dunedin

Hi! Sorry for the long absence. 16 February was my departure date, and I haven't been able to be online until yesterday. No free WiFi here apart from the uni connection, so while waiting for our connections to set up (which, we initially thought, would miraculously set up on its own without us needing to do something about it) I basically spend the whole day going thrift shopping around Dunedin, and watching back-to-back Fringe episodes at night - all the while trying not to freeze myself to death of course.

So yeah, so far Dunedin is lovely. Very lovely, in fact, far beyond my expectations. If you're wondering, I was expecting Dunedin to be some sort of a boring countryside with no proper places to do my favourite activity (read: shopping). Way to go for not doing my homework before flying haha. Turns out Dunedin is a shopping paradise, in a way - God knows how much money I have spent buying thrift store items, gadgets at student prices/Mydin prices (Lava lamp for NZD 15! 3-in-1 printer for NZD 39! 1TB external hard disk for NZD 95! Brother sewing machine for NZD 189! Oh wait, I didn't buy that sewing machine, it's in my wishlist. Must. Stop. Compulsive. Buying.), food items, stuffs from Kmart, etc. Some of them are even cheaper that the ones I could get at Malaysia! (Side note: well ah of course when you convert the prices, they're more or less the same, but remember Miss Ain's Golden Rule: Jangan convert nanti takleh hidup!) Halal meals are also very easy to find here, so dining will not be that much of a problem (we cook for ourselves, so yeah. Halal foodstuffs are everywhere).

Contoh masakan halal yang sedap lagi awesome.

I live in a residential college, the lovely Toroa College, which is awesome to the max (despite my previous whines about that RM7000 thingie. But yeah, worth RM7000 I tell you!). I get to live with Amal, Alia, Linda and Hannan, which makes living here much easier since we've known each other long enough already. Downstairs, we have 3 other Malaysian students - Michelle, Elfira and Felicia, so it's easier for our seniors and JPA officers as well when it comes to settling scholarship/ Malaysian student-related things with us. And oh, we're also under the care of a Malaysian RA, Sim. Not to mention the very caring Malaysian seniors living nearby. We're lucky like that.

My flatmates

Our very lovely house. We live upstairs.

My room also happened to be the most regularly shaped in the house, if not the biggest (lol). It's a very cozy room, and I get to decorate it as psychedelic as I could :P

door is decorated for Toroa College's Pimp My Door comp so haha!

room is big enough for me to be happy :D

I just have to put em here! XP (note the pharmtox info sheet on the left)

Since we don't have much activities this week apart from the English diagnostics test, preliminary lectures and the orientation activities this weekend, we spent the last few days doing, um, what else but tourist activities! Take lots of pictures! XD

The roses are very awesome here btw. Macam bunga kertas kat Malaysia. They're everywhere.

Psychedelic-wise, I haven't mingled with the people here that much so I don't really know much about psy culture here. As far as I could observe, people here LOVE dubstep. And alcohol - alcohol is a very serious problem here in Dunedin. The university, however, has a club named The Shamanic Circle which, as the name suggests, does shamanic things in sacred places surrounded by candles etc. May also include lucid dreaming, astral projection/OOBE, technoshamanism and getting Shpongled. Sounds highly awesome, but I doubt it'll be good for my faith here. I am, after all, still a Muslim.

There's a strong cannabis culture here as well, headlined by the uni's own NORML movement. Not that I'm remotely interested, but yeah, like I mentioned before (not here I guess, it's somewhere in my MINDS debate notes on legalizing pot) these dudes are like our cousin because marijuana is a mild psychedelic, and, er, so there. Thanks to this, there's a cool shop on George Street named Cosmic Corner, a strong supporter of cannabis legalization, which also sells Salvia. Gosh, Salvia FGS.

