// dread//
next sem's gonna be another tough sem.
slow -.-
it's only today i realise that my exams ends on 7 Dec.
when i had signed up for tozan (pilgrimage) on 3rd Dec.
Great, i thought i had avoided the clash by going for attachment next sem ( this sem's attachment ends 5 Dec, and we can't take leave for whatsoever reason)
THANKS to this semester being pushed back by one week, for some reason which i'm not aware of.
Otherwise, exams should end by november, just like last year's did.
Many thanks =(
Since this is some commemorative anniversary, it's not advisable to skip.
Will i need to skip classes in order to attend Sep/Oct Tozan instead?
Dun ask me, my head is already hurting.
mum's already blaming me why hadn't i realise this during STARS one month ago.
as if it will make a difference.
i wish i could split myself.
argh, a tough sem ahead, indeed.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
// alternating days of shine and rain //
Ok, initially i wanted to finish up my Japan day 9 and 10 posts but somehow, somehow,
blogger's photo uploader is malfunctioning!
It showed a message that the photos have been uploaded but i just can't find them on my drafting page..
So, haha, i haven't update about my post-trip vacation, so guess i should do it now.
Been to a few birthday celebrations, which is a miracle cuz something always crops up when i want to attend some birthday parties.
Anyway, i'm thinking of whether to hold one myslf, since the semester is pushed back by one week (so next sem starts the same time as NUS), my birthday will be weeks before exams and not just one week before(as in usually).
But seriously i have NO idea at all yet.
Ok, and erm quite happy with my last sem's results.
I just got to know that the results was to be released one day before and forgot all about it the next day.
Just happened to be online till 12mn so went to see my results at the prompt of a friend.
Yea, good thing we all did well =)
At least can pull up abit, my er-hem ailing cgpa.
watched two movies- Angels and Demons, and Monster vs. Aliens.
Angels and Demons is a decent film but i would choose to read the book over watching the movie anytime, oh not because the action wasn't good enough but because of the details in the book itself.
The film seems abit rushed to me and i wouldn't recommend to those who hasn't read the book.
For those like me, who have read the book, my guess is that it wouldn't appeal to you too.
But all of us will only realise that only after watching the movie so that's how they become a hit in the box office huh.
It's deee anticipation which helps them to rake in the dollars i guess.
Monster vs. Aliens is a relatively nice film, when you're IN the theatre.
It's the first 3D movie i've watched in a regular cinema, and the effects are great.
Ten bucks for the effects is totally worth it, i think.
At least in this day and age, i have to add, which brings me to another thing i'll share later.
And this film proves that I'm mentally younger than my sis, haha.
However, after the film, i realised some of the sceptical comments my sis gave are true.
Like it has no 'moral of the story' thingy which animated films are supposed to have or that the story plot is cliche.
whatever the case, it depends how you see it.
i walked into the theatre without any expectations for the film so i appreciate what i see and am happy with it.
just a random note though, the two titles that i've recently seen are rather paradoxical hehe.
Like...Angels 'AND' Demons, even though they are direct opposites.
Monsters 'VS' Aliens, though they are more similar.
ok, it's random.
more recently, i had my STARS (aka fastest fingers first) registration, and i'm simply amazed by some people's fingers.
I logged in at the exact minute (not exact second though) and couldn't register 2 modules already.
Luckily i managed to, once more vacancies were released after about 20 mins.
the usual is that you'll be able to get a slot for your modules but whether it's your desired one is another matter altogether.
thanks to christabel, i managed to get a 3-week part-time job at mng, and it had been relatively an eye-opener.
I got to see the behind-the-retail-scenes, like how they arrange their clothes, do price taggings, prepare for sale.
The only bad thing is to come face-to-face with a sales crowd.
yes, it's that time of the year, the mng sales that got OLs and tai-tais alike grabbing that last piece of S or M size dress.
actually i didn't know mng sales was so popular until a friend of christy told her, and she told me.
as a result, you could probably picture me trying to fold some clothes amidst their scrabbling.
the worst is to tidy the mess after a group went off after realising there is no S or M size left in that rack.
alot of hip bumping, knees knocking are involved hence it's rather hazardous.
but this has got to be job that's most easy to pass time, as you can observe shoppers secretively, of course it shouldn't involve blatantly staring at their antics.
