Staying home today because I only fell asleep this morning at 6am - I don't know if it's jet lag or just insomnia - but I woke up at 12 noon, quite fully rested and ready to face the world... at home.
I am working though. Just discovered a deadline for a PhD symposium to be held in Hong Kong in November, due for submission on Monday, and typical to my "why the hell not" attitude I am going to write a 35-page (double-spaced) paper about my research within 3 days and submit it. A challenge's a challenge after all and there seems to be no reason why I shouldn't go for it. (I seem to have a knack for leading a super-stressful life.)
Other plans are in the pipeline, I spent the entire night thinking about them when I was sleepless, and these months are going to be really busy in trying to make those things work parallel with each other, and I'll have to multitask, which is something I'm not really good at, but I will try. At the same time I really want to lead a healthy and mindful lifestyle with a solid link with the real world instead of being online 13 hours a day, when I am in Singapore. Contrast that with the 0 hours when I was in Ireland and Estonia, when I was having the time of my life, and I realize that something must be done, or I will be dreaming my life away in the past or the future, when I should be focusing on the now.
So yes, it looks like I am back to my usual indestructible self, bouncing off walls and kicking ass. (Yes - I bounce off walls. That's what I do.) But first, I have a paper to write, if you'll excuse me.
Showing posts with label good-mood-ramblings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good-mood-ramblings. Show all posts
-25: SAY! HEY!
I just had a beer and therefore am merrier than a completely sober me would be.
SAY! HEY!*Green Day's Holiday plays in the background*
I've been listening to the soundtrack of the American Idiot, a Broadway musical based on Green Day's songs. I wish I could go watch it. Beats air-drumming and trying to type at the same time - I'm sure I look ridiculous but these days I'm often alone in the office anyway so it doesn't really matter.
Speaking of being alone in the office I came across this site today: Givesmehope.com, and barely one minute into reading the little stories tears started streaming down my cheeks. It's basically bite-sized little stories of compassion, courage and anything that gives people hope. I was just thinking to myself that luckily both my officemates were out today when a prof knocked on the door to look for Kristy. He probably thinks I have a sad life story behind the red nose and wet eyes. I don't. My life's great because I just had a beer.
I'm actually pretty hungry at the moment. It's 12:32am and I am too lazy to cook anything, besides there's this whole issue of me having brushed my teeth already. The barrier to filling my empty stomach is simply too high so I shall keep typing and ignore my rumbling tummy. I just remembered this short story that I read by Haruki Murakami, Tan Ying Jian's favourite author. It's about this couple who got so hungry one night that they decided to rob a bakery. Because they couldn't find a bakery they robbed McDonald's instead and took like 50 Big Macs. It was a good story except for the cows that died.
I have a meeting with my co-supervisor tomorrow. I think that's making me a little edgy. Plus I'm hungry and I just had a beer. That's pretty much the update to my life. Did I mention that I just had a beer?
SAY! HEY!*Green Day's Holiday plays in the background*
I've been listening to the soundtrack of the American Idiot, a Broadway musical based on Green Day's songs. I wish I could go watch it. Beats air-drumming and trying to type at the same time - I'm sure I look ridiculous but these days I'm often alone in the office anyway so it doesn't really matter.
Speaking of being alone in the office I came across this site today: Givesmehope.com, and barely one minute into reading the little stories tears started streaming down my cheeks. It's basically bite-sized little stories of compassion, courage and anything that gives people hope. I was just thinking to myself that luckily both my officemates were out today when a prof knocked on the door to look for Kristy. He probably thinks I have a sad life story behind the red nose and wet eyes. I don't. My life's great because I just had a beer.
I'm actually pretty hungry at the moment. It's 12:32am and I am too lazy to cook anything, besides there's this whole issue of me having brushed my teeth already. The barrier to filling my empty stomach is simply too high so I shall keep typing and ignore my rumbling tummy. I just remembered this short story that I read by Haruki Murakami, Tan Ying Jian's favourite author. It's about this couple who got so hungry one night that they decided to rob a bakery. Because they couldn't find a bakery they robbed McDonald's instead and took like 50 Big Macs. It was a good story except for the cows that died.
I have a meeting with my co-supervisor tomorrow. I think that's making me a little edgy. Plus I'm hungry and I just had a beer. That's pretty much the update to my life. Did I mention that I just had a beer?
-36: Dragonboat racing!
Today I had my first race! It's just 200m, nothing serious, but kind of fun. I was in the British Dragons Team B Women (story of how I got into the Brit team: Jia Ling had a friend Michael who was in the team, so one day she brought me along - but after that she got a boyfriend so she was too busy to go, and I ended up going with Michael - and then somehow Michael stopped going and I went alone. True story.) and we raced with another 3 boats for the qualifying round, and we were first! So tomorrow we're going through the semi-finals and then hopefully the finals.
"Can't believe those JC students brought their homework to do here!" said Vithya, one of my fellow paddlers. I then shamefacedly revealed the bunch of literature that I brought there. It was a good thing that I did that though, because most of the time was spent waiting anyway.
We saw some boats capsize (I think there were 3 at least) and there was this funny boat that had this cox (the person who steers) who kept butting into other people's lanes haha. It started off in Lane 2, veered off course into Lane 3, got back on course in Lane 2 and picked up the pace admirably only to veer into Lane 4. All in the space of one minute.
Hopefully we'll be able to bring back some bling tomorrow! Going to write a little now before going to bed. Buona Notte!
"Can't believe those JC students brought their homework to do here!" said Vithya, one of my fellow paddlers. I then shamefacedly revealed the bunch of literature that I brought there. It was a good thing that I did that though, because most of the time was spent waiting anyway.
We saw some boats capsize (I think there were 3 at least) and there was this funny boat that had this cox (the person who steers) who kept butting into other people's lanes haha. It started off in Lane 2, veered off course into Lane 3, got back on course in Lane 2 and picked up the pace admirably only to veer into Lane 4. All in the space of one minute.
Hopefully we'll be able to bring back some bling tomorrow! Going to write a little now before going to bed. Buona Notte!
-55: Tangan gatal.
You know how it always happens that I declare a hiatus and suddenly become even more prolific in my posting, or I say that I want to stop the daily post thing and still do a daily post? Somehow there's this rebellious me operating within the self that makes me do all these things.
The ticket-booking situation is still in a limbo, I actually booked the tickets, couldn't pay through my debit card, ended up choosing the bank transfer option and changing my mind 'coz my bank charges S$20 extra, then called up the airline try doing the debit card option again and failed, and eventually did an internet transfer omitting my payment reference code. So there's this sum of money that went into the airline account with no link with my booking code. Epic fail. Anyway I called up the airline again to try to make the connection, so hopefully everything will be fine soon. The competence of the call centre girl is dubious but me and Europe will prevail.
In other news, writing seems to be gradually picking up and needless to say I am glad. It is only logical that when you hit rock bottom and have nowhere to go but up. I have a meeting with my co-supervisor tomorrow and we'll bounce ideas. Unfortunately I also discovered today that my school machine loads the Big Bang Theory really quickly, so I broke my resolution and indulged in a few sinful episodes. But I offset that by writing up some research notes when I got home, so it's good.
The ticket-booking situation is still in a limbo, I actually booked the tickets, couldn't pay through my debit card, ended up choosing the bank transfer option and changing my mind 'coz my bank charges S$20 extra, then called up the airline try doing the debit card option again and failed, and eventually did an internet transfer omitting my payment reference code. So there's this sum of money that went into the airline account with no link with my booking code. Epic fail. Anyway I called up the airline again to try to make the connection, so hopefully everything will be fine soon. The competence of the call centre girl is dubious but me and Europe will prevail.