Psychedelic, albeit not psy enough for me. But they do have Salvia *emphasis on Salvia*

Haha, enough with the psychedelic babbles. So far, I'm loving Dunedin already, but classes haven't started yet so I can't really say much. Homesickness may come later this year, when I was up to my ears with academic stuffs. But till then, I think I wanna enjoy a little bit more. Off to Botanical Gardens tomorrow! Shoot, got English diagnostics test. Will write more elaborately on my next entry, Insya-Allah. Bye for now!

And no, I am not going to buy those Salvia, if you're wondering.

Alice

16 February

GAHHHHHHHHH

My days here are numbered. Less than a week before I'm off to Dunedin.

Yup, you heard me right. Less than a week, which means my flight won't be on the 19th as expected. It's a long story, but suffice to say that you should never EVER believe in hypes even when they come from a slideshow presented by MAS.

pic stolen from Aisyah. To clarify, the date shown says '19 Feb'

Right now I'm in a constant state of panic. I have only bought a few essential items for my journey to Dunedin, because I thought what the hell, I've got plenty of time more to do shopping. I'm awesome like that, see. Must go invade Giant tomorrow. And Landmark IT Mall also. Don't want to be caught using pirated Microsoft Office at NZ, no?

Of course, this latest news triggered screams of frustration by many an INTECian going to Otago (save for a few overzealous types, but I won't name names here although they don't read my blog), but well, there's no point grumbling really. JPA said it's 16 February, and that's it. 16 February would it be. Doesn't matter if your parents can't get a day off, your relatives can't come and send you to the airport, your former crush can't say goodbye to you on that day, etc. Haish.

And wow, lesser time in Malaysia. I know 3 days won't make that much of a difference (since I spend my day sleeping and wake up hoping that the day will end faster so that I can sleep more. Can't help it, I'm practicing :P) but tsk. 3 less days to spend with my parents and bros, 3 less days to spend some quiet time in my beloved cramped space of a bedroom, 3 less days to feel the warmth of the blazing JB sun, 3 less days for afternoon naps (lolwut?). Wow. Quick, give me time dilation stuff! (read:pot)

But then again, everything is fated by God. He knows what's best for us. Flying on the 16th is not that bad really, since we could make it in time for the course enrollment stuffs and orientation programs. And more time to settle down before class starts. That's good, that's good.

So yes, we plan and Allah plans too. But Allah's plans are better than ours, so be grateful! (bunyik pelik oh, aku direct translate ni ha)

See you at Dunny!

Alice

yes, i now have a dream journal

If you want to become lucid, it would be very helpful if you keep a dream journal and improve your dream recall. Through this, you will be able to detect patterns in your dreams and recognize dream signs so that it will be easier for you to distinguish between your waking life and your dreams. I kept a physical DJ last year, but stopped after the second week because well, there's no fun in keeping my bizarre dreams to myself. Online dream journal sounds very awesome, so I created a new blog for dream purposes (I may also post lucid dreaming-related stuffs there instead of here). I decided not to keep a dream journal at specific dream sites (like my favourite, the Dreamviews Lucid Dreaming Community & Resource DJ) because, um, I may post crappy things in my DJ so kakakakakakaka!

So yes, feel free to visit my DJ: http://dimethyltryptamine-trip.blogspot.com (aw can't help it, DMT is cool dude!)

In the meantime, happy dreaming!

Alice

a pathetic attempt at drawing (also: Forever Alone.jpg)

I don't have much talent in drawing compared to my bro, but I do love em. When I couldn't be bothered to draw proper anatomy, I draw people with round heads and specs. This is my signature style ever since I was in Form 1.
And yeah, my stroke is a bit messy. :P

I think you can click on them to have a better view. Enjoy!

Alice :D

you are me and i am you

Dear followers,
Sorry for the never-ending Shpongle spams here. I'll post lolita-related things once I get my camera phone back. In the meantime, have a listen to Simon and Raj here. Your life will be transformed forever, I promise. No you don't have to like electronic music to fall in love with Shpongle - their music is frickin diverse anyway. But of course things would be much easier if you could savour the complex layers of the musical arrangements (perhaps too complex for some?), because that's where the beauty lies.

