Yeap! Phooooto updates now! I didnt take lots of photos this time round. The weather really sucked. (Boooo) Come, let me tell u how it went.. Day by Day.

Day 1: 3 December (Thursday)

My mom woke up earlier den me. Me? The time that I had set.. 3.30am
Did my morning prayers, changed and set off to the airport (That's Terminal 3 for ya) I kinda reached too early. The meeting time was 5am and I reached like 20min earlier. So, not intending to wait, I went to check in immediately (Since there was no queue at the moment and I didnt want to wait once the crowd starts coming in)

Malu event 1:
So there were like many uniformed officers (aka police) there and asked me where I was going. Pasted sticker den moving on to the counter. Cos I was taking the flight that made a transition at Narita, the final destination was actually Seattle. The person at the counter checked with me if I was going to Tokyo-Narita. Of cos I said yes. But he didnt seem to believe me. He raised his tone and was like "You're going to Tokyo?" ya la ya la.. Tokyo la.. Wat! I look like I going to Seattle meh? Ok, aft finishing with the checking in of baggage, ermm... I got 'lost' sia.. Not literally lost. Just that I couldnt differentiate the exit from the entrance line. It was only after like 5 long seconds that I saw the exit post sign that I started walking. Whew.. Luckily no one noticed this sia....

And so... I waited for like over an hour..... Super sianz.....
It was kinda exciting for me since I went into the departure gate myself and walked around all by myself. The last time, I still had to follow some of my mom's friends even though I went alone.. Hmmm...

Malu event 2:
Went into the right departure gate.. BUT!! I almost went to Hong Kong instead! How? Well, I was supposed to go to gate B6 but I kinda took it for granted that once I am in the right departure hall I'll be in the gate. So I just turned wherever I liked. Fortunately, there was a sign that showed that gate B5(Hong Kong), B6(Tokyo) so I could stop and turned to B6 just in time. Same thing, I was one of the few who went in first, so no one could question my robotic turn and laugh at it ^_^''

The rest of the trip went well..
Comment on UA flight: The plane that I took was like... Super old. And the TV programmes.. Eww.. Played only twice. It's not like JAL or SQ in which it would be replayed over and over again. My neck almost broke from sleeping in the plane. Haiz.. I was super happy when I could finally land. Oh! And my plane met a tiny turbulence.. Gosh! I was giggling like mad when the plane went up and down and did a swirling thing to my heart. Kekekekeke... Stupid reaction, I noe =P

The luxurious Bento set that we had for lunch and dinner


The salmon fish was really salty.. The siu mai and dumpling tasted kinda weird.. The rest.. Superb!


Well.. It was raining after all.. So, I couldnt resist doing it.. ~_~^


Touch down: It was raining! Brrr... So cold. Still, I only had my long sleeve knitted sweater on. Didnt really bring out my winter clothings since we had to go to the bus immediately anyways.

Question: What's the first 'immature' thing that you should do when you reach a country in the winter?

Answer: Blow air and see if 'smoke' (actually fog) comes out of course.
Hahaha.. Yup.. That's the first childish thing when I came out of the airport. And I kept doing it while running to the bus in the rain. It was fun, really! Stupid (For my age), but fun ^o^

It kept raining all the way to the Head Temple. The night time was more eventful with the laying of the futons. (That's Japanese mattresses for ya) The lodging temple's priest's wife had a very systematic way of doing the laying and we had to fully and strictly follow it. Gosh... After that, everyone was like saying, wa...Japanese really very systematic sia.. (Personally, I think it's just her personality la)

Lodging Temple where I stayed


It's these little details that had me feel that the priest and his wife are 细心 detailed people who made it feel a little like home..






Basically, these are the photos that I could take. It was raining throughout, so I couldnt even take any out from the windows.. And it was already very dark when I reached the temple.

Day 2: 4 December 2009 (Friday)

Basically, nothing happened much. Just walked around, take a couple of photos, tour around the permitted premises, eat, shower and sleep. The sky was clear in the morning but became really cloudy in the afternoon so there wasn't much nice opportunities to take the Mount Fuji photos this time round. Sigh... And of course, we went shopping in the streets near the temples. Dun get me wrong. There's nothing really much to buy. Mostly like prayers beads, sutras and buddhist accessories and tidbits I think. Some ppl can shop there for 3 days sia... Where there's only like about 20 small shops there? Hmmmm.. Whatever...





