Oh Where Oh Where Could My Mentees Be?

Yeah I know I promised the pics but sorry that is not going to happen probably till we move in! Sheesh ... wasn't intending to blog today BUT the thing is I am now sitting ALONE and BORED in D311 waiting for my mentees (Yes I AM a mentor contrary to popular opinion ;p). Waited for ONE hour and so far only ONE mentee has turned up (out of 4). Typically my luck innit? Hope more turn up ... I don't want my entire two hours to be spent in vain!
Anyway I spent the better part of the morning setting up the Singsoc stall in the dingy little basement of Clement House. Thankfully Astrid was there to keep me company for an hour till the rest of my TEAM, ahem ahem arrived. You know I'm having second thoughts about running for Singsoc again ... if I go get into football I'll probably just stick with that and Salsa instead. Seriously this year, it is my aim to meet and make more foreign friends. That is really wad our education here is all about. Not that I will neglect my sgp frens (thats not really possible haha) just that I'll make more effort to go for those little coffee sessions that are so important to maintaining a new friendship.
Moving off to Uncle Kenny's place later. I've stayed at Sarah's place long enough haha and Anand and Meh Meh are coming home already. It'll be good to see Uncle Kenny and family again but the travel to ZONE FOUR is just - sigh ...
Crush tmr! Woo Hoo! ;D

Itatakimas!!!

Sigh. How to summarize 5 crazy days in one sitting?! World Cycling Championships - where we went bike crazy; Bullfighting - where Ongy decided to become vegetarian (jkjk!); Parque del Retiro - where we sun-tanned and rowed in a lake in the middle of the city; Great Paella at a chic Madrid restaurant - where we all became high on Sangria (best wine I ever tasted! ;p); Zara mad - I've never spent so much on clothes in one go my entire life (a jacket and a pants); El Santiago Bernabeu - home of the world's greatest footballing team Real Madrid ...
Even the weather is heavenly. The warm Madrid sun, the dry air and continual breeze ensure that you'll always feel the heat of the sun on your face without ever breaking a sweat. Mornings are slightly chilly but its a nice way to wake up and greet the morning!
Still its not the places or weather that make the trip ... its the buddies. I'll find it hard to forget "Itatakimas (pardon the spelling), Konichiwa, Urusai (again pardon the spelling!), Chao Wan Mushi!". Even harder still to forget the fact that in "Ong we Boing and In Chee we Pee" and that we use the REMONAL when we need to pee. Just as hilarious - Ongy's spectacular swinging stunts (also in the fotos!) and Dhalsim's, Chun Li's, Ryu's and E. Honda's periodic appearences! Kk u guys out there probably think we're nuts but yesh it was one nutty trip. I can still see Ong's face (you shall have the picture when I upload it!) as Vet and I practise our 'Japanese' in the middle of a jam-packed Madrid metro car.
Arghhh!!!! I dun wanna start school!!!
One blight however. If u ain't like a person, no amount of trying to be amiable helps. I tend to be rather straight forward and its difficult to maintain a face of normalcy when u're feeling constantly irked by someone ... Grrr ... Only travel with people you're completely comfortable with ... trust me.

Chotto Matae (Pardon The Spelling)!!!

Phew! Lotsa catching up to do (as u suggested Leowie!)! Its been a rather fabulous almost two weeks since flying in from Singapore despite the fact that we're still homeless (we can only move in on the 1st! Sigh ... feel like a vegabond!). Staying at Sarah's place at the moment. She's been real nice to put moi up for so many days ... phew otherwise I'd have to transit between Zone One and Four everyday! Haha and yesh we're just back from Madrid! Another wonderful vacation (and expensive lor!) ... just wad we need to reenergize before the start of term! Gimme a sec ... I'll recap our adventures and looney insanities in our next post!

No Time! No Time!!

Damn no time to update!!! Lotsa stuff been happening!!! I gotta rush off to Wanyi's place for dinner now so will keep u informed as soon as possible! So far its been a good few days and we're expecting better!

big hug my favourite sister! also my favourite late night chat and tok cok buddy! will miss u!

salsa buddies! the salsa PRO is on the extreme right of the picture! ;p

so yuen and i meet up in an authentic korean tea house! that cup u see over there costs S$10!!!

chinese eat-out during the korean expedition ... bwahaha ... you can tell korean food isn't THAT appealing to them! haha

dad and i conquer dobong-san! still can't get him to smile! sheesh!

oops sorry sarah! hehe thanx for all your help guys (also to those not in this pic!) ... it worked out a whole lot better than expected!

