嗨。
还有人来这里吗？如果有，那，谢谢你 :)
*****
好久没在这里写些什么了。
去年发生了不少事，开心的好像记不起，不开心的倒是有。
以前我新年的愿望总会是，希望自己能开心。但是每年到了尾声时，也不知道到底有没有真正开心的过了一年。
今年就换一换吧！我今年的new year resolution就，要让身边的人都开心！或许，身边的人开心，我自然而然也会开心了。
最起码，不要让别人不开心。
*****
有人说我不会站在别人的立场想，只会从自己的角度想。或许这是真的。好吧，那今年我就切记要多为别人着想。
祸从口出，今年我也要记得少说话，以免得罪人。或者说，在说话前，先考虑一下别人的感受吧。
*****
很欣慰一直以来身边都有一群出身入死的好朋友，就因为有他们在，我才能在这疯狂世界里找到一点自己。
朋友为我做了很多，我感觉为朋友付出的太少了。
随着时间往前走，朋友都为各自的生活而忙去了。
那。。我呢？
*****
要人喜欢我，我想首先得让自己做个值得让别人喜欢的人。今年，让自己做个更好的人吧。
加油！
Monday, January 11, 2016
Monday, March 24, 2014
amazing Taiwan
I typically don't hide my love for Taiwan; it has nice scenery, friendly folks, and a certain charm about the place that attracts me. The roadside eateries fronting the old shop houses, the warm crowded night markets and the untidy but functional back alleys and small roads are the little things that always fascinate me, coming from a country where my childhood gets torn down piece by piece to make way for brand new identical soulless concrete buildings.
This week, I found myself another reason to be amazed by this little island. University students stormed their 立法院 (and tonight, their 行政院) to protest the signing of a trade pact without undergoing parliamentary review, which they deem an undemocratic move.
Its not appropriate for me to argue whether it is right to accept or reject the trade pact. I am also not sure if it is a right move to storm government buildings and disrupt usual government activities. What I am impressed with, however, is the strong sense of nationalism in their people. Their university students, most of them younger than me, are showing so much concern for their homeland, its developments and future.
When I was young, people laughed at Taiwan when they saw their politicians fight in Parliament. Today, I feel sad that our Singapore's younger generation seems to be more knowledgeable in Korean celebrities than our own country's affairs. I am definitely not an expert myself, and I feel that active citizenry is something we can learn from the Taiwanese.
On the other hand, a highly democratic system requires a highly educated and mature population, and I have the impression that Singapore is not at that stage yet. But I think we can first start by reading and understanding more on our nation matters.
A colleague of mine thinks Taiwan has the most successful democratic system in Asia. I think its true to some extent. However, a successful democratic system doesn't feel like an efficient system. For starters, its almost impossible to please everyone.
This week, I found myself another reason to be amazed by this little island. University students stormed their 立法院 (and tonight, their 行政院) to protest the signing of a trade pact without undergoing parliamentary review, which they deem an undemocratic move.
Its not appropriate for me to argue whether it is right to accept or reject the trade pact. I am also not sure if it is a right move to storm government buildings and disrupt usual government activities. What I am impressed with, however, is the strong sense of nationalism in their people. Their university students, most of them younger than me, are showing so much concern for their homeland, its developments and future.
When I was young, people laughed at Taiwan when they saw their politicians fight in Parliament. Today, I feel sad that our Singapore's younger generation seems to be more knowledgeable in Korean celebrities than our own country's affairs. I am definitely not an expert myself, and I feel that active citizenry is something we can learn from the Taiwanese.
On the other hand, a highly democratic system requires a highly educated and mature population, and I have the impression that Singapore is not at that stage yet. But I think we can first start by reading and understanding more on our nation matters.
A colleague of mine thinks Taiwan has the most successful democratic system in Asia. I think its true to some extent. However, a successful democratic system doesn't feel like an efficient system. For starters, its almost impossible to please everyone.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
hello
Ah, it has been so long since I last blogged. I usually have a handy reason: I lead a boring life so there is nothing worth blogging about. On the other hand, I find that these days one can no longer publish whatever one likes on a blog. Say something that does not agree with the majority, one gets shamed to the extent that leaving the country is the best option. Rather than deciding what I should say or should not, sometimes its more convenient to just shut the hell up.
It has been almost six months since my last entry. On the contrary, my life hasn't really been boring. In the past six months, I have become busier with work, but more confident in the things I do, and being assigned more important work to be involved in.
Being a system administrator is actually kind of fun. I look at systems as a whole; how one application interacts with another application, how to monitor critical parts of systems and networks, and how to resolve them when they go down. I have to learn things that school has never taught before, and I have to pick them up fast. Unfortunately, being a system administrator also means that I always have to be on my toe; my working hours get really irregular sometimes, and I have to be able to respond fast to calls for help. I think I did okay so far.
Of course, since I now look at systems in its entirety, I no longer interact with just small teams of people who, for example, work only on one application. I now communicate, on a regular basis, with different colleagues working on different applications in different countries. I think I have typed more Chinese characters in the past couple of months than my past 25 years of life. Haha.
Another great incentive of being a system administrator is that I get to travel. During the past six months, I have went to Taiwan and the States on three occasions, all for work purposes, although I managed to squeeze time out in between for some little sightseeing. During these trips, I was finally alone for small portions of them. In Taipei, I took a bus up to 野柳地质公园, took a detour to 基隆 before heading back to Taipei at night. In the States, I took a bus from Kalamazoo to an airport hotel to Chicago on one trip home, and for the next trip back, I took the metro from the airport to Chicago Union Station, and switched to a train bringing me back to Kalamazoo. I am probably the last among my peers to enter this whole concept of solo travels, but nevertheless its significant to me.
I doubt this will be the last time I get to travel overseas for work purposes, and I look forward to more trips this year. Hopefully through these trips and through my work, I will continue to gain more confidence in myself.
2014 is yet another new year. Last year I simply wished for myself to be happy, and I think I have somewhat achieved it. This year, besides hoping that I continue to be happy, I also hope that I will continue to improve myself in the field of system administration.
If readers think my goals are not clear and concise enough, here are two that are: 1) get a driving license 2) improve my photography skills with my shiny new Olympus PEN E-P3!
To a great year ahead!
It has been almost six months since my last entry. On the contrary, my life hasn't really been boring. In the past six months, I have become busier with work, but more confident in the things I do, and being assigned more important work to be involved in.
