peace comes with a hoof...

finally some action that we can TAKE...

2006-04-05T23:33:00.000+08:00

Take up the petition... Potong Pasir and Hougang DO NOT deserve less, they are SINGAPOREAN, and they pay TAXES...

http://www.petitiononline.com/merlion1/petition.html

what space? what engagement?

2006-04-05T23:31:00.000+08:00

Many also expressed concern that it will curtail space and opportunities for political discourse.

They were reacting to Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan, who clarified Internet rules on election advertising in Parliament on Monday.

He commented specifically on blogs, as well as podcasts and videocasts, or vodcasts, which are online audio and video clips that can be downloaded into a multimedia player to be listened to or viewed later.

He said such streaming of 'explicit political content' by political parties or individuals is banned under election advertising rules set in 2001.

Bloggers can discuss politics but have to register their site if they 'persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues relating to Singapore'.

Once they are required to register, they will have to remove from their site any material deemed by the law to be election advertising during the campaign period.

This period is from the time the writ of election is issued until the close of the last polling station on Polling Day.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), the first political party to use podcasts on its website since last August, said the latest move 'deals a crushing blow to the SDP's strategy'.

'The party will consult IT experts to see what can be done to salvage its plans,' said SDP chief Chee Soon Juan in a statement.

Workers' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim also said the party now has to scrap plans for podcasting to promote the party during the polls.

'It is limiting but we will work within the law. This just shows the PAP does not trust Singaporeans to make informed choices,' she said.

Mr Tan Tarn How of the Institute of Policy Studies said: 'Such rules should not be there in the first place. In a democracy, you want the people and political parties to have access to as many tools as possible for a free flow of information.'

Commentators also noted that the ban on podcasting and videocasting means rally speeches and events cannot be put online and hence will have limited reach.

The Straits Time, Home Section; 5th of April 2006

cast your pod?

2006-04-05T23:27:00.000+08:00

On Monday, Senior Minister of State Balaji Sadasivan clarified that podcasting and videocasting cannot be used to spread political content during elections. Bloggers can discuss politics, but will be required to register their site if they consistently espouse a political line.

Here is a list of commonly asked questions The Straits Times posed to lawyers on the Internet and elections:

# Can individuals put up podcasts or videocasts of political rallies on their blog or website?

No.

# What about pictures of political rallies?

Not allowed either.

# Can bloggers talk about political parties and their candidates?

Yes, but they must avoid consistently supporting or criticising political parties and their candidates. Dr Balaji said bloggers can give their own personal views about a candidate or political party. But if they use their blog to promote political ideals in a consistent fashion or show support for one political party, they are considered to be party political and must register.

# Can bloggers link their site to political parties' websites?

Yes.

# Can individuals send out SMS or e-mail containing political content during the campaign period?

Yes, but they need to obey the laws of land, including libel laws. Mass SMS and e-mail by individuals may run foul of the law.

# Can political parties send out SMS or e-mail?

Yes. But they must indicate who is sending the messages and on whose behalf. Such messages must not include a 'chain-letter' appeal, asking recipients to send them on. They must also stop sending to people who ask them to.

From The Straits Time, Home section; 5th of April 2005

2006-04-05T23:26:00.000+08:00

"I do not want the two constituencies to be left behind, especially Potong Pasir, an old estate. Five years down the road, assuming Chiam does win, there will be no upgrading," Goh was quoted as saying on state broadcaster Channel NewsAsia's Web

huh???

getting safely back to Luzern...

2005-05-21T12:22:00.000+08:00

then i was on an island in greece
so i din have internet connection at all
the island was like thailand islands
but there were no corals at all near the beach
not like when we were in surin leh

bogbog

but there was alot of sun and that was quite nice
there was also a cliff to jump from

i took a ship from italy to greece
and that took 19 hours
there were places for you to sleep in
like a cabin and all
but when i was going from italy to greece
there was no place at all
cos the ship was too full
and i was travelling on a eurail pass
that means that i don have to book a place
so i ended up sleeping on the deck
and that was super cold and windy at night
and i don have sleeping bag with me leh
then after that i reach a port in greece
then need to change to another port
so took 2 and a half hours by bus
then took another ship to Naxos
that was small island in the east of greece
that took another 6 hours
in the end i reach my friends at 0420
wah
good thing that they were good friends
and they picked me up early in the morning

so i stayed in greece for 3 days
and that was in my friends place
and its quite interesting the way the greek houses are built
there are very thick strong walls
and they are all white
with window panes that are a dark blue
the thick walls keep the house cool during the day when the outside is super hot
the area in greece is really dry
esp the island that we were in - Naxos
you see only shrubs and small bushes
not many large trees at all

spent most of the day by the beach
one of my canadian friends is a sand castle enthusiast
so we were busy trying to get a sandcastle up
in the land we did some hills, mountains and a large river
and the pyramids - though we did only one of them lar
landscaping was the easiest thing to do

there were plenty of nude sunbathers
ahhah
with old and wrinkled bodies lar
so that was not much to see at all
infact don see better still

though i managed to find a seculded beach
and did some myself
quite an experience lar
had to move away from my friends
cos they were not so on about the idea
ahhaah

so duh

then can you imagine that i had to make the same journey back
via ship and train
all the way to Zurich, or Luzern rather, where i was to meet my swiss friends.

the trip back was another ADVENTURE...
truly leh

it began like this
took ship from Naxos at 0945
reached athens port at 1500
then tried to look for the train to Patros (another port)
but the next train was at 1715 and would have been too late for me to reach Patros
as it would take 4 hours and my ship leaves Patros to Ancona at 8pm
so i tried to look for a bus
and you how every lost traveller is
(even the lonely planet guide book did not help)
i went from place to place asking about the bus
if i did that alone that was ok
but i had 3 stupid bags with me
each that weighed far too much
under the hot sun
and in the port at Pireus
that reminded me of Bangkok or Jakarta
i went from place to place
then i found the corner AT LAST
then the guy said
some tomolo
only morning have
at 9am
dionk...

so i decided i might take a CAB
knowing full well that it would be super EXPENSIVE...
the guy was really nice
and he said
it cost 150 euros
ahahah
no way man
so he recommended that i go to the bus station
the main one
and that he would take me for 15 euros

of all cabs i took the mercedes one
and i tot this time die lar
sure get ripppppped offffffffffff
i tot he would just take me to a bus station that was just nearby
and take my money and laugh

but noooooooo
the bus station was truly farrrrrrrrrr away
then i tot he taking me to sell huh????

