| Tuesday, August 30, 2005 |
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Scary picture of... well, apparently dancers
and an equally scary pic of me, the peach monster! |
posted by wenster @ 7:26 AM  |
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| Back at Wellesley! |
So.. I've been sleeping without sheets in a terribly messy room for the past two days. No pillow, loads of boxes... it is gross. Haha. But it is necessary! Sigh. We're waiting to get our beds bunked (room is soooo small it isn't funny anymore), but just today Carlos our custodian said that we couldn't because the bed types weren't right. Argh! I'm not going to let that stop me from trying on my own though. Maybe tonight. Let all hell break loose in the form of moving furniture.
I miss everyone!!! I miss my mom's homemade green tea ice cream, I miss talking crap with the guys, I miss taking the mrt (and being late)... all the little things about being home I suppose. The last two days before I left were family quality time days. I got to go out with mom and even tried to play GTA with bro. I suck at it btw. Seriously. And while I wish everyone didn't have school or army, I'm glad that Chris was around to go out with- cos I haven't seen him since the terrenganu thing. He intro-ed me to this brand of chocolates called Royce (I think its from Japan)- and it was love at first sight (well, taste). Its supposed to be kept chilled, so the consistency is just right... not hard, not entirely melted.. oh yum. Just thinking of it makes me swoon. Anyways. I ate my first McD in an entire year on my last day too.. the only thing I like about McD is its breakfasts and the chili. So glad he thought of that.. I totally forgot about it.
Once again I spent some time in NYC before getting back into Boston.. this time I saw the Museum of Natural History.. and while some of the exhibits (the newer ones) are breathtakingly intricate and a joy to behold.. the others are kinda... boring. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not that good at looking at the same kind of thing all the time - this is the garment, that is what they used, look, this is an example of their art, the children are bla bla bla.. after a while, all the cultures start becoming this huge mosh of sameness. There was a very scary looking dance costume for the african people though. Please see picture attached below. (if I suceed in uploading it) References to all information... are not provided. Haha. You've gotta take me at my word.
Dad took me peach picking too.. it was great fun! Well, I honestly think that they should weigh me before I enter and after.. cos I am positive that I ate almost as much as I picked. Four to five peaches on the spot.. Do you think I will look like one after I eat too many? |
| posted by wenster @ 7:12 AM |
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| Sunday, August 21, 2005 |
| Crappy quotes |
So... Sharon dug out some of our happy crappy quotes from JC.. I'm shamelessly pilfering from her and adding a few possibly rephrased ones.
Wenyi: You need woodbridge!
Stella: NO! plastic bridge better, will not break, no termites
Mrs Lim: (after teaching us for very long) EH, whats your name ah??? (You see, Mrs Cheng our principal was going to make an impromptu drop into class next thurs)
Ai Ling: oh you must remember for next thurs
Mrs Lim:Yeah! how to remember? Mrs Cheng likes class participation whatever she wants, just give them and we put on a good show lah...
Isaac: Wenyi, are you okie? I saw you afficted by "Isaac conditions"* just now
*I don't remember what exactly this was referring to, but I know that Isaac conditions= sleepiness, day dreaminess, or just total blurness.
Biyou: Stella? chio???!! (IN response to a comment by some J1 guy about stella)
Biyou: Me, Ms Universe!
Addy: Wenyi's bag is so heavy ah...no wonder she's so down to earth, weighed down by her bag
Stella: (insert lame joke)
silence.
Stella: wei... laugh leh!
5 of us exchange looks.
Muahahaha.. we start laughing at lala instead.
Addy: huh? I don't get it!
(the next day) Addy: I got it!
Wen: Oi! Stop buayee-ing my OG! (after sharon and lala start eyeing my beloved og kiddos)
Sharon: bla bla bla
Ai Ling/Wen: Stop talking and eat faster!
Sharon: bla bla bla
-bell rings-
All: Ok, must hurry up! Its in TC block today know?
Sharon: No no, I just started eating, I want to finish my noodles!
Stella: Look look- cute guy!
Wen/BiU: Eeeee.......
Addy: Where?
