Axlle the DJ

Axlle is BACK!

2007-07-21T11:40:00.001-07:00

ok. this is old news. 10 days old to be exact. coming back to Singapore after the 5 months was an experience itself. the flight started at 2pm in milan and after 3 movies, spongebob, a stupid documentary, 11 hours of anticipating, i touch down at Changi at 8am in the morning. talk about a short night.

The whole family less grandma came. haha. they sure miss me. luggage took up most of the room. I DROVE. yeah i miss my car. driving on the left side somehow feels a tad bit weird. must be the road trip. it has got into me.

Casper didnt recognise me at first. i think he was surpised and i smell different. i was quite surprised by his reaction too. but after 10sec, he suddenly got very excited and refused to let me go anywhere. haha. that boy. unusually obedient.

My room feels different. i got a new curtain and my new maid put on a bed sheet that wasnt mine. nvm. just glad to be home.

spent the last however many days packing up my room. forced myself to do an entire spring cleaning before i unpack my stuff. Its messy before i left for milan.

Went Ikea the day before to get the grill. yes i am going to cook. got inspiration to design my white wall on top of my console. it will be nice. heh.

Still jet lagging. trying to sleep earlier and earlier thou. trying. clubbing and late night supper is not helping.

Amsterdam & Brussels!!

2007-06-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

The trip is rated 2nd best after london's. Queen's Day was the ultimate experience. Amsterdam is grossly misunderstood. Brussels was the icing on the cake.

The trip was planned to be another travelling-alone-to-find-my-friend trip, after Helsinki. I was not able to fly directly to amsterdam as it was rather expensive to do so. Flying to Brussels and a bus trip to amsterdam offered a chance to visit another country for a fraction of the cost. I jumped on the opportunity, although i didnt know what to expect in Brussels. The impression of Amsterdam, and the hype of Queen's Day, Brussels was supposed to be just another 'trophy', another country that i visited.

Along the way, Jo decided to join me for Amsterdam. She heard that Queen's Day was going to be hyper happening, and Brussels turned out to be better than expected.

Brussels
28, 29 Apr, 2 May

Victor Hugo once said that this is the most beautiful square in Europe. I reckon he meant the rest of the world too. It does not take much to agree with him. Just walk into the square. Its the best I have seen thus far in Europe.

Not far away from the square, we saw this signboard. heh. random pic.

After Italy, especially Rome and Florence, it was easy to want to skip this church. we went in anycase.

Belgium chocolate. Its everywhere in Brussels. EVERYWHERE.

Each of them are pictures of different stores that we came across in Brussels, and they are by no no no means exhastive. Its a wonder that we didnt buy any. But after reading a particular tip from the map that was given to us by the hostel, we were convinced that we will not be getting it.

"They are nice to see but expensive. Only tourist and locals who have run out ideas for birthday presents. Usually, local just get them off the shelves of supermarket."

Boy did we heed that advice. The made-in-belgium bar of chocolate that we got off the shelves was good. good enough for the price we paid. hahah.

Bussels got more than chocolate to offer. I was rather suprise that they have tonnes of seafood. 1kg of mussels for 30euros. drinks included. not excatly the price that me and Jo would pay, but they do really look fresh and delicious. The whole street of seafood resturant, just like boat quay.

And of course, excellence fries and waffles in Brussels. We just cant get enough of them. Fries after waffles after fries after waffles. That was basically was in and filled our stomach.

And and and.... and thats about all..

Amsterdam

29, 30, 31 Apr, 1 May

After a 4 hour bus ride from Brussels, we reached Amsterdam in the evening on 29th April.

This is basically what we saw:

Yup. Rivers, rivers and more rivers. thats Amsterdam.

Shyuan's fav cafe. This quaint little cafe along the river. i can stay there all day boat watching. yup boat watching. I love Amsterdam. Oh, if you are thinking the photo is slanted, its not. Its the cafe.

Us, chilling at the cafe. feeling the breeze. then i realised why amsterdam used to be filled with willmills. it never stop. not even for a sec.

Oh, not forgeting the streets. the streets of Amsterdam. coffeeshop, cafe, sexshops, bars, clubs, souvenir shops. Thats most of it. thats about it.

Funfair infront of the palace!! all for Queen's day! guess who got excited over it.

We felt like we we in American TV shows when we had the chinese take away. haha. if u know wat i meant.

Windmills!!
Trip to visit windmills was unforgettable!!

So here's the story. We got invited to have beer and a river tour by this friendly family that we just got to know! how cool is that! I took the wheel. haha.

Queen's Day!!!!
it. was. absolutely. cazy. see photos.

Street anywhere and everywhere, u find pple selling their stuff. its a whole city of carnival!
Little children included!

2euros to throw whip cream at me!

Coffin orange juice anyone?

Guess where the reall action was.

THE RIVER!! it was filled with house music blasting boats, filled with orange, white people, filled with energy to party all day long.

AND

This boat is voted the best boat of the year! by me. haha. this is wat it has got the offer.

Huge boat. thats a must, filled with happening people.

Good house music with live DJ.

And chic and well dressed Saxophone player that play in tune with the house music.

the the ultimate... they have a huge confetti gun that throws out confetti everytime they pass a bridge.

Someday, it will happen in Singapore. some day.

My April Stint - Ireland

2007-06-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

After Valencia, i headed off to Madrid again, where i was to take a flight to Dublin, Ireland. Had a terrible hangover from the previous night, too much to drink. It made the bus trip and the rest of the day at Madrid before the flight, SHITTY. But still, i managed to get my miniature flag which I cant anywhere else in Spain, and also went to Reina Sophia. I had to. After visiting Pablo Picasso's Museum at Barcelona, I just wanted to see Guernica. I dragged myself there.

-

It was a long day. I finally touched down Dublin at about half past nine in the evening. after a day without a proper meal and a lingering hangover, i tot i could rest a day at Cheryl's place. but she broke the news to me..

"Oh guofeng, change of plans, we will be heading out to Belfast early morning tomorrow."

Belfast, Northern Ireland

On the bus along the way to Belfast, the view was amazing. Some pictures i managed to take while I was awake.

Belfast has a really small city centre. We didnt take much time to realise that. but one note to self:

"woooooooooooooooohooo! I am back to UK!!!"

Apparently, Belfast is one of the most safest city in the world.

"We do not kill our visitors, just ourselves"

So said our tour guide. We went for the black taxi tour. 25pounds for the taxi, shared amongst the 3 of us.
A history lesson on the political turmoil of Northern Ireland, between the Catholics and Protestants, pro independence and pro UK respectivity.

We start off the tour in the area where the Catholics lived. Along the way, our guide explained to us the significance of the murals that are scattered over the still political sensitive area that divide them.

This particular one is about the first blanket man. He led a protest in jail by not wearing anything, except his blanket. He insist that he was a political prisoner instead of a criminal. Hence he refused to wear the criminal attire.

The Catholics believe that the British government is siding the Protestants instead of being fair to both sides.

Everyone had their chance to take a picture in the middle of the road, right in front of the mural, while evading on coming cars. haha.

We proceed to serveral places during the tour, and at this stop, along the street of Clonard, a memorial place was set up. Some years ago, one of the houses along the street was set on fire, and eventually destory most of the street. Many people died in the area. If you can make out a high fence, its the one that is separating the the area of Catholics from Protestants, to prevent rocks, homemade bomb from being hurded across.

The wall that still separates them. in some streets, there still exists gates that closes in the evening to prevent anyone from crossing the border.

Our 'black taxi'. Our guide.

Nice chap with real insights to what really happened during the period. its clearly from personal experience. I had a feeling he was part of the catholic community, maybe from the street that was bombed/set on fire. Although he tried to be non biased during the tour, some how he had more stories from the Catholic side. haha.

So I asked him. But he refused to answer, joking that if he did, he would have to kill me.

nice try.

We enjoyed our tour. Money well spent.

