v a c u i t y

c o m m e n c e m e n t

2009-08-22T10:50:00.012+02:00

Yup the classic mortar board throwing.. To mark the end of 18 years of formal education, and especially the last 4 gruelling years of undergraduate life... Kinda bitter-sweet though..

To satisfy the curiosity of what was exchanged on stage that took so long, he asked me whether I would be continuing with Masters studies. To which I replied that I am working and would like to have a taste of industry first before considering my options again. And the poor guy seemed slightly disappointed, or perhaps I misread his expression. Oh well.

My parents who have supported me in all senses -- morally, spiritually, financially... Without whom it would all not have been possible. Looking back, it is quite amazing how they put up with my late nights and crankiness during exam periods etc... =P

My darling whom I'm blessed to have met at my stinct at NUS.. And my photographer for the day too! Noticed how amazing most photos turned out, like the sun-rays in the first photo? ;)

My lecture buddies for the 4 years (not including Mr Teddy Bear though)! Can't count the number of lectures we slept through together and lunches we had in and out of the LTs...

My fellow CSS Mech Engin friends! Still remember the first Xmas Celebrations when we took a photo making 'M E's with our fingers..

Must mention that my mum specially flew back to Singapore just to share in the joy of my commencement! And my sis and family flew back too! Many thanks to my sis and Andy for treating all of us to a celebration dinner at Town Restaurant, Fullerton Hotel!

Always been curious about the cafe seats along Fullerton Hotel which overlook the Singapore River, opposite Victoria Concert Hall. Was reading through reviews online to scout for a good place to eat and chanced upon rather good ones on their seafood buffet, and so learnt that Town Restuarant's the one I've been wanting to check out too! Lots of salmon (as in photo above), cold lobsters, scallops, sashimi, delicious mee siam and minestrone soup, chocolate mousse with a crunch, refreshing pomelo etc fruit punch to wash it down... And a great view of the Singapore River and VCH to boot!

l a k s a p e s t o

2009-05-28T09:55:00.002+02:00

Laksa Pesto Pasta
Doesn't that just look like a beauty? Haha... Ok I admit I think I'm going nuts, but I finally tried this fusion dish I've been dying to cook! =P Fell in love with pesto sauces in Germany, and restaurants boasting fusion cooking in Singapore have been using local herbs like the (in)famous laksa leaves you see all ground up on the noodles... Supposed to use egg pasta but happened to have egg noodles at home so they came in handy. ;) Supposed to have prawns too, but I spotted these rib-eye steaks on offer in the supermarket so that was our meat for the meal. Adapted from a recipe I googled online, and it turned out really well!! My dad totally loved it! Haha.. I guess it's still dependent on whether you're a fan of laksa though.

Been meeting up with friends, trying to watching the stuff I've been hoarding (yes, I procrastinate entertainment gosh), catching up with my reading, playing some music at home... Sometimes it feels like I'm rushing to do all I've been wanting to before my last weeks of freedom's up.. Sometimes can't believe that I'm going to work for good next week already. Not a vacation job, not an internship, but a proper full-time job.. Argh can't help but feel a 'lil old...

j o y s o f c o o k i n g

2009-05-20T19:28:00.002+02:00

Hainanese Pork Chop
Been trying some new recipes and perfecting some others, now that I have a few weeks left before I start work... Teriyaki sauce is surprisingly easy to make, with most ingredients readily available in most Singaporean kitchens! Also tried making some inside-out californian maki, which can be quite messy hee... The above's largely following my mum's recipe for Hainanese Pork Chop -- it's as yummy as it looks! =D Used the artificial vinegar the previous time, but found it a bit too sharp for my liking so had to add lots of sugar, but used the jap rice vinegar from my sushi making this time and it's so much better!

Gingerbread Cupcake @ Auntie Shahz
Been baking with Auntie Shah too, forgot to take a photo of the yummy oatmeal cheesecake we made before finishing it off argh! Just made some gingerbread cupcakes last week too, it's oh-so-delicious with the aroma of ginger and nutmeg and cinnamon, with a tinge of ginger that's not overpowering at all (yes, coming from someone who usually detests eating ginger). Some like it cold, but think I still prefer it warm, as the insides are nicely warm and moist yet the crust has a slight crunch to it mmm...

s a p p o r o r a m e n b i s h a m o n

2009-05-16T19:12:00.000+02:00

Salmon Sashimi Rice @ Sapporo Ramen Bishamon
Tried this little ramen restaurant at Raffles City basement, somehow I guess in some extent due to the layout of that area of restaurants (cramped side-by-side with most of their tables outside along the corridor instead of within the contained restaurant premises itself), it seems to give one a fight-or-flight kind of feeling during the meal. Perhaps it's all planned for, given the lunch crowd that area would draw from offices around, hmm... The salmon sashimi was not bad, no fishy taste or smell to it at all, rice was slightly sweet (to Ivan's delight haha) and strewn with Ebiko bits (to my delight muahaha). The bento-bowl it came in seemed rather small. Comes with a tiny clump of preserved ginger (which we both can't stand oops) and a bowl of miso soup too. And that's about all to that dish though.

Special Miso Ramen @ Sapporo Ramen Bishamon
The portion's not too bad, with quite a bit of ramen (but of course), quite a sizeable slice of pork, and yippee, some bamboo shoots too! The soup's unfortunately nothing much though, would rather opt for the soups at the restaurants in Liang Court anyday... =P

d e l i g h t & d e l i c i o u s

2009-05-15T18:45:00.000+02:00

Full Moon Burger @ Delight 'N' Delicious
Tried this western food stall with a rather interesting menu, located in a coffee shop at Jalan Membina (which is really quite near my place muahaha). This burger comes in a Full Moon serving of 2 x 150g patty and a Half Moon version. Patties are quite juicy and drizzled with melted mozarella mmhmm... Only thing is that the bread and veggies come separately (burger's too large to stay together, or simply a matter of presentation?) so could get kinda messy trying to eat it together hee...

Paprika Chicken @ Delight 'N' Delicious
Chicken with spices and mozarella melted over it. Didn't find it that exciting, but that is one yummy albeit rather buttery mashed potato... Could almost square up to Popeye's mashed potato, though it would lose a few points in the sauce department...

Proscuitto di Parma Pasta @ Delight 'N' Delicious
Ingredients of the usual ham and mushrooms, but what I really like about this pasta is the creamy tomato sauce. Found their rendition of the sauce slightly too runny though...

Chargrilled Ribeye Steak @ Delight 'N' Delicious
Woot! Look at all that blood!! That's what I call medium rare. And steak for $13.80! Only slight let-down is that some bits of it were unfortunately a bit tough hmm...

Hot Chocolate Brownie @ Delight 'N' Delicious
Nice warm brownie that wasn't too dry nor too heavy, and comes with quite a sizeable scoop of vanilla ice cream on it too! Quite impressed that they even put in effort to do some art with streaks of jam and chocolate fudge, thumbs up for this $4.50 dessert! Generally not too bad a place for some western food near home, they even have a discount card that give you some free food with a certain number of stamps collected hee, only gripe would be the level of noise in the usual coffee shop setting, but oh well, that's what you get for a relatively economical bill for that quality and quantity of food at the end of the meal!

d i n n e r @ e s p l a n a d e

2009-04-25T18:28:00.000+02:00

Strongbow apple cider @ Harry's Bar
Here's Ivan's latest rave... Zappel with a tinge of alcohol! Muahaha... =P Makes me miss the wonderfully cool smooth and refreshing Apfelwein that we tasted on our first trip to Germany, in Frankfurt mmmm... Oh, to his delight, this particular Harry's at CHIJMES is apparently some Liverpool fan territory...

Bailey's Irish Cream Hot Cake @ The Cookie Museum
Was reading how some online bloggers were going googoogaga over this dessert, couldn't help myself but splurge a bit and try it at The Cookie Museum at the Esplanade.. =P Really one opulent tai-tai place decked out in victorian... Sadly the whipped cream topping the hot cake slipped off just as I was taking this photo sigh... The cake itself is nothing much to comment about, but the sauce at the bottom is quite amazing, I actually requested for spoons to scoop up every bit of decadence hee... However Ivan found that it contains a bit too many flavours though, such that it overpowers the cake totally oh well...

Pomegranate Ruby Tea @ The Cookie Museum
To wrap up a night of sinful gastronomy, we had some sips of this light tea. It smells really fruity and refreshing, but it's a bit erm too light for my taste... Let him sample the lavender cookies there too, I simply love 'em! But be warned, it takes some getting used to eating something you usually associate with solely smelling... ;)

J B t r i p

2009-04-23T18:05:00.011+02:00

Mozarella cheese-baked black pepper sauce chicken chop @ Yew's Cafe
Drove into JB for a day-trip with Ji Gu and Auntie Shah.. Initially we were afraid that our favourite roasted duck stall would be closed on Thursdays, but when we reached, to our horror, the entire coffee shop was undergoing demolishment works! And upon querying shopowners in the vicinity, the roast duck shopowner still hasn't found a new place yet. Woe to us.. =S So we moved on to another town, but on the way, we passed by this area with a bowling alley which Ji Gu has been thinking of trying but haven't got to it yet. So off we went into that shopping mall establishment that comprises mainly the bowling alley and this Bistro-restaurant, Yew's Cafe. Generally, prices are higher than the usual Malaysian fare, but considering the chic restaurant ambience and quality of western food, it's still quite a steal (after converting to SGD of course, and comparing with restaurants in Singapore).

Lamb Shank @ Yew's Cafe
My order was the chicken chop above, was quite a generous portion, albeit the sauce being slightly on the salty side. Lots of melted mozarella cheese with black pepper sauce and sausages on top mmm... Would never have tried mozarella with black pepper sauce as the sauce might overpower the cheese, but I just felt like having both that day, so why not just have the combination? ;) Auntie Shah had the Lamb Shank, which came with quite an impressive presentation. It was done in a stew sauce and was rather tender, although sadly the tulang-looking bone was devoid of bone marrow. Came with a serving of vegetables and mashed potatoes.

Ji Gu & his Tuna Spaghetti @ Yew's Cafe
Forgot to take a photo of this first dish that was served before devouring it. =P Was really not bad, having the right consistency, i.e. not too soggy nor dry, with enough sauce to go around, although the only gripe would be the rather miserable amount of tuna that came with it.

Auntie Shah & her Lamb Shank @ Yew's Cafe
That's Auntie Shah getting all prepared to dig into her succulent lamb shank... ;) I would say it's quite nice place to head to if you're in the mood for some western cuisine in JB and a pleasant air-conditioned dining environment.

Iced Lemon Tea & Curry Puffs & Goreng Pisang
Next we sent the car for servicing. We were told to return in 20 min however when we did, the mechanic was still not done, so we were chased off to have some tea first. Walked around the shophouses there, checked out some home contractors for fun, and finally got some Goreng Pisang and Curry Puffs from a roadside stall (the kind which is set up behind their own van). Only 1RM for 4 curry puffs! And with really crispy skin and tasty curry potato or sardine filling! What more can one ask for mmm.. It was quite a sweltering afternoon so we headed to a nearby coffee shop for some iced lemon tea and chendol too.

Lobster in 'Champion sauce' @ Jade Restaurant
Following that, we dropped by the kampong house and did a bit of cleaning up and had a wonderfully cold bath (no time to wash the car though sadly). Refreshed, we embarked on an hour-plus journey up to Pengarang for some seafood dinner! The previous time they were there with one of my cousins, they noticed that almost all the tables had ordered a plate of lobsters, so it's time to check 'em out! They come in three sizes and respective prices, and the waitress recommended their 'Champion sauce' that's of chicken broth base and has lots of wolfberry sweetness mmm... Mouthwatering huh? ;) Finger-licking goodness that was finished down to the last bits in their legs and all..

Steamed Fish @ Jade Restaurant
They also had two types of fish swimming around in their tanks. If I didn't remember wrongly, we had the garoupa, steamed in Hong Kong style (whatever that means haha). Really fresh, and not the least bit lor gor (referring to being more tough and not easily broken apart). Lovely delicious seafood dinner that was worth the trip up! =) Sweet ending to a relaxing pigging-out trip in JB hee...

h i g h l a n d e r c o f f e e

2009-04-21T15:09:00.004+02:00

Macadamia Coffee Latte @ Highlander Coffee
Met Soon at Highlander Coffee, which is a cafe that also offers Barista workshops situated along Kampong Bahru Road, for a chit chat before he flies back to Germany this Sunday. Got to know this place through his intro cos he works around there. They serve really good coffee at reasonable prices (i.e. less than Starbucks etc) and provide free wireless internet for surfing too. And best of all, they actually bother to do coffee art! =D Ain't that a pretty twin heart on my coffee? ;) Their beverages come served with a caramel cookie too, been eyeing this brand of cookies ever since I went a'hunting for the tea-time caramel cookies which I used to pig out on in Germany (good stuff for dumping into your drinks hee)! Might go get some myself when I'm not feeling too fat (or when temptation just takes over)...

So much has happened in the slightly-less-than-a-year that passed... So many things in life are so transient.. At least there are memories to hold on to, but sometimes mine seem to be fading... Really glad to get to catch up with him this round he's back, but somehow keep getting this nostalgic removed feeling, like a reminder that my life less than a year ago was so different from what it is now and probably in the future too...

g r a d u a t i o n m a s s

2009-04-17T14:49:00.003+02:00

CSS had Graduation/Exam Mass on the last day of semester before the start of reading week. Had blessings, some song singing, video presentations, lots of hugging and photo-taking... Generally quite emo... Somehow this last day of sem seems even more significant to me as I won't even be going back to campus for exams anymore... Yes yes, I'll explain this for the umpteenth time and risk getting shot at again -- I've managed to cram enough modules in all the previous sems and chose all non-examinable modules for this sem hee.. Quite 先苦后甜 huh... But at least I've got the peace of mind that if anything screws up in the earlier sems I can always salvage it later on without having to delay graduation... Glad all that planning paid off, really have to give thanks to God for it!

Dinner was provided after mass, with more fellowship and laughter... Will so miss everyone, from those whom I've known ever since I first stepped into CSS in Yr1 to those whom I've only started to get to know in the past year.. But I suppose it doesn't just end there, there'll always be the many gatherings during the hols and can always go back for campus mass when I've got the time, and might meet some at church etc... Simply am at a loss of words to describe how much journeying and growing with this community has enriched me.. Love all you guys!

s e l f m a d e

2009-04-04T13:08:00.000+02:00

Chocolate and Banana Ice Cream cake with Chocolate Ganache Glazing
Been trying my hand out at making Ice Cream cakes (mainly to make one for my darling's bday hee). Quite fun to try out different variations of ingredients and proportions, my first one was quite disastrous haha... You won't believe how much unhealthy stuff goes into each bit of it though, they'll so be my downfall sigh... =P

Instant noodles passing off as a pasta dish
Yes, horror of horrors, I'm actually missing the generic pasta meals I used to dish up in Germany. So cooked this for lunch one day, with instant noodles instead of pasta. Minus the fresh mushrooms too. Argh I miss the fresh mushrooms that I used to always have stock of in my fridge...

a n e w s e a s o n

2009-03-14T13:32:00.001+01:00

Charmaine & I
A New Season -- NUSSO's concert at UCC on 14 March 2009. Kinda marks the end of my undergrad journey with NUSSO and the start of a new phase in my life... That's Charmaine, my desk partner for most of the pieces this concert, a really bubbly, earnest Yr1 gal who made all those crazy note-reading rehearsals bearable. ;)

My dad, me, Ivan, Ivan's dad and mum (from left to right)
Really appreciate family and friends for coming, despite most not actually having been musically-trained or that great a fan of classical music... =) Pretty photos huh, thanks to Ivan's wonderful DSLR lens haha...

Yao Guai, Moli, me and Michael Tan (from left to right)
Oops, pai seh, can't remember her actual name, but she even happily calls herself Yao Guai on facebook haha.. One jovial lady, who upon hearing that the really tall Bassoonist is a German exchange student, commented "Ah, no wonder so ugly.", when she's a German herself haha... Unfortunately didn't manage to take photos with Winnie & her bf, Sam and Isaac before they left though..

Violin 2 gals
My violin 2 section for this year's concert! Ok, minus the handful of guys, which makes the Violin 1 guys really jealous haha... Really glad that the whole atmosphere within the orchestra has gotten so much friendlier and chummy after returning from Germany. Good job guys! Hope it'll persist... =) Sometimes music ain't all about technicalities, it's something human, something more intimate...

r a n d o m e a t s

2009-02-28T12:33:00.000+01:00

Squid Ink Pasta with Smoked Salmon & Cream-based sauce @ Dome
Tried out Dome at Shaw House with Ivan, I must say service was quite impressive since I seem to remember that about them despite only blogging about this almost a month later. Quite cozy old-time decor, complete with my fav booth seat tables too. ;) First time having squid ink pasta without the pasta sauce being made of squid ink too. Doesn't seem much different from other pasta though, guess squid ink's not strong in flavour on its own anyway so the other tastes kinda overpower it. A generally nice combination which wasn't too jelak despite the cream-based sauce.

