Happy Children's Day

Okay, so it's 2 hours in to children's day, the end of my rest-break from mid, mid sems. And I can't seem to sleep. Maybe because I refuse to turn the comp off.

So quick update:

Well most recently (approx 48 hours ago) i was friggin killing myself. Panicked over too many things with too little time. Basically, I had to finish up both my theatre critique and psych paper, do up an English presentation, and study for PL2131 mid sem.

Everything just crashed and burned by the end of the day, cos I had no one to talk it out with. My phone died and bee was angry with me..multiplying that shit by a thousand times. Here's what summed up that crappiness : A kind stranger in the lift (who on seeing me with my super black face) asked/said "the day wasn't that bad was it??" (hahaha) and seeing Sher's shoes outside my house <3

So allswellthatendswell. That was me two days ago.

A month's wrap then?

School work's pretty manageable - if i have the discipline, that is. I shall vow to keep 2 hours a day solely on reading. And another hour on tutorials. Doesn't seem so bad right??

Climbing's getting better - I don't feel that dog eat dog world competitiveness. I think getting to know the seniors and our peers through camp made it all the more awesome. I'm still skeptical if it'd ever reach the state of closeness the TJCCC family was at. But i'm happy Jensen said he considers keeping us all. That really made my week :D

Life outside school - meh. not so much. I really really appreciate him for coming down to NUS like two or more times a week to spend time with me. Even though he doesn't talk much of his life, it just makes me smile. And i know how much he's doing this for me. For us. :D

Besides all of that...i guess the only thing i haven't really got used to is the loneliness? I cannot bring myself to SIT at a table without anyone around me to have a meal. Not that I haven't but I just don't like the feeling =( it's pretty depressing really. i don't consider myself to be needy, but lunch alone, to me, is just unbearable. I can shop alone, study alone, walk to class alone, BUT not sit at tutorial/lecture alone and EAT alone. Sorry.

So if you ever do see me looking lost at the deck (i'm more like looking for peeps than for people) please invite me to join you.

HAHA. i wonder how many of you think i joke.

Well, that's all for tonight. HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY

P.S, did i say i'm EUPHORIC about the fact that my PL mods' mid sems are over with?

my baby

MY BABY's AMAZING ;D

Within me

Haven't dropped any ink here for awhile.
Dust has settled huh..
Maybe even spiderwebs in corners, like my room.

Anywhoo. As I'm sitting in my C309 hostel room at KE VII hall, with ballads in the background, and a tiny naggy me in my head telling me to sleep, there are a zillion things going on in my head.

School's been on for a week and three days.
And I've been "living" independently for about three weeks.
After all the orientation activities, things start to simmer down, and anticipation of serious stuff begins

I kinda miss the old times when things get spoon fed to us...
Notifying my parents that fees are due,
Printing of lecture notes, assignment worksheets,
Being told exactly what to read and when and from where...
Having an aunty at the bookshop that'll sell you a whole pack of notes you'll ever need for the semester
Having a fixed class that comprises a class committee that bao kah liao all the necessary lil details like printing the class timetable
Homecooked meals.

But hey, the Past is past.

Then I think about the Future.
And one word comes to mind - Fear.
Right now I'm juggling:
Two tuition students
A standard 5 modules with 17 hours of contact time per week
Not inclusive of the hours spent doing alltheabove on my own
Plus the countless readings and texts that ARTS FACULTY virtually spells.
Being an IVP - Inter-varsity player, (which isn't really set in stone yet. But a girl can plan/hope)
which means three trainings per week, 3-4 hours at a time.
Being a part of KE VII hall
Wanting to be active in hall (I mean, why else join a hall right?)

Can I do it all?


Mommy and Daddy think so (:
They gave this to me when I checked-in to my hostel
It was so sweet I cried =(

Your presence is a gift to the world,
You're unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be -
Take in one day at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles,
And you'll make it through what comes along.
Within you are so many answers,
Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don't put limits on yourself,
Your dreams are waiting to be realized.
Don't leave important decisions to chance -
Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying -
The longer a problem is carried, the heavier it gets.
Don't take things too seriously -
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way -
Remember that a lot goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment,
Life's treasures are people... together.

