For anyone missing my face...

and for narcissistic me, heh.

If not for the French PM...

I would be on a National Express Coach right now on my way to crossing the English Channel and setting foot on France. As it is, France is now in a rather messy situation and therefore I am here in the NHH ISC writing a blog entry griping about the messy situation.

So, will be flying into Germany on Friday instead. In the 13 days we'll be there, 3 days will be spent in Frankfurt (Hahn), 6 in Munich and the last 4 in Berlin.

From Hahn, we'll take a day trip out to Freiburg to see the Black Forest; from Munich, we'll be going out the Fussen to see Neuswanstein, King Ludwig's fairy tale castle and from Berlin, we are probably making a day trip to Potsdam.

En route from Hahn to Munich, we stop over a Nuremberg (think Hitler!) and between Munich and Berlin, we'll pause at Dresden.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that I AM travelling and I am sure I will love Germany as I love any new place. It's just that France has a special place in my heart, see. And it's just next-door to England. How infuriating.

Trips out

Last Week: National History Museum

Good weather that day! Wonder if the tree got tricked to throw out her blossoms; these few days it's been raining non-stop. Anyway, very pretty.


The museum from the outside...


and the dinosaur on the inside!


The place is really big, just like the British Museum. We only went through selected bits, including the dinosaur exhibit! How can we miss that. We had to tear our eyes away from the display cases in the Minerals and Rocks hall to get to the meteorites at the end. That hall is really nicely done up and the amazing display of rocks will make Mrs Chua (my sec 3 geog teacher) faint.

Today: Covent Garden, St James' Park, Buckingham Palace, Victoria

My Ben's cookie at Covent Garden. It's white chocolate with cranberry: there were WHOLE cranberries, not bits of fruit.


St. James' Park: my first visit to a UK park. Really beautiful. When more flowers bloom as spring marches along, it will be even more breathtaking.



Buckingham Palace: actually not very spectacular but the gorgeous blue sky makes up for it.


Right next to the Palace is The Royal Mews, where the horses that draw the Royal family's carriages stay. We were lucky to see not one, but two carriages pass by!


The weather turned very gloomy in the afternoon and it alternated between raging rains and hail for a while. After the violent period, it settled for a sort of drizzly grey. A girl actually threw her umbrella at the side of the road because she got so frustrated by the wind turning the brolly inside out.

Hail:

First day of Easter Break

It's been a totally nuah day today.

7.15 am: Woke up.
7.30 am: Skipping, crunches, push-ups.
8.20ish am: Shower.
9.00ish am: Breakfast (wholemeal bread, Lady Grey tea) cum reading.
9.30ish am: Wash up; Laundry.
10.00ish am: Household maintenance (ok, I tightened the raffia rope that I hang things from; it was beginning to sag in the middle).
10.30ish am: Went online for a while.
11.15ish am: Got fq's call to get my ass down to pw's kitchen to make mee hoon kueh.
11.30ish am: Got my ass down to pw's kitchen to make mee hoon kueh. Had mee hoon kueh. Wash up.
1 plus pm: Adjourned to pw's room to play bridge.
3.40 pm: Left for Borough Market. They all wanted scallop. But we got there too late and found the scallop stall only when the stall holder was washing up. fq and sh were very disappointed. I got a scone; pw a slice of loaf cake and fq chocolates from cranberry.
5.30ish pm: Got back to pw's room to eat M&S trifle and talk.
7.00 pm: Left for dinner at Melati, a restaurant doing Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine.
8.00 pm: Reached Melati.
8.15ish pm: Began eating (curry chicken, sotong in indonesian sauce, kangkong and tauhu goreng with steamed/coconut rice)
8.45 pm: Finished eating.
9.00ish pm: Went into Costa to nuah somemore. Ended up with 1 cup of coffee among the 4 of us. Then we all settled down to read newspapers for the better part of the hour. Haha.
10.00 pm: Made our way to Leicester Square to take tube.
10.50ish pm: Got back in my room.

Now I shall go shower and then will hit the sack when my hair is reasonably dry. Can hardly keep my eyes open now!

The clocks go forward at 1.00 pm tomorrow to British Summer Time (aka Daylight Saving Time). What fun!

A quick one on Cambridge

Went to Cambridge the last weekend to disturb aa and t, a new friend. I really like the place; it is so different from London with all its greenery and the quiet tranquility that comes with being a university town. Lovely.

Arrived at midnight on Friday night and were chauffeured to t's room to spend the night. He gave up his room to us 2 girls and went to bunk with v, just a corridor away. The goodwill of people I barely know!

