oldies

yes this is an update of my life.

welcome to the lunar year of the rooster. i am born in the year of rooster as well.. 24 years ago, that is. sigh.. nearing 24 in slightly more than half a year's time. nonetheless, the lunar new year is off to a decent start in terms of cash flow from blackjack. managed to cover last year's loss and got way more extra. i hope to keep this nice record until the end of the lunar new year celebration period.. when such activities will be deemed illegal.. haha.

back to reality, back to campus, back to school work. though i feel heat building in my body thanks to the unhealthy diet over the last few days, i have to power through and keep up to speed with daily classes and assignments. so yes, here i am back in the mundane life as i struggle to make sense of the things being taught and still hoping some internship application will give me good news.

came across a compilation of 90s hit songs as well this morning. started to feel nostalgic and been listening to old songs ever since. shall share some now and then until my music head is off the history books.. lol. until next time then, cheers.

backstreet

mounting

yes this is an update of my life.

chinese new year is this weekend.. good slightly-longer weekend to end the first week of tutorial. i can feel the pressure from the time and workload daunting starting this week. weekly tutorials and what not will be the norm until the end of the semester. what is worse is the projects from various modules have yet to kick in yet. bracing myself for those as well.

apart from the stress from modules, the need to find an internship this summer is looming as well. rejections from companies are just like break-ups, not matter how much you know they will hurt or think you are ready to absorb them, they still will hurt in an indescribable way each time. nonetheless, the difference is that the hurt from rejection by companies can be used as a motivation almost immediately upon occurrence. the other one takes no one knows how long to recover.

amidst the mounting of all the burden, i am glad that the usual TV series that i follow are back on air again. school days will past with greater ease thanks to them for they in a way force me to relax and take a break from the hassle of school. until next time then, cheers.

atlantis

personal time

yes this is an update of my life.

goodbye lecture weeks and hello to tutorial classes starting next week onwards. like it or not, i have to adjust to all the content of the modules already. i'm expected to do tutorials coming this week. have i had an enjoyable two weeks? yes and no i guess. i would not say whether they were enjoyable or not. i would just say they have be fruitful considering the things i do. not the lectures of course.. but the interviews and CCA commitments and the catching up with old friends.

wishful thought of someone who is taking 6 modules this semester: let's hope i can enjoy the little bit of chill time every now and then without affecting the progress of the modules. i know, from the past 5 semesters, that no matter the workload, personal enjoyment is a must to have.so for the semesters with crazier workload, my grades will tumble a little and what not. life's like that.. all about trade-offs. not sure if trading off decimal points from my CAP justifies my need for personal time. for now, i guess it is so.

this weekend also marks the end of the lunar calendar. chinese new year is in a week's time. in the past, i get really excited about such holidays. these few years, though i still get excited, there is a greater feeling to top it.. the surprise element. i will always be shocked that how time can really fly by you annually. when such holidays come it will feel as though the previous year's one has just passed. ohh wells, got to get to used to this instances. until next time then, cheers.

red

not to gamble

yes this is an update of my life.

for the first time in my entire NUS life, i got all my first-choice slots in the first round of tutorial balloting. for the past 5 semesters.. i either had to got through rounds of balloting and get slots that weren't ideal or manually register for them. i am so thankful for this sheer luck of mine. glad to be able to secure the modules and all the wanted tutorial slots with not much of a burden this round.

things happen in a weird way. couple of semesters ago.. i started off the semester with only 2 modules and had to pull hair to get my timetable right. ups and downs, they said.. maybe this up was to compensate that down back then.. lol. or it is a sign not to gamble during the upcoming lunar new year.

yeah not all about gambling is luck but still to "do well" in gambling, sheer luck plays a part as well. so maybe this up could be a warning or a hint to not gamble during that time. haha nonetheless, me deciding whether to or not pretty much depends on how much spare cash i have in the end. until next time then, cheers.

no combo

yes this is an update of my life.

so yeah.. not surprised that the record of updating of my blog daily has been broken the moment school started. no more consecutive combo anymore. i am back swimming in the deep oceans of year 3 semester 2. the first week has just begun and i hoping to have more free time already. too much things i want to do but too little time. of all the things, catching up with lecture isn't really inside. come on, it is just week one.

