the UK visa office is crap. it is stuck in the middle of Robinson road and you have to wait 1 and a half hour before your turn. and they need everything in original and photocopy and photocopies still have to be endorsed by bank or whatever body.

they should just put down online what you need to bring along and mention that you need to bring all original and photocopies down. even the fact that payment is only by cash or cashiers draft is not even mentioned until you take a $1.50 train ride all the way to tanjong pagar mrt and walked 5 mins in the drizzle all the way to their front door and you are faced with a sign that tells you 1 hour and $1.50 too late that you need your $277 visa fees IN CASH!!!!!

crap. and they only have 4 counters there. with queue time of an hour and a half they should just move the office to a bigger unit in some other building and open up more counters. even collecting my passport was faster.

the next time i am going over to resubmit the rest of my documents i am going to arrive right when they open at 8am. and they better be fast and not make me wait. i am just going to photocopy every single document i can find and bring it just in case they go nutcase and demand me of having something i dont have.

i had my root canal done at NUH yesterday morning
followed by lunch with ching at deck
then crashed into hall
after snack with nelle at sushi tei
continued with dinner at ditto plus mala, cheong and van
ended back in hall with takraw

*basically the day was pretty much packed for more than 15 hours from the time i left my house.

now i have a front tooth that is hollow and have no what so ever reaction to cold and heat. basically my teeth is totally dead and even the dead nerves and tissues in the tooth have been filed and dug up until it is sparkling clean and empty inside. my root canal is now beautifully scrapped out and even expanded so that when i go back next week they can just fill the empty cavern up and i can live happily every after eating all the sweats and chocolate i want.

people have been asking me if i have a hole at the back of my teeth. ans - no. coz they patched up the hole. imagine if i have to walk around and eat with a hole the size of a toothpick at the back of my front teeth collecting pieces of meat and sugar remnants until it also decays inside.

i have always wondered what is a root canal, now i know. and now i am wondering what crowning is. i think both treatments will need you to open your mouth for a whole two hours while the dentist poke and drill all over the place.

eh. keeping your mouth open for two hours without closing is no freeking joke k! i had to run to the xray room 3 times holding a large piece of tissue over my mouth because i cant close it as there is a long metal pole sticking into my teeth and a large rubber sheet around my tooth. and the worse thing is that by the time i get back to the clinic room after my xrays i am drooling like a bulldog at sight of meat.

wah lao lah. so embarrassing to try slurping my saliva with my mouth open. let me tell you it is tough job. i had to steal tissue paper from the xray room to absorb all my drip and drool. i think i was producing so much drool that the nurse had to suck it all up with the sucker thing (i dont even know why i am reporting these wet information here). i thought the xrays of my teeth look pretty cool.

i love hall people.

i love spending time with them and talking about things like when i was back in hall. it is fun catching up with everyone's lives. i miss the impromptu food eating by me and nelle. now that we no longer live with each other, there is no more luxury of such fun. i will really miss all these when i leave.

i had so much fun yesterday. we should do this more often in the next couple of weeks before i leave. have to overdoze on all the things i like before i suffer from intense withdrawal when i am in uk

Shit man

i totally cant decide if i should just stay in hall or should i rent a house. i would say that renting a house would be cheaper by about 5-10 pounds a week but it is also 5-10 mins longer away from school (or at least my department). there are so many things to take into consideration.

example.

the house rent is WITHOUT utilities and that mean i have to pay another 10-15 pounds per week
the house rent also comes WITHOUT internet and that means that i have to fork out 20 pounds per month is i want the lowest speed of broadband.
the house also come WITHOUT insurance which means that i have spend 150 pounds for the year getting myself insured

the hall comes WITHOUT kitchen utensils which means i have to buy my own pot and pans and plates
the hall comes WITHOUT a lounge so that means i cannot watch tv unless i want to travel out to watch
the hall comes WITHOUT laundry cost included that that adds up to about 3-5 pounds per week over the rent

bloody hell. actually i really want to stay in a house so that i can have time for myself and also have the luxury of a nice self created environment. and besides i have stayed in hall for so long. but the other thing is that the house would be very far from town where hall is only 5 mins away. but the house have a supermarket right round the corner. so yeah. this really sucks

my brains keep slanting from house to hall to house to hall and then back to house. i simply cant make up my mind.

i have been wanting to stay in house but ron wants to stay hall. and staying hall also means that everything is done for you and you dont have to bother to sign up for broadband or phone line. everything has its own pros and cons.

