COOLPIX in Colchester

Parteeeeee!!!!!

2007-02-06T07:47:00.000Z

So this is it! me life in Colchester has ended. It has been absolutely brilliant. What really made it special were me mates there - esp those who stayed together wif me in Flat 11. We had some wonderful times together.

So i'll sign off from this blog wif collages of the parties we had - yes, those were some of the best times in my life!

Left: October 2005. Our first flat party - simple and fun. We ordered take away and watched a movie together
Right: November 2005. This time, we decided to cook together - Pizza nite!

Left: Our next get-together was a farewell for Aliz & Alberto in March 2006. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then adjourned back for drinks and ice cream
Right: In May 2006, we celebrated the May babies by having a sushi dinner.

Left: In June 2006, we celebrated Di's birthday and also the end of our exams. We had mexican fajitas and pina-colada for dessert.
Right: Our farewell meal - Sept 2006. We went to the Playhouse in town since most of us were still busy wif our dissertations and had no time to cook.

Those of us still around had another farewell party sometime mid-September - a celebration of dissertations handed up and a goodbye to our Flat 11 as we had to move out. It was a wonderful meal - all of us cooked up something - and we had a crazy time after the meal.

Left: End Sept 2006. This was a farewell for me - i was going off to Wales for a holiday and thereafter, moving to London.
Right: Early November 2006. This was a farewell for Isabella who was returning to China

End November 2006. This? I just wanted to have a party and we got some snacks and drinks! :-)

Miss you guys!

Crane

2007-02-06T07:19:00.000Z

Here's a tribute to the giant crane which greeted me right outside me window every morning in spring and summer!

Autumn 2006 on campus

2007-02-06T06:59:00.000Z

Work @ Food-on-3

2007-02-06T06:57:00.000Z

Jogging trail

2007-01-05T15:49:00.001Z

I took a walk yesterday along my summer jogging trail - perhaps for the last time. Here are pics of it:-

Left: View of the towers; right: the riverside by the Quays

Left: riverside, right: view of the north and south towers

Left: trail, right: near the railway crossing

Left: Train passing by, right: leaveless trees.

New Year's lunch - 3rd January 2007

2007-01-04T00:41:00.000Z

Left - the ingredients; right - our host and cook!

The table!

First course - egg, flour, spring onion cooked wif squid. Reminded me of the hoe chien back home!

Dumplings, wif rice cakes - topped with chicken meat, seaweed, sesame seed. Yum!

For desert, freshly baked blueberry muffins

Ching Ching, Cindy and Hana

Sunsets - 19th December

2006-12-20T14:32:00.000Z

Sunsets - 9th November

2006-11-10T16:58:00.000Z

Tribute to residents of Flat 11

2006-10-16T17:46:00.000+01:00

Left to right, top to bottom: Di (#1), Chen (#2), Alberto (#3), Michele (#4), Isabella (#6), Chiaki (#7), Tom (#8), Yuki (#9), Aliz (#10, Autumn '05 - Spring '06), KeKe (#10, Spring - Autumn '06), Sachin & Michael (#11 & 12), Ghisseh (#13)

The last goodbye

2006-10-16T17:36:00.000+01:00

The final farewell! Yes, in me main blog, i was saying how these past few weeks have been like the last 30 mins of Return of the King - goodbyes and endings but yet the show goes on.

Well, this is it! It was MY farewell - yeah, guess who ahd to organise it? The fella who organised every other one previously!

Only 6 of us left in Colchester. There were some concerns that it'd be an anti climax. But we were proven wrong.

It was a wonderful time. It really showed how close we have grown to each other. The conversation (no dancing this time) revolved around pretty personal things. No inhibitions. People shared openly. I was "ambushed" by the girls who told me to stop dreaming and to wake up! LOL!

When it was time to go, we all went to Flat 11 together for the last time and we actually spent some time there chatting wif the new residents there. It felt good being in Flat 11 again.

After that, we walked Di home - we were taken on a roundabout way but we din mind cuz that just meant more time to chat. Brilliant! :-)

Oh, they loved me bak kut teh too! :-)

Tymperleys Clock Museum

2006-10-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

The Clock Museum was small but quite good. Quite a fitting end, i guess, since me time in Colchester is up!

Castle Park

2006-10-13T21:54:00.000+01:00

I've always wanted to wander around the Castle Park. Well, i procrastinated long enough and in my final trip down town, i decided to do it. I kinda regret not doing it earlier. It's pretty huge and it must been lovely during summer. Well, better late than never. Here are some interesting pics including some of the Hollytrees Museum which is on the park grounds.

Zoo - Birds of a feather

2006-09-14T13:08:00.000+01:00

Zoo - Sleepy heads

2006-09-14T12:47:00.000+01:00

Zoo - Why the long face? And neck... and tongue...

