English Sunday Lunch!

After a late night of partying, we crawled out of bed the next morning to enjoy a typical English Sunday lunch. It had been planned for some time so it was IMPORTANT that we kept to the appointment, in spite of the partying, one flatmate missing, the rain and the flu bug.

We even managed to make it for 1pm, an appropriate time for lunch (normally there's no lunch/dinner time. There's only hungry/not hungry time).

Elli, my fellow "witch" and Smiling Steph (flu bug and all)

Drowsy Julia (big bad flu bug too) and myself

&

THE GUEST OF HONOUR

SUNDAY ROAST!

Apparently, in France (Steph) and Germany (Julia), there are typical French/German Sunday lunches as well.

Although I usually get up past lunch time on Sundays and hence my experience may be lacking in this area, I think there is no such thing as a typical Singaporean lunch right?

Freak-fest 2005

Last night was the annual Halloween Party (aka freak-fest) that was held in the common room of my hostel. Complete with decorations that were in line with the event and a soundtrack of people screaming, ghostly laughter and high-pitched shrills.

I was there with Elli and Steph (my flatmates) and the original plan was to all go as witches. Yah yah, not very original but we are STUDENTS alright? Our first priority is our studies! (Hahah...I'm very good at this "model answer" thing).

Steph & Elli

As you can see, Steph did not go as a witch in the end. She was very ill with the flu... so we decided to let her off the hook. She went as an "American Teenager" instead. If you think that an "American Teenager" is not scary, let me suggest to you that George Bush was once an "American Teenager". Does that give you a new perspective now?

Elli braved the mother of all headaches and still went as a witch. To further introduce Elli to all of you, I shall tell you about a typical conversation we seem to be having almost daily lately:

Elli: These are crisps.

Minz: No. These are potato chips. They are chips.

Elli: No! Crisps. Chips are the ones that have to be cooked.

Minz: No! Those are FRIES.

The cross-cultural education continues...

Back to the highlights of the freak-fest...

Junior witches have to learn to "Serve One Another"

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"Father" Roger with a piece of garlic round his neck.

Sidetrack: He was actually a pastor for 2 years sometime back! BUT, I have to add that I'm quite sure the church would NOT approve of his behaviour last night...

F.Roger: The paintwork on the cross is still a bit wet. I only painted it this afternoon.

Elli: Were you planning to come as a Father?

F.Roger: Yes.

Elli: Then why didn't you paint the cross earlier?

Minz: Because he thought God would provide...

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That's me talking to the "rat" on Grant's shoulder.

Can you guess what his costume is about?

Grant was introduced to me at a most unfortunate time... I was just getting tired of people asking me where I was from.

Grant: So where are you from?

Minz: Aberdeen *smile*

Grant: Really? Wow...

Minz: Yeah, do I not look and sound like I'm from Aberdeen?

Yes, I was horrible.

BUT I WAS A WITCH!

I HAD TO ACT LIKE A WITCH!

Ok, now I'll tell you what his costume was...

He was a "Pi-rat"

At first, I thought it was the famous Scottish accent and he was a "pirate"...

But I was wrong...

"PI-RAT" was right... Literally...

Get it?

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More photos of some of the other "better dressed"...

I cannot tell you more about them because I have no clue who they are...

It's very hard to recognize bloody people.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Time Check

As of today, British summer officially ENDS.

Clocks are set back by one hour from today onwards.

Hence, I am now 8 hours behind Singapore.

Please please, think of what time it is here for me before calling me on my handphone or on Skype.

More updates tomorrow.

A party beckons....

I survived.

Ok, I survived 2 shots: DPT and Meningitis C.

One on each arm.

** Note: If you're one of those that compares injections to an "ant bite", I would like to inform you that this "ant" has pit bull genes.

I didn't scream.

I didn't run.

I didn't hit the nurse.

Aren't you proud of me? *smile*

Apparently, I cannot take more than 2 shots at a time (not because I only have 2 arms, ok?) So next Friday, I will take the flu shot.

Alright, that's it. My arms are sore.

Belonephobia

I experienced a moment of madness sometime last week.

I am going to have to pay for that tomorrow.

For some unfathomable reason, I had gone to arrange a medical appointment to take my shots tomorrow: Polio, Meningitis C and Flu vaccination.

3 seperate shots. At the same time.

