Indulging in reminiscence

Farewell

2008-04-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

As my exams are coming to an end, so is my time in UBC and Vancouver. I must say Vancouver is really a nice relax place and i'm sure it will be beautiful during summer (which i will miss out). People here are nice and patient, even bus drivers can just stop at a bus stop and read the papers for like 5 mins before going off and no one will even say a word. Well, this might the end of my exchange at UBC, but it also means the start of my US explorations!!

Meanwhile, just some random pictures that i took around campus. Oh, and it snowed the other night!! And to think that it is spring and that night was the heaviest snow i have ever seen!! Not even in winter did i see such a snowstorm, the climate is really changing drastically, earth is dying.. Oh, and Happy Earth Day. (ironic isn't it?)

This much of snow was accumulated in barely 10 mins..

On the way to school..

Passing by the University Village..

passing by the Regent College where it teaches Christian Studies..

Reaching UBC..

Entering UBC!

Buses that run along cables..

This is where the indoor pool and gym are...

Student Union Building..

UBC wants to take away this knoll and build something on it, but students were
holding a protest here the other time haha.. think students here like to lie
here and study in the summer..

Huge pieces of pizza for lunch..

Blue Chip Cookie store which sells great cookies! Expensive though..

Pie Square which sells huge and nice pizzas!

This is where i have been going to mug with Joel..

Students lying on the grass and studying..

Study room.. England style setting haha..

Portrait Paintings of previous Presidents and Chancellors of UBC..

They even have such comfy couches facing the windows for students to study!

Mugging in progress, DND!

This cool water cooler has 4 grey buttons for u to choose to press!
Dunno what's the purpose though when all u need is one...

Entrance to Mechanical & Civil Engineering Building..

Forest Science Building..

Cherry Blossoms in UBC!

Power Plant for UBC..

Going back home after a day's of mugging..

Went to have Mexican cuisine at Margaritas a couple days back, there was only one word to describe the food, Fabulous. Too bad didn't try the margaritas which were supposed to be good..

I love their Tortilla chips and Salsa sauce!

Yummy Quesidillas for appetizer!

Went to Cheesecake etc to have dessert and i had the best cheesecake i ever had.. It melts the moment in your mouth! Or would i say it dissolves... Mmm... Can't wait till i try the Cheesecake Factory in US and see which is better! Joel says Cheesecake Factory serves the best Godiva cheesecake he has even tasted in his life!

Looks normal but it's heavenly..

On the last day of school, there is actually a carnival to celebrate! Unlike NUS where everyone start mugging or not even come to school, everyone is just playing and getting drunk!! Haha, NUS should have such a culture!! Idiotic education culture Singapore has...

Booth selling burgers etc..

Pie eating competition..

Sausage eating competition!

Free DDR machine haha..

These guy and the girl in the next pic were giving away condoms.. *faint*
Can u guess what they r supposed to look like? Hee..

Timber sawing competition..

Chopping the wood between his legs.. What if the axe ends up on the legs? lol

Me playing rodeo! Yeee Haaa!!!

So is Joel!

Having fun on the Bungee Run..

Whee!!!

Exhausted..

Yes, that's me falling..

Gladiators!

3 jokers..

Cool T-shirt..

Clown making balloon hats and varsity students queuing for them omg..

Well, that's all for now! Gonna go mug for my final 2 exams on my birthday! Grr...

Z monster attacks!

2008-04-18T14:32:00.001-07:00

In the library now trying to study for my fuel cells exam on monday.. but there is one fat-ass obstacle standing in front of me now - the infamous Z monster..

Almost finished a cup of french vanilla coffee, but that's not enough.

Writing down stuff as i read the textbook on my laptop, doesn't help either.

Anyone who has a foolproof method of staying awake?

Pls let me know...

Meanwhile, i've got a chess session with 周公 ---> zzz...

Red Alert!! ESM!!!

2008-04-16T23:31:00.001-07:00

Taking a break from my mugging for tmr's Engineering Contract and Law exam.. wonder what is ESM? ESM = Exam Stress Monster!! Ya, it's the time of the semester again, but this time round, things looking better as i only need to obtain a pass.

However, i can't help but still feel stressed, though it is much lesser as compared to that in NUS. Think it is due to the fact that i haven't been studying hard and damn NUS, trained us into exam machines (as quoted by LG), hence making me feel bad and worried for my exams, especially for my Fuel Cells System. It's funny coz that is the module that i sort of like most but yet did the worst for among all my modules that i'm taking in UBC. Probably cuz due to the fact that it was the only mid-term that i failed, despite doing pretty well for the rest.

One thing that amuses me is that when i tell people here that i'm from mechanical engineering, they will think that i'm some smart ass geek who studies very hard. Apparently, getting into mechanical engineering for UBC isn't an easy feat, even when compared to Chemical Engineering!! Haha, feels good that some people actually think i'm smart, removing the element of geekness of course!

Well, looking on a lighter note, NYC is right at the end of this tunnel!! Simply can't wait for it to come.. Ciao guys, got to head back to my law stuff.. (law = lots of jargon and sentences that keep repeating same phrases)

Oh, and good luck to all my buds in NUS and NTU for your exams! SMU not included cuz u atas slackers have alr finished your exams damn it! =)

Last Week of School!!

2008-04-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of school and exams gonna start next week.. Time really flies, can't believe my exchange is ending... Well, at least i managed to catch a glimpse of spring approaching UBC as the cherry blossom trees are already in full bloom!! No pictures yet but shall try to take some tmr which is my last day of school!

My Swiss friend, Corinne left today for Hawii!! I wanna go too man, enjoy the beach and sun... Anyway, had a farewell dinner with her last night at Hell's Kitchen, which was supposed to be good in Vancouver, but it is over-rated.. Food was only so-so..

Noticed the guy in black? He gave us free show the whole night..

See what i mean? Haha.. Thought that only happen to girls..

Poutine for appetitzer! Love the cheese...

Prawn Creole for main course..

Grp Pic..

Corrinne & me..

Passed by a shop that sells designer PCK boots!
It's the trend here, lots of girls wearing them!

