of New Sem n Angel in the Lab...

don feel like doing anything hence time for sum random crapping.

1. new sem. lectures resume in SIBS101. same old story. 1st u get bored. then ur mind wil wander sumwhere else. then u feel sleepy. then u doze off. as for ytrday, out of total randomness, i was

imagining the sensation of digging out a large chunk of earwax??!!

my gudness, damn WEIRD la weh!

2. 2 sems' gone! wth time flies like nobody business n i'm now in my final sem! on how i fully utilized my holiday.. very satisfied. as for my studies.. ADOI masih slack sangat. dump that attitude gal!

3. it's been 8 months in glasgow! 1 yr is not enuf, stil many things n places UNEXPLORED. how i wish this twinning programme is 2 yrs abroad.

4. n i'm not feeling homesick yet! guess it's a sweet taste of this newfound FREEDOM. except that i tend to get bit sentimental on a relaxed fri nite, alone in the room listening to.. well mayb once's soundtrack. i'll think abt morning walk, dim sum n dinner outings wif family. think abt yam cha wif my dear frens/ fan cheongs. those spicy food n seafood.. aww.. hehe.

5. lab session ended last week. i feel so LUCKY that i had a casual n STRESS-less session plus an ANGEL (dang he's not even MY supervisor). reli a big contrast wif wat other batchmates were going tru, kesian.

howz our computer lab? u wonder...
-feel free to go at 10am n have lunch when u wan to.
-12 of us packing in a small room, not even space for a star jump, so pathetic.
-taking photos or snacking, as u wish.

n oso, blurring wif mingying (2 comp illiterates dealing wif sickening canggih softwares=LOST).


it's all too canggih-manggih that i don reli understand wat i'm doing. every step was guided. juz blindly run jobs, save files, n alwiz the last pair to go back home cos there MUZ b a prob everyday haha.

the best part was WHENEVER v r lost, angel was alwiz there, nvr hesitate to help us tru. this angel come in the form of a tall man wif a charming grin.. professional n frenly AND

a pair of revealing CK WHITE boxers when he bends over to help us... *ooh blood oozing from nose

aww don u juz luv this angel?




=imissblair=

Paris - Day 4

23rd Dec: aww... it's the last day of our paris trip...


jardin du luxembourg

the grand bassin


palais du luxembourg, built for Marie de Medicis, Louis XIII's mother. was a palace, was a prison, now.. for the senate.


hoho they've got a weighing scale in the park?! to monitor how much weight they've lost after laps around the grand bassin.


oh so this is wat they do bfor weighing themselves on the cute weighing scale.




wat a serene picture... winter morning n trees w/o foliage...beautiful but somber.
hope to come again in the summer where flowers bloom everywhere


Pantheon of paris, not rome

was an abbey, is a burial place for sum french heroes


seriously v stil can't have enuf of eiffel tower. this time viewing from trocadero.
hey this is no photoshop.. it's very foggy in paris that day. well.. there's more to the story than this.
anyway we've got dayview, niteview n foggyview of eiffel tower in this trip. how abt that keke...

v marched from trocadero to below eiffy to champs de mars back to the peace monument v went on the 2nd day.. it's a long stretch.. all for the sake of eiffel tower from dif distance n dif angle. sot geh!


from trocadero


getting nearer


below.. looking towards palais de chaillot


on champ de mars.. yo lean again!


back to peace monument.. haha!


THE inverted pyramid

act v saw this on Day 2 oredi, in a shoping complex a floor below musee du louvre.
"look dear, there's the inverted pyramid! tom hanks claimed that mary magdelene lies underneath it haha."

that fella juz shrugged me off. "ga ge la.. dou mm hai zan geh!"

puzzled! huh so this is juz a replica? r u sure? this looks so real!

well he's so confident abt it so i stupidly BLIF him that THE inverted pyramid is sumwhere else.
manatau that's actually THE inverted pyramid. shit la u! so v went back on Day 4 juz to take pics of it muahaha.


since v gotta board a flight back to glasgow that nite, can't reli make it anywhere far so we had a stroll at rue de moufferard, the street where our hostel is situated.

