Customer Service Extraordinaire - The Thai Airways XBAG (Excess Baggage Approval) Way

"Dear Ms Li,

In regards to your request of excess baggage, please be informed that,our excess baggage policy is for the passenger who purchase tickets inthe UK only and it's under the management's discretion. However, Ms.Terry case was an exceptation to the rules after her long explanation onthe letter, we granted her 10kgs extra. (mind you, I also sent a long explanation telling them my situation was just like Mon, because we booked our tickets together.) But that wouldn't apply to everyone and we wouldn't grant her that excess baggage if we knew she would advise her friends to write to us.

After checking your booking, it shows that the ticket is purchased in Singapore and your are also traveling with Mr. Low. We will consider your request but you will be the last person from your group that we grant excess baggage as an exceptional case.

Best Regards."

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"Firstly, the three of us applied for our tickets together. Thus, all three of us are suffering in the same exceptional situation. I do not think that this means we are 'everyone', as you imply in your email.Whether the three of us know each other is, I find, immaterial to this case. Because whether we are friends or not, whether Terry was granted excess baggage or not, we would be appealing for the extra 10kg because we are stuck with 10kg that we were allowed to bring here, but not allowed to bring back.

Secondly, your mentioning that I will 'be the last person in my group' to be granted the 10kg extra allowance makes me extremely puzzled. What sort of ridiculous prejudice against me is this? I never knew that Thai Airways London operates such horridly selfish and ridiculous customer service policies. Not to mention, your counter staff attending to us - the balding man with long hair - when we visited the Head Office was also curt and extremely rude.You can be assured this will be the last time I ever deign to patronise your airline, since it is clear to me your airline does not know how to treasure business given to them.

Best regards to you too.
Ms. Li"

------------------------------------------------

"Dear Ms. Ratnaputri,

Than you for your e-mail. I hope you do understand that every company has policy to maintain and only few acceptations can be made as I tried to explain to Ms. Li but she doesn't seem to accept that fact. We could have refused her request and refer her back to the issuing agent who gave all of you the wrong information and that confusion lies between your group and your issuing agent which our London office is not respondsible for it. However, we agree to help both of you but there must be a limitation to it as we do not know how many passengers are in the same situation. (Ummm.... earlier you just said in your email that you know of another "Mr. Low" who is booked through the same agent?? Hello. You DO know. There are THREE.) Not only Ms. Li did not appreciate our help (WHAT HELP DID YOU SHOW ME WHEN YOU SENT ME THE EMAIL - esp since it was before you sent the damn voucher), she sent us a very strong e-mail excusing us (... I believed I accused you - I would never, ever excuse you of such horrid behavior) of having a "horridly selfish and ridiculous customer service policies". Nevertheless, I hope she received the excess baggage voucher and find it useful. (Yeah, go ahead and play the martyr now, and totally forget that you told ME that I will be the LAST person to receive help) Thank you for your understanding and sorry for the inconvenience that caused you. We hope Thai Airways will have a chance to improve ourservice and serve you again.

Kind Regards,"

Never, ever, ever will I patronise Thai Airways out of my own will again.

Contemplation.

Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah
They're swept away and nothing is what is seems,
the feeling of belonging to your dreams

Listen to your heart when he's calling for you
Listen to your heart there's nothing else you can do
I don't know where you're going and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye
- "Listen To Your Heart", Roxette

Just Call Me Feathers McGraw

" Howard Hughes: Does that look clean to you?
Ava Gardner: Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best, right?

(from The Aviator)

Friends and family still backstab each other, masking their devious intentions with sugary smiles. man and wife still hurt each other for years, each too proud and/or too afraid to apologise and give in. the children still sleep in though the sun has risen 3 hours ago. a strawberry falls to the floor but it's the last one left and the 3-second rule is evoked. girl falls in love with a boy and gives her whole heart to him only to have it returned in a mushy mess.

the world around you is obsessed with superficiality while all you want is an ounce of truth. you slog your way through a project, an assignment, an exam and even when you are handing it in, you shake your head sadly at its lack of excellence.
so should we bubblewrap our hearts and our minds? should we live in despair, struggling in the hollow, suffocating gap between dreams and reality?

are there little perfectionists in each one of us in some area of our lives where even a little imperfection is intolerable? areas which we struggle so hard to protect that we don't give others or even ourselves room to breathe? nothing's clean and that's the law of nature.

a baby is born a rightful mess. it doesn't come into the world smelling like johnson's baby bath all wrapped up in warm towels. the amazon does not look like the botanical gardens with trimmed lawns and neatly arranged orchids. the clouds don't have taps to hold the water back when they are full. a downpour is released whenever, wherever, on whoever and whatever they please.

in this world, there is no perfect beauty, perfect intelligence, perfect hair, perfect painter, perfect song because perfection is not just the best, it is something that is infinite."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This excerpt is taken from a friend's blog (which she hasn't agreed for me to take, yet - babe, I will remove this immediately once you tell me you don't want it here okay?), and they are wise words. Beautiful words. She always speaks what my heart feels.

