Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Adventure in Toronto!
Just as Singapore was having their excitment of the F1 race over the weekend, i myself had my fair share of trill and suspense at Toronto!
Just as Singapore was having their excitment of the F1 race over the weekend, i myself had my fair share of trill and suspense at Toronto!
It all started when Wilsern found a suprisingly cheap hotel online for us to stay for the night. All the cheap hotels recommended by lonely planet were apparently fully booked. And i happened to be the one who made online payment.
Upon reaching toronto, it was already 8pm and we walked all the way from the terminal to blk 588 which is 20 mins away.
We were greeted by a suspicious looking building with no signboard and the door was closed. No one answered upon knocking and ringing. Hence, i had to call them as we had already made deposit.
A man answered the phone and told us to wait awhile...
And we waited...
and waited ... 
and waited..
It was like another 5-10 mins before a chinese guy appeared from across the street to greet up upon our arrival.
"Just follow me,"he said, not explaining much, leading the way.
I followed beside him and the rest behind.
"Where are we going?"I asked concernly,"isnt that building the hotel?"
"our apartment are all over the area,"he explained briefly.
Soon, we were led into a small alley towards a building.
IT kind of remind me of those buildings along geylang, dirty and dark. And there was a guy sitting at the entrance of the building...
We went down by the side of the building straight into the basement.
At this point of time, all of us were high on guard as no matter how we looked, it doesnt look like an hotel. Instead, its more like those squatters. There were bottles of beer along the narrow corridor and their walls were white but worn out.
The doors were thin and easily breakable. Toilet was stained and unwashed, BEDSHEETS WERE STAINED with red stuff as well.... Imagine that...
AS soon as we settle the rest of the payment, we gathered and were wondering how come it is so cheap.
There were so many doubts
1) how come everywhere were fully booked and this place is so empty
2) How come there isnt any sign board ?
3) the cheapest hostel around so far is $30 per night per pax, yet this place is $16 per night per pax.
4) We didnt see anyone else in the Hotel
And so we came out with theories..
Theory1: That place used to be a brothel but it closed down due to the availbility of esorts around the area. they want to minimise their lost hence started a hotel in their rooms..
Theory 2: It is STILL A BROTHEL but they got not much customers, so they decided to disguise themselves as a hotel to increase income and also to do some hard selling along the night.
Theory3: That place is a black hotel. Someone will just bash/sneak in during the night and try to steal from us
Theory 4: That place is haunted!
And so due to the dirty bath tub and dirty water. All of us decided not to bathe.
Not only that, since the bedsheet were stained, 
Their Red bedsheet got RED stain, Their white bedsheet got White stain....
we thought that their blankets/pillow were of no difference, hence decided to sleep like this..
Notice my specs is just beside me. Was in fear that anything happens at night, i will be able to react in time. YOu know how clumsy anyone can be without their specs....
The second night we decided to upgrade to another place. And this time we realised that we are sharing the room with two other strangers!
Nevermind if the other two are young and harmless, but they were man in their 40s. And they looked so scary...
Nonetheless, the trip to toronto was fun. Too bad i dont like to write every single details over here...
Catching the falling leaves ...[7:24 AM]
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Friday, September 26, 2008
Pi bo pi bo....
Either there is a fire station/ hospital nearby my place OR there is at least a dozen accidents happening everyday around my neighbourhood. I find no other explanation of seeing fire engine/ambulanceS every single day upon my trip back and fort school.
I really hope its the former, as it would mean that i'm at a high risk environment otherwise.
Perhaps there is other possible explanation afterall. Psych minor student will certainly look into the 3rd varible during their hypothesis of the possible causal dont they? Polly its due to the free medical sevice (paid in their heavy tax), that people who have a running nose this morning felt that it is too cold to walk to the clinic decided to call the ambulance to send them there. ITS Free (already paid for) after all.
Maybe people really call the fire brigade upon seeing a cat/ squrriel/ bever/ goose stuck on the tree like the cartoons i used to watch at young (that doesnt mean i stop watching..haha)
Polly they just wanted to get MC but felt that walking to the clinic will show that they CAN walk, hence cannot help it but to call the ambulance.
haha!
its going to be 3am in the morning. And i finally did something that i shld be doing weeks ago! study for my chemical enginnering course! bwahaha!
I guess i'm starting to have the momentum of studying by next week. Cos the workload is piling up and i cant affort not to.
Oh! Did i mention i'm having test on monday (25% of total) but i'm going toronto to enjoy during this weekend? I always love creating miracle... cos i always believe.. . just testing my luck i guess, or perhaps i need some tramatise of the results before realising i am on STUDY exchange and not HOLIDAY exchange... but then, isnt it the same meaning?haha
Sleep!
Either there is a fire station/ hospital nearby my place OR there is at least a dozen accidents happening everyday around my neighbourhood. I find no other explanation of seeing fire engine/ambulanceS every single day upon my trip back and fort school.
I really hope its the former, as it would mean that i'm at a high risk environment otherwise.
Perhaps there is other possible explanation afterall. Psych minor student will certainly look into the 3rd varible during their hypothesis of the possible causal dont they? Polly its due to the free medical sevice (paid in their heavy tax), that people who have a running nose this morning felt that it is too cold to walk to the clinic decided to call the ambulance to send them there. ITS Free (already paid for) after all.
