Exchange?? To Where Sia...

Been looking up the exhange programmes that are available in the university. It's so limited, I can't believe it. It seems that they only have an exchange programme to certain universities and colleges in North America and Canada... I couldn't find any information about exchanges to Europe or other parts of Asia. I heard last year that they were about to start a programme to China and Hong Kong, but there was no information available about that in the website.

Sigh.

Belated Wishes

ARGH!

In the midst of everything I actually forgot to wish all everyone who reads this blog a "Happy Chinese New Year"...

Is ok... Not the 15th day yet... still got time... SO..

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!!!

Arrgh.. ok.. gtg for class now... cya laterzz...

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Indeed indeed. Had homemade jiaozi at Bai Yu's place last night. Stuffed to the max. But it was good. Anyhow, some long due updates...

Well. London was fun, as you could probably tell from all my photos. There really is a lot to see. I guess in a way it was the right choice not to go to London. I would've been too distracted knowing that there was so much to do. All the same, I can't help but wonder what it would've been like.

Going to have steamboat tomorrow with my flatmates. Dunno how that's going to turn out. I haven't bought any ingredients yet. My excuse is that for steamboat the stuff has to be fresh. So I shall go out and buy the stuff after class tomorrow. I should end at 12pm. I don't think my tutorials are starting yet, considering that we haven't even had any lessons on applied mechanics or electronics. Well... Hope all will turn out well. Don't think I'm going to try anything fancy anyway. The pot I borrowed from Bai Yu is quite small, and I'm on a budget. London has already put me at least £100 over limit.

Oooooh.... Shopping! Went shopping yesterday. Yes I know... I just complained that I was over-budget. But the post-christmas sales here are really wonderful!! Yesterday I got 2 blouses at £1 each and also 2 jackets for £10!! The jackets were going as buy-one-get-one-free!! The cheapest clothes item was free so I kinda got a 100% discount on the second jacket. Isn't that exciting?? I also saw skirts going for 50p. It was madness.

Tomorrow I start classes again. It's such madness. They don't seem to have after-exam breaks in this place unless it's after the entire academic year. I was lucky this time because I only had 2 papers and they both finished within the first week of exams. I don't even know when the results are coming out.

Gah. Last night before term starts again. And I haven't done anything to commemorate it. I should... I should....

I should sleep early. Got to wake up for 10am lecture... Rrrr..

I Never Exaggerate Ok...

Ah-HA!!
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

See?? What have I been telling you people about Aberdeen?? Ha!!

As it turns out.. The author Stuart MacBride is the twin brother of my flatmate's brother-in-law...

Ha??

You scored as Art. You should be an Art major! How bohemian! Art 92% Journalism 92% Linguistics 75% English 75% Dance 67% Philosophy 67% Mathematics 67% Theater 58% Engineering 58% Sociology 42% Biology 33% Chemistry 25% Psychology 17% Anthropology 8% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

Ahhh... Hmmm... Ok... Lots of contradictory results here... But what I want to know is how the hell did I score 67% for Philosophy?!??!?!

Free!

Ok. I'm done for my share of exams of the 1st term.

Physics was actually quite good. It was easier than I expected. It helped that 2 of the long questions that came out were repeated for the last 3 years. The only thing that changed was the numbers, so I just chose to do those for my section B (had to choose 2 out of 3). Section A was all the basic stuff, so that was ok.

In other words, I think I did ok. (^_^)

Going down to London tonight!! I can't wait!! It's going to be so exciting. Of course, most of the time I'll just be following Minna around, since I've never been and have absolutely no idea of my way around. I will take lots of photos and post them on flickr. Hmm... Come to think of it... Did I ever put up my photos of Glasgow and Edinburgh?? I can't remember. But knowing me... I probably didn't. Ooops... Right will find a day to post them up.

Been wondering how to spend Chinese New Year here... Thought of having a little steamboat thingy in the flat but while I've found out where to get a steamboat/hotpot, I haven't been able to find one of those little portable electric/gas stove thingys... Plus, one of the girls is vegetarian... Hmmmm.... Maybe will just make big huge chili crab dish minus crab. I brought the Prima mix from home. Why minus crab? Well.... Despite the fact that we live right next to the North sea, seafood isn't exactly running all over the place. I'd probably have to make do with prawns and other little shellfish, which aren't that cheap. So much for maritime. Oh well... Will figure that out after I come back from London. Heeeheee.... London!!

Boohoohooo.... I still miss the anime that I burned but can never watch.... (T_T)

Current Thought Process

AAAHH!!! PHYSICS!!! AHHH!!!!

I still cannot believe that Romi Paku is the seiyuu for a number of male anime characters. How can she manipulate her voice to be so low??? (O_o) Incredible!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! PHYSICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bai Yu lent me her set of "Xuang1 Tian1 Zhi4 Zun1 III". WHAHAHHAAHAHAH!!! Singapore Chinese serial marathon after today's paper...

PHHYHHHHHYYYYSSSSSSSSSIIIIIIIICCSSSS!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHH !!!!!!!!!

London tomorrow!!! Heheheheheh!!!!

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

*pengsan*

One Down

One more to go. Ergh.

Monday's paper was quite good. Section A was quite easy, I thought. So kind of flew through that. Section B we had to choose 3 questions to do out of 5, and even that was really quite do-able. Except that for my last question I chose the wrong question to do, so couldn't finish that one question when somehow my working become very complicated. But I suppose, not finishing 1 question out of a total of 8 isn't something to panic about.

Spent the rest of that night watching Akira and Billy Elliot. Hahaha...

Today been studying Physics. Ergh. Can't wait for Thursday's exam to be over.

Going to London with Minna on Friday!!! Woooopeeee!!!!

Sad note: I am without anime for another good 3-4 months. I tried to bring some with me but luggage was 10kg overweight when I tried to check-in. Had to leave 10kg of stuff with my parents to be brought home and the anime was among the non-essentials that had to be off-loaded... (T_T) That and milo. *sobz* No milo again....

It Dropped Off!!!

My wart, that is.

One of them anyway. The biggest one that was on my right sole. Just last night after my shower, I was about to apply the anti-septic (even though it's not really neccessary now, since the warts have more or less shrivelled up and died already due to intense cryo-freezing) when I noticed that the scab seemed to be flapping loose. I picked at it very gently (I promise!) and *pook* out it came. So I now have a rather shallow although rather wide little crater on the sole of my foot, with only tender new skin covering the flesh inside.

I hope I don't step on anything sharp in the next few weeks....

Back In The Freezer

Yes, according to the expired tickercounter, I have been back here for four days now. Just for Aronwy's info (:p) , it was there while I was in Singapore to count down to when I'd have to return... I just never took it off and now it's just continuing the count...

Exams in a about a week. I only have 2 this time around, which makes for rather less stressful cramming than I am used to. Exam schedule is as such:

Monday 16th January 1500 - 1700
EG1006: Engineering Mathematics

Thursday 19th January 1500 - 1700
EG1007: Engineering Science

Hmmm... So far have been doing practice papers, but still not feeling the stress yet... This might be a good thing or a bad thing... I haven't quite decided yet.

我的头发有没有乱...

I went for a hair-cut just now. Just to get a trim, coz my hair was getting really messy. But I also asked the hairdresser to cut the front just a bit shorter. As a result...

My long-lost fringe is back. I haven't had a proper fringe since... Secondary 1!!! Or primary 6 even...

I have a fringe...

O.
M.
G.

(O_O);

Siew Mai Bai Kah Liao...

Haiz. Why is it that I always seem to have some physical pain/abnormality happening within the last few months. I think it started with the abcess, which was followed by the sprained ankle, then finding out that I've got a slow heart-rate, then dengue (have I forgotten anything??)... All happened in less than a year's time.

Now I have warts on my feet. I just went to have them frozen yesterday and now I can barely walk. Where did I get them from? No. Not Aberdeen. I got them way before that actually, just that they were really small then so I didn't think too much of them. They got bigger after I left and more painful. So almost immediately after I landed, went to get an appointment with one of my mum's friends. So yesterday, he shot them with his cryo-gun. BZZZZ!! Frozen warts. Very painful. (T_T)

Monkey ah, Monkey... HOW??? I wanna go for WWW!!! I haven't seen the TLG for SOOOOO LONG!!! (T_T) sobz... But I can't WALK!! Somebody send me a magic carpet....

Incredible Tales 2: The Suitor

Wahaha.

First - Refresh your memories with this post: My Eyes Hurt

Now, let me tell you what that was all about. Jemalelinh and I had actually been shooting an episode for Channel 5's Incredible Tales 2. It was for the last episode.

That stupid night where they made us stay until some ungodly hour was the night we were shooting in some cemetery.

Anyways, my dad recorded the episode for me (it aired in October) and I watched it last night. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard for such a long time. Ok, so it was supposed to be a scary tale, but so what?? It was just hilarious!!! *snorts*

ただいま。

I'm back.

Nightmare

Had a nightmare last night. I've had nightmares before of course, but usually I'd just wake up from them, be fuzzily puzzled, yawn and go back to sleep. This time, I was actually so freaked out that I didn't dare go back to sleep.

I quickly switched on my lights and just sat in my bed, trying hard not to fall asleep. In the end I ended up messaging a friend for about an hour before I was finally convinced to try going to sleep again. I did sleep, though it was far from easy. And I woke up just feeling dead.