Have health and hope and happiness,
Take the time to wish on a star.
And don't ever forget for even a day...
How very special YOU are!

www.papemelroti.com 904426

Hostel Headache.

for the longest time, I've considered university life to encompass the experience of living independently - in a hostel, that is.

except mommy had a hard time accepting this "definition" of uni life of mine.
after lots and lots of persuasion, convincing and a pinch of whining, plus input from my aunt and cousins who grad from NUS,
she said yes! whoo.

having accepted NUS' offer to FASS, the natural choice of arts&soc.science kids is... Eusoff/Temasek, yeah?

well, no. mommy would rather me stay at a less crazy-active hall. and i didn't want to stay in a single room (like lone-phobia).

So, that left me with KE7 and Raffles. After considering and deliberating for the longest time... I decided to stop pushing my mom and testing her limits. I chose KE7, since my cousins have graduated from there with no qualms, unscathed. It's still a hall. Better than staying home, no?

Plus the bus stop's right at my doorstep - super convenient. Less distraction too! The steps? Oh well, toning for my thighs and butt.

See, silver lining :D

University!

Why's a university called a university?
Do we learn about the universe while attending lectures?
(not unless you take astrophysics,maybe)

Or do you meet people from all over the universe...?
The highly enthusiastic, always in over-drive mode people;
The quiet conservative;
The theatrical, dramatic divas;
The closet-muggers and closet-otherthings;
The Martians, Venusians, Earthlings....

Yeah, that's more likely.

wayyyyyy better

i'm feeling much better already (since two days after my sick-post)

and today i felt really really glad.
exceptionally glad
ecstatic
overjoyed...

(i get that you get it!)




...cos I received moi NUS acceptance letter!
WHOOPs in joy (:

and and and and! earlier this morning, i tried out Jups highwall route for CLIMBX '11 and when I was done, Phil said something like,

"Yeah, you can adjust according to Ash's standard, she should be a good gauge for JC Girls' Finalists."



HEEHEE :D

eek

just threw up.

:(

i read

i read!

whoop. fact of the day huh.

So well, today I was on my way to meet mummy, Jude, Bridget and the darling Jerome @the airport, and I started on an old cherished book of mine - A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I'm halfway through the Penguin Classic, and it's amazing. I love Burnett's style. Impeccable, it is. Really. And the English is soooo English. Victorian-era English.

Here's a quote that jumped at me whilst I was absorbed in it earlier.

"If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that -- warm things, kind things, sweet things"

penny for thoughts?

http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/home/index.htm

reading kristal's recent post got me thinking.

at 2am in the morning.

Mmhmm, there's no better time than dead silence

Why FASS?

My answer: It's dynamic. It's not as technical and theory-based as Sciences. I like reading. I love reading, so people who say, "oh damn, FASS equals lotsa reading", i really don't take that as a minus. And lastly, gut feeling. For once, please let me have the freedom to choose purely based on individual interest. Sorry if I'm not as practical as you in wanting B.Eng so I'd have a guaranteed 6 month bonus or whatnot. I truly believe in pursuing my own happiness. So let me have it this once - it's life-determining.

NUS' answer(s):

Because we offer breadth, depth and choice.

" Our students have flexibility and choice."

Because we offer exciting learning possibilities.

"Joint degree programmes with leading Australian and American universities, double degree programmes, double majors and multidisciplinary minor programmes are available."

Because we offer excellent learning experiences.

"

extensive research into many areas"

Because we offer vital skill development for careers.

"You will gain skill in critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, problem solving, written and oral communication. In a world where the only constant is change, these skills are valued by employers because it means you can adapt quickly to changes, applying original thinking and knowledge to new situations and expressing your ideas succinctly.

