Of Everything Beautiful.

Japan.

2008-01-04T00:50:00.000+08:00

The end of 2007 marks my graduation from three and a half years in SMU. Graduation holidays in Tokyo and Kyoto for winter. In love with the red of the leaves, winter chills, tradition and temples, kimonos and random spotting of Geisha, perpetual dozing off on Japanese subways, and Burberry, Burberry and Burberry.

That River.

2007-09-24T00:04:00.000+08:00

A year ago from the beginning of everything and my perpetum. My whispers to that shooting star caught in the wind of the night. And so I shall remember, every single murmur and smile that night. For that night, I was truly blithe.

Exactly One Year Ago.

2007-08-20T00:53:00.000+08:00

Exactly one year ago, I left for Germany.

And met somebody that changed my life so much.

Moments. From Summer.

2007-08-18T00:12:00.000+08:00

Times so fleetingly transient. Yet the happiest that has been offered to me since the start of the year. If days to come are to be about tears and bitterness again, at least there were smiles and laughters in between.

Summer was not entirely about tears after all.

Tired.

2007-07-16T02:06:00.000+08:00

Every morning these days, I wake up feeling angry at this world. For everything that I have and have not. Why is it that despite everything and anything, I still feel mad at whatever it is in my life right now?

I want to not feel this way anymore.

These Days.

2007-06-17T22:22:00.001+08:00

Feeling kind of mindfarked of late. These days, all it takes is a word, a phrase or a song and I start to cry. All over again. Incoherently vulnerable. I hate the urge to cry all the time. This feeling is all too familiar and I hate that here I am, once again. I look forward to the next time when nothing in my life matters anymore. And now it will only be sweet escapes every now and then to keep myself going.

************

Sugar high at Shangri-la and then to China's. I love the multi-level connections between us. It is not everyday that you meet well-travelled Singaporeans. And I just cannot wait for the next time.

Lousy.

2007-06-14T03:19:00.000+08:00

The fatigue has set in already. Barely past my halfway mark and I am ready to call it quits. I hate being screamed at by traders. I hate having to deal with unruly clients. I hate being treated like the lowest life form on earth. I hate having to work London hours. I hate having to work 12 hours a day. And worse of all, I hate myself for feeling depressed once again.

So out of the blue that I start to feel this way again. For a moment, I thought the time has come when I see more rainbows than thunderclouds these days. Now it is back to those days again.

I am so overworked and tired. I wanna stop crying myself to sleep about everything and anything in my life right now.

Royal Copenhagen!

2007-06-05T14:33:00.000+08:00

Weekends are ever so precious. Only time for the most beautiful things. High tea for dinner at Royal Copenhagen. Brings back those good old memories in Denmark. The closest I will ever get to the Queen are those scones and china. Pretty stuff.

These Days.

2007-05-24T03:08:00.000+08:00

I love what I am doing at work right now. My boss is nice and so are my colleagues. Bumbling around the office learning new stuff on the job daily and being treated seriously takes my mind off issues.

But coming home at 3am in the morning can be downright depressing. It will be sleep for the very rare few hours before heading off to work again. 0115 hours. Oh no. I have been sitting here for the past four hours and I am still not done. 0140 hours. Hurry, hurry. My head hurts terribly. I just wanna go home and tuck myself under my fleece now. 0200 hours. Why am I pouting at the LCD screen every other day? 0230 hours. Done for the day. Its home now. I think I have clocked in a new record.

Yet despite everything, I still love my work. Sleep has become so much easier these days. And issues seem so distant nowadays. I like it the way it is.

Jaded.

2007-05-16T00:39:00.000+08:00

I hate having to work London hours. The soaring towers and illuminated skyscrapers against the city backdrop only serves to make me feel even more alone than ever. And all of a sudden, I am afraid. Very afraid that everybody in my life will start to forget about me. One by one.

My body is so going to take a toll on me someday. Late nights and my vice. Yes, my body is suffering from my one and only vice. Yet it is times like this when I just want to reach out for that glass of wine to knock myself out.

Stars. Me. And You.

2007-05-12T03:17:00.000+08:00

I have grown so attached to the stars. Everytime I walk along the streets at night or enjoy the dazzling beauty from the left side of the seat, I tell myself that they belong to me.

And when I look up at the skies, there is only one person at that moment whom I miss so very much.

Nobody.

2007-05-10T16:11:00.000+08:00

And now, I realise that nobody in this farking world cares about me or loves me at all. Nobody.

Come, Hong Kong!!

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

My flight is at the dawn of tomorrow morning yet here I am dilly-daddlying, half-packed as usual. Heading down to the bustling city that never sleeps. So looking forward to the coming days of sights, sounds and shopping. And most of it all, I am looking forward to seeing again two people after a long five months. Come, Hong Kong and I shall see you again.

What I Miss.

2007-05-02T00:07:00.000+08:00

I miss those times when we just lie there and do nothing but nothing. I miss those times when I lay beside you and start dreaming about our day. I miss those times when you tell me that you love my eyes for it is without makeup and it all.

I miss those days when despite anything and everything, I still wanna be by your side.

For everything that goes on from there, I understand. I really do.

What I miss so very much.

Of Death. And Dying.

2007-04-28T16:44:00.000+08:00

I feel so out of the world today. Woke up with this feeling that I am dying. My heart was racing so fast yet my energy was lack-lustre. The thing that bothered me was how I was so not afraid of death.

The same few thoughts kept racing through my mind. How long would it take for my parents to discover that I am dead? Would my friends know that I am dead? What would people say at my wake? Will my sisters distribute my belongings equally among themselves? What would happen to my bed, pillow, stuffed bears and puppy? Would my parents bury them along with me or will they keep them to remember me? Will anybody still remember me if I ever die?

Silly as it sounds. I woke up and wrote a very long page in my diary about finality. If I ever die, my final thoughts would still be there. Ever since I was a kid, I have always had the feeling that I am going to die young.

The thought of this might seem ludicrious but I think I am ever more prepared for my curtains down. Really.

Alcohol High!

2007-04-26T15:15:00.000+08:00

Even those myriad of lights and my intoxicated slumber could not hide those feelings bubbling in me for the many past few months. It was you and always will be you.

It was alcohol high last night. A tower of Scottish beer and 1 1/2 bottle of whiskey later rendered us happy folks once again. Dinner at Japanese restaurant, Waraku with Elise, Vic, GT and Tina before heading down for drinks. We bar-hopped for awhile before settling on the Pump Room and MoS. At the Pump Room, we had a bewildering tower of beer which amounted to 3.5 litres.
With a considerably lighter head, we walked over to MoS where the couple, Vic and Elise opened 1 1/2 bottle of whiskey. We went to the White Room and they decided to cancel our reserved sofa-bed because we were not whites. Haha. Just kidding. Tina left early and we needed at least one extra person to get our sofa-bed so GT picked up two Irishs*. Heh. GT loves Clarke Quay for all the white men that he gets to ~~lust~~ gawk at.

*Urphs. Apparently both of them are Irish. One of them worked in East Timor and is not from there. Haha.

Till the next time, girlfriends.

Summer. And the Beginning.

2007-04-15T00:55:00.000+08:00

Last of the exams. Summer break is here.

I thought I would feel happy again. But you know, all these times that you have to yourself kind of makes you feel depressed at the same time. For all that I have been through the past weeks, I wish you knew. But things are always better left unsaid. It always work this way. The harder you try, the more out of reach it becomes.

Read through some of my past blog entries. Where has that vivacious and cheerful girl gone? You tell me. If growing up takes away all my smiles and laughter, I don't wanna grow up that fast afterall.

Summer. Make me happy again.

Slumber.

2007-04-08T02:19:00.000+08:00

Amazing how little sleep I have been getting by of late. 0530hours. Get some sleep, Huiling. 0630hours. Come on, sleep now. Leave me alone, world. 0740hours. Time to rise. You weren't getting any sleep anyway. Get to school and hand in that term paper. Now.

These days, few things ever seems to make me happy. Those sporadic moments of happiness never seem to be able to last a little longer. I wish they do, you know. Because I cannot remember the last time I felt that way. I really wish you would come back to me, happiness.

And tonight, it shall be those wine and me. Again.

At least sleep would be here soon.

Those Vibes.

2007-04-03T03:26:00.000+08:00

*Colorplay featuring some of my favorite things in the world: Le Pliage Longchamp "Shopping", Becks the German beer and Anders the laziest bear ever.

Phantom of the Opera.

2007-03-27T00:12:00.000+08:00

27th September 2006. Les Misérables. Queen's Theatre. London.

25th March 2007. Phantom of the Opera. Esplanade. Singapore.

Think of me, think of me waking, silent and resigned. Imagine me, trying too hard to put you from my mind. Recall those days, look back on all those times, think of all those things that we'll never do - there will never be a day when I won't think of you.

Journey.

2007-03-24T00:52:00.000+08:00

*Kismet.

Exactly seven months ago, I boarded a train and travelled on my own to Paris. Cold and scared was all I knew. But I knew I wanted to do this really badly. I am a big girl now. Walking along Seine River and watching the glow of the Eiffel Tower against the sunset of Paris, I knew it was all worth it.

Exactly six months ago, I saw a shooting star along the Rhine River. The stars in the sky were so pretty that I thought it looked like somebody had lavishly dotted them across the skies. Maybe it was that wine but I knew that there was nothing more perfect than this place at that moment. Basking in the afterglow of the stars and night, I made a wish under the blessings of the stars.

Exactly five months ago, I saw the red of autumn leaves and knew that fall had arrived. At night, I went for dinner at this little town called Rüdesheim. It looked like a storm was approaching. Yet all I felt was safe and secure.

Exactly four months ago, I rediscovered the beauty of the Rhine. I captured the orange of the setting sun and told myself that I will never break. I am so much more now. I swore that one day, I would return to this river again.

Exactly three months ago, I skidded and fell on an ice-skating rink in Geneva, Switzerland. Bruises all over my legs and the cold of the winter yet I was smiling. Christmas was near. I drank a hot chocolate and it warmed my stomach instantly against the blasting cold.

Kismet. It must be.

Tired.

2007-03-21T12:27:00.000+08:00

These days, all I feel is tired, tired and tired from school. What with all my emotional downs, things have not been looking too good since the start of the new year. I cannot wait to get out of this crazy scene. Glad that I will soon be taking a break from this place. Give me time and I promise that I will be new and shiny once again.

Sequel to Copenhagen!

2007-03-11T21:07:00.000+08:00

I just found these pictures in my mailbox, sent to me by Elise and GT three months ago.

Those times in Copenhagen. The bleak and nipping rain. There I was, fresh out of my heartbreak. With the perennial hurt still there. Yet your presence did wonders.

My Wait.

2007-02-28T21:11:00.000+08:00

It comes all in the middle of the night. Sometimes, I feel so alone that it really kills me inside. And it is all so out of the blue that I start to dream about you.

I still remember vividly the cold and bitter autumn morning during late November. I woke up screaming and yelling. Why am I starting to feel that way again?

I need to believe that good things come to those who wait, for I have nothing else to believe in anymore.

Missed.

2007-01-23T14:56:00.000+08:00

When you told me that you missed me, you have no idea how happy that made me. It turned my bad day good again.

Berlin!

2007-01-20T00:33:00.000+08:00

I heart Berlin! This has to be my favorite among all the cities that I have visited. I know I say that for like every single city I visit. But with the conclusion of my very own Eurotrip, I have to say that Berlin tops the list in being my perennial favorite. Reason one, I travelled to Berlin on my own. How many twenty-one years old have actually travelled to any part of the world on their own? Not to mention, being a girl and actually being able to read a map at the same time. Haha. Reason two, I came to Berlin and I saw what I had always wanted to see.

Berlin is really THE place to be in if you love history. And that happened to describe me.

After much hair-pulling in researching and mapping out my itinery in Berlin, I decided on the Judische Museum as my first stop.

This is how my name looks like in Hebrew. That actually looks a hell lot easier than how my name is written in Chinese.

The Holocaust Turm really sent chills down my spine. It was part of the Judische Museum built to remember those Jews who were exterminated in the Holocaust. The darkness and coldness of the room was a way of telling people how the Jews lived during this period. You could hear the rush of the traffic from inside and feel the blasting cold from the chilly winter air filling up the tower from the outside.

Nächster halt: Checkpoint Charlie. This was the major crossing between East and West Germany during the Cold War.

The Berlin Olympic Museum was built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic Games. The Nazi-era architecture was really impressive.

The Podbielski Oak Tree. The leaves of the oak tree was used in the victor's wreath.

Jesse-Owens is supposed to be famous because she won four Olympic Gold medals in the 1936 Games. Coming from a girl whose country's greatest sports achievement is a silver Olympic medal in body-building that was won like forty years ago, yes, I consider that amazing.

Along the way to the Olympic Stadium, I saw all these yellow ribbons tied to plants. My heart just melted and went, "Awww... so sweet" when I thought that the Germans were advocates of the Yellow Ribbon Project that was supposed to give a second chance to ex-convicts.

But that was before I saw red ribbons tied to plants and a group of gardeners standing nearby. That was when I realised that, the ribbons were only just ribbons that served as codes for the gardeners. Very sweet.

I walked a total of four kilometres just to get to and from the Schloss Charlottenburg. Pretty but it was a pity that I was running out of time and did not have the chance to visit the interior.

This is the Brandenburger Tor, which is the symbol of Berlin and once the boundary between East and West Germany. The winged Goddess of Victory and the four-horse chariot is supposed to be famous.. because I see it on postcards everywhere. Haha. One useful tip I have picked up from my travellings is that when in doubt about what to visit, pick up the postcards!

The famous Reichstag. This is the German parliament house. The horrendous queue snaking outside of the Reichstag convinced me not to go inside despite it being the number one attraction in Berlin.

This stretch of wall is the remainings of the Berlin Wall parallel to the Topography of Terror, which was the former SS-Gestapo headquarters. Speaking of Berlin Wall, I can't believe I forgot about the long surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall that is at Warshauer Strasse. I can practically kill myself for that. Also, the Topography of Terror which recounted crimes of the Nazi was at the top of my to-go list but when I arrived at five in the evening, it was totally dark and being an open-air exhibition, I could see nothing. Sigh.

May the world never have to go through such horrors again.

Shopping in Berlin looked really fun. The reason why I said "looked" is because a mere two-days hardly suffice in doing Berlin any justice. There were sooooo much to do in Berlin that I really wished that I stayed there for a couple more days.

And they had Dunking Donuts! Not nearly as good as Krispy Kremes. But when those delicious glazed donuts are out of your reach, you pretty much have to settle for the humble counter parts. Elise thinks that I am exaggerating when I said, "When I first ate Krispy Kremes, I thought I died and went to Heaven." But hey, it is really THAT good. Krispy Kremes, oh Krispy Kremes, when will I ever lay my mouth on you again?

End of my Berlin entry. End of all my trips in Germany.

Hattenheim. Oestrich-Winkel. Rüdesheim. Frankfurt. Heidelberg. Hamburg. Munich. Berlin.

I wonder when I will ever see you again.

2006.

2007-01-05T13:40:00.000+08:00

Hallo to all!

2006 came and went. No matter how much people always say that they wish that 2007 will be a better year than the previous, I highly doubt that the dawn of the new year would spring better surprises on me, light up the jubilance in me or dream up hauntingly beautiful memories for me to take away forever.

