Day 100 in Korea!

Countdown: 15 days.

Today don't know why, so cold and I almost died in the cold weather. As usual, I woke up late and so I made the SAFE club waited for me *lol* We took 3 cabs to go to Nam Sun ice skating rim. Along the way, guess what happened? To some people, it may be trivial, but to me, it is MAJOR - I SAW SNOWS FLYING IN THE SKY!! Like many many flakes were flying all around. Woohoo~ Welcome the winter season (although I am not a big fan of coldness).

We went in and get our skates and get wrapped up and chiong into the rim. To be honest, it has been a long time since I skated so I was a little apprehensive about my skating skill. I went slowly, for fear I malu myself. After about 10 rounds, I got used to the skate and my balance and I am ready to chiong. The siren rang and we all had to evacuate the rim cuz they got smoothen the ice with that vehicle thingy, so I went to buy latte and drink (since I am still zoink out). I met this little girl (8 years old), Jane and initially, I tried to speak with her in Korean, but she totally shocked me with her English (with accent somemore). From the conversation, I realized she started figure skating about 2 months ago and have been regularly patronizing this rim. So I went in and skate together with her and chit chatting. Man, I tell you, this girl is so nice lah - knowing that the skates is not good, she went out to take 2 sponges for me to cover my ankles (the skates really suck; it cause major blisters on my 2 ankles). She looked just like a younger sister to me; if only I had a younger sister *sulks*

We skated for an hour before her mom came and pick her up. That was the last I saw of her. Suddenly, as I was skating, this bugger from behind pushed me and he is none other than the guy with the white tiger headwear. He is seriously a major a-hole. Because of his seniority, you know in Korea, they pick on juniors like us. Dammit man, I fell right on my butt, but lucky got too much meat to cushion if not I will kill him on the spot. He not only pushed me, but the other guys as well. Ultra buay tahun.

After skating, we went to So-Dal-Gu-Ji for a nice and warm spicy chicken broth (with chicke inside of course). What a slack day~

Day 99 in Korea.

Countdown: 16 days.

Hmm, today no Movie and Soc class, so can sleep in later cuz the weather is totally killing me, like this invisible monster biting hard on all parts of my body. I went to school for my last Intro to Communication lecture, but don't know why it is the most boring of all the lectures. Firstly, she over-explained, she paused for too long and she dragged the lecture for too long. My final exam for this course will be 1 week after and I am slapped with a final assignment. Tooooooooooooooottt!!

After class, Dong Hyun and I chiong to Jeonmin-dong and we ate @ Buldonseongdo, a restaurant opened by the mother of an ICU student and selling cheap Sam-geok-sal (bbq pork). We were relieved that the classes and the season is coming to an end and we can all go back to our homes respectively for winter break. The dinner is a

We separate paths after dinner and I have a final soccer match with the ITTP buggers before the season ends. It will be my last soccer match in Korea before I hit back shore. The weather is totally unconducive for sports now.

The day finally draws to an end.

Day 98 in Korea.

Countdown: 17 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 980 won.
Temperature reading: 6 degree celsius.

Ah, today is a long day for me, but I made it longer when I decided to stay up late to watch the UEFA Champ League - Barca vs Sporting Lisbon. Darn, I only had 3 hours to sleep or less. Nonetheless, I made it to Game Theory class. As promised, professor Kwon brought me and the 2 French ladies, Emilie and Anne out for lunch @ Bibi Space, an Italian restaurant near the school. The meal is uber delicious and we had a fun chat with the professor.

Later I came back for Computer Animation class. Wowee, today is my final lecture and next week I will ocmplete my solo project presentation + final exam for this subject. I can't wait for the next week to come and go. I wanna just finish whatever I have and just get on with life.

Today they are supposed to have a bazaar @ around 5:30pm so I went down to take a look, only to be disappointed by the size of the bazaar. Darn it man, these people don't put in effort to plan anything. They just think of an idea and they go ahead and do it. See the picture and you know why. The variety of items is crappy and somemore some of the stuffs are fake, zZz.

I finally finished all my projects and reports and stuffs, so I am now free to do my self study for the exam. I am pressing on!!

Day 97 in Korea.

