m a i a

It's all so sudden...

All dogs go to heaven, right?

All I can pray for is that she passed on happy, paddling in the cool waters of Sentosa...

Home feels so empty now... There's so much I'm missing, every second of the day...

No use of thinking of all the 'what if's.. Gotta treat it like she's just out on a super long walk, and with God's grace, I'll meet her again after I'm done with my own journey...

Hope I'm finally running out of tears...

You've been a wonderful friend and part of the family... Have and will always love ya...

r e s u l t s

Yup, results for Year 2 Mechanical Engineering students were out today at 9am.. Kinda disappointed, thought that after S/U-ing German this sem, should be able to get results all in the region of As... Got a B for Mathematical Methods in Engineering, sian... Oh well, gotta be grateful for the rest of my modules though, did well for them despite feeling quite horrid when doing the papers haha... =P Irritating thing is, that math module's gonna be taken out of the syllabus after this! Argh, if only they did that earlier sigh... Perhaps this goes to prove that I was meant to be an engineer instead of a Mathematician phew haha...

Actually had kinda gotten over the disappointment after chatting to some of my friends and indulging in some NWN and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.. But now I'm disappointed for a different reason... Thought I would get some encouragement but it felt as if I'm falling short of your expectations. I've always studied for myself, nobody else. Yes, there are people out there in all facs getting a SAP of 5.0, but no, I'm not one of them. Yes, I'm striving for it, but no, it's not cos of THEM but cos I'm competing with myself. Period.

So don't come forcing YOUR expectations upon me. I'm no trophy.

I'm not perfect.

t r a i n i n g

Can hardly believe it, just had a free trip around Sentosa and quite a number of its attractions, and was paid some more, as part of our training yesterday! =P Was really quite fun, quite a relaxed environment, get to know your colleagues better (though we're mostly going to be posted to different places in Sentosa)... Had some memory work to do though, which buses go to which stations etc, wah, my memory has never been very good haha... But easier to remember after having actually been to the station and seeing the different lines that go there.. =)

That prawn mee was the Staff Meal of the Day, which wasn't bad, quite big chunks of chicken meat and big prawns, other than feeling a little thirsty after that.. We had it in the restaurant "Tastes of Singapore" in Images of Singapore... Yupz, that pic on top was taken outside after lunch, when we were walking around the Imbiah Lookout where it's located... 7 attractions within 7 minutes of walking haha... Quite a happening place, went to Sky Tower (nice view) and Merlion too...

Most didn't really like the trip to Fort Siloso, cos there was quite a bit of walking and under the hot sun haha.. Our last stop was supposed to be Animal Encounters at Palawan, but we were treated to the Skyride and Luge! Everyone definitely loved it! (Seems like the batches of trainees after us won't get it already hee..) Woah, really quite cool riding above all the trees, other than being a little afraid that your sandals might just fall off and into the forest below haha.. For those who dunno, the Luge is this ride on a go-kart looking thing with a simple brake or no brake mechanism, and you ride it down a slope... Fast and furious! and FUN!! We all went back to our 'classroom' happy after that haha...

Had a bit of testing then went to discuss our rosters with our ICs... I got posted to Information! =D Seems like a really nice place to work at! It's at Vivo City, where the Express is, in the inside area beside the ticketing counters... Pop by there when you next go ok? ;)

s e n t o s a

Went to Sentosa yesterday with my parents n dog... Was just playing around with my phone's camera... =P Some jap tourists came over to pat Maia... Very sunny day, tide was quite high... Dunno why, but last night, after we got home, Maia was walking round and round the house without sitting down at her favourite spots like she usually does haha.. In some kind of a daze after too much waves and swimming? She's swum more than this before though.. Haha...