FASS graduates are thus well positioned for a large variety of jobs in the public and private sector – teaching, publishing, advertising, marketing, corporate communications, event management, broadcasting, banking and finance, information technology, tourism planning and many more. You should not be surprised to find many successful entrepreneurs among our graduates too!"

So. I shall plunge headfirst into this new life (which i'm not exactly guaranteed at this point in time... "application (STILL) processing") and go in with a mind OPEN, a heart WILLING and a soul PASSIONATE.

what say you?

back

i bus-ed back to SG about 5 hours ago,

extremely elated that the bus driver was speeding

and as ganchiong as i was

that meant being able to see sher off

and even have dinner with him & his family

at tampines((:

i was really really glad we got some time together,

before we sent him off to Pasir Ris Camp

and his mom sent me home!

take care b!

OH! i saw xiaxue at tamp while we were having dinner

*Star*struck. hahah.

i love him

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:D

haha, it was a sick, sick day.
(don't let your mind get ahead of itself.)
I fell ill. and he was here bright and early, collecting his first reward of the day!

I made scrambled eggs and sauteed fresh button mushrooms and baked bread(:
So we ate and I slept cos I felt really weak.

Sher sat by the bed, entertaining himself with his phone, his new topman wallet and some of my old yearbooks, conveniently placed in the shelf opposite my bed.

He was great. Just amazing. Being there. Being around.
Helping my mom with laundry.
Making sure I felt okay...

And I felt really guilty that we weren't able to have the celebration we planned for. =(



But we'll have one soon.

Broadrick's Speech Day

Last week, this time, I was getting ready to meet up with Shaina to go back for Broadrick's Speech Day

I like the idea of speech days. The acknowledgement of achievements, recognising students' efforts, summing up the year... Too bad I was never really good enough to receive such a prize.
(oh, with the exception of Sec1 when I got 2nd in cohort for English Literature)

So, the programme was short and sweet. Performances were great, the parade too. I especially liked the Malay Dance (my students did great!) and the CO. Fringe performances took place during the refreshments. Ms Alicia Loh performed :D:D and the songs were (Y)

I had lots of fun being back in the school. Plus night had fallen by the time we'd left...making the visit more special (yknow the feeling when you experience night-time for the first time in school?).

I miss the rest of the staff. I miss the students. :(

Shaina, Ying Chao and I will go back on...Teacher's Day ;D

whee

CLIMBLOVE

Fingers oh-so-raw

Perspiration dripping

The subtle yet knawing feeling of fear

Fear of the pending route

Excitement boiling

The climbing calls

The psyching-up

The first hold

The ascent

The fall

The unexpected happiness from an unfinished route

Pride from knowing I did my bestest.

((:

Overhang, i'll be baccccckkkkkk

3 days

It's three days to our first year. Who can believe that?

I'm really really glad that it falls on GOOD FRIDAY. which means sher's gonna be a civillian? Haha, the block leave week was too short =( and like he said, he's experiencing withdrawal symptoms... Cold Turkey treatment

Good news though, he'll be out for three days, in three days. And we'll feast and celebrate and be merry people(:

On the other hand, I has bad news... I was so looking forward to the next time i get to travel (without my parents). And my opportunity came - Batu Caves 2011 with the J1s. Sadly, my dad thinks it's dangerous and risky and whatnot. So i can't go =( Sorry jac =(((

Well, i won't dwell on the NOs i get from my parents. Life's too short for that.



Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. And I'm ever so blessed to have everything that I have.

2nd post!

Okay, im happy I've started posting again, so lemme just update on my past 65 days, excluding those I spent in Broadrick Sec(:

CNY: Celebration's always good, as usual spent in IPOH! and the photos will be out soon. Im very apologetic. Really >< My pics just pile up when I've got holiday photos to edit. Which take. 2 months. Hence.

