happy CNY roarz!
haven't been updating for quite some time..n now i see why when ppl start working, their blogs tend to die off..BUT i'm still here! haha.
phew! 5 wks of IA n taking night mods have already passed..yet i haven't started touching anything about these 2. I was still trying to clear the useless simulation report and rushing the safety report to complete all that i have to do for SEP. n yays i've finally done them this season! NOW, it's time to do something about IA n HR n downstream, esp when IA report is due next wk, downstream quiz1 is next wk and HR reflection paper n project are coming up! omg, i can foresee a busy mth to come. BUT thankfully work is still not that stressful, ends early most of the time, leaving me still time to meet up with frens n go jogging!
I would say the past mth has been the mth i tried the hardest to keep fit in my entire life man! my staminar improved too..yays! =) but with this new year season here, i think i needa continue that in order to return to my original shape n weight. now i finally understand the difficulty in losing weight n the ease in gaining weight. despite that, i believe with the perserverance to lose weight, u'll still lose cos i did that! just gotta be very patient though.. besides the joggings, i met up with the 4b gals (jo, gil, sy, yl), 7dwarves (*minus adi =(), yuhui, xiuli, jinmison, and of cos intern outings! 1 was a lunch treat by bh for his 3 latest generations of interns, while another one was just all the 3 generation of interns in msd. i think it's so cool to have such "san dai tong tang" gathering, but somehow it's not very easy to organise n i dun really foresee it happening again leh..quite sad ah. haha..at least we once had fun before ah. hopefully there will be another one next time too! oh and of cos i met the virra ppl for HR..and we had our sports afternoon at ss's house 1 day.
now, cny season is here! before that, i'm already in cny mood, cos bh was on leave since last thurs n tt's aka no government for me n yt! anw on last fri, many perm staffs were on leave too, so we were so slack..munpun, guohao, joseph n me even wenta the gym before we knock off. the massage chair was brilliant man! it gonna be my best fren la! haha..but i felt quite guilty after slacking.. =x. CNY was more or less the same again, with reunion dinner on last sat, relatives coming on sun, going visiting on mon n both yest. This year's chu yi also coincided with vdae, and automatically, tt arouse the attention of more adults, especially the young mummies, asking "she got bf already or not?" or saying "so next will be your turn hor?" or saying "today nv go out ah?" haha..i dunno why, but i start to feel i'm getting more n more sensitive to this..haha. anw that aside, since i've just came back from sep, tt leaves many asking me how was my trip n me repeating my experience for dunno how many times. haha..but sometimes it's quite amusing to meet different ppl but they all ask more or less the same qns like so u're in yr3? 1 more yr to graduation? what u studying? how was ur trip? do u have bf? lolx..are they becoming a std questionairre for cny?? haha...
gonna do night shift today..more for an extended new year hol! but it gonna be the first time ever in my life working night shift! exciteds! i tried to store my sleep just now..but didn't manage to store much..lolx. hope i wun be too tired later..
nonetheless, it's tiger year now! roarz! wishing all a prosperous new year, stay in the pink of health n be happy! =)
Pei Lin
@ 17/02/10 8:53 AM | Comments (0)
1st wk of work
it's been just a week and IA + night mods is simply tiring!
waking up at 6+ am in the morn is exactly like those school days in the past..simply making me recall those good JC days again. But instead of gg to school for morn assembly, it's now gg to JE to catch shuttle bus to MSD and my 1/2hr nap along the way..
so far, MSD is still giving me a pretty positive impression. although i haven been to other companies like exxon/shell, somehow i have the gut feeling that i'll still prefer MSD environment..things are not very hectic and hierachy in the office is kinda smoothened to me. somehow after the days of orientation, i have this impression that it's a very organised company which work ethically and with integrity. Compliance 1st. while that may not make us the most profitable company all the time, i still agree with their policies and believe it will eventually do the company good. but of cos i do believe nothing's perfect and this is just my first week at work, so things may not really be as nice as i thought. haha..but with my "escaping" weakness still existing, i just wanna escape from any ugly sights that may exist.
anw, 1st week at work is nothing much. lotsa trainings planned for me, for me to understand the company betterand adapt. It is good that trainings have been planned, but sometimes i feel perhaps the trainings can be more organised, so that i'll understand what's gg on better. I did have a chance to join in their meetings with the vendors, but sadly most of the time i'm lost and clueless abt wat's gg on. I don't really know what has happened, the current situation and what they intend to do n stuffs. lotsa things for me to learn n catch up, but gladly, my supervisor is not putting much stress on me. the office envt is not stressful 'yet'? and i think i'm still lucky to have yong tai interning with me, cos he joined the company earlier and understand more, so he could still tell me about things he know..studying and working is quite diff i must say. haha..perhaps the only similarity is attending trainings which somewhat mimcs attending lectures and sometime trying to keep my eyes open. i got my safety boots and goggles and helmet for me to enter the plant too, and i am kinda looking fwd to entering it more often to understand how things flow n work in the system. The air-conditioned plant simply makes the learning environment more conducive for me! hahah.
