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I've been up and about almost non-stop since the end of my exams. After the last paper we had a good lunch at Kensington Creperie.. I miss that place I really adore the food there! :D Then it was shopping and packing and moving over the next 2 days, got only 4 hours of sleep each day. :S I never knew moving could be SUCH an exhausting chore, i clearly underestimated it. And i had to lug my 28 kg luggage with a 12 kg backpack and boxes of Ben's cookies and Whole Food's scones home. Omgosh my arm was aching.

I left my hall, left my room mate, my hall mates, and my first year of university. Southside, you've been really good to me! I was blessed with an awesome room and good floor mates whom I hope I can keep in touch with the coming year. :)

The flight home was quite epic. Throughout the journey we found it so hard to believe that we're finally on the way to Singapore. Emirates is a good airline, and Dubai airport is really pretty! :) Too bad i couldnt get to see the rest of Dubai.

I'm back home! Back to my own house, the lovely garden in my condominium, my BOLSTER (but the hall bed is still softer!), home-cooked food, and the feeling of slacking at home with nothing to do! But I've loads coming up over the next few weeks: Asian Youth Games concert, Student Network Forum, HC UK Alumni, UK Bound, Sojourn... and of course meeting up with friends and Bintan!! :D

juin 30, 2009

I probably screwed up yet another paper. I can't believe at this stage i'm still writing an out-of-point essay. That's the worst thing anyone can do!! I think i did study pretty hard for this EB paper. In fact, for this entire exam. Ok i know i lost focus quite a bit along the way, but to be honest, I don't really know how much more i could have done.

juin 22, 2009

I need to hang in there i need to hang in there i need to hang in there. I never knew Cell Bio was such a killer to study. I can't believe i've sat here for 10 hours yet i still feel unprepared! It's really torturous o.O Getting over and done with the Biochem and Cell bio papers this week will be the greatest relief! Oh and i've to mention this - the very night before my very first paper, the fire alarm very kindly decided to ring in the middle of the night, as if my insomnia wasn't bad enough!! The moment the alarm went off i'm certain i heard the whole building swear.

juin 18, 2009

Sigh this is killing me. I'm feeling almost disgustingly stressed.. what's the use of reading something a thousand times over but still not being able to remember it.

juin 14, 2009

Pretty much the same routine..save for the last baking experiment i had over the weekend - cinnamon biscuits! This recipe tasted a bit like scone or cake, and weizhao was better off calling it scookie instead. haha :D i'm still in the love with the smell of cinnamon!



In addition, i finally went to hunt down a pretzel here, at a german bakery 25 minute walk away! Ohh how i miss it, i'm glad that the bakery's gonna be pretty near my house next year!



I don't really have a habit of counting down, but as of today i've 6 more days to my exams and 15 more days to home!!! :D

We often take our worst moods so much more seriously than our best ones, crediting depression with more clarity than euphoria. When you break through the cloud cover you realize that above the passing squalls and doldrums there is a realm of eternal sunlight, so keen and brilliant you have to squint against it, a vision to hold onto and take back with you when you descend once more beneath the clouds, under the oppressive, petty jurisdiction of the local weather."

juin 11, 2009

I tried out the library these 2 days and it works better for me with no distractions from the computer. It's probably gonna be the routine now for the next 3 weeks :( How very cut off from the outside world indeed. Bleagh i'm still hoping i can inject some life into this routine.. wow this has got to be the longest i've studied apart from A levels. And because I can't help but try and scavenge every single free time for studying, i can't chat for long with friends or people i want to catch up with. I feel so antisocial! Doesn't help that i barely have any time to do that after my exams here.

The good thing is, the weather is great now! I'm pretty sure it's as warm as Singapore if not warmer. Even though it turns the library really stuffy in the afternoons, at least i get to sit on Queen's lawn for lunch, or on the benches by Queen's tower for a quick read and some fresh air. :)

juin 2, 2009

Do you know what day today is? It's officially 1 more month to Singapore!! Oh my it's so near so near now :) I can't believe it as much as I can't believe I'm completing my first year in uni. Which means i have less than 3 more weeks to my exams too. Ahh! I seriously am feeling the stress because i can't seem to remember anything.

mai 27, 2009

Last week's Hokkien Mee took me a pretty long time to make, hours on end! plus i barely got to eat it myself because it was gone from the party in 15 min, but it was a really great attempt. :D At least i learnt to make my favourite singaporean dish!



This weekend's venture is a baked chocolate chip cheesecake! Nothing fancy, but not bad at all :) Woo. Tomorrow will be herbal chicken for a small get-together dinner with my hallmates! :) Finally using up some of the spices in my store...



To dearest ong ying - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

mai 23, 2009

A short excerpt from the transcript of David Foster Wallace's 2005 Commencement Speech at Kenyon College, which took me at least 15 minutes to read but which i found pretty inspiring...

In the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.

Worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. It's not that these forms of worship are evil or sinful, it's that they're unconscious. They are default settings. They're the kind you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that's what you're doing.

The so-called real world will not discourage you from operating on your default settings, because the so-called real world of men and money and power hums merrily along in a pool of fear and anger and frustration and craving and worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious and really important involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.

mai 20, 2009

Had a terribly long and tiring day today...my lab took more than 3 hours! My gosh i was really working NON-STOP throughout. I'm really tired now... but had a run at cold cold hyde park and a good chat and a weekend to look forward to. :) Life's still very much about studying and gym now (i haven't taken any public transport since term started o.O) but i'm somewhat thankful to have little things every week to keep me going!

I was so sick from staying home one day i took a walk by the park and sat there to read my notes. The wind was a bit chilly, not the perfect weather but it was a good break with some fresh air and nutty oat biscuits.





Watched a concert called Filmharmonic performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra last friday too. It was my first time in Royal Albert Hall which is really huge and so pretty on the inside :) A fantastic way to unwind after a brain-draining week. The music was simply enjoyable and very relaxing.



My free weekends now have turned into baking adventures! Made a cinnamon streusel coffeecake which was oh-so-gooood. :D Some said it was better than the marble cake! My only qualm was the streusel topping which was too powdery instead of crunchy but the cake was delicious! For a while the smell of cinnamon filled up the whole corridor and kitchen and my room on a fresh Saturday morning. :) Yum.



And just to show you what i've been eating on my very low-carb diet now... it's lots of corn and tuna and MUSHY PEAS and sunflower seeds!! Don't say i'm crazy because i'm not torturing myself and i love what i'm eating. hee :D



Hmm there's Seniors' Farewell Party tomorrow and i'm going to make the coffeecake again plus cook Hokkien Mee! My first time ever, both apprehensive and excited. Haha wish me good luck! I shall not disappoint my teacher!

mai 15, 2009

"Your own mind is a sacred enclosure which nothing harmful can enter except by your promotion."

mai 8, 2009

"He places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight." :)

mai 4, 2009

Awesome! The marble cake was a success! Good stuff good stuff :D it made my day :) I shall make it again next time, and maybe explore different flavours! With less than 2 months to exams, everyday's about mugging, eating, gym, sleep. Sometimes i want the end to come as soon as possible, sometimes i don't want it to be so near.. In any case, now's the time to have no life after having so much fun.

mai 2, 2009

Brought my parents to Nobu, a 1-star michelin restaurant serving modern japanese cuisine. Wow what culinary indulgence! I especially liked the fish and dessert. Grilled pigeon tasted a bit weird though...


This is the prettiest park i've been to in London so far! Not that i've been to many...but this spring season brought out immense beauty in the trees and flowers. :) It has many many fountains and beautiful flower arrangements. Highly recommended!! I'd love to go again.


My parents and i spent a few days in Scotland..stayed in Edinburgh and visited the highlands too. This is the Loch Ness which is where the legendary Loch Ness monster resides. Haha.


I think this is my first ever live concert! But it was in a large indoor theatre and i had seating tickets. You have to listen to Jason Mraz live if you really want to listen to him!


Now on to my holiday in Switzerland... Lake Thun is like love at first sight. It's the most beautiful lake i've ever seen. The water is pristinely clean and it just felt so serene and therapeutic :)


Paragliding in tandem - must be the wildest thing i've ever done in my life! But it wasn't scary at all thanks to the lovely landscape of Interlaken with the sun and sky and lake and mountains and houses. An amazing 30 minutes in the sky!


Up at one of the highest and most beautiful mountains along the Alps - Jungfraujoch. It was freezing cold up there and the view at the top was bad..but the view along the way to the top was amazing :D Coming down was such an experience too. We were fighting against gravity for like an hour it was quite funny haha...


What more can i say, with so much lovely food around in Germany, and very CHEAP too! I'd sum up german must-haves into: wursts (sausages), pork knuckles, pretzels and beer! YES pretzels, i'm in love with them now!


We're pretty experienced with hostels now, after staying through at least 6 hostels during our trip. From ensuite 4-bed rooms to large 10-bed dorms, most were clean and comfortable. Very value for money!


Was a really warm and nostalgic day i had at Singapore Day. Saw loads of friends and also my ex-colleagues over at YOG :D Well the food didn't exactly give me the same feeling at home but what more can i ask for :) Absolutely loved and missed Old Chang Kee!! Good to see familiar faces like Taufik too, brought back lots of memories. As with many Singapore events, i was quite impressed by the whole organisation of it all! Thanks SG Day it was a fantastic Saturday out!

avril 27, 2009

Wow talk about being missing in action. Since easter break started i've been kept on my toes non-stop. My parents came over during the first week and i brought them through lovely places in london! some days were fulfilling but a few were not very well-planned... still, i'm starting to make a good london tour guide :D we went to Edinburgh/Scotland for a few days too! After that was Jason Mraz's concert which was awesome. His voice was flawless; if not mesmerizing. :D If only the concert lasted a bit longer...

Then came the amazing 12-day adventure in switzerland and germany with jasmine kailong and derek. 12 days suddenly sounds like an incredibly long time! I'm only left with 1 week before school starts! But i must say this trip was one of the coolest yet, for we had some very very interesting experiences. Haha. The company of course was the reason i enjoyed myself so much :) i love how this trip helped to bond us together so much, which is very important for the future. :) Will be posting up more experiences and photos soon!!

avril 18, 2009

Haven't been feeling good myself physically, for the past few consecutive days that i've been turning in at insane hours. i hate this terrible habit of mine, i really do :( i hate feeling so tired all the time. Besides that, everything else has been pretty fine. Been walking around a fair bit and i hope that could offset the amount of food i'm eating :P Pretty good food, i have to say. Will upload some pictures soon!

ANDDD...these 2 days i found out amazing news about 3 of my good friends. And i'm so so happy for them :D I knew your happiness would come your way and i give you all my blessings :) Ah made my day!!

Besides being thankful to have my parents around, i'm thankful to have kangwen cook hokkien mee for me today, and my lovely housemates-to-be for the wonderful company and chats. i think our trip is gonna be awesome :) And i'm leaving for Edinburgh for 3 days tomorrow morning!

mars 30, 2009

What an amazing mass conversation we had today. First time in a pretty long time..and connecting the 5 of us across 4 different countries in london, switzerland, adelaide and singapore :) Plus it was unplanned! Aww i miss you girls. I'm so outdated with your lives now. Oh gosh my brother is having his Social Night tonight. I didn't know time was moving that fast. 3 more months and i'll be back in Singapore, can hardly imagine. And my parents are coming this weekend. THIS WEEKEND. Whee :) :) :) Nothing like family yea!

mars 25, 2009

So much has happened over the past few days, and weeks! Our weeks and weeks of rehearsals finally culminated into a very successful musical on Saturday. And awesome it really was. Can't believe 2 months of effort went by in what felt like just a few seconds. Seriously i could never imagine, the time on stage went by SO quickly i didn't feel anything at all. The show felt so short. But the feedback we got was amazing. Everyone loved the dances! And aside from the fire dance, i absolutely adored the music team and their wonderful music. :D After major event all of us were perpetually stuck on facebook, looking through all the photos and videos all day long. Some kind of post-production syndrome which i can't remember when i last felt... dramafeste? And i almost fell ill too. But I really am very happy that i got to know some dancers a lot better than before :) And i truly enjoyed the whole preparation process.





Today was an exciting day too! Besides FINALLY completing my essay (which is on reviewing and assessing the claim that homosexuality has a genetic basis and explaining how such genes can accumulate), there was Sing Soc AGM which was oh so fun to see the people running :) Really happy that some great friends got in but i'm surprised to realise that all 3 of my future housemates are in the EXCO!! Omg. I'm going to become the servant girl already :( haha. On top of that i just returned from the We Will Rock You musical. Woah it felt like a concert! You'll love it if you're a big Queen or rock fan :D I didn't think the plot was much but i enjoyed the music and the dancing parts. :) Bohemian Rhapsody indeed. That was evily placed at the end but it was the best of all!

Spring term's about to end. Was hoping to get some rest but seems unlikely cause i need to catch up on work plusss meet up with friends and do a lot of things before easter break comes! Woah.

mars 18, 2009

Spring is finally here! Even though it's still a tad cold and windy, it's getting warmer each day, the sun's out and the flowers are blooming! :) Over the past few days we celebrated Yukyee and Xun's birthday. I ate some lovely food at Whole Foods Market (chicken tikka naan, sundae, waffle with caramelised banana) and we made baileys cheesecake for xun. YUMMY :D Plus i went out with the girls Jasmine Phoebe and Vanessa to oriental canteen and a frozen yoghurt shop. Green tea yoghurt with granola topping. Goodness me. Omg i live for food even though i keep trying to diet!!