Reunion with TJCCC: LARGE, LOUD and full of LAUGHS. The last time we'd have such close-to-full attendance, what with the boys going to army, and the girls starting to work. It was great:D

Half-Class outing: (same day as J1 mass dance @ suntec!) we had food at NYNY, talked a bunch bout where's and what everyone's up to(: catching up FTW

TJCCC J1 selections: Kind of disappointing. The number of girls who turned up for trials could be counted on two hands. =( how sad is that? I remember Phil saying something like, "When did it become them choosing us instead of us picking them" (speaking of when the selections were all made and some turned down our acceptance) But here's having faith in our 10/11 batch to groom them and bring their potential to light!

Reunion with VARY: haha,dinner with Vanessa, YuKwan and Rachel at NEX(: we toured the area for such a long long time, deciding on what to eat. And ended up having CAFECARTEL. fail =p oh and i bought new working shoes

Climbing (in general): Had a resolution (and stuck mostly to it) to continue climbing at least once a week! maintain fitness and refresh climbing techniques for NUS! yup, here i come ;D

putting off for too long

Okay, I haven't been the most hardworking blogger. But today ends the 65th day (no, really i counted) of procrastination

Of this past 65 days, approximately 30 were spent interning for the Ministry of Education as..well. A teaching intern.

A lot have mistaken it as mere relief teaching, and with all due respect, it's different. Relief teaching is but a tiny fraction of what we interns are assigned/scheduled to do. I was assigned to two Chemistry classes (Sec3 and 4) as well as a Math class (Sec4). These three classes took up about 10 periods a week. In my six weeks as an intern, I shadowed my supervising tutors as well as taught these students on my own. Lesson plans had to drawn up (and then edited. and then re-edited). Worksheets had to be printed. Impromptu changes had to made when the plan doesn't go as planned.

As the weeks went by, I began to love my job. Rushing enthusiastically for classes despite knowing that the students may be late, patiently explaining concepts on the whiteboard, bumping into familiar students in the corridor, being greeted with a HUGE smile and a HI MS TONG!, there were even days where i'd willingly stayed back in the school canteen, for what we commonly term (in JC) "consultation". Besides all these, there were non-academic stuff to handle. Together with two other interns, we set up a recycling corner in Broadrick, we put up a presentation in the hall during assmebly, we sat in for numerous CCA sessions, we arrived earlier in school, or stayed way later for Staff meetings/department meetings/team-building sessions/workshops. You name it.

Each day i'd return exhausted to the bone, some days with worksheets in my bag, other days with a pending proposal or powerpoint presentation to be edited. And then, there are days where my mind's saturated with thoughts.

How could I get my kids to settle down?

Why were some so hyperactive, and the others so quiet?

What could I do?

How long would it be till I lost my cool?

Did I have to lose my cool?

I am certain I developed some sort of maturity in those weeks (which, sadly, came in a package with wrinkles and sleepless nights)

And I'm ever so honoured to have had this opportunity. The workload, the long hours, the seemingly irrelevant tasks we were assigned, the wars and battles in the classroom - it was all part and parcel of this amazing journey I'd experienced.

To my disappointment,though, I was not able to extend my stay at Broadrick.

I can't wait to go back and visit((:

BACKTOSCHOOL

Got back from Japan (Tokyo and Hokkaido) about a week ago (pics are being edited. hahah)

and i spent the week before starting work with Sher, meeting him after his DSO internship, meeting him AT DSO for lunch, surprising him outside the lab to have dinner, watching (THE VERY ACTION PACKED&FUNNY) The Green Hornet, standing on top of the pinnacle admiring sunset...

My baby's leaving in a week, right after CNY. Which gives me two days to spend with him :(

Anyway, it's two weeks. I hope I'll be kept busy with the kids at BROADRICK SEC! (((:

Yes! It was my BACKTOSCHOOL day today. Was jittery the whole night before, trying on outfits and packing whiteboard markers.

I met Shaina, a fellow intern who went for training with me, at Paya Lebar MRT and then we took a train to Dakota (say de-koh-duh). The rain wasn't much of an obstacle, seeing that there was a shelter built between Dakato station and BSS.

