Rugby Galore

It had been rugby galore for 2 weeks. 2 touch rugby sessions the week before last, watched 1 match at a pub n 1 live, and finally to end it all, an intra singsoc touch rugby tournament last sat.

The match was amazing, given that it was my first live match in London. It was Australia v Barbarians, Barbarians being an invitational rugby club. As a true blue Singaporean, I gathered my forces and booked the tickets on the day of release, which allowed us to get front row seats *beams*. Unfortunately, we were seated on one end of the stadium (cheapest tickets...), and the action was on the other end of the stadium BOTH halves *unbeams*. Speak about bad luck...

I had to rip photos off people (wth is my cam???), which explains why I have delayed blogging this entry. In fact, up till now, I only have photos taken from David's cam. Which honestly, MAKES NO DIFFERENCE to whether I have the photos or not. I was expecting better photos from him, given that he is a rugger, and would be able to predict potential photo moments. BUT NO! All I got were


this,



this,




and THIS?!?!?! "Oh no, cam low batt" but can still zooooom in to beautiful cheerleaders. And now I know David prefers them headless...



And the closet pervert even snuck a shot of Joan (who had the brains to bring crisps along:D). Luckily, the floodlights thwart his plans...


All right, but there were SOME shots that did justice to our perfect location.
Much thanks to Bing Liang, who taught me several things during the match; things which I didn't learn in my short rugby life.






According to David, this is the most capped scrum-half in the world. Attempts to capture his front view didn't work, coz he kept snubbing us:( Or maybe he was watching the match. Hmmm...


This guy here is one of the few stewards which Zhiyang and David had to look out for as they planned their streaker stance.





Touch tournament;)
I got quite disillusionised during the touch rugby tournament. My team,"The Big Bad Wolf" were overall champions. And not a single 1 of the guys were ruggers (Zhiyang, Alvin, Jiaxuan) . All of them were footballers with the vision "Just Whack". I was skeptical of that initially, given that all the other teams had ex-ruggers on them. However, my teammates showed me that speed and agility can make up for the lack of experience, skills and strategy. I had no idea what was going on on the pitch, much less played at all. Nonetheless, we won:) Both Zhi Yang and Jiaxuan were shotlisted for MVP (ruggers excluded), with Zhiyang getting it eventually, so I supposed that explains why we won. In fact, if Alvin had stayed on to play in the finals, he would probably be in the running for MVP too. I might learn all the tactics whatever, but at the end of the day, they don't really count. If you put 3 superb individuals together, they don't need to work as a team. Damn... The prize was qt cute, consisting of a choc coin with a string taped to it to look like a medal (WTH is my cam????).

JY juz made my week totally:)

I tot I had a good week. Till this came in and made the rest of the week seems dull:) Too bad blogger video quality sucks. Can't see Zhengyuan's face properly:(

Semi-accomplished

Xiufang - When is the promised smoothie night??? My blender is waiting for you!

Lip'en - Yes yes, dinner!!! Time to stop toking and start cooking!!! Ur place or/and my place?

Jiaxuan - You owe me attendance at one touch rugby session.

Klyder - I wanna see xiufang treat u 2 drinks for the Espionage challenge. I miss your tomato face:(

Caroline - Ur shoes are kidnapped!!! When are you free???

Elaine - I tot u were gonna teach me how to use an eyeliner (or did I rmb wrongly?) and I was supposed to give you whisky shots.

Kenneth - Eh, let's walk to school together juz to go thru Reminiscence 2006-2008

Yunqin - I don't miss you, just ur green tea ice-cream. And herbal chicken. And curry chicken. And herbal tea egg. Damn... Tell Rob to return u to us! U hardly finished telling us ur "locked out of hse" story!

Qiqin - (I don't think this guy reads my blog, but just in case...) Eh, you are supposed to come for dinner! WHERE R U?!

Peter - LUNCH?!?!!? over politics... Yummy!

Clinton - Don't say nobody wants to dine w u... DINNER?!?!?

William - Don't let my last memory of you be in some dark Cambridge church whispering to me. Whatever happened to "my house will be advertised in Esplanade to be the most happening place"???

Fatimah - Sushi making session with my bf?!?!?!

Emily WAIYAIYA - Waiting for you to email me:D

Anju - Tell me when you're free! Otherwise we might have to do lunch w my bf!!! Would be nice to meet up w juz you though! (screw the bf!)

Come towards me, my friends:) Come come come!

Had a great day with Ade today. It was just a normal luncheon together, and a competition of "who can get a treadmill" at the gym. But it is normal activities like these that I miss. Everyone is so busy with school and internship/post-grad studies applications that it is rare to see anyone anymore. Ade (Bay AL, 2008) mentioned that it was amazing how much we were willing to give up for our bf, yet gave so little time to our friends. However, that statement didn't really ring true with me, because my bf isn't with me, so I haven't given up much time for my bf. Then where has the time for my friends gone?!?!?!


Yes, my friends in London, we have neglected each other for way too long. It's time to rectify things.


Xiufang - When is the promised smoothie night??? My blender is waiting for you!

Lip'en - Yes yes, dinner!!! Time to stop toking and start cooking!!! Ur place or/and my place?

Jiaxuan - You owe me attendance at one touch rugby session.

Klyder - I wanna see xiufang treat u 2 drinks for the Espionage challenge. I miss your tomato face:(

Caroline - Ur shoes are kidnapped!!! When are you free???

Elaine - I tot u were gonna teach me how to use an eyeliner (or did I rmb wrongly?) and I was supposed to give you whisky shots.

Kenneth - Eh, let's walk to school together juz to go thru Reminiscence 2006-2008

Yunqin - I don't miss you, just ur green tea ice-cream. And herbal chicken. And curry chicken. And herbal tea egg. Damn... Tell Rob to return u to us! U hardly finished telling us ur "locked out of hse" story!

Qiqin - (I don't think this guy reads my blog, but just in case...) Eh, you are supposed to come for dinner! WHERE R U?!

Peter - LUNCH?!?!!? over politics... Yummy!

Clinton - Don't say nobody wants to dine w u... DINNER?!?!?

William - Don't let my last memory of you be in some dark Cambridge church whispering to me. Whatever happened to "my house will be advertised in Esplanade to be the most happening place"???

Fatimah - Sushi making session with my bf?!?!?!

Emily WAIYAIYA - Waiting for you to email me:D

Anju - Tell me when you're free! Otherwise we might have to do lunch w my bf!!! Would be nice to meet up w juz you though! (screw the bf!)

Ok... And the list goes on forever (I definitely have MUCH more friends than those on the list)! Not that I don't care about you if you are not on the list. It probably means that we have just met up (which explains why my housemates and some people whom I met in the last week ain't on the list) or we have really NOT met for so long that I've forgotten about you. If you are in the latter group, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remind me of your presence by asking me out for dinner. As a side note, I would remember your presence more if you treat me to the meal.

I don't need more time. I need more determination.

A great man (Wong Chongwai) once told me that another great man had once told him:

"A busy man has more time."

What it really means is that at the end of the day, how much time you had in your life is determined by how much you have done.

I agreed whole-heartedly with him at that time, as it was near exam time then. Any exam-takers are busy men, and would have accomplished much in their academic lives. In fact, I was still keeping up with my fitness and my social life at that time, which made me even more "accomplished".


