my end of year letter(2008)

A couple of months we had to write a letter to the Archbishop on why we should get confirmed. My English teacher also encouraged us to write letters to ourselves so we can read back and learn and wonder and aim and dream and live.

This is my letter to you. It my ending of the year letter of 2008.

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Dear readers and people of the world,

Hi. My name is Cheyenne Alexandria Anastasia Phillips.

I always write a letter to myself at the end of every year. I write a letter to myself writing some experiences and set expectations for the next year. I don’t know if I should be including them but I woudl like to so that maybe, just may be, everyone might get something out of it.

Firstly, I didn’t make Drama O levels class. Actually I did, my teacher advised me to stop the class because I wasn’t making the practical grade. She expected my theory to be better but since I never took the exam I wouldn’t know, now would I. However, the day she spoke to me about stopping the class was the same day I broke down in front of her. For the first time in my secondary school life, my teacher saw me cry.  That helped me a lot really. She knew I wanted it. I wanted it more than a lot of the other girls wanted it. And a week later, I gave it up. Dumb ass me right. No actually. I did get something out of it. I never did well in Drama because of my emotions. I couldn’t play sad or serious roles. I was a blank face. Black ink on White paper. That just opened me and several months later, I broke down in front of my Drama CCA girls. We were having a discussion with our instructor and I broke down. That helped me. The moment people saw me weak  and not judge, I could be weak willingly. I could play sad, serious roles which was good. I have to have a range. Time to develop it.

I had a Drama junior leave too. She left due to her dad getting transferred. She showed me that it is ok to embressed when you are acting. Because you need to when you are acting. If you can’t do silly things and want to be insecure about everything, you are going to fail on stage. And just a couple of weeks she before she left, she thought me that.  Thank you Aisha. Will come down and visit you.

Also, recently, I’ve left my head get into the clouds. You can say I’ve had bit of a holiday romance. Well, I am putting my love life on hold…again. Why am I telling you this? Very simple. I have a major national exam coming up this year and to have a love life right about now would just spoil my chances of having the future I want. Hey, I don’t know who I’m suppose to be at 15 right? LOL.  I don’t want to spoil my chances at anything just like how I watched some of my cousins do ( ok just one cousins). Put what is important first. That is what is important. Now, my studies are important. So must concentrate.

Well, economy doesn’t seem to be good. However, Singapore is said to be one of the 3 countries to be able to withstand it. So Yeah.

I don’t know. I’m reading about it.

Anyways, wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year to all.

Hope you have a good new year.

With many regards,

Cheyenne Phillips

final post in Australia

(NOTE: this post was done offline.)

I’m going home today and boy was this a great experience. If you have the time to come to Australia, you should. Go state hoping. Be a state hopper. It is really really fun.

There is a point to this final post and that would be the overal culture of th Australians. This is not another personal post like what I did at Paddy’s markets or at darling harbour. This is an actuall learning post.

The Australian culture I must say is very different from what I am used to and if you are Australian, this post is not meant to insult you but just to record my observations. Techincally the Australian culture isn’t very different. The only differences I’ve noticed is when there is a party. On Chirstmas evening ( Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by the way), my aunt and uncle took my family to a friend’s dinner party and I expected to be staying up til 2 in the morning and have everyone getting drunk and starting sing songs out of key and out of tune. I did not get this. What I saw was both strange and unusual. On Christmas I usually have a party at my place with all my family members and some friends and the party will go on through the night. My friends will leave early, lastest will be 11pm and all my friends would be gone. My family and family friends will still be there, audlts drinking beer after beer after beer, kids drinking coke after coke after coke. We would have to chase out people who stay behind. We do. That is my Christmas evening every year. It’s called an open house.

Here in Australia, I was at the party and it was a quiet party. I ate my part, drank a bit of coke and sat quietly being told stories of Singapore by old guys who were in the military and disscussing the different education systems with a high school teacher. I watched a little baby play and played with walle that a little boy owned. People wanted me to snig and play the guitar too ( which I didn’t). No one got seriously drunk. No one. I didn’t see anyone slumping around or getting all dizzy. No one. NO ONE. No one was letting loose. The culture here is relax but at parties….where is all the relax? No one is chilling out.