Plus, patience is needed such that you won't go screaming at inconsiderate shoppers who push and shove you, worse still, throw a whole bag of clothes at you, saying they don't want all these...yes, all those they have painstakingly snatched and found out those doesn't suit them.
and you'll have to sort those clothes and put them back at their respective places.
mind you, it won't be easy, given the arduous task of navigating through the burgeoning crowd.
but it's just your luck that the customer has chosen you to throw her clothes back.
that being said, you also have to make many decisions on the fly as no one's there to help you to deal with customers.
everyone's like, Busy, with a capital B.
and, it's not that i like to overhear other people's conversations but rather they are there for me to hear, and sometimes it's quite funny.
Two minutes ago,
"Hey, just now i was at the fitting room, i heard someone told her friend that she just flew back from Melbourne!"
"Aiyo, quickly go lah, later got H1N1!"
Teo minutes later,
"Hey just now you said you just came back from Melbourne ah?"
"No lah, don't be scared, it's Sydney! not Melbourne.."
And i was standing at the same place at both times, desperately trying to tidy the pile of mess before my supervisor came to hurry me.
well, and many people asked me if it's tiring to stand for like 5 hrs straight and it's no problem for me cuz i like to stand rather than sit all day, though it's more tiring.
refrain from asking me why cuz i have no answer too.
the person-in-charge looked through my resume and said,
"hmm, you have practically done every kind of job, but on short stints, so where do you imagine yourself to be after you graduate"
(This is an overstatement, but i guess he meant 'every kind of job that undergrads on holiday do')
Oh and i gave a rather uncreative but possibly truthful answer.
"Perhaps joining an engineering firm to be an engineer"
(ok, on hindsight, my statement sounds stupid!)
Then, for some crazy reason, he sounded crestfallen.
"Oh, i thought you say teaching! since you have the experience (referring to my Pro-Teach stint), so no teaching for you?"
"Ya", i replied rather resolutely.
Anyway, the position i applied for was admin, so it had nothing to do with teaching whatsoever, but i guess he sounded interested in my 'teaching' experience cuz the company is some sort of a real estate school.
I didn't hear from them afterwards..
This week i also went cycling with shi min, thanks to her, i borrowed her bike to cycle!
It felt good to cycle to the newly opened park and community centre.
I had some hiccups trying to start cycling,(hey, i'm a beginner) else everything went fine..
until i lost control and fell off the bike after 2 hrs of cycling.
luckily we were heading back then and was near some new housing construction site.
i was flung forward in accordance to the law of physics that i'm still accelerating but the bike was not, since i've applied the brakes too abruptly.
anyway, i believe you get the idea.
Then, last tues, i got my new phone!
yes, this is where i'm going to share something about technology.
i happily took my m1 $100 voucher to re-contract my mobile plan, hence i did not have to pay anything to get a new phone, which originally was $98.
It's in nice lilac purple =)
then a few days later, today, i saw on the ads that it now costs 0 dollar with a 2-year plan!
So much for m1 giving me the voucher for my loyalty.
a kind of technology that costs a bomb today may become worthless in a month or so.
so how should we look at it?
is one considered stupid to pay money for something which worth could decrease in a month?
is one considered wise to wait until the same thing's worth drop before buying?
My hunch is that it really depends on the worth of that phone to you, not it's value in tangible dollars per se.
If you're willing to fork out that money, why wait?
it means that that is worthwhile to you and that is all that matters.
after all, technology itself waits for no man.
although i did not fork out a single cent to change my handset, my mum told me i've made a loss since the value of my phone dropped.
however, i chose to think of it another way.
there is no way we can squeeze any benefit from telcos, if not they won't be posting profits ever now and then.
instead of wanting to gain, why not just be contented with a minimal loss?
Besides, as long as the value of the phone to you is there, in my opinion, you've already won.
Ok, initially i wanted to finish up my Japan day 9 and 10 posts but somehow, somehow,
blogger's photo uploader is malfunctioning!