ok for sch, had HR on mon and get to know that our tutor is a pretty stern strict cranky old man. haha. hope he teaches well and not give us monday blues every wk! haha, CN5173 on thurs. although the lesson was almost 3hrs, it's quite interesting..at least the first. n prof loh looks n sounds n seems quite nice! he speaks n teaches well! incentives for me to go for lessons! =) act i think it's impt to go first..cos lotsa notes to take down..remind me of mkting last time..haha.
so far, working n studying is still ok for me though i really feel very tired at night. perhaps it's good, cos tt means i can go to sleep quickly and not get insomia. sometimes i really come home feel happy after work, sometimes while at work i have the "a dream come true" feeling cos i'm making drugs..but actually i haven started making any! haha..oh well...
haha it's only been a few wks into 2010 and i'm finding it hard to fulfill my new yr resolution..esp when ppl are not appreciating ur kindness, esp when u know they betrayed u, esp when u know u carn trust them to keep their words, esp when u know they are keeping things from u, esp when u know they are pretending in front of u, esp when, esp when...wat a challenge to overlook all these...haha!
Pei Lin
@ 16/01/10 6:08 AM | Comments (0)
twenty-ten
although it's already 9 days in to 2010, i still wanna say something abt it..
it's definitely a different year cos it didn't start in spore for me..it started in dublin with our numerous encounters following tt on new year's day. and then on 3jan, i'm finally back home from my SEP! no matter where i go, i'll still miss the comfort and love at home. being back at home simply gives me an unexplainable happy feeling.
after coming back from the wedding dinner, i just took out those food and clothes to be washed and slowly take out those essential daily stuffs from my bag and take a good shower! just when i was more or less done, i was so happy! practically putting on smile! but cos i'm currently using my parents' room after my bro invaded into my room, i carn do it too explicitly..haha. no matter what, i was happy even though i knew that was just a dosage of happiness for me. but getting a dosage that boost my happiness is still better than not getting it at all rite? oh well tt's what i tell myself...
1 wk just passes like this..so fast with many assignments still undone..been really inefficient and easily distracted at home..haha.
Really didn't get much out from the week..been running almost everyday..aiming to return to my original shape..met up with my supervisor - boon hoe, a really easy-going and friendly chap! i just think he's so nice..ok i should just appreciate and full stop. biobiz stuffs are coming in n i feel so lazy to do those admin saikang again...haha..
4 years and counting...how long more can i remain stubborn!!
now that i'm really back in spore, i wonder more...i tot we once agreed to be frank n direct. i know i didn't exactly kept to my words cos i dun think i was 100% transparent to u. i scrolled through our msn convo during those mths..and i really carn seem to understand the contrast in ur responses...perhaps it's my bad...sorry..i don't mean to get anything..but mayb i just wanna be enlightened? you are definitely not oblighed to do it though..hahah..but it'll be nice if u do so (if u're reading this)..i dunno why sometimes u can sound so enthu and "ask" for so much but on other times u're totally bochap...
alrites, on a lighter note, new year's resolution time! new year's resolution for 2010: to be nice to all regardless how nice/unnice they are, how satisfied/disappointed i am in their behaviour, how good/bad mood i am in. yea, much easier said than done..i think i'm still quite a vengeful person..and i have not yet reach the stage to leave all punishments of mankind to God..definitely need more tolerance to let-go and achieve that..
gonna start school and IA on mon! yr 3 sem2...sigh...i'm so not looking fwd to time passing so fast...=( i just hope i'll be able to cope with IA and my 2 night mods and all things will go on well on this new year!
SMILE PEILIN!! =D
@ 09/01/10 3:24 PM | Comments (0)
last wave of adventure...
i think i should complete my SEP journey and so here it is.
21dec-we had our last dinner at baabel and left for the train station that night. it's the last time i'll be stepping in yliopisokatu 16. despite how much i hated the place initially, i still miss the place to a certain extent when leaving. it was also our last time experiencing such cold weather..we were early for our train so as to ensure we have sufficient time to lug our luggage n backpack all the way up to the train platform pass the snowy ground...and off we go on our night train to helsinki..
22dec-we reached helsinki in the morn, had breakfast at some cafe at the train station before taking a cab to the airport in the snowstorm! really heavy snow tt day and vision was so obscured! we were very very early for our flight, but we had no where else to go with our belongings la...so just slack at the airport lo...quite boring though...then we took our flight to london. thankfully our belongings are still with us and heathrow and BA didn't disappoint us..and so upon reaching london, we make our way to earl's court to meet wt's senior's fren who's nice enough to brg us to the house to leave our luggage..london's weather was so much better n more shuang man! and then we checked in to our hostel--astor kensington. wah lao..our room was like a kitchen turn into a room lo...sianz...but no choice either..
23dec- woke up early to catch our national express to bath. upon reaching bath, we wenta roman bath n try the sally buns..and then we went for the free tour. BUT it was raining! totallly ruined our tour...and i didn't brg my umbrella..so we were all wet. haix..didn't take much photos there and perhaps it's because of the weather, bath seems boring to me. haha. and then we took national express back to london tat evening. there was a stop at heathrow airport on our way back for ppl to alight, but the driver switched off his engine while he went down to take out the luggage..so since there was a toilet break there on our journey to bath, i just assumed that it's our toilet break too! and i just went down to the toilet and guess wat! the evil driver actually drove off when i came back!! heard he was very mean n rude to my frens who tried to stop him..but luckily he still stopped for me to board again in the end..wah lao..it's a big company NATIONAL EXPRESS and how RUDE EVIL UNFRIENDLY can the drivers get!! i was kinda stunned by his reaction lo...
