Before I fly

I need to blog more.
I am flying off in another 32 hours.
Denmark.Netherlands.Germany.Austria.Belgium
If you guys need anything,
Text Me.Dial Me.Email Me.
I am so gonna miss blogging.
I will come back with TONS of PICTURES.

Snowed.

Time Check: 10:32pm

It SNOWED! It was a blasting SNOW! It got really heavy and I took a video and some photos. Sweeet..... I thought I won't be seeing any snow since the weather has turned warm the past few weeks. I am surprised to see the snow in Mid-March because apparently SPRING is approaching..... But I will be flying off to some other countries in 2-days time so I won't be seeing the snow even if it comes. I still haven't make any SNOWMAN yet. I could have done it this afternoon but I seriously need to study because I am rather unproductive here compared to NUS. I study like 2 or 3 chapters a day in contrast to 6 chapters a day in Singapore. Is it due to the weather? I hope NOT. If it snows again tomorrow, I will definitely be the INNOCENT CHILD at the Ice-skating ring. :)

Screwed

Happy Birthday, Da Jie!

Yet another birthday I missed in Singapore.

While you guys are partying your lives out there, my books are my only companion.
There are pros and cons with the education system here. Indeed, I only have two courses to study for but the content is equivalent to one whole semester in NUS. So it isn't that relaxed here to be honest. But since all I need is to pass, I wasn't that into the studying mood. When you have no aims, you don't work hard. haha.

I guess the partying mood is lingering with me still. I joined those guys for dinner twice last week and was totally absorbed into their partying mood because most of them had no exams. First, it was BURGERS! This American lady made burgers for us because she's leaving and this is like her last dinner in Stockholm. I have to say it was good though it was something simple. There was mashed potatoes and salad too. I ate two small bowls of mashed potatoes and a plate of salad before I gobbled down TWO burgers! It was simply fantastic. hahaha.

Then saturday there was the "America Fuck Yeah" Party for all the Americans that will be leaving because apparently their education system is different from Europe so they have to go back to the States earlier than other exchange students to complete their final term in US. My Italian neighbour cooked Pasta! It was definitely YUMMY!! It's this fusili with bacon in this deep cream-cheese sauce.

Termed INSALATA CAPRESE AND PASTASCIUTTA

Sciutta means bacon or ham while Insalata caprese means cream cheese sauce. haha.. It has 27% of fat according to the "CHEF". I ate like one BIG PLATE of that because there was too much and we couldn't really finish it.

After dinner, I decided to head back to study and they were like "No, you should come join us!" So I told them I need to study then they compromise and asked me to head for the pre-party (alcoholic drinks once again what else?!) at the common kitchen before they head out to another club. Since it was just a half-an-hour thing or so, I agreed. It was difficult for me to study anyway because I could hear the crowd from my room with the doors SHUT! haha.. So in the end, I gave in to peer pressure and drank a few drinks. My determination to study was firm enough though to not go out to club with them, however. :)

A few drinks yeah. It became coke with beer (my own drink), some weird Witches' brew of a mixture of gin, vodka, martini blah blah in cranberry. What else to top it up? 2 sips of GIN-TONIC. I used to be a fan of Gin-tonic but I stopped for the past 3-4 years after pledging loyalty to Baileys and Vodka. However, the 2 sips of gin-tonic ignite my crave for it yet again.

To sum it up, I PUT ON WEIGHT! hahaha.. With all the dinner invites, alcohol and chocolates, my diet is totally SCREWED.

After screwing up my lifestyle, I think I screwed up my exam too. haha.. To me, it's always applications that I study for during exams. No theory, no facts. But when I read the examination paper today, I was stunned. It wasn't a test of how well you grasp the course contents. It was definitely a memory of facts. Honestly, I have never been through this kind of exams after O's. As in Poly and NUS, economics exams are no memory work. It's always about understanding and applying the concepts. Plus I have never been through JC econs which apparently the feedback I got was, it's all about memorising the theories and throwing it all out during exams. So the system here is like JC standard? hahaha..

The funny thing about the exam here is that you are allowed to bring food in! Haha.. So those Swedish students had fruits like apples, chocolates, banana blah blah blah and they were chewing on it. Poor me-my stomach was grumbling seeing them with the chocolates.