I asked if they could give an all-in-1 and the nurses said no but I still went ahead to confirm the appointment (I think I felt very brave then. Now, I realise it was simply craziness).

In case you still don't know, "Belonephobia" is needlephobia.

The last time I had a shot (probably 3 years ago), I think I buried my face in Adeline's abdomen and screamed... *shivers* Bad memories...

Ewwwww.......

I wonder who will be more traumatized: myself? or the nurses?

What shall I eat today?

Do you ever have a problem deciding what to eat? Are you often faced with so many choices that you waste precious time pondering what to have?

I don't.

What I eat each day is decided for me by EXPIRY DATES.

How simple is that?

The cheesecake is "best before" tomorrow. Ok, note to self: eat cheesecake today.

The fish is "best before" next week. Finish fish this week.

Biscuits are "best before" next year. Biscuits can wait.

The ham is "best before" last week and looks slightly green. Right. Do not eat ham although I'm madly craving for it.

See? Very simple. Just follow the expiry/"best before" dates and you won't go wrong.

The precious time I saved from deciding what to eat can now be better used.

Hmm... What shall I wear today?

** We raised ₤304+ yesterday! Very successful considering items were priced between 3 for ₤0.20 and ₤0.50.

Fundraising...

Because we were fundraising today, I had to bake something last night. I could have made things simple for myself and bought a cake but I have

i-n-t-e-g-r-i-t-y

So I bought instant muffin mix instead.

Life-saver

Ready to get started...

Milk and 1 egg

Beat the egg into the milk

Add in muffin mix

Add chopped cockroaches raisins

Ready for the oven

Ready to be eaten!

Some of the food we were selling... Most were homemade.

Some were *ahem* store-bought. Tsk tsk...

Rice crispies

Home created - chocolate, marshmellow and smarties!

It was a rather successful joint fundraising (OT, PT, radiographers and sports and exercise science).

Most people came by asking: Is this for charity? What is this in aid for?

And because we were good honest people, we said: It's for our graduation ball next year.

Hey! It pays to be honest! Almost all the food (and there was a lot because everybody brought something) was sold out by lunch time.

Weather Report

According to my flatmate, what I experienced today was a taste of REAL Aberdonian weather. It's really hard to describe specifically but I can provide instructions so that you can simulate the environment and experience it for yourself.

For this, you will need at least 2 participants and the following:

1. a huge fridge or a cold storage room (temperature should be about 11 degrees celsius)
2. a box of ice chips for every 2 participants
3. medium sized helicopter

Attire: Moist clothes (socks and shoes included) that are about 30% wet. How much or how little doesn't matter. You will still feel cold.

Precaution: Do not indulge in this simulation for more than an hour. Get into warmer conditions and change into dry clothes immediately after, lest you get pneumonia.

Instructions:

1. Participants are to sit in the freezer/cold storage room for at least 10 minutes to allow body temperature to adapt (no heat-generating exercises allowed because that would be missing the point of this exercise).
2. When you feel sufficiently "cool", start up the helicopter such that the propeller provides a constant gust of "wind" that almost (but not quite) lifts you off your feet. At this point, if your simulation is realistic, walking is still possible but with difficulties. Enjoy for about 20 minutes to experience the change from "refreshing" to "cccc...coooold"
3. To add the "rain" to the situation, pair up with another participant, stand at an arm's length from each other with a box of ice chips between the 2 of you. Start throwing ice chips at each other (hint: the face is a good target).

Ta-da! Congrats! You have experienced REAL Aberdonian weather!

Cinderella Goes To A Party

2 of my classmates (who live together) had a house-warming party last night. It was one of those strange houses where it was shaped like a laterally inverted “7”. So you knocked on the main door, walk up the stairs, walk through the corridor towards the right and the house is actually directly above the single-storey house that had its main door on the right of yours!

Yeah, very complicated. The closest example I can think of is Swenson’s at Holland Village.

I went with a couple of my classmates and one of their boyfriend and we rang at the wrong door (we heard music and chatter coming from upstairs so we thought aha! this should be the door – directly below) To our horror, when we rang the bell (this was at 9:30pm already), an old lady (she must have been 70 or older) opened the door.

If this happened back home, you think the old lady will scold you or not?

Very lucky for us then, that back home, we don’t have strange houses like this.

