nya camera

yo~~~ 新欢新欢~
absolutely loving this hottie already~~~
tell you it's story...

wanted to get a Nikon Coolpix L11 (yes i'm attached to nikon) which costs ~RM500 for sales price, but it's out of stock and the shop keeper said when the stock comes in it'll cost ~RM750... tipu la...

so got a better L15 instead~ costs a bloody RM650 at de sales price (originally also ~RM750). these two months kena ikat perut adi... but consider 2.0 megapixels, 200 ISO + vibration reduction, and 0.4 inches LCD worth of better quality, RM150 ok la... (ouch, still hurting...)

see testing~ my room becomes test yard~ de lack of light is perfect to test de vibration reduction ^^

din get de effect i'd like, but i was lazy to try a few more shots:P


my 自恋照 again lo... expose 0.75s, my dark room bcomes so bright. de pics looks so crisp at this size, vibration reduction working hehe~ de larger version is a bit blurred...


i'll really look like 风 in JP when i go home in june already... uni time keep de tail, now keep the 半面遮, wahaha... thanks to 风's original creator + stylist -- miss June Tan.

right, de old camera was nick named Alberta, after... well... de Alberta in RO. i decide to name this one Abisko, after the place i first met aurora ^^

preCNY

7th next month. 10 days or so to go?

imagining the shopping centres and streets back home. must be full of decorations in red by sight; full of musics with drums and gongs by hearing; full of new year cookies loaded with sugar by taste; full of detergent for the cleaning by smell; and well, you have to touch all these lanterns and CDs and flour and water to make the above valid :P

CNY in melbourne is relatively happening and merry. there are so many chinese over there. lion dance, dragon dance, big red lanterns, events, performances, it's a carnival every year :) here, there's not a sign of it creeping close.

but it's great to see ppl anticipating for the festival even when it seems so far away. i'm almost grateful to see a message dropped by aik yean to go out for a nice meal after the class on 7th. my chinese friends are also arranging some home cooking on 6th, though at the moment i decide to only supervise ^^ or maybe you can suggest some msian CNY special that i can introduce them?

even woei mentioned about CNY, ha... seems like the situation is not any better in NZ ^^ but at least we are going to do something and not let it pass without a mark yeah?

well, i'm sure those in msia are going to enjoy it in some way or another. so, for those who are away from home, wish you'll have a nice one :)

electric flow

recently saw a few potrait collections from msian photographers... sweats... pluck two of my fav to post here.

Ken by Geo about two years ago. now his standard is too high i dun understand :P







more, see Nira by ks...







nO, can fight with YiFei?

so desu ne...

when june complained about the lack of reply because of the setting on her travellogue, i didnt really understand wot she meant. well, it's enough to see how many ppl reading wot you've written, to share your experience and feeling... or simply just to have a place to write something, as how i treat this blog - a graffiti wall.

but now i bloody understand why... since i couldnt write that crazy trip to arctic down in Engelska, i started to write something in Kine. ofcoz not here, in Cari. then i got all these replies from these random ppl, and cant possibly stop writing now :) almost 100hits a day and so many encouraging words. wow...

encouraging words from mom to continue scribbling on this graffiti wall too, lol ^^ as lisa my coursemate says, "moms are the best!"
so are dads, helping me to find 续弦 since the unfortunate event that marks de camera's death, hehehe...

nah... the moan isnt over yet. it can wait. sigh, do you know i first use that camera in my first ever backpacking trip? under the co-witness of Orion and the Southern Cross. then it was in every single trip i've been to. feel like making a tribute... de best pictures with this camera... so fitting it has to go under Orion again, this time with Southern Cross replaced by Ursa Major. so poetic ^^