24dec-off to oxford via oxford tube. compared to national express, the bus was so much bigger and cooler and more imptly their drivers are so much more well-mannered! weather at oxford was good too and i think it's a nice place. i think it's so interesting to visit the sch campus. some of them are really awesome! like christ church...wanted to buy their hoody but the shops closed..haha not fated to get one..
25dec-christmas day! and transport in london is totally closed except for taxis. so we walked walked n walked all the way from earl's court to hyde park corner, hoping to attend the free tour but they didn't appear! :S so we just walked by ourselves to the attractions like buckingham palace, big ben, london's eye, some park, white house etc. i think the worst thing abt everything being closed is the difficulty in finding a toilet! haha..but we realised that a lot of tourists are out on that day!
26dec- boxing day sales!! it's an entire day dedicated to shopping at oxford street! everywhere is so crowded..not really to my liking..and didn't exactly buy a lot too..i think just a jeans, a tight, a river island shirt. couldn't find a dress i like...=(then we went back to the restaurant next to our hostel for fish n chips but it was disappointing la...i think our botak jones and the clementi hawker can do much better...somemore their service was super lousy! they took damn long to give us to bill and wrong bill somemore! zzz
27dec-wenta the natural history museum with wt's fren liqin. ok the dinosaurs are still reasonably interesting, but i felt everything after that was a waste of time..haha. then we met kevin who brought us to harrods for macarons..oh and we bought krispy kreme too. oh man..that day was bad for my tummy cos we had breakfast in the morn, didn't have water till late afternoon..didn't eat anything till we queued for macaron..and tt's just 2 mini macarons for me...and then i ate a doghnut. after that we wenta imperial..and then dinner...suddenly all the food comes in at the same time..bad bad bad for tummy..but nandos chicken was not bad la..haha. after dinner, we wenta kevin's place for shower before catching our bus to edinburgh..
28dec-reached edinburgh. we checked in our hostel and wenta eat their breakfast! hehez. then we went for the free tour..and after tt, we went for a quick shopping. this time round, i bought 2 dresses and a wallet for mummy! satisfied! =) then we wenta try haggis. haha...didn't taste as disgusting as what it really is la..mayb cos wat we eat is minced also..haha so it kinda mimic meatball taste?
29dec-we wanted to climb arthur's seat!! but...the weather was bad...it was snowing quite heavily...and so we didn't climb in the end...went into the parliament instead...oh well..scottish parliament..thankfully it's not as boring as national museums.. then we didn't do much too..wenta watch 3D loch ness..haha. i felt the facts were making it boring and the 3D wasn't making it any much more exciting and so i dozed off! lolx then we took airlink to the airport to catch our first ryan air to dublin. everything was fine too..but it was raining again at dublin and the wind was quite strong. we met a kind chap on the bus who told us how to get to our hostel too..and the hostel was nice! finally somewhere nice for new year..haha
30dec-it was raining but we still went for the free tour as planned. unfortunately, the rain and wind was really bad and we decided to abandon the free tour after the break..then we continued walking by ourselves before making our way to the guiness brewery. Guess wat! my umbrella couldn't withstand the horrible feng feng yu yu and eventually gave way on our way there.. =( hahaha..
guiness brewery was quite a worthit trip la..though it a bit out of the way. haha. but definitely a good indoor hangout place for tourists under the bad weather...we get to try guiness beer and their desserts there too..after tt when we came out, the wind was...gosh...much stronger man! strong till i felt i was on the verge of being blown away for a moment..and then i felt luckily i gained some weight over these few mths! haha. due to the bad weather, we had no choice but to take cab back to the city centre...to shop and dinner...each time we step outdoor, it's like going for another battle with the weather..really bad..but memorable sia! lol
31dec-last day in 2009! much better weather! we wenta trinity college which was kinda disappointing to me...and then shopped...shopping was quite disappointing too..although i still bought a bag and tshirt in the end..then we wenta get some chocs..and diiner and slack...it snowed that night too...
1jan-happy new year! how exciting can our new year be man! due to the unexpected snow and cold weather the previous day, our bus services were cancelled! so we had to take cab to the airport! ok nvm, we are still on time. from the check-in area, everything seems fine for our flight..and we boarded our plane quite on time too...but guess wat! we actually spent 2+hrs on board waiting for the de-icing truck to de-ice our plane before taking off...wah lao i can sleep n wake up and the plane haven take off! the delay screwed our plans and we were so rushed to get our dinner and catch phantom...but nonetheless, we still caught phantom!! the props and everything is so cool!! but perhaps cos i didn't exactly understood everything so i didn't have the "touched" feeling after watching..but i still enjoyed the show with all the very nice songs!! after that, we wenta get ben and jerrys and juices to trest ourselves for the new year...