Sharon: Huh? |
| posted by wenster @ 5:57 AM |
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| Saturday, August 20, 2005 |
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St Pierre's is the place to be. When first class dining is in order, that is. Without a reservation, sorry babe, forget about getting in. Even when I tried getting one today for tonight, the lady had to call me back to confirm the table. Goodness. With this haughty posh posh beginnings, I had a certain standard in mind even before I set foot in the place. Its located amongst a cluster of rather standard eateries, you know, where waiters and waitresses hover outside in hopes of enticing you in.. the bars are half empty.. There is nothing much to look at both outdside and inside. While it does not seem to be going for the minimalistic theme, the walls are bare, windows draped in ceiling to floor plush white curtains - even the tablecloth and napkins are in a plain heavy cream fabric. No big frills, but definitely class. Lots of that. The table itself is upholstered with a "shock-absorbent" top- no clinking plates, no siree.
We were immediately offered menus, and within 30 seconds, the floor manager came to inform us of the day's specials- air flown salmon sushi with caviar, lamb rump, sea bream, cod fish... Mmm. Couldn't help but feel torn between several equally tempting alternatives. I settled for the lamb- somehow when I eat with my family I always do, 'cos noone else takes it and it is usually highly reccommended. Shortly after they whisked our menus away, the staff approached us with tiny platters with a slice of cured mackerel perched in the middle. Before we could express confusion, the manager explained that it was the first nibble from the chef.
Wow. A nibble. I've never been to a place where you get something that you don't order. I like.
Haha. You know what else I liked? The waiters were all eye candy. I'm serious, my parents agreed- both the caucasian and chinese ones were extremely pleasant on the eyes. Competent too. The chef himself came out to check on how the meal was treating us, and he too was a pleasing sight. I think it is the platinum blond hair. Lol. We had a second nibble about 5 minutes later- this one was a concoction of blue cheese, egg and something else that came in a shotglass and was consumed via a straw. Extremely interesting. Nibbles are good stuff. It takes one's mind away from the dullness of waiting, and if good, causes anticipation for what is next.
What was next? Fois gras! How can you go into a renowned french restaurant and not have fois gras? It was heavenly. At that moment, I feel ashamed to say that I chose to forget about how they overfeed the geese for its liver. After all, it was already sitting in front of me. I can only say that it was sublime. Not heavy, yet a formidable presence in my mouth. It mixed equally well with the stewed apple slices and puff pastry provided. Pineapple sorbet was offered as a palate cleanser before our mains. Another first in my culinary experiences, but it proves that ice cream can be had at any point in the meal ;) I am kidding, but it is very true that the sorbet did it's job of refreshing tastebuds.
Finally. Our main course arrives. My lamb is beautifully done medium, fanned across my plate and topped with the teensiest, most delicate vegetables. It came with a side dish of potato and pasta bake as well, which tasted too much like mac and cheese for my liking. The lamb however, was a masterpiece. I could taste both the intrinsic flavor of the meat as well as the wine in the sauce. Mom and dad had the beouf- a large cut of beef split into two portions. Theng had the pork, which he did not really enjoy- I suspect that another kind of dish would probably suit him more- and gran had the sea bream. I believe that the chef's strengths lie in the red meats, for the other two dishes were artfully assembled, but somewhat mediocre in substance.
We ended the night with two servings of flourless chocolate cake and a creme brulee. I loved both. While I suspect that the cake can be replicated by other establishments, the creme was exquisite. It was served in a shallow platter, with a painstakingly thin crisp caramel crust on top of an extremely smooth, delectable custard. Oh boy. I feel as though the last 3 days are the last days of my life or something, because of all the really good food I've had. All in celebration of different occasions, but all with my beloved family. |
| posted by wenster @ 3:16 PM |
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| Friday, August 19, 2005 |
| Ruminations on relationships |
Humph. Some people make me so mad. But then again, some things are not worth bothering about. Will continue on the last post.. I think I got till Monday. That was the first time I laid eyes on the newbies who are going to grace the halls of Wellesley. All but one are from international schools, which is quite expected, but kind of sad. Perhaps sad is not the word. More like... dull. I don't have anything against international schools- I think UWC is a great idea. My problem with it is that the students turn out being pretty homogeneous, in terms of how they come across. The thing is, the schools' quest to make each student a global citizen brings about this sameness in each of them. They're all exceptional people I'm sure. I've said this more than once, and I'll say it again - I'm in the presence of geniuses.