Ah Yum the musical is coming! I'm neither very excited nor very nervous yet but i really believe this is gonna be an awesome production. The music, acting and dancing are all so.. captivating. :) Even the publicity material is. love it! if only ALL of you can watch it :)

mars 11, 2009

All of a sudden i feel that sleep is a luxury. I can't wait to jump into bed right now. And wake up in the morning for a hot cup of milo and breakfast which is usually milk and cereal. :) Except that there's absolutely nothing in my store now! :( Been having rehearsals practically everyday for about 4-5 hours each time. Yawnss. But our musical is coming up this Saturday! I'm pretty excited, and craving for some chicken rice :D I just pray and hope we wouldn't have any wardrobe malfunction like today! And I'm still in love with the dance to Dancing by Elisa. It touches me everytime i watch it. :)

This week..more afternoon classes, more rehearsals, more gym, more disciplined diet. It's gonna get tiring but i know with perserverence it'll pay off..

mars 8, 2009

What a week of adventure it was, as i trudged through places i wouldn't have gone to on an ordinary and mundane day. Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Hamleys, Edgware Road, Westminster, the riverside, Harrods, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Chinatown, Covent Garden, Russell Square, Borough Market, Tower of London, even places that are just 10 min walk away from my hall - South Kensington and Gloucester. Some of these places i've been umpteen times, some i've been to just once when my mum was here, and some were still waiting to be explored then. Now these places would be littered with memories, as you taught me to look at them from a new perspective, and through the eyes of someone who gazes in awe at London, not someone who's stayed here for 6 months and too cluttered up with business and the fast pace to look and wonder.

I also ate in this 1 week better food than any i've eaten the past 2 months! Took this opportunity to try some highly recommended shops which i still hadn't had the chance to visit too heh :D Belgian waffle, steak, fish and chips, the kensington creperie (OMGly mouth-watering delicious!), ben's cookies, dim sum, milk tea, egg tarts and lao po bing and crispy rice cake lovely chinese snacks from chinatown, creamy penne, mee goreng, even the nice warm wrap from my library cafe. And that's not the end. There was brunch at the patisserie just down the road which has the most heavenly belgian chocolate praline spread which goes so well with brioche :D Borough market was the best wrap up for the week with venison burger, roast beef baguette, grilled scallops and fresh oyster, chocolate brownie, mixed nuts, baileys and chocolate cheesecake and RACLETTE. Gosh we just had to get that. :D Not to mention there's some love from mum with my favourite thick muruku, maple pecan cereal and lemon puff biscuits and more mixed nuts. :) Which means to say i didn't get to display much of my culinary skills this week (haha), but at least there was tiramisu, home-made british breakfast, risotto and beef and sausage lasagne. Ooo.

WHAT an indulgent week indeed. A great milestone to our half a year. :)

mars 1, 2009

Someone stole a box of tiramisu i made. And the box was meant to be for my hallmates and friends. :( ARGH. That idiot, whoever you are. At least return me the tupperware! Some people are just ridiculous.. :(

fevrier 25, 2009

After an exhausting 4 hours of dance practice and gym afterwards, the only comfort to my body was a plate of lady's fingers which i cooked for dinner! Oh how much i miss it :D It's called Okra here by the way. Doesn't taste exactly like mum's cooking but that reminds me i can't exactly remember what food at home tastes like any more :( Food cooked by my mum and dad is the first thing i want to eat when i get back to singapore :) I appreciated the long after-dinner chat with Aby though. About his astronomy hobby, astrophysics, big bang and the expansion of the universe... it's really interesting :D this is exactly what i like - i learn something new everyday!

i'm going to need a hell lot of energy to last me through the rest of this week and the next... i must!

fevrier 19, 2009

Valentine's day was a pretty uneventful one. Kind of stayed home most of the day :( Miss how zonkies meet up every valentine's day, almost without fail, for the past 6 years? And giving each other sweet little gifts and notes. And also how the girls and guys and angels and mortals from class and cca will give each other small tokens just for fun and friendship. That little bustle in school is dearly missed. :) But jas and i baked SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY JAM just now! Awesomely delicious! :D



Well at least i spent Friday night at the Overseas Christian Union Vday talentime concert. Some pretty entertaining and good songs there :D Yay Shawn won 2nd place!! I spent last night sleeping over at weiyan's room in evelyn gardens too. Been long since we last caught up so it was good :) And followed her to church this morning. I realised i've been engaging with christianity a lot more while i'm here. Followed friends to service a few times already and supported quite a few christian union events! I even had very long talks about religion with Ladi, Shawn, Ben, Yong Sheng... not that i'm going to take up this faith any moment but i like it that i'm understanding and learning. :)

Oh no i'm getting a lil stressed about HC night...

fevrier 15, 2009

Hahaha, what a funny title. I did 7.6 km at gym today, half an hour of floorball and 5 hours of dance! Plus loads of walking the cold. Wow. But a good end to the day with dinner at Kiasu. I had cai tao kueh and hokkien mee! okay but the hokkien mee was NOTHING like that in singapore. Not AT all but i know better by appreciating singaporean food here :D And i had some onde-onde and pau and milk tea! Yay those make me happy :)

fevrier 11, 2009

And Chinese New Year is coming to an end already. Tang yuan day tomorrow! :D Cambridge last weekend was a really good trip. I actually owned myself and missed the early morning coach (=S) but otherwise everything else went pretty well! Thanks to my very fantastic hosts yongsheng, jackie, qunxiang, shengrong etc.. :) now i feel bad for not spending time with you guys when you were in London :$ We did what people always do at Cambridge - visit the major colleges which were really pretty and serene indeed :D Cambridge city is really small but very self-sufficient :) Everything is within walking distance! But i don't think i can take living and studying in that place for long. It's too... peaceful! haha. We must be crazy to go punting under such coldddd weather. it even started snowing when we were nearing the end. Gosh. what an experience though! Who says punting is romantic! hahaha our punt just wouldn't go straight and would NOT inch just a little bit faster! Coincidentally that weekend was Asian Food Fest too..so we had a humongous singapore food feast (another serving of yusheng, bak kut teh, spring rolls, dumplings, chicken rice, mee siam, nasi lemak, chicken curry, sweet potato soup, onde-onde). Yummy. Not too bad considering everything was home-made! But there was SOOOO much food that what was supposed to be an enjoyable meal turned out slightly otherwise. haha.

We returned to a really cold and snowy London! In fact there was SO much snow that Monday's school was cancelled for me (more days for others). I've never seen SO much snow before (except on the Alps)! It was amazing i think it made every hall come to life and there was a massive snowfight between the halls at Prince's Gardens. Haha EPIC. I kind of wish it'd snow again...so i can build a snowman and hopefully more school holidays! haha

So this month there'll be more dance practices, plus i want to help out at logistics too. And hc night is drawing near. More gym these few weeks..i think i've been to gym 5 times more than i've ever been my whole life in Singapore. haha. and i think i'm eating cereal excessively! gosh. i'm going to have a visitor soon though :D

:'( my dear youxin has flown off to adelaide

fevrier 07, 2009

This week's school is actually extremely slack for me, but i've been occupying myself pretty much with little nyonya, a lot in fact. This is why i usually dare not start on watching any drama serial, because the obsession is quite crazy =S Have major event dance practice twice a week too. But they're quite enjoyable :D the hip hop piece is nice and it's my first time doing contemporary which feels, very different. need to work on fine-tuning the movements and poise. oh nos i think we might all have to do the lifts =S On Monday i watched The Wicked Musical which was AWESOMEEEE. It's one of the best musicals around and it was the one i wanted to watch most since i came here :D Elphaba's voice was simply captivating and i really loved the dances! Next up - Avenue Q!

It's kind of depressing to know that you're missing chinese new year in Singapore for 4 years straight. there's not much of a CNY atmosphere here, no holiday of course. At least it was comforting to celebrate with some great company here. :) Had a very yummy steamboat dinner with some of my ogmates and other friends at my hall plus our first lo hei which was brought from Singapore! :D There was a CNY carnival during the weekend with the longest lo hei in london, stalls selling pineapple tarts, muah chee, agar agar, tea... and a lion dance performance too. But the lion could hardly catch the mandarin after several attempts haha. I had a small reunion dinner with the hallmates and floormates where i cooked a huge pot of salmon fried rice. not bad :D 2 nights ago there was a CNY dinner at a chinese restaurant called Dragon Castle. For 10 pounds, the 8-course dinner was really AMAZING. I soooo missed chinese food. It was food almost fit for a wedding dinner! More lo hei, Peking duck, Steamed Fish, deep fried prawns, roast chicken, sipping chinese tea ... Best dinner i had in ages. I was introducing to my roomie a lot of chinesey things too :)









Another event worthy of mention was the Back to School Chocolate party on Saturday night. Not only was it a CHOCOLATE party (chocolate fondue, brownies, cookies, tarts, cheesecakes, sweetsssss), it was a SCHOOL themed party and we all wore our jc uniforms!! :D i can't miss wearing the HC uniform again! Thankfully after dieting for one and a half weeks i could fit in better haha. had a really great time gathering with the ex-hwa chongians and reminiscing the fond memories. And there was a karaoke session too and we were all starting to sing our hearts out when we had to stop :( Nonetheless, a lovely night spent :) Oh jas and i made chocolate with rice krispies and chopped almonds, roasted peanuts and pistachios, coated with white or dark chocolate. All rolled into one, sounds delicious huh? HAH it was really good :D Hopefully we can make more chocolate next time and we're going to bake more exciting stuff! Oh here's a picture with the potential housemates in year 2 ;)

Now i need to turn my attention back to hwa chong night. And i'm going to Cambridge for the weekend!

janvier 30, 2009

Learn your lesson, face up to the consequences, my girl.

janvier 25, 2009

I'm watching the series now! Aw how heartwarming :) And all that nyonya kueh is seriously making me drool. i miss food. i miss singapore food :( Bah i've been so hard on myself this week. What a punishment. :( oh my i almost can't bear to watch it anymore.

janvier 20, 2009

Tomorrow would be my first ever exam here. It constitutes slightly less than 10% of my first year and is just a 1 hour paper, BUT it still counts! Every bit counts. Been cooping myself in my room the whole week to study for this and pushing away everything else. Argh. After this exam i'm really going to take a break plus complete all the other things i have to do!

Sooo there's post-exam to look forward to ANDD chinese new year! yay :D and and and i really hope i can still fit into my hc uniform.. at the moment i'm pretty sure i can't. blah.

janvier 15, 2009

Skyped with mum and bro yesterday. The way i talked to my bro, i felt as if things were just like before. Aw man i don't want to start missing them too much. :(

I don't want to sound like i don't like this place, but going back to home in summer is a great, great big motivation. 6 more months :)

janvier 11, 2009

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. Shen Ri Kuai Le! :D

Today, is the birthday of 2 of my greatest male friends ever – Eric and Lujie. Being through class, OAC and Fac Comm with one and OAC and Fac Comm with the other, has given us enough fond memories to keep our friendship true and strong till this very day. 3 years ago, I first met Eric and it was a very reserved celebration with the class. 2 years ago, I myself planned a loud and playful birthday celebration for the 2 boys, one that all of us will always remember. Last year, it was a premature but nonetheless, sweet celebration for them as knowledge of imminent enlistment into the army lingered overhead like a cloud. This year, I’m not capable of doing anything except send a short message from far away to wish them a happy 20th. And they probably have to spend it in camp. Over the past few months, some things haven’t changed but some things have, even though I don’t want them to. The cheer in their voices hasn’t, their amusing banter probably hasn’t, but my level of communication with them has, drastically. :( To think I was used to seeing and talking to Eric every single day in JC. Even early this year, we’d send each other messages once in a while just so to catch up. But now, we may not even talk for months on end. I miss how we were able to talk about every single thing under the sky and how your presence in any situation was very much appreciated. Our friendships were built on interacting with each other face-to-face, those were the really joyous moments. I really want to go back to Singapore just so we could spend quality time together again. To go back to just the way it was. Like how we cracked our heads to think of ares outing ideas, like how we lamed around in fac comm and OAC, like how the 5 of us went to yum cha and mind cafe together. When i don't have to put on any front.


Happy Birthday! :)

janvier 9, 2009

Just like how i felt after the ski trip, i’m extremely happy to be back home in hall to my cosy room with the comfy bed and big toilet and kitchen. But the hall is not as empty now so i don’t have as much peace and quiet and a squeaky clean kitchen all to myself. But oh well, i just want to spend all my time hibernating here in the warmth and mugging and gyming AND detoxing.

