Weekend @ Whistler Blackcomb

It may not have been a good time to find out that Greyhound bus stations (at least the one @ Pacific Railway) does not open 24hrs. Went there at 11pm with the intention of staying overnight for the 530am bus to Whistle next morning, but was abruptly informed (by the security guards) that I'm not to spread my butt and legs awkwardly all over the cubicled seats in the intention of sleeping, because the station was due to close in an hours time. Not a very pleasant thing to take note of at 12am.

After several bouts of panicking and pacing around the place thinking of some miraculous solutions, left my bag (and Serene's) in one of the station lockers, and went back home (with Serene) to sleep. Yup, I'm not the only one stuck with such bad planning of mine...

Had to wake up Eu and Zhiqing. But such thing was inevitable, since the inevitable had happened already.

Traversed back to the bus station @ 4.15am in the morning, and arrived there near 5am, not after having a most exciting walk down the sidewalk of East Hastings where all the nocturnal criminal activities had not the notion to subside yet.

What an eventful start to the Whistler ski trip. =)

Whistler was (and still is) beautiful. This was probably the first time I've seen the land covered in snow aplenty (not counting the glacier plains of the Rockies) and the structure of snow particles seems so distinctive and pronounced. Couldn't take much photos because of bad lighting in the morning, and also because I didn't bring my camera up the mountain (didn't want to bring a camera whilst skiing). This was (on hindsight) a bad deal, because the view from above Whistler Mountain were to die for. Stupid me.

How was skiing? Fun fun fun fun. Tons of fun. Notwithstanding the fact that skiing was unnatural to me and I spent most of my time in the lesson trying to get my steering right (I've had a terrible time trying to move right, though left was not a problem) and not skiing down the wrong slopes, it was tons of fun.

However, you might want to try snowboarding instead. It seems way cooler and way more fun, if you can handle it. The pricing for rentals are the same, but be prepared for worst falls. I leave my disclaimer here.

Ski lesson (everyone needs lessons!) was spent learning the 4 basic direction keys on the keyboard, and near the end of our lesson (Whistler starts closing @ 3pm. The sun sets early there) was when the most happening event happened. Estimating that we were a good deal capable of skiing down the slopes, we embarked on a treacherous (it's relatively easy to non-newbies) journey down quite some slopes (and not without frequent hiccups) before we were found wanting. The snow has not settled to a great depth yet, and the ice layer was simply too slippery for us imbeciles. We had to turn back, and it was not without much difficulty before we managed to grind our way up to our starting point.

Jiayun owes me 4 bananas and 2 strawberries for carrying her skis up more than half the way. I'm still suffering from muscle spasms now.

The journey home was another exciting event. Apparently an accident occured at Highway 99, blocking the way back home. There was, of course, much disagreement from the tourists wanting to make their way back to Vancouver. It seemed that Singaporean's favourite pasttime (complaining) was undertaken by many of them there and then. Some commotion ensued, and I vaguely remember a lady (but not ladylike) complaining to the much bothered bus driver that she 'has paid for her ticket', much to the amusement of the whole mob who were also impatient (but not complaining much) and also holding tickets in their hands. Mutters flew around silently as all of us shuddered in the 2 degrees weather, and it was only after some time that we gave up waiting and proceeded for dinner.

Finished a nice dinner at Citta's before heading back to the bus station, which by then was relatively cleared of angry people waiting for their rides home, as the highway was cleared sometime earlier during our dinner. Some did remain, and there was slight priority disagreement as to who should board the bus first. It was all settled without much physical activities, and we were soon on our way home.

T'was an eventful day spent at Whistle skiing indeed. Go again? I'm not sure. Did not purchase the Edge card, and am hardpressed for time. Still have my galloping trails and bus riding to contend with.

Photos for Whistler

Not much of them.

But here they are anyway. =)

Presents Thread::

Ok, in view of the impending coming back to Singapore (sob sob), dear boys and girls and ladies and gentlemen and whatever type of homo sapiens, please notify me as to whether you want a present or not (this is to reward you for being loyal viewers of my blog ;) ).

If yes, what pressie you want?!? Got specifics then name them, see can get or not. Else I RandomSelect.

