Weekend Market Heaven!

I am literally itching for the weekend to come already!  

"Finders Keepers,  Losers Weepers" ...

You definitely won't walk away weeping after heading down to "The Finders Keepers" market this weekend in Docklands, Melbourne!  

The market is FREE entry for all 

and features a great music line up for both days! 

...and shopping too :)

If you have a keen appreciation of handmade arts and crafts, and unique designs then this definitely is for you  (as it is for me hehehe) ! Here's a link to some of the stalls that will be featured this weekend.  

Come Sunday and you're not all marketed out by then, best you head down to Flemington Racecourse and enjoy a traditional Melbourne Crafts Market.  I've been to several myself and especially enjoyed the fresh produce, arts and crafts, especially the HOME MADE JAM and CHUTNEYS!   And not to mention how close it is and conveniently located to the city!  

For an idea on what to expect, this video snippet from an episode of Postcards in 2010 covering markets in Melbourne is superb.
Flemington Racecourse, 
Epsom Rd, Flemington.
(Melway Map: 42 F1)
9am to 2pm. FREE ENTRY.
Further information can be accessed at the Craft Markets Australia website




I'll almost definitely be going to both markets on Sunday.  Hope to see you there..
K xx

An inspirational piece

  The trials and tribulations of being an international student, especially more so when based in the beautiful state of Melbourne, Victoria.

 *The location: Dining hall in my lovely house located in... somewhere, infront of my housemate Felicia Tan, Diko, Jessica and Issac, all busy studying and doing their assignments. ( I'm suppose to be doing my assignment right now but heck who cares. I decide to write a meaningful (well hopefully meaningful) piece for this site with the hopes of inspiring students, friends and maybe passerby's to this BSS blog while my housemates are busy studying!)

To begin with, I start off with a quote and a youtube link ( above, so click play on it while you read this)

" Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get"

  Life ,as I have always known it, has always been all about a series of many changes. Being in my shoes, I've seen so many changes around and within me. From the way how I use to live my life to the many changing faces, location and sceneries that I get to experience everyday. when I first decided to move abroad, I do have to admit that it wasn't easy. Leaving all things that I'm so familiar with like my friends, family, home and car wasn't an easy decision but there comes a point in life where you just have to do it. One of the many things in life that I have learned is that there isn't really a good time for anything and if it wasn't now, then when's the best time anyway. A change in environment, a change in lifestyle and friends and maybe a shot in life. Change can be either a good or bad thing and only time can tell whether the change associated with our life was a good one or not because at the moment, we are just too darn young to understand the implications of a small change to the greater outcome of our lives. All that we can do is just try our best to adapt to these changes.

  Earlier in the year, I had a meaningful conversation with one of the Bruneian based here in Melbourne. Our topic of conversation was about how people change with time. Like every meaningful conversations, it was... of course meaningful and very relevant to our everyday lives here in Melbourne. Staying here for a close 3 years, I have experienced the highs along with the low's that are so closely associated with change and with so many changes that's coming along the way, one wonders where does the future lie for us. As Liam Gallagher once said "tomorrow doesn't know what it doesn't know too soon."

  Now, if only life is predictable in a sense that you can forsee what is coming towards you. Everything would be so much easier. Unfortunately for us, life is ambiguous and every step taken in any direction in life is a mystery. You can either be an initiator or a reactor when it comes to dealing with changes in life. This means that you can either initiate the change you want in your life or you react to the changes around you and adjust accordingly. This all depends on how you want to live your life. I for one, have absolutely no idea where does life want to take me but I do live my life being driven by the search of something epic, something breath taking or something that's just life changing.

  Be your own man (or woman) and create your own destiny, start a new chapter in your life and for gods sake, get a move on with life and find that rainbow.

  By now you're probably asking yourself, who on earth is this writer? It doesn't matter. Who the person is, is of no importance. What he does, is.I am just merely a writer.

  I shall end this piece with a favourite quote of mine taken from James Hetfield

" forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters."

                                                                                 S.I  XVIII.IX

Boot Camp!

Sometime in 2009, a handful of students started a ritual called Boot Camp. After a whole routine week of studying, working, going to classes and eating, we got the chance to meet up every Saturday morning (around 9am) at Carlton gardens, Melbourne, to burn some calories, de-stress ourselves, pump up some adrenalin rush and re-energize back at the start of our weekend. Best thing is, we'll be working out together, motivating each other throughout and just have fun! plus, it's free!

So, we're bringing back Boot Camp this year starting this weekend, 19th March 2011!

Here's a rough idea on how it'll be:

People will have to start showing up at 9.30am at our usual spot in Carlton Gardens (further direction will be given below) and warm-up will start around 9.45am - 10am sharp! which consists of slow jogging around the garden and stretches.