每个平凡小事 变成永恒故事

过马路会牵着我的手的是谁？^^
把相机给我一直叫我拍多多照片的是谁？^^（真的sorry，弄坏了。。。）
要把“亲密好伙伴”绑在飞机上的是谁？^^
一起吃绿茶冰淇凌的是谁？^^（死未？这个够经典~）
要投资我玩具店的是谁？（被看得起了。。。等着收钱吧！^^）
大老远跑去Senawang参观工厂的是谁？^^
要把myvi变transformers的是谁？^^
那个可怜的被推进游泳池的是谁？^^
迟到结果竟然被上海饺子店老板教训的是谁？^^（我要笑死了。。。）
睡觉前要把自己包成sushi的是谁？^^
驾车会跟着音乐节拍踩break的是谁？（笑到没有力了。。。^^）
每次叠罗汉最下面那一个是谁？ (这次又垫一下上面的11个罗汉吧。。。^^）

小事不少，故事永存 :)

祝广宏顺利完成儿时的志愿，悬壶济世，妙手回春。
附上一首他最喜欢的歌：

歌曲：最重要的小事
歌手：五月天 专辑：为爱而生

我走过动荡日子 追过梦的放肆 穿过多少生死
却假装若无其事 穿过半个城市 只想看你样子
这一刻最重要的事
是属於你最小的事
世界纷纷扰扰喧喧闹闹 什黱是真实
为你跌跌撞撞傻傻笑笑 买一杯果汁
就算庸庸碌碌匆匆忙忙 活过一辈子
也要分分秒秒年年日日 全心守护你
最小的事

我就算壮烈前世 征服滚滚乱世 万人为我写诗
而幸福却是此时 静静帮你提著 哈罗凯蒂袋子
这一刻最重要的事
是属於你最小的事
世界纷纷扰扰喧喧闹闹 什黱是真实
为你跌跌撞撞傻傻笑笑 买一杯果汁
就算庸庸碌碌匆匆忙忙 活过一辈子
也要分分秒秒年年日日 全心守护你
最小的事
最重要的事

你笑得像个孩子 每个平凡小事 变成永恒故事

hang over

lazy to write anything more about the trip, write about my hang over instead.
back for a week but mind and soul are still living in the polar world...
that god damned aurora and glacier canyon gave me too big a shock... cant remember the last time something drove me berserk like this... emotional wise, a good match is probably the futsal final 15/07/07, the winning goal that maya scored... ^^ wase, that's almost half a year ago already...

done very little... even lazy to cook... salad, eggs, milk, red beans and bread for the whole week. body became very restless... solo lepaks almost everyday... if not lepak then stayed at home and 吸收日月精华. in short, kept to myself for the whole week beside phone calls home before mom's going to scream at me ^^ sorry for keep forgetting the existance of telephone...

right, camera... dead in the coffin. adios coolpix3700... haih, how do i live without you, i want to know; how do i breathe without you, if you ever go... it has been so convenient for me, a kind of bridge between my eyes and yours :P nv imagine another loyal servant will just go like this... 5 seconds silence...

6-0 in a half

we have no mercy~~
i want to write a song for ronaldo~~~

sorry arsenal, we'll take the top seat again, hehehe...

HIGH latitude (part II)

wah~ many many photos :) pls visit my flickr account~

this post is mainly about the lucky 5th of Jan 08. we decided that we've had enough of kiruna and would like to spend a day in Abisko National Park, around 1hr20mins train ride away from Kiruna and 20-30mins away from de Norwegian border. we were late and ran all de way from the youth hostel down to kiruna C and not more than 5 seconds after we board, the train started to move ^^

Abisko is such a small stop and there was only one way rail, which means we had to get off the train from the other side. so we missed the stop and got off in Björkliden instead :P but we were so lucky there's a train going back to Abisko in 20mins. and we took in as much as possible wot Björkliden has to offer.


When we finally got to Abisko, the tourist centre was closed. Great! Saturday! but there were ppl chatting beside the tourist counter and we still got the map we needed ^^ and just after we finished our packed lunch, and refilled my water bottle, they shut the whole place down... i dunno wot kind of luck were we in...

anyway, we followed the map and decide first to see the Torne Lake, 4th largest in Sweden. I had to believe it coz the scenery was dominated by this lake for more than 30mins on the train. For some reason, the lake has a colour of very dark blue, close to black. and when we got close, it's not unlike the sea in the north pole we so used to see on TV.


there is a very interesting illustration on the map which says "canyon". and there was where we were heading after deciding that we better make good use of the remaining sunlight and not to get too carried away by the magnificent scene at the lake ^^ it was a good decision. as wot we saw at the dight was totally out of this world... i was constantly yelling "let me die here! let me die here!"