2006-09-14T12:33:00.000+01:00

Let's go to the Zoo!

2006-09-14T11:52:00.000+01:00

Sunset fly

2006-09-09T17:04:00.000+01:00

Was extremely satisfied wif the last pic on this set. If you enlarge it by clicking on it, you can actually see the pattern on the fly's wings - and the "hair" on the fly!

Clouds from the 11th floor

2006-09-06T14:24:00.000+01:00

Farewell dinner

2006-09-05T02:13:00.000+01:00

8 doggies! :-)

2006-08-30T03:50:00.000+01:00

Profile Pics

2006-08-07T10:42:00.000+01:00

Here are all me profile pics thruout the beginning of time - of Rambling in Rayleigh! I needed to publish me latest pic to upload so i thought i might as well put it all here - as this is prolly the last change to me profile pic!

When i first got here, no pics of meself - so duckie and orangie stood in for me!

Later, when i got me new guitar, i finally put a pic of meself. I like the way how the sun is shinning in me face, obscuring it a little!

Just thought i needed a change so in the spring, i took another pic - in long sleeves!

At the end of May, i decided to put this scruffy looking pic of mine - unshaven, long hair, just woke up. I like this the most, actually, the way the sun is shinning in from the window behind me and how i look like i'm in a totally different world (see my eyes)!

Partly cuz some people commented on me and me guitar, i posted up me first guitar free pic - i liked this pic mainly cuz of me fringe! LOL! Again, the faraway look in me eyes!

Finally, a pic which i actually look into the camera! LOL! And i'm back wif me guitar now!

Sunrise - 17th June

2006-07-02T16:01:00.000+01:00

Sunrise - 13th June

2006-07-02T15:56:00.000+01:00

Sunrise - 9th & 11th June

2006-07-02T15:50:00.000+01:00

9th June

11th June

Wildflowers in a cup

2006-06-30T19:42:00.000+01:00

I got home the other nite to find these wildflowers in a cup. The next morning, there were still there in the sun. They looked too good to resist! :-)

Di's birthday

2006-06-25T14:45:00.000+01:00

It's Di's birthday today. We celebrated it on Friday. It was brilliant!

Left: The birthday girl got involved herself with the cooking! Right: King prawns. *drools*

Unfortunately, not all could make it - but we still had fun. Credit to Michelle for coming up wif the menu. The food was tasty!

For dessert, Michelle made us Pina Colada! Rum, cocunut milk, cocunut cream, pineapple and ice!

We had to blend it all together - and Carrie let us use her uber cool looking Kenwood blender! I was so thrilled over it!
(Right: Self potrait! :-P)

Left: Me and the birthday girl! Right: Sachin and Michelle, our "bartenders"

When the rum ran out, Michelle rescued us wif her private stash of bacardi. Everyone ended up in high spirits! :-)

Left: Of course some people were anti-social a little. Right: After i snapped the pic, Ghisseh basically chased me around the kitchen a couple of times, and into the toilet before giving up. I hid me camera back in me room so that's all the pics i took. Too bad none of the ice-cream cake that we had for Di!

We sat around for a long time after that, talking and laughing a lot. We talked oso about martial arts and tai chi - and when i demonstrated the "watermelon" style (one big melon, cut it into half, half for you, half for me - you know that?), Wei got so tickled and couldn't stop laughing!

Later, we started discussing plans for a day trip out. It's gonna be fun! :-)

End of the road

2006-06-25T14:26:00.000+01:00

There comes a time when goodbyes have to be said.

My cyclamen finally decided that it was time for it to move on to the heavenly gardens. :-(

Got them way back in October - initially wanted to get some heather but the lady told me that heathers are not suitable for indoors - and recommended the cyclamens. She assured me that they will survive thru winter too! They did.

And for a while after winter, i thought i was losing them when all the flowers died. but when spring sprung, so did the new buds.

I guess the heat wave lately was too much for them. Dramatically, as all leaves and flowers died off, a small bud came up - and i nurtured some hope that it could spark off a new round again. No way. The bud died without blooming.

Here's me tribute to me silent companion in Room 5 on our flat for the past 8 months:-

Sunsets - May 2006

2006-06-11T16:05:00.000+01:00

Sunsets are back - altho these days, me getting quite a few of sunrise pics too!

The first pic below on the left is the sunset on the 12th. The rest were taken on the 16th.

The next 2 were taken on the 18th, wif a cameo appearance of the crane just outside me window!

The next 2 were taken on the 26th

The first one below on the left was taken on the 27th. The rest of the pics were taken from Michael's room on the 20th and the 31st. As we draw into summer, the angle from me room window is difficult and i get a much better view from Michael's side.