Maybe people really call the fire brigade upon seeing a cat/ squrriel/ bever/ goose stuck on the tree like the cartoons i used to watch at young (that doesnt mean i stop watching..haha)
Polly they just wanted to get MC but felt that walking to the clinic will show that they CAN walk, hence cannot help it but to call the ambulance.
haha!
its going to be 3am in the morning. And i finally did something that i shld be doing weeks ago! study for my chemical enginnering course! bwahaha!
I guess i'm starting to have the momentum of studying by next week. Cos the workload is piling up and i cant affort not to.
Oh! Did i mention i'm having test on monday (25% of total) but i'm going toronto to enjoy during this weekend? I always love creating miracle... cos i always believe.. . just testing my luck i guess, or perhaps i need some tramatise of the results before realising i am on STUDY exchange and not HOLIDAY exchange... but then, isnt it the same meaning?haha
Sleep!
Catching the falling leaves ...[2:31 PM]
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Procrastination wins!
m
And i hereby declare that Procrastination wins the day!
I decided not to go down for broomball afterall.
That is the only sports/exercise i did during my 3 weeks stay over here (and i dont think its a good idea for me not to). By the time i return back to singapore, i might polly become fat due to the lack of exercise (and natural evolution due to the cold weather).
ITs really the cold weather down here. Makes anyone dont feel like doing anything...haha! Doesnt require anyone to take psychology that this statement is just self serving to justify myself for being low motivated.
Hence! i made myself a sumptuous meal to justify myself for not going down. Food is a very important aspect in life, nothing can be a good reason for anything than the need to eat isnt it?
Does it make anyone hungry just by looking at it?
yum yum..
Theres rice, chicken, eggs, carrot, salad and soy milk!
m
Catching the falling leaves ...[6:11 AM]
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Off I Flew!
What are the odds of having a headon collision with another bike which left you flying off and ended up at an awkward position of having ur bag on ur head?
Well, statistics shows that if we have a large sample size there will be more likely a chance to witness such phenomena.
I dont normally go around colliding with people back in singapore you know.
Had a random thought suddenly. What if anything happens to me over here, how long before will my family knows?
First of all my handphone and laptopn will be password locked, so it is quite impossible for anyone to search details there.
So most likely is they will id me as a student of uw, and slowly realise that i am an exchange student. And they will contact my home university of the incident polly via Email as they might not know the school's number. Due to the time difference, most prob it will be few days before the email is received. Upon contacting the school, the school will call my home. That is when another problem arises. No one at home likes to pick up the phone, and even if they pick up the phone the chances is that no one WILL BE home to pick up the phone. Maybe it will be another day or two before someone in the family will be informed. And another 2 days before someone fly over to see what is going on.
That will add up to a week or so i guess.
If i'm having injury, it will polly recovered by the time someone come down to visit me.
Or what if they do not know that you must put a +65 infront of the number for international call and they kept on trying to call with no valid? Fortunately, the medical care here is free (due to the heavy tax and people have health insurances)
But on second thought, due to technology. My housemate will know of my facebook/friendster account and would try to mass send a msg to my friends to annouce such unfortunate incident. Out of which might be able to locate people who are of higher chance to spread the information.
And it will be on the news that facebook save the day! hurray!
What are the odds of having a headon collision with another bike which left you flying off and ended up at an awkward position of having ur bag on ur head?
Well, statistics shows that if we have a large sample size there will be more likely a chance to witness such phenomena.
I dont normally go around colliding with people back in singapore you know.
Had a random thought suddenly. What if anything happens to me over here, how long before will my family knows?
First of all my handphone and laptopn will be password locked, so it is quite impossible for anyone to search details there.
So most likely is they will id me as a student of uw, and slowly realise that i am an exchange student. And they will contact my home university of the incident polly via Email as they might not know the school's number. Due to the time difference, most prob it will be few days before the email is received. Upon contacting the school, the school will call my home. That is when another problem arises. No one at home likes to pick up the phone, and even if they pick up the phone the chances is that no one WILL BE home to pick up the phone. Maybe it will be another day or two before someone in the family will be informed. And another 2 days before someone fly over to see what is going on.
That will add up to a week or so i guess.
If i'm having injury, it will polly recovered by the time someone come down to visit me.
Or what if they do not know that you must put a +65 infront of the number for international call and they kept on trying to call with no valid? Fortunately, the medical care here is free (due to the heavy tax and people have health insurances)
But on second thought, due to technology. My housemate will know of my facebook/friendster account and would try to mass send a msg to my friends to annouce such unfortunate incident. Out of which might be able to locate people who are of higher chance to spread the information.
And it will be on the news that facebook save the day! hurray!
Labels: Really senseless rant
Catching the falling leaves ...[1:24 AM]
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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Lets Party!
I always thought those western parties we seen in the movies only happens in like erm.... movies. haha. Friday was the very first time I attended to such parties and was overwhelmed.
IT was like in a bangalow with many many people attending with tonnes and tonnes of alcohol flowing around. Everyone was so opened up and could easily talk to anyone at anytime.
