To feel snowflakes upon my tougue..
IT'S SNOWING!!!
Ah, the start of a long and bitterly cold Boston winter.
(woohoo.)
Friday, November 12, 2004
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Weimar Weekend
Since it's my last weekend here in Leipzig, we decided to drag our lazy butts out of the house, and take the train somewhere for a short trip. Hamburg, Munich, Stuggart were a little too far away for a short 2 day trip. Does Weimar sound familiar? Yeah, that's the place where the democratic Weimar Republic was established after WWI. It was awarded the coveted title of "european city of culture" in 1999. Many germans make a 'pilgrimage' to Weimar to see several significant historical buildings, namely Goethehaus, Schillerhaus and several museums. We weren't too interested in Goethe's furniture and wallpaper. But I suppose we *might* just pay to visit Sir Stamford Raffles quarters or something right?
Since it's my last weekend here in Leipzig, we decided to drag our lazy butts out of the house, and take the train somewhere for a short trip. Hamburg, Munich, Stuggart were a little too far away for a short 2 day trip. Does Weimar sound familiar? Yeah, that's the place where the democratic Weimar Republic was established after WWI. It was awarded the coveted title of "european city of culture" in 1999. Many germans make a 'pilgrimage' to Weimar to see several significant historical buildings, namely Goethehaus, Schillerhaus and several museums. We weren't too interested in Goethe's furniture and wallpaper. But I suppose we *might* just pay to visit Sir Stamford Raffles quarters or something right?
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Leipzig impressions
I haven't been updating my blog as much as I wanted to. Okay..in fact, I haven't really been updating it at all. It's not that we're boring, promise! Thought I'd put up some pics of Leipzig.... It's a pretty nice town about 2 hours away from Berlin. The downtown area is essentially contained within a ring road, with the main train station (the Hauptbahnhof, one of the largest and prettiest in europe) on the NE side of the ring.
View of street outside daryl's dorm. The tram network in leipzig is super convenient. It's very punctual too! (see the signs showing you the times of the next few trams)
The other picture is the Leipzig Opernhaus (opera house). We went to watch a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet. Turned out to be modernish ballet (they were wearing suits, dresses and stuff), which I don't like as much as tight leotards and tutus. =P
Mm..will try to share some snapshots of my time in europe in the next couple of posts.
I haven't been updating my blog as much as I wanted to. Okay..in fact, I haven't really been updating it at all. It's not that we're boring, promise! Thought I'd put up some pics of Leipzig.... It's a pretty nice town about 2 hours away from Berlin. The downtown area is essentially contained within a ring road, with the main train station (the Hauptbahnhof, one of the largest and prettiest in europe) on the NE side of the ring.
View of street outside daryl's dorm. The tram network in leipzig is super convenient. It's very punctual too! (see the signs showing you the times of the next few trams)
The other picture is the Leipzig Opernhaus (opera house). We went to watch a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet. Turned out to be modernish ballet (they were wearing suits, dresses and stuff), which I don't like as much as tight leotards and tutus. =P
Mm..will try to share some snapshots of my time in europe in the next couple of posts.
crossroads
It's an amazing feeling, being with someone 24/7 for three months, yet loving every single day of it. It's quite unbelievable that in slightly over a week i'll be leaving Leipzig, and returning to Singapore. Time has gone by in a blink of an eye. A part of me is glad - I miss my grandparents, parents, friends and food =). I want to see how much my baby cousin has grown, and i don't want to miss his first steps and first words. But most of me is sad - I think of the laughter, the tears, the smiles, the hugs, the kisses, the sunsets, the walks, the knowing looks ...and I know how hard it'll be to walk away from what we have shared in the past few months. Well, there's not much more to say about this... we'll just have to prepare ourselves once again for being apart. We should be used to it by now, considering we have 4 yrs of experience behind us. =P But it's never easy...damned heart.
It's an amazing feeling, being with someone 24/7 for three months, yet loving every single day of it. It's quite unbelievable that in slightly over a week i'll be leaving Leipzig, and returning to Singapore. Time has gone by in a blink of an eye. A part of me is glad - I miss my grandparents, parents, friends and food =). I want to see how much my baby cousin has grown, and i don't want to miss his first steps and first words. But most of me is sad - I think of the laughter, the tears, the smiles, the hugs, the kisses, the sunsets, the walks, the knowing looks ...and I know how hard it'll be to walk away from what we have shared in the past few months. Well, there's not much more to say about this... we'll just have to prepare ourselves once again for being apart. We should be used to it by now, considering we have 4 yrs of experience behind us. =P But it's never easy...damned heart.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Check this out..