One of them(though not a W woman), Tze Kwang, braved the long and arduous journey from KL to Sg on Tues. Met him and three other MITers and went over to the new Rj. Why? Haha. I was just tagging along. They were there to promote MIT. Felt weird.. because I really wanted to tell the teaspoonful of girls at the talk about Wellesley, but couldn't, obviously. I'm really glad that tk came down though.. made the week more interesting, plus,I got to know him, boon and emerson better. Met up with Kel after seeing tk off- and we were joined by Dilane a little later. Such a precious moment! Haha.. Dil told us that he'd accepted Christ- and it somehow made my day. :D Just reminds me of how God is still so real and close by. Celebrated daddy's chinese bday on Thurs at a nice little place at bukit timah- followed by ice cream! Lol. Never fails to make me happy. I had peanut buttercup... which was by far the most..(trying to translate the cantonese word here).. fragrant. Yummo.
I miss Eunice. I miss lala. I miss twin. And I know I'll miss fen when I next come back and she won't be here. I think I've always been a more quality over quantity kind of friend. I can recognise faces and perhaps names... but the numbers of those who I'd trust explicitly seem to fluctuate around a constant. Hmm. I think I sound a little broody. Like a hen before laying eggs. Lol. So what is the egg? Its the fact that while some people get drawn closer as days pass, others drift away. (thought inspired by lala) Reason being, people tend to prioritise differently (modified from one of the gang's sayings). I wish I tried harder to do something for lala before she went to the beautiful islands- sorry dearie, I'm going to make up for that k? Because I know what she means when you hold people dear to you but you don't seem to be in the same standing. It doesn't hurt actually, because it's not worth it. It's more like... disappointment. I think we'd all like to believe that when we say friends forever as kids, it will happen without effort or hard work. But the thing is, a friendship is just like any other relationship. It needs to be nurtured and worked on. I have yet to see a happy marriage (not that I've seen many) where both partners don't give and take. I've never seen a romance blossom without both sides taking part. Don't even get me started on parent child ties.
Most fundamental of all- God can't have a relationship with me and vice versa without both of us wanting to. |
| posted by wenster @ 9:14 AM |
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| Thursday, August 18, 2005 |
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I think food tastes better when there is good company. Over the last few days I've seen faces that I haven't seen in a long time/at all.. but either way, its been a busy weekend + week so far, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
I'm actually not quite sure what I was up to last Wed and Thurs, hmmm. Seems like a bit of a black hole at the moment- time just got sucked in and left no memories. Did I go out? Aye.. getting old. Maybe I went to work. OH! Ok I remember. I met up with Min, my ex-roommate on Thurs and then dropped by the LLF after that. Her mom makes the bestest stuff.. I'm eternally grateful for the goodies that her mom sent us last year.
Fri was some Physics convention in the morning ;p I went only because bro and Gim were going... After which Gim and me made our way over to Tiong Bahru and narrowly entered the chocolate factory. It was a pretty entertaining movie with quite a bit of "family feel good" towards the end. Much as I like Johnny Depp, I can't say that he's what I imagined Willy Wonka to be like. Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I have to say that I prefer the book. More wild things in my imagination I guess. After that he gamely went down with me to the orchard lib to help me look for this book that I needed to do research/homework.. but it wasn't there!!! Some innocent soul probably borrowed it a day or two earlier. Yargh. I wasn't too happy.. but I found other books. Oh yes, met Tammy along the way- she's.. different. Heh. Still, I really needed that book. Aaron called in good time to ask about dinner-serendipity! Since they didn't want to come down to town, and Toa Payoh was the "nearest" lib that had my elusive book, I hopped on the train to meet them for dinner. Got my hands on the book at last. I think Toa Payoh is a nice place to just sit and talk.. not so many people around giving you dirty looks. Plus, you see some familiar faces, Yu Xuan for instance.
Finally got to meet Wei last Sat... what can I say? She hasn't changed much, just that nowadays there are very different things on her mind. Lol. Don't know if you read this Wei, but you have to agree right? She wanted to leave early to go talk to Josh online- no way I'd allow that! Haha.. I think I am a strong believer in spending enough time with friends.
