28/09/2014
Life is Gold
The past few months of my life has been an absolute whirlwind... From exams, to major life events, to travelling, to battling crazy jet lag and now officially this:
We are headed to Australia!!!
'We' meaning the Babz, which is short for Baboons – an embarrassing name that I gave us a long time ago and it just stuck I guess? And the Baboons consists of: Nicole, Lixian, Kim and I. Did you really not know this?
After graduating next year, I'll be off to France yet again for half a month. My returning flight from France will land in Singapore at 2:15pm on 3 April, and my flight to Aussie is at 10:25pm on that very day. I will have to go home, switch out my clothes and rush back to the airport. Talk about jet lag and the amount of exhaustion 48 hours of travelling will bring. I pray that I don't die.
I'm so dizzy with excitement... 186 more days!
P.S. A new post on France coming up!
10/08/2014
The most epic National Day yet
It seems to have become a tradition for the four of us to spend every National Day together with Nicole's family. This year, we decided to make sushi for our annual picnic affair. Met up early with Nicole and Lixian to scramble around NTUC for ingredients. I think the hardest part of making sushi is seasoning the rice. Apart from that, everything else that flops can be saved with excessive amounts of mayonnaise. We even mixed the mayonnaise and wasabi to create a divine concoction. This will please even the non-wasabi lover!
Like old times, we crammed 7 people in a 5-seater car. It's always quite the experience!
Whenever I tell someone I'll be at Gardens by the Bay watching the fireworks, they immediately think of the iconic Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and the three flowers sprouting out of nowhere. But no, we actually watched the fireworks from Bay East. (In fact, I don't think you can actually see anything from the main site of GBTB.) I think not many people know of this place. It is actually one of the gardens that form GBTB. Located directly opposite the main site of GBTB (across the Marina Bay at Marina East), it has a clear panoramic view of the entire city skyline and unobstructed view of the fireworks.
After settling down and laying out our picnic mats, we decided to go get llaollao! Doug came along too. If you have been to Bay East, you will know that it is almost inaccessible unless you have a car or a pair of very strong legs. Driving was not an option for us so we just had to rely on the latter.
After contemplating the many routes we could take, we decided to go with Uncle Paul's suggestion which is to walk to the National Stadium and take a train to Marina Square. It didn't look that far on our iPhone maps, but we actually walked for a good hour before reaching the stadium.
I was already mentally prepared for a snaking queue at llaollao. When we reached, the queue wasn't very long, but by no means was it fast-moving at all. We moved a metre every 10 minutes, queued a total of another hour.
After this, we decided we weren't going to take a train just to end up walking another hour. Instead, we got out of Marina Square, walked across a few malls, crossed a few roads and Doug led us through this shady muddy grassy patch to get up an expressway. Thank God we brought along a man with a good sense of direction, because I wouldn't be able enough to save the other 3 street idiots this time. I can't believe we actually trekked through the middle of nowhere, crossed humongous drains, and climbed over the handrail of a staircase just by the expressway when cars were whizzing past, to get up here. This is the most #yolo thing I've done in a long while.
The view from up there was spectacular! Even in the gloomy weather, Singapore has never looked so beautiful. Not even from atop the Singapore Flyer. We were just in time for the national flag and F-15 fighter jet flypast. I don't know what it is about aeroplanes, but every time I see one, I just feel so much euphoria, adrenaline and happiness, I'll even get the goosebumps. Maybe I'm weird, but maybe you feel the same way too? I don't know. All I know is that I fucking love aeroplanes.
The night ended with fireworks, which I do not have a pictures of, but I did record a short clip which I will insert right here:
After the whole parade ended, we heard some loud music from what seemed like a party going on in the distance at Marina Barrage. We decided not to take the car back with everyone else but walk over and check it out instead. So we walked down the entire of Bay East and across the dams to Marina Barrage.
Turns out the party wasn't all that happening, but the music was still good. We sat and chilled for a while, watching people dancing like clowns, before we really had to go or we'd risk missing our last ride home.
I had such a great National Day. Although we walked lengths I've never walked before, and done things that I would never have imagined myself ever doing, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Like old times, we crammed 7 people in a 5-seater car. It's always quite the experience!
Whenever I tell someone I'll be at Gardens by the Bay watching the fireworks, they immediately think of the iconic Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and the three flowers sprouting out of nowhere. But no, we actually watched the fireworks from Bay East. (In fact, I don't think you can actually see anything from the main site of GBTB.) I think not many people know of this place. It is actually one of the gardens that form GBTB. Located directly opposite the main site of GBTB (across the Marina Bay at Marina East), it has a clear panoramic view of the entire city skyline and unobstructed view of the fireworks.
After settling down and laying out our picnic mats, we decided to go get llaollao! Doug came along too. If you have been to Bay East, you will know that it is almost inaccessible unless you have a car or a pair of very strong legs. Driving was not an option for us so we just had to rely on the latter.
After contemplating the many routes we could take, we decided to go with Uncle Paul's suggestion which is to walk to the National Stadium and take a train to Marina Square. It didn't look that far on our iPhone maps, but we actually walked for a good hour before reaching the stadium.