i tried making friendly conversations all the way
foound out that he tot that all police in Greece were STUPID
and then found out that his brother was also a police
ahhaah

but we did get to the central bus station
and i was soooo glad
it was money well spent
and i paid a tip on top of the 15
i made it 17
and he was happy too
ahahh

took the bus at 1700
cos that was the earliest
and that was suppose to reach partros at 1930
but there was a jam
and it reached there at 1940
sigh
sure die lar
how to get ticket and run to the ship by 2000 for my ship
and the ship leaves super punctual lar

but good thing that the bus passed by the SUPERFAST FERRIES office
and i met this SUPERNICE lady
and she said
hurry hurry give me your EURAIL PASS
i do for you.... i do for you
then she rushed everything for me
made payment and all
then ran with me out of the office
to point me to the ship
ahaah
hurry hurry she said
and be safe
good luck
BOY i needed that

with the bags that each weighed too much
i ran to the ferry
panting non stop
but i managed to get it lar
duh
(otherwise no story)

and even had a bed in the dormitory to sleep
so good

there were many french people around
students less than 16 years old
making so much noise at night
ahahah

then i reached the port in Italy at 1500 italian time
(1 hour earlier than greek time)
and i checked the internet on the ship
that costs about 5 euros for half an hour
- anyway the train from anocona to Milan Centrale was at 1515

ahahahah
15 minutes
i took on the super KIASU singaporean role
and rushed to the front of the queue
to get OFF the ship
and was happy to be amongst the first
GOT HOPE liao - i tot to myself

then i got down rushing through the stairs of the ship
and then finally got stopped by police
ahhaahha
duh

they checked my passport
took their own SWEET time
to my dismay
and then this lady
asked me

WO studieren Sie?
Was studieren Sie?
which of cse i answered in my fluent german

it was a test lar
to test that i was not some illegal immigrant
wah lau

so i tot
its 1507
sure cannnot make it

but the lady was nice and smiled when i got my german answers right

i left then rushed to the main road
saw a cab roll by
TOOK it
that was like a gamble
and the cab rushed me to the station
in an italian fashion of cse
going against traffic at some points
and i was at the station at 1514
i tipped him
and he was happy
that was 9 euros leh

i ran to the train
to the platform 4
to realise that it was at platform 1
what the hell
and ran back to where i started out
got the correct train
and was soooo happy

then got to milan
changed trains
but din have time to get a ticket
cos the people in milan got me ping ponging from one person to another
one even said there were no trains until the 22nd
WHAT??
that was when my flight is

turns out i did have a train and i boarded it
without the ticket
i knew full well i had to pay a FINE
but that was fine
i would rather get back earlier

i took the train
thinking i was going to zurich
then to change back to Luzern

but i met a swiss man with his taiwanese girlfriend
and he told me that it was better to change earlier
as it was cheaper and could get me to luzern earlier too

i did
and BOY i was GLAD
i did that
and Peter picked me up from the station
and that was good
he looked sooooooo tired
but i am sooooooooo glad to see him

ahah
so i am safe in luzern now
long story right????

alone in the dorm

2005-04-30T22:47:00.000+08:00

alone at the dorm now.
the past 2 days were basically sending people off
it was like a schedule of events
today it was jeannette at 9 - had to wake up at 8.40
then Tomas at 1 - he din even know how to call a cab or what time his bus was to Mountpollier
and then it was sakina and Hermione at 2
yesterday it was pierre and Mathieu

incredible
there is absolute silence in the dorm
no ringing of msn messengers from Pierre's room
laughter and obtuse singing from Tomas'
no sound of feet walking to the toilet
nor of sakina and jeannette laughing
no mathieu screaming his buttons off
or clement with his frenish

just me

had to get away from the dorm
good thing it was sunny
and i cycled to my favourite spot near the rhine
and put up my hammock
intending to read
but snoozing instead
and listening to the waves rush in and out
as the huge ships passed the narrow rhine passage
shimmering lights as the leaves on the trees rustle

then i headed back to cook chicken rice
mum had sent up a package with sauces and what not for chicken rice
i followed the instructions and soaked the chicken
was alone in the dorm
felt soooo funny
wished i managed to squeeze my way into the super packed car of Hermione
at least that would mean that i be distracted in Paris

but here and now
i'm glad to be here
to hear the silence
and to process my thoughts
my thoughts of my time here
the things that i have learnt
the things i have unlearnt
and the things that i need to learn

- to be still and patient
- to not worry about myself
- to be able to receive
- to be able to communicate with ang mohs
- to look beyond my horizons - to see so many opportunities in china
- to appreciate home and ASIA
- to realise the importance of economic analysis (numerical)
- to be less fixated
- to adapt more readily
- to be steady
- to take time

packing is almost done
just leaving the things i need for sunday
and for my last lesson on monday

i think about whether my travelling was worth the time
considering that i hardly stayed long enuff in a place
rather just to get some impressions and to hop along from place to place

was thinking about whether i have learnt enuff from WHU
if i spent my time wisely in terms of the cse work
did i pick up some skils?
it seems i learnt much from the seminar
made really really good life-long friends
people that i believe i can count on
i have had a change in perspectives
and i hope that i am more steady

nothing more i can ask for
i think i was lazy this semester
i din work very hard at all
i think i was a bum
and sometimes i think i wasted my time here
cos i only took 3 modules that were mappable
and along year that is super packed

but i think one semester of exchange is enuff
spending more time in Hamburg
would only lead to more comparisons
and dilution
of the things that i have already learnt

now to make good my time from hence forth

email from dad

2005-04-24T13:33:00.000+08:00

Email from Dad:Hi Andrew

Hope you are settle in for your studies for the Exams now .
We have received your post- cards . They are really nice .
You should have enough Vitamins A , B C & M .Make sure you take them regularly . Eat well & drink lots of water ..Do dydle with care .
See that you do not drink at week-ends . Some people i know picked up the habit of week-end social drinking too far .

We are fine and looking forward to seeing you .

Mum & Dad

my reply:

hi dad,

I get to hear your worrisome advice again.

Please don worry about the vitamins part though, being able to cook for myself means that i will be able to eat really good food. And i have, so i am healthy, please don worry.

About the drinking and making it a habit...
well

on hindsight, it was after being in the army - where there was excessive drinking- such that we drank every weekend on saturday, and truly drank far far too much that i am able to learn and to manage my drinking currently.

I think it takes learning from experience sometimes to be able to make mature and responsible decisions
and it was a good think that i am able to know about my limits earlier.
and that came only because i had experience getting drunk when i was in my army times

so i know how much i can drink, how to manage myself and other situations around me, the people - in the event they got drunk and all.

So please don worry about that part

I think this trip and semester abroad has taught me many many valuable lessons.
And i think it has been a fruitful time for me.
I made many of great friends from all over the world.
Friends that will be friens for life
that i am sure about.
at the same time i have learnt more things about myself
and how to manage different situations better.

I think it has also taught me to loosen up a little
and not be too overwhelmed with my own mistakes
to be more accepting of things
even when they went wrong

i think its tuff to always be in control of things

though i know that it is also important to work for things

The end state is about realising and learning from lessons, and to see how to adapt and take to the many other challenges that will be swung at you.

And to realise that nothing is constant
and to realise that it is important to be mindful of things around you.

So don worry about me getting boozed and all, that was a preoccupation that was in the past - during the army times.

Drinking is not a preoccupation at this moment.
and i think i am really beyond the age of developing drinking frenzies...

ahaha..

see you soon...

places and reflections

2005-04-24T13:21:00.000+08:00

Letter from a friend:

>glad to here that you are doing all right in Hungary.
>
>remember you told me each single place has its unique to offer.
>it is just the way we look at it :)
>and each of us balance up the world..
>some are good in one area, another might be another one..
>same as places...
>
>
>and when time goes by and you will feel like you will never be the same
>person again..
>coz experience we learn, mistakes we make, things we do, people we meet,
>will grow us...
>
>..in both good and bad way..
>..a better person or worst..
>
>hoping to get out of town tomorrow..
>maybe i will find some quite place to think things through..
>a place where I could have a peaceful mind
>a place where I could see things in different angle..
>
>also
>a place where I could get close with the nature
>a place where I could eat all day..
>a place where I could sleep 24 hours a day
>a place where I could do anything i want to
>
>...
>ya.. we learn new things everyday.. and that will grow us..
>

My reply:

heh...
i just cooked lunch for my friend and his family
and they liked it very much
i cooked chicken and beef and fish
heheheh
with the sauces that i brought from Singapore.