The Pagoda that I didnt haf a chance to take and visit two years ago


Day 3: 5 December 2009 (Saturday)

Now this is the day where all the happening stuffs starts to appear I tell you. But then... It rained. T_T so... No photos for this day too. BUT! Something nice happened (Nice for me la) Cos there was this time from 3.30-5.30pm where the shower room is open to all but very few ppl seems to know it, I could use this time to go shower (Even though it's freaking cold in the rain) So after another short round of shopping, I went back to the lodging temple to gather my shower stuffs. As I was holding the umbrella in one hand, I took out my iPod with the other and started to listen to 七里香 and 三人行 while strolling along the rocky and slippery paths.

I felt very peaceful and satisfied. Cos I've never really done that in my past trips. (Well, the weather has always been good every time I went, so...) The sky was kinda blueish Grey, the rain drizzling in a soothing rhythmic momentum that syncs with the song. The branches of the trees drooped low and the breeze was just right. Blowing softly into my face. It was cold, but not chilling that it freezes ur bones. I was strolling slowly, humming to the song, carefully walking so that I wont slip on the stone path. The mood was really great and atmospheric. At that moment, I didnt have to think of anything. I was experiencing me.. The real self inside me that connected to the world. Kinda chim I think. It was like I was truely breathing air. I knew what I was doing and I am thankful and super grateful that I could be there, at the right time, at the perfect place to experience it all.

Of cos, I was freezing like mad when I reached the lodging temple.. So I quickly went to take a shower.

Do not underestimate the power of shower in the cold weather. After a hot shower, your whole body will feel so much better and I really feel more energised after every shower. (Nope, I didnt bring any energiser batteries to eat there)

Day 4: 6 December 2009 (Sunday)
THE BEST DAY EVER!!!
The weather was great! Cloudy, but great! I even had the chance to participate in the Kosenrufu chanting with the High Priest. Well, not that we dun haf tt in Singapore la.. But normally, during the one hour chanting, I'll stone for that hour and wished that it would quickly pass and finish. Well, not that day no! I wished that it would go on and on and when the hour came and passed, I was kinda sad. Cos it's not everyday that you get to chant with the High Priest and believers from other countries on the first Sunday of every month.
The afternoon session of General Meeting was the best! hahaha... Super funny. We had to wait outside Kofubo before going in. Then, someone, dun ask me who, started to run around with the flags. I had a strong suspicion that it was someone from Singapore. hahahaha... We even did a Kallang wave! WOOT! And once THAT started, the other countries followed suit. Hahahahhaa... We even had kids running around with flags. Ok, pictures aint enough... Should watch the videos.. Kekekekeke.... Hahaha.. By the time it finished and we had to go in, everyone was pretty 'high' le.

During the performance (Which I couldnt take as it was strictly prohibited unless you're from the official press members), I went nutz.. Kekeke.. And after that, I was kinda exhausted already. Whatever.. I had lots of fun. That day.. Even though the shower time is limited to 10min per person (Which I think is totally impossible and crazy) I slowly took my time.. hahah. Heck care.

After the evening prayer, someone suggested taking a photo with the Chief Priest of the lodging temple. Gosh, so many ppl wanted a photo of it.. Hahaha.. In the end, we had to take like 10 over times. Well, I didnt dare to put in mine cos everyone seemed really tired already...

The Midnight prayer was memorable too. This proves that the AMX course is somehow like a curse... Ever since I've taken the course, every where I go, I see gender-bias la, racial issues la, disabilities la, equalities la... Super crazy. Ok, so there's this kid who was super excited and didnt slp til like the gathering time which was like around 1.50am. But when the prayer started, he fell asleep =_=''

During the daimoku session where the junior priests would beat the taiko drums, (I was sitting on the right side of the hall) the priest that was coming to my side had something in his ear. I was kinda puzzled and kept thinking what was it. Well.. I finally knew when he came and had his back faced me to beat the drum. (I was sitting like the 4th row so I could see really clearly) The priest had a hearing aid on his right ear. Well.. I was kinda taken back slightly cos it was my very first time seeing that I guess. Referring to a priest with a hearing aid, I mean. I wasnt really expecting that I guess..... See... It's all AMX's fault la. Arghhh.. I so hate that course now.

