Day 71 in Korea.

Countdown: 44 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 831 won.
Temperature reading: 8 degree celsius.

No wonder today feels so good to sleep; it's raining man (hallelujah) and it is ultra cold in here. I am freezing my butts off over here and I was late for Movie and Society class. I came late cuz I missed the earlier bus (Hwaam dormitory sucks) and heard lots of murmuring!! Darn it. They are watching a French film with Korean subtitles. Great~! I can't understand both language and throughout the entire 1.5 hours, I just sat down and enjoy the motion pictures. Without fail, the show is filled with sex scenes. The lecturer is a really horny guy!! 3 films I watched in his class are all sex-filled. Gosh. After class, I chiong to Jeonmin-dong for Isaac's MVP Toast and bought myself a Halloween mask, which I will wear for the partay later. There is this new Coffeeteria opening today so I went in and ordered a cuppa caramel Latte. Price is reasonably cheap; 3,300.

So now I return back to school to help setup the haunted maze as sort of like a pre-event appetizer for those who are anticipating the party. Fortunately, I have 3 able-bodied men to work alongside me. Tae Su, Muugii and Farhad. We had a tough time setting up the maze with just plastic thrash bags, but we did it anyway. I ran a little late for Intro to Communication class, but was forgiven when I gave a thorough presentation on the topic given me. As promised to the class, I finished 1 hour early (duh she only gave me 8 slides and how slow can I possible go?). So we were given an early dismissal. Farhad and I rushed back to work on the maze and prepare our costume for the night. My theme was on Scream trilogy, so I had to put on the mask and made my costume out of cheap plastic bags *lol* Cost saving and effective.

The clock hit 7pm and the crowd started coming in through the haunted maze. It was a great turnout; I am quite surprised to see so many students turned up and in their respective costumes. We also screened the movie - The Corpse Bride for them to enjoy since it is Halloween. Time to unwind and get in touch with your wild side. Oops, I saw Hye Ji!! Wah, heart pumping too fast I almost got choked. She came and enjoyed the party too, but as usual, I am too shy to talk to her. Oh I forgot to mention that the ICU Mixer Club agreed to help us out with the party by providing booze (of course it ain't free cuz they have to buy the drinks and stuffs). I had a cup of screwdriver + white Russian. They mix pretty well and they gave us a performance with liquor flame art. Impressive.

San-In entered the Pumpkin craving contest and his group got 2nd. Australian Outback Voucher worth USD $100!! What the?? The event spans from 7pm all the way till 12 midnight. It was really fun and interactive, but the cleaning up is definitely not fun @ all. It took us an hour to finish clearing up all the rubbish and dirt!! The SAFE club president then took us (the helpers) out to Dasarang in Jeonmin-dong for a sumptuous supper treat with Hite beer. We talked and laughed and played silly games and drink ourselves to the fullest. Finally, I am back in my dormitory showered, cleaned up and ready to hit the sack.

This has gotta be the most fruitful day in my entire period in ICU. I am so gonna miss SAFE meetings.

Day 70 in Korea.

Countdown: 45 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 991 won.
Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

Thursday is siong day for me. Game Theory in the morning, followed by Computer Animation in the noon and evening time. Wah, cui. Today for Game Theory, we going through chapter 8 - Mixed Strategies II in Simultaneous Move Games. This course is really good because it helps me to analyze economic situations, as well as many other scenarios where I could employ weighted probability average to second guess my competitors and to measure my payoff against theirs. Of course, to speak in such term is too simplified, much information would still be required to make sound analysis. This is so exciting. I never felt more interested in class than this before. After class, I went for lunch with Emily, Melodie and Anne. I forgotten my lunch appointment with UnI peepz. Darn. We went for SAFE meeting after lunch and we had to complete our work plan for tomorrow halloween party. We will be joined by the ICU Cocktail Club to host the party in school. I am gonna do the planning of the entrance maze. Time for some trick or treat!!

Then it was Computer Animation class and we went through some Advanced Modelling Technique. I was given a little present cuz I scored well for the so-called "Golden Bell" quiz in class last week. First time I am feeling so smart. The animations that the lecturer showed us was amazing. A simple fractal could be utilized to make some much complex stuffs for modeling. Awesome!!

Divyan wanted me to play guitar for ICF, so I agreed to help him out. It was a great session but I had to leave early for dinner and then my Computer Animation lab. Woohoo, today we learnt how to make fire, explosion, smoke effect, fireworks etc. I am gonna need them for my final project on bomber man. So far, things are looking good for me. I need to keep my work consistent and I will be back to Singapore soon before I know it. I really miss the food, my friends and family. Coming to a strange land with loads of strange people makes me feel ultra strange. I wanna come home to sunny Singapore!!

Day 69 in Korea.

Countdown: 46 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 972 won.
Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

Today I got 2 calls in the morning - one from Emma and the other from Emily. Emma called me to asked if I can find the other French ladies cuz Melodie is sick and she needs her insurance number. Wah!! Sounds serious but I am in my room and they probably be in school and I don't have their number. How to contact them? So I told her I will call her if I have any lead. Emily called to tell me that we had to postpone lunch to next week cuz she needs to go fix her phone, so it is good news for me. Time to sleep!!

At about 1:30pm...

I woke up finally and went to Jeonmin-dong for Vero Espresso + Isaac's Toast. Hmm a warm and tasy lunch before I kick start the day. Since today is my free day, I shall do some catching up for my Game Theory lecture cuz I didn't really understand the concepts the lecturer went through yesterday. Time flies when you are revising and before I knew it, it is already 4pm. I got changed and head onto the field for soccer game. Today was quite fun cuz we managed to do more one touch passing and down-the-flank attack/crossing. That went on to about 6pm before we call it a day. I went back to computer room to wait for San-In and we went to Cafeteria for dinner with Steve and Yong Han. We were discussing on a plan to go to Seoul some time soon and visit Appujeong (the place flooded with pretty girls; mostly plastic I heard). After dinner, I chill out with San-In @ the Munji dormitory to play table tennis.