nonetheless, my aim of not missing classes without legit reasons is still in play. missed a lecture last week but it was due to an interview appointment anyway.. not those days where i just decided to stay in bed longer out of laziness. those days are over since year 1. yes, hall life took quite a toll back then. residential life did not deprive me of that much sleep time comparatively.. though i am told otherwise now and then.

week one. of course, i am still surviving. seasoned student.. lol. busy days ahead since there are things like tutorial bidding, chinese new year, CCA gatherings upcoming. until next time then, cheers.

boulevard

millenials

some of you probably seen this quite some time ago.. nonetheless if you haven't, you should.

amazing

the fat life

yes this is an update of my life.

in this case, probably the start of the fat life. what i have learned over the last two years is that somehow or rather i tend to grow a little fatter during the semester.. i don't know why. maybe due to the stress eating and drinking. no, drinking as in drinking sugared drinks.. okay mostly bubble tea.. but definitely not alcohol. so start of semester, probably start of my fat life. i can feel the urge to eat the moment school started. this is a bad sign.

moving on, today i rejected an internship offer and i hope i have made the right choice. personally, why i rejected was the fact that the outcome of the internship seemed to be very different from what i have hoped for or even have in mind. nonetheless, back to searching one that can give me a great experience that i hope. until next time then, cheers.

streak

yes this is an update of my life.

just done unpacking back into my room in PGP. ready for the semester.. finally. bidding rounds 3A and 3B please be merciful for me to get the last module i want. the next round of headache will be tutorial balloting as well. will be keeping my fingers crossed until next week.

moving away from bidding and balloting of classes, i foresee a really busy week ahead. very fortunate to have couple of interviews and applications pertaining to internships. though i have to fly from place to place now and then or even miss a lecture, i hope it will all be worth it. some may think i am a little crazy piling stuff up like that. i know the challenge and what not, especially considering the fact that i am not that smart in terms of CAP.. but still every action and decision i have made is due to the fact that i feel the need to do so in order to make full use of my second half of college life. in the short run i might regret the stress and what not but i'm sure in the long run i would be thanking myself.

just realise i am on a streak ever since 2017 began. been posting daily. hmm.. let's see how long this will go. of course, every year i still aim to not go missing from this platform for too long. this place is  also a good place to chill after all. until next time then, cheers.

second half online

yes this an update of my life.

here it is, the final weekend before the start of school. i don't know why but i somewhat look forward to the start of year 3 semester 2.. probably because the strong belief of 2017 will be better is still burning in me. nonetheless, the mundane routine of bidding is almost over. i have the 5 main modules as of now. trying to get the 6th one during the first week of school.

moving back into campus tomorrow as well.. going to be a tiring Sunday before the start of class of Monday. the first week of school will be packed despite tutorials not starting until week 3. i have CCA commitments and couple of interviews to head to as well. nonetheless, i really hope second half of year 3 will be better and more smooth sailing than the previous semester. until next time then, cheers.

let it out

big mess

yes this is an update of my life.

almost a week into the new year and i feel that i am using more energy than i hope to. of course for good things not things that waste one's time and effort. bidding for modules have always been a painstaking and troublesome thing to do in NUS. however, at the conscious level i didn't feel anything this time.. i guess my conscious mind just chose to feel numb about it. subconsciously, however, i think the inner me is worried 24/7 about.. hence the slight fatigue. tomorrow will be another round.

apart from that, been cleaning the big mess of a room i have as well in preparation for the lunar new year. i rarely do such thorough clean up but ohh wells.. has to be done. been going around the island shopping for gifts and clothes as well and meeting with old friends to catch up and what not. if you know me well, i have this social battery. whenever i socialise the charge from it will be used and the only way to recharge it will be having my own me-time. the social battery is running a little low hence the need for me-time before the weekends where i have to move into campus and prepare for the new semester. until next time then, cheers.

shatter me

flag in the ground

Alishan-Taipei

so, here is the post i promised about the awesome trip to Taiwan with the family. it was my first time to Taiwan while the rest of my family members have been there at least once previously. anyway, through the rough one week trip to Taiwan, we headed to two main places, Alishan and Taipei.