Here's a list of things i did today!

-Received an access card (so kewl! i need it to use the staff toilet. heh. and enter the staff room, AKA Broad Haven, and the GO)

-Got my table. (OMG,i have a table!!!)

-Introduced to the school cohort and met teachers and Key Personnel along the way

-Chat with the P!

-Lunch at the canteen

-Lesson experience (Character and Citizen Education with Ms Kim's form class-CNY deco, followed by a period of science-chem with her sec3 class)

At the end of the day, i was exhausted...mostly mentally, from all the new information and the constant reminders to myself that i no longer am a student. I was pleasantly surprised when a lower sec boy greeted me (by Ms Ashley) as i was in the corridor after flag raising. Oh yes, the canteen vendor said (in Chinese), "Morning teacher, would you like to have rice?". Heh, teacher. And the kids from 3A5 took that burden off me with the constant "Cher!" calls.

Haha, it was a great day. Many challenges to overcome, projects to complete, lessons to experience and students to meet. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

:D

JAPAN! 3

DAY 4

Supposed to wake up bright and early today, our final day in Tokyo city... BUT, hahah, we all woke up at only 10-ish? Aye, well. We hadn't planned for much that day, so we followed Mi Chelle's wish to see Mt. Fuji! While the other three went on a 1.5hour trip to Yokohama (aka Chinatown) to buy mushrooms and other stuff, we went back to Shinjuku to take a chartered bus (close to two hours ride) to Lake Kawaguchi! Lake Kawaguchi is one of the five lakes surrounding Mount Fuji, and is the most popular destination to sightsee;D

We arrived around 3pm, passing the Fuji-Q amusement park. The amusement park has one of the highest roller coasters in the world, and it looked pretty CRAZY to me! Haha, they had vertical dips and high high rides. Adrenaline pumping! The temperature around the lake was as low as -3'C! whee~

We walked to the lake as well as to a carpark near the Fuji Visitor's Centre. The view was magnificent. The mountain was in clear view due to the nice nice weather and it had the classic snow peak(: actually, mom and I were pretty hesitant about the whole idea of spending so much time and money to see Mt Fuji...However, after being within 3km from the base, i felt it was totally worth it. I'm so coming back here. Maybe even to CLIMB it one day((: When chelle saw the mountain, she was so overjoyed, she almost cried :D

Rushed back to the bus station to take the 4.40pm bus, capturing about 20 pics of far-away fuji while in the bus as the sun was setting.

Dinner with the other 3 at a roadside stall which usually caters to professionals after work who come here and drink, ordering food only to go with the alcohol and smoke. But we ordered much more, like potato curry rice, octopus, yakitori, fried fish and so on(:

Checking out of Asakusa, we lugged our significantly heavier luggages and dragged them to the train station. Not the nearest exit though, we went for the ONLY exit with an elevator. Which took some valuable time, causing us to miss the first train to Haneda Airport.

Airport? Yeah, end of our trip. IN TOKYO. We had to meet the SA Tour Group who'd arrived to go with them to HOKKAIDO!

WHEE HEE. snow snow snow snow:D

JAPAN! cont

DAY 2

We had to wake up real early this morning, thats 4am, for the famous TSUKIJI WHOLESALE MARKET. The main attraction is the auctioning of fish and other seafood, especially the huge ass Blue-Fin Tuna. The length of the fish is about the height of a full grown man. Weight? IDK. but, it IS HUMONGOUS.

Walking through the hectic market with speeding transport vehicles (that kinda remind me of a bumber car except with a platform for carrying goods), we had to remain unobtrusive, lest they kick us out. There are hundreds of stalls, lined up pretty close to each other selling all sorts of shellfish and yes, TUNA. The size of the fresh catches was extraordinarily HUGE - twice to three times the size of those we find in good SG restaurants. Shellfish sold there include abalone, scallops bamboo clams, sea urchins... other stuff too like seawater eels (anago) and octopus and fish innerts and omg the list goes on.

