Tuesday, July 25, 2006

After 10 days, the German fever is beginning to subside. Although I still smile ever so widely and proudly at my immersion and travelling days, the Singaporean reality is starting to sink in. Life is starting to take its monotonous toll, and I am once again, a victim of the stay-put, hit-me swing.

I seem to have lost the bright beam in my smiles. the euphoria has been somewhat dragged away with time's wings chariot. The routine of everyday life, the sights and sounds, and the daily events have blended in with a strong mix of dullness, slowness, and to an extent, sadness. I have consumed them all.

With almost every single day packed with activities, I dont have much time to reminisce the good ole' days. But one thing's for sure- I felt very--and i stress very--happy when I was there. Sure, I hated those field trips and walking tours, but ironically, those were the events which constituted towards my happiness.

Muenster- Nordsee, the countless scoops of ice cream, house visiting, chess playing, pumpernickel, my friends and their smoking land, frequent beer trinken, my family, swimming, bridges, canals, spaghetti, elmar, santa, seedorf, wilmergasse two... I love them so much. There was always something offered everyday. Each moment, I was presented with the possibility of learning something interesting and of course, taking viel fotos.

In Muenster, I had so many great friends by my side... yesss!! esp the smoking guys. They really, really never failed to make my day! I love their company so much! Thank God all of them will be back really soon! I used to be laughing oh so hard each second of the day. It was like a make belief happiness land kinda thing. Haha! Oh I miss everything.

The grass is always greener on the other side.
Now that I am back in Singapore, I find the weather at night extremely terrifying. Its so humid and hot. I hate it quite honestly. I wish I were back in Germany. Haha! I guess if I were to go back now, I would try riding a bicycle.

I miss topdeck and craig. haha! I miss exploring europe.

Anyway, I wanna keep this blog a happy blog, filled with beautiful memories, childish rantings and bittersweet after-meal thoughts.

Therefore, I am gonna close this blog as of tonight. Okay.. maybe not close-close. But I will stop blogging so regularly as of now, unless it is to do with travel related stuff.
My trip has come to an end. this blog will similarly, come to a close.
Thanks one and all for reading about stuff pertaining to my stay in Muenster, and listening to my rants about how I put on weight.

Actually, I did put on weight. Its just that I put on weight AFTER i returned cause I have been binging quite a bit.

Das ist alles.
Ich liebe Deutschland. Und...
These 42 days, I maintain, will remain a large part of me. They are, afterall, the happiest of days of my life thus far.
For those who have contributed to make it so meaningful for me, thank you.
I dont think Ill be able to credit each and everyone here.. But itll be in my memory.

So auf wiedersehen!
I may update from time to time. But till then, tschues!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

if i have lots of money,
i'll forgo a car.
i want to travel. i wish i were still travelling. i dont like it here in Singapore.
i want to walk around, travel and see the world. i am going to start saving again so i'll be able to travel next year.
i want to go on exchange. maybe for a year in UK. but blame it on my cap, its in a pathetic state and i cant seem to find a remedy to the hopeless situation.
next semester is my final attempt to pull up my cap... if not my dream of going on exchange will be gone.

i realised why im pathetically bored all the time. staying at one place bores the shit out of me. i am bored, truly. bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.

Friday, July 21, 2006

After a week...

Life couldnt have been better for me ever since I touched down! I realised I havent really put on much weight after eating 28++ scoops of ice cream, three big pieces of cafe insel cake and lotsa lotsa german food! In fact, I dont think I put on any weight at all!! Imagine eating all the yummy chocolates and ice cream without any opportunity cost! Thats like UUUNNGGLLLAUBLICH!

RIght now, I am listening to some Deutsch football song. "Its coming home, Its coming home, its coming, footballs coming home". Haha! What sweet nostalgia! Am missing the world cup period so much! But oh well. I am slowly readjusting myself to the Singapore Momentum even though a large part of me is still left in Muenster and the western part of Europe.

I can really say with conviction that the 42 days have been the best-est period of my entire 20 years of life!

But home's good as well.
I love everyone here and I get to do the things which mean the most to me.
Going for weekday mass, playing for mass, being together with people who TRULY care for me.
"This is home. Truly. Where I know I must be" (:

God's really Great.

Monday, July 17, 2006

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness
And I look to You
And I wait on You

I will sing to You, Lord
A hymn of love
For Your faithfulness to me
Im carried in everlasting arms
Youll never let me go
Through it all

The lost luggage will be delivered to my doorstep between 10-1030a.m. tomorrow. They are en route to Singapore.

Today, I told You how much the luggage matter. I would be devastated if I were to be deprived of the pictorial and physical memories. The souvenirs and my photos are the most precious to me; the clothes and toiletries come secondary.

Being the almighty You, you have never left my prayers unanswered.

You kept me under eagles' wings during the past 42 days, shielding and assisting me physically, emotionally, spiritually. You sent guardian angels from above to guide me as I walked on the different pathways; you sent lovely friends to make my immersion programme a memorable one; you put the ever cherished heartlanders in my life to make me feel welcome in Singapore. And how can I ever forget my one and only travelling partner? Thank You for her, cause many things wouldn't have been possible and so fun without her.

You delight me in so many ways. I feel loved by You, my friends and family. I just want to thank You for giving me all these people and for answering my prayers so faithfully. I don't deserve all these good things, but in Your abundant mercy, you still love and provide for me.

Thank You, Jesus.
-My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God-

Sunday, July 16, 2006

I am feeling so full. I cant sleep. It is 930pm in Muenster and I wonder what my family is doing right now. The dad should be talking to the mother in the garden or on the couch. Since it is Saturday, Esther's boyfriend should be staying over as well. Arghh. I am still thinking about that place even though it has been 11 hours since I touched down.

Singapore's great, but its not the utopia land. I love everyone here, but I love my life there better. No offense to anyone.. But its just a preference kinda thing lah. Thankfully I didnt feel like that when I was in Paris. Being home sick really sucks.

Hopefully it'll be a better day tomorrow as Im slowly adjusting myself to the Singapore Momentum of doing stuff.

I want my luggage damn badly.
Although I feel germany sick and am missing the people and the food there, I am really happy to be back in Singapore. I love the warm welcome and the great food. The only bloody thing which happened was beyond imagination..... I. lost. my. luggage. Yes. That includes all the souvenirs for you guys. Apparently, I heard the luggage are still stuck at the Frankfurt airport. But then again, its only a probability. Its not confirmed at this point in time. Sq is so damn bloody screwed up. So much for being renowned as the best.

But there are so many other things which made my day.
- Eating Singaporean food. I had a bowl of Laksa and a bakchormee. One after another.
- After raiding my house's fridge, I had an entire box of durians.
- My nicely decorated room
- The phone in my room. I have been dying for that!!!
- Coming home at 1145 today. Not that I enjoy coming back late, but I was really glad I could do more stuff.
- Knowing that I will be going to the car carnival tomorrow.
- I love how my mummy always switches on the aircon before I reach home to keep this freaking hot room cool.
- The lovely welcome home message
- Smses from friends
- Just being in Singapore makes me really happy.
Meeting people who truly matter to me lifts my spirit!

Perhaps reality hasnt struck me and I am still in my lala land, thinking its germany time. I guess come Monday, I will have to start losing weight. Some said I put on weight haha! And I know I did. But oh well. How could I resist the barchormee and the laksa today? I am deprived of Singaporean food.

I havent really spent much time with my family. Reserved the entire day for them tomorrow. I hope SQ wont spoil my day too much by declaring a "confirmed lost baggage".
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Leaving Muenster has been way too touching for me. I am so glad to have made such nice friends there! I will never forget the happy moments as they slowly seep through the memory spaces and plant themselves right in the heart of the things I hold true.

Muenster and my friends. Muenster and my family. Muenster and the place. Muenster and the food. I love them all.

Friday, July 14, 2006

My last night in Otto Hersing Weg, my last night sleeping on the bed, my last night typing on this keyboard, my last night in Münster. Come tomorrow, I will be rushing to pack all my stuff into that 60litre backpack, climbing stairs upon stairs, changing trains at different stations, finding my way around Frankfurt airport, praying my heart out for a smooth custom check in and enduring a 12 hour plane journey.

Home. Singapore. It seems so strange and far now. I feel so attached to Münster and my life now, I can scarcely remember what it is like to be in Singapore. Maybe I am exaggerating, maybe I am not, but I will definitely miss everyone here.

I felt really sad (apart from the terrible headache) during the grillabend. Elmar (this teacher nicknamed Santa. I usually make fun of him.. and he knows it) came up to each one of us to bid us goodbye.. I felt really touched (yes, yes, I am acting like a true blue girl right now). For three weeks, he has been this 'integral' part of my life.. Bringing us around different parts of germany, explaining the political system and education system, and waiting long hours for us all because we wanted to shop, stuff like that. I'll really miss him and his humour.

Frau Seedorf is one of the kindest souls I have ever met. Really enjoyed the time associating with her and listening to what she has to share with us. Initially, I didnt quite like her. But time changes everything. Her goodbye hug was extremely warm, and once again.. I was damn sad. I didnt really know how to say goodbye.. So I kinda gave a big smile and walked away.

Münster- Its always gonna be a place of memories. The new friends I have made, the company, the knowledge gained, my family and how I have learnt to appreciate them over time, the food, the travelling, the care, the love are so priceless!

On one hand I am looking back to returning to Singapore. Yet, I really cant bear to leave this comfort zone. But I know I have to. People are looking forward to my return in Singapore. Thats my reality and I have to face reality sometime somehow.

At some junctures during the past 42 days, I know I have so often looked forward to this day. All I wanted then was to return to warm old Singapore. But now, when this day is finally arriving in a matter of hours, I feel like I dont want it to come. I wanna stop time.

