Rome

so sorry for the late update ^^; been really busy & stuff, & wasted my time on some stupid power point presentation, but it's over now! XD dun really wanna talk abt things tt I dislike, so let's get back to italy lol ^__^

so after Vatican, we went back to Rome. 1st thing we saw was the Colosseum XD the only thing I knew about Rome & therefore the one only thing I was looking forward to seeing in Rome

but before that, a few pictures of scenic view along the way...<

I think this is the parliament building. anyway, I think it looks quite nice, but that's cos it's all white, & I like the statues of horses at the top of the building ^__^

it seems to be normal to see ruins in between modern buildings in Rome *envious*

it's too bad we didn't go closer to those ruins. actually they reminded me of Jordan

the Colosseum! XD did I mention that it was the only place that I knew about, & was looking forward to going to in Rome? lol

I forgot how much it cost, but mainly because there was only an allocated of time allowed to spend there, we didn't go in ;-( & because there's a really long line, & lots of people. so we decided to go round the outside of the whole Colosseum instead lol XD I don't think anyone else in the group did that, but maybe they did, because then what else could they have been doing? *puzzled*

so you can see why these bars are in the pic. obviously only poor people would take pic of the inside from the outside lol but it was fine, kinda fun anyway

this pic was taken with my hand through the bars. couldn't help wondering why I didn't think of it earlier, or more importantly, why the hell did I still take pic of the bars if I could put my hand through the bars?!? >_>

this shows the underground level of the Colosseum. they actually had a sorta contraption like an elevator to bring up the animals (cos the animals were in the dungeons underground) to the battle grounds. AWESOME XD XD

juz some graves of some poor, unfortunate gladiators

see? the cross shows we went one whole round, or rather, to the other side of the Colosseum, & the cross seems to be somewhere in the center

these are the ruins around the Colosseum. but if you ask me what they are, I have no idea

another view of the Colosseum ^^ I envy those people up there in the Colosseum

if you're wondering why the Colosseum looks like they have two layers, it's cos the outer one is the new layer. I think it's because the old layer is breaking down, sth like that ^^;

after that, we went to see the Travis fountain & the Spanish steps. Turned out we went to see the steps first because it was more convenient.

these are the steps. nope, nothing special about them. juz that the Spanish govt sponsored them, or something like that

I took a pic of the steps anyway, since they're so special. the coloured stuff are the confetti. kids are throwing it all around, there was a celebration of some sort (I think)

the view when walking down the steps. the other pic was when looking back upwards

I must seem like an idiot, but I've never seen water chestnuts looking like that (as in, on a vine)

we were left to walk around a bit before going to the Travis fountain, so this is kinda what it looked like after going down the steps

this is another church that we found while walking around. all the churches have very nice decoration

a great king who did a lotta good stuff. so they drew a halo on his head lol

can you see it now? XD

jesus when he was 12 years old (presumably)

this made me laugh, so I took a pic. it's a confession box! hehe ;-D

CREPES *______* juz had to try one. you wouldn't believe how excited I was. & if you didn't know that I juz absolutely love crepe, well, you haven't been in my company very much

wtf look at all that nutella

bought the nutella crepe. wasn't that great, juz nutella ;-(

I prefer the kind with whipped cream, & maybe caramel XD

later on, we also ate ice cream lol but forgot to take picture

an obelisk from egypt. not sure whether real or not

Travis fountain XD I liked it a lot

you were supposed to try a coin backwards over your left shoulder with your right hand. or was it your right shoulder with your left hand? either way, I forgot, but I did it, & it felt damn awkward. I swear, I nearly hit somebody with the coin lol

a convenience store, so I took a few pics

CHEESE ^__^

this made me laugh too

& this ;-D

that's about it. now for the dinner pics lol. juz wanted to say, I'm not the kinda person who puts food pics in my blog. but for italy & austria, I'm willing to make an exception ;-D only gonna put in the pizza pics though

freaking huge >_> but I like lol XD

that's all. hope I can post again soon ^__^ if not, then... well, sorry about that ^^;

Vatican

exam finished (again). I still haven't finished my thesis yet ARGH. & I got sick AGAIN. did I mention that I fell sick after coming back from Italy? by sick I mean fever mainly, but also flu.

