Maybe bcos i am not a christian, Christmas has always been just another holiday for me. I will stay at home with family, mahjong, logcakes and pizzas then that's all. The Orchard Road of Singapore will be packed with party-goers and somehow i think most of them are like me.. just in e holiday mood. For the past few years, I attended some Christmas Church services with friends and finally quite understand the meaning of Christmas but then again.. e festive mood doesnt resonate inside me. It is only when i am now here in a foreign land (where Christmas is indeed everything for them) for the longest period of time that i truely appreciate Christmas. It is this year that i had the most wonderful Christmas ironically. =p Reasons are as follow:
1) New CultureChristmas is a very big thing for the North Americans. It is such a big thing that they decorated their streets extensively but then on e eve of Christmas and Christmas Day, they don’t come out at all! They stay at home with families (so sweet). It makes me miss home. I guess it is e equivalent to our Chinese New Year which maybe that’s why our Christmas holds less meaning?
2) Wonderful CompanyI arrived at Vancouver British Columbia on 21 Dec. The plane was delayed and I arrived at 9pm instead of 7pm. Luckily I have friends to welcome me this time. Had Iranian dinner with my best friend Augustine and his friends and now my friends too – Kirk and Adam.
22 Dec was the day when I finally can have some rest from traveling. It is finally the day I don’t have to sleep with my mind open cos living in those backpacker hostels isn’t exactly safe. People can just steal your things. I didn’t go out the whole day and the slept for e whole day. Had a Korean dinner at Robson Street, Downtown Vancouver. Oh my god, I have to admit that Vancouver has a lot of good food. And looking at the Korean outlets they have and the authenticity of the yummilicious K-food can put Singapore to shame. Woo Ram, you must come here some day! After that I went to catch a movie (my virgin movie experience outside Singapore haha) called Blood Diamond. I think girls should watch this movie before they decide to make diamonds their best friend. Lolx
Me at Downtown Vancouver:
Korean Food with my favourite Kimchi:
23 Dec allowed me to go down and visit Simon Fraser University. Seen snow for the first time! Then I went to Metrotown for some shopping and Hot Pot (Huo3 Guo1) dinner. Then I went clubbing too. Vancouver is too boring in terms of the club scene.. Maybe cos it is Christmas and
many went home but Augustine said it is usually this boring..
Snow! But it is just ice..
Me at Simon Fraser's. Scarf is made by my Sis-in-law Karen. Very comfy!
Sunset at SFU (it's only like 4pm)
Sorry, i forgot e name of this lake
Lockers that i see in movies but not in NUS:
Jinzhan inside an egg mirror:
Terry Fox is from SFU!
Kwan on Sky Train:
Augustine abandoned me on 24 Dec and I am left to occupy myself. It is this time when my Angel of Hope cum JC classmate Ivy gave me a call and I went down to Seattle on Amtrack coach bus to meet her. The feeling is like the Amazing Race! I checked out the departure time (5pm) and I have one hour to pack and go. This turned out to be the best decision I have made so far for I had so much fun with my crazy Ivy and her friend Charles!! Haha..
Abandoned and alone to Seattle forcing a smile:
25 Dec was fun and exciting. In the morning, after Dim Sum breakfast, I made a trip to Mircrosoft. Charles works at Microsoft as a software engineer. My camera went out of batt and I have to wait for Ivy to send me e pics b4 I can post them. After that I went to Seattle’s Space Needle. Actually it was quite nothing much except I know that Seattle has 36 inches of rain by shaking my head as though I had estacy (people who have been here will know what I mean). Saw the Key Arena and unfortunately there was no NBA matches as it was closed due to X’mas. Went to Pike Place Fish Market but it is closed too. We took some nice pics. Oh we also went to see the first Starbucks. =p After that was dinner at Brasserie Margaux. No pics for now as i have to wait for Ivy to send me as my camera low batt =(
26 Dec is Boxing Day and it is e day with huge Sale!!! I didn’t know about this b4 though. People usually go to queue at stores as early as 7am. I saw splashes of words like “50% off!” “70% gone!” Haha. My plan is to be driven back to Vancouver. Went to Aberdeen Centre at Richmond and had Food Court food for lunch and it is super nice. For the first time I felt like I was in Asia (Hong Kong esp) as I didn’t see that many ang mohs. Dinner is at Guu – a famous Japanese restaurant. Ivy and Charles common friend Linda joined us and the company was great. Linda and Ivy stay at San Jose and I can probably visit them when I go down to San Francisco. =)
27 Dec started at 10.30am as Ivy cannot wake up in time I guess haha.. Had Tim Horton’s doughnuts for like breakfast then we went to Stanley Park.