Some of the foreseeable pressies:
-maple leaf syrup in fancy gift glass bottles?
-Starbucks limited edition stored value cards from main branch in Seattle (fyi, the original Starbucks logo's siren's breasts are not covered. And these original logos are still in print ONLY in that main branch)
-postcards (...)
-calendars
-tourist maps (? haha...)

If there's serious rejections of any of the above pressies, please also state hor....

Going to Whistler Mountain for skiing tomorrow

Won't be blogging. Haha, as if I blogging everyday. This is the first time I'm skiing, so I think it'll be fun. Why not snow boarding? Dunno leh, think skiing easier lah, and also less extreme. I'm an old sack of bones unable to withstand much excitement. ;)

Best study (mugging!) spot found!

After traversing every corner of the Kroener Library, found that the best seats are on level 4,5,6, at the glass-shield side facing Main Library.

Why?
You get a nice scenery to look at when tired from studying, that's one reason.

But the main reason is that..... the heater is running parallel to that side! That's a very useful thing to have when you are all cold and shivering and your socks are both wet (The feeling of wearing warm socks freshly heated over the heater is orgasmic, I tell you...)

I don't like the rain that much now. Too much of it dampens the mood too much (on top of feeling all cold and wet inside), and that can be quite depressing. Depression is good for short periods of time, but not all the time. =(

This morning cooked a relatively heavy breakfast again. Shiok shiok.

And Sushi tonight. Yay. Oh happy day.

New photos are up! And about time too....

Here are the photos::
04-10-22 Seattle
04-10-22 Seattle Bus
04-11-19 Lytton & Kamloops

Dinner @ KFC and Dairy Queen's

Had KFC Twonies meal again today, but this time was 3 meals to 2 persons (that makes out to 3 pieces + 1.5 packs of fries.)

Went to DQ for their milk shakes (we ordered strawberry and chocolate++:: the favourite flavours) and played bridge till 9pm, when we feel totally tired and full. It's a weekend feeling experienced on a weekday.

Yes, the fat intake for the day is absolutely sinful.
And Sushi Whammy is on Thursday! Must detox. Hmm. But I'm just saying. =)

Weekend Vacation to Lytton and Kamloops (Kamloops Part)

I dig the Hostelling International @ Kamloops. It's situated in an ex-courthouse, still furnished with all that should belong to a courthouse. You can study while sitting @ the judge's seat, or eat breakfast in the witness' box, or play yoyo in the jury's post, or whatever. Also, this might be the only HI (not even the Seattle one!) which has a bath tub.

We arrived at HI @ around 2 am and had a mini Amazing race adventure
----------------------
1) Find the HI.
Where's that? Isn't that a courthouse? But the address is rite... Oh! It's the HI! Yay!!! Let's go to the entrance...

2) Try enter HI.
Damn! The door's locked! How? Oh, for late entrance, it's through another entrance? Great, let's go find it...

3)Find other door.
Is that a passage way under the main entrance? Oh, there's a box with a lock in the door! Quick! Unscramble it with the combination you have... Oh, there's a letter in it!
Read::
Hi Frank,
Welcome to HI! Blah blah blah.... Attached is a key to your room.
Your bed is on level 3, room B (3rd room on the left), bed 2.
Please approach to check in in the morning. =)
Lock the box with this combination : 2102

3)Enter HI.
Go up to the main door, insert key (it works!), then figure way to bed.
----------------------

Happening, I tell you.

Morning woke up late and took some cheesy pictures revolving around all the cool courthouse stuff.

Spent a deal of time looking for this famous Amsterdam's pancake restaurant, walking up and down Victoria Street a few times looking for it, only to find that it's closed down. How's that possible for a gourmet restaurant that's suggested by people? Even the clerk at HI suggested that...

Had instead an awesome breakfast @ 'Hello Toast' gourmet toast restaurant, and it's a 5/5 on my must-eat scale. Breakfast's really good, what with the bennies (egg Benedict with Hollandaise sauce) and sandwiches... Felt that much closer to heaven there and then. Guaranteed best buy. So there.

Bought a bus pass @ 3.75 each and checked in into this Grandview Motel (GVM) at the end of Columbia Street, and it's great I tell you.

