Monday, February 27, 2006

no more indie songs..

phew.. yeah finally it's all over.. no more indie songs, no more weird tempo.. end of torturous practices for the moment..

shall not rant on the bad things of this concert, if not it would be endless.. but one thing i'm utterly sad and worried about, the harp fell onto the ground once! my god.. the harp leh!! such a big and expensive instrument, and it doesn't belong to the orchestra somemore.. oh manz.. it's ok if it went off-tune, because it could be tuned back.. but there was a crack!! arhh!! A CRACK!! how?!? i had no idea how the harp fell, and whose fault, but i don't think anyone would wish that to happen.. i'm going to cry if they demand compensation (which i think there's a high possibility).. *sobz*

ok.. enough..

i guess we know how to entertain ourselves, instead of worrying how bad our skills are.. gossiping about people, discussing the fanciful clothes and hair and the super-high heels of Mao Hui Ru.. haha.. and taking pictures.. =)

and first time styling my hair for the concert, to suit the new bright-red costume.. people say i looked cute.. i think so too.. muahaha.. =P

pictures pictures!! =) (haha.. nonoy's favourite phrase too.. haha)

before the hair change..


after the styling..


with flowers from Li Hai Lang lao shi.. =)


with Seetoh lao shi.. he said i look nice.. but like a bride.. boo..


with Li Hai Lang lao shi.. he's a real cute guy.. haha..


the heavenly-Subramaniam.. he has his aura.. i hope i won't see him in my dreams again.. haa..


the *ahem* 'pretty' Mao Hui Ru..


well, it was really a big pleasure to be able to work with all these wonderful musicians, which i consider it to be a real rare opportunity.. actually the fusion of indian music with chinese instruments actually sound quite nice.. the indian-ish rhythms can actually make you shake your head like an indian.. haha.. just that the music sounds more like chromatic scales to me, and i don't think i would want to play that again in the near future.. haha.. and listening to Subramaniam playing his 5-string violin (yes, i must emphasize this.. ) together with his 2 other percussionists really put us in no position for comparison.. haiz.. seeing Zhu Lin playing this tough music on erhu is also another 'wah~' moment..

but anyway, it's all over, time for a break.. and right now.. time to sleep.. *yawnzz*

Friday, February 24, 2006

haunted..

arghh!! i can't study for my test which is 14 hours away from now.. the indie songs are haunting me!!

this week is going to leave me no space for breathing.. wah!! i need more time!! i haven't study much for the test.. so i'm going to leave it to my tikam power to pull me through.. damn..

and did i mention before that i dreamt of the-heavenly-Subramaniam a few nights ago?! eerie!! it freaked me out and left me in a daze for a few moments.. worse, he was speaking Chinese in my dream.. hmm.. i think we should be more careful with him around huh..

practices these few days were torturing.. ending late at night and everyone would be in a state of mental shock after the practices..

and the 3rd movement of the concerto was at a freaking-hell tempo of 180.. and i'm giving up.. *raises white flag*

arghh!! i can't get the indie melody out of my head!! i can't get all the scientific terms into my head!! i'm dead.. no sleep tonight..

where is my coffee?

Monday, February 13, 2006

eve of v-day doom..

valentine is such a commerialised thing.. all the flowers and the chocolates are coming in big bombs.. a bouquet of dozen roses cost freaking hell more than 200 bucks! hello? give me the money i can go away for a short holiday, or that could pay for my domestic flights in philippines.. haha.. and why roses? there are other pretty flowers out there too.. like lilies, tulips.. so why roses? haha..

i don't mind the chocolates though.. haha.. i will melt in front of you if i'm treated to a chocolate buffet.. haha..

but anyway, the whole school is full of lovey-hearty stuff, everywhere is v-day bazaars.. eek.. i think tomorrow will be worse.. -_-'''

and i have absolutely no idea why there is weird uncle doing some astrology-palm-reading thingie in the middle of the v-day bazaar in science fac!! -_-'''

but then again, v-day is not exclusively for those lovey-dovey couples k.. haha.. i love my friends too! haha.. hugs and kisses to all my friends here, in Bago and anywhere else in the world.. *muacks* =P

all the singles in the world unite!

Sunday, February 12, 2006

one month..

january 12 - the day i left Bago..

1 month back from Bago.. and i actually missed out on quite a number of things within this 1 month.. tricia's birthday, papa's birthday, nina's birthday, and today, the pre-celebration for the Babaylan festival..

sigh..

i was imagining, that i was part of the crowd, watching the parade, perhaps trying to spot some familar faces, and going "ooh~ and ahh~" all over.. i could joking around and having fun with all my precious friends in Bago..

yes, i admit that i can't lift myself out from this illusion.. people say i cling too much to the life and things in Bago.. i don't deny that..

oh well, just leave me in my own delusion..

Sunday, February 05, 2006

happy and sad day..

now this is what i call a new year celebration.. going from house to house, eating new year goodies (my hae bi hiam aka shrimp rolls!! =P), playing games and had hearty laughs.. =)

1st stop, Mr Lum's house.. had to wake up early, because i had to travel all the way from the west of the island to Serangoon.. -_-''' luckily there was helen, if not i would most probably get bored or fall asleep throughout the journey.. haha.. yar, food food and more food.. =)

2nd stop, Kevin's house for our steamboat lunch.. hehe.. my 3rd steamboat for the new year so far..

3rd stop, Huiyan's house.. and it was playing time! haha.. i don't know how to play (and don't wish to learn how to play) mahjong, so i went playing cards with some of the peeps in her room.. i started from being the "asshole" of the "asshole dai di" to the "president" in the final round.. haha.. yeah.. =P

last stop, Andrew's house.. manz his house was huge.. i was like, "wow~" before stepping in the house.. haha.. had dinner there and we lao-ed yu sheng.. =)



another round of hearty laughs playing "indian poker".. haha..

a fun day, but my mood went kinda down when reading the newspaper.. was following up with the stampede incident in Manila, and i was sad to read that the death toll went up, and there were nearly 400 people injured in this stampede.. *sigh* mixed feelings i was having, angry at the poor organisation of the event, pity the families that are already shattered and in grief..

i don't know about what other people may think.. but i've been there, i've watched Wowowee, and i've seen how bad the living conditions are for the philippinos, and how desperately these people want to win the prizes during the show..

"We were just coming to have a good time with the family," the son said. In between sobs, the father said that the family had come with the hope of winning one of the cash prizes to better their lives. "We are poor people and now I have lost my wife," he said. Like him, many others were hoping to win minibuses or houses or even the top prize of one million pesos (S$31,500), a special offering for the show's one year anniversary. Around 40 per cent of the people in Philippines live on US$2 (S$3.25) a day.

putting sad note aside, i've sent out a letter to our sponsored child, together with 2 story books, an exercise book, and a few stickers.. an appeal to any NUSCO people who read this, do give your support towards this sponsorship.. it's only $5 a month.. perhaps now there's only this kid gets to benefit, but with more people, we can reach out to one more child, or even more..



i just wish to touch the hearts of more people that may need the help..

Monday, January 30, 2006

what a new year..

this chinese new year is no chinese new year to me.. i can't believe that i'm alone at home on the 2nd day of the new year.. it's now only me and the computer and the tv..

woke up to see my parents not around, and brother went to work earlier on.. watched tv until i fell asleep.. besides there wasn't much of any interesting shows going on anyway.. other than discovering that there was a philippino drama going on TV3 the malaysian channel..

played online games until i'm sick of it.. oh man.. this is not new year..

and i can't believe that i had to call for macdonalds delivery for my late lunch and afternoon tea.. on new year!! what the... arghh..

maybe the next few new years i should go away for a holiday.. then i won't need to worry about buying any new year clothes and having to tackle questions coming from relatives.. not bad an idea huh..

update: happened to watch a documentary on Channel Newsasia, about a philippino maid who set up a small welfare organisation that helps needy children in philippines.. the crew went to Iloilo with her, and saw her family, the library that she set up, and the children that she has helped.. all these brought back memories that i had when i was in Bago.. sigh..

seeing the things that she did, it somehow made me want to do more.. but the most touching part of the show, was when her children said that they didn't miss her that much.. perhaps that's the agony of a philippino maid who has to work overseas to earn money, to support her family back in hometown.. sigh sigh sigh..

Thursday, January 26, 2006

another call to philippines..

manz.. another call to Bago city makes my day.. =)

a call to ryan and joseph, who were there with the dancers and musicians practising for the Babaylan Festival that is coming in february.. princess sarah was with me on the phone.. =) and it was really heartwarming talking to them on the phone.. yar, again, how i wish i'm right there with them now.. i used to watch them dancing and playing music almost every night.. i looked forward to walking out of the house to the central plaza, to the community centre where they train.. i looked forward to seeing ryan, joseph and temogen there every night..

i really miss them alot.. =(

today's dinner was nice and full of laughter.. there will be no lack of laughter with huijie and ryan around.. haha.. menu of the day? CHEESE FONDUE AND CHOCOLATE FONDUE!!



there's a new addition to the gang.. ryan's girlfriend.. haha.. it turned out to be "scenario X", whom she turns out to my ex-schoolmate, but i don't really know her.. haha..

had a real hearty time eating and laughing.. =)

i continued playing "santa claus", passing presents to people.. today was to ryan and huijie.. and huijie was so happy to see those presents and the graham biscuits and the recipe for the ice-box cake.. haha..



shopping for new year clothes was unsuccessful.. hmm... maybe i'll need another last minute shopping..