The trip to Amsterdam and Brussels was a well-spent one and we managed to cover everything we wanted to in the 3 days and 2 nights in each city, leaving without regrets. In both cities the accommodation was comfortable and quite worth the money, especially the one in Amsterdam, which was like a small rented apartment with enough room for 4 beds, a TV and TONS of DVDs, a desktop and wireless internet, own bathroom and even a kitchen! The one in Brussels was a hostel for young people and probably backpackers; our room essentially only had 4 bunk beds and a toilet, but there was a common room and kitchen downstairs, with internet and TV corner and games that we can borrow. We played poker and Simpsons monopoly into the wee hours of the last night :D PLUS there was free hot chocolate and coffee in the mornings which we only managed to take advantage of once! The hostel also had a fantastic location near to the city centre. I say for a week-long trip to 2 countries, a total expenditure of 400 euros is pretty budget already, is it not? :)

Amsterdam, where prostitution and soft drugs and smoking and porn are legalised and a part of the culture, was truly an eye-opener for me. We visited the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, Sex Museum, Hash Marijuana & Hemp Museum, Heineken Factory, some street markets and of course the Red Light District. It is really quite amazing how liberal the culture is, as can be seen from the abundance of coffee shops (where people can buy and smoke drugs like weed, hash, cannabis ... ), sex shops, sex cinemas, drug shops (which sell such a wide array of drug-like herbs and love potions and magic mushrooms and weird concoctions which claim to relax or stimulate or intensify -_-) and something called fish tank which is basically a shop house with many windows behind which prostitutes display themselves and wait for their services to be called upon (not without some price negotiations first). It’s all a very interesting concept but i have to say i was quite sick of seeing so much porn and inhaling so much second-hand smoke after a while. =S The streets don’t just reek of tobacco, but WEEEEED too. I felt so sinful and i didn’t like it. I desperately need to wash out my eyes and lungs now lol. But i can’t deny that the experience has opened me up quite a bit and increased my tolerance (NOT acceptance) of the vices of the real world, which i hope doesn’t mean something bad. At least I learnt that the outside world really isn’t as innocent and clean and censored as Singapore. The boys did try out erm some stuff that i shouldn’t mention, and experienced for themselves for the first time the wicked effects of drugs – not just making you feel tipsy like alcohol does, but making you feel light and high, intensifies your senses and causes bouts of memory loss. Luckily they weren’t as crazy as i expected because they were trying hard to keep it all in, so i didn’t have to drag them home at the end of the day haha.. Phew. Their behaviour was actually quite funny...

I wanted to see Amsterdam beyond all the evils, but pity we didn’t have time to visit the countryside which characterises beautiful Holland – windmills and tulips and clogs and cheese. Hopefully I’ll have a chance next time then!

On to Brussels! As a city i like Brussels much more than Amsterdam, because Brussels had both a modern and traditional but much cleaner look. We visited Atomium, a local beer brewery (Cantillon Brewery), Belgian Museum of Comic Strip Art (Tintin!!), Autoworld (exhibition of loads of vintage and olden day cars), Horta Museum (the house of famous local architect Victor Horta), the puny statue of Manneken Pis, the European Union and lots and lots of chocolate shops! We bought SO MUCH chocolates :D And ate so much and drank so much chocolate milk too. Awesome. It’s the best place to get fat and unhealthy. Blah. Oh the second day in Brussels with awoke to heavy snow! The whole city was covered in snow and I’ve never actually walked around a whole day under snowfall before. During the ski trip the snow only fell when i was atop the Alps! It was quite delightful though because everywhere looked prettier with the pristine white snow :D Brussels has a lot of beautiful buildings. But it was really cooolllldddd and i’m sure it reached nearly -10 degrees Celsius at night =S As the freezing days went by our tolerance for the cold reduced and we kept wanting to go indoors. If only we could teleport from indoors to indoors haha. The cold can get quite torturous at times and you start losing feeling of your face and ears and toes and can't stop shivering. argh. that was when i felt i really wanted to be back in Singapore.

Food is like a constant theme throughout the entire trip. It was really uncontrollable haha. I don’t think we actually ate excessively but we really ate a lot of sinful food – mussels, escargots, pancakes, kebaps, Belgian waffles, chocolates, and LOADS of frites (French fries). Every day we were complaining about our tummies and chubby faces and absence of jawlines but we still couldn’t resist the joy of eating. Hehe. believe me now is the time for intensive gyming and detoxing. SERIOUSLY i need to diet.

I feel quite lucky that we didn’t suffer any mishaps during the trip. Even though we did get into some slightly difficult situations – almost missing our budget flight to Amsterdam, Terrence almost got pickpocketed, the severe touting at a food street in Brussels, having our seats koped in the bus back to London... otherwise everything went well :) Even though the 3 guys (Weiliang, Sok and Terrence) on the trip with me can get pretty loud and crude and using vulgarities in normal speech is like second nature to them, the company was enjoyable and at least i felt quite safe and secure in unfamiliar land :) I appreciate having a couple of street smart people around. We had lots of fun and laughter and camwhoring; the overall mood was very relaxing and spontaneous and I’m happy to get to know them a lot better over time and also know that they aren’t as insane as I was afraid they would be. Haha but sometimes they talked so much army stuff that I’d just switch off. Anyway, thanks for taking care of me! :D

Wow i took so long to write this travelogue. Photos will be up soon i hope and after i recover from this trip i REALLY HAVE TO START studying intensively!! Uh oh, plans are already coming up for easter break already...

janvier 7, 2009

Gosh 2008 just whisked past like that. I haven't had the time to brood over the coming of 2009 slowly and I won't be having that time till weeks later =S I'm setting off to Amsterdam and Brussels now and I'll be back on 7th Jan! Woah..I'm actually quite tired now. Missing a night of sleep cause i went with my travel companions to check out the new year fireworks by the River Thames. a little disappointing lol..

janvier 1, 2009

I left for France in a jiffy. There was so much to rush after the last day of school – packing, buying and giving Christmas presents, sending cards, giving hugs and farewells to all those who’re leaving for home... i kind of felt sad that i wouldn’t be seeing many friends and hallmates – faces i’ve started getting used to seeing everyday – for weeks, but there wasn’t time to brood over it.

Returned from a week-long of skiing at 6 in the morning with an aching body and what look like slightly swollen shins, and feeling a little grouchy from the poor sleep during the 15-hour coach journey. But the ski trip was a very unique experience for me, an amazing one, and nothing like I’ll ever get the rest of my life (i think). I didn’t choose to go on a ski trip because i really wanted to ski, it was pretty much an emotionless decision just to fill up the holidays. I was never an extreme sport kind of person (EVEN THOUGH I’M IN OAC WHICH DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING HAHA) so i didn’t know what i was in for with a group of people who have so much more guts than me, as i were to discover. The biggest takeaway i had from this ski trip is to challenge myself and push myself to the limits, to the brink of my limits. Cliché as it might sound, practice seriously makes perfect. And i’m proud to say that i conquered my fears in the end! :) I was much more afraid of the slopes than i expected myself to be. I would say i am pretty alright skill-wise, but it was fear that overcame me. Even though skiing is a very solo sport, cause you’ve to correct your technique and improve your own skill quickly while everyone else zooms ahead, i couldn’t have done without the encouragement and pushing of my fellow groupmates. And of course their physical help because i was so clumsy with my skis at first. For their presence I’m really really thankful. My shins hurt so much from the heavy bulky ski boots during the first few days that only the YL spirit of ‘pain is transient’ could help me pull through. There was often a struggle between being contented with what i can already do and facing the challenges my groupmates actively and bravely sought. I wouldn’t have achieved so much if i had followed the slow pace of my instructor. I wouldn’t have progressed from being comfortable with green slopes to blue slopes to red slopes (very easy to difficult) if not for the garangness of my fellow skiers. Seniors and freshers alike – THANK YOU so so much :D I can feel the strength of Sing Soc :)


Chamonix is a pretty famous ski village, famous enough for me to even hear about it before my trip. The village is really cute too, with thick layers of snow on every roof - reminds me of a cartoon land. My ski resort in Argentiere is a small but very cosy place. For one, we had a group large enough to occupy a floor of rooms ourselves, so we entertained ourselves every night with music and movies and mahjong and games. And massages of our sore limbs lol. Ironically, i got more sleep than i usually get, cause if i don’t my skiing will flop! Secondly, the food ROCKS. Haha. Every meal is buffet-style and eating together is a great pastime :) Baguettes, tarts, pies, gratin, steak, cheese, pasta, sausages, couscous, ice cream and lots of desserts... Ah i absolutely adore French food :D Even the breakfast cereal is better than what i normally have in London. Every morning we also pack a ham and cheese baguette sandwich for lunch up in the mountains. Yummy. I hope fervently that i managed to work off everything that i ate. Lol. I’m impressed with the hospitality of the resort. On Christmas eve we were treated to a special dinner, complete with an aperitif, entree (smoked salmon), main course (venison steak and potato wedges) and dessert (logcake!). It was a very pleasant stay I had :) and being able to immerse in French language was an added bonus for me. I met so many Chinese people there who are able to speak fluent French after studying in France for just a few months. I should be ashamed of myself!


And so this year I had an incredibly snowy white and freezing cold Christmas. We had the morning off and so we went up Mont Blanc by cable car. It was snowing like crazy but the view was equally crazy. Awesome. There were lots of snowy mountains and more snow, much more than i remember from Mount Titlis. I think we were supposed to be able to see the Italian and Swiss borders too but it was a little cloudy and too cold for me to think. It got colder and windier the next day that skiing conditions became almost torturous. I remember being on the chair lift up the slope and the chilling wind biting at my face. It was so bad that I couldn’t bear to look ahead and I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe properly. Gosh. I never want to experience that moment again =S That day’s skiing was truly tough. We had to scale a long blue/red slope while fighting the wind and snow blowing at us. Until now I absolutely can’t believe that i was in that situation. It felt so surreal; it felt like what i see in movies. On one hand I was trying hard to ski properly, on the other hand I simply had to admire all that fierceful nature around me. It’s so hard to describe. Took my hands and camera pains to take these priceless photos.


In a nutshell, it was a very enjoyable experience. Like any other story that can be told, there were times I felt good and times I felt bad. But these were moments to be remembered – our snowball fights, hearing my instructor Didier’s funny lingo for the whole week, hearing my groupmates talk CRAP (their ability to talk crap for seven days straight is beyond me), the exhilaration from doing many good parallel turns, trying to jump off small humps and laughing at all the failed attempts, falling down from the button lift up that 45 degree slope at La Tour, looking down at a steep slope and going “oh shit”, not being able to feel my fingers or ears, an attempt at ice-climbing ... it was worth it :)


I’m really happy to be back though. To have the room all to myself, the kitchen, the hall... feels a little weird. It’s so empty and so silent. Thank goodness for the internet and that I’m leaving again in a few days time.

If you ever have a chance to go on a ski trip, I say, GRAB it.

decembre 28, 2008

Yay i'll be away in france till 27th Dec on a ski trip. omg skiing is crazy tiring my shin hurts but it's FUN :D merry christmas!!

decembre 21, 2008

Ice skating with the floormates was REALLY FUN. hahaha. Even though i fell down like 4 times and my feet were hurting badly from the tight shoes, it was an awesome good time. :) i think some of them spent more time looking at girls than skating HAHA. I'm proud to say that i've been having success with some of my cooking experiments lately! :D the good thing is i'm becoming more and more efficient heh.


Cooked this for the mini Astar gathering when some folks came down from cambridge. Not too bad for a first time though i could do better with more cheese and beef instead of pork


A dinner treat specially for Xun and Jasmine! :D


Another dinner cooked for Weiliang. Same ingredients of salmon and white sauce but cooked in a different way


Christmas pudding!! What would a dinner be without dessert, especially near the festive season. :)) I didn't bake this, of course!

2 more days!! I don't even know whether i'm excited or not. i've a feeling i'm going to miss my hall..people and all...

decembre 17, 2008

Keeping in contact with the people back at home is sooo important! My brother just had his Passing Out Parade and enjoying his block leave now! Hope i get to skype with the family real soon... and Lujie, Mou and Jingkai have finally commissioned! Gosh. When i talked to mou the previous day i could almost feel his emotions all tumbling out ever so subtlely, making me feel so emo too. you guys really have been through a lot and done an awesome job :) :) i so want to give you a pat on the back and say congratulations!

ANDDDDD 12/12/08 is a significant date because it's dear YOU XIN's birthday!!! Haven't talked to this girl for ages and so happy we got to skype for 2 hours last night. :) even though it meant turning my sleeping plan upside down again. i missed you! :D

decembre 14, 2008

one more week to the end of school! oh gosh oh gosh. i'm not in the mood to work already, but i gotta do some proper revision for my january exam because i can't count on the holidays! =S and i need to start making plans for christmas and new year and the travelling trips. i half wish time would go by slower so that i can accomplish more things :(

i have to admit my roomie and her boyfriend are becoming a little distracting. i wish i could vanish into thin air whenever i want to. and snap out of thinking ...

and since when did the friendship become so shallow?

on a lighter note, i'm going for my first outdoor ice-skating tomorrow at Somerset House. it's going to be SO beautiful i am very excited :D believe me, it's like a dream come true!

decembre 11, 2008

This week was another tiring one... bad idea to have a few night events in a row, when i've a practical report to finish. O.O lol. Had a traditional english dinner with the Imperial Astar scholars on Monday. the food was GOOD! Yummy :D I had Deviled chicken with mushroom pie in puff pastry, and a chocolate cake with chocolate syrup for dessert. goshhh :D the food probably wasn't like to-die-for kind of standard but considering i've been eating my own cooked food, bread, sandwiches and more sandwiches... the meal made my day :) Celebrated terrence and sok's birthday at beit hall on tuesday, loads of pizza! :D and alcohol for the guys... i like baileys with milk though. oh no i really am going to worry about the Amsterdam trip with those boys already. =S

Retrophilia on wednesday was pretty fun. Not too bad for a first time in a london club, but the experience definitely wasn't a typical one since it was a singapore event. but such fun is bad for me.. i need proper sleep!!


Watched Sound of Music on thursday. this musical is AWESOMEEEEEEE i tell you! i have to say it was a lot better than Lion King. well, i've watched its movie already and the songs were cliche, but i still loved it. for one, the singing was practically flawless and the sets were just so real and impressive. it's amazing here, that every one of these musicals have a dedicated theatre showing the musical every single day. we came out of the theatre to be greeted with some kind of lamborgini "showcase". there were at least FIVE of them parked outside. people were snapping away as if there was some celebrity and we were gazing in awe as the owners drove them away. hahaha. FANTASISING. yea, they've got these cars or even better all over the streets here.


