Monday, January 30, 2006
Frosty and Misty
Heard from Jerald that the temperature in the very early morning drop to -15 degrees Celcius. Well, then it partially explains the formation of the frost on almost everything on the street and the very misty/foggy weather in Lund today. Went running with Alec today. I ran too fast initially and was out of breath just before we reach Lund Central (I definitely need to run more to improve on my fitness). The weather is getting warmer and better for running. Also found a place for pull-ups, it's at the spiral staircase. (Ok, I am a bit cheapskate for not joining the gym to use the pull-up bar). I have yet to take a picture of the place; you will get to see it very soon though.
Just Prior the Run
Frosted Berries?
The Frost on Almost Everything Outdoor
Saturday, January 28, 2006
CNY Dinner in Sweden
Mum has always refused my entry into the kitchen. Her reason is always that I will mess up the kitchen and she will be the one who will be clearing up the mess. And for this, I never cooked a a proper meal for my family. But inside me, I knew that I can cook a decent meal. Not that I am a culinary prodigy; after years of observing my mum cooking and a keen interest for instructional culinary TV programmes, I have picked up a few kitchen tips and some recipes. Ok, today is the chance! The NUS-exchange gang had planned for a renuion dinner and I volunteered to cook. I felt that the people were skeptical of my ability. Originally, I thought there are only going to be 7 of us, well, maybe plus the SMU pple (Junyi, Kaixin and Charlotte) which comes up to 10. In the end, the SMU pple went to Amsterdam but another 7 people popped up at the last minute. It's not that they were not welcomed, but at least tell me in advance. I have bought all the ingredients for 10 pple and another 4 guests would make the food quantity insufficient. In the end, Don and Alec had to buy frozen pizza to make-up the food quantity. Rice was difficult to cook with a pot on the stove for such a large group. A tip I picked up from today's experience: if the rice extended over 3/4 of the pot, you have to mix the rice half-way during cooking. If not, the bottom will be super charred while the top layer will remain uncooked.
I knew that I must not disappoint my friends, so preparation started early. The first thing on my mind was to select the dishes for the dinner. I noticed that the food we have had in Sweden are pretty bland: primarily bread and vegetable salads. The food which my friends and I enjoyed are kebab; we ate them most of the time. Therefore, one of the principles that guided my dishes is: all must contain some meat to add flavor. No need a lot; just a bit to add flavor. The meat dishes must have variety, and one of them must be "Chinese". Char Siew came to my mind. It's easy to cook, flavorful, "Chinese" and adds pork to the dinner. Tenderloin was the choice of meatcut since it is rather lean with just the right amount of fat. I know that most people don't like fatty Char Siew.
The next dish was fried chicken wing. We got a packet of prawn-paste fried chicken from Lydia so chicken wing was naturally on the dining table. Besides, I think most of us want to reminiscene the taste of Singapore food; Grace was especially keen though. She always mention prawn-paste chicken in Cantonese. The instant mix was sufficient only for 500g of chicken; which is about 6 wings. Normally, frozen wings come in 1kg so I topped up another 1kg and prepared fried chicken wings. Marination was done mum-style.
The final meat was beef. This was especially tricky. I know what is the meatcut that I must get: the round. But how to say in Swedish to the butcher? I made a trip to Saluhallen, which is like a food-court cum market. They have a meat stall, a sea-food stall; some kebab fast-food and thai food. The junior butcher who served me don't know English well, I was lucky that a senior butcher understood the meatcut that I needed. I told him that I need the beef for roasting.
The vegetable dish was brocoli. We were lazy most of the time here and either steam or boil them. But one of the better way is to fry them with other vegetables, meat and sauces. So I combined brocoli with carrot, red pepper, mushroom, seasoned pork and shrimps to give a very colorful and flavorful dish.
The soup came next. I needed something which has lots of ingredients and are edible after boiling. Carrot-radish-corn soup came to mind. The sweetness of this combination will complement the salty nature of the fried/roasted meats. This soup started boiling at 10 am and lasted till 6 pm. Super sweet and very soft carrots and radish. Delicious!
The fried furong egg was the last dish to come to mind. The meats I bought are bursting the budget and I needed something cheap: eggs. And one of the easiest way to make egg delicious is to fry it with lots of other stuff. Since I had prawns and Char Siew, I capitalized on the present ingredients and come up with furong eggs. The remaining ingredients were cheap to buy: spring onion, onion and mushroom.