Well, got to try to enjoy the remaining days of my exchange while i look forward to my travelling in the States with dearie!! Can't wait for exams to be over, but yet I'm reluctant to let my exchange end, contradicting isn't it... Bleahz..

Stanley`Park & English Bay

2008-04-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

Seeing how sunny the weather was, Zhenni, Vince and I decided to go Stanley Park and English Bay for cycling. Upon reaching Denmark Street where we could rent out bicycles, we had our lunch at this place call FatBurger. I would say they serve the best burger that I have tasted so far in Vancouver! Juicy and tasty, with relish, mustard, onions, lettuce and not to mention, cheese!!

Our order! Needless to say, the biggest burger
on the right is mine!! Haha..

After lunch, we proceeded to the nearby bike shops to rent our bikes. We realised that most of the shops close at 5pm and it was already 2-ish! We later were told that it takes one to one and a half hour to cycle to Stanley Park. Though we didn't believe that, we decided to play safe and skip renting the bikes since there wouldn't be enough time to cycle there and back to return them in time. However, when we took a bus to Stanley, it took less than 5 mins!! Stupid shopkeepers, don't know what are they thinking of? Probably they thought we were gonna cycle so slow that it will actually take us that long %@#*&

Upon reaching, we headed to the Vancouver Aquarium which we missed out the last time we there.

Vince & me @ the aquarium entrance

Stamps on our hands for admission.

Introducing the star of the aquarium *drum roll*... The belugas!! They are white whales which look oddly shaped to me haha..

Of course, how can we miss out the cute sea otters and dolphins?!

Orange frog!

Some weird looking creature..

Now, how did i get in there?

Fossil of some prehistoric fish that lived till now..

Huge fishes!

Yummy African cockroaches!!

The infamous Madagascar cockroaches from Fear Factor!!

After the aquarium, we went to take a walk around the rest of Stanley..

A tree trunk what has been struck into 2 i think..

3 posers..

Like the backdrop of this photo..

Totem poles!

Mini lighthouse..

After walking around, we decided to walk further down to look for totem poles and it turned out to be such a long walk!! Legs began to ache halfway when we had to walk back from the pole till we saw this red bull mini cooper which stopped and offered us red bull!! Haha, what a way to re-energize ourselves!!

Lifesavers!

After that, we headed to English Bay. On the way, we came across this Japanese Ramen restaurant and decided to have dinner, though we were more interested in just sitting down and rest..

Joel told us that English Bay was like a place where you will just look at it and admire its view for 5 mins and that's all to it. He was damn right haha.. Well, at least we were in time to catch the sunset, but the skies were cloudy otherwise it could have been much nicer..

Look at the following picture to know what this statue is..

Ciaoz!~!

Bye Ah Gong..

2008-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Received news a couple days back that my grandfather passed away... It came so sudden that i didn't know how to respond.. First thought that flashed across my mind was that i didn't talk to my grandfather for the last time... Bad timing? But maybe i should have just called back much more often...

So now here i am at HK International Airport waiting for my connecting flight back to Singapore to attend the wake, to send him off for the last time. This is the first time that my family is having a wake and i have no idea what will it be like, how will i feel. More importantly, i wanna know how my grandma feels and be there for her.. I can't be there for long as i have to return to Vancouver for my exams and project deadlines, but i just wanna be there to see her for myself. Knowing how she is, i know she will not show us how she is actually feeling, but i just hope that it will make her feel better with everyone around...

We always hear people saying that how fragile life is, but does everyone actually understand that? Well, i didn't really feel the impact of that statement till this news struck me. It just happened so abruptly and in less than an hour or so, he has left us. One thing that i do seek solace in is my grandpa breathed his last rather painlessly and peacefully. Just that what i can't put down perhaps is that no one really had the chance to talk to him for the last time. Why didn't he wait for any of us? Or maybe it was just better for him and everyone?

Well, if it was better for him, i will respect that. Bye Ah Gong...

Salmon!!

2008-03-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

Haven't been blogging for quite some time, which is a sign that I haven't been travelling... Well, have been bogged down by tons of assignments and just started on my project, plus a test is coming up!!

Anyway, finally had the chance to prepare dinner with my housemate, Rupert, last night. Alright, maybe i didn't help out much since he wanted to cook for me lol.. He prepared salmon and some kind of fries and it was great!! Haven't had salmon since i reached Canada as it is so expensive! So, nothing beats having a free salmon feast!! Rupert was telling me he's gonna prepare this fish that he caught on his previous fishing trip, which weighs more than me!! I saw the photo and couldn't believe that he actually caught a fish that is bigger than me!! Haha, can't wait for another fish feast...

I'm missin it alr...

Canadian Rockies!!

2008-03-05T17:19:00.001-08:00

Ok finally got down to posting my trip to the Rockies.. Still, i'm pretty lazy and so i shall let the pictures paint a million zillion words!! Haha... Note that u will probably get bored by the mountain photos after a while but it is so different when u are at the actual place!! Amazing how these mountain ranges are formed.. Remember i used to study about them in secondary school geography but didn't think the physical features of the earth's surface were that magnificent till i see them with my very own eyes... Wouldn't mind living in the mountains and far away from the buzz of the city though i know i'll probably get bored pretty quickly.. =P

Enjoy the photos galore!!

Arriving at Canada Place, pick-up point for our coach..

Arriving at the first restaurant, korean cuisine!!
Food wasn't that great though...

Getting ready to dig in!!

Random pics along the way..

Trying to look cool i guess..

Arriving at the Last Spike..
This was the place where some guy drove in the last spike for the
first railway that cuts across Canada...

What's the purpose of this water cooler??

Spot the heart-shaped snow patch?

Rather nice effect eh?

Arriving at this posh hotel called Fairmont Hotel at Lake Louise.. Love the decor inside!!

This is the view u get from inside the hotel!! Lake Louise is
frozen which means skating on frozen lake for us!!

Lots of beautiful ice sculptures on the way to the frozen lake, simply breathtaking..

Mini ice castle on the frozen lake

Horse sleigh! Smelly though -lol-

No!! Dun propose to her!! What about me?!

Posers..

This is specially taken for my dearest!! Hope u like it! =)

Skating on frozen lake!! The ice is rather uneven though..

