Sometimes you wake up, sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall, you fly.
fables and reflections / ♘
♘: 22/02/2012 | Brussels & Bruges, Belgium
Reading week came and left, so I travelled to Brussels and Bruges with three other friends on my course. (Pictures from my Blackberry, because I am lazy.) There are many things to love about Belgium in general, the food, the architecture, and sometimes the people. 

Spent the first day roaming around Brussels, admiring the intricate gothic architecture of buildings around the city centre. Not to mention, the ancient engineering of gargoyles - a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Gallivanted from one chocolate shop to another tasting chocolate but not buying any, made a cavity of mine worse. And then, ate a waffle entrenched in chocolate sauce, embellished with too many strawberries, while tiny hail stones bounced off my hooded jacket. Nomz. 

The second day was quite the adventure. A friend of mine desperately wanted to go shopping, so we left for a shopping outlet village, unbeknownst to us that it was located 200 kilometres away. We booked a car that we agreed would cost us 80 euros for a return trip, but ended up paying 100 euros for a single trip because the driver was so fed up we wanted to go so far, don't mess with angry Italians. Apparently, we were on our way towards Germany and Netherlands. Did not buy anything except for a new backpack and a t shirt, and then wandered our way to a bus stop and sang till the bus came. By then it was almost pitch black in darkness, took the bus to a train station in Genk, and then trained back to Brussels Midi. 

Third day, off to see more sights like the Atomium. It's a cool building, you can walk from one 'ball' to another and get a bird's eye view of Brussels. Apparently, in good weather, it's possible to see all the way to Antwerp. 


And lunch, one of the many gastronomic extravaganzas - mussels cooked escagots style. The dubious looking black pot contains mussels in white wine cream sauce, very yummy but not as epic as the escargots style one. 



Not to mention, I also had a super tasty bowl of lobster bisque, nomz x2. Wiped out cleanly by my friends and I. 

Later in the day, took the train yet again to Bruges. And because it was crowded and we were on free tickets, had to squat on the floor near the train doors because there were no seats left. Walked all the way to the hotel from the train station, and nearly died because I was using a duffle with no wheels. Anyway, I absolutely loved Bruges. 


It's a very quaint town, with very friendly folk around. I guess as a bunch of young Asian kids wandering around, we stick out like sore thumbs. But they were very willing to give us directions and remind us to get off at certain bus stops. The best thing about Bruges - we cycled around! 


I love exploring a town by bike, because you can go faster, feel the breeze in your hair and it's a lot easier biking than walking on the hard and uneven cobbled streets. Wandered into a gothic church that day as well, scared me out of my red pants a little. 

Food, nevertheless, also amazing. Had a marinara pizza and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream with my friend on Valentine's day. 


And this was breakfast. 

 

Need to hit the gym again. Fun trip overall with great travel buddies!
09:09 | comments(1) | Travelogue
♘: 20/02/2012 | Round and Smelly
Second concert - James Morrison at Hammersmith Apollo. Very rarely one leaves a great live like James Morrison's with the opening act resonating in one's eardrums. But the ultra talented one-man-band Rainy Boy Sleep from Ireland was quite magical, bought his CD because I felt like it. The atmosphere was really good, except for the weird lady infront of my friends and I who asked couples to move apart so she could snap a photo. With all the drama that happened the past week, music heals. And not to mention, the pretty stage.



I miss you, in general. Our endless conversations about everything and anything, I hope you're feeling better. It's difficult to construct a sentence from my daily lexicon to describe how dear you are and how much you mean to me. Would not trade you for the world, ever.
06:50 | comments(0) | Daily
♘: 26/01/2012 | Rollercoaster
I don't even know how or where to begin.

I wish I could write simply and happily that I played in the snow for three hours at dawn in London, and that it was the best first snowfall ever, but the events that transpired last night makes it impossible to write so. Staggered back to my apartment, cautious not to slip on the melting snow that covered Waterloo's roads in the post-snowfall morning. Felt emotionally and physically exhausted from what felt like the longest and most tiring night I've ever had. Took a bath and fell asleep quickly, and woke up at three in the afternoon feeling slightly numb, mostly sad yet relieved about all the emotions that were promulgated the previous night. In retrospect, I feel as though I am obliged to do everyone a favour and walk away, and which I am trying to do. But at the same time, I am not quite sure if I, or anyone, should be doing others any favours when it comes to relationships of these sort. And although I was glad my friend chose to tell me the truth, rather than to lie to try and protect my feelings, the truth is often the hardest thing to hear because we don't always get to hear the things we want to hear. Feels as though someone drove a truck right through me, feels as though someone took a stab and continues to twist the knife, feels as though I should be selfish instead. 