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

happy birthdays..

i made a call to Bago city today to wish tricia "happy birthday"..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRICIA!! =)

hehe.. i shall be nice, not to reveal her age, but hope she will stay young always.. =) may everything be nice and smooth for her, because she's really a wonderful person.. Tricia, i love you!! hugs and kisses to you!! miss you very much!! =P

it was nice to hear the fun and laughter in the background, though i very much wished that i was there too.. great to hear from Bong and Nonoy too.. =) and after the call, i was smiling to myself for the rest of the day.. =)

oh.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAPA!! =) hehe.. papa (tricia's dad) has the same birthday as her! hehe..

anyway, today i met up with the co-leader and the secretary of Big Hands Bigger Hearts 2.. sharing my previous experiences with them, things they should take note of.. though i may want to be part of the team, i've no money!! tricia asked me when am i going back there again, i told her i'm broke.. haha..

after that, shopping for new year clothes.. sad to say, no luck.. haha.. have to keep to my own budget.. went causeway point but left there empty-handed.. then headed down to west mall on my way back home.. walked around, and ok.. bought a dull-pastel-pink skirt.. yar.. must stress the dull part, because unlike most gals, i'm not really a lover of pink, in fact, sometimes i detest the colour.. haha.. so i still have a top and shoes to go!! manz..

happened to see a cai shen ye (fortune god) in the shopping mall.. so, as a singaporean, i went up to him, together with all the aunties and uncles, to get a chocolate-money.. haha.. yar, so if i happens to go buy some lottery, i can be heng heng and huat lar! haha..

i want money! so i can go Bago again!

Sunday, January 22, 2006

one week back..

*waves to all my friends in Bago* HELLO!! hehe.. didn't expect you guys to drop by my blog and leave messages.. hehe.. really miss u guys alot alot ALOT!! now i've my yahoo messenger, so we can chat online! add me to your friendster, or to your yahoo messenger or whatever! so that we all can keep in contact often!! =)

let me digress a bit, first time i see my father staying up so late to watch a movie on tv.. those soldiers-war kind of movie.. not my cup of tea, haha.. but anyway...

i can't believe i've been back from Bago for more than a week.. everything is so different from there.. went to school, went for orchestra practices, meeting up with friends.. there was no time for me to feel lost, maybe when i have nothing to do, i'll start listening to "Makita Kang Muli" and think of the days i've spent there..

i'll be too tired to think of anything when i go to bed.. and i'm still used to the sleeping timing i had over there.. sleeping at 12am, waking up at 8am.. haha.. healthy lifestyle huh.. but once the schoolwork starts getting hectic, i may revert back to my night-owl habits.. haha..

i'm only looking forward to use my computer everyday, so that i can see them online, or send texts to them.. i'm also looking forward to my next trip back there again.. *cross my fingers* hopefully soon..

chinese new year is coming, but i'm still missing the christmas in bago!! =(

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

a nightmare..

i don't know if i should call this a nightmare..

i was sleeping in nina's room, and i supposed to have a flight to catch, at 7.15am (which was exactly the time of my flight from Bacolod to Manila).. but somehow i overslept, waking up at 7am..

ok, it doesn't sound so bad.. but it was freaky.. freaky that everything seems so real..

Saturday, January 14, 2006

adjusting back..

this time round i guess i have an easier time adjusting back to the life here in singapore.. i remembered the last time when i came back from philippines, i cried for the first few days, and i couldn't get over it for at least 2 weeks.. maybe this time round, there wasn't a lot of time for me to be alone and think back of the things that would probably make me cry.. had to go back to school the day after i arrived back in singapore, and today was another day spent in the orchestra practice.. but maybe at night, when i listen to the songs i've heard in bago, or when i look into the box filled with all the gifts they have given me, it will just bring back the memories and hmm..

now my fingers hurt, with the blisters.. the result of not practising the harp for almost 2 months.. but i would miss all my dear friends in bago more than the harp.. haha..

opened my letterbox when i came home from dinner, and saw a letter from WorldVision.. looking at the stamp that came from philippines, i was kinda excited.. haha.. the child that me and my friends sponsored wrote a letter! wow...

although the letter is simple, but i'm still touched when i read it.. one day, i will go back to philippines again, and will arrange to pop by Bohol and visit this adopted child of mine..

Jen Melfe, Savior.. just hope that she is doing better now, with the little help that we could offer..

Friday, January 13, 2006

i miss Bago..

i think i've gotten used to the life i've been living for the past month.. waking up at 8am, thought that nina's still around, most probably still sleeping.. thought papa, joy and tessa might be sitting outside the house right now..

i miss everyone.. tricia, bong, nonoy, remia, joseph, ryan, temogen, stephen, judee, karen, the mondia family, the office people..









i miss the things i used to do over there.. going around places with the whole gang in the van, playing games on the computer in tricia's office, talking to people, sitting down with the big kids in the house, going to the central plaza at night, watching people training for the babylan festival, teasing people..

now i'm alone in the house, it's even harder for me not to think of the days i was in Bago.. no more night strolling out the plaza, no more chatting with friends over there, no more watching of dances.. i wanted to call back or text back, but it would be very expensive for me.. i wanted so much to hear their voices again..

i will go back again..

Thursday, January 12, 2006

back in singapore..

ok.. i'm back le..

saying goodbye was hard.. and i was trying very hard to control my tears.. but i think i've matured, didn't cry that much, not like the last time.. haha.. but who knows, i may end up crying out loud tonight when i go to bed.. =P

woke up early in the morning, and the whole Matti family woke up too (even the sleeping beauty nina.. haha) to say goodbye.. Saldo, JiJi, Putol were there too.. will miss this wonderful family..

at the airport, with tricia, remia, nonoy, bong, ryan and stephen and franz.. haha.. stephen, only got to see him twice, and the second time was in the airport.. everything seems like the last time, except that joseph and temogen were not there.. and less 23 people.. yar lar, i did cry for a little bit.. but at least it wasn't like the last time.. almost 1 month spent there, how not to feel sad when i have to leave?

and there's always a first time for everything.. taking the plane myself to manila, then transferring to another plane.. but it wasn't that easy like in singapore.. i had to get a taxi to get to another terminal for my international flight.. -_-"" and the ninoy aquino airport was so crowded.. manz.. and when i say budget airline, it really shows the kiasu spirit.. people queueing up before 9.30am when the flight is at 12.50 pm.. -_-''' and things were taking a long time.. be it queueing up for check-in, to clear the immigration, or to pay for the airport tax..

waiting in the airport for 3 hours alone was hard too.. called ryan and tricia before i board the plane.. wahh.. that made me cry.. even papa's (tricia's dad) voice can make me cry.. man..

yar, budget plane is very small.. no leg space.. think those big size guys are going to have problems squeezing in.. but lucky to have the window seat lar.. and maybe the good thing about this plane is, i could get the magnificant view from the top, overlooking those beautiful islands and clear blue seas for more than 15 minutes after take-off..

slept for a while, reached singapore around 4.30pm.. called back to tricia again, and i got to talk to bong and nonoy..

yar.. and i'm still unpacking all my stuff.. too many things to settle too.. and i don't feel like going to school tomorrow.. still on the holiday mood.. arghh..

to all my dear friends in philippines, thank you very much for making my stay there a truly wonderful and enjoyable one.. =) will be back again.. =) and i will try buying the lottery.. haha..

