[London]

I don't really know what's the best way to present this, so I shall put it all as one post. If u feel bored, pls get back to it another day. London was fun!

Day 0 - Rude shock

I arrive at the hostel today and get the shock of my life. It looks terribly run down, steep stairs and no lifts. The booking system fucked up so instead of Mon-Fri, I am booked for Sun-Thur, which means I have to pay for a day for which I wasn't even here, and I have to look for another place for Friday (they're fully booked...according to the not so friendly receptionist). There was no way I could carry my bag up the stairs so I asked him if he could help. And for that he made me wait a full 10 minutes, while he was joking around with his buddy. There's about 12 beds in my room, luckily not all occupied. And I got the bottom bunk, phew. The strange Chinese guy above me is asleep at 9, and he asked if I could off the lights on my way out. Hmmm. We don't have any lockers so I hope everyone's honest. There's only one shower per floor (which has at least 20 ppl), so I guess I have to queue tmr morning for a bath. I go down to the kitchen to use the internet but the connection sucks so I only managed a few minutes. I hate this place. Reb hasn't answered my sms, I miss Stockholm, I'm thinking about my eye-candy. I feel miserable. I don't have stomach for dinner. Suddenly there's internet connection in my room. I chat with Steph for awhile and as always, she makes me smile again. I go to bed. Hoping tmr will be better. After this place, Jagargatan was luxury. Remind me never to book a backpacker's hostel ever again.

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Day 1 - Strikes and Tower of London

There are some strikes going on in London and because of that, some attractions are not open. WTF. First, HMS Belfast is closed. Then Tower Bridge is also closed. There's a bunch of people standing outside the admissions, campaigning for pensions to be paid out in full. Damn, get out of the way, I just wanna see the sights. I ask a fellow tourist to take a pic for me. He runs away after snapping it, and I realize he didn't even take a shot. Bleah. There are extremely strong winds. I'm walking along the bridge and it's a breeze to walk (sorry for the pun) cos the wind is pushing me from behind. I walk to Tower of London, not knowing what's in store for me. There's lots of people, and it looks open, so I buy a student ticket (luckily they believed my KI library card...) and am in time for the guided tour. Our guide Ray is very witty, telling us tales of who got beheaded where. It seems that beheading was a very common practice...and they called themselves a civilized nation. Hmmph! The interior of the Tower of London was beautiful. My exact idea of a castle, equipped with drawbridges and all. He showed us around the Whitehall, chapel and the places where the tour guides live even today. A bit of trivia: the beefeaters are named so b'cos long long time ago, while the commoners were eating bean sprouts and potatoes, the soldiers and royal guards were having a good time eating beef inside the castle. "Damn those bloody beefeaters", said the commoners, and there the name stuck. After the tour, we went on to see a couple of museums ourselves...like the Crown Jewels and the Bloody tower (where two young princes were murdered). My lunch was a couple of digestives...surprisingly I wasn't that hungry.

Finally left since I got bored of the museums. Walked along Thames, almost getting blown away by the strong winds again. The atmosphere was nice though. Took a train from The Monument (they definitely won't get awards for exciting names) to Piccadilly Circus to get my half-price tix for Phantom of the Opera. It wasn't exactly half, maybe three-quarter, but I got a pretty good deal...front row circle seats for category 3 price. Yay. It was an impromptu decision to watch the matinee but since I hadn't planned to do anything else, why not. Went to Mac's for lunch (decided to indulge a bit) and the McChicken was a disappointment. The banana milkshake was yummy though. Rushed back to Her Majesty's Theatre to catch the show. It was kinda small, but hey, a musical in West End, what more could I ask for! The show was naturally astounding. I got to see it again at last. The leads were awesome. Sing! Sing for me! I wished they'd done the main song as an encore. Now I'm in the mood for more musicals, perhaps tmr I should catch Mamma Mia or Whistle Down the Wind (only cos they have BZ's song :P and it will probably never make it to S'pore). Shall scout for more half-price tickets...but then again, if I get a good seat for three-qaurter of the price, it would be a good deal as well. Musicals musicals here I come!

Walked around Piccadilly after that. Headed to Soho to check out the pubs and discos. Interesting night life. Chinatown was a bit dead...same as last time. There were many bookshops which had sex shops downstairs. I would've gone down, but ppl were looking at me even as I wondered into the 'naked ladies' book section. Oh well. I went to a *ahem* bar after that. Was wondering whether I should go in since I was alone but the person at the door assured me it was fine. Fine yeah, but boring. (Oh btw for those of u who are shocked, here's a newsflash...I'm not that tame...haha. And anyway this is the first time I've ventured into a bar alone...wonder what got into me...I guess I didn't dare to go to one in Sweden so I was like...ok it's now or never...). Bought a coke and sat in one corner, staring at a couple of girls who were making out...heh. Was hoping to get chatted up lol but too bad that never happened. Instead I got really bored so I left after I finished reading some mag. The person at the front was pretty nice. I wasn't really sure abt the gender...she looked pretty manly...but with a touch of woman-ness...So anyway, he/she asked if I enjoyed myself. I said it was boring cos I was alone. And she asked if I made any friends. Haha. She was hoping I'd come back and have a better time. Perhaps I will, when I'm meeting Reb on Thur or Fri. She told me it was her fave bar..so yeah... I got home quite late and surfed on the net for awhile at the bar. The ppl there were like wondering why's this girl in here with her laptop. Haha. But since the kitchen was pretty crowded, I thought the bar would be better, but it was noisier (well I didn't know there would be ppl in the bar on a Tues night). Steph was online and as usual, she worked her miracle and made me feel better (I was missing my eye-candy...and err..Sthlm...). We chatted for some time till the guys were getting too drunk for my comfort. Then I went back up to my miserable room to dream about u know who.

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Day 2 - Beefeaters, Daffodils, Harrods and more

Things are heating up. Had a really tiring day today but it was worth the fun. Set out a little bit later today...wanted to leave at 9.30 but my laptop distracted me (tsk tsk) so I left around 10.30. Headed to Buckingham Palace to see the queen but she wasn't in. Instead, we got treated to the military band and the change of guards ceremony. I think the Swedish army has nicer uniforms (blue vs gray...too bad they didn't have their red summer uniforms on). It was pretty chaotic..there were loads of people there (tourists never seem to get tired of the place...I didn't wanna go either since I'd already been there...but who knows...Prince William cld've been there haha).

Walked around St James' Park after the ceremony. It was LOVELY. L.O.V.E.L.Y! Stark contrast from the snowy parks in Stockholm. The flowers were blooming and the birds were chirping. The perfect atmosphere for a picnic in the park, so I took out my tuna sandwich and had my lunch facing the pond. My camera was behaving itself throughout the change of guards ceremony but it started to go wanky. So I took out my disposable camera and snapped some photos.

Went to Westminster Abbey after that. Finally. I can't believe I left it out the last time. I thought it was just a look-see-take pictures monument. The interior of the cathedral was simply magnificent. Every corner, every ceiling, was so lavishly carved and decorated. There were too many tombs for my liking (I don't really care who died when and wasn't comfortable with the thought of walking above graves) so I looked at the architecture instead. If you go to London, you basically CANNOT skip this. I've seen lots of churches and cathedrals now tho...hope I can enter into a lavish looking mosque in Turkey or Egypt some day..soon.

Went on to see the Big Ben after that. It was another thing I just "saw" the last time I came. Too bad the tower was out-of-bounds cos it was still considered winter but there was a debate going on in the House of Parliaments so albeit the 40 min queue I decided to attend the session. Apparently I wasn't the only one interested cos the queue had at least 60 tourists in it. All that hoo-haa over nothing much really. The guard was right...sometimes the topic is so boring that you just need two minutes of it. Who needs to hear British MPs blabbering about immigration rights anyway. So after checking out the interior (which was very grand btw) and sitting for about 5 minutes (after queuing for 30 mins outside!) a number of us left. Didn't regret it tho. At least I got to see parliament in session.