Then, the real deal begins! The 'instructor' will be shouting out 'orders' the whole time and everyone's gonna have to keep up! We're not going to spoil the fun. All we're going to say is...prepare to be surprised and that we will definitely have a good time!

To loosen up, we'll have a friendly football after the Boot Camp where everyone and anyone can just join the fun of kicking a ball around.

To end the wonderful workout, we always do what we, Bruneians, do best.......MAKAN!

hehehehehehe. we deserve it  *winks*

yes, we usually go straight after with our sweaty, smelly selves, stinking up a restaurant during lunch time in a group and eating as if we've never eaten for days! hahaha

But we promise you, you will never enjoyed working out like how you've worked out in Boot Camp (or maybe it's just us). Pictures from the past have been posted up at the 'Snapshots' tab. Please go check it out and see for yourselves =)

Really hope to see most of you there this Saturday.


How to get there:

The red X marks our spot at the Garden

By Train: Get off at Parliament Station and walk down Spring St towards the Garden.
By Tram: Take any tram on Bourke St towards Parliament and get off at the Victoria Parade/Nicholson St Stop and walk towards the Garden to your left. Or, take the City Loop tram and stop at La Trobe St./Victoria St.

Be sure to have one of our numbers saved in your phone. Just in case =)

PICTURES!

Pictures of past and upcoming BSSMelb events are on the Snapshots tab. Just click on the link of the event (in orange font) which will direct you to our Picasa :)

Ch-ch-ch-check out the pictures!!!

Moomba Festival!!!

A little insight of what Moomba Festival is about:

Melbourne Festival is one of the largest outdoor activities in Melbourne, located along the Yarra River. There are different activities or performances for all ages.

On the water, there are water skiing in the day and some WOW fireworks at night. Great for photographers!

Action and activities: There will be some of Melbourne's best skateboarders and scooter and BMX riders that you can watch or thrill -seek in the carnival's extreme zone. FUN FUN FUNNN!!! (time to scream your lungs outtttt)

For the kids: Kids can learn, play and stretch their imaginations with endless activities, workshops and performances in the Children's Garden, or spin a Tangled Web at Artplay.

Moomba Music: Enjoy Aussie music at its best with acts such as Lisa Mitchell, ILLY and The Audreys on the main stage, or visit the Cultural Quarter for Arabian dancing, Japanese drumming and sounds from across Africa."


SPECIAL:

Moomba Parade

Monday 14 March, 11am - Swanston Street (from Little Bourke Street to Princes Bridge)

The 2011 Moomba parade is dedicated to celebrating the exciting array of events that take place in the city every year. An eclectic mix of processional performers, community groups and much-loved personalities will complement this year’s fantastic floats.




Personal experience: I've been a student in Melbourne for 5 years, and i've been going to Moomba EVERY single year. That's how good it is.. I highly recommend Moomba Festival for anyone who is in Melbourne!

Negaraku, Brunei Darussalam

Good Morning beautiful people!

Hope everyone have recovered from a good weekend (Cos having to spend close to 3 hours in a room with other 45 Bruneians in Melbourne can be abit too much.......of (Bruneian) FUN! and now, it's time to put our thinking cap back on for uni/school/work =)

BSSMelb would like to thank everyone who came to the event, especially those who came all the way from Frankston and Kilmore. Didn't expect to have such a great turnout and for that, we are forever thankful! We really hope everyone had a good time and will keep on supporting us by coming to our events.

Also, a special thank you to our Guest of Honour, Syed Rozman Syed Rahim, for attending the event (on a very short notice) all the way from Canberra. Hope everyone had a chance to talk to him, especially the scholarship students, and for the private students who have not yet register to the Brunei High Commision, please do so ASAP by filling in a form and sending it to the Education Attache Unit of Brunei High Comm.

The form can be downloaded here

Congratulations again to the winners! and for the losers, not to worry, there will be more quizzes/competitions/activities coming up so better start preparing! Who knows we might have a quiz on Brunei history on our next event ;)  (According to legend, who founded Brunei??)

Here are some of the pictures that were taken during the event:

More pictures are available on the 'Snapshots' tab 

Any feedbacks, comments, critics (?) on the event will be very beneficial towards developing BSSMelb as we are trying to accommodate everyone's needs based on convenience, cost, safety etc. and as the National Day Celebration was our first event to host, we are not expecting it to be....WOW....the first time hehe. So, there is still room for improvement and we appreciate any response we get.

