and now....this is the most current blog. i am in a bali internet cafe (it is so nice and air conditioned in here). my throat is scratchy and i think that i am defintiely getting sick. that sucks. i will we going to a temple this afternoon (it's on top of a cliff and should be really cool). we are going with the same driver as yesterday and we negotiated a very good rate so i am happy about that. gonna watch the sunset at the temple and then get some really good seafood. it will be nice.

as for other news. the raptors won tonight...so they are down 2 games to 1 now. the leafs are only one win away so that is grand as well.

all else is good...

back to the sun.

and here we are with the second update...
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I’ve spent the last couple of days in and around Bali, visiting different
sites and checking out the local scenery. This is quite a beautiful part of
Indonesia and the people are generally very nice but there are some things
that have been very eye opening and disconcerting.

Today, we did a day trip to the Baisaikh temple (the largest Hindu temple on
the island of Bali). It was quite a beautiful site but the downside was that
everywhere you turned, there was a guy or two trying to make an extra buck.
They told us that since this was a religious outing, we had to have a guide
with us when we entered the temple grounds otherwise the police would arrest
us. Also, they were very pushy…one guy tried to veer me off the sidewalk and
bodychecked me slightly. In my head…I was thinking that I better not turn
into Tie Domi or something. Instead, I just ignored him and kept walking.
Eventually, he left. Another guy was very persistent with his pushiness and
when I wasn’t listening…he told me to F-off. That really annoyed me. Here I
am at this beautiful temple and here are local people trying to make an
extra buck in a sacred religious place. I am starting to realize that there
is nothing totally sacred anymore. As long as it is being traveled to and
polluted with Western influence, there will be people like the ones who made
our experience today very unpleasant. At the end of it all, you’ve gotta
stand back and see that it is US tourists who come to their country and
flash around OUR money, digital cameras, etc. What else are these people
gonna do? It’s an interesting problem. I’m not sure how to solve it but I am
sure that it will persist. One great thing about this experience is that our
guide (the driver of our car) warned us before going that we do not need a
guide and just to ignore everyone who tried to solicit us. Thank god that he
told us that.

After the temple, we saw some rice paddie fields and Mt. Batur/Lake Batur.
Mt. Batur is an active volcano…it was spectacular.

Last night, we went out to a club and had an awesome time. Met these three
guys who’ve been traveling for 6 months now. Two guys from Brighten (south
of London) and one from the Netherlends. They have already been in Thailand
and Malaysia for quite some time. Now, they are here in Bali and tomorrow,
they are leaving for the next 6 months in Australia and South Africa after
that. These were genuinely very nice people. Had some really great tips
about traveling and what to see/skip. I can’t wait to meet more people like
that…We have become good friends with a local guy named Rio. He is a really
good guy and very funny. One crappy thing about this country as well (and I
imagine other South Asian cultures too) is that when we go to clubs, it is
free for tourists but locals must pay to get in. The problem here though is
that the locals are ones with no money. Last night, we told the bouncers
that we wouldn’t go into the bar unless they let Rio in for free. They
complied in the first place but weren’t so accommodating in the second
place. That was flat out racism and it really stuck.

Yesterday, we tried our hands at surfing. What an experience that was. When
not actually trying to catch some waves, the lying in the middle of the
ocean on our surfboards was very enjoyable. It is quite relaxing to just lie
out there on the board under the sun. The problem though is now, my back and
shoulders are sun burnt so that isn’t too good. The surfing was hard. I
caught 0 waves. My ribs were also in pain from constantly putting myself
back on the board. But, I’ll try it again in Thailand I think.

Today I bought my plane ticket to Singapore. I’m leaving Bali on April 30
and will make my way to Singapore. We made sure with the airlines that the
same “bribery” scam won’t happen in Singapore. Apparently, since I have an
exit ticket out of Bangkok (to Japan) on June 8, I will be okay because I
will just tell the Singapore officials that I am traveling by train from
Singapore to Bangkok. Let’s hope that everything works out okay…otherwise,
it could be another interesting experience.

That’s all for now. Time for bed and I’ve gotta rest cause my throat is
starting to feel scratchy. I DON’T WANNA GET SICK!

p.s. The food here is AWESOME. Chicken Satays and Nasi Goreng….YUM!!!! and
the fresh fruit juices….WOW – watermelon, melon, pineapple…all fantastic.

hello all. i am in bali right now and thought i would update my website. here was my first update of the trip:
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Greetings,

I am in Bali, Indonesia right now at an Internet cafe staring at the Indian
ocean. Karen, Eric and I arrived safely last night and the first not was
pretty hot and sticky in our rooms.