This latest Singapore movie in theaters now is in fact directed by my distant cousin of mine - cheng din an. and to my very amazed amazement, i can only remember him in one incident during the very hated chinese new years. when in fact i only remember his mom coz she is the one who gives out the ang paos. i see the family every year without fail and yet i totally cant be bothered to keep notice my oldest grand aunt and her family (aka my VERY DISTANT family)

but in actual fact, that side of the family not only have famous national sailors but now include a director. too cool to be true. but come to think of it i think i cant be bothered. ive always hated chinese new year and i will continue to do so until it becomes and angmohsified chinese new year.

as much as this movie is done by family. i think it is boring. the only reason why i went to watch it yesterday was because his dad gave out vouchers to go watch this. if not i will not even bother an inch to go buy tickets to watch about singapore soccer. of all scripts and story line he had to choose this one. well... the straits times were right. only worth 2 stars.

seriously. since when was she pregnant? i dont remember her ever being one inch larger than thin and now mommy tells that the she have just gave birth to a baby girl. for all the years she and bf remained unmarried but still living with each other in their little penthouse, and it took that that long to get married. and i really thought that they will spend another forever to not have a baby. and to think they tried for one and so fast.

and now there is a new baby girl in the family.

now every chinese new year will be more little kids running around the house. with sandra just having a kid last year, and now judy popped one. by the time honghai and benjamin spawn one of their own, it will be too much to bear every chinese new year.

i am actually quite eager to see if judy's baby is a cute one.

dear lynette, you miss one hell of a show man! if i were you ill be regretting giving my tickets to another person. im fact ill regret not watching so much ill try to buy another ticket and go watch it even if i had to do it alone in the next 3 days they are showing this at the esplanade.

that lynette last min tell me she got dance practice and i had to ask ron to go watch with me. and he could not due to IBG. like what the hell. so i asked my sister and she made time inspite of her 'training of national importance' to come meet me at city link mall to have dinner and watch a 3 hour play with me (of course totally paid by yours truly, and yes i think i am a fantastic sister)

people if you are reading this, please please please go and watch this one. in fact the casting is so rich that you would have seen half of them on tv before and the other half you would have seen them on one other play you have watched before.


me and my sis couldnt stop talking about it till we slept. the show ended so late that we had to take a cab back home. and honestly, this is the most vulgar show i have ever seen on tv, cinema and theater. and best of all, there was a vulgarity every 3 mins and in every possible language available in singapore. the sign at the door read 'NC16' due to 'strong language.

and the best thing is that the whole bunch of them can sing for a musical. a couple of them actually have voices so good that it puts me to shame. and they are like 8 guys harmonizing with each other. and in fact some of the guys make so pretty girls, i think i can be considered a man. they make really chio girls leh (im really not kidding) if they dresses up like that on the street i wouldnt be able to tell they are in drag.

and i found a new (to me) romantic spot. i never knew that the esplanade has a roof top garden that over marina barrage. great spot despite all the construction going on along the bay. i think i should bring janelle there for alcohol and pizza.

yes. with almost impossible to see eyeballs of mine that happen to disappear when you take photos, i had to learn from the master of opening eyes the taiwanese act cute style - canice. in fact i practiced so many time through dinner i couldnt stop laughing while waiting for the camera to snap. it really works to try to force out your eyes so that they look more decent on camera. just that i need more practice so that everytime i take a photo it comes naturally.

try finding the photos i was being my usual no-eyed self and when i was trying so hard to force my eyeballs out.

and i finally had the guts to try a color of make up and a set of clothes i usually will not really wear. i had on blue eye shadow and a slightly more than cute dress from taiwan. in fact i think i got a little tanner over the last couple of weeks doing nothing but sitting at home.