Deep-fried combo @ Dome
Typical deep-fried mix of calamari, chicken wings, prawns and potato wedges, served with 3 types of dip -- salsa, sour cream and chilli. The chilli one was surprisingly hot! The sour cream was unfortunately slightly bland, though it adds a refreshing dimension that's light on the palate when mixed with the other dips.

Mille-feuille @ Coffee Club
Which means thousand-layers in French, referring to the brownish bit peeking from behind the scoop of vanilla ice cream, adorned with raspberries and blueberries. Presentation was really sweet with a substantial amount of fruits and chocolate fudge blobs and a chocolate leaf, however it seemed to overshadow the actual protagonist of the dish. Which also sadly didn't perform up to expectations. The pastry was actually tough! We had some problems tearing it apart with our dessert forks. Oh well, at least the ambience at the outlet at Raffles City was really chill...

c u r r y f a v o u r

2009-02-15T18:30:00.002+01:00

Ivan intro-ed me to Curry Favour that day (haha yes yes, my ubiquitous 'that day'). Somewhere around City Hall area.. Never knew it was linked to MoonRiver (though never been to either, despite having passed by both a couple of times).. Basically it's known for its Japanese curry. A typical dish has the usual sticky Jap rice and a tiny side of pickled ginger, and deep fried something, which in our case was fish and chicken (if my memory didn't fail me oops). Then it's served with this lovely amount of jap curry that comes in some contraption that looks almost like a genie lamp (yes, pardon me for my lack of vocab). Initially seemed like quite alot of curry, but cos it's not spicy yet rather tasty, don't be surprised that you'll be wondering where it all went before you notice it.. ;)

We had some crispy soft shell crab too.. Came with a wasabi mayo dip, remember having been served a similar at Cafe Cartel for theirs too.. Think it was a fair bit of crab mmm... Always had a soft spot for soft shell crab anyway hee.. Generally quite a nice dining experience I guess, with nice couches further in to lounge around too.. =)

v d a y

2009-02-14T22:00:00.007+01:00

Had the sweetest ever Valentine's with my darl.. =P Really touched that he was putting so much effort into it and trying to keep the preparations hush hush so it'd be a surprise hee.. Can't stop gushing oops... That's my pretty light purple hydrangea set in its own quaint wicker basket -- my fav flower in my fav colour muahahaha.. The beauty of hydrangeas is in how a single stalk can naturally seem to be a bouquet on its own! =)

The pirate and his rum! Haha couldn't help myself but post this unglam photo of someone's alcoholic tendencies.. =P

Wasn't rum nor shandy.. Was actually Riesling! My gosh.. I'm no wine connoisseur but kinda liked them (a species of grape quite commonly grown in Germany) when I first tasted it in Germany.. Mmmm wine by the beach, with a soft sunset too.. How perfect can things get?

Perfecter! Pardon me, I simply had to coin that word.. Master chef's TLC work of art.. After much experimentation and sweat, voila! Pate and Avocada prawn salad which can't be described by any other word but heavenly... Would never had thought of making pate myself, especially not in Singapore hee.. But he apparently proved me wrong! And my my, that was one smooth salad, shan't further divulge his secret ingredients hee..

Simply had to fool around a bit with ice and fire as the sky turned dark... =P That was one really memorable Vday, couldn't have enjoyed it better, all thanks to my dearest!

d a i l y s c o o p

2009-02-12T18:24:00.002+01:00

Waffle with Ameretto Ice Cream @ Daily Scoop
First heard of this ice cream parlor at Clementi Arcade along Sunset Way from the CSS people, so suddenly decided to look for it and give it a try after an afternoon at the career fair. Serves up a variety of homemade ice cream with some local flavours, such as Durian Durian (what else screams more 'Singaporean' than that?), and exotic ones such as Orange Tequila. Quite a number of flavours with liquer actually, how nice haha, though obviously the alcohol ain't that strong, can't imagine kids getting drunk in an ice cream, can you? ;) The ameretto's a almond liqeur, it came with mashmallow and chocolate bits too. The waffle was subtly crisp on the outside and soft inside, which is quite a well done version of the typical light Singaporean waffle in comparison to the heavier doughier Belgian waffle. Love both versions nonetheless.

Warm Chocolate Brownie with Lychee Martini @ Daily Scoop
The brownie's nothing to rave about, denser than the one I tried at Four Leaves but not as dense as the one at Mrs Field's. Lychee Martini's lychee flavour was rather refreshing, though the martini bit was hardly there.
Having had my fill of waffles yesterday at Olive Cove at NUS (finally) and today, think it brings me to the end of my waffle binge, but think my hunt for brownies has but just begun oops... =P

t e a

2009-02-11T18:08:00.000+01:00

Viennese Chocolate Shortbread (Marks&Spencers) and
Ipoh White Coffee and
Peanut Cookies (First Choice) (in background)
Been pigging out on meals like breakfast and tea.. Blame it on being deprived of CNY cookies for 1 year haha, even Germany gets the blame for my Kaya spread craving! Sipping on ipoh white coffee while nibbling on cookies -- that's my idea of a perfect tea mmhmm.. Btw both cookies were bought while on promotion (good time to buy CNY cookies right after CNY as prices are slashed yet they're still rather fresh).

Chicken Curry Puff (1A)
Yes, I'm nuts enough to hunt down this stall at Block 94 Bukit Merah View, behind Henderson Primary School, which I heard is the original before the whole franchise chain started. Have always loved this version of the crispy curry puff, ever since my mum first bought them from some franchise stall at Jurong West (where we used to live in at one point in time). Not so much cos of the flaky skin, but rather for the really moist fillings which somehow seem to have gravy and yet not have been absorbed by the skin. The sardine version's delicious too. Helps that this stall's rather near to my home too muahaha..

j a l a n k a y u

2009-02-10T17:29:00.000+01:00

Tulang @ Jalan Kayu
My uncle's been bringing me to this place at Jalan Kayu that's 3 stalls (selling different stuff like Roti Prata stuff, Seafood Zi Char stuff, Satay, Nasi Padang etc) which combined forces, so customers can sit anywhere and yet order from any of them. This bone marrow dish (which is called Bone Steak on the menu) is really huge and worth it for 8 bucks! Plenty of bones, more than enough to go around the table of 5, and really lip-smacking sauce! Waaaay better than the one we had with my sis at Rowell hee... This is so gonna make her drool till she next flies back haha...

Tissue Thosai @ Jalan Kayu
This is humongous. Totally. Just look at the puny bowl of chickpea sauce in comparison. And I didn't even manage to squeeze in the entire length of it into the photo yet! Really thin and comes with 4 sauces to boot. My aunt and I just love the chickpea sauce (the one served in the bowl), and we all just ended up dipping some Thosai in the Tulang sauce too haha cos that sauce was that good.

Roti John with mutton and cheese @ Jalan Kayu
Somehow not as impressive as I was expecting. Found the bread a bit tough for my liking. Maybe I like stuff that's more crisp on the surface, though no idea whether that'd be authentic roti john hee.. Sauces came in generous amounts, but not so for the fillings.

Roti Prata Bomb @ Jalan Kayu
Was reading about this Prata Bomb thingy in some food blog somewhere, think the craze started in Malaysia but apparently hasn't really caught on in Singapore, as nobody else at the table had ever heard about it. It looked rather dismal when it arrived at the table, but was really not bad tastewise! Think the dough's slightly different, had some margarine and sugar in it too. Guess I'll try a Bomb again when I next see it in another prata stall's menu.

Sardine Murtabak @ Jalan Kayu
First time having fish in Murtabak haha.. Was quite a fresh change, though it was more moist than usual Murtabaks, dunno whether it's cos of the sardine, or their Murtabaks are generally of the wetter sort.

Beehoon Goreng Pattaya @ Jalan Kayu
This was good stuff! I generally love Pattayas, which is just whatever stir-fried carbo-dish wrapped in omelet. The egg was soft and moist enough, and the beehoon goreng had sufficient ingredients too.

q e d

2009-02-09T06:31:00.000+01:00

quod erat demonstrandum
. . . q.e.d.

Latin for Which is the thing that was going to be proved, which means Thus it is proved.

Have always wondered what that q.e.d. thingy we used to write at the end of mathematical problems which required proving LHS=RHS meant. Remember asking our math teacher and he just jokingly said "Quite easily done." which we obviously didn't take seriously. And voila! Enlightenment appeared years later, randomly in a novel I was reading today!

r a n d o m f o o d

2009-01-31T18:37:00.007+01:00

Grilled Turkey and Mushroom Sandwich @ Simply Bread
Was introduced to Simply Bread at Guthrie House.. It's quite a gem I think, or perhaps it's just the nostalgia washing over me as I gaze longingly at the assortment of Potato Breads, Ciabatta etc. Prices seem rather reasonable too, a loaf of bread typically goes for about 5 bucks plus, which is around the amount you would have to pay for a similar one after conversion from Euros to SGD. We ordered a Special of the Day, which was a grilled Turkey and Mushroom sandwich. It came with a coleslaw, which was nothing to rave about but could be better if it were slightly wetter to counter the dryness of the breads. The bread came with 'grill streaks' which seem rather authentic, and was quite nice, though it might have been sweet if we could choose the type of bread for our sandwich. The fillings were adequate, and the melted cheese was on the generous side, awesome...

Chocolate Souffle @ Bakerzin
Went to Bakerzin for more Molten Chocolate Cake before the promotion ends hee... Got to try their Chocolate Souffle at long last too! We were initially hesitant about the portions as it looked quite puny in the photo in the menu, but we had pleasant surprise when we were served with this rather gigantic souffle and a scoop of capuccino ice cream to boot! Was quite heavenly, with a slightly crunchy crust and light warm insides. Though I would still choose the Molten Choc Cake over it anyday! =P

Ivan and I about to pig out on ice cream at Icekimo's! It's tucked into this row of shophouses at Sin Ming Ave (or is it Road?) somewhere around Upper Thompson, would never have found it or chanced upon it if not for him knowing about it and bringing me there. More homemade ice cream goodness! (There's more than Island Creamery now woohoo..)

Blueberry cheesecake, Teh Tarik and Nutella ice cream in chocolate waffle @ Icekimo
We tried the blueberry cheesecake, teh tarik and nutella. Blueberry cheesecake was nice, albeit not exactly a very local flavour. ;) The teh tarik didn't seem to have as strong a flavour of tea as what I remember of its counterpart at Island Creamery. Think I still prefer more swirls of nutella that Island Creamery does to theirs too... The ice cream seemed to melt at a slower rate at least. =) Was generally very satisfying though!

s o p h i a c n y

2009-01-31T18:17:00.005+01:00

Sophia & family and my mum flew back from Shanghai for the Chinese New Year celebrations! They were here for about 2 weeks, and just flew off again yesterday, how time flies... Mum's taking another flight out a few days later though. That's Sophia on her cute Trunki luggage which can be pulled around with her on it!

Went to a coffee shop at Rowell for mouth-watering prata etc indian food.. That's her dipping paper Thosai into one of the various dips. Had a really sumptuous dinner there -- paper prata (simply love the thinness of it!), prata with egg, mee goreng, bee hoon goreng, mutton soup (a disappointment), Tulang (aka bone marrow, mmmm bliss). Andy would've ordered even more if not for our limited stomach space I think, blame it on deprivation of Singaporean food hee..

First time I get served Milo Dino topped with a lychee! We also had Teh Cino, Indian Chendol (erm dunno what exactly is so 'indian' about it though) and Mango Lassi.

After one of our trips to Sentosa, we headed to Ben & Jerry's for our ice cream fix! Sophia being offered her scoop of Chocolate Sinfulness while she terrorizes the B&J cow... Quite a good offer going on now -- free scoop of some new flavour of sorbet (can't remember the name, but think it had bananas and mango in it if I'm not wrong) with every 2 other scoops ordered. So totally pigged out on 3 scoops with a chocolate waffle! Until my mum almost got a brainfreeze from it haha...

And more ice cream! At People's Park Centre's hawker centre, Soya Bean ice cream from Mr Bean (or is it Jollibean? gosh they're sprouting all different outlets all over the island). My mum's quite crazy about it, it's really quite interesting -- rather light, with a soya bean aftertaste.

q u i c h e e t c

2009-01-30T16:49:00.000+01:00

Spinach, Ham & Mushroom Quiche
Been wanting to try my hand at cooking up a quiche ever since the period when I was in Germany, but never had the chance to. So finally got to do it when Ivan and I decided to have a cookout at his place! =D Turned out really well, surprisingly quite easy actually. The filling was light enough, not too cheesy for his mum's taste I hope. ;) The crust, which we bought on sale from the Cold Storage at Guthrie House (shortbread crust, not quiche crust actually), unexpectedly tasted of A&W Rootbeer! Haha... Was somehow inexplicably quite addictive though oops..

Minestrone Soup
Ivan was having a craving for some Minestrone Soup (or at least to cook some), so that's some really adapted version of it, without any beans other than baked beans (cos we both hate 'em haha). Think it would've been delicious if not for the cherry tomatoes which made the taste kinda sharp (couldn't find any nice red tomatoes at the supermarket somehow).

Chapalang omelet thingy
Had some leftover ingredients from the quiche, so I attempted to make an omelet out of them, in the style of some japanese dish I remember indulging in at Waraku which was basically really sinful due to the copious amounts of mayonnaise and cheese.

z e l i f e

2009-01-20T12:38:00.004+01:00

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake @ Bakerzin
Initially wanted to sit down to a cozy cup of coffee and slice of cake at some cafe we haven't tried at Vivo City, but this french cafe which Winnie and I were eyeing apparently closed down before we had the chance to try it! But it could be a blessing in disguise, as we finally ended up in Bakerzin and lo-and-behold -- there's a promotion that lasts till 31st Jan for their acclaimed Molten Chocolate Lava Cake going for $4.90!!

Have always wanted to try it, after hearing and reading reviews on it, but the price for that puny size has been holding me back.. So this steal of a promotion was like my lava choc cake dream come true! Woot! Doesn't it look simply picture-perfect? Admittedly the portion is rather small, especially as compared to the one at Dan Ryan's, but it's finer, and the fruits and ice cream somehow make it less heavy (though the chocolate and cake itself is still sufficiently rich) so that one doesn't get sick of it too soon.. So wanna pig out on it again soon before the offer ends!

Viennese Ice Blended Coffee @ Bakerzin
aka Kaffee nach Wiener Art which was the love-at-first-sip in a cafe in Leipzig, Germany, last year. It's basically just cinnamon powder added to coffee, but I simply love the combination mmm... When the waitress mentioned orange peel, we thought that it had a touch of it in the coffee too, which piqued our interest, but to our dismay, it amounted to just two tiny strips for decoration purposes and nothing orangey at all in the drink. Oh well... This came with a small jug of syrup to add to your coffee to a level of sweetness of your liking.

Tomato and Cream sauce Chicken Chop Baked Rice @ C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe
Passed by C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe on the 2nd level of Bugis Village, was rather surprised that there's actually a food outlet in that part which is known for its tiny shops selling clothes and accessories. She'd seen good reviews of it on TV, so we decided to give it a shot. Been always a fan of tomato and cream sauce (thick yet not sickening), it was a slight disappointment when it came with just half of it covered in tomato sauce and the other half in cream sauce. Thought they'd at least mix the rice in the sauces before baking it so the rice would soak in the flavours. So some grains of rice at the edges which escaped the cover of any sauce or cheese ended up kinda dry. But it was still generally not bad after mixing it all together yourself. Miss our casserole dishes creation days...

h o l i d a y

2008-12-31T16:59:00.013+01:00

Here's some random photos which I've been wanting to upload this hols but was hit by the procrastination bug.. =P

New Year's Day CCG with the ASEngs at SamKoh's place... Ice breakers, sharing, dinner, games and lots of lameness!!

Bak Kut Teh with Mee Sua
Had dinner at home with my dad and Ivan one of the days when we were somehow in the mood to cook up a storm. So that's what we did... Bak Kut Teh made with one of the unused spice packets which went to Germany and back. And really really tender pork (apparently from the front trotters) mmmm...

Bergedil
Potato patties, croquettes, or whatever you wanna call them... Ivan's creation!! Interesting ingredient -- Chanchulat (fried shallots). Really delicious, albeit a bit on the wet side, kudos for a first try! ;)

Cordon Bleu Chicken
Was initially afraid that it'd be too dry, since it's after all chicken breast, but amazingly it was still rather tender! Perhaps it was Ivan's wonderful tenderizing pounds, or the heap of cheese and garlic butter (yes our own version huh) we stuffed inside, or the shocking amount of oil that resulted (either from the buttered bread crumbs or the chicken itself)... Nonetheless, it was totally sinful mmhmm.. =)

Iced Capuccino
Had dinner with Joseph and Sebastian on New Year's Eve, introduced Sebastian to quite a number of local specialities like Tim Sum, Rojak and Goreng Pisang, hawker centre hopping around Chinatown. Then we walked all the way to Boat Quay for some drinks. Ended up at Manchester United Club's Pub thingy along Boat Quay as it was the only one with available seats at that time.. Almost got murdered by Ivan who joined us later though (yesh yesh Liverpool rules huh).. =P It seems like a rather new place, the staff don't seem all too experienced, my iced capuccino was practically dripping whipped cream all over haha (at least it's a really generous portion).. Managed to have a really good view of the fireworks over the Singapore River though.. =D

Sent Joel and Geri off at the airport.. See those scarves around their necks? Still can't believe we managed to stitch both their names on each hee..