The power of Lonely Planet (LP) cannot be more underestimated. GVM was slammed down by LP for uncourteous staff, and because of that, business dwindled (I guess from the 'crowd' I missed seeing there...), so they sorta became more courteous, and also drove prices down from 60+ (as stated in LP) to 45 before taxes (50 after tax). This is by aggaration, a similar price to HI, but comes with super comfy beds and attached bathrooms! With bathTubs and freebies to kop and TV to watch and everything nice and wholesome! This is a guaranteed best buy, from the Ramada Inn next door which sets us to $80 and Hospitality Inn to $50.

Took a bus traversing along the Thompson River and saw nice sceneries. Pity my puny A40 couldn't take nice photos from the bus. =(

Ended the night with dinner @ Rainbow Family Restaurant near GVM, and a night view from an excellent viewpoint (there's a Chapters Restaurant @ the viewpoint [it advertises itself based on the view it has], and I think it has the best view in kamloops city.)

digression:: The Chapters Restaurant is signaged as 'Voted as the best Restaurant'. What does that mean? How much can you trust the value of the restaurant from that? Say I cast one vote (from the entire nation) to vote for my kopitiam to be 'the best kopitiam in Singapore', am I eligible to say that my kopitiam is 'Voted as the best kopitiam in Singapore'? How legal is that? Any lawyers around, please comment on this... ::End of digression

The Rainbow restaurant was a nice restaurant. We had the MMMMMMonster Burger that was humongous and had 3 juicy huge humongous (did I say that again? cos it IS humongous) meat patties inside. The burger was big enough to make 2 person (1 big meat eater) suffer in its generosity.

Breakfast the next morning was at Rainbows also, and this time it was Bennies (I think I love Egg Benedict now, though I have no idea who Benedict is) and the two-of-everything meal (eggs/bacon/sausage/pancakes). It's a great family restaurant. 4 thumbs up for value. Like the bearded cook (maybe he's boss also) also. Friendly guy.

And so completes our journey to Lytton and Kamloops.

If you ask me, Kamloops is worth the trip, but there's no need to stop at Lytton for whatever reason, even if you were born in Lytton.

Weekend Vacation to Lytton and Kamloops (Lytton Part)

Last Friday skipped school (Frank! Skipped school? This is unbecoming of you...) to go on a bus trip to Lytton and Kamloops, about 4 hours east of Vancouver.

Lytton is a small town with a population of 300+, which is about 3% of the size of a church in singapore, which is the size of 12 junior college classes, which is 1.5x one batch of NUS law students, and 1x one batch of wedding dinner guests. There's really nothing much to do there, so if you are wanting to go there in the expectation of some really neat and cool activities, don't. The Lytton link above really did a good job in detailing everything that's existing in Lytton to be exaggeratively interesting.

At the greyhound stop is the Pioneer Cemetary, where the more photographic part of you may want to stop for some cemetary shoots. Or not, if the photographic part of you doesn't want to.

The visitor information led us to take picture of a funny sand contour structure they call 'Jelly Roll' (and frame it up alongside a wall), in the hope that it may one day become a famous landmark of the remarkably small and deserted town. Sadly, this belief reinforcement led to a great anti-climax that I have not recovered from, after seeing the real McCoy to be just a funny sand contour structure that they frame alongside a wall.

The caboose park beside the GrEaT Lytton Jelly Roll was the size of a budget-limited coffeeshop in an overpriced CBD district. 5 groups can play hopscotch in it, with all of them trying very hard not to collide amongst themselves. Except that after they brought in the cAbOoSe, there seems to be only room for 2 groups left.

We had lunch at the best cafe in town (truth is, it is the only cafe), which was facing the notorious Fence, where all the toughies of the town hang out (really, the place's so limited that even toughies can't be picky about where to hang out...). Where is it? It's the only noticable fence in the whole town, so you can't miss it.

If there's anything worth the time at Lytton, it has to be the Fraser river and all the adjacent mountains that makes the whole place so picturesque. Took some pictures that you might see soon on my website. Elisa has got more pictures, so you might want to link there via the link on the left. But then again, she's so perfectionistic that only a few rare photos (taken from obscure angles or under super rare elemental support[rain @ horizontal angle, rainbow, rays of lights through clouds...]) pass the cut into her gallery.

