Holiday...

The long awaited and “well-deserved” break is finally here?? Believe me, some nasty people don’t really think we deserve this holiday!!!

It’s been more than 2 weeks since my very last day of exam and what have been happening…??
- Final Year Project (FYP), which doesn’t seem to go that smooth, changes here and there, manufacturing faulty… the list goes on and on..
- Workshops by the Office of Student Affairs, which have taken up most of my time too.. all of them were very inspiring though..
- Magical Workshops 4, the christmas party for the physically disabled @ Spore Cheshire Home like usual.. and additional outing @ Vivocity this year was a success.. it really brought smiles to our clients’ faces, literally..
- Gracehaven Salvation Army New Year’s Celebration.. this has been cool so far, did huge shopping starting from buying 150 watches, 90 sets of stationeries, game gifts, foods etc etc etc.. those are all for the orphanage, juvenile delinquents, those whose parents are imprisoned and so on.. this is my first voluntary activity without registering my name under any NUS Clubs, in other words we’ll do everything by ourselves.. the kind plan came from a bunch of friends and knowing that things have been smooth so far is really amazing.. the fund raise is surprisingly huge too.. I’m just so glad to have known many generous people who have big heart.. hehe.. at the end of the day, the talking is just the talking.. what matters is the doing.. =P any kind souls who want to donate, please contact me.. haha.. (I’m serious though) =P
- Christmas Celebration.. the first one was in Marlin’s.. that was great.. good friends, funny games and good food.. Christmas Eve yesterday was well spent too.. had dinner @Oasis in Hyatt and caught the movie I am Legend afterwards..
- Some unnecessary things did happen too.. such as me falling down in a very unmannered way while walking on slippery floor (all bcos of FYP) passing through a bunch of engineering fellows who were discussing and being free-entertained by me.. had a very bad headache which was extremely weird since I didn’t remember sth bad happened to my head.. weird weird weird!

Well, that pretty much sum up what I’ve done in the past 2 weeks or so.. strange because it feels so packed.. usually during holiday, I was completely bumming around lazily doing unproductive stuffs, eating and things like that.. apparently at one point in ur life, u don’t even have life anymore.. =P eh, I mean, u don’t even have a break (that u actually deserve)… but I’m really happy to be able to start my voluntary activities again.. not very happy to do fyp of course, but I have to, so it’s ok.. life goes on.. =P

Anyways, some pictures of late..

Christmas Party @Sherwood Tower by Marlin

Three of us, Lysia, Lydia and I =)

Vivocity Outing by NUS Rotaract Club

Dinner @Oasis, Hyatt

Last but not least, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year..!!

Ciao.. =)

Happy Thanksgiving...!

It’s thanksgiving today (I assume it’s today even though some celebrated last Thursday, I was having exam.. blah) and the year is again coming to an end.. this is how fast and scary how time flies.. yesterday night, I went recalling about the things that happened in the past 11 months... I simply felt very grateful for everything that has come to me in 2007.. and even if i had to think again about what happened in 2006, again, I merely felt very thankful that I finally found the reasons of what was happening.. thought of it, yes, it was bad but nothing was that bad after all..

Of course some shits did happen, even in europe and all that… then again, it somewhat just feels like nothing to me at the moment.. and I’m just glad that everything happened.. if I never left my $700 eurailpass ticket in the dormitory, I would never know that I’ve met such an angel whom without hesitate night travelled all the way from Odense to Copenhagen just to deliver the ticket to me, who even said “It’s ok, that’s what friends are for.. have a nice trip..”.. if I never wanted to bike in Odense, I would never know there was such a helpful person as Andreas.. u know what I mean? Just as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.. believe me, even losing something could sometimes lead u to better days.. I realize we just have to accept and learn sth out of it at the end of the day.. nothing to be frown upon that long..

Yes, perhaps being in Europe is on my first list to be thanked about this year. (I have my own complete list, u should write urs too cos we’re talking abt thanksgiving ppl! =P). next thing to be thanked, of course it’s for all the people, family and friends who have been very kind to me.. and I’m grateful for our successful robotic project..

I just like it because I’m feeling that I’ve never been better… =) I hope u too..

