1) On a hectic work day, a few hours after emergency work arrived..
mf: I need to pee. I think I should go pee.
SF: Yes, you should!!
2) Learnt one day that steriods can make a girl more "manly"..
mf: Oh no! My nasal spray contained some kind of steroids! I used that for more than a year before I started my clinical trial..
*2 seconds later*
mf: I also used a nasal spray for a while in my adolescence.. Is that why I am flat..
3) You know, where two mirrors meet in a right angle, the image is twice reflected so you see your image the way people see you. I was staring at the corner of the studio one day and decided that I looked better reflected just once *.*
4) I had the weirdest, um, treatment one day. Let’s not go into details but when I opened my eyes - surprise! I've never seen myself like that! *.*
.. One term came to mind - 小日本! CY, right? :p
5) One night, I was outside MND building and complaining to Na on the phone that I had no cash cos I had mixed up MND building with MOM building; the latter had ATM machines.
The next morning, I suddenly remembered that I had drawn cash from Tomato Town MRT before I left for the MND area *.*
6) Met YX and Kel for dinner and drinks one Monday. Was very hungry so I walked ahead rather quickly..
YX: This one has long legs..
Kel : And fat, like the trottles hanging in the market.. but alive! Eh, 活的, 别跑!
7) Kel brought me a copy of MC "A" level paper. I tried the first question on inequality, and failed horribly :( Both of them had to correct me..
Second chance came in a Xmas card from Kel, a differentiation-integration question. I failed miserably again!! I give up!
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
Wednesday, 24 January 2007
Getting hitched
Am scribbling on paper anyway, trying to unblock my mind.. Might as well post it.. Perhaps you can help..?
If you recall, I blogged about P(couplehood) in September. I'm still researching on the issue..
Was talking to Sito the other day on encouraging people to get married. He said people must (a) meet someone, and (b) that someone must be the "right" person. Agreed with him that the key is (a); you've got to meet enough people to increase the chance of spotting the right one - or, just thought of this, to realise that everyone is not quite right except for someone who has always been there :p
Then just recently, another thought occurred to me: what do you do when you meet someone? Meeting is just the beginning. There must be some level of interaction to find out if he/she is right, or not quite right. Think that's where something must be done; we could meet 10 new people a day but if one party just keeps quiet or couldn't make conversation etc, there is simply zero chance to find out. Except that it's likely..not right.
Hence, social skills matter more than interaction opportunities. For (a) and (b) to work, people should have pre-requisite social skills. But where, and in fact, when and how do we start?
Was just listening to colleagues talking about how kids these days would rather spend time on the computer than with friends, and boys in particular, prefer Gears of War to chasing skirts - or pretty pants..
Like that how to develop good social skills?!!
Me, I'm at a loss, stuck in my research.. Was thinking some study on gender differential in the search for a partner might help, but I kept turning up dating websites. Could be a case of bad choice of keywords.. Help! =(
If you recall, I blogged about P(couplehood) in September. I'm still researching on the issue..
Was talking to Sito the other day on encouraging people to get married. He said people must (a) meet someone, and (b) that someone must be the "right" person. Agreed with him that the key is (a); you've got to meet enough people to increase the chance of spotting the right one - or, just thought of this, to realise that everyone is not quite right except for someone who has always been there :p
Then just recently, another thought occurred to me: what do you do when you meet someone? Meeting is just the beginning. There must be some level of interaction to find out if he/she is right, or not quite right. Think that's where something must be done; we could meet 10 new people a day but if one party just keeps quiet or couldn't make conversation etc, there is simply zero chance to find out. Except that it's likely..not right.
Hence, social skills matter more than interaction opportunities. For (a) and (b) to work, people should have pre-requisite social skills. But where, and in fact, when and how do we start?
Was just listening to colleagues talking about how kids these days would rather spend time on the computer than with friends, and boys in particular, prefer Gears of War to chasing skirts - or pretty pants..
Like that how to develop good social skills?!!