Being a system administrator is actually kind of fun. I look at systems as a whole; how one application interacts with another application, how to monitor critical parts of systems and networks, and how to resolve them when they go down. I have to learn things that school has never taught before, and I have to pick them up fast. Unfortunately, being a system administrator also means that I always have to be on my toe; my working hours get really irregular sometimes, and I have to be able to respond fast to calls for help. I think I did okay so far.
Of course, since I now look at systems in its entirety, I no longer interact with just small teams of people who, for example, work only on one application. I now communicate, on a regular basis, with different colleagues working on different applications in different countries. I think I have typed more Chinese characters in the past couple of months than my past 25 years of life. Haha.
Another great incentive of being a system administrator is that I get to travel. During the past six months, I have went to Taiwan and the States on three occasions, all for work purposes, although I managed to squeeze time out in between for some little sightseeing. During these trips, I was finally alone for small portions of them. In Taipei, I took a bus up to 野柳地质公园, took a detour to 基隆 before heading back to Taipei at night. In the States, I took a bus from Kalamazoo to an airport hotel to Chicago on one trip home, and for the next trip back, I took the metro from the airport to Chicago Union Station, and switched to a train bringing me back to Kalamazoo. I am probably the last among my peers to enter this whole concept of solo travels, but nevertheless its significant to me.
I doubt this will be the last time I get to travel overseas for work purposes, and I look forward to more trips this year. Hopefully through these trips and through my work, I will continue to gain more confidence in myself.
2014 is yet another new year. Last year I simply wished for myself to be happy, and I think I have somewhat achieved it. This year, besides hoping that I continue to be happy, I also hope that I will continue to improve myself in the field of system administration.
If readers think my goals are not clear and concise enough, here are two that are: 1) get a driving license 2) improve my photography skills with my shiny new Olympus PEN E-P3!
To a great year ahead!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
the next phase of life
Is it becoming a habit of me to blog at the end of the month, just so that I can clock in at least one entry for that month? Speaks volume about the author doesn't it? Haha.
Rightfully speaking I should have put in more effort in recording down the events that happened this month, because this is one very important month in my life: graduation from university and transition into working life. Unfortunately, the entire month has been quite uneventful.
The first three days were spent attending an orientation program organized by the company. I was initially nervous about the teambuilding games that were to be held on the first day; they sounded like school orientation. Thankfully the games, professionally organized by a company, were way better than I thought.
The following two days were spent listening to two motivational speakers lecturing us on how to make the best out of our working lives. Frankly speaking, I was skeptical of such things. One speaker carried out an activity to make us remind ourselves our five greatest moments in our lives to make us more positive, and the result was meh. The speaker went around asking everyone how we felt after the activity. I managed to mutter a 'happy', which the speaker could immediately tell I wasn't because the pokerface expression was all over my face. The truth is I did not have enough sleep and I was tired.
The same speaker also got me to sit in front of the entire group to let everyone guess the colour I was thinking of, by looking at my body language. He guessed wrongly -.-
My take is that while body language might indeed give some clues away, there are many more factors that affect how a person behaves. Being in a group where I only know the members for three days, I was naturally more defensive towards expressing my thoughts, what's more when I know there are twenty pairs of eyes staring at me! But know me for a year or two and I don't think you need to read my body language to know what I am up to; I will probably have already told you myself ;)
Fourth day onwards, and I'm on my job officially.
Work has been okay I guess; been completing minor tasks while learning at the same time, things that I could and should have done while I was still in school. When I get stuck, I alternate between trying to figure it out for myself, or asking really dumb questions. Oh well.
My colleagues are all nice people, but I feel I haven't exactly gotten myself accepted into their clique yet. The main reason is probably because I am of a different nationality. While my Chinese isn't that bad, their accent and slang sometimes make it difficult for me to understand what they are saying. The fact that I am slow to warm up to strangers is not helping matters too.
My direct superior also did not really set any target or deadlines for me too, so I have no idea whether I'm doing ok, or too slow, or what. I appreciate the freedom, but given that I am in my three month probation period, it might help if I get some feedback.
I shall stop here for now, hopefully I can come back with more next week during that long holiday.
Rightfully speaking I should have put in more effort in recording down the events that happened this month, because this is one very important month in my life: graduation from university and transition into working life. Unfortunately, the entire month has been quite uneventful.
The first three days were spent attending an orientation program organized by the company. I was initially nervous about the teambuilding games that were to be held on the first day; they sounded like school orientation. Thankfully the games, professionally organized by a company, were way better than I thought.
The following two days were spent listening to two motivational speakers lecturing us on how to make the best out of our working lives. Frankly speaking, I was skeptical of such things. One speaker carried out an activity to make us remind ourselves our five greatest moments in our lives to make us more positive, and the result was meh. The speaker went around asking everyone how we felt after the activity. I managed to mutter a 'happy', which the speaker could immediately tell I wasn't because the pokerface expression was all over my face. The truth is I did not have enough sleep and I was tired.
The same speaker also got me to sit in front of the entire group to let everyone guess the colour I was thinking of, by looking at my body language. He guessed wrongly -.-
My take is that while body language might indeed give some clues away, there are many more factors that affect how a person behaves. Being in a group where I only know the members for three days, I was naturally more defensive towards expressing my thoughts, what's more when I know there are twenty pairs of eyes staring at me! But know me for a year or two and I don't think you need to read my body language to know what I am up to; I will probably have already told you myself ;)
Fourth day onwards, and I'm on my job officially.
Work has been okay I guess; been completing minor tasks while learning at the same time, things that I could and should have done while I was still in school. When I get stuck, I alternate between trying to figure it out for myself, or asking really dumb questions. Oh well.
My colleagues are all nice people, but I feel I haven't exactly gotten myself accepted into their clique yet. The main reason is probably because I am of a different nationality. While my Chinese isn't that bad, their accent and slang sometimes make it difficult for me to understand what they are saying. The fact that I am slow to warm up to strangers is not helping matters too.
My direct superior also did not really set any target or deadlines for me too, so I have no idea whether I'm doing ok, or too slow, or what. I appreciate the freedom, but given that I am in my three month probation period, it might help if I get some feedback.
I shall stop here for now, hopefully I can come back with more next week during that long holiday.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
a cumulative update
Oh well I didn't blog much again this month. I guess the motivation to blog isn't there when one has no reader to blog to, although I wouldn't feel comfortable if too many people read this in the first place.
