hi everyone!
SJ was here in barcelona over the weekend! we had plenty of fun. the photos are with him, so we will have to wait for him to upload. the weather here is nicer than in paris. paris is colder, wetter. i think i will freeze there.

SJ is still looking for a place in paris. so i m appealing to anyone with flats (or properties) in paris, to please help us!

we took the tourist bus for the few days. those in the topless buses. he will be coming back again to watch match in camp nou. yay!

and hoping he will settle his accommodation stuff soon. then i can go to his place, he can start studying proper and we can travel!

he is staying with a smu girl. i have a fren who is in paris on exchange from nus. gotten into contact with her. we will see how things go. sure tt he will do a good job of taking care of himself.

tmr my class is at 9am. i m not choosing really tough classes, cos i want to have time to myself. i m taking

1. motivation, values and commitment
2. leadership
3. emerging economies
4. derivatives
5. capital markets and portfolio management

only the last 3 have exams. the first 2 are modules i m taking for fun. just to fill up the course quota. but i m interested in such non finance courses. things like business and environment, key chain management may be more enhancing, but no interest aha

and it is quite wierd how everything here has examples in european context. well singapore oes appear in some cases, like best soverign funds haha

boring sunday again. tmr is a long sch day with a long break in between. hate schedules like that. oh well

me and my mum, in front of KPMG barclona. my hair very long liao loh. and the sun is so bright, i m squinting my eyes (y face looks wierd) and my mum's transition lens are tinted.














this is one of the meals i wanted to cook. if you see the ravioli dish below (with the little buns), this is the same thing. meat filling in each of them, cooked in tomato sauce :)















this is a theme park on top of a mountain. like genting. but it is relaly cold up there. if u see one picture of my mum hugging me and our hair in disarray, it is the same place :)
















and this is our family picture. not sure if u have seen this.















my mum on barcelona public bus. never crowded. always have seats. at least so far.

thank you jacq very much, for helping me. i couldn't feel more relieved.

sj has touched down in paris. was worried for him, till jacq helped us. thank you very much.

and yes relations help a lot. shd make more new frens.

i'm reading dalai lama, courtesy of hwee. and it is a really good book. it is simply written, and i do understand some stuff i think. my understanding may not be buddhist or religious in nature, rather i think it is more of common sense, of changing our perception and our thinking. ad i think it helped me when i went for welcome session in sch yesterday. open mind, is not as easily done as said. and no one does it more succintly than the book by dalai lama.

and wassup with the burmese monks marching?

gonna go to the supermarket and stock up on food. and i need to buy stuff. like a bathroom. i wanna go shopping too. maybe today as well. i wanna buy a bucket. and magnums. :)

and sj does not have internet access. hope he gets an apt soon. anyone with frens in paris or connections in paris, pls help!

here are some street performers for u. the busking scene here is very much alive. i think they have to have licenses though. as las ramblas is a tourist area, there are many police patrolling and they do ask these performers for identification once in a while. and here, there are many gypsies begging for money. and many pickpockets too.



















ppl often have to give money before these performers come alive.



















self portrait for 50 euros anyone?

here are pictures of some of the floats that i took pictures. think probably 3 metres tall? kinda like chingay















and they sure like royalities. kings and queens and princesses. at least i think that is what some of these mascots are.


































this must be the housekeeper and the butler















hey i risked being pickpocketed to take these pictures k? the streets were awfully crowded. kinda like orchard road or clarke quay on new year's eve countdown.

boy do ppl in barcelona know how to enjoy. i m supposed to start sch today, if not for the festival, la merce. i googled it and this festival has been celebrated since 1902. it is to celebrate the end of sumer and beginning of autumn. we are officially into autumn! and from the pictures i see, there are street performers and fireworks. after a whole day of staying in my room yesterday (and not being able to fall asleep as a result) i decided to venture onto las ramblas to get the festivity feeling. and boy did i get it.

shops were closed but las rambla was packed. i saw plenty of elevated stages, with TV crew, where plenty of ppl were gathered. bands were on stage singing songs. chairs were everywhere for people to sit. and some old ppl din just sit. elderly couples stood up and started dancing. and no two left feet. very agile for their age.

i went once in the afternoon, and it was kinda hot. so i came back, had my siesta (remember i could not sleep last night) and skyped with mama in peach garden. think this must have been a special dinner haha.