There was a party going on at the function room across the lawn but it stopped VERY promptly at 1 am in the morning. Amazing, I think.
(to bluebacterium: this college was supported hugely by Lee Seng Tee! there were quite a few buildings named after him.)

Sat morn, we cycled to Granchester for tea under the (bare) apple trees. I was majorly traumatised by the bicycle that was too big for me. When I was moving it was fine, but once I stop I take on average 4 tries to start. I kept swerving left and crashing into various things; luckily t was very good and did not laugh at me while waiting for me get started. If not I believe I could have cried.

My tormentor:


Scone and tea! I love scones!


After lunch, we went punting. Very fun! We all took turns doing it.

That's t punting us. Haha, doesn't he look like he's been doing it all his life? And the bridge in the background is the Mathematical bridge. Sir Issac Newton designed it and it was built without the use of any bolts at all. Yes, it was many interlocking logs. Now there are bolts to hold it up.


Sat evening, we left t to go to aa's. She took us to Nando's for dinner. pw was very gratified cos she's been wanting to eat there for ages. They serve chicken (roasted I believe) in various degrees of spicy-ness: shiok!

On Sunday, aa took us around the colleges and the town area, with a break to eat lunch with the very formiable Chan Lek. By formiable, I mean his mind. Really makes you feel rather inadequate. pw doesn't really get why I feel a bit awkward around him though. But then, she makes friends and talk to people THIS easily.

Me and aa on the Mathematical bridge. Don't we look like kids?! Terrible.


We left on Sunday evening by the 7pm National Express bus. National Express really has earned a fair bit of money from me already!

Barcelona III

Day 3: 13 Mar

Woke up not very early on our last day in Spain. Packed up, left our keys with a note for the hostel lady and left at about 10 am.

We decided to take a cruise around the port and coast area instead of going up the Montjuic mountain as we had our bags with us. Faisal was especially happy cos we finally got to relax and chill out rather than going non-stop from place to place.

The weather was drizzly and grey and not clear and blue like the last 2 days but that was not going to stop us from enjoying ourselves! Or so we thought. While buying tickets, the lady in the booth asked us if we could take the slightly choppy sea. We said yes, but all of us got rather seasick half an hour into the one-and-a-half hour cruise!

The beginning was ok and we all excitedly took many many pictures (as usual) on the top deck. The captain even let us into the control room to pose. We then settled down to savour the sea breeze and view. bb was the first to feel a bit off. After that we all decided to move downstairs. With the exception of Faisal, all 3 of us spent the rest of the trip trying not to feel too ill. Haha, I succeeded... by leaving my breakfast on the boat! With my stomach empty, the seasickness went away. Heh.

We were all very glad to reach the shore.

Next up was shopping! We took the metro and hit the shops along La Rambla. And being in Spain, we were not going to leave without stepping into Zara. Ironically, Faisal, the Zara-man, didn't find anything he liked. I bought a long sleeved shirt.

Then it was late-lunch/early dinner at a buffet place before we had to catch the bus at Sants Estacio to get back to Reus. This time around we were determined not to miss the bus. If we go to the airport the way we came, it was cutting a bit too close for comfort. The metro gave us a minor heart attack when it paused mid-way to Sants Estacio and when we finally reached the station, bb started running. And so we followed. Luckily the bus was not hard to find (cos there was a freaking bus station!) though it WAS quite a distance from the metro. This time Ain threw up. Buffet + mad dash = bad idea.

Made it safely onto the bus and to Aeroport de Reus in good time. We played bridge and tried to spend our euro coins at the sole cafe at the airport while waiting for the plane. Being the ulu airport that it is, the Ryanair personnel had to serve in different positions. This allowed the rather pretty girl at the admin counter to appear again to do plane boarding, making bb very happy.

We got back to London at around midnight and had to go through the whole rigamole of taking the coach to Victoria and catching the night buses back. Luckily Faisal stays in Wolfson too. I wouldn't want to be out alone at that time of the night! Finally reached Wolfson around 3 am and I managed to hit the sack by 4 am.

And so that concluded my Barcelona trip.

Barcelona II

Day 2: 12 Mar

We spent the most of the second day visiting Gaudi's architecture, for which Barcelona is famous.

In the morning we went to Sagrada Familia, a grand cathedral that has been under construction since 1892... and still is. Partly because Gaudi died and so stuff slowed, partly because it was supposed to be built on donations and I think partly also because the architecture is just SO intricate. We paid €5 to get in and it was really worth it; if I hadn't gone in, I would have thought that the building was hideous. Then of course there was more architecture to admire within the building.

After the Sagrada, we went on to Le Pedreda. It looked deceptively near the main street on the map but we only found it after bb asked for directions twice and walked for ages along Passeig de Gracia. While we were looking, bb was like, "This had better not be a small lousy building or I'll be very pissed." Haha, happily, La Pedreda was worth every ounce of our efforts.