It showed a message that the photos have been uploaded but i just can't find them on my drafting page..
So, haha, i haven't update about my post-trip vacation, so guess i should do it now.
Been to a few birthday celebrations, which is a miracle cuz something always crops up when i want to attend some birthday parties.
Anyway, i'm thinking of whether to hold one myslf, since the semester is pushed back by one week (so next sem starts the same time as NUS), my birthday will be weeks before exams and not just one week before(as in usually).
But seriously i have NO idea at all yet.
Ok, and erm quite happy with my last sem's results.
I just got to know that the results was to be released one day before and forgot all about it the next day.
Just happened to be online till 12mn so went to see my results at the prompt of a friend.
Yea, good thing we all did well =)
At least can pull up abit, my er-hem ailing cgpa.
watched two movies- Angels and Demons, and Monster vs. Aliens.
Angels and Demons is a decent film but i would choose to read the book over watching the movie anytime, oh not because the action wasn't good enough but because of the details in the book itself.
The film seems abit rushed to me and i wouldn't recommend to those who hasn't read the book.
For those like me, who have read the book, my guess is that it wouldn't appeal to you too.
But all of us will only realise that only after watching the movie so that's how they become a hit in the box office huh.
It's deee anticipation which helps them to rake in the dollars i guess.
Monster vs. Aliens is a relatively nice film, when you're IN the theatre.
It's the first 3D movie i've watched in a regular cinema, and the effects are great.
Ten bucks for the effects is totally worth it, i think.
At least in this day and age, i have to add, which brings me to another thing i'll share later.
And this film proves that I'm mentally younger than my sis, haha.
However, after the film, i realised some of the sceptical comments my sis gave are true.
Like it has no 'moral of the story' thingy which animated films are supposed to have or that the story plot is cliche.
whatever the case, it depends how you see it.
i walked into the theatre without any expectations for the film so i appreciate what i see and am happy with it.
just a random note though, the two titles that i've recently seen are rather paradoxical hehe.
Like...Angels 'AND' Demons, even though they are direct opposites.
Monsters 'VS' Aliens, though they are more similar.
ok, it's random.
more recently, i had my STARS (aka fastest fingers first) registration, and i'm simply amazed by some people's fingers.
I logged in at the exact minute (not exact second though) and couldn't register 2 modules already.
Luckily i managed to, once more vacancies were released after about 20 mins.
the usual is that you'll be able to get a slot for your modules but whether it's your desired one is another matter altogether.
thanks to christabel, i managed to get a 3-week part-time job at mng, and it had been relatively an eye-opener.
I got to see the behind-the-retail-scenes, like how they arrange their clothes, do price taggings, prepare for sale.
The only bad thing is to come face-to-face with a sales crowd.
yes, it's that time of the year, the mng sales that got OLs and tai-tais alike grabbing that last piece of S or M size dress.
actually i didn't know mng sales was so popular until a friend of christy told her, and she told me.
as a result, you could probably picture me trying to fold some clothes amidst their scrabbling.
the worst is to tidy the mess after a group went off after realising there is no S or M size left in that rack.
alot of hip bumping, knees knocking are involved hence it's rather hazardous.
but this has got to be job that's most easy to pass time, as you can observe shoppers secretively, of course it shouldn't involve blatantly staring at their antics.
Plus, patience is needed such that you won't go screaming at inconsiderate shoppers who push and shove you, worse still, throw a whole bag of clothes at you, saying they don't want all these...yes, all those they have painstakingly snatched and found out those doesn't suit them.
and you'll have to sort those clothes and put them back at their respective places.
mind you, it won't be easy, given the arduous task of navigating through the burgeoning crowd.
but it's just your luck that the customer has chosen you to throw her clothes back.
that being said, you also have to make many decisions on the fly as no one's there to help you to deal with customers.
everyone's like, Busy, with a capital B.
and, it's not that i like to overhear other people's conversations but rather they are there for me to hear, and sometimes it's quite funny.
Two minutes ago,
"Hey, just now i was at the fitting room, i heard someone told her friend that she just flew back from Melbourne!"
"Aiyo, quickly go lah, later got H1N1!"