Beautiful hotel, bet it must have cost a bomb to stay here..

Some kind of snow ploughing machine..

Grp pic..

Photo of the sun.. nice?

Arriving at the second restaurant.. Western food!
Had a well done beef steak wth... tough like stone... Grr...

Arriving at the gondola station to go up to the peak of Sulphur Mountain!

Weather for that day..

Up, up we go..

Magnificent, isn't it?

Can't imagine what will happen if i fell backwards and rolled down...

One of the lakes, think this is called Bow Lake..

The mini waterfall was supposed to look like it is flowing into our hands..
Know it's lame but it's Zhenni's idea..

Arriving at one of the towns.. Was given time to shop but nothing much to shop,
not to mention the expensive prices..

I like this restaurant!! But too bad didn't have a chance to dine here.. Wasted!!

Korean food again... But at least this was better than the previous one..

Random pics of the hotel we stayed in..

Buffet breakfast!! I simply love buffet breakfast western style!!
Omelettes, hams, bacons, sunny side-ups and lots more!! Yummy!!

Walking back to our rooms.. Feeling sleepy early in the morning
due to heavy breakfast haha..

Mini frozen lake..

Taken at the back of our room..

That's our Korean tour guide in the lime green vest..

The entire tour took 4 days 3 nights and i would say it was rather value for money looking at the meals provided plus the better than expected accomodation.. The weather was supposed to be freezing cold but we were fortunate enough to have the sun shining brightly in the cloudless sky, so we didn't feel that cold in the end.. At the end of the day, good trip if not for a stupid mistake of mine, but i'm just glad and thankful that i managed to recover what i lost.. Phew...

Snowboarding @ Grouse

2008-03-02T21:58:00.001-08:00

Made a last minute decision to go snowboarding at Grouse Mountain with Vince, Zhenni, Joel and Geraldine. Grouse was supposed to have one of the nicest view though the terrain was not as great as Whistler for snowboarding or skiing...

Taking the cable tram up to Grouse

Arriving at Grouse..

Statues of 3 athletes, not sure of their significance though lol..

Ready to snowboard!

Was only intending to practice my snowboarding skills at first, however, as my practice went quite well, i decided to give it a shot at trying the blue (intermediate) routes as the green (easy) route was getting boring. Hence, i went with Joel to try out the blue routes after lunch and it was damn exciting and fun, though had a couple of falls and a collision into someone else *oops*. Anyway, after we tried out the blue routes, Joel suggested trying out the black route, which was the second hardest route. Guess what, i went for it and oh man, it is not labelled black for nothing haha.. I practically had to go slow all the way and almost couldn't make it all the way down! But i didn't regret, it was an eye-opener for me, especially the steepness of the slope. Well, at least now i have tried almost all the different levels of difficulty as the next time when i snowboard again after this exchange will probably be a long long time later... After all the snowboarding, i was totally exhausted and i could almost immediately feel all the aches coming...

On the lift back up to the top..

Burnt out after hours of snowboaring..

Grp pic before leaving..

After snowboarding, we decided to go to a restaurant in Gastown, which was Vancouver oldest town, called the old spaghetti factory to have our dinner. Joel told us that the food was quite good and value for money as it came with bread, coffee/tea and ice-cream! The restaurant had an old english style decor with a touch of traditional cathedral design. Quite like the ambience and the food was really not bad, recommend it to anyone who visits Vancouver. Ordered the pot-pourri spaghetti with a portion of meat, mushroom and clam sauce. Choose this dish as it was labelled as suitable for the undecided as i was getting dizzy looking at the numerous pasta dishes offered, and also i get to taste 3 sauces at one go!!

Enjoy the pics!~! =)

Vintage tram inside the restaurant..

inside the restaurant..

Menu w/o any pictures of the dishes..

Pot-pourri spaghetti!

Satisfied customers!

Woke up with a stiff neck and aching muscles everywhere... *bleahz*

Snowboarding @ Whistler!!!

2008-02-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Mid-term break just ended!! *sianz* Well, at least i had a great time going to Whistler for snowboarding and visited the Canadian Rockies!!

Whistler is the best mountain for winter sports in North America and one of the best in the whole world! And because of that, it is freaking expensive!! I paid 155 Cad for the snowboarding package!! It was far more than what i expected!! And not to mention the extra petrol cost as one of my newfound UBC friends, Jonathan, drove us up in his Merc SUV...

On the way to Whistler via Sea to Sky Highway.. U can't even see the peak of the mountains!!
And the clouds are so near us!!

Finally reached! Walking towards the mountains..

Whistler Village @ the foot of the mountains..

Stylish Pontiac!

Queuing for the gondola which brings us up the mountains...

Instructor attire.. They even have travellators on the mountains so that no one has to climb up the slopes!! Guess this contributes to part of the expensive package...

Joel & Zhenni

All geared up for some serious snowboarding!! -lol-

Learning area for noobs

Can't even see the peak even though this is about
mid way up the Whistler mountain!

Our Japanese instructor!!

UBC snowboarding team!!

After our class, Joel and Jonathan came to meet Zhenni and me and brought us up to 3/4 of the Whistler Mountain!! We are not really supposed to snowboard down from there as we are still noobs but i am not gonna leave Whistler without trying after paying so much!!

View of the sun @ 3/4 up the mountain..

View at 3/4 up the mountain..

Jonathan (L) & Joel (R)

The new Whistler gondola design prototype!

Team Canada?? -lol-

Taking a breather while snowboarding down..

According to Joel, 3/4 of the mountain was around 2.2 km above sea level and snowboarding down will cover a distance of about 10 km!! The route down was so challenging and painful!! The number of times i fell on my spine and butt was much more than the number of times i fell in my entire life!!! And some of the slopes were damn steep!! There was this once i fell and a little Caucasian girl ski over and asked me if i was alright!! That was so embarrassing!! Can't even beat a small little girl!! haha.. but it is so common to see small kids as young as ard 5 yrs old who can ski or snowboard so well!! *envious*

Another reason why Whistler is so expensive and a tourist attraction is because it will be holding the Winter Olympic Games in 2010! In other words, i snowboarded on an Olympian mountain!! *gleaming with pride* Would really love to come again if money permits haha...

