http://ipqwww.shufoo.net/www3/JR_hokkaido/20091110/001/index.html?sid=null&un=jrhakodate&shopId=103512&chirashiId=717699571880&shopId=103512&chirashiId=717699571880

For my own reference while coming up with the schedule for my 3 weeks Hokkaido 1 week Korea Trip!~

Borrowed from Ros.
I can see she really loves fantasy novels. XDD

I was tempted into reading it after watching an episode of the TV series Legend of the Seeker.
The novel is really good ^_^ Thanks so much to Ros for lending it to me.
It sorts of reminded me of Stardoc - mainly because they are also travelling around, and also get to meet other cultures and people. (I guess what I loved most about Stardoc is how they travel to new planets, meet new aliens and get bewildered by the culture).
But the latter-mid part of the novel was kinda @_@.. very.. S.M.? lol

Now I'm tempted to watch the tv series (but am too lazy to sit in front of my computer to watch it also), and don't be too shocked when I say that I want to watch it because the main antagonist, Darken Rahl, is acted by Craig Parker, who plays Haldir in LOTR. Another reason why I want to watch to it.. is because I want to know how Rahl is pronounced.. =.=|| Ra, rare? rear? ra-wu?

Finally ended my LOTR marathon, which started last sunday, when I started watching the 3 dvds at a spur of the moment...
which turned into a 1 week marathon when I started reading the novels..
mayu and I had the books for ages, but she was the one of 2 of us who managed to finish reading all 3 books, and even downed The Hobbit (I think).
(I have no idea where The Hobbit is now, or if we did buy it or not.)
But for once I managed to read through all 3 books (Except the notes at the back introducing all the different types of people and their ancestral lines)
Even the Two Towers part on how Frodo and Sam suffered Gollum and the climb to Mordor. @_@ Oh well, at least I had Faramir to look forward to while reading that part.. XDDD
Oh I miss the lotr exhibition!! XDD It was so intersesting! XDDD
Off to listen to LOTR soundtrack~~

XDDD Huge shock!! they are all so pretty and shuai!! and they reflect their masters in image/personality

Got a nice happy surprise this morning when dajie smsed me to join her for dinner @ Vivo city that night.
Definitely got to go meet her since I havent met her since Summer Fest 2008!

Haha, she really never changed.. XDD still the happy-go-lucky, cheerful, bubbly girl I remember her to be. Except she cut her hair!!!! >_< I didnt recognize her.. @_@ ohmydajie arhh.

lol dinner @ White Dog Cafe @ Vivo city. Nice environment, except abit too cold (for Sharon. I'm okay with 16 degrees aircon). Food was good. Dessert was great. ^_^ But i kinda prefer NYNY and Swensons, sizzlers over them ..lol expensive taste sia..

Ah.. but it is nice meeting dajie XDDD.. we never run out of stuff to talk about even though our lives are completely different. I'm working, but almost like a type of freeter since it is a 6 months contract, and I suspect my next job might very well be contract too. I wish to travel and long to live in another country for a 1-2 year period of time (not necessary Japan). She is a teacher, very happy with her job, because she's just always happy and satisfied with what she has in life (I envy her), and is very comfortable in sg, knows that the world might offer her more, but still prefers to stay here, and I'm very envious of her for all of that. It seems like a long time since I have been last satisfied with what I have. >_< There are so many things I want in life, and I cant stop wanting them, because if I stop, there's nothing to motivate me.

So, we chatted all the way from 7+ till 11pm, all the way until we had to stop because I was getting off the MRT. Got to meet up again with her soon!! Hope it won't be another 1 year+ till the next time we meet!

lol .. and as usual, dajie had to help me dig my ezlink card out of my bag.. @_@ seems like every time we meet, she always has to help me find my stuff.. (or is it that i always lose my stuff when she is around?)　

New 47 inch TV arriving on the 18th, so I'm again considering buying the Wii again... prices are so cheap in Japan.. haiz..

Shop near my house selling a Wii from Korea, unlocked (can play US, JP, unofficial games, with some throw-in freebies which I was in a hurry and didn't ask much that day, SGD480.

Worth it?

Went to watch with my mom and dad (dad suggested) XD
XDDDD
Definitely worth watching in the cinema, for all the panoramic scenes!~
I was fully alert through out the whole show XDD
But loses out slightly to Day after tomorrow (okay, I love Day after tomorrow because of the epic snow)

I doubt the world will end in 2012, but the movie is very interesting (given my deep interest in geography, in particular, plate tectonics. If I never went into Japanese studies, I might have chosen geography XDD)

*Spoiler*
Hmm.. in the end, father saves the day for his kids, and no he does not sacrifice. Mother's bf died, but he just died of some freak accident and not for some noble cause.
2nd protagonist is also black~ He has a happy ending and he is not the funny guy who always survives.
U.S. President is black and chose to die in his land.
Main antagonist is white and capitalist
Guy who discovered that the world is going to end is an Indian (and gets drowned)
U.S. is like, the first one to get demolished.
China (or rather Tibet) is the last spot to be flooded.
China is a wonderful spot for building arks.
The highest point on earth at the end of the apocalypse is Africa, Cape of Good Hope
Females are not highly featured - mother-roles, supporting roles, president's kinda naive daughter or dead.

