Some lost time...

The coming of my first paycheck sort of marks my first month at my institute already. It's like.. so fast! I am yet truly amazed at how blessed my life is: integration into the environment was smooth, it's like what one of my colleagues say "I thought you were from another lab because you looked so at home here; no culture shock, nothing!" The initial transition period probably lasted less than a week. I am really really glad my colleagues were nice people, even a smile or a nod suffice.

Work was starting to pile once my upper left. I am thankful my dearest came back and everything's just as where we left off, actually even more. I am just grateful that whenever I need a getaway from work at the end of the day, she is the balm of my heart and soul. =)

The big gathering at K was another big highlight! Bon voyage SW! And it has really been a long time since we all came together, albeit CW couldn't make it.

79 gathering last week was cool too! Although only 7 turned up, I thought it was a good catchup! WJ looked ever so chirpy, E, though sick so radiant and all, TC looks the same haha, the same ueber yet humble person whom I admire during JC, SJ, a bit subdued I felt, but vivacious nonetheless, ZY turned FAIRER (OMG!) haha, YJ same reserved person... All looked and felt the same, but with an additional sense of fatigue, that probably discerns us from our more bubbly and naive selves years back.. Hope to catch up with people at TC's wedding definitely :P
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(L to R) K, T and I

Pink cab!
Victory Monument - near where our condo is
ZH and my room; look at the sparkling floor!!
Chinatown at night!
(L to R) KM, YY, T and K - guava chewing
This little boy followed from streets back!! Well cos he wanted some cash.. which our generous ZH gave..
Bird's nest soup - YY immersing in her dreams..

Bangkok trip must definitely be one of the nicest trips, all because we have T and K with us!! I am really glad we met years back, cos they are still the T and K I knew back then: vivacious, ever so willing to help, ever so playful and ever so terrific people... Thip got us 2 rooms, which are actually CONDOS!! I thought it would be hostels lo... But they are condos!! OMG!! Damn nice!

Multi-coloured taxis are everywhere!! There are even pink ones!! Took specially for XL to see haha :P

First day in Bangkok, T and K brought us on a FOOD TOUR!!! Chinatown's food is terrific!! ANd the watermelon juice, oh manz, I melted in that.. qooooooo....

Ok some randoms...

Did you know Thais like sugar in their fishball noodles?!?!?

I wonder...

Had a little online msn pep talk with SW... I believe this is the first time we ever had such a tete-a-tete with each other. The feeling's like back to JC... But let's just say we got to know each other a little better.

But before that was our penta-K-box session: CW,SW,YC,TP and ME!! Damn cool la!! When the K Box kakis combine power ahz, it's damn fun one lo HAHA!! It's been quite a while since we come together to sing le and I am glad to see them manz... CW came in formal, although I am working I went in my normal tees and jeans... A bit off, and YC as usual has to point it out HAHA.. O well, then there's the ever so vivacious SW and TP hasn't seem to have changed LOLX... Wonder where's yz, haven seen her for a while too... O well, but K was really fun, more yelling and screaming than singing, really... haha, well the beauty of it all is the connection I guess :P When everybody starts to work, then hard to meet up also le... CW ends late then I might OT, then YC too far to centralise, TP prob too much stuff also, SW rush projects and stuff, so I guess hold on to whatever there is ba...

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Anyway, last stop Hanoi!! Met up with the sweet couple, Ph and her fiance (ok I admit I forgot his name, so sorry!!). They brought us around and even paid for our food!! So paiseh but when we tried to alleviate some financial burden, they said it's part of the Vietnamese custom that guests come they will treat... Then well nothing to say lo, but THANK YOU!! And we visited the Ha Long Bay with the stalactites and stalcmites, and its natural beauty. Well, no wonder it is a candidate for the natural wonders of the world.

Tennis at NUS

Tennis is really a sport I haven't got a chance to really explore. Well it seems I might just have a chance to play it every week now that my colleagues are pretty into it! Today tennis is at NUS, but 1 hour's a little too short.

Shit, I forgot to take picture... NVM next time i will try to take... Gotta know lots of my colleague's AD's friends. They seemed a pretty closely knitted bunch of friends, maybe cos they are from the same church. In any case, it was pretty fun time hanging out with them and playing tennis with J and PT.

After our short tennis matches, with me the most clownish of them all, we even went for a 2.4km run!! Ok more than 2.4km cos we ran the outer rounds; damn it was good!! The power of having people to run with you is amazing!! Being no longer in Redhill, means I lost YC as my running partner; not that we run regularly together anyway, in fact it was only once, but nonetheless... And the 3 of them can really run - JJ, HJ, AD!

After which we went to an Indian restaurant to eat Indian food.. duh... Got introduced to Naan, smaller and supposedly healthier version of prata, and Dhal, the soup and some other wholemeal pratas (?!?) Couldn't rem the names haha! It was really cool chilling out there, where I listened to them talk about their past, their current jobs and current situations etc...

