A longer post will be coming soon, but for now have a list!
Things that I discovered in Oxford:
1) Pimms are the most awesome thing ever and I should have more of them. They have supplanted vodka for me.
2) My friend Natasha has a really awesome house/apartment
3) Every pub claims they have the best fish and chips. I haven’t really decided which ones I like yet.
4) Oxford colleges are HUGE
5) I need to create a Cambridge itinerary as good as Natasha’s itinerary, stat
Showing posts with label relax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relax. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Leaving on a jet plane
In 5 days' time, I will be in the UK. From then on, I'll be staying for one year.
The entire process of preparing for the trip was stranger than I imagined it to be. For someone who didn't like lists, I started making a ton of them and checked them off religiously. I met up with all sorts of people, and found that some of my acquaintances should actually be my friends. I realised that keeping in contact isn't that hard to do. I have a ton of letters that I will be writing to everyone.
I also realised that packing up your life into suitcases is hard. Even though I'm only going to be there for just 1 year, the things that I will need are quite surprising. The decisions that I've made in what to bring - gadgets, creature comforts and all that - have been very interesting.
I expect to travel. I've been told that I ought to visit Belgium, and I am definitely going to visit Paris. A lot of the students want to go to Amsterdam, though I'm not quite sure what the attraction there is. I might go to Vienna, or visit Italy again.
Or I might just take endless walks and train rides all over the place. Rambling is a good pasttime, and Cambridge looks like a fun place to walk around. I am sure that there will be things to do there.
Plus my family says they want to go back to Leicester to take a look at how it has changed since we've been there. It should be exciting.
The entire process of preparing for the trip was stranger than I imagined it to be. For someone who didn't like lists, I started making a ton of them and checked them off religiously. I met up with all sorts of people, and found that some of my acquaintances should actually be my friends. I realised that keeping in contact isn't that hard to do. I have a ton of letters that I will be writing to everyone.
I also realised that packing up your life into suitcases is hard. Even though I'm only going to be there for just 1 year, the things that I will need are quite surprising. The decisions that I've made in what to bring - gadgets, creature comforts and all that - have been very interesting.
I expect to travel. I've been told that I ought to visit Belgium, and I am definitely going to visit Paris. A lot of the students want to go to Amsterdam, though I'm not quite sure what the attraction there is. I might go to Vienna, or visit Italy again.
Or I might just take endless walks and train rides all over the place. Rambling is a good pasttime, and Cambridge looks like a fun place to walk around. I am sure that there will be things to do there.
Plus my family says they want to go back to Leicester to take a look at how it has changed since we've been there. It should be exciting.
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Dinner and Dance 2012
The dinner and dance last night didn't go too badly. I wore a lace dress that I had been specially saving for this occasion, and I wore boots. I even painted my nails with the red colour that I had been saving all along. And then I trotted out of the house.
I got to the dinner and dance way too early, as usual, but it turns out that they had nail and hair counters at the dinner and dance. Thinking that I might as well do something with my hair, I told the hair dresser to do what she liked. What she liked turned out to be tying part of my hair back, but not in one solid piece. Instead, she layered and teased my hair such that the tied up portion was an intricately woven mass of curls. I really like it!
Naturally, I got teased by Little Boy M, who had already teased me beforehand about taking leave to do up my hair. (For the record, I took leave to stay home and sleep.) They were rather impressed with the hair dresser's styling. I got quite a few compliments on my hair the whole night.
I also took a lot of photos. I have 5 printed photos, a few on my phone, and a few more on other people's cameras. Given that most of the dinner and dances I spent sitting around and eating and chatting, this was the dinner and dance with the most photos, apart from the dinner and dance that I organised in my first year.
Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't get to chat much with any single person. Instead, I bounced around a lot and chatted to people here and there. I think my team felt rather neglected, because they all left without me. We didn't even take a group photo of everyone who was there, though we did have a small group photo of our table.
This year's MC was genuinely funny, and the performance items were quite nice too. It went much better than the other time we used an external MC.
All in all, as I said, not bad!
I got to the dinner and dance way too early, as usual, but it turns out that they had nail and hair counters at the dinner and dance. Thinking that I might as well do something with my hair, I told the hair dresser to do what she liked. What she liked turned out to be tying part of my hair back, but not in one solid piece. Instead, she layered and teased my hair such that the tied up portion was an intricately woven mass of curls. I really like it!
Naturally, I got teased by Little Boy M, who had already teased me beforehand about taking leave to do up my hair. (For the record, I took leave to stay home and sleep.) They were rather impressed with the hair dresser's styling. I got quite a few compliments on my hair the whole night.
I also took a lot of photos. I have 5 printed photos, a few on my phone, and a few more on other people's cameras. Given that most of the dinner and dances I spent sitting around and eating and chatting, this was the dinner and dance with the most photos, apart from the dinner and dance that I organised in my first year.
Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't get to chat much with any single person. Instead, I bounced around a lot and chatted to people here and there. I think my team felt rather neglected, because they all left without me. We didn't even take a group photo of everyone who was there, though we did have a small group photo of our table.
This year's MC was genuinely funny, and the performance items were quite nice too. It went much better than the other time we used an external MC.
All in all, as I said, not bad!
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Wanting to Travel
Wow, the new structure of Blogger is pretty strange. It looks more like Gdocs. Guess I'll have to get used to it, since I want to post more often.
It is now 56 days away from my flight date. Originally I wanted to fly on 31 Aug, but since it's a school holiday most people were flying off on that day. So now I am flying off on the morning of the 30th. My parents are going with me, and it'll be the first holiday I am having for a very long time. I wonder how it will go? My mom and I are tossing around the idea of travelling, but even booking the plane tickets was quite an adventure. I'm not sure how much easier travelling out of the place will actually be once we get to it.
Luckily, the group I am with all seem to be great travellers. I met up with a Korean couple last night along with a few other Singaporeans. The Korean couple was here on the way from Australia, and were extending a few more nights in Singapore. They're also going to drive around Europe just before school starts. In fact, they're the ones who awoke the travel lust in me.
They're not the only ones. There's another girl who's doing a grand tour of Asia right now, and I really wish that I could do that. I even have the Krisflyer miles. Maybe I could use that to fly somewhere. Although I should probably save it for my parents' trip when they come down to visit me in December. We are hoping to go to Paris, so that should be fun.
It is now 56 days away from my flight date. Originally I wanted to fly on 31 Aug, but since it's a school holiday most people were flying off on that day. So now I am flying off on the morning of the 30th. My parents are going with me, and it'll be the first holiday I am having for a very long time. I wonder how it will go? My mom and I are tossing around the idea of travelling, but even booking the plane tickets was quite an adventure. I'm not sure how much easier travelling out of the place will actually be once we get to it.
Luckily, the group I am with all seem to be great travellers. I met up with a Korean couple last night along with a few other Singaporeans. The Korean couple was here on the way from Australia, and were extending a few more nights in Singapore. They're also going to drive around Europe just before school starts. In fact, they're the ones who awoke the travel lust in me.
They're not the only ones. There's another girl who's doing a grand tour of Asia right now, and I really wish that I could do that. I even have the Krisflyer miles. Maybe I could use that to fly somewhere. Although I should probably save it for my parents' trip when they come down to visit me in December. We are hoping to go to Paris, so that should be fun.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Unexpected ramble
Unexpectedly, I found myself without any lunch appointments today after a whirlwind of going out with other people, so I decided to check out the cheap necklaces at this shop I passed by. That didn't take too long, so I decided to walk near Amoy. I usually walk along Amoy Street all the way to Raffles Place, but today since I didn't actually have to get to Raffles Place I took a detour.
All this while, whenever I look for places to go for lunch, the website always recommended Ann Siang Hill/Street. Given that I had never seen the place (my team rarely ventures to Amoy for lunch) I assumed that it was very far away.
It wasn't actually, it was two streets away from Amoy! And we are talking Singapore streets here, which aren't very far apart. I had myself a very nice ramble along the hill (really just a raised bump on the land). I think this blog post summarises it better than I did, though I didn't go into any of the shops: Tinyisland's post on exploring Ann Siang Hill and Club Street.
Along the way I saw:
1) Office workers from the hidden offices in the shophouses
2) Couples
3) Two Westerners in exercise gear flipping a giant tire
4) Random Chinese guys just walking around
5) Huge joss sticks at the temple on the corner. I don't know what the occasion is though.
All in all, a rather fun use of my lunchtime.
All this while, whenever I look for places to go for lunch, the website always recommended Ann Siang Hill/Street. Given that I had never seen the place (my team rarely ventures to Amoy for lunch) I assumed that it was very far away.
It wasn't actually, it was two streets away from Amoy! And we are talking Singapore streets here, which aren't very far apart. I had myself a very nice ramble along the hill (really just a raised bump on the land). I think this blog post summarises it better than I did, though I didn't go into any of the shops: Tinyisland's post on exploring Ann Siang Hill and Club Street.
Along the way I saw:
1) Office workers from the hidden offices in the shophouses
2) Couples
3) Two Westerners in exercise gear flipping a giant tire
4) Random Chinese guys just walking around
5) Huge joss sticks at the temple on the corner. I don't know what the occasion is though.
All in all, a rather fun use of my lunchtime.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Ramen and Bubble Tea
I realise that I write less on this blog, but I'd like to say that what I write is truer to myself. I was reading this post that I wrote on Flight or roots that I found especially apt now. But I'm not going to write about it right now when I'm at work and full and happy.