anyway, I'm finally posting pics from my holiday. I think it's not so good if I post too many pics at one go, but eventually this blog will be hard to load if I keep on posting pics, so yeah, you'll still have a problem next time ^^;

& please don't ask me what this statue is or that picture is, cos most probably I wouldn't know ;-( please forgive me for my ignorance & stupidity. cos I kinda forgot everything. so unless I explain something, most likely I took the picture for aesthetic reasons

so, just enjoy the pics lol

we arrived in Rome quite early, like 8 something in the morning. then, we drove to Vatican

so these pics are just for Vatican (my next posts will be a continuation of the 1st day)

u're probably wondering why I'm posting this picture. it was the 1st thing our tour guide showed us. it's not very clear, but it's meant for ppl to drink from. but the interesting thing was, to avoid drinking from a dirty place (because the part where the water gushed out was also licked by animals), they had a hole where u REALLY drink the water from hahaha

like I said, it's not clear T_T but you're supposed to put your finger up it, & there's this tiny hole at the top where water will gush out... am I making any sense here? ^^;


if not, forget about it. now, for pictures in the church itself...

I think I took this picture obviously for the sculpture, so don't mind those people standing in the picture, I don't know them

I think this is the main part of the church

supposedly jesus in mary's arms. I don't think this happened in the bible, did it? nice statue anyway

er, I suddenly realised, when I said mary, I didn't mean mary magdalene or any other mary. I meant mary, the mother of jesus (or virgin mary, whichever you prefer) T_T I hope nobody misunderstood me

I like this kinda ceiling, but it's a bit dark, so you can't see very clearly ;-(

one of the small carvings on the walls that I zoomed in to take a pic of. quite a number of these around the columns. I guess this shows how meticulous they are (although lots of great architecture has lots of intricate carvings too)

I guess what fascinates me are the carvings & sculptures of people

one side of the church. quite a number of sides. & the lighting wasn't too good. so that's why my pics are kinda dark ;-(

if you're wondering why there's 2 pictures of practically the same thing, it's because I'm lousy at taking pictures & for you admire the wall for the picture above this one. & ignore that blur person on the right side of the pic. stupid git had to walk in front of me when I was taking picture

can you see? it's a pic of jesus being beaten by the crowd

I like sculptures generally, so I took a picture of one. but this sculpture is not my favourite. just saying


did I mention that we were there on a Sunday? which means that there was a congregation on that day. I don't remember much going on though lol




another ceiling. this is a brighter pic XD

this is not my favourite either. that young boy is cute though. or is he an angel?

as you could see from the pics above, quite a number of these paintings around. the ppl prayed at the paintings there, & since the paintings portrayed different things, I think they prayed at different places for different reasons, but maybe I'm wrong, so don't bash me.

could only take this kinda picture when we came outside the church. nice view XD

I know it's mean, but I found them amusing, so I took a pic of them. their clothes are so funny!

what the church looked like from the outside

you know that pic above with a wide view of the square (the one I said nice view)? well, this fountain is somewhere at the right in that pic above

lastly, before we left, it just so happened that the pope was coming out! *excited* I could hardly see for all the people crowding in front of me, but I took a snapshot before he came out by reaching high up with my hand as high as possible & clicking the camera.

nothing much happened actually. a lotta cars came out, & nobody knew which one the pope was lol that was so funny

just one more pic of the church. it looks just like a palace XD

see you in the next post! next up, Rome~

CNY dinners

I'm back!!! I came back on monday, the same day my results come out. At least I enjoyed my holiday before the so-called day of judgment.

I failed the same paper again (2nd time). So far I've only failed 2 papers, finally passed the third attempt for the 1st paper, now hopefully I'll pass this paper on my third attempt too.

the other 2 papers I took were borderline passes. 52 & 50 (passing mark is 50)!!!! it's a miracle, that's what it is. I'm very grateful & thankful for even passing.