I was already mentally prepared for a snaking queue at llaollao. When we reached, the queue wasn't very long, but by no means was it fast-moving at all. We moved a metre every 10 minutes, queued a total of another hour.
After this, we decided we weren't going to take a train just to end up walking another hour. Instead, we got out of Marina Square, walked across a few malls, crossed a few roads and Doug led us through this shady muddy grassy patch to get up an expressway. Thank God we brought along a man with a good sense of direction, because I wouldn't be able enough to save the other 3 street idiots this time. I can't believe we actually trekked through the middle of nowhere, crossed humongous drains, and climbed over the handrail of a staircase just by the expressway when cars were whizzing past, to get up here. This is the most #yolo thing I've done in a long while.
The view from up there was spectacular! Even in the gloomy weather, Singapore has never looked so beautiful. Not even from atop the Singapore Flyer. We were just in time for the national flag and F-15 fighter jet flypast. I don't know what it is about aeroplanes, but every time I see one, I just feel so much euphoria, adrenaline and happiness, I'll even get the goosebumps. Maybe I'm weird, but maybe you feel the same way too? I don't know. All I know is that I fucking love aeroplanes.
 |
| Flying towards Bay East |
 |
| Bay East – If you look closely, you can see many white specks which are flashes from the cameras of the hundreds of people enjoying a picnic there last night. |
The night ended with fireworks, which I do not have a pictures of, but I did record a short clip which I will insert right here:
Turns out the party wasn't all that happening, but the music was still good. We sat and chilled for a while, watching people dancing like clowns, before we really had to go or we'd risk missing our last ride home.
I had such a great National Day. Although we walked lengths I've never walked before, and done things that I would never have imagined myself ever doing, I wouldn't have it any other way.
07/08/2014
Lost sheep
As I slowly progress further into the final year of my studies in TP, I'm constantly hounded by the thought "What next?" Every other day, my parents will ask me what do I intend to pursue in Uni, then they will bring up "Oh So-and-So Uni offers an accounting degree!" In school, we occasionally have informational talks about job prospects in the accounting career. But...
Just a few years ago, accounting was a subject I actually found joy in doing. The satisfaction in balancing that balance sheet, all you fellow accounting students out there will understand. Fast forward a few years, and boy am I struggling. I no longer balance my balance sheets, I have difficulties doing well despite studying hard. I'm not the worst in the cohort, but I'm almost there.
Then I stop to think, am I stupid? Why is it so hard for me to do well, when there are others who excel effortlessly? Why can't I grasp concepts as quickly as others? I knew that I wasn't the brightest child, but I never once thought that I was a stupid. However, coming to Poly has made me feel like I was wrong about myself all along. A huge part of my demoralisation is attributed to comparing myself to the smart ones, which in this case, is 80% of the cohort. It feels horrible to lag behind, and I'm not the type to find the will to keep going in an environment that only brings me down.
I know that Uni is only going to get tougher, faster, more unforgiving, competitive. And I have decided that this isn't the path I want to take. Over the years, partly due to the fact that my hard work has never paid off, my interests for accounting have run dry. I want to pursue something I truly enjoy.
One thing I know for sure is that I like to write. Prior to being exposed to the internet, I always penned my thoughts and daily happenings in diaries. I created my first blog when I was 9 (I think hotmail erased my old email though), and I have been blogging ever since. Writing journals and compositions in school has always excited me. I had once attempted to write a novel with a friend, though we never got round to finishing it. I know it's not much, I don't dare to say that I have a burning passion for writing, lest I get punched by budding authors out there, but it has been something I enjoyed doing leisurely for as long as I can remember.
You're probably thinking that I'm a shitty writer. Well I think so too.
Just a few years ago, accounting was a subject I actually found joy in doing. The satisfaction in balancing that balance sheet, all you fellow accounting students out there will understand. Fast forward a few years, and boy am I struggling. I no longer balance my balance sheets, I have difficulties doing well despite studying hard. I'm not the worst in the cohort, but I'm almost there.
Then I stop to think, am I stupid? Why is it so hard for me to do well, when there are others who excel effortlessly? Why can't I grasp concepts as quickly as others? I knew that I wasn't the brightest child, but I never once thought that I was a stupid. However, coming to Poly has made me feel like I was wrong about myself all along. A huge part of my demoralisation is attributed to comparing myself to the smart ones, which in this case, is 80% of the cohort. It feels horrible to lag behind, and I'm not the type to find the will to keep going in an environment that only brings me down.
I know that Uni is only going to get tougher, faster, more unforgiving, competitive. And I have decided that this isn't the path I want to take. Over the years, partly due to the fact that my hard work has never paid off, my interests for accounting have run dry. I want to pursue something I truly enjoy.
One thing I know for sure is that I like to write. Prior to being exposed to the internet, I always penned my thoughts and daily happenings in diaries. I created my first blog when I was 9 (I think hotmail erased my old email though), and I have been blogging ever since. Writing journals and compositions in school has always excited me. I had once attempted to write a novel with a friend, though we never got round to finishing it. I know it's not much, I don't dare to say that I have a burning passion for writing, lest I get punched by budding authors out there, but it has been something I enjoyed doing leisurely for as long as I can remember.
You're probably thinking that I'm a shitty writer. Well I think so too.
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