Tasted really quite good.
Sounds like you have been quite tired lately leh.

heh about the place that you have described...
its really interesting to know that
to know of this place
a place that you want to be in
where you can do the things like you would like to
you must have been in a place that you din have a chance to do the things you wanted to do
you must have been in a place that demanded many things
that you had to work and work
that you did not like too much

then only can be appreciate a place
a place that you want to be in
and appreciate the nature that is around us
cos we have experienced that things apart from nature are not that perfect

interesting how you need to taste bitter to know sweet
and how too much sweet is harmful
and how too much sweet is not sweet anymore
thats how we get bittersweet memories i think...

birthday rambles

2005-04-19T00:51:00.000+08:00

well again... its a birthday that has come and gone
and you get another number as your age
and you sit back and you kinddof have to reflect about the year that has passed
and its the rooster year - so you realise
and you are 24

24 sounds miles apart from 23
its like at 23 you are young, but at 24 its downhill from there...
its that kind of feeling

then again you are so far away from home
in Germany
though its good to have the telephone to say hi to your parents
and i need to remember to call my grandma tomolo cos she was bathing the last time when i called
i miss her

had like 2 huge dinners for my birthday
yesterday we had this mexican food dinner kinddof thing
and it tasted gooood
it was at koblenz
so we were in 4-5 car loads just to get there
and we ate and ate

then tonight we had chinese dinner
and i cooked too
and it was a great dinner again

amazing the gifts i got
via parcels and posts
and from friends here who have come from all over the world
it was amazing

in a way its like the best birthday party i ever had
i remember the kiddy parties at mcdonalds
i remember storming into the toilet cos i was jealous about something
i remember being a spoilt brat
i remember the mcdonalds parties of my other friends - ruth, and my cousin marc
where i got lost
and i remember one of the few times when mum and dad were together
not that it matters anymore

then there was my uncles birthday cake that i wanted to blow out
was super angry when i din get to
and crying again
so he had to relight it
so i could blow it again

i remember the great dinners my mum (the one i live with now) who makes for me
and the dinners my bee bee - or servant that took care of me made
and now there are dinners that i make for myself and for the people that i care very much for
and to know that there are people that care very much for you too

no one knows what the future holds
though as much as new year resolutions miss their ability to really change anything
the birthday cake that needs the blowing doesnt fascinate as much anymore

i think this 4 months have been great
and there are mixed feeling this birthday
of friends you know you are going to part with soon
and a way of life that you know you have to resume with soon
in a way there is a kind of panic
even when you know that each moment happens only once
a kind of panic cos you know that you wont by this path again

yet relieved cos some of this friendships will last a lifetime

there isnt much meaning to stay the additional semester
cos i think there was nothing that could measure up to what has gone by
nothing can be better than the moments that seem to float by

and turning back and reflecting and getting nostalgic is a luxury that you cant always afford
the feeling of it though is still good
cos it challenges you to make the best of the moments that are to come
and the friendships waiting to be made
and the once made, to blossom

i know if i get back to singapore
i wont be the same person i used to be
and i wont be seeing things the same way i used to before

not that all issues are solved etc
its just a kind of motion path of a projectile
or a fruit that pulmuages through the water
moving from the air to a delayed, slower motion in the denser medium
its that kind of feeling
that kind of a blur

that you are not sure about
and too overwhelmed within

and to be taken out of the water again
you are not sure what that will mean again

and to have to be at school again
and to rush through many courses again
wah...

frankly i feel i use little of my brain here
am undisciplined and free-wheeling
and for the moment, directionless in the medium

so cough cough
spit out the water soon
and back to ...

terok

2005-03-13T23:37:00.000+08:00

heh people
thanks for taking the time to read my blog
i have been able to get your sms and all
and i am really thankful that you are there and all
sorry i din reply
cos the german sms here is crazy..
a local sms cost 19 cents each
(SGD 0.45) per sms

wah, and if i send an overseas sms it gets worse still
think for some of you, you must be wondering how come this blog is so so full of text
i.e. no photos

ahaha

cos right, e-blogger does not support mac, so i cant upload photos using mac...
though here are some of my photos, for your viewing:

http://homepage.mac.com/moohoof/PhotoAlbum2.html

heh...

just got some updates from Jani and all - great friends that are really devoted in reef conservation and awareness in singapore..

and to see their photos of the reef life in Singapore - semakau landfill - where the bulk of our rubbish gets used to make singapore ever ever bigger...

its just so so amazing...
what we have
and what we need to protect...

check it out:

http://www.thebluetempeh.blogspot.com/

amazing.... definitely has more photos than my own blog
woowo...

there is an exam tomolo
its on corporate finance
and i know that i am dead duck
so i am not going to worry too much about it now lar
think there will be a re-exam
and i will focus my attention on that instead
not sure if i will still go for the exam tomolo morning

can you imagine?
its 4 chapters
and its open book
its a real real bargain to what we have to go through at NUS for corporate finance
- tho the thing is that the material is super super in-depth...
really really
and full of equations and all... so yah lor

i am all locked up in my room all the same
the reason is....

I AM AS RED AS A LOBSTER....

oki i think that brought the point across
well today being sunday
i got especially curious...
and i decided to try out the many sun studios that you find here in temperate regions

ahah

you might thing?
huh?
isn't that very vain to do? or metrosexualish?
wateva lar

you get old folks
- husband and wives
going to these oven- bed like things
all in a bid to look better?

ahah

you be the judge...

its a sunday and there is a special discount
that means that you get 2 times for the price of one
and the slots are in a min of 12 minutes

so as you can guess - with excellent math - i got 24 minutes of it
being a roookie
and super super blanch yellow (understatement)

i got into the bed lilke things
and closed the cover over my head
and i was dreaming away

i felt like i was in the sandy beaches of thailand again
where it was warm

you get to adjust the temperature in these things
like the amount and speed of air that comes and go
ahah, so it felt like i was by the sea with a constant sea breeze
it felt warm and nice
and i was convinced i would walk out looking less yellow already

well i did get out
and it felt oki

then... about 2 hours later
my entire body got super red lar?
like lobster....
actually like boiled/steamed/fried with chilli sauce lobster lar

the lobsters that are alive are NOT red

and it hurts all over

ahah
like sun burn

right in the middle germany , towards the end of winter...
ahahahha
ammmmmazing

oki
enuff

i think you want to find out the cost of the ordeal
well it was 9 euros
not bad for 24 minutes lar
(about 19 SGD).... oki.. stop shaking your head in disgust...

it';ll be my last time in them oven's lar
at least my last time without sun-tanning lotion....

anywae i am NOT hiao oki?
just curious....
and it did feel good
in the bed with neon lights - (its UV rays actually)
ahah

i imagined myself being my the beach again....

oki

feeling terok
red, and tomolo sure die one...

so how?

eating and studying again later...

