.::. Postcards ♥ .::.



Received so many postcards from the States! *loves.

My favourite ones are those from New York! The texture was really nice. The boyfriend went to visit Ben & Jerry's factory and tasted the new flavour - Boston cream pie. Ben & Jerry's has a permanent space in my freezer - my favourite Strawberry Cheesecake.

Being the sender of postcards most of the time, I didn't know that receiving it was so exhilarating!

The boyfriend is flying back to Singapore later, and will be here in T.W.O days! *yaaayyy!!!

.::. Last days .::.

Met up with our supervisors the last time yesterday, and the outlook looks pretty good. They were pretty satisfied and petty comments such as using a 1 line spacing instead of a 1.5 (despite most 'professional' recommendations) were given.

I think we're pretty set for 3rd June's defense! We do not need to present our thesis but have to fend questions for 45 minutes. I'm pretty nervous about that, it sounds daunting.

Although we are almost done, there's still alot of details which has to be gone through. I'm quite particular when it comes to small things like having 2 spacing after every full-stop (most people don't seem to do that!) and grammar. So, you can imagine how many times I went through the 100 pages of text just to get those right.



Went back to Tao's place after meeting the supervisors for some discussion and some final work allocation.

There is so little days left here. SIX to be exact. I'm alittle overwhelmed. There's still alot to be done, many people to meet and catch up with and things to pack and prepare!

There ain't that many days left in Sweden. I wouldn't have much chance to go around and enjoy the fresh air and weather anymore.

Some people consider Swedish weather bad. But for me, Swedish weather is considered as one of its advantages.

Not many places can rival its scenery when the weather's good!

Although the weather isn't that great most of the time, everywhere is beautiful once the sun shines.

I pretty much liked the four seasons that I've experienced here. It's difficult to choose my favourite season for every season had its breathtaking moments.

I very much prefer four seasons than our all-year-round hot weather and I would choose the Swedish weather anytime! Sun is overrated and it's never special when you have it everyday. I love observing the season change and the effect it has on the nature.

When the sun shines here, you can simply feel happiness dancing in the air.

I will cherish my last days here.

Meanwhile, 6 days before the boyfriend gets here!!! *jumps around in the air.

.::. Spring .::.

Flowers are blooming!

So pretty. =)

.::. Democracy .::.

The recent riots in Thailand has been rather emotional personally. Having known quite a few Thais here who follow the news very closely and hearing the many stories about this lovely country which I've been to a few times makes me follow the ongoings closely too.

There are too many stories out there, many of them bias in their own way. For me, I believe that Thaksin is the villian. Perhaps he has given money to the poor and helped them in one way or another, but it wasn't his own money. It was money from the Thai people, money which was not his, money which he pocketed. Perhaps he had good intentions, but it sustained his luxury lifestyle and kept him in power. But sooner or later, he's going to suck Thailand dry. And when he is prosecuted, he made use of these people who were deeply grateful to him, to try to get back into power.

It's a joke when he said he does not support violence and that these people were not fighting for him. If it wasn't for him, what are they fighting for? Democracy? But he was not even elected democratically, and people didn't care then. Perhaps he does not support violence per se, but if it can get him what he wants, it might be a means to his ends. It's saddening that the poor and old becomes pawns, and sacrificed in his political game.

Maybe I'm wrong. But who knows what is right? I am not a religious person, yet I pray for this to end and for peace to be restored, for things to get better.

I know that there are people who laugh at Singapore's democracy and there are people who do not believe that Singapore is a democratic country. But seriously, does it really matter? Freedom comes at a price. If the price is prosperity and peace, I would prefer less freedom. So what if we can't eat gum? Think of the money we save from cleaning those things up, how it grows when invested over the years. I think most Singaporeans are happy with the way things are and are too occupied with things like planning the next holiday to bother about which politician is really in power. We complain when things are inefficient all the time, but are mostly contented to let the politicians do their jobs. No way will we spend our time rioting or going on strikes!

I only started to really appreciate Singapore's efficiency, peace and prosperity after I spent the year overseas. Nothing can beat Singapore's efficiency, you can get almost everything done in record time. Did you know that registering for a new business took 3 days in Singapore compared to the worldwide average of 35 days? I took for granted many of the conveniences I enjoyed back home.

