Friday, June 30, 2006,8:54:00 PM
The end of the 1st week of preceptorship... (a.k.a attachment/IA/ etc.)
It was tiring, stressful, enriching and interesting all in one...
I was super blur on the 1st day... customers just walked in and ask for a particular brand.. some customers would be happy that you are actually helping them to find even though you do not know where the product is.. but some are not too happy... i got a few "what-a-lousy-salesgirl" look from some customers.. @_@
people just walked in to ask where's the toilet and where to buy oranges o_O... and the round round white balls you put in wardrobe to repel cockroaches... hmm...
on one of the days, this rich tai-tai came in looking for Biotherm (said in her high class English accent).. I didnt understand her.. and she said "well, if you havent heard of it, i guess you all dont have it.."
Well, she's right... We dont have Biotherm...
Then she went to look at Vichy (another brand of cosmetics/skincare) but the promoter wasnt there... and she asked me whether the cream she holding is a face cream... erm.. it was like my 2nd or 3rd day... and i was still trying very hard to memorise where all the products are and she asked me to recommend skincare??? I wanted to help her read through the label and explain to her.. BUT she pulled away the cream and said to me "When you are selling something, you should know it well.. " o_O O_O O_o
I learned to be the cashier yesterday and i like it! hahaa... cause when you are at the cashier, you get to see more people.. and most of these people will smile at you and say THANK YOU! which is great... at the pharmacy counter, they are usually sick and in pain... so they are most probably grumpy and all...
and we realised the pharmacist is really important... cause we can't sell Pharmacy Only medications without the pharmacist being there...
hmmm.. the pharmacy assistants are nice people also... funny... and helpful...
our preceptor is great.. she has passion in doing what she does... so she explains a lot to us.. and teaches us a lot of things.. sometimes it's really quite a lot..hehe..
the other pharmacist is really nice as well.. she's more a sales person i felt.. so she showed us sales analysis etc.
the stress part, my partner is smart! and i'm not... so i dont know a lot of things.. haihz... stress... and the homework that we have to do.. plus i try to read up more cause my memory of medicines is almost zero.. and my pharmacology is like o_O ... haihs... hopeless... me...
and i have difficulty explaining some things in Mandarin.. what do you call "mildness" and "calming" in mandarin? @_@
and i had to convince customers about the skincare products..
one of the customers today said that Guardian is not a good store cause it doesnt sell wrapping paper... o_O huh?? i even showed her where she can get wrapping paper le... then she asked me whether the biscuits we sell are expired... I showed her that the expiry date is Aug 2008 and she said "whoa! so long.. sure got preservatives..."
ermm....
explains to her nicely why have to have preservatives and all.. then she decided she should buy sweets instead cause sweets got no/less preservatives? maybe...
ok..now i feel bad bloggin about this poor customers...
at least the preservative auntie was nice and understanding... unlike *ahem* tai-tai...
on the good side, there are really appreciative customers that will say please, thank you's and smile.. plus point if the customer is good looking.. wahaha... there are some!
there are a lot of foreigners in Funan... dont know why.. is it like a tourist destination or something? yesterday, i saw this super cute little boy with afro red hair... and he was wearing a cap but his hair was too big for the cap so the cap just sits on top of his hair.. very cute! haha... we do get some cute ang moh kids running in and out of the shop... hahaha....
today, there was this funny woman who called the shop and asked for a favour... "can you help me check whether the Funan atrium still has a stall that sells embroidery cushion covers?"
I ran out to check for her... lolz... It was the last day.. great sales.. 3 for $10! super cheap...
very tiring work for the feet...
and i'm super happy cause today is Friday! i dont work tomorrow.. not that i dont enjoy working.. I just dont enjoy waking up early and sit in the bus for 40mins to get to work..
tonight is Germany vs Argentina! but i'm not watchin cause i dont have cable.. great... i'm just goin to online and wait for result... even greater... not goin out to watch cause i'm poor.. i'm like really really poor! i can't believe it.. i'm desperately poor.. yea.. cause i ate McD yesterday and Ajisen Ramen today... with a salary of $5 per day, I'm super exceeding my allowance.. super sucky....
anyway, back to Happy Friday.. I just watched my last 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy.. love it.. but i dont have supply anymore.. how? o_O
and i'm happy today cause i'm going over to ky and sw's room to talk my night away... without fear of not completing homework.. great!
Friday, June 23, 2006,5:59:00 PM
The road that I like....
this was taken by me as i walked to the bus terminal a few days ago.... the pic looks quite bad.. cause i do not have a camera! and i got to use my hp's camera.. which is not even 1.3MP... so like that lor...
anyway, i'm finally back from camps... my friend is still in camp.. her final battle.. which will end officially on Sun.. and she's starting work on Monday in a pharmacy... so i promised to buy her dinner.. ^_^
overall, it was a very enriching experience for me.. my 1st time in Camp Christine ( the official Girl Guides' Camp in Singapore..) It's at this place called Serimbun i think.. near Lim Chu Kang.. near all those cemeteries.. and it's super near the Straits of Johore.. I could stand in one of the lodges in Camp Christine and looked out.. and see Johor! if i could swim properly, i could swim across the straits and reach Johor! (provided i swim with my passport hanging onto my neck or something? haha)
I was of not much help cause I had lost touch with Girl Guides for about 4-5 years! and I had never been to Camp Christine before.. so i was quite lost mentally and physically... hope i'd not been a burden to the other trainers and the boss.. (cause i'm paid, I felt quite bad... )
The first day we arrived at the school before 7.15pm...get everything settled, set off for campsite and reached there around 9am... tent-pitching, duties etc... learned knots, gadget-makin...and all that stuffs.. plus more duties...