Day 5: 7 December 2009 (Monday)
After the prayer, went back and did final packing cos we had to leave at around 7am. While waiting, a couple of us went to see the sun rise. Correction, we went to wait for the sun rise. While walking, we had chanting at the gate in front of Hoando. That caught us by surprise cos it was really dark and around 4am - ish.. Didnt expect someone to be chanting there at the wee hours of the night. But we were really touched by the believer's ichinen. She sounded as though she had a strong desparate thought that she wanted to convey.....
In the end, the sun rise didnt come. Cos it was super cloudy and partly cos it was time to go back le.. Shootz.. So I missed it.
While waiting for the bus.. The last eventful thing happened.. My friend was very cold (literally).. She was shivering and kept saying that her hands felt cold. Den, she knelt and crouched and her head hung low. I was comforting her cos she was crying already. Suddenly, she leaned towards me and gosh.. It was heavy cos it was the weight from her entire body. I was shocked! *o* I asked her wat was wrong. Her mum quickly hugged her and my friend said that she couldnt feel anything. She didnt haf any energy at all. Her mum panicked and screamed, "Ting! Dun scare me!!!!" (In Chinese of course) Everyone was shocked too and gathered around.

Well the thing was that it was my friend's first winter trip so lots of things kinda happened and she took it for granted. For one, she wore very little and didnt want to wear more clothes.. Vanity la I tell you. Next, she didnt sleep much which led to low body resistance. Lastly, when she was kinda sick and we could feel it, we had her to take some medicine like panadol at least. But she didnt want to... So, it all led to the burst of illness I guess. Well, it's like the pre-fever syndrome I guess. The cold got her but the fever hadnt broke out yet. But thank goodness, it happened before we boarded the bus. Hahaha. But the scene was quite funny. She had to be pushed in a wheelchair and board the bus. At the parking lot, everyone was crowding around her. And photos were taken I think. Kekekeke.. It was like as though there were paparazzi around a celebrity. After a full rest on the bus she recovered and she was able to walk and shop after wards. (Gosh, she walked faster den me sia.. Tsk tsk me) We were able to laugh at the events that happened.. Her BBF also could lecture her.. Hahahhaa...

So.. A tiny scare here and there. But nothing big I guess. Which of course, is a good thing.

On the way out of Taisekiji and Shizuoka, I didnt realise it was actually Monday until I see the junior priests in their uniforms and walking out of the temple premises and go on their way to their schools. And along the way, I see students on bicycles (white, mostly. Is that the most fashionable bike color now?) and uniforms to school. I was like.. "Wow.. It's already Monday le! Students going to school. And I'm going home." It was kinda ... hmmm, weird feeling.

Ok, now comes the bad mood event. I SO HATE THE STUPID AIRPORT! Why? Well, initially, the staffs had us go to another counter or something since we're doing a group check-in. This check-in thing ar I tell you, is USELESS! Why? Cos it's a self-automated thing whereby we haf to type particulars ourselves on this machine thing. Ergh.. It's super frustrating.. Especially since after the staffs saw that one row wasnt going to be enough and had some of us go to another row of the stupid machines. I moved my heavy stuffs here and there. What made it worse was that the push cart wasnt allowed in so many of the aunties had a difficult time moving their stuffs around. I find the whole automated thing super ridiculous. Cos there are people who dun feel comfortable using automated machines and what of those aunties who might not noe how to use it? Wouldnt it be faster if there were trained ppl behind the counters instead? Tsk tsk tsk... CHANGI AIRPORT IS STILL THE BEST! NUMBER ONE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! THAT'S WWW FOR YA!

I rushed to buy some stuffs back at the airport. I was searching high and low for Haley's ponyon hand puppet. Argh... I think I must have been blind or something... so the trip back was.. ordinary... oya.. The pasta on the flight was aweful. Erlack. And yet, I finished it all.. Kekeke
Well.. Basically, that's about it I guess... Hope u had fun reading it ^W^

A couple of night scenes

Fireworks? Nah.. my hand just shook and it got lopsided =)






I love these colorful trucks.. Reminds me of transformers.. kekekeke ^o^ Why cant Singapore be more colorful???