Like I mentioned in one of my previous blog entries, the fall of 2006 will be the stretch in my twenty-one years of existence that I had truly been happy. Maybe I am delirious. And who says it is a bad thing to be? I really wish that I can seal my memories of 2006 in a time capsule so that I can revisit those moments whenever and wherever I want.

My memories of 2006 has not just been about boisterous travels around Europe. There are also those jittery periods of uncertainty in dealing with forces of fear. Fear in being alone and losing people that you love and care about. And then there are those buckets of tears that I shed. The period when I have never ever felt more alone and abandoned than ever. Discovering that there are still genuinely good people around in this world. Forging brand new friendships with people so diverse from you and at the same time, intensifying relationships with people who really matter to me in this world.

2007 is here again. I am at the age where I have stopped believing in New Year's resolutions. In fact, I am such a cynic about everything in this world that whatever promises or words that people say to me are nothing more than just cotton candy fluff.

This will be my final year in SMU. As much as I dread the prospect of losing my freedom and enslaving myself to the prospect of career, I have to start focusing on these things.

I fear I will lose myself. I fear that I will go back to the mundane and purposeless life that I once had. And I know that it is easy to lose myself in it.

But if I ever do, I hope that I will look back at the year of 2006 and once again, remember all those lessons that I learnt. In love, life and the future.

For now, I shall remember.

München!

2006-12-31T02:26:00.000+08:00

Munich was an extremely lovely city. Possibly one of my favorite out of so many cities that I visited.

The first day in Munich was spent at Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. It was purported in the Lonely Planet that from the peak of Zugspitze, you would be able to see four countries: Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria.

Zugspitze was the place for ski-lovers. There is even a ski kindergarden for children. The kids were such a darling with their muffs and oversized ski-ing equipment that I was envisioning myself stealing one of them home. I remember wanting to steal the girl with blue eyes and long blonde hair! Vague explanation, I know, since about all German girls have blue eyes and blonde hair. Haha.

The view of the snow mountain was spectacular. The white of the snow was so clean and pure that it rendered everything so beautiful. As the wind picks up speed at an astonishing rate, the snow would precipitate its haste and rush towards you like a blitz. The astonishing view from the mountain of Germany and her neighbours were more than satisfying. The only worse part of the whole experience was the bitter cold at the top of the mountain and the fact that my suede boots were utterly wet that I suffered a minor frostbite on my toes.

The München Olympic Stadium was built for the 1972 Olympics. It was during this game that eleven Israeli atheletes were killed by the Palestinine terrorists. I finally realise what an Olympic sized swimming pool is. Gosh. The swimming pool is so huge that I think the Singapore government probably has to bulldoze the whole of one town precint in order to build one swimming pool. Now I totally understand why they say that Singapore probably has to demolish the whole of Singapore in order to host an Olympics game.

The BMW Museum that we visited was a temporal makeshift for the old BMW Museum under renovation. It was small but there were still several amazing cars that I could only own in my next life.

I was so taken by the old Rathaus of Munchen that I bought many postcards featuring it.

It started snowing on my second day in München! My first encounter with snow. Beautiful and absolutely beautiful. We then went to the Deutsche Museum. Again, according to the lonely planet, it is the second largest museum in the world, just after Museum de Lourve in Paris. I did not managed to finish the whole of the museum, just selected those sections that interest me. And I admit it, I am the biggest geek on earth because I chose the Mathematical section.

I was only in the Deutsche Museum for two hours before rushing of to the highlight of my trip in München. The Dachau Concentration Camp. Funny things that these places of past horror can do to your head. They mess up with your head and gives you depressing thoughts. But whatever it is, I like the place for all its richness in history and lessons to be learnt.

Final itinery in Munchen was the English Garden. The English garden is extremely huge. But as a true nature lover, it was beautiful to me all the same. The small rivers and lakes provided me with peace and calm so rare.

Berlin, Heidelberg and Geneva coming up soon! Beautiful places. I miss them so much already.

Gone.

2006-12-30T22:42:00.000+08:00

Home for two days. But why am I not smiling anymore?

On the long flight home from Geneva to London Heathrow, London Heathrow to Bangkok and finally Bangkok to Singapore, I tried in desperation to search for the reason why there is a sense of dread in me returning home. After having lived alone for four whole months, the idea of going back to live with my family again feels kind of bizarre.

Those days are gone. My housemates storming around the kitchen making breakfast at 5am in the morning while I doze back to sleep. Waking up to a peaceful and quiet morning. Wrapping my thick layers of clothes, scarf and coat before leaving home. The chilly but refreshing air against my cheeks as I walk out of the house.

Now, I wake up each morning to the blasting television. My parents' chattering. The hot weather and humidity of the air slapping against my skin.

I feel so displaced now. I can feel myself being ripped apart so cruelly and rapidly.

I fear that I will lose what I have gained over the last four months of my life. I don't want to. I never want to. Because they have make me grown so much. The fall of 2006 is the stretch in my twenty-one years of existence that I have been truly happy.

I never want to forget. And I want it back so bad.

Home.

2006-12-29T03:43:00.000+08:00

I am back in Singapore now. After more than 28 hours of flight and waiting, I am finally back home.

But why do I feel so foreign now? Why do I keep thinking about the other life that I once had?

Goodbye.

2006-12-23T05:37:00.000+08:00

Goodbye, Germany. Four months ago, I arrived at Frankfurt International Airport with an array of emotions. I wondered whether I would be able to survive alone on my own. I had doubts over whether I would make any friends here. Other than coming here on an exchange program at the European Business School and touring the different cities of Europe, I had no other expectations about this semester abroad.

One month before I left Germany, there was already a perpetual nagging unhappiness that was filling my heart and mind. As I tick of each day towards my leaving this country, these depressing emotions continued to fill up every single inch of my breathing space. I could not sleep or eat well without making undue comparisons of my life between here and back home in Singapore. The past month has been an incredibly awkward mix of emotions. Especially in the final week when I moved into Cherry’s bedroom when she left for Paris. All in an instance, I felt so displaced and distant. That was not my room. I missed my room. I missed my space. And most importantly, I missed the life that I once owned in Germany hitherto to my stark realization that I was going to leave Germany. I felt like a lost sheep in my own house. I walk around the house every single day. To Cherry’s room and realizing that that was not my space. To my own room stripped bare from my books, bed sheets, stuffed bears and dog, clothes and every single one of my belongings.

From the first night that I arrived in Germany, I came up with the conclusion that Germans are nice people. And they really are. When I was leaving Germany today, there was so much dread in me. I had with me five pieces of luggage. What I was more concerned and flustered about was the fact that I had to change a total of three trains in order to reach Geneva. Nevertheless, throughout my journey through the trains, I met all these amazing Germans who helped me carry my luggage even without my asking. Train conductors. Teenagers. Old people. Even one polizei came up to help me lug my heavy suitcase across the train full of people. I can bet you all the chocolates in my luggage that no Singaporeans would actually lift a finger towards the plight of a complete stranger. All these simple deeds that the Germans did once again stirred the immense sadness in me. There is this weird lump in my throat now and I can already feel the wetness on my cheeks. The only thing stopping me from turning back to the country now is my sanity.

Lucky, the dog which lives downstairs did something unbelievable. When I was dragging my largest piece of suitcase from my apartment down to the ground floor, Lucky climbed all the way up to the third floor. He has never done that before. Lucky is pretty well-trained by his owner to only hang about in the courtyard. I think he wanted to say goodbye to me. Funny though, I have never displayed much liking for Lucky other than the constant “get away from me” and the perennial mad scramble up for the stairs whenever I see Lucky wandering about the courtyard and sniffing at me. To think that he would actually climb all the way up the third floor is something of an unusual phenomenon.

I wonder if this sense of vacancy that is filling up my heart is normal. Do all the tauschies feel the same way too? Or am I alone?

Final.

2006-12-18T17:53:00.000+08:00

I hate farewells. They are never good. You never know when you would see that person again. And worse, saying goodbyes to so many people over and over again really consumes what is left of the remnants of your spirit.

I have been feeling kind of broken and forlorn of late. It only takes a word, a phrase or a song to get me crying all over again.

Had to say goodbye to my pretty Turkish friend last Thursday. And on Saturday, the lovely Mexican girls. I wish I could be more indifferent. But I cannot.

You know you are feeling really depressed when you find all ways and means not to return to an empty apartment every day. You know you are having anxiety attacks when you wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if you have packed everything into your suitcases.

Over the past four months, I have grown so attached to my room. My lovely space of my own. It may not be the best apartment around but I really love it for all the memories that it holds for me.

Unpacking my room for a final time hurts alot. Seeing my room being stripped down to its bare essence only starts to make me cry again.

My room for the final time.

So much has happened. And there are so many events that have changed my life. I think I will never be the same again.

Crazy Beautiful.

2006-12-12T00:19:00.000+08:00

A crazy beautiful semester in Germany. Lovely friends whom I cannot be more proud of. My friends, they may not be the creme de la creme of the society, but they are truly good people who have hearts of gold. So many memories that I will hold dear to. And I shall continue to.

************

Back from my four-days trip to Hamburg and Munich. Munich was an extremely lovely city. It was snowing on my second day in Munich. Absolutely beautiful sight. We even went up to the mountains purported to be the highest peak in Germany. Blog update soon.

Anyway, there is a mouse in my house! Haha. Oh, look at how it rhymes. My housemate was so totally freaked out that she checked out of the house immediately. I am not even sure whether to feel happy that the housemate-that-I-so-utterly-dislike has left already or that I should feel petrified of the presence of a mouse in my house.

It will be a short two day trip to Berlin tomorrow. I will be travelling around Berlin alone and I am in an oh-so-ecstatic mood now. Meanwhile, all you sweeties back home take care. I will be back soon!

Reflections.

2006-12-05T02:35:00.000+08:00

Three more weeks before I return to where I belong. There is this sense of confusion and anxiety bubbling in me now. A part of me longs to return to where my parents, sisters and friends are. I miss having my dad and mum fussing over me. I miss the Sundays where my mum would pamper me by buying me my favorite nasi-lemak for breakfast. I miss the weekend coffee sessions with my sister.

Another part of me wishes and hopes that the tide of time would stop for now. I want to continue watching the setting of the sun every evening (or rather, afternoon) by the Rhine River. I want to go for morning jogs by the river and breathe in the coldness of the morning, so chilly yet so fresh. I want to go traveling to every part of Europe and bask myself in the mysteries of the world.

It is funny how barely four months ago, I was still fussing over a luggage that exceeded the weight limit and worrying about not having anything to eat because of my lack of culinary skills. I asked Elise what her biggest takeaway was from this exchange. She told me that she loved the intensive traveling period in Europe. She didn’t think that her answer was adequate. And I gave her a less than satisfactory reply to my question.

Reflection on every single moment spent in Germany and traveling around Europe never fails to bring a smile to my face. My first time traveling alone to Paris which totally freaked my parents out. The awe-inspiring view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Missing my train from the train station in Paris and having to take a first class train back to Germany. Being misled by the hostel website and ended up staying in a four-star hotel in Italy. First time being so drunk at the school party that I actually mistook the ambulance parked outside the Schloss as being meant for me. My first time seeing a shooting star by the Rhine River. Finishing seven jars of Nutella in a span of three months. Encountering a psychotic-and-obsessed-with-cleanliness-and-hates-me-because-I-always-speak-English-just-because-I-cannot-speak-Cantonese housemate that never fails to send chills down my spine. The exasperation at being mistaken for being a Japanese or Korean for one too many time. Spending the most beautiful birthday ever at a charming and bewitching little town called Rudesheim. Defending myself from drunken men by giving them a serious head injury. The jaw-dropping moments from staring at a rapidly depleting bank account. And then there are those dispiriting moments when I look into the mirror and discover how chubby-cheeked I have become.

I have grown to love the freedom at being able to do anything whenever I want and whatever I want. Something that does not come easy when you have overprotective parents. As much as I love my parents and being pampered by them, I think I am at the pinnacle of being independent and turning back to a sheltered life of mollycoddling seems a little too safe.

I think for once, I have found the direction in my life. I know, for one, that I am going to do a Masters overseas because I love the feeling of autonomy, traveling and studying. Then, I would work abroad, for a few months or a few years. Looking back at my life for the past 21 years, I think that there are so much more that I could achieve. I could have picked up a new language which I am going to do. No prizes for guessing what language that would be.

All these moments, I shall take with them back home. Maybe for now, I should stop wishing that time would slow down. What I need to do is to savor all these moments as long as they last.

For all the good times. And the bad times.

I shall remember.

Love.

Stronger Than Ever.

2006-12-04T00:03:00.000+08:00

Hallo! I am still alive here. Everybody has been sending me emails and sms-es asking where the hell I have been. So, don't fret. I am still here.

Finished the last of my exams on Tuesday and handed in my paper on Friday. So I am officially done with school at the ebs. Been making trips out of Hattenheim to Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Koblenz these few days. All I can say is, I am so in love with Christmas markets. More about that soon.

Meanwhile, take care. I love you all and I am doing fine now. Standing here stronger than ever.

I love this town and the Rhine. You are the reason why I am smiling again.

Foreign.

2006-11-25T22:52:00.001+08:00

It is 12 degrees today. The warmest it has been for the past few weeks.

I hope it stays this way. The bleakness of this town and the darkness that sets in so early each day only serves to make me feel more depressed than ever.

I hate this sinking feeling in my heart each morning when I realise that daylight will be gone soon. Even more, I hate the sense of forlonness that overwhelms and engulfs every single ounce of my spirit when darkness sets in.

I wish that I can erase all these unhappiness in me. I only wish that I can be truly happy once again.

Copenhagen!

2006-11-24T02:05:00.000+08:00

Before I begin blogging about my trip to Copenhagen, I just need to declare how much I hate trains in Europe. I had to board three trains lasting for a total of 14 hours to Copenhagen and had to endure another five trains lasting for 12 hours back to Germany. The Germans' obsession with punctuality makes more sense to me now that I realise how much money I spent on making new reservations for seats on trains due to the late trains in Denmark.

Not to mention, that sitting around in the wee hours of the morning at Frankfurt Main Train Station for five hours turned out to be an incredibly fatiguing and unnerving affair. Not only did I had to fend off a persistent staff working for the Die Bahn asking for my number, but I had to dodge two drunk men laying their hands on me with a headbutt that would give Zidane a run for his money. Funny as it seems, I was amazed by the look on his face when I realized the impact that my head gave him. Haha.

Anyway, Copenhagen was a beautiful city. However, the dawn of fall and the arrival of winter soon meant that the skies get dark really early here in Europe. Not to mention, the intense iciness of the weather rendered us wrapped tightly in our coats, scarves and gloves like... a round lump.

The EuroCity train to Denmark went onboard a ferry which brought us across the Scandinavian seas. There were duty-free shopping on the train, although I didn't shop much during my trip to Denmark. Was not really into the mood to shop or do anything over the past few days. Besides, I think I have had enough of shopping in Europe and anymore shopping would only serve to induce a wave of nauseas onto me.

The capital of Denmark was totally into the Christmas mood. All around Copenhagen, Christmas lights were up, Christmas markets were opened already and not to mention, beautiful ice-skating rings.

The Tivoli was a perennial favorite Christmas light-up in Denmark. All around, there were rides and lights. And hey, it rhymes!

