dIve wiTh mOi

no more a log!

2009-02-18T08:55:00.000Z

yeah the title spells it all.. no more cumsa!

a teeny weeny bit more time n many more assignments to come. mug mode n training mode now on. gotta catch up on doing reports once again.. urgh!

week 4

2009-02-08T10:24:00.001Z

fight on...

my resolve

2008-10-28T17:29:00.002Z

coming to end of week 3 and yes it has been overwhelming. first 2 weeks started with ease and i thot chem eng will be this relax.. not now i suppose..
i guess being in so many different things do overwhelm me.. and i get too caught up with things! i get to see lotsa things going on, know how people work, people's attitude! people here dont listen to comments, they only think they are right (n tt's damn bloody annoying). so, here's wad i have decided on. i shall not bother talking too much, do the minimal and do wad i want..
ha.. tt's damn bastardy.. since everyone's liddat, i shall go with the flow. enjoy life and mug hard! oxymoron! =(

my term thus far

2008-10-21T23:15:00.002+01:00

2nd year just started for me and it's coming to the end of week 2 already.. well year 2 is definitely different. no more freshies stuffs, abit more focused.. but definitely more smashing! at least i realised what i really wanted to join and do.. and that's the cool thing! AWESOME is the word to describe the start of my term.. i joined college frisbee ( this is super cool) and uni canoeing ( abit of canoeing and canoe polo).. it's fun and i got to do sports! being in a sports grp is definitely diff from the rest! pple tend to be more outgoing and receptive and you play with people of the same interest! =)
amidst all these stuffs.. chem eng! a small cosy dept, glad to have the chance to know more pple and soon everyone in my year! =) well.. start has been pretty fine i guess.. wait till the full work start swinging into action.. =S and i realise the most crazy thing i ever did! i joined 5 soc this year.. damn! i must be out of my mind.. cumsa, i-banking, buddhist soc, canoeing and frisbee! well to be fair.. i din really commit much to everything.. so i am kinda e annoying ass who does the minimal.. but, cant really be bothered since pple are showing the same attitude too! haha! wad i cant wait is for lent to come and offload lots of stuffs! =)

ttata!

this summer..

2008-09-25T09:19:00.002+01:00

well this summer had came and ended in a flash =( 16 weeks of holidays will be ending very very soon and i am flying off tonight! i have to admit this holiday was indeed filled with fun, excitement and lotsa new experience, and i got to come back to sunny Singapore! i only learn to appreciate and really love singapore only after i am overseas for 9 mths! =)

home's still the best! the same familiar faces, familiar environment and friends! i do miss home! it's great not having to cook my own meals, wash my clothes and do lotsa small small things! and of coz, the SUN! you dont get such strong sun and rain in uk! =) as for food, i think i have been busily stuffing myself with lotsa yummy delicious food! chilli crab, duck rice, hokkien mee, fish!, yong tau fu, dim sum, jap food and many many more! i dont mind putting an extra few pounds just for these food! uk food is terrible! =S

this summer, i went on a week long hols to Prague and Berlin before i came back to Sing! was really pretty and nice, and got to eat quite alot of local food! =) then i took up a supposedly 8 week long internship with CSIP, which i ended in 6 weeks time. was attached to MHA, SCDF, pretty boring but enriching indeed. after that, i think i became an adhoc relief teacher yet again at rv! taught geog, history, singapore studies, pe! =) then was the much anticipated Brunei/mulu trip! fun fun fun!

okie.. time to continue packing yet again.. urgh!

goodbye my home!!

with less than 48 hrs to go..

2008-09-24T03:12:00.002+01:00

in the midst of packing, meeting up and savouring every last moment of singaporean food, i keep having to remind myself to prepare for the upcoming academic year. 1 year passed so fast, so date/time last year, i flew off to faraway uk, not having an exact idea what it's going to be like, the big unknown! now this exact same day and time, i am flying off yet again. but, the feeling is kinda weird. i know what i will be going thru more of less this year, but it feels even more unbearable. home's still the best place i guess =S

people. 1 year has passed and lotsa things have changed, in me, in people, in the area. it's kinda sian to leave all your good frens and start all out again in a new evn.. =( and i am certain i will nvr find good working buddies and frens like oac ppl n 4i pple! okie i have seen lotsa ppl n sometimes their attitude realli startle me. all talk no work, talk is cheap. tt's the ang moh style of thing and i think i shld start to embrace tt kind of culture when working with pple there. even the sing i work with, HUH, feels like crap! yeap i guess i am annoyed to some sense. been busy settling all the printing and admin stuffs for pple, for pple who promised to do, farted and pretend to forget. feels like sth is wrong with the younger gen today (though they are 1-2 yrs younger only). =(
大头小心雷公嘴, 会吃不会放屁

what i hate about packing..

2008-09-21T12:02:00.002+01:00

am leaving on thursday and totally hate packing to the core.. well to do justice, i have to say it's not the first time i packed my stuffs.. with the strict camb residence policy, packing is a termly affair.. and this becomes 1 big reason why i dont usually decorate my room! =(
oh well, back to the title. packing sucks! i think the main reason i hate packing is cause it reminds me that i have to leave yet again. leaving my lovely home and room, my parents, my good frens, my good sunshine and good food! cant really describe the feeling but it's really depressing! =( i dont want to leave yet again! =(
ppl say it's easier once we went overseas for the first time. on the contrary, i find it harder, harder to leave what's behind cause i know what it will be like over in uk. =(

back from Mulu!

2008-09-12T11:48:00.015+01:00

okie i think i should start updating my blog! went to Brunei/Sarawak for 8 days! what i thought will be a fun and relaxing holiday with my uni friends turned out to be filled with adventure, fatigue and excitement! =) am tooo lazy to go into details so you can read jinyang's blog if u wan to know more!

there were a total of 8 pple in this trip; 3 Singaporeans, 3 Ipoh-ians, 1 Miri-ian, 1 Bruneian! Sounds pretty much like mini Asean! we spent the 1st nite in william's place and took off the next morning! so off we go into the jungles of mulu via the Fokker 50, not knowing what was in store for us. =S

on our 2nd day, we went into deer cave and lang cave! it was a pretty fun and interesting experience in deer cave, cause the guide decide to bring us off course=) guanon (sp) was gross but oh well, it's still an experience!

3rd day, we set off for camp 5, dropping by clearwater cave and young lady cave along the day. our bags were heavy, but our spirits were high. though i wasnt very prepared to go into the water to push the boat, but i still did anyway. =) the 8.8km march from our so called jetty to camp 5 was filled with mud, mossies, leeches! got stung by 2 tiger leeches along the way, 1 while i was washing my feet, the other when i got to camp 5. pretty unlucky huh..

4th day, woke up super early in the morning to scale mt abi, the pinancles! it was 2.4km in distance and 1.2km in height. I wasnt really prepared for such a steep and tough climb, and i think most of us arent. the 5 caucasians in our group were very fast ahead of us, but oh well, there's no price in getting 1st! after 3-4 hrs of tough, ardous and gruelling climb, we managed to reach the top! and pinancles was indeed magnificent and worth the climb! =) and the reward for the day, bak kwa and pork floss for lunch! climb down took even longer coz of the rain and some hiccups along the day, but glad we made it before sky turns dark!

5th day, it's the 8.8k march back to the supposedly jetty, and this time round, we were very much faster! =) went to racer cave to do some real cave climbing! was pretty fun and was glad my past rockclimbing skills came into good use! we end up getting dirty, wet and HAPPY! =)))) went back to hq spending the rest of the day nuaing, jenga-ing, carom-ing =)

6th to 8th day, back to civilisation! took the flight back to miri! jinyang's dad brought us back to brunei and we stayed in the Empire! simply magnificent and befitting of it's 6 star status (less the breakfast) it was merry making from that moment on =)

this feeling,,

2008-06-26T17:15:00.002+01:00

finally touched down this morning at 8am! A380 was awesome, really spacious, comfy n nice, except for the stewards n stewardess who tend to pretend to be more frenly to foreigners than to singaporeans.. typical!

it feels so surreal to be home, cant believe that i left home for 9 mths alr.. everything seems to be pretty alright, upgrading going on at my block, dad n mum seem to have aged, prices of almost everything gone up! and singapore is hot!!! have to start getting used to the weather again! nonetheless, i love the sun! =)

waiting for results.. the feeling is urgh!

Leaving on a jet plane!

2008-06-25T06:16:00.001+01:00

i cant believe this! i am going home now!!! =)

YAY!!!

end of year 1

2008-06-24T22:52:00.002+01:00

alright i know this is a pretty late entry.. but anw an update is an update...

exam ended on 11th june, went london the next day, was busy on 13th with bop, 14th had Buddhist soc garden party and preparation for the cumsa garden party, 15th garden party and new hall garden party. went back, packed my ass out, and left at 3am the next day for my hols! sounds pretty packed.. wad was i thinking.... =S

anyway, 11th june 2008 marks the end of my 1st year in Cambridge. A year with mixed feelings, where i learnt more about myself, taught myself to be independent and exposed myself to this big huge world! Nonetheless, this a remarkable moment and memorable academic year thus far. No more, will i be a Nat Sci. No longer do i have sat lectures, no longer do i have 30 hrs week, no longer do i have to write crazy cells essays and meet crazy deadlines and so on n so forth.. you get the drift. But grass is always greener on the other side of the pasture, hopefully Chem Engine will be filled with lovely surprises and many interesting people. Finally get to have a department to call home, and a small class.. 60 pple i think!

1st year out in the uk. was pretty intimidating for a start. It's like getting plunged into this big big world where i have to learn to take care of myself. no longer will there be parents acting as support, and i have to start looking for new frens, frens close to heart. It's practically like resettling yourself in a whole new world, where your room is your own home! was pretty tiring for a start and i think i lost my direction for a brief moment at the beginning. studying abroad is fun yet intimidating. fun coz you have all the time in ur hands, no one's there to nag at you and you can do wadever you want. intimidating coz you got to learn to make your own decisions, manage your finance and try to get a life!

one thing i learnt most during this short 1 year (9 mths actually) is to cook. coming up with dishes i have never tried before, trying to emulate home-cooked food.. it's fun! and of coz cookouts are the best! you get to share home cooked food with your frens, mingle, feels like home! strangely, singaporeans only gel when they are not in sing.. exclude those el. at. though... and what i hate most is to do laundry! it's such a chore and really takes up lotsa time and effort.. sometimes the machine decides to go on strike and there goes my money and time... and i still cant iron properly! it's appalling yet annoying... i must learn how to iron or or or.. ask my to iron my clothes!! haha MY get the hint??

i think i am going to miss my 1st year.. where i dunno where my time went to, where i mug like there's no tomorrow, where i can do dumb things n get away with it.. this is life! camb has manage to bring out the best and worst in people. and it's amazing! during term time, it's like 8 weeks of hell.. the heavy workloads and activities and formals.. tt can definitely kill.. just y cant they extend term time and cut short our hols? n if onli if.. changing the start of the week from thursdays to mondays will help to avoid alot of trouble... but oh well... traditions are hard to change especially in a place like this...

alright.. 12 hrs to my flight home.. i cant wait to get back home!

shall update on my trip soon!

parts of the brain...