We left the place @ 8pm and I am back here in the computer room chilling, rotting and slacking!! Time for Heroes action - http://www.sidereel.com/Heroes/_watchlinkviewer/20777#

Day 68 in Korea

Countdown: 47 days.

Currency exchange: SGD 1 to won.

Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

*uGh* what a tiring day. I think my biological clock is constantly changing and sometimes I can sleep early, but other days, I just can't sleep till wee hours in the morning. I slept @ 4am and woke up @ 9:50am. Uber shagged and tired and fatigue is kicking in. I reached school @ 10:20am and bought myself a cup of coffee before attending Game Theory. We received our quiz result and shite~ I got 20 out of 100 points. Ultimate cui~

I went for lunch with Anne and Emilie in the cafeteria and discussed about our results and all of us are worried stiff. After lunch, I went to chill out @ my favourite hangout spot in school - the computer room. I spoke with this classmate that I haven't even spoke with since the start of our multimedia class till now and I only realized last Friday that he is also in my Movie and Soc class. His name is Paul Han. He looks a little metrosexual so girls definitely would like him alot. I met his friend Joo Yan, who is, in my honest opinion, a little too HOT to be an engineering student. We spoke a little about Seoul and its major shopping places cuz both of them are originally from Seoul. They recommended me some places to go to catch nice clothings and young ladies *lol*

Then, I went for the most boring and my last lecture for the day - Intro to Multimedia. The guy is a mumble fumble (he talks as though he is talking to himself). Darn! The lecture was supposed to be 1.5 hour but this incredible dude took 1 hour to explain JPEG Compression till everyone wanna koon already. He finally stopped the class in 1 hour time and let us have an early dismissal. So I went back to computer room to read up on the Game Theory lecture cuz a little chim and I want to try to understand it so I won't have difficulty for my final exam.

San-In came @ 6pm as usual and we head over to the cafeteria for dinner. Song Jin and Ha Mok joined us shortly after and we chit chatted a little, destress and joke about Chong Tak Chong (poor dude). I parted ways with them @ the pyramid and went off to buy my oreo ice cream. Now I am back in the computer room chilling and slacking and maybe, I will watch We Got Married Episode 29 now.

*YAWNZ*

Day 67 in Korea.

Countdown: 48 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 954 won.
Temperature reading: .

Yet another boring start to the new week. I woke up @ 4pm today and missed my morning soccer training due to my late night watching Liverpool beat Chelski and Arsenal munching on some West Ham.

I came to school to do up my class presentation for this Friday's Intro to Communication lecture. I am supposed to lead the class discussion as part of my final assessment. Hmm, 6pm came and I had dinner with San-In. He told me I could crash his place if I wanna head over to Seoul so I guess it is good news for me. Man, I am back to all these mugging stuffs again. Argh! Gonna quit em' now and chill with the dvd I rented - Step Up (featuring Mario Winans).

Laters~

Day 66 in Korea.

Countdown: 49 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 946 won.
Temperature reading: 13 degree celsius.

Sunday morning is a good day to go to church, especially since I am playing for the praise team for the first time ever and for the first time ever, Divyan is late *lol* We had a really good time in church and there is this backup singer, Jinny Park. She looks pleasant and I kinda glanced at her half the time, but she looks a little too old for me *sulks* Anyway, I managed to shake her hands before she left. Hmm, then I went over to Sanette's house (a South African lady) to help her fix her iBook G4 since I am supposed to the computer whiz but it seems like something is wrong with her hard disk so I don't dare to go anything beyond the surface. I left shortly after to E Mart where I had Popeye chicken for lunch *yum yum* I proceeded to the Galleria to shop for a nice thin layer jumper, as well as a cardigan. Just then, I met Sekwon, my Movie and Society classmate whom I alway see in school but never really spoke to. He invited me to have coffee with him @ Beans and Pieces, level 9. We have some friendly discussion on Singaporean and Korean cultures + a little men talk on women (like what's new right?). We head off to shop for Sekwon's 2000 days anniversary present for his girlfriend. I bet all you SG girls would be so jealous when you hear this - he bought a USD 300 tall boots for his gf + a couple sweater from Tate + flower delivery service + anniversary card!! This dude spent roughly about USD 500 just for the event!! Easily put Singaporean guys to shame.

We took bus 750 back to ICU and on the way, we are surrounded by tonnes upon tonnes of pretty girls (but sorry guys, they are ultra minors). I can't believe how Korean girls can look so beautifully mature @ such tender age? It is almost unbelievable. Anyway, I am back to ICU now and I am gonna watch Chelsea and Liverpool fight it out later. Arsenal FTW!!

Day 65 in Korea.

Countdown: 50 days.
Exchange rate: SGD 1 to 946 won.
Temperature reading: 9 degree celsius.

Iis finally the weekend and temperature is hitting below 9 degrees in the night. Today, I followed Divyan to this international event @ the Daejeon convention hall where there are cultural performances, different food stalls for all the international delicacies, accessories stall and used clothing sections for those who wanna get bang-for-bucks kind of winter wear and fashion apparels. I volunteered to help the Sae Ro Nam church sell hot dog buns since I got nothing much to do and 3 Korean ladies commented that I look handsome!!! *LOL* I know it is lil BHB and I refuted them, but I can sense my head exploding already. I didn't know that hot dog buns are the favourites of the locals and within half an hour, we cleared all the stock we have. Awesome. I had some time to roam about and so I went stall-hopping and ate my share of foodies and look @ some of the winter clothing. Nothing very fanciful though, so as I was walking back in the direction of the stall, I met Natasha, an Indonesian girl who is attending the same church as me. We chatted a little and I told her that I wanted to grab a trench coat (if there is any) but there isn't, so she suggested we go to Lotte Departmental Store and see cuz they got loads of stuffs there. We went there by the subway train and there it is, another whole new world waiting to be discover - Yong Mun (pronounced as Long Wen in Chinese *it is written on the wall*). I ate this pastry that looks like peanut cake on the outside, but there is an egg inside. Incredible and delicious. The whole entire place is like Galleria, but a little smaller and less poshier, but the usual stuffs are there. We went to the 8th storey - young plaza and started scouting for the trenchcoat. However, the price are crazy, so instead of getting a trenchcoat, I fixed my eyes upon a slim fit jeans in UniQlo (some Japanese brand). I tried, satisfied, requested for alteration and collected it 2 hours later. During that 2 hours, I had coffee with Natasha at Angel-in-us coffee place right across the street. Hmm, from the conversation, I learnt that she had been to Singapore before, so it is easy to talk to her about stuffs back home and she plans to come to NUS for graduate programme.