Wildflowers

2006-06-03T02:17:00.000+01:00

Been inspired to take pics of wildflowers! ;-) Technically, these should not be in this blog cuz i dun think the walk i was on (from campus to Wivenhoe) can be considered as Colchester. But i'm not gonna start a new blog ("Walking to Wivenhoe"?) just for these few pics! Hope u enjoy them as much as i enjoyed taking them.

The one on the left will open to become the one on the right

Jus a note about the bug - i really liked its colours!

Don't the daisies (above left) look lovely? So happy looking! :-)

Sunrise!

2006-05-28T21:18:00.000+01:00

Sunrise on 28th May 2006 over Colchester

View from the 11th floor kitchen

Well, obviously the one the right above is not from the 11th floor!

The sunrise cast a lovely pink glow on me otherwise drab brown Rayleigh Tower (sori bout the shaky pic - it was cold!) and a lovely reflection on the lake

Back on the 11th floor again!

Bored of studying...

2006-05-20T00:45:00.000+01:00

Here are some pics taken when i was getting a little bored while studying...! It's a free plug for Dell, Blaze and Palm too!

Sushi Party!

2006-05-11T22:46:00.000+01:00

We started preparing at about 6 pm!

Jackie was the main cook - and she showed us all how it was done!

My finished product!

Everyone had their turn and we all tucked in.

After that, we celebrated the birthdays of Ghisseh, Sachin and Michelle with a nice cake and some illegal candles!

Makan time!

2006-05-04T18:34:00.000+01:00

Indian rice? Green beans, ginger raisin rice and chicken tikka masala!
The discovery of the papadoms was brilliant - altho it was really expensive! Since then, i've found a place which sells cheaper ones! I miss the free flowing papadoms back home...

Was quite proud that i made some pretty good "siew yoke" - altho i can get the skin to be crispy enough. Any advice?

Ayam masak madu - all from a pack, tho!

Kurma chicken! :-P~

Return of the Sunsets (3) - April 2006

2006-04-29T15:13:00.000+01:00

10th April

14th April

22nd April

Return of the Sunsets (2) - March 2006

2006-04-29T14:32:00.000+01:00

1st March

19th March

The Return of the Sunsets (1) - February 2006

2006-04-29T14:29:00.000+01:00

It has been sometime since i posted any sunset pics! Part of the reason was when me camera broke in January. Another is that the long winter has ensured some pretty drabby sunsets.

Well, in any event, the sunset pics are back! Enjoy.

First up, sunsets on the 9th of Feb this year. Come to think about it, these are the first sunset pics of the year!

The next set is taken on 25th February

In the middle of the night...

2006-04-26T01:56:00.001+01:00

Room with a view...

2006-04-07T19:38:00.000+01:00

Left:- first day, first view! Right:- In winter, they started to fence out the area (see the frost on the lovely grass?).

Left:- Construction satrted late in winter (fuzzy pic cuz of snow) Right:- Spring - foundation laid, this scary thing looms outside me room!

Daffodils

2006-04-01T20:15:00.000+01:00

Yup, daffodils are all over the place now! Here's me tribute to them. Click on each pic to see the enlarged version!

Ok. These are not daffodils but i just had to put them in. I dun know wat they are, tho! But we have the fake ones back home for Chinese New Year deco. I was just thrilled to see real "life" ones! :-)

Colours in the sky

2006-04-01T19:48:00.000+01:00

OK - it's confirmed - there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - on one end, it's just some trees while on the other, it is a construction site! Read all about it here!

Walk

2006-03-29T19:48:00.000+01:00

I decided to go for a walk today. It was a trial suggested on some website and i tried it out. Had a great time. It was brilliant - the weather was lovely (Thank you, Lord) - eventho it drizzled for a while, the scenery was brilliant, and the people i met along the way were all so nice! Everyone i met along the way without fail smiled at me or greeted me! :-)

Here are some of the pics i took along the way:-

It started off at a field near my Uni - went under some electrical wires and into the Wivenhoe Woods.

After reaching Wivenhoe town, i walked on the sea wall along the river. It was wonderful - the river on one side, the marshes on the other.

Spring is definately around the corner - buds all over altho most trees were still leaf-less. The pic on the furthest right are the tall reeds (taller than me) growing along the river.

It was a pleasant surprise when i stumbled across this old abandoned church with a cemetery that is still being used!

The trail took me across the railway tracks! It's legal, mind you - see the furthest left pic? Warning for us who are crossing the tracks.

Took me around 4 hours to complete my circuit! It wasnt long after i got back - and had a super late lunch that the sun began to set. Very satisfying walk!

Mobile!