We are also taking in advice and/or suggestions on what activity/event you would like us to arrange/have in the future. All this, you could leave a comment on the blog, or on the chatbox or you could just email them to us. orrr.....use the Facebok group or tweet about them or simply just....SMS one of us ( preferably Izzat or Safarul ;D hehehe ) they're really nice people. we all are! =)

A quick shout out to Khalillah and Naasirah for making and contributing the Jala and Cornflakes cup for the event (too bad we didn't get to take pictures of them). They were ah-maazingg! So, Thank you!

Wrapping up,

There will be an activity and/or an informal, laid-back gathering coming up very soon and once we've got the 'OK' from the crew, we'll spread the news. Keep checking this blog for the latest updates.

Lastly,

........who still remembers berapa numbor simpang Gadong??

Housemate needed!

Assalamualaikum and Good Evening MelBrus!

I hope everyone had a good time yesterday mingling around with the other Bruneians, celebrating our National Day together, playing the quiz and the mini treasure hunt!

Congratulations again to the winners! and for those who didn't get to win anything, well, at least you learnt something a little bit more (of Brunei) out of it hehe. and you had fun! (I hope) that's the important bit. But not to worry, there will be more activities and prizes to be won in the near future. Bring it!

Thank you again to everyone who came and made it successful. We greatly appreciate it and it was the biggest Bruneian gathering we've had this year......so far! Pictures and videos of the event will be up soon. Sabar kay? =)

I've actually got an announcement/advertisement to make for Ummi Othman.

She is currently living in a 2-bedroom apartment at 200 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, and is looking for a housemate (ASAP). The bond is AUD866 per month and the utilities are to be shared.

Preferrably no pets and smoking is only allowed outside (no balcony).

If there is anyone who is interested, you can contact her at 0412265866 or email her at ummiothman@gmail.com. She is open for an inspection to her apartment.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and are ready to get back to Uni/school/work.

Have a good week ahead all! =)

Our very own Spartan *mwah

Brunei 27th National Day Celebration.

Assalamualaikum and hello everyone!!

I hope everyone is well. BSSMelb is wanting to get back up and running again this year and have an impending event on Saturday Insyaallah. Very last minute but when are we ever not (haha CRIKEYYY!)

To kick start the new year, we welcome our existing members and new students and families to join us in celebrating our 27th National Day together. Consistent with this years theme, “Negaraku Brunei Darussalam” it is only fit that we encourage this and be reminded of our cultural heritage and belonging, no matter how far from home we are. (I MISS BRUNEI)

Date: Saturday 5th March 2011
Arrival of Guests: 11am-12pm
Venue: Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam, Flemington
Dresscode: National Dress
Cost: $8 at the door

For reviews and ratings of the restaurant, please go to:
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1570425/restaurant/Victoria/Moonee-Valley/Chillipadi-mamak-kopitiam-Kensington


Directions:

By Tram: Take route 57 Tram towards West Maribyrnong (along Elizabeth st. from the city) and get off at Stop 25 - Wellington St/Racecourse Rd.
By Train: take the train towards Craigieburn and get off at Newmarket railway station (Flemington) platform 2


Please RSVP by Friday, 4th March 2011, by sending in your name and contact details either to our email, SMS to one of the numbers below.

Alternatively, we can also be contacted via ...
Email: bssmelb@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/BSSMelb

Izzat: 0433404206
Kamaliah: 0412277613
Naasirah: 0430166910

Hope to see y'all there.

Negaraku, Brunei Darussalam.

Welcome!

G'DAY Y'ALLLLL!

As you all might have known, BSSMelb has been around since 2007. This year, we're gonna start off with a BAM! (Bruneians Around Melbourne HEHEHEHE). This year, we're starting afresh and we're blowing off the old cob(webs) *pun intended lololol. This year will be a year you will never forget. This year...... blablabla.

On a more serious note:
Brunei Student Society Melbourne (BSSMelb) is a student organisation committed in assisting Bruneians in the many aspects of student life here in Victoria. We aim to work closely with... our members in creating a memorable experience and an easier transition living away from home. BSSMelbourne liaises closely with the Brunei Darussalam High Commission in Canberra and aspires to ensure the welfare of our Bruneian community and particularly also in encouraging and fostering ties amongst our members. This year BSSMelbourne aims to provide a line up of events and opportunities for members to meet with other Bruneians over Religious, Sporting and Cultural events for instance. 

Bah cukuptah. Too serious.

BSSMelb is a society that is revolved around us fellow Bruneians. So please do get involved... You know you miss the language, the Bruneian jokes and all that jazz! The only way to solve this 'aku rindu...' issue is by being surrounded by Bruneians ;) If you'd like to confirm that BSSMelb is a fun, outgoing society, you can.... come to our events, you'd be treated like family and you won't be disappointed!
 


Negaraku, Brunei Darussalam.