Sigh. But oh well. On a brighter note, I'll be going home. Singapore, I am going home. And home is where the heart lies.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I'll be going for my last official lesson soon. I've a project presentation tomorrow and after that, it marks PLAYTIME! I am kinda sad that clubbing is off, but well.. Its good on the other hand cause I think I need to sleep early on thursday. I'll need lotsa energy on Friday to carry that shit load of stuff. See. I have loads of things to pack and I have this strange feeling I will have a hard time fitting everything into the bag. Schieße!

Ok. That was a paragraph of incoherent ramblings.

Bier garten- Ok.
Biological farm- Ok.
Yesterday in general- Ok.

I have to be back home early today to do some translation for my project. I have yet to start writing my german diary. Am supposed to write about the day when Argentina lost to Deutschland. How am I supposed to do that? haha! Anyway, its my last 'family' dinner with my host family. I have a grill evening tomorrow night. I think I will kinda miss them. But oh well.

Im coming home soon.
And I am looking forward to that (in one way or another)...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Guten Tag! I just reached home two hours ago from my swim in the canal. Had lagsania for dinner and fries with curry sauce for dinner. One and a half portions of lagsania to be exact.. Not that I really wanted to eat that much but its more of an obligation.

At first, I took a really small slice of lagsania and my family seemed to be shocked (or displeased). something like that. They termed my portion a 'baby portion'. So I felt quite pai seh and took another 'baby portion'.

I helped myself to a bigger portion, and horror of horrors.. They said I eat really little once again!!! I felt really bad.

Initially, when I came to Münster, I spent much more time with them. However, as time passed and as I gradually had more activities in the night (whether they were school oriented or not), I realised I havent been spending much time with them. At one stage, I even treated the house like a hotel.

So feeling really bad, I took helped myself to a really large portion of lagsania for the third time. Wah lao. Do the addition can! Its like I ate one and the half portions or even close to two portions. Now I am really full and I am feeling quite uncomfortable.

Just yesterday in Bonn, you wouldn't be able to imagine the amount of cheese, pizza, lagsania and whats not I had in the cafe. The food there was really good so all of us ate like oh so much. So much cheese to be exact. Same goes for me.. And I am like okay whatever. I am sick and tired of italian food now.

Strangely, even after staying in Germany for so long, I haven't had many proper german meals. I am quite disappointed actually.

Anyhow. Period. I'm done with dinner.
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In four days' time, I will be flying back to Singapore. As I reflect on my stay in Münster (esp with my host family), I guess I am really thankful to be given such a big room with unlimited internet access, tv, and so on. The private bathroom just outside my room is unbelievably spacious. And the best part of all.. Unlike Liz, I dont have to clean up after I bathe. I would have dreaded it to the core if I had to.

Although I dont have the privilege of being chauffeured to the train station or to school and stuff like that, my host family have been really hospitable in their own way. For this, I am really thankful. I dont think I have been a great guest, and I dont think I have been very sociable as well. I mean, I would rather hide in my room to blog and stuff rather than talk to them. Hope they arent too disappointed with me.

Thank god for the world cup. That really helped me to grow much with the family. That's one of the few things that we share in common. Now that the world cup has ended, it gets quite boring and I dont feel like talking and associating much.

I hope they arent too pissed with me. Sighh. From now on, I suppose I will start eating more. Gee. I am putting on so much weight. Its unbelievable. I dont even want to step onto the weighing scale when I am back. Dont ever tell me I look damn fat. Haha!
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Swimming today was undeniably damn fun. The company I had was damn great. Hmm. Wait. I think that's an understatement. I don't really know how to describe it.. But I absolutely loved it. The experience- Priceless! Can you ever imagine how it is like jumping from the bridge into the canal? From the second you jump off till the time your body is fully immersed in the water?... You just feel damn high. Haha!

The three of them really made my day! Haha! More so, I thought it was really nice of the weihan and kevin to jump off the bridge with Liz and I. And getting wedgy? Haha!!!!! Thinking back makes me smile so much. The memories are for keeps man. I will never ever forget how Liz looked before she jumped; I will never forget Kevin's 'counselling' (hes such a nice guy la, really), I will never forget how 'badly' weihan treated me(!!!! haha in a joking way of course). I will never forget today.

Had an ice cream thereafter. Obviously. How can I not have my daily scoops of ice-cream? I had after eight today. The taste is comparable to my big ice cream palour's, but I still prefer eating at the usual big ice cream palour. It's much bigger and it offers more varieties.
Sigh. More food again.
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Beer garden and biological farm tomorrow. I cant wait. Sounds rather interesting!

Monday, July 10, 2006

Back from Köln and Bonn.
The highlights of the trip were visiting the chocolate museum, beethoven's house and eating tropical spaghetti ice. Honestly, I still dont quite get why people think spaghetti ice is all that nice. Its just ice cream. It just looks like spaghetti, that's all. Oh well.

In Köln, I 'retried' the Raffaelo flavoured ice cream, and thankfully, it tasted lovely. I think its some sort of a white chocolate coconut thing?? But whatever it is, it was really yummy so there.. you could just imagine me finishing the cone to the very last bit.
(I ate another 4 scoops of ice cream over the weekend. Photos dont lie. I put on more weight)

I am left with $40 to buy souvenirs now. Boo hoo, I am a poor man - all thanks to the things I bought over the weekend. In the most Singaporean terms, 'No regrets la. They are damn nice can. Its like I love everything I bought!'

Rebecca, Val and (Joce): You guys are invited to my house for a wonderful spread. I bought some exotic stuff from the different parts of the world and I've decided to 'whip up a storm' for you guys when I'm back. Hahahaa!!! Please be sure to turn up alright? I am sure it'll be nice. Dont worry! Unless you guys turn up for my speciality sampling, you will not receive your souvenirs. Ah hem haha!! It'll be sometime next week cause I dont think the food can be kept for too long. So please arranage a day and make yourself free k. Rebecca, its your job. Let me know SOON hahaha! And oh yes, I bought lotsa stuff for you! Okay. Maýbe not so much.. But. Ya. Some. Few.

I am going to 'whip up a storm' for three batches of people. I hope they'll like my wonderful creation. But more importantly, I hope my luggage is not as 'overweight' as I am. Absolutely ridiculous. My bag is DEFINITELY over 20kg. Ive gotta check in with Liz. Hopefully all goes well and hopefully they wont catch me for stuff. (oops, censored. its a public blog after all.)

Anyway, Ill be going for a swim in the canal today after my project. I think its gonna be all dirty, but well, what the heck. Brand new experience once again.

Okay, I know I am sidetracking.. But I really love all the clothes I bought. They are so lovely and I cant wait to wear them. For now, I gotta bathe and prepare for school. Take care guys!

Saturday, July 8, 2006

In seven days' time, I will be en route to the Frankfurt airport. Time really flies. I kinda dont want to go home.

Home= being locked up in jail (thats a big no no for me!!!!)
Home= time to lose weight and not binge on good food. (what a mood spoiler)
Home= I'll have to work and earn money (work again!)
Home= no interesting places to explore, no interesting food to eat
Home= reality
Home= 3 weeks to school
Home= curfew! curfew! curfew! do you know how much i detest and hate it!!!!
Home= taking away my house keys

But, oh well I guess home could also mean
- seeing everyone that matters to me. which is damn important!
- going for choir and attending an english mass
- eating singaporean food (actually i am over the i need singaporean food phase already)
- a step closer to materialising my car plan. if it actually materialises. sigh.
yea thats about it.

I am not exactly excited, neither am I detesting the fact that I have to leave Europe. I am just, well you could say, indifferent.

I will be travelling to Köln and Bonn tomorrow. Will be staying there over the weekend. I hope there'll be lotsa interesting places to explore. We'll be visiting the chocolate museum. Am really looking forward to that, really! haha! I cant wait for it.

Did lotsa shopping today. Spent lotsa money. I have about $140 left for 7 days. That sounds quite pathetic. Shit. I think I overspent already. Haha.
Still have lotsa sausages and chocolates to get before leaving here. haha!

Had turkish döner burger for lunch. Hell damn oily. Imagine the fats and oil that sink into my body. But I thought it would have been a pity if I didnt try the turkish thing since the turks form a small minority of the population in this country. Afterwhich, I had half a portion of currywurst again.

No nordsee today. But will be having it on Monday, I guess.

Hope I dont eat too much over the weekends.
Damn fat. shit. I am damn sure my watch feels tighter today. After 4 ice cream. I am damn sure my face grew rounder. I am damn sure I am fat. I am damn sure that I am sad.

Friday, July 7, 2006

4 scoops of ice cream in a day, more than 8 scoops of ice cream within a week. I dont know if I am addicted to the different flavours of ice cream or something!
Let me try to list all the flavours of ice cream that Ive tasted in Münster:
- Malaga
- Rocher
- Raffaelo (i dont even know what it is. dont think it was that great)
- Snickers
- Soya Chocolate
- Cinammon
- Pistachios
- Nutella
- Mandeln (its a kind of nut)
and more. But I am too tired to recall now.

Had more meals at the Nordsee again haha! I ate fish and wild rice, and will be eating more fish tomorrow. Its about 7-8 more days before I leave Europe and bid all the ice cream, delicious yummy bread and curry wurst farewell. ):
I am trying to make the best out of it as far as possible and my stomach's also trying its best not to balloon, but to no avail.

I have never had a stomach as round as this for at least two years. Arghhh!
I had so much fattening food today, and intend to have more tomorrow. Hahaha! But I think I will put ice cream to a halt till tuesday, I hope.
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I toured Rughrgebiet today. Rughrgebiet is a place where coal mining, steel and i dont know what are really popular. You learn about how coal is being made and stuff like that. I didnt really pay attention to the guided tour cause I was really bored by it. The only interesting thing that I did today was to climb steep slopes after steep slopes to reach the Teträder. But I thought the experience was really memorable and priceless! :) tell you more about it sometime soon.
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Over the last two days, deutschland lost to italy. damn it. I dont want to elaborate on it. The football fever has subsided here. But am still gonna get a jersey sometime this week. After the match, something really 'scary' really happened. My midnight bus did not arrive at the bus stop. I was scared out of my wits! I was alone and I didnt really know what to do. But thank god, thank god, everything was well and I managed to reach home safely. All I can say is that God really answers prayers in critical moments and the good Lord will always provide.
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Had a sleepover last night. Was really tired today but it was worth it. I wouldnt trade it for sleep. The company was fabulous! haha! Im too tired to blog about it. But I probably will do it soon.
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I need to sleep. good night.

