Midterms...

Hi all...

3 papers to go and im all ready to play again!!

Wed: Intro to IT/ IS
Thur: Fund Risk
Fri: Principles of Internations Business + BUffet + Party + Jas will be here...

It took me two days to drive the momentum to study into myself. After which, yesterday, i finally managed to sail through 6 chapters of IB. Today I have to Clear half of Fund risk... And then its all the way for IT/IS.

My Greatest and Deepest apologies to Ms Carol Huang cos i gave her my wrong Hp number and Oops... She came and she left and i didnt realise until very much later. WE had so much plans to meet up and all... and she went thru a lot of trouble trying to call me. And it was kind of "suay" the 3 days she came 2 days bangkok was raining and bangkok seldom rains. That happened on the weekend when i went to Ayutthaya. Sorry Tian Tian!! "It's not because I see you dirty dirty ok???" AHAh... miss you and all the silly jokes we had...

Yesterday in the midst of studying... It suddenly dawned on me that i will be leaving this land of smiles in two months' time and I have to bid FAREWELL to Ms Park Ji Yoon... My dearest friend whom i have Spent and will be spending every single day of my exchange with. Haha.. And the two of us starting dreaming together... maybe we can meet every year in some country to travel together... AHah.. Im looking into Taiwan this coming Dec... A place that i have always wanted to go. But she is going to fly back to Seoul immediately after the fall sem ends here. She has lots of time to travel this summer but i dun wanna burden mummy financially anymore and i have lots of things waiting to be done back home. So i guess i can only wait for her in Singapore and maybe go on a short trip to JB ( Hinting MR CY). And we also looked at the world map in our text.. haah... Ji YOOn... WE are going to carry a SUPER big BACKPACK and lets do it the BUDGET style... Lets save up and meet in EUROPE.... THAT will be an AWESOME DREAM.... She wants to go to HK too... SO EXCITING!! ANd I guess i wIll go TO SEOUL soon... When i save up enough. WAit for me JY!! ( SHE is sitting beside me now... preparing for her paper which is starting in 2 hours' time... murmuring to herself and doing some last min cramming)

Yesterday night i finally got down to swimming.. ahha...2 months here and that was the first. More to come...

JY and I also have plans to go around the other areas around our apartment which we have never ventured into after the mid terms. Those vendors who just lay their goods on a piece of towel on the streets have the cheapest things to offer and these are the exact same things they sell at MBK. But you have to be there at the right time with them having the right goods for you to really clinch a good deal. And speaking from experience... if you see something that you like... Dun hesitate. Just Buy. COs its difficult to find the same vendor with the same goods again.

Jas has been asking me quite a number of questions about bangkok. So far, there is only one thing which i think you guys might wanna take note. AHah... When taking a cab, try to make sure that you have small change cos even though we insist that the driver on the meter, some unethical drivers will start showing all the different tricks of not having change or start asking for a price that wasnt the one shown on the meter. BUt i must say i have met a lot of friendly and extremely helpful Cabbies too... SO... GOOD LUCK! We did have a fair bit of arguement with the drivers and insist on not paying the unfair price but erm... Think you should only do this when there are like more people or you have muscle man with you in the cab.

OK. DOne with my breakfast and done with all the ramblings and dreaming...

BAck to FUND RISK.

Quickies...

• "Hey Ji Yoon... Dont you think that the denim skirt she is wearing looks like the one i got that day from Pratunum?"

"Oh my... Its a He!"

• I am getting a tann by just taking an afternoon nap in my room. Thanks to the scorching sun.

• I forgot to tell you guys about the elephants in bangkok. Well, do not be surprise to see elephants on the streets. I got a shock of my life, many times actually by these elephants cos they are led by the these owners on pavements to look for tourists or anyone who wishes to pay for the sugarcane to feed these elephants. The first encounter: i just got out of 7-eleven store near my place with my groceries and before i even got the chance to keep my change and receipt back into my purse... the elephant was standing right in front of me. It was for heavens' sake.. an elephant. I was so close and the elephant was so big i almost dropped everything i was holding. The second encounter: I was walking along the pavements at Siam Square. These pavements are narrow and they are already occupied by these stalls selling all the imitation items and accessories. As usual.. I was busy looking at all the items on display and at the same time trying to maneuver my way pass the crowd. Before i knew it... I walked into this hugh elephant nose again!! Gosh.. i know these elephants are there on the streets but they still scare the hell out of me each time.

New Book!

This is the Chinese book i got from Kinokuniya Bangkok. They even provide free book cover. "Geng Jian Dan, Geng Feng Fu"... Yup... im sourcing my source of inspiraiton and motivation to simplify my life to achieve greater fulfilment. I know... Im suppose to be reading my text and not anything else... Arrghhh!!