We went into this Build-A-Bear-Workshop and now I am the proud Mummy of a Danish bear called Anders. Elise is the god-mother of my baby bear. The name Anders was actually given to us by this nice Danish lady when we were racking our heads over what to call it. I love the name Anders. Because I am a proud ex-Anderson girl! Heh. And Anders was way better than those names that were randomly thrown out by Elise and Gerald. They wanted to called it "ang-moh" just because I wanted Anders to take over my last name, Ang. For the better understanding by our Western friends, ang-moh is an affectionate term that Singaporeans use to refer to our white-skin counterparts.

Yes, we all love Anders!

This is probably the one and only picture of me looking like an idiot you will find on this blog.

Klutz is my middle name. I accidentally stepped on the pedal at the cotton-stuffing machine before Anders went in and ended up, stuffing the girl working at Build-A-Bear with cotton.

Clubbing with Elise and Gerald at Culture Box. The girl working at Sleep-In-Heaven, the hostel where we stayed at told us that this place was an insider tip. We later suspect this place to be a gay pub because Elise and I were the rare few female population and the guys in the pub were more interested in Gerald than us. Nice vote of confidence for my wily charms. After two beers, one bottle of wine and two vodkas (okay, make that one and a half since I spilled half the vodka on somebody's shoes in my drunken stupor), I bade a beddy-bye to the club and the cab driver and fell into a coma immediately when we reached the hostel. It was amazing how much alcohol I consumed that night considering how cheap alcohol is in Germany relative to Denmark and that I did not even recognise posing in half of those pictures in Elise's blog.

Christmas market at Copenhagen was amazingly beautiful. We also went down to the Danish Queen's Palace as well as the famous Little Mermaid Statue based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.

Last day at Copenhagen was spent on a brunch session with Kelvin, Elise's Danish friend (also happens to be Yixiao's friend) who came over to SMU for an international exchange during fall semester exactly a year ago. Brunch at Cafe Nordic was a delightful but incredibly expensive affair.

We made a daytrip to Malmo in Sweden for a few hours. Because it was a Sunday when we arrived, most shops were closed. No Christmas markets. Only museums were opened. We went into the Malmo Musee. Seriously, I had no idea what the theme of the museum was about. Animals, snakes, paintings, modern contemporary designs. The museum was so random that we ended up pretending to be statues ourselves.

Fun times in Copenhagen. I will always remember it.

I Am Back!!

2006-11-23T01:27:00.001+08:00

Hallo. I am back from Copenhagen. More about Copenhagen over the next few days. I really enjoyed Copenhagen alot and it is through this trip that I realise how important Elise is to me. I love you so much, babe. Thank you for making me smile with your lame jokes.

It is now a freaking 3 degrees here in Hattenheim. It is absolutely unbearable to imagine what it would be like when I have to step outside in a few minutes time when I go home. The skies get dark really early nowadays. Barely four in the afternoon and it looks like the night suddenly came and overwhelmed the whole town. My heater is not working too well. Waking up in the middle of the night and trembling to the chilliness of the air in my bedroom has become a norm all so familiar.

Anyway, I promise to update about Copenhagen and my daytrip to Malmo soon! Watch out this space for more amazing and amusing pictures soon!

Updates!

2006-11-16T07:51:00.000+08:00

A jog by the Rhine River early in the morning. Something that I had always wanted to do for the past three months but never got around to doing. It is amazing how little sleep I have been getting by for the past few days. Here I am, sitting at one in the morning alone in a darkened living room. The light is spoilt but I could not get to changing the lightbulb.

Received the results of one of the finance courses that I am doing here at the ebs. Did surprisingly well despite not understanding what was going on in class. And I wonder why this fails to make me happy.

Will be leaving for Copenhagen late Thursday night. It will be a long and tough night. Due to arrive at Frankfurt Main Train Station at 12 midnight. Another five hours wait for the next train to Copenhagen. Wandering alone at the wee hours of the morning.

But it is all worth it. I cannot wait to see you again, my dear friend. I miss you so.

Me.

2006-11-15T03:30:00.000+08:00

Hurricanes are named after me.
I am strong.
I am tempestuous.

I am the calm of Audrey Hepburn.
Before the storm of Charlie's Angels.

I love shoes.
One pair is never enough.
I can do anything Frank Astaire did.
Backwards and in high heels.

I am a woman. Hear me roar!

Denial.

2006-11-13T17:47:00.000+08:00

You told me that you are afraid that if we were to continue, it will make it even harder for you when I leave. And you don't want me to feel the same way.

But why do I already feel that way?

Grill Dinner!

2006-11-13T03:23:00.000+08:00

Cherry and I found a grill in our kitchen and we decided to invite a couple of people to our home the day after my birthday. Only nice people were invited to the dinner. Haha.

"What's up with Asians and these weird hand signs?" This was what one of these two Germans said and yes, they had great fun making making impersonations of me and my V-sign. Nice. Very nice.

Lovely people. Lovely place. I am going to miss you so much.

Happy Birthday.

2006-11-11T23:40:00.001+08:00

Happy 21st Birthday, Huiling.

Spent my birthday at a charming little town, Rudesheim. This was the most beautiful birthday that I had in my entire life.

Gratitude.

2006-11-03T00:52:00.000+08:00

A parcel filled with much love from Singapore.
Warm clothes. Herbal teas. My favorite cookies. And most importantly, a note from my Mum.
Thank you, Mummy. I love you. I really do.

Czech Republic: Prague!

2006-11-02T23:01:00.000+08:00

Prague 2006.

A walk along Charles’ Bridge. Three hundred steps to the Prague Castle. Chocolate and strawberry ice-cream on a bitter cold afternoon. A race to catch the chime of the clock and the twelve disciples at three in the afternoon. St. Nicholas Church. Piping hot bread rolls to warm our stomachs. Czech dumplings and cold beer for lunch. Clubbing in Prague till 3am. Shopping and more shopping.

And my most special friend, Elise.

Birthday Wishes.

2006-10-29T00:32:00.000+08:00

Happy 24th Birthday to my dear sister!
Even though I may be far from you, I send you much love from here in Germany.

Beautiful Autumn.

2006-10-29T00:29:00.000+08:00

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave for goodbye. Seasons change and so does everything else. Autumn is here and winter soon. And I will be back where I belong.

Frankfurt!

2006-10-23T19:34:00.000+08:00

Headed down to Frankfurt City last Saturday for a day trip with Philipp.

This was the first time that I have been to anywhere in Germany other than Hattenheim, the beautiful wineyard region that I live in. Frankfurt City drew an uncanny resemblance to Singapore. Towering skyscrapers everywhere. Nevertheless, Frankfurt itself was a beautiful city. There was the pretty Main River as well as old historical buildings that left me in complete awe. Because Philipp takes really unflattering pictures of me, there will be no pictures of me at all in this post. So blame this German, okay? Haha.

We went to this market look alike place and had pizza. Oh gosh, that was the first time that I had soooo much onions in my entire life. The whole slice of pizza was basically just bread and onion. I also had apple wine and I like it! It was neither too bitter nor too sweet.

By the way, did you know that Maggi was a brand from Germany? I was always under the impression that Maggi was a Singapore brand since there are always their cooking programs on television. Haha. Amazing contributions the Germans made to this world.

Oh, I watched "The Devil Wears Prada" here in Germany! It was the only cinema in Frankfurt that showed English movies and you have no idea how glad I was to embrace this movie. So the movie changed like 50% of the original storyline from the book, but it was interesting nevertheless.

So, that's about it for Frankfurt. Coming up next, my visit to beautiful Prague!

We Love London! Part II.

2006-10-18T23:38:00.000+08:00

London 29th to 30th September 2006
Starring: We Heart Donuts!
Finally laid my ~~hands~~ mouth on Krispy Kremes. The World's Most Famous and Delicious Donuts. We bought our mouthwatering and delectable donuts from London Waterloo Train Station. Each of these sinful indulgence takes away five years of my life but adds unceremonious inches to my waistline. But who cares? Its not everyday that a person gets to eat Krispy Kremes.

Westminster was one of my favorite tourist attraction of London. This was the place where I learnt a great deal about the history of Britain. Bloody Mary. Winston Churchill. The Parliament.

In The Da Vinci Code, the Westminster Abbey was the place that Robert Langdon and Sophie Nevau had their square-off with the Teacher over the cryptex. It is basically a very old church burying the bodies of really important people like Issac Newton and Charles' Dickens.

The famous St. Paul had really breathtaking interior. It is really a pity that photography is not allowed in most churches and museums because the all white interior and three-dimension art on the wall were absolutely gorgeous.

Therefore, instead of capturing beautiful pictures of the monuments, we goofed about outside the church and took pictures of ourselves.

My final day in London was devoted to my one and only greatest love. SHOPPING! Haha. I made my first Japanese friend in London. Kentaro, joined us on my last day for shopping in London.

We had a late lunch at a dimsum restuarant that purportedly served the best dimsum in London. Being extremely hungry, we could not help ourselves but kept ordering. Add that to the measely-portioned nature of dimsums, we came up to one of the most expensive meals in London. It cost us 10 pounds* each person for our lunch.

*Edit: Elise says that the dimsum costs each of us 10 pounds and not 30 pounds each. So yup, here it is!

Shopping in London was absolutely fun! They had brands like Ted Baker, NEXT, Warehouse, Topshop, Gap, David & Goliath, Von Dutch, Paul Smith and so many more brands. And not to mention, their Warehouse and Topshop are like a hundred times bigger than the ones in Singapore. In my earlier hours of let's-get-crazy-shopping session, Elise and Nic went off to watch another Arsenal match while Kentaro and Chaiyut accompanied me shopping. I felt really bad because they had to sit around and wait for me while I satisfied my shopaholic fetish.

Dinner was at Mangosteen, a Thai Restaurant in Central London. My first experience with Thai food. Other than the tom yam soup which was not really to my liking, it was really great.

Living in Egham on the outskirts of London meant loads of time spent on the train. And below are also loads of funny pictures which are so random that they fall into no category in particular.

See the scary face on the window screen? Reminds me of the horror movie, The Eye.

That's about it for London. Oh right, my shopping buys that I promised from oh-so-long ago?

I love London! I give it five out of five Krispy Kremes!

We Love London! Part I.

2006-10-13T00:28:00.000+08:00

London 26th-28th September 2006

Awoke at an ungodly hour of 5.30am on the 26th of September to a benumbing and chilly Tuesday morning. The rain had evidently diminished to a gentle patter but I could still feel the bitterness of the cold piercing mercilessly through my coat. I should have heeded the signs from the skies that it was going to be more than just a friendly wintry week in London. It rained almost every single day during the week that I was in London and most of the time, my coat was insufficient to keep me warm, resulting in a trembling me.

It took me more than 3 hours to get to the outskirts of London at Egham despite arriving at the London Stansted Airport at one in the afternoon. There it was that I was introduced to one of the most hilarious person that I have ever met, Chaiyut. Oh my god. He is so corny that he could easily give one of the jokers from the twenty-sixers a run for their money.

We stayed on the outskirts of London at Egham, in the luxurious dormitory-apartment of Royal Holloway College. This is where I met many other Asian students in additional to Chaiyut, the new Thai friend that I just met.

The very next morning was spent exploring the Tower of London. The Tower of London was built many centuries ago and serves not only as a tourist of attraction for the modern day but continues to serve as an important fortress for Great Britain. This is the place that houses the legendary Royal Crown of Queen Elizabeth along with many girls’ best friends – DIAMONDS! Haha.

Great Britain is the home of Paddington Bear. Remember the bear with a raincoat and sign that says “Please take care of me”?

By the way, I met Julia Roberts in London. She was really friendly and posed for a picture with us in her signature thousand megawatts smile.

Fooled you, didn’t I? Nicholas, Elise and I went to the most famous wax museum in the world, Madam Tussads, to get ourselves up close and personal with celebrities. This would be the closest that we would ever get to snuggle so cozily to these Hollywood stars and historical figures.

Pretty Woman and me.

I nearly killed Collin Farell. At the sight of him, the overzealous me made a mad scramble for him and in a sheer moment of over-enthusiasm, almost knocked his entire wax figurine down. Imagine what would have happened then. I probably have to apply for a work permit in London and spend the rest of my youth working at Madam Tussads to pay for the shattered wax figurine of Collin Farell.

The Beckhams.

I heart Johnny Depp!

Gorgeous Orlando Bloom.

Whoopi Goldberg and Robin William.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – SMG.

Bond Girls!

Marilyn Monroe and her famous posture.

The Beatles!

Madam Tussads was totally amazing but freaky. There was a horror section in the museum which is evidently not for the faint hearted. What with bloodied reel people creeping around you and making an abrupt grab for you, your feet and your hands, I could feel my adrenaline pumping more than usual. I was basically squashing myself in the middle of Elise and Nicholas and holding on to them all the way. Not that it was of much use because the dead people have their job to do – totally freak you out. No doubt that I was totally petrified by the horror section, I had amazing fun at Madam Tussads.

I found a new love – broadway musicals! Watched my first ever musical, Les Miserables in London. The tickets cost me a small fortune but it was totally worth it. The play was absolutely brilliant and we had splendid view of the actors and actresses from our seats. I am so in love with musicals now!

That is all for now. More about the rest of London coming up soon!

Awful Day.

2006-10-12T15:52:00.000+08:00

I am feeling really feverish now. I cannot even drink my favorite coffee now. The chilliness of the air makes me feel worse. Being alone here in my room makes it all the more difficult.

It is times like these when I just want to go home.

Updates. Italy Finale: Venice!

2006-10-10T08:58:00.000+08:00

Hallo! I am back from Prague. Had a fantabulous time in Prague shopping, indulging in gourmet and sight-seeing with Eliz. The past two weeks have been incredibly beautiful. Most importantly, it was spent with lovely people along the charming sights of London and Prague that was totally bewitching.

Came home from class in the evening totally burnt out and weary. All the incessant traveling, late nights and daily chores have left me feeling so fatigue. Fell asleep while doing my readings on the bed and awoke all of a sudden feeling totally disoriented. For a moment, I was confused about where I was. Was I back in Singapore? Or was I still at Eliz’s dorm? It took the loud clanging in the kitchen by the housemate-that-I-utterly- dislike to make me realize that I was back in my room in Germany.

The pace is quickening and my classes are starting to gain momentum. I checked my timetable this morning and got a rude shock when I realized that I actually have classes every single day for this week. It is time for me to get down to actual studying here.

Was actually planning to head down to Frankfurt during this week with Philipp but muddle-headed me totally forgot that I have classes this week and therefore, spoiled all our plans. Even though I have been here for nearly two months and have been to so many cities and countries, I have not yet explored Germany at all. The closest I have been to Frankfurt is the Frankfurt International Airport when I touched down in August. How sad. I was so looking forward to Frankfurt. Anyway, Louis Vuitton has to wait, my dear sister.

************

Final post about Italy. Famed for being one of the most romantic cities in the world, Venice lived up to its name. Surrounded by water and river, the main modes of transport in Venice are the ferries and gondolas – the river taxis. The panoramic view of the sea from the ferries was breathtaking. Now I finally understand why twins are enjoying themselves so much in New Zealand when there are only grass, mountains and seas there! I love the rivers in Venice so much!

