-------> billywong158 <-------

2011-02-11T10:16:00.002+11:00

2011-02-09T06:06:00.002+11:00

2011-02-08T18:39:00.002+11:00

2010-07-14T02:30:00.004+10:00

I am feeling nervous and excited at the same time these few days but on different issues.. My results are coming out in a week (i think) and i am feeling very nervous about it because so much of my life is depending on it and the excitment is from tennis..

Everytime i think about my potential results i get so nervous like i am about to give a speech to a 1000 people. For reasons that would remain unknown for the time being i seriously hope that i managed to get the results that i want as for one the unspecified reasons and i have put so much time and effort into it... I hope faith will be on my side this time round.. =)

I am so happy with my how my tennis is progressing.. Even though i didn't go far in the tournament, I played very well overall.. I lost in the second round and played one consolation round and for all the three matches I had less unforced errors and more winners than my opponents. But the main reasons that i lost my matches is that I am too slow and my fitness is totally a joke.. Even if i had great fitness levels i would not have done much better as my speed on the court was just horrible.. I seriously need to lose all that weight that I have gained (20kg) if not no matter what I have, it would be just a waste of time... It was so bad that it even felt funny. LOL... Playing in the tournament surely made me aware of the strengths and weaknesses of my game.. It's the first time that i wasn't disappointed losing in fact i was actually feeling great.. =)

2010-06-23T19:14:00.007+10:00

Winter is here and its great.. Everything seems more comfortable during winter like sleeping, eating, tennis and anything outdoors except being in cold water... LOL..

I have an exam on monday which will be my last for the semester and i hope i do okay.. All i want to do is just pass and anything higher just makes it a little bit better..

I am currently internet-less because i changed internet providers and am still waiting for my new connection to be up and running.. I think there is a problem with the telephone line and I hope when the technician gets here tomorrow afternoon all will be well...

This edition of the FIFA world cup is certainly entertaining as the dominant teams don't seem to be that dominant.. I guess this is good for the sport because if dominant teams dominate all the time then it gets a bit boring also because results will then be very predictable.. Upsets always stirs up excitment and controversy and i prefer it that way but that is just my opinion of course.. :p

With tennis i am having lots of fun and playing quite often now.. I still have not lost much weight yet but i think that is because i been doing quite a lot of weights.. I hope when my muscle growth stabilizes then all that new muscles will consume higher calories and then my weight should drop steadily after that... I hope thats right anyway because that is what i got off from a study and i hope i read it properly.. LOL.. Funny if i am wrong...
But regardless of losing weight or not my primary objective with gym is that i am searching for more power particularly with my serve.. I never was really happy with the speed of my serve and i am working on that a lot now.. Hopefully by the time i get back home to Brunei there will be some visual difference with the speed..
Then i will be playing a tournament on the 5th of July which i am quite nervous about because there are lot of players playing in these tournament who have ATP rankings and its quite intimidating but yet exciting also i feel.. I will be playing tournaments all the way through till November and averaging about two tournaments a month. This first one i am not expecting much because my weight is still super high and my stamina now is still shocking so yea.. I just want to see where i am at and then i know what to work on lo...

So i keep you all up to date!

been good since i last blogged...

2010-05-19T17:25:00.002+10:00

Since i last posted, my mood has generally been good because i been playing a lot of tennis now and i intend to play more during the coming weeks.. I currently play about four times or about six hours a week.. I hope that i can bring it up to something like 10 hours a week.. It just feel really good playing tennis again, especially when playing this often.. It brings me back to the good old days when i was still playing lots of tennis in Brunei where i enjoyed most of my time and made most of my friends.. I guess the nice thing about now is that Melbourne Park is an awesome place to play and my strokes are better than before... The only thing i need to do for now is lose more weight so that i can get my speed and agility back... There are other stuff as well but its not really important for now...

Another thing that i get from playing tennis is the feeling of more energy.. Kind of hard to explain but i guess is like when people who get overweight and just feels really lazy to do stuff whether physical or not.. According to my BMI, i am still overweight and i probably would need to lose another 15 kgs to get off being overweight... So now, i feel great physically and mentally and i guess its something i been missing for a long time..

One thing that is not working out for me is that iTunes does not want to install on my laptop and so i can do anything much with my iPod... Not that its a big deal but there are stuff that i want off and on the iPod and i can't do anything about it... I might try on a different pc maybe..