When we are done, I went back to UniQlo to collect my jeans before we head back to Dunsan-dong by subway. There we had duc-khal-be (again) at a different stall and it tasted great as well. The usual Bok-geum-bap right after we finish whacking the duc-khal-be. Then, being a gentlemen, I walked her to the entrance of station before heading to the nearest bus stop to hail a bus back to ICU. What a wonderful day.

Time to go back and watch EPL action. See you guys.

Day 64 in Korea.

Countdown: 51 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 935 won.
Temperature reading: degree celsius.

Finally, thanks God it is Friday - slackiest of the 3 days of school I have. Technically, I only have 2 and a half days of classes and the rest of the week is free for all!! I meet the 10:10am bus to school (that is the trouble when you are not living on-campus, you have to adhere to some dumb bus timing. My Friday classes are both relaxing and to a certain extent, boring. Today I was shocked to see my professor putting his leg on the chair while giving the lecture. My Movie and Society class is generally shy and people don't dare to speak up or share their ideas so when my professor asked me some questions, I feel a little weird to answer because I don't want to be seen as a smug guy even though I knew the answers beforehand. Life is tough. So after class, I went to Expo Core just across Jeonmin-dong to top up my mobile since I am running low and I figured I need to use the phone heavily on weekend.

Then I came back to school's cafeteria to have lunch on my own - today's menu is Chicken Cultlet, the usual "chap cai peng" and some noodles. I chose the chicken cultlet of course, but kop some meat from the "chap cai peng" stall *lol* sneaky eh!!

I went to the computer room after lunch to chill since I got 3 hours to spare. I received email from UBS cuz I applied for summer internship there and I had to do an online numerical test, as well as a logical reasoning test. Same goes for the application of Merrill Lynch summer internship. Heard they got bought over by Bank of America. Anyway, after the tests, I went for Intro to Communication class and we are given back our test papers (woah, that is way too efficient). As I checked my score, woohoo a mixture of feelings overwhelmed me!! Unbelievable. Shocked. Excited. Exhilerated. Disbelief. Happy. Crazy etc. I got 90 out 100!! Can you believe it?? I think it is really the system here because back home, I don't think I will do so well. Korea seems to be a promising place for me to develop *lol* Next week I am tasked to lead the class as part of the presentation score that will count to our final exam, busy busy.

Enazi, Dong Hyun and I went for dinner @ the basement cafeteria and had a hearty chat about our results and discussed a little about our presentation plans as well as our next assignment. It sure was a good dinner before we parted ways. Now I am gonna watch the 3rd episode of Resident Evil - Extinction. Milla Jovovich FTW!!

Day 63 in Korea.

Countdown: 52 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 925.011 won.
Temperature reading: 18 degree celsius.

Argh, got lecture in the morning today. Sianz. I am so used to sleeping late and waking up late that it becomes a little uncomfortable to get up by 9:30am. I had to drag myself outta bed and get changed for school *yawnz*

Today Anne, Emilie and I went to the usual 507 for our class, but only to find out that they are used the classroom for an exam, so we had to clear the room and check for other locations. Just then, a unexpected figure showed up and guided us to the correct room. She is none other than Hye Ji. For the first time in my entire life did I stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded to the core and couldn't even utter a single word of greeting. My heart pounded just a little faster than usual and as she makes her exit, I finally heave a sigh of relief. Man, I was so darn weak.

And so, the lecturer came in and lecture commenced. We went through a new chapter - Mixing Strategies and blah blah blah. I had lunch with San-In and 2 other classmates. Woohoo lunch is good, even better the one in the basement cafeteria; we have 3 options - Spaghetti in cream sauce, Rice and vermicelli or the usual mixed vegetable rice. I opt for the spaghetti and mushroom soup and yum yum, they taste ultra nice for lunch. Then it is SAFE meeting. Somehow or rather, I feel that Koreans aren't good @ setting meeting agenda. In just a short span of 30 minutes, we discussed about 4-5 subjects with nothing materializing. So I decided to step in and re-organize the agenda and suggested division of labour since it is inefficiency to have everyone doing everything. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to propagate my idea further as I have Computer Graphic lecture. We all got back our test scripts, marked and graded. When I received mine, I was just hoping for a pass, maybe a little better, but I did not expect that God is good and He provided me with a score of 77.5 out of 100. That is like an A- or B+ grade man. Wow, for a level 4 equivalent module, I have never scored such good grades before. Maybe, it is just the Korean education system. I am happy to be the top few percentile of the class. I feel so encouraged and motivated!! We went through the papers and reviewed for the chapters that were done before the mid term test before breaking off.

Since we have an early dismissal, I went to the multimedia room to borrow the 2nd and final instalment of Resident Evil. I am gonna reward myself with a lil of Milla Jovovich action :) Totally love the movie and her!! Today San-In have a dinner appointment so I have no choice but to eat myself. Then comes the last lab of the week - Computer Animation. Hmm, today we do some concrete animation and movement of body and joints. Woohoo!! Time to make my bomber man project liao!!

Time for Resident Evil 2 - Apocalypse :)

Day 62 in Korea.

Countdown: 53 days.

Temperature reading: 17 degree celsius.