Term's going to end in exactly 2 weeks time, and i'll be whisked to the French Alps immediately. Can you feel the festive mood?? lol. Again, home could be so near yet it's so far..

decembre 6, 2008

It's been a pretty interesting week. I watched my first ever football match which is a CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME between Arsenal and Dynamo Kiev :D For a first time, the experience was amazing and i could feel the pulsating excitement! Emirates stadium is just so grand. The 2 hours went by really fast, and the energy of some arsenal fans remained high throughout. it was a good atmosphere, even though the only goal scored was during the last 10 minutes. haha. and i'd say our seats at the lower tier were well worth the money :)

I watched my first musical in london too - The Lion King. There were er, certain distractions during the show (Simba, to me, just didn't cut it at all) but other than that, i loved the singing and ESPECIALLY the costumes and set. it was a very uplifting musical :) and there was enough humour to keep me quite tickled haha. Today i visited Portobello Market and Camden Market with shawn and yukyee too! Porto was just okay...but camden was a real eye-opener. It lives up to the name of a true blue street market, with plenty of life, food, interesting characters, exotic goods, winding alleys and even a bit of goth. A few hours today certainly wasn't enough! :)

My next week... is going to be packed with events again. To think i'm still not doing well in my work. Oh my just what am i doing to myself... Last night was a rough night. Thanks wen for coming in at the right time..

novembre 24, 2008

I DESPERATELY NEED TO HAVE MORE DISCIPLINE. I need to concentrate on my work. I need to stop dozing off in lectures. I need to eat properly. I need to go to the gym. I need to belong here. I need to work on my essay NOW.

I want to take a walk, anywhere...

novembre 29, 2008

I passed by the Natural History Museum on the way home just now, at 4.45 pm on a Saturday. My fingers were numb from the freezinggg cold, but the scene was so, so pretty. :)

Slept over at Weiliang's at Parsons House last night. And he let me try the last drop of Absinthe left over from his birthday night. 72% alcohol! Omg it must be the most wicked alcohol i've tasted lol. it burns! And i got knocked out after some southern comfort (35%) and hoegaarden citron. According to ROGER, my tolerance is pretty bad. :S

My room mate is out at Manchester for the weekend! Woo time to open a room party for the weekend. Haha joking. I'm working hard now, after getting some screwed up grades. Bah. What a wake up call :(

novembre 22, 2008

i miss my brother. why, i haven't managed to talk to him properly at all. and it's been how long since i skyped with anybody?

owch. my tailbone hurts badly from falling down during floorball at Nottingham Games :(

novembre 16, 2008

The weeks here are seriously getting faster and FASTER. It felt like Sunday just yesterday! Oh gosh. Perhaps it's because it turns dark around 4.45 pm now it's insane. I'm pretty much enjoying life here though. I have to admit my course is surprisingly slack. In fact, i'm a little disappointed with the tutorials. Of course, i appreciate the amount of free time i've been given, but i would have expected tutorials to be a little longer and more productive..?

On another note, i'm closer to my hallmates now and feeling a lot more secure about every bit of life here. I'm enjoying being independent, taking care of myself and my room, doing the laundry, and especially COOKING. :D There's also table football, table tennis or even poker whenever we feel like it. haha. ain't i here to study.. Well, everyone says we should have fun while we can during the first year..

My roomie and i and Weiliang went to Kingston yesterday to watch Love's Labour's Lost by Shakespeare! Should have done some preliminary research because i didn't have much clue what was said =S didn't help that we were a little late and had to sit at the circle instead of our seats in the pit before the intermission. And i was trying to resist the urge to cough so much i felt like my heart was going to stop. Ow it was TERRIBLE :( otherwise, it was a good experience - we had great seats and the actors were entertaining. :) I'm going to Nottingham for floorball this Saturday!

To a fantastic buddy..HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)

novembre 13, 2008

seems like i've finally gotten sick. after warding off the viruses that's spreading rapidly among the people around me for a month. i can't taste or smell anything. argh it's terrible to fall ill :(

novembre 6, 2008

suddenly one day not long ago i received an email inviting me to the YOG Learning Centre opening ceremony. The centre was opened just 2 days ago and obviously, i couldn't be there. it brought back so much memories though, and i so badly wanted to see the result of our efforts. it's amazing to see what used to be simply 3d graphic drawings turn into physical reality. sadly i couldn't feel any more of the real thing than photos.. how i wish i was around to walk through that beautiful gallery myself :( but i feel really proud too, of the work that has been done and i'm sure both syogoc and pico were equally happy! i, being a part of both, could have been doubly happy :) i think the murals were AWESOME!! the first thing i'll do when i have time in singapore is to visit YOG!

novembre 5, 2008

What an eventful week it has been! exactly 7 days ago i met up with hanyun and we spent a really nice afternoon together, visiting each other at our schools and halls. and we chatted lots; it's really good to have someone close to you around here because we totally understand each other's experiences and we had so many things to share :)

Then it was my ecology field course week and i spent 2 days at the Silwood Park campus and 1 day at the London Wetland Centre. My day at the wetland centre was spent looking at ducks -_- i think everybody spent half of that time cursing at the ducks. hahaha it was so funny cause we were supposed to "collect data" by recording the diving times of the ducks (you know ducks dive into the water for food?) and so we were all standing by the lakes willing the ducks to dive. lol! one of the days at Silwood Park was spent in the woods measuring the canopy area of oaks and birch trees and looking for fungi around them. okay that day was a lil bit more interesting though. learnt quite a bit about trees and fungi :)



during our 2nd day at Silwood, we each attended four ecology workshops (mine was GIS, tree identification, fungi foray and mammal trapping). during the mammal workshop they actually gave us a poo guide and guess what! rabbit poo is supposed to smell like digestive biscuits. OMG i eat digestives every week O.O pretty interesting week i'd say :) but it's getting really reallly realllly coolldddd here! speaking of which it snowed all of a sudden one night. some people said it's just sleet but makes no difference to me. i was really shocked to see the white flakes falling outside my window. my roomie and i were so excited we grabbed our coats and ran outside :D

i ended my week with a couple of happening events too! 31st Oct was HALLOWEEN and it was my first time celebrating it! Singsoc organised a fright night which i didn't dress up for but had fun looking at all the monsters and jokers of all kinds. haha :) so interesting. i shall dress up next year! i didn't that day cause i had Masquerade Ball later at night. it was another really cool event even though the entertainment was not fantastic at all and definitely not worth my 15 pounds, because i was looking at everybody's outfits and masks and there were casinos, bars, a chocolate fountain and professional photography service. wow it felt so... atas. hahaha. i did enjoy myself though :)





Ooh i got my new floorball stick! i love it it's so pretty. and it has a lovely number on it ;)



the next few weeks might be pretty eventful too, though things are starting to tone down already and we should all be STUDYING. oh yea, not to mention planning for Hwa Chong Night is coming under way...

novembre 2, 2008

Oh no i'm going to emo again. listening to home by michael buble makes me do that :( i skyped with my brother yesterday and the girls today. oh my brother's so dark and bald now! i'm so happy i forgoed math tutorial to catch him a few hours after his first bookout :) good to hear that he's taking it well :D i'm going to miss talking crap to my brother everyday. and everything else under the sun...

and then i woke up at 7am this morning to meet the girls online, and give peishan a little surprise plus wish her happy birthday (belated) :) it was sweet to hear how much they wanted to fly here to find me or wen, because i really need to give someone a very big and long hug to let off some air within me. i'm not saying i'm having a bad time here or i don't have good company. having fellow singaporeans around me at times has been an enormous comfort. but oh nos i really miss you :(

octobre 25, 2008

I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP.

Oh i'm going to watch The Lion King in late November! It's gonna be my first musical in London. :)

octobre 22, 2008

A thought just came to me all of a sudden. My friends and i were talking about who's going where in our december winter break. A couple are going home and many others are going on ski trips. I wonder why i didn't entertain the thought of going back to singapore at all. Surely money isn't the only reason, because my parents would definitely love to have me on a flight back if i want to. And i could very well shorten 9 months of being away to just 3 months. Why am i not going home?

octobre 20, 2008

2 of our dinners last week. my mum must be so proud of me :D


and my lovely lovely parcel full of surprises :)

octobre 18, 2008

school's pretty much in full gear now. my first module is ecology, behaviour and evolution. didn't study ecology in JC so i don't have the luxury of already knowing what's being taught in lectures :( and i've been staying up late so i tend to doze off again. bah. but it's still been a happening week. there's some kind of revelation everyday - good and bad.

the HUGE parcel from home really made my day! the printer and rice cooker was inside, together with a lot of random necessities and food. i got bottles of light sauce, chilli, chicken rice paste, prawn rolls and floss from bee cheng hiang! i was touched to tears. :)

and i had a very fun time skyping with shuang, shu, ongying and atee. hahaha. yeaa hangman =P

octobre 16, 2008

the more modern-looking facade of my school :)


my HALL! hahaha


the Chinatown in London


dim sum! ah but it's nothing compared to spore's one..or maybe i haven't eaten the really GOOD one.


Hyde Park, the park right next to my school. it's huge and gorgeous :)


Hampstead Heath


just look at the clouds. i love it when i can see such a large expanse of sky here :)


on our tour to windsor castle with my mum


stonehenge




can you see? can you see the rainbow? :D

octobre 10, 2008

i think we're all waiting for some photos to be uploaded. haha. i've some but havent had time to do so. or maybe i'm just lazy or have bad time management cause being busy is a lousy excuse :P and i better tidy up my room and finish all my unpacking first before disclosing photos of my room. hah. my roomie is nivetha. she's born in india but lives in America, pretty cool right? and she's great, we'd be hanging out quite a bit i guess :)

freshers' week is packed with activities - union, hall, department events, on top of meeting up with friends. i have to be extremely selective with what i want to go. there were a couple of days when i was a little down, because i think too much and am trying too hard to adapt to everything here. but i'm cool now and we've had some good fun :) and i'm interested in checking out some clubs and societies: ultimate frisbee, dance, floorball, fitness, badminton, taekwondo, poker, tea, fellwanderers (expedition), wine appreciation...sounds like a lot but i'm still taking my time to choose!

i'm receiving a big parcel from my parents soon, including printer and the rice cooker haha. my brother enlisted yesterday :( i miss him. the good news is, my weekend is gonna be pretty exciting! xun's coming tomorrow (YAYYY) and i've a london tour with the Sing Soc (finally i can speak normally), and i have a little expedition with the fellwanderers to the south coast on sunday. looking forward to some great scenery :D

octobre 10, 2008

AH i haven't had proper time to go online at all and freshers' week is driving me nuts. so i've been in london for 9 days and moved into hall 3 days ago. been busy with union activities, hall activities, department meetings, at the same time settle all the admin chores, shop for homeware and groceries, and UNPACK. i can't believe how unpacked i still am! and i havent managed to talk to a lot of friends properly. :(

london is a great city and i've got used to navigating it already. and there're students from ALL over the world that i can meet here. I've made friends from america, malaysia, taiwan, hongkong, indonesia, thailand, korea, germany, spain, and different parts of UK. sometimes making friends and small talk becomes such a chore that i feel like just shrinking into my singaporean group, but i shouldn't! i'm still trying to adapt i guess, to the culture and habits and ACCENT. that's not to say i havent met great friends already though. for one, my roomie's really pleasant. :)

i've had ice cream party (but without the ice cream) and boat party already. today's freshers' fair with all the clubs and societies. there're more sports and games night and freshers' ball coming up! =S and i'm going to start cooking today!

octobre 7, 2008

i'm so happy the way i spent this first day of october. which is a special day :D catching up with so many people. skype is funny haha. even though my bum is hurting now and my bladder's dying. :) it's like a life line i'm recharged now! till this weekend! sounds like freshers' week is gonna be busy busy too.

octobre 1, 2008

BEFORE I FORGET, I really really want to thank all those who were at the airport to send me off or those who just dropped by to see me: my relatives! my clique, guides, OAC, some Astar friends (ben, serene, zhangwei, yongzi), a few others zhongwei for helping me take such fantastic photographs! alex, shanchin, yunpei, xun, sua, and of course a most unexpected guest – wen!! :D :D coming to London must be a good thing now cause i’m 1 hour away from my honey. Hee.

When i walked towards the departure gate and waved goodbye to everybody, it felt sooo weird. So so weird. You guys should have been in my position to see what i was staring back at!

It was a bit hard at first. Not the long haul flight, for the plane was on time, comfortable, food was good and i watched Sex and the City, Ironman and 21. Naturally, i couldn’t help but emo when i was reading all the letters on the plane. It’s no longer some holiday that i’m on, suddenly 9 months seem like such a long time. First day needed some getting over too, and i had to depend on my camera and laptop for photos of comfort. :(

But i’m feeling a lot better now. Starting to warm up to the idea that this place is where i’ll stay and this culture is what i’ll embrace :) Doesnt seem so bad, actually. Whenever i think of the food, the fashion, the galleries and museums waiting for me to explore, i feel excited! :D i quite like the British accent too. heheh.

octobre 1, 2008

As expected, the past 2 weeks of countdown towards DA BIG DAY were sooo hectic for me. I literally have to plan my appointments every single day! I still had to juggle my outstanding assignments, meeting friends, ex-colleagues, family and relatives, writing farewell notes, packing and more packing. And the weird thing is I still tend to spend a lot of my time thinking. Bouts of emo would catch me by surprise, especially when i'm travelling or waiting. They're often triggered by different people and because of different reasons. One day it could be my brother, another day it could be my ex-colleagues, or a very close friend, or even my parents.