Anyway, thanks Joel for teaching us some basics of snowboarding while we were waiting for our class to start and also to Jonathan for driving us up!! Too bad we didn't go all the way to the peak because the lift that brings us up is only one way, which means we must snowboard down without any choice. For beginners, that is almost tantamount to suicide i guess... Anyway, it took me about an hr to reach the foot of the mountain!! Jonathan was telling me that Olympic athletes only take about 6-7 mins as they are travelling down at a speed of around 100km/h!! No wonder they have to wear helmets!

Snowboarding is so fun! Love the adrenaline rush, but paid a heavy price for it by suffering from butt, spine and leg aches. My neck was also aching the next day! Shows how snowboarding exercises the entire body.. Next update, the Canadian Rockies!!

First Ice Hockey Match!!

2008-02-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Went for my virgin ice hockey match last Saturday at Pacific Coliseum, home ground of the Vancouver Giants!!

Entering the arena!!

Spectators..

Referees skating stylishly ard the rink just before the match starts..

For the last time i'm warning u, i'm straight!!

I have been watching some ice hockey matches on TV since i reached Vancouver and i thought i had a pretty good idea of how physical the game can get.. However, you don't feel the impact till u actually see the game itself!! And it is so frequent to see players getting heated up and look like they are gonna starting punching each other in the face. The comical thing is that each time a conflict seems to be rising, one of the referees will hurry to the players and stand between them.. Maybe that's why they need so many referees in a small ice rink, to stop fights in case things get out of hand..

During the intervals between the periods, there will be mini competitions or performances to entertain the spectators!! Other than the normal cheerleading (which were that great), there was a smaller scaled hockey match for kids and it is so funny see them all fighting for the puck and falling on their butts as their skating skills are not that good yet. Also, there was this competition whereby u can buy pucks for a dollar and when they commence the competition, everyone start throwing their pucks into the rink and when the time ends, whose puck that reaches the bulls eye in the middle of the rink will win a trip for 2 to Mexico!! Too bad i didn't know what the puck was for when they announced the sales of the pucks. After the competition, there will be a bunch of people hurrying in to clean up the rink!! All these done within the short interval rest!! There was also another competition whereby 2 couples will each try to drag a cheerleader on a sleigh around the ice rink. The one who comes back first wins, thought that was a bit lame haha..

The loser couple for the lame competition.. They lost to an all girls team!!

The winners!

Kiddy Ice Hockey Match!!

Kids taking off their clothes to cheer for the Giants! Sexy!!

Aftermath of puck throwing competiton!!

All in all, the match was pretty interesting to me, and i was actually rooting for the Giants towards the end! Many spectators were cheering and booing and the atmosphere was really quite exciting! They lost in the end haha.. Hmm maybe can start considering going for the Vancouver Canucks game but being a match in the NHL, it's gonna cost a bomb!!

Back to my books, one more test for this week on Friday.. Wish me luck!!

Especially for you, Happy Valentine's Day!! Missing u...=)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008-02-10T23:30:00.001-08:00

Haven't been updating recently.. Well CNY just started and hope everyone is having fun visiting, collecting ang baos and eating all the goodies!! (Though i don't get to collect ang baos and eat cny goodies.. *bleahz*)

This is my first time celebrating CNY overseas without my family and friends back home and i must say though it was not as 'traditional' and 'happening' due to the lack of visiting and maybe even gambling, i still had fun celebrating my first overseas CNY!!

除夕
Went to Chinatown with only Zhenni and Julian as the others were either busy with preparing for mid-term tests or having a long day in school. Cynthia also came to join us for dinner after her first day of work (Congrats Cynthia for your newfound job!). We have been hearing that East Hastings Street at Chinatown was not safe with all the vices and so we avoided that street. However, we still came across this woman who told us to get out of her way while we were crossing the road!! We weren't even in her path in the first place!! That was my first unruly encounter in Vancouver. By the time we reached Chinatown, most of the shops were closed but we came across this shop which i bought almond cookies from, which was of the same brand which i bought from Macau previously! The shop even ignited fire crackers later on which you don't get to see it in Singapore!

Entering Chinatown!!

Shop that set off fire crackers

We had our dinner at this HK restaurant and all of us ordered roasted duck rice with char siew haha.. Oh and we managed to each get a bowl of lotus root soup for 0.75 Cad and it was so good!! The duck and char siew wasn't very good though, still prefer Singaporean roast duck and char siew...

Yummy lotus root soup!!

Group Pic

After dinner, we went to T&T Supermarket which sells Asian stuff! Bought another rounds of groceries again...

Frozen durians anyone?!

After grocery shopping, we could not resist but succumb to our cravings for desserts at True Confections!! It's CNY's eve after all, so we should indulge ourselves!! This time round, we ordered Marble Top Cheesecake and Chocolate Pecan Pie with Vanilla Bean ice-cream. The cheesecake was very normal, not as good as the peanut butter cheesecake we tried previously.. However, the chocolate pecan pie was heavenly.. it almost took my breathe away when it literally melted in my mouth...

Star of the night!

Cakes and pies galore!!

Dessert gluttons..

初一
No holiday from school!! But that won't stop us from enjoying CNY!! Decided to have our cny dinner at one of the Prima Taste restaurants at downtown. Hence after classes, Julian, Zhenni and me headed to downtown and did some window shopping!! Went to this departmental shopping mall called Sears and it has this tourist corner which sells maple syrup in assorted bottles!! Maple syrup is supposed to be the local product of Canada and heard that they really taste good.. Gonna make sure i try them before i leave... After walking around for some time, we came to an Aldo shop (yes, the same Aldo that you see in Singapore) which was having sales! We quickly went in but in the end, only Julian managed to buy a pair of leather shoes at 30+ cad!! I couldn't find anything i like... darn!!!

Back to the future IV?

Vince came to meet us after his lessons and we went to Prima Taste for dinner!! All of us ordered laksa except for Vince, who ordered Hokkien Prawn Noodles. I would say the food was good and probably the best Singaporean cuisine in Vancouver, but it still can't beat the better ones in Singapore!! In addition, the price was exorbitant!! I paid like 10 cad for a bowl of laksa!! And the portion wasn't big.. Well, just for the experience!!

