Vatican City

Day 3

We started the day off quite early,taking Linea A to the Ottaviano station from Termini. Our focus for the day’s trip is the Vatican City, basically a city state in Rome. The line to Museo Vaticano, which houses the famous Sistine Chapel was insanely long, so we figured we should do the St. Peter’s Basilica first. We entered from the left arm (as the columns that surrounded the elliptical center of piazza were deemed “the maternal arms of Mother Church”), and was immediately dumbstruck by the magnitude of the architectural site. The sky was crystal blue, and the whole Piazza San Pietro and the Basilica looked magnificent coated in the warm rays of the sun. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be in this center of the catholic universe.

The interior of the St Peter’s Basilica was simply breathtaking, and one could only imagine the amount of effort and resources that had been poured into building this wonder. From this point onwards, not many churches could solicit more “wows” from us, since we had already seen one of the greatest.

We proceeded to visit the Museo Vaticano, only to discover the line was not any shorter than what we had seen earlier. In fact, it was a whole lot longer than what we expected. We spent a good hour waiting in the line, doing nothing much but chatting and trying to fight the cold. When we finally entered the museum, we were dazzled by the seemingly never-ending halls saturated with artworks and treasures of inestimable value. As impressive as they were, they could only pale in comparison to the legendary ceiling by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel (at least that’s what we are made to believe, I don’t really see how much better that ceiling is compared to the others, since I’m no art major). It was strictly prohibited to take photos in the chapel, but well, those excited tourists did not quite have the mood to adhere to the rule; flashes can be seen frequently despite angry warnings from the officers there.

Once we emerged from the historic maze, we soon found ourselves back in St Peter’s Basilica, albeit in a different level. We decided to do the unthinkable – to climb the stairs up to the dome, with my stupid laptop bag which started to seem more and more like the Ring in Lord of the Rings. All our efforts were eventually paid off though, as we got the chance to view the entire Rome from the top of the dome.

We started heading back to our hostel, but not before visiting a couple more places: Fontana di Trevi (yes, again to see the night view)– Quirinale – San Cario Quattro Fontane. Needless to say, it was a tiring day, and I got my first gelato in Rome (pistachio flavor) to reward my heroic display for not passing out in the middle of the trip :P

Group photo in front of the basilica

San Pietro Piazza behind

Hallelujah!!!

Close up view (not of me, of the altar or whatever that is)

One of those insane ceilings

View of the square from the top of the dome

Rome (pt 1)

Day 1

We reached Rome Ciampiano Airport at about 5pm. After retrieving our checked in baggage, we boarded a bus which took us to Agnagnina, the nearest Metro subway station. From there we went to Termini, which is the transportation hub of Rome. The subway system in Rome is worse than New York’s; not only is it dirty, it actually stinks. Once we reached Termini, we followed the instructions given by the hostel’s website and boarded bus 310 to our hostel. Unfortunately for us, we alighted from the bus too early and ended up having to walk to our hostel in the dark. Luckily we managed to somehow find the hostel. To our relief, to receptionist speaks English, and we were promptly checked in even though we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our dues. We were assigned to a 6 bedroom room with a French couple already occupying two of the beds.

Once we had everything settled down, we headed out again to Termini for dinner. The food there was quite cheap, we had kebab for less than 3 euros. Since the night was still young, we went to Piazza de Repubblica, which is within walking distance from Termini. There is an impressive looking fountain right at the center of the piazza, and the Santa Maria degli Angeli is just right opposite the fountain. Since everything was already closed, we just took a couple of photos before going back to our hostel.

Day 2

We had breakfast provided by the hostel, which was really nothing much but bread and cereal. From Termini, we took Linea B to the Colosseo stop, which was right in front of the Colosseum. I was left without words when I first saw the colossal Colosseo; I actually could not believe that I was there, standing in front of the magnificent building that I’ve seen so many times in postcards or pictures. The line towards the entrance was long, but I couldn’t complain as I needed the time to let the fact set in: I’m in Rome!!!