Me, I'm at a loss, stuck in my research.. Was thinking some study on gender differential in the search for a partner might help, but I kept turning up dating websites. Could be a case of bad choice of keywords.. Help! =(
Friday, 19 January 2007
Festive season 2006/2007
It's a bit late but well, mf has been busy :p
Christmas
Tried to go to the zoo on the eve but started out too late and it was raining. Ended up sobbing over Charlotte’s Web and searching for a Pizza Hut from Tomato Town to Bishan to Toa Payoh! It was only later that I realised that there was one in Tomato Town but it had taken residence next to KFC!
Had a delightfully quiet Christmas this round, first in four years. Walked by the church nearby and admired the stained glass. 平安夜 indeed :)
Had a nice long chat with Na on Christmas day, お久しぶりでね! We also had fun making kitty chocolates but the attempt wasn’t too successful and we made only two for tea.. Still, cute right? :)
New Year
Went for countdown. Saw the band before at Bar None but it was more enjoyable at Pump Room. The countdown was quite strange, like they just anyhow decided that ok, midnight in 10 seconds!
Oh, the beer was awful and we were there for only a short while, so no large amounts of alcohol :p
Went for supper at this place near the studio where I used to pass by often and drool over the fragrance of food.. But I didn’t eat cos I wasn’t hungry..
Na got a cab at 2+; Sito and I took the next vacant one at freaking 530am!! That’s it! No more NY countdowns in town from now!
I downed some bird’s nest and slept half-(un)dressed with my fake eyelashes still stuck on my eyelids!
Yes, me in my fake eyelashes, they gave me double eyelids! Can see? :p
I slept amazingly little. Met KLK at 3pm to buy food in the new NTUC FairPrice Xtra in Tomato Town. My second time there, so crowded but man, what an auntie haven! :p
Cookout was at Kel’s place. I was utilising eye power most of the time, leaving Kel, YX and SY to do most of the work :p Tok, Kok and D joined us for dinner. Moh and W came by while we were playing mahjong (I didn’t win a single game, zero; even newbie Tok won *.*) and we had dessert, courtesy of D - absolutely yummy! She gave me the apple crumble recipe, which I’ll try once I get an oven :)
Oh, and it is 2007.. Hmm, I resolve to
1) Do a 10km jog within two hours by end of 2007! Don’t laugh, I used to fail 2.4km!
2) Not get wasted and puke..
3) Lose 3kg. Better still, lose a few more inches; I can now wear my pre-Oxford jeans, almost there…
4) Pass my driving test *fingers crossed*
5) Read more, especially the books I bought in 2006
6) Make myself heard
7) Be really happy
Birthday
Had to work that Sat and stayed later than expected. But Na was delayed as well so just nice..We went shopping in Orchard!! Bought a Mickey top, lingerie and a moisturiser - happy :) (Wow, one NY resolution is happening already!)
Next was dinner with Sito - we had shabu shabu! Yummy :) And, I said something stupid when unwrapping my present.. The charger appeared first..
mf: But I don't have an iPod..
Sito: Now you do!
Kek?! I dug in and found a bright pink iPod nano! *drool to the floor* I have grand plans to burn all my CDs inside, otherwise I seldom have the chance to listen to them..
Sunday, dim sum lunch, also with The Otoko, before a session of feet reflexology at the blind uncle’s place. But we didn’t get the blind uncle cos he was reserved, sighs..
CY took leave on Monday to go out with me :) And we went shopping, this time in Vivocity! I bought a nice top in size 14 cos I liked it and there was no smaller size, a pretty green top and a lovely purple dress. I also tried the tube dress in the same design as the green top - I’ve never seen myself looking so hot ok.. Haha! But it being a tube dress and short means I won’t get much chance to wear it..
Dinner was hilarious! CY said it all here..
This cute round sheep was from CY! Now resting on my desk at work :)
Oh, in the left corner sits a tatty angel from Kel a couple of years back..
Alright, I am 27 now! Counted a total of 23 well wishes in all, mostly via sms - guess what? Yes! Prime number!! :p
Thank you all for remembering, for celebrating for me, especially Na, Sito and CY :)
Christmas
Tried to go to the zoo on the eve but started out too late and it was raining. Ended up sobbing over Charlotte’s Web and searching for a Pizza Hut from Tomato Town to Bishan to Toa Payoh! It was only later that I realised that there was one in Tomato Town but it had taken residence next to KFC!