La Pedreda was originally built as an apartment building and it was Gaudi's final civil work. It was a culmination of all his architectural innovations including the final evolution of the lightwell into an internal facade and the use of arches in the attic to free up space for practical usage. The view from the top was breathtaking and the sculptures dotting the roof itself were art pieces to behold.

By the time we finished La Pedreda, it was late afternoon and we haven't had lunch. So we went in search of food and ended up in Macs... mostly because the lousy restaurant put us off unfamiliar food for a while. I had a McFlurry sitting by the roadside! As in at the roadside cafe. Chill man! Haha, pw found it terribly amusing that I'm so taken by McFlurry's that I had to eat it everywhere I went.

We took a long time for everyone to find food and along the way we dropped by Placa de Catalunya, a shopping street whose name I can't remember and Hard Rock Cafe. Ain and bb bought T-shirts. Most shops were actually closed as it was Sunday. How amazing is that?? This was a totally foreign idea cos back home, crowds will be thronging the streets most of all on Sundays!

By then it was dark and we found ourselves back on La Rambla. Wondered around and ended up taking weird photos when we were at the port area. Haha, the crazy things we do!

We returned to our place to dump stuff and headed out again! That was at 11.30 pm I think! We wanted to explore the area near our hostel cos the nice lady at the hostel told us that the area was safe at night and that there were shops and food all around. We walked and walked and found that not many things were open actually.

We finally ended up at a turkish kebab place at around 1 am very very hungry indeed. But that place was a real gem! The kebab was very good and the chilli sauce even better. bb found the wine there very good and very cheap and he was very happy. The very friendly owner was even happier!

PS: there's sth wrong with my freaking internet connection, so i can't upload any pictures onto blogger! go look at my flickr for the moment k.

Barcelona I

Day 1: 11 Mar

Arrived at the hostel after lunch that day cos we missed the direct bus from Reus to Barcelona. So had to take bus 50 to Salou then take the train. That took double the time but then the scenery on the train was gorgeous since it went around the coast.

Dumped stuff, washed up and headed out for La Rambla, the main tourist trap in Barcalona. It's a long street lined with shops, buskers and plenty of roadside dining. You can even find pet shops selling cockerels there! Walking along it would lead straight to the port, which was where we ended up.


Took many pictures of the very blue sea and the very blue sky before we headed east. Walked more and hit the beach around evening. A picture speaks a thousand words I tell you.


After that we headed for dinner. Since the Spaniards have a siesta culture, it was rather difficult to find food at OUR dinner time. Finally had dinner at a lousy restaurant (we didn't know it would be lousy when we went in) and it wasn't even spanish food! Anyway, I think our presence attracted other customers who didn't have a good time either. A group of French tourists had an argument with the owner and chef over the oxidised wine they were served. These are people who have been drinking wine since they were babies, so there's no getting bad wine past them!

smoothed edges

just now in the shower, i suddenly realised that my ring looked much shinier than usual. upon closer inspection, it turns out that half of the outside face of the circle has been smoothed over so that instead of many small verticle facets, it's really now one continuous silver surface.

this probably has to do with the very basic fact that one half of the ring is on the palm side of my hand and so is always being rubbed against something.

but as i was looking, i was just plain amazed by the smooth shiny surface. isn't the smoothing out of the rough edges a sort of a metaphor for the relationship? as time passes, the blunt hard edges wear out, becoming bright and polished. the age starts showing, but like wine, that just makes it better.


ps: i will write about spain soon.. as soon as i have time to do something about the photos. have to finish an essay about ergogenic aids first. bleah.

Spain!

Hey!
I´m in Spain!
The weather is wonderful: sunny, blue skies, cool wind, 15 deg C!
The sea is so blue.
The beach is so long.
People take their time to stroll and sit down along the ports to chill and unwind.

I love it!
Love it.
Love it.

in need of love and comfort

comfort silly old me please.
sincerity muchly appreciated.

there's just this hole somewhere..
leaking..
leaking..

a quiz (from plhu as usual)

the Peacemaker Test finished!

you chose BX - your Enneagram type is NINE. "I am at peace" Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them. How to Get Along with Me - If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure. - I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advatage of this. - Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit. - Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally. - Ask me questions to help me get clear. - Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery. - Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings. - I like a good discussion but not a confrontation. - Let me know you like what I've done or said. - Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life. What I Like About Being a Nine - being nonjudgmental and accepting - caring for and being concerned about others - being able to relax and have a good time - knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around - my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator - my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now - being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe What's Hard About Being a Nine - being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive - being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline - being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally - being confused about what I really want - caring too much about what others will think of me - not being listened to or taken seriously Nines as Children Often - feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant - tune out a lot, especially when others argue - are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves Nines as Parents - are supportive, kind, and warm - are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on Ok Cupid

Hmm, some parts really do feel quite right.
But I don't think I felt ignored as a child. No, I'm sure I didn't.
Not too sure about the hug though. Physical affection, yes, but always give me things in graduation k.

