Lantau Island

I am getting slightly apprehensive about my first day of teaching tomorrow.

~ Lantau Island

Victoria Peak

...the amazing performance of the Symphony of Lights and the breathtaking view from Victoria Peak...

~ Victoria Peak

Ap Liu Street

Despite the suspicious electrical and electronic devices being sold at Ap Liu Street...

~ Ap Liu Street

Lan Kwai Fong

Definitely good times.

~ Lan Kwai Fong

British Council Hong Kong

She was very subtle and never revealed it openly to anyone. And yet, you could tell that she was very passionate about Chemistry and teaching it. Out of all the teachers who have taught me, she has been the most skilled potter in moulding me into the person that I am today.

~ British Council Hong Kong

Aqua

More than three years later, he thanks me for the advice I gave him. Never before have I felt so touched.

~ Aqua

Poh Lin monastery

And when it's just right, the wind catches the prayers of the monks in a nearby hall and fills the entire monastery with them before lifting them up into the heavens.

~ Poh Lin monastery

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple

Like the burning of forests it was. No more the fragrant smell of incense. But of smoke and ash. In which futures were shrouded from tearful eyes.

~ Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple

Felix bar

The glass walls became the walls of the coffin in which I was buried alive. And no one notices. No thing notices. Not even the bright lights of Hong Kong Island. I'd drown myself in Victoria Harbour if it weren't this pretty.

~ Felix bar, Tsim Sha Tsui

Avenue of Stars

The stars shine brightly here. Mirroring the ones that dance in the night sky above. Reflected by the gleaming waters of the fragrant harbour.

~ Avenue of Stars

whacked weekend...

i've been having way too much fun...(if that's even possible)...the weekend's just flown by without me realizing it...n i haven't been getting enough sleep...it's been one whole block of partying...so here's a recap...


friday night kicked off with the cambridge dancers' club's summer ball...it was a glitzy affair with a live band n lots of dancing...most of the dancesport team was there all dressed up for the event...it was fun to dance with each other...but also sad because it would b the last for the few who will b graduating this summer...


i had my first glass of pimm's there n i fell in love with it immediately...to b honest...wine is pretty minging...but i love cocktails...n pimm's is *the* summer cocktail...it's lovely...everyone was given a complimentary glass of pimm's...i had eight...


after the ball ended at 1 in the morning...we headed down to anh's for the after-ball party...we had pizzas n crisps with another round of cocktails to go with...it was a nice toned-down affair after the ball where we all had a nice chat together...


after heading back for a quick sleep in the wee hours of the morning...saturday ushered the pudding picnic with the team again...it was a very enjoyable outing...we had lots n lots of pudding (fruit salad, ice crean, profiteroles, strawberries n cream, trifles etc etc)...n together with my cd player n anh's collection of dance cds...we rocked the entire botanical gardens where we had the picnic...i brought along twister n we had some wild games at that...rob brought his frisbee n we had some rough games at that too...


after the pudding picnic...it was back to college for a quick dinner n change before heading up to st. edmund's for a bop...it was a mix of r&b n cheese n although i'm not a fan of r&b, the cheese more than mad up for it...clare n i were really wild that night...despite the fact that i was a tee-totaler that night...(partly because the bar had nothing but minging beer n some rather poor excuse of a cocktail)...


we had little 5 minute breaks in the garden outside...where we rehydrated with water while waiting for the dj to spin us some cheese...upon which clare n i would jump up n start screaming while we made our way back to the dancefloor...it was a good night...


after heading back to college...again in the wee hours of the morning...sunday lazed by with a nice break at king's where they had n open-air fair (with bouncy castles!)...we passed the day away by lazing on the green green grass...with bits of dancing here n there...it was a good change...to b able to relax for once...


n today's monday...n i just got back from a picnic with some ocep members who i'll b teaching english with in hong kong for 6 weeks this summer...we went for a punt after that...which ended with me punting them all the way n back...not that i'm complaining but i'm really knackered now...


i need to get some shut eye...before i burn the midnight oil tonight in order to finish my lesson plans n handouts for hong kong...oh dear...n tomorrow's christ's ball which is going to last from 9 pm to 9 am wednesday...it's going to b a killer week...


