RJ Invitationals 2007

Just took part in a fencing competition organised by RJC over the weekend. Haven't been fencing for about a month ever since exams started and I was feeling a bit rusty in skills and physically unfit. However, I was kind of looking forward to the competition as it will be the last competition I will be taking part in before I fly off to Denmark for my 5 months exchange program.

This is also one of the last chances for me to win a medal, since I wouldn't be fencing in Denmark. By the time I come back, I believe that I would have to start training from basics again after such a long absence from training. I guess I will retire from fencing then, shall see how things go.

NUS performed very well this year in RJ Invitationals, clinching quite a few medals: Gold in women's foil individual event, Silver and Bronze in men's foil individual event, Gold and Silver in men's foil team event.


Silver Team for men's foil: Nicholas, Freddy, Me and Frankie


Gold Team: Sirui, Wei Ann and Jonathan


Upcoming champions: Jason, Yaowen and Mingquan


Maggie: our champion for women's foil individual


The whole team with our haul of trophies

Well done guys! Hopefully in the Novices competition in January we will be able to haul in more medals.

Chocolate Buffet at The Fullerton

After a few months of waiting, we finally satisfied our craving for chocolate on 13 December. We have been wanting to go to try out the Chocolate Buffet at The Fullerton but due to our busy schedules and loads of work, we have to postpone it till after exams. Went there with Huiyian, Anqi, Baolai & Mark for our feast. Due to the festive season however, the price of the buffet has gone up from $32++ to $48++ .. Super Expensive! But I guess it is a one time treat for all of us =)

Wide selection of chocolate pastries and goodies and the ambience there was very nice. The chocolate goodies were good, especially the chocolate oreo cheesecake and donut with chocolate filling.


Chocolate Spread

Fondue Fountain

Chocolate Drink - You get to choose the type of chocolate you want

Pastries .. Yum Yum

Me, Mark, Anqi, Huiyian & Baolai .. all feeling satisfied and full

Had a great time chatting over the buffet and catching up before some of us fly off for SEP in January.

Next up: Max Brenner at Esplanade .. anyone?

Busy Busy holidays!!

Been meeting up with quite a few groups of friends after exams and going out quite a bit the past few days. Only one word to describe this: SHIOK! It is great to not worry about anything and look forward to going to Denmark in January =)

The weekend that just passed was quite fruitful. Managed to grab Tian Jerry and Jess for mahjong on Friday night, met up with some army friends on Saturday and fencing outing organised by Shirlyn on Sunday evening.

This week is going to be a busy week too, with some errands to run, going out and a fencing competition this coming weekend. So many things I want and need to do this holidays, better put them down before I forget:

1. Shopping for luggage, winter wear, and whatever clothings I need for SEP
2. Buy laptop
3. More mahjong and board games with the gang
4. Meet up with friends
5. Chocolate Buffet at Fullerton
6. Catching up on movies
7. Kelong Fishing Trip
8. Taiwan Trip
9. Xmas party at Tian's
10. Learn to cook for survival in Denmark . haha
11. Gym and run more often so I don't get fatter and fatter
12. Pubbing
13. Work part time and give tuition for $$$$ !!!
14 . Find girlfriend .. LOL .. quite impossible .. haha

Well I guess thats all for now .. in the meantime .. I shall DOTA =)

LIBERATION!!

EXAMS ARE FINALLY OVER!!!! TIME TO PLAY!!!!

So many things to do this holidays .. Shopping, going out, movies, cable skiing etc .. I forsee that I will be spending lots of money on these activities. Plus I am going to Denmark for Student Exchange next year in January which will cost me a bomb! I should go find a part time job to earn some money to top up my bank account.

So excited about my exchange trip! YES! Finally can take a break from boring & dreadful NUS for one semester!! Good time to refresh myself after 2.5 yrs at NUS! Can't wait to travel Europe too =)

Jessica's 21st at Amici Bar & Restaurant

9 Nov 2007 - A great night consisting of good food and great company. Jess is finally 21 years old! Had her party at Amici Bar at Tanjong Pagar. It was a timely party to have, great time to de-stress and it was an enjoyable night catching up with the rest of the gang.


The Birthday Girl - Jess giving speech


Jess with her tiramisu cake - which was absolutely delicious!!