And that's it: the CNY dinner in Sweden. The guests enjoyed the meal tremedously, seeing all the food being cleared down the stomach is the best sight a cook wants.. The sense of satisfaction was over-whelming and the whole day of hard work was worth the effort.
The rest of the night was spent in my room with the NUS gang. Jerald, Janice and Grace planned for their London trip next Thursday. I introduced my family to the gang with a photo. Also celebrated Jerald's Bdae with an ice-cream cake. Super sugary lah; barely tasted the ice-cream. Then, we played Dai3 Di2 till 1 am ( I was a little tired to concentrate on the last few games).
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Spring Cleaning
The weather is super-nice: the sun is shining brightly (though it's still cold). Decided to clean-up my room for the Chinese New Year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Some Snow Scenes
Life here has more or less settled in here. Day routines are running and there aren't that many novel things. So for this post, just enjoy the snowy scenes of Sweden (some from Lund and some from Malmo)! Click on the pictures for captions. Almost all previous posts have been updated with pictures.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Went to Malmo
Day started with some push-ups and crunches. I feel that my fitness has dropped much; not that I am very fit to begin with though. Sharmaine messaged that Janice, Jerald and Alec came back in the morning from the welcome party and they would be unable to join us. Quite wasted I think: to waste one morning recovering from the aftermath of the party.
The snow was terrible to my standard: ~8 cm. The walk from Dephi to Sparta to meet the rest was difficult: the road was icy slippery sometimes and sometimes it was shin-deep snow.
We took bus 171 and it was approximately a 20 min ride to Malmo. The first stop was a at square in which a couple of Asian mini-mart and restaurants congregated. I bought some sauces. Marina (my corridor neighbor), asked in the evening why I buy asian stuff in Sweden. I answered that I want to cook some asian dishes for my neighbors; and hopefully I don’t mess up their taste buds with my below-mediocre culinary skills.
It was freezing: I took off my gloves while operating my camera for 5 min and the cold bit me hard. It was painful. Sharmaine and I decided to seek refuge at a fashion store down the street while the others continued to take pictures. Even though I like to take pictures, the cold was definitely bitter enough to put down my enthusiasm.
We thought of eating at an Asian restaurant, but the price was a little too high: 70-90SEK ~17SGD. And we settled for our all time favourite: kebab. This time, the kebab and fries are too salty to my liking.
We made our way to the Malmo Museum after lunch. Got a bit lost and bumped around for directions. Cyrus, Chen Di and Wei Hao were walking so fast that the rest of us decided to gave up the trip to the museum. So while the trio were seeing around the museum, the rest of us took some pictures at the park en-route to the museum. The park was beautiful. A particular snowy path looked almost exactly like one of the scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The last 15 min of the museum opening is free and we took a quick walk around it after all the picture-snapping fun. Basically, the museum is a mixed museum. There is some natural history, some arts, and some history.
How could we not visit IKEA in Sweden?! And so, the last destination was to IKEA. Ok, there wasn’t much difference in the Singapore IKEA store and the Malmo, Sweden IKEA store. Just that the furniture and stuff in Malmo are the latest in design and that it will take some time for them to come to Singapore. Did I say the place was bigger? The duo floor shopping place is 1.5-2 times the size of Singapore’s store.
The snow was terrible to my standard: ~8 cm. The walk from Dephi to Sparta to meet the rest was difficult: the road was icy slippery sometimes and sometimes it was shin-deep snow.
We took bus 171 and it was approximately a 20 min ride to Malmo. The first stop was a at square in which a couple of Asian mini-mart and restaurants congregated. I bought some sauces. Marina (my corridor neighbor), asked in the evening why I buy asian stuff in Sweden. I answered that I want to cook some asian dishes for my neighbors; and hopefully I don’t mess up their taste buds with my below-mediocre culinary skills.
One of the few stores in Malmo that sells asian stuff
It was freezing: I took off my gloves while operating my camera for 5 min and the cold bit me hard. It was painful. Sharmaine and I decided to seek refuge at a fashion store down the street while the others continued to take pictures. Even though I like to take pictures, the cold was definitely bitter enough to put down my enthusiasm.
We thought of eating at an Asian restaurant, but the price was a little too high: 70-90SEK ~17SGD. And we settled for our all time favourite: kebab. This time, the kebab and fries are too salty to my liking.
We made our way to the Malmo Museum after lunch. Got a bit lost and bumped around for directions. Cyrus, Chen Di and Wei Hao were walking so fast that the rest of us decided to gave up the trip to the museum. So while the trio were seeing around the museum, the rest of us took some pictures at the park en-route to the museum. The park was beautiful. A particular snowy path looked almost exactly like one of the scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The last 15 min of the museum opening is free and we took a quick walk around it after all the picture-snapping fun. Basically, the museum is a mixed museum. There is some natural history, some arts, and some history.
