workload

just realized the magnitude of the workload that is staring at me straight in my face...

1. Report for "Microstructure & Interfaces" due 6 Feb 07 - the information for the report was posted up only a few days back, and the lecturer refused to push back the submission date...

2. Critical Analysis due 13 Feb 07 - Haven started reading the paper...

3. Group report for "Mechanical Properties" due 13 Feb 07 - Hope that everyone in the group is contributing...

4. Report for visit to polymer-processing lab (university of minho) due 2 Mar 07 - wahahaha... the visit is "non-existent"... tmr is the visit....

5. Report for nano CdSe crystals due - err.... dont know when... and no one is bothered with this, cos everyone expects that someone else will do it... the meeting last wed was attended by the 2 PHD students, amsalu, chaminda and me... and there are like 15 students in the class!! okok, shall give them the benefit of the doubt that they were occupied, hopefully this problem will be resolved asap...

what sells the newspapers?

as i was browsing through the straits times online earlier, i couldn't help but noticed the number of not-so-positive-news articles easily outnumbered the good news... here is a summary...

1. Asia tops disaster deaths in 2006, Europe rate up
"GENEVA - Asia was the world's most dangerous region for natural disasters in 2006, accounting for three-quarters of more than 21,000 deaths, a UN-backed report said.

The report, compiled by the Belgian-based research centre CRED and the UN's disaster reduction agency ISDR, covered disasters such as floods, tidal waves, landslides, storms and earthquakes.

In Europe, it said, deaths caused by extreme weather rose 5 per cent to 15 per cent of the global total. "

2. Millions to go hungry, waterless: Climate report
"CANBERRA - Rising temperatures will leave millions more people hungry by 2080 and cause critical water shortages in China and Australia, as well as parts of Europe and the United States, according to a new global climate report.

By the end of the century, climate change will bring water scarcity to between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people as temperatures rise by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius, a leaked draft of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Ipcc) report said. "

3. Climate change could kill Great Barrier Reef
"SYDNEY - Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef, treasured as the world's largest living organism, could be killed within decades by global warming, scientists warn in a report leaked on Tuesday.

The World Heritage site, stretching over more than 345,000 sq km off Australia's east coast, will become 'functionally extinct', the scientists are quoted as saying in The Age newspaper. "

4. Russia finds H5N1 bird flu strain in southern yards
"MOSCOW - Russia has recorded its first cases this year of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in dead domestic birds, the country's animal and plant health agency said.

Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement on Monday the virus was detected in dead birds found in three domestic yards in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.

'Yes, it's H5N1,' a spokesman for the agency said, when asked to confirm the strain of the virus. "

5. Paris Hilton wants nude photos website shut
"LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles demanding the closure of a website where visitors can pay to view nude photos and other items that formerly belonged to her.

Hilton's suit alleged that the website - parisexposed.com - which displays photos, home videos, diary entries and audiotapes of her conversations, as well as images of her passport - is 'one of the most reprehensible invasions of privacy of a celebrity'.

The site includes topless pictures of 25-year-old Hilton on holiday and also shows her frolicking in a bath-tub."

WHAT?! no more secret home videos of paris hilton?! =P

SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIMES ONLINE (31ST JAN 2007)

beware: "i may be overweight, but i'm twice the man you'll ever be"

i really like this advert (or whatever you call it)

saw this on www.class95.com.sg

birthday in Portugal

hmmm... let me see... "presents" received...

- an allergy to something i ate on friday... cos after dinner, small red spots started appearing on both my thighs... and they hurt and itch... after post-mortem, we decided that it must have been the fish we had for dinner....

- swollen toes.... sigh.... had this pain in one of my toes since friday... ever since, it hurts more... and i think it is slightly swollen now, although leandro said that i am being paranoid.... hmmm... if the swelling become worse, i will post the pic up (disgusting.... NOT)... also it makes me wonder, could it be a case of gout? hmmm, my dad suffers from it, but am i not too young to even suffer from it? and is gout even inheritary?