Went for Chris' 21st birthday party at Aloha Changi... By the way, him and some friends of his belt a mean acapella sia.. ;)

Did some singing myself with MM this Christmas too, carolled at Carmelite Monastry and Assisi Hospice...

Went to Union Square on Boxing Day with some CSS peepz to salsa!! Was a bit rusty hee, but good fun!

Breakfast at CSS retreat.. Hilarious looking photo huh.. hee.. Was a good rejuvenating experience... Love my group too, somehow everyone felt comfortable opening up despite having only just got to know each other only during this retreat..

Tried making shepherd's pie for Christmas dinner hee.. Turned out not too bad, maybe a bit too buttery, if I should say myself. Then went to Blessed Sacrament for midnight mass.. =)

One of the bestest holidays I've ever had, I must say!! =D (And in no small part thanks to a certain someone hee..)

d e l i m o r o c c a n

2008-12-20T17:58:00.000+01:00

Beef Tagine
Heard and read about Deli Moroccan situated along Bussorah Street, in front of Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam. Happened to be around that area and happily tracked it down and tried it out. In my humble opinion, the beef tagine was beautifully spiced, though a tad watery.

Mixed kebab with french fries
The mixed kebab was really tasty! Simply love the spices, but I was rather expecting beef chunks like the chicken chunks, instead of the minced beef. So it unfortunately kinda ended up being rather similar to the beef in the beef tagine. Oh well, at least it was worth the amount you're paying of less than 10 bucks per main course, definitely a steal for such 'exotic' food in Singapore!

c i n e l e i s u r e

2008-12-15T17:17:00.001+01:00

Beef Ball Noodles
Wanted to try Toast over at Taka, but unfortunately didn't manage to catch them in time before they stopped sandwich production. But no matter, we went on to Cineleisure to check out the makan there. Remember a friend telling me about some rather decent indonesian food there, so found Es Teler at the basement which kinda fit the description. Tried their beef ball noodles. Nothing too exciting about the soup and all, but the beef balls are really quite gigantic and rather tasty, with a hint of garlic (in my opinion at least).

Crespelle de Spinacci
Then we adjourned to the food court next door for Pizza Pazza's Crespelle de Spinacci (if I didn't get the spelling wrong). Kinda had a love at first taste (Ok, pardon me) when I first had it their first outlet at Anchorpoint (opposite Ikea Alexandra) , and now they seem to be popping up everywhere, from Cineleisure to Vivo City even. Quite glad actually, since their standard seems to be still there, at least for this entree over at the Cineleisure. Do try it if you're in a cheesy mood! Totally awesome crepe skin thingy with a mash of spinach, mushrooms and chicken inside (tastes like they're cooked in a herb mix used for escargot) on a plate of cream cheese... And only nuts like us would still douse it in more parmesan cheese! Haha little wonder how my other friends have shaken their heads at how we can smother a pizza under cheese like at Timbre.. =P

s c h o k o l a d e

2008-12-04T22:00:00.002+01:00

Chocolate Fondue
Schokolade sinfulness to the max, man... =P On the last day of my exams, on Henderson Waves bridge that links Telok Blangah Hill Park and Mount Faber, how cool n sweet is that huh.. ;) And if you realised, the bridge is mostly made of wooden planks, and so we were trying not to set it on fire with our tiny tealight candle, nor get caught for it at least..

Totally soaked the marshmallows in oozing luscious chocolate mmhmmm... (Causing myself to drool again oh dear..) Had it for christmas again, with bananas and apples too. Perfecto! Hmm and I wonder whose advert-worthy hand is that in the pic? Hee...

Triple Chocolate Crunch
As if that wasn't enough chocolate indulgence, I chanced upon some Marks and Spencers sale before X'mas and was telling my sis about the items on sale. And managed to get tempted by her and my 'lil niece to pick up a box of Triple Chocolate Crunch too. They wanted 4 boxes, while I got 1 for myself, so basically, I looked like I was buying the whole shelf of it home haha.. It's 3 types of belgium chocolate and oat, how drool-able is that?

m a x b r e n n e r ' s

2008-11-22T10:26:00.002+01:00

Been craving for some good ol' chocolate for some time, so headed over to Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar with a fellow nut for dessert as our first course of dinner.. ;)

Suckao!
It's the definitive drink here.. Was good, especially towards the end, though somehow not as wonderful as I was expecting, p'raps it's been too long since I last visited, p'raps it's the fault of our other drink...

Maragnan
Not sure whether I got the spelling right, thanks to my 'wonderful' retentive abilities. Despite it coming in a teapot, it's got no tea at all, and you're supposed to drink it out of a shot glass. Anyway it's basically chocolate (what else do you get at a choc bar?), kahlua and fine spices. Makes me wonder what's in the 'fine spices'... Yupz, it's got alcohol in it, so you can find it under the 'Aphrodisiac' section of the menu. Think it's the first time I ever had Kahlua warm haha... Reminds me somewhat of Glühwein, must be the warmth, spices and alcohol. Wonder what if we do a warm Irish Cream for Xmas ooh... =P

Think I've had better chocolate in Europe, but am still impressed by the innovativeness of the drinks -- interesting ways of serving up their choc, always liked their cute cups and mugs too.. Kinda saddened by quite a number of items on the menu being struck out, and it looks permanent too. The crowds streaming in the evenings and the queues forming at the entrance still aren't enough to cover the costs of running a business at the Esplanade? Oh well...

By the way, the Esplanade's a really great place to hang out on Saturday nights. We were treated to a free quartett concert (who happened to be some of my friends! gosh..) at the area near the entrance to the theatres, and a jazz band belting out some oldies at the outdoor amphitheatre beside the Singapore River. Lots seems to be pumped into making Singapore a vibrant arts hub, an important ingredient to be a cosmopolitan global city, haha ok shall stop trying to sound intellectual (blame it on the studying this exam period).. Just enjoy it!

Whatcha Think About That

2008-10-05T10:25:00.003+02:00

(Official MTV's not out yet..)

Whatcha Think About That
- Pussycat Dolls ft. Missy Elliott

(Ladies)
So if your dude aint actin right,
you tell that dude he got to go,
If that dude be clamin that he broke,
you tell that dude he got to go
If he wants you to stay in the house everyday and night,
you tell that dude he got to go
If he wants to run the streets,
Then you run the streets to and you tell him he got to go

Baby, Baby somebody’s gonna cry tonight,
Baby (baby), Baby (baby), but it won’t be my tears tonight
(Lets go!)
So whatcha think about that,
whatcha think about it,
So whatcha think about that, that, that (oh baby)

Verse 1:
Tonight we’re gonna switch up,
I’ll do you, you do me,
Tonight your gonna stay home while I run the streets

What do you, what do you, what do you, what do you think about that baby,
What do you, what do you, what do you, what do you think about that?

Baby!, Imma let you play my part,
So you can feel a broken heart,
Let me just talk, make sure that you call
So I can say it

Baby, Baby somebody’s gonna cry tonight,
Baby (baby), Baby (baby), but it won’t be my tears tonight
So whatcha think about that,
whatcha think about it,
So whatcha think about that, that, that (oh baby)

Tonight your gonna call me a thousand times,
Tonight I’mma make up a thousand lies

How do you, How do you, How do you, How do you feel about that baby,
How do you, How do you, How do you, How do you feel about that?

Baby, Imma let you play my part,
So you can feel a broken heart,
Let me just talk, make sure that you call
So I can say it!

Baby, Baby somebody’s gonna cry tonight (that’s right),
Baby (baby), Baby (baby), but it won’t be my tears tonight, oh

So whatcha think about that, (oh)
whatcha think about it, (oh)
So whatcha think about that, that, that (oh baby)

Missy:
Okay!
Hol up, whatchu think about that,
You wear the dress and I put on your slacks,
Tonight I’m goin out and ain’t comin back,
You ain’t gonna get no more pussycat,
See me in the club I’m out with my girls,
Do like you do when your out with your goods,
Up in the club its just me and my girls
Play like Katy Perry kissin on girls,
Now you can’t eat or sleep,
And now you in the house thinking about me,
And now I do what you do to me,
And now I love to see you weeping

Baby, Baby (baby) somebody’s gonna cry tonight (somebody’s gonna cry to tonight)
Baby (baby), Baby (baby), but it won’t be my tears tonight, oh

So whatcha think about that, (oh)
whatcha think about it, (tell me)
So whatcha think about that, that, that (oh baby)

(Oooooo baby, hey)

(Ladies)
So if your dude aint actin right,
you tell that dude he got to go,
If that dude be clamin that he broke,
you tell that dude he got to go
If he wants you to stay in the house everyday and night,
you tell that dude he got to go
If he wants to run the streets,
Then you run the streets to and you tell him he got to go

(baby, baby)
oh baby, somebody gonna cry tonight, oh, somebody gonna cry tonight, baby!

m a t c h m a k i n g 2

2008-09-09T13:44:00.002+02:00

OMG... I seriously can't believe what happened today...

There's been this auntie who greets me every morning when I go jogging at Telok Blangah Hill Park. So I just return her greetings too. But she started saying and asking me questions which sound really suspicious:

"Are you chinese?"
"You're pretty! Pretty!"
"Are you married or studying?"
"Studying in Poly or University?"

And lastly, something that sounded like "Oh! My son [is] also studying in uni!"

Oh dear.. Sounds like another parent who has taken it into her mind to do some matchmaking. And it's no longer limited to Hong Lim Park either!

M A F 2 0 0 8

2008-09-08T05:07:00.002+02:00

Went back for Mid Autumn Festival at HCJC on Sat.. That's a photo of most of my exclassmates who went back, and one of our seniors... Ok, it's no longer HCJC, it's HCI, but I'll always remember it as such.. =P Nothing much of the compound has changed, other than the String Ensemble club room no longer being where it used to be.

Really really glad to be back!! So many memories that I hold dear.. Serene and I were practically gushing about our memories throughout our tour around school.. So much time has passed since, so much has happened.. It's been a tiring journey so far, but this trip back has somehow refuelled my drive, sounds corny? But it's true.. =P Maybe it's the HC fighting spirit.. Never noticed it so starkly until now, maybe the realisation only emerges after being away for some time..

m a t c h m a k i n g

2008-09-08T04:38:00.002+02:00

This is seriously hilarious... One would've thought that with all this modernization in Singapore, and the government trying to lose its image of being a 'PAPa government' by allowing demonstrations and all, it actually suggests that parents try matchmaking for their children. That's like almost the ultimate in authoritarianism with regards to private life. And most amusingly, an astounding 150 parents actually took the advice and went for the matchmaking session held yesterday! And that's not even counting those who're exploring other means of matchmaking or who're going to attend future sessions.

I wonder how successful all this will be. Singaporeans of our generation have a vastly different mindset from those in China, who were brought up as the example. It was reported that a parent was saying that her son never had time for a social life, which led me to ponder -- will he have any time even after his parent has found him a match?

Isn't that the inherent problem?

Singaporeans are so driven by the typical concepts of success, it's been overly discussed over the past donkey years, the 5 Cs and counting.. But where does family come in? (It obviously doesn't begin with C haha.) Some view it as a burden. Some view it as just another goal in life. Doesn't that just remind you of the game, Sims2? Family-oriented Sims will have aspirations pop up that you help them fulfil, then that's it. It's but another thing on the checklist.

What's the use then, of having 2 people who just lead their separate lives, come together just to fulfil a goal, like some 'big events' like marriage or having kids, then have nothing to do with each other for the rest of the time? Is all this Singaporean pragmatism turning us into little more than machines? Forming the 'ideal' family unit, having kids so it doesn't stress the next generations financially, going through the motions, seemingly perfect, but always so hollow.

What happened to the sharing of lives and all?
Is that too idealistic a question to ask?

g a h m e n

2008-08-31T14:21:00.002+02:00

Yes, I'm finally back!! haha... And in more ways than one.. Yupz, back to blogging and back in good ol' Singapore! Had to join the fray of uni life shortly after touching down... Haven't even got some of my photos from my friends haha, so still owe an entry on my Brussels trip.. Anyway, I realise that I seem to be more interested in newspapers and politics now (oh dear, signs of age?? *horror*), found this on Double Yellow's blog when I was doing some research for one of my many projects.. Enjoy!

Top 10 Reasons Why our Gahmen is like a Vending Machine

10. The vending machine runs on power.

9. We have to pay the vending machine in order to get what we want.

8. The vending machine will accept only Singapore coins.

7. The choices available in the vending machine are varied so that every category of sweetmeats and drinks are well represented.

6. You can only select from the choices that the vending machine thinks is good for you.

5. Sometimes the vending machine may decide not to give you what you want even after you have paid for it.

4. If you abuse the vending machine, it will be like talking to a wall.

3. If you kick the vending machine when you don’t get what you want, it’s only your leg that will hurt.

2. Only someone who works for the vending machine can fix any problems with it.

And the Number 1 reason why our gahmen is like a vending machine is....

1. You have to bow before the vending machine everytime before you can take something that you have paid for!

f r a n c e

2008-06-07T23:36:00.046+02:00

We had a Pfingsten public holiday on Monday, then a 1-week holiday for the rest of the week for uni break, almost thought we'd get stuck in Stuttgart for the hols cos we were too busy planning our hol in Switzerland just the week before so cheap tickets were all kinda gone.. Phew, luckily found cheap TGV train tickets within france on offer during that period.. =) So off we went (Winnie and I)!!

We travelled to Strasbourg first, quite a small city in France that's near to Germany... At certain points in history they were actually under Germany, so it's got some german influence and some of them speak german too.. Heard it's quite a nice place, so decided to pay it a visit hee.. Finally reached there about 11am, after the exciting episode of being chased off the train halfway through, cos we honestly forgot about Baden-Wuerttemberg tickets only being valid after 9am on weekdays haha... Purposely woke up at an unearthly hour so we can take the early connection there, but ended up reaching late still haha..

Us in our hostel.. CIARUS... Quite happy with it, cos it's rather organised, clean, bright, and serves a rather good spread of breakfast... 21 euros per person per night in a 6-bed female dorm..

Walked around Strasbourg... Went into a few churches... Quite a number of them actually have explanations printed out in all different languages for visitors to read while walking around the church.. Find it quite cool... ;)

Petite France... Found a postcard of a painting of a slightly different angle of this exact place haha...

Choucroute -- the french word for Sauerkraut!

More prettiness of Petite France...

The Cathedral that seems to be the main attraction of the town.. =P Goth... Doesn't it remind you of the one in Prague? ;)

The Parliament of the European Council... Doesn't that cylindrical glass building look like a modern-day Colosseum?

Me and my dream hat! Always liked hats ever since I was a kid.. =P Was almost tempted to get one, if not for the price and not going to be wearing it much anyway..

After our amazing race run to catch our train, we're off to Paris! TGV trains seem newer and posher than the DB's ICEs haha... And best of all, the colour scheme is purple! =P

After a long deliberation over which tranport tickets would be the most economical and nasty customer service (our hotel's stop is in Zone 3 despite a ticket sales lady insisting that it's in Zone 4), we finally bought the week pass for Zones 1-3 called the Carte Orange... Only snag was that we needed a photo to stick on the identity card... So Winnie tore her photo with her cousin and I tore my useless Aufenthaltserlaubnis (hope the Customs don't hold it against me the next time I fly haha)... Hilarious lah.. Showing off our cards in front of the main train station...

ur super shagged looks after manouveuring through the Paris metro and RBR system with our heavy luggage (best of all is that there's no escalators or lifts at most stops)... Finally at Epinay sur Seine, but still need to search for our hotel from there...

Our bed! Woohoo.. ;) Arty-farty photo of slept-in bed with our bags representing each of us haha...

Couple photo in our bed! haha... Quite a nice, clean, simple and cheap hotel, only thing is that it's quite far from the city centre...

HDB neighbourhood? That's the neighbourhood where the hotel is in haha... Welcome to the non-touristy part of Paris!

First stop: Eiffel Tower!

Us at the highest level of the Eiffel Tower! 12 whooping euros per person for the lifts up here.. -_-'' But the view was good, and you're in Paris man!

Went further down to get a photo with the Statue of Liberty, but apparently the next bridge was a bit too far already haha... Nontheless.. ;) Yes, that tiny thing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower...

Us in front of the tower itself, and the ubiquitous tourists in the background haha...