i really have the most nonexistant eyes amoung the girls.

i really havent been to waruku in the longest time and time after time i love jap food so much. a little bit of sushi and a few strands of udon will make me a happy person.

and ron is coming back tmr! so yay!

yes you heard me. i went to the gym this morning to find the whole place swamped with middle aged men and their weights. it is like a friday morning and how come the whole of bishan is at the gym pulling weights. aint people supposed to be at work? i know the singapore economy is starting to slow down but there cant be that many young men being retrenched and jobless and still want to go to the gym at 8am in the morning.

well... it was not the men who almost killed me but the lack of blood in my system. after running for the longest time (in my opinion) i was ok until i stepped on the biking machine. then i paddled for 5 mins and i was feeling so faint with minimal amount of oxygen in my brain i had to stop. the two kids beside me have been on the bike long before i got on and yet i stopped earlier. and i was paddling so slowly it puts me to shame beside two girls who are paddling at 100 what-ever-per-what-ever. i swear they were looking at me through the mirror and thinking to themselves 'wah lao this girl look so pro but actually so chui'

well for the record i wasnt feeling well and obeying the instructions on the wall 'stop exercising if not feeling well' i did what was literally the law of the gym. i wonder if my image of a young and tanned girl was destroyed in the eyes of the people who were in the gym and were tracking my movements from machine to machine.

then i decided to do something 'lighter' by moving on the weights machines. i was doing fine until i was at the crunches machine thingy and after 2 sets of 10 my stomach was churning so badly i had to go toilet to shit it all out. then i decided that i better go back since i was feeling totally blurry again. must be the lack of breakfast before exercising and thus my heart doesnt have the energy to pump full time.

and now i managed to be safe and sound back home without fainting on the way back dispite sitting down at 2 flight of steps and having a teh-si at the coffee-shop. and yes i lived to tell the tale.

moral of the story - never go to the gym

ps: have you ever wonder what will happen if you faint during your morning swim?

aint facials supposed to make you prettier with better skin and flawless complexion and a more vibrant skin?

then explain to me why ill have to spend the next couple of days (or even weeks) hiding behind make up when i had just done a facial today? and mayb even wearing specs or sunglasses.

the bloody facial lady use the wrong pressure on her diamond peel machine on my face and now i have a black patch between my nose and my eye and a smaller one on my chin!!! i look UGLY man!!! i still have to go out tmr! i have to sell my textbooks, i have lunch with mala and nelle and dinner + mahjong session at Shyying's place with small S and van. and i look like i have a bad blue-blacked patch due to a damaged sunglasses nose support rubber.

i honestly have to hide behind make up for the next couple of days if i go out. actually come to think of it i dont think make up might do much since i dont owe a concealer.

and that stupid facial lady bundled my hair so tightly in the towel i was walking around with the right side of my hair totally flipping out on the wrong side and the hair at the top of my head flattened onto my scalp. think the next time i go for facial im going to bring a cap just in case it turns out like that. i was so paisae to even walk to the mrt. (and yes i took the train looking like that)

shit i am doomed

no face to face the world. my poor poor face.
*i know i sound vain. but hey. your face the first thing people will see from the front and your hair is the first thing people will see from the back.

betcha-yadint-knowthis

that little girl you saw on tv singing the opening of the beijing olympics? well, she is a faker. the only reason why they put her up there was because she was cute. that lucky girl who stood on stage was only lip syncing the real singer in the background. lip syncing is a big booboo in hollywood and concerts world wide and our beloved motherland actually resorts to it in a very very major event that more than billions would be watching.