Enjoy the rest!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I'm back! I miss Shizuoka and Taisekiji!

Seemed like the Recorder Seminar was a big fun hit! Gosh... I missed it T_T

Cant wait to catch up with everyone... Nah.. Not tt urgent la. Cos I've only been away for 5 days? But still.. Some things haf happened while I was away, so....

Shall blog with pictures the next time round. I need to sleep again ^_^

I miss the cool weather
I miss the meals
I miss the early bedtimes
I miss having good skin there (Cos I slept at the right times which helped to improve my skin condition)
I miss eating right there
I miss having many people to talk to
I miss listening to many different languages from the different countries. (didnt see too many cute guys this time round though.. Wa.. One of the disappointments there)
I miss looking at Mount Fuji
I miss walking on those uneven stone paths with an umbrella and iPod, singing to 七里香
I miss my birdie friends
I miss the better 'me' over there


It seems like back to square 1 again.

Plans for this December

1. Be nice to my Mum and help out in the housework.

2. Climb Bukit Timah Hill.

3. Practice piano more

4. Practice erhu more diligently.

Yup..Basically that's about it.

Will be taking the flight to Japan on Thursday morning 7am. Haf to reach Changi Airport by 5am. 5am!!! Can u believe that? Sigh... Will be back on Tuesday midnight. I wont be shopping much I guess. Cos there's no time for it anyways.. Still, I'll try my best ^_^

Hope u guys haf a great and safe holiday too!

Thought this is interesting. My dad was clearing his CDs and he chose 辛晓琪's CD to play. (Like always. Sigh.. Listen til I wanna puke le sia.. I can join the 百万大歌星 and if her songs pop out I sure win lor) And then, he played this unknown track that I havent heard at all before!! Gasp! What was it?

Answer below

I never knew Xin Xiao Qi sang Colours of the Wind - Chinese Version. Hahaha.



Lyrics:
我站在风里看着你的来临 我想要问你为的是什么
请聆听大地万物心中话语 它有泪它有喜悲和生命

你从来不曾用心看看这里 怎会发现另一个世界
但我俩在这风中如此相遇 这缘份已是多么的神奇

你听风在说话说着不朽的情爱 那全世界最温柔的表白
如果真爱在你心中永不更改 你会看到风中七色的美丽

你的心会画出风中的色彩 请闭上双眼陪伴森林呼吸
看日月星辰变幻的颜色 你和我梦想终于紧紧相连

这一刻请你相信是永远 让青山绿水自由自在活着
去学习飞鸟遨翔在人间 在七彩风里寻找那个世界
那是你我真心寻找的家园

等待你牵我的手 风在蓝天上飞向那个梦
如果你没有忘记你我风中的相遇
那是刻在风里最美的传奇

Although it's a direct translation of the original song. I thought it was a pretty good job too. It didnt sound awkward or anything. Hahahaha...

Here's another one. From the movie Aladdin - A whole new world. (Chinese version)



萍水相逢

演唱:周华健陈淑桦
(男):人与人的相遇
如此扑朔又迷离
岁月悠悠容颜兀自更改
为谁徘徊
人世间的风景
总是柳暗又花明
聚聚散散的人海
谁是今生最爱
萍水相逢
是否拥有一样的梦
灵魂曾经漂泊如此之久
生命里都是寂寞
(女):萍水相逢
是否你我灵犀相通
付出所有青春
为爱等候
等候心中
最深最真的梦
人世间的遭遇
处处充满了惊喜
经过漫长的等待
终于找到我的爱
(女):萍水相逢
(男):谁能萍水相逢
(女):你我拥有一样的梦
(男):两颗心息息相通
(合):飞向梦的那头
寻找彩虹
(女):一起拥抱你整个的世界
(男):萍水相逢
你我拥有一样的梦
(合):飞向梦的那头
寻找彩虹
(男):跟着我遨游整个宇宙
(女):萍水相逢
(男):萍水相逢
我们拥有一样的梦
(合):飞向梦的那头
寻找彩虹
(女):真心穿越时空
(男):萍水相逢
(女):从此不再寂寞
(男):我们拥有一样的梦
(女):结束所有的漂泊
(合):飞向梦的那头
寻找彩虹
(女):牵着我
(男):请跟着我
(女):手牵手
(男):一起自由遨游
(女):萍水相逢
(男):萍水相逢
(女):穿越时空
(男):穿越时空
(女):寻找彩虹
(男):寻找彩虹
(合):一样的梦