Hmm. Singapore is not mentioned throughout, but I guess we most likely would have met up with one of the scenarios below
1) Earthquake hits sg, we sink - since earthquakes are happening everywhere already, sg might not be spared.
2) Some Indonesian volcano errupts, we get smoldered, either by the huge output of lava, or the ashes,ooh and chances of sulphur poisoning.
3) Even if the earthquake doesnt hit us directly, the tsunamis from everywhere will drown us before we even see it.
4) Due to earth crust displacement, we land up abit too near the North/South pole and freeze to death.

Stolen from Ros XD
I like the song but never knew its title..
She's right, it is nice to listen to it every now and then.

花より男子 has a quote that every girl should have a good pair of shoes, because the shoes will bring her to a further, greater place.

I recently discovered that there is this particular type of people:
People who once they have found a gf/bf, will go around excitedly, encouraging their friends/relatives to get a bf/gf too in order to experience the happiness, regardless of whether the person is interested in bgr or not.
I read that in a newspaper column, and realized that some of the people around me do fall into this type. The columnist herself belonged to the type and admitted to being the overzealous type who (with full sympathy for her friends who suffered at her meddling) could never stop herself from trying to match-make others when she has a bf, because she wanted to let her friends experience the happiness too.

The way I've seen and felt... it is kinda an infringement of my privacy. (yes I've been at the suffering end too)
Maybe I'm extreme (mayu says I'm not and commented that it sounds like extremist spreading religion).
But in any case, I just don't like people telling me what I should like, or what I should not like.
It is crazy how people can come up and say, he is a nice person, he is so nice to you, how come you don't like him??
I feel like telling them:
Go take a walk in Charles & Keith, ask for all the shoes that that fits you, and buy all of them.
Just because the shoe fits, does not mean I have to buy it.
Just because other people thinks that it suits me, it does not mean that I have to buy it
Just because the shoes really suits me, doesn't mean that I have to buy it.

mayu commented that it was because most people are scared of ending up with no shoes.

That's true, coz we grow up in a society where almost everyone wears shoes, and are unable to imagine going around barefooted.
Or they have gotten too use to the feeling of having shoes.

Of course, it is also their way of showing they care (I'm thankful for their concern), that they wish that we have shoes to help us walk over the rough ground.

But spare a thought for us who enjoy being barefooted and am prepared to continue walking down the path of life barefooted.
Should a good pair of shoes come along the way, why not? But that is for me to decide whether I like that pair of shoes or not and whether it fits and suits me.

*Entry modified from my skype chat with mayu*

Thursday
Took my understudy to Wisma Food Republic to have sg food and then walked down orchard together. The Christmas Illumination are up early this year due to APEC (still slightly incomplete though)
I already miss not having her around at work... no one to complain to...>_< but at least when she gets back to China on Sunday and go back to her office on Monday, we should be able to communicate at work using the office communicator.

Friday
Met Ros, HJ and Jeffrey @ Orchard Ion after work. Jeff is visiting from Taiwan, stopping by in SG and KL for 1 week plus before flying to Europe (total of 1 month+ tour).. 羨ましい～～ Nvm.. I got my 1 month snowboard+Korea trip to look forward to XDD

Dinner was sg local food @ Food Republic @ Wisma (again XD) but we could order more stuff this time because there were four of us. Then headed out to Orchard Christmas Illumination again, but unfortunately, the lights weren't as nice as the day before. Bought durian puffs for Jeff to try... and for the first time in my life.. actually discovered someone who hates durian to the core and almost threw up the durian.. oh.. the expression was priceless.. and the ribbing was extremely fun (and evil) muahhaa.. waiting for HJ to put up the photos.. XDDD

Saturday
Met Ros and Jeffrey @ Raffles Place, and Ros proceeded to bring us around her old territory for food. Unfortunately, the chicken rice stall she wanted to bring us to wasn't open, so we headed to the 焼肉飯 shop instead.. XDD
Then headed over to Boat Quay to visit Singapore's founder, Sir Stanford Raffles in front of the Victoria Concert Hall.. Thank god the weather was good.. cloudy and thus not too warm, with a bit of cooling wind every now and then.
Next stop was the Peranakan Museum, which I now highly recommend! The guided tour was very interesting (1 hour+) and our guide was very good at making the group members all feel included though we came from different parts of the world. Our group actually included a British family, an Indonesia Peranakan and an Indian lady, so she would actually ask them or tell them about Peranakan culture that are related to their culture.
Refreshments @ Raffles City.. we were looking for peranakan kuey.. but couldnt find any there, and ended up drinking extremely awful drink @ Gloria Jean's Coffee...>_<
Next stop, Esplanade & Merlion! It's been years since I visited Merlion... the last time I visited the Merlion, it was still the in the old spot and several years before it shifted in 2002.
Dinner @ Laupasat! Satay, grilled stingray, Roti-John(not very nice though), Mee Goreng, Popiah.. sg style XD
Finally, hilight of the day - SG Flyer!~ and we got a special discount for buy 2 get 2 free because Jeff is a foreigner, which makes the ticket price costs only 1000yen (Ros is right.. 1000yen seems alot less than $15...^_^;)
And at the end of the day.. I forgot to get my 太陽饼 from Jeff... TwT Ros you better leave at least 2 for me!!!!

Tomorrow
Is not going to be so happy.. >_< I'm going to a friend's father's wake, which is why I decided to blog about Jeff's visit tonight first, though I haven arranged the photos yet. because I know I will be quite affected and won't be in the happy mood to write about Jeff's visit any more.