Can you believe it? The Sainte-Chapelle was on strike! Haha... So everyone was refused entry...

No wonder even the traffic light red-men strike such an angry pose haha...

The Notre Dame!

Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral...

This priest gives confession in sooo many languages! My my... There was even a priest approaching visitors in whatever language they speak and providing them with an explanation sheet in whatever language on the biblical story sculptures... Makes one feel proud of the catholic church sia.. ;) Not just a church that's turned into an empty shell for tourists to gawk at...

Petite Luxembourg... Nice park to break for a picnic.. ;)

Gangster-head spotted smoking cigar in park! Haha... One of our favourite snacks... A bit like love letters rolled with fillings like haselnut or chocolate inside...

Found this composition of 2 old ladies chatting animatedly in front of the pond amusing.. ;)

Rushed to this garden to find out that the only interesting thing is that everything's symmetrical...

Nope, I didn't just flip the above photo...

Found these in a shop window.. How sweet..

Arc de Triomphe... These europeans are really fond of all these triumphal arcs eh... Seen them practically everywhere -- Spain, Italy, France...

Hotel des Invalides.. Nope it's not a hotel for invalides.. =P We almost thought it was a hotel so almost didn't visit it... Ends up being a military museum, with a church behind where Napoleon is apparently laid at...

Paris' version of Orchard Road!

Didn't go to Disneyland Paris, but at least went to Disneyshop Paris haha... Got scolded by the staff for taking photos, so this is a sneak shot muahaha...

Introduring...Winnie the Pooh!! So fits her lah, especially with her new-found craving for honey ever since she came to Germany haha... (No staff came to stop us when we were taking this photo though, weird)

The Louvre Museum.... Free for under 26s on Fridays 6-10pm! Woot!! More money-saving schemes muahhaa..The highlight -- Mona Lisa! It's quite amusing that it's placed in this gigantic room with gigantic paintings hung all around the walls, but everyone's crowding around this tiny one in the middle haha... It seems almost insignificant in terms of size..

The grounds of the Louvre Museum at dusk.. Was super tired after only going through a tiny section of the gigantic museum, left slightly before 10pm...

We dropped off our luggage at the Paris main train station (for an outrageous 5 euros per piece!) And trooped off to Mont Matre neighbourhood.. Moulin Rouge in the day...

Sacre Coeur.. Sacred Heart church.. Our famous amusing photo haha.. With tourists all in action as our backdrop... ;) We were eating our Pate on the steps when a group of Singaporeans suddenly approached us and asked us to help them take a photo with the church, then chatted a bit and seems like one of them is actually a friend of our friend who's also doing SEP in Stuttgart! Small world! No idea how they spotted us amongst all the other tourists though haha..

The steps up to the church.. Quite a nice white church, though a bit young... Rather disgusted by the guys hanging around at the foot of the steps trying to slit tourists' throats with that tourist scam of making friendship bands for them... They can get quite rude and insistent when you refuse, but just gotta be firm, oh well..

Boulangeries abound! We were popping into every bakery we could spot to look for ok-priced and delicious-looking pastries haha...

Finally, I settled for a Choquette... Super light and delicious!! Quite amazed that Delifrance actually bakes a good version of it! Winnie had a quiche that was also ooh-la-la.. ;)

Enjoying our Macarons on the train back to Strasbourg! The chocolate one was really really good.. According to both of us at least... Kanna still insists on swearing by the coffee ones haha... A sweet close to our France trip! =D

s w i t z e r l a n d

2008-06-02T23:32:00.018+02:00

Went to Switzerland for the Labour Day hols.. Managed to get cheap 19 euros (1-way) tickets to Zurich by train (ICE), kudos to Kannan, and stayed over at Weiguang's (Bernard's housemate) room which was vacant then cos he was travelling (in Germany at that time haha).. Only found out that I actually kinda knew Weiguang through a friend before, acquaintance.. =P And met Simon's good army friend there too! Haha, what a small world...

By the time we collected our car that we rented, and found our way to Dietikon (where the other student hostel is, where Winnie was staying over at), there wasn't much left of the day, so we just went explore Bremgarten, which is one of the less-touristy areas near Zurich (even the other Singaporean SEP students haven't heard of it!)...

Jeff joined us to wandern (hiking) there too.. Hiking treks along the river...

There was even an authentic camping site! Logs for a fire in the middle, benches at the side, and even a fountain with running water!

That's our car for the trip, quite a gigantic station wagen.. =D And who's that napping in there? Haha...

Off to Interlaken the next day! The tulips and flowers were all out in full bloom! A picture-perfect place...

There were quite a number of hang-gliders floating around the skies there...

Drove up along the mountains.. Beautiful waterfalls along the mountains.. Looks like the water's falling in slow-motion haha..

At the highest point reachable by car, we continued up with a cable car...

All the way to Schilthorn, which is the highest peak on that side of the mountains, not the Jungfraujoch side... That's a photo of the 3 peaks, one of which is Jungfraujoch.. Too bad it was very cloudy that day, so the peaks were kinda covered... Nontheless, the view was seriously stunning! The feeling of being on top of the world, looking down at mountains.. The entire panoramic view.. Photographs don't do it justice, hee..

There was a stream at the bottom, where we had taken our cable car from.. Evian water supply collection haha...

Such a nice pretty stream that I couldn't help but pose for a Mona Lisa, haha...

Thunsee when the sun is setting... Looks almost like a black and white photo, eh? ;)

Next day was Luzern... Nice view of the Alps and lake again...

Don't the tulips look practically too-good-to-be-true? Oh well, at least I don't feel so bad for having missed Tulip season in Amsterdam... =P

We didn't take the cruises after all, so went walking around the Altstadt (old town)... Their famous covered bridge that was partially burnt down once in the past...

Then we took a drive down the lake, to where the cruise ship would have gone to.. Picnicked by the lake...

Toured Zurich too.. Which wasn't much hee.. I guess it's more of a city where people make a living rather than catered for tourism.. That's Grossmunster, a church...

On the last day, we went to post off our postcards and Kannan and I went to pick up some groceries to cook lunch (with the help of Bernard), and so we had a first-hand experience at what crazy prices the Swiss are paying for thei groceries.. No wonder my friends who're doing SEP in Zurich are almost turning vegetarian soon haha.. Then we were waiting at the train station to get back to Stuttgart, and there were samples of Moevenpick ice cream being distributed! I got a Banana Yoghurt! Woot! What a sweet closing to my Swiss trip... =D

r o m e

2008-06-01T23:47:00.024+02:00

Rome!! Roma Termini's their main train station.. The only good thing about the hostel we stayed at, is that it's near Roma Termini... Everything else about it was terrible -- tiny place with old rooms and the grimiest tinist kitchen and plumbing that was spoilt for 2 of the 5 days we were there.. And that's not all! Big warning: Don't spoil your Rome trip by staying at Backpackers' Hostel! Unfortunately, it's run by a company that has a group of hostels which are all of similar sad standards but have different names, so good luck trying to find good and cheap accomodation at HostelWorld or whatever that doesn't come under them!

First up: the Colosseum! It's seriously as good as what you hear of it!

That's where they keep the animals and slaves underground..

Spectators sit all around the sides, it was a thing of status to have a seat in the colosseum..

Roman roads that have survived the years...

Maximillian Circus... Where there was horse-chariot racing during Roman times..

The Roman Forum! From above, the ruins look like models or toys.. But actually they're seriously gigantic! That's why you can hardly make out the people on the ground in the photos, although it's sprawling with tourists haha...

Beautiful beautiful ruins!

The stone podium that Marc-Antony is supposed to have made his speech from (after the death of Julius Caesar)...

Towering arches...

The flame that's not supposed to go out...

They've got some really short tiny-looking buses!

The Pantheon! It's deceivingly small in this photo, had to stand far far back before being able to catch most of it in my photo... These Romans don't seem to have a sense of size -- everything's so gigantic!

The domed-ceiling of the Pantheon..

One of the many many churches we visited in Rome... They're seriously amazing, the paintings and sculptures and ornate decorations along the walls and on the ceilings.. They're almost like tiny museums of their own..

The fountain of Trevi (or was it Tivoli? oops) which was the last stop for our 1st day in Rome..

Refreshing stop... Especially with Italian Gelato!

Went to Vatican City the next day.. Had to queue for quite some time before finally entering the Vatican Museum... It's got quite a bit of Egyptian stuff, surprisingly...

Plenty of notable and impressive sculptures too...

Having our sandwich-lunch in the gardens of the Vatican Museum, resting our museum-feet...

One of the famous ones -- School of Athens.. They're really beautiful..

Finally reached Sistine Chapel after a long long walk... The Last Judgement..

Had to risk being shot deadly glances and bellowed to stop taking photos, in order to photograph the above 2 photos haha... We're allowed to take photos everywhere in the museum, but they're so strict about none in the Sistine Chapel.. No idea why.. Maybe it's just to force everyone to buy postcards etc of the works of art in the Sistine Chapel...

No more photos after this point, cos my camera ran out of memory haha... And haven't got the photos from Tse Siang yet..

We practically spent an entire day in the Vatican Museum, but it's really worth it... Went visiting other sights in Rome the next day and the rest of Vatican City the day after.. Having roamed Rome so much, we managed to sniff out a rather cozy restaurant with a 5-course meal for 15 euros, which we treated ourselves to on the last night.. =P Food's relatively ex in Rome too.. We'd been making sandwiches for lunch and cooking pasta for dinner... On the last day, which happened to be a Sunday, we went for mass in the St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City!

Generally, Rome's packed with stuff to see, plenty of beautiful impressive things, though you might get a little saturated with churches.. But wouldn't choose to live in that city, it's far too messy and crowded for my liking..

b a r c e l o n a

2008-06-01T22:46:00.022+02:00

My after-internship-before-semester trip -- Barcelona (Spain) and Rome (Italy)!
Was so looking forward to it, since they seemed to hold such promise of very different experiences in countries which I haven't visited before, and it'd be a good break from work and before starting to mug all over again.. Then my dreams almost got smashed when I received an email from Alex the day that I was leaving Leipzig, which was only 1 day before the trip. His granddad just passed away so he needed to return to Singapore and wouldn't be able to join me for our trip. I went into a mad hustle, trying to ask around my friends for who would like to travel in his stead, amongst my already crazy rush to wrap up ends at my office (esp the internship report) and pack my bags and get ready to leave Leipzig.

Thankfully, Tse Siang decided to join me for Rome too (the Heidelbergers were already going to be in Barcelona for the period that I'm there too)!! Wah can't thank him enough sia.. Especially since he was already quite tired from travelling the previous week in Portugal and Spain already, and he would be missing his orientation.. =P

So I travelled to Barcelona by myself, checked into the hostel alone, and met up with the Heidelbergers!

We had dinner at some not-so-expensive restaurant, food in Spain in super ex! Even more ex than Germany! Makes one appreciate the cost of living in Germany haha.. That's Squid Ink Paella.. A pan of Paella (1 person's portion) costs at least 9.90 Euros, and apparently doesn't contain as much seafood as the picture in the menu alludes to...

Then went to watch the musical fountain (1st photo above).. So reminds me of the musical fountain in Sentosa before they tried to spice it up with laser effects and some storyline.. Just plain ol' water, lights and music.. =)

Went to one of the famous Gaudi's creations, a church he designed.. Much more modern and in a very different style from the Gothic or Baroque churches I've been visiting in Europe so far..

The statues tend to be very angular and made of rather white stone..

Went to La Rambla.. Their famous street bustling with shops and buskers.. Kinda like their buildings with all the intricatelly designed rod-iron balconies...

Yupz, that's us walking down the street... Adding to the number of gawking tourists there..

The mediterranean sea!! Unfortunately it was still kinda cold, not exactly welcoming enough to jump into the waters for a swim.. Some of us played frisbee on the beach, while the rest of us just sat on the beach, chatted and enjoyed the view and breeze..

Can you believe the Metro station closest to the hostel which I lived in, is called Parallel? Couldn't resist taking a photo of this amusing name.. =P

Made a friend at the hostel.. Yudi who's Chinese but studying full-time in Scotland now.. We were both staying alone in the same room and hit off so well we went around together for our Barcelona trip (with the Heidelbergers most of the time too)... Was really happy with the HelloBCN hostel which we stayed in.. Very organised, professional place with friendly receptionists and clean rooms and a modern cozy common dining area and a substantial breakfast and even a gym (which I didn't use of course haha)!

We went to a Park that Gaudi designed.. Very colourful designs and mosaics..

Even the buildings look very different from what I've ever seen so far..

Plenty of stone pillars and passages.. Palm trees and cacti too..

Doesn't this remind you of the Merlion Walk in Sentosa? Hee..

We hiked all the way up Tibidabo Hill! It was quite nuts, we almost thought that we wouldn't be able to reach there after all, cos it's really quite high and a long walk, so weren't sure if we would be able to return before the sun sets.. But it was really worth the workout, the view was breathtaking! Especially when the sunrays highlight only certain parts of the town!

There was an amusement park and hotel and church at the top... There was a statue of Jesus with hands outstretched at the top of the church..

Yudi and I picking pinecones off the hill!

Dusk falling upon the town.. Love the lighting.. And we managed to return down the hill just in time, phew!

On the last day, we all went our separate ways (other than Tse Siang and I who continued with our last day in Barcelona, then our trip to Rome).. Went to the wet market and saw all sorts of stuff -- from Emu eggs to legs after legs of dried pork... They have these stores in the wet market that you can order seafood and they will cook it there for you.. Makes you wonder about the hygiene in the wet market though, hee.. =P

Went to take a look at their shopping malls too.. Most of their brands seem to have arrived upon Singaporean shores -- Zara, Desigual... Though it's not really cheaper there, unfortunately.. Interesting shops sometimes, like these slippers and cap -- made of chocolate!

e a s t e r

2008-05-21T22:58:00.026+02:00

My place was super happening this easter -- visitors from Zurich, Switzerland, came over to my humble abode for the 4 days of easter.. Jeff, Bernard and Paul.. Not to mention, a visitor from Stuttgart, Germany, came over for Good Friday too -- Quanhui.. And invited my Leipziger friends, Soon, Raymond and Tom, to travel with us somemore, so you can imagine how bustling my room was haha... Thank goodness it's quite gigantic.. ;)

Yup that's Leipzig in snow! And easter is supposed to be start of Spring hmm... Obviously very confused weather.. My housemates were saying that it must've known that I had missed White Christmas in Germany, so it was snowing just for me haha... Custom-made by God for a sua-ku Singaporean who hasn't seen so much snow before.. =P

Went to visit the Volkerschlachtdenkmal (yes, it's quite a mouthful, that's german for you hee, what fun..).. Looks a bit like some ancient temple though.. =P Surroundings were rather nice and serene.. Don't let the calm waters fool you though, the wind was blustering! I guess it's cos the part containing the water's sunk in, so the wind doesn't really get to it... Lucky thing..

Next up on the itinerary was Cospudener See (i.e. a lake), but guess what? It was sooo on the outskirts of civilisation that the bus does not announce bus stop names and the bus stops practically hide their names.. So we missed our stop and ended up at some ulu terminal.. At least the guys had a good sleep haha.. We got off and walked around and realised that it's actually an old mine..

Plenty of ulu-ness.. With a plant that actually looks like pussy willow! Reminds me of chinese new year sigh... =P

Finally reached Cospudener See! Woot!

Who're those tourists taking photos? Haha..

Group photo! From left: Quanhui, Paul, Bernard, me.. Jeff's the one taking the photo hee..

Went to Dresden the next day... Been there before, during my immersion trip 2 years ago actually, but kinda liked it, and it's quite near Leipzig, so didn't mind showing the guys around there.. Didn't take many photos there though, otherwise I'll get repeats in my collection haha.. Mostly visited the Porcelain and Old Masters' Museums in the Zwinger Palace, which I didn't do that last time.. They're super good lah! If you're the type who's into museums, of course..

Saw this really cool art piece, which I don't remember seeing the last time too.. Like some perspective drawing thingy...

And it comes with this quote even! Is this cool or cool? =P Sorry I'm lazy to translate it (I've had enough of translating lecture notes for the day, thanks), so if you don't understand it, it's time to learn german! Or at least discover the wonders of Babelfish.. ;)

There was even a demonstration against violence in Tibet! They were holding banners and waving flags and holding torches on the steps up to the orangerie.. Thank goodness they didn't mistake us for Chinese nationals and set us on fire..

The next day: Saechsische Schweiz! We woke up to snow but we're mad enough to go ahead with our plans of hiking SS.. It was freezing, especially when you're so busy taking photos that your fingers freeze cos you're not wearing your gloves.. =P It was totally worth it!! Took sooo many photos, all beautiful, but somehow it feels like they just don't do justice to the place.. The whole nature, whiteness, stillness, quiet of the place just envelopes you.. And we're like practically the only souls hiking up there (think everyone else saner waits till summer or just drive up)..