How could we not visit IKEA in Sweden?! And so, the last destination was to IKEA. Ok, there wasn’t much difference in the Singapore IKEA store and the Malmo, Sweden IKEA store. Just that the furniture and stuff in Malmo are the latest in design and that it will take some time for them to come to Singapore. Did I say the place was bigger? The duo floor shopping place is 1.5-2 times the size of Singapore’s store.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
A Snowy Evening
Ya, the weather forecast was dead-on: it snows today. Alec and I were checking out some second-hand bikes at a local bike store when it started snowing. I was wearing the Marmot rain-jacket and the snow felt like dust flying into the face and sounded like dust scrapping across the polyester surface of the jacket. And when the wind started to blow, snow on the ground stirred up a small storm on the surface; much like wind blowing on a heap of fine sand. The snowing was pretty weak then and it felt nothing much.
Talking about bikes, I brought a second-hand one for 600SEK (~120SGD). The tyres were new and all illuminations (wheel-reflectors, front and back light) were installed; in summary: a fully refurbished one. Alec had originally recommended looking at some cheap 450SEK bikes but the conditions were bad: rusty frames, dirty seats, worn-out tyres… We thought might as well spend a little more money on a better one. My bike’s frame is small though and I thought it wouldn’t post a big problem until I cycled back to Delphinen. My legs were in a bent position and that put a lot of stress on my legs; they were sore after a short moment of riding. The snow didn’t help either.
Outside AF building
I think it was during the Swedish film lecture (The lecturer exceeded my expectation for the presentation: the films were very interesting and his presentation was quite lively)… it started to snow heavier than in the afternoon. By the time we got outdoor, there was about 2-3 cm of snow on the ground and it was enough to get all of us excited. Sharmaine and Jerald played with snow; Janice was taking pictures and I was trying to get a shot of the AF building in the snowy scene.
Dinner was, once again, at Ciao Ciao. Charlotte joined us. Our table was the last to clear. The waiter was like folding his arms to display his impatience. We were not oblivious to his movements, of course. I signaled to him saying we’re leaving and decided to say “goodbye” [say: Hey Dough (Swedish)] in Swedish to lighten up the situation. The reaction was good!. While we were posing for a group photo outside the restaurant, the waiter and the boss rushed out to join us; quite unexpected reactions. And yup, it was a happy surprise. The gals got playful and ambushed us with snow-balls. And Sharmaine was caught red-handed (see above). I was wet from Janice’s attack; not too bad though.
Cycling back to Dephinen was tedious. I dismounted from the bike a few times to rest my aching legs. The friction from the snow on the ground made the cycling tougher. I think if this continues, I will have quite strong legs when I go back Singapore. I haven’t fallen from a bike for a long time and I relived the moments as a beginner today: falling twice. On both occasion, I cycled too close to the side of the pavement and made contact with the kerb. The rest is history.
Otside my window now, there is a rather thick 5 cm layer of snow on the outside of the window latch and it’s still snowing. I shall wait till tomorrow to take some pictures of the snow scene. Got to wear boots also, my New Balance shoes are wet from the snow and they feel really cold.
Oh yah, I forgot to mention that lessons for Bioanalytical Chemistry started this morning. The guys, as usual, were friendlier than the gals. Ok, that’s sweeping a generalization. But at least, the guys in my class are friendlier. I made friends with Stefan from Germany, Jonas from Norway and Maria from the Caribbean Islands. The reading material came in a folder and I paid 120SEK for it.
Enough rattling, got to rest for tomorrow’s 0815 lesson. The timing very the like NUS.
Dinner was, once again, at Ciao Ciao. Charlotte joined us. Our table was the last to clear. The waiter was like folding his arms to display his impatience. We were not oblivious to his movements, of course. I signaled to him saying we’re leaving and decided to say “goodbye” [say: Hey Dough (Swedish)] in Swedish to lighten up the situation. The reaction was good!. While we were posing for a group photo outside the restaurant, the waiter and the boss rushed out to join us; quite unexpected reactions. And yup, it was a happy surprise. The gals got playful and ambushed us with snow-balls. And Sharmaine was caught red-handed (see above). I was wet from Janice’s attack; not too bad though.