Some painted cannons along the beach... Oh, and I've got a part-time job as an Admissions Host at Sentosa heez... Ticketing stuff, answering queries of guests, giving guests tip-top Sentosa experience, that kind of thing... Just had training last Saturday in a classroom setting, and they're bringing us on a tour around the attractions in Sentosa tomorrow! Most fun training I'll ever have, I think.. =P All the other HREs (Hourly Rated Emloyees) under training are also around my age and half of them are actually NUS students on vacation too! haha... Hope it'll be a good experience working in the tourism and hospitality sector for a bit... Maybe get to practise a little bit of German someday haha... ;)

f r a n c a i s

Super busy day yesterday.. Started off with MM comm meeting, went to Botak Jones for lunch (my goodness, the portions are ENORMOUS!), went for an interview at Sentosa, then finally met up with S to celebrate his birthday...

Treated him to a dinner at Au Petit Salut, a french restaurant at Holland Village, they're moving right after that tho, lucky us haha... Only decided on it after lots of research on the internet for reviews on french fine dining haha... Glad that the reviews are really quite accurate heez.. ;)

OOOooohhh... The foie gras really really is marvellous... Superbly melt-in-your-mouth insides with a roasted slightly crisp outside... MMmmm... Though after that you know that you really should go on some exercise spree to rid yourself of all the additional fats and cholesterol.. =P

The other dishes were rather heavenly too, other than the dessert which was 3 types of farm cheese, which could be described as 'piquant' haha.. But cheese is still cheese and some repect's needed there... =P

Was arranging with one of the waitresses over the phone for a little surprise for the birthday boy... S couldn't finish his souffle, while I was still having my cheeses, when suddenly the piped music in the restaurant changed to the birthday song haha... Got a bit of a surprise myself too haha.. Was expecting them to spring it after my cheesy endeavours.. =P Anyway, out came a chocolate fondant with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and chocolate fudge birthday wishes around the plate...

Some of the customers even clapped at the end of the song and wished him a happy birthday haha.. And the waitress was saying, "Don't worry, it won't be too embarassing." haha... =P We were totally stuffed after that, almost thought we couldn't down one more cup of tea/coffee haha.. Oh well, just hope he enjoyed the whole experience of french fine dining heez... =)

Hmm will try some other place next time... Ooh was just thinking of tapas that day.. Was just complaining to Ll that day about how this palate of mine's gonna burn a big hole in my pocket haha... =P

p a p e r s

Was just tidying up my drawers this morning and clearing my files of notes from last sem... My goodness, the number of trees I'd have killed my now... What murderers education teaches us to be tsk tsk...

What memories of the pain n suffering we were going through, with more to come argh... Just finished reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal and to a non-engineer, sweat, swearing and mathematics seem to make up an engineer... How true, except maybe 'mild swearing' in my case haha... Never regretted my choice though...

Took my notes of each file, strung them with those strings with metal ends and searched for some nook and cranny in my drawers to stuff them in... How like trying to rid a body haha...

a r t m u s e u m

Went with MJ to the Singapore Art Museum today! =) Felt really good catching up with her again.. Irritating how uni semester seems to rob you of all your time sometimes... Took this picture in front of a Chalcography print of a mural.. Do I hear the 'huh?'s haha... It's about making replicas of famous paintings etc by etching on copper plates and applying a special mix of ink on the plate before rolling a sheet of moist-ed paper on top of it under high pressure... Quite amazing, the skills of these engravers, with their abilities to create light and dark with just different densities and angles and depth of etch lines... Yet never heard of it as a form of art, yar...

We were stopped from taking more photos by the security guard after a few shots, thought that it'd be fine since these were prints instead of the actual paintings and are easily reproduceable blah blah (you know, vs the usual reasons they quote for not allowing you to take photos in art museums)..

Quite lucky that we went today, cos it so happens that quite a number of exhibits were on.. Think we mostly liked the Chacography and Idealism (by Zeng Fanzhi) exhibits.. The above was done by Zeng Fanzhi using colour pencils... He seems to have a few different painting styles though.. He has a few like the one above, with school children with the red scarf-tie thingy which MJ says was compulsory for schoolchildren in China, and some wearing masks, which represents the feeling he had that his friendships in Beijing were superficial unlike those he had in his hometown Wuhan... Only realised after a few of such similar ones that there's a bit of surrealism too, most evident in the one with 2 schoolchildren just standing upright facing you against a beautiful clean background of mountains and sky... The flesh-coloured paintings of humans and raw meat were kinda grotesque... We had some fun guessing what the oil paintings of stark strong brushstrokes hid, wonder whether he even knew himself haha..