We also took the Lytton Reaction Ferry that was a boat linked via to the two sides of the Fraser River by metal wirings. The tilt of the boat allowed the slight heavy current to push it from shore to shore, and that's the physics part of it.

Ended off the day waiting for the greyhound @ 10pm, after seeing all (at around 5pm?) that was interesting in Lytton, the (only) supermarket included. Bring lots of work along to maximise time efficiency.

Alan Hu

I have a very interesting Lecturer for CS418, Computer Architecture. Just for the record, his name is Alan J. Hu, but this is not as interesting as he is, though you can make still fun of his first name (Alan Hu. Alan Who? Get it? =)) We go to his class every Thursday even though that's sorta the only class we have for the days. It's more of a free entertainment event. =)

Amidst floating (and sometimes sinking) on the flotsams in the sea of technical jargons in archi class, we were relatively challenged by Hu (last week, Thursday) on remembering a certain term for some bizarre data system component that stores instructions during processing. Terms were blurted out after much cajoling from Hu, including 'instruction queue', 'reorder buffer', 'Register renaming unit' (and a whole slew of other similar sounding names performing similar duties), but not to the utmost satisfaction of our normally easygoing Hu.

He hinted, poked, cajoled, and lured, without getting the right answer from us for a good 10 minutes, by when most of the amusement was wearing off. Mitch, the usual brain of the class, was exhausted from guessing in futileness.

Almost giving up, Hu gave his ultimatum. That it started with the letter 'R'. Now this was not the ultimatum that one would normally expect in lieu of the exact answer, but we gave him another chance at it, for he was normally such a nice guy. Unfortunately, no one was mugger enough to remember the term still, and it ended off with Hu talking more and more about what it does, and forgetting to tell us what the term was, after keeping us in what seemed like hours of suspense. Mitch saved us from dying in our own curiosity by blurting out (after giving Hu some time to remember that he has not told us the term yet) 'So tell us the name already...'

'Reservation Station' was the answer, and it still seemed a jargon lost in the vast sea to us.

If he doesn't seem interesting to you, that may be because I'm not giving a good description about him. Try going to his website here to find out more. He's really a nice guy to boot, and neat and fuss-free.


His usual pet phrases:
~'...gobs and gobs of money'
~'Anyone have any questions? I have no shame, you have no shame...'
~'Let's vote on this'

His usual punchlines:
~involves making fun of the whole Wintel union as 2 associates ready to stab each other in the back, should the opportunity arise. It usual dallies around Intel giving support to Linux and other OSes, and Windows giving support to AMD...
~involve periods of silence, with much question marks flying about everyone's head.

A Personal Analysis of Transcontinental Economy differences

If there are anything cheaper over here (Canada) than in Singapore, it would have to be 'Made in Canada' stuff or Kentucky Fried Chicken, which I had for dinner tonight.

Today is Toonies Two's Day @ KFC and there is an offer for (2pcs Chick + Small Fries) @ CAD$2 (did you guess this? You would be wrong, cos there's a 15% tax. =) ) And you could add an extra piece of chicken or an extra drink (20 oz) for a loonie (in fact you can add unlimited chix/drink if you had unlimited loonies).

That works out to a 3-piece meal with fries for $3.45, after tax. Convert that to SGD would be around SGD$4.50? That totally rocks and increases my affinity for it. =). How agreeable and delightful.

I did it! I called home! Now I'm guilt free! Yay

To all those nil-wishers,
here's the latest news: After N weeks, I finally called home again! Though it got hanged up after 12 minutes is another matter...

Got meself skypeOut points to call out from my lappie so no need to go out and face the elements in that (yes, THAT.) dingy phone booth 2 streets down. No more shady stereo-man to disturb me phonecalls!

Anyone want to get me can get me @ skype: user :: native02

New Concept: Hair Conditioner

Just found out that you are supposed to use conditioner AFTER shampooing. Hmm... interesting.

When was the first time you used hair conditioner? My first use was last year in Malaysia, when I bought a pair of conditioner+shampoo, when I accidently mistook it as shampoo. How about that? I was so pissed off that the 'shampoo' had no foam. Damn.