In other news, writing seems to be gradually picking up and needless to say I am glad. It is only logical that when you hit rock bottom and have nowhere to go but up. I have a meeting with my co-supervisor tomorrow and we'll bounce ideas. Unfortunately I also discovered today that my school machine loads the Big Bang Theory really quickly, so I broke my resolution and indulged in a few sinful episodes. But I offset that by writing up some research notes when I got home, so it's good.
-63: A Sunday Smile.
I lie in bed, half awake, listening to Beirut accompanied by rolling thunder in the distance, the lightning piercing through the curtains into the otherwise dark room. My body is heavy after a workout, in a good way. I snuggle deeper under the covers. I ponder the delightful prospect of having a fondue dinner with Linda shortly. I flip open my laptop and type a few lazy lines. I turn it off, and snooze for another 10 minutes.
Life is so good sometimes.
Life is so good sometimes.
-69: Estranging our true selves
This song always puts me in a dreamy state.
I'm reading about the postmodern self, as well as stretching myself intermittently to enjoy the strain on my waist muscles. It's like talking to my body. I ask my waist if it got a workout on Saturday. It responds affirmatively. I grin. I repeat the process. It does not take much to entertain me.
I am going rock climbing tomorrow. I have a slight fear of falling and breaking something and jeopardizing my plans but I am going to be brave.
I wonder if I'll be able to blog every single day counting down. We'll see =)
Big Bang Theory
Up at 1am watching the Big Bang Theory and eating maple syrup flavoured cereal. I'm so gonna die tomorrow, but this is totally worth it =D
2:15am. Good night folks!
2:15am. Good night folks!
My long weekend.
My head has been all over the place today and my work productivity has suffered, but because of the mellowness spilled over from the weekend, I am not worrying too much about it. I am right now in the office waiting for my insurance guy to come and give me some paperwork, then I can go back and cook noodles for dinner. I'm going to have maggi curry with tomatoes and chinese cabbage and a single egg. It's going to be awesome.
So Singapore sprung a public holiday on me on Friday (Good Friday), so I spent a leisurely day doing laundry and cleaning my hiking shoes with a toothbrush. That's how much I love them. They look brand new now, all ready for my next encounter with nature, which will probably be in Europe =D. In the evening Skinny David and I went to check out a club at Clarke Quay for some local bands. An acquaintance of mine was playing, so I thought I'd check if he was any good. (He wasn't.) But we were compensated by two other bands playing ska punk and I love love love the ska beat! Plus it was a very pleasant evening as David makes great conversation and is quite hopeless at eating melting double scoop ice-cream cones which makes for good entertainment.
Saturday came and I lepaked at home doing nothing in particular until evening, when I met up with Jen Hui and had dinner at Annalakshmi. This is my favourite dinner place in Singapore by far, an Indian restaurant in Chinatown. The concept is that you pay a price that you think is fair. The first couple of times I went, I paid S$10, but Saturday I paid S$15 because I like the place so much. Hanging out with Jen Hui, needless to say, is awesome. It's a feeling that is difficult to describe, maybe it's because we go way back and we're so familiar with each other that I feel completely secure and comfortable with her. And of course, Jen Hui's Jen Hui. It's impossible not to love her. After dinner we went to Esplanade to check out the free music at the waterfront that they have every weekend, but because they were playing extremely loud music that I wasn't really into, we retired into a cafe where we both hot chocolate and tiramisu, and continued our banter.
Sunday was the day that I volunteered with the Really Really Free Market Singapore. I had first read about this initiative on Wikipedia when I was researching gift economy, and I was really surprised when Eli, my CSer from Switzerland told me that she had stumbled upon it in Singapore! (KL has this initiative called Food Not Bombs, and apparently they had the RRFM also, 2 years ago, yeah! I wonder if they're still doing it.) Naturally I had to go, and when I learnt that they were looking for volunteers I jumped at the chance. So I spent about two hours there folding clothes and organizing stuff and smiling at the throngs of foreign workers who came into the market, and it was amazing.
It's such a great feeling to be able to tell people: everything here is free, just take what you want. I gave away my Talentime DVD (it was snapped up within 5 minutes, yay!) and an unopened miniature craft set, which also disappeared in a jiffy. I got a new book, Doing Good Well and an old book Don Quixote that Asa recommended some time ago. Also, after dinner, there was this amazingly cool yoga teacher sharing tips (for free of course - it is the RRFM) and he asked me to learn taichi, haha. Since I'm Chinese and all that. But I learnt a lot about yoga and the spiritual side of it, and I'm going to email him for further information - I feel that we're very much on the same channel and it would be brilliant to have a practising yogi to talk to about spirituality.
Also I got lovely emails, from Canadian CSer Daniel to keep in touch, and also from Silver, and I got my first interview consent from this guy from Switzerland who's organizing the CS Paella Party, which I'm going to this July! Damn happening online too =D Anyway I'm getting hungry, so I'll just leave you with this wonderful picture that Nex sent me today:
Couchsurfer dude! Awesome!
So Singapore sprung a public holiday on me on Friday (Good Friday), so I spent a leisurely day doing laundry and cleaning my hiking shoes with a toothbrush. That's how much I love them. They look brand new now, all ready for my next encounter with nature, which will probably be in Europe =D. In the evening Skinny David and I went to check out a club at Clarke Quay for some local bands. An acquaintance of mine was playing, so I thought I'd check if he was any good. (He wasn't.) But we were compensated by two other bands playing ska punk and I love love love the ska beat! Plus it was a very pleasant evening as David makes great conversation and is quite hopeless at eating melting double scoop ice-cream cones which makes for good entertainment.
Saturday came and I lepaked at home doing nothing in particular until evening, when I met up with Jen Hui and had dinner at Annalakshmi. This is my favourite dinner place in Singapore by far, an Indian restaurant in Chinatown. The concept is that you pay a price that you think is fair. The first couple of times I went, I paid S$10, but Saturday I paid S$15 because I like the place so much. Hanging out with Jen Hui, needless to say, is awesome. It's a feeling that is difficult to describe, maybe it's because we go way back and we're so familiar with each other that I feel completely secure and comfortable with her. And of course, Jen Hui's Jen Hui. It's impossible not to love her. After dinner we went to Esplanade to check out the free music at the waterfront that they have every weekend, but because they were playing extremely loud music that I wasn't really into, we retired into a cafe where we both hot chocolate and tiramisu, and continued our banter.
Sunday was the day that I volunteered with the Really Really Free Market Singapore. I had first read about this initiative on Wikipedia when I was researching gift economy, and I was really surprised when Eli, my CSer from Switzerland told me that she had stumbled upon it in Singapore! (KL has this initiative called Food Not Bombs, and apparently they had the RRFM also, 2 years ago, yeah! I wonder if they're still doing it.) Naturally I had to go, and when I learnt that they were looking for volunteers I jumped at the chance. So I spent about two hours there folding clothes and organizing stuff and smiling at the throngs of foreign workers who came into the market, and it was amazing.
It's such a great feeling to be able to tell people: everything here is free, just take what you want. I gave away my Talentime DVD (it was snapped up within 5 minutes, yay!) and an unopened miniature craft set, which also disappeared in a jiffy. I got a new book, Doing Good Well and an old book Don Quixote that Asa recommended some time ago. Also, after dinner, there was this amazingly cool yoga teacher sharing tips (for free of course - it is the RRFM) and he asked me to learn taichi, haha. Since I'm Chinese and all that. But I learnt a lot about yoga and the spiritual side of it, and I'm going to email him for further information - I feel that we're very much on the same channel and it would be brilliant to have a practising yogi to talk to about spirituality.
Also I got lovely emails, from Canadian CSer Daniel to keep in touch, and also from Silver, and I got my first interview consent from this guy from Switzerland who's organizing the CS Paella Party, which I'm going to this July! Damn happening online too =D Anyway I'm getting hungry, so I'll just leave you with this wonderful picture that Nex sent me today:
Couchsurfer dude! Awesome!