That’s all, nothing else... =(

spending one's birthday overseas must be one of the most lonely time that one could have... well, maybe it's just me... **usually my birthday involved lots of treats...**

list of people who remember...
huiniang, peipei, huixin, alex (singapore), guangwei, yongchao, wanting, wanling, my bro, xueli, lilian, hongsheng, alex (Erasmus mundus) some-insurance-agent-whom-i-met-years-ago-whom-i-don’t-even-remember-his-looks-nor-his-name...

list of people whom-i-expect-them-to-at-least-send-a-msg....(kidding of course)
beeyan, liting, kit ah kit... wahahah... my drinking/makan/slacking-in-ntu kakis... disappointing...

wahhaha... heyys, me not that immature... afterall, its been 26 long years since my existance... (and i am still studying??!?)..

it's time to grow up a little, mentally... =)

erasmus party

last night at the Erasmus party followed up by a trip to club 8...

4 hours of second-hand smoke, 3 hours of blasting music, who-knows-how-many shooters of vodka, tequilas and absinto... man, i am killing myself here....

but in exchange for these vices, the opportunity to meet up with the many erasmus students? priceless....

let me see... we have the asians (just 2 i supposed- chami and me), lots of south americans, lots & lots of europeans!!!

"Chami" & Rene...

Alex... drunk already?

Rene & me...

the trio who danced on the table... alcohol makes one do silly thing, well, but its fun! think the guy should be an italian, but the girls....

these girls... 2 are mexicans who arrived in aveiro just 2 days back... wilkommen!!

us again... the girl = mexican, guy = norweign

representatives by Czech Rep. (lady) and Italy (guy)

turks i think....

and the rest? hmmm... dont remember much...

nothing much to blog...

think the next few hours of the night will be spent tossing in my bed, thinking about the german exams tmr, as well as minesweeper game... that's what i always have in my mind whenever i (a)have an exam paper the following day (b)took too long a nap in the afternoon (c)simply not in the mood to sleep....

well, have to start planning for my activities over the weekend.... have to....

1. finish reading the paper for the critical analysis
2. start on that nano-particle CdSe assignment
3. start on that group assignment (argh...)
4. to start jogging again... the jeans are starting to feel stretched at the waist...
5. to join the guys for the "erasmus party" on friday night... well, according to them, the new batch of erasmus students are here for the new semester, so we have to get out there to get to know more friends... well, its just an excuse to get drunk...

aaahhhh... interesting (but hopefully its not considered as nudity) pic that i took 2 months back... poster for the then-erasmus-party... i wanna paint a singapore flag on someone's arse... maybe i will try one of my classmates when they are drunk tmr...uneventful last few days for me... think the only interesting event concerns the weather... cold weather is the order of the week, and there is no reprieve until who-knows-when... and apparently there are lots of snow everywhere... in stuttgart and other parts of germany... hmmm... wonder how sebastian is doing now... errrr... or has he gone to india for his attachment yet?

and back in singapore, heard that BEK got his dream job (that will probably mean working at BLOOMBERG as an analyst)... either that, or he has multiple dream jobs... and JUNXIANG is flying off to US for 2 weeks for training... lucky guy... **hope he gets trapped in a snowstorm!!** evil laugh... wahahahahhaha.... all the best for the new job, as well as the training in US!!!

bitching...

interpersonal relationships...is it possible to build up a solid relationship within a short period of time...?

ok, the next few paragraphs may give one an idea of what a bitch i can be... but heyys, everyone has their fair share of complaints, it's just whether they decide to voice it out or not...

in my short time in europe, i have forged friendships with people from various cultures and countries... be it a local from portugal, or people from asia, south america, europe, and even people from the africa continent... well, maybe it's just the vast difference in attitudes and cultures that require more time to actually understand them, and in turn lead to a better working/studying relationship...

saw several examples of ugly behaviors among some of my classmates today...

1. like a slow-moving car hogging the express lane, the person was simply dominating the time the teacher had to offer... **rest of article censored**

2. next, another one person is like dominating over his fellow colleagues...

**the rest? censored to avoid any conflicts**

to this person, there are only 5 things that i want to say...

1. $%^&&**(&*(()(
2. %^%^&&(*&)()()^%#$%
3. get off my back!!!!!!
4. **&*(*^&^&^&((*
5.^&*()(*&&*()(*&(^&*()

and trust me, if the person were to ask me to do his whatever-he-suggested-i-do-today the next time we meet, i will show him my entire dictionary of vulgarities.... nah, just kidding… =P

okok, the more i go on with my complaints, the more i am beginning to behave just like them... i am trying to be nice to everyone, but somehow, a minority of the people out there are just not cooperating with me....

and like what old-wise leandro advises:" it's ok to feel angry, but nevertheless, it's important to focus on the objective..." which in this case, my assignment...

wahahahahah... i feel so much better already...