Aright that is just an excuse. I'm just too lazy to do so. Ha.
So yes, I was supposed to talk about Taiwan. Actually the photos are already all up on my Google+ account, and my few close friends have at least seen some of them. Given that they are probably the very same ones who might still be bothered to come here, blogging anything about Taiwan is equivalent to showing them the same photos a second time. Not to mention, most of them are themselves frequent visitors to Taiwan, so they need no introduction to the places I went to.
On the other hand, during our planning stage we had stumbled upon several blogs that detailed their respective trips to different parts of Taiwan, and some of the information they provided were of great help to us. If all of them had the same mindset as me, then nobody would have blogged about Taiwan. Who knows, someday some stranger might chance upon this place too, and my rambling might be of useful help to him or her.
In conclusion, I will blog about my trip to Taiwan, when Iam not lazy have the motivation to. Haha.
Come Monday I will be starting work. I have been trying not to say too much about my upcoming job, because I have friends around me who do not have jobs yet despite their impressive results, while I practically had mine given to me in spite of my lousy grades, so I'm a little ashamed about it. Yes I have a three month probation period to survive first, but it probably beats staying at home.
I'm nervous about my new job, nervous about how I will perform, nervous about how others will think I will perform, nervous about whether I will screw things up and get myself and others into trouble. No amount of words of encouragement or comfort will help, so don't bother giving. I have to be inside settled down and being part of the team before I become sane again. I guess part of the nervousness comes from the fact that it is a huge change in my life, as if its a completely different phase (oh wait, it actually is). I am resistant to change, and change wrecks my nerves upside down. Yet change is the only constant.
A couple of people have asked whether this is what I want to do. I replied them (which is honestly my answer) that I am not sure and I just take anything that comes along first. A more complete answer, in addition to that, is that beggars can't be choosers. Its a little sad that having already lived for a quarter of a century I am still unsure of what I want, but unfortunately that is what it is. There are some issues bugging me which I need to settle first before I can answer that million dollar question. The big issue is of course money.
Hot on the heels of my new job are the letters notifying me of all the tuition loans that I need to repay. The first letter has already arrived, stating an amount of $16,844 if I were to repay before the interest kicks in. A second letter telling me to repay $21,996 should arrive sooner or later. A long time ago my mother had offered to repay all the money first, and I repay my mother instead so as to avoid paying interest. However since then we have not talked about this again, and I am a little uncomfortable bringing this up. Either way, I have to repay someone.
Still on the topic of money, but casting the net wider, is the issue of supporting my family. My parents are old and suffer from the usual problems associated with the aged. My mother wanted to resign on the very day I start work, as her legs hurt badly from all the walking and shuttling between two hospitals, but she realised that she has to give a month notice in advance. My father, on the other hand, just had an operation, although he seemed to have pretty much recovered. Did I mention that my brother is next to useless?
With all that in mind, I feel like the burden of supporting the family is going to rest heavily on me. More than that, I hope that my parents can lead more comfortable lives than now. Which is why getting a new air conditioning unit is high up on my wishlist. And a smartphone for my mother. And a new sofa to replace the current one that is threatening to fall apart.
As you can see, money is very important to me now, much as I really don't want to become a slave to it. Yes I have heard enough about those talks that tell us to follow our passion and trust that the money will come in eventually. Well do you want to help me tell the banks that?
Therefore, at this point of time, I think I will gladly take up any job that comes along. I'm fine with this new job frankly speaking, because the position is the same as my appointment during National Service, though the job scope will probably be a little different. I just hope I can adapt quickly to it, and that I don't act like a complete idiot inside.
One question you might have for me, "If I am desperate for money, why didn't I give tuition like what many undergraduates do?" Well my answer is confidence, or rather the lack of it. I don't feel like I am qualified enough to teach, and I certainly don't want to further screw up some poor student's already screwed up results. Moreover I have this reluctance towards offering money for knowledge, for I am a believer of free access to knowledge.
I won't blame you if you want to say that I am lazy and I am just finding some really lame excuses for myself. I do feel pretty ashamed of myself when I could go to the United States for student exchange and to Taiwan for a graduation trip when there are students who do not have the capability to do so and worse still, have to support themselves financially. You know what, I know I am a damn fortunate person, and that is why I try not to complain too much.
In other news, I bought myself a new pair of spectacles, because the old pair is already pretty much broken, and Company of Heroes through Steam. See what I mean?
I have one last day of freedom, before work kicks in. May I survive.
Aright that is just an excuse. I'm just too lazy to do so. Ha.
So yes, I was supposed to talk about Taiwan. Actually the photos are already all up on my Google+ account, and my few close friends have at least seen some of them. Given that they are probably the very same ones who might still be bothered to come here, blogging anything about Taiwan is equivalent to showing them the same photos a second time. Not to mention, most of them are themselves frequent visitors to Taiwan, so they need no introduction to the places I went to.
On the other hand, during our planning stage we had stumbled upon several blogs that detailed their respective trips to different parts of Taiwan, and some of the information they provided were of great help to us. If all of them had the same mindset as me, then nobody would have blogged about Taiwan. Who knows, someday some stranger might chance upon this place too, and my rambling might be of useful help to him or her.
In conclusion, I will blog about my trip to Taiwan, when I
Come Monday I will be starting work. I have been trying not to say too much about my upcoming job, because I have friends around me who do not have jobs yet despite their impressive results, while I practically had mine given to me in spite of my lousy grades, so I'm a little ashamed about it. Yes I have a three month probation period to survive first, but it probably beats staying at home.
I'm nervous about my new job, nervous about how I will perform, nervous about how others will think I will perform, nervous about whether I will screw things up and get myself and others into trouble. No amount of words of encouragement or comfort will help, so don't bother giving. I have to be inside settled down and being part of the team before I become sane again. I guess part of the nervousness comes from the fact that it is a huge change in my life, as if its a completely different phase (oh wait, it actually is). I am resistant to change, and change wrecks my nerves upside down. Yet change is the only constant.
A couple of people have asked whether this is what I want to do. I replied them (which is honestly my answer) that I am not sure and I just take anything that comes along first. A more complete answer, in addition to that, is that beggars can't be choosers. Its a little sad that having already lived for a quarter of a century I am still unsure of what I want, but unfortunately that is what it is. There are some issues bugging me which I need to settle first before I can answer that million dollar question. The big issue is of course money.