It was bad. I didn't memorise much but I hope I wrote enough to manage a PASS?

A little bit a day goes a long way.

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY, BINGYAO!

The first in the sign-on gang to have his birthday, BY!
Fortunately, I am on exchange at 22 and not 21.
Otherwise, I will be missing out a lot of parties. haha.

Alright, I realise I need to study faster.
3 days away from my exam.
There's too much distraction.
I keep turning to my computer I don't know why.
I am so screwed.
But anyway, all I need is a PASS. :)

Dot Dot Dot

"This room is really messy!" -- Italian Neighbour
"Yeah, her room is really messy!" -- French Neighbour

Those are the 2 comments by my neighbours. Hahaha!

It's been a long time since I updated you guys on my room's condition. Well, exams are round the corner so I guess there isn't any time for packing the room but anyway it has never been neat, with the exception of my side. Haha! To check, I have mopped my side of the room 4 times within these 2 months but her counter is still staying at 0! I have swept the room at least 10 times but her counter remains at 1! haha... I wonder how can someone live in such a messy corner?

It was so hilarious as to how those comments above came. There was this night when our room door was not closed because I wanted to air the room after she cooked some meatballs and happened that my italian neighbour just walked to the door to say HI. He saw the TV in my room and he was like,"Yeah, you've got a TV. It's so cool. Can I check it out?" So I let him in to take a "tour". At this moment, my roomie had just gone to bed. That was the comment that came out from his mouth straight after he stepped in! hahaha.. All along, many people had assumed that I was bunking with Kim so they thought the messy state that it is in now was the masterpiece of Kim & Me. But seconds later, I told him my roomie is asleep and they finally realise that SHE is my roomie! hahaha.. The Italian guy was like "Oops, sorry I didn't know she was in because she was fully tugged under the comforter." Immediatley, he knew the messy state wasn't my creation. He was rather mischievious so he started to imitate my voice and tried to wake my roomie up but she totally had no response! haha.. Actually, I knew she wasn't Asleep yet.

So 2 days later while we were having dinner at the common kitchen together with that cutie french neighbour, the italian guy started to ask me what was my roomie's reaction to his comment? haha.. I said she had no reaction and the cutie french neighbour made the same comment above. That was because he had dropped by before when he tried to help me set up the laptop to watch online soccer. Subsequently, he came by yet another time and there wasn't any improvement at all. haha. So in conclusion, I wasn't wrong about her being messy right from the start. Everyone has the same consensus isn't it? haha... Fortunately, I am still clean and neat as it is. hahaha... I guess it's probably because the 2 of them are really clean and neat. I have been to their rooms before and it's amazing how tidy they kept it despite them being guys. It's natural that they have a certain expectation of how a girl's room should be so they were startled when they saw my room! haha.. But for me, I am already immune to this untidiness state that I no longer feel anything for it...... hehehe...

Watch the photos !

It's very obvious from the photos that it's turning from bad to worse; with piles of clothes on the shelf, more foodstuff, notes and books etc etc. Please check out my 2 posts in January to make a comparison. hahaha.. I just need to point out 5 habits of hers to make you guys comprehend.

1) She doesn't WANT to hang her clothes. Each of us have one side of the cupboard for hanging clothes and I assure you there's definitely more than enough hangers. At first, I thought it was because I took too many hangers but after I did a stock count, the no. of hangers were evenly distributed. So I asked her why doesn't she hang up her clothings? Her reply was that she's lazy to walk to the cupboard to get her clothes every time she needs to change. That totally don't make any sense to me because you need to pass the cupboard to get to the toilet.

2) Apparently, there's a lot of storage space in the kitchen cabinets but she doesn't put her foodstuffs there. She just places it on the shelf or on the sofa table. I show some understanding for that because the cabinet is rather high and she's not too tall so she might find it hard to reach that's why she chose not to place them there. In consideration of that, I repacked the whole cabinet and moved all the plates and frying pans to a higher slot so she could use the lower slot. But, she still doesn't use them. A total waste of my effort.