Having gone through the exams and starting a new school year anew, I realised that that statement has a deeper meaning. Being forced to be busy by circumstances is different from choosing to be busy. Other than the coursework deadlines, I am free to choose what I do with my time now. With the constant nag by all my course mates that it is time we ramp up our engines, I had slowly phased out most non-academic activities. Despite pushing everything aside to do work (call me a geek but it is my final year after all), even the work compartment is in disarray. Instead of getting more work done with the extra amount of time, I had lapsed into the mistake of working more slowly to fill up the time. More time to study just means more time to procrastinate. I don't feel like I had done much in the past few weeks.


Thinking back, it all boils down to courage. I don't have the courage to stop pushing away things coming my way. They may take up time, but it probably wouldn't decrease the amount of work done, as long as I stop day dreaming of Brad Pitt while learning gene regulation. Instead of letting my work determine how much time I should spend working, I should let the amount of time I have left to motivate me into proper studying. It isn't easy, with images of me failing due to lack of studying running through my mind endlessly. However, it is time for me to stop shelving away the images of me on my deathbed, with constant regrets of not having explored life more.

It is a sad sign of a diseased society, for our mark of success to be determined by our material accomplishments. Yet, it is also my sign of weakness, to let the fear of failure to stop me from embarking on a more fulfilling life. Time to ramp up partying...

Wat??

I learned a few things today.


1) Guys react differently to pole-dancing to girls. I saw this video on youtube, which blew me away totally.



I have shown it to a few girls, and every single one of them just watched in awe. All of us were wondering how amazing it would be to be able to do all that.


When I showed it to guys however, the reaction was indifferent. Daryl's best response was "damn strong". That's ALLL!!! Yon Jan's and David's reactions were even more unpredictable. They had NO expression on their faces, like YOU SEE GIRLS DO THAT EVERYDAY. (Maybe they do.) David did mention that he saw little kids do that on the train all the time. Of course, we know that he is a SAFOS scholar and all the "kids" he hangs around with are probably "Bamm Bamm" category.



2) If you are sincere about saving ppl's time by cooking them dinner, cook at home and bring it over, no matter how inconvenient it is. I wanted to repay David a favour, and felt that the best way was to return him time. Since he was supposed to be on "chef duty", I decided to take over the task. Unfortunately, David felt obliged to to stay in the kitchen to ensure that none of his cutlery go missing, resulting in him spending more time in the kitchen than he would normally. And as you know how every time you have a guest over, you end up taking out all your master pieces to show off, which results in an extended dinner time (but Yon Jan's model car and David's self-made radio were impressive. If any1 comes for dinner, I would only have a self-drawn diagram of a cell to show. Damn the BMS!). So overall, I ended up wasting more of his time:(

Then again, time spent with me is never wasted.


3) In computing language, memory =/= space. Space is the bigger number thing, and memory is the smaller one. Just remember that.

Pole-ing experience

I have taken up pole-dancing recently. Now, I would appreciate it if you close that fly trap of yours. I might be ungracefully stumbling around the pole to the wrong beats of the song, but at least I have tried. Have you???? (Even you males are not forgiven, as guys' pole dancing is increasingly becoming common.)


In order to work towards the day when I can laugh confidently into your shocked face when you learn that I can (a really subjective word) pole-dance, I decided to sign up for an extra practice today. Unlike the usual sessions which are held in a gym, this session is held at a club. This is a normal practice, as clubs usually do not need their compounds till dark, making them ideal and cheap locations.

When I first walked into the room, it felt like I had entered a strip club. The lighting was sleazy, which didn't help. The first person I saw was a lady in black netted cropped top and undies to match. Across the room, a gal in black undies with white long sleeves was stretching lazily while doing a split. Another girl was hanging upside down from the pole. Hang on, was that a girl sprawled on the floor with her back arched? A glimpse of a girl in mini shorts, strutting out of the toilet with a top that looked like it had been ripped apart confirmed my fear. The entire entourage of the dance school teachers had turned up to teach me.


*Gulp*


Turned out that I had stumbled into a class filled with level 6 students. I am, for your information, in level 1. These girls do not spin around poles. That is TOOO elementary. They hang from them. Fortunately for me, there was a level 3 student, allowing us to pair up on one pole. A nightmare it would be if I had to endure the lesson with a level 6 student laughing at my antics while hanging like a bat from her feet.


I have to admit that after the initial nerves and impulse to walk out, I actually enjoyed myself. The strippers stripped my wrong perception, showing that they are really a warm bunch. Looking at them do their thing was like looking at a scene from an adolescent boy's mind. Freak, I think it actually beats that. I doubt even a 15 yr old boy can imagine some of the moves these girls did. For (vivid) example, imagine a girl with 6 abs hanging from a chin-up bar. Now, rotate the picture 90 degrees, so that the bar is now the pole. Gravity-defying.

Speaking of abs, did I mention that most of them have abs, sexy long legs, overfilling breasts, and killer biceps? And they have no qualms about showing these off. In front of me in my decent shorts (which many frenz had commented was too short) and decent t-shirt. At least I had my corporate high heels. (while they tottered around in killer stilettos = ( )


All right, I better stop, before some idiot gets hard/ hard up. Today has humbled me by tons. I will hang myself one day. Oh yes, I will=)

The downfall of homosexuality and transversites

I have valid reasons to believe that people with homophobia or transversite phobia should suppress their opinions, just so that they will have no fear in the future.

Personally, I have nothing against homosexuals and transversites. In fact, I believe that they are compelled into this undesired mode of sexuality due to their genetic make-up. And it is also unfortunately, due to this inheritance hypothesis (it has not been fully proven to be purely due to genetics), that I believe that they might be forced into extinction.


Darwin's theory of evolution implies the survival of the fittest. For the non-Biology students, the fittest refers to those with a high reproductive rate. Singaporeans are the weakest human kind after HK, if you believe wikipedia. It makes sense, because the more offsprings you have, the higher chance you have to propagate your genes.


So if we shift our attention to our so-called "sexually disoriented" friends, you do realise that they are by far the weakest of the weakest of the weakest mankind, since they do not have offsprings and thus, cannot pass on their "homosexual/transversite genes".


So why are they still existing? That is because of the social stigma they faced. You conservationists out there have forced these poor souls to stay in the closet, to marry the opposite sex and to HAVE CHILDREN. So these genes were passed down since Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, multiplying with the burst of population number.


However, the landscape have pretty much changed, with pride parades, sex reassignment operations and legalisation of gay marriages. These changes may have brought transient happiness to the couples involved, but it is a catastrophe in making for this minority: they will have no offsprings to colonise the world. Then again, after all the shit these guys have been through, perhaps they would think that it is better that way.


Therefore, if you are one of those who hate homosexuals and transversites, contain your hatred. You will be doing yourself a service. (I hope you die from cardiac arrest from internalising too much anger.)

Year 3

Sorry for the hiatus. I have been back for 1.5 weeks and it's been crazily busy. Only myself to blame though.


First, there was my room to settle into. I have a tiny room this year, compared to my mega-big double room last year. Any girl would understand my pain. It is impossible to stuff everything into my room. I am sure Oxfam would be very happy with my contributions (which are still lying in my living room).


