Long-awaited Korea Trip

5 years ago, we made a pact to embark on an overseas trip to South Korea. The trip ensued owing to the strong bond that we maintained even after graduation. All I can say it was a short and sweet one to South Korea. :)

Day 1 - We landed at Seoul Incheon airport early in the morning. Still feeling sleepy from the plane ride, we were advised to step out of the arrival hall and have a feel of the temperature and coldness. This would better prepare us on what to wear and how many layers to put on to keep ourselves warm. Indeed, the lesson learnt from Stockholm - to "feel" beyond the surface is applicable even on the Eastern side of the globe!

Went to the Government House, the conference venue where the recent G20 Summit was held (no big deal) in the morning and that hour of "sightseeing" totally froze my feet and ass off. :( Had lunch at a restaurant in Seoul before we headed off to Seoul Gimpo airport to take a domestic flight to Jeju Island.

I love planes and plane rides, but having to take a plane 4 times in a week has diminished my love for it. Perhaps it is not so much about the ride itself. Rather, it is about having to check in your bags and clear the security that really irks me.

Anyway, upon arrival in Jeju, we were brought to two places. One was the Ghost road" and the other, the Teddy Bear Museum. Having travelled to so many countries for the past four years, this is the first time I am being introduced to this whole teddy bear museum hooha! Apparently, the museum exists in a few other nations but the culture is not as apparent as in S. Korea. So the visit was an eye opener for me and having to uncover the history of teddy bears did wow me.

Day 2 - We were brought to a Volcano (no longer active though) and we had to climb a flight of stairs before reaching the mountain top. It took me by surprise that it was JY who ended going up to the mountain top with me since she is probably the least sports-inclined among the four of us. Life's full of surprises. :) But, good job JY!

Not to forget, we went to the village where "DA CHANG JIN" was filmed (I think but I ain't sure). I thought the guide at the village was really one of a kind.

Perhaps i enjoying seeing what I read. Just before I left for Korea, I was flipping through the Nat Geo magazine and came across an article on "Modern Mermaids." They are known as Japanese ama but in fact, they are female divers who get into the waters in search of shellfish. This way of life has been in existence in Japan for centuries. However, this culture is not unique to Japan. The Koreans do that too. In chinese, they call them the "海女." Well, seeing is believing.

Day 3 - I guess theme parks are something that I will never grow sick of (hopefully). Korea's Everland pales in comparison to Tokyo DisneySea or even Movieworld in Aussie. Nonetheless, it is special since it has the world's only natural born Liger. I have been hearing stories about how scary the rides in Korea's theme parks are but I did not get to experience it personally. The T-Express (world's longest Roller Coaster Ride) was closed for maintenance (the exact same thing happened in Aussie) so I had to leave yet another theme park filled with disappointment. The rest of the rides were amateurish to me. Perhaps I have been on too many thus the thrill is slowly evaporating. My only hope is USS now. :)

Alright, I am getting really sleepy. Time for my fingers to rest, for my brain to rejuvenate and my eyes to close.

Copycats

"Wah! You have a nice bag. I want to buy one too. Where did you buy it?" .....

Some time later....

I see her carrying the same bag as me.....

I hate copycats! People who envy me and then try to impersonate me consequently. Oh please, get a life and live out your own style and wishes. Not everyone pulls off an LV well (like I do, Bleh just joking). I hate lc people who overcompensate and try to live it up and buy branded so that they can look good. If you are lc, you are lc!

If you are ugly, you are ugly. A pauper looks ugly when she tries to act atas. Somemore, she's so FAT and she carries an LV bag! She totally destroyed the image of LV! Can she just f**king dump the bag away? Have you ever seen a fat woman with an LV bag and yet look good in it? NO! NEVER!

Oh well well well, some people just simply do not know their limits and where they stand.

She makes me puke whenever I see her with the exact same bag as me! When I carry the bag, light shines on me and there is an aura about me with the bag. When she carries the bag, she looks exactly like a fuddy-duddy. She just spent half of her pay on an LV bag. Idiocy indeed has no limits! No matter how many branded bags she purchases, her other features will betray her. You are fat and poor, admit it! You can never go from rags to riches no matter how hard you try.

Hates copycats, MAX! Pardon me for being mean.

I promise I will write something soon

Currently, I have lots of insights to share, be it on life, family, friends, etc. But I simply have no time to blog about it. Soon, I will. :)

As 2010 draws to a close

These days, life does not just pass. It whizzes pass. I do not recall that it was a year ago that I splurge on my LV bag, went on tour for 3 weeks in Japan and Taiwan, and got all bumpy about finally graduating from NUS. In fact, it seemed to me all that happened just months ago. It is insanity to actually tell people that 3 years ago, I went to Stockholm for exchange and lived one of the happiest moments of my life there.