This bit, especially :

"are there little perfectionists in each one of us in some area of our lives where even a little imperfection is intolerable? areas which we struggle so hard to protect that we don't give others or even ourselves room to breathe? "

Yes. Oh boy, yeah that is me, in love.
I am ashamed to admit that, but I cannot deny that is me. (Just ask M lorr. Hurhur) The area I struggle so hard to protect - my heart, my position, my own desires. 'Cos I'm so scared of losing out, coming out under, being hurt before I know it. Sobering huh.



Yeah, okay, so there's the moody emo stuff. (I blame my hormones)



Today we had an extra lit class class, and I really had to drag my lazy ass out of bed for it. But on the upside, we watched Wallace and Gromit, this episode called "The Wrong Trousers".


It featured the cutest evil penguin (Joycey! You listening?) everrrr - his name is Feathers McGraw and he wears a small red hand-glove on his head while committing crimes so people think he's a chicken - and Gromit of course as usual saved the day.




I want a dog like Gromit. He reads Plato, solves crimes, and is so lithely James Bond-esque. Yet he walks on fours and can't speak (unlike other animated characters).

Ooh and lookey-here, there's a cute little sheepysheep that's apparently called Shaun. And it's funny how he's wearing a wool sweater.

Dumb Dum.

YESSSS. I'm so happy I can sleep in tomorrow. I can feel my body need the extra sleep. I resolve not to get up before 1pm.

Why do I remember these things, when I thought they had gone away?

Fotografie

Enjoy the rest here :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26464883@N00/sets/72157594392902004/

...And Schnitzel With Noodles

So I went to Salzburg and Vienna, and now I'm baaack.

It feels good to be back home, because I realize I have less than a month left here in Bath - actually, what is closer to the truth is, I have less than three weeks here in Bath. I know for a fact that when I leave this place, my heart will ache really, really badly. Bath is just too pretty to be left behind.

But anyways. Salzburg and Vienna were beautiful places. Salzburg was all snow-capped mountains, rolling green hills and wide deep-blue lakes - dramatic landscapes galore. Vienna was charming for its musical history - I can't explain it, but I think the people there are proud of their culture.

Pictures will follow really soon.

I'm glad we talked it through, I'm glad we held hands and walked the streets of Austria together, I'm glad we had at the end of it, a very memorable good time. So thank you.

Blinky-Eyed Awake

Insomniac.

It is 3.47AM here, and I am still awake. This has become a daily routine. I just had supper with Mon and Yang (hot chocolate which resembles milo more than anything, with HobNobs biscuits), and took a nice long shower, and now I feel kind of restless.

Not destined for bed yet.

Today's poker tournament turned out good for me. I got into 3rd position out of 9, and won 1 pound! Woohoo. :) It was a good game, I think I played well, and that above all else is what I'm proud of. Escaped death (a few all-ins) at least three to four times too! Heh.

I watched Rounders finally yesterday night, and I never realized it was more than a B-grade feature :P Matt Damon and John Malkovich as well as I-can't-place-his-name-but-looks-like-David-Arquette starred, and it was a good lesson in poker. Niceee. Thanks Ren.

"u still have me what...I'm not going anywhere. even though I'm frustrated now"

[a warm blanket over a cold heart]

My Dear, We're Slow Dancing In A Burning Room

So the dreaded presentation is finally over, and I don't have to put up with those two petulant Frenchies anymore. They muddled up their presentation parts, but whatever, I feel nothing but pity for them, because I got through mine just fine. They insisted on not needing any practice for their slides, and ended up 'erm' and 'ah'-ing through their speeches. Barely coherent. *shake head* And that J... fuckin' needs someone to twist off his balls for him. He doesn't deserve to have any. (yes that's how much I hate him) (you see, something else happened, but that is someone else's secret, so it's not at my liberty to divulge)

While cooking chicken just now, I burnt my little finger with splattering hot oil. Jeesh. It was all crackling-sort-of-painful just now, which I think signals a blister may be coming. Bah. Wish you were here to kiss it better... but I guess that's hardly what you want to be doing now. (your MSN one warmed my heart.)