Cycling back to Dephinen was tedious. I dismounted from the bike a few times to rest my aching legs. The friction from the snow on the ground made the cycling tougher. I think if this continues, I will have quite strong legs when I go back Singapore. I haven’t fallen from a bike for a long time and I relived the moments as a beginner today: falling twice. On both occasion, I cycled too close to the side of the pavement and made contact with the kerb. The rest is history.
Otside my window now, there is a rather thick 5 cm layer of snow on the outside of the window latch and it’s still snowing. I shall wait till tomorrow to take some pictures of the snow scene. Got to wear boots also, my New Balance shoes are wet from the snow and they feel really cold.
Oh yah, I forgot to mention that lessons for Bioanalytical Chemistry started this morning. The guys, as usual, were friendlier than the gals. Ok, that’s sweeping a generalization. But at least, the guys in my class are friendlier. I made friends with Stefan from Germany, Jonas from Norway and Maria from the Caribbean Islands. The reading material came in a folder and I paid 120SEK for it.
Enough rattling, got to rest for tomorrow’s 0815 lesson. The timing very the like NUS.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
It Snowed!
Yeah! It snowed in Lund today. It was after the Swedish lesson and we were out at the AF (something like the students' union) building when we felt something white floating around. It was snow and we all can feel that the weather is colder than usual. Grace mentioned that the weather forecast for tomorrow would be snowy. I wonder how accurate the forecast would be; but I do hope that it snows tomorrow.
Lunch was at Burger King with Cyrus and Sharon, who are from Hongkong. Talked about movies and, obviously my taste for movies are very different from Grace's and Cyrus's. I suppose they have higher quality taste? Bluntly put: I have a lousy taste.
Accompanied Don and Grace to the Business school to check out their course enrollment. I was happy for them when they got most, if not all of their modules. Don decided to enrol for one more course so he was doing some ad hoc, on-the-spot planning; after which he told the coordinator immediately.
Seems like most people are starting school tomorrow; I will be having my first lesson roll-call tomorrow at 0915 at Room D in the Kemicentrum.
P.S. This post is done in Grace's room; while waiting for the potato-carrot-onion soup to boil and the meat patty marinating in the fridge.
Lunch was at Burger King with Cyrus and Sharon, who are from Hongkong. Talked about movies and, obviously my taste for movies are very different from Grace's and Cyrus's. I suppose they have higher quality taste? Bluntly put: I have a lousy taste.
Accompanied Don and Grace to the Business school to check out their course enrollment. I was happy for them when they got most, if not all of their modules. Don decided to enrol for one more course so he was doing some ad hoc, on-the-spot planning; after which he told the coordinator immediately.
Seems like most people are starting school tomorrow; I will be having my first lesson roll-call tomorrow at 0915 at Room D in the Kemicentrum.
P.S. This post is done in Grace's room; while waiting for the potato-carrot-onion soup to boil and the meat patty marinating in the fridge.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Nova Lund
Gosh! The Swedish lesson is getting faster and faster and this lazy dog (me) is not doing self-study. I was quite embarrassed of myself since many of the people around me are picking up the language faster than me. Well, of course, there are those who are having trouble with English and not to mention that they have to do double translation to understand what Axel is teaching. And I finally got my Swedish textbooks; a bit of pressure to study.
I went to the Kemicenter to look for Mr Carlaxel to sign my enrolment form. Got a bit lost (situation was bad since the whole place was messy due to the renovation) but found the place after a while. Carlaxle is very busy. The past few days haven’t brought me much luck and I don’t expect to see him. Most importantly, my aim is confirm my place at the Bioanalytical Chemistry course; signing the form is secondary. And as my luck had it, an inorganic prof whose office is beside Carlaxle told me that I am already enrolled in the course. Yeah! I was super happy. Cause that means less trouble for me.
The place has a science feel to it. Really! Just like science canteen in NUS. People doing tutorials and discussing chemistry in groups. I really don’t think I can slack here.
I brought another pair of gloves. Not for fun but that my hands were super cold. Two layers of gloves really work; warm and toasty now. The new pair is Gore-tex lined so kind of expensive (SGD80); but still cheap compared to if you buy in Singapore (SGD120+).
I took the wrong bus to Nova Lund, which is a shopping center on the outskirts of Lund. The girls had a great time shopping. My gal friends like suggest make-over ideas; as usual, these 3 are the same. Janice recommended some coats for me. But nah, I believe that they look nice on the outside but don’t keep you really warm. I would rather spend money on a quality technical warm jacket. Afterall, my Beyondfleece and Marmot has kept me warm without much bulk and without thermal.