Seriously, Singaporeans should learn to appreciate and cherish what we have instead of complaining so much.

It's scary how we try to educate the children and make them go for all kinds of classes just to stay ahead. But perhaps, without that, Singapore would not be where we are now.

If you ask me, democracy is overrated. Politics, strikes and riots are a waste of time and resources. Go do something more productive, something which results in good consequences.

.::. The Last Lap .::.

After resting for a few days after the trip, I've been working on the thesis. We don't have that much left, but the last part is the worse part. Reading through more than 60 pages of text, making sure they are free of grammar errors and that the struture flows needs so much concentration.

It's still surreal that everything will end in 2 weeks and the boyfriend will be here. I'm excited, yet somewhat reluctant to say goodbye. I really love having my own place, doing things at my own time and target, being at peace with everything without any comments or 'advices' from people who 'cares for me'. I like all the time alone and being at peace with myself, doing things I like.

As much as I miss all my friends and home, I'm dreading being judged all the time back home. I hate it when people make comments about everything, from your skin to what you eat, to your figure and your choices in life. *sigh. It stirs up negative feelings within me and disrupts my peace with myself. Why do Asians have such culture? Sometimes I think people just derive joy from such mindless gossip and comments.

I've met rather nice people these days. My thesis group mate whom I travelled with invited us for dinner at her friend's place after our thesis discussion at her place. It was a group of nice Chinese and Taiwanese people, who cooks well. I loved the Taiwanese meesua. Contrary to the many stories I have heard about how Taiwanese and Chinese could not be friends due to the political situation, it was heart-warming to see them getting along so well despite their nationalities. Friendships should be like that, yet not everyone could do that.

I went to play badminton with Aom and a very big group of Thai people at Eslov, a town 10minutes from Lund yesterday. They are a community of Thai muslim people who mostly speak Thai, Malay and Swedish. There was one guy who was really good and after 2 hours of badminton, I felt my arms shaking! I was so tired and hungry after that, it's like I felt my body shutdown. It's been a long long time since I felt like that and it's not like I have not been exercising! Perhaps it's the concentration and physical exertion for 2 full hours. Gym was usually an hour and is not that tiring too. Even the hot yoga and kickboxing I do back home isn't that tiring.

After badminton, a very nice couple who is a relative of Aom's roommate invited us to their place for dinner. They cooked chicken rice with some soup and salad. *yums! She even made traditional malay aga-aga and some kuey kuey for us to have with tea after dinner while we watched the Barcelona match.

During times like that, I wished I spoke more malay, so that I can communicate with these people who were so kind to me. My command of Malay is extremely limited, and I mostly learnt them as a kid when I spoke to my maid. I remembered pouring over English-Malay dictionaries and trying to chat with my maid.

I think that it's a very saddening thing that many Singaporeans can't speak Chinese well, or refuse to speak it much nowadays. People just don't realize what a valuable asset it is to have, especially when you are overseas.

Singaporeans are in a rather awkward position. Our English sounds different and most would probably assume that our command of English isn't that good and not many speak good Chinese. Culturally, we are not as open as caucasians yet do not hold many traditional values which the Chinese still hold. It's hard to identify with others because we are a rather unique bunch of people. Caucasians think that I'm weird when I say that I do not like parties nor drinking, yet I find some rather traditional chinese thinking very backward and ridiculous. *sigh! But still, I love to be able to communicate in Chinese with other Chinese people and feel like 'one of them'. Even speaking with my limited command of Malay makes me connected to a part of Singapore. I should ask Nurul to teach me more Malay. Languages are such a powerful tool. Knowing just alittle makes alot of difference!

The worse part of yesterday's badminton is its aftermath. My whole body aches so much this morning, I could hardly move. I think my body is so tired that I feel like I'm going to be down with flu soon. My right butt cheek and right arms hurt so much, I could barely exert any strength with it. My whole back hurts and even my neck hurts! I'm in so much pain now and I feel so lousy!

加油！加油！加油！

.::. The Hot Dog .::.

Chinook, or rather the boyfriend sent me a card from USA!


Abit late, but so cute! I almost forgot that I'm a 'mom' too...hahas..