I pray for a way through this. I wish it were easier for me, and for you. An answer will come... right? Yeah. Faith. Faith.

"So go on, baby
Make your little getaway
My pride will keep me company"
- 'I'm Gonna Find Another You', John Mayer

Because I Don't Think That They'd Understand

You know those times when you were little (much littler than you are now), and you got so tired from walking or running or playing, and you just didn't want to go on walking anymore... and you'd turn to an adult, perhaps your parents, and stretch out your little arms. And they'd pick you up swiftly, and pat your back or say a few words that you may not even understand, but that you knew referred to your sleepyheadedness.

I'm feeling that way now... I am tired of walking, and I just need to be carried, if only for a short distance. But would you put me on your back and carry me, understanding that I am just tired, and I will be okay after a while?

It's the saddest feeling when the one you love doesn't seem to touch the meaning of your heart. It is at that point that you feel farthest from them, even if they were right there next to your ear.

And So The Wheel Goes

... So the German bratwurst - the one who is only able to place me and Mon as "Koreans" because that's as far as his knowledge of the world beyond Germany goes (now I wonder why that is...hmmmm. oh, right, you're just stupid) - won his next poker tournament. Sigh. I've had it. He won totally on luck too, he had totally crap hands like 3-5 spades that made flush. I mean like, hello, where's the fairness in this world. And his sinister grin toward the end, when it was just K and him in the hand, man I just needed him to make one more Korean comment and I would seriously have jumped on him and bashed his head in, as far as my small knuckles would have allowed.

But aye, karma will come back and bite him in the ass, no? As long as I know he didn't win because he was more skilled than me then I can live with it.

We caught Casino Royale today, and overall I only enjoyed watching Daniel Craig parade around in a tux and his birthday suit (ooh -squeal). Aside from that, the plot was pretty shit and the Bond girl was in my opinion very pedestrian. Okay I did quite like the villain - thoroughly sinister - and M, of course, was Judi Dench, who managed to look chic and beautiful despite her fast-advancing age. What do you think of the Bond theme song? I don't quite like it really, even though I do love Chris Cornell and think he is one hawt bugger.

After the movie, we diddled around deciding where to have dinner because we were a big group of 9. This was a bunch of Lucas' friends from Malaysia who are studying in Bath, as well as Lucas' girlfriend who came up to visit from London. Overall though it wasn't one of the best nights, I'm sad to say. I had very little to say to the people there, except perhaps Lucas and his gf.

Oh, this morning I woke up at 3.30pm. And only 'cos Mon was hammering on my door to remind me of our movie at 4.30pm. So I pretty much missed most of today heh. I had an awfully vivid dream about dragons and the end of the world last night, bah. But at least it was a very interesting dream.

Aaaah. John Mayer makes it all better.

"Can't seem to hold you like I want to
To feel you in my arms"
- "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room", John Mayer

The Night's Events.

Monicat and me
Me and Yang
Anders using me as an arm rest, that idiot! With Henrik.
I like the blue in this picture.
Candid shot - all except Mon, who is ever-ready. Aren't you babe! LOL.
Yang, Rosario, Henrik. Yang was red as a beet that night, from too much beer. Tomorrow he's going to jump out of a plane - his skydiving jump, I pray he won't still be hungover then!

Footwear of choice : Mon's plaid-brown pumps, and my Jack Purcells. I restrung them with white laces for tonight! To go with my new black Topshop skinnies. ;)
Ahh, the pains of unrequited love.
Disco ball glowglowglow the whole night...
Nicola, me and Mon

So tonight about thirteen of us exchange students trooped down to Revolution, lured by the promise of good music and a eff-oh-cee (free) good time. Even though J was going, I decided not to let him ruin my night, and went ahead anyway. Revolution turned out to be a clubby type of pub, a sort of hybrid that played popular retro/funk/hip-hop/pop, but had a lot of standing/sitting room as opposed to a proper dance floor.