I forgot that to mention that I was also going to Austria, not just Italy. So my trip was for 7 days, 3 days in Italy, 4 days in Austria. Went to the Vatican, Rome, Pisa, Florence, Venice. VENICE ^____^ it was AWESOME XD I'll blog about it, don't worry ;-) then also went to Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna. The snow capped mountains were very beautiful ;-)

I meant to do this before leaving, but was too lazy, so I figured there's no harm in being a little slow (or outdated). Because nobody expects me to be fast anyway ;-)

So, for those who don't know what chinese new year dinners are like, or rather, the kind of CNY dinners I eat (with relatives), I thought I'd just put up a pic ;-)

actually, the traditional CNY dinner would be dumplings, & I posted up a pic last time when I was in China, if you forgot what it looks like, it's here

I forgot to take a pic of the yee sang! but there's pictures of it online anyway. I hope this person doesn't mind me taking the pic, but I doubt it.

if I took this pic myself, it probably wouldn't look as good T_T


actually, the only reason why I wanted to blog about it was to post this pic (& talk about it of course hehe):

it's what I've been eating for years. At least, since I was about 8 years old. It's Roasted Suckling Pig. Piglet's skin. Probably people who're not used to this would find it gross lol. I loved this when I first ate it. That lasted for about 5 years before I started getting sick of it haha.

But just because I'm sick of it doesn't mean other people are sick of it ;-( so I still have to eat it, but I just eat one piece or two. Cause it's oily. That's partly what makes me feel so sick. Also cause it tends to have a lot of fat on it. Otherwise it's just crispy skin. Think of it as similar to crispy chicken skin from McD or KFC.

I normally don't talk about food, & I find it strange, so I'll stop now.


PS: dunno why my pic for the previous post doesn't work (as in, it can't be seen), but it's too much bother for me to do sth about it, cos I keep on getting an error, so it's surprising that that post could even be published T_T probably some ppl might prefer that post the way it is, without the picture lol

The pre-CNY mood

I think I know why I was so depressed in the beginning. It was the thought of working so fast that got me down ^^; on one hand, excited, cos it's sth new, on the other hand, it sounds super tough, & stressful...

if I feel so stressed just because of a thesis, how can I even cope with work? *sighs* well, no point thinking about that...

But anyway, it's going to be Chinese New Year! ^__^ I felt I just had to post before that hehe

I'm going to Italy! XD

just finished an exam yesterday... it was audit... my first thought when I looked at the questions was "I'm screwed". Then I started getting all metaphorical or something like that.

I thought, this audit question is just like a mine field. & answering the question is like looking for the mines T_T & it feels so impossible to know where the mines are cos they're really hidden, but there were a few obvious ones. But I think I probably stepped on a lotta mines. I'll be lucky if I have even my head and torso left.

Just kidding haha I have no idea how well or badly I did, but it felt as bad as that.

another thing that happened recently (only just yesterday too!) is I seem to have a virus (worm) on my thumbdrive >__> & it spread to the computer & my hard drive. damn it T__T

now scanning with AVG, but not sure whether it's helping or not. cos I already scanned & removed the thing, but when I connected my hard drive again, it's still there haih

but nvm about that. I'll see what I can do.

oh! I know this is pretty stupid, but last year there were a few things I was obsessed about. I always get obsessed in things, & my obsession keeps on changing. This time it's Steelheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_________^ seriously, if you could hear my thoughts, you'd get sick at the name of it, cos if I could show my obsession, I'd keep on saying Steelheart lol

I bet you don't know what's Steelheart. It's fine, I don't think many people do



Basically, they were one of the older bands who started in around 1990. During the rock period lol & I feel bad to point out, but the guy in the middle is the vocalist haha I always seem to focus on the vocalist, but I think most people do

For those who don't know, I like rock songs. Generally. But never really listened or loved rock songs that much. I just like the general sound of rock songs. & it's most likely because my father likes rock songs (well, he listens to a lot of songs, not just rock), & I grew up, or rather, even when I was a baby, I listened to rock songs, so I think that's why I like it so much? It is definitely partly because of that, I'm sure.

So I know the names of rock groups, but don't really know their songs. But my father recommended Steelheart more than 3 years ago (maybe in 2006) because he was recommending rock ballads to me (basically rock group singing slow & soft love songs lol). Cos I like to focus on the vocalist when I listen to songs, but of course, I usually like the general beat & rhythm of the song.