Countdown: 18 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 977 won.
Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

Last night was a head spinner; I woke up @ 3:45pm today and went to school to do revision for Computer Animation class + finish up my project report + finish the camera animation for my project and I am done. Everything is falling right on schedule. Swee~

Also, we attended a concert in school, performed by my friend's band Carpe Diem. To be honest, I don't really like their renditions of the music, but as friends, I went to support. I was not disappointed for the night cuz I won the lucky draw and they gave me 10,000\ as prize (see pic above)!! Song boh!! Come to concert and get free moolah - it would only happen in Korea *lol*

Heroes Season 3 Episode 10

Day 96 in Korea.

Countdown: 19 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 983.
Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

Hmm, today for Game Theory class, my professor looked @ Emilie, Anne and me and proposed to take us out for lunch on Thursday cuz according to him, he did not have time to interact with us and so the lunch is to compensate for it. WOWEE!! I love it.

The day was normal, but I finally solved the problem for my project. I realized the old laboratory work I did for Computer Graphics class in NUS, which I intended to use for a current project in ICU had some compatibility issue. But thanks to the wonderful multimedia collection in ICU, I am able to install a MS Visual Studio 2005 version into 1 of the computer room computer and get my project up and running. Luckiest of luck is that my teaching assistance agreed to accept the project, despite the compatibility issue. Now my project and the report is done!! SHIOK!! One project down and one more to go.

In the night, I met San-In and his friends for beer @ Dasarang. They are nice people, but lethal to hang out with. You know, guys like me, don't really like my ego to be compromised, so when they dunk soju sand beer together, I gave the green light and I finished a couple of the mixture in 1 swallow. After 5-6 swallows, I am completely on the high and wasted. What happened after that I cannot remember, but I know I woke up again 7am to go to the loo and dunk loads of water before falling back to sleep again. Shucks man.

Day 95 in Korea.

Countdown: 20 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 940 won.
Temperature reading: 6 degree celsius.

Today I finally met up with a fellow Singaporean - Christina Tay. Okie, I must first admit I was quite afraid to meet her because firstly, I am shy when 1-to-1 with girl. Secondly, if she is the quiet type, then I am GG-ed for the night. I had to finish some work in school before coming out to meet her. I was supposed to meet her @ 6:30pm, but you know lah, Singaporeans timing is as elastic as the rubber band one. Haha, actually I was caught in jam (darn, what a lame excuse right?).

And so, I finally met her @ 6:50pm (oops). I think we both can recognize each other from far, but I purposely act bodoh and walk past her *lol* It is part of breaking the ice eh. We greeted each other (ice still a little cold) and chat as we walk towards the duc-khal-be place. You know, the usual questions like "How are you?" and "Where have you been to?" and "What have you done in Daejeon?" blah blah blah nonsense. Surprizingly, it was very smoove haha (maybe from my perspective only). We arrived @ the restaurant after a 5 minutes walk, settled down and ordered our food. We begin to tak photos of each other and just converse while waiting for the foodies. It is fun to know how much things have been happening in Seoul all these times when I am stuck in boring Daejeon city. I have to admit, she looks very adorable. Half the time she was talking, I wasn't paying much attention to the content but her (pardon me). Man, Seoul is so much fun and I have made up my mind to spend my last week in Korea in Seoul, no matter what. At least I must leave this place with beautiful memories.

I felt so relaxed for the first time and I finally met my fellow Singaporean friend. There is no where closer than this familiarity that makes me feel so comfortable. However, good times are short-lived. I walked her to the subway station before she took the train back to the terminal and subsequently the train back to Seoul. Poor me have to return to school to finish up my project.

Sian~

Day 94 in Korea.

Countdown: 21 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to won.
Temperature reading: degree celsius.

Today is lazy day. Sleep sleep and sleep.

Day 93 in Korea.

Countdown: 22 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 977 won.
Temperature reading: 7 degree celsius.

*Brrrrr* Suddenly it becomes too cold for me to get out of bed. The moment I opened my blanket, the cold wind rushed against my body and I had to take shelter in the blanket again. Darn. The weather is a killer. I woke up finally @ 3:45pm and had my lunch @ Isaac's Toast (to be honest, I don't know any place here that you can eat singularly because everywhere in Korea, they encourage group dining). I went to school to do my self-study for Computer Animation since exam is round the corner and then meet up with Akmal and Fawaz to go shop for groceries and Pem's birthday cake.

We finally returned to Hwaam kitchen. Pem and Enazi did the cooking while all of us tucked in to eat. Finally, the main event of the day - Pem's birthday celebration. I don't know but maybe as people gets a little older, they don't usually like to celebrate birthday parties. It was just a simple singing of the birthday song + wishing + blowing of the candles and we are done. Haha. We stayed on a little later to watch some Premier League matches and toot, Arsenal lost to Man City 3-0. I am so gonna cry!!