2008-05-29T16:10:00.000+01:00

good way of learning.. by ms tan!

who am i today..

2008-05-28T21:41:00.002+01:00

today i started off being a gene.. looking at how i can be replicated using dna techniques. and i begin look for my close siblings, RNAs, how we are being spied on by machines, microarrays, southern blot, zoo blot n what not..
then i became a no., matrices in particular.. i journeyed through transformation, identifying and learning myself..
after a mini break, i decided to take on the identity of waves/particles. i learnt how to express my inner particulate nature and to hide under the disguise of being good old wave. i got to know my fave buddy, the hydrogen atom, where ride waves of quantum mechanic vibrations, tunnelled thru to out galaxies..
and soon i will become small particulate molecules... what will i become tomorrow?

a less than normal day

2008-05-27T22:12:00.003+01:00

alright.. 7 days to exams! yay!! not like i am well prepared or anything, but it's killing me! just cant wait for it to be over..
went to this camb overseas trust reception. supposed to be welcome ceremony for pple like me.. under bursary! it's like am here for nearly a year alr.. duh! anw it turns out to be a eat n talk cock session. met up with a no. of sing, malaysian n hk peepz.. talk cock, eat aimlessly for ard 2 hrs.. untill GOH finally turned up. prince of wales.. yes prince charles.. he's in his usual attire n coat/shirt combi.. and the funny thing was that i just watch The Queen yesterday! the way the media portrayed him n the real series of events behind the whole hoohaa.. it's questionable.. but anw it's not like he has tt much *ahem* of a reputation anwa... and he is like some cAMP secretory gene.. he beats dictyostelium for sure! anw everyone tried to take his photo, shake his hand n wad not.. but i didnt.. too troublesome! so here's his pic!!

n this is wad i do when i am bored!

okie time to make up for the lost time!!! boohoo

when studying gets u cranky..

2008-05-25T17:13:00.003+01:00

i think this is the only period when i am most active blogging..
exams in 8 days' time!!! n i am still mugging my ass off.. oh well.. tt's not a surprise anyway!

i realised i have never been so hardworking in my entire life!! in the past, i will nua abit, mug abit.. but now here in uni.. there's this compelling factor.. to keep me mugging, in hope that i can do well.. n probably it may be due to the fact that there's no much entertainment here other than my laptop.. the only thing i can do is to watch movies.. but there arent that many movies out there tt's nice to watch! looking back this past 9 mths.. it's been kinds terrifying i guess.. cant really run/do much sports, no tv to watch/have no watched tv, no games to play, not that many place to walk walk.. sounds like i am in some ulu place rite? but nah.. nono! brits usually hang out in the bar.. but i see no point in getting myself tipsy every night.. cant drink that much anyway..

and i start to have weird dreams! i dream about going back almost everyday!!! not that i dont like here.. but it's kinda strange.. the anticipation of going back home outweighs the scary motion of the impending exams! hmm.. i am not well prepared.. but nonetheless, who will say he/she is 100% prepared. i've got a point to prove, n i need to show what i am capable of..

i suddenly have this weird longing.. longing for food even after i have had my dinner. it's a weird n strange feeling.. and it makes me miserable! sains closed, hall closed n i am left with chocs which i dun feel like eating.. help me!

blogger/mugger..

Section B

2008-05-24T20:58:00.004+01:00

Discuss the similarities and differences.

when the mugging gets tough..

2008-05-23T23:09:00.004+01:00

10 days to exams! and 21 days to freedom!! 1 mth to going home!!!

ha enjoying this study break! shld be studying n i am trying my best.. but strangely aint that scared of the impending exams although i know i do still have alot of reading to do.. why leh? i also dunno! but anyway.. it's good not having to wake up early in the morning for lectures, being able to enjoy the beautiful day in my room.. keeping myself busy with notes, movies, it's good stuff! but the annoying thing is having to go for sups, keep getting tripos papers for homework... 1 paper = 3 hrs.. i have 3 more papers to do.. how how how?
i have decided to avoid getting fat during exams! i shall TRY to exercise..
and i cant wait go get HOME!

when u r bored of muggin n e ingenuity of paint.. by meiyi!

mugger tan.. MIA!

in exam term..

2008-05-18T13:45:00.002+01:00

2 weeks to exams and the feeling sucks.. everyone's mugging/hiding in their room to mug/mug at lib/pretending to mug(me)!!!
it feels so dead to mug mug n mug.. i need some life! and as a matter of fact.. i cant seem to find back the kind of focus i had back in jc days... how detrimental a 2 year gap can be..
and 1 annoying thing about exam term.. pple who dont usually cook starts cooking.. n making a mess out of the whole kitchen n setting off the fire alarm!!!!! sad to say, i am just next to the kitchen n it's pretty irritating when pple go into the kitchen early in the morning slams the door n shelves as though they own everything.. urgh!! inconsiderate fellows.. n they made a mess of my nice nice kitchen! =( totally shuts my appetite everytime i try to cook.. boohoohooo..

i need a run.. but it's so cooooold! =S

reflections..

2008-05-17T00:30:00.003+01:00

the feeling of near death is the stark realisaiton that lotsa things are waiting to be done..

=)

2008-05-04T23:29:00.004+01:00

thank you for being by my side! =)

u have always been wonderful!

Easter term..

2008-04-24T16:01:00.001+01:00

yay! term's started!!! here comes all the hell work n busy mugging.. and i cant wait to get back home!!!
mug mug mug..

my pleasant encounter with ibm

2008-04-14T17:21:00.002+01:00

finally.. my laptop is fixed.. or so i hope! so this is for record sake.. and was wad happened today.. brits rock

9am, technician was supposed to come down.. wait till 0930
me: it's 9.30 now, where's the technician
ibm: oh he got sent away on some stuffs, so wouldnt be going down
me: tmd.. then why din u all inform me?
ibm: oh it showed that we tried contacting u yesterday but u din answer
me: didnt u sae u guys dun work on weekends? and my phone was on the whole day..
ibm: oh i wasnt in for the weekend.. so dunno what happen
me: (knn liar!) hey wait up your idea. so what you going to do now?

2pm, rescheduled time. waited till 2.30
me: where's the technician
ibm: our record shows he's coming down at 2pm..
me: what's the time now?
ibm: oh.. it's 2.30.. yada yada yada yada

at 3.15
technician: tan, where's churchill college? it's not on my map?
me: it's on magdingley rd.. where are u now?
technician: i am on the A14 (tt's so bloody far away), magdingley road is not on my map
me: then ur map is old and outdated. churchill has been here since 1960s...
technician: alright then, i will figure my way ard..

and their service record...
1st time: dismantle alr, brought the wrong model!!!!!!
2nd time: changed lcd, oh i think the cable got prob
3rd time: lcd they brought faulty!!!!
4th time: i think motherboard got prob.. which was wad i was trying to tell them the very first time!!!!
5th and final time: hi's it the first time i have seen at T61 and the first time i change a motherboard.. can you give me a hand?

urgh.. bloody inefficiencies of uk.. ibm uk rocks!

ibm

2008-04-11T17:27:00.002+01:00

i am super super irritated by ibm. 2 weeks have passed and they are still unable to fix my com. they sucks big time.
this is wad got me irritated

"

I am writing a formal complaint on the technical support team. i phoned in on 2nd April for a service request on my laptop, whose lcd is spoilt. you can trace the call ref by A182L97. the technician came down and tried to repair but failed. he came down again on 15th, 16th, 17th April and failed to repair despite changing several LCD screen. They resorted to changing the motherboard and was due to come down today, 11 Apr, at 9am.

HOWEVER, i received a call from Justin in the scheduling department, in the morning to say that the engineer was held up in an immediate response case and will attend to me shortly after that, which was estimated to be at 11am. i waited till 2pm but there was no sign of the technician. i called technical support and was told by a lady, Susie, that she will get back to me in 10 mins time. to my disappointment, she did no call and th e technician did not turn up yet. i called again at 4pm, after getting my line cut off for a couple of times while transferring. The lady sent an immediate reply again and ASSURED me that she will get back to me in 10 mins. HOWEVER, no calls were received yet again. When i called again, Justin finally answered and informed me that the technician was held up and wasnt able to turn up at all. They don’t attend to laptops after 5pm even in this scenario. This is atrocious, I was kept waiting for all day and all your staff can tell me is that it’s the company policy not to attend to laptop after 5pm. Do you think this is fair?

When I wanted to make a complaint, I was told by Justin to call the hotline no. to make a complaint. When I called the no. the person who attend to me was not helpful at all. He talked in circles and kept me waiting, telling me it’s near 5pm and they are knocking off soon. Is this the kind of behaviour expect from your staff??

It is unfair to me, totally unfair to keep me waiting without even informing me that the technician will not turn up. it is rude and unprofessional. I had to cancel an appointment to wait for the technician and this is what i got from the technical support.

My laptop is unable to get fixed and it has been ongoing for almost 2 weeks. I will hope to get my laptop fixed tomorrow but this seems to be not the case.

Please do something about it. it is your inefficiency and lack of professionalism that made me wait in vain for a day without getting my laptop fixed. Also, please bear in mind that i had to cancel an appointment just to wait for no one to turn up. It is unfair and atrocious.

"

you can say i am niao. but i will like to say knn to those pple who keep telling me that they knock off at 5pm when it's onli 4 plus. inefficiencies suck!

life..