2005-03-12T08:50:00.000+08:00

eating alone at the moment
walked out of the library to somewhere else where you can get internet connection.. its the Glasse Kasse
or glass cellar

ahah
i packed food - rice and pork with long beans (not that long over here it seems) and chilli
ahah
feels good to be able to eat your own cooking

its the corporate finance exam on monday
ahah
and i am trying to understand all the formulae and all
its to do with capital budgeting and options, and valuation

should have started earlier
but it seemed (as always i guess) that each day had it own things

there was the cake sales on thurs
and finding out that it was Gareth's birthday on Wed
ahahha

so duh eh eh

then there is this party at the dorm tonight
at least i heard there was one
ahah

don want to go
want to boycott all the french parties
at least the frenchmen that stay at the dorm lar

they are super super duh
childish and inconsiderate
ahha
we had many issues about the internet connection
and how they all take turns to hog the bandwidth the their excessive downloading of huge huge files

was super super pissed lar
the other night it was 12 midnight
and i just returned from a buddy dinner at Fhon's and Pohn's place
was tired
after all the clearing up and all..

wanting to get online and order an air ticket for Fhon
but the page just wouldnt upload
was super super pissed

figured it was a frenchman hogging it again
so i marched to the central control room
where you get all the cables from the rooms that go to the main system
and started to remove it one by one

i had to run up and down my room (on the 3rd floor)
just to check who was the culprit
cos there is a programme on my apple that tells me the bandwidth coming in....

first time no luck

naturally i tried the second frenchman
and bingo..

ahahhah

so i went to his room
and asked if his internet connection was ok

of cse i knew it was not
and

we got to the point that he was downloading big files
to which he said that it was ok
as it was already midnight
and "the french, at midnight, it is already late"
try imagining a french saying it with a horrenduous french azzent

oki
enuff laughing

....

so i told him
don give me that
at 12 people are still awake

then he said (again in frenchlish)...
"its not ethical to go and unplug and unplug to see who is the person who is downloading... blah blah blah..."
to which i said ...

ahah

"would you rather prefer that i knocked door to door to ask .... are you the one downloading big files?"

..... brrrrrhhh

its getting cold here...
think the heating is Kaputt

oki

i write till here
going to study again...

BTW - we did resolve the issue amicably...
at least that was good....

mundane spins...

2005-03-07T00:35:00.000+08:00

i'm waiting for my laundry to be done as i write this
well you pay 1.50 euros, and you get to wash and dry it
its really a good deal actually
and that is only the case if you choose the kurz programme -
that means that the wash takes about 1 hour, and the drying 1 hour, with 10 mins for airing
that means a total of 2 hours and 10 min
so much for being short

anyway
there is this transition that takes place
when the washing ends
and you have to go down to retrieve your washing to put it into the dryer
and you have to do it at the correct time
otherwise, the clock (the time that you have paid for) ticks away, and you cant use the dryer if the time is up

well
i count 1 hour and then go down
but i have a knack for coming before the wash cycle finishes
and i have the honour of seeing the spin cycle begin
that is when the washing machine creates sufficient central pedal force to spin off the excess water
altogether

well today the spin was at 1400 rotations per minute i think
usually i put it to 1000

and i sit down by the side of the washing machine
and these are the ones that have a small circular opening
so that you get to see how your washing whirls and twirls
its like some submarine thing
and i can fully understand how kids get mesmerised by it
cos i was...

i din get giddy
though i saw it through the spin cycle
and it was spinning at that speed
impressive...

and you get the eeee....eeeee. sound that comes out
its like how a jet shrills as it accelerates and gulps in the wind through its turbines
i felt i could have the washing machine and fly....

it just got faster and faster
and i was like
oki... enuff already
i was ready to get the submarine window smashing in my face

but i was mesmerised all the same
and i was wondering when is the time that technology fails?
when it malfunctions
or when the heat tempered glass would smash outwards

...
wondering wondering
spinning spinning...

just as abruptly as it reached its climax and sustained it for a full minute
the turbine came to a stop
and the deceleration was comforting
it was like the worst was over
and that my clothes were in order
and dry

well... dryer at least
for me to put into the dryer (the actual dryer to dry the moist)

so out it come
and in it went
and now i wait
for the next load to dry

washing...
cleansing
drying....
therapeutic....

moon beams

2005-02-28T00:19:00.000+08:00

Chap Goh Mei just came and went
and i almost forgot all about it if not for dad sending me an email, saying that he was trying to get hold of me.

Just watched Beach on Mathieu's computer.... finally i get to see the ending...
tragic in its own way
how in the pursuit of paradise, it came at such a large expense
how in that pursuit, there was paranoia, and obssession...

But i managed to catch a glimpse of Phi Phi don again
and the time when i managed to canoe past the island...
it was amazing...

the past few days, the moon was full
today i manged to see the starts as well
i think there will be a clear day again tomolo

i managed to do some walking today
thinking through stuff and it was nice just being under the sun

it din last really long though
a while later there was a gust of strong wind, and the snowing came in spirals and whips
wah

that din last long too, then there was a calm

and i went to school to revise for international exchange rates with Gareth and Henrik

heh

lots more that i have to read up on i thnk

its amazing the way the moon is
and i remembered what Jen Lee was telling me about the Moon..
about how the moon was like a mirror
and how it beamed her love to her parents
underneath the same moonlit sky

amazing

i felt it too

more so during chap goh meh
and again today when the moon was hanging really low
and it was yellow it was amazing

and i beamed my love...

travels

2005-02-23T11:43:00.000+08:00

It was good being able to travel to Stuttgart Freiburg and Esslingen last weekend
to met up with Jiahui again and limin...

ehhe

the weather was not fantastic
there was lots of snow
and there were moments when it was a mish mesh of rain and snow
ahhah

so it was cold

at stuttgart it was the mercedes and porche museum that we visited
then ...

off to Freiburg
it was tough trip, with lots of snow

we climbed up to the Sehenstürm....
hehe

cold so cold

then that night
actually it was about 11 pm
we had green curry and fish with soya sauce for dinner
hehe

it was so good and heartwarming
in a way its a group of asians that are all sitting together to have a good meal
ehhe

then the next morning was the visit to esslingen

i think i really know what i want to do
that is to stay in a farm for a week
i hope to be able to do that when i visit antonella in Italy
ehhe

options and thinking

2005-02-23T11:25:00.000+08:00

was super tired but i woke up at about 2 plus in the morning... couldnt get back to bed cos i was hungry and all.
it was noisy, and i was actually woken up but that was not the important part of it

think i sat up and tot and tot real hard of what i wanted to do
thinking about the lack of discipline as well
was thinking how i should be vegetarian, cos i was thinking about how the fright from killing the chickens and pigs and cows get into you - a karma sort of things
moreover i don agree with the way the farm animals are kept

i think there are many things in our urban living that will seem ridiculous and topsy turvy
the way we do things, the things we are obssessed about...