The food was great..and a lot! we had yummy nasi lemak for lunch.. spaghetti for dinner... did i mention we had morning break, afternoon tea and also supper?! which made it 6 meals a day.. some of the campers commented that why were they always eating.. o_O (so that you'll have energy for all the activities larr..)
2nd day was canoeing day for the campers... trainers set off doin their various duties.. i was the photographer for both camps... so we were doing some photolog thing... wanted to go canoeing with the campers.. but couldnt... then we did this "orientereeing" thing... in preparation for the following camp... learned how to read the coordinates of map and how to use the compass the right way..take bearings.. etc.. (i'm quite lousy in all these cause i hate Geog...hadnt been in touched with it since Sec 3).. that evenin, we had outdoor cooking.. not fully outdoor as it was raining in the afternoon.. but the campers cooked their own food.. and I helped make the pizza for the trainers le.. wahahahha.. we had a pizza, 2 beggar chickens, banana with chocs.. sweet potatoes..and bread.. nice!
Later that nite we had a campfire where the campers put up performances and sing songs... and the trainers and guiders got to eat really fresh boiled mussels.. cause the caretakers of the campsite went diving in the day to get the mussels and then boiled them... it was yummy! very fresh!
it rained heavily on the 3rd day.. so we didnt get to strike tent.... so we packed up and left earlier...
came back to NUS, put our clothes in the washing machine and fainted on the bed... woke up to shift the clothes into the dryer and continued sleeping... went back to my own room(i was at my friend's room which is in another hall altogether cause my lovely roommate forgot to tell me where she put the key into our room and was not contactable at all til very late..when i had washed my clothes in another hall..) and continued the sleep-wakeup-sleep cycle til 11.30pm where i officially knocked out...
woke up the next morning, took my packed bag and set off for camp no2! at Sengkang..this camp was in school...and thus more relaxed... and we got to eat Sakae Sushi on 2nd day.. and on the 1st nite, we went to eat prata at Jalan Kayu.. yummy! i like the banana prata a lot! but it took them sooo long to send our prata.. -__-""
i got to contribute more in this camp as there were only me and another girl as trainers and the boss on the 2nd day afternoon onwards... i took charge of the Sec 1.. and tested them on their Guides' knowledge to enable them to earn at least the Bronze Award by year end.. There was this super curious girl who kept on asking me questions... when I asked each of them to name me a disease, she asked me the cause of asthma and how many type of cancer are there in the world... i was like "erm... there are many causes of asthma... and there are many types of cancer in the world, where new ones are emerging everyday..." then i told her to keep her questions for later that night when I'll tell her the whole cancer story...
well, I did... later that night...
came back on Thurs and slept the whole afternoon away.. woke up in time to watch drama at 6pm in ky's room and stayed there til 10+pm when I decided i shall continue sleeping...
That was when i was told by my dear roommate that she LOST my TRANSPARENT JAPANESE UMBRELLA!!!!
I was kind hearted enough to offer her my umbrella cause it was raining in the mornin that she was going to work.. and she LOST MY UMBRELLA!!!
and she *sob sob* before i did! like i bully her!!
ok..i'm not as angry, now.. but my heart just ache.. thinking that i might only get to replace that umbrella in about 10 years time..when i have the money to go Japan again.. or when she has the money to go Japan.. by that time i'll be 32! and not bothered about some transparent umbrella.... now i'm this stupid young lady that treasures this kinda souvenirs a lot.. and dear roommate lost it!
haihz...
but i was too tired... and i fell asleep....
today, i woke up near 1pm... online to chat with my small sis ( who got into UTM.. congrats!! and just turned 20 yesterday!) i think this piece of news from the uni would be the BEST bdae present she ever got and the BEST Fathers' Day present my dad ever got... great for both of them... though my sis is a little unhappy that she has to go so far... but near me ma... her only consolation is that she gets to come to Singapore more often... (that's what she said) ^_^ v
but it's one of her choices... so she should be grateful....
then i slacked the whole day! can you imagine? yesterday nite i told myself, today i'm going to look through some of the drugs... so that i can be prepared for work... since my working partner is a dean-lister or ex-dean-lister (doesnt really matter).... *can just cut throat and die*
I was so bored for the whole day that at 5pm, i decided i want to have Subway for dinner.. Subway just opened in NUS! woohoo!! can have nice cookies from now on... (^_^)v
Felt super sleepy the whole way..even when eating dinner.. but now that i'm back and laid on the bed, i couldnt sleep... why?? am i feeling sleepy or tired or what ar? dont know le.. like half awake only...
think there is a song that goes like "what is this that i'm feeling? ....blah blah blah..."
(but i think that feeling the person meant is love lar.. but mine is definitely NOT love)
talking about that, my friend's relationship just got exposed to his mom...wahahahaha... and his mom told him, "your dad and I are very happy for you!"
Whoa!! such a cool mom.. but then my friend means same age with me.. which means too old already la to have mom who says "NO, you cannot have a girlfriend yet!" o_O
the previous time i went home, my parents' long lost workers met up with the whole family at another friend's housewarming party... (forgot whether i mentioned this)... but she asked me whether I am attached.... how? "no lor..." was my reply... "nobody wants", I added... then she asked how old am I... then she said "aiya, 22 only.. still young...never mind.." but at the back of her mind she must be thinking, when i was your age, I was already married....blah blah blah...
on the same topic, my dear friend who is my age and had been attached for 4 solid years just asked me the day before yesterday, "so, when are you getting attached?"
My answer, " I don't know le.. so when do you want to help me get attached?"
