Yee mun! Thanks for being the first person to leave a comment! Haha...yes, as you have noticed, my blog is rather dull without pictures. I stopped because I was too lazy to upload, wait and align the photos. I would upload photos here once I have the time and mood k. For the time being I would continue with my monlogue.
The last four days was a blank in my exchange days, in terms of activities. I had spent all of the last four days working intensively on my IO intensive paper. I did not leave the home until last night, when I went to UCC to buy my greyhound tickets! Orla was quite amazed that I could stay in all day, while I am amazed at her being able to walk to the gym in the snow, come back and then go back to the school library to study for her take-home. I felt quite bad that I was occupying the whole of the kitchen table for those days, scattering it with loose paper and books.
So well, end of IO! It was really a crash course. I have never done anything like that before, doing the research in 3 days and writing the paper in 4 days. I think maybe I am too slow a worker, that's why I took all the time until 3pm today to finish the paper. All the other girls taking other subjects finished theirs before I did! Anway, rushed to school, rushed the print-out and rushed to pass up. I was just 10min from the deadline and Prof Carmody together with Tigger at the counter was "ah...another [last minute] one". Haha.
Anw after that met Orla and Carlet at UCC. I realised only during lunch today that Carlet did not have to speak a single English word in Netherlands! She was told to write "English is not my first language" on the front page of her paper, haha!
I went to masonville in the evning, in search of sports wear and luggage. I managed to get a 25 inch luggage at Zellers for CAD$70 (it was a 60% off!). Fortuitously, I ran into other sales going on too and the items were exactly what I needed- boots and sports shoes! The boots were 50% off, so effectively I paid a CAD$30 for it and sports shoes was about $20. These were not the things that made my day though. I was really impressed by the counter staff at Zellers. It was not the first time that I had received kindness and helpfulness from a Zellers staff. On my second day here, it was one of them who directed and helped me to finally locate the adaptor at Access.
This counter stafff (I shall call her A) was so friendly and I would say 'professional' in all sense of the word. I had bought 2 pairs of pants which were tagged wrongly I think, therefore in order for me enjoy the lower price she had to void the items and go through another round of checking and processes. She did it cheerfully and even thanked me for being patient! I should be the one thanking her for helping me save $10! After that I went back again to pay for a pair of gloves and while chatting she said that she was actually very tired. I was even more impressed- tired but still being about to be prompt, cheerful and helpful -this kind of workers are a rare gem in Singapore. I wish A and the staff -who- helped -me-on-my-second -day well. Zellers is a good plac! It became my favourite place in London tonight.
I am now very very tired as I only had 4 hours of sleep last night! But can't gp sleep yet, must go collect my laundry first.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Bday Surprise and First Present from Orla!
Tomorrow (following Ontario time) is my birthday and I've already gotten a surprise birthday celebration and a present! 22nd birthday and 1st time spending it away from home. I do not usually care alot about my birthdays but this will be a special one for me. Well, it could have have been better though, if the IO paper is not getting in the way...Haha.
Orla told me the girls would come for "some tea" at 7pm tonight. Well being naive as I am, I believed it totally since it is so normal to have guests in our room to have some tea. They were actually incubating a birthday surprise, which I happily embraced as I opened a door to a bunch of familiar faces and a big choc fudge cake. It was heart warming to have friends remember your birthday. I'm not a big fan of birthday celebrations but having experienced a few times the pleasant feeling of being remembered and coupled with the knowledge that people have made efforts to make you happy, I think birthday celebrations are not farcical after all (but still, subject to the context). So a big slice of choc fudge cake made my dinner :)
Then I got my first birthday gift from Orla! A maroon UWO T-shirt and a card! So sweet of her. 我被摸了。I think we've been getting closer and I'm confident that we click now. I'm sooo glad to have her as a roomie.