All of us (6 bachelors plus the last remaining couple - Tian and Jess)


The 6 bachelors without Tian


Tian Loon looking very happy with his balloons .. haha

Went to Tian's place after the party to chill and chat and we stayed there till about like 3 am. Can't wait for December to come and we can resume our mahjong and board games sessions =)

I need a break!!

Just been through the most busy and crazy 2 weeks of my life, in which I had 3 tests in the first week and 3 project deadlines to meet the following week. Now that is is all over, it is time to take a break and update my blog =)

Realised I haven't updated my blog for such a long time .. because basically nothing interesting happened in my life .. was busy mugging and trying to complete the never-ending tutorials, assignments and projects which our Chemical Engineering professors happily dished out at us .. thinking that we only have one module to take, which is their module and all we do in our lives is just to mug. And the best part is .. for all the hours and hard work which we put into these assignments, the percentage of our total grades allocated to these assignments is miserly.

As of course, as usual, the tests killed us all (most of us). Apparently, studying hard and doing past year papers is not enough .. because for some reason, the difficulty of this year's semester tests shot up like 200% or something. Past year papers were nothing compared to the difficulty of this year's papers. Well, I have sort of gotten used to it now .. after 2.5 years in Chemical Engineering. And I am not expecting the exams to be any easier . so just get on with it.

Enough of ranting. On a happier note .. the weekend is coming and this week, although there is still work to do .. at least I got some time to go out (I hope) and have fun. Really looking forward to the December break .. but I have to get through the next few weeks first. I want my break!!!

Fencing AGM

Just had our fencing Annual General Meeting at Alumni House, Saffron Hall this Tuesday. Finally handing over my responsibilities as captain after 2 years in the committee. Had a great time working with the 2 committees over the past 2 years and now it's time for me to relax =).

Well here are some photos:

Committee 06/07Group Photo

Class Gathering at Tian's

Haven't been updating my blog since school started in August. Been really busy with work and reading up my notes. Well, here is a quick post of the more meaningful events outside school.

Had a JC class gathering at Tian's on the 25 August. Quite a number of us turned up, including a few who don't usually come for class gatherings. One of our best turnout so far. It was potluck and everyone brought lots of good food so we had a really filling dinner. Had fun catching up and meeting up with all of them. Really great that 5 years after we left JC, we still have regular class gatherings. BIG THANKS to Haoyun who is always so enthusiastic in helping to organise the gatherings =). Really appreciate it.

Taby's name card. WOW, She's already a Doctor! I am still a student at NUS ... zzz

Our class 2S03M

Hong Kong Trip 17-21 July

Just returned from Hong Kong on Saturday night. Went there for 5 days 4 nights with my army friends Hongye, Hongzhen and Shou Woon. Been a really great trip and had loads of fun there. Visited quite a few places that I didn't visit when I went there 2 years back, namely Disneyland, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and seafood at Lamma Island, in addition to the usual places. We also went to Shenzhen for some cheap shopping.

We stayed at the same hotel which I stayed 2 years back: Metropark Mongkok. Somehow, the room seems a bit smaller this time round, maybe because we shopped quite a lot and filled up the room with shopping bags .. haha. This time round, I bought more stuff than when I was in Taiwan as the clothes here were more suitable for me, not as 'blink' as Taiwanese fashion. Food was great, especially the dim sum, wanton noodles, 'shao la' (roast), iced milk tea, iced yuanyang, eggtarts, the list goes on and on ..

Here are some highlights:

Day 1: Walked around in Kowloon and went to Avenue of Stars in the evening to watch the Symphony of Lights.

@ Avenue of Stars with Bruce Lee

Day 2: Went to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the day, visited the Golden Bauhinia Square, followed by shopping at Causeway Bay. Went up to the Central Peak at night to visit Madame Tussauds and then dinner at one of the restaurants there.

Golden Bauhinia Square

At Madame Tussauds:

Anita Mui

Double Twins Effect

The Royal Family David BeckhamActing Jay ChouMy supermodel fling .. hahaDinner at the Peak .. our spread

Day 3: Went to Disneyland and took lots of pictures! Other than the very hot weather and running into some very rude and uncivilised mainlanders, the time spent at Disneyland was quite enjoyable.