Dinner was a great success. I cooked rice on the stove and it turned out really well. Curry was a little disappointing. Not my fault! The instant mix I brought didn’t taste that fantastic. My Canadian neighbor, Marie, came in and I insisted on sharing my curry potatoes and chicken. I can see that she enjoyed my cooking with her rice. Marina also tasted the curry. Though she said the taste was not bad, I can sense that the taste don’t suit her. She ended up eating Cuos Cuos instead. Marina made my day, she thanked me for clearing up the dishes and tidying up the place for the entire corridor. And as I have expected: after clearing up the place, people tend to keep the place clean: dishes aren’t placed at the sink and left soaking. I think the psychology is that if a place is dirty, why bother to maintain it? (The selfishness/laziness in people) But if a place is clean, people tend to want to maintain the place because it benefits them.
I went to the Kemicenter to look for Mr Carlaxel to sign my enrolment form. Got a bit lost (situation was bad since the whole place was messy due to the renovation) but found the place after a while. Carlaxle is very busy. The past few days haven’t brought me much luck and I don’t expect to see him. Most importantly, my aim is confirm my place at the Bioanalytical Chemistry course; signing the form is secondary. And as my luck had it, an inorganic prof whose office is beside Carlaxle told me that I am already enrolled in the course. Yeah! I was super happy. Cause that means less trouble for me.
The place has a science feel to it. Really! Just like science canteen in NUS. People doing tutorials and discussing chemistry in groups. I really don’t think I can slack here.
I brought another pair of gloves. Not for fun but that my hands were super cold. Two layers of gloves really work; warm and toasty now. The new pair is Gore-tex lined so kind of expensive (SGD80); but still cheap compared to if you buy in Singapore (SGD120+).
I took the wrong bus to Nova Lund, which is a shopping center on the outskirts of Lund. The girls had a great time shopping. My gal friends like suggest make-over ideas; as usual, these 3 are the same. Janice recommended some coats for me. But nah, I believe that they look nice on the outside but don’t keep you really warm. I would rather spend money on a quality technical warm jacket. Afterall, my Beyondfleece and Marmot has kept me warm without much bulk and without thermal.
Dinner was a great success. I cooked rice on the stove and it turned out really well. Curry was a little disappointing. Not my fault! The instant mix I brought didn’t taste that fantastic. My Canadian neighbor, Marie, came in and I insisted on sharing my curry potatoes and chicken. I can see that she enjoyed my cooking with her rice. Marina also tasted the curry. Though she said the taste was not bad, I can sense that the taste don’t suit her. She ended up eating Cuos Cuos instead. Marina made my day, she thanked me for clearing up the dishes and tidying up the place for the entire corridor. And as I have expected: after clearing up the place, people tend to keep the place clean: dishes aren’t placed at the sink and left soaking. I think the psychology is that if a place is dirty, why bother to maintain it? (The selfishness/laziness in people) But if a place is clean, people tend to want to maintain the place because it benefits them.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Banking with the Gals
The gals went round the banks: Sparkan Finn and Nordea trying to find the best deal. They want the cheapest and most convenient. I believe it’s hard to find. So after locking on to a bank (Nordea), I signed up with them. Now, I believe that I would have to help pay for the gang’s internet bills online. But why not? After all, the subscription fee of 12SEK is money and I wouldn’t want my friends to pay this amount if the entire gang can get a better deal by splitting the cost.
Dinner was at Ciao Ciao. I had lamb kebab for 8SGD. Once again, the ever-popular government CPF issue was at the table. My stand continues: CPF is economically-advantageous for policy-makers and it existence will ensure retirees have a saving nest. Someone argued that it shouldn’t be up to other people (the government) to control our money. My answer: you have to give up some rights or even some naturally fair deals if we stay under the governance of a body. It’s part of the social contract. The governing body protects us and the “somethings” we give up are just part of the contract to be protected. If you think the CPF policy is not right/not working, think of something else, proof that yours is better and propose it.
Dinner was at Ciao Ciao. I had lamb kebab for 8SGD. Once again, the ever-popular government CPF issue was at the table. My stand continues: CPF is economically-advantageous for policy-makers and it existence will ensure retirees have a saving nest. Someone argued that it shouldn’t be up to other people (the government) to control our money. My answer: you have to give up some rights or even some naturally fair deals if we stay under the governance of a body. It’s part of the social contract. The governing body protects us and the “somethings” we give up are just part of the contract to be protected. If you think the CPF policy is not right/not working, think of something else, proof that yours is better and propose it.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Internet @ Grace's Place
Grace was gracious enough to invite us to her room to use the internet. Somehow, she has managed to tap into the wireless network of her neighbor. Just a digression, I woke up late and my laundry slot was taken. Super sucky. Who else to blame?
