End of an Era

And so it drew to an end, my days at Uni.

'Twas a bit of an anti-climax actually, not at all how I imagined my last day to be. From day one I always thought it'd be a loud fanfare, filled with familiar faces and an overflow of rowdy cheers all round, going out with a big bang...

This last semester began interestingly but fairly low-key. Doing the solitary subject I only had four contact hours at Uni, and being a first year arts subject it hardly matched the camaraderie of the typical Comm/IS subject. Not only was it devoid of people I knew through friends of friends, but Arts kids (especially Cinema Studies majors) are definitely a different breed. Nonetheless, I got along well with my fellow classmates and the stage was set for a cruisy final semester.

Halfway through the subject however I began to get bogged down with extra-curricular activities and Uni took a backseat. I guess doing one subject really distorts the view that it's important and I began to see Uni as just another extra-curricular activity rather than it being the bane of my existence.

So last week, Week 12 in Melbourne University terms, it all wound up with a flurry of activity on my part. I had chosen this last week as my presentation week and lucky me, I got to facilitate the tutorial discussion on Taxi Driver (1976) which is at least a movie you would be able to hire from the local video store.

Appropriately, I drew parallels with De Niro's character from the movie while trudging into Uni on a chilly Melbourne evening. Dark and overcast like most of the film depicting mean New York streets, I cast a lone figure, hands in pockets going over the discussion points in my head for my last ever tutorial,
"Travis Bickle was lonely."
"True loneliness can only be achieved in crowded places."

Much like university, Taxi Driver began promisingly, with Travis finding Betsy, the girl of his dreams but things turned sour and he began hating the world. I remember having so much hope during O-Week in first year, but then life happened and I grew up. I then disliked the routine and never-ending nature of it all. In the end, Travis chose the lesser of two evils and became a hero. Likewise I decided to grow up, loaded with plenty of experiences both good and bad to equip me for the future, or the 'real world' as the pale, pasty academics like to label it. The difference with Travis and I is that despite the ups and downs, I'll still look back at my time in university with fond memories and stern lessons, whereas at the end of the film Travis looked back in his rear-view mirror and with a hint of madness in his eyes, saw his own reflection and all the demons that accompany it.

Vale university life 2006.

Sick of it!

I'm sick!

Again!

*grumble grumble*

Chocoholic

Nothing D&M to discuss so once again I'll do a rehash of A Day in the Life of Greg x 8.

So, had a massive last whatever days from my last post.

Went to Boulevard last Saturday night and that was quite a huge one. It was to celebrate mine and Cat's job offers and since I don't normally go clubbing or drink, I thought I'd let loose a little, afterall, how often do you get a full time job?

I woke up feeling pretty shite naturally, and managed to get over the throbbing in my head (after popping a couple of those St Mary's Thistle supplements to support liver function) to make it to church early! How odd, when I'm fine, I get there late, when I'm feeling like I got hit by a truck, I get there early!

Had to leave after about 45mins of service to bring Anna to EY for her grad camp. It was such a rainy piece of poo day and made it home for Mother's Day.

This week has kinda whizzed by with a flurry of activity. Had a bowling night with the boys from my cell on Tuesday (without bowling - played a few games at Galactic Circus instead) and Wednesday was the first time in 4 weeks I had been to my tutorial at 6:15pm. Luke my tutor emailed me earlier in the week and had subtlely told me that he wanted to see me in the tute this week otherwise I'd get a mediocre mark for tutorial attendance/participation. I realise I slowly sunk back into laziness because for the last four weeks I've been going to the screenings, just staying for the lecture then going home or out. Anyway, I thought it was quite funny when Luke read my name out for attendance, and heard me say "Yep", and caught him with this tiny smile as if to say, "Finally you derro!" hahaha.

After the tute, rushed straight to church to see the last part of Victor and Becky's skit and hang around in the foyer. Hmm...didn't manage to make it to the other CNC things though.

