An odyssey to the west: October 2006

Toronto (part1)---> Eaton Center (shopping disappointment)

Toronto is a megapolis from every angle, and in an uncanny way, reminds me of Singapore with its rows of shopping malls and towering skyscrapers. But geographical similarities aside, the three of us had only one objective: shop like nobody's business. Unfortunately, we were hugely disappointed. Did I mention right from the beginning that every commodity in Canada is subjected to a 14% tax, and that the exchange rate is CAD$1 = S$1.42? Performing some basic arithmatics, it simply makes more sense to shop during GSS. However, we did compensate this shopping disappointment by taking plenty of pictures in this bustling city.

Hallmark of any great North American city: towering skyscrapers.

Eaton Center, a shopping mall with more than 200 retail outlets, but the stuffs they sell are expensive la...

Interior of Eaton Center: Reminds me of Jurong Point!!!

Can you guess what is the needle like structure in this picture?

Serenaded

I think me and Jiahao became damn bo liao after hours upon hours of pouring through our notes for our midterms. We tried to kill our boredom by searching for all those boy/girl bands which are disbanded on youtube, and found this ancient clip of Take That's 'How deep is your love' MV.

Call me a wuss, but some times I still find myself listening to songs belted out by boybands.

Shit happened

I cannot believe that my run of good luck has finally ended, since I have not seen any black cats so far, walked under a ladder, or even have the chance to be associated with the number 13. Why then did bad luck befell me? I was so tempted to kick start this entry with a torriental tide of swear words, but overwhelmed with fatigue from an impossibly long day (0830am~0900pm), I could only manage one: je t'emmerde.

This hapless drama unfolded when I lost the keys to my residence this morning. I have to admit that I'm hardly known for exercising extra caution when it comes to keeping important things from getting lost (a scatterbrain so to speak), BUT, combined with fatigue from late nights spent on mugging, I'm hopeless. In short, I lost the keys, and the first words that came to my mind rhymed with trucking bell. The rest of the day was spent with needless anxieties and frustrations, to top it off, there was a presentation and mid term in the evening. If you asked me, I really 'enjoyed' my day.

Did I forget to mention that I have to pay a massive fee of $60 Canadian dollars to get the lock changed and replace the keys? I guess that would mean I will have to 'revise' the budget I allocated for the 'souvenir funds' for folks back home. Share weal and woes with me in this dark times will you? For now, I think crashing into my bed and lay in deep slumber will probably help me get over it. Shit happened today, and someday, I'll smear this shit back onto misfortune's face!

(Apologies for the numerous mention of human excretion here, but I'm really pissed today, so t'emmerde off if you find this entry offensive)

Something that reminds me of home

Despite finding myself cursing and swearing at lecturers who have problems articulating their PHD's worth of knowledge to students effectively, NTU is able to exploit the full advantage of technologies in providing learning tools for its students. Unable to take pride in the competency of our lecturers back home, I had to resort to boasting about the lecture recordings students back home enjoy when other international students queried about the uniqueness of Singapore's University.

The link below is definitely not one of the lecturer's finer moments, but it does get across a point: who needs to go for those 0830 lectures when we can watch the whole darn thing at any time we desire at the comfort of our home?

I probably will not miss those overpaid and underworked professors back home, but lecture recording is totally a different matter altogether. For 3 days a week, I have to drag my semi-awake body to those dreaded 0830 lectures while braving incessant rain or raging snow storms. Perhaps it's the work of retribution? Because if memory did not fail me, the last time I actually attended an 0830 lecture back home was during my first year's second semester! Debts that are due must be paid, and needless to say, the collection of payment is often expeditious.

Quirky spontaneity from (future) engineers

An otherwise boring tutorial right after lunch was pretty much liven up by the raunchy humour and sharp wits of a fellow student during that tutorial class. Below is the exchange between the student and a training assistant, TA (post-graduate students running the tutorial classes):

*Scene: we were doing a survey that has a total of 180+ questions for a Social Science department.*

TA (getting impatient). "Will you guys hurry up and complete the surveys? I thought engineers are quick in everything they do."
Student's reply, "Yeah, especially when they're in bed with a girl."

TA (manages bitter smile), "I've got to submit the surveys now, for those who have yet to finish, please submit your surveys at the Social Science building. You guys know where that is?"
Student's reply, "The depths of hell?"

