This is it- part one.

This should be the last posting before i fly off to Rome and Paris (where i'll meet Ivy Lam O.S. and maybe King Kong).

We had a BBQ last friday to celebrate Xian and Mei's birthday (the former older by a generation). I do not have many pictures with me because the pictures turned out ugly/ bad. If you just turn to Mei's blog, maybe you'll see it. It was crazy for we played so many games... my favourite being the song lyrics game where we leave one word for the opponent (all girls VS Xian) to sing another song with the word in it. Can't believe the word 'Venga boys' was up... very gay. haha. We played three rounds of Polar Bear and i think i am getting better at it. *Three cheers for Aida*

I must thank Alwyn though for facilitating the whole BBQ. I must say, you were impressive... the OCS style, eh? Cheapo but efficient. haha. Of course, to the rest as well who put aside everything else to make this celebration a complete one.

Happy Birthday Xian & Mei! I should be wishing Mei again for her party on the 8th.

On to a serious note, i just wanna share something. Sometimes, we go through life thinking how hard and bad it is, choosing to see the unseen rather than the seen. It works both ways, good and bad. This is not the end yet. I do see it clearly though, that i must say things before it all ends officially. I should be writing one again at the end, where i probably will have more time to think. This is just a summary cause as much as i'd love to write a bye-note for everyone, i really don't have the time now cause of the free- trade agreement that i signed with Mel. It's coming along just fine. Here it goes:

CHEERS!!! For everything. For just being there. For looking me up. For ensuring this girl won't die of coke overdose. For protecting me from the darker forces of evil in SMB. For accepting that her PMS is analogous to the nuclear bomb. For the many supper and tea sessions. For polar bears. For the medication when i was down in the dumps. For the many movies to cheer me up. For teaching me table tennis... and the list goes on. At the rate we're going, i feel like i'm leaving everyone for good. Just going off for nine days yeah? We'll organize another get-together just before i depart for Singapore. YOU ALRIGHT?

I think a more touching message will be on this blog before we leave yeah?

Okay, on to less serious issues (the above not very serious also, i know)... I know i'm vain and some people told me i look 1) cuckoo in this picture, 2) like i failed in being a porn star and 3) like i am acting cute. Whichever way it is, i shall share it anyhoo because i like how i look in soft focus. No pimples yeah? Excellent. Thanks Jeremy for snapping it. haha.

That's the birthday girl's bunny actually. But as usual, i just had to borrow it.

On an episode of Yushan say the darnest things: "Is it polar bears wake up when you say the word 'so'?"

Of studying, Slumber Party, Liverpool FC, Cinderella & missing Singapore.

Last week turned out to be rather eventful. No doubt i was tired from the amount of essays that i had to complete in addition to the tragic coughing with phlegm. I should really stop there.

Let's go in order, shall we?

First up, Friday's slumber party. Pictures are with Mel but i shall upload it soon because it was really so much fun. It was really unplanned. Started out with Yushan missing (she went to the library the WHOLE day. What a nerd. haha). She came back with this sudden burst of desire to bake. We surrendered to her request and coincidentally, Alwyn suggested drinking Bailey's together. Living up to the sorority mantra, we ended up calling everybody. Surprisingly, everyone came and we ended up playing funny games which, if you happen to look at Mel's blog, you'll definitely agree. We also played Polar Bear, where i sucked as polar bear, villager and God. BUT..but, Xian and me won the last round. We rule!

Didn't manage to sleep in the end. We finished all the games at 4 a.m. and then i decided that if i were to go to bed, i'll miss my train to Liverpool at 7.54 a.m. Jeremy, Alwyn, Yushan and me ended up watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. My back was killing me so i ended up lying down halfway. Got up an hour later to prepare sandwich and walked to the train station.

I slept in the train.

Suddenly, like isostacy, my seat jumped up and i woke up with a start to see John Kong beside me. Grrr...

Off to Liverpool we went. The aim was to make people like Wesley Hum envious.



St. George's Hall.

The mighty crest. :)


Outside the stadium.


I really really wanted to buy this metal plate (8 pounds) but John was nagging away. In the end, i had to give it up. It is not really practical anyway. Just wanted it for the sake of having it.

In the Liverpool shop.

It was a Saturday. The shop was pretty packed. In preparation for the finals against AC Milan, the whole city is pretty much decorated. We passed some houses with major LFC decorations and cars drove passed us with mini flags.So cute.