Had a delightfully quiet Christmas this round, first in four years. Walked by the church nearby and admired the stained glass. 平安夜 indeed :)
Had a nice long chat with Na on Christmas day, お久しぶりでね! We also had fun making kitty chocolates but the attempt wasn’t too successful and we made only two for tea.. Still, cute right? :)
New Year
Went for countdown. Saw the band before at Bar None but it was more enjoyable at Pump Room. The countdown was quite strange, like they just anyhow decided that ok, midnight in 10 seconds!
Oh, the beer was awful and we were there for only a short while, so no large amounts of alcohol :p
Went for supper at this place near the studio where I used to pass by often and drool over the fragrance of food.. But I didn’t eat cos I wasn’t hungry..
Na got a cab at 2+; Sito and I took the next vacant one at freaking 530am!! That’s it! No more NY countdowns in town from now!
I downed some bird’s nest and slept half-(un)dressed with my fake eyelashes still stuck on my eyelids!
Yes, me in my fake eyelashes, they gave me double eyelids! Can see? :p
I slept amazingly little. Met KLK at 3pm to buy food in the new NTUC FairPrice Xtra in Tomato Town. My second time there, so crowded but man, what an auntie haven! :p
Cookout was at Kel’s place. I was utilising eye power most of the time, leaving Kel, YX and SY to do most of the work :p Tok, Kok and D joined us for dinner. Moh and W came by while we were playing mahjong (I didn’t win a single game, zero; even newbie Tok won *.*) and we had dessert, courtesy of D - absolutely yummy! She gave me the apple crumble recipe, which I’ll try once I get an oven :)
Oh, and it is 2007.. Hmm, I resolve to
1) Do a 10km jog within two hours by end of 2007! Don’t laugh, I used to fail 2.4km!
2) Not get wasted and puke..
3) Lose 3kg. Better still, lose a few more inches; I can now wear my pre-Oxford jeans, almost there…
4) Pass my driving test *fingers crossed*
5) Read more, especially the books I bought in 2006
6) Make myself heard
7) Be really happy
Birthday
Had to work that Sat and stayed later than expected. But Na was delayed as well so just nice..We went shopping in Orchard!! Bought a Mickey top, lingerie and a moisturiser - happy :) (Wow, one NY resolution is happening already!)
Next was dinner with Sito - we had shabu shabu! Yummy :) And, I said something stupid when unwrapping my present.. The charger appeared first..
mf: But I don't have an iPod..
Sito: Now you do!
Kek?! I dug in and found a bright pink iPod nano! *drool to the floor* I have grand plans to burn all my CDs inside, otherwise I seldom have the chance to listen to them..
Sunday, dim sum lunch, also with The Otoko, before a session of feet reflexology at the blind uncle’s place. But we didn’t get the blind uncle cos he was reserved, sighs..
CY took leave on Monday to go out with me :) And we went shopping, this time in Vivocity! I bought a nice top in size 14 cos I liked it and there was no smaller size, a pretty green top and a lovely purple dress. I also tried the tube dress in the same design as the green top - I’ve never seen myself looking so hot ok.. Haha! But it being a tube dress and short means I won’t get much chance to wear it..
Dinner was hilarious! CY said it all here..
This cute round sheep was from CY! Now resting on my desk at work :)
Oh, in the left corner sits a tatty angel from Kel a couple of years back..
Alright, I am 27 now! Counted a total of 23 well wishes in all, mostly via sms - guess what? Yes! Prime number!! :p
Thank you all for remembering, for celebrating for me, especially Na, Sito and CY :)
Friday, 5 January 2007
Composed
Yes, very much so..
After a series of complicated commands, my laptop is now back in action, virus gone and infected files restored! Phew!
I'm grateful :)
After a series of complicated commands, my laptop is now back in action, virus gone and infected files restored! Phew!
I'm grateful :)
Distraught
My poor laptop is ill, attacked by W32.Rungbu.C =( The specific organ infected is word doc. Have backed up key word docs in text files.
Now I can't see file extensions in file explorer. When I attach word doc to email, it says .scr instead of .doc. The only thing I'm glad of is that such emails never reach the receipients so I can't infect others.. Did some testing: emails with word doc can be sent if I zip the word doc or encrypt the email.