Asma and I and Teija @ Swensens Siam Paragon... While waiting for the fats and calories to arrive... & Teija was not here ....
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...Cos Teija was on the phone...
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Classic pic for today is w/o JY...
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HAah... i dunno what we were doing... we were just waiting for our Ice creams...
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Missing you...

I laughed so hard after reading his blog. His Singlish was perfect. His desciptions were so apt and extremely precise. He made it so hilarious yet he brings out facts and his point of view perfectly. I thank him for bringing this happiness to me today.. just as it was about to end.

I think im getting a little depressed. You guys can tell from my entries right? Its not about the projects, nor work, nor the lack of sleep... its when i realise...that things are getting monotonous again.. everything seems to come to a standstill. No pictures were taken this week. I was too busy with school. However, i saw and felt a lot from the people around me and the not so happy events.

And another reason why im falling into depression... i am beginning to think too much again. I need to control my mind. I need to stop thinking so much... how much? So much so that everything in my head is moving towards the neg side... cos things are too complicated... The past, the present and the future... I cannot cry anymore. Jenny said that crying is bad for the body, it is not a form of relief. I want to be happy. I want things to be simple. SIMPLICITY IS BLISS.

I NEED a movie... I have been wanting to go to the movies badly.. but i didnt have time. International finance started this week and well... the prof is from Spore and i had dinner with him that day with jeff. Now he is aware that i am just auditing his class but he is already checking my attendence... his classes were crammed into alternate weeks starting this week. Mon to thur 430pm to 730pm... JEff is now my dinner and bus kaki after his class... Anyway.. i will go catch a movie b4 i go mad...

Im actually worn out physically and emotionally... I need to get the positive energy back... after the mid terms... im looking into more travelling trips. YAY... and i need to book my train tickets to chiang mai soon.

Cannot get depressed... must stay happy. Must laugh and play so hard... that is the life of an exchange student. So far i have failed as one cos this week i have been working so so hard.. ahah.. i will resume my exchange student's slack lifestyle after mid terms. This brings me to this one issue which i was quite pissed with... the new date for my IB exams... The class decided to bring the exam date forward. I was perfectly fine with that. However... even after i protested a few times that it is a bad day for me to have exams cos JEn and Kk are coming, my voice was not heard. My paper is going to be on the day which they are flying.. or the day after.. anyways... its crazy... All our plans and all.. Im doomed... JEN... bring me essence of chicken.. i will drink and study and at the same time be ya tour guide... ARRGGHHH!!!! I know i was the only one who couldnt make it but... they cant just last min decide and plunge a date like that. I dun like that. Ok.. anyways, all is decided. I have to take my paper on that day. I better prepare now. NOW. Sigh... Thailand... like all ASian countries, is a country that practices more collectivism than individualism... I am one collectivist i admit... that's why maybe i am not fighting hard enough.. though i thought i did...

I need to sleep... 3 hours is not enough for today.

YAWNz...
SHI

First TAke.. ahah.. its been a while since i did this kind of funky project.. ahha.. as in unlike the serious like of reports and presentations.. Im like an old final yr student trying to have fun with this group of year 2s. haah.. they are really nice. and the best part was they enjoy coming to my apartment to do project.. ahah.. which means i can just stay home and wait for their arrival... TAKE 1
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Take 2
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Oh my god.. i look so funni in this pic... Champ was trying out the angle...so we had to pose
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Jip, Mae and Ning..
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We finally got it RIght.
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The
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Ploy and Champ
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Eve
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Motivation

I woke up this morning feeling that bit of mental toil from the impending workload from projects and midterm preparation for this week. This is the optimum level of stress that will keep me going. My aim now is to maintain this level of adrenalin so that i can move at the best speed possible and yet not feel depressed or lose sight of where i am heading. I am going to make full use of everyday here. I wanna catch "brokeback mountain" tonight. I think i will be going to MBK so that i can enjoy the cheapest ticket of 80bt a show. I am now trying to achieve the most i can out of my 250bt budget a day. It is entirely possible. I can occasionally indulge in ice cream, get my milk, have a decent meal in school or from the streets, yet fit a movie into my schedule. These two weeks i will need to mug for my midterms and i am also going to watch as many movies as possible from the film festival.

I have also came up with a list of things that i would wanna get b4 i return home. Topping the list is ahah.. textbooks. Textbooks are much cheaper here and i do wanna buy a few good ones from here and bring them back. NExt up... Fiction & motivational Books... Im definitely going to complete my paulo coelho series and recently i just chanced upon this other book by the author of "blink", "Tipping point". That book is going to be next on my reading list. I will also go compile all the best pics since day 1 of my exchange and i will be sending them for printing. I think i will lug home prolly 4 big albums of photos.. ahha.. And Jen, I might need ya help for my luggage...
I wanna go tailor a suit too. However, so far i haven really found out where the good tailors are and which places offer a better price. I will prolly get some shoes but other than that i dun think i will wanna do much shopping cos i can also do them back home. Yes its more ex back home but i will wanna buy things that are most useful for now due to budgetary and luggage allowance constraint. YEP!! That's about it. And of course... TRAVEL...