Shoes = No Shoes
So I bought my hiking shoes yesterday, from Timberland. Good stuff, waterproof and all, and half off.
This morning I decided to break in the shoes, so I wore them to office. I'm in the office now. The back of my ankle is already blistered, and a piece of skin just fell off. OK I was being dramatic, a piece of skin is still dangling by a thread to the motherskin. I am looking at my ankle in disbelief and I realize that by the time I get up to Mount Santubong you'd probably be able to see the bone.
The good news is, my mum had this problem with her hiking shoes before, and apparently the shoe bite can be easily rectified by buying thicker socks, which I obviously have to. The bad news is, it's 9:36am in the morning and I have a whole day in front of me, including going out tonight, and there's no way I'll be able to wear my shoes the whole day. My wise dad once said that I should never wait till I have blisters to wear thick socks. Actually he said that yesterday. Crazy prophetic skills.
Anyway, I can't wear the shoes. I have class at 11am and I have loads of other errands to run such as getting money from ATM, buying a thumbdrive, paying my phone bill and etc. That's a lot of walking to do. I can't wear the shoes before I get said thick socks. There is only one solution - I'll have to go barefoot today. (And I'm secretly gleeful about that.) I'm actually quite decently dressed up today, because I'm going to Clarke Quay to celebrate Jen Hui's birthday
*SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JEN HUI*
but I have on long jeans that will hide my shoe-less situation quite well. I'll just have to be extra careful with crazy stilettos out to get me. Hopefully I'll have time to go home before going out, to change into comfortable shoes.
In other news, my Canadian CSer Tony sent me a gift from Canada, it's a book, by Haruki Murakami. I'm happy =) I also had a great time picking out Jen Hui's gift yesterday evening, and I need to send out Kasia's package in time for her to get it before she leaves to Turkey ('coz it'll be too late if I send it after I get back from Kuching). It's the season of giving! And I get to not wear shoes today, yay!
This morning I decided to break in the shoes, so I wore them to office. I'm in the office now. The back of my ankle is already blistered, and a piece of skin just fell off. OK I was being dramatic, a piece of skin is still dangling by a thread to the motherskin. I am looking at my ankle in disbelief and I realize that by the time I get up to Mount Santubong you'd probably be able to see the bone.
The good news is, my mum had this problem with her hiking shoes before, and apparently the shoe bite can be easily rectified by buying thicker socks, which I obviously have to. The bad news is, it's 9:36am in the morning and I have a whole day in front of me, including going out tonight, and there's no way I'll be able to wear my shoes the whole day. My wise dad once said that I should never wait till I have blisters to wear thick socks. Actually he said that yesterday. Crazy prophetic skills.
Anyway, I can't wear the shoes. I have class at 11am and I have loads of other errands to run such as getting money from ATM, buying a thumbdrive, paying my phone bill and etc. That's a lot of walking to do. I can't wear the shoes before I get said thick socks. There is only one solution - I'll have to go barefoot today. (And I'm secretly gleeful about that.) I'm actually quite decently dressed up today, because I'm going to Clarke Quay to celebrate Jen Hui's birthday
*SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JEN HUI*
but I have on long jeans that will hide my shoe-less situation quite well. I'll just have to be extra careful with crazy stilettos out to get me. Hopefully I'll have time to go home before going out, to change into comfortable shoes.
In other news, my Canadian CSer Tony sent me a gift from Canada, it's a book, by Haruki Murakami. I'm happy =) I also had a great time picking out Jen Hui's gift yesterday evening, and I need to send out Kasia's package in time for her to get it before she leaves to Turkey ('coz it'll be too late if I send it after I get back from Kuching). It's the season of giving! And I get to not wear shoes today, yay!
Dead drafts.
I've got stuff to say but they keep jumbling themselves up, getting tangled in different strains of thought, that I have had to delete multiple paragraphs and start over. So although you are reading this in the first paragraph, try imagining like ten invisible paragraphs on top of each other, buried in layers, and this is the fortunate top layer that gets to stay.
Not unlike the cemetery that I went to in Boston where the tour guide was explaining to people that people used to point out the plot that they wanted to be buried at, which is fine, except that it was someone else's plot. What they did was just crush the bones of the previous dead person and bury the new dead person on top. Apparently it was a thriving business (at about $8-$12 a plot) back then until it got banned. Every grave had 2-12 dead people in it. I bet they're having a party down there with all the mangled bones.
Rest in peace my dead drafts.
See, that's the problem. I start thinking of something and it gets led onto some totally different tangent and there is not really a point to what I'm writing. Perhaps I'm just purging the contents and mess in my brain. The same mess in my brain that caused me to think that Val was coming yesterday, resulting in my whole family in KL anticipating his arrival because he's spending a night in KL before going to Phnom Penh before meeting me and Jia Ling in Kuching, but of course he didn't call because he is arriving tomorrow. Sucks to screw up so royally. But I'm glad I mixed up instead of him missing his flight, for example.
Too many things to think about. Of course mostly I'm thinking about my research, because I don't have a choice, but I shall not dwell on that because it is boring. To you anyway. Actually to me too because the same ideas circle my head, I don't know why, maybe because subconsciously I'm terrified if I would lose the fruit of my thoughts. I have pages of notes where I write about virtually the same thing to refresh and make sense of the ideas.
Dragonboating. On how I should train more extensively to really master it because I want to know that I am doing it the right way. I'm thinking of going for Wednesday trainings, maybe after March, because it's more intensive training which would be useful for building stamina, muscle and technique. Sure it would involve a lot of pain but what is new. And it looks like that's the only way to get better, which is something that I want. David Blaine didn't get to break the longest held breath record (17mins) by installing a pipe in his lungs. (He tried but it didn't work.) He did it through perseverance and trying all means possible, and lots of training and mental strength. (TED)
And that applies to so many different areas of my life. Travel for instance.
Erm. I just realized that there are not too many areas of my life. Research, dragonboating, travelling. But I'm pouring myself whole-heartedly into them. I like my life because I try putting only the good bits in it. It's not that it doesn't have bad bits. But usually if you make an effort and be less scared, you are able to put big chunks of good bits in to outweigh the bad bits.
A visualization if you need one:
11111110101111111111110011111101110111111111
I'm going to the museum today to look at ancient Egyptian dead bodies. And later a free concert in the botanical gardens. Today's gonna be a good day! Shall go get breakfast for necessary nutrients for mummy-gazing.
Not unlike the cemetery that I went to in Boston where the tour guide was explaining to people that people used to point out the plot that they wanted to be buried at, which is fine, except that it was someone else's plot. What they did was just crush the bones of the previous dead person and bury the new dead person on top. Apparently it was a thriving business (at about $8-$12 a plot) back then until it got banned. Every grave had 2-12 dead people in it. I bet they're having a party down there with all the mangled bones.
Rest in peace my dead drafts.
See, that's the problem. I start thinking of something and it gets led onto some totally different tangent and there is not really a point to what I'm writing. Perhaps I'm just purging the contents and mess in my brain. The same mess in my brain that caused me to think that Val was coming yesterday, resulting in my whole family in KL anticipating his arrival because he's spending a night in KL before going to Phnom Penh before meeting me and Jia Ling in Kuching, but of course he didn't call because he is arriving tomorrow. Sucks to screw up so royally. But I'm glad I mixed up instead of him missing his flight, for example.
Too many things to think about. Of course mostly I'm thinking about my research, because I don't have a choice, but I shall not dwell on that because it is boring. To you anyway. Actually to me too because the same ideas circle my head, I don't know why, maybe because subconsciously I'm terrified if I would lose the fruit of my thoughts. I have pages of notes where I write about virtually the same thing to refresh and make sense of the ideas.