The first question everyone would never fail to ask me is whether i'm excited. Maybe? But i have mixed feelings too. At times i genuinely feel excited and all ready to go, because so many people have already left before me and the rest have moved on with their studies and lives. Time for me to move on and have experiences of my own too! On the other hand, I've to leave everything else behind. It's not so much the fear of losing contact, because communication is still possible with the wonders of email, MSN and Skype, the usual channels. It's more of not being able to see face-to-face the people who are close to your heart and feel their physical presence. Not possible to drop an sms or give a call immediately to a friend or to my mum when i'm feeling lonely or have something i'm dying to tell. Of course there'll be many great friends made but i guess there are just some things i can only keep to myself.

Well that was just another bout of emo. =S But i know i'll do just fine cause i'm not an easily-homesick kind of person and i'm an independent and highly adaptive girl! haha :)

Even though these days have been very very busy and I've had to tolerate my mum's nagging because i keep going out and simply have no time to pack, the days were fulfilling and very well-spent :) I visited a great number of places, including those that i've always wanted to go but never did. WHY DO I HAVE TO KNOW MY OWN HOMELAND SO WELL RIGHT BEFORE I LEAVE? and i ate SO much. lots and lots of local delights and all my other random cravings. sometimes i feel like a pregnant woman. haha. cravings, you know? i've been to awesome places: Esplanade, Millenia Walk, Mount Faber and the Jewel Box, National Musuem, Fort Canning, Clarke Quay, Sentosa, East Coast Park, the F1 racing track, underneath the Singapore Flyer... they may sound normal and commonplace but it's different when you re-visit them on a different basis. i never realised to such a great extent how beautiful Singapore is... :)

Tuesday was a legendary day. never met so many people in a day before :D thank you so much to you guys for accommodating me :) you all made my day!! and for the treats and the presents, i appreciate them :)

septembre 25, 2008

the days are zooming past like nobody's business. and i've a monster lineup tomorrow i wonder how i'm gonna get through the day! i must be a superwoman. haha. soak in every single moment, that's all i can say :)

heartwrenching indeed.. :(

septembre 22, 2008

i think my mum can't wait for me to leave. =S sometimes i think maybe i can't too. bleagh.

septembre 19, 2008

Haha youxin said the picture was too glaring. so i shall push it down :P

My body's aching slightly from the floorball session with my OG mates and imperial seniors just now! Argh i think i played quite badly :( need to oil my rusty body already. 1 sport a week! i had ice-skating last week and that resulted in a nasty bruise and blister =S and there's still cycling next week to look forward to :) i wonder what sport i should join in university...

septembre 17, 2008

1 year ago..


1 year later..


we still miss you wennie! (:

septembre 12, 2008

What is 600 bucks when I never believed in using money to buy my happiness in life?
Luckily I was traumatised only for a few hours. Maybe losing it was also a wake up call for me to get back the control I used to have on my spending.

septembre 09, 2008

1 week! :)

septembre 08, 2008

My family recently invested in 3 High Society compilations by That CD Shop: Love Songs, Passion, Jazz in the City. Love Songs is strongly recommended!! Even though most of them are oldies, almost every single track is good. Here goes one of my favourite songs :)

Don't Know Much by Linda Ronstadt

Look at this face I know the years are showing
Look at this life I still don't know where it's going
I don't much but I know I love you
That may be all I need to know

Look at these eyes they never seen what matters
Look at these dreams so beaten and so battered
I don't much but I know I love you
That may be all I need to know

So many questions still left unanswered
So much I've never broken through
And when I feel you near me sometimes I see so clearly
That only truth I'll never know is me and you

Look at this man so blessed with inspiration
Look at this soul still searching for salvation
I don't much but I know I love you
That may be all I need to know

I don't much but I know I love you
That may be all I need to know
I don't much but I know I love you
That may be all there is to know

septembre 03, 2008

it's the last day of august!! ARHH -screams- i'm so glad i'm finally relieved of work. but like buddy said, this month will be extremely busy because i need to make preparations, meet people (and lots of them) and prepare myself mentally too. so many places to go, things to see, food to eat, people to catch up with!

past few days have been really energy consuming too. sent wen off to pretty and snowy switzerland. the scene was a lot more relaxed and happier than i imagined. i thought i'd cry but i didn't even come close to doing so. maybe it was too rushed and maybe deep inside we've already prepared ourselves for that day. it's a new journey, i hope you're doing well :D

and then OAC stayed over at the airport and i still had work the next day :S after that there was still gotham groove and dinner with slawek and barbara. well, i had bucket loads of fun :D

thank you to all those at pico who took care of me and helped me even though my 1-month stint was ultra short: chun teck (who's the one who brought me in), mel (my supervisor), rose (who took special care of me and made me feel the warmth), ron (who's really a funny guy and brought me around), kk (who's reallyyy nice to talk to), barbara (for the farewell lunch), derek, david, shireen, and all the rest around my desk. no thanks for thinking i'm malay but you guys are really fun (: i'd LOVE to see the fruits of our labour in 2 months' time!

aout 31, 2008

WOAH i'm still trying to replenish my beauty sleep. imperial camp was another one of the slackest camps i've ever been to, but hey it was really great fun :D super relaxing, and i thought the beach games and station games were pretty good. haha. and the best thing was making loads of new friends! my OG - Squarepants, made up of 12 guys and 6 girls plus 4 OGLs, group colour RED, got 2nd BEST OG! :D i thought the 2 days were really short, barely enough to get to know these people well. but then again, i have 3 years to know them! i hope i get fantastic hall mates.



i formed some really cool friendships with some people from my OG. and my biggest lesson learnt is to NEVER judge a person by his/her looks. the more i talk to some of these monkeys, the more i think, wow how come you guys are so nice? it's quite an amazing discovery, and reaffirms me that the world is actually a good place. HAHA. htht and circle of trust eh?



we spent almost our entire camp playing lame games and guessing the most ridiculous puzzles, non-stop. and playing 24. i can't believe we're so intellectual. and i enjoyed skipping sleep to sit by the beach. well these 2 days zoomed past real fast. knowing that i'll be at Imperial with such wonderful Singaporeans did make me feel a little more reassured and excited about my trip to london. :) of course, i really hope to get to make more international friends, and get a good roomie! :)

aout 26, 2008

i feel accomplished! managed to settle a lot of random errands yesterday. got my international student identity card, submitted my bank forms and claim forms, went through the psychological interview, completed the darned visa application. :) phew. besides rushing out as much research as possible i still have imperial camp this week. i really hope we're not going to have to do something funny. lol.

it was so ..surreal. :)

aout 20, 2008

that'd be a night i'll never forget. in fact, one of the ... many.

aout 18, 2008

How inspired i am by the Olympians' stories that i've been reading up on. Stories of perseverence, friendship and sportsmanship. They're very heartwarming and uplifting for the human spirit. Here is a particularly visually impactful one of Derek Redmond. Please watch! :)

aout 14, 2008

i'm just about getting used to working here. the people here are great, and VERY chinese (to my surprise), but omg why does everyone here think i'm malay. :( i wanted to skip lunch but they tempted me with malay chicken rice! and it's fantastic :D in the office i've about 3 different sources of music around to entertain me. haha

design work is really not easy. i've experienced it and i've seen it. the raw amount of time and effort put behind every research and every concept and every stroke. i'd really like to salute these designers! i'm nowhere near a designer - who's not just someone with creativity, originality and skill, but also spontaneity and the right attitude to cater to the clients' needs. though exciting, it's a tedious job and work that involves unrelentless long hours during crunch time. so appreciate yea! :)

by the way, i've learnt that you can forget about all the hardware and software. you just need to be armed with a pencil and tracing paper ;)

aout 12, 2008

love not in spite of the differences, but because of the differences
because of you i want to be better

i think that is really sweet. haha.

aout 10, 2008

yesterday was a fulfilling day, and a day well-spent :) the AICs had a very impromptu meet up in school, thanks to me. haha. it's been some time since i last talked to eric, and maybe i just had to see lujie before he goes off to his jungle in brunei. HAHA. good to see ares still up and flying..

at night i had dinner at waraku! my first time :D that's one more down on my non-exhaustive checklist. hahaha..gosh i love pasta. i am definitely going to waraku again cause they're sooo many things i want to try. visited the esplanade outdoor theatre and rooftop terrace next. the outdoor theatre, newly opened, is incredibly grand and pretty and the lights and acoustics rocked! that's another place to chill when there're good bands playing haha. i only caught a bit of EIC last night, at the first outdoor gig to celebrate the opening of the theatre. :)

it was about my 4th time at the rooftop and definitely the best one. at my position i could see practically everything that was happening. i could see the entire outdoor theatre below me, against one of the nicest backdrops Singapore can offer - the CBD and the light displays, the Fullerton Hotel which is always basking in an orange glow, the extremely colourful Singapore river, the Marina Bay Floating Stadium which was having an NDP tech run (which meant i saw much of the electronic visuals and play with lightings. bonus!), the Singapore Flyer, even the IR construction site didn't look ugly. with a great view and great music and a breeze, this is what i call 人生一大享受. hahaha :D


Happy National Day!

aout 9, 2008

what a special date! once-in-a-lifetime indeed. :) and it's the opening of the Beijing Olympics. i hardly remember any of the past few Olympics that happened in my lifetime because they didn't mean any more to me than the world cup meant to me (which is considerably miserable). But after being part of the preparation for the Youth Olympic Games and doing Olympic research at Pico, not only have i become an Olympic guru, i can really understand the anticipation that the nation and especially its Organising Committee feel, for something that they've prepared for 7 years, FULL TIME. so this month, i might be following the Games closer than i have ever done before :)

i feel like i've been inhaling loads of smoke recently. and the bad thing is, i can't escape from it :S i feel so unhealthy now and i really need to clear my lungs. lol.

on another note, this month my life is both routine and exciting - wake up, read the papers, go to work, if i go home for dinner i'll probably have to cook or help my mum cook. if i don't go home for dinner it's probably out meeting friends :D and there's the habit of sleeping late which is so awfully hard to kick BUT i'm trying my best. and i'm thankful for the little adventures every week that are what makes this pre-u break awesomely enjoyable :) over the past few weeks i had badminton, kayaking, a dessert buffet at Goodwood Park Hotel with OAC (=D), shopping, clique lunches, games at Settlers with the Astar peops.. and more to come! whee! life couldn't be better!

aout 8, 2008

where did july go?? :(
i'll be working at Pico Art International for the month of august. though i didn't expect myself to be dealing with the same things again, but i'm sure there're gonna be many new things i can absorb. hope it's exciting!

running out of time, aren't we?

aout 1, 2008

thank you to you lovely people for the 3 cakes this year:


the 5 of you who celebrated my birthday the earliest, at one of the best places ever - school :D

the 40 or so of you who really surprised me with a celebration, even though a shared one. it was the ONLY time i didn't suspect anything! so so touched thank you Astar friends!! i'll never forget that amazingly loud birthday song which resonated through the audi. it was really nice :)

and to the 7 of you from OAC who make up a big part of my life. thanks for celebrating even though it was already over. and for sending over my present in a mail! though the cake didn't catch me by surprise (haha) but the present did :D

i'm really a bit zonked out now from too many late nights. i shall blog about my scholarship ceremony and KAYAKING soon!

juillet 28, 2008

ARGH. i was just ONE hour close to winning Singfest tickets. this close!! bahhh :( all because i woke up late. can't blame anyone else can i. you lucky winner.. :(

juillet 23, 2008

last week alone i went back to Astar 5 times!! bah. i can't wait for our ceremony to be over. how i love this feeling of knowing that you can sleep late and wake up late the next morning, and you can laze at home the whole day or go anywhere you want to without having to squeeze with a crowd. and also cook anything you want or satisfy any craving. how blissful :) i had better enjoy the rest of July, cause i should be taking on a new job in August! =S

over the past few days i've been back to MCYS, SYOGOC and school. back to the familiar environment and familiar faces. everyone at my workplaces were still as friendly and welcoming :) At MCYS - going up the 15th floor, entering with my card which i'm glad still works, seeing all my ex-colleagues greet with all smiles, having a long chat with charlene about going overseas, having to explain google analytics for the 6th time, pressing that bell to allow people to enter. and then laichow who had a lovely new hairdo and funky ninja shoes sent me to the door when i left and asked yet again, 'when am i going to see you again?'

At SYOGOC - waiting for that one and only lift which is extremely slow to bring me up to the 12th floor, stepping into the library again which beared so many memories, feeling a part of CEP over again, getting to meet the new faces, hearing the familiar AH JIN from Alvin :), taking part in SYOG's fourth (??) HAPPY HOUR...lol these people are so happening la. and then i was at the bus stop and Eric drove past in his signature sports car and waved goodbye to me. (speaking of which, i've yet to find out who that golden jaguar belongs to..) owww..instantly i felt like i missed a lot of things. aiyo MOVE ON ALREADY, but it's still good to have some sort of anchor and sense of belonging to some place.



i found out that last friday was the last day of work for the interns xinmin, adibah, melissa and clarissa too. gosh the turnover rate is SO high for young people. coming and going is only natural, isn't it?

i was happy to be back at hc yesterday! back to the QM room (FINALLY our mural is complete :D), back to the OAC bench, back to the canteen, back to fish tank! and i got my first cake :) even though it was a rainy day but the school seemed especially cosy because so many people were donning their fac pullovers. haha. especially the ARES pullover!! and we had an ultraaaa long chat with Mr Teh. after that it was lunch at curry wok :D i really want to wear that uniform again...



i don't know how to say it, and i don't want to be the one saying it..

juillet 22, 2008

it was a great day out - our first and last time, how overdue! as usual, happy moments zoom past like a swift and i couldnt help but feel this dread that the day's about to end, that people are about to leave each other. :(

i went to ice skate today! it feels amazing to be able to skate properly and speed round the ring with the cool air brushing past. even better with good music! and we almost had the whole ring to ourselves today :D

i want to watch Singfest!!

juillet 15, 2008

last 2 days around, i had interesting conversations with many people.

