Sunday, November 30, 2003
Oh yay I love Shanghai... let me count the ways:
1) The language... if you thought Singaporean Chinese was biao zhun you're dead wrong man... it's a thing of beauty when you hear the locals speak it. I think my English is degenerating; I almost typed "here" instead of "hear". That's just really scary.
2) The weather... my skin looks nice 'cause it's dry, and my hair looks nice 'cause it's cold! And you get to wear nice winter clothes! Although too much of that can be pretty boring and all swimming would have to be limited to the indoors. And... *drumroll* there are no insects!!
3) The people... are sooo nice. In the US they're friendly too but I was thinking that's probably 'cause they know you're tourists... here in China they show their true colours. At the hotel they just treat you like one of the locals... ie. like dirt. When you ask them like "Which floor?" they just freakin' ignore you. But the Chinese people (maybe not the average guy on the street, but like waiters and salesgirls and people sitting beside you on the plane or next to you in the queue etc) are smiling and friendly, initiating conversation and really seeming to love their jobs... And the guys look really smart in their business suits or like, those pullovers and ski stuff that you can only really pull off in winter. It has made me realise that guys were not born to wear singlets and slippers.
4) The food... jia lian wu mei. Lots more authentic of course, but it is soooo cheap. They sell a huge bowl of this cai pao fan (soupy porridge with vegetables, meat etc) enough for two of us to eat and how much does it cost? 3 yuan... equivalent to about 65 cents Singapore? And there are lots more like that on the menu! And you know those round hu lus glazed in caramel and strung on a stick that you see in those Chinese period dramas and stuff... I *finally* got to try one after drooling over my TV since I was a kid and it's actually hawthorn fruit... the origin of those haw flakes that Aji Ichiban sells at 50 cents for about a fistful - we got six whole fruits for like
5) The shopping... genuine Polo Ralph, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Guess, Morgan, Miss Sixty, Abercrombie & Fitch etc etc - bags, jeans, pants for less than S$40; jackets for less than S$75! And knowing my mum, she got on so well with the lao ban niang that she got an extra 20% off the final figures! And there was this amazing place for gorgeous winterwear - cashmere, wool turtlenecks, coats etc for about S$11 a piece. Not even in Hong Kong can you find such good buys! (Li Jun don't kill me.) But the US of course, has a lot more variety.
However of course, there are bad points...
a) The driving... Every street crossing is a real life-and-death experience. This was the first time in my life since I was a kid that I voluntarily clung on to my mum to cross the road. The motorists and cyclists are so aggressive - you have no doubt in your mind that they're prepared to run you over. And traffic lights? Green men? Who cares - there are no cameras, and besides China's so huge that they can hardly register every single bicycle. And car and bicycle horns are applied liberally. However, one good thing is that the commuters don't take it personally - unlike Singaporeans, who'll practically *hunt* you down to hurl abuse and seek vindication if you so much as "dare" to cut into their lane. Now I suppose the Chinese are more practical, so they don't bother engraving their newfound enemies' names on ancestral tablets for future generations to exact vengeance. People just get their knees grazed by car bumpers, dust themselves off and continue with their lives.
b) The smoking... Indoors, outdoors, people seem only to remove the cigarettes to exhale, maybe take a bite of their meal, watch the poor non-smoker at the next table pass out from suffocation/lung cancer/emphysema/carbon monoxide poisoning, before the ubiquitous tobacco roll goes back in their filthy mouths.
c) The spitting... I've learnt *never* to touch any plants in China. And if I ever had a child, and he/she (or you, Choon) ever threw a tantrum by rolling on the ground, I'd have to take a leaf out of the Monster Inc's SWAT team's book and thoroughly disinfect the hypothetical him/her.
Heh anyway I won't say anymore here so I can tell you guys the rest at prom!! =)
1) The language... if you thought Singaporean Chinese was biao zhun you're dead wrong man... it's a thing of beauty when you hear the locals speak it. I think my English is degenerating; I almost typed "here" instead of "hear". That's just really scary.
2) The weather... my skin looks nice 'cause it's dry, and my hair looks nice 'cause it's cold! And you get to wear nice winter clothes! Although too much of that can be pretty boring and all swimming would have to be limited to the indoors. And... *drumroll* there are no insects!!
3) The people... are sooo nice. In the US they're friendly too but I was thinking that's probably 'cause they know you're tourists... here in China they show their true colours. At the hotel they just treat you like one of the locals... ie. like dirt. When you ask them like "Which floor?" they just freakin' ignore you. But the Chinese people (maybe not the average guy on the street, but like waiters and salesgirls and people sitting beside you on the plane or next to you in the queue etc) are smiling and friendly, initiating conversation and really seeming to love their jobs... And the guys look really smart in their business suits or like, those pullovers and ski stuff that you can only really pull off in winter. It has made me realise that guys were not born to wear singlets and slippers.