... Wa liao! Word leh!! How to work?! Apparently I was infected on the first day of work in 2007 - how suay is that?!
Worse, a meeting has been brought forward to 18 Jan, which means I need to rush a lot of things, all in word! I'm so dead... Now waiting for IT to come help..
*pout*
Now I can't see file extensions in file explorer. When I attach word doc to email, it says .scr instead of .doc. The only thing I'm glad of is that such emails never reach the receipients so I can't infect others.. Did some testing: emails with word doc can be sent if I zip the word doc or encrypt the email.
... Wa liao! Word leh!! How to work?! Apparently I was infected on the first day of work in 2007 - how suay is that?!
Worse, a meeting has been brought forward to 18 Jan, which means I need to rush a lot of things, all in word! I'm so dead... Now waiting for IT to come help..
*pout*
Wednesday, 3 January 2007
满满的
Suddenly recall this story I read when I was little..
Re-telling it in my own words:
在一个遥远的国度，有一位年迈的国王。
他想，是时候在三个王子中挑选一位继承王位。于是，他决定考考他们。
他把三位王子叫来，说道：“谁能以最简单，最便宜的方式把马房填满，谁就能继承我，成为国王。”
三天后，他们回到马房。
大王子把整车的枯枝搬进了马房，却只填满了一个角落。
接着，二王子从城外运来了几批干草，也只填了个半满。
国王心想，小王子是唯一的希望了，可是他年纪那么小，不知道有什么办法…
只见小王子拿出一根蜡烛，把它点燃了，说了声：“看，马房满满的！”
烛光，真的把马房填满了，一个角落也不剩。
Re-telling it in my own words:
在一个遥远的国度，有一位年迈的国王。
他想，是时候在三个王子中挑选一位继承王位。于是，他决定考考他们。
他把三位王子叫来，说道：“谁能以最简单，最便宜的方式把马房填满，谁就能继承我，成为国王。”
三天后，他们回到马房。
大王子把整车的枯枝搬进了马房，却只填满了一个角落。
接着，二王子从城外运来了几批干草，也只填了个半满。
国王心想，小王子是唯一的希望了，可是他年纪那么小，不知道有什么办法…
只见小王子拿出一根蜡烛，把它点燃了，说了声：“看，马房满满的！”
烛光，真的把马房填满了，一个角落也不剩。
Tuesday, 2 January 2007
游山玩水
Logging my Kyushu trip - second time in Japan! :) It was really 游山 cos Kyushu is less for city stuff and 玩水 cos of the hot springs!
13 Dec - 福岡
It was such an early flight on 13 Dec.. Was out the previous night at the premier of The Curse of the Golden Flower - missed seeing Chow Yun Fatt himself but caught the opulent imperial settings with blossomy women whose boobs could pop out of their corsets at the next deep breath; another imperial tragedy - and slept rather late. But I chose to take the train to Changi, thrifty all of a sudden..
Some facts before check-in: 23 in tour group; all families except the four of us; no cute guys and all the boys are too young - oh well!
Caught two Jap movies on the ANA flights, I like! Heavenly Forest or ただ、君を愛してるwas a little weird and some things were just unexplained but a nice show nonetheless. Remember vividly this line that goes 今のキスには、愛はあったかな？Ahhh… Bawled my eyes out for this one.. The other one, Udon, was quite cute and funny but I pulled tissue all the same.. I’m a weeper!
Had a late yummy buffet dinner - I had udon :p - before I slumped in bed, all energy and fluids drained through my nose during the two flights - yes, flight flu struck once more. The guys went with the tour group for a night tour of the city but apparently, I didn’t miss much.
14 Dec - 長崎
Woke at 2am or so and never slept again - CW snored!! :p But I was awake enough la, still feeling excited simply cos I was in Japan!!