The music was danceable (pretty good actually), but most people were too busy shouting into others' ears, and so I spent the night half-bored, half-dancing. Revolution shut its doors at 12am though, so we were thrown out with half the night still waiting. There was a debate regarding whether we should go to another club called Delfter Krug (?), but a few of us weren't keen because there was a queue and it cost 5 pounds.

In the end, we trooped back to our hostel and had a kitchen party there. Along the way, I picked up the Schwartz Co. burgers that were apparently raves (Yibs, I tried it for you!), but it was above average, not mind-blowingly orgasmic. I sacrificed my hands to eat my hot burger, because by the time I reached home my hands were totally void of any feeling from the icy cold.

Reaching Maple House, we went up to Chelsea's kitchen, where the Norwegians pulled out Gin and Tonic, and Red Bull. I laughed harder than I've laughed for a long while in that kitchen - the drunk/hawt Norwegians were being extremely goofy and way less reserved than they usually were; Nicola was telling us what 'pompino' in Italian is (it means 'dick' - I told him it sounds like 'bambino' - and he told me, 'you no make bambino with pampino, NO!' hahaha); Monica was challenging Henrik to give us the free lapdance promised; Chelsea told the Norwegians they had 'handsome red' eyes (actually she said 'hints of', but Anders and Henrik preferred to think otherwise); Nicola and the two boys were making horribly silly impersonations of the way Mon and I speak bahasa indo/singlish.

We ended the partay at 2am, when people started leaving. We met some new Italian and German people there in the kitchen who don't stay in Thornbank, but didn't really get to talk to them. Another time then :)

Not a bad night, if I may say so myself.

Do I Have To Fall Asleep With Roses In My Hand

"When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The waking up is the hardest part"
- "Dreaming With a Broken Heart", John Mayer

Yibs sent me the nicest John Mayer songs. Thankee, Yibsy. His voice melts me like butter -ooooh. :)

I've been losing my balance these few days, and it's awfully frustrating to not be able to find it back again. I've infuriated you on a few occasions, and now I realize it's not that you didn't want to be there but that you didn't know. I was just tired of feeling like a satchel on your back, when I never was in the first place. It's confusing; I'm confusing, even for me.

J is up to his antics again today, cancelling a meeting 40 minutes before it was meant to begin, without a valid reason too. I despise that shithead. Seriously. But it's okay, I believe in karma. Tomorrow (or the day after) he will walk along Old Bristol Road and a huge crate of ripe Madagascar bananas will fall down on his head, rendering him unconscious. And stupider than he already was. I just know it in my blood. :)

Tonight Anders has organized an outing - his nick reads : "let's go out 10pm? first revolution [a club in town] then nightclub and lapdance at delfter krug". Apparently Henrik will be providing the lapdance at 3 pounds, while Anders will get drunk and do it for free. I already put my name down on the list. Haha! JUST Kiddin'. So yeah maybe I will wear my new H&M top and red vintage belt and paint the town black.

Countdown ticker : 4 days more to Salzburg/Vienna.

... You Amaze Me With Your Fucktardness II

(Also Known As The Conspiracy Theory That Never Was)

Ooh this is ticklish.

J is also a conspiracy theorist. What happened was Mon was in my room, and logged into her MSN account from my laptop to arrange a meeting with him (she is the only one speaking to him and Q now). He thought he was being a smart-ass, by saying at the end of the conversation :

J : "Bye bye Zee..."

M : "Huh? What?"

J : "You are in her room using her laptop right..."

J : "I don't care about the entire fucking project.. do what you fucking want"

M : "?!?!"

Apparently later on, he told Mon that he KNEW that I was the one who logged into Mon's MSN account and talked to him, pretending to be her... and that he was also "Not stupid and Not sixteen", it was "definitely Zee" because the way Mon was talking to him was apparently, just like how I would (ho ho ho ho that part kills me).

I laughed, then my blood boiled, then I laughed again.

Ridiculous French piece-o'-shit. Quit behaving like a kid. Chuh.

...You Amaze Me With Your Fucktardness

Meet J and Q, the two biggest royal fucktards in the planet.

They are my project group mates for my Entrepreneurial project. :)
They also happen to be absolute believers in misogyny, and in themselves. No other opinion aside from theirs counts - and apparently, slides for a Monday presentation have to be completed on the Thursday before that (because Q has to, absolutely has to, go to Paris to visit his girlfriend - till Sunday midnight, too - and he apparently has to keep it a secret from Monica and me too till confronted).