P.S:IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU ARE NOT THE PERSON(S) I AM TALKING ABOUT....

P.P.S: email me if you want the details...

2007 - year of the Golden Pig

whoa!! there are just so many interesting news on the newspapers nowadays.... apparently south korea is expecting a baby boom in 2007!! errr.... i like korean girls too... they are cute, you know? =) and i could have been a half-korean, cos my dad had a korean (from the south of course) girlfriend when he was younger... hmmm... if thats the case, i would have smaller eyes!! wahahaha....

"SEOUL - South Koreans are pinning their hopes for prosperity on the upcoming Year of the Pig - but it's bad news for condom manufacturers.

Stores are reporting a marked decline in condom sales as couples plan to have babies in an especially auspicious year, the JoongAng Daily reported on Tuesday.

GS Retail reported sales fell by 15 per cent at its convenience stores in the first 18 days of 2007 compared to the same 2006 period, the paper said.

Shinsegae's E-Mart reported a similar trend while discount store Homeplus has seen a 30 per cent decline in condom sales in the first 21 days compared to the previous year.

A Homeplus buyer was quoted as saying the drop was believed to be due to couples 'who want to make 'golden pig' babies'. The pig is cherished by Koreans as a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and the origin of good fortune.

Some fortune tellers have also labelled 2007 as the year of the Golden Pig, which is said to come around only once every 600 years. The year starts on Feb 18 in South Korea."

taken from an article from straits times (23rd jan 2007)

Over 30% of Russians have mental problems

ernnnnn, this does not apply to russians who are out of their country now right? cos i do have a russian classmate...!!! just kidding... =P

"MOSCOW - Stressed out by everyday menaces such as terrorist threats or financial risks, up to 40 per cent of Russians suffer mental problems, the Serbsky Psychiatry Center said.
'Compared to the 1990s, the number of mental problems has gone up three times and now concerns between 30 and 40 per cent of Russians,' the center's deputy director Zurab Kekelidze said.

Russians suffer most of all from claustrophobia or agoraphobia, both linked to fears of hostage takings or terrorist acts, the official said, adding that the two were followed closely by manic depression, which is frequent in times of social transformation.

'In the past decade, we have been more and more dealing with phobias provoked by terrorist threats,' he said, adding that the daily number of those calling the center's hotline goes up from the regular 18 to 300 in case of an actual attack.

Mr Kekelidze also noted that 'the suicide rate is still very high, even though it tends to stabilise now in Russia'.

With the suicide rate of 34.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, Russia ranks second in the world after Lithuania and has some 60,000 people killing themselves each year.

Also, Russians, who had survived two financial crises in the 1990s, 'have no more confidence in the national banking system and feel themselves exposed to financial risks,' another cause for stress, the official explained."

Taken from an article published in the straits times (23rd jan 07)

late addition... =)

okok, have a friend who said that he was "upset" with me, cos i didn't include his name when i mentioned about the party at fabio's place.... so, this is for you...

RENE was there too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

some naughty stuff.... no offence intended...

being stretched to the limit...

looking at the title of this blog, many would have thought that i am being stretched to my limits in terms of school work... well, while that is partly true, there is something that irks me more... i have always seen myself as someone who have lots of patience... for something (or someone) to continuously push my patience to the limit, man! that must be something (or someone) really irritating... aarrrggghhhhhh!!!!

weather today is great, or you can even say funnie... every 30min of sunshine is followed by 20min of gloomy outlook... and 10min of heavy rain... so today is...

sunshine-->gloomy-->rain-->sunshine-->gloomy-->rain-->....

and i saw 2 rainbows today!! well, one (especially a singaporean) may ask:"never see rainbow before meh?" but to see one hovering above the other one is something really special....

as for the colder-than-usual weather, looks like it is going to carry on for the rest of this week at least... hmmmm... the minimum temp on wed says -1 oC... whoa whoa, think i will be able to see snow in aveiro?? considering that it snowed (15cm!!) in the middle of summer in melbourne in australia on 25th dec 2006, snow in little aveiro may not seem so far-fetched afterall....