Japan Airlines was fantastic. Great service; every seat has it's own tv,
with remote control.

Bali itself is beautiful. Last night, the three of us walked along Kuta
beach and midnight. Only the moonlight was lighting everything. We might try
surfing later on today. Also, gonna laze around for the time being.

Oh yeah, we had quite an experience at immigration here in Indonesia last
night. Since none of us have an exit plane ticket to leave Bali, the
immigration officer said that he couldn't let us into the country.
Basically, we had to pay him $40 US each for him to stamp our passports. We
got scammed for sure but oh well...wasn't much we could do about that.

I will definitely have more to write soon but for now, I will sign off.

woah...that was an expensive day. i spent a total of approximately $400 on gear today and what do I have to show for it?

a new pack - check out the marmot
a dry-fit shirt
dry-fit shorts
flash light
shammy
compas
first aid kit
2 stuff sacks
small shoulder day pack (thanks Roppa)

it was a good day. a long day but a good day.

hung out with karen for most of the day. that was fun trying on back packs, avoiding phone calls and answering peoples questions like we actually worked in the store. also, went to the wheat sheef and peel pub at different times today to watch the first period (not so good) and third period (very good) of the leafs first-round, first-game win over the islanders. also hung out with john and his girlfriend sandra today. for those that don't know, john is a good buddy of mine from the science centre school. he is an awesome italian boy from brampton and him and i are really tight even though we don't get to hang out much. he was really helpful with the backpack purchase today and also with other trip-related suggestions. also - he bought me a daypack as a gift so that was pretty sweet. roppa - congrats on getting into teacher's college as well AND congrats on quitting smoking...no keep it up!

off to bed,
gotta wake up in 6.5 hours to do more shopping :o(
then, i am going to waterloo to party tomorrow night!!!

so, just like that...i am a graduate. i am UW alumni now. wow, that is a weird thing to say. one other thing that tchao pointed out is that i am now a scientist. that was the funniest thing i heard all day.

being done hadn't really sunk in yet today until this evening. i was sitting in the basement watching the raptors game (by the way they won...so bring on the Pistons in the first round) and the hockey games. my parents had this family over for dinner from california. they have a 6 year old son who came down to sit with me and watch the game. during a commercial...he turns to me and says "so, did you go to school today?"

i immediately looked at him with the biggest smile on my face and thought to myself...what an opportune time for that question. i looked at him and said..."yes, i did go to school today but, that was my last day of school EVER." he didn't seem to share the same jubilation that i was experiencing. i think that it's cause he is only in kindergarten and only just beginning. he didn't know that school went past grade 6. wow, he is in for some ride. i was thinking about it and today, i officially finished grade 18.

just took my first malaria pill. let's see if those dreams are all freaky like they say they will be! off to bed...
and a whole lot of shopping tomorrow.

I am so frustrated right now. I am trying to get on the ticketmaster.ca website to try and order Toronto Maple Leafs tickets and actually find out when they are going on sale. But, I can't get through to the site!!! The games are Thursday night and Saturday at the ACC!!!

I WANT TO GO (I haven't been to a Leaf game all year and really wanna go before I leave for my trip)

:o(

it's 11:39 pm. i am going to bed soon and i have done NO bioprocessing all day long. damn, i have my work cut out for me tomorrow and tuesday. oh well, it'll get done so no use fretting. i just walked home from ruth's dinner and it is such a beautiful night outside. ruth, thank you very much...the mussels were fantastic. the chocolate mousse was super. also, not to be outdone, my food last night turned out to be really good so I was really happy. My audience really enjoyed it too.

The regular season has officially ended and the playoffs are on their way!!! Yeah!!! Man, I can't believe that I am gonna miss the entire playoffs (well except for the first few games of each series). In case you didn't know, here are the matchups:

Eastern Conference
Boston vs. Montreal
Philadelphia vs. Ottawa
Carolina vs. New Jersey
Toronto vs. New York Islanders

Western Conference
Detroit vs. Vancouver
Colorado vs. Los Angeles
San Jose vs. Phoenix
St. Louis vs. Chicago

Wow, this is gonna be great and the Leafs are gonna be awesome. I am calling it here first...right here. right now. BOTH NUMBER ONE SEEDS ARE GOING DOWN! Detroit will lose to Vancouver AND Boston will lose to Montreal.