Sunday, January 08, 2006

update..

hihi.. haa.. 4 more days to me going back to philippines.. starting to feel a bit reluctant to go back already..

the past few days were a bit hell for me.. having diarrhoea and vomitting.. eww.. having to go to the Bago City Hospital at night to see the doctor.. only to have my temperature, blood pressure measured, answered some questions, and then the doctor prescribed some medicine and asked me to drink Gatorade.. huh huh.. "no more fatty food", she said.. but that's gonna be tough, because the food here in philippines are all either barberqued, fried or oily.. haha.. so i'm going to stick to plain rice, with soup, bananas, apples and eggs.. and so now Bong cannot call me "tambok" (fat) anymore.. because i'm going to be "niwang" (thin).. hahahahha..

anyway, i went to distribute some of the old stuff to one elementary school in baranguay Du-lao.. this school does not have any electricity at all, so the classrooms do not have lights and fans installed.. the kids there are poor, to the extent that they do not have any uniforms, stationery of their own.. some of them are malnourished.. so we had some interaction, playing games and toys and stationery were the prizes.. then we distributed the clothes and some bags to them.. books were given to the principal, for her to do the suitable distribution..

i don't know how to describe the feeling when i saw them taking and trying out their new clothes, but i know it's not just my own effort.. without the wonderful friends i have, i don't think i can gather so much stuff to give them.. the "thank you" from the kids are also meant for all these wonderful friends.. =)

the next day i went back to the Bago City College again, to see students using the computers.. sadly, the computers we donated are still not able to be used, because of some poor power connection.. so they could only had theory lessons in that new classroom.. but i've seen some other computer lessons going on, and at least i'm glad that they are making full use of whatever resources available in there.. =)

was invited to be the guest for the elementary school day of the school in Du-lao (yes, the one i went distributing the old stuff).. haha.. very weird.. when they kept mentioning "Miss YuHui Pu, our Singaporean friend".. haha.. was even invited to crown the queen of the coronation event, together with the baranguay captain.. wahha.. yar.. i was "finally" being pulled into dancing the "pinoy" song.. wert.. haha..

then the rest of the day and the next day i was "grounded" in the toilet doing my cleansing of my digestive system.. yucks.. horrible.. even tricia is not letting me out of the house.. boring huh..

but now i'm feeling better lar.. so don't worry.. will be back very soon.. =)

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

happy new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

erm.. it's a very late greeting, but i was busy here lar.. with parties and going around places.. so it was eating and eating and eating, drinking and drinking and drinking..

dec 29 - tagged along to Bueno Aires, for a christmas party for the people in tricia's office.. swam in the super cold swimming pool there, and ate and ate and ate.. Bong brought his cute dalmation dog along.. night time was ktv-time.. and ryan and temogen suddenly popped out, and we guys sang like nobody's business.. haha..

dec 30 - a rest day.. wasn't feeling too well.. maybe i ate something wrong (see? that's the problem with eating too much)..

dec 31 - new year eve.. didn't go anywhere far.. went to church for a mass in the evening, and waited at home to welcome the new year with food.. yeah.. food again.. saw some fireworks after the mass.. though it wasn't very spectacular, it still made me go "wahh~~!!".. haha.. saw stephen on my way back.. =) he looked thinner, i guess he was too busy with his job in bacolod.. poor guy, having to work during holidays too..

jan 1 - new year.. food food and more food.. joined tricia's big family for a new year celebration.. played games with all the kids, suddenly became popular with them.. haha.. it was enjoyable.. =) but i popped over to the mondia's house for dinner, and somehow stayed there overnight.. haha.. drinking with the guys was crazy.. when all of them spoke consistently in "stone-stone english".. haha.. dadai carloy even became "english-less" for a few moments.. haha..

jan 2 - did my cheap manicure and pedicure there for only 50 peso.. home service.. haha.. now i know why manicures and pedicures are so expensive in singapore.. haha.. then went bacolod again with them, for another big family dinner.. haha..

jan 3 - went to this baranguay sagasa to visit a library donated by one of the villagers (the baranguay captain's sister) who is working as a nurse in the States.. although it was only a size of a room, it was very nicely done, and quite well-equipped with books.. and i was told that the students from the elementary and high schools in the baranguay benefitted alot from it.. the library is also open to the public, so it is well-used, i can say.. =) travelled to another city, La Carlota City.. along the way i went up a buffalo-cart, ate sugarcane.. then we went to the park where 24 of us went there last year.. the park with the statue.. yup.. when i saw the stairs where we took our pictures.. memories flooded back, and i almost teared.. (of course i didn't..)

jan 4 - went swimming in canonoy beach (in the swimming pool) in another city.. now in the office again, using the internet.. tsk tsk..

ok, that's all for now i think.. i'm going to do my work distributing old stuff tomorrow and visiting the bago city college again on friday.. will keep you guys updated.. haha..

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

stoopid air tickets again..

ok, i'm taking jetstar asia back to singapore, on the 12th.. which means i'm skipping the first 4 days of school..

postponed my tiger airways tickets till infinite, then maybe i will go thailand for a short holiday.. bleahz.. i hate tiger airways for not stating that Clark IS NOT in manila.. damn..

arghh.. but anyway i'm now in the bacolod robinsons shopping centre using the internet in the internet cafe (with no food allowed).. finally i can use MSN to chat for a short while..

oh man.. i only have a few minutes left.. got to go!

stoopid air tickets..

arghh.. think i'm gonna have a big problem here.. oh no..

i wanted to extend my stay here, because tricia wanted me to visit some of the schools here, so i was actually planning to extend till maybe 7 january.. BUT THEN... ... tiger airways doesn't have the flight on that day.. the earliest available flight is actually on the 12th.. *eyes popping out* oh man.. actually i don't really mind, but school starts on the 9th.. you know i always have perfect attendence.. bleah..

and then they told me that Clark, where tiger airways depart from philippines, is not in manila.. what the hell?!? NOT IN MANILA?? then why did they put manila in the destination in the first place?? my god.. and it's gonna be a 4-hour bus ride from manila to clark.. damn..

how how how how how?!?!?!

ok, but anyway, christmas was just over, but here christmas doesn't end.. parties still going on, and people make merry.. and so i was again eating and eating and eating, drinking and drinking and drinking.. ok, not drinking to the extent that i got drunk.. i was still awake and conscious of what was going on..

oh.. and i fired a real gun! haha.. can you believe it? a real gun with real bullets!! haha.. of course i wasn't trying to kill someone or some chickens (to eliminate bird flu).. i just shot a few times at the door in the backyard of the mondia's house.. carloy (mr mondia) was asking, "do you really want to fire a REAL gun?" and i was like.. yeah (nodding my head).. hahah.. and then i went to see all the titos (uncles) playing war games with their toy guns (that cost a few thousand singapore dollars) filled with ceramic pellets.. and of course i played with these toy guns too.. hahah.. maybe more about the war games when i come back..

arghh.. back to troubling over the air tickets again.. damn.. now i start to hate tiger airways..

Friday, December 23, 2005

christmas party

hi there again.. i'm actually here in mrs singson's house.. they are having a christmas party right now.. =) yup.. that's waipeng and dannies host family.. surprisingly they all still remember me.. haha.. gian has grown taller, and thinner.. jia is taller, and gem who i remembered him as the small baby, now has grown bigger and is running around like a big kid.. hahah..

so i'll staying at the mondia's house (my host family) and spending christmas with them.. =) oh... and tinee is a big gal now.. so as kaye.. haha..

yesterday was another day spent in tricia's office.. and attended their office christmas party at the community centre.. and now the whole government building knows i'm from singapore.. haha.. yup.. food food and more food.. i'm gonna get fat real soon.. played bingo too.. haha

and i finally got to see ryan (makilan) yesterday when i went carolling with him and joseph and some members from their church choir.. =) he's doing fine, working part-time in bacolod teaching dancing.. and he's got a bike! of his own! though he's paying for it by instalments.. but i'm so proud of him for being so strong.. =)

ok.. things here are so far so good.. =) it's gonna be parties parties and more parties to come.. hahah.. wishing you guys a very merry christmas, greetings from Bago City!

Thursday, December 22, 2005

hello there!

ello there again! =) i'm in tricia's office again using the internet.. hahah.. they are going to have a christmas party later, so i'm here again as their guest.. haha..

update update.. hahha.. 2 days ago (tuesday) i travelled south down the island of Negros, to Negros Oriental, to Dumaguete City.. the journey took us (me, tricia, remia, bong and nonoy) about 4 hours.. i woke up at 5am u know.. travelled past alot of cities and mucipalities.. hahah.. yup.. we stayed at this Santa Monica Resort near the beach Makati.. and yeah, i went swimming... in the pool in the resort.. hahah.. of course we went around the heart of the city.. erm.. not a very good experience, because the traffic there was horrible.. so many tricycles (that look different from those in bago) and cars and people.. there was even traffic police to control the jam.. -_-

dinner by the coast (not the beach..) was a different experience.. =)

yup.. so that was my trip to Dumaguete City.. haha.. so now i can tell the rest of the group, i have been to other parts of Philippines, other than Bago City, Bacolod and Cebu.. wahhaha..

oh oh.. about the computers in the Bago City College.. i went there on monday, but the college was almost empty because it's now the school vacation, only Dr Ramos there waiting for my arrival.. and the computers were no longer in that room, they were shifted to another classroom somewhere last week of november, which is air-conditioned.. so Dr Ramos showed me the way, and when i entered the room, i got a shock..

bigger space, with... ... ...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
new computer chairs and tables!!!

wahh.. isn't that good news? =) haha.. Dr Ramos told me that they still hold regular workshops (once a month) for the elementary school kids, and other these times, the room would be used by their own college students for their learning purposes.. make full use of the the computers.. =)

and i went to have a peek at the TLDC after visiting the college.. almost empty too, with tables and chairs in the dining room gone, beds gone too.. but there still remained a star that we bought during last christmas for the decoration.. hahah.. oh oh oh.. and the kitchen.. disappeared!!! hahah.. it was shifted to the area near the swimming complex.. haha.. so it really looked kinda empty behind the house..

oh man.. i miss the pavillion.. *sigh*

but TLDC has a new extension building, on the right of the TLDC development centre.. the Women and Children Crisis Centre.. =)

oh.. and i ate a whole lot of raw oysters yesterday for lunch.. and they were laughing at me, as if i've never seen so many oysters before.. haha..