Ah, I was roused from my sleep by a telephone call that came from my pastor in the church I am attending while I am here. I call him Pastor Won and we agreed to meet up for lunch today. So we head over to Jeonmin-dong, into 1 of the noodle houses and had some udon and rice. So we begin to chat about what am I doing here and my plans while staying here. He is a really nice guy and I found out that his wife and 2 children are living in the States right now. Awesome man!! He has been there for 24 years with his family. Oh, and his english is superb. We had coffee after lunch and continued talking until some time later, he fetched me back to school, uttered a word of prayer for me and leave me to do my work. It is really heartwarming to know that someone do care about me in a foreign land. I am touched.

Anyway, it was raining in the noon so I think soccer training is cancelled. Darn, I brought all my gears down!! So bo pian, I am stuck in the computer room slacking my day off until 6pm when I met San-In and guest, Muugii (lol) for dinner. We had a great time, although still a little tense, but I believe the post-meal exercise (table tennis) helped to ease the tension. We had lots of fun and San-In is really good with table tennis. After the game, Muugii and I came back to the computer room, where he is off doing his stuffs and I, watching Resident Evil (the DVD I borrowed from the multimedia room).

I think I am going to practise sepak takraw later. IHG FTW!!

Day 61 in Korea.

Countdown: 54 days.

Temperature reading: 19 degree celsius.

Hmm, what a wonderful day without morning class. Time to sleep in, but uh-oh I slept way too long. I have got a lecture @ 2:30pm and it is already 2pm. So I hop on the 2:10pm bus and head straight to school. Unfortunately, nobody told me that today's lecture has been replaced by a 1:30pm lab session. Darn, I came in late, but I managed to catch up with whatevet the T.A is teaching and he helped me out for Lab 5 assignment with regards to openGL gluLookAt function. So I am pretty much cleared for the week. After class, I did up my Computer Animation project proposal. Initially, my plan is to emulate a scene from Guitar Hero, but I gave that idea up (considering I only have 1 month to do it up). End up, since I am hooked onto the Bomber Man game on my psp now, I figured I could use some help from Bomber Man. Shiok!!

I had dinner with San-In @ 6pm and now I am chilling out @ the computer room. Probably I will slack for the week before picking up the pace again.

[Joke of the day] Ah Beng goes to watch movie!
Why did Ah Beng go to a movie with his 18 friends?
Because according to the advertisement, below 18 is not allowed to go in.

Day 60 in Korea.

Countdown: 55 days.

Temperature reading: 17 degree celsius.

It is an insane start to the week - 6:30am training in school amidst the fog and the ultra cold wind blowing till my whole face turned pale. Initially, it was a little biting, but training with friends and having fun, laughing, falling, doing drills and set pieces, the pain seem to be insignificant to me. After training, we went to Maronnier (actually it is the same cafeteria that I alway have my dinner in) for breakfast - lightly toasted bread, salads, eggs, french fries and Seoul milk *lol* I alway seem to get lost in the middle of a heavily Korean spammed conversation because they like to talk very fast, they like to talk very loud and I don't freaking understand the Korean language!! Imagine, someone talks and everyone looks in your direction and started laughing. Man, I can't even make out if they are making fun of me or if I did something funny to command such laughters. I am seriously being mind-manipulated.

Shortly after, we parted ways and I head into the comfort of the warm computer room to refine my term paper for Movie and Society. Lucky, I brought my takraw ball to train. Not bad; I still haven't lost my touch but I need more practise to improve on my technique + lotsa stretching since my legs and joints are getting rusty after the long term of slacking. I went back to dormitory to shower and chill @ 1pm and slept through the beautiful cool afternoon.

I woke up later again @ 6pm and had my dinner @ Jeonmin-dong, Isaac's Toast. Now, I am slacking in school, typing this boring blog cuz I don't have morning class tomorrow. Lecturer will be away conduction interview for incoming freshmen *yipee*

[Joke of the day] Ah Beng gets red ears.
Ah Beng with two red ears went to his doctor. The doctor asked him what had happened to his ears and he answered,' I was ironing a shirt and the phone ring lor- but instead of picking up the phone, I accidentally picked up the iron and stuck it to my ear. So Kena lor!'
'Oh Dear!' the doctor exclaimed in disbelief. 'But, what happened to the other ear?'
Ah Beng: 'That stupid fellow called back again loh!'

Day 59 in Korea.

Countdown: 56 days.

Temperature reading: 17 degree celsius.

A beautiful day begins with a beautiful smile and of course, a beautiful breakfast. I only had the former *lol* So Divyan came to pick me up to go to church on Sunday and I got all dressed up and ready to go. We had a wonderful fellowship with the people and I managed to chat a little with this lady, Natasha, who is from Indonesia and she is planning to do MBA in NUS after she graduated from college here. After church, Travis and I went for lunch at the food court in Galleria and coffee @ Starbucks and we chatted a little before parting ways in Dunsan-dong. There I picked up a pair of crystal ear stuarts and then onto bus 750 back to ICU. Along the way, I saw this cute little white furry doggy and so I took photo of it. Poor fella, lying on the street in the middle of the cold weather with only a small house to live in. I wish I could take him home with me.

Anyway, I feel so burnt out today cuz I slept late last night (again) due to Arsenal versus Everton match. Woohoo, freaking whoop their butts 3-1. Sad news is the other Big 3 - Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester also won their games, so it is back to square one. Argh! Back in school, the best (and probably the warmest) place to hang out is the computer room. I brought along the dvd I loaned from the multimedia room. It is entitled - The Happy Life, a super meaningful and non-lame comedy. I would rate it 3 and a half star out of 5.

Synopsis:
Sang-woo, the leader of college rock band Active Volcano, dies and sets up a reunion for Gi-yeong and the other members of the group. Former bass player Seong-wook lives a hand-to-mouth existence working two jobs. Drummer Hyeok-su is a single father struggling to make a living as a car salesman. The jobless lead guitarist Gi-yeong dreams of taking over Active Volcano as the new frontman. When he suggests they reform the band while the old friends reminisce at the funeral, they all spurn the idea. But Gi-yeong persists and gets each to relent, setting the stage for a rock and roll reunion.