I'm thankful that my friend was there for me, despite his own problems. But still I wonder about that horrid dream. I still remember it, and in the day with a somewhat clearer head, it seems silly to have been so scared. But it was chilling, to say the least.

Beyond The Grey

Aberdeen Evening 2
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

I guess the city isn't all grey after all...

Happy Little Wonders

I've been playing with the idea of getting a Pro Flickr account. 20MB is just not enough for all my photos. But then, it is good in some ways because then I really pick and choose which photos I should display. I don't like how I only get to create 3 sets as a normal user though... Sigh.

It is freezing outside. Although today's weather was relatively pleasant, in the non-rainy sense. Took a walk down to the beach with Caitlin and took some very pretty pictures. Unfortunately I ran out of space on Flickr before I could upload them. Will upload as soon as it's December though, which isn't too far off. Maybe I'll put one here first.

















Tada!! Isn't the sea just BEAUTIFUL?? I love it. All those pinky clouds... *happy sigh* Sometimes it's nice to take a walk down to the beach when things get too grey in Aberdeen (metaphorically, AND literally. They don't call this place the Grey City for nothing.)

There was actually a small rainbow on the horizon, but it didn't show up on the photo. No matter. It's pretty anyhow.

I found a little Chinese supermarket!! Bai Yu (my classmate) introduced it to me. It is WONDERFUL!!! They even had Lee Kum Kee sauces!! Can you imagine???

I'm in heaven.

The "Autumn Tree"

Summer Ending
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

This is the tree outside my flat. I've been following how it changes with the the weather. This is how it looked just about two weeks after I moved in.. For some reason, my flatmates and I started calling it the "Autumn Tree". I suppose because autumn was setting in and the tree kind of kept time for us by the change in leaf colours. We should rename it the "Tree of Seasons" or something like that since it's technically not autumn anymore. There's more of the tree and its different "costumes" on my flickr album, so.. You know the drill.. Hehehe....

3 Weeks & Counting

3 Weeks!! 3 Weeks and I'm GOING HOME!!!

Maybe I won't want to come back to Aberdeen after that. Oh dear. Hmm...

Question: When a person suddenly seems to do a 360 on you... Practically overnight... What does that mean? Is it a revelation of that person's true character or is it just that you've never actually paid attention to it in the first place?

Snow Snow Snow

It starting snowing this afternoon. Was kind of like those torrential rains we get back in Singapore around now, except with snow instead of rain. It is still snowing. I don't think it's going to stop for the next couple of days. It is quite exciting, but also horribly horribly cold. Will take a picture and post it up here soon.

Come to think of it, I haven't update my flickr album for a while. Right. That shall happen soon as well.

As soon as I get this horrible Physics lab report out.

The Snow Is Coming

There is frost all over the place now. Practically everyday, I will see frost on the lawns, frost on the bushes, puddles of ICE on the road... It won't be long before it starts snowing now. I'm kind of excited about actually seeing real snow for the first time... But I'm also not exactly relishing the thought of below zero weather. I want sun. There is practically no sun around here nowadays. Brrrrr.......

Kena Bombed!!

Finished my computing lab early. Wahahaha... Sadly (or quite happily) they haven't released the results of the Science test yet. I dread to think what my results will be. Monkey... I may have failed you all in the Science & Physics department...

Went for a run down to the beach again yesterday and it was BLOODY COLD!!! Dammit... I swear I saw some stray snowflakes amongst the rain yesterday. Then today for some reason, was absolutely lethargic. Hmm... Kind of in a can't be bothered way rather than a physically tired way. Dunno what's wrong with me. But at least I managed to finish my lab in 1 1/2 hrs (the whole lab period is 3hours. zzz...) Then as I was strolling back to my room in a rather aimless kind of way, I found at my door...

A Bomb.

Hahaha.... A package lah... From... a good friend. (^_^) I was actually expecting only to receive it when I went home for the Christmas vacation and had the whole meet up with friends thing. But here was a nice package filled with some of my favourite shows and one new one. All the way from Singapore. And the postage for the package wasn't exactly cheap either.

I haven't had the chance to watch any of them yet (seeing as how I don't have a dvd reader on my lau laptop), but I'm all warm inside. Although the cold outside is definitely on a winning streak. Heh.

In any case... Thank you.

(T_T)

*SOB*

Yesterday's Engineering Science test was a disaster... I am SOOOOOO going to flunk this test. *sob*

4 WEEKS!!!

4 weeks and I'm going home!!!!

I can't wait.. Really getting quite excited about it. Can't wait to get home and see everybody!!! And then of course there is all the food.. *drool*

What's been happening? Not much.. Nothing much ever happens in Aberdeen. It's grey, it's cold, it's wet. Although I did go down to Loch Ness with two of my flatmates over the weekend. That was fun. Didn't see Nessie though. Probably wasn't willing to come out in the rain and cold. Yup, that's right... We trekked around Inverness and Loch Ness in cold incesscent rain. Brrrr.... It'll be snowing in December... And they say January is going to be really bad... Sob... I want warm sun....

Argh.. Ok... Better stop blogging... I only came online to update my AVG anti-virus... Got another class test in a little less than 2 hours time. Physics... Ergh... Got full marks on my Math test last week though, which is a matter for gloating. Wahahah... But Physics... Ergh....

Eeeerrrrgggghhh.....

Haiz... I miss everyone...

Do Di Do Di Doooo....

Towards the end of design lab... ladida... listening to class presentations... Can't believe I have to go through another 4 years of this... As if the presentations in NUS weren't bad enough... I still feel so old sitting around with these kids though... Haiz... 老了老了。。。

5 weeks more!! Can't wait to go home...

Right... Shall attempt to pay attention to the rest of the presentations... Ergh...

Zzzz...

We turned back the clocks on Sunday. Now we're 8 hours behind Singapore... It was nice to have gained an extra hour. But it didn't last very long, once you adjust to the new timing, it's more or less the same.

Been getting up late these two days. Have had to rush to my lectures even though they are only about 2-5 minutes away from my flat. Also haven't been very productive on the work side this week. Wonder what's up with me. Been feeling extra lethargic and uninspired. Maybe the weather is getting me down. I should go for a nice jog down to the beach....

Now if only it will stop raining....

Found On Mrs Budak's Blog

Found an interesting article on Mrs Budak's blog. It was written by a retired Japanese lecturer who is christian, and who happens to be the son of a former officer of the Imperial Army.

This is an excerpt from the article, where he starts to compare the actions of wartime Germany and the reactions of post-war Germany to the actions and reactions of Japan and post-war Japan. This is a comparision that many people have made with regards to why Japan should or should not be forgiven.

In his famous speech to the German Parliament on the 40th anniversary of Germany's defeat on May 8, 1945, the then Federal President, Mr Richard von Weizsacker, said: "Most of our German citizens today were either children or not yet born during the war.They cannot confess sins they did not commit personally. Nobody with an ordinary human sensibility could expect you to wear tattered sackcloth and sit in ashes just because you happen to be German."

For the whole article, please visit this entry on Mrs Budak's blog.

Sick

The Siew Mai is sick in Aberdeen.

It has contracted a cold...

Sniff sniff...

The Days Crawl By

Suddenly I'm hit by a bout of homesickness and I now miss everyone at home. Friends, family, things, places...

Things are fine here. I've established a small social circle which consists of mainly my flatmates and the one Chinese girl in my cohort. I'm more or less used to the pace of life here already, though I guess there wasn't much to get used to in the first place. Everything closes at 5.30pm around here, or 7pm if you're lucky. Then everyone just troops off to the nearest pub. That's about the lifestyle here, in summary. There really isn't nothing much else to do in Aberdeen. It's really very small. I do jog down to the beach every weekend, but that's about the most exciting thing I do nowadays. Which is good in some ways, I don't have anything better to do except concentrate on my studies. But it does get monotonous. And it's times like this that I begin to feel a little sad that I don't have my friends in close reach.

I never thought I'd see the day when I actually pray and hope to receive snail mail in the mornings then get sad that I didn't get any, but hey... I suppose there's a first for everything.

Mmmm... Food

Almost There
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

Looks good? Click on the picture for more Elphinstone Stories...

I Have A Confession...

I went and bought a chinese drama serial online. It cost about SGD$50...

*shamed look*

Please don't scold me... I know I should be watching my purse strings... But I'm getting deseperate... (T_T) Please let me do this....

Inbetween Math and Science...

Is my free period on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Wahaha... Which is why I am actually able to come to the computer classroom and catch up on my internet-ing.

I am amazed at the amount of news that has accumulated since I came here. Today was the first day that I actually logged on to Channelnewsasia.com. Lo and behold, there is news on one of my favourite countries in the world, Japan! Yet once again, it seems to be about how the rest of the world cannot wait to criticise her. Koizumi has gone off on another pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine and everyone else in East Asia is making a big hoo-ha about it. Even BY (the China girl I befriended in my class) is upset about it. Not to say that I don't understand China's viewpoint about the whole matter, but I do see Japan's POV as well. I shall not elaborate on that just now (as I'm running out of time and it shall be time for my next class soon) but I would like to add-on (rather than correct, though I am tempted to use the word) to one of the articles posted by CNA about the matter. The article says that the shrine honours Class A War Criminals. One single sentence-paragraph, making it sound as though the shrine holds ONLY the mentioned war criminals. This is very misleading, in my opinion. The shrine is home to many other war heroes of Japan who came centuries before the WWII generals and soldiers. It is an unfortunate thing that these generals, now classified as some of the worlds greatest evils, are housed together in a shrine that holds the remains of greater ancient heroes, who acutally deserve the honour and praise that come during the annual pilgrimages.