Day 92 in Korea.

Countdown: 23 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 989.79 won.
Temeprature reading: 7 degree celsius.

Tiring day it is, but I have the privilege to sleep in late cuz my Movie and Soc class is cancelled for both this week and next week due to the professor's marraige. Yahoo! So I only come to school for a guest lecture by this guy, Mr Park Young Min from a local animation firm, which produced an award winning animation, Tree Robo @ some expo convention. Down side, the lecture is in Korean (like what's new right?). Lucky I got a friend who can translate for me. Else, I will be left dumb founded for the entire session. It is fun because of the animations and all the effects we can achieve with computer animation + they are all over tv commercials and advertisements - good for my future job. But due to the language barrier, I can't understand what he is saying, so half the time I am just focusing on the slides and some slides are in Korean. Darn it man. These people are really pro Korean, aren't they? It is damn disgusting when people speak a language that you don't understand. If Korea is a close country, I can understand. It is a freaking international country and English is the standard yet their level of English is really poor. No offence, but I feel that in certain ways, they are acting on closed system basis.

I will be leaving in 23 days and I can't wait to go home. People here are really boring - all studies and little play. I came here to enjoy, not to mug, but people are too obsessed with getting A's, so let them be. I can't stay in this place any longer. Seniors usually tell me how much they enjoy during exchange, but mine has got to be the worst among all SEP students. I don't even need a freaking grade, so I don't care about whether I can score an A or not. The competition here is cut throat. People sacrifice leisure time for the sake of scoring an A. If grades are everything that determines their quality, I feel really sorry for them and the system they have to live with.

I feel so angsty now.

Heroes Season 3 Episode 9

Day 91 in Korea.

Countdown: 24 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 945 won.
Temperature reading: 9 degree celsius.

Haha, today I managed to wake up early for the Game Theory. The quiz is of okay standard but I think the last question I removed the wrong strategy and calculated the probabilistic average of the 2 remaining wrong strategy combi and now I am gonna kill myself. But hey, I don't need no A's for all my credits, so chillax only!!

Today is a good day cuz my Computer Animation lecturer decided to give us a break from the lab session, so push the lab session earlier (since we got a 3.5 hours lapse in between the lecture and lab session) and we can go enjoy some cultural performance which is happening in the auditorium tonight. After the performance, I went with the French ladies to eat Shabu shabu, then coffee @ Coffeteria.

Now I can't even sleep with singlet and boxer shorts. I must wear jeans and jacket to bed. This sucks. I wanna go back to Singapore, the sunny island.

Day 90 in Korea.

Countdown: 25 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 949 won.
Temperature reading: -3 degree celsius.

Today weather is a chilly killer. The moment I opened my blanket, fwah! I immediately close it back cuz the weather is too darn cold for me. Literally freezing point. No choice, still must get up and wash up and change out and go have my lunch *ugh* Thanks to the coat Kevin loaned me, else, I will really die in the open with my yellow Adidas jacket.

Nothing much happened today; just mug mug mug in school cuz weather too cold, so no more soccer training + tomorrow got quiz. I tried to mug in the study room today but I end up dozing off cuz too quiet and after the 1st page, I literally laid flat on the table. Hmm, unproductive day. The dinner menu today was a little better than before - we had a potluck on top of the rice + kimchi + blah blah blah. Shiok!

Day 89 in Korea.

Countdown: 26 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 934 won.
Temperature reading: -2 degree celsius.

Let's see, the weather is getting colder and today is a fine example, -2 degree celsius. It may be okay for some people, but definitely not for me. The hot sun whacking my face in the morning with the occasional bombardment of chilling breezes drives me up the wall. For the first time in my life, I feel so helpless; totally submitted to the mercy of the climate I have been put in. Goodness!

Emma brought me out to this little coffee house (really little + cosy) just by the alley near to Mr Pizza place in Jeonmin-dong. We went in for a dosage of artificial adrenaline, Machiato for her and Caramel Latte for me. The lady running the store is really young and she makes really good espresso + her latte art is superb!! I took the photo on my phone camera but I don't how to transfer it over to my comp. Sian tiao.