After Colosseum, we went to the nearby Palatino and Forum Romanum, which was basically a vast site of what used to be the central area of ancient Rome. One could only imagine how majestic the ancient city would look like standing there surrounded by those gigantic slabs of marbles, huge columns and arcs, and ruins of once imposing structures.

We proceeded to the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, a monstrous monument dedicated to the first king who of a unified Italy. From there we went to the first grand church of many more to come – the Ara Coeli. Again I was awestruck as it was the first time that I observed such opulence in a catholic church; the interior was basically splattered with ornaments, paintings, and sculptures that could leave any casual observer dizzy and humbled. Since this was the first church of all in our trip, we were quite appreciative of the architecture and all, but eventually that feeling turned into a dreaded sense of déjà-vu. Ask Shermern about it, who in the end wouldn’t even want to enter anything vaguely resembling a catholic church.

As night falls, we made our way to probably the most famous fountain in the world: Fontana di Trevi. The fountain was so packed with tourists, presumably not to admire the art behind the fountain but to perform the famous coin-throwing ritual. I did my part to contribute to the estimated 3000 euros thrown into the fountain daily.

Places that we have visited the same day includes:

Palatino – Circo Massimo – Arco di Giano – Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II – Ara Coeli – Foro Traiano – Fontana di Trevi – Fontana del Tritone

Somebody said this looked fake :(

Overlooking the Colosseum from the Palatine Hill

The Roman Forum

What a waste....they're renovating the facade!!!

Fontana di Trevi

(More to come, stay tuned...)

Winter 2008

Suddenly it's already 2008, and as much as I do not like to believe it, I'm turning 23 is just a mere three months. Since my blogging has already halted for quite a while, let me start from where I left.

There was a winter storm in mid December which brought about a tremendous amount of snow accumulation. Since I was not in my mood to study for my finals (it was the finals study week), I took some photos of the surrounding of my apartment before the scene turned unsightly due to man-made disruptions (snowplower, snow-angle makers etc). This is one of the better photos:



Compare and contrast that to another photo which I've taken less than two months ago:

Interesting huh? Makes us appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature...

Volleyball Championship

If it’s not because of the game, Chrysler Arena would still only be a name for me. I had only recently found out that the sports building next to the last stop of the Southbound Commuter houses a multipurpose court, which is the home for both our basketball and volleyball team (though I might have subconsciously knew this all the while).

I watched the game which Michigan played Miami. Just like other sports, we had our band playing at the side of the court, with the cheerleading group cheering in front of them. Surprisingly, Miami had its own band stationed at the opposite too, and they even had an eagle like mascot. Although I had absolutely no idea how good we were, we played pretty well that day, beating Miami in 3 straight sets. I supposed that we should be not bad at all, judging from the performance. In my very very humble opinion, this match was much more enjoyable than the football match (first of all, we won, and plus, we could sit :D)


Volleyball Championship


Cheerleading team


Our girls in action...

The Michigan Experience

Big House!!!

My Michigan experience would not be complete without having cheered alongside with a 100000-strong crowd in the Big House. Hence, although I’m not a very avid fan of football (still think that soccer beats it), I attended the Michigan-Oregon game, the 2nd game of our season.

The crowd was huge, and the people swarm into the stadium in all directions, particularly from the South State Street. The frats of course could not possibly give up this chance to be rowdy; shouts and cheers came incessantly from the frat houses along the street. Most of the students wore yellow, one of the official colors of our school.

That day we got in quite late, hence the stadium was already quite full. It was simply amazing to see one tenth of a million people all packed in the bowl. That’s about 90% of the population of Ann Arbor, if I’m not mistaken. Though we cheered and cheered, Michigan lost that day, and it was an ugly loss. We got trashed 39-7, and that was after what deemed to be the biggest upset in the history of college football, in which we lost to Appalachian State home a week earlier. As a side-note, Michigan did pretty well after that (not good enough though), and managed to get into the Capital Bowl for the post-season.


Walking to the stadium


Michigan Band playing


Final score. Embarassing...