Something interesting I got off a friend's friend's website:
1) Go to google.com (www.google.com)
2)Type in 'weapons of mass destruction' but dont hit the enter button.
3) Instead hit the 'I'm feeling lucky' button.
4)An ' ERROR MESSAGE' appears. READ THE ERROR MESSAGE CAREFULLY, read the
WHOLE error message.
Something interesting I got off a friend's friend's website:
1) Go to google.com (www.google.com)
2)Type in 'weapons of mass destruction' but dont hit the enter button.
3) Instead hit the 'I'm feeling lucky' button.
4)An ' ERROR MESSAGE' appears. READ THE ERROR MESSAGE CAREFULLY, read the
WHOLE error message.
Thursday, February 12, 2004
the adventure begins...
Guess it's time to wipe the dust off this online journal, and start blogging again with a vengeance. After all, there is much to say. Life just got more exciting, and that much sweeter. =) I left Singapore for Frankfurt on sunday night, then took a three-hour train ride to Leipzig. So here I am, back in his arms, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a wintery german stadt.
It was quite a journey, for I definitely did not travel light (16kg overweight!). I had a huge (I mean HUGE) suitcase filled with countless goodies (pineapple tarts, bak gua, shrimp rolls, ikan billis, chicken floss etc.) for the greedy one. Okay, I guess my numerous clothes and shoes must have added quite a bit of weight too. Then I had my huge 55L backpack, stuffed to the brim. Then I also lugged along a classical guitar for his entertainment. *sigh* With the thick winter coat and scarf limiting my movements, I could hardly walk 50m without resting. And boy did i have to walk alot. I must thank the nameless strangers that helped me drag my luggage onto carts, into trains, off trains, across platforms, up escalators... Not knowing where to go and which train to take certainly didn't help. Anyhow, I made it safely to Leipzig...so it's all better now. *cheers*
Anyway, i think i quite like winter. Especially if you have a warm hand to hold whenever you feel like it. When I first stepped out of the Hauptbahnhof, it was a very different world that greeted me. Cute little trams , cobblestone streets that look like pavements, bare naked trees, the cold whipping wind... can't wait to explore the city more. Haven't been to many places although this is the 4th day of my visit...Daryl's still got a week of school, so i'm spending my mornings lazing around, grocery shopping, and preparing lunch. When he visited me in Berkeley, all he did was laze around and play guitar. *ptui*
We've also done quite a bit of cooking. Invited his german housemate/classmate to dinner last night, and prepared a yummy but spicy meal of sambal kangkong, mapo tofu, and kung pao chicken. mmm.... happy tastebuds. =) Think i'm quite a big disruption to his frugal lifestyle. Since i've arrived, we've gone grocery shopping twice (in three days!), and the fridge has filled up with all sorts of food, fruits and juices. I didn't spend very much...but I suppose he usually buys enough food for only a day or two, whereas I plan for a whole week or so. He'd better get used to it.
We're heading to the Canary Islands next weekend for a week's fun in the sun...then spending the following two weeks touring mainland spain and portugal. I'm really looking forwards to some warmer weather, and white sandy beaches..oh, and seafood too. Most of the fish here seems to be dried or salted or smoked. After that should be heading back to the US for 2-3 weeks for grad school interviews and open houses. I've had some positive responses from a few schools already...and so the year ahead doesn't seem so uncertain anymore. =P
Oh, I feel so lucky. I'm really glad that i took a year off before applying to grad school. I gained so much more than I expected from my internship. I did some cool science research, interacted with some really great people, became better friends with M, stayed in a cute studio, earned some $$ for my trip to europe, danced alot, laughed alot, and mm..maybe got a better idea of my plans for the future. Then I got to spend chinese new year in Singapore. The snacks, the food, the family, the ang pows. I enjoy spending time with my parents more and more as I get older...the three weeks we were together seemed strangely short. Mm.. I suppose as they get older, the more I want to make the most of the time we spend together?