Sigh.. everything below this got erased. Oh well. Another time then. For now, thank you God. |
| posted by wenster @ 6:36 AM |
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| Wednesday, August 10, 2005 |
| The stuff of dreams |
I had a wonderful weekend! Yay yay yay. Haha.. Its been a long time since I've felt so happy over a weekend. Seriously. Before I went I was pretty apprehensive- cos this is a friend whom I haven't really interacted with other than through email.. and besides him and his brothers I wouldn't know anyone else. Plus, we were going to be 3 days in a place that is quite ulu. But it turned out great. The people were so much fun to be with, even though we had quite little in common in terms of background. We spent time between the beach and the rooms.. ok ok before I get carried away.. I'll be nice and organized and put things chronologically. Thursday I leave for KL in the afternoon, and Fri I rush for the am bus to Genting (why why why did they have to leave from there?) barely get on it.. spend the entire journey enduring weird music from the neighbouring seats, and finally, squish into a cable car with my bag. Somehow I'm the only one with a bag. Bah. Anyways. I get up there.. he said earlier that the bus would leave at 1pm. So its about 12 when I get up, hadn't had breakfast yet.. good thing the staff came to get me from the cable car station else I'd be kind of lost. Anyway. They were staying at the VIP area, so I got to sit there and eat a bit.. trying to look all cool and collected when I meet the first other guest. He's the host's cousin.. really nice kind of person, easy to talk to... and the next thing we know.. its about 1pm when our host finally wakes up ;) Haha. He's the really late kind. Apparently the night before they had a big big party and everyone got really drunk. Anyways. We all get introed, go eat lunch and get on the bus. The dvd player doesn't work, so the mechanics try to fix it.. and we end up sitting in the bus for a good hour or so. Finally, they realise its a vcd player not a dvd player. Lol. Actually most of us were thinking "forget the player, lets just go!"Well, we finally arrive to a huge reception (for the bday boy la, not us).. and have this big beach grill/buffet thing- it was huge.. and of course, towards the later part of the night, everyone gravitated towards the drinks table. Sigh. Inevitable isn't it? It wasn't that bad- though I must say that this must be the most I've ever drank- after which we kind of went towards the beach and walked aimlessly. oh wait. Everything was good except the music. Lol. It was hilarious. Even for someone who doesn't really know music like me, it was bad. Plus, they had a screen rigged up with random karaoke scenes.. lol. I think they were aiming for music video style.. just didn't quite get it. At all.
*continued several days later* Yup.. during that short period of time, we were utter bums- I was (almost) always the first to wake up, then I'd wait for the 2 in the adjoining room to wake up - how did I know? Naps (one of the guys) would open his door when he got up. Then we'd talk some while waiting for his sister to get ready and go eat. People would trickle in during breakfast/brunch/lunch- then we'd go to the beach. Went on the banana boat -this wacko idea where you sit on an inflated tube while being dragged around and thrown off repeatedly by a motorboat, and almost killed ourselves using ATVs or sand buggies, whatever they're called. Tired? Beach hut for coconuts and lemon tea. Hmmm.. too salty. Solution? Water polo at the pool. Haha.. we took up a good half of the hotel's pool- no other guest dared come near us cos of all the violence that was going on. Seriously- even I became victim to overenthusiastic defense. Some of the "better" guys kept getting pinned underwater in the name of sport. But it was a lot of fun, and we'd have continued till late- until we broke a lighbulb. Lol. That night we had a western buffet in the hotel's restaurant, and released baby turtles into the sea. How special is that? They're so adorable, kind of like little terrapins but more cute looking. They follow light y'know? Thats how the staff guided them into the sea. After that very eco friendly event, we all headed back to the nightclub. How I detest that place. It reeked of smoke.. and after a quick game of darts and some sitting around, I decided to leave with Ging (Nap's sis). Thought of just watching tv (after all, it was about 1am).. but people started coming to my room bit by bit and we ended up playing spoons and then talking till 4am. The next day I waited for Naps to get up but he didn't! Haha. Left the room to look for the Chrises, found the two of them eating. Later on all of us went on a kampung tour kind of thing.. I think the fun was mostly