2jan-our last day of SEP!! we chop chop toured the eastern side of london, which incl the tower bridge n london bridge (look just like an expressway la..) before gg to picadily circus lily whites to shop for jerseys n sportswear..then off to chinatown for four seasons duck! really suckling duck man...! sinful but considering it's our last day..i kinda give up and just eat...
after tt we went back to the hotel to take our backpack before gg back to the house with our luggage to pack n bathe. then...off we go to the airport! check-in was kinda inefficient at heathrow but nvm cos we were still on time. tax refund was troublesome though!! anw we each bought a box of krispy kreme home in the end! more sinful food but i think it's nice leh... =s if u've tried other doughnuts, u'll find that they dun taste the same de...
anw, our flight was delayed for about 40min..but not too bad i guess and everything was safe and fine too =) so....
3jan- we reached spore!! home sweet home! went for my cousin's wedding dinner directly after that...congrats to him! =)
*to be continued..
Pei Lin
@ 09/01/10 2:57 PM | Comments (0)
*cont...farewell oulu
16dec-start of skiing trip with J-P. early in the morn, we wenta the bus station to catch the bus to kussamo-ruka. after checking in and having lunch, we finally get to the ski school, get our skiing equipment and started learning skiing!! i was really looking fwd to that moment...but then i was a bit disappointed leh..perhaps cos the weather is really tooooo cold for us. it's about -20 deg and u can feel your fingers getting numb each time you stay out for a long while for each time you start holding your ski-sticks...=s the ski-school ended rather quickly too...even before i was taught how to get down a slope which i consider a slope..hahaha...and after the ski-school, we took a break from the cold-weather with a cup of delicious chocs from a cafe. and then we went back to ski a while more before returning our ski equipment. =( i wish the weather wasn't that cold for us and i wish i had more time there...hahaha..i'll definitely wanna go ski again!! ok la..i shouldn't be complaining cos at least i get to ski! haha. getting out of the ski boots is diff man...i feel as if my feet are stuck in the boots and i needa pull them out like farmers pulling turnips out from the soil. haha. but after getting out of the heavy boots, it's really much lighter!
after skiing, we get back to our apartment to rest a while before i go sauna with wanwan!! even though sauna is popular among finns...it's only till now that we are gg sauna!! happy that there's a sauna in the apartment for us too! and the apartment very much resemble that of my parents', but i think my parents' is nicer =p. anw sauna was shiok man...so dun feel like coming out...hahaha.make us feel really warm to combat the cold!
after sauna, we went out for dinner at some supposedly indian restaurant nearby which isn't indian at all to any teeny-weeny bits. J-P wanted to go clubbing...but there just isn't any good clubs there la...hahaha. and so we went back.
17dec-we had our breakfast buffet at the hotel. i dunno why but i kinda love breakfast buffet..but oh no...i'm suppose to loose weight!!! ahhh..haha. after that we wenta "shop" at the pathetic ruka centre before going back to kuusamo to bowl and have late lunch and catch our bus back to oulu!
Ruka is more north than oulu and so it's as cold/colder than oulu..but the trees are whiter!! really white man! i love the whitishness!! anw this ruka trip is the first time we are going on a trip with our kummi...it's yet another new experience for me! haha...i think it's only after this trip that i manage to understand how language and culture plays such an impt role in our lives. and it's only after this trip that i understand why i shouldn't think my jap roomies are dao towards me...sometimes it's not that they're dao, but just that they'll tend to speak to ppl in a lang they're more familiar with and hang out with ppl with similar lifestyles...oh well...as days past...i dunno if i'm a lousy housemate or it's normal that things fall in this manner..act i'm kinda disappointed that i'm not close to them and i dun understand them so much..perhaps our different timetable and schedule dun allow us to spend much time tgt too..although i wish we had spent more time tgt..nevertheless..i think i tried to be a good housemate and i suppose time will reveal to them if i'm really a good housemate..haha.
18dec-we wenta walk around oulu city for a last time...and to get souvenirs for our frens...i'm so sry but i really carn find something suitable and worth for my parents..=x i hope i'll be able to find something during my uk trip...spent a bomb again..but last time i suppose and after coming so far, spending so long here..i just dun wanna go back and regret not buying anything back to keep. hahaha.
19dec-we wenta school for some final printing and then for a walk along our very first and last joggin track! cold...but i love snow! =D our 2nd last cooked dinner..and that night, louis, yuriko and gus will be leaving...suddenly the feeling of having to bid farewell to oulu don on me...suddenly i start to feel the reluctance to leave despite missing home so much when i first came..afterall, i did spend 4mths here...i did live through all the partying noise and smokes..feel somewhat sad that ppl are leaving and the place is turning quiet again. frankly, i'm not close to anyone here (besides my fellow nus mates), and i was the one complaining abt all the partying noises...but still..i'll miss the place to a certain extent. it'll definitely take up a new space in my limited memory...haha..
today 20dec-finally i reach today...the last time i'll be doing laundry here...the last time i'll be sleeping in yliopistokatu 16, the last time i'll be seeing my jap roomies...more thoughts floating in my mind...a very mixed feeling...yet i dun think i'll ever regret making the decision to embark on this sep journey.. i mean even though i dun really get to learn what i'm supposed to learn in nus, i dun think life is so much about acad content...i believe all the life experiences learnt are as valuable and those are the experiences which take much time to attain... ideally i should catch up with the acad content when i get back..and i hope i do..haha...