hmmm it looks like they're having fun! a big cheers to the very sporting and enthusiastic freshers!

we finally meet again!

well now who's that extra in this foto?!! ... it's still you ;D

war council at 18 elliot walk ;p

the bois decide to invade johor bahru! biggest thanx to you who made my hols and are the bestest friends a cranky and eccentric nut could hope for!

ongy stop eating all the chocs!!!! ;p

hehe moi et deux chio bus! ;D

that's my bro, ror the gore before the SAF claims him, his social life and his hair! after a grand send-off, my bro is now the resident slacker soldier of Changi Naval Base

Summer 2005

Summer 2005. In many ways this has been the greatest summer hols of my life. I've learnt a lot about myself, had great fun with my 'bestest' friends, engaged in many meaningful activities enriching both myself and others. Its also been a time of regret, sadness and some painful realizations about life (the universe and everything). Even now. I won't forget. I'd like to think however that unlike b4 I am more in control of myself and better able to place things in perspective. I may not sometimes like the person I am becoming but I am at least more in control now of who I will eventually become. This was in part the result of Summer 2005.
Here are some images. Although incomplete representation of events they are doorways into most of my pleasant memories this 3-4 mths.

A Tribute To Singaporeans

Several issues I'd really like to contend with before I leave so I shall go into a flurry of blogging before UK. First of all this.

Singaporeans are FASCINATING creatures. In fact sometimes they can be so wholy self-centered and without consideration for others or the public welfare that I am inclined to believe that there is something unfathomable about their psyche. Here are three little incidents that have occured recently to me/ around me on bus and trains.
1. The bus I hop on is a trifle crowded but there are one or two empty seats. I sigh with relief as I make my way towards an empty space because I get a little queasy when standing on buses. I palce myself next to a middle-aged lady who gives me a vehemous stare just as I take my seat. Granted my legs are a little longer than hers but I thought this hardly warranted, "watch out ah you only pay for half the seat not 3/4!". Well I inched a little ways out and was met with, "you dun try anything funny ok I feeling very sick now and if you come closer I vomit on you!" And with that proclamation, she promptly burped directly into my face, largely, I suspect, with the intent of scaring me away with her venom-breath. Well at this point I didn't know whether to stare at her in shock or laugh in amazement. I decided a chuckle was best. Hence I smiled at her and with neighbourly care, told her that she might want more instruction in her table manners.
2. Once again I'm waiting for the train at Tanjong Pagar. The train arrives and once again I am relieved that there ARE some seats available. As the door hissed open, I casually walked towards an empty seat. I feel movement on my left and see a lady in her 30s rush pass me to occupy a seat. "Well", I thought, "No problem I'll just hop onto the seat next to her" And just as I was about to plant myself on the comforting seat, she moves in a manner I can only describe as 'slithering' to occupy the aforementioned seat just inches from my descending erm posterior. She promptly grabs her friend's hand and shoves her into the other lot. Now. Was it that hard to say pls, "could u let me and my friend seat together?"
3. Horror on the trains again. The train that arrives this time is PACKED to the brim. I'm at the back of the car and of course people do take awhile to file out. So I take my time because I hate squeezing and jostling with people. Well now as I'm making my way out, hordes of people are trying to jostle their way into the train even as others are desperately moving in the oppossite direction. The thought that an orderly movement of traffic first outward, THEN inward might actually speed things up never seemed to have crept into their minds! Well guess what. I was stuck in the train when the doors slammed shut and I missed my stop.

Well that was a little ready but I just had to get it off my chest. You just have to love my countrymen! You can unfailingly count on them to seek their self-interests, ALWAYS! The proverbial homo economicus!

Shux

biatch ... its just so bitachy hahaha ... man I hate myself.

You're Beautiful

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Smashed and Bashed!

The last few days - a deluge of catastrophe and great fun! Wednesday was a bash of a day - I had my FIRST and probably only soccer game of the entire summer, and one of the greatest mambo nights ever! Had great company - many LSE buddies (some non-clubbers even like Sarah and Meh Meh) spanning 3 generations (jo, mich, jon, meiping, meh meh, sarah, nic, vet, sam, wanyi) toegther with many favourite tunes! But I was really quite high so wad tune it was really didn't matter anymore haha! Oh and yesh it was jon's and sarah's birthday!!!! (the latter receiving some cake in the face for remembrance sake!) Topped it off with a nice filling prata and warm ginger tea which faded off into a 11hr sleep!
Now the bad side - first I lost my phone. I left it in my shirt or smth while playing soccer which I really shoudn't hve given my proclivities! THEN after dropping at Zouk I realized my card wallet was missing! I had left it in the taxi! Drats x 1000! So I immediately cancelled my UOB Visa Mini which I thought was in the wallet. Well now later as we were at the bar outside Phuture and they were calling for orders, the waitress mentioned that the beers were one-for-one with the Visa Mini. I checked my coin wallet and there the Visa was! But drats x 3000! It was already cancelled! Arghhhh!!!! Oh yah and need I mention ... I'm now settled with a horrific cough so hedious that I lost me voice! Grrr ... now I may not be able to run the half-marathon on Sunday!
Well it ended with one silver lining at least - it was my buddy ZH's fren who found my HP at NUS so I got it back real quick!