I am seriously hooked on with the song "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. I been listening to it non-stop since i got it.. The lyrics and vocals are just goosebumping awesome... :p

2010-05-09T01:17:00.003+10:00

I am really excited for the week ahead.. Why? Because i will be getting my new tennis rackets and i have gotten membership at tennis world which is at Melbourne Park where the Australian Open is played! Excited because it such a great place to play and i have played a couple of tournaments there before and now knowing that i can have a hit there 2-4 times a week is totally awesome.. I have a few people i can have a hit with and with the membership i can do six 45 mins tennis workout sessions a month for free.. How good is that? So now i am just waiting for them to mail me my membership card then i can start playing...

hellew..

2010-05-03T23:39:00.002+10:00

Since the last post, its been super great!! Why? Because my family was here and i think for the short time that they were here we did fairly a lot together and it was really tiring! I think overall they really liked it here. I am quite surprised that i didn't gained any weight when they were here because i didn't do much exercise and i ate so much.. Tried to go to as many nice restaurants as we could and of course we went to Rockpool which was on the first night. We even went to Gordon Ramsay's Maze and the food there was really good... Tapas style dining but the flavours very good, balanced and yet intense.. Yum.. I really liked the idea of ordering many small different dishes, its like eating chewing gum where flavour is best during those short moments... Super... We were supposed to go to a few other places but then of time constraints we had to go some place else...

Its a pity that my family was only here for five nights which is totally not enough to experience what Melbourne is all about.. Maybe next time when there is more time it would be great to explore more of Melbourne...

2010-04-16T03:23:00.002+10:00

Finally another week ending for uni and am totally exhausted.. However just another two more nights my dad will be arriving and family the day after.. How exciting is this!! Anyways will be really busy next week as i will be bring my family around and still going for classes and the following i would have mid semester exams...

So its going to be a really tiring yet very exciting next week...

woo hoo

2010-04-04T13:30:00.002+10:00

Just about to hit the three week mark of my weight loss program and i have lost 2.5 kg in roughly two and a half weeks.. So i am still on target for about a loss of a kg/week for the first seven to 10 kg and from then on probably two weeks/kg. So its going well with getting healthier and preparation of the marathon which is in October.. I plan to be about 71kg by then and i should be able to do much better because the last half marathon i ran my weight was at 90kg. Jogging 19kg lighter and fitter would surely make my goal of running under two hours in the half marathon a little bit less of an effort.. Quite happy for now.. Hope i can keep this up and resist the temptation!

Formula 1

2010-03-29T18:12:00.004+11:00

Watching F1 live was incredible! Its a feeling that you personally have to feel to know what its like. The sound and speed gave me goosebumps and overtaking maneuvers just gave me the chills. It was totally a feeling of excitment and even just seeing Schumacher pass by was exciting and was lucky to see him overtake cars a few times. I haven't been that excited for such a long time and i even managed to take a picture of Schumacher in action @ 200+ kph..

The sheer speed of f1 cars were just unbelievable.. I never seen anything so fast in a turn, accelerating and braking.. There was a point when i was at the end of the straight where they reach speeds of about 290 - 300 kph and combined with the awesome sound it was just simply breath taking. The sounds were so much different that what you hear on tv.. The raw sound that you hear on the track has so much more energy and powerful and the misfiring of the engine also sounds so bloody good.. I don't know how i can bloody watch f1 one tv again... lol..

2010-03-27T02:49:00.002+11:00

Bad news... I think i will have to stop jogging for at least a week because my shin bone hurts really bad after 3km or so or when going up a slope. It feels like the bone is bending and it gets really sore when it does. I guess i have to find something else to do in the mean time because i think i am making good progress with my weight.

I just bought the Formula 1 ticket just now.. I gotten general admission tickets because i didn't want to spend so much money on a ticket and to just buy one or not being able to buy any merchandise. So yea.. But even with general admission there are a lot of good views of the track and in fact there are a few spots where you could sit/stand 10 feet away from the fence. But i don't think i would be sitting so close because those F1 cars are so loud and my tolerence level for high pitch sounds are not very high.. Aside from the race, i hope i would be able to get some autographs especially Schumacher, Alonso, and Hamilton and also maybe drivers from the V8 supercars which has a race before F1.