On the last two points, I am full and happy because of very good food. Here's where I try to make up names for the people in my team! It usually doesn't go well because even if I use initials, many people share the same initials, and if I use nicknames, I forget who I'm referring to. But anyway, all you need to know is that I went out with L, XY, T and her boyfriend to eat at Ramen Champion.
Ramen Champion is a very curious thing. It's a challenge where this company brought in about 6 different ramen chains from Japan for Singaporeans to try, and the one who wins gets to set up a chain in Singapore with the company that arranged the challenge.
I've been to the Ramen Champion shop about 4 times already, all with friends so I think I've just about covered the entire Ramen Champion! At last check, I only have 2 stores left to try - Gantetsu (Hokkaido corn ramen) and Tai-sho-ken (the other dipping store ramen). I will never try Bario personally - too much beansprouts.
Of the other 3, I dislike Menya Iroha. It takes like soya sauce to me. But I LOVE the other two. I'm a soup person - give me thick and strong broth, and I'm all over it. For Tetsu, the broth is exceptionally thick because it's meant for dipping, and I love it that way! Ikkousha has good balance of a soup base that's just nice and pork that is chewy and nice.
The Ramen Champion is in this shopping centre called iluma. It's undergoing some renovation now, which makes it even quieter than it was originally, but that's not a bad idea when you have a big group of friends who just want to sit somewhere and talk.
Another good point about iluma is that it has BUBBLE TEA. I'm a big fan of bubble tea. My favourite to date is Gong Cha's Earl Grey Milk Tea with Pearls, but Koi's Oolong Milk Tea with Grass Jelly can give that drink a run for its money. And that's what I had today.
So all in all, I'm pretty happy and I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day at work. =D
On the last two points, I am full and happy because of very good food. Here's where I try to make up names for the people in my team! It usually doesn't go well because even if I use initials, many people share the same initials, and if I use nicknames, I forget who I'm referring to. But anyway, all you need to know is that I went out with L, XY, T and her boyfriend to eat at Ramen Champion.
Ramen Champion is a very curious thing. It's a challenge where this company brought in about 6 different ramen chains from Japan for Singaporeans to try, and the one who wins gets to set up a chain in Singapore with the company that arranged the challenge.
I've been to the Ramen Champion shop about 4 times already, all with friends so I think I've just about covered the entire Ramen Champion! At last check, I only have 2 stores left to try - Gantetsu (Hokkaido corn ramen) and Tai-sho-ken (the other dipping store ramen). I will never try Bario personally - too much beansprouts.
Of the other 3, I dislike Menya Iroha. It takes like soya sauce to me. But I LOVE the other two. I'm a soup person - give me thick and strong broth, and I'm all over it. For Tetsu, the broth is exceptionally thick because it's meant for dipping, and I love it that way! Ikkousha has good balance of a soup base that's just nice and pork that is chewy and nice.
The Ramen Champion is in this shopping centre called iluma. It's undergoing some renovation now, which makes it even quieter than it was originally, but that's not a bad idea when you have a big group of friends who just want to sit somewhere and talk.
Another good point about iluma is that it has BUBBLE TEA. I'm a big fan of bubble tea. My favourite to date is Gong Cha's Earl Grey Milk Tea with Pearls, but Koi's Oolong Milk Tea with Grass Jelly can give that drink a run for its money. And that's what I had today.
So all in all, I'm pretty happy and I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day at work. =D
Friday, October 21, 2011
Down to the river today
Today I took the earliest train, and ended up at Raffles Place about 15 minutes earlier. I decided to use the extra time to walk along the riverside.
It's a good thing I did, for I saw a canoe race! They came from the helix bridge and paddled along the perimeter of the encatchment area past Marina Bay Sands and where I was standing. After that, they went past Fullerton Bay Hotel, the Merlion, Esplanade and ended at the floating platform. I even saw them hauling their canoes onto the platform.
All in all, a nice start to the morn.
It's a good thing I did, for I saw a canoe race! They came from the helix bridge and paddled along the perimeter of the encatchment area past Marina Bay Sands and where I was standing. After that, they went past Fullerton Bay Hotel, the Merlion, Esplanade and ended at the floating platform. I even saw them hauling their canoes onto the platform.
All in all, a nice start to the morn.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Surrey Bike!
I went out with Ling to the beach today. This is the second time that we've gone cycling together - the first time was 2 weeks ago. This is really fun and I really should have asked her to join me a long time ago, since I live so near to East Coast. However, Ling lives really far away and that's why I was surprised that she would be willing to go cycle by East Coast. Maybe I should ask Tracy to cycle with me? (she has odd working hours though...)