A picture from the corner of my room. Pictures taken from corners are meant to give the illusion of increased size. Keep that in mind when you see this picture! The thing on the left is my wardrobe. (Notice my books on my bed. One of them is Harry Potter:P And if Joan ever reads this, that is your headphones on my table!!! Come collect it please!!!)







Then there were friends to catch up with. And when I said friends, I meant both people whom I only meet in London and the Singaporeans. Although the Singaporeans and I were both back in Singapore, I was MIA-ing most of the time. So they are part of my term-time friends. Some of the catch-up was done over eardrums-bursting loud music at clubs though, that is to say we hardly caught up, so I would think more time is needed for proper updates.


Speaking of which, I think one of the reasons I am so busy is because I am busy catching up on my sleep. Went clubbing twice in the space of 5 days and will be going again on Friday. Now now... Technically it replaces gym time, so I really shouldn't complain...


And of course, there is SCHOOL!!!! Horrible timetable this year. Just when I was soooo looking forward to school because I thought I would have a slack timetable!!!! And the contents this year are probably meant to squeeze 100 years of science into a 5 weeks course. I had major plans of going to the gym everyday, but those plans are at the back of my closet when I saw my timetable. I guess it would be back to 5 times a week:(


Added on all these, I am excited to say, is a weekly session of pole dancing!!! YES!!! I have managed to sign myself up for some kick-ass lessons to fulfill all my dreams. Next up might just be skateboarding. I know, I am kind of too old. But hey, I just want to MOVE on the board:)


********************************************************************


I came to the third year with lots of goals in mind, lots of hope and lots of zest. I had wanted to blog about them, to remind myself of what I began the year with. However, procrastination (as usual) won the game and I am too deflated now to even remember the wonderful things I had in mind. I am feeling my age really, creeping silently up on me.


*********************************************************************


It's a strange feeling recently, between Tian'en and I. We have been surviving just talking for about 0.5h on the phone everyday since I returned. It is out-of-sorts for us, considering how we used to spend 3h on the phone daily. Both of us are just too busy to have coincide time frames to talk for long. What puzzles me most was how satisfied I am with this little time we spend with each other. In the past, I would not have settled for anything less than an hour (he would pay dearly if he did not offer that amount of time). I wonder if this is an improvement of our independence or a sign of us drifting apart.

Perhaps it is good for both of us to have things to occupy us while we are apart. Wandering minds lead to wandering hands... *Snort*

Summmer 2008

Forgive me if I slip into some cliche granny words, but it does seem just yesterday that I just saw my family at the airport. It seems like just last night that I watched "Batman Begins" with Tian'en. The beautiful dream will come to an end in 10 hours' time.


This holiday has been rather fruitful, given that I had met up with a lot of old friends, often more than once. It is one thing to be updated about what had happened in your friend's life since you disappeared from this continent for 9 months. It is another to live through her life with her as it is happening. Think of it as reading a newspaper clipping from the year before compared with watching live news. I am glad I got to witness the America financial turmoil and China Melamine poisoning saga first hand in Singapore.


I have to admit though, that I was not very satisfied with what I had achieved in Singapore. I returned with a long list of to-dos but the only thing I accomplished was "spend more time with Tian'en".

• Read on World War II (inspired by my trip to Auschwitz) --- Ended up reading only on the events precipitating to the war itself. Didn't even make it to the start of the war.
• Learn to make Dimsum ---- Ended up with a batch of overstuffed siew mais and a "xiao long bao" stomach
• Learn pole-dancing --- Class was too full. But I may just do it in London:D
• Run more --- 1st it was lack of time, then sick, then knee pain, then arch pain, then ... Excuses, Cheryl.
• Catch up on what shows the rest of the world HAS watched--- Does watching Heroes season I count?

Now that the holiday has come to an end, I guess it is too late to rectify the situation. Yet, I feel no regrets somehow, because it seems that I had spent substantial amount of time on my friendship deposits. Maybe material pursuit is really immaterial in face of spiritual contentment. hmmm...

HAPPIE BIRTHDAY TIAN'EN!!!

I won't be back in Dec to celebrate TE's birthday. So I decided to celebrate it now, when I still can. HE IS 21 FINALLY!!!! Still can't enter sex shops though:(


I wanted to make it a surprise for him, so I refused to tell him where we were going. Instead, I gave him clues throughout the week to tantalise him. If he could guess it, then too bad for him... But I know his intelligence level. He couldn't have guessed it.


The clues were:

1) What is brown at the edge and green inside?

(Think sand and forest)

2) What has a water sprout which vomits?

(If you think like my bf, then u use ur little brother to think. Otherwise, surely u would think merlion. Seems like our sex education is more successful than our social studies.)

3) What is ugly on the outside but pretty on the inside?

(Think of the ride in from harbourfront to sentosa. Those ghastly construction sites)

4)

I'm a little hunk of tin,

Nobody knows where I have been.

Got three wheels and a running board,

I'm a luge and I’m no ford.

Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, rattle crash, beep-beep

Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, rattle crash, beep-beep

Honk-honk!

( Goggle search the luge)

The clues were sooooo easy, but the man just didn't get it. *snort*


As it was a weekday, we went only after his lessons. We ended up like a tourist, doing the Luge, 4D magix, Cineblast and the Beach.

Still looking cool before the luge.

The luge was a nice experience, given that I had never gone behind any steering wheels, save those of bumper cars. But the difference between the luge and a bumper car is that you are meant to go towards people in a bumper car. With my steering, you can hardly tell the difference. I knew I am doing civil service when I refused to get my driving licence. I am thankful that there was no one behind me when I veered purposefully off-course onto the grass patch. *sigh*


I just looked scared. I was actually really calm inside.



The skyride up to the top of the luge course. Absolutely stunning view!



I refused to wear my shoes in the skyride because I know I will drop them somehow!



At Del Mar.



Me am dreamy about his abs. Yummmie... *drool* He's mine! MEOW!!



We had dinner at Crystal Jade. They had a steamboat buffet, with free flow of xiao long bao. They must have had me in mind when they came up with this buffet. Unfortunately, I was too full from the steamboat to eat my fill of xiao long bao. Future plans include not touching the steamboat and eating xiao long bao only.


Sigh... All these good times coming to an end. But at least TE is coming in Dec. Not in time for his birthday, but at least for christmas, our anniversary and new year.


Happpppieeee 21st Biirrrthdaaay DEARIEEEEE!!!!

WAHHAHAHAHHAHA!!!

If I am still 16, I would be squealing in spasms now. If I am a gymnast, I would be making triple cartwheels now. If I am a bimbo, I would be choosing my outfit for tomorrow now. If I am single, I would be in bed now (not my bed).


WHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!

I am none of the above, but I am still doing all of the actions mentioned above, except the last, mentally.


WAHWHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!


I spoke to Cuteguy today.


I... SPOKE... TO... CUTE... GUY... TO...DAY....


If you don't know who Cuteguy is, you have to read this post. All it took was an initiative on my part to smile and wave.


WAHAHHAHAHA!!!!


Unfortunately, his gay friend was with him. So it was a threesome. Still, considering that my hunkiometer was buzzing so loudly that I could only hear him but not his partner speak, a 30min chat was a pretty good start.


WAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!


Real pity that it is my last week there:( SIGH!!!!