tmr, we'll be leaving oulu.....GOOD-BYE OULU!!! memories...
last trip to go..admist all the BA strike news...i hope nothing will go wrong...i hope they wun show us any stunts at heathrow..and i hope everything will simply end off well and a brand new and diff start for the new year!
a long entry..but actuallly i'm not all finish with so much that i have to say...till then when i have the time..=)
Pei Lin
@ 20/12/09 10:02 PM | Comments (0)
farewell ouluuuu
i have so much to say, yet so little time..=x
it was 23aug not long ago, and it's december now..as winter falls, as night falls, life here goes on in the cold..
1dec-we had our 2nd last project meeting for design project...carn wait for the last to come..haha
2dec-omg! i dunno what's with oven and me. last time when baking fries, a plate cracked in the oven..cos i think it's some poreclain plate tt's not suitable for oven use. it wasn't exactly my fault, but i was the one who saw it. this time, while taking our delicious baked salmon pasta out frm the oven, i was trying to improve my grip for the hot plate when unfortunately i lost grip and the entire plate of pasta overturned!! the plate broke too..awww my pasta!! hahaha....
3dec-it was an entire day dedicated to separation process exam on the next day. it's a closed book exam, and it just feels like those sec sch days when i was trying to memorise as much as i can..didn't like it. like i've mentioned above, despite being it on SU basis, there's still another side of me that urges me to still try my best. i wish i could be those happy-go-lucky kind of ppl, simply relax and let go...but i'm not..
4dec-2nd and last exam for us!! the paper was indeed a test of memory power to me..but i'm glad i didn't regret not studying hard enough and at least i don't havta worry abt not being able to pass it after the last exam. phew! and we had burger dinner again!
5dec-we were doing our last cycle of design project i think..
6dec-the white surrounding returned and we wenta the lake again to take pics pics pics of the snow covered lake, grass, trees, branches etc! i simply like those surroundings...simply awesome to me...
8dec-last project meeting!! yays! It was my first experience working with a finn researcher and turkish student. Such small group discussions allowed me to better understand the expectations the sch has for the students and the diff between students frm diff country. no offence, but oulu is definitely not as demanding as nus. despite that and despite the fact that i just gotta pass everything, as a singaporean, not to say a nus chem eng student, it's still diff for me to just let go everything. the project wasn't exactly simple as it did take us quite some time..and i'm glad that it's another mod down after that meeting =)
9dec-our touring resumes once again!! woohoo! on wed nite, we took a train from oulu-tampere-turku. upon reaching turku, we made our way to the ferry terminal to make our payment and deposit our baggages..and then we had breakfast there before starting our tour around turku..the old capital of finland.
i dun think the attractions are any more beautiful or interesting than what i've seen before. turku castle isn't gothic like prague castle. it was simply like a museum inside..not very much of my interest, but i think the exterior is one of the nicest turku attraction?? turku cathedral was so-so too.haha. and then we visited some other attractions along "this side" and "the other side" of the aura river. nonetheless, it's still a much more lively city than oulu! haha..perhaps cos there're many more shops and shoppings there. we were trying to get some souvenirs but still couldn't find any..boohoo. we went to a supposedly big shopping centre with everything in it (MYLLY) but only to find out that it's smaller than IMM lo!! haha...oh well..luckily we have time to kill too...and after that we went back to the city centre to have a cake and pulla and COFFEE for dinner! i drank coffee! haha..and then we make our way to the ferry terminal.
ferry isabella from turku to stockholm! it's the first time i'm on board such a cruise-like ferry!! i've always been hearing ppl say how big a cruise is and how stable it is blah blah blah and finally i get to see it for myself!! it's really big!! 8 or 9 storeys i think...and we have a cabin! A cabin with 3 beds, a sofa and a bathroom. just like a hotel room although it's a big small. aside from the small vibrations, it's really stable and i wun get seasick. hahaha. in it is also a few restaurants/bars, cinema, minicasino and duty-free shop! feel happy to have been on such a ferry =)
11dec-we reached stockholm early in the morn. as we were too early to check-in our hostel, we took our time to have our breakfast at the ferry terminal before STROLLING to our hostel! being a capital made up of numerous islands, the scenery is beautiful! after our long n slow walk, we finally reach our hostel and checked-in and to found out how cui our room is!! we got a 7-bed dorm in a room which simply look like some rooftop storeroom turned into a sleeping room by placing some beds in it and installing a toilet. -.-
anyway after putting our stuffs down, we start our touring of stockholm! starting from Gamla Stan, moving towards the city.. incl Riddarholmskyrkan, royal palace, Storkyrkan, stockholm city hall (see from far), Djurgården, Åhléns City, NK, PUB, Gallerian, numerous torgs and bridges..basically our 1st day there was dedicated to touring and 2nd day was dedicated to shopping! we had pizza hut for lunch that day. pizzas with crusts not as thick as those in spore but thicker than those frm other pizza chains..more cheesy too...and it's BUFFET!! omg...i'm supposed to S-T-O-P!! but i'm really restricting and practising self-control...definitely ate less than half of what i had in golden rax previously ba..haha. After that long tiring walk the entire day, we actually found a food court to nua! Yes, finally seeing something that i consider a foodcourt by spore's standard..and then me n wt shared a dish for dinner. after that it was a walk back to our hostel.