was thinking of the images that have been going through my mind
think these are the images and the positions that i would like to see happening in the future:

it went something like:

business suit
then no business suit but something oriental
a shop to sell something that deals with community trade
doing some NGO related work

going into international politics

going into banks
going into brand management and consultancy
jet setting the world

then settling with a resort
that is eco- friendly in design

ehhe

tho i think it takes plenty of being in focus and having the discipline to be able to reach there
then i need to reinspect my lifestyle
to find out what are the things that are important to me
and to find out the things that are frivolous

and well the word discipline and spirituality came into my mind

there is that void, a sense of emptiness when things are frivolous
when you go on each day gropping in the dark
then its so human to gravitate towards extremes

the important thing is to strike middle ground and a balance
i'm not too sure what the last year will be like at NUS
doing my thesis and all...

i'm worried about the SE forum as well
cos Xiaojia is going off to work in April

so as of now there are no fixed plans

though here are some options:
(1) go back to singapore and do internship and do SEforum
(2) stay and do Practicum in Germany
(3) Go to Hamburg for the additional semester....

ahaah

need to pray about it....

kao ku kap pi (gap pee)

2005-02-15T05:24:00.000+08:00

last night i had a super super great dinner

i had prawn paste
so i cooked kao ku kapi....

hehe

with the prawn paste and all
Fhon has bought some chilli from Koblenz
she tried to get the medium size ones, so that it was not too spicy
tho they were super super spicy lar
i was sweating all over after eating it

though it really tasted so good
so proud of myself
we ate it with cucumber, some meat, ikan bilis, fried egg, and chilli and lime

ehhe

tasted so good
nickolas cooked this curry (instant mix) with pineapple and banana

wah,,,,,
odd combination

though it was still aloy mak mak....

ahah

each time i try to speak thai, fhon breaks out laughing, and pohn says that it is singaporean thai
ahhaha

at least i try right?

though even when i speak with yang jun and linda (from PRC) hehe
they too laugh at my mediocre chinese
ahah
how now brown cow??

ahhh

my room smells of the tea leaves that i bought from Bruges....
they smell so good
will want to send them back via post
though its going to be expensive....

ehhe

headaches....

2005-02-14T22:29:00.000+08:00

ahah
headache was pretty bad for a long long time sigh...

it was about 3 days
and it was only today that it started to feel more normal
sigh

yesterday i met Gerald online, and we had a moment to pray
that was good

missed classes today (the early morning one for international finance)
quite jalat lar... should not have missed that one
eheh

cos, the lecturer is really good and all, there is alot that i can learn
anyway we got back marks for the second problem set
eheh
it was 11.5
upon 15

wahh

at last
heheh

of cse there were german students that got like 14 and all lar
tho i think we kinddof figured out their trade secret, the fact that they had the answer key from the previous semeter... at least tbis time we had some help

we also got problem set 3 today

sigh

another slogging session yet again.....

valentines day

2005-02-14T22:20:00.000+08:00

heeh,...

rainy and snowy outside
i was walking into the dorm, wet and cold, and one hand clutching the tulips that i was tempted to buy when i was getting some groceries...

my other arm was hugging a box of cereals - the ones packed with cinnamon.... ehe

well i walked in and saw the postcard.. feels so good to have a postcard... esp when it has travelled all the way from singapore..... ehhe bogbog

especially the text on the postcard
usually i would want to read it when i have taken a shower and when i am in a proper state of mind
though i think at the moment, i could not resist,,, and i just walloped the entire message that was on the postcard

immediately i felt warm

ehhe

tulips are in my room
and they look so so great
llike buds that are attmepting to hide behind their green leaves

i took many photos of them, and i sent them to dad and mum via email as well (the photos only lar)

ehhe

Freiheit wie ein Tier

2005-02-14T22:11:00.000+08:00

Man sperrt sie an, und augenblicklich ist sie weg...

amazing the german language (of any language for that matter)

its grammar structure is complicated, yet it can be so poetic at the same time.

The first sentence is translated, "man locks her up and in a blink of an eye is she gone..."

she = freedom... (cos it is a feminine word)

Staying at the dormitory has its pros and cons, there are times when you really want to be by yourself, and there are times when you need and want the company of people around you. Kitchen is really a gathering place, and food a great means to share... there are times though that you just want to stay away and do your own thing.

Was talking to the my Thai friends the other day, and we realise, and i shared this with tomas, the difference between asians and westerners (going to be another major big generalisation here) there are things that i feel they take for granted, and that the asians are really more considerate, and we (asians) go about all that second guessing and thinking for the other person, very ke qi one...

while the westerners take things often at face value - low context society, they just say as they feel and are not able to empathise (as least i feel) ...

Though i think there is no reason to make a big fuss of it at all... i mean i think its really just a different context and all. so yah. its really more abour adaptation and all....

anyway the reason why i had the german sentence right at the top, was really because i;m suppose to do my german homework. and we went through this german song last tuesday,,, about freedom and what it meant to the singer... that Freedom (Freiheit) ist wie ein Tier (animal)...

back to trying to do work liao...

weekend in Brussels...

2005-02-09T12:30:00.000+08:00

I wanted to meet limin in Brussels when i went over there over the weekend
- was hopeful for some free accomodation and all...

though it was the sway of sway lar....

i called her, and she was super chong hei, in that 5 minutes of less that we spoken, my 15 euros worth of german prepaid card was spent... and i had no no more credit at all...

she told me she was lost and couldnt find the hostel that i was staying in...
sigh

SO...

i spent the time touring brussels with my friends
and it was nice
tho we ate at the expensive restaurants, like dinner was 12.5 and lunch was 14 euros... think that was rather silly of me to do..

then we went to ostende and bruges the next day (saturday) and back to brussels on saturday night..

sunday we headed back home

the trip was a little complicated

firstly, i had my bike with me, cos i wanted to cycle the city and all, tho i went up on the ICE, and they din allow the bike, they did give me a one-time chance lar, so my bike did get to brussels...

then when i travelled to bruge, i had to spend more money to transport the bike on the train- this is totally unheard of in Germany - where your bike can travel for free with you lar...

anyway, on the way back to koblenz in germany, the train master got the better of me and found reason to kick me out of the train....

so i left my group and i went ahead to purchase another ticket
the person at the booth was super helpful and he told me to take the local and regional trains, and that it would take longer, but at least my bike would come safely with me..

i wanted to call you but i think you would have been in Mastricht ors something... my local train took me to Liges (luik).... and then to aachen and cologne..

was suppose to be in cologne on monday for the karnival (the festival that i was telling you about) , so i reached there, and i called my friend who was there... on the spot... i din have money for my handphone still, so i had to use the public phone...

it was an on the spot thing
so it was really truly thank goodness that she took me in, and called me even (my incoming calls are free) to arrange to meet me....

ahah

so thankful for that

anyway the rest of the exchange students came over on monday
and we celebrated the karnival together
i was super super tired lar
but yah

still found some energy to prepare for the CNY dinner that was last night... and with the chinese and thai exchange students, we had a small dinner with close knitted friends, and all was oki....

how was your CNY?

happy happy happy day...