Teo minutes later,
"Hey just now you said you just came back from Melbourne ah?"
"No lah, don't be scared, it's Sydney! not Melbourne.."
And i was standing at the same place at both times, desperately trying to tidy the pile of mess before my supervisor came to hurry me.
well, and many people asked me if it's tiring to stand for like 5 hrs straight and it's no problem for me cuz i like to stand rather than sit all day, though it's more tiring.
refrain from asking me why cuz i have no answer too.
anyway, all those temp staff working there was related in one way or another.
as such, my colleagues, other than christabel, include my jap 1 classmates, my aj schoolmates whom i have no impression at all, my mse seniors, my xms seniors.
ah, such coincidence.
the person-in-charge looked through my resume and said,
"hmm, you have practically done every kind of job, but on short stints, so where do you imagine yourself to be after you graduate"
(This is an overstatement, but i guess he meant 'every kind of job that undergrads on holiday do')
Oh and i gave a rather uncreative but possibly truthful answer.
"Perhaps joining an engineering firm to be an engineer"
(ok, on hindsight, my statement sounds stupid!)
Then, for some crazy reason, he sounded crestfallen.
"Oh, i thought you say teaching! since you have the experience (referring to my Pro-Teach stint), so no teaching for you?"
"Ya", i replied rather resolutely.
Anyway, the position i applied for was admin, so it had nothing to do with teaching whatsoever, but i guess he sounded interested in my 'teaching' experience cuz the company is some sort of a real estate school.
I didn't hear from them afterwards..
This week i also went cycling with shi min, thanks to her, i borrowed her bike to cycle!
It felt good to cycle to the newly opened park and community centre.
I had some hiccups trying to start cycling,(hey, i'm a beginner) else everything went fine..
until i lost control and fell off the bike after 2 hrs of cycling.
luckily we were heading back then and was near some new housing construction site.
i was flung forward in accordance to the law of physics that i'm still accelerating but the bike was not, since i've applied the brakes too abruptly.
anyway, i believe you get the idea.
suffered minor grazes and bruises, it's fortunate that i had time to react, using my palms to shield my face from falling flat on the ground.
a lesson learnt; a classic case of no pain, no gain.
Then, last tues, i got my new phone!
yes, this is where i'm going to share something about technology.
i happily took my m1 $100 voucher to re-contract my mobile plan, hence i did not have to pay anything to get a new phone, which originally was $98.
It's in nice lilac purple =)
then a few days later, today, i saw on the ads that it now costs 0 dollar with a 2-year plan!
So much for m1 giving me the voucher for my loyalty.
a kind of technology that costs a bomb today may become worthless in a month or so.
so how should we look at it?
is one considered stupid to pay money for something which worth could decrease in a month?
is one considered wise to wait until the same thing's worth drop before buying?
My hunch is that it really depends on the worth of that phone to you, not it's value in tangible dollars per se.
If you're willing to fork out that money, why wait?
it means that that is worthwhile to you and that is all that matters.
after all, technology itself waits for no man.
although i did not fork out a single cent to change my handset, my mum told me i've made a loss since the value of my phone dropped.
however, i chose to think of it another way.
there is no way we can squeeze any benefit from telcos, if not they won't be posting profits ever now and then.
instead of wanting to gain, why not just be contented with a minimal loss?
Besides, as long as the value of the phone to you is there, in my opinion, you've already won.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
//Day 8 (07/05/09) Sapporo – Otaru + Back to Tokyo //
Otaru is popular among tourists in Hokkaido, as we see Taiwanese and Caucasians throng the place.
It is definitely worth a visit, especially if you're shopping for souvenirs.
They have a lot of SEAFOOD!
Crabs, lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, scallops.
Seriously, I did not buy enough seafood from there!
As a noob, I didn't even know their seafood was so cheap until my mum and aunt told me when I was back home.
Should have bought more! =S
A packet of seasoned scallops costing 1050 yen is selling for double the price in Tokyo.
Mr KFC..looks different in a foreign land. Lynette says he looks more like a japanese than ever...
Otaru has nice weather! A clear, azure blue sky =)
Humungous shelfish and crabs...A LOT of them.