3) She has 4 blankets on her bed. 2 comforters and 2 blankets. The most irony thing is she doesn't use all of them. After I kind of ask her in a very nice way as to why she has 4 blankets, she kept 1 and she's left with 3 right now.

4) She wears socks to bed and I can understand that because some people are sensitive to cold so keeping their feet warm is very important to them. She has one pair of socks for wearing at home and another for wearing out, however. So everyday after she comes home from school or wherever, before she changes to her slippers, she will change her socks! That's so hilarious! Why can't you just have a pair of socks and change them everyday? On certain days, she doesn't even go out at all so maybe she can change it on alternate days instead?! After she change her socks, she places them on the sofa.

5) She doesn't know how to fold her clothes properly. I mean folding clothes is something so simple. Of course I am not expecting you to fold it like what they do at those retail outlets but at least make it even?

I have yet to show you photos of her personal drawers. I opened it up once when she asked me to get something from it. It was in a BIG MESS!!!!! But at least that's something that's private.

Birthday Bashing!!

Saturday, 8th March 2008
Birthday Bash of 2 of my neighbours
Location: HHS (my school) Cabin "suburb chalet"
Time: 6 p.m till 10 a.m next day

2 of the March b'day boys had a birthday bash
Was invited for the party so decided to take a look at the suburb of Stockholm
Was 40-60 (yes-no) initially but still went
Chaotic Party!!
Long Journey = 2 train exchanges and 1 bus journey
The french neighbour and another german cycled there!
Hectic 2-hour cycling journey for them
Getting lost and going up-hill and slopes everywhere
Reached at around 5.45 p.m
Hang around checked out the surroundings
Cocktail reception (not those high-class) till almost 7.15 p.m
Dinner started serving at around 7.30 p.m
It was some tiny grained rice with mushrooms, tomatos, zucchini and carrots
Not too bad, I kind of like the gravy that went with it
Chit-chats, alcohols, snacks, chips
Everything that you needed was there

8.30 p.m one of the American girls asked me to play the game flip-cup
It was kind of a drinking game but it was fun
Shall teach you guys when I get back to Singapore
Ensure you guys will be overloaded with alcohol at the end of it
Great bonding game
Everyone tried to distract the opposite team to gain victory
After like 7 rounds, no one could continue anymore
We were running out of alcohol
Instead, started playing limbo rock!
I stood at the balcony with another girl instead
It was a starry night!
We tried to capture photos of the sky but to no availability

9 p.m: 2 Japanese, 1 Dutch DRUNK!
Started lying all over the dance floor
So I went to help out that Japanese girl
She needed to puke badly
I guess she must have felt pretty bad
Companied her for an hour outside the cabin
Freaking COLD!!
But I couldn't leave her in the lurch
She needs help anytime

Something BLASTING to share:
2 students F*** in the woods
the french neighbour wanted to pee and he saw it
He came to told me about it hahaha
But we whispered

10:15pm: Half of 30-odd group were drunk
Especially the girls started doing all kinds of nonsensical stuff
But I couldn't help every single one
I saw quite a few people puking in front of me
In the end, I couldn't take it and had to go to one corner to puke myself hahaha
But don't worry guys: I am still PERFECTLY SOBER
I realise the whole place was in Chaos & I doubt I could stay till the next morning

Time Check: 11.45 p.m : Some of them were leaving
I packed my bag and left with them
After I was back I told Kim about it immediately
The next day, I wondered why didn't I stay throughout
I could have seen more blasting scenes I bet! haha
Then my roomie analysed the situation:
-If I'd stayed, I'd have regretted staying instead.-
Maybe she's right.
My decision to LEAVE wasn't bad at all
That's life.!
There's always this element of pity when you don't get something

Alcohol Check for 5.5 hours:
# Half a bottle of Merlot - 45% A.C
# 250 ml of Beafeater Gin with 250ml of Orange Juice
# 500 ml of Screwdriver
# 30 ml of Absolut Red - NEAT.
# 30 ml of Absolut Raspbery with Coke (Definitely tasted like cough syrup)
# 200 ml of Beer+Lemonade
# Uncountable amount of Beer during the Flip-Cup Game

Money Check for 5.5 hours:
19 SEK for Ice-cream
I had free transport

My new DRINKING record Yet to find my threshold.
But it really didn't feel good to mix 3 different types of alcohol.
Wine. Hard Liquor. Beer.