camera cant depict the depth of the canyon, and the frozen part, the flowing part, the sound of the waterfall, the glacier, the clear water of green, the snow on the ice, the hot spring coming out from the steep wall... it made me thought "aurora or not, it doesn't matter anymore..." and i totally hate these pictures as they dont bring out a tenth of the beauty of the place.... but there's nothing better to show...


we continued to hike to the entrance of the canyon. pass it, and until de day got pitch black. we then follow the faint light refelcted on the snow back to the train station. hiking is good coz with so much exercise, my toes didnt freeze :) we arrived at the station around 3.45pm. rested for a while and decide to go into the woods again to look for a Sami Camp indicated in the map. it was rather disappointing with only 3 storage houses but we saw ursa major! (北斗七星) it was getting very cold suddenly, so we went back to the station.

but combination of clear sky and sudden drop of temperature are welcoming signs of the arrival of aurora! so i wouldnt go into the waiting room and kept staring at the sky which drove my travelmate crazy :P but before his third complain, the show begins...






it started with a faint curtain of white, then the curtain shifted. some parts becomes brighter than others. then they disappear all together, and reappears again in a matter of minutes. then the white curtain narrows into a white band... and it suddenly turns green! it has to be aurora!!!!! we were shouting and shouting like maniacs, running for the camera. it was quite static in the beginning, only narrows and expands as a band. then the climax came, and it was shifting in shape, winding like a giant dragon as seen in the pictures above ^^ for these pictures, camera exposure time was around 7-9 seconds. we din have any tripods so they are a bit blurry. but ursa major is still captured in sequence 4 and 5, see if you can spot it ^^

it died out rather quickly after the big ending. we've been meeting a lot of other travellers. from US, france, mexico, china, japan, spain, england, australia, and even malaysia and singapore! everyone talks about the northen light and the ice hotel. most of those who've seen the aurora saw it outside kiruna, coz there's too much light in the town. but none that we've heard from had seen a big show like this ^^ wot luck! charmed~ charmed~~

another dream came true... though the original dream consists of different characters in the story, but i'll take this :)

(to be continued...)

HIGH latitude (part I)

Kiruna, a town 200km in the arctic circle, exists only for one reason - europe largest underground iron ore mine. For the same reason, railways are built to this part of the world, and provided us, those with a curious and advanturous heart a gateway into a world of white crystal.


it took the train 23hrs to get to Kiruna from Gothenburg. The opportunity to see Sweden from South to North couldn't be missed! And there was I maintaining a pose comfortable enought to stare out the window for N hrs. The little houses scattered in the snow clad world, spilling out warm and cosy Christmas lightings are not very unlike those in the fairy tales. The flora varied along de way. Pine takes over at a certain latitude, and then at another, it is no longer common and tree are only 3-4m tall. The tree line does exist!

Polar night happens in week 50-52 in Kiruna. Since we arrived in week one, the sun is still very shy and wouldn't climb too high above the horizon. Here we had sun rise at 11am. We couldnt see the sun for more than 1hr but the snow reflects any light they get and the city was bright for around 4-5hrs a day.


As a material engineer, it's quite impossible for me to miss the underground tour in the mine. It costs 140kr and we were driven down to the mine by bus. Modern and traditional mining methods were introduced. And the original look of the now highly deformed Kiirunavaara (Kiruna mountain) is remembered in the black and white pictures.


It is hard to find a tourist in Kiruna who does not also go to Jukkasjärvi, a village on the Torne River bank, 30 minutes bus ride away. The Ice Hotel is a huge tourists magnet. As the name suggests, the whole hotel is made of crystal clear ice and "snice", which is a mixture of "snow" and "ice".


Located right at the bank of Torne River, all raw materials of the hotel are borrowed from the river. When summer arrives, everything melts and returned to the river. Every year, artists from all over the world come here to construct the rooms in October. When we were there, it was nearly at the end of construction. But we somehow still got half price tickets at 117kr. Ice furnitures and beds are layered with reindeer skin for the visitors' comfort. Many are decorated with lights.


