brightly, and chicken little dancing on the laptop screen. after a few smses here and there, i collapse back in bed, with my body feeling like it weighs a ton. then the hunger starts to set in, and the mind gradually becomes more and more wide awake. and the end result? sitting infront of the laptop at 6am to blog. wtf. this insomnia shit is not funny anymore.

I WANT TO SLEEP. I NEED TO SLEEP. LET ME FALL ASLEEP, BLARDEE BRAIN OF MINE!!!

eggsams update: three down...two to go. MNO - not too bad. Psych - killer as usual. Publications - the best so far.

one more week and i'll be out of here. sadly happy or happily sad? both the same i guess. what i'm gonna miss? the freedom i get from staying in the hostel. the wonders of having the internet to myself, a room of my own, and an aircon that i can leave on for the entire day. the numerous hours spent slacking in the canteen and most importantly, char siew wanton mee and fish and chips. i don't think i'll ever find such quality food for that two good bucks anywhere else but here. i MUST eat them everyday next week till i am sick of them. hur.

grad trip - zero plans.

damn it. i shall enjoy this glorious morning by taking a bath and cooking myself some breakfast before i start work....screw you insomnia.

and before i go........

bitch fest

last thurs was the official last day of school for me...omg...in three weeks time, my education journey will be over, and i have no foresight or whatever it's called of my future. while i am very much happy to leave this school, i'm also sad to be ending school. what lies ahead? i'm absolutely clueless. with the kind of degree that i am going to get...i don't see anyone wanting to hire me. whatever it is, i gotta face it.

now for exams..exactly one week away from today. have i studied?no. ok yes..a little bit. all because i'm still doing this bitch of a website project and i have no idea how to use macromedia dreamweaver :( my only worry for the exams right now is psych...will i pass it?!!?! i hope i do..if not it's one extra sem for me, and that is majorly wtf.

post-grad trip. i desperately want to get out of this country. but i have no idea where to go. europe seems to be out, since no one wants to go especially since it's so expensive, and i have no intentions of travelling ard tt place by myself and i don't think the amount of money my dad's willing to give me or loan me will be enough for that place. i know it's unfair of me to say this, because my parents pay for my travelling, but sometimes i'm really quite disappointed in my friends, because we have discussed one million times to go overseas together, but the plan never materialises, because yes i know...money is the main problem for them, and that certainly is not an easy problem to solve so i really shouldn't be bitching about it. i'm sorry once again..but i've had quite enough of listening to ok really let's go somewhere together..and at the end NOTHING happens.

then there are problems like this person does not want to go with that person...or we all just have different destinations in mind. so once again nothing happens. the only place on most people's mind right now is BANGKOK, and i cannot express how much i dislike that place. there is absolutely nothing for me to do there. ok...i can hear someone saying...you can go there and drink and eat because it is how cheap...but i don't want to pay 100 plus to go overseas to get wasted and i hate thai food. shopping sucks, because i am sorry that i am an amazonian woman and i just can't fit into anything bangkok offers.

so recently...a few people have expressed that they are interested in going to hong kong...which i absolutely love...and i seriously don't mind going there. but for now, i shall not keep my hopes high, because i expect to be disappointed all over again.

sucks...now i feel sore and depressed. and i think after everyone read this..they are going to hate me and then i will lose all my friends. haha...well i hope that does not happen!

i have been thinking the past few days, and i think i shall stop sharing my love with others, and keep it all to myself.

Happy Birthday Sin Yee!!

u see..after we have passed the 21yrs stage...all birthday greetings will just be Happy Birthday without the age included in it...for the simple reason that women do not want to reveal their age! hurhur. we had a simple celebration at subway in holland village, and i spent a bit of time bluffing her that i was in subway waiting for her, and refusing to go out to find her although she was quite very lost and couldn't find subway...all because i was hiding in coffeebean buying the cake and i didn't want to get spotted by her! this time round we took quite a bit of photos...argh my peanuts m&m and scholar bun face............

we brought a kid out that day.......charles.....that's him below....look how pleased that little boy is with himself in the pic on the right -_-"..reminds us of sinyee's bro and the photo he took of himself at my bday...
and because i am an idiot...i mixed up my days and forgot that it was my best friend's birthday...hence the pathetic cake...and the lighter for a candle......how very sad.......but i guess it beats not having a candle at all right?? actually there was one...but the girl forgot to put it into the box even though she told me tt she did...to think i went to buy a lighter!!! #%&!$%*...

