met up with a few friends yesterday. could finally get out of the house after the jap exam. which, by the way, was quite managable. the essay topic was quite lame though. 'what would you do with a million dollars?' seems liek some beauty pageant question. amazed by my own crapping skills.
back to yesterday...our plans for the night failed miserably at first. we wanted to go mind's cafe but yesterday evening was exceptionally crowded. cinema was damn crowded too. luckily we managed to get 3rd row seats(again!) for the lake house. its quite a nice movie. the house is so nice with glass all around and a maple tree in the middle. but as the plot has to do with 2 people living in 2 different times, it can get quite confusing. i can never fully understand the logic of time travel shows. wait a minute, there's no logic!

this has to be the funniest picture i've ever seen! cant do maths? make use of the english then. genius!

last sat was hui's birthday celebration at aranda chalet. i had alot of fun there cos i knew most of her friends. had a great time talking to the gals. the chalet was big and very nice, though there were only 2 rooms and 5 gals had to sleep on 1 bed. dunno how they did it. i didnt sleep the whole night and paid the price the next day. first time i felt so tired after one night without sleep. felt like a zombie the whole day and couldnt even do my homework properly. getting old? haha... but looking at hui's chalet, it makes me feel like celebrating my own birthday too. i could feel her happiness and i guess she's really lucky. whatever she had wished for, she got it that night. either all her friends knew her that well or she's very predictable. haha...being her friend, i would rather give credit to us. what shall i do for my birthday...
my jap lessons has ended. quite sad actually cos i enjoyed those lessons. and this means that school is starting. sigh...i think of the six modules and i'm reluctant to start school. yesterday's oral was a disaster. listening was a little better. i was the first to be tested and i was so nervous that i couldnt say anything properly. forget how to convert the different forms of verbs and could only leave it to my instinct. so disappointed with myself. i want an A!

just had an enjoyable time last sunday at the zoo with some of my cns friends. its like being a child again, on an excursion in our primary school days. so many animals to see and i forgot my camera! argh!! the cutest were the otters. they ran around in 1 big group and would stop in front of the people to 'pose'. after awhile, they would run to another coner and 'pose' again. models of the animal world. we also fed the kangeroos, though i nearly stepped on one of their tails. one of my friends sugested going back to the zoo together 10 years later. by then we would be in our 30s and probably married with children. lol... tracia shared with us her stories about her observations of teachers in classes. teachers are so noble! not that i didnt know that before but i rarely hear of first hand experiences from teachers themselves. it is so difficult being a teacher now. children are over protected and teachers also have to be creative to come up with new and interesting classes.they have my respect!

another interesting thing is that i got to speak to two japanese businessmen on tuesday. i met them at orchard when they asked for my help in buying tickets at the mrt station. i was so excited in speaking japanese and it will be good practise for my oral and listening exam next week. but i forgot all that i've learnt and all i could manage was a few words and broken sentences. there were so many questions i wanted to ask but the words just couldnt form. in the end, a girl sitting next to the men in the mrt joined in the conversation. she must think i'm an idiot for struggling to speak in such broken japanese when they could speak perfect english. i also had to pay full attention when they speak so that i could understand what they were talking. it was a good experience though.

this brings me to my next topic. i'm currently reading 'tuesdays with morrie'. its quite a meaningful book about the author talking to his sociology professor who was dying. they talked about many issues in life. many of the things are actually what we know we should do but have difficulty doing or not wanting to do. the professor termed this 'tension of the opposites'. there was one passage in which he said we must always be with the person we are with. that means to give them our utmost attention when they are talking and not think about something else or look elsewhere. that is a problem i sometimes face. sometimes i have problem paying attention and will tend to space out if the conversation is too long and only pulling myself back to answer 'uh-huh'. do you guys have this problem too? it seems such an easy task to listen but few people can do it. to listen with utmost attention and sincerity. sometimes people dont need advice to their problems but just a listening ear.

shh...listen...

my mentor just told me that there may not be work in the lab for awhile. though i welcome the occasional break, i wanna learn more in lab. besides, i have nothing to do at home. dunno what i'll do if i didnt have jap lessons. jap2 is more difficult with all the forms of verbs. the more i learn, the more i'm confused by the particles. but learning jap is still fun. and i have yanfen for company. the people in jap1 class are still the best!
went out with some sbs friends for steamboat to celebrate vincent's bdae. sbs people always seem to have steamboat outings. it was quite fun. just hope that there will be more gals next time. looking forward to this weekend!