Dublin

There is not much to miss in the city centre, which i did took a half day tour. Me Cheryl and Robin headed off to a nearby place to hike!

The Train ride along the coast was amazing. Nice view all the way!

See the hill top. that our destination.

Halfway up there. the view is getting better ald.

shrugs

2007-06-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should stop getting pocket money from my parents. I know i can do so much more.

Maybe I should set really goals and targets in my life. 24hours never seems enough when its not planned for. and it never waits.

Maybe I should really complete a book that I started out reading. Somehow, its nearly impossible.

Maybe I should be more focus on just one of my many many many interest and do some extraordinary. I know I can. But knowing is just never enough.

Maybe its time for me to reflect on this trip. I set out to understand my self better, take a break from the crazy life.
Maybe its all too similar. All the travelling and stuff. Indifferent.

Maybe.

There is just so much maybes in life, maybe I shouldnt even do anything about it. But thats usually the case.

Maybe its time for a change.

Italians.

2007-06-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

I waited a grand total of 5 freaking hours for a paper that I wrote myself. FUCK.

Ok. I am over it but it was just very frustrating.

I had to make a police report about the little accident that happened during the road trip to get get a refund of 250euros, the excess I had to pay. I police report is all that i need.

After 4 trips and an average of an hour of waiting time, i finally got it. I wrote the statement myself, all I needed was a signature and stamp from them. Its just not justified. But for 250 euros, i gotta do it.

Its not really about the Italians, its never about them, but the way their system works. everytime i am there, there bound to be frustrated Italians in the queue.

passion is not everything.

anyway on a side note, i am still blogging, in between lessons and free time. haha. i know i am slow. but u know, good things gotta wait.

My April Stint

2007-05-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

I was away most of the time in April. the longest period away from milan thus far. 12 days in total. doesnt seem long at first glance, but been away from 'home' for an extended period of time, travelling during sleeping hours on uncomfortable bus with loud chatterbox, lingering hang over, constant alert and look out for pickpockets; they make the experience seems much much longer.

Nevertheless, its an experience. Many ups and downs, many fun and pain. many of manys.

The journey began in the evening of 12 Apr, just after my Arts and Media's mid term.

Madrid

The 1st sight of Madrid, after I took the Metro from the airport to Sol Station, in the city centre to meet Shyuan. We left for our exchange almost together, just half an hour apart, each at one of the terminals at Changi, feeling about the same i guess, a few months before. We didnt have the chance to bid each other farewell, but after nearly 3 months of being so near yet so far from each other, its great to see each other again. :)

Earlier at the airport, i approached this lady at the information counter at Madrid's Airport, and i went something like this,

"Hi, do you think i can get a map of Milan over here?"

she stared back blankly.

"Oh, I meant Madrid," I corrected myself sheepishly. She was quite amused at my blunder apparently, giggling and replying:

"yes, u can get a map of Madrid at the tourist counter, but for Milan, i cant help u"

I am used to it. somehow.

Our first stop in Madrid, this Tapas shop (too lazy to search for the name, i am in IB class btw) that sell specialise only in tapas, 100 different types at a standard price of 1euros/item.

We ordered 6 of them, 3 for each of us. great food, budget dinner. woooooot!
they come with chips too! so good that we came back for dinner the next day. just like typical Singaporean, we separated our orders to get maximum chips. wahahah. they go best with beer.

Museo del Prado.
Not that a spectacular building, but it houses some of the worlds, greatest painting. Picasso would come here to be inspired and influenced by what he termed as world class paintings.

I totally agreed. There were quite a few artist at work inside the museum, using some of the more famous paintings as subjects, not wholesale mimicking, but their interpretation on the work of art, like how Picasso did with the Las Meninas.

I enjoyed Prado more than art about the church. Influenced by theater class i guess.

Later that afternoon, we venture to this very nice square near Sol station(lazy again, this time in Entrepreneur class), and decided that its a good plce to people watch.

Artist at work.
I love this picture.

After walking round the square we settled down at a nearby cafe to chill out. literally.

After walking about madrid and gettig our dinner, we came back to the square the same evening, sat at a corner and people watch again. this time i took quite a lot of photos.

Barcelona

Market near La Rambas. There was this particular store that was selling 'cheap' cooked seafood!! *slurp* we wanted to try it out, but had no opportunity to do so. sad.

Oh, and i met a friend. haha. like real. i was wondering why there was such a huge camel in the middle of Barcelona. haha.
Some where inside the old town in the middle of barcelona, we stumbled apon this little quaint place.
This resturant, also near La Rambas, is a must go!! cheap, very good food and service.

The last day at Barce, we took the Gaudi trail. Sean and Denise joined us for the day!!!

Oh, i randomly bumb into Denise the day before near the resturant. thats how we met up. haha. so random.

And so i became photographer of the day. We spend a while at this gaudi designed park. i love this place.

D and her purple fertish.

in the evening, we met up with Sharon for dinner!

Valencia

At Valencia leg of the trip, i was alone. I went to the beach, shopping, walk about and cut my hair.

Traditional Tapas resturant, so typical of the old town of Valencia. For a moment, I tot i travelled thru time. everything inside the resturant seems to frozen in time, the 80's i guess. It gives a sort of nostalgic feeling, memories floods back.

My lunch.. *burp*

Valencia is a quaint town. you just feel like doing nothing, just walk, walk and walk.
Another side of Valencia, somehow, its beautiful.

Valencia's beach and the American's Cup.

Orhh lu lu (ie black black one) wahahaha.... guess wat they sell

London!!!

2007-05-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

I just woke up and is still half tired from the road trip. then i realised that there is quite a bit of back log of blogging. SHIT. one of the problems is the time i take to upload the pics. anyhow, here is london. My FAV city. it seems that i am going again. yay. *monotonic* yay. yeah. that is how shitty i am feeling now. i need coffee. not a good time to blog about the one of the best cities i have been in Europe thus far. i shall try.

We have been lucky. the whole we were at london, the sun was shinning and at worst, cloudy. the weather was great.

I felt in love with London the minute i step out of the airport. English people, clean airport, sweet air, london vibes. the london atmosphere just fills the air. the experience is simply unforgetable. oh did i mention, THEY DRIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE!!! not the right side per se, but its the way i have been brought to appreciate for the last 24 years. everything seems to be in the correct order when you see on coming traffic on your right. sweet.

Enroute to the city where the legends of dragon once exist, I began to understand where influence of the development of Singapore city came from, and why all scholars are to be sent to london for their study. lucky Singapore. serious. then i began to realised, passion is just not enough, cos Ferrari too is prone to breakdowns.

I was plugged into my ipod, and i wished the bus would go on forever. fields of yellow flowers, slopes and slopes of green juicy grass, it almost feels like teletubbies would jump out anytime. Even after the lag, the memories are still vivid. i don have any pictures cos my camera was in the luggage compartment of the bus. but i guess they wont do any justice.

At liverpool station, we met Wayne, Mir's highly intelligent friend, who would bring us to his apartment where we will be staying for the next few days. Along the way, I popped by the local KFC to grab my lunch. when i stepped in i thought i saw a blue moon.

In front of me was a orderly queue. a single file that leads to the first available counter. Civilisation!
i tot to myself. Seriously.

first pictures of the day. Wayne lives in the heart of london, near the tower bridge, some say london bridge. i am confused.

6 of us! oh, i am behind the the picture.

vibes of london!

the eye of london!
where is mir? haha.

The Palace!
Toy solider? haha.
And the change of guards.

HARRODS!!

Fish and chips!!
London and her buskers. they add to the vibes of london, making her so interesting and full of life. this guy in particular, makes bubbles and entertain the little children. boy, does he know how to get the money. haha.

I miss driving..

2007-05-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

I blame those who went driving in Paris and London for adding salt.
How i miss those days.
And so i resort to look at the limited pictures that i took during past driving trips.

Random photos...

I believe i woke up too early in the morning. thats besides the point. it was quite an experience in that seat i should say.