East Coast has really changed a lot. Now there are concrete paths right by the sea front. Although it covers up a bit of the grass (the beach is left untouched) but that actually means that people can sit near the edge without worrying about getting their pants/shorts/whatever dirty. And it's also easier to cycle your bikes to the edge.
Ling and I did that in a Surrey Bicycle. If you don't know what a Surrey bicycle is like, think about two bicycles side by side. Now imagine that they're held together by a frame, complete with a canopy. Then replace the bike handles with steering wheels. Ta dum! You have a Surrey bike. If you think that is a little unwieldy, it IS. And yet we were able to cycle the bike all the way to the edge of the beach. It was kind of amazing.
It was equally amazing to just sit in the bike and watch the sea. Especially since halfway through it started raining, and so we just sat under the shelter of the bike and watched the rain falling on the water (and on everyone else). It wasn't a complete shelter - my right side got soaked, but it was pretty good.
I've never realised how calming the sea is until recently. Sitting on a tide breaker and watching the waves come in is one of the most wonderful things one can do. The waves break on the shore in a wonderful manner, and watching it flow in and out is calming. You can also observe which waves are bigger by how high it comes up on the tide breaker. And if you get tired of the waves, you could always look out to the ships sailing nearby. Or even just close your eyes and listen to the waves.
I was a little shocked at what happened when I opened my eyes at the last bit. Everything around me suddenly looked washed out. Turns out that the sun was a lot brighter than I thought, which also explained why it was a bit hard to look at the sea.
A Surrey bicycle is good for cycling and talking, because you are sitting side by side with the person you are biking with. And it's easier to make eye contact, rather than if you were sitting behind. We even were able to blast music from Ling's phone. Some cyclists even excitedly remarked that the Surrey bike was able to ride uphill. (Though it really took a LOT of pedal power!)
However, the same cyclists as well as roller bladers freaked us out because they kept coming near us, and our brakes were a bit wonky. We were so worried that we'd bowl them over! Not to mention that there was a friendly disclaimer on the bike stating that if we wrecked the thing we'd have to pay $1,500... And there was the need for pedal power uphill, and crossing our fingers and praying on the downhill bits. XD
Still, if the weather is good, I'd probably get a proper tandem next time. It's a lot easier to just stop and sit by the sea with a lighter bike, and it gets us to a lot more places. Not to mention that a tandem isn't likely to cost $1,500!!!
East Coast has really changed a lot. Now there are concrete paths right by the sea front. Although it covers up a bit of the grass (the beach is left untouched) but that actually means that people can sit near the edge without worrying about getting their pants/shorts/whatever dirty. And it's also easier to cycle your bikes to the edge.
Ling and I did that in a Surrey Bicycle. If you don't know what a Surrey bicycle is like, think about two bicycles side by side. Now imagine that they're held together by a frame, complete with a canopy. Then replace the bike handles with steering wheels. Ta dum! You have a Surrey bike. If you think that is a little unwieldy, it IS. And yet we were able to cycle the bike all the way to the edge of the beach. It was kind of amazing.
It was equally amazing to just sit in the bike and watch the sea. Especially since halfway through it started raining, and so we just sat under the shelter of the bike and watched the rain falling on the water (and on everyone else). It wasn't a complete shelter - my right side got soaked, but it was pretty good.
I've never realised how calming the sea is until recently. Sitting on a tide breaker and watching the waves come in is one of the most wonderful things one can do. The waves break on the shore in a wonderful manner, and watching it flow in and out is calming. You can also observe which waves are bigger by how high it comes up on the tide breaker. And if you get tired of the waves, you could always look out to the ships sailing nearby. Or even just close your eyes and listen to the waves.
I was a little shocked at what happened when I opened my eyes at the last bit. Everything around me suddenly looked washed out. Turns out that the sun was a lot brighter than I thought, which also explained why it was a bit hard to look at the sea.
A Surrey bicycle is good for cycling and talking, because you are sitting side by side with the person you are biking with. And it's easier to make eye contact, rather than if you were sitting behind. We even were able to blast music from Ling's phone. Some cyclists even excitedly remarked that the Surrey bike was able to ride uphill. (Though it really took a LOT of pedal power!)
However, the same cyclists as well as roller bladers freaked us out because they kept coming near us, and our brakes were a bit wonky. We were so worried that we'd bowl them over! Not to mention that there was a friendly disclaimer on the bike stating that if we wrecked the thing we'd have to pay $1,500... And there was the need for pedal power uphill, and crossing our fingers and praying on the downhill bits. XD
Still, if the weather is good, I'd probably get a proper tandem next time. It's a lot easier to just stop and sit by the sea with a lighter bike, and it gets us to a lot more places. Not to mention that a tandem isn't likely to cost $1,500!!!
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