just changed my blogskin and i love the picture. but what's the problem with the sidebar?? hate this html thingy. just cant get anything right.
oh yeah, this month's world cup month. bazil didnt get into the semis! i was so surprised. bet alot of people must be cursing at their losses now. football just doesnt interest me

after last week's rest, i'm working hard this week. everyday work till about 6pm. so tiring... learnt one thing though, i learnt how to play carom during our many incubation periods. we had a sucess rate of about one insert per week for our cloning. according to the prof, its quite good. being a researcher sure needs alot of patience! have to repeat the same experiments over and over without getting tired of failure. but today has been not suceessful at all! repeated the damn experiment twice, each taking hours, and yet there were no reults. not even unfavourable ones. sigh...
i finally got to meet up with my jap class friends last saturday after one year. too bad a few of them couldnt come at the last minute. hopefully more people can turn up next time. our group seems to be getting smaller. but i had fun that day!

i'm tired out today, though not from work. just as i reached school this morning, my mentor messaged me saying i need not come today. isnt it kind of late?!! so i ended up going shopping with the other two girls. started off going to the guan yin temple in bugis to have last minute prayers for tomorrow's release of results. then we proceeded to shop in bugis to orchard, from 9am to 5pm. office hours for a different purpose. my legs are killing me now.
then on the way home, my friend told me that results are out already. wasnt prepared to know my results today but actually i have no feelings about it this semester. my mind was blank except for a little worries for biochem. it turned out alright. not good but ok. very very slight improvement from last sem, though i still cant get rid of the C. that will be my aim for next sem(even that seems difficult to me). surprised for biochem...there must be moderation.
hmm...how to spend my free day tomorrow?

watched Over The Hedge yesterday. great movie! its one of the funniest cartoons i've ever seen. the whole theater was roaring with laughter. the movie is about a group of animals which woked up after their winter hibernation to find their forest being invaded by humans. in came the street-wise racoon to teach them about the human world, in a way that was actually making fun of humans. like 'cars are vehicles that humans invented as they are losing their ability to walk'. we went to tcc at boat quay after that. the second floor was really cool. filled with comfortable bean bags, its a great place to relax with friends.
just checked my time table for next semester. it sucks totally! i'm having 6 core modules plus lab. my days are packed from 8.30am to 5.30pm except for wednesdays. the exam schedule is not good either. how am i going to survive next sem?? sigh...better enjoy my hols now.

went to chalet on tuesday. i was abit skeptical at first cos only 8 people were going. a few others couldnt make it. but it turned out to be fun! the chalet was a BIG bungalow house under IDA which chulei's aunt got for $90 for 4 nights. so cheap! the house was quite new, modern looking with a natural wood feel. there was even a pond outside with a circular area containing 2 bbq pits. the living room was big with a high ceiling and a huge plasma tv. chulei preprared cold soba for dinner. and we had round 2 of instant noodles and various ingrediants. sitting round the table, it feels like we're having a family dinner.
next was probably the highlight of this chalet -- mahjong! 4 experts and 4 beginners. just nice to have a personal tutorial of the game. i took over vincent's feng shui seat and we won quite abit. vincent was a first time player but he picked up the game very fast and has extremely good luck. he managed to get 'hua hu' which is the set of 8 flowers! darren, though he was playing with 3 beginners, lost to everyone. thanks to him, we got free breakfast. haha... we played from 9pm to 3.30am and it was only 1 round. so dead tired that everyone just wanted to end the game. though there were 4 bedrooms, all 5 of us slept in 1 bedroom. feels like i've gone back to hall. only slept 2 hours before we all had to rush to school or work.
going to meet up with hui and guys later. so many movies to watch now. no time and money. haha... sw and mz, when to watch da vinci?? i also wanna watch x-men.
*hope this thurs gathering with the jap people will actually make it. its been postponed too long!*