From the cabin, walk this long flight of stairs to get down to the scenery below

Isn't this beautiful?Mixture of Culture- Singapore, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Austria

Interior of Cabin-SpotLight!

Birthday Boy I - Ratarna (Swiss)Birthday Boy II -Thomas (German)Limbo-rock in progress

So who's better? This guy won anyway..

Starry night. Tried to capture the stars but too bad.. wasn't a good shot..

After the flip-cup game.

Armed Robbery

Headlines: Armed Robbery at Lidl

Lidl-supermarket next to my dorm where I never fail to visit once every other day. It offers really cheap groceries and the most economical CHOCOLATE around! As usual, Kim and I were at the supermarket to buy groceries for dinner and when we were heading back to our dorm, a police actually stopped Kim but we didn't think it was anything serious. I headed back to my room, left the door opened while waiting for Kim to come up so we can cook our dinner. I always leave the door open for ventilation when we cook and it was nothing new today either. Halfway through, I heard noises coming from the emergency stairway so I took a peep outside. There were 2 policemen, with machine guns in their hands, who walked past and one even turned towards me and pointed the gun at me, claiming he's police! OMG! I didn't know it was machine gun until Kim told me. I thought they were some security officers initially because there were security checks in the dorm every now and then.

But stockholm is relatively safe from what I observed so far so we didn't probe much into why those police officers suddenly came around. After dinner, craving for chocolates came by once again so Kim & I decided to get some to satisfy our cravings. When we exited from the lift, we met one of our neighbours and he told us there were police officers around so out of curiosity, we went to ask the police officer standing guard at the entrance of the dorm. Apparently, there was a guy, armed with a gun, who robbed the supermarket. Someone claimed that he ran into our dorm building and the small area in front of our building was cordoned. There were at least 5-7 police cars around and the image was like those in movies which you see, guns in hands, getting ready to shoot anytime. hahaha.. Kim & me was like,"Oh man, we forgot our cameras." The most hilarious thing was that a neighbour ours happened to be halfway through in his shower when the police officers knocked with MACHINE GUNS in their hands! hahahahaha...

We hurriedly returned to kim's room after that and started gossiping and discussing about it, analysing how the robber had managed to come into our dormitory because the security features in the dorm were such that you need either a key or a code whenever you want to enter into the main building or each level. We even came to the conclusion that we should start locking our doors these few days just in case. hahaha.. Another of our neighbour even suggested it might be an internal job or what. How creative that can be right. But in the supermarket, business was as usual. No one looked like they were affected by the incident which we find it really strange. Passer-by took photos, and people stopped to take a quick look before they continue on their journey. That image is deep in my heart today. hahahaha.. What a Friday in Stockholm!!!

An elderly at home is like a treasure of all

My brother sent me this song hours ago
I was busy with school work
Didn't pay much attention to it though I tried to catch the lyrics
Felt the song was touching but couldn't identify with it
Until I sat down quietly in front of my laptop,
focus on the lyrics and recalled my childhood
The title of the song is "Grandma's words" 阿嬷的话 by Xiao Huang Qi
The same singer who sang Ni Shi Wo De Yan..
Maybe some people don't really have the chance to live and interact with their grandparents
Maybe some people have really poor grandparents at home
Maybe some people hate their grandparents even
But that's definitely not the case for me when it comes to my MATERNAL grandmother

She was the one who changed my diapers when I was young
She was the one whom I never fail to call out to after I poo-ed
She was the one who bathed and dressed me
She was the one who fed me and cooked for me
She was the one whom I lean on whenever I needed a shoulder at young
She was the one who taught me the morals and principles in life
She was the one who scolded and hitted me when I did something wrong
She was the one who signed my school test papers or exam papers whenever my mom wasn't around
She was there in every single aspect of my childhood.