My dream cars. seriously. not the prancing horse nor the raging bull.
then i stumbled onto this photo. Somehow, everything i am missing at home is here. including casper!!! I MISS Casper!!

CASPER!!!
time really flies. its been a while since this picture was taken. over one and a half years ago. Casper's obedience course. look at the bagde he has got. he pass the test!! i was so so so worried that he wouldnt listen to me especially for the last part of the test where i gotta make him stay and run to me after i walk 10m away from him. i went so far to have a good talk with him the night before the test. haha. looks like it works. proud owner of casper!

and there is the rest of his classmates.

oh he was caught biting on socks again. so the socks took revenge. haha. he was more guilty than he looks.
the shy guy wouldnt pee or shit in front of anyone. but i guess he couldnt take it anymore.

there is the look he would always give me. and i love him so.

Disconnected

2007-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Its just past the third month that I have been on exchange. I was on the go for most of the time in the past month. so much so that i almost feel like dreaded for another trip. I need a break from travelling. haha. so ironic. here is a list of wat i had done:

22-28 Mar:Rome, Florence, Piza
3-8 Apr: London
12-18 Apr: Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
19-23 Apr: Ireland- Dublin, Belfast
27Apr - 2 May: Brussels, Amsterdam

The world seems to have past me by. felt very disconnected without my daily dose of The Straits Times. I just found out some interesting news from a past issue of The Newsweek that Jo managed to grab from a hostel in Brussels. Anna Nicole Smith died and America is about to start another war, this time with Iran. Or are they? the world goes on as usual.

Its really been quite happening, quite hectic, quite relax, quite tired, very fun, very inspiring. Especially for the lastest trip to Brussels and Amsterdam. Amsterdam is offically awarded the Second best city that i have been in Europe.

Oh yet, i believe i have yet to mention, London was awarded best. Please be patient, soon, very soon, I shall post the photos from London all the way to Amsterdam. Soon. haha.

London won hands down. Its atmosphere, the air, the people. its vibrant, its colourful, its clean, its civilised. Serious. its still the one and only city in Europe that i have been that actually Queues. On day, I would like to work and live there. When in London, i felt so like at home. Singapore is actually very lucky to be modeled after British. Singapore actually feels like london. i cant imagine if two hundred years ago, it was not Raffles that founded Singapore.

As for Amsterdam, all the stereotype of wat you would believe Amsterdam is like is total untrue. Its Beautiful.

Amsterdam is grossly misunderstood city. It should be famous because the dutch is such fun loving and spontaneous people, beautiful canals, relentless winds and windmills. It shouldnt be associated to be dangerous, dodgy, due to its liberised consumption of magic mushroom and weed, and its red light district. The latter is quite an eye opener, literally, and an unforgettable experience. The quality of the 'Exhibits' and the amount of people gawking at them. Women, men alike. Its not a good working enviroment actually.

I just got back from Brussels, first and earliest flight from Brussles South Charleroi airport after a sleepless night there. 1st time and bad. This would have consolidated all the trips that I have planned for, not withstanding the short trip that i just decided last week to Nice and Monacco. But this time is abit different as its organised by the school.

I am still looking forward to a road trip though, either to Geneva or to Cinque Terre. Road trips are always the best. I miss driving. its enjoyable, stress relieving, and liberating.
I am looking for to June too. Maine is reason.
I am looking for to home and family and all my friends that i am missing.

Photos and comments on all trips are on their way.

ciao people. i miss ya all.

Rome Florence Piza

2007-04-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Its been a long long time since I have blogged. The travelling-homework-travelling-midterms-travelling hectic schedules has really made me quite busy. For a while, I thought I was back in Singapore. haha. like real.

Having FUN yo! but its quite tiring make long trips, especially after my latest stretch of Spain-Ireland trip that last for 11 days. More about that later. But luckily that is the last of it. The next major one would be the month long Paris-Greece-Italy. But I reckon its less tiring and I wont be sleeping in 14 bed dorms. yes 14 beds. its not a good experience, but i sutvived it. Shyuan would understand. haha. right? no more of them.

But for now its some really dued updates!!

Rome, 22 Mar.

We took the 0825 plane from Milano Orio aka Bergamo. But cos the airport was 48km away and plus the check in timing, we woke up at 4plus in the morning and took the 6am airport transfer bus to Bergamo. Josy was late as usual. and still arrive in tai-tai-going-shopping style. handbag on 1 hand and her roller carry on on the other. should had a picture of that. a guy tried to either pick her up or had other ill intentions. he wanted to help her with her luggage. but when he realised that she was meeting her friend who is about 50m away, he left. lucky Jo.

less words more pictures:

The WHOLE gang. its quite a crowd. haha. 11 of us.

Colosseum!!! wooooot! I am finally here!
Everyone wants to have a photo with me.
heh.
Mr Popular.

And so I tried...
to take a picture alone.
Never enough of it.
Random ruins. After a while, they are just everywhere.
So random.

The Trevi Fountain. The traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Some 300o euros are thrown into the pond everyday huh. Someone told me that there used to be a guy who would earn a 5-digit amount a year by using magnetized pole to take the money there.
Some legend huh.

The Vatican City!!
And its Museums.

Val trying to should just how big the pillars are. Pillars that flank the sides of the square of St Peter's Basilica.

I like this particular tower. So classical of roman towers. just like from the story books.

I believe that I was once a Roman scholar.
The Pantheon!
That's a really really perfect circle.
And i nearly got bitten. But as always, i speak of nothing but the truth. HA.
The girls... Oh, thats my new LV suitcase by the way. nice?

Florence, 25 Mar

Piza, 28 Mar

Suddenly, everyone is trying to act artistic in Piza

And here, its all kinds of poses you can come out with. haha.

Bologna & Parma!

2007-03-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

happiness is in the air! everyone is happy and excited. can you feel it?

and so we went to Bologna, the birthplace of Bolognese pasta. great food i say..

Bologna is sort of a small town and we managed to cover the known map in a day.. they say picture say a thousand word...

Its Spring Time!! Happiness is in the AIR!!

The infamous jump. do i need to say more? heh.

Shopping!

2007-03-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Friday has always been quite a relaxing day for the past month. Today we decided to go shopping. supposed window shopping. Maine sent me some interesting places to shop she had researched on, and I showed Val. She decided on Il Salvagente, designer wear for men and women (I believe its because it is near her house). Another reason for her to laze around longer at home, AND late. As usual.

Il Salvagente is like a factory outlet for for quite a large amount of brand. However, it is not the price you would expect to find in FOS. Thats Milan. Everything is about the same price as in Singapore but in Euros.

Anyhow, its has 2 levels worth of clothes and shoes. Many nice designs and brands like Armani. Its hard to leave the place without any bags. yes its that bad. warning given.

And the culprit, the shoes:

Alberto Guardiani. my first my in Italy shoes. I hope it is of real good quality and will last. if they do, it will be worth it, considering that the my shoes dont usually last for a year. haha. more excuses to get good shoes.

Of course there were also the jeans and the shirts, but at that price, one is enough. I would love to go back, but its scary. The amount of stuff you feel that you will buy.

Some how, the shoes seems to have a life of its own. I need to live up to its expectation. like the pants/jeans i would need to wear to go with it.

I had to but new pants. haha.

Guess were i got them? ironic. Benetton. United Colours of Benetton.

Not that i deliberately went to find them, just happened that I passed by and they were on offer! God sent. cheap!

Thats why i got two.

Oliver Toscani

2007-03-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

Art is Art when it is contaminated by a quest.

Olivier Toscani

without it, Art does not exist.

Toscani is a photojournalist. one of the world top photojouranlist. Born in 1942, his career from the 50s, taking pictures for popular fashion mags. He was there before Armani was around and Mary Kwant invented the mini skirt.

Toscani is best-known worldwide for designing controversial advertising campaigns for Italian brand Benetton. Most of these advertising campaigns were actually institutionals for the brand, always composed of rather controversial photography, usually with only the company logo "United Colors of Benetton" as caption.