My Aunt was telling us that you go to a party and you bring the wine. As long as you don’t drink the wine and you let people have some, you can take back your wine. When my aunt and uncle had their home welcoming party the first tmie the moved here, my uncle’s mum saw people taking back drinks and she told my aunt ‘why is that man taking your wine?’

My dad told me that when he was back packing Australia, he stayed in a back packers inn and bought a six pack and put it in the main frigde. An Aussie asked him if he could have beer. My dad let him and every time my dad bought a six pack, he would take as and when he pleases. The thing is that you give an Austalian permission once, you gave them permission for as long as …. I don’t know. They just take from you. There is like no shame.

My Aunt was having a party and had left overs so someone asked if she could give him her left overs. She said ok. Then he explained he had to fed so and so and like… if you do that in Singapore, I don’t know about the rest of the world, but if you do that in Singapore that is consisdered rude. Here in Australia its ok and no one shows any shame. It’s considered shameful in Singapore but not here.

I can’t get the party culture of Australia, really. I just can’t

Mexican troops seize beauty queen

This is truth. I saw it and I went…what in the world? Yeah it is good for a beauty queen or any lady to know how to protect herself  but this beauty queen took it too far. Way to far.

Yes, please strip her of her tittle. Please do.

sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7798537.stm

Australia Trip 08: Entry 15

this one doesn’t really have a title because there so much to mention.

My uncle is coming back from Singapore today and my aunt is really happy. She told me they have spent 42 christmases together ever since they started dating. They have a very admirable relationship if you ask me.

Also, I’ve spent much time with my older cousin recently. He has been attempting to influence my taste of much. Many people tried and many people have failed but since he’s family, I’ll give him a try. Music is what brought me and my cousin together and I like that. I know a lot about everyone of my cousins back home in Singapore. The oldest of the lot is currently mountain climbing in Nepal while the youngest is the cutest, most responsible little girl you will ever meet. This cousin here in Canberra I know very little off except the fact that he is about 16 years older than me.

It is good to know about family. Family is important. Extended family is as important as immediate family.It is good to know the little things about people. That is how you know what to get them for christmas!

Merry Christmas in advance everyone and a Happy new year to you.

What the perfect world would be…

Perfect. If you say the word perfect, you come up with your own perfect world. You’re living your dream. You’re famous. You’re with the one you love. Blah blah blah. I would be living in a huge mansion with 14 of my best friends in England attempting to make this world a better place. A peaceful place. A place where people hug random people on the street ( okay not to that extreme). We were stars trying to make our world a better place.

My ‘prefect’ place ain’t going to happen. No what I think would be a perfect world is full acceptance. To gay people, to people who are ill to people of different religions. To a kid that he likes art instead of music. Anything. I was reading this blog post about someone very against gay marriage saying that if we accept it we should accept child abuse and having sex with animals.

There are reasons why people abuse children. They have no other way to let loose their anger and people who have sex with animals….yeah i have no excuse for them but i don’t know anyone who wants to have sex with a goat.

I don’t know. To me the perfect world would be everyone accepting everyone and everything just the way they are. What is you’re perfect world?

There is Hope.

Sometimes I wonder if I need to really say more but for those who aren’t convinced read on.

No. You know what. I have nothing else to say. That short and creative video said it all. Don’t believe me? Play it again.

Australia Trip 08: Entry 14-Arival in Canberra

Greetings from Canberra everyone. I have great stories to tell you about and all of it happened today. We left Cairns at about 1 and this was after a delayed flight. So we got on the flight and made our way to Sydney. Sydney we had to give our original gate to an emergency landing then we had to run to our next flight (connecting flight from Cairns to Sydney then Sydney to Canberra) which left in about 15 minutes of our departure and luckily we got on it on time(PHEW). So we flew what was supposed to be 30 minutes which was a short flight. We landed and then they had trouble connecting the plane to the arrow bridge and while they took 10 minutes to get that connected the NICE cabin crew announced that 12 bags where still in Sydney. Now, guess who is waiting for her luggage to come in about 30 minutes now. They are bringing the bags to my Aunt’s. My sister mentioned that this way we don’t have to load the bags into the taxi.