Me and Ivy (it was freezing cold but we took off our jackets.. VAIN! haha)
Lions Gate Bridge
Thunderbirds at Stanley Park:
Lunch is at Chinatown with Hong-Kong-style dishes. Tour around Chinatown after that and went to Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Garden. After that we went to Granville Island.
Gosu Photographer in action:
Dinner is at Prima Taste where I have my Singaporean dishes after such a long time. My all-time favourite mee goreng, laksa fried rice, sweet and sour pork, roti prata.. yum yum..
Super full.. Sg food is still e best!
28 Dec was a rather lazy day for me. Didn’t have such a good day as I quarreled with someone. Had Vietnamese lunch (cheapest meal I have had and e food was great!) along Main Street. Went to University of British Columbia for a visit. Beatrice, the place looks great! =p Dinner was at Feng Shang, a Taiwanese restaurant and the food was great too. The bubble tea here was also good. I ordered my favourite strawberry milk tea and e taste was e best I ever had. The cups were huge too. But of course more expensive la.
3) Been to so many places
(See above)
4) Great Food(See above)
5) Happy NewsTo top it all off, I am very satisfied with my performance last semester. My CAP improved by 0.09 and I think that’s a lot! I hope I can still do e same when I return after my exchange. Super happie!! =p Thanks to all my friends, esp Junqi, Su Ling for e tips and advice! Xinhui (studied with me the most), Stella, Wan Jun and Cedric for studying with me this sem. Ok la, Jiehao too for just one day (he only had one paper..)
2007 is coming soon. i hope everyone enjoys great health and blissfulness. =p tata~
I am going to do a long post.. just bidded farewell to my X'Mas party creature plus JC crazy pal Ivy.. abit sad.. haha.. but it's ok.. at least i know she is doing great! =) will update soon. need to rest for a while and upload e pics! stay tuned!
hey.. haven't been here updating yet.. i will soon k? once i stop moving around. haha.. i have gone up to vancouver, spent 3 nights there. Then now i am in Seattle! with one of my college best friends plus cantonese teacher - Ivy Li!!! haha.. i got so many things i wanna post.. just hang in there ya, loyal readers. haha =p
I pre-empted a problem and the problem really surfaced.. the ang mohs really cannot pronounce my name.. some of them are really nice and they tried to get my name correctly pronounced but some just make fun of it.. i don't wanna change what my parents gave me but i also dun wanna them go around laughing about it. So here are some of my choices:
- Jay Zee [JZ] (which is highly discouraged since there is this rapper out there.. it will be akin to a girl calling herself madonna)
- CT [Ching Tian - my dialect name] (but it sounds cheezy)
- Chris (i always like the name chris)
- Julian (i always like the name julian) - Jin (pronounced as "Gin" - is it cheezy?)
- Open to suggestions
Help...
This morning when i woke up, i started to webcam wif my twin. Almost immediately, my head started spinning. As much as i try to dismiss this thought of jet lagging, i tink it is hitting me real hard, after flying 4 times within 3 days but i think i am quite of a pro now at flying haha.. i know where to go and stuff.. of course not as much as my elder bro and bro-in-law who get to travel around for business so often. I went back to sleep and woke up at 1.34pm. I dont wanna screw up my body clock. And hey talking abt body clock, my mum is right: i am suited to stay in the U.S. or Canada cos I am rather nocturnal and always sleep very late. Haha.. I really think i am starting to miss home. I just love my family too much! But i must be strong and set good example for my nephews and niece. Just ate two pills of Panadol Extra and i think it really helps! Luckily i also packed some lozenges and my throat is feeling so much better now. The air in Canada is very cold and it makes your throat really dry.Ok today is just going to be a simple day. Will shift into augustine's place when he is back from work and then i am going to get myself another nice jacket that can be used when the one my bro gave me becomes dirty. =p
21 Dec 2006
Today I woke up at 6.15 am. I need to get back to UCLA Tom Bradley International Hall to get my travel documents. Had pancake breakfast again, though I am starting to get quite sick of it. I think I am becoming really good at making unburnt pancakes. One girl said I should get myself employed here to make pancakes for the tenants. Haha.. Ok the trick is (Xinhui, Miaohui and Gabriel listen up):
1) Scrap away all the rubbish on the pan – it should be smooth
2) Be generous with the oil unless you are really sure that the pan is non-stick.