The gondolas riding down the rivers are really pretty. Furnished so extravagantly, the gondolas look like it is specially made for a King. No doubt the price of a ride down the river in a gondola is fit for a King only. The myriad of beautiful flowers overlooking the river from the balcony of restaurants, cafes and shops made me fall in love with Venice even more. Think Casanova and you will be able to imagine what the river of Venice looks like.

One of the most famous attractions of Venice was the masks. In the past, the citizens of Venice wear masks everywhere to go. Men and women alike. The funniest thing is the extent they go to hide their identity such that nobody knows what their neighbors look like. How mysterious.

In Saint Marco lies a really beautiful monument. There are the twelve horoscope signs imprinted on the walls of the building and the huge clock starts to chime every single hour without fail. Not to mention, in the square before the monument lies one hundred million pigeons that flocks dangerously close to you when you walk across the square. To be honest, I was so afraid that I would be attacked by these creatures that I basically carried an umbrella with me all the way through the square, just in case, I needed to wrestle with these little but less than desirable darlings.

Food in Venice was really expensive in general. However, I have grown to realize along the trip in Italy that not having a decent breakfast can have extremely adverse effects on my friends for I can develop into a grouchy and moody person for the entire day. Such is the wise sayings of the doctor: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Haha.

Anyway, towards the end of the trip in Venice, I had already spent so much money that I could not be bothered with counting every single Euros. Along with Gizem, the both of us had really good breakfast in one of the cafes even though it cost us a bomb. In case you didn’t realize, most places in Europe carry additional charges for sitting down to eat in the cafes and every single ketchup and mayonnaise that the staff offers you costs money. So think three times before you blindly say yes.

The fornarina was the best pastry that I have ever eaten to date. Wrapped with chocolate in the sugar coated thin and crispy crust, it offered a sweet combination that leaves me wanting more. Somehow, all the croissants that I ate in Italy were wrapped with jam inside. Totally unique and different from the buttery ones that I always eat.

See this picture? It is really blurred because this is a picture of a picture. Get the picture? Haha. Bad pun there. This is what happens when high tide comes. The whole shop gets totally flooded.

A balloon made of metal. This is so cool.

More views of the river from different corners of Venice.

This is Gizem, my Turkish friend. She is one hot babe!

There was actually a riot going on in Venice. Not on a huge scale and the people of Venice seems pretty nonchalant about it. But being a typical Singaporean who has never seen a riot and whose closest brush with law is crossing the road when the traffic light is still red, this is definitely new stuff for me.

That’s it for Venice. This is definitely the best city in Italy. I love Venice! Anyway, up next on this blog, London! London was the most fun that I had among all my trips because my company was absolutely hilarious. I am so looking forward to blog about London but not now, my dears. It is exactly 3am now in Germany now. Time for me to catch some sleep before my class tomorrow.

Off to Prague!

2006-10-06T03:04:00.000+08:00

Will be leaving for Prague in a few minutes time to visit Elise. Back on Sunday.

Meanwhile, take care, all you sweeties.

Love,
huiling

Asian Party!

2006-10-05T19:22:00.000+08:00

Attended the first party ever to be held by a Singaporean here in Germany. Lai Meng was totally piqued and absorbed in a feverish mode for the past days because it was her first party ever and was determined to make it a resounding success.

Unlike the countless Mexican and German parties that I have been to for the past months, this Asian party was a huge contrast. There was no alcohol. At least not until the Canadians and French came and brought along their own beer and wine. Instead, we had Coke and Chinese Tea. Haha. It was Lai Meng’s attempt to inculcate in those angmohs, our very own Mid-Autumn Festival.

Fun Fact: Did you know that the fifteenth of the eighth month in the Lunar Calendar is called the Mid-Autumn Festival and not the Moon Cake Festival?

Gosh. Being only interested in the moon cakes and nothing else, I have been calling this day the Moon Cake Festival for the past twenty-going-to-twenty-one-years. Haha. But whatever, I still am going to call it Moon Cake Festival.

I made this myself! Oh my, Mummy will be so proud of me.

eve; wathisname, lai meng; lai meng, cherry, jun, wathisname, wathisname; wathisname, lai meng, wathisname; hokyu, jacky; josh, dikun; philipp; josh, wathisname, alexandra, max; wathisname, wathisname, lee, wathisname.

Great food. It has been a long time since I ate home cooked Asian food in the famous Singaporean buffet style. I am missing Chinese food so much. Siew mais, har gows, spring rolls, dumplings, xiao long baos, char siew buns, lotus paste buns and mooncakes.

I am soooooooo hungry now.

Back from London!

2006-10-05T04:34:00.000+08:00

I am back from London!! And guess what? I am finally blogging from home! The internet connection has finally arrived after what seems like eons.

Came home on Sunday evening to a pleasant surprise that still gets me grinning like a Chesire Cat whenever I look at it. The parcel that my Mum sent me has arrived! My lovely Mexican neighbour and housemate, Olga and Cherry, collected the parcel from the doorstep when they arrived home from their exams last Monday. Apparently, it arrived just mere hours after I left for London.

Evidently, my Mum was so concerned and upset about my not having anything to eat because I could not cook for goodness sake, that she sent me almost a carton of instant noodles. As much as I appreciate the gesture, I doubt I would be able to finish all the food without turning into a female version of Lex Luthor. (Too much monosodium glutamate causes hair loss, my dears!).

Lying on top of my parcel was a fleece blanket. The peculiar thing about the arrival of this fleece blanket was that it was sitting on top of my parcel when it arrived. Not inside but outside. The initial inspiration I got was that the pretty fleece blanket was sent to me by my dear sisters. However, after much deliberation, I realized that if it were sent to me by my mum, then it would be inside the parcel and not on top of it. Besides, neither my mum nor sisters had any clue about any blanket in the parcel that they sent. The uncanny part of this gift was that I saw a similar fleece blanket when I was out in Wiesbaden shopping the week before and had already made intentions to purchase it. Only to relinquish the idea when I thought of the dilemma of an excess baggage when I return to Singapore. Read it whatever way you want – creepy or a sweet gesture. I would pick the latter. Hmm.. I think I have a secret admirer! Gasp! Haha.

Back to London. London was uber fun! What with Tower of London, Madam Tussads, London Bridge, Westminster, Big Ben, London Eye, Broadway musicals and of course, amazing shopping brands like Topshop, Miss Selfridge, David and Goliath, Ted Baker, Paul Smith, Gap, Urban Outfitters and NEXT. Shopping, I love!!!

Anyway, before I begin blogging about London, I have still one more post about Venice to go. So all due soon. Will be leaving for Prague tomorrow to visit Elise. More girls’ talk. Shopping. And eating like a King!

Off to the Land of Harry Potter.

2006-09-25T22:00:00.000+08:00

Will be leaving for London tomorrow. Back on Sunday.

Looking forward to all the shopping in London. And more castles, museums, cafes, English bookstores and parties with Eliz.

Check back here for all my lovely buys, sight-seeing and wicked fun in London soon.

Much love,

huiling

Of Bitches. And Freaks.

2006-09-25T20:47:00.000+08:00

I have been feeling incredibly upset for the entire day. One of my Hong Kong housemates has been starting nasty stories about me to the other Asian students at the EBS. According to this creep, I am an incredibly arrogant person because I always speak English around the other students. And the worse part of this is that she made this judgment just three days after meeting me.

Her excuse for me being an arrogant person amazes me so much that I wonder why it has not been written in the Guinness Book of Records - under the “dumbest thing that any person has ever said” category.

I usually do not like to devote an entire blog post to any single person. Nor do I like to waste my time pursuing a series of mindless name-calling foray. The reason is because I am a twenty-going-to-twenty-one year old university student and she is a TWENTY-SEVEN year old graduate student. What I loathe the most is how people like to speak without even using their brains to think about what the words that comes out of their mouth. Naturally, her allegations of me being an arrogant person only serves to reflect her intelligence level. Rest assure, she has my utmost sympathy.

The only way that I can prove how ludicrous her suggestion of me being arrogant just because I speak English all the time, is to expose her flaw in logic. Pardon my usage of Analytical Skills. Right now, I am absolutely sure that my Analytical Skills Professor will be so proud of how his teachings have come to use once and so many times when I meet extremely dim-witted people.

I speak English all the time.
I am an incredibly arrogant person.
If I speak English all the time, I am an incredibly arrogant person.

Lee Kuan Yew speaks English all the time.
He is an incredibly arrogant person.
If Lee Kuan Yew speaks English all the time, he is an incredibly arrogant person.

Goh Chok Tong speaks English all the time.
He is an incredibly arrogant person.
If Goh Chok Tong speaks English all the time, he is an incredibly arrogant person.

Three-quarters of the SMU population speaks English all the time.
They are incredibly arrogant people.
If three-quarters of the SMU population speaks English all the time, they are incredibly arrogant people.

I am incredibly astounded and amazed by her amazing line of reasoning. In case you are wondering, if what she says about me being arrogant because I speak English is true, then it will fit perfectly well into the Modus Ponens argument form. Everybody knows that our very own Minister Mentor Lee and Senior Minister Goh are more accustomed in speaking English. But does that make them incredibly arrogant people? No. In fact, more than three-quarters of our Cabinet Ministers in Singapore can only speak English. Are they arrogant? No.

Therefore, I am extremely mystified as to why you are making yourself appear to be the epitome of Dumb and Dumber. As to why you implied that people who speak English are arrogant.

Maybe for your next thesis, you might want to consider the following topic: Is a person’s arrogance based on the language that he speaks? And better, you can grant the academic world a big expose by revelating your own stupidity as a real-life example.

I can safely assure you that my Mandarin is better than three-quarters of the SMU population. However, I speak English to all my friends and acquaintances in SMU. Anybody accustomed with the education system in Singapore will be able to tell you that SMU is the most westernized school among all the three universities. This is the culture of MY school. This is the culture of Singapore. We speak English. Besides, English is the first language in Singapore. So why shouldn’t I speak English?

If you are expecting me to code-switch to Mandarin or to learn Cantonese every single time I communicate with you, maybe you would like to perform a deep reflection on who is the arrogant one. So let me tell you, FARK OFF!!

I have never ever told anybody what you said or did to me and my other wonderful housemate. You made my other lovely housemate cry on the first day that she came here and she had to call home, crying to her parents. You told her not to buy any more food because you took up two out of three shelves in our smaller-than-an-oven fridge. You made us throw the trash all the time even though it is you who cooked the most and left the garbage behind. You made false accusations of her leaving egg shells on the table and made her clean up after you when it was you who left it behind and refused to apologize to her. You behaved farking rude all the time, as if we owe you one thousand euros. You were incredibly rude to me and my friends during the time that they were here.

In case you want to know what happened: Eliz, Nicholas and I came home quite intoxicated after the school party last Monday and were fidgeting with the keys on the door. That revolting woman just bloody pulled open the door and walked away in such an impolite manner before we even had the chance to say anything. You really have to be there to see what actually happened. The three of us were left flabbergasted by what happened. We were utterly speechless by her insolent and discourteous behavior and I felt really embarrassed that somebody actually behaved in such a manner.

I can take it if that offensive creature is rude to me. But I can never rest my case when anybody is rude to my friends. Or start spreading horrible stories about me.

Yixiao says,

“I think she is festering in her own depression. You should feel sorry for her. You are the bigger person. Haha. That’s very condescending but whenever I feel angry towards someone, I always tell myself to sympathize with the
unfortunates.”

How true. As a housemate, I have always respected your existence. But now that I find out that you have been rumor-mongering about me, do not blame me for disrespecting you. The reason is not just because you are a disgusting scandal monger, but also because you have displayed intelligence the level of a five year old child.

From now on, I can officially tell everybody that I have only one lovely housemate. Your dreadful existence in the house will not be sorely missed. I absolutely do not speak to brainless gits. Nor do I speak to egocentric and self-centered freaks. Don’t ever talk to me again because I am absolutely sure that I am going to scream at you the next time you open your bloody mouth.

Period.

Reflections.

2006-09-22T22:01:00.000+08:00

It has been slightly more than a month since I have arrived here. Reflection on the prior apprehensions and the prospective homesickness seems pretty superfluous and redundant now. Even as the feeling of lonesomeness sets in when you sit in your bedroom, thinking about how everybody that you love is doing back at home, I have never been able to imagine what would happen when I return to Singapore.

The irony is that every morning, I would lament at how comfortable everything was back at home. I don’t have to worry about my dreadful culinary skills and not having anything to eat. I don’t have to be concerned about laundries and my clothes not drying in time. I don’t have to fret about grocery shopping and having to walk 3km to the grocery shops and all the way home. I don’t have to bother about disquieting the peace of the house from my incessant singings. I don’t have to agonize over not having anything to wear in my wardrobe and having to wear bloody socks and shoes everyday. I don’t have to lose sleep over not having internet connection at home and missing out on important events and news.

Even though I may be fretting over all these things that I never have to encounter back home, the prospect of returning home back to Singapore and SMU just makes me wonder if I am ready to embrace all my realities again. The last month has been spent engaging in so much traveling, parties and settling into an unfamiliar (and less than comfortable) environment that only now do I have the time to think about what I want to achieve for the next three months here.

For a moment, I have an impulse to just enjoy this all expenses paid trip to Germany and Europe. Although after a while, a nagging sensation starts to sink into me, telling me to study hard. Everybody tells me that I study too hard here. After all, if I really want to study, the right place to do that is back in Singapore.

The sickening thing is that I am starting to think that they are absolutely right. My uptightness over grades, projects, less-than-desirable project mates and readings are not going to matter here.

Maybe from now on, I shall be less edgy by little details that go awry from the plan and start taking pleasure in every single thing that I do. Monotonous, weariness and dreary or not. Grocery shopping, cooking and doing my laundries included. =)

Italy Trip: Pisa!

2006-09-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

I realize that I have been blogging about the Italian trip for nearly two weeks and I am still not done yet. So here is the second last of our Viva La Italia trip – our journey to Pisa.

Home to Galileo, the most famous icon of Pisa would be none other than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Having spent too much on shopping in the earlier cities of Italy, the penniless me could only ration the remnants of my euros. Entering the Leaning Tower of Pisa and taking the scenic view was something that was out of the question. Besides, paying a ridiculous price to enter a tower that was built based on an architectural mistake is simply laughable.

Nevertheless, I spent the morning taking many pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and had great fun window shopping at the many open air markets.

Of all the pictures that I reviewed, there were a few really amusing ones.

Not to mention that something serious but hilarious happened to Lai Meng. I did not even know whether to laugh or to cry at that particular point in time. On our way to the Pisa Train Station to catch our train to Florence, Lai Meng besotted me to take a photograph of her with one of the architectures. She took off her glasses like she does whenever she takes pictures. At that point in time, I swear I saw something fall out from nowhere. As the sun was really bright, I could not identify the object clearly. Only that it was glass and I could see the reflection of light. I asked Lai Meng if she dropped something. Without even checking, she answered no. So, I granted her a picture and the four of us started our 1.5km journey back to the train station. It was three quarters during our walk that Lai Meng exclaimed that she lost one of her lens from her glasses. Being quite myopic, she realized that there was no way she could survive without her glasses and went tracing back the path that we took.