There is also an Icebar in the hotel where glasses are also made of ice. They serves alcohol and non-alcohol drinks. I had a juice made from Lingonberry, a kind of berry which only exists in the north of Sweden. There are also snowmobile and dog sleds where one can ride on the frozen Torne River and travel to Kiruna Airport from there.


My camera went kaput just after coming out of the Ice Hotel. All pictures took along the frozen Torne River wasn't stored in the memory card. And after that, the camera just refused to function anymore... Still wondering if it is due to the low temperature. It would be a shame if I'm going to loose it now and forever >.<

Anyway, more pictures in flickr. and part II will come as soon as my travelmate pass me the photos in his camera. Be prepared for a story consists of snow hiking, glacier, reindeer meat and aurora borealis!!! ^^

p/s: snow in Kiruna are really hexagonal flakes! with all the dendrites growing in different characteristics, every single flake is unique! it's unbelievably beautiful when they dances with the rythm of the wind ^^
p/s 2: if you dont have a good pair of boots, it doesnt matter how many layers of socks you wear. your toes just freeze and cant move until they get warm again. but you can still walk ^^
p/s 3: sauna + cold water shower + rolling in the snow then go back to sauna again then cold water shower again then rolling in de snow again and go back to sauna again and do it again and again and again... drained all my strength... but i was as fresh as ever waking up the 2nd day, weird...
p/s 4: blah!!! there are so many things to talk about I dunno how to put them all in texts. and everything havnt really sinks in yet. it's de same feeling like how i gave up on writing a detailed travellogue after de indochina trip ^^ but it'll be a long time before i can share this one with you face to face, so bear with it~ bear with it~ ^^

stir fry mixed vege

Brain shut down wasn't successful coz everything is just too good to be missed ^^ Thought I better update this blog before the number of pictures goes beyond manage... still waiting for some pics from others but they can wait.
Just realised that the content might also go beyond manage... Hang on for another long post! I'll try to summarize, ignore the texts in blue if you want a shorter account of things :) As usual, click on pictures to enlarge, and follow the link on the right for more pictures on my flickr account.

After work after exams after the first semester! (21/12)

There goes a quarter of my master! Just having some fun, some decent food and some alcohol to slow the mind down. I didn’t have to pay the bill~ hurray~~~ And a friend decided to become my official photographer... My first merchandize is a postcard… *sweats*


I kinda do wotever that pops up in my mind nowadays, as long as they don’t interfere with my sleep and my study. But as usual, the only constraint is ofcoz money. Else I’ll be trying to climb over the wall of Berlin instead of telling you about wot I’ve been doing infront of my computer already ^^

Xmas shopping for gifts to popo upstairs and her daughter (22/12)

The aim was actually to take pictures of Gothenburg before xmas ends ^^ Coz I’ve already decided to give Karin the pot I made in the ceramics course with some chocolates filled inside. And naturally a box of chocolate for her daughter who loves chocolate, haha… and I sort of expecting at least a box of chocolate from them too ^^

The problem is, every time when I go out alone and when some of the scenes touch me, I wish to tell you how beautiful they are… and wish that there is someone here to share it with me… aw… how many times do I need to repeat this… well, all de same, look at the pictures that my photo taking skills dun do justice to :P hehe…



Gothenburg was in a great atmosphere. Families going out together. Children buzzing with hype. Santa himself in the middle of the xmas shopping village in Nordstan. There was a smile on every face. People were in good spirit. I was in good spirit. Especially infront of the window display of NK shopping mall. Where children’s faces shone with enthusiasm, pressed against the huge drop down glasses with the cheerfully coloured moving displays on the other side. When will I own my own toy shop? ^^


Liseberg (23/12)

A wonderful day out with Aik Yean and co. First time in MC2, the building that consumes 50% of Chalmers’ funding. And then some tang1 yuan2, some free coffee + cuppacino + hot chocolate wotever composition you like… and finally Liseberg de xmas theme park - the most visited tourist destination in Sweden by a big margin. And we became part of the statistic ^^

It was de day after mid-winter. So I asked Aik Yean to be so kind to help me consume the tang1 yuan2 I’ve got in my pot. And got invited to Liseberg in return ^^ at the end, we decided to eat the tang1 yuan2 in Chalmers’ famous MC2 building and do some little “experiments” with the coffee machine inside. As you might have guessed, Albert Einstein suggested that E=MC2, and so the building named after this famous equation is all about this field of physics, which is wot Aik Yean specializes in. We shared the tang1 yuan2 with another Chinese guy and a drop dead funny Columbian, both who I met for the first time.