You guys could easily imagine me feeling out of place during my entire stay. Since it is my first time, was really high on guard in case anything happen as i didnt know what to expect from such party. But certainly, it is really enjoyable seeing how people can interact with one another and the things they talk about. Back in home, i guess the chances of me being in such party is infinitsimally small. For a start, those people around me arent those party types and second if by anychance they organise such parties, the odds is that they will be complaint by the neighbours within an hour.
Due to my cognitive schemata and my social template. I dont really know what to do when someone come to me to start off an conversation. IT has always been so easy in ntu when there are common topic like the orientation camp, place, school, hall etc. These people can just talk about anything with people they just met.
Was quite amaze by how open they are and to think they are as young as 18...
I really cant imagine myself doing all these right now, let alone when i was 18. Haiz.. children nowadays grow up really fast dont you think? My brother just turned 18, and i cant visualise him being in such party lor. (and even if he does join such party doing all these funny stuff, i hope i wouldnt know else i might just slap him)
Anyway, did i mention that their legal age of drinking is 19?
ITs a really good exposual to their culture anyway.
I always thought those western parties we seen in the movies only happens in like erm.... movies. haha. Friday was the very first time I attended to such parties and was overwhelmed.
IT was like in a bangalow with many many people attending with tonnes and tonnes of alcohol flowing around. Everyone was so opened up and could easily talk to anyone at anytime.
You guys could easily imagine me feeling out of place during my entire stay. Since it is my first time, was really high on guard in case anything happen as i didnt know what to expect from such party. But certainly, it is really enjoyable seeing how people can interact with one another and the things they talk about. Back in home, i guess the chances of me being in such party is infinitsimally small. For a start, those people around me arent those party types and second if by anychance they organise such parties, the odds is that they will be complaint by the neighbours within an hour.
Due to my cognitive schemata and my social template. I dont really know what to do when someone come to me to start off an conversation. IT has always been so easy in ntu when there are common topic like the orientation camp, place, school, hall etc. These people can just talk about anything with people they just met.
Was quite amaze by how open they are and to think they are as young as 18...
I really cant imagine myself doing all these right now, let alone when i was 18. Haiz.. children nowadays grow up really fast dont you think? My brother just turned 18, and i cant visualise him being in such party lor. (and even if he does join such party doing all these funny stuff, i hope i wouldnt know else i might just slap him)
Anyway, did i mention that their legal age of drinking is 19?
ITs a really good exposual to their culture anyway.
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Had a dinner with the Singapore, malasian association people yesterday. Jason and i were expecting that it will be just a small group with 20 people turning up but it ended up more than 40 of the people were squeezing into the small vietnum restuarant. Certainly, it is impossible to chat with everybody and we sat with a few first year students who have been here studying for less than a year.
I began to learn of the terms, CBC (canadian born chinese), Canasians chinese people who came to canada at a very young age. These people identify themselves to the canadian culture. Was quite impress with these people who study overseas leaving their friends and family behind, same even migrated over here and became a citizen
Already i felt kind of out of place upon coming to such a distant place, no doubt the people here are friendly. But it just dont feel right for me. Polly cos i'm too tradition or just too comfortable staying in my comfort zone.
Well its certainly nice to be having dinner with someone who have (had) the same identity with you, nevermind that they are just a aquaintance whom you might never meet afterwards.
Catching the falling leaves ...[12:33 PM]
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
Broomball!!
A part of being in such exchange program is to experience new stuff. And that includes their sports!
They have this try to play for free day. In which all their clubs allow us to join their activities for free! Hey! its canada, even joining some recreational club need to pay to play one.
Being the curious guy i am, i wanted to join all! Juggling club, table tennis, fencing... u name it.
Nonetheless, i just wanted to try out something that is different. And i come across this BROOMBALL club and its activites are held in icefield!
I pull TaeSoo to accompany me. He is very accomodating, but the thing is he doesn't really express himself so i dont really know if he like to go or not. Eitherway, i just pull him with me along. It has been 2 weeks since i last excerise and my body is aching to run/pull up...
Broomball is a game, similar to ice hockey. Just that they wear 'not so slippery' shoe to run on the ice, and used a stick that is similar to a broom without the bristles. So for the next 2 hrs, we were running the ice rig.
Leaving me running around with a stick is definitly a nono. ITs super dangerous as some of you might say.
For some reasons, i just couldnt find the strenght to hit the ball hard, but i am able to inflict considerable amount of damage on someone with it. Yup, and off i go on with me quest of inflicting pain to as many people as possible.. (i seriously think it is a subconscious thing, afterall there are reports saying i attack people when i became tipsy..)
Playing in a ice rig is just so different. Especially when we are not use to breathing in cold air. Was panting really hard and it felt as if i will be having hyperventilation if this goes on. It is really hard to breath.
The last time i see people steaming was during my canoe polo training when all of us we all heated up and the night was so cold. It was just so cool to see people giving out steam.. haha
-----------------------------------
Had an interesting dream last night.
ITs like those exciting psychological trailer that you can only see in movie. (polly its because i had too much horror movie before i came here)
IT involved yan yan, yan's brother, me and my brother.
The story goes like there seems to be someone among those people around me having too much stress and had broke down, i was there trying to find out who it is.
All of them have their reasons to be undergoing large stress, yan's got school work and hexis, my brother got his A level, I can't rmb what is yan's brother problem.
The event went on with a climax that everyone was accusing that other is the one who has broken down. (something like polar bear like that)
I had only one lady confident to discuss about this issue.
