finally some winter sports in the icy-cold snow mountains of badaling. skiing!
the day started even earlier than normal school days so that we can reach there early to avoid the crowd. we thought we could catch up on our sleep on the journey there which took about an hour and a half. but look at this.

6 of us squeezed in the front row of the van that was meant for 3 only.
as the van progressed further and further from the city area, the high-rise buildings and man-made structures gradually became mountains and farms


everything covered with snow.
we passed by the great wall, and finally arrived at our destination.
'cold' is an understatement to describe the weather. it was beyond freezing point and beyond our tolerance. my fingers were totally numb just by standing outdoors for a few minutes taking photos.


and finally we got in, changed into the skiing attire and got ourselves ready.

looking like construction workers and feeling like teletubbies.
collected our equipment and off to the snow we went.

our job for the day was just to go up and slope and come down in 1 piece.
it was fun to let gravity do its job. but the wind was so strong that it could stop me halfway down the slope.
and it was tiring, especially when queuing up for the travellator and trying very hard to push ourselves forward and not to slide backwards.
ouch, my unused triceps and i'm having second and third thoughts about going harbin

昨天早晨上学的路途上，终于遇上了今年冬季的第一场雪。细薄的小白点隐隐约约地从天空飘落，虽然看不到四处飘溢着雪花儿的美，却给这早晨带来了一些精彩。
雪什么时候覆盖那光秃秃的树梢？什么时候才能堆雪人打雪仗？

一阵突如其来的寒流，已把气温降到了冰点。阳光多努力也无法溶解那已结成的冰块。昨晚不小心掉下的眼泪，也已冻结成冰。

i opened my email and found this email with the subject MY adventurous trip and fascinating scenary‏ from my dearest dad and it writes (in these exact words):

Legi, do you want to organize a family trip when you back for CNY holiday?
see this link
http://www.sengkit.com/travel/sglembing/

very funny dad, you think i'm very free is it? why don't you bring more goodies over and post it over to me since you have absolutely nothing much to carry around when you stop over in China erm next week? ok though i have absolutely no idea what you can buy.

btw, it's a pretty cool website!

i finally visited the bird nest and water cube last weekend, 2 days before my exam!! nothing much to see actually and the admission tickets were very expensive. but it was a good break from the books and memory work, and had a great time chatting with mom and playing around with sis. yep, they finally came last week, with lots of food and love. new camera, breakfast cereal and proper 3-in-1 nescafe! and of course cooking our dinners and housework, heh. i think if they stayed for longer, i will be back to my lazy-self again..
well, people mainly go there to take photos, so here they are..

waiting for the train at the subway transfer station.

the bird nest!

even the lights around the stadium look like mini bird nests

trying to fly out of the nest. heh

running is something i haven't done for ages..

this one occupies the centre of the field, together with his green friend (i don't remember their names)

Mom, Meimei and Me!

next we visted the water cube (the trees are so pretty right?) which is just beside the bird nest but we had to walk to the other end of the cube to buy admission tickets and then walk around the other corner just to get in. yes, the people here really enjoy walking..

i present to you a big big bubble

and you can teach me how to swim..
there was nothing much to see and do in the daytime except to sit down and rest our tired legs. so this is how the inside looks like now

that's the diving pool

and that's the swimming pool which is now filled with lights that change colour. the place has transformed into a tourist attraction with shows at night (i guess it's not too different from musical fountain) that costs a few hundred bucks per ticket. eeks..

yep, that's how it looks like on the whole, with the green lights this time.
and i flew out of the nest back to my BJ home. but when am i going back to my SGP home??

You Are Kayaking

You have a competitive spirit, but you don't like to compete alone. You do well in a partnership, where you can feed off the other person's energy. If you have the right partner, nothing can stop you. Your energy is infinite!

What Olympic Sport Are You?

a song that never fails to touch my heart, the sound of piano from upstairs that plays everyday, this is one rare time when i really playing the piano!

过往温柔
已经被时间上锁
只剩挥散不去的难过
在山腰间飘逸的红雨
随着北风凋零
我轻轻摇曳风铃
想唤醒被遗弃的爱情
雪花已铺满了地
深怕窗外枫叶已结成冰
缓缓飘落的枫叶像思念
我点燃烛火温暖岁末的秋天
极光掠夺天边
北风掠过想你的容颜
我把爱烧成了落叶
却换不回熟悉的那张脸
缓缓飘落的枫叶像思念
为何挽回要赶在冬天来之前
爱你穿越时间
两行来自秋末的眼泪
让爱渗透了地面
我要的只是你在我身边

when it comes to studying, i can never do a last burst.
sigh...
i can't believe what i just did.
haiz...
just give up la..

something called mental block and boring life is making this blog rather stagnant. haven't been out except to school and supermarket. and finally we had the authentic peking duck (though i didn't eat any, heh) and finally some photos..

all plates cleared, all food gone.

posing with the duckie before a slow walk home.
see how much clothings we pile on ourselves every time we have to get out, and see what i mean by turning white!
a big thank you to oi's dad for that big meal. looks like we stuff ourselves with good food once a week =)
been sleeping quite early these days because i'm not in the mood to study and have nothing better to do.
and i'm spending more time cracking nuts than eating them, and more time eating them then studying!
...
me: so when are you coming over?
mom: around 20th
me: hmmm ok, but i got paper on 24th
mom: then i go the weekend after that?
me: can, but i got another paper on the 1st.
mom: then when am i allowed to visit you before i go there and get frozen? you took all the jackets and i have to wear your ntu jacket now!
...

