a package from home...a perfect surprised that was awaiting for me at ICA parcel collections
the goodies that this package unfolded..THANKS JULIET...you're the best...=]

malmo castle...now an art museum=]

Asian Potluck!!!

Tonight was the Asian Potluck. One of the Taiwanese master student decided to gather all the asian students in Lund at his apartment. Though a little apprehensive initially, Avril, Andrea Huiling and I finally decided to go, and i manage to whip up Red Bean soup to bring as an entry offering...hahaha!!!! but it turned out pretty well, the party was great, and people there though all Asians, were as havoc and as fun as the previous international corridors parties that i have attended...i guess most asians here, since they are keen to leave asia and travel all the way to europe for an exchange, they tend to be more loud, open and crazy as compared to the stereotypically quiet asians in the eyes of the common europeans.

Taiwan, Taiwan, Malaysia, China
Japanese

Kengo(like Kengo Kuma) and me
Singapore trio(Andrea, Huiling and Avril)
Hiro(like Hiro Nakamura??) was both a superb residential cook and a fantastic musician.
Singapore, Japan, Malaysia

Calatrava's Twisting Torso

Water front warehouses...the industry beginning of Sverige(Sweden)

Today was a day of shopping in Malmo for chinese spices and seasonings mainly. however, while my rice-craving Malaysian friend and Pluto-loving chinese friend were going GAGA over their chinese sauces and stuff, i was busy looking for my Lentils, Mustard and Cummin seeds and Masala spices...haha!! i'm pretty sure i'm part indian somewhere...haha!!!!

anyway, the best part of the trip came after the shopping...me and Vivian decide still we had no happening parties to go to tonight, we migh as well go to *drumroll* THE TURNING TORSO, by Santiago Calatrava...Wooohoooo!!!!!! hahaha!!!! my first visit to the great architects work which i have only read in books...it was like a pilgrimage...hahaha!!!

it was actually not as big as i seemed from far, but it was really TWISTED!!! and it seemed to lean slightly too. i guess the rational for the steel spine that runs along one of its sides is sort of justified by Calatrava's TWISTED intention, plus the wind load is pretty heavy there. but well, apart from it being twist, it didn't look much different from normal skyscrapers...same boring surface treatment and stuff...maybe all the budget was spent on resolving its from structure. too bad we couldn't get in...

Malmo Art Musuem

Malmo Art Museum...now this is a real castle...haha

golden section in the real world...

Foreigners?

Lunch outdoors on the grass during our Tomelilla site vist...studios should be outdoors=]



phenomena: foreign student gathering together eating, chit-chatting and basically occupying our space, breathing our air and contributing to the sound pollution.

response A(locals): stares and grumblings amongst themselves.
response B(Foreign students): carrying on occupying space and making noise

realise some time ago while having dinners with the NUS Business peops, that we were doing exactly like what 'Ah Tiong' do in singapore, gathering amongst ourselves and partying in a foreign territory...hahaha!!! and we think that the local sweds might actually be feeling like how we feel when we see a bunch of 'Ah Tiong' doing that. But well, there was one thing different, we invited a complete swedish stranger who just happened to wonder into the kitchen to have a pitiful bread and jam dinners...compared to our MEATBALL Fiesta, think it not just that we over-estimated our belly-capacity, but also out of courtesy i guess=] bet he was pretty happy...haha!!

anyway, first week of sch, and we have a 3 week project to convert a SLUGHUS(ie. slaughter house(ie. where piggys become porkies)) into a community center. in my entire 2 yrs of archi, i had the longs site visit ever...2 full 8am to 5pm days. and it was not the best experience since its an ex-piggy-massacre site...those who watch SAW, imagine the toilet where the 2 victims were trapped in, after the guys sawed of his leg.....freaky right...
this little piggy when to to the market, this little piggy wen to town, and this little piggys...became BACON

where piggys rode the freezing carousel.