Went to a mansion with all the Madam Butterfly exhibits, not too memorable. The atomic bomb museum was much better, quite scary actually.. But war has always been a scary thing.. (Hence Sito prayed for world peace on 16 Dec - see below)
Statue in 平和公園, one hand pointing to the disaster from the sky and the other seeking peace
We had kong bah pau!! :p
Think we ended the day with a shopping trip in a mall. I walked into this shop manned by a few girls who didn't realise I wasn't Japanese until I opened my mouth to ask for a tie in other colours. They were sooo cute! Had great fun talking with them. One interesting thing was that they knew Singapore only as a clean place where you would be fined for littering, sighs.. Anyway I bought a polka dot tie for myself and struck up another conversation with a kind lady at the kimono counter while waiting for the guys.
Dinner that day was dreadful (so was breakfast the next day). We consoled our stomachs by shopping for our faces near Chinatown :p But bought supper as well, yum yum!
Hey, you need to open it first! :p
Wa, they were so loving..
Beer guzzling male and female (female is behind the camera :p)
Then we had a mask party!
Scary mf!
The boys had the green stuff
We went to sleep moisturised and pretty :)
15 Dec - I don’t know where exactly :p 日田?
First we went to a nice sake factory, then we roamed quaint 豆田町, where it felt like 江戸 era..
We also had a nice lunch at this little soba place, where I took a nice picture of Hup sipping soba tea
They gave CW horse radish for wasabi!
Afternoon was really sweet cos we were at Hello Kitty Harmony Land in 湯布院/由布院!
And I made the boys take a picture with birthday Kitty too :p
Oh, someone commented on Hup and I again: siblings?
So alike right?! Not bad, this brother better looking than YQ, who is getting real fat *.*
Remember the tea cups? 懐かしい! Only clear shot of the Kitty cup
Learnt for the first time that you could spin the cup! I was trying to stop Sito from spinning and my hair fell all over my face..
We took the ferris wheel and I got to choose the car..
"Eh, what you looking at?"
But we got too high and poor Hup!
Then we went to 血の地獄 and took a foot bath
Taken at our hotel 風月 in 別府, where we had our first hot spring of the trip..
.. and also where the boys deserted me to walk around town while I was in the bath; male and female separate! =( I was freezing while trying to look for them *complain complain* Was rather pissed and ate an extra bowl of soba at dinner!
16 Dec – More hot spings!
Cooking eggs in 海の地獄
At 水前寺成趣園, we saw miniatures of stuff from other parts of Japan, including a grassy Mt Fuji.. This was where Sito prayed for world peace..
(But I think he was asking for money in this shot; world peace was after that :p)
Had a nabe lunch and we ordered horse sashimi!!
Tiny bit for 1000yen.. Apparently, only the leg of the horse is eaten raw.
Hup: Somewhere, there’s a horse with a bandage..
It was rather cold but four of us had ice cream outside the lunch place. I had chestnut (yummy!), Hup had rose (smells good!), Sito had lavender (um, like my handcream..) and CW had tofu (imagine that!)
We didn’t go into 熊本castle, just pose outside
Got warrior somemore!
Took a cable car to 阿蘇山上, a live volcano.. Could hide in these stone shelters should Mt Aso erupt..
We had a very nice stay at Aso Farmland that night!
The hot spring was incredibly huge! It was raining but we went to the outdoor one as well. There mist have been twenty odd different hot springs, for beauty, and even one wine spring! It was onsen before dinner, onsen after dinner, and onsen before breakfast! Good for slimming :)
Thinner arm? :p
Need to do more onsen cos we ate this much (only 3/4 through!)
Obviously no pictures from the hot springs.. But the scene was like 100 naked women of different shapes and sizes.. I was very motivated to keep jogging and doing crunches simply by the sight of jiggling flesh! The interesting thing was that some mothers brought their little boys along.. Well, I learnt to ignore! Later also heard from Sito that some fathers brought their little girls along; that was just plain odd! Maybe cos I didn’t grow up soaking in hot springs with naked strangers..
That was the only night we had a quart so Sito and CW moved in with Hup and mf, and left the other cottage for toilet purposes. The rooms were actually individual cottages like this one, for smoking :p
I hung up my top and, can’t remember why, but Sito tried my shirt.. I was only quick enough to snap a shot when he was trying to get out of it!
Was lazing around and saw a Kodak moment: tare panda and bookworm!
Hup leh?
Hmm.. No interesting caption leh.. Pose, pls?