One of his most famous campaigns include that of a man dying of AIDS, lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by his grieving relatives. Others include allusions toracism (notably one with three almost identical human hearts, with the words 'white', 'black', and 'yellow' as captions), war, religion and even capital punishment.

Guys, meet Toscani,

and Tina,
Toscani was invited to my Arts and Media class yesterday to give a talk. He showed us his works that was dated back from the 50s. i am overwhelmed.

He is the typical artistic director of those advertising firm - with an attitude. there were some students that came in class after he started his presentation, he just stared at them. haha. cool. and he will happily sit down on the chair and talks like he is in the boardroom.

The class celebrated his 65th birthday after his talk. Arts and Media has been the best class thus far. Finally.

Torino!

2007-03-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Sat was an eventful day. I woke up at 6:45am, the time i am supposed to meet the rest to catch a train to Torino. we planned to get to the train station before 8am to get tickets and board the 8.15 train. at 8.10, i was still in the bus to get to the train station. but i ran like hell to get to the train when i alighted at about 8.14. the one minute sprint was not enough to reached in time.

i ended up taking the 9.15 train to Torino. there were quite many exchange student on that train and everyone seems to know of the Chocolate Festival that is going on at Torino.

Less the train I missed, the day was quite fun!

2007-03-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

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Random poses in font of the museum name-i-forgot. haha. oops

2007-03-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

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2007-03-07T05:57:00.000-08:00

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Duomo of Torino!

2007-03-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

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The Shroud of Christ

2007-03-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

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2007-03-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

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walk in the park. it feels like spring!

2007-03-07T05:53:00.000-08:00

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2007-03-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

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Museum of Cinema. 4.20 Euros to tour it.

2007-03-07T05:51:00.000-08:00

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the best attraction of the museum!

Charlie's Glass lift!!

2007-03-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

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Some of the more boring stuff u see inside the museum.

2007-03-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

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Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

The Matrix
starring Axlle, and the rest.

2007-03-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

P1010646
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

Mad Scientists at work.

2007-03-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

P1010663
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

Another sight of Torino, beautiful river and nice architecture

2007-03-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

P1010661
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-03-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

P1010670
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-03-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

P3030639
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

victorian girls

1st week of school!

2007-02-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Phew, after being here for abit less than a month, i have survived the official first week of school. haha. profs are quite boring here, at least for most of my courses, and they speak with "guns".

oh well. the pace of life here is getting really slow and and relax. it is highly possible, and probable that when you order furnitures/services, they will not appear on the specified date and time. being the highly adaptable me, i am not very disturbed by that. however, the cleaning lady that Sergio (again that's my landlord) engaged, came today for her weekly, 4hours of cleaning up the apartment.

Sergio was asking me if i noticed that my room and toilet was cleaner than the day before. He had instead asked her to concentrate on cleaning the glass panels and other stuff. Looking at the GIANT rubber band which was used to bundled my stack of reading material still lying on the same position a day ago when i threw on the floor, my answer was quite obvious.

no.

looks like she is quite "focused". heh. he mention that his room was not that clean either. how nice to have a cleaning lady that does not clean. haha.

in anycase, without the kind of mode of transport that i used to enjoy back in Singapore, the amount of agenda that i can complete in a day has been drastically reduced too. i used to be able to complete a handful of items on my do-to-list within the day. but here, its more like one item per day. anyway, there is not much items on the list to start with. however, i feel that my time is as precious as before. abeit engage with totally different types of activites: laundry, groceries, cooking (yes, cooking takes up quite a bit of my time).

i almost forgot, i need to update on my Finland trip. the pictures that i have posted serves as a good start, weekend is coming, i will put up some captions so that some of them becomes more meaningful. but for those activites that i was not able to take photos and those worth a note, i shall mention them:

in no order of merit/fun/level of excitment they are:

1. hot suana followed by going outdoor to the subzero degree garden for a short walk. in particular, the last two night, Matias dad lead us to run into the snow BUTT NAKED and rolled in the snow. SHOIK. the feeling is just so great and unique. haha. it a must-try-before-you-die thing.

2. trip to the nature reserve. there we did a number of activities. me and Matias went for a short skiing adventure around one of the many lakes. skiing was tough, at least on flat ground. i was lugging myself forward using my hands as my legs was not used to that type of 'walking'
we saw a family of bear paw prints in the snow. how nice. Matias' dad mention that it is an exceptionally warm winter and they maybe awake and in search of food. so if they were to past by again i would most prob be gone if i was stuck on my ski. haha.
we had campfire at a site out in the snow and bbq some sausages and had beer. heavenly.
we also went into the woods, without my skis of course and had some interesting walk about.
and to complete the trip i had to do THE thing. yes THE thing.

guess wat it is.

no, guess....

seriously.

write in on the tagboard. haha....

ok...

i pee in the snow. haha. i 'wrote' my initials. haha. no pics of course but its an achievement.

Too much is too much

2007-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

i realised that i hav really quite an amount of photos to post, so instead of putting them up individually, i decided that i am too lazy and shall direct all photo viewing to my Flickr Account with the on the right column, and concentrate on my blogging. if there is any. hur hur.

Finland week!

2007-02-14T03:30:00.000-08:00

itssnowingamotherpullshersonalongonasledgeitsabeautifulsight

phew the past two days has been really crazy and great for me! totally new experiences for me!

Monday 12 Feb 07

0710 - 1050 Milano - Zurich, CIS train
Sergio sent me from home to Station Centrale. likely he did. darn early in the morning. Centrale is a grand monument by its self. during the journey to Zurich, the train cuts thru the Swiss alps. the scene that zoomed pass both sides of the train is breath taking. its and experience by itself. another reason i will take trains more often rather than plane. each ride is an unique.

Swiss is full of mountains and lakes. they are many times more beautiful than lake como. house on the mountain side, logging activities by the riverside, cows and horse grazing on green grass, peaceful looking lakes, mountains with snow covered tips, neverending tunnels, sky high bridges that cross deep valleys.

1100 - 1310 Zurich
the train was fast, reliable and on time. I got a ticket at the counter to transfer to the airport. they speak english. their toliet was worldclass, had a worldclass name: Mclean, worldclass service, but horrendous charge: 2euros. they are smart. when u need it, u have to use it.

1310 - 16.45 Zurich - Helsinki, Air - Blue1
Zurich was short but very memorable. soon, i was on my way again. service onboard Blue1 was pleasent and their menu is reasonablely priced. nice. i got a bottled water for 1 euros. the Nordic view from high is beautiful. snow white everywhere. i got a few pics. will post up when i am back at italy.

Helsinki
first time i met Matias for 2 over months? haha.. so good to see him again.
fin's pie, coffee, pizza and bread. its a totally different world from italy

hot suna, cold beer
snow walk
slippery iced walkway
fireplace
Tallink ferry
Estonia
Tallinn's old town
Russian girls
new shoes

i will blog soon. going out for more of Finland and Helsinki.

2007-02-11T07:21:00.001-08:00

01022007324
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

Ferrari Store in Milan. woooho. need to find out where their Alfa, lambo, and ferrari factories are and visit them. phew.

2007-02-06T13:51:00.001-08:00

05022007339
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

bright sun shine afternoon. with my backpack, ready for groceries!

Finally Settled In

2007-02-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

time for some serious typing after days of photo blogging. haha.

after 5 days here, i finally feel that i have settled in. or maybe its the hearty breakfast that starts my day on a good note. either way, things have changed for the better compared to the first day, especially after the cheesy lunch that made my stomach upset.

ironically, i actually craved for chesse for lunch. haha. i was so hungry that i had a giant slice of pizza - their serving of pizza is like 2 and a half pieces of pizza hut giant slices, and other half a chicken. i. will. get. fat.

but heck la. at least my stomach is starting to work again. so i decided to reward it. haha. keepup the good work!! at this rate, i when i am back, i will be craving for pizza and pasta. haha. which is bad cos pizza here is cheap and good but pizza hut is ex. nvm.