"That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

juillet 11, 2008

ben and i sent fel off at changi airport last night. this is probably the first of many farewells coming up in the next few months. so, it's the last time the 3 musketeers are physically together, like ben put it. even he's enlisting tomorrow. well, it's definitely not the end, but the beginning of many more new stories to tell when we next meet up. 14-26 august 2010 is an unspoken congregation point for all of us. :)

july is a great month and a special one too! i am so going to relax and rejuvenate this month.

juillet 8, 2008

just so many things happened over the past few weeks! oac sleepover at my house, OBS with AStar, clique lunch, cooking class at SHATEC, and more dance practice. phew. glad that the week has ended and i need to recover from the accumulation of lack of sleep.


it was crazy! having 10 people sleep in my living room! sorry guys for having to squeeze and tolerate the very hot and stuffy environment. and it just so happened that my brother's friends were staying over too =S but The Invasion was good, right? :) too bad 90% knocked out during What A Girl Wants. maybe Oliver James wasn't cute enough, haha. i think it was nice to hear everyone telling stories too, we should play more of such games in future! now there's kayaking and a picnic to look forward to yayy :) in light of the limited time we have left, every gathering ought to be treasured.

and immediately after that was OBS. if you think AStar scholars are nerdy, you are SO wrong. at least not for all of us departing this year. this bunch is really nonsense. hahaha. OBS was RESIDENTIAL and the camp was VERY SLACK but i thought the activities and reflections were very meaningful, much much more meaningful than my previous OBS. at the beach front, i threw away my fears. and with a loud plop, i promised myself to overcome all the obstacles that will come and look forward. it felt good to be back in the outdoors too! i want more climbing and kayaking! :) thanks Rajaratnam for being a fantastic watch. I'm happy to be your mama :D




cooking with AStar was very fun too. we learnt to cook salmon baked rice, spaghetti bolognaise and chicken stew. bah those were so oily and unhealthy but it was fun :) and i laughed so much during lunch. haha. i think there's a lot of potential in this new group of friends, if only we had more time. anyhows, i'm glad of the company that i'll have when i go to london :)

"When you leave your friends, grieve not; for that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence."

"Hard things are put in our way not to stop us, but to call out our courage and our strength."

at this very moment, thank you for being the belayer in my life. :)

juillet 6, 2008

yay oac is coming to my house! in a few hours' time :D even though i'm sufficiently exhausted this week, i can't wait to meet everyone again. and stayyyyy up late. what's new? (: great way to end the week. or end june.

juin 28, 2008

i learnt locking yesterday! :D cool stuff. time to loosen up my joints, they've turned stiff after months of office life. i'm anticipating an extremely packed week too.. and with lots of clashing appointments argh.

juin 22, 2008

i guess this is going to be quite a long entry, because i'm dedicating it to my wonderful workplace and colleagues. today is almost like farewell day, because it's the last time that ben, fel and i would be working together in the same place after six months. in fact, this week has been such a mixture of emotions because we all knew leaving is imminent. thanks to most of the CEP team for the lunch at Sanur today, to CEO for the cake, to my director for the popiah. i am so touched :D and the happy hour after work too! everyone lingered around at the lounge to drink and talk, i couldn't bear to leave :( i think i'm the luckiest 19-year-old around, to be able to work under the Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee - and utterly honoured to be the youngest member and one of the earliest in our mysterious office at kay siang road. :D of course, this has to trace all the way back to *scape, which is where i got to know alvin, who's the one who brought me to MCYS, which is the platform on which i got involved in YOG. woo what a mouthful.

whether in Youth Div or in YOG, i've met the friendliest colleagues and had so many more interesting experiences than i could have asked for. whether i'm considered an intern or an assistant, i don't just work but i got to LEARN, and learn all kinds of things i did. "learning opportunities", right? i quote Alvin haha. I could just walk around the office the whole day and talk to people and learn so much more than if i sat down at my desk staring at the laptop. I never expected myself to work for 6 months non-stop (save the occasional holidays) during my break, but i guess it was worth it. and i really have my bosses to thank for being so accommodating and making my experience such a pleasant and fulfilling one. Actually, any one who is higher than me is my boss. lol. and i will remember all the lessons i've learnt, the things i've seen and heard, and the friends i've made. come August 2010, i WILL COME BACK NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, to see how our ideas and strategies have materialised, and to see the fruits of labour of these awesome people (:


interns' photo!

all those of you who i will miss greatly...

those who moved from YD to YOG with me: Fel, Ben, Alvin, Adrian, Eugene, Francis, Irene, and of course Pak Sing whom i really owe my gratitude to :)

those who are still in YD and Youth.SG: Lai Chow, Mike, Stanley, Sok Ngin, Pei Shan, Charlene, Florence, Nisha, Yani and Zhenkuang..

the rest of the funky folks in CEP: Jean, Keng, Aileen (for the daily car rides too), Diana, Jac, Izan, Mohan, Melissa, Sharmayne, Adrienne, Philip, Alethia

and some others who are as fun and cool: CE Kee Nguan, Joey, Clarissa, Nicholas, Gary, Weizhi, Patrick, Eric, Radha, Chun Teck, Richard..

gosh just look at the number of friends i've made. with these names and photos, i'll make sure i keep you guys in my memory for as long as i can. :D but something i know for sure, some friendships will last for at least a few years down the road..


thanks laichow and fel for my first time (:

juin 20, 2008

i was just thinking about my journey during this span of 6 months - exactly half a year today. it was truly a roller coaster of a journey, but for want of a less cliched metaphor, maybe it was like a bike hike on unfamiliar territory. it's a long and never-ending road, and there's no knowing when there'd be upslopes and downslopes. but we grit our teeth when we cycle upslope, even when we feel the lactic acid kicking in. while we scream with joy as we feel the wind against our faces on the way down. weird, isn't it the exact opposite when it comes to life?

many people tell me how lucky i am to have my life mapped out at least for many years. but in actual fact i've yet to succeed, i still have 2 hurdles to get over! maybe it's trying to teach me that success isn't that easily achieved. after all, i've already taken a short cut.

by the way, happy father's day, dad (:

juin 15, 2008

Gosh the four of you just have to be overseas at the same time - wen is in china for the longest time ever :(, youxin is in hongkong, peishan went to taiwan and elaine went to malaysia. Ah! I have no one to talk my rubbish to. i think by tomorrow 3 of you should be back already :D yay. oh dear wennie i simply CAN'T WAIT for you to come back. please come back! from my cosy corner in singapore to the behemoth of a china, i hope you hear me: i miss you! :)

and to those who've just popped, congrats!!

juin 11, 2008

i was extremely fortunate to get to watch this show - Asia Hiphop Festival - thanks to organiser O School for offering us tickets :D that was the first of its kind that i've ever watched and i tell you the performances were AWESOME, nothing i've seen before live. i enjoyed the music as much as the dances, because i love feeling of the bass resonating through my entire body. heart pumping! :D The Singaporeans were good, but i have to admit i was more impressed by the crew from Australia and Japan. No dance i've seen could match up to the energy of these dancers..and the more they danced, the more fuel they added to the action. AND they made the moves look sooo simple! Gosh. With all due respect, i think these guys are not just hiphoppers, but real, skilled, professional dancers. And there was beatboxing too! This guy, Dhami, i never knew Singapore had such a talented beatboxer. You simply have to hear him!





Aw man, not only do i have a new-found respect for hip hop culture, it reignited my desire to learn dancing too :)

juin 9, 2008

finally got down to doing this. i was quite excited when i headed down to the Shih Lin food market, prepped my stomach the whole day for it! haha. after hearing so much and seeing so much of the food on the variety shows, i couldnt wait to sink my teeth into them. do i sound like a glutton? haha heck, how many times do i get to go to taiwan..

shih lin is really a melting pot of sights, sounds, olfactory and gustatory pleasures. it wasn't as crowded as i expected though..and all the stores essentially sell the same stuff and they're so (over)enthusiastic in pulling you to their store. we hopped from place to place to try different food. guess how we decided on where to have oyster omelette? i saw a few pictures of celebrities endorsing this shop, including xiao zhu xD lovely.











As you can see, there were huge sausages, some kind of sticky starchy sotong and dunno what else, mee sua, oyster omelette and smelly tofu. hmmm they're good but they don't seem to be as fantastic as people like to make them out to be! and the smelly tofu doesnt stink at all, not as much as some in Ximending or in Hong Kong or China. But the famous fried chicken chop is a MUST-TRY. It's huge and juicy and spicy :D *starts to salivate* and it's so affordable too, only NT$50 for one which is about S$2+ :) but it's impossible for one person to finish and i was already bloated then. the yam milk tea there rockeddd too. (: still, shihlin is a must-visit destination in taiwan and it still is a very interesting and unique culinary experience. err but i think once is enough for me. much to sinful to handle =P

WHY DOES TAIWAN HAVE SO MUCH FOOD AND SKINNY WOMEN?

juin 5, 2008

it's 5 minutes to midnight! before the day ends, i must declare that the 3rd of June 2008 is a milestone for me, for a couple of reasons. :D yup, AStar, thank you for trusting me! i least expected it because that hope was long removed from my mind.

i have so many people to thank, so many people who've been through this long journey with me. my family, my colleagues, my friends. i've been hearing all kinds of advice and had my decisions tossed here and there all the time. just glad there's a bit more clarity now :)

"Remember to give your best shot at whatever you do"
Thank you so so so much! really touched i am (:

juin 3, 2008

great i'm happy to be back :) i don't have time to blog about the trip proper yet. so here are 2 of my nicest photos of the scenery in taiwan. the first is of the well-known Fisherman's Wharf ÓæÈËÂëÍ· in Dan Shui where the view of the sea from the port is just gorgeous. I love this place.. The second is of Taroko Gorge which is an immensely beautiful but dangerous place of interest in Hua Lian. And of course what is a taiwan experience without food right :D they'll be up very soon!

mai 24, 2008

bye bye! be back on Thursday :D Taiwan - the next country on my list that i've always wanted to visit for a few years already. let me catch some stardom hah.

hc dance night was good, really missed watching last year's one. maybe because everybody inside was more familiar. But i thought quite a few of the performances this year were really interesting :) it's been one hell of a week, but i've had a fair share of happiness :)

mai 18, 2008

this week is really packed, with a thousand things on my to-do list. you don't know how good it feels to check these items off one by one. and i'm leaving for taiwan this sunday till next thursday! hopefully i'll have a clean to-do list before i leave :)

a bit about the creative retreat a few days ago. it was a discussion on YOG and plenty of such discussions i've been to; the ideas always appear to be about the same. but it was still an amazing eye-opener anyway, especially when we're talking about people from the creative industry. there were designers, producers, artists, advertisers, dancers, performers, magicians and a few well-known personalities. it's the coolest thing :D and it reminds me of a dream i always harboured and still harbour - to be the creative director or graphic designer in an excellent design firm :D someone who could potentially be invited as a guest to such a seminar!



mr kiasu thrashes my YOG mascot hands down! he's going to overtake me anytime now! haha. and yep, the ideas wall is filled up now! our efforts haven't gone to waste. :)

mai 15, 2008

good luck (: i'm crossing my fingers for you.

happy mother's day! i'm touched by your willingness to support me, to withstand all sorts of oppression to protect us, to take care of the home without fail even though you nag and complain about it all the time, and your mental strength as you keep busy with work, cooking and household chores. :) i think i have a horrid attitude at home sometimes, but never could have asked for a greater mum (:

mai 11, 2008

today youxin came to my office! and we worked together on the creative retreat :) i must say i'm pretty excited! haha. so, THANK YOU SO MUCH YOUXIN for all that effort in helping me draw this and that. you did a great job! hope it helped you remember how you once loved to do art :) and i was happy to introduce you to the fabulous people in my office!

it was a long and agonising dinner. but if anything i must be even stronger.

mai 8, 2008

my mind's a lot clearer now. and i refound the zest for blogging! :)

just on friday one of my colleagues brought his three-year-old son to check out daddy's office. little matthew was absolutely adorable. :D you know, many of my bosses have children. Serious and focused as they may be during work, when it comes to family and children, they instantly turn proud and loving fathers. and they love to use their daughters and sons as examples to accentuate some of life's principles. in other words, it's their soft spot. i just read in today's sunday times - children provide an anchor in life, and to be responsible for another human being's life is the ultimate meaningful role a person can play. sometimes we hear about the horrors of taking care of little children and the sacrifices parents have to make. and we hear people saying they aren't going to have children for whatever reason. but in the end, can we really bear not to?

another quote i got from the article could apply to many of us now. "i've long learnt that you can't get everything you want in life, and so you must make the best of what you can get. And if you don't hit the jackpot but are given a consolation prize, count yourself lucky, grab it and treasure it because that's as good as it will ever get."

there are about 3 more months left before many of us disappear into university. and that is when the real challenge to our current friendships begin. after talking to youxin last night for a long while, i'm going to embark on making something special :D been a long while since there was something i could put my heart into making. pretty exciting :) it's a risk, but a worthy risk i hope.