Oh, and my adorably handsome baby cousin. I love him so much. I melt when his little hand clenches tightly around my index finger, and when he smiles at me, and when he gurgles excitedly whenever I talk to him. I guess I experience only the good things. I don't have to change his soiled diaper, I don't have to feed him every 4 hours, i don't have to wake up to his crying at 3am in the morning, i don't have to carry him until he falls asleep, i don't have to pacify him when he wails at the top of his lungs. Man, i'm not ready for kids. But is anyone actually prepared for the responsibility of caring for a totally and utterly dependent being, until they are actually faced with it? Oh well, hope that he still remembers this jiejie when I return to Singapore sometime in May. Babies grow up so fast...they remind me how old i am.
Okay...gotta clean up the room and shower. Moving in all my belongings and stuff has added a lot of clutter. Have to stop procrastinating. I hope that it'll start snowing, then we can go out and take pretty pictures. I'm so happy i could burst. *POP*
Guess it's time to wipe the dust off this online journal, and start blogging again with a vengeance. After all, there is much to say. Life just got more exciting, and that much sweeter. =) I left Singapore for Frankfurt on sunday night, then took a three-hour train ride to Leipzig. So here I am, back in his arms, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a wintery german stadt.
It was quite a journey, for I definitely did not travel light (16kg overweight!). I had a huge (I mean HUGE) suitcase filled with countless goodies (pineapple tarts, bak gua, shrimp rolls, ikan billis, chicken floss etc.) for the greedy one. Okay, I guess my numerous clothes and shoes must have added quite a bit of weight too. Then I had my huge 55L backpack, stuffed to the brim. Then I also lugged along a classical guitar for his entertainment. *sigh* With the thick winter coat and scarf limiting my movements, I could hardly walk 50m without resting. And boy did i have to walk alot. I must thank the nameless strangers that helped me drag my luggage onto carts, into trains, off trains, across platforms, up escalators... Not knowing where to go and which train to take certainly didn't help. Anyhow, I made it safely to Leipzig...so it's all better now. *cheers*
Anyway, i think i quite like winter. Especially if you have a warm hand to hold whenever you feel like it. When I first stepped out of the Hauptbahnhof, it was a very different world that greeted me. Cute little trams , cobblestone streets that look like pavements, bare naked trees, the cold whipping wind... can't wait to explore the city more. Haven't been to many places although this is the 4th day of my visit...Daryl's still got a week of school, so i'm spending my mornings lazing around, grocery shopping, and preparing lunch. When he visited me in Berkeley, all he did was laze around and play guitar. *ptui*
We've also done quite a bit of cooking. Invited his german housemate/classmate to dinner last night, and prepared a yummy but spicy meal of sambal kangkong, mapo tofu, and kung pao chicken. mmm.... happy tastebuds. =) Think i'm quite a big disruption to his frugal lifestyle. Since i've arrived, we've gone grocery shopping twice (in three days!), and the fridge has filled up with all sorts of food, fruits and juices. I didn't spend very much...but I suppose he usually buys enough food for only a day or two, whereas I plan for a whole week or so. He'd better get used to it.
We're heading to the Canary Islands next weekend for a week's fun in the sun...then spending the following two weeks touring mainland spain and portugal. I'm really looking forwards to some warmer weather, and white sandy beaches..oh, and seafood too. Most of the fish here seems to be dried or salted or smoked. After that should be heading back to the US for 2-3 weeks for grad school interviews and open houses. I've had some positive responses from a few schools already...and so the year ahead doesn't seem so uncertain anymore. =P
Oh, I feel so lucky. I'm really glad that i took a year off before applying to grad school. I gained so much more than I expected from my internship. I did some cool science research, interacted with some really great people, became better friends with M, stayed in a cute studio, earned some $$ for my trip to europe, danced alot, laughed alot, and mm..maybe got a better idea of my plans for the future. Then I got to spend chinese new year in Singapore. The snacks, the food, the family, the ang pows. I enjoy spending time with my parents more and more as I get older...the three weeks we were together seemed strangely short. Mm.. I suppose as they get older, the more I want to make the most of the time we spend together?