(pictures of summer ball to follow once the photographer's uploaded the pics online)...now it's time for me to take a nap...finish up 12 lesson plans n handouts by tonight...n oh dear...i've got xs latin formation dance practice tonight...so till then...laterz...

passed

i passed physiology and st. cat's held an outdoor concert in my honour. now to prepare for the summer ball tonight.

till then

funnily enough...that wasn't the end of the day...yet...

it was the fellows' garden next...for some strawberries n cream with my tutor...(which was very kind of him i must say)...with a nice round of champagne...

n then off for dance...did i mention that i've finally decided to join the internationally renowned xs latin formation dance team?...it's the number team in the whole of england...

it was my first lesson of the fortnight trial period...which went quite well actually...considering how long i haven't danced...so i shall b looking forward to it...

ahhh...life can't get any better at the moment...although i probably should slow down a bit before it all consumes me...n i don't rest enough to even enjoy it...

till then...
gnite

punting, picnic, bridge hopping

anyway...having woken up late this morning...i settled a few stuffs before heading out with a few friends for a punting outing and pudding picnic i had organized...


weather wasn't great although we couldn't complain much because it wasn't raining...could've done with a tad bit of sun though...


punting is always great...there's just something about being on the river n surrounded by water n nature...the soft caress of the wind n the gentle rocking of the punt...it was good...


having punt all the way from queens'...we moored the punt at jesus green n set up our picnic spot...which went very well...full of laughs...n sweet dessert...(not to mention the bottle of vodka i had with me)...good stuff...


on the way back...i think the vodka got to me (although to b fair...i had it quite diluted with lemonade)...so i attempted the famous cambridge tradition of bridge hopping...i m proud to say that i conquered trinity bridge...one of the easiest bridges to hop over...s shown by the last few photos...

team dinner

the dancesport team dinner was held on the very same day my exams were finished...the black tie affair was held at the combination room of wolfson college...despite the weather being rather wet...it was a very nice evening indeed...


the men were looking very suave in their suits (spent 150 quid on mine complete with braces n cufflinks) n the women absolutely stunning in their evening gowns...it was n elegant event with a proper three-course dinner, no less than six eating utensils, n endless supply of wine n port...ending with coffee...terribly pretentious...


conversations were entertaining to say the least...with lots of jokes being cracked n peals of laughter bursting along the entire length of the table...of course we also had the usual speeches n toasts...(s well s the inescapable cambridge tradition of penny-ing)...by the end of it i was pleasantly tipsy...


but of course...no such event would end without the usual trip to the bar...where ties were untied n hair let down...suffice to say that everyone was feeling very comfortable with the effects of alcohol...the usual jokes, lapdances n dirty games ensued...but pictures will tell a better story...


all in all...it was a glorious finish to a very long run indeed...

can't wait

ahhh...exams r unofficially over for me already...i've sat for all the essay papers...n i now have three whole days of doing nothing...until anatomy steeplechase on monday n histology practical on tuesday...it feels like may week already...so good i could just lie in the sun all day in the fellow's garden...

papers were quite alright...but i think that's just because i've been expecting the worst...the second mb papers were fine albeit slightly on the dodgy side...but i should b able to pass them (fingers crossed)...

however, i got raped badly by my anatomy essay paper...although i made up for it in my biochemistry n physiology essay papers...there's no way i'll b getting a first class honours this year...but i'm way past caring...all i want is to pass...

it's funny how i've changed from a person who was only satisfied with excellence to a person who's content with mediocrity...i just think there r more important things than working your arse off n end up with a degree just like anyone else without making the most of my time here...

anyways...just got back from a punting trip...all the way from darwin island to the bridge of sighs...went with a few good friends of mine on the dancesport team...shoko, anh n dan...it's always great fun with them around...


then it was off to the classy b bar...where anh n i met up with other team mates, mildred, danielle n dmitry...mildred was already slightly tipsy when we arrived...which didn't get any better of course...but it all added to the fun...alcohol is always good company...lol


ahhh...i can't wait till exams r officially over...team dinner n parties (i m so going to get drunk at team dinner...even before after-team-dinner party)...garden parties n may ball...punting outings...picnics n bbq...clubbing n drinking...birthday parties...

n then it's off to hong kong for six weeks to teach english to lil kiddies...n then another eight weeks travelling around southeast asia...it'll b so good that it'll just feel like one major orgasm...ahhh...can't wait...

expectations n disappointments...

a big part of my life has been driven by my fear of disappointing those around me...which is good in a comforting way...but also bad in a frightening way...