It was during the most exciting part when they started hiding knife in fear that the other might attack, my brother told me that the lady doesnt exist in the first place and i wasnt talking to no one...
So ended up i was the one who is having too much stress!
The story was something like Body 19...
But having a dream like that is not really healthy i think. IT is just a warning telling me I am thinking too much. Maybe the Broomball tonight will do the trick!
Catching the falling leaves ...[9:23 AM]
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wooo...
Well, it has always been the case that everything turns out fine at the end of the day.
And the people i least expected to celebrate mid autumn with me happens to be my housemates!
The four of us easily finished the last of my moonscakes brought from singapore. Mang himself has one mooncake and we started eating. I finally got my mooncake story right and was able to recite it smoothly. Mang was like wooo... and wah... during the entire process.
Canadians are afterall canadians. Whats a festival without alcohol? Before i could finish cutting my mooncakes, 1 bottle of alcohol appeared out of nowhere.
"we are supposed to drink one shot and eat one piece of mooncakes (instead of lemon),"Mang the alcoholic, instructed.
I always thought that because they drink quite frequently, they will be much better drinkers. Well consider the fact that i dont really like drinking and there is class the next day, i'm glad i was wrong as Stanley couldnt take it anymore after a few cups.
Just as I thought that everything will end at around 12am and we can go to sleep for next day's lesson, we decided to go out to play pool and table tennis ended the entire celebration at 2am..
The sky turned clear afterall and my moon returned...
Well, it has always been the case that everything turns out fine at the end of the day.
And the people i least expected to celebrate mid autumn with me happens to be my housemates!
The four of us easily finished the last of my moonscakes brought from singapore. Mang himself has one mooncake and we started eating. I finally got my mooncake story right and was able to recite it smoothly. Mang was like wooo... and wah... during the entire process.
Canadians are afterall canadians. Whats a festival without alcohol? Before i could finish cutting my mooncakes, 1 bottle of alcohol appeared out of nowhere.
"we are supposed to drink one shot and eat one piece of mooncakes (instead of lemon),"Mang the alcoholic, instructed.
I always thought that because they drink quite frequently, they will be much better drinkers. Well consider the fact that i dont really like drinking and there is class the next day, i'm glad i was wrong as Stanley couldnt take it anymore after a few cups.
Just as I thought that everything will end at around 12am and we can go to sleep for next day's lesson, we decided to go out to play pool and table tennis ended the entire celebration at 2am..
The sky turned clear afterall and my moon returned...
Catching the falling leaves ...[12:46 AM]
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Monday, September 15, 2008
Moody Mid Autumn....
Most of my fans will definitely knew about the Alex incident that had a great impact on me. IT has been about 2 years since his passing and i had already gotten over it.
Nonetheless,when the namelist for Instep was out months ago, there was a name that appeared on the list that i just couldn't resist approaching.
It is not a coincidence or randomness that for my trip for Canada, Wilsern, Jason, Alex Chiam and I are together. Not just so happen that Alex Chiam and I were taking the same plane together. Part of me just couldn't accept the lost i guess.
It was a subconscious effort and unconsciously with him around, I find it hard not to behave in my most relax mood. And that was when problem starts.
It was 8.30 pm night at nigara falls. Back in Singapore time, it is Mid Autumn Festival! (the day when the Song dynasty was over thrown by Yuan cos of moon cakes!) I really wanted to go out but both wilsern and alex were lying on the bed doesnt want to go out.
Polly partly because i just emailed yanyan and mimi. Made me very emo cos if i am back in Singapore, I would definitly be going out playing with lanterns and candles and eating mooncakes with all of them! Its a yearly event when people get together!
YET they are sleeping....
If it was army alex, he will support me in whatever crappy ideas i might come out with. He will support me even if Gu would give a sian face and screamed in disagreement. Nonetheless, Instep alex was too tired to comply.
( at time point i dont really bother abt wilsern... haha)
Suddenly became very moody, throw tantrum and made a very bad decision of going out alone!
And as everybody knows, nothing good will happen if one throw tantrum.
(I rmb the las time i throw tantrum, i SUed my econs away)
And off i went along the dark and deserted route, (its a good 30 mins walk where i'm heading.) All of the sudden, it rained....
the rain stopped when i reached the Clifton hill . Stayed there for a hr or so and left..
As I left, it rained again....
The route was dark,cold, windy and deserted. Was shivering throughout the entire journey and if anything happens to me, no one will know...
And you know those Angmo movies, when there is FULL MOON, there will be WEREWOLVES!
I'm not sure about Canada if there is any of these. But u know how the mind wonders when you are alone... So scary especially in the rain.
Anyway, I'm safe and sound.
But i still doesnt have the sense of mid autumn despite the mooncakes i smuggled from Singapore. Wilsern and Alex doesnt seem to appreciate the importance of such festival. Or maybe i'm just too traditional. (If mag or joel sees this, i bet they will make no sense of my point cos they dont even know nian's story!)
Really miss the people back there already.
As much as i have been telling people that there is no point missing anyone cos miss also not there dont miss also not there. So dont need to put so much effort in missing mah. Hence i never really express such feeling to anyone much. It has always been so in army and in hall 6... But its just so different when you are in another end of the planet...