The Sleeping Beauty castle .. I thought it was smaller than expected

With Minnie

Mickey the Pirate

Pluto and Goofy

Disney Waterworks Parade .. where they spray waterjets at you to cool you downNight Scenery

Day 4: Went to Shenzhen in the day for some shopping. In the evening, we took a ferry to Lamma Island for seafood.

Train to Shenzhen

Outside the seafood restaurant at Lamma Island

Day 5: Basically just did a lot of last minute shopping and in the afternoon we went to the airport and had dim sum there. Walked around the airport a bit before we checked in. After I went through the Hong Kong customs, I realised that the Krispy Kremes shop that Jess was telling me about was located in Hong Kong airport itself!!! Shucks! I was looking all over for it but didn't realise that it was right before me .. Sorry Jess! Haha.

At the dim sum restaurant at the airport

Well I guess no more overseas trips this holidays anymore. Now I need to get out of holiday mood and wake up! School starts in 3 weeks!!! Time really flies man.

Taiwan Trip 5 - 9 July

Just went to Taiwan for 5 days with Jeriel, John and Adriel. During the trip, we stayed in Paradise Hotel which is conveniently located near Ximending, the shopping area. The hotel facilities were not too bad for a three star hotel and there are about slightly over 100 channels on their cable TV (spoilt for choice)! We visited quite a few places in and around Taipei but we didn't travel out from Taipei due to a lack of time. 5 days is definitely not enough!

Taiwan is a food haven and there is an abundance of street stalls selling food everywhere. The food was really good and I found myself eating non-stop throughout the day. The people there are also really friendly and nice to talk to. I realised that most of the people in Taiwan, especially the young, know how to dress up well. In fact, most of them (especially the girls) look quite good. You can hardly find an ugly girl on the streets and about 70% of them are either average or good looking - lots of hot chicks around .. haha.

Things there are not exactly very cheap and I didn't really buy a lot of stuff. Found the clothes there a little too 'blink blink' and some are quite 'beng'. Spent most of my money on food instead =).

Well here is a summary:

Day 1: Reached Taipei in the evening. Spent the night exploring Ximending.

At Ximending

Ah Chung Rice Noodles, a must try! One of the dessert shops
Generous helping: Portion for 2 but can feed 4

Day 2: Travelled to this place on the mountains called Jiu Fen and spent the day there. Towards the evening, we went to Shih Lin Night Market.

At Gold Ecological Park, an old gold mining town

Outside the mining tunnel

The mining tunnel itself

Acting cute =)

Ancient concrete golf courseGreat scenery from the top
At Shih Lin Night Market'Smelly' Beancurd

Day 3: Went to Taipei 101 and walked around the shopping area. At night, we travelled to Huaxi Street Night market where snakes are killed for their blood and gall bladder (apparently they are very good tonics and good for health). After that, went back to Ximending again for further exploration.

Taipei 101

We took 37 seconds to reach the top of Taipei 101 taking this lift

On top of the tallest building in the world

View from the top

At Huaxi Street Night Market, the lady was going to feed the snakes with a rat. The cups in front of her contains tonics, snake's blood and juice from the gall bladder

We ran into a pyjamas party at Ximending

Day 4: Travelled to Beitou for a dip in the hot springs and later in the afternoon, travelled to Dan Shui (Fisherman's Wharf) to watch the sunset and beautiful scenery.

Indoor hot spring. You are supposed to be totally naked when taking a dip. No photos allowed but I quickly snapped a few when no one was around

Cold spring. For cooling down.

Outdoor hot spring. Here, you must put on swimming trunks =)

At Dan Shui

Taking the ferry to Fisherman's Wharf

At Fisherman's Wharf in the day

Sunset

View during the night

Day 5: Visited the historic sites in Taipei City itself. Mainly Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Martyr's Shrine. Chinese Temple and National Palace Museum.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial GateChiang Kai Shek Memorial HallMartyr's ShrineChanging of guardsA photo with the guard

Chinese TempleOutside National Palace Museum (we are not allowed to take photos inside the museum)

Yup .. Taiwan is quite a nice place and there are lots of things to explore. I haven't been to the other parts of Taiwan outside Taipei and it is one place I would definitely go back to visit again.