Oh, and my adorably handsome baby cousin. I love him so much. I melt when his little hand clenches tightly around my index finger, and when he smiles at me, and when he gurgles excitedly whenever I talk to him. I guess I experience only the good things. I don't have to change his soiled diaper, I don't have to feed him every 4 hours, i don't have to wake up to his crying at 3am in the morning, i don't have to carry him until he falls asleep, i don't have to pacify him when he wails at the top of his lungs. Man, i'm not ready for kids. But is anyone actually prepared for the responsibility of caring for a totally and utterly dependent being, until they are actually faced with it? Oh well, hope that he still remembers this jiejie when I return to Singapore sometime in May. Babies grow up so fast...they remind me how old i am.
Okay...gotta clean up the room and shower. Moving in all my belongings and stuff has added a lot of clutter. Have to stop procrastinating. I hope that it'll start snowing, then we can go out and take pretty pictures. I'm so happy i could burst. *POP*
Monday, September 15, 2003
uuuurgh
just had one of the worst things i've ever tasted - salty licorice. It's a Dutch candy, looks innocuously like a gummy sweet, but tastes like...er...a sweaty foot or something. I was shoving handfuls of wasabi peas into my mouth just to get the licorice down. Apparently it's made with similar compounds to what urea has......eeek!
just had one of the worst things i've ever tasted - salty licorice. It's a Dutch candy, looks innocuously like a gummy sweet, but tastes like...er...a sweaty foot or something. I was shoving handfuls of wasabi peas into my mouth just to get the licorice down. Apparently it's made with similar compounds to what urea has......eeek!
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Sunday already?
Back in a familiar life surrounded by dear relatives and old friends, and the US one quickly fades into the background. But the blogs, the emails and the news reports serve as a reminder that life, whether I am present or not, continues to move at the same unrelenting pace. New friendships are forged, old ones strengthed, new places are explored, old haunts revisited. Whether i am in Singapore or in California, time, people, life, goes on. And when i return to one place from the other, i am frustrated by all that i have missed out on. 7 Months. The sudden deepening of my cousin's voice came as a shock. My aunt's swelling tummy, a surprise, since she showed no signs of pregnancy the last time i left. My other aunt's broken foot - no one told me. Friends, with new boyfriends/girlfriends, entering the workforce for the first time. Not large significant changes, but little subtle ones that make me feel displaced and ever so detached....unable to put down my roots in any one place.
Back in a familiar life surrounded by dear relatives and old friends, and the US one quickly fades into the background. But the blogs, the emails and the news reports serve as a reminder that life, whether I am present or not, continues to move at the same unrelenting pace. New friendships are forged, old ones strengthed, new places are explored, old haunts revisited. Whether i am in Singapore or in California, time, people, life, goes on. And when i return to one place from the other, i am frustrated by all that i have missed out on. 7 Months. The sudden deepening of my cousin's voice came as a shock. My aunt's swelling tummy, a surprise, since she showed no signs of pregnancy the last time i left. My other aunt's broken foot - no one told me. Friends, with new boyfriends/girlfriends, entering the workforce for the first time. Not large significant changes, but little subtle ones that make me feel displaced and ever so detached....unable to put down my roots in any one place.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
The Move (part 2)
Met my new neighbour-to-be last night. Twas a good meeting, which left me really looking forward to the move-in once i get back from Singapore in 2 weeks. Okay, so his dog started barking his head off once approached the main house, which was not very nice at all. But once Maddy(the dog) and I said hi, things started to take off. She sat quietly on my left foot, mm..which was the first time i had my foot sat on actually, and err..just let me stroke her. Those clever animals sure know how to make us fuss over them. Then she even fetched her rubber ball over so that i would play fetch. You must understand that i have never really played fetch with a dog before; i used to have a little pom that only wanted to eat or sit under the couch, so this was another first time for me. Kinda surreal throwing a bright pink thing out of the door, and have a big black furry thing bound out of the house in pursuit, and then repeat this three times. It's funny how excited Maddy gets, whether it's the first time i throw it or the millionth. I'm gonna have fun as long as she doesn't poop all over. =) The guy was pretty nice too. He seems really cool with sharing the internet and the phone and washer/dryer, which makes me feel glad coz i know i'll be able to pop over should i need any help. And he also doesn't seem psychotic or deranged in any way, but i have my pepper spray at hand *muahaha*....kindly given to me by ys for my protection. Oh, and a good omen....we saw a bright shooting star above us as we stood outside discussing the finer details of i-can't-remember-what. Everything is falling in place now...i'm happy to say that this post-graduation life is suiting me well. =)
-----------------------------------------------------
Best wishes to all my dear friends that have started school. It's weird hearing you talk about classes and the campus and stuff, while being so strangely detached from it all. Have fun learning new stuff, while i start purging facts/formulas/useful skills from my little brain.