You know how bad things happen to bad people? Based on Karma, what goes around comes around? If by now you're starting to wonder why there's no INSIDE pictures of Anfield, here's why! Tickets were sold out and the earliest we could enter would be on Monday. I was really upset. Lesson learnt: Never try to make people envious. To think, Wes was nice enough on the phone telling us to have fun and take many pictures. :( So upset. VERY upset.

That is the main city of Liverpool. Liverpool is celebrating its 100 years next year.

Liverpool's Chinatown. Very sleazy actually. Aaahh well... globalization. tsk tsk.





We went to the Pumphouse Inn to watch the Man U vs. Chelsea game. Thank God it ended during the extra time. Otherwise, we would have missed our train. I was cheering when Chelsea scored. I like Drogba. He is good.

I better be nice. I know a lot of Man U supporters. They might send viruses to me.



This is the second bad incident that happend (after the stadium issue). Right before our eyes. Poor car. :( Okay, and the people in it too. Hopefully, no one injured.

We left Liverpool at about 7 p.m. on different trains. Bad incident #3 happened in the train station at Loughborough. I was locked in the train for about fifteen minutes because they were waiting for the police to come and investigate some case. Just great. It was already 10 p.m. then and the train station isn't exactly near to the university. The police came... strolling. I was boiling mad. Worse, the person ran off and they were frantically trying to look for him. In the end, i saw the guy going up to the police on his own. Enough of adventure.

The weather wasn't very nice to me in Liverpool too. Black clouds followed me. I could see the blue skies to my left and right but it had to rain and hail on me. Pain pain. :(

Sunday was stay-in-finish-contested-countryside-essay day. I didn't manage to in the end because the medication made me drowsy. Last Sunday was the Butler Ball. Mei, Joan and Gerentt went. I REFUSED to go because 1) they probably serve more beer than water, 2) heard that the dinner was gonna be sandwiches and 3) I had no dress. :(

I stayed in my room all alone and lonely on a Sunday after Joan and Gerentt came up to bid farewell. Like Cinderella, i tell you. I felt the desperation to just get out. Luckily, my fairy god-mother was around on msn last night ;)

If I were to go for it, it would probably be for the Nottingham cruise.

Anyway, here's a pic of the two of them. They looked gorgeous! Better in person than picture. Seriously. Where was Mel when we were busy snapping photos? She went Lala land.

So exciting. Like Grad night! Joan's lucky. Gerentt was flown all the way from the US to be her date.


Mel played 'Home' on the piano that made me feel so sad. I recorded a video but being the technophobe that i am, i have no idea how to upload to the blog. I'll try with Multiply soon. She was my piano teacher for the day. As you can tell, she played the Grand piano.

I, on the other hand, had to settle for the smaller one. *sob*
It was really nice just hanging out in the music room listening to songs played by the greatest pianist amongst us.

This is Stewart Mason Building (SMB) - study room. On good days, I study here. It is really like THE area for PRC scholars. Shall scare all those Brits by looking intelligent. They can't tell anyway. I'm from China.

A cell in the library. This miserably small room with no windows made me rush through my last Geography essay in five hours from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. I was high after that. One thing good about the library is that it is opened 24-hrs during the examination period. Unlike NUS, the floors are all accessible even in the wee hours in the morning. The early sunrise at about 4.30 a.m. makes it really safe to walk there that early.

Less than a month more to Singapore.
I miss my Victoria. :(

Changing times...

We were at the Bridgeman Centre's computer lab when Alwyn showed me this MTV. Official MTV of the 80s. I loved the song but it was comic relief for me after watching.

I couldn't tell if it's traditional para-para or mambo. Anyhow, this gotta be the funniest clip if you were to compare it to what we have today - PCD, Nelly Furtado, Cassie... just to name a few. Or if you were to compare them to another girl band.

By the way, before I get wrongly accused by some people, I didn't learn how to dance from this MTV. Also, I do NOT dance like that *wink*

Oh no, I can't get over it. They're so cute! Enjoy!



Last night, i was dreaming... HAHA!

The unbearable lightness of being...

Milan Kundera was right.

Anyway, I can't sleep. I can't sleep. I can't sleep.
This is really a pointless post.
But if you were to insist on reading, go ahead.

Freak. It is one of those nights you feel like crying yourself to sleep. No joke. Stop making excuses for me. It is really not PMS. I've got a paper to sit for tomorrow but as you can probably tell, i have ultimate confidence that i won't do that badly.

Doing too much on concepts and methods that i got myself excited about doing THE thesis. I can't wait to eventually write the acknowledgements:

Thank you.. 1) Supervisor,
2) (Typical) parents,
3) Friends,
4) The special one.