I particularly liked Shpongle's latest album, Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland. It's somehow different than their previous albums (some said it has more pop elements - idk, sounds psychedelic enough for me. I mean, yes there are more vocals, but damn that's Michele Adamson dude, Michele Adamson is full-on Goa dude!) . This song, I Am You, is so lovely I almost cried. Those harmonic vocals are just...OMG. Listen from 3.26-4.11, you'll know what I mean. (I believe Simon also contributed his vocals in this song, but not in this live version).

Oh, and yes, Shpongle live shows are CRAZY as heck! Really wish I would be able to attend one someday. Simon, New Zealand sounds fine to you? :DDD

While you're at it, check out this one. Michele Adamson is very lovely. Can I be a Goa trance vocalist like her as well? XD

Alice

Pseudoephedrine I Have Known And Hated (PIHKAH)

I have found the culprit behind my inability to have lucid dreams.

This guy here.

Apparently, because I was so obsessed with [medicinal] drugs to the point of daring to prescribe myself random medications, I bought a tab of Allerpid (loratadine 5mg + pseudoephedrine sulphate 120 mg) without consulting a doctor beforehand. Without even Googling 'if I ask for decongestant from a pharmacist what kind of drug will she give me and what will the drug do to my body' first. I just went to my favourite pharmacy, asked the lovely pharmacist for a tab of oral nasal decongestant for my rhinitis, was presented with two options (Claritin-D and Allerpid) and opted for Allerpid because it's cheaper (cough cough). And then I just sort of take em whenever I liked (dosage says one tablet bd, I took one tablet every itching days). Of course I checked MIMS, but they didn't give me any alarming information, save for one DI with antacids (not of my uttermost concern since I don't take antacids - cimetidine is not an antacid isn't it?), and somnolence as its adverse reaction. What I failed to realize is the fact that pseudoephedrine is a phenethylamine, belonging to the same class of chemicals as amphetamines (shoot I should've realized about that earlier) and also in the same group as MDMA, 2C-B and mescaline. Mescaline FGS.

Picture is for decorative purposes only

Nah, of course taking an innocent pseudoephedrine tablet won't give you peyote-like effects, or ecstasy-like effects either. But one should bear in mind that apart from being a potent decongestant, pseudoephedrine is also a potent stimulant. Although your regular OTC nasal decongestant drugs (like my dear Allerpid here) come in the form of antihistamine + pseudoephedrine combination, the mildly sedating properties of antihistamine do not cancel out the stimulating properties of pseudoephedrine (that's why Claritin-D is labelled as 'Non-Drowsy' FGS!). Thus, side effects ranging from headache to restlessness to nausea (akin to that of a caffeine overdose) are not uncommon. In rare cases, nervousness, irritability, disturbed sleep and palpitations/ increased heartbeat can also rise up. Unfortunately, these 'rare cases' are the ones that I've been experiencing for several days already.

I didn't really know what triggered this, but a few nights back I kept waking up in the middle of the night, around 3 a.m. or so, with my heart beating extra fast and me feeling extremely restless. I tried to get back to sleep (with renewed hope because Stephen LaBerge said you can get lucid dreams easier if you take a nap after waking up in the middle of the night or something) but after almost 30 minutes of tossing and turning, I was all but sleepy. The next day, I felt an overwhelming sense of irritation, and almost screamed at my mom who woke me up for my kuih frying obligations. Heartbeat was probably 120 bpm, and not only did I feel irritable and edgy, I also felt some sort of general malaise. I wanted to fall down and pass out, but I couldn't even if I try. It was as if I had just swallowed three packets of extra strong coffee. And I hadn't even touched a drop of coffee for 3 weeks already.

So here, I would like to hypothesize that my history of caffeine abuse has caused the rare side effects of pseudoephedrine to manifest themselves. You know I love making up twisted hypotheses like that.