I have been playing God of War III and i think its the most beautiful game i have ever seen.. The graphics and the level of detail would even be better than Uncharted 2 i think. It just looks much more detailed and polished. Gameplay wise is good as well but for me Uncharted 2 has a bit more edge there. I might be getting Final Fantasy XIII soon but i am still not sure. I played it a couple of times but not sure why i don't really like the gameplay. It looks good no doubt but i feel really disconnected when playing, not sure what that means but maybe i just need to sit down and try to get into it because those couple of times playing were only about 15 minutes each. I might get it or something else but thinking about it a lot because i am trading in three games for a new one..

tired

2010-03-25T02:25:00.002+11:00

I'm so tired.. I just finishing doing my tutorial which tooked me 6 hours!! My hands are tired and my eyes hardly opened.. It didn't help with my shoulders and knees being quite sore today... Oh well thats just the way it is... :p

hmm...

2010-03-23T02:40:00.003+11:00

Someone is gone and i had lots of times to myself alone.. If this continues i might forget how to speak! I hardly talk, only greeting tram drivers, people who hold the door open for me and my lecturer. I think i talk to myself more than than anyone else in a normal day. My days are much more hectic now because i am trying to keep myself busy if not i might get bored or start doing something unproductive like sleeping.. So i have been exercising, listening to Taylor Swift and Jay Chou, studying, and PS3ing much more now.(except for the PS3ing)

Despite what has been mentioned, its not like i am not happy. I am actually very happy with how things are currently going, but its always nicer to have a little company by a certain someone. :p

weight progress..

2010-03-20T22:18:00.003+11:00

Good news.. I lost two kilos in a week.. I think its really good news because in that first week i wasn't putting in a lot of effort with my runs. I didn't really want to sore up my body so i took a lot of short rests. To compare, this current week i am only once compared to an average of four last week. Jogging around the city in the morning is super nice.. I jog along Swanton St towards Federation Square then onwards to the MCG and back. The view of the city along the way is absolutely beautiful and it makes the jog a little bit more enjoyable..

I also been eating a lot less but it has been a really challenge because i am laying off about 60% of my usual intake and especially during dinner, i hardly feel a thing in my tummy. Hopefully the tummy would shrink soon so it wouldn't be so much of an effort.

Formula 1

2010-03-16T01:20:00.003+11:00

What a great start to the year for formula one.. It probably could have been more exciting but the potential this year for a great season is good.. The return of Michael Schumacher, Jensen and Lewis at Mclaren, Alonso at Ferrari and no mid-race refueling. I really like the no refueling bit because i think it makes the race a lot more difficult for the drivers and it would make things really unpredictable.. I think Michael did really well in his comeback race. Even though he finished sixth, considering he was away for like three years, different car specification and his age i think as the season goes on he will have a big impact in most races.. The next race is in Melbourne and i think i will be going because this would be my last chance to watch it here i think and i can get concession tickets.. Quite excited but because i won't be buying a grandstand ticket i hope i can find a good spot to watch from..

2010-03-16T01:08:00.002+11:00

What a long day.. Had a two hour lecture, long ride in a tram and a couple of hours studying at home.. Mei Lin is gone and with louis not at home most of the time because he has work i rarely talk at all..

I started exercising today, with an early morning jog at 6am with some pushups after. Jogging was quite tough as i can feel the full effects of the weight that i gained when i went back to Brunei.. I still can jog a fair distance but my knees and ankles feel a lot more stressed. In fact even just walking or standing, my knees and ankles get sore all the time.. Not good signs at all... At least i am feeling good, in the sense that my muscles are not feeling tight or sore so i will be jogging tomorrow morning again..

lesbians

2010-03-13T15:26:00.002+11:00

Seeing a fair bit of lesbians in Melbourne the past few days and its also diverse in it's nationality. I don't have any issues with lesbians because i believe that its well within their rights to do so and seeing two women together looks good. Anyway i saw this couple in a tram once and were sitting down right in front of me. They were holding hands, sharing a kiss (mouth to mouth) now and then and both were really good looking women. I kept staring but with my sunglasses and was observing what a good looking couple they make. Eventually i found out they had a daugther as well who was sitting in found of them, sometimes going back to them talking, getting a kiss from both and sitting on their laps. The girl i believe was about 5-7 years old and she looks really happy. I then thought how much society has changed because all these were not possible even just a few decades ago and still is in some places. Is this a good or a bad thing? I believe its a good thing that we let people become who they really want to be.

