From Leeds...

An ending…A new beginning…

2007-07-17T05:27:00.000+01:00

This blog will officially end here...
Gonna jump right back into the chaotic life back home...

Left England on a misty morning...

It’s sad to leave...
But it feels good to be back...

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We do the things we do...
Just to be a little happier...

Closure…

2007-07-16T00:07:00.001+01:00

My last day in Leeds...Some random thoughts...

Originally wanna go around the city and university to take some pics...
Still haven’t taken some pics of the beautiful Business School converted from an old church...
Still haven’t taken some pics of the Harry-Potter-like library in the Parkinson building...
Still haven’t taken a pic of myself lying on the grass in Hyde park on a sunny day...
Still haven’t taken some pics of the lifestyle in the city of Leeds...
But it was raining today...

When you keep telling yourself you will do it “next time”, you'll never see when the last “next time” will come...

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Cleared my room in the morning...In fact, I did all the throwing and packing in one morning. That’s the good thing about being a guy, minimum belongings...Just pack and go whenever you wanted to...

Spend the rest of the day re-watching "Scrubs"...

Same jokes are still funny...
Lessons from each episode are still meaningful and touching...

Scrubs...My magical morphine...It really bring back memories with Hadi and my FPGA days...

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I’m not a “farewell” guy...
Leaving a place is always difficult for me...

A friend once told me he hated the last days of his Exchange programs...Cos’ he is kinda sure he will not be as close as those people he used to hang out with here when he return to Sg...

It’s kinda like a natural cycle ya...

First you arrive in England...Feeling all fresh to break out of the Sg education system for the first time, and getting excited about any trivial stuff...

Then you start your studies...Feeling blessed about the relax education system here and soon start cursing your project mates due to the difference in working habits...

Next you start traveling...Feeling invincible, visiting all the places you always wanted to go and doing all the things you once only dream of...

Last you end your Exchange program...Feeling sad that all this have to end...

But before you know it, you will be right back into the vicious cycle of a undergrad back home again...Fighting with deadlines, projects, reports and bell curves...

When all these end, you will be worrying for your future...Fighting with your peers for a job, repaying your education debts to the university, taking care of your family when your parents start to retire etc...

And very soon...you will forget how to dream again...

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Gonna pen my last post when I reach back Sg...
Till then, I just wanna grab hold of any lasting moments I can get over here...

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It is not about the flying in itself...
It is not about letting go...
It is not about the great expanse...
It is not about the calmness around and within you...
It is not about the sensation of sinking as part of the whole...

It is about something else...

One life...Live it...

2007-07-14T22:42:00.001+01:00

[A back-post for my Interlaken, Switzerland trip...]

Main purpose to come here is for Skydiving. Always aim to jump out of an airplane brfore I'm 30, when my heart still can take it...haha

And why in Switzerland? Cos' you get to jump with the Alps in sight, and it's the only place in the world you can jump from a helicopter. (Other dropzones do skydives from airplanes) And trust me, jumping from a chopper is really much better...

Kara, from Canada, my skydiving butty!!! My honour to jump with a pretty lady...hah

Tony, my instructor!!!

Standing at the edge of the helicopter not holding on to anything, with the Alps in front of you...Believe me, this exact moment is perhaps better than the dive itself!!!

The dive itself. The freefall period...Simply awesome!!!

Smiling for the camera!!!

After the parachute was deployed, it was more like paragliding. Great that Tony allowed me to control the parachute for a while...haha

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Second objective in Switzerland is for Canyoning. Some said canyoning is only legal in Switzerland...Don't know how true is that. But only few know what canyoning really is...So here goes...

Self-portrait with full gear on!!!

Rappelling down cliffs and swinging across rock walls like a Tarzan when there are no other possible routes...

Jumping into water pools of unknown depth...Gotta trust our guides...haha

Walking through waterfalls to explore what's behind it...

Group pics!!!

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When signing the risk agreement, my skydive instructor actually grinned and said "Ok...Lets sign your life away!!!"

Glad I'm still alive...

What's next??? Bungee jumping before I reach 30...

Inverness, Scotland

2007-07-14T21:46:00.001+01:00

People once told me if you are visiting Scotland, you should never leave without visiting the highlands. So here I am...

Inverness, the capital of Highlands of Scotland. It is just a small city, only made up of a few streets, located in northern Scotland. A local I met here told me cities in the highland areas are like that. Like Fort William, it's only made up of a street of buildings...that's all...

Inverness is actually my last stop before I end my whole Exchange program...Feeling kinda sad even when I'm on the train to my final destination...

A beautiful sunset on the day my arrival day...

Castle and Loch Ness: A must-visit place if you come to the Highland of Scotland. This castle has so many historical moments that it makes the whole visit feel so magical. The river behind it is the famous Loch Ness, where the Loch Ness Monster was last seen. Can you see anything??? Hmmm...

Interior of the castle...Some random shots...

On a Loch Ness river walk with a new friend I made...Amelie from Hong Kong, studying in France...It has been a long long time since I speak in Mandarin...Feels that now both my Mandarin and English suck...Sigh...

Amelie and I both left Inverness at 6+am the next morning. She's heading for train station to another city in Scotland, while I'm heading for the airport to catch my plane back to Leeds...

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Had the don't-know-when-we-will-meet-again feeling again...
Simply hate it...

Edinburgh, Scotland

2007-07-14T21:17:00.000+01:00

While Ken went back to Leeds for his Graduation Ceremony, I made my way to Scotland...

Edinburgh Castle: The main attraction here...Went for the free guided tour...Discovered it was so full of history...

The oldest building in the castle and in the whole of Edinburgh...It's a small chapel build for a princess who spent a great portion of her life helping people...The king then actually forbidded anyone to destroy it, even during war time...

One O'clock Gun: Fired at 1pm each day...A tradition carried out till today...Purpose is to allow sailors to tune their clock to accurate time before they leave the harbour in the olden days.

Random shot of me in the castle...

Streets of Edinburgh: An old town with rich and interesting culture...

Bagpipe street artist: Wherever you go in Edinburgh, you can always hear bagpipe music...

Some monuments on a hill top...

Edinburgh: An overall view pic of the city...

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Okok...I know my hair is damn long...
Even I can't stand it myself...
Gonna go for a haircut the first thing I reach Sg...

Valencia, Spain

2007-07-14T20:46:00.000+01:00

Valencia isn't really a "tourist-ic" city. But according to Gerardo, it got some of the best beach in Spain!!! So here we were, planned a trip here for some relaxing and slacking time...hah

Irish pub: With German and Irish beer!!!

Valencia beach: The beach here is simply amazing. Like those typical beach you see in movies, there are tonnes of beach umbrellas around, with sand so fine that you just feel like lying there for the whole day!!! Whatsmore, most of the gals here (Seriously from 5 to the 60s) go topless!!! And it isn't even a nude beach...(Okok...Relax now...it's pretty normal over here...Just too conservative back home that's all...)

Tried suntanning here without any lotion...Now my back is shedding skin like a snake...Arghhh...

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To all my "butt-ies" out there:

Ever been to a place...
Where you all are the only two Asian Chinese idiots strolling around...
On a nice sandy beach with clear blue water and nice sea breeze...
On a sunny day...
With tonnes of hot topless gals around???
Oh, and not forgetting...Also with 2 bottles of ice cold Heineken...

That's life!!!

Barcelona, Spain

2007-07-14T17:50:00.000+01:00

Gaudi's Architecture: All the buildings by the architect, Antoni Gaudí, are must-visit attractions. Famous for the uniqueness of their designs...

Met this street artist at the Gaudi Park. She was singing some traditional music with that special instrument she was holding, that produce sound of falling water droplets. And her voice...it was simply beautiful...

Don't know why but this colourful chameleon is one of the symbol for Gaudi's buildings. At it's statue, you can see tonnes of people taking pics with it.

Just a pic at the top of the Gaudi's park...Quite a tedious climb due to the freaking hot weather!!!

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It's freaking hot here!!!

Amsterdam, Netherlands

2007-07-14T17:11:00.000+01:00

The city of sin...where soft drugs are legal, where touring around the red light district for a family outing is perfectly normal, where great live music is!!! The place where we let our hair down, allow our horns and tails to grow and be crazy for a little while...

There are so many bicycle-users here that they actually got official multi-storey parking lots for bicycle...haha

Wind Mill Village: A must-visit place if you are visiting Holland...Too bad it was raining the day we went...Anyway, the guy here is my travelling-kaki for this time round. Ken from Malaysia, my Leeds coursemate...

A gift shop in the Wind Mill Village...Stuff in here are kinda interesting...As if you have step into a land of fairy tales...With nice musical boxs, puppets etc...The shop owner is rather nice to chat with while seeking shelter from the rain...hah

Amsterdam: Part of the city area...Nothing much...Just another city, with lots of rivers though...

My favourite pic taken here!!!

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank (Go read up about her if you still don't know who she is!!!) House is a popular attraction here with long queue of visitors throughout the day. But we didn't visit it, as we are sick and tired of museums...Sigh...

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Can't take pics in certain places...Damn...

London, England

2007-07-14T16:28:00.001+01:00

Have been in England since January, but only get the chance to explore London now...haha

London: A must-vist city if you visit England...I'm sure most of you have seen tonnes of pics of London...So just post some random pics up...

Stonehenge: It is situated near Salisbury (an "ulu" town near London) and the actual spot itself is located on a field at the middle of no where, surrounded by some farmlands, with sheeps running around...Tempted to jump over the fence to grab hold of some baby sheeps...They are so cute!!! haha...Anyway, it was drizzling when I made my visit...Kinda like the atmosphere...the feeling of ancient, mystery and peace...

Greenwich Line: The line that defines the Greenwich Mean Time...The line that separates the day...

Big Ben: The famous clock tower...A must-see attractions!!!

London Eye: The famous observation wheel...Another must-see attraction!!! The largest observation wheel in the world for now, before Singapore Flyer is being build...Woohoo!!!

With all the artists performing their street art and night lightings around, the night scene of London is really superb. I actually stayed on the bridge for quite some time...Listening to my MP3, enjoying the chill wind and admiring this sight...Not wanting to leave...Sigh...

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A wonderful global city...

Paris, France

2007-07-14T15:22:00.000+01:00

Main purpose of the visit is to visit Gerardo (my Spainish neighbour in Leeds) who is currently doing his PHD course here...

Eiffel Tower: Trademark of Paris...A must-visit attraction...I actually climbed this tower in my zombie-state physical self...Haha...Felt seriously tired but time isn't on my side these days to allow me to slack in the hostel...The view at the top is definitely worth it...Also, the tower is so nice at night with all the lightings...

An arch that is supposed to be a must-visit attraction according to some of my friends...Forgotten its name though...arghhh!!!

Lourve Museum: The famous museum shown in movie "Da Vinci Code"...The stuff inside are really amazing and the museum is freaking huge!!! Even saw the real "Mona Lisa" painting there!!! Actually spent the whole day there...But still, there isn't enough time to go through all the stuff they had...Argh!!!

Gerardo and Ana: Ana was in Paris for a 10-days visit too. Went to a Japanese restaurant to had a simple "reunion" dinner with them...They had fun trying to use sticks (Chopsticks) to eat...haha...

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The hardest part is not knowing when I will see you guys again...

Berlin, Germany

2007-07-14T14:36:00.001+01:00

Went to Berlin with Ian and Grace...Since I'm a German-idiot, and most of the road signs and stuff are in German...I'm practically following them around...haha

Berlin: A place full of history...

Some parliament house...The top floor is freaking nice...Looks like a space craft landed on the building!!!

Checkpoint Charlie: A piece of Berlin Wall outside Checkpoint Charlie...Too much historical moments about it...Just look at all the graffiti on the wall...They kinda tell a lot about life back then...

A place where all the theatres and gallerys are...Love the atmosphere here at night...

Another cool place (Forgotten the name...Dammit)...Just look at the ceiling...Wow!!!

Bearhugging the international bear!!!

Clubbing: This pic was actually taken by some photographer there...Need to pay to get the actual pic...Damn...Luckily Grace found a copy online...Lower quality though...They said Berlin is a city that never sleep. Kinda true...There are tonnes of clubs there!!! Gays, lesbian, straight etc...Clubbing is a must if you visit Berlin, even if you are not a party animal (like me!!!)...And it's the first time I entered the club at night and exit when there's already daylight!!!

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Party till 5am...
Made my way back to the hostel...
Packed and headed straight for the airport for Paris...
Felt like a zombie for the whole of next day...
Sigh...

Munich, Germany

2007-07-14T14:02:00.000+01:00

Ian: One of my Sheares hall "butt-ies"...the guy I'm visiting...

Munich: Due to my short stay here, I didn't really explore the city much...Just walked around the city area. The main purpose is to visit friends anyway :)

Beer House: One of the must-visit places in Munich...For its atmosphere and food!!!