12dec-we went ice-skating outdoor!! although i practically carn skate, but it's still a experience! something i'll never get to do under the hot sun and humid weather in spore!! and somemore it's free to rent the skates and skate!! woots! i wish i could skate though...haha. and then we wenta watch the change of guards at the royal palace...running behind them when they first march past us..but only to find that the parade square is already packed with ppl after that. haha but nvm la...cos i dun think it's any much better than what i saw in russia. it's quite a simple change of guards i would say...after that was lunch at some thai restaurant..before shopping continues! more H&Ms to go..haha. you see H&Ms really at almost every corners of the street..seriously....i wonder how much H&M earns by concentrating their shops so much in that city...but even after so much of shopping...in the end i didn't see anything i really like and priced reasonably! i'm so disappointed with the shopping...=( and so i hope london's will be much better!! anw it was snowing!! it just make the city even prettier!! after so much of walking and shopping, we wanted to eat something better in the old town before we leave the beautiful city...but the restaurants are all fully-booked on that sat nite!! =(( in the end we settled our dinner with some kebab fast food chain..tt's just how many ppl there are in stockholm and how lively it is..the city very much feels like orchard road. after that, in a rush of time to catch our ferry, we brisked walk all the way from our hostel to the ferry terminal. we took abt 40min when we first walk to the hostel, but now we took only about 20min to walk back. haha..and i'm sweating when i reach there la..like finally sweating in the cold! haha.
and then we bid farewell to stockholm with ferry amorella bringing us from stockholm back to turku. 2nd experience on a cruise! on board, i spent my kroners on the fazer chocs in the duty free shop and a slice of cake frm the restaurant.
13dec-we arrived in turku early in the morn...cold...and it's a sunday...and soo many shops were closed and it's kinda hard to find shelter man..but we still managed to..=) we wenta a 24hr mac to seek shelter and slack n rest before having lunch and making our way to the train station back to oulu. it's the 2nd last time we'll be taking vr train..and so we arrive in oulu at night.
wah piang eh...when we came out from the train, we could practically feel the diff in temp!! the temp act went down from abt 0 deg to -19deg when we were away for only 4 days!! omg la! but then....cold weather means snow wun melt and surrounding will be pretty!! no more dull gloomy atmosphere! it's now white and happy atmosphere!! no pain no gain! hahaha...
14dec-back to simulation case study..
15dec-carn rmb what i did besides gg sch for lunch.. haha. i think prepare for my skiing trip!
*to be continued..
@ 20/12/09 10:01 PM | Comments (0)
aftermath of honeymoon wk...
continuation of the russia drama -
on our last day in russia, wt and me tot we closed our bags before leaving the hotel. but when we came back, we found our bags open and some of wt's stuffs are outside. i quickly checked my valuables which i supposedly locked in her bag...phew! my money belt with my IC and money are intact, BUT i couldn't find my ipod!! i searched my own bag..but couldn't find it then too...and we really tot someone has broken into our room and stole my ipod! iwe reported to mikko who was nice enough to help us contact the hotel security and settle this incident...but nothing much was settled as the hotel management just claim that only the cleaner came in when we were out and there is no reason for her to steal our stuffs. although i was really quite sad abt having to lose that new ipod, we still went for the river cruise that we have signed up for, consoling myself that amongst all my valuables, ipod is the one that i most dun mind losing...yea so we partied on the cruise..and after that we wenta prisma for some midnight shopping and spending away our roubles! after bathing, i was packing my stuffs when suddenly.... i felt the velvety thing!! OMG it's my ipod in my backpack!!! things are really complicated and nobody really noes the truth...cos both me n wt tot i locked my ipod in her bag and didn't take it back! lolx...wat a drama...but kinda farnie tooo and we gave up trying to figure out the truth...i'm glad despite being on the verge of making a police report, everything is safe and sound! =)
after this russia incident, about 1 wk later on 8/11 nite, there's a ryanair incident. it was late at nite and we were booking our ryanair flights. in order to save the trouble of typing all our names in full so as to go to the next page to check something, we anyhow typed some rubbish under the names..and then we closed the tab and go back to our original tab with names written correctly to make our booking...and guess what! the suck money operator went to update our names without informing us and our bkings are confirmed under those rubbish names!!about lost like 275sgd! but thankfully ryanair is not all that unreasonable and i was allowed to ammend to names for 10gbp admin fees. phew!
other than that, it was projects and mugging for our first exam here! we had our process control exam last fri (20/11). yeas! it's not that difficult afterall! and after the exam, we wenta collect the keys for my parents' apartment and wenta town to take a look at the apartment! woahs! it's so nice!!! i wish my hostel is like tt too! so clean n new n nice man!