preparation for the cold weather

okok, expecting the cold weather to limit my twice-a-week trips to the supermarket, hence i have to prepare myself...

water... checked (30litres of them- i can even bathe in mineral H2O)
food.... checked (lots of junk food + pasta + meat + vegetables+ 2 litres of milk)

hmmm... i can afford to get stranded in the house for a few days... =)

bruise...

played football last week and flung myself to the ground in an attempt to stop the ball... think i am simply clumsy...

in case you are wondering what the pic is all about, it's a bruise on my knee cap... and pardon my unsightly hair... other bruise is located in a-too-rude-to-be-shown-part of my body... =p

night out at the "fish market"

warmed up for the night out at fabio's place.... with beer, a burger, a can of coke, and 3 cups of whisky mixed with some brazilian soft drinks (which i forgot about the name) + a bunch of my fun-loving classmates (fabio, alexis, abu "yaya", chaminda, abraham, me, julio, marcos and this new roomie of theirs...a really sweet looking brazilian girl...) + lots of loud music (and dancing too... not for me but for the rest of them...its funnie seeing how everyone was restricting their dance steps, cos apparently the downstairs neighbour had complained 3 times to the police about the noise...) + dart-throwing practice... now, i know, i cannot throw the dart to save my live... the wall has a few more holes, courtesy of meeee.......

one euro per shot is apparently not a very good idea... wahahaha... firstly, almost all the erasmus students (europeans on exchange in portugal) were there... and after 3 successive shots of (1)tequilla and (2)gold strike a mixture of absinto and another liquor... things became a little shaky... wahahaha....did things that i would never have done otherwise...

(a) took a bite off the burger of a total stranger... well, he encouraged me to... err... kinda... after alex took a bite off his burger, he looked at me and said something in portugese, and shoved the burger into my face... i can't refuse, can i??

(b) err... what else did i do?? wahahahah....

nevertheless, it was a great experience... and unexpectedly, some of them didnt turn up for classes at 11am this morning (the following day)... =P

Dozens killed as storms lash Europe

latest news from the StraitsTimes Online...

"Countries across Europe counted the cost on Friday of a devastating storm that killed at least 40 people and left widespread damage and disruption to travel and power supplies. Winds of up to 216 kilometres an hour swept off the Atlantic and cut a swathe across Britain, northern France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, the Czech Republic and into Russia. "

"More than one million people were without power in the Czech Republic. Some 100,000 homes in northern France, 20,000 households in Austria and more than 30,000 households across northeast England lost electricity - nearly all because falling trees downed power lines."

"In Britain, where winds gusted up to 160kmh in the worst storms in 17 years, 12 people died. Eleven people died and 200 were hurt in Germany as the country was battered by a storm of the sort only seen every 10 or 20 years. Six deaths were reported in Poland, another six died in the Netherlands and four died in the Czech Republic. "

omigod... this is bad... i mean even though i am not affected by this storm directly, this serves as a stark warning to everyone of the ever-worsening climate change that we are experiencing now...

then again, storms = rain and strong winds = ever moving... err... i mean, storms do move around right??

and i just heard from the news on tv that we will be getting heavy downpours + low temperature this coming monday and tuesday... did another check on the weather forecast in aveiro and this is what i saw... as a precaution, i have decided... to buy lots of food, water and whatever junk food that i can lay my hands on over this coming weekend... in case the weather worsens... heyys, i can afford to skip class and stay at home, but i cannot possibly go without food and water right?

first-time drinker...

well, it was (is) an interesting day for me...

while chatting with fabio and alexis...

alexis:" you know what, we actually missed you when you went back to singapore... especially fabio, he was so quiet for the first few days..."

fabio (emotionless):" yeah, i was actually crying..."

-_-"

but anyway, me going out with the guys for the first time to the "Fish Market" aka Plaza de Peixe (then again, that place has a real fish market during the day, but that area is lined with drinking holes... think Clarke Quay in singapore) tonight...

Chaminda (another classmate):" we are going there (with a sri lankan accent), but not 10pm, or 11pm, but at 1am in the morning..."