Eh wait, this is getting way beyond our scope. So what has this got to do with lucid dreaming, you may ask. You see, as mentioned earlier, pseudoephedrine is a stimulant under the amphetamine chemical class, and apart from being used to relieve nasal congestion, it is also used as a wakefulness-promoting agent. That simply means less tendency to fall asleep, and when that happens, you tend to have less REM sleep. When you do not have much REM sleep, dreaming would occur lest often, which also means less lucid dreaming. No seriously guys, I have looked this up; stimulants like amphetamines and their relatives do suppress REM sleep (Shneerson 2000). And it's tried and tested also; I only had around two non-vivid dreams each night for the past few nights (I usually have 4 or more extra-vivid dreams per night). No wonder I found it more difficult to recall my dreams these days (please check out my dream journal). Haish.

For the time being, I think I'll just stick to good ol' REM sleep-promoting cetirizine, since I don't have any obligations which require me to stay awake for long periods in the morning (goreng kuih is meh - I just need to put on my headphones and treat my groggy self with 1200 Micrograms of Hallucinogen and I'm good). I'll probably need those pseudoephedrine tablets for my new academic session later this month though. Ah hey, I made it sound as if I'm planning to launch into some full-blown pharmaceutical abuse. Hahaha. Gosh, must go see MD. I think I also have palpitations.

You know the moral of the story already. Don't self-medicate.

Alice

p/s: yes, title is a rip-off from Phenethylamines i Have Known And Loved (PiHKAL). Sorry Shura/Alice!

Shpongle - Ineffable Mysteries

I've been Shpongled! When will you? :D

Seriously, you know how much I love songs with Indian chants/Indian classical music elements. That's how I got into Goa and the rest of those hippie stuffs in the first place. And this, THIS is AWESOMERGYGHJKUDGHKGYJSvhbv

Simon and Raja is my personal DMT. Nuff said

i *cough cough* love older guys

I guess since I am already over 18 I won't be regarded as a lolita (as in Nabokov) by thinking so? XD

Aw come on, who doesn't love handsome older guys? They are, after all, more mature than your peers, have greater insight on life, probably more caring, etc etc... Considering that the average guy's mental capacity is 2 years younger than his actual age (while us girls' mental capacity is 2 years older than our actual age... statement not supported by any statistical facts, just a sweeping statement XP), dating someone your age would mean dating a person who's 4 years younger mentally than you! And that simply means more drama, more immaturity, more "ala hunny bunny bucuk-bucuk, b nak kiss cikit takkan tak boleh, majowk kang". Things would be even worse if you decided to date someone younger than you. So as a safety precaution, I would go for older guys okeh thank you.

Guys like this:

the great Simon Posford, a.k.a. Hallucinogen, a.k.a. Younger Brother, a.k.a. one half of epic psybient duo Shpongle (okayyyyy he's not that old, but damnnnn he sure is gorgeous!)

Shpongle. No, Simon bukan yang sebelah kanan. Itu Raja Ram Rothfield. Yes dia sangat quirky, I love him, but not as much as I love Simon :P

Next one would be:

You know I am obsessed with this guy for months already. The father of lucid dreaming, Dr. Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. He's a genius (he developed various techniques for lucid dreaming), a man well versed in the matters of consciousness. And he's a funny man as well :D

(side note: I love guys in academia. I wanna marry one someday. Perhaps my mentor, or my lecturer, or the director of the pharmaceutical company where I will be working at, or the Dean of Pharmacy at Otago)

Another gorgeous older guy:

Neil Gaiman! Okay fine, he's married, his daughter is almost as old as I am, I know I know, but he's sweeeeeet! And he's such a dear father, I tell you. Go check out his journal.

And here's some other guys I fancy:

Gary Oldman. Well cough cough, I gotta be frank, he's only gorgeous in Dracula XPPPPP

Gerard Butler. Hey, don't ask me why I chose this picture :P

And last but not least:

Everybody loves the immortal Keanu! Neeeoooo! *bunyi panggil kucing Leana*

If you have to ask, yes, I took drugs today

Alice