after my siesta i went on las ramblas again. this time there were mascots. full fledged almost 3 metres figures, with ppl carrying them. after every float, there will be a band of ppl plaing drums and singing. the atmosphere was there and even i felt like dancing to the music. it was relaly nice. show u some pictures coming up soon!

k tmr is my first day of sch. basically orientation. first lesson on thursday morning 8am. how am i going to wake up?!

i have 4 chapters of reading to do. and it seems this prof is really on-the-ball. and i can't seem to get myself settled to start studying. to switch off the internet and not chat with anyone, not watch mobtv. gotta be tough man. mb tmr. procrastinate. it is sunday tmr. and ALL shops are CLOSED. CERRADO. sundays are SO boring.

dunno if i m looing forward to sch starting. have enjoyed myself long enough. but the feeling is just not there.

my taiwanese roommate cooked fried rice and we shared. chatted as we ate on the red sofa. it is good to have someone to eat dinner with. she is flying to outside barcelona tmr.

and i want to buy a bathrobe. :)

i have spent 30 euros on groceries this week! Madness! but i love going to the supermarket. i m worried they are closed on sundays, and i won't have anything to do on sunday, so i went ith my taiwanese roommate to jespac supermarket today. think the stuff were fresher on my last visit. i bought ravioli and tomato sauce, which i will most likely try on sunday. right now, i crave for some proper food, rather than some nonsense i conjure up. most like tmr (if i get off my butt), or till SJ comes :) or Tuesday when sch starts?

I remember i used to enjoy doing the things i do. like going to sch. that is where i "dominate" i guess. but now, i don't seem to relive that feeling anywhere or in anything i do. i dunno what to expect when i turn up for lessons this tuesday/thursday. i certainly hope i can come back and say i feel the adrenaline rushing. the excitement abt studying, and not the tedious process of studying.

and the pork is still in my fridge. so are the canned tuna. mb the 30euros will last me pretty long. but i love going to the supermarket.

and yes, SJ when you come to europe, besides buying maggi mee, bring your own stationery as well. stationery here is the same price as in sg, before converting. and ppl here drink water from mineral water, not from taps. unless u want to drink milo and hot tea, so that u can boil the tap water, otherwise, go to the supermarket to buy mineral water :)

this was my lunch the day before. bought some eggs and sausages from the supermarket. realise these are the 2 simplest things to cook haha. even a noob like me can do it. eggs has mushrooms in it. my kitchen does not have a spatula. i wanna try sunny side up haha














this was my breakfast yesterday. french toast with sausage. see the bananas behind? i have been eating bananas. and i bought orange juice as well. yum yum. this was also the morning i broke a bowl while washing the bowl. it was heavy and slippery and prack. broke.














this was my dinner last night! i decided to cook the korean maggi mee. added the cherry tomatoes i had and sausages. and the salad veg. looks good right? could taste better. but no complaints.














and this was my lunch today! ths rice andveg were cooked by my room mate, who kinda cooked more than she could finish. i cooked the pork! i followed the way my roomie did, just that i boiled the pork before sending it into the oven. my mum always does it anyway. haha
















this is one of my parents' and my favourite dish at the pizza place. think it is ravioli? and remember the little buns i told u abt? so cute right? well they sell ravioli in supermarkets as well. like wantons, they have stuffings, inside spaghetti skins. and my roomie said buy the tomato sauce, cook it and add the ravioli. nice! i wanna try this weekend! i love going to the supermarket!

this is the combination of LIOnel and LAura's name --> LIOLA haha or some my mum thinks


















this is taken at one of our favourite places to eat. pizza place haha. my dad loves the little bread. show u some pictures later.

















this is the little nursery below my apt. they are directly below and the kids are forever crying every morning. but it is really cute. find wally! see if u can find those little toddlers!














this is my messy room. only 3 days and itr is messy. i could live with that. i m not gonna decorate it. no space! haha it is nice and windy, as u can see















and this picture was taken in front of the bul fighting theatre. we din watch it in the end. we went to check out the place. it is highly secure. think they are worried abt bulls ramming in the walls. there is one section of it where the smell of cattle is very strong and the are flies. presume the cows are there. barcelona istrying to abolish bull fighting. as bulls are killed after every show. and that is why we din want to contribute to this cruel activity.