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

I had spaghetti with bacon for dinner. Something ordinary I guess, but it was quite tasty. Am superbly happy with that, and was really full after dinner. Ich bin satt. Haha! Horror of horrors.. The daughter decided to drive glory and I out for an ice cream. We went to this ice cream place which was not bad and I had two cones of ice cream! Tried Malaga and rocher. Btw, malaga is a place in Spain. Haha. So I guess its a spanish thing?? The rocher was really good, but I thought the malaga was somewhat dissapointing. Liz's tasted better on Saturday.

When I reached home, the father introduced me to more 'I must try' flavours. Argh!!! Should have consulted him before leaving the house. Damn it. I think I will be going back some time next week before I leave. Will be putting on more weight. Damn it la. My hands are growing fatter. Was putting on my watch this morning. For once, it felt tight. I was shocked. Sigh.

Will be boat peddling tomorrow and then I will be having a picnic with cakes. Fattening food again! I wonder how much weight have I actually put on. Argh. Then,
Everyone will be watching the football match together at the Mensa. Deutschland against Italien. I hope Deutschland wins! You guys must support germany okay? Since Brazil is out already.. Haha! Would really love to watch the match with my family but well, I guess its good to experience something different for once.

Anyway, today was an okay okay day for me. Came straight home after lunch to choose the nus modules. What an utter waste of the day! Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow. Somehow, I feel really delighted after having the Rocher ice cream. It only cost me 60 cents. And it was yummilious. Haha!

Lessons start really early tomorrow. Like at nine. Stupid. I hate it.
Btw. I ate at Nordsee again. ):

Monday, July 3, 2006

So Brazil is out. Quarterfinals? I am s.p.e.e.c.h.l.e.s.s. It is my second favourite team after Germany. But oh well. Go Deutschland!!! Jetzt geht's los! Really hope they win the world cup!!

I felt the football fever when Germany won Argentina last friday. (I thought it was just Argentina's luck when something happened to the goalkeeper. They werent playing *that* badly.) After the match, I dressed up as some German fan and went out to the city to party with my host family's children. I guess I dont really want to talk about it right now. Will let the pictures speak for themselves when I get back. The experience was awesome and priceless! Never, never in my life will I get to relive this. I loveddd it!

Next.

This is a very important announcement for MYSELF.
As of tomorrow, I will abandon my eat-freely plan! I will eat selectively!
This cannot go on. I realised ever since I started on the plan, I have been binging and eating excessively in huge portions. My face grew even fatter and I dont really know what to do about it. I can only lament and complain. I am starting to get irritated with my routine. Well.
As you know, I am not the kind who wakes up at 5am to go for a morning jog and do sit ups before sleeping. So there. I am starting to be quite concerned about my weight again.

Big sigh to that.

On the hindsight, I just had a damn damn nice German meal, thanks to the mum. 2 slices of Schweinebraten mit sauce (Its some pork thingee. 1 portion = 1 slice), 1 1/2 Knödeln (I call it the western version of tang yuen. Its potato like gluey thing. Oriental westernisation!) and many many servings of Redkohl (red cabbage in salt, pepper and lotsa lotsa sugar). Over dinner, I learnt that they eat Redkohl during summer and Sauerkraut (white cabbage) during winter. Ach so! Haha! I took some photos of it for eternal memory. But I doubt I managed to capture the tastiness of the food with my poor photography skills. But haha. Nevertheless, the tastiness will linger in my memory for as long as I live.

I love it when my family cooks.

Yesterday, I went to eat fish at Nordsee in Bremen again. I think I had at least 3 meals at Nordsee already can. Visit www.nordsee.de for more information. Yes I am mad. Have been spending a bomb on the different kinds of fish and bread. I have never eaten so many kinds of bread in such a short span of time. Its absolutely crazy, but Im loving it.

I'll have to eat at least two more meals there before I leave this place in less than 14 days' time. Also, I'll have to visit the chocolate place (again) and patronise the big ice cream stall to try the different flavours soon. They have more than a 100 different kinds of flavours of ice cream, so I am really excited to visit it for the first time.

I intend to buy lotsa chocolates back to store them in my fridge. it is a MUST. The rocher is so different here!!! Its not even anything like Singapore's. The chocolate is so fine, and the inner filling is well.. I dont really know how to describe it. It would not do it justice if I were to describe it as 'damn nice la!'

Anyway, I decided to control my diet come tomorrow. I hope everything will be okay and I will start losing weight. It looks like its really difficult cause the family cooks such nice food, coupled with the fact that I keep wanting to try new stuff. Moreover, there is lotsa yoghurt in the fridge and I heard its damn nice as well. I need to try it la. I am in some dire straits now.
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(Eins und zwei und drei und)
Vierundfünfzig, vierundsiebzig, neunzig, zweitausendsechs,
ja so stimmen wir alle ein,
mit dem Herz in der Hand und
der Leidenschaft im Beinwerden
wir Weltmeister sein.

it translates to:
1 and 2 and 3 and
54, 74, 90 and 2006
(erm i dont know how translate the second phrase)
with hearts in the hand and
passion in the legs,
we will be the World cup Champion.

This song is really popular and damn nice.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Unglaublich (which translates to 'unbelievable')! Yesterday, I said I will leave some room for weight increment because I believe, with great conviction, that it is worth trying the different kinds of Deutsches food. It will be a pity if I were to return to Singapore without much knowledge on how typical German food tastes like. So da.

Since I am less preoccupied with putting on more weight now, I feasted, binged and gobbled down lotsa food that Ive always wanted to try in Münster since day 1. It is coming as a shock to me now that I am recapitulating it.

Food intake on 29/6/06:

Breakfast: 1 Banana (I feel constipated here!) and 1 cup of coffee. (saving 'space' in the stomach for more yummilious food consumption later during the course of the day)
Lunch: Shelled and unshelled rice, salmon (I took half from this really huge portion), some kind of fish, bagette and curry sausage.
Dinner: 3 pieces of Herring in olive oil, fish and chips (lotsa, lotsa chips), 1 bottle of coca cola lemonde, 1 medium sized portion of pizza.

Mind you, thats hell of a lot lah. I am so gonna put on weight lah. But whatever lah.

I dont know what came over me to indulge in so much good food. The salmon was oh so good that I thought I was in heaven. Secondly, Ive been wanting to eat chips since I was in Italy. Everyone in Europe eats chips and ice cream like nobody's business. Its such a lovely sight to see old men and ladies holding a cone of ice cream and enjoying the sweetness and the coldness of it. It just brings to mind how seemingly carefree and happy these old people are. Im starting to think that an ice cream holds the connotation of freedom. It is a joy to watch them eat. It is so wonderful how an ice cream can be so closely associated with young children and their brightly litted smiles.

Okay. I was disgressing. So I allowed myself a packet of fish and chips. I wouldnt have bought the cola in normal Singaporean circumstances. But it was Cola Limonade here. Different. Also, I was really thirsty and yea.. I decided to heck about weight for that moment.

I ate, and ate, and ate. Binged, and binged and binged. I know I am gonna suffer for this. I think I am truly at the mercy of good food! Its ridiculous I tell you. I promise myself to eat lesser tomorrow. But oh schade! The family is cooking Klopse for me. Schade! I cant diet tomorrow. Ah but oh well. Its okay. I will just eat whatever I wanna eat.

My stomachs really fat now. Some people say its not okay to put on weight. Some say its okay. Hmm. Is it really ok? Or not? Perhaps my justification to the allowance in weight increment is only for self-consolation. (after being in such a pitiful state)

But. The important thing is- I felt really happy today. It has been a long time (with the exception of the picnic under the eiffel tower) since I ate so freely. Trust me, it IS a great feeling when you eat whatever you want to eat. Haha!

Enough about food.
We had a new teacher today. He is A GAZILLION times better than that stupid first teacher. At least I get to learn interesting stuff about the language today lah. I had a fun time in class. He'll be taking us tomorrow as well. Haha! So I guess I wont be dreading school tomorrow morning. Sehr gut! I love lessons which are productive! In all honesty, I understood only about half of the things he said. The class was equally clueless as well. His entire lesson was in German. Haha! But it was a great pleasure listening to him speak and ask questions. I always give a really blank look and expect the teachers or my host family to explain to me in English. Haha!

As the days go by, I am starting to speak more German. This evening, I was communicating with the fish stall lady in German cause she couldnt understand English. We had lotsa problems understanding each other (Naturally!).
But oh well. I really love speaking German to the Germans. Imagine their puzzled look when I speak to them! Haha! But I am slowly but surely learning how to speak more fluently (I think).

People only understand me when I ask for directions in German. I am often lost.. (yes, even after walking in the city for days!) So I ask the people there for directions all the time. That is the ONLY time when there is NO communication breakdown between both parties.

Anyway, I wanna turn in soon. I wonder why there are so many mosquitoes in my room. Argh. I need to spray the insect thing now. So goodnight people of Singapore! Thats all for my day and my mad weight increment after tonight.
I will be home in 15 days' time. Really sad about that though. Im starting to love my lessons, my temporary family and this place. And of course, the food.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Münster:

Im slowly but surely yielding to temptation after 4 long weeks of struggle. I dont know if I have resigned to fate, or perhaps I have utterly NO self discipline. I cringe at the thought of how fat I will be in 3 weeks' time (or 17 days to be exact) after eating and stuff like that. Despite such possible notions, I still welcome German food (and all other possible types of food) with wide open arms.