After an hour stepping cautiously ard fish stalls, we went over to a smaller building, the fruit and vegetable wholesale area. we saw the wasabe root and other extraordinarily huge and colourful vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms (not a fruit or veg but yes) and they all looked so delicious. I doubt they were GM-free...
HUNGER came about soon enough, and we explored the surrounding lil shops, most featured fresh produce right from the market. There were people QUEUING for miles for a few particular shops...those of which were featured in famous books like TimeOut and Frommer's. We decided not to join them, and go for a quieter shop. We were told those popular shops wouldn't be a good experience because A) they don't entertain you much. With service that is. And B) they have a set menu. No choices. just take it or leave it... so thank goodness we chose not to be sheep and follow the herd. haha

Breakfast was a guilty pleasure, costing (total 6 people) 30 000 yen! goodness gracious moi. Haha, but we had one of the freshest sashimi ever. The shi fu who was slicing pieces of raw fish for us was also a jovial man, adding to the experience we had in the restaurant.

With our bellys full and a couple of seaweed as souvenirs from a shop nearby, we proceeded home to get some sleep. After all, we DID wake up at a disgusting hour of the morning.

A train, another train and finally two taxis - there're six of us - brought us to a FARAWAY place.. closest train station being Nishiarai. The journey took us close to an hour and a half... and we had to wait for another hour before stepping into.... A KOBE BEEF BARBEQUE RESTAURANT for dinner. It was featured recently in a foodie's blog, chubbyhubby hence our persistence to go visit it. It was quite a tiny place, very unassuming indeed. But that was a good thing - the food wasn't too expensive, given the quality and freshness of the meat, and the hostess, a Taiwanese, was very humble and sweet.

She'd offered to give us the best cut of the day, which came up to be 10 000 yen! But after cooking it slightly, and tasting a slice of beef heaven, we felt it was totally worth it. It was juicy and tender and so so sweet. The sauce was another burst of flavour altogether, and we were given a bottle to bring home! whee! Isn't the lao ban niang awesome?? Besides the royal plate of kobe beef we had, there were other dishes to go with our rice, such as seaweed&lettuce salad, chicken, pork trotters, egg soup, stew beef and pickled vegetables (kimchi style).
The sad thing, though, is the tiny place fitted with two fans is hardly sufficient in clearing out the smoke caused from inddor barbequing. Since i was wearing my contact lenses, i couldn't quite feel what the rest were going through, especially Mi Chelle. Her sensitive eyes kept tear-ing from the smoke and oil.

All in all though, that meal wrapped up a day of indulging in quality food, an occasional guilty pleasure(:

DAY 3

Today was quite a walk-much day, us busy scurrying from place to place via public train. Oh by the way, one ride costs quite a hefty sum, not surprising as Japan's cost of living IS pretty high. Mm, for example, the ride from the airport to the city area cost us 600yen. Which is... about S$9. i could take a cab with that amount! oh, the cab's flag down rate is 710 yen (11 bucks!!), followed by increments of 90yen (slightly more than a dollar). EEK.

Well, moving on, our (Mom, Chelle and I) first destination was ueno park, a large open green space, with the largest concentration of museums and sculptures in Tokyo. It holds the famous Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Art Museum and Tokyo Science Museum. Oh yes, it is also home to the Ueno ZOO! When we were there, it was pretty windy! And hence quite cold. Because we had a long day ahead of us, we basically skimmed through the park and went back to meet the other three.

We then took the train to HARAJUKU. A teeny bopper heaven with stores catered to youth and weekly cosplay "parades". Arriving at about 2pm, we split up once again into two groups and explored the area, squeezing through throngs of well-dressed teens and tweens. A bunch of Harajuku Girls were at the entrance of the train station. All donned in short skirts, stockings, stilleto boots and trendy clothes. Not forgetting HEAVY makeup, comprising fake eyelashes, body glitter and coloured contacts. I couldn't help but STARE. Then this girl reached into her LV bag and took out... an A4 size MIRROR. wow.