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Today was a pretty exciting thing. My taiwanese roommate had invited me to meet her fren for breakfast. this fren is a spaniard, who is studying english and mandarin. so we spoke quite a bit of chinese. and she is only 20 years old, and is leaving for england this saturday. to me england is so far away, but since i m in barcelona, england is probably a 3 hours flight away?

then both of us went to supermarket. after watching her cook yesterday, i was quite tempted to cook as well. haha i fried some eggs with mushrooms, and a sausage, and ate with my bread. i m trying to finish off my bread, and after trying so hard, i still have half a loaf. argh. i m gotta try french toast tmr, as i have put the bread into the fridge. any idea what to do with cold bread besides toast and french toast?

after that, i skyped with mama and grandma and hazal and melissa and family. it was really fun and nice to see everyone. miracle of technology. then i had asked my danish roommate out for dinner. she is a marvellous girl, who is able to make frens with other ppl. we walked ard for an hour before finding somewhere to eat. and we walked back and talked a lot. she is a very "on-the-ball" kinda person. in copenhagen, apparently everything is more expensive than in europe. she has so many plans.

it is nice meeting new people, because u see how big the world is. like everyone is talking abt their masters, and taking a year or 2 off to travel or work. in singapore, everyone follows the routine of finishing university, clearing credits and getting to work. few ppl have time and luxury to learn a new language in depth, or take some time off to work, travel, do something u like. and although this exchange may push back my graduation by half a year, i think it is great making new frens. although i may not keep in contact with them in future, it is good to see how ppl think, how the world outside works, and see that there are other options out there, than being an accountant, a banker, or something that is so lucrative but u will never feel the salary is enough for yourself.

if u don't get what i m saying, just think that i will still fall back on the mundane life when i get back. and yes my danish roommate has a dog just like speedy. a shetland sheepdog. we had a good time talking abt them. how they are so clever and intelligent.

i will put up the picture of what i cooked today. certainly not a pleasant sight. and nothing difficult haha.

and yes folks in america, try skype-ing with grandmother :) she is really amazed when she sees herself in the computer and wonders when she had teleported into the computer. u can skype with my mum too. they bluff our grandmother that this is a picture of her which they took in christmas :)

Buenas noches and hasta luego!

new vocab:
sumo de naranja - jucie de orange aka orange juice
and no one in barcelona drinks teh-co-leche (tea with milk) only cafe-co-leche

remember i was telling you abt my first time using washing machine? my mum says using washing machine will damage your clothes, because washing by hand, the force is not as great as washing by machine. and i do believe it now, after my first time using the washing machine. the collar of one of my favourite shirts is becoming more out of shape. argh

tmr my taiwanese roommate has invited me to meet her fren. wish me luck!

Hola everyone!

Many misses from Barcelona! Today is the second day i am staying in my room. My parents flew back yesterday and they are home already. School starts next tuesday (cos monday is a holiday), so I have one week of nothing to do.

I m renting a room and sharing the apt with 4 other girls - 2 dannish, 1 swedish and 1 taiwanese. I used the washing machine for the first time in my life. and yesterday, I din know what to eat, so I had a banana for lunch and bought a 3.90euros turkey pita for dinner.

barcelona is pretty. low buildings (rarely exceeding 5 storeys) food is ok. my parents think the seafood is smelly - there is a stench and when u smell it, u know someone ordered seafood. they sell suckling pigs and rabbit meat. in the market, u will see them de-skinned and it is quite gross. the weather was really hot when my parents were here. guess my mum brought the sun back. still hot and dry here.

I want mooncakes! and the first thing my dad wanted to eat when he reached Singapore was chicken rice haha food is not readily available here. no hawker centres downstairs. and u know tapas? cos spaniards eat their lunch at 3pm and dinner at 10pm, they need some food in between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. so they eat tapas. and tapas is basically tidbits and can be anything. seafood, pork, mushrooms. and they are quite ex, so not worth it.

as for scenary and pictures, can see below :) i uploaded some. sightseeing was fun. not sitting alone in my room. esp at night, when everyone in sg is soundly asleep.

lola

I hope my parents enjoyed Barcelona. I stayed in my room yesterday, except in the evening, when I wandered out to hunt for dinner. today I wanted to go to IKEA, which is in some ulu place. nothing much to see too. so I decided to go to the Carrefour which my dad frequented and did some grocery shoopping

Bananas
2 packets of salads
1 bread
6 cans of tuna
grapes
cherry tomatoes
= 10euros

hope this lasts my meals for a week or so. budget budget. eat good food when I meet my frens. can eat anything alone.