The reason for the rush is, of course, valid :
1)poker comes first before all else
2)Quentin's leave to Paris - nothing must be done to the slides till Saturday

They also insist that our presentation on an original venture is not at all about marketing, but about financials. Cash flow forecasts, financing, and business plans. Even though the professor emphasized that entrepreneurial ventures fail mainly because entrepreneurs are hopeless in selling their idea. They did a wonderful job of that, and of course they did the most work among all of us and we are all rightly accused as slackers and stupid women.

Oh, they think that choosing a name for our company, a marketing strategy, a directional image, is all crap and hardly important. "I don't care", was the response through and through. "I understand, Zee, but marketing is hardly the focus here. You must put all your information into two slides", they say.

Edit : I failed to mention their extremely reasonable loss of temper at Leila, the French girl from our team who had to go into Paris for a job interview. They accused her of turning around and criticising the project, when during the period they were doing up the financials, she was in Paris "Having A Holiday". So she apparently has no right of opinion, even though of course her fresh perspective (not having worked on the project beforehand) coupled with her intelligence gives her a very good eye for what's weak in our presentation. They were very mean to her when they spoke to her about it, hissy and snappy like two pussies.

They agreed to a meeting with us, but two hours before that, turned it down because "our presentation is quite good already, everything else we can do by oral". Oral sex doesn't cure all ailments, my friends, counter to popular French male belief it seems. Oh! And guess what, just as they say these words, another MSN window pops up with 9 other dudes staying here in Thornbank gardens, "Pokerr???? 22H15". Oh, now I wonder why they wanted to cancel that meeting of ours.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. (thinks)

And they happen to be the only two people (aside from the bastard of an ex-boyfriend) who I have been angry enough to be really truly tempted to physically slap/punch/kick and twist in the balls. And I'm not just saying that, I mean it.

Read my lips, the both of you : confront me again and I will hiss at you till you yourself become tempted to hit me. Keep your balls and your egoes far far away because from what I hear, both of these things bounce on the floor pretttty well.

Geek In The Pink

So here I am, surfing other people's blogs (instead of doing my work - groan). People I'm not really familiar with, but whom I know, and who are back home in Singapore. It's nice to be a voyeur sometimes isn't it. Heh.

I feel this stab of nostalgia - almost, jealousy - flood, after reading their blogs. I really miss home, and having friends with me. Wearing very little clothing indeed, living in shorts and my Betulas ... going for supper and meeting up with friends to just hang ... Shit man. But I guess for people like Yibs and Lucas who haven't been home for awhile, it must hit them even more.

And yeah yeah everyone's thinking I'm on exchange doing so many fun things so why am I complaining. But it's important to remember it's not always roses and swimming pools here. It's also loneliness, frustration, racism, daily problems... blah blah.

We're going to watch Borat tonight, I think, at the Odeon theatre. :) Whee! It's a short walk from our hostel, and I think I desperately need to get out of my PJs and do something different. Hopefully the movie will be sidesplittingly funny.

The next movie to cross off my list - Casino Royale! Ooh droooool for Daniel Craig in a suit. :D Oh, and Double drooool for him in trunks. Haha. But then again, wait, maybe it should be the other way round...... hmmm.

I feel like hopping into bed and taking another nap. And just leaving my slides to tomorrow, when I go to school to work it out with Leila. BAH.

Pimpin' It

PLEASE help me fill out this questionnaire. :) It's relating to food, so please do contribute!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=438032823165

I love you for helping me. :) Sanks a million.

Chicken Soup For The Image In The Mirror

So. Just got home from grocery shopping, and my arms are shivering from the effort. To make myself feel a bit better about the whole experience, I've consumed two little fairy cakes (which are, in essence, plain butter cupcakes). At the same time, I can feel the horror that is the added flabbiness of my arms since I have arrived in the UK.

Yes yes, to be expected, that Zhi would turn more ba-ba. But it's still sad isn't it. And all this while, some other things never grow! Boo. Haha.

It is since yesterday night, and today as well, that I realize how unhealthy a self-image I have of myself. I mean, I think it is way more fashionable - and socially acceptable - to hate your body isn't it? Especially as a woman. There's always something to dislike. But more than that, a lot of women (like me) simply don't like their body as a whole.