So much happened today.
First, I told my family that I wont be back for mein Abendessen (dinner) cause I intended to go shopping. Instead, I went to the strawberry farm to pick strawberries! They were yummilious! It was a brand new experience for me. I was plucking the berries and eating them simultaneously! I know many have already done such stuff before.. But I havent.. So I was really quite fascinated. Being gay, glee and happy is an understatement to describe how Im feeling now! Yea. You get my drift.

After that, I walked around the city with Liz and decided to take the late night bus home. (Their night rider starts around 8pm)! I expected the night rider to go by the same route (20 min) but in the end, it took another turn instead of the regular one. I took an hour to reach home! I felt quite bad cause I told my family I will be home by 9 odd. I only reached home close to 11!

That aside, I was actually quite scared when the bus took a different route (it passed through cemetries and campsites). So I rushed to the driver and asked him if it actually goes to my place (in English). But that old retard replied me in German! Absurdism! I didnt even understand a shit. So I tried, at full intellectual capacity, to speak to him in Deutsch. Mein Gott! It sounded totally horrendous and hilarious! But good.. And to my surprise.. He actually understood. He gave this really long, long, complicated reply.. And I caught only the 'ja' word (which means yes in german). I got quite irritated actually.

In order to clarify, I asked him again... 'Dieser Bus goes to Otto Hersing Weg. Ja oder Nein'. (this bus goes to Otto Hersing Weg. yes or no?) And he gave the same long reply. What the hell. I walked away and asked the passengers instead. Anyway, the bus did go to Otto Hersing Weg in the end. Thank God, thank God! Ive never felt so alone and lost in a foreign country before. But thank God everything went well and I am back home safely.

When I came back, I had every intention of going down to change, blog and sleep. I think I really need lotsa energy for school. The lessons are hell boring. It takes more energy to pay attention during lessons than think (I sometimes feel). Anyway, I thought since I didnt get much shopping done today, I will probably do it tomorrow. So, I went up, after changing, to tell the family that I will be back late and will not be having dinner tomorrow as well.

At the same time, I asked them for the recipe to cook Deutsches curry with Wurst (so that I will be able to cook for my fellow Singaporeans when I am back). The topic of food really interest them. The father, the mother and I ended up in this whole long discussion about typical german food.

Incidentally, I was learning about German food today in school. I absorbed almost nothing in the 4 hours. Yet, during the half hour talk with the family, I thought I learnt so much, so much more than what was being taught in school.

Okay. Back to the conversation. They started to introduce me to the different kinds of german food. They were saying that its really hard to cook german stuff for me cause I am seldom home for dinner and that I eat really little (haha, what rubbish. I am being weight conscious. that doesnt mean i cant eat). So I told them I will definitely be back when they decide to cook to a Deutsches meal. Yum.. And being the hospitable them, they said they will cook Klopse for me on Friday during the German match against Argentina and some Schnit (er..) on Sunday! Marvellious! I am damn happy about that! Oh btw, the Schnit thing is full of fats. Youre basically eating pork with fats.

Anyhow, after much thinking and pondering, I decided to extend my weight allowance to 5kg. I am allowing myself to put on 5 kg before returning to Singapore. My rational being... If I dont eat free german food here, then when will my next chance of eating pure german food be? No one in Singapore will be able to cook german food for me. And the thing is- I really love german sausages and stuff like that! So yea. I had better make use of these last 17 days.

Not *too* long ago, I felt really bread-sick. So, I went to eat a piece of white bread and half a piece of my favourite Deutsches bread . Then, I went to the wine cellar and ate my kit kat Peanut butter Chunky. I finished the entire bar! I am feeling really full and guilty, and above all... feeling FAT now!

Peanut Butter Kit Kat was given to me (free of charge) in London. It is newly introduced in Europe and I suppose they were distributing it to the masses to create some sorta awareness. I loved it! Brilliant. Singaporeans, please try. Its damn nice.

I decided to heck about my weight as long as I am here. I dont think I can be truly happy if I were to be so concerned about my weight all the time. I guess as long as I LOSE them when Im back in Singapore, I will be okay with it. But one things for sure, 5kg is definitely not easy to lose. Oh well. The joys of eating come with a heavy price.

Thought about the 5kg thing before eating my Kit Kat today. After much consideration, I decided that I am willing to pay the price. You know, I dont get to travel to Germany all the time and live with a host family (and get free food) yah? Since I am here, I think I will just make full use of the opportunity.

Will be going to eat more fish tomorrow = more oil = more fat = more money = more weight. Haha! But well, I am going anyway. A lover of the Deutsches bread, I think I will really miss it if I dont try it. Lunch today was sehr gut! Two kinds of bread stuffed with mayo, onions, new and old Herring. There was so much cream that I will put on 1 kg cause of it.

My project for this immersion is about the Beer and the Bread in Germany! How cool is that?! I hope to be more familiar with the different kinds of beer and bread asap. It would be a pity if I dont learn their names! Realistically speaking, I dont think I will be able to master most of their names, but oh well. I just wanna learn a small minority of them. I dont even know any names right now.
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Singapore:

Me: I wont be coming back for dinner tomorrow cause I will be back late.
My Host Family-Mum: You will be back late?
Me: Er ya. Cause I wanna get some shopping done.
Mum: Do you want the house keys?
Me: Oh no. Its okay. I will be back around 9 odd... When the shops are closed.
Mum: Okay, sure!

Given the Singaporean context..........

Me: I wont be coming back for dinner tomorrow cause I will be back late.
My real mum: What time? Where are you going? Who are you going with?
Me: Friends la. I dont know what time. Probably before 11 la. Anyway I also cant come back after 11 right.
Mum: You better come back before 11. Everyone is tired and the maid needs to sleep. We cant be waiting for you. We have to work the next day.
Me: Ya. (walks away with absolutely nothing to say)

Haha, but still, I love my real Singaporean family!
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This is a damn long post, eh? (:

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Münster:

Full and bloated, I made my way to the dinner table (willingly, as always) to two helpings of warm italian spaghetti. For once, I blocked out how much weight I will put on, and how much I have already eaten during the day. My stomachs really so much rounder now (as compared to the one I had 4 weeks ago), and I am so dead sure Ive already put on lotsa weight. I helped myself to another serving after the first because I really wanted some warm food on this cold, chilly day. Hmm. I must have put on another few hundred gramms cause of that.

The worst part is- I am actually quite tired even though I didnt do much during the day. Let me sidetrack. I walked around the stupid city this afternoon just to find answers to some historical questions. I wasnt even half interested in it! Yawn. There isnt any reason to explain my disinterest. I suppose I want and am expecting something more up and going, instead of walking around aimlessly looking for some spastic answers. Okay.
Anyway, I said I am tired. I wanna sleep. But I just finished eating. I will put on even more weight if I jump into bed right now, I tell ya. Sigghh! I think I will sleep in half an hour. Dont think Im giving my stomach sufficient time to disgest all the food, but ahh whatever goes... My eyes are closing.

I chose to return home early to watch the football match over Kaffee trinken (coffee drinking) with my friends today. I love my host family.. The parents are absolutely great, and the warmness that the family exudes is priceless. Moreover, I love watching football with people who take sides, people who are informative and stuff like that! (: I always look forward to going home after a long, mindless day at school. Today, I came home as early as 530 to join the football enthusiasts in watching the match.

Haha, I dont suppose I will ever do something like that in Singapore. Socialising over going home anytime haha!... Thats odd.

I dont fancy german lessons here! They are oh so boring. Oh gosh. Tomorrow, we'll have to decide on our project topic and stuff. I am quite thankful that at least I get to CHOOSE my partners. Glad to be with Liz (haha!) and this other guy.
Its gonna be another long day at school AGAIN. + 2 hours of German film about Bern thereafter. Eewl.

Things that keep me alive in this insane world of Deutsch lessons:
- Blogging at night to lament about dinner, lunch and how FAT I already am
- Being able to return home after each damn stupid day
- Bread with Herring tomorrow for lunch in the city
- Shopping with Liz, and if possible.. I hope more people come along!
- Socialising??????
- German food!
- Mass this sunday with a few friends!

Singapore:

I booked my ticket to Frankfurt on 14.6.06. Will be leaving Münster on Friday at 6 odd in the morning cause the train's leaving at 725. I took the cheapest alternative. So... My ride is 6 hours long and I have to transit about 4 times?!! Ahh heck lah. I would rather save the money so I can buy more stuff in the city! So far, my budgeting is going really well and I am "financially stable".

Glad to learn that things in Singapore are going well for the people there. Miss attending english masses though! I wonder if I will make it in time for choir on Saturday, but I highly doubt it. Haha! Yea. But by and large, oh well, hmm I miss the Singaporean flavourrrr.

I wonder what I will be having for dinner on Saturday. Maybe I will fast and have a scrumptious meal on Sunday. Yummy! Haha! I cant believe this is true.. But I have been dreaming so much about Singaporean food for at least 5 days in a row! Unglaublich!

It will be tuition, and more tuition when I return to Singapore. Poor students of mine! Anddd... Start on my car buying plans. Yahoo!
Then.. It'll be back to school. (Ah but thats a long time more, you see!)

Love all my Singaporean friends and family! Take care! Gute Nacht!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

As you can probably expect, I always begin my post with some lamentations about the yummilious fattening food that Ive eaten during the course of the day. I just finished dinner with my family, and have obviously committed the sin of gluttony once again. I tried white aspagrus that the father got from the farm that day. Yummilious Bubbilious! Sehr gut. Its really fresh and juicy. I thought I would really hate those green things, aber nein... The white stems arent that bad at all! Gut!

Gobbled down one potato, three different kinds of ham (never had so many different kinds of schniken in my entire life!), half a piece of toasted bread, scrambled eggs (and more leftover scrambled eggs), and sigh a bigggg biggg bowl of soup.. Which is of course, not bad. Not too thick nor thin. Just to my liking. But Im sure it was really fattening. Ja! Given the Singapore context, it would have been a DEFINITE no-no for me. After dinner, I couldnt resist an orange, and I am feeling so full right now. It is as if I have eaten three days' worth of food.