Hot on the heels of my new job are the letters notifying me of all the tuition loans that I need to repay. The first letter has already arrived, stating an amount of $16,844 if I were to repay before the interest kicks in. A second letter telling me to repay $21,996 should arrive sooner or later. A long time ago my mother had offered to repay all the money first, and I repay my mother instead so as to avoid paying interest. However since then we have not talked about this again, and I am a little uncomfortable bringing this up. Either way, I have to repay someone.
Still on the topic of money, but casting the net wider, is the issue of supporting my family. My parents are old and suffer from the usual problems associated with the aged. My mother wanted to resign on the very day I start work, as her legs hurt badly from all the walking and shuttling between two hospitals, but she realised that she has to give a month notice in advance. My father, on the other hand, just had an operation, although he seemed to have pretty much recovered. Did I mention that my brother is next to useless?
With all that in mind, I feel like the burden of supporting the family is going to rest heavily on me. More than that, I hope that my parents can lead more comfortable lives than now. Which is why getting a new air conditioning unit is high up on my wishlist. And a smartphone for my mother. And a new sofa to replace the current one that is threatening to fall apart.
As you can see, money is very important to me now, much as I really don't want to become a slave to it. Yes I have heard enough about those talks that tell us to follow our passion and trust that the money will come in eventually. Well do you want to help me tell the banks that?
Therefore, at this point of time, I think I will gladly take up any job that comes along. I'm fine with this new job frankly speaking, because the position is the same as my appointment during National Service, though the job scope will probably be a little different. I just hope I can adapt quickly to it, and that I don't act like a complete idiot inside.
One question you might have for me, "If I am desperate for money, why didn't I give tuition like what many undergraduates do?" Well my answer is confidence, or rather the lack of it. I don't feel like I am qualified enough to teach, and I certainly don't want to further screw up some poor student's already screwed up results. Moreover I have this reluctance towards offering money for knowledge, for I am a believer of free access to knowledge.
I won't blame you if you want to say that I am lazy and I am just finding some really lame excuses for myself. I do feel pretty ashamed of myself when I could go to the United States for student exchange and to Taiwan for a graduation trip when there are students who do not have the capability to do so and worse still, have to support themselves financially. You know what, I know I am a damn fortunate person, and that is why I try not to complain too much.
In other news, I bought myself a new pair of spectacles, because the old pair is already pretty much broken, and Company of Heroes through Steam. See what I mean?
I have one last day of freedom, before work kicks in. May I survive.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
revival
First and foremost, apologies yet again for not keeping this blog updated. Procrastination was half the reason why, and reluctance made up the other half. Truth be told, I didn't enjoy my last semester in university at all, but I was quite unwilling to say too much about it, preferring to keep to myself instead, which meant that I have nothing much to share here. Thankfully, the semester is over, and I have graduated.
Like many other graduating students, I went on a graduation trip with a few close friends after the examinations. We were all pretty much broke from our respective student exchange programs to the States and Europe, so we picked a destination that is cheap and close to home - Taiwan.
For my three friends, it was their first time there, while this was my second time. I fell in love with this beautiful island when I was there in 2008, and ever since then I have been wanting to go back again. However, I never had the chance to do so, while friends around me went there trip after trip, year after year, and I could only look on with envy. Finally my chance came, and I must say, my impression of the island has not changed one bit from 2008. If anything, I now have more admiration and respect for the people there.
Photos and more thoughts to come soon after I sort them out. Struggling to keep my eyes open now.
Like many other graduating students, I went on a graduation trip with a few close friends after the examinations. We were all pretty much broke from our respective student exchange programs to the States and Europe, so we picked a destination that is cheap and close to home - Taiwan.
For my three friends, it was their first time there, while this was my second time. I fell in love with this beautiful island when I was there in 2008, and ever since then I have been wanting to go back again. However, I never had the chance to do so, while friends around me went there trip after trip, year after year, and I could only look on with envy. Finally my chance came, and I must say, my impression of the island has not changed one bit from 2008. If anything, I now have more admiration and respect for the people there.
Photos and more thoughts to come soon after I sort them out. Struggling to keep my eyes open now.
Monday, February 11, 2013
chinese new year 2013
Its almost 3am in the morning but I don't feel like sleeping yet, so I am here showing some tender loving care to my somewhat neglected blog haha.
While Chinese New Year has never been anything exciting for me, I still look forward to it; it always feels more like a 'new year' than the Gregorian counterpart. Perhaps because of the strong traditions and cultures that come attached with the Chinese New Year, the whole atmosphere seems happier.
This year my mother decided that she didn't want to cook for reunion dinner, so we took up a reunion dinner package at a coffee shop opposite my house, therefore making this the first time in years my family had a proper reunion dinner on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
The dinner went okay I guess, but when you have a family that doesn't talk much to each other, you get more or less the same scenario at the dining table.
This year I took time out to visit Chinatown again to soak myself in the atmosphere. I first visited it two years back, and this year things hadn't really changed. In fact some of the stalls were selling the same things at the same place. The atmosphere was still great nonetheless.
A stage was set up in the area too, with nightly performances leading up to the Eve. The audience seemed to be made up mostly of elderly residents living near the area, with a very small handful of curious tourists. I guess most of us weren't really interested in the performances.
Yesterday was Day 1 of Chinese New Year, and as per tradition we visited our aunt who lived a block away from us. The day ended with my cousins and their families visiting us.
That's all from me for now. Happy Chinese New Year to all!
While Chinese New Year has never been anything exciting for me, I still look forward to it; it always feels more like a 'new year' than the Gregorian counterpart. Perhaps because of the strong traditions and cultures that come attached with the Chinese New Year, the whole atmosphere seems happier.
This year my mother decided that she didn't want to cook for reunion dinner, so we took up a reunion dinner package at a coffee shop opposite my house, therefore making this the first time in years my family had a proper reunion dinner on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
 |
| The package was a little expensive, probably because all the other coffee shops in the area were closed and they were enjoying a monopoly. Food wasn't too bad though. |
This year I took time out to visit Chinatown again to soak myself in the atmosphere. I first visited it two years back, and this year things hadn't really changed. In fact some of the stalls were selling the same things at the same place. The atmosphere was still great nonetheless.
 |
| The only photo I took, at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. |
Yesterday was Day 1 of Chinese New Year, and as per tradition we visited our aunt who lived a block away from us. The day ended with my cousins and their families visiting us.
That's all from me for now. Happy Chinese New Year to all!