Singapore-Munich gang: Had dinner with them...Met a bunch of cool and fun people...Didn't realize there are so many NUS Exchange students in Munich!!!

Summer Solstice: The day we had the gathering dinner was actually 21st June, the longest day of the year...The day when the north pole tilted at its most extreme towards the sun...So nice ya!!! Originally wanted to spend this day at Stonehenge...Heard there is a this great traditional Summer Solstice party there where people party throughout the night to celebrate the day...Maybe sometime in the future I will make my way there :)

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Great to know you guys!!!

Going away...Again...

2007-07-02T02:10:00.001+01:00

Will be going away for a while...
A final trip before heading home...
Promise to continue the photo update when I get back... Till then...

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Take care you people :)

Switzerland

2007-07-01T18:59:00.000+01:00

While the Denmark-NUS gang carried on their journey to Greece, I flew in to Switzerland alone...

Interlaken: A small town situated between two lakes at the foot of the Alps. This is the view from my room. It feels damn good to sleep in the mountain breeze and wake up with the sight of the Alps...

Rosti: The traditional Swiss food...And this can beat the rosti they serve in Marche back in Sg hands down!!!

My roommates!!! All are Americans, except one from Australia and me from Sg...In fact, I'm one of the youngest there...Had fun chatting at night over some beers...

First: Took a train to Grindelwald, another "ulu" small town further into the mountain...Wanted to search for the legendary lake that will show a perfect reflection with the Alps at the right time...Believe me, "climbing" this mountain with a heavy backpack without any training is no joke...Guess that I have grown weaker during this whole SEP period...haha

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The best natural scenic place I've visited so far...
Guess I'm not a "urban", but a "mountain" person...haha
Aim to return to explore further...

Rome, Italy

2007-07-01T12:07:00.001+01:00

Attraction-wise..This is one of the nicer cities I've visited...

Rome: A city that makes me sick of statues and paintings...haha

Colosseum: A must-visit attraction...It looks kinda cool inside...

Vatican City: Another must-visit attraction!!! The queue was damn freaking long when we when there...Sigh...But the museum inside is damn impressive, definitely worth the wait!!!

Some random group shots...Missing you people...

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It's freaking hot there!!!

Pisa, Italy

2007-07-01T11:50:00.001+01:00

Leaning Tower of Pisa: It's actually quite funny when we first got there, seeing all the tourists doing the universal support-the-falling-tower post...But then, our stupidity and creativity took over us eventually...Haha...

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Just a small town with all the tourists flooding to one attractions...

Venice, Italy

2007-07-01T11:31:00.000+01:00

(No time sorting out all the pics...so just selecting some to post randomly...)

Venice: A river city, where you can get around on those river-taxi...

St. Macro Sq: The most famous attraction here...A must-visit place...It turns out that I just love feeding pigeons...But not for all the smell and scratches on me after that...

NUS-Denmark Gang: Some group pics...Had fun traveling with them!!!

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Not really the "romantic" city that I expected...But the atmosphere at night at St. Macro Sq, with all those night lightings and street performers around...it's really nice...

Another magical night...

2007-06-29T21:08:00.000+01:00

Didn't realize musicals can be so addictive...

Caught this musical yesterday night at Her Majesty's Theatre...

It's simply awesome...

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Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye...

In London...

2007-06-27T20:51:00.000+01:00

Caught this musical play yesterday night...it's DAMN NICE la!!! A simple plot but yet the songs, special lighting effects and stage props makes everything simply amazing!!! Really hope you guys got the chance to catch it too...

Went to Stonehenge today...it is actually situated in a damn "ulu" part of England...And whatsmore, I toured the historical site, listening to the whole audio guide in the light drizzle and freaking chill wind...How wonderful it is...Haha...

It has been raining quite a lot these days...Dammit...

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Stupid Internet cafe is blasting Indian music...
Gonna go bonkers soon...

Just in case...

2007-06-25T18:13:00.000+01:00

In Paris now...Decided to post a short update just in case you guys think I`m stuck in Italy...(But leaving all details and pics for next time if there is a chance...)

After hanging out with the NUS-Denmark gang for 5 days, I flew to Interlaken, Switzerland for a few days to do something that I always wanted to do...

From there, I took a train ride up to Munich, Germany to visit Ian, had a great dinner with the NUS-Munich gang, and visited Berlin with Ian and Grace...

After that, I flew in to Paris, France for a super short stay to visit Gerardo, who is doing his PHD here...

Will be leaving for London tomorrow...

Had survive on bread and water for some days...
Already feeling the pinch on my wallet...
Damn...
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This stupid french keyboard is killing me...
All the keys are in different position...
Arghh!!!

Italy...

2007-06-14T08:56:00.000+01:00

2 days in Venice...
1 day in Florence and Pisa...
4 days in Rome...

No pics though...

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Connection time is freaking ex...
Time running out...

Going away…

2007-06-11T01:53:00.000+01:00

Will be going away for a period of time...

Will update again if I have a chance...

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If you knew you were going to die of old age, would you stop living???

Illusion…

2007-06-08T22:50:00.000+01:00

Approximately one and a half months more before returning to a place called home...

But till then, there are more stories to share :)

Like I’m telling my soccer-freak friend, traveling alone can be kinda scary and lonely at times...

But still, it’s the desire for new experiences...the illusion of this paradise that you constantly seek...the uncertainties of what will happen to you out there...that keeps one going...

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Praying for safety...

Nonsensical stuff...

2007-06-08T01:06:00.000+01:00

[Just feel like writing...]

Jai left today...Despite knowing that we can meet up back in Sg, I just can’t help feeling sad seeing friends (sgrean or international) leaving Leeds one at a time...

I have been procrastinating about my last trip in Europe for quite a while now. Hate myself for “wasting” my time in Leeds, instead of spending them in some meaningful ways. The truth is I felt pretty tired after those short post-exams trips. But still, life is short...Shouldn’t be resting for so long...Arghh...Should work out some plans soon...

Went for a UK career fair in Leeds with Hadi. Nothing much to do anyway. Fairs like that often send people to either sides of the reality. Either “Wow, there are so many different job opportunities!!!” or “Damn, I am restricted to these few jobs...”. For me, I think I just belong to the “uncertainty” category. Not knowingly why I’m choose Computer Engineering in the first place...(Not for the gals definitely...the ratio is 10guys to 1 gal in here...sigh...) Not knowing what I will choose as my career...IT-field? Engineering? Biz?...Will my FYP make any sense at all? Seems to be at a cross-road now...

On a totally different note, I’ve forgotten to wish a good friend of mine a happy birthday. Trust me, I don’t like to forget friends’ birthday. But some how, things just happen without any reason ya...haha...Anyway, not really sure if it is an over-rated thingy...But still, being twenty-one is something worth celebrating...You're only young once!!! So gal, enjoy yourself in Japan or spend a crazy night with your friends back in Sg ya!!!

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Should stop procrastinating...

Liverpool Trip...

2007-06-05T23:11:00.001+01:00

Just went to some must-visit attractions...But the main intention of this trip was to visit the Beatles Story...

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral: An unique and impressive interior...

Liverpool Cathedral: A huge building with a gothic exterior...

The Beatles Story: The main highlight. Stayed for 3+hrs here to go through all exhibits and the whole audio tour. No photography inside though...Sigh...Anyway, now I'm a retro rock-n-roll fan!!!

Albert Dock

Pier Head: The place where " The Three Graces" are...namely the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the former offices of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board...

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Just another day, just another trip...

Prague Trip...

2007-06-03T12:04:00.000+01:00

Regarded by many as one of Europe's most charming and beautiful cities...

Bohemia Classic: Czech food...Meaty and nice...

New Town

Old Town: The oldest part of Prague...Most of the attractions are located here. Anyway, never go to Prague during peak season. It is infested with tourists!!!

Charles Bridge: A famous bridge with musicians and artists selling their traits. A hotspot for pickpockets too...Just zoom in and look at the crowd on the bridge...Arghhh...

布拉格广场!!! Too bad the fountain was under renovation when we were there...Dammit!!!

Prague Orloj (Astronomical Clock): A must-visit attraction...4 figures (Death, Vanity, Judaism and Turkish) flanking the clock, together with statues of the Apostles presented at the doorways above the clock, are set in motion at each hour...

Dancing House: Just a biz building, but famous for its unique shape...

Cannabis Tea: A drink around Europe that was introduced few years back...It is actually a refreshing health drink that tasted like lemon tea...The cannabis content is so low that perhaps you need a few dozens of them to feel slightly high...

Night shots: Prague is a nice place to do some night photography...Only regret for this trip is that I didn't bring my tripod...Damn!!!

Havana Club: A pub just below my hostel. Came here with Raph (a Brazilian guy on Exchange)...Nothing much to do in the room anyway. Tried out some Czech spirits, not a big fan of that though...Oh, and we found "Singapore Sling" there...haha...On our last visit here, we decided to conquer the 8-in-1 cocktail (In the pic, one super big cup that was supposed to share between 8 people…) with just the two of us…Not alcoholic, just in the name of fun!!! Unlike those noisy clubs, this is actually a pretty nice chill out place...

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A place that makes me fall in love with the word "Bohemia"...

What if…

2007-06-02T17:21:00.000+01:00

Even before I reach England, I came to know about this particular Dahab, Egypt Dive trip from YJ. It’s actually kinda expensive for a poor undergrad. like me, so I was actually in a 4 months to-go-or-not-to-go dilemma and constantly procrastinating about signing up for it. I was busy with my projects and reports anyway.

After my last project presentation here yesterday, I finally made up my mind and found my way down to that only dive shop in Leeds, located in one of the industrial area...Only to find out that the slot for this trip was already fully booked...Damn!!! DAMN!!! DAMMIT!!!

Now, instead of worrying how expensive it is or if it is worth the money spend, I feel like kicking myself for missing such a chance to dive in Egypt...What if I sign up for it earlier? What will I be seeing in the Red Sea?

Missing the clown fish...
Missing the Moray eel...
Missing the trigger fish...
Missing the turtles...

Sigh...

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In the end, it's the "what ifs" that hurt the most...

Copenhagen Trip...

2007-06-01T12:10:00.000+01:00

[Click on the pic to enlarge the photos]

Was on my way to one of the attractions when I pass by this private harbor. Kinda like this place. The scenery is good and it's quiet. Perhaps can chill out here for the whole afternoon...

Heard this particular group of people talking...Suspected they were my fellow Sgreans from the way they spoke...Not in Singlish, but the tone they spoke in is just distinctive...After a while, my doubt was confirmed when they started using the “lah”s and “leh”s...Haha...Approached them for a pic...And they were actually SIA crews who had just landed...Cool!!! It’s always nice to meet Sgreans in foreign places...

Den Lille Havfrue: The Little Mermaid statue...It seems kinda lonely to wait for someone by the shore...A wait of eternity...

A place like Clarke Quay back home...But it the atmosphere is definitely much nicer here...Real boats by the river with people hanging out on them...Musicians performing...Locals drinking and chilling out everywhere...Ducks swimming around on the river...I even had a fun time “sharing” my ice-cream cone with the ducks...haha

Carlsberg Brewery Visitor Center: The place where it started!!! Beer is kinda cheap here...In fact, it’s cheaper than Coca Cola!!!

Our Saviour’s Church (Spiral Church): Have you ever wonder what the stairway to heaven looks like?

View from the top...If you still haven’t notice, there is a stairway that lead right to the peak of the church’s pointed ceiling...It’s freaking high there and the railing is only slightly above waist level!!! To get to the top, you need to climb up some dark stairways inside the church, past those gigantic bells, then exit at the base of the cone-shape ceiling and continue up the narrow spiral stairway. The steps just get narrower by each step, till a point which you can no longer step on it. For the sake of getting a glimpse of the view from the peak, the journey up there is definitely worth it...

Frederiksberg Castle: Nice royal garden, nice castle exterior, but gloomy weather...Sigh...

The interior of the castle was impressive...All its statues, monuments, ceiling etc were skillfully crafted right down to the details...

Christiania: A freetown, not under government control...A self-governing society whereby each and every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. This place has a long history and started of with a group of people protesting against the Danish government. No taking of pics are allow in the small town...In fact, a local shouted “No picture!!! Delete picture!!!” at a friend of mine who was merely carrying a cam...So these pics were from the entrance and exit of the town...Actually it’s a really interesting place that I came to know about only during my visit here, especially after I came to know about its history. In fact, a violent riot between the locals and the police broke out here a few days before my visit...Go Google for it to find out more...

Yip & Me: The day I left Denmark...Shuan (Amsterdam) and Xueyin (London) arriving next...People come and go ya :)

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Thanks Yip!!! Good luck for your coming Europe trip!!!

A day for departure…

2007-05-30T17:32:00.000+01:00

Gerardo left for Paris to start his PHD course, Ana and Alex going back to Madrid to study for their up coming examinations in mid-June.