Recently, the weather has been erratic. Snowstorms all over Europe, even the temperature in Hong Kong fell below zero (simply ridiculous). That has indeed brought back memories about my Stockholm days, when Kim and I got uber excited about seeing snow in Stockholm, outdoor ice-skating, building snowman, etc. My love for Europe is beyond imagination. Some day I will return, I told myself.

And how has my 2010 been thus far?

The working world is indeed really different from school. You have income but you have more responsibility. You have holidays but it also means you have more work. I have never doubted my own desire to educate, but I have been questioning my desire to stay on in the job. The job really derives a lot of satisfaction, especially when you see your students making progress along the way. However, I think that satisfaction is unable to fill me, fill my desires and make me contented. I want to do more, with each passing day. Life at work is mundane compared to life when I was a student: more happenings, more jokes, more laughter, more friends, more conversations, more learning, more knowledge, more control.

Your friends at work discuss about the same things everyday. Their conversations are much like a routine. The conversation revolves around the same topic; students, results, exams, CCAs, shopping for girls, etc. I feel that the number of intellectual conversations that I engage in has decreased exponentially while in school.

Honestly, I feel that when you step into the working world officially, you start to think more (not necessarily deeper). You become more risk-averse, you try to calculate and weigh your benefits and costs for each step that you take, you behave more appropriately socially. However, you lose your innocence and candour. You become overtly mindful of other people's feelings, so you lose yourself. I still prefer the me when I was a student.

Then I was dumped into NIE and overwhelmed with assignments. I had less time for myself but I got to meet new friends. I meet interesting characters; people of diverse background but at least we share something in common: we all have a passion for teaching. I do not get to engage in conversations outside of assignments (tons of project discussion) but I spend more time reading the Economist, Nat Geo, news, and books that I like. So there is a trade-off. My writing has toned down a lot, less of the fanciful analogies, idioms, catch-phrases but more of formal expressions, which I really disdain.

The highlight of 2010 was probably the trip to Egypt, the land of civilisations. Egypt has really aroused my interest in ancient history. I have always been fond of history, be it ancient, middle ages, european, asian, or whatever. However, I lack the discipline to actually visit the library to get the books and read them. But well, yesterday is not representative of tomorrow. We should move on.

My 2010 is definitely not as colourful and vivid as my 2009, and you can corroborate from the number of blog posts that I made this year. Hopefully, my 2011 will be more fascinating. :)

星光's next big star: 安东倪 Sorry that I loved you

Everything I hear him sing, my eyes tear. It's his voice! Now I am so glad that he finally has his own album. :))

And of course, I hope this song will touch your heart and make you tear too! :)) It is getting difficult to find someone who is good looking and can sing so well....

Words have no meaning, you put meaning into them.

I have always uphold this view that "words have no meaning, it is the reader that puts the meaning into the sentences." Indeed, I was proven right yet again! I have absolutely no intention of putting anyone down in the process and in fact, I was already feeling awful that things had turned out the way it did. Someone dealt me another blow when the comment that "I seem to be shifting the blame to someone else" came out from her mouth. C'mon, be professional and objective. Stop putting words into my mouth and degrade my intentions.

I have not been blogging that often these days and it has indirectly affected the way I express certain ideas, perhaps.

A weird and silly dream....

The weirdest dream appeared last night! I dreamt that I was back to Stockholm, Sweden, back to SSE, Saltis and all that. I was with the wrong company, the sort of people whom I will never imagine being with while overseas. But nostalgia overwhelmed me when I awoke from the dream. SSE was still there, Saltis never changed a single bit, but Lidl was gone. Our favourite supermarket no longer stands as it is. I really wonder how much Stockholm has changed. I miss Stockholm, I really do. Truly, deeply, badly.......

so swarmed with work....

NIE is supposed to be a breeze, isn't it? It seems like I am more swarmed with work than ever, at least 20 assignments due of various degrees thus far. And I've got to take tests (MATH)! I'm fearless when it comes to Math exams since young but this time round, things are really different. It seems to me that the questions are more like Maths Olympiad Questions then mathematical questions. :( Oh well, to think I said I do not think that anyone can fail SMMT. I retract those words of mine. :(

And yes, november has too many deadlines awaiting me. I honestly need a break! :( I wanted to take time off to chill, sit down with friends and do nothing, play more tennis than ever, go back to studying French but none of these are on my agenda! Not that I will accomplish all of them without those assignments but perhaps the probability of accomplishing some is way higher!

Perhaps, wake me up when "December" comes. Cause that will be when all the deadlines are over and I can finally have a good break, enjoy my birthday month as usual. I love December!!!! :)) Nonetheless, they never last. From birthday to X'mas then New Year, time whizzes past always. And I vividly remember, last December I was away for almost the entire month. The kind of life I lick my lips over all the time! Not this December anymore.

Nonetheless, there are perks to me joining the force. Occasionally, I get text messages from my ex-students or meet them on the bus and we get to catch up on our lives. :)) And when they tell me how darling I was a teacher to them, my heart melts. Teaching is really a very satisfying job. :))

Enough of whining, back to work. :((