Anyway, surprisingly, the old lady didn’t scream at us. She just said: “You have 2 options. You can either come in and have tea with me or you can go to the party upstairs but you have to ring the bell next door.” And I bet we weren’t the first to make the mistake. Cool old lady… I hope she lives to a hundred because the world could do with people like that.

The people at the party were sorta grouped. People were mingling all around but basically, there were 2 groups of people: the girls (from occupational therapy), and the guys (from pharmacy). So it was pretty obvious who was from where...

Since it was after dinner time at night, there was no proper food except chips (although for students, chips are probably decent food) and vodka jelly. Drinks wise, they weren’t the sort you would drink all day long unless you were alcoholic… or Scottish… or Irish…

We all left at about 11:30 and some of them proceeded to town to the bar that’s operated by the university. I bet they went there to discuss homework. I wasn’t in the mood to discuss homework and since all pubs/bars close at 1am, I didn’t really see much of a point traveling down to town and back again for just 1+ hour.

Back to pubs closing at 1am, how early is that?! Our drinking culture is not even close to being as strong as theirs and our pubs close at 3am! But I was enlightened by a guy that it’s because they want to prevent violence. Apparently, a research has shown that Scottish guys are the most violent in the world when drunk. Hoho… I would like to see how this particular research was carried out…

So… I got back at 11:50pm. Just in time before the clock strikes 12 and Cinderella turns into a pumpkin…

Haha... Everybody tells me that Cinderella doesn’t turn into a pumpkin but it happened in the Cinderella I read!! And there were things like frogs and snails and witches… You think maybe it was the “Halloween’s version of Cinderella”?

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

5 reasons you should watch this show:

1. Have you seen a Were-Rabbit? Do you know how to create one? Watch and learn...
2. Gromit is such a loyal dog. Pity he doesn't talk.. I bet he has lots of intelligent things to say.
3. Great jokes... and lame jokes.
4. The straight-forward plot that doesn't require too much thinking or following. Very light-hearted and just great to make you feel happy!
5. The entire show revolves around a vegetable growing contest and the characters look like they are made from plasticine. How funny is that already?

I'm not a fan of cartoons but I loved this.. I would like to wake up like Wallace every morning. At least then I don't have to drag myself out of bed. Suitable for all age groups.

If you're in Singapore, wait for it...it's coming SOON.

29th December.

My flawed hypothesis...

Since most Asians were relatively petite, it is no wonder that most of the clothes on sale back home were usually L-XL-XXL-XXXL.

Applying my observations, I hypothesized that since most people here are L and above (Size 10 or 12 is considered small to them and are they would make it their goal when dieting), then most of the clothes on sale would be M, S, XS. Perfect for me, isn’t it?

I WAS SO WRONG!

VERY VERY FEW CLOTHES LINES EVEN BOTHER TO MAKE ANYTHING SMALLER THAN AN 8 (And their cutting is slightly bigger, so it seems more like a 10)!

This means that not only do I not get to enjoy their sales, I have to pay EVEN MORE if I want “petite” clothes that are available mostly only in “specialist shops”. And if the clothes in the “specialist shops” do not suit you, too bad. (I think most of the people here who are that “petite” are the old ladies who have shrunk and bent over, so if floral is your style, no problem).

Super frustrating to shop here… Apart from those “specialist shops”, most of the clothes that fit me are found in the CHILDREN’S department. To be precise, it’s the ones that say: 13 years old.

Yes, since it fits me, I can (theoretically) buy and wear them.

Yes, children’s clothes are cheaper most of the time.

But it’s gonna be damn hard for people to take you seriously when you do presentations in a pink, glittery/fluffy shirt with a sequined butterfly or a pig with wings and the words “Wheeeee!” yah? Not very professional, I would say.

I do know why I would compare to their 13 year olds though. My daily recommended calorie intake is 1268. The recommended calorie intake for a woman (UK) is 2000 and for a man (UK) is 2200. See the difference?

So please, if you happen to have “petite genes”, do not eat beef everyday or do not supersize every McDonald’s meal that you religiously eat 5 or more times a week and you are going to a place for an extended period of time where the average size is 4 or more sizes larger than yours, I strongly recommend you bring your own clothes and don’t count on buying them when you’re there.

FIRE!

I live in a hostel.

I live in a hostel with a fire alarm.

I live in a hostel with a fire alarm that goes off once a week for 10 seconds to ensure that it is working.

It happens every Friday, between 10 and 11am.