Dragonboating. On how I should train more extensively to really master it because I want to know that I am doing it the right way. I'm thinking of going for Wednesday trainings, maybe after March, because it's more intensive training which would be useful for building stamina, muscle and technique. Sure it would involve a lot of pain but what is new. And it looks like that's the only way to get better, which is something that I want. David Blaine didn't get to break the longest held breath record (17mins) by installing a pipe in his lungs. (He tried but it didn't work.) He did it through perseverance and trying all means possible, and lots of training and mental strength. (TED)
And that applies to so many different areas of my life. Travel for instance.
Erm. I just realized that there are not too many areas of my life. Research, dragonboating, travelling. But I'm pouring myself whole-heartedly into them. I like my life because I try putting only the good bits in it. It's not that it doesn't have bad bits. But usually if you make an effort and be less scared, you are able to put big chunks of good bits in to outweigh the bad bits.
A visualization if you need one:
11111110101111111111110011111101110111111111
I'm going to the museum today to look at ancient Egyptian dead bodies. And later a free concert in the botanical gardens. Today's gonna be a good day! Shall go get breakfast for necessary nutrients for mummy-gazing.
no caps post
sunday morning and i am sticking around at home hoping to do some reading. well, i will, but as always i need to procrastinate a fair bit first so that i will feel sufficiently guilty to finally start reading. and once i start reading i usually don't stop. but then by that time it will be around evening and i only have a few hours left to read anyway. gosh i'm such an unproductive person.
good news is that my supervisors have approved my research questions and theoretical framework and i am good to go! for people who have witnessed my scowling squinting hair-pulling teeth-baring cheek-puffing fist-clenching anguish (i am a very expressive person) for the past six months, you'll be glad to know that i have finally, finally, managed to come up with something that validates the past year and a half of head-cracking. it feels good. but i know that the feel-good factor will wear out quite soon when i get down on my knees and start collecting literature and stuffing my face with readings, maybe to find out that there are some logical errors in my framework, but i guess i'll never find out unless i start doing the reading, will i?
*contemplates to end this post*
*decides to keep typing*
the past week has been great, i got my breakthrough and was quite ecstatic for most of the week, especially on wednesday when i realized that i finally nailed it. i proceeded to grin like an idiot (as i do) for the entire class that i was assisting at (as a teaching assistant), and entertained myself by drawing comics, something that i have not done for a very long time. then the following day i went out with my canadian cser daniel as a form of celebration. (while telling myself that i will do my readings on sunday instead. sunday's today.)
*contemplates*
*continues typing*
so i am thinking about the stuff that will happen in the next few months. i will see val in exactly two weeks. i am damn bloody excited of course. march is going to be a blur of travel (to kuching) and work. april will be spent entirely on work. may i am going to organize a birthday thing for myself, to celebrate being 27, because 27 is the new 21. (i find that entirely amusing when people say something is the new something. it sounds hip and happening but does not actually mean anything. it just gives you the impression that you are up to date and trendy. which is of course helpful when you're not actually.) may, another month of constant work, but i am hoping to have things pretty much in place by then.
june, july, august - i'm still unsure if i'll be in europe or not, the prospects look good now but i will only know for sure in march whether i get the berlin conference or not. if i do it clinches the deal. if i don't, well, i'll just have to come up with plan b. it's too bad that val and kasia both won't be in europe at that time, because partly why i want to do it is because i want to see europe through their eyes. val may be in australia with his girl, and kasia has got a job in turkey. i am really thrilled for them though, it is fantastic to travel with someone you love, and also wonderful to work in a foreign, exotic country. and it makes me feel happy to know that my friends are actively pursuing their dreams and constantly trying to live a better life, because that is the spirit that everybody should have. and when you're surrounded by people like that, you get inspired and you reach out for what you want as well.
september onwards will be a new semester. i will be presenting my confirmation report and hopefully everything will go according to plan, and i will pass it. and i get an increase in my allowance yay! by this time i will probably be commencing work on my data collection and incubating a new travel plan for the year to come. october, november, december. there goes a year!
wow. pace yourself, it's only february now, albeit the last day of it. ten months ahead, filled with hard work and constant learning, challenging and improving myself. new friends to be made, old friends to catch up with. tears, laughter, anticipation, happiness and heartbreak. floating in a sea of academic literature, enveloping myself in nature's beauty, giving and receiving big hugs. possibly meeting someone, probably not meeting anyone. maybe finally getting the courage to speak to guys that i like. haha. why am i so shy huh.
oh well. i should really start my reading. the journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.
good news is that my supervisors have approved my research questions and theoretical framework and i am good to go! for people who have witnessed my scowling squinting hair-pulling teeth-baring cheek-puffing fist-clenching anguish (i am a very expressive person) for the past six months, you'll be glad to know that i have finally, finally, managed to come up with something that validates the past year and a half of head-cracking. it feels good. but i know that the feel-good factor will wear out quite soon when i get down on my knees and start collecting literature and stuffing my face with readings, maybe to find out that there are some logical errors in my framework, but i guess i'll never find out unless i start doing the reading, will i?
*contemplates to end this post*
*decides to keep typing*
the past week has been great, i got my breakthrough and was quite ecstatic for most of the week, especially on wednesday when i realized that i finally nailed it. i proceeded to grin like an idiot (as i do) for the entire class that i was assisting at (as a teaching assistant), and entertained myself by drawing comics, something that i have not done for a very long time. then the following day i went out with my canadian cser daniel as a form of celebration. (while telling myself that i will do my readings on sunday instead. sunday's today.)
*contemplates*
*continues typing*
so i am thinking about the stuff that will happen in the next few months. i will see val in exactly two weeks. i am damn bloody excited of course. march is going to be a blur of travel (to kuching) and work. april will be spent entirely on work. may i am going to organize a birthday thing for myself, to celebrate being 27, because 27 is the new 21. (i find that entirely amusing when people say something is the new something. it sounds hip and happening but does not actually mean anything. it just gives you the impression that you are up to date and trendy. which is of course helpful when you're not actually.) may, another month of constant work, but i am hoping to have things pretty much in place by then.
june, july, august - i'm still unsure if i'll be in europe or not, the prospects look good now but i will only know for sure in march whether i get the berlin conference or not. if i do it clinches the deal. if i don't, well, i'll just have to come up with plan b. it's too bad that val and kasia both won't be in europe at that time, because partly why i want to do it is because i want to see europe through their eyes. val may be in australia with his girl, and kasia has got a job in turkey. i am really thrilled for them though, it is fantastic to travel with someone you love, and also wonderful to work in a foreign, exotic country. and it makes me feel happy to know that my friends are actively pursuing their dreams and constantly trying to live a better life, because that is the spirit that everybody should have. and when you're surrounded by people like that, you get inspired and you reach out for what you want as well.
september onwards will be a new semester. i will be presenting my confirmation report and hopefully everything will go according to plan, and i will pass it. and i get an increase in my allowance yay! by this time i will probably be commencing work on my data collection and incubating a new travel plan for the year to come. october, november, december. there goes a year!
wow. pace yourself, it's only february now, albeit the last day of it. ten months ahead, filled with hard work and constant learning, challenging and improving myself. new friends to be made, old friends to catch up with. tears, laughter, anticipation, happiness and heartbreak. floating in a sea of academic literature, enveloping myself in nature's beauty, giving and receiving big hugs. possibly meeting someone, probably not meeting anyone. maybe finally getting the courage to speak to guys that i like. haha. why am i so shy huh.
oh well. i should really start my reading. the journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.
Great Saturday
I'm having two really lovely couchsurfers this weekend, Tom and Chloe from New Zealand, both vegans, and we're having so much fun =D They're really pampering me, buying me lunch this afternoon (Thai/Peranakan vegan food *drools*) and preparing breakfast tomorrow for me, and they're so curious about all the fruits that we have, and we're having vegan conversations again, something that I only have with Val, I can't believe he's coming in about a month's time, yay!!
