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.
# posted by William : 11:34 PM