In case you are wondering, no, I am not doing anything against my boyfriend. He was the one who challenged me two weeks ago to make friends with Cuteguy. Can't blame me for bringing that to fruition! Only Wong Tian'en is big-hearted enough tell me "It's ok to have crushes and eye-candy." I hope he doesn't regret that one day.


I SPOKE TO CUTEGUY!!!


WAHHAHAHAH!!!

05102008

It's time to say goodbye again. Back to lonely nights. Back to silent tears. Back to holding my own hands.


I don't wanna leave.

Clubbing (K)Night

If this post sounds inchorent, forgive me. I slept at 5am and woke up at 7.30 am. I had given up my sleep yet again for a session at mambo, something which I had kept saying was not worthy for. However, Xiufang had given the ultimatum when she said that it was gonna be her last mambo. Moreover, Chinjie and her had given in to going Phuture for at least a while. How could I refuse an offer like that?


I did expect it to be a boring night, given all my previous mambo experiences. In fact, Chinjie probably thought I would be bored too, because he was rather apologetic that we did not really go to Phuture due to some foreseen circumstances. However, despite an alcohol-free night, I did have some fun. So it's really ok, CJ! :D


Perhaps it is because I am uber-sober, given that I had NO alcohol the entire night. (You really need no alcohol if you have great music. That may explain why mambo nights are so popular in clubs because clubs know that people need alcohol on MAMBO nights to get high. Mambo night = Rocket-high alcohol sales. But of course, there was no alcohol last night not because of great music but because of my resolution to not drink till end of this year.)

I digressed. So... Being conscious of my surroundings have made me realised that clubbing Singaporeans are really ungracious. Take note of the adjective "clubbing", because I do not want to stereotype my fellow countrymen based on a minority few who were under alcohol influence (what to blame? MAMBO!). When we tried to make our way across the dance floor, everyone was giving us the poison-ivy glares. Despite my repetitive apologies, I was greeted back with more glares. Honestly, is that why guys go home empty-handed every hunting night? I wouldn't trust my life with these bunch of petty wimps. Yes, the fact that Zouk tries to use Hong Kong population housing density as a guideline towards their own in-house capacity, together with Archimedes' principle of water displacement, mean that some guys along our route of destruction would get dislodged from their prey, but surely that is the "full package" expected at a club.


Not all is lost yet though. Just as I had given up hope on mankind, two angels descended from heaven. The first one was in the form of a sweet girl who saw that we needed tissue. So she promptly went to get tissue from the toilet for us. 5 minutes later, a guy came over and asked if "your friend is ok" and produced a stack of tissue from the bar. Charismatic guys like these turn me on.


I did used to think that I was a "looks" person, meaning that I would like a guy mainly based on his looks (proven after I nabbed hunky TE). However, I have come to learn that while I am still a very "looks" person, looks itself is very subjective to personality. The club was full of pretty boys and hot bods last night, but I left the place with the impression that they were all ugly. Yet, the one which left me with the greatest and best impression was the one who was not very tall, who was not making his groovy moves on the dance floor, who was not model-like handsome but offered his good-will with simple style. He did look good in his spunky white armour.


Good looks is all in the mind after all.

Microscopic life of a high-rise appartment dweller

Give me eyedrops! Somebody gorge my eyes out please! Somebody slap me!! AH~!!!!


Urgh!!! Guess what guess what guess what?!?!?! I was just working out in my brother's room, when I looked out of his window into the house in the opposite block. The first thing that caught my eye was the tv. At first, I saw a closed-up view of a blinking eye. I thought how interesting, until the closed-up view was a little too long. Any proper director wouldn't make an unflattering scene last so long. And it dawned on me that MAYBE JUZ MAYBE, the eye lid is not an eye lid. By the time the camera drew back into the full frontal view of the female, I knew I was right. It was a BLOODY porn video of two ppl having sex! Not BLINKING EYE! GOSHGOSH!!


I WILL calm down in a minute and be a mature adult, whereby porn is a commonplace. But before that, LET ME REMIND EVERYONE WHAT CURTAINS ARE FOR! Not to mention that the importance of curtains increase with each increase in your tv size!!! URGH!! You might be generous enough to want to share your prized collection, BUT NOT EVERY1 IS APPRECIATIVE OF IT. (I'll keep in mind that this is my brother's room. *shudders*)


*back to mature adult mode* After I went off for 15min and returned, the tv was showing golf and the guy was just returning into the room. Probably back from the toilet, if you get my drift. I am really glad that the distance between our houses is great enough, so that I cannot make out any features. The last thing I want is to recognise him.


99.9% of guys may watch porn, but seeing someone watching it is a different story altogether (unless that person is my bf, which then means that I would have to reach for the scissors...). Please don't let it happen again...

Jinx!

A*STAR has always wanted their scholars to bring change. Being one myself, I would like to do that too. Unfortunately so far, the changes I brought are not what A*STAR has in mind.

As uncanny as it seems, I am a jinx to researchers. I did 3 research stints so far. One at IMCB last year, one at MRC in London during term time and the one I am doing now at IMRE. During the research attachment in London, my mentor quitted her job, leaving the lab on the same day as me. It did not come as a shock to me then, as she opened up to me the week before she resigned that she did not like the work environment. This time round, at IMRE, my mentor resigned on my first day. I didn’t know I had that effect. I did feel that it could be coincidental, since it is just 2 out of 3 times. Luckily my mentor from IMCB did not quit when I was under her. Yet, the unexpected happen. When I visited my IMCB mentor yesterday, I received the news that tomorrow would be her last day of work. Is this really coincidental or what? Either I am a jinx, or the turnover rate in research is extremely high.

In fact, come to think about it, researchers are not the only ones I jinx. The touch rugby coach I had in JC was sacked by my school after a particular slapping event. My rugby coach in college was sacked by the team because he was inefficient in our trainings. Both teams I had joined, both times there had been traumatic changes.

And of course the list goes on, if I look hard enough. Mere coincidences they can be, but I would like to think that I bring changes. Negative or positive, who cares?

My day

My typical day starts with me SNOOZING my hp alarm 3 times, before ROLLING out of bed onto the floor to wake myself up. By the time I leave my house, I already know that I will be late. But it is all right. I am going to be late for work, work meaning waiting in the student pc room for actual experiment to start. Along the way, I while the time away bursting my father's hp bill by sms-ing TE.


By the time experiment starts, it would be 11am. Then it would be lunch at 1130. Only inefficient people works more than 30min before lunch. If it is Tues, Thurs or Fri, I would have the perfect company of TE. On Mon and Wed, however, it is up to my popularity to snare me lunchmates. I eat alone most times.


After lunch, it is back to aimless loitering along the corridors of MSN Live. Until my mentor decided that he/she (I have two) is not working, so I am free to go. So I would troop down to TE's residence, during which we -censored-. After that, we would have dinner and I would make my 1.5h trip home:(

Upon reaching home, it is back to the phone to call TE. After all, it would have been at least 2 hours since I last heard his voice. More than 2/3 of our relationship is built over long distance, with only our voices to bridge the distance. So it is no wonder that we miss talking on the phone with each other. I wouldn't be surprised next time when we are married that I would call him from the adjacent room just to relive the times we had.