4) The food... jia lian wu mei. Lots more authentic of course, but it is soooo cheap. They sell a huge bowl of this cai pao fan (soupy porridge with vegetables, meat etc) enough for two of us to eat and how much does it cost? 3 yuan... equivalent to about 65 cents Singapore? And there are lots more like that on the menu! And you know those round hu lus glazed in caramel and strung on a stick that you see in those Chinese period dramas and stuff... I *finally* got to try one after drooling over my TV since I was a kid and it's actually hawthorn fruit... the origin of those haw flakes that Aji Ichiban sells at 50 cents for about a fistful - we got six whole fruits for like
5) The shopping... genuine Polo Ralph, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Guess, Morgan, Miss Sixty, Abercrombie & Fitch etc etc - bags, jeans, pants for less than S$40; jackets for less than S$75! And knowing my mum, she got on so well with the lao ban niang that she got an extra 20% off the final figures! And there was this amazing place for gorgeous winterwear - cashmere, wool turtlenecks, coats etc for about S$11 a piece. Not even in Hong Kong can you find such good buys! (Li Jun don't kill me.) But the US of course, has a lot more variety.
However of course, there are bad points...
a) The driving... Every street crossing is a real life-and-death experience. This was the first time in my life since I was a kid that I voluntarily clung on to my mum to cross the road. The motorists and cyclists are so aggressive - you have no doubt in your mind that they're prepared to run you over. And traffic lights? Green men? Who cares - there are no cameras, and besides China's so huge that they can hardly register every single bicycle. And car and bicycle horns are applied liberally. However, one good thing is that the commuters don't take it personally - unlike Singaporeans, who'll practically *hunt* you down to hurl abuse and seek vindication if you so much as "dare" to cut into their lane. Now I suppose the Chinese are more practical, so they don't bother engraving their newfound enemies' names on ancestral tablets for future generations to exact vengeance. People just get their knees grazed by car bumpers, dust themselves off and continue with their lives.
b) The smoking... Indoors, outdoors, people seem only to remove the cigarettes to exhale, maybe take a bite of their meal, watch the poor non-smoker at the next table pass out from suffocation/lung cancer/emphysema/carbon monoxide poisoning, before the ubiquitous tobacco roll goes back in their filthy mouths.
c) The spitting... I've learnt *never* to touch any plants in China. And if I ever had a child, and he/she (or you, Choon) ever threw a tantrum by rolling on the ground, I'd have to take a leaf out of the Monster Inc's SWAT team's book and thoroughly disinfect the hypothetical him/her.
Heh anyway I won't say anymore here so I can tell you guys the rest at prom!! =)
Friday, November 21, 2003
Haha i remember last year when my sis got back her PSLE results... I was doing the work experience thing so I was in the lawyers' lounge at the supreme courts and my phone rang... and it was my bro. And my mentor was just about to tell me that we weren't allowed to use handphones when my bro told me Nic got 277 and I was so ecstatic I screamed heh...
Yeah I'm kinda glad we take the subs we take 'cause we learn all that interesting stuff... which should be in most people's general knowledge but considering that I see meteors more often than newspapers it's all pretty cool to me haha =) Wonder how much new stuff we could've learnt if we took full Hist or Geog? Bio *is* interesting but I doubt I'd be up to studying it in JC... But if you really enjoy it just take it! =)
You're going to Phuket? When? And I repeat again please don't go alone to Europe you guys... all kinds of unspeakable horrors await those who ignore their common sense! *swirls hands around crystal ball frantically*
Yeah I'm kinda glad we take the subs we take 'cause we learn all that interesting stuff... which should be in most people's general knowledge but considering that I see meteors more often than newspapers it's all pretty cool to me haha =) Wonder how much new stuff we could've learnt if we took full Hist or Geog? Bio *is* interesting but I doubt I'd be up to studying it in JC... But if you really enjoy it just take it! =)
You're going to Phuket? When? And I repeat again please don't go alone to Europe you guys... all kinds of unspeakable horrors await those who ignore their common sense! *swirls hands around crystal ball frantically*
im pissed
my sister open my letter
she tore open the envelope
friggin sister
psle results tmr
frigging sister
my sister open my letter
she tore open the envelope
friggin sister
psle results tmr
frigging sister
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
well pple like us are kinda in the middle
we're not cut out for ANYTHING
except slackign.. but even then... we have too huge a conscience.. so even while slacking.. we'd feel guilty... SO.. we're really NOT cut out for anyTHING
eXCEPT
doing wad we like n not giving a d*m*
so u see
mmmm
i was thinking if i din take biology i woodnt haf known al lthe genetics thing
den i was thinking of taking biology!