Killing my limited time

Well I'm supposed to study now...MFE is just like one+ week away. But here I am typing this post...which I don't even know what to write. Just feel like killing some time I guess. Maybe I should give myself some encouraging words here...GANBATTE!!!

Let me post some of my apartment and surroundings picture here:

My room


Northwood view


Murfin 1670


Autumn in my heart....(*vomits)

Fall

It's already halfway through the semester. Too immersed in my everyday life, I failed to notice that the leaves were changing colors. Suddenly, the town has turned to a yellow arbor; and the relentless winter is already lurking around the corner, its tentacles menaces with increasing aggression.

Fall is delightful when there is a blue sky above, when trees fight to flaunt the loudest shade of orange, when the whole forest seemed to be engulf in a furious inferno, and when the earth is carpeted with crispy leaves that appeared to be the reflection of the flaming canopy above.

That is the prime of fall, a period which is transient however. As fragile as every good thing in the world is, the picture falls apart with the first wave of cold air. As more and more leaves fall, the scene becomes increasingly obscene; dried up brownish foliages dot the baring branches, accompanied by the hopeless twigs that dangle stubbornly on them. The sky becomes moody most of the time, with clouds of despair coating the land, neither ominously nor promisingly. It is as if that time is confused, and does not quite know where to go.

The tension will ultimately be resolved by the first flake of snow. But before that, the apparent dullness continues to mask the underlying restlessness and yearning for a change.

Fantaghiro - The Cave Of The Golden Rose

It seems like ages since I watched this show back in Malaysia. Although I don't quite remember the storyline now, it was definitely my favorite show at that time. The ending song is still one of the most beautiful song that I have ever listened to..

Fall 2007

This semester isn't as easy as I had imagined. I figured with all the core classes taken, this would be a semester for some fun classes and just enjoy life...well, while it is true that I'm taking mostly freshmen classes, the challenges that this semester poses are not significantly less than those of last semester.

Right now I'm taking 16 credit hours and working 16 hours every week. The classes that I'm taking are as followed:

Dance 101 - Intro to Modern Dance
AsianLan 125 - Elementary Japanese
Musicology 121 - Intro to the Art of Music
Econ 424 - International Finance
Math 423 - Financial Math

The working hours are less, so as the number of jobs too. Instead of working 4 jobs (tutor, proctor, grader, librarian), I'm down to only proctoring this semester. Aside from working and classes, now that I'm staying in Northwood apartments, I've to spend quite a portion of time dealing with food (buying them, preparing them, washing up etc). Cooking is not as easy and as cool as it seems, it could be quite an onerous task. That's not always the case though, as occasionally it was fun and rewarding.

On top of that, I'm taking MFE, the third SOA paper this November. Progress isn't good so far, but will try my best (let's see lol) to get myself ready for the exam. As usual, this semester will be the battle of me versus my procrastinating self. Hope the positive side will prevail...

New England trip

So this is the first proper post in a very long time...let's start with where I left. I mentioned that I went to New England for a one week-plus vacation. In terms of sceneries and novelty, the New England experience paled in comparison to most of my other trips (well this is not surprising since this is already my fourth year in US..I need to venture out this country now!!!). Company was excellent though, and such made the holiday enjoyable.

We visited a total of 4 states, namely Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. We landed in Boston, a typical USA city with supposedly rich history and culture. It didn't appear so, possibly attributable to the length of time we stayed there. We managed to set foot in Harvard though, the Michigan of the east (lol). Aside from that, among the highlights in Boston were the Duck tour (in an amphibious vehicle) and dinners in Penang.

After Boston, we went to the Acadia National Park. As the introduction video put it so well, the park does not serve to impress people with its views; there's no place for superlatives in the area. It offers space for contemplation and solitude though, and such reward is attainable only if honest effort is paid. (reads there's nothing really special here) Somehow the Acadia National Park reminds me of the Jeju Island in Korea, as it too boasts different sorts of coastline features and views.