I video called home this morning and jiu jiu family and zhou yian family and Daphne were at our house. They had had dinner-guo tie and mi fen!! My stomach growls now at the thought of these foods. Although I had lots of dumplings last night, I still crave for the lovely home made guo tie :( Maybe I should start making some dumplings myself as Zhou Yian suggested, or easier, buy them from Far East.
Tonight has been good. Now I'm very tired and is at 3/25 pages. Boo. I shall wake up energised tomorrow morning and speed race through it! Target-Thurs!
Orla told me the girls would come for "some tea" at 7pm tonight. Well being naive as I am, I believed it totally since it is so normal to have guests in our room to have some tea. They were actually incubating a birthday surprise, which I happily embraced as I opened a door to a bunch of familiar faces and a big choc fudge cake. It was heart warming to have friends remember your birthday. I'm not a big fan of birthday celebrations but having experienced a few times the pleasant feeling of being remembered and coupled with the knowledge that people have made efforts to make you happy, I think birthday celebrations are not farcical after all (but still, subject to the context). So a big slice of choc fudge cake made my dinner :)
Then I got my first birthday gift from Orla! A maroon UWO T-shirt and a card! So sweet of her. 我被摸了。I think we've been getting closer and I'm confident that we click now. I'm sooo glad to have her as a roomie.
I video called home this morning and jiu jiu family and zhou yian family and Daphne were at our house. They had had dinner-guo tie and mi fen!! My stomach growls now at the thought of these foods. Although I had lots of dumplings last night, I still crave for the lovely home made guo tie :( Maybe I should start making some dumplings myself as Zhou Yian suggested, or easier, buy them from Far East.
Tonight has been good. Now I'm very tired and is at 3/25 pages. Boo. I shall wake up energised tomorrow morning and speed race through it! Target-Thurs!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
CNY Eve Hotpot
I found out that at least three of my friends have been keeping up with my blog. It's a funny feeling, both pleased and a little queasy as it's the first time I'm publishing online. But more importantly feeling happy out of sharing.
I went with a hotpot CNY eve dinner with Elian, Stefy, Kanica (I need to find out how to spell 'Kanica''s name!), Mike, Kanica's friend Andrea and her room mate. All of us are Chinese except for Kanica. I can't believe that Kanica only stays 2 doors away and this is the first time I talked to her proper. We had a great chat on the bus and her bubbly and cheerful personality is very likeable! Andrea and her room mate are Canadian-HK chinese. Andrea is pretty, looks quite typical HK-chinese and is very nice; glad to have met her.
It was a good dinner because there was hot soup! We had what would be called a "yuan yang guo" with half a pot of 'mala' broth. Kanica surrendered when we could go on for another 45 min and she was labelled the 'weakest link'...haha. It's good that she enjoyed the dinner so much when she didn't even know what hotpot is about before she went into the restaurant!
First CNY eve dinner away from home. There is not even a tiny festive sign here, except for an obscure poster with some CNY chinese food menu at the Hall lobby. This will be one of the more memorable CNY dinner yet, for good or bad reasons. I realise that the environment that one is in determines one's feelings about an occasion. Every year's new year back in Singapore feels like a real start of a fresh year- I would make some effort to make some resolutions (which I don't usually follow up), clean up my table and clear my things, and talk about new year plans with sisters. There is a real count-down and a feeling of having crossed on to the other side to a new year. But it's just another day here.
Anw, got to start working on my paper first thing tomorrow morning, by hook or crook!
I went with a hotpot CNY eve dinner with Elian, Stefy, Kanica (I need to find out how to spell 'Kanica''s name!), Mike, Kanica's friend Andrea and her room mate. All of us are Chinese except for Kanica. I can't believe that Kanica only stays 2 doors away and this is the first time I talked to her proper. We had a great chat on the bus and her bubbly and cheerful personality is very likeable! Andrea and her room mate are Canadian-HK chinese. Andrea is pretty, looks quite typical HK-chinese and is very nice; glad to have met her.