Monday, January 14, 2013
the last semester
The start of this year also marks the start of my last semester in university - assuming I pass everything haha. Besides my final year project, which I'm quite behind in terms of progress, I'm also taking three modules, PC1144 Physics IV, CS3211 Parallel and Concurrent Programming and CS4222 Wireless Computing and Sensor Networks. PC1144 and CS3211 are required modules, while CS4222 is optional for me.
Hopefully this semester will turn out fine.
Hopefully this semester will turn out fine.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
happy 2013
Its the beginning of another year!
Last year's countdown marked the first time ever in my life I celebrated the beginning of a new year in another country - South Korea. Memories are a little fuzzy now (signs that I'm getting old?); fortunately I have recorded everything in this old trusty blog of mine. I can, however, still remember standing, with my friend, together with huge crowds of South Koreans in front of their Bosingak and waiting for the bell to ring exactly at midnight, before getting slightly disappointed when there were no fireworks. Haha.
This year things are back to normal, just like previous years where I started the day wondering whether I should move my ass down to Marina Bay to catch the fireworks and immerse myself in the atmosphere, before deciding that it was not worth all the trouble for that eight minutes of fireworks. Maybe if I have a better camera the trouble will be more worth it.
The year 2012 will go down in history as one of the highlights of my life, where I spent the longest duration of time in an overseas country. Overall the student exchange has been a great experience, although I think it could have been better.
Like the previous two years, I wished for myself to be happy, and it stays the same as the new year beckons.
This year will mark the year I complete my university studies, and (hopefully) step out into the working world. I have plenty of doubts and uncertainties about myself right now, hopefully I can resolve them soon enough.
Happy new year!
Last year's countdown marked the first time ever in my life I celebrated the beginning of a new year in another country - South Korea. Memories are a little fuzzy now (signs that I'm getting old?); fortunately I have recorded everything in this old trusty blog of mine. I can, however, still remember standing, with my friend, together with huge crowds of South Koreans in front of their Bosingak and waiting for the bell to ring exactly at midnight, before getting slightly disappointed when there were no fireworks. Haha.
This year things are back to normal, just like previous years where I started the day wondering whether I should move my ass down to Marina Bay to catch the fireworks and immerse myself in the atmosphere, before deciding that it was not worth all the trouble for that eight minutes of fireworks. Maybe if I have a better camera the trouble will be more worth it.
The year 2012 will go down in history as one of the highlights of my life, where I spent the longest duration of time in an overseas country. Overall the student exchange has been a great experience, although I think it could have been better.
Like the previous two years, I wished for myself to be happy, and it stays the same as the new year beckons.
This year will mark the year I complete my university studies, and (hopefully) step out into the working world. I have plenty of doubts and uncertainties about myself right now, hopefully I can resolve them soon enough.
Happy new year!
Friday, December 21, 2012
second life
I was going through my old entries when I realised I had completely forgotten my blog's 9th birthday last month. Thankfully this is a blog and not a wife/girlfriend. Haha. On the other hand, it should be much more difficult to forget a person's birthday than a blog's birthday I think.
I have not been blogging for the past few months, ironically right after I mentioned about keeping up with publishing entries per month, although interestingly I have already clocked more entries this year than the previous, due to my Korea and the US trips. I was really busy during the past semester, and nothing really happened in the past few months that was worth talking about.
To be honest I didn't quite enjoy my past semester. Picked a couple of modules which I didn't enjoy doing. Oh well I can't turn back time.
Doomsday had come and gone, and nothing happened, as expected. I think a small part of me was actually hoping that something did happen, like all of us getting killed and regaining consciousness in some other better place, or throwing all of us back into a more primitive age where we could 'start all over again'. Maybe I am a little tired with the workings of this world and wish that I can escape from all that. Too bad nothing came true.
This song more or less describes how I feel, at least for the first part of the song. Whether the other parts describe me will depend on when I am brave enough to take the first step out. Haha.
In other less exciting news, my new computer is now complete. When I bought my new computer back in July, I reused my old hard disk, because prices were a tad high then. The downside was that it severely bottlenecked my computer performance, but I waited patiently for a chance to upgrade to new SSD.
The chance to upgrade came a month ago in the form of the annual US Black Friday deals, coupled with freight forwarders offering deals like 1st kg free and free upgrade to express shipping.
I have not been blogging for the past few months, ironically right after I mentioned about keeping up with publishing entries per month, although interestingly I have already clocked more entries this year than the previous, due to my Korea and the US trips. I was really busy during the past semester, and nothing really happened in the past few months that was worth talking about.
To be honest I didn't quite enjoy my past semester. Picked a couple of modules which I didn't enjoy doing. Oh well I can't turn back time.
Doomsday had come and gone, and nothing happened, as expected. I think a small part of me was actually hoping that something did happen, like all of us getting killed and regaining consciousness in some other better place, or throwing all of us back into a more primitive age where we could 'start all over again'. Maybe I am a little tired with the workings of this world and wish that I can escape from all that. Too bad nothing came true.
This song more or less describes how I feel, at least for the first part of the song. Whether the other parts describe me will depend on when I am brave enough to take the first step out. Haha.
In other less exciting news, my new computer is now complete. When I bought my new computer back in July, I reused my old hard disk, because prices were a tad high then. The downside was that it severely bottlenecked my computer performance, but I waited patiently for a chance to upgrade to new SSD.
The chance to upgrade came a month ago in the form of the annual US Black Friday deals, coupled with freight forwarders offering deals like 1st kg free and free upgrade to express shipping.
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| OCZ Vertex 4 256GB, which Amazon had a big discount on. One for me, one for my friend. |
The idea behind freight forwarding is simple enough. Some products, like the SSD in my case, only ship to US addresses. So I register an account with a freight forwarder to get an US address, ship all my purchases to that US address, and the freight forwarder ships my purchases home.
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| I used Hopshopgo, a collaboration between Comgateway and Paypal. I get informed when my purchases reach them. |
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| After I paid Hopshopgo, they will ship them out. Simple enough. |
For all the time and effort taken, how much do I save? The cost of the SSD and the shipping adds up to about S$196, while buying one from Sim Lim Square will cost me $319. The catch with buying from US online stores is that the warranty usually applies only within US, so if anything happens to my Vertex 4 *touch wood*, I have to ship it to Taiwan myself.
With the new SSD, I installed Windows 8 on it.