3) Don’t be too ambitious - start by mastering how to make small pancakes
4) Control the fire unless you want to eat burnt carbohydrates
5) Flip over only when bubbles are forming at top layer
I always enjoyed cooking, just that I don’t have much time to explore this field yet. Somehow, I think a great organic chemist will make a good cook. Buying good ingredients is akin to shopping for the necessary chemicals off our favourite Sigma-Aldrich. After that a cook has to prepare for the cook, like washing and chopping, much similar to me dicing/slicing the sodium metal or grinding the KOH pellets. Next is the temperature control which cannot be more emphasized for both cooks and organic chemists.
Anyway I was quite sad at breakfast today cos I am bidding farewell to Flo and Luis. They are very nice to me for the past two days and we can really talk to each other very well. I wonder when I will see them again. =(
After breakfast I head down to UCLA with Luke – a new friend from Australia who is here on exchange too. I am so glad I have him to help me tow my luggage, especially up Gayley Avenue which is a long slopey road. Anyhow, I think I can apply to be an immigration officer for U.S. I think I know the inside out and stuff already. Ok my problem is that I arrive earlier to LA to settle my some private admin stuff such as a cell phone line and a bank account and register with UCLA then I wanna fly up to Vancouver for a holiday then back to LA before term officially starts.
Ok, for students studying in US, generally you are given either F1 or J1 status. There is no much difference in the privileges (depends on what the university likes to give u) except that F1 status allows u to hang around in U.S. for two months after the program ends while J1 only entitles one extra month. Either both allows u to enter U.S. earliest one month prior to the start of the program. I was given F1 status and I entered U.S. first and I thought that since my F1 status is already bestowed, I would be allowed back to U.S. after my Vancouver trip. I pre-empted this problem and even emailed US Embassy based in Singapore and they said I shld be fine since I shld be allowed back as my program has not started. However that’s not the case. When I entered U.S., I noticed they stamped on my I-20 form (the form that give u the F1 or J1 status) and then I realized shit – my I-20 is used and I cant use it to re-enter U.S. Lucky me.. I went to check with UCLA and they said “Ya, u might have a problem coming back.” I should have entered US first on a visitor status (Singaporean visitors/tourists do not require US VISA if the stay is less than 30 days) then re-enter US with my I-20 form after my Vancouver trip.
Goodness, so I did the necessary travel arrangements again and managed to survive. Another Tip: for those who plan to go outside US (e.g. Mexico or Canada) during the period of Exchange Program, u need to do the same for the above. For UCLA people, u need to look for the really nice Jeremy Wintringer – he is the man. But u need to do it two weeks b4 the flight. Only special cases and for people as friendly as me can get this done in less than 24 hours. Kidding.. =p
Oh ya another tip, when u arrive to US, u will be given this small slip of paper stapled to the page of your VISA. It is called I-94. When u exit U.S, make sure the officer tears it away but sometimes they are lazy and they leave it there. So when u re-enter US make sure u show them that form so they don’t re-issue. You cannot at any one time hold two pieces of I-94 as that will mean there is two of you (yes u cloned yourself) in US. Haha..
The check-in for my flight to San Francisco at LAX is rather scary.. Singapore Changi Airport is definitely the best man. We are much more organized. It is so messy here. I managed to grab my boarding pass and head my way down for my United Airlines flight (hope it is good) after letting them scan all my stuff. I reach my departure gate really early.. so wait lor. My flight from San Francisco to Vancouver was delayed! It is supposed to depart at 4.27pm and end up we departed at 6pm. Augustine waited for me since 6.45pm (Vancouver time) and I only reached at 8.45pm. Ok I owe him one. I was really thrilled to see him.. mainly cos I felt much safer with him around and I don’t need to fend for myself anymore now that he is around. Finally I can sleep with peace, not fearing people might steal your stuff and you have to lock things away..