2008-04-08T23:12:00.003+01:00

Me
I am back! back from my holidaying lalaland, back from lisbon, spain n madrid.
i feel refreshed, ready to take on the next term, or so i thot
i need to focus, i am currently semi-focused
i need to find back my form, like in j2.
i need to love, to show more care to my family, compassion to my frens.
with metta, of coz

Work
work is crazy, as usual. they dont even let us off during the hols
what has to be done will be done. i know i will get thru this
i hate to be arrowed, and i am not a sai gang warrior
young boys and gals, you mother son/daughter have not served ns before. dont talk about sai gang like u noe wad they all. finger of love
i wont cook when i am arrowed to. wait long. it's disrespectful & presumptuous
you pple gotta get rid of the air in ur head.. scholars doesnt mean anithing here
i will be a minimalist from now on.
kian tio ho, mai ge kiang

Dad
he had a fall today, pretty bad fall i suppose
with abrasions on elbows and knees
and old pple dont heal that fast, dunno how long this time will take
he sounded stress, over work and fatigue i suppose? but he just came back from a holiday!
if onli i could help...

Mum
her concern makes me feel loved
despite being far away, i can feel it
she said prayers on my behalf when offering incense, that nearly made me tear
mothers are ever so great
i love my mum, she's cute!

Home
when i miss home, i will look at photos
photos of my family and frens;
take at the airport, holiday and my farewell
camb is my 2nd home, a home with lesser human touch
it's scary in a way
when i look at the bottles of food my parents send,
with their instructiosn hand written,
i feel loved; i know i am loved

to my dad & mum & tt special someone
frens of coz, only true frens.

with metta

holidaying

2008-03-16T21:47:00.001Z

ha.. apologies i haven benn blogging for ages.. now off i go on a holiday.. will be back soon! i promise i will blog abt my trip! =)

so long, my frens

Breathe

2008-02-20T16:42:00.001Z

I need to breathe..
work's killing me.. 6 supervisions in a week with a list of to do things..
if onli if onli i can survive without slp.. if onli..

looking back.. 2007

2008-01-31T21:14:00.000Z

alright guys i know it's wae late to be reflecting abt the past.. but i reckon its better than writing in feb! (no like i have time now anw).. oh well the year of 2007 had indeed been a tumultuous year for me.. lots of changes, lots of ups and downs, lots of decisions. it's odd when pple sae the moment you reach 21, things start to change.. and indeed it had, in my case for the very least. dun wanna bore u and myself (save time) with the details.. so i shall do wad i usually do.. a brief summary of each mth.. shld be able to think of sth i guess.. haha if not = no life! and looking back, i feel darn old.. time seems to travel on a much faster scale..

January
what else is there other than my ORD! the day i get to see my pink ic! some pple may think a clerk is alr damn slack, tt's ultimate generalisation n bullshit. finger to those losers! day i took my ic, i thot i will be overwhelmed with feelings.. turns out it's just another day. or maybe, we upon the day with so much anticipation that we have nothing left to feel once tt day comes. life. then came my attachment to ices a week after that. and it's time when things start getting abit messy..

February
my last CNY in sing! cant rmb wad i did actually.. just vaguely rmbed tt i dyed my hair, change my style...

March & April
still attachment at ices. was time when i realli thot about this big big issue.. asked alot of pple, read alot of stuffs.. and also tried my hands at finance!

May
D-day.. broke the big news, end of attachment and yay! came as quite a relief for me.. finally stopped thinking so much for once and the bad thing is.. had to get over the money issue though! and i stopped giving tuition!!!

June
received letter from camb trust! haha load off my mind! and off my parents too! went for my long awaited holiday! europe! 25/6 to 11/7! went gothenbury, copahagen, berlin, basel, lucerne, zurich, vienna, prague, london! and i took my diploma exam!

July
came back from holiday feeling super relaxed! and ready to start on teaching at RV! but.. moe!! urgh! screwed up my application and put me on hold for a week or 2.. money lost! then finally went to rv to teach! was quite an interesting and intimidating experience i will sae.. and i was bullied by the kids in my first week! but it was indeed a fun exp going back to teach though.. pple whom u used to call teacher are now ur colleagues.. how cool can tt be!

August
stopped teacher in rv on teacher's day celebration! it was pretty sad day for me though.. somehow i feel emotionally attached to my students and some of them cried when i told them i was abt to leave... =( it was indeed a good experience teaching and working with them though.. u get into their lives, try to teach them something.. i was part of their life once! was super touched when i received their presents and cards! my students rock! u guys shld try relief teaching sometime!
also, got my diploma results! yay! i am chao mugger!

September
packing frenzy and meeting up frenzy! busy meeting up with frens, teachers, going to nostalgic places! and it's more or an issue of trying to calm myself.. knowing tt there will be culture shock and the big unknown! i admit i cried on the day i flew.. coz my mum cried.. first time i see her cried until so bad.. darn!

October
Welcome to cambridge! got a mini-culture shock but swiftly adjusted back.. had to get used to cooking almost everyday, getting used to cycling to school everyday. and i have to take care of myself! not tt i have been hiding under my mum's skirt, but it's a diff kind of thing. knowing that you are responsible for urself, having to make decisions for urself and being alone. no one realli close enuff yet to consult and no real close frens to talk to. thanks kenny for the advices though!
and not to forget.. the camb system.. damn shiong! getting into the muggin mood was damn hard! 2 yrs of ns robbed me of the ability to think!

November
my bdae! was really nice of the camb pple here to remember! and had a formal too! it was sweet! and thanks for all those impt pple who rmbed, u noe who u all are.. thanks! 21 years old! and of coz.. getting tog with someone special.. haha rather fast i noe but this kind of thing cannot be explained in words!

December
holiday frenzy! went to amsterdam, rotterdam, brussels, paris, alps to ski, geneva, milan, venice, florence, siena, pisa and rome! all in one month with my bio and physics notes!

whow.. seems like a pretty long entry.. but i guess i tried to account for almost everythign i can recall.. 21st had been an incredible year for me. a time for change, a time for me to grow up and a time i can realli call myself a "man". now i feel old, not literally though. this year will always be remembered, a year when my whole destiny change.

on simple pleasure/s in life...

2008-01-31T15:42:00.000Z

i miss my frens back in singapore!
was talking to yanxi, tony and jeremy yest n today! =) feels soooooo shuang! it's always good to be able to talk to your best frens and pple who know you best! 好象在家的感觉! hmm.. if only they are here..!
just wanna let u guys know tt u guys rock! big time!
cny without them will be so diff.. i miss the times we lou hei in sch, in my house n at han lao's place, card games, talk cock, pool, mahjong, stayovers at my place.. *nostalgic*
ha.. i dun think i will get to do any of that this new year le.. booo!

cheap thrill

2008-01-27T17:06:00.001Z

my brakes died on me! =( shldnt have bought a 2nd hand bike.. now i know it doesnt pay to be a miser! =( and the worse thing is it cost 33 quid to repair! while i only bought it for 70 quid and since then, i had 2 punctures, which cost 10 quid each! darn!!!
so i have decided not to repair n wait for a good bike to come! hopefully cheap! =( cheap thrill going down the slopes.. with no brakes! =|

pineapple tarts!

2008-01-23T15:56:00.000Z

since my phy sup hasnt started! i have decided to make pineapple tarts! y leh? coz i miss home!
so it's my first go at making pineapple tarts.. may not be very nice though!

first tray!

2nd tray!

this is wad i do when i have a bad day..

2008-01-21T20:53:00.000Z

cook! make dessert! share! and eat!

my first attempt at cookie making

my product! not bad lah!

Disclaimer: the author is not damn free! he's got a bad day and this is his way of unwinding.. for food, pls visit staircase 39 churchill college.

Wad do u do when u have a low day..

2008-01-21T18:59:00.000Z

i fell down from my bike! and scraped my hands and knees..
i lost my fav nalgene bottle =(

so this is wad i did.. COOK! not my fav dishes though.. =|

salmon, asparagus, wu xiang!

bai guo yu mi! dessert!

Lazy Sunday

2008-01-20T16:55:00.000Z

ha firstly my apologies for not updating my blog sooon enuff! ha been busy with mugging n now.. i am LAZY! okie first sunday of term seemed pretty well! no mugging.. pure slacking! made a big brunch in the morning, then make ngoh hiang and went for archery.. am going for cookout soon! lallala! i promise i will update abt my trip soooon.... in e near future!

breakfast for a king!

my starring at empty plates!

my 五香!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T08:29:00.000Z

hey guys! apologies that i havent been updating.. hehe sollie ah! am busy travelling around n free internet access is something i can only wish for! am in Milan now.. going to Venice in 2 hrs time so i hope xmas will be pretty happening or something yeh! okeiz will update more about my trip when i get back.. so far had been travelling around amsterdam, rotterdam, brussels, paris, ski trip at tignes and milan! heading to venice, florence, siena, pisa and rome! =)
take care guys!

Merry Xmas from Milan! =)

duh podcast..

2007-11-22T13:25:00.000Z

mr brown show's really solid! was listening to it while having lunch.. "every mother son.." *faints*
go listen!

when angels need new wings..

2007-11-17T15:51:00.000Z

When angels need new wings,
Smiles seem to lose their way,
Every day rises up and stings,
Demons are hard kept at bay.

Listening to doves take flight,
And bees waking to the dawn,
Longing for that rusty knight,
Finds me muted and withdrawn.

Music should uplift and elate,
Nature’s gifts seem expended,
Laughter eludes and abates,
My heart feels undefended.

Not understanding the why,
Only knowing the when,
Meeting dawn with a sigh,
Not wanting to begin again.

Someday wings will shine,
Along with all the rest,
But for now I shall assign,
A smile with quiet protest.

random

2007-11-17T01:09:00.000Z

low.. my mood is in e pits.. haiz

Fitz formal..

2007-11-14T16:04:00.000Z

went for Fitz formal yesterday, with Malaysian and Singaporean year 1 and 2 nat scis..not everyone turned up though, but who cares! it's the company that matters =) and boy it was really a fun and hilarious evening =) all censored! enjoy!

food:

with pa, who happens to be 2 yrs younger!!

with ma.. long story!

2 people whom i must take photos with at every formal..

gay buddy!

special someone..

yr1 nat sci plus david!

grp photo! =)

Of becoming of age..

2007-11-10T01:16:00.000Z

yeap yesterday was my 21st bdae! and i had to celebrate it in cambridge... i miss oac n 4i guys! =) many thanks to all those who sent their blessings.. tze, zm, cons, syun, siao, wl, ryan, ben, geokz, ninghan, tony, boon, johnny, jonathan, wil, ed, yixin, chenglong, my, ket, pui, kenny, jy, kengrui, daryl and many many more.. cant realli recall at 1.30am le..

but oh well.. 21st was filled with surprises after surprises! and i had 3 cakes! abit lazy to write.. so photo bloggin again!