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| The new Start menu on the left, normal desktop on the right due to my secondary monitor. |
Windows 8 is really drastically different from Windows 7, no thanks to the new tile based Start menu, which really takes time and effort to get used to it. The Messaging app is quite a failure. It doesn't work well with Facebook messaging, and sometimes it doesn't run in the background.
I am not exactly closed to the idea of Start Tiles; I like the idea actually. The problem is that I can't seem to fix them permanently on my secondary monitor while doing other stuff on my primary monitor. If I am not referring to the Start Tiles most of the time, the live updating is useless then.
Besides the SSD, I bought a new gaming mouse, and received a gaming keyboard from a friend, in the form of an 'infinite loan'. They replace my 6-year-old keyboard and mouse, which are starting to see keys getting stuck after depressing them and the scroll wheel not working well etc. I am not a hard core gamer, but since they are built for gaming, I hope they can last long.
That's it for now, will definitely be back again before the turn of the year. And oh, happy 冬至!
Monday, November 19, 2012
easier said than done
And oh yea I haven't blog for a very long time. My life has been boring. I shall update soon..maybe when exams are over.
Monday, July 30, 2012
a very warm july
I need to say something before July 2012 goes down in history as the first month ever there is no entry in this blog, although I wonder how long I can keep this up, as more and more friends are abandoning their blogs haha.
Ever since my last entry I have been involved in my past projects, and have also started on my final year project. There have been plenty of distractions though, in the form of Euro 2012, Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and more recently, the Summer Olympics, so progress has been slow. Luckily Diablo 3 is too expensive for me haha.
Last week I went for my third ICT, which was a short four day course. Maybe because I am still a student now, I actually don't mind going for ICTs, as I treat them as annual gatherings with my NS friends. This ICT was a little disappointing though, because some of my friends had deferred and I didn't get a chance to see them. Moreover this ICT was so packed, there weren't many opportunities to catch up with the others who attended. In fact I didn't even see a couple of them until the very last day.
During ICT I caught up with a friend who, although younger than me, has already seen the world much more in comparison. Sharing our overseas experiences with each other left me with regrets that I did not interact with the locals more during my student exchange trip to the United States. Indeed I have seen more of the world, but maybe I should have used more than just the eyes. Or maybe I shouldn't have hung out too much with the other Singaporeans. Or maybe I should have chosen a college with lesser Singaporeans to begin with.
On the other hand, this friend of mine was brought up very differently from me. I firmly believe family plays a very important part in shaping a person's character, like the fact that I have overprotective parents who would not have allowed me to go to Canada all alone to study at the age of 15, which was what he did. I am more reserved by nature, so I need time to warm up to strangers.
I don't say things like 'I wish I could turn back time', because I am not him, so even if I really could turn back time, things will end up the same anyway. However I take consolation in that it was my first solo trip overseas, so there was the inclination to stay in my comfort zone of sticking to the Singaporeans. I am glad I had that sharing experience with that friend; hopefully I do better next time.
School will be starting in two weeks, and it will be back to the old days of attending lectures and rushing assignments again. This will be my final year of studies before I graduate from university; after that I will be entering the workforce. Looking at some of my seniors and friends graduate is making me a little unsure and worried about my own future.
Xenophobia in Singapore is getting a little too much to be comfortable with.
Ever since my last entry I have been involved in my past projects, and have also started on my final year project. There have been plenty of distractions though, in the form of Euro 2012, Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and more recently, the Summer Olympics, so progress has been slow. Luckily Diablo 3 is too expensive for me haha.
Last week I went for my third ICT, which was a short four day course. Maybe because I am still a student now, I actually don't mind going for ICTs, as I treat them as annual gatherings with my NS friends. This ICT was a little disappointing though, because some of my friends had deferred and I didn't get a chance to see them. Moreover this ICT was so packed, there weren't many opportunities to catch up with the others who attended. In fact I didn't even see a couple of them until the very last day.
During ICT I caught up with a friend who, although younger than me, has already seen the world much more in comparison. Sharing our overseas experiences with each other left me with regrets that I did not interact with the locals more during my student exchange trip to the United States. Indeed I have seen more of the world, but maybe I should have used more than just the eyes. Or maybe I shouldn't have hung out too much with the other Singaporeans. Or maybe I should have chosen a college with lesser Singaporeans to begin with.
On the other hand, this friend of mine was brought up very differently from me. I firmly believe family plays a very important part in shaping a person's character, like the fact that I have overprotective parents who would not have allowed me to go to Canada all alone to study at the age of 15, which was what he did. I am more reserved by nature, so I need time to warm up to strangers.
I don't say things like 'I wish I could turn back time', because I am not him, so even if I really could turn back time, things will end up the same anyway. However I take consolation in that it was my first solo trip overseas, so there was the inclination to stay in my comfort zone of sticking to the Singaporeans. I am glad I had that sharing experience with that friend; hopefully I do better next time.
School will be starting in two weeks, and it will be back to the old days of attending lectures and rushing assignments again. This will be my final year of studies before I graduate from university; after that I will be entering the workforce. Looking at some of my seniors and friends graduate is making me a little unsure and worried about my own future.
Xenophobia in Singapore is getting a little too much to be comfortable with.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Ivy Bridge
I still remembered how my old desktop came about. It was back in 2006, after my A Levels, and I badly wanted a new desktop to replace the really ancient Pentium III 450Mhz. I was looking at hardware specifications and was thinking of assembling my own desktop, when Starhub came out with PC show promotion where a Compaq Pentium D was offered alongside a broadband connection. Since my father wanted a broadband connection and I needed a desktop, that seemed like a perfect offer. Together with the desktop, I got a LG 19 inch LCD monitor as well.
Over the years, I added more RAM to the desktop, changed its graphics card and power supply unit, added an additional hard disk, and had its operating system changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7. The desktop had served me well; even though I bought a laptop in 2009 when I started my university studies, my desktop was still my main working (and playing heh) machine. Nothing beats looking at my 19 inch screen after a long day of staring at my 14 inch laptop. However recently it began to show its age as it started to break down randomly, so I thought it was time I got a new one, even though I was pretty much broke from my student exchange trip.
Because I needed to keep my bank account in check, I had to strike a balance between cost and performance, and so avoid more powerful graphics cards such as the ATI's Radeon HD7850, or more popular monitors like the Dell U2312HM. The monitor was my biggest dilemma; my LG was still in very good condition, so the Viewsonic was an addition rather than a replacement. It was really a want more than a need, mainly because of the 16:9 aspect ratio, better colour accuracy from the IPS panel, and simply because of its bigger screen size. Fortunately at $199, it was cheap enough to stomach.
