Random(1)

There just seems to be this void in time (not space) just before the major examinations each time in university. This interstatial period where one feels the lethargy and inertia to start flipping the notes and realising 12/13 weeks of sch has just slipped past, without you knowing.

This is happening to me right now.

One starts the semester often with aspirations to work hard, to make lots of friends, to try new things, but at the end of the semester feeling jaded about school and work. Wondering whether academics will go out of jobs if they ever stop writing journals and articles that put apparently simple ideas and weave them into a 20 page argumentation about issues, noting that half of the 20 pages will be of what other academics have already argued before.

Talk about recyling!

Sadly, this idea of ever becoming yet another sadistic person to torture poor undergraduates did come to my mind. Being at the forefront of research and ever expanding one's academic boundaries sound like a noble thing to do, I seriously do not doubt it. What is essential, in my humble opinion is the kind of social milieu that one is placed in, the supportive networks that is placed around an individual. Think Bruno Latour's Actor Network theory, the human and non-human actants interacting together for the production of knowledge in space and time.

Recent events have home seemed to have caused a paradigm shift. Seeing people around you graduating, the prospect of not reading any more shitty and constipated academic articles seem too appealing! With the capacity to spend empowered by Vitamin M, one goes up a rung in the social hierachy. But then again the sheer amount of responsibilty such as nation building (through our ever efficient tax agency) and everything else... will start to weigh you down and you get trapped in this place for me at least for 4 years.

Random thoughts, random thoughts and more random thoughts...

This happens most frequently after exams, so pardon the barrage of thoughts...

On my way to the library to return books else I be fined 1.50 sing a day per book

Down with capitalism??? (Nah, I dont think the library is profit driven)

UK host Visit

Here's a quick summary of what happened over the past week or so:

1) Its the second last week of sch here and I was rushing to hand in 2 of my coursework essays. Despite only having to pass these modules, i have to admit there was this academic pride within me, as an effective ambassador of NUS, i shall still maintain my normal (high) std of work. Sadly, i only know a hoot bout farming diversification policies in the Uk, and handed in a sub-par paper which I pray can smoke through.

2) 5 Looming exams coming up from 6th June till 18th June. I am SO STRESSED bout it that I decided to head down to London from the 4th-5th to pick Andrea up and go to Paris from the 13-17th. Talk bout being stressed.

3) thE SEP is coming to an end- be back in Sunny Singapore mid july. Till then, some last destinations include: MAdrid, Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, Cannes, Milan, Venice, Rome, Munich. Notice some repeated destinations...:(:( But since the gf is here, we'll just have to compromise on some places.

4) Last weekend was indeed special where I spent with a British family in the rural countryside near Oxford. Some photos!!!

Well, the pictures sure dont do justice to the house, but the interior of the house is uber gorgeous! Its quintessential English, and the room that Jared and I were given, its like a 5 star Hotel. Every corner of the room is decorated with the owner's impeccable taste. Just look at the teapots on the table. Our hosts are also collectors of portraits and for once we thought we were transported to fairy and lala land.

See what I mean, i was even smiling when I sleep...


Slacking one corner, enjoying the experience!



So actually, the house was converted from a farm, so now besides the physical structure of the house, there is a farm that rears chickens and grows fresh lettuce and asparagus!!!
Its like back in loughborough, as poor students, what we have on the table is what is on sale in the supermarket on that day. So Dinner will be simply, brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...brocolli, Cauliflower, carrots...

You've got the idea!

So asparagus was the highlight for one of the dinners! Oh, did I mention, it was freshly harvested from the garden just one hour before, and there were 28 stalks in total. Just boil them and dip in melted butter with some fleur du sol... so heavenly...

So thats the chickens I was talking bout. And our hosts actually have at least one fresh egg a day. I was lucky enough to eat one egg that was laid like just the previous day. So we did eat like pigs, from cornflakes, mueslis, home made bread, fish pie, beef stew, mousaka (some greek dish), saussages, bacon,eggs,white wine, red wine and of course my favourite asparagus!!

Some activities that we did while in the house, scrabble, cooking, some ball game that you need to manuever your way around. The guy in the picture is Ingo, a fellow Host student from Cologne,Germany exchanging in Swansea, Wales. He speaks fluent English, German and French!!! Woah, I've got a lot to learn from him.




So that's a group picture of us over the weekend before we bid farewell.

It' pretty amazing that Mr and Mrs Cochrane (Malcom and Mary) have been hosting students for more than 20 years. I thought its really a great experience for us as short-term students to have a glimpse of English culture, food and values. Reflecting on Singapore, I wonder how many families would be such good hosts to international students in their homes and make them feel so comfortable and taken care of.

The beginning of the end

Photo taken during sunset in Stockholm, on top of some hill in Skansen, proudly by Panasonic Lumix TZ-3.