Then, the four of us went to Liseberg. Once when asked if he’s been to Liseberg, Anders said “er… (5seconds pause)… yeah… I mean… it’s a romantic thing but… yeah, I’ve been there” haha… The best part of Liseberg is the lights. They are simply breath taking… Part of them resemble a huge xmas tree and can be seen from the place I live :) It’s definitely a place for children, with the Christmas theme and the amusement park not very unlike genting in the fog.

It was raining fine needle like rain all day. Wondering why is it still raining in latitude this high up in a season like this… where has de snow gone?? Anyway, we thought our toes were frozen. The rest of the body felt ok coz there were bbq pits everywhere for ppl to bbq themselves ^^ see picture…


It was the first time I spend money for entertainment in Sweden ^^ 70kr (RM35) and it’s well worth it. Let the pictures take you through the rest of the story…




p/s: I wanted to pour away de water I used to boil the tang1 yuan2. But a last second change of mind and some additional treatments turn the murky soup into a very nice black sesame soup! ^^


Xmas, eve actually. (24/12)

All Swedish. Good food, nice presents and pleasant company!

Had a bloody good Swedish style yule dinner with Karin popo and her daughter Kristina popo. Like most if not all other western dinners, it started with an entrée. With 4 kinds of salads including the famous Swedish herring fish salad, 3 kinds of breads, 3 kinds of cheese, ham and herring by itself. I’ve heard bad rumors about herring. Like how one should open the herring can outdoor and in water so that it wont make your house smell bad for the rest of the day and you can wash it straight on the spot. But I actually enjoyed it :)

Then, it’s time for the main meal. Swedish meat balls, omelet, more ham, some greens, spinach and wotever you like from the entrée leftover. The meal was complimented with beers and a Swedish xmas drink that tasted like cola. The last time I had such an enjoyable feast was probably 4 months and a bit ago, in Bricksfield, with my family :)

After the meal, we had a break and went upstairs to Karin’s room to listen to Luciano Pavarotti and co. They were singing carols from all languages. Feliz Navidad, I learned. Merry Xmas in Spanish, lol. Ice-creams along with the singings. Ah, marvelous ^^

At 9pm, the program ended and we went down to the living room for coffee. Coffee was served with a type of Swedish traditional saffron bread, home made in Karin’s own oven, and a German/Austrian cake I never tasted before.

We exchanged presents and more stories from an 85 who still thinks as clearly as Thomas Elva Edison when he invented light bulbs. Her encounter with ppl from other places all over Europe. Stories that include how she met a guy in a shop in Croatia who was so good to help her translate and become friends ever since. It reminds me of those I travelled with :) Then I was writing in her 60 years old guestbook for the third time. She always says that she’s so proud to have Chinese written in the book ^^ So I thought she might be overwhelmed to have Malay for a change, but still wrote in English for this time. And she looked a bit disappointed, I swear to write in Malay next time, ha~


And then Karin made me show her photos from Malaysia, which I gladly did. She took interest in everything. From my family, my home, to my friends, my job, my study in Australia, places, animals, plants, buildings and even my trip to Indochina. Going thru all these and telling her the stories behind each photo bring time backwards. Wish you all well.