after days of baguettes, paninis n crepes (ah no complaints... i seriously luv crepes, they r soo yummy!), time for sum french cuisine.

my starter.. shrimp wif avocado. it'll b a luvly combination if served wif fresh big prawns caught from kuala selangor.. aiks! this is gud enuf.


escargots!

then i have cod for main course. erm taste like frozen cod je! mom's steam cod better. then dear had duck confit.. not bad but bit salty.

dessert. tarte pommes.. ok it's apple pie. eggy-licious!



further down the st... boy there r many lil surprises here n there.


vin


omg fresh seafood everywhere!


fromagerie... cheese!


boucherie... omg those hanging there were HARES!

then off v went to the airport, au revoir paree!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


rmb the foggy pic juz now? unfortunately, ALL flights that nite were cancelled due to the stupid FOG. like that's not causing chaos n panic enuf for the passengers, they suddenly announced that ALL flight r FULLY booked for the NX 1 WEEK n there's a free bus to shuttle passengers back to paris. wth!!!

u c it's xmas eve the nx day. chaos n panic were everywhere in the airport! many ppl left.
get a flight of other airline or train or v r frigging stranded in this small airport!
enquired for other airlines n the cheapest v can get was a whopping 300 euros!!! no way!

this was the 1st time i encountered such a not-so-ordinary incident. as the usual me w/o sense of urgency, i find this experience kinda syok haha (siao!), the tot that i'm gonna b stranded here for 1 week nvr occur in my mind at all. hang around in the airport aimlessly, don quite know wat to do.


when the crowd had pretty much dispersed, went to try my luck n request them to put us on waiting list for the nx flight (am a fan of amazing race keke). SURPRISINGly...

they offer us us a flight to DUBLIN then transit back to GLASGOW the nx day, free of charge! huh?! can't reli blif my ears... so there's a way OUT, totally FREE. v quickly said YES to the offer.. phew! tin dou gong sai=)

had to put a nite in the airport. i saw ppl setting up foldable BEDS.. wa sai mm sai gam soh fu ah.. then ony i realised that the airport staffs r giving out the beds so i quickly ran to the other side of the airport to grab 1 for myself.

too bad, the beds were taken n wat's left were blankets.. jiu sat!

v lay the blanket on the floor. the ahpek bside us was kind enuf to offer another blanket for us to keep us warm. aww so sweet=) then the airport was closed, locked n lights off. beds n blankets.. so this is paris afterall, all equipped for a strike haha. seriously, nvr so sound asleep in an airport bfor.



i dozed off not long after that. then in the middle of the nite, i was half awakened by sounds. sheez few airport staffs standing rite in front of us were saying sth while looking at us. then they turn to the bed bside us. then move our blanket or watever...

was in a haze n cudn't care wat's going on as long as they were not eyeing for our belongings, juz continue sleeping like a PIG zzzzzzzzzzzzz....
nx day, i woke up n found myself covered in a THICK GREEN blanket instead of the thin GREY blanket. huh?!

then i vaguely recall wat happened in the middle of the nite. ah~ha, the airport staffs muz have seen 2 poor souls shivering (oh did i?). so they exchange the THICK GREEN blanket of the guy bside us on the nice warm bed wif the thin GREY blanket that v have. so that's how i got the WARM green blanket. awww.. so thoughtful ppl=) thanks!

boarded a flight to dublin.. mou duen duen step on irish soil. alas, back to glasgow. stil, a nice ending to our memorable paris trip.

=happyHalle=

Paris - Day 3 - Disney!

once upon a time, i was kinda disturbed by the ladybird version of 'the little MERMAID' , where in the end she was turned to FOAM n disappear in the vast blue sea. that melancholy was bit too much to take for a tiny weeny kid. but under the magic touch of walt disney, ARIEL was happily married to her prince charming n LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER on land.



now don u juz luv disney n all the happily ever afters packaged wif saccharine sweet soundtracks?

from disney cartoons... HAPPY ending
to
jack-n-rose-u-jump-i-jump-jack-died... SAD ending
to
complicated rectangular relationship in Closer... OPEN ending.

sheez i've aged.

so ppl get more complicated as they grow. where else to offer escapism, dream, n bring back that bit of innocence in u?
.... DISNEYLAND!!!!