Today Wednesday, 10 March

2010-03-10T21:40:00.002+11:00

What a tiring day today. I went to my first tutorial today and it was alright.. I only had a single class today. My timetable this semester is very spread out, so i will be spending a lot of short days in uni and in total eight hours a week in trams... This wouldn't really be a problem if i was staying near the uni but because i am not staying in the city which is about one hour away, it gets really tiring after awhile.

Mei Lin is going back to Brunei this Sunday, going back because she has completed her studies and i am very happy for her. Hopefully i'll get there at the end of the year. Like i said uni is going very well at the moment and i intend to do well. I hope it turns out well..

A lot of good playstation 3 games are out.. Final Fantasy XIII just got released here and other games like Heavy Rain, MAG, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, etc... Heavy Rain looks really good so far and Louis gives his stamp of approval. I did play final fantasy for a few minutes at a store, the graphics were amazing and i would buy it after it's price goes down a bit. hehe...

2010 Jan - Feb

2010-03-02T20:42:00.002+11:00

Boo hoo another year goes by and its now 2010.. I went back home for chinese new year, first time in three years.. Despite this i did not celebrate the new year in Brunei because we are still mourning for my late grandfather who passes away a bit less than a year ago.

So speaking of the first time in a long time, i went back to Sibu with my sister to visit my grandfather (father side) because of health concerns and the last time i was there probably 17 years ago. When my dad arrived home from Timor for whom i have not seen for four years, decided to go back to Sibu to see his father and i chose to go with him. So we ended up staying in Sibu until the second day of the new year and it was the first time in my life that i have spent the new year there and with my grandparents and the Wong family.. Chinese new year at the house of Wong wasn't didn't feel festive but in Sibu itself felt really festive. Fireworks from 6pm to 1am, and the whole of Sibu was covered with gunpower smog. It felt and smelt amazing....

Gordon Ramsay

2009-06-08T14:19:00.005+10:00

This picture is where this chef who wanted a book and the hat signed. Gordon was commenting on how the hat would fit without ruining the hair and the guy insisted that it could be done and both had a good laugh.

Asking about those ear rings and he really went on about it with lots of humour. The guy's mom shared his view and she couldn't take her eyes off him.. lol

Having a laugh from a comment from the crowd. Couldn't really hear the details but something about being a Pom.

Just posing with a big fan.. Just like many of the people there who managed to get something signed, bursting with excitement, so was I.. LOL..

I have a few more pictures on my Flickr Account. I really had a great time..

The steak waiting for family

2009-05-12T02:06:00.005+10:00

Blackmore Wagyu Beef Available from Bouchier Butcher.

Family is coming over next month and i got the best Wagyu steak available from Blackmore Wagyu beef for them to try when they arrive. The marbling on the steak is just amazing and it gives a nice sweet caramel like taste and when cooked right, the meat will be super tender and the about to melt fat will just give the most amazing flavour. A wagyu steak is somewhat different because there is much less beefy flavour as the fat-meat ratio is much higher compared to conventional steaks. So not all would prefer but to me it just gives variety and that is what its all about. I tried this once at Rockpool and at my place and its just phenomenal. So looking forwards to what my family members think of it and hope that they would find it special... I think i would have another couple of steaks along side to compare the taste and i find that's a good way to taste and feel the textures that different steaks offer.

Steak night

2009-05-09T01:51:00.004+10:00

Fillet Steak

Having a steak is getting quite rare really but this is how i love to have a steak. Good quality and cooked in a very simple way with a simple side. Nowadays i hate food that has a heavy sauce and thats all you can taste. Just season well and dress well so that the full flavours of the dish comes out. Yum Yum again

Roast lunch

2009-05-09T01:36:00.002+10:00

One of my favourite dishes to eat at home, Roast chicken... As you can see at the bottom i butterflied the chicken to roast and i personally do that because i think it cooks more evenly making the breast super moist. The green stuff that you can see while i am cutting the chicken is the filling that i put in between the skin and meat. Its a herb filling and seasoned with a bit of soy sauce all around the skin.. Yum Yum...

Front view

Side View

Cutting the chicken

Half chicken on the plate..

2009-04-10T20:59:00.002+10:00

David Myer Building (Latrobe University)

This is the main building where the administration and the Vice Chancellor office of the university is at.. Directly behind is a garden where i took many of the bees and flowers. Nice place to chill when the sun is out from autumn to spring.

Duck waiting for food

As expected animals around here are getting pretty used to people giving them food. As you approach the lake or sit around close, ducks and birds would gather pretty close by in case you decide to pass them some snacks. I took this picture from a bridge and ducks were waiting down below hoping for an easy snack.