Trip to Shannon Falls and Squamish

The trip to Shannon Falls and Squamish last Saturday is about 1hr ride (CAD$15, return, Greyhound) from Vancouver, with a little bit of scenery on the way (the way back at night is better, I think, cos you can see the Vancouver skyline and all the glitzy lights of Vancouver while the bus moves along the shore line of horseshoe bay)

Shannon Falls' nice (BC's third-highest waterfall)and comes with a few delightfully awkward hiking trails. Not the usual well travelled ones, but those of quite steep elevations (they have steps for some of the way, but only rocks on others). There's also some awesome rocks (Stawamus Chief Mountain) which would look very nice on postcards and photos, except the day was too cloudy for nice photos...

Squamish is a relatively small town with little to squam about. We went on a walk along the touristed estuary, to some slight disappointment at the lack of birds (wrong season?) and the cloudy weather. It was nevertheless, a walk to remember.

Some touristy facts about Squamish:
Situated at the head of Howe Sound and surrounded by mountains, Squamish is cradled in natural beauty as only a West Coast community can be. Growing in fame as the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada, visitors will discover the abundance of attractions, activities and opportunities to explore in the community of Squamish.

Things to do::
-Shannon Falls Provincial Park
-Stawamus Chief Provincial Park
-Alice Lake Provincial Park

-Rail history showcased at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park
-Shannon Falls also attracts thrill-seeking ice climbers
-Squamish Estuary provides extraordinary birding, with over 200 species identified.
-Windsurfing: Squamish has the Spit, a long breakwater located at the mouth of the Squamish River. It is the launch pad for windsurfers who rely on its predictable wind, known as a squamish, which blows each afternoon.
-In 1994, Squamish set the world record with an astounding 3766 eagles counted in one day! The month-long Eagle Festival is held in January, drawing crowds from around the world.

.... and that's all the nice stuff you can do there. But we went there for the Estuary walk only, cos not time/dun like/no money for all the other stuff. =)

Ended the day @ Granville trying to find the much acclaimed (by Rockies Express Groupie) Sushi restaurant to no avail, and gave the search up for a warmer dinner @ Congee Noodle House. Congee Noodle House never fails. =)

Changes in Singapore: Computer Times is now Digital Life

A few months out of Singapore and it seems that changes are slowly but surely creeping me by. I'm almost certain that something shocking in news value will great me at Changi Airport when I get back, or in the next few days after. Something big, and many things trivial.

I can almost imagine my brother saying to me 'Oh, nothing much happened while you were away... There's a few more Starbucks, Old Chang Kee pulled out of Singapore, that's about all. Oh, and by the way, Nathan died and Gurmit Singh became President.' Horrors. Imagine that.... Old Chang Kee pulled out of Singapore? That will be the day, I tell you... Absolutely mindless.

I still remember a period of time of blind-going-to-school-and-do-nothing-else, only to find that the local shopping mall has undergone such drastic changes when I went there the day after all the semester exams. New jewellery shops shifted in, Pizza Hut renovated, BreadTalk came in, a few fashion shops started[but they always come and go, so this is trivial], M1 Shop came in... Now who EVER notice changes in the local Mall?? Changes in local Malls are supposed to be so transient and so gradual that you won't even notice them if they move the whole mall 2 blocks down the road. Sorta tells how I've been not having a life (to even visit the local mall once in the whole semester) while in NUS.

Changes always seem to pounce on me from all corners, at all angles. They are so well-concealed and camouflaged that they should be given Commando status. In fact, changes are so constant taht I've gotten used to them already, but will (as a customary protocol) always give the 'What just happened??' face, so as not to disappoint anyone who may think change to be a really cool stuff.

Perhaps this is the period (my period) of time when time seems to shift to gear 5 and everything passes you (me) by so quickly that you can't say 'whytheheckwasthatgarbagebagflyingdowntheroadatthespeedoflightminus15kmperhourfor?' and 'someoneshouldcallthepolicetogiveitaspeedingticket!'. There is a greater preoccupation with studies and work and whatever time-wasting-stuff-that-adults-do that you (yes, me) don't seem to be noticing the small stuff in Life anymore. No more playing badminton at the carpark downstairs every night (that's me @ pri3/4!), no more watching Chinese MTVs at 2am on Fri/Sat nights (that's me @ sec1/2/3), no more hanging out at the kopi-shop with your kakis (ok, this is not me), no more going down to Orchard road with your hair super-geled and donning orchid print shirts blowing wolf-whistles at RGS girsl(not me also, I swear) and whatnots. Is this for the good or worse? I am not sure. Life doesn't get simple, and pre-heats for the rat race in Singapore is about to start soon. It seems so inevitable, yet so preventable.