Me:........ -_-"

so, the place and time is set... will be going to fabio's place for a warm-up session... (to drink first) then followed by the "fish market" later in the night.... whoa... this is going to be so exciting...

so, what's the occasion you may ask...? hmm... well.... ermm....take it as to "mark" the start of of mugging period since the assignments' due dates and the exams are coming up.... to mark the start of the "less sleep, less partying and more studying" phase...

leandro (when he learnt that me finally going there to drink):" if i don't see you tomorrow morning, i won't call your handphone... instead i will call the local hospital..."

-_-" again...

by the way, there is indeed a hospital within 5min walk from my place...

interesting fact from "Desperate Housewives"

heard this from an online radio program... that the "Desperate Housewives" series producer have to spend an additional 100K per episode... well... they have to digitally enhanced the images of the actresses, cos they are not wearing any brassieres, so they have to digitally "remove" the nipples that are showing...

oh man, just save the money and leave the nipples alone!!

life sucks!

soon to step into the 26th year of my short existence on planet earth, i realised that there are many things in one's life that one has absolutely no control over... and i really hated that feeling...

- the inability to control weather... even though winter in portugal is not as cold and bitter as compared to the rest of europe, the fact that i am totally dependent on the water heater irks me... so, it's either use-me-"the-all-mighty-water-heater" or guess what? simply die...

- the fact that my masters course's mobility plans are decided for me... yes, i do understand that the management is trying their best to accommodate everyone's wishes, but to "forget" about me, whether intentionally or not, is simply unacceptable... sigh... i foresee a terrible day for me tomorrow....

"Coping with the nightly grind..."

this article is taken from the Straits Times (Mind Your Body Section)

"People who grind their teeth in their sleep may be stress-filled masochists, but there are other causes....

The medical term is bruxism. It can occur during the day or at night. Sleep bruxism is the one that can go unnoticed. You know if you are clenching your teeth during the day, but how can you know what you are doing during your sleep?

Experts say that 8 to 27 per cent of people grind their teeth - with that number evenly spread between the sexes - though as bruxers are unaware of the habit, this figure could be as high as 80 per cent.

It is most frequent from teenhood to the 40s, says Dr Ernest Rex Tan, director, Smile Inc Dental Surgeons. It tends to decrease with age.

Bruxism is listed in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders where it is the third most common form of sleep disorder, after sleep talking and snoring.

So how can non-food chewing damage your teeth? Prof Yap explains that when you chew your food, you deliver a force of about 175 pounds per square inch (psi) to your teeth. But when there is no food to absorb the impact, the force of grinding your teeth can be seven or eight times more powerful.

Forceful grinding can lead to cracked and chipped enamel, hairline fractures, wearing the teeth down to the gumline, loss of natural teeth as well as the restorations that replace them, and jaw disorders.

Signs of bruxism include teeth grinding that is loud enough to wake your partner; teeth that are worn down, flattened or chipped; jaw pain or tightness in the jaw muscles; dull morning headaches; chewed tissue on the inside of your cheek; or earache.

Limiting your intake of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine are other preventive measures.
Finally, to tackle the stress issue, the doctors suggest professional counselling, exercise, meditation and relaxation techniques."

So, the conclusion is:"If you have any of these signs, go see a dentist. Relax. There is nothing to be scared of."

I did... even though my condition is pretty minor, but heyys, prevention is better than cure... though that mouthguard (which can be custom-made to limit the damage of bruxism. It doesn't prevent grinding but at least it is a piece of plastic that is being ground!) cost me almost 350 dollars (equivalent to 175 euros!!)....

**grasped** i have been "biting" at 175 euros for the last 1 month??! well, to look good, you have to pay a price.... =P

what have i got myself into for the weekend...

guess i played too much for the weekend...

on saturday, went for a session of frisbee / football... but i probably spent all my time at the field flicking my frisbee than kicking the ball... let me count, i spent at least 5 hours throwing the frisbee disk in the last 4 days... most of the time on the grass strip in the school campus... students there must be thinking:"what the hell are these foreigners doing?!" but well, most of my classmates were there, so that helped divert attention... so looking on the bright side, their comments could have been:" what is this f**king (pardon the language) chinese doing?!" instead...

besides playing, i went to porto with leandro on saturday evening.... mission: chinese grocery (instant noodles for me; mushrooms for leandro)... by the time we finally found the shop, it was like after a hour of walking aimlessly, constantly being fed with confusing directions from everyone... but man, it was worth the walk in the cold night!