Xmas, the day itself (25/12)

Xmas day itself was spent in my cozy bed. Except for a couple of hours outdoor to get train tickets for Kiruna. For once after arriving Sweden, I was really relaxing, enjoying the leisure of a lazy day, listening to musics and re-watching the only series in my computer – Nodame Cantabile. Even feel reluctant to get off the bed for peasant food again, after the extensive dinner the night before ^^

I finally finished Arsene Lupin the French detective story the day after exam. All I can say is a nice twist at the end :) So, when I’ve had enough of TV for de day, I started to hunt for another book to dispose my excessive free time. And the search result requires me to beg your pardon for writing in Chinese in the rest of this entry. It will be about San Mao (three hairs) the famous Chinese author, and will serve very little purpose if written in English ^^

奇怪，认识三毛那么多年，对她的身平也多少知道一些，却到今天才第一次看她的书。看的就是“撒哈拉的故事”。发现记忆中埋着妈妈在我7-8岁的时候讲过的一个故事，就是其中一篇“沙漠中的饭店”。那时候觉得这个做妻子的怎么那么坏，说米粉是凝结的“雨”，说肉干是咳嗽药不让丈夫吃，还把黄瓜当竹笋炒。。。记得那时候提出来了，不明白为什么妈妈竟然还维护三毛。。。现在明白了~原来这个叫淘气^^

曾经有一个朋友说我和三毛是一个模子出来的，还被莫名其妙的骂了一顿。难怪，看得我要哭。。。在读下去之前，先接受我的道歉好吗？。。。

孤身在异乡的生活，没想到连三毛也受不了。一开始是不着边际地吐苦水，但写到“芳邻”，“死果”，“白手起家”，就赤裸裸地不再报喜不报忧了。在那种地方做家庭主妇。。。拜托，至少也该找一份工作吧。。。不过，如果不是那样的无聊生活，“白手起家”也不会那么精彩了:) 如她那么会欣赏生活艺术，那么会苦中作乐的人，应该是越无聊越能激发潜能，发光发热吧 ^^

来，十岁的小朋友也能看。不过可能会和当年的我一样，觉得三毛坏 ^^

妈妈的一封信(代序)
下面的按“下一篇”就行了。

Boxing Day (26/12)

Funny, the Boxing Day sales, the same culture in Australia, NZ, and now in Sweden. So I presume it’s a common practice in all Christian countries? Shops are slashing off prizes. I need a pair of waterproof gloves for Kiruna, and the one travelling with me needs a hell lot more stuffs. So there we were in Nordstan looking for our booties.

All went well, I got my ski gloves that originally costs 500kr with mere 99kr. Still terribly regret that I didn’t bring my old ones to Sweden. They are selling clothes at one fifth their original prices too. Some thus become cheaper than those in Malaysia ^^ And funny, there aint a lot of ppl... that was before lunch time. Ppl started to flood in around lunch time. And we escaped. To Mölndal.

Yes, Mölndal, the town outside Gothenburg where we had our ceramics classes. We thought it was a shame that we din really get to know the town during the term :) We had a short climb up to the local church, which is quite ancient and beautiful and provides an overview of the whole town, sweet~ The trip wasn't long, but Mölndal is so close to Gothenburg I can go there again whenever I like :) Ay ay, even from this short trip I can tell that this travelmate of mine is not accustomed to backpacking ^^ Kiruna will pose a much sterner test, need a big heart my friend, take in everything!

And ofcoz the football matches! I honour the opportunity to witness Gareth Barry’s equalizer from the spot kick at Stamford Bridge^^ 4-4 can you believe it! Then it was Derby vs. Liverpool on the same channel. I couldn’t find a channel that broadcasted MU’s game and elnino made me stick to de Liverpool game, as it’s then the best of the rest. He's pretty, he's quick, he's a goal machine and he's on about a kajillion pounds a week. What more reason do you need to hate Fernando Torres?! (I copied that right out of soccernet.) And he again proves that I’ve got good taste ^^ Another wonderful individual goal, this bloke is on fire! And so is Ronnie! Wakaka… 0-4~~~~~~~~~ top scorer top scorer~~~~~ and we ended the day on top of the table! Thank you Arsenal~ wot an xmas present~~~


wind flower snow moon (27-29/12)

direct chinese translation of the title might make some sense... it's all about nice chats with friends, musics, picture taking, museums and soul healing after one semester of damage :P

Went to röhskka museet to bid my two favourite pieces farewell, since it would be my last visit and the entrance pass is going to expire as soon as the year ends. I'm clear that cameras are not allowed but I just couldn't resist ^^ This one of ceramic is in a quiet side hall on first floor; the other one of silver, is the centre piece in the centre hall in 2nd floor and there was a guard who watched me watched that thing for 10 minutes ^^


Avenyn, the most happening street in Gothenburg.