The stores lining the main shopping street reminded me somewhat of Bugis street. Execpt more expensive. Haha, well, we hardly did any shopping, besides Chelle buying hair accessories. What we did in the hour or so we were there, was to people-watch. I felt kinda like a paparazzi, looking out for oddly-dressed people/cosplayers.
Shinjuku was our final destination that day, and by then we were HUNGRY HUNGRY.

We searched up and down for dinner (from OIOI - marui shopping centre to mitsugooshi to isetan..) and finally we ended up at a ramen stall, quite a traditional one, in fact. The ramen is cooked in huge cauldrons instead of modern pots and pans. We also drank ume (plum) liquer..aka Choya (which is the brand of the liquer). It wasn't too sweet, but very pleasant to the palate(:

After filling our bellies, we found our way to Kabuki-cho, a notorious red-light district in Shinjuku. i was quite excited to go there, not knowing what to expect. Haha,but i was surprised to find restaurants and (clean) shops. The street was neon-lit, very busy and not at all a stereotype geylang-type area. The "escorts" weren't out on the streets..Instead it was an organised brothel disguised as an "entertainment" centre. The entrances are covered with a half-length curtain with a "restricted" sign and a number 18. We peeked past the curtains and saw bar stools in a line facing computer screens filled with pictures of girls. The "potential clients" would walk in there, sit down and take their pick(s) and then proceed upstairs to...be entertained. Activities besides the obvious include karaoke, pole dancing and hm, striptease. Well, i guess it was an eye-opening experience ;D

Along the way, we met a three-way junction where about 20 men stood, scattered, all donned in black. We were told that they were hei she hui (black society) and they ran the brothels and kept the street, Kabuki-cho, under control. We also observed some of them taking interest in young ladies, stopping them to pass a pamphlet. Recruitment, it seems, was taking place...

That night, i slept around 1am, updating my journal!

JAPAN!

Here's a longwinded journal i wrote to sher while in Jap/for my own reference. CAUTION: Read only if bored. (but not too depressed-ish bored. Cos it might cause greater harm..)

DAY 0 (17th Jan)

sat on a plane, SQ636, for about 6 hours... watching MEGAMIND (but napped in between cos it was a night flight and i was sleeeeepy). We had two meals on board the flight, supper and breakfast before landing in the relatively-new Haneda Airport, TOKYO(:

DAY 1 (18th Jan)
The sun was peeking out from the LAND of the RISING SUN as we took the local train to our accommodation for the next 3 nights-Sakura Hostel in a town called Asakusa.

After we'd left the bags in the hotel, we decided to explore the community! The major attraction in Asakusa is the Sensoji Temple. It houses a Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) and a Buddha statue. Legend has it that two brothers fished the Goddess of Mercy statue from a lake and each time they threw it back, it returned to them! haha, believe it or not, 20 million visitors come to the temple annually! The main entrance to the temple is the Kamanarimon, or lei men (thunder gate). A huge lantern hangs from the gate with the two words.

Thank goodness for chinese-Japanese overlapping words cos it helped me understand a bunch of stuff. I mean, even a single word could clue you to know what's in a particular dish or what a shop sells. hee.

After touring the attractions, mom,my cousin, mi chelle, and I went to this restaurant - Wanentei Kikko (recommended by Frommers!). It was kinda hard to locate, but with the awesome hospitable people of JAPAN, we found the quaint, tiny traditional shop house tucked in a corner. The place served Bento Sets while you enjoy a cultural Shamisen (san xian, a three-string instrument usually plucked by a BIG pick) performance(:

I thoroughly enjoyed trying all sorts of colourful, foreign looking sashimi! Definitely my first experience being so adventurous with RAW fish and seafood. The usual salmon sashimi was outshone by TUNA. Melts in your mouth, if you know what i mean.. And then there were other queer looking things like snail as well as the more harmless cooked stuff like cod fish and miso soup and pickled boiled veg.