Today, I am no longer dependent on her but it always makes me feel good to be in her arms, to have her cuddle me because she provides a sense of belonging and security. I believe some of you must be thinking of your grandmother right now, especially those who are separated with them by life and death. No tears, no regrets because despite her physical absence, her warmth should always be in your memory. :)

For me, I am grateful that my grandmother is still with me, watching every bit of my life. But I wonder how things will be when that day comes.

Enjoy the song.... Oh anyway, it's in Hokkien so if you didn't understand, I provided the English translation...

在细汉的时阵阮阿嬷对我尚好
甲尚好的物伴拢会留乎我
伊嘛定定带我去幼稚园看人在七桃
看人在办公伙儿看人在觅相找
伊定定跟阮说叫阮着要好好仔读册
呒通大汉像恁老爸仔这么狼狈
在彼个时阵阮拢听拢呒
阿嬷你到底是在讲什么
大汉了后才知影阿嬷的话
我会甲永远永远放块心肝底
想可一步一步的过去
定定拢会乎人真难忘
时间一分一秒块过去
在阮的心内定定拢会想到伊
阿嬷你今嘛在叨位
阮在叫你你甘有听到
阮的认真甲阮的成功你甘有看到
阮在叫你你知影没
阿嬷你今嘛过的好么
甘有人块甲你照顾
希望后世人阮搁会冻来乎你疼
作你永远的孙仔
搁叫你一声"阿嬷"

When I was young, my grandmother treated me the best.
In the sense, she always left the best things for me.
She frequently took me to the nursery to watch other kids play
to watch adults that were busy with work, with searching for love etc
She always reminded me to get a good education
Otherwise I will end up like my dad, trading sweat for bread
But I never really understand the true meaning of those words at that time
Grandma, what were you trying to drive at exactly?
I finally understood what she meant after I grew up
I will keep those words in my heart forever
Recalling every step I took and every decision I made in the past
It's really unforgettable
Though the clock is ticking away and taking away our lives
I will think of her every now and then
Where are you, my grandmother?
Can you hear me calling out to you?
The effort I put in my life, the success I have enjoyed, have you witnessed it?
Do you know that I am calling out to you?
Grandma, I wonder if you are living well
I wonder if there's anyone taking good care of you
I hope I can be loved by you in my next life
and be your beloved grandchild once again
So as to be able to greet you "My Grandma"

Dedicate this to- My Grandmother, Chris & Omma.

The lappland trip

I saw tons of photos from those exchange students with regards to the lappland trip. Come to think of it, I really wonder if I made the wrong choice of not going. Maybe I should have went. It looked really fun!! Oh my god, they made snowman! Tons of them! They did snowmobiling, husky riding, reindeer visiting, ice sculpturing, ice fishing, visited the ice hotel blah blah blah.. Oh my god! I should have went TOTALLY!! Now, I have no time to regret I guess..... Shall wait for another chance to be there....

2nd Leg of Trip..

Counting down
2 weeks to my 1st exam in Stockholm!
Woohoo~
I guess I should start hitting my books honestly
Though I just need a pass only anyway...

Oh yeah, 2nd leg of my tour planned!!
Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Germany Here I COME!!
Shall not be blogging as often in March I guess
Mugging for exams next week most probably
After exams I will be touring
No more french words to update everyday

Was talking to Kim about the times here hours ago
It flies!
I guess March, April & May will fly past in an eye's blink
Scotland & Gotenburg (Sweden) is on my April's agenda
Italy is on my May's to-visit country
My friend is definitely coming to visit in May!
I am soooo EXCITED.....

With all these updates and trips
Don't miss me too much
I promise to bring back photos and memories..... :)

Make it or Break it?

Status Updates: Almost everyone is away for the weekend. The school organised a trip to Lappland (northern islands in Sweden) so most people are out. I didn't go because I thought it was too expensive (S$1,000/-) for 3 days 2 nights. Instead, Kim & I are planning a trip to Finland's Lappland where the Santas Claus Village is on our own. It will probably cost us only half the price. So that's a smarter way. Others went to Helsinki on a cruise. I am the only soul around on my LEVEL and in my ROOM of course because my roomie went on the school trip.