Anyway, i went to Esselunga, their version of NTUC, after my second trip to school to setup my wireless connection. i got snacks and food for cooking. i signed up for their loyality card which is good cos i managed to save 3euros on the first visit. how cool is that. thats the price of a pizza and a coke mind you. haha.

shopping for food is quite challengeing over here. first you must consider wat is available over here, then vision how you are going to cook it and at the same time, validate that it is actually the same thing i believe it is. or so i tot i did as i saw the cai xin like veg on the shelf. i actually took a long and good look at the veg and ponder and ponder and ponder. haha. in the end, it took it.

after the success of my first round of cooking, i believe that i am actually good at it. haha. dinner was planned to be as follows:
rice
cabbage soup
cai xin with slices of chicken

the rice was nearly porridge the last time, so i put less water. i had rock rice instead.

cabbage soup had 'fishy' meat taste. i think its cos i throw the meat in when half of it was still frozen. *i blame some1 for making me rush to cook dinner*

the cai xin veg was not cai xin. i should hav know. how would cai xin have made its way over here. the importo sticker on top of the package did not help. the veg turns out to be quite bitter. bitter gourd would hav tasted better, anytime. i like bitter gourd anyway.

summary: lousy dinner.

and better still, Sergio, my landlord, decided to pop home half way when i was about to fry my 'cai xin' he talk to me for a good 10 minutes and at the end, decided to join me for dinner. bad timing.

so he cook his instant italian meal, which was soup and we shared dinner. i guess that would be the last time he does. and, i think he and culture-shock when i happily drank from the bowl of soup that i placed in the middle. haha. ooops.

its actually quite funny from the type of qns he asked me.

"so do you eat this with rice or just eat it" pointing at the cai xing

"so do you mix the soup on to the rice?"

And he uses his knife to cut the veg. hmmm. fine dinning i guess. haha.

kinder bueno taste good. and banana will be my source of energy till breakfast.

-_-

My Idol

2007-02-04T13:21:00.001-08:00

P1010181
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

not them, its Leonardo, the statue of him. he looks so scholarly, just like me. i will start drawing someday. mark. my. word.

2007-02-04T13:18:00.001-08:00

P1010186
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

GF in Milan

2007-02-04T13:17:00.001-08:00

P1010187
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

guys, i was really hoping that you can join me in the opening of my fashion boutique right here in Milan, but its ok. picture says a thousand word.

I present to you: GF

Chinese in Milano

2007-02-04T13:14:00.001-08:00

02022007326
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

deep down in our heart, we are chinese people. we ate chinese food at the chinatown resturant,

2007-02-04T13:13:00.003-08:00

03022007331
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

chinese food at my house

2007-02-04T13:13:00.001-08:00

03022007330
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

We cook chinese food, i meant I cook, with the help of the rest. haha. it was my menu and recipe:
bak ku teh
ginger chicken
garlic celery
cai bo fried egg.

haha. the best meal

2007-02-04T13:09:00.001-08:00

02022007325
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

And most of all, we went to shop for chinese stuff in the fresh market. how cheena we are. haha.

The Duomo

2007-02-04T13:06:00.001-08:00

P1010190
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

The second largest and grandest church, only to the St Peter's Basilica. these pictures taken inside, outside and on top, ie, on its rooftop are magnificent, but it do not in anyway be able to justify the real deal. it is just to awesome and inspiring.

the trip to the rooftop cost 6euros. but its worth it. i took over a hundred pictures in all, these are some of the best. enjoy!

2007-02-04T13:00:00.001-08:00

P1010192
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:59:00.001-08:00

P1010201
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:58:00.003-08:00

P1010156
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:58:00.001-08:00

P1010162
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:57:00.009-08:00

P1010161
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:57:00.007-08:00

P1010164
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:57:00.005-08:00

P1010168
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:57:00.003-08:00

P1010153
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:57:00.001-08:00

P1010150
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:56:00.001-08:00

P1010147
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:55:00.001-08:00

P1010144
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:54:00.003-08:00

P1010141
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:54:00.001-08:00

P1010132
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-04T12:53:00.001-08:00

P1010101
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

2007-02-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

i went to milan city centre after i visited school to settle some admin stuff. i meet Silvia, a Bocconi student who was at SMU last sem for an exchange too. she was very nice to take me and steph to the centre. i was the Duomo for the first time and was in awe for eternity. haha. serious.

i did not take my camera out as was trying to travel light. damn.

2007-02-03T14:58:00.001-08:00

P1010133
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

i treated myself to a cup of milo after i sort of unpacked everything and chuck them somewhere in the room. haha. it is still very early in the morning at about 10am.

Sergio, my landlord was nice and treated me for lunch. but it was a terrible. i had to much cheese and my stomach was churning after that. sigh. i can nv be an italian.

2007-02-03T14:52:00.001-08:00

P1010121
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

my room is in such a mess, hence i will skip it. these are the food that survived the air trip over here. haha.

2007-02-03T14:50:00.001-08:00

P1010120
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

backyard from my balcony

2007-02-03T14:49:00.001-08:00

P1010122
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

front view from the window

2007-02-03T14:48:00.003-08:00

P1010126
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

dinning area

2007-02-03T14:48:00.001-08:00

P1010127
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

kitchen

Home sweet home

2007-02-03T14:47:00.001-08:00

P1010110
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

at least for the next half a year

2007-02-03T14:46:00.001-08:00

P1010104
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

me and my tons of luggage, waiting patiently, before the express arrive

2007-02-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

P1010107
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

the Malpensa Express

The plane touched down Milan too early. By the time I reach the train station at the airport, they have yet to start the first train. Nonetheless, I was on my way soon after that. At 6.55am the sky was still very dark outside. Cant see anything much outside the well lit cabin. I was sitting beside this Singaporean lady who took the same flight as me and was heading the same direction as I am. We chatted a bit.

So after, the sky started to get brighter bit by bit. I was rather surprise by the view that zoom pass the train. In the slightly lit horizon that seems to last for eternity when in Singapore, the transition to bright sun shine is just a 5 minute affair, I was a totally unexpected surrounding. Rows and rows of barren trees swayed in the same direction, flat fields of grass that was covered in a very thin layer of snow such that I cant make out if they were still green or yellow. Buildings with tall chimneys which look like scene from a world war two era, the old rusty cars beside the buildings seems forgotten by civilization.
For a while, I thought I have arrived at the wrong place. My skin seems be start to burning as though they are blasted by radiation from the nuclear power plant explosion. Yes, it does seems like I am at Chernobyl, the god forsaken land. But I realized that my fears where unfounded as each station passed and the surroundings starts busting with life and graffiti art on the walls that blocks out traffic from the railway line. Then I realize that it is time I should take off my jacket.

The number of passengers in the cabin seems to reflect the change in surroundings outside. As the train passed each station, two storey cabin was filled up rather quickly. Some of them found me quite interesting from the exchanges of glance at each other. I, however, found them all very interesting. It is as though I have intruded into a movie shoe. Everyone of them is so well dress. No matter what they are dress in, it looks fashionable. And they have such sharp facial features. I believe that the proportion of well dressed people in the cabin is as much as those who do not bother to dress in Singapore. Serious. Milan is the fashion capital of the world. I have no doubt.

It is a very different experience to walk out to the open and breathe out visible water vapour.

2007-02-03T14:42:00.001-08:00

01022007318
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

When the plane was over India/Pakistan, I peer out of the window. The view was mesmerizing. Lights of small town scatter between each other, between them, mountains and valley. They each has its unique shape and size. They are like cells that are connected to each other by thin lines which is actually roads. It is everything you learn in a geog class. I think I saw Milan city centre just before we land. The shape of the street lights are portray a map that looks just like the one I see on google map. Serious.

And this is the friendly Singapore girl who served my column of seat. Sweet. No, I did not. I don’t know her name. haha. SQ food is quite nice, contrary to wat Maine said. Not gourmet stuff but still edible la.