take a look at my academic achievements...ever since secondary school...right up till now...i've been working hard solely on the fear of disappointing my mother...i know she doesn't say it out loud...but she's simply hopeless in hiding her high expectations of me...

n the fact that my mims (biochemistry) n fab (anatomy) supervisor also has high expectations of me doesn't really help much...which explains y i felt really bad today after barely passing my mock...

it's the same for dancesport...the main reason y i'm practising three hours everyday is because i don't want to disappoint shoko...who i think is a brilliant dancer...i always feel s if she would do so much better had she not been paired with me...

i still remember how bad i felt when i screwed up our waltz n quickstep routine during varsity trials...the thought of shoko not making the team because of me was completely unbearable when the coach called out the names of those who made it into team...

ah yes...that's another person i'm afraid to disappoint...our latin coach david...he's had high expectations of me ever since i started dancing in his class when i first got in cambridge...lol...it was the first thing i ever did here i think...n he's concentrated quite a bit on me ever since...

looking back on my life...piano...swimming...so much of it was determined by what other people expected of me...my piano teacher...swimming coach...which is fine for the time being...coz i've got nothing to lose n everything to gain...s i constantly push myself towards excellence...

but what happens when there's no one left?...what happens when there r no expectations for me to fulfil?...will i stumble into a pit of complacency?...left only with the memory of past achievements to haunt me?...

england vs malaysia

so, after having spent almost a year here, i noticed that there r certain things which r better in england than in malaysia:

1. dairy products (from pure butter to sinful cheesecake...mmm...*drools)
2. cereals (i've gotten addicted to them!...there's n infinite variety here)

likewise, there r certain things which r better in malaysia than in england:

1. popcorn (m missing gsc's caramel popcorn...they don't have it here...shocking!)
2. advertisements (my god! u don't want to know how utterly ridiculous they r over here!)

of course, when you're comparing, u try to do so on the same criteria...so the fact that we normally have nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast instead of cereals is completely irrelevant...nor the fact that we have kaya instead of butter...

the main point is, certain things which can b found in both countries differ from each other...one being better than the other...

obviously, this is but the tip of the iceberg...there r many things which differ between the two countries n i could go on n on forever...the above are just a few particular ones that i m persnickety about...

sigh...after having travelled this far...u realize that it's all the same...the grass is never greener on the other side of the fence...not even when it's halfway around the globe...

punting...

that aside...i managed to punt from st. john's bridge of sighs (top) to queens' mathematical bridge (below) in 15 minutes...n it's only my second attempt yet!...(i did it in one hour on my first attempt)...now i can apply for a part time job s a punter this summer...woo hoo!...sun...river...babes n hunks!...lol...it's going to b a brilliant summer this year!!!

night out at soul tree

i've been to soul tree a couple of times before...n i've never really enjoyed myself to the fullest...but i had a real blast there tonight...it wasn't perfect because i had mixed feelings towards it...but it was a blast nonetheless because the pros outweighed the cons...

for one...i'll never b able to appreciate hip hop music...(which is what soul tree specializes in)...i mean...yes, u can dance to it...but it's always the same thing isn't it?...mindless repetitions of "shake that booty" n so on...there's no way it'll ever top cheese music...ever!

but the dancesport team was there...well, a part of it was...including alex, will, anh n claire...which made up for the really bad music (in my opinion)...especially alex...i mean...there's no doubt now that he's the only guy i can go out clubbing with N have a smashing time...

but claire...my god...if she's really good at ballroom dancing...she's f*cking amazing at hip hop...i mean...she was a complete nutter on the dance floor...who'd have thought she had moves like those?...shagging a wall never looked this good before (private joke)...

besides that...i was completely sober...alcohol had become n essential part of my clubbing nights...n i've always promised myself never to let it dictate how much fun i have...so not a single drop of alcohol passed my lips tonight...n yet...i had fun...m rather proud of that...

but to top that feeling...two guys came up to me n complimented me on my good moves!...the second guy even gave me a high-five!!...(n soul tree's a straight club!!!)...i mean...any more of that n my head would've popped from the excessive ego building up inside of me...lol

but there's no free lunch in this world...n my abs, back n feet r killing me...but oh well...it was still a good night...coz i ended up kissing three girls...s well s by alex...hee...i'm such a cheeky 'lil boy...lol...so all in all...it was a good night...

m looking forward to tuesday night at life with alex...woo!