Met my new neighbour-to-be last night. Twas a good meeting, which left me really looking forward to the move-in once i get back from Singapore in 2 weeks. Okay, so his dog started barking his head off once approached the main house, which was not very nice at all. But once Maddy(the dog) and I said hi, things started to take off. She sat quietly on my left foot, mm..which was the first time i had my foot sat on actually, and err..just let me stroke her. Those clever animals sure know how to make us fuss over them. Then she even fetched her rubber ball over so that i would play fetch. You must understand that i have never really played fetch with a dog before; i used to have a little pom that only wanted to eat or sit under the couch, so this was another first time for me. Kinda surreal throwing a bright pink thing out of the door, and have a big black furry thing bound out of the house in pursuit, and then repeat this three times. It's funny how excited Maddy gets, whether it's the first time i throw it or the millionth. I'm gonna have fun as long as she doesn't poop all over. =) The guy was pretty nice too. He seems really cool with sharing the internet and the phone and washer/dryer, which makes me feel glad coz i know i'll be able to pop over should i need any help. And he also doesn't seem psychotic or deranged in any way, but i have my pepper spray at hand *muahaha*....kindly given to me by ys for my protection. Oh, and a good omen....we saw a bright shooting star above us as we stood outside discussing the finer details of i-can't-remember-what. Everything is falling in place now...i'm happy to say that this post-graduation life is suiting me well. =)
-----------------------------------------------------
Best wishes to all my dear friends that have started school. It's weird hearing you talk about classes and the campus and stuff, while being so strangely detached from it all. Have fun learning new stuff, while i start purging facts/formulas/useful skills from my little brain.
and now for the news
Mm..someone commented that my blog kinda looks like a newspaper now. well, i would hope not, partly because i know that the news here would be hardly worthy of mention even in the tabloids, and partly because i put in some effort into finding pretty fonts (which other people cannot see..boohoo). Yah, i almost forgot to mention that i revamped the page....really needed a change. so now it's blue =) and gives me much more space in the main frame to write/put pictures/etc... I still need to add the links and other random things. I've been so busy with work though, that time just flies right by. I suppose it'll take a while before more changes are made to this page. But that's alwez been the case right?
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I'm leaving for Singapore tomorrow night...can hardly believe it. Have had a ton of work in the past few weeks, and I think my supervisor and I will welcome a short break. The project i'm working on is really fascinating, and strange as it may sound, i'm gonna miss working in the lab. I've never felt that way before about labs. Oh dear, i'm turning into a lab rat! We've been really lucky with our experiments so far...most things have worked out, and so much has been done in just 1 1/2 months. With a lot more luck, we could be on our way to developing a drug for auto-immune diseases. It'll be real nice if the work that i put in now could help thousands of people around the world. I think this is one reason why research in a pharmaceutical company gets me that much more excited. okay, the pay helps too. =)
Mm..someone commented that my blog kinda looks like a newspaper now. well, i would hope not, partly because i know that the news here would be hardly worthy of mention even in the tabloids, and partly because i put in some effort into finding pretty fonts (which other people cannot see..boohoo). Yah, i almost forgot to mention that i revamped the page....really needed a change. so now it's blue =) and gives me much more space in the main frame to write/put pictures/etc... I still need to add the links and other random things. I've been so busy with work though, that time just flies right by. I suppose it'll take a while before more changes are made to this page. But that's alwez been the case right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm leaving for Singapore tomorrow night...can hardly believe it. Have had a ton of work in the past few weeks, and I think my supervisor and I will welcome a short break. The project i'm working on is really fascinating, and strange as it may sound, i'm gonna miss working in the lab. I've never felt that way before about labs. Oh dear, i'm turning into a lab rat! We've been really lucky with our experiments so far...most things have worked out, and so much has been done in just 1 1/2 months. With a lot more luck, we could be on our way to developing a drug for auto-immune diseases. It'll be real nice if the work that i put in now could help thousands of people around the world. I think this is one reason why research in a pharmaceutical company gets me that much more excited. okay, the pay helps too. =)
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