Very soon after I got of the plane, my limited vocabulary of Italian came in useful. Haha. For no apparent reason, one group of Italian officials walk towards my direction and said “ciao!” and asked me where I was from and stuff. I was able to reply in Italian. Haha. Somehow they got too friendly that I was caught off guard. One of them asked me for my passport and took it to examine it closely, using a magnifying glass. How kua zhang la. Then I realize that I was in quite a dangerous situation because I am not yet at the immigration custom. Luckily after he was done, he return them to me. No such nonsense again.

leaving on a jet plane

2007-02-03T14:41:00.001-08:00

31012007315
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

happily sitting on the plane. however, just earlier, i got a shock of the day: I had happily packed all my 40kg allowance into a huge luggage with I myself had difficulty getting it around. At the check in counter, the lady told me that I am only allowed to check in a max of 32kg per piece of luggage. Luckily I got my trusty outdoor duffle bag to take the extra 8kg. Phew. Close shave, If not I have to somehow get another bag to fit another 8kg worth of junk.

And lucky me had the best economy class seat ever. No one choose to sit at my row of three seats. Hence I was able to lie down on the 3 seats. Haha. I asked for a cup of white wine and bailey so that I can get high and sleep easily. Still, I did not manage to get any sleep. -_-

2007-02-03T14:32:00.001-08:00

P1010091
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

jinfu me n gerard, the sound pple

2007-02-03T14:31:00.001-08:00

P1010094
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

me n maine

2007-02-03T14:27:00.003-08:00

P1010097
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

family and maine

Friends and Family at the airport

2007-02-03T14:27:00.001-08:00

P1010100
Originally uploaded by djaxlle.

me hanwei and youyi

Counting Down

2007-02-03T01:48:00.002-08:00

Armed with this letter, I am off to Milano and a whole new world!

2007-02-03T01:47:00.000-08:00

Am I really going? ready to for the new? set to leave?

2007-02-03T01:46:00.002-08:00

All 40kg of goodies in a pack.

Trouble looming....

2007-02-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

with Maine and her new perm-ed hair. haha. nice.

2007-02-03T01:44:00.000-08:00

Today, 03 Feb 2007 is the third day I am spending in Milano. Tons of activities had been happening and I am going to start with three days before, just before I got on the plane to here. after all the minor jet jag and stuff, i think today will be a beautiful day and i am ready to go!

this is taken at my house, testing out my winter clothes before I leave.

CERTIFIED READY

axlle is back

2007-01-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

yay! i am back!

after half a year of break. i am back. with a good cause. will have lots of pictures to upload soon. soon.

looking forward to next wednesday 31 Jan. will be leaving SG, the SIA style.

Milano, I am coming.

2006-06-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

me and casper was back from our usually midnight jog around the estate.

casper: PANT PANT PANT PANT..

me: casper, its really late into the night ald.. can u be a bit softer? tone down your volume...

casper : pant pant pant pant pant

yeah thats a good boy... wondering if he is really that smart, i got him to stand up

casper : PANT PANT PANT PANT..

me: sssshhhhhhhhh.....

casper : pant pant pant pant pant

muahahahahahaha..

THE SWEARING IN

2006-05-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

yupz the formal state event of that takes place every five years. i had the pleasure to attend. here is the invitation:

ok they got my name slightly wrong. but. nvm.

got this card just earlier this morning before the event in the evening. happily wore a shirt thinking that it would be appropriate enough. 30 minutes before the reporting time and well on my way on the expressway, i took out the card again and notice the bottom left corner: Shirt and Tie (Men)

How nice. no way i could turn back with out being late. so i and to be more outstanding. haiz.

hurried out of house and didnt bother to fill up my stomach before that. I understand that it is a important function, but half way thru the ceremony, my stomach started to misbehave. i was really really hungry. i couldnt help thinking that it would end sooner.

alas, the time had came for the reception. FOOD. my stomache growled.

but it was long queue at every of the food counter. so i was chatting up with Dr John Chen, my previous MP. after a while i decided to slip away to find food. then.....

a tap on my shoulder.

and suddenly, my face was shooved with two large sticks. right to my month. (now i know how the fairer sex feels... kidding) i got a shocked. it was the newscaster from channel 8/ channel U/ donno what else.

she had already positioned both her mikes 5cm away from my mouth before she even start talking to me.

are you a student? how are u invited here? she ask me when i have yet to recover from the shock.

i told her i am invited as a grassroot leader but i am also a student. and without missing a beat she started to interview me by asking: comment on PM speech just now.

now thats a million dollar question. which if demanded a creditable answer, needs a fair amount of thinking and reflection. but i was given "0" thinking time. the camera was ald rolling. gosh. the amount of stress going to my mind was quite incredible.

i believed i spoke rubbish. without much proper thinking i spoke rubbish. haven got a chance to see the news, whom, a fair amount of friends and family caught me on the news.

" i did not understand what your were saying"

die.. haha.. i made a fool of myself. wahahaha.. will see the amount of damage when i watch the repeat telecast of the news later in the morning. hur hur.

she went on asking further questions guess there were at least 5 of them. and when i tot she was done she dropped another bomb shell

"do you speak chinese?" and began round 2.

o.O

so amongst the maybe few hundred odd people in Istana this evening, the news showed one idiot who was not properly dress (without tie) and speaking rubbish. just my day.

and guess wat.. all my hunger and growling stop after the 5 minutes long interview. i totally felt UNhungry. managed to eat fruits and some finger food onli.

looking on the brighter side, i managed to shake the hand of a few ministers: defence, Health, education, community development and many other MPs.

oh yeah. was stucked in the carpark on the way out for more than 15 minutes. on full load of liquid waiting to be release. talking about icing on the cake.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

The show opens tml. great book. i look forward to see the show. not sure if it will live up to the book. with about over 2 hours of run time, trying to squeeze the amount of sub plots there are written in the book is not an easy job.

even before the show opens, there a much buzz and dicussion going on. just flip The Straits Times. comments comments, compare compare. the most common 2 words you would see: FACT n FICTION.

in all of these articles there is one common trait. Bible vs Code. A 2000 year old book of history based on accounts of various authors vs a fiction book. subject of comparison - which is version is the truth. crack your brains.

then you realise. isnt there a tiny bit of unfairness? to start with The Da Vinci Code is just a fiction novel.period. yes the whole world is missing the point. ST included.

ask Newton and David Copperfield to define gravity... don get it?

Newton: 1st, 2nd, 3rd law of forces.
David: its something I defy

duh.

you see, just because the subject matter of The Da Vinci Code involves the name of somebody whom you call out when you are excited/sad/angry/happy/irritated... and it is sort of defame or reduced to some absurdity, everyone that is concern is trying to denounce it.

don get me wrong. i m not anti-christ. in fact i very much respect the bible. and i have always been interested in reading and find out more about it as a history book with a wealth of information. not that i intend to convert, i am just naturally curious. i can never convert. nothing sensitive.

The Da Vinci Code is based on the non-fiction, Holy Blood Holy Grail. I have read at least 3/4 of it. In this book, the author tries to establish what The Da Vinci Code had sensationalised as a fact. Hence any rebuttal should be directed to this book, not the other which its plots are fit for hollywood's production.

That book has forward some serious arguements, abeit, in an somewhat unconventional method. afterall, its proposition is not near anything mundane. Its step-by-step arguement seems very much valid, however, very one-sided at the same time. there are some areas where i find difficult to just simply agree without further research or validation by other researchers. But it is one hell of an effort by the author to go against nearly half of the world's population's belief.

In the early chapters of the book, the author brought up some arguements against his proposition only to be discredit by him. If there were to be a book or article that intend to seriously challenge the book, Holy Blood Holy Grail, i would stand unbias and allow myself to be persuaded otherwise.

The 'war' has just started. bible vs grail. i am entice but not convinced.
In the meantime, give The Da Vinci Code a break. Enjoy it like how your would enjoy any other novel and movie.