Yes, this is more interesting: kitty Hup!
As the room was round, sounds reverberated round the room when we all laid back. It was fun until we slept; the snoring was like right at my ears!! I was shocked awake some time in the middle of the night, was trying to find something to throw at the snoring one but I couldn’t tell if it was Sito or CW.. Also found Hup sleeping at the foot of his bed so that it was not as loud.. Too lazy to check out the source of the snoring, I sat up for a while and resigned myself to fate.. Then the snoring softened.. Slept a bit more, phew!
17 Dec - Sand bath day
On the way to 桜島, another live volcano, we found a food vending machine at a service stop
Of course we bought some snack :)
Hup’s sole got loose that day and finally came off at the volcano!
(The other one was ripped off in a menthol’s moment)
The fiery four at the volcano
Our 黒豚 lunch!
Tamaya at Cuppage has this as well, yummy..
Then it was sand bathing time in 指宿! See the heads? The bodies were all buried in hot sand.. The sand on me felt heavy and comfortably warm, not hot.. Not until I happily sank my fingers deeper into the sand!
The boys were nowhere to be found but I didn’t go find them this time. Went to the beach instead. It was bustling on the side of the sand bath place but serene on the other. Even the rest of the town was quiet. Roaming alone, it was as if 我死了不见了都没人知道, 好冷…
Went back to 鹿児島 town for our lodging but not before we did some shopping! Hup was the winner with two pairs of shoes in 30min..
I like the traffic lights. The red man and the green man had hats! Not too clear in the photo though… Sito was harping on the hats of the service personnel in the airport etc..
Oh, wait, there’s a photo of me in a hat somewhere.. It was ZF’s summer hat when she was in Japan. Taken at our healthy lifestyle activity, doing the Biennale tour.. Is mf cute? :)
And our dinner :)
18 Dec - 東京
Flew back to Tokyo in the morning. Had lunch near 浅草寺 and left the tour group to go roaming on our own..
Was trying to find the usual curtain at entrance to hot springs, the one with ゆ written on it but I could only find a small one and it was blue.. Blue, not my colour =(
First stop was 秋葉原 where Sito helped a friend get some yaoi manga. The chap’s face was funny when Sito asked him about the books at the counter :p He sent us to a level manned by girls; yaoi is meant for girls anyway!
We left for Shinjuku to shop but didn’t get much until we went into the non-mega store area. Took an express to Narita and hopped onto a cab to get to our hotel, 800yen, not too ex.
19 Dec - End of holiday..
There was a cute girl on the flight.. Was talking a little to the auntie next to me since we were sitting apart due to late check-in. Again, I was complimented on my Japanese, that it was うまい, kind of cute to hear that :p
Returned to a rainy Singapore and heard about the floods in Thomson. Scary cos I can’t swim! :p They were doing more works at my block so I had to brave the rain and walk one block, quite pissed.. And then it kept raining! Gaaar! Good that it's more normal now..
Anyway, came up with this along the way..
九州游之三"不"领悟
1) n加一的旅行，不适合日本，或任何有温泉的地方，因为男女分开泡澡．尤其当我是那个“一”的时候…
2) 男人和女人的不一样不仅在生理上；前者的基本意识会在吃饭大便间流失…
3) 期望这东西，还是不要有的好，免得助长下一次的失望…
Time to plan for my next Japan trip: Sep 2007 with Yan and CY :)
13 Dec - 福岡
It was such an early flight on 13 Dec.. Was out the previous night at the premier of The Curse of the Golden Flower - missed seeing Chow Yun Fatt himself but caught the opulent imperial settings with blossomy women whose boobs could pop out of their corsets at the next deep breath; another imperial tragedy - and slept rather late. But I chose to take the train to Changi, thrifty all of a sudden..
Some facts before check-in: 23 in tour group; all families except the four of us; no cute guys and all the boys are too young - oh well!
Caught two Jap movies on the ANA flights, I like! Heavenly Forest or ただ、君を愛してるwas a little weird and some things were just unexplained but a nice show nonetheless. Remember vividly this line that goes 今のキスには、愛はあったかな？Ahhh… Bawled my eyes out for this one.. The other one, Udon, was quite cute and funny but I pulled tissue all the same.. I’m a weeper!