Korean Kaleidoscope

Well its now my last day in Korea (well 2nd last if you count the half day I have tmr) so I think I've got enuf experiences to form a rough perception of Seoul if not Korea as a whole.
Well the strongest impression I have of Seoul and Korea as a whole is that it is the most monoculuralistic city I have ever been too (or will ever go to I surmise). My dad confirmed this too when he mentioned that even Tokyo, Japan has a more cosmopolitan population. In fact I'd guess that ethnic Koreans make up about 95% of the population. It was this cultural and language barrier that prevented me from leaving Seoul itself - the chances of getting hopelessly lost on a fieldtrip to the countryside is much higher especially without an English speaking guide. My white water rafting trip was cancelled cos of that - no one on the rafting site could speak English at all! Drats! I was really looking forward to that!
Well in few days since my last entry I've been to the Korean War Memorial, Namdaemun Market, Dongdaemun Market, Insa-Dong Market, Dobong-San and many many eateries! Dobong-san was my favourite expedition. Its a smallish little mountain on the outskirts of the city and my dad took a tube out. At some points it was pretty tough climbing on 60-70 degree slopes - real problems for us due to our bad knees. We completed the ascent and descent relatively quickly in like 6 hrs I think. Hah the most interesting thing was that there was a monestary at the peak and I was wondering if the building materials were transported by helicopter ... the answer arrived when I saw a dude carrying up a DOOR and WINDOW panes! Sheesh these guys are incredible ... carrying up the entire building piece by piece. Its sheer will-power and determination.
Well now my impression of the city proper isn't as good. Its like another other city ... full of cars and concrete yet it lacks the charm of many other cities I've been in. Well Singapore's always been clean and orderly, Munich was beautiful and very scenic, Berlin was rich in history and Paris was a garden of culture especially for a francophone like moi! Seoul you know was just ... Seoul. Not that it is a bad city just that there is no great distinguishing features about the city. Save mebbe the markets - Namdaemun and Dongdaemun Market especially which are whole great lanes and district full of hawkers selling a whole assortment of goods. Not that I bought much ... but it was interesting to see some of the traditional stuff that Koreans buy and how they go about their daily routines and transactions. One favourable facet of Seoul and possibly Korea as whole I'd have to say is their elderly and disabled-friendly culture. The elderly form a large segment of the population here and receive lotsa benefits. They ride the tube for free ... they have seats reserved for them on each carriage (where no one is allowed to seat even if the spaces are not occupied by the elderly!) etc. And these old guys are pretty robust too! There were legions of em climbing the mountain together with my dad and I!
Arghh but the city is pretty dull at night ... like London where all the shops are down by EIGHT but minus the nightlife! So most evening we spend watching the TV, chatting or on the PC.
Oh yesh So Yuen was very nice and took me around parts of the city. Was supposed to go with her to her church on Sunday but my dad had other plans to visit the spa and gym at the Hyatt. Well I've never been to any other Hyatts but this one is sure an eye-opener! Basically the gym and spa was plush, luxurious and magnificent ... you really can't ask for more. There's both an outdoor AND heated pool, hot AND cold jacuzzi (marvelous after a nice workout), 3 different saunas with a 3 ranges of temperature. Arghhhh .... I wanna live there! The cost of one entry was of cos just as plush - 40,000 won. That comes up to about USD40! Nuts eh? And I thought the bloody ULU gym was expensive at 4 pds.
Hmm some final thoughts. I think Seoul is gonna have to muture by bringing in more people from other cultures. Right now they're pretty much insulated from the world and I think a sort of stagnancy will settle in place if retain their monoculturalism. Dynamism is the hallmark of a cosmpolitan culture after all. Right now their economy is doing well but with a falling birth-rate and a falling number of graduates (in fields other than engineering) Korea's gonna have to let in more foreigners one day to augment their work force. Still ... they've done very well to bring themselves out of the misery of the Korean War and Japanese Occupation - kinda like the rise of our little nation really.