To my family, especially mum (ok she cannot read but please tell her), I am safe now and don’t worry. Tomorrow I will be around to webcam with you guys at about 11.30am Singapore time onwards =) And for those who wants to catch me.. I am online then. =p
Due to my limited Internet Access at the moment, i blog using MS words and save them for uploading later.. here goes:
20 Dec 2006
Today is a much beautiful day. I felt much better and afresh. It is technically my last day b4 i fly off to Vancouver. I got up early at about 7am and with a mindset to get more things done today. Oh and i met Charlyene (My fellow MOE attachee to CHIJ St Theresa's Convent) at USA Hostels Hollywood and i was really thrilled to finally meet someone i know.
I made pancakes! First attempt was terrible but subsequently i think i am very good. The people in the kitchen were amazed by me. Haha.. And there was this guy - he tot i was an ABC and was surprised that i can speak mandarin.. i think some people in sg dont know how impt mandarin is!! it connects better. i was excited to use mandarin lor. And about national pride.. i agree wif my friend.. u will be proud to be singaporean when u are in an overseas setting. i dont know why but i am proud to be a singaporean and i am really sad tat people guess if i am from.. erm so far, the first guess is Hong Kong then Taiwan and Korea then Japan.. no one guessed China haha maybe cos of my english.
Anyway, after that i made my way down to UCLA. Met this really kind lady with two super cute kids. She gladly told me where to alight [Take bus number 2 along Sunset Boulevard towards the west]. Met up with Danilo (He is a guy) - the exchange program incharge - and got registered and then made my way to Tom Bradley International Hall to settle my visa reentry thingy. Later had a tea session with international students after my Westwood Village trip. heehee
I made my way down to Westwood village to get my T-mobile US phone line. my mobile number is 1-310-XXX-XXXX (email me if u want). it is a pre-paid card that makes calling within US is cheap (better than the bloody public phones). i have asked - from any part of US and any network/companies like Cingular Verison (these companies are quite exclusive and they like to only connect wif each other. Oh T-mobile also offers the least dropping rates (yes the phone call will suddenly disconnect - thats how i lost many coins to the public phone). its network ard UCLA is also one of the best.oh i have asked around. T-mobile pre paid card is e best one for us cos we only there for 6 months. 6 months here dun allow us to sign any contracts. Do buy the 1000 min top up (USD100) and starting already 150 min (USD 50) but if u dun upgrade it will expire in 90 days. i upgraded the maximum - as reccomended by Jason so in the end i paid USD154 for 1150 + 15% min (since max upgrade makes u a gold reward member).
Ok i tried to save money by not eating lunch.. then when i was walking ard Westwood.. i suddenly felt VERY giddy. i had to sit down by some bench.. i drank alot of water (i bought a bottle of mineral water the first day and i used it to refill) but it doesnt help. so i went to grab a bite at some Hawaiian BBQ stall reluctantly. The portions are really huge and i cant finish. I packed it back and decided to use it for lunch tomorrow or dinner later.
I went back to Bradley Hall. It was a nice stroll back up from Westwood Village. I realised i need an extra signature somewhere and it is only ready tomorrow. So i guess i have to go back to UCLA tomorrow b4 my flight.
Dinner was at USA Hostels Hollywood. They had a BBQ and it just cost 5 bucks. I joined in and i realised my appetite was bad (I think i cannot go for buffet in US.. e food is not for me). Had a good chat with Flo and Luis who were back from Universal Studio. Alex asked if i wanted to join him for a midnight movie called something something before christmas (sorrie i forgot) but i gotta do alot of stuff so i turned him down. Was quite sad that i am gg to say bye to these wonderful newfound friends in such a foreign land.
Tata~
Wah managed to survived thru my first cold cold night.. i tot i would die from frost lor... now i am on my bed using my laptop... it is now 744am.. i slept at about 9pm yesterday.. later i MUST meet my friends from UCLA. I made new friends! Alex the american, 20 he has super funky hair, from Vegas, Flo the german, 23 and he is a non-identical twin studying physics, who is half way thru his exchange and Luis the mexican, 23 too studying food science, who has finished his exchange. They brought me around Hollywood boulevard at night and damn.. it is VERY VERY cold... different from during the day.. and their sun sets around 5pm that means more colder than cold temperatures.it is rather exciting if not for e cold.. but then hey.. i got what i wanted.. it is always my dream to walk along the streets of US with cold wind blowing against u and u have to tug tightly under those jackets.. jus that in reality it is not that fun.. next time just watch such scenes in e movies is sufficient.. been there done that now.. =p
oh another thing i cant get used to is e beggars and homeless ones. they r super pro active.. they just come up to u... some of them are taller and bigger sized than me so i felt threatened.. Alex told me to say no to them in a stern and convincing way then say god bless them (ironic) and they will be nice. Singapore ones are plain lazy.. just sit there and waitg for things to drop literally.