On another note, there’s something more important to be blogged about.. a new NUS message that popped up currently on my screen every time I log in is “Fight Global Warming”.. yea, what I mean is, it’s time to stop being ignorant.. please do this people, of course if u care enough.. =P Exam’s finally ended for me.. feels very glad to have gone through the sickening mugging period healthily.. =P

A surprising bouquet that brightened up my boring reading week ;)

Oh well, how boring could it be? I had 3 funny and “crappy” friends who always mugged together with me during the week! haha.. =P till then, take care…

Ciao…

Back then and now...

The winners and prizes of the champion stacker competition has been announced!

As predicted, we won the 2nd place.. but hold on.. we also won the "BEST DESIGN AWARD" which means we actually get the same amount of prize as the 1st winner's…how much u ask?hmm.. I don't think I'll tell here bcos.. o well.. it's so small..! but it's fine.. we never knew they would actually give us money for winning the competition.. so what was the competition all about u ask? well.. I should say we did it for nothing but grades, module credits and PRIDE.. =P that's all..

So life recently has been treating me quite well.. project was pretty tough but I've met friendly n nice people to work with, which honestly seldom happened in the past 3 years haha.. except my HR group mates who are really cool and oh, my denmark mates.. =P anyways, exams are just around the corner.. reading week is one week away, exam is two weeks away.. simply put, I am not ready..

I am just so scared of one module, mechanics of solids.. this technical stuff, it's seriously not my cuppa tea.. and the fact that this is already my final year, which means my only chance to pull up my miserable grade.. (I mean it!) well.. life.. life… sometimes think of it, I just don't get it why I'm stuck in mechanical engineering.. I don't think I foresaw myself studying this stuff when I was 15.. the time when I was so innocently excited of being a psychologist, psychiatrist or a psychoanalyst (don't ask me the difference =P).. when I was 10 I wanted a camera so badly I cried.. so the first expensive thing that I bought for myself after breaking my piggy bank was a camera..! photographer should be a very interesting job, just so I thought… (don't laugh.. kids do dream).. can u imagine it's like every time I went to book stores, I went straight to those sections and browsed for some interesting stuffs.. I don't even have the urge to go to the library nowadays.. see the difference? u get what I mean?

Well, back then it was.. as time passes, things are becoming very different.. they're so different that sometimes I don't even remember what I see beforehand.. I don't even know what I love doing, what I'm good at, what are my interests..

Basically i lose, in both what i like and what i don't like.. simply put, pathetic..

Good weekend..! Ciao =P

The I-CUTE Day...!

First of all, pardon me bcos I’m so gonna brag about i-cute!! Basically we did it! I still hardly believe it finally ends.. well, not totally finished as we’re still left with the report to submit and final presentation… but the good thing is, at least we can boast a bit in the final presentation.. =P

We went early in the morning to run final testing before the competition which was @4pm.. it was a real demoralizing morning as i-cute never really did clamp 9 blocks and nicely put them on the platform as we expected during the testing.. (btw, this robotic competition was about clamping as many blocks as possible and stack them on a platform within 3 minutes).. the clamping suddenly became so jerky and shaky last minutes, we called it a “Parkinson’s disease”.. if Parkinson’s disease happened, we’re very confused of what to do to fix it cos it could be due to many problems.. so we basically did every single thing we could do but it still didn’t help much.. so we’re like… ok.. that’s it.. our hard work would finally end just.. like.. that… instead of grabbing blocks, the retarded clamps might just drop or sweep them away..

Last minute, we decided to “gamble”.. implemented another possible solution.. which was very risky it might just destroy the whole plan of our Programming.. and ended up with grabbing ZERO blocks, being laughed at and us crying our eyes out.. what a risk to take i know! but since the parkinson’s disease was so hard to solve.. we all voted for a “YES” to just take the risk.. turned out, we did the right thing cos the newly added battery helped preventing the jerky motion and the clamp grabbed super nicely, tightly and elegantly.. haha..