For the rest of the day, I just spend time doing up my Game Theory assignment (3 out of 7 questions done) + trying to complete my Computer Animation project (Bomberman Revolution). Things look promising and I should be going back home soon.

I miss the warmth and humidity of sunny Singapore. The weather here is totally unbearable. You can't many outdoor sports and you can even feel the chilly spikes indoor - whatever happened the heaters man?

Tomorrow, Saudi Arabia takes on South Korea for the 2010 World Cup Asia Qualifier. Tae-Han-Min-Guk!!

Day 88 in Korea.

Countdown: 27 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 919.7 won.
Temperature reading: 9 degree celsius.

Okie, today is a very routinal day for me and I came to school @ 3pm after having my MVP Toast @ Isaac's. I finally finished mugging for my Game Theory quiz which will be happening on Thursday. Sian + I just received a new assignment today. Wah lau eh, these people are crazy!! Exam is round the corner, still wanna spam assignments!!

I met Mengistu, a Utopian guy for dinner and have a chat with him over meal time. Later I wanted to go to Lab to do up my Animation project, but there is a class so now I am stuck in the computer room slacking and maybe doing some project report.

I can't wait to get back home.

Day 87 in Korea.

Countdown: 28 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 919 won.
Temperature reading: 12 degree celsius.

I almost couldn't wake up for service this morning. Lucky Uncle Pete called me to wake me up. Nothing much interesting happened today. Just went to Dunsan area to have coffee and went for a final full dress rehearsal for the performance and then performed and bailed out and came back to dormitory and rest.

However, the weather is getting colder. Fortunately, Kevin loaned me his coat for the remaining days I have in Daejeon. Uber nice guy!!

Day 86 in Korea.

Countdown: 29 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to won.
Temperature reading: degree celsius.

And so the day arrived for our match against KAIST. We were all prepared on the field @ 1pm and had some fitness training + briefing by the coach before the match goes underway. Man, I don't know the Korean system, but they are playing 4 quarters - each lasting 30 minutes; like WTH?? I played in the third quarter, together with the reserve squad and I was assigned left wing back (zZz, I am right footed + my usual position is center midfielder, but I just took up the post nonetheless). I realized their idea of playing football is that everyone is comfortable with their positions - nobody make runs to empty spaces, nobody call for ball, everyone just stands static and wait for the ball to arrive @ their feet nicely. I did an Evra overlapping on the left and was told off cuz they said I played out of position. Yeah, it is easy for me to just stay behind the right winger and watch him struggle with 2 guys pressing on him hard and the center midfielders just stand in the middle watching and hoping this guy will do a miracle pass. They don't understand the meaning of slowing the game down and do some passing to gain momentum. No, their soccer is filled with 30 minutes of pushing and attacking, no rest, no time to hesitate, just go as near as position to the goal and shoot and hopefully, they can score. We conceded one goal in my quarter when I overlap the right wing and his pass was so superb that the ball went to the opponent instead of me and they attacked our left side hard and the center defender is like "gong" for awhile + he got no speed or muscle to hustle the guy and with an uber tight angle, he shot and scored in between the keeper. I rest my case.

After that quarter, I was a little frustrated but there was this Korean girl (a student in the university) supporting us and I looked @ her and suddenly, I don't feel so angry anymore. I got changed out swiftly and left for Dunsan-dong cuz I have to practice for a performance in Sae Ro Nam. It is an international event whereby all nationalities would come and celebrate and sing song in different languages. So I was tasked with the duty of playing the guitar. The practice went on smoothly before we are dismissed @ 9pm and I went to E-Mart to buy gloves and groceries before heading back to Hwaam dormitory.

Today, Akmal agreed to cook for us and so I eagerly anticipated his food. Shucks man, it is the same ol' tuna with spaghetti sauce and potatoes. Pem added to the variety with her homemade sauce for the rice. Malaz made brown rice this time. We all ate and talked and have fun. They are like family to me man. Later, because the television in the kitchen got some problem, we had to leave for school to watch the soccer matches in the ITTP lounge. The place is really comfortable and warm, especially in this season of coldness. We watched MUFC vs Stoke City and the home side beat them real badly with a score line of 5-0. On the other side, Liverpool beat Bolton 2-0 to stay ahead of the competition. Arsenal (my favourite team) is trailing with a loss to Aston Villa by 2 goals on away ground *sob*

We then went to Enazi's apartment to collect a mixer from him and took a cab back to dormitory to make fresh Banana juice *yummilicious*

Day 85 in Korea.