I, as a fresh graduate, realised I am in league with (other than married men and women) experienced people who are willing to share their working experiences and life and I am glad I am so blessed once again to be meeting such nice people. Reminded me of lunch today where guy colleagues, think almost 12 of us, sat in a coffee shop and talk rubbish and lunch at the same time. Though they are much older, I was having so much fun listening to them talk. They are VERY entertaining indeed. And realised CB's a running fanatic, jio-ed me to run Standard Chartered *faint*.. Let me consider... HAH! Anybody else wanna join?

AD's planning to get married, stepping into the Hall of Fame for married men at our level 3, HAHA! Seriously, everybody's either married or married with kids, even J whom I thought looked so young (but much older) actually has a 2-yr-old daughter!! Gosh!
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Last day in Hoi An brought us to the late kings' mausoleums, 2 of them only actually, the supposedly more representative ones. Forgot the names, think they were Tu Duc (cos I think the Vietnamese pronounced it very intriguingly nice haha) and the other one dunno father or son of Tu Duc. One representing the romantism, the other forgot wat LOLX. But both are pretty nice la just that they probably have become worn out after years of war and rampage and disuse, and of course nobody actually uses them.. But it took us half the day to actually finish visiting the places, with the guide giving a lecture on both. SERIOUS! A LECTURE! Well ok nvm. HA!

YT with El's work of art haha!!

Our lunch!! nice hoh..

Seriously 古色古香, an obvious influence by the Chinese

tour guide said this was a true replica of a man then - a bit vertically challenged hoh..

another statue

Subsequently we embarked on our final destination in Vietnam - HANOI! Where we will meet Ph!! And of course her fiance, who is her legal husband now as we speak. Woohoo! Overnight train was the same arrangement... Somebody commented I got a tummy... I never knew I had one HAHA! Ok well, at least given the amount of exercise I do, I hope I would never get one... So I showed her my waist pouch under my shirt... zzzz... but it's quite funny cos nobody has commented that on me before. Something to think about.. HA!

train station
Wonder what's the ice for? Anybody can answer me?

Reminiscence

Was finishing the last batch of stuff from my drawers. Saw the 3 autograph books there. One from each phase of my academic career: primary, secondary, pre-U. They definitely do bring back fond memories. As I read through the entries and recall how my friends were back then and how they are now, and I recall all the good old days in the classrooms or class benches, I realised how circumstances have changed. Perhaps many of the friends would have changed here and there (well even I have) the basic personality might not have? It's funny looking at the comments your friends wrote about you back then, then u started asking yourself "Wow, how much do they still hold true now?" I wonder... But well whatever the case is, the books do bring back good memories :P

But I am grateful I got to know the people I have met throughout my life. Like my dear's fav quote "Everything happens for a reason, even if it doesn't seem so now..." I suppose it does and will in due time, at some points in life. Oh well, time for bed.
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Ok "today" we arrived at Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, hence has some of the UNESCO world heritage preserved sites as well. Enroute, we passed by the Thuan An beach! Supposedly one of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam. So we wouldn't miss the chance of seaside photos, would we? Still remembered some weird people wanted to get free notes from Singapore out of us...

老翁垂钓

Compbio 到此一游！！

And also my apologies, the previous post,Perfume River, is actually from Hue!! psps... LOLX... My bad. Arriving in Hue, we took a cruise down the river to this Thien Mu pagoda, which is the symbol of Hue, and the Imperial Citadel, which houses the Purple Forbidden City (sounds like 紫禁城, but a bit far off in terms of stature) and the ancient royal palace, which was torn to dilapidation and ruins by natural disasters, wars and revolutions. They were preparing for the Vesak Day celebration, so they even brought elephants!! Cool!

Thien Mu Pagoda

(Hungry) carps are considered auspicious...

Imperial Citadel
The Palace

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Lonely footprints, care a walk mit mir?

Sat@Home

Suddenly I realised the preciousness of a lazy Saturday :P ... morning only that is...

Well, I guess for now I would definitely need the rest. Things are still a bit unsettled, though my room is mostly done, with my clothes and all moved in... There is still quite a bit of space to store some more stuff!! Well, I am surprised indeed. For 2 persons worth of clothes, we indeed do not require a very big wardrobe *recalling "Sex n the city" Carrie's wardrobe*

"Sex n the City" was indeed a blast I feel, all packed with witty dialogues and definitely not excluding the U.S.-drama-serials-formula of hunks and babes and erotic scenes and innuendos... But well, it's all in all a show filled with emotions and flesh-and-blood and sentiments nonetheless even if you minus the sex (well it's SEX and the city) and whatever else that comes with that. No wonder the drama series have excellent review and no wonder the cinema was full... I enjoyed the show pretty much and was laughing and grinning my way through. I dunno about YC though, he seems pretty quiescent though he was the one who suggested watching the show...