At that point in time, Gizem, Dikun and I were starting to feel really concerned. In barely two hours, we had a train to catch to Venice from the Santa Maria Novella Train Station in Florence and we still had to travel a one hour train to Hotel Sofia in Florence from Pisa to retrieve our luggages. Being the extremely politically correct one, I was tasked with persuading her to give up the search for her lens because the three of us sincerely believed that even if she found her lens, it would be scratched and there was no way that she could fix it back. Moreover, we had already spent a bomb on the train tickets and if we miss the trains, we would probably kill ourselves. And being the resolute and stubborn one, she refused to give up the search. It was virtually a hunt for a needle in the hay and there was pretty much that we could do.

As my Italian is only limited to the vocabulary section from my piano theory from eons ago and none of us speak Italian at all, there was no way we could communicate with the locals and ask them for help.

The funniest part was that Lai Meng actually found an intelligent yet peculiar way of communicating with the locals. Whenever she meets an Italian, she would go, “Scossi”, take out her glasses and poke her finger through the hollowed part of the glasses to communicate her point. No wonder she aced her Intercultural Communications class in SMU.

I know that it was not supposed to be funny. However, thinking back on what happened never fails to make me start sniggering again. Wahaha. In case, you are wondering, we managed to find her lens and she fixed it back. Thanks to no one but yours truly who happened to possess an extremely sharp eye.

Anyway, the final installment of my Italian trip soon. Venice. I absolutely LOVE Venice. More on that soon! Ciao ciao!

Italy Trip: Florence!

2006-09-20T23:29:00.000+08:00

Like Rome, Florence was one of the greatest tourist attractions of Italy. The architectures in Florence were undeniably amazing and this was also the place that we found the famous David by Michaelangelo.

Gizem, the Turkish exchange student from EBS, joined us at the Santa Maria Novella Train Station in Florence. Our first stop was none other than the Galleria dell’ Academia to view the most famous structure in the world, David. This was actually one out of the three Davids in Florence. It was also in this gallery that I saw the famous (or not so famous) painting of the Sacrifice of Issac. It was actually through Smallville that I learnt about this painting. Lex Luthor said that in the Phoenix Episode of Smallville Season III when he thought that his father was trying to kill him. Haha. American TV actually helps me to learn about history and art.

After millions of cathedrals, museums, paintings and sculptures, Galleria dell’ Academia was just one of the museums which I sped viewed within two hours. Housed near the flea market areas, I decided to venture into the crowd to continue my great adventure in shopping. Calling it the flea market is a misnomer because the prices of clothes, bags and souvenirs were jaw-dropping. The standard price for a leather bag alone would set you back by 220 Euros. Multiply that amount by two and you get the amount in Singapore Dollars.

It was during this part of the trip that I finally started to realize that Italian guys are freaks. Seriously, what is wrong with Italian guys and their perpetual need to ask for a kiss? I was so freaking grossed out by this Italian dude who gave-me-a-kiss-and-momentarily-changed-my opinion-of-them that I threw newspapers at him. Seriously.

Enough of that grotesque moment. That Kodak moment shall forever be buried in the soil of Italy.

It was mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guide as well as by the kind elderly couple owners of Hotel Mondo Nuovo that there is a pasta restaurant in Florence which is a must-visit. It turned out that Mario, the restaurant was tucked away in a neat corner of the flea market. Mario was indeed popular. The restaurant itself was miserably small but the crowd for the lunch was incredibly huge. Nevertheless, everybody seemed pretty contented in waiting. Even Eliz and Nic went down to Mario’s on their trip to Florence.

We had red wine and tomato pasta. The tomato pasta was really amazing. Though Gizem forgot that I did not take cheese on its own and poured too much cheese onto my pasta to make me feel a little nausea, I still loved the pasta a lot. I basically drowned the cheese part with the wine. Good thing I was still sober by the time I finished the pasta.

It was back to shopping again for me after lunch although it was more of window-shopping because most of the shops were selling the same stuff. Besides, I was already pretty penniless from my shopping in Rome.

The setting of the dusk was spent at Piazza della Signoria. This was the place where it held fine replicated sculptures of David and the Rape of the Sabine Women. For the already-budget-conscious me, it was truly a moment when I wanted to kill myself for paying so much to enter Galleria dell’ Academia when everything was available here, free of charge. Wails.

I saw a great performance by the most amazing basker that I have ever seen in my entire life. His rendition of the theme song of “Autumn in my Heart” was hauntingly beautiful. In case you have been living in the caves for the past century, “Autumn in my Heart” is the Korean hit drama from like five years ago that got everybody weeping in their Kleenex and started a unique trend of the female lead dying of leukemia in the endings of all Korean movies and dramas.

That’s about it for Florence because I was so tired during my trip in Florence that I basically could not even remember much. Traveling with your 29 inch luggage and walking under the scorching sun can be physically draining. Besides, it was during this trip that my camera started to malfunction so pardon the lack of pictures.

Anyway, coming up – Pisa. Till the next time, ciao!

Eliz. Party. Camera.

2006-09-20T20:10:00.000+08:00

Eliz came and went. For two whole nights, the perpetual and foreign sense of loneliness that I have been experiencing in Germany was gone. The heartwarming and blissful sensation of seeing one of your best friends in a foreign land is simply gratifying. Eliz and Nic gave me a pleasant surprise when they returned one day earlier than expected.

I brought Eliz and Nic to the party at school on Monday night. We had a fantabulous night out. The last time I could remember partying with so much exuberance was with the twenty-sixers at MoS. I miss you guys so much!

Truth be told, the party at EBS was boring itself. Nevertheless, Eliz and I had so much fun by ourselves that we really did not care about anything else. Whee! We were basically just spinning around and around on our own, oblivious to the prying eyes of the ang-mohs around us towards the two weird Asian girls laughing hysterically. I am so looking forward to going drinking again with Eliz in London. It will be uber fun!

My mum sealed the parcel that she was sending over to me before I even had the chance to tell her to add in the Panadol Extras, which has become a staple part of my diet due to my terrible hangovers from alcohol. Luckily, Eliz gave me her Panadol Extras, otherwise, I will probably just suffer from the migraines. Thank you so much for the medication and fun night out, babe!

Anyway, my sister’s camera died on me. Officially. Damn, I should have brought my Canon Ixus I with me. But then, my Canon Ixus I only serves the purpose of being slim and sleek and does not really capture beautiful shots. Now, I have to either buy a new camera here or get the current one repaired. It seems a wiser choice to buy a new camera since the Powershot S45 is already so old. But I am reserving my money for shopping. Sigh.

Idol Frenzy.

2006-09-18T18:35:00.000+08:00

Jonathan and Hardy are the Final 2 for the Singapore Idol Grand Finals. Really happy that we have deserving idols in the finals though I am feeling kind of sad because I cannot get to watch it. And Stacie Orrico performed live last week. Sigh. That is one of the disadvantage of studying abroad.

Anyway, I do like Jasmine alot too. I can totally identify with her since we both have the same "potato sack" that she wore for the Singapore Idol Auditions. How apt.

No matter. Vote for Jon Leong, okay? Cos he is like so cute. And he looks like a rock star. Haha.

Italy Trip: Perugia!

2006-09-17T02:42:00.000+08:00

Being extremely sick of rocks, stones and pebbles in Rome, we shortened our intended four day trip to Rome for a day in Perugia. According to The Lonely Planet Guide Book,

“Perugia is a well-preserved medieval hill town that offers sweeping panoramas at every turn.”

Being part of the half-glass empty persuasion, my immediate thought was that I would be trading rocks and stones for grass and mosquitoes. Joy. Moreover, our arrival in Perugia was marred by the fact that our bloody hostel misstated the station that we were supposed to arrive at. My traveling buddies and I ended up 60km away from the hostel.

Sensing that there was no other better choice than to find a proper (read: expensive!) accommodation at midnight, we checked into a four-star hotel for the night. Hotel Mondo Nuovo was one of the best parts of the trip. The owners of the hotel were a nice elderly couple who drove us back to the hotel, perched in a fortress called Foligno. This was an immediate relief for me because I was actually dead beat from lugging my 29 inch luggage, Adidas gym bag and another huge shopping bag. Not only did our room offer us a panoramic view of the mountains, we were able to catch the break of dawn without any optical obstructions.

Despite being less-than-densely populated, Perugia offered to me the old town charm that still leaves me bubbling with euphoria every time I think about it.

The Montefalcro wine from Perugia is supposed to be one of the best kept secrets of the town. And best of all, it is freaking cheap. Silly me actually forgot about purchasing one for ~~myself~~ daddy after making a mental note to return to the shops in the late afternoon.

Anyway, guess who I found in Perugia?

The mascot of the Singapore Courtesy Campaign!! Nah, I was just kidding. Just his twin brother on the cereal box. Haha. They look alike, don’t they?

That concludes Perugia. Short entry, I know. But we spent only spent less than a day in Perugia before leaving for Florence. And yes, it was in Florence that I got kissed by a fantastically ugly dude. More about that on the next entry.

Italy Trip: Rome!

2006-09-13T23:10:00.000+08:00

There is only one word to describe Italy. Hot. The scorching sun was an unfriendly reminder of the humidity and burning sensation that one would get when they walk along the streets of Singapore. Not that the battalion of tourists to Italy seemed to mind. They seemed to be enjoying the sunshine that the last of the summer would provide.

Despite the extremely favorable comments that my dear sister gave me about Rome, it was thoroughly disappointing for me. The only people who would love Rome would be those who are huge fans of the Flintstones. The sole pictorial that comes to my mind when I reminisce about Rome would be rocks, stones and cobbles. Haha.

The two-day Rome Pass that we bought from Termini Train Station came in handy during our first stop to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was exactly just rocks, stones and cobbles. Somehow, I did not feel impressed at all by the ancient and magnificent structure. The thought of the Colosseum being a place of death and merciless battles between gladiators and wild beasts just made me feel nauseas. After all, how could one endorse such pseudo glorification of brutality and bloody gladiatorial deaths that resulted in thousands of human and animal deaths?

Outside of the Colosseum, we saw these men dressed as gladiators trying to con dumb tourists into taking pictures with them. The price of each picture? 5 Euros.

Again, we saw couples getting married. The poor bride’s wedding gown was extremely dirty, thanks to the dust and dirt of the stone Colosseum. I am actually having great fun seeing people taking their wedding photos at these tourist attraction areas. It is always a joy seeing their reactions when they realized that people are more interested in taking pictures of them than the structure itself.

Night view of the Tiber River was magnificent. There were men and women basking on the bridges and the melodious sound from their violins were enough to make me forget about the dizziness I had from the heat of the day.

We passed by Julius Casear’s statue on the second day of Rome.

One of my favorite attractions was the Vittorio Emanvele II. Or better known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The entire of the third day was reserved for the Vatican City. The queue to the entrance of the Vatican was snaking horrendously. It circled around the entire of the Vatican City. It was only after finishing two Stefanie Sun’s album on my iPod Nano that I finally stepped through to the famed and much-hyped about building.

Unwilling to waste the two hours spent queuing under the horrible burning sun, I spent another six euros on a personal audio guide. It was money well spent because I had great fun navigating around the different galleries. The one that I loved most was the Egyptian Museum. Gasp! I see dead people!

AGAIN, unwilling to leave Rome empty handed without any shopping, I decided to venture to Spagna on my own for some serious retail therapy session. The Spanish Steps were the major attraction at Spagna. Legend has it that in the 18th century, beautiful men and women would congregate at these steps for people to notice them. My first impression when I read about this was that Italian people from the 18th century probably has too much free time on their hands.

Besides the famed Spanish Steps, there were many buildings around that got me extremely breathless. This time, it was from sheer exhilaration! After days of being trapped in the Stone Age, I finally see familiar signs.

Shopping in Italy is an incredibly expensive affair. I have proof of that.

The police cars in Italy are so cool. Look!

That’s enough for today. More about Perugia, Florence and Venice coming up!

Backk!

2006-09-10T23:28:00.000+08:00

This is my third attempt at blogging about what happened in Italy. Travelled to Rome, Perugia, Florence and Venice during the nine days. To the amazement (and amusement) of my friends, I did not really enjoy Italy. The Italian city that I loved the most was Venice. That was like one of the most romantic cities that I have ever travelled to, albeit not as enchanting as Paris. Haha.

After a freak kiss by none-other-than-a-freak and countless love proposals thrown at me along the streets of Italy, I finally came up with the conclusion that Italian men are far from hot. So stay away from those Italian dudes! A very wise Vanessa once said,

Italian guys are soooo hot! Even their road sweepers and bus drivers are hot!

I beg to differ. The only thing piping hot about Italy was the freaking weather and their pizzas! The weather was even worse than Singapore. I actually felt cranky and snappish for most of the time in Italy. The humidity of the air was already unbearable. Add to that the glaring sun beating down on Miss-At-Least-Sun-Protection-Factor-50 and you get the monster waiting to rear out of me.

Aside from the weather, the fact that I did not get to indulge in alot of shopping made me feel worse. It turned out that my travelling buddies' definition of shopping involves only Italian keychains and souvenir mugs. It was only during my third day in Rome that I ditch my travelling partners and went on a major shopping session alone in Spagna which made my happiness level rise considerably by several notches.

I have like more than 800 pictures from a mere nine day trip. So hang on there while I sort out and edit the photos! What with school starting ~~and many parties going on~~, I finally gain new appreciation of the phrase "time is essence".

Anyway, that's it for now. Pictures will be up soon.

Italia!

2006-08-31T19:53:00.000+08:00

Nine day trip to Italy starting from tomorrow. Will be heading down to Rome, Florence and Venice. And in case I don't have the time to blog, see you soon, sweeties! Muakkzzz..

As Sindy says, Forza Italia!

The Beautiful Hattenheim.

2006-08-30T18:16:00.000+08:00

I am going to get internet connection in my house soon! Whoopee!! My Mexican neighbours came knocking on my door last night and I enthusiastically expressed my desire to share their wireless connection. No longer would I have to walk millions of kilometres to school just to get connection to the outside world.

Don't get me wrong. I totally love where I am in Hattenheim now. The frostiness of the weather here is a refreshing change from the humid summer that we experience in Singapore all year long. My face feels matte all the long. My only grievance is that my Clinique Moisture Surge Extra is disappearing at an astonishing speed. Besides, the view of vineyards and the river is simply exhilarating.

I shall present you with the view of and from my house. The dogs in Germany are so HUGE that I really wonder what the Germans feed them with. And the most terrifying thing is that at the ground floor of my house lives a humongous dog! This little huge creature makes it a point to come sniffing at me everytime it sees me coming home and my first reaction would be.. to run! Haha.

It gets a little lonely at night here and I only have my dear old plush dog, Bobby for company.

This is the view that I get every single day that I walk to EBS.

Other than the scenic route that differs from the skyscrapper Singapre, the alcohol here is really intense. I had only a glass of beer on my first night in Hattenheim and my mind already felt a little fuddled. On my second night, I had dinner at one of the wine growing areas in Rheingau, which was an event organized by the school. I only had two glasses of Reislings and I could swear my eyes were growing glassier as the night wore on. Haha.

In case you are reading this, Mummy and Daddy, don't worry! I know my limits to alcohol and swear that I won't return to Singapore as a member of Alchoholic Anonymous. So fret not!

I Heart Paris. Part Two.

2006-08-29T23:39:00.000+08:00

The last day in Paris was devoted to the sleezy region of Moulin Rouge. The myriad of brightly litted neon sign boards spelling "Sexodrome" was evidently not enough to lure those testorone pumping males species inside. There were pimps literally pulling guys into the sex shops and it was a funny sight, though.

