苏州 - 杭州 (1)

Last week has been real tiring yet fulfilling :) I went for 3D2N Suzhou/Hangzhou trip with James. We took early bus from Shanghai to Suzhou and spent half day there before moving to Hangzhou via boat. The bus ride only took 1hr 45min; while the boat ride was 14hrs, but it was pretty clean and nice too :)

Suzhou really holds up its reputation being a city famous for its gardens. There are numerous of beautiful gardens there, and each garden has its own characteristics. However ,due to time shortage, we shortlisted our visits to only 网师园 aka Master of Net Gardens, 狮子林 aka Lion's Grove and 寒山寺 temple. The first garden is rather small, but it's claimed to be the most beautiful garden in Suzhou; while the latter is famous for its stone - there are supposedly 99 lions to be found in the sculptured rocks, hence its name.

All these gardens are actually man made, however it is created in such a way to resembles the nature. Looking at these beatiful views and breathing the fresh air really give one the feeling of serenity calm and peaceful..














网师园 aka Master of Net Gardens













狮子林 aka Lion's Grove













Inside 寒山寺 temple















盘门 aka Ancient Pan Gate

I'd say that the boat ride was pretty fine, basically it's enough for one to rest and travel to Hangzhou. But it'd be much wiser to travel to Hangzhou by bus and spend a night there, as the cost would be much cheaper! However, it's nice for experience sake.. *comforting myself

A 2-bed cabin costs RMB168/pax; while the best cabin costs RMB 788/room! We booked the 2-bed cabin but it was disastrous - it's a double decker bed with a really small toilet, so in the end we changed to the nicer one and had to top up RMB250 (which actually go to the crew's pocket!) -_-"















Our cabin's :)














Beautiful view from the boat that lasts only for 5mins -_-''

鼎泰丰

After the apple incident. I decided to award myself with nourishing delicious dinner at 鼎泰丰。

I was really skeptical of 鼎泰丰 initially as I didn't find them really fantastic back then in Singapore. Worse are the outlets in Jakarta, the dumplings were actually filled with chicken instead of pork due to the halal restricition! -_-" However, many convinced me that 鼎泰丰 here is a must-try for those who seek to enjoy the ultimate 小笼包。Thus, I decided to give it a shot.

True enough, the 小笼包 were fantastic! It comes with three varieties: 特色小笼包 (steamed pork buns) RMB38 for 10pcs，特色蟹肉小笼包 (steamed crab roe meat and pork buns) RMB58 for 10pcs，特色迷你肉汤包 (steamed mini pork buns with soup) RMB58 for 20pcs。The dumplings had beautifully thin skins and succulent fillings of either pork or crab meat. The 虾肉烧卖 (pork and shrimp shao-mai) was really good as well.

Well I had to admit that the price is pretty steep compared to Singapore's ones, even a pot of tea was but the quality is unquestionable! Well, as the saying goes: 一份钱一分货　；）

Rotten Apple

It was late at night and I was watching Sex and The City when my stomach suddenly hinted strongly that it needed to be fed. I walked to my fridge, decided to grab an apple to fulfill my stomach's desire, and went back to my computer screen to continue the episodes..

As I munched the apple, I tasted some funny weird taste; however, I was too engrossed in the Sex and The City to bother about such thing. So.. *munch munch munch and *ouch.. I got the seeds I thought, so I threw it out, but my intuition told me that it was more than seed..

I turned on the lights and *GASPS! The reality hits me hard! I was so shocked that I just threw the whole apple into the bin without seeing clearly what was inside!

The next thing I know, I was holding the toilet bowl vomitting the whole apple! As I vomitted, I saw black things coming out from my mouth together with the crush apple pieces.. I had mixed feelings of relieved and disgusted.. Relieved because I could get those out from my body, disgusted knowing that I actually ate it unknowingly!

It was so traumatizing that I ended up with sleepless night! I kept on having funny feelings inside every part of my body, stomach, brain, shoulder, legs, everywhere.. I know it's all this mental thingy, but you can't help it when you know that you just had a rotten apple!

I'd just spare the details and let you guys see for yourself - seeing is believing

Nothing is Impossible in China

Nothing is impossible in China as long as you know the 'right' person!

The previous weeks, I enrolled for both Biz Chinese and Calligraphy, however the class was already full so I was rejected. I went directly to the Head Department of the Student Affairs and managed to get my Biz Chinese class, but not the Calligraphy lesson. The nice lady told me about how strict the teacher is about the numbers of students, so I had to give it up.

I wasn't prepared to give up my Calligraphy lesson as this is my only chance to get it here. I have only one semester here and I'm determined to make it worthwhile. Yesterday, I went to find the Calligraphy teacher and asked him to get me into the class. And YEAH I GOT IT! Ha HA HA!!

Studying MERE Chinese can be real boring sometime. I have three hours core lessons everyday: speaking 口语，intensive reading 精读，listening 听力，reading 阅读，composition 写作.

Now, I have Biz Chinese 商务汉语 (一） and （二）, and Calligraphy 书法!

Bwahahhahaha..

城隍庙-豫园

A day at 城隍庙, visiting 豫园 and trying out the famous 南翔小笼包. Look at the crowds!

Fyi, the whole stretch is selling 南翔小笼包, but the famous one is actually in the 南翔 restaurant itself. One can easily find the restaurant as there's always long queue outside. The restaurant consists of three levels: first level is for takeaway 小笼包 at RMB16/8pcs; second level is for 蟹肉小笼包; third level is for both buffet and a-la-carte. There's min. spending of RMB25/pax for a-la-carte while buffet is priced at RMB60/pax.

The 小笼包 is real superb. It's a must-try delicacy when you're visiting 上海! I'd recommend 招牌蟹黄小笼包, where crab egg is added into the pork dumplings :) The price ain't cheap for the locals, RMB40/6pieces, but it worths a try as a tourist. Another recommendation is the 鱼翅汤包, where the bun is filled with soup and straw is used to drink the soup inside the bun.

豫园 is surely a great tourist attraction. Well if you're up to beautiful scenery, old temples, picture takings, quiet peaceful evening, then this is the place for you. It's surely hard to find this kind of place in such busy metropolitan city like 上海. When I was inside, I felt as if I were in a totally different place. The air is clean and fresh, time seems to pass slowly. One can find a feeling of peace here..

Picture paints a thousand words, so I'd just upload the pictures for your viewing. Check out the link ;)
















Beautiful scenery in 豫园
















城隍庙 at night





















Fortune tree

Girls Outing

Terrible dining experience at Xin Wang restaurant.

First, the waitress was rude and impatient in taking our order. She torn the order paper in front of us, gave us a pissed look and spoke in a rude tone!

There's a gap between the arrival of each dishes. It totally ruined our appetite. Imagine having to wait for more than 15mins for each dishes to come!
















Posing in front of Xin Wang restaurant
















Spent the night at Barbarosa. Cool place! Great ambience, great service :)
















Tac, Anstice, Julia, Nana, Me and James

Nana's Birthday

Four pretty gals ;p















Happy Birthday Nana! :D

National Day Sale in Raffles City

National Day Sale is here islandwide! The best bargain, however, is in Raffles City with discount up to 80%-90% for many outlets! I got myself a nice black overcoat and cool indigo jacket, both for only RMB 300 (U.P. RMB 1500). Even CK was having 60%-80% clearance sale!

The branded goods are, on the other hand, more expensive than those in Singapore though, up to 20% difference. My advice: get it in Singapore! Else, there's always a cheaper alternative: Xiang Yang Market ;) heee :p

One thing cool about Shanghai is the fashion! Its four season climate contributes to the clothings variety here.. I'm getting excited myself to hunt for overcoat, jacket, hat, shawl, gloves etc for my winter wear! These are absolutely stuff that I won't find nor wear in Singapore! Which sane human will actually wear shawl/overcoat/gloves in Singapore?!















Raffles City at People Square

China National Day

The picture below say it all..