todays blogs shall be about FOOOODDDD.........ahhhhh........
Day one, kena con to buy a 10 bucks pie, didn't even noe wats it it.....had half for lunch, and half for dinner.....sigh

dinner gathering with the NUS business students........5 sausages and a bowl of LEAVES, shared amounts 8 people....
just joking.....that was also e attempt to make swedish BALLS and fries...hahaha!!! thought the sauce was very very salt....BeT our BALLS could give IKEA's a run for their money...hahah!!
Tao Gei......the day we attempted Kinesiska(ie chinese) cooking
the day at Kaseberge...authentic grilled herrings and mash potatoes.....we were all HAPPY!!!...
packed lunch for our first site visit.....sausages, fries(leftover from dinner), home cook salsa/bolognese and 2 sour plums.....looks better then it taste though...
and finally, my dinner for e past 3 days and hopefully 3 more to come....penne with mexican bolognese(ie same salsa/bolognese as above....cook a whole big pot on sunday so i can skip cooking for the week......I AM SO SMART!!!!)

kebabs....falafels....and pita....my Staple over here during those first few days...hahahaha!!!!! and they're the cheapest and most delicious take outs....

Sugar carrots....according to my over-enthu, hyperactive German friend Martin=]

Glimmingehus, Kåseberga and Ales Stenar

Yesterday was the orientation field trip to 2 'touristy' sites in the Skåne(pronounced 'Sko-ne') which is like the southern most region of sweden...

first site was the Glimmingehus, a medieval castle build by some vice-king who was also a pirate. to me it was more like a large cottage then a castle, but i guess if there's a moat, its a CASTLE....haha!!

nope this is not the castle..haha..its like a barn beside the moatthis is the so call CASTLE!!!...big huh??..hahaha!! well done Adam van Düren(ie the ar-chiii-tek)

the second site was a fishing village of Kåseberga('ko-ze-ber-ger')...this place was breath taking, but it was so DARN windy......plus they have authentic SWEDISH FOOOODDDDD!!!!! yumyumyum.....mind u, not the meatball u find in IKEA,but seafood...like Sill Och Mos-grilled herring and mash potato....best meal i've had since arrival.
view of the fishing village...haha!!! why am i climbing a hill?? well apparently there's like a Swedish Stonehenge on top of the hill....
TADAAAA......the puny swedish stonehenge....hahahaha!!!!=] known as the Ales Stenar
check out how strong the wind was....lucky i have short hair...=]

Hello from Sweden

Hello from the land where every house have an apple TREE(who needs NTUC fo apples when they could just pluck it out of the tree in their garden...haha), the land of Absolut, Volvo and Ericsson, and i must add...the land of beautiful cemetries(they are like gardens, non of those freaky chinese ones...)hahaha!!!!!
here's the central cemetry park path....above is a beautiful tombstone with birdies...haha!!

Anyway, everything more or less fine here, and things are actually getting better as the week progress...the weathers pretty windy here, but if it doesn't rain, its a hell of an AWESOME weather(imagine a bright and sunny aircon room....haha

I'm finally here....

Arrival day in Lund

A start to a BEEEEAUUUTIFUL day=]
suns shines,
winds blowing,
got so much done,
yet there're so much that is yet to be done.
hmmm............

oh well...Congrats Brice and Sophia.................
may you guys remain happily together till your silver-hair days=]
SEEYA IN THE RODA SOON....hahahaha=]

~maybe.......just maybe.....~

Another year old........
though i've many wishes that i would like to wish for,
but this year round i'm just gonna hold myself back.
instead, i'll try to be happy and to be contended and grateful for wat i have and wat i done.
hahahahaha=]

ps:
to H.A.C., thankz dragging me out of studio and making this day a special one for me. and no worries, the shirt fits...hahaha

to Juls, thankz for the taking time of to make me one of your pretty bands....it'll be permanently on my hand from now on......do u noe, i still rmb u for being the first to give me my present when i was j1...hahaha THANKZ=]

to GOSH, thankz for the little companion. Now i shall nvr be lonely again....=] and i've decided to name it Pepete.....Pep for short....=D
to ACJC Canoeing team 03/04, thankz for taking the afford to help boring-me celebrate my 21st....and thankz for the wallet....hahaha!!!! my old one was really that unsightly huh??...hahaha
to my studio mates and archi comrades, thankz for taking time of P3 and helping us(benita & shijie) celebrate our birthdays...u guys make all those sleepness nights and sadistic crits worthwhile......THANKS !!!!!!

and to all those that has wished me happy birthday in one form or another........i'm sincerely touched and in debt to all of you......"Thank you" isn't enough to describe how much i appreciated you guys. but i shall say it anyway....THANK YOU!!!!!