天天都有落叶特别是今夜
当沙沙的风吹每一片叶掉一滴泪
夜夜有人心碎他们相信谁
当爱被解了约作何感觉
莫非无尤也无悔依旧痴痴收藏落叶
傻的心傻到哭也流不出泪
我无所谓我冷若冰淡若水
我不为梦留一点空侵掠我紧闭心扉
当感情是唯一解不开的结
而人爱听谁伤了谁
我愿是风中飘然轻落的叶
我无所谓我伤过心掉过泪
我只在乎爱本无罪
何苦要陷入重围
当世界被感情蒙上一曾灰而我
宁愿是最后的落叶

立冬前的那晚格外暖和，是秋最后的告白吧，门前墙上的红叶，也一天天地飘落。本来想出去透一透气，让冷风清醒清醒脑袋，但公园里的景慕太美了，儿童在放风筝，在满地的落叶中寻找那最红的一片。老人们在聊天散布，慢慢地聊着生活的琐碎。情侣坐在树下谈情说爱，在徐徐飘落的树叶中互相取暖。只有我一个绕着公园转了一圈又一圈，让着眼前的景物一次又一次，一幕又一幕地荡过。
过去常犹豫叶子的离开是风的追求，还是树的不挽留。我想如今已找到答案了。

another weekend has passed and it's november now. quite an eventful weekend though.
saturday was basically spent walking. after spending hours walking around in circles trying to find our way to the summer palace where we walked supposedly another 8km around kunming lake. supposedly 8km because we had so much fun stopping to take photos along the way that all the road marshals were gone and we had to navigate the way back ourselves and took the shortcut instead. it was a nice and scenic walk, romantic i would say, and the wind was soooo strong it almost blew us away!
sunday was spent out, finally collected my atm card and walked around the area before heading back for dinner at the jap restaurant beside our house. authentic style with a private room to ourselves and waitresses dressed in kimono. unlimited flow of fresh sashimi, salmon, tempera and everything else for less than 60rmb. too full to move or even laugh at our unglam photos after that! and who else can we blame other than ourselves for the consequences of over-eating?
如果风能吹起湖面的波浪，能吹落树上的枫叶，就让它带走一切吧

after hearing all the horror stories, i am so thankful for my boring and monotonous life as a full-time student and part-time housewife. waking up in early in the morning making myself some nice hot breakfast, pile on layers of clothes, scarf, boots, gloves etc. walking to school, going home just before the sun sets to cook dinner, and back to my room where i'm suppose to study. dinner's probably the highlight of the day, sitting around the table together for some simple, delicious and healthy home-cooked food with a lot less oil than outside, and no msg. although our home is not the best in terms of furnishing and renovation, and it gets really cold at night even though all the windows are closed, i'm loving this homely feeling.
school's been hectic though it's just mainly classroom lessons now. apart from the boring theory lessons which we can't escape, it's quite exciting poking needles into ourselves and friends, getting free massage by practising tuina skills on each other. what else can i ask for? life sounds great so far doesn't it?
ok, it's getting late and really cold now. time to hide under my layer of blanket and quilt with 2 layers of clothes hugging my little hot hand-warmer. nights get as cold as close to zero degrees celcius now and i can't wait for the central heating to be switched on.

原本可以睡懒觉的星期六早晨，我们却比平常更早起床，太阳还未露出它温暖的笑容我们已收拾好了东西出门了。目的只有一个，那就是尽早抵达香山欣赏秋天的红叶。经过了近两个小时的城铁与公交，穿过了拥挤的车龙和人群终于到达了目的地。以为可以看到满地布满红枫叶的我们难免有点失望。一眼望去香山还是绿色的，只是多了点红色的点缀。我们一路走一路照相留念，轻轻松松一路上有说有笑地走到了山底。上山的路更是挤满了人，大大小小老老少少都是为了目睹这秋天的美而来。我们也只能跟着人群慢慢一步一步地往上走。终于在中午走到了山顶，找了一片空石头坐下来歇息，并欣赏眼前的风景。下山时我们选坐缆车，体验一下高高在上的感觉。但高处不胜寒，一点儿也没说错，冷风迎面而来入骨而吹，冻得我们手脚冰冷，连照相都难。就这样我们下了山，完成了这次的香山之旅。