I really miss that boy. He's so loving and gives you all the warmth and love you need unconditionally.

I spotted Chinook in Budapest!

Joey said that Chinook is very sad. He refused to eat much after he left for USA and spent most of his day waiting for Joey in his room. That poor boy must be really sad that his mom left, then his dad left too.

*sigh...We will give him a good treat when we get back!

.::. Budapest @ Dark .::.

Budapest is super dusty, with so many small flies in the air that seem to go into your mouth and eyes. I felt like my throat was itchy everytime I'm outside. Food is expensive, but people we met were pretty nice.

The city center wasn't that interesting nor special. After traveling around so many European cities, they seem rather similar. But this area totally come alive when it turns dark. I was so excited and happy.

I've found what I came here for.



Charles Bridge with the castle in the background.

On the bridge.

=)

.::. Back .::.

I'm back from a 9 day trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest. It has been a really great trip, traveling with the classmates and probably the best 'big' group trip. But I'm so tired, and I think I'll definitely not have the stamina to travel like that in a few year's time!

Youth is fleeting.

Prague was beautiful, Vienna was artsy, Budapest comes alive at night.

People in Prague were aggressive, service in Vienna was the worse, Budapest was so dusty it gave me sore-throat. Budapest also had the most expensive food our of the 3 cities, surprisingly!

Might try to blog about the trips soon, but gotta do some serious writing instead for the next 2 weeks. Time to finish the last chapter of our thesis! So far so good, we only have the analysis part, which is probably the most important too. Page count stands at 50 currently.

I miss home.

I miss Singapore.

*sigh. Yet I really cherish the last weeks I have here.



Dinner tonight. Pan-fried chicken breast, rosti (shreded potatoes) and boiled brocoli with yougurt dip.

I fell in love with this yougurt with garlic and cucumber after Julia bought it for the German dinner. She used it to dip potatoes and asparagus.

My mum keep sending me emails about how bad butter and sugar are. But I'm wondering, why is it that Europeans seem to cook with so much cream, have so many dips and sauces, cook with butter, eat so much bread, cook with bacon often and have so many desserts, yet stay rather healthy. My mum will definitely freak out if she sees how much cream is used in French food! Things like cream soup, tartes and the desserts. I can totally imagine her going on and on about health and all. Even when I'm here, they manage to send me so many emails about it. I seriously dread being nagged about food when I'm back.



I'm a happy girl, because meat is cheap these days - 5sgd for 1kg! I seldom buy meat unless it's on sale. Maybe Spring is coming, and there are many meats for BBQ. It's always on sale when it's near it's expiry dates. I simply buy them back and freeze it, then pan-fry them. *yums!!!

.::. Valborg .::.

Valborg is an unofficial holiday on the 30th April where most people get half the day off and gather in the park. Basically, the 'celebration' is to gather in the park, drink and get wasted.



Our 'camp'. It was raining most of the morning, yet so many people were gathered in the park. I was seriously cursing, wondering what's so fun about this festival! At least it stopped raining afterwards and it was amusing to observe people there to say the least. That is probably the only reason I went in the first place.

The main stage area where loud music were blasting and people were partying.

This is a common sight everywhere despite the many toilets around.

So many people were drunk and doing crazy things. It's difficult to make sense of such 'culture', much less enjoy it. Swedish people like to drink TO get drunk. Every weekend, and countless such occasions. It's where people get wasted, lose their virginity, lose their valuables, get hurt but yet enjoy themselves. And from what I've heard, such festivals are quite common around Europe.

This year is about opening the heart to experiece new things. But that certainly does not mean enjoying nor accepting everything.When I say I wouldn't stay long, people like to ask me 'WHY?'. Some people give you the 'What's wrong with you' look when you leave parties early. Why? Because I don't really enjoy parties like that and I'd rather be at home or anywhere else doing something I enjoy more. I'm different. That's why.

Is it so difficult to understand why some people dislike parties and do not like destroying their livers?

Weird or strange or not, it really depends on where you are standing.

.::. The Helix .::.

I'm impressed! It looks really beautiful.

It hasn't been that long, but the skyline has transformed so much!

I want to go back and take pictures too.