we spent some time threatening to shoot cakes at each other with the stirrer which we used as a spoon...and i finally shot one spoonful at charles, because he said he would definitely block it with his spoon...but did that happen???? noooo...so it ended right smack on his face! HAH!

and to end the night...we had a bit of wine in charles' room...and below is the result of a little bit of alcohol in our immune system!

now...for my (or rather my family's) new possession.........

this we got after we spent like 4 hours in the ishop...this is really the coolest gadget on earth....but it's not set up yet, because we have some space problem at home...but i can't wait to lay my hands on them! tried to"con" my dad into buying me the ipod video....was quite close to success until he heard the price ...wah rau...siannerz...

sleep bruxism and i

oh goodnees gracious me...there goes my teeth :S been having nightmares of myself grinding my teeth, then spitting out chipped pieces of it. and then i wake up in shock..and realise my jaws are aching and my teeth are clenched to the max. so i think i have sleep bruxism because i have like 90% of these syndromes...i'm a problematic kid :( then again...i know someone else who suffers from this too!

Grinding of Teeth (Bruxism) During Sleep Associated with Other Disorders

The grinding or clenching of teeth during sleep on a weekly basis affects more than 8% of the population and is associated with other disorders such as daytime sleepiness and anxiety, according to a new study. The study, based on 13,057 participants in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was reported in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

The condition is known as sleep bruxism, an oral habit characterized by rhythmic activity of the jawbone muscles that cause a forced contact between dental surfaces during sleep. It has been linked to headaches, joint discomfort and muscle aches, premature loss of teeth, and sleep disruption for both the person with bruxism as well as his or her bed partner.

Study Methodology

The study, carried out in the three European countries, aimed to document the prevalence of sleep bruxism in the general population, the risk factors associated with the disorder, and its links to other health-related and sleep-related issues.

Prevalence is the estimate of a disease as a whole in a given population in a given time. It is usually based on a set of criteria for that disease that can be utilized in a questionnaire administered on a large scale. It does not require clinical evaluations.

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) suggests the following as minimal criteria for sleep bruxism: the presence of teeth grinding during sleep and, at least one of the following associated features - abnormal tooth wear, muscular discomfort, or sound associated with the tooth grinding. The participants in the study were divided into one of three groups: those who met the ICSD criteria, those with tooth-grinding alone, and those without tooth grinding.

Participants were interviewed by phone, with interviews averaging 40 minutes in length. The information gathered was entered into a Sleep-EVAL system, a software system designed to conduct epidemiologic studies on sleep, sleep habits, and mental disorders in the general population. Validation of the data was conducted at Stanford University's Sleep Disorder Center in Palo Alto, California and the Regensburg University Sleep Disorders Center in Germany.

Tooth grinding during sleep is classified as one of the parasomnias by the ICSD. It is found most often in non-REM sleep stages, mostly in stage 2, although it can occur in REM sleep.

Study Findings

Tooth grinding which occurred at least weekly during sleep was reported by 8.2% of the participants. More than 54% of those with tooth grinding reported some related problem, including 23% who said they needed dental work because of the grinding and 8% who claimed discomfort of their jaw muscles upon awakening. More than 23% said the grinding was loud enough for bed partners to hear it. The total, then, for all those in the study population who met the ICSD criteria was 4.4%, suggesting that bruxism is the third most common form of parasomnia following talking in one's sleep and snoring.

Snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, and obstructive sleep apnea were significantly more frequent in the sleep bruxism group and the tooth-grinding alone group than in the rest of the participants. The sleep-bruxism group reported significantly more frequent episodes of nocturnal awakenings, morning headaches, and a subjective sense of blocked breathing and choking during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea showed a prevalence of 4.8% in the sleep-bruxism group, 3.4% in the tooth-grinding alone group, and only 1.4% in the non-tooth-grinding group.

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and sleep bruxism is usually related to an arousal response. The ending of an apneic event may be accompanied by a number of mouth phenomena, such as snoring, gasps, mumbles, and tooth grinding.

Sleep bruxism was also associated with daytime sleepiness. About one third of the bruxism group reported being sleepy during the day. There was no significant association with other sleep disorders, such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, or periodic limb movement disorder.

Mental disorders, mainly anxiety disorders and hallucinations, were also significantly related to tooth grinding during sleep. About 69% of those with sleep bruxism related their condition to aggravation, stress, or anxiety. Daily use of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine was also associated with sleep bruxism.