2005-01-27T22:17:00.000+08:00

(1) Happy

eheh.... last night there was this party, something that was last minute lar... and Mathew organised/invited i think...
well we had antonella over and she made pasta for us....
with tomato sauce - 2 different types of it
i think she really is quite a meticulous person and she puts detail in the taste, and the way the pasta is boiled - like it was to be put into boiling hot water... and only when there is bubbles.... nothing short of that

ahah

then i made chicken soup with cabbage - cos Jeannette llikes cabbage.... heh

and some of the lettuce with mince meat that was the same as what lei (the china chap) cooked the other time,..... heh

it was good

the party was really quite boring lar
became more of a frenchie french thingy
and my room was so near the kitchen that it was noisy

the thing is, i think my body clock is retarded.. like i cant sleep until after 3am....
so yah...

I ended up packing my room the whole time...

(2) Happy...

hehe

cos
hehe
so so glad that i managed to change my room finally....

heheh

and yah... its room 309... will show you pictures of it ...

(3) Happy....

hehe

i received a parcel...

ehehehehhehe

so so so so happy

its not opened yet

feel like a small boy
don want to open it just yet...

bogbog

3.75

2005-01-27T10:05:00.000+08:00

got back the results for my first problem set today
we had to find data for the exchange rates for australia and US
and get figures over a period of about 20 years

had to use Datastream and all
spend one whole weekend doing it

the teaching assistant explained how it should be done - during class
then she gave out the papers

sigh...

we got 3.75

out of 18

watthe hell,....

while the rest of the german students were getting things like 16.5 and 17.5
what's more there were those that asked for more marks

idiots some of them are....

while the TA was explaining the solutions, they were mocking her for her mistakes: i think she did a reverse of local and foreign currencies or something....

these people think they are so smart la

anywae

it's ridiculous that we formed a group with all tauschies... all exchange students

waat the hell

feel really dumb ehhe

i think it was the methodology that we really screwed up in
and there is really alot that we can learn from
but quite stressful lar

good think i haven't submitted my confirmed list of modules to be mapped over
i think i need to rethink that ...

3.75...

sigh

i mean... if we din bother or something it would have been fine
but we did bother
and we spent the whole week doing it...

and weekend was burnt too

must be cos we tupid lar

...

hahah

oki
will see how that goes in future

anywae i was with arnim and daniel
(2 german students that had been to asia: one was at SMU, and the other in india)
Daniel found SMU easy

and we were going through the work that we had to do for the Seminar: international finance - China's pension

and they were really quite bright lar

felt a little duh eh eh...

ahah

how now brown cow??

circular games

2005-01-25T22:56:00.000+08:00

to get the team in a circle, facing outwards
for them to be close to each other in a circle
and with eyes closed
then ask

if they feel like "it is going no where"
like things are not prompt .... etc.... like they don noe what is happening etc etc..
if so... to take a step forward

the step they take forward is dependent on the level of how they feel unconfident .... unsure etc

they take a step back when they feel that this team can "make it"
take a step back when they feel that they are headed in the right direction...

after asking a series of questions etc etc
(some positive, some negative ones....)

then they open their eyes

to realise that the circle has been distorted

moral:

you began as a team: in a circle,
let along the way
you lose your goal
and your direction
you go in different directions
or you waver in your commitment

that is way you cant be the same circle you were in when you were/are a team

therefore: reality check.... heh

wahhaah snow...

2005-01-19T10:08:00.000+08:00

it snowed last night...

ahhaha

was watching animatrix with Sakina and Pierre (from France)
and it then i saw the white flakes on the outside
got super excited lar

they said i was behaving like a little boy...
i told them, "i'm from singapore.. what do you expect?"

i swung open the window and reached out my hand to catch a few of the flakes

it was about 11 plus already...

wah... super super happy...

the snow lasted only for a few minutes...

ahahah

tho it was quite heavy while it lasted

it wasn't like rain.... it was lighter and colder...

I remember the one other time when i saw snow.. as it was snowing down...

when i was 7-8 in Sapporo, Japan...

ahahaha

My Korean Friend asked, "is there snow in Singapore?"

ahahahh

I told him..... ya.... during Christmas.... fake snow.....

Merry Christmas...

anyway this morning.....

had to wake up super dooper early for a class at 8am...

ehhehe, there wasn't much snow on the floor....wasn't like the white white filled ground.

tho it was cold.

brrrrhhhhh...

class today delt with the difference in prices between the developed and developing countries

a little shocked at the answers that the students came up with.... silly ones at that...

(1) oh... cos in asia they eat rice (then why should rice be cheaper?) - winner this one...
(2) different levels of productivity (that one quite spot on)

well the lecturerer used the example of country A and B;
how to remember? hehe... A = advanced, B = Behind...

dionk

and then there was country E = emergent
which are able to catch up in productivity,
and thus they have to charge higher prices... alongside the increment in productivity.

for now, I am at a marketing lecture on services and retail marketing
in short, i am accompaning Jeannette lar...

basically, he speaks far too fast, too high-pitched, too heavy accented, and techno unsavvy.... ahahhaa

caricatures, we all have...

groggy feeling

2005-01-18T14:45:00.000+08:00

feeling really blur this morning.
got a bit of a headache as well.
think it was to do with the cold and the runny nose - its going into a marathon already lar.

Tried to do my internet banking - tho it doesnt work for now.
Yesterday was the first real lesson - on international finance and exchange rates
quite economics this class, so i tot it would be no problem
actually i think it can be quite demanding one.

the lecturer is really good tho, goes through each point step by step and makes it very clear to everyone.
so this makes it easy to understand.

I may be going for another class later - though i think i will be going for interest sake.
there are many things that i am interested in - so i think i will just sit in the class.
i think the siting in a class is a very good thing to have - there is, in a way, no obligation for you to do the exam.

But looking at the whole of the semester, this will be another heavy one... for sure lar.

its like i keep doing that .. lapping on too much like that..

just yesterday - I agreed to join this team of 3, to do a seminar on international finance and exchange rates - their topic was china, and the exchange rate regime - yes the usual same old thing...

tho the topic that we hope to get, is still rather fresh - about pension funds and how the one-child policy will affect the chinese economy in time to come.

They are suppose to write a paper on it, and to do the necessary research on it as well.

ahha.... quite a risk for them to take me on- afterall i am an exchange student - which makes the grades less important for me, i told them too that i cant transfer the grades that i take from this course as well...
ahhah

tho they are a motivated 2 lar.... both german too....

my other group is a super tauschie group... to think that this only happens at Bschool in singapore.... where all the exchange students are shunned for project work...

einbahnstrasse

2005-01-17T12:45:00.000+08:00

eating rice with sausage (sliced up) with cheese and some tomato...

schmackt gut...

taste as good as (and to me- even better than) some of the overpriced rice dishes - oven baked- that you find at NYDC

had a day (yesterday) of super dooper runny nose and all...
sigh...

good thing that mum forced me to bring along this packet of chrysanthynum,
after boiling it and drinking it... it made me feel alot alot better
i shared some of the "flower drink" with the group i hang-out with..
and they liked it a lot too... one - from Mexico - said that it's a beautiful drink - truly a passionate man this one is...

i have class in a while's time.. so i am trying to rush this blog and eat my lunch...

classes later will start at 1345, and if i go all the way, it will end after 1800...
and all of it is about international finance and exchange rates...

there usually isnt very much to do on a sunday here...
most shops are closed and all...

din do as much travelling as i tot i would have..
most of the time is spent with the exchange students
quite amazing lar

the group i'm with most of the time, well, they are made are most of
french, and americans - from Peru, Argentina... super interesting bunch they are ...