mai 4, 2008

rough seas.. sorry, let me take a very short break from blogging okay? i will return soon. (:

avril 29, 2008

everytime i type something like in the previous entry, i get concerned friends coming to me. thank you i'm touched! :) dont worry i'm fine..i was just feeling stressed at that very moment. that moment only :)

i'd like to introduce my very fantastic penpal from Poland, Slawek (or Sav), who has been faithfully reading my blog, reading Youth.SG, and dropping me emails with meaningful discussions and encouragements despite my very slow replies. Thank you slawek! you've been a really nice penpal to talk to, and a very long-lasting one too. from experience, it's certainly not easy to chance upon a penpal like you! can't wait for you to come to singapore (: please do come before i go to university..so i can bring you and your very pretty wife around our lovely island. hee

avril 24, 2008

i'm getting pressure from everywhere. can hardly breathe. =S

avril 21, 2008

been some time since my camera took such lovely pictures. and at night! it was a good get-together, and a good recap of how we organised our fac outings. we'll never get bored talking about our ambitious plans that never came true, the ridiculous games that were never played, and how we came up with secret weapons for fac dance. and as usual, i love any place with the sea at night. plus it was a full moon night too :)

avril 19, 2008

been a week at SYOGOC. how i miss my old office and the ultra vibrant Youth.SG. but here, i learn something new every day too :) work has given me a chance to visit Pulau Semakau and its landfill (you'll never know how gorgeous the view is at the southern tip of the island till you see it!) and revisit OBS at Pulau Ubin. oh how i miss my experience in OBS. good to hear that LJ is still around! :)

it's the IOC seminar this week. on monday i managed to talk to a security officer for i-shan't-say-who-lest-i-get-charged (haha). very interesting! for me at least, but not for him. on tuesday i talked to Essar Gabriel, Head of YOG and a couple others from the IOC. they're really friendly..and i'm always proud to be the youngest around, no? :) on wednesday i met Shaffiq from Live 93.8, and i heard him do a live report from his MOBILE on the return ferry from Ubin to mainland! omg. how amazing, and very professional :D

i'm happy to have 2 of my great colleagues embark on this journey along with me. there's still a long way to go! Introducing...Felicia and Benjamin. happy birthday fel!

avril 18, 2008

月高高 星寥寥

拂微风 云飘遥

孤江边 心邈邈

两世牵谁人晓

回首间

几多欢笑昨夜天

残忆追旧年

而如今

人事早飞远

it's been 3 years, it's been 1 year.

avril 16, 2008

i'm crossing my fingers; i really, badly, want to get this. in fact, i've never wanted it so much until today. this time it's really down to fate.

avril 11, 2008

i've been having queer dreams recently. the previous night i dreamt of the guest list for today's YOG Appreciation Dinner (which is finally over after 2 weeks of hard work yayy. everything went pretty well :) ), and last night i dreamt that i got married. to you-know-who. i must be going nuts! haha. i should start a dream journal because i usually forget my dreams.

things are ever busy busy busy. okay busy is a very bad word so i should refrain from using it. the journey in SYOGOC has just begun. i had better be prepared. though i feel quite excited too :) speaking of that, i've got a new email at ng_huijin@singapore2010.sg! hah :D though i think huijin@youth.sg is nicer. the past 5 days have been so happening everything just zoomed past. i can't wait to take a proper break this weekend!

avril 9, 2008

i've had such a hectic and roller coaster-like week. today is like the unluckiest day i've had so far this year. literally a series of unfortunate events! but i shan't dwell on it.

i'm pretty happy to say that i went for my first event on tuesday though! (omg my first event after 3 months of internship) but honoured i am to have that chance :D it was called Blueprint 2008, which was part of the Singapore Fashion Festival held in the Tent@Orchard. Fel covered the event while i was there as a photographer :) i had no idea blueprint was such private and exclusive event! i saw guests in prada and burberry and probably many other brands i've never heard of. we were weaving through the crowd during the cocktail reception and it was an eye-opener for me to see so many good lookers and fashionistas. there were some celebrities and probably many many famous local designers too. argh, i couldn't recognise anyone. still, ATAS to the max! hoho, it felt good being armed with a media pass and camera though :)

i was half afraid i had to elbow my way through all the professional photographers gathered at the end of the runway in order to get a view of the fashion show proper, and i was almost ready to be aggressive in order to get the best shots just for Youth.SG. Grrr. But ahh, i needn't have bothered! these photographers arent paparazzi! they were much more civilised and organised than i thought. and of course, amazing their pictures were (compared to mine). anyhows, it was a great experience. shooting fashion shows require speed and precision! and an eye for the correct fashion angles. check out fel's article here.

avril 4, 2008

omg i must say this. Youth.SG is SOO worth visiting today. TODAY only. hahaha! good one, ed! :D

a visit to VJC today totally refuelled my love for school, for cca, for the homely compound, for the certain carefree life that comes with being a student. i miss you hwachong. (:

avril 1, 2008

wennie relived her love for oomph yesterday! haha. very bright and pretty place, with comfy couches and colourful lamps; with big RED napkins and an eclectic mix of songs. :) the food was mediocre, and the service was hmmm. shan't comment. anyhows, it feels good when you have $100 to spare for the meal and it's not from your own pocket :D

and then it was a visit to megan's mum! on a separate note, the four of us have a friendship lasting about 1 year and 5 months already. wow! it stemmed from a couple of ridiculous reasons (hurhur), but thankfully you chaps are not wolves hiding inside sheep outfits. haha. i believe it's a friendship that will stick around for many more solid years :) thank you for coming up with those crazy, impossible but highly-entertaining plans. =P haha but i decided i should just leave things as it is!

mars 30, 2008

it was a big discovery i made today, something that i am still very very very..stunned over. maybe i just didn't expect it to be about you, maybe i just can't imagine it to be you. i'm trying hard not to let this affect my perception, but i guess i really can't help but feel different. now that i hear the truth, all the small bits and hints finally fall into place. perhaps i really am inexperienced and innocent, but i thought you should have had some reservations. man, give me some time to swallow this.

king, thanks for being so honest with me. :) with 2 similar cases bared to me at around the same time, i wonder: what is the value of a relationship? how can one just enter all of a sudden and decide to quit the next instant? what went through your minds?

wait i need to clarify, the above has nothing to do with ME

mars 28, 2008

today i learnt that not everything is all that peachy fine after all. and i have to constantly tell myself, huijin stop being so weak. where did the courage go to? there's still a long way to go, and a lot that requires my full energy and concentration. i cant afford to slow down, so buck up!

hang in there you (:

mars 25, 2008

it has been an incredibly busy weekend! with lots of gatherings packed into 2 days. tiring but delightful :) the company rocked! but i spent soo much because we kept going to good places to eat, where i'd never go myself =S i loved the rooftop at eugene's house, love playing trauma centre haha, and loved the yacht club at night..beautiful.

i borrowed the SLR home over the weekend and practised what i learnt from the photography course too! cool :D my dad and i went downstairs for some field shots. i still find it quite difficult to use though. and my home's going to undergo a major revamp soon..im gonna be pretty busy.

















after such an un-lonely week, it's back to life again.

mars 23, 2008

i was looking forward to cycling in ubin..but i ended up waiting for nearly 2 hours just to get ferried across. and it was raining! DANG! i told eric this is the time when i need something to make my day. and make my day it did (:

There was an impressive 17 of us at dinner. the ubin food, the round table, the birthday celebration, the chatter, the company. it reminded me of the last time i had this feeling of family in ezoac - when we were dining in a restaurant in hong kong :) heartwarming to the max!

and then there was campfire, which was the last time we officially participated in YLTC. we refound ourselves as oac instructors, we resaid the words we left behind a year ago, and we remembered our own yl experience two years ago. the memories were as fond as ever. even though i didn't speak, i know all of us wanted so much to preserve the oac tradition and wanted the juniors to feel as much as we did.

spending the night at the jetty was so much better than staying at the campsite too! we were kept pretty warm (compared to OH) and free from mozzies and creepy crawlies. and we had better rations this time :D talking, sharing the food, listening to music, hearing the waves crash against the jetty and staring into the pitch black star-studded sky...i wished that moment could last forever. :)

even back in school, ezoac had so much fun! i haven't exercised for some time, needless to say MROC-style PT! omg i think we went crazy. but we persevered! we screamed at each other to go on, and we waited for each other. it is this inter-dependence that i miss; it is feeling the clean yl shirts on our backs after a moving speech that i miss. :) thank you again ezoac!

it's scary. it's already halfway through march.

mars 15, 2008

i've been lacking the inspiration to blog these few days...and these are the days when i:

wreck my brains to fill up this application and that
consider whether i should really move to yogoc
think about whether i should let my dad send me to China for a month
still dream about landing a job in the service industry
fully appreciate the essence behind Huang Cheng because my first experience watching it was a great one
realise the fragility of even the closest friendships
am no longer sure of what i mean to you
wonder where i'll be in six months' time
have no idea whether i can bear to leave everything behind
miss school spirit like crazy
just hope i can dinner with you guys soon
feel like i'm losing my usual energy and courage
convince myself to give up on something that's going to be a year old

posted my arty article on Youth.SG.

mars 12, 2008

gosh what a day it has been. to think i actually had a nightmare this morning which TOTALLY freaked me out. it was seriously traumatising because everything was so real. i think i woke up because i shouted something =S

anyways, i wanna thank the Youth.SG team for coming down to cover me, regardless of whether i did well or not. even though the videos are absolutely embarrassing (my friends had a few moments of fame too :D ), and there're still irritating evidences of the pox, i'm still really touched that you guys came down. Alvin, laichow, ben, fel, thanks so much for all that support! :)

it was good to see a lot of people again. had a little rare rendezvous with my classmates at west mall. i'm thankful that i'm finally able to see them and talk to them properly again. how much you guys have matured..and how much you guys are still the same. (: and oh, hurray for POP!

mars 7, 2008

i posted a silly blog entry about the pox on Youth.SG. haha. you can read it if you're bored. Meanwhile, i'm just waiting for everything to heal over. luckily the turmoil lasted just 2 days. fever for half a day and itchiness for one day. gosh the itchiness was a lot harder to bear than i thought! thank goodness for the people online who were around to hear me rant and let me occupy my hands. haha. please let me recover by this friday..

speaking of this friday... =S

mars 3, 2008

DANG i'm down with chicken pox. what horrible timing :( now i feel like i'm sitting at home waiting for imminent disaster. how stupid! and i'm quarantined for 10 days omg. :(

BUT MY LIFE SHALL GO ON! proud to present you my 2nd article on Youth.SG! CLICK. :)

and i had an intensive event photography course yesterday! So cool i learnt tons of new things and used an SLR properly. too bad i don't have one to practise on. and because of this stupid pox i had to miss the 2nd day of the course. argh.

BTW, i was oogling at the Oscar red carpet this year (not much to oogle at), but i spotted a few gorgeous dresses. ;) and this year, one-shoulder gowns are so in.

fevrier 29, 2008

an extremely pretty TCC branch in Changi airport T3

structural details of the famous Tour Eiffel in Paris

the interior of Au Printemps, a shopping mall in Paris. redefines the typical shopping experience

on a wall in a departmental store in Galeries Lafeyette, Paris

an exhibit on a wall in the Roman sculpture section, the Louvre

a guest room in Moet and Chandon champagne cellar's visiting hall, France

the crests on the gates of the Buckingham Palace, London

graffiti on the closed gates of a shop in Barcelona

the beautiful fitting rooms of a Diesel store in Barcelona

even the ceiling of the Estacio de Franca train station in Barcelona is gorgeous

a photo-heavy entry is such a visual treat isn't it? :)

on a separate note, *scape groundbreaking was a pretty good success. what i loved best? DJ Inquisitive! wow he's wayyy good. i loved his sounds..makes us all wanna groove! (: he REALLY does singapore proud. check him out here.

fevrier 26, 2008

[edit]happy birthday pengsing (: and happy thinking day!

wah it has been a packed few days..and i was toggling between office and scape. *Scape Ground breaking Ceremony this Sunday 4.30pm! Drop by if you wish! or if you want to see me hehe (:

and YAYY Singapore won Singapore won. woooohoooo~~ i was at the padang myself and witnessing all that action. seriously, singaporeans never felt more patriotic! and everybody was so hyped up and i thought Diya and Darren were good and Hady totally swept us off our feet! haha. i was holding Fel's hand when they were announcing and i hugged her first thing after we heard SINGAPORE. haha. whoops the DJ was good man..i could have just stayed back to party if it was a Friday and i dint have any care in the world. haha. andddd..i saw so many schools joining in and hwa chong was there too and i started missing school all over again =(

anyways, congrats i just posted my first proper article on Youth.SG! yay check it out here man. excited!

fevrier 22, 2008

i just felt like putting up these pictures. the first is from a chocolate shop and the second's from a pretty arty gift shop. both in barcelona.