Everyone should do something about this before nothing else mundane happens to everyone.

I have 2 more Jelly Belly Jelly Beans left.

Forsooth I am undone!
To buy more, or not to buy more: that is the question:
Whether 'tis better for the stomach to suffer
The 20-flavours of Jelly bellies,
Or to refuse against the torn soul of desire,
And by opposing end them? To eat: to yearn;
No more; and by a yearn to say we end
The gastric pain and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consumption
Devoutly to be wished."

Fire Engine outside Pender Apt! (Again)

The fire alarm in our apartment has been tripping ever so often that I've made friend with the fire engine driver who comes along helter-skeltering in his red fire engine (with firelights and all).

His name is Joe and he has 3 sons (4, 6 , 9 yrs old)and 1 daughter (16), his wife left him 3 months ago and he hangs out at Pizza Garden every night after work. Just kidding.

Ok, apparently there's something wrong with the fire alarm in the building, and all of us are not pleased to be woken up by it in the wee hours of the morning (think 2am). Thought of smashing the bell to pieces, but... that's a crime isn't it? Might as well leave it to some other impatient tenant to do the dirty work... =P

Results on Quizilla.

You're the model Singaporean student!

You actually enjoy going to school,
doing your work and get straight As!! But at
the cost of your social life, you dumb mugger.
Nobody knows or even cares about you.
Congratulations, everybody else openly hates
you!


Which Stereotypical Singaporean Student Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

A pleasant sunday following the pleasant weekend. =)

Went to Granville Island after church today and had an agreeable lunch of Calamari (w/ unagreeably oily fries) and Indian curry rice (rice + dhal + masala chicken + spinach++ ).

Window-shopped till contentedly tired and is now home blogging this entry before going to sleep.

A pleasant weekend. =)

Was supposed to go Steveston Park (south of Richmond) after the excellent dim sum @ the szechuan restaurant @ Granville, but ended up walking down Granville window shopping instead.

The drizzle followed us all the way after we left Granville till we arrived at Cafe Aritigiano in downtown, where we had premium latte and companionship, before deciding on yet another meaningless traversal, one round along the skytrain loop.

Met yanying (she's going Metrotown) on the bus towards skytrain, but separated later as we were going in different directions. But halfway through the traversal for scenic sights along the skytrain, randomly decided to go MetroTown also and left off the meaningless traversal.

I have no good taste when it comes to clothes, but was thankfully accompanied by one who has much better taste than me. The MetroTown trip then evolved into a 'Shop For Frankie Frenzy', in search of the perfect jeans for me (aww...how nice...). GAP, Levis, Old Navy was parsed through without much success, ending off on Robson's GAP, where it was finally found and approved by the stringent QC personnel.

Watched 'Bruce Almighty' at night, after a dinner of wanton noodles.

Poppy flowers everywhere

Saw people wearing poppy flowers around, and we thought that there's some anti-drug campaign going on, although the idea of wearing poppy flowers seems contrasting to the very idea of banning drugs. Imagine people protesting against on the streets against drugs, yet smelling the poppy flower in their shirt pocket? The irony...

Found out that it's for Remembrance Day this coming Thurs (holiday to cao mug! Yay. =|) and it's some sort of day to remember those that had died in some war (WWII? I can't remember... =P)

Do you want anyone to remember you when you die? I have no particular preference for that. As long as God remembers me and how Jesus has died that my worthless life can be considered worthy in the Lord's eyes, I am satisfied. I have no great ambition to become any more famous than I am now (I am not.) but just to live a simple life with the one that I love, without worries of survival in this modern rat-racing society (if can open a provision shop in the end, then best).

Peace and stability are my current living goals, and towards them I have grown to be quite aggressive (even blindingly). Perhaps I have seen through turmoil and instability, and that's what's driving me towards these goals that others take for granted (and start reaching for other things in Life). I don't take them for granted, for I know that they aren't. At least to me, they aren't. Call me insecure or whatever jargons you want, but that's me.