In New Hampshire, we stopped by the White Mountain National Forest area, and we did some sightseeing in Rhode Island. Due to time restriction, we could only choose one between the Nantucket Island and the Martha vineyard in Massachusetts. We opted Martha vineyard, and in my opinion the island was very Mackinaw-islandish. Well, we got some sun and fun there. For the first time in my life too, I've seen real whales and sharks during the whale-watching trip.

Perhaps the most awaited moment of the trip (at least for me) was the lobster dinner. To get a local Maine experience, we went to Lobster Pot own by David's parents. We had the very satisfying New England Clam Chowder there, and almost everyone of us got ourselves a huge lobster on a bed of mussels and clams. It all tasted good, but as the consumption increased almost infinitely, my utility approached zero. Thanks to David here for being such a good host during our time in Maine.

Well that's all I can pull off at this kind of hour. Attached are some pictures:


Quincy Market in Boston


One of the lighthouses


Beach in Acadia National Park


Highest point in Acadia National Park (Cadillac Mountain)


Group photo in Lobster Pot (David's parents' restuarant)


Check out the lobster...


White Mountain National Forest


Whale Watching trip


Humpback whale

Mozart Effect

Quoted directly from Wikipedia:

"The Mozart Effect refers to disputed scientific studies that test a theory suggesting that classical music increases brain activity more positively than other kinds of music, and that listening to certain kinds of complex music may induce a short-lived (fifteen minute) improvement in the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatio-temporal reasoning". Two pieces of Mozart's music; Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K. 448) and Piano Concerto no. 23 (K. 488), were found to have this effect, giving it its name. Later research also suggested that K. 448 can reduce the number of seizures in people with epilepsy."

Here's the Sonata for Two Pianos in D major 1st Movement:

New England here I come!

It has been days since I reached Ann Arbor. These few days have been great, as there's nothing much to worry about except what to eat for meals. Life won't be as good when school starts, (or even before school starts) as there will be more and more to do. Right now, I'm about to leave for New England. Hope this trip will be a wonderful one!

BTW I must say Nodame Cantabile is a great J-drama...a must watch for classical music lovers!!!

God bless A

I was again appalled by the outrageously horrendous way the country treated the visitors. No, I wasn't brutally beaten up or tortured; yet, there's no way a nation can claim itself as a supernation by still practising a primitively and laughable system in its effort to thwart terrorism. Yes, I am talking about the frigging Ann-ciers program. First, upon reaching the airport, I was suppose to line up for the new visiting procedure. When it's my turn, oh, I got the unforgivable mark on my passport, which its existence is in the very first place questionable. Hence, I was asked to another site to wait for the special registration to be done.

The waiting experience in the waiting room was hellish. Gathered in the room was colored people with different shades; well, the albinos were exempted I guess. The detainees were not allowed to leave the room, and to make things more exciting, there's no restrooms nor water coolers in the venturable vicinity. This wouldn't be that bad if we weren't all just off from the plain, for another ingenious measure dictates that no bottled water was to be carried on when one's on flight. Hence, suffering from thirst and the conflicting urge to relieve, I had nothing else to do but to observe the other pathetic travellers, whose souls were mostly sucked out from the long hours of travelling. For some like me, the constant fear of missing the next connecting flight intensified with time; others were worried that their fellow friends would be waiting too long for them. While these negative emotions emit from the floor and filled the room, making the atmosphere more unbearable, the shitfaces sitting behind the counter seemed oblivious, each exuding an aura of calmness that was impenetrable by the disturbance caused by the fidgety crowd. They moved as if they were trying to master the deepest techniques of the ancient art of tai-chi, in such way further infuriating the meekly waiters who were in no mood of appreciating any sort of clumsiness.

To make things more unbelievable, they had no ordering system in putting the pastports on the shelf. Those books were casually placed in slots, which the officers would randomly pick from later. That's of course, a careful observation of mine out of sheer boredom, but I could be wrong. They might be adhering to the elusive chaos theory which they probably learnt from K-level. Discarding that possibility, it was difficult to picture that I was actually in a country which claimed itself as the pinnacle of modern civilization.