I am beginning to have a better idea of where i should be heading for my career... YEah... It is neither purely marketing nor purely finance. I will talk about this later when i have more details and plans to share. Anyway, im glad that at least, now i know what I really want. To pursue my dream job, i need to equip myself with a lot more knowledge and skill that i now lack. Topping the list is my language skills. I need to go pick up a few more languages. NEED. I will go complete my intemediate Thai and advance thai soon. If i can find a good place here to learn i will do it here. And i need to learn one more asian language. I guess Jap is the most sensible language to learn right now. I need to learn one European language too... Im still thinking if i should take on French or Spanish. I need to hurry... Im running out of time.... The degree is there but i need a lot of skills for the competitive advantage. Finding a job in singapore is not difficult but i need more than a normal JOB. I need a job that FITs me too.. A job that i really wanna do or at least keeps me going. I dun wanna dread going to work everyday. I know how that feels and nope... i dun want that.

Ok... back to reality... back to NOW. Time to head for CHULA to do my project.

I got to TRAVEL AGAIN!!!

Day Trip to Ayutthaya!!
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This is the first historical monument that we visited... "wat" is Thai for Temple... These are basically the remains of the temple building after the war and look the date... hmm... anyway... the buddha statues in the building are all "headless".
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Nice...
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The buildings are all so gigantic
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At the entrance...
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Midway.. climbing up the old temple
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Nice...
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This is the walkway down so deeply after we climbed all the way to the top.. its kind of spooky... nope.. we didnt try...
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Ayutthaya... Elephant rides are common here... i think its 200bt a ride but none of us were interested
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Our ass were almost burnt when taking this pic... the sun was scorching hot... Teija and me
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I forgot the name of this temple... gosh...
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We feel like we are in a different era altogether
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The boy standing at the temple entrance.. I think he was suppose to sell this grasshopper model made from some leaves...someone walked past and gave him some money.. we wanted to do that too to help him... haha.. in the end i gave him the Pizza which i had been lugging in my orange bag.. there were 2 slices left from lunch plus a garlic bread... he didnt even smile when he received the 20bt from that kind soul.. but when he knew that we are going to give him pizza his eye lit up... and he went, "Pizza??"... That expression totally melted my heart. My effort and insistance on keeping the excess food paid off... REally well...
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Offerings to the monks i think... doesnt it remind you of the hungry ghost festival in singapore? all the pails and groceries + toiletries.. haha
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I was at this temple in 1999... And i did this exact same thing when my host family brought me here... DING....
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Nice view from the Tuk tuk... we got to see a lot of places and people and their way of life which was exclusive only to the suburban areas...
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We just realised that the Bang - Pa In palace was closed only after we reached that place from Ayutthaya.. the reason? The king is at the palace. Woah... We took a close to 45 min ride on the tuk tuk.. bumping high and low on the uneven ground... filled out lungs with the exhaust from this yellow vehicle... found out for ourselves what it feels like to have numb ass... only to be told that "BAng Pit"... its closed... then? Same journey back... only saw a bunch of army guys outside the palace
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Dong!! May all my wish come true.. Gimme a Job.. A good one... Stay beautiful and happy... occasionally please let something fall from the sky... Hopefully with some QC!
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On the way to Bang- Pa In palace which is not in Ayutthaya but at the outskirt of it... the villagers were burning the land.. perhaps for farming..
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Take a peek at the driver
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So bored in the Tuk TUk...
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Very nice Sleeping Buddha statue
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The sleeping buddha is smiling...
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Look at the sky...
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This is our mode of transport around Ayutthaya... the tuk tuk ran out of diesal... nice ya?
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Orh... See... somebody stealing gold from the statue
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I forgot why we laughed so happily... anyway... this is in front of the body of the statue
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Buddha's toe nails are painted gold.. nice...
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Heading to the bus station soon...
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This is the back view of the Sleeping buddha.
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The beginning of the 2 hour bus ride from Ayutthaya to Bangkok.. Happy.. but not for long...
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So SLEEPY!!
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SHhhhh.... Cannot yawn so loudly
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So annoying...when both of us wear caps.. we keep bumping into each other... CAP FIGHT in progress... blame the 2 hour journey
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ARRGHH!!!
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I had this fondue with my bro and joyce when they were here... 9 scoops of ice cream and you have this small tray of fruits to go with the chocolate fondue.. 239... less than $10.
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This is the promotion that swensens is having... 3 scoops with strawberry and banana toppings for 59 bt.. that is less than $4. And yes, you get to choose from about 20 odd flavours.
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