Surprise at Christ formal =)

With another bdae gal! =)

my surprise morning apple crumble=)

walk down river camb =)

yet another cake in e afternoon =)

John's formal in e evening

with someone nice n special.. nice nice?

my prezzies till date! =)

Many thanks to all those who rmbed! you guys rock! and i love the prezzies! spending my 21st abroad aint tt bad afterall.. =) thank you special someone! =)

of surprises after surprises..

2007-11-09T16:07:00.000Z

oh well.. today's the day i celebrate (though unwillingly) my becoming of age into adulthood! and just when i thot it was going to be a quiet and boring celebration.. i was in for a surprise! =)

T -3hrs to the "big" day, someone sweet n nice gave me a phone! and i was ordered to install it before the "big" day arrives.. so i installed the phone in a fluster, with guidance from a frenly potter! =)
At stroke of 12, the same sweet n nice person called that line! (of coz rite, duh)! and i went on a treasure hunt in my room for my presents! ha took quite a while to finally find all e presents, not becoz i am lousy, just that my tummy was hungry! =P surprised n happy to have an interesting start to the "big" day. so i went to bed feeling like i am the most fortunate person in e world, at least for today =)
8am, woke up by the bloody alarm clock. but oh well, a good slp with sweet dream makes me energetic =) 5 mins later, i got a knock on my door. it's the first time someone knocked on my door that early and i thot it was going 2 be my neighbour! turns out someone sweet n nice appeared again! *stunned* *surprised* oh well, she claimed that she came over to wish me and i foolishly believed. went to wash up and was again surprised by the apple crumble on my table! *touched* first time someone made apple crumble for me.. wad else more can i ask for! hehe so we had e sweet, nice, lovely, fantabulous apple crumble together! and not to forget, a card too! =)
chiong for lecture.. was stoning and not paying much attention anw.. haha today no mood! after lect we went shop shop and ate at dojo's! dojo was shiok! luxury food but i dun care! reminds me of home! after tt, walked along camb river n it was sweeeeeet...

my sweet prezzie!

my sweet apple crumble!

feeding time!

river camb!

with someone sweet n nice =)

Christ formal and surprise!

2007-11-08T15:34:00.000Z

went to Christ formal yest! too bad i forgot/din manage to take any photos for their formal hall.. but nonetheless, it looks pretty small compared to churchill's but definitely better decorated and furnished =) There's a portrait of darwin and some other famous pple.. the first two male who admitted to being gay.. forgot their name alr..

so we had our formal and they thot it was my bdae! which is really nice for pple to remember.. but it's not my bdae, yet! =) heez i got pennied at least 7 times! and once more on my dessert! urgh! so i ended up abit tipsy having drunk like 2/3 of bottle of wine.. we went to the bar to chill.. and that was when they brought out the cake! ha was super touched =) though i am all the way in uk, there are pple who remembered! =) sang bdae song, smudge cake on pple's face, kena taopoked and so on n so forth.. hehe

this was how i finished my pennied dessert!

band of brothers??

Churchill!

almost everybody there..

ha half cut cake..

bo ta bo lan pa

with legendary haihan..

sua teng! hilltop alliance!

and to save the best for the last..

bye bye!

Of cambridge..

2007-11-07T12:33:00.000Z

darn i am here for 1 mth plus le!! and i am getting old soon! (hint hint) haha made some interesting observation about the place and pple.. not a full list though.. enjoy!

1. the no. of fire alarms i experience going off here are more than the total of what i have in sing! does this mean i) their houses are darn old ii) their fire alarm system sux iii) they are si ginna who likes to play with smoke alarm n stuffs..

2. the lecturers here always like to make reference to famous pple who have been here.. newton, crockroft, james watson and so on n so forth lah.. n they get realli ya ya when they talk about this.. but what's the point of reveling in past glory..

3. if pple think they are really good, they will not hesitate to show it! even if they are mada mada nia.. hao lian.. kiang dio ho, mai ge kiang (in hokkien)

lunch in 15 mins..

2007-11-07T12:30:00.000Z

ha cooked lunch in 15 mins today! record time.. and was too lazy to do anithing alr.. it's tiring! my hokkien mee looks decent and taste decent! just tt i din wan to add too much dark soy sauce and corn starch! yay! can open my own tze char le..

Guy Fawkes day!

2007-11-06T00:44:00.000Z

ha.. it's the biggest fireworks event in Cambridge! all thanks to Guy Fawkes! hero or villian? haha photos abit blur.. shaky hands due to darn cold weather!

big 6++

2007-11-01T23:35:00.000Z

darn.. it's late and i am trying to catch up with my work.. i shld be working.. but i dun care.. i just wanna write.. saw the photos i took with 4i guys! darn i miss them!
i. i miss boonie! for being so tall, righteous and yet lotsa crap at times. we always manage to talk about everything under the sun!
ii. i miss yanxi! my good good good fren! somehow we always share secrets with each other, which ends up with the whole world knowing about it.. i miss talking to him, going to accounting lessons, bball and just plain talk cocking..
iii. i miss tony! my best fren yeh? clementi kahki! serious at time, full of shit for the most of the times. running, swimming, shopping and what not buddy! i miss the times helping him jio zarbo, slacking in my room talk cocking.. mahjonging and everything!
iv. i miss jinyong! always behave so zhen jing in front of gals but horny as ever! mature guy with his unique opinions. i miss listening to all his exaggeration about everything! oh yah.. and wide mouth!
v. i miss william! fluttering eyes and some chao potato! but somehow he manges to clique with us darn well! i miss watching him provoking tony n get stripped! bangkok!
vi. i miss thengz! cool n stylish guy! metro! i miss seeing him kaobei jinyong!
vii. and of coz i miss yoong siang! so long never see him le.. but still my best fren.. for life!

darn i miss 4i guys! i am not a gay btw!

夜

2007-10-28T00:15:00.000+01:00

在这夜深人静的时刻, 听着伤感的乐曲, 喝着香甜的甜点, 不仅让我想起许许多多的回忆. 难道以往的事只能回味吗?

-想回到过去

Updates!

2007-10-25T14:07:00.000+01:00

ha i think it's abt time i start updating! haven been in touch with pple from sing in sing for ages! urgh!! i miss them! workload's getting heavier n everydae seems 2 be packed with activities, mugging included, which i haven done so! oh well.. a picture speaks a thousand words! here goes..

Chicken curry! i cook de!

lotsa lotsa apples! apple day!

tt's wad i wanna be! wealthy!

apple spree!

postcard sia!

beautiful dahlias!

I am high!

2007-10-10T15:18:00.001+01:00

i am high i am high i am high!!! lalalla! i got my dhl box finally!! sent from singapore, for papa and mama!!! lallalalla super happy liao!! now i got all the things i want!!! finally it feels more like home.. okie pictures of my untidy room! untidy but i just wan 2 show u guys!! lalalla

the lovely box that made my day, or even week! yay! though it was 25kg, was super happy 2 carry it back to my room! the porter refuse 2 let me collect my box a hr earlier coz they are sorting out other mails in the mail room n my box was in the room i talked 2 them! ang mo di4! but idc! i got my box! papa n mama rocks! =)

my bookshelf or so as it's called!top 2 layers for studies related books n files.. bottom 2 are for food! finally i got some books sent from singapore! yay!!!! and see how packed my food shelves are! i wun die of hunger!! and i can cook ALMOST everyday! lallalala

my cooking stuffs! haha i got rice cooker and pot!! lalalala am so happy with my collection! =)

my bed! wasnt suppose 2 be so blue.. wanted a darker shade of blue for my bedsheet and this sky blue for my duvet cover.. but the shop never sell..bo bian! see the red pillow! it was sent from singapore!! (1 pillow with cover cost ard 8 pounds, siao rite) haha now i got 2 cushions to play with! and the bathroom slippers! sent from sing too! can walk ard in my room without feeling cold! my floor aint carpeted.. which is good!

on a side note.. time to hao lian! my students! lalalla! my yee yee ah gal got 42.5/50 for chem!! woohoo! super happy la! then for the onli bio class i taught, quite alot of A1s!!! all the gals except 3 got A1!!! the boys i dunno lah.. but shld be ard there! lalallalala! am soooooo happy!!! to hell with my punctured tyre n e rain! i got a new tyre and goretex! lalala =)

shitty day =(

2007-10-09T17:57:00.000+01:00

sianz! today's such a suay^infinity day lah! woke up to realise that it was raining! sianz coz i dont have a windbreaker and the only waterproof jacket i got was a parka =( so i wore this bulky looking parka (which is only for 0 degrees) and went out to take my bike. realised that the tyre was punctured and it was really bad bad bad news! i got 25 mins to start of lecture and i take 15 mins to cycle there! being left with no choice, i decided to run. instead of taking the normal route(which is longer and safer), i chose the shorter and more dangerous path. to run to lecture is fine, but to run in the rain with the cold wind sucks! and i got to lecture 5 mins late! urgh! i think i ran 3km le.. was totally sian diaoz n sat n listened to whatever i can understand! haiz.. bad luck =(

oh well.. am ranting. was listening to mr brown show.. ha super funny..!!! try this!
http://www.mrbrownshow.com/2007/10/01/the-mrbrown-show-bitter-pill/

day 6 in churchill...

2007-10-02T20:45:00.000+01:00

hmm.. i am starting to get abit sian of this place alr..
had my formal dinner yesterday! was an interesting and cool experience i will say.. at least it's sth i had not experienced and will love to try.. haha so it's pretty nice lah.. my master's interesting, the moment i told him i am from singapore, he goes "新加坡" and he goes on abt how good the food is.. dinner is not bad, had alot of rules to observe and it was rather impressive for a start. no one is allowed to leave their seat until the end of dinner, which is around 2-3hrs. was seated beside a materials director of studies and across my chem director of studies. am glad i was seated around them, rather than some ang mohs. had interesting conversations with them, which is really great! we had wine, starters, appetisers, main course, desert, coffee and port! it's the first time i tasted port and it's really not bad.. but it's easy to get drunk though!
yeah.. so another not so eventful day.. but i guess when term starts, everything will start to flow.. ha cant really talk that much to ang mohs.. but i aint the only one facing the prob =) most sing do.. anw talks with them are so superficial.. ha so cant be bothered.. but i shall see =)
oh yeah.. here's my dinner! finally cooked my first dinner!! fried rice with sweet corn, egg and ham. 40p! lettuce in oysters sauce! 21p! ha my dinner cost 61p! yay!

Cambridge..