My boss was laughing at the answer cause she thought i sounded like it's my friend's fault that I'm not attached... hmm... good answer? *lolz*
*a lot of random thoughts here and there.. why? maybe cause I had not been bloggin for quite some time.. and nowadays my life seems more fun... I did a lot of things during this holiday.. and it's only half of it... half more to go.. hopefully working is as fun....
well, going to UTM next Sunday.. never been there before... but since my small sis, which is the baby of the family is leaving home for the 1st time, both my parents and me going to send her there.. If my big sis is not pregnant and does not have a young child at home, she might have come also.. to send the baby off*
*after she leave, there will only be my mom and dad left... luckily my sis works near my dad's shop, which means she goes to the shop every weekday to park her car.. and on weekends to bring my niece along... ^_^*
*the first shift ppl just finished their attachment today... they are embracing freedom... >__<*
tomorrow i shall start flipping my book... (>_<)
Friday, June 16, 2006,10:29:00 PM
Going to camp tomorrow...
Had been doing some stuffs these few days...
First aid course on Mon and Tue and the first aid test on Thurs...
These are the results of the first aid course...hahaha.. we were laughing quite hard at ourselves... the above two are eye bandages.. I have pictures of bandage for scalp wound also.. but they look so funny..+ ugly...hahaha...
Well, I am a certified first aider now! yeah!!
On Thurs, we finished our test at 3.30pm... then me and CM went wandering around Orchard again... to wait for wx to finish work.... then we helped wx look for prom dress... so tiring... (cause had been walking around Orchard from Dhoby Ghaut for the past few days also...)
Today, me and CM went to make our concession pass..but somehow, the Transitlink do not have our record and we need to get NUS to send our records.. BUT the officer in charge of this concession thing went to a course! which means we couldnt get our pass done... We went to eat Jap food in Jurong East instead... -__-""
Then we went to Eunos to help pack for camp.. and clean the office... cm get paid $5/hr and since she needed to leave early, I went to help her.. so she hired me with half her pay.. hahaha..I call it "multi-level employment".. just like multi-level marketing... but the girl at the office called it "multi-level exploitation".. haha! but the job that cm did was very funny.. she's like the "ah sum" (auntie) cleaning office + office lady + printing lady + misc lady.. haha..
On the way back, we saw a man with super long finger nails! like someone from Guiness Book of REcords.. but it's so yucky to see it in real life... both of us couldnt talk after seeing the nails cause we felt like vomitting! hahaha.. really yucky...
Went to Fong Seng for dinner.. have not been there for a long time....
Now packing for camp.. going to meet CM at 6.45am tomorrow.. o_O
3-days camp... then rush back to hostel, and unpack ..and repack for another 3-day camp on the next day... then I can rest for 3 days before starting attachment at the pharmacy...
me ke ai de niece!! eating biscuits...
she sat by herself on the chair.. so cute!! (^_^)
Wednesday, June 14, 2006,12:31:00 AM
The feeling of freedom... the sound of silence...
Most of my friends are asleep now.. (cause most of them are working..) or for those taking special sem, maybe studying...
There are nobody online to talk to...
My dear room mate is sleeping happily on the bed... after pampering herself...
I have nothing to do tomorow... (to be exact is today...)
The only sound i hear now is the fan turning at full speed..and some cars going up/down the slope outside the room... (and somebody just came to knock on the door..scary..)
Anyway, these past 2 days, I attended a 1st aid course at Red Cross House at Dhoby Ghaut.. after the course on the first day, me n CM went to Tanglin Mall to check out the place she's goin to work at...it's really quite a nice place... a lot of foreigners...
Today, we went to check out Funan It Mall where I am goin to work at...It's a lot nicer than we imagined it would... and there are quite a few eating places.. like KFC, McD, Pastamania, Swensen's, Surf n Turf, Delifrance etc....
After the visit to Tanglin Mall ( we walked there from Dhoby Ghaut.. it's erm.. quite far..but nice view on the way...), we went to take photos for our 1st aid course cert at the Forum.. and I bumped into my long lost JC classmate! nice to see him again.. and hopefully get to see the other ex classmates too, soon... As I walked up the PGP slope that night, I felt free...happy... and full of life... and i realised I start to like the feeling of freedom... able to do stuff that you like at your own time... and that (sadly) include being away from home and not with the family.. for once, i think i am happy being away from home!
or maybe it was just the nice weather that night... I'd always like the slope between PGP and Ke7.. since my friends stayed in the faraway blk 4, I like to climb up the slope and get to their rooms... Now i think i really dont mind being transferred to Blk 4... then i can go up and down the slope as i like...
if only Sg's weather is not so warm and humid, it would be great to walk around.... ^_^
but since Sg is always warm and humid, the best thing is to walk around at night... CM was telling me how she like looking at Sg's lights at night... I like walking in Sg at night.. along a nice route..
^_^
Sunday, June 11, 2006,10:32:00 AM
Finally! the last Japan post..
On the morning of the last day, we woke up quite early to pack...then we had some time before checking out, so we took pictures of the hotel and us.. and of course we wouldnt miss out the famous toilet seat! 
the thing i like the most is the temperature of the toilet seat that can be adjusted.. so that your butt won't get a shock when you sit on icy cold toilet seat.. (erm..like in genting when it's cold.. the toilet seat is real cold too..) I tried the "shower" and the "bidet" button too.. but it felt weird..heehe..some even have flushing sound.. i didnt try that.. afraid that the sound might be too loud..hehe..
after checking out, we went to Shinjuku Tower to try and look at Mount Fuji.. but it still too foggy to see it.. but we got to see the whole city... Tokyo is really a packed city...my friend said "Imagine fitting the the whole population of Malaysia into a city 2.5 x Singapore's size.." .. that's Tokyo..
