Acer strikes again

I have no idea how this happened.

I was happily sitting in front of my laptop last week. Was done with using it and decided to turn it off. I shut down windows and proceeded to close my laptop when

*KRAKKK*~~

My laptop suffered a pathological fracture. One of monitor hinges broke. The casing opened up and I could see the little circuits inside. How on earth does that happen??? Not like I was using immense strength to slam the thing shut or something. I didn't dare lift the laptop off the table lest the other hinge broke and the enitre monitor fell apart. And any repairs would surely be costly and getting a new laptop even costlier (everything here is $X3 mahh...).

So.... I did the next best thing. The following day, I squeezed the casing back into place and taped it shut with some Transpore (good ol' hospital wound tape).

As Wee Jie aptly described, it's just another case of Aceritis. *Sigh* At least the laptop is still working... Thank God for that. *Must stay positive*

Barossa Valley

Here are some pics from our trip to Barossa Valley on Easter Sunday. Barossa is one of the major wine-producing regions in South Australia as well as a tourist attraction. It's 1.5 hours drive from Adelaide city, pretty much like driving down to Ipoh. Bryan's mom came to visit, so she came along with us that day. Bryan's friend, Rei Lynn was kind enough to offer to drive. No way we'd be be able to get a bus on short notice as buses to Barossa are few and rather inconvenient. The main attraction in Barossa is the wine, so people usually go around all the wineries (quite a lot of them) sampling wine and enjoying the simple countryside scenery.

Ok la, quite lazy to type lots today 'cos I had a long day of tutorials. Every ounce of energy is drained out already...

What you see from your car window throughout your drive in Barossa. Rows and rows of vines. Not a single soul walking on the road, only flat plains, gum trees, dirt, cows and horses.

Lines of wine bottles on display at the Wolf Blass winery.

Me, Bryan's mom and Ken.

One big ass wine bottle. Perfect for alcoholics. :P

After visiting a couple of wineries, we went to Tanunda, a small town (more like a single street to me). There were scarecrows placed all over the town. Some of them were quite creative, some on the other hand were pretty scary looking. If the crows aren't scared at least people will be. :P This is one of the more sweet looking ones. :)

...This is my favourite scarecrow. He was placed in a "mooning" position with his bum cheeks made of pumpkins. :P:P:P I just couldn't resist.

Bryan and me outside the most 'comfortable looking' outhouse of a toilet in Tunanda. Guess who was inside? :P

Another winery. But the special thing about this one is there's a building that looks like a castle and a tall rod thing/tower. :P Yep, the name of the place is Chateau Tanunda.

The pretty lass on the left is Rei Lynn, Bryan's friend since primary school. Heh.. hope I spelt her name correctly.

While Bryan's mom checked out some wine, those with less financial capabilities went cam-whoring...

Actually wine here is quite cheap la. Cheap wine is around $2 to $15. So that's a pretty good price if you ask me. Just so happened most of the wines in Chateau were more high class...

Dirt road which Rei Lynn's poor car had to run on for half the duration in Barossa. It was so 'outback' that if I was stranded here, I wouldn't know what to do.

The view from lookout point!

We were a little too late for the lavender farm. By the time we reached there, it was closed. But the shopkeeper kept her shop open for us. So sad.... all the lavender was cut off already! *sigh* Was looking forward to see rows of beautiful purple...

And this here is my baby! A teeny tiny lavender shrub which I got from the farm! Erm... it looks a little wilty now though. Have to transfer it into the big rose pot on the balcony tomorrow. If not I'll probably end up with some shriveled up twig soon. Oh and this Bryan and Ken made a bet of some sort regarding how long my lavender will survive... It involves ice-cream. They refuse to disclose the details to me. -_-" Not like I'm bothered anyway.

Time to update. A little too late to announce this, but I passed my first rotation here: surgery. Not a fantastic pass, but a pass nonetheless. I'm grateful and hopefully it'll be better the next time around. Am currently doing Medical Home Unit, attached to the respiratory ward. Can't say much bout it because it's only my first week, and Easter holidays are here. So half the team was on holiday... The ward rounds are so freaking long! This is in comparison to the surgical ward rounds. Guess medical people spend more time looking at their patients as they don't have to dash off to surgery halfway in the morning...

It's been nearly 3 months now, and there're plenty of things I've learnt here. Not just academic things, though. Mainly things about life, living and the people around you. Am getting the hang of managing housechores on my own, that's not a big deal. People are friendly no doubt. But in these 3 months, the difference between friends and confidants become increasingly obvious. There are friends whom you can hang out with, have (relatively) loads of fun, and friends who will be there when you need it the most, and offer a helping hand without keeping score or being resentful. Those friends are hard to come by. You'd be lucky to find even one if your lifetime. I feel blessed because there are a few back home. Friends who still care enough to listen and hold you through the rough times. My boyfriend (praise the heavens) is not only a loyal companion, but also good friend. There were so many points of time in the past few years where it would have been so excruciatingly painful without his presence. All confidants are friends, but not all friends can be confidants. That is a fact.

I've been contacting my family on a regular basis and so far, it's good to hear that things are going well. I miss them terribly though. There's so many things my teenage sisters are going through in life and I won't be able to physically be there for them. To think that when I come home at the end of the year, they would have grown so much as individuals. That is definitely worth smiling about. Just wish I could be there to watch their journey.

Lastly, there are many aspects of people you come to see when you spend more time with them. Some of these aspects are nice, some come as a rude shock and may even be offending. Needless to say, one's behaviour and actions can be interpreted in many ways. You might have in all these months, strived to extend help and support in all sincerity. Surprisingly, it may not be viewed as such. Consideration may not be valued, and requesting the same from another may be viewed as carelessly shifting the burden for your own selfish needs. For some, it's natural to keep score of the amount of 'help' they give out, though I beg to differ. In most parts of the world, chivalry is dead although some claim to practice it. It all boils down to the fact that what you project to others may be intepreted as something totally different. It's very difficult to understand the reasoning of others. However, it is important to remember that people believe in their point of view as firmly as you believe in yours. So I guess sometimes no matter how much you disagree, just smile and take it with a pinch of salt. Hopefully such incidents will not happen again anytime in the near future. The lesson from this is: Sincerity and consideration is useless to those who can't open their heart.

No offense intended to anyone. Happy Easter. :)