Some pics from the second international party at Tiger Tiger, the last ERASMUS party for this academic year.

I'm never a "farewell" person. In fact, I kinda hate all these feelings I'll have when I'm leaving a place or a person etc. When you have stayed in one place for a period of time, it’s happy to see people you hang out with leaving for good, to start the next new chapter of their life.

It’s the uncertainty of not knowing when your paths may cross again that hurts a lot...

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Some places just seem so far apart...

Stockholm Trip...

2007-05-26T03:06:00.001+01:00

Together with Duan, we explored the city on bicycle at night. Having chill wind on your face, cycling among the beautiful architecture, soaking up the night life of a foreign city...What more can you ask for in life...

Stockholm is blessed with flowers. Kinda a beautiful sight...

A lake behind Duan's accommodation. Need to walk through a forest path to get there. Some students actually dragged two sofa there...How cool is that to chill out at such a place!!!

Stockholm is basically made up of many small "islands". Therefore there are harbours all around the city...Kinda nice...

Vasa Museum - The ship sank before it was actually being used. They brought it up, preserved and displayed the entire ship in a museum. Quite a magnificent sight. A must-visit attraction...

Gamla Stan - This is the center and oldest part of Stockholm...Nice architecture here. But it has became kinda commercial with all those souvenir shops around for tourists. But still, it is a must-visit attraction...

Followed Duan's instruction to scout out a high ground one of the the islands. From here, you can take the whole view of Gamla Stan...

KTH, Royal Institute of Technology - The place where Duan is doing his Exchange...

The main city centre of Stockholm...Quite commercialize, with all sort of shopping centres and brands around. Able to see H&M everywhere...

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Thanks Duan!!! Good luck for your round Europe cycling trip!!!

Freedom…

2007-05-23T23:44:00.000+01:00

Saw seagulls in the wild for the very first time in Stockholm (Hey!!! Sg is a concrete jungle ok!!!) Just sitting by the harbour to watch them gliding around gracefully in the air is an enjoyment. They reminded me of a story that I read during my secondary school days - Jonathan Livingston Seagull. A very meaningful tale. Recommend it to everyone!!!

It feels really good to have a chance of travelling around to see different things, to meet different people and to absorb different cultures. The smell of freedom, even for a brief moment, is priceless...

It was raining the day I left Stockholm. Heard this old man basking on the street in the rain, strumming this song on his guitar...Wasn’t the most beautiful singing, but there’s this soulful feeling in his voice. And for some unknown reasons, I just stopped and stood there...Wanted to hear him sing...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be true to yourself...
The source of happiness comes from perservering to achieve your own dreams...

Got a plane to catch...

2007-05-22T02:20:00.000+01:00

Stockholm is really a nice place...But leaving details for another day...

Second Destination: Copenhagen, Denmark
Target Personel: Yip (SH, Hockey, Engin Kaki)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hanging out with Sg friends...
Common Singlish, common topics, common interests...
Somehow, it feels at home...

Visiting…

2007-05-19T16:39:00.000+01:00

Exams ended yesterday. Not the best exam I’ve attempted. Can’t really do some parts of the questions. That’s the consequences of last minute mugging...bleah...But still, it was much more manageable than back in NUS. More than enough time for the paper, high correlation with past years’ paper, seriously what else can you ask for? Yet still, I heard some people here complaining about the paper...Sigh...

Took the last train to London Stansted Airport on the same day. Going to visit 2 friends around this region...It was a trip planned some time ago...

First destination: Stockholm, Sweden
Target personal: Duan (Ex-SH, hockey, photo kaki)

My flight was actually at 8am next day, but there is no way I can get to the airport by 6am for the check-in. Thus, having the need to spend a night at the airport. That’s the price to pay for booking the cheapest air ticket available ya...

Chat with this stranger in the Underground. (Guess all late night travelers are bored...haha) He is from Argentina, majored in some cooking thingy when studying and had just finished his 3 yrs work contract in Iceland. Anyway, he is only 25, but had been in a company that cooks for the president and those visiting ambassadors. How cool is that!!! Come to think about it, most people I've met in Europe are studying stuff they really love...Fine Art, French Literature, music etc...It really sucks that such trend can’t really be seen back home, where most people either follow the “safest route” or go wherever the money is. Guess that’s the price of being in a practical society...Sigh...Anyway according to him, Iceland seems to be a scenic place. Cold weather all year round, but yet always having natural hot streams due to the volcanic landscape. People can just jump in and swim in them. Wow!!!

Reached the airport at about 11pm. To my surprise, there seems to be a trend of staying over at the airport. I actually saw people with mattress, sleeping bags etc. All seems to be well prepared...Hah...Anyway, it was quite an experience...

Finding a perfect spot (I actually slept under a big billboard Ad!!!), making sure your sleeping posture protects your bags from thieves, lying there in the middle of the airport, looking at other spot-seekers walking by as you fell asleep...Didn’t really sleep well though. Officers were waking people up at 4am, as the airport were preparing for the arrival of the first flight of the day.

Loving my day flight, loving my window seat, and simply loving feeling of flying just above the sea of marshmallow clouds...

In this pic, can see some land below the clouds. Ana told me that from the air, you can actually see Denmark and Sweden side by side...But I can’t really differentiate which is which...okok...my geography sucks...

Reached Stockholm Skavsta airport. Thanks to Duan’s detailed instructions, I was found my way to his accommodation with ease.

Alone in Duan’s room now. He is somewhere else with his friend studying for his last exams on Monday. Gonna work on my project report later. Yeah, I actually brought my laptop along. Desperately need to work due to the sudden change in the report submission date...Dammit...Travelling and working just can’t mix!!! Sigh...Hope can travel a bit and take some pics tomorrow...

Oh, just wanna share this song with you guys. Heard it somewhere else. A song that will bring you through hard times...

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Good luck for those who are still having exams...It'll be over soon...

Time flies…

2007-05-16T23:30:00.000+01:00

Exactly four months have passed since I first step foot on England.

Flash back...

- Enjoying getting to know international people...esp. the friendly Spanish gang!!!
- Enjoying the cold weather as compared to back home...
- Enjoying seeing snow for the first time!!!
- Enjoying the fact that I can wear a jacket to school everyday...
- Enjoying the fact that I do look like an undergrad. for once, as compared to my schooling attire back home…(T-shirt, berms and slippers…Typical hostel-ite attire)
- Enjoying drinking more than I usually do in a year back home...
- Enjoying my first puking session after a night of party...
- Enjoying hang overs...
- Enjoying going to more party than I usually will in a year back home...
- Enjoying the little illegal stuff I do...(Not going to elaborate on that...)
- Enjoying lying on the grass in the sun doing nothing at all...
- Enjoying feeling happy after helping to wash the dishes whenever I’m bored...
- Enjoying the fact that I’m slightly better some my project mates...technical-wise...
- Enjoying the feeling of getting lost whenever I travel, even though I have a map with me...
- Enjoying my trip to the artic circle and Santa’s village!!!
- Enjoying seeking out all the good deals, cheap thrills and great bargain with my fellow Sgreans...
- Enjoying using sign language to communicate with people who don’t speak English at all...
- Enjoying the fulfiling feeling of doing that Master's project...
- Enjoying my 3 mins walk to school everyday...
- Enjoying the fact that I didn't skip a single lesson this semester...haha
- Enjoying those cross-time-zone chat with my friends back home...

- Learning how to eat to survive, rather than eat to live...
- Learning to live with noisy neighbours and sleep through party sessions...
- Learning about short cuts to different destinations, instead of always following the main road.
- Learning how to remain sane while working with project mates from hell...
- Learning how to live far away from home and handle everything on my own...
- Learning more about myself and how my mentality changes...

- Missing family and friends back home...
- Missing new friends over here...
- Missing the luxury of eating to live, rather than eating to survive...
- Missing my mid night supper sessions...
- Missing NUS 24/7 high speed internet connection...
- Missing cheap Singtel bills...

(And the list goes on...No time to list down everything…)

Two more months to go...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ought to be studying...Dammit...

Something weird…

2007-05-15T21:55:00.000+01:00

Few days back, I heard TF telling Gerardo off in the kitchen...

It was midnight. TF was asleep while the Spanish gang had returned from their mugging session in the library, and was making “dinner” in the kitchen. Yup, they usually have their dinner between 9-11pm. Think it’s the Spanish way of life or something...

Guess the chatting and cooking woke TF up, and he sort of told them to quiet down, in an angry tone...

Just yesterday, Gerardo found this piece of paper slipped under his door...

Content of the typed-written note is like...

“I’ve been escaping for the past 8 months, but I can run no more. I am tired and ready to die. When they catch me, I ask them to allow me to have a good sleep and a good meal for one day. But they refused. I have done nothing to them. Now I only have one choice. I refuse to think about it. What a nighmare...”

Something like that...Should have taken a pic of that note...Arghh...

Anyway out of curiosity and fun, Gerardo pin the note in the kitchen. But later in the day, he found the same note slipped under his door again.

The Spanish gang concluded that maybe TF is behind all these and he may be “crazy”...

And I can’t help but find the similarity between the content of this note and the home-made video of that Virginia Tech shooting incident...

Dammit...

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Gonna start locking my door before going to bed...

Parkinson Building…

2007-05-14T20:15:00.000+01:00

A shot for my friends back home...

This building is a famous landmark in Uni. of Leeds. Its interior really gives people the kind of academic feeling...

Also, there is this wonderful Harry-Potter-like library in there. But then again, that's a story for another day...

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Watch the sun as it comes up...Watch it as it sets...

A peaceful lane…

2007-05-13T14:34:00.000+01:00

(Was out for a walk...Taking a breather from my lecture notes...Bleah...)

A short cut I always took to the 24hr clusters. Yup, there is this small old cemetery right in our campus...How cool is that!!!

Kinda like this place. Maybe it’s the feeling of chilling air...Maybe it’s the cemetery smell...Or even maybe it’s the sight of tombstones...But this wonderful lane is like a “filter”...that take things off my mind...

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If tears could build a stairway...and memories were a lane...
We would walk right up to heaven...and bring you back again...

Done with FPGA…

2007-05-09T21:23:00.000+01:00

*****************************************************************
“So are you prepared for your presentation tmr?”

“ah...screw it...just presenting whatever we have...”

“haha...giving up at the last minute huh”
*****************************************************************
Thank you for that...Kept me awake all night...

Worked through the night for the presentation today...

Reanalyzed the whole program to make sure the simulated output data matches the expected results. But our RS232 still can’t really work properly. Guess we had a problem synchronizing the serial baud rate with the Terminal or something.

Overall, I think the presentation was pretty good. In fact it is much better than I expected. We explained to the prof that our algorithm is correct, and just that we had problem extracting the output. He seems to accept that...Manage to answer all questions shot at us...

So yup...It’s over!!!

Still got a “Snake” project on hand, 1 report and 2 exams next week...

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Turning into a full time mugger!!!

Big world? Small world?

2007-05-08T00:30:00.000+01:00

They said "The world is smaller than you think..."

Is this really true? Or sometimes, reality will force us to accept how big the world actually is?

In a way, you will be constantly meeting new faces from the "other side" of the globe if you make an effort to step out of your comfort zone. Sometimes, you make new friends. Other times, you make “familiar-strangers”.

Then again, there are moments when these people tell you “Come visit me!!!"

Your reply will be “Yeah, definitely, I’ll love to!!!”

But deep down, you avoidably realise how big our world actually is, and individuals can sometimes live real far away from one another.

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0030, 24hr cluster, bored...

Good news…Bad news…

2007-05-05T23:14:00.000+01:00

(Geeky post for friends who are on the same frequency...)

After camping in the EE lab and 24hr cluster for the past few days, we FINALLY figured out how to play around the signals, synchronized the baud rate of the FPGA and the Terminal, and managed get some output from the RS232 of the FPGA board!!! (Yeahhh!!!!! *Jump around and scream*)

However, the output is not really what we wanted...Sigh...

We are sending out integers from the board and are expecting integers as the output on the Terminal. However, the output we are getting is either in ASCII character or hexadecimal format. As far as I know, these formats are not supported by Matlab and hence, the processed image can’t be recomposed. Dammit!!!

Also, we just realize another problem in the whole output-data issue. While our algorithm is churning out one integer per clock cycle, the RS232 will take a few clock cycles (1 start bit, 8 data bit, 1 stop bit ) to output one just integer.

3 more days to presentation...

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When things seem hopeless, that's when we should be most excited...
Cos that's when there's so much room for us to make a difference...

Not well...

2007-05-01T18:26:00.000+01:00

Have been feeling cold. In fact, I have been putting on a t-shirt with a “Uni of Leeds” hoodie on top, track pants, socks and a towel wrapping around my neck to sleep for the past few days.

Also, I was having this “war” with Gerardo where I keep switching the heater setting to the max...And he will turn it to the opposite. I think the spring weather is considerably warm for European people like him.