Val I'm so gonna bring you to the places that we've discovered in Singapore that serves great vegan stuff =D
We had a great session dragonboating today, it was really difficult, long distance stuff, but it feels amazing. Because you're pushing yourself to your absolute limit, and finding out that you could do much more than that. The best moment is when the coach yells "Easy" (lingo for stop), you stop and your arms go limp and you feel an enormous wave of relief and euphoria rushing through your veins. It's the best feeling ever. The harder it was, the happier you feel.
And the funny thing is, I actually enjoy post-dragonboat aching. I really can't explain why. I lie in the bed and turn and my muscles hurt and I go, ahh, there it is. The familiar feeling of muscles marinated in lactic acid. That's how we do it yo.
Anyway, after the dragonboating session I stayed back for their barbecue, I was expecting to eat corn and maybe baked potatoes, but they had vegan sausages! YEAH! First the beautiful lunch, and then vegan sausages - I was so happy. The company was also great, I've paddled for so long and never really talked to most of the people that I paddled with, and tonight I felt like I'm finally part of the community, albeit a community whose members voluntarily stick coins up their butts (well more like using the butt cheeks), walk 2 metres and release them coins into a pail (and the crowd goes wild!!!). Oh yes they had the stupidest games ever. Now I can actually say that I've had a 50 cent coin up my butt. But that is of course no comparison to Ian, another researcher in the team, who managed to put 10 dollars' worth of change up his butt, and do the strut and release repertoire. It was awesome.
So today was great. I know that I'll have to work really hard tomorrow to make up for lost time, but I don't really care now with all the post endorphin and alcoholic high. Hope your Saturday was good too.
Val I'm so gonna bring you to the places that we've discovered in Singapore that serves great vegan stuff =D
We had a great session dragonboating today, it was really difficult, long distance stuff, but it feels amazing. Because you're pushing yourself to your absolute limit, and finding out that you could do much more than that. The best moment is when the coach yells "Easy" (lingo for stop), you stop and your arms go limp and you feel an enormous wave of relief and euphoria rushing through your veins. It's the best feeling ever. The harder it was, the happier you feel.
And the funny thing is, I actually enjoy post-dragonboat aching. I really can't explain why. I lie in the bed and turn and my muscles hurt and I go, ahh, there it is. The familiar feeling of muscles marinated in lactic acid. That's how we do it yo.
Anyway, after the dragonboating session I stayed back for their barbecue, I was expecting to eat corn and maybe baked potatoes, but they had vegan sausages! YEAH! First the beautiful lunch, and then vegan sausages - I was so happy. The company was also great, I've paddled for so long and never really talked to most of the people that I paddled with, and tonight I felt like I'm finally part of the community, albeit a community whose members voluntarily stick coins up their butts (well more like using the butt cheeks), walk 2 metres and release them coins into a pail (and the crowd goes wild!!!). Oh yes they had the stupidest games ever. Now I can actually say that I've had a 50 cent coin up my butt. But that is of course no comparison to Ian, another researcher in the team, who managed to put 10 dollars' worth of change up his butt, and do the strut and release repertoire. It was awesome.
So today was great. I know that I'll have to work really hard tomorrow to make up for lost time, but I don't really care now with all the post endorphin and alcoholic high. Hope your Saturday was good too.
The World is Just Awesome
(Dialogue)
Astronaut 1: It never gets old, huh?
Astronaut 2: Nope.
Astronaut 1: It kinda makes you want to...
Astronaut 2: Break into song?
Astronaut 1: Yep.
I love the mountains,
I love the clear blue skies
I love big bridges
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da (twice)
I love the oceans
I love real dirty things
I love to go fast
I love Egyptian kings
I love the whole world
And all its craziness
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da (twice)
I love tornadoes
I love arachnids
I love hot magma
I love the giant squids
I love the whole world
It's such a brilliant place
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da (repeating until fade)
***
My favourite song right now. This is such a sorry excuse for a filler post, I know, I've just been really busy at work and when I'm at home I'm zoning out in front of the TV, cooking and replying emails. I could get used to this life. Anyway, my Indian couchsurfer stood me up so I was free this week, but I've got five couchsurfers (all confirmed) coming next week and it's going to be crazy good fun =)
Updates might be few and far between as I try to cram in as much academic writing as possible. Eyes on the prize! Boom de ah da boom de ah da boom de ah da boom de ah da
Dancing in a snow globe.
Blogging and singing along to Joshua Radin's Winter, in an uplifting, swaying manner that KF would have considered inappropriate for a rather sad song. I remember with fondness that he used to shake his head at me crooning happily at depressing ballads. But what can I do if I just enjoy singing so much that the corners of my mouth turn up, automatically, while I belt out song after song?
***
My roving mind also has me looking at my Google Calendar for January and anticipating all the Couchsurfers that will come (four girls! Yeah!), and I'm also contemplating the courses that I'm sitting in for. At the same time I am watching a HK drama with my sister. At intervals I am cupping my face, in a physical representation of "The Scream", exclaiming "好奸啊！！！" (English: Hou Gan Ahh!!)
***
I'm reading a new paper on tourism and identity. Getting inspired. Writing notes. Making a timeline in my head on when I'll finish the first draft of my confirmation report. It will happen, it will happen!
***
I'm meeting Woei in the afternoon. Looking forward to some inspiring conversations. We have an annual talkathon when we meet and just spill our guts to each other. Last year we talked for 18 hours straight. I think this year we'll probably not, since our older bodies can't stand all-nighters any longer. But we're also one year older and wiser and therefore the quality of our conversation will be even better, like aged wine.
***
I remember the sound
of your November downtown
I remember the truth
A warm December with you
But I don't have to make this mistake
And I don't have to stay this way
If only I would wake
***
So many snowflakes. So little time to observe each and every one of them, that I choose to dance through them, creating little whirlwinds, kicking up a blizzard, laughing! For the moment now is the only moment, worries are of no use because I will face challenges when they come, and I know I will prevail, and there is nothing left to do right now except to
Dance, dance, like you can change the world!
***
My roving mind also has me looking at my Google Calendar for January and anticipating all the Couchsurfers that will come (four girls! Yeah!), and I'm also contemplating the courses that I'm sitting in for. At the same time I am watching a HK drama with my sister. At intervals I am cupping my face, in a physical representation of "The Scream", exclaiming "好奸啊！！！" (English: Hou Gan Ahh!!)
***
I'm reading a new paper on tourism and identity. Getting inspired. Writing notes. Making a timeline in my head on when I'll finish the first draft of my confirmation report. It will happen, it will happen!
***
I'm meeting Woei in the afternoon. Looking forward to some inspiring conversations. We have an annual talkathon when we meet and just spill our guts to each other. Last year we talked for 18 hours straight. I think this year we'll probably not, since our older bodies can't stand all-nighters any longer. But we're also one year older and wiser and therefore the quality of our conversation will be even better, like aged wine.
***
I remember the sound
of your November downtown
I remember the truth
A warm December with you
But I don't have to make this mistake
And I don't have to stay this way
If only I would wake
***
So many snowflakes. So little time to observe each and every one of them, that I choose to dance through them, creating little whirlwinds, kicking up a blizzard, laughing! For the moment now is the only moment, worries are of no use because I will face challenges when they come, and I know I will prevail, and there is nothing left to do right now except to
Dance, dance, like you can change the world!
I have this silly grin on my face.
Might be the Estonian liquor that I shared with Yuen and Skinny David. It's really good and I'm sorry that we've finished it, but I'm glad I shared because they both liked it very much.