Prima Taste!

Grp Pic

I miss Laksa!!

初二
Gonna have a potluck party at Zhenni's place! Turned out there was too much food in the end! I made sambal prawns and potato soup with tomatoes, onions, tofu and carrots (whatever this soup is called). Zhenni prepared a vegetable dish, Cynthia cooked curry chicken and pork ribs with chili and black beans. Ha prepared Vietnamese spring rolls with fish sauce while Julian prepared asam fish! Corrine, Zhenni's Swiss housemate, prepared fruits and chocolate cream and Danielle brought 2 cakes for desserts!! Haven't had such a sumptuous feast in a long while!! Everything was simply delicious!! Company was good and the desserts were great!! I'm gonna learn how to make chocolate cream from Corrine!! Whoever has not tried eating fruits dipped in chocolate cream deserves to be shot!! haha...

Zhenni "squashing" the tofu, just kidding lol

Yummy soup from my granny's recipe!!

Chef Lionel and his prawns!

Potluckers..

We decided to play Indian poker and the loser has to eat some leftover fruits or cake. And guess what, i lost 3 times!! Grr... Am i just plain unlucky or not smart enough to trust the correct person??

Indian poker commences!

Loser of the night.. sigh..

Bought this ice wine from a nearby liquor store which cost 50 cad!! We have been told that we must try the ice wines in Vancouver so we decided to buy it so that everyone could have a taste! It was expensive but it was good!! Complemented the good food that we ate earlier!! Really felt so sinful eating all the food, chocolate and wine.. CNY wasn't lacking of good food for me after all!!

What is Zhenni trying to do? Be Duck Woman perhaps?

Corrine, the chocolate cream chef!

Me advertising for the ice wine and Zhenni had to spoil it..

The remnants of the party..

Food Galore!!

2008-02-02T23:53:00.001-08:00

Have been eating quite well for the past couple of weeks but i would say it was money well spent!! The 2 restaurants that i recommend to anyone who comes to BC would be Stepho's and Swiss Chalet! Stepho's is a Greek restaurant and the food is so good!! And not to mention their humongous portion!! Went with Joel, Rachel and Zhenni and we ordered the same main course - Roast Lamb!! Before that, we share Cheese Balls for appetizer and being a cheese-lover, i must say it tastes so delicious with the garlic dip..

Cheese balls! The only shortcoming is the insufficient number of
cheese balls to satisfy my craving haha..

Roast lamb! And it comes with rice, greek salad, some tomato based gravy with carrots, roasted potatoes and pita bread!
The pita bread is soft and fragrant, one of the nicest i have ever tasted!

The gluttons!!

The kitchen and the accolades received, there are many more
displayed ard the restaurant...

Joel and me managed to finish our portion and it as so satisfying! I didn't even feel hungry for breakfast this morning!! Really value for money!! The next restaurant is Swiss Chalet which i went with Zhenni, Cynthia and Danielle and it is a rotisserie! It is somewhat like Kenny Roger's but the food is way much better. Again, all 4 of us ordered the same stuff - chicken double leg with fries. The chicken was tender and juicy and the fries were really good. They tasted like a bit roasted!

The roasted chickens.. though u can't really see it in this pic..

group pic..

Very family-ish environment..

Like Stepho's, Swiss Chalet serves rather big portion and we ate till our hearts' content again!! We even shared a chocolate layer cake and caramel cheesecake for dessert! Really felt so satisfied with all these good food and i don't mind paying for them.. Well, all these eating is making me so sleepy nowadays and i have a mid-term test coming up on fri!! Argh!! Time to stop enjoying and mug!!

Thursday, my favourite weekday!!

2008-02-01T00:42:00.000-08:00

Every thurs is my favourite day!! This is because i only have one lesson that starts at 2 pm and ends at 3.30pm!! Usually the lecturer will just dismiss us at 3.15pm or even earlier!! I get to sleep in on a weekday and go gym in the morning drop-in slot which is much less crowded! I simply love Thursdays..

While walking to class, pass by Mr Snowman which i built 2 days ago and this is what it has become since yesterday i think...

Reminds me of a cherry with a coating of icing

Which joker inserted the tree branch?!?!

Police Incident @ UBC

2008-01-30T22:27:00.001-08:00

Received this e-mail from UBC after my classes today:

There has been a police incident at the Bio Sciences Building, which is located at the intersection of Main Mall and University Boulevard at the University of British Columbia.

On the advice of the RCMP, the Bio Sciences Building has been locked down. Building occupants have been instructed to stay where they are, to secure the room in which they are located, and to await further instructions from the RCMP.

No person will be permitted to enter or leave the Bio Sciences Building without RCMP authorization.

Out of an abundance of caution, the RCMP is advising that others on campus stay where they are currently located. All campus occupants should be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious circumstances to the RCMP at 911. Persons who are not on campus are advised to remain away from the campus until further notice.

Further information, as it becomes available, will be posted at http://www.ubc.ca.

Stephen J. Toope
President and Vice Chancellor

This explains why i saw a helicopter flying around on the way back and it kept it going for an hour or so... Heard from Cynthia that someone actually tried to bomb himself/herself up!! Omg, luckily nothing unfortunate has happened i think..

Went for basketball today and i still suck at it.. Sigh, i need to practice more!!

Let it snow, let it snow , let it snow...

2008-01-30T00:15:00.000-08:00

Was doing assignment in my room last night when Vince said that he wanted to come over and take the cereals for his breakfast the following morning. When he came over with Zhenni and i opened the door, i was greeted with heavy snow falling everywhere covering everything in white!! Haven't seen such heavy snowfall in British Columbia since i reached but it's better late than never!! We were so excited that we went out to take photos though we weren't adequately dressed especially with Zhenni in her slippers.

Attempt to build a snowman, at least it's better than my first attempt!

Look at the amt of snow on our hair after
being out for barely a few minutes!

Poor snowman got buried with more snow the next morning..

This is why it is hard to walk in snow..

Leaving a trail of footsteps

After our engineering professionalism class today, Zhenni and i succumbed to the temptation of skipping our marine biodiversity class to walk around enjoying the snow and building snowman with Julian!!

