Snapshots of Life!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Nickelback - Savin' Me

D-2 days to Edinburgh. 2 more days of/to freedom (depends on how you look at it).
My all time favorite music video...

Monday, September 24, 2007

My Chemical Romance - I don't love you

When you go,

Would you even turn to say

"I don't love you like I did yesterday."

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Moving to Edinburgh

So, in my earlier posts, I had mentioned that I was in edinburgh for an interview. Well, part 2 to the story is that I got an offer and will be moving to Scotland end of this month. >.< More updates about the job will come when I actually start work!

Not quite sure how to put this to my friends, it seems every time I send an update out about life...I'm in some new place doing something different. In the last few months, I've been constantly doing research on new places to live in - Qatar, Oman, London and now Edinburgh. I guess I should be nervous since I'll be in Edinburgh for the next 6-12 months...more like 12 months actually, and this is one city where I don't know anyone (for real). This makes me miss my babes in the States even more. >.<

Anyway, am doing the all important room hunt right now. Edinburgh is something like a cross between Ann Arbor and Chicago (great student population but expensive rent!). And while I like winters, I don't enjoy the idea of walking home in the cold months (not without my snow boots which are in storage in IL at the moment). Apartment hunting isn't very exciting...things are pretty standard on an ad posting. Or so I thought...

It wasn't until I came across this particular ad by a singer from Texas (she's pretty) with a room to let in the city.

I am a professional musician working in Glasgow but living in Edinburgh. I have a really wonderful two-bedroom flat that I have been living in by myself for 6 months. I have been using it for friends and family to stay in but am now looking for a flatmate for the next 6 months, as my family is in America and won't be coming again for a while.

That being said, I am primarily looking for someone I get along with. Preferably a female or gay male (i need a new gay boyfriend!) Who likes to have fun out but also likes to chill out at home.

You must find things like my blow-up doll, Roger, who has become the flat-mascot, funny. You must enjoy making fun of horrible movies. You must be okay with the fact that I can not cook and will keep my own room messy... although the rest of the flat will stay clean. Since I am a musician you will have to put up with me practicing... sometimes at 3 in the morning, quietly. I am a night-owl. And occasionally I like to play my X-Box.

There is wireless internet and virgin media along with an X-Box and playstation 2. I love electronics. You will also have your own bathroom. Your room is a double bedroom with a double bed. It is within a gated complex in Haymarket, 2 minutes away walking distance from the Haymarket station.

I do not smoke, and can not live with a smoker as I sing for a living... although I am fine with it as long as you do it out the window.

I've omitted her personal information for privacy reasons but the link to the ad is here.

Honestly, this is one of the best ads I've seen so far! She sounds like the perfect room-mate, and has a great sense of humor. I wonder if she'll mind the fact that I "talk to cats". Hmm....

p/s: if you don't know where Edinburgh is, that's okay. I had to google it myself too!

Birthday party/ Clubbing

It was my second sister's birthday over the weekend, and she had a party at The Loop near Oxford Circus. It was a pretty cool restaurant/bar/lounge/club all rolled into one...well more like 3 floors. I was super psyched that there would be a club in the basement, especially since I've been on my best behavior ever since I got to London (no late nights).

My sisters - Leng, myself, Rachel

Josin and Brian came to the party as well, and it was good to have familiar faces around. Josin's getting his Masters at LSE and in the first few days he's been here with his dad, they've made friends with EVERYBODY. Random people on the streets, the people in the hallways, people on the bus all become friends. It's quite amazing how people just spill their life stories out in a matter of minutes to them, and go the extra mile to help them out. I was a first hand witness to this when we met the dormitory officer at LSE. :)

Josin and I

He demonstrates the Robot-dance-move. I fail miserably in my attempt to copy those moves.

The clubbers! Actually, I only know one person from the whole group (through my best guy buddy)...the rest are his friends. No need for friendster or facebook, this is social networking in action. :)

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cwrw and Cyw....

Over the recent Bank holiday, we headed out to Snowdonia National Park in Wales for a little bit of adventure sports. It felt like a bit of a bootcamp when the entire household got up at 3:30AM (?!) to make the 6 hour drive.

This was my first visit to Wales, and I was delighted to hear people speak the Welsh language. They've got a different alphabetical system from English, and it's fascinating to know that "cyw" (say "khee-ooo") and "cwrw" (say "khoo-roo") are real words that exist! By the way, they mean "chicken" and "beer" respectively.