It was a good dinner because there was hot soup! We had what would be called a "yuan yang guo" with half a pot of 'mala' broth. Kanica surrendered when we could go on for another 45 min and she was labelled the 'weakest link'...haha. It's good that she enjoyed the dinner so much when she didn't even know what hotpot is about before she went into the restaurant!
First CNY eve dinner away from home. There is not even a tiny festive sign here, except for an obscure poster with some CNY chinese food menu at the Hall lobby. This will be one of the more memorable CNY dinner yet, for good or bad reasons. I realise that the environment that one is in determines one's feelings about an occasion. Every year's new year back in Singapore feels like a real start of a fresh year- I would make some effort to make some resolutions (which I don't usually follow up), clean up my table and clear my things, and talk about new year plans with sisters. There is a real count-down and a feeling of having crossed on to the other side to a new year. But it's just another day here.
Anw, got to start working on my paper first thing tomorrow morning, by hook or crook!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
London Knights and 2nd Cooking
I've just had a home-cooked dinner with Orla. It was a very nice dinner- rice, vegetables and fish. I think I exceeded my own expectations. I was quite dis-oriented at first because it was the first time I cooked rice in a pot. And also because I wasn't exactly sure how to operate the oven (!! but now I know). Luckily, the rice turned out fine and the fish (which took a longer time to bake in the oven than expected) was nice (arh yes, they are frozen marinated ones). It's so much better to cook for and eat with someone else, that is if I have the time!
Now I understand why Ah gui always shouts and rushes us to go and eat whenever she finishes cooking a dish. It is because she wants all of us to taste the dish when it is at its best-piping hot and tasting fresh. I only understood that when I started cooking for myself here. After frying the vegetables, I was worried that it would not taste good if I leaving it on the table for too long while waiting for the fish to cook. I was worried that Orla would not find it tasty enough...blah...Being the chef is really not easy. It's actually quite stressful to cook for someone else and especially for Ah Gui I think, who has to tolerate our nonsensical criticisms sometimes!
Last night's London Knights v Niagra Icedogs was a cool game. We had a reception before that, ie. free food and feeling happy after eating. The John Labatt Indoor Stadium is quite spectacular. The ice skating rink is huge, the lighting was elaborate and the seats were three levels high. We sat on the third level and had a rather good view of the game. We were really excited when the game started. We actually cheered very hard when the London Knights scored the first goal-I felt like I belonged to London at that moment! I guess competitive sports has that magic touch of bringing out the 'nationalism' or 'sense of belonging' for audience supporting either side. However, it seemed that supporting audience of the Niagara Icedogs was woefully lacking. There was such a contrast in the amplitude of cheers.
However, after the first break, we got sorta bored and I ended up chatting with Elian and joking around with Ruth, both of whom were great company!! Ruth laughed out heartily whenever a player gets squashed against the wall or when there's a fight between incensed played...haha...and together we were 'hey hey look there's a fight!' Haha....and I learnt alot about the education system of HK after the chat with Elian :) It was so nice to have good company after one gets bored in watching a game.
In the end London Knight lost 4-6. Well, kind of embarrassing when London is the host city and especially when the audience cheered so hard for them. Whatever lah.
Tomorrow is CNY eve!
Now I understand why Ah gui always shouts and rushes us to go and eat whenever she finishes cooking a dish. It is because she wants all of us to taste the dish when it is at its best-piping hot and tasting fresh. I only understood that when I started cooking for myself here. After frying the vegetables, I was worried that it would not taste good if I leaving it on the table for too long while waiting for the fish to cook. I was worried that Orla would not find it tasty enough...blah...Being the chef is really not easy. It's actually quite stressful to cook for someone else and especially for Ah Gui I think, who has to tolerate our nonsensical criticisms sometimes!