One should also remember, that the WWII generals, however evil we may perceive them to be, truly believed that they were performing great deeds of service in the name of their Emperor, their living god, according to their local beliefs.

I am not saying that I would condone any of their actions during the War, or that I agree with their beliefs. I am just saying, that perhaps, there should be a little more understanding in the world, and a little more give and take.

Or maybe, I'm just being too idealistic.

Homesick

I want to go home.

People here are stupid.

The only nice people I've met so far are my flatmates and not one of them is a local, Scottish or from the UK (Dublin is Southern Ireland and Southern Ireland is NOT part of the UK so Jo is not from the UK).

The one normal person I've made friends with in the department is a girl from China, also a mature undergraduate.

The one mature undergraduate who was a local from the Aberdeenshire who is 5yrs older than me whom I thought had more sense than the 17yr old brats here has apparently joined the harem of brats and I no longer hold any respect for him.

The only other nice people I've met in the department are my professors.

I want to go home.

Now About That Weird Guy...

Harbour/Port
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

More Aberdeen photos from before I actually started classes. I finally figured out why I've been using up my upload quota so fast... My camera's been set to take photos of M1 size... Maybe I should consider changing the setting to M2.

This here's the port near the Shiprow area. Really quite an impressive sight by itself. The smells are pretty impressive too...

Ooooh... Yes... Must update you guys in detail about the weird guy who lives downstairs. There are no words to describe the ABSOLUTE FREAKYNESS of this person. My flatmates and I are all convinced that he is some kind of psycho-killer in the making. He claims to be 21 years old but he looks like he's 35 and dresses like he's 50. I mean, who wears laced dress shoes on a regular, daily basis??? It is almost impossible to keep up a conversation with him (believe me, we've all tried) and the way he just STARES at you just makes your skin crawl. The most recent display of his extreme creepiness was when Jo (one of my flatmates) and I were walking home from the movies (I finally got to watch Howl's Moving Castle!!!) and we were just minutes away from our front door when we heard someone walking behind us. Jo looked around and when she saw it was him she quickly turned back and started walking faster. But this human abnomality, instead of calling out to us first, comes running up to us and starts walking alongside us and just keeps staring at us without saying a single word, until we said hi first. HE IS PSYCHOTIC I TELL YOU!!! A normal fellow would have called out to us first, just to reassure us that it's safe to turn around and stop to talk. But this guy...... ERrrgh!! *shiver* He's scary....

Somebody save us!! Please!!!

Short Post

Yes. Inbetween classes now so this will be a fairly short post.

Have more or less settled into the pace of life here. Classes are a great puzzle to me. I seem to understand everything that goes on during the lectures but come tutorials, I get absolutely lost. The plus side is that the lecturers all seem very friendly.

There is a weird guy in my flat!!! Will update more later. Going off for class!!

Meet The New Fellow In My Life

Everybody...

Meet Winky. The hottest new guy in my flat. And he wears a kilt... Mmmm...

Me and Winky in my room. I'm actually wearing a University of Aberdeen jumper but you can't quite see the words coz Winky is there...

Right... I think they'll soon be chasing me out of the computer room here in Fraser Noble (my department's home building) so I'd better scoot.

Looking forward to everybody's comments and e-mails!!! *BIG HINT!!!*

My Room

The Rest of My Room
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

See anything wrong with it yet? I actually had to write down complaints on my inventory list...

More here!!

The rest of the photos will have to wait until next month. I've used up my upload quota for September... (T_T)

More Third-World-isms

Hmph. Just got reprimanded for having my laptop cable lying on the floor. At least it was flat on the ground and not raised at some level that could potentially trip and kill people who walk past. Just another example of what Ed would call "Reasons Why UK is a Third-World Country"...

There are hotspots around the library. And there are also tables, and there are also walls with power sockets. BUT!!! The tables are not right next to the power sockets!!! So obviously, if you have to charge your laptops, your cable is going to have to creep across the floor a little bit. While it's not right beside the tables, it's still quite near, so your cable can actually lie flat on the floor without being a danger to people. BUT!!! There is then a sign right above the power sockets that says that personal computers/laptops can be connected to the power sockets as "ONLY IF CABLES TO NOT CROSS THE PASSAGEWAYS". Except there is no possible way to charge your laptop without your cables crossing about 1 meter of the floor.

...

Tell me how like that?? I stick my cables onto the ceiling instead issit??

Flat E & D

Flat E & D
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

Meet the residents of flats 3D & 3E.

From left: Joanne, Caitlin, Joanne's Teddy Bear Ellie (short for Elphinstone), Minna, Fran & Suzanne

One Big Long Summary of Updates

No. I'm not off getting wasted in Scottish pubs. And no, I haven't found any cute Scottish guys in kilts. No wait... I have!!! In fact he's in my room right now. I just haven't taken a photo of him yet.

Anyway, let me give a quick update on what happened since I arrived here 2 weeks ago.

As soon as I arrived in Aberdeen with my dad, we almost immediately went down to the University to see how many administrative things we could get done. I managed to pay for my entire year's rent, apply for a bank account and find the students' accomodation office all within the same day. We even had time to have a walk around the university and then a short walk into town. After that, since there was really nothing I could do with the university until I moved in and met my advisor, we just made multiple trips down into town and down to the beach. Then on Saturday (I landed on Wednesday, 14th September) we made a trip up the coastal road in an attempt to reach Macduff since there was supposed to be a really good aquarium there. On the way we (or rather my dad) got side-tracked by a malt whisky distillery that allowed free tours of the distillery and its production areas. We even got treated to free whisky! Well... I thought it was vile but my dad seemed to like it.

On Monday I officially moved into my new room. After saying goodbye to my dad for the night, I just never felt SOOO miserable in my whole life. I almost completely broke down after I sent him off, even though he wasn't leaving for Singapore until the next evening. So the next day, even though it was a tight fit as I had to meet my advisor at 2pm, I made sure I had lunch with my dad before he got on that plane.

After that, I was horribly homesick for about a week as I went about with my flatmates around the various Freshmen activities that were going on. I never actually found the Singapore Society so I joined the Malaysian Society instead. And the International Students’ Fair was just plain boring, so I didn’t quite bother about the International Society.

Then over the weekend, I went down to Glasgow by train with one of my flatmates, Suzanne, who’s actually been to Singapore!! Lots of people here still think that Singaporeans don’t speak English. *roll eyes*

Oh. And I never actually got to meet my advisor until yesterday, during the engineering department’s Induction games, which is basically just like an orientation day camp. It lasted until today, for which I am very grateful. For once I can’t wait to start classes. That first “meeting” turned out to just be an introductory talk by the department. Zzz…

Anyway. This post will be followed up by some photos. Managed to upload quite a few, but not all. My quota in Flickr is running out. So I think about 50% of my photos will have to wait until October.

Miss everybody lots. Please please PLEASE e-mail lots, and comment lots. I may not actually be able to blog so often anymore as my apartment doesn’t have internet access. If I want to use my laptop’s wireless, I need to walk down to the school library which is probably only 5 minutes away, but I don’t fancy walking through the freezing cold every night just to use the internet for an hour or so. Once in 2 days to stay here for a few hours is still ok…

Siew Mai Lives!!

More to come... Or you can just go over to Flickr and see some that I've already uploaded. It's not everything though.

Miss everybody lots.

Last Minute Packing Part 3

My mother vacuum-packed my clothes... (-_-)"' Although I have to admit that it works. Everything fits nicely into my suitcase. Now trying to fit all my laptop/camera/phone cables & application installation cds into my carry-on pack, which will also be holding:
- my laptop
- a change of clothes in case something happens to my luggage.
- book(s) to read
- my electronic dictionary
- 1x woolie sweater
- travel OralB set (14 hrs in the air... must have fresh breath in case meet handsome-until-can-die guy)
- mp3 player
- small face towel

Dammit. My travel sewing kit has no needles and needs black thread.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I will forget something important. You can count on it.

Eff eff eff...

Omae ga Utsukushii

好きだ。本当に好きだ。でも私は何も言ったなかった、だから君がまだわからない。でもそれならもいい。わたしすぐに発つだから、もいい。しあわせである、ね...

You're Beautiful
James Blunt
Back to Bedlam

My life is brilliant
My love is pure
I saw an angel
Of that I'm sure
She smiled at me on the subway
She was with another man
But I won't lose no sleep all night
Coz I've got a plan

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true
I saw your face
In a crowded place
And I don't know what to do
Coz I'll never be with you

Yeah, She caught my eye
As I walked on by
She could see from my face
That I was fucking high
And I don't think that I'll see her again
But we shared a moment that will last 'til the end

There must be an angel
With a smile on her face
When she thought up that I should be with you
But it's time to face the truth.

I will never be with you.

Last Minute Packing Part 2

Started putting stuff into the suitcase. It's crazy, I put in 2 sweaters and 1 old winter coat and it looks like almost half the space is gone already. Either I'm a lousy packer or I'm going to need a bigger suitcase.