The three of us then went to the famous castle, Basilique du Sacre Coeur. It was indeed a standout from the many cathedrals and castles that we saw. Perched on the top of a hill, we had to climb like one million steps to get to the entrance of the castle.

On our way out of the Sacre Coeur we saw a little dungeon called Crypt. The first impression that I had of the Crypt was that we would be able to see dead people. Silly me then happily encouraged the three of us to pay 5 Euros each to enter the crypt.

Only to see stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. And more stairs. I swear we climbed like one hundred million steps up the Crypt. On my way up, I was reproaching myself for the bad choice and wondering why I was doing this to myself. Nevertheless, the view from the top of the Sacre Coeur was absolutely priceless. The beautiful skyline of Paris was easily visible and unobstructed from the top. The amazing structure of the Eiffel was once again prominent to our view.

There were actually many more interesting sights on the way back from the Sacre Coeur. We saw the famous grocery shop made famous by Audrey Tatau in Amelie. Besides that, there was a really beautiful fountain in one of the park.

And now to the most important moment of the trip.. SHOPPING! Shopping in Paris was absolutely crazy and fun. Eliz and I absolutely went berserk at the sight of all the shops and stores in Champ Elysee and Chatelet Les Hall. And as you realise, the nutty potty me was so enthralled with the sheer amount of retail therapy available in Paris that I forgot to take pictures of the beautiful shopping areas. Haha. It was only towards the end of the Paris trip that I regained my balanced and level-headed self to stop any more impulse in shopping.

I absolutely love Paris! All in all, I am now a converted francophile!

I Heart Paris. Part One.

2006-08-28T19:21:00.000+08:00

Many apologies for the lack of updates. I just spent the weekend over in Paris. No amount of words can describe the beauty of Paris. The city is just full of majestic charm that transports your imagination back to the settings of the grand cities in good old movies. Although it was only three days in Paris, I have over two hundred photos to show you. Along with my sister, I am now an offical member of the unofficial WE-LOVE-PARIS fanclub! Haha.

The trip to and from Paris was truly gratifying. Not only did I marvelled in the beauty of the city of lights, I learnt the meaning of true independence. I travelled alone to and back from Paris because Eliz and her friend, Nic, were already in Paris from Amstadam. Travelling on the train at night meant that I had to stay extremely wary of everything and anything around me. Not to mention that I had to navigate around the cities of France and Germany in gibberish French and German. Besides, carrying four heavy luggages and having to hop on and off eight different trains was no mere task for the physically challenged.

On the night that I was due to leave for Hattenheim, Germany, I missed my 10.45pm train. Some bloody French girl pointed me onto the wrong platform. I already realised something was amissed when five minutes before the train was about to leave, the train was eerily vacant. However, I still went searching through the cabins, hoping for some sign of life. Within the next ten minutes, I was totally freaking out. I hopped off the train with four extremely heavy bags and spotted the French conductor. Speaking in hopeless French, I asked him for the train back to Frankfurt. He looked at me regretfully that the train to Frankfurt Main was gone five minutes ago. The fear finally dawned onto me. It was really fortunate that the French conductor was really nice to me and guess what? He allowed me to board the train back to Strausborg.. first class!

Not that it really mattered to me at that point in time. I was actually more concerned about returning back to Hattenheim alive. On the train, I met a really nice (and good-looking but married) Canadian who gave me alot of advice and reassurance that I would be fine. Nevertheless, I am really proud of myself for travelling on my own. Afterall, how many twenty-year-olds are there around who went travelling alone, missed her connection, ended up in some weird French city and managed to stay alive? Haha.

Okay, back to my journey to Paris.

This was what I meant by sitting in the train station alone at night.

On the first day in Paris, we went to Musee D'Orsay. Musee D'Orsay used to be the garden of the famous King Henry in the 1600s. The museum demonstrates artistic works of the Western world and is divided into different sections for different eras. There was even works by Van Gough even though Eliz and I did not recognise it until Nicholas told us that he was really impressed by Van Gough. Haha.

The beautiful garden by The River Seine.

We had this really HUGE crepes for lunch. I bought a Nutella one. It was nice to the tastebud within the first few bites. But excessive supply of Nutella kind of made me sick. I exchanged it with Eliz for her Poulet Crepe. It was really nice!

After lunch, we walked over to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The Notre Dame was really a place of worship of remarkable and breathtaking beauty. Before the Notre Dame, there are pigeons flocking about. Within the cathedral, the quiet reverence of the tourists and light passing through the stained glass panel provides illumination of the church, making it seem so hauntingly beautiful.

From almost every part of central Paris, you can see the most beautiful river in the world, The River Seine. It is absolutely an alluring sight. Be it night or day. The sparkle of the water from the bright sun from the afternoon provides absolute pleasure to the sight. Next to the River Seine, there are Frenchmen peddling caricatures, portraits, postcards and books of Paris.

The Arc D'Triomphe sits are the crossroads to the famous shopping street, Champ Elysee.

And along Champ Elysee lies the famous store famous for being two letters. Sindy and sis, this is for you! LV is really cheap in Paris. The Damien Speedy is only 450 Euros. And that does not include the tax refund.

There was actually a couple taking their wedding shots below their Eiffel. The tourists were actually more interested in taking photos of the bride who was wearing an Eiffel Tower accessory on her head than the actual Eiffel itself. She looks pretty pissed. Haha.

Oh my. I cannot believe that I have been blogging this entry for more than seven hours and it is still far from done. More pictures tomorrow, darlings!

Hello from Germany.

2006-08-21T23:05:00.000+08:00

Hello, all.

I am alive!! Haha. Finally connected to civilisation dot com after what seems like so many days. I am currently in the computer lab in the Burg Building at EBS. There is no internet connection from home so I could not access my blog using my laptop. The German keyboard differs from the QWERTY keyboard we use in Singapore. Therefore, I am typing at a rate of one word per minute. Argh!

Hopefully, I will be able to get internet connection in my apartment soon. It is such a torture staying in a small town and not being able to access the internet.

The worse thing about my apartment is that the water heater switches off every minute. It has become such a torture to bath and I can feel myself freezing in the bath. The most frustrating part is that my room does not come with any mirror and one of the blinders for the windows are gone.

The best thing about the apartment is the scenic view of the Rhine River in the living room. There are boats on the river along with seagulls scratching past the waters. Pretty! The air is cool and refreshing. It feels liké the whole town is air conditioned at a rate of 18 degree celcius. Darkness only sets in after 9pm. This is what they call the end of the summer.

Furthermore, the people that I have met so far in Germany are really nice and friendly. All are fine, so far. Shall blog more tomorrow and alot of pictures coming soon!!

Goodbye, Singapore. Hello, Germany.

2006-08-19T22:24:00.000+08:00

My bags are all packed. And I am set to go. I will be leaving on Sunday morning.

All of a sudden, my mind feels foreign. My body feels foreign. I don't want to leave. Finding comfort in a land of foreign language and people is going to be hard. Perhaps this is exactly the reason why I wanted to leave Singapore for a semester.

It is hard to leave when everybody and everything you love and care about are here.

I am going to miss Daddy, Mummy, my sisters, my lovely friends and of course, the beautiful but hot Singapore.

Take care, sweeties. I will blog more when I reach the Deutscheland.

Fun!

2006-08-19T00:53:00.000+08:00

The past week has been nothing short of a fervent mad rush.

Coffee on wednesday with my favorite girls from 26/02. A million thanks to min, sindy, pearlyn and fengxue for turning up amidst your hectic schedules and the bustle of school reopening. We forgot to take pictures! Argh! Anyway, tc and cc, we are missing you from here!

MoS on Thursday night with 26/02 folks. By the end of the night, I was one of the rare who remained sober. Two large jars of Lond Island Tea and vodka rendered these guys so liquored up and completely wasted.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

This was supposed to be an NTU Sport Bash and we were there to support Pengfeng for his pageant. The funny thing is that I have never been to any bashes and parties by SMU. Guess this only goes to prove that what matters most is the company.

The cuokoo birds.

Lunch with mum and my sisters at Din Tai Fung. I love xiao long baos! Do you?

I had great fun this week. I am so going to miss Singapore!!

The Pent Up.

2006-08-12T23:08:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, I just want to scream.

Updates!

2006-08-11T13:35:00.000+08:00

I am sick again. This is like the hundredth time this year. My family have been embarking on a mission called "Feed-huiling-before-she-leaves-for-germany". The past week has been a high-fat and calorie-enhancing diet. Dimsum, pizza, chocolates, cheezels, rice (and i mean alot of rice).

Despite my illness, I have been eating durians. Haha. Daddy bought D24 durians yesterday and I could not resist the temptation. My motto for the day was "Eat first and die later."

I have been incredibly busy for the past week. Many apologies for those not-replied smses. My exchange trip is draining every ounce of my energy. All my travelling plans seems to be defunct. I seem to be spending way too much money on budget flights and trains.

The many plans to travel with friends have gone awry. Bad timings. This has left me more than exasperated. However, there is something that I am really excited about. I am hatching my own great adventure. Not sure if it would work out. I am thinking of travelling to at least one great city on my own!

And I am REALLY excited!!!

Sunday with a Great Friend.

2006-08-02T14:38:00.000+08:00

Dining out on a Sunday evening. Great food. Embracing old times. Babbling about the future. Realising our dreams.

bff=best friends forever

Birthday Wishes and Happy Friends.

2006-08-01T20:11:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, Vanessa and Harry Potter!

Whee! 31st July is a special occasion. Not only is it Van's 21st birthday, it is also the red-letter day of The Boy Who Lived. As the club president of the unofficial and non-existent We Love Harry Potter Fan Club, I see the need to announce this unique day to all of us Muggles out there. Haha.

I have been feeling kind of industrious lately. Therefore, I have been picking out some of my old textbooks and re-reading the subjects. Nearly four months of sluggish stupor has rendered the usual normal brain activity abnormal. Reading just one chapter takes up twice the usual amount of energy and time.

Nevertheless, at least something productive is coming out of this unproductive summer break.

Weekend was spent with Shiyun. Great food. Long chat. Retail therapy.

Photos will be uploaded soon.

Backkk!!!

2006-07-29T18:18:00.000+08:00

Hello there, sweeties. Apologies for the lack of update in my blog. I ain't gone yet. Soon, babies!

Truth is time is something that I have plenty at this moment. But I can't seem to make good use of it.

I am finally connected to THE technology talk of the century! Albeit many years too late. Haha. After much research and contemplation, I decided to purchase an ipod nano to replace my ageing and cracking creative mp3. I am lu-rvving it!

The miniature and sleek nature of this gadget renders me just speechless and I feel the urge to take it out just to awe at this amazing creation. Call me suaku but I feel a sense of admiration for this Apple.

I love my ipod nano. Looks good in the pockets.. but bad for my credit health.

My German buddy from EBS has just gotten in touch with me. He is such a nice chap. But truthfully, his answers to my mysteries of EBS and the small town that I will be living in only leaves me a little disillusioned.

Philipp (my German buddy) told me that there is only a very low possibility that apartments in Rheingau comes with internet connection, confirming what I had already suspected a long time ago. When I read this sentence, my hands when cold and I wanted to scream. Afterall, this would mean that I would be cut off from the outside world for four months. Boo!

But no worries, you sweeties. I swear that I will find internet connection somehow and bring you guys all the pretty stuff in Europe!

Furthermore, my plans to clear five credits in a semester have been ruined by the fact that I will be doing the Diplom-Kauffmann Program in EBS. The Diplom-Kauffmann is the Bachelor and Masters Program combined into one in Germany. Because this is the last year of this program, this would mean that I would be doing courses that are at the Masters Level Program! Philippe advised me against doing five, especially finance courses because I would be going on weekend trips frequently. And now, I would probably have to just clear four credits or lesser.

On a separate note, I miss my gal pals terribly.

I miss my bestie, Shiyun.

I miss my favorite gals from 26/02.

Blink.

2006-07-06T15:23:00.000+08:00

I am a little dismayed that Germany did not make it to the World Cup Finals. Maybe dismayed is too much of an understatement. More like disturbed. Agitated. Distressed. Melancholic.

Sure, I may not be the ultimate football fan around. My eyes are on Keanu Reeves in Constantine playing on HBO while the Germany versus Italy match goes on. But the fact that I will be spending a semester in Germany gives me this obligation to devote my twisted loyalty to the Germans. And not to mention that Michael Ballack is cute. Haha.

'Nuff said about football and.. cute football players. I have been soaking myself in Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

True to my belief in rationing books, I am into the second chapter after two days.

It has always been a mystery to me as to how some selected few people can make spanking decisions and choices in a fleeting moment. Maybe they have ESP. Otherwise, it must be kismet!

It has become a habit of mine to berate myself for the untimely and crummy decisions I made. Whether it is a minute choice of purchasing that shirt tucked at the bottom of my closet or just.. something far more important. So let's see if you can spot the difference in me after I finish devouring the book.

Give Me My Forty Winks.

2006-07-01T22:08:00.000+08:00

My otherwise tranquil leisure hours have been marred by a bad bout of insomnia. A sense of peevishness always descends me in the middle of the night as I toss and turn restlessly in bed for hours.

It is hard to rest when your mind wanders upon a deep reflection on your life and the anticipation of what is lying ahead of you. Funnily enough, the last summer holidays were spent searching the meaning in life.

From Yomeishu to red wine, I think the only thing standing between me and getting a shuteye is banging my head on the wall.

I want to find the peace in me!

Brat Fit.

2006-06-10T21:16:00.000+08:00

10 More Weeks to Frankfurt!

In case you are wondering, I have already booked my tickets. Leaving on Sunday, 20th August and will be back on Thursday, 28th December.

Speaking of leaving, Mummy and my sister will be leaving for a holiday in Taiwan tomorrow. From what my mum told me, it would be a luxurious stay at some five star hotel and travelling Singapore Airlines. Brat alert! *Wails.* I think I am going to sulk and pout the whole day. No fair!

Sure, my mum and sister did ask me to join them on the trip. But I flatly insisted a no because I wanted to intern during the summer and earn more buckaroos for the trip to Frankfurt. Now that my internship plans have fallen apart, I do regret not having the hindsight of declining that internship offer in the first plan. Anyway, I think Mummy is going to pay for me, right? Boo!

Meaningless.

2006-06-08T19:00:00.000+08:00

What do you do when you are at the pinnacle of boredom?

I don't mean to sound ingrate at my newfound freedom, but I am starting to feel indifferent from the mundanity of my daily routine. So here is the million dollar question: What have Huiling been doing for the past one and a half months of liberty?

wake up. read the papers. have my breakfast. check my school email. browse through forums. check cna, cnn and reuters for breaking news. blogsurf. read a book. take a two hour nap. have my dinner. check my school email. check cna for breaking news. take a walk around the house. watch tv. read a book. sleep.

Goodness. I can't wait to get back to school. At least my mind would start to feel adequate in productivity.

Shopaholics. And the Domestic Me.

2006-05-18T18:46:00.000+08:00

Finally laid my hands on two Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series.

That is pretty slow, considering that both books had been out for more than a year. However, I usually adopt an indolent approach toward book selection. I absolutely refuse to read books that are part of The Popularity Rush. Anyway, I am going to ration this book for the next couple of weeks. No more zealous reading!

