Monday again

It is another new week again, week 11 now. Still got 10 more weeks to go, which means I am now at the mid-point. Oh my, time really flies. I am just not having it enough. Living abroad can be lonely initially, but as time goes by and I have fully adapted to the new environment, it's when the fun begins.

This trip to China has confirmed my desire to find a job overseas when I graduate in 2010! Singapore is good, but it's just another place where I was born.

Come to think of it, Singaporeans (including me) are quite fortunate. Being a small country, one doesn't have to relocate to another city away from family and friends. This is very unlike in big country such as China.

Most of my friends in Suzhou aren't born in Suzhou. But further afield in the north. Many have gone through separation from families for extended period of time, that is why I admire their willingness to get out of their comfort zone, often without a choice in search of employment.

Anyhow I got back from Shanghai yesterday, this time round I like Shanghai for its vibrancy.

I shall let the photographs do the talking now.

Xin Tian Di with an English ambience

An evening by Huangpu River

Breakfast al-fresco

Sunday morning madness

Waiting for train back to Suzhou

Plum blossom viewing

Went xishan (西山) with my china friends to view the plum blossoms.

This is Lake Taihu (太湖), the third largest lake in China

Had lunch in one of these boat restaurants (船菜)

I think these are snails, but I ate them anyway and they were yummy

A sea of plum trees

At Situ Temple (司徒庙)

Back home at dusk

Went to a bakery and saw this; however bread from Singapore aren't nice

Back home

Back home and felt super tired!

I miss the hotspring in Hakone Hotel Green Plaza. Was soaking in the outdoor while it started to snow.

Went Ueno's Ameyoko or flea market yesterday, had strawberry and vanilla ice cream in Tully's Coffee in Hamamatsucho before going to see Tokyo Tower. Dinner (チヤーハン or fried rice, vegetables with pig's liver, beansprouts and 锅贴. Had grapefruit juice in a bar before returning to hotel at about 10pm plus.

Woke up this morning at 4.45am; checked out of hotel at 5.30; Narita Express to Narita Terminal 1 was at 6am. Had a weak stomach this morning but got in time to the toilet upon reaching the airport.

Reached Shanghai at 11am plus. Took long distance bus back to suzhou at 1210. Reached home only at about 3pm. While in Singapore I just need 15 mins to get home.

Went to collect my laundry and had early dinner of kimchi fried rice which tasted like #$%!.

Back to work tomorrow!

夜上海

Went Shanghai on saturday. Was raining cats and dogs... By the time we got to Shanghai, the rain has stopped, and the weather was warmer; in fact the warmest day since my first day in China, about 14 d.c. I thought spring has come, but who knows the temperature has dropped to 0-7 d.c. again overnight, such that I did not have a good sleep last night.

We went massage in Shanghai, near to the hotel that I stayed alone on the day of my arrival, which we stayed yesterday again, cos it was value for $. Only 139 rmb per room for 2, inclusive of breakfast (buns, glutinous rice ball, hard boiled egg and soya bean milk). The massage costs me 30 rmb; cheap but wasn't up to my expectation. The masseur was more like applying lotion on my foot than a proper foot reflexology. I still miss the massage I had at Berjaya Times Square.

Went Raffles City in People's Square for dinner at Ajisen. Nice clam ramen for only 29 yuan. I guess I should quit the bad habit of converting rmb back to sgd, cos I am earning rmb now?

And I should not take taxi to work every so often, even though it costs about only 3 sgd per way? Oh! No more conversion! Today I took bus to work, for only almost 1 sgd =)

Anyhow, we went to Shanghai Technology Museum. Watched the Haunted Lighthouse at IMAX　　　4D theatre. Have to wear the glass, got water and other special effects too! My bag was wet after that. Costs 30 yuan for a short 15 minutes movie. I don't really like 4D, cos some parts were damn gross. Especially when it's showing countless number of rats heading in all direction, you could feel as though rats are really scuffling through your legs!

We went to the Bund too (上海滩）, but Shanghai was covered with heavy fog yesterday, with thick clouds hovering at half the height of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (东方明珠塔).

I don't know why I had been so unlucky lately. While walking along the Bund, I tripped onto a wire on the road. Thank God I did not fall because my two mates were walking beside me and held onto my arms. Otherwise I could imagine both my retainers and teeth dropping off. Poor me, I am already short of 4 teeth compared to a normal being, having extracted them while undergoing the gruelling process of fixing braces.

Even more unlucky was that I lost my nokia phone yesterday while on the way back to Suzhou. I remembered I still used it to call dearie while on the bus, but it was gone later when ken and I had dinner near our place. Must be the stupid bitch from the immigration centre! While I was standing at the counter paying for my visa application fee just a few days ago, she shoo-ed me away using an old and tattered broom. Fuck it sia! I wondered if she's mute or uncivilised as to not knowing how to say a simple "ass-KILL me!"