Then we went to a flea market nearby..xh successfully bargained! for me.. I got a belt at 300 yen.. which is about S$4+.. it was originally priced at 500 yen..
Next was Harajuku area..
Eiji san brought us to Omotesando Hills.. one of the latest shopping complex there.. cause Akiko herself had never been there before.. the place is somewhat like Starhill i think.. or some luxury shopping place... Well, the Harajuku area is like Orchard Road but "bigger" and "better"... the shops are really bigger.. you get a whole building of GAP.. a whole building of Louis Vuitton... a whole building of Christian Dior (complete with a girly star at the top of the building).. a whole building of Shu Uemura...everything is a whole building! not a shoplot.. not a counter... a building! a few storeys high..
We saw very cute de Snoopy Town.. i know a friend who would love this place a lot!
As we were walking and staring at all those branded goods, we saw a wedding taking place at the "Palacio" (grand name..)... they had a "live" choir for the wedding! and a gwailou priest... really really nice wedding... plus everybody wore so nicely...and the place was beautifully decorated.. with balloons and ribbons.. (^_^)
Finally, we reached the place for our lunch! the shop is underground.. o_O
We ate the set lunch... there were a few options to choose from.. and i chose the fish while xh took the pork.. so that we could exchange some... the fish was so nice! The flesh was very soft and fresh while the skin was crispy.. I don't eat the skin of fish cause i personally think they have the strong fishy smell.. but this was so different! and the miso soup had clams inside..lol... one of my friend gave me her clams cause she didnt like them... wahahahha..
Eiji san treated all of us! imagine... 13 of us! so paiseh...
We walked around somemore ...
Stopped at a shop to buy more souvenirs.. that was where i saw the robot dog ( that my papa wanted)... very cute! but i didnt buy la.. expensive.. though it's comparatively cheaper than in Singapore...
rushed to the airport cause we were quite late...
last picture...
pretty flowers that we see everywhere... blooming so brightly...
the moment we set our feet on Singapore soil, we felt the humidity....
and my friend immediately missed all the bowing people in Japan.. haha.. in Changi, the immigration officers stood with the hands folded at the chest.. @_@ haha...
-the end-
Labels: Japan
Saturday, June 10, 2006,2:27:00 PM
Doing weird things at all the wrong time!
You know how sometimes you feel like burying your head like the picture below?
I always do.. I even want to dig a hole big enough to fit the whole of me inside.. and disappear from the face of earth... @_@
Just a few minuets ago, I was happily typing birthday wish to a friend when one of the msn window pop up cause somebody sign in.. and somehow i just managed to open up the window and type in "H" and sent! the "H" was supposed to be for the "birtHday"! not for the msn window.. ish... and the prob is, it's not someone i usually chat with.. it's not a close friend where i can just laugh it off.. cause they know i do stupid things all the time.. it's someone i barely chat with on msn.. and i happily send a "H"...
no big deal....
my msn is quite smart cause it went dc after i send a "sori"... and now i shall remain offline in msn.. haha..
anyway, goin back to Sg tonite... don't know this is number what time i had been going back to Sg... so, don't feel the usual really sad feeling.. just lazy.. have to start worrying and taking care of myself... hopefully don't fall sick anymore.. no more nice soup, that's for sure.. but last sem i got to drink some nice soup from khim and xh.. (^_^)v ...girls with bf are really better in cooking..hahaa...
Thursday, June 08, 2006,10:26:00 AM
The day in Tokyo Disneyland...
We reached Tokyo Disneyland at about 9.30am... The place opens at 9am... Akiko rushed to buy the tickets for us and when we were going in, I saw a familiar face and the person beside him was wearing a "NUS Business School" jacket... ooh.. so coincidental.. but we didnt go over and ask cause they were queueing up for tickets while we were queueing up to go in...
See our excited faces.. haha...
But once we entered, I saw something that shocked me
The Cinderella's castle was under renovation! How can this be.. :(
Well...
there was a Hawaiian dance performance near the entrance.. cause the theme for that month was Lilo & Stitch.. we watched for a while before proceeding to play! we stayed together in a group of 14.... we tried all the mountain thingy... Thunder Mountain (something like that), Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain.. haha.. well, it was the first time ever that i sat on a roller coaster.. I had never sat on a roller coaster before cause I'm super afraid of heights.. the Thunder something Mountain was alright cause it was not high.. It's just a lot of turning around cause it's supposed to be a runaway train.. the Splash Mountain was alright also cause it went down so fast, I didnt have time to be scared.. the Space Mountain was really quite scary as it was pitch dark inside! and it kept on turning to my side that I strained so much to make sure I don't fall off.. and I think I twisted my neck in the process..haha.. but it was the SpaceJet that make me nearly cried.. cause it was high up there.. Hopefully I didnt scared off the rest..cause I think I did look quite terrified...whoops..
We watched 2 parades.. one in the day.. the other one at night..
Mickey Mouse was the first on the day parade... singing and dancing on his float.. He was so cute!!! The atmosphere was quite good as people were clapping along..
Then there were Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and the whole Disney gang, the princesses and their princes... Toy Story gang..
and Peter Pan! with Wendy...
and many many more, ending with Minnie Mouse as a Fairy Godmother on the same float as Cinderella and her Prince Charming..
The Prince Charming with the glass slipper for the night parade... all the floats were lighted up beautifully for the night parade.. It was really pretty...
There was another parade in the afternoon which was based on the Lilo & Stitch theme but we were busy playing, so we didnt stop to watch...
This is what we had for dinner.. fastfood where all the burgers are Mickey Mouse -shaped.. cute! This was Teriyaki Chicken..