Had lunch at the Mensa today. It sucked terribly! But nonetheless, all the fattening stuff (inclu half a portion of the cinnamon rice pudding) slid down my gullets, throat, intestines and whatever. I didnt really want to waste the money. So oh well, decided to eat those fattening food.

I have never had so many potatoes in my entire life as well! I must be a ton heavier now. The most dreaded part is.. I think I will have to eat breakfast tomorrow cause the family will be down early and stuff (and school starts early). So its not quite nice to exclude myself... If you get what I mean. More food now. More fats on the way.

The day was somewhat okay for me.
The teacher thought I was 'astonished' to learn that we'll be having 4 hours of lessons tomorrow. She even questioned me on that! Thats basically absurd! I wasnt even 'astonished' to begin with! What the hell! Anyway, her german is too complicated for me and I dont understand what she is trying to say half the time. So I kinda ignore her and just look even more astonished. Wth.

German lessons are similar to those in Singapore. Theres nothing really extraordinary today. We had to (as usual) introduce ourselves and our friends and say what we've done over the weekends. Okay. Crappy and boring. Its something that I will never choose to attend. The reason why I am here for the immersion, I guess, is because I really want to delve deeper into the German culture and get to live with a german family for some time. I guess Ive already gotten my wish, and that is why I am complaining about the price of what I have to pay in order to experience this - The lessons!

I cant believe lessons will be 4 hours tomorrow. How am I to survive that? I have 18 more days to go. Isnt that a really long time? Tomorrow, I heard Ive to walk down the streets to ask the residents questions about Münster in german.. get their reply and write it down. Alright. Sure. On wednesday, its even more ridiculous. Theres gonna be a film. What a stupid thing.

And of course, more GERMAN projects. More writeups in GERMAN. I have nothing against this. In fact, I really love the language. Its just that I think I am bored exploring and stuff. And the lessons are not hyped and engaging enough for me. No frau Verry. No entertainment.

Ive never expected this, but strangely, I am looking forward to the games and sports (and a grill thereafter) on thursday. I dont know if I am looking forward to the grill or the sports. But whatever goes.
And of course, I love Friday.. Cause the afternoon is free (for shopping) and Deutschland will be playing in the evening. So, I will definitely be home to drink beer and watch the match again.

Saturday sucks cause we'll have to explore Bremen. I dont wanna do more exploring. I am sick and tired of visiting the cathedrals after cathedrals, museums after museums. These cathedrals here cannot be compared to the magnificent ones in Italy and France anyway. So well. I hope the day will be done and over pretty soon.

Sundays free for me. Hope somethings nice is in store for me. Keeping my fingers crossed there.

Sigh. So fat. So fat. How? Sigh. I wanna go back to Singapore now. How? Sigh. I dont wanna visit more museums. How? When will the 18 days be over? In 18 days? Really? Or will it be in 81 days?

Monday, June 26, 2006

So, I was greeted with a splendid breakfast (half english, half german) this morning. Scrambled eggs, Deutsches bread (bread thats really common in Germany, but not in the other parts of Europe), Salami, Orange Juice, Coffee, Baked Beans, and strawberry milk fresh from the Strawberry/Aspagarus Farm. It was really cool cause the father brought Glory and I to the farm, bought eggs, veg and strawberries and made strawberry milk juice for us right after we're back. There, they allowed us to try the strawberries. My oh my, its hell different from the ones in Singapore. Its so soft, so sweet... You'll never believe theyre strawberries. Im really in love with the red things now.

Didnt really do anything really significant in the afternoon and in the evening, except to meet up with the rest to discuss nonsense. Haha. If you even call that a discussion. Glad to meet Liz and know that shes doing well! I certainly wish Im living with her instead. But I guess there are no complaints about living with Glory as well. Its just a preference thing. Liz looks like she is having a great time with her host family and having a luxurious home to herself! And! Shes so lucky cause her family is almost fat free and weight conscious or something akin to this. So that means she wouldnt be putting on too much weight as of now. Haha! As for me. Hmm. We shall see.

I will be starting school tomorrow. Mondays are always great days cause we only have lessons for two hours!! But on the other weekdays. Man! 4 hours of Deutsch Unterricht! Unglaublich! I think I will fall asleep! Argghh! I hate school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Haha! Right. Its 19 days more before I step foot on Singapore ground. I cant wait.

Actually, I think I wanna go home already. I am starting to miss some people back in Singapore, and I am craving for some of the food quite badly. Moreover, I feel as though the immersion is not 'up and going' for me. I want to be on the move, just like how it was during the last three weeks. I want to visit places. Strangely enough, I want to navigate my way around in more countries (and get lost). Sigh. I miss the joy of travelling. I dont want to study.

Anyway, I have access to the internet as of now. I have a personal computer in my room! So glad about that! Will be using the net till late on Sundays cause I start school late on Mondays. I guess I will be blogging quite frequently, so I'll be able to keep a record of what I have been doing here.

I know this sounds crazy, but I actually keep a record of my diet since umm last night. Haha! I want to remember all the special Deutsch stuff that I ate and what the sure reasons for the exponential increase in my weight are. So yea, it makes things easier when I start on my European Scrapebook.

Rebecca and guys, you wanna come over to my place to take a look at my scrapbook when Im back? Haha!! Youre most certainly welcome ANYTIME! Hopefully, I will be able to cook some german sausages with non spicy german curry for you. I will be asking the father for the recipe just before I leave this place.

Singapore Singapore. Youre only 19 days away.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Im finally at the german home after months and months of preparation and anticipation. Everythings well and good so far. They gave Glory and I a room EACH. Wunderbar (which translates to wonderful, naturally)! Im so glad cause I have this really spacious room, overviewing a miniature garden. Theres a half full length fenster (window), a computer and a television. I feel like Im living in luxury at the moment. Glory and I have the basement (more or less) to ourselves... with a bathroom and a sauna. But um. The host didnt exactly say we could use the suana. So oh well.

The only downside is... Im not able to access my email and log into msn, and access many other important websites. What a dread. Access to all important websites is denied, except to blogger. haha! I think Im behind some firewall or something. I cant even access the nus mail or IVLE for that matter. Bummers. But well, as long as I can surf the net and blog, I dont think I will complain for now.

My afternoon was splendid. See, Im living with some Deutschland fußball fanatics. Today, Germany was playing against Sweeden. Few family friends came over to watch the match. I thought it was really hilarious when everyone had to (literally) stand to attention during the German National Anthem before the commencement of the match. Everyone was singing really loudly and stuff like that. Haha. It is hell of an experience man. Germany scored 2 goals. Each time they scored a goal, the father of the family would play some song on the hi-fi (I think its the anthem) in the background and everyone would cheer. I was quite amazed at how everything went seriously. I will never get to see something like that in Singapore man! It feels so alive here!

Ich habe ein bier getrunken und habe die Füßballspiele gesehen. (I was drinking beer and watching the match). And of course breathing in the smoke from the cigarettes. Yes. Fully immersing myself in the German spirit and culture. To be honest, I am not a beer fanatic. But oh man, the beer in Germany is AWESOME! I love it to bits and I thought one glass wasnt sufficient. But of course, I didnt really want to ask for more and stuff like that.

Dinner was absolutely great as well. Had deutsches curry und wurst and some chicken thing und wurstsalat und bread. Yummilious. I told you I will put on more weight. Oh well. Whatever. The family even said they'll cook some thai and italian cuisine during the course of my stay. Man. I cant wait for it. I havent eaten Thai food in a long long time! Cant wait, cant wait!

I'll be starting school on Monday. Oh bummers and dreads. I have to learn how to speak more Deutsch again. Bummers and dreads. I wish I dont have to study. It should be playday all the time!
I will be back in less than 3 weeks' time. 20 days more to be exact. Im neither looking forward nor dreading it. Im looking forward to more playtime and eating time though.

I wonder how Liz is coping at the other hand. Her family looks like an old one. I wonder what she is having for dinner now, and how her unpacking is coming along. She must be as glad as me to be able to iron ALL the crumpled clothes. Haha! Cant wait to hear from her tomrrow.

Glad to be living with Glory. Shes nice. No complains about that as well. Seems like alls good and fine for me. Hopefully, I will be able to log on to msn real soon. I wanna talk to people. I feel so out of touch with Singapore!

Im gonna sleep early. For all those out there who read my blog, please leave tags. Or maybe, sms me. I will reply when I can. I wanna contact Singapore. I am still a Singaporean at heart. Meanwhile, you take care! I need to sleep now. Its freezing cold here. Im living in an icebox btw.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

I will be checking out of this lovely hotel tomorrow morning, or rather.. later this morning. Aw. Im so sad 'cause that marks the end of this absolutely clean, neat, luxurious living. I will be living with another friend and my host family tomorrow. Its both good and bad, if you think about it. Haha! At least I wont be all alone.. having to cook the farewell dinner in the kitchen MYSELF. I'll probably make a mess out of it as well. Its always better to have two heads at this kinda kitchen cooking thing than one.

Also, I realised that this will be my last night living with Liz. Both yays and sighs to that. Hopefully the in charge will allow us to swop partners. But oh well. Maybe its good to have a change once in a while.
I think I will certainly miss lotsa stuff.. things we complain about (like how dirty and yucky the cabins can get), some not too late night bitchings about certain individuals *censored*, lots and lots more. Oh well. It will something that I will always look back on and maybe... smile? but one things for sure. There's really nothing MUCH that I can complain about (in terms of sleeping in the same cabin, sleeping habits, etc) over the last weeks. So two smiles for that!

