Feeling very emotional tonight.
Pre & Post Korea Trip
Lagging behind schedule, have got loads of photos to upload from the Korea trip! I’m not a professional photographer, so don’t put too high hopes ya..
Work had been pretty busy for the past 2 months, which is a good sign! Having had to do research for weeks previously.. It really feels good to be kept occupied .seriously. with work other than research.
Which means, I actually left for Korea in the middle of a mega project. =X
Nevertheless, since it was my first plane trip (yes I’m a mountain tortoise!), I chose to go ahead with the trip and thoroughly enjoyed myself (other than a few hiccups which shan’t be mentioned)!
In the 2 weeks that I’m back here in SG, I’ve been suffering from dry skin and unknown itchiness on the hands & legs. Been applying body lotion daily, and I felt like I wasn’t in SG since I’d never been this diligent before the trip! Even went to the extent of getting myself a Clarin’s Body Lotion which cost me $60 =| Second night of applying it and so far so good. It’d better be worth the money spent.
I should start changing my habit of sleeping late (12 midnight or 1am), and attempt to sleep by 12mn. The body clock went haywire after the trip.
Bad habits, off you go! Good (better) habits, here I come.
Planning for Korea Trip [Part 2]
Yes I know I said I will update as I do my research for the trip, but have been too lazy =|
Nevertheless, it’s 7 more days! After more than 3 months of planning, and many rounds of changing accommodation, it’s finally nearing!
Accommodation was originally confirmed with Namsan Guesthouse (SGD$200 per person), but weeks after I emailed in my reservation, I realised the guesthouse is pretty far from the train station! With less than 2 months left, the panicked me rushed to find another place. Spotted this Skypark hotel that’s a junction away from the same train station, and nearer to SPAO! Based on initial calculation, this hotel would cost us roughly SGD$400 each.
Checked tripadvisor, and came across this Mizo Hotel, which is a street down from Skypark hotel. And it’ll cost us roughly SGD$300! $100 extra for better accommodation (comparing guesthouse to hotel) seems like a pretty good deal to me, so I booked! But! When I emailed Mizo Hotel to double check my booking, they say they didn’t receive any! #*&%#()$&*%(&$ Thankfully there wasn’t any payment made during the booking! I got panicked (again) and rushed to find another accommodation (my reservation with Namsan Guesthouse was still valid at this time, 4 weeks before the trip).
Most of the hotels nearby are more expensive! Much as I’d love to stay there, my budget won’t be enough! S.I.G.H.
Decided on Skypark Hotel, as there were still available rooms and there was a promotion. Booked the room via agoda.com, and realised the hotel isn’t that cheap. After splitting the cost among 3 of us, it’s roughly about $478 each. Which means, airfare + accommodation already cost us roughly $1100, leaving me with only $900 for the trip.
Now that accommodation is confirmed (with Namsan Guesthouse as backup, just in case), I can finally work on the itinary!
What I have in mind so far
Thurs night (3rd Mar) – stroll around Myeong-dong
Friday to Sunday – Shopping! (Read: Dongdaemun, Namdaemun, Apgujeong)
Monday – Lotte World
Tuesday & Wednesday – Sightseeing (Read: Bukchon Hanok Village, Namsan Park, Hongkik University, Gyeongbokgung Palace, N Seoul Tower, Namsan Cable Car)
Thursday (10th Mar) – Shopping at Myeong-dong
I’ll probably rearrange the venues again, if the locations are near enough!
Woohoo! I’m getting excited!
Happy 兔 Year!
To all my blog readers, Happy 兔 Year!
While 2010 ended on a good note, the Tiger year didn’t. Ended the tiger year with a fall & a bump on the head.
The start of the Rabbit year means a fresh start, no matter what it is!
Wishing everyone good health and a prosperous year!
祝 兔飞猛进、兔然发财！
HUAT AH!!