It's funny how in this age that asks women to celebrate their bodies more, my body shape is the one that is being protested against. Now "Burn the skinny model with no breasts! Bring back the curves" is the war cry, but that's just my kind of figure - kind of skinny, not booby at all, no hourglass shape in sight. As the womanly figure is celebrated, and as I exist right now in Europe where that is the most attractive and desired shape, I feel quite scorchingly the fact that I am totally different, and I'm certainly not the status quo.

Stinky Binky, He's Called

BAH. Am in the management lab, having missed my first lesson of the morning because I got up too late, and am trying to print out handouts for my presentation later. Except some sod has jammed up the printer with his 100,540 pages worth of printing jobs. So it's taken me about half an hour to print out 30 pages. And it's STILL his turn!! Jeeez.

And I'm sort of unprepared for presentation later, it's all a blur in my head, 'cos I barely rehearsed. Shit. I have that sinking feeling, as with all things that I approach with a mindset of mediocrity.

Only thing to look forward to is grocery shopping at the end of today. Oh, and lunch at 12!

Somethin' in The Water

If there is one experience over the Prague/Budapest trip I must blog about, it would have to be the Szechenyi gyogyfurdo (or baths). Neo-Baroque buildings surround three massive outdoor pools, sitting like pots of steaming blue soup, in the cold autumnal weather. There are lots and lots of locals, but no tourists that I can discern. We stick out like a sore thumb, two scrawny Asians in a sea of big hulky Hungarian men (and women). As we walk to the changing cabins that we've been issued, I'm ticklish with anticipation, not sure what to expect.

Marc and I rent swimming suits (but I wear my own undies and bikini top under it because it's so gross! Eek), pick up our rented towels, and head out.

"1, 2, 3... we'll open the door and run out, okay?"

"Okay, we'll put our towel down on ... (looks around) that bench, and then run in to the pool."

"Okay."

"This seems crazy. :( It's so cold out there!"

"Yeah, I know."

(deep breaths, the two of us)

And then we dash out almost naked, trying to look as dignified as we can while rushing from the cold. Making it into the first pool, we quickly discover there is an insanely adorable contraption that makes the centre of the pool spin around, like one of those "Eye of the storm" rides they had in Fantasy Island in Singapore years ago, ONLY FASTER :)

So what you have to do is just join the circle (you can see it in the photo on top - the concrete 'island' walled off in the centre of the pool), and then you'll be whoooooosh!ed along the current and spun round and round. It was so fun, Marc was just like a five-year-old boy in that moment, I swear. He couldn't stop giggling and playing around. It was so entertaining (him, and the pool). :D

So after tiring of the whirlpool and the lukewarm waters of the first pool, we decide to make the huge 200m dash to the pool on the other end of the outdoor complex. The shock you feel when your skin feels the icy wind hit its surface - unspeakable agony. We half-ran, half-fleed to the pool, dumped our towels, and stepped in.

This third pool was SO GOOD. It was 37 to 38 deg c, which to my poor feet was initially too warm. But I adjusted after awhile, and it was just like being in the centre of a baking creme brulee - heaven. I hopped on Marc's back and let him piggyback me to the steps where we sat. Lots of Hungarian couples frolicking in the water, old and young alike, and it was kind of nice to see, in a good way. But then we tried to guess which couples were up to some fun :P Haha.

After turning sufficiently prune-like and sleepy, we both decided we needed to pee and got out of the pool to change out. When I went home that night, I fell asleep like a baby, and in the morning it took Marc at least an hour to pull me out of bed because I slept so well. Oh, and my muscles that were aching like mad in the day had gotten much better.

It's got to be somethin' in that Hungarian spring water. ;)

A wonderful experience. Thanks for making me go, Marc.

"I find the map and draw a straight line

Over rivers, farms and state lines

The distance from here to where you'd be

It's only finger-lengths that I see

I touch the place where I'd find your face

My fingers in creases of distant dark places

I hang my coat up in the first bar

There is no peace that I found so far

The laughter penetrates my silence

As drunken men find flaws in science

Their words mostly noises, ghosts with just voices

Your words in my memory are like music to me

Miles from where you are, I lay down on the cold ground

I pray that something picks me up

And sets me down in your warm arms"

- "Set The Fire To The Third Bar", Snow Patrol

Praha & Budapest

I never knew ...