Saturday: (it seems i'm updating you in reverse order here...)
we had a rally
went about vallendar and koblenz...
doing plenty of silly things: like singing, taking off clothes etc etc...
quite funny - cos its not the cheery sort of things that we do in singapore...
- as in there was little group cheering....

did a "who wants to play a millionaire" spoof
that was for our final play...

and questions flew like:

which is the most popular street in Germany...

answer: einbahnstrasse (well you see this over and over again: people think - usually the foreigners - think that its a street name, but it just means one way street... bleh)

What do the french come to germany to speak?

.... duh... french...

Which school has the most desperate people:

duh.... (again) .... WHU - unbalanced sex ratio lar... too many guys around, too few girls - therefore most of them try to hit on the female exchange students...)

heh

dorm window.... apple by the side

2005-01-13T13:00:00.000+08:00

i'm sitting in my dorm now...

nothing to complain about it...

orh.... just that this pair (and it is only this one pair) of socks is stinking up my entire room
(not that room is that big anyway)

smelly smelly

may need to get potporri or something lar

with my windows open - it's not too cold for now..

the view outside looks fantastic....
i mean its trees - with leaves shed swaying all over the shop, and a small hill that is behind that with even more trees.

sometimes you get the sun rays shining across too...

yesterday the sunset was so so beautiful
silly me din have my cam with me
(must be the phobia from having left my cam behind the other time at the italian restaurant)

so i just used my handphone camera and took a shot of that... quite nice too lar....

heh

i see alot of sony erikson users around here leh... and handphones are so so expensive... wonder how they manage

anyway i opened a SPARKASSE account ; its a bank in Germany, and its great
its like a debit account and the transactions are free...
i paid 20 euros for the setting up for the account
and i get to use it like a debit card.... they call it the EC card here ... for European something ....

and the germans were really helpful at that too... so it made things easier
better to off load the cash too that i had on me...
din want to carry around too much
i managed to offload the Deutschmarks (about 310 DM of them) that Uncle Richard handed me too,,,,

yeah.....

just had lunch too....
cooked pasta with capsicum (red pepper) and sausage...

tasted quite good
must eat more for sure.....

heh

not many avenues for sport here...
not feeling that good about it...

was thinking of doing rowing..
but everyone seems to warn against the cold river waters.... heh...

how?

presentation of the aliens (auslaender) - foreigners...

2005-01-13T12:27:00.000+08:00

heh...

last night we had this presentation of Tauschies (exchange students) to the rest of the school... not the entire school, but some of them that turned up...
and really there were like super alot that turned up la.. super alot... macham the whole LT filled up like that...

there are a total of 3 singaporean in our group of 54 Tauschies, of these, 19 are from France... heh...

And the 3 of us singaporeans: me, jeannette and this chap - Gareth, who loves soccer, and is eurasian, and currently doing his MBA at a university in Australia... reallly quite a happy-go lucky chap who is happy there are other singaporeans around... well.... he brough curry powder

While i wanted to make pork - the one in plum sauce and all, we tot it more economical to combine time and resources $$$ to cook lar.. so we went to where he lived that was at the Gasthaus Shauman... quite a quiant and nice place on the other side of this river near vallendar...

cooked and cooked, and had to bring the booming put of curry back again to where the school is... on the other side of river... AGAIN... heh

it tasted really really good...

i tot it would have been far too spicy for the caucasians.... heh... tho quite amazing lar... they finished the entire pot

we had to go up on stage and say some silly things... about our names, where we are , and what we are presenting to the community heh...

so it went something like....

we are....Andrew, Gareth and Jeannette ... (clap clap)
- not that tuff to impress the audience it seems

We present before you... food from asia... blah blah blah....
believe it or not, the rice-cooker comes from singapore (laughter)
there are 4 different races in singapore - should have joked about the expat community here, not i forgot lar...
and 2 are presented before you: the chinese and eurasian...

(pot is small and audience is huge)
rice is an important staple for us... and for the rest of asia...
- I'm sure there is enough to go around... just a spoonful for everyone?

hah
oki lame lar

presented
(from the french)
was wine and more wine and even more again....
champaigne
from poland: volka (that was like super super smooth lar)
maple shaped cookies from Cananda... original...

trash food from americans: pringles they brought.. (what the heck)

and more....

the queue was amazing lar... super super long... (for the food that is)

tho they were content and patient on waiting for the food - or the lack of it..
(luckily the school prepared some potatoes, beer - that was lousy, and meat - pork) and good bread,,,,

i was with my french friend: Gulliame - (gae-ohm) and he was super super nice and passionate about telling me of all the french wine... the art of pouring the wine into the cup... etc etc.....

all very artistic it is...

heh

Jeannette got rather tipsy tho....

day of finding...

2005-01-11T16:47:00.000+08:00

had my first german class today
quite good lar
got to see the other studenten sprechen Deutsch.
especially from the french, US regions....
good to hear how the rest spoke - or tried to speak- german... heh
did a bit of revision and all
and did the usual stuff that we would have done here in singapore:
like introduce a place in germany or talk a little about politic etc etc

there was this french student that was next to me....
well we alll ( i did) have the stereotype that the french are super nose up = stuck up
well the french chap - Guillume, (gae-ohm) is really nice lar
super super patient and everything
tho he has the air in the nasal thing that all french speakers have lar

there was like a small quiz about the impt historical dates of germany
the breaking down of the Berlin wall (that one i knew)
tho the rest like how many bundeslaender hat Deutschland (how many regions are there in germany) i forgot....
its 16 BTW

anyway.. i have decided to stay in the dorm
cos i have internet connection
and the exchange students are getting better and better... and we are closer
at least we walk each other home now...
heh

so not the scary dracula in the castle with wind howling kind of place liao....

the morning is beautiful
plenty of birds chirping away
chirp chirp chirp

oki you get the picture liao

this morning however
i was super panicky lar

cos i lost my cam
couldnt find it ANYWHERe
so i retraced my steps
prayed
and

after waiting for about 2 hours.... (almost killed me)
the restaurant i ate in last night... well it opened
and i asked the italian waiter that served us last night

and before i could mumble anything in german...
welll he said ya.. ya....
dein Foto Apparat ya?

i was sooooo relieved
the cam is like a baby to me lar.... heh

it was at the restaurant
and it was found
ehhe

just had lunch
with the rest of the exchange students
we cooked
and cooked
tho my noodles -the sauce
it din taste so good
sigh
ehhe

tonight there is a meeting at 7pm

first day at school - WHU

2005-01-10T06:21:00.000+08:00

hah...
its the first day at school and it really did turn out quite well.
was able to meet the other tauschies.....

from poland - they think that they are the centre of europe... not just east europe...
from Korea, 2 from Thailand - Chulalongkorn University - Sasin.... ha....
from Chinam this chap called shi Lei who is Chinese tho he is studying in Belgium at the moment...
lots and lots from France, and that is interesting, to think that the french would be so interested in WHU.
from USA - as usual we have one that talks and talks and talks non stop.... ha
and one from Argentina - thomas - who is really really quite nice and hit off really well with me and Jeannette

that's what they call them here at WHU... exchange students.
and each time a batch of tauschies come in well it makes up about a quarter of all the students - being a small school and all a quarter of the other students head off to different countries for their semesters or for internships.