i'm bOrEd...now stuck in sbs resource room cos there's nothing for me to do in lab. started to work in valarie lin's lab last week. hours are quite flexible cos it depends on what you have to do for that day. but i'm working for no pay. still have to pay for meals and transport. sigh... still blur blur, trying to make sense of the experiments and doing what my mentor tell me to do. hope i can learn something. quite sian to have to come school everyday. and i'll always look forward to going home to watch my 'e zuo ju zhi wen'. thats the only relaxing time at the end of the day. i love the show so much!! zheng yuan chang shuai dai le! haha...didnt even like him in the past. didnt know why jh so crazy about the show, but now i know. i'm finishing it soon though. nothing more to look forward to after work. in need of more new dramas to watch. sounds like a sad life huh. i still have a chalet with the few hall friends tomorrow. too bad limin and huihsien not coming.

tadaima~ just came back from japan two days ago. i had alot of fun and saw many things. gonna try to put everything to words now.
i stayed in hokkaido for the first four nights. it is supposed to be spring now but the weather was still quite cold. especially up in the mountains where the wind is strong, our fingers would be numb beyond feeling. there were still some snow left from the previous week. first time i see snow, though most of it has become dirty ice.

our first two nights were spent in a hot spring resort. it was a new experience for me to go down to the onsen. had to have alot of courage cos we had to be fully naked. but you could see japanese from ages four to 60+ and it was pretty normal for them. they could let their young sons see their bodies without any problem. i even chatted with a kawaii boy in the pool. the outdoor pool was especially refreshing. its so relaxing to soak in the hot water in the cold air.

after two days of mountain scenery, we went to the town of Otaru. the buildings there are all very nice. their streets are lined with a mixture of traditional styled japanese buildings and european styled shophouses. i was surprised to learn that hokkaido is influenced greatly by european culture cos of their location. their houses are mostly european style instead of the tradtional ryokan even in the countryside.

next up was Sapporo city, capital of Hokkaido. at night, the buildings are all lit up with neon lights. it is very difficult to find rubbish bins on the streets but surprisingly, the streets are even cleaner than singapore's. there's no rubbish at all. singapore has much to learn.

Hakodate, port city of Hokkaido. i finally saw sakura blooms!!! it wasnt much, only a few isolated trees. if only i could see the mankai, the whole park would be covered in pink. we also went to the fish market. the seafood is all very fresh but i'm sick of eating seafood for one week. not much of a seafood fan. i tried the squid ink ice cream. not very special actually but i love their ice cream. i can eat it everyday even if its freezing cold. finally got to eat ramen from those roadside stalls too. oishii desu ne~ but actually the real japanese food is not as nice as those in singapore. we are too accustomed to the singaporean taste. and the food is so expensive! a normal meal usually costs at least $10. even though things are expensive, tehy dont have to worry cos the main tourists and consumers in japan are the japanese themselves. they buy things like they are free.

we went to Tokyo for the last day. shopping time!! Harajuku is like the bugis street of singapore. all the people are dressed up very fashionably. some of the clothes are quite affordable if they are on sales. regret not buying more. at night, we took the subway to Shinjuku. the metro system is so complicated that having a map wont help. you can also sense how fast paced and stressed city life is. the people are all walking so quickly that you also feel obliged to keep up to prevent from getting in people's way. anyway, the night life in Shinjuku is very 'happening'. its actually quite a sleezy place. the street is lined with sex toy shops or night clubs and karaoke joints. there's not only gals club but boys club. their pictures will be shown outside the building for customers to choose. there will also be guys in black suits and carrying transparent umbrellas (it was raining that day), trying to get female customers. they are supposed to be handsome but they look more like ah bengs. i saw a few men whom i think are members of the yakuza. all of them had gold chains and drive expensive cars.

on the whole, i find the japanese very friendly people. had the chance to talk to some of them with my mediocore japanese. communication is abit of a problem. but with some japanese and english plus alot of pointing, we could barely manage. the most important phrase during shopping is 'kore wa ikura desuka?', meaning 'how much?'