and now the entire office know me.. hahah.. oh.. i finally get to see joseph!! i think he looks more handsome now.. wahaha.. with dyed hair and tanned skin.. woohoo~

ok, that's all for now i guess.. Ho Ho Ho~ Merry Christmas! =)

Monday, December 19, 2005

greetings from philippines!

mayong aga!! ;) hahah.. guess where i am right now.. in tricia's office!! hahah.. whee~

today's the 4th day of me in philippines, 3rd day in bago city.. currently staying in tricia's house, but will most probably move to the mondia's house for a few days, to celebrate christmas.. heheh.. =)

but i haven't get to see ryan (makilan), temogen, joseph and stephen.. i've only got to see my tricia and mama remia, bong, nonoy, julie.. and some of the familiar faces in the bago city government office.. erm.. hujie's foster mum, aline's foster mum, whoever's foster mums who work in the government office.. hehe.. you guys excited? i've helped you guys to send regards to them.. =) and of course they sent regards to you guys too.. =)

will be visiting the bago city college after lunch, to look at how the computers are doing.. but tricia told me that they are doing well, and they have workshops for the kids once every month.. glad to hear that..

hmm.. there are quite a lot of things i wanna share.. but i guess time is limited.. so i'll try to update if i can get internet access.. =)

so i hope you guys are doing fine over there in singapore, and enjoy the christmas weekend!! =)

*update: i just went to see the mayor.. wahaha.. every time i see her i feel stressed.. haha.. but she's still a nice and friendly person.. =) still waiting to check finish my email.. kinda slow..

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

christmas mood..

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is...
You

this may ring a tune to some (you guys know who you are =D) but this song is exceptionally special to me.. it brings back wonderful memories of us celebrating christmas in bago city last year..

listening to christmas songs right now.. i really don't know why i bought the christmas cds, subconciously i want to listen to christmas songs.. maybe somehow it will let me feel like i'm back in bago celebrating christmas with a bunch of wonderful friends..

sorry tricia and friends, for letting you guys worry about me.. rest assure that i will try my best to make my way back.. =) in such a way that i don't upset anyone of course.. =)

thanks to people who have been praying for me (i hope).. huijie, junbing, huiyan etc.. hugs to you people.. =)

back to me and my christmas songs..

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

end of exams..

yeah yeaH yeAH yEAH YEAH!! exams finally over!! time to rejoice!! with more tv, more movies, more shopping and more nice food!!

anyway, i was hooked to this game SUDOKU.. a maths game that sometimes requires a lot of brain cells.. happened to see SUDOKU game books in the book store earlier on.. and they cost... ... wah lao.. more than 13 bucks leh!! shoo expensive for a game book.. those normal word-finding puzzle game books only cost less than 5 bucks each.. i might as well go play the online *FREE* version..

but then again.. exams are over.. but i'm not happy.. because i still can't go philippines.. wah lao.. very frustrated lar.. arghhh...

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

happy birthday to me..

alright.. a very happy 20th birthday to me.. =)

many thanks to people who have sent SMSes, MSN, cards, emails, messages to wish me happy birthday.. =) heartwarming, i must say.. the funniest one goes to biyun.. the flash.. oh man.. haha..

did nothing much anyway.. as i've said before, i don't really celebrate birthdays.. it's not any important occasion or a public holiday (how i wish).. not in the mood anyway..

and so i find listening to my bubble-blowing in the pool therapeutic.. haha.. yar.. went for a swim.. took things off my mind for a while.. this time round no kids (good..) but young little gals playing in the pool and blocking my lane..

went to collect my new passport after that.. all the way to lavender, only to stay in that building for less than 15 mins.. oh well.. no mood for shopping anyway.. by the way, the new passport is only valid for 5 years instead of the old 10 years, for "security" reasons.. and i had to pay $50.. so expensive.. i pity those who go overseas only once in a few years.. luckily i still make my trip back to malaysia every year, to make the passport worth, and to collect my ang-bao money of course.. *grin*

ok ok.. no celebration, but i treated myself to..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


tho it defeats the purpose of me swimming 8 laps at a go.. but i need the coke..

anyway thanks to huijie and her mum for the old clothes.. =)

time to get back to the lab report.. sianz..

Sunday, November 13, 2005

birthday wishes..

ok ok.. i know my birthday is just 2 days away.. but seriously.. i don't really think i have the mood to do anything.. and sorry guys.. i know you all have been asking me what i want for my birthday.. but i really don't know what i want.. i mean, there are things that i will need to get, but these things just so happens to be quite a bit expensive.. and when i say expensive, they are over 50 bucks.. so i don't really expect you guys to get them for me.. =)

but i do have a few simple birthday wishes.. hopefully simple enough for them to be fulfilled..

1. get enough donated stuff to fill up the remaining 5 boxes
2. have the boxes safely shipped to bago city, to tricia (will be waiting for her good news)
3. no traffic fines (if you know what i've been worrying about)
4. make it through this semester
5. go back to bago city with no hiccups and mishaps

simple enough? i hope so..

but i guess i'm too restless to think about anything else.. too restless to do anything..

Thursday, November 10, 2005

biyun's birthday..

Happy Birthday Biyun!!



lots of muacks and hugs to this birthday gal who has been tolerating with my silly nonsense and non-stop grumbling for years.. haha.. i bet you must be very touched by the surprise cake and the present i've got for u.. haha.. *grins*

and this birthday cake did have its own story.. haha.. spinelli requires an order a day in advance for a whole cake.. tho they did offered me the choice of mix-and-match of different slices of cakes into one whole cake.. but it didn't sound appealing to me, even though one of the guys promised to make it as round as possible.. haha.. but anyway.. i bought this CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE RUMBA..


haha.. it was already half-eaten and turning soft when we suddenly thought of taking a picture of it.. but it tasted good.. haha.. lots of chocolate with a bit of rum in it.. hee.. heavenly eh..

and so, biyun, you are already in your 20s.. at least 5 days earlier than me *muahahaha*.. stay happy always, don't get too stressed over lab.. if not go whack fish when stressed.. haha..

k.. another update of the donated stuff (again).. i'm going to send out the 2 big boxes this weekend, and i'll need to go collect the other 5 boxes as promised by the other sponsor.. so again i appeal to people who are reading this.. GIVE ME OLD CLOTHES, TOYS AND BOOKS!!

tomorrow i need to run to many places to do many things, to collect the donated items.. too bad i can't use the car.. arghh.. i'm gonna burn a real big hole in my pocket.. eer.. why taxis are so ex... boohoo..

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

sesame street personality test..

took this sesame street personality test and i was hoping to be elmo but then... i turned out to be...

Kermit the Frog!!!

You scored 72% organization, 36% abstract, and 83% extroverted!

You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Kermit also likes to keep things neat. When he's a reporter he dresses up in his jacket and hat, and you rarely see him make a mess.

You both can be concrete thinkers. Kermit spends a lot of his time as a reporter collecting facts and teaching others. Sure he did sing "The Rainbow Connection," but that wasn't when he was on Sesame Street. You probably know what you want in life, and you have a real plan toward achieving it. You may have dreams, but like Kermit you don't let them control your decisions.

You are both extroverts. Kermit gets along with everyone. Sure a few folks annoy him, but that's just because they are annoying. Kermit likes to meet new people when he does his job as a street reporter. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.

haha.. to some extent it's true.. but i have a question.. isn't Kermit from The Muppet Show??

oh but anyway.. there's another cute website that caters to the sesame streets fans, or big kids who are still going ga-ga over it.. the
Sesame Street Encyclopedia... haha.. and u will come to realise there are lots more muppets featured in Sesame Street than we thought it would have.. and these muppets NEVER GROW OLD!! do they have any anti-ageing antidote for me?

here's some interesting facts i've found.. too many muppets for me to go through every single one of them.. haha..

1. Cookie Monster has a little sister, but she doesn't eat cookies but prefers fruits and vegetables..
2. the vampire Count Von Count has 2 girlfriends.. the current one is Countess Von Backwards, who counts backwards.. haha.. and Count Von Count is 1,832,652 years old!! my god..
3. Bert like the letter W, and he's the chairman of the 'National Association of W lovers'..
4. Snuffy's full name is Aloysius Snuffleupagus.. and his first debut was actually being Big Bird's invisible friend.. only to re-debut 14 years later as a visible big brown shaggy elephant..
5. Elmo's dad and mom is George and Gladys.. =D


i'm a big sesame street kid.. haha

Friday, November 04, 2005

primary school maths paper..

grrr.. still feeling frustrated.. long story.. better not type it out.. or i will end up clenching my fists and bang on the table..

anyway.. today's lecture was really useless.. nothing went into my head.. and guess what me and biyun did..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

i took out the practice papers meant for my tuition kid, and let biyun did it.. haha..

bo liao hor..

that's our mode of self-entertainment when we weren't paying attention to the lecturer.. haha..

pri. 2 maths.. and guess what biyun got?

no.. no full marks...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

only 93/100!! biyun.. time to revise your primary school maths?? haha..

thanks for the coke, biyun!! will continue to think of my birthday wish list.. haha.. oh.. i still want a hunk.. *grins*

on my way home, i met my primary school friend, peirong.. she lives just a few blocks away from mine, but we hardly get to see each other.. glad to see that she's doing well.. but she said i looked pale!! oh no.. look, what has all these studying has done to me.. maybe i should just burn up all my notes.. haha..

k.. enough of all this rubbish.. back to studying.. and thinking of ways to clear the stuff in my room..