登山队伍



远方的红叶

冷风

终于到了山顶！

人山人海


我试着体会诗人曾说过的霜叶红于二月花，更是因为可以远离污染和喧哗而感到心旷神怡。但红叶也不过是掉落前短暂的光彩，一种另类的美。

星期天我们到了北大，观赏了那儿的文化节，也参观了那古色古香的校舍。



在图书馆前面

未名湖

已经习惯这季节的变化，也爱上了落叶的美。
也终于领悟了不是你的东西终究不属于你。

it was finally over, the horrible exams. and it was time to chill on that chilly night.
we walked down the shopping street, had dinner at a small restaurant, walked down the small dark street with shops selling everything needed for the ill, injured and dead. finally reached the lake. but that was just a lake (or sea) and we were not there to fish. so we braved through the rain, trying our best to avoid puddles of water but our jeans were still wet and toes were to numb to be felt. then we finally heard music and saw lights. wanted to chill at some atas-looking pub with liveband playing english songs, but it was so noisy, smoky, expensive and the minimum per table was 400yuan. obviously we just wanted to chill so we walked back and found ourselves in a nice cosy pub singing emo chinese songs.

we were there a month ago in tanktops and skirts. now we're all wrapped up.

upstairs beside the windows overlooking the sea so dark at night. even the beer's called 'chill'

i want:
- pilot g-tec pens
- tombo hi-lighters (the whole set)
- pentel liquid paper
NOW!!!

and so my adventure in this city continues, yesterday i took my new toy out to explore the CBD area and to enquire about the cali fitness here. first time on the road wasn't too bad. here in BJ everyone has a right of way. the cars don't stop for pedestrians when turning even when the green man is on, the pedestrians cross even when red man is on, bicycles weave in and out of traffic, and even against the flow, and i hear the cars honk every moment even though i stay on the 18th floor and i'm not beside a major road. so the golden rule of getting anywhere is: just go.
alright, so i managed to find the place (and the building is really called 'the place') after about half an hour. it was a sunday and CBD was very very empty. one word to describe the area: awesome! architects are really cool ppl when then can make all the buildings look so good and unique.

the big apple!! haha. they were having some apple fair and the whole big apple is made up of real apples. cool right?
managed to find the gym without much difficulty and it's awesome! and very empty. it's really better than those in Singapore, maybe cos it's newer and very few ppl go there. i wonder how's the crowd during peak hour cos yesterday almost all the 2 rows of treadmill were empty and the class has less than 10 ppl. and half were not chinese. they even have a medicine ball abs machine where it's like those basketball game you find in arcades just that you throw medicine ball and you can lie back and do crunches each time you throw a ball. they even have a basketball court (cos its endorsed by yaoming) and a room for taiji and yoga etc. not to mention the changing rooms with big and pretty chairs in front of the mirrors and shower cubicles with soap, shampoo, conditioner and surprisingly, doors! (even those in s'pore only have shower curtains). now comes the sad part. they don't have records of international members in their system so i can only use the gym upon producing my membership card, which i lost!! bleah!!! and membership is damn freaking expensive! since they are so secretive about the price, i shall just say it's about 10 times (or even more) than the any normal gym around my house area. and i will definitely wear mask next time i go out on wheels again.

say 'eeeewwwwww' but that's the amount of dust i get EVERYDAY in my room (and i love magic-clean though it's so hard to find here) now just imagine what i've inhaled. won't be surprised if my lungs turn black soon.
meanwhile i shall just go run in park on days with good weather and i'm going to get that set of dumbbells.
teach me how to convert back to healthy lifestyle when munching on junk is inevitable, beer's cheaper than water, i need stimulants like caffeine to get me studying, and i concuss unknowingly on top of my bed almost every night, waking up in the middle of the night by the cold, and the list goes on..

the past week has been spent hiding at home, in our rooms, cramping as much information from the textbook into our brains as possible for the first exam here in BJ. and it was horrendous. the late nights almost made me doze off in the middle of the paper, and it certainly didn't help by sitting next to the window, listening to the workers singing as they work downstairs. oh well, just hope the next paper won't be as bad.
Now i don't mind being a permanent housewife. my mom will be never believe me when i tell her i really do enjoy cooking and cleaning up the house, that coming from someone who does absolutely zero housework back at home and always leaves her room in a mess.
and we are all turning super auntie by spending our lunch breaks doing grocery shopping, going to class after lunch break with bags of vegetables, comparing how much money is saved by buying things on sale in supermarkets, where to buy cheap and good stuff, and discussing how often we clean the house, etc. etc. speaking of food, i really miss sambal kangkong, curry fishhead, fish soup, horfun, economic beehoon, peanut pancake, botak jones, aston, fanciful pasta, yong tau foo!! ben and jerry's, GOOD COFFEE!!! mom, quick come and save me!!
SGD keeps dropping, the sun sets at 5.30pm, the weather is ever-changing, usually around 10 degrees at night, and goes as high as 26/27 degrees during the day. things i do everyday without fail: clean my room floor, think about what to cook, check weather forecast, exchange rate, horoscope (just for fun)
now should i convince myself that people change?