Grace’s room was super warm. She also don’t know why. It seems that, suddenly, the heater in her room decided to work super hard to keep us toasty. On the opposite end, Don’s heater is broken and he is suffering some symptoms of a cold.
I brought lots of admin paper to Grace’s place. But due to the internet-glue, it seems that I am always stuck to the computer: no time to read the papers. Darn, need to read through them after this posting. Busy Skyping with family and Songning who is coming to Copenhagen next Wednesday. Song told me about the insurance policy that we have bought erroneously. Gotta ask Dad to switch the policy for me.
Dinner was a disaster. We cooked rice on the stove and didn’t watch the fire. The rice was super charred. The whole kitchen was smoking. The pot gotta be condemned – the char at the bottom was impossible to come off. Decided to help the kitchen IC that week with the recycle waste to redeem for the smoke we caused.
Grace’s room was super warm. She also don’t know why. It seems that, suddenly, the heater in her room decided to work super hard to keep us toasty. On the opposite end, Don’s heater is broken and he is suffering some symptoms of a cold.
I brought lots of admin paper to Grace’s place. But due to the internet-glue, it seems that I am always stuck to the computer: no time to read the papers. Darn, need to read through them after this posting. Busy Skyping with family and Songning who is coming to Copenhagen next Wednesday. Song told me about the insurance policy that we have bought erroneously. Gotta ask Dad to switch the policy for me.
Dinner was a disaster. We cooked rice on the stove and didn’t watch the fire. The rice was super charred. The whole kitchen was smoking. The pot gotta be condemned – the char at the bottom was impossible to come off. Decided to help the kitchen IC that week with the recycle waste to redeem for the smoke we caused.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
First Time Cooking In Sweden
The gang went to check out the gym. Jerald was super keen on joining. Sharmaine and Janice were more enthu about the classes. I am a gym-goer back home. But I found out that it was pretty much useless getting a gym membership for SGD160+ per semester here in Lund. Firstly, I might be traveling around the continent. Secondly, I most probably will be too shag from the work in class to get an intense workout in the evening. Ok, how about the morning? Most prob I wouldn’t wake up so early to workout and then go to class. Thirdly, I foresee it will be super-crowded and I don’t like to wait for the exercise machines. Lastly, the gym is not exactly near Delphi so convenience will get negative points. Maybe I can check out the gym and indoor pool in Delphi. It would be super convenient.
Dinner was Bah Kut Teh, fried cabbage and fried eggs at Don’s kitchen. I ran back to get the spices for the soup and the gang have started preparation. Wanted to help, but turned out to be more of a hindrance ( I think). Ok, so I washed the dishes and cleared the tables. The taste is ok. Well, maybe like what my friends say:” Don’t trust William when it comes to taste. He has a huge error margin”. I admit: it’s true, I am quite tolerant of bad food.
The people thought that my idea of a sunny-side-up egg is different from them. I tried to fry a sunny-side-up but the yolk broke; I decided to make it scrambled. And they thought I fried a bad egg. Never mind, no point talking this small issue. I just admitted that I like the egg this way.
Walk back to my block was miserable. I was in shorts and t-shirt: super NUS-hall style. It felt really cold in this shorts and t-shirt in -1 degrees Celsius.
Dinner was Bah Kut Teh, fried cabbage and fried eggs at Don’s kitchen. I ran back to get the spices for the soup and the gang have started preparation. Wanted to help, but turned out to be more of a hindrance ( I think). Ok, so I washed the dishes and cleared the tables. The taste is ok. Well, maybe like what my friends say:” Don’t trust William when it comes to taste. He has a huge error margin”. I admit: it’s true, I am quite tolerant of bad food.
The people thought that my idea of a sunny-side-up egg is different from them. I tried to fry a sunny-side-up but the yolk broke; I decided to make it scrambled. And they thought I fried a bad egg. Never mind, no point talking this small issue. I just admitted that I like the egg this way.
Walk back to my block was miserable. I was in shorts and t-shirt: super NUS-hall style. It felt really cold in this shorts and t-shirt in -1 degrees Celsius.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Language Course and More Walking
I walked a lot in Copenhagen. I walked a lot yesterday. I am still walking a lot today. The problem is that bus is bit expensive (S$2+) and the distance doesn’t make the money worth. Ok, I am a bit stingy on this part. But what better way to know the territory but by walking on it?