A bridge somewhere at the top already... My goodness, so breathtaking that it's little wonder those chinese poets can look at these kinda scenery and start sprouting poems..

Towards the end of our hike, in the afternoon, the snow was melting already.. So the tracks you see there are actually sloshy mud by then.. We had such 'fun' slushing through it, trying to stay upright especially when going down slopes haha..

More breathtaking views.. This is but a tiny fraction of the photos we all took, of course.. Any more and blogspot would be lacking in memory space haha..

Mountains, snow.. And there was a river even! What more can one ask for...

Group photo at the end of our loooong hike! From left: Soon, me, Lin, Tom, Bernard, Raymond, Jeff, Paul..

Went to buy Kartoffelbrot (aka Potato-bread) for brunch (hadn't tried it for myself, and Raymond was gushing about it so, haha) to let the guys try.. Wanted to get Leipziger Lercher (this cupcake looking thing that's kinda crunchy outside like tart pastry, and has marzipan inside, really delicious) too, but all the bakeries that were still open on Easter Monday unfortunately didn't carry it.. Was glad that the medieval market in front of the Altes Rathaus that opened for Easter was open that day too (you know how all shops are closed in Germany on public hols)..

It even had this 2-man-powered kids' ferris wheel..

Pig roasting!Pig almost all gone! Took this when we came back later in the afternoon for a city tour of Leipzig..

Lastly, gotta pay tribute to the Doner store we patronised on so many of those hungry nights! That's the problem with public holidays and Sundays here, supermarkets are never open! Oh well, at least there's the ubiquitous and relatively affordable Kebab stores! =)

a m s t e r d a m / b e l f a s t

2008-04-18T21:02:00.023+02:00

I bought plane tickets for Leipzig-Frankfurt-Amsterdam, but due to the airport strike, my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Amsterdam was cancelled. Was told by the Lufthansa staff that I could either take the next next flight (cos the next flight was fully booked already) which was many hours later, or they could give me a train voucher for a direct ICE to Amsterdam. According to them, the next train leaves at 8.04am and reaches about 11am, but after I arrived at the train station with the train voucher, there was no such train!! Obviously they weren't using the updated train schedules.. -_-''' Anyway I just took the next train at 9.43am then, and had a free 'visit' of Cologne (for about 5 min when the train had a stop there). So that's the photo up there..

I actually SMS-ed my bro-in-law about the screw-up, but think my SIM-card didn't have enough credit, so it never got through. Thank goodness my sis called.. Was wondering whether they'll end up waiting as planned at the Airport instead of the main train station.. Anyway reached only at 1.35pm, so we rushed off to Albert-Heiyn Market (not sure whether I got the spelling right hee) to walk through and have some lunch.

Chocolate stall! Can you spot the naughty chocolates? Didn't notice until my sis pointed them out to me! =P Anyway the market is made up of stalls and stalls, one beside the other, lining the street.. Sadly the Stroop Waffle stall was closed that day..

But there's always the fried bites stall!! Woot!! Never enjoyed oysters so much before! Guess they're really fresh.. Basically deep-fried fish bits or oysters, then you choose the sauce -- garlic or remoulade sort of thing.. Sinful but oh-so-delicious!

Yup and I met Steph who's doing her SEP in Amsterdam too!! That's our first time eating raw herring! Fish so fresh that you can eat it raw.. And this is only 1 of the 2-photo set haha.. She's got the other one with her looking at the camera.. =P

Presenting Steph and her soured face! After eating the pickles that come with the raw herring haha.. Classic!! We went to the Rijksmuseum after that, which was really cool, liked the Rembrandt stuff, they even had the gigantic, famous Night Watch!! Unfortunately due to the earlier flight-screwup, we didn't have time to go to the Van Gogh museum... Went to her place to cook dinner and ate with 2 other fellow Singaporean NUS guys..

Then we cycled to the Red Light District! That's us trying to take a photo there without any of the infamous 'windows' (otherwise the pimps might just beat you up haha)... The 2 of us surveying the standard of the girls but her guy friend just kept going 'ducks! so many ducks!' haha.. Cos there's this tiny river stream running in the middle of the 2 streets.. Hilarious..

Went to Zuiderzee museum the next day.. Lunch: 3 types of fish, oyster bites, fries, fish soup -- totally drool-able!! As one would say in german: total lecker!! Every so often now, I keep thinking of the fish I've had in Amsterdam.. They're really so so fresh, I guess it makes up for the lack of authentic-typical-Dutch food.. The fish that you get in Germany (at least in Leipzig and Stuttgart) is quite pathetic, perhaps cos they're not states near the sea.. Really really enjoyed this meal I had there...

Basically, the museum is made up of old holland houses and shops which they transported all the way there, to recreate an old holland village. Really interesting, but sadly, it was still considered winter, so many shops were closed..

Candid shot in front of a windmill.. As you might have told by now, the weather was rather gloomy and threatening for most part of my trip in Amsterdam, and really windy too.. Part of the nutty weather the whole of Europe is experiencing this year..

My mum and I left for Belfast the next day on an Easyjet flight.. So glad there're budget airlines nowadays!

We met a Malaysian guy who works in Belfast, who was sitting in front of us in the plane.. He helped us with our luggage and even gave us a lift to the bus terminal (where we were supposed to meet my aunt) in his car! Yupz, so that's a photo of my mum, Kenneth (my cousin) and Pat Yi (my aunt) in the bus on the way to my aunt's house.. Had a filling sumptuous dinner of roast pork and naturally sweet carrots and other vege that my uncle cooked..

Went downtown the next day.. That's the Belfast version of the London Eye, but think it's still much smaller, than even the one in Singapore..

That's our sushi lunch from Boots haha.. My mum's choice.. Part of a set meal offer by Boots -- snack (I chose a chocolate brownie) + main dish (sushi/wrap/sandwich) + drink.. We just sat down in the cafe in Boots which was closed that day, to start on our lunch, when a staff came out of the cafe's kitchen with a tray of sandwiches and drinks for customers! So we had some extra food for free! haha...
Main attraction of our Belfast trip -- Marks & Spencers! You won't believe the range of stuff they have there! Really amazing.. There were some really good offers too -- chocolate and clementine cereals for only 10 pence! We just took all of the last 3 boxes haha.. Bought some cookies which were on offer too, and my sis' scones.. Didn't stay out long though, cos my aunt had diarrhea the previous night, so she needed to rest..

Found some pretty flowers along the way.. Beautiful, ain't it? Looks almost like it's glowing hee..

That's my aunt's garden behind her house.. They grow melons etc themselves! I was playing some kind of badminton and baseball with Kenneth in the garden the next day.. and my fingers almost froze off in the cold and wind haha.. Then it was off, back to Amsterdam..

Went to feed the seagulls with bread crumbs the next morning.. When you start flinging the crumbs off the bridge, the seagulls start to swoop around, trying to catch the crumbs in midair! So fun! =P Sophia was so seriously dropping crumbs off the bridge haha.. And there was this super noisy duck that quacked its complaints incessantly haha..

Hyacinths which my mum and sis bought at the Albert-Heiyn Market on the 1st day I arrived, blooming so beautifully! Flowers here are cheaper than in Singapore and so beautiful!

Managed to catch the Stroop Waffle stall at the market! Fresh, piping-hot Stroop Waffles! Caramel oozing out between 2 waffles mmmm... Simply heavenly.. I've seen the commercial kind being sold in supermarkets in Germany, but nothing can beat the fresh stuff, man!

Smoked mackeral! Super big one for just 3 euros! Really really tasty too.. Oh man, just writing this blog entry is making me drool.. =P And was having my last raw herring before leaving Amsterdam..

My mum and sis in her kitchen, where I spent many an evening cooking (or attempting to) under my mum's supervision.. My sis sending me off at the train station! I really must say, it was one whooping trip, especially meeting up and spending time with my family and steph and the good food.. =D

Back to Leipzig! That's the tiny (albeit not as tiny as the one at Karlsruhe-Baden) airport.. I was looking so blur, trying to buy a train ticket back to the city centre, that this American guy approached me and helped me out haha.. He also later helped out an Australian girl who teaches English in Leipzig.. Apparently he works at the Max Planck Institute.. And guess what? I actually bumped into him again in Leipzig a few weeks later! What a small world!

p o t s d a m

2008-03-02T14:51:00.019+01:00

Oops, long overdue entry on my trip to Potsdam.. Was too busy preparing for my Amsterdam/Belfast trip and my Barcelona/Rome trip hee.. Anyway, I can't believe that I went shopping with my housemates till 10pm when the salespersons had to chase us out.. Then helped Agnieszka cook some Poland food for dinner! So basically went to bed only at 1am, and somehow managed to force myself up at 5am! Managed to reach the train station 5 min before 6am, which we arranged to meet at, but amazing Mr Raymond's handphone went flat the night before, so its time was wrong and he didn't wake up till I gave him a ring haha.. So we missed the train and took the next one, which lasted longer cos of the various connections, and we even missed our stop! Total screw-up sia.. =P But somehow was a blessing in disguise maybe, cos we didn't know there was a Potsdam Sansoucci train station which is just in front of the Sansoucci park! Finally reached and the photo up there's proof that spring's coming!! =) Pretty little purple flowers in the grass..

Chinesisches Haus.. aka chinese house.. Or rather, their version of what they think is chinese haha.. Sadly it was closed for winter, like some of the stone statues were boarded up with wooden boards for the winter too..

Not everything's played like a guitar, you know..

Nor the violin.. Haha.. Greek or roman looking statues in chinese clothes.. =P

That's the Sansoucci Summer Palace up there! After walking up the looong stairs with levels of plants.. I'm sure it'd look even more impressive with all the flowers up, but unfortutnately I can only be there for winter.. Oh well, better than never.. ;)

After climbing the steps!

That's the king who wanted to be buried with his dogs.. Poor guy only got his burial wish after a long long time..

Doesn't it have a greek feel to it? ;)

Problem with Potsdam is that there's really no other life, shops etc other than the Palace sights.. So went to the only restaurant we could find there -- Movenpick! Prices were a little steep (I'm getting to used to Leipzig east germany prices maybe haha), but food and ambience was good.. That's my veal and Rosti..

And Raymond's liver.. You should've heard him raving about it.. Too bad I'm not a fan of liver..

Artificial ruins! What would they think of next? That bit on the left is under renovation, bah.. =S

Just a cool silhouette photo taken on the way back from the ruins..

There's a windmill too! Can't believe I saw an 'old-type' windmill in Germany even before Amsterdam..

Nice symmetrical gardens.. Super big lalang plants eh?

Reached the Neues Palais (new palace) when the sun was kinda setting, was afraid that it'd be closed.. But luckily it wasn't muahahha..

That's it from the entrance!

Went to Berlin for chinese dinner haha.. It was good stuff sia.. Had a bit of time before our train back to Leipzig, so went to take a look at the Sony Centre.. Apparently Spiderman was filmed here before haha.. Cool yar?

p r a g u e

2008-02-20T20:19:00.000+01:00

I made Bak Kut Teh for the 1st time in my life! Without premix somemore haha.. It was simmering for a long time and not sure whether the ribs I bought were pre-seasoned, so ended up a bit salty, but smelled really good haha.. So glad when the guys finally arrived at 8 plus pm... =) Haven't seen them in a looong time!

Yar and they fell in love with my room, they almost didn't want to leave for Prague anymore haha...

Kannan, the chaffeur of Go-Go Club cabaret Limousine! No money to pay, instead of washing dishes, it's a new trend haha.. Plenty of cabarets along the road to our hostel, and already 2 limos along just a short stretch of it!

On Sat morning, we went to this antique tram-turned-cafe for breakfast. It's more for the decor and atmosphere than the food of course.. =P Then it suddenly snowed!! First time that Quanhui and I saw snow!! We were sooo excited, we went out of the tram immediately!

Then we went for free tour.. Czech's got quite a sad history, I got kinda lost after a while, with every other country taking over at some point in time..

That's the astrology clock that every tourist must see.. Really not much though.. Just a few other clocks to show other stuff like the date etc within it, and statues of the apostles will move across when the clock strikes the hour. Think the Glockenspiel in Muenchen is better... =P

Apparently some thief was trying to steal the jewels in the church, then the statue of Mother Mary caught his arm and refused to let go, so they had to amputate his arm.. So that stump there is a reminder to all thief-wannabes haha...They should replace the police there with statues of Mother Mary..

Mozart held his concerts here... They claim that Austria never really liked him, he only got famous via Prague.. Whatever it is, as long as his name brings in the cash, why would they care right?

Woah... It's a time tunnel!! Nah, it's a never-ending stack of books in the library...

Snowing again!! Sadly can't really see it in the photo... Didn't snow long and hard enough for snow to pile up on the ground.. Oh well, gotta be grateful for the little blessings hee..

Typical Czech food -- beef goulash and dumpling. Don't think of the chinese dumplings nor Maultaschen.. It's just that white stuff at the top right side of the plate.. Tastes a bit like a mix of potato and bread... Totally filling...

Crossing Charles Bridge to get to the castle.. Managed to catch this picture.. Tower, seagull, moon (yar moon in bright daylight) -- how surrealistic haha..

Took forever trying to take this photo with all of us in and the church too.. Haha.. The church in the castle grounds... Was closed by the time we reached, but we came back again on Sunday.. Wanted to go visit the Bone church on Sunday actually, but it's closed on Sundays! How silly.. So went back to the prague castle.. There was a super super long queue to get in! But we didn't have the time cos we needed to leave early in order to arrive in Stuttgart in time for Alex's train back to Karlsruhe, so we were about to leave, when we discovered the exit and there were no staff there, so off we scooted in! Muahahha.... *Shhhh...*

Lots of marionette (puppets) shops.. Seems like Czechs were hardly using the Czech language anymore, at one point in time, so they tried to revive it by having puppet shows in Czech... Well, apparently it worked..

Nice little quaint quiet looking Prague street just off the Charles Bridge.. At dusk..

The Prague castle at night from the Charles Bridge!

Hmm who're these 2 gluttons at our table? It's a 'see-who-can-open-his-mouth-wider' contest! Food's cheaper than in Germany.. We were eating at a rather posh restaurant, but our pockets were still intact after that..

On the trip back.. Woot!! Road trip!! Quite doubtful about our GPS tho... Got a feeling that it thinks that the shortest distance between 2 points is not a straight line.. Sometimes we just took our own shorter route that we could see on the map in the GPS haha..

Us trying to pump petrol in the cold!! Seems like we went to the wrong lane, it was for diesel instead of petrol haha.. Freezing freezing! The temperature was below 0 degrees celsius that weekend! You won't believe our car saga.. We arrived on Fri night really late, almost 1am, so couldn't find parking lots, so asked this policeman along the road whether we could park there, and he said 'Yes'. But the next day, when we went to collect our GPS from the car, our car was wheel-clamped!! Ended up having to pay a fine of 1000 Czk which is about 40 Euros.. Sigh.. For nothing.. even the police are out to cutthroat the tourists sigh.. Oh well, just treat is as an experience, I guess, how many people can claim that they've been wheelclamped in Prague!

t r a m

2008-02-14T07:14:00.001+01:00

Germany -- the land of punctuality.

I think not.

I just #@*^!* missed the tram yet again. It says on the schedule 7.02am, but it left the station at 7.00am just now! While I was still running for it.. Had problems with it for the whole of last week. First, there was some accident ahead of the line, so we all had to alight to wait for the service bus and thus missed my bus to BMW. Then the next few days, either it came too early, or so late that I missed my bus to BMW again. So had to wait in the cold for half an hour for the next bus to BMW.

Thought maybe they changed their schedule without my knowing, but just checked their website and it's still the same old one from end of last year.

So I either walk home and hang around just for 10-15 min then walk back to the station or wait in the cold for half an hour. So as you can guess, I chose exercise and here I am typing this complaint.

r o s e n t r a u m

2008-02-11T20:56:00.000+01:00

My Rosentraum from my darling dear!! (aka rose dream) Today's our 1st anniversary together hee.. It's got a red heart surrounding the roses, but guess it's been a bit overwhelmed by the rest hee.. Comes with a teddy bear too! It's currently sitting on a leaf, sniffing my roses haha.. And a glass vase and fertilizer stuff in a packet too! So my bouquet's now on my desk soaking up the good stuff.. Apparently the company guarantees that their flowers will stay good for 7 days haha..