6 Jan isn’t a good day
Woke up feeling hungry (from a not-so-filling dinner the day before) this morning. Had always been a (bad) habit of not having breakfast at home, so off I left for office with a growling stomach.
Saw my bus coming and decided to run for it, only to be slowed down by the pain-instilling knee. (i think it’s a sign i need more calcium?)
[I think what’s worth mentioning was that the little boy I met at the bus stop was cute! He had a Woody toy in hand and kept pressing the button!]
Shopping during lunch was crazy. Spent quite sometime at Esprit trying to find things to buy (the 2 items we wanna buy didn’t meet the min-$150 for the Esprit membership, had to find another item to hit $150 as well as to get a 15% off the items, on top of the sale discount). After almost 30mins, we left with a $153 purchase of which $105 was my contribution lol)
Had an overrun meeting (which I’m perfectly fine with since it doesn’t happen everyday for me) that ended at close to 7pm, didn’t have time for dinner before class. Only managed to eat some nuggets but the stomach wasn’t satisfied (to the extent that it is still growling now as I type).
Was supposed to meet Norman-さん after class, but he forgot to bring the electronic dictionary that he helped me to buy in Japan.
Decided to cab home instead. Got on cab and entered PIE at Stevens to realize there’s traffic jam. All thanks to the powerful Google Map in the iPhone (which indicated the jam started at BKE), the driver exited at Adam. But that’s the start of the other traffic jam! Sigh. Next alternative was to go by Holland.
Thankfully it was smooth traffic. By the time I reached Clementi Road, the meter said “$14.80”.
So a less than $10 cab ride turned out to be $21.50. It’s crazy!
Ended the eventful day with Royce Chocolate’s Nutty Bar. Sinful but I think I need the treat tonight.
And oh the iPhone was lagging terribly as I typed this entry on the WordPress app. Possible due to low battery? It days 8% now.
Sigh. The lack of sleep over the past few days is taking effect now. Feeling super lethargic. Heading off to sleep now, before the stomach starts another war.
Good night , or rather, good morning! 🙂
皆さん お休みなさい！
Nikon D7000
No intention to upgrade my D90 yet, but.. these videos.. are a bad influence (in a good way I hope!).
All these videos are shot with the D7000.
Greenery! Simply love the sharpness!
Fear not from Maia Horniak on Vimeo.
I think.. I need to bring my D90 out more often. 😀
Happy 2011 :)
Year 2010 ended with a good note. Hope 2011 will be even better!
Happy New Year my dear readers! 🙂
Thank you for being part of my 2010 (line stolen from Reenz ;p)!
The end of the world?
Was at the bus stop waiting for bus, while on my way to meet Jodi jie-jie for lunch. When the wind got stronger.
As I was in shorts, it was cold!
Then my mind went blank. Instead of my usual thoughts of “it’s a nice weather”, the mind went “is it the end of the world already? I left house leaving the sister at home alone. What happens if the wind got too strong?” etc.
That thought was random, but I came to realise that we only live once. If we do not put effort into our lives now, we will come to regret in the future.
Overcharging on your (my) ezlink
For the record, I just got charged an extra 4cents this morning on the way to work. I’m gonna make it a habit to blog it everytime I’m overcharged. We shall see how much extra I pay in a year.
[This post is inspired by publictransport.sg. Which I entered my ezlink card number to check the refund amount, to see a statement that says “you have also been undercharged 4cents which the bus operators will forego…”]
Singtel – Samsung: Where Fashion Meets Music
With the launch of Samsung Galaxy Tab, which is currently exclusively available to Singtel, Samsung & Singtel came together and organise a Fashion Concert “Where Fashion Meets Music” & Special Performance by a Korean artiste Se7en.
If you find him familiar, he acted in the Korean drama Goong S as Lee Hoo.
I’ve got more photos on my facebook album, all taken with my D90 with a 18-200mm lens which I borrowed from Zifen 🙂 [ Buzz if you want the high res ones. I’ll gladly share – although they aren’t very professionally taken! 😉 ]