Was wondering where to go next. I think I'm not that organized this time round b'cos I didn't have my trusted Lonely Planet travel guide (I'm not advertising for them but their books are pretty good since they have walking trails around particular areas). Here or there? Here or there? In the end I decided to try taking a red London bus to Trafalgar Square to see the pigeons (I've been traveling by the tube all this while. And I wanted to see the pigeons cos last time there were hardly any :P). Must've been my luck cos there were plenty of them today. Too bad my digicam was ku-ku so I didn't take many pics..just a couple with my disposable cam. It was almost a sin being there and not going into the National Gallery so since the observatory was about to close (I think I have a thing for observatories now...and since London is where the Greenwich Time is...) I decided to take a quick (not) look around. It was fun checking out the paintings of Da Vinci after reading the Da Vinci Code. Paid a little more attention to his paintings this time (tho I don't remember any of the conspiracies that were mentioned in the book haha). I was getting bored (museums ain't my thing...) so I skipped over to the more recent artists like van Gogh and Monet...my favourite artists (or at least I have SOME affection for them after our Sec 2 art project...). Kew Gardens was about to close too so I decided to head to Harrods instead for some (window) shopping. The place was very luxurious...all sorts of brand names, all sorts of things. They had hair clips which cost $50 to handkerchiefs which cost $150. Guess what I bought? A Harrods chocolate croissant. Haha. Well, it was only 1 pound so I was like yeah why not... branded pastry lol. I was looking through Harrods world wondering what to get (I fell in love with a couple of bags...as usual...) but it was closing time (it was only 7pm!). I hope I get to drop by again...to get my bag *winks*

Took another bus (I'm getting better at buses...) to Oxford St to check out Selfridges. The prices there were crazy..I guess that's what you get for high end shopping in London. The cheaper things (so called un-branded) cost 230 pounds so I decided to leave...since it was about to close anyway. Walked walked walked...Debenhams didn't look that interesting...and since Bond St tube was nearby I decided to go back.

I'm looking forward to tmr. Going to Stonehenge after a lot of scouting around for tours. It costs 10 pounds more than what I had planned for (cheap ones for backpackers) so I hope it's as 'luxurious' as the brochure described it to be. Right now, I'm getting pretty freaked out cos the irritating fellow is purposely picking on a fellow hostelite, and 'Dave' is smoking his joint. And Mr I-like-to-strip-into-my-underpants-to-sleep has just stripped so I think I should close my eyes and go to sleep. Remind me to tell u abt my adventure in this hostel.

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Day 3 - Was worth every penny

Started off a little late today. The tube is so screwed up that there's always jams here and there. I was 10 mins late for the coach and it didn't help that I didn't know where the Victoria Coach Station was. As I stepped onto the bus, I realized that everyone else was already there. Thankfully they were sorting out other matters so I wasn't the (sole) culprit for making them wait. I suppose they wanted us to come by 8.10 so that they could sort things out and leave by 8.30.

Our itinerary included Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Actually I thought I'd only be interested in Stonehenge. But I think among the three, Windsor castle was the most beautiful. We got a touch of the English countryside, then walked around the castle, which the queen still lives in today. It's mighty big and the architecture was such a marvel, though the Brits weren't too happy with the cost of building it. Definitely quenched my thirst for wanting to see a "typical" looking castle. In fact, the king who built it wanted it to mimic medieval time castles he saw in a children's book, so yeah, I got what I wanted (the castles in Sthlm have their own Scandinavian touch...not the type we usually see). We also got to see Eton College (too bad Prince William is not there anymore :P) and the change of guards ceremony which takes place only on Thurday. Lucky eh? But then again, I think I've watched tons of such ceremonies...so I don't think I'll be missing them anytime soon. I walked into a shop which let u dress in Victorian costumes and take a photo. It was relatively cheap and very tempting, but I didn't want to risk running late (the tour guide was warning us how he wouldn'tt wait for latecomers) so sadly I had to skip that. I hope I bump into a similar shop in London!

Our second stop was Stonehenge. Yay! The monument was fantastic...such grandiose considering the fact that it was built out of sheer human strength, in times where there were no machines and hammers were wooden. The scenery in the background was another jaw dropper...fields and fields of grass, sheep nibbling on grass and the sky was such a beauty. I could've just sat there the whole day and soak in the atmosphere but unfortunately we only had an hour to spend there. And to my horror, the bus was waiting for me cos I had taken a long time at the souvenir shop. Tsk tsk. Luckily I don't blush easily or the whole bus would've seen me go crimson red.

We stopped by a cosy old pub for lunch. It's the second oldest in England, and they have documents to prove it. I had roast beef with new potatoes (any idea why they call it new potatoes??) and it was yum yum. The setting reminded my of a BZ video where they were sitting in a pub gulping down beer. Guess I don't need to go to Ireland now haha. I would've had dessert but lunch was already costing a bomb (11 pounds) so I stepped out early to admire the view. Lovely. I got a couple of "love's"...oh I just love the way them Brits talk. ("The toilet's just behind the courtyard love". And earlier on "The nearest tube is Green Park darling"). Ah I could just swoon lol.

Our final destination was Bath. I realized that my history totally sucks cos I didn't even know the Romans were in England at one point in time. We had one hour of free time which I totally wasted cos I didn't get to see much. I wanted to go to MicroWorld...where everything's so small u have to see things through a microscope. But I got lost and ended up in the bus station and by the time I decided to go to the Jane Austen Centre instead, it was almost time for us to assemble at the Roman Baths. So I bought a cone from Ben & Jerry's, sat on a bench and admired the town centre till 5.20. We not only had a personal guide inside, we also had a private tour of places usually restricted to the public. The place closed to public by 5 so we basically had the place to ourselves and that was really cool. I was more impressed by the town than the baths but it was informative anyway. The water was quite green and murky...but it was nice imagining what it would've been like thousands of years ago. It got a bit cold and since the water was abt 80 deg, there was steam above it, creating a pretty mysterious atmosphere. The idea of a spa, complete with exercise, sauna, massage were already existent at that time. But wait till I tell you the details, you'll be grossed out at certain parts!

That marked the end of our amazing journey through the countryside. It was a 2.5 hr journey back to London. The moment I reached the hostel, I packed my bags (like IMMEDIATELY) cos I was so eager to get out of that yucky place. I was lugging my heavy luggage and almost reached the first floor when a girl graciously offered to help. Thanks darling! Hehe. I took a cab down (yeah you can imagine how eager I was to move out) to Mowbray Court Hotel. The cab driver was very friendly. He asked me if I was crazy traveling to London alone all the way from sg but I told him it was just a stopover from Sweden. I was asking him abt more places to go and he seemed to think that I've already done it all (at least in London) so I felt pretty accomplished. Every other thing he mentioned thereon, I had already been to. So yeah...like he said, I think I don't have to return here for another decade or so. It was the most expensive taxi ride I've taken...18 pounds...but well worth it when I realized my room was a luxury compared to the hostel. They almost didn't wanna book me in cos I didn't have a hardcopy of my e-voucher but they gave in somehow. Now my room's in a mess cos the whole place is mine to litter!! And no one's gonna come in and snoop around. And I have my own toilet. Woohoo! So to take advantage of my new found privacy, I was walking around in my room rather scantily but I'll spare you the details.

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Day 4 - The reunion

I was half expecting Hiba not to turn up today, since it was already 10 and she hadn't sms-ed me yet. If there's one thing I've learnt, it's to not count on others and be independent. So I thought I'd go to Kew Gardens instead. But halfway there, she sent me a msg so I got onto another train to meet her at Shepherd's Bush. It was a sweet feeling, meeting her after 2 years. The same surreal feeling I had when I met Elin again, cos I never thought I'd be able to meet my friends again, especially so soon after I left Sweden the last time. We hugged for almost a minute then decided to go to the open market down the street. It wasn't very impressive - most of the merchants were Indians and I have something against buying things made in India or China in Europe (since I know how cheap you can get them in India and how they rip you off in here) so we didn't buy anything. We walked and walked and walked...Hiba wanted to go to a Lebanese restaurant which had authentic halal meat. In the end, we had walked for like 20 mins and decided to settle for one along Edgware Road. The food was yummy...I love Lebanese food! (the first time I fell in love with it was at the restaurant at the Stockholm mosque, *drools* even my family loved the food there) I had a funny feeling that the name of the road sounded familiar, and ironically enough, after lunch, I saw the Malaysian restaurant that sis Mariam brought me to last time I was here. Damn. Would've been nice to intro Hiba to some local food. If we meet tmr, we'll go there for lunch hehe.