Woke up with a heavy head and a vomiting feeling today (No, I didn't drink!!!)...Something just don’t feel right...

This reminds me of my year one days back in NUS, when I was living in a hostel and fell ill the day before exams. I guess it’s also during time like these when people are mentally the weakest. Kinda just wanna go home to let your parents take care of you, or stay over at your bf/gf’s place to be taken care of, or even stay in a hospital just to escape from the stress of exams, projects etc for that few days. It feels bad enough when you fall sick and is away from home. And it sucks even more when you are so far away from home that your illness does not justify the cost of flying back.

For me, during days like that, I just feel like staying in bed, window close, curtain drawn, wearing warm clothing, separating myself from the world. Hoping that I will feel better tomorrow...

Then again, I've got so much work on my hands now...Guess I’ll just take a nap and carry on with my work later...sigh...

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Life goes on even when you are not feeling well...

Tiger Tiger...

2007-04-29T16:05:00.000+01:00

A night to remember...

Everyone in the pics shares a story...

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Some may pass...Some may hold...
Some grow ageless while their body's growing old...

Getting wasted...

2007-04-28T12:38:00.000+01:00

Went to Susanna’s flat for a small house party. Bought some drinks on the way. It’s kinda an alcoholic potluck session.

As usual, the party was conquered by Spanish people...Had a couple of beer, a couple of rum mix, a few sips of Scotch whiskey...and “stole” a chocolate muffin from the table...was damn hungry without any proper dinner...

Went to an international party at Tiger Tiger at 11pm...

Was stop by the police on the way there...“Sorry...No drinking in the city centre.”...Oh, I was holding a can of half finish beer. Didn’t realize that was considered illegal...

At Tiger Tiger...Saw some familiar faces, friends from Angela’s birthday party and some people from the global cafe. Didn’t really drink...Was busy meeting friends and dancing and singing along instead.

Left Tiger Tiger at about 3am...The gang decided to go to Rachael’s place for some food...

Alex’s jacket was either stolen or he didn’t remember where he placed it. So, he just “steal” one on his way out. Lots of jackets lying around in the club anyway. And he didn’t realize how idiotic he was till I pointed out that the one he picked up was actually a ladies’ jacket...hah...

Although feeling high and slightly giddy, I was still walking straight...

Went to bed at about 5.30am...It was always nice to sleep with the high and giddy feeling...At least that was very true for me...Till today...

Woke at 6+am...Feeling damn sick...Was drooling uncontrollably for a moment, and the next second, I puked...It’s like in the movie, kinda cool for awhile...haha...Like a natural reflex of the body, the second you wanna puke, you will just vomit to the side of your bed, and not on your bed...While thanking God that my bed is clean, I cursed the fact that my room has carpeted floor...arghhhh...

Felt so sick that I can’t really sleep after that...so went to do my laundry...

Stoned in the bed till I doze off naturally...

Woke again at 9+am...Despite being hungry, I felt so sick that I don’t feel like eating...

Went to stone in the kitchen...Maybe I drank too much...No, I didn’t really drink that much...Or maybe I actually didn’t realize I drank that much...Or maybe it’s purely because of drinking with an empty stomach...

Sitting in the sun by the window, feeling the warmth on my face, placing a cup of hot drink on my stomach, eyes closed...ahhh...I think I see heaven...

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Hope my neighbour wouldn’t think I’m an idiot when he sees me later...

Drifting Thoughts...

2007-04-25T23:05:00.000+01:00

(A babe reminded me yesterday night to update this space of mine. She is this friend of mine who commented that we haven’t been meeting up lately, but yet have talk a lot over msn...Yup, we should really hang sometimes ya...)

Had lunch with my Gerardo and Ana at this Spanish buffet today. Decided to take a break from the project-craze...It’s a great restaurant-cum-pub with dark atmosphere and candles light on every table. Kinda like that place...Oh, Gerardo acknowledge me as a Spain ambassador and Alex commented I’m already part of the Spanish community here...Pretty cool ya!!! Really wish that I can speak Spanish!!!

Doing project with final year students is really a bad mistake, ‘cos they will be constantly doing their FYP and don’t bother about other modules, especially during presentation periods like now. But I kinda understand how they feel, as I will be in their shoes when I’m back in Sg next year. One more year to have an officially unemployed status...hah

It feels bad enough to know you have deadlines closing in and yet you are slacking away. Yet, believe me, it feels even worse when you want to work but have absolutely no idea how to. The thought of having to answer to a good lecturer who I don’t want to disappoint is bad enough, and the feeling of starting to have doubts in myself of whether I will be able to grasp the gist of this module sucks...Sigh...

It’s kinda pathetic that “Scrubs” is the only thing that can make me laugh and forget my work for a moment these days. It’s kinda like some morphine drug to me that numbs my brain...haha. Yup, I’m a damn workaholic. Perhaps not working smart enough though. Close friends to me will know that...hah. But hey, no one in this world is perfect right???

Life these days are not that bad, just that they are pretty boring. Fighting with deadlines to get my projects working...Finding time to hang out with my international friends here whenever it is possible...Finding time to scout for presents for my friends back home...Finding time to plan some stuff in June and July...Finding time for some MSN session with my Sg friends...Finding time for myself (Yup, I’m those I-need-some-time-for-myself kinda guy...) Yup, basically stretching the 24hrs I have to the max, compromising on sleep and stuffs that I can afford to forgo...

I kinda miss my international friends now...It feels weird that you are missing some people even when you are presently with them. But the thought of not coming back to this part of the world anytime soon (Will be pretty broke by the time I return home, and assuming my work will not allow me to travel for such a long time), and the thought of high chances of “converting” some late-night-coffee/beer drinking/crapping/partying/chilling buddies to close friends, then to normal friends, next to hi-bye friends, lastly to acquaintances really sucks big time. We can’t deny but admit that there is only this much long-distance call/msn/web-cam/Skype can do. So next time if I give you a hug out of no reasons, please don’t whack me or something ok!!! You don’t need a reason to give a hug anyway...hah

Sometimes, when there is a chance to sleep late just to crap with your friends and wake up early next morning for school, a chance to party with friends till 4am in the morning when you aren’t really a party person yourself, a chance to lie down on the grass with friends even though work is piling up your ass, a chance to do those classic dance moves of the 60s/70s with friends at someone’s birthday party, a chance to act like an idiot among drunken friends during chilling session even though you are absolutely sober, a chance to have lunch with friends when you find the meal is expensive according to Sg standard, or even simply a chance to give up your beauty sleep and wake up early to stone at a table with a friend when your class is only in the afternoon...To me, it’s time well spent...

Ok...Time to get back to work...

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I miss you so much it hurts, sometimes...

How are you…

2007-04-20T00:35:00.000+01:00

3 words that people commonly used around here. In fact, they were being used so frequently that they started to irritate me.

In just one day...

[Met my China neighbour in the morning while having breakfast in the kitchen]
TF: Morning, how are you?
Me: I’m good!!! You? *big friendly smile*

[In school, met my lecture mate from Penn. state]
C: Hey, how are you?
Me: *smile* Nahz...Nothing’s new...The lab report…blah blah blah...

[Met my Spanish neighbour in the afternoon in the kitchen]
G: How are you?
Me: Fine...Just came back to grab some lunch...Going for lab later...

[Met my project mate for discussion]
H: Hey, watsup?
Me: Nothing much...Any new progress? (Hmm...Cool way to greet friends...)

[Met my project mate’s flatmate at his place]
Unknown: Hi, how are you?
Me: This proj. is going no where...haha *tired*

[Met my China neighbour at evening]
TF: Hey, how are you?
Me: Fine, thank you. (Now, please leave me alone...)

[Met Gerado’s friend who came over to do her laundry at night]
N: Hi, how are you?
Me: Hi *smile* (Oh crap...)

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Guess I'm just mentally drained...

Cheese Person…

2007-04-19T01:35:00.000+01:00

Went to this “Cheese and Wine Party” today with Gerado and friends...Guess it’s supposed to be some sort of a networking session for international students, but I went for the free food instead. Oh well, who can resist the temptation of cheese??? FREE CHEESE!!!

There were only two large groups of people there – Spanish and Italian. Didn’t know these two communities are so prominent in the international student scene here. And I am the only Asian there!!! How cool is that...haha

Tasted the Sangria, the wine punch which originated in Spain and Portugal, that was available...But the one Julia personally made during Ana’s birthday was way much better!!!

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is...Can you believe a table filled with different kind of cheese together with some crackers and biscuits, and you can feast all you want? Woohoo!!! Especially there is this kind of French cheese called Brie...it's freaking nice la!!!

I think I am a mouse in my past life, cos’ I am one hell of a cheese person. Yup!!! Cheese makes me happy...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An average mouse eats 12 pounds of cheese in a lifetime...
I figure today I've lived 2000 years...

My lovely proj mate...

2007-04-17T00:55:00.000+01:00

When is the last time you wanna bang someone's head against the corner of the table and run it under hot water???

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreements are meant to be broken...

Time Out...

2007-04-15T02:45:00.000+01:00

Did something today which I always wanted to but never will back in Singapore...’cos if I do that in Singapore, others will think I am insane...

We went to Hyde Park...and simply lie on the grass...basking in the sun...

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They say that in life, one out of every three chances you took will fail. But some days, the odds are worse than that. And on days like that, I guess the best you can hope for is that you took something from it...Anything...Anything at all...Even if it's just taking the time to lie in the grass and think about all the things you still have left to do...

想念的声音...熟悉的感动...

2007-04-13T21:22:00.000+01:00

燕资在前几个星期发了新专辑，而我到今天才发现...

不知为何...突然觉得很孤独...觉得与某些人离得很远很远...

再次听见孙燕姿，仍然有着同样的感动...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
也许我一直害怕有答案...

Musical Ecstasy...

2007-04-11T00:07:00.000+01:00

Have you ever come across a day when you are so damn bored, and discover a song that makes you feel totally jumpy, upbeat and ecstatic?

And you keep looping it on your laptop while you work? And you just can’t get the tune out of your head?

Jumpy music rox!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They said chocolate is better than sex...
Some days, that’s true for music too... =P

Simple things remain...

2007-04-08T23:33:00.001+01:00

How do you know spring is here?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just love their music...

Traveling...

2007-04-08T01:40:00.000+01:00

Joe popped by to say hi in the afternoon. He is this Argentinean who I’ve met during my first week in Leeds, and had finally come back from his 2 months of travel around Europe. Had a great time listening to his traveling tales over cups of coffee. Tales of traveling without knowing where he will be going next, not planning his accommodations in advance to stay in a place as long as he wanted to, of the new people he met who bring him around their own city, of the relatives who he didn’t get to meet for a long time, of he actually met his best friend by chance in a foreign land, of his budget traveling lifestyle...Always love such exchange of information and tales sharing sessions...

He seems like a changed man now, not as playful as when I first met him. Even he himself agreed that he had changed, as he had seen and experience so much from his 2 months of travel.

Kinda agree with him to a certain extent. Some people use traveling as a form of relaxation - To take a break from their daily routine. Or as a form of escapism - To avoid a problem/issue back home. Or as a form of fun - To see the place as a tourist. Or as a form of self development - To go out of your comfort zone to experience as much as you can, to interact with people you least expected you will and to see who you really are. No matter what your motivation for traveling is, you will always return back home as a changed man to a certain extent. But the thing is how long will the “new” you last, when you are back to your own comfort zone again? That’s a story for another day ya...

Anyway, went to the Library with Gerado and Anna to meet Ben for a drink at night. Ben is from Bath, and got to know Gerado when he was doing some bio-chemistry modules in Valencia. (Despite only attending lessons for the first two weeks…haha). I was surprise that despite staying in Spain for only one year, he is very fluent in Spanish. He picked up the language from the bar which he was working in in Spain. Oh man, I should really pick up a third language for communication sake...

Also, found out from him that 21st June will be a good day to visit Stonehenge as there will be a traditional Summer Solstice celebration there, to celebrate the arrival of the longest day of the year. Seems kinda cool ya...At least it’s something worth thinking about. Life in Leeds during Easter is kinda boring anyway...

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The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeing new landscapes...
but in having new eyes...

Reverse Engineering...

2007-04-04T22:36:00.000+01:00

(Geeky post)

It comes to a point where Hadi and I agreed that researching from the basics and driving into the problem head on is no longer a sensible approach. We will be glad if we manage to implement a small part of the whole Image Processing thingy on the FPGA. In fact, Prof. Steven keeps asking us why make things difficult for ourselves, and to keep things simple, so that at least we have something to show to other professors on the presentation / demonstration day. Ahhh...a reflection on what he has been teaching in class all these while...

So here we are, “dissecting” a 2D FIR project we found online, hoping to understand how it works, and manipulating it to suit our needs...

Ok...back to work...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes, it’s not about the journey...
What really matter is the destination...