My eyes are half-shut, I'm rather sleepy, but I'm just too mellow and idyllic to move my lazy butt to go take a shower. I'm just feeling really contented and smiley and probably look like an idiot grinning at my computer screen with no apparent reason. Luckily Housemate David is doing his thing in his room.
Patrick left today and did all these little things that were so sweet... he washed the sheets and disposed of the recyclables, and left a note on our white board saying that he left gifts for Housemate David and I. So although I had guests over (the usual suspects - Yuen, Skinny David and Tony Twentytwo and his girlfriend), for about ten minutes I was bouncing around the house excitedly looking for the presents, like in a treasure hunt. Then I found them - a quaint little Middle Eastern rug, and also a handmade green shawl from Nepal! *rubs face on the soft shawl and feet on soft rug* *grins like an idiot again*
Gifts that I have got from my CSers: a thank you card, five yards of Nigerian tie dyed cloth, a bar of Swiss chocolate and a passport mug shot, a little golden brooch saying "Malaysia Truly Asia", two miniature bottles of Estonian liquor and a block of mango ice-cream that somehow tastes like durian, a Middle Eastern rug and a handmade green shawl from Nepal. Unintentionally left behind are a pair of Nigerian pants, a Swiss German book on Bali and a tube of Slovakian toothpaste.
And although I am doing research, I'm also having a wonderful time, trying to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and taken care of, because that somehow makes me feel good. Maybe it's my motherly instincts coming into place. Interviews have become somewhat of a pleasant side product, and maybe it's because of the holiday season I haven't been stressing out too much about the theoretical aspect. I'm just going to stick to interview transcribing, and leave the head cracking to next year.
Right now I'm chilled out, just bopping to Lenka's The Show. This Friday I'll be making my way up north, to a primary school gathering/sleepover in Malacca, and then back to KL, where I will meet everyone finally =) Woei, LL, Mel Sim, everyone!! The thoughts of them give me warm fuzzy feelings, it's been such a long time since I've seen all these people that I really care about. Maybe I will also meet up with Silver before he takes a flight from KL to Vietnam.
So if I haven't stressed it enough yet, I'm happy. And stinky. I should take a shower now.
My eyes are half-shut, I'm rather sleepy, but I'm just too mellow and idyllic to move my lazy butt to go take a shower. I'm just feeling really contented and smiley and probably look like an idiot grinning at my computer screen with no apparent reason. Luckily Housemate David is doing his thing in his room.
Patrick left today and did all these little things that were so sweet... he washed the sheets and disposed of the recyclables, and left a note on our white board saying that he left gifts for Housemate David and I. So although I had guests over (the usual suspects - Yuen, Skinny David and Tony Twentytwo and his girlfriend), for about ten minutes I was bouncing around the house excitedly looking for the presents, like in a treasure hunt. Then I found them - a quaint little Middle Eastern rug, and also a handmade green shawl from Nepal! *rubs face on the soft shawl and feet on soft rug* *grins like an idiot again*
Gifts that I have got from my CSers: a thank you card, five yards of Nigerian tie dyed cloth, a bar of Swiss chocolate and a passport mug shot, a little golden brooch saying "Malaysia Truly Asia", two miniature bottles of Estonian liquor and a block of mango ice-cream that somehow tastes like durian, a Middle Eastern rug and a handmade green shawl from Nepal. Unintentionally left behind are a pair of Nigerian pants, a Swiss German book on Bali and a tube of Slovakian toothpaste.
And although I am doing research, I'm also having a wonderful time, trying to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and taken care of, because that somehow makes me feel good. Maybe it's my motherly instincts coming into place. Interviews have become somewhat of a pleasant side product, and maybe it's because of the holiday season I haven't been stressing out too much about the theoretical aspect. I'm just going to stick to interview transcribing, and leave the head cracking to next year.
Right now I'm chilled out, just bopping to Lenka's The Show. This Friday I'll be making my way up north, to a primary school gathering/sleepover in Malacca, and then back to KL, where I will meet everyone finally =) Woei, LL, Mel Sim, everyone!! The thoughts of them give me warm fuzzy feelings, it's been such a long time since I've seen all these people that I really care about. Maybe I will also meet up with Silver before he takes a flight from KL to Vietnam.
So if I haven't stressed it enough yet, I'm happy. And stinky. I should take a shower now.
Saturday Ramblings
Lazy Saturday and I am spending my time pondering about reading the humongous text of Francis Fukuyama's Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity. It seems like a perfectly readable book, if I don't think about the thickness of it.
This morning when I was flipping through TV channels while eating eggs and garlic bread for breakfast, I caught a small sliver of a programme about Samurai Bows. The advice dispensed by a master archer was intriguing. He says that one should not focus on the bull's eye when one shoots the arrow. The more you focus on it the more distracted you will be. You will just have to practise until you hit the target without thinking about hitting it. Fascinatingly counter-intuitive. Maybe that's the same case with the research that I'm doing. I should just enjoy reading and writing, hosting and meeting people, without putting so much pressure on myself. And at the end of the day, voila, there's my thesis all written and bound, and I wouldn't know how it happened. I wish.
Yesterday I had Jia Ling over for dinner and cooked two dishes for her, which she absolutely loved. And Jia Ling's not the type who would give false compliments so I feel extremely gratified. And it was a vegan meal too, score!
The first dish was brocolli + chick peas + tomatoes in a pot. I came up with it purely by chance the other day, as I was planning to heap some pasta sauce on random vegetables that I had in the fridge and a can of chick peas (aka garbanzo beans, which is such an ugly name) for dinner. Everything was simmering nicely in the pot when I found out that I couldn't open the damn pasta sauce jar, so I simply had to have it without the sauce, and I found that broccoli and chick peas go pretty well together by themselves. Jia Ling heaped high praise on this one, although I thought it was a little overcooked, but since she liked her broccoli soft I was in luck.
The second was mushroom tossed with pine nuts, extremely simple, and it was the first time that I've made it. Pine nuts are yum, even when they are burnt. I had a stroke of genius and put in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in with the soy sauce for seasoning, inspired by a mushroom salad that I had once with balsamic vinegar which was really good. I personally like this one better than the broccoli and chickpeas. We had hash browns and bread as sides.
An inventory check of my fridge shows that I have an eggplant, two green capsicums, tofu, mushrooms and some Chinese vegetable which I don't know the English name of. I also have some baby potatoes. It is mysterious that an entire bag of carrots has disappeared. Maybe I dumped them into the rubbish chute while sleepwalking because I secretly hate carrots, or maybe Housemate David ate them all to avenge his stolen bread. In any case I don't have carrots now. I am looking forward to putting together random stuff tonight again.
My parents brought me this vegan recipe book Veganomicon - The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, when they came last week, and I will try out some of the recipes in time. Although I do enjoy working without recipes it is probably better that I learn through some guidance. I feel like making hummus this weekend, with the recipe that Val gave me some time ago, but it remains to be seen if I can get my hands on tahini (sesame paste) at Fairprice Xtra. Or if I can actually drag my lazy butt out of the house to get it.
I also feel like experimenting with wine. According to The Veganomicon, the vegan cookbook for Transformers, "there's really nothing like wine when it comes to drawing out the flavours of seared and sauteed vegetables (particularly mushrooms), herbs and oils." It recommends white wine, red or sherry. I think I'll get a bottle of red the next time I go to Fairprice. Will also get a couple of wine glasses just in case =D
Ah. Leisurely Saturday afternoon just thinking about nothing in particular but cooking. At some point I'll have to pick up the big fat Francis Fukuyama, but now I shall be content with just sitting at my lounge corner typing absently, wondering what Housemate David is up to in the kitchen with the clanging and banging. We're getting along great, by the way. He's amazingly cool and very supportive of my academic needs (i.e. to host strangers in our home in the name of research). I put up a calendar on our fridge showing when my surfers come and he never questions anything. And we give each other loads of space, which is something that I appreciate very much. Half the time it's like living alone. Great stuff. About 40% of my stipend goes to my rent and utility bills but it's worth every penny.