Prague- Magical City of Bridges and Spires

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. The astronomical clock in Prague. Every hour, hordes of tourists will stand in front of the clock and watch the 1 min performance by the clock itself.
This magical city of bridges, cathedrals, gold-tipped towers and church domes, has been mirrored in the surface of the swan-filled Vltava River for more than ten centuries. Undamaged by WWII, Prague's compact medieval centre remains a wonderful mixture of cobbled lanes, walled courtyards, cathedrals and countless church spires all in the shadow of her majestic 9th century castle that looks eastward as the sun sets behind her. Prague is also a modern and vibrant city full of energy, music, cultural art, fine dining and special events catering to the independent traveller's thirst for adventure.

Prague’s history spans over thousands of years. In this long period the city grew from the Vyšehrad Castle to what it is today: the multi cultural capital of the modern European Czech Republic. The Vyšehrad Castle was erected on the right bank of the Vltava, the longest river in the Czech Republic, opposite of the later constructed future Prague Castle., the largest castle in the world. When the Republic was still Bohemia, Prague became the seat of many dukes and kings, and an important merchant settlement. Modern Prague knows several historical bridges that span the broad river. The first one, the Judith Bridge, was built in 1170 by King Vladislav II, but crumbled down in 1342, becoming the foundation for the later built Charles Bridge, probably the most famous bridge of Prague. King Charles IV of the new Luxembourg Dynasty reigned during the 14th century, in which the city flourished. It was Charles who built the New Town with the Saint Vitus Cathedral, the oldest Gothic cathedral in central Europe, and the Charles Bridge in order to connect the two city centers.


Detail on the charles bridge, arguably the most famed and photographed in Prague. Ok, the black and white effects dun seem to show very well.






Prague suffered considerably less damage during World war II than other major cities, and almost all of its historic architecture has remained intact. Now the city is a lively collections of examples of Art Nouveau, Baroque, Renaissance, Gothic, Cubist and Neo-Classical buildings.

The famous Fred and Ginger Building- courtesy of Jared Wong.

Being described as the gateway to Eastern Europe, Prague still retains much of its original charm and glory. But i wont say it would be the same 5 years to come, with the influx of tourists turning it into yet another place catered to the tourist gaze. (Urry, 1990)

importance of a good breakfast

There are those mornings that you refuse to open your eyes albeit the sun shining into your room and you aint tired anymore. There are those mornings that you realise you are on the wrong side of the bed and refuse to climb out of it knowing whats in store for you for the day. Today was just one of them.

Having the luxury of breakfast prepared by the roomie, I had this sudden craving for the smoothie in the fridge- roomie cant find it, i went to the kitchen myself and realised all was lost

There was a mass murder. Some say a mass rape. Besides the smoothie, the unopened Onken yoghurt, the ham was gone.



A delicious, interesting and high-quality yoghurt in a great big pot. Difficult to imagine what could be better really. The little chunks of strawberries all contibute to the wholesome goodness. The texture - well - is of course wonderful with the colour a slightly pink. It simply forms an integral part of my healthy breakfast. Now, I wonder who the culprit is...

Since the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, without the yoghurt this morning, I decided to just not start on my migration essay that's gonna be due. Even though the roomie is stressing me over his 4-5 hours of maths mugathon, I had enough. The sudden thought of graduating and not doing the 4th year seemed like an option. The idea of earning bucks and squeezing puny students brainjuice out seemed all too good. Thats all because of the spoilt breakfast I had:(

Alright, on a happier note, I am going on trips again!

30th April-4th May- Edinburgh and the isle of Skye
7th May- 10th May- Stockholm and Dinner with Zhanrui @ London

Indescribable

One of the praise and worship songs that I like! I stand in awe, admiring your creation Lord

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
INCOMPARABLE, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

A lost generation

my first haircut

After about 3 mths of trying to grow the hair above the head, one realises that the keratin in these black streaks do not seem to strenghthen them a bit. The result was a messy crop of hair, almost like a bird nest, with the sides almost curling out to resemble that of an old chang kee curry puff!!


OK, thats the hair in front of prague castle!

"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hands, but it's when you know you are licked before and get to go through it no matter what, this is what i called real courage"

After 72 hours continuous and serious contemplation, so one decided to gather all the courage to become a guinea pig. He decided to sacrifice himself for the betterment of humankind!ok, maybe not so serious, but he decided to be part of this noble act to allow his friend to experiment with the hair.

A note about this friend, a "hot babe" wannabe, her interests include dancing, cam whoring, ahem experimenting with new things. Please kindly note that she neither owned a scissors or a comb before embarking on this big and important project. It could mean life and death, it could mean another 3 mths of ridicule and humiliation. But in order to scrimp on 6 pounds to go to a barber, he decided to look for the next best alternative, presenting to you: Hazel Peh



Some photos about the first awesome experience:


Yeah! the customer was a satisfied one, and the hairstylist become accomplished so much that she had pple queuing up making for appointments. Almost In case you Mr Moe decides to sack you one day, Ms Peh, I allow you to use my photos in your hairdressing salon along Orchard Road. Thanks a million Hazel!