By the famous Otaru bridge, can't believe we walked past it w/o noticing!
Roadside Artists... Elderly, yet talented.
It's 22.1 degree celsius. We were secretly glad to be away from Singapore's humid and hot weather. Hehe.
Ice cream mascots! And Lynette's infatuation with them =P
This exquisite piece is made of glass, can you believe it?
This is the music box museum, all music boxes are made of glass too! Otaru's specialty!
Tired? Call for a rickshaw.
Otaru post office. yubin kyo-ku. Haha.
A variety of pretty music boxes for you to choose! But they were super ex! =X
A day spent in Otaru, looking at glasswares, being made into anything possible, we actually saw a glass pen (and tested it out, cool!)
Looking at glass jewellery and bought some (the only ones we could afford!)
Looking at live seafood, looking at all sorts of music boxes, listening to their melody and tunes.
I'm mesmerised by Otaru... are you?
As promised, my green/black 'pillow' and lynette's red 'bolster'.
Looks comfy?
A whole load to carry!
Otaru is popular among tourists in Hokkaido, as we see Taiwanese and Caucasians throng the place.
It is definitely worth a visit, especially if you're shopping for souvenirs.
They have a lot of SEAFOOD!
Crabs, lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, scallops.
Seriously, I did not buy enough seafood from there!
As a noob, I didn't even know their seafood was so cheap until my mum and aunt told me when I was back home.
Should have bought more! =S
A packet of seasoned scallops costing 1050 yen is selling for double the price in Tokyo.
Mr KFC..looks different in a foreign land. Lynette says he looks more like a japanese than ever...
Otaru has nice weather! A clear, azure blue sky =)
Humungous shelfish and crabs...A LOT of them.
By the famous Otaru bridge, can't believe we walked past it w/o noticing!
Roadside Artists... Elderly, yet talented.
It's 22.1 degree celsius. We were secretly glad to be away from Singapore's humid and hot weather. Hehe.
Ice cream mascots! And Lynette's infatuation with them =P
This exquisite piece is made of glass, can you believe it?
This is the music box museum, all music boxes are made of glass too! Otaru's specialty!
Tired? Call for a rickshaw.
Otaru post office. yubin kyo-ku. Haha.
A variety of pretty music boxes for you to choose! But they were super ex! =X
A day spent in Otaru, looking at glasswares, being made into anything possible, we actually saw a glass pen (and tested it out, cool!)
Looking at glass jewellery and bought some (the only ones we could afford!)
Looking at live seafood, looking at all sorts of music boxes, listening to their melody and tunes.
I'm mesmerised by Otaru... are you?
Caught a train back to Sapporo, had our favourite bento seto again!
Our train back to Tokyo was at 10pm but we were ultra early at 7 plus, i think you know the reason why.
Then we walked around the Sapporo stn, which was getting quite deserted as almost all the shops closed at 9pm!
What do you do when you're bored? Snap pics!
Tired from the lugging..
As promised, my green/black 'pillow' and lynette's red 'bolster'.
Looks comfy?
A whole load to carry!
//Day 7 (06/05/09) Sapporo - Furano//
Comfort Hotel is located near (ok, have to walk for 10mins w/o luggage) Susukino Subway stn.
From there we can take the underground subway to the main Sapporo Stn.
Our plan was to visit the marimo at Lake Akan National Park but there was no available route!!
If i remembered correctly, it's like almost 4 hrs to and to come back, another 4 hrs!
So, we had to go Furano instead.
Since our trains were due in an hr's time, we took off the the nearby clock tower and tv tower.
Wah, had a hard time trying to find both places, which we finally did, by engaging the help of a few passerby.
A real horse!!!
Panasonic TV tower.
No marimo =(
To Furano =D
After we reached Furano Stn, we had to take a cab cuz the sightseeing bus was not available on weekdays.
The meter started from SGD 9!
Our journey, which was about 10 mins, costed around SGD16... =S
But it was worth it as the cheese, milk, pizza factory is sooo nice.
The air is fresh, the sky is blue, there is no reason not to like this place.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, oh suddenly i feel like living as a villager.
The best ice-cream flavour goes to.... Cheese Flavour!