Crowds at Nanjing Dong Lu -_-"














PuDong - viewed from The Bund aka Wai Tan

Reunion with My Darling

Finally! After 25days of absence, we're reunited once again! The best of all is that dear's spending one month time with me in Shanghai. Yay!

Fetched dear first thing early in the morning and spent the first day showing him around Shanghai.

Our first meal was cantonese dimsum brunch in Bi Feng Tang at Huai Hai Zhong Lu. The dimsum was pretty nice. I'd recommend the Har Gow, Feng Zaw (Phoenix Claw) and Nan Gua Bing (Pumpkin Cake). For the drink, get the Yen Yang (mix of tea and coffee). After the sumptuous meal, we walked around Xiang Yang Market.

Sunday is not a good place to go anywhere in Shanghai esp Xiang Yang Market! It was really crowded then. Luckily the weather was nice and cooling, causing the trip to be more enjoyable anywhere. Bought a scarf for myself and some socks for dear. We'd come back another day when it's less crowded to get more stuff :p

Headed to Cheng Huang Miao by bus - our first time taking bus around. Strangely I felt real safe, perhaps because dear's around :) The bus ride costs RMB2 for aircon bus and RMB1 for non-aircon. It's a single price for all destinations. The whole journey destinations are given on the window and the next stop is displayed through a LCD in Chinese. So long you understand Chinese, taking a bus shouldn't be a problem.

Cheng Huang Miao is really a tourism place, filled with stores mostly selling jewelries, pearls, jades, antiques etc. The place reminded me of Chinatown.. Nothing really attracted us there though. The Yu Yuan garden outside the Cheng Huang Miao resembled Istana Park in Dhoby Ghout. Spent a real short while walking around and decided to move to Wai Tan instead.

We strolled along Wai Tan for a short while. The place is filled by tourist. The scenery was nothing fantastic. I found the scenery from the other side is much better. Dear commented on how Wai Tan reminded him of One Fullerton and Istanbul.. The only differences are that there aint any Kebab sellers and most of the people are white -_-'

The evening was spent taking few pictures and strolling along the riverside at Bin Jiang Da Dao in Pu Dong district. The scenery was great but both of us were too tired to enjoy. Had a coffee-muffin break at Starbucks in the end :)

We wrapped the day by shopping for groceries at Zhen Da Guang Chang, the biggest mall in Shanghai. Bought food for the night and breakfast for the next morning - cereals, milk and yoghurts! Yes I'm into HEALTHY lifestyle now! ;p

All in all, I'm real happy that dear is around! We're going to discover more of Shanghai and the nearby cities together :) Next week is national day holiday :) We plan to go to HangZhou and perhaps SuZhou, ZhouZhuang etc. So excited!! :D

New Hairstyle

Had a haircut, dye and highlight at Soho. The hairstylist is a Cantonese and he cuts real well! Spent 5hrs in the saloon -_-' Total damage was a mere $80 for all the above!!

My new hairstyle is pretty short, well it wasn't real long to begin with. I personally like my new hairstyle though, gives me a fresh vibrant look.

Sad thing is that I'd be stucked with short hair for quite a some time.. Haiz..

This should be my last haircut. Next goal is to have a long hair!

Happy Mid Autumn Festival

After a week of endless parties, I decided to award myself a peaceful weekend. Spent my day working out at the gym and resting at home..

Well I know it's Mid Autumn Festival today; but after the havoc I went through last night, I don't think I'm up to the challenge cramming with the crowds once again. I guess I'd call it a day off today..

It's kinda ironic. Before I came to China, I was so excited to celebrate all the chinese festive seasons. I planned to experience the mid autumn festival, chinese new year festival etc. However now that I'm here, I don't have the mood anymore. Perhaps I'm still trying to adjust myself with the changes, thus not in any festive mood.

I have no one to celebrate with here anyway, dad is back at home in Jkt while bro is in US. All my friends went clubbing again -_-' I wonder how much energy they actually have. They have gone clubbing for consecutive 5days and yet to feel tired! Goodness..

Well for those who are actually celebrating, Happy Mid Autumn Festival! Hope you have a great celebration guyz! ;)

Tourism Festival in Shanghai

Tourism festival in Shanghai is really lively. The whole stretch of Huai Hai Zhong Lu was full packed with people gathering to watch the parade. Roads were closed, people were squeezing and cramming with each other to watch the show. The parade was nicely performed. However, it was the WORST situation I've ever been in!

I was on my way to a restaurant in Huai Hai Zhong Lu for a birthday dinner celebration. Unfortunately, the road was closed for the parade, thus me and my friends had to walk to the restaurant. The weather was considered hot for night time plus the street was very crowded, so you can imagine how 'hot' we all were.

We couldn't get ourselves to cross the road as there were so many people standing in front of the road and they were unwilling to let us cross. Thus, we ended up stucked in the middle of the crowd for an hour! Nevertheless, we decided to find a restaurant as we were feeling hot, wary and hungry. The journey to the restaurant wasn't as easy as we thought initially. We had to bare with people pushing, squeezing, shoving and forcefully cutting the queue. Apparently, queueing isn't really the trend here I guess.

Well, we finally managed to enter a restaurant and seized a table for dinner. Luckily it was an air conditioned restaurant, we all needed cool air to cool down ourselves. From inside the restaurant, we could see many people trying to push themselves into the restaurant for the sake of cool air, while the staff tried to stop them. I was taken aback by the 'fight'. It was real loud, noisy and embarassing IMO. I guess I'm still not used to it. Don't think I'd ever get used to it -_-'

Morale of the story: NEVER EVER GO OUT DURING FESTIVE SEASON IN CHINA!

Party Week

It does take time to adjust oneself with the new surroundings. Similarly, I am starting to get myself adjusted.. Although I can't really say that I like Shanghai but well I am pretty alright with it now. It's about accepting the fact I guess..

The past two days have been real tiring. We had consecutive two days of birthday celebration for my flatmate, William. The eve of the D-day was spent dining in Sakae Sushi at Nanjing Xi Lu and KTV in Party World at Fu Xing Gong Yuan; while the D-day celebration was spent in my apartment, with cards, snacks, drinks, beers and of course cake!

The Sakae Sushi was pretty alright. I'd give 4stars for the ambience and 2stars for the food. Price was pretty similar to Singapore's price, buffet for RMB98 (plus RMB28 for drinks). Ala carte price was around the same price too. I guess it's considered expensive for locals standard.

The KTV in Party World was big and nice! The rate for big room is around RMB250 and half price after midnight. We stayed for 4hours till 3am. The birthday boy was feeling high, drunk, dance, concuss and back to sober by the time we left. It was a real long night for all of us and none was able to wake up the next day, including me.

It's only the third day and I have already skipped -_-' Fortunately it was only a listening class, so I guess it was pretty alright, but still... -_-' My homework is piling up too, so I better take it seriously.

The lessons starting to get challenging.. I'm learning many new terms and words here :) Feels happy to have the chance to enrich my vocabs. Sadly, I don't get much of practice cos I'm hanging out with Indonesians who do not know how to speak Chinese. My Indonesian have improved a lot though! In fact, nowadys I'd have Javanese accent, influenced by Julia from Surabaya -_-'

Blogspot is UP!

Thanks Ronald!! :D

Yay! I can see my blogspot once again!

You might be a geek but you're a nice geek! Thanks man! :p

First Day of School

Shanghai was attacked by typhoon last night. It was a night with heavy rain and incredibly strong wind. It was impossible to walk outside in that kind of weather! The wind was so strong that I believe it's enough to blow you away..

Today the weather is sunny and HOT! The change of weather is pretty weird here. A 10mins walk from school to apt and I'm already sweating!