~now i know how lucky i am...~

Thieves Market...

When there's a buyer, there's a seller....
my site for the next 12 weeks.....

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

Management Lessons:

1. Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3. When you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said,

"I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions."

The feet said, " We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go."

The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money."

And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!

Management Lesson:You don't need brains to be Boss. any asshole will do!

Useful Expressions for Highly Stressful Days...

1. Well, aren't we just a ray of fucking sunshine?
2. Not the brightest crayon in the box now, are we?
3. Do I look like a fucking people person?
4. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.
5. I pretend to work. They pretend to pay me.
6. You! Off my planet!!
7. Practice random acts of intelligence & senseless acts of self-control.
8. I like cats too. Let's exchange recipes.
9. Did the aliens forget to remove your anal probe?
10. And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be...?
11. How many times do I have to flush before you go away?
12. Aw, did I step on your poor little bitty ego ?
13. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
14. I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.
15. When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.
16. Earth is full, Go home.

holidays 23hrs and 20 mins away from its end....
and another new semester starts....
can't say i'm not looking forward to more design,
but somehow, i'm a little 'hamji' too...hahaha!!

oh well, just got back from backpacking with Stace, Tim and Juls...
and all i can say is...
I'm happy, contented, and all ready to start sch now=]
to Evan and Eugene of The Havenguest House....Well Done guys...u guys made our stay there better than it could have been and as memorable as it could have been...=]

~only one more thing missing~

If you don’t go into the kitchen,
you won’t get burn,
but you’ll go hungry

how do you tell a person he/she is doing something wrong?
or in more often than not, doing minor wrong-doings such as:
speaking too loudly;
interrupting another during a conversation;
bringing up topics that might seem really inappropriate or irrelevant;
now, this would have been difficult if it was between friends,
I know friends are suppose to be honest with each other,
but, who could feeling a friend off not affect the friendship that ties 2 friends together?
and if the person ain’t a friend, but our parents or elders?
how then can one be honest without being seen as rude??
once again, this proves the point that,
humans are the toughest people to get along with……

anyway, a switch of topic…..
what happens to a relationship after marriage or the addition of a child?
in my opinion, it should be no different than when both parties first fall in love.
no matter at which stage,
doesn’t love mean that one would be always excited and happy to be in the company of the other?
mustn’t one always feel fortunate to have found the other and hence shower one another with constant gestures of love?
shouldn’t one be only complete when he/she is in the present of the other and hence every moment of separation serves only as periods where one learns to treasure the other even more?
the reason why I’m bring up this is that
I’ve sort of noticed being home and around my aunts and uncles this few day
that there seems to be no affection between any on them.
maybe I’m being a little over-sensitive and naïve,
and that when love matures, tiny gestures of affection no longer are important
but its just weird to feel like
the marriages around me all lack a certain sense of love.
even simple actions like: hugging, holding of hands or even any form of greetings or contact are non-existence.
its like they’re just stuck together and tied down by the bonds of marriage
marriage becomes like a burden and is no long the sacred union of joy it was meant to be.
and I know,
that’s not what I want.
what I want is,
being as in love or more with my half even when we’re all creaky at our joints and the big 90 (hopefully) is round the corner.
ever since 80 year olds out on a date and showing more affection for one another than just-married-couples?(without over doing it of course…)
that’s where I want to be then.

~relax and reflecting~

Life is Short, so break the rules...
Forgive quickly,
Believe slowly,
Love truly,
Laugh uncontrollably,
And...
Never regret anything that made you smile...
Every Little Smile can touch Somebody's heart

Have a great day....

Gone Going-Wong Fu Productions

when u think of what u dun hav.....think of wat u hav..

Wong Fu - I'm Yours

why our better halves are called BETTER half...