This same fire alarm went off at 12:23pm today.

There is no other way to explain my response for the initial 2 minutes other than the fire alarm was so loud, I couldn't think properly. My thought process was as follows:

1) *After what must have had been about 20seconds* When is that noisy thing going to be shut off?

2) *After another "little while", I picked up the clock on my desk* Sheesh, it's not even 10-11am. They should learn to tell time.

3) *After yet another "little while"* IT'S NOT EVEN FRIDAY TODAY! What's wrong with these people?!

Then, like *magic*, it dawned on me that this was REAL.

It was no test for the silly alarm.

Well done!

When I finally rushed out of the building, there was nobody else though. I was the first one... Followed by the other residents of the block slowly streaming out... Everybody else probably went through the same thought process.. Good. I feel less stupid already.

Thankfully for all of us, it was a false alarm. It was just the guy from the flat below who burnt his toast and set off the alarm.

Dream Interpretation & My Problem...

Before I start about my problem, let me share the good news...

People have been very cooperative, e-mailing me their results and comments for the “simple yet not so simple” quiz since yesterday.

62 people scored 0.
11 people scored 1.
1 person scored 3, and boy, was she fierce! She emailed me to scold me because she said my entire blog was against her!!

Interestingly, the 11 people who scored 1 went on to explain that they did not enjoy my previous entries and the S.T.R.A.N.G.E thing was ALL of them scored 1 because of the SAME question! ALL on Question 3!

Mystery solved!

No woooonder….. Because never read “WARNINGS” and “CAUTION” then in the end proceed to read whatever was after that, only to discover it is offensive…

So, suddenly I have ANOTHER solution based on the interesting results of the quiz. I think this is better than my previous solution of having another blog. This would safe me the trouble of opening another account, thinking hard of another URL, another blog name, redesigning another blog, directing people to my new blog etc etc…

My PERFECT solution is: Instead of having 2 different blogs to cater to 2 different groups of readers, from now on, I will have the ENTIRE (not just the cautions/warnings) controversial/potentially offensive content in RED… Oops, sorry, RED (now can see or not?).

Get it? Clever hoh?

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Now I can start talking about my problem...

This is SERIOUS.

Since I've been here, I have had nightmares EVERYNIGHT (or at least I don't remember NOT having had nightmares the next morning). I was talking to Kee Ming about it and he told me "This is bad for your mental health"

I agree.

So now, I'm looking for a solution...

Anyway, let me tell you about the nightmare I had 2 nights ago:

I was sitting in the park with 2 friends, KK and DT, one sunny afternoon having a sandwich when an owl suddenly swooped down upon me. I felt a slight scratchy feeling at the back of my head and then I saw the owl flying away... with a piece of my brain and parts of my bloody scalp…

I stood up and tried to walk, then realized that I had difficulty coordinating my hands and my feet and that I couldn’t walk straight or steadily. At this moment, it dawned on me that the owl flew away with my cerebellum.

Strange or not?!??!!?

I was so horrified that I actually went online to check what the dream means (I usually don’t do things like dream interpretation, psychic readings, palm readings etc so this really is quite unusual behavior for me).

Kee Ming also said that the internet is not always reliable because they are not peer-reviewed. Yes yes, they are also not published in respected journals, do not provide references, nor are they cited in other articles. Their methodology is probably flawed as well.

But I was too freaked out to care.

And this was what I found:

Afternoon – To see a warm and pleasant afternoon in your dream, foretells of long-lasting friendships.

Owl –To see an owl in your dream, symbolizes wisdom, insight and virtue. The owl is also synonymous with death and darkness.

Brain – To dream of your brain, suggests that you are under severe intellectual stress. It may also symbolize your problem-solving abilities and that you need to put those abilities to use. Alternatively, it may imply that your ideas are not receiving enough attention and validation. You are concerned that your knowledge and teachings are not be transmitted clearly.

Friends – To see your friends in your dream, signifies aspects of your personality that you have rejected, but are ready to integrate these rejected part of yourself. The relationships you have with those around you are important in learning about yourself. Additionally, this symbol foretells of happy tidings from them and the arrival of good news.

Walk – To dream that you have difficulties walking, indicates that you are reluctant and hesitant in proceeding forward in some situation. You may also be trying to distance yourself from certain life experiences. The difficulty in walking is a reflection of your current situation and the obstacles that you are experiencing.