Just not too long ago, we were looking at the thousands of photos we've taken thus far (and I mean it in the most literal sense). Man. I saw the exponential increase in my weight since Paris. She even testified to that. I was so damn bloody freaked out! Argh. I dont really know what I will do about it. I don't foresee myself losing weight anytime soon. I am on a holiday, and have been enjoying excessively. I dont practice self control over here! Argh. Maybe I should. Argh. I am in a dilemma. But what the hell. I dont get to come for immersion as and when I wish right? I dont get to taste athentic german-germany Kaiserboten and Wurstsalat all the time ya?

Nevermind.

On the plus side. I have never been so happy. The joys of eating FREELY is indescribable. And man, it is some form of a liberation. Its like I cant be bothered about the fat contents, the energy value andthe calories input, yada yada. In short.. nothing. absolutely nothing.
Today, I went bread sampling around Münster with Liz. 'Coping' free bread from the various supermarkets and different bread stalls. Okay, so whats new. Its typically me and its like oh so Singaporean. Haha! I suppose if that whoever learns about it, I will definitely be condemned for such a behaviour. but oh well. I really wanted to taste the different kinds. Yes, who can ever resist the splendid variety?

I bought salmon spread (a damn fattening one), some kaiser bread and some salted vegetables. They taste MARVELLOUS. Took a bite of Kit Kat peanut butter Chunky and gobbled two big Green Granny Smith Apples. They are my favourite!! I havent ate so many apples since Singapore. Now, my stomachs bloated and I can feel myself ballooning again. What the hell.

Okay. I shall stop talking about my weight.
But wah lao. I feel like some clothes of mine are even tighter after today. I have never experienced something like that in Singapore. It can get quite scary! See to believe. Meet me when Im back.
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So. I am pretty excited for my immersion. I wonder what the host family will be doing for us tomorrow night. I wonder whether they will 'whip up a storm' hahah! I had better not get my hopes up too high. Lol. But oh man. I forgot I cant afford any exponential increase in weight. Anyone care to help me out here? But I am really getting too fat. What should I do?

I miss a certain part of Singapore. I miss the food. I miss my family, I miss some people back there. I wish I can fly back and give them a big nice warm hug and hello. I miss my bed and the days that I DONT have to wash my clothes. I miss attending mass. So far, Ive attended a French, Italian and an English mass in a short span of three weeks. Out of which, I dont understand two. I wont be able to attend weekend masses till I reach home cause I will be out of Münster every weekend to explore the various parts of Germany.

*Waves frantically*! Is anyone missing me back home? Wanna see how fat I am now? HahahA! Okay. I am just being corny. Haha. I am in some momentary I-miss-everyone-mode. But oh well. The immersion excites me further. So well. Haha! Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, Tomorrow, youre only a day away.

Friday, June 23, 2006

After all the hussle and bussle, my 14day European Wonder has finally concluded with a trip across the English Channel to Dover. I spent two days in London, and am now in Muenster, awaiting the start of the immersion programme. Cant believe I have been away for 18 days. Man. It feels like 5 days. Time really flies when youre travelling. The best part is- I am REALLY enjoying myself with NO curfew, no restrictions and stuff like that. It is really ironic cause now without a curfew, I am actually back earlier than 11pm. Yes. On My Own Accord. (: Its really too cold out there and no shops are open. Would love to drink but my friend over here is allergic to alcohol (of all things?!) and I dont have excess cash to splurge on drinks.

One thing though. Accomodation over the last 18 days really sucked like shit. There was once when I had to pay 1 Euro (2 Sing dollars) for a 5 minute hot water flow in Munich! Thats absolutely ridiculous. The system crashed on me. Its a lousy system, really. I was stuck in the COLD shower for like god knows how long. I thought I almost died. But well. Thank God thank God for Liz.. I survived.

Loved the great food over the past weeks. Man. Some sucked. Thanks to Craig for not 'whipping up a good enough storm'. His speciality, i.e.: Lagasnia wasnt *that* great after all. But nonethess,
I had:
Escargoes from France
Swiss Roll from Switzerland
Florentine Cream Gelato Ice Cream from Florence
Black ink Spaghetti and Home Made Raviolli from Venice (after TWO FAILED tries from the stupid cafes. DONT even attempt to TRY spaghetti from CAFES! They serve microwaved pasta. like who cant cook that right?!)
Wonderful yum yum bread from France and ESP from Venice. Something that you can NEVER taste in Singapore
Cornish pastry, Scotch Eggs and Chilli con Carne from London
Super smooth and not yuckified beer courtesy of an Australian guy (er i dont know his name) in the Biergarten, Munich.

Lovely. And yes, I put on hell a lot of weight. I reckon I put on at least 3kg. Yuppers! In a short span of two weeks. Now, thats TOTALLY unacceptable. Following this, I believe I will be eating a whole load of pork knuckles and sauerkaut and wurst salat. Okay. Like what the hell. I think I may have even put on another 3kg. So that makes it 6kg. Itll seem really tough for me to lose them when I return to Singapore. And itll take lotsa, lotsssaaa time I reckon.

I am craving for local dishes. Those are among the few things that I so badly miss in Singapore. I want to eat chicken rice now. Or perhaps fish ball soup would be good. Anything from holland V? I am sick of bread. Oops. I forgot. I shouldnt be thinking of food. Argh. I can barely fit into my brown pants now. Please dont tell me I put on weight when I am back. I gotta feeling I will get a terrible shock when I step on the weighing machine. Thats the FIRST thing I am going to do when I get home.

I am really very preoccupied with my weight. I am hell so fat. Eeks. I am gonna look horrendous with that balloned face, arms, tighs and whats not.

Okay. Enough ramblings I suppose.
I bought lotsa gifts for lotsa people. People who have helped me in one way or another. People whom I wanna show my gratitude to. Spent a bomb actually. Wanna know if youre in it? haha! We shall see. I am more or less done with the gifts. Dont know if the people will like them.

Anyway. Its really difficult to carry.. and let me tell you.. Carrying a 20kg bag up many flights of stairs and cars and slopes aint exactly the easiest.
So if Ive gotten you anything.. Wah lao. You had better appreciate it lah! Regardless if you LIKE it OR not. hahah.
Bye!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

i know this is gonna disappoint some people who read my blog for travel information. haha. basically i am given this really lousy keyboard. am finding it really a nuisance to type. i typed a paragraph and i deleted it all.

i am not in a mood to blog.
but i just wanna testify gods love. truly and surely, he was with me all the way. i felt him during mass, in the morning, the afternoon, and especially late at night. i felt him when i almost lost my bag, i felt him when i didnt know what to do, i felt him when i was lost. i felt him when he made the wrong go right.

well, um, maybe the only thing ive got to worry about is my exponential increase in weight.

france serves the best kind of bread. nothing beats that.
tell you more about it next time.
im eating and sleeping like a glutton. my stomachs ballooning.

now, im in luzerne, sweiss. that means lucerne, switzerland. finally met the alps face to face this morning. the grandeur, the magnificence are amazing, astounding. as i climbed the mountains, as i experienced the beauty of nature, i immersed myself in gods presence.

spending like a mad pig. im running out of cash. havent gotten souvenirs for lotsa people at the moment. will be going to florence tomorrow. i want to go the churches in italy.

i feel gods amazing love burn stronger as i travel from a place to the next. its indescribable.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Last Friday, I woke up at 930 am after three hours of sleep. I had a really bad diahorrea which lasted for a fantabulous good two days. And to my pleasant surprise, I lost a kg and my weight hit a record low of 40.9kg. But, as usual, after consuming newton circus' chee cheong fun (please don't, DON'T ever patronise the stall), coconut and 7 sticks of satay, and loads of other fattening oily unhealthy food, they, in unison have taken a toll on my weight. I am back to 43kg, and am of course, really sad about it.

Anyhow, I think I disgressed. I spent the afternoon at Rebecca's house baking nothing. Haha. Not quite. We were supposed (and I stress on this word) to bake some muffins. Some general comments about her place: I will NEVER EVER want to live there! It has so many ants! You see ants everywhere. From the living room to the kitchen to the tables to the floor to the door. wherever. You get my drift. Thank goodness her room is ant-free at the moment! That was my only little dungeon which I could hide in.

Remembered her bag was once infested with ants when she came to class. Imagine the horror!!!! I was so freaked out, and am still freaking out at the thought of it. And hey, that resulted in me not sleeping in class for the entire day cause I was so afraid they'd crawl up my sleeve and my toes and my uniform and my hair. Eeekkkss!! Hahahaha! Okay, sorry. :(

So i decided to upload a few photos for some memories' sake.


This was our useless recipe. Raisin Muffins. Oh yes, now I remember. That was the exact name of our muffins.



This was attempt number one. The first layer, i.e.: the skin of the muffin was edible. Above average. Smooth. BUT, as you can see, the filling was too wet. Soaked and filled to the brim with a milky stench. Gluey. You'll basically puke after eating it. Oh. Too sweet! Jocelyn's fault. She's a bad baker, that you must understand.


So obviously, you know where the muffin went after that. Along with the rubbish, it must make the bin its home as well. Whose fault? There's only an answer to that! That jaws lah! Aiya. Always act like some pro. Haha! So master chefs, Audrey and Rebecca came to her rescue after that. Okay. So here goes.



COMPARE AND CONTRAST attempt one and two. Now with my expertise, the filling was of course better. But I wonder why the skin didn't want to rise as nicely as the first. I thought and pondered hard. It HAD to be the recipe! I read it several times, thoroughly of course, and even made sure nothing went wrong. Yet, the filling was soaked through with milk and butter and all sorts of mad stuff! Okay. Imagine how angry I was! I thought of sueing the person who wrote it. Even the batter looked weird and wet. Spot the alliteration?! Yes, it helps me to better emphasize my point.

Now now. You see, the three of us are very persevering and determined sorta people. So. The last resort, and the last straw- CHANGE the recipe! Whose idea? Of course all credits to Rebecca and I! Or is it Rebecca's idea? Never mind. Anyway, my point is.. it was definitely not Jocelyn's. Haha! We improvised and made it our own (you know basically how we change Shakespeare's works here and there so he can transcend all boundaries kinda thing?)