Thursday was great! Went to work in the morning, then after lunch went to pick up the new Marantz amplifier for my television. Got home and started setting it up and before I knew it, it was time to go to soccer at 6:20pm. We played a decent game, props to Chris for playing at such short notice, and we ended up narrowly losing 2-3 with one girl short!

After soccer, came home and had dinner then prepared for a big night out. About 11pm, Victor, Justin, Isaac and I headed to Room down on Glenferrie to celebrate Teresa's 20th. It was a great night out, hadn't had a solid drinking session since...well last Saturday, but before that, like a year or two ago! Good to see some of the girls that don't usually come out shakin' their bon bons! Had less to drink that night, but felt it more than Saturday, probably because of the lack of food. I don't remember how I got this lump on my forehead, or the bruise on my back but I do remember singing "Rendezvous" by Craig David at the top of my lungs on the way home. Ahh...the good old days, I'm a sentimentalist.

Yesterday had a hard time waking up for work but managed to get through that initial zombie-like state to work through till 5pm. Had YG at night and that was good fun, our cell played "Spoons" or "P.I.G." as some know it. We won't mention the dare the losers had to do but I'm gonna try and make sure they carry it out!

Today have another busy one. Gonna give KJ a shower before taking him out tomorrow for RSPCA's Million Paws Walk. Then will have to shovel down lunch before heading off to Arrow on Swanston for an iDream event. After that, it's dinner then off to hang out with Drew and Co, then off again to farewell Steve who's leaving for Japan. I expect the last part of the night to be a great catchup session since I haven't seen some of those boys in ages, and I'm sure everyone will make Steve have a hugeeee one.

PS. I love Aero Mint Chocolate!!!

US Videos

Silly me!

After signing up for YouTube and uploading my "Get Free" video clip I made with Dave last year, I only realised today that I should also upload my small snippets of the US I recorded on film from Anna's digital camera.

Light show on Saks 5th Ave building for Christmas in New York City. Here
Supremely talented buskers at Penn Station in NYC. Here
Falling snow! New Year's Eve, Times Square, NYC. Here
3am on New Year's Day, Columbus Circle, NYC. Here (Warning: May cause motion sickness - shoddy camera work by yours truly, probably as a result of the alcohol hehe)

If you're wondering where all the other clips of other cities are, well, there are none. We only bought a 1gb memory stick for the camera in the middle of the trip. Even then we didn't film anything until NYC because only after getting back to LA, where we stayed with Bruce and Maggie, did we have a home PC to upload photos and clear the memory card.

Anyway, enjoy!

o namae wa?

It's said you get those moments of deep introspection when you're alone and in silence. Apart from the hum of my car engine, it was relatively quiet driving home at 12am last night. I turned off the radio because the Friday night airwaves largely consist of clubbing music, which for the most part, isn't my cup of tea unless I want to stand outside my car dancing with the music cranked up. Yeah.

Anyhow, my thoughts were like nomadic tribesmen, wandering, changing and relocating, but eventually settled on to Gregory Wong's Day Off. I remember writing funny 'whatever' posts such as Recipe for a Blog and This is Just a Tribute, along with the bitching posts like Ten Things I Dislike About You and Ode to S**t. It felt like aeons ago that I wrote these, and thinking about my material now...well, it sucks! All I ramble on about is what I get up to which is pretty run-of-the-mill average.

But enough of that negativity, "Think positive!" Vanessa would say. And so I did. Okay, I don't think it's easy coming up with something interesting to blog about but somehow I've managed to scramble something together in my head lying in bed this morning.

Funnily enough, where Vanessa's voice in my head told me to have confidence, she was also the inspiration for this blog. Good old 'Ness can't help herself sometimes, and basically whenever she opens her mouth, it gives either Victor or I great material with which to work with. Bottom line, she's a whole bag of zing! Haha thanks for being so easy to bag Vanessa, you definitely provide us with hours of entertainment! I think I'll give her the nickname ZB (ZeeBee) from now on, since she's basically a Zing Bag. Cool! And with that, I thought about all those nicknames people have, from the weird to the dirty to the insane. As such, I've decided to compile a list of these handles.