Advent is an event where ppl light up the first candle on the sunday 4 weeks before xmas. Then they light one additional candle every following Sunday, and will have 4 burning on xmas day itself. Ever since the first Advent, there are candles and stars like those below on literally every household. and another thing that started to appear was the straw reindeers.




Well well, that brings us to the end of today~ One more thing to add, the big plan going on, which is ofcoz the trip to the Arctic Circle on new year's day :) Yes, Kiruna is in the Arctic Circle! anticipating ^^ Shall start the preparation tomorrow. Keep reminding myself that it's not just another one of places I've visited... I dun even know wot to do with a frost bite yet :P

Good luck to me, and happy new year to you! ^^

brain shut down notice

ah~ happens to be my century post on this blog~
hip hip~ hurray~~~~

end of exams~
time to 看星星~ (look at the stars that is, if you dont read chinese or using a german laptop or wotever...)
~~~yatta~~~

so~ friday means "after work"~ since the nice ppl in IVF (unexpectedly) decide to return our 200kr deposit for the ceramics text book loan, we can convert the money into alcohol~~~ will make sure i stay on my feet tonight...

going to mimic de days in melbourne~ end of exams means some alcohol and then brain shut down... apia sometimes wondered why i suddenly become so stupid...

well, shall i not write again before next year, some end notes~ thanks for absorbing everything i throw at you... sorry if i din share something that i should... for now,
god jul och gott nytt år
merry xmas and happy new year!

but before it really ends...

chonghwarian corner
MY GOD! saw bedi's msn display and ching soong's facebook display... WA LAO EEEH~ it's like going back to sweet 17 again. care free students never grow up, haha... they are pulling the freakish me out of its shell. wot colour shall i dye my hair? bright pink or fluorescent green? anyway, 4 months plus without a haircut and i really need one now... you agree?


hehe... ok, enough of craziness, 30 seconds of seriousness to follow... the news flying all around are not setting a very happy mood... sigh... infections ke? but hey, we are made out of much tougher materials than we thought! blesses and lots of luck!

d'oh... something's wrong with de date and time system.... today suppose to be 21st...

nxt time dun bday during my exam....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my sink fish down swallow, close moon shy flower, ice snow pandai, pondok pondok jade stand, out water seremban, collapse country collapse city, miss space little sister~

pls note: the statement above is only valid for 24hrs...

found this on youtube ooo~
"Kimi and Ano"
posted by "busuk jie ^^"
click on the picture to enlarge,
just in case u wonder... dun bother to follow de URL... it wont work, wakaka...

woohoo~ last day of lecture in 2007

but before that...

WELCOME HEIKKI!

YES! AFTER MIKA AND KIMI, HEIKKI'S BECOME THE NEWEST FLYING FINN TO JOIN OUR FAMILY IN MCLAREN!!!
and goodbye lolonso, back to flavio's cuddle, where you belong~
high~~~sweet dreams tonight~~~

ok~ as de title suggests, today marks the last teaching day of the year~ (yesterday was the swede traditional Lucia Day but i missed the event :P)
only exams to come and VACATION~~~
Lapland~ dog-sledge~ kimi's favourite reindeer stew~ aurora borealis~ the samis~ (is hyypia a sami? why is he called sami?) north! north! north!

will miss hongtao, camille and marco (my fav trio ^^) as they are going back to singapore, france and italy after the exams... i like the exchange students coz they are usually the energetic ones ^^ one will enjoy a place more if one knows that the stay will not be long?

Quarter Life Crisis

QLC is a common topic among my best friends from chonghwa... and it's great to share thoughts like these among good friends. you know you are not the only one out there... but also i'm a lucky one who seems to have recovered, having de worst patch of de crisis during my yrs in australia...

miss invisible, if you are still reading this blog, you gave me quite a little shock when you asked if i'm disappointed with human being. did i give such an impression? ^^ but after pondering about it for a while, i conclude that i probably did. good thing is that now i'm totally in love with human beings again ^^ realising that humans are not saints, we have flaws and we are all unique and different.

so, my twenty-something friends, enjoy the article below :)
chonghwarians, you can revisit if you've read it before ^^


BEING TWENTY - SOMETHING