[Joke of the day]
Ah Beng had just bought a new computer and was using it when he encountered some problems. After a few attempts, he decided to use the 'Help' command. Soon after, he became very irritated and called the computer shop for support.
Ah Beng : 'I pressed the 'F1' key for help... but it's been over half an hour & still nobody has come to help me....'

Day 58 in Korea.

Countdown: 57 days.

Temperature reading: degree celsius.

Hmm, today is a good day - I have no exams to worry about, I am roughly done with my term paper and it is already halfway to going back home. After being out alone for some time (without seeing any familiar faces), it can get a little lonely sometimes. I miss playing soccer/takraw late @ night in the MPSH, miss having supper @ Sheares hall or Fongseng, miss playing guitar at night and singing crazily with my dear neighbours, miss playing Winning Eleven in Joel's room and wiping my hands with his towel (Esther's gonna kill me if she sees this). Second half will begin next week, so I have time to chillax for abit before getting back on track.

Today, I went to have my Starbucks after missing it for so many weeks. I ordered the Caramel Caffe Latte and caught a public dance performance (many pretty babes eh). I played "Bomberman" on my psp for awhile before going to Vivace (the place where I bought my Ibanez guitar) to check out the pricing of gig bags and Matthew's Lakland bass and my acoustic guitar. If everything goes smoothly, I will come back to order @ the end of the month.

Later, I met Todd, Divyan, Kevin and Travis for dinner and guess what, we had Duc-khal-be and Bimbimbap... ARGH!!! I am growing sick of it, but anyway I can't complain cuz there isn't much selection of food though. Korean food are limited!! After that, we head over to Baskin' Robbin' (something like Australian Rock ice cream) to have some desserts and man, when Americans gather, it would be inevitable to hear them debate about politics back at home, the current economic situation, as well as the presidential election issues. I feel rather left out because I don't really understand the background of their entire social buildup and their long established history, so half the time I just have to pick up some general knowledge from their verbal exchange. Trust me, it ain't interesting; not for a guy like me *lol*

When they are done, I was so thankful and we hitched Divyan's car to the bus stop where we all part ways. What an eventful day!!

[Joke of the day]

Ah Beng took part in the Singapore Manhunt Competition. During the Q&A segment, the host asks, 'Name a drink that begins with the letter 'G'.'The crowd shouts, 'Gin! Gin!'. Others exclaim, 'No, its Grape Juice!' Another smart aleck yells, 'Alamak, Gatorade!'

Host: 'Quiet please.'

Ah Beng laughs hysterically like a hyena before replying: 'C'mon man, I don't need their help? I got more original answer. My answer is 'Gu ni!' (milk in Hokkien)

Day 57 in Korea.

Countdown: 58 days.

Temperature reading: 14 degree celsius.

Ah, today never felt better than before :) I woke up in the noon @ 2pm before coming to school for an exam at 4pm. 20 questions, 5 marks each and no more than 3 sentences of definitions for each questions. LOL, sounds too good to be true? Welcome to ICU!!

After exam, I went to Munji dormitory to collect a package that Soon Chan ordered for me and guessed what was it?? A SEPAK TAKRAW BALL!! Woohoo!! Now I can practise on my own in the midst of the biting cold and train hard for IHG liao. Awesome man, I can't express my excitment enough because I have been searching over the place to look for this ball, but to no avail. Luckily I had understanding who ordered it for me. Effort 101/100@@

Later, I meet Jung Hew and Shin Ji for dinner @ a restaurant in Jeonmin-dong and we had Par Jung (Korean pizza) and fried Octopus. Wonderful dinner + they treated me to some gelato ice cream after that. Double the goodness. We had a short chat and talked about our future and Jung Hew told me he planned to marry Shin Ji next year if everything goes on smoothly... *envious* When will my turn comes?? I wonder. As we adjourned back to school, I taught them how to play takraw along the way and we had fun abusing the poor little rattan ball.

Then, I had another appointment @ 10pm with brother (Hyung) Jae Hoon for beer and chickens @ Jeonmin-dong... Ahhh!!! I have to walk back again... He brought me to this bar - CinQ to have Cass beer and fried chicken. Man, the chicken seriously rocked (although a bit oily) and we watched baseball match together - Samsung Lions versus Doosan Bears and the game went into extra time because of a tie 4-4. I really wish to go watch a live baseball match before I leave, but Hyung Jae Hoon told me that the season playoffs will only be held in Seoul cuz the league matches are over. Hmm, sounds like a good excuse to leave Daejeon for a while *lol*

[Joke of the day] Ah Beng does jigsaw puzzles.

After completing a jigsaw puzzle he'd been working on for quite sometime, Ah Beng proudly shows off the finished puzzle to a friend.'It took me only 5 MONTHS to do it,' Ah Beng said. 'FIVE MONTHS? Why did you take so long.' the friend asked.Ah Beng replied, 'No, it is not long at all, look at the box, it says it is for 4 to 7 years'.

Day 56 in Korea.

Countdown: 59 days.

Temperature reading: 15 degree celsius.

Today is what I call the "Greatest Survival of Harsh Man Made Ordeal!!" 3 exams in a day - 10am to 12pm, 1pm to 3pm and 4pm to 6pm. Woohoo, this is the first time in my entire life to go through such powderful stress, but I am glad and proud to say I have overcome it. Haha laughter first; tears later probably?

I slept at 4am last night cuz I keep tossing and turning in bed. I thought "if I can't wake up today = GG-fied!!" But I did, with the help of Emma and my dear alarm clock!!

After an eventful day, I dropped by the multimedia room to loan 2 DVDs - 1 Korean rock band comedy and the other, Shallow Hal!! Awesome comical videos for the weekend to de-stress!! Then I meet San-In for dinner again at the cafeteria, after which we went down to the Galleria departmental store to purchase his book and had Cookie and Cream Latte + donuts @ Dunkin' Donuts!! Yummilicious pastry and beverage for the wonderful evening. This ain't over for me yet; still gotta survive a 1 hour test tomorrow @ 4pm + a term paper to submit by next Friday + a lab assignment to submit on Thursday... Shiok~

[Joke of the Day] Ah Beng goes to Pub.