I can understand the information seperately but I have absolutely no clue what it means as a gestalt...

How ah?

Simple Yet Not So Simple

How many of you liked my blog entry yesterday? Personally, I LOVED IT! So those of you who loved it too, good on you! I think it’s the most brilliant entry I have ever written since I first started the blog because:

1. It saves time: Requires absolutely no need for my imagination to work to present something interesting/creative. I just have to reproduce my timetable online.
2. Un-offensive: No need for ratings, suitable for all ages.
   
   Honestly, how can ANYBODY find the previous entry offensive? No mention of race, religion, politics. It’s the least offensive entry so far, I think. Unlike the previous entries that may unknowingly offend others…
   
   I give you an example - You know how sometimes I talk about Aberdeen? Maybe the Aberdeen Council not happy? Maybe they are thinking, “Eh, why this foreigner come and display photos of Aberdeen like this? We work so hard to tell people that Aberdeen is the Granite City. Everywhere is grey and all we get is cold winds from the North Sea, then she come and post photos of Aberdeen looking bright, cheery and fun!”
3. Satisfies the voyeuristic nature of humans: "Voyeur" - An obsessive observer of sordid or sensational subjects (There, I saved you a click to dictionary.com).
   
   aka KAYPOH
   And everybody is a kaypoh right? We were all interested when, how, why Princess Diana died, we all kept up with the news of the NKF saga, when the newspaper talked about SPG’s blog, woah… visitors to her site increased dramatically. Autobiographies sell like hot-cakes because everybody wants a glimpse into the lives of others.
   Observers of our own lives, we are not.
   Observers of other people’s lives, we are.
   Judges of our own lives and lifestyles, we are not.
   Judges of other people’s lives and lifestyles, we are.
   
   So, the entry of 1 day in my life, knowing exactly what I did (nevermind if it’s not entirely true or accurate) would satisfy this innate human need. I think Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs may need to be revised to include this. (Eh, by the way ah.. when I provide links, it DOES NOT mean I agree/condone what the author said/did ok? Most times, I don’t even know the guy who wrote it. For example, I can link THIS but I assure you I don’t know who wrote it and he/she DID NOT bribe me to promote his/her article. But it’s not my place to judge. I only provide links coz it vaguely relates to what I’m talking about. And I usually give warnings or word of caution if I think it is controversial. It’s up to you whether you want to heed the warning and take it from there or not. For goodness sake, don’t see link only click can? I bet many of you clicked the link above without knowing what it is. THINK THINK THINK before you click. Whether you want to read or not? Maybe there’s something horrible waiting for you on the link? Maybe got virus?! Simple thing like this, I tot don’t need to say…)

Anyway, agree with me that it was my best entry or not? Yeah, keep watching this space and reading this blog for more entries like that ok?

BUT, if you think that my previous entry was boring and utterly meaningless, that my previous entries were so much better and you almost fell out of your chair in shock that my standard of writing has dropped, please do not worry. Although you are weird (I think most people actually enjoyed my previous entry leh…) and are part of a minority, I will cater for you too…

Now, logistically, it’s gonna be a nightmare. The blog will look like 2 different blogs written by 2 different people for 2 different target audiences meshed into 1.

So, I have an *~I.D.E.A~*.

Separate them.

Have 2 different blogs.

Yeah, I know this is not perfect. We should not segregate people based on their preferences blah blah.. We should encourage social integration etc etc.. but at this point in time, this is my best only option.

If you think you will enjoy (a concept quite different from “tolerate”) my new blog which will be written in the style similar to all my previous entries before last (demonstrate some self-awareness here please), take the test below...

It's a simple but not so simple quiz – simple coz only 3 questions and all answers are either AGREE or DISAGREE. Not so simple coz it asks for YOUR opinion. I know, quite hard. Because from young already your teachers, neighbours, government, newspapers etc give you your opinion… now suddenly ask you to come up with it yourself, it’s quite challenging. If you’re up to the challenge, please proceed.

1. All blogs are sinister.
2. There are people watching you, your blog, the things you say etc for the first chance to catch you doing something wrong and get you into trouble.
3. All words in RED, like “Warning” and “Caution” are evil and therefore I do not read them.

Now count the number of "AGREE"s and e-mail me your exact results. Be honest.

0: Congrats. Please email me when I announce I have a new blog and I will give you the URL.