Bongo/Bongoey
Yes I'll begin this list with my own nickname. Although not everyone uses it, I've been asked many times to explain its meaning. Bongo was derived in Year 9, my first year at Melbourne High. Since my surname is Wong, and I was Asian (thus having by default a strong drug connection) Stephen Sharples decided to call me Bong for a while, but then later down the track the O was added since it rolled off the tongue better. Bongoey happened when one time in Year 11, Chris and I were at South Yarra train station after school and we happened upon a Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy Girl fragrance card. It was in his pocket and he decided to change the letters to make it Bongoey Girl, making it like a calling card that I could hand out to girls when introducing myself. Yes I know, but hey we were 16!

Chops
"What? That's not his real name? I thought it was like Madonna how he only had one name."
"Yeah, his nickname is Chops because he's studying medicine and he's gonna be a surgeon and chop people up right?"
Haha if only people knew that Chops actually has a real name, and that's Michael. *GASP* I hear the whole audience respond simultaneously. Yes, it's true, and its origins to me are largely unknown since, like most of you, I met him as simply "Chops." I suppose it's not hard to see once you find out that his surname is Lam and then you think about lamb-chops blah blah. So there you have it, another mystery revealed.

Ernie Dingo
HAHAHA, okay so I've only heard this the once, at Winnie's engagement dinner, but I can't get over how funny this was at the time, and still is for me. Talking about their travels in Europe, Steve Ta explained, in a really matter-of-fact tone that his Swiss relatives thought Sanji was an Aborigine. Then someone else told us that one of their friends thought Sanji looked like Ernie Dingo. Haha omg that stuff was too funny...

Ethy (also known as Marv and Stick)
Haha I know I'm gonna get owned for this but oh well nothing ventured, nothing gained! This nickname is obsolete now, since Ethy (short for Ethiopian) isn't skinny anymore, but actually, even by his own admission, is well developed and due to give birth anytime now. Either that, or he's got a beer pot. The old school Julz was as skinny as a Stick and reminded us of the South Park character Starvin' Marvin, hence the two other references.

Gamy
Ah Gamy, sounds like such an appropriate name for such a wee boy. But don't let looks fool you coz Garry is well known for his sharp tongue haha yeah you know it b**ch! This identity was created when Chris was writing 'Garry' on a birthday card and the two Rs were too close together and it ended up looking like Gamy. I still have an email Chris sent to me in November of 2001 that reads:

Dedicated to the great 'Gammi'.. heheh... i guess its gamine now... read on!!

Word of the Day for Monday November 5, 2001:
gamine \gam-EEN; GAM-een\, noun:
1. A girl who wanders about the streets; an urchin.
2. A playfully mischievous girl or young woman.

And the whole world is whacked out with fear of nuclear doom, except for Claire, a French gamine who is "living her own nightmare" and waking up in lots of strange places.
--Joe Brown, Washington Post, January 17, 1992

Like I said, so appropriate.

M&K Show
Haha I don't know how much trouble I'm getting myself into posting this, but I don't think there's anything incriminating at all. It's just a nickname I made up at the Mt Hotham trip of 2005. These two girls (whose names start with M and K) come in a pair, no more, no less. Together they shine as one entity, a symbiotic melting pot of humour and gentleness - everyone loves the M&K Show!

Nabi
What started as a follow on from a discussion about Arabia, Cliff decided to muck around and call Alice, "Allah Abdul Nabi." Eventually it stuck and even her friends call her that now. It's even been abbreviated to Nabs at times.

String Bean
Victor is a special kind of person, the one that's slight at the top. As Juzzy and I were discussing one time, Vic doesn't have broad shoulders and so we just decided that we'd call him a skinny string bean. It stuck at the cell leaders' retreat in Marysville earlier this year and we therefore present to you: String Bean!