2006-03-29T10:44:00.000+01:00

Me new mobile! :-)

You can read more about it here!

So long, farewell!

2006-03-18T13:27:00.000Z

Here are the pics taken last nite - during and after the farewell dinner for double "A"! (Read about it - albeit briefly - here)

The collage on the left are pics taken at the restaurant - Bengal Spice at Wivenhoe. I would like to think i started the photo taking frenzy and the collage on the left shows all us either armed wif our cameras or posing for one! :-)

Drinks were in abundance! There was oso another bottle of Irish cream which went well wif anything we tried it wif - on the rocks, wif milk, wif coffee (only me) and wif ice cream!

Yup. We had LOADSA fun!!!!! :-)

It ended off wif us back in our kitchen, drinking, eating chips and cookies, chatting, laughing, and enjoyed each other's company - and for some, it'd be the last time. :-(

Red-light area!

2006-03-04T20:32:00.002Z

The clear skies lately have given many bright sunsets - some of which cast a strange red light into me room.

Left: The view of the sunset thru me window. As the sun sinks lower, the skies will turn red.
Middle and left: The red sunset reflecting onto the walls of me room, onto me photo montage!

A visitor

2006-03-04T20:25:00.001Z

Had a visitor the other day - it was a "she"!

A ladybird was on the inside of me window!

As with all the other pics on this blog, click on them to see the enlarged version!

A piece of cake!

2006-03-04T20:15:00.000Z

Decided to do some baking!!! Cakes are expensive here - the only time i eat is when we have a birthday to celebrate! And it has been some time since we had a birthday - and the next one is in May!!!

It din turn out too bad! I mean, I din have a mixer - so it was all done using a fork! It was a little crumbly when it was still hot - but hey, it's the taste that matters, rite? :-)~

Yesterday, with the remaining butter, I made some "citrus butter" bread spread using the microwave cookbook that I got. Not bad, if I do say so meself!

Nuclear explosion at Colchester????

2006-02-26T14:16:00.000Z

View from me window today:-

Nah... it's just some interesting cloud formation!!!! The effects were made using Picasa. You can see the original pic on the right here:-

Here come's the sun!

2006-02-25T16:32:00.000Z

After all the snow, rain, sleet and hail, we were greeted wif the sun today! And wat a warm and bright greeting it was! :-)

Left: The view from me room window where the sun blazed in relentlessly! The other 2 pics are taken from me kitchen - shadows of my tower and the view of the lake too.

Has spring finally sprung???

Basking in the sun! Lovely! Hhmmm... methinks me gotta clean me specs (click on the pics and see how dirty my specs are!!!!)

The Truth shall set you free...

2006-02-19T15:09:00.001Z

VLP* Warning

Left: Truth can help you see the light!
Middle: It can help you see things in a different perspective
Right: It can make you take a good look at yourself

Left: Truth can open your eye to things!
Middle: Altho some people try to bend the truth at times...
Right: ...but if we stand firm, we can be sure that Truth will stand tall!

*Very Lame Post

More oranges!

2006-02-13T02:02:00.001Z

This is my tribute to the many oranges who gave their lives last nite - being thrown by single women into the sea!!!!! (If you dun know why, read this.)

Obi-Wan, meet Obi-Mun...

2006-02-10T15:13:00.000Z

I got meself a new t-shirt when i was in town the other day (a cheer-me-up-prezzie from meself - since i failed to get a job interview that day!). It was going for only 2.99!!!!!! Sure, Episode 2 is long gone but hey, it's still an Obi-Wan t-shirt!!!

A pity it only came in grey. There's also a Mace Windu, Jango Fett and Clone trooper t-shirt like this one (KC? Interested? You can buy one for the cool and cute guitarist cum Star Wars fan!!!!). There's also an Anakin one - Orange on blue. Really nice. But I can't stand him - esp in Episode 2...

Red and white

2006-02-10T14:39:00.000Z

It was Italian white wine and Syrian red wine. It was a "dress rehearsal" for our Paris trip. It was a wonderful time!

Yeah, we drank til things became a greenish blur..... NOT! Read the whole account here.

New additions to Rayleigh 11/5

2006-02-07T15:02:00.001Z

Yup, quite a few new stuffs have been added.

Left: I got a new "table" - seen here wif a red cloth. Oso, got me soft-board made of polystyrene!
Middle: After a month or more of struggling between life and death, a new flower bloomed! :-)
Right: More cards to add to me collection. Thanks (you kno who you are!).

Left: Close-up of the solitary new bloom! :-) I checked today - anoher 2 or 3 more coming.
Middle: Used coffee bottles are pretty useful! Will have loads by the time I move out (the ones here are in my room - there are more being used in the kitchen)!
Right: Yeah, the first step in my research essay - lugging books back from the library and proudly displaying them. It works as a constant reminder!!!!!