Today is my first day of lesson. How was it you ask me.. B-O-R-I-N-G. I wonder now how I ended up here studying Chinese with all the other foreign students. Now I really feel like one of 'em -_-' Basically I can speak two version of Chinese now; one is foreign chinese, second is traditional chinese. I still remember Singapore chinese too! Really jack of all trades, master of none -_-'

My class is an advanced class, filled with mostly Koreans! According to my Korean friend, Korea govt is encouraging its citizen to learn Chinese, thus many are subsidized by govt or sent by their companies. Now I understand why I see so many Koreans in Jiao Tong and Fudan uni.. Well, yes I see a lot of beautiful girls here, be it Korean, Japanese or Chinese. Ronald, this is the place for you, not me!

I'm looking forward to my optional courses to begin. Planning to take calligraphy and biz chinese. I bet it'd be more interesting. I really feel that I'm wasting my time here -_-' Arrggghhh!!

I can't wait to get back to Singapore, get a job and work.. Well I guess I better start my job hunting soon, so that I can go back even sooner.. I would appreciate any lobang from you all though *winkz :p Keep me informed if there's any openings in your company k ;)

Xiang Yang Market + Pudong

Went to the most popular shopping place in town, the infamous Xiang Yang Market. As articulated, it sells 'fake' various range of branded stuff goods, from sunglasses, bags, shoes, sports wear to winter clothes. You can see many brands around such as Nike, Adidas, CK, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Fendi, Prada, LV, Gucci etc!

Haggling plays an important role here.. First, you have to act as a foreigner, do NOT speak Chinese even if you understand what they say. Second, haggle to 25% of the original price, say if the price given was RMB 100 then state RMB 20 or RMB 25. Let them lower their price until 40%, then you can up your price to 30%. Else, walk off! Most of the sellers, 98%, will grab you back and agree to your price!

One important thing to remember is do NOT be afraid to lose a bargain as there are many stores selling the same things. If you can't get a good bargain in one store, you'd most probably get it in another store!

I got myself a nice pair of Puma shoes for RMB 85- original price was RMB 380, and a nice Adidas gym bag for RMB 30!

Hunted few nice sports wear and winter clothes.. I'm going back for more! Yeah!! :D

Night was spent with Yang Peng in Pudong area. We had a modest Korean BBQ dinner at Zhen Da Guang Chang. Afterwards, he brought me to Bing Jiang Da Dao I think for sightseeing. It's a riverside of Huang Pu Jiang facing The Bund. The view was spectacular at night!





















Look at the BIG LCD screen!! It's 20 floor height!
















Spectacular view at The Bund.. too bad my camera can't capture the brightness ;(

Beware of Soya Guys!

The humble soya bean may play a role in the problem of male infertility, a team of researchers in Belfast has found

Soya contains the female hormone oestrogen and too much of it is being linked to poor quality sperm.

Dr Lorraine Anderson says she found the link in research carried out at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

"What many men do not realise is that soya is not just consumed by vegetarians, it is contained in a lot of everyday processed foods.

"It is contained in foods such as pizzas, any of those foods that you add hot water to, to reconstitute them, or some of the pre-packaged dinners like steak and kidney pies," Dr Anderson said.

"You'll find that a lot of the meat is not really meat, it is soya protein because it is cheaper and soya has the highest percentage of oestrogens compared to any other foods."

The director of reproductive medicine at Queen's University, Belfast, Dr Sheena Lewis, said the findings were clear.

"What we have shown is that if men are consuming large amounts of soya products, for example, there is a negative relationship between that and the quality of their sperm.

"If they already have a slight problem in that area, then it might be better for them not to consume so much."

Dr Lewis said that the way to avoid excess oestrogen was to eat fresh produce.

"In our fast food diets, we are inclined to eat lots of meals and we really don't know what the ingredients are," she said.

"If we eat fresh fruits, if we make fresh food at home ourselves, which I know is very difficult in today's busy lifestyle, then we are really aware of what the ingredients are."

However, the research does not simply have implications for men who wish to start a family.

Dr Anderson said if boys eat a lot of soya when they are growing up, it can damage their reproductive capability.

"The key time for that is when a male foetus is developing and in the early toddler years and up to puberty.

"All through that period, if you alter the oestrogen that a man is exposed to, you can not only affect their sperm quality but affect the development of their reproductive tract, so that you can get an increase in structural abnormalities like undescended testes and you can also get other problems later in life, such as testicular cancer."

Dr Anderson recently came runner-up in a prestigious competition for her work on the link between male fertility and oestrogen in the diet.

ps: Thanks Ronald :)

Pissed Off

I'm feeling real pissed now! Why?

1. Blogspot is blocked in China!! %#&&*^$%@W$%!@#! You guys must be wondering how on earth did I update my blog then.. Well apparently blogger.com is accessible, only blogspot.com is blocked. Thus, I'm able to update, but not able to see my updates! Sounds silly eh.. Worse, I'm not able to see any of my friends' updates in blogspot.com! ARgHhh!!!

Now I have to think of ways to crack the proxy server in order to access blogspot. Ronaldddddddd.. you're the CPU brain! Please help meeeeeeeeeeee... I don't wish to move to any other blogger web..

2. My agent cheated us, yet had the nerve to shout at us! F*CK! We paid him everything in advance and this is the kind of service that we get?! #%!$@$)^*&!!!!

My friend just told me the doctrine of doing business in China, that is NEVER PAY ANYTHING IN ADVANCE! Get the product and service first, satisfied then you pay! He too told me that I have to learn to shout here, it's the way of getting things done around here. Agent is considered people from the bottom of society, thus don't hesitate to shout, else you won't get things work the way you want it to be.

I was STUNNED upon learning the fact! I know the saying of 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em', but do I really need to become one of them? Darn!!!

The even more ridiculous fact is that there's no foreign atm or credit card here in Shanghai, as in foreign banks are not allowed to have atm/credit card service in Shanghai. So if you go to HSBC to open an account, they'd just issue you a passbook. Any transactions e.g. deposit, withdrawal, transfer etc must be done in the bank itself. There's no credit card nor checking account service. ONLY local banks are allowed to have these services. I wonder how foreign banks survive here!

Well I'm trying to look at the bright side now- this is one invaluable experience one can only get in Shanghai. I guess I just have to discover more of Shanghai and its people now..

I'm ReaLLY BLessed!

Last night I was out with my flatmates exploring Xin Tian Di when I decided to withdraw some cash at Bank of China's ATM. We walked around and explored more before we decided to call it a night. It was approximately 2hours later when I finally discovered that I lost my ATM card!!

I was even more panicked when I realized that I actually left my card INSIDE the ATM machine! I couldn't believe that I was so careless!! Called the customer hotline to suspend my card and checked the last transaction. The card was successfully suspended but they can't check the last transaction due to a reason that I'm not even sure up till now..

Anyway I was supposed to go to my opening branch to cancel the card permanently and get a replacement card. The opening branch of my account is located 35mins away from my house! Worse, it can ONLY be done in that particular branch and NO other branches!

20mins later, the customer service hotline called me to inform me that a gentleman picked up my card and accidentally withdrew RMB 1000 from my account. When he finally withdrew the money, he then realized that it wasn't his card. The person actually promised the bank that he'd return the card and cash tomorrow morning to that particular branch as he'd be leaving Shanghai in the afternoon.

At that moment, I was pretty skeptical that he'd would really come to the bank in the morning JUST to return the card and cash, especially when he's leaving the city in the afternoon. Moreover, how could he 'accidentally' withdraw RMB 1000 from my account? All these seems very illogical... But oh well I didn't have much choice so I decided to give it a chance.

So, I went to the bank in the morning to get back my card and cash. However, when I reached the bank, no one seemed to know about this matter. I explained the matter to an officer and she told me that the possibility of the meeting such kind low is really low. I waited in the bank for an hour when I finally received a phone call from the customer service manager.

The manager informed me that the person has already returned the card and the money to an officer in the bank, thus I was supposed to look for the person to get back my card and cash. I was so relieved when I found the person and took back my stuff.

In addition, the bank officer even helped me to cancel my card suspension, saving me the trip of having to go to my opening branch to do so. I was so relieved when everything's over.