Oh speaking about the taxi, the driver didn’t know where he was going and we ended up using his GPS thing to find the house.

Ok that is the personal part of my trip now. So far there isn’t much lessons. Not that I’ve spotted any.

Maybe expect today, at dinner my dad was going on to my aunt about all our previous places and when she asked about walking distances he was like ‘ getting these two to walk 15 minutes is very difficult’ WHAT THE HELL??? I can walk 15 minutes. Heck I can walk over 30.

Not the point. The points are ( yes points as in pural) don’t judge people. One can but one may not. You don’t know. You will never know because you never ask! And prove people wrong. Even in the smallest of incidents. Prove people wrong.

Australia Trip 08:Entry 13-Karanda Trip

So we woke up REALLY early again to catch the bus to Karanda. We went for the tours at RAINFORESTATION and yes, it is spelt that way. RAINFORESTATION.  It is really clever how they matched the two words, ‘forest’  and ’station’  together. There was a animal tour first. They basically show you Kangas, Koalas, Wallabies, Crocs, Fish, Wombats… you know the usual plus many more amasing creatures too. Go. They tell you lots of infomation about the animals too. There is this 60-70 year old croc which in previous croc farms ate up all 12 of his girlfirends and is destined to live another lonely 30-40 years all but his lonesome self.  He is huge. I can’t remember his measurements but boy, was he huge!

Next they had the demostration for spear throwing, digarido playing and boomarang throwing. We all got to throw a boomalong ( not the spear for obvious reasons) and I think I did okay for my first time. They guide told my dad that if he wanted to buy a boomarang, buy a helmet! Good thing the waiting area to throw was fenced up.

Then there were the MIGHTY DUCK TOURS. Doesn’t every where have a MIGHTY DUCK TOUR? I think so. There is one in Singapore and now in Australia. Yeah. I think all over the world. FUN FACT: Did you know that the Duck boats were actually made by women? Yeah, its true. They had to since the men where fighting in the war. It was a fun tour. Learnt a lot of interesting and survival facts about the rain forest. ( I think I know how to survive in the Rain forest now).

After that we had the whole afternoon to explore the village. We ate lunch at a quint little restaurant and explored the shops. (I could have sworn I saw a lot of the clothings and other items hanging at bugis street for a much cheaper price.) We met two Auszzie guys who asked us where we were from and told us their stories of Singapore. One even said he was coing down next year while the other assumed me and my dad were Chinese but posing the question ‘ Ni Hou Ma?’ ( I think that is how you spell it). It baiscally means How are you. Why is it when upon telling people you are Singaporean, they all assume you’re Chinese! I am rojak ( a Singapore and I think Malaysian delicacy, which I am not fond of, that consists of a mixture of cut up fruits and vegetables covered in sause). I don’t know wheere my bloodline comes from or how to track it down.

Off topic.

Oh I want to add that when at the RAINFORESTAION, DON’T WEAR BLUE.  and make sure you take a picture with a cute koala or a baby croc (never said the croc was cute). I took with the koala because the moment I saw the croc, I freaked out.

Anyways, that’s about it for now. Oh, I am just wondering if I should put up a blog on my personal life but I doubt I will. I remember about 2 years ago, I had a blog on opendiary.com and I did it in such away that it was this fairy tale. It was about my…dull love life back then. About a prince ( one of my previous love interest) and about me, the peasent girl he’ll never love. Sad, right. I’ve learnt to move on though. Yeah…I have learnt to move on. Therefore I will not have some silly fake fairy tale, a very sad fairy tale too, running around the internet. It is just a waste of cyber space!