Now I really have a phobia for broom. The last incident I had was at long john silver in centrepoint while revising for my exam. Both women! Jinxed! 死扫把星，看我不杀掉你！！！臭你妈的鸡！！！！！

So on overall，I don't like Shanghai! Too many people, too many cluttered buildings, and too noisy. I still think Suzhou is the best place to live in the whole of China. But of course, Tokyo is still the best. I miss Tokyo. I want to go Tokyo! Bring me to Tokyo! Oh no! Now I miss home...

Buttoning up after dripping some eye drops... the air is really dry

Ajisen in Raffles City

Forgot where already, everywhere looks the same to me now

Shanghai Tang boutique shop

This isn't a zoo, but Shanghai Technology Museum; I wonder what has this tigress gotta do with technology; but tell you what, I got a bit scared while taking this photo, cos I imagined this tigress to suddenly pounce on me! Think I watch too many movies such as the Night at the Museum liao

Omg! This time please kill me

Oriental Pearl TV Tower covered with fog

Spice up ma life, more please!!!

Finalli got a full day break away from school work on sun... but it's over for now.

met ryan at ion orchard... finalli got a shirt n tie from topman... tink i wanna school uniform-look haha. two pockets at ma chest tat resembles ma sec sch uniform.

watched 500 days of summer at cineleisure... romance story? it was nice, but i viewed it with 100% skepticism. personalli i tink romance story practicalli puts people into an unrealistic thought situation. i find maself like de lead though, almost owaes unprepared to get into a r/s. but de show is definitely worth watching!

ken later met up together wif louis. thanks for helping mi to find a pair of leather shoes... although i dun realli see the point to buy one juz for ma sis' wedding occasion. i'll rather channel the 150 bucks into buying a fred perry's or zara's shoes.

had dinner at far east plaza before brian picked mi up for a swim at his place... swimming wif a full stomach isn't easi at all. thank god i din drown.

I juz doesn't look rugged enuf to undertake such painting job. so am of no help in tis aspects. i don't mind $50 per hour though, minimum hour of 4.

On mon was at T1 full day doing project using ma stupid laptop, where de batt died on mi so fast. Forgot to charge it de night before. as i overlooked de departure hall from above, saw so mani ppl gonna take a flight. somehow i got de urge to fly out as well, but still gotta wait till december. kc n i were like practicalli dreaming although we still got a thick textbook in front of us, yet planning for next year's trip probably to bangkok cos i miss it soooo much! but if onli air tickets are 0.01 cent? we were totalli reminiscing our chiang mai trip back then with sc... took tat elephant ride which scare de hell out of mi. don't even noe elephants with their big legs could climb treacherous mountains.

Spent ma full day at de airport yesterday as well.

In school now.......

Weekend gone

Yesterday went airport to study with ken.. reached t1 feeling abit disoriented due to poor sleep. Had pig's organ soup at de staff canteen again. Damn nice. Tink it's one of de few stores with people queuing.

Reached home at 10 plus and had satay later at lau pa sat with dr. Ordered from stall no. 6 - power satay. but wasn't powerful enuf. chicken abit hard. mutton was nice though. reached home at almost 2am n finalli had a gud slp till tis morning.

Studied as usual. Wat else but studying? Had a stressful dream ytd. Someone told mi "you are student now, if you don't devote your time to studying, why be a student?"

But tis daes I think I am better. I work hard and play hard too.

So after doing ma stuff today, i went ecp to cycle wif kc. I got de opportunity to perform ma new stunt and kc said: "Eh! Finally know how to cycle without using any hands liao huh?" The word "finally" sounded sarcastic to mi though.

So I said: "Yah lor! I felt safer learning on ma own when u're not around!#$%"

Felt veri happi... same feeling as when I first learnt how to cycle. Still, ma aim isn't to perform in cirque du soleil with my new stunt or watsoever.

Reached home and did some questions on workforce scheduling using linear programming.

Time to sleep. Early class tomorrow. Thank God I aren't feeling any blues, at least for now.

Supper at Blk 85 Market

Ytd was a tiring day.

Went swimming in de morning.

Met yj at starbucks in t2 to do project at 5pm. Till 11pm before meeting cal for supper. did not have dinner and in de afternoon onli had 2 bread? i felt so much like collapsing maself at blk 85 market where i had bbq chicken wing, 2 otah n pork minced noodles with sugar cane water.

reached home n brain juice was almost left without a single drip.

today is the same. project work!