The parents part sounds worrying. Haha.

To the Men in my life

These 2 weeks are important ones to the men in my life.

Firstly, my younger brothers got their A level results on Wednesday. That is really quite significant. Afterall, I have seen them through their nights of toiling and alternating between the tv-study desk-kitchen stove. Heh. Well, guessed it was really a load off their shoulders now that the verdict is out! So now is the time they have to decide their path, at least for the next 3-4 years. Come to think of it, it didn't seem as important to me then. Oops, is that why I feel a bit aimless right now.

Ok I digress.

Anyway, I wish I could be home NOW NOW NOW to help them through this period. I don't want any of them to have any regrets. Really. I'm glad that their choice of JCs had turned out well, especially for second brother! So happy for you!

Secondly, both of them survived the 24 km road march last week and didn't fall out against all odds. I don't really know the details, but "hell" was the word used to describe the experience. The march has certainly served its purpose(s) though. They got closer to their platoon mates and the pride and sense of achievement they felt will do much good in the future. I can tell.

Thirdly, they are passing out of BMTC! On 7 March. A real milestone. Ach, I wish I could attend it. Now they are MEN. Haha. Well, you win some and lose some. I certainly can't have my cake and eat it. London has to console me for missing out all these!

And finally, my boy is having his exams this week. Good luck! Not that I think you need it. When it come to things like this, you have it all under perfect control already, don't you? Heh, anyway, take it as a bonus. I'm sure it will be okie-dokie for you, as always!

Along the river

I really do hate Fridays.

It is mostly because Muscle and Exercise is such a dreadful module. The lectures really do not interest me the least and having been lost through the first half of the module doesn't help matters. Then there are 3 lectures per session: that makes 2 plus hours of something I can't stand. Painful! When I get the lecture handouts, I first flip to see how many pages I would have to endure. The lousy, cramped basement LT just makes everything worse. Because Muscle and Exercise is held at Guy's, which is 2 minutes from my hall, if there's nothing on after class, I'll just go school-have bad lecture-eat packed lunch-go home. There is zilch to look forward to.

I felt SO stifled today that I had to get out and go somewhere.

I think I left pw a bit bewildered.

I decided to take a walk along the river since the weather was reasonably happy. Also, I would be away from grey buildings, the narrow uneven streets and the polluted roads. (Now I know why our nation's founding father ordered so many trees planted along the roads!)

The long stroll did me good.

I stopped to look at the scene on the river. I noticed things I missed before. I heard the river lapping the banks: the quiet sound was lovely. When I hit the small square on northern end of Southwark Bridge, it began to snow! White fluffs descended from the heavens and danced and swirled in the gentle wind. The brilliant winter sun caught these flitting specks in its light as they whirled away onto the river. It was really really pretty. This description doesn't do the picture justice; a poem would be more romantic... but I'm no poet. I didn't have my camera with me or I would have attempted a video. But then again, I find that I generally become blind and unobservant when I become trigger happy.

I turned back at St Paul's Cathedral and crossed my favourite Millenium Bridge. And promptly fell in love the spot in front of Tate Modern. I hadn't noticed how pleasant it is before. When the temperature and wind drop their bite and winter release its grip on this country, I WILL bring a good book and sit there for an afternoon.

Lovely.

To end off a good afternoon, I returned to my room for hot coffee and a good read. (No, not scientific papers on gap junctions.) What would I do without books!

我找你找得好久
无印良品

可以彼此分享得意骄傲 不担忧谁的心里不是味道
可以传染给你心情不好 连说一个理由都不需要
可以直来直往提醒劝告 就算争吵也都是为对方好
可以和你商量秘密苦恼 不害怕全世界都会知道

我找你找了好久 一个互相了解的朋友
生活有人分享的时候 快乐就变得容易许多
我找你找了好久 一个拿心来换的朋友
伤痛有人抱紧的时候 未来有什么路不敢走

我找你找了好久 一个互相了解的朋友
生活有人分享的时候 快乐就变得容易许多
我找你找了好久 一个拿心来换的朋友
伤痛有人抱紧的时候 未来有什么路不敢走

伤痛有人抱紧的时候
未来有什么路不敢走


If you are reading this, you know who you are.
*big hug*