sitting in a van that had almost nil suspension and keeping each other entertained. Later that day we ate at a restaurant famous for its stuffed crab. And I discovered a gem! In the form of Chris who offered to shell the prawn for me. He'll make some girl a good bf one day. ;) After dinner there was a firefly watching boat ride... romantic? Well.. I had good company la. Eugene kept looking out for fish and Chris was trying to talk the fireflies into coming over. Later on Ging asked the guys to rate the ride on a romance scale.. most of them didn't think much of it. Must be because there has to be a boatman present. I don't think we slept at all that night- more card games that evolved into truth or dare stuff- its funny how total strangers now know each others' dirty laundry. Wanted to watch the sun rise, but it didn't! Bah. The sky just kind of lightened. Went back looking for the others, but they'd left the room so I decided to sleep a little. 15 mins later, they walk in and we go for breakfast. I think my life revolved around mealtimes. Its scary what sleep deprived people do though.. Eugene was standing in front of the omelette counter (it has a very hot surface for frying stuff) and he very nearly leaned facedown into it. Yup.. it was our last day there so I went back up to shower and pack.. Ging and Eugene came over and fell asleep on my 2 beds. Headed over to Chrises' place and got used as a pillow while watching BBC. I like the cologne they both use.. think its by armani. It smells really good... makes me feel as though my room is lacking something. The bus ride back was pretty much sleeping time. Lee did a bit of videoing, but.. I don't know if I really want to see it. Who knows what I do when I'm tired? It was kind of sad seeing people go.. Naps and Ging I may see when they visit Boston, but Alex and Isabelle.. HK? Don't think I'm going there anytime soon. The rest are in KL or S'pore.. so there is hope I suppose. Moral of the story? Eh.. remember that it is important to have friends who will share their sunblock and let you into their rooms? Haha. Well, I don't know. It feels a little surreal, the whole thing. |
| posted by wenster @ 2:27 PM |
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| Tuesday, August 02, 2005 |
| Me:1 Rude gym users: 0 |
Muahaha. I am happy with myself. Background: There are two gym users who have earned the title of "most obnoxious users" in my humble opinion. Let me introduce you to them- first we have the Grunt and Strut. He is a youngish (late 20s?) Indian guy who never wears any shirts with sleeves, presumably because he wants to watch his (not that big) muscles rippling in the mirror. But that is not what he's famous for. His speciality is making terribly loud noises as he lifts and pulls. Yes, I know you're tired and the grunt probably helps you get to the last repetition or whatnot, but is it really necessary to keep making those disgusting noises between exercises? Gosh. Once, I caught sight of him dancing (or shall I say shaking his thing) to the music. Oh he sings to it too. And he lives in the same block as I do! Grr. I was walking back in the other day, when lo and behold the Grunter came out. Probably because he's seen me several times in the gym, he said hi. Goodness. I didn't know how to respond. Inside I wanted to ask if he was going to make his noises again, but I managed to hold that in and eke out a hello.
Case #2: The Ah Beng Dropper. I say beng not because he looks it, but after hearing him speak, Beng is the only word that comes to mind. So. The daily routine: he walks in, he turns down the music WITHOUT asking, and begins to stretch. Then he lifts and lifts and when he's done he just lets the weights drop from whatever height. Ugh. Sometimes I worry for the floor. Yesterday he got me really pissed, 'cos not only did he turn down the radio, he also commenced yakking on his phone in loud hokkien. If it was a quick call I'm sure anyone would understand, but it went on and on and on and on... you get the point. Such atrocious manners. Not only am I deprived of my distraction, I have to put up with his noise? No way man. When he finally got off the phone, I smiled sweetly at him and asked "I'm going to turn up the radio ok?". His response? "Simi?" Whoa.. at that moment I didn't know whether I was more afraid or pissed. Here is this beng-ish muscular guy saying simi to me-so rude yet I'm not going to risk my physical self 'cos of the radio.. Need not have worried though. In the end, he rolled his eyes a little and walked out. Oh yeah. Sweet (though small and petty) victory. I guess he can take comfort in the fact that he won't have to see me again in a few weeks time. Not that he knows it. ;) |
| posted by wenster @ 2:40 AM |
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