Now that I read what I wrote above, it seems that most of my time is focused on TE. That is of course true, my dear boyfriend. But you, my friends, understand me well enough to know that I am too frivolous to settle for one. How else to survive London alone...

I do not know if it is my expectations that have fallen or that the standard of guys have generally increased. But a lunchtime in one of the NUS canteens can cause neck-ache, the way my head twists left and right each time a hottie walks past. In Imperial, my hunkiometer is



In NUS, the needle oscillates between the yellow and the green section, depending on the faculty I am at. The needle drops back to the red zone, however, the moment I step into IMRE. Most of the male species are old enough to be my father, not to mention scientists are not the best trend setters (damn my future job).


Recently, though, my hunkiometer has been buzzing with activity in IMRE. Let me start from 5 weeks ago, when I attended my induction into IMRE, which all new students and staff had to attend. Mine clashed with those of NUS students doing their FYP in IMRE. One of them happen to be CUTE! Unfortunately, he had a gay partner whom he walked around with and never let go... After that, my hunkiometer became dormant as the existence of Cuteguy was forgotten and the presence of intellectually-intimidating researchers forced my superficial self into refuge.

It was only last week that I discovered the lab Cuteguy was working in when I turned the wrong corner. For the next 2 days, there were sightings in computer labs and in the lift. My hunkiometer nearly went into overdrive. Unfortunately, my mentor had to decide to post me to Biopolis, far away from IMRE!!! Just when I discovered the hiding place of Cuteguy!


And so... It is back to normal life of red needle zone and intellectual conversations. If anyone knows that their cute brother/cousin/nephew/neighbour/friend/sister's or brother's friend is working on their FYP in IMRE, they are welcome to provide information. A reward will be given upon validation.

I am an evil girlfriend

Jin Yang once told me that if he was single, he MIGHT date me but he would NEVER want to marry me. One of my best friends, Thong Weirong, had insisted on meeting my new found boyfriend (at that time) because she couldn't understand how any guy could bring himself to be together with me. Lots of my friends, female and male alike, had told me how lucky I was to get such a good boyfriend, short of saying "he freakin' deserves better".

I was puzzled. How could they doubt the eligibility of someone so nice, so intelligent, so out-going, with an added touch of humility?

I found my answer last night. Tian'en and I were having dinner together in one of his residence canteen. I wanted something soupy, so I ordered "Sichuan ma la soup" while Tian'en ordered vietnamnese beef noodles. I didn't think that the soup would be spicy, since most "spicy" food in Singapore are meant for babies. However, one mouthful of the soup was sufficient to burn my stomach. Strangely, the soup was not as harsh on the tongue as on the stomach. Still, I regreted buying that, especially when Tian'en's beef noodle was so fragrant.

Sweetie TE saw that I was suffering and quickly proceeded to buy papaya juice for me. Was I grateful? Yes, I was absolutely grateful for the noodles I stole off him when he was queueing up for the juice.

However, I was still dying from the soup. So I threw in my last resort.

"I bet you cannot even finish half of this!" As expected, TE took up the bait and bet that he could finish the entire bowl. For your information, TE sucks at eating spicy stuff. His body drips tons of sweat in order to dilute the spicy food with salty water.

I gladly exchanged my spicy Sichuan soup with his bowl of beef noodles. My poor baby had to thronged his way through the soup, to the extent that he snatched the papaya juice away from me because he wanted it all to himself. When TE stops me from drinking papaya juice (he is the one who benefits, after all), I know that the spiciness is REALLY bad.

Tian'en refused to share:(

Tian'en struggling to finish. He stared at the bowl half of the time.

WAHAHAHAHA!!! But he did finish it. Such a silly boy.

Tian'en, next time, don't deliberately take up the bet just to save me, ok?

My week

This week kicked off with a nice romantic dinner with TE at Amici in Holland V. There was a1-for-1 deal, otherwise we would never eat there. Was hoping that the dessert of the day was their coveted tiramisu but tough luck, it was some coconut jelly thing. Having just eaten lunch with Jiaxuan 4 hours before that meant that I was half full when I embarked on my italian fiesta. By the end of it, I was ready to puke. Tian'en had to walk me out to sit on the curb while my stomach settle down.

At Amici, with the dessert that made my stomach upset. I thought I heard the waitress mention pina colada?

Mid-week saw me at UK Bound, an annual clubbing event held by Imperial College Singsoc. I think being there as a year 2 and as year 3 makes a difference. We're all getting old. Personally, I did not enjoy myself that much, opting to leave early by 1.30am. Never have I ever left a club so early on my own accord. I shall refrain from any details since it's over and this is a blog, so any comments would just be unconstructive.

Chongwai's farewell was on Saturday. When I first planned it, I had just returned. So his farewell seemed like a long time away. Sadly, the arrival of the event marks the beginning of countdown of my departure. Nostalgia aside, it was nice seeing everyone gathered in one room. Especially glad that Tian'en came with me, so he could meet most of my friends in IC. I always wanted us to have a life outside the world of two of us. Yesterday was a baby step for both of us. Definitely felt great to see Chongwai. Might not have much chance now since he is doing something big now. I mean everything I wrote, k, CW:D See u next yr!!

A picture taken after the dinner. Proportion of girls to guys proportionate to the proportion in IC.

Zouk

It's been eons since I mambo-ed in Singapore, since I never fancied those free sign language lessons that most seem to give. Give me hip hop anytime!


But last night's re-attempt at mambo had been both the best and worst experience.


Best experience, as in best mambo session I had so far. The guys in the club scene have visibly improved, though the same can't be said for the girls. I probably have Chinjie to thank, who promised to make me a convert (Zheng Yuan promised me before too, but he was wasted even b4 the real partay started!). That having said, I would still return to hip hop. Mambo just lacks some vibe which I can't place my hands on.


Worst experience, as in the worst loss of self-inhibition ever. It's astonishing how I made a vow never to drink to get high again, but I still drank to that purpose. It would be too easy to find an excuse blaming the boring dancefloor for the reason as to why I needed a booster alco-shot. I didn't get the "high" I was looking for, but received a loosening of my self-control instead. This may just be the one time which I feel like my moral calibre has been shredded to pieces. Ok, this may sound a little tooooo serious to those who were not present, so please hold your imagination in rein. It is more of a personal threshold which I have over-stepped, something which I am not very proud of.


I am not gonna elaborate over details and what I think etc, since this is a blog. But this is more to explain why I might be avoiding alcohol for the rest of this year at least. It may be said that drinking is fine in moderation but I do not trust myself enough. I do not trust myself to drink for the right reasons, neither do I trust myself to handle the effects of alcohol. I am not ready to put myself to the test yet.



And more importantly, I am not ready to lose my relationship yet.

Work sucks!

Haven't blogged much because there is nothing to blog about. Work is practically non-existent. A typical day starts with me entering IMRE, heading straight for the student PC room. There, I check my mail and read a book, until my mentor summons me with an sms. Sometimes, the sms would say that she would like to start in the afternoon, which meant that I woke up at 7am for nothing. Usually, I start at 10+ though:D However, after 1hour of work, there is usually a 3 to 4 hour waiting time, or even an overnight wait. If there is anything called wasting my youth away, this is it. No wonder so many of them said that their attachments were waste of time.