Last night's London Knights v Niagra Icedogs was a cool game. We had a reception before that, ie. free food and feeling happy after eating. The John Labatt Indoor Stadium is quite spectacular. The ice skating rink is huge, the lighting was elaborate and the seats were three levels high. We sat on the third level and had a rather good view of the game. We were really excited when the game started. We actually cheered very hard when the London Knights scored the first goal-I felt like I belonged to London at that moment! I guess competitive sports has that magic touch of bringing out the 'nationalism' or 'sense of belonging' for audience supporting either side. However, it seemed that supporting audience of the Niagara Icedogs was woefully lacking. There was such a contrast in the amplitude of cheers.
However, after the first break, we got sorta bored and I ended up chatting with Elian and joking around with Ruth, both of whom were great company!! Ruth laughed out heartily whenever a player gets squashed against the wall or when there's a fight between incensed played...haha...and together we were 'hey hey look there's a fight!' Haha....and I learnt alot about the education system of HK after the chat with Elian :) It was so nice to have good company after one gets bored in watching a game.
In the end London Knight lost 4-6. Well, kind of embarrassing when London is the host city and especially when the audience cheered so hard for them. Whatever lah.
Tomorrow is CNY eve!
Friday, January 23, 2009
End of IO and Hockey Game Later!
IO course came to an unofficial end this morning after our presentations. We have no more lessons and the last thing we have to do next week is to hand up our 25/36 page paper.
The presentation went pretty alright, although I think I could have been more confident in my delivery. I think I answered one of the questions only partially well and I floundered for the second part. Anyway, there is always chance for improvement.
I'm going for a ice hockey game later! Ice hockey is really big here, apparently. One of the Canadian-Chinese roomie of Bec told me because "it is the only thing that Canada is good at", haha. It's London Knights v (something) Icedogs. The latter team's name is kind of comical. Caitlin told me today that London Knights has a new player who is quite good. I expect the game to be exciting!
The presentation went pretty alright, although I think I could have been more confident in my delivery. I think I answered one of the questions only partially well and I floundered for the second part. Anyway, there is always chance for improvement.
I'm going for a ice hockey game later! Ice hockey is really big here, apparently. One of the Canadian-Chinese roomie of Bec told me because "it is the only thing that Canada is good at", haha. It's London Knights v (something) Icedogs. The latter team's name is kind of comical. Caitlin told me today that London Knights has a new player who is quite good. I expect the game to be exciting!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Not Feeling Well
Dry throat, cold and a little feverish. I am not feeling well. I guess this is the culmination of 2 days of 5-6 hours research stints in the library and braving of the cold to walk in -10 degrees celsius weather.
I took a nap just now (after having pita bread, potatoes, egg and vegtables for lunch) after a wave of overwhelming fatigue set in. I woke up with the dreadful feeling again- lost, wondering where I am, and overall homesick. I thought I had settled into the rhythm of life here already. I guess this is due to the stress of the presentation on friday coupled with the mild sickness. No lah, the presentation on Friday should not be stressful at all. It's only 10 mins.
Anyway, talked to gwen this afternoon and am rather sad to find that internship at SPH has been a dread for her, mainly because they are expected to contribute fresh news ideas in the weekly team lunch. The stress of the newsroom! And her ideas got shot down by who else but Susan Long! One really needs to be resilient, creative and brimming with ideas to thrive in the newsroom.
The girls are going for Indian food at a restaurant later. I want to go but 心有余而力不足. I'm afraid that I would be even more sick after going out in the cold cold night. I wonder when this winter will end! Hope it would end exceptionally early this year, if not for anything else but just for me!
I was listening to Ah gui's favourite song just now and I wonder what she is doing now. She has probably woken up and going about her usual da chang jing routine :)
I took a nap just now (after having pita bread, potatoes, egg and vegtables for lunch) after a wave of overwhelming fatigue set in. I woke up with the dreadful feeling again- lost, wondering where I am, and overall homesick. I thought I had settled into the rhythm of life here already. I guess this is due to the stress of the presentation on friday coupled with the mild sickness. No lah, the presentation on Friday should not be stressful at all. It's only 10 mins.