We didn't really have any plans. I wanted to go to Kew Gardens but it was in a different zone as the one our travelcard permits so Hiba wasn't too keen on it (the problem when u're traveling with someone...unless u have a more accommodating partner like GH heh) so we went to Harrods. I indulged in a Harrods bag and got a souvenir for GH. Was feeling guilty buying it but it wasn't THAT expensive...considering it's Harrods...and anyway, how often do I go there? :P We walked through the different sections and kept wondering which stupid people would wanna spend hundreds of pounds on things which you can get at half price in a regular shopping centre. Oh well. Those who have too much money to waste.

We went to Baker St which I mixed up with Goodge St for having cheap shopping so we dropped by Sherlock Holmes museum instead. We looked through the souvenir shop (since we're bored of museums and didn't wanna waste 6 pounds on something we didn't really wanna see) then we just took a pic with the guard outside...he was cute...and we could pose in a hat and cigar haha. We went to Leicester Square to get tix to Mamma Mia but they were fully booked (needed to book 4 months in advance for weekends tix since it's a pretty new show... didn't realize that or I wouldn't have minded watching a second musical on Tues). Settled for Whistle down the Wind. Too bad Hiba couldn't join me cos she had to catch her train home early. We headed down to Oxford St then to do more shopping (I've become a dangerous shopper now that I have some spending power and my card as my weapon). Debenhams had lots of cute makeup sets which I didn't really need. But it was cheap and I really wanted the set with the mascara so I bought one anyway. Now I know why sis Mariam's friend (oops what's her name..) bought 3 boxes for her friends last time. We were pretty tired walking and walking but we went around a few other shops...must sees like Selfridges and Marks & Spencer for the sake of it.

I had a mad dash to Palace Theatre. I should've taken the tube instead of the bus b'cos I forgot there'd be a peak hour jam. And when I finally reached the stop, I didn't know where exactly the theatre was, and neither did the few people I asked. In the end I asked a rickshaw driver who knew the direction. He asked whether I wanted a ride there and since I was pretty flustered and didn't wanna risk getting locked out of the show in case I was late, I decided 3 pounds wasn't a big price to pay. I wished he could've gone faster tho, like the skilled drivers in India who can weave in and out of traffic like nothing, but I managed to get there on the dot. And I mean 7.30 sharp. Luckily they were only just calling ppl to take their seats so I managed to catch a breath before getting in.

Needless to say, the show was fantastic. I had no idea what it was about...I only knew abt it cos it had No Matter What in it and anything to do with BZ I know haha. The storyline was pretty touching. And the parts with No Matter What made me smile. I'm amazed hearing BZ songs can still make me excited. Once a fan always a fan eh? Which reminds me of something…apparently Take That are planning a reunion (I think) cos I saw several places selling tix for their concert in May 2006. I wonder if they'll do a world tour tho. Would be nice to see them in action again. I wanted to buy the show's soundtrack but I realized the version of No Matter What they had was BZ's version...they didn't have the stage version so I passed. I was pretty tired with the day's walking so here I am now, chilling out on my last day in London. I'll miss ya darling. ;)

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Day 5 - Toodles London

I was pretty disappointed last night cos Reb didn't reply my msg about meeting up. And since I didn't get any msgs this morning, I assume I'll be going home without meeting her. Sad. I missed my chance to go to Kew Gardens again cos Hiba wanted to meet. How could I say no. We walked along river Thames towards Tower Bridge. We got distracted by London Dungeon so we stopped there first instead. It was supposed to be a house of horror but it turned out to be more of a joke house. First of all, since the British love their language so much, they were telling us supposedly gory tales instead of scaring us. By the time they got to the gory bit, I already got bored...and I felt like going...ok get to the point already. Room after room...the only scary part was the corpse that jumped up from the autopsy table. There was a sign that said "pls alert staff if you are feeling faint or unwell". I felt like askign them to evacuate me cos I was getting bored. I think they need to learn a thing or two from Sthlm's ghost house or Bkk's Ripley's haunted house.

We walked to Tower Bridge after that and snapped some photos cos I wanted to finish up my disposable cams. Then we went to Edgware Rd for Malysian cuisine. The guy kinda pissed me off cos I was ordering food in Malay but he kept replying in English. And yet on my way out I heard him joking with his friends in Malay. Stayed too long in London to speak Malay? Show off! We did more shopping after that. Hiba wanted to buy more stuff for her family since she was going back to Sthlm for easter. I was quite bored cos I was pretty much done with shopping, and the shops didn't really interest me (middle eastern goods). A lot of walking again, then we went into the very famous shops which sold branded stuff at cheap prices. I gave in to temptation and bought a T-shirt for myself and Sakura. I went back to my hotel to get my bag then headed to Heathrow. Had to take a shuttle bus cos the terminal 4 tube station was closed. Luckily there were free porters there who helped me carry my luggage up the 33 steps.

There was another drama at the airport. There were so many queues open for British Airways but the area was totally jam-packed. Then as we were getting near the front, the officer asked us who was going to sg. They told us that the flight was over-booked so we had to wait to see if there were anymore seats for us. Crap. At that point in time, I just wanted to go home. But the idea of being driven in a limo to put up in a hotel for the night was tempting, and YK and I were like...hey then we get to claim insurance for flight delay haha. But nothing that exciting happened. Not even the coffee they said they were gonna get us. About 20 mins before our scheduled flight, they managed to find us seats so we checked in the express lane (they didn't even care that YK's bag was too heavy). And when I finally got onto the plane I was like...great...I'm going home. Enough adventures for now. :)

[The sky]

What you mean to me
You'll never know
I want to say
But I cannot show

You came into my life
And disappeared in a flash
After this journey
You'll be my secret stash

To see your deep blue eyes again
I hope one day our paths will cross
To tatter in deep conversation
In this land of frost

[Think before you talk --- Goodbye Stockholm]

I'm really really pissed with YK right now. So pissed that if I wanted to be childish I should stop talking to her. I trusted her with something really personal about my eye-candy and told her not to tell a single soul about it. Then we went for dinner. And within minutes she's like "hey saf i told XL abt it" I was like WTF!! I very clearly told her not to tell anyone, and yet 10 minutes later she says "oops I forgot...I just blurted it out". Goodness. And now XL wants to tell Jon, and who knows where else the story might travel to. I was telling XL not to tell Jon, but she was like...well I don't think the person will mind (ok at least they don't know that the person is my eye-candy). I guess when YK says she usually talks before she thinks, she really means it. I really needed to tell someone about it and I thought since she was so open-minded, she could handle the truth. Handle yeah she did, but her big mouth made it leak within minutes. She didn't even apologise! I'm feeling so guilty now. I should've just kept it to myself. Not that my eye-candy told me to keep mum, but I just don't think it's a topic u'd want many ppl to know abt. At least GH kept really quiet abt something else I told her. Steph suggested I strike her off my friends list (since she also pissed me off previously by telling me at the last moment that I'll have to go to London alone since she's going around with her friend ALONE). So my response was, well, she was always in my colleagues list, not friends. o as for now, I think she'll remain there for some time. I just hope the story doesn't get passed on to everyone. And even worse if it gets back to my eye-candy, tho pretty unlikely. Damn, I shouldn't be so trusting next time!

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Ok well, on to more cheerful things (well kinda..). Met Elin this afternoon in town. We shopped a bit at Drottningatan then went to Rosendal park for a fika (so called coffee and dessert session). Was great meeting her again before flying off. We were saying how now since we've had our first reunion, it doesn't seem that keeping in touch or meeting again in future is such an abstract idea anymore. I'm not letting her off..she still has to come to sg and she said she's not letting herself off too. Heh. Come to think of it, I don't think I blogged about going to the countryside to her place again last weekend. It was like a surreal feeling...big big huggies when we met at the train station. Then as we went up my fave hill that overlooked the frozen lake, I was like... wow I'm back here again! Wonderful feeling. I had actually planned to bring everyone along but as I probably mentioned before, my group is extremely undecisive - one min they wanted to come along, one minute they wanna go to town. Their loss. GH enjoyed it tremendously. The fields and fields of snow and the hairy cows (we dunno what they're called). And just like before, we had a little picnic at the top of the hill and took lots of pics (none of which I have since my friggin' cam decided to have a mood swing). The wind was so strong, the rustling through the trees sounded as if we were sitting at the beach at high tide. At one point in time it was quite hard to walk cos the wind was blowing against us. We went down onto the lake, there was so much snow that we couldn't really see the ice. There was some what of a snowstorm (picture a dessert sandstorm except it's snow..) and Elin made us a snowangel on the ground. It started snowing snowballs on our way back. Really interesting. Instead of snowflakes, what came down looked like what u'd get if u crunched up a styrofoam box. It looked really really cute. So we've seen 3 types of snow now...snowflakes, ice (painful when it hits ur face btw) and snowballs. And I thought snow was just snow.