In fact, today, for the first time, my mentor was going to start on something novel. Of all times though, the machine broke down, so we can only start on monday. So I knocked off at 1pm. Honestly, even the $600/mth pay is not enough to compensate for my wasted time. I need to find time to do something!!


On a positive note, I have been rather lucky with meeting up with these NUS peeps. I managed to meet Tian'en most of the time when he is free (note that I said when he is free, not when I am free. That is because I AM FREE WHEN HE IS FREE. Urgh! Too much free time). I managed to meet Daryl for a good chat. I even managed to see Serene Lek (+bf. If Daryl didn't know the guy's name, I wouldn't have realised it was her bf... SNEAKY!!! DIDN'T INTRO!!!) randomly when I was with Daryl. Yuxin and I are attempting to play badminton together too.

See, how boring this gets... I have nothing exciting to talk about. I need to find some life soon.

SHIT!!!

That's all I can say, after finding out that Tian'en finished half day today, and gets to go home early to read his gf's blog.

Always look on the bright side of life

My life sucks at the moment because this is my1st week at work in NUS and Tian'en had to be at O-week (with 924650219304 little young things).
BUT
that means that I would have more time to go out with 92357441893 guys before he is free again. AND by the time he reads this, hopefully the week is over and it'd be TOO late! (Serve you right!)



My life sucks at the moment because unlike my previous attachments where I had my own private office, I would have to go to the student room this time round, when I am not needed.
BUT
that means that I can sneak off to meet my darling halfway through until I am paged!!!



My life sucks at the moment because I had an afternoon off at work today but found 39% of my phonelist to be overseas, 39% to be working, 9% to be studying, 9% to be unknowns, leaving only 4% that I can call. Out of these 4%, 100% did not pick up the call (hello?!?! 1130am?!?!!?).
BUT
that means that I decided to have lunch by myself (hold back your tears, please), at the NUS business canteen, spending only $2 :D Cab home, anyone?


My life sucks at the moment because I am working in a engineering lab and have to figure out all the physic terms used in the papers. (S waves, P waves, wavesforms?) using my bio background.
BUT
that means that I would laugh at you physicists and engineers when you try to lie to me about some cheemie concept.


My life sucks at the moment because I am working alone at IMRE, so I have no lunch buddy for this week! To make things worse, there're so many Imperial ppl working at MOE hq this year, but I am not at Biopolis!!! (Assuming they would have lunch with me. ZJ already rejected me:( )
BUT
that means that I would be able to meet up with my friends in NUS from next week onwards for lunch! AND ALSO EAT WITH MY DARLING FOR BOTH LUNCH AND DINNER. AND GO TO HIS RESIDENCE TO CUT ALL COMPETITION!!!!


My life sucks at the moment because I have to travel 1.5 hours to get to work.
BUT
that means...
that means... Sigh... NOTHING CAN MAKE ME LOOK AT THIS POSITIVELY!!!

Worthy quotes --> Read at ur own risk of ur impression of the ppl involved!

Yuxin and I saw this dead bird sprawled on the floor, with its two legs showing from behind the tail. We were both grieving for the bird when Yuxin blurted out, "Eh... So sad... It lost its two front legs."


?!?@(?*&%$???????


(No kidding, upon further probing, she did think that birds have four legs! And her defence was, they are aways flying, so who would notice how many legs they have... Right... And we thought Jessica Simpson was a bimbo.)


***************************************

After sharing some sex trivia I found in this month's issue of Cleo, Tian'en and I were talking about homosexuality in dolphins. I was interested in knowing exactly how dolphins engage in such behaviour, more specifically, which hole was used as a substitution. My darling went, "Snort?"


(I still don't know the answer. Finally something that you can't find online. If you know the answer, I am VERY interested.)


****************************************

Ok, so today's "Mind Your Body" confirmed the century-old myth that eating soya food decreases sperm count. Since we all know that a large proportion of the protein in a vegetarian diet comes from soy products, Tian'en had to rub it in, "So maybe male vegetarians are infertile?"

Distasteful, my dear!! Now we would have no more vegetarian friends!!!

******************************************

Disclaimer: These people seem smarter than they really are.

Days of my life

The past few days have been spent meeting up with friends.


On Friday, I met up with Alvin Tan for tea. Alvin was my NJ friend, whom I meet every morning before morning assembly. Till this day, I still don't know what possessed me then to wake up at 545 every morning, just so that I could go to school half an hour earlier to meet this group of friends in the morning. I would give so much now to sleep half an hour more!!! But dearie, if you read this, I think you have matured a lot:D

At night, I went for the pre-departure talk for the IC freshers. I can kill Zhiyang for making me change my family schedule, just to accommodate this, only to find out that Fiona and Michelle were coming. So my presence wasn't needed! Heh... But we had supper after that, before a small group of us proceeded to a TINYMINI TGIF at Abiel's place, with 5 ppl. Abiel's parents were amazing and cool! OOSH!!



On Saturday, I met up for dimsum with Yuxin, my touch rugby teammate. We updated each other about our lives. It is nice to know that no matter where I go, and how infrequent I reply her emails, Yuxin would always be a good friend! Met WanXuan, another teammate. Too bad I had to rush off for another outing, and couldn't stay long!


Me Yux and Wanxuan


The next outing was with my classmates. As usual, every1 except Min Tze were late. I was late from trying to look for plasters in watson (ok, excuses... "But my new shoes which I bought from H&M were killing me," squeals Cheryl indignantly.) It was funny how I rushed to the train, opened my sms inbox to find 3 smses telling me they would be late. Some things never change. We ate at Shoduko (I THINK TT's what it is called?), some japanese marche thing in Raffles City. Too bad I was too full from dimsum and couldn't eat much. But I think I would like to return again. And after that, we couldn't find anything to do, and ended up standing at various spots in Raffles city while deciding what to do (for at least an hour!). I think we should do something more productive next time, like mahjung or sth!!! Chun Hao already offered his house rite?


5 of us idiots who stood around, after the rest have gone.
Found our way to Long John Silver in the end.




On Sunday, my family and I went to this restaurant called "Tao's Restaurant". THE FOOD AND SERVICE WERE AMAZINGTOPNOTCHEDUNCOMPARABLYGOOD! Basically, you pay a fixed price for a 7-course dinner set, from which u can choose the starter, main course, desserts etc. Eat the steak! Medium rare! UMMMMM!!! The waiters were also very meticulous, offering to give us extra bowls when they saw that we were sharing our food etc. I cannot stress how much importance I place on good service. I would recommend it to anyone!!! It was a treat from my sis and I to our parents, so I am glad everything turned out fine.





Today, I met up with Ade, my neighbour for 9 months in London in the afternoon. Wanted her to try this Chilli Ginger Chicken rice from Thai Express. It set me on fire the last time, so I was really curious in finding out whether it would do the same to her. I could only bow my head to her in respect. Tian'en had set a challenge to her to not drink any water while eating it (this guy had to dunk the chicken in his soup to rinse some of the gravy off before eating). She took up the challenge and only sip some water when she was halfway through. Plus, she finished the gravy. I had to scrape the gravy off the last time I ate it, coz it was too much for me. That was quite a feat.



My evil look, before Ade consumed her death sentence. Never did I realise I was really giving her pure bliss with that poison.