Posing with a snowman built by someone else..

Photo-whoring..

I managed to climb up the tree!!
*beaming with a sense of achievement*

When we reached back Fairview, we saw 3 snowmans and they looked so cool!!! One of them had 2 heads and one of them was like a cyclops with only one eye!! Another snowman was normal looking while the last one was purposely done in such a way that it was broken and scattered over the ground.. Whoever built these snowmans is damn creative!!

Pls don't hurt me!!

Being inspired, we started building our first snowman ever!! And we aimed to make it bigger than the 2 headed freak!! Haha..

The snowball that i rolled, it was the biggest among the 3 of us!!

From this humble snowball..

to this...

Tada!! Our final product!! (Guess what does LZJ stand for)

Our snowman is even taller than me!!
That's how big it is, not bad for a first attempt eh!

After spending 2 hours or so on our snowman, we were all tired out. Building a snowman isn't as easy as it seems after all, or maybe we are just being ambitious trying to make a huge one. It wasn't bigger than the 2-headed freak but hey, it is still big k!

Zhenni decided to cook the stew that her mum taught her and because of that, she did all the cooking for tonight's dinner!! Ha ha, that allowed me to nap for an hr!! Anyway, the stew turned out good, thanks Zhenni!! I'll find u a golden turtle when i'm back in NUS in exchange for ur cooking services for the rest of the term k!! Haha...

Dinner prepared solely by Zhenni!

Skiing @ Mount Seymour!!

2008-01-27T13:53:00.001-08:00

Finally had the chance to try skiing for the first time yesterday!! We went to Mount Seymour which was one of the four mountains that we can go to for skiing or snowboarding. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, we had to take this yellow school bus which looks exactly like the one shown in the cartoon, "The Magic School Bus".

Welcome onboard the Magic School Bus!!

I have reached Mt Seymour!

Skis!!

So shiok..

All geared up!

13 of us went and that made us eligible for the group discount!! Ha ha, paid 80.50 in total for a 2 hour lesson, equipment rental, area pass and lift pass!! Expected to pay more than a hundred at first.. However, we had to wait till 3pm for the lesson because the earlier slots were all full, but that didn't deter us from putting on our equipment and just go try skiing ourselves!!

Everyone trying to get a hang of skiing!

Look at the paranomic view!

Help! Help! Vince is falling!

Vince looking cool with only his T-shirt on in the cold..

Break dance in the snow!!

Our instructor, Corinne, was really patient! There were these 2 kids who were sisters in our group and they were practically testing Corrine's patience for the entire 2 hours!! Ha ha.. But i must say it is really cute and funny looking at them trying to get their balance and not slide all over the place. The lesson was good cause it taught us almost all the basics we need to ski and these were what we went through:

1. Without any skis on, adopt the posture for skiing which is having your knees bend and shoulder width apart.

2. Learn the braking posture which is by turning your feet towards each other.

3. Put on one ski and slide by using the other foot to push, something like skateboarding.

4. Put on both skis and learn how to recover when you fall. (We had to purposely fall a few times for that!)

5. Try out skiing down a slope and braking in time.

6. Try turning right while u ski and brake in time.

7. Try turning left while u ski and brake in time.

8. Try turning right then left and brake in time.

9. Try having more turns while u skii.

All these took us 2 hours or so and we were ready to go skiing on our own!! After skiing some time, Vince, Zhenni, Julian and i decided that we wanted to take the cable lift and that means we have to ski down the steepest and longest part of the mountain!! Oh man, the adrenaline rush was fantastic!! I nearly made it all the way without falling till some stupid snowboarder collided into me and sent me flying and i landed on a snow bank with my legs above my head! Lol..

can u see the snow turtle we made?

the sisters, Amanda & Sarah!

Vince getting up with the rope tow..

Taking the cable life up!!

Well, the trip could have been great if not till the end when we were leaving. We heard that due to heavy snowing, the bus met up with an accident and the roads were closed. A small van, which can only take 9 persons at a time, was used to bring everyone down. In the end, we queued for 2 hours plus in the extreme cold!! The snow just got heavier and even with long johns, sweater and down jacket, i was feeling cold!! The temperature must have been -3 deg or colder! This shows how bad the contingency plan was! Everyone was feeling cold and they didn't even have a place for us to wait in to stay warm, boo to the management for that. And at least have one more van to bring us down as we have to wait for like an hour before the van gets up each time it sends people down. I just hope the next mountain that we visit will be much better. Anyway, snowboarding shall be my next attempt!! =)

Special dedication for you...

2008-01-26T00:57:00.000-08:00

A nice song that i heard recently and u come to my mind whenever i hear it..

I've been awake for a while now
you've got me feelin like a child now
cause every time I see your bubbly face
I get the tinglies in a silly place

It starts in my toes
and I crinkle my nose
where ever it goes I always know
that you make me smile
please stay for a while now
just take your time
where ever you go

The rain is fallin on my window pane
but we are hidin in a safer place
under covers stayin safe and warm
you give me feelins that I adore

It starts in my toes
make me crinkle my nose
where ever it goes
i always know
that you make me smile
please stay for a while now
just take your time
where ever you go

What am I gonna say
when you make me feel this way
I just........mmmmmm

It starts in my toes
make me crinkle my nose
where ever it goes
i always know
that you make me smile
please stay for a while now
just take your time
where ever you go

I've been asleep for a while now
You tucked me in just like a child now
Cause every time you hold me in your arms
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth

It starts in my soul
And I lose all control
When you kiss my nose
The feelin shows
Cause you make me smile
Baby just take your time now
Holdin me tight

Where ever, where ever, where ever you go
Where ever, where ever, where ever you go
Where ever you go, I'll always know
Cause you make me smile here, just for a while

Hope u like it =)

Photocopying rampage!!