Was soo soo delighted with my flowers that I asked Daniel (one of my housemates) to help me take photos hee.. Yup that's me grinning till you can hardly see my eyes.. =P No worries dear, they got to me alright, safely packaged in a thick cardboard box, flowers still fresh and glass vase still intact.. ;)

Was actually quite depressed today, cos work was really boring and tiring, then went to the Deutsche Bank to try to check my account for transfers and withdraw some money cos I still haven't received my card via post. But the counter staff checked my account number, and told me that it's not in the records yet, and they can't do anything cos the lady who did my application is on sick leave today. =S Wth... Was super super sian after that, cos this means that I can't get my money to go to the Auslaenderbehoerde tomorrow (Tue is the only day they open till slightly later i.e. 6pm) and I gotta stay worried about my finances.. Argh.. Was sooo glad when I got home and Daniel told me that there's a package for me in the kitchen! It really made my day... =D Thank you soooo much, dear! Love ya every second too! Muakz!! =)

m o r e f o o d

2008-02-11T20:39:00.000+01:00

That's the dinner that I cooked yesterday (sunday) -- my version of hainanese pork chop (coated with egg and herbs) and cream-sauce-mushroom spaghetti.. ;) Alex was quite shocked that I'm eating pork chops with noodles haha.. Oh well, whatever goes.. Had some salad that Agneska made too, unfortunately took the photo before the salad arrived.. =P

And this is today's dinner.. Croquettes dumped in the microwave, and omelette with sausages and mushrooms and grated cheese inside.. My omelette's finally looking like an omelette!! Guess the trick is the amount of oil sigh.. Going to try to cut down on it and yet still get a proper omelette.. Think my grated cheese is going bad sigh.. Stuff here seems to go bad really fast! Dunno whether it's just our fridge, stuff gets wet and it doesn't feel that cold too.. And stuff doesn't move that fast when you're just cooking 1-person's share..

c n y 1

2008-02-10T14:44:00.000+01:00

Leipziger Lercher! And Chococcino.. Ooh lala.. Marzipan inside with crunchy pastry outside.. Raymond brought me to a bakery-cafe to try this speciality after lunch on Sat.. Had a rather exciting weekend haha.. We had a Chinese New Year celebration dinner at Chen Yi's place on Friday night, waiting for the photos that Raymond took for Soon (hear that, Raymond? haha).. Chen Yi's one lucky man, his wife cooks amazing stuff!! And there was the traditional dumplings too, which Anna helped to make with them till past midnight on Thurs! =O Then we watched 'Crazy Stone', a China comedy movie, really quite hilarious, though the germans didn't really get it.. Then tried some super-potent chinese wine of Chen Yi's..

Then the few of us went to a club, think it's spelt as Politzer.. Quite a small one, with 1 room that looks like it can be converted into a tiny school hall or theatre.. Plays music from R&B to country to retro haha.. Quite glad that germany's banned smoking in enclosed areas! Though there were 1 or 2 who still did.. There's still some 6 month grace period, I heard, but it's quite a drastic improvement already, most of them actually went out to the entrance to smoke.. =) Though Tom complains that he'd rather smell smoke than the stink of humans haha.. There was some other room upstairs too, but by the time we went up, it had just closed, sadly..

Yup, there's even a Table tennis table beside the dance area, can you believe it? I was sooo amused by it haha.. And they played it such that upon every hit, the players go round the table for the next hit.. First time I see it being played like that! We left around 4 am, no more trams for me by then, so Raymond and I walked over to his place which is nearer and I slept over.. Then we went to the Mensa (student's canteen) in Innenstadt for lunch (missed breakfast by the time we woke up!).. 1.50 euros for the dish of Bratwurst, potatoes and sauerkraut! But you need a card thingy like the EZ-link card to pay.. Gotta be a student from the University of Leipzig too I guess.. Then he found out that I haven't tried Lercher, so off we went to the bakery-cafe!

The chinese restaurant that promises 'authentic chinese food and chinese live music and dance' was fully booked for 3 days, according to Tom who tried to make reservations, so we met up for dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant in Innenstadt.. Food's not bad, though it contains some very italien garnishings haha.. Fusion.. Our conversation's hilarious as usual.. ;) Then when we were leaving Innenstadt, there was this group of guys who were dressed a bit strangely, who approached us to buy these tiny little bottles of alcohol for 1 euro each. Think it's a stag party, cos the poor guy in the middle was dressed up the strangest, and was back-packing this wooden cabinet with the little bottles inside, and pulling this wooden toy thingy along on the ground.. Apparently he needs to sell all the bottles that night, so they can all go have a drink haha..

m e x i c a n c o n c e r t

2008-02-08T07:22:00.000+01:00

Went for a concert by the Mexican National Orchestra on Thursday at the Gewandhaus (concert hall) in Leipzig! Agneska was just asking us whether we're interested in going a few weeks ago, then suddenly Conni got 4 free tickets for it! So lucky hee.. =) Saved something like 30-40 euros phew.. They played music by Mexican composers, so lots of percussion, not the usual orchestra type.. And at the end there's someone in the orchestra who shouts 'Long Live Mexico!' in mexican! The Gewandhaus itself isn't very elaborate, much smaller than the one at the Esplanade in Singapore, but heard that they've got really good music here..

That's at the foyer during intermission.. Rather modern paintings on the walls and ceilings..

Conni, Agneska and I went earlier to collect the tickets, so we went to Moritz Bastei which is very nearby, for a beer and some food..

Yup it's down a rather long flight of steps.. The fortress thingy below that I had dinner with Agneska a few weeks ago... ;)

f o o d

2008-02-05T21:16:00.000+01:00

Think I've almost perfected my cabonara pasta!! ;) Thanks to Quanhui for his recipe. Tried it a few times and I'm getting the timings and proportions right, I think... =P Sausages, mushrooms and ham.. Added cheese to his recipe too.. Next step will be to try to add in egg, not too early (makes the gravy lumpy) nor too late (tastes raw). No worries, lots of chances to try cooking it haha..

Alphabet soup! Didn't realise how much I miss having it till I ate it that day.. Nah I didn't cook it, just used the Knorr's instant kind haha.. Sometimes just too tired or lazy to cook something proper, yet feel like having something hot.. I'm still amazed at their Abendbröt (aka 'evening bread'), which is their version of a cold dinner. They can have sandwiches of ham and cheese for breakfast, lunch and now, even dinner! Now I feel like a fussy eater haha..

Went to the Altes Rathaus yesterday, cos the website says that there's free admission and even a guided tour by the Director of the Museum on the 1st Tuesday of every month. Reached there and read on a notice board that it's Wednesdays after all. So pissed... Like the Thomanenchor, why don't they just update their websites? There were these temporary stalls set up outside the Altes Rathaus, selling breads, meats, vegetables (the veges look cheaper than in supermarkets at least, not sure about the rest) and beautiful flowers! 2 euros for 10 tulips! Oh man oh man... Was itching to get some, but realised that one of my apartment mates has already bought tulips for the kitchen. My mum's so going to gush about the flowers haha.. Really hope my parents come to Europe with my sis after their trip back to Singapore... ;)

Passed by this Ice Cream Parlour that also sells ice cream on the outside, 1 scoop for only 70 cents! Couldn't resist the temptation, as you can see haha.. Tiramisu.. Yes, despite it being almost 0 degrees celsius with winds.. =P

w e e k e n d 3

2008-02-03T21:37:00.000+01:00

Fridays with Morrison.. Haha no lah, more like just 1 friday at Morrison's.. Irish pub.. It may be a pub but it's nothing like most back home, it's well-lit, rather spacious and cozy, not in the least bit sleazy..

Wonderful wonderful apple cider!! Brings back memories of our 1st Apfelwein (apple wine) at Frankfurt am Main 2 years ago.. Oh man oh man...

I looooooove booth seats! Muahaha... That's Raymond and I with our emptied glasses haha... And my camera did some amazing trick at hiding his beer belly haha... =P Ok don't poison me at our CNY dinner.. Chatted for about 3h haha..

Yup back at Thomaskirche for the Saturday Motete.. Thought the Thomas Boys' Choir will be singing as usual, but they just started their holidays! Argh... Just went in still anyway, mostly organ and string ensemble and 2 basses. Was really not bad actually, other than the last piece 'Ich habe genung' that was a bit long.. Good music is like almost common fare here.. Even the buskers along the street are not bad haha..

Conni and Alex! My apartment mates who came for the Motete with me.. ;)

We went shopping after that.. Alex made new specs and I got boots and Reebok sport shoes! So glad Conni brought me to Deichmann's.. They're having sale, so the shoes are already on discount, and the second pair is half-priced somemore! So both cost a total of 40 euros only! Super light sleek black sport shoes! To replace my current pair which has holes haha..

Booootiful boots! Thick soles so the cold doesn't get to your feet unlike my current ones (which has lost their soles for the heels too).. And best of all, it's actually leather! With some fennel (I think) lining inside.. Have always been dreaming of wearing high boots, it's finally come true! haha...
Cooked hungarian Goulash with Kloese with Conni for dinner at home, then Angeska invited me to go for a Salsa party at a club. It starts around midnight, so we trudged through the cold cos the trams aren't frequent by then. So glad I brought my dancing shoes here! Actually danced quite a lot.. Though the dancers aren't as pro as the ones I've seen at Union Square.. =P But it was really fun nontheless! Only left at about 3.30am when nobody was dancing already.. Walked all the way home, luckily not that far, and had company to chat with anyway.. ;)

Fasching! I was quite pissed with myself that I had forgotten all about the carnival before Rosenmontag over at the Rhinelands (ie Koeln, Duesseldorf etc), wanted to go there for the weekend actually, but lost track of the dates.. Then was about to settle down to a quiet Sunday (Carsten invited me to cycle or have a car ride around, to the Battle of the Nations monument etc, nice weather and all, but won't have much time cos gotta go on skype in the afternoon). When Conni asked me whether I wanna join them for the Fasching carnival in the city centre! Didn't know they have it here too haha.. Mostly by the uni students here, like Rag day all over again! Floats, painted faces, costumes, even the spectators!

Like this little kid in a chick costume! All ready for easter haha... Cute right?

And they actually overturn their umbrellas to collect the sweets, apples etc stuff they throw out from the floats! Lots of confetti on the ground and on people too haha.. Alex was warning that I should beware of the oncoming sweets, then he was complaining why we didn't get the free beer they were giving out on some floats cos we were standing further away from the floats haha..

Another perfect weekend! =) And my 3rd one already! So fast, can't believe it sometimes..

r a n d o m

2008-01-30T21:42:00.000+01:00

Here's some photos that I've been wanting to upload from my handphone but just got to doing so.. Above is Heisse Schokolade nach Wiener Art. Wiener type of hot chocolate basically.. Really quite nice, especially like the cinammon powder they add.. ;) Ok shoot me for being a cinammon-fanatic..

Had that with Soon last Tue after submitting my application for extending my Visa at the Auslaenderbehoerde (direct translation: foreign countries' authorities haha).. So glad he brought me there, no idea how I would have found it myself, it's like quite a bit from the tram station. And even had help from him and his german colleagues in filling in the longest (and crappiest, they even ask you for your height!) form ever.. In german of course.. Then we had 4-seasons pizza at a Turkish Imbiss place, like the thin crust! =) Then went to Auerbach's Keller, where Faust has a scene in, but didn't bring my camera, so we'll be back again! Ended up in this cafe, apparently it's the oldest in Leipzig, looks rather colonial with elephant heads (not real ones of course) at the entrance.

I've never had so much beverages in a day, everyday somemore.. I have a tea every morning, with milk (with cereals or by itself), then have a coffee during coffee break at work, then have another tea when I get back. Then sometimes I have an apple juice with my dinner too. Guess it's really good to have hot drinks in this cold weather... They never felt this good before haha..

And the previous Tue, after settling stuff at the Stadthaus, I met Agneska for dinner. We went to this really really cool place called Moritz Bastei, a student restaurant/cafe/pub/club thingy. It's like down in the fortress ruins, you can see the bricks at the background of the photo. Cozy place that's surprisingly large and tiny prices -- for a dunkel bier (dark beer) and potato-chicken gratin, I paid a total of 7 euros (inclusive of a bit of tips even)! Love the prices in east germany...

Really glad for all the friends that I've made in this short period of time.. They're making this trip really memorable.. Dunno how I'd survive without them to look forward to... =)

There's this amazingly gigantic flock of crows in the fields at my workplace, BMW Plant Leipzig. Wonder what attracts them, the shiny reflection from the car screens? Quite freaky when they perch all along the building and suddenly take off in a horde like in this photo. This is only about 5-10% of the whole legion, cos I had to take out my phone and start up the camera and even took a few photos before I was satisfied. Reminds me of the crows in Resident Evil 3! Oh dear oh dear... =P

w o c h e n e n d e

2008-01-28T06:18:00.000+01:00

On Friday evening, I met Susi, a german gal whom Christoph, the guy who lives in Halle (near Leipzig) but was doing his internship in Singapore and helped me find my current WG, introduced to me, cos she lives in Leipzig. We went to Spizz, this supposedly jazz and live music cafe (haven't seen any live bands for the 2 times I've been so far), for a coffee and chat. Ended up chatting for almost 2 hours, despite my horrid german haha...

Then went to the Asian grocery shops in city centre with Soon and Carsten on Sat morn. Then we cooked Laksa, Ma Po Toufu and stir-fried oyster sauce vege... No laksa leaves though haha.. Still managed to gravy that tastes like laksa, thankfully... Then invited my apartment mates for the singaporean lunch. From the right: Alex (not in the picture, dunno why haha), Carsten, Soon, me, Barbara (kinda blocked, she's not a apartment mate though, just Agneska's friend who was over for the weekend), Agneska and Conni. My other apartment mates, Anja and her boyfriend Axel were in Muenchen, and Daniel was still sleeping when I knocked on his door at about 2pm to invite him to lunch. Weekends are really sleep-in days here... =P

Then went to Tom's place for dinner. Tom is Soon's and Raymond's (the other 2 Singaporeans in Leipzig) friend. Had great fried rice which was supposed to be kinda spicy but of course it hardly tasted so to us Singaporeans hee.. =P And Raymond also made herbal chicken soup.. Mmmm.. Tom's apartment mate, Robert, and his family (from Brazil) joined us for dinner too. Had such a good laugh after dinner over some wines, love conversations with these guys.. They're in English of course..

Went to church on Sunday, then met Soon for museum visiting. Went to the Forum Museum, free entry! Muahaha.. The entrance is deceivingly tiny, didn't even go through the 3rd floor cos we were too hungry by then haha.. Had a salad and coffee at some cafe near Augustusplatz, and low and behold! In comes Raymond.. haha.. He didn't join us at the museums cos he's rushing his presentation, but happened to pop into his favourite cafe for a quick coffee.

The weather was so depressing -- gloomy and windy with a perpetual drizzle -- that we decided not to visit the monument that day. Another time, I guess. Soon's going back to Sg at the end of this week already though. Then we went to the Bach Museum. Tiny little thing beside Thomaskirche (St Thomas' church). The photo above is the church with a statue of Johann Sebastian Bach in front. The famous boys' choir sings here, apparently. Wanna go listen to them someday hee..

And this is his grave, right at the altar haha..

This is what weekends should be about! =D

o r g e l m u s i k

2008-01-23T21:51:00.000+01:00

Orgelmusik sonnabends.. Met a new friend, C, whom I've just got to know in Leipzig, for free pipe organ music at Nikolaikirche on Saturday! Himmlisch!! It was quite a full-fledged concert, with 3 pieces, 1 by J.S. Bach (who else? It's leipzig haha...), and lasted for about an hour.. Seems like they have this every week, yet there was quite a number of people there.. And not only was the music and acoustics great, it was in an old church!! oh man oh man.. Haha I should spare you my gushing... =P

That's the pipe organ and the elaborate ceiling and pillar... Quite cool... Not as elaborate as some I've seen during my last trip to Germany though..

That's at 100 Wasser.. Direct translation: hundred water... It's the name of this artist whose work is all colourful and nothing's uniform.. Like the table, some funny shape... Portions are gigantic, couldn't finish my mushrooms, rosti (like hashbrowns haha) and salad dish... Had a Radler with it.. Paid 7 euros in all! For a theme restaurant/kneipe in city centre somemore.. Love the prices in East Germany haha..

s u n d a y

2008-01-14T06:30:00.000+01:00

That's Michaeliskirche (St Michael's church), it's like just a few steps away from my place.. Was supposed to go to Popesterei St. Trinitatus, cos it's catholic, but was late haha, so just went to this nearby one.. It's anglican-Lutherisch, but service was quite similar to a catholic mass, other than them having only 1 reading, and holy communion's given out in a circle around the altar and wine is passed around (without wiping! =O so didn't feel comfortable receiving haha)...

Quite a tiny church, but nice and cozy and old nontheless... =P They even had 1 baptism during this service.. It was nothing elaborate though.. The church is so near home, that I hear the bells like every other time of the day haha... Maybe it's times for prayers etc.. Though I saw the pastor leave the church much later, wonder whether he lives on the grounds or only comes for service..

After that, I walked over to Popesterei St Trinitatus, so I won't get lost the next time I go... On the way there, I passed by this gigantic park.. It's just beside the zoo, so you can see some animals just at the edge, from the park, too haha... It was quite sunny, albeit still quite cold, so quite a number of families and couples were spending their Sunday at this park...