Over the years, I added more RAM to the desktop, changed its graphics card and power supply unit, added an additional hard disk, and had its operating system changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7. The desktop had served me well; even though I bought a laptop in 2009 when I started my university studies, my desktop was still my main working (and playing heh) machine. Nothing beats looking at my 19 inch screen after a long day of staring at my 14 inch laptop. However recently it began to show its age as it started to break down randomly, so I thought it was time I got a new one, even though I was pretty much broke from my student exchange trip.
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| NZXT Source 210 casing, Asus P8B75-M motherboard, Intel Core i5-3450 processor, MSI Geforce GTX 560 graphics card, 2 x G.Skill 1333MHz 4GB RAM, Amazon Super Flower 550W power supply unit, and Viewsonic VX2336S 23 inch IPS LED monitor. |
I reused the hard disk drives from the old desktop, because prices are still relatively high from the Thailand floods last year, although once they are back to normal I should be looking for a new and bigger one, maybe even SSD hehe. I wanted to reuse my optical drive too, but was surprised to find out the ASUS motherboard doesn't come with a IDE port. I somehow managed to install everything without the need for a optical drive though.
While I have tinkered with the interiors of a desktop countless times in the past, this is still the first time I assembled one from scratch. Did cable management too, but at the end of the day there's no side window to show off the neatness of the interior haha.
Hope this new desktop will play nice and last long, and SSD prices will drop enough for me to get one and try!
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| Set up complete! Now my table is too small; I have to put my laptop on the floor until I find another place to put it. And my speakers have to be placed horizontally. |
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Final days in US
Our original plan was to stay in Boston on the 30th, then take a morning bus on the 31st back to NYC and then to the airport. Ultimately we were afraid there would not be enough time, hence we were back in NYC on the 30th, spending the night in NYC instead, forgoing a US$8 deposit we placed at the Boston hostel.
Since we had time on the 30th, we headed down to Rockefeller Center located in the heart of NYC, a skyscraper where the Top of the Rock Observation Deck was located for us to obtain bird's eye view of the city.
A panorama shot of the area would have been awesome, but crowd levels were too high for me to find a good position to do so. Maybe I can try stitching some of my photos next time.
Going up to the Top of the Rock was a memorable way to end my entire student exchange trip to the United States of America.
My major accomplishments:
1) Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, where I visited the Museum of Natural Sciences,
2) Asheville, North Carolina, where I did ice skiing,
3) Outer Banks, North Carolina, where I saw the iconic lighthouses which basically represent North Carolina,
4) Atlanta, capital of Georgia, where I visited the world's largest aquarium and went to the top of Stone Mountain Park,
5) Richmond, capital of Virginia, where I visited the Maymont Park and visited the Museum of Fine Arts,
6) Washington D.C, capital city of the United States of America, where I saw important structures and buildings like the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument,
7) Orlando, Florida, where I visited and had fun at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks,
8) Miami, Florida, where I stepped onto the world famous beaches,
9) Las Vegas, Nevada, where I found out for myself why it is appropriately known as the Sin City,
10) Los Angeles, California, where I saw the Avenue of the Stars and the home of L.A Lakers,
11) San Francisco, California, where I walked a little of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fisherman Wharf,
12) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I learnt so much more about the history of the U.S,
13) Boston, capital of Massachusetts, where I visited MIT and Harvard,
14) Salem, Massachusetts, where I visited the Witch Museum and first learnt about the Salem Witch Trials,
15) New York City, where I watched Broadway shows, saw the Statue of Liberty, and felt the hustle and bustle of Times Square,
Besides all these major cities, I also visited the Grand Canyon, the Yosemite Valley, the Niagara Falls. and went whale watching in Plymouth, where I experienced first hand the awesomeness of nature.
Also not to forget, the one week or so I stopped over in South Korea, where I entered the Demilitarized Zone and came closest to North Korea than I ever did, and opened my eyes to a country that could strike a balance between keeping ahead with times and maintaining their own culture and language.
While expensive, I guess my trip had been a worthwhile one, and I am glad to have went on this exchange!
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| Boston was the only place that I visited in the entire US to have airport-like departure and arrival information for trains. |
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| They had one for long distance buses too! You have no idea how helpful this was to us. |
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| Central Park. As I mentioned earlier, a park right smack in the middle of a metropolitan city. |
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| The skyscraper directly in front was the Empire State Building. Far in the background one can see the new World Trade Center under construction. |
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| We were there till night! |
Going up to the Top of the Rock was a memorable way to end my entire student exchange trip to the United States of America.
My major accomplishments:
1) Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, where I visited the Museum of Natural Sciences,
2) Asheville, North Carolina, where I did ice skiing,
3) Outer Banks, North Carolina, where I saw the iconic lighthouses which basically represent North Carolina,
4) Atlanta, capital of Georgia, where I visited the world's largest aquarium and went to the top of Stone Mountain Park,
5) Richmond, capital of Virginia, where I visited the Maymont Park and visited the Museum of Fine Arts,
6) Washington D.C, capital city of the United States of America, where I saw important structures and buildings like the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument,
7) Orlando, Florida, where I visited and had fun at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks,
8) Miami, Florida, where I stepped onto the world famous beaches,
9) Las Vegas, Nevada, where I found out for myself why it is appropriately known as the Sin City,
10) Los Angeles, California, where I saw the Avenue of the Stars and the home of L.A Lakers,
11) San Francisco, California, where I walked a little of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fisherman Wharf,
12) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I learnt so much more about the history of the U.S,
13) Boston, capital of Massachusetts, where I visited MIT and Harvard,
14) Salem, Massachusetts, where I visited the Witch Museum and first learnt about the Salem Witch Trials,
15) New York City, where I watched Broadway shows, saw the Statue of Liberty, and felt the hustle and bustle of Times Square,
Besides all these major cities, I also visited the Grand Canyon, the Yosemite Valley, the Niagara Falls. and went whale watching in Plymouth, where I experienced first hand the awesomeness of nature.
Also not to forget, the one week or so I stopped over in South Korea, where I entered the Demilitarized Zone and came closest to North Korea than I ever did, and opened my eyes to a country that could strike a balance between keeping ahead with times and maintaining their own culture and language.
While expensive, I guess my trip had been a worthwhile one, and I am glad to have went on this exchange!