Countdown: 30 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 919 won.
Temperature reading: 10 degree celsius.

Today for Movie and Soc, we watched a movie again, featuring Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry. It is based on a true story about a biologically borned female, who prefer to be a male and enter a new town to hang out with a new group of people. He/she eventually falls in love with the hometown beauty, but subsequently his/her secret was discovered and his/her life is being ripped apart. As usual, this show is filled with sex scenes and for those who haven't seen Hilary's boyish side, PLEASE GO WATCH THE MOVIE.

Anyway, the same old usual routine (needless to explain) but today we had a last minute training session in preparation of tomorrow's game against KAIST (sister university). I was so immersed in the training that I totally lost count of the time and I have a lecture @ 4pm. Fortunately Miss Lee is an understanding person and she let me joined in the class even though I was half an hour late. Today Dong Hyun is doing the presentation on Problem Solving in group. I totally look up to this guy cuz his english is not proficient @ all, but he still gives his best shot. Awesome effort.

San-In ain't free today, so I had to have dinner on my own and after that, I went to look for Emma to loan her bf's bicycle to go Jeonmin-dong buy a cuppa hot Latte before going to L409 to do my Animation project. I am quite happy with my progress and I should be able to finish the entire complete project before end of the month. As planned, I have a futsal friendly with the IT Tech Program dudes after their Taekwondo lesson and today, we have got a rare guest - Malaz. To be honest, I am totally worn out from the noon soccer training and this and tomorrow got match. My body is gonna collapse soon.

We came back to Hwaam, showered and cleaned before gathering @ the kitchen to cook supper. Akmal and Malaz prepared tuna with potatoes (one with onions and the other without). Vioreh (not sure if it is the correct spelling of his name) the Moldovan guy prepared mushroom soup. I cooked eggs with little bit of tuna and pepper. Malaz cooked yellow rice too and we all had our fill. Pem made us some nice fragrant tea.

What a wonderful night.

Day 84 in Korea.

Countdown: 31 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 919.483 won.
Temperature reading: 9 degree celsius.

I hate Thursday cuz I got 3 lessons - Game Theory, Computer Animation lecture and laboratory. What a busy day for me and my lecturer announced next Thursday got class quiz and an assignment coming up!! Like WTH!!

My lecturer for Computer Animation is not feeling well, so I got early dismissal and so I sneak back to Hwaam dormitory and steal some winks. I left with the 4:40pm shuttle bus to go back to ICU and helped the ICF out with guitar playing since the worship leader personally asked me to play :) After ICF worship session, I went for dinner with San-In and Steve (again) and had ice cream @ the snack bar before I leave for my lab lesson. Today we did wonderful effects with paint brush and made trees, flowers and loads of stuffs. Woohoo!! The lecture was about half an hour and the remaining time we are off on our own to do our animation project. My Bomberman still looks very 'cui' but I will properly model and animate that bugger before the end of the month, which means I only got about 2 weeks to do it. Good luck!!

I meet up with Fawaz and Akmal after class to go Isaac's Toast for a warm supper. The weather is getting chillier each day and I can feel the cold wind slapping my face over and over again. Darn. I need a pair of gloves and probably a face mask to shield from the crazy weather. We took the 12am bus back to Hwaam and I just got showered and I am going to the kitchen to cram alil. Ciao.

Day 83 in Korea.

Countdown: 32 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 880.83 won.
Temperature reading: 16 degree celsius.

Today I met 2 female friends, Narae and Sohyan for lunch @ Jeonmin-dong. We are supposed to meet like 2 weeks ago, but because of studies and personal commitment, we had to postpone week after week till today. Finally they gonna bring me to eat "Sung Gate Tongue" (not some animal's tongue, just the hanyu pinyin of the name of the dish), otherwise known as Herbal Chicken Soup with delicious rice stuffed inside this poor little bugger. I heard that it is supposed to keep your body warm in the cold season (which is like now) and they loaded some cheap ginseng into the soup. Awesome stuff!!