2007-09-29T19:01:00.000+01:00

i guess i have more or less settled in.. other than decorating my room, buying all the necessities and such.. yeap! so, i am in churchill college, cambridge. it aint those typical ancient english buildings' castle you will see. it's rather modern, built in 1961, somewhat alike to those mansions. despite its lack of history and beautiful architecture, i love the place! the college spans around 46 acres and has large spaces for greenery and, some useless sculpture, maybe. =) but i dont realli have many pictures of my college so these are assorted pictures over the days! =) enjoy! and trust me, u will love the place!

some useless but nice sculpture

Kings college

punting

Gonville and Caius College

Fitzwilliam museum

Christ College

St. John's college

my dinner!

2007-09-29T00:10:00.000+01:00

ha i dunno if it looks gross.. but rest assure it's edible! my first "cooked" dinner in camb! it's pepper n mushroom rice with luncheon meat! pepper n mushroom rice is a premix, so all that i did was to put it into the rice cooker! =) luncheon meat doesnt taste like one, more like bacon.. and i got it from the supermarket! it's a super cheap dinner for me! 24p for the rice and 5p for the luncheon meat! 29p!! yay! good start!

From cambridge =)

2007-09-26T19:42:00.000+01:00

Greetings pple! After an arduous journey, I finally reached Churchill College, Cambridge! Yay! I slpt for 3/4 of my flight; am too tired to enjoy watching pirates, spiderman or what not =( trying to clear custom was the first obstacle.. waited for almost 2.5 hrs before i can successfully get a chop o my passport! luckily, my bag wasnt searched so my pork floss is still in safe hands! =) then took a coach from heathrow to Cambridge, another 2.5 hrs bus ride.. urgh! but it was fun i guess.. with the excitement slowly building up! it's really a beautiful place, should come and visit if possible! you won't regret =) took a cab to my college with all the barang barang.. and darn.. it's really far away. i needed half an hour to walk from my college to the city centre! okie tt's all for now.. time to unpack my bag le..

T-12h to departure

2007-09-25T03:21:00.000+01:00

darn it feels so surreal.. the moment i have been waiting for the past 2.75yrs of my life has finally arrived! Yet, i just cant seem to feel that excited or happy about it. Maybe i am just overwhelmed by the loads of last minute things to be done, or maybe it's just me. No longer will i say i am awaiting uni, i am a student, now. No longer will i live in the comforts of home and familiar surround, i will have to explore the big unknown that it awaiting me.
i cant help but look back at what i have done these few years. Have i made the right decision? It depends. Regrets? NEVER. I still feel happy over the fact that i am not bonded. There's no sense of remorse in me; for feeling bad about breaking the agreement. =) Cambridge? I guess it's still better than uiuc, no offence though. I guess right from the beginning, i had wanted to go overseas for studies, so that probably leaves nus out of the equation.
hmm.. i dunno wad i am typing.. shall go back to packing now.. urgh!

of basketball and mahjongs..

2007-09-23T13:42:00.000+01:00

this morning was supposed to be my last bball match, farewell match! okie shant use farewell coz i aint some super star or wad.. but oh well.. weather wasnt giving face to me.. and the rain poured mercilessly.. urgh! but got a pleasant surprise when the bball peepz called! they came all the wae to my house to pick me up for breakfast! nice rite? am gonna miss them when i leave! urgh i still wanna play my bball! =(
then went to meet 4i guys for lunch.. had 2 admit was kinda sian diaoz that pple start pang sei-ing at the last moment. eh i aint tt free to go out everydae either.. i still got tonnes or admin, packing, preparation and reading up to do okiez.. but nvm.. boonz, js, tony, yx came! so it was a nice and cosy lunch.. js headed off for tuition while we went boonz' house 2 play mahjong! my last mahjong for the year in sing! and to make it even more special, it's with my 3 best frens! oh well! was fun to play with them! darn i will miss my best frens!! buddies for life!!

oh on a side note.. here's wad my student made for me... jellies! as a farewell =) sweet of them!
darn.. 2 more days to flying off.. i shld feel happy.. yet there's this gripping dear inside.. maybe fear of the unknown ba.. urgh!

Supper with oac =)

2007-09-22T15:11:00.001+01:00

not in mood 2 write..

ha.. sying n my last supper with oac! 5 guy, 5 gals make up a pretty cosy group! ate at bedok 85 and played lantern at bedok reservoir! fun, nice, cosy!

my surprise present!

29th using candles! everyone better put this pic on msn!

we look gay with lanterns!

nice =)

我的热情...
the gluttons!

darn i will miss 29th!

on a sidenote.. i got a letter frm def! dated 14 aug! and i received it yesterday! wonderful! oh well, it's a reminder to inform me of my responsibility as a ns man to apply for exit permit if i were to leave the country for more than 24hrs. aint it suppose to be more than 3 months? heck, came as a timely reminder to apply my exit permit for this loooong trip.. thanks to the 3G army, my letter was late for only a mth! (clap clap) if it was back in the olden days, i guess i would have probably forgotten abt applying exit permit. efficiency rocks!

name name!

2007-09-21T04:31:00.001+01:00

christian name suggestions pls??
my college parents are calling me zheng, which i suspect they will probably pronounce it as jeng.
oh my gosh!! urgh!!!
help me brainstorm..
pls dun tell me tangent way! =S

Blues..

2007-09-21T03:27:00.000+01:00

darn.. i having this predeparture blues! dun feel like going out everyday, just wanna stay at home! =( oh yah i got my churchill parents! they will probably be the 1st ang mohs i will ever get into contact with! =) cool! now i have a churchill dad, chuchill mum and 2 cumsa dads! i guess that will make me feel less lonely=)

just being random..

farewell frenzy!

2007-09-16T15:22:00.000+01:00

organised a farewell on sat! and i happens to fall on maf too =) but who cares, am definitely more important! invited pple from 4i and oac =) too lazy to type le.. photos!

with 4i less boonie!

29th! less nini

then boonie and yanxi stayed back with me! am amazed at all the things we can talk n play with.. tt's what buddies are for! =o went home next morning n slpt abit before trying to mug! then went for dinner with my uncle's family =)

the 2 sitting down arent my grandparents!

my niece! cute!

surprise tt turned out not as expected..

2007-09-14T17:01:00.000+01:00

ha am getting more n more busy nowadays =) everydae seems 2 be filled with new tasks & things to do.. went to bugis to pray this morning before going back rv! darn i love the feeling of going back to rv, feels so homey! met teachers, lab techs n students =) was overwhelmed by my students' hospitality! but oh well.. they mean well =)
then went to give surprise bdae celebration to our ah gal de.. ended up being stunned! she told me e wrong timing for dental and her dad was on the way fetching her! nice, funny n malu-ating dinner at fish n co! ha cute neo print too!
darn.. just realised i got 10 days + a few more hrs to departure.. sianz sianz sianz. cant pick up my mood! pre-departure blues!

my dinner..

2007-09-12T14:18:00.000+01:00

ha.. i cooked dinner once more! this time it looks more presentable! hopefully i can replicate this std when i am stranded all the way in uk..

darn.. why am i homesick even before i leave? urgh.. i hate this kind of feeling. .the frenzy of trying to get everything prepared n ready, yet there's always something i missed out.. i hate this nagging feeling! i had never felt this busy n lost before! urgh!

Pauling..

2007-09-12T09:44:00.000+01:00

Ha i had just finished reading the biography of Linus Pauling. Am impressed with the life he led and live, aside for him being a fervent proponent of vitamin C =) Well, he's the only man (i think) who was ever awarded 2 single nobel prizes (meaning not shared with others); one for peace, the other for chemistry. If only i can attain half his level of intellectual and intuitive capabilities, i wanna be as pro a chemist as he's, but an organic one =) *inspired*
shall end off with 2 quotes from his biography..

"In the long run, Linus Pauling the chemist will be remembered and Linus Pauling the man largely forgotten, but it was the man who made the chemist possible. "

"In his work on crystal structure, chemical bonding, and molecular biology, his very human personality quirks came together with his almost superhuman intellectual abilities, and the result was wonderful science"

cumsa chalet =)

2007-09-09T15:28:00.000+01:00

went for cumsa chalet on sat =) i think it's gonna be my second last chalet before i leave le! was okiez lah.. anw it's a get to know each other session/ice breaker! so gotta know alot more pple, gotta know some better and basically have fun! yay i found my mahjong kah kis le! together with our mahjong set, we will the whole of camb! ha okie am lazy to write.. photos..

the few remaining survivors who stayed awake/half awake throughout the night =)

being random..

2007-09-07T16:38:00.000+01:00

darn.. time really moves fast! it's friday already! sianz! still feel like i got lotsa things left to be done, lotsa things to buy, lotsa things to read up and lotsa time needed for mental preparation.. am trying to recap what i did for the past few days..

Mon: run at west coast, go look see luggage, go beach road, eat lotsa local food!

Tue: open bank account, take passport size photo, meeting up

Wed: medical checkup, make new specs & contactss, meeting up

Thur: watch ratatouille! meeting up =)

Fri: run, buy winter wear, go library, cook!

ha seems like a boring entry=S yay cooked a complete meal today! edible but definitely not as nice lah..

Ratatouille!

2007-09-06T16:35:00.000+01:00

meeting up session 3! ha i am meeting up with lotsa people these few weeks! went to watch ratatouille! it's a super nice show!! but i think it's abit too philosophical for children 2 understand.. but it's really nice anyway! i think i wanna bring this over to camb! sth that i can watch and make me smile when i am down! meeting up was fun.. gonna be one of the last few times i watch movie before i fly, or even the last! ha as usual.. had loads to talk abt!

looks like 2 boys rite.. muahhaha

in case i miss home! made it blur on purpose!

darn the pre-departure sadness has started to sink in..

steamboat!

2007-09-05T16:11:00.000+01:00

meeting up session 2! ha steamboat at bugis followed by mango ice! nice hearty meal! good 2 meet up with ns pple! =) lazy to post.. shall just put photo!

meeting up =)

2007-09-04T16:28:00.000+01:00

while i was waiting for my fren today, who happens to be late (as usual), a guy in his late twenties approached me. He looked like those people trying to sell "stuffs" in the name of charity while earning a huge portion of commission, which he happened to be. His breathe reeks of cigarettes and he looked beng. However, I was impressed the moment he spoke. He spoke with fluent and good english, something you will not usually expect of an ah beng (not trying to stereotype). Being curious, i listened on. turns out that he's an ex-con who's trying to get on with his new phase of life. yellow ribbon project, yes. he was frank, he told me that out of the $2 i will be paying, $1 will be his commission and i like that frankness. As we chatted on, i realised he got quite decent grades for his O's. A1 for eng, math and A2 for geog and i cant rmb the rest. HEY! that's really impressive okiez! but the sad fact is that he didnt like chinese and couldnt stand the stress of studying it. and he went bezerk, got baton-ed in the process and got sent to imh. i can still see his wounds, but rest assure he looks and is normal. in the end, i bought a pen at $2. coz i respect him, respect his courage to face the world again, respect his determination to get on with life.

on yeah.. today was session 1 of meeting up. dinner, chat, catching up. was nice =)

i want..