Couldn't really appreciate the abstract expresionism exhibits though.. It was a pleasant building, the former SJI building, especially when it's air-conditioned now haha... We had some fun scribbling with crayons at some tables like kids again haha, maybe you can find it there if you do visit that place soon! ;) Maybe it'll fetch a reaaallly high price in a few years' time haha..

s h o p p i n g !

Went shopping with M today! muahaha.. =P Bugis Village is insane.. Found more sanity on the 2nd level.. And 3 for $5 earrings! haha we were going like 'oh-my-goodness..' =P The problem's that we keep getting attracted by the more formal, posh-looking stuff, which one usually doesn't wear to school, sigh.. We stumbled upon this gem of a shop, and bought a blouse each! M got a really schick blouse that can be worn as a tube top or halter or spaghetti, n i got this satin-y rather deep red blouse, ooh like the feel and the look.. maybe i'll wear it on wed! heez.. she found quite a few other nice blouses too and a skirt, but I was feeling kinda broke, didn't really have the heart to seriously shop for stuff for myself hee..

Almost forgot I'd brought my camera today! Until we were having dinner at Mos Burger haha...

M n her corn soup.. Can she get any corn-ier? haha.. Was saying that it looks like a tv programme in which they check out good eating places haha.. Mmm..delicious!

That's me n my hole-y burger! Actually it's the paper wrapping that's hole-y.. Know the scotch-tape thingy on Mos Burgers? Can't believe I managed to tear a hole in the packaging when opening it.. =P

Off to Bintan tomorrow! Time to get sun-kissed! Yay!! =D

e x p l o r e

Was exploring Singapore as Singaporeans today with D haha... Talked lots and saw lots and walked lots... =)

Started from China Central, which is behind Hong Lim Complex, first time we were there... Quite quiet, mostly cafes.. Then passed through a bit of ghostly quiet Shenton Way (cos it's a saturday), before reaching Central shopping mall, the latest shopping centre at Clarke Quay, but quite a number of shops still aren't open.. Then across Read Bridge we went, to Clarke Quay.. Wonder whether there's a 'Mugging Bridge' muahaha.. =P

Colourful shophouses after the renovation.. Though mostly restaurants and pubs/clubs...

Couldn't resist not taking a photo of this interesting purple flower along the river.. =)

The very first restaurant we saw after reaching the banks after crossing the bridge was the Ivory Indian restaurant, and D made a racist joke, can't believe it aiyo..

Noah's Ark.. Taken through one the displays of this german toy figurine shop thingy at Clarke Quay.. Think M took her photos of the figurines playing musical instruments there too!! =P

Thought this was some cool-looking museum thingy, with big years printed across the glass and some antique wheelchairs inside.. It ended up being The Clinic haha.. Freaky looking operation theatre exterior for a club sia.. =P

Went to Meidiya Japanese Supermarket at Liang Court, then ended up at City Hall area.. Started feeling hungry, then went in search of the elusive pie haha.. Think must be cos we saw Sheperd's Pie at Don Your Own Pie store at China Square earlier.. =P Walked through Raffles City but didn't find any reasonably-priced pies, and by then was almost time for dinner, so decided to go for that instead.. Went in search for red meat (ask D why haha) and ended up at Carl's Junior (her 1st time there!)..

The dastardly brew of Groke!! D's mix of grape and coke haha.. Surprisingly quite comfy high barstool-seats we got beside the window (near the drinks refill too haha)..