Random...

2007-04-04T00:07:00.000+01:00

Sometimes in life, they warn you you gonna make sacrifices...

But I guess that means different things to different people...

Like giving up something you really want now...for something you want your whole life...
Or spending less time on yourself so you can spend more time with someone you love...
At some point, you even might have to give up your sense of safety and well-being...

But after a while, you don’t feel like you are giving up anything at all...

St. Patricks Day...

2007-04-02T21:31:00.000+01:00

(Backdate: 17th March...)

Went for the Otley Run (visiting 16 pubs, drinking a pint of beer in each) with Gerado and his gang to celebrate St. Patricks Day. A damn big group that consist of Spanish, Italian, Greeks, Argentinian and English :)

Met Hadi's flatmate in one of the pubs, and was roped in to do their "Dinosaur" dance...haha

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever wonder what will happen if you put a bunch of crazy people together??? :)

Scrubs...

2007-04-01T22:01:00.000+01:00

Have been introduce to this American situation comedy by Hadi, my FPGA buddy (Think it had been shown in Singapore before...okok...I'm kinda slow...haha)

Exploring meaningful issues in interesting/funny ways...A very nice show...Recommending it to all you guys who haven't watch it!!!

Helps to take my mind off all the projects from time to time =)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Won the race but lost your mind...
Was it worth it after all...

The only sucky part of St. Marks Residence...

2007-03-31T20:55:00.000+01:00

Few days back, an email from Digital Village...

"Yesterday you exceeded the daily usage limit of 500MB as referred to in our Terms and Conditions. This type of activity could have a detrimental affect on our network and therefore we cannot allow this to continue. Should you continue to exceed the daily download limit we will unfortunately be forced to downgrade your service to a throughput limit of 56Kbs dial-up speed, for a period of 5 days.

If you exceed these limits on a regular basis, we may be forced to suspend your account."

Today, an email from Digital Village...

"Despite repeated warnings you have continued to exceed the daily usage limit of 500MB as referred to in our Terms and Conditions. As advised in our previous email your account has unfortunately been restricted with immediate effect.

Should you have any queries regarding this email, please contact Customer Services."

Ok...I admit I did not read the TnC...my bad...But it's the cyber era for goodness sake!!! WTH uses memory cap on their internet service policy these days!!!

Gonna stop streaming movies online for a while...sigh...

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godammit...

Projects...

2007-03-30T20:36:00.000+01:00

(In PC cluster...bored...)

Have been burying myself with projects ever since I came back...

1) PIC assessment: Progressing slowly...

2) Snake Game Programming: Going no where...

3) FPGA Image Processing: The main headache. Have been camping in the PC cluster these few days just for this project. Still going no where. Can’t even kick start it. Can’t see any light in all the research done. Think gonna present my head to Prof. Steven soon...sigh...

And 2 reports to be due...

Mum questioning me about my studies here...

Back to work...

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Taking things in stride...

Leaving on a jet plane...

2007-03-29T20:29:00.000+01:00

23th March, Friday:

(Travel Plan: Spend a day in Tampere, and take an evening flight back to Liverpool...)

The night train ride itself was kinda happening. The train actually sounded the horn and did an E-brake about half an hour after we left Rovaniemi. Everyone (Not much people in the cabin as usual) in the cabin stood and walk around to find out what exactly happened. And looking out of the window, I saw some animal tracks on the snow across the railway line. Perhaps, a reindeer was standing in the way of the train or something...We were deep in some forest anyway...

Next, at one of the train stations, 2 security officers came to my cabin to bring a drunken man out of the train...Was literally carrying him out as he couldn’t even walk by himself. Apparently he was so drunk that he sat beside a girl unknowingly and slept there, throwing his bottles on other seats...

Tampere Train Station: Reached Tampere train station at about 6am. It is the third largest city in Finland and the largest inland centre in the Nordic countries.

As it was still dark out there, I actually slept on one of the benches in the station till it was about 8am, and wash up in one of its toilets (Cost 1€ to use the toilet...wtf man...). Typical backpacker style =)

I thought I was going the right way the minute I stepped out of the train station, as I had briefly studied the map the night before. But when I reached University of Tampere unknowingly, only then I realize I was walking in a totally opposite direction from the beginning...bleah...Taking it as a blessing in disguise...’cos the university was not on my places-to-visit list...

Anyway, that was how the journey in this city started...

Orthodox Church: Built in the Neo Byzantine style, located on Sorinaukio Square...Didn’t go in...Was quite sick of all the places of worship from all my trips back in England...need a cooling down period =P

Tammerkoski Rapid: Solemn stone guards on the Hämeendilta Bridge (Left pic.). And a dam was built right in the middle of the city to utilize the rapids (Right pic)...Don’t really like this idea as it is like an industrialize structure in the middle of a beautiful city. It just seem out of the place to me...bleah...

Keskutori Central Square: The heart of life of the city. There was actually a make-shift market there selling all sort of local products and food...Kind of like our “pasa malam” back home, just that I was during the day time...

Laukontori Quay: Nothing much when I got there, perhaps it wasn’t a tourism season...hmmm...Singapore River is nicer (at least to me…bleah) =P

That was about it. The other places were typical city shopping areas. It was an urban city after all...and I am not a shopping person...hah...

Tampere Terminal 2: The “ulu” airport I landed on on the first day...

The view on the plane was once again magnificent. As the time in Finland is 2hrs before England, so for the entire journey, it was like we were flying towards the sun set...Woohoo...pretty la =P

Liverpool John Lennon Airport: Back in England...Above us, only sky...

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You may say I'm a dreamer...
But I'm not the only one...
I hope someday you'll join us...
And the world will live as one...

Leaving them all behind...

2007-03-29T01:14:00.000+01:00

21st March:

Arktikum Museum: The museum exhibits the Lappish lifestyle in the past. Marina guaranteed that this wasn’t a normal boring museum, but I still can’t find a “wow” factor in it. Guess I am really not a museum person after all...

City at Night: Went to explore the city at night. Not much people on the street. Most of the shops had closed, leaving only hotels and some eating places.

Decided to walk to the frozen river side. Wanted to get a night pic. of the bridge we drove by this morning (Left pic.) Felt that there was this guy following me while I was walking through a dark alley (Need to walk through the alley to get to the river...No choice...sigh...). Tried to cross the street TWICE to avoid him but he kept following me. In the end, I just stopped at a small junction and turned back to stare at him. He looked at me, turned and walked in the opposite direction...Don’t know what he doing la...bleah...

Anyway, the river side was freezing cold. Fingers almost drop while fiddling with the camera. Can’t wear gloves when handling the camera. And pictures were more important than fingers...hah =P

Hungarian friends: Performers from Hungary, and were in Rovaniemi for the Hungarian Culture Week. I usually had breakfast with them, as we were living in the same guesthouse. Always talked to Abigail (their translator) and another Hungarian girl who could converse in English.

Went for a Hungarian movie (With English sub-title of course!!!) screened tonight with these people. It was sort of an official event of the cultural week as the director (A guy who was surprisingly young) of the movie was there too.

After the movie, we continued to the Tuspu Pub to support the Valter Blues Band (Hungarian band) performance. Everyone was staring at me when I entered the pub. (Always get this kind of stares even when travelling in the city here, but never did back in England) Guess either not many Chinese had taken part in their nightlife over here, or they didn’t see a Chinese before...bleah...Anyway, had fun watching the locals cheering and dancing to the Chicago Blues music. And whatever racial / international / language awkwardness barrier always broke down over a pint of beer...hah...Beer is also an universal language =P

22nd March:

Woke up early today. Saila had allowed me to try the sauna facilities for free...Woohoo!!! My first sauna experience. Sitting alone naked there with a towel, singing loudly like nobody business. Like those gangster boss in the H.K. movies...haha...Kept pouring water into the pile of heated wood thingy. Like to hear the hissing sound...hah...The feeling was damn shiok la...Didn’t really sweat that much ever since I left Singapore. And a cold shower after that was really superb...

City in the day: Went to explore the city after breakfast. Discovered there are actually 2 Chinese restaurants here. Not keen on trying them. No point eating Chinese food when we had all the authentic Chinese food back home anyway.

Went back to the frozen river side. Kinda love this place. Discovered that the icy surface was melting slowly. It was the ending phase of winter after all. Wondered if we were the last group of people who managed to ride on this frozen river this year...

Northest Macdonald’s in the World: Ever wonder how the northest Macdonald outlet looks like? This is the only Macdonald outlet here, and is the northest outlet on earth according to the Macdonald website. Kinda silly ya...haha...I am pretty sure there are other fast food outlets located further north than this one…But anyway, still worth a visit :)

Ranua Zoo: Decided to visit the zoo at Ranua (Another “ulu” place, 80km from Rovaniemi) as my train was only at 9pm. The zoo claims that they display winter animals in their true habitats. Didn’t realize it was really a bad decision to make this visit from the start.

Most of the animals were sleeping, probably due to the cold weather...bleah...And there were not many tourists there. Probably less than 10 people in the whole zoo when I was there. Despite thinking that Mandai Zoo is much better than this one, touring in a snowy zoo was still a pretty cool experience. And their polar bear and brown bear’s enclosures were damn freaking huge. Think those were the main attractions of the zoo.

But that’s not the point of the bad decision. I didn’t realize the zoo actually closes at 4pm. (Which zoo closes at 4pm?!?!?!) And my returning bus to Rovaniemi was only at 5.40pm. As there wasn’t any indoor area around after the zoo closed, I was there waiting at the bus stop (Bottom-left pic...A damn memorable place...) alone with no proper thermal attire. Jumping around, dancing around, singing around, playing with the camera...doing everything I could just to ignore the cold. And that freaking bus was late!!! It came only at 5.55pm...Dammit!!! Almost freeze to death at this place...

Left Rovaniemi at 9pm on a night train...

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Maybe I will return someday...
Maybe...

Become a child again...

2007-03-27T21:48:00.000+01:00

It was a day...

21st March:

Yup...This is the main motive for coming to this “ulu” town at the top of the world. It is a place where everyday is Christmas day. Always wanted to visit Santa’s village ever since I came to know about its existence. Oh well, a childish dream ya...haha...Oh well... But the point is, it is a dream that came true after all these years =P

Marina drove me to Santa’s Village which was about 8km away from the city of Rovaniemi. It is a site located at the official border of the artic circle. (The artic circle boundary shifts by a few metres each year, depending on the position of the sun. Technically, there isn’t a fix boundary for it. But the official line/marking of the boundary is located here...So ya...)

(Click to enlarge image)

Santa's Village: At last!!! Felt damn high when stepped out of the car...Woohoo!!!

The village was quite commercialize by now. Kinda expected it. A necessary move to boost tourism, if not it will not survive alone in this “ulu” part of the world.

There weren’t many tourists around, as I reached quite early. (Marina had to work...so ya...haha) And it wasn’t the peak season (usually December) for tourism here. So I got the whole place to myself...good for photo takings...haha

Most of the Asian tourists here were from Japan (Mostly) and Hong Kong (Some). Think these are the richer countries around Asia or something, as the situation is the same back in England too. (Most Chinese restaurants open by H.K. people...)

(Click to enlarge image)

Santa Claus’ Main Post Office: Possible to get the exclusive Santa postage chop when you send stuff out from here. Too bad I’m not really a person who remembers address of my friends...Arghhh...So only manage to send 2 postcards home. Also in here, you will get to see the letters sent to Santa from different parts of the world. Pretty cool to see what children from different part of the world wanted to tell Santa, and what were they wishing for...All the workers here were dressing up as elves...Damn cute!!! Manage to take a pic. with one of them. *wink wink* =P

Letters from Singapore: One of the largest piles around. Think Santa is quite popular among children back there ;)

Directional & Distance Post: Located outside the post office, which points to different countries. This particular one shows Santa do know where Singapore is. And it’s moment like that makes me realize how far I am away from home...sigh...

Boundary of artic circle: The row of pillars (top-left pic) outlines the boundary. Actually there is an official line marking on the ground, but it was covered with snow when I was there. Managed to dig up a small portion of it through some melted snow though (top-right)...Too bad of my friends were there with me, or else we can jump, somersault or crawl etc to pass this line together. Think that’s what the kids usually do...haha

A certificate to certify I’ve crossed the artic circle...