I think, my heart beats were three times as much within those 3mins.. i could even feel my hands and legs trembling and I’m not exaggerating.. it’s so intense.. we wanted it to happen so badly!! We wanted i-cute to run only once on the arena and left everybody with the “wow” feelings.. of course we’re allowed to do it again if we failed the 1^st attempt, but that just would not be as nice… right?? So, we grabbed 9.. there was one group who grabbed 12 (fyi, there were groups who couldn’t even grab 1 =P), but… they’re not totally autonomous (whereas i-cute was, no download cable, no wire from power supply, no nothing!) and I heard they did it only after the 3^rd attempt.. besides, i-cute was requested to be kept inside the design lab in NUS.. so we’re pretty proud of i-cute.. I mean, very proud.. =P

Mostly I’m feeling very satisfied.. bcos all our night and day shifts doing the project finally paid off.. we either woke up at 5am or stayed at school and came back at 9am in the morning.. the endless one-after-another-problem which totally drained us away seemed to be memorable now.. =P this, I would say, the only project which has taken the most energy n time..

Well, enough said.. just look at the pictures and there’s a video this time.. enjoyyyy =P

The iCute group @ our 2nd Home in Pavillion, NUS =)

The cutest robot girl, i-cute... =P Photo shot with supervisor and the group who grabbed 12..

Celebrated @Bosses Restaurant, Vivocity.. went for a pool game, arcade and drinks after that..

Last but not least, check this video! or this link:
iCute Competition Day

We were the only group that made people went "waaahhh..".. "hahahah"... "aaaah...hmm.." Ciao.. =)

The Robot...

I've never really wanted to talk about my robotic project.. because.. it is such a pain in the ass, it has caused so much trouble, it also has created many sleepless nights this semester for us all.. the competition is like a few days away yet things start to fall apart.. clamping servo spoilt, lifting mechanism doesn't work consistently, handyboard overheated.. u name it, i-cute has it (yea, we name it "i-cute", everybody says it's cute and the size is real petite compared to other robots)..

Perhaps luck would help this time.. but i don't think i-cute really has it in the past few weeks.. i can't believe it's that fragile.. i just can't believe this is happening.. i can't believe i'm sad whenever looking at it.. *sigh*

Ciao..

The Old Messages...

I have this old (yet durable) nokia phone which has been accompanying me for quite some years.. it was with me when I graduated from senior high school, when I was in Malaysia, in Singapore, in bintan, in denmark, in singapore again.. u see, how loyal this phone has been.. anyways, since coming back from denmark, my sleeping problem of having to twist and turn for up to 2 hours before sleeping was back! So yesterday, the same thing happened, I couldn’t sleep, I looked at that phone who’s always lying on my bed cos I only used it when my current phone died or when my new phone was stolen last year (shit!).. thought of deleting useless files/messages inside.. I ended up reading the old messages cos the first one actually caught my attention.. =P and I don’t know why I really wanna blog this.. haha..

U might not understand, so don’t try too hard..
“kepot kui.. blm packing tp bs jln2 ke brastagi haha ya udah gw nanya bege dolo.. loe harus ikut meskipun cuma nampang muka 2-3mins”
“diah, td mother theonis salah ngasi info, kalo masuk lewat pizza, lewatilah da shanghai, msk ke kompleks, nampak gedung bulet2, bersinar2.. ntar telpon aja..”
“diah bsr, diah kcl..ntr malam jadi ga? Jam brp kita mulai show? Urutannya kae kmrn ya.. btw diariku tolong diisi haha”
“diah bawa aqua cup ya.. haus.. masukkin ke tas.. haha”

Then I started to read another ones.. (I ended up reading all anyway).. they were all somehow funny when I imagined the person typing those smses….
“ Miz u di!”
“ayang, jam brp jemput gw?”
“happy birthday.. mai kong ce2 liao deh.. semoga bisa dapet uang, cinta.. dan sri darling senantiasa di samping.. muahahaha..”
“sunhong cinta, bae2 dsana..”
“haha ada donk.. Cuma lage sumpek aja haha… ya dah, u have fun, jgn kangen2 ma gw di..”
“di, alamat rumah loe dimane” (after knowing me for like 15 years, what a good friend)
“u at where now ar?” (she’s just trying to be funny =P)

These were the messages I didn’t even know when would be the next time I got them..
“hi diah, what about having a drink tomorrow evening at six? At quartier latin..”
“hi diah, when will u be in paris? I’ll be there next tues-friday.. we should grab some beers.. see you..”
“my friends and I will be waiting in front of Notre Dame at six sharp, see you there..”