William Wallace - a souvenir from Scotland!

Nessie sighted in Colchester!!!!! Another souvenir from Scotland!

My very first action figure (no, William Wallace doesn't count). It was going for 4 quid at Argos!!!! My first fig happens to be Hasbro's 500th fig. The plastic casing is not very good tho - pretty hard to see the inside. But Vader will be staying in!

Fruity but no tutti

2006-02-05T14:31:00.000Z

OK - here's the mysterious disappearing post. I've saved the html version of it in case it decides to vanish again!!!!!

I just love the fruits here - for the past week or so, I've indulged in mandarin oranges and golden delicious apples. Both were simply brilliant - juicy, sweet! :-)~

The pics here dun do them justice - but hope u'll enjoy them anyways!

Some of you might ask which I prefer more - the mandarins or the golden delicious. Well, that's really difficult to say. After all, it's like asking me to compare apples wif oranges! ;-P

What the....??????????????????????????????

2006-02-05T04:12:00.000Z

All my fruit pics disappeared into the thin air!!!!!! For those of u who read me blog yesterday, u'd seen the post wif pics of apples and oranges. Well, it's no longer here! What the...

Man.... it took me so long to put up the pics. I'm not gonna do it again - not now anyways. Wat if it disappears again? I'll just wait and see if this post still remains later today. :-(

Sunsets - Week #12

2006-02-02T16:30:00.000Z

I'm back!!!! It's weird cuz "Hello" suddenly stopped giving me problems as soon as me camera got back!!!!! You see, me camera broke on the last day of last year. So no new pics since then til yesterday when i got it back from repairs. At the same time, because of exams, i stopped posting pics on me photoblogs. However, after me exams ended, "Hello" started giving me probs and I couldn't post any pics using "Hello" til today, when the camera got home!!!!!!

Anyways, here are the last sunset pics taken last year!

18th December

Click on each pic to enlarge it. It was simply awesome - the entire sky was like on fire!!!!!

I was totally mesmerised!

19th December

A cloudless (well, less than the previous day anyway) sunset!

Here's hoping for nice sunsets this year. so far, it has been misty and gloomy, so you guys haven't missed much!

Closed for repairs

2006-01-09T23:28:00.000Z

When I was in Brunei last year, I walked in the blazing hot sun during lunch time to the nearby lake gardens - almost an hour (no, I'm not using this as a guise to boast of my walking achievements) - and I was greeted by this sign:-

Loosely translated, it reads "Notice. Apologies. Some of the facilities and equipments in the Lake Gardens are not safe to be used and works are being carried out to repair the same." (haha - a guise to show off my abilities as a translator!!!!)

Anyways, I finally sent me Nokin Coolpix 2100 to the Nikon place today - at Surrey!!!!!! They'll look at it and then revert abck to me on the estimated cost of repair. That would take 7 working days. Thereafter, I have the option to get it fixed... or buy a new camera. I hope it'll be the former as I have grown pretty attached to me camera. However, if it is gonna cost like 50 or 60 quid, then I might as "move on"!!!!!

For those who still dun know yet, the mechanism to turn on my camera broke and finally refused to cooperate when I was in Sheffield.

As such, this place will be "closed for repairs" - repairs made on the camera. No new pics will be posted for the time being. :-(

Addendum

After rereading me post, i must say sori bout all the references to "guises" - i'm still amused and tickled bout a comment made on me by a mate recently! :-)

Christmas Wishes

2005-12-22T11:10:00.000Z

Blessed Christmas!!!! And a happy New Year! God bless.

Sunny days in winter!

2005-12-20T21:50:00.000Z

This is to allay the fears of me family that I may not be keeping warm here - it has been sunny here in Colchester!!!! In fact, when I got home today, I was surprised to find that my backpack was wet wif sweat - the sweat actually went thru my winter jacket!!!!

So dun worry! But I am going to Scotland soon. Now that's gonna be a different story...

Last train to London?

2005-12-19T01:13:00.000Z

This is Colchester North Station - an hour's walk from campus. I normally take the train from Hythe but Hythe closes early and it does not open on Sundays.

This pic was taken on a misty Sunday morning.

Anyways, if you wanna "follow" me down to London, I've started another photo-blog where I've posted pics taken in London. Click on the this link to join me:- Loitering in London

Sunsets - Week #11

2005-12-19T01:02:00.000Z

14th December

17th December - It was a glorious sunset that day! If you think the pics are brilliant, you should have seen it "live"!!!! God is great!

Early X'mas gift?