I was practically scowling the whole day and absorbed in a cantankerous mood. Thanks to nothing but the stifling weather and blazing heat. (Did I mention how much I hate the sun?) Until I checked my email and saw this offer of accomodation from Germany.

Hello Mrs. Ang,

I offer following apartment to you:

One single room, ca.
22 qm², right side
In a 3-room flat
Big kitchen (with all inventory)
Bathroom (shower/WC)
bedding utilities available
be able to tell the photos by the look of you

close to the ebs campus, about 700 m to walk to ebs (10 min.), if you need there will be an service to get a bike to rent
bank institue, backery an shop nearby
bus connevtion / train station about 400 m far away

280,00 Euro rent per month, including all extras
(electricity, gas, water)

(Each person 260,00 Euro per month!)

One security despoit of 250,00 Euro for each person!
(if everything will get acceptable tidy an nothing is damaged you will get it back without any problems)

50,00 Euro for end-cleaning the flat!

This ist my offer for you aber checking your accommodation preferences I will reserve this offer 4 days, so please inform me soon, if it is o.k. for you.

Also I need your exact arrival dates, because for to prepare everything before your
arrival in Germany.

Bye with best regards, waiting for your answer or confirmation.

Heike Fuhrmann
Housing Coordinator
EUROPEAN
BUSINESS SCHOOL (ebs)
International University Schloß Reichartshausen

**The above email has not been edited in anyway.

Check out how cute the subtly broken English sounds. And gosh, when did I become Mrs. Ang?

Although I will be sharing an apartment with two other house-mates, I am pretty satisfied. The rent is about half less than what I had anticipated. Not only that, I get to walk to school and save on transport. More money for shopping and travelling. Yay!

Yaddah, yaddah..

2006-05-17T22:45:00.000+08:00

I am in a mopish mood and I feel BORED, BORED and BORED!!!

After spending the past few weeks reading Harry Potter for the 129th time and watching Smallville for the 234th time, I am ready to declare myself revolted at the seemingly uninteresting and mundane life I have.

Books, I need more books!!!

I hate to write this.

2006-05-17T13:36:00.000+08:00

I received this email on Sunday.

Dear Friends,

How's your holidays so far? Good I hope!
Anyway, as you can probably guess what this email is for. I felt that Professor Fly-By-Night* has been irresponsible, unaccountable and uncommitted and I want to bring this matter up to higher authority (probably the dean of business?). Read on for the reasons and I think you will agree with me!

Although his reason for his uncommited attitude is that he is only a part-time Professor, we should not take it lying down because we are paying full school fees and this type of atitude is unacceptable. I will need your support to gain some kind of credibility, please reply me if you want to sign on this letter.

Seriously, do you think he is a good Professor who deserves to be paid $1000 per lecture? SMU pays around this rates for Adjunct Professors if I'm not wrong.
Thanks!

Cheers,
Ms. Indignant*

We feel that Professor Fly-By-Night has not fulfilled his responsibilities as a course instructor for the course ‘Financial Instruments, Institutions and Markets’ in the following ways.

Unavailable for Consulation
Fly-By-Night was not available for consultation from Tuesdays to Fridays as he only comes by SMU on lecture days, which is only once a week on Mondays. On Mondays, he has classes from 8:30am to 3:30pm and students are left with a narrow time period of only 3 hours to meet him during office hours.

While Fly-By-Night attributes his busy schedule to his fulltime employment outside of SMU, we feel that this is no excuse, as students from this class are paying the full University school fees and should not be shortchanged in this manner. The difference in quality of Adjunct faculty and full time faculty should not affect our pursuit of knowledge.

Failed to Complete Chapters as Proposed in Course Outline
Fly-By-Night proposed to teach 16 chapters in his course outline, but only covered 8 by the end of the course. Again, Fly-By-Night has fallen short of our expectations and we feel that this is irresponsible unless there was an error in the course outline.

Subjective Evaluation of Project Report
Project report carried 30% of the total grade weightage and was to be submitted at the end of the course. There were no presentations for it and no basis for the students to compare their project with other projects. The only evaluator was Professor Fly-By-Night, who was not transparent with how he evaluated projects. Students did not receive any feedback or comments on project, just a final grade, which was released at the last minute.

We feel his method of grading projects is subjective and is not accountable to the students. We are unable to justify the grade we got as there are no means of comparing our projects with the rest.

Late Release of Results
Fly-By-Night released the final grade on 5th May in the afternoon, the same day as the actual day of final submission of results. Taking into account that our last quiz was on week 14, one week earlier than other courses with exams on week 15, Fly-By-Night should have had ample time to assess our performance. Students who wish to review their grades had to file for an Appeal (of Grade Discrimination).

Following that SMU’s vision is ‘to be a premier university, internationally recognized for its world class research and distinguished teaching’ and one of SMU’s goals is to attract and sustain finest faculty, we feel that this matter is of utmost importance to
the reputation of the institution. Bearing in mind that foreign students on exchange attend our classes, hiring Adjunct faculty of this caliber and will hinder SMU in achieving its goals of being a world class university.

*Names have been changed to protect the antagonized and unindustrious.

I must readily admit that my enthusiasm for Finance died down by a considerable notch after taking Professor Fly-By-Night's class. Every Monday morning would be D-Day (Dreaded-Day) and by the end of the morning, I could hardly recall anything beneficial from the class.

In case you are wondering, I did not reply to that email. By the time I checked my email, Vanessa told me that Ms. Indignant had already sent out the email. Oh well.

Friday Night Fever.

2006-05-14T21:23:00.000+08:00

Happy 21st Birthday, Sindy, Pearlyn and Chenghan!

I swear every single class gathering would be a good stomach muscle workout. Because these guys and gals can really make you obliterate all your brass realities and concentrate on being a blossoming adolescent once again.

Ahem. The subtle code behind this message would be the bi-annual opportunity for you to talk crap and laugh till you attain muscle spasms. Haha. These folks never fail to make me laugh, and I thank you, you and you for that!

There are only a couple of decent pictures from that gathering because all my pictures turned out to be grainy looking. No idea how that happened even though every thing looked pretty faultless from the camera.

Superman Returns.

2006-05-08T14:14:00.000+08:00

What I love about summer holidays is my right to bum.. and bum. Now that I have quit my internship, I am officially a full time bummer. What a bummer. Catch the pun? Haha.

I am always brimming and bubbling with anticipation when it comes to summer holidays. Not just because it spells the end of a semester but also it means blockbuster movies are here! Whoopee!

Despite all those Mission Impossible and Da Vinci Code that are much hyped about, I have been mentally ticking off the number of days towards the premier of Superman Returns on June 30th with fervent gusto.

I have always been a huge fan of Smallville and hence, it should come as no surprise that Superman Returns would be at the top of my must-watch list. I think the boisterous part of any Superhero movies would be discovering how Clark Kent or Kar-El or better known as Superman discovers his power. To digress a little, I still cannot believe that Nicholas Cage would name his son Kal-El. If I were Kal-El, I would rather accept my destiny and return to Krypton anytime.

Nevertheless, I still think that the producers of Superman Return made a wrong choice not casting Tom Welling as Superman in the movie. And Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor is a little nay compared to Michael Rosenbaum, despite Kevin Spacey being the more experienced Hollywood actor. Michael Rosenbuam makes Lex Luthor so deliciously evil.

There is no Lana Lang in Superman Returns. Otherwise, I would be gushing over Kristink Kreuk. But here is Kristin Kreuk anyway.

I must be one of the biggest Smallville fan ever. Because I can give you many "Did you know" facets of Smallville.

1. Michael McKean who played Perry White in Smallville is actually Martha Kent's husband in real life.
2. Annette O'Toole who plays Martha Kent is actually Lana Lang in Superman: The Movie.
3. Lex Luthor and Clark Kent were made best friends in Smallville when the real Superman story made both nemesis right from the beginning.
4. The prison officer who shaved off Lionel Luthor's hair in Season 4 Finale actually played the prisoner who extorted Lionel (or rather, Clark) in prison.
5. Jenson Ackles who played Jason Teague in Smallville was actually one of the choices for the role of Clark Kent.

Haha. Silly as it sounds, I actually feel proud of my accomplishments of reciting all these facets to my sister.

The 100th Post.

2006-05-02T14:32:00.000+08:00

Happy 100th Post!

There was actually a 99th post before this. It's all about politics, the melancholic reaction of Singaporeans towards voting as well as well as the dodgy politics of the Opposition Parties. I love that post! In fact, I love it too much to disclose it. Blah! No lah. I think that post is too sensationalised and pro-PAP that I don't want to find myself breaking any laws. I still want to go Frankfurt, okay?

All those planning for exchange are giving me a massive headache. Searching for flights through and to Frankfurt is turning out to be more difficult than I imagine. I could only suppose that Frankfurt International is the main airport in Germany and does not cater to budget airlines. As such, most budget airlines depart and/or arrive at only Berlin. Goodness gracious. I could almost aliken Frankfurt International to Kuala Lumpur Airport and Berlin Stdf to Sarawak Airport (if Sarawak even has an airport).

Anyway, the current itnerary is:

Brussels 26th-27th August
Geneva 1st-4th September
Paris 4th-7th September
Barcelona 7th-9th September
Madrid 9th-10th September
Milan 28th September
Venice 30th September
Florence 1st October
Pisa 2nd October
Krakow 16th-17th November
Warsaw 18th-20th November
Prague 15th-21st November
Copenhagen 22nd-25th December
London 25th-Return

Based on the current estimation of the amount that I would have to spend, I am toeing on the line of "a pretzle will determine whether I exceed my budget or not". Besides, I am already grateful to my parents for paying for my entire trip and shall not push my luck by asking for more. Haha. Takes the fun out of everything but keeps me on parental support.

Tale of a Runaway Intern.

2006-04-27T16:56:00.000+08:00

It is a weekday. And I was supposed to be slogging my guts out at my internship company. Instead, I am sitting comfortably in my study.

I quit. Three days of hell in my internship company. I started out enthusiastically and anticipating the wealth of financial knowledge that I would be acquiring every minute from this internship.

Not. Instead my job scope would be washing cups, plates, cleaning tables, cupboards, vacumming the floor and opening the door for people. I couldn't believe my ears when the secretary told me to do this. Afterall, I am an undergraduate intern, not a cleaning lady.

Not that I was not told to do anything proper. The only proper thing that I learnt was doing some basic data entry. The other SMU student was worse than me. She was asked to run to the other side of Shenton Way to buy socks. SOCKS. Can you believe it? She spent 3/4 of the time sitting there sifting through newspapers to while away the time with only the occasional scanning and stapling of documents. Crap.

I had it after the first day. I called the Office of Career Services on Tuesday morning demanding to quit. The manager was sympathetic but asked me to continue for two more days because she did not want to give the company the upperhand of saying that this would be only for the first day. I almost cried when she said that. Perhaps you may think I was overreacting.

But as Atticus Finch says, "put yourself under their skin", you might have understood better.

It was outright degrading to ask an intern to do such manual chores. Besides, it was toturous having to sit through every ten minutes of counting down towards 6pm.

This morning, I was bubbling with anticipation as I called OCS again. I grumbled to the lady about my job scope and she decided to take me and the other girl out. Oh, and she is going to ban the company too!

My mum and dad were absolutely irate by the irresponsibility of the company. Eliz was absolutely speechless.

For me, I am just contented that I got out of a rogue company.

Dreams are my Reality.

2006-04-23T15:19:00.000+08:00

Happy 21st Birthday, Chao Chia and Tze Chia!

This year there will be alot of happy 21st birthday wishes on this blog. Most of my friends are from the 1985 year, so more birthdays to come!! Whoopee!

My exuberance about the prospect of leaving for EBS for a semester have not really balanced out. I even think about it in my sleep. Just the other day, I dreamt that I was on my way to Frankfurt. I was not supposed to take a plane there. Instead, I was supposed to arrive there on a car. Halfway on the journey, I realised that I forgot to bring my ricecooker. My RICECOOKER. Then, we hurridly went home to collect the ricecooker. After which, we set off again. When we reached Frankfurt, I realised that Frankfurt looks exactly like Sentosa. I saw a few SMU people playing soccer under a coconut tree.

Despite being ridiculous, I remember waking up in a snap and noticing how palpable it felt. It was only after I gave it much thought and realised that I had to take a plane and there was absolutely no way that anybody could drive to Frankfurt from Singapore that I realised that it was only a dream.

Whoever said dreams are a reflection of reality. Haha.

Frankfurt. The World is Mine.

2006-04-21T13:54:00.000+08:00

End of exams. I am freeeeeeeeee..

My newfound freedom will last only for two more modest days before I begin my internship. Speaking of internship, nobody has given me any details about my internship. Hello? What time am I supposed to report for work? Am I really supposed to start my internship on Monday? No. Nothing. Zilch.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Despite the internship opportunity offered to me, I find myself feeling disconsolated and forlorn at the prospect of spending four months in Shenton Way. As I start ticking the number of days towards my loss of autonomy in doing whatever I like and sleeping at whatever time I want, I realised how much I actually dread working. Maybe fast tracking through my SMU education is not such a wise idea afterall. Considering one and a half years more, I would have to enslave my youth and sparkle to work. Doesn't this sound outright depressing?

Anyway, I have a piece of really exhilarating news. I will be leaving SMU during fall this year for Germany! Whooppee! The thought of this never fails to send electrifying shivers down my spine.

I will be spending a semester at European Business School in Frankfurt. According to the EBS website,

"Ebs is located in a beautiful whine growing region with lots of small villages surrounding it."

This is Oestrich-Winkel, the town that I will be living in. Beautiful, ain't it.

Doesn't this sound amazing? But I still haven't figure out what whine is? Is it some kind of wheat or grapes? Or does it mean whine as in protesting in a high pitch manner? If I stay in Oestrich-Winkel long enough, does it mean that I will start to become whiny? Haha. Let me know if you happen to know what whine is.

Everybody that I mention Germany to will start babbling on about World Cup 2006. Yes. World Cup in Germany. But I will be leaving for Germany two months after the much anticipated World Cup. There wouldn't be any opportunity to join in the bustling celebrations when Germany wins. Yes, I said Germany wins because they won in World Cup 2002. And Germany rocks.

There will be plenty of booze around. Beer is very cheap in Germany. Also, because tap water is relatively unclean, most people substitute beer for their staple of water. Plus, I will be in Germany in time for Oktoberfest. Beer drinking, sausage and pretzle gorging. I like.

Going on an exchange would mean the perfect opportunity to promote cultural awareness. How politically correct that sounds. Ahem. Read: Around Europe in 80 days.

Eliz will be travelling with me to Frankfurt before school starts. All our plans are still in the works but here are some of the more definite plans.

I will be visiting Eliz in beautiful Prague, in Czeh Republic. Probably will travel to Krakow too. Prague is well-known for being beautiful and from what I know, there are alot of beautiful young people there. Czeh is super cheap. Rent for a double room in the school hostel is only, guess what, S$90. Whereas I have to pay 400 Euros, which is equivalent to S$800 per month for my apartment. Goodness.

Another must-visit country will be Italy. Vanessa says,

"Italian guys are sooooo hot. Even their road-sweepers and bus-drivers are hot."

Haha. Isn't it funny? Imagine drooling over their bus-captains. Anyway, I am hoping to see more Stefano look-alikes. Stefano is the only good-looking Italian Professor (or male species) in SMU. Apparently, he was featured in Urban as the best-dressed Professor in SMU and wears Ermenegildo Zegna. Wonder what it sounds like when he pronounces that, though. Heh.