1-2: Why did you even take the test? Did I not mention self-awareness? I think you better stick to this blog about me and my time-table.

3: Proceed here for a more detailed analysis.

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower-

My Day…

10am: Got up of bed, after hitting the snooze button exactly 3 times because the alarm was originally set for 9:30am

10:10am: Brushed my teeth and washed my face.

10:30am: Breakfast. 2 slices of wholemeal bread with cheese, ham, and lettuce. Went online to catch up on the news.

11:45am: Took the frozen vegetables out of the freezer to de-frost.

1pm: Cooked meals. Cooked double portion so I can save time cooking dinner.

1:30pm: Ate lunch. Had rice, vegetables and soup.

2:00pm: Washed the dishes.

2:10pm: Started to do research for my final year project.

3:45pm: Took a break. Staring at the computer for too long is bad for the eyes.

4pm: Resumed work.

6pm: Warmed up food in microwave.

6:08pm: Ate dinner. Repeat of lunch.

6:45pm: Washed the dishes. Rest and read “The Bonesetter’s Daughter” by Amy Tan (By the way, it’s a fantastic book… about mothers and daughters. Very touching.)

8:00pm: Watched “Runaway bride” on TV.

10:00pm: Resumed work on project.

Midnight: Blogging...

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Highlights of my day...

1. Dor called: FINALLY she's on Skype. But now, the next time I'll hear from her is when she's in Can-nah-da (hopefully).
2. Wonderful chat with Eug: You make me laugh! This guy's the bright spark in my life... *Hugz* Eh, rest well and get better quickly, ya?
3. CJ called because he was bored. CJ, even if you decide to only read his blog and not mine from now on, it's ok because I agree his blog's good. That's why I recommeded it what! Moreover, he has got magical powers.. Haha.. Oh yah, I meant what I said just now. There is no such nonsense like a therapist on-off switch, ok? I would have said the same things to you even if you came to me professionally at work. So you got the good deal actually - 45 mins of my time and all you had to pay for was the phone bill... AND.. we ARE in the same time zone! Please tell me you were humouring me and you didn't really believe that I was having breakfast... OMG...
4. Wonderful chat with Ivan: Wah, long time since I heard your voice. But good good goody... Eh, don't worry so much k? No fiddly-fingers and you'll be fine. *Hug*

Heaven in Aberdeen

I discovered a tiny shop today. So small and inconspicous that it is practically obscured by its bigger and more brightly-lit neighbours.

I've renamed it "Heaven in Aberdeen" because its real name, although very appropriate, demonstrates a complete lack of imagination and does not accord sufficient respect to the goods it sells.

It's original name is "Halal Asian Food Store".

See what I mean???

Name aside, it's an absolutely fab store. It's as ordinary as any mama stall you find back home and therein lies its amazing attraction! It's a feeling that is so hard to describe, yet I'm sure is experienced by international students who are far far from home...

It was a feeling of *magic* to be surrounded by things you'll never even dream of seeing here: Maggi Mee, Tau-pok, Wan-ton, all sorts of Lee Kum Kee products, Agar-agar, chilli-padi, Milo and Nespray milk powder (?!!). I even found wasabi and seaweed here!

Wonderful right? Yeah... We'll leave it at that and not spoil the feeling of *magic* by discussing the prices...

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Personal messages from the cute doggy's owner to:

Dor - Thanks for the phone call! The phone is a great invention, isn't it? It's time to start packing eh? Have a good trip to Can-land. Too bad Nick was not there yet, if not I'll get to speak to him too.. Incidentally, today you said "Call you before I mozzy off to Can-land" right? Go look at this: www.mozzyoff.co.uk Contains 100% natural products and so effective that the Scottish Forestry commission endorses it.

Godma - Thanks for your e-mail! My reply is on its way... HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!

Verce (most recently self-proclaimed "reader-of-the-stars") - Haha.. I'm still amazed. This is why cannot talk bad about people even if you think they don't know hoh? You never know when they have some amazing out-of-this-world powers... So, tell me..

What say these stars?

Cheers!

For your reading pleasure...

Came across this article today. Vaguely related to what I was talking about in Incident #1 yesterday.

I've also decided to share some interesting reads with you guys. It's the middle of the week so nothing too serious. In fact, most of them are quite hilarious. It's meant to tide you over when you feel sian.