Friday, October 21, 2005

brain-dead..

i've never woke up so early.. for this semester, that is..

had to go back to the mangrove today.. by hook or by crook.. i dun wanna wait till the weekend, when the low tide starts to get later and higher day by day.. and i dun wanna end up in the rain again.. and so i woke up at 6am.. though i was already half-awake by then.. didn't get a good sleep anyway.. restlessly made my way to kranji to meet huiyan and biyun..

luckily the clouds were nice to us.. no rain, in fact sunny... haha.. but then i hate the mud in the mangrove.. i mean, i like nature.. i like seeing small little animals crawling and digging into the mud.. but i hate it when the mud always suck in my slippers.. almost every step i took was energy-draining.. had to pull my feet (together with the slippers, of course) out and mud was splashing onto my back.. then i ended up walking barefoot on the mud.. heck, if i got bitten by crabs or anything sharp lurking in the mud.. luckily my soles are hard enough..

and so i managed to do some fieldwork a.k.a measurements.. i die die also have to do something.. i dun want to go back again, and neither do i have the time to do so..

then we had to go back to school for lecture.. me and biyun fell asleep outside the spinelli in the new admin block.. then got up to buy coffee to get us through the lecture awake.. well, it sort of worked.. but i still yawned throughout the lecture..

after that i came home, took (quite a long) bath and then off for 2 sessions of tuition.. and so now i'm brain-dead.. super brain-dead.. i need glucose to keep my surviving brain cells alive..

Sunday, October 16, 2005

bad weather..

wah lao.. everytime my field trip will end up raining.. this time round no exception either..

first thing in the morning, i overslept.. damn.. couldn't even hear my phone alarm beeping away, same goes for the numerous calls biyun and huiyan made.. arghh..

never mind.. went there and reached sungei buloh.. the reception there was real bad, made many calls and sms to both the gals.. but no replies.. so i waited around the lobby area, see what notes i can make/copy from there.. and then all those noisy aunties who were there for their own excursion were making a din manz.. hello??? you are supposed to keep the volume down in the nature reserve!!! they even cut my queue when i was in the toilet!! what the hell..

and then it started raining.. raining non-stop.. we can't get out to do any observations, so we were stuck in the lobby.. the only thing we could do was to have our lunch (it's expensive, by the way) and read some of the magazines and books provided in the resource/reading area..

and we waited till 4pm and the rain was still pouring.. and heck, we walked out of the place and walked the nature trail, trying to see what we could do.. so umbrellas out, but still got wet.. then we went down to the muddy mangrove to do a bit of measurements and picture-taking.. having to take the umbrella and camera and papers was a hassle, me and biyun ended up walking in the rain.. i only had my hat to block some rain out of my sight, but biyun was totally drenched.. but heck..

so in the end i didn't get to do anything related to the topic i planned to do.. *grrrr* now i have to find another day to go there again.. who's interested?? this time round, i'm going to the kranji reservoir to get into the mud..

Saturday, October 15, 2005

tired..

long day today.. went to school early to hand in my term paper, and then went for my harp practice which i didn't get to play the harp.. because a string broke.. manz.. dunno who did that.. and i hope it wasn't me, and i seriously think it wasn't me.. and my teacher wasn't here today, so...

anyway, did this test and it's quite accurate i must say.. haha.. tell me if it's really true.. haha.. those highlighted in red are those i think is somewhat true.. haha..

You like new ideas and concepts, but you prefer to discover them by yourself -- it is not easy for others to convert you to anything. You form your own opinions, but once you do form them, you then want to convince everyone else that they are correct. Try to be more tolerant of the opinions of others. You have a deep and abiding interest in science, mathematics, and the great social problems of the day. Very sympathetic toward the downtrodden, equality is your battle cry! You demand that those in authority be fair to all. You are an intellectual -- emotions and emotional people are difficult for you to understand. You are known for being calm, cool, detached and objective.
Intense and complex by nature, you have extremely strong emotional reactions to most situations. Feelings are often very difficult for you to verbalize. Therefore you have a tendency to be very quiet - - to brood and think a lot. You seldom get overtly angry, but, when you do, you are furious and unforgiving. When you make an emotional commitment, it is total -- you are not attracted to superficial or casual relationships. If you are challenged, you take it as a personal affront and tend to lash out and fight back in a vengeful manner. You love mysteries and the supernatural. A good detective, you love getting to the roots of problems and you enjoy finding out what makes other people tick. You are known to be very willful, very powerful and quite tenacious!
An idealist, you prefer the grand, the beautiful, the good and the noble. You get very disappointed when your high expectations in life are not met. Very curious by nature, you enjoy traveling and learning about other peoples and cultures. Try to avoid your tendency to ignore the small but important details of living. You are independent and free, and you want others to be that way, too. Optimistic, buoyant and cheerful, others like to have you around. You have an incessant desire to learn as much as possible about metaphysics, religion, philosophy and any other broad, deep subject. Your life tends to be punctuated by bursts of energy and frenetic activity.
Your mind is very curious and inquisitive, always seeking information on a wide variety of topics. The broader the subject matter (philosophy, science, religion, metaphysics), the more it will appeal to you. You prefer to deal with abstractions -- the small but important details associated with any subject tend to slip your grasp. You are known for being blunt, honest and truthful.
Your feelings about others are deep, powerful, intense and complex. When you like someone, you do so totally and obsessively if you do not like someone, they do not exist. Your faithfulness and loyalty to your lover is unquestioned, indeed at times it is too much so -- you get so possessive that you almost smother your partner. At times, your feelings are kept deep within you and, because they are so complex and intense, they frighten you -- this is the way that you try to ignore them. But the more you try to do this, the more explosive things get when you eventually do express them.
You are very aware of the need to cooperate with others in order to further any effort. You are usually willing to compromise with others, although you can be quite competitive in a friendly way. Very fair- minded and impartial, you have the ability to sense injustice and the desire to take corrective actions to make proper compensations. You see both sides of issues and questions, but you tend to be undecided or wavering when forced to make choices that might make you vulnerable or unpopular.
Your personal growth occurs when you have the freedom to do things in new and interesting ways -- this brings out your natural inventiveness. You are an individualist, but you are also attracted to mass movements that emphasize social betterment and you will devote much time and energy to their efforts. Very fair- minded and objective, you have extraordinary skills at organization and administration.
You tend to release emotional energies only very reluctantly. This is partly due to your fear of what horrible calamity might occur should they be released -- your emotions are terribly complicated and intense. Try not to repress these energies entirely, however, or you will succumb to negative and destructive forms of compulsive behavior. Give yourself the freedom to look awkward or silly once in a while. The relief you feel will be quite therapeutic and the embarrassment (whether it is real or imagined) will pass quickly.
You have the tendency to think that all ideas, customs and traditions from the past are outmoded and irrelevant. You are attracted to radically new ideas, philosophies and religions that will, hopefully, cause sweeping changes throughout the world.
You will idealize work, practicality and the ability to attain reasonable goals. But, because you will also stress the need to be selfless and giving, you may find it difficult to attain your goals unless you have lowered your expectations on all fronts.
It's not in your nature to seek out many casual acquaintances in your daily round of activities. You feel much more comfortable with a small, close-knit group of people -- those with whom you can relax and work toward known and clearly defined goals. Your loyalty to a person or group, once given, is forever -- you'll expend all of your quite considerable energy in seeing that the group stays together and prospers. You choose your partners and relationships so carefully that you're bound to gain certain advantages from them, including those of a material nature. Be careful though not to let mere self-service be your motivation in establishing your connections -- make sure that there's an even give-and-take!

comments?? haha..

Friday, October 14, 2005

fast week..

the weekend is here so fast.. and will be gone fast too.. i wouldn't say the week is exciting, but at least not so monotonous.. perhaps the term paper on funeral rituals keeps me busy and imaginative.. haha.. and all the food i've been eating.. ice cream, choco ice-cream shake, chocolates, spagetti, coke.. ain't getting me anywhere.. oops..

things to be done by the next few days...
1. hand in my term paper (finally..) tomorrow.. yeah.. no more readings on death and funeral rituals that got me paranoid for a while..
2. harp and orchestra practice tomorrow.. the 2nd last practice for this sem.. a loooonng day in school tomorrow..
3. try to finish the assignment on "dynamic light scattering".. shucks..
4. pester the sponsors for the shipment of the donated stuff.. argghh..
5. going Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve this sunday to do project on mangrove.. another day out in the sun (no rain please!!) and nature.. expected to be stung by lots of mosquitoes.. arghh..

by the way, i strongly recommend the movie FLIGHTPLAN.. it's a real good movie.. good plot, interesting and unexpected storyline.. haha.. i've a few movies waiting for me to watch.. but no time!! THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and DEUCE BIGALOW.. will tell you guys if they are worth your 8 bucks when i've watched it.. haha..