作夜开始下起的那场小雨，将今天的气温下降到了新的最低点。早上冒着雨走去家乐福买点儿东西，体会那早晨的雨露，那微风轻轻地吹过。每天都走过的那一条街，却见证了我每天不一样的心情。雨水虽然带走了薄薄的烟雾，也可洗掉脸上的眼泪，但却洗不掉内心的泪水，更带不走心中的寒冷。是否要等到它结冰才能麻醉那说不出又摸不着的痛。

can't believe one week of golden week has just passed like that! what constructive things have i done? none, really.. only destructive ones and the list will just get longer.
yesterday was quite a long and dramatic day. left home early in the morning to go shopping at the wholesale centre behind the zoo, cos they close at 4pm! and i'm such a fast and efficient shopper, just went there to get what i needed. bought a coat, 2 pants, 2 boots, and some other things which couldn't escape my temptation along the way. and as i was choosing and trying on the boots at my last stop, i lost my wallet!! some damn pickpocket stole it!! tmd! had to go through all the trouble of canceling and replacing my credit cards etc again! luckily i didn't bring my IC here, and luckily i took out most of my money, so i guess that thief must have been quite disappointed to find less than 100yuan inside (and a fifty dollar SGD note, if he's smart enough to change it). and the drama doesn't end here. we were lazy to cook so i decided to buy back some dumplings from the market behind the busstop where i had to alight. and there my dearest housemates called to say that we're out of electricity! it wasn't a blackout, it's just that we forgot to top-up our electricity card (yeah electricity is pre-paid here) and best thing is all banks were closed by then. so we knocked on the glass doors of the bank since there were people inside still. and thank goodness they don't operate law-by-law here, this friendly guy came out from nowhere and asked if we need help. he managed to get us into the bank and asked the people there to switch on the machine so that we can buy our electricity. if not we had to walk even further to a 24hour place or enjoy candlelight the whole night, without hot water to bathe. phew!
now i'm finally more or less settled in my new house, and here's some photos of my nice little corner..

that's my bed, with bedsheets brought over from home (that doesn't fit perfectly) and 2 big ikea cushions, and a small and simple bedside table from ikea too

that's the place where i'm suppose to be studying, luckily it's long enough for all my junk (which is really minimal)

my wardrobe, and that's almost all the clothes i have, including the first drawer of clothes (so much less than what i have back home), and i pasted the mirror myself (from ikea too)

my cute little bedroom slippers, so soft and comfy!

a place to gather when the hungry stomach growls, love the water dispenser, getting hot water can't be more convenient

living room, with our new and pretty purple sofa. very nice to sink in too.

kitchen. where all the yummy food comes from!
and here's photos of our first 2 attempts at cooking:

first home-cooked meal of egg and tomato, chicken with capsicum and fungus, potato and carrot soup.

our second attempt of egg and chives, mushroom and tofu, and pork ribs and lotus soup.
see we can cook!! and we just found out that the little eatery downstairs do provide delivery. looks like we won't starve in winter anymore!
brrrr... it's raining now and tonight's a cold night...

就这样度过了四个星期。每天和旭日一起升起，在半梦半醒中与几乎动弹不得的车龙一起在车笛声中被送到医院。昨天傍晚的车特别多，也走得特别慢。我听着音乐，望出窗外那橙红色的太阳渐渐落下。杨柳也低下了头进入梦乡。是否有人也在欣赏这初秋的美？还是叹息着夏天的离开，寒冷的到来？
但天冷不是冷，心寒才是寒。

i locked myself out of my own room today and my hands are so dry they're cracking! help i really need hand cream now..
furniture shopping has never been so fruitful, although we had to brave through the drizzle and chilly air to find the place, which wasn't exactly directly next to the subway station. looking forward to seeing all the furniture being delivered, especially the pretty purple puffy sofa. from the standard of the toilets, i guess that place is definitely not for tourists. well, you're wrong if you think olympics has brought an end to the 'traditional' china toilets. we saw it and used it yesterday. it wasn't the worst i've ever seen but definitely the worst so far on this trip. there were cubicles, just no doors, and there were people happily doing their business and even reading at the same time!! now i know how they train their leg muscles haha.
and we've come to realise that everything is 10 minutes away according to the locals. the answer we get when asking for directions is always "前面拐个弯儿，走十分钟就到了。" either they walk super fast, or their watches move super slow, their 10 min is at least half an hour la!
temperature's dropping fast and everyone's falling sick!! shoo germs shoo!

autumn has finally arrived. if only the weather can remain like this everyday, walking in the midday sun to get lunch, yet feel the nice cool breeze... but it's starting to get dry too. after a long day in school being one another's patients, the auntie selling bing tang hu lu outside our hostel gate simply made my day! cheap sour sanzhas coated with sweet and crunchy sugar. yummy!!
tonight's the coldest night so far, and being crazy enough, i went jogging in t-shirt and shorts, in the 15 degree celcius drizzle. but it felt good. the track was more or less empty, and the cold just makes you run faster, without sweat! was watching the local news when i got back to my room after dinner and it says it's going to be cold tomorrow.