Similarly, I was hoping my muffins could transcend all heat and waveforms and boundaries. Never did I expect them to turn out like albinos! They were as white as snow. Like some schneemann in Schneeland! Auf dem Stuhl sitzen. Haha! I thought the muffins reminded me very much of some white dalmation with lotsa poker dots.

This is what improvisation can do to you. HAHA!

I was praying and hoping that at least these albino muffins were up to some decent standard so that we could eat them. I was even thinking of bringing some home to share it with my friends. Meaning- forcing Elizabeth to eat it on Saturday. Haha!

I took a deep breath. Sliced open the muffins.

So did the quality turn out well? Hmm. I shan't comment on that. But i'll show you something instead. Maybe this will give you the answer.

This is Jocelyn, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Jaws aka I-fry-salty-long-beans-in-black-sauce-soup. She looked rather elated as she served herself with a serving of Jacob Cream Biscuit. Courtesy of Rebecca's home.


THE END

Friday, May 26, 2006

Just finished an hour long conversation with my dad! I'm so, so glad for him even though he can get quite long winded at times. I was basically updating him on my trip and telling him which stuff I've already settled and have not settled and my rough itenerary. As the concerned dad, he was telling me to avoid any late night outs in London because racism is predominant there this and that. Haha! As the logic goes... Which father isn't protective of his daughter eh?

But thinking back on the conversation really makes me laugh. The highlight of it all: Believe it OR not: ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO ELIZABETH! hahaha! that's like the joke of the day! And he gave me at least more than ten reasons WHY AND HOW I SHOULD give way to her! LOL! I wonder if I'll eventually 'heed' that advice. So nonsensical! Hahaaha!
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I can't hear, still. I live in a blocked world.
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I can't wait for tomorrow! Going somewhere exciting. It's a secret. I am not telling.
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I want my family back in Singapore. I can't find someone to irritate at the moment. My place seems so much quieter without my brother.
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I have very lovely parents. My mum's getting a wind breaker for me. My dad's getting more memory cards for me. I love them so much!
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I can't wait to fly.
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

I promise. Elizabeth's home is one of THE most fattening haven on earth!
It has been yet another 'eat-and-eat-and-eat' day for me again. It would have been O.K. if we played tennis this morning but noooo.... We were all too tired. So tennis was cancelled, and we feasted on fattening food for lunch. Courtesy of her dad who bought all the yummilious food from abroad.

I reckon it really takes sheer determination and lotsa SELF DISCIPLINE for a food lover to live in her home. I bet if I were to camp there for a week, I may put on like a kg or two. Haha!
So let's recap what I ate today.

+ Fruit Nuts
+ Some yummilious cheese thing (she tricked me into believing that they were fat free. what nonsense!)
+ oooooooohhhhhh and the irresistible SARDINES in (ta da..) Olive Oil! sigh.
+ One piece of raisin bread
+ Half a packet of potato chips. Courtesy of her brother who went down to buy for himself but greedy elizabeth snatched it away.
+ A packet of prawn-lime potato chips from I don't know where. It's damn nice. I finished half.
+ 2 Sweets
+ 1 pear

And when I came home,
I ate a whole plate of steam meat, tofus, 20 packets of seaweeds, 1 pear, and a damn big fattening yumilious dumpling from crystal jade. It was, um.., let's see now, too good to resist.

I'm perpetually a victim of food and cravings. Argh argh! If I were to go for a buffet tomorrow, I think I would seriously put on another kg. I've been eating so much ever since the holidays started. Life's always good with food! (: ten smiles to that!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

I know I've an AWESOME God!

Thank You so much for everything. The week has been superbly fantabulous for me.
And I predict I will have an even greater one next week! (:

Come to think of it, I haven't really thanked Him for allowing all the europe plans I've made to go so smoothly. Firstly, it's really not cheap to travel to so many countries. Liz and I were working out the amount of S$ we should exchange.. And (drum rolls).. 500 Sing to Pounds, 1000 Sing to Euros, and probably about 120 Sing to Francs. If you do the math, it sums up to a total of $1650 (and still counting). In other words, I have more or less emptied my bank account. But my mummy's like the greatest being on earth. She's willing to lend me some money and she's gonna get me a windbreaker from Shanghai (I hope). Yea, at least that helps me to cut cost. It really isn't easy trying to fork out that much since I had barely $4000 in my account previously.
But I really THANK God from deep within for taking care of the financial aspect. It'll somewhat be settled soon. And I guess, at the end of the day, I don't really have to fret about not having enough money for accomodation or meals or sightseeing. All credits to Him and of course, my parents! Love them so much! They're like really supportive of me, and I probably won't be able to enjoy this much. I wouldnt even have the opportunity to study Deutsch there. So like thanks so much!

Secondly, I confirmed my return trip ticket two nights ago. I managed to get a seat on board SQ (erm..) on 14July. This means.. I will be taking the same flight back as Liz. Yay! At least I know I will not be stranded in some mad Frankfurt hauptbahnof or some airport or im park alone. haha!! I'm so glad for the company. you bet I'm very, I mean, very very delighted. Okay. Not exactly *very* grateful for her company lah, but still, it's better than nothing. At least, I know I can count on her and to think of it... She's okay lah. So yuppers! I am happy! ((:

The planning's going quite smoothly. There're hardly any hiccups (or am I speaking too early?). I must say the both of us are cooperating quite well. Better than expected. Much better, in fact. We even planned a list of what to bring there together.. Which is of course, very surprising. Haha, yes, I thought she would have deemed packing to be the easiest thing and wouldn't be willing to help me out. hahah! Oh well. And yup, we are en route to settling some last minute london stuff. Paris= 95% settled. Yupper De Do Da Dey! Thank God Thank God!

I've also 'more or less' understood how the GlobalRoam 108 works already. I can call home! Yay! Did some 'research' on the entire thing. Asked around. Got some information here and there. Overall, I have a much clearer picture now. Great! Thank God for being able to call back! I love hearing people's voices! Selected people only lah. If you want, you can always ask me if you're in *that* list ornot.

AND! A super duper big Smile to my cousin! He's so sweet. Offered to bring me to get my backpack in Lavender on an early Saturday morning! I mean, that's something I will probably NEVER do. not now. not in life. Volunteer myself early in the morning?!?! It just sounds alien to me! Was really surprised when he wanted to bring me to get stuff and recommend me things to buy and have lunch with me. Woah, I didn't know my cousin cared this much for me. Haha! So apart from a Super Great God, Super Great Parents, I have a Super Great Cousin too! LOL!

On top of my trip, I managed to eat some fingerlicking crabs, watched the Da Vinci Code (now, I really DON'T see a point in not wanting to watch because it 'might be against your' religion. ahh! it's only fiction. you don't get persuaded so easily? do you? plus, the movie aint all that convincing. not even half as convincing as the book if you ask me. so yea. it doesn't do dan brown's work justice. talk about it another time), gave math tuition, stuff like that last week. Did lotsa enjoyable things.

I'm looking forward to the next week (tomorrow, tomorrow, you're only a day away), and the following week. Haha! Yea, my last two weeks are gonna be quite interesting, I hope. Its peak- next week. Then I suppose it'll get suckier and suckier till I leave. HAha. Whatever.

But still, I wanna thank God! Cause God is sooooo good!
And... God, with all his richness, bought me some heavenly kinder bueno surprise today. I loved it! Thanks!

Mine. I stood on a weighing scale today. I put on weight. Great. Right.
I've been more spendthrift as well. I'm spending more than what I earn at the moment on food and entertainment. Spoardic urges aint good I must say. I usually succumb to my hunger and fingerlicking food. Arggh.

I'm really broke. I'm begging for a job. But I've no time for one. So I'm living off my savings. Dreads! I still have to spend so much more on other stuff. For entertainment and travelling purposes. Helfen mir, bitte!

Okay I had better stop it. It's getting too whiny. Tsuechs!

Friday, May 19, 2006

i'm travelling on time's wing's chariot. sure enough, i've passed many splendid tourist attractions. there're so many events which i'm counting down to. haha! some interesting, some not so interesting. but anyway, since i'm counting down.. 17 more days to paris! heeehaaa!
the Great Singapore Sale begins next friday. late night shopping. 11pm and beyond. anyone?

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

in 20 days' time. (:

but i HAVE NOT:
- gone shopping for my trip. no backpacks, no windbreaker, no shoes.
- booked the hostels. having no place to stay at the moment. ich muess im park schlafen.
- bought the london vistor pass! no discounts and privileges for me then.
- had my fair share of fun? *SOS!!!* where are the food expeditions? the sun? the sand? the beach?
- checked out the IDD rates. confused about the different rates and plans, more like it. confusion is NOT my way of life.
- bought euros and pounds! i'm still waiting for the exchange rate to fall. sadly, i wish i were going to the US instead. i would rush to change S$500 to US$ today! yeppers, after the whooping fall of the US dollar. if only something like that could happen to the euro or pounds.
- saved enough money.
- gotten my flu jab.
- thought through what i should bring along for my trip. i'm really clueless and would probably overlook nitty gritty details.
- planned my itenary in london and paris with liz because she's working oh so hard at the moment.
- seen my detailed itenary for europe.
- returned library books.
- cherished my time in singapore.

on the contrary,
i HAVE:
- worked so damn hard. yet, i am significantly poorer. simply put, worse off. economic inequality!
- written more essays apart from those that i've done for my literature modules! (still not completed!)
- thought about more math problems.
- put on some weight (not much. but still...)

the only enjoyable things i did were:
- eating sashimi at sakae
- learning more about london and the opening hours of its tourist attractions (haha!)
- swimming
- going out with my secondary school people after the exams.
- celebrated mother's day with my family

what a life! haha! but i'm happy!
exams ended on the 28th. after three entire weeks of free time.. this is all that i've really done.

the uncertainty, which is primarily defined by geographical boundaries exudes a certain kind of obscurity and beauty. it is the same uncertainty which enthralls me.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

I LOVE my blessed Mother in heaven!