2007-09-03T14:53:00.000+01:00

I want a knitted scarf.. but my mum refuse to do for me! coz she cant even sew! urgh! =(

darn i hate this empty feeling inside.. i wanna teach! now! not forever!

this feeling..

2007-09-02T07:48:00.000+01:00

i hate what i am feeling now, but i cant find a word to describe it. this feeling, feeling of emptiness, boredom yet on the back of my head i noe i had lotsa things to be done. maybe you call it lethargy? i dunno.

think i am too used to being busy. right after my europe trip, i havent really had time on my own. everyday seems to be filled with things to do, things to look forward to. but right at this point, the only thing i can look forward to is my impending departure to cambridge. i know i should sound excited, but it aint what i feel now. maybe i am suffering from withdrawal symptoms, withdrawal symptoms from school, from my darlings. it's like every weekend, i have to bring papers home to mark, slides to do, textbooks to read. but now, i am suddenly free! and i miss seeing kids in rv uniform, hearing 起立 & 行礼, speaking at top of my voice and teaching them chemistry! boohoo =( man's never satisfied with what they have or used to have..失去了才知道它的好, grass on the opposite pasture always appears greener =(

on a side note.. this is a very pretty n sweet present from one of my kids! so nice hor.. so must show off. haha.

and today as i was walking up the chinese high slope near the swimming pool, i saw 相思豆! occurred to me that i nvr gave 相思豆 to anyone b4 nor had i picked them! coz i nvr believed in them =) anw i still picked up 2 of them =) maybe it's not the object tt lets u think about something or someone, but the meaning behind the beans =) hmm.. shall continue picking 2 相思豆 whenever i go back hc, or if i ever had a chance =) who knows i will give them 2 someone else next time! darn.. i think i am homesick even before i leave home. gonna get depression le la..

my 相思豆

my unofficial last day in school!

2007-08-31T11:32:00.000+01:00

today's teachers' day celebration! went back to tidy some loose ends and to celebrate with my students! was super touched to receive so many gifts from them.. was kinda niaoed by some perm teachers but i dun care! i manage to build a rapport with them and kindled their interest in science! tt's my aim.. am realli realli sae to leave them and when i read the cards they wrote.. nearly teared! oh god, why must parting always be this sad.. this shall be a super wonderful moment etched forever in my memory.. it's the first time i reali feel attached to my work and environment and i cant bear to leave! teaching has set a totally different and great impression on me.. it's realli fulfilling, not onli on teachers' day! i love my students! i love rv!

presents from my darlings!

my 1J! one in yellow's my "daughter"

with 1D! fave student is on my left!

with 2k!

with 2I

fun pic of my darlings!

my fave student!

and a sweet present from her!

wanna end off with sth from my student.. was realli sweet =) "you're no longer my teacher!!!! =PPPPP u're my friend now. HOHOS. bt 还是比较习惯叫你 mr tan. xD "

teaching's not about seeing results, it's the satisfaction you get when you make a difference in their life. they have made a difference in mine, a big one.

my official last day as a teacher!

2007-08-30T16:13:00.000+01:00

hmm.. today marks my official last day as a teacher! ha official coz it's the last day i will be paid my moe as a teacher! didnt have the chance to see all my classes today! wad a waste!

day started off with 2k! lesson time was shortened by 15 mins coz of some briefing! of all days, choose briefing on my last day! went through the same ceremony with them.. giving them test papers and taking lollipop and choc at the same time. as i was in a rush to go thru the test paper, didnt have time to talk to them! wanted to motivate them to work towards EOY one.. but oh well shall leave tt to the form teacher. before i left, they gave me a very loud "thank you mr tan" and was very touched =)

then rushed off to 1D to administer test! was pretty bored but looking at my students, i realised that they were all rather cute! after test, bought pencil, lead and eraser for this boy in the class. realised that he always ask me to help borrow pencil during test.. dunno if he's lazy or forgetful.. but oh well.. give him as children day present ba! talked to some of my students in the class and i unwillingly gave them my msn! boohoo!

had a long break but i was kinda busy.. but forget wad i was doing le.. then for the last lesson of the day, 1J =) it's a test again! pretty much nothing.. boring ba.. administer test is so boring! somehow i managed to find some of my 2i students to pep talk to! hehe =) and that marks the end of all my lessons!

gave make up test for 2 of my students after sch.. and was surprised when 3 gals frm my other classes came to find me! =) to give me present =) was super sweet of them la.. *touched once more* and i really felt the unwillingness to leave when a student saes she she bu de wo zou =) urgh.. teaching's fun yeah? i am attached to all my students alr lah!

hmmm.. tml will be my last unofficial day in sch! am gonna enjoy the performance! i will miss my students! boohoo!

i am gonna miss my students.. and RV! definitely!

2007-08-28T11:47:00.000+01:00

Boohoo! I am going to miss my students and RV when i am done with teaching at the end of this week! it's so sad to leave them lah! as a mark of my farewell to them, decided to give them lollipop and chocolate! and i invested half of my day's pay into them!

But the first lesson didnt started out as planned. As much as i didnt want to, had to raise my voice to lecture at them! it's my last lesson with them and i had to scold them! urgh! that nearly ruined my day lah.. they sorta knew they were wrong and behaved themselves la.. so decided to give them the goodies and i got a cheer! =) tt's darn pai sei lah coz the teacher next door even walked over =)

Then went to my darling 1J =) plan was simple, go through assignment, give out goodies then go! my students are super cute! some of them took out their phones to take photo and video of my lesson =P was super embarassing but u can see their interest in the class lah =) ended up their them my life story (but i dont seem to live that long yet) and alot alot of stuffs. ha i got hugged by a boy! dubbed him the "我不是不听话" boy coz he's super naughty and adhd! but oh well the gals in the class were sweet too; they wrote alot of teacher's day dedication to me =)

then went to my 2i =) brightest of my classes and i thot they were the most bochup. was going to go thru test with them and the goodies served its purpose =) while they were collecting their paper from me, asked them to take a lollipop and choc too=P felt it was a decent way to motivate them n not to let them lose hope =) and was very proud of a gal in my class; she topped the chem test across the level! muahhaha student from relief teacher's class! okie okie not being ego, but just made me super happy thouhg i think it's may be the tuition teacher's effort that paid off =) was surprised that they gave me a card when i was about to leave =) and i decided not to give the goodies to my 2k first=) shall distribute them when i give out the test papers =) darn, i love my students!

am gonna miss my students when my term ends. all good things must come to an end! 3 more days to go!

on teaching

2007-08-27T14:59:00.000+01:00

today, told my students that i will be leaving end of this week and one of my students cried. totally didnt expect that to happen. and after reading one of their blogs, felt really bad to leave. i can feel their agony; about changing teachers every now and then. sch shldnt hire teacher who cant commit themselves for long, 1 yr at the very least. then there wouldn't be the problem of hiring ad hoc relief teachers. I am totally fine with the idea of having relief teacher standing in whne teachers are on course, but not having relief teacher for the class for the whole term. it aint healthy! there will not be someone to monitor their progress and the students need time getting adjusted to new teaching method. it's bad for their development.

this brings me to my next point. what's the point of having modular system for science at the early stage of sec 1? admittedly, it gives the added advantage of being focused on a specific area each module and having the more "knowledgeable" teacher to teach. however, having different teacher for each term doesnt aid in the development of the students. we arent just focused on imparting and teaching students new things. if that's the case, you must as well ask them to read off from their textbook. we are there to aid in their development, as a student and a person. in my opinion, there isnt a need for modular system as early as sec 1. it's good to split up the whole year into different areas of science, but the imparting of knowledge can still be carried out by the same teacher. even if the teacher is not specialised in that area, i am sure it aint too tough for them to teach. they just have to read up before hand. and come to think of it.. arent we all taught by the same teacher when we were in sec 1 and 2? to have the same teacher for the whole year, it helps to monitor student's progress and development. the teacher can build a better rapport with the students (if they like him or her in the first place) and slowly aid the students in their weak area. that will be better, at least for the students. they dont have to bear the agony of changing teachers every now and then.

p.s.: this entry was written on moment of impluse after reading my darling's blog. it's sad. i feel sad for them, their agony.

on a side note.. i got my diploma in accounting le! =)

C5444

2007-08-26T14:43:00.000+01:00

ha.. finished sbr today! quite satisfied with my timing lah.. ard 2h 5 mins.. but was aiming for 2h or below.. reason for not achieving my target can be atributed to my constant procrastination to train! so next year ba! must really thank jing song for running with me! good to have a company ard when running so long dist, someone to talk to =) if not it will be really super boring to just keep running running n running! route was okie but i felt that the east coast stretch was kinda too long! paid $25 not to run in east coast park loh.. on top of that, the oranisation was rather messy! took hell lots of time to collect back my bag and the goodie bag is cui! leaving all that aside, i completed the race! yay!

-to put one foot in front of the other; run

corporal punishment vs discipline

2007-08-21T14:36:00.000+01:00

was walking back to the staff room after some invigilation today. saw ncc troops training and some poor sec 1 ncc boys being punished by facing the wall, like those 面壁思过 kind of thing. they were punished as they didnt bring their no.4 and the walls were like 10cm at most away from their face. upon seeing that, i was like "what the hell!" but i didnt do anithing either.
Given it's wrong to forget to bring their uniform, i dont think the kind of punishment metted out was just. Even teachers nowadays are not allowed to ask students to do that. Though it may appear to be a light "sentence", it's the kind of psychological pressure and stress created on the guilty parties. Come on, they are just sec1, we shldn't subject them to this kind of mental trauma! what's more the "law enforcers" are only 2-3 years older than them! are they mature enough to give out this kind of punishment? can they put aside personal feelings and perform their duties as professionally as possible? as much as school tries to give students opportunities to hone their leadership skills (if any), i feel that they should be a series of guidelines to what kind and form of punishment that should be given for any offences. we are training leaders, not disciplinarians. so they can jolly well hone their leadership skills by being involved in planning, execution of events and leading of their own platoons.
what's more sec 3 n 4s are way too young to decide what kind of punishment to give! if a teacher were to punish these so called seniors in class using the same form of punishment, and the sec1s or 2s happen to withness this, what will they think about it? aint it very contradicting? and the seniors will feel humiliated. this will be a circuituous argument. but i seriously hope teachers bothered to care abt cca rather than to see it as a form of extra responsibilities. am still very disturbed by what i saw.