cos like u can always read abt the french revolution stuff by urself
but waddahell
ill flip acoin when the time comes
mabbe my dream will come true
and i wun get the scholarship!!! =)-
see how it goes...
i dun want to study history anymore....
im going to PHUKET!!! =D-
we've traded places lijun HAHA
we're not cut out for ANYTHING
except slackign.. but even then... we have too huge a conscience.. so even while slacking.. we'd feel guilty... SO.. we're really NOT cut out for anyTHING
eXCEPT
doing wad we like n not giving a d*m*
so u see
mmmm
i was thinking if i din take biology i woodnt haf known al lthe genetics thing
den i was thinking of taking biology!
cos like u can always read abt the french revolution stuff by urself
but waddahell
ill flip acoin when the time comes
mabbe my dream will come true
and i wun get the scholarship!!! =)-
see how it goes...
i dun want to study history anymore....
im going to PHUKET!!! =D-
we've traded places lijun HAHA
Thursday, November 13, 2003
letisha --> i know u wil relax eventually, but better tell u to do so.. .RELAX....
i know wad u mean.... and by relax i dONt mean not planning.. but yea.. iduno wad i mean by telling u to relax either... but just dun worry tt much.. to quote grace -- "you're the top 1percent of the cohort!! " =D
i want chocolate toooooooooooooooooooo
and nice songs
that dun keep replaying an drestarting
stupid kazaaaaa
wOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
TWO MORE PAPERS
and im DONE with tihs
charmaine's coming over now
cos i haf her
history textbook
={
i feel q bad actually
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
i know wad u mean.... and by relax i dONt mean not planning.. but yea.. iduno wad i mean by telling u to relax either... but just dun worry tt much.. to quote grace -- "you're the top 1percent of the cohort!! " =D
i want chocolate toooooooooooooooooooo
and nice songs
that dun keep replaying an drestarting
stupid kazaaaaa
wOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
TWO MORE PAPERS
and im DONE with tihs
charmaine's coming over now
cos i haf her
history textbook
={
i feel q bad actually
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
I think the scary thing is that things like this (O's) could make us pay the price for the rest of our lives... I dunno but well now I feel like I *have* to devote the rest of my life to attaining the perfect life - get into a good university, be a high-flying, jet-setting top female exec... and I don't think it's like the pressure of society but actually my own wish - or does that just make it scarier?
I mean I wanna do exciting things in life but you need stability as well especially if you want to have children... though of course that's not in the cards for me but well. And my dad says (if you can believe it) that business *is* exciting. Well. Then again have I told you about my mum's whole China business thing... it does sound pretty exciting because we're like on the edge of a new market and stuff and the coolest thing is that we speak both English and Chinese... and no matter how bad our Chinese is it doesn't really matter 'cause my mum met this like 50-something-year-old S'porean who didn't speak a word of Mandarin but 2 years after moving to Chong Qing he was speaking like a local... pretty inspirational huh. =)
...but seriously, did you really think they really enjoyed their companionship in The Secret Sharer? It just sounded like the captain was getting a kick out of all the secrecy and excitement but they didn't really *share* except for the murder thing but not really talking about like their childhood pets or ambitions or stuff really right? Heh you're the Lit-y ones... enlighten me. =)
I mean I wanna do exciting things in life but you need stability as well especially if you want to have children... though of course that's not in the cards for me but well. And my dad says (if you can believe it) that business *is* exciting. Well. Then again have I told you about my mum's whole China business thing... it does sound pretty exciting because we're like on the edge of a new market and stuff and the coolest thing is that we speak both English and Chinese... and no matter how bad our Chinese is it doesn't really matter 'cause my mum met this like 50-something-year-old S'porean who didn't speak a word of Mandarin but 2 years after moving to Chong Qing he was speaking like a local... pretty inspirational huh. =)
...but seriously, did you really think they really enjoyed their companionship in The Secret Sharer? It just sounded like the captain was getting a kick out of all the secrecy and excitement but they didn't really *share* except for the murder thing but not really talking about like their childhood pets or ambitions or stuff really right? Heh you're the Lit-y ones... enlighten me. =)
Saturday, November 08, 2003
im qutie scared...
but im more bored than quite scared
cant be bothered
cannot be bothered
im gonna pay the price somedayyyyy
but im more bored than quite scared
cant be bothered
cannot be bothered
im gonna pay the price somedayyyyy
hiee!!
im a slacker
.....
i can give you the an hao piano score
*evil grin*
....
gays gays
lallalalalllllalalala
im a slacker
.....
i can give you the an hao piano score
*evil grin*
....
gays gays
lallalalalllllalalala
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Okay it's kinda the night before our real O's start so I really shouldn't be here but well... EM Paper 1 shouldn't be that bad lah. I'm probably just recording this here so when I receive the report in March next year: E Maths C6 I can come back and kick myself. What else are blogs for though?