Anyway, talked to gwen this afternoon and am rather sad to find that internship at SPH has been a dread for her, mainly because they are expected to contribute fresh news ideas in the weekly team lunch. The stress of the newsroom! And her ideas got shot down by who else but Susan Long! One really needs to be resilient, creative and brimming with ideas to thrive in the newsroom.
The girls are going for Indian food at a restaurant later. I want to go but 心有余而力不足. I'm afraid that I would be even more sick after going out in the cold cold night. I wonder when this winter will end! Hope it would end exceptionally early this year, if not for anything else but just for me!
I was listening to Ah gui's favourite song just now and I wonder what she is doing now. She has probably woken up and going about her usual da chang jing routine :)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Presentation, Research paper and Sports Gear
We had to finalise the paper topic today and elect the mode of examination- either 65% paper, 15% presentation or 80% paper in lieu of presentation. I elected the format with the presentation partly because 35 pages for the latter is rather daunting, and also in large part because I thought a presentation would be a good way to hone my public speaking skills and train myself to manage stage fright. I hope it would turn out to be a good choice ;)
So having settled the topic for my paper and with a presentation on my schedule, I was motivated enough to spend 7 hours in the library doing my research! It was not very difficult to find all the relevant books, but sifting through them to find the relevant parts was very time-consuming. I had quite a few books on the table. I borrowed about 1/2 of the books I pulled out from the shelf and it a subtantial load in my bag! The kind and friendly librarian at the desk was so cheerful. As I was talking to her, at the back of my mind I was wondering: how does she manage to stay so cheerful while on duty at 8.3opm in a cold dreary night? This level of hospitality and cheerfulness at work I haven't encountered in Singapore. The librarians at the CJ Koh library, although not grumpy, do not exude this kind of cheery warmth. And this reminds of the service at the restaurants too. The service is really good and the waiters and waitresses are helpful, cheerful and very pro-active. I take my hat off in salutation to their professionalism- no matter which profession they are in. 真是行行出状元. I guess an excellent work attitude helps alot.
I passed by the new recreation and athletic centre on the way back and popped in to take a look. The inside of the building is cool, and the open concept gym on the second floor looks somewhat like a carve-out from a high-end country club. Stefy and Elian told me a few days ago that there is a whole array of free aerobics/yoga/pilates lesson to go to! And I think they have an indoor swimming pool! I'm going to try and buy a pair of sports shoes and other sports gear to take part in all these. Anyway I've paid for the school fees so should make good use of the facilities and classes (Singaporean mentality)! I hope I can find reasonably priced ones in masonville this weekend.
So having settled the topic for my paper and with a presentation on my schedule, I was motivated enough to spend 7 hours in the library doing my research! It was not very difficult to find all the relevant books, but sifting through them to find the relevant parts was very time-consuming. I had quite a few books on the table. I borrowed about 1/2 of the books I pulled out from the shelf and it a subtantial load in my bag! The kind and friendly librarian at the desk was so cheerful. As I was talking to her, at the back of my mind I was wondering: how does she manage to stay so cheerful while on duty at 8.3opm in a cold dreary night? This level of hospitality and cheerfulness at work I haven't encountered in Singapore. The librarians at the CJ Koh library, although not grumpy, do not exude this kind of cheery warmth. And this reminds of the service at the restaurants too. The service is really good and the waiters and waitresses are helpful, cheerful and very pro-active. I take my hat off in salutation to their professionalism- no matter which profession they are in. 真是行行出状元. I guess an excellent work attitude helps alot.
I passed by the new recreation and athletic centre on the way back and popped in to take a look. The inside of the building is cool, and the open concept gym on the second floor looks somewhat like a carve-out from a high-end country club. Stefy and Elian told me a few days ago that there is a whole array of free aerobics/yoga/pilates lesson to go to! And I think they have an indoor swimming pool! I'm going to try and buy a pair of sports shoes and other sports gear to take part in all these. Anyway I've paid for the school fees so should make good use of the facilities and classes (Singaporean mentality)! I hope I can find reasonably priced ones in masonville this weekend.
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