So what on earth did I do when my roomie wasn't around? Nothing! I am surprised. No parties because there wasn't any single soul around! So I have been watching my HK drama all day and night. I want to grumble a bit! I was at the last episode when my lappy died on me twice!

In summation, I am now waiting eagerly to watch the final episode. Anyway, it's a really nice show- the ultimate crime fighter. (recommendations from my brother)

I love these HK dramas. I think they are much better than Taiwanese dramas. This is just my personal opinion and I have no intention to put down those taiwanese idol dramas but those are shows for you to fantasize about while HK shows are those that make you reflect. Another highly recommended show is 赌场风云. I watched this show a year ago but the morals, the reflections I'd after I watched this show still stay in me till now.

More often than ever, it's always just a thin line between good and evil, between success and failure, between MAKING IT or BREAKING IT!

The ultimate crime fighter talked about the story of this cop, who went undercover and eventually fell in love with this girl who's normal but super kind-hearted. Unfortunately, that girl died and he couldn't let go of the hatred he had for the murderer. To revenge, he did things against his duties and responsibilities as a cop; as a law enforcer. That was all because he let his heart ruled his mind.

It's this word - tenacious I would use to describe that cop. It makes you or breaks you honestly. By being tenacious, you achieve things in life because you will never give up on your dreams and aims easily when met with obstacles-that makes you a successful person. However, by being over tenacious, you might fail in life too when you face a little setback along the way because you will be so firm on your dreams. The anger, hatred, dislike that comes with facing a problem blinds your eyes and your numbs your ability to think calmly. I know it's true that people always say you shouldn't give up when faced with problems, you should go around and think of how to solve it and in this way you inch a step closer to success. Nevertheless, if you look at it from another perspective, problems might be a way to remind you that there are other alternatives worth trying. The process is much more important than the end product, isn't it?

I remember my dad said this before: When someone provokes you, the best way to retaliate is not to lose your cool immediately and confront him. The best way to go about it is to keep your cool and analyse your retaliation strategy. I totally agree. The one who panics, the one who is blinded by emotions will be the loser.

Each of us out there is capable of success and we are all one step or maybe two for some from who we want to be and what we want to be. Never let your emotions control you otherwise you will lose yourself in what you want to achieve. I hope I never do. I have one foot in my dreamland. I am just another foot away. :)

"Life's like dealing with a kite. The kite represents your dreams. You have to learn to loosen your grip on the kite at times, just like letting go of your emotions, yet you have to hold on tightly to the string that binds you and your kite together, the way you tie yourself closely to your dreams. "

What an inspirational post I have today~~ I am bored so I needed to preach a bit.. hahahaha...

Streets at the Bath area... Unposted photos...

The Sunset I saw on the bus in London

Picadilly circus in Manchester

You JUDGE your own life!

2008 is a leap year
But 29th February is not a leap year
It should be a leap day!

I dedicate this post to someone I hold in esteem on this special day--my Da Jie

I read through her post and thoughts about Kinship came to my mind. I hope my post gives her some motivation to get past this difficult stage in life.

To me, she has always been a woman who appears strong on the outside but is extremely fragile within herself.

She taught me lessons in life which no textbooks can provide. To many others out there (our relatives especially), she may not be the role model and what she taught me may be good or bad, subjective to individual, I still hold her in respect for all these.

Together with my grandma, she taught me Mahjong-my all-time favourite.
However, she also taught me the meaning of Kinship together with my brother.
She taught me how to be street-smart.
She taught me how to protect myself when I am being bullied.
She showed me the way to fight for her own rights.
She taught me that no matter how others look down on you, you are the only one who can judge your own life.

As I am typing this post, though I still don't concur with every single aspect of the way she leads her life, that's HER life and only SHE can judge her OWN life! No one else should be able to do so.

71 shouts to Da Jie: "If you can survive a crisis not just once but twice or even thrice, you will be able to get past this difficult stage in life once again. Never give up!"

I bet she doesn't know what life lessons she has provided me for the past 21 years.

Never under-estimate the impact you can have on someone else.

I always want to get this across to everyone that I know: we should all live for ourselves, not for others. We should be the only ones fit enough to judge our own lives and by not taking to heart how others judge you, you will smile more and frown less :)