2005-12-19T00:47:00.002Z

Quite sad to have to buy me own gift-eh? Well, who cares?!!!! :-P It was only a matter of time b4 I got me new boots. Altho it burnt a LARGE hole in me pocket, I'm loving it! :-)

Techinically, it's a gift from me sis cuz she banked-in some money for me as me gift! Cheers, Doris!

Looking down in London!

2005-12-14T14:39:00.000Z

From left to right, clockwise:- manhole cover at Tower Hill; graffiti on the Tower Bridge; leaves by the embankment; London Eye in the puddle (plus a glimspe of me Timberland shoes); Houses of Parliament in a puddle (hey, it's London - rain, rain, rain); tube platform reminder; leaves in the frontyard of a house at Surrey Quays; Greenwich; road sign near Surry Quays; leaves outside Wesminster Abbey.

Oh, click on the pics to view the enlarged versions!

Looking up in London!

2005-12-14T00:24:00.001Z

These are pics taken from ground level looking up at Tower Bridge, the London Eye, St Paul's, Monument, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Natural History Museum. Can u identify all of em?

As usual, click on any pic to see the enlarged version.

London - Along the Thames

2005-12-13T16:46:00.000Z

These are the pics taken at the sights along the Thames - Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Butler's Wharf, HMS Belfast, London Bridge, Monument, St. Paul's, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Jubilee Bridge, London Eye, London Aquarium, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament.

Click on the pics to see the "big picture"!

Sunsets - Week #10

2005-12-13T16:19:00.000Z

These 2 pics above are taken from me room window on the 4th of December

These 2 pics were taken at Greenwich on the 9th of December

The 4 pics above were taken at Kensington Park on the 10th of December

O Christmas tree!

2005-12-05T22:22:00.000Z

When I saw it, I had to get it! It has battery operated fibre optics red lights too!

Eating in Essex!

2005-12-03T23:42:00.000Z

OK. This is not to show off. This is mainly cuz me parents are worried that I'm starving meself here (to save money to watch theatre). So here is proof that I'm eating alrite!

A typical dinner will be a big plate of rice, a soup, a vege and a meat dish!

Pasta is one of me favs! It's cheap, easy to make and taste real good! (Left - spaghetti wif mince meat, spices and cheese; right - spaghetti wif meatballs and brocoli)

Of course instant noodles is part of the menu - whether it's soup based (left) or "mee goreng" style (right)

I've been resisting overspending - so here are the only 2 "luxuries" which I allow meself - spring onion and "chili padi"!

Been experimenting lately - stir fry beef wif spring onion and ginger (left) and chicken wif capsicum!

Of course, every meal is complimented wif fruits - wonderful gala apples, great spanish bananas or brilliant conference pears (for those who have not eaten such pears, trust me - it tastes better than it looks!)

I din take any pics of the snacks I have in me room! So yeah, mom & dad. Dun worry. I'm eating! :-) It's the washing up after the meals which is a drag...

Sunsets - Week #9

2005-12-03T23:32:00.001Z

It's winter wif miserable weather now. Not much of sunsets. The above pics are sunsets on 29th November (the top 4) and today (the bottom 2).

Sunsets - Week #8

2005-11-26T22:37:00.000Z

From top to bottom, left to right - 22nd November, 22nd November, 22nd November, 24th November, 26th November, 26th November

Wei's birthday

2005-11-23T02:03:00.000Z

We had our first birthday celebration in our flat yesterday (since we missed all the October babies, all 3 of 'em). It was quite fun - more than expected. Altho it was done pretty last minute, we enjoyed the "cloak and dagger" and cover-up as we tried to keep it a surprise. In the end, Wei looked genuinely touched (and was he wiping away tears from his eyes on a few occasions?), we had great fun and enjoyed ourselves chatting - and guessing each other's age (guess who's the oldest here?) and eating a pretty good choc cake!

Top to bottom, left to right - 27 candles (actually, he's 26 but the Chinese always count one year ahead), Wei blowing out the candles (he needed help in the end!!!), Wei removing the candles, Wei cutting the cake, close-up of the cake, everyone enjoying their cake - except Michael who is fasting til Christmas!

p/s - to the Uni authorities who may stumble upon this blog, altho the pics looks like they were taken in the flats, in actual fact, they are taken ina place which looks like the flats but IS NOT the flats. After all, we wouldn't dare light candles in the flats would we? We are the matured rule-abiding post-graduate, exemplary students!!!!

4 seasons in one (Sun)day!

2005-11-21T19:07:00.000Z

Sunday, 20th November - the day started off wif a wonderful sunrise (top left). On me way back from service, the sun was shinning strong like it was summer! But the cold icy wind reminded me that it is in fact winter. However, some trees are only just beginning to shed their leaves like it was still autumn.

