Waves

Waves, waves, rushing to
Shore. Locked in an endless race
That cannot be won.

Halloween...

Saturday night of the halloween weekend. Not really into dressing up so I headed downtown with some like minded friends for a nice quiet beer. Seems like the bar itself was more dressed up for halloween than us, candle chandeliers, bulls horns, guitars, model aeroplanes etc. What a n eclectic mix. Its halloween all year round here.

Reflections...

Had a nice quiet Friday night alone with my books, textbooks.
It was a nice night because I hardly made any academic progress.
I ended up perfecting my already high level of nocturnal daydreaming skills and surfing the net, looking for a cheap and mint M6 (both Leica & BMW).
I love these quiet friday nights with textbooks. Having these books in front of me just forces your mind to wander and wonder.
A few conclusions were arrived at, saving the night from being labelled a "wasted" evening.
1. That my "weekend" trips to nearby countries always last longer than a weekend
2. That instant miso soup and microwaved spaghetti does not qualify as "fusion cuisine"
3. That my brain has degnerated into a state that is not worth describing
4. That no matter how long you close your eyes and pray for, the broom and mop will not come alive and clean up the room for you (think Walt Disney's Sorcerer's apprentice)

Memories...

Memories of the good times we had at the Shenton Way Coffee Club...
A reminder of how business is usually conducted these days... all options on the table, face to face discussions, etc etc. Intimacy... thats the key these days.
Taken by a very good friend of mine. I promised that I wouldn't mention his name

[Daryl] - Go South we must...Out to Dundas says:
can u not mention me?
-prometheus- says:
yeah

Fallen...

The leaves have lost hold of the branches as always
And leaves us with gold pathways
In the same way I've fallen for you

Paper&Pen

I was weeping again, drunk on the impossible past...

Reflections...

When I was young and still wet behind the ears, I wanted to be a photojournalist. Travel the world, taking photos, exploring and to not only see but to also capture things from a different perspective. When I was older and much drier behind the ears, I wanted to study economics, fascinated by theories behind wealth, money, politics, markets and how countries function. If money made the world go round and love makes the trip worthwhile then economics lubricates the whole spinning process.
Look where I am now. Neither a photojournalist nor an economist. How far off I've veeered...

Golf anyone?

I was and still am quite the golf nut. But since i've left Singapore I've only picked up a golf club once. However, I have received quite a few "invitations" to golf when I get back to Singapore from people who are practicing hard... (Obi woon included)
I think this picture illustrates my golfing standards now as compared to the Hon. Chief Justice, golfing away in Duke.
First row, the team line up. On his side, dedicated golfers all with their own golf clubs. On my side, hungover golfers all sharing one set of clubs.
Second row, the golfers in action. On his side, golfers showing off their short game techniques. On my side, unique putting technique + golfing without shoes helps you get a better feel of the greens.
On a lighter note, for those homesick exchange students, here's a tune to bring back some memories of our official SAF language / our national third language.

http://media.putfile.com/1-million


* yes darling! I am studying, I'm just taking a short break.

Good Morning Indeed...

Here's a peek at the hot blond that greets me every morning when I open my front door.
No wonder I'm always late for the bus

Rainy Day, Norway

Pointed rooftops and
Piercing pines assult the skies
Bringing forth much tears

Reflections...

I feel so tired today, even though I slept a good 7 hours last night.
I think I'm tired from travelling. I've been thinking alot in Norway...

1. That I should count my blessings and not those of others
2. That I've been to 8 countries in the past 12 months. (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China).
3. I also realised that I have very cool and supportive parents (Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Papa Mama Bank. Big, Strong & Friendly) who never question my travel plans or budget.
4. That a 101 things could have gone wrong on my travels but didn't.
5. That when you're really tired, everything starts to remind you of home. The mercedes taxis remind me of dad's car, the stupid Singapore Noodles on sale at every Nordic airport makes me think of REAL Singapore food, the closed shops remind me of Orchard road and how Singapore never sleeps.

I think it is time for this Singaporean to sleep. And hopefully this time I will get some good rest.