Also because I told him I like guys singing really high pitched haha at least I know what I like, altho it sounds really weird. So Steelheart definitely fits in that category. ;-D

So I'll recommend his softer songs here, cos I don't expect people to bother listening to what *I* recommend, but you never know. Sorry, but I don't know which sites would have the song other than youtube, so I'll put youtube links: All Your Love, Mama Don't You Cry, She's Gone (um, this song is a bit sad lol). Then there's I'll Never Let You Go, which I <3 a lot, a lot XD but it's a little bit noisier than those 1st three songs.

By the way, those were all hyperlinks =_= just in case it went unnoticed ^^; and those links I passed were specifically links which didn't really have any video (you know, the kind where it's just an image, & the only thing different is the audio streaming) except for Mama Don't You Cry, I think that's a fan made video. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not their music video. Yeah, I'm obsessed that way. These kinda details I like to know!!! T_T & for all of them, the lyrics are at the profile, for those who like knowing what the song is about ;-) The Mama Don't You Cry & She's Gone were the ones my father recommended to me.

Now I'm gonna talk more boring stuff about how I got obsessed lol you can ignore this if you want (I always feel people would never be interested in reading this kinda thing, but if you do read it, you've made me very happy ;-D).

I was listening to my compilation of favourite English songs, including Steelheart, of course (the ones which were recommended to me, or rather, the song, I'll Never Let You Go XD). I'm lazy to explain how I heard that song when it wasn't recommended to me in 2006, but basically, I happened to have heard it from a music video from my father's collection.

So, when listening to Steelheart (I get to type their name so many times! XD wtf), I had this sudden urge/craving to listen to more of their songs. More like, whenever I really like the song, & the vocalist's voice, I tend to listen to more of their songs, & (usually) like it, unless the aspect of the voice that I like could change so much in other songs.

It's funny, cos like 2 years ago, I had the urge to listen to Steelheart's songs, & I did, but it just passed through me like a lot of the other rock songs. Maybe there was only one song that I liked more than the others, but that was about it.

But with that memory of that one song, I decided to look for that song, to listen to it again lol & that's how I got obsessed *ashamed* I dunno why, but my taste in songs keep on changing, depending on my mood. Why now I like the songs so, so much when last time I didn't feel anything is beyond me.

PS: I got distracted, so I forgot if I had anything else to say, but I think as usual, I wrote more than enough. & the scanning finished. I think it's fine now. Just that I couldn't find something (not computer-related) for the trip to Italy T_T so I'm feeling quite pissed off... haih what a sad way to start the holidays

PPS: I suddenly remembered what I wanted to say lol er, you see, cos I like guys with long hair (a lot), & I just saw how Poison (another band) looked like, I couldn't help thinking, it's too bad that I wasn't born in that rock period cos it would've been AWESOME *__* my mum doesn't like guys with long hair (just like most people), but seriously, rock groups last time all had long hair. It was the fashion then. Too bad for me that it went out of fashion. At least in japan, it's still sorta in fashion lol

ok bye bye

1st fortnight of the year

Sorry I haven't posted in more than 2 weeks. I've been meaning to post since last week, & the only thing I could think to say was that I was feeling depressed lately, & I wonder why. But since the only thing that happened was that classes started again, I guess that's a good enough reason.

But this year is a bit different from previous years. Not only am I attending classes, I'm doing a thesis. & I started my thesis before my classes. I think that was what was depressing me. I'm not cut out for this kinda thing T_T

On the other hand, the thesis isn't so bad. Just made me very stressed, intruded into my dreams, & caused me to worry a lot. Maybe I was also depressed cos I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but I doubt it.

Anyway, in my 1st week of classes, I made an effort to be a little bit more hardworking. I slept before 12, didn't enjoy any excessive entertainment, and studied & did my thesis whenever I could.

Actually, I was spending more time on my thesis than on my subjects, so my plan of being hardworking as usual in the beginning of the year was falling through because I didn't have enough time to spend on my subjects because of my thesis, & the tests are coming up already?!?!?!? ARRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


.........................................


I think that's how ppl go crazy somehow. Not that I'm saying that I'm gonna go crazy, or else people will think I can't stand working a bit harder or stuff like that. I just feel pressurised, that's all. I'm sure anyone who feels pressurised would get stressed, and eventually go crazy when they can't handle it anymore. The way I handled it was that I slacked after the 1st week. Aren't I brilliant or what?