We went canoeing also.. near the Tom Sawyer Island.. It was very fun..and our instructor was very cute! He couldnt speak much English, so he spoke in Japanese.. a whole bunch of things, and we just stared at him.. then he said "This is your paddle", while showing us how to hold the paddle.. then he said "One, Two, One, Two".. while showing us the motion.. and it was "Let's Go!"..hahah.. along the way, he couldnt really explain the things that we see around us also.. so we paddle on.. hehe..
After much playing, we went around taking pictures..
This is Mickey's car..outside his house.. we didnt go in to meet Mickey cause there were just too many people! we had to wait for 40 minutes if we wanted to go in.. (outside every attraction, there is a signboard letting people know how long they have to wait from that point of the queue..)
Along the way, we saw some Disney characters running around..
We saw Brer Rabbit and the wolf.. I went to approach the wolf for a picture but his back was facing me.. and since he was quite tall, he turned and bumped into me cause he couldnt see me under his long spout..haha.. then he pretended to not see me and looked above my head.. @_@
That's why we were laughin like that in the pic...
We also took picture with Brer Rabbit which was very cute! and would give you a warm hug (the person inside must be feeling quite warm and stuffy..hehe) and shake your hand..
We also saw the 7 dwarfs.. but they were all so busy and we only took picture with Grumpy... >_<>
I went over again to ask for a picture with Peter Pan... We weren't arguing though it looked like we were in this picture.. I think they were just glad to have people talking in English with them.. cause most of the people there spoke Japanese.. cause they were mainly Japanese.. So when I asked "Can we take a picture?", Peter Pan said "Sure!"
Then Peter Pan said that my t shirt was very colourful.. haha.. and Wendy said I had a hat that looked like Peter Pan's..(see the small pink Minnie Hat that I had on my head.. It's a hair clip..)
Well, Peter Pan said mine was pink and his was red... red?! (If you have not noticed, Peter Pan is green from top to toe..)
So, I told Peter Pan that his hat is green, not red.. haha.. and he said "yea.. but my feather is red.." Well, true...
And at that moment, my other friends were like "ahem... take picture..ahem.."
So we took a pic..
It was supposed to be a group picture with them.. but well.. They got a group pic after that..hehe...
(seems like I told nearly everyone about me talking to Peter Pan already..haha... and my friend said "yea right.. as if it's the real Peter Pan.." @_@)
We didnt get to see the fireworks though cause it was too foggy..It was getting warm in the day.. but then it rained on and off.. so, at night it was too foggy to see anything, so it was cancelled... So we went shopping instead at the World Bazaar area.. There were so many people buying things, as if the things were very cheap.. it's not..
I looked for quite a long time cause I couldnt decide whether to buy or not.. cause everything seemed so nice.. but expensive! then i kept thinking this might be my only time here ever!
We left the place at around 9.30pm... The closing time is 9pm.. but people just didnt not seem to want to leave this Magical Land..
Reached the hotel around 11pm (?).. and I fell asleep the moment i dropped on the bed.. woke up to bath and continued sleeping til the next day! It was the last night, and everyone played while I went to LaLaLand.. Guess I used up too much energy in the day.. being very hyper and all.. haha... wonderful experience...
Oh.. we especially loved the Winnie the Pooh ride... The mechanism was so cool.. how the hunny pots moved about... it's really very nice!
The "It's a small world" ride was a very happy ride.. all the dolls smiling, singin and dancing...
and i liked the Haunted Mansion also.. the funny thing was when we entered the mansion, there was this voice that told us a story (maybe about the owner of the mansion,..or how we are trapped inside..or something).. but we couldnt understand a single thing! cause it was all in Japanese! So we weren't scared at all.. lolz...then the room went down and you could see the pictures growing longer.. quite cool.. and we sat on chairs that brought us around the house.. cool mechanism again... got corpse bride inside somemore.. (^_^)
we played a lot of things.. but when i checked the map, there were many rides that we did not take also.. and we only went to Disneyland.. there is Disneysea somemore.. next time ;)
Labels: Japan
Monday, June 05, 2006,5:51:00 PM
When you have too much time.. and nothing to do...
My wisdom tooth just got extracted.. so my face is swollen on the left side.. and I can't eat normal food.. which is very sad.. and I can hardly talk.. which is also sad...
My mom asked me to rest more but i can't sleep.. which is also very sad... I think i sleep too much at home.. not as much as some people can sleep.. I think I have sleeping disorder.. Was reading my sister's magazine the other day and saw this article on sleeping disorder... There was a questionaire to determine whether you are having sleep disorder and I answered yes to nearly all the questions .. which was bad.. means I have some sort of sleep disorder..
When I was younger and had the luxury of sleeping more than 8 hours a day, I could not sleep at night.. I needed an hour or so to fall asleep and then would be asleep for 2 hours or so before waking up again.. and had to count sheeps till I don't know how many before I can fall asleep again.. When I did sleep, I would have nightmares.. sometimes screaming till both my parents came running into my room... Now that I have less time to sleep, there was no such problems cause I would usually be too tired to have any dreams.. and too little time to dream anyway..
But now, I get more sleep since it's the holiday.. And since I don't usually take afternoon nap, I can't really sleep in the day..
Back to the topic of too much time.. I had been thinking a lot.. about this and that.. and funny things... then i started to think that some people can have very negative views on everything! and it got me thinking how all these negative thinking are affecting the person.. I, myself had been in such a phase, I remembered.. but I hope anyone in such a phase of negative thinking gets out of it fast.. When you start seeing the world in a more positive way.. not everyone is against you.. not everyone has negative thoughts or wants to hurt you physically or mentally... I do think negatively sometimes, especially with with habit of blaming things and people... But I try to get rid of those evil thoughts.. Maybe cause I'm at home, well-fed and happy.. I think the world is not a bad place after all.. minus all the stress and all the decisions we have to make in our lives..