22nd DEC: juz when i tot i've avoided lotsa queueing up in this paris trip, heck! the q to get in disneyland was crazy. v bought the 1 day ticket for 1 park. brilliant decision! cos found out later that it's impossible to even cover 1 park in a day.


can u spot mickey??

WEEee~ off i went to disney park.

spotted this huge, luvly xmas tree.

aww goofey!

main street

as i focused my view further straight down main street, omg look at this!

n there stood this castle where princess aurora was awakened by a kiss from prince philip! it's juz a fairytale~ ya so wat... dang! it's such a LUVLY castle.



exploring each land.


adventureland



pirates of the carribbean... took this ride. pirates burnt down houses, lotsa treasure but it's juz a slow boat ride wif 2 slides. anyway when a RIDE inspires a MOVIE, it can't b that bad after all!



fantasyland. where all the sweet fairytales came to life n within ur touch.



alice in wonderland-themed... reli a wonderland. LONG Q.. *sigh



it's a small world... recommended ride but LONG Q... damn!



donald! quack quack quack quack


discoveryland.


they've got 1 or 2 crazy rides over here like this space mountain but LONG Q, Again!... @#%* wth!!!


buzz lightyear kinda dominate this land.

this is when i switched from =sprightlysue= to =grumpyGeraldine=. oredi half a day gone n JUZ 1 RIDE, THAT'S ALL?! that din justifiy for wat i've paid! frust gilerr...

then i c many ppl munching on a bloody red apple like the 1 that got snow white poisoned. grabbed 1 for myself n no, i din faint, that bloody TOFFEE apple did cheer me up a bit=)




look, rudolf in discoveryland!

later on v bump into the lion king musical... but there's like sooo far away... i had to do bit of giraff-ing... ah watever! i'll watch that in london muahaha.

frontierland


it's more like a COWBOYland. so no prezzies for guessing that WOODY is da man in this land.

v kiasu-ly left this land for the parade in main street but uh it's oredi crowded wif ppl. i waited, not very patiently, n after sum time... ta-dah! the parade started wif the ever so famous MICKEY n DONALD on the 1st float.

it's all weird n sweet to c the princes n princesses turned 3D, totally alive n waved to me. not forgetting Timon, Pumbaa, Simba and the cute n cuddly Pooh Pooh. the floats were all elaborately decorated. the parade ended wif SANTA n his REINDEERS... betul2 reindeers ni.


hey baldy, get outta my way! (sry ppl, lazy to post videos)

went back to frontierland n v joined the q for a ride. don care la, there muz b a 2nd RIDE today!!! woohoo it's FUN fun fun. not regrets.. defly way more ADRENALINE rush than the 1st 1.

then v headed back to the centrestage for another show- the CANDLELABRATION. pluto, goofey, donald, daisy, minnie were so excited that mickey's coming to town. the atmosphere was all so merry merrry xmas-ey n finally mickey's arrived. the whole main street wif the princesses LAMP POSTS straight down to the huge xmas tree was then beautifully lit... wow! v knew that there's not all cos mickey kept saying, look closer n the attn was directed to the SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE.

the TORCH held by each cartoon character statue on the castle was lit 1 by 1 UPwards. when all 15 candles lit up to mark the 15th anniversary, TINKERBELL at the tip of the castle sprinkled her FAIRY DUST n sth truly MAGICAL happened... part by part... within a min... the entire sleeping beauty castle transformed into this ENCHANTING castle....



guess it sparked my inner.. sth.. watever! it was soo awesome until it took me awhile to stop saying, gao meng ah! hou leng ah!...

halooo glasgow radiance, this is wat i call LIGHT festival!



well there's 1 more parade bfor v called it a day. this time wif flashy, sparkling floats fetching either famous villains or a royal couple plus sum enjoyable disney anthem in the background. whoalala! (again, lazy to post videos.)

it's a wonderful feeling to feel like a kid again. disneyland.. wat a damn commercialised themepark that offers nth but ILLUSION.



v stupidly paid for this illusion but at the end of the day, it's worth it! don u juz wan to b in an illusion once in awhile? i think v all do.. for watever reason

or izzit like wat's said in THE MATRIX, v r all living in a world of illusion.

ok, i've gone too far. haha actually, romance is not reli the genre that i'm in to.