Good to know that I am mixing well with my colleagues. Getting a little awkward fitting in but was happy to note that people are making the effort, and I should make mine too. Had a beer party yesterday at work!! Though it's not really fantastic, the turnout was pretty good I guess. I went to grab one can with some of the guys... IV was there too, dint see the rest of the girls from my level though. Just one can got me quite a bit of non-itchy rashes from yesterday night till today. Dun think it's worth it haha cos I think let's just say I still like German beer.

If you realised, I have been using only initials nowadays. My convention would probably be following the syllabus of the name. Read an article on blogging yesterday and realised that I am subjecting my friends to possible danger by stating their names blatantly out in this supposedly-only-friends-come-but-not-in-actuality place. So I shall refrain, to save my friends from more harm. In any case, people who knows what I am talking about will know la. All for the greater good :P
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Third day, the overnight train took us to Da Nang then a coach ride to Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage town, because also it preserved one of the oldest buildings in Southeast Asia. Seriously, a little petite town, still filled with vibrancy though when you decided to walk around the place. True to the rainy season, it started to rain again. But this time, dunno if it's because it's a lady tour guide, she was more meticulous to our needs apparently. We had raincoats!! Albeit flimsy ones, at least there's something to block the rain off. Ya, I tore my raincoat yes.... We strolled along the *edit* Thu Bon River in the rain.


The hotel was superb!! I love our room manz, it opens up to a small swimming pool!! And they have flowers on the beds haha.. Find it damn cute. Seriously very nice. No complaints manz, plus the service was very good too!



Now now whose idea was it to put flowers to ward off the smell of their socks?
Despite tiredness, we played Taboo and cards and drink Vietnamese beer, think it was Saigon beer. It was great fun!! HAHA... Laugh until we spit beer LOLX... Amazingly I dint get any rashes! Weird, something they dint put which the others did.... Not a beer person apparently....




And we celebrated ZH's birthday!! Terrific way to have a birthday celebration in a posh-looking Chinese restaurant with friends all around and the tour agency gave him a cake and flowers! The restaurant auntie gave him a hug!! HAHA!! Damn funny la! The girls made him carry the flowers all the way to Hue lo haha...

ZH, EV and I decided to have breakfast on our own, so here is our first 路边摊 food - beef noodles!! I like the food :p Definitely a touristy little town lo... But nice.

My Office Desk

I got my desk at work today as well!! With my own phone and desktop to boot... Though I haven't gotten my desktop, I heard I gonna get a 19" (or was it 22") screen, and a dual core desktop CPU!! Ok big screen... haha...

Well but I am on probation... Hopefully I get past this stage to be officially employed... My boss looks like a no-nonsense guy with high standards... So I think I will have to work harder.... Things are still shaky at the moment definitely, as in nothing's festgelegt; room's not ready, work's not totally taken over, everything's a mess. But oh well, quite trivial actually everything haha; alright i am just complaining... And I got my second upper so who cares? Oops, did I mention I got my second upper? LOLX.. Thanks to my FYP distinction LOLX and I have this sentence to thank: "I have full confidence in you." Think it contains "alot" of meanings in there HA! O well, now I AM officially in the working world.

I am truly grateful though, to my upper, Adrian, for painstakingly taking time off to teach me the complicated ropes and he even offered to teach me via MSN after last week!! Think I can't find a better teacher than this.. And also to Chee Seng, for making me feel at home and always lending me a hand... Well, in the house of married men, I can only say I have lots to learn haha...

And TC's getting married!!! Congrats!! Haven't seen the lucky girl =P I am sure they make a good couple. I better mark that day on my calendar and that makes 2 married frens liaoz... *edit* TC's going MIT to study phD, and his wife-to-be is following him there. All the best!!
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Second day at Vietnam was off to the Mekong River!! One of the longest river in the world, flowing through more than 5 countries!! I like water - rivers, seas, lakes etc... I think I have a certain affinity with water, though I dun exactly love swimming, I love diving. Anyway the trip to the river was really cool... Went to visit this Kampong-like place where we tasted coconut beer, sweets, delicious cart food, play with a python, play amongst bees and honey, sat on a donkey-driven cart and ate delicious fruits which are head-sized big!! Amazing!! Pictures speak a thousand words~~~





Our lunch was filled with fish... Hahha, the big round thing is actually fish cake!! It's empty inside but a bit sweet and crispy when you bite. The whole table is full of seafood lo!! Check out the fish in Kang Min's hands! Think it's a piranha!!

After the day out at the river, we head out to the train station for an overnight train ride to Da Nang and Hoi An, a world heritage town. Overnight train ride was another big experience. We divided up 4 girls and 3 guys. Things that guys do and girls do when they r bored are so different.... HAHA! Well for us, we just fish out a laptop for a versus fighting game!! And check out the thing that I and Elvin bought for breakfast - eggs with the embryonic veins popping out, meaning the chick embryo is in formation... Looked so dodgy and to me it looks a bit irksome.... Well, we disposed of it, cos creepy just by looking at them.... ie we went without breakfast... *edit* Apparently this thingy, according to Tipin, is a delicacy from the Philippines, called Balut... The Wiki images give me the creeps...