Did i miss anyone out? Probably.

I had the most frighteningly sad dream two nights back and i'm still at it.
Someone attempted to take my life and soul. I think it was some supernatural force. My deceased aunt came back to life to give me a hug. I teared like mad telling her i wanna follow her (In retrospect, i sure am glad she stopped me).

That's it. I just wanna talk about the insignificance of life and how the insignificance is a paradox cause it is unbearable because it is insignificant. Think about it.

Negotiated power.

This got me thinking. I was in the library and i stumbled upon his book. It was really an old tattered book, but it was like finding a piece of treasure for me.

French theorist Foucalt (1977) argues that power is not something that one person or group of people holds over another ot others. It is not 'something to be won or lost' (Katz, 2003). Power is a diffuse and unlocatable force that permeates all levels of society and that is reproduced in an indirect and often erratic way through multiply mediatory networks. This would be easier to explain how individuals are often in a position of empowerment and at the same time, a subject of it.

A good example for this - The prison.

(Not prison break). haha.

Anyway, back to the point from the lame digression, each of us assumes that in a prison, the warden has control and power over the prisoners. A study in the US prisons however, showed a different thing. Within prisons, exist an informal economy with inmates trading commodities for scarce items such as cigarettes. There is the powerful respected baron (who exerts power over others) and this shows the multi-level power negotiation. It doesn't stop there. The police warden comes into the picture. Some of the wardens allow the illegal trading activities to go on knowing very well that the need to stop them would mean extra overtime pay. In addition, some of these barons are indeed powerful criminals, who more often than not, resort to threats and intimidation towards the wardens and officers' families. Instead of the police warden having the power, we see an implicit fear of the police officers and this is translated into them trying to keep the relationship friendly between officer and prisoner.

Then, i tried relating this notion of power into our everyday situation. If say, i want to buy a 28 pounds purple dress and my mother says i better not... At face value, she has the power right? What if i i go through another network and ask my father? The probability of my father saying a 'yes' is higher. If he were to tell my mother to allow me to buy, then indirectly, i am empowered right?

Just a thought... The things i learn in school.

__________________________________________________________________
References:

Foucalt, M. 1977. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London: Penguin Books.

Katz, C. 2003. Social formations: thinking about society, identity, power and resistance. In: Holloway S., Rice S., Valentine G. (eds) Key concepts in Geography. London: SAGE.

Updates for home.

When the lights go out, we go party. The last ISA party to be exact. It was a blast. I managed to capture people doing robot dances, the 60s dance and even salsa. I shouldn't reveal too much or else they will attempt to steal my laptop. :)

I haven't been online and i sense a growing concern from the people back in Singapore. Actually, it is no longer sensing because i've got mails and smses from people asking me where i have been recently. Thank you lovelies for the attention!

First up, I am done.. Officially done with the BLOODY essay.
I've got two more left and i like to psyche myself up by telling myself that is it 'no kick'. It has been helpful and i see myself working doubly hard although less hard as compared to Singapore. Don't worry mama & papa. I assure you that a passing grade is possible. Especially after Mel and I made an important trade agreement. :)

Secondly, I am addicted to table tennis also known as ping pong.. & maybe to a certain extent, coke. Coke, however, is old news. Therefore, i shall elaborate on the ping pong part. (I like the sound of it. Ping pong part. Tongue twister. haha.). I have been playing lots of team sports, neglecting individual sports because i do not feel comfortable enough. I feel that individual sports require much more concentration and that is difficult for someone dreamy like me. Well, to a certain extent, that is true. Intense concentration is a need for it is not easy to continuously play without the support of partner(s). Somehow, being part of the floorball team makes me feel confident enough. It is not all good because at times, i am more confident of my team mates' abilities more than my own. I often rely on them to cover my mistakes, knowing very well that i will not be solely blamed for the mistakes produced. That has been an annoyingly wrong mentality of course.. and if How Chong were to read this, 'benching' me would be his next option. Playing tennis and table tennis recently somehow rekindled that desire to play again.. to support my team mates; to know that i am as efficient and capable as the rest; to contribute to the team knowing very well that the same amount of concentration is still required. Concentration cannot be quantified though, and is therefore, important that you put your whole heart and attention to the game. The list goes on and it boils down to one thing - confidence.