At a bar in New York , the man sat next to Ah Beng told the bartender, 'JOHNNIE WALKER, SINGLE' and his companion said, 'JACK DANIELS,SINGLE.' The bartender turned to Ah Beng and asked, 'AND YOU, SIR?' Ah Beng replied: 'Tan Ah Beng, MARRIED.'

Day 55 in Korea.

Countdown: 60 days.
Countdown to exams: 1 day.

Temperature reading: 17 degree celsius.

I woke up to a cold and warm sunny afternoon (if you catch my drift). It was 2:33pm so I got up, washed up, changed out and get ready to go to school. Thanks to my soccer coach, I have got free breads for munch to my fill my stomach after missing my lunch. I arrived in school @ 3:20pm and thereafter, went to withdraw moolah to fund my dinner. I was so smart to press 600,000 won (approx SGD $712) withdrawal and there I am stuck with a huge stack of cash. Fortunately, the ATM has deposit function, so I took what I wanted and put the rest back to where it belonged. Then I proceed to my "lab" to begin my revision. Just 1 more day to exam and I am totally excited (not to mention, partially afraid), but I guess I have to go through it anyway (so might as just get it over and done with asap).

So here I am mugging till 6pm, met San-In for dinner and an unexpected guest showed up - my roomie, Muugii. As a form of politeness, since he is sitting alone, I asked San-In to invite him to sit with us and eat. Not trying to pretend to be nice or what, I just acted as myself and chat as per normal. After dinner, we parted ways in school and I went to the restroom to wash up. On my way back to my "lab", I saw Muugii waiting for the lift, so I greeted him as per normal but he looked at me and gave no response. I will take it as he is shy or rather, a man of few words (giving him rhe benefit of the doubt) and walked off. Talking about false pretense, hmm, the accusers seem to be the culprits e.g. the sadducees and the pharisees. I rest my case.

Today my friend called me a postman because of my jacket!! Where got postman wear yellow jacket, a MLB NY cap + Levi's Signature jeans + Pedro loafers to go delivery one?? Super off siah. Anyway, Han Feng showed me this video over msn and I figured I should share with you people. Don't cry!!

[Joke of the day] Ah Beng calls the telephone operator.
Ah Beng: 'Could you please tell me the time difference between Singapore and New York ?'
Operator: 'Just a minute...'
Ah Beng: 'Thank you.'
Ah Beng got his answer and cut off the line.

Day 54 in Korea.

Countdown: 61 days.
Countdown to exams: 2 days.

Temperature reading: 22 degree celsius.

Today is a happy day for me - I managed to request for a change of room and it went through, so happily I went to shift my barang barang to the other room I allocated to. Lo and behold, a big room awaits. I can have the freedom to do whatever I want and ain't nobody is gonna disturb me or make any more noise about me playing music or watching shows in the late night :) Yahoo!!

And so I head to Jeonmin-dong for my lunch before going to school to mug for Intro to Multimedia. I don't know how I am gonna cope with 3 papers in a day, but I guess there is always a 1st time for me. The usual routine - meeting San-In for dinner and coming back to study. Basically that is how I spend the day. Nothing much to do though. Oh yah, watching Heroes Season 3 Episode 5 - Angels and Monsters.

Day 53 in Korea.

Countdown: 62 days.

Countdown to exams: 3 days.

Temperature reading: 15 degree celsius.

Today is finally the beginning of mid term week. All my past week of effort will be realized since the anticipation from last week. I checked my mail today, but to my dismay, 1 of my exam will be pushed to Thursday so now I have a super heavy Thursday to handle - 3 papers in one day. Never in history have I faced with such a problem before. Ottokay?

With that heavy heart, I left for Expo Core to check on my account balance. Hmm, healthy balances, so it is good. I went back to Isaac's Toast to have my MVP Toast cuz I haven't been there in a while and I missed the fragrance of the toasted bread and juices. Just before I left, a Korean middle school student offered me a cup of drink and spoke with me in Korean, but I was clueless with what she was saying, but I replied politely like I knew what she was saying and there was an awkward silence for awhile *lol* Whatever it is, it tells me two things - 1. I probably should really go brush up my Korean language; 2. I probably am still attractive enough to attract young Korean girls;

It is back to the lifeless mugging in school again and I met San-In, so we went to cafeteria and have dinner. Today menu is "Korean pizza" and omelette with rice and got free "Yakult" giveaway with every feedback form filled!! Ho seh ah. Later I went to buy ice cream and yum yum before going back to computer room to study. This is super draggy and crazy.

3 more days to my exams. Please come faster. I have enough of mugging liao~

Day 52 in Korea.

Countdown: 63 days.

Temperature reading: 6 degree celsius.

Ah, a beautiful cool morning with a friendly wake up call from Divyan to go to church. I swiftly change out into my new outfit (Adidas Beckenbauer replica jacket) and hitch a ride to Sae Ro Nam church where I meet all my friends from different countries again. I had a great time enjoying their fellowship before making way back to school for a 4 hours make up lecture (YES MAKE UP LECTURE). School on Sunday? Hmm, only happens in Korea!!

But as usual, lecturer comes and class still have to go. We went through mid term topics and covered some that has not been covered yet. Time flew really when you don't notice it. I met Yong Han, Ha Mok, Song jin, Tok Chong and Steve for dinner @ the school cafeteria. Ah, the food still taste bland as ever (missing the duc-khal-be I ate yesterday). We ate and talked about mid term exams next week and everyone suddenly like sian1/2, but it is good cuz if exams don't come, how do they go then?

Hmm looks like it is back to lifeless mugging for me on a Sunday evening. Good bye week #7 and welcome week #8.