我用寂寞来惩罚我
看着你走过
要什么当时不说
此刻能有你倾听我
轻轻的转着
那是种感觉以后让人想哭的快乐

when the temperature drops a degree or two each day, when the sun sets earlier and night falls. when darkness and cold surrounds,yes i know, olympics is over, and fall's coming and so is the traffic jam. and that means waking up earlier, reaching back later, more time spent on buses moving about 10m every minute, and can forget about cabbing cos walking is probably faster.
so this weekend was pretty exciting saying goodbye to 21. met up with friends and checked out the other parts of this city, the night life..
if there's anything special to do on the special day, i did, i stayed in the whole day and went in and out of sleep. the rain wouldn't stop, the ground was wet and it was cold

things are getting less and less exciting here. no more sightsee-ing and carefree shopping. although we did still go shopping after the whole morning of a series of unfortunate events. it first began with our super blur agent not knowing what documents were needed and the operating hours for us to make our residence pass, resulting in us having to pon lessons just to find our way to a super ulu police station, which the first 2 cab drivers didn't even know how to get there, and the third one had to use the map for help. the officer there wasn't very friendly and nobody ever mentioned that we needed another document which we had to get from another office. luckily it wasn't that far away. and so all these took up the whole morning, and totally ruined our moods for the day. not to mention a super boring afternoon lesson. but we did go shopping after that for winter clothes, and i wonder when is winter coming..
i guess i still quite like it here though, hostel's fun but i am quite excited about moving into a new house that i can say it's mine (though it's just rented). it's fun having friends staying just beside, going to school, going out and for dinner together. and the nights are perfect for jogging. emo i know, and i know i shouldn't, but i can't, because every step brings me further, every sweat brings out my fear, and every song brings back memories..

I survived the first week of school!! ok, barely..
so here's an account of my daily routine as a student:
morning, first alarm rings at 6am, reluctantly gets out of bed at around 6.10, wash up, change, pack bag, clear dustbin, 6.30 second alarm rings, time to get ready to get out of the room, switch off aircon, check everything's in order and leaves the room. go downstairs for breakfast, which consists of porridge, 2 paos, 1 egg and milk or coffee everyday!! so boring! and i will die of high cholesterol if i eat an egg a day la! then about 7am walk out to the road to take the school bus to hospital. lessons start promptly at 8am and ends at 11.30 (with a half an hour break in between)and then comes my favorite part of the day: 2 hour lunch break!! just enough time to go out and search for good food and walk around, do grocery shopping etc. oh do let me mention the hospital canteen, it's at the basement of one of the old buildings and there's only 1 stall selling dumplings and another selling rice. and you have to bring your own lunchbox and utensils. feels like a prison there! and so we venture out to the nearby foodcourt or those finger food selling at the basement of the supermarket. and then comes 1.30 when we have to sit at our desks again for the afternoon lessons which usually ends at around 5. and there's the school bus again to send us back to hostel. i feel like a primary school kid la!! ok, i'm quite a morning person so i'm not complaining about having to wake up early, at least the weather's good. afternoon lessons are hell. imagine walking back from lunch in the hot midday sun(yeah it's still damn hot now!!) sit in a damn stuffy classroom with no fans. it feels like an oven!!
i thought i came here to learn tcm, but apparently i'm taking a medicine crash course in chinese! if memorizing anatomy in english wasn't bad enough, try re-learning it in chinese, all the terms and names of diseases, enzymes etc.. without notes. i feel as if i've learnt a month's worth of info within 1 week!
let me continue with my day.. reach back room, time to nua, or maybe go for a jog and then it's time for dinner. after which time just passes very quickly.. attempt to study, bathe, wash clothes, figuring out my computer and before i know it, it's time to sleep! and the cycle just repeats. boring right?
well, finally the weekend is here! just went shopping after class this evening and going for more tomorrow. monday shall be spring cleaning day for our new apartment. yeah, monday is midautumn holiday here. mid-autumn my foot la, it's still summer la, as hot as singapore!! why didn't i bring my shorts, skirts and sleeveless here!!
have i mentioned that i can't find decent foolscap paper here? and i found banana nut crunch and other flavours of post breakfast cereal at a super atas supermarket going for RMB60!!!!