After fika, I went to Kista to meet Ayisha. I felt pretty bad cos I was almost an hour late (till she decided to have lunch first without me haha). We talked, did some shopping, I bought my box to send home my notes in. We didn't hang around long cos she wanted to hurry home to pray so yeah...we did our huggy thing, I took a pic with Leyla (who is 3 now and can talk..heh). Ayisha said we'd meet again, perhaps when she comes to sg in future, Inshallah. That'd be really cool. And she said I prob won't return to sweden since I've already been there twice and I was like..well u never know ;) I wasn't teary but of course I was a bit sad. Nice to know though that at least I got to meet my friends again. Sthlm, I'll miss you.

[Uppsala lalalalala]

Ok believe it or not, that's Uppsala university's cheer. It's the oldest uni in Scandinavia, Sweden's first. I went to Uppsala town on my last weekend in Sweden. Been wanting to go forever and since it didn't look as if Iso was gonna bring us, I decided to go myself (GH already left for sg). It was a really beautiful town. I thought that it'd probably look like Sthlm but it's interesting how different cities in the same country can look so different. I was also thinking how things work out perfectly (God loves me haha)...cos I've been wanting to go there for so long...and yet on the day I went, there were special events going on so it was like a bonus. The entrance to the museum was free cos they had a new exhibit and there was an ice motorbike racing at the stadium so the trip there was definitely worthwhile. Was looking out for eye-candy #2 cos he lives there..but too bad didn't find him haha. I thought I'd only take half a day there but in the end, I left the place at only 6 pm. I guess I could return to Sweden 10 more times and still find a unique new city to visit each time. Fabulous.

On the way home, I dropped by my fave coffee place again to have chicken pie for dinner. I went back to my hostel and intended to attend a musical performance nearby, but knowing me, once I have taken off my coat and boots, I'm too lazy to go out again :P So I resorted to packing my bag, which surprisingly was pretty light. Guess I'm turning into a better traveller ;)

Will be meeting Ayisha and Elin tmr to bid a fond farewell. Hope I don't get teary.

[Friendship]

Having lots of time alone, and not having the internet as a distraction, gives u time to think about things that you would otherwise never really ponder about. I was on the way home today when I started thinking about friendship. Friendship is intricate, and a blessing. I just came back from meeting Jurgita and Abela today. My fellow GAME friends. It was just a few months ago when we met up in sg for our first coursework. And now that we're in Sweden, these two wonderful women are showing us warm hospitality. We were having some sinful indulgence after school (dessert and smoothie at a nearby cafe) and although I haven't talked to Abela for months (she's not in GAME anymore) we were talking about everything under the sun. And I mean everything - even things that were going on under the bed sheets...haha. And Jurgita, well, what can I say.. she's been looking after us since the day we came, with bed sheets, comforters, extra pillows and all. She was the only one among our Swedish colleagues that organized a little dinner gathering among our group.

I started to think about how when I first met GH, I thought that she was so quiet, why wasn't she talking to me, did we have nothing in common to talk about. And now that we're here seeing places together, cooking meals for each other, just hanging out at each other's rooms when we're devoid of other forms of entertainment at night...we're so close...it's just...intriguing. She even wishes I could go to Ohio with her for a summer course in epi so that we can travel around tog...dang...too bad boss ain't sending me! Then I thought about AL, our dept secretary, whom I thought I was gonna meet only when I needed help with admin stuff. Now, we're having lunch together almost everyday, back in NUS that is.

And then I was thinking how one of my friends cheered me up in an instant when I told her I was feeling down. The best part is that I only got to know her online after coming here, and in a matter of a couple of weeks, she bothers to call me up in my hostel late at night to perk me up. I don't usually do well in phone conversations, but the instant I picked up the phone, I was like... wow this girl is cool. I was smiling in no time. She could guess exactly how I was feeling and like with Abela, we talked about almost everything under sun. And all this within just two weeks of knowing her. Two weeks of msn. Two weeks of just "hi how are you, I'm from sg, etc". I was really touched that she did that for me. Sweet girl. Too bad she lives in another town in Sweden, or I would definitely go meet her. She's coming to sg tho, this summer, so I'm looking forward to meeting her. She said she'd treat me to coffee (since I'm not gonna tarnish her reputation of telling ppl she's err...ok I'm not supposed to say...lol) and I was like...man, I'm the one who owes her two coffees. So for now, our date is at coffee bean, coffee and cheesecake in June ;).

[speak up!]

I need to learn how to talk to guys. I can count the number of guys I know on my fingers. And how many I would consider close friends...really few. I seem to numb up everytime I'm with a guy. Either that or I just don't know what to talk about. Even GH was commenting on how Jon n I never seem to talk much. We were sitting in comp lab tog and both of us were chatting with her on msn, apparently asking the same qs when we could've related the same messages to each other. I guess the internet ain't really good practice cos I can always hide myself behind the screen.

During tea break today when Erik came near where I was sitting, I was like…damn I think he wants to talk to me. So instead of being friendly and saying hi, I hovered over my hot cocoa and dipped my oatmeal cookie in it as if that was all that mattered in the world. He finally sat next to me and started talking. He's cute. Haha. So I hope I didn't make a fool of myself. If holding a decent conversation with guys is my weakness, doing so with a cute one around is usually disastrous. Anyway, Erik was pretty interested in Sg and who we were and what we were doing there, etc. And when I was telling him about the different races in sg, he asked me what about me…I felt like going…I'm human :P. After break, the rest at our table, friends being friends, teased me cos although they were also at the table, Erik seemed to be only talking to me. Anyway, too bad he already has a ring on his finger haha. He shall be my new eye candy lol...I gave up on my previous one after finding out my eye candy has a gf and the emails are getting less frequent. For now, I shall work on my talking-with-guys skills.

[Gay bars and more]

This weekend was really exciting. We did lots of things and we're now like dead tired. Yesterday, we went to City Hall in the morning. This is where the Nobel prize is given out every year. The 3 of us were so in awe with just the magnificence of the building that we took half an hour snapping photos. GH and XL didn't want to go into the Nobel Hall which was a pity, cos they'd have been mesmerized by the golden rooms inside. After that, we went to Gamla Stan for the umpteenth time (ok it was only my 2nd time but they've been there plenty). Since we went to City Hall earlier, we decided to see who have been the deserving winners at the Nobel Museum. GH and I were full of respect for Albert Einstein after we walked through the exhibition. He was a great man – a solitary scientist but a social administrator. (Ok I didn't think that up myself...it was a line from the footage they had about him...) After that, we walked n walked along the quaint old streets, not really having any aim. We entered plenty more souvenir shops but found nothing that we really wanted to buy...and anyway we've already bought enough. There was a little crystal shop that had nice jewellery but unfortunately the ring sizes were either too big or too small for me. We walked towards Storkyrkan (Stor Church) till I finally found the gay cafe I had been to the last time I was here, Chokladkappen (chocolate cup). The girls wanted to have a drink but XL wanted to go to Roberts' Coffee near our hostel instead. So we walked around some more, going into a couple of churches which had really majestic interiors, looking stupid posing in front of a Swedish phone booth (we had fellow Auzzie tourists watching us…but they decided it was a pretty good idea afterall then they took our lead), and tiring ourselves out till we decided to head home around 4. It was a pretty short day. Sthlm is kinda boring if u're not into museums and shopping (the main activities around winter since the lakes are too frozen to take boat rides and it's too cold to go to the park). We were exhausted after all the walking that we had to take a nap before dinner. After dinner, I tried to use the net...stting on the window sill freezing my butt off. But not many ppl were online (4am in sg) so GH came to my room and we hung out for awhile. She's really good company to be with. I think the reason we get along so well is that we're both very accommodating people. She had to put up with my gaga-ing over my dear eye candy. Well I guess that's the price she has to pay for me being her tour guide. Haha.