"The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression." (quote unquote) poor little girl in the backstage and all her effort and time going to win the singing-for-olympic-competition has gone down the drain because she was not cute enough.

i think she looks decent. although not as typically chinese-sy smiley but why change the image of the real singer?

and guess what? those beautifully filmed fireworks you saw on tv was a fake too (although they were actually real footprint fireworks). apparently the sequence was graphically enhanced or rather fake. the guy who did the cinematic for this less than 1 minute clip spent one whole year developing the sequence. a talent.

talk about the extent our motherland will go to achieve the unreal. wow. china went through so many things to make the opening ceremony perfect. although all their secrets were revealed in the end but netherless the opening ceremony was GOOD

my pay cheque is not in yet and i have a big hole in my pocket. (that reminds me that i have to check if my pay cheque is ready) just got myself a brand new camera. (well, more like ron got it for me since he was the one who paid for it) and funny how it is not the canon or fujifilm i eyed but something else - a sony. the moment i stepped into the store, all i saw is this little pink metal box sitting on the shelf.

and best thing is that i got a slight discount since it was ron's friend's mom's store. let just say that the discount was good enough. i was still deciding on the canon ixus 80 and the sony w120 since the price was the same. only difference is the 4X optical zoom on the sony compared to the 3X on the canon. although the canon is 8 mp and the sony only 7. but what the hell. not like i am going to be printing posters of myself.

and i actually got the pink. i kept thinking to myself that the pink is the prettiest color they have. i hope i dont one day find it too girly to hold and take photos with. actually i am really curious how this camera will compare to my old minolta. my minolta has very nice day time color. ill try taking some photos to compare tmr after i have charged my camera batt.

it is only 7 weeks till i leave for the uk. i should be leaving on the 24th or 25th of September. although i have to wait for ron to come back from his holiday in thailand so that we can book our air tics and get my visa done. and during this long duration of being totally bored at home since i stopped my internship, i still have random admin.

Things to do before i leave

1. file for graduation
2. renew passport
3. get visa
4. apply for accomodation
5. buy air tickets
6. book coach to loughborough
7. go to british council
8. get loan
9. write letter
10. catch up with everyone

11. Singapore Art Museum
12. Asian Civilisation Museum

in fact i think i have so many people to catch up with. like fully spend some time with the girls, mala and block people. the otago people, kj, dan, siting and others.

and i also want to get a new camera for myself. although my current camera is working just fine, i have been thinking of getting myself a new camera. but i have been looking high and low for a nice cheap (<$400) camera. i need something that is sharp and has good color. any suggestions? as of now i am looking towards fujifilm Z100fd and canon ixus 80 is. but i dont know how good these are. i find that it is abit of a waste of money since i already have one working one that actually does pretty nice shots.

my first rag day not being involved in the tiniest way. i did not cut a single tin can, i did not put glue on a single piece of cardboard and i did not cheer a single word. it rocks to be alumni. not only are you not needed to suppose to cheer, you dont even have to wear blue, you dont have to paint your face and you dont have to stand in the sun. and best of all. you get a free shirt.

in fact i was there doing absolutely nothing. i dint even take out my camera to take a single photo although i did bring my dying and almost trusty little camera. then i realized when i came home that i actually should have bothered to take some photos so at least i will have the mood to blog. but then again, i bet photos of it will hit facebook in give it another few hours. in fact this is stolen off kheng guan's facebook.


all i did was steal coffee and pepsi max from the cooler box, take a bun from the box. and sit at the top of the tent and watch from a spot very afar away.

in fact this was like the most unemotional rag ever. KR stole the show but my cold heart did not feel a thing. mayb i might have moved on to another phase of my boring life. the once exciting KR part is a slight distant memory. wow i am suffering from short term memory. i am old.

it is nice to see that KR won and practically fished all the awards into our little display shelf in front of the hall office. only lost two awards to our orange buddies and th. it was like kronos once again just that this time i was not wearing red screaming my heads off on the tables in the middle of a sea of blue. i am actually happy to not sit there and scream. im getting too old for everything enthusiastic. leave that to the younger generation.

and the flags i sewed the ends in during my fwoc is still alive and flying. and i really love those yellow and blue flags.

i got to give the rag team a tonne of credit. they deserve it from all the cladding and glueing and god knows what happens behind the scene. a big clap for you my friends.

paperweightsforsale@blogspot

this is my latest project that i have been starting at home. i am attempting to grow a herb garden so that i can use when i am cooking stuff. that is IF i end up cooking stuff. i have a pot of basil and a pot of chives and if i manage to keep them alive for another 6 weeks, initially i was intending to grow mint and parsley but from the looks of what's coming ahead that is not even going to happen.