WAIT! Before you check them out, a word of CAUTION: Some of them are ADDICTIVE! Hence reading DURING working hours/lectures is strongly discouraged.

1) Mr Verce aka King of Videos (read his blog and you'll know why). Hidden behind his ah beng facade and comically timely use of vulgarities (He's fluent in both the English and Hokkien versions), is an ex-Chinese High and ex-RJC guy. Not just your ordinary ah beng, there's something up there...

** Eh, don't ask how come I understand his vulgarities. I just do, ok? I believe in acquisition of general knowledge and this IS general knowledge. It can be used in generally any situation, against generally anyone.

Anyway, here's Mr Verce on:

• His neighbour
• The use of vulgarities
• Transit Security

2) Mr Miyagi: One of our local blogger celebs.

Here's his take on:

• Racism (drawing inspiration from the 2 jailed bloggers)
• Non-residents in Singapore

3) And finally, Mr Rockson Takumi Tan. WARNING: IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY VULGARITIES, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM HIS SITE.

If you can see past the vulgarities, you will realise why his readers constantly applaud him and keep coming back for more. This is a blogger with ba... errm.. guts (I have to tone down my language also so that it's suitable for all ages. Haha!).

Rockson shares his opinions on current affairs and politics:

• Life since the last elections
• Reservist
• Presidential elections
• Presidential candidates

Ok, that's enough. Back to work...

Trip to Edinburgh...

During my weekend trip to Edinburgh, I experienced 2 incidents which, upon reflection, made me consciously aware that I am a product of a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. The results of immersion in such a society are so ingrained in me that I take them for granted... Until situations such as the ones below occur.

If I were to come from a different society, I may not have the knowledge I have today.

Incident #1:

2 students from India (Nick & Jim) were sharing with me about their race and their religion when a dark-skinned man wearing a turban walked passed.

Jim: That's an Indian also, you know?
Me: Yeah, he's a Sikh right?
Jim: *shocked and almost unable to eat his vegetarian fries* Huh, how you know?!!

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Incident #2:

I was reading on the bus on the way back from Edinburgh and it was getting dark in the bus (No, the point here is not that I have bad reading habits, the point here is I'm super hardworking, ok?) when a student from China (Jonathan) leaned across the isle.

Jonathan: You can turn on the lights above to read. It's very dark and bad for your eyes.

Me: I tried it just now but it was too bright and glaring. It can't be adjusted I think.

I think I was too demure and soft-spoken.

Jonathan: Huh?

Me: (Louder this time) The light is too glaring and cannot be adjusted.

Jonathan: What?

Me: Wo shuo deng guang tai liang, bu ke yi tiao (I said the light is too bring and cannot be adjusted)

He looked like he was going to fall off the chair loh.

Suddenly the Chinese girls that appeared to be sleeping woke up and stared at me. Then they turned to inform a guy who was listening to his ipod (nano, no less) that I could speak Mandarin and he turned to stare at me also. Then they started to bombard me with questions to test if I could speak Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Cantonese etc...

Scary.

I spoke English after that.

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Onto the trip proper... A total of 5 hours was spent travelling (2.5hrs each way) and we spent a grand total of 6 hours in the city itself. This is known as BALANCE in life.

I went on an open-top bus tour, alighting when I felt like wandering the streets of Edinburgh or to go into museums and galleries. 6 hours is not enough!

Aerial view

Edinburgh Castle

Fascinating architechture

Many more photos which I don't have the time (nor the patience) to load. But I will leave you with a final one...

Now, now...

See, what did I say yesterday about the police prowling the big bad WWW? Better to be safe than sorry... If not, you may be slapped with some obscure charge that nobody has been charged with before.

No, making history this way is not good.

The police have "wide powers to intercept online messages". So, consider yourself warned.

Think before you post.

Or, get very very good lawyers.

A simple phone call...

…brightened up my day. It came at 10:30am and my first thought was: “Prank call!” because my UK number is known to almost nobody and those that knew it were unlikely to call anyway. Pleasant surprise! It was Jayson on the line!