Chooey and Mel - great job on the SciBus Grad Networking Guide. I met with Karen today to discuss trip stuff...man, I am getting more and more excited each day. Wow, it's not far away at all...less than 9 days actually!

it's been quite a while. i actually did update on wednesday night but the blogger server erased my update when i tried to post and publish. anyway, enough excuses.

I NEVER HAVE TO WRITE ANOTHER UNDERGRADUATE FINAL EXAM EVER!!!!!!!

holy cow. i didn't think that i would be saying that so soon. all's i've got left is Bioprocessing seminar on Wednesday morning and then, let the real games begin. today, ma, pa and my aunt came around 4 and i sent a bunch of stuff back with them. wow, i have a lot of stuff here in waterloo. now, it's not as much but damn, there was a lot of stuff...and most of it was not used at all. oh well, i guess that's how these things happen though.

last night was a very weird experience. after handing in my spanish exam at 8:30 pm...i could not wipe the big smirk off my face. i left DC1351 and put on my coat etc. it was POURING outside last night and most of the day actually. i had no hood. no umbrella. BUT NO CARE EITHER. i strolled outside in my suede vans (they probably got ruined...but again, NO CARE) and proceeded to walk home. i let out a couple of really loud Ric Flair-esk yells. but, it kind of sucked cause there was no one to share it with. got home, drenched and smith, shaw, cam and kyle were over watching the leafs and raptors games. we went to mcginnis after and watched both the good guys win (killed the pens and hawks). after mcginnis, we proceeded to kyle's place...what a wicked house. very slick and homely. and i love all the plants, skylight, furniture, candles, etc. it's weird...whenever i see a place like that (very hippy-ish), i always think that i really like that lifestyle and think that it looks really comfortable and has more meaning than what i've got...a few movie posters on my walls but really no central theme. i guess with time and money and an actual home of my own...that may come. hopefully, i will like what i end up with. the night at kyle's consisted of a lot of sitting around, chilling, making baloon animals and having various toxins enter my body. the night was great though. very relaxing and very comfortable.

tonight...dinner is gonna be yummy. i made a thai green curry and a thai mango salad. can't wait to eat!

tonight also, the leafs have a chance to finish first in the eastern conference. with a win over the sens and a pens win over the bruins - the leafs will finish first in the eastern conference and will play the habs in the first round. HOLY COW!!! that would be a story book series. AND, i won't be here for it :( otherwise, the leafs will finish 4th and play either the sens or isles...it's gonna be crazy. and our beloved raptors are playing the nets in a huge game tomorrow. toronto has a good shot at locking up seventh place and still pushing up to 5th 6th. damn, who do you wanna play first round though...new jersey, detroit, boston, orlando? take your pick...all tough series

i'm back from my accounting 123 final exam. i HATE activity based costing!!!!!! damn that cost system. i knew that crap like the back of my hand but when i stepped up to the plate, i completely blanked on that question. what should have been an easy 85% final exam will probably be a 70% now! that was a crappy way to start my finals. but no more chance to cry about that. i got stats and spanish to continue/start studying for...they are both on friday.

i went to molly blooms for the first time with c-dawg tonight. it was a pretty cool place. and man was that ever a basket of fries! for the last little while, i have been on msn with christine and we just found out that we have a lot in common. oh well, GMTA i guess. pretty quirky actually...but kinda cool too.

two weeks from tonight i will be on a plane somewhere with karen on our way to Bali! damn, that is scary. i am not ready at all.

raptors - 9 in a row. man, they could even catch the bucks and finish 7th. leafs...gonna probably finish 4th but not sure if they'll get the Sens or Isles first round. GO OILERS and CANUCKS!!! congrats saku koivu and the Habs. Also, congrats Jarome Iginla - 50 goals is pretty damn sweet!

just got back from my second marathon at dana porter. yesterday was definitely a lot worse. i was there from 9:30 am until 11:00 pm and the only time i left was for a dinner break and to watch the end of the raptors game. today, didn't get there till 3:00 but was there till 11:30 pm again. man, i am getting sick of that place (but i definitely get a lot more work done there than at home). it's weird how that works. last term for finals, i was a study machine at home and got so much done. this term so far, has been dismal at home...really unproductive. perhaps it cause i procrastinate by doing so much trip planning stuff?