Hoping hard that time will heal everything.

Read something from someone's weblog that I vehemently agree with:

There is a psychological theory that says that time appears to move faster as we age because life is all about ratios. One year to a four year old may make up a quarter of her life, but a year to a middle-aged mother is but a 40th of the life she’s lived overall. Moments become more and more fleeting. You can’t stop time from lurching forward and you grow older and realize that your mind is just as foreign to you as anything else, but maybe that strangeness is something to embrace. We talk about the wisdom of age and maybe no one wants to watch the lines etch into their own skin but sometimes we wish we could skip ahead and understand what it all meant without needing to deal with the frustrations of the clichéd ‘journey.’ With just shy of two decades under your belt, you somehow are already weary. You find yourself so easily frustrated by experience, by your naiveté, understanding that you will never truly understand until years later, and now you must simply hold tight and ride out the pleasure and pain because it is all about making important mistakes and it is also about Experience with a capital “E.” The future is distorted by expectation, the past by the fallacies of our own memories, and the present simply by our simple struggle not to trip, to stay standing. Big events are never how we expect them to be. We tack an arbitrary significance to moments and milestones, not understanding at the time how they may or may not stay with us, shape us. Like how your father dies and the mourning doesn’t feel so bad until months later, when you understand that the initial weeks were infused by a kind of anesthesia to cover the shock. Or how when you lose the loft you grew up in, your childhood home you think you will think about it and miss it more than you do. You think the same thing about Berkeley when you leave, that changing schools may be the Right Thing, but that it will also be hard. It isn’t hard. You find yourself sliding in and out of places much more easily than those around you. Or how you were always an anxious child but never expected it to build up and hit you as hard as it did that summer; how you never could fathom being someone entirely unable to pull yourself from bed in the morning, an existential depression pressing down on you from all sides. How you never believed that 5 mg daily of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor could pull you out of it, alive and stronger. Or in the way your virginity seems inconvenient and identifying until you stand, without it, under the florescent lights of a dorm room bathroom in an over-sized t-shirt, feeling utterly unchanged. Or how you have your heart broken for the first time and it is just as destabilizing and humiliating and cliché as you always expected it to be. But how you find yourself somewhat relieved though, if only slightly, to know you can feel and hurt in a way you didn’t know you could. That people don’t seem to be as ephemeral to you as places. All these things happen to you the year you are eighteen and it isn’t until 2012 rolls in, until you still find yourself writing “11″ at the ends of your dates still, that the only steady thing you know is your own heartbeat. You lose your baby teeth, your father, your childhood home and your innocence; you gain inches. You gain humility and you gain perspective. The world does not end beyond your peripheral vision, the way it did so simply when you were a child. Life doesn’t march in time to a metronome, and maybe sometimes the milestones come at you all at once. Growing up is hardly a linear function. 

When you fall, you fly. Hoping that I'll feel better in a few days. 
11:04 | comments(1) | Daily
♘: 23/01/2012 | Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time in three years - because I travelled during every lunar new year. Tossed and ate yu sheng while shouting 'first class', hopefully that'll happen.
11:29 | comments(1) | Daily
♘: 22/01/2012 | Busy like a somebody
Now that mid-sessional examinations are finally over, I can properly start 2012. Cleaned up the room that gradually morphed into a warzone over the winter break, re-organised study notes that aggregated into a haphazard pile, filled the refrigerator with fresh food after having survived on instant garbage over the exam period, and dreamt of travel plans for every upcoming holiday. 

Second term at King's looks like a really busy time, albeit expectedly. Course outlines are about twice as long as they used to be in the first term, and my first term was characterised by a severe lack of preparation for tutorials (hence sitting there dumbfounded most of the time) and several painful all-nighters to finish up assignments on time. I swear I will work harder this term, I doubt I'll get by this term without some sort of effort. Plus, I entered a mooting tournament, shall expect evident hair loss this term.

That being said, January to February looks like an awesome time. Because it's Chinese New Year, even in London, so I've got reunion dinners lined up for several weekends in a row, and the sets department is making a trip to IKEA Wembley which means cheap yummy food. 