Can't believe that such kind hearted soul still exist in this world!

I'm really feeling blessed! Praise God!!

New Apartment

Apartment

Passage way

Living Room

Dining Table

Kitchen

Bathroom

My room :p

Registration Day

Registration for new semester starts today. It was packed with foreigners, as expected from international students school :p The majority of students were dominated by Korean with Japan on the second list. There were many Indonesians seen around too.

Despite all the downsides, Shanghai is filled with many pretty hot babes! It really makes me wonder how they managed to keep their eight-shaped figure given such unhealthy food. I rarely saw any obese females around; in fact I’ve spotted none so far! Moreover, they are blessed with beautiful complexion and fair skin tone. I guess it’s in the genes! How envious..

The weather is getting colder each day. I guess the autumn is here. I sleep with heater and blanket nowadays. My flat mates said I was crazy! I just can’t stand cold. I can’t imagine the winter here.. Last year it was minus 2 degree man! I better prepare myself with the thermal clothes – they call it long john here. Don’t ask me the origin of the name..

One advantage of living here is that I get to eat dimsum anytime I want as it is served 24hours!! Yay!! The dimsum tastes pretty good too! :D

Healthy Food Finally!

Today I had steamboat meal. Finally! A healthy oil-free food! The past few days have been real dreadful. The food here is incredibly oily, be it Shanghai food, Cantonese food, anything! I’m real fortunate for the invention of Xenical. Without it, there goes my liver, and there goes my figure.

Went to IKEA to shop for furniture. I’ve never seen so many people in IKEA before. It looked more like groceries store than furniture store. Price is pretty much the same here and Singapore. Certain goods are cheaper, while the others are more expensive. I noticed that Shanghai’s living standard is pretty much comparable to Singapore.

I rushed to Airport by cab after my shopping as I was supposed to fetch my friend from Japan. Waited for 1.5hours and haven’t seen her at all. I was extremely worried if I missed her. She’s a German and she knows nuts about Chinese.

The cab driver parked his car and helped me to look around. He went to information centre to make announcement. We waited for another half hour. In the end, I decided to call my friend’s bf’s dad to inquire about her flight. He informed that my friend cancelled her trip as she’s not feeling well. I was like.. WTF?! @%&^*$~! Oh well, I tried to keep my cool though.

The cab driver in the end sent me back to my apartment. The total fare from IKEA to Pudong Airport and back to my apartment was RMB 346 and on top of that there was still a parking fee of RMB 10. But the cab driver asked me to pay him only RMB 240. He did say that he’d give me discount if I take his cab for round trip journey, but to give a RMB 100 discount?!

My friend was cheated by cab driver on his first day here. He paid RMB 400 for a one-way journey from Pudong International Airport to my apartment! I was like WHAT?! And this driver actually gave me RMB 100 discount?!

Well not ALL Shanghai people are rude and fraudster. I did meet few kind and polite people. This nice cab driver is apparently one of them.. I am feeling real blessed :p

Carrefour shopping in Shanghai

The past few days have been hectic days and today is no exception. Today we moved in to the new apartment. I’m currently staying with my god cousin, William, and his friend, Jeffrey.

Spent the whole afternoon shopping in Carrefour for basic necessities. Carrefour seems to be doing good job here as they do everywhere. It was really crowded everywhere, perhaps because today is Saturday.

Today I encountered a very shocking experience. I was queuing cashier and two ladies behind me were quarreling over a mere queue. They were practically scolding and shouting at each other. Both ladies were in fact cutting the queue! The husband of the first lady tried to stop her, but was in turned scolded too.. -_-‘ I just watched them in disbelief..

On weekends, the streets are fully packed with vehicles. Traffic jam is everywhere and unavoidable, unless you travel to suburb perhaps. It really resembles Jakarta. I feel like living in Indonesia without vehicle. Feel damn terrible.

I haven’t gotten used to the environment and lifestyle here. Somehow I miss Singapore a lot. I’m used to living in a clean and orderly environment, eating healthy food, living a healthy lifestyle..

Andrew, I haven’t seen the bright side of Shanghai. Perhaps I should go to the tourism area, and THEN I’d be able to appreciate Shanghai.

Second Day in Shanghai - Busy Looongg Day

Nothing is impossible in China and I have proven the saying true.

This morning, I went to Jiao Tong Uni for application. In actuality, the application is closed in June and there were still 300 people in waiting list. I called in previously and obviously was turned down. However, this time I got the admission! Surprising eh?

I can’t complain anything about NTU’s halls after seeing the local dormitory here. The local dormitory is a very small room, comprising two double deck beds and two small study tables. It really looks like army bunk! The foreign dormitory, however, looks like hotel. I haven’t had the chance to check out the rooms inside though.

Found a nice apartment –NEW, three bedrooms and fully furnished- in Hong Qiao Rd. The rental fee was pretty reasonable considering that it’s located in downtown. One must be prepared to pay a 2months deposit and 2months rental fee during the first month. The agent commission fee was 30%, but it is negotiable. We managed to bargain till it was left 20%!

Went to Fudan Uni to give up my admission, but the director wasn’t around so I had to come back again on Monday -_-‘ There goes my effort! I spent my whole afternoon there, walking around and getting lost trying to locate the office! Crap!

Fudan Uni was really huge and surprisingly clean! It resembles Chinese Heritage Centre of NTU. The first moment I stepped into the vicinity, I was astonished by its friendly environment. Just outside the school, major reconstructions were underway, thus resulting in terribly polluted and noisy environment. However, the inside of the school was filled with greeneries! I felt like I was in two different worlds.

Entrance of Fudan University















Walkway in Fudan University

In a split second, I almost regretted my decision of giving up the admission. But after spending 4hours getting lost and walking around, I knew I made the right choice.

Fudan Uni is located at North East of Shanghai, far away from civilization. Moreover, the area was still under major reconstruction; thus creating a polluted environment which is bad for health. On the other hand, Jiao Tong Uni is located at South West of Shanghai, in downtown of Xu Jia Hui area. The location is much better than Fudan Uni. The only drawback is the heavy traffic flow.

Talking about traffic flow, I wonder what the figure of accident rate in Shanghai is. It is truly terrifying seeing the way they drive around here. Courtesy driving is not applied here. Honking and lane cutting are common practices. They don’t seem to have any ‘stop’ sign in their mindset. I wonder if they’re aware of the existence of the brake pad beside the acceleration pad. Perhaps they thought it’s just a mere decoration.

All in all insurance is a MUST here

First Day in Shanghai

Huge was the proper word to describe Pudong International Airport. One has to walk a long distance before reaching the immigration section, and be prepared for the long queue. I was amazed by the way they conduct luggage screening, which uses dog to sniff every single luggage on the conveyor belt!

I have heard a lot about the impressive Shanghai’s Maglev, but riding it is a total whole different story. The train travels at speed of 430km/hr, taking only 7mins 30secs to clear 30km journey. It ends at Long Yang Rd, so one has to take other transport to go to their desired destination. The Maglev was pretty clean and empty, perhaps due to the expensive fare of RMB 50. But I think it’s good to ride it at least once, for experience sake ;)

The train station has NO elevator going down, so you only have the option of stairs. During peak hours, the station is so packed that it’s almost impossible to protect yourself from pushing, squeezing etc. The positive thing is that you don’t need a pole since you will never lose your balance as there are so many people squeezing around you.

I was stunned by the attitude of the locals – once they see the train coming, they’d rush to the door, cross the yellow line, stand in front of the door, and push their way in when the door is opened. Here, you’re allowed to consume food/drink in the train, only smoking is forbidden. However, I don’t think you can eat/drink in a packed train where you can’t even move..

The traffic in Shanghai reminded me of Jakarta’s traffic, worse as there are more bicycles and buses here. It seems that there’s no distinct traffic rule. Zebra cross seems to lose its purpose, people are seen jaywalking freely. The pollution is kinda terrible, both ar and noise – cutting each other and honking are common practice here. You can, too, stop taxi anywhere on the road.