Anyway, it has been raining these two days and there isn't any moon insight. I guess it must have morphed into bluemoons and are locked up in a blue box on Yan's table!heh heh...
Happy mid autumn everybody!
Most of my fans will definitely knew about the Alex incident that had a great impact on me. IT has been about 2 years since his passing and i had already gotten over it.
Nonetheless,when the namelist for Instep was out months ago, there was a name that appeared on the list that i just couldn't resist approaching.
It is not a coincidence or randomness that for my trip for Canada, Wilsern, Jason, Alex Chiam and I are together. Not just so happen that Alex Chiam and I were taking the same plane together. Part of me just couldn't accept the lost i guess.
It was a subconscious effort and unconsciously with him around, I find it hard not to behave in my most relax mood. And that was when problem starts.
It was 8.30 pm night at nigara falls. Back in Singapore time, it is Mid Autumn Festival! (the day when the Song dynasty was over thrown by Yuan cos of moon cakes!) I really wanted to go out but both wilsern and alex were lying on the bed doesnt want to go out.
Polly partly because i just emailed yanyan and mimi. Made me very emo cos if i am back in Singapore, I would definitly be going out playing with lanterns and candles and eating mooncakes with all of them! Its a yearly event when people get together!
YET they are sleeping....
If it was army alex, he will support me in whatever crappy ideas i might come out with. He will support me even if Gu would give a sian face and screamed in disagreement. Nonetheless, Instep alex was too tired to comply.
( at time point i dont really bother abt wilsern... haha)
Suddenly became very moody, throw tantrum and made a very bad decision of going out alone!
And as everybody knows, nothing good will happen if one throw tantrum.
(I rmb the las time i throw tantrum, i SUed my econs away)
And off i went along the dark and deserted route, (its a good 30 mins walk where i'm heading.) All of the sudden, it rained....
the rain stopped when i reached the Clifton hill . Stayed there for a hr or so and left..
As I left, it rained again....
The route was dark,cold, windy and deserted. Was shivering throughout the entire journey and if anything happens to me, no one will know...
And you know those Angmo movies, when there is FULL MOON, there will be WEREWOLVES!
I'm not sure about Canada if there is any of these. But u know how the mind wonders when you are alone... So scary especially in the rain.
Anyway, I'm safe and sound.
But i still doesnt have the sense of mid autumn despite the mooncakes i smuggled from Singapore. Wilsern and Alex doesnt seem to appreciate the importance of such festival. Or maybe i'm just too traditional. (If mag or joel sees this, i bet they will make no sense of my point cos they dont even know nian's story!)
Really miss the people back there already.
As much as i have been telling people that there is no point missing anyone cos miss also not there dont miss also not there. So dont need to put so much effort in missing mah. Hence i never really express such feeling to anyone much. It has always been so in army and in hall 6... But its just so different when you are in another end of the planet...
Anyway, it has been raining these two days and there isn't any moon insight. I guess it must have morphed into bluemoons and are locked up in a blue box on Yan's table!heh heh...
Happy mid autumn everybody!
Catching the falling leaves ...[9:43 AM]
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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Zoom!
Today is a fine day!
Finally things, it seems, go by the way i wanted.
It was cold this morning, not that cold that you go jumping up and down and up again. But cold enough that your breath can give out that strange mysterious white mist everytime you breathe out.
IF the people around me are Singaporeans they will certainly call me "Shua Gu!" upon seeing me giving out my ice mist breathe while waiting for the bus at the bus stop.
I got to know some people from my chemical engin class finally. REally find it hard to mix around with the people during lecture times. Yes, they were all friendly, very friendly yet there is just something missing. Orientation really makes a lot of different in the mood.
Finally go all the things i wanted to get during my shopping trip and i got a bike for $50.
Ended up ZOOMING from lectures to lectures and back to my residence! so SHUANG!
Today is a fine day!
Finally things, it seems, go by the way i wanted.
It was cold this morning, not that cold that you go jumping up and down and up again. But cold enough that your breath can give out that strange mysterious white mist everytime you breathe out.
IF the people around me are Singaporeans they will certainly call me "Shua Gu!" upon seeing me giving out my ice mist breathe while waiting for the bus at the bus stop.
I got to know some people from my chemical engin class finally. REally find it hard to mix around with the people during lecture times. Yes, they were all friendly, very friendly yet there is just something missing. Orientation really makes a lot of different in the mood.
Finally go all the things i wanted to get during my shopping trip and i got a bike for $50.
Ended up ZOOMING from lectures to lectures and back to my residence! so SHUANG!
Catching the falling leaves ...[4:34 AM]
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Shivers!
A good way to differeniate Canadians and foreigners, especially Singaporeans, is to see how their dress.
Canadians wear jeans (at times shorts), shoes and short sleeves shirt.
Whereas Singaporeans wear jeans, shoes and LOng sleeves shirt + jacket + hood, and they go jumping around up down and up again, yelling out loud that they are SOOO COLD!!!!....
Tonight was the second consecative night i went out. Yesterday was a furtile trip to the mall to buy umbrella. Tonight was for lesson. I was shivering throught the journey back.
TaeSoo is certain that i couldnt survive the winter..
Wish me luck.
A good way to differeniate Canadians and foreigners, especially Singaporeans, is to see how their dress.