2008-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Realised that we could purchase the textbooks here and return them within 14 days for a full refund... This means that i can buy the book, photocopy it and return it for a full refund!! Fyi, books here easily cost 80+ Cad and above!! That explains for the photocopying resort.. Went with Vince and Zhenni to the bookstore today and tried on UBC hoodies. In the end, still couldn't make up my mind between a 30+ Cad for a not-so-good-looking hoodie and a 50+ Cad hoodie which looks much better, sigh... After that, went to purchase the textbook for my engineering professionalism module which cost about 87 Cad!! Then after lessons, went with Zhenni to the Staples Business Depot to photocopy our textbook. Oh man, it was complete madness!! I was worried about folding the pages or damaging the bind of the book as i had to return it in a good condition which doesn't look like it has been photocopied in order to get the full refund!! Hence, i took even a long time even just to align the book carefully. But managed to pick up speed as i went along and in the end, it took me about 2 hrs to photocopy 3 copies for Zhenni, Julian and me. Imagine standing and photocopying for 2 hrs straight.. *faint*

Went for basketball in the evening with Vince and my house mate Rupert. I totally suck man! Sigh, completely disappointed with myself, should have played much better. Well, guess it is a sign to tell me to do more sports! I shall play basketball regularly!!!

Well, time to hit the books.. Haven't been studying since school started.. Got my first assignment and i shall ace it! Though i can't even do the first question.. sigh...

It's been a while..

2008-01-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

Went ice-skating last Fri for the first time at UBC Thunderbirds Winter Sports Centre!! Damn cool to have a ice-skating rink in your own university!! Although we had to pay 5 cad bucks for entry and rental, it was worth it as the rink was not crowded unlike those in Singapore and the best thing is that you can rent hockey skates which are so much more comfortable!!

Group Pic

Made our way to Seattle factory outlet for shopping on Saturday!!! Joel, Ha, Zhenni, Vince and me rented a car as the shuttle service there was too expensive. It was my first time driving in Canada and USA and across the border!! Was excited to drive initially but the journey took more than 3 hours!! And to make things worse, everyone was sleeping in the car when i was driving!! I had to massage myself to keep awake man!! But looking on the bright side, i take it that my driving was stable enough for them to sleep haha... En route to Seattle, we stop by Krispy Kreme!! They actually have an open showcase of how they make and fry the donuts!! We ended up buying 2 dozens of donuts! One dozen of plain sugar coated ones and a dozen of assorted flavours!! Oh and thanks Joel for coming with us and giving us directions and bringing us to the nice HK restaurant for dinner!! The dinner was good though we had to pay 12 Cad for it. The waitress actually spilled my hot cup of tea on my jeans!! Grr, luckily it only scalded my thigh a bit. After dinner, Joel brought us to this place in Stanley Park where there was a good view of Vancouver. We could also see Lions Gate Bridge up, close and personal!!

me behind the wheel!

the road trip gang!

Krispy Kreme!

Delicious Donuts!!

The factory outlet had many major brands like CK, Guess, Nike, Adidas, Levi's, Polo RL, Banana Republic and many more and the price was much lower than their original prices. I bought a pair of Adidas basketball shoes for a mere 34 cad and a pair of Levi's for slightly more than 30 cad!! The jeans wasn't great but good enough for me haha...

Seattle Premium Outlets

entering the shopping paradise

after lunch

Had my third Engineering Professionalism lecture today and i still have problem writing down what was been said. The lecturers here speak much faster English with their respective Caucasian accents which is so different from Singapore lecturers. The students here are also much more vocal and they all seem to be very zhai and keep well abreast of general issues, which is beginning to stress me out! Zhenni's house mate actually went to the library to study during the first weekend!! To think that i was assuming that people here are more slack than Asians in studying, i'm so wrong...

introducing the car, Smart!

After lessons, Zhenni suggested walking to the nearby Wreck Beach as the weather was very sunny today. For your information, Wreck Beach is the only nude beach around!! But it is winter now so no one will be that crazy to go full monty haha... Upon reaching the entrance of the trail leading to the beach, we were greeted by a super long flight of stairs which seems never-ending!! However, it was worth it when we reached the beach as the view was good and the air was fresh!! We were each busy taking our own photos and didn't even feel cold. However, it was a arduous journey back because we have to now climb up the same flight of stairs that we came down from!! I took it as leg exercise and Zhenni couldn't even walk straight even before halfway up the stairs!

are u reading what i read? *cheeky*

zhenni about to embark on her journey!!

me too!

Wreck beach!!

i miss my bolster!!

i've got the whole sun.. in my hand!!

UBC!!

We later realisd that Vince actually skipped lecture and was trying to get us!! In the end, he spent the noon photocopying his textbooks with Ha. He was whining to Zhenni about us not calling him along, sorry Vince!!

-Specially for you-

wish u were here..

Bright & Sunny

2008-01-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

Was awaken by sunlight scorching on my butt this morning! haha.. But it is indeed rare to see the sun ever since i reached Vancouver, especially when the day is so short. The sky starts getting dark at around 4 and it just makes one feel so sleepy and tired easily, talking about hibernation eh?

Took a couple of pictures while walking to class with Zhenni and Julian. The weather was nice and sunny, though it was still a bit too cold for me.

Can u see the snow cap mountain?

random pictures of UBC campus

clock tower in UBC

Julian and me facing the bright sun..

Donuts!!

Back to Fairview!!

Attended my second lecture for Marine Biodiversity, which i skipped last week. In the end, realised the guest lecturer was just reading off the slides and i knew skipping it last week was worthwhile haha... Decided to skip the class halfway as i was not focusing to his heavily-accented tone, but thankfully today is his last lecture. Alright then, got to go over to Vince's place to get food and cook dinner at Zhenni's before going to Metro Town again for grocery shopping, again..

Yawn...

2008-01-14T13:08:00.001-08:00

Just came back from lessons and lunch, what a cold and windy day today! Burr... Feeling so sleepy but full, nevertheless, i shall nap and wake up for lessons later... Nite everyone, especially to the special one who is still in dreamland, sleep well and sweetest dreams. Hope to see ya in dreamland...

1st Weekend!!

2008-01-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Planned to visit the highlands of Vancouver for the Capilano Suspension bridge, Stanley Park and Northern Vancouver but gave the highlands a miss in the end due to bad weather and expensive admission fees. However, did managed to cover quite a lot of distance on our first outdoor trip!!

