Some People Call Me Maurice

One week Easter Break Holiday coming right up! I actually miss the constantly-having-no-time-to-study lifestyle back home. Beats the constantly-having-no-money-to-get-out-of-here lifestyle here. Ah, well, grass is always greener.

The past week was not bad. Attended Sydbank Shareholder Meeting on Monday night, giving me access to both the Radisson Conference Hall area, and a very delicious Danish buffet to eat up the losses that my ONE share in Sydbank has suffered due to the stinkin US economy.

Looking forward to meeting up with some of the guys in Hamburg :)

Stag Party Woooo!

Executive Summary: 9 days, 2 countries with arguably the most beautiful women, great food, great company, loads of gambling and alcohol.

Let's start from the very beginning...

Sergels Torv

Landed in Stockholm after a really scary Sterling flight - both the take-off and landing were really bad. It was very 感动 max! to see Kyle and Longjin, who was decked out in a damn nice CK leather jacket. Khel should have a photo or two; it was just too gay for me to start whipping out the camera and firing away, so we did what guys do best - eat.

Photo above is the square every tourist will keep seeing in Stockholm, where the main train station is, along with stretches of shops, cafes etc.



Entrance to Gamla Stan, or Old Town. Not very sure what I was supposed to admire in there, in any case it was quite dark by the time Kyle brought us there.



DesignTorget shop - it looks very beautiful from outside because of the layout, colours and collective attraction of the designs. But I didn't get anything because I wasn't sure if I should get something pretty to just sit there and collect dust, or something functional that costs a bomb and won't be so pretty after wear-and-tear sets in.

And finally there was MAHJONG. OMG. After all the many months of Mahjong Withdrawal Symptoms, I actually gave up the nightlife of Stockholm for this. Ho Ho Ho. Ok more on Stockholm later, chronologically we went to Uppsala on Day 3.



And in Uppsala we had the famous Swedish tradition of... Fika! Or Coffee Break. I am obviously a strong supporter of traditions like coffee breaks and naps (siesta). There was a traditional Swedish pastry called Samla in there.

Pay attention to Khel's lovely long locks as well, because you won't see it for much longer.



Ah yes the mask party. This is... us. Obviously I'm not putting up a photo of me in a mask I'm not in the photo because, well, somebody has to take the photo, right?!



The masks of the two Swedes + one german seated across me. It was a very good party, with enough alcohol, plenty of bad rowdy singing, and very delicious food prepared by lovely ladies.



And Kyle donning the Jester mask-hat, which won the Best Mask Competition. Whole day steal other people's glory/mask/food.

It was a nice cozy party, with the Swedes making an effort to talk to us the foreigners, and happily condemning Denmark, my place of exchange. Hahaha. No love between neighbours. After the party we walked back to Yue En's toasty place in Flogsta.



Presenting.. Yue En's labour of love in the morning. Pseudo-char kway teow, teh, and blood orange. THANKS YUE EN. It was such a good sight and smell to wake up to.

And for now I shall leave you, but rest assured I will write of the next leg soon.

Self-Interview

Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fire -- Francois La Rochefoucauld

This post shall take the form of an interview, just for fun.

Q: I see that you have not updated your blog for some time. Where have you been?

A: Well many things have been going on but nothing particularly blog-worthy. I've stayed put in Aarhus for the longest time ever, planning trips, going for classes, chilling with people - enjoying myself in a nice, easy way.

Q: Now that Chinese New Year is long over, how was it like spending it in Aarhus?

A: It was a little strange and disconcerting. No fireworks, no visiting relatives, no mahjong. And there's just no real Chinese restaurant in Aarhus - just as an idea, Chinese cuisine here consists of dubious rice and noodles, spring rolls, fried shrimp rolled in flour, fried chicken pieces rolled in flour, prawn crackers, and sweet and sour sauce. However, I did do the usual like get a haircut, wear new clothes, observe silly rituals which no European would understand. Gotta keep up with tradition!

Q: You did not decide to travel during that period?

A: Yeah not really. I figured everywhere else would be more or less the same. Besides, I had exams till late Jan so I could not do much planning for a trip. It was either to return to Singapore, or suck it up and stay put.

Q: How is it with you and travelling in general then?