ok gtg.. need to eat the make all u can pancake breakfast.. flo wanna show me how to make pancakes.. ciao.. =)
p/s: the photos hor.. erm need to wait la... i dun have a table and it is difficult to plug in camera and stuff.. i will host/post it somewhere next time.. =p
Wow.. here i am in LA... but i am too flustered to blog now.. need to organise and orientate myself first.. later~
"Happy Birthday to u, Happy Birthday to u, Happy Birthday to Beatrice and Jianhui... Happy Birthday to u!!!" =)
Their birthdays always remind me of my coming birthday.. but it is ok.. we shld all treasure our birthdays for we might never get our next one. Jianhui, hope u had a great day. Beatrice dear, a close friend whom i keep close to my heart, take care k? =p
Today i met up with some of my other best friends - Amelia, Daylene and Harvard. Went to Vivocity (nice and near my house) again.. i really think the Food Republic there is nice.. these few days i have been savouring local dishes... gonna miss the food for the next 7 months.. 
Ok i promised to upload more of my best friend's wedding pics, from Mingli's camera. Speaking about cameras, i have gotten my Canon Ixus 850IS. It is a great camera! It is my second most expensive possession (laptop number 1) so i am going to take great care of it. =) Looking at these pics made me feel that we have all grown up.
Presenting Mingli, Shuqing and Jinzhan: 
Jinzhan and the bride: 
Mingli and Jinzhan: 
I realised i dont have much time left.. still got so many things to buy and so many people i wanna meet.. managed to do quite a few things today:- got my flu jab (S$20) - small needle, quite painless; i am usually not scared of needles
- went to collect my transcript but realised it is not ready, gotta collect on monday
- went back to lab
- went down to Automobile Association to get international driving license (S$20) - dont follow the online map: it seems very near somerset MRT but it is NOT.. i walked a long long way. Buses there are: 32, 195 and one more which i forgot
- went down to Diners Club at Beach Road to get my free gift
- went down to Vivocity to get my thermal wear (S$59)
- going to meet hall people
Going exchange is not cheap lor... Applying VISA (>S$300) and accomodation stuff (~S$30) also sucked some of my savings away. i still haven't added in my step-up transformer (S$30) and one more set of universal adaptor (~S$10) which i bought yesterday just after i went to cut my hair (Yes i cut my hair.. it is very thin now..) and before i met up with Chun York at old Tiong Bahru Market. Yes i am going to miss that place. Actually yesterday was the first time i was there after it is renovated. Now it is more spacious and hygenic but then i felt it was quite wierd. I still miss eating at the old crampy warm place with the various fish and pig stalls behind you and with smelly water underneath your slippers while you happily eat your wantan noodles/chwee kuay/oyster omelette (whoever eats with me gets to eat all the oysters cos i don't eat them) and sweat away that kind of feeling. The good thing is there is a carpark now. Bad thing is the ventilation is pathetic but there are those umbrella seats which offer a much cooler atmosphere.
I intend to make this entry a short one but then everything just came out. My thoughts are very disorganised too.. nvm la hor? =p
Went for my best friend's wedding.. Shuqing is my dearest friend, i have known her since kindergarten. We have been in the same class too in the whole of my primary school education as well as sec 3 and 4. This implies 10 years of being in the same class and 18 years of friendship.. and still counting.. I am more than honored to attend her solemization ceremony, held at Beach Cabana, East Coast Park. Also met up with some of my dearest friends like Mingli, Baozhu and Limin. =) I havent gotten my digicam.. only manage to have a pic on my hp.. expect more pics to come regarding her ceremony after i receive them. =)
Went to Si Ma Lu Temple today to pray with my parents. After that went to OG to shop for some luggages. Here is one pic of my mum.. she looks like a snow queen, literally. =)
Ok now i am going to Tiong Bahru Plaza to make one pair of new spectacles.. ciaoz~
Okay i think i should post more pictures so let's see what i have..
