best memory: january

best memory: january

We were too busy eating to take proper photo!

So this one will do - that's Chinatown.

Standing between the double doors of a bakery in Chinatown, hiding from the cold and eating freshly bought egg tarts with Pui and Robert, laughing as people stared at us and we excused them. Literally and physically. Oh, it was so fun. And yummy too!

wish you were here

wish you were here

October 2009, Singapore.

January 2010, Montreal.

I miss you.

Can't wait for spring/summer in Europe with you. (:

domestic goddess

domestic goddess

A month overseas, and I found new respect for my Mom. I always thought she has my highest respect, but hell, when you are your own Mommy, Daddy, boyfriend and maid (i.e. you do EVERYTHING yourself), you get a different perspective of things. For example, attempting to go to school on time is a FUTILE aspiration. I am typing this as I skip one class.

This is coming from a girl whose toilet bowl just choked and overflowed with well, EVERY GODDAMN THING THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE IN THERE. You don't need explicit information on what's in there now, do you? I hope you're not having your lunch in front of your computer. That's unhealthy, and even more so, now that you're reading this.

So yes, I actually used that pump thing, which I thought only exists in the toilet for show, because I've never used it in Singapore, not even once. Hell, I didn't even see my Dad use it before! And anyway, I used that while trying to flush the toilet multiple times simultaneously, hoping that it'll go back to normal. BUT NO. The water kept flowing and flowing but nothing was going in AND THEN IT FLOWED OUT OF THE TOILET BOWL AND ONTO THE FLOOR! I just stood there for 5 seconds and said wtf 10 times in a row, before I realised I had to remove the carpet and weighing machine and everything else before it was too late. I bravely pumped the toilet one last time, and viola! Everything went back to normal. Except the shitty floor. I can't say if that was literal.

AND YES I KNOW THIS MUST BE A SIGN THAT I NEED TO CLEAN THE TOILET ALREADY. The Big Man up there always knows when's a good time to do some housework. But the thing about cleaning ang-moh toilets, is that there is no drainage! The floor is like, I dunno, your living room or something. You can't just pour water and wait for it to flow into this little hole! And we have no mop in the house. So, I actually used the floor cloth to clean the toilet floor, WITH MY HANDS (okay, only the parts where I can't reach with my foot). But oh, SO GROSS! I bet you have never cleaned the toilet floor Cinderella-style. It's a must-try-before-you-die. I hope you believe me so I'm not the only sucker who did that.

Back to respect for Mommy - how do these women do it? Gosh, and I don't even have a kid! I need about 72 hours a day to have enough time to cook, do the dishes, keep the house clean livable, do grocery, make sure I have clean clothes to wear, look presentable when I step out of the house (I've become an expert at cutting my own fringe and trimming my own eyebrows), STUDY, go to the gym, have a social life and have a virtual life online. In any ONE day, I can only accomplish 3 of the above.

Usually I try to push everything to the weekend, but this morning I decided to pack in laundry, alongside with cooking and eating breakfast and lunch, and I ended up with a sweater that shrank two sizes in the wash because I forgot 100% wool CANNOT go into the dryer.

And the other day, I almost burnt down the house while I was BOILING WATER. I put the pot on stove A, and switched on stove B instead, where the table cloth was happily sitting. Then I went on to the toilet. Thank goodness Shuli was at home and caught the cloth catching fire! I know, nice pun right. Hahaha.

But other than all of the above, I'm actually doing great! Look, I'm haven't died of food poisoning of anything! Yet. And that's my goal for the rest of my time in Canada. Oh great, and I'm late for the next class now.

P.S - A word to the boys: the best way to domesticate your pampered girlfriend? EXCHANGE.

taking long walks

taking long walks

Best self-shot of the day. Haha.

I've always wanted to do this. I'm a big fan of the whole idea of taking long walks with someone you love spending time with, or just by yourself. Slow down your pace, watch the world rush by, enjoy the existence of everything around you. Except there's really nothing much to see in Singapore when you take walks. I get so bored. The only times I really enjoy taking walks were in the Esplanade area at night and during the Christmas period. And the fact that everyone is just insanely crazy doesn't help.

So, I promised myself I would do this often in Montreal. Being on exchange gives you the benefit of not having to study that much. And I really want to get to know the city on foot. Look at buildings, admire the old churches, take some pretty photos, enjoy the streets. It's refreshing, really, to live life at a slower pace and to learn to appreciate time alone.

The bridge near the apartment.

Old stone houses in the neighbourhood.

Happy European restaurant in the next neighbourhood.

I used to dislike the idea of being alone, but I think one of the best things you learn growing up is that there is a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. People are so afraid to be alone in general. At the risk of sounding narcissistic, I think it's wonderful to learn to enjoy your own company. (:

That's the amusement park on the opposite island, closed for winter.

Timer-shot, hoping no one will grab my camera and run, but I guess being outside the Church helps. Haha.

This wasn't even in B&W mode.

I love them old churches.