On Sunday we set out early since we couldn't sleep much anyway. I for one have been thinking so much about my eye-candy till I couldn't sleep (the reason why I went online was to check eye-candy's email reply but I figured I'd receive it only on Monday since it's a work email address...dang...the Swedes make sure they don't do anything related to work on weekends...not even email...sobs...patience girl patience...). When I did finally sleep around 4 am, I was woken up by an sms from mama saying "Happy birthday to me". She didn't even give me a chance...it was 6 am here, she should've waited a couple of hours more then I'd have messaged her on my own :P

Anyway, GH and I set off to Junibacken after breakfast. Any of u heard of Astrid Lingren's children's stories? Does Pippi Longstocking ring a bell? Funny enough none of us really know her stories but MH was saying that he actually grew up reading her stories. The place was amazing. There were loads of kids having fun there, adults too. The tram ride was so amusing. It was like a 3D story telling session...we were even hovering over the displays that it was as if we were flying over them. I must say that although museums ain't really my thing, the presentation in many of the museums here are very unique. After leaving fantasy land, we headed to Gamla Stan (yes...again...) to see the change of guards ceremony. We thought we were early but when we arrived, the soldiers were already stamping their feet. There was a lot of excitement going on and we bumped into Winston and found out that the crown princess Victoria would be there today. Lucky us! After some marching and some drumming, the princess came out to greet us. We were half expecting her to appear in a gown and a tiara or something but she came out in an overcoat over a blouse n skirt and knee high boots. She was very friendly - after the guards presented her with flowers, she came off the pedestal to say hi to us. I felt like a paparazzi in action, snapping photo after photo of her. Well, it isn't everyday we get to see princesses do we? She kept thanking the crowd for coming to see her. Nice lady. Very cheerful. We watched the rest of the ceremony after that. I think this is like the 4th time in total I've watched it but I always seemed to be fascinated anyway. Too bad we didn't get any Dancing Queen from the band this time, but the drum performance was impressive.

We headed to Chokladkappen after that. At first, I was disappointed that it was crowded (wanted to see the pretty boys inside lol) cos we had to go to the cafe next door. Then after hanging awhile inside, we were wondering whether the two shops were connected cos the waiters next door kept coming in and out of our place. GH had yummy choc cake with mochacinno and I had yummy apple pie with vanilla sauce and hot chocolate. We definitely didn't need lunch after that heavy meal. The dessert was so filling that we had no space left for the drink...which was in a HUGE cup (almost like a bowl!). We noticed that in this shop most of the customers were ladies. Only as we were leaving I read the poster on the wall which said this was Chokladkappen's "sister" bar, so I assumed here's where the lesbians hang. Interesting. GH and I wanna go back there again. I told her I'll flirt around...and she was like...hey...as long as someone doesn't come along to flirt with me. Lol.

We had a failed attempt at trying to get onto the winter cruise ferry so we walked around Norralmstorg instead. The music museum was nearby and since it was free (which is rare...and since we've had enough of paying for museums which we don't really care about), we went in to check it out. Turned out to be a pretty interesting place. We had a little adventure after that. We wanted to go to the suburbs to try a restaurant we saw in a guide book. We didn't really know where we were heading. We got down at a deserted bus stop, thankfully there were a couple of ppl around but all they could help us in was telling us that we should take a bus from the opp side of the road. When the first bus came, the bus driver said we could hop on and he'd show us where we could change to another bus. But while waiting at the second bus stop, we checked the time-table. First of all, 71 wasn't on the list, and the other bus 804 didn't operate on Sundays (boy are we lucky living in sg...where we have bus services everyday!) Bus 414 was gonna arrive at 19:21 and it was only 18:00 so we decided that we should not freeze ourselves and headed home.

We'll be starting a new module on Monday. I shall get back to imagining what my eye-candy will reply me tomorrow. And perhaps getting the rest that I need. Good night.

[Dangerous candies]

My sister n I have cooked up a new term…eye candy. Definition: Someone whom u don’t really have a crush on, but pleasing to look at, just for the sake of it. I wasn’t really looking out for one, but there was someone in my class whom I kept looking at to pass by the boring lecture hours. The person is from a different state (Umea) and is really friendly (for a Swedish haha) and of course…cute :P Why dangerous? Cos now that the module is over and the person’s returned home, I’m still gaga-ing. Dang. And the possibility of us meeting ever again is probably 0..which makes it even worse. Help.

P.S. far, read between the lines ;)

[Finally some air]

Advanced Epi is finally over. It was a tough two wks...and on Friday after our presentations, we made sure we rewarded ourselves for the tremendous effort we put in. We went to Kista for dinner..It was good we went there cos there was Halal food in the food court. Been feeling guilty eating a beef/chicken burger from BK/Macs now n then hehe. Unfortunately we were too tired staying up the previous night (writing up our final project reports) so we window shopped only for awhile then went home. And the only thing that was on our minds when we got home was SLEEP!

Saturday was more exciting. We slept in till like 10 plus (yesss finally...) then headed to djurgården on the ferry. It was different cos I've never taken the ferry in winter...and it was fun seeing my friends getting so suaku over the view haha. I dropped my faithful followers at Vasa museum (since I've already been there) and headed to the Biological Museum. It was quite nice..the setting..not like the usual one animal in one display case setting u usually get. It was more like...hmm..how shall I put it...walking around a whole 'wildlife habitat' enclosed by glass case. Ok well I dunno if that description helped..but nevertheless..I was getting a headache trying to decipher which animal on my guide matched which one in the case. And I gave up cos I never seemed to find the right one...And just as I gave up..I saw another person...who had the next page opened instead (duh I shld've flipped it over). But it wasn't much help either way cos I wouldn't have been able to differentiate a red breasted merganser from a guillemot or a greenshank anyway. I took like half an hour there and was very early in meeting the rest. (I should've gone to Vasa again I guess cos this was quite disappointing..)

I decided to venture out into the snow..it was snowing really heavily...like lots n lots n lots of snow falling...that u couldn't see the visibility abt 100m ahead. I got into a coffee house cos my fingers were about to get numb..while I was trying to coax my digicam into life again..to no avail.. sigh.. After thawing a bit, I headed back to Vasa. The snow was falling even more now..and I made a stupid choice of taking the shortcut thru the field of snow cos the snow was coming up to my calf level. Was glad I survived that...vowed never to take a shortcut through thick snow again..haha. Waited awhile for the rest then we took a bus to town...had BK for lunch...walked around the shops a bit then went home. My fave Peru (I think) band was actually still there basking...and I finally bought their CD (after 2 yrs of thinking abt it..hmm...). The rest went to IKEA..I was tired and I've already been there so I followed Winston to a guitar shop which turned out to be closed. Darn it..the shops here close too early on weekends...

On Sunday, I finally met up with Ayisha. It was sooo nice.... wow...never wld've thought we'd meet again. Leyla is as adorable as ever. And she can talk now..heh...was learning a bit of Swedish from her (the last time all she could say was titta=look haha). Adam..her little bro) was adorable too..but I think I forgot that a 3 mth old is only capable of drinking milk, puking, and sleeping..so I turned my attention to Leyla instead. Ayisha fed me really well...cream salmon soup, toast with cheese. As if I wasn't full enough, there was freshly baked bread for dessert. I didn't need dinner that day.

We were quite bored that night. We gathered in the tv room. All 10 of us. (The other tv room had our new not-so-friendly ang-moh neighbours so we decided to label this OUR room..haha..we got the better tv..which has a remote..unlike the other grandfather set...). I had more dessert..yum yum..which Benita made. I don't really follow X-Men so I didn't really know what was going on in the movie..so I went to sleep at 11. Yeah so here I am. This new module doesn't look too bad. I'm wondering what I should do now..don't feel like going home so early..but it's too late to go sight-seeing. Ok lah, shall pack my bag now. See ya.

[10 things I hate about this hostel (in random order except #1)]

1. No internet!

2. No attached toilet.

3. Only two locked bathrooms between 15 people...the rest have only shower curtains.

4. The walls are so thin you can hear what’s going on 5 rooms away.

5. The washing machine is extremely noisy that it shatters the peace of the place.

6. The heater just broke down in my room (too).

7. It’s 45 minutes away from school on a good traffic day.

8. We don’t have designated storage spaces in the kitchen.

9. We’re one floor above basement where the garbage goes…so the lobby doesn’t smell very pleasant.

10. They shut off the corridor lights around 9pm everyday to save electricity but leave it on throughout the day.

Wow and I thought I wouldn’t be able to reach #10.