shall highlight my general thoughts first.. haha. i find Taiwan's service sector rather patient and polite as compared to Singapore's. the transport system there is definitely very efficient and smooth. however, the pedestrians there are kind of silly since they refuse to let passengers exit before boarding a bus or train. gosh, love the 7-11 stalls there. so good and cosy and cheap.. plus some even allow you to dine in as well. okay, let's move on to the pictures.

the last time i was on board an aeroplane was about 8 years ago when i went to Thailand for OCIP during my secondary school days. here we were at Terminal 1 departure where there were tons of Pokémon exhibits. midnight flight isn't a joke. irregular sleep and we touched down in the early hours of the morning.

took high-speed rail towards Alishan right after breakfast. i was pretty amused by its speed which hit around 300km/h now and then. cool thing was you would not really feel that you were moving that fast unless you looked out of the window and saw how things were passing by so quickly. 

so on the car ride up the mountain, we stopped by this place with high bridges and a temple. too bad we could not afford all the time to explore the higher bridge. nonetheless, the scenery around was breathtaking. by then, we could feel the change in temperature already.

here i was with my zodiac sign. so for those who are really curious about my age can do the simple math. gosh, time flies, the next lunar new year will be the year of the rooster. still remember being happy 12 years ago when it was my zodiac sign's year. now, i am just feeling frantic that time is moving at this speed.

finally reached Alishan and had our first lunch. warm lunch in a cold weather.. perfect. we were going to stay there for only a night hence we aimed to explore the entire place within that afternoon and so we did. the scenery there is really really nice. those pictures above are some of the many pictures i took during the rough 3 hours of hiking. lots of stairs and hills.. i was glad that my parents, though of age, are still young and active enough to hike through the entire trial. of course there were comical times where fatbro and i had to wait for them to catch up.

if anyone were to head to Alishan, i suggest exploring. though there are little trains to bring you around, exploring on foot is totally incomparable. good experience, good weather, good sights, good atmosphere.

by the time we reached the place of our residence, it was evening. those white stuff in the pictures were actually clouds. you know, those clouds you see in the middle of mountains in textbooks and what not? yeah that. that is something you will never get to see in Singapore. a warm steamboat ended our day hike in Alishan.

people talked about the sunrise in Alishan as well. having travelled so many hours up the mountain, we could not give it a miss. so glad that the weather was clear enough for us to witness it. from what i heard, if there was fog or drizzle, no one would be able to witness the cool sunrise. those pictures were taken prior to the sun popping up from behind the distant mountains. what follows will be snapshots of the sunrise.

such times make be very grateful for the burst function in an iphone camera. i could just press and hold the shutter button to let it do its thing while my naked eyes witness it not through a screen. the entire sunrise took less than half a minute. well, waking up at 4+ in the morning was for this irreplaceable half a minute.

the entire day was mostly traveling back down to Taipei. this time, we did not take the high-speed rail. decided to save a little money and took the regular locomotive. close to 6 hours of train ride. torturous for the butt but i managed to catch up on my sleep. visited Shilin Night Market and started spoiling myself with guilty pleasures. the muah-chee there was cheaper and greater in volume compared to those we have in Singapore. fried sweet potato balls were a great favourite as well. however, among all the food i tried, the most unique one was definitely the potato strips as seen in the last picture. very long queue and a little pricey but worth a try. you could choose various sauce to mix with those strips.

the following day was mostly exploring the area around Taipei Zoo. in the morning, we headed up the cable car to explore yet another mountain.. haha. had some fried egg pancake which was so good that words cannot describe it. lunch there was a typical noodle soup. cheap and tasty.

back down at the foot of the mountain, of course the Taipei Zoo. guess. take a moment and guess the entrance fee. well, for adult entry, it was just S$3.. haha. i was so shocked at the price and wondered how they could actually survive. until now.. no answer. yeah the conditions inside isn't as fantastic as that of the expensive zoo back here but common, i get to see rare animals like pandas and koalas without paying for two entrance fees. take that, stupid Singapore Zoo.

dinner was just exploring another night market. however, this time the place was nearer to our hotel. the first picture is potato covered in flour and topped with whatever toppings of one's liking. i think i had bacon strips. not exactly how i pictured it would be but damn.. the cheese was so good and addictive. 

the bowl is actually goose noodles. yeah, you read that right.. goose. my first try at that meat as well. its texture is like that of duck meat but the after taste is really strong. i figure some might not like it because of that.