I realized I missed them all so dearly.. I couldn’t help but turn the phone off and delete nothing… laughed instead..

Selamat Hari Raya! Happy Holiday, Happy Weekend! Ciao…

Do you...?

There was this event @ The Arts House at Old Parliament.. browsed through the art pieces created by offenders while serving their sentences, seriously, I would never think they’re the people who were imprisoned before.. besides and in fact, they were born with such gorgeous talents.. yesh! I was surprised by their art works.. nonetheless, it dawned on me that these ex-offenders couldn’t possibly escape the society’s judgments by passing themselves off as the “normal ones” while they're not according to our biased definitions of being "normal" .. they should have been considered apart from others in the crowd and looked different somewhat, just and just because they had prison record..

Totally, it was stunning.. I mean, if u ever thought how useless these people were to the society, u might want to think twice after checking out the exhibition.. I had a lot of thoughts running in my mind for instance, how much energy it actually took them to change? Some people just couldn’t be bothered to take their time to reflect and decide to change, if u know what I mean.. but these people did and they made it..

Perhaps the urge to be a changed person is stronger inside these people than that inside us.. why? maybe we do not make such huge a flaw that could alienate ourselves from the world.. I mean, we don’t need to put the effort to win back what we once have.. we don’t really know how painful it is to completely lose our loved ones.. or how aching it is to be pushed far away only bcos we've made a mistake once.. well, I suddenly feel so ordinary.. bcos u know what? That doesn’t even mean we’re morally better-off as a person.. we don’t even think that there's a need to change.. and the worst is, how self-centered we are at times..

So there I was, looked around, thought of it.. when walking out of the Arts House, I saw people painting and writing on the wall.. motivating words, admirations or messages to show that they were there to appreciate.. I held a marker pen, thought for a second.. there’s something I really wanted to write..

“The good thing about life is that… people change..”

Happy Mid-Autumn festival..!! =P

Ciao..

Messy Life...

There have been too many things in my mind lately.. the things that should be done, the shouldn’ts, the things that I can’t shake off my mind, the things that make me happy n sad, the things that I miss so badly..

Things happen for reasons.. I kinda believe in this saying now.. what used to be too hard for me to comprehend have actually started to tell one by one.. I miss some of my pasts yet I don’t wanna turn back time.. I kinda like the world I’m living in at this moment yet I keep comparing the past and the present..

Whenever I talk, wherever I go, whomever I meet.. I keep wondering why things can be that different in two places.. the things they ask, the things they’re interested in, the things they enjoy, the personality.. even trivial remarks they pass to me are so different.. just one question, why?

U may see me smile and laugh but I really hate myself for endlessly comparing my life in denmark to what I’m having right now.. u may not hear me say this in reality but I really miss everything abt it.. u may think I’m such a freak who doesn’t know how to get over but the thing is, what remains in mind is always much more beautiful than what’s happening right before my very eyes..

Every so often, I even laze about and lose the direction of what I’m supposed to do.. Monday to Friday, morning to evening, I seem to have plenty of time yet I find myself so lack of time.. I’ve spent half of this semester worrying about my passport which is expiring soon yet the indo embassy doesn’t allow me to renew, I go back and forth trying to convince them and do whatever it takes.. how can I not miss denmark? and I’m so sick of sitting in front of my laptop making drawings using solidworks, even worse, when I have to edit again and again once I show them to the supervisor.. I feel that everything I try to solve lately is just trivial matters that have been deliberately made complicated for no reasons.. besides, I feel that I’m totally back in the place where people seem to be having a thought that the world just revolves around them.. in other words, they think they’re always the main interests of the topic on the table.. u think how can I not hate it?