Went to Centrepoint with the folks just now to see if any inspiration struck. Found a very nice 2-piece jacket from Timberland that had a removable fleece lining. SUPER NICE CAN!!! But $399... Damn ex. Anyway *very grudgingly* I guess I already have an old coat to start with and I will have other coats to look at in Scotland... *grumble* Ooooh... And also found very very VERY nice boots in Timberland also... One-inch tall, broad heeled boots. Sibeh chio leh!! *GUSH!!!* Haiz... But again... I suppose I can find them in Scotland also... SIGH.

Anyhow, as I was packing (taking a break to blog. Hee hee), I realized that I've forgotten that I need to get socks!!! Dammit... How the heck do you forget about socks??? Siew Mai's brain must be steamed to nothingness liao... It's this slight cold I caught I tell you. Nasal congestion and sore throat for a week already. Erk. But it's OK! I'm going shopping with Nekoweenie tomorrow afternoon. Well, later this afternoon actually, since it's technically Sunday already. Will make good use of the Isetan vouchers. Hohoho!!! Anyone want to join us??

The Rain Came Down

空から落ちて来るのは...

あれは雨ではなくて。

[Ending lines from "Broken Wings" by Tane - Trinity Blood Ending Theme]

Last Minute Packing Part 1

Talk about last minute. I'm going to be flying in about 4 days and I'm still slowly spring cleaning my room. Tell you on Monday I'll be doing very last minute packing and Tuesday afternoon will see ultimate last minute packing.

I've bought new underwear!! Wahahaha... I must be mad to announce it to the whole wide world. But some of it is quite cute. If this blog weren't a G-rated blog I'd post a photo here. (^_^) And no, they are not Hello Kitty thongs. Hello Kitty is evil.

Anyway, remember this checklist?

I have most of the Essential Must Brings already, except:
1) Pocket Bible
2) Walk-about shoes
3) Personal medicine stash

Ok well the medicine is all over the house, I just haven't put a small box together for myself yet.

So I'm basically all set I think. My documents are in order, tickets are printed out, got some warm clothes to start with, got the Lonely Planet guide, and even have a suitcase ready. Am I missing anything??

Hmm.. Ok people, I have four $10 Isetan vouchers left (used one on a pair of sweat pants. I love shopping!! Hohoho!) . What else do I need to get??

Siew Mai Flickrs!

In preparation of all the photos I will be taking in Scotland, I have set up a Flickr account! Apparently I've got sort of a default account already because I've got a Yahoo! account. So cool hor!! Hahaha...

Anyway here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/veetwo_siewmai/

And here are the photos for SSS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/veetwo_siewmai/sets/896138/

Sorry that there aren't more photos of the gang, I wanted to take the group photo too but I hadn't figured out how to set the camera to the self-timer mode...

Oh. And have I mentioned that I have a new camera? Well, I have a new camera. Lalala!

Reply to Mrs Budak

What can I say but "Thank you."

Part of me still cannot believe that I'm leaving. Part is raring to go off on this brand new adventure. And yet another part can't bear to part with the comforts and loves right here...

The depression and denial I went through one year ago is still a fresh memory. With that in mind and with the support I realize I have back home, I will take care. (^_^) I'll be ok.

Thank you.

SSS Post-Mortem

Lalala... This post is two days late. Hehe...

ONCE AGAIN!!! The Triple Letter Gang surfaced to wreck havoc on the stomachs and cholesterol levels of unsuspecting siew mais. And I do believe that this round was PARTICULARLY sinful. I mean... Main dishes aside, the two very rich cakes were enough to give us all cardiac infarcts. That and the ridiculous albeit very amusing discussion on toilet behaviour, the finer points on pimple squeezing and farting, which Budak was all too glad to demonstrate. A lot. Much to the chagrin of Mrs Budak and Monkey (who got the bulk of the "shooting").
Sadly, Ash couldn't join us due to work. (T_T) But I'm sure the "scenery" made up for the loss of good food. Heh heh. And of course, a certain Phoenich had ISSUES... :p Resulting in his absence as well.

Well, if you guys had come, this is what you'd still be digesting:

SSS Roll-Call


1)算盘子 Yam abacus balls - Joelle (I don't know why but now I will think of lacy underwear and crabs when I think of you. Imagine crabs wearing lacy underwear... (O_o) )
2)Various fried tidbits - Monkey
3)Otak - Monkey
4)Carrot basmati rice - Siew Mai
5)Babi sio - Siew mai (peranankan host must have pork dish. haha)
6)Nutella cake - Mrs Budak
7)Fruit crumble - Mrs Budak
8)Strawberry cheesecake - Laurence (sam sui women... *snigger*)
9)Wine - Joelle & Monkey LHam (sorry Ham!! siew mai blur)
10) One bar of chocolate - LHam (eh... forgot to take it out.)
11) 2 salads - Siew Mai's mum

It was a lot! Although I think less than usual. On the other hand, we had more desserts than usual. Homemade nutella cake and Mezza9 cheescake. *pengsan*

[3pm: must showcase Mrs Budak's fruit crumble. She say never take picture... See more of her nutella cake *drools at the memory*...]

Scrumptious Siewmai Suppering

Update 10.29pm:

SSS-ed!!

More Updates to Come. Hehe.. I know I've been a lazy blogger.. (T_T)

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

At the pleadings of a certain furry mammal, SSS shall be pushed back one day.

Date: 4 September 2005
Time: 5pm 1pm
Area: Sin Ming (obviously I'm not going to post my precise address on the WWW am I?? Perverts.)
Dinner Category: Oh, the usual potluck. Lemme know what you'll be bringing.
SM's Menu: Carrot Basmati Rice and Babi Sio or Babi Tempra. Plus a salad of course. (^_^)v

*Fake lucky-draw-host accent* Do a comment or e-mail RSVP and you will receive ONE directions to Veetwo Siew Mai's place!!

Yee-yah. Anyway, let me know if you're coming and what you're bringing and you'll be put onto the guest list below:

Dim Sums/Animals/People Coming:
1) Monkey!! (Something Columbian... such prompt reply!)
2) Phoenich (threatens to bring pizza)
3) Strawberry Cheescake (Teutoburg)
4) Mr & Mrs Budak (Wine + ...)

Expected to Come (or else. wahahahaha!):
1) Joelle
2) Ash
3) Nekoweenie
4) Aronwy
5) Jemalelinh (got a wedding to attend.. (T_T) )

Mizuno Siew Mai!!

I've signed up for the Mizuno Run!! Wahaha!! 10km here I come!!! Training starts now!! Even though I only signed up for the Fun Run category... My mum signed on for the women's open. Siao. And... *ahem* Since I signed on for the run, and seeing how I've been needing new sports shoes for a while *proud smug look*... Heheheh... I have bought myself a pair of Mizuno shoes!! 40% discount!! Wahahaha... Now I am all equipped to run 10km. (^_^)(^_^)(^_^)

It's easy enough to finish 10km in 2hrs by brisk walking... So the aim shall be to finish in 1hr 30min. *superhero pose* YOSHA!! Siew Mai Banzai!!

Checklist

Cheap thrill of the day: I just realized that my nicknames combined, Veetwo Siew Mai, and my real name share the same initials: VSM. How cool is that?? Whahaha. Ok cheap thrill over.

These couple of days I've been thinking and thinking of what I should be packing into my 23kg for Scotland. So I've written out a list of things I can think off besides the obvious clothes, underwear and toiletries. This is a list of the extra stuff and it's split into 3 parts: Essential Must Brings, Non-Essential But Still Brings & Would Like To Brings (although most probably I won't).

Siew Mai's Checklist

Essential Must Brings:
Bible (shall go and scout for a small pocket one)
1 winter jacket (got an old grungy one I took to China and South Africa)
Woolen cap + scarf (got new ones liao. (^_^)v hee…)
Laptop (old dinosaur though it is, it is still functional)
Handphone + charger
Digital camera (Dad is going to buy me one!! Whee!!)
Travel alarm clock
Extra pair of shoes to walk around in
Small hand torch
Small personal stash of medicine (panadol, clarinase, nasal spray, etc)

Non-Essential But Still Brings:
MP3 Player (if my mother buys a new one, I will inherit her old Creative which is still way better than my Samsung Yepp which is now falling apart at the seams. *cross fingers*)
Discman
Sketch book
Books to read (Trinity Blood novels + Leather-clad woman on cover book)
Electronic dictionary + travel Japanese-English dictionary (otherwise how to read my ToriBla, you tell me?)
Drawing pencils
Bits of accessories (earrings mainly)
1 or 2 small carry bags/purses

Would Like To Brings:
Photo Albums
Anime (NO NO NO!! Focus Siew Mai, FOCUS!!)
My scanner
My speakers (but obviously, this is not going to happen. (T_T) So sad.)
1-person rice-cooker or crock pot
Oil burner (it’s shaped like a teapot and stove! Very cute!)

And of course, Nekoweenie mentioned I should bring make-up... But I'm still debating whether or not I really need to bring any over. I hardly wear make-up in Singapore as it is...

It's not a complete list, I'll probably add and erase stuff as I go along. Suggestions and tips are most welcome of course, especially from those of you who've been overseas studying before.