Lots of love,
Cheyenne Phillips

P.S. I am leaving for Cairns tomorrow morning (awwwwww…..tear in eye). But I will be visiting my aunt and (grown up) cousin in Canberra….which means better internet access ( YAY! Everybody do the wave!!!)

p.p.s. anyone got any ideas to give a 30 year old guy….I don’t really know what to get my cousin for chirstmas and I don’t know if my parents got him anything or not.

p.p.p.s. i am serious! help me out!

Australia Trip 08: Entry 12-Cairns so far

I have about two in half days left here in lovely sunny Cairns ( including today). I leave on Sunday and we are going to the Kuranda Forestation i think. I think that is the name. Not too sure. I will check and tell you again.

Alright, Ms Cheyenne is checking in on friends and has about 13 minutes left to blog. Oh no, my dad just walked out of the room….where did he go?

I don’t know. I hope he didn’t forget me.

Anyways, Cairns is lovely. Sydney is urban and a great city. Cairns is where the beach is. The sand, the surf…the really cute boys…

Oh off  topic. Actually, this is the most random post I am doing in the longest while. LA LA LA LA LA.

Sigh. Come to Cairns and enjoy the beach. It is aq lovely beach.

Ok. There is no point to this post. There will be a point in tomorrow’s post…hopefully. I’m leaving on Sunday for Canberra and spending christmas wil family.

That’s the best way to spend Christmas.

With Family

Australia Trip 08: Entry 11- The GREAT BARRIER REEF

(Warning: This post may be long and rant-y)

Alright, I am in Cairns and all this time I’ve been spelling it Kanes. Dumb, dumb, dummy me…my mum wasn’t surprised though. I have always…always sucked at spelling. Oh well.
Cairns by the way is nothing like Tasmania. It is a lot warmer. A whole lot warmer. Trust me. When they say Cairns is the sunny state, boy do they mean it. They really do! It is so sunny. Its like…woah…sun…
I love it. I can finally wear the pair of shorts I brought . I just wore it once though. I got here yesterday.
Alright. I just want to say that all pictures and images or the great barrier reef are beautiful but in my opinion they are a crime. Call me crazy but that is what I think. You see, the reason why all the photos taken of the Great Barrier Reef (expect may be the ones taken from outer space) are a crime is because none of them, NONE of them capture the true beauty of the reef. It is breath-taking but then that is rather dangerous because the moment you’re in the water and you’re snorkeling or diving and the reef takes your breath away…you’re going to drown… I’m just being silly. The reef is absolutely gorgeous. No photo of the reef does it any justice, if you ask me. The reef is beautiful and I think I said that about 3 times in 3 different ways. But then again, there is seriously no other way to describe the reef. I don’t have the words to describe it. May be my vocabulary may be a little faulty but honestly. Sigh. I recommend you all see it before it dies, which according to scientist it will in about 20-25 years due to…well you know. The big G.W. … Global Warming….never mind.

If you do get the chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, please book Reef Experience or Reef Encounter. Don’t bother with ANYTHING else. It is entertaining and it offeres scuba diving and snorkeling.However, if you are suffering from any of their listed medical conditions ( like I was) then you may not be allowed to scuba dive   but that is due to medial issues and unless you want to risk your life seeing the reef up close, go ahead.

You don’t need to go scuba diving to see the reef up close. I snorkeled and I was so close to everything. The reef can be quite shallow however please don’t step on anything while out there. You’ll kill how-many-tens-of-thousands-of-years worth of creation. The corals and fishes that are nearer to the surface are more colourful and there is a wide variety. You might mistake the corals deeper to be dead but honestly, they’re not. They just look that way due to the bad lighting situation AT THE OCEAN FLOOR! I’ve read about light and the different colours penetrating in the sea water but to bore you with that would be a crime. It just gets darker as you go down and colours seem darker.

I could just go on and on and on and on about the great barrier reef but I don’t want to spoil it for you. That would be a crime, just like all the images of the Great Barrier Reef. I just like to end off by tell you that there are GIANT CLAMS, and SHARKS and Hump-back Parrot fish oh and normal Parrot fish and I named on Skippy and ….and…blah..blah..blah…

Take care,
Cheyenne Phillips