Well, this is what happens when people mix two worlds in one life.. we just can’t have both.. and for once, I feel that my life has been pretty messy…

I’m loving this blog.. I feel relieved after writing this.. =P

Anyways, it was such a great experience to freelance as an interpreter in Batam.. stayed in a decent resort, ate decent foods that we've been craving for.. and nice outing too! =P

Holiday Inn Batam Resort and Delima Seafood..

Edina, me, Patrick, Erick

Catching up on weekends

Gathering + Dinner + LS & SM Birthday Celebration

Ciao...

The Phases...

I recall in one of the classes that I attended in Odense, we’re given a talk about the phases of cultural adjustment.. Virtually, everybody who lived abroad went through these distinct phases of cultural adjustment..

- Preliminary: before everything happened, as such, it’s about the preparation of the journey.. Exciting? Yes! Exhausting?? Yes! I remember there were so many things to settle I was even an inch away to lose the excitement..

- Initial euphoria: Began when I stepped on Europe for the first time, namely in Amsterdam.. and when i saw copenhagen and odense! met new people, attended classes for the first time.. the list went on and on..

- Irritability: The initial excitement started to wear off… nonetheless, I didn’t recall there was such a huge problem on that.. maybe it was only about the weather that irritated me quite much…

- Gradual Adjustment: when everything became so familiar I didn’t even realize it’s happening..

- Adaptation and biculturalism: I felt as a part of it.. I had my own favorite places to go to.. activities for my spare time.. I treated myself foods that I loved to eat.. basically I was already comfortable with the host culture..

- Re-entry phases: when returning to homeland.. it can be the most painful phase of all.. excited about sharing experiences, realized that u’ve changed in a way u couldn't explain.. but in one way or another, u're just forced to change back.. bcos u're now back in a place where everything seemed to be at standstill when u're not around..

The speaker said we’d find ourselves going through that cycle all over again once we returned to homeland.. I guess she’s true.. I write this because distinctly, I’m finding myself at the stage of “Irritability” at the moment.. sighhhh...

Pictures: Barcelona in Spain..

“Traveling – it leaves u speechless then turns u into a storyteller” Ibn Battuta

Life's back to normal...!!

I stay in PGP, go to the campus by NUS shuttle bus, eat at Engineering canteen most of the time.. yea, that normal.. 7 months feels so short a time.. I mean, I can even remember very clearly the smell of the newly checked in room in PGP.. and I’ve been asked questions like “how did it feel to leave denmark?”.. “how do u feel to come back here to nus again?”.. “how’s life treating u there in denmark? Was it better than here?”… hmm..

To be frank, after stepping on nus again, after attending my first week’s lectures and after the first meeting with my FYP supervisors, everything is so normal.. and boring.. I wonder where’s that missing feeling due to not being here for the past 7 months? there’s nothing like that.. so being there in denmark was like being in another world living another kind of life, a more exciting life..

“Prototype development of an EEG based mental fatigue screening system”.. That’s my FYP project title which honestly, has totally freaked me out.. I just don’t understand what was I thinking, it’s my first choice, yes, nobody forced me I chose it!..

Another thing is, it’s amazing that I sweat like all the time.. even without doing anything vigorous at all like sitting on the bench waiting or queuing for foods.. don’t u think it’s bloody hot recently?? are we actually living in a huge micro-oven??

I spent the first 3 days in PGP without internet connection.. I didn’t even know whom to thank for the trouble.. maybe it’s the line connection in my room, maybe it’s my laptop which was configured by the Danish staff in the Syddansk Uni.. in order to get things done faster, I complained to PGP Management and reconfigured my laptop at the same time.. =P why? there were two things for sure, we’d never make it to study in NUS without internet connection.. and spending 3 days in NUS without internet connection was like spending a week in a forest without fire.. =P u know how hard it was??

I guess it's time to post my overdue eurotrip pictures.. i'll start from Paris in France.. enjoy =P

Musee Du Louvre

The View from Notre Dame
Tour Eiffel
Château de Versailles

The most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris, Avenue des Champs-Élysées (fyi, i risked my life taking this pic =P)

Ciao...

Easier said than done...