Had a late yummy buffet dinner - I had udon :p - before I slumped in bed, all energy and fluids drained through my nose during the two flights - yes, flight flu struck once more. The guys went with the tour group for a night tour of the city but apparently, I didn’t miss much.
14 Dec - 長崎
Woke at 2am or so and never slept again - CW snored!! :p But I was awake enough la, still feeling excited simply cos I was in Japan!!
Went to a mansion with all the Madam Butterfly exhibits, not too memorable. The atomic bomb museum was much better, quite scary actually.. But war has always been a scary thing.. (Hence Sito prayed for world peace on 16 Dec - see below)
Statue in 平和公園, one hand pointing to the disaster from the sky and the other seeking peace
We had kong bah pau!! :p
Think we ended the day with a shopping trip in a mall. I walked into this shop manned by a few girls who didn't realise I wasn't Japanese until I opened my mouth to ask for a tie in other colours. They were sooo cute! Had great fun talking with them. One interesting thing was that they knew Singapore only as a clean place where you would be fined for littering, sighs.. Anyway I bought a polka dot tie for myself and struck up another conversation with a kind lady at the kimono counter while waiting for the guys.
Dinner that day was dreadful (so was breakfast the next day). We consoled our stomachs by shopping for our faces near Chinatown :p But bought supper as well, yum yum!
Hey, you need to open it first! :p
Wa, they were so loving..
Beer guzzling male and female (female is behind the camera :p)
Then we had a mask party!
Scary mf!
The boys had the green stuff
We went to sleep moisturised and pretty :)
15 Dec - I don’t know where exactly :p 日田?
First we went to a nice sake factory, then we roamed quaint 豆田町, where it felt like 江戸 era..
We also had a nice lunch at this little soba place, where I took a nice picture of Hup sipping soba tea
They gave CW horse radish for wasabi!
Afternoon was really sweet cos we were at Hello Kitty Harmony Land in 湯布院/由布院!
And I made the boys take a picture with birthday Kitty too :p
Oh, someone commented on Hup and I again: siblings?
So alike right?! Not bad, this brother better looking than YQ, who is getting real fat *.*
Remember the tea cups? 懐かしい! Only clear shot of the Kitty cup
Learnt for the first time that you could spin the cup! I was trying to stop Sito from spinning and my hair fell all over my face..
We took the ferris wheel and I got to choose the car..
"Eh, what you looking at?"
But we got too high and poor Hup!
Then we went to 血の地獄 and took a foot bath
Taken at our hotel 風月 in 別府, where we had our first hot spring of the trip..
.. and also where the boys deserted me to walk around town while I was in the bath; male and female separate! =( I was freezing while trying to look for them *complain complain* Was rather pissed and ate an extra bowl of soba at dinner!
16 Dec – More hot spings!
Cooking eggs in 海の地獄
At 水前寺成趣園, we saw miniatures of stuff from other parts of Japan, including a grassy Mt Fuji.. This was where Sito prayed for world peace..
(But I think he was asking for money in this shot; world peace was after that :p)
Had a nabe lunch and we ordered horse sashimi!!
Tiny bit for 1000yen.. Apparently, only the leg of the horse is eaten raw.
Hup: Somewhere, there’s a horse with a bandage..
It was rather cold but four of us had ice cream outside the lunch place. I had chestnut (yummy!), Hup had rose (smells good!), Sito had lavender (um, like my handcream..) and CW had tofu (imagine that!)
We didn’t go into 熊本castle, just pose outside
Got warrior somemore!
Took a cable car to 阿蘇山上, a live volcano.. Could hide in these stone shelters should Mt Aso erupt..
We had a very nice stay at Aso Farmland that night!
The hot spring was incredibly huge! It was raining but we went to the outdoor one as well. There mist have been twenty odd different hot springs, for beauty, and even one wine spring! It was onsen before dinner, onsen after dinner, and onsen before breakfast! Good for slimming :)
Thinner arm? :p
Need to do more onsen cos we ate this much (only 3/4 through!)