After a heart-warming lunch, we were kinda groggy and wanting to check in, back into the hotel (or rather hostel) for a nap to compensate for the tiring fly-over. So we did, meeting up with Lolo(mommy's colleague), her husband Philip and her mom, and we slept till DINNER(: That was about 7pm. The foody couple (Lolo and Philip) brought us to a nearby street stall for what looked like less-than-appealing zhap fan (mixed rice). We were so wrong! the food was inexpensive and delicious and award-winning! The jap rice we had was soooo sweet and delicious, plus the warmmmm dishes...mouthwatering. mmmm...

Following dinner, we walked around town, and ended up at SEIYU! haha, it was a supermarket and not a department store though. And we bought some bread and snacks for breakfast.(: the foody couple however, shopped for SUPPER. yes, they bought crabs and some cabbage and cherry tomatoes intending to bring it back to the hostel to boil/prepare. When we paid for our goodies, i was kinda surprised by the cashier. It was semi-automated, with a machine dispensing the exact amount of change after we'd paid. SO COOL. cheap thrill i know, but Japan's really an eye-opener. For example, SMART TOILETS. In the Bento Restaurant we went to and Haneda Airport, there were these toilets with WARMED seats. And not only a spray to wash your behind, BUT A BLOWDRYER TOO. and then there's a button to adjust the temperature, a button for music, a button to alter the angle, and the intensity of the spray. AHHHH! ;D

We then proceeded home to the common area of the hostel (which gets pretty crowded around late evenings) for supper. We had Hokkaido cheesecake, bought from the supermarket and hot tea(: pleasant end to a sleepyday

more flashbacks!

my spain trip was pretty amazing(: the photos, i know, aren't fully on fb cos i'm still procrastinating. I'm currently only editing pictures from day five (of ten).. eek. And now i've got to finish then (CHOP CHOP) because i don't want them to pile up.. seeing that i'm going to hokkaido soon!

So, my family and i travelled to Catalunya, Spain.. First, we drove on a rented Citroen to coastal towns like Blanes and Lloret de Mar (Day1); Tossa de Mar (Day2). then we went on to bigger, less reliant-on-tourism-and-thus-were-pretty-dead towns like Figueres, Olot and Girona. Finally we made it back to Barcelona where we returned the car and went around by public transport and trusty ol' feet.

The coastal towns boasted of beautiful, powder-like sand. I'd love to be back there in summer, tanning my bum away. Sadly though, the average temperature in coastal towns was about 3-5'C... the (Mediterranean) sea breeze made the cold bitter than ever

Coastal towns meant cheaper food! And since the tourist-y attractions and restaurants and hotels were closed (Seasonal unemployment!), we were glad to have sampled Spain's local food! yumyum. I tried my hardest to take pictures of the food we ate (unless i got distracted by the oh-so-delightful meals)..(:

i think one thing i absolutely love about Spain (or at least Catalunya) is the quirkiness of it all. Shophouses, two stories high, flanking the sides of a narrow street, just wide enough for a small car (or a really skilful truck driver)... and they lean in... unsteady? but yet you know they've been standing longer than your grandparents. Lampposts and park benches and graffiti and squares littered with stone or marble sculptures. I love old places(:

After leaving the coastal towns, we moved on to the first (big) town, Figueres. It was home to the Dali museum. (note: Salvador Dali is a quirky artist aka Surrealist Painter. go see his works here! I'm not an arty farty person... and neither can i draw for nuts, but these things usually hit a switch in me and suddenly i'm all interested to know why he's got this crazed obsession with ants, and spindly-legged camels, and eggs and locusts...

Moving on to Olot, we ascended 367 steps to reach the peak of a crater caused be volcanic eruption. Yes, Olot's a volcanic town. How cool is that!? hahha, i am easily fascinated huh?

Okay, i shall continue with editing photos. Stay tuned for more Spain's adventures (HAHAHAH)