Ade looking pretty (Sorry, Ade, that I have to rip it off you coz u din send me this pic.)


I tried the Olive rice, which I remembered her recommending last year. I can't believe I never ordered it before. IT WAS SO GOOD. Even better than the curry soft-shell crab, if you ask me. I am going to try the one at Addie's, if I can.



Me with Olive rice!!! Love it!



Had a great chat with her. She is a good listener. It is funny how we stayed so close to each other in year 1 and 2 in college, but never really gotten round to knowing each other well. I really should reach out to more people, so that I won't regret never knowing a good friend-to-be.

Thank yous...

This was meant to be published on 29th June, but due to the crappy internet, I couldn't uploaded my pictures. So this is published only now. Apologies for the delay!!

29th June 2008

So I am blogging this right after I blogged about Borough. Sorry that the chronological sequence was wrong. I thought that I would have time after my exams to type this entry but having to evict outta the house the day after my exams end took more time than I thought. I ended up spending the entire night packing my room.

Anyway, what struck me most was the difference between this year’s revision period for exams compared to the previous ones in my life. Somehow, I felt the love and support this year from my friends more than previous years. It is probably due to the fact that I am staying so near to everyone this year, so it makes it easier for everyone to give support to each other. It is really a tough exam period this year, despite me being more prepared compared to last year, due to LOTS of unforeseen circumstances which I would not elaborate here. It had been a bad week and I hope it would be over soon.

So, in no order of importance, can I thank the following people:

PS I am going to try to insert random pics of these people at the same time to remind myself of the times we had during the year.

Jin Yang

Thank you for cooking for me after your exams. I know you tried to clear as much of the house as possible so that I didn’t have to rush too much and I really appreciate that, otherwise I would still be packing now. (But it’s your own fault that you left your ginseng behind, so it’s not my fault that I forgot to help you pack it too!! :p ) You gave me honey and fruits when I was falling sick, and offered to do all the dishes after my exams. THANK YOU!!!

Jin Yang on his bday. Ignore the camera hoggers at the back, please.

Gabriel Cher

Thank you for settling our new house stuff during our exam period. Must have been tough on you. I always look forward to the times when you knock on my door to just have a chit-chat about everything. Although it had been significantly less frequent than last year, just talking to you kept me sane. You chased those lonely nights away. Now that you have a bigger room than me next year, maybe it would be my turn to pop into your room^_^

Gabriel during JY's bday. He looks like the bday boy here.

Zheng Yuan

Thank you for doing all the random things whenever I don’t expect them. Buying a full pack of Wangwang from Chinatown, giving me a fruit tart out of the blue… These little things made my day because it felt so out-of-character of you. Made me realise how little I know you! I am glad we have a second year to try again!

This was the picture taken from the famous "ZY got drunk" night at Gardening Club. You'd think he was sober from this pic.

Kenneth

Thank you for the support you gave during the revision period. You are such a wonderful coursemate, always assuring me and standing by me. The bitching sessions we had, the strolls home to and from school, these formed a structure around my days which helped me push through. While we may not be exactly coursemates next year, I hope we can still maintain the same intimacy we share this year.

(Now that I have finished complimenting you, can I see your dog when you return please?)

Kenneth's CUTE DOG. Now can you understand why I want to see his dog? I used to own one of these dogs, making this dog extra special! (Btw, I am not saying that Kenneth is not worthy a picture here. I just want a particular picture of us sticking our faces to a balloon, which I can't find on my com. So this will have to do while I wait for Kenneth to come online.)

Adeline and Chong U

Thank you two for the sushi on the night of the last paper eve. Really made my day that day, since it was THE day I needed emotional support so badly. Luckily both of you were still around, since most were gone by then. I am sorry I didn’t show much gratitude that day as I felt, because I was still numbing myself from the pain I was going through that evening. Thank you Ade, for cooking dinner for me when you could and allowing me to take refuge in your house during construction period. Thank you Chong U for buying that yummilicious hor fun for me when I was with Ade (Love house, love crow.).

They even put the sushi in some nice packaging and wrote on it! So sweet and thoughtful right?

Daryl

Thank you for popping by sometimes to spice up my mundane life. Exam period would have been different without you, since you were the only one who didn’t give a damn about exams. You have the uncanny ability to make one forget about their exams. Urgh… I already dread next year’s exams.

Daryl licking the sweetest apple I can find in London (from Manila supermarket, btw). Looks a bit wrong, but I would like to think of it as appreciation of the apple (compared to JY who had, by then, finished the apple)

Francine

Thank you for making pancakes for JY and me! They were delicious!!

Francine and Hong'en, together against all odds.

And of course there were so many of you who sms-ed me words of support. Those msgs I kept in my phone (for reference next year, just in case I receive none.)! Shitty week I went through this week, but nevertheless, I am glad I had good memories of friends to pull me through!

CABS!!!!

Been back for a few days now. URGHHHH!!! Took my 1st cab ride since the price hike. OH MY GOOOODNESSS!!! I think I would leave my house earlier from now on, and take the bus!! It was really a combination of bad luck and the price hike really, which caused the cost to come up to a hefty $20!!!! The last time I saw that amount, it was when I took from Bishan to Changi dock. I was only travelling from Holland Rd to Hougang this time round!!! It was really bad luck, because the radio broadcaster had just finished mentioning the MASSIVE traffic jam when we just turned out from the slip road right smacked into the MASSIVE jam. However, we made it out at the next exit, thankfully, much to my wallet's relief.


Yes, I have made TE promised me to eat only hawker fare when we are out together for the next few days, to punish myself for spending that amount just because it was raining.


On the other hand, the trip was for him!!! So it wasn't really senseless wasted money. In the history of our relationship, CABs have come in handy when I needed to give my boy a surprise. I love receiving surprises. And because of that, I love giving surprises. Always do what you want others to do to you (although I have learnt the brutal truth that this is not always the case).

Anyway, back to the importance of CABs.

In dec 06, when I returned to Sg for the 1st time, TE couldn't come meet me at the airport coz he was in NS. So I decided to catch him at home before he went to work. Unfortunately, NS guys have to start work at unearthly hours, and my dear boy had to leave house by 0615. So I had to wake up at 5am, to take a CAB to his place to surprise him. It was rather horrible, given that I only had a measly 4hours of sleep before my alarm clock went off, waking both my mum and me up. I can't remember what I told my mum I was doing up at that hour, but I must have been lying, since she didn't know I was attached at that time. When I reached his place, it was drizzling. BUT ALL MY BOY THOUGHT ABOUT DOING WAS BRUSHING HIS TEETH B4 OPENING THE GATE, WHILE I STOOD OUT THERE GETTING WET!! I think I gave his family a greater surprise than I gave him.