But on the other hand, at least I fulfilled my intention of returning to Sweden. And I got to meet up with my Swedish friends (ok well only 2 so far...hopefully more to come). So overall, I shall be happy. Wee I'm enjoying myself. I think I've been doing to much of meta-analysis. I'm even analysis the weight of my feelings too now...

[johari window]

Don't forget abt my good points...

Arena (known to self and others) independent

Blind Spot (known only to others) brave, caring, dignified, intelligent, mature

Façade (known only to self) friendly, observant, self-conscious, sentimental, witty

Unknown (known to nobody) able, accepting, adaptable, bold, calm, cheerful, clever, complex, confident, dependable, energetic, extroverted, giving, happy, helpful, idealistic, ingenious, introverted, kind, knowledgeable, logical, loving, modest, nervous, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, reflective, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-assertive, sensible, shy, silly, spontaneous, sympathetic, tense, trustworthy, warm, wise

Dominant Traits

100% of people think that saf is brave
100% of people think that saf is caring
100% of people think that saf is dignified
100% of people agree that saf is independent
100% of people think that saf is intelligent
100% of people think that saf is mature

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (0%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (100%) calm (0%) caring (100%) cheerful (0%) clever (0%) complex (0%) confident (0%) dependable (0%) dignified (100%) energetic (0%) extroverted (0%) friendly (0%) giving (0%) happy (0%) helpful (0%) idealistic (0%) independent (100%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (100%) introverted (0%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (0%) logical (0%) loving (0%) mature (100%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (0%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (0%) warm (0%) wise (0%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 21.2.2006, using data from 1 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view saf's full data.

[nohari window]

ok since this is passing around...why not do mine too...results so far (ok only god sis did it so it's all 100%...)

Arena (known to self and others) panicky

Blind Spot (known only to others) aloof, simple, cynical, embarrassed, predictable

Façade (known only to self) timid, insecure, lethargic, distant

Unknown (known to nobody) incompetent, intolerant, inflexible, cowardly, violent, glum, stupid, irresponsible, vulgar, withdrawn, hostile, selfish, unhappy, unhelpful, needy, unimaginative, inane, brash, cruel, ignorant, irrational, childish, boastful, blasé, imperceptive, chaotic, impatient, weak, loud, vacuous, unethical, insensitive, self-satisfied, passive, smug, rash, dispassionate, overdramatic, dull, callous, inattentive, unreliable, cold, foolish, humourless

Dominant Traits

100% of people think that saf is aloof
100% of people think that saf is simple
100% of people think that saf is cynical
100% of people think that saf is embarrassed
100% of people agree that saf is panicky
100% of people think that saf is predictable

All Percentages

incompetent (0%) intolerant (0%) inflexible (0%) timid (0%) cowardly (0%) violent (0%) aloof (100%) glum (0%) stupid (0%) simple (100%) insecure (0%) irresponsible (0%) vulgar (0%) lethargic (0%) withdrawn (0%) hostile (0%) selfish (0%) unhappy (0%) unhelpful (0%) cynical (100%) needy (0%) unimaginative (0%) inane (0%) brash (0%) cruel (0%) ignorant (0%) irrational (0%) distant (0%) childish (0%) boastful (0%) blasé (0%) imperceptive (0%) chaotic (0%) impatient (0%) weak (0%) embarrassed (100%) loud (0%) vacuous (0%) panicky (100%) unethical (0%) insensitive (0%) self-satisfied (0%) passive (0%) smug (0%) rash (0%) dispassionate (0%) overdramatic (0%) dull (0%) predictable (100%) callous (0%) inattentive (0%) unreliable (0%) cold (0%) foolish (0%) humourless (0%)

Created by the Nohari Window on 21.2.2006, using data from 1 respondents.
You can make your own Nohari Window, or view saf's full data.

[Past]

You scored as Past. Your depression is caused by your past. Something happened that you wish you could forget, but you can't. You think about it a lot, maybe are even haunted by nightmares of it, and wish you could have done something to change how things had turned out. You can't let go. The past consumes you. Please rate. Past 63% Family 53% Love 47% Lonliness 31% Friends 28% Stress 25% Death 25% People 9% What causes you to be depressed? created with QuizFarm.com

[Diamond Eyes]

You scored as Diamond Eyes. You are full of confidence, just don't let it go to your head. Its great to know your worth it! Isn't it:D Just remember those of us down here. You are probably quite popular.Click here!! Eyes full of Pain 50% Diamond Eyes 50% Mysterious 42% Passion 42% What do your eyes reveal about you?(PICS!) created with QuizFarm.com

[Ideal religion]

Phew lucky satanism ain't my top three :P You scored as Islam. Your beliefs are most similar to those of Islam. Do more research on Islam and possibly consider taking the shahadah and officially becoming a Muslim, if you aren't already. Despite the actions of some - who go against the teachings of Islam - Islam is a religion of peace; the word "islam" means "peace through submission to God." "Muslim" means "one who submits to God." Islam is the third of the three Abrahamic faiths, and it shares much with Judaism in Christianity; its differences are the acceptance of Muhammad as the last and final prophet, and the oneness of God - in other words, that Jesus, though he was a revered prophet, was not in fact God, and only one God exists. Apparently the Taliban could not read (though their name means "students"), because the Qur'an states that men and women are equal as believers, and that all believers should be educated and seek knowledge. Modesty in dress and behavior is required in Islam for both men and women to preserve the values of society and move the emphasis from superificial appearance to intelligence, knowledge, and God. Islam 100% Buddhism 58% Paganism 54% Judaism 50% Christianity 33% Hinduism 17% Satanism 13% agnosticism 4% atheism 4% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

[disqualified psychologist]

You scored as Psychology. You should be a Psychology major! Psychology 100% Sociology 100% Linguistics 83% Journalism 75% English 67% Mathematics 67% Art 67% Theater 67% Engineering 67% Anthropology 67% Dance 67% Chemistry 58% Biology 58% Philosophy 50% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com Ah..explains why godsis wrote my job title as a disqualified psychologist haha..but biologist last?? HMMMM

[snow snow n more snow]

ok i finally have some time to sit down and blog properly. nothing much has happened actually..at least nothing much worth blogging. i'm sitting at the same place as i was 2 years ago, using the internet (diff: now i have wireless...and i have 2 other sg classmates as despo for internet as i am). the exam didnt go too bad. actually i can't be bothered to check the answers even tho we were given the answer key. oh well. it's snowing!

there's pros and cons of coming here in a group. as i have mentioned earlier, i'm pretty much of a loner. it was easier doing groceries and going to school alone. dun have to worry who's sharing what food (esp since i dun eat the non halal stuff), and u dun have to worry abt cooking for others (how many ppl to cook for), and what time u leave for school (u dun have ppl hovering around ur door every morning waiting for u to get ready and then telling u u're late, even tho u end up arriving in school 45 mins early). and u dun have ppl being rude to u and not apologising for it. but i guess i should appreciate the fact that i won't go crazy even without being connected to the world cos there's always someone to hang around with when u're dead bored.

weekend's here. should be going sight-seeing tmr. should be fun. will be going to ismael's place for dinner after that. yay. i've uploaded some pics...can get them here. i have so many webshots accounts now its hard to keep track. good thing i have my blog. anyone knows where i can upload fotos limitlessly? without having to pay? here's one of me looking very puffed up...

[i sverige]

Hey guys n gals (ok i dun think any guys read my blog) but anyway...

some of u hv been asking why I haven't updated my blog. I don't have Internet in my hostel and it totally SUCKS. I'm supposed to be studying for my test tmr..yeah first week and we have an exam but I feel like writing a short update...just to say hi and let u know that I'm doing ay-ok (minus the Internet starvation...).

Shall update more tmr. See ya all soon. Tata.

[This Be the Verse]

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

~Philip Larkin~

[You can't walk no line]

I went to the movies with Sakura yesterday. I seem to be watching a lot of movies lately... sg needs a new form of entertainment. Besides movies movies movies. Anyway Walk The Line was a fantastic movie..glad I convinced her to watch that instead of I Not Stupid Too (I didn't watch the first one, so I wasn't really enthusiastic about watching the sequel). I was pretty impressed that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon did their own singing, which sounded really good.