Flight Confirmed

First must report on my treadmill achievements! (^_^) Did a full hour today!! Yay!! Only breaked for about 5 seconds after 15 min to change treadmills coz the headphone console thingy on the first one was a bit wonky. Have no idea what my average speed is. Was too whooped after the whole thing to notice the scrolling numbers on the LCD display. Top speed was 9km/h though, the jogging/running started at 7.5km/h and lasted for about 45min (yes, i take 15min to warm-up... :p). So I'm guessing total average speed is about 7km/h? Yay!! So happy. Legs all tingly and threatening to give way after that.

Mum is suggesting I join her at the Mizuno run for the 10km route. Wondering whether or not I should give it a try. Actually I'm more interested in the 40% discount off shoe purchases after you register but then I'd actually have to do the run. (T_T)

Anyhow, after my dad and I ok-ed the proposed dates, it is now confirmed that I will be flying 13 September, Tuesday. Suddenly seems so fast hor... My goodness. I'm really going over!!!

13hr 30min flight time to London, followed by another 1hr 30min to Aberdeen. (O_O)'" My joints will lock and freeze...

Siew Mai Play Water

Wheeee!!! So long never swim liao!! So fun!!!

Went to the NUS pool to go swimming with Monkey, who attempted to go one further than her other zen monkey cousins. The result was a lot of talking between every 2 laps of the small pool. Wanted to swim in the big pool but it was being hogged by all these poser jocks with bad tans and thinktheylookdamnhotbutactuallydamnugly faces. Don't these people have lectures to go for or tutorials to bid for?? So free ahr... Ok lah, some of the bodies were worth looking at. But most of them were just... Ew. Especially those in silver swimming trunks. EEYER!! *pui*

After treating the YIH canteen to the rare sight of one monkey and one dim sum wolfing down cooked potential-chick and briyani-ed dead bird, the monkey went off to an interview whilst I went off to the bank to get a new passbook and apply for a debit card.

For some reason, the supplementary card my dad is applying for me is taking forever to process. Just last week I had to re-submit some form for the card. So in case this card doesn't come through, I will be getting a POSB debit card. I've been avoiding this for the simple reason that it's one more temptation for easy-spending. (T_T) 忍，烧麦，忍！

Things Are Speeding Up!!

Hehehe... My legs are tingling. (^_^) So proud of myself. Even though only walked/jogged/ran for slightly less than usual (40 minutes only today), I did manage to push my average speed up to 7.1km/h with a top speed of 9.5km/h. *satisfied look* So proud of myself!! And did 3 sets each of leg presses and hamstring curls. Want to to do quart extensions but 1)the machines were all taken and 2)I had to rush off to the UK Visa Application Centre to collect my passport. They only allow you to collect between 4pm to 5pm. Damn weird lah.

In any case, I got my entry clearance!! Hee hee!!! So cool!!! Ok cheap thrill. But it's so exciting!!! Heheheheh!!! Now I just have to nail down that travel agent... He's supposed to have come back from leave on Friday.. Hmph.
[8.44pm Update]
My mum just forwarded me a tentative itinerary from the travel agent. Tentative date to leave is 13th September. Once things are confirmed, I'll post again for anyone who may be interested.

Good Times, Good Friends (^_^)

I just had to put this in a separate post. To put yesterday's August MMM & today's outing together in the same post would make either one seem less significant somehow. And they were both very important to me in their own special way. So they both deserve a separate post. My weekend has been made, thanks to the Triple-Letter Event gang and a very good friend. :)

Today was spent hanging out at Cineleisure with Phoenich (who STILL hasn't updated his blog. Tsk) who paid for my lunch (soft shell crab & prawns) from Cafe Cartel. Thank you! (^_^) And he even had a very sweet surprise. What I thought was a new handphone for himself (although I didn't tell him that. Wahahaha) was actually a matching winter cap & scarf set for me to take to Scotland. I think the waitress thought he was proposing or something though. Bwahahaha... She looked embarrassed at having to interrupt just to tell Phoenich that they'd run out of rodeo ribs. *snigger* But it was very sweet. Thank you Phoenich. (^_^)

After a rather fishy lunch [tip to everyone in general: just go with the red meat.], we went up to watch 七剑 Seven Swords. It was quite an enjoyable show, although I didn't quite get the ending. I guess it's one of those wuxia movies which leave space for future directors/scriptwriters to pick up where it left. And I can't decide if the kids were reciting a poem with all the swords' names inside. Didn't quite catch the words. Ah well, who cares about the kids when there's 甄子丹 Donnie Yen!!! *swoon* So cool!! Oh the swords were quite cool too. Of all the swords I liked 天瀑剑 the Heaven's Fall sword best. (^_^)v Donnie!!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to find, then navigate the children's section of Kinokuniya; trying to send each other off by MRT even though we were both actually just going to take a straight bus back to our respective homes, and walking one big pointless round through Orchard MRT to the Orchard Boulevard exit when we could've just walked right through Popular.

How to say this without sounding mushy (I've actually backspaced this line countless times already)... Phoenich, you'll be one of those friends I'll miss tonnes, even though you never knew my real name until months after we first met and that was AFTER Guowei had to tell you. :p Ok enough mush. *shiver shiver cringe cringe*

Good food, good time spent doing ultimately meaningless things and good company. What more could a siew mai ask for.

Well. Ok. The food was a bit suspect but hey! Two out of three ain't bad.

Another Successful MMM

And may I add, extremely filling. I'm still feeling the effects of it since yesterday actually. Fwoooh.

As usual, the polite dinner conversation just disintegrated into a lot of talk about sex, pron and big... assets. And since this time round we had some guests from the other side of the globe - Andrew from US and Roger from Holland - the Monkey even treated us to an online flash animation of international "comings". Andrew seemed rather embarrassed by all the sex talk, though I can't imagine why. :p His Dutch friend though was just unfazed by it all.

It was 5 hours of wholesome great fun, companionship, laughter and too much good food which passed by all too quickly. And who could forget the lessons in Singlish 101. ("KSM NB KNN!!!")

Apologies are in line though, as I totally forgot about the onesingaporeminute item that all the guests were supposed to bring. Even the Budaks brought Mr. Budak's duck. In the end, we never took the OSM photos as many of us forgot. Truly sorry for spoiling your plans Monkey. (T_T) How can this poor dim sum make it up to you...

Also as usual, I cannot post any photos as the siew mai does not own a digital camera. *hint hint to anyone in general* So here is my monthly report on the menu:

August MMM Food Roll Call
1) Beef, seafood & vegetable kebabs - Monkey
2) Homous - Monkey
3) Mini chicken pies - Ash
4) Not-so-lumpy potato salad - Joelle
5) Fried sausages - Siew Mai
6) Spiced cous cous disguised under.. Stuff - Siew Mai
7) Vegetarian soba - Mr & Mrs Budak
8) Wines - The Budaks & LHam (who brought "the best chateau in France!!" according to Roger)
9) Evil poison Hagen Daaz ice cream cake - Laurence
10) More evil poison NYDC brownies - Andrew & Roger

(O_O)"' I still cannot believe that we practically wiped out the whole spread, except for half of the cake and half the potato salad. My conscience is killing me after all that. I have to confess.

Forgive me Treadmill, for I have sinned....

Next up: SSS. Who's coming? (^_^)v

Ignore This Gripe

A couple of LJ-using friends have been trying convince me to switch over. The main draw being the user's ability to make certain entries private and accessible only to the user's friend list. Never really saw the point of it really. Don't want anyone to read your blog? Make like Monkey and remove RSS capabilities or if, like me, you're technologically-challenged, just don't blog about it! Private story-telling is what handphones and relay chat applications were invented for. But after reading a certain recent entry, I began to see the advantages of a private entry, so to speak. Since, as we all know, anything put on the WWW is ultimately never actually private. So rather than risk discovery, I'll just stick to the proven method of not saying anything. And I doubt I'll be switching anytime soon. I still find that LJ is rather unfriendly.

Maybe when I start a Siewmai’s Scotland Stories blog. We’ll see.

Guess The Word of The Day

Gym this morning was no shiok. Usually I'd walk/jog/run 45min to 1hour at an average speed of about 6.8km/h (Mrs Budak still win hands down. *bows down and kowtows* My mother confirm also win me. Actually I think my sis also win me... (T_T) ), followed by about an hour of weights training. Today only walked/jogged/ran 30min at average speed of 6.6km/h. And only did 2 super-sets of shoulder press and upright rows. (T_T) Absolutely no shiok. But then again I promised Shane I'd blanjah him coffee during his 8am break. So bo pian.

Went to watch 江湖阿嫂 (Mob Sister) after that since there was nothing better to do. At first I thought I was going to be the only person in the theatre. So cool!!! (ok cheap thrill...) But after about five minutes some uncles started to walk in one by one. (-_-)"'

I have come to this conclusion about Hong Kong mob movies:
1) It's all about the 义气. Brudderhood!!
2) There must be the obligatory tough bitch 阿嫂 and obligatory SYT (read: sweet young thing)
3) Must have a fair share of betrayal (whereupon one betrayee will scream at the betrayer: 《去你妈的!!我们是兄弟!!!讲义气的!!!》 simple translation: BRUDDERHOOD!!!), romance - unrequited or otherwise, and plenty of car-crash-car scenes.
4) Fight scenes or death scenes must either be slow motion or (dunno what the technical term is) overlapped, like those going mad scenes.
5) The point of the movie is that there doesn't have to have a point. ... ... BRUDDERHOOD!!!!!

