Saturday, August 30, 2008
Backkk to Ann Arbor. On Monday. I feel absolutely good that there is nothing on my agenda, having to wake up each day and every moment when I ask myself, what do I have to do today? The answer is nothing. Zilch.
Took off from San Fran Airporton Sunday night and arrived on Monday morning. The only good thing I can think of the stooopid non existant service on american airlines is that my hatred for them distracts me from the good times I had in Berkeley. Sitting in their cramped seats, with crumbs beneath my feet, I feel nothing but disdain and detest. The sight of those air stewardess who do absolutely nothing gives me much irritation. And US Airways is a Star Alliance Flight. Seriously go to SIA and get some training.
Roy picked me up on Mon morning and sent me to jonyap's place which is like a resort. The house itself is damnnnn nice and even though its ulu, its peaceful and surrounded like pretty pretty trees with a swimming pool and all. Went for a swim and then went running. Then had a movie with fastfood. It was so good.
Tues to Fri was helping people move and all. Helped Eugene and Jeff; accompanied them to Ikea, helped them and roy moved things over from Shaoning's place e.t.c.e.t.c. Driving experiences aplenty: eugene drove at 120 mph (~200 kmh) down the highway, damn shuang, haha. Jeff drove a truck! today. a truck!
All in all the wk was so good and blissful. However, people are moving back in and ann arbor is filling up and i'm moving back to central and this wk of bliss is going to end =(
Before ending off though, blog about la and las vegas trip!
Can't beleive it's only been last wk when we went to la and las vegas!
Memorable moments:
1. driving 9 hours down to LV. NINE HOURS.
2. walking through casinos and sharon winning moneyyy! the whole plac eis filled with casinos. like even if they have signs saying, minors are not allowed, they hardly check.
3. disneyland and universal studios!
4. going to swim while zhang fang held the key. returning to find tht he has dissappeared. so 4 of us semi naked idiots in swimsuits were left outside the hotel room banging and knocking on th door for zhang fang. In the end these same 4 semi naked idiots trooped down to the recepion dripping wet to get a new key. GOSH.
5. korean dinner on the 1st day in LA. 1 dollar bugers all ove the place. jeff's brithday cake e.t.c.e.t.c.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
3:25 PM
# # # Sunday, August 24, 2008
*drums fingers on table*
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
2:29 PM
# # # Thursday, August 21, 2008
Ohh so much stuff to blog about.
Namely,
Beijing Olympics
Las Vegas
Disneyland - Today
Um...yeah but I've too much to do. Another day perhaps.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
12:56 PM
# # # Wednesday, August 13, 2008
excerpts from the live commentary by nbc while watching the usa vs singapore table tenis team event live (read from top to bottom):
- I wonder if she was given the flag and told "Li Jia Wei, lead-the-way"....sorry, that only works with a proper pronunciation of her name
- In fact, Li was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies.
- Li Jia Wei is world #6. She is very respected in Singapore.
- Looks like Wang and Li for Singapore against Gao and Huang for USA
- The 3rd player for USA will be Crystal Huang
- The worse news is that the 3rd Singapore player is better than the first two!
- The bad news for USA is that they are down 2-0 in matches in a best 3 of 5.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
11:25 AM
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Its uncanny. The last episode of Parental Guidance and the last episodes of xinhuaduoduokai coincides with the last wk of summer term. I've been coming back to 2601 college very eagerly every weekday as soon as i can (by 12.30) to catch these shows on tudou while hving lunch. and tis ending just as summer term ends.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
8:39 AM
# # # Sunday, August 10, 2008
After 2 full days of nua-ing around, at 1.45 am, I'm finally getting the drive to work again, and concentrate. I think. (This will not do cos next term is not going to be an easy one!!!!)
Met uncle and aunt at SanFran just now. Vsad to leave them, and it was a nice evening. Shopped at Chinatown, and my uncle bought me cherries, eggtarts, instant noodles (cos we're running out of freshfood and I refuse to buy more for the last wk), and roasted duck for dinner tmr or somefing. Had a highly satisfying dinner too, with roast duck, roast pork, tea that is made of tea leaves and not tea bags. There's just a very warm feeling that I ca't put my finger on when I see my family again. That, mixed with the thought of this being my last time in Sanfran....
Its rather sad, when I think of the last few times I've been to Sanfran, touring with Sharon, renting a car, and all, and its all coming to an end. I'll never take F bus across the bay again. Glomps. Or see the beautiful skyline. I wish I was a Berkeley student, then this would not come to an end for a long time.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
4:45 PM
# # # Saturday, August 09, 2008
I'm really really really really going to miss Berkeley and I don't want to leave. Not even to go traveling. I really don't want summer school to end.
I'm going to miss:
Walking to Evans through tht route every morning
The friends I've made in class and my classmates in math55, even those I don't know well. They don't make me feel like an alien, they're nice, entertaining, interesting people who are genuinely interested in the course, but not arrogant and know it all like the honors ppl in the math class at Mich. Its wierd how natural I feel around people again, after 2 terms at Mich I thought I had lost the skill for good and am doomed to be awkward for the rest of my life. But not so in Berkeley. For example, if I said hi to any of my classmates along the way, it's a genuine wave and a sincere smile, not an awkward one where you're not sure if you're supposed to greet them and you're not sure if they'll return. You can be sure they'll return it and may even stop for a chat.
Math55 gsi, whose passion in his subject reaffirmed my decision to do a math degree. Just a while ago i almost want to give it up cos the math department at mich is so bad. My GSI can teach, has a sense of humour, and is really passionate about the subject. Ironically, this is a cs course.
The east asian library, which is not totally void of people (which will make it seem like it has no life) but not crowded. Its bright, new, and extremely conducive. not like some other library ridiculously void of powerpoints (read: ugli). And I love the environment, surrounded by ancient books and history and culture.