After the movie, we didn't know what to do. So after hunting around for a toilet, we went to LJS to eat but there were no seats. Didn't realise the Chingay festival was going on so the roads were blocked off and we couldn't get to the other side. The spectators seemed to be pretty dead. There was hardly any response when the DJs were prodding them on. We saw a few floats which were quite creative, but other than that, I dun really know what the fuss is about. (ok I admit I wanted to watch the show, but after checking it out yest I think I change my mind heh)

We attempted to do a bit of shopping but the prices depressed me so we went to Shaw to eat. Went to Far East to do a bit more shopping...tho we didn't really get anything in the end. It was pretty dead, most of the shops closed by 9 (so much for the 24-hr city that Life! was talking about today). We missed our bus so we went into This Fashion for a few mins then finally headed home. I was particularly awake so I stayed up till 3 chatting and playing games (spider solitaire!). Didn't wake up too late today..ONLY 11..heh...too bad I can't sleep when the sky is bright.

I should resume my packing then. Catch ya later.

[Pink dolphins]

I went to Sentosa with flo last Tues. We decided on Underwater World...to do something different...to spice up the romance lol. Well it was something different than hanging out at shopping centres or catching a movie. It was pretty fun, tho' we weren't really ready for the beach. Beach, we'll come next time!

The dolphin show was exciting. First time I've seen dolphins...well not counting the ones I saw in Australia from a cable car when I was 15. Anyway, here's our Sentosa pics...on the left's a few of my faves. And another of our cycling trip at East Coast with Far n Mel. Well, we don't look like we're cycling...but we were..haha.

[My biceps fool me]

I went to gym early today morning. Woke up at 6.45 am...which is something I don't even do for work. All b'cos my dear trainer said we had a session. So I reach there at 8.10, thinking "oh deak, nik must be waiting for me". but what do i get instead? A sheepish receptionist who tells me he is running late and maybe I should start my warmup first. Okay I said. Ten minutes later, he was still nowhere to be seen. The whole gym was empty except for me and another guy. Alright, I'm not the only loser here at 8am on a Sunday morning. I decided not to wait any longer so I went upstairs to do the usual stuff that I do at training. Doing it on my own was tougher (Nik usually holds the equipment so I don't feel the full weight of it). The worst was the bicep crunch. I put it at level 2 and could hardly lift it. Shifted down to the minimum weight and barely managed a few sets. I guess the biceps Sakura and I see when we flex them to each other (whenever we wanna show that we're STRONG) are really fake ones.

When I reached home, my dear instructor called me to apologise cos he had forgotten(!!) our session. Arghh. Second time this wk he's pissed me off. First was on Tues when he kept attending to a potential customer during my session with him. He kept apologising for his "last minute appt" but I was like..hey I booked u first!! Well, he's prob desperate to get commision from a new client. GH thought I should've been fiercer to him and refuse to accept his apology haha. But I let him go pretty easily after he promised to dis-count this session. I'm not very impressed by the service he's giving. He comes 10 mins late, goes off 5 mins early and can even forget a session! Man, I'm either gonna stop training with him after my 12 sessions or get someone else!

I went to help my father at his shop in the evening. I was so tired from gym (I tend to overdo it when I don't have training..for fear that whatever I do won't have to full impact) that I had to drag myself out of the house to go all the way to Bedok. Had dinner with Sakura who was doing the morning shift then she went home. It was pretty hectic, there were only 2 drink stalls open so we had a lot of customers. I panicked when I had to take a few orders and when dad came back from serving, I immediately went back to my job of preparing cups of ice lol. We went home around 12. Damn exhausting. Dad was so tired (he's been doing full day shifts two days in a row) that he asked me to drive him home..which is a really rare thing cos he thinks he's the only great driver around. Don't have much energy to surf so I think I'll be heading to bed soon. Gd nite.

[Walking Contradiction]

No it's not Green Day's song. It's about me, myself and I. I'm confused by my behaviour sometimes.

On one hand, I love being alone. I prefer going to the gym myself, I like to go shopping alone, I wouldn't mind catching a movie myself, I don't mind travelling on my own if I had to. And on the other hand, I hate going for lunch alone, getting a haircut by myself (don't ask me why), would rather take an alternative route than bump into a friend and hate attending functions alone.

I had a function to attend today..Mendaki Graduates' Tea. The twins told me at the last minute they weren't going to I was wondering whether I should go (it was a "if u go, i'll go" thing). I knew Su was going but I wasn't absolutely sure. Plus she didn't answer her phone so I thought she was busy at work or something. Ironically enough, I was half-hearted but I started ironing my clothes. Was contemplating whether I should go or not till Sakura convinced me that:

Fullerton Hotel + free food = should go.

So I dragged myself there, thinking that if I didn't meet anyone there, I'll just hang out for awhile. And if I bumped into someone there, well duh..tag along. When I reached there, I saw someone I knew but instead of approaching her, I walked away so that she didn't notice me. And then I picked up my phone to call Su again to ask her if she was coming. I bumped into a friend from Crescent whom I haven't seen in ages (well I realised she went to NJ as well but hmmm...kinda slipped my mine..I guess in my mind I categorised her as "Crescent friend"). We talked a while till I realised I shouldn't be anti-social. But by then I didn't have much of a choice cos I was standing practically at the entrance so those who were coming in saw me n Lily and did the usual Hi, long time no see bid.

It was quite fun actually, catching up with friends (and finding out that another quarter of them are in NIE or already teachers). There was a lot of "Hey, where do I know you from??" and two of my friends kept wondering how they knew each other. Lol. Imagine what a 20 yr reunion wld be like. I'll probably only remember faces by then. The entertainment was good - Banghra dance and Malay dance from NJC (woo hoo..NJC is solid!). The "Malay" dancers were like 5/6 Chinese (probably Malaysian ASEAN scholars desperate for CCA points); the girls being Chinese didn't really have the grace of a Malay dancer. The dance was pretty confusing as well - we were wondering whether it was Malay, Chinese (didn't help that they were wearing red costumes during CNY) or something dance but well, it was impressive and they got great applause. We were pretty bored and tired by 4, especially cos it was a standing event...they wanted us to socialise and thought tables would be too formal. Most of us ended up complaining anyway. We only stayed back for the lucky draw, but too bad none of us won. Just as we were about to leave, I remembered I brought my camera...but as we were smiling for the shot, the batt went flat. Bleah. Embarrassing.

The trip home was even better. Su n I wanted to get seats. So we thought we'd take the train from Marina Bay all they way home. Neither of us realised that the train was actually heading to the north-south line...so when I woke up halfway, expecting to see the sky and finding a bright yellow station instead (toa payoh)..I woke Su up and told her how silly we were. Well, it was a good time to chit chat I guess. We finally got down at Clementi like an hour later..but at least we caught up on our sleep!

[I'm a girly girl]

Your Brain is 100.00% Female, 0.00% Male

You have the brain of a girly girl Which isn't a bad thing at all You're emphatetic, caring, and in tune with emotions. You're a good friend and give great advice.

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Got this from a friend's blog..try it.

[Of race and religion]

Before I start...some definitions:

race: A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution.

religion: Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

Unfortunately, some people seem to confuse the both. For the upteenth time, someone asked me about my race today. And after some pondering, a couple of hours later, she came back to me and asked why I was wearing a tudung if my dad was indian and mum eurasian. I wasn't surprised actually. In fact, she was being very apologetic cos of the "confusion" but I was like..it's ok..I get that qs a lot. I think they need to improve on social studies lessons in school so ppl get the simple difference. Hmmm.

[I'm Choosy]

Men See You As Choosy

Men notice you light years before you notice them You take a selective approach to dating, and you can afford to be picky You aren't looking for a quick flirt - but a memorable encounter It may take men a while to ask you out, but it's worth the wait

How Do Men See You?

[the things u have to say]

saying so many things
yet keeping mum
the growing crowd
walking hand in hand blissfully
as if owning the world
what goes on inside
i don't know
you could even be me

the cover that shields further
into the centre of the world
till nothing can be identified
by everyone except a few
what's hiding beneath
perhaps a clue or two
they've already been given
but the mystery unresolved

[Le Grande Voyage]

Between culture, religion, and a lot of emotions - I must say this was one of the best European films I've watched so far. Father and son set off in their rattling old car with just a pocketful of money to sustain their trip from France all the way to Mecca so that the father could perform his Haj. I wonder whether people really do that..afterall flying is much easier...and religion is supposed to help you, not burden you. It was a charming road trip movie with a touch of humour and class. The ending was pretty sad but minus the dumbass behind us who kept laughing unnecessarily, it was an enjoyable show.