And I was thrilled to know that dragons weren't some mystical creature found in books or movies and existed in real world as seen on the Welsh flag.

Here's an image I borrowed from Cardiff University. The red dragon brings me back to the days of knights and wizards.

The fun part of the trip was the adrenalin run - Canyoning, where we hiked through the woods to a natural waterfall and started off our run by leaping into a pool of water. The jump was fun but the moment of contact with ice-cold water was a jolt to the system, and nearly knocked my breathe out. Our instructor (looked like he could fit into California with his blonde dreadlocks) led us sliding over rocks, swimming and jumping into more pools of water before we got to the HIGH point of the day - a 15m drop over the waterfalls!

The idea was to go flying-fox style over the waterfall but since the rope was pretty slack...it really meant a 5m drop before the rope would be taut for a gradual descent into the natural pool below. Scary!

The next day, we headed out to the nearby rapids for some serious white water rafting action. Needless to say, as a first-timer...I was mighty nervous about the whole thing. We weren't quite sure how things worked at the Rafting Center, and had stripped down to our swim wear and waited in line to collect our wet-suits. It was only much later that we realized you were supposed to get your wet-suits first and change in the bathrooms. Now I understand the weird looks we were getting from others in the line.

Our instructor kept saying he enjoyed taking us down the course because our boat was really light! Yay to skinny Asians!

After getting over the initial fear of not knowing what to expect, we quickly got into the groove of things and did a few runs of the rapids. A heart stopping moment occurred when my second sister - Rachel fell into the water (light-weight!) and had to be rescued by the instructor (the lucky girl).

All in all, a fantastic weekend...I can't wait to do this again!

Friday, August 17, 2007

My blog needs serious updating...

Ohkay...so I've disappeared from blogging for 3 months now. It's weird but I had several draft posts and for some reason just never got down to publishing them. Anyway, I deleted all those drafts because they don't make much sense to me now. So some updates are in order...

Firstly, Jo has gotten her own blog! I'm so proud of her!! And it's highly entertaining too, so I've linked us up! Woohoo! Virtual fun-ness! The only problem is that she goes by 2 names - Keira and Joann, which created a bit of a problem when I was trying to list her blog.

Also, I'm so excited to say that now I know a friend who owns a BAR! Yup, Jo is lady boss at Hyacinth. That's a photo of us at her "beta bar launch". Sneak peek preview for close friends of the bar owners. :D It's given me hope that I can start my own social enterprise in the next 12 months too! I just need to write up my business plan...

Secondly, I've relocated to the UK. London rocks! I love this city and especially love it that I'm living near the water (it's a tad bit dirty, okay very dirty water) and can admire the yachts and morning crew rowers. I was here for the Starting Bloc conference and am currently doing my job search. It's slow but it's coming along. I've got a potential interview in Edinburgh lined up! Woot...only thing is I hear it rains A LOT in Scotland, at least that's how it's portrayed in Little Britain. Oh dear...

So it's summer in London now, though it never gets as warm as it does in the equatorial region. It was raining quite a bit, and some low lying areas around London was submerged. So 3 weeks back, my sisters and I escaped the rains and headed to France for some fun in the Gorges.

Kayaking - Gorges Du Tarn

High Point, overlooking the Gorge

The most beautiful village in France...literally

It's been awhile since I've lived with my sisters (we all left for different places when I was 16 so it's been quite a riot to stay with them again. :D My eldest sister is doing a great job fattening me up too. I'm very happy that I've got some sort of a butt now. woohoo!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Sabbatical Part I - Closure

Professors take sabbaticals to the most random places. I'm not sure why they do it but the idea of being able to disappear for 6 months to a new place "for a break" sounds excellent to me. And so that is what I did... I went on a "sabbatical" from life.

So after ending my time with Mindvalley (in May), I embarked on a trip to the states...something which I had been planning since Feb this year. It might not have been the most rational decision given that I was making MYR (ringgits) and spending in USD, but for some reason...I don't think I really got to "say good-bye" to the place where I spent a good number of years as a young adult. Perhaps it was driven by several unfulfilled desires - my attempt to address my regrets and areas where I felt like I had failed in.

In retrospect, I'm glad I did it (despite the financial constraints). In the 6 days that I was in Singapore before heading to the States, I was feeling very out of place. I missed my friends in Malaysia, and has dreams about being back at Mindvalley. The heat seemed more oppressive in Singapore even though it was only 4.5 hours away by car from KL. Thankfully the disconnect didn't last too long and I got to LA relieved and excited all at once.