Obviously no pictures from the hot springs.. But the scene was like 100 naked women of different shapes and sizes.. I was very motivated to keep jogging and doing crunches simply by the sight of jiggling flesh! The interesting thing was that some mothers brought their little boys along.. Well, I learnt to ignore! Later also heard from Sito that some fathers brought their little girls along; that was just plain odd! Maybe cos I didn’t grow up soaking in hot springs with naked strangers..
That was the only night we had a quart so Sito and CW moved in with Hup and mf, and left the other cottage for toilet purposes. The rooms were actually individual cottages like this one, for smoking :p
I hung up my top and, can’t remember why, but Sito tried my shirt.. I was only quick enough to snap a shot when he was trying to get out of it!
Was lazing around and saw a Kodak moment: tare panda and bookworm!
Hup leh?
Hmm.. No interesting caption leh.. Pose, pls?
Yes, this is more interesting: kitty Hup!
As the room was round, sounds reverberated round the room when we all laid back. It was fun until we slept; the snoring was like right at my ears!! I was shocked awake some time in the middle of the night, was trying to find something to throw at the snoring one but I couldn’t tell if it was Sito or CW.. Also found Hup sleeping at the foot of his bed so that it was not as loud.. Too lazy to check out the source of the snoring, I sat up for a while and resigned myself to fate.. Then the snoring softened.. Slept a bit more, phew!
17 Dec - Sand bath day
On the way to 桜島, another live volcano, we found a food vending machine at a service stop
Of course we bought some snack :)
Hup’s sole got loose that day and finally came off at the volcano!
(The other one was ripped off in a menthol’s moment)
The fiery four at the volcano
Our 黒豚 lunch!
Tamaya at Cuppage has this as well, yummy..
Then it was sand bathing time in 指宿! See the heads? The bodies were all buried in hot sand.. The sand on me felt heavy and comfortably warm, not hot.. Not until I happily sank my fingers deeper into the sand!
The boys were nowhere to be found but I didn’t go find them this time. Went to the beach instead. It was bustling on the side of the sand bath place but serene on the other. Even the rest of the town was quiet. Roaming alone, it was as if 我死了不见了都没人知道, 好冷…
Went back to 鹿児島 town for our lodging but not before we did some shopping! Hup was the winner with two pairs of shoes in 30min..
I like the traffic lights. The red man and the green man had hats! Not too clear in the photo though… Sito was harping on the hats of the service personnel in the airport etc..
Oh, wait, there’s a photo of me in a hat somewhere.. It was ZF’s summer hat when she was in Japan. Taken at our healthy lifestyle activity, doing the Biennale tour.. Is mf cute? :)
And our dinner :)
18 Dec - 東京
Flew back to Tokyo in the morning. Had lunch near 浅草寺 and left the tour group to go roaming on our own..
Was trying to find the usual curtain at entrance to hot springs, the one with ゆ written on it but I could only find a small one and it was blue.. Blue, not my colour =(
First stop was 秋葉原 where Sito helped a friend get some yaoi manga. The chap’s face was funny when Sito asked him about the books at the counter :p He sent us to a level manned by girls; yaoi is meant for girls anyway!
We left for Shinjuku to shop but didn’t get much until we went into the non-mega store area. Took an express to Narita and hopped onto a cab to get to our hotel, 800yen, not too ex.
19 Dec - End of holiday..
There was a cute girl on the flight.. Was talking a little to the auntie next to me since we were sitting apart due to late check-in. Again, I was complimented on my Japanese, that it was うまい, kind of cute to hear that :p
Returned to a rainy Singapore and heard about the floods in Thomson. Scary cos I can’t swim! :p They were doing more works at my block so I had to brave the rain and walk one block, quite pissed.. And then it kept raining! Gaaar! Good that it's more normal now..
Anyway, came up with this along the way..
九州游之三"不"领悟
1) n加一的旅行，不适合日本，或任何有温泉的地方，因为男女分开泡澡．尤其当我是那个“一”的时候…
2) 男人和女人的不一样不仅在生理上；前者的基本意识会在吃饭大便间流失…
3) 期望这东西，还是不要有的好，免得助长下一次的失望…
Time to plan for my next Japan trip: Sep 2007 with Yan and CY :)
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