MI:III

2006-05-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Its been some time since i have watched a movie. Longer since a decent one. just caught the latest installation of MI. great effects, got cruise and babes. lots of explosion. of course there is the signature "this message will self destruct in 5 secs." and the line attached to his back is so thin but wont break and will end 5 cm before the ground.

I nv got a chance to see both the previous shows. but this was suppose to be better than the last. hmm. the scenes that left the deepest impression was the 1 with he some how learn mandarin and was able to shout "rang kai" or make way when he was running along the river to save his wife.

hmm. this is a tom cruise production. he is handsome. he can act(not badly). but his production... i feel that he is trying too hard. so many sub plot + not enough time = no depth. in fact its shallow.

from Berlin to Vatican city to Beijing. round the world in less than 3 hours. actually, one less would do just fine. further, going to Vatican city is just too da-vinci-code wanna-be. and the plot inside there is just ocean's 11. and when he is in beijing? think fake Jacky Chan.

no climax. no adrenaline rush. nothing new. nothing great. difference between Ethan Han and James Bond?

I haven changed much in four years

2006-05-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

i went for a haircut today(8 may). at a salon in Jurong Point that i have not visit in the last four years. when i frequented it then, I always requested for this particular hair stylist, Wayne.

when I entered the salon, the receptionist asked me if it was the first visit. I figured that after four long years, the answer should be no. but it was not excatly no. so i said "should be no la."

she must be very puzzled with me. "how come this guy doesnt know if he had visited this place before 1?"

When she showed me to my seat, I saw Wayne. Wow, he is still working here after so long. but he has not changed much.

anyway he still likes to cut my hair real short. so my hair is really really short now. and he stills remember me. thats very amazing, considering that its four long years.

nothing interesting but there..

Thats-Not-All Technique

2006-04-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

ah... the difference between a baby and a grown up. they pee everywhere. today marks the second time casper pee outside home. its no longer a random act i tot it would be, just like the week before. its some very significant event. casper has grown up.

gone are the days where he would only pee at home. even after a drinking the 1.5l of water at the west coast dog run, of course, less the amount that he drool back out. abeit quite a significant amount. half is wat i reckon. nvm that. 750ml of water in that bladder is sure a huge amount for his 30kg body.

the only exceptions that i could remember was when he was in sentosa. he did wat everyone else would do. pee in the sea. caught ya. haha.. the other time, he was just 3 feet away from his usual spot. just that he was in the van and refuse to jump down from it. even though it was not that high for his height. yeah he is quite timid. so he conveniently pee in the van.

but i can tell he is still learning. he is totally a rookie. basically, seasoned pee-everywhere dogs adhere to the thats-not-all technique. which means that they stragically save their pee so that there is more for the next spot. and the next and the next. sometimes even on the neighbour feet. u get the idea.

but was casper does was more amusing. we usually do 2 rounds about the estate. so wat he would do is the survey the area during the first round. then he would decide on the spot he believe would give him the most mileage. then he would unload every single drop at the spot.

he still has a long way to go. yet to learn the one-leg-up technique yet too. yup that signature one leg in the air and pee at the lamp post method.

The Story

2006-04-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Maple Story. It is design for age 12 and below. the graphics the sound. i had always ignored request to join in the game time and again. no amount of hard or soft selling of the game could sway my view..

but yesterday.. the fateful day, i felt into the trap of trying out the game for a sec. and it went on to the 2nd, 3rd and before i knew it, i had an account. shit. damn it. i cant believe it.

Cheryl say i am gay. but i am on my way to lvl 10. mage.

italic day

2006-04-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

today is an ITALIC day... everything is slanted.. my neck is sort of twisted.. and my dad insisted that i go for a massage.. it got worse.. :(

it would be the last time i visit him.. i exchange pain more for even more pain..

nvm about that i have more great stuff to share.. haha

yesterday's sentosa cum KTV session with maine keli and jac was great fun and exciting.. haha..

to begin the day i prepared sandwitches and veg. veg being carrot and broccoli.. they smell.. as in broccoli smell.. not that i hate them cos i do eat them once in a while, but when u boil them, the semll is so overwhelming. and cos i had to leave the cover of the container open as they are still very hot, the whole car smell of them and it just turn off my appetite.. but the sandwitches are great! hehe..

sentosa was great .. the sun was there till when we were about to leave in the afternoon. so were the beach babes.. hehe.. my eagle-eyes spotted a group of ang moh with a lady topless.. not tanning the back but with her tits facing the sun and in full view..

i swear its true.. they didnt believe me in the first place too.. till they really saw it for themselves.. it was two mole hill for goodness sake.. hahahahaha.. so they were our topic for lunch after we sat down not far away from them..

then we realise.. the group of them consist of all ladies and all three of them were topless.. 3 times the treat.. i brought my 4megapixels camera with 10X optical zoom + 4X digit zoom.. boy.. were they really handy.. haha.. so guess wat i did..

yupz u got it.. and i m not posting.. haha..

those bangala got a treat too.. some of them were walking past.. till this guy who came over to them real close.. we tot he was a lao ti ko that wanted a close up.. but he talk to them and after that, the ladies wore their bikini.. guess he was some kapo who ordered them to dress up.. no more show for us.. haha..

nevertheless we still enjoyed ourselves without topless babes around..

KTV was great too we sang for 4 hours till our lungs cannot take it anymore..

and we had our dinner at maxwell.. no babok in sight tho..

Time to relax?

2006-04-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

Exams are over.
time to relax.

nope that not my case.. life has always been unfair, or rather, fair. One event happens after another. one followed by another.. no one time when i am too busy, neither for me to rest too.

but actually its more like there is so much stuff for me to do anytime and everytime, i just give up.. haha.. i shut myself to the stuff that i am able to handle and hack about the rest.

i have to be a superman to be able handle all the work load i am suppose to... serious.
so what the huge burden on my shoulder?

just 3..

school
work
YEC

one after another, they will take turns to torture me and make me the very busy person that i am.. haix..

shall not dell on my mudane life..

happy stuff today:

just received a letter from TP today.. i am free of any charges for that stupid accident 3 months back.. was not my fault in the first place.. stupid cyclist knock into me and play 'dead' yeah serious he literally play dead. lied on the road and closed his eye as though he was involved in a major traffic accident. he was the one that knock into me LOH.. cant believe it.. and to up the drama-ness, he remain really still even when it started to rain cats and dogs.. i had to soak in the rain with him.. damn him.. made me lose my appetite for supper. it was 2am in the morning can..

second, i got here...

meet snowy, my sis new pet..

she, yeah its a she.. she is so loveable.. except that she pees everywhere and when she is excited. nvm that.. she loves to lick.. i am not unfriendly k.. just look at her, she is trying to lick my lips lo.. i think she loves me.. hur hur..

the trip

2006-03-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

taking the MRT can be quite an eerie experience. imagine u inside this metal tube that is pack full of people, but there is dead slient. all u can hear is the rumbling of the steel wheels. all of this in at the 8 am rush hour. disturbing. therefore i decide to create some conversation. networking, velina's style (i attended that lesson just yest)

"Hi, I am Guofeng. How do you do?"