its really quite an amazing place with an amazing culture .... of excellence and global perspectives....
hah.... not really like the rest of the other universities i think... its private and all, and positions itself as being highly exclusive and all.

the usual tours were conducted and we got to see around the place...
nice and cosy place this place is
and high class too lar,,, lots of mention of the many sponsors - all big companies that come in to WHU to contribute

There is a placement centre, and they arrange placements with all the big time companies lar...
heh...

was thinking that maybe i will take up an intership from this place... that could be a possibility.
tho that will mean that i might have to miss the semester in Hamburg
as well as the Forum... how like that?

will just KIV all that...

tonight there is suppose to be dinner at an Italian restaurant later...
not sure what will be like

had a wonderful lunch today...

all the earnings from the place as well as lunch was to go to the Tsunamis victims in South Asia
that was the way that they had presented it
and lunch was about 3 euros each.. and it was in a buffet kind of style.

well there was this one bloke who came over and said something like... haha
today's lunch is for the victims in south asia....

don think he really knew what he was talking about
the other person i spoke to was asking....
"the reason why there are so many deaths is that people were curious and looking at the water..."

ha... well different people will always have a different perspective of things all around, and they simplify things as they would like to remember it.....

and well retentions distorts...

and it simplifies everything ....

to say that it is this or that it is that...

well wat to do?

I just brought my Farrad to the shop today, and he (Peter) took it in....
wonderful chap that man is... and he repaired for me... told me that i could pick it up anytime i wanted...
i explained to him about the night i left the bike outside and how it .... ... it.... it... sigh.....

will see how that (the bike) will turn out to be....

had a german oral test as well... and they put us in level 3. din really expect it to be so easy....
but ya.... will really want to improve my german ...

bike and such

2005-01-10T01:29:00.000+08:00

2nd day (effectively after - ing travel time)
sunday = all shops close
not super interesting lar
still got quite a few people on the road looking into the shops
gives new meaning to the term "window shopping"

abt the bike?

well interestingly i have to send it back to the store tomolo cos someone tried
to steal the bike last night...

they broke the lights and the lamp, as well as damaged the seat... even took
away the speedometer... (really wonder why lar)

unlike Heidelberg (where I was the last time), there are far less people having
bicycles, perhaps that is the reason for people to have their eyes on my
bike...

well at least i think I have to be thankful that the bike is still around....
shouldn't be a problem after a quick fix...

things are not cheap here, tho i think i should be able to manage
i may have to open an account here....
cos mastercard and visa is not very recognised nor readily
available... as oppose to what they call the EC card....

will keep you updated about that...

the only good thing about my room (as i found out only today) was that i have connection to the net.... yeah... and its so easy - don even have to register or what.... ha

school starts tomolo.. and i am looking forward to that.....

2005-01-08T18:12:00.000+08:00

was not able to get to the internet until now... heh
Its really not that cold here at all...
only about 13- 14 degree celsius
its not as windy as the time when we were at Mae Sot, the town that we are in is really really small, and there is no place apart from the school where you can get internet connection - no internet stations.
the german time is about 7 hours behind, so its about 1730 at the moment. there really isnt that much to do here, though at least we have time to sleep and all.

Was really really glad to have a bunch of close close friends that sent me off... heh.. tho i think it was really drama mama lah...
Once we got through the customs at changi airport it was like the AMAZING RACE....
majorly.... we left the people saying good bye at about 1400 and the flight was at 1425, we reached the row that we were told to go to F52 at about 1415... din really had the time to call anyone at all sigh (not even grandma)...

once we reached there, we were like super shocked that the plane was not there.... apparantly there was a change in the berth and we were suppose to get to E12...
E12 was super super far away lar.... we began runnning.. macham hamster like that....
ran pass the same place that we said our goodbyes (customs area) to another corner... running and running....

sweating and sweating....

then we realise that were finally at the E row....
to find out that berth 12 was at the super retarded end of it all lar.....
got to run and run... and we ran on the travellator and all...

ran and ran....
people were looking....
we were sweating...
manged to get through by 1420....
just 5 minutes...

then we got into the flight....
and the flight steward closed the door behind us
(actually there was a queue of the super late-comers - think there were on a transit flight from australia - tho i suspect it may have just been a cover-up on the part of the steward.... .for the late-comers)

the plane was super super full lar...
squeezed in
squezzed the retardedly big hand luggage into the overhead compartment.

SIA girls and stewards were really really good
truly
still remember people saying that the way to recognise an SIA girl:
blue eye-shadow
red nail-polish
bad ingrish

who say? ... they were all very profession oki?!

our flight route went over phuket and the bay of bangal...
over iran and middle east

amazing how peaceful everything looks from above...

saw plenitude of mountains and river meanders going on and on...
and sunset on the plane...

the night that we reached germany - Frankfrut Flughafen was another crazy battle... we had to hop on a train, we practically ran to catch it, and then change to another train, with all the luggage. Its terrible cos at the end of the day we missed the other train by 5 minutes. then we were stuck - it was about 1130pm by then.

Good thing that we had a friend that was in germany - like a german buddy and he was able to get us into a small car to get to the town where we are suppose to stay in.
Because the car was so small we had to leave much of the luggage (we really really had so so much ...sigh) at the train-station - there were lockers and all.

so the next day we had to collect the luggage again.the people here are really nice - i think cos its a small town and WHU is the only university there... (and its a really small - and exclusive university as well) - so most people know each other.

I have gotten my bike already - its a really really light one and its a second hand bike, so i managed to get it for a really good price - 70 euros, or about SGD 150. its about half the price of the earlier bike that i got the last time i was doing my immersion in Germany for a month.

Will get my account activated for my APPLE really really soon - think that will be next week, and when that happens i will be able to use the webcam and all...

Jeannette and I are staying at different places; she is in a really really nice room that is like 3 minutes away from school... and the land-lady is super nice. the best part is that she has a kitchennette and a toilet all attached.

My place is super super far from school, and it takes about 20 mins to walk, less than 10 min by the bike tho. It used to be a really old nunnery that has been changed. so it looks really scary at night, with all the trees and all, the corridor is always always dark and the toilet is a good 10m away from my room. (so you have to walk in the dark and cold everytime you want to use the toilet) I think i want to change that place. sigh.... the room is also really really small, and the feeling is like a small prison cell. tho the good thing is that you get to have a Lan-cable to use the internet.

2004-08-21T00:11:00.001+08:00

... crab... dismantled

2004-08-21T00:11:00.000+08:00

house upon a house...

2004-08-21T00:09:00.000+08:00

"I like crabs. They show you that to grow you have to be soft and vulnerable and you have to get out of your shell... " Jen Lee

2004-08-21T00:08:00.001+08:00

Jen Lee addressing a carpet anemone...with wide open fingers...

2004-08-21T00:08:00.000+08:00

Blue... passionate... and inspirational

2004-08-21T00:07:00.000+08:00

Fungi... like little umbrellas against the rain...

2004-08-21T00:05:00.000+08:00

Carpet Anemone... flowers of Chek Jawa