heading to a new country ought to lead us to exploring the history and story behind the country.. yes, so we did. can't remember the exact name for this place but we headed there, where a museum based on Taiwan's history was present as well. fortunate enough to watch the live show of the change of guards. didn't video it for the place was packed with tourists and few locals. furthermore, nothing beats the gift of sight as well.

the museum trip was kind of enriching too. i seldom read on countries' history unless they appear in my textbook and what not. Taiwan for sure did not and so i was intrigued by the displays and short abstracts along the way.

staying in Taipei definitely calls for a trip to the landmark of Taipei 101. to be honest i find that the trip up was really expensive.. similar to those of Singapore Flyer. it is sort of something that one trip is enough for a lifetime. we are allowed up to 90+ floors only but definitely good enough to view the tiny buildings around the tower.

that big yellow ball thing behind me is some heavy ass shit that holds the building upright. tall buildings bound to have that somewhere near the top to keep the structure upright, resistant to strong winds and weather. learning something new everyday.

gosh the lift in Taipei 101 is the fastest in the world as well. the time it brought us to 80+ floors is the same as the slow ass lift in my HDB to bring me to the 9th floor.

hell yeah, went to the famous ChiaTe shop to get their famous pastries and went to another night market. got to really love the food they have in these night markets. nevermind the wet weather and crowd.. the price and variety of food there is just.. indescribable. unhealthy i know, but i was on holiday.

woke up slightly earlier the following day so as to take the slow and long trip to Shifen, the place that is famous for releasing lanterns into the sky from those in-use train tracks. so of course a mandatory shot with the train tracks was needed. we inked down our well wishes on the lantern and released into the sky as seen in the second picture. spammed quite a lot of pictures throughout the trip there but can't possibly upload all here.

lunch at Shifen was cheap and really filling. the bubble tea there was cheap and tasty as well. following that, we slowly walked to the waterfall there. was hoping to see a natural waterfall but in the end i realised that not the entire waterfall was natural. there were evident sights of alterations here and there. nonetheless, for now i could just appreciate since it was my first time looking at a decent waterfall. sceneries on the way up were magnificent as well.

took quite awhile to travel from Shifen to Jiufen as well. that was the first view as we stepped out of the public bus. the place was on a mountain where buildings are rather cluttered. roads are in form of two lanes only though the volume of traffic is crazy. pedestrians did not really have a proper walking path now and then so you could see the tar road filled with vehicles and moving pedestrians. kind of scary knowing that accidents could happen easily but kind of cool when you didn't witness any. drivers who drove there need skills.

wandered into the crammed night market as well. there was nothing much besides the famous dessert stall that sells stuff you see in Singapore's Blackball stall. ohh wait.. Taiwan has those also but yeah you get the idea. came across the little puppy eye-balling pork bun we have on our hands though. the trip back to Taipei from Jiufen was torturous. the long wait at the bus stop and the long trip on public bus back due to the congested traffic.

so guess what i had for dinner. yeah headed to the place near our hotel and had the awesome potato thingy again. this time, my toppings were different though pictures can't really highlight the differences.

our last tourist attraction spot was Yehliu Geopark, the place with the famous queen head rock. won't have that picture here due to the quality though but you can google to find it. 

in the second picture above, you could see that there is a light house at the top of the hill. yeah, fatbro and me went all the way up. gosh, the path up there was really tiring but upon reaching there, fatigue was compensated with a great sense of achievement and achievement. too bad my parents were to tired halfway up the hill though. grabbed a decent red tea drink before exploring the beach.

the sights along the beach were breathtaking with unique natural structures seen above. those weird structures popping out of the beach looked like pimples. i called them the land pimples. the following pictures are up-close shots of some of them. be warned, those who have a phobia of holes should avoid looking at them.

i don't know how to feel about these land pimples. on one hand, staring at them long enough give me a little creeps. on the other, i was just so puzzled and fascinated by how these were formed. if random weather conditions have created these, randomness is awesome.

these are just nice landscapes pictures of the place that i wanted to share. entry fee was around S$4. can you believe it? we spent an entire afternoon there and i would say.. money well spent.

there you have it. if you have read word for word in one seating, hats off to you. hope you enjoy the pictures and what not. wonder when i will be traveling like this again.