Boston + Salem + Plymouth
Our final major destination before we returned home was Boston, located a good two hour bus ride away. bus fares were so cheap, I wondered who would actually fly from NY to Boston.
Boston, like Philadelphia, has a very rich history, where important historical events like the Boston Tea Party and crucial battles had happened. Hence the main attraction of Boston is the Freedom Trail, a marked path along the streets of Boston that leads to historically significant buildings and events. It starts from the Boston Common, the oldest park in the United States, through churches and graveyards, and ends at the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel.
While at Boston we visited MIT and Harvard University as well. MIT felt a little like NUS, open concept style with no clear boundaries. Harvard was the direct opposite. Tall gates and fences marked the Harvard territories clearly.
Besides Boston itself, we also took quick train rides down to nearby Salem, which is well known for its witch hunting practises, and Plymouth, where we went on a whale watching tour.
Following us on the whale watching tour was a biologist who was an expert in whales. Throughout the trip she was telling us more about whales, like how the patterns on the tails of whales were unique, just like our fingerprints, thus they use the tail patterns to tell different whales apart. And I have no idea how, but she had the ability to instantly tell us the name of the whales just by looking at the tail patterns that appeared and disappeared in a moment.
Boston, for some reason, gave me a rather tranquil feel, even though our hostel was right beside some pubs haha. I guess the presence of educational institutions like Harvard and MIT add a certain feel to Boston. Like Philadelphia, it was easy and safe to navigate and walk around, in the day and at night. But I feel Boston lacks a little of the hustle and bustle that Philadelphia offers. It gets a little..too quiet at night.
Boston, like Philadelphia, has a very rich history, where important historical events like the Boston Tea Party and crucial battles had happened. Hence the main attraction of Boston is the Freedom Trail, a marked path along the streets of Boston that leads to historically significant buildings and events. It starts from the Boston Common, the oldest park in the United States, through churches and graveyards, and ends at the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel.
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| Like all major cities, Boston has a comprehensive subway system that helped us get around places easily. |
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| Our first stop in Boston: JFK Presidential Library and Museum, located in the University of Massachusetts. |
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| Boston Public Garden. |
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| We walked the full Boston Freedom Trail, starting from the Boston Common. |
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| Old State House. I think this was the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first read out to the people of Boston. |
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| Site of the Boston Massacre. |
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| Quincy Market. This was quite like the Reading Terminal Market at Philadelphia. |
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| MIT Museum. There was an impressive exhibition on artificial intelligence, but too bad we didn't have enough time to go through all the exhibits. |
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| The Ray and Maria Stata Center at MIT. |
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| Just outside MIT overlooking Charles River. |
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| Harvard University. |
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| At Salem we went to the Witch Museum, which turned out to be small and rather disappointing. |
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| We had time to kill since the Witch Museum was smaller than expected, so we visited the Peabody Essex Museum, an art museum, which turned out to be better than the Witch Museum. |
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| At Plymouth we went whale watching! |
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| It was an amazing experience! |
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| We ended our tour at Plymouth by walking along a breakwater at the Town Wharf. |
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| Boston + Salem + Plymouth |
New York City
Prior to this month long trip, I went to New York City twice; first time was my first night in the United States where I touched down at JFK International Airport. My objective then was to meet two of my friends who were there earlier, so we would take a train down to North Carolina together. My second time in NYC was to attend Singapore Day 2012 at Prospect Park. Both times I didn't manage to have a good look and feel of NYC.
NYC is easy to navigate like Philadelphia, because streets and avenues are numbered appropriately. The difference is that NYC is way bigger than Philadelphia, so we couldn't simply walk from one place to another. The good thing is that NYC has a very comprehensive subway system, so with a map and a 7 day unlimited pass, we were able to go anywhere we wanted.
NYC is exactly what people say it is: the city that never sleeps. Even when it was late at night, the city was still almost as crowded as it was in the day, and the area around Times Square was overwhelmingly bright.
I don't really have comments for New York. Its a nice place I guess, but maybe not exactly a place where I will want to stay in. The highlight of my New York City tour was probably watching all the Broadway shows, which weren't too bad.
NYC is easy to navigate like Philadelphia, because streets and avenues are numbered appropriately. The difference is that NYC is way bigger than Philadelphia, so we couldn't simply walk from one place to another. The good thing is that NYC has a very comprehensive subway system, so with a map and a 7 day unlimited pass, we were able to go anywhere we wanted.
NYC is exactly what people say it is: the city that never sleeps. Even when it was late at night, the city was still almost as crowded as it was in the day, and the area around Times Square was overwhelmingly bright.
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| World's best burgers. I think its true. |
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| Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Not too bad. A little pricey, but I came to realise later that everything in NYC is expensive. |
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| It was like all the movie scenes that I watched displayed right before my eyes. |
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| 越夜越美丽。 |
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| Central Park. A huge park right smack in the middle of the city. |
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| To get the cheapest tickets to watch Wicked we had to enter a lottery on the day of the show. And very amazingly, we got the tickets on our first entry in the lottery. |
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| When a roadside stall is so successful that there are queues, you know the food must be good. And in this case, cheap too. |
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| We took the Staten Island ferry which was a free ferry that ferries people between Manhattan and Staten Island, passing by the Statue of Liberty along the way. |
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| We went to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on one of the days, but the only shop that really caught my eye was Sony's. I think the electronics there were really cheaper than outside. |
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| We went down to Wall Street! Pictured here is the New York Stock Exchange. |
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| the 9/11 Memorial. It was a pity the museum was not ready when we were there. Till today I still feel sad whenever I get reminded of the attacks. |
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| At the United Nations Headquarters. Didn't stay long there as we decided not to go for the guided tour. |
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| Watched the Mamma Mia... |
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| ...and the Jersey Boys, which was highly recommended. Personally liked Jersey Boys more than Mamma Mia. |
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| Watched the Phantom of the Opera too, but was too abstract for me to understand haha. |
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| Brooklyn Bridge. Very impressive architecture. |
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| Panoramic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge. |
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| Nintendo Store! Too bad it was closed by the time I got there. |
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| On board the ferry that brought us to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island! |
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| Statue of Liberty. It was closed for renovations, so we could only take photos from outside. |
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| Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Ellis Island was like Singapore's St John's Island in the early days, where all immigrants into the US had to go to first to get through immigration and get checked for diseases. |
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| The Manhattan skyline. |
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