Actually watching movies alone is quite fun, as I've discovered recently. At least during the more poignant moments in the movie, your emotionally unstable very sentimental friend doesn't lean over, grab your sleeve and go "Ooooooh!!!". And there's no one squealing into your ear just when you've managed to convince yourself to ignore the lousy acting and believe that the character IS that character. Can you just watch the MOVIE already??? Egads.

Of course, watching with friends (BRUDDERHOOD!!!) is still a great thing which I wouldn't replace. But hey, once in a while it actually isn't that bad to be the lone siew mai in a steamer. Or in this case, single pack freeze-dried siew mai.

Kuching Thoughts

The closer 19th September gets, the more I start to think about what things I'm going to miss when I'm there gawking at kilted bums studying.

At this moment the thing that is one my mind the most is Kuching. I'm sure as hell going to miss the food there. Especially...

[Image from Kuching Guide]

Konlo Mee!! Argh... Just the thought of it is making me salivate. And how to forget Sarawak Laksa!!! ARGH!! Dammit. Haiz. But food aside... There is one very very important reason why I want to go back to Kuching before I leave...

I want to see my grandpa. But timing seems to be a little tricky. Sigh. (T_T) I miss my Gonggong.

Signs of Growing Old?!?!

1) I'm losing hair. Seriously.
2) I've got about as much white hair as my mother. Beneath all that dye that is.
3) I've forgotten what I wanted to blog about besides putting up the SSS notice. The previous 2 points were just to lead up to this point. Really.
4) I'm sleeping a lot.
...
But then again I always sleep a lot. Oh well. Lalala!

Saw this posted on Monkey's and Mrs Budak's blogs. It's a letter written by the mother of a homosexual guy. Originally posted on eddyworld, it is a really thought-provoking letter.

I too cannot stand this thing about a "homosexual agenda". I have friends who are gay or lesbian, and they are no different from anyone else. They have families and friends who love them and whom they love. If they are guilty of anything it would be wanting to be accepted and to be loved.

I think that sounds "normal" enough.

Anyhow, here's the beginning paragraph of the letter:

"Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people. I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny."
(Full Letter )

You don't have to agree with this dear woman's opinions, or with those who support her stand. But if you do, please do repost this letter on your blog or website, and hopefully open the eyes and heart of one more person.

At Long Last...

Actually not that long. Maybe about two months?

Today I finally met my sister's boyfriend. With all the talk about him being from her senior class and now currently serving in NS, I always had this impression of him being much taller than her, maybe a little buffed up from BMT and (hopefully) somewhat mature looking. So this morning after church, mum and I went to Ya Kun at J8 to have breakfast with the both of them.

He is a dweeb.

Scrawny, quiet, lost-looking with geek glasses (there are funky glasses and there are geek glasses. His were geeky.), only slightly taller than my sis... He is a dweeb.

But, I will give this to him - he is a nice dweeb. At least he was polite and when you speak to him he does engage in a conversation rather than go, "erm.. yah.. uhm.." And after further scrutinizing observation, I can say that he's sweet enough to my sis. Helped her buy groceries. *resists cringing from saccharine-ness* Anyway, I can't really make a full conclusion about him since I've only just met him. But he seems nice enough. So that will do for now.

*shakes head*
The bimbo and the dweeb. This will be interesting...

What Was Your Question Again?

Sorry for the lack of entries, been trying to sort out exactly what was going on with the university's admissions office and when exactly I am expected to report there. So now that most of the drama is over, I will hold a short question and answer session, starting with a very stressing question...

Budak: Why no SSS???

1) No SSS in August because my sis is having her A-level prelim exams until the end of the month and my parents are dead against any possible distractions.
2) Because of the situation mentioned in the previous post, it seemed that my entry date into Aberdeen would be a month earlier than expected. Meaning I’d go in middle of August instead of mid-September. So September SSS is out too.

Everyone else: So what’s up with the two acceptance certificates? Do you really have to go in early?

Apparently, the second certificate was sent purely for the purpose of informing me about the pre-sessional course. And it wasn’t the computing course they were referring to. I was supposed to attend the pre-sessional English course, meant for international students whose first language is not English. How thoughtful of them, they must’ve realized that my first language is Swahili.

After multiple trunk calls (my poor phone bill… (T_T) ) and countless e-mails, a conclusion was reached – since my paper qualifications in English (i.e. my O & A-level exams which incidentally were taken in English… Oh such HORROR! (-_-)"' ) were much higher than most (Oh? Not all?) students required to take the course and since I am obviously competent in its usage (Oh REALLY?? Thank you, so are you!), I would not have to take the course. The course, according to the final e-mail I received from them, “is there is you wish to attend to improve your English.” [note: there are no typos in the quoted line. This is exactly how the sentence appeared in the e-mail.]

So the answer is no, I do not have to go in earlier.

Siew Mai (on behalf of the MMM gang): So… SSS…??

Yes, I do believe that there can be a September Siewmai Supper. I will tentatively set the date as 3rd September, Saturday. If there are no audible or visible objections, then this shall be the date of the much anticipated September Siewmai Send-off. Will e-mail again once a consensus is reached. Silence means consent. HAH!

'E'-ffinity For Trouble

When Ed told me that the UK was a third-world country, I thought he was exaggerating and being rather cynical. So they’re a little disorganized at times…

He wasn’t kidding.

I don’t know how many of you remember this post but basically, it was during the last week of June that I received my Certificate of Acceptance dated 21 June 2005, confirming this (letterhead and signatures cut out for obvious reasons whether or not I need to). I was ecstatic and went ahead with my hostel applications.

And THEN!

Today I received THIS which came together with THIS!!

So. I now have TWO Certificates of Acceptance for two DIFFERENT courses of study!! Within the same department no less, they must love me twice as much as I previously thought.

Regrettably, Veetwo is only one Siew Mai. I cannot possibly attend both courses (although they are more or less the same) so I call up the admissions office to express &#^%$@* my “regrets”. I managed to find out the following:

1) With regards to the 2nd Certificate: Oh! Just ignore it. They don’t know what happened, but they’ll find out for me, and anyway the course of study I want is the first one. Oookaay... But I should let them know that the 2nd Cert also came with this letter which tells me I have to go for a pre-sessional course. … Ohhh…

2) With regards to the pre-sessional course(s): Ooohh… Erm… Do I have an e-mail address? The supervisor is away on holiday you see, so they’ll ask around and e-mail me about it as soon as they can. Oh that’s fine, only the pre-sessional course means having to fly over almost a month earlier, so if they could just let me know really soon… Ohhh… Uhm. Sure, they’ll work on it. May they have my e-mail address, please? So that’s ‘v’, ‘e’, ‘n’… Oh, ‘a’, ‘n’… ‘s’… ‘s’ for ‘sugar’, you mean? Ok. ‘s’, ‘e’, ‘w’… ‘i’, ‘w’?? OH! ‘i’, ‘e’, ‘w’… [note: You get the picture. I refuse to continue.] Ok! Don’t worry about it (#$^@*!?!?!?!), they’ll e-mail me (assuming they managed to copy down my e-mail correctly in the first place) soon! (-_-)"'

3) Whether or not I actually have advanced entry: I gave up asking by question 2. If I don’t see an interpretable answer in the alleged e-mail that is to be sent, I will ask them again. Through e-mail. My phone bill cannot survive another… Whatever.

So to those who are still mildly clueless, let me summarize the story for you.

*Ahem*

Very soon I will be flying off to Scotland to study one course or the other and I may or may not have to go in early as I might or might not be required to attend a pre-sessional course due to the fact that I may or may not have been awarded advanced entry.

Capiche?

P.S. The good thing is that I managed to get a room in one of the Elphinstone flats. Flat E no less. I must be fated to stay in places labelled with an 'E'.

Do You Have An Incest Infestation?

Get rid of all incest with the all-new Incest Killer!!

Available at all major electric and hardware stores near you.


[Thanks to Ed for the tip.]

It's A Sad Sad Situation

Find that SH is more wound up than usual. Sitting in the cubicle in front of her is becoming more stressful by the day. To think that this week is supposed to be more relaxed for me. Last week leh… Haiz. But I sort of understand her situation lah. GM is depressed over the recent development board meeting and is now quite sick also. Been on MC since yesterday, but from what I hear, sick since Saturday. And apparently the company board meeting is going to happen sometime next week, and a lot of things are not settled yet. So sad the way things are going for the company. Despite all this new blood coming in and a sort of new dynamism that seems to have been injected, it may not be enough to save the company from certain doom. It doesn’t help that the AD is currently more interested in her own agenda than the company’s.

Yes, I do realize I could get sued for libel or slander or breach of confidentiality or some other politics (politcseses… hirhir… Backstroke English…). But it is really very sad. The set-up of this company was supposed to have been a milestone in Singapore’s arts scene history. Even now, I believe people think it to be a stalwart within the local arts circle. They believe it will be here for a long time to come. I am not so sure, considering the current situation. I do hope it can continue for the foreseeable future. Even though I do not necessarily like every single piece of work that is produced, I do believe that this company serves a very important purpose within this industry. If it were to go away it would be a great loss. I’m tempted to say catastrophic, but it may not be the right word to use.