I haven’t tried the bus yet, and don’t think that I’d give it a chance after seeing the traffic here. I actually saw people standing at the top level of double deck bus, and the driver was literally speeding! Err…

Weather was hot and humid, even at night. I kept on sweating even though I had showered. I guess summer’s still here. Oh well, the next few days should be better.

Xu Jia Hui's Train Station

Something to Think About

Ever wondered about what are you looking for in this life? Or perhaps what do you want to achieve in life by the end of the day? I believe that these questions have ever crossed your mind -definitely not only once..

I often wondered about this and eventually asked myself: what exactly am I looking for in life.. Is it success? glory? wealth? happiness? family? salvation? Happiness is perhaps too generic to define. Again, I asked myself, what leads to happy life? what will bring happiness to me?

The young-naive me emphasized heavily on success and fame. Being raised up in a family with a nu qiang ren mom, I idolized and once hoped to be like my mom. Back then, I regard my mom as a successful capable woman. I aimed to surpass her capability and success.. That was during my teenage days..

However, I began to view things in different ways after my mom's death. Her death was itself a misfortune to my family, and yet there were more to come. Throughout these four enriching years, I came to learn that there are more to life than success, fame and wealth..

True enough, we're living in realistic world. I honestly admit that I do have a certain expectation of portrait of my future. This is my way of thanking my parents for raising me up and providing me with good educations. I want to show them that their efforts are not gone to waste :p

But again -back to the main topic -what is it exactly that I want to have in life? I guess it's something that I need to ponder upon..

My cousin lost her dad when she was 16. Her mom was too weak to face the fact and thus ran away from reality for 5years, grieving upon her husband's death. This situation forced my cousin to take charge of the household administrations and carry a responsibility beyond what a normal 16years old teenage could ever imagined. Life wasn't easy for her back then.

This experience turned her into a strong career woman. She became a highly self-disciplined person with strong leadership skill. Her works are always excellent as she's very careful and focus in everything that she does. Once you pass a task to her, you can rest assured that everything is taken care of.

One day, I asked my cousin about what she's looking for in life. I made few guesses between success and fame, or perhaps family. However, her answer was far than what I could think of. She told me that she is looking for a togetherness. When I asked for the definition, she explained how she viewed her career as a mere tool of providing bread to the family. Climbing corporate ladder is not her main goal as she wishes to spend more time with her family -mom, husband and children..

She shared with me her dreams of having a happy family with her mom around, living a peaceful life with good health. She expressed how she hopes to raise her children and provide them with necessary guidance throughout their lives -as a child, teenage or adult.. and etc..

Her answer strucked me in awe and kept me speechless for a moment. All I did, in the end, was nodding in admiration and gave her my blessing. Her aim in life was so simple and yet so beautiful..

Currently, I am still in the midst of looking for the answer; and I'm confident that I'd come across it one day.. Perhaps then I'd share with you all, my dear friends, my view of life..

Socializing Days

These few days I have been spending my time dating and socializing... My post today basically covers the review of the meal that I've been savouring for the past two days :p Sinful indeed.. I need a strict diet!!!

Met up with Andrew, Yong Han and Sonny yesterday for a dinner at Ambush, a pasta place located at Takashimaya Food Court. All of us enjoyed our orders except Sonny for making the wrong choice of meatball pasta. The meatball actually tastes like ngo hiong! All in all, the food was alright, though I prefer CPK's pasta. I guess it's just a different type of pasta with CPK being more asian..

Today I had a sumptuous dimsum brunch at Crystal Jade Kitchen in Takashimaya with James. It was sumptuous because we actually ordered enough for four people share!! Okay perhaps it's an exaggeration but the food was too much for us alone to finish. I felt bad having to waste food while James kept on convincing me that being a good host, he must make sure that everyone has their share of meal and the leftover food on the table serves to ensure that everyone is full -_-" What a theory..

Dinner was with Ivan at News Asia Bar. The popular item is the pizza. We had a spicy seafood and tuna pizza with spiced fries, both in my recommendation list :) It is comparable to Wala's pizza with more generous serving. Ambience was great for socializing with magnificent view of Singapore nightlife. Music wasn't too loud thus conversation was still audible. Most of the customers are blondes though, so be prepared to meet a lot of foreigners there..















Me and Ivan @ News Asia Bar

Anyway, I had a wonderful sharing session with good dining experience today. I know Ivan through JAC back then during my uni days. He was the president of the club when I first enrolled into the club. Back then, he has displayed a powerful leadership skill and strong determination. I knew all along that he's one of those who'd make in life. However, I was surprised when he shared with me his goal and dream. His ambition was far beyond my thought..

Graduated with third class honours, he got his first job with P&G as Sales and Development Manager with the highest salary during his batch. I shall say that a degree can only bring you so far, in the end everything depends on you yourself. Moreover, he sent out 70+ resumes before he landed with this rewarding job.

So for those who's looking for a job now, perhaps you graduate with third class honours or higher, more likely you have sent out more than 50 resumes with no replies (as market is real bad now), don't be discouraged! The opportunity is out there for you.. All you need is just courage, determination and perhaps luck too :p

Ronald's Blog

I guess everyone has to surrender to the raging blogging trend, and that doesn't exclude Ronald! bwahahhahaha *evil laughter..

When I first started blogging, he was surprised and was pretty against it. Okay.. perhaps against was too strong as a word.. However, he found reading a blog is a waste of time, not to mention writing one. I had to endure so many series of lecture about how one can actually spend his/her time wisely by exercising, reading books, sourcing for information through the net, relaxing through games etc, anything other than blogging..

Nevertheless, I continued my blog as a means to update my friends on my activities :) He, eventually, spared his time to read my blog and learnt about my activities throughout.. To me, it's a good improvement I guess, knowing he was so negative about blogging..

However, as time goes by, perhaps by seeing how blog has emerged as a trend, Ronald now has a BLOG!!! *bwahahhahahah.. miracle does happen! :p

Anyway, I'm going to be an angel by sharing to you all his newly created and decorated blog ;) It's a blog full of information on geeky stuff such as books, computers, IT, investments etc. So for those who wish to enrich your knowledge, find out what you can learn there ;) Just click on the title, it's linked to the blog :)

Ronald, you have to thank me for promoting your blog! A decent meal would be sufficient ;)

Sending Off My Bro

Yo Bro, I know this is too late. But as the saying goes 'it's better to be late than never'. You should forgive me for the putting this up so late -it's only 2weeks cmon :p

Look at my bro's new hairstyle! Jay Chou impersonating he is! *bwahahhaha* evil laugh

Happy Birthday Pa

Today's my dear old pop's birthday. Wished him happy birthday and may he find a new spring soon. I often wonder if there'd ever be a new woman in his life. It ain't easy to find 'someone' at his age I guess.. It'd be good though if you can ever found one, perhaps for the sake of companionship..

Finally I'm done with the administrations. Collected my visa and settled my banker's guarantee. I'm left with approval from MOE which I'm expecting in 2-3days and flight ticket.. Still trying to confirm the departure date with my friend.. *haiz.

Had a pretty long day today. Started my day with a list of places I had to run -Embassy, Banks, UOB. Ended my day in Chinatown for KTV and dinner with my friends. As usual, Tanu and Ronald are real energetic during the KTV. KTV is always fun with them around.. hahahaha.. It was one great outing I shall say :)

It's really difficult to catch up with friends once we started working. You have company outing, friend's birthday, farewell, dates, appointments etc. I count myself lucky to be able to have the outing yesterday. Tanu is really one helluva busy person -and he's not even employed YET!

Anyway, I'm having this irresistible cravings for dimsum lately. Been hunting for good places for dimsum. Yesterday I had dimsum lunch in Chinatown at a homemade Cantonese dimsum restaurant called 'De Ji' if I'm not mistaken. It's located at the other end of Food Street, just next to Yum Cha restaurant, opposite Dong Fang restaurant.