And recently, I decided that the sedentary life of a law student is far too unhealthy for my liking. Went through the exams sustained by instant garbage, after having returned from a trip inundated by numerous gastronomic extravaganzas marked by over-eating, feeling like a crappy bloated potato. Finally made good use of my gym membership, burnt 300 calories on Tuesday, and 450 calories on Thursday and hopefully some more tomorrow. Shall take it slow, bit by bit, because my stamina is virtually nadir. On the Tuesday that I went to the gym, proceeded to attend a clubbing event by LSE thereafter - bad choice, honestly. First, it was an expensive affair since they refused my NUS card and I had to cab back and forth to retrieve my IC; and second, the zip of my vintage leather satchel broke; and third, the DJ that night sucked, and fourth, the toll that gym coupled by dancing takes on one's legs, had to crawl to school the next morning, muscles could not even recover in time for badminton on Thursday. Nevertheless, had fun wiggling awkwardly on the dance floor amongst my close friends and dancers wielding fire and sparklers.

Travelogue put on hold for the time being, because my current schedule does not permit the strenuous chronicling of my adventures in Paris, Rome and the Vatican, well, mostly Rome.
06:18 | comments(1) | Daily
♘: 16/01/2012 | Travelogue - Rome 2011
I don't even know why I call this a travelogue, because I'm actually too lazy to detail everything that happened in Rome. Maybe I will one day, but for now, pictures will suffice. Rome was the second leg of my two-part trip around Europe, I arrived there on the night of New Year's Eve, and so the next day, the city looked as though it was bathed in vomit and beer bottles. Certainly not the cleanest of places, but definitely a more friendly place compared to Paris. I really enjoyed this city, because it's entrenched with ancient ruins and I love mediterranean food. Must-see - Colosseum, Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, etc. Must eat - Seafood, lots and lots of seafood and pizza.






09:17 | comments(0) | Travelogue
♘: 16/01/2012 | Travelogue - Paris 2011
During the Winter Break, took the Eurostar train to Paris - the first leg of my two part trip around Europe. The Eurostar certainly falls short of the Shinkansen I took in Japan, considering the price I paid. Anyway, to save money, book the train ride much earlier.

1) Louvre - One of the most amazing and magical places to grace the Earth. It's an enormous place, I spent about 5 hours in the museum and only managed to cover the Denver wing, a little of the Sully wing, and the grounds of the palace. Felt gravely 'culturally inept' to understand and appreciate every painting. The audio guide certainly helped to highlight the nuances in each work that I would have otherwise missed, given my general lack of knowledge about art and the french-only descriptions that accompanied each piece of art. I'm definitely going back to the Louvre on my next trip to Paris. The only bummer was that I forgot that I had the ISIC card, otherwise I would have enjoyed a free entry into the museum.


2) Arc de Triomphe - Situated at the West end of Champs Elysees, something one has to see in person, not withstanding its historical significance. Go up to the top of the Arc to witness the radial symmetry of the city. More importantly, a short stroll from the Arc, there's a restaurant along Champs Elysees called George V. I think I might have attained gastronomical nirvana twice there! Dishes to try: Escargots (if you like snails), Poulet Supreme (Supreme Chicken), Creme Brule, Crepe, Scallops, etc. 


3) Eiffel Tower - I think it's rather overrated, massive queues, nothing too remarkable. Go up the tower in the evening for a jaw-dropping view of Paris and the city lights.


I have to make another trip to Paris because there are plenty of things I have yet to see, like the Versailles. But in all honesty, Paris is the least hospitable place I've ever visited. It's not just about the language barrier, because that happens in Japan too but in Paris, you can actually feel and witness the hostility from the locals. Plus, it's miserable in the winter.

Ciao.
08:23 | comments(0) | Travelogue
♘: 12/01/2012 | London 2011
For most of 2011, I was basically slogging away trying to save enough to afford my own laptop for university, and subsequent travels around the world without parents. So nothing really monumental happened in 2011, except for a number of things - deciding to pursue a legal education in London, a summer trip to Osaka and Kyoto with my own money, a Christmas to New Year's trip through Paris and Rome, etc. All of which happened in the later half of 2011, chronicled in my tumblr weblog, which I've decided to delete. And so, this is a list of stuff that I did/ate/saw since coming to London, to make up for the absence of weblog entries re: 2011. 



 

1) Death Cab for Cutie concert - My first live gig in London, and it was pretty amazing, to say the least, mostly because they played my favourite song Lack of Colour. Quoting Ben Gibbard, "We don’t usually play this song, but tonight we’re going to play it just for you!” and then Lack of Colour started. It was a Codes and Keys tour, so I wasn't expected a rather old song to turn up in the repertoire. Even though I watched the whole concert alone, the acoustic encore more than made up for it.

 

2) Ice Bar London - A place to chill? Also a very cold place, obviously. Your drink turns into slush or ice after a while, and you get to smash the ice glass if you like. When the time limit was almost up, my fingers started to hurt from the coldness because I didn't wear the gloves they provided. I also fell sick with a major flu afterwards. Anyway, a very cool experience (pun intended).