The taste is similar to that of chilled cheesecake!
Light and non-greasy =D
And I wondered why some others ordered asparagus flavour, sounds ew!
Although the prices of the pizza was not considered cheap, since we are here, why not?
Crispy Japanese Pizza, made with their specialty cheese!
Bye to Furano! It's a really nice place! Would return to visit if there's chance =P
At Sapporo stn, we couldn't resist the temptations of Dan Bao Fan, aka Omelette Rice.
Finally found one stall which does takeaway...
The stallholder, (an uncle in his forties/fifties) even asked me where I am from.
Once i said 'Singaporu-jin', he showed me his english menu, boy am i amazed that even he knows our main language is english.
Then as we waited for our food, he was talking very animatedly with his chef, and i could only catch the words 'Singaporu-jin” lol.
And they even served us iced water as we sat in the rather traditional-looking restaurant.
Too bad I'm not an anime fan, cuz i saw some copies lying at the corner for patrons to read.
Then, back to Susukino, we rushed into the 100 yen shop at 8.30pm (it was due to close at 9pm)
and, guess what happened?
Grabbing, grabbing and more grabbing!
Every item is only 100 yen ($1.60).
And we cleared their seaweed rack, which is not a lot by the way =)
We were so busy grabbing and filling up our basket that we forgot to take pictures!
In the end, i had one 'pillow' of the stuff, while lynette had one 'bolster'.
Stay tuned for the next day's journey to catch a photo of those two 'sleepwares' we had.
A perfect day accomplished =)
A not-so-perfect hotel room haha.
Comfort Hotel is located near (ok, have to walk for 10mins w/o luggage) Susukino Subway stn.
From there we can take the underground subway to the main Sapporo Stn.
Our plan was to visit the marimo at Lake Akan National Park but there was no available route!!
If i remembered correctly, it's like almost 4 hrs to and to come back, another 4 hrs!
So, we had to go Furano instead.
Since our trains were due in an hr's time, we took off the the nearby clock tower and tv tower.
Wah, had a hard time trying to find both places, which we finally did, by engaging the help of a few passerby.
A real horse!!!
Panasonic TV tower.
No marimo =(
To Furano =D
After we reached Furano Stn, we had to take a cab cuz the sightseeing bus was not available on weekdays.
The meter started from SGD 9!
Our journey, which was about 10 mins, costed around SGD16... =S
But it was worth it as the cheese, milk, pizza factory is sooo nice.
The air is fresh, the sky is blue, there is no reason not to like this place.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, oh suddenly i feel like living as a villager.
The best ice-cream flavour goes to.... Cheese Flavour!
The taste is similar to that of chilled cheesecake!
Light and non-greasy =D
And I wondered why some others ordered asparagus flavour, sounds ew!
Although the prices of the pizza was not considered cheap, since we are here, why not?
Crispy Japanese Pizza, made with their specialty cheese!
Bye to Furano! It's a really nice place! Would return to visit if there's chance =P
At Sapporo stn, we couldn't resist the temptations of Dan Bao Fan, aka Omelette Rice.
Finally found one stall which does takeaway...
The stallholder, (an uncle in his forties/fifties) even asked me where I am from.
Once i said 'Singaporu-jin', he showed me his english menu, boy am i amazed that even he knows our main language is english.
Then as we waited for our food, he was talking very animatedly with his chef, and i could only catch the words 'Singaporu-jin” lol.
And they even served us iced water as we sat in the rather traditional-looking restaurant.
Too bad I'm not an anime fan, cuz i saw some copies lying at the corner for patrons to read.
Then, back to Susukino, we rushed into the 100 yen shop at 8.30pm (it was due to close at 9pm)
and, guess what happened?
Grabbing, grabbing and more grabbing!
Every item is only 100 yen ($1.60).
And we cleared their seaweed rack, which is not a lot by the way =)
We were so busy grabbing and filling up our basket that we forgot to take pictures!
In the end, i had one 'pillow' of the stuff, while lynette had one 'bolster'.
Stay tuned for the next day's journey to catch a photo of those two 'sleepwares' we had.
A perfect day accomplished =)
A not-so-perfect hotel room haha.
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