Sun and Fun (Shopping FUN!)

As promised, my friend drove past Eagle Pier on our way to Gold Coast. She was so right! The Sunday Market is a real disappointment now. :( I hope they would restore the Sunday Market to its former glory once the constructions are done. She also warned me about more constructions in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast. Sigh. What's with all these "urban renewal"??!! :(

We met up with another uni friend and we had lunch together at Surfers Paradise while chatting about our days in uni. Ah those were the good old havoc days hahaha. :P We spent some time walking around the beach before going for more shopping at Pacific Fair! Hahaha. Yes, other than catching up with my uni friends, I am also catching up with the shopping malls that I used to frequent in Brisbane and Gold Coast. :P


I love this photo as I happened to capture a seagull in flight :)

Christmas Tree at Pacific Fair

PS I think I got sun burnt. :( Forgot about how strong the sun is in Australia, especially at Gold Coast.

Sunburnt Fun

I think I am sunburnt, lol. I forgot to bring my sunblock when I went into the office today. Oh well, the sky looked pretty overcast in the late morning. Hmm... maybe I might not need the sunblock...

I was helping out my PI on another project about Natural Science learning. There were students from a few schools who had to carry out a number of activities at four stations at Seletar Reservoir, 2:15 to 5pm. My job was to video record the students while engaging in their activities. My PI and I went with a group of students to the station: Stream. Although there were trees along the sides, the stream had to be right smack in the path of the sun. So much for overcast sky! Sigh. Just my luck. :(

Despite the sun, I had lots of fun. Hahaha, it rhymes. :P
The first laugh was when the students were just about to start their first activity with the teachers. As we were in a forested area, there were monkeys around. My PI and I heard some rustling from the trees and we both turned to look (which happened to be in the opposite direction of the students so none of the students saw what happened). We saw a pair of monkeys on the ground and another one a little way off from the pair. I had my camcorder out and my PI had her camera out and we were both shooting. The pair of monkeys decided to put on a show for us. They started mating in front of us! Our jaws dropped. Wah man, this is better than watching National Geographic HAHAHA. I was zooming in with the camcorder when I realised I didn't know if students were going to watch it or not. I didn't want to be blamed for corrupting their young minds lol. I shut the camcorder to ask my PI for permission. She said, "Aiya, just take lah, haha". Alamak, by the time I re-focused, the monkeys had finished their job. Ah? So fast? Chey, no stamina. Hahaha. But I am still tickled to see animals mating in real life. Lol. Ok lah, I am deprived, never see before. Haha. :P
The other laughs came about when the students got stuck in the muddy plains right next to the stream and in the process, losing their shoes, crocs shoes, slippers and having to fish for them in the mud. Yes, I know I am very mean to laugh at them. But it was pretty funny sights.

I followed the same group of student to the next station: Soil where it is inside the forest. Now, no longer assaulted by deadly UV rays, I am instead assaulted by high humidity and mossies. Darn, I didn't have insect repellent! Really just my luck, no sunblock, no insect repellent! Sigh. It was really a feat trying to keep still to do the video recording and trying to swat the mossies too! Thank goodness, the students saw and came to my aid with insect repellents. The students sprayed with me with two different kinds of insect repellents, one was lemon grass scented and the other, orange scented. Gosh, the scents sure don't blend very well. I smelled funny. Hmm, maybe it was payback for laughing at them when they got stuck in the mud. Lol. Oh well, the students were being nice. I am grateful to them despite smelling a little strange. :P

The field trip ended around 5:30pm. My PI kindly sent me home. At least I was able to drop into bed sooner for a much needed snooze. Lol. :P