   

fevrier 19, 2008

finally. gosh i miss singapore and i was pretty relieved to touch down even though it's only been 2 weeks. of course i had a fabulous time there! :) i'm quite exhausted now because i hardly slept on the plane so updates will have to come a bit later.. i've counted a whopping total of 1715 photos taken! omg. conclusion? on the whole i loved paris most, but the SWISS tops my list of the nicest people i've ever met. they are absolutely adorable and so friendly and jovial all the time! good thing the trip ended on a high note because the last place we visited was Mount Titlis. and that place is simply gorgeous.

and here's something interesting. we visited Rheims (Champagne Region) in France and got the chance to check out the wine cellars of 2 well-known champagne makers: Mumm and Moet & Chandon. and out of the blue my dad decided to buy 2 bottles of Moet, which he says will each only be opened on my wedding day and my brother's one too. oh gosh..i've never given much thought to something that far before. O.O it's cool, but it's really scary too.

fevrier 18, 2008

yes im in barcelona now! this place generally feels a bit old..but it is beautiful! and the shopping is like omg :D haha. oh the hotel here has been the best so far..it´s like a boutique hotel and the interior design is AWESOME. the service is good too! and not only do i have free wireless access in the room, they even provided an IBM notebook for use! mygosh. hahas. i miss singapore loadssss though..and everybody else. i´ll be blogging a lot about this trip after i return and writing about it for Youth.SG. watch out! :))

fevrier 12, 2008

whoo! i'm lagging in the hotel in paris now :) the days here are very short. sun's up only at 8am and the sun's down at 7pm. it's my last night in paris already. oh gosh i absolutely love this place :) happy chinese new year people! i'm going to london tomorrow and i'll be back in singapore only on 18th feb. see ya people! :D

fevrier 9, 2008

and so i headed down to the national library drama centre with youxin and peishan in anticipation of the play my colleague joyce so loved. :) when i reached i saw a huge sign at the entrance: Above 16 only. Strong language and adult themes (or something to that effect). haha i almost thought it was the wrong entrance..but it wasn't that bad lah. (beware of spoilers)

the play was HIGHLY entertaining. because it is essentially a parody, it actually spoofed a thousand things: from well-known personalities to tv shows, movies, music and local theatre productions. okay if you've never watched/heard of the subjects that they mentioned, you'll be clueless about what's going on in that scene and you'll be like err...when everyone around you starts laughing. haha. thankfully, i could get most of the satire. not all, but most at least. and i could tell they particularly liked to play on certain subjects such as dick lee (haha you should know what's so funny about that), beauty world, annabelle chong, 881 and the (in)famous MDA rap... but i particularly liked the High School Musical segment. Just imagine Singapore's very own HSM :D

the play takes you on a whirlwind journey because all they do is extract the essense of a subject, play on it, and whip you away to the next scene. so we watch scenes after scenes, like a series of short films. i guess that's why it's entertaining, because you have to pay attention every minute. it's PACKED with stuffs. yes the play was funny, but i think what i loved most was the singing! that's what i like about musicals. gosh the singing was just beautiful. we were all meant to laugh at the lyrics but because they sang so well and so in sync, i was quite mesmerised :)

after the first hour, i was thinking 'what?! i don't even see/hear any adult themes'. and then in the second hour, the play started to scream NC16 at us. hahaha. i could hear the people behind me going omg omg at certain parts.. and i can almost see thought bubbles with the letters LOL on top of people's heads. haha. and OH, the show was actually pretty interactive! the cast actually divided us up and made us sing some lines from national day songs. lols. we enjoyed ourselves! it's great value for the 19 bucks we paid. highly recommended! the shows end 3rd Feb but then again, we can always look for more Chestnuts instalments every year (:

fevrier 1, 2008

yes, i wanted to talk about the video torch relay because there're a couple of people i want to thank :) i embarked on some kind of video hunt last december and thank goodness, i managed to pin down 9 videos, thanks to some very enthusiastic friends or some who simply had to succumb to my orders (haha). nevertheless, it ended pretty because everyone won something! i've 4 winning videos under my wings, bravo!

biggie thanks to...the zonkies dawn, ongying, shuang, ming, and wen for providing some ideas and being so cooperative, yongsheng and mou for the amusing chapter at the ice skating rink, and last but not least sua for doing the things that nobody else would do and helping me rediscover my fervour in completing the tasks. (: and of course, to my trusty-but-decided-to-hang-on-me-at-least-20-times windows movie maker. there you go (: not so bad for a 100 bucks right? hehe.

aww man i could have gone for switchfoot tomorrow, if i didn't arrange to go watch a play tmr too. but nvm, chesty nutty bang bang, i'm excited!

janvier 30, 2008

welcome to the first book out :) it was just great to see everyone again! though not all turned up, there were more than enough people to make noise; and more than enough people who were singing the same tune - of national service. haha. it felt like all of us haven't seen each other for ages, when it had only been 3 weeks. the guys were really sufficiently entertained by one another! haha. okayy i had my fair share of entertainment too, ns seems pretty interesting (from a civilian's point of view). haha (:

it didn't take long for me to get used to their bald heads and dark skin, and they're still their usual self, albeit with a little air of maturity i always tend to associate with nsmen :D and they toughened up a bit too! haha. poor guys! though they had plenty of interesting stories to tell - like mou who got so animated while talking about his experience as a TOILET IC and aaron who's ever so enthusiastic and proud of being in leopard coy - i'm sure there was even more unmentioned hardship behind that. and in the meantime, all the girls have also evolved to become 女强人 already. haha.

the going will get tougher but we can always look forward to the next weekend right? haha. and for those who are falling sick, get well soon! there's still OH coming up!

and to a friend whom i've known for 6 years and one of the best companions i can have: TAN MING YI, HAPPY BIRTHDAY :D

janvier 27, 2008

some random quotes i found in my notebook which made me smile :) ...

| If the world were to end tomorrow, who would you want to be with, and what would you say to them? |

| Grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference. |

| There are no wrong turns; only wrong thinking on the turns our life has taken. |

i'll post more when i encounter them :) meanwhile, work is starting to pile up! talking to my bosses about certain issues has helped me gain quite a lot of insight.. when i'm not occupied, i'm in a pretty pensieve mood.

janvier 24, 2008

maybe i feel obliged to blog about this, or maybe i'm genuinely happy for this small yet mighty island, but yay singapore is on its way to Youth Olympic Games 2010! :D we're in the running along with Moscow..and i do hope we get it! (i think we can!)

oh man i'm currently very into subway and house of steamed potato/taro. the latter is extremely addictive..but i bet you have NO clue what the heck it is. haha. and i'm still waiting for a chance to try out toast box! gee(:

since there's no winning or losing end so to speak, i think i'll fight for it. and at least put up a good fight that is. :)

[edit] and because i know you'll read this, and to make it more attention grabbing =P..HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUA!!!! (19 jan) haha i'm still holding on to ur present~

janvier 21, 2008

what a unique "working" day it was yesterday. managed to see a side of my colleagues i don't normally get to see. but it was a pleasant, relaxing and chill out day for us! the good thing is, i got to try out some attractions in sentosa for the first time..like the sky ride + luge and "kayaking" (because they didn't look like kayaks in any way). the luge was fun! it really satisfies the need for speed that some people have..but my timid side took over and so it took me a few tries before i stopped hanging on to the brakes for life. haha. it's a great pastime for a group of friends though :D

after lunch we went to siloso beach for games. and a sense of deja vu just washed over me. it was about the exact same spot ezoac hanged out, and the same games like frisbee and volleyball and soccer we played, but 2 very very different groups of people. both groups are great company really, but it makes me wonder how long it'll be before ezoac can lag together again :( and then we played some kind of hockey game using all kinds of materials and it was IMMENSELY funny. i think we didn't even last 20 minutes because everybody was just bowling over with laughter till our abs hurt. hahaha. we tried kayaking too in some kind of single/double/triple kayak-like thing within a puny part of the sea and it turned out to be a chasing and water-splashing activity. hah :)

so much for a healthy lifestyle day, i've a hunch i'm going to fall sick already. i feel very burnt and warm with a bit of bad nose day. and i've a nasty abrasion at my butt because of the uncomfortable kayak :S anyway, here's my thanks to sufei my fellow intern and laiyee my supervisor. last day together yesterday, but i'm glad to have met you guys :)

janvier 19, 2008

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it's been nearly 2 weeks of work already, and boy i had my fair share of fun and laughter :) it impresses me how easy it is to assimilate into the working environment at YD, because i simply have great bosses and great colleagues :D they really do know how to have fun while doing work! can you believe it, tomorrow is our Healthy Lifestyle Day and the whole division is going to Sentosa to have some fun! lols. and today we had a 3 hour lunch at a jap restaurant because laiyee and sufei are leaving :( and i've only worked with them for 2 weeks!! sigh. but hearing alvin talk can be really entertaining. haha. i'm quite sure my term around here will be pretty fruitful and pleasant :) with laichow and ben and fel and joyce and alvin and all the rest, wow there's much for me to look forward to. and i must say, i love reading what our spanking writers are writing. they're good i tell you!

even though i keep singing praises to my internship, i feel my life's a bit imbalanced. don't know what's your take on working life, but i just don't like it. every day just passes by and it's a work-eat-sleep routine. pretty aimless and meaningless, though technically there IS meaning in my work. i've just yet to find peace with such a life. 6 months at it? gosh..what am i going to miss out on.

can't wait for you guys to book out, so we can have a proper gathering :)
oh and in case the above appears gibberish, pls do right click and change your encoding to chinese simplified!

janvier 17, 2008

"Flowers may die, the sun may set, but a friend like you I will never forget. Your name is precious it will never grow old; it's engraved in our hearts with letters of gold."
to 2 of my greatest friends, thank you so much :) i hope you're doing well..

janvier 13, 2008

i'm just at my first few days at work, and it's not too bad :) at least the people at youth div are really really nice..and young too! haha.. i'm just getting to know them better. interesting bunch. and i can't wait to learn as many things as possible :) and since i'm part of this, let me make a pitch for it. you guys must check out Youth.SG! there're tons of wonderful things up there prepared by my wonderful team of colleagues daily :D

on hindsight, i'm really missing school, especially the school compound, and all my friends. days seem to past extremely fast when i work, and i still need time to get used to such a life. most of my good friends are also taking turns to disappear into the guts of tekong, even wen is going to china. so besides working, i spend the rest of my time emoing. haha kidding. but there're just so many things i miss and am going to miss..

janvier 10, 2008

i just had one of the most unique and exciting countdowns ever! cant believe i did it. haha. i went for overnight biking cum countdown with junhua, aaron, mou and eric. =) we went to the riverside near indoor stadium to catch fireworks. even though we were obstructed by some buildings, it was quite a beautiful and not-so-crowded place. my first time there! and it's the 3rd time i'm watching live fireworks with ezoac. wow!

after that we headed north and dropped by wen's house in bishan :) it was already 3am! then we TAUGHT HER HOW TO CYCLE and chatted till 5.30am. i really must talk about wen's amazing feat! she could balance on the bike within 15 min and we were all so awed by her natural knack for cycling :D after that we made our way back to east coast park and estimated 2 hrs for the journey but we took only 1 hour!! the traffic was pretty smooth and we sped all the way back (: shuang! thanks eric for being a great navigator!

even though i'm suffering from severe lack of sleep, i'm so glad i spent my last few hours of 2007 and first few hours of 2008 with ezoac. this must mean a good year ahead! haha. had class chalet yesterday..it's great to meet up with everyone again, cause in a week's time so many good friends will be gone :( thank goodness my work starts next monday, now i have more time to settle all my stuff.

janvier 3, 2008

it's new year's eve already. and i've been so busy these few days i havent been thinking about things and have been a little too cooped up with my own affairs. i really need some reflection about my own attitude. i hope 2007 ends on a good note, because the past few days haven't been fantastic. too much computer and too little sleep..it's gonna drive me crazy =S

anyhows, i think 2007 was quite a good year for me. in fact, i really loved my 2 years in JC. "Life-if you take away the bad and painful, you would not have experienced the good that comes with it." i never could have imagined myself to be able to find family in my friends, do the craziest things without feeling embarrassed, and be so sure of something that i want. whether 2007 was good for you or not, it's over and we're through it! all of us are bound to have grown and matured, and come out stronger. let's all hope that 2008 will be even better and even more fruitful (:

and here's a big thank you to all who helped me with the Blazing the Trail video: zonkies (ming, dawn, ongying, wen, shuang, atee), mou and yongsheng, and of course sua! all you wonderful actors, i really truly appreciated the help :D thanks for not complaining when i dragged you guys in! have a smashing new year! yay im so looking forward to 6jan and the birth of our beautiful ezoac calendar!

decembre 31, 2007

christmas was pretty enjoyable! it has always been quite a toned-down affair for me but this time, i've friends over on christmas eve and christmas day yay! :D zonkies came on christmas eve and we cooked our own dinner and countdown to christmas by the poolside :) it was quite a peaceful and beautiful night. and it's been pretty long since we last caught up. it's a pity we still couldnt have full attendance this time.

then peishan, wen and youxin came over on christmas day to cook lunch! it was peishan and youxin's first time cooking..bet it was fun :P just look at the spread..we're not bad okay! but there was too much food leftover lol.. anyway, i'm pretty happy and contented. about 8 more days left to enjoy. goshh

haha sorry youxin but i have to put this! dear youxin looks like a star after a mini makeover using my shades and a hat and boots i bought in hongkong. cool huh =)

decembre 25, 2007

finally..a new template! :D i'm trying a different theme again..and i quite like it but i think the colour seriously looks weird here :( it looked normal on photoshop but when put on the web the colours become very limited. so sad. it makes the photo look quite ugly. aiya nvm.

finally back from hongkong :D it was an amazing trip. really. and it was a trip filled with miracles cause we almost missed both our flights but we were very lucky :D thank goodness. and we visited loads of places and all the food was was greatt! plus we managed to catch some celebrities in action. and boy the disneyland stitch encounter was so memorable. heh. i think the 8 of us enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. i tried my best to take in everything i see, savour every moment, and appreciate the presence of my batchmates. such bliss is hard to come by. it's quite impossible to write everything down here, i've already written 16 pages in my diary. lol.

hong kong's night scenery by the river is so so beautiful. thank you shiu for being such a wonderful and responsible host and the rest for being great companions. now we're probably left with tons of memories and maybe 10gb worth of photos and videos to lock those memories :D it's a great way to end the year isnt it?

decembre 23, 2007