I had been thinking of saving more money also.. so that I can save enough to go travel again.. funny how a 7-day trip has impacted on me.. Funny how I am interested in everything Japanese.. haha.. impressionable person I am.. shallow also.. My friend said something not too nice about Jap guys.. but then I still think they are good looking.. and great hair styles.. haha..
toothaching.. shall go watch tv...
random thoughts... too much time..
Friday, June 02, 2006,5:32:00 PM
Day 5 - from Kyoto back to Tokyo
the day where we wanderred off on our own...
Half of the group went shopping.. the other half went hiking.. I went hiking.. at Inari temple.. inari means fox...
The moment we reached Inari temple, we thought it looked familiar..
looked like a scene from "Memoirs of a Geisha" ? the scene after the man treated little Chiyo ice cream in the garden.. and she made up her mind she wanted to be a geisha.. then she ran through this place... right?
the whole place was filled with the gates lining staircase up the hill... it was quite a distance.. according to the signboard, it would take about 15-20mins (if i didnt remember wrongly) to go all the way up.. by we guessed it was at Japanese speed.. at Malaysian speed would be about 45 mins.. haha..
before we started the journey up... I'm old like an auntie.. i needed the umbrella as a supporting cane.. and the stairs were kinda slippery when we walked down.. >_<
we didnt see any real geisha... our friend said we need luck to be able to see a real geisha walking on the street.. we saw some Japanese dressed as geisha in a shop where you can also dressed as one..and take photos.. but quite expensive.. so we took picture with this billboard of a pretty geisha..
then our bullet train came..(i mean the bullet train that we were going to board..)..
once inside..
we found out that the seats could be turned to face each other.. so we turned over.. and the 1st thing that into our mind was Bridge! where's the poker card? haha.. so we played bridge instead or resting.. and made that train compartment almost like ours... whoops.. so sorry for those who shared a compartment with us and needed rest..
do you know that in trains and buses in Japan, you are advised to switch your phone to silent mode.. and not talk on the hp.. cause it's the time for people to rest... most people in the train will be sleeping... 
we reached Tokyo around 5.35pm local time and went back to the same hotel... went out looking for dinner and walked around... accidentally walked to Tokyo Dome area.. and LaQua Shopping Complex.. then we saw the huge Ferris Wheel.. the famous one which is situated right in the city.. and does not have the thing in the middle that holds the wheel.. and a super scary roller coaster.. it goes through the ferris wheel at one point..and at another point, it goes through a hole in the LaQua building! and stretches so high up and down! my knees trembled just by looking at it... we didnt try.. cause we were there quite late..(by Jap standard)..
the shops we went in were closing..so we took somemore pictures and was walking back to our hotel when we heard some nice music.. and saw a musical fountain! only, it wasn't a musical fountain.. it was "Water Symphony"! each water spray was almost like a single instrument of a full orchestra.. playing their own parts.. and producing beautiful music plus colours and water... It was really quite enjoyable..
Day 5 ended with more Bridge- playing and using the Internet through Ferry's comp... I slept earlier cause I needed all the energy for Day 6.. (Disneyland..wahahah)
Labels: Japan
Day 4 - Parks, temples and shrines (Kyoto)
ky, me n lc.. when i saw this view, i stood there silently for a while.. looking at it.. thinking of the way to describe it when i go back home.. cause it is just so beautiful....really..
i think the scenery is really quite beautiful.. in one of the parks..
cute little flowers.. in the same park also...
Golden Pavillion Temple.. well, it's golden..it wasn't golden originally.. but after a fire damaged the original building, it was renovated and furnished with gold-leaves...
a small path near the temple...
there were 2 stones set apart near this signboard.. it was said that if you could walk safely from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, you would find your love soon.. if not, it would be long before you find your love.. did we try? no..cause there were just too many people there..and we figure it would be quite impossible to walk from one stone to the other safely with our eyes closed! but we saw a young man trying.. with guide from another person.. don't know whether he succeeded or not.. haha..
see.. soo many people.. and mostly school kids!
another temple.. with Japanese schoolboys on trips... the many days we were there, we saw school kids everywhere.. seemed like eveyrone having school trips at around the same time.. hehehe..
our lunch at a sushi bar.. cause we told our friend-cum-tour guide that we had not eaten sushi yet! and it's already day 4! so he took us to this place which serves affordable sushi.. one plate is 120 yen.. which is less than S$2... about the same as Genki Sushi in Singapore.. our friend-cum-tour guide even calculated a rough estimate of how much we would be spending..which totalled to about 7 plates each.. so we counted as we ate.. hahah.. we sat in tables of 4 and 3.. our table didnt reach the 28 plates limit though.. i was SOO happy when i saw the sushi comin out.. 90% of them were raw! lolz... but "laoban" don't take raw food.. and asked me not to take so much also..haha.. salmon..yummy.. unagi.. yummy.. everything was good! haha..
bicycles.. bicycles everywhere in Kyoto.. and the Japanese are really good with their bicycles.. since it rained the whole day we were touring Kyoto, we could see great balancing act.. of umbrellas and bicycles.. i even saw an auntie talking on the hp, while riding her bicycles.. but her bicycle had an umbrella holder where she stuck her umbrella there.. some girls were wearing skirt and still can ride their bicycle while holding an umbrella.. and still looked pretty! this really got me amazed..