This is a close-up of the pond you see in the park above.. See that white bits there? That's ice haha... Only the top layer though, so still can't iceskate..

r o o m

2008-01-14T00:13:00.000+01:00

My apartment-mate actually checked his handphone after he reached the train station haha.. Oh well, but he was really nice to wait for me still. This is my writing table, with pentty of photos on the wall and lots of stuff on Malaysia. =P He's currently in KL while I rent his room. The room is super big lah! Was sooo pleasantly surprised when I first saw my room..

That's my cool 4-poster bed that one of the apartment-mates designed it herself! Miss my pillow and most of all, bolster (they don't seem to use it here)!

t o u c h d o w n

2008-01-13T23:15:00.000+01:00

Touched down on 12th January 2008, Sat. It was one crazy day. Due to the delay in departure time from Singapore, I arrived in Frankfurt only about 2h later than planned. Was super worried on the plane about my connecting train trip, so I asked the air stewardess. She brought a customer service manager over, who explained to me that they can't do anything about it at that point in time on the plance, but he suggested that I approach the staff on the ground 'after the escalator up' upon arrival and/or email the customer care email address, and 'Qantas will definitely help you'.

So when I approached the staff, one of them only told me to just take any connecting train, and when I asked about how to claim the costs incurred from the new ticket etc, she seemed irritated and brushed me off with a 'go collect your luggage, then if you have more questions, you can ask the man in the luggage collection area.' It didn't seem like I was getting anywhere with these staff, so I went down to the luggage collection. There was no such 'man' there, so while waiting for my luggage, I went to enquire at the only counter there, the lost luggage counter. He said that I could wait for the staff to come down and pass by that area or go to the Qantas counter outside after collecting my luggage. So after collecting my luggage, it was past the time I was supposed to board my train. Went to the Qantas counter, but there were no staff there, though there a few other passengers like me queueing up there already. Nobody came after a long time, so we left and I went to the information counter of Frankfurt Airport. They tried calling whatever Qantas numbers they have, but there was no answer. So they suggested that I buy a train ticket for the next connection then try calling those numbers again or email Qantas with my receipts.

And the train station is not even at Terminal 2 even. So had to take a shuttle bus there. And had no help with my luggage at all. Bought my ticket at the DB counter, went to platform, but realised that the next train was not going to Leipzig after all. Checked my ticket, and realised that the ticket the staff at DB gave me was for the 08:11 train, although I bought the ticket at 08:18. =S Amazing right.. So went all the way back and got it changed, and the next direct train was 2h later. Was feeling really horrid by then already. Then I saw this chinese guy coming up from the train station platforms, who looks rather familiar. Wasn't sure at first, so hesitated for a while, before following him and shouting out his name. Ended up he's really SW! Haha.. My first day in Germany is his last day, and we actually met by chance at the train station.
Was good to meet someone familiar! Felt so much better after telling him my story and he helped me SMS my apartment-mate who was going to fetch me from the train station in Leipzig, but we didn't receive a reply by the time we had to part ways, so he actually passed me his SIM card! And even gave me his sandwich and apple and banana and a few slices of mandarin orange! To eat as lunch on my train trip.. ;) That's the paper bag of all that, that I placed on the seat beside me.

This is me on the train with my paka hanging at the side. Glad I'm finally on my way to Leipzig after all that mess.

That's my luggage in between my seat and the ones in front. Couldn't stretch my legs then. Too much trouble to lift them up and place in the overhead luggage holder. Was lucky to have help carrying them up and down the train, especially since there's a flight of stairs from the train to the platform.

That's the view out of the window.. Had 3h worth of it! Saw some horses grazing even!

d e p a r t u r e

2008-01-12T21:27:00.000+01:00

Finally left Singapore soil on Friday, 11th January 2008. My departure time was delayed, so had slightly more time to spend with family and friends, but it brought me much headache too, will elaborate in the next entry..

I really thank everyone who came all the way down to Changi Airport to send me off! =D You guys are the bestest! Missing everyone already..

That's my luggage haha.. Spent so much time trying to pack it to fit for the 2 weeks before my flight.. left some shoes behind in the end.. might not have needed those heat packs too, i'm too lazy to use them haha.. n usually i travel for only short distances before reaching a warm place, so not really useful so far.. Hope my luggage bags survive my entire trip till I get back to Singapore.. =P

new year's eve

2008-01-07T04:52:00.000+01:00

Been going out with my dear S almost everyday this hols heez.. =) Bliss.. =P Didn't manage to play the go-kart at Excape Theme Park that day, cos they kept closing the rides due to the intermittent rain, so went to play the Luge at Sentosa heez... Trying to take a photo with my new W850i phone with the merlion as the background, but suppose we're in the shade while the merlion's out in the bright sun, the contrast was quite horrid when we try to take both ourselves and the merlion in the same photo.. =P

So here's the merlion in another photo haha...

Then went to Queen of Peace church for new year's mass.. Passed by this Oliv Restaurant after that and decided to try their Xmas cum New Year's 6-course promotion.. =) Had to wait for seats but some customers who had placed a reservation but were still waiting were saying that the wait is worth it and we should try.. So we did haha..

Salad with scallops.. Scallops were delicious, though vegetables were kinda bitter..
My ribeye steak.. Succulent.. Though I asked for medium, it's one of the reddest steaks I've ever eaten I think haha...

S's cod fish... Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy inside.. Wonderful.. There was also citrus sorbet before this, didn't take a photo though..

S slurping up his mudcake... the 6-course came with a wine too (choice of white or red, we got white to go with the fish), u can just see the glass in the photo.. ;) we couldn't finish the dessert cos we were so full after so much haha..

Then went to East Coast Park, found a spot on a breakwater and watched the fireworks.. =D Could see a bit of the ones at VivoCity even.. Then lots of the high ones at Esplanade.. Plenty of flares and honking of ship horns along the horizon too... Beautiful.. Esp when spent with a special someone heez... ;) Savouring the moment while it lasts...

v i s a

2008-01-07T03:39:00.000+01:00

ARggghhhhhh!!!!! i can't believe my luck... I had thought that it was bad enough that most people were getting their visas only on the day they fly. But mine's waaaayy worse...

Was supposed to fly on Sunday but the german embassy in Singapore said they still could not contact the authorities in Leipzig who're supposed to approve my Visa before they can issue it on the Singapore side. And I have to collect it personally in Singapore, so no use flying there 1st either. So I had to change my flight to Friday, thankfully it's free to change flight dates before departure for Qantas =) Phew phew...

However, my train ticket was bought at an offer price, so it's non-refundable nor can I change the date of travel. Can't believe that I was initially praying so hard that they will not strike (strikes for this week by the german rail was impending) so I will not be stranded at the train station, but now I'm praying that they will strike, so I can get a refund or change of date... But just got news from a friend's friend in Leipzig that they're not striking this week after all... Sigh.. So seems like I'll have to forfeit my ticket.. argh.. there goes 80 plus Singapore Dollars... Now I'm wondering whether I should buy my ticket only when I reach, but it could be twice as expensive and run the risk of tickets being sold out.. Heard from a friend that it might be cheaper to buy them last minute, though he's not sure whether it's for the german rail too.

Almost broke down in tears on Friday when I learnt about my Visa stuff... Learnt my lesson that gotta bug and bug them earlier in future.. If there's ever 'in future'... At least my boss is ok with me starting my internship a few days later... Keep feeling this tension in my chest.. Gotta try to let go and look on the bright side that I can spend a bit more time in Singapore with my loved ones and friends..

i l l

2007-10-25T16:40:00.000+02:00

so disappointed.

sore throat, fever, might even have been bitten by an Aedes mosquito today.

went home after my evening lecture, thinking that i could take some medicine and rest.

yet when i was searching thru the pills in the fridge and asked for help to find panadol for fever (all the boxes have been disposed of n all that's left are the pills, no instructions nothing), all i got was a scolding from my mum.

it's not that i don't want to look after myself and rest more. it's not as if i was out playing. i was just rushing my project reports. it's not as if i wanted to fall ill.

if i can't even find comfort at home, where can i find it?

t u e s d a y s

2007-09-30T07:31:00.000+02:00

Tuesdays with Simon
(pardon the pun haha)

For the past 3 weeks, Tuesdays have been blissful... =P His 3 weeks of hols and Tuesdays are my free day of the week this sem!! Muahaha... Off we go exploring Singapore with his new camera (btw it's really cool n slim!)... Here's some pics taken.. really like the one above -- the red walls look so artistic haha..

My Red Dot Design Award-winning LG Chocolate phone!! Saw some really cool stuff at the Red Dot Museum -- taps which water cascades out of like a fountain, a word-to-braille book converter and even supposedly innovative packaging for condoms.. -_-'''

"We're going to the zoo zoo zoo, how 'bout you you you?" Haha yupz we actually went to the zoo too!! It's really changed quite a bit (haven't been there in quite some time though)... Our zoo's really full of primates (monkeys, chimpanzees etc)... =O Know quite a few amongst my friends already actually haha..
Quite difficult taking photos with animals k... They keep running around! haha.. This goat pen had quite a stink too... =P Too bad by the time we reached this part of the zoo, it was near closing time, so the horses were back in their stables already, my fav, sigh...

o n e o f u s

2007-09-24T15:21:00.000+02:00

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with him
In all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

-- What If God Was One Of Us (Joan Osborne)

Haha interesting.. What if... Though I don't think that nobody would be calling Him other than the Pope.. Bet His phone would ring non-stop with calls from people asking Him to grant them this and that wish... =P Thinking about it, actually God has actually been amongst Man before, as Jesus, ain't it? Or actually there's God in everyone of us!! =D

l y r i c s

2007-08-24T18:36:00.000+02:00

"Close your eyes; I wanna ride the skies in your sweet dreams..."

Was at Giant at Vivo City just now and they were playing this song as piped-in music.. Erm, it doesn't seem to make much sense to me, I don't see the logic in how closing eyes can help with riding skies hmm... Am I missing out something here?

b o t a n i c

2007-08-21T05:28:00.000+02:00

Went to the botanical gardens with D for a walkabout-chat thingy before the hols ended.. Can't believe I forgot to bring my camera! Doesn't mean that it prevented me from taking shots of purple flowers that caught my eye on the way, with my phone's camera haha... Took this at the Swan Lake (ok it was more like a pond).. Too bad no swans swam past then..

m o o n c a k e s

2007-08-20T05:14:00.000+02:00

Made mooncakes with my aunt last Tuesday.. That's the 'innards' of a traditional mooncake! haha.. You won't believe how oily all the ingredients of a mooncake are!! I was actually a little put off by the amount of oil oozing about, don't think I'd have been able to imagine eating one right after making it.. =P

Anyway, we had to leave it at her place to stand (upside-down) for 3 days before consumption.. Was back there on Sat for an extended family dinner and finally got to taste our creation.. Woah!! It's totally hotel-standard! Or even better, according to my uncle haha... (Silly me forgot to take a photo of it before eating on Sat =P )

Other than the traditional kind, we made cheese mooncakes.. The crust's a light pastry with parmesan mixed in.. We had light lotus paste and green-tea flavoured paste for the insides this time... Looks like play-dough eh? ;) We didn't have to stand these before eating, so brought home 2 for my family... Really nice too!! So happy haha... =)

w i s d o m t e e t h

2007-08-10T19:02:00.000+02:00

Pardon me for the gruesome photograph... Those are my wisdom teeth (or rather, were)... Just extracted them on Monday, let me do a 'lil orbituary for them before I decide how to dispose of them... The whole-looking one on the left of the photo was the one at the top right side of my jaw. The only one that emerged. But all that did was to wreck havoc in the form of ulcers that never left me for more than a day or two. S extracted that one himself...

The bits on the right of the photo form the one that used to be at the bottom right side of my jaw. It never emerged cos it's impacted (i.e. it's growing sideways instead of upwards). Same with the bottom left one, but will extract it maybe in about a month's time, so at least I can still chew with my left side. =P It was an operation by a specialist -- plenty of local anesthesia applied and injected (you don't wanna imagine that gigantic crude-looking syringe is going all the way through your gums), totally covered leaving only nose and mouth exposed (supposedly to protect the patient from falling sharp instruments). Thankfully quite painless (thanks to the LA), other than the scary vibrations from the drilling (that's how the tooth got cut up) and the wrenching out of tooth bits..

Totally numb for quite some time, pain only started kicking in in the evening, when I ventured to remove the bloody gauze and started popping the antibiotics and painkillers prescribed at the pharmacy.. Pain wore off after a while, but my right cheek started swelling the next day... It was swelling for days, and finally it's gone down quite a bit today.. Feel so handicapped by it sigh.. Food's a headache, kinda barred from going out since the swelling started (esp when it worsened)... At least it's getting better, still praying that I don't get infection (been faithfully using the prescribed mouthwash despite it killing my tastebuds)..

Guess what? S extracted 2 of his wisdom teeth today too!

c o o k i n g

2007-08-09T18:39:00.000+02:00

Been cooking quite a fair bit this hols.. Sometimes being stuck at home and lazy to go down to the coffee shops/food centre to buy my meals or simply just sick of the usual fare.. =P First discovered how easy it is to make shepherd's pie after I found the recipe online and Fiji was experimenting with it haha.. Don't have the photo with me though, sadly... It was wonderful, to say the least... =) Next made it again at ML's place, that the photo of it above.. Didn't have a real oven though, so we used her microwave oven set on 'Bake' haha.. Still turned out not bad, phew...

And that's ML with her lagsane!! Admiring her creation... Heez... It was totally sinful, all that cheese, beef, tomato puree... =P

Erm and that's me n D trying to evade the camera -- evidence of our gluttony in action haha... Wah it was really quite a lot of food, especially since it was all so rich.. But we shared it with all our families of course... Was full to the brim after that, but oh so satisfied...

c a r m i n a b u r a n a

2007-08-08T18:05:00.000+02:00

Wooohooooo!!!! pardon me, i'm getting delirious haha... I've been haunted by this piece that I simply love whenever I hear it being used on TV or something, but everytime I ask others what it is, nobody knows.. For YEARS!! And guess how I finally found it? M was showing me some youtube videos of amazingly graceful iceskaters, and one of them had that song as the background music, when I asked my sis, she didn't know either, but pointed out the title of that video clip haha.. Silly me.. =P yupz, so.. *drumroll*

It's 'Carmina Burana - O Fortuna' by Carl Orff...
Feel the immense power... Oh man oh man.. If only I could be singing this in some choir!! Some kind of dream huh... =P Even listening to it sends shots of euphoria through...

This one even has a score that runs with the piece, amazing right.. So now you can know what they're singing haha... Enjoy!

Let me indulge in another one.. So peepz who can't read notes can enjoy the scenery that accompanies the lyrics rather than those beansprouts.. ;)

2 1 s t b i r t h d a y

2007-08-07T09:08:00.000+02:00

Ok this is loooonng overdue haha.. Was waiting for the photos from my sis' camera (had to wait for her to return to Holland, download the photos, find time when my niece isn't clamouring all over her, before emailing them to me heez).. Thanks, jie! =)

Having helped a number of friends organise birthday celebrations and surprises, I dreaded the hassle of organising my own 21st birthday's haha... Fortunately, my darling dear actually organised the whole thing for me -- booking, inviting, guest book, bills, everything!! =D Here's a HUMONGOUS THANKS again, dear!! Yupz, so that's how I got to celebrate it despite my numerous hesitations haha... =P

Was thinking of Wiener's Oven, but because of their many limitations with reservations, we decided on Paulaner's German Restaurant at Millenia Walk in the end... Woot! It was seriously quite impressive with the old German photos lining the walls, traditional looking road signs and a May pole in the middle that went all the way up to the dome (just stand in Millenia Walk and look up, and you'll understand what dome I'm talking about)! Finally get to dine there, heez.. ;)

I'm soooo soooo glad that most of my friends could make it for my birthday lunch! And it must've been God's plan that my bro-in-law had to do a project for his company in Indonesia for a few weeks then, so my sis stayed on in Singapore and he flew back the day before the birthday lunch! So they managed to come too, heez..

My best friends all the way from RVHS!! Women, woah, it's been one long road we've been on together eh? ;)

HC String Ensemble! It's really amazing that we've been keeping in contact despite us being in all different faculties, universities and quite a number overseas even... =) Will always remember the music and laughter we've shared and more to come too!!

MM & CSS peepz! You've coloured my uni life and I really cherish your fellowship and support!! You rockz!! =)

Deutsche Freunde und Freundinnen!! A number of them are in Germany though, schade.. Viel Glück zum Geburtstag zu mir! haha... Und nein, ich bin NICHT böse... =P

And the theme was PURPLE haha... So prepared purple ribbons for those who didn't wear anything purple.. =P Woah despite purple being my favourite colour for ages, this is the first time I've got so many purple presents! Heez...

Too bad I wasn't in time to catch Hübschen Zwerg with his purple-ribbon-necktie haha... =P

More photos at my facebook album: http://nus.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35280&id=748060021 It was such fun!! =)

f o c 0 7

2007-06-28T09:47:00.000+02:00

Yay!! I'm finally back online again after long calls with service hotlines of starhub and linksys.. feels weird to be so cut-off from the online world for so long haha.. =P So here's my long-due post on CSS FOC '07!

