Wednesday, June 20, 2007

chicken licken

im back in the coop. im not sure how i feel about it. i almost wanted to cry when the plane was descending. eurotripping was amazing and i have lots of stories and photos to share, but that;s going to take a while. it feels odd to be surrounded by singlish again. and everything is the same yet different. i dont quite know what to make of it. i feel somewhat stifled at the thought that im going to be in the same place for the next couple of years.

work starts july 2. please meet up with me before then.

8:50 AM

Thursday, May 31, 2007

the independent traveller

ola from madrid! day one of being the lonely traveller went well, and im back in the hostel relatively early since it´s not that safe to be wandering around the streets by myself late at night. i walked for 7 straight hours all around the city and my socks were stinky when i took them off after getting back. eww. it´s been an adventure all the way from LA to London to here - klutzy me didn´t fail to mess up somehow, but it all worked out in the end cos im in the hostel in one piece. phew! my backpack and haversack make me look like a pregnant hunchback, and im sure im going to build mega deltoids by the end of this trip but makes me feel more authentic. haha. typing on the spanish keyboard is kinda hard cos the symbols are not in the places im used to them being. ive been cheapo today and didnt go to any of the sites that required an entrance fee. and my meals were 3euros and under. woohoo. i feel proud of myself. =P im in good company of bear and my camera and that has kept me pretty occupied, on top of planning the rest of my trip that is. ive got 2 nights of accommodation in madrid and 3 more in valencia but nothing else after that. im hoping i can find a place to stay for one more night in madrid cos i want to go watch a real madrid game and visit the market on sunday.

time´s up on the free internet. laters!

Labels: travel

2:30 PM

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

catch me if you can

im off to see the world.

be back soon!

Labels: random

11:07 AM

Friday, May 18, 2007

my valedictorian speech

times flies, even when you're doing nothing. the week's end is here, the 'rents come in tomorrow, and i finally walk the lawn on sunday. i think spending the past week soaking up charlottesville has helped me get over that bout of depression i was experiencing about the whole graduation thing. no doubt, im still reluctant to have to enter the real world, but at least i'm more prepared to leave charlottesville than i was before.

the week's been mostly just lazing about, walking around charlottesville. eating at a different restaurant every meal. had some really good sandwiches. watching alias (season 5 is kinda crappy). sitting in the sun. rented a car on wednesday and visited skyline drive and luray caverns. running errands. nothing really in particular, which has been kinda nice.

can't believe my undergraduate life is over. jc didn't seem too far away, but i think i've certainly grown older, although not necessarily more mature. the US has given me an experience of a lifetime, taught me to look at the world through new eyes - to accept and understand different views of the world, to recognize different cultural interpretations and perspectives. i've become a tad bit wilder, in a sense that i'm no longer content with a cushy, normal, run-of-the-mill life. and i kinda like it that way. although i'm afraid that after going back home and getting caught in the routine of work and home, i might forget about it. i hope not.

and also, i guess the past three years have really been a period of self-awareness and i've come to learn alot about myself. i don't know if i've become more carless and klutzy, but it certainly has become more apparent, and its consequences more dire. and while i used to laugh at myself about it (a good thing for one to be able to laugh at oneself, right?), at some point it was no longer funny but rather, frustrating. i think i also lack this 'capacity to execute', to follow through on what i set out to do. i hope to change those. i used to think that my indecisiveness was my biggest problem, but i think that has gotten better.

perhaps, a reflection upon graduation requires some grandoise statement about life (as though im giving the valedictorian speech huh). i don't know. maybe mine would be that life has too much to offer to sit around comfortably, or to look at it through blinkers. have your own perspective, but don't judge others for having theirs. dare to experience life, dare to have your comfortable world turned upside down. but have convictions, have principles, have a fierce passion for something in life. thank goodness im not valedictorian, that would have been a weak speech. but that honestly sums up what i've learnt these past two/three years.

wow. after this commercial break, it's time for the real world.

Labels: a-musing, daily scoops

9:38 AM

Saturday, May 12, 2007

not ready for the world

i think i really should just hide in my room and not mess with the world because.. well, i'd just create a big mess.

gm and clara stayed back to hang out with me until graduation. we were supposed to go on a roadtrip but decided to hang out in cville in the end cos firstly, we wanted to save money and secondly, im not going to be in cville anymore so i might as well savor it while im here.

anyhows, the two are crashing at the irc since we stayed back in the ville, but illegally since they arent approved for late stay. and all cards were deactivated today, except for those who were approved for late stay. but i lost my id, and ive been using ruyi's since she left, and she didn't get late stay. so basically between the three of us, none of us has a card that can get us into the building.

i feel terrible, and terribly useless. i wonder how im going to survive europe on my own at this rate. but more than that, i wonder how im going to take on real responsibilites.

Labels: a-musing, daily scoops

10:51 PM

Friday, May 11, 2007

one last cry

i slept in my sheets for the last time last night. woke up this morning, put them in the wash, and in a couple of hours they will be packed up among cheryl's things and put into storage. i won't get to roll around in my purple sheets anymore. =(

today's the last breakfast of champions as well. i took double the amount of food i usually do, just because.

tomorrow is the last day for check-out. i won't get to see these people anymore for, perhaps, the rest of my life.

i don't know if i'm over-reacting to the situation, but i really am very sad. maybe because i've only had two years here and now i have to leave. and maybe because each semester has been better than the previous that i'm still looking forward to more. i'm sad about having to leave the college lifestyle, about having to leave america, about no longer having my own space and time and being accountable to no one else but myself.

i've decided to go ahead with europe. and maybe visit suching in bangalore when i get back. and if i have time and money left, hongkong to see vennesa and jonathan. i don't want to have to return to the singapore life yet. the thought of getting caught in the mundane cycle of work, home, work, home, work, hom scares the hell out of me. and as much as i can say now that i promise myself i won't allow myself to lead that 'comfortable' life, it's so easy to fall back into the general flow of things.

One last cry, before I leave it all behind
I’ve gotta put you outta my mind this time
Stop living a lie
I know I gotta be strong
Cause round me life goes on and on and on
And on.....

I’m gonna dry my eyes
Right after I had my
One last cry

Labels: a-musing

7:48 AM

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

emptying out

i thought i'd be idle this week, but time seems to pass so fast and still i don't get everything i need to do done. i'm putting off packing because it's a depressing reminder of the fact that im going to be leaving this place for good. i've been writing cards and meeting up with people to say good bye and it just makes me want to cry. other than that, been eating alot and trying to figure out travel plans. the wednesday dinner kakis went to zo ca lo for our last group dinner yesterday (had to be on a wed cos ppl have exams on thur). the food was good, the people were fun, and i was just sad cos it won't be the same again. we're leaving on a road trip on saturday and we still have no idea where we are going. haha. that's what being young is about - spontaneity!

my laptop fan is broken and i spilt iced tea on my phone and my credit card got eaten into the atm so the line got cut off anyway so im basically uncontactable to the world. been spending alot of time in the comp lab so it seems like im working really hard. haha.

i really don't want to have to leave this life. =(

Labels: daily scoops