Saturday, October 08, 2005

cheese fondue..

today's a long but happy day.. with lots of laughter and cheese.. haha..

last night, cousin irene came down from KL and bunked in with me for a night.. she's here for the Cirque de Soleil's Quidam.. very long never see her le.. in fact i hardly know all my cousins from my father's side in malaysia.. she's the only closest i think.. haha.. had a long and nice talk with her.. too bad she's only here for a night, then she is joining her friends to watch the show.. but at least we had a late-breakfast-early-lunch at west mall's Mos Burger, before she left to go shopping in town and meet her friends.. maybe i'll go KL the next time round.. haha..

today's harp lesson was quite good.. the teacher taught me new stuff.. more new stuff this time round.. haha.. then i continued practising, even when it was orchestra-practice time.. haha.. so i practised for 2 more hours, until the tea-break time.. haha.. that explains why my fingers are real red and swollen now.. =P

then went to meet aline, waipeng, huijie and ryan for CHEESE FONDUE!! haha.. must thank ryan for being the driver lar.. but since i'm giving treat, so it's fair.. muahaha.. kidding.. so dinner was laughter, laughter and more laughter.. haha..




to tempt the rest of the people..


more temptation..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

awww... CHEESE!! cheese melted in swiss wine.. *drools..*

and somehow we ended up crapping with the boss of the SWISS CULTURE (yar.. the same restaurant.. =P) and the nice chat led to a complimentary TIRAMISU!!


and after eating the tiramisu we were still scooping the burnt cheese at the bottom of the pot.. haha..

this place is gonna be a come-back place for all of us.. good food, nice people.. =)

but then again.. i'll need to work out.. ate too much.. swimming tomorrow with biyun.. =P

Friday, October 07, 2005

bad dream..

think i'm too stressed out.. the bad dream really freaked me out..

was dreaming about me going to changi airport for my trip to philippines.. so along the way i realised i forgot to bring out my handphone and camera chargers.. i can survive without the phone, but i don't think i will without the camera.. so i had to call home to ask my brother to bring out the chargers, and rush out of the house (i think i told him i will pay for his cab fare..), cos i had a flight to catch.. hmm.. think it was a sunday.. heard my father over the phone..

anyway.. so i reached the airport.. i knew i was catching for the 3+pm flight, but i dunno why, i was going around asking where i can buy plane tickets.. manz.. this means i didn't buy any tics in the first place!! i remembered me not being able to buy a tic.. and so the dream continued, i can't remember what happened next.. and then i woke up..

freaky dream.. i wouldn't want this to happen when i'm going for my trip..

i'm sinking.. please pull me up.. or at least throw me a life-jacket or a float..

Saturday, October 01, 2005

field trip..

today's field trip was quite alright and interesting.. but then it rained!! my god.. having to carry the file, pen, camera and holding on to the umbrella is no joke.. luckily it only rained for less than half an hour.. learnt quite a lot of things today.. but when we reached to the last station (there were 3 stations, where each lecturer was in charge of their own area), it started to get sooo boring.. Dr Lu Xi Xi.. alamak.. don't know what's he talking about, didn't bother to pay much attention.. hahah.. was more concerned about the mosquito bites i got..

so when we were dismissed, me, huiyan and biyun had to walk out of the Pasir Ris Park and happened to pass by a carnival for OCBC's family day.. tempted by the smell of popcorns, we walked into the carnival, trying to pass off as somebody related to OCBC.. haha.. and we were "kopping" free food!! haha.. free candy floss!! free pop corns!! free drinks!! haha.. too bad the photos are with huiyan.. then we also bought the $1 ice cream from the ice-cream uncle.. =) since when do you get to have a field trip with such enjoyment?? haha..

and so me and huiyan were contemplating whether to come back for our CO practice, and it so happened that BK was giving us a lift, so we came back.. but.. i was too lazy and tired to play my erhu, and i sneaked off to meet aline and waipeng at suntec.. hahah..

had dinner, walked around.. and ended up at the SWISS CULTURE place again.. for?? CHOCO FONDUE!! =)

this time the layout of the fruits was different.. haha..

after trying to finish off the whole pot of chocolate, we decided to go into Toys 'R' Us to look at some halloween play stuff.. and this was what we were getting into..
want some more??

and each "head thing" costs $24.95.. duh.. enough to have our pictures taken..

we also tried our luck at those soft-toy-catching-machines.. too bad we wasted our 2 coins..

i'm looking forward to cheese fondue!!! whee~~~

Saturday, September 17, 2005

harp lesson..

ouch.. my knees and fingers hurt.. first time practising and learning the harp, explains why my fingertips are so red and painful.. although playing the harp seems like a graceful thing, but then.. it's so damn heavy, and having to use my knees and right shoulder to support that instrument cause aches and pain.. luckily the teacher is nice.. and so now i advanced from the stage of learning plucking the strings one at a time to the stage of playing arppegios (if you know what that means)..

aiya.. but damn tired today lar.. think i was too high yesterday..

Saturday, September 10, 2005

my new love..

this is going to be my new love.. =)

yeah.. i'm going to learn the harp!! haha.. managed to gather some courage to ask the teacher teaching the harp in the orchestra if she was willing to accept any new students.. and she gladly accepted my request!! haha.. initially i was scared of being rejected.. but since now i can learn the harp, so i have to put in extra time and effort.. which means, i'm getting busier!! haha..

and so from this coming week onwards, my saturday mornings are going to be filled with melodious music from the harp.. eer.. that's when i have mastered it, of course.. hehe..

Thursday, September 08, 2005

chocolate fondue again!

isn't this picture tempting?? is it making you salivating?? haha..

yeah.. it's the choco fondue from SWISS CULTURE, at suntec =).. it was damn nice.. much much better than the one at anderson's ice-cream.. heh.. the serving is definitely larger, and the chocolate is in liquid state.. not coagulating at all.. haa.. are you guys drooling yet?? =P

it was great seeing huijie, aline and waipeng again.. haha.. especially "little tiger".. haha.. really long time no see.. huijie!! must jia you for ya prelims and the coming A levels k?? and ya art coursework too.. =) everything will be over soon!! *pats on your shoulder*

ooh.. i am getting stressed too.. realised that there are tests next week.. and i am not getting my engine starting yet.. die lar..

Sunday, September 04, 2005

chocolate-coated ice cream mooncake..

guess what.. my dad was again trying new stuff in his haven kitchen.. and the product of the day is... chocolate-coated ice cream mooncake.. whaha.. just like those sold in swensons.. but then.. the chocolate tasted weird.. ahem.. haha.. but there are some presentable ones still.. so it wasn't a total flop.. =P

so.. any orders?? haha..

Monday, August 29, 2005

satisfaction..

for once (in a blue moon) i get some satisfaction from being a teacher.. haa.. that's when i get to see improvements in my students' results.. haha.. was a bit shocked when my student's (the primary 2 tom-boy girl) mum told me she scored 97/100 for her maths, and was top her class.. haha.. never expected her to do so well.. =)

but today's was tiring lar.. dunno why.. was struggling to stay awake while giving 2 sessions of tuition today.. maybe it's the hot weather that makes me feel sleepy.. shall go high on chocos later.. hahah..

Sunday, August 21, 2005

the three treasures..

here's something i've read in the newspaper this morning.. it may seems a bit religious to some people, but i guess that it actually applies to everyone.. food for thought.. =) (again it's in chinese.. so.. haha)

三宝。。
宗教的三宝:佛, 法,僧
大自然的三宝:阳光,空气,水
说话的三宝:请,谢谢,对不起
处世的三宝:谦虚,礼貌,赞叹
修养的三宝:安静,慈祥,沉稳
家庭的三宝:欢喜,幽默,体贴
客厅的三宝:书橱,盆花,壁画
齐家的三宝:和气,和乐,和平
饮食的三宝:均衡,节制,感恩
健康的三宝:步行,少欲,气和
睡眠的三宝:要放下,不忘想,吉祥卧
旅行的三宝:增广见闻,安全欢喜,简朴节约
理财的三宝:确立预算,开源节流,勤俭正当
护理的三宝:同体慈悲,喜悦乐观,医术正确
医生的三宝:医能,医德,医通
商人的三宝:童叟无欺,品质保证,信誉卓立
学问的三宝:活用,广博,实在
治学的三宝:勤读,勤写,勤思
学习的三宝:谛听,接受,思维
交友的三宝:诚信,正值,贡献
人心的三宝:真实,善良,宽容
治国的三宝:爱民,助民,利民
求职的三宝:专长,礼貌,勤奋
和长官相处的三宝:服从,忠贞,说是
僧侣的三宝:慈悲,庄严,威仪
父母的三宝:教养,负责,荣耀
儿童的三宝:天真,活泼,乖巧
女士的三宝:青春,健美,气质
男士的三宝:英武,信德,才能
老人的三宝:不倚老卖老,不眷恋往事,不怨天尤人

Friday, August 19, 2005

a trip down to JB..

supposed to teach 2 sessions of tuition after school today, but i couldn't resist the temptation and getting psycho-ed by aline and yihui.. so i went JB!! haha..

well.. it was supposed to be a YEP outing to JB for a seafood feast.. but then.. it turned out that only a small group of people who were going, but we still went on with it.. and so only me, ryan, yihui and junqian turned up.. haha.. supposed to meet up with aline and waipeng who went in earlier, but then they were the ones who told us that the seafood restuarant that we were going was closed.. for the 15th day of the seventh month (sounds a bit inauspicious).. so they went forward with their own plans while the 4 of us settled for a long and nice dinner at Secret Recipe in City Square.. the dinner was filled with lots of laughter.. manz.. and we were all tired from laughing.. haha..

but i want my seafood!! black pepper chilli crab and grilled chilli stingray!! arghh..