- that Prague was so developed; it was just like Rome or Paris. I expected more, sad to say :P - how big an influence American culture is in Prague
- that Buda and Pest are actual names for the two opposite banks of the Danube river
- taking a hot spring bath with Hungarians in below-ten-degree-cold-weather would actually be reallyreally good and fun
- an overnight train would be so... good. hehe.
- real Hungarian goulash would not be as lumpy as the one they sell at The Soup Spoon back home
- the Eastern Europeans are quite chic too

Too tired to tell stories, I'll let the photos do the talkin' for me. Link to Flickr account at the bottom of post, so look out for it if you are interested :)

More to be found here ! Enjoy :)

Lucas' 21st Birthday Madness

We went down to London the past weekend primarily for Lucas' 21st party, at this club called Rush. It was a very small venue, and while the music was constipated, the photowhoring (and the alcohol) was definitely not. So here are Mon's photos (I didn't bother to bring my camera), thanks babe. :)

Photos labeled in clockwise, starting from top left :

1 : Lucas' girlfriend, Lucas and Mon in a less-than-sober moment

2 : me, McDaniel and Mon

3 : Mon, Lucas and two ang moh guys of unknown origin

4 : me, Astrid, Sue, and Mon. Marc insists Sue and I can pass off for twins- what do you think?

1 : Liqing and Mon. Liqing is studying law at Nottingham, and she's a friend of Jas and Chok / 2 : Chok acting cute, Victor and Mon pre-party / 3 & 4 : their pre-party dessert soiree.
1 : ... it was Dan's suggestion to go all kawaii. Not mine. / 2 : Hails, Hails' friend, me, Mon and Yibsy. / 3 : us and the birthday boy (who was smaashed) / 4 : Mon and birthday boy's gf
2 & 3 : bored people photowhore and do stupid things, like pout into cameras. / 4 : Jas, who's having her exchange in Dublin.
1 : Meet Victor. Mr. Funny Drunk!

O Joy

That German lout! Ha! He lost under my hands! :)

I'm gloating, I'm gloating, what are you going to do about ittttt (/sings) :D :D :D

After telling me to fuck off, this is what you get dude. You're only scared of me because you think I am good, and you know it.

Chuh. Dumbass :)

_________ Makes Me Happy

In line with Neilly's social revolution, I decided to dedicate a post about ______ makes me happy. :)

Pizza loaded with melted cheese, lots and lots of mushrooms and bits of ham makes me happy.

Smelling freshly laundered clothes makes me happy.

Walking without feeling pain in my knee makes me happy.

You make me happy.

Taking the bus alone, with my ipod, makes me happy.

Laughing together with you makes me happy.

Finding a piece of clothing/accessory that feels right and timeless (and then buying it) makes me happy.

Hugs make me happy.

Teh/teh peng makes me happy. So does bak chor mee.

Disney songs make me happy.

Instant noodles and instant cup-a-soup make me happy.

Feeling understood, truly understood, makes me happy.

Beach resorts (like The Residence, Mauritius! Or even Bali will do) make me happy.

Dressing up for a sassy night out with the gang in Singapore makes me happy.

Suppers make me happy.
-

What makes you happy? :)

Your Soft Skin Is Weeping.

I've been feeling like being alone.

It seems I'm happiest being alone these few days, I don't know why. Sort of like a breather, a relief. "Phew."

Maybe it's 'cos I'm (still!) sick, and I just don't really feel like ... pleasing. This cold is getting me down man, it feels icky to always have snot, and also it leaves me feeling lethargic. Combine that with cramps (of the period variety) and I'm dead stoned at times.

Maybe it's also 'cos I need to sort some stuff out within myself. And I'm of the mindset these days that no one can really help you unless you help yourself first.

Today at Topshop I saw so many things I love, but that were just too expensive. It sucks! Ouch. All these things I want to own, but can't. Can't is the hard part.

Oh, and I need to regain my self-esteem man. Here I feel so ... plain. I'm just too practical a traveler - I need to first and foremost be warm, so I'm not wearing no miniskirts and tights and ballet pumps. I'm just always in my jeans and sweaters and Converses. I am becoming one of those dressers I never wanted to become :( I can't frickin' wait to go home and dress up again, and get my hair cut in a new style. :) The light at the end of the tunnel! Aah.

I'm lovin' this song. It's so dramatic - I'm digging all the dramatic shit now. Like Death Cab's "I Will Follow You Into The Dark".

"Miles away from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground, I
I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms"
- "Set the Fire to the Third Bar", Snow Patrol

Departure Day

I love the starting of the movie, "Love Actually" - you know, the scene which opens with Heathrow airport's arrivals area. Lots of real people, running into their family/loved ones' arms at the arrivals gate. Glorious smiles on faces, big wide hugs, kisses on cheeks. These are real people, real emotions. It's real-life drama, y'all. I love it, it's utter genius.