21/11 - my parents arrived!!! woots! wj n wt were so nice to pei me all the way to the airport to meet them! reunite with papa n mama after 3mths!!! and then we wenta the apartment, put down our stuffs and off to the market to buy some food. then off to a beijing restaurant for lunch. haha...there marks the start of feasting for the past wk and patronisation of chinese restaurants in oulu! after lunch, we wenta prisma for more grocery shopping, and then to my apartment for me to take my stuffs and move over to stay with them!! i like the apartment man...so clean with a much better bed!! looks just like a condo in spore. and then my parents prepared our first home-cooked dinner -- prawn beehoon! with papa around, i'll nv be hungry! hahaha =)
22/11 - i woke up with bak gut teh and rice for me! then we wenta tour the city...walking to the train statn for our rovaniemi tics and then back to ksupermart for more food...lol. act only then did i realise that oulu town is not all that dead afterall..haha..dinner was at flavour palace..
23/11 - we walked to the small oulu habour..and then i showed my parents the sch lunch! haha...but apparently it's not really their taste..haha. then we went tokmannni and back to my place for me to pick up some stuffs..before going back for laksa dinner!! we bought our christmas postcards frm stockmann too!!
24/11 - it's sch day for me where i wenta sch for project meeting and then simulation lab which was really utterly boring la...dun even noe what i'm doing...hopefully it wun be too difficult...and then went back tgt with wj n wt for chicken rice and bak gut teh dinner! damn filling man...hahaha. and they stayed over where we spent the nite writing our postcards!
25/11 - 1 mth before christmas! and we made our way to rovaniemi...i think i really love the santa claus village...but unfortunately we didn't have much time there..and the sky was already dark..=( artikum was kinda a waste of time...oh well...at least i noe where to go if i'll get another chance to go there again...haha. at least i met santa claus and i crossed the arctic circle!! woots! tt nite, wt n wj stayed over too...and we were crazy trying to do exercises to shed fats before we sleep. lolx.
26/11 - breakfast was porridge and omelete! =) then in the afternoon, i went back and started packing my things to be brought home...and then off to sheng long for dinner before our ice hockey match! although i'm not really knowledgeable about icehockey, i think it's so cool to watch the match! hahaha. it's quite enjoyable to watch it too....seeing how the oulu fan club cheer their team on! and yeas oulu won! hahaha.. and after tt, i'm so proud of papa for walking all the way!! i miss sitting at the dining table and talking to him..
27/11 - it's their 2nd last day here...didn't do much besides doing a bit of shopping....and then back for pineapple rice dinner with watermelon!
28/11 - it's 1 wk already!! =(( it's their last day here....we moved all my stuffs back from the apartment to my hostel and any other final items to be brought home to the apartment. then walked around and lunch at xiao long..so many longs we've eaten within a wk! hahaha. then back home for some final packings and final finnish tv on the sofa..and then i had a small nap and off we go...good-bye to the beautiful sepankatu 8 A 18! we took a cab from there to merikosenkatu where i return the keys and then to yliopistokatu 16 where i bid bye-bye to them...=( and off they go to the airport..and then i started to have the feeling of missing home when i first left home...oh welll...things may be hard, but i think it'll definitely be a very good experience for somebody as spoilt as me..afterall i've already survived 3 mths and there's less than a mth to go for me in oulu and just slightly more than a mth before i'm back in spore! hais...just how fast time flies...sometimes i just wish time could come to a halt when times are good...
wateva it is...i must still believe that i'm a really blessed and lucky child. at least i have the company of papa n mama for a wk...at least i have the chance to taste my beloved home-cooked food for a wk after 3 mths of european food..at least i'm loved!!
now, it's just a bit more to go...i gotta mug hard for separation exam on fri..and then things will be more relaxed where i just havta chiong finish simulation n design project. and then we can go touring again!!! we can go skiing....hopefully see northern lights...go stockholm...go london, edinburgh, dublin!! touring may be tiring...but i think all these times will probably be one of the most memorable moments in my life..haha. right now, i hope everything will continue to be fine and everyone will be healthy and happy! =D
Pei Lin
@ 28/11/09 5:13 PM | Comments (0)
RUSSIA overdue updates!!
i'm on exchange now and yet i dunno why am i so busy that i dun have much time to blog..haha..
now it's time for me to update on my russia-st. petersburg trip before i forget!!
28oct - in the cold nite, the 3 of us made our way to the sch bus stop..but nobody was there except us! we sense something wrong...but gratefully, the bus came and found us! haha..and there starts our long long bus journey to st-petersburg with various stops at ABC gas stations for us to stretch..the seats in the bus are really close to each other and so not comfortable for such long journey...
29oct - we cross the russia-eu border..i nv tot crossing borders are such big deal..until then..the first time i go through the customs not in airports..and my first contact with russian immigration officers..thankfully the queue wasn't long and things proceeded not too slowly..haha. and some time in the afternoon, we finally reach the city of st.petersburg! it's so much more crowded than oulu as expected! and the traffic is bad..replica of the heavy traffic in spore! anw..not very long later, we reached our hotel -- "hotel MOSCOW" in st.petersburg..wat a paradox...haha. it's my first time staying in hotel with frens and wt is my first fren to stay in hotel with me!! haha..and i think it gonna be the only time we'll be staying in hotel in this trip. woots! the hotel was hmm..not too bad la..just tt they dun really got those free toiletries and slippers..their water was yellowish and stinky too! damn disgusting la..but i suppose tt's a russia problem more than the hotel problem, so carn blame the hotel..so on our first nite, we had no activity and just went out to look for smtg to eat for dinner...and we realise communication there is a big problem la! many russians dunno how to speak n dun understand english! and our first dinner was pathetically mini! lol...but luckily the shops close quite late and there's a random bakery stall selling cheap breads...and 24hr prisma! woots...
