Pics Uploaded

The pics are now uploaded at http://sg.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/eddie_tcs/my_photos. I'm using the school's computer so I can't downlaod the program to upload the pics on the blog. There's no wireless access in the uni and internet access points are hardly available.

Just done with the japanese language class interview...hmm,did not do too well for the placement test yesterday so i'll be put in level 2...Well, がんばってね。。。Japanese language classes will commence tomorrow.. I've been cycling to scholl these 2 days and it takes about 20 minutes from my apartment. Well, the bicycle is free for rental and I'll save on transport fare too. Also, I'm sure I'll lose some weight. Actually, I think I already did..

It's really quite hot here in Fukuoka when it's supposed to be the rainy season. In fact, the dry weather is causing droughts here. Water is so so precious.

Konnichiwa!

こんにちは 皆さん,

元気？I‘m　now using the computer from Kyushu University Central Library.　It`s very hot over here. It`s really a pity that there`s no internet access in my apartment. Other than that, the apartment i`m staying in is very comfy, though I have not been sleeping too well, maybe it`s the pillow.. Anyway, I have many pictures to post showing my activities right from the first day. However, I can only do it tomorrow.

I just finished my class on Agricultural Economics, now it`s free & easy for me. I just bought chicken, potatoes and eggs from the supermarket last night. Most prob I`ll be trying my hand at Chicken Curry later this evening. I think I shall update more tomorrow when I have the pics with me.

Ok, bye.

After a day's work...

Be With You (Ima Ai ni Yukimasu)

Caught the sneak preview moving Japanese film yesterday with Jing at Cathay Cineplex. (By the way, if you're a M1 user, on sundays till next yr, you can get the 2nd ticket at 1/2 price, no limitations to the movie.) The film was really interesting and it's touching beyond words. A lot of sniffing and frantic ruffling of Kleenex packets were overheard half way through the movie.

The movie is said to be part of a new wave of jun' ai or "pure love" genre films. Does pure love exist in the world today? The dead wife returns to fulfill her promise to her son and in the days before she departs, she only seeks happiness for her husband and son. It's very simple and chaste. But why do all good things have to come to an end? I was also thinking about the part when Mio-the lead actress, while walking on the street, made a conviction and decided to look for the guy she has been nursing a crush for many years and told him she wants to be with him. I guess it's a turning point in their lives and i've been bloggin about this in my earlier posts--decisions we make in our lives that will pave our future.

Ima, ai ni yukimasu

Went for a 4.8km run at Macritchie early mornin with Vincent & Raymond. The low-profile event is the World Harmony Run, the run opened with a speech up GOH, NMP Eunice Olsen, she looked radiant. I was hoping for the ex-Ms Universe Singapore to blurt "World Peace!" but nothing of the sort came out. A torch was passed around and before we ran, we were supposed to picture world harmony by staring at the flame on the torch. :roll eyes:

Vincent was struggling half way through the run, and I was trying hard catching up with Raymond. Well, it was a really good run and managed to catch one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen casted across the deep blue sky. lovely.

After the run, we went for a 1.5km uphill walk(HSBC Treetop Walk) to the suspension bridge. it's a new happening and it's quite worth the effort for it's novelty. I won't say that the view up on the bridge is particularly breathtaking as the canopy is in the way. You'll be surprised by the hordes of people of all ages painstakingly making their way up on a Sat morning.

Yesterday i had one of the most memorable evenings in my 22 years...

"Sometimes don't you wonder how different your life would have been if just one thing, one little thing hadn't happened?" Quoted from Deborah Chiel's update on Charles Dickens' famous novel, Great Expectations.

Well, rather often lately, i've been thinking how different my life would have been if something hadn't happened. Also, how very often we have to make choices that would have charted the route of our lives. Speaking with Kev over dinner couple of days ago, it triggered off how different my life might have been now. NUS(Arts) over SMU(Biz), Japanese Studies over Psychology. Kev happened to have just made a tough decision, albeit in a haste. I anticipate to see how his life will turn out to be in a few years time, no regrets i hope for him.

Yesterday i had one of the most memorable evenings in my 22 years. The feeling of being treated with immeasurable dignity & recognition was surreal. It greatly contrasts with my life in the day at the coffee-stall. The sumptuous smorgasbord of Japanese delicacies, the generous flow of sake & beer, basking in the spotlight. It was so difficult to hide my excitement and ecstasy in front of these larger than life luminaries. The dream lasted 3 hours, but it was enough to last in my memory for a life time.

Well, as Jing said to me, i'm almost like cinderella, once i reached home i was stripped off whatever i was endowed with earlier. i had such a hard time sleeping as my adrenaline was still rushing but before i knew it, it was already 3a.m - time for work...

The event somehow led me to think about Sayuri-chan(Memoirs of a Geisha) and her chance encounter with the Chairman that proved to be the turning point in her life.
"In that brief encounter with the Chairman, I had changed from a lost girl facing a life time of emptiness to a girl with purpose in her life. Perhaps it seems odd that such a casual meeting on the street could have brought about such a change. But sometimes life is like that, isn't it?"
The novel ends by leaving the reader with this:
"Our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean. Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper."

Mid-year Results

And so half a year had gone by... Wat do my 'Mid-year Results' reveal?
Here's what i posted on 31 Dec 2004(and the comments)...

"In 6 hours..
A whole new year is about to begin and i'm embracing it with my arms w i d e open.2005 will only get more exciting as i flirt around with my interests...
1) Learn guitar. The guitar Jing gave me for my birthday is growing mold..So gotta rock n roll.
(Erm, still kept in the case)
2) To Japan. Wooing Japan has to take on a higher level. I've checked out on SEPs offered in NUS, and set my sights on Keio University. Plus will get involved in a Club. And certainly, the quest to Japan has to be realised.
(Off to Japan on 24th Jun)
3) Get fitter. It's never easy to discipline myself to get the physique that i want. But in 2005, yes. With Raymond as my running budd, we shall cover some distance. Hit the gym!
(managed only the NUS Biathlon in a mixed relay with Jing. Not good enough)
4) Study harder. Just gotta play safe and pull my cap up to 4. And that means staying for longer hours in the library. mugging that is.
(Did not pull the cap up to 4, nevertheless, a slight improvement this semester)
5) Part-time job(s). The incessant need for more and more money..to finance my huge budget for 2005.
(5 days of tuition a week, what do u think)
6) Volunteer work. Always thought of getting started,but.. Maybe with a community-involvement project."
(volunteering at my mum's coffee-stall counts? nah...) "

Results: 3/6
Pass (Satisfactory)