hello world from the city of olympics 2008 and welcome to Beijing! and hurrays blogspot can still be seen here. one week has passed and so many things to do in the past week, and i'm too lazy to blog.
at least now i FINALLY get to use internet in the comfort of my own room with my own macbook which is running on windows IN CHINESE!! why? because the dumb software that the sch uses for broadband can only run in windows. long story of how i eventually got here, so save that for bedtime next time..
the weather here is still hot, pollution is coming back and walking is becoming my main mode of exercise. hostel canteen food is damn cheap and oily and i hate school!!! though today's only the first day. if a crash course in pathology wasn't bad enough, try it in chinese, all the medical terms etc etc... faints.

this will probably the last post here if what ppl say about not being able to view blogspot in china is true. less than 6 hours time and i'll be in the air, waking up to find myself in a brand new environment.
after a crazy night at sportsball, seeing so many drunk and gone people, and getting a lil high myself, i decided to stay at home and have home-cooked food for the last day.
still can't believe the day is here already, so much unknowns lying ahead, so much memories left behind. farewell singapore, i'll be back soon...

有一种想见不能见的伤痛
有一种爱还埋藏在我心中
我只能把你放在我的心中
这一种想见不能见的伤痛
让我对你的思念越来越浓
我却只能把你 把你放在我心中

Beijing 2008 may be over for olympics, but it's not over for me. in fact, next week this time, i do hope i can find some internet connection to get in touch with the rest of the world.
these few weeks have been busy with meeting up with people and a rather unsuccessful packing attempt. think my mom gave up on me and decided to do most of the packing for me.
finally got my hard disk after braving through the crowd today at comex. now it's time to pack all those memories into my little (well, not really) time capsule; open it and revisit when i feel like it..

不想睡，是因为不想让今天结束，不愿看着一天一天插身而过，不敢想像那天的到来。
不想醒，是因为不想让美梦结束，不愿看见梦境中的美景消失,不敢面对那残酷的现实。
不想走，是因为不想离开这温暖，不愿留下这美好的回忆，不敢面对那陌生的世界。
不想留，是因为不想呆在原地不走，不愿看着机会一个一个溜走，不敢辜负你们的期望。
不想爱，是因为不想被思念缠绕，不愿改变现有的幸福，不敢许下永恒的承诺。
不想忘，是因为不想忘记你的好，不愿失去曾拥有的一切，不敢走出那温暖的怀抱。
如果现有的幸福快乐只是和将来的寂寞相比较，为何是如此逼真？我恨命运如此的作弄，更恨它这样无情的玩笑。
如果说现在的别离是为了下一次的相聚，请挥手说再见而不是告辞。

"today we went to the zoo. we saw many animals, there were tigers, lions, zebras, monkeys. we also watched two performances and it rained during the second performance. but i was still very happy, i love animals."

ok, that's probably what my little sister would write in her diary and that just summarized what i did today. it's part of our plan of seeing as much of singapore as we can before we leave and since admission was free, why not? and because everyone else is so busy it was left with the 2 of us. nevertheless, it was fun visiting the animals again though nothing much has change. besides tourists, there were a lot of kindergarten kids, even primary school kids. lucky annoying kids haha.

once a superstar, now a statue..
wow it looks like there's still super a lot of things to do in singapore in these 10 days, and i haven't started packing at all!!!

thanks to my shuffle that i found this song and thanks lulu for teaching me how to upload it heh. was listening to this on my way to school today. such a sweet voice for such an emo song that almost made me tear and made me swim for one whole hour until they divided the pool for some kind of aqua aerobics.
been watching the olympics these few days since i'm so free. so many world records broken, so many dreams realised, yet a mistake at the crucial moment, an injury at the wrong time and all the hard work for 4 years is all but nothing.. that's the reality of sports..

i've been awake since 2 plus in the morning and watching shows on my lappie cos i slept at 9pm last night! not used to being at home so early and having nothing to do. actually i do have a lot of things to pack and get ready but i just can't get myself to do it. how more happening can my friday night get? but i'm not complaining cos it did feel good to just sleep as and when i like and not having to worry about anything. somemore i've been out and up too much for the past few days, it's time to recover from the lack of early-night sleep. of course i caught the table tennis semis, yay, finally a cookie after almost half a century! well done team singapore!!
now who's the kiasu one who just got a whole bag of medication to bring to BJ, and both my arms are aching from a typhoid jab on the left and a hep A jab on the right. now which arm should my flu jab go when the stock arrives next week? who says i'm not doing any preparations? haha
everybody had their unglam times, just be glad there weren't too many people around to see..

since we can't seem to get away from this topic everyday, in every conversation and still having no conclusion. since we're turning 22 and we're a year into adulthood and soon going to see the numbers increase exponentially, it's time to think about our lives, our future.
it's amazing (and scary) how our dreams and desires change as we grow up. when we were younger, we had bigger dreams. we wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher; we wanted a big house, a luxurious car, money, kids, a happy family. then as we grow older we realise those were all dreams, we knew we had to face reality, nothing is as perfect, you just wanted to find a guy and marry, i was so sure i'm going to live up to remain in my DSC. but as time passes and as our life experiences build up, we seem to change our minds
dictionary.com defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection, i will just summarize it as meeting the right person at the right time. such a simple statement, so hard to be true in real life.
let us just sing our hearts out later and drink our guts out on ladies nite...