Canadians wear jeans (at times shorts), shoes and short sleeves shirt.
Whereas Singaporeans wear jeans, shoes and LOng sleeves shirt + jacket + hood, and they go jumping around up down and up again, yelling out loud that they are SOOO COLD!!!!....
Tonight was the second consecative night i went out. Yesterday was a furtile trip to the mall to buy umbrella. Tonight was for lesson. I was shivering throught the journey back.
TaeSoo is certain that i couldnt survive the winter..
Wish me luck.
Catching the falling leaves ...[10:59 AM]
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Aiyoyoh!!!
From the rate of things, i guess it is a matter of time before I become a Aiyoyoh student.
It is not hard to see why.
a) The nearest place to get food is 20mins walk from my residence. That is like walking from hall 6 to Ah Fang? Guess what! i have been cooking for the past 2 nights!
b)For the past 3 days, i have been traveling from mall to mall in search for the following items:
1)shower basket with hooks to cling on to pole
2)Slippers
3) Umbrellas
As of now i only got an umbrella from the school's gift shops (which cost about $15 for a short one!). I just couldnt find the other two anywhere....
And i knew 3 mins down from hall6 there is this place call nanyang mart which sells everything.
ITs an irony that their malls are gigantic but doesnt sell any of those.
c)"Will I be billed monthly?"I asked the lady
"Will I give you money?"She clarified.
Just as I thought my english is bad...
d) their 2nd hand bike cost $50 whereas their 2nd hand Textbook is $100 plus...
I really cant buy all the textbook at one go.. really heartpain, must buy one at a time.. haha
From the rate of things, i guess it is a matter of time before I become a Aiyoyoh student.
It is not hard to see why.
a) The nearest place to get food is 20mins walk from my residence. That is like walking from hall 6 to Ah Fang? Guess what! i have been cooking for the past 2 nights!
b)For the past 3 days, i have been traveling from mall to mall in search for the following items:
1)shower basket with hooks to cling on to pole
2)Slippers
3) Umbrellas
As of now i only got an umbrella from the school's gift shops (which cost about $15 for a short one!). I just couldnt find the other two anywhere....
And i knew 3 mins down from hall6 there is this place call nanyang mart which sells everything.
ITs an irony that their malls are gigantic but doesnt sell any of those.
c)"Will I be billed monthly?"I asked the lady
"Will I give you money?"She clarified.
Just as I thought my english is bad...
d) their 2nd hand bike cost $50 whereas their 2nd hand Textbook is $100 plus...
I really cant buy all the textbook at one go.. really heartpain, must buy one at a time.. haha
Catching the falling leaves ...[2:03 AM]
****** ******
Sunday, September 07, 2008
2nd day
Sat was awfully quiet. ITs seemed as though that the squrriel running around the fields are more than the people around here. Without a map and not knowing the place well, i decided to be adventurous by taking a bus to look for alex in his apartment! As someone once told me, 'curious doesnt kill the cat, boredorm does'.
With the plan of 120 sms per month, it would mean that i can only sent 4 sms per day. Alex, on the other hand, is pay per use, so i limit myself to get all the information needed to get to his place within 4 sms. Eventually took 1 hr to find his place, at some landed property.
Upon reaching, i saw jason walking out.
"where you going?"I asked
"I'm going to where the wind takes me!"He replied and walked away...
Alex bought me in the house.
Seriously, the only bad thing about living there is it is slightly further to get to school and you might seems uncomfortable living with the family there. OTher than that, it is really value for $$. Everything is provided for! They dont need to buy bedsheets, pillow case, pillow. They have fan in their room, Tv , pool table etc. Oh well, its different experience i would say.
Too bad for my fans that i'm not staying down there, cos i would get to know two angmo shuai ge and can in turn intro to you all. Actually we introduced ourselves, one of them is Rock (or was it Rob?). One of them is in uni as well. They are those people who run around in their house topless.... anyone drooling by now? haha
FAST FORWARD
Wilsern, alex and i hence head down to KFC for lunch.
Everybody always says,"the moon overseas is rounder."
We were actually hoping that the KFC overseas is bigger/sweeter/tastier/crispier/cheaper
IT was ironically the otherway. Their skin are saggy, and their portion is smaller. Instead of chilli and tomato sauce, they have tomato sauce and vineger instead. Remember the brown sauce in our whip potato? ITs their gravy which you can buy for $1. And their colesaw is green, sour and inedible.. So much of paying s$10 for a 3 piece chicken meal...
I seriously think the cheapest food over there is pizza. IT is only $2 per piece.
From alex and wilsern, its seems that jason so excited and wanted to go niagara falls! but both of them turn him down by saying that they haven plan anything. WEll, I understand both parties. At times i wanted to organise something (like the chinese new year visits) but was often spoiled by wet blanket. IT is no wonder he wanted to leave the place to explore on his own...
And since the theme of today was adventure, we decided to randomly take a bus to any random place to visit. And bus 25 appeared suddenly and we boarded immediately. Did i mention the bus fare is free for students?
We found ourselves at queen street.
-We got welcomed by an old man to view his lovely garden
-went into schneider haus musuem
-visited victoria park..
REached back residence at8pm!
Till now, i dont know where jason went.. haha..