 

3) Democracy in action - Nothing amazes me more than street protests, because something like that never happens in Singapore without people getting jailed for it. 

 

4) 10-hour shopping extravaganza - I remember snagging a cheap blazer from H&M for the Christmas Dinner, a pair of pants from Zara because one my jeans has holes and another pair is stained with white paint. My friend, who recently acquired a slew of hokkien profanities, decided to make a song out of them and sang it out loud because nobody knew what they meant. That day, I walked from Waterloo to Strand for Japanese lessons, and back to Waterloo to grab my Pull and Bear returns, and then to Leceister Square for duck, and then to Regent Street, and the whole stretch of Oxford Street until Marble Arch, and back to the Regent Street. The next day my whole body was aching, I think I exercised more than I usually do on a cross trainer.


 

5) Gastronomical extravaganzas - It's not that British people don't have taste buds, I think a more correct description would be that food does not constitute as large a part of their culture as it does in the Singaporean culture, because London or the UK in general, has quite a lot of good food - like the Jack Daniel ribs from Mermaid's Tail at Leceister Square, or Salami pizza from somewhere along Blackfriars, and the homemade Mushroom Soup from some restaurant in Bicester Village.

 



6) Levelling up cooking skills - Staying in a non-catered apartment has inevitably forced me to cook something everyday to prevent starvation or poverty from eating out too often. I can cook kimchi stew, korean spicy stir-fry chicken, chicken and carrot porridge, cha soba, oyako don buri, and vegetables now. 


7) Double rainbow at Waterloo



8) Shenanigans in a Criminal Law lecture

02:08 | comments(0) | Daily
♘: 12/01/2012 | Happy 2012
I was supposed to attend a Public Law examination this morning, but I am too uncomfortable today to leave my apartment to go anywhere. Despite the discomfort, I am actually rather relieved that I'm feeling this way because I thought something was wrong with me and even booked an appointment to see the doctor. It sounds vaguely strange at this point, but some problems are probably too personal to share on a public domain like this. Feeling slightly apologetic towards my tutor, and very apprehensive about the next tutorial because I'll have no exam script to take back.

Also did a clean up of the previous weblogs I used to write on, deleted a few and kept a few. This is a new weblog for the new year, still adamant about using Jugem after trying a whole slew of blogging platforms. Speaking about the new year, I read my entries in the past and realised that I've pretty much annihilated the new year resolutions I've made the past two years. For instance, I resolved to get four distinctions and apply for medical school in 2010, but I received five distinctions instead and applied for law school. Other minor ones like drinking less tea and eat less bread are virtually impossible to keep, given the circumstances I am living in. 

Rather than a resolution that I can keep or reject in its entirety, I have a list of things to do for 2012: 

1) Get a first for at least three out of the four courses I'm taking this year - I'm always 1 or 2 marks away from a first class for all my assignments except Contract Law (which perpetually remains at a dismal 62), this is a rather attainable goal if I put in more effort since the assignments were all composed in a frantic rush to meet deadlines after procrastinating, frankly speaking. 

2) Moot - Signed up for a novice tournament for January, since it's my first, I'll just give it my best shot.

3) Practise the cornet more often - I'm taking weekly lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama now, and it's taking up slightly less than a third of my monthly budget. A rather expensive hobby, but in the event that I do become a lawyer after graduating, this the only time I can devote several hours to a new instrument. We'll never be as young as we are now anyway. (I'm speaking as if becoming a lawyer is a distant possibility, even though I'm attending law school, but I'm willing to keep my options open.)

4) Travel - Visited Paris and Rome during winter break, hence the immense lack of preparation for mid-sessionals, but I'm not regretting my choices. Hope to visit Bath, or some scenic town in Britain and hopefully Spain or Sicily during the next reading week, and Japan during the summer if I can afford it.

5) Complete a JLPT examination - Although I'm slightly disappointed with the way my Japanese lessons are going at the moment at the language centre, I'm not putting in sufficient effort on my part either, and so I should work harder to improve on the language. 

6) Pick up a new language - Will give Korean/German/French a try in my second year. 

7) Watch more concerts in London - I've got James Morrison, probably the Wombats, and most likely Bombay Bicycles planned for the upcoming months, and will add more to the list as they come along. 

I wish the world was flat like the old days / Then i could travel just by folding a map / No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways / There'd be no distance that could hold us back / So this is the new year
01:58 | comments(1) | Daily
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