Thank you for Your intercessions, your prayers, your love and your reminders.
Always guiding me to His way, His Truth, His Life.

I'll never forget the times when You've stood beside me patiently- amidst my fears, my happiness, my anticipation, my worries, my doubts, my failings, my success, my hopes and my dreams. You've never despised my weakness. Instead, you've assisted me even more than I could ask for and loved me with all your strength.

Throughout the years, You've shielded me and remembered me in your prayers.
I will never get to where I am today (emotionally, academically, socially, spiritually) if it were not for You!

So, I want to proclaim Your unceasing love for me to the whole wide world!
... yes, a mother's love.. ever so great.

and not forgetting my mum on earth as well... happy mother's day too. (:

Saturday, May 13, 2006

The Lord's Prayer in German

Vater unser, der Du bist im Himmel. Geheiliget werde Dein Name. Dein Reich komme. Dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel, also auch auf Erden. Unser täglich Brot gieb uns heute. Und vergieb uns unsere Schuld, als wir vergieben unsern Schuldigern. Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung; Sondern erlöse uns von dem Übel. Denn Dein ist das Reich und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit. Amen.

Friday, May 12, 2006

if there's a word to encompass my gratitude, i'd use it.

till then, i just wanna say a BIG THANK YOU for you! you're a friend who never fails to be here.

with lotsa sincerity, without sacarsm, without any negative thought,
thanks girl. (:
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and another, to YOU!

THANKS for the understanding and patience. admittedly, it musn't been easy. thanks for being here as well. know that your presence truly matters.
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lastly,

GOD is GOOD! ALL THE TIME! he puts a song of praise in this heart of mine.
i thank you, lord.
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

went down to the student's travel accommodation to make my final payment for the trip. and my oh my! can you believe my trip amounted to more than S$2000? i believe my entire savings will be wiped out when im back. that's really tragic if you think about it. all your life, all your years, all your months, you have been slogging and working REALLY hard; ploughing the fields and racking your brains. over one and the half months, your money just goes down the drain? why? its entirely because you want to travel and sight see. if you think about it, is it REALLY worth it?

hahaha! but i shant care much for now. it has been my dream to see europe! wanna go, i wanna go and i'm can't keep the excitement to myself. hahaa! thats why there's so much rattling about going overseas, stuff like that here. i'm just really excited lah can haha! after all, it is my first time travelling without my family, and it is my first time making plans for myself, learning to take care of my belongings, assuming some sort of responsibility and independence. you get my drift? i am deprived. muahahha.

im probably most excited to go to London and Italy!
can you believe liz and i are intending to visit the SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE THEATRE? hahaha! SHAKESPEARE of all people? after all the cursing and swearing, i am going to pay tribute to the dead man. i'm going there to find out why ive done so badly for my shakespearian module. maybe i'll be filled with new insights. maybe i'll become more literary. now, what is the probability of that? you do the math.
imagine my disdain for shakespeare in singapore. how ironic is it when i actually WANT to go to England to visit Shakespeare's theatre? hahaa!

apart from that, im can't wait to go to the speaker's corner in hyde park as well. i remembered learning about the existence of the speaker's corner in sec 2 or 3 when my english teacher made my class sit around a small circle in front of the art room to listen to presentations after presentations. haha! and i remembered doing two speeches all the time- one for myself and one for val. (we always trade homework. she would usually do my reading reviews for me) the following year, i even wrote something on 'what is war', and my english teacher actually chose it for some competition thing! erm but i cant remember why i didnt participate in the competition eventually. hahaa! was i kicked out or something? nevertheless...
i WILL be going to the real speaker's corner soon. it's like a dream come true. told myself i have to visit it someday since fourteen.

what else? lots and lots more. the london eye, the thames river, fish and chips, mr bean and the police. oh my gosh. its so exciting.
i have never looked forward to an event as much this. i am so thankful for this opportunity.
but on the duller side, for all you nus students out there,
the results will be released on 27 May. I darent check them, to be quite honest.

haha, but thats when i can officially say- so much for taking a keen interest in www.shakespeares-globe.org when i got a D for my shakespeare module.

*p.s.: this blog is set up for easy travel updates. in fact, this is for that sole purpose. so, do stay tune if you want to know how i'll be coping in europe next month! :) ciao!

Monday, May 8, 2006

i want to:

- shop for my europe trip
- eat crabs
- go for a shashimi buffet, sushi buffet. jap food! yum!
- eat pig trotters in geylang
- eat lotsa local dishes before leaving
- trek bukit timah hill
- exercise
- cycle at east coast beach
- cook

above all, LOSE WEIGHT!

Sunday, May 7, 2006

THREE CHEERS FOR PAP!

i must say im really delighted with the election results!
first up. there isnt any change to the number of places pap has in parliament. BUT im somewhat glad the votes in several SMCs and GRCs went down by a small percentage. no. i am not being sadistic. no ive not changed loyalties- im happy because this would probably serve as a wake up call to those MPs. if you ask me, i think they *are* quite affected by the sliding number of votes. it says quite a bit about their future grip on power. haha. wouldnt you take some precautions if you were the government? to me, its only natural.

oh and anyway, the media wouldnt portray a worried and anxious government, would it? *grins* who owns the media?

was watching the results show in anticipation. haha! i was really quite excited for pap, praying and hoping that george yeo and lee hsien loong wouldnt lose their seats. (although i was pretty sure the pm wouldnt anyway! like duh. so much for the "suicide squad" eh?) hahaha!
surely, it isnt easy being a foreign minister. i suppose george yeo's doing a relatively commendable job in keeping diplomatic ties with other countries at the moment. admittedly, i dont have much impressive knowledge to show that he IS doing a great job. BUT, as far as im concerned, i havent heard any big hoo-haas or any major dissatisfaction. in my opinion, as long as the tide is low and calm, i'll always be supportive of him. plus! hes quite a nice guy, really.

i believe a foreign minister holds a really important post. our country's reputation is in his hands. it concerns how the world will in turn treat us when we're in their land. in other words, hes kinda an ambassador for us.

as for lee hsien loong- im sure actions speak louder than words! i neednt say more about his contributions during the past decade.

oh man. (pause) something GREATER caught my attention.
today's Lifestyle. L5:

bard of course: if you have $7.3 million to spare, you can bid for this First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays, which is one of the most important books in English literature, at Sotherby's in London in July. The bard's identity is still being hotly debated, four centuries after his death.

"Because Shakespeare lived so long ago, it's more difficult to prove definitively whether something is the case or something isnt the case," Leman said. "This is one reason it's so easy to come up with conspiracy theories".

hmm. shakespeare was a woman? bisexual? im sure chan would be really interested to find out. (: haha! that was why fun shakespeare was introduced as part of the module, constituting to 15% of the entire marks?!

what about Shakespeare's ability to transcend time? what IF, like they said, Shakespeare is not really shakespeare? what if he were Christopher Marlowe or Sir Francis Bacon? haha! that would be fun! he would then be, as the englishman suggested, a plagarist of his time!

hahahahaha! the article was so hilariously funny that i couldnt stop laughing while reading. it seemed so relevant to the module i took last semester. okay. purleaseee! what would chan say? she will most probably read this anyway!

who wants to spend $7.3 million on the first folio? i can read it from the footnotes of a $20 book! hahaha! like okay! for what?! crazy! do you know how many things i can buy with $7.3 million dollars?! haha! a dream car, a mansion, a grand piano, lotsa lotsa musical instruments. or better still, i could donate some money to the poor and deprived. why wouldl i want to spend it on a dead man who indirectly caused a fall in my CAP? i dont give a shit on how the man was canonised. hello!

the only thing i took away from my module last semester-
Shakespeare has the ability to transcend time,
Shakespeare can cross cultures and boundaries.

hmm. so maybe im not a true lover of shakespeare's works after all.
what else? hahaaha! thats all.

Saturday, May 6, 2006


i could sue someone for using this photo without crediting its source. that is, in simple terms, photo plagarism. it is an infringment of copyright rules.
visit: www.iloveliz.blogspot.com

oh btw, this was one of the photos that i took during the rally yesterday. haha! you have the power people! power yeah!

hope the g.e goes well today- in favour of the pap that is. i think they have done a pretty good job over the years. no one is perfect, no form of government is perfect. but i must say im relatively impressed with them.
my take on supression:- admittedly, singapore is a very young nation. to be quite honest, i dont think we can afford to be all that liberal. like you know. you dont exactly get full autonomy when you are ten years old right. compared to great old dear britain or liberal, high tech new york, we are indeed very, very, i mean very young. i think we are already taking steps towards being more liberal, towards 'opening up'. i am quite happy with the progress! (: so viel glueck to pap today!

talk about my take on other issues another time...

no. im not suffering from the side effects of propaganda. im not bought and persuaded after going through two years of social studies education. i hated it. haha! rebecca can testify to that. but i suppose my perception has changed radically over the years. and now, im definitely satisfied with the progress of the nation, the ways of the government copes with SARS and the birdflu. i mean if you think about it. when birdflu stuck and became a world wide epidemic, there wasnt a single soul in singapore who was affected. yup! good job there!
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now onto the topic of alter egos.

why do people have to adopt several alter egos? for those who are relatively sane, take a look at my tagboard. as the days pass, i thought viewership would drop. but hell no. there are MORE and MORE people who refuse to identify themselves now?!
they blame one another. they dont admit to the things they say.
c'mon. what is it lah?! im damn pissed and upset that my blog has turned into some virtual masked corner.

why? why? someone please tell me: why do people have to adopt alter egos?
are they expressing unhappiness about themselves? dont they feel comfortable with their own name? why? is this a sign of a society turning into a faceless world?