My joy at receiving a call from him was indescribable because he had practically disappeared and before a pathetic e-mail exchange 2 days ago, the last I seen/heard of him was at the airport on the day I left. I was so happy he’s still alive can?! I know it sounds stupid and you think I’m exaggerating but I kid you not. With Jayson, you can never tell because he has dangerous hobbies and believes in living life on the edge (I shall not disclose details because nowadays the police prowl forums/blogs to make sure nobody makes racists remarks or post recipes for homemade bombs. If I go into the details of the type of activities Jayson participates in and should the police chance upon this little blog of mine, he might get into trouble. Afterall, although I am very very far away, Jayson is still in Singapore).

There was so much to share after almost a month of not talking to each other. We talked about his job, his plans for further studies and my new classmates etc etc...

Anyway, 15 minutes into my conversation with Jayson, I shared with him my “conspiracy theory” behind the actions of a particular organization, he suddenly asked: “Eh, you long time never talk sh*t issit?” (yes, I agree, Jayson’s language needs some fine-tuning. And now I know where my “conspiracy theory” stands with him.)

BUT, he is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! You see, the people around me will testify to the fact that as intelligent as I may be, as demure as I may appear (actually I’m not..haha.. just that I can do a darn good impression of it), I do sometimes spew nonsense a.k.a. crap (Life is not all serious ok!). This tends to occur on 3 types of occasions:
1) after midnight (aka the bimbo syndrome)
2) in the company of people I feel very comfortable with (some people just bring out the best in you)
3) and when faced with people that I don’t like (superficially I sound like I’m making sense and agreeing with you but if you delve deeper into my tone of voice and observe the slight smirk around the corners of my mouth, you will realize that I’m taking the piss out of you. Fortunately, this does not happen often because it conflicts with my demure appearance)

Well, here in Scotland, I hardly have the opportunity nor the audience to talk crap to. That’s why I’m so grateful for Jayson’s phone call.

We spoke for 29 mins 57 secs. Consider that as 30mins, multiplied by $0.59/min (a middle-range rate offered by one of the phone companies) and we have a $17.70 bill for a single phone call. Jayson said: “I’m spending money on you ok! Even if it’s not obvious…”

Yes, I know.

To show my appreciation, Jayson, I dedicate this blog entry to you and I publicly state that I forgive you for being an opportunist who has twice secretly asked my best friend out, always only when I'm overseas and unable to protect her from you.

Cheers to our friendship, Jayson!

Autism Conference Online

Autism2005: 17th - 21st October 2005

• Access to over 30 autism experts from around the world
• Abstracts and full papers will be presented

Papers will be released online on 10th October and 17th-21st October is the time to post questions and get replies from these experts and the authors of these papers.

Register here --> http://www.awares.org/conferences/

God talks to me...

Patient: God talks to me through the microwave.

Therapist: Uh-huh! And does he always talk to you through the microwave?

Patient: No, only when I cook burgers.

I love my profession.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1) Kee Ming - A REAL buddy! Halfway across the world but even the timings of spraining our ankles are coordinated! I hope you've seen a doc about that ankle and knee.

2) Jiayi - Some kindda holiday huh? Hope you still have time for some fun before going back...

3) Sean - *S.M.I.L.E*

Random Snippets

The Busy Janitor

1 week's worth of recyclable trash

Flatmates and I finally decided it was time to bring the rubbish we had sorted and set aside for recycling to the recycling bin. The 4 of us walked 10 minutes to the nearest recycling point (which was next to the Faculty of Heath and Social Care) only to find the area locked for the weekend. Undeterred, we went to the “security” guard (in inverted commas because the security is a joke) to ask for the janitor to see if he would open the gate for us.

15 minutes later, while we were still waiting for the janitor, one of my lecturers walked by and spotted me (not very hard to spot an Asian in this environment) and casually asked what we were doing hanging around on a Saturday afternoon, just sitting on the benches and apparently doing nothing (eh? I thought it was perfectly common for people to sit on benches and do nothing in these parts of the world?!).

Anyway, the janitor chose this time to appear and said: “I’m a very busy man. I cannot open the gate just for you like this. You will have to wait until Monday.” With that 1 sentence, he turned and walked away.

So rude! I would have thought “I’m sorry I can’t open the gates” would have been sufficient. And now the word around the OT department would be that I have nothing better to do than sit around and wait for the gates to the recycling bins to be opened… Perhaps there would be more school work coming my way?

Red Cross

Submitted an online volunteer form to the British Red Cross today. I will now wait patiently for them to call me up for an interview. 12 years after I first joined the organization, it is no longer just an interest or merely volunteering.

It is a part of who I am.