Santa Claus Office: Strictly no photography allow in here. Hate it when such rule exist. Anyway, the “real” Santa is in there spending a few minutes with each visitor from all parts of the world. The decorations are quite fairy-tale like...Well, it is a fairy-tale place from the start...haha :)

"Real" Santa: A pic. with the “real” Santa. Actually paid a bit just to take this picture...Decided to as I don’t know when I will visit this part of the world again...so ya...Decided to give him a hug too =P

Anyway, Santa can speak different languages. A bit of each…A bit of Chinese (Ni Hao, Gong Xi Fa Cai etc)...Kinda expected it as he need to entertain all the visitors. But I was surprise he truly knows about Singapore, even telling me he was actually there last year for the official opening of some event at Novena Square. (Yeah...he can name some exact places...Wow!!!) Think Santa has also been comercialize with biz contracts around the world...haha...So there we were talking a bit, crapping a bit...(Asked if his beard is real...haha)...Really fun and interesting talking to this old man :)

Continue to wander around for a while. Saw this huge speaker, located at the middle of the village (top-left pic.), that plays Christmas melody all year round. Yeah, it’s always Christmas here...A happy place :)

Saw the “Christmas World Road” (top-right pic)...the starting point of the long journey for each Christmas ya...

Stroll through all the souvenirs shops (Bottom-left pic)...Typical Christmas stuff...Maybe I am not a shopping person, so not really interested in all these...bleah...

Decided to try "Reindeer Stew" (Bottom-right pic) for lunch. It was reindeer meat serve with mash potatoes, jam and pickles...Not use to the strong meaty smell...But still it was a new experience...

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It's never too late...

Winter wonderland...

2007-03-27T01:42:00.000+01:00

19th March Monday:

Carlos drove me to the reindeer farm, which was about 23km away from the city. The usual route was block by snow, and there wasn’t a way to get there except by driving. The safari itself was good. It was a trip booked purely for me, a so called “VIP treatment” by Marina...haha...(Long story...kinda hard to explain it here...) All the baby reindeers at the safari were damn cute...Regretted that I didn’t get to hug any of them...sigh...

Went for a reindeer sled ride through the snowy forest along the perimeter of the land own by the reindeer herder. He is an original Sámi people, and oh man, he does own a freaking big piece of land in the forest. The sled ride was only traveling at a comfortable pace, not as fast as I expected. (okok...I think I watched too much Santa cartoons...haha) But it was truly an unique experience traveling through the forest on a sled pulled by the reindeer, with knee-deep snow around you, playing with the dog that ran by the side of the sled and having a reindeer kicking up snow onto your face...haha :)

Took a break at the middle of the forest while he explained reindeer stuff to me, showed me a kota that belonged to one of his friends. We were trying hard to understand each other as he hardly speak English and I don’t understand Sámi language...universal smile and sign language...that’s it...haha :)

Tried to control the reindeer on my own. As the reindeer was trained to follow the herder, it wasn’t really difficult to control it. All I had to do was to make it move or stop...Back to the farm, was serve some hot juice and salmon snacks in a kota...damn shiok la...So there we were chatting a bit more about reindeers, browsing through all the reindeers souvenirs, and received my reindeer driving license...haha

20th March Tuesday:

Went for a snowmobile and husky safari trip with a family from Hong Kong. By right the safari’s policy was 2 person per snowmobile, but I actually got to ride on a snowmobile all by myself. (Long story again...haha) Anyway, the ride was terrific, and we were driving on a frozen river and through cross-country terrain through the snowy forest!!! The speed we were traveling at and the chill wind on your face…It’s really an unforgettable experience!!! I actually requested to stop in the middle of the frozen river for some pictures...Not everyday you can stand on one, especially for Sgrean like me...haha...And there I was, trying to dig my way through the snow trying to break the ice…woohoo!!! (See the pic with a hole in the snow…According to our guide, 40cm more to go to reach the river water...haha)

Reached the husky farm on snowmobiles. The husky puppies were damn cute and playful. Too bad we were not allowed to bring them out of their cage to play with them...Went for a husky sled ride out in the wild...6 husky dogs per sled…But the speed of the ride still disappoint me...bleah...Oh well, maybe I was too heavy for the dogs...Can see the dogs lying flat on the snow when we took a break during the ride...haha...poor thing ya :)

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It's not how long you live, but how you live that matters most...

On the road...

2007-03-26T01:22:00.000+01:00

(Back date...For reference sake...)

18th March Sunday:

1240 Liverpool: Took a morning coach...Was surprise to see how small John Lennon Airport was compared to Changi and Manchester airport. And guess what...The fire alarm went off when I am about to check in. Don’t think I am that lucky to meet a fire drill at the airport (How frequent will that be!!!)...Thought it was a bomb or something (It was England after all...) The whole airport was evacuated and gathered outside in the freezing cold...And there I was enjoying my sandwich lunch in the cold, trying to find out what exactly happened...Turned out to be a small fire or something...Cleared to enter the airport again after about 20 minutes of waiting time...sigh...

As a noob of airplanes, I didn’t realize Ryanair uses the free sitting system...So I was there searching for a seat number which don’t really exist...bleah...Once settled down, I realized I was the only Chinese on the plane...hmm...not a big deal...

1645 Liverpool: The plane ride was good, as it was the first time I was flying when there was still daylight...Didn’t realize that the sight above could be so freaking beautiful, when it was all gloomy under the clouds. The never ending cloud structure in the evening sun was really a perfect picture. It was like we were flying among some snowy mountain range or something...Simply marvelous!!! Guess I was there gazing out of the window till the last light disappeared...

2140 Tampere Airport: Didn’t realize I will land on such an “ulu” airport...Looks like a single building among the forest, with 2 custom control counters...Guess there isn’t much visitors flying in from this airport after all...But that’s not the point...There isn’t any cash machine in the entire building and the information counter was closed by the time I landed!!! sigh...alone in this “ulu” place without any euros in my pocket...Life’s great ya :)

Managed to get a bus ticket to the train station from a ticket counter...paid by Masters...“priceless” ya :)

2230 Tampere Train Station: Since my train had not arrive, I went to stroll around the city centre...A dead city as all the shops were closed...Saw some travelers rushing off to don’t know where, drunk people walking around, party youngsters shouting etc...nothing new...Grabbed a burger at a midnight outlet and waited at the train station...Met this guy from Helsinki...Master student in Comp. Sci...Exchanged information about Sg and Finland, contacts etc...Chatted till his bus arrived...

19th March Monday:

0109 Tampere VR Train: A night train with less than 10 persons in my cabin...Everyone is occupying 2 seats...shoes off...legs on the arm rest...sleeping...Kinda like this sight...All travelers alike...At the end of the day, you just wanna rest...just a place...anywhere will be fine...

Was a damn long journey on the train...Pass by some wild snowy forest, some damn “ulu” settlement which I bet you guys will never know they actually exist, and some train stations which seem to be located in the middle of the forest...Seriously, who will take a train from there?!?!?! Although train announcements were in Finnish, Swedish and English, the volume they were announcing at was terrible. (Think the system was spoilt or something)...All signboards were in Finnish...Not helpful at all...So I was there guessing which station I was at, hoping not to miss my stop...

Decided to time my journey...Just get down the train at 1053...praying the train will not leave the destination before the time stated...or else I think I will landed up in North pole or something...

1053 Rovaniemi: Finally reach my destination...Just a small town...The last “more developed” town in the far northern part of Finland, located at the border of the artic circle...Armed with the directions I got from an online traveling forum earlier, I tried to locate my accommodation...“Come out of station, cross main road, see a hill, climb the hill, head left till you see the inn”...sound simple enough...

1100 guesthouse: Found the place...Recognise it from far...Remember the picture of it during my “online research sessions”...Was damn tired from all the traveling...

Update again...

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Damn freaking tired...

Gone...

2007-03-20T17:47:00.000+01:00

To a place to fulfil my childhood dreams...

Update again when I return...or IF I return...

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When is the last time you did something crazy?

Logbook...

2007-03-16T14:54:00.000+01:00

Just went to meet my prof. with my SNAKE project group...Had requested to see us regarding our logbooks...Stressed that this wasn’t a scolding session...Commented that our work was okay...But we were not writing enough stuff in our logbooks...Need to write more frequently, more details etc...Refuse to believe what we had written was actually the work which we had done so far...Mentioned that my logbook was neat...Told us that if our work improves, our final grade will reflect the improvement...If not, we will not be getting any fantastic grades...

While being nagged by him, I remembered what he told a guy with a lousy logbook during one of our lab sessions...“You can write the best program...But you’ll never make it in this industry with such a logbook”...

Similarly, I think I’m a “best-program” person...never a “logbook” person...bleah...

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Hoping to change for the better...

Rejected...

2007-03-16T03:36:00.000+01:00

While the rest of the groups had already kicked start on their design and coding of the FPGA, Dr. Steven rejected our project proposal for the second time today. He insisted that our general project idea was good, but demanded us to be more specific and to focus on only one small aspect of image comparison. And his reason (which he only tell us today) is being what we had proposed is actually a PHD level Image Processing project which will take years to complete...

wtf...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listen to the pros...
You'll never know what shit you’re getting yourself into...

Borders...

2007-03-15T14:55:00.000+01:00

Went to Borders yesterday to check out information about this country I’m planning to visit...Met this not-so-young guy at the “Travelling” section...Think he was from Africa or something...Didn’t really catch the place where he was from when he mentioned it...Was surprisingly greeted by him and was asked if I’m from Malaysia...Explained that he used to hang out with Singaporean and Malaysian when he was studying in Germany...Can recognise us easily...Just graduated from some university in Germany...For his age, probably a Masters, PHD or something...Traveling around the world for now...Next stop will be Canada...Chat a bit and I had to rush off...

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An ordinary book shop...A meeting place for travelers...

Closer...

2007-03-14T01:20:00.000+01:00

Went for an English play, titled “Closer”, at the Student Union in the evening. It was recommended by Rachael, who was in the Theater Society herself...A really good play and the way the play was presented was different from those hostel productions back in NUS...Something refreshing ya...

The plot was not bad...A daring approach and if the same play was done in Singapore, I think a major part of it will be censored due to those strong words used...Wooohoo...

Anyway, had a light Spanish dinner with my Gerado, Anna and Habi after the play...Spanish salad = salad + olive oil + malt vinegar + salt...For a non-salad person like me, it tasted uniquely nice...haha...So there we were, joking about how “freak” in Spanish actually means “geek” in English, talking about how an Informatics degree changed Habi from a party animal to a geeky guy, discussing about life and politics in Spain (yup...POLITICS) etc...

A little new experience everyday ya...

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Kind?!?!?!
Don’t tell me he is kind...
I am kind...
Everyone can be fucking kind...

Farewell gathering...

2007-03-13T03:26:00.000+01:00

As Gerado's siblings leaving for London tomorrow morning, the Spanish gang had organised a mini farewell gathering for them in our kitchen...

In order to take this pic, Gerado actually asked the Spanish gang to sit around the extremely narrow corridor. That reminds me of the past when we were taking some class photos...haha...Anyway, people here are from China, Singapore, Italy and mostly from Spain...Yup, ours is an international and friendly flat...haha

A pic with Gerado and his siblings...Actually they can't really speak in English...but the gap was bridge by sign languages, Spanish food, potatoes and omelette flipping jokes, flute playing session and drinking session... :)

Gonna miss you guys ya!!!

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It’s never too early for a beer!!!

A weekend break from everything...

2007-03-11T14:21:00.000+01:00

Due to the fact that work is piling up, I didn’t really travel anywhere this weekend. Besides that, for the very first time in Leeds (A place with the unwritten agreement of student aren’t suppose to work on weekends!!!...True for the locals at least...), I have a project meeting on Saturday noon...Oh well...

So the weekend was spent kicking start on my image processing project...sending out emails to people and places I always wanted to...getting the official proof for my reservist deferment in June...planning an unknown trip during Easter break (will update again if its confirm)...In fact, it’s a pretty fulfilling weekend as a check point in Leeds that allows me to organize everything again...

Yup, this is the FPGA board which cost 150USD on the market, but the department actually bought a new set of such development board for each pair of students taking this particular module though...A really cool board that can be program to do almost anything. (Shall spare you guys from all my geeky technical details...haha) But then again, didn’t really know if I have made the correct decision of taking this Masters module, as most of its assignments and project are extremely time consuming. And that violated the unwritten but unanimously agreed I.P.P.T. (Interact, Party, Play, Travel) Code of an Exchange student...sigh...Free time is pretty restricted by workload of this module.

Anyway, Gerado was surprised that I was taking this module as according to him, the University of Leeds normally wouldn’t allow undergraduate to take any Masters module. And according to Anna, it cost quite a lot to do a Masters course here...So ya...heck it...Instead of producing a half-fuck project within two weeks, I have decided to do a proper project for the submission due shortly after Easter break...Hate the idea of doing it just for the sake of submission anyway...bleah...

So yup, I will be spending most of my one month Easter break in Leeds while my fellow exchange students are traveling around Europe...

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In life, you win some...you lose some...I guess...

Eat, Drink and be Merry...

2007-03-10T21:22:00.001+01:00

It was Alex’s birthday. Gerado and his Spanish gang had a birthday party for him in our kitchen. Came to realize that our kitchen is the place where I get to meet all the new friends from around the world. All thanks to Gerado, who keeps bringing his friends, his friend’s friend etc over for coffee and gatherings. Spanish people are really the friendliest and “coffee” people I’ve ever met!!! This may be a sweeping statement...but...oh well...haha

Alex, the birthday boy!!!