Researchers also noted that bruxism was unrelated to gender and decreased significantly with age. The highest prevalence was observed in the 19- to 44-year-old group, at 5.8%.

What are the Risks?

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Maurice M. Ohayon, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, said "the results of this study raise an important concern about the risk of sleep apnea for sleep bruxers. A plausible explanation for this association," he said, "could rely on the shared anatomic problems proposed by some research such as mandibular (jawbone) deficiency, temporomandibular abnormalities, and craniofacial abnormalities."

Dr. Ohayon said that sleep bruxism should be considered in patients with sleep-disordered breathing disorders. He called on general practitioners to inquire about sleep bruxism and sleep apnea symptoms when abnormal tooth wear damage is identified. He also urged dentists to ask about symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing when dental signs of bruxism are present.

"Finally," he said, "further research is necessary on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of this largely unknown sleep disorder."

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/parasomnias_bruxism.htm

finally! i am done with the last essay for the semester!!!!! spent three night editing the mno essay ...22 pages to 15 pages. woohoo! i wish i could say that's the end of all my assignments...at least i thought that was it last week..until i realised that i have two more tests next week and a million other projects for publications. wah rau.

anyway i'm finally home..after having hibernated in school last week. alright time to sleep...but before i go...here's introducing bae sung.........hahaha...peach hates youtube...but too bad!

if you know who's bae sung..and you can never figure out what the fark he is talking about...this is the revelation of the language that he is speaking!

to my dear ff of a sister...

stressed up over your uni application? (i hope it is not leading to depression!)...need some extra humour in your life?? (like as though having me as your lovely sister is not funny enough...HAHA!) you don't think the blind kungfu master is funny? well...this you will definitely love! remember the weekdays we spent hogging the tv upstairs at 5pm watching channel axn?? do you remember what was being shown then?? do you?? huh?! do you?? well if you don't...here are some clips to refresh your memory...

"ranma wo de ai ren!"...."ohhhhhh sweeto!"..."ahhh peku-chan!!"...now i'm sure you remember! so here's more!...but argh sucks..it's in english! spoiler! and oops..a bit r/a..haha!

bobby lee mania

more spastic clips...

and the blind kungfu master strikes again!

french and saunders

don't know how many of you can appreciate british humour..but do watch this star wars spoof by the clowns from french and saunders. at times i don't get british humour too...but dawn french is really one of the best comedians around. those who have watched vicar of dibley will know what i mean. she's hilarious! when i was in sydney they showed vicar of dibley for the entire night on one of the cable channels, and i was absolutely addicted to it! and on the plane to hk, they showed it too...my sis and laughed like mad on the plane...i think the other passengers might have thought we were mad!

for people like peter who's pia-ing projs too...here's more entertainment...hope it helps to make the dull and boring nights better! good luck for the assignments and tough week ahead man! haha!

it is IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII...the BLIND KUNGFU MASTER!!

please please please check this out! i cannot say how FREAKING FUNNY IT IS! cootie and i have been imitating this video clip since we watched it yesterday!

kitchen misfortunes

there's this person in my cluster who seems to like to steal other people's food and use other people's utensils...but somehow it seems that this person happens to always steal and use this particular girl's stuff. no matter what that bugger does...it seems like the stuff that she stole or used belongs to the girl who stays opposite me. and anyway...i don't know what are the chances of her reading this ...but i must say...she is really quite an anal bitch.

when i first moved into this cluster one sem ago, we had a cluster meeting, and she already presented to everyone how anal she was. she made it a point to 'gently remind' everyone of various incidents that occured in the previous sem (apparently she has been staying in this cluster for 4 sems already) which involved her stuff being stolen or used once again. all i can say is...hard luck. you are just downright suay. the residents of each cluster change every sem and it just seems like everytime only ur stuff get stolen or used. either everybody hates you hence they keep stealing your stuff...or someone up there hates you..hence (S)He keeps allowing your stuff to get stunted.

back to what i was saying....this anal neighbour of mine...she LOVES leaving warning notes in the kitchen. she pastes them on the fridge, above the sink, on the table...ANYWHERE. i mean sometimes i pity her for getting her stuff stolen...BUT....I am getting increasingly pissed with seeing her notes everywhere! and this time round..she posted a note...which i couldn't help but be a bitch and post on my blog...............