Raining cats and dogs out there, like it does, every afternoon. Hello Mr. Fukuyama.
This morning when I was flipping through TV channels while eating eggs and garlic bread for breakfast, I caught a small sliver of a programme about Samurai Bows. The advice dispensed by a master archer was intriguing. He says that one should not focus on the bull's eye when one shoots the arrow. The more you focus on it the more distracted you will be. You will just have to practise until you hit the target without thinking about hitting it. Fascinatingly counter-intuitive. Maybe that's the same case with the research that I'm doing. I should just enjoy reading and writing, hosting and meeting people, without putting so much pressure on myself. And at the end of the day, voila, there's my thesis all written and bound, and I wouldn't know how it happened. I wish.
Yesterday I had Jia Ling over for dinner and cooked two dishes for her, which she absolutely loved. And Jia Ling's not the type who would give false compliments so I feel extremely gratified. And it was a vegan meal too, score!
The first dish was brocolli + chick peas + tomatoes in a pot. I came up with it purely by chance the other day, as I was planning to heap some pasta sauce on random vegetables that I had in the fridge and a can of chick peas (aka garbanzo beans, which is such an ugly name) for dinner. Everything was simmering nicely in the pot when I found out that I couldn't open the damn pasta sauce jar, so I simply had to have it without the sauce, and I found that broccoli and chick peas go pretty well together by themselves. Jia Ling heaped high praise on this one, although I thought it was a little overcooked, but since she liked her broccoli soft I was in luck.
The second was mushroom tossed with pine nuts, extremely simple, and it was the first time that I've made it. Pine nuts are yum, even when they are burnt. I had a stroke of genius and put in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in with the soy sauce for seasoning, inspired by a mushroom salad that I had once with balsamic vinegar which was really good. I personally like this one better than the broccoli and chickpeas. We had hash browns and bread as sides.
An inventory check of my fridge shows that I have an eggplant, two green capsicums, tofu, mushrooms and some Chinese vegetable which I don't know the English name of. I also have some baby potatoes. It is mysterious that an entire bag of carrots has disappeared. Maybe I dumped them into the rubbish chute while sleepwalking because I secretly hate carrots, or maybe Housemate David ate them all to avenge his stolen bread. In any case I don't have carrots now. I am looking forward to putting together random stuff tonight again.
My parents brought me this vegan recipe book Veganomicon - The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, when they came last week, and I will try out some of the recipes in time. Although I do enjoy working without recipes it is probably better that I learn through some guidance. I feel like making hummus this weekend, with the recipe that Val gave me some time ago, but it remains to be seen if I can get my hands on tahini (sesame paste) at Fairprice Xtra. Or if I can actually drag my lazy butt out of the house to get it.
I also feel like experimenting with wine. According to The Veganomicon, the vegan cookbook for Transformers, "there's really nothing like wine when it comes to drawing out the flavours of seared and sauteed vegetables (particularly mushrooms), herbs and oils." It recommends white wine, red or sherry. I think I'll get a bottle of red the next time I go to Fairprice. Will also get a couple of wine glasses just in case =D
Ah. Leisurely Saturday afternoon just thinking about nothing in particular but cooking. At some point I'll have to pick up the big fat Francis Fukuyama, but now I shall be content with just sitting at my lounge corner typing absently, wondering what Housemate David is up to in the kitchen with the clanging and banging. We're getting along great, by the way. He's amazingly cool and very supportive of my academic needs (i.e. to host strangers in our home in the name of research). I put up a calendar on our fridge showing when my surfers come and he never questions anything. And we give each other loads of space, which is something that I appreciate very much. Half the time it's like living alone. Great stuff. About 40% of my stipend goes to my rent and utility bills but it's worth every penny.
Raining cats and dogs out there, like it does, every afternoon. Hello Mr. Fukuyama.
Lazy drowsy Sunday afternoon
Greedy Squirrel with Ancient Ruins of AyutthayaAm going to cook soup in the crockpot, take a quick shower, and snuggle under covers to take a nap with full knowledge that I'm going to wake up to something scrumptious later. *grins with half-closed eyes*
The lunatic is on the grass.
Was at the office by 8am this morning, to beat the morning sun. The location of my new place is a 20 minute walk to my office, which is pretty cool because it means that I don't have to waste time on buses or MRTs, and I shrink my carbon footprint, yeah! All the more to compensate for flights that I take =P
There is also a recycling station directly downstairs, I can see it from my room window nine floors up. So now I have two more trash cans, one for bottles and cans, and one for paper. Takes a bit more effort, because I'll have to take the recyclables down instead of just disposing everything through the rubbish chute in the kitchen that makes trash disappear magically (never ceases to amaze me). But I'm happy about it. It's one of the little things, out of many others, that makes my place so great.
Housemate David has not moved in yet, he'll probably move in this weekend or later. Right now I am staying alone, enjoying the space that I can call my own, finally. On the day that my parents returned to KL, the second day that I moved in, I lay spreadeagle on my mattress, buried in the midst of boxes and bags, and slept. For hours and hours. Woke up, thought about unpacking, and went back to sleep. After all these months, I could finally relax and unwind and... rest. From July I'd been rushing from one event to another, one country to another, one bed to another. I felt like I could sleep forever. And from that day I have been waking up every morning with a smile on my face.
My room is gorgeous. It is bright and airy (windy even, at times), fully unfurnished, meaning that I moved into an entirely bare room. This allows me tremendous creative space. I've planned the whole room out and know exactly how it will look like after I'm done with it. Right now it's a big mess but that will change after I get some storage space. My faithful wall map of Asia (with Europe thrown in) will go up on the wall beside my bed. I'll have a chill out corner, with soft lighting and a rug and lots of cushions. Dark curtains. A small book case half concealed under a table cloth.
And the kitchen! I can finally buy vegetables in bulk because we have a cool new fridge (as opposed to the old broken one with the previous Landlord of Nightmares), have milk, put my eggs in, have fizzy drinks, so on and so forth =D I've been cooking noodles the past two nights just putting together whatever I can think of, coming up with a final concoction of:
charcoal noodles + onion + carrot + tomato + egg + seaweed + milk + vegetable stock. Tastes pretty good actually. I also eat it out of the pot. One less dish to wash =D
I think I will make mushroom soup tonight. Maybe I should experiment infusing rice with a mushroom soup base. Make some sort of risotto-like thing, which in case of failure will just turn into mushroom porridge.
Yup I'm pretty happy =) Oh yeah I am going to donate blood this afternoon. Yes, after two times of rejection (a year ago my veins were too weak, 8 months ago I was sick within 3 weeks before the donation drive) I am going for the third time. I connected the dots and figured out the problem. Twice I went on Fridays, twice I failed! Coincidence? I don't think so. Haha just kidding. Anyway third time's the charm, fingers crossed. Back to work!
There is also a recycling station directly downstairs, I can see it from my room window nine floors up. So now I have two more trash cans, one for bottles and cans, and one for paper. Takes a bit more effort, because I'll have to take the recyclables down instead of just disposing everything through the rubbish chute in the kitchen that makes trash disappear magically (never ceases to amaze me). But I'm happy about it. It's one of the little things, out of many others, that makes my place so great.
Housemate David has not moved in yet, he'll probably move in this weekend or later. Right now I am staying alone, enjoying the space that I can call my own, finally. On the day that my parents returned to KL, the second day that I moved in, I lay spreadeagle on my mattress, buried in the midst of boxes and bags, and slept. For hours and hours. Woke up, thought about unpacking, and went back to sleep. After all these months, I could finally relax and unwind and... rest. From July I'd been rushing from one event to another, one country to another, one bed to another. I felt like I could sleep forever. And from that day I have been waking up every morning with a smile on my face.