Next step, step into one of the churches, and hopefully attend a service.

my harry potter school

my harry potter school

McGill

McGill is a beautiful school. It's the study-abroad-dream come true. The campus is gorgeous, with European architecture, which I absolutely adore. It's one of those campuses that you see on brochures and go like "OMG I wanna study in that castle everydaaaay! And roll on the lawn in summer!" Yes, that how I feel! I love the Arts building with its ancient walkways and huge doors and dim lights. (I lost my pictures but I will take somemore soon, I promise!) I perpetually feel like Harry Potter is going to walk out of one of the classrooms and fly off on his broomstick.

The people in school are pretty cool, even though I didn't get Harry Potter for my classmate. And they are really vocal. It's true, angmohs like to raise their opinions in class, and everyone can't wait to talk. I suppose people are more tolerant with differences in views and such, so that you hardly feel awkward raising your point. But that also means that you have to sit and bear with the rubbish people tend to utter sometimes. Haha. Me? I say something once in awhile when I feel that I'm about to burst with my point of view, but usually I'm busy surfing Facebook or talking on MSN or something. Hee, hey I'm on exchange!

Oh, and the other thing they say about angmohs - that they don't really study? That is SO untrue. People here take their studying so seriously! Everyone has bought and/or read their texts even in the first week. I had no clue! Oh, and the readings here are like twice of that of Singapore's. But readings are all you have. Most of the professors have no concept of lecture notes, so you just go into lectures with a blank piece of paper and start copying whatever the lecture says. It's crazy! I bring my laptop everywhere cos I think all my pens will run out of ink by Feb at this rate. Oh, and paper is so expensive.

Having been an NUS kid for 3 semesters, I feel pampered and sheltered and I totally miss the ready availability of lecture notes. And webcasts. And cheap printing. So surprisingly, exchange makes me appreciate good old NUS a little more! I bet this was their ulterior motive all along. Show off their efficiency. Heh. Haha.

So, given all that, I've been trying very hard to go school as often as possible, but the 830am classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are impossible sometimes. Seriously, it's a 10min trek up the foot of Mont. Royal for a 50min lecture, and yes the lecturer is cute, but somehow I always feel conned when I attend the class. Heck, and he's the ONLY one with lecture notes uploaded! Of course the NUS kid in me has been making full use of the IVLE-equivalent here. :D

And now, final verdict and the best advice I have for you: when going on exchange, pick a great city, a lovely campus and a pangsai school! Studying in the world's 18th best university is not the epitome of "partying your brains out on exchange". (Which will be the next blogging topic btw!)

And just in case you thought the previous picture was taken off somewhere, here's one of me walking to my Harry Potter school!

long-haul, indeed

long-haul, indeed

Have you ever sent someone off at the airport and picked her up at the arrival hall within the same hour? I bet you haven't. But thanks to me, my friends have that very extraordinary experience.

So this is what happened. I missed my flight to Montreal. Not the connecting one, uh-uh, but the very first one from Singapore.

How did it happen? Oh, I have no idea. I supposed I went in 5 minutes before the boarding gates closed, waited for the last call that didn't happen, and tried to do some shopping in the mean time. Tried, because I didn't manage to buy my moisturizer cos mine wasn't a direct flight.

And so, by the time I reached the boarding gates, it was 7.06am. I was 6 minutes late, and found a man in a sinister black suit awaiting me. The MIB spoke into his walkie talkie, and I heard "Passenger not boarding." I first went ballistic WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT BOARDING CAN'T YOU SEE I'M HERE?! Then I went hysterical NO I CANNOT MISS THIS FLIGHT ARE YOU CRAZY THE PLANE IS SITTING THERE ARE YOU BLIND??

Then, I started to cry. Yes right, very mature. I squatted down in the middle of the hall and started crying in front of everyone. My Mom called to check if I was the plane yet, and all I could do was blabber incoherently while she tries to yell at the MIB through the phone.

Okay, go ahead and be totally unsympathetic and laugh. Because hindsight, it was quite funny.

So anyway, they brought me to some person who could secure me another ticket on the next plane out, and then someone accompanied me to go through all the customs, and in the mess, all I can remember is this voice telling me "Don't worry, Miss, we're just escorting you back to Singapore."

In my mind, I just kept thinking "Wtf I didn't even leave the damn country and that is the problem, you need to shut UP." I sure hope I wasn't thinking out loud.

So they took me to collect my luggage (once again, notice they had time to unload my luggage but apparently didn't find time to do the last call thing, as in, PAGING FOR MS. LIU MENGQI, LAST CALL TO BOARD. Nope, didn't happen.) and "sent me back to Singapore", where dear Shan and Shena and my very worried parents were waiting.

And that's how they managed to have the phenomenal and once in a lifetime (I hope) experience of picking someone they just sent off. Friends who were on their way back home to sleep or to work thought I was kidding. Glenn, was well, let's say he was astounded when my Mom called him.