I also have thoughts of appealing back to Kent Ridge Hall and trying out for their IHG Floorball and table tennis next year. The likelihood of getting a space is low, considering the fact that i am going to be in year 4. Naturally, they prefer a year 1 enthusiastic-i-just-came-out-from-college-and-NS undergrads. Still, i think i should give it a shot. I really should thank the Engine boys here for introducing me to ping pong. Also, to Joanna and Victor for teaching me the basic ways of playing tennis. They are all good teachers. So good that i look forward to any calls or knock on the door inviting me to go common room. When i am better in table tennis, i'll adopt some Chinese name.. for the sei factor *smoothens the table and brushes hand through the hair*

Haha.

Thirdly, Loughborough University had their music fest during the Bank hols on Monday. The whole group of us went over to see what the noise was all about. It was interesting cause i haven't seen music fest being held in a university before. It is not as good as Bay Beats but alright. If there's one thing i dislike about the UK, it would be the drinking culture that goes overboard sometimes. It was a mess, with beer bottles covering the field and drunk kids throwing themselves into the rubbish bin. I shall let the pics do the talking. The music was normal but i really liked the so-called-ferris-wheel which turned too fast and furious for my own comfort.

I had a great time for the Thursday's Captain's ball session. I like the court. Very sleek and sexy. :) The whole game was a joke. We had Wee Yong whose secret power was revealed - He jumped really high. Jeremy Gan, a monster and king kong in disguise was also around. Must thank these two for organizing it under the Singapore Society. I must admit, the number of people who turned up was encouraging.

I actually have lots to talk about but since i cannot remember now, i shall leave it as it is.
Also, i shall be heading for Liverpool on the 19th May 2007 (Saturday). All you Liverpool fans should look through the online catalogue and order through me by 17th May 2007, Thursday. I shall try not to make a profit out of it. hoho.

Upcoming plans:

25th May 2007 (Friday): BBQ gathering for THE special people around. :)
26th May 2007 - 28th May 2007: Cardiff / Cornwall for the nude beaches.. i mean, beaches.
29th May 2007 - 7th June 2007: London, Rome, Venice, Nice & Paris.
8th June 2007 - 15th June 2007: Global Migration, Contested Countryside & Economy, Society & Space Exams. (Bring it on!)
16th June 2007 - 24th June 2007: Around the world in 8 days.

That should be it. I am contactable through the UK line.
Fighting all the demons will take time...

The thing about the United Kingdom...

Is that they are never short on holidays.

After one month of April holidays, we are granted with ANOTHER holiday today.
This time, Banks' Holiday. I'm not sure why they need a holiday because i don't see banks having their own public holiday in Singapore. It seems that the holidays here regularly falls on a Monday which is a good news to many but not one to me because it is my free day.

THE bloody essay is gonna be out soon.
Just thought i should talk about this holiday because i would love to read about it one year on and think about today.

Today... YOU made my day.

Role reversal

In the name of gender equality, i am about to illustrate how this is made possible within a small kitchen, a microcosm of utensils which have been associated with femininity for far too long.


Aida at work. Churning essays after essays.


The imported cook.


The outcome.

Now now... if you think he did all those by himself, then think again.
Behind every successful man is a woman... or women rather. (In the case of marriage, i'd prefer the former).
We had a feast. Thank you Jerry for your protein contribution(s) - Rendang & Chicken with some onion vege.


Example of why some women are not meant to be in the kitchen.

Now, back to THE bloody essay.

Between now and then.

I assure you... Life has been pretty eventful.

I get out of bed every morning, shower and decide which food has the lower calorie before indulging in sinful indulgence. On normal days, i prepare for class. On lazier days, i spend half a day trying to psyche myself up to complete tasks for the day.

So last night's SMB studying proved to be a little too much fun and lil work done. I did some work, yes... but the whole contradiction with the different readings somewhat amused me. In the most irritating way. Plus, the existence of some people who happen to find joy in trying to dismantle my sturdy self-esteem. I hope you guys had fun :)

To think, they say NUS people are chao muggers. You gotta look at yourself in the mirror really. Having gone through more than ten years of Singapore education system, i am pretty much convinced it is hard to shake that attitude off. No matter where you are. Even while on SU holiday. The best part is... the quote "spoil the bell curve" is not applicable over here.

We had a meeting just now with the outgoing students from here and tried giving them tips for survival. I wasn't helpful at all, frightening one of them with the tremendous amount of work you need to complete in NUS. We scared him too much i suppose, cause Dr Brown asked us to tell him something nice. Take that: NUS ambassadors for you. I did praise our NUS library though... claiming it has the best system (i stopped there and excluded the 'in the world' bit because i must be humble in this foreign land). Ironic isn't it? Talking about being humble when you know i am so darn proud of our NUS library.