I happen to chance upon this video by this talented "Avril Lavigne" of Korea. Check her out - Younha!!

Day 51 in Korea.

Countdown: 64 days.

Temerature reading: degree celsius.

Ah finally the weekend has arrived. I was greeted by the beautiful mid day breeze. I woke up at around 12pm and meet Yong Han @ 2:30pm before we took a bus down to UnHeng-dong. Man, that is like the Orchard Road of Daejeon city. The streets are bustling with loads of people and many shops for you to choose from - fashion, footwears, body shop, restaurants and entertainments. Woohoo, suddenly the grass seems to be greener on this side of the city. We walked around, taking photos and eating this 13cm tall ice cream (vanilla/chocolate mixed) and shopping all around for my Adidas jacket. Finally, we decided to go back to Galleria to shop since I can get DFS (duty-free shopping) there. I bought a BeckenBauer TT design Adidas jacket (can you guess which of the 3 jackets I chose?), Yong Han got his Giordano jacket and tee and we both headed back to Jeonmind-dong. He was supposed to meet Jong Tak Chong for dinner and discussion, but because he was hanging out with me, they changed plans and end up, Yong Han and I went to have duc-khal-be dinner!! Woohoo~ My best meal of the week (considering I have been having bland food for the week).

So then, we came back to school

Day 50 in Korea.

Countdown: 65 days.

Temperature reading: 11 degree celsius.

Today is what I would call an outbreak of personal limits. Something so intense and sensitive happened that really triggered me off. I won't be blogging about my day because my day has been destroyed by this ****ed up pest whom I have been living with for the past 49 days. I was trying to be nice, but like the good ol' saying, good doesn't always beget good!!

This post will be more like a case study basis and you guys can feel free to leave me a tag to let me know what I should do because it is the 1st time I am driven up the wall, not because I can't solve the problem, but because of the severe language barrier I have with this ***hole.

[Situation #1]

I was watching a Korean tv series @ night. It wasn't loud and I was just concentrating. The show was really damn funny and I emitted intermittence laughters. Suddenly, a jackass sneaked up on me and "boo"ed me. Man, that guy really pushed me hard. I was thinking, "why would you do that when I am watching show." He told me "oh, I was just kidding." Brushing it aside, I continue to watch my show and this time, I irritated him back by turning the volume a little louder for awhile and softening it.

How would you like a person to sneak up on you and push you in the middle of the night when you are enjoying a nice show? Food for thought.

[Situation #2]

My room mate is gonna sleep, so as an act of kindness, I switched off his side of the light and lower the volume. He started to throw a tantrum - asking me to switch off all the lights, including the toilet light and close the door. Dammit. I don't like to close the door when I am awake (claustrophobic I guess) and I don't understand why must we switch off all the lights. He then took his mat and lie in front of the door in order to make me close the door. What the heck?? When you sleep, would you even notice if the day is open? I already agreed to switch off all the lights, but he just wouldn't compromise.

What would you do? (considering I have never stayed in a 2-room sharing my 2 years in KR).

[Situation #3]

This is the best in history ever. He suddenly pinched the back of my arm so hard, it actually hurts. So I was really damn pissed and I asked him nicely, "why did you do this?" Guess what, he gave me the most innocent looking face in the world and not answering my question. I gave him a serious look and asked the second time, the third time, the fourth time and the fifth time. All of which met no reply. Finally, in order to brush me aside, he said "I was just kidding, ok?" Instantly, a palm went right to his face without warning. Here is kidding from me, how you like me now?

Imagine a pathetic Mongolian bugger who cannot own up to his action. Welcome to Muugii's world.

[Situation #4]

Fall season is nearing winter so it is getting cold, especially at night. The best place to go to is your room where you can stay within the confine of its warmth. A certain bugger opened the window and he put on a jacket IN THE ROOM. I was just wearing a singlet, as usual a Singaporean guy would. I told him, "it is cold" and a cold reply came right back, "but it is warm." Instantly, I mind-murdered this dude. In my head, alot of thoughts went through and one of them was, why would any dumb ass open the window when it is so cold (we are talking around 13-15 degrees) and wears jacket in the room? Doesn't he has any sense at all?

If you want to meet one person who likes to do the stupidest thing beyond your wildest imagination, I would like to introduce you to my friend - Muugii.

[Situation #5]

It was 6am in the morning. I heard my room mate going to the toilet to take a leak. After that he left the toilet lights on, play with the room lights (on and off and on them) and left them on. He even opened the window and went back to bed, hiding underneath his blanket. I woke up 10 minutes afterwards because the light was disturbing my sleep, so I went to off it, and close the window and asked him, "why did you leave the room and toilet lights on?" The most classique reply, "I was dreaming." How would you want me to respond? Can any of you believe him? I can't, but maybe his people can.

Have you ever seen a sleepwalker in your entire life before? I am living next to one, a Mongolian one.

There are many smaller instances, but I guess I just leave them out for the sake of not boring anyone out. I am going crazy day by day with this maniac driving me nuts. If someone out there can feel my pain, please help prescribe some remedy for me. I am dying of patience.

Moving on to Heroes Season 3 Episode 4 - http://smotri.com/video/view/?id=v647473fb37

Day 49 in Korea.

Countdown: 66 days.

Temperature reading: 16 degree celsius.

The same old day in school except that I got a make up class from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. That sucks man, but overall I enjoyed the class alot cuz today was more hand-ons. I am not really a big fan of lecturer teach and you just listen cuz it makes me very very sleepy. Class ended and I rolled back into the computer room to do my self study again. I feel that I have studied more than all my other semesters' mugging combined.

As usual, dinner with San-In and another female student and I went to Dunsan-dong today to buy a nice little cover for my Ipod Nano Chromatic :) It is a Belkin leather protective case with screen protective for the Nanos. They always say - no point investing when you can't protect those investments. It took me almost a month to buy this freaking case. Now I don't have to worry about my Nano getting scratched.

Tomorrow I am gonna get a new custom Stratocaster. Matthew is gonna help me get it back in Singapore. Rocks~

Day 48 in Korea.