Thereafter, Shan and Shena trudged back to Golden Mile with me in the sweltering heat (in my heavy sweater and boots) to collect my ticket AGAIN. Thank God for these friends.

So that same night, I went over to spend some time at Glenn's place, since he couldn't send me off a SECOND time considering his own flight was the next evening. When his sisters and cousin came home one by one, they were all equally shocked to find me there, when I was supposed to be somewhere up in the clouds on that plane. Throughout the night, I retold my story about 4 times. Haha. And goodbye a second time that night wasn't any easier, it turned out.

When I finally caught ALL my flights (2 stopovers and I had to run from one terminal to the other in Chicago), my luggage didn't catch the last connecting flight. So when I arrived in Montreal, I was greeted with the lovely surprise that my luggage was still sitting in Chicago!

Just to let you know how screwed up United Airlines is, I overheard the luggage counter staff fretting over what do with a luggage that arrived in Montreal, Canada, while the passenger was bound for Montreal, Spain (or some other Montreal, I can't remember). The said passenger NEVER set foot in Canada. Haha!

It took a grand total of 3 DAYS for my luggage to arrive. I practically screwed United Airlines upside down on the phone. Oh and by the way, I'm getting pretty good at doing complaints through phone and emails. You're welcome to ask me for rates to write a 10 page long complaint letter. I take 10 minutes to accomplish that now.

And so, here I am, finally settled in Montreal for about 2 weeks now. I thought the 28hour flight defined long-haul, but hell no, my journey (and even more so, my luggage's as well) just redefined what's a long-haul flight.

best memory: december

best memory: december

First hours of Christmas: nestled in bed, Moscato in hand, snuggled against you, and tears on my cheeks. I couldn't stop crying. And you just held me. Then the kisses. It's always the kisses that I miss the most. This Christmas will be enough to take us through the 4 months. We'll live, my love, we'll live.

phuket stories - the locals

phuket stories - the locals

With one of the local guides on the ferry back from our day trip.

The perks of traveling in a pair (especially with another girlfriend), I realised yet again, is that it opens up many possibilities of friendships and short chats on the trip. People are more likely to talk to you, be it tourists or locals. Of course, once in a while, bored local men try to get your attention on the streets, but most of the people we met were really friendly and interesting.

On one of the guided tours, we started talking quite abit with a few of our tour guides. Usual holidayish things aside, I had a glimpse into the lives of these tour guides away from their jobs. Most of them are around our age, either having finish education equivalent of polytechnic or are pursuing part-time degrees. As cliched as it sounds, I saw the dreams of these local boys, who are experienced yet innocent, younger yet older than us at the same time.

One of them had to stop university because he had to start contributing to his family income. So he started working as a tour guide and pursues his degree on his off-days. Local universities have that kinda arrangement. He wants to be a musician. He has been to Hong Kong and wants to save enough money to see the world. He wanted to exchange emails with me to keep in touch. (Sadly, I couldn't get through the address he gave me.)

I was touched. By their simplicity, aspirations and determination. It makes me think if we've been taking our country, our moderate wealth, our education system and even the world with the ease of travel for granted. I guess Sociology of Tourism did have an effect on Sarah and I! Haha.

So, that's just one of the things that left me thinking after my Phuket trip, and something I'd like to share and remember.

Here's to dreams, no matter where or who you are.

grey heels

grey heels

New grey heels, semi-fierce.

So the other day, I was surfing the Net and came across the Sartorialist. I saw the picture below, and decided that I MUST have grey pair of shoes in the semi-fierce style before it goes out of style! It's the season's must-have's!

Must. Have. Grey. Heels.

So when I walked past Charles & Keith after the appointment with the dermatologist, I walked in and decided, if they have a pair of grey heels in the style I'm looking for, I'll buy them, no second thoughts! (Okay fine, I didn't walk past C&K. I made a huge detour.) But there they were! The shoes that I've been looking for!

I came home, hopped over to the Sartorialist again, saw another picture, and decided that I made an excellent buy! :D Grey heels are the new must-haves. Go get yours today everyone! Hahaha. I really love my shoes!

Right choice!

And this is how I wore mine. Paired with a princessy dress for Shan's 21st birthday party. I apologize for the bad picture quality, but I was running late! Haha. Can't wait to wear them out again!

happy food

happy food

Half of my happy dinner. :D

School has been REALLY crazy and I've been staying till late most evenings of the week to do my work. And the one thing I dislike about staying in school is the lack of good food, especially for dinner. The sad part is, even if I get out of school at 10pm (that's when the library closes) for a late dinner or early supper, most of the stalls at Clementi Hawker Centre are closed.

I've also been having impossible cravings for the duck rice there, but we kept missing the stall because we left too late. As if that wasn't bad enough, one day, just as I decided to settle for nice, cold dessert and satay instead, I watched the dessert store close just as I was walking towards it! Wails.

THEN. One rainy evening, we decided to leave at 7pm for a decent dinner! And voila! Duck rice stall, dessert stall, drinks stall... everything's open! I was SO happy. :D