So sad. Haiz.

In other Siew Mai News: Just finished watching Haru wo Daite Ita last night. Raunchier than Kizuna but at least there was more of a story to follow. Actually I only really watched it because the seiyuu of one of the lead characters is MIKI SHINICHIRO!!!! Miki-sama!!! He voices the role of Katou Youji, an up and coming AV actor. The character (and Miki-san!!) is a floppy-haired Japanese guy! Just the kind Siew Mai likes…

Unfortunately it turns out that I somehow like the other leading character, Iwaki Kyousuke, better.

Dammit. :p Nebermine... Soubi-chan still win. Souuuubiiii!!! (^_^)v

If There's Such A Thing As Sleep-Walking...

Zzz... Got scolded by SH for being blur. I just wanted to double-check whether certain documents should be human-shredded mah... Diao-ded. Aiyah. Dun complain. SH has always been very good to me in the office, although she's very strict. Should've been a teacher. :P

Boi Sakti has arrived to supervise RTM. Brought two short monkeys Indon dancers whom I assume are dancers from his own company. The RTM music got singing one... Sounds like ghosts moaning though. Woh woh woh kind. Or maybe I just dunno how to appreciate.

I think I put on weight. Dammit. I want to go back to running 1 hour every morning!!!

But I also want to sleep.

Is there such a thing as sleep-running??

London is Falling

Oops, sorry, won't do. – Times Online UK

I totally agree. It is absolutely irresponsible. And “My heart goes out to the officer who killed the man in Stockwell Tube Station.”???? British politicians better clean up their act before this gets any more out of hand.

Moves like this – More marksmen to hunt five bombers on the loose – Times Online UK is just going to add fuel to the fire.

Ed, sorry if I hit any wrong buttons or ruffled any feathers, but somehow now I’m REALLY glad I didn’t choose London.

Siew Mai Shlurrps

Just came back from watching Fantastic Four. I think I prefer the comic. Bleah. Nebermine. Next one to look forward to is Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Johnny Depp!!! Wheeee....!!!

Ok.. I know I promised a menu of what was demolished eaten at the recent Dine at Duck's Domain.

Warning: Not For Gastronomically-Challenged Stomachs

1)Vegetarian Spaghetti (with yummy yummy dried tomatoes *drool*) - Mrs Budak
2)Baked Mushrooms with Mixed Cheese (JUICY!! YUMMY!!! SHHLLURRPP!!!) - Mrs Budak
3)Tori-Q Yakitori - Siew Mai
4)3kg of Organic Rambutans from Ubin (yeah... so organic that one housed a little white worm who stared angrily at me as I bit into its big white home...) - Monkey & Joelle
5)Jello + Mixed Fruits (got ginger also!! Sho shpicy! I didn't know ginger was a fruit... :p) - Mrs Budak
6)Goreng Pisang, Yam & Sweet Potato - Monkey & Joelle
7)Apple Strudel - Ash
8)Various wines (Grape juice grape juice!!) - Budak & Mrs Budak

Truly a very healthy (I don't care. Apple strudel is still apple and therefore is a healthy fruit dish. And a banana is a banana, no matter what form it takes.) DDD!!

Budaks' have a very cozy place!! I like all the shrimp-breeding fish tanks! And we were introduced the Budak's duck, in all its hard glory... As usual, since I do not have a digital camera, I cannot show any proof of this siew mai's adventures into a duck's nest. But you should be able to find some on Budak's blog and Mrs Budak's.

Although I cannot brraaap like the duck himself, I can continue to drool at the thought of the next Blogger Meet. SHLUUURRRPP!!

Have I No Imagination?!?!?

I just realized that my new blogskin is exactly the same as my ~Siew Mai Style~ blog but in different colours. This means either one of two things:

1) I have very specific tastes.

2) I have no imagination.

Dammit... So much for wanting to be artsy-fartsy.

DDD-ed. New Layout!!

NEW SKIN!!! Heheheheheh.. Cheap thrill.

DDD-ed. Still incredibly full. Mrs Budak has stuffed us all. Thank you for hosting us!!! Shall post an entry about the food tomorrow. Now am going to digest food in sleep. Zzzzzzz....

Bombs, More Bombs and Now Bullets...

Suspected suicide bomber shot dead on Tube

All I (and my mother) can say is... Thank goodness I chose Aberdeen instead of KCL.

I mean... Of course, we sympathise with the people of central London. This is really just one big tragedy. But on a selfish side, my goodness... God must've really been merciful when he whispered to me to choose Scotland instead. Can you imagine if I had chosen King's??? Getting an entry clearance now would probably be damn difficult. In a worse case scenario, they'd probably delay my term or something at a point where I really don't want to waste anymore time!! Of course, this is all my own speculation and may not neccessarily be true. But omg!!

*shake head* It's just... Amazing... Terrible.. But amazing...

Fly To Mee...

Sian ji pua.

I have been reduced to miscellaneous filing and human-shredder-ing in the office. There is nothing better for me to do in the office. Dammit. Just let me resign earlier lah. Kaoz. Aiyah.. Nebermine... Dun complain because in the end the company is still paying me to be a human-shredder for another week.

Anyway this post is to make a request: Anyone want to sponsor me lunch today???

I have totally given up making lunch the night before to bring into the office and have been living off SH's supply of food. Sadly today she seems to have not brought lunch either. I am lunchless for today. *sobsob*

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

Scrap that. Apparently there is lunch. Wahahaha... There is fly noodle for me. Today instead of cooking rice, SH's maid fly noodle instead. Ok good. It shall fly into my stomach. But I think will not be enough for me leh... Coz I have to half-half with my GM who also occasionally shares SH's food. Rats. Will be hungry by 3pm I tell you. Nebermine... SH says she got soup in the pot in the kitchen. I will kapo the soup. Wahahahaha...

I wonder if it's possible to still find Backstroke of the West in China. If can, maybe I will ask Shuhui to buy. Then when she brings it home to S'pore, I will laugh and laugh for 2 hours straight and then die from suffocation because cannot breathe. Laugh too much. Or as any character in Backstroke would say: Laugh die.

Hail the great hopeless situation warrier!!

STAR WAR: The Third Gathers

GASPS!!!

WAHAHAHAAHAH!!!!

my the eye tears out come already!!!

Here's some more of the transcripts of Backstroke of the West..

Spouting Nonsense

Thursday. Why is it only Thursday?!?

Felt so tempted to pontang work today. Some more now I sit in front of the office "police" so cannot blog openly. Can't even play game cause this silly computer doesn't have certain applications and I can't install anything coz I don't have administrator rights on this comp. Pah. So boring.

Why can't it be the weekend already?!?

By the way, anybody want to sponsor me a digital camera? Hahahahahaha... Wishful thinking. Maybe I should set-up a "Donate-to-Siew-Mai's-Digital-Camera-Fund"... How about some Golden Peanuts??

Siew Mai is spouting random nonsense again. Save me! Save yourselves!!

*spout spout spout*

Backstroke of the West!!

Omg.. You guys HAVE to read this...

Backstroke of the West

Don't Want To!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

My Purpose In This Office Is....

To Snack.

Nyahahaha...

I'm blogging again. 2nd time today. To make up for neglecting my blog.

Actually it's because I have nothing better to do in the office. Maybe I shall go and attack the little box of cakes that the new dancer brought in as a meeting gift.

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

I have returned from raiding the cake box. Have more or less attacked and decimated the last (and only) chocolate muffin in the box. It was a good muffin.

Really don't know what I come to work for anymore (to raid cake boxes. (^_^) Heh...). I come, I sit at the desk that is not even mine (technically belongs to the E&O Manager but he isn't coming in until August. HA!) and I rot away. Of course, I will do whatever task comes my way but that's like... The task of the day. After that I just continue to rot again. Or until Edna comes along with a question about classes. Oh, and I get SH dumping lunch and tonnes of fruits and snacks on my table and insisting that I finish it. Bleah. Not that the food is bad lah, the food that comes with SH is usually very nice. But still. There has to be more of a purpose than eating the food that SH brings.

Side note: The muffin has just muff-ed its last. It is no more. SH's box of cut watermelon and papaya is still staring at me from the corner of my table. Arcks...

Anyway. Yes. I have no further purpose here than to just earn money by showing up in the office and sitting around trying to look useful. Oh well. Shall make the most of it. Will rarely get the chance sit around, do nothing and still earn my paycheck. Last 11 days to do so already. Actually less than that since I'm actually off duty on 30th July and who on earth will be working on 31st July, Sunday? So it's actually more like 9 days left, if you consider my last actual working day to be the 29th. Although it's TECHNICALLY the 31st. But well... Technicalities...

Dengue? Really??

Okok! Time for me to tell you what happened with the multiple blood tests and the platelet count. Hmm.. Lemme try telling this chronological time-line style.

8th July, Friday: As usual, kena arrow to be emcee for BUTS. Went and did all the usual ra-ra and got into some conflict with the stupid BM. Developed a pounding headache. Prob due to over-excitment or stress.. Stupid BM's fault. Ran away home with SH immediately after show.

9th July, Saturday, 2am: woke up with headache pounding the pounding headache I already had before I went to bed. Also had damn high fever. Almost 40 degrees celsius. Somehow managed to find my way downstairs to take panadol and somehow managed to find my way back into bed. All without falling down the stairs.