the reason why i took a pic of this note is. because.......please read the last two lines......."PLEASE CLEAN JOYCE THE DAMN THING!" hahaha i laughed out loud to myself in the kitchen when i saw her note! yes...i know the joyce part is supposed to be her signing off..but it just looks like she is calling herself a damn thing! anyway........what i have to say to her is...if you so can't stand people using your pot...KEEP IT IN YOU ROOM THEN YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYMORE! TSK!

alright..cheap thrill...back to work.

mno1001

sqwak! screw u blogger! i typed so much and then u had to hang! bah! now i have to start all over again! :(

ANYWAY...i was complaining about how i had so much work to do on sunday! yes...its time to whine again! haha...nah...what i said was ...i went to phins steakhouse to do my mno proj last night. yes..on a sunday night..i had to do proj..nus sucks! but luckily all we had to do was to observe how good or rather...bad the service at phins was. and all i have to say is...their waitresses face are so black..they make charcoal look fair! kns there was one particular one...her face was so black i almost slapped her! and i was so close to telling their manager tt if they wanted to charge us 10percent svc charge..they better make sure their staff know how to smile...lemme show u all the the black face woman.........

there...can u see her???........no right?? ..........

there she is! know why u cldn't see her? because yishu's phototaking skills suck! he took so long to pretend tt he was taking something else that when he finally snapped...she caught him pting the camera at her! so she hid behind the sign! he is the worse private eye amongst all of us! haha

and these are the people i went to phins with....

yishu, puay fang and adec...and of course the ketchup drinker is me!

ok i must say that i am quite thankful that my proj members are fun people..because i am taking mno alone! my first module alone! yar i know i suck...but i am super not independent when it comes to attending classes. i MUST have a friend with me...if not i will die. and last sem's geog tut is a perfect example...my proj group was how horrendous! so...thank god for these people...or..in my mom's words...thankSS god! hahaahah!

anyway...back to phins...the verdict is...excellent food..good and cheap but......FREAKING BAD SERVICE!

i talked abt procrastinating in my last post and how i should NOT do it...but guess what? yuppp...i am at it again! and this time...peach is super close to strangling me, because she is waiting to see what i have written, but all i have written is...one line.

supposed to start on fri night, but the 5 days of essay writing killed me, and i decided to take a little break by going to walas intead...and then i was in this yea i shld chill mood...so i downed two and a half beers...chill i did indeed. i chilled till the next day...because when i came back..i was seh...so i slept. wtf.

and then i spent sat afternoon researching, and went to the lib for a bit to get my book and meet a friend. n i had dinner with my parents at the ship..and when i got back to the hostel i was going to start on my work..when i was called for duty. duty to slack. and off to hv i went...then to west coast macs..and returned at 330am.

i bathed, i masked, i brushed my teeth...and sat down to read the books i borrowed...and then what happens??...i get invited to bfast! jolly hell...so at 545am...i am off to west coast macs again! there goes the entire night..and when does my soci essay get completed? haha...definitely before peach wakes up tmr...i hope! haha

freak...what the hell is wrong with me...

5.04 am and i have a paper due at 4pm. i am only at 500 words for my 2000 words esasy...brilliant! and i am starting to feel sleepy...booohoo. the only two people i'm talking to now are yoyo and harry...why? because they are not in singapore. so that makes me the only sad sod who is awake at 5am in the morning when everyone else's happily snoozing away. lesson learnt: STOP FREAKING PROCRATINATING!

horror week! totally buried by work this week..1 test and 5 papers due...majorly sian. manage to finish 3 of it already, now i'm left with visual images which is a 2000 word paper that is due tmr, and which i have not started :s and soci....i think peach wait for me to start on the paper until she want to vomit blood already...but seriously...paiseh! i can only start on fri..i'll consolidate the paper!

taking yet another one of betty crocker's 'baking classes' this sem! she is a killer! she really thinks we are working in a firm or something...giving us a major assignment each week! i have to admit that her modules are the only useful things that i have learnt in cnm for the whole six sems that i have spent in this shit-hole of a university...but argh! she is a murderer! and viv, jin and i seriously think she hates us! haha...yesterday, when she asked me "so tell me again..am i pronouncing your name right???" ..her blue eyes were shooting darts/daggers/swords/bullets at me! i felt so intimidated!