The trip reaches a climax at Niagara (part 6)

I suppose good things come in parts of 6s? From the Number of pictures I have uploaded onto my blog so far, you can have a rough idea of how prolific our photographers are. In this concluding part of the Niagara series, we took a leisure stroll down the rest of the Niagara fall's wide boulevard.

My favourite toy when I was a kid: Robocop.

An Oscar for my mum! There's no doubt that she deserves the award!

Took a picture with the Pope! How cool is that?

Posing with Tiger Woods.

Allan has a new car, but I don't fancy a ride in it.

The 'Mecca' for all chocolate lovers around the world: Hershey's factory!

The interior of Hershey's, being a hadrcore chocolate lover, this is the closest thing to heaven on earth I have found.

Guess the Hershey's kiss mascot doesn't like me very much...

Spoilt for choices... So many rows of chocolate fudge, but so few cash left!

Tucking into the chocolate fudge!!!

After spending a night at Niagara and a fair amount of cash, the mood became heavy went we were about to leave. Alas, why are happy times so fleeting? Nevertheless, Niagara Falls has etched a lasting memory on the back of our minds with its grandeur, beauty and without a doubt, its unique and quiet charm at night.

The trip reaches a climax at Niagara (part 5)

While the rest of the international students returned to UWO at 630 in the evening, 4 intrepid undergrads from NTU chose to stay behind to catch the beauty of the Niagara under the night sky. Armed to the teeth with digital cameras, Energizer Lithium batteries and memory cards, Jiahao, Allan and Ah Xing were prepared to capture as many pictures as they can for that night.

As we would later come to discover, appearance is NOT at all deceiving; the motel (Stardust Inn) is as miserable as it looks. Poor service, dirty rooms and its remote location triggered off an instant regret for booking this motel online. The only comfort was that the rooms were 'dirt' cheap (get the pun?).

No, it's not Ah Xing's butt that stinks, the room at Stardust Inn reeks of the smell lingering cigarette smoke.

The feeling of wretchedness were banished almost immediately when we took a stroll down the streets of the Falls. Colourful neon-lit signboards lined both sides of the roads, with dozens of tourists attractions that constantly kept our cameras clicking.

The beauty of the Falls in its full splendour under the mesmerizing night sky. I have got to admit, I was totally captivated by the romantic ambience and mood of the falls.

The only well taken photo with me and Jiahao inside, the rest of the pictures were blurred and barely discernible. No thanks to slow shutter speed and shaky hands.

The lonely trek back to our miserable abode for that night at Stardust Inn after some fruitless attempts with the fruit machines at Casino Niagara. I thanked my lucky stars that we were not mugged, murdered or became the hapless victims of some race related violence after we reached the inn safely. Resting our tired feet after an entire day of trekking, we tried to catch whatever wink of sleep we could to replenish our energy for EVEN more photo taking the next day.

Something is awfully wrong!!!

I was referring to the weather in Canada of course, it snowed at approximately 11 am today on the 12th of October Thursday. One Canadian living on my floor commented, "F**king crazy weather! This is not supposed to happen man..." and he disappeared into the raging blizzard that was slowly gaining in its furiocity. Casting the obvious weather abnormality aside, instead of feeling wretched (like that Canadian), I was exhilarated! This is the first time I have SEEN and FELT snow! Entire buildings and stretches of lawns were covered in sheets of snow, the feeling was almost surreal. Almost immediately, I was engulfed in a poetic mood and taken over by romantic ideals. It's worth it to freeze to death in this sub-zero temperature to marvel at this sight.

Although it was truly a sight to behold for someone who has lived in the equatorial region all his life, I really could not help but wonder if this meteorolgical disorder (winter and snow fall only comes to London in late November) is the prelude to yet another grave environmental issue? But for now, I'm really quite contented in seeing the heavy snow fall create a white and fairy-tale-like campus.

Trivial nonsense

Before I continue to upload the impossibly huge cache of Niagara falls pictures, let me show you folks back home the picture of our Fluids 2 lecturer.

He bears an uncanny resemblance to a character in one of my favourite movie, can you guess who it is? The person who can come up with a correct/satisfactory enough answer will be the proud owner of a key chain from the Niagara falls (it's not really expensive stuff, but it's all the way from Canada!).

(PS: Each person is only entitled to one attempt only and MY family members cannot participate in this contest!)

(PS my previous PS: Rules are subjected to changes most of the time, depending on my mood)