Sat was awfully quiet. ITs seemed as though that the squrriel running around the fields are more than the people around here. Without a map and not knowing the place well, i decided to be adventurous by taking a bus to look for alex in his apartment! As someone once told me, 'curious doesnt kill the cat, boredorm does'.
With the plan of 120 sms per month, it would mean that i can only sent 4 sms per day. Alex, on the other hand, is pay per use, so i limit myself to get all the information needed to get to his place within 4 sms. Eventually took 1 hr to find his place, at some landed property.
Upon reaching, i saw jason walking out.
"where you going?"I asked
"I'm going to where the wind takes me!"He replied and walked away...
Alex bought me in the house.
Seriously, the only bad thing about living there is it is slightly further to get to school and you might seems uncomfortable living with the family there. OTher than that, it is really value for $$. Everything is provided for! They dont need to buy bedsheets, pillow case, pillow. They have fan in their room, Tv , pool table etc. Oh well, its different experience i would say.
Too bad for my fans that i'm not staying down there, cos i would get to know two angmo shuai ge and can in turn intro to you all. Actually we introduced ourselves, one of them is Rock (or was it Rob?). One of them is in uni as well. They are those people who run around in their house topless.... anyone drooling by now? haha
FAST FORWARD
Wilsern, alex and i hence head down to KFC for lunch.
Everybody always says,"the moon overseas is rounder."
We were actually hoping that the KFC overseas is bigger/sweeter/tastier/crispier/cheaper
IT was ironically the otherway. Their skin are saggy, and their portion is smaller. Instead of chilli and tomato sauce, they have tomato sauce and vineger instead. Remember the brown sauce in our whip potato? ITs their gravy which you can buy for $1. And their colesaw is green, sour and inedible.. So much of paying s$10 for a 3 piece chicken meal...
I seriously think the cheapest food over there is pizza. IT is only $2 per piece.
From alex and wilsern, its seems that jason so excited and wanted to go niagara falls! but both of them turn him down by saying that they haven plan anything. WEll, I understand both parties. At times i wanted to organise something (like the chinese new year visits) but was often spoiled by wet blanket. IT is no wonder he wanted to leave the place to explore on his own...
And since the theme of today was adventure, we decided to randomly take a bus to any random place to visit. And bus 25 appeared suddenly and we boarded immediately. Did i mention the bus fare is free for students?
We found ourselves at queen street.
-We got welcomed by an old man to view his lovely garden
-went into schneider haus musuem
-visited victoria park..
REached back residence at8pm!
Till now, i dont know where jason went.. haha..
Catching the falling leaves ...[8:18 PM]
****** ******
Saturday, September 06, 2008
First days
I was wrong, it turns out to be one big size angmo. Those with the size that YOU can easily imagine that HE can easily eat a humongous pig a whole. The first few things this big size ang mo told me was how cute the air stewardess is and everytime she walked past he would just gave off some sound effect like,'oh man' or ,'wooh!'. Anyway I managed to change the seat with other passager and got to sit beside Alex instead. And spent the 16 hrs of journey watching movies, eat
and more movies..
Los Angeles airport was rather disappointing in sight.All along I have imagine that place to be very grand. Always watched in Alias how they went to LA for some missions and got 1 scene in the airport stealing the artifact. WE manage to walked around the streets of LA during our transistion and both of us agreed that the place give us the feeling of somewhere "truely asia"
I spent most of my time there figuring whats wrong with my camera and eventually realised that i had to format all the photos from the day before... sian.. haha.. oh well no choice.
The flight to canada was uneventful, cos we tried to sleep to adjust to their timing. I happened to be sitting in between an angmo Guy and a chinese girl. The guy showed extreme endurance for not going to the toilet even once during the journey for 5 hrs. Whereas the girl kept on giving me the sian look for i went to toilet only twice.
And it is only upon reaching that i just realise that columbia lake village is super far from everything! I literally have to crawl from one end of the school to the other with my super sized luggage. To think alex got 2 luggage with him...
Mang was the first to welcome me to the room! he was much nicer in person than in photos! haha. Tae soon was next! They hence became my first Canadian and Korean friends respectively!
Mang was nice enough to bring me around the school to settle my bank and course. Unfortunately both were unsuccessful due to complications. Tae Soon who reached here just 3 days ago seemed to know the place like he has been here for 3 weeks, he bought me out via bus to mall outside to settle my bank and got a sim card and shopping!
University of waterloo is really a very quiet. ITs like a small town with less than 10 buses travelling around. The great thing is that with the student card, i can take the bus for free!
Its a strange feeling to be surrounded by angmos. All along back in singapore we normally meet one once in a blue moon hence will have some kind of uneasiness as they are afterall rare species hence strange. And it is really quite hard for me to read their facial expression due to the lack of interaction, i just couldnt tell if they are really helping or up to something. Moreover, they looked the same all of the time!
Nonetheless, upon reaching it feels they they are afterall people. There are some who are really nice, whereas some who are lazy and lack of professionalism. I am unfortunate to meet up with the latter when trying to set up my phone account. If this happens in singapore i will surely give some super cynical scarasm, but afterall this is my first day here, have to control...