but at least my basil seedlings look nice and happy sitting on my room 'window still'

i have been thinking about growing a garden in pots and trays at home. this is my third batch of basil seedlings. apparently the first two time i added too much water and there was root rot. so i bought a new potting mix and replanted everything. and now it seems like it is looking pretty happy. it is terribly exciting to grow stuff from seed.

i was so happy it grew another pair of leaves. my first two batches never got more than 2 leaves a stalk/seedling. but now i have 4 leaves. 4 nice and healthy leaves i can soon harvest to put into my salad and spaghetti. it says on the seek packet that you can harvest in 6 weeks. that means i can eat it in another 3 weeks. but the rate of its growth is so slow i think the algae in my fish tank grows faster.


i am very tempted to grow flowering plants from seed. but ill leave that to another project for another time. i was in the nursery the other time and saw seeds for petunia and gloxinia. might be fun to have a garden next time so that i can grow flowers like how michelle's mom did in NZ.

the current pot of gloxinia at home seems to be budding a new flower but im not too sure either. gloxinia is a pretty flowering plant to put at home. just that the ones i have are trailing all over the kitchen counter like a money plant. i love plants. they are great to look at. i wish i started this project when i was still in hall and when i had a room that is nice and sunny in the morning.

since when have i become a 'planter'? i think nparks might have taken a toll on me.

i was asked to blog again coz me blogging will be doing the world some good by providing some reading material for the group of people who newly attained the status of 'the working people'. Besides i think people are getting really sick of clicking on the link that goes to my previous blog and looking at a dead-for-ages-blog. when i mentioned that i am just sick and bored of bothering to write things coz my life is already so boring, cheong told me to go get a new template. so i was thinking to myself why not just create a new one so that i can start on a fresh page and let my crappy thoughts flow again. revitalization can be good.

i dont even know if anyone even bothers to read all it at all.

but yes. im back. we ll have to see how my life puts up with me before i am keep you assured that ill bother to update this on a basis that will hopefully not be too long.. no gurentees. but now that i am very bored i think i can spare a little time updating this blog.

anyway just to give a short update on what has been happening to me in the last month or so. basically i ended work one week earlier than i was supposed to. last friday was officially my last day interning at nparks. it was fun and i wish i will have the chance to go back in the future. so as of today, i have plenty of time on my hands. but please book me in advance.

remember my half angmoh Norwegian cousin? jasmine popped by Singapore for a couple of days and even had dinner at my place. she was up in malaysia diving in perhentian with her angmoh friend christeen and decided to drop by here for a short visit. it is always nice to have her around. just wished that auntie jessie and gang pop around here soon. funny how jasmine is always so dark. in fact for the first time in the number of times she visited i ended up fairer than her. might be calling for a time to get a tiny bit of skin cancer.


anyway. i am officially no longer a student of NUS anymore. i filed for graduation yesterday afternoon at 1pm. i am no longer a student taking geog thought and theory modules, i no longer have to think which crappy breadth can fit into my honours timetable and i no longer have to log on to ivle to check for readings. i am done with NUS. i can finally wash my hands off everything in the Singapore education system and move on with my life.

i guess i really am moving on to the starting point of my soon-to-be 60k debt to papamamafund. i am so happy that loughborough actually took in this honourless piece of crap even though they stated on their website 'B.A hnrs (second class honors)'. i guess ill have to work my way around have less of a brain than most of the other students and do the best i can.

i aim to be the Singaporean version of a PRC in NUS. but only in loughborough. i am going to be so smart they will offer me a scholarship to do my phD somewhere. i really want to so this well.

i did think very hard over it. even lost sleep for a night or two just deciding if it was worth it to venture out of the normal path onto the grass and do my masters without working first. most people would suggest doing your masters after working so that you know your career's future and where you are heading. but to me i know what i love and it might be a big step with alot of money involved but i am going to do it. i love geog. i am so happy with myself for following my heart in JC and choosing to do arts instead of science.

take the chance and deal with life later.