30oct - breakfast buffet was brilliant man! haha. first attraction was catherine's palace where we were welcomed by a fanfare =) the palace was big and magnificent..although the outside looks a little bit modern (designed by an italian), i think the interior was really big and magnificent...perhaps it's cos of all their gold paintings? but surely a russian style.. then we wenta the spilled blood cathedral..the only cathedral in russian style. unlike many of the other cathedrals we've seen with painted glass windows, this one has painted walls...but act i find the exterior more impressive than the interior..after tt we wenta the "st-petersburg cafe" for our late lunch before gg to their souvenir mkt where i bought a russian doll...not the traditional design..but the winter one..
tt evening, we wenta watch a ballet at marinsky theatre! act it's my first time watching a full ballet concert...although sometimes i dun really understand their steps...but i kinda love seeing them float so very gracefully on stage! watching it in tt theatre was an experience too...it's smtg like UCC with a lot of levels..but smaller..and in a very russian style instead of a modern one..the seats are not comfortable though..haha. nice ballet! after tt we went back to mac beside our hotel for dinner...
31oct - breakfast buffet was nice again. the day started off with a guided city tour to SS Peter and Paul fortress, where we gotta see the changing of gaurds with the military band..they look cool! interesting to watch too! then it was st isaac's cathedral..the oldest/biggest cathedral i think...but the outside wasn't as impressive as spilled blood. then lunch at some random restaurant before gg to the state hermitage museum...woah museum is damn big la! without the guide, i think i'll just get lost inside! manymany artworks by many artists inside....too many for me to rmb much..n i carn take photos inside too..:S
after tt we wenta mac again for dinner before gg back to hotel to rest a while before our night cruise on rivers and canals with soviet champagne! tt's when the "drama" started in the hotel room..but i'm too tired to type now..so i shall skip tt first..haha..anw the nite cruise was quite nice although i would say it's more of a boat! but we have it to ourselves..so ok la..it's practically like a private floating pub! but kinda farnie to see how those ppl have fun like squeezing into the lifegaurd float..haha. becos it's our last nite there, we wenta supermkt (we fav!) to shop before go back to hotel..
1nov - last day in russia..it's definitely an experience..the journey back was even longer because of the long held-up at the border...
2nov- and so after the long long journey, we're finally back home! but tired! just bathed n slept! haha...
kk now i'm very tired and the party at my block has finally died done..so time for bed...shall continue again!
Pei Lin
@ 14/11/09 12:31 AM | Comments (0)
let me rant.
as much as i dun wish to say all these on a experience that's meant to be an enjoyable one, i think things are getting a bit overboard at times..
looking into the mirror, i assure myself that i'm a 100% opaque object occupying 1/4 of the rights in the house. yes it's just a small portion n they have the majority of the rights. but sometimes, i dunno if i'm obliged to tolerate all their actions or am i just being silly by being too nice to endure everything. before all these experience, i love jap food so much and i always tot japs are very polite and soft-spoken ppl. i really dun wish that my positive impression of them will be ruined so simply..i've been enduring, telling myself that it's okay for them to do it once in a while and it's not that they're doing it 24/7.. but sometimes when they get me on the wrong mood, i really feel like *ROARING! afterall, i'm still an occupant in the house. they have all their rights to brg their frens in to party n feast, that i dun object, but i feel wouldn't it be basic respect to me to keep their volume at a reasonable level when it's so late at nite n past 12..i'm fine with all the talkings..but whining n screaming n "a-a-ing" at 12 midnight is really getting on my nerves..if there's really really a need to do it at 12 midnight, i would say it's still basic politeness to warn me beforehand or wat..
i just dun like this feeling...i dun wanna think that it's just tat i'm very suay to be assigned this apartment. come on! ppl who're at least 21..behave like ur age will u? show some respect n consideration to others will u? when u're out, u're representing ur country..do ur country proud n dun ruin the reputation of ur country..
on this journey meeting so many ppl from all over the world, as much as i dun wish to become even more racist....unfortunately, i think i'm even more racist now...i carn help when i see so much of the ugly n selfish side of others...n i learn to appreciate chinese more..it's only when i meet others that i realise chinese dun drink/smoke much, chinese dun talk very loudly, chinese are quite introverted, chinese are not that selfish etc!
arghh....those tt i dun come close to i dun really care but those tt i carn get away from....i think i deserve some respect..
Pei Lin
@ 04/11/09 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
peilin. =D
darlinks
Designer
ailin
cherie
doris
gillian
huimin
huizhong
jingxin
karin
kathleen
kelly
liane
nat
peiying-chia
peiying-lee
roman
shawn
sinyee
wilson
xiumin
yanning
ziping