I was wrong, it turns out to be one big size angmo. Those with the size that YOU can easily imagine that HE can easily eat a humongous pig a whole. The first few things this big size ang mo told me was how cute the air stewardess is and everytime she walked past he would just gave off some sound effect like,'oh man' or ,'wooh!'. Anyway I managed to change the seat with other passager and got to sit beside Alex instead. And spent the 16 hrs of journey watching movies, eat
and more movies..
Los Angeles airport was rather disappointing in sight.All along I have imagine that place to be very grand. Always watched in Alias how they went to LA for some missions and got 1 scene in the airport stealing the artifact. WE manage to walked around the streets of LA during our transistion and both of us agreed that the place give us the feeling of somewhere "truely asia"
I spent most of my time there figuring whats wrong with my camera and eventually realised that i had to format all the photos from the day before... sian.. haha.. oh well no choice.
The flight to canada was uneventful, cos we tried to sleep to adjust to their timing. I happened to be sitting in between an angmo Guy and a chinese girl. The guy showed extreme endurance for not going to the toilet even once during the journey for 5 hrs. Whereas the girl kept on giving me the sian look for i went to toilet only twice.
And it is only upon reaching that i just realise that columbia lake village is super far from everything! I literally have to crawl from one end of the school to the other with my super sized luggage. To think alex got 2 luggage with him...
Mang was the first to welcome me to the room! he was much nicer in person than in photos! haha. Tae soon was next! They hence became my first Canadian and Korean friends respectively!
Mang was nice enough to bring me around the school to settle my bank and course. Unfortunately both were unsuccessful due to complications. Tae Soon who reached here just 3 days ago seemed to know the place like he has been here for 3 weeks, he bought me out via bus to mall outside to settle my bank and got a sim card and shopping!
University of waterloo is really a very quiet. ITs like a small town with less than 10 buses travelling around. The great thing is that with the student card, i can take the bus for free!
Its a strange feeling to be surrounded by angmos. All along back in singapore we normally meet one once in a blue moon hence will have some kind of uneasiness as they are afterall rare species hence strange. And it is really quite hard for me to read their facial expression due to the lack of interaction, i just couldnt tell if they are really helping or up to something. Moreover, they looked the same all of the time!
Nonetheless, upon reaching it feels they they are afterall people. There are some who are really nice, whereas some who are lazy and lack of professionalism. I am unfortunate to meet up with the latter when trying to set up my phone account. If this happens in singapore i will surely give some super cynical scarasm, but afterall this is my first day here, have to control...
Catching the falling leaves ...[5:38 PM]
****** ******
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Pack up all my load, so long good bye
Guess What?
In a few hours time, I'll be having the longest flight I have ever been. Yes, i have been to europe, austrilla. But its 20 HRS sitting alone in a plane..Actually its not exactly alone lah, Alex is lazy to log on to sia to change his seat to beside me, hence he ended up sitting 2 seats infront of me.
Currently the seat beside me is empty, lets hope it doesnt turn up to be some strange guy. This is afterall the weekdays, there shouldnt be any children or student around. Polly those on the flight are businessman of sort. Hey wait! if they are businessmen they should be sitting in the first class right? So those at my economy flight will polly be those fat retired uncles and aunties going there for holiday! WEll, lets hope the seat stay empty then i can have the seats to myself! bwahaha!!
For the past months, i have been visualising how i would be sitting down by the lake, enjoying the beautiful sunset drinking tea when i reach canada. Visualising how i go abt skiing during winter and stuff. Today i'll be flying off, yet i dont feel like flying off... yet. haiz Mixed feelings..
ITs a good thing in many aspect that my flight change from 11pm to 4 pm. What will make sure that none of my friends will be coming. I dont want it to be dramatic like those only happen on television in which the main lead was about to board the plane then his friends will bash thru the security to see him one last time. OR he cant bear to leave then run back from the plane etc.
Aiyoh! with a mindstate like mine right now, it is no wonder this is such a badly written post... haha
anyway the next post will be from CANADA! STAY TUNE!
Guess What?
In a few hours time, I'll be having the longest flight I have ever been. Yes, i have been to europe, austrilla. But its 20 HRS sitting alone in a plane..Actually its not exactly alone lah, Alex is lazy to log on to sia to change his seat to beside me, hence he ended up sitting 2 seats infront of me.
Currently the seat beside me is empty, lets hope it doesnt turn up to be some strange guy. This is afterall the weekdays, there shouldnt be any children or student around. Polly those on the flight are businessman of sort. Hey wait! if they are businessmen they should be sitting in the first class right? So those at my economy flight will polly be those fat retired uncles and aunties going there for holiday! WEll, lets hope the seat stay empty then i can have the seats to myself! bwahaha!!
For the past months, i have been visualising how i would be sitting down by the lake, enjoying the beautiful sunset drinking tea when i reach canada. Visualising how i go abt skiing during winter and stuff. Today i'll be flying off, yet i dont feel like flying off... yet. haiz Mixed feelings..
ITs a good thing in many aspect that my flight change from 11pm to 4 pm. What will make sure that none of my friends will be coming. I dont want it to be dramatic like those only happen on television in which the main lead was about to board the plane then his friends will bash thru the security to see him one last time. OR he cant bear to leave then run back from the plane etc.
Aiyoh! with a mindstate like mine right now, it is no wonder this is such a badly written post... haha
anyway the next post will be from CANADA! STAY TUNE!
Catching the falling leaves ...[11:09 AM]
****** ******
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