Cab fare: ~$12 (due to midnight surcharge)


OKOK!! The next one is a classic drama scene... DRUMROLL...LL...LLLL


In summer last year, I decided to pop by his place to surprise him at night, since I was already out. I was really excited meeting him, since I bought some cookies, cheesecake and a ~*~pretty~*~ (I have been called a bimbo by two ppl separately recently, so I thought why not live up to my name) heart-shaped cake for his family and him. There was really nothing that could go wrong, the worst being me catching him in bed with another girl. Or so I thought. After spending $5 taking a CAB from AMK to his place, I called him only to find him asleep. His dad had to wake him up to pick up the phone. So picture this- I was outside his house, with my bag full of goodies and excitement, while he was in there knocked out to the world. When his dad passed him the phone, TE was still in a semi-conscious state. It took me 5 minutes to get through to his head that I was waiting outside for him. When he finally got the message, his first reaction was, "Huh, why you come at this time? " (This time being 2230. WHICH IS NOT VERY LATE!!!). Of course, the now-rational me knows that he was knackered from his NS work, and just said that out of exasperation. BUT the excited lilo chick wasn't expecting that, and the sense of disapointment just came crashing down on her. The only thing she could do was muttered, "Sorry... I shouldn't have come." into the phone and walked off. Crying.
And of course, TE was desperately calling her, while she rejected his calls. Finally she sat down on the curb and picked up his call. He found her. He apologised. She apologised (NO, she din apologise for coming unannounced, because that is the definition of surprise. She apologised for not understanding that he didn't mean what he said when he said those -!@#^%#- words.)They ate ~*~pretty~*~ heart-shaped cake. They played on the swing. She took CAB home. He paid.

Cabfare: $5 to get there
$10 to get home


And today, I decided to pop by to surprise TE again. We hadn't met for about 20hours, and I missed him. We were not gonna meet tmr either, so I thought it best to try to see him today. Had tea/dinner with Michelle (which went quite well!! Miss her so much!), and bought this crunchy blueberry tea cake for TE and family. It started raining before Mich and I reached the bus stop, only to find that we were at the wrong bus stop!!! URGH!!! I don't know what possessed me then, but I decided to ignore ALL warnings which my friends gave me before I returned to Singapore and hailed a CAB. These friends had warned me that the hike was a steep one, one that bordered on madness BUT they didn't say that it would SHOCK me. I would have waited till 8pm before hailing the CAB if I knew that it is 35% surcharge for peak hours now. I boarded at 1955=( And the rest is history...

Cabfare: $20

Borough market

Anyone who asks me for recommendations on what to visit in London would definitely hear the words “Borough Market” 20 times until the words are etched into their mind. Ummm… I love food and having so much food under (literally) one umbrella is enough to make me drool everytime I relate my experiences there. The food isn’t fanstastically cheap there. In fact, I have already blown about 150 pounds over the 4 trips that I have been there. YES!!! FOUR times!! Even some/most of the Londoners have not been there and probably most would go there once or twice. It is not just the food that draws me back there, because I am sure it is possible to get the food separately at different places in London, if I look hard enough (of course, having them all at one location makes it all soooo convenient). It is the atmosphere, the aromas, the bustling… Ummm mmmm…. I usually hate crowd. So much so that I would rather give some sales a miss because it is JUST PRETTY DAMN NOT WORTH IT to lose my limbs fighting over some unwanted but cheap designer goods. However, the crowd at Borough Market creates the perfect atmosphere of what a food paradise should be like ^_^

All right, all right, other than all the points mentioned above, the crucial reason why I love Borough is that I had great company each time I went (realise the lackluster of this sentence, because honestly, I would go to Borough more often on my own if I can, except that I need people to help me eat up the leftovers that I can’t finish. That is probably the only reason why I drag people to go with me. Of course, if you are Tian’en, my sis, my mum or Daryl, you obviously know me well enough to know that I am kidding, right?).

I always discover something new each time I go to Borough Market. In my first trip to Borough my mum, I tried the traditional popular dishes like raclette, oyster and brownies. Going with my mum was great, because after all, she was the one who taught me how to eat. So our tastes are pretty similar. And she being my mum meant that I got to choose what I wanted to eat (if this sentence doesn’t make sense to you, then you need to change mums).

This is mum at Tower bridge. Sorry dudes, I realised that my mum and I took NO pics at Borough Market when we went. So I have to use this random pic.

This is raclette. Potatoes with melted cheese on it.

On my second trip to Borough, I went with Tian’en. Poor boy as he was, he had to endure me forcing sickeningly sweet Turkish delights and slimy fresh oysters down his throat. He got his revenge, when he insisted on buying this “caramel custard pot”. Probably only my housemates would know that I shun caramel like poison because it tastes like, feels like and is poison. I grudgingly said that I would only try a tiny bit and he would have to finish the rest. They said that revenge was sweet and it was truly so! Gosh!!! Poor Tian’en could only watch helplessly when I finished the whole pot of custard after tasting it. (We did buy a 2nd pot eventually but that didn't matter, because the point was that I finished the 1st pot which I refused to buy.) Ooooohhh…. And that was how I discovered “caramel custard”^_^

This is my sis, not TE!, eating caramel custard. Unfortunately, TE was the photographer for this trip to Borough and so I couldn't find a pic with him in it. So this has been ripped from the trip to Borough with my sis.

Now, my third trip to Borough was different from my previous two trips because I went with a guy whom I had never shared food with. What if he has STD? What if he thinks I have STD? What if he is a selfish bastard/ scared of other people’s saliva and refuses to share with me? Luckily, Daryl turned out to be quite normal. Quite, you ask? Well, if you look at the photo below, maybe everything is self-explanatory. Going with Daryl was a good decision, because this guy is out for adventures. He seek and conquered only the exotic food. This is exactly what I look out for in guys fellow food hunters. We tried the ostrich burger, which was tasted vaguely like beef, but much more tender. In fact, when I was taking the appetizing picture of Daryl’s opened jaws (sometimes, you have to use the right nomenclature for the right species), I was holding back myself from licking the food off his tongue.

Daryl's scrumpilicious ostrich burger

One other fanastic find was the crunchilicious “honeyed nuts” because Daryl absolutely loves his nuts (grow up, guys!). It was a pity that my mum didn’t get to try it when she was here, because she loves nuts too.

"Cranberry" store, selling nuts and chocolate (the honeyed nuts are to die for)

My fourth time was today, with my sister. Both of us are crazy about our food, so going Borough Market with her is especially enjoyable. I thought by now, I would have tried everything and nothing can amaze me anymore. Again, I was proven wrong. We tried the apparently-popular-but-I-have-not-tried fried scallops, which were REALLY sweet and fresh.

My sister still loved the fresh oysters the most, rating them as the best she had eaten. And I had to agree with her. Out of the three times that I had eaten the oysters at Borough, this had to be the best batch I had tried. It is most unfortunate though, since we all know that oysters are aphrodisiac, so it would be much preferred if Tian’en had this batch of oysters instead. On the other hand, I should thank my lucky stars that Daryl didn’t get to eat the oysters :P (yep, this loser went to Borough, wanted to leave the oysters to be the last thing to eat but ended up facing an empty stall after eating other food)

We also bought the nuts for our mum. The nuts are that good (I am already on the way of finishing them even before they reach my suitcase as I type now). Any of you who want to know which stall it is from can ask me. I believe I can draw you the map of borough market of the stalls which I recommend.

It is a pity that we didn’t try the banana cake which my sis' friend recommended. Her friend insisted that it was better than the brownies. Personally, I didn’t think the brownies were THAT fantastic, so I would have to try the banana cake first before I make my own verdict. That just means a fifth trip to my favourite London tourist spot. Any takers?

(Dun worry, you only have to live up to the standard of 4 others.)