[a dozen's too many]

The weekend was good. On Friday night, my auntie finally got the treat that she's been asking me for ever since I started working. I was calling and calling Sakura cos we decided to meet at 6 instead at 6.30 that I initally told her. Since she said she was extremely tired I was scared that she was sound asleep so I went home just in case I needed to wake her up. Was taking a risk since I didn't bring my house keys. Luckily my suspicions were right..she was sound asleep despite the dozen missed calls she received. Failed miserably at dragging her out of bed so I went to take a quick shower first. She almost didn't wanna go but thank god she finally got up. By then it was already 6 so we were obviously very late in meeting auntie and jam.

They didn't hesitate in choosing Swen.son's for dinner...my auntie afterall was on a mission to make me poor. Haha. Dinner was good and we made it on time for the movie. I didn't watch Cheaper by the Dozen 1 so I really had nothing to compare with..but it was a pretty nice feel-good movie..typical Steve Martin plot..the clueless dad who has to learn to let his children go. I was shocked to receive an sms from flo after the movie...she forgot to bring home her house keys so she actually came down to west mall to get the set that she gave me last time. We did some shopping (cos according to auntie i had to get her a parting gift!) and window shopping...but in the end i only bought jam something. ah and the sports sandals i've wanted for so long. my auntie wasn't done making me poor yet so all of us went to mac's for supper (what a sinful outing...i cld feel my tummy bloating up). We had ice cream and fries...and a whole lot of laughs. Poor jam was clueless cos of our NC-16 jokes lol.

Went to gym on Saturday and had a good workout. My trainer probably realised I could start doing greater weights so things got tougher today. It was pretty draining but at the end of it I actually felt refreshed. Went down to Raffles city to meet GH and XL. We were going winter shopping. They didn't find anything there so we went to Suntec WinterTime and Coldwear to buy some thermals and heat packs. Later on I met up with Kin and her two friends. I was quite exhausted at first having been to gym and walking around Suntec, but after dinner felt a bit better so I stayed on chatting n hanging with them. Her friends turned out to be pretty cool (not that I assumed they weren't..I just wasn't in the mood to meet up and be gay with strangers haha). We shopped and talked and talked and talked till it was like 10 plus. I finally explored the terrace at Esplanade heh. Nice place.

On Sunday, had the usual nagging in the morning abt how I should spend more time at home so that I can cook and clean for the family. So after cooking lunch (and what did i get in return...why didn't u cook fish instead. GRRR), I rushed off to meet flo. I was thinking of getting a lappie so we went to Sim Lim square to look around. Fell in love with a Fujitsu S2110SM which cost $2635. Unfortunately I couldn't get an installment scheme with my debit card so after an embarrassing moment (shall spare u the details) I walked out of the place. Was tempted to use up all my cash but well...I have to keep some for London :P We went to Haig Road after that cos my uncle wanted some suggestions on how to improve business at his new nasi lemak stall. Flo gave some pretty good suggestions and while the two of them were babbling on, I crapped with auntie on the phone. After that, we went to my dad's stall in Bedok (hawker stall visiting day haha) to have dinner. Papa was actually quite friendly with Flo...surprising considering how antisocial he usually is. We went back to Woodlands after that to hang out then I went home at abt 11 plus.

Yeah here I am now, at "work". I came in at 10 cos I couldn't wake up on time. Came to the library to copy some journal articles but they're like ancient issues (1993) so I have to request from the closed stacks...which I can't do cos I don't have a membership card. Oh well. I'm going to Queensway with my colleagues after this for more winter (boots) shopping. So much for work...

[PETA]

Got this from yahoo news today:

"On December 19th last year, a complaint was filed against Neverland Ranch by PETA (People Against Ethical Treatment of Animals) based upon a news report," USDA spokesman Darby Holladay told AFP."

Must be a terrible organisation. Well, I guess it's supposed to be PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: The animal rights organization. Funny.

[Under Construction]

As u must've noticed, my blog is undergoing some changes. Stay tuned for the final product.

P.S. Efforts are courtesy of my godsis. =)

[Pedal On]

Had a great time at East Coast today. Met up with Far n Mel to go cycling. The bus journey was pretty long..1.5 hrs but it was a good way to take a nap. We had a small breakfast at Mac's (it was almost a must to do breakfast) then armed with sunblock and bottles of water, we headed on our cycling trail. I had trouble keeping up cos my legs were exhausted from yesterday's treadmilling; then again, my stamina hasn't been fantastic. Mel n Far kept stopping ahead waiting for me to appear. *paiseh* We did quite a distance tho and it was a good workout. Finally stopped at a shelter for a water break..which turned into a session of Aha! since Mel brought her cards. It started to rain a bit but luckily it was just one or two drops. We wanted to hang out at Bedok jetty for awhile but unfortunately we had to head back to return the bikes. We had a quick drink at the newly renovated food centre then rushed back to the bike shed. And I just realised that we skipped the dip-your-feet-in-water part. Heh.

We went off to Parkway Parade for lunch. The hotplate chicken noodles I had was yum yum, tho I guiltily realised I probably put back on whatever calories I lost. Tsk tsk. Better not let Nik (my trainer) know. Mel was in a bit of a rush cos she had to attend a recording at TCS. She left ard 2.15 and Far n I stayed back to bitch about life. It was a pretty good bitching session... felt better after that. Sometimes its good to know that someone is going thru the same shit as u. I've met one too many sheltered ppl who don't know how to relate to my ramblings about how crap things are sometimes. We talked n talked for almost an hour I think then walked around the shopping centre and headed home.

Oh yeah, I just remembered I should be tidying my cupboard. But I'm tired. Zzzz...

[Disillusioned]

Just came back from my biostats re-exam today. Feeling disillusioned by the GAME programme more than ever. First of all, I don't think I deserved the horrible grade that big boss gave me. With a "very good" during the test and answering most of the questions correctly, I definitely didn't deserve such a crappy grade. Then today Feng told me that the re-exam marks won't be counted and I'm like wtf. Why did I take it then?? To show him that we have the basic concepts right it seems. What a whole load of shit. If this were in KI, I'm sure the re-exam wld've been taken into account. Was bitching with Feng abt the prog..apparently one guy dropped out cos he was disillusioned way before. And (a close, reliable source told us) our tester apparently judged us even before sitting down to present our answers. "Yeah this one has the potential..this one doesn't". What the hell. All his personal invites and docs made it (even one of them who was struggling with biostats did well cos he "has been working with molecular bio for some time now". hello..it's biostats..nothing to do with that!) It seems that my 2 A's in another 2 modules played no weight at all. Sigh.

I think the first exam was really terrible. Judging a whole module based on one stupid question. It didn't help that the exam was a day after Hari Raya Puasa which meant less mugging. Even my Swedish friend thought it was pretty unfair and that they should cater for minorities. Oh well, this is Singapore. The molecular bio exam was just as crappy; imagine being assessed on the entire module with just ONE presentation. Some of us had 1, some had 2, some had 3 examiners cos they kept going in and out of the lecture theatre. And Mr S kept asking questions only related to his field. In the end, they even asked us for our slides so that they could grade us. Really really unfair. There should be a less subjective way of assessing us. Sigh. Guess the only way is to get into the examiners' good books.

Or I suppose the other way is to do really well for the next coursework and prove to big boss that I deserve to be in the programme. If things don't go as planned...well..as much as I had to say it, I might drop out as well. Let's see what God has in store for me.

On a better note, now that I'm on the way to becoming a full time staff, my trip to Sweden will be paid for. And yeah, I'll be leaving on the 10th of Feb, but I'll only be away for 2 mths. Will be taking the last week of March off to do a bit of travelling in London/Cambridge. Hee. Looking forward to that!

Alright, my stomach's growling. It's lunch time. Gotta go!

[Why Plan?]

Why make plans? Why make resolutions? Most of the time they don't work out anyway. One of my friends was saying today that she took the whole of Jan last year thinking of what resolution to make...and she never did. And it's probably gonna be the same this time round.

I planned to have a future with Y but we broke up. Now I'm not even looking at guys.

I planned to do my postgrad overseas and here I am stuck in sg.

I planned to save a ton when I started working and now I can barely maintain 2 bank accounts.

So much for planning. I plan to do well in everything this year. Let's see how that one goes.