They serve pretty nice dishes although lack of variations. Siew may and prawn mushroom dumpling are at the top of my recommendation list. I didn't know that banana and prawn go well together until I tried their banana & prawn dragon beard. The fong zaw was alright, perhaps bland for my tastebud and DON'T get the lo mai gai! Pricing was fine, with range of $2.50-$3.00 per serving. No service charge indeed ;)

Still looking for good place for dimsum though. Recommendations anyone?

D-Day

Now I know the reason behind my sluggishness for the past few days. It's the time of the month! That explains my short-temper, appetite, lethargy and mood swing! ArGhHHhhhh!!! I hate these period.. The trouble that I have to go through.. The pain that it caused.. The blood shed.. Why we, females, have to suffer from these? Why is it there in the first place?!

Today I had to cancel two appointments due to the cramp! My body just didn't feel right. Be it standing, sitting, lying, crouching, the pain is just there!! It's been long since my last cramp I guess (or perhaps I depend on pills too much). Thanks to James' mom though for the hotbod that she just bought. It really helps relieving the pain.. I felt much better soon..

In case you're wondering what a hotbod is, it's a pillow filled up with wheat beans for therapeutic purpose. It can be used both cold and hot to relieve pain, headache etc. Just put it in the microwave for 30secs for hot effect and fridge for cold effect :) Nowadays it comes with different types of scent and shape.. The on that I'm using now is honeysuckle :)

Come to think about it, I should get one in Shanghai. It'd be useful for winter or my next period, whichever comes first..

Having a long day tomorrow.. Early in the morning I'd be collecting my visa from China Embassy, afterwards proceed to settle my banker's guarantee in UOB Plaza which I have to pass to MOE in exchange for approval letter.. Running around again tomorrow.. -_-'

Lethargic

Lately I have been in bad health condition. Perhaps it's the weather. Perhaps it's the stress. Perhaps it's the wine. Perhaps it's the sleeping habit. Definitely it's NOT the eating habit. I have been eating well and regularly, not on time though, but well I eat! I have my lunch and dinner ALWAYS!

I feel tired easily when I go out for long hours or stay out too late. I wonder why. I guess I'm getting OLDDDD.. I feel the difference when I was still in my teens and now that I'm in my 20-s. I made it sounds as if I'm reeeaaaalll OLLLDDD eh -_-'

I guess my Shanghai trip is stressing me out. Going to a new country with no friends/family at all. It kinda freaks me out esp. because I'm a girl. The pressure is there. The fear is there. The stress is there. I won't be able to relax until I'm there. And I know the first few months will be full of adventures for me. I'm feeling both excited and anxious..

I ask myself often if this is the right choice, if I made a correct decision. I have gone this far though. There's no way of turning back. I guess I have to make it a right choice even if it was not in the first place. No matter what, I have to gained the best out of it! This is what I'm telling myself, but well.. we shall see :p

Wish me the best k! I'd need all the luck, prayer, support etc here..

Independence Day

Today is my country's independence day and yet I FORGOT!! Ouchh.. I guess it can't be helped. It has been a while since the last time I actually celebrated it. Let me count.. hmmm.. 4 years? 5 years? Can't really remember. Oh well.. I'm really losing my identity.. NOOOOO!!!

I'm done with most of the administrations I need to do here. I hope there'd be no more unexpected to come. The medical check up was shocking enough, to think that China Embassy ONLY recognize medical check up from SGH! The extra cost was difficult to bear nor accept..

It's pretty confirmed that I'm leaving Singapore sometime around 25th August. So Andrew, let's meet up after you come back from Lampung! Yeah!!! We shall! We shall! Sonny was suggesting a KTV session.. What do you guys think? TYH, give idea! Anyway no more fancy food please. The hole in my pocket is bigger than Sonny's now that he had job offer. Hmm.. Let's make Sonny treats! Yay Yay!! :p

!#%$@^#$^!!

I had my visa application rejected this morning due to my medical check up! They ONLY recognize results from SGH! What kind of monopoly is this? What's wrong with other hospitals? Why only SGH?! Why is it not even stated in the website?!? Wasted my time, effort and money! #!%#^@$#^!#$^!!

Now I had no choice but to redo my medical check-up! *GrRrr.. TWO check-ups in THREE MONTHS!! I just calculated the expenses for my preparation for Shanghai and it costs me $3K already inc. air tix! I'm soooo discouraged now!! Perhaps I shouldn't go. Perhaps I should just stay here, find a nice apt to stay and get a job!

#!@%@#%^@$^@#! So pissed off!!

Anyway I gotta postpone my schedule now. I guess I can only leave around 25th then. Should have gotten myself a temp job.. Darn!! *pissed I'm soooo broke now...

I MISSED EEE DINNER!!

Tell me it's not happening! Tell me it's postponed! Tell me there'd be a second round! Tell me anything but I missed it! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....

There goes the chance of seeing my graduate friends :( Well guess I have to wait for EEE yr 2005 reunion, if there's ever going to be one. Thus, someone out there, especially EEE Club, please start planning for the event!!! Danny, Andrew, work hard please :p

Anyway, I'm rotting here in Jakarta, passing each day by day without doing anything -_-" HELPPPPP!!! I can't wait to get out of this boring life and start my study in Shanghai AND return for work in Singapore. My graduate fellows, I envy you all so much that you could start building your career now and planning for your future.

Well thank to my books that I could still survive each day fulfillingly. I'm currently on the last few chapters on my current reading, How to Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward de Bono. Nice book, but kinda tasking. I can't wait to finish that book and proceed to my next book! In fact, I've been aiming for my next readings: Tipping Point by Malcom Galdwell and King of Torts by John Grisham.

Separation is inevitable. Ah Liang went to US for his holiday trip-cum-work in June and be back only in late September. Dave went back Canada earlier in July. Leslie, too, has left to HongKong early August for his own good. Jenson's leaving for US studies in mid August. Andrew is still in question.. Soon, it's my turn to leave Singapore for my Chinese studies. Everyone has his/her own path eh..

Beyond the Beautiful Rainbow

Gazing at the sky at night,
I see a light, o' so bright.
Beyond the world above so far,
It's my Angel's glorious Star.

I watch the rise and fall of tides,
With an Angel's presense by my side.
I see her glitter, see her glow,
And I see her soul, slowly grow.

She's got a Brave and Beautiful Heart,
Caught my mind like a speeding dart.
With a Smile that's ever so sweet.
Frankly, she sweeps me off my feet.

Her Soulful eyes tell of countless tales,
Of all she braved, storms and gales.
And of feelings that lay so deep,
Thoughts that lingers, she rather keep.

Her Beauty can launch a thousand ships,
But yet her soul lies hurt and weak.
A forced smile is what I saw,
But in her Heart, the Teardrops fall.

If this is what they call Destiny,
Let it not last for Eternity.
Please don't play tricks oh dear Fate,
Show my Angel the Happiness gate.

In Life's journey, she slipped and fall,
But soon she's up, standing tall.
And Life's tough, it slowly get,
But I'll be there with her, step by step.

Angel, be Brave and be Bold,
As the Future slowly unfolds.
Beneath the dark clouds is a clear blue sky,
And that's where I believe, You'll eternally fly.

As an Angel, beyond the Beautiful Rainbow

Once upon a time, a kind-hearted lad wrote me this poem to cheer me up.

Back then, I was feeling sad and depressed being unable to let go of my past and move on with my life. Being a good listener, he listened to my troubles and gave me many encouraging advises. Often he sent me messages asking about my well-being, whether I'm feeling fine or have I taken my meal etc.

Looking back, I am really grateful to know such a wonderful lad. I sincerely thank him for those encouraging words, pasted and assembled nicely in a piece of paper. I also want to let him know that I am all happy now and have gotten my ticket to beyond the beautiful rainbow.