Eyebag

I hate ma droopy eyebags! musn't drink water before i go to bed anymore. or was it due to too much reading? or slept too much during the day? impossible.

had a treacherous tanning session yesterday. de sun was directly above mi. no clouds. yet i stayed motionless for an hour. now ma skin feels like tearing apart. but am happi cos i got back ma tanline.

then went for a joyride yesterday. wind was quite cool so it brightened ma night? watched mariah carey's dvd. din noe she's so plump. her thigh's totalli like pig's trotter. but thankfulli she's got a beautiful face and powerful voice.

onli started raining today as i had predicted. initialli we planned for a swim. but stayed indoor, had brunch, read ma notes b4 heading to marina square at 3pm plus.

Sunny side up, please... cos i hate the rain =(

Dim sum lunch

met nb at raffles city to study yesterday at mac. from windy to sunny. till ma right face so hot.

getting stress cos haf research paper to complete within a tight deadline. haf to conduct survey as well.

we had dinner at sakura where nb break fast before continuing to do ma assignment at starbucks till 10pm.

today kn picked mi up at 12nn n we had lunch at Hai Tien Lo in Pan Pacific Hotel. de restaurant offers a 360-degree bird's eyeview of singapore. tried a few kinds of dim sum, but shark's fins soup with abalone was de best. saw thick clouds hovering de sky and within moments, singapore had a heavy downpour.

left at 2 plus n walked around suntec city. so mani ppl n i felt disoriented.

reached home at 6 plus.

school again tomolo. sian.

Donkeys can swim?

Had a bad sleep yesterday. At 5am plus kena sinus attack. Then i tot to maself: oh shit. come mon morning i'll be awake by tis time. so sad. have to wake up earlier than mr sun, n sleep earlier than mr moon. thanks to ma 0830 class schedule. so gotta be up latest by 0600. still cant get over tis grief.

read ma book on negotiation skills while doing hula hoop for almost half an hour. haf 2 maintain ma waistline. if not rougher than sis den i dunno if i shld kill maself or isolate maself.

after some contemplation, i decided to go to swim. initialli cant make ma decision. so i draw lots. Either "go" or "no." when i open up ma lot n saw "go" i was so sad. lazy to go. but i muz treat tat "go" piece of paper with respect. so i went.

reached de pool n to ma dismay, saw a herd of donkeys swimming in de water. obviously, donkeys cant swim. so dey onli play with water. donkeys mainly below de age of 12 and donkeys from china. water tasted different oso. how could it taste like de sea? something muz be so wrong.

so i swam onli 4 laps. to-and-fro, to-and-fro, before getting up and head to swim in de shower room. weekend rate costs 30 cents more than weekday rate, yet i cant make full use of de water. in de end i thought i juz came to de pool to bathe. God's gracious mi.

Relac-King sundae

woke up at midday. yesterday's sleep wasn't easy due to ma ear. blue-black feeling each time i rest on ma left ear cos of piercing.

ate duck rice, watched japanese drama online before going to nap from 3.30pm to 5pm till i headache. i wondered y i could sleep so well n woke up juz to discover it was raining.

rain stopped so i jogged to east coast park at 6pm. had wantan mee at blk 18 before walking home.

class again tomolo. so tiring!

East coast park

initialli wanted to stay home. but weather was better today, rained earlier. decided to meet ken to cycle at east coast park.

rented an hour's bike for 7 bucks. rode all de way to changi village's direction along de runway (runway 02) n back. abt 19km. cycling tis distance in an hour's time is seriousli no joke. covering tis distance in an hour's time when i had not cycle for half a year is amazing.

had duck rice at de hawker centre wif sugar cane. returned home thereafter.

tis time round not onli does ma legs feel not part of ma body, but ma ass is oso splitting apart. how i hope de bus could drive up ma block n into ma house. so i dun haf to walk to ma block from de bus stop, press for the lift, wait for the lift, walk along de corridor, take out ma key, insert de key into de hole and finally without much energy left - to open de door.

work again tomorrow sian.

Confessions of a shopaholic

Studied whole dae at home. it's ob! realli dried up ma brain juice.

watched confessions of a shopaholic wif adrian at tamp mall. beginning part almost bored me. but got better n better.

overall not too bad a movie. at least i could laugh n release stress.

gonna sleep soon.

Blog migration

This will be my new blog. Previous blog will be archived.

Just can't believe this one week break isn't that fantastic afterall, save for a quick respite in Bangkok.

7 x presentations, 8 x projects are weighing down on my shoulders. Just have this feeling that I wouldn't be able to complete any of them and fail!

Yet, I could still enjoy watching movie so much! Watched Kungfu Chef with S.H. at Cineleisure yesterday. Funny? I don't quite fancy it. New in Town is still much better, as well as Slumpdog Millionaire.

Statistics' quiz tomorrow. Loved probabilities soooooo much! Pui!

Raining for the whole afternoon, which kinda makes me feeling down and bleak. Hate this wet feeling.