As time passed by, I was gradually becoming more zen, which I acheived by constantly muttering the sacred mantra that bears three syllabus of hokkien word. Meanwhile, one of the girl was not that fortunate; she burst into sobs while speaking on the phone. When it was her turn, she broke down again and tried to argue with the officer about something. I couldn't quite figure out what was the content of the conversation, as I myself was still obstinately chanting to maintain my state of sanity.

Despite my efforts, when my photo was finally taken by the webcam, I must have looked like Gollum. Needless to say, the plane which I was supposed to be in was already soaring gloriously in the nightsky. Yes, what else could I do? A couple more hours of waiting won't hurt further, would it?

South Korea trip

So I mentioned that I was in Seoul in a previous post. Well there's not many reasons for me to be there, except for traveling, and yup, that's why I was there.

The trip spanned seven days, and I went there with my father, since my mum was traveling somewhere else. Overall South Korea was not as beautiful as China; it does not have great landscapes for that matter. However, I was pretty impressed with the cleanliness and seeming order of the country. The Koreans are very environmental conscious. To save trees, they make an effort to only use steel chopsticks and degradable toothpicks. Plastic bags are also charged for money in some places. All in all, from small things like these one can see that the nation is shifting from a developing country to a developed nation.

It is interesting to note that Seoul has more than ten million inhabitants, making it one of the most populated city in the world. Imagine almost 40% of the Malaysia's population living in one city. The streets in the city are are wide and well planned, at least for those that I've seen. The city seemed to bustle with activities, and the excitement increases as night falls. All those signs of advancement contrasted with conditions in the capital of my beloved country only caused me to wonder when KL can transcend from the lumpur.

Jeju Island was another main attraction of my trip apart from Seoul. It is an island on the southern part of South Korea. Since there's a volcano on the island, volcanic formations are littered everywhere on the island. Sceneries there were considerably better than those on the mainland, but still no where near the standards of the majestic views in China. Of course it can be unfair comparing oranges to apples, but that's just how I felt.

Throughout the trip, we got the chance to try some of the most famous Korean food. Korean food, as the Korean tour guide admitted, was not as interesting and delectable as the Chinese food (duh, making comparisons again!) However, I'd say that Korean food is definitely much healthier. I got the chance to try the Korean BBQ (in Korea!), Ginseng chicken, abalone porridge, varitey of Kimchi (which I came to appreciate it) , Stone Rice, sashimi-s of different seafood. Since they're prepared with healthier way (steamed, boiled, less salt, less oil etc), I didn't have the "jelak" feeling even after a week of Korean food.

Conclusively, South Korea is not a great country to travel to, but IMO is a great country to stay and relax. Here are the photos:



Something like Petaling street in Seoul


Seoraksan 雪岳山


Ice Bar (yup, even the glasses are made of ice!)


A waterfall in Jeju Island


Jeju Island (in the process of transforming to a super saiyan lol)


One of the volcanic formations


Contrast this with the river that meanders through KL...


Winter Sonata shooting place

Hello my blog

"All is well."

So that's how the journey that lasted for 7 years ended. That can be said to the way my internship ended too. I wouldn't boast that I've learned tonnes from the experience, nevertheless it's a decent experience, and it really did offer me a glimpse of how working life would be.

Working in KL can be a frustrating experience because of the daily commuting. While taking LRT from Sentul Timur to Bukit Jalil everyday is not exactly very enjoyable, I realized that things could be tenfold worse. Imagine being trapped in traffic jam at least twice a day, imagine having to take a few trains to reach your workplace, imagine...... The weather doesn't help much either in alleviating the pain. Occasional downpours that coupled with the "excellent" city flood plan can bring the worst nightmare to every driver out there. But well, I guess these are some of the inevitables most people will face working in big cities (or is it true only for big asian cities? hmm)

However, on the plus side, working in KL means that you are surrounded by "zhi ji ren" aka close friends and relatives. The variety of local food also serves to spice up life considerably. Weekends can mean tonnes of fun too, when there's so much to do (of course, that is only if you have the money).

