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...
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
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....
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....
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
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.
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....
*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....
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
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.
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.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
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.
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.
Friday, October 07, 2005
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!!!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
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!!
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!!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
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!!!*
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
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??
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…
Thursday, September 22, 2005
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.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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...
- 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...
Sunday, September 11, 2005
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.
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??
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??
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