I was surprised by the choice of singers. But then, a decade ago, hmmmm.. maybe not. hahaha...
I'm so gonna learn these lyrics and sing it out loud.. Whether in school or KTV. Kekekeke. Think I'll go find the Chinese version of "When you believe.." LoL

So one day, I decided to take a stroll in my new neighbourhood. New referring to the fact that I just moved in, not that it's newly built or anything. Well, sorry for the commentary. English teachers are like that la. Kekekekke

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes. A stroll, ya?

So, I started walking. (yea!!! Clap, people! Clap! Let me hear ur applause!)

But it got too humid and warm. So, I returned home immediately.

That's how boring and lame my morning was basically.

So, it's been over a month. Should I do a celebratory 1 month anniversary for it? Kekeke. Well, things have been kinda hectic, so, I've pretty put off blogging.

I've considered moving my blog, as a sign of a new beginning since I've moved house.
Speaking of which, maybe I should update the status of my new house.

Well, it's been close to two weeks since I've moved into the new house. It's slowly turning from a warehouse to a home. Things are slowly going into their places somehow. ^_^
One thing that I still cant get used to would have to be the distance from the buses and trains I guess. It's pretty far. Well.. Sometimes I wished the walking distance would be shortened, but I like the fact that I can sing out loud during these walking trips. Kekeke... =) And there's lots of hills and big slopes around here too. Hmmmm.. I get scared by them ^_^''

Initially, I was very reluctant to move house. But somehow, when the time came and the things were packed and moved, I just went along with it. I didnt feel really that negative or held and grudges at all. Everything kinda went smoothly.

My new house is small. Like literally. Back then, my room was much quieter. Now, it's next to the living room. I can hear basically whatever's happening in the house. Cos, it's really that small. It's a new kind of feeling. I feel that everyone's kinda closer to each other in this small house. Maybe, it's not such a bad thing after all.

Oh! There's this mosquito that's been breeding in my room. It has sucked lots of blood out of me. Heh! Right now.. My top priority is to catch it and smash it to pieces.

ok, moving on .. .. ..

The horrible AMX exam is over. This is like the most memorable exam situation of all. First, my time was slow so I was just on time, almost late for the exam. Then, when I went to my seat, some blur girl was there. Haiz.. I didnt even have to 'fight' with her. Cos she also didnt know her original seat anyways and just took any empty seat. Lastly, the exam was supposed to be from 1-3.30pm. But I accidentally thought it was from 1-3pm. Argh! So I crammed the whole thing within 2 hours. Gosh. It was agonizing! Hahaha. When it was around 5min before 3, I was puzzled when no one mentioned about the time. Worse, when 3pm was here, no one ended the exam. I quickly checked the paper.. Gosh! I still had 30 minutes. Hahaha. Gosh. So in the end, I left the exam hall 15 minutes early. LoL... Oh wells...


Last but not least, the question of the day. It's regarding the question below.

"btw how can u tell when nv meet me? can noe my mood through sms ar?"

NOTE: I'll put this up until 9.30pm. If u've read it, u haf read it. If not... Den... What more can I say.


Well, my answer is.. tooo bad if u didnt read it. It will only be known to me I guess.

That's how pissed off I am, I guess

Love and Respect

Packing up my room. I saw a stack of old number scores. It belonged to my Secondary School Orchestra era.

I flipped open the thick file. There were a huge stack of un-categorized files that I just stuffed in out of convenience sake. I put them to my right. A photo of the CO group dropped out.

I looked at the very first song that we practiced. "狮王争霸" - Theme song from the Wang Feihong series. Hahaha.. 9 years ago, it was already easy-bitsy to me. Well, it still is now. The song brought back so much nostalgic memories.