I'm going to watch that movie at least one more time before I go home this year. That'll make it the sixth time I'm watching it. And I don't usually watch movies more than once, so that makes this movie reallyyy good.

Remember watching it with me, Yibs? As we huddled by your laptop screen in your old Holborn hostel room, Christmas time two years back. Things were so different then; my heart was heavy and ... well, with someone. Hehe. And yours was searching, searching. But still, the movie was a highlight of that uneventful Christmas. I think we watched the movie like, twice in a week. And we finished that box of dozen krispy kreme glazed! OMG. No wonder I couldn't fit back into my MNG jeans after that.

Today is FREEZING. While walking to town today, Mon and I became a pair of icicles - our faces and hands were numb, and it was so frightful, I cannot imagine the coming winter. Maybe I will never leave my hostel room again! Then I don't have to face the cold ever.

Oh shit but I still have to at least go to school and travel out to other countries. Bah. Shit.

London, tomorrow! Then Prague and Budapest on Tuesday. I can't wait. :)

Paradise Lost.

So it’s still freezing in my room today, but my cold is slightly better today. Clarinase kicked in, and I slept the afternoon away before getting up to do some work. After the nap, my head actually felt clear enough to think, ahem, academically. And now I’m sort of writing my Frankenstein essay.

I love all these references to Paradise Lost in the novel, about Satan and God and Adam and Eve. It’s such an epic story, but yet so simple and basic in its teachings. Isn't the title Paradise Lost itself, so dramatic and beautiful and explosive? I love it. In my mind’s eye now floats all these fantastical images of heavenly battles, hosts of angels and their fallen contemporaries, the omnipresent God, and the scheming scorned Satan. All happening in slow motion, of course, like a huge oil mural animated. That’s the only way such classics can be related, methinks. S-l-o-w motion.

Out of all the exchange students who share our floor, Nicola is my favourite. :) I say that because he’s a genial, kind of bumbling in his poor English, kind-hearted bloke. I always talk to him the most when we are in the kitchen together during mealtimes. The conversation is often halting and has to be repeated a few times, but hey we’re both patient people (I’ve gotten used to doing that since reaching Europe anyway). He’s got oodles of maggi-mee curly hair though, but hey he’s Italian I guess he can get away with it - … or not. He's just a nice guy lah, one of those gentle spirits that pass through your life without you ever really knowing them really well, but you still respect them anyway.

Hello to Marc all the way in Amsterdam, probably getting high as I type this. I miss you. I need that hug we were talking about. I’ll give you the one you wanted, in exchange ;)

Je Sui Malade, C'est Magnifique!

A comment from the boyfriend, on hearing that I'm wobbly like jell-o from the flu-medicine-induced druggedness :

dirk diggler says:
i think u'll make a cutesy jello

Haha. :P

My hands are frozen, and my feet too, despite my heater turned to maximum, and my wearing 3 layers. My nose is behaving like a stuck tap that flows in bursts. BAH. B-A-H. I wish to be optimistic and hope for full recovery in three days' time, but I can't see past living through tonight. Boooo.

I still have an essay and a presentation to sort out, all by Thursday night, but this flu is not giving me the clarity and dexterity of mind needed to do it well! Roar. I really need to get better asap.

Maybe I should give myself the rest of the night off.

Plan:

• Seamus Heaney presentation - do slides and speech Wednesday.
• Elizabeth Fry presentation - overview again Wednesday, rehearse on Thursday.
• Frankenstein essay - write it proper on Thursday.

What to look forward to this weekend - trip down to London where the whole she-bang (or at least most of) will be celebrating Lucas' 21st birthday on Saturday night. But before that, dim sum with Yibsy for lunch! Her treat (right??? haha), at Imperial China, some fab dim sum restaurant. Only hope I will be well enough to fully enjoy London.

London sort of reminds me of Singapore, perhaps it's because I have the warmth of friends and family there. It's nice, and I'm glad I can speak English and be understood (well, a lot better than in Spain or Italy), and there is more ... law and order there, than in other European countries I've visited. Heh. The old Singaporean in me speaking, needing all that lawfulness and respect for rules.

Project meeting in fifteen minutes' time! The joys of living together as a project group. BAH.