So lately, the hottest topic has been about this friend who once left the group but for one reason or another, she just had to come to us again after 2 years of losing contact.. So, u can roughly imagine the situation happening here, thinly veiled sarcasms mostly everywhere and constant rehashing of her so-called sins followed by the never-ending apologies from her.. bottom line is, some of us don’t seem to totally get behind it though deeply we understand how situations had gone awry for her..

I don’t think I can afford to be that sarcastic towards her anyway and I just don’t know why.. it’s more like I’ve been the one defending her when others try to corner her.. maybe that’s because all these while we’ve always been in a very good term.. or maybe, I really think she’s very fun to be with.. I am indeed very happy to see her again like I always used to.. but even so, I’ve been questioning why others were that bothered, it’s as if they’re hurt so badly.. maybe it’s because I wasn’t here so my life wasn’t actually affected directly by her sudden disappearance, it wasn’t that big a deal to me..

Trying to put myself in others’ shoes, I’ve been thinking, what if I were to be one of “the others”? first…. most probably I’d be the most sarcastic one.. =P secondly, perhaps I’d not even want to listen to her explanation.. then again, being the way it is now, I’m relieved bcos I don’t have to go through it considering I’ve skipped that part where “the others” are still in now, and I’ve come out the other side better than ever..

But the bottom line is, I’m really grateful that I wasn’t here at that time bcos most probably I’d not be able to forgive her, nor wanting to see her as often as I do now.. who can mend a broken glass? u tell me..

Took early morning flight back to singapore (I’m all sleepy n tired now).. =P and of course, I had real good times there in medan!!

Some pictures that i've got.. =P

and this is my favourite..

Ciao...

Time of our lives...

Sitting there, Story-telling, laughing together, reminiscing.. and facing those that I’ve known forever.. have I told u? that is the time of my life.. we don’t talk about deep stuffs and serious future plans.. nor making cheap promises about how our friendship would last forever.. but if I count carefully, it’s been 9 years since we’re placed in the same class in that school..

Without us realizing it, there are things that actually can be perceived only by our group.. we laugh on the joke that others may not even find a slight amusement out of it.. it’s like being there and forgetting about the world, for a moment.. and without me realizing it, I truly cherish them - the teacher and those high-school friends that have actually been rooting in me..

Twice in a year is the most frequent meeting with them.. but even so, there has never been a big problem of catching up with the group and I feel I’m always a part of them.. just like it’s always used to be.. maybe we don’t push it, but we’ve become the best of friends to one another.. maybe it’s nothing profound but it’s kinda grown into something so light that talking and finishing others’ sentences is a very natural thing to happen, which never fails to end up with a burst of laughter from which I am always an inch away to drop my jaw..

Saturday’s dinner has left me with a piece of advice from the teacher “Remember that u can never buy ur friend”.. a simple sentence that’s always taken for granted.. so cliché a sentence that’s easily found in those Hallmark cards.. nonetheless, it dawned on me afterwards, sometimes in a glimpse, what we had might seem easy to be exchanged.. but when regrets came, we’re hit by the fact that no matter how much we offered, apparently, we couldn’t be able to buy the same thing ever again..

Anyways, my short holiday this time has been filled with catching up with family, cousins and friends.. but these two are the only pictures that i have with me at the moment.. =P

Ciao...

That element called mystery...

Mystery.. a situation that's very difficult to understand, nor to explain.. most people think that it's the quality of making something/somebody seem interesting and exciting.. well, to a certain extent that is true.. something that we look forward to find at the end of the day, something we're very curious about.. It's like, we're questioning all the time; what is it actually? What actually is happening? etc etc.. how can it not be interesting? but hold on, it can as well be sth much smaller than expected.. so how can it be that interesting??

When I'm given puzzles that's too hard to solve or when I have difficulty of finding my flight ticket that I bought one year ago (which I know I once deliberately keep somewhere so that it's easy to find).. there are pieces of mysteries that I really want to find.. and that's what makes it interesting (yet annoying after some time).. but when a person is trying to be mysterious to attract others or when I don't even know if there's even sth interesting to find at the end of the day.. that's just.. not interesting.. and I, I lose interest in no time.. I get bored easily too..

I like to really know what and whom I know, at least after a reasonable amount of time.. there's nothing interesting to always keep something that is mysterious in my life.. give me a year the longest and I will definitely give it up..