Problem is I feel totally lazy now. & I'm still doing the thesis so I can't afford to slack anymore. & in between all that, I remembered my blog occasionally. Which is why I'm posting this. If I remember my blog again, it's pointless if I have nothing to write about anyway. & I can't seem to think of a topic when my mind is all messed up from other stuff (yes, I know I can think clearly when it comes to other things, but that's another matter).

So, I'll probably blog again when I finish my thesis (or maybe even after that) or when I find a topic to blog. Simple as that. My thesis should finish by next month. How depressing.

Gone were the days when I could dump all on my work on other people for group projects. I'm just kidding. Don't hurt me.

So much for new year's resolutions. But I never did have any resolutions, so no pressure! Wheeee~~~ XD

oh, maybe this will cheer people up:

it made me laugh, sorta... thinking about it, I laughed a lot more at other things, but I felt it wasn't advisable to share them ^^; hahaha...

Random thoughts in Kuching

Happy new year!

yes, I'm back. was back a week ago, but now only posting this haha well, I was busy. Next week classes & my thesis will start, so I'll be as busy as ever again T_T the hols passed by so fast, but this time my exams ended a bit later than usual, so I think that's why I had less days of hol.

Anyway, on to the random stuff.

I can't understand why the rooster keeps on crowing all the time. I mean, really, I wake up, I hear the crow. Before I sleep, which could be like, 12 am, I heard the crow wth?!? It seems to crow all the time. Not that I mind, but it does feel like there's sth wrong with the rooster somehow.

It's not so hot this time. Keeps on raining though. I wonder whether hot & dry or cool & wet is worse, cos I dislike hot & wet. But at the moment, I prefer the weather now, I think.

One of the days when we were shopping at night (near closing time for the shopping center), the escalator going up stopped moving whereas the escalator going down was still moving. My mum laughed & commented that it's to deter/discourage people from going up & encourage people to go down (& go out) lol

We ate "imperial duck" for one of our meals. A very grand name for a duck. I couldn't help wondering whether the duck was of royal family or something. & yes, I do know what imperial means. It's just that you wouldn't expect a duck to be called imperial, but I guess it's fine too.

The people here seem to be nicer, even on the road. But like everywhere else, there will always be lousy drivers around. When I say nicer, I mean that they hardly hon at anyone, so it feels like nobody really minds if you were a bit inconvenient to other people & vice versa. Also they ALWAYS use their left & right signals. I was so surprised to see it, cos at home, it's not so common to see people always using their signals, which is actually what you're supposed to do in the 1st place.

A CHILD STOLE FROM ME. NO WAY I'M GONNA LET IT SLIDE.

My gums got swollen. I haven't had it in a long time. I don't even know why I'm having it. Why? Why?!?

BUTTER CHICKEN *____*

Downloads are slow at night ;-(

MY GLASSES BROKE WTH T_____T & I didn't think about bringing spare haih

The journey on the plane was very rocky when going back. As though we were being jostled left & right by the clouds. Probably they were just pissed when we went through them.

At home, it is so hot T__T I realised that I was never hot at Kuching in the house, just outside in the sun. But here, there's some sorta heat that lingers even in the house.

Oh, there was a place that didn't allow photographs (these days, more & more shops are like that). Which was fine, just that I was pissed that they caught me taking pictures, & the only reason that they caught me taking the pic is bcos somehow my hand was very shaky that day & I kept on taking a blur pic, so it was my 3rd attempt to take the same pic when they noticed me & gave a warning. So, out of spite, I'm putting it here (a blur pic haih)

it looks like an oil lamp. those are the kind of things I like to look at. but I wldn't buy it.

If you go to Kuching, you should definitely recognise this building because of its colours ;-D which reminds me, I saw Avatar. Well, actually I saw more shows than that, but that's another matter.

just found it amusing when I saw it.

Some stuff bought in Kuching:

I dunno y, but when I saw it, I said "anteater" without thinking

A park. Quite scenic.

The dog that guards the door that leads to the lost city. (Just kidding. Not the part about the guarding dog though)