Weekend Vacation to Squamish: something to squirm about.

And no, haven't been there yet, but it's slotted for next weekend. Hope there will not be any further changes to this, thought we all know that 'the only constant is change' blah blah....

Squamish sounds like an adjective/sound/verb/watever for something that's... squamish.
'The apple pie looks squamish.' seems like a perfectly logical sentence, except that you don't really know what's squamish. It's a description for something.... squamish. Heck. Someone google for it and tell me if it exists.

Ok, one day we will be there and find out what's exactly so squamish about Squamish. I hope it's not too squamish though.

Pawnshops encouraging stealing stuff in Northeast Van..

Horrors! Here is a report on pawnshops around my area (northeast Van) encouraging people to steal goods!

Aiyoh, cannot hang my underwears out to dry already, scully pple steal them... =P

Of pumpkin pies (? Haha..), potato salads (Hmm..), and delectable grilled drumsticks

There must be some laws (if there isn't, someone should motion for them) to make it illegal for anyone to not own an oven. The drumsticks in tomato puree/mayonaise grilled in a 230 degs oven taste so delicious that I must must must try to make my own. (Even if it takes N times of washing to get the pandoric oven clean before I can experiment with it)

Pumpkin pie? Haha... What can I say? Better luck next time. Thank God that it doesn't take as much effort as the hazelnut torte, or all of us will feel really bad. Really really bad.

There is something about the potato salad that I cannot put a finger to it. And so I won't. It has something to do with the beans being too long, the radish being funnily bland, and... argh! I'm putting my finger into it! Stop it, Frank...

Elisa has a secret recipe notebook that I am tempted to swipe while she's sleeping. I could ask it from her, but then, where's the fun? Would love to see the horrified face when she finds her 'precious' gone... bwah hah hah...

Weekend Vacation to Tofino cancelled.

It was to be either a long weekend in Tofino (beach, hiking trails++) encumbered with thoughts of back-logging homework, or a short weekend elsewhere (leaving some time to do work).

Don't feel like rushing around, so giving Tofino a miss for now.

Maybe will whack Tofino/Victoria together during study break, see how.

Just found out next weekend is bad for travelling. Rememberance Day is burnt by the Psych Midterm 2 the following day, whilst the following Monday's Algo Midterm 2 killed the weekend. Though the bigger picture is to enjoy the stay here, I still don't think it's wise to be on extended-away for the weekend, so Lytton and Kamloops will have to wait slightly longer... Maybe the waiting and eager anticipation will make the trip better, or not. Hmm.

Sacre Bleu.

Is my English getting from bad to worse or is everyone's english getting better? Or is this a transient problem among all engineers?

Been reading friends' blog and cannot believe that I am standing in awe of their literary flair, gazing but from a distance off.

The competitive spirit in me does not admit that my A2 in GP does not last forever, and I am determined (for this immensely short period of insanity and indignant) to master a language that I once did, engineer or not.

Financial Situation (update)

Dear all-who-are-interested-in-my-financial-situation,
Please find under 'My Files' at my website (look to the left for link), an updated excel spreadsheet on my financial status.

While rampant spendings and several high budget expenditures/holidays have contributed greatly against the heavily stretched budget, I assure you that EVERYTHING IS STILL UNDER CONTROL.

Though only around SGD$300+ is left for ALL EXPENSES TILL END OF SCHOOL, do not panic.
Though market sentiments are against my surviving on the pittance left, do not panic.
Though I might well be chomping on can foods for the rest of my stay here, do not panic.
Though there are still a few more trips (to Tofino, Chicago, Seattle [again?], +++) to be embarked upon and will incur more costs, do not panic.
I should be the one panicking, and I am not.

This is because :
all the heavy duty expenses have been paid up (rent and other household overheads, clothes+++),
the initial budget of SGD$8K is simply unrealistic and just a high-aim goal,
there are still reserves of over SGD$5K left for emergency situation.

Any eating into the reserves will simply mean less money for travelling to Taiwan/China/Thailand/Vietnam/HK when I get back.

So, chill.

Kudos to Elisa Chan

Elisa took a very suave picture of me @ my website.

Check it out!