Monday, August 08, 2005

first day of school..

today's the first day of school.. after a long holiday (though i'm still in the holiday mood).. had 2 lectures today, but i wasn't really listening.. was half-stoneing and yawning away.. haha..

saw friends that i've not seen since the last semester.. saw familiar faces, and a lot of new faces.. all the year 1 students.. manz.. i'm in year 2 now.. time really flies eh..

happened to see yupin in jurong point while i was looking for the glue for my jigsaw puzzles.. haven't seen her for ages.. since we graduated from JC i guess.. haha.. but it's still the same old yupin.. haha..

suddenly i feel nostalgic.. haha..

Saturday, July 23, 2005

birthday party..

went for melissa's birthday party earlier on.. together with some YEP mates.. and i just got home.. quite tiring, the journey back home was quite long.. it was at changi, but was thankful that ryan drove me home..

it was fun seeing them.. especially for some whom i have not seen for quite a period of time.. like anna, meiyee, luke.. it was like a mini-YEP gathering.. haha.. hopefully we will still be close even after years.. haha..

was thinking about birthday parties.. i never really had a birthday party before.. only when i was young, when i don't know what's happening in the world.. and i never really had a birthday cake ever since primary school days.. but i'm really glad there are people out there remembering my birthday, giving me surprises occasionally (just like last year's, when kaiwen and aline & co. popped 2 birthday cakes out for me.. haha).. but for most of the time, it was only me and myself on my birthday.. for me it's just another normal day, just that i will be older every year.. and i guess i won't have a celebration on my 21st birthday.. because my birthday will always be in the midst of exam preparation.. oh well.. glad to know that there are people out there who remember me as a friend..

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

another day..

today was kinda happening.. with good things and bad news.. hmm.. let's talk about the good ones first..

yar.. shujun's back from australia! but leaving tomorrow night.. haha.. went to meet her and rosanne in town after work.. =) i think she's one of the luckier people i've known.. able to study abroad with full support from parents.. sigh.. how i wish i could be like that too.. oh well.. took neoprints (the last time i took was like ages ago..) and went home.. haha.. because i wanted to catch MANHUNT!! haha.. managed to get a necklace for my thai friend too, and i would need the help of tingting to pass it to her during her holiday in thailand.. hehe.. hope that she would like it.. =)

and now the bad one.. keep hearing people getting hospitalised, dying.. and i just got the news today that ryan's (the one in philippines) mum has passed away last month.. it's a sad thing to hear it, especially when it was from his friend, temogen..

he has been very strong.. he was trying very hard to earn and save money for his mum's medical fees.. yet perhaps lady luck wasn't on his side.. he lost his job as a teacher in january, unable to find another job.. only depends on teaching dance to earn maybe a wee bit of allowance.. and he has a family to take care of.. and he was the one who encouraged me to keep on smiling..

i was speechless for a moment.. i wished that i could help him in one way or another, i wished that i could be there in philippines right now.. to be by a dear friend's side, encouraging him.. just like the way he used to encourage me.. but the only thing i could do is.. to send messages to him every now and then.. hoping that he would cheer up..

i guess he won't be seeing this.. but i really hope that he could get over the loss of someone close to him, continue to lead his life as he would, continue to be strong and keep on smiling.. and i know he will, and he can.. =)

at least i know now that he's alright, and found his love.. =) i'm happy for him.. hope that he's smiling right now..

Monday, July 11, 2005

japanese drama..

manz.. i miss watching japanese dramas.. don't u people find japanese guys cute?? haha.. but that's not the main point.. haa.. i'm more of a j-pop person rather than a k-pop one.. so u hardly get to catch me watching those soapy korean dramas.. haha..

anyway, back to the topic.. yar.. i miss watching japanese dramas.. it has really been a long time since i really follow a jap drama all the way.. blame it on the irregular lifestyle i'm leading.. tsktsk.. so i was watching this "Emergency Room 24 Hours" earlier on.. reminds me of the days when i used to go ga-ga over japanese guys.. haha.. but i really enjoy watching jap dramas, especially those related to the medical field.. =) the only time i can continue dreaming about my aspirations.. haha..

yar, don't laugh.. i wanted to be a doctor.. too bad my results are too sucky (partly because i'm the lazy type) and that makes me jealous of the doctors and i can only dream of being one, like those in the dramas.. haha.. sometimes the story plots could be very-the-drama, but i think they just wanted to bring out the sense of hope and love in everyone.. =)

maybe i'll try geting to somewhere near my aspiration, perhaps by being a health-care worker.. but i really don't know what lies in front of me.. it all depends.. i really don't know.. think my future looks bleak.. i just want to go on more expeditions around the world helping the poor.. possible?? hmm...

Sunday, July 10, 2005

into another frenzy..

school has yet to start.. CORS bidding has yet to begin.. but we, the life science students are into another round of frenzy..

we have just received an email telling us our allocated modules.. because we were divided into 2 different groups, taking different core modules, so we assumed the groups will remain unchanged until the 3rd year when we start to choose our areas of concentration.. but then.. it didn't turn out that way!! some of the people in my group whom i know got the modules different from me.. biyun got the same modules as me, but kareen and mark got the other modules.. damn.. sucky siah..

luckily i managed to find someone willing to mutual swap with kareen.. if not us the 3 musketeers would be separated.. =P.. but everything's not confirmed yet..

arghh.. i hate the school system.. bleahz

Monday, June 20, 2005

back..

i m back.. =)

4 days spent in malaysia.. 3 days in ipoh and 1 day in penang to be exact..

16 june - reached ipoh early in the morning.. nicole's mum came to fetch us.. had dim sum for breakfast, headed home, slept for a few hours (i was unable to sleep on the bus.. >_<).. woke up and ready for shopping! haha.. went JUSCO, then had dinner with nicole's parents and her aunt.. the ipoh hor fun and stir-fried "tow gay" (bean sprouts).. went back, watched cable tv (yar.. and my free movie for the day.. haha)..

17 june - went up to penang, taking the 8.45am bus.. near 3 hours of the journey, catching some sleep on the bus.. had a look of the lab of the university there, and thank god NUS is much much better.. bought lunch and went to nicole's rented house to put our stuff and watched another movie there.. haa.. sent nicole's friend to the airport, then another shopping spree at Gurney Plaza.. went back to the house, and had a swim there.. then we went to stay over at my auntie's house (nicole's room was small and no air-con.. haha) and had supper and my aunt drove us around the town area.. went back and watched another movie with nicole and my cousin, mingfu.. he's super active manz.. if he were my student i will have another headache dealing him.. haha.. and we slept at 5+ in the morning..

18 june - rushing for the afternoon bus back to ipoh.. overslept.. haha.. then went shopping at PARKSON.. coincidentally the last malaysian idol finalists were having an autograph session and lots of people were there, screaming their heads off.. duh.. i hate huge crowds.. and kids.. haha.. then had steamboat buffet for dinner with my "da gu" (father's sister) and my auntie and cousins and nicole's parents.. then went my da gu's house for a while, then went back home, another free movie and was trying to complete a 1000-pieces jigsaw puzzle with nicole.. ended up falling asleep around 6+ in the morning..

19 june - last day in malaysia.. went to a cave with my 2 cousins (xiang and jie) to walk around, but ended up playing the swing.. haha.. i am a kid myself =P.. yar and my auntie bought a lot of local products for me.. manz.. so i had to make use of the spare bag i've got and the food alone already took up 3/4 of the space.. sheesh.. dinner with my relatives again before me catching my bus home..

quite an enjoyable trip, spending my time shopping and visiting my relatives.. wanna go for another trip down to my "home town".. it will be great to see all my relatives gathering together.. then it will be a very huge gathering.. =)

oh well.. had quite a bit of "achievements" over there.. bought quite a number of things.. and i am nice enough to buy some stuff for my little baby cousins my bro.. and the snacks i brought back should be enough to feed the family for a week.. =P

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

reasons why i should remain in switzerland..

10 reasons why i should have stayed back in switzerland and not coming back..

1. air-con temperature everyday - it's soooo hot back here!! manz.. will get sweaty all over even with the fan blazing in the living room.. not mentioning getting out of the house.. arghh..

2. the starting salary over there is heard to be about 5000 bucks - manz.. wonder how long i need to slog my life before reaching that..