The weirdest thing about the whole experience was that I actually felt like "I was home"...or rather back to where things were familiar once again. The space, the cool weather, the ease of banter with random people on Amtrak and at the airport, getting answers when you asked, and the usual neurosis that's come to define America.

And I partied...like there was no tomorrow. I'm not sure if it was to make up for all those months in Malaysia...but my friend, Jo made sure I was out every night at a different club. We even battled a nasty 3 hr traffic snarl and crawled into LA to visit some warehouse club. Later on, I told my girlfriends that I had been to clubbing bootcamp and back. It made getting over my 12 hour jet-lag a wee bit easier. I don't remember having had so much fun the last time I was in California...that was when I was 19, and got a lovely citation from some cop in Santa Barbara to remember my West coast experience. :T

The company makes all the difference no matter where you are. :)

Anyway, the later leg of my trip took me to the Mid West and East Coast where I got to catch up with more friends. Of course, there were folks I didn't get to see and if you're reading this --> I'm sorry!...once again, I was reminded that budget travel meant sacrificing several luxuries and I don't think i would have made it very far if not for my closest friends who let me crash in their apartments!

The cool part of this trip was that I had plenty of quiet time to think about where I was in life and where I wanted to be. As I write this 2.5 months after the trip, now I know that things didn't work out the way I wanted it to be. At that point, I was seriously contemplating life in the Middle East and working to make things happen. But a series of disagreements with the organization in the last few weeks meant that life in the Middle East will have to wait...for now.

Looking back, the trip was one of many firsts.... Most importantly, it allowed me to achieve closure on certain chapters in my life, as well as create new memories to replace the past. By the time I left, I felt like I had released the ghosts within and was finally at peace.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

My true goals...

*wrote this in an email to a friend but have adapted it for this post

I also had a pretty deep conversation with my boss today. We were doing an exit interview...and I asked him for feedback on areas I can improve upon. He gave me really good feedback and one of it was that I lacked a big vision in life. He's not the first person to say that because an interviewer from Cad Schwepps said the same thing. That I didn't seem to have my own agenda. Ouch! heh...It was a good wake up call because I wasn't always like that.

Or at least not until now. I've always known what I want and gone for it. Didn't matter what other people said...I literally did my own thing. But at this moment, I feel torn..not really sure of what to do....what I really want VS what others want from me. And sometimes, a nagging feeling that I might just make the wrong decision out of desperation to make everyone happy.

All of a sudden it hit me that I often let what others think influence my expectations of myself. For example, my mom loves me a lot....however, she just wants me to be an average girl...stay in singapore, maybe find a guy, get married, get an okay job...lead a stable and decent life. (I have a deja vu feeling like I've told you this before in another email?) and so I compromised on my goals. Like getting a double major - one to satisfy my dad's expectations while the other was really for myself. And it actually shows in my grades...I did average on the former while I excelled in the latter. And there are many other examples... it's just crazy I'm only realizing this now.

"I'm one person trying to have 2 different lives at the same time. So that I can be happy and keep others happy. Always going in 2 directions."

And what I really want to do is change the world and make it a better place to live in. I still remember I wanted to get a PhD in the business school, wanted to research and find answers to the questions I had about human behavior, wanted to teach undergrads and MBAs how to think and internalize social responsibility so that they could then go onto impact the world as future leaders. And I made myself give it up because I thought that the people around me didn't think I could make it or didn't want me to do it.

I mean, I still remember telling people that I was giving my PhD dream up and those closest to me seemed relieved. I think now I know why I was telling people about it, maybe it wasn't to confirm and seal it in stone, maybe it was in the hopes that someone would tell me I was being stupid in wanting to give it up. Though that begets another question of why I am seeking social approval. Hmm...

Essentially, I saw myself through the eyes of other people and that image was an average person doing the stable routine. While I'm still unsure of what my true goals are at this moment, I'm realizing that I've sabotaged my own potential. And yes, I'm kicking myself right now.

That said, I don't regret the things I've done. Every point has taught me something about myself and given me a sense of who I can become.

It's not often I get to acknowledge my weakness....but I'm so glad I've learned this because now I can actually do something about it. As they say, Thought = Desire = Energy = Action. I'm going to do some deep thinking now....hopefully I'll get to talk about true Li'er Goals very soon. :)