the japanese are also experts in pakaging and service. all the things are wrapped up so nicely you just cant resist buying. they are also very generous with their samples. they give out whole chocolates and large portions of cakes as samples. something that cant be done in singapore or they would probably incur a loss. as for service, they are very patient and helpful. we were in a shopping centre when we got lost in the underground system. it was closing time and we panicked. we asked the manager for directions and he immediately left his post to lead us all the way out. pei fu! in any case, dont ever try to take taxi in japan. you'll suffer from high blood pressure just looking at the meter. i travelled for 4km and paid S$30. a 60km trip will cost you what it takes for a nice trip to bangkok plus shopping! their apartments are equally expensive. my tour guide stays in the outskirts of tokyo in an apartment the size of 4 tatami mats (1 mat=90x180cm). her rent is 70,000 yen (100 yen = $1.40) per month!

ok, finally ended. thanks if ur're still reading. haha...hope to go japan again. next time with friends!

woohoo~ exams have finally finished! one month of studying and late nights have come to an end. not that i mind late nights. haha... only slept for 3 hours this morning. a little tired now but i'm trying not to sleep so i can sleep on the plane later. doesnt feel like i'm gonna board the plane in 6 hours time. one luggage havent unpack have to pack another.
had alot of fun yesterday! after the paper and some rest, we went to buy ingrediants for our steamboat dinner. there were 7 of us and me and jh being the only gals, we prepared almost everything. too bad alot of people couldnt make it but it was still quite fun. we ate in our hall's tv lounge. felt guilty cos we couldnt finish the food.
after dinner, we went to meet the rest of the gals from hall 16 and 4 other friends to go ministry of sound. its my first clubbing trip! wouldnt have been able to go if we were not staying in hall. realised that clarke quay is very beautiful at night. according to hui, there were not many people there yesterday. but the place was still very crowded to me. all the smoke and loud music thumping...not really my cup of tea. but if there's a chance for everyone to go again, i will. danced to retro and RnB music. not very good at dancing leh. jh's friend say we not drunk enough. haha...cos we didnt drink alcohol at all. everyone is dressed so nicely. can see all kinds of people there, including those guys who cant keep their hands off drunk gals. and i was so surprised to see jk and nigel there. jk was so high~ dancing on the platform like a transformed person. haha...
reached back hall at 3am and shared 2 bowls of instant noodles with the rest. then only slept at 6.30am with four of us sharing 2 beds. feels like chalet. my last night in hall le...so she bu de. all the wonderful memories and friendships forged. this has been the best sem in my 2 years of university. really very happy this sem, feel like i finally have a life. thanks to my roomies and jh!! finishing lab reports are alot easier with our discussions.
will miss our times together!

came home yesterday evening and i was so dead tired. kept sleeping all the way. but i still slept at 3am at night. haha...it has become a habit. now i'm hooked on er zuo ju zhi wen. loved the japan drama last time. the taiwan version is even sweeter, just as unlikely to happen in real life. so slack now. havent studied since my last paper. i wanna play mahjong with them tonight~ but have to go back tomorrow. sigh...

209 paper was a killer. to me at least. i didnt know how to do most of the paper. mind totally blank. the previous night, i drank a can of red bull which kept me up the whole nite. only slept 2 hours on that day! then day before exam too tired to study le. hai...markers please be lenient. hai...enjoy myself first.
enjoyed myself today! but spent alot of money too. went to the hair salon after my paper. then went kbox at jurong east at night with jh, hh and cl. we sang from 10pm to 3am! so high~ but really very expensive. $18.90++ excluding cab fare. so fun... tonight is my last night in my room. so sad to see the room empty. kel they alln playing mahjong on sun. wonder if i can come back. abit guilty for not going home for so long. so many things that i've not yet done in hall. never even go out for supper with friends.
must not forget i still have a last paper on wed!

its 1 am and i just finished my supper. very unhealthy lifestyle...sleeping late and having late night suppers. or you can say sleep early cos the earliest i've slept for these past few weeks is 3am. hai...killed by the virology paper today. i couldnt do alot of the questions. so many questions from lecture 1, which i thought wasnt important. now going to die for friday's biochem. i need more memory space!
i didnt go home last weekend. mz asked if i missed home and my answer is...no. maybe abit bad but i really dont miss home. maybe its only one weekend and its comfortable enough here. but its not fun. eating and finding a place to study is a problem. can see a different side of the university without the crowd. and the absence of the cleaners is clearly pronounced. whole canteen become so dirty.
although i dread friday's paper, i'm also looking forward to the end of it! i'm gonna slack and not care about the last paper for the moment. so many programmes lined up that i think i wont be at home much. i wanna stay in hall this friday and next wedesday~ will be going out with hall friends. but i think my parents will nag. besides i'm flying off on thursday. no time!
sigh...3 more days. back to studies...