Started off being assigned to the group that went 'Mooo..' but almost got turned away cos they thought I was a 'Woof' haha.. But in the end I ended up in Fiji group anyway.. FIJI FEVER!! Woot!!! Really had lots of fun in Fiji sia! Never knew cheers could be soo cool haha.. =D And our award-winning 'bimbotic' skit's in video part 2! Many thanks to Nic-lee for putting together this video!! Wonderful memories...

Fiji video part 1:

Fiji video part 2:

We had MM concert cum PnW on Day 2's night at Temasek Quadrangle... Gotta really thank God for clearing the skies after the initial showers in the afternoon... =) Trust me, it's really hell carrying all the equipment and stuff to-and-fro heez.. And really thank God for all the wonderful talents He has granted us and for all who have stepped forward to use them to praise Him... =D Can't believe I fell ill right after the concert heez.. Well, much better than before or during, I suppose.. =P Introducing part of the band in action! And MM-ers after a wonderful concert! Praise the Lord!

We had faculty lunch (and some games) on Day 2 too.. Wow quite a plentiful harvest of freshies, I would say... Pray that they'll continue to serve in CSS... Lunch at our beloved ABEng corner... And plenty of our fav Indonesian Penggang too heez..

Ended off with a big Water Bomb war at Tanjong Beach and basically everyone getting wet and getting thrown into the sea haha.. God actually cleared the skies and thunder and gave us 2 beautiful rainbows! Stunning!

Mass dance and theme song and affirmations done, we had dinner at Vivo City's rooftop, before heading home tired but satisfied... Pat on the back for Main Comm-ers and all involved for such a wonderful, well-run camp! =)

Btw Fiji Fever's still raging sia.. Camp ended on Friday, but the following Monday, we met up for lunch at Miss Clarity Cafe and games at Minds Cafe already! haha.. Fiji and some CSS peepz also went to chiong St Jame's Power Station on Wed woot!! Then cycling at East Coast Park this Monday then dinner at NYDC with some arts peepz, before S and I joined Tobi and (I think) Tonga at Timbre... Meeting Fiji again tomorrow for mahjong and a cook-out (all erm, aspiring cooks haha), and it happens to be my 21st birthday too! CSS is happening sia!!

m a i a

2007-05-29T09:24:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-26T19:06:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-24T18:56:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-22T08:40:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-19T18:23:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-17T07:26:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-12T18:52:00.000+02:00

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 !

2007-05-06T15:44:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-05T17:01:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-04T18:54:00.000+02:00

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

2007-05-04T18:25:00.000+02:00

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!

2007-05-02T07:50:00.000+02:00

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!!

harry potter quiz

2007-04-28T18:50:00.000+02:00

You scored as Sirius Black. You are the most loyal friend anyone could ask for because you'd go to any length to ensure their safety and happiness. You're free-spirited and very difficult to confine to a caged life. You love being in the company of those you love and love to show them how much they mean to you. You loathe those who only live for self-gain and show disloyalty. You're a great person but sometimes its needed of you to think more rationally than being quick to jump into things.

Sirius Black

69%

Hermione Granger

59%

Remus Lupin

56%

Oliver Wood

50%

Severus Snape

50%

Neville Longbottom

47%

Harry Potter

47%

Albus Dumbledore

47%

Bellatrix Lestrange

47%

Ron Weasley

44%

Lord Voldemort

44%

Percy Weasley

41%

Luna Lovegood

38%

Draco Malfoy

19%

Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test
created with QuizFarm.com

haha this is what u do when u've got 1 paper left n wanna relax a bit yet don't wanna write a post... =P

b l e s s e d

2007-04-15T18:44:00.000+02:00

dunno y but i seem somehow impelled to write this today... =P was just mugging with some of my germany friends and S came to join us in the evening too, and i was suddenly just hit by the feeling or realisation that i'm seriously very blessed...

that i'm surrounded by so many friends whom i'm so comfortable with and who really care for and are concerned for me... somehow things like the exams seem now more tackle-able... =P (although it feels like i've been quite slack in revision this sem oh dear)

n went for lunch n picked up some stuff at vivocity after church in the morning today too, it gives u that warm fuzzy feeling to be doing simple things together as a family like having an animated conversation over lunch... n not to forget, my dear sis over in holland, can't wait to visit her!

oops, i don't often get this mushy haha... saying my thanks to god for everything in the quiet of my heart...

p h a n t o m o f t h e o p e r a

2007-04-15T18:21:00.000+02:00

went to watch the phantom of the opera on fri, oh man oh man... this is one entry that's gonna be nothing but gushing about it haha.. quite lucky in a way, that i almost wanted to watch it in germany when i was there on immersion last year, but it was showing at Essen, which was super out of the way for us, so didn't bother, n ended up watching Cats which was the last show after 20 years!! n phantom's now showing in singapore! =P

it was wonderful, awesome, breathtaking... i've listened to the recordings of the songs for years and watched the movie too, yet thrills of ecstasy simply kept running through during the musical.. *satisfied sigh* (n M's gonna say 'so emo!' again haha..)

only regret was buying seats that had a restricted view... been mostly going to the esplanade's concert hall instead of the theatre, forgot how exactly it's like inside... will really try to get tix earlier and be more willing to pay for my next musical, i hope.. =P

argh, so reminds me of one of my childhood dreams of having my life and career revolving around a musical, be it singing or playing the violin.. oh well, but sometimes dreams are but dreams...

d n a

2007-04-04T13:20:00.001+02:00

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nasebluten

2007-03-11T17:47:00.000+01:00

my goodness, it's been one bloody week. literally.
haven't had nosebleeds ever since a few times in Sec 3... dunno what started it again.. the frequency of it was quite freaky, once or twice a day, consecutive days somemore... oh well, at least it's stopping, i think, haven't had an all-out nosebleed for the past 2 days phew...
keep on praying...
searching online for possible causes is kinda scary actually haha... cancer n all woahz.. shouldn't worry so much right, shall place it all in His hands for now...
it's gonna be one long week of rehearsals and finally NUSSO concert!! yay!! thanx to all my friends who're coming for it! =) see ya all then!
gonna pray for S n his exams too... woah God's inbox is gonna be flooded heez.. =P

w e a k

2007-02-25T07:03:00.000+01:00

"People fall, not because they are weak, but because they thought they are strong."

so ist das leben

2007-02-22T05:36:00.000+01:00

feeling kinda demoralised.. don't seem to be getting support from some people whom i most expect it from... sick n tired.. it's gonna be one tough lent.. just wanna play my violin all day long n forget all worries.. but no, that's escapism which is only for cowards.. i will rise up on eagle's wings, on the strength of god...

btw that photo's taken in waldenbuch's landesmuseum, courtesy of K..

v i s t a

2007-02-18T13:14:00.000+01:00

so happy with my new desktop transformation!! thanx to B, who intro-ed me to www.windowsxlive.net, i've successfully downloaded and transformed my desktop into a windows vista lookalike!

cool sidebar, taskbar etc etc... exciting.. haha... my goodness, ok i better stop gushing about it before i sound like a geek... =P it's totally free, so go ahead n try it if u dare, nothing's happened to our laptops so far tho.. ;)

v a l e n t i n e ' s

2007-02-14T18:01:00.000+01:00

this valentine's has been the most exciting n eventful one i've ever had! not just for me, but my friends around me... ;) heez...

flowers galore! guess which is from who? no prizes tho... =P

s i l l y m e

2007-01-29T10:06:00.000+01:00

gave myself a shock just now for nothing haha.. was at the power98fm website for the internet radio link, n there's this publicity thingy for some new burger king drive-thru at east coast..

'Join Shareen on 20 Jan, 2-4pm, for the Grand Opening with lots of fun activities and win prizes!' for a moment, i went, "eh? now.. y on earth would i be there for that?" then it suddenly dawned upon me that they're talking about their DJ who happens to have the same name as i... =P

that's the prob with having a rather unique name.. no training in preparation for others with the same name, haha...

w a k e u p !

2007-01-27T18:39:00.000+01:00

wake up, shareen, wake up!!

argh, what am i doing.. seem to be stuck in holiday mood n it's coming to the 4th week of school already... have plenty of tutorials, german homework, some silly fluids continual assessment thingy, application for overseas VIP, module mapping etc to do... yet i'm lost in my world of music n dance.. n now i've even developed a craving for the movies argh...

time to get a grip on my life n reeeaallly get down to work... remind me, yar...

s a l s a 1 0 0 1

2007-01-24T17:39:00.000+01:00

phew, finally have a silver of time to jot this entry down.. doesn't help at all when all my tutorials are on tue and wed, it's just a mad rush to complete them right after the lecturer just finished teaching that particular required topic... remember having most of tuts on fris in year 1, sigh, those were the days... =P

anyway, to clear some of that fog in my tagboard... the guy-in-charge of the Salsa1 class by Jitterbugs, organised by NUS SnB Club set the deadline for signing-up as Wed night, but only on Thur night did S decide to join after all, and on Fri morning did Br n another 2 gals also decide to join.. so the guy-ic turned all of them down, much less QH who was thinking of taking a look before joining the class...

informed those who'd already signed up for the class, about the above, by order of appearance, haha.. so only met HZ/TS (wah you just got the longest name) at around 7pm for dinner and he immediately insisted on S taking his place, especially since he's already in another salsa class (by caliente).. so now he has $50 to spend on LAN games haha...

oh man, felt sooo guilty n mean n bad argh... firstly, had to tell S about what the guy-ic said; then now TS came all the way downtown from campus and he's not going for the class after all, n him having decided to join this as his 2nd class when nobody else wanted to join; then suddenly asking S to rush back downtown for the class... =S

the class was quite fun!! tho slightly more serious than at thumper (totally different setting i suppose)... woah, have a few reeeally tall guys (rotation basis too)... only irritating thing is that at every point in time there'll be about 2 gals who're without a partner (maybe that's cos i think of the guys who could've joined n filled up the gaps in the guys-line)... learnt slightly different moves, which reminds me of the dancefloor at thumper on wed, where ppl seemed to be dancing with all different styles yet they could change partners rather seamlessly... cool...

after class, there's one dance studio where they play salsa music and the floor's open to anyone to practise their dance moves.. quite cool, especially when you don't feel so intimidated by pro-ppl cos everyone's a student there after all.. danced a tiny-bit, then we had to leave soon tho... yay, can't wait for fri!!

s a l s a

2007-01-17T18:53:00.000+01:00

Yay!! the class for salsa 1 offered by NUS SnB club, by Jitterbugs @ Millenia Walk is finally open! =) yippee! sorry, kinda delirious lately haha.. so 1st class starts this fri! n i don't have proper shoes yet, oh dear... n don't seem to have time to get new shoes before that too argh...

went to Thumper with some of my friends tonight haha... can't believe things worked out so well.. =P only found out about that place online a few days ago (incidentally J did too!) and wasn't sure whether salsa nights are every wed with free lessons too, so emailed them, but no reply.. so decided to trust the website which says that it's every wed at 7.30pm, and planned to reach around 8pm cos didn't expect things to move fast in a club till slightly later...

TS was so worried that we wouldn't be allowed in cos of his attire, n we were quite worried about the age limit too, but somehow, nobody approached us nor said a word when we entered! n when we 1st went in, they had just started the class! really quite fun, the steps aren't that scary as they look actually haha.. kept rotating partners n quite amusing to see all sorts of people there.. ;)

n only upon reaching home and getting online, did i receive an email from the salsainsingapore yahoogroups i subscribed to, that thumper's back with their salsalicious nights starting this wed (today) at 8pm.. my goodness, what luck... so i wonder whether they teach new stuff every week for 1 month, then send out that email again... =P can't possibly go for anymore wed nights though, cos of nusso rehearsals sigh.. oh well, at least there's salsa 1 class on fris! yay!

n u t s

2007-01-16T17:19:00.000+01:00

dunno what's with me these days -- been laughing a greeaaaat deal... =D maybe cos the stress hasn't started settling in yet.. or maybe i'm changing slightly without even realising it... tend to slip into laughing fits at a much higher frequency than before... =P

M claims that it must be cos J wished me a 'Lustiges Neues Jahr!' which translates as 'Funny New Year!' instead of a happy one haha...

or maybe it's just cos i'm getting much more comfortable with my friends now that there's no bars held in joking around...

whatever it is, i'm just so happy that my jaw n muscles around the tummy ache from all that laughing haha... =P

t u t o r i a l b a l l o t i n g

2007-01-16T17:14:00.000+01:00

Yay!!! i can't believe that i actually managed to get all the tutorial slots i wanted, in the very 1st round of balloting! was almost bracing myself for more trouble that i had to go through, especially after that fluid mech 2 and GAP module clash rubbish... well, god is good, i must say.. =P

n i'm going to be taking all tutorials with friends i'm close to too! how cool is that... both our GAP lects n tuts r gonna be with most of the stuttgarters haha.. M n i could hardly believe it at first too.. it's gonna be one crazy sem! heez... looking forward to it, can't believe it...

(try counting the number of times i used the word 'believe' in this post, haha..)

l i n k s

2007-01-13T19:47:00.000+01:00

here's some super super useful links i've found via some friends...

http://radioblogclub.com: search for songs you love and create your own playlist to listen to them... can even blog songs, muahahaha... kudos to S!
for goth music lovers, here's 'Bless the Child' by Nightwish, another group you might like to search for is Leave's Eyes (but not as popular somehow)...

http://www.pandora.com: search for your fav artistes or songs and they'll play similar songs.. great way to discover more songs that suit your taste... can't remember who intro-ed it to me some time last year...

http://www.peekvid.com: watch videos of TV serials, anime etc, all arranged nicely for you, don't have to go through the hassle of searching for them on youtube... thanx to K!

p n w

2007-01-12T17:44:00.000+01:00

oh man oh man oh man...

just led my first p&w session with J today... i dunno what to say, man... totally had no confidence at all at first, considering that i've never really been open to P&W until last year... well, gotta say that J's been really great trying to train us, always encouraging n enthusiastic.. ;)

never really been quite a good participant at P&W sessions in the 1st place, not the statue of stamford raffles kind though, so this was quite a leap for me... definitely an eye-opener... had quite some fun practising with the band.. =) u guys rock!! can actually feel us growing closer to each other.. an encouraging sign.. just nice for DOR too haha...

i really should stop being limelight-shy.. dared not sing too loud etc in the fear of slipping up cos i'm so very inexperienced at this.. came across as too soft n lacking in energy.. think we were trying too hard not to be nervous and keeping ourselves from shaking, to concentrate on how to add the punch to the P&W session heez... =P well, there's always a first time.. so who's next? ;)

n e w s e m

2007-01-09T15:17:00.000+01:00

reflecting upon the past sem, it feels like i was putting effort where it didn't pay off.. but of course there were pleasant surprises too... evens out, i suppose.. god works in mysterious ways, yar?

anyway, i'll have to really work harder this sem and try to inch back my CAP that's been slipping a bit too precariously... remember being able to wake up and reach school by 10am latest everyday during the study period for the 1st 2 sems, but kinda failed quite miserably at it last sem.. grrrghhh.. gotta get my discipline back!

shall be taking on this sem by its horns!!

direct from picasa

2007-01-08T17:34:00.000+01:00

testing testing.. =P blogging this direct from picasa.. quite cool huh... ;) i simply LOVE magritte! surrealism sooo rocks! wanted to put this on my wall, but the resolution's not good enough, sadly...

h o l i d a y s o v e r

2007-01-08T10:32:00.000+01:00

yupz, there goes the hols once again..

'twas one fast-paced by enjoyable break for me.. =) lots of singing n organising n losing my voice.. most importantly was my friends..

one month is seriously too short, but i suppose just gotta make do with it n be rejuvenated for the coming sem... alles gute!

out

2007-01-06T17:59:00.000+01:00

woahz.. can't believe i've been out practically almost everyday lately... picking up stuff to see me through the sem (not talking about books and notes of course), meeting up with friends... simply so much to do!

had a nice relaxing kaffee und kuchen with S yesterday, cleared up some stuff i've been thinking about.. =) saw like 2 groups of ppl whom i know around that area too haha...

picked up some blouses with ML as my fashion consultant today ;) then had dinner at cafe cartel at cineleisure, and guess what? we were beginning on our meal when the gal and guy at the table behind me stood up to leave, when I noticed that it was M! haha.. small world huh.. seems like ML did mumble something about whether she's M, but i didn't hear, so no response, and ML thought she looked more mature than the M she knows haha.. so didn't realise till they were leaving.. ;)

ooh.. the carbonara and lagsane were insanely sinful.. =P n really filling too haha.. didn't notice the time flying till we finished eating, n we had decided to walk to esplanade during dinner.. good exercise too.. ;) nice view n breeze up at the rooftop... talked and laughed soooo much on the way too..

feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends.. =D

salsa anyone? (thinking of the classes in school, but no news on IVLE yet)