And here are some others that I'll mention but won't go into:
A-bomb I, II and III
Alpha
Darth Vader
FB
Gonzo
OTC
Stiffen/Chi-Wen
Stink-eye
TCG
TB Full Stop
Tools Chick

Busy Bee

far out when does it end?!?

been up and down, backwards and forwards doing all sorts of things, but like i said in my interview this week, being busy keeps us out of trouble!

played soccer tonight, we got pumped yes, but it was against a worthy opponent. they were really good, but i'm proud of our team for playing hard, even when we were down 10-0. it's the spirit i'm looking for, not the fancy tricks. all i ask is for 100%, that's all you can really give so if that's achieved and we lose, oh well, they were the better team.

felt i did okay in the Pitcher Partners interview yesterday, and that was confirmed late last night when I got a call for a final round interview next wed. phew!

organising ski trip has taken a bit of time, but i'm glad i've sorted out the cost so that everyone can have a look and have lots of information before making a decision.

watched half of Casablanca today, but was really tired from lack of sleep last night so went to have a nap. as Drew diagnosed, some of that "movie-narcolepsy" settled in methinks...

speaking of Drew, happy birthday for May 3! been a bit of a birthday bonanza this month of may - winnie, drew, cat, teresa, peter poon, henry, alice, leanne and karl. big up to y'all! (apologies if i've missed anyone)

danny bhoy last sunday was pretty good, even though we were up the very top and at the very back, he did a good set. funny, without having to drop the F-bomb too much or the C-bomb. he used the C word once but apologised! what a gentleman. looking forward to jimeoin this saturday, he's always been a fav of mine - i think the irish accent wins me over.

lastly...

dance, dance, everybody dance!
everybody sing!
'cause joy is in this place now!

have a great weekend everyone!

Moon River and Me

Okay, so I left you guys last time to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's and boy did it deliver!

Seriously, I don't really know what it is, but I'll try justify my sudden love for the movie. I guess a lot of it has to do with Audrey Hepburn. You hear people talk about that X-factor and if there's anyone that has it, it's Audrey. She's definitely star material, no wonder she was as revered as she was.

So for those of you who have seen the movie, I resumed watching just after the part where Paul gets a cheque for $50.00 in the mail for selling the first of his books. I guess after that bit is where the mushy stuff happens, where they do these fun things and fall in love.

The blurb off the back of the DVD cover says, "Guessing who the right man for Holly is easy. Seeing how that romance blossoms is one of the enduring delights of this gem-like treat..." I remember reading this and being sceptical "Oh all movies say something like that" and I still wasn't really sold during the first part of the movie, although I was quite taken in by Audrey Hepburn. Then after finishing off the movie, I got fully reeled in.

There's a part where Holly is having a nightmare and that was the bit where I kinda cringed, but really, having those cruddy lines weren't easy. Despite that I thought Audrey Hepburn played the rest of her part really well, you can see that she's that classy, outlandish type, but has an inner softness - and playing the facade of a character is hard enough, but inducing the audience to believe in the character's inner persona takes true talent.

Another interesting tid-bit is that the film is based on Truman Capote's novella (the writer that the recent movie Capote was based on) of the same name. I'll be sure to borrow the book and contrast it against the movie.

After watching the movie, I googled Audrey Hepburn and found out she was really nice in real life too. An ambassador for UNICEF for a long period of time, Audrey unfortunately passed away in 1993 because of colon cancer, only aged 63.

So to summarise my main points:
- Audrey Hepburn is amazing; beautiful (I even read somewhere that she was voted in as the most beautiful woman in history), and with talent to boot!
- the film is a must for you romantics out there! Even if you're not, check it out coz you might just be turned!
- as a side note, the song "Moon River" was made famous when Audrey sings it in one scene, check that out too coz it's really sweet