8-something am: Woke up with head still pounding. Fever still damn high. Sms-ed SH to tell her bad news. Got out of bed to take some more panadol and to shower, hopefully can shower away the fever. Went back to bed. SH sms back to say Stella is new emcee. Wahahahaha... Pass the arrow.

Dunno-what-time-already: Mum comes in to announce lunch. Announce back that no appetite. Everybody comes to the conclusion that I am sick and have probably caught the same viral fever that my brother was having a couple days back. Ok lor. Just take panadol and go to
sleep. Zzzzz...

10th July, Sunday: Am still sick. Decide to go Sylvia's clinic to get an MC. Called office to report in sick again. SH scold and say nevermind MC. Just stay home and rest. Too bad, already halfway to Sylvia's clinic. Lalala. Mummy goes to buy fruits while Papa escorts me into clinic and sits to catch up with Sylvia. Always lidat onez... Anyway got MC for Monday also. Wheee...

11th July, Monday: Spend the day in and out of consciousness. Probably in bed 20 out of 24 hours. Bleah. Parents leave for Vietnam holiday with brother. Siew Mai is abandoned.. *Sobz* Continue panadol and sleep treatment. Zzzz...

12th July, Tuesday: Tried to go to work. Nearly collapsed walking up the stupid Fort Canning stairs. According to colleague, was as pale as ghost. Sat in office to recover for about 1 hour and then promptly get sent home. Tsk. Go home and continue sleeping.

13th July, Wednesday: Continue resting at home. Sleep some more. Take some more panadol.

14th July, Thursday: Finally go back to work for real. Managed to survive whole day. Discover red spots on arms and legs. Dunno what's going on. Go home and find out that sister has decided to go and lose her i/c. So clever. Dun care, she settle herself. SMS-ed Mum about spots and stupid sister.

15th July, Friday: 2nd week of BUTS. Stella is still emcee-ing. Yay!! I can just sit back and enjoy the show. Dreaming of Coffee Club chicken pie.

6.30pm: Mum calls from Vietnam. Tells me to go and see Sylvia NOW!!!! Cannot lah... People's clinic close shop already lah... Ok fine. Tomorrow morning, first thing! Okokok. Continue eating beef ball noodle from Kiliney Road. Very yummy.

6.45pm: Mum calls again. Tells me, ok go Mount E NOW!!! Anjula is waiting for you. HUH?!?! For what?? BLOOD TEST LAH! HUH?!?! Ok lor... So in the end I still don't get to enjoy the show and still no Coffee Club chicken pie. Sobz. Go off to get cab down to Mount E.

8pm: I get Jabbed. Ow. They took my blood!!! I have to wait about an hour for results. Sigh. Ok lor. Wait in freezing air-con. Anjula shows up and says ok sit here and wait. She will come back. Sigh. Ok. Continue waiting in freezing air-con.

8-something pm: Anjula bursts into A & E waiting room with test results. Tells me my platelets a bit low leh, don't know if she should hospitalize me. (O_o) Ok, hold on she go and ask the MO on duty. MO say no need, too early to tell. So Anjula gets into the act of scolding me to stay home and rest and drink plenty of water. And come down again tomorrow morning for a repeat test! Huh.. Ok... Take cab home, report to Mummy on phone, sleep.

16th July, Saturday: Go down to Mount E in the morning for 2nd blood test. Go to Anjula's office to report. Brought to lab for more jabbing. There goes my other arm. Go for coffee while waiting for results. Ladida. Another hour of doing dunno-what. Go back into Anjula's office to wait some more. Discover that Anjula is very scary when she's stressed. Nurse comes in to report that platelets have risen from 75 to 80. And Dengue IgM tested positive. (O_o) Anjula says don't care don't care! She only wants to know the platelet count. (-_-)"' I assume I am alright and just go home after being ordered to come back on Sunday for a 3rd test. Anjula is very scary. I don't go to work again.

17th July, Sunday, 12-something pm: Go down to A & E dept with slip from Anjula. Some old lady nurse just anyhow jabs me without even looking for the vein and wonders why there is no blood. Finally she takes out the #$*%^@# needle and jabs me with a new one on the back of my hand. In three days I get jabbed 4 times. (T_T) I go home without waiting for results. Segali they jab me again how.

Somewhere in the afternoon: Mount E Lab calls me. Tells me that my platelets up to 133 already. Do I need to know the rest of the results? No need, thank you. Assume that since platelet count so high already so no need go back for more blood tests. Just stay at home to rest. Don't go to work again. Never got to eat my Coffee Club chicken pie. SOB!!! (T_T)

18th July, Monday: Go back to work. For real! Finally! Still got a bit of light-headedness. Continue to report status to Papa through SMS. Parents come home at night, but I have concussed before that. Zzzz...

19th July, Tuesday, 8am: Am about to leave for work when Mummy calls from office. Do you know you actually had Dengue??? (O_o) Really ah?? Yah lah!!! Ohr ok. Tell Papa and maid to drain all water plants and to make sure all pond filters are working. Ok. Go off to work and announce to SH that actually had dengue. SH suspected as much. Decides to SMS GM to frighten the hell out of her. GM really over-reacts and insists that I be sent to a hospital. What nonsense. Still light-headed.


Yesh. That's about it. So I actually had dengue. But I never knew until I had actually more or less recovered from it. Scary sia. It's this stupid Fort Canning lah I tell you. This place is a haven for mosquitos. Did some research, dengue fever itself is not fatal, despite being super super uncomfortable. HOWEVER!! There are 4 strains of dengue. And if for example, I've already been exposed to strain A, I will get the anti-bodies for strain A. Logical right. BUT!! If after getting exposed to strain A, I then get exposed to strain B, then I am almost definitely going to develop dengue haemorragic fever (DHF), which is the fatal one!! So since there are 4 strains, I know have a 1-in-4 chance of getting infected with any of the other strains. So I guess that means a very high risk of contracting DHF. Eeyer... Thank goodness I'm only going to be in this place for another 1 1/2 weeks. eeh...

Seen Any Floppy-Haired Japanese Men Lately?

Ok yes. I admit that I have once again subjected my blog to certain neglect. So I have returned with yet another office blog! Actually I should call it "In-the-office-blog" because technically it's not really going to be about the office, just that I happen to be blogging in the office, therefore... Aiyah you all get the idea.

Anyway, office is empty at the moment, presumably coz everyone is coming in late in lieu of BUTS over the weekend. Two more weeks before I say goodbye to this place! Whooopee!!! No more madness and silly prancing divas!!

OK! ENOUGH OFFICE NONSENSE!!! Dun wan to talk about office. *Pui*.

What I really wanted to blog about was this: I think I will have to admit to having a weakness for guys with long or long-ish hair. For example, there is a photo in the Straits Times today of some of the local footballers who are taking part in some H-Two-O/S. League Hunk Competition. For reasons unexplainable to myself, the first fellow I looked at was the fellow in the middle, He Hongji. He wasn't even the most good-looking fellow there, in fact I think the best-looking fellow in the picture was the guy on the far right, Hidetoshi Wakui (ok. Weakness #2 is Japanese guys...). It was just that this He fellow had long floppy hair. Dammit. I must do a full review of my tastes in guys. I think if somebody showed up in front of me who had long floppy hair AND was Japanese, I will just self-combust in mid-swoon.

Ok. Admin Manager stressing me to get back to work. Shall blog later. Still have to tell all of you about my drama with the low blood platelet count and the multiple pokings to my arms.

My turtle eats more cake!! *points upwards* Actually I need to think about changing my blog skin again. Think I will just go and use one of the fixed templates that Blogger has.

Stuffed by Monkey

Very full. Blog-friend/friend-friend gathering at Monkey's tree was very very VERY filling. Sadly I do not have a digital camera (x1 item to add to wishlist) otherwise can take photo of all the yummy food and post here.

Menu included:
1) Meatballs in homemade tomato sauce (why I fry meatball cannot become brown?? I try very hard already!!!) - Monkey
2) Fried purple cabbage with walnuts - Monkey, with the help of the fantastic nut-crushing skills of her friend Julien
3) Pad Thai (the tofu look like egg! Power!! I also want to learn these wonderful camouflaging skills!! Then can fake my dad into eating more tofu.) - Mrs Budak
4) Brown rice - Monkey
5) Cous cous salad with feta cheese - Siew Mai
6) Ice Cream - courtesy of Monkey 弟弟 Ash
7) Red wine - Joelle (correct spelling?)
8) Brewerkz beer - courtesy of the NutMan
9) Gula Melaka with longan stuffed with pineapple - Mrs Budak
10) Cherries & grapes - Siew Mai

Didn't look like a lot at first, but looks are deceiving. Did some partial digesting while watching the first episode of LOVELESS. Hirhirhir. Everybody was like... wtf?!? Heh heh heh. I still say Soubi rules. And I will confess now... It took me 9 eps before I realised what the cat ears were an annotation for. :p I am slow.

All in all, a very successful little gathering, I would say. Thank you Monkey for organizing and inviting me. Your frens are all very interesting people. Today I actually did feel like the youngest one there. Hahaha... Haven't felt that for a long time.

Looking forward to the next one. (^_^)v Next time maybe if I try to chao dar your meatballs then they will be frightened into turning brown. Wahaha..