bought close to 20euros of instant noodles! well, almost all the moolah (money) was spent on noodles... and i bought 1kg of "xiao bai cai" =) apparently most of the vegetables we buy in singapore are not available in europe... i mean, i think the europeans have never seen such vegetables before... so 1kg of vegetables is equivalent to turning vegetarian for the coming next 3 days or so... vegetables is not like meat, at least with meat i can afford to dump it inside the freezer and make sure it will NOT see the daylight for the next couple of months...

and also, i had the opportunity to see porto in its glory (at night) again... 3 months back i posted the below picture... that was taken from the top of a hill and this time round, i was at the river vicinity, trying to find a nice little restaurant for dinner (at close to 10pm... that shows how long we spent looking for the chinese store)... pity i didn't bring my camera along... porto at night is vastly different from that of the day; strangers approach you speaking in portugese, i am so glad to be with leandro... heyys, it's always nice to be together with a local... went for a morning run at the beach this morning (sunday)... nice nice nice... can't describe the feeling of staring out at the ocean with the horizon ahead... in singapore, you don't get to see the horizon when one stands at the shore, instead you will get all the little little islands sticking their butts out... so it's pretty nice to feel the cold winds, run away from the approaching waves and the thought:" if i ever drop into the ocean here, they can never find my body!" is just thrilling!!

besides that, played some football with leandro's friends... nice people there... most tried to communicate using english... hahaha... played the role of the goalkeeper for 3 games... first game, opposition had 2 shots at goal and they scored 2!!! hahahah... zero saves there... 2nd game, save a couple of shots and my team won... 3rd game was the most fun, cos leandro was in the opposition team... but my team lost eventually... hahaha.. well, it's not the winning that matters, but more of the fun and exercises... ouch... my butt is hurting now... flunged myself to the ground to stop a shot.... but as usually, didn't manage to save it.... think i should better stick to throwing my frisbee...wahahah...

will definitely post pics of the place when i remember to bring my camera... leandro once commented:" hey, you look like a tourist when you start shooting everything you see..." BUT, don't i already look like a tourist to portugese?? =P

so i did finally managed to get down to my books after all... at 5pm on sunday evening.... and armed with the packets of instant noodles at home, i just can't help myself... but with that first bite into my hot steaming instant noodles, it seems like it wasn't as nice as i imagine it to be... you know, after months of instant-noodle-deficiency, i expected the feeling to be indescribable, or simply heavenly... hmmm... maybe it's just the brand of the noodles i ate... sigh... what a disappointment... leandro's lunch tasted much nicer than the noodles... and definitely healthier...ahh... thats my "xiao bai cai" soaking up water in my cereal bowl....

heyys!!!! this weather is just too good to be "wasted" on studying!!!!

i will study later... =P

ich bin faul!!!!

weather comparison

3weeks ago, i left singapore with my little island having her wettest december in decades....

3weeks later, it is still pouring over in my little island....

so glad that i am back in aveiro... glorious weather!

reality bites....

reality sets in...... always thought that the attitude towards studies in europe will be more relaxed as compared to singapore... hmmm... after close to 4 months in portugal, apparently it isn't so...

update...

what can i say...? been really busy with the school stuff for the 3 days or so... it's a good thing that i didn't plan to go back to singapore to celebrate chinese new year next month cos there are just so many things coming up... exams are coming, assignments are due, blah blah blah...

and oh, that dreadful german exams is coming too!!

but nevertheless, weekend is coming!! let me see, what should i do over the weekend?

-play football with the guys on sat afternoon? (if they decide that they do want to do some kicking afterall....)

-to go to the beach and do some jogging??

-to go to the cinema and catch a show or something....

-just do something...!!

-come up with a new recipe =)

oops, just finish the final piece of my bak gua!! was supposed to celebrate the chinese new year by myself... together with my beloved bak gua... hahahaha.... looks like my chinese new year come earlier for me... =p

twinkle twinkle little stars

omigod, never expected to see so many twinkling stars at night!!!

me always been a star lover... and the most memorable time was when i was in brisbane with Mark (shucks! it sounds so freaking gay!!!!!).... the whole sky was practically full of them... even though the stars that i saw last night were not as much as then in brisbane (the city is full of lights, so it's difficult to see every single star up in the sky), it was nice enough....

falling apart...

must be the effects of ageing....

my neck and lower back are giving me problems....

which category do you belong to?