No! norwegian. no

Norway was fantastic but the flight to and fro wasn't. Any of you intending to go to Norway, DO NOT fly by www.norwegian.no !!!!! My flight to Oslo from Copenhagen was first cancelled, then delayed for 3 hours. And my return flight!!!!! It was delayed by 4 fours! That really shatters the myth of Scandinavian puncuality doesn't it.
The flight delay to Oslo took away my intended afternoon sightseeing plans. But the coup de grace of the whole fiasco was the delay back to Copenhagen. My original flight was 9.25pm arriving at CPH airport at 10.25 giving me plenty of time to catch the direct midnight train to Aarhus. Even if the plane was delayed for 1 hour or so, I could still make the 1am direct train to Aarhus. BUT my flight left Oslo at 12.40am, arriving at 01.40am which meant that I had missed both trains back to Aarhus. So here, the adventure begins. I took the 02.44am train from the airport to Copenhagen central station, hoping to get a connecting train back to Aarhus. How naive of me to entertain such thoughts. Enroute I was informed by the kind conductor that the next train to Aarhus was at 05.00 am. My heart sank upon hearing the news and it must have shown too clearly on my face because he gave me a sympathetic smile as if to say "its been a long day eh"
Upon arriving at Copenhagen central station, I discovered that the main hall was shut and that there was no where decent to wait out the remaining 2 hours before my train would arrive. As if things couldn't get any worse, it started to rain. My thoughts of waiting it out on the unsheltered platform were immediately shelved. I heaved my bags on to my aching shoulders and headed to the nearby 7-11 to get a cup of coffee before I froze to death or fall asleep and risk having everything stolen. After getting my cup of coffee I sat on the steps to the main entrance of the train station and facing Tivoli gardens, I waited.
The night is an interesting time. As the cockroaches emerge from the cracks of the streets under the cover of darkness, so do the parasites of society emerge from the cracks of civilisation. I saw two fights, lots of homeless people and countless drunks. I sat on the cold steps of the train station, sipping my rapidly cooling coffee and watched the movie we call "life" unfold in front of me.
Even when the fight between the taxi driver and the non paying customer got so close, to the point where I could hear their hearts racing, I just sat there and continued watching. Motionless, like a gargoyle keeping vigil. Too tired to move, too exhausted to say anything. But too much caffeine in my blood to doze off and pretend that it was all just a bad dream. I wish I could be like the homeless drunk lying down next to me. Sleeping. Oblivious. He had such a peaceful look on his face. The kind of cheap solace that you find at the bottom of beer bottles.
As the taxi driver went back to his taxi to take a weapon and as the bleeding ex-customer ran off, I put my empty cup of coffee down between my legs. I looked to my left and saw that beside the sleeping homeless drunk was a similar coffee cup. Void of coffee, instead containing a few coins.
So, I had become a creature of the night. No longer human, just a shadowy form taking shelter from the cold and the rain. Trying to stay alive. At least I knew what I was trying to stay alive for. But what about my temporary brethren lying sprawled beside me? Us united by the lack of a home tonight and by empty coffee cups. I wonder what reduced him to this state? How did he fall through the gaps of one of the world's best welfare system? I knew what reduced me to this state. A cheap inefficient budget airline.
As I was harshly rebuking myself for turning left into the Airport station instead of turning right into the Copenhagen Airport Hilton when I had the chance to, the doors of the train station hall opened. I hastily crushed the coffee cup, terminating my brief but poignant association with the night and headed into the station, into the dawn.
A three hour train ride awaited me but by then I had already been travelling for 14 hours. 3 hours was nothing. It was the total amount of sleep that I had over the past 2 nights, considering that I took an overnight train from Bergen to Oslo and that I can never sleep well on trains.
I guess this trip was an eyeopener in more ways than one. No regrets. But No way will i fly norwegian.NO again. And NO, nobody dropped any coins in my coffee cup.