Beautiful gigantic hanging lamps in Marina Square!
Exited Marina Square to go to Esplanade and chanced upon this octopus-looking fountain sort of place at marina Square! Bet most didn't know of its existence! Woah, from Chinatown to Esplanade, are we nuts or what? haha.. =P

s u n g l a s s e s

Yippee!! Got my 1st pair of sunglasses!! =) and they're Gucci somemore! =P heez..


And yes, they're purple! muahaha... what's new? actually it started off with my mum bugging me to get sunglasses for my Bintan trip and for my SEP in Germany, which I think was started cos of my sis complaining about the super-bright sun over in Holland haha... So went around scouting for sunglasses... At first, was thinking of the big kind (think Prada) but that kind somehow cuts into the top of my cheeks..

Then we both spotted this one at the Gucci shop at DFS and noted the model number (though I actually kinda forgot it already haha).. Saw it again at some specs shops at Suntec today, and really like it the more I see it haha... Feels comfortable too, and not too narrow either.. =) Then finally got it at a store that offered 30% plus 10% discount heez... Thanks S for my early bday prezzie!! =D

Get to use it on Mon at Bintan already! Or shall I try it out tmr? haha... Glücklich! Woopdedoop!!

Erm, the photos don't actually do it justice haha... My phone cam ain't that pro and my digital cam's batteries just ran out! argh... Time to get shutter-happy this hol! =)

a c c i d e n t

My goodness... Just got into the first accident of my life... =S Nothing serious, but just kinda unnerving still...

S was driving past this ulu bus terminal just off ritz carlton hotel, that's made up of basically just a bus stop, and luckily the cars were already slowing down cos of the split road ahead, then the next second: WHAM!! The moment that makes you glad that you have your seatbelt fastened. Seatbelt digging into my ribcage, teeth clenched so tight it almost felt like some tooth got misaligned in the process, hand grabbing onto S's hand like for dear life...

The next moment, there was this guy in a helmet and some luminous motorbike jacket thingy advising the cars who were involved in the accident to drive to the side of the road. Almost thought he's some traffic police, and was wondering how on earth did he get there so quickly haha.. He ended up being just some SBS Transit guy who happened to be there heez..

There were 3 cars in all that were involved and stopped, but the culprit had driven off without stopping. So after some discussion with the other drivers and exchanging of details and filling in of insurance forms, off they went and the road resumed its usual look, without a trace of what had happened. Quite freaky huh? Luckily there were no injuries. Even if there were, the person would be sent to the hospital and the site cleaned up and nobody passing by would ever know. Oh well, life just goes on...

time to start living again!

WoooooOOhhhOOOOooo!! The hell of exams are finally over! The long-awaited freedom tastes ever-so-sweet... Super happy with post-exam celebrations so far!! =D

Went for Mariott Hotel's buffet dinner yesterday with S.. ooh la la! The spread was amazing... There was soo much good stuff like sashimi, roast duck, crayfish, all types of prawns (including drunken prawns which a chef was stationed there just to cook upon request!), the sinful desserts (ooh the chocolate mousse was a die-for!)... Only took a tiny little portion for each dish that piqued my interest, yet still didn't manage to try everything! Argh... the baked potatoes and the countless varieties of cheese and the assortment of pies and cakes... Hee, oh well, at least I'm super-satisfied with what I tried heez... =)


Sashimi!! Fresh... Mmmhmm... =P Haha you should've seen S's outraged look when the sashimi plate at the buffet table went missing (it went to the kitchen to get refilled)! And that blob of green in the soy sauce is none other than WASABI! euw.... =P

Delicious food, pleasant ambience, wonderful company... what more could one ask for? ;)

Actually my last paper ended yesterday at 3pm, disastrous engineering math.. But didn't was just too excited about the exams ending to feel sad or anything heez.. Was asking the friends I've been mostly studying with this exam period for tea (or rather coffee) at Spinelli's at university hall, and woah, everyone came, including TS and D who haven't finished their exams actually haha... You guys rock!! Had so much fun chatting and laughing.. Think we were one really noisy group there haha...

Okz, spiderman 3 tonight!! enjoy ur hols everyone!! jiayou to the rest!!