I talked to Verena yesterday who told me that even in Germany, different parts have different categorization for their masculine, feminine and neutral. The thing about German is that you NEED and MUST know where to categorize the items. For instance, a book is neutral and therefore, you use Das Buche. Whether it is Der (Masculine), Die (Feminine) or Das (Neutral), will overall affect the whole sentence structure including the grammar. Tedious isn't it?

Today is Friday night. On Friday nights, Aida will NEVER stay in.
So she came up with exciting plans but Jeremy's coffee at 1 a.m. made her go to sleep at 6 a.m. on Friday morning after the sun is up. She is feeling a lil too sleepy at the moment. Let's hope she won't fall asleep before the movie. (Wow, it has been such a long time since i used the third person).

I've got barely two months before returning to Singapore. I am already feeling it in my bones. The sadness which i know can get quite overwhelming. There are so many things to be done. My first horse-ride, my long trip with the exchangees and my desire to drive that lamborghini (haha) will not materialize due to time constraint. I'd do anything to have one of the three before leaving but i guess it is impossible. The horse-ride is 20 pounds i think. Just outside town in Leicestershire countryside.

This blog will end once i land in Singapore. Following which, i don't think there'll be much time to blog. Besides, i find joy in reading other people's blog more than trying to update about my life. Basically, my life can get pretty routined after awhile. Some people will blog about issues and general knowledge. I find those really intellectually stimulating and i love it. Others talk about their life, anger and things they are normally bitter about. I am more often than not, thrilled to come across such blogs because those bitterness, if translated into grateful attitude can seriously do wonders to your day. Just like what they say in Joy Luck Club, you feed on other people's tears. I make no pretense that on boring days, blog hopping is the next best thing. I am giving up on blogging because it can be pretty draining to constantly update without truly understanding the basis of doing it.

Of course, if i stumble upon the blog of people who are related to me through friends, brothers or ancestors, i normally get really excited and they'll be happy to know that they're in my favourite list. Those will be my coffee... a perfect start to my mornings. Especially with the time difference here. To a large extent, i can be what Singaporeans typically term "kaypoh".

I also know that some of my audience are those i have been targetting. Remember how you said you wanted to break me? I forgot to tell you. The bark of the tree goes thicker through the years. Unless you are some machinery, breaking it will prove to be a tricky procedure. But then again, i know we're cool.

I sure talk a lot once i get started. Think i should continue listening to songs i listened to through my teenage years. Thinking about it now is making me laugh. How on earth did i get myself motivated listening to Limp Bizkit through my secondary school life?

Only God knows.

Until i see you again.

International Day 2007.

Pretty thirsty after a hard day at work.


I love singing patriotic songs! Singing 'Home' made me miss it even more.


What i deserve.


This is Jerry. Oh he had to end up wearing the same colour as me.


The sweeeeeeet Lit girls - Joan (left) and Mei (right).


That's Alwyn. He is taller than me.


Flatmate Daniella (from Germany) and Blockmate Ida (from Poland).


This is Nash in between Melody and me. He is from Singapore. Hougang to be more specific. :)


Our booth. Top ten things you must know about Singapore.
Apart from the free giving away of Tiger Beer.


Geography majors! From left to right: Yingzhi, Verena (Germany), Melody & me.


This Joan. She has a body to boot.


Huiran is so fun. Now, that rhymes. I enjoyed the 'Hey, this is urgent. I've nothing to wear for bottom tomorrow (for International Day)" at 11.30 p.m.


Singapore- Brunei peace pact for the year 2007.
Left: Jeremy (Singapore) & Right: Wira (Brunei).


I love Helium-filled balloons!


The Greeks & their booth.


Lydia and Me at the booth.


From left to right: Mei, Alicia, Aida, Yingzhi, Mel & Wee Yong.


NUS Engine and Arts exchangees. Truce after half a semester's feud on "Engine low EQ".
They're nice really. Pity Yan Lian went off to school and couldn't make it for this photo-taking.


The coaster that vibrates when my food is ready.

So, it was a nice day apart from the unbearable cramps that rendered me helpless. At night though, the orgasmic Singapore curry we cooked cheered me up a little. Other than that, it was alright. I ended my day watching 'Power Ranger: The movie" and thinking of the buggers at home. Went to sleep teary- eyed.

YOU! You know what to do. :)