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could dosuch damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it.

We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Send this to your twenty-something friends...maybe it will help someone feel like they aren't alone in their state of confusion........

probably the last outing before exams

göteborg is one romantic city...
autumn or winter,
sun or rain or even snow ^^

work hard, play hard and live life!
(got bored listening to this already? ^^)

i leave you with pictures from the christmas parade where we light up the christmas town of göteborg!

favco cup 07

yeeee...
so nice to work in a company with ~500 employees
happy happy can organize tournament, wakaka...

i oso want~~

but this time cant even watch them play T.T
cant watch cant watch cant watch...... T.T
sweden is going to pay for this...

go guys!

simply magical

the magical ride started at 11pm Brisbane time 30/11/07 when a silvery, dreamy, mystical voice sounds thru my k510i... do you know that it's the first international call i received since arriving sweden? ^^

and a really bull one made me accept a mocha chocolate (large size) cake's PICTURE at 12am msian time 1/12/07... hey, here was not even december yet! but this is not really a complain ^^ sweet as!

then a flood of "happy birthday"s... you guys are champs!!!
while some decide to come in at 3am, 6am... =.=||| there are those who actually remember there's a thing called time difference ^^

it means a lot, every single wish and blessing...
they turn weird dreams into sweet ones, (3am...^^)
and a typical cold and damp göteborg rainy day into a charming one!

have the temperature drop another 20 degrees, i would've felt nothing... this bon fire would keep me warm thru to the spring ^^

but the magic had not ended just yet. i was still soaking in the pool of gratification when the finishing touch came...

karin popo came and knocked on my door around 7.30pm. "would you come and have a little chat and some coffee with me tonight?" i was studying but the answer would always be "yeah, ofcoz, i would love to."

so, she was leading me up to the house and was heading to the table in the living room. when she turned, there was a present wrapped in pink ribbon in her hands. "happy birthday! you are 24 today!"

wot? how?? i mean how??? it's impossible!!!
how did she know???
i was literally speechless while we hugged...

how does one suppose to feel when an 85-year-old remembers your birthday? when you never even mentioned anything about it before... and throws you a small feast that consists of self made cakes... and still worry if swedish cakes dont entertain your appetite...

time flies everytime i'm up there. how 2 ppl 61 years different in age, 10000km different in origin, can talk so much in a language that is not the mother tongue of either? we even had fun setting up the xmas lightings ^^ it was 11pm before we realized, saying good night in another tight hug.



my guardian angels were working overtime...
i would never forget this day...
thanks for making it special.

lepak went inwards

after being confined indoor for... 4 weeks? and after the excursion to de lake, i came to the conclusion that unless the temperature plunge another 10 deg, else i should really go out more ^^

though, indoor is not as boring as it sounds.

indoor can mean (free) unlimited pass til the end of the year, to an awesome design and handcraft museum that stimulates adrenaline (maybe not to everyone ^^);

indoor can mean nordstan, the largest shopping mall in scandinavia, clad in red and green of christmas, glowing in candles, glittering in bells;

indoor can mean "after work", a great modern swedish culture that pubs provide FREE FOOD for drinks purchased at 5-7pm every Friday;

indoor can mean a nice and cheap lunch (but mamak is still de best) with patrick, wang xiao, sarah and/or thomas, my fellow project mates :)



two pictures from Röhsska Museum, i was not suppose to take pictures but already took too many before the man came and told me i shouldnt... :P they have such a huge collection of ceramic crafts they made me down right excited! since you know, i'm being converted into a potter, doing ceramics this term ^^

staying indoor has also encouraged me to read... finished another two books, chinese this time, 《盗墓笔记》, rings any bell? probably will start the third of the trilogy after exams.

and ofcoz study... the textbook by mike ashby (the guy who developed CES) is just like a novel ^^ i've never laughed so many times reading a textbook...

and finally indoor football... i found a place where i can play! ^^