=kiddoKate=

Paris - Day 2

21st DEC: here's bit on paris' moz famous monument. got its name from the designer Gustave Eiffel, built for the International Exhibition of Paris 1889 n initially parisians juz hated it. wat's wrong wif u ppl?! how can u hate sth so spectacular?! anyway the antenna on top saved it from demolition. imagine paris w/o eiffel tower....

then our paris trip wil take up MUCH lesser memory space. the nite view wasn't enuf to whet our appetite for photos so in the morning v went to champs de mars.

the sight of eiffel tower juz put me in AWE!


a rock chick for world peace. wo peng yu ngoi. beyond jing san bat sei!
this is for ga kui.


wif dear.. 1 of our many many attempts, by tripod/ helpful tourists.


unlike the usual me, i tak habis-habis POSING.. like a model in a photoshoot session except i ain't model quality haha.

ta-dah!


me touching eiffy!


me leaning on eiffy!


ENUF!! not gonna show all here. but hey it's Oh so FUN!


nx..opera garnier. it's a super grand opera house but sayang din get the whole picture, cos it has this MAJESTIC GREEN DOME that can only b seen if u walk further down the street.




Montmartre. i luv this place.

the cafes n studios make this area feel very very PARIS-ey to me. it's the place to tan sai gai, free ur mind, get a taste of foie gras, buy a sketch or get urself sketched...


...that wil all make u feel so spirited!

anyway a baguette n pain du chocolat r all i can afford.



at the peak of this area stands the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.


true as it sound, the basilica is very much a SACRED place in ppl's HEART owing to the ivory white facade.

a magnificent white structure wif domes n towers.

n u'll get a great view of paris at that pt.



then off v went in search for hunchback of notre dame. instead of quasimodo n esmeralda, v were welcomed by an AMAZING gothic building-Cathédrale Notre Dame.


the architecture of the cathedral is quite dif from those that i've visited. i din pay to go up but a walk AROUND the cathedral is a MUZ cos the BACKview of Cathédrale Notre Dame is no less amazing! (sry short of adjectives. yes! everything is simply amazing in paris haha..)

flying buttress giving support n uniqueness to the structure.

as for the sideview, u'll c scary-looking GARGOYLES.

but i don quite understand y a sacred cathedral is decorated wif ugly gargoyles.

in the evening, FREE entry to musee du louvre. TIP!-access from subway station to beat the q. u know.. looking at all these artsy stuff.. fan fu zhok zi like me juz can't interpret the underlying msg or appreciate the beauty in it so it's alwiz recommended to get an audio guide.

1st n foremost, presenting the moz valuable piece in musee du lovre n a Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece... La Joconde! ..behind a bullet proof glass.

ahhh i was enlightened... CRAP! anyway it looks natural n that's STH wif the eyes w/o eyebrows. her GAZE juz FOLLOWS me no matter which direction i walk to! again the advantage of visiting in winter.. no shoo-ing by guards. u have all the time to scrutinise the portrait.

my fav piece.. note the X shape n the tension btw the lips of CUPID n PSYCHE.. can u feel their luv? tragic.

hoho do u know cupid has a gf n his mom is act venus! dunno leh~

from buku sejarah.. hammurabi code. tamadun awal. mesopotamia. familiar? it's rite in front of me!

there's a gazillion of collection in this freaking huge musuem, bfor v can cover much, the musuem was closed. get a taste of grand exit from the glass pyramid designed by I.M.Pei.
*
*
*
*
tired legs n fond memories...
it's been a great day n alas, kiss paris gudnite...




=happyHalle=