Countdown: 67 days.

Temperature reading: 17 degree celsius.

Today is a crazy day for me. My room mate suddenly wanna watch movie and so we watched movie till like 6am in the morning before tucking in. I slept all the way till 4pm before waking up to go to school to mug. I feel that my life is becoming mundane with the coming of mid term exams. Everyday I go to school to study and then come back to rest and the whole cycle repeats daily. I am meeting San-In for dinner again and we ate together since Monday @ the school cafeteria, punctually @ 6pm.

After dinner, I came back to mug again while he goes to his study group. I just received an email from my lecturer that because she is not gonna be in town this week, there will be no mid term exams for that module. Wah shiok!! So now it is time to relax and watch my favourite tv English series - Heroes.

Heroes Season 3 Episode 2 - http://www.videosinhd.com/mega.html?file=WLHQ2OY2

Day 47 in Korea.

Countdown: 68 days.

Temperature reading: degree celsius.

A good sleep through the cold weather. I woke up @ 3pm to cook lunch - spicy ramen with the short version of sausage. Just before I left dormitory, I saw this gigantic spider than crawled beside my Converse shoes. I almost freaked out. I screamed like loud and I started jumping on the spidey even though I killed it. Haha, one of its legs got snapped out. Shiok.

So I went to school and hit my favourite spot in the computer room and settled down to do some self study. Finally, my exam timetable is out. It looks pretty evenly spread out, so not a problem for me. Later, I had dinner with San-In @ the cafeteria again. Today dinner is Korean rich, with kimchi, ma-po tofu, some beansprouts and seawood soup. All for just 2,500 won.

After dinner, we went to the school coop to buy some stuffs. I got a "MAXIM" coffee pack (inside got 20 satchets). LOL. What a funny name - MAXIM coffee?? It doesn't even taste sexy @ all. Then I came back to do my self-study again (seems like I am the chao mugger now) and the day is gonna end soon. Hmm, I shall stop for the day and go watch my favourite Heroes Season 3!!

For Heroes fans, http://www.videosinhd.com/mega.html?file=049A479V

Day 46 in Korea.

Countdown: 69 days.

Temperature reading: 15 degree celsius.

Today is a crazy start of the week - 6am soccer training in school & I had to walk all the way from my dormitory to school (approx 30 minutes) because the bus shuttle starts @ 7:10am and I promised the captain I would attend the training. Cui~ The team is trained by an outsider coach with his 2 assistants. He looks rugged, but still got the touches man. We did fitness training, as well as some on-the-ball skills and routines - crossing, shooting, passing etc. After that, we played a friendly match to determine which team buys breakfast. End up we won but haha, it was just a joke zzz... However, the captain was darn nice. He is younger than me but because it was the 1st time I am eating breakfast with them, so he treated me. Nice-si. We had Korean rice with potatoes and kimchis. I sat among a bunch of Korean speaking dudes and couldn't make out what they were talking, but luckily I got a kind dude who helped sub it in english for me. Kam sah ham-ni-da :)

Following breakfast, I went back to dormitory by bus (finally) and had a good shower before heading to bed and I zonked out for 6 hours before waking up @ 4pm to go to school to start my mugging. My all-time computer roommate, Yoo San-Ein invited me for dinner with him and 2 other friends and so we headed down to the cafeteria for Korean style dinner :) I had a chat with his friends and they invited me to drink with them some time later in the week, so I accepted the offer *lol* How can you drink and not call Gerald along? That would be so uncool eh.

Shortly after dinner, we went back to computer room to study and this msn thing distracts me badly especially with the introduction of MSN group chat thingy where everybody in the channel will receive the mass message that 1 person send and it is unstoppable!! I am glad that despite being far away from home, there are people back home who actually miss me and I can't wait to fly back to see the new freshies (woohoo, eager anticipation!!). With that, I end my day mugging in the computer room that I hang out so often in. I am gonna finish up my lab work tomorrow and concentrate mugging.

So good night people... It is such a wonderful blessing to be able to sleep on a comfy bed...

Day 45 in Korea.

Countdown: 70 days.

Temperature reading: 18 degree celsius.

Haix... I think it has become a bad habit of me to sleep late and wake up late... I missed church today... Sian... So I decided to make up the day by going to school to do some self mugging and then have dinner @ Jeonmin-dong and end off my day by blogging.

I reached school @ 5pm and started to mug for Game Theory til around 6:30pm before I went to Isaac's Toast for my usual MVP Toast (2,600 won). The weather is really cold and as usual, I only strap on a tee and shorts from G2000. On the way back, I met Fawaz who was on his way to Sunny's place for dinner. He kindly invited me, which I can't refuse so I tag along. I was not disappointed. Sunny's curry masala chicken is the bomb!! I keep helping myself to more of it and I ate it in the muslim style - hands only. Afterwards I received a call from Chee Soon, reminding me of an appointment we made earlier this week!!! WTH!!! I totally forgotten about it - the Sam-Jok-Sal gang!!! Pork fest~

So I hurried and left Sunny's place to meet them @ the usual SJS place outside school. Gosh, I am eating 3 sets of dinner!! I feel so piggish, but who cares, the food is darn good.. I love Korean BBQ and I got a feeling I have to get used to Singapore food again... kekeke~ We eat and chat and drink and eat and chat and blah blah blah till 9 plus before coming back to school. Man, you guys should try authentic Korean BBQ someday

It rocks... Only thing lacking was, a cup of SOJU!!

Day 44 in Korea.

Countdown: 71 days.

Temperature reading: 18 degree celsius.

Woohoo today I am gonna post lots of photos so I won't blog much, but the main highlight was the visit to Kumdori Amusement Park. I met up with Divyan, Grace and Kelvin and it was so darn fun over there.

Grace left us in the late noon to meet her friends while Kelvin, Divyan and I went to Papa Jon to have pizza dinner with Travis and Andrea!!

Thank God for the wonderful day and weather!!