3. sports car all over the streets - i could be one of the owners if i start working there with that high salary..

4. no gastric pains, no stomach upsets when i was there - kena diarrhoea when i came back.. what a luck..

5. close to nature - mountains, snow, lakes and huge grasslands just a drive away.. that's the kind of life i want.. able to lie on the grass sky-gazing..

6. it's a choco haven!! - chocolates everywhere.. nice chocs i mean..

7. cheap chocs - those liquor kinds are much more cheaper than in singapore.. sheesh..

8. cute guys - i see them more than in singapore.. arghh.. where have all the cute handsome guys went to?!?

9. easier to tour around europe - well.. kinda obvious right.. since switzerland is surrounded by germany, france, italy blah blah blah..

10. cute dogs all over - it's a dog haven there too.. huge, hairy, small, cute.. all sorts of dogs.. and the best thing is, they are sooo disciplined!! no leashes needed!! they can go shopping, onto trams, boats, trains.. manz..

now i want to find a swiss boyfriend..

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

back from switzerland..

i am back!! haha.. just touched down earlier in the evening.. so far still alright.. didn't feel much of a jet lag right now.. =) yar.. this will be a long story.. haha..

29th may - departed singapore for Zurich in switzerland.. aline, waipeng and ryan came to send me off.. haha.. *thanks pals..* flight was 9.15pm, on swiss air.. a 13-hour flight.. manz.. quite tiring.. given that you were stucked to the same seat for such a long time.. and some of the movies provided by the airplane i have already watched them.. so for most of the time i was listening to oldies on the plane.. haha.. =) realised that the flight attendants on swiss air are quite old.. hmmm...

30th may - reached Zurich at their time 7am.. 6 hrs behind singapore time.. so we had some free time roaming the place ourselves, other than having to have lunch and dinner at the hotel.. tried their mode of transportation, which was the tram.. and their tickets were sooooo ex!! manz.. a one way trip costs 2.40 franc (about SG$3.40) and a 24-hr unlimited ticket costs 7.60 franc.. wow.. super ex siah.. so we went exploring the central area (with the railway station) for a little while before lunch.. and saw lots (really LOTS) of teddy bears all over the place.. haha.. some teddy bear festival thingie.. then back to the hotel for lunch and out to the Lake Zurich to explore further.. up the boat then we realised that we bought the wrong ticket (made me wasted another 7.60 franc) and had to get off the next stop.. oh well.. better than having to spend 1.5 hours on the boat just to tour around Lake Zurich.. haha.. then we walked along the main shopping street again, doing mostly window shopping, cos the things there are generally more expensive.. =( then back to the hotel for dinner, and rested for the night.. haha.. slept like a pig.. need to recover from the horrible sleepless night on the plane.. haha.. by the way the sun over there works from 4.30am to 9.30pm..

31st may - went out to the central area again with helen, my roomie, early in the morning.. realised that the kiosks can be a cheap shopping area too.. hah.. anyway was trying to see if there were anything there were buyable.. haha.. then back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal + performance at the ETH, the school where we were performing.. had lunch in the school.. and the canteen was sooo high tech.. even the returning-tray-area was automated!! manz.. anyway the performance wasn't up to our usual standards, partly because it wasn't a proper hall (it was only a foyer area) and the space was quite small.. so we ended up cramping together.. duh.. anyway met some singaporeans who were working in Zurich after the concert.. somehow it felt great seeing fellow countrymen.. haha.. (sounds patriotic huh.. =P) was dead beat at the end of the day..

1st june - went to another city of switzerland, Lucerne.. took a 1.5 hr boat ride to Pilatus, where we took the steepest train ride up to Mount Pilatus.. it was cold up there and saw a bit of snow.. *brrrr* chatted with a german couple up there.. haha.. as usual.. took pictures, "vandalised" and left my mark there.. haha.. our lunch was there as well.. the long-awaited rosti and sausage!! haha.. then we came down by cable car.. went back to Zurich after that.. along the way, there was a traffic jam.. so i was stone-ing looking out of the coach window.. then there happened to be a car with funny guys in there.. haha.. the driver was winking, smiling, blow-kissing.. haha.. as if he never get to see an asian "beauty" before.. whahaa.. too bad i missed it and didn't managed to get a picture.. haha.. after dinner at the hotel, we rushed out again to buy chocs at co-op.. haha.. not the nus co-op.. it's actually COOP (but we are used to pronouce it as co-op.. haha) and it has its own supermarket (like our NTUC), petrol station.. as most of the shops close at 6pm or 8pm, COOP closes at 9pm, so we went chiong-ing to buy chocs there.. =P then we had to pack our luggage cos we would be moving from hotels to hotels after this..

2nd june - went to Mount Titlis.. it was colder than Mount Pilatus, and was covered with snow!! whee~~ i was walking on snow!! took the ice flyer and played snow sledge!!! haha.. manz.. once in a lifetime.. *grinz* and i got burnt by the sun.. =P down the mountain by cable again, and when walking around the central area of lucerne.. where we stayed for the night.. went to climb some towers and visited the church there.. met a singaporean couple there too.. haha.. such a coincidence eh.. then went to this high-class shop called BUCHERER.. where we could collect ROLEX spoon with our voucher.. haha.. anyway bought some chocs from there, and because we could have our 7% tax rebate by spending over 300 franc, 9 of us combined all our stuff and we spent a total of 680+ franc.. and it was all under my name.. haha.. for a while i felt like a rich kid.. haha.. but then i had a hard time doing the calculations after dinner.. oh well.. i can't seem to avoid money matters everywhere i go eh..

3rd june - went to another landmark of Lucerne, the dying lion.. next we went to the capital of switzerland, Berne.. stopping by a rose garden for a rest.. at Berne, we took pics of the main parliament building, the Zytgologgeturum, the wide alley pathway, the house where einstein used to stay, the Bern bears, and the Munster church, where we went climbing up the clock tower.. took us 220+ steps up.. manz.. tiring.. then we went off to another city, Interlaken, where the famous Jungfrau mountain is.. went to visit Trummelbachfalle hidden in the caves.. wow.. magnificent.. the sound of the water was really like thunder.. and filled my water bottle with the clear cool water falling down from the fall.. =P after dinner we had some local delights.. the FONDUE!! we had cheese and chocolate fondue, which was eaten with bread and fruits respectively.. the owner and his partner were really entertaining.. 20 franc for such great food (with refills requested.. haha) and great entertainment.. it was worth it.. =P

4th june - set off to this little town called Zermatt.. this town is unique, that other than bicyles, and the small little four-wheeled vehicles hotels used to transport luggages and people, no other vehicles could be seen.. haha.. fresh pollution-free air.. =P some of my CO mates went up the Matterhorn (another snow-capped mountain) but the entrance + transport fees up the mountain was way too expensive (72 franc, SG$100) so me and helen chose to walk around the town instead.. went to some churches there, and some window-shopping.. =)

5th june - only journey back to Zurich.. it was our last day in switzerland.. on the way back we past by this old town Sion and Montruex, stopping by the castle of Chillon.. had lunch at Zurich, then went to the central area (again) for some last minute shopping.. by the way, most shops close on sundays, so we tried our luck at the underground shopping area beneath the railway station.. managed to buy 2 pairs of earrings.. haha.. and got myself a soft toy dog at the machine that has the metal claws to grab the toys (if you know what i mean).. helen got one too!! what a luck.. haha.. got it at the second try.. haha.. so it's only 2 franc!! haha.. then we tried looking for the catholic church in the town, but we went to 2 other churches instead.. but it was still an eye-opener.. lastly, we went back to ETH to collect our instruments.. but the doors were locked, so we had to wait for quite some time for the security guard to open the door.. meanwhile i went around taking pictures of flowers.. haha.. then we left Zurich for Singapore at their time 10.25pm..

6th june - another 13 hours on the plane, had some white wine to make me more sleepy.. haha.. watched movies to kill time.. anyway the tv on the plane allows passengers to get a view from the cockpit.. interesting eh.. =) anyway we touched down.. and now we are back home..

it was an wonderful and eye-opening experience.. nice weather, slow pace of life.. great to have a big bunch of people travelling together too.. it would be nice to go there again in future.. taking one's own time enjoying every step looking at the different kind of life, instead of rushing from place to place.. kinda feeling a bit nostalgic here.. haha..

end of one journey.. hoping to embark on another..

my dog and helen's dog.. haha

the castle of Chillon..

Matterhorn from my hotel room.. hee

tombstones of climbers who died while conquering Matterhorn..

the only form of transport in zermatt other than bicyles..

choco fondue!!

COOP!!! haha

rainbow across the Trummelbachfalle..

at the top of the Munster church..

isn't it cute?? at the rose garden..

the dying lion of lucerne..

the famous wooden walking bridge of lucerne..

i conquered mount titlis!!

snowy mount titlis!

rosti and sausage!!!!

yuhui and helen were here on mount pilatus!

the german couple on mount pilatus..

lake lucerne..

teddy bear!! this is only the one out of dunno how many hundreds or thousands of them..

their tram..