Alighted at the wrong bus-stop for my Swedish course then in the end topoed+walked for 15 min. Result: late for class (official time: 0900; I went in at 0910). The class had already started before I went in so there was some shuffling of seats to accommodate my presence (But I was not the latest; some came at 0930). Met Gosa, Jat who are quite friendly.
Here are some words which can describe the general information talk at LTH:
Cute policemen who gave a very animated talk on traffic laws in Lund. Boring admin staff who talked about all the, what else, admin stuff. Hot Nation Association President who introduced us the concept of Nations in Lund. Cramped Nation fair area which is like the NUS Matric Fair.
Went to Willy’s supermarket. Don and I walked a lot looking for a place to quench our craving for Coke. Ended up with paying about SGD6 for two 1.5 litre of Coke at the petrol kiosk. Ok, we were rather lost with the direction when looking for Delphi and we are desperate for a drink. A kind person pointed out the location of Willy’s and we decided to make a trip there to know the vicinity of Delphi.
Alighted at the wrong bus-stop for my Swedish course then in the end topoed+walked for 15 min. Result: late for class (official time: 0900; I went in at 0910). The class had already started before I went in so there was some shuffling of seats to accommodate my presence (But I was not the latest; some came at 0930). Met Gosa, Jat who are quite friendly.
Here are some words which can describe the general information talk at LTH:
Cute policemen who gave a very animated talk on traffic laws in Lund. Boring admin staff who talked about all the, what else, admin stuff. Hot Nation Association President who introduced us the concept of Nations in Lund. Cramped Nation fair area which is like the NUS Matric Fair.
Went to Willy’s supermarket. Don and I walked a lot looking for a place to quench our craving for Coke. Ended up with paying about SGD6 for two 1.5 litre of Coke at the petrol kiosk. Ok, we were rather lost with the direction when looking for Delphi and we are desperate for a drink. A kind person pointed out the location of Willy’s and we decided to make a trip there to know the vicinity of Delphi.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Arrival @ Lund
Wake-up timing was 0630 cause the locker will auto release after 24 hours (0810) so had to be early to get our stuff.
Waited till 10+ for Sharmaine after which we took off to Lund on the cross-border train. I was the super loaded one loh. Looks as if I was shifting a house. Upon arrival at the hostel, a Chinese girl asked me if I was shifting a house. One tip: do not bring so many things with you if you live in Delphi. Willy’s (the cheapest supermarket in Lund) is just 5 min away.
Don and I decided to get adventurous and topo our way from Delphi to the city centre. A whole hour was spent. Bad timing but good experience. At least I can walk back if the bus service ceases after operation hours and I get a good feel of the territory around the place. Dinner was at a kebab store. I shared a Hawaiian pizza with Sharmaine and Grace; it was quite salty. I also had a pasta Bolognese; it was super salty but the taste was not bad. Did I mention the high price and crap food we had in Copenhagen?
Waited till 10+ for Sharmaine after which we took off to Lund on the cross-border train. I was the super loaded one loh. Looks as if I was shifting a house. Upon arrival at the hostel, a Chinese girl asked me if I was shifting a house. One tip: do not bring so many things with you if you live in Delphi. Willy’s (the cheapest supermarket in Lund) is just 5 min away.
My room
The attached bathroom
Don and I decided to get adventurous and topo our way from Delphi to the city centre. A whole hour was spent. Bad timing but good experience. At least I can walk back if the bus service ceases after operation hours and I get a good feel of the territory around the place. Dinner was at a kebab store. I shared a Hawaiian pizza with Sharmaine and Grace; it was quite salty. I also had a pasta Bolognese; it was super salty but the taste was not bad. Did I mention the high price and crap food we had in Copenhagen?
The pasta bolognese
Wily:s - the cheapest mart in Lund
Well, the dinner today was really worth the money compared to what we had in Copenhagen. Day ended with Don and I walking back to Delphi. Decided to get adventurous again and try to topo to Willy’s. Lost at first but after some help from the people we meet on the way, we found it after a 45-min walk. The reward was some ice-cold Coke in a chilly 1 degree Celsius outdoor setting.Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Fly Away to Sweden
I believe that the habit of doing things last-minute will eventually result in my failure in some things… and it did. I procrastinated my packing of the luggage till the very last hour before I leave for the airport. Ok, there is nothing wrong with it at first. But when the old Samsonite luggage handle couldn’t handle the weight of my stuff; it broke. What the hell! All my stuff have been packed and the handle came right off when my dad picked it up and try to leave home. Wah lao… I had to go to Mustafa Center to buy a cheapo luggage at the last minute loh. Mustafa was super crowded even at 2200+; I promised to meet those who are seeing me off at 1015 the situation is made worse by the long queue at the cashier.