How old do you want to live till?

2007-08-19T15:01:00.000+01:00

I asked my parents this question while watching the national day rally.
Dad said 82. Coz that's when his cpf retirement fund runs out.
Mum said as long as she can still walk. It's a painful not to be able to walk.
Ha how long do i want to live? As long as i can enjoy life? i haven thought abt it yet =)

Procrastinator

2007-08-18T09:19:00.001+01:00

Man! i am a procrastinator! I feel like a pack of lazy bones! I wanted to start my revision 2 weeks ago and here I am now with nothing in progress! Teaching's really tiring; it sucks the energy out of me when I am done with my day's work. =( And i slpt thru my weekends!!! I gotta start i gotta start! I gotta get myself ready for uni, ready for life overseas and my parents ready for life without me! Give me motivation, pls!

*whiney*

On scholar-ships..

2007-08-15T15:11:00.000+01:00

(Disclaimer: the author is in a cranky mood. what's written in the following paragraphs may not be pleasing, esp. to those under "S". you are advised to skip this entry. read at your own risk.)

hmm... been asked quite alot of times abt y y y i chose not to take up.. kinda sian to keep repeating my answers and sometimes when i aint in the right frame of mind, i will start to blabber nonsense.. but try not to take my comments too seriously coz i aint really in the perfect mood to write abt this topic, just have to get it out of my mind so i can start on other stuffs..

Yes, the big word starting with the letter "S". To most, it's something prestigious and glamourous, something worth fighting for; or so we were trained to think. It is this illusive notion of having "free" education, secured job in the future and being placed on the fast-track to success that has made people yearn for it, badly. Pardon me for being cynical, will this always be the case or just merely a rosy picture we have painted to assuage our fear? Often, some may be badly caught up in the chase for this illusive "pie" that they lost track of their directions. Is getting this "pie" so important that one can cast aside their person dreams and line themselves along their sponsor's direction?

I am not trying to make a sweeping statement or some erroneous generalisation. Some of the people i met really have no idea what they are in for after their studies. It's kinda parochial to think of "S" as some immediate form of money to see you through the education of your choice. If you were to look beyond, it's the job/bond it entails that will ultimately change or influence the kind of life you lead. I am trying to be sarcastic, but dont you find it rather "insulting" to let your sponsor decide where they want to assign you? It's foolish to try to convince oneself that you will have interest in the job. At the point when one's trying to decide whether to take up, there are way too many factors at influence to make an unbias choice. Are you sure that you will definitely like the job? or are you just plain trying to convince yourself that you will slowly like the job? Let's all face it, you have to really experience doing that particular job before you can decide whether you like it or not. Then here comes another problem, arent all "S" suppose to be adaptable, all rounded and ...?

Adaptability vs interest. No doubt one may adapt easily to any changing environment, there will ultimately come a point when one's too tired to change to suit the environment anymore. adaptability may be a good short term trait but it's interest that will ultimately drive one towards the path he/she wants and excel. Face it, if you dont have the interest, every waking moment of serving your bond will be tormenting. And slowly, you will start to entertain the thought of breaking (branded the ultimate immoral act of all) b--D. And if you were to let your "inner evil" enroach you, that's wad i call unethical.

People think that it's cool to go on fms. but the truth is, it's hard to tie over financially. With an "S", almost everything's paid for, planned for. but with fms, i am my own travel agent, insurance agent, bank agent, finance controller and the list goes on.. and my family aint that financially apt in paying my fees. despite all the trouble, i value freedom; the joy of choosing what i want to be in the future. that's y i chose to be daddy's mummy's "S"!

Freedom is what i chose. Free.

Life..

2007-08-13T11:11:00.000+01:00

was having lunch today with Mr choy and ah gal, and it became a very meaningful life lesson=) there's really alot more abt relationships, breakups, how both gender behaves differently, game theory, "fishing" so on and so forth that you can learn by sharing=) hmm.. different priorities in life at different stages, guess that's really true yeh? ha i love teaching.. the best way to learn is to teach! am a star-fish saver.. for now =)

aim high, dream far.. .emo shot yeh?

I can fly!

2007-08-12T09:33:00.000+01:00

Man i really enjoy being home! i miss the feeling of being home, especially on a weekend where everyone's in! shall stay home as often as i can, 6 weeks left only!!! ha i really like this pic of me!! super nice!! feel like i am flying, not on a descent, but ascending! freedom n dare to dream! 往前飞!

Sat.. went for the british council uk bound students predeparture event.. wasnt really a smashing event, fell below my expectations. but got the chance to meet up with lotsa frens from bmt, sch and wad not.. those whom i had really lost touch! got to talk to seniors at camb, and also fellow pple going there the same year =) feels warmly, hopefully will be fun there!

Sun.. after a swim, i suddenly had a craving for twistees after walking past the shop at my void deck! bought a big packet!! been really long since i last ate a pack of twistees! curry favour, my favourite! thinking back.. it was this devilish junk food tt made me fat when i was in pri sch! had to have a pack a day!!! oh well.. i dun care! shall eat whatever i want now! am realli gonna miss singaporean food (and junk food!) !!!

My favourite junk!

Pawnees Kayaking!

2007-08-10T16:45:00.000+01:00

Today, being a holiday for me(perks for being a moulder of future gen!), woke up super early this morning to make visa! lucky i was no.2 in the queue and didnt have to wait! muahhaha.. then headed down to pasir ris sea sports club for kayaking with oac!

turns out that there's only 4 of us! zm, cons, pg n me! small group, but its the company that matters! chop chop settled our booking, payment and wad not and we hurried off for corney(sp) island! journey that was tumultuous; sea was choky, erratic wave n current constantly drove us off course, and we haven kayaked for AGES! after some superhuman effort and determination, we reached our destination n that's where all our fun began! (wanted to proceed to punggol beach but we gave in to the super nice sandy beach, sunny weather, good food, wonderful company!) zm was nice to make toast for all.. so full of 爱心! n we bought oranges from ntuc! being gentlemenly, helped them peeled all the oranges! while we were lazing around, decided to take corny pictures! tried taking mid air shots with all kinds of position, crazy shots and dunking geokz into the water!!! was super fun and full of crap! but pictures were cool okiez! pple who didnt join us, u will be darn jealous!

we were left exhausted after all our fun! n we decided to head back to our starting point! sea was rough n we were again the current with strong offshore wind! but being high and cranky from all the fun we had, our spirits were not to be beaten. we sang national day songs, oac songs, ohana songs and everything to do with oac! really brings us back to times when we were trainees, then instructors! how i miss those times! wanted to cap geokz n cons when we were close to beaching up but failed! oh well, we still rewarded ourselves with a bunch of fun, nice pictures and dunking cons into the sea! ha.. enjoy! i miss oac!

i like the way my life is now. i want to enjoy every moment of it, before i fly. leave no regrets behind, no strings attached. my life.

the kind of feeling has start to creep in..

2007-08-08T12:25:00.000+01:00

Urgh! the feelings of nostalgia, not wanting to leave home, hoping to bring everything with me, have started to slowly creep in.. went back to school today though there was no pay.. looking at the students in their house tee, cheering on their frens, housemates during the sports meet really brings back lotsa beautiful memories.. it felt as though i was back to my secondary school times, when life was simple, everything was wonderful.. how i miss sec sch years.. but luckily i was able to go back to teach! realise that my students are getting funnier, cuter and crappier day by day. naughty yet adorable =) i will miss them!! it's definitely a challenging yet daunting task to teach.. but seeing their adorable faces beaming with youthful and a tinge of naughtiness makes me want to educate them even more=)

on my way back, was listening to national day songs=) never once have i been so patriotic. guess it's one good thing teaching has moulded me =P i will miss singing nice, beautiful national day songs, watching ndp parades, fireworks and etc.. hmm.. i will miss everything!

okie here are some photos i found..

Vandalism.. haha

Almost the whole class came back for speech day..

t.e.a.c.h

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000+01:00

since i got 2 more mths to spare, decided to take up teaching at my alma mater, rv =) have started teaching for 2 weeks already and was assigned 4 classes, chem n bio=) timetable was bad, workload was almost equivalent to that of full time teacher, but it is a good learning experience.. now i understand how exasperated my teachers felt when i was still a student. teaching at my alma mater also brings back alot of memories; the same white, distinctive uniform, attending morning assembling, singing school song and national anthem, hearing "起立" and "行礼", teachers who are now my colleagues, the same old tuckshop aunties who remembers me and many many more.. man i feel nostalgic! hmm.. shall do my best to 化愚化顽!

now that i am done with backpacking..

2007-07-20T09:52:00.000+01:00

ha.. now that i am all well and back in Sing.. it really feels super good to be home! backpacking is shag loh! really shag! but there are perks being a backpacker lah.. dun have to follow schedule of the tour agency, can walk to many places, experience the culture of the country, interact with people from different countries =) i had spent ard 4.2k for my entire 17days experience, including air fare.. it's an okie bargain ba.. i think i had walked ard 40km thru-out this entire trip.. quite scary to think of it.. and i lost 1kg despite eating mac quite a no. of times!

my top 3 places are:
1. SWITZERLAND! (honeymoon can go there!!!)
2. Prague (pretty eastern europe country)
3. Vienna

visit europe wor! u guys will nvr regret!

Day 16 & 17 - Gothenburg

2007-07-20T09:32:00.000+01:00

We slpt at Stansted airport, London on day 15 nite. was an interesting experience coz it's the first time i spent a nite at airport waiting for my next flight. being a budget airport, there were lotsa pple slping on the floor.. so it's not that easy finding a spot=) and i guess the staff there are really used to pple slping anywhere.. a souvenir i bought was "confisicated" when i was abt to board plane. was given the choice to check it in for 7 pounds or let them keep.. decided for the former as it's not worth the price=) reach gothenburg and slpt for quite a few hrs.. coz we were quite shag by then.. it's a nice, quiet city.. the air is fresh, there's no tall buildings and the pple are frenly =) good place for retirement=) but there isnt much to see there la...

me just waking up at stansted..