with the coming of 4.30pm of poster day on friday, it was finally finally done with my final year project! phew! what a relief.
i think if there's a nomination and prize, i vote myself for the most relaxed, most heck-care student. i walked into the lobby with only one aim in mind, that is the end of the day. i had to admit i was a bit shocked to see my classmates holding cards of prepared speech and rehearsing because i had nothing! all i did for preparation was trying to look presentable. well, it went quite alright, i think i had 2 examiners though both came empty-handed and looked as if they were just window shopping for posters.
oh well, the photos...


and here's photo from ahchoo's fish n co dinner


and it's finally holiday! when everyone else is starting school. heh.
from now till august ends, i'll be doing my packing, meeting up with people, basically enjoy life while i can..

life's much more relaxed after the submission of my fyp thesis. caught a few movies these few days, both in cinemas and on my laptop. though i'm not a very good movie critic, here's my comments: the mummy 3 wasn't that exciting and i really think that actors should just speak the language they are familiar with and let the subtitles do their job. money no enough 2 was quite a typical jackneo show pretty funny and touching at parts though i would prefer them to mention 'government' less and less national day songs in their anti-propaganda motives, just a personal opinion. the alzheimic ah-ma was damn funny and makes me wonder how my grandma will be when i go visit her next year, wonder if she will still recognize me even. and i am not going to watch this kind of show early in the morning in a heartland mall again. it felt like an old folk's home cos the whole cinema only had old people who were happily munching away and talking in the last row. but then again who else will be so free on a monday morning when school has already started..
tuesday went for trng after such a long sedentary life after ncc and the next day i was aching all over. even my abs hurt a bit. just goes to show how long i've not exercised. time to get moving again before my arteries get clogged up.
yesterday was probably the most productive and fruitful day. spent the morning at home watching '21', very good show indeed. then went to print poster and shop for clothes for friday's poster day, before taking the very long bus ride to jp for ahchoos gathering, almost 2 hours! luckily there were seats. our food finally came at around 945 after all the waiting. 120% attendance from ahchoos!! wow i want the photos!!
now i'm just looking forward to the end of poster day and the rooftop party!

finally it's almost over. although i must admit my thesis is definitely not the best that i can write, nor does it deserve an 'A' for the amount of work and effort i put in, i am glad that i finally handed it in, like a big burden off my shoulder. for now, it's just doing the poster, which is probably just a lot of cut and paste, and preparing for the presentation, which is mainly finding something decent to wear. after that, everything will be over and it's finally holiday!! listening to most of my coursemates complain about how they have never seen daylight and have not been sleeping much for months make me wonder why was i having such a relaxing time? i usually leave lab before the evening peak hour and haven't been sleeping much because i was out enjoying myself. if my examiner sees this, he'll probably just give me a 'D', which i deserve.
had a meeting with our dean after submitting the thesis to discover the horrible facts about bj that there's probably no internet in dorm, no blogspot lj, morning buses that pick us up at 7am from the dorm and leaves the hospital at 5.30pm (what am i suppose to do at night then?) and our only vacation next year has been cut from 6 weeks to 5 weeks!! right, what can i do? nothing!
you tell me one month is a long time, i say one month is very short. i knew where i was a month ago, and i know where i will be in a month's time. we can't turn back clock and undo what's done, neither can we predict the future, so just let me live in the present and welcome each day as it comes.

i've only submitted my first and final draft for fyp and i'm already in the holiday mood! i know there's still lots more to correct, a poster to do and so i brought myself to school early today hoping to get back my draft early, start working on it and be done early so that there's time to party tonight. sigh, i guess that's my only motivation to work on it now.
this morning at 2am, instead of re-looking at my thesis, i sat in front of my screen, surfing the net, chatting with people and sipping my cocktail and thinking about things. for a person who just want to immerse herself in that moment of happiness and doesn't think far ahead, i don't think i have the best answer to all these unresolved issues. but i still believe life's a choice, and i chose it to be this way. when it comes to making a decision. i choose to escape.
a month away from my departure, i used to look forward to that day where i can walk through the departure gate, wave goodbye to my family and friends, start a new segment of my life in a foreign land. no more naggings from parents, no more unhappy memories. but now i'm not so sure. maybe that will be the day when my heart which is made of ice can melt and i can shed a tear for everything and everybody i can't take along with me.
perhaps i'm pessimistic, perhaps i'm fickle, or maybe i'm just being realistic in that i don't want to make a promise i can't keep, a commitment i can't abide to, a feeling i can't guarantee it won't change. i know, i'm just escaping, because i'm afraid..
perahps someone should teach me what is true love, what is commitment, and teach me how to cry..