People are on their way of making life easier, and I am certainly one of them..

Summer.. oh summer...

My imagination about summer used to be something that would be fun in any way, not the time for creating or working but it's like... ur body and heart would beg u to be outside, sitting by the beach near water somewhere, the time when u're craving for reading terribly lots of magazines while lying on the hot sand, gossiping with girlfriends, listening to mp3 players drinking cold beers pondering about how good life was.. there's nothing better, I thought..

Imagination has always been better than everything else, apparently and unfortunately I'm obviously not that type..

The good thing about summer in denmark, according to my experience was that, there's cooling wind apart from the bright sun.. but speaking of summer in italy, it was an "Ohh.. My.. God..".. (with Janice's voice and hand gesture =P) it was on average of 35-37 deg Celsius in daytime.. I mean, how hot was that..

A good traveling mate, nice weather, enough money to splurge.. three things to look at for having a perfect trip.. overall my trip was awesome.. like, I was glad to meet some friends again in other countries and to meet a lot of new people in hostels.. besides I kinda have got the momentum for traveling in europe.. for instance, the number of metro lines in big cities like Paris might be much more than what I've seen before.. but really, things turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.. and it wasn't as hard as said to find English spoken people, even in Spain.. so i was glad that things ended up well.. I sucked at map, but way much better after 3 weeks of wandering around alien cities with that thing.. =P

Perhaps ones of the unpleasant things would be the number of misunderstandings between my traveling mate and i.. and some unfriendly people that we bumped into, esp in Italy.. I mean, some of them could be really nasty.. the weather was extremely hot, I was unquestionably emotionally unstable.. basically I talked back, even to an officer.. well, I just couldn't believe I still had that part of me left inside.. haha..

Speaking of money, I'll be damned if I complain here.. although the amount wasn't that big enough to give me everything I wanted bcos I'm just human with a lot of needs =P.. it's at least enough to pay for all the necessary stuffs..

I had a thought after my trip, I realized there's one thing I actually hated all these while..

There are definitely some "great" people in this world, I know that.. the type that's so influential.. they change ur whole belief in a second.. I mean, even if that happens, or even if it happens bcos u're blindly in love with him/her.. look again at the person in front of u, a friend that u're talking to.. the person that u've known more than just one or two weeks.. is there really no way to just give a little respect? I just hate it the most to suddenly hear something from my friend that doesn't sound like her talking.. i'd deliberately drop the topic, refuse to listen further, that's what i do.. so i really hate it i suppose..

Ciao..

Time for goodbyes...

To tell the truth, I never thought it would be this sad.. I focused so much on how sad it would be to throw myself back to my old life.. I never thought of how sad it would be let go the people, the place and the feeling of possession.. I failed to think of that…

It was only at Hui Jeong's bday party and Nic's farewell dinner that I came to realize it.. that was our jokes which were meant to be funny but turned out making nic's eyes teary that made my mind wandered to some thoughts later on.. going back to old life being put aside, sadder is to leave what is here right here right now.. the feeling to know that this place will no longer be the same place at the second u leave.. the people will no longer lead the same life as that when u know them.. even if u step back to this city again one day, u know u will never get the same kind of feeling anymore… this is only for once.. and that's what makes it sad the most..

Maybe I don't make the bestest friendships ever, but to have some people who try to get to know me more without any prior judgment.. and simply happily make dinner together with me and cheer me up without them realizing it, that's what makes my days.. Maybe biking around the city isn't as cool as driving a car, but I truly enjoy the experience of listening to my ipod, breathing fresh air at the same time.. Maybe I don't act as I always used to act, but that, I would say, is one of the most enjoyable things to be done.. So, this memory is precious to me..

Six years ago, even though I did not cry at that time.. there was one saddest farewell in my life.. and when that feeling seems to rush back again.. I know, this is going to be something that I should overcome with grief at the end of the day..

Starting all over again, again, maybe?

Dinner on the other day... before Ling, the girl from China left..Hui Jeong's Birthday Dinner...

Nic's Farewell.. Nic's picture..

Tomorrow will be emel's and my turn.. Till then.. Ciao..