this is what we're doing or have been doing this semester...organizational research,web critique,newsletter,flier,folder and last of all a website. i hereby declare that InDesign is the crappiest program to use on earth..the only thing it teaches you is..PATIENCE! freaking stubborn program! don't buy it! but anyway...i finally found out where the print screen button on my laptop is (heh) and this is what the stuff i've done look like...

newsletter........

ok..we had guidelines for the newsletter ...so the articles and pictures were given to us, but we had to photoshop all the pics, and do the layout and everything ourselves

flier.....

this...we had to design and do on our own...and my sis says it looks more like a bank ad than a tourism ad...booohoo...but anywya i think it sucks...i created it one night before it was due. and i am definitely one of the least creative people on planet earth

non-desperate non-housewives

hil: "if we were housewives a 100 years ago, i am sure we will be condemned!"

how absolutely true man...if you ever look at us cook...i don't think you will want to eat! but whatever it is..the food always turns out super yummy!

tonight, chef gwee, chef goh, and chef koh got together for yet another one of their absolutely fantastic and yummy (and disastrous) cooking sessions....

chef gwee, chef goh, chef koh!

after a trip to the very convenient, convenience store located in pgp..aka georgies mart... the three brilliant chefs trotted(no pun intended) back to the kitchen at level 6 in blk 5 and spent a few minutes figuring out the very complex mind-boggling puzzle of pot/bowl switching...and finally...the cooking began.

tonight on the menu....

udon with sausages.....

which was later combined with the cream of mushroom soup...

and for dessert...sesame paste tang yuan with red bean soup! blardee red bean soup took freaking 2 hours to cook! @#!(^#!#(!#

and all these for a good 5 bucks! cheap and good!

next week on the menu: mee goreng with half boiled egg and sausage...dessert...unconfirmed! who's up for it?!

HAPPY **th BIRTHDAY POPS!!!

three days late but still happy **th birthday pops! why **? because...as much as a woman does not like to reveal her age...i know my pops doesn't like to either...as though everyone don't already know how old he is...haha! i shall save everyone from the mushy boring stuff tt children say to their parents on their birthday and talk about the dinner instead.

planned long ago to treat my dad to dinner at the crazy horse cabaret and to a show after that..but if any of you have ever gone to check out the price...a decent dinner would cost $75+++ per person (my family has 5 people!!) and a decent seat for the cabaret costs $150 per person...which means...yes work your brains..work your brains....$1125+++ in all..means approx $281.25 for each of us. not funny lor. that would mean eating grass for two whole months for me. and $150 to watch topless girls in g-string prancing on the stage and doing some pole dance...isn't very funny either. they serve french food for the dinner...and knowing my dad..he will be like...wah this kind eat already not full -_-"

then we came up with another brilliant idea...lawry's! so the plan was set and we started saving money and blah blah blah..then we realised...pops doesn't eat steak...why? because he wants to be a holy man and abstain from beef *sqwak* so that's out too.

leave it to the brilliant lady of the house...the mother of course...who decided that a good ten course dinner at the tung lok restaurant..with the extended family would please my dad to the max...so that's where we ended up at! brilliant food and service i must say! the food was absolutely yummy..other than the sharksfin :( and they gave us a private room..how cool?!

the first dish was utterly amazing...i still can't get over how big the shou bao was! it was as big as a the helmet motorcyclists' wear!!!!...don't believe me?? let me prove it to you.......

H-U-G-E ain't it????

the rest of the dishes...no pics...we didn't even get to see them coz the very efficient waitress zoomed in...pushed it in my dad's face..announce the name of the dish..scuttled off and divided it into 10 portions and distributed it to everyone! how efficient they are!

so ....i hope my dad loved the treat/gift that we gave him....and here's a nice family photo...

who cares if the parents aren't really smiling? we three look nice...that's all that matters! wahahhahaahah

my very humourous father...

one day my dad proudly walks towards the door in the afternoon and faces the bright sun for 5 seconds..then turns around and exclaims

dad: look! the lens of my new specs changes colour!
me: wow...you got the light polarizing lenses??
dad: no...mine's cooler than that! it changes according to my mood! when i'm envious it changes to green..and when i'm angry it changes to red and so on...am i hip??!!
me: ......................................................-_-"

and that is the story of the day...my very hip dad..... and if you ever read this..which i highly doubt..but anyway.....it's 2nd march already dad...which means it's pay day..and i'm waiting for my allowance...HAHA!

oh yea...congrats ff for the brilliant results! you did well!