Stanley Park was our first destination and it was great! The air was refreshing and squirrels and creatures of the like were scurrying and hoping everywhere!! The best part was they don't seem to be afraid of humans and hence we could get quite near to them!! Saw a rather big raccoon as well and the kids there were getting all excited looking at it scavenging through the rubbish bin for its breakfast.

Squirrel feeding on the bread we fed..

Any breakfast for me??

Entrance of the aquarium..

Proceeded to taking a bus to cross the Lions Gate Bridge but didn't manage to take a close-up photo of it which was pretty wasted. But we made it up by having a nice lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant which serves delicious pho and spring rolls! FYI, pho is a Vietnamese dish which comprises of noodles with beef in soup. Ha, our new Vietnamese friend from NUS, treated us to the spring rolls!! Thanks for the treat Ha!!

Ha reliving her childhood memories by getting onto a kid's bike

After lunch, we went on to Londsdale Quay where we took the Seabus to return to Downtown Vancouver. Alighted at Canada's largest port, Waterfront, we then took the Skytrain to the Vancouver Flea Market where Vince grabbed a cheap deal! A pair of waterproof heavy duty boots for 30 Canadian dollars! But he realised the size was a little too small in the end, though he's most willing to bear with it for our trip to Whistler!! haha...

Not too bad for our first "expedition" as we just came out without planning our routes!! Amazingly, we didn't get lost, thanks to the people whom we approached for directions! I must say Canadians are very helpful and friendly!

Sunday was spend recuperating as the whole week was hectic and tiring. Vince, Zhenni, Ha and i whipped up a rather decent meal i must say.. Don't drool pls.. lol

i know it looks ugly, but it is delicious k!

Let it snow

2008-01-10T00:19:00.000-08:00

Being bogged down with several admin stuff these couple of days and it has irritating and tiring... On the bright side, i have finally experience snowing for the first time of my life!!

Sean advertising for orange juice under the snow

Failed attempt @ building snowman =(

Anyway, finally had the time to go grocery shopping! Have been eating out since i reached UBC and it is damn expensive!! Went out to this huge mall called Metro Town where there are 3 supermarkets!! Bought my stuff from The True Canadian Superstore as they were the cheapest haha... especially for the house brand items.

Everything abt Caucasians muz be big, even their bananas...

and Ruffles..

drumsticks and many more...

Anyway, there is actually A&W here in Canada!! But they are a little different from those in Singapore because they sell more burgers than hotdogs...

It is only my 4th day here and i am feeling homesick though i have been enjoying myself in this new environment... Miss my family, my friends and especially you. Well, too many things happened this few days and i dunno what to write haha, so as usual, leave you guys with photos taken at the airport.. Take care guys and i'll be missing you all!!

My Beloved Family

Friends who came..
Thank you guys, really appreciate it!

Sweet right?!

My dearest grandma..

First day of school @ UBC

2008-01-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Went for 3 lessons today and went for winter gala orientation, totally drained my energy *yawnz*. Anyway, UBC was so different from yesterday, with the influx of students and opening of the bookstore, food joints and other buildings. Walked by the swimming pool and saw over-sized seagulls flying over it!! Ha ha, but didn't manage to take any pictures of them as the weather was too cold for me to stand still and take out my camera to shoot!!

At one of the lessons, the lecturer could actually identify my friends and i as exchange students and she said, " somehow i can just identify u guys as exchange students, sitting at one corner by yourselves.." The thing was that we were late for that class due to the previous lesson and so there was only that spot for us to sit!! Grr... but then again, the lecturer is a rather nice Romanian woman, so shall not get pissed with her haha... Oh one thing i am rather happy with is that most of my lessons last an hour each, so i can actually stay awake!! For those who know me well, you should understand what a formidable feat it is for me!! lol...

Went to the bookstore to collect my UBC card and UPass, which was something like the student ezlink card with concession, just that it cost lesser and u can take the bus as well as train!! Nice! The bookstore here looks like the old MPH near the old National Library, looks much nicer than pathetic Coop in NUS and most imptly, they have 13 counters!! The queue might be long, but at least the waiting is rather short...

Anyway, getting sleepy... so shall just show u a couple of photos that i took when i woke up this morning. Think it sort of snowed a little during the nite...

house that i live in..

Snow!! At least a little..

julian & zhenni

The gang

Still can't believe..

2008-01-06T21:43:00.001-08:00

Hi to all who is reading this humble blog of mine!! First of all, i have to apologise for the dull and unoriginal outlook of my blog, but give me time and i'll try my best to improve on it alright! Afterall, i am a noob blogger..

Anyway, i'm finally in Vancouver!! I still can't believe it, despite being on a 14 hr plus sleepless flight transiting at HK, walking out braving the icy cold winds to have lunch and buy grocery, unpacking my luggages and now typing out this entry in my new room, that i am actually here, embarking on my exchange program.

Remembered that when i entered NUS, exchange program was on my mind but it seemed unattainable. Yet, i am doing it now but the excitement that i have now doesn't seem to match that of what i thought i would have when i was in year one, maybe i'm just tired and not settled in *cross fingers*.

Whatever it is, now that i'm here (plus all the money and time i have spent preparing), i'm filled with confidence that this trip will be one of the most memorable, fun and enriching part of my life!! For the time being, no photos will be uploaded due to lack of nice photos and also, i have yet to figure out how to upload them *oops*.

Anyway, UBC seems like an old, laidback deserted town!! It looks so different from what i thought a university would look like, but then again, i have only explored a small part of it. Tmr will be exploring the other parts of UBC and school starts proper as well, so should be seeing more live injected into this prosaic place!! Also, i guess because it is sunday over here, most shops close early, no thanks to the laidback culture of Canada i guess.

My room is small and has a weird shape for its layout. It is neither square nor rectangular, it somehow resembles more of a triangle and this creates problem for me to place things around and to move around as well. Room wasn't that good though i have to praise its cleanliness and free gifts left behind by the previous occupant - hangers and lan cable.

Room Pic 1

Room Pic 2

That's all i have to say for this first entry of mine i guess, nothing fanciful or meaningful, but just what i feel like saying. Time for my long-awaited slumber...

Favourite part of my room..
Thank u =)