Talinn Therapy

I am sure this is not quite what you had in mind when I mention Talinn or Estonia.
Most people only know the Old Medieval bit of Talinn or the Soviet era Estonia. But we were lucky to see the New & Modern town, the old medieval town and the remnants of the Soviet communist styled buildings in the outskirts. Why? Cos our hostel was situated in the basement of one of these communist/soviet era apartments. Pretty cool rite!? The only bummer is that it is 40 minutes by bus from the old/new town. But then again it only costs 6euros a night.
Talinn, new town, is a suprisingly internet friendly place. The foodcourts have wireless internet connection and at every corner there's an interent kiosk. Oh yeah and alcohol is bloody cheap. Cheaper than water for sure. A bottle of the best Estonian Vodka only costs 4euros! Therefore many Finns (where a shot of vodka costs 7 euros) come to Estonia for Talinn Therapy. But I'm sure alcholism is a problem there. On the 2nd morning, as we were boarding our bus in the suburbs, I saw this man with a 1 litre beer bottle, which was almost empty, stumble into the bus stop. And it was not even 10am. I guess that says it all.
Tomorrow I'm off to Norway. Yup my next short holiday from my year long holiday. Peace and quiet here for the next 5 days.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/traffickjem/album?.dir=/a0aa&.src=ph&.tok=phnIVyDBfgf8FsIS

Helsinki is...

The Americans have Washington, us Singaporeans have Raffles and well the Finns have Mannerheim.
Helsinki is an interesting place. Not a big city but yet too big to offer the small-town feel. I think it does have a certain pulse to it after experiencing its interesting nightlife. The Finns are quite a bunch of party animals.
A good mix of history, culture, pop culture, innovation and the youthful vibes.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/traffickjem/album?.dir=/9008&.src=ph&.tok=phCz4xDByWQQjIub

Walk in the Woods

Felt so cooped up in my room that I headed down to the beach for some fresh air and some space. Before you get to the beach, you have to pass through this lovely wooded area. I love the quiet serenity of the woods, and how it gives way to the roar of the ocean.

The state of Singapore.

I was thumbing through the weekend edition (Europe, Sat Oct8/Sun Oct9) of the Financial Times yesterday over breakfast and chanced upon 2 interesting reports. The first report that caught my eye was an article on the recent jailing of 2 bloggers in Singapore (pg 3). The next article a few pages down was the article in the picture (pg 7).
This made me wonder, why does Singapore get such a bad reputation for being a police state ruled by an authoritarian government? Being on exchange, I'm always bombarded with questions like "oh you mean you can't chew gum?", "how is it like living in a police state?", "wow you're quite liberal for someone from such a closed country?" etc etc.
Evidently, Singapore is not the only country in the world censoring the press or limiting expression. Of course two wrongs do not make a right. But do you hear the rest of the world condemning Germany for being a Police state?
For Singaporeans out there, do you really feel like you're living in a Police state? After getting pickpocketed in Barcelona, being at the receiving end of racist remarks in Madrid, almost being mugged in London and hearing about break-ins at the dorms near the ghetto in Aarhus, I really think that I wouldn't mind living in the Singaporean police state if it means that I am safe. Before I left for Spain, I was speaking to a friend from Barcelona and he said that Barcelona is a pretty safe place, he's been living there his whole life and has only been mugged once. If the alternative to not having a "police state" is to have to condone petty crime as part of daily life, I think the opportunity cost is simply too high.
How many of you really go on a gum chewing binge overseas? How many of you have stepped on chewing gum on the streets of big cities like Copenhagen (Tim? :P), London, New York and cursed out loud. The break-ins at the ghettos in Aarhus and ghettos everywhere else are an example of crime resulting from racial stereotyping and poor racial management. The west may boast about a free press (maybe not Germany now) but can they boast about a harmonious multi racial state?
I always believed that the key to understanding another culture and another country is through acceptance and not accounting. Social and cultural accounting does not get one very far because there is no universal standard. Who is to say that one culture is superior to the other? Once you make a value judgment, you are by default making a comparitive assesment of the 2 systems, indirectly asserting that one is better than the other. Must that really be the case? Must we be better than the other? Can't we just be different? Can't we just be Singaporean? Of course there is the kill-all argument that some rights are universal and freedom of expression constitutes one of these sacred rights. But so is the right to live without fear of being assulted because my skin colour is different from that of my assailant, so is the right to live without fear of being robbed or mugged.
I know I risk sounding like a PAP apologist in this post. I am not. I am just a Singaporean, wondering out loud.