Alcohol Allergy...

My doctor will definitely have a smirk on his face if I tell him what happened.. first, I’m pissed off, how on earth could I have all this allergy stuff? How, how? I had alcohol allergy which never happened before.. causing terrible itch and red lumps all over my skin.. remember how good danish welfare system I said before? Well, I take that back.. I mean, it’s good to have a health insurance, et cetera, but hello…. having to wait for 3 days to see a doctor? that’s just insane.. I thought I was gonna die first bcos of the itchiness before I saw him… or, I would have cured by then.. for the love of god, all I needed was just an injection, how could it be that difficult? But o well, it's true - there’s no such thing as a free lunch..

I really had it hard this time.. I‘ve promised to stop drinking and eating all those forbidden stuffs.. thought of asking my dad abt what to do.. but then I held back considering he’d be suspicious about the amount of alcohol I took.. I mean, seriously, I really did drink just a little.. those who know me know how low my alcohol tolerance is.. fiuhhhh..

Btw, I’ve never observed this kinda thing, or maybe more like, it never really happened before.. it’s amazing to see people happily smiling and greeting u a lovely “good morning” in the kitchen making breakfast.. strangers smiling at u on the streets.. a good hug after not meeting for a few days.. in my dorm in nus, whenever I walk in the hallway and bump into people, more often than not, they’d pretend that they don’t see me.. but in here, people greet me and wish me a nice day.. the point is, I’m always somewhat dragged into a good mood, how can I not be anyway?

Actually, it’s not that hard to be a happier person after all… errrmm... hang on… I’m rather dubious if I can say the same thing 2 months from now.. u know, people change from time to time, depending on the situation they’re living in.. =P

“Don’t bother explaining coz the person who trusts you don’t need it and the person who dislikes you won’t believe it anyway,… right?” --> read this from Jacq’s blog.. it’s so true.. yet can be wrong I must say.. have u ever been in a situation when u feel that all u need is just an explanation? if u haven’t, well, at least I think i have =P

Teknisk Kollegium, my dormitory (back view)

(front view)

Surrounded by a huge park and beautiful view

Jan The Man, Chairman of the Larmer, the bar in Teknisk Kollegium

Ciao

Dead Poets Society...

Keating: Just when u think u know something, u have to look at it in another way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, u must try! Now, when u read, don't just consider what the author thinks. Consider what u think. Boys, u must strive to find ur own voice. Because the longer u wait to begin, the less likely u are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "most men lead lives of quiet desperation". Don't be resigned to that. Break out! Don't just walk off the edge like lemmings. Look around u"

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Keating: "I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world…"
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Keating: "There it is, You see, u have a barbarian in u, after all.." .
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Keating: Yes, we know that. All right. Now, I didn't bring them up here to ridicule them. I brought them up here to illustrate the point of conformity: the difficulty in maintaining ur own beliefs in the face of others. Now, those of u… I see the look in ur eyes, "I would've walked differently." Well, ask urselves why u're clapping. Now, we all have a great need of acceptance. But u must trust that ur belief is unique, ur own, even though others may think they're odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, "that's baaaad..". Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Now, I want u to find ur own walk right now. Your own way of striding, pacing. Any direction. Anything u want. Whether it's proud, whether it's silly, anything. Gentlemen, the courtyard is yours.

I immediately feel in love with the movie.. it expressed the idea of "Carpe Diem" which also what I first got to hear about one year ago in a talk.. an Academy Award winning film in 1989.. i say, u should watch it..!

Pictures as of late...

We've been having heavy dinners, trying out some recipes from internet bcos the weather's not been so friendly recently, always raining.. which makes it difficult to go outside to hang out.. =P

Spaghetti Carbonara - Fried Rice - Prawn Salad - Apple Pie

Besides, andreas is leaving on monday.. it's pretty sad and did i mention? he's a very nice friend and he's my bike angel.. =P always helping me with my bike.. anyway, we had a dinner and basketball game for the last time in Teknisk together.. quite a fun game, i teamed up with andreas, jun teamed up with jeong.. by the by, we've come to this gloomy time where everybody has to leave.. in fact, most of my classmates already left..