Stats GSI who never makes me feel stupid even though i ask really stupid questions (cos I don't pay attn in class and don't want to tax my mind by reading the textbook)
Eye experiment. I'll just miss walking there, tapping and banging on the keys and from time to time, hearing the satisfying *ting* sound that indicates I've got it right. And also getting as low a threshold as possible. Hehe.
Bus 51, taking it everywhere and always checking for its arrival and all.
I'll miss the apartment, working (and sometimes falling asleep) in the living room, the kitchen,
eyecandy (which even though I know nothing will ever come out of, it definitely makes life much more interesting. Because some simple interaction in a day will make me happyyy for that day. (and I know its damnn cheap thrill))
Having class end at 12 everyday and having the freedom to go to SanFran anytime I like. I love the fact that its a metropolitan city, complete with a financial district and beautiful skyscrapers. I love the wharves which are such a beautiful sight, with its sea lions, sails, sea gulls, seafood stores, and magnificent skyline. AND not forgetting its world class Chinatown.
I'm really going to miss my routine and the people who I know I'm never going to meet again. i wish i still have time left to know more people and those that I already know better. (I think I'll miss math55 the most.)
I'm sooo dreading to going back to somewhere where people look at me and treat me like an alien, where cold winters reign, where discussions with people surround gossip about other Singaporeans (most of whom...*rolls eyes*), where the only social events i seem to have are ssa events. My life outside school seems trivial and unimportant, I seem unable to lead my own life there. All the politics and discussions about it: Trivial, unimportant and a plain waste of time. I only realize that after having a few months away, hanging out with people I like and doing things I love. The thought of going back to the same mold, the same people, same environment...there are just 2 words: sian diao. The whole 2 terms I've been mostly doing things and attending events that I don't want to go for. My greatest fear is ending up like many seniors who after spending 3 years there, come out of it seemingly unchanged. As Singaporean as ever. It seems like everyone's goal there is to finish quickly and get out. And it seems that to have to break out of the Singaporean circle, you have to be cocky, or annoying, or boisterous. Singaporeans come up with big reasons and philosophies about how to break out of it, how you have to change yourself to suit them. I don't mind changing slightly, I'll accept that that is inevitable, but socialising shouldn't be that hard. It shouldn't involve a massive overhaul.
This summer my greatest lesson was how to preserve my individuality and allow individuality to bring me through socializing. I used to look at others and ask myself why can't I be like them, how wonderful it would be, or simpler it would be to make friends, if I were to be like them. Then I realized that's the worst attitude I can have and it's easier to just be natural, there has to be some charm in my natural self without having to adapt other's characters. (Also it'd be easier to find kindred spirits) Going back to Singapore in the summer allowed me to rediscover individuality cos 2 terms in Michigan made me forget how was it like to be natural again. Until I started hanging out with my friends again. And then there was Nepal, which was not so much a CIP trip then a holiday, but it was great. I made (arguable) friends in Nepal, managed to successfully integrate with the children. All in all I felt like I maximized this trip, successfully assimilating into their culture, learning really invaluable lessons and having a lot of fun, making it the best combination ever. With no expectations, I came to Berkeley and had more than I expected out of it. I don't admit to be the most social creature ever, but I definitely feel a lot more confident now.
But ANYWAY its time for NDP. With a lot of anti-Singapore sentiments going around, what with Singapore having no culture, no defence, and what not. But its the place that I grew up in and the landscape, food, places, sights, will always bring back extremely happy memories I had growing up with my grandparents (majority of the times), and later, with my friends. (NDP2002 held special meaning, it was intoxication in its purest) It may not be the best place around, but its good enough for me, I suppose. It formed the backdrop of all my childhood, and its not easy to argue emotion with reason.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
5:11 PM
# # # Friday, August 01, 2008
2 nights ago I had a damn wierd dream. it was so real!! I dreamt tht i was helping indiana jones in his quest against the nazis, and i was damn frightened cos i had to keep telling myself, this is real, i cannot get caught. started off in china (?!) somehow i was with them already (indy and another man and another woman) and we went to see the emperor t discuss strategy. the emperor is qianlong from huan zhu gege (tht exact one), and i saw ziwei too. and then i witnessed an actual battle. Apparently behind the palace there's a big slope and i saw the chinese with their canons firing away, with alot of smoke and stuff in the air. didn't see the enemies though
In the mess i lost indy and gang, but i really really had to escape if not i'd be caught by the nazis. Suddenly I was in the streets and I was desperately looking for a place to call them and communicate. I initially wanted to look for a quiet and empty place but then I realised its less obvious if I went to a less suspicious location. So I looked around found...7-11. Went in and the interior was like a Chinese dimsum restaurant with a few couples dining. Spoke to the chinese waitress and managed to get a seat. Then I took out my handphone and began smsing indy to ask them where they are. First thing I did was to check if there is reception (cos first thing I do now when I make a call or sms here is to check if there's reception cos the reception here sucksss) Then after I sent, I wondered, can my handphone work in WW2 era? B4 I knew it, I got a sms that they were coming for me now. I rmbed we had to plan for me to sneak out into their car, but I can't rmb what was our plan.
Then next thing we knew we were on a ship. And we managed to rent a truck on the ship (?!) Then Indy said, niceeee. And drove the truck off the ship into the sea. Where the truck continued to float. Don't ask me how. After this was a blur. Sometimes we were just floating around without the truck, sometimes we were on the ship talking to people.........
Until rongsiu woke me up for class.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
11:26 AM
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If I don't ask for advice, don't try and give it to me. Especially not that condescending tone.
tis xmas, plz stay wit me..
xx
4:51 AM
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