In the end, I arrived at the airport at 2245 with most of my friends waiting. So while my dad, mum, uncles repacked my stuff from the old Sam to the new Polo luggage, I caught up with my friends (Thanks for seeing me off even at this odd hour : ) Checked in the luggage with Jerald and my total luggage was a whooping 50 kg (Jerald’s was only 25 kg).. Is it that heavy? I don’t know how on earth I managed to pack so many things into my luggage. I thought I was to pay for the excess baggage, but the person at the counter was very very kind to let me through without a charge. Though the luggage was heavy, carrying it was not that difficult. A 85-litre back-pack took a lot of weight; a large luggage and another cabin trolley took all my belongings to Sweden.
The flight to Copenhagen was pretty good. I slept for a good 8 hours out of the 13-hour flight. Jet-lag? At least I don’t feel it. Watched Shen2 Hua4 by Jackie Chan and some Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The gentleman next to me is a Swede and he told me some geography about Sweden and Europe in general. Pretty informative.
Touching down at Copenhagen Katsup Airport was smooth. The collection of luggage was quick and we hurried to the luggage lockers. Though the temperature is a cold 2 degrees, it feels rather warm inside the airport; probably I am lugging all the bags and that kept me warm. After the lockers have been secured, we went outside the airport to experience the first breath of cold air. Brrr… Just like a giant freezer. Shiok at first but very chilly after a while.
The next stop was checking in the hostel. The location was super ulu like some industrial out- skirt area. The hostel is cozy and we (the three guys: Don, Jerald, Alec and me; the two gals: Janice and Grace) were split into two dormitories.
We proceeded to Copenhagen city centre for a meet-up with the pilot of our flight. Interestingly, his daughter happens to be on exchange in Lund and we had the pleasure of meeting them for a lunch together with first officers and pilots. Lunch was a Vietnamese restaurant.
The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the little mermaid and the Copenhagen bay area. Very very cold: -2 degrees. With wind chill: worse! All I remember was the long walk we which eventually ended with a coffee at MacDonald’s. Miserable and memorable.
In the end, I arrived at the airport at 2245 with most of my friends waiting. So while my dad, mum, uncles repacked my stuff from the old Sam to the new Polo luggage, I caught up with my friends (Thanks for seeing me off even at this odd hour : ) Checked in the luggage with Jerald and my total luggage was a whooping 50 kg (Jerald’s was only 25 kg).. Is it that heavy? I don’t know how on earth I managed to pack so many things into my luggage. I thought I was to pay for the excess baggage, but the person at the counter was very very kind to let me through without a charge. Though the luggage was heavy, carrying it was not that difficult. A 85-litre back-pack took a lot of weight; a large luggage and another cabin trolley took all my belongings to Sweden.
The flight to Copenhagen was pretty good. I slept for a good 8 hours out of the 13-hour flight. Jet-lag? At least I don’t feel it. Watched Shen2 Hua4 by Jackie Chan and some Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The gentleman next to me is a Swede and he told me some geography about Sweden and Europe in general. Pretty informative.
Time after we got our luggage at the airport
Touching down at Copenhagen Katsup Airport was smooth. The collection of luggage was quick and we hurried to the luggage lockers. Though the temperature is a cold 2 degrees, it feels rather warm inside the airport; probably I am lugging all the bags and that kept me warm. After the lockers have been secured, we went outside the airport to experience the first breath of cold air. Brrr… Just like a giant freezer. Shiok at first but very chilly after a while.
Along the way to the hostel
The next stop was checking in the hostel. The location was super ulu like some industrial out- skirt area. The hostel is cozy and we (the three guys: Don, Jerald, Alec and me; the two gals: Janice and Grace) were split into two dormitories.
Room of the hostel
Famous mermaid of Denmark
Oldest amusement park of Europe
We proceeded to Copenhagen city centre for a meet-up with the pilot of our flight. Interestingly, his daughter happens to be on exchange in Lund and we had the pleasure of meeting them for a lunch together with first officers and pilots. Lunch was a Vietnamese restaurant.
The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the little mermaid and the Copenhagen bay area. Very very cold: -2 degrees. With wind chill: worse! All I remember was the long walk we which eventually ended with a coffee at MacDonald’s. Miserable and memorable.