And all that just left me wif a spring in my walk! :-)

London - 19/11/05

2005-11-21T18:39:00.000Z

From top to bottom, left to right - Frosty morning on campus, rocking chair shop in Camden Town, Camden Town market, Camden Town market, Leicester Sq, Leicester Sq, Odeon Leicester Sq (wif the Goblet of Fire! They had a dragon here during the premier), ice skating outside the Natural History Museum

Sunsets - Week #7

2005-11-21T18:22:00.000Z

From left to right, top to bottom - 13th November, 15th November, 15th November, 17th November, 18th November, 18th November

Some things never change!

2005-11-21T00:54:00.000Z

OK. I'm fed-up wif "Hello". I have been having problems all week posting pics. As for "Picasa", the pics posted will only be 400 x 300 px only. So I'm back on Photobucket - and realised that they've increased my album space! :-)

And wif this new blog template, I can post HUGE pics up! But wat u see is wat u get (unlike all previous pics posted by Hello where you can view a bigger version of the pic by clicking on it.)

Here's a pic taken from London Chinatown last weekend. Me name is still hanging there after all these years! :-)

"That's no moon"??

2005-11-18T14:41:00.000Z

I got home on a cold sub-zero winter nite - to be greeted by 2 interesting things.

The first was when I looked up and saw the full moon - but it was the ring of light around it that caught me attention. I had to go back to me flat, get me extra batteries and took some pics from me room window.

See the ring around the moon?

It was surreal - especially if you were outside and see how large the ring was! The fact that it was a cloudless and starless nite added the mysterious factor to it!

The second thing? I've got mail!

Happiness - finding not one but 2 mails waiting for me!

One contained a gift - a home made thingy made of shells to hang on me window. Unfortunately, it was broken. But it's the thought that counts!!

Trip to London - 16-17/11/05 (Pt 2)

2005-11-18T14:28:00.000Z

Unfortunately, my batterries for me camera died at Trafalgar Square. So you guys are spared from millions of other potential photos. But you can still enjoy the Square photos I took!

It was a wonderful day - brilliant weather! Nelson has the best place on the Square to get the sun, tho!

National Gallery on a bright sunny day!

On the south east plinth stands Henry Havelock

On the north-east plinth - George IV. His horse has all 4 feet on the ground so that means that he died of natural causes (source of info - Jester)

The newest and perhaps arguably the most contrversial statute, filling the previously empty fourth plinth - Alison Napper Pregnant (and very naked!!!). She'll be there til 2007. A comedian suggested they should put a statute of Moby Dick there - and call it "the Plinth of Whales"!!!

The national Gallery at the back

You can see Big Ben down the road. I remember having a pic here wif Stephan and Chris in 1993!

The pigeons were there, too!

Pigeons everywhere

Oh, there were school kids there too!

Trip to London - 16-17/11/05 (Pt 1)

2005-11-18T13:54:00.002Z

Me first trip into London since I arrived here! And guess wat? I missed me train!!!

Anyways, this is the first photo series of me trip - the train station!!!!

Took the train from Hythe - 20 mins walk from campus

Welcome!

Going to town and eventually to London

Heading towards the East

Need directions?

The station was pretty dirty and run-down

Rubbish strewn over the tracks

Waited til the sun went down...

...and the moon came up! Yup, full moon! It was freezing, man! The prize I paid for missing the 3:20 pm train! O well...

Sunsets - Week #6

2005-11-18T13:41:00.000Z

Finally, the sunset pics for last week. Been having issues wif "Hello" but glad I can finally post pics again!

12th November

11th November

11th November

11th November

9th November

9th November

9th November

8th November

My Car - Part 3 (memories)

2005-11-09T15:24:00.001Z

One of the saddest point - broken into!

Highlights - ferrying special people around! Me nephew asleep in the back seat!

Driving mates around

Victim of pranksters!

My Car - Part 2 (Interior)

2005-11-09T15:17:00.001Z

My view

Has taken me around for more than 186,000 km!

Control panel

Liverpool gear knob cover (cheers, Kit), me Pioneer CD player and me duckie (rescued from the floor of Carrefour's car park)!

Messy glove compartment (yes Krissy, tt's Missy Higgins' album)

Liverpool banner (from Anfield - thanks, Al & WS) on me rear window

Bar Council sticker (to make corrupt cops think twice)

Air refresherner - "car-warming" gift from Brenda

Snoopy - pic courtesy of WS

Always travelled wif an R2 unit in the vehicle!

Nemo and Dory hanging around

Maglite for protection!

My car - Part 1 (Exterior)

2005-11-09T15:15:00.000Z

Jon asked me about me car the other day. :-(

Ahh... the memories. Here's me photo tribute to WGM 510!