Anyway, Gerado’s siblings came for a visit from Spain over the weekend. When I held out my hand for a handshake during the introduction, I received a Spanish cheek-kissing greeting from his sister instead. Kinda cool to experience this kind of greeting for the first time, though I’m quite stun at that moment. And Jai from the side said I look like an idiot...haha...whatever...Cultural exchange ya!!!

So the whole night was spent just tasting Spanish food, joking around with these half-drunken Spanish people...chatting with Ian (the California mining engineering guy who was on an one year Exchange) about "Irish car bombs" and "beer bongs"...and talking to Angela, the official translator among us as she understand both English and Spanish (She’s from London but her mom is from Spain)...

Good food...great company :)

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Can't remember...
how many shots of rum I've taken...
how many cups of Anna’s lemonade vodka I’ve drank (which is a wussy drink according to Ian…haha)...

Only remember everything was spinning when I finally drop dead on my bed...

Gift from heaven...

2007-03-09T19:11:00.000+01:00

Saw this from my window today. The end of the rainbow was like only 400m from my room...such a beautiful sight...and yet there are actually people passing by unaware of such a sight above them...

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Life is not a race...Do take it slower...
Hear the music...Before the song is over...

Never too old...

2007-03-08T22:02:00.000+01:00

Took this pic on one of the trips...(too bad didn't get a front shot...took out the cam. too late...sigh...)

Alone in his late 50s/early 60s...winter jacket...walking stick...DSLR...backpacker bag...

------------------------------------------------------------------------
As long as you're alive...the world is your playground...

In PC cluster now...

2007-03-07T11:45:00.000+01:00

My day yesterday...

0800 – Wake up for breakfast.
0900 – To school for DSP lecture.
1000 – To PC cluster to finish up an assignment due.
1100 – Project meeting to debug program and finalize specifications.
1230 – Back to St. Marks for lunch.
1300 – To school for RF Engineering lecture.
1400 – Project meeting to discuss about lab presentation.
1430 – Lab presentation to the famous Dr Horler...bleah...
1500 – Explore the library for textbooks and VCD/DVD rental.
1630 – Back to St. Marks to surf, chat, slack and nap...
1900 – Dinner.
2000 – To school’s 24hr PC cluster for project research.
2230 – Simple grocery shopping...Running out of milk and bananas...sigh...
2300 – Back to St. Marks. Drink and interact with my Spanish neighbour’s friends. Interesting people ya!!!
2330 – Off to Bondi Beach to party. Good Latin / Spanish music....Good crowd...and most importantly...Good friends ya!!!
0400 – Return to St. Marks. Stone in the kitchen. Dead tired...
0430 – Zzzz...
0800 – Wake up for breakfast...God damn alarm clock...sigh...
0900 – Off to school for project research...

I love my life...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Live everyday like it's your last...

人因梦想而伟大...

2007-03-06T18:25:00.000+01:00

三岁的我...想当恐龙...
四岁的我...想当哆啦A梦...
五岁的我...想当忍者神龟...
六岁的我...想当卡车司机...
七岁的我...想当蝙蝠侠...
八岁的我...想拥有阿拉丁的飞毯环绕地球...
九岁的我...想当僵尸道长...
十岁的我...想当消防员...
十一岁的我...想当赛跑健将...
十二岁的我...想当李小龙...
十三岁的我...想当警察...
十四岁的我...想当吉他手...
十五岁的我...想当一名好警察...
十六岁的我...想当僵尸...
十七岁的我...想当小混混...
十八岁的我...想到纽西兰开农场...
十九岁的我...想到非洲当医生...
二十岁的我...想当百万富翁...
二十一岁的我...想看看海底世界...
二十二岁的我...想到尼泊尔当和尚...
二十三岁的我...想当电脑工程师...
二十四岁的我...想找一个属于自己的世界...

---------------------------------------------------------------
七十岁的我...会不会又想当恐龙呢？？？

Nottingham

2007-03-05T23:26:00.000+01:00

Went to Nottingham last Saturday. It is the place where Robin Hood tales originated. Didn't manage to visit the Sherwood Forest though (Due to time restrictions...)

Robin Hood Statue: Located outside Nottingham castle...One of the must-see attractions here. Actually there is another museum that is sololy dedicated to the life of Robin Hood. But the admission fee is too expensive...so decided to give it a miss...sigh...

Elephant Rock: This is actually a huge sandstone, the foundation material which the whole Nottingham castle was built on. Lots of passage ways and caves in there. We took a guided tour that bring us around the castle and all the underground dungeon and passage ways...the haunted stories and "history lesson" were pretty interesting...Didn't know England history can be so dramatic...haha

Some interesting posters from a nearby museum that display people in Nottingham used to live in the past...

Council House: The heart of the city centre...There is actually some artistic installations in front of this building where one can create his own music by placing his hands over some pipe (quite difficult to discribe how it works...haha)...Something which I have never come across back home...

St. Mary's Church: Just another church we visited...But it was closed when we reached there...But still...a nice building...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
如何把陌生人当未曾遇见的朋友...
如何把敌人当和睦相处的对象...
其实都是一种生存技巧...

If you get what I mean...

2007-03-01T23:51:00.000+01:00

I have morons for breakfast.
I have pancakes for project mates.

I love my life.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss those late night prata-and-cock sessions...

Durham

2007-02-28T23:11:00.000+01:00

On our journey back to Leeds, we stopped by Durham...

When we reached Durham at about 8+am, the whole town was still asleep. Think we reached there too early or something...Anyway, I saw this Popeye-the-Sailor display in one of the shops...cute right...haha...Kicked started my day as I am not exactly a morning person...*yawnz*

Durham Cathedral: Norman-Romanesque style...Completed in 1133...One of the main attraction here...But again, no photography allow in the cathedral...sigh...

Cloisters of the cathedral: This is the place where one of the scenes of Harry Potter was filmed...a scene when Harry was with his owl Hedwig (IIRC)

River Wear: A true scenic place...as if we were in the Harry Potter era...haha

Durham Castle: As usual, a castle in every city. But this one was actually converted into the hall of residence for the university...Hmmm...Don't know if it was a great idea (Hey...undergrad. living in a castle...damn cool la!!!)...or they just wasted a great historical site...

Anyway, like what my spanish neighbour had told me, the cathedral and the castle are the only 2 main attractions in Durham...But it was still a great trip as we had traced Harry's footsteps...haha

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Work hard...Play harder...

Newcastle upon Tyne

2007-02-28T18:25:00.000+01:00

Took a train to Newcastle on last saturday. Gloomy sky makes the whole mood sucky...Not really in the mood to take any pics when the lightings are this bad...sigh...

Castle: Dates from the 12th century...Kinda like see these present structures in Black-n-White pic of the past...

Nothing much in the castle when we first went in...just another castle...Anyway, I guess that I am sick of visiting all these castles, churches and museums. Need something new or a "WOW" factor to make me visit other places of interest in England...bleah...

Haunted: Saw this article somewhere in the castle...Wow!!! It states that the stairway that lead to the Great Hall was haunted. That's something new...haha...I tried to take a pic of the stairway itself...But can't see anything special...Arghhh...

Along River Tyne: Nice view from here...People jogging & cycling...Street performance going on etc...The night here is even more scenic...And the chill wind is a bonus...Perfect!!! Too bad didn't bring my cam. out at night...sigh...

Demostration: Saw this small demostration going on...Aim was "Troop out of Iraq"...Think it is common for such activity to take place here (Maybe every weekend...Always has something to complain about in life ya...) But definitely not a common sight back home...Don't mind taking part in one demostration here if given a chance...Once in a life time experience ya...haha...But then again...We are instructed by NUS SEP policy not to...so ya...

Angel of the North: A steel scultpure (located at Gateshead, England) that is wider than the Statue of Liberty's height, standing on a hill. The wings are angled forward to create "a sense of embrace"...Beauty of simplicity...

We had chinese food for dinner again...Seem like it has become a S.O.P. whenever I go for trips with the Sgrean gang...haha...Oh, the hostel we stayed in (Albatoross Backpackers Inn) is damn near to the train station and is not bad too. But since we were only staying there for a night, we didn't manage to use most of their facilities (Washing machine, lounge etc)

Yup...Thats about it...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discover how to laugh a little...cry a little...live a little more...

Birmingham

2007-02-19T23:40:00.000+01:00

Went to visit Brian in Birmingham last weekend...(Really thanks for being such a nice host...the steamboat CNY dinner was superb la!!!) Toured around the Uni of Birmingham...Went to Cadbury World and the Black Country Living Museum...Oh...and attended a short session of Brian's Wing Chun martial art class...(really interesting lesson and great to meet your "instructor"...he is really power la...thanks for bringing me there ya!!!)

The distinctive clock tower of Uni of Birmingham...Brian told me that there is a saying in the Uni that it is bad luck to walk under the clock tower when it strucks...Will fail your exams or something like that...Didn't manage to take more pics as we were in a rush...bleah...

Cadbury World: One of the displays there...the whole display is made of chocolate...looks delicious "in it" :P

Choco Family: So cute ya...or rather...so cute that I wanna eat them...haha

Caught this on one of the section where they demostrate how chocolate shells are made...Every display here tastes damn nice la!!!

The FREE chocos I got and chocos i bought at the so call "The World's Biggest Cadbury Shop"...That is a 1kg choco. bar....They are actually selling a 5kg choco bar...Tempted to buy but the thought of carrying it all the way back to Leeds made me change my mind...bleah....And the white bag contains mis-shaped chocos, which are basically edible factory rejects...They are selling these at cheaper prices...I was wondering who will care about the shapes ya...If its made of chocos...I'm on it!!! :P

The Black Country Living Museum: Not really a good place to take pics here...But its still an interesting place to visit as its like a journey back to the Victorian era...The traditional fish and chips shown here is made with beef dippings...made in a 1930's fried fish shop...taste damn nice la...(or is it because I'm too hungry...haha)...Oh...we also visited a coal mine (the distinctive trait of Black Country)...watched a black and white comedy in a Victorian style roadside cinema...chilled out at a Victorian aged Inn while having traditional ale...and visited a traditional schoolroom (and Brian got a scolding from a "Victorian" teacher..."No food in the school!!!"...hahaha)...what a way to spend my CNY...

Anyway...I'm having a sore throat now...Blame myself for having steamboat on Saturday night, fish & chips on Sunday noon and pizza for Sunday night...Looking at the chocos I bought and not eating them is really killing me....arghhhhhh

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
在回来的旅途中...
一人在阴暗的车厢入睡...
耳机里传来燕姿熟悉的声音...
路灯的反射与音乐结合...
编织出美丽的梦境...

Old Trafford: Theater of Dreams

2007-02-19T22:13:00.000+01:00

This post is dedicated to my soccer freak friend...You know who you are...haha...I tried my best to bring the Stadium Tour to you okie!!! :)

The main building of Old Trafford...There is a mega store here that sells everything that is related to Man U...a true heaven for Man U fans!!!

Interior of the stadium...

Conference room: This is where the news conference will be held after each match ended...

The place where the players dine if time allow...The guide actually said Man U players played with "empty stomach", surviving on energy bars/drink and bananas if the timing isn't appropriate...

Their admin / working area...On match days, this place will be filled with laptops and telephones...

Players' lounge: A place for players to relax...Each player is allowed to bring 2 guests here (IIRC)...

Players' changing room: Each player is entitied to 2 hooks...There is actually some sort of a huge jacuzzi room attached to the changing room...looks damn shiok ya!!!

Trophy display: The is actually the Man U museum within the stadium...showing all the history, honour, tactics etc of Manchester United...

There are more pics with me...pass it to you when I return to Singapore...see ya :)

Manchester

2007-02-19T15:15:00.000+01:00

Went to Manchester 2 weeks ago... Chinatown: The first thing we saw when we exited from the coach station...From far, I thought it was the entrance of some chinese temple or something...haha...kinda nice to see some Chinese food and stuff around...

Manchester Art Gallery: I'm not really an "Art person"...so...ya...haha

Saw this chess set on display...Actually, it is trying to illustrate a conflict in the Levant, a region that includes Palestine, Israel and Iraq...But history aside, each set piece looks damn unique...interesting :)

An art piece asking visitors to write down where they wish to be at this very moment...kinda like this piece of work...

Manchester...The Peace Garden...Nuclear free ya...haha

Saw this on our way to take the Metrolink...A sculpture of a giant bicycle...Kinda nice to see art pieces lying around randomly the concrete jungle...

Old Trafford: Theater of Dreams...but that will be another story...another day...

In general, there is nothing much to see in Manchester for me...think that's because I'm more of a sight-seeing person...haha...We also visited the "Musuem of Science & Industry in Manchester" and some other places...but don't really have any interesting pics that are worth posting up...so...ya...That's all for now... Cheers!!! :)

What is an Engineer thinking when shopping for groceries...