Kyoto University... where our friend-cum-tour guide is studying in..
end of Day 4 with us playing pool, table tennis, piano and taking tons of crazy pictures in our friend-cum-tour guide's dormitory..Labels: Japan
Random pictures of Day 3 (from Tokyo to Kyoto)
i decided to discontinue with my never finished post about my tour to Japan in the May 23rd entry.. cause it's getting long..and i'm getting lazy..and bored.. and sometimes very angry with the i-don't-know-what for not working properly.. so i decided to separate the post.. the previous post showed pictures of food.. this post i hope to show pictures of the sceneries in Japan... I love how their greeneries are different from ours.. and how their flowers are so big and brightly-coloured.. i took a picture of me with a HUGE white rose.. but i dont know whose camera is it in.. cause i haven't seen it appearing yet..
Though we didnt go at the best times.. which should be around April (right?) to see Sakura or during autumn to see the red, orange and yellow leaves... we went during the end of Spring and beginning of Summer..
On our way to the Yasukuni Shrine.. early morning, about 6+ am.. yeapz.. as bright as 8+ am here.. sun rises very early in Japan.. from what i read in website.. the few days we were there, the sun rose at around 4.30am.. and set at around 6.30pm.. (i'm at the bottom left corner, wearing a jacket over my pink t shirt)
primary school children in uniforms.. going to school...
a view inside one of the temples in Kyoto at night.. when the lanterns are lit.. Japanese people like to "kao chim", even the youngster.. if the "chim" is good, they will bring the paper back.. if it is bad, they will leave it in the temple. . as can be seen in this picture.. the white papers that are tied to the wooden frame are the bad "chim"... "kao chim" is like shaking this bottle containing long wooden sticks while telling the god what you wan to ask about. then one of the long stick will fall out and you let a "fortune teller-kind of person" tell you the answer to your question according to the stick that fell out .. but the one i saw in Japan is slightly different, there are numbers on the sticks..and you find the drawer with the corresponding number to take out a piece of paper which states your fortune.. so that's the paper that people bring back or tie them there...no fortune teller kind of person there to help you decipher the "chim"...
we sat at the side of this river.. near the bridge.. the place is so nice! cool night breeze...there were ducks in the river! according to our friend, during summer, kids will jump into the river for a swim.. 0_o
we could have sat there the whole night.. haha...
the New Miyako Hotel.. where we stayed when in Kyoto.. got lavender! (^_^)
3 of us in kimono? those were provided by the hotel.. as our pyjamas? bathrobe? since the weather was so cold at night, some of us wore it to sleep.. haha...
end of Day 3..Labels: Japan
this was taken by me as i walked to the bus terminal a few days ago.... the pic looks quite bad.. cause i do not have a camera! and i got to use my hp's camera.. which is not even 1.3MP... so like that lor...
me ke ai de niece!! eating biscuits...
she sat by herself on the chair.. so cute!! (^_^)
the thing i like the most is the temperature of the toilet seat that can be adjusted.. so that your butt won't get a shock when you sit on icy cold toilet seat.. (erm..like in genting when it's cold.. the toilet seat is real cold too..) I tried the "shower" and the "bidet" button too.. but it felt weird..heehe..some even have flushing sound.. i didnt try that.. afraid that the sound might be too loud..hehe..
Then we went to a flea market nearby..xh successfully bargained! for me.. I got a belt at 300 yen.. which is about S$4+.. it was originally priced at 500 yen..
Eiji san brought us to Omotesando Hills.. one of the latest shopping complex there.. cause Akiko herself had never been there before.. the place is somewhat like Starhill i think.. or some luxury shopping place... Well, the Harajuku area is like Orchard Road but "bigger" and "better"... the shops are really bigger.. you get a whole building of GAP.. a whole building of Louis Vuitton... a whole building of Christian Dior (complete with a girly star at the top of the building).. a whole building of Shu Uemura...everything is a whole building! not a shoplot.. not a counter... a building! a few storeys high..
We saw very cute de Snoopy Town.. i know a friend who would love this place a lot!
As we were walking and staring at all those branded goods, we saw a wedding taking place at the "Palacio" (grand name..)... they had a "live" choir for the wedding! and a gwailou priest... really really nice wedding... plus everybody wore so nicely...and the place was beautifully decorated.. with balloons and ribbons.. (^_^)
Finally, we reached the place for our lunch! the shop is underground.. o_O
We ate the set lunch... there were a few options to choose from.. and i chose the fish while xh took the pork.. so that we could exchange some... the fish was so nice! The flesh was very soft and fresh while the skin was crispy.. I don't eat the skin of fish cause i personally think they have the strong fishy smell.. but this was so different! and the miso soup had clams inside..lol... one of my friend gave me her clams cause she didnt like them... wahahahha..
last picture...
I always do.. I even want to dig a hole big enough to fit the whole of me inside.. and disappear from the face of earth... @_@
See our excited faces.. haha...
The Cinderella's castle was under renovation! How can this be.. :(
Mickey Mouse was the first on the day parade... singing and dancing on his float.. He was so cute!!! The atmosphere was quite good as people were clapping along..
and Peter Pan! with Wendy...
The Prince Charming with the glass slipper for the night parade... all the floats were lighted up beautifully for the night parade.. It was really pretty...
This is what we had for dinner.. fastfood where all the burgers are Mickey Mouse -shaped.. cute! This was Teriyaki Chicken..
We went canoeing also.. near the Tom Sawyer Island.. It was very fun..and our instructor was very cute! He couldnt speak much English, so he spoke in Japanese.. a whole bunch of things, and we just stared at him.. then he said "This is your paddle", while showing us how to hold the paddle.. then he said "One, Two, One, Two".. while showing us the motion.. and it was "Let's Go!"..hahah.. along the way, he couldnt really explain the things that we see around us also.. so we paddle on.. hehe..