Some bird

No idea what bird this is, really difficult to capture this because as i was slowly moving in it kept wanting to fly away. So it took me about 5 minutes squating ever so slowly towards it till i got this shot. I tried taking another step but then it flew away..

Seagull gliding

Its really difficult taking pictures of birds while they are flying. Its because i do not have a big zoom lens so most of the shots that i do take the birds look so small. So luck plays a big factor and reaction time, and being so near its so hard to keep up with the bird as it flies pass. Mostly i end of with quite blur or out of focus shots.

2009-03-31T21:43:00.002+11:00

This is another couple of pictures from today.. Probably this bee pic looks the best among the three here. I actually think i got better ones but they're not that sharp so i am going to skip them. Its quite scary at first trying to take pictures of bees. Because they sometimes fly around you if you get too close. But as long as you back away then they'll leave you alone i think..

This is called a Magpie i think.. It looks like a Crow but instead of being all black, traces of whites are found on parts of the body. This particular one has lots of whites. Lots of these birds around the uni, a place they can find lots of food...

A couple of macro bee shots

2009-03-31T19:59:00.000+11:00

Here are just a couple of macro shots.. I took more than a 100 pictures in the freaking hot sun... Here are just two because i need to do some uni work and the process of getting the photos online is a long one.. These are the two best ones so you're not missing much.. These were taken at uni and with a 50mm F1.8 lens

2009-03-26T15:09:00.000+11:00

Studying in the Library... notice my notebook, its recycled.. In fact all my stationary are recycled.. They are not 100% recycled material but this book is 60% and my stationary are about 80%.. Trying to do the best i can for the environment.. =)

2009-03-24T16:13:00.000+11:00

Hehehe... my turn to post!! =p hehe. 1st pic was taken in the city (Queen Victoria Market) early in the morning.. and he didnt sleep the night before, so he requested a 15mins power nap while i took pics of him! haha.. so cute! and funny too. lolz.
and the second *again, a sleepy picture* he's yawning while waiting for the bus to Northland! haha...

OinkOink Piggy? or a MooMoo Cow? you decide. ^^ love you darling =)

^for some reason, i just love this pic! haha maybe it's because a normal camera can't get you this effect. and it's so cool~ okie okie, you're talking to a camera-idiot here.. so there you go~ ^^

xoxo,
Lin

2009-03-20T23:54:00.001+11:00

I find this picture so funny.... whats up with the facial expression?? ahahha

2009-03-20T11:49:00.000+11:00

Rainbow...

This was taken at my apartment complex and its not a full rainbow but its really a rare sight because it really seldom rains in Melbourne anymore and even when it does, its usually just for a really short time

Reflection

Again at the apartment complex, the rain has stopped and the beginning to set. It looked really good to the eye and hope you find it as well with the shot.

This monument here I am not exactly is what (will update soon) because i was sorta in a rush when i took this shot. This is one of the many monuments in my university and will soon take more when i get the chance.

Reading lawn

This place is really popular with students wanting to have a little reading time. The library is actually a bit too noisy.. Not too sure why but many the walls magnify all the discussions going on... There is actually another more popular spot just beside but there were too many people walking pass and around and was not able to get a nice clear shot..

Northland Shopping Centre

The shopping centre were i primarily do my shopping.. Quite a decent size mall, i believe it has over 200 shops. Most shops in the city are available here except for a few specialty shops. But overall this place can keep me out of the city for a very long time if necessary.

Myer Northland Entrance

A very brief slideshow

2009-03-18T23:56:00.000+11:00

This is from my Flickr account and am doing this because my internet quota is running low so for now the new pictures might have to wait until i head to uni so that i can use the internet there...

2009-03-18T11:25:00.000+11:00

Mei Lin posing while waiting for a tram @ the intersection of Bourke and Elizabeth Street. I put this up because so far i think this is the nicest picture i have of her..

Sunset at the city.. I don't know why i really like this picture. Even though i could have done a better shot i really think it looks nice.. But of course that is just my opinion... It was taken at Birrarung Marr near Federation Square..

Hellow...

2009-03-18T11:22:00.000+11:00

Starting a new blog or more of a photo blog i should say.. This blog should run or update very often because i think i like this sort of thing better. With the previous blog I sorta ran out of things to say about myself because that's my very interesting life. I hope anyone who actually comes here would enjoy what they see.. =)