tomorrow is accounting 123 exam. should be okay. although i did freak myself out a bit tonight when i did the sample final and realized that i thought i knew how to do a couple of the questions, only to find out that i couldn't do squat. well, at least i know what i have to work on tomorrow morning.

before i go any further. i neglected to mention this last week after the event so i just wanna give a shout out to melissa and the rest of the camp out for the cause committee. we raised over $1200 for Amnesty International. WELL DONE EVERYONE!!!

well, update on sports i guess...cause it has been a while. raptors will make the playoffs and give the nets a run for their money. in hockey, oilers and canucks will be in. either phoenix or st. louis will be out! sweet. habs in for sure and will upset bruins. also, detroit will not make it to the finals. that is FOR SURE.

well, i am off to bed now.
only a few more days of this stuff.

i can do it.
i know i can.

8:43 pm Saturday night. two days of studying and already, i've had ENOUGH. wow, i only have a week of this crap too but man, it is hard to motivate myself. all i keep thinking about is that in about 2.5 weeks, i'll be on a plane to the other side of the world...WOW. very crazy to think about that. i am not even close to being ready either. i've still got so much to do and not too sure when all that is gonna happen. damn, i better get everything together. i was at DC all day today and it was pretty productive. surprisingly...it was actually quite quiet despite being completely rammed with people. tonight, i will stay at home though and start stats. man, i really don' t wanna do that tomorrow. then, tomorrow a full day at d.Po with j.Lo. that will be fun.

tchao is back from seattle. welcome home buddy. ask him about the spectacle and me, smith and tchao were just a witness of across the street. we built it up pretty good (like always) and there was a whole lot of sizzle (in our heads anyway), but not a lot of finish. anyway, that is all i will say cause i think that i've dug a deep enough hole.

man, tomorrow is daylight savings time. damn, that ain't good cause i am gonna lose a study hour. i've got two options...one hour less sleep or one hour less study. you figure out what you're gonna do. i already know what it'll be for me. big game for the raptors tomorrow against the pacers. they're going for a franchise record, 8th win in a row too so that is really good.

i saw winnie today after a really long time. it was good to see her and chat. she's gonig to europe for the summer and coming back right before convocation too. pretty funny actually cause she is actually flying out and returning on the exact same day as me and karen.

back to the books...

blogger. don't phug up on me now! you've been very fickle lately.

anyway, i will make this quick for fear that all will be lost. today it is brilliantly sunny outside. me, chooey and nicola had our harley davidson advertising presentation this morning and it went really well. we were the glue in our group, and although this will sound cocky, we got our group that A, not the other way around! the presentation went well. the ideas we had were great. Quarry liked our style. all in all, a good morning.

tchao left for seattle this morning. kick some ass dude!

tomorrow afternoon (2:30 - 4:00) is the last official class of my undergrad career! can you believe it? craziness. to celebrate, me and luen are gonna take some wobbly-pops with us and toast like it's new year's.

BACK TO REALITY now though cause i've got my accounting final in 6 days and stats in 9 days. that is not a lot of time at all! not to mention spanish in 9 as well. damn, i've got the next week and a bit cut out for me but damn, it will feel sweet when it's all dun. i know that motivation to study will be hard but i think that i'll be able to do it cause it's gonna feel so sweet ending on a high note. then, i gotta start more trip planning. i leave in less than three weeks! can you believe that? i can totally remember what i was doing three weeks ago and that was not that long ago at all.

i got my work cut out for me...

5 wins in a row!!! can you believe it? i'm not sure what lenny has done lately but something seems to have turned around. perhaps it's simply the fact that the team realized they were a bunch of underachieving overpaid chumps for the past two months and finally decided to play with a little heart and determination. whatever it is, i hope they keep it up. playing well and going into the playoffs hot would be huge. no one would wanna face a team that is on a role once the playoffs start.

today started out very productive. i got all sorts of stats done. then, had lunch and after that - complete right off. then, advertising group meeting. that was really good. got lots of work done for our harley case. luen - you had some wicked ideas...the RIM guy meets the Scruffy biker - BRILLIANT! then, came back home, had dinner and have dun much of nothing since. actually, i've got a lot of trip stuff done like e-mails to relatives and stuff so that is really good. rachel was just over and we were scanning a bunch of pics for the sci/bus yearbook. i can't wait to see that book - mel and luen are working so hard...it's gonna be awesome.

camp out for the cause is this thursday. get ready everyone. it's gonna be good.

ya'll ready for the final of march madness? 9:00 pm tonight!!!