2007-02-14T03:04:00.001+01:00

#include <brain.h>

boolean Dilemma
boolean Decision(Item);

int main(){

    Sense Eye;
    Money Price;
    Feel Mood;

    printf("Lab assignments and reports is driving me crazy...\n");
    scanf("%see", Eye);
    printf("Cadbury Fruit and Nut chocolate!!!\n");
    scanf("%cost", Price);
    printf("1.39 GBP!!!\n");

    Dilemma = Decision(Choco);

    if(Dilemma)
       Mood = Happy;
    else
       Mood = Irritated;

    printf("I think I'm crazy...\n");
    printf("Ya need choco. therapy if you understand this...\n");

    return 0;
}

boolean Decision(Item X){
    Factors Pros, Cons;
    Boolean Buy;

    Buy = srand()%2;

    if(Buy){
       Pros = Motivated to complete all the work;
       Cons = Less money to travel;
       //Funfare tix to London cost 1 GBP
    }
    else{
       Pros = A tix to London;
       Cons = No mood to do lab report and assignment;
    }

    return Buy;
}

Winter Wonderland

2007-02-08T21:40:00.000+01:00

Had a pleasant surprise when I stepped out of the EE building after my lab session...everything was covered with a thin layer of snow...It was the first time it snowed in the morning ever since I touched down England...and the sight of snowflakes falling is so enjoyable :)

Despite it being only a 5 mins journey, I was smiling all my way back to my residence. The sight of snowing just turn on the happiness mode in me...haha

Saw this on my way back to St Marks...someone actually made this miniature snowman on a BBQ pit...I just add the eyes and a mouth to it...hah

Oh, and I actually tried to taste some snowflakes (allow them to fall straight into my mouth...haha)...and they taste HORRIBLE...yucks...maybe like what Sherrie said, "What looks good might not taste good..."...haha

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When it snows...ain't it thrilling...
Though your nose...gets a chilling...
we'll frolic and play...the Eskimo way...
Walking in a winter wonderland...

York, England

2007-02-05T01:42:00.000+01:00

Went to York on Saturday...

The Minster: One of the must-see places in York...It is the largest medieval structure in the United Kingdom...Construction began in year 1220 and was only completed in year 1472...took about 250 years!!!

Interior of the Minster...As we reached there quite early, we actually wandered in without paying the entrance fee...haha :)

One of the halls in the cathedral...damn nice la!!!

Statue of the Emperor Constantine I: The Roman emperor responsible for the official acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Empire...

City Art Gallery: Photography not allowed inside...probably due to copyright reasons…bleah...

Clifford Tower: Build between year 1245 to 1262, by the order of King Henry III...

Interior of the tower...

Monk Bar: Traditionally the monarch’s entrance, where traitors’ heads were displayed…cool huh :)

Railway Museum: A place where you can find all sort of trains inside...Not train models...but the real thing...it is like an indoor train station but with trains of different era and nationality parking on each railway track...pretty cool...

Old Trafford the Theater of Dreams

2007-02-02T01:18:00.000+01:00

Rushed down to the stadium after class for the Man U and Watford match...not a soccer fanatic...just wanted to be there to immerse myself in the atmosphere...haha

The tickets...."face value" for 50 pound...we got it at a cheaper price...thanks to Teckie :)

The exterior of the stadium...not a nice day to take pics as it's already dark and raining...bleah...

Memorial of players for the Munich Air Disaster...

Was actually stop from entering the stadium as they don't allow "Camera with zoom lens"...sort of expected such things happening at a professional game anyway...so here is a pic of the interior of Old Trafford Jai took...

The atmosphere during the game was terrific...people cheering throughout the whole game...chanting songs (well-known songs with the lyrics altered to suit Man U)...swearing and cursing at referee and missed goal chances...laughing at Watford's fans...all done in unison!!! Anyway...the game ended with a 4-0 to Man U......woohooo!!! :P

P.S.: Sis!!! If you are reading this...pls send me yur PnS cam once you are done with it k :P

St. Marks Church

2007-01-29T22:28:00.000+01:00

Went to meet up with the priest we met at the church beside Hyde Park today. As promised, he was bringing us to a church which he claimed was closed to the public. (But he has the key for it)...Originally, I thought it was really a cool idea...thinking it might be some extremely old church with a super long history, where there might be some secrets or treasures within it to be discovered or something.

To my surprise, the church which the priest was refering to is the one right beside the place where I am currently living. Yah...I did know about this old castle-like building beside my residence, and always feel creepy by the cemetery that surrounds it (YAH!!! I live beside a cemetery!!! not the first time anyway...haha)...but didn't really think much about it.

According to the priest, St. Marks Church was build in the 1820s and in the later years, it was purely used for funeral purposes. It stop functioning only in the year 2002...so its still quite recent la...He actually brought us through some spiral stairway (which was totally covered by pigeon feathers with some dead pigeons lying around) to the second level of the church...can really get an impressive view from there :)

As usual, Jai do the talking while I do the exploring and photo taking...haha...

Main building of the church...the clock stopped at 9...Wonder if there is any significance to it...hmmm....(think i watch too much movie liao...haha)

Interior of the church...While walking around, I felt that some of the floor cement panels were hollow down there. We questioned the priest about this and indeed, there is about 7 feets of empty space between the cement floor and the land. Wonder what they hide down there...hmmmm....

Front of church: Looking at those random objects around...chair, broken bulbs etc...keeps me wondering who was the last person who uses these stuff and how was it really like in the 1820s...haha...Anyway...there was a small room located at the front of the church...its damn dark inside...seems like anything can jump out from there anytime...so ya...I didnt go inside...dammit...think I really watch much tv liao...:S

Royal Armouries Museum

2007-01-28T13:42:00.000+01:00

The first weekend since school started...as usual...being the typical Singaporean...we scout for some FREE places of interest to visit :P

The first two places we tried to visit (Mill Hill Chapel and City Art Gallery) were close when we reached there. In fact, City Art Gallery is under renovation or something till May....arghhhh....

Since we were already in the city, we decided to head for the Royal Armouries Museum, a place which we always wanted to go but don't feel like going...haha...cos from the map, it seems that it is located at some "ulu" place which is damn inaccessible.

Luckily it was quite a nice place...manage to catch some performaces which is only shown during the weekends...and we reached there at a perfect timing that allowed us to catch two free performances...hahaha The red doted line shows the direct distance from St. Marks to the Royal Armouries Museum...we practically walk across the whole city...haha :) A sword fight performace...they actually explain how to use these weapons in different ways, and did an actual "sparring" session with sword...pretty cool!!! A funny mask i saw...damn wierd la...haha This piece of chinese armour looks like one being wore by Jay Chou in the movie: "Curse of the golden flower"...quite impressive... I like the expression of this guy here...just find it interesting...haha...Anyway, IIRC...this piece of work is about a tribal guy pointing his spear at an America soldier and the soldier pointing back with his rifle bayonet...something like that... This is a five storey chamber that display all sort of weapons and armours on the walls. A really cool view from the bottom :)

After the museum, I continued my walking session (trying to orientate myself to the city so can travel without the map next time, and maybe try to find some short cuts around...) while Jai rushed back for his "video conference" session with his mom.

I found out a sad fact that nothing in Leeds is cheaper than back Singapore. Even products from TopShop, supposed to be products of U.K., are slightly more expensive here...sigh...think I should get just try to get use to it and stop having the mindset of multiplying the cost of whatever items I see by 3 (thats the currency conversion rate from SGD to pounds)...that will make life easier :)

Anyway, I came across this wonderful shop in Merrion Centre, called the "Shared Earth". The first part of the shop is about recycling stuff which is normal...but the rest of the shop contain items from different part of the world...got some handicrafts from Kenya and Indonesia...some Buddha figurings from China...some Christian figurings...some Sun god figurings from Egypt...some tribal items from dunno which tribes...and some musical instruments from India etc...quite a lot of stuff to explore...and the shop was playing some traditional tribal music...cool right!!! Think I stayed there for about half an hour without buying anything...haha...was touching everything I can get my hands on...and reading through all the inspirational post cards...think I will visit this shop again :)

Oh ya...that reminds me i still need to hunt for some gift for my friends back in Sg...sigh...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Treat the earth well... It was not given to us by our parents... It was loaned to us by our children... -- Native India proverb

Bored...

2007-01-26T14:12:00.000+01:00

In the school now...Have been sort of camping in the PC cluster to finish up my assignment so that i got the weekends to myself :)

Taking 4 lab modules is crazy (especially for an Exchange student), as that makes me attending project discussions and visiting labs almost everyday. Difference in technical softwares and programming languages used makes things more difficult...just have to go through a crash course for everything :)

Anyway few weeks back, Eliz (from NUS on an 1 yr Exchange) told me that she had to re-sit for one of her exams because the Uni. had actually "accidentally" used a previous year paper for this yr's examination.

And this morning at the Sch of Electric Engin. reception, I overheard 2 gals lodging a complaint. Apparently, the Uni. had "accidentally" posted the model solution for one of their modules online before the exam, and now is arranging for all student taking that module to re-sit for the paper.

Haha...welcome to Great Britain!!!

Snowing!!!

2007-01-23T22:57:00.000+01:00

It was a night when it snowed for half an hour. Wasn't really snowing heavily but who cares...seeing snow for the first time in my life is enough to make me happy...haha :)

When I realized it was snowing, I woke Jai up (He was sleeping...and it was only 8:30pm!!!). He doubted that it was snowing, and claimed that it might be someone throwing dirt down from the upper level...Kaoz...But I managed to drag him down to take a look. So here we are, standing outside like two idiots...trying to figure out how a snowflake really looks like...haha :) After Jai went back to his dreamland, I actually stayed outdoor alone for about 15 minutes to enjoy the sight and the surrounding. Too excited to go back in anyway... My footprints on a thin layer of snow...haha...Decided to take this picture for memory sake before I return indoor. Not knowing when is the next time I will see such a sight again. (The weather forcast here is never accurate...Bleah...)

Everything ended in 30mins...Hope will get a chance to see it snowing heavily in a day...then can take better pictures...haha :)

The Black Prince

2007-01-22T22:53:00.000+01:00

Just outside Mill Hill Chapel... This is a huge statue situated directly at the middle of the junction, in front of the railway station. It is really called the "Black Prince". (Being carve on the statues...funny name though)

Anyway, the temperature in Leeds dropped to zero degrees today. My fingers almost dropped when I changed into the tele lens to get this shot...Bleah...

Mill Hill Chapel

2007-01-22T22:29:00.000+01:00

Next I followed Jai, the Mr Places-of-Worship guy, to visit this Unitarian chapel. According to him, there isn't any Unitarian chapel back in Singapore.

Too bad, the church was closed when we reached there. Only manage to explore its surrounding... Guardian of the door... According to the priest we met at the church beside Hyde park, all churches in England have some sort of a memorial thingy like this in them. Names of all the war time heroes are displayed on them. The sign that symbolises "free expression of philosophical, spiritual and religious beliefs, and acceptance of ourselves and others."

Finally found it!!!

2007-01-22T22:16:00.000+01:00

On our way to the city centre, it actually rained "ice droplets" for about 5 minutes(not exactly snow or hailstones). Rain droplets fell as ice and melted once they contact our skin. A pretty cool experience.

After the rain, we actually saw this... Found the end of the rainbow...but where is the pot of gold???

Hyde Park

2007-01-22T17:17:00.000+01:00

Went out for a walk with Jai (NUS, Che Eng), my Indian neighbour from Singapore, as we didn't want to waste the last weekend before school starts... A park beside the place where I'm staying, along the School of Business. Looks pretty peaceful in the morning. But I have heard of stories of robbery and gang rape cases happening here at night. Not a safe place to go after dark... A gathering area for all the youngsters around this area... A different statue at every entrance of the park. Looks pretty cool. Saw this Christian church beside Hyde Park. Such an old building in an urban city. Interesting architecture... Greeted by the kind of door from the Lord of the Rings era... While Jai spent most of the time here talking to the priest about religious stuff, I'm more interested in exploring this "old" place. Saw this mosaic of the "Last Supper" in one part of the church...a pretty dedicate piece of work...

St. Anne's RC Cathedral...

2007-01-21T00:21:00.000+01:00

Chance upon this Catholic cathedral while seeking shelter from the chilly wind. Greeted by this grand sight as we enter... Candles of prayers...

City Tour organise for international students...

2007-01-21T00:09:00.000+01:00

Commercial Street: The "Orchard Road" of Leeds. Almost anything can be found here, and most items cost NUMERICALLY the same as those back in Singapore. Typical shops along Commercial Streets...

My room in St. Marks Residences...

2007-01-20T23:41:00.000+01:00

Though it's quite small and old as compared to those hostels on campus, it can be cosy at times :)