Suddenly, the whole cabin focused on me. the guy sitting beside me whom i spoke, disturbed and at the same time confused, just stared blankly back at me. donno whether to shake my-already-reaching-out-hand or just ignore this weird person...

kidding. siao. think i so bo liao.. haha.. but that was one of the many stuff that kept my mind moving in during the trip. i was able to do that becos i was sitting comfortably in one of the seats. haha.. the implicit advantage of living in Jurong. yupz its the place to be is u intend to work in the city. boon lay is the only station that when u step in, there are abundance of seats for you to choose. even if there arent, just take the next one. haha.. u don get this privilege in many other stations. so the mere ten minutes or so spent on the train is a more pleasent one.. haha

however, occupying a seat can land one in a stressful situation. at least for me. early into the journey today, there was this lady that seems to have lost a sense of balancing. she kept swaying while standing, like she is going to fall flat anytime. so i stared at her hands for the longest time to see when she would try to grab the railings to keep her balance.

after like 10 long mins, she did. and i help her sigh in relieve.haha. it was then i turn to look at her face and to my amazement, she was actually to sleep while standing. o.O

anyway after some time, she decided that it was not comfortable grabing the pole while sleeping and decided to use both her hands to hug the thick eskimo sweater like a bolster. wah exciting.. luckily, she was not standing directly infront of me, rather, she was in front of my neighbour. if would have given up my seat to her just to ensure she would not fall flat on me. which she nearly did on my neighbour twice. fwah..

she got off at red hill. then came a middle aged lady with greying hair. so effective she is kind of going into the senior citizen category. she was also carrying this huge bag. looking at her, i became very stressed. should i offer my seat to her? she don look that old but at the same time, she is not that young either. sianz. i was seriously in a dilemna. stressed.

seems like having a seat does not really makes your day either. no wonder noone wants to life in Jurong.haha... no link.

2006-03-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

oh yeah i cut my hair.. now i really look like a school boy... sux.. xiao li is gone.. my hairdresser is gone. good hair days are yesterday.. need to look for a decent hairdresser soon.

FXscape

2006-03-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

newest project by my bro and sis, and support by me. how cool they are. cool young adults wear, visualise hybrid between Levi's, Samuel and Kevin, 77th street. just open last saturday. this proud brother will upload photos soon.

watch this space
focus here
do go away
stay tune lah...

An expensive Affair

2006-03-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Casper is an expensive affair. yup its true. i just spent a bomb on the last trip for his supplies. did not acutually bought much stuff:
6 packets of milk (yes he is a big baby)
6 cans of chicken meat
6 packets of bacon (he loves that all dogs love that)
1 bottle of shampoo
5 pieces of chewable 'bones'
1 bag of 7kg salmon and sweet potato feed
1 bag of 7 kg lamb and rice feed

there. i am $200 poorer... sob.. petrol bills for the four wheels doesnt help either..

i need help.
For a $5 donation please call

1900 6DJAXLLE

its 5 bucks only NKF had asked for more. the $5 you donate will go into the feed casper's fund. every five dollars can buy him a day's meal which consist of:
breakfast : milk with salmon and sweet potato
dinner : cooked rice, bits of chicken and lamb and rice
supper / snack : bits of bacon

casper will shake your hand in gratitude when he see you. he knows how to shake hand btw. maine taught him in a day. and everytime i tell him to do anything he so eagerly wants to shake hand. do idea y.. haha..

So they did..

2006-03-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

yupz so they did.. and my car enjoyed 3 sec of fame on channel 8 at around 8.15pm just now... hur hur..

2006-03-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

huang guofeng

~ will teach you to ~

Manipulate a lie detector test

'What" will your business card say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

another story for another day

2006-03-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

I got 2 more hours to kill before my bro reach sing.. gotta fetch him from Changi so i did not wanna go home.. ended up now here at my cousin's place.. since i m so free I’ll do some updating.. monday this week yours truly, or rather, the car went for a Channel 8 video shoot for the "pei ni __ shopping" my pin yin sux basically means "accompany you to shopping" they were shooting for their last installment. about cars and such. my bro, a car decal, ie. car sticker lover, previously engage this company http://www.cargrahpiz.com/ to paste this really sporty stickers aka ah beng stickers. businessman and more reputable people comments - very sporty, friends and buddies - so ah beng. so there i was, 10am all the way from jurong to Changi, just beside changi prison, outside the producer house, with few other sticker filled cars which u will see on 14 march 8pm. yellow RX8, white Blitz silvia, white interga type R, AND supposedly my bright red Evo IX. maybe u can catch a glimpse of it BUT then.. %^%(^)& .. haha.. not that i really wan to appear on TV, but its more like i came from the other side of the island?

the stickers on my car was full of mitsubishi logos, therefore they reject me. no free advertisements for C&C but... hello, the Blitz people were openly advertising their logo too lo... moreover they did not even had their stickers sticked by the company.. but nvm.. small matter.. entertained me for a morning watching them shoot..

Patricia Mok was happily taking pictures of her with my car before they started shoot for the show. Tried to act like racing queen.. haha.. quite funny.. she said something about putting them on the website.. hmmm.. wondering which 1.. if u guys see, let me know k… haha

anywayz do be disappointed guys, if u really wan, check out my car in their gallery somewhere.

Red dragon flies

2006-03-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

red dragonflies had always meant alot to me. i grew up with them. i grew up with the song "hong ser de qing ting" by xiao hu dui. was playing with casper when i saw this dragonfly that caught casper's attention. immediately memories flooded back to me. the same feeling everytime i see a dragonfly.

there used to be a time when i lived on a farm. i have a unique childhood i believe. catching dragonflies may not be one of my hobbies, but it was definitely something which i did before. at that time, the song was also very popular.

So there was this 7 year old kid that was catching dragonflies with the brother while humming the song. jumping across rows and rows of neatly ploughed gardens of leafy vegetables, carefully avoiding the elevated vegetable bed so as not to get scolding from the neighbour. In between a few rows of vegetable stands pockets of shoulder high lime trees. circling around these trees are combination of different colours of dragonflies. red, black, blueish - they gather around these trees like their home. with some tall coconut trees in the background and sun that is about to set. catching these dragonflies with barehands. the red ones are the toughest to get, so they believed.

the lyrics of the song hav alot in common. red dragonflies - little heros. dreams and ambitions. imagine into the future. wondering if there will be a day when he can fly with the dragonflies. the footsteps to growing up.

yes. i really did imagine what i will be when i grow up. 10, 20, 30 years later.. i wondered if there was this day where i will be studying in a uni. i wondered if i will be rich. i wondered if i could soar like a dragonfly. i wondered. and 17 years had past. i m still wondering. when i saw that dragonfly that casper saw. like how i had always wondered everytime i see a dragonfly. truely, they are placed in a special position in my heart.

stupid shoes..

2006-02-27T00:54:00.000-08:00

my shoes broke off just before my ethics presentation today..
how nice.. it was literally JUST before can..
was walking to print my script when i felt it broke.. so i sat down at a nearby table to check the damage.. the girl behind me, sitting on a table saw that.. bo bian lo.. have to put a brave front.. stood up and continue my walk to the printer.. half drag half walk.. worse still, that particular pair of shoes makes the kind of clicking sound when i walk.. so werid noise followed lo...

lesson learnt.. the next time u happen to go across the boarder and and shop and see a pair of really nice looking shoes at dirt cheap price.. ok la.. not really dirt cheap but rather cheap.. but my point is NEVER, DON EVER, NEVER EVER, buy it.. if not.. pray real hard when you are paying of it : don ever break at the wrong time

Casper's graduation!!

2006-02-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sep 2005
okie its quite some time ago... but i am proud of him mah.. so muz post.. haha..

there.

just before the test

loooooook at him.. so happy and contended that he pass.. haha..
i actually had to talk to him the night before.. told him to better stay when i ask him to.. and not to be so hyperactive that day.. the tester actually told me during the test that he is a happy dog.. contended huh casper.. of course la.. what more can u ask for HUH...

his class mates.. ( those who pass)

proud owners of casper.. oh.. still got official dog food 1.. haha.. free for all who took part in the test..

2006-02-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Guofeng!

Guofeng is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature!
In his entire life, guofeng will produce only a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey.
The risk of being struck by guofeng is one occurence every 9,300 years.
Peanuts and guofeng are beans.
The International Space Station weighs about 500 tons and is the same size as guofeng.
Guofeng can turn his stomach inside out!
According to the story, Pinocchio was made of guofeng!
Guofeng once came third in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest!
Abraham Lincoln, who invented guofeng, was the only US president ever granted a patent!
Only fifty-five percent of men wash their hands after using guofeng.