The State Library

I forced myself to crawl out of bed this morning, reminding myself that I'd arranged to meet up with Nihal at 9.15am to study at the State Library. I only left the hostel at 9am (it takes me about 20 mins to walk to the library) so I knew I'd be late. Turns out Nihal was late too, but he still got there earlier than me. It was then that we both made this epic fail discovery that the State Library opens at 10am, not 9am. So to pass the waiting time, we each got a cup of Boost at Melbourne Central and took this survey held by University students. The front cover said that it was about political sciences; the questions were gathering feedback about the attitudes of law enforcement officers in Victoria e.g. discrimination, racism, whether they're approachable, if they've been affected by the 9/11 incident, etc. Then finally, the library opened!

Anyway, it's so hard finding a clean spot to sit down at outside the State Library when all the benches are occupied. Every single spot is splattered with bird droppings and I've heard that you shouldn't sit on the grass people lots of drunkards puke all over the place at night. Still, it doesn't stop people from "sunbathing" outside in the day.

Nihal showed me this tip on his phone which advises on how to study effectively in the State Library. It warned that we should not get distracted by the amazing architecture. Apparently, I did not heed its advice. I'm in love with the entire building!

Even the study areas have this grand and magical feel to it. Kinda reminds me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter; this is how I imagined their study areas and common rooms to look like before I watched the movie. I have this dream to live in a house which is designed like this, but I guess it's wishful thinking huh...







I came well-prepared with hot milo and cornflakes (the mini box)! Halfway through studying, library staff tapped on my shoulder and told me that food isn't allowed there. Oops! The man was really nice about it though, he was friendly and called me a little girl (!).

^Look at that magnificent clock!!!

After almost 3 hours of studying, we decided to take a small break and explore the top floors of the library. There's a free exhibition upstairs so I'd highly recommend everyone to go visit when you're in Melbourne! Here's some photos. The view of the study area from the top is really fantastic, isn't it :D

The clock! And Shakespeare's window, which I later managed to take a close look at.




I really like stairs like this! I always mentioned building such stairs in a house to my parents, but apparently, according to Chinese Fengshui (geomancy), it's bad luck O.O

Whatever, I think it's cool and grand and mysterious. Come on! It's like a winding route to... nowhere. Nowhere's not necessarily a bad thing. I'll raise the example of meditation to emphasise my point; you gotta let your mind become blank in order to meditate properly, which means to think nothing and be nowhere. Dad's been meditating for years and I've always wondered how he does it. I can never rid my mind of thoughts. I discussed it with Jui-Shan and she said it does take practice. I'll probably ask him about it some day.

If I were rich, I'd build these stairs leading to an attic or some private room which I'd use for relaxation purposes. I'd probably put my piano and harp there and write diary entries there as well. IF I were rich. Hahaha!



School libraries should be like that! Then again, everyone would rush there to do their work and the library would be crowded and noisy. That's a complete turn-off.

Here's some photos from the exhibition! There was information on Ned Kelly as well. Kudos to Nihal for bringing my attention to this person. He's one of the most famous figures in Australian history and there are so many differing view on him; some people regard his as a villainous criminal while others think he's a hero. Either way, his struggle against the authorities is highly inspiring and interesting.



How in the world did people from the past have such nice penmanship?! It must be because computers or typewriters weren't invented yet and it was a must to write nicely. I wish I had such beautiful handwriting!!! Unfortunately I don't get much practice because I'm too lazy to seriously write when I can type (other than working on private diary entries) and even most of my assignments are required to be typed out.

^See that dent above? It was caused by a test shot fired by a gun!

Here's Shakespeare's window! If you take a closer look at the scroll he's holding, the words on it say "All the world's a stage". I recently posted an excerpt from the original text. Shakespeare is a literary genius. I'm saying this because I really admire his work and beautiful writing, and also because I'll be sitting for an examination based on his work, "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark". Hopefully, praising the writer gives me higher marks. Lol I'm crazy.

Had lunch at Snag Stand outside Melb Central (is that what it's called? I forgot) and it was really good! I bought a Greek (something, I don't really know what it's called HAHA) and a sparkling mineral water. The only downside was that it's impossible to eat that thing demurely, in a ladylike fashion. I made a big mess and even my hair was smeared with the sauce. Or maybe it's just me. Nihal simply told me: "You're so Chinese". Thanks, pal.

Saw these pasted on the walls outside the State Library and found them rather interesting, so I took a few shots :D

I was taking a 5 min power nap when Nihal decided to be funny and snap a photo. He even sent it to me via whatsapp -.- shows how bored he was. Indeed, even though he told me he'd stay there till 9pm because he can't get any work done back where he stays, we left at 3 plus pm.

Overall, the study session was pretty productive today. I think I got quite a lot of work done! I was seriously quite disciplined today,

EXAMS START TOMORROW!!! LIKE SERIOUSLY!!! It's EAP first thing at 9.30am in the morning and I just hope everything goes smoothly, that I manage to write a good argumentative essay and be as objective as possible. I've always been better at Creative Writing, and I'm too subjective sometimes, but please, fate and destiny and forces of nature, just let it work this time.

I've made up my mind, I want to go do community work during the holidays when I'm back in SG, before getting back to Aussie. For once, I'd like to do something meaningful. Once in a while, we all want to live differently.