A: I suppose every exchange student has the urge to travel, some more than others. I do like to take my time with places, and I have long given up the thought of visiting every part of Europe in my year here. A combination of terribly cold weather, over-travelling, and being on a budget after the last vacation has also made me just want to laze in Aarhus for a while longer.

But on that last note, I will be headed to Stockholm in a few days, if everything goes well.

Q: Any last words for your loyal readers?

A: I urge all those who are feeling lonely and homesick to go ahead and read A Prison Diary by Jeffrey Archer from your local English bookstore/library, if any. Things could certainly be worse :)


As a parting gift, this video was brought to my attention on the first lesson of Comparative Constitutional Law, which happened to be the first day of CNY.

Awaiting the New Semester

Presenting ... Bak Kwa!



Or sweet meat. Sam, you totally rock!!!

Not really been up to much, hanging out with friends who were due to return home. Khel came to visit for a few days and I paid my first visit to the Bazaar Vest then. Right now planning a few trips for the upcoming semester. If anybody wants to do a short trip during the Easter Break let me know :P



Hoho and I made all these sushi with my "teacher". It was a demystifying process because usually all I know about sushi is how they taste. Now I learnt how to roll it up and prepare the ingredients, but boy was it a lot of hard work!

Need to know, No need to know

Kinda went off the radar for a while to do some serious studying. Hahaha okay thats a joke considering the academic rigours here - 15 mins oral exam do or die! Well but since I need to pass, it means I had to show up for the exam and not appear a total dolt. Oh yes and for some inexplicable reason I took a course requiring a Research Paper. Not gonna make the same mistake this upcoming semester since I hope to clear all the exams asap.



Just me saying hi. Sorry if this photo gives you nightmares.

Wonder what this new semester will bring with it. Its still raining everyday and it still gets dark at 4pm, but the good news is that it will only get better. I do hope this applies to things generally because right now I'm getting the restless feeling, not so much to travel a whole bunch, but to try something new, to take advantage of the luxury of time and freedom I have right now. Sadly the language barrier is proving to be quite the nuisance in this regard.

For now it will be the packing up of my insanely filthy room stuffed with all the remnants of my travelling. Couple of things that have interested me, that may interest you:


NME Awards Big Gig at the O2 Arena in London. Featuring Manic Street Preachers, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Klaxons, The Cribs.

Northern Lights in Kiruna with doggie sledding.

Enjoy!

Quiet Is The New Loud

Back in Århus after a super long bus journey from Prague. The part from Prague to Berlin was not too bad; got talking with the Japanese gal sitting next to me and she was nice enough to wait with me at Berlin for my connecting bus. Watching her disappear into the night as I boarded the bus, I could not help but feel a tinge of sadness at the transient nature of such meetings. At the same time, the rational side of me knows that there would be no point in exchanging contacts - far better for her to live on in my memory than anything else.

New batch of exchange students should have arrived for Denmark Today.. feels like a new chapter is about to begin. Very eager to join in for some of the activities like Danish Cooking Lessons, except for the fact that I still have exams upcoming.

Reasons to fly home for CNY	Reasons NOT to fly home for CNY
Family and Friends	Expensive
Reunion Dinner	Takes away the surrealness of being away for a whole year
Mahjong	School starts in the same week as CNY
Get to bring home goodies and bring goodies here	Troublesome

As with many dilemmas, it is hardly an exact science. Wherefore art thou, deus ex machina?

The Fun Post

Before the Absinthe

Our subject looks pretty eager. He holds the shot glass which contains the innocuous clear liquid of only 4cl. He has just had a big meal of beef goulash, bread dumplings and a dessert of Czech Apple Pie. The liquid seems the perfect way to end the meal...

After the Absinthe...

Country roads, take me home...

Our subject has just experienced spurts of insane burning sensations in his throat. Aforementioned big meal nearly jumped back out on the table.

Success Rating: 8.5 / 10

Charles Bridge in the quiet early morning. Normal times the bridge would be choked full of lousy tourists (which includes me, I know).

New year fireworks. Seems like the people going nuts setting them off were mostly Chinese, scaring away the bad luck I suppose. Felt really itchy to set some of them off myself.

Good King Wencesclas and his Square. Landmark of Prague.

Just for a slight rewind - got to see the Vienna Boys Choir in action last Sunday at Mass.

Dream car 101. Notice how it totally matches my outfit.