sad...hui moved out today. the room seems weird without her stuff. but i had an enjoyable last night crapping till morning. so relaxing to just stand on the rooftop and enjoy the morning breeze. soon, we'll all be moving out. she bu de~

help~ why cant i seem to concentrate on studying after the immune paper. feel so drained...

i have a good news! i got my jap2!! so happy~ haha...will be going with yanfen. poor mei cant take with us. at least i got company. class starts on june 19th. then will be an intensive 1 month. but now i have problems applying for internship. all my friends applying this hols. will any company accept me for 1 month?
had my first exam paper on thurs. this whole week, i've been studying at sbs with my friends till late night. quite lucky cos can ask my friends questions and half of the exam paper came out from past year's and tutorials. hopefully i wont have problems with the other papers. after that paper, i felt so happy. as if the whole exam was over. the worst is yet to come...
celebrated jy's bdae at cartel. the organiser say meet at 11.15am. who celebrate bdae so early?? anyway, the bdae person gave a treat. he got an ipod nano as a present. so good, i also want~ at least its something he can use.
why so many people's bdae in april? i'm supposed to be studying!

i went for sijia's bdae chalet yesterday. my flu miraculously recovered upon reaching tampines. but please dont put me in charge of presents again. there was the usual crapping session. victor commented that boyfriends are always the slaves at birthday parties. but as a boyfriend, isnt it right for you to serve your girlfriend's guests??
Dian's back from australia!! now working in a child psychology clinic and research assistant. so amazing... i always thought that people say its difficult to work as a psychologist in singapore. walid offered me a ride home on his bike and i declined. haha...i wasnt as relaxed as he thought i was when i rode pillion last time. all a bunch of nerves. going to miss weiling's bbq tonight. must start studying!
another piece of good news from my friend. he was successful in getting an internship in yes93.3! congrats! i saw his resume which was really impressive. i really admire his spirit and passion for the field of his study. he'll take the initiative to get internships to try all everything in the mass comm field. he knows what he wants and will take action to persue his dreams. some people just talk about their dreams but do nothing about it. that's only day-dreaming.
unlike him, i dont know what i want and have no plans for the future. can only take one step at a time right now...
all the best for the future

something amusing happened yesterday. i was walking in the campus when i passed by this girl. she gave me a look like she knew me and asked if i lived on tampines st xx. i was so surprised because i dont even know her. then she said she used to see me at the bus stop every morning in brown uniform. that would be my secondary school days! is her memory that good or have i not changed at all??
monday's immuno test was a disaster. the teacher had to remind us that there could be more than 1 answer for the mcq questions. this resulted in me putting down all those extra answers and end up those answers are redundant. worst thing was that 1 mark will be deducted for wrong answers. will i end up with a negative score? moral of the story - sometimes its good not to know the instructions.
these few days have been studying for exams but really li bu cong xin. i cant remember what i've read. all those stupid mechanisms for 209. can die~ and now i'm sick as well. wondering if i should go to sijia's bdae chalet tomorrow. cant eat anything. so many friends are sick too. everybody's stressed.
jia you and take care of yourselves!

yesterday's heavy rain spoiled my swimming plans. the rain was so heavy that parts of the hall were flooded. heard that my coursemate was very nice and swept the water away frm lm's corridoor. didnt expect he'd do such a thing. today i cant go swimming again. sigh...
the trip has been confirmed. i'll be going japan with my mum and aunt! its a dream come true. will the little jap i've learnt be of help? haha...dont think so. i hope that we'll manage to see the sakura blooms. heard that this year's weather is warmer and the flowers has opened earlier.
quite sad though that my bro not going. no one to share my excitement with. he's taking his o levels this yr and my dad dont allow him to go. actually if i were him, i'll be so jealous and upset. 1 week doesnt make much of a difference. my dad wants to get him tuition and through yu,i got ny. feels weird that i'll be seeing him every week at my house. i'm such a lousy sis. maths quite good but cant teach my bro. i really dont know how to teach. sometimes he also dont accept my method and say its different from what's taught in school. stubborn like i was last time