I looked at the photo and I instantly remembered how excited I was when the entire orchestra crammed into the tiny music room and set up our seats and instruments. (especially the time taken when I have to tune everyone's instrument. Kekeke) I remembered how my blood gushed to my head and my heart was beating in sync with the song's tempo when the conductor started conducting that song. I remembered how I shivered and my goosebumps appeared while I was playing this very simple song.

I remembered how much I loved playing with my string gangs during the CO days.

I remembered how I have always looked forward to the Combined practices and listening to every section coming in together blending with the music. Even though it was just the huang fei hong song that we quickly got sick of. (Ha!)

I miss those feelings.

I miss my heart beating when I'm in the ensemble. Any ensemble.

Even when the sectionals were difficult and our conductor sometimes gets frustrated, we still manage to pull it through somehow.

In NAFA, when a particle section of the song particular irks me, I'll practice like mad to prove that I can do it, that hot-blood part of me is gone.

Where is the 'determined' part of me who never gives up at the sight of any obstacles?

I miss playing erhu in an ensemble, I think.
I miss creating music with people who loves music too.
Suddenly, I don't feel so musical after all.

It's the same for choir I guess.
I recalled how stupid I felt when I saw this difficult piece that I had to sing for the very first semester. Thinking back, I cant believe I made it through sia.. I couldnt even really get the notes on those staves correctly. Hahaha, but still .... I could sing them .Woah .. . .. ...
Those moments and times when we get excited for the concert and giving our very most and best during the performances.

Ah.. those nostalgic days.

Nowadays, it's kinda like a routine call to sing in the ensemble. It's a 'sianz' feeling. Tired too..

Now, as I looked at the photo, I'm thinking.. Maybe I dun hate my teenage years so much after all. Puberty doesnt feel as bad now.

BUT

I still wouldnt want to experience that one more time.

HA!

PS: Let's 加油 for the ensembles ba! It's music making sessions after all... =)
PPS: I hate packing up. Things never seem to fit anywhere!

When will it rain?

Video checking routine as usual. Today, many ppl were commenting on last night's episode of 康熙来了. Hmm, ok let's go see what's the fuss about. N after watching tt episode....

Love IS complicated after all. It's not easy for someone to meet someone and these two someone-s can be together.

Fate is when someone gets to meet someone. (Difficulty level: 1/5)
Fate is when these 2 someone-s get to interact with each other. (Difficulty level: 2.5/5)
Fate is when they like each other. (Difficulty level: 4.4/5)
Fate is when they can be together. (Difficulty level: 5/5)
Fate is when they go on about their lives without each other. (Difficulty level: 0/5)
Fate is when their feelings still linger around the same someone. (Difficulty level: 1.5/5)

It's no longer the basic feeling of "If I like you and you like me too, let's be together" anymore.

Sigh...

Feelings are so complex. But we cant live without it.

I think I'm happier as a single person.

PS: Hmmmmm ... ... ...
PPS: Meeting/seeing ppl is easy. To interact and like the person is not. Tt's why I set the difficulty level in that way. Anyways.. Just one of my day-dreaming opinion.
PPPS: If you're already with someone. Hold tight to his/her hands. Dont let it go. Treasure him/her.
PPPPS: It's so tiring to be politically right all the time. Haiz...

I kinda surprised myself. Despite sleeping at 2.22am.. I still managed to wake up at 520am and say goodbye to my mom who had to reach airport at 6am. Because her flight is at 8am. Crazy huh..

Hahaha.. She left a very wet kiss on my cheeks before she went off..

Well.. She should be sleeping by now. But my Dad disagrees with me. Cos her happiest place is in Taisekiji. So.... She should be so excited that she cant sleep. LoL.. Whatever...

I just hope that the weather's good and she can come back safely on Monday.

*Muacks*

I'm in pain. Again. Haiz. It's so damn painful that I have to resort to doing my essays on my bed.

Oh no!

Am I bed-ridden?

Ah!!!!

Hahaha

Of course not.

The world really moves in a circular mode. First, I had been absorbed in Kpop songs. Den, it was MayDay. But really recently, I'm back to Jay Chou songs which I havent really heard in like.. what..ages? Yup. Hahaha. So now, I'm back into the Jay Chou ballads mode. Wonder what's next.

Alright. Back to chioning essays.. >x<