In Reply...

Of course I miss you! I miss your *ahem* lovely unique voice! Your movie star qualities (For all you ignorant people, Ja Ja Binks does qualify as a movie star!)

Food for Thought

2 packets of sugar that I took from the flight to Helsinki.
I love how the label comes in the form of subtle lines written at the corner of each packet. A refreshing change from seeing "SUGAR" plastered all over a conventional packet of sugar.

Panem et Coffee

A simple breakfast, something that I have been craving for the past few days, something that I was looking forward to when I got up this morning. The modern day substitute of Panem et circenses.
Bread with good jam and freshly pressed coffee... simple pleasures of life (on exchange =D).

Happy Birthday Liz!

Liz had her birthday last week but my brother took some time to send me the pictures. Still trying to figure out his new digi cam...
As you can see, Matt blasted the flash into her eyes. Poor baby! But I think it is quite a cute photo.
I just got back from Helsinki... bloody tired from all the travelling, walking, drinking and lack of sleep. Will post the pictures as soon as I get round to downloading them from my camera.

Turning the corner.

Do I see light at the end of the tunnel? No.
Do I feel like I'm turning the corner now? No.
Yet I am feeling much better now, less anger and frustration.
Many thanks to those who have left heartwarming comments.
I must learn that I cannot always have things my way. But such lessons are always painful.
If only money or mastercard could buy parental approval.
Tomorrow I leave for Finland & Estonia, so no blogging/whining for the next 5 days.

Autumn Colours

a fallen autumn
leaf. The symbol of life
that has passed with time

Reflections

I wasted the morning away thinking...
Watching the sun creep out from the horizon. Just like how I did in this picture in Shanghai.
What do you do in a lose-lose situation? Why do you confine yourself to such a situation? Is there really no way out? No better solution?
It is difficult to think with so many conflicting emotions raging within me, Anger, Frustration, Sorrow. Nobody said that Love would be easy. But must it be this difficult?
So this is what I've managed to distill from this morning
1. You shouldn't expect too much, in order not to be let down later on.
2. You can plan everything but not everything will go according to plan.
3. Screaming into a pillow and banging your head repeatedly with a bolster does not solve anything.
4. Neither does drinking till you pass out. As WJ once said, sorrows float. But now i've realised that not only can you not drown sorrows, but that anger & frustration both float too. F**K

Death in the Afternoon

Not all phone calls from home are good. And not everything in life goes according to plan.
C'est La Vie? I know that the only certainty in life is uncertainty.
It is always easier mouthing these tacky aphorisms than being at the receiving end.
All I can do now is hope and pray. And to think I used to scorn the notion that hope will triumph over expectations.

Candle

A lone candle burns
Fiery dancer of the night
Living just to give

Segovia

I realised that I should finish uploading the rest of my photos from Spain.
Here are the ones from stunning Segovia. A spectacular town set in the arid and dry landscape of Castilla... this is Don Quixote country.
The aqueducts were built without a single drop of cement and have lasted from Roman times to now. I know I keep harping on that partly cos I'm a big fan of the Roman Empire and also because it is really a very fascinating fact.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/traffickjem/album?.dir=/b595&.src=ph&.tok=phfHGtDBIpq.iuPY

Snap!

Cheap Warhol imitation... but this is just one of the many useless things that exchange students do to pass time. The other activities include partying, drinking, feasting, clubbing, travelling, visiting art museums and bumming. Yup, thats about it I think. No Evidence paper to rush, no assignment to devour our entire one week break... But if you think its a bed of roses here... think again. Its always so difficult to choose which of the above mentioned activites to do...