The front

The back

The side

Pizza Saturday - Part 3

2005-11-08T17:17:00.000Z

Getting the music and media ready

Aliz - eating her pizza wif ketchup!!!!

Tuck in! After eating, we watched a movie. It... er... din really turn out that well but overall, it was a fun nite!

After dinner and movie, a few of us braved the cold night air to walk Stella back to her partment at the Quays (around 15 mins walk). We had a nice time! :-)

Pizza Saturday - Part 2

2005-11-08T17:08:00.000Z

Here are pics of the actual process of making the pizza!

Chopping up the stuffs... and eating!

Getting the oven grill ready wif foil

Now for the base

Ghisseh's new rolling pin! Looks fun-eh?

Putting the toppings on - everyone had their's personalised!

The final product! It was pretty good. (The ham on the top was additional and that explains why it looks so pink!)

Cheers, Ghisseh!

Pizza Saturday - Part 1

2005-11-08T16:59:00.000Z

We had a "flat dinner" again last Saturday. This tme round, instead of ordering out, we decided to have Ghisseh's famous home-made pizza (endorsed by Alberto, our Italian!). Here are the ingredients:-

Pineapples - yeah, there wasn't enuf but it dun look too nice, rite?

Corn! I love corn... but to be honest, corn on pizza was a lil' weird for me...

Mushrooms

The meat - pepperoni and ham!

Grated cheese. Yum!

All the ingredients (oh, we had green and red pepper too - in the bowl there wif the knife sticking out from it! The dough is in the bowl covered wif the checked cloth)

The secret sauce!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

2005-11-07T23:02:00.000Z

...is where the football field is!

New card

2005-11-07T23:01:00.000Z

Me new ATM card. It took it a while to come but it looks cool-eh? Me like the minimalist effect!

Sunsets - Week #5

2005-11-07T22:52:00.001Z

OK. It is getting harder to get daily sunset pics. The days are ending earlier (around 5 pm) - like today, I was having lectures til 6 pm so by the time I got out of the lecture hall, it was all dark. And anyways, wif the weather deteriorating, the sunset pics are nuthing to shout about. Further, the winds are getting stronger in the evenings and it's quite dangerous for me to stick me hand and camera out of me window!

So for week #5, I missed one day - but I made it up wif extra pics from the wonderful sunset on the 31st! Enjoy. :-)

5th November

4th November

3rd November

1st November

31st October

31st October

31st October

30th October

Sunsets - Week #4

2005-10-31T18:19:00.000Z

Some of you must be wondering wat happened to me sunset pics! Yes? No? Who cares? I'll still post them up! :-)

29th October

28th October

27th October

26th October

25th October

24th October

23rd October

Red leaf house

2005-10-31T00:13:00.000Z

When I was in town the other day, I saw this house - and had to take pics of it:-

Close-up of the leaves

Sunny pics!

2005-10-29T00:44:00.001+01:00

Orange in the sun!

Gift from my CG

Meet my new love!

2005-10-29T00:04:00.000+01:00

Out of the box!

It only came in one colour - "sun-burst"! (the funny shaped thingy below the bridge is actually a reflection of me room's lights - dun worry, not a product defect!)

But it's ok - it matches the colour of me rug, me jacket and me bag!!! :-)

It oso matches the colour of the curtains!

It matches the colour of the drawers and the apples too!

Close-ups (1)

Close-ups (2)

Close-ups (3)

Close-ups (4)

It is so new that I can see me own reflection on it!

I can use it as a mirror too!

The damage to me wallet! But no regrets!

Playing in the sun!

Red carpet treatment

2005-10-28T17:52:00.000+01:00

Finally, now I can be barefoot in me own room! :-)

Party time!

2005-10-23T00:06:00.000+01:00

Everyone getting ready - altho not all could join, the rest were quite happy to have our first Flat 11, Rayleigh Hall "party"!!!

2005-10-23T00:05:00.000+01:00

The guys - Michael (Greece), Sachin (India), Wei (China) and Alberto (Italy)

2005-10-23T00:04:00.000+01:00

Sachin (India), Tom (Poland) and Alberto (Italy)

2005-10-23T00:03:00.000+01:00

Ghisseh (Syria), in charge of ordering the food and collecting the money

2005-10-23T00:02:00.000+01:00

Some ate first without waiting - but our take-away took rather long to come!
[From right to left - Michelle (US), Wei, Isabella (China), her boyfren, Alberto and Tom]

2005-10-23T00:01:00.000+01:00

Our movie screens for the nite! After dinner, we watched a movie together!

2005-10-23T00:00:00.000+01:00

One of our guests, Stella, checking on the cake that was supposed to be a surprise for the birthday girl who mysteriously din turn up. Happy B'day, Aliz!