Thank you my dear friend..

What Could You Possibly Find Through Google

Have you ever tried typing your name in Google to see what you could find out of it?

A friend of mine actually typed the name of the girl whom he's fond of in Google, just to find a link showing the history of her employment in certain company! I know it sounds geeky freaky etc, but well trust me he's a kind-hearted guy. Perhaps he was feeling a little bit bored then.. :p

Anyway, this actually raised my curiousity. I wonder what could one find by typing his/her name in Google.

I actually tried typing my name to see what I could find, but I guess my name is an exception. A list of mostly french websites, many related to "Monalisa" or "Mona Lisa", appeared! As expected, most are related to Da Vinci paintings, while there are other few sources such as Monalisa Interior Decorators Pte Ltd, Monalisa Hairstyle, Monalisa Bridal etc. Interesting eh *wink*

I tried typing few other names on Google too. Some names actually relates me to their owners, those I know of; while there are few names that returned no results too. I'm not going to reveal the names here for confidence purpose.. :p

Well perhaps I'm feeling a bit bored here, but it's kinda an interesting way of filling up your free time eh ;)

Living Standard in Jakarta

I just realised how high the living standard in Jakarta is. A hair cut here for female starts from $30, while for male starts from $25! A fast food meal costs around $5-$6 per pax. A normal char kway teow costs around $3.50. I really think that Jakarta is becoming more and more expensive.

A normal person can live by $20/day, but that doesn't mean that $600/mth is all that you need. A car is a MUST transportation means here, so you have to include fuel surcharge into your monthly expenses, which perhaps will cost $25/wk depending on usage. For ladies, we need skin care expenses, perhaps amounts to $100/mth. Electricity/gas/water/internet bill amounts to $100-$200/mth depending on usage. Bear in mind that I haven't even touched on entertainment expenses. A simple proper life would require $1000/mth to survive!

I guess the living standard in Jakarta is really comparable to Singapore, or perhaps higher. People here care a lot about their 'face'. For some people, hair treatment, manicure-pedicure, massage and spa are basic monthly needs. Although perhaps they don't spend a lot on food, they do spend a lot on service and leisure.

Slacking Day

Wasted my whole day sleeping throughout! I am still recovering from the hectic from Convo-Genting-Singapore-Jakarta trip I guess. Time really flies, especially when you sleep on it :p just kidding! *haiz actually I wished I could utilize my time better for other activities. Really hate wasting my time this way!

Anyway let me share with you my finding on mask :) SK-II mask is really different! I tried so many different kind of masks, yet none has ever given me the satisfaction I got from SK-II mask. Well the $20 mask worths its every cent! After the treatment, my face becomes much fairer and softer! Darn!!! If only it wasn't so costly.. I guess the saying is true "yi fen chien yi fen huo"

I really like my new hairstyle now. I guess short hair suits me better :) Had the haircut at Cineleisure Supercuts two days before my flight. I personally think that the skill was just fine and the service wasn't really that bad, but my hair turned out real great. Perhaps it's after-cut feeling :p

My study to Shanghai has been approved by MOE finally! All left are only preparation of banker's guarantee, China visa application and apartment hunting in Shanghai. Applying visa in Jakarta aint an easy task, so I guess I'd process it once I'm back in Singapore. *phew* Looks like I'm gonna be real busy in Singapore then. I hope two weeks would be enough to settle all these..

To all my friends, I hope to be able to catch up with you when I'm back. If time doesn't permit, I'd see you again in Singapore k :) I'd still be back after all, with even better Chinese hopefully!! hahahha..

Moving with MY Cheese

I shall say that the book 'Who Moved My Cheese?' is a great inspirational book. It shows how one often being led by the comfort one has in his/her current life, that he/she is unable to react positively towards changes that occur and change his/her current life. This book teaches you on how to react and respond positively to the changes, and in turn benefits from the changes

In 'Who Moved My Cheese?', 'Cheese' is used as analogy of what's important in life, be it career, money, family, love etc; ; while changes happen when the 'Cheese' is no more there, or it has been moved. The more important 'Cheese' is to you, the more you want to hold on to it!

People don't like changes because of the fear of change, that's why they resist changes. However, when changes happened, they had no choice but to cope with the changes and change along with the changes. There are, though, some people who just can't cope with change and refuse to change. These people would eventually extinct.

This book has made me look at my Shanghai study in a different light. As I've mentioned in my previous post, I'm uncertain about my decision on Shanghai study, mostly due to the fear of having to move to a new foreign country alone. I'm afraid of the change and thus resist change, as what people often do! However, I'm now able to look positively at this opportunity and looking forward to the change. I believe there'd be a better 'Cheese' in Shanghai waiting for me to savour ;)

Now that I'm done with the book, I'm hunting for my next reading now. I guess this reading craze of mine will be on for quite a some time, not that I don't like it though! hahahha.. I'm into China history actually, not because of my China studies though, but I'm really interested to learn about Three Kingdoms, the dynasty and distinguish the difference between each dynasty, and how it became republic country. Credits go to Andrew who always share his knowledge of China history to me. I'm looking for a great book on it. Any recommendations anyone? *wink*

Anyway, Ronald, you should read the book 'Who Moved My Cheese?' and perhaps 'The Present'!! I'd pass them to you once I'm back k ;) Although, perhaps you don't need them since you are already full of optimism in life! :) Anyway I think 'Atlantis' should be an interesting novel, you have it yet?

Secret Garden

Check this out guys! It's cool!















http://pageuser.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/91186811?aucview=0x30

The Present

Genting photos are up on the net! Just click on the link to view it ;) There's a Middle Eastern Fair event going on in Genting during my stay. I encountered many of Middle Eastern-ers there. Really wonder why should they hide such beauty behind those masks. Anyway I spent my last day taking pictures of the stalls in the fair :p Have fun viewing ;)















Dad, me and bro :)

Currently I'm into reading craze. Never knew that reading would be so fun. I started my reading on 'What Color is Your Parachute' by Richard Bolles. It's a good book on job hunting and career change. Figured out that I'd need it sooner or later so I bought the book :p I decided to enjoy the book slowly during my stay in Jakarta :)

Well I figured out that I need some brain exercise. My brain has been hibernating for too long that it's almost paralyzed! Or perhaps it has!! Well, I guess it's time to tune up and start the engine :p Anyway I guess I've found myself a new hobby: reading! Call me nerd, I can't be bothered, coz I really enjoy it! :p

Bought two books today: 'Who Moved My Cheese' and 'The Present', both by Dr Spencer Johnson. I just finished reading 'The Present'. It is a wonderful book about how to be happy and successful in your life and work by understanding three elements of life: The Past, The Present and The Future.

Many people often dwell in The Past and/or daydreaming about The Future that they live nor in The Past, The Future or The Present. They waste their time spending unnecessary energy on thinking of The Past and/or The Future and causing themselves to be distracted from their activities in The Present resulting in poor effieciency and bad results in their work/life,

This book tells you about how to really enjoy your life in The Present by being in The Present. It means focusing on what you are doing, tuning out distractions and paying attention to what is important NOW. It also teaches you on how to improve your life in The Present through learning from The Past and planning for The Future.

Basically, it teaches you on how one should look at The Past, learn something valuable from it and use it to improve The Present. On the other hand, planning for The Future is essential to make you feel less anxious so that you could concentrate more on being in The Present, thus enhance your life quality in The Present.

I personally feel that 'The Present' has really taught me a lot about life. It showed me how I often wander in my thoughts about The Past or The Future, causing myself to lost track of The Present. I realized how ineffective and inattentive I've been in the past few months. I'm anxious about my Shanghai study and perhaps there were still some matters in The Past that I've been unable to let go.

I'm now starting to apply what I learnt from this book into my life. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her life quality to lead a happy and successful life :)

My fave quote:

No one can predict
or control The Future.

However, the more you plan
for what you want to see happen,

The less anxious you are
in The Present

And the more The Future
is known to you.