So do I like working life? Let's put it this way: I'm glad that I still have one more year of studies to be completed...

One funny thing I came across

(For chinese ed people only)

和尚梳头发 （猜一个国家）

highlight below to see the answer:


苏格兰（梳个lan)


llol.....

p.s. some might argue that it is not a country....but well it's just for laughs

Muffin top

This got to be the word of the year. It is so creative and so painfully descriptive that even the Collins English Dictionary’s ninth edition has decided to include it as an entry in the lexicon. Any guess yet on what it means? Nope, it's not a hairstyle, and it is nothing close to a tube top. Look at the illustration below:



A detailed explanation provided by the Wikipedia:

Muffin top (or muffin top girl) is a generally pejorative, slang term used for a person, usually female, whose flabby midsection spills over the waistline of his or her pants in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its casing. This generally occurs when an individual wears low-rise or hip-hugger pants and midriff-baring tops.

So people, don't get too happy if someone approach you one day and say that they like your "muffin top"!!!

Update from Seoul

Just blogging for fun! This is my fourth night in South Korea. I'm now in the Pacific Hotel, Seoul...(fully utilizing the free internet facilities in the hotel) Everything was great so far....will be back in 3 days' time. Have to go to KL the very same day I touch down, because work starts the next day...gosh. Till then, ciao!!

US-Malaysia

After a series of tough finals, I was finally freed from the clutches of the horrendous Winter07. Did nothing much to celebrate my freedom, as I still had to move out from my dorm. It's rather stupid actually for me to opt Northwood over Cambridge for the next semester. Cambridge House is indeed far more superior in terms of almost everything...except the fact that I can't cook.

Moving to Northwood will also signify the demise of my dorm-food experience. I'm not as elated as some other Malaysians who despise dorm food with a passion. In fact, I think I'll miss being able to eat in dining halls. Well I do admit that the quality of the food is most of the times under par, but what beats the freedom of being able to eat as much as you want? (like unlimited refills for milk and juices) In where else can you just go in and eat without having to prepare the food and leave without having to clean the mess? For a person who values nutritional values more than anything else too, dorm food is definitely not that bad a choice. Hmmm...then is my decision to move to Northwood justifiable? We'll see...

I still managed to attend graduation in Big House before leaving "ace deuce". Bill Clinton was the invited speaker, a relatively famous one compared to the other speakers in the recent years. Charismatic as usual, he managed to get a standing ovation from the whole house before he even spoke. Hopefully next year we will have a speaker as well-known as him.

My flight back home required some airports hopping (Detroit-LA-Taipei-KL-Alor Setar). Life is perfect so far, if you minus out the fact that I still have to study for course M. Ahhh....Malaysia. Will comment more on my "tanah air" if I am too bored of studying...

Update from Shapiro

Here I am again in the Shapiro Science Library working extra shift earning extra bucks. Working 5-8 am is definitely not as bad as working 10pm-5am; there's less work and more pay (15 hourly rate). Technically working during such hours provide me ample opportunities to do some serious studying, but apart from completing my Spanish homework, all I did was surfing the net and calling home. And yeah, now I'm updating my blog...

Finals week is crawling in surreptitiously, and it's less than two weeks before I can go back to Malaysia. I am not particularly excited about it knowing that I still have to do tonnes of studying for my course M exam. Hope everything will turn out fine though.

Last week, I finally experienced my first bar crawling (in fact it's the first time I've gone to a bar in AA). Informally organized by SAM, we went to 3 bars in total (Mitch's, Jug and Ricks). Unavoidably I drank a considerable amount of beer, but was doing quite okay I think. It's interesting enough to see a whole different "world" out there, and seeing friends that get all rowdy was even more entertaining :P.

Went to Birch Run also to get a couple of stuff. Got a flat tire on our way back, but luckily a highway patrol officer was there for help. Learned an important lesson that day: persevere and don't give up easily. Thanks Hewei!