My room is gorgeous. It is bright and airy (windy even, at times), fully unfurnished, meaning that I moved into an entirely bare room. This allows me tremendous creative space. I've planned the whole room out and know exactly how it will look like after I'm done with it. Right now it's a big mess but that will change after I get some storage space. My faithful wall map of Asia (with Europe thrown in) will go up on the wall beside my bed. I'll have a chill out corner, with soft lighting and a rug and lots of cushions. Dark curtains. A small book case half concealed under a table cloth.
And the kitchen! I can finally buy vegetables in bulk because we have a cool new fridge (as opposed to the old broken one with the previous Landlord of Nightmares), have milk, put my eggs in, have fizzy drinks, so on and so forth =D I've been cooking noodles the past two nights just putting together whatever I can think of, coming up with a final concoction of:
charcoal noodles + onion + carrot + tomato + egg + seaweed + milk + vegetable stock. Tastes pretty good actually. I also eat it out of the pot. One less dish to wash =D
I think I will make mushroom soup tonight. Maybe I should experiment infusing rice with a mushroom soup base. Make some sort of risotto-like thing, which in case of failure will just turn into mushroom porridge.
Yup I'm pretty happy =) Oh yeah I am going to donate blood this afternoon. Yes, after two times of rejection (a year ago my veins were too weak, 8 months ago I was sick within 3 weeks before the donation drive) I am going for the third time. I connected the dots and figured out the problem. Twice I went on Fridays, twice I failed! Coincidence? I don't think so. Haha just kidding. Anyway third time's the charm, fingers crossed. Back to work!
This is not a test, I repeat -
This is not a test.
I've finally got a place! I've paid the deposit! I'm moving this weekend! Me, no longer homeless! Who would've guessed!
So yeah. Me and Housemate David (The reason he's not simply David is because there are too many Davids in my vicinity so I have to start a labelling system.) viewed the house and paid the deposit yesterday. The place is 50 bucks over my budget, but after weighing all factors I decided that it is worth it.
Firstly, it's near NTU. I am reconsidering the buying a bicycle, skinning my knees and terrorizing the pedestrians option. Otherwise it is only a ten-minute bus ride plus a ten-minute walk to my office. Secondly, I'll be able to cook and experiment in the kitchen because I'm only sharing with one male housemate who reportedly (Jia Ling being the reporter) does not cook and hence is in no position to judge my amateur cooking skills. Thirdly, I am anticipating a vibrant social life from now onwards because I'll be able to host CSers and friends over to hang out, in a space that I can call my own.
I'm pretty happy about it. Although the place faces the main road I figure that it is still the best option that I have right now, so I'll try not to worry too much about the dust and noise level. At this point I'm just superbly thankful that my days of living out of a suitcase/boxes are numbered, and I can finally put my life in order and focus on my research. You'd be surprised how the inability to find a pair of socks can have adverse effects on a clear, inquiring mind.
Right now having bright colourful thoughts about furnishing my room. Happiness =)
I've finally got a place! I've paid the deposit! I'm moving this weekend! Me, no longer homeless! Who would've guessed!
So yeah. Me and Housemate David (The reason he's not simply David is because there are too many Davids in my vicinity so I have to start a labelling system.) viewed the house and paid the deposit yesterday. The place is 50 bucks over my budget, but after weighing all factors I decided that it is worth it.
Firstly, it's near NTU. I am reconsidering the buying a bicycle, skinning my knees and terrorizing the pedestrians option. Otherwise it is only a ten-minute bus ride plus a ten-minute walk to my office. Secondly, I'll be able to cook and experiment in the kitchen because I'm only sharing with one male housemate who reportedly (Jia Ling being the reporter) does not cook and hence is in no position to judge my amateur cooking skills. Thirdly, I am anticipating a vibrant social life from now onwards because I'll be able to host CSers and friends over to hang out, in a space that I can call my own.
I'm pretty happy about it. Although the place faces the main road I figure that it is still the best option that I have right now, so I'll try not to worry too much about the dust and noise level. At this point I'm just superbly thankful that my days of living out of a suitcase/boxes are numbered, and I can finally put my life in order and focus on my research. You'd be surprised how the inability to find a pair of socks can have adverse effects on a clear, inquiring mind.
Right now having bright colourful thoughts about furnishing my room. Happiness =)
Two consecutive posts! I am on fire!
For those who are concerned about my depression and state of hunger, I have recovered and am now in a happy blogging mood. The mood swing that is my life, and the wonders of mediocre hawker food.
Different aspects of my life have also improved for the better - for instance, I'm going home today, woohoo!! This is totally unplanned, and I'm only going home because Tan Kuan Sheng was selling his bus ticket off, so I thought what the heck and took it. So I'm going to be home for the long Raya weekend =D
Put me and Asa together in a chatroom and we'll be up to no good - we decided yesterday that we will go for a roadtrip to the east coast this weekend, and do some camping along the beach! We are going to find some random nice beach, set up my four season tent, barbecue vegetables and burn marshmallows. It's going to be great.
And with regards to homelessness, I have found two housemates to share a house, so the remaining problem is just to get a place. It is rather cool to be able to rent a whole place and not having to take any shit from existing people who live there. I'm already fantasizing about the freedom that I will be able to have. *stares dreamily into space*
Also, I had the most invigorating discussion with my supervisor yesterday. He knows where I'm coming from, what motivates me and what my research needs - and he's prepared to support me in the mad schemes that I am already starting to devise. He even encourages the mad schemes. Quote from him: "we wouldn't want that to get in the way of your travelling", and I assure you that he meant no sarcasm at all. At some point I was so overwhelmed by his coolness that I blurted out, "you're the coolest supervisor, ever!" and I meant every syllable of it.
So yeah, life has been great, and the emails this morning from Robert and a Singaporean girl that I met in the Burning Man are cherries on top. Hugs to Val whom I miss, to LL whose email I have yet to reply, and to the peeps in KL I AM REACHING TONIGHT, and to all the wonderful people I met in the States and are actually taking the trouble to read my blog - I love and miss all of you.
*hops away in hyper happy mode*
Different aspects of my life have also improved for the better - for instance, I'm going home today, woohoo!! This is totally unplanned, and I'm only going home because Tan Kuan Sheng was selling his bus ticket off, so I thought what the heck and took it. So I'm going to be home for the long Raya weekend =D
Put me and Asa together in a chatroom and we'll be up to no good - we decided yesterday that we will go for a roadtrip to the east coast this weekend, and do some camping along the beach! We are going to find some random nice beach, set up my four season tent, barbecue vegetables and burn marshmallows. It's going to be great.
And with regards to homelessness, I have found two housemates to share a house, so the remaining problem is just to get a place. It is rather cool to be able to rent a whole place and not having to take any shit from existing people who live there. I'm already fantasizing about the freedom that I will be able to have. *stares dreamily into space*
Also, I had the most invigorating discussion with my supervisor yesterday. He knows where I'm coming from, what motivates me and what my research needs - and he's prepared to support me in the mad schemes that I am already starting to devise. He even encourages the mad schemes. Quote from him: "we wouldn't want that to get in the way of your travelling", and I assure you that he meant no sarcasm at all. At some point I was so overwhelmed by his coolness that I blurted out, "you're the coolest supervisor, ever!" and I meant every syllable of it.
So yeah, life has been great, and the emails this morning from Robert and a Singaporean girl that I met in the Burning Man are cherries on top. Hugs to Val whom I miss, to LL whose email I have yet to reply, and to the peeps in KL I AM REACHING TONIGHT, and to all the wonderful people I met in the States and are actually taking the trouble to read my blog - I love and miss all of you.
*hops away in hyper happy mode*
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