Genting 4D3N

Taiwan 7D trip was cancelled since my dad and bro were unable to apply visa in Singapore. Now I learnt that visa application to other countries can be done ONLY in your residence country, except for China. *haiz.. We were truly disappointed as we were really looking forward to the trip. Fortunately we still had our Genting 4D3N trip in plan..

My first night in Genting was pretty interesting. As expected from someone who turns 21 this year, I entered the casino to try my luck in gambling :p First round on 'Tai Sai' table was break even..Took a break and continue on second round. Me and my uncle decided to cooperate after we lost all our capital. We gambled till dawn and decided to call it a night after winning double our capital. hahahahah...

The next day, I woke up with a very bad headache and sore throat. Guess it was due to the late night, lack of rest and dehydration. Went to reflexology to get a chair massage to release the tension on my neck and shoulder. To my surprise, I fainted (yes AGAIN). I was lucky enough to be saved by a chinese doctor who gave me a foot reflexology to heal my pain..

It's amazing how your feet can tell you so much about your body. This doctor could understand my body condition, even to my period frequency, eating habit and lifestyle, only through pressing my feet! Don't underestimate the power of foot reflexology man! He instantly healed my headache and release the tension on my back! Call me blessed man!

I learnt from my experience. Now I'm going to take real good care of my own health. He actually told me stuff that really scares me, so I better be serious now. In fact, I've been living a healthy lifestyle, minus the exercise though :p

Anyway my appetite been real good for the past few days. It's due to the weather I presume. I had meals like every 2-3hours! hahahaha.. The price of food here is crazy! It's even more expensive than Singapore!! Goodness... I guess they hike the price cos I remember that it wasn't this expensive in 2003..

Well since my Taiwan trip is cancelled, I'm going back to Jakarta again on 25th July. Be back to Singapore on 9th August though and should be flying off to Shanghai sometime around 20th August. So guys, I catch up with ya all in August k :)

Andrew's B'day Dinner

Happy birthday Andrew!! Yes I know it's VERYYY late.. But, oh well, as the saying goes - it's better late than never.. *grins

Our sumptous dinner at One-Ninety in Four Seasons.

Great food, excellent service, fantastic ambience, but wrong companion.. *ops jk guys! :p

Wondering why am I the only girl seen? That's because:
1. Andrew hasn't found his love of life, but yes he's looking!
2.Yong Han has been too busy with his stupid World of the War Craft
3. Sonny wants too much from a girl: sexy, tall, slim, pretty.. anything but smart! :p
















My herb crusty garoupa.. *Mmmm looks good eh! FYI, it's not chocolate! It's black soy sauce! Yes I'm talking about the black colour sauce on the plate..
















Three hunkies posing in front of One-Ninety. Look at the smiles on their faces after a great decent meal ;)

China studies

Just a lil update on my side..

Many friends have been asking me about my studies in Shanghai and when am I leaving for China. Well apparently I'm still waiting for MOE approval, but I'm expecting myself to arrive in Shanghai sometime in late August, say around 20th August.

Need to familiarize myself with the surroundings and find an apartment to live in. There are many administrations to be done too.. It's not easy to study abroad despite the fun and adventurous mood.. Trust me..

Anyway my course starts on 9th Sept. I'm enrolled to Fudan University for a Chinese Language course. Upon completion, I'd be given a certificate certifying my studies. Yes it's not a Master nor PhD degree :)

In the mean time, I might be staying in Singapore or perhaps go back to Jakarta again. Well I'm currently on the look out for short-term job with good pay. So anyone who comes across good deal, please inform me k ;) Drop me a message at this blog :)

I'm really looking forward to this Shanghai study. Other than improving my Chinese linguistic skill, I'd like to see a different culture in a different country. I really feel that this opportunity would be real worthwhile :) Feeling both excited and anxious..

Honestly, there were times when I felt doubtful of my decision to study in China. I don't wanna waste my time anymore and I was kinda freaked out to go abroad alone I guess. I frequented Singapore a lot so I wasn't really scared to come to Singapore for my study in NTU. But China is a new foreign country for me. Moreover, I'm truly concerned about its security and cleanliness of the food. I just hope that I could adapt well there..

James 26th Bday

Happy Birthday dear!!

Convocation

Initially, I wasn't enthusiastic to attend my convocation. To me, it was all about meticulous gown wearing, boring long hours ceremony, picture takings in hot sunny weather etc. One could already imagine how tiring it's going to be, not to mention going through it! I attended anyways for the sake of my dad.

To my dad, convocation marks the end of his burden (I guess). He could finally 'see' and feel his effort being paid off. I can't understand his happiness, nor could I feel it. All I know that he feels real proud seeing his daughter in gown and mortarboard walking up the stage receiving (empty) certificate cover from Dr. Su Guaning.. Parents..

As the ceremony went on, to my surprise, I felt something stirring up my heart. It was a mixed up emotions of happiness, sadness and proud. The feeling was indescribable.. I found it hard to believe that four years have passed by so fast. It felt like yesterday when I first stepped into NTU attending lecture in MLT. Back then, I was looking forward to this day. Now that I'm here, I'm sorta.. lost.. of what to do next..

The ceremony turned out fine. In fact, it reminded me of Harry Potter show! hahahha.. As it went nearer to the end, the audience became more responsive and the claps were even louder!! hahaha.. it's typical I guess ;) Again, my name drew quite a number of response. Even Dr. Su himself commented on the uniqueness of my name. I didn't realize the laughters until my friend told me! Cmon! Monalisa isn't that funny right? -_-"

Took quite a number of pictures with family, professors and friends :) I have put up the link for your viewing pleasure.. Thinking of going back to NTU one of these days to take pictures again. Anyone interested? *wink

I personally feel that the graduation ceremony in Singapore is too clustered. Perhaps they should just have only one ceremony for all the graduands of the year from all the faculty. This way we can enjoy and share the moments together. The more the merrier! Of course, a big stadium would be required then, but I believe it shouldn't be a problem. I noticed that there's a distinctive feature of all graduation ceremony that's missing here - throwing of mortarboard! It's a classic of all graduation - quoted from Andrew Wee, and how could we miss it!!

Last but not least, to all my fellow graduates:


Congratulations my friends!

We have come this far.

Let's put to good use what we have learnt.

All the best for your future endeavour!

Stupid MOE

Can't believe how a goverment body could be so irresponsible!!! Guess what happened?! I submitted my documents for application of bond deferment in early June. Called in yesterday to inquire for the status and they told me that they lost my application?!!

I clearly handed in to the customer service and asked them to pass it to the relevant person (in name!). And now she told me that she doesn't have it in her record?!!! I was like @#%!#^%$@^@$!!! Then she asked me to resubmit my application...

I'm really speechless.. lost of words.. no idea of what to say... Can't believe that they could be so careless.. so irresponsible.. .....................................................................................................

New Haircut

Hmm seems like most of my recent postings revolved around food.. Well it can't be helped I guess. Been pigging out for the past 3weeks! Basically it's all about food and shopping here in Jakarta.. Boring eh.. So people, try other location for your getaway k! :p

Anyway let's start on new topic.

I had my hair cut today! Geez.. I don't know. I guess this time people will not believe me when I said that I don't go 'chiong'! It's not that clubbing is bad or whatsoever, but I really don't go.. Can't stand the smoke and loudness. They tend to associate looks with clubbing, I wonder why?! James was really curious and asked me to send him a pic of myself before posting it on the blog. I'm not sure if I should really post it on the blog.. oh well..

Going back to Singapore next week (FINALLY!!!) Miss my boyboy lots.. :( Going to be real busy in Singapore. Lotsa things to do besides shopping, convocation and dates with dear dear :p
1. Book Genting tix and room
2. Check with MOE regarding my bond application
3. Go to UOB Bank
4. Apply China Student Visa (if approved)
5. Book China tour (if approved)

So little time yet so many things to do.. *sobs