read this somewhere... interesting...

when looking for a partner, do one usually (a) go for the one who is the best in terms of eligibility, such as physical attributes or wealth (b) or will one go for the one who treats you the best or (c) holding onto one while constantly on a lookout for someone deemed better...?

of course, the politically correct answer will be (b) but i believe that there are couples out there who are together because of the other 2 reasons…

now, look around at the people and friends you know and see which category do they belong to? also, look into your own relationship... you may just find out more about yourself... =P

beware of the heating element

my underwear was burnt!!!

well, not completely but just slightly charred at one corner...

conclusion: never forget about the time when you are BBQ-ing your wet clothes over whatever the heating element may be... house heater, table lamp... whatever...

travel plans

travel plans for the next one month...

- to visit Braga in February before the examinations.... (in case you people are wondering where Braga is, for those who watched Euro2004 in Portugal, remember that there is a stadium and the background shows a cliff? that's Braga stadium)

- to get tickets for the Porto-Chelsea Champions League match in February... and visit Porto again...

Think that's all cos next month is the Chinese New Year month!! errrr.... sorrie, got carried away there... next month is the examinations month... =(

improvising...

i always thought that humidity is definitely much lower in europe than in old sunny singapore... well, in some aspects, i am right... while backpacking in europe in the summer of 2006, any wet clothes that were hung out in the previous night would be dry by the next morning, something that i attributed to the low humidity of the air...

however, there are 2 sides of a coin, while that earlier statement is true for summer, winter in europe is the exact opposite... high humidity + low temp = nightmare when it comes to washing clothes....

at last count, it took me close to 50 hours (!!) to dry my t-shirts... now that i washed my sweater, i reckon that it will take at least 4days to dry it... but hey, we can always improvise... ever tried BBQ-ing your clothes over the house heater??

after a hour, my room smells of the softener which i used earlier... and my boxer-short is dry!! ok, here come the socks...!!

here's what i see from my window every morning....

midnight movie...

going for my first ever midnight movie in aveiro... and the thoughts of having to pass through that shady little neighbourhood is nerve-racking.... so people, if i don't update my blog for the next few days, pls go through all major newspapers and online news for information about an unidentified chinese male body....

P.S: i am not saying that aveiro isn't safe... it's the exact opposite.... it's safe and cool!

german-teacher-no-more... well, at least for the next 5 days...

rather than to be subjected to "humiliations" from my german teacher, well.... i skipped today's class... less than half the class will be there anyway cos most of them are not back from their holidays yet...

not mentally and emotionally ready for german classes anyway, so better do some studying over the weekend and attend the language classes next week onwards... besides, by next week, most of my classmates will be back and there is less of a chance of her picking on me again... =)

"if you can't avoid her in class, skip the class..."

first day of class....

so class finally started for me this morning.... from the look of the class, think there are lots for me to catch up on.... the only consolation for me is that the experiments for the projects were postponed to a later date... think too many of us started missing classes towards the Xmas period... and the lecturer had to postpone it to mid-jan when everyone comes back from their respective holidays... including me... =p

hmmm... been feeling really lonely since i got back to aveiro... must have been the after-effects of my 3 weeks in singapore, coupled with the fact that the sky gets dark by 5pm in the afternoon,... so nights are really long, and seeing the mall full of people with their loved ones and friends kinda made me envious... hahahhah.... looks like i am not as strong as i thought i will be....

and i finally got my mobility plan!! apparently i will have to stay in aveiro (portugal) till the end of the 2nd sem (which will be in july 2007) before i get to spend the whole of my 2nd year of studies in denmark... cool!! i said apparently, it's because i will still have the chance to present my case in front of the committee panel to fight for the chance to move over to germany for 6 months before spending my 2nd year in denmark....

errrr...ermmmm... staying in aveiro will be good for me since the weather, food and my landlord are good... but i am here in europe to study, so i really feel that, academically, the modules offered by TUHH (germany) in the coming semester are more useful for me....

oh, my portugese classmate kissed me on my cheeks this morning... a form of greetings, but she had never done this before... maybe i am starting to look like a portugese myself...

argh!! how stupid can i get?!?!

misread my timetable... thought that school will start on the 2nd of jan, but... woke up all perked up for the start of classes, only to find myself all alone in the class today... hahahaha.... how dumb can i get?