Opera house!

Shuang hor?

Going home!

waiting at airport!

Day 14 & 15 - London

2007-07-20T06:52:00.000+01:00

The next 2 days were spent in London sight seeing.. went for the Sandeman free tour again! really walked quite alot this time round, and of coz saw lotsa beautiful monuments.. St Paul's cathedral, london bridge, tower bridge, shakespear's globe theatre, big ben, trafalgar square, buckingham palace, st jame's park, downing street, church of knight's templar and so on.. england's pretty much a tourist frenly place.. at least it's the only country where their native language is english! and not to worry, there are lotsa asians in london.. so u wun feel like a freak walking around in london.. however, the only thing bad about it is that things are really expensive, and being valued in pounds burns an even bigger hole down the wallet.. hehe

The Monument - to commemorate the big fire that burnt down old london

london bridge.. yeah it's this cui

St Paul's Cathedral =)

church of knight's templar .. if u have read da vinci's code

traflagar square =)

imperial house.. not really tt "wow"

big ben! it's not the tower but the bell inside tt's called big ben!

change of guards at buckingham palace.. cool hor?

feeling of home! opened by my uncle's fren.. it's located at holland park =)

Day 13 - London

2007-07-19T15:49:00.000+01:00

Day 12 was basicallly spent on shopping in Prague and taking plane to London.. so there's pretty much nothing to talk about =) Woke up, went to leicester square to buy tickets for musical.. we were lucky that it's saturday as matinees were only available on saturdays=) watched avenue Q =) quite an interesting musical with puppets and actors.. sth like sesame street but it's written in a satirical tone on some current social issues =) We were so lucky that it's Tour de France prologue! watched abit but there's nothing much to see anw.. went to buckingham palace to take photos before heading back to hostel =)

can you see the cyclist at the back?

Avenue Q..

London eye and union jack..

Day 11 - Prague

2007-07-19T15:07:00.000+01:00

today.. we decided to make a trip to the prague castle! weather was super erratic, sunshine a moment ago and heavy rain the next.. castle was pretty nice, but not the most decorated castle in europe =) went to charle's bridge to take photo=) there's a total of 30 statues on charle's bridge, shows how much devotion to faith people give.. after that, walked to fred and george dancing housing; it's one of the must see building of europe =)

not a real human.. haha

quite a spectacular church..

one of the statues which everybody's trying to touch.. maybe it brings good luck? ha

dancing towers

Day 10 - Prague

2007-07-19T14:42:00.001+01:00

Day started with us taking bus to Prague =) was a 4 hr journey and the ride wasnt tt comfy.. i hate taking long bus rides =) was feeling rather shag when we arrived at our hostel.. so just walked around the area and enjoy the scenery.. went to see charle's bridge, prague square, prague clock tower and basically tt's it! hehe.. short sight seeing day =) went back, still hungry from dinner.. played mahjong n cooked tom yum magee mee! so singaporean! anw.. prague's a pretty nice place too! beautiful! food's cheapest among the cities i went.. but still more ex than sing..

Charle's bridge and castle..

Entrance to Charle's bridge

famous clock tower..

prague square! the jolin song!

Day 9 - Vienna

2007-07-19T14:03:00.000+01:00

today was also spent in Vienna =) must always spend more time in beautiful places =) decided that we will travel on public transport today! went to the imperial palace.. was very beautiful but short of what i thought a palace will look like.. need to pay for almost everything so we ended up going those public places in the palace.. oh well.. it looks beautiful anyway! then we went on the hunt for Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss and Brahms graveyard. They were all gathered together at the same place and it turns out that the specific portion of the cemetry was dedicated to famous people of the country =) first ever visit to a cemetry.. so it gives me the creeps no matter what.. heeez =) then went to the world's oldest amusement park.. but din play.. went back and cooked dinner, save money mah..

the 5 of us at the entrance to palace..

nice hor?

now i know what it feels like to be king..

i like the reflections..

beautiful lavender!

can you see the rainbow?

Beethoven's grave..

oldest ferris wheel in the world =)

our dinner.. curry rice =P

Day 8 - Vienna

2007-07-19T13:13:00.000+01:00

Day 8 begun with us arriving at Vienna from overnight train.. the train was darn expensive, 100 euros, and it's not even a sleeper but a 6 man couchette.. was super squeezer and it's like a triple decker of each side of the room with barely enough walking space in the middle. was assigned the top most deck, and i can hit my head when i sit up =( after dumping our backpacks, decided to walk around the area. vienna is actually a beautiful city=) with quite a no. of beautiful architecture and memorials of the famous big 5 musicians.. Brahms, Strauss, Beethoven, Schubert n Mozart =) went to visit one of their old government admin area and watched a pretty solid concert in the evening =)

Natural History Museum..

Artistic shot?

Cute hor?? (i mean the elephant)

hehe.. shhhhh!

Yummy yummy??

one of the most solid cathedral =)

oldest church in austria, one of the oldest in europe.. majestic yeh?

this is how we dress for the concert.. look at the guys at the back.. that's the norm.. they must be thinking asians are paupers or ill mannered.. haha

national library.. nice hor? am raising my hands coz it's really cold at nite..

Day 7 - Lucerne (Mount Titlis)

2007-07-18T17:02:00.000+01:00

Seeing that Mount Pilatus is so beautiful, we decided not to miss out on Mount Titlis =) packed our bags, checked out of hostel and dump them into the luggage deposit before heading to the mountain =) Though it's not the ski-ing season, the snow-capped mountain is spectacular.. but it's super cold and i didnt bring enough warm clothings! =)

this is not postcard pict..

beautiful aint it?

artistic shot?

wah..

playing with snow toys =)

Day 6 - Lucerne (Mount Pilatus)

2007-07-18T15:45:00.000+01:00

If u are looking for a good honeymoon spot, switzerland's the place to go! it's really really nice! beautiful scenery, friendly people and safe environment! =) totally loved switzerland.. wish i had more time to travel around all the cities! =) day 6 turns out to be pretty fun and happening, with almost a full day spent at mount pilatus; it's not a snow-capped mountain so dun expect any snow! took a what claimed to be a steam engine from the main jetty to mount titlis, then changed into the world's highest/steepest(i think) corkwheel railway to reach the peak. view was really picturesque! then took gondola down to mid mountain and played tobogan(spelling) =) had bbq later at the hostel and played ping pong! =)

looks like harry potter castle?

my first happy meal since pri sch???

love this house by the river.. beautiful!

beautiful aint it? feel so alive =)

who says i cant jump??

lucerne bridge at sunset.. nice nice!

their way of life.. romantic hor?

yummy bbq! =)

Day 5 - Basel & Zurich

2007-07-18T07:16:00.000+01:00

Day 5 started pretty early for us.. hafta catch an early plane at 7am from Berlin to Basel. Woke up late and rushed all the way from our hostel to the airport.. luckily we checked in 45mins before take off=) Basel gives me a different feeling compared to other swiss cities.. it's bordered by France and Germany.. maybe that explains why=) it's pretty much a small city, lotsa up slopes and down slopes, with beautiful ancient architecture.. the pace of life is pretty slow and relaxing.. ideal place for retirement?? haha

Day 4 - Berlin

2007-07-15T11:19:00.000+01:00

Took plane from Copahagen to Berlin Schonefeld airport. EasyJet.. probably the best budget airline of my trip so far =) spacious leg space, with good pilot; taking off and landing was superb!! checked into our hostel, Meininger City Hostel; cheap and good! 10 Euros per nite! Went for free day tour of Berlin! should check out sandeman's new europe free tour if u are touring europe! it provides free tour in some major european cities and you realli get to see lotsa things around the city=) here goes the photos...

Brandenburg Gate.. beautiful and majestic =)

Holocaust memorial..

portion of Berlin wall =)

churches.. one's a protestant church, the other a catholic church.. both faces each other due to political and societal pressure or some sort.. both look rather similar though =)

Neue Wache - For 100 years the palace guards were based here, but now it is the German Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyranny

Museum island.. a very beautifully designed building.. by some famous sculptor.. hehe

Day 3 - Copahagen

2007-07-14T09:43:00.000+01:00

Well.. day 1 and 2 had been spent mostly on the plane and slping, there's realli nothing much to say about them =) so took a train from Gothenburg to Copahagen.. didnt stay there for the night but toured around for a couple of hours. the weather wasnt on our side; there was easterly wind blowing with heavy rain pouring. Copahagen would have been a nice place (except being one of the most expensive places i had been to), but didnt really get to see much of what's beautiful.. AND i didnt get to see the mermaid on rock.. Boohoo!! bad weather!

this is kebab, the most common food across europe, and it happens to be the cheapest (in european sense).. doesn't really taste that fantastic and cost ard sgd 8-9.

beautiful port with shophouses

and a cute viking to end off my copahagen trip=)

Weiz's guide to backpacking

2007-07-14T09:27:00.000+01:00

hey there! i am back! back from backpacking!! actually i came back 2 days ago but was too lazy and tired to blog.. you know, jet lag and stuffs.. so, being in the mood today, i shall try to blog about my adventure in the best of my memory =) it will be more of a photo journey rather than narrative one.. since i am lazy to type =)

to start off with backpacking, you need to have two items:

1) a good and sturdy backpack

2) a pair of comfy sneakers to guide you thru your journey

and off we go..

greeting from vienna!

2007-07-02T23:26:00.000+01:00

hey guys!! good day! am currently in vienna, and it's beautiful! arrived here a day before on train from switzerland! and i must say switzerland's currently the best european country i have been to so far! it's really pretty and the air is good! went to 2 mountains, pilatus and titlis! the view's really breath-taking and picturesque! all shots are like postcard! muahha.. shall update more when am back..
oh btw.. i am getting sick of eating mac almost everyday.. coz it seems like the cheapest meal you can get in europe.. happy meal to be exact! =S

Greetings from berlin!!

2007-06-28T20:44:00.000+01:00

Heya!! in case you guys are wondering where i am... i am in europe for holiday!! =) from 25th june-12 Jul!!! though it's summer here, the temp is only around 15 degrees.. darn cold!!! took the plane alone to gothenburg, sweden, with a transit at amsterdam.. it's darn lonely taking a plane alone.. so to those who wanna try going overseas alone, think twice!! for the past few days, went from gothenburg to copahagen and then to berlin! am setting off for basel when day breaks!!! hear from me soon... lalalla

muahahhaha

2007-06-21T15:36:00.001+01:00

i have been offered a 1500/mth job for 4 years!!! lalalla