This is Mickey's car..outside his house.. we didnt go in to meet Mickey cause there were just too many people! we had to wait for 40 minutes if we wanted to go in.. (outside every attraction, there is a signboard letting people know how long they have to wait from that point of the queue..)
We saw Brer Rabbit and the wolf.. I went to approach the wolf for a picture but his back was facing me.. and since he was quite tall, he turned and bumped into me cause he couldnt see me under his long spout..haha.. then he pretended to not see me and looked above my head.. @_@
We also took picture with Brer Rabbit which was very cute! and would give you a warm hug (the person inside must be feeling quite warm and stuffy..hehe) and shake your hand..
I went over again to ask for a picture with Peter Pan... We weren't arguing though it looked like we were in this picture.. I think they were just glad to have people talking in English with them.. cause most of the people there spoke Japanese.. cause they were mainly Japanese.. So when I asked "Can we take a picture?", Peter Pan said "Sure!"
It was supposed to be a group picture with them.. but well.. They got a group pic after that..hehe...
looked like a scene from "Memoirs of a Geisha" ? the scene after the man treated little Chiyo ice cream in the garden.. and she made up her mind she wanted to be a geisha.. then she ran through this place... right?
the whole place was filled with the gates lining staircase up the hill... it was quite a distance.. according to the signboard, it would take about 15-20mins (if i didnt remember wrongly) to go all the way up.. by we guessed it was at Japanese speed.. at Malaysian speed would be about 45 mins.. haha..
before we started the journey up... I'm old like an auntie.. i needed the umbrella as a supporting cane.. and the stairs were kinda slippery when we walked down.. >_<
ky, me n lc.. when i saw this view, i stood there silently for a while.. looking at it.. thinking of the way to describe it when i go back home.. cause it is just so beautiful....really..
i think the scenery is really quite beautiful.. in one of the parks..
cute little flowers.. in the same park also...
Golden Pavillion Temple.. well, it's golden..it wasn't golden originally.. but after a fire damaged the original building, it was renovated and furnished with gold-leaves...
a small path near the temple...
there were 2 stones set apart near this signboard.. it was said that if you could walk safely from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, you would find your love soon.. if not, it would be long before you find your love.. did we try? no..cause there were just too many people there..and we figure it would be quite impossible to walk from one stone to the other safely with our eyes closed! but we saw a young man trying.. with guide from another person.. don't know whether he succeeded or not.. haha..
see.. soo many people.. and mostly school kids!
another temple.. with Japanese schoolboys on trips... the many days we were there, we saw school kids everywhere.. seemed like eveyrone having school trips at around the same time.. hehehe..
our lunch at a sushi bar.. cause we told our friend-cum-tour guide that we had not eaten sushi yet! and it's already day 4! so he took us to this place which serves affordable sushi.. one plate is 120 yen.. which is less than S$2... about the same as Genki Sushi in Singapore.. our friend-cum-tour guide even calculated a rough estimate of how much we would be spending..which totalled to about 7 plates each.. so we counted as we ate.. hahah.. we sat in tables of 4 and 3.. our table didnt reach the 28 plates limit though.. i was SOO happy when i saw the sushi comin out.. 90% of them were raw! lolz... but "laoban" don't take raw food.. and asked me not to take so much also..haha.. salmon..yummy.. unagi.. yummy.. everything was good! haha..
bicycles.. bicycles everywhere in Kyoto.. and the Japanese are really good with their bicycles.. since it rained the whole day we were touring Kyoto, we could see great balancing act.. of umbrellas and bicycles.. i even saw an auntie talking on the hp, while riding her bicycles.. but her bicycle had an umbrella holder where she stuck her umbrella there.. some girls were wearing skirt and still can ride their bicycle while holding an umbrella.. and still looked pretty! this really got me amazed..
Kyoto University... where our friend-cum-tour guide is studying in..
end of Day 4 with us playing pool, table tennis, piano and taking tons of crazy pictures in our friend-cum-tour guide's dormitory..
On our way to the Yasukuni Shrine.. early morning, about 6+ am.. yeapz.. as bright as 8+ am here.. sun rises very early in Japan.. from what i read in website.. the few days we were there, the sun rose at around 4.30am.. and set at around 6.30pm.. (i'm at the bottom left corner, wearing a jacket over my pink t shirt)
primary school children in uniforms.. going to school...
a view inside one of the temples in Kyoto at night.. when the lanterns are lit.. Japanese people like to "kao chim", even the youngster.. if the "chim" is good, they will bring the paper back.. if it is bad, they will leave it in the temple. . as can be seen in this picture.. the white papers that are tied to the wooden frame are the bad "chim"... "kao chim" is like shaking this bottle containing long wooden sticks while telling the god what you wan to ask about. then one of the long stick will fall out and you let a "fortune teller-kind of person" tell you the answer to your question according to the stick that fell out .. but the one i saw in Japan is slightly different, there are numbers on the sticks..and you find the drawer with the corresponding number to take out a piece of paper which states your fortune.. so that's the paper that people bring back or tie them there...no fortune teller kind of person there to help you decipher the "chim"...
we sat at the side of this river.. near the bridge.. the place is so nice! cool night breeze...there were ducks in the river! according to our friend, during summer, kids will jump into the river for a swim.. 0_o
the New Miyako Hotel.. where we stayed when in Kyoto.. got lavender! (^_^)
3 of us in kimono? those were provided by the hotel.. as our pyjamas? bathrobe? since the weather was so cold at night, some of us wore it to sleep.. haha...