On
Saturday i went out with beatrice!! I am so gonna miss her!! =p Had nice teppanyaki dinner @ Food Republic in Wisma.
On Sunday, I went to Yum Cha, a Chinese Restaurant for dim sum lunch. Went to the Chinatown outlet. =)
Here is the pic of my parents and my twin with me:
Nephew Chit Min, Sis and Nephew Sean seemed to have alot of fun in the MRT:
Then we all gather at Sis' place and gossiped about the Star Awards. I usually don't give a damn about it but with my family.. it is a nice entertainment! Haha.. tata~~
Ok must keep a good habit of blogging.. can offer a reflective insight about your life and I can try to make things better for a brighter tomorrow.. an avenue for self-expression too... it is very important.. especially for someone as expressive as myself... HAHAHA..Wow!! Managed to do alot of stuff today.. I am amazed by the number of things i can accomplish!Went to school early in the morning to meet up with my UCLA pals whom i will get to see very often for the next 7 months. Then after that went to NUS Student Service Centre with Xinhui to pay for my health insurance online and also apply for my transcript. The photocopier-cum-printer at the Student Service Centre is so cool! It is the BEST photocopier i have ever seen... noiseless and very smooth! The print quality is also very good.. =pAfter that i went down to find Lynette, my MOE scholarship officer and settle my claims. Then rushed down to Sim Lim Square with Xinhui to meet Stella and Zhikuang. Shopped around alot.. but i am not tired lei.. haha.. in the end i only got printer-cartridges, photo-papers, 2 X 2GB Mini SD Cards and a webcam which is quite a good-for-bargain deal. The digicam i have been eyeing - Canon IXUS 850 IS - is out of stock.. everywhere. Sighh... Shopped quite alot... i think i am quite tired out.. Was looking forward to dinner but end up my friend (thanks jeff pung) got unfinished businesses and cant leave... sighhh back to my maggie mee..will try to do more things tomorrow.. =) nitez world!!
After months of missing-in-action, i have decided to re-start my blogging again.. Well i think it is a good way of keeping track what is to come.. especially my new life in Los Angeles. And i wanna share this with my beloved family and friends =)The previous two posts were from my first blog.. it kinda stopped as i had no time to update them.. this time round i hope i can do a good job with my somewhat limited knowledge on computer stuff.. ohh i am such a computer idiot.. haha... and i gotta admit that i copied this blogskin from somewhere.. i think it looks very soothing... dont think i will change it anytime soon...anyway NOW, i wanna try posting some pictures.. testing 1, 2, 3.. here goes.. (i hope it works)
This pic was taken in US Embassy (Singapore) and it cost 10 bucks!!! scanned by Duan Xing.. i think i will print this out and use it there. =)
Additions..Wanna add that i am glad that i still have so many friends that care more about my birthday than me.. Like Beatrice, Jiehao, Joanna.. specially gather at the wuluu pandan Science Faculty just for me.. I received a slice of yummy Cheesecake from JH and Jo and a special book from bea~ Thanks!!The Trombone Trio plus Qijun, Robin and Paulene also dropped by my lab today.. they were utterly disgusted with my lab conditions..So many ppl wished me birthday too when i am back in hall.. Angie and Yiyu sang me my first birthday song today.. of course being led by a guilt-ridden Robin who is supposed to remember my bday.. wooram tried to pacify by saying he wrote down my bday in his calendar.. F**K OFF!! haha...Well, i am also being scolded by my UROPS boss today.. i dunno if i can pull thru... sigh.. luckily in my lab i got a nice UROPS senior and hwachong junior Junqi who can understand me.. but still.. sadzzanyway signing off for now.. tmr still doing lab..
Today is my 23rd Birthday... Seems like a good day to start blogging.. been wanting to blog but procrastinated about starting as i dun think i can commit to it.. or rather dont want to spend too much time on it.. am now super duper busy with UROPS!!! but then it can sometimes be an outlet for my feelings.. etc etc.. and also it can also be a place to share my photos with friends! esp one year from now, i will be in UCLA.. got more pics to post.. hahaThats all for e first post.. haa.. lazy..