i am not going back lab in the middle of the night again. it's freaking me out and literally giving me nightmares!
the past few days have been spent trying my best to write my thesis which is due next week, and helping out at Sports Camp. Just less than half an hour ago, as i decided to take a power nap, i actually dreamt that i was in lab and there seemed to be nobody else around, as i walked past the cleaning auntie and into the toilet, my vision was unusually blurred. one cubicle was occupied so i went into an empty one, as i slowly shut my eye bags and opened again, i saw a gun, or rather a rifle just beside me!!
freaky!!

yesterday was probably really my last race. think i recall saying that many times since many years ago, but seems like there's something tempting me to row every race. perhaps it's this desire for challenge and the affection for the water that lead me into one race after another.
yesterday's 10km was pretty good, for someone like me who hasn't been training. the queen of last-minuteness rowed two 10k during the last 2 saturdays and have been running for the past 2 weeks only. think i survived by riding wash half of the time. oops. lining up at the startline already made me feel old, i don't know 90percent of my competitors and they all look so young! think it's really time to bring home my paddle, frame it up or hang it up for display.
post comp dinner was at bugis steamboat. headed straight to bugis from mac and reached there super early. instead of heading for bugis junction or bugis street for shopping, i walked straight to nat lib, sat outside at hans to enjoy the breeze and played with my itouch while listening to music. was totally not in the mood to shop and the thought of having to squeeze through the crowd simply puts me off. it was not really a team dinner because the attendance was minimal. more like a mala challenge, with my added ma and la pot it was indeed powerful! the soup was more like chilli oil with lots of pepperlike spices. lips were swollen like sausage and sweating profusely. but it was shiok! sat down for talk cock and dessert after that till the rain stopped..

SU15 is starting soon, was once a freshie, once a freshie programmer, a senior prog and now a retired prog. last week on my way to school, i saw groups of freshies sitting around in circles at the interchange, with sleeping bags etc all ready for foc. i can't imagine i was once like that, cheering my hearts and lungs out in public, running and jumping around for one whole week with minimal sleep. i must admit it was a great kick start to uni life, and it was unforgettable, but i can't picture myself doing that again now..

jia you SU15!!!

just came back from a half-day escape to JB of food, movie and just walking around. seems like everytime we go, it always starts and ends with secret recipe. who can resist the thick slice of damn yummilicious and sinful cake?
caught 'the dark knight' there also, quite surprising that the cinema is less than half full, and that's my 4th movie in 3 days and i've watched almost every movie that is showing in cinema now. it's a very long show and halfway through the show i thought it was ending already when there was still one more hour to go. the cinema was freezing cold and the sound system was very very bad. and i even almost fell asleep towards the end of the show. ok la, other than the lousy environment, the movie itself was not bad, worth watching for the action and the effects.
why do i have to be reminded that it's 2 weeks of fyp left, one and a half month in sg left?

today is literally a sun-day! and it was my first time at a triathlon. i didn't go as a participant, but as a volunteer. the day started early and i actually managed to get myself to ecp in 40min with only $7.80 spent on cab. i was basically in a canoe around the swimming route to look after the safety and keep the swimmers on track. quite an easy job, but the current was very strong and i had to keep moving up and down to keep myself in position. really admire all the swimmers, i think i would just cling on to the barrier and drag myself around it.
today's weather was madness la. spent a total of 5 hours under the sun, with no sunblock applied because i wanted to test out the effects of my newly purchased drug. it's impossible not to get burnt, but not too bad i would say. and just as all the participants finished their swim and we carried the boats and stuff up to shore, the passing cloud stopped right above us and it poured!! what a change from the killer sun, but i like neither. ok, i really think i am meant to just sit at home and nua.
oh and i realised today's the 2 and a half years anniversary of my driving licence! to think that i even wanted to put the p plate so that ppl won't horn at me.
yawn.. time to sleep..

早知道伤心总是难免的 你又何苦一往情深
因为爱情总是难舍难分 何必在意那一点点温存
要知道伤心总是难免的 在每一个梦醒时分
有些事情你现在不必问 有些人你永远不必等

what an oldie, i know, but oldies are easy to sing, nice to hear and so true..
and i have convinced myself that my driving skills is not that bad afterall, and it's so much more convenient, but petrol is damn expensive la! ok, enough said, no more car till i don't know when.
oh well, shall attempt writing my thesis since i've got nothing to do now..

hello july, and that means one more month of fyp, 2 more months here. people are already starting to ask if i've packed and got ready for bj, while in actual fact many things are not finalised and confirmed, needless to say packing. what packing? haha
finally got down to paddling yesterday. only 10km mileage and it was tiring!! stability still there but fitness and strength definitely cannot make it already. clear signs that i should retire.
so many things to do, so little time. let me indulge in this moment of happiness and wake me up when august ends..