Eliz and I will be going chi-chi ladylike in France. Champs-Elysee, here we come. Even though we shall be poor students on budget and highly unlikely to be able to afford anything along the high-fashion street, I think we shall still visit and sing "Champs-Elysee" as we skip along the streets. Oh, yah. Not to forget. Eliz and I will be eating sandwiches and drinking hot coffee along the beautiful River Seine. Still, I am apprehensive about France because most of the seniors including the one in my home (my sister, lah!) have had horror stories to tell. When I say horror, I don't mean horror as in ghosts or spirits. I mean conmans, break-ins and being chased by a dubious man in the underground station. Scary.

Before I end, I just want to give my Oscar speech of thanks to people who have helped me through my decisions.

Thank you so much, Chao Chia, Tze Chia, Vanessa and Eliz! You guys helped me through my tough period of decision towards selecting Germany. I was really in a wreck. Couldn't make up my mind as to even to go on an exchange anot and if I did, where I should go. Thank you.

CC and TC, enjoy yourselves in New Zealand, okay? Do a bungee jump for me! And search for hobbits in the Middle Earth. Bring them home if your luggage permits, and if they don't bite. Haha

And I wanna thank my Daddy and Mummy for sponsoring my trip to Frankfurt.

I LOVE YOU!

More to come. I am a citizen of the world!

Heart Wrencher.

2006-03-02T16:08:00.000+08:00

There are many times when I look at myself and think that I am the most unfortunate person in this world. Apparently not.

This heart-wrenching picture was taken by Kevin Carter, a South African photographer who went to Sudan during the rebel movements. This young emaciated Sudanese toddler was a victim of the famine crisis. She was crawling to a famine camp one kilometres away. Even though Carter chased the vulture away after taking this photograph, he did not help her to the famine camp.

Carter eventually committed suicide partially because of guilt that he did not intervene to help the girl.

Absolutely heart-wrenching, isn't it?

Broken.

2006-02-28T13:41:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I just want to cry.

I hope the tide of time will move over and bring down my facade of happiness.

Because I am not.

Black Monday

2006-02-27T20:31:00.001+08:00

I was reading about Alan Greenspan and his contributions to the Federal Reserve last night and came across the phrase Black Monday. Ironically, today is my own Black Monday.

This morning, my laptop crashed onto the floor and the metal casing smashed and cracked. Damn. The only fortunate thing was that my laptop was still working properly and my files were still intact. But my good old lappie looks like it has just been involved in some freak car accident. The sides have broken into one million pieces. The cover is swollen and the metal near the screen is cracked badly.

Called the Fujitsu Service Center this afternoon and guess how much I was quoted? 400 freaking bucks just to replace the entire casing. The warranty does not cover aesthetic parts like casing. Hell.

Should I or should I not replace? If I replace, 400 bucks will fly out of my savings. If I don't.. I could cut myself in the wrist and die while working on some freak paper. Sigh. Not much of a choice, do I?

Break.

2006-02-23T23:44:00.000+08:00

I was doing my readings. But the more I worked, the more I felt irritated. Figured what I need is a mini break from books and declare how much I hate school again.

Made my inceptive trip to Ministry of Sound (MoS) last night with the 26/02 girls. We wanted to do a mini countdown for Qimin's birthday but in the end, twins and I got misplaced and were left wandering around the club. Left the club early after wishing min a happy birthday.

Once again,

Happy 21st Birthday, min!*

Anyway, MoS was totally disappointing. The people were elitist, the drinks were expensive and the music was nothing to rave about. Blah. Will never step into MoS even if you pay me. Okie, maybe it depends on the amount.

A freshman I know was extremely bewildered by why the seniors were hanging around in school during what was supposed to be a happy mid-term break. My many very unhappy experiences in SMU made me raise my eyebrows so fast and high that I figured they would stay up there forever.

In short, I have been spending every freaking day of this week in school. Time passed so fast that it is now Friday and I have not accomplished much that I set out to do in the beginning of the week. Sundays in school. Every time the thought comes into my mind, I would start humming Remy Zero's Save Me.

Shall stop for now. Back to the heavy drum beats and Remy Zero's "Somebody sa-avve me! I don't care how you do it just sa-avve me!" Heh. But before I leave, I shall save you by these pictures from MoS last night which I got from min's blog.

* It's in pink. My favorite color. I know it is not my birthday and you like green but because I think green does not really go with the blog skin so errmm.. pink it is.

Sick.

2006-02-07T01:57:00.000+08:00

My eyes have not been feeling right of late. Probably due to my contact lens. It gives me a tremendous headache along with a fainting sensation. And then I start to feel like I am going to hurl. The fortunate thing is that I managed to make it back home and not puke on the train. Not a pleasant sight, I guess.

So it is back to good old glasses and days of a geek. At least for a couple of weeks.

Speaking of hurling and queasiness. I am sick in a different arena. School! Gosh. I have never hate classes more than ever. This is back to days of bad Professors and the unmistaken buzz of confusion they set in me whenever they start.

Although the definition of "bad Professors" is extremely subjective, I would say that there are several distinctive characteristics to be fulfilled in order for any person to be given this extremely notorious accolade. Ahem.

1. Any human being with the title of Professor, Assistant Professor, Adjunct Professor, Associate Professor.
2. Any human being with the title listed in (1) and speaks with an enigmatic and incomprehensible buzz around students.
3. Any human being with the title listed in (1) and gives a lousy grade.
4. Any human being with the title listed in (1) and puts students in a circular train of thought when students volunteers in class discussion.

The list is non-exhaustive.

If (4) sounds atypical to you because you feel that any human being with the title listed in (1) is supposed to have greater intellectual ability than an undergraduate sitting in a Seminar Room, then you are a freak. Why? Because I say so. So much for answering my questions. Or even everybody's questions.

If I were to give the definition of any human being with the title listed in (1), it would be to befuddle and confound. Awarding any human being with the accolode in (1) would be to begin a life of speaking in jargons and inexplicable circular arguments. Blah.

Anyway, I know I should be studying hard now because its Week 6 and the impending arrival of Week 7 spells three midterm examinations. Argh!

Goodbye for now. And its back to the world of books, readings and class notes.

Death Claims Someone He Loves.

2006-01-27T22:51:00.001+08:00

I don't mean to sound melancholic in this festive season. And I know this is fictionous.

But I thought he would stay longer in the show. Wails. And somebody said he would survive Season 5.

My prediction came right. The one lying beneath was him. I know that in the real Superman story, it was him. I knew it the moment the trailer ran the phrase, "Death claims someone he loves".

But it is just hard to accept the fact that he is gone. Cries. No more "ruggedly handsome farmer" in Smallville.

RIP, JK.

Operation Clean-Up

2005-12-30T19:02:00.000+08:00

It's amazing how much stuff we buy a year. And what is even more remarkable is the amount of stuff we actually need to get by. All through last night and this afternoon, I was clearing out all those junk in my study room and bedroom. Call it clearing up. But I consider it more of declaring war on my personal belongings.

Day 1

My mum bought me this utility tray after I made a conscious decision to tidy up everything. I piled up skincare and cosmetics from everywhere. Literally everywhere. In front of the mirror, in the drawer, some random corner of the desk.. you name it, I have it.

Throughout this tedious and fatiguing process of tidying, a sense of guilt and utmost remorse crept into me.

Damn. Why did I even buy this freaking item in the first place? Sigh. Thirty dollars. I could have saved it up. Bit by bit, I could have been swamped in mountains of cash. Now, I am simply dumping it into the bin. Does cash converters accept moisturisers? Damn. I haven't even used this more than once and now it is in the bins? What happened to me then? What possessed me into buying this? If only I could turn back time. I promise I wouldn't buy this. When the hell did I buy this?

And the list goes on. This vicious repetition of nagging and grave castigation by the inner voice kept me busy. By the end of the night, I had two bags of junk.

Among the most prominent in the junk list are:

2 mascaras, 1 lip gloss, 4 pimple creams, 1 pressed powder, 1 blusher, 3 nail polishes, 1 empty moisturiser bottle (From ages ago. I like this bottle from Biotherm alot. And hence, even when used up six months ago, I didn't want to throw it away.), 2 boxes of contact lens, 3 trial sized contact lens solution.

Those that are in the I-feel-like-kicking-myself-for-buying-this list are:

1 bronzer which doubles up as an eyeshadow (I really want to kill myself for buying this. Freaking expensive. And ended up making me look like I just ran a marathon. I look freaking old. In short, I look like a crypt keeper.), 1 loose powder (For this, I think I deserve to be condemned to hell. This is the most expensive of all my cosmetics. I got tricked into buying this by the Estee Lauder girl. The most freaking useless item one person can ever own. Give me back my 55 bucks please!), 1 whitening essence (Useless too. Bought it because I heard about all these good reviews about ZA. Useless on the face, though. I am going to try it on my mosquito scars tonight. See what it can do.), 1 orange blusher. (Hell. What was I thinking? I can just picture Elle Woods reproaching me: Whoever says orange is the new pink needs a serious checkup.)

Argh! I just want to scream. I don't understand what I have been thinking for the last two years. Why did I even buy these junk? I can be so consumed in my own thinking. Thinking that I need this and I need that. Truth is there is nothing that I absolutely cannot live without. I mean my survival doesn't depends on what is now in the dumps, right?

Day 2

I devoted the second day to clearing up my desk. Notes, files, books, magazines. It is not that I never clean up my desk. It is more of how I think I will need this in the future and hence, I shall not throw them away. Bank statements, past school results slips, university admissions statements.

The most interesting things that I found from among the drawers were these tiny souvenirs, gifts and cards from friends, classmates and teachers during my primary school, secondary school and JC days.

I found keychains and this tiny cubes with letters on them that you can mix and match together to form your name. This was from Shiyun, Valentina, Wan-ling and Xiuli during my Sec 2 years. We were the bestest pals then because all of us were classmates and fellow band members.

And then there were these Hello Kitty Stickers, pencils, erasers in the shape of a bear and a picture of a certain Little Swallow in My Fair Princess given to me as a present by my younger sister. To clarify things, I was never a fan of her. I don't even know whether to laugh when I saw these things. Amazing how kids our age then thinks.

Then there was this gruelling and backbreaking task of literal cleaning up. My desk was so filthy and shrouded in dust that I started breaking out in rashes soon after Operation Clean-up was over. Sigh. I am absolutely tired now. Can't think of any better ending to this entry other than good-bye for now.

Food. VS. Christmas.

2005-12-24T21:55:00.000+08:00

This the season to be feasting. Lalalalala lalalala. Goodness. Best way to burst an entire year of calorie counting is Christmas. I, finished one bag of Lays Barbeque in one day and had a (oily and fattening) dinner of fish and chips. I am ready to de-toxify and purge myself now. Sigh.

My home will be turned into a madhouse tomorrow because my dear sister is bringing her friends over. Along with vodka and wine. Gosh. According to her, there will be enough food for everybody. Which I absolutely agree, judging from a preview of what they plan to bring over. In fact, it is enough to feed a battalion of people. And hence, no need for us (younger sister and me) to order pizza. Joy. Way to spoil our Christmas plan.

I grew up reading about Santa Claus, elves, fairies, reindeers, Disher, Dancer and Prancer when I was a kid. And no, I was not silly enough to believe such things. But I still imagined that I was the kid in the book. Santa would park his sleigh outside our window, at the tenth floor of our block. Waiting to bring me to his toy making factory every Christmas. In his factory, elves (wearing green Santa suit, don't ask me why, just green) would be busy making toys for children who behaved themselves. Too much Enid Blyton and curse of an over-imaginative mind. Haha. Anyway, I still hope that Santa will find me tonight. I have been a good girl this year, by the way. I wouldn't mind if you get me an iPod. If not an iPod Nano will do too. Again no? Then a $50 Borders book voucher will do. I have been waiting to lay my hands on a couple of books. So, Mr. Claus, please please pretty please? Hee. Happy Christmas, all!

Untitled.

2005-12-22T19:28:00.000+08:00

Perhaps its the weather. Or maybe its the bells and the mellow caroling from Christmas songs. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! I am starting to get into a sentimental mood. So pardon the figurative language cos I am getting into the mood. I love how the harsh winds and occasional spray of raindrops are splashing on my skin now. We will never get to experience winter in Singapore but a 23 degree celcious temperature will do.

I would love to fall asleep now. Perfect weather for a slumbering session. But I know that if I do, the precious time of this wintery holiday feel will wane away. Instead, I sit in front of the television, watching enough television to fill its worth. Christmas is never complete without good old movies like Serendipity and Home Alone. Whoopee! I am going to watch them tomorrow. And guess what? I am going to eat chocolates. Screw the diet plan. At least till after CNY. Urphs!

And then, I feel a sense of forlorn. Because school is going to start in 2 weeks time. Damn it. Ended my exams late and start school earlier. I just feel like moaning and groaning now. I love the holidays as it is.

This is a relatively senseless post, I know. Just some random thoughts. Besides, this blog needs serious updating. And if I am not back blogging, Happy Christmas! For now, that's it, folks!

Back Again. 26/02 Gathering.

2005-12-19T14:56:00.000+08:00

Aloha! I am back. In case you are wondering, my exams ended 2 weeks ago. However, I couldn't blog because my internet connection at home was messed up. Hence, my desertion of this blog. But don't fret! I am back and with a new skin. It's pink! Sweet, don't you think? Everybody say Awww..

I spent 2 freaking weeks embroiled in the inexplicable and enigmatic world of reading computer and instruction manuals. Many a times, I wondered how IT geeks do it. In this baffling process of dicephering computer jargons and their meanings, I swear I lost many hair from my incessant hair-pulling sessions. And guess what? With the aid of an IT engineer from the helpdesk, I, yes me, finally undid this Gordian's Knot.

To my dear sisters, please and pretty please do not touch the internet settings again. The both of you owe me a lot of hair.

Anyway, in this 2 weeks of living as a hermit in The Other World, I found myself back in school on many occasions. Just to use the internet and check my e-mails from my Professors. Sigh. I think I am cursed to be trapped in SMU. Sigh.

Enough of my laments. I met up with the (incomplete) 26/02 folks. This time, it was no more Sentosa! No more sun, salt and sand. In came smoke and sweat. Argh! Actually I think it was my fault. I told Qimin about my fear of the sun and its effect on skin during the last Sentosa trip so this time it was a barbeque at night! At twins' rich aunt's condominium. Call me the perfect epitome of suaku-ness. But I was damn impressed and inspired to move into one apartment myself.

We were supposed to take pictures of the beautiful toilet but ended up photo-whoring in front of the mirror.

Finally. The toilet with a LCD television inside. The walls are mirror-fronted.

Tze Chia and I continue to be fascinated by the mirrors.

The only 4 girls of the advanced party.

Chao Chia and Qimin.

3 of the four guys in the advanced party.

And he says: Gao can cook, so can you!

Qimin's banana bacon. Nice but difficult to eat.

This came out a little blur. But I like the color.

Us. 26/02.

Even though it was a smoke-infested and pore-clogging barbeque gathering, I had fun. Thank you min for organizing this gathering. Hopefully there will be a next one soon. Though I think I will probably object vehemently if there is to be a barbeque again. And thank you twins for the ride home. Miss you guys and hope to see you soon!

That's all folks!