After that, we went to Vero Espresso for Caramel Latte and then come back to ICU cuz Sohyan has a class @ 2:30pm. I went to computer room to do my review while Narae hits her comfort zone on level 3. Time striks 4 and I chiong to the field to train soccer with the IVP team. Somehow or rather, I am quite comfortable with playing right wing back position. You know in a soccer team (in Singapore context), not many people wanna be a defender. They just wanna stand @ the front line and be scoring goals. I find defending a very interesting job, but trust me, it ain't an easy job. Defenders usually get the blame if things go wrong because they are like your last line of hope. Okie I babble too much, so my point is, this Saturday we gonna play against KAIST (a sister university) and hopefully I will get fielded in the first 11. Considering my consistency in skill, strength and stamina, it shouldn't be a problem *lol*

After training, I washed up a little and had dinner with San-In and Steve and then come back to computer room again to do my review + watch Youtube + listen to music + slacking. Gotta catch the 9:30pm bus back to Hwaam. Ciao.

Day 82 in Korea.

Countdown: 33 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 899.57 won.
Temperature reading: 11 degree celsius.

Hmm, boring day in school. Game Theory class in the morning, followed by Introduction to Multimedia quiz in the noon. Talking about which, I don't even know there is a quiz today. Jialat, I think I will flunk badly, but it is only a quiz so chill :)

I had dinner with San-In in the cafeteria and played some table tennis after the meal before he made his way to his night lecture and I came back to computer room to do my Game Theory review + watch Heroes Season 3 Episode 8 (like finally) - http://www.sidereel.com/Heroes/_watchlinkviewer/22961#

Then, I met Dong Hyun (my classmate from Intro to Communication) and Enazi and we all went to Jeonmin-dong, Dasarang bar to eat pizza and drink some bar. Dong Hyun taught us some Korean and we taught his some English and Chinese, played number game and drank a whole lotta mixture of weird juices with beer and pickles *lol*

After that, I took the shuttle bus and come back to Hwaam sweet Hwaam.

Day 81 in Korea.

Countdown: 34 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 890 won.
Temperature reading: 11 degree celsius.

Today is the beginning of week 12 in ICU. I had lunch @ Jeonmin-dong and went to school to do some revision for Computer Graphics. I made an appointment with James to have dinner. We ate Jajangmuen and fried Gyoza + pork before coming back to ICU again. I need to rush my project proposal for Introduction to Multimedia, which has to be submitted on Thursday.

Damn sad, now the Heroes Season 3 like never update, so cannot watch newer episodes. Anyway, I am going back to Hwaam kitchen to hunt for more foodies. Take care peepz.

Day 80 in Korea.

Countdown: 35 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 884 won.
Temperature reading: 13 degree celsius.

Sian, today I slept in too late and missed the church service in the morning. I woke up @ about 2pm and had to walk to school since we got a soccer match @ 3pm and there ain't any shuttle bus. Fortunately Emma was heading to school too so we walked to Jeonmin-dong together and had short chats about ICU life. We parted ways in Jeonmin-dong because I was late for the soccer game and I couldn't have lunch with Emma and her bf, but next week we will meet for coffee @ some cafe in Dunsan area.

Due to lack of players, we started 1st half with 9 on 9. We were badly beaten due to lack of coordination between players. Everybody just want to score, but nobody wants to come back to defend. Stupid graduate students and also, the Vietnamese, though they are small in size, but they are large on attack. I was taken down twice by this shorties and one of them shouldered my chest ultra heavily. It is just a friendly match, but they treated it like death match. I was literally man handled on the pitch. What a bad day for me.

Malaz, Akmal and I went to shower and head to Jeonmin-dong for Duc-Khal-Be. We were joined by Pem and Mongista (not sure if that is the correct spelling for his name). After that, we packed our stuffs and head back to Hwaam sweet Hwaam dormitory. Chelsea versus Blackburn coming up~

Day 79 in Korea.

Countdown: 36 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 884.34 won.
Temperature reading: 11 degree celsius.

Saturday is a super good day to sleep in and today was no exception. I woke up @ around 2:30pm and had my lunch in the dormitory kitchen, warming up the pizza leftover from yesterday.

Today I went to Yong Mun area with Yong Han to go explore the area. The whole area is mostly food places, so in the end, we settled @ Lotte shopping centre. We shopped in the Young Plaza department and I got myself a pink tee + a light grey cardigan. Yong Han bought a fleece for himself. We then went back to E Mart @ Dunsan-dong to do groceries shopping for tonight dinner (I am cooking yay~). Fawaz, Enazi and Akmal joined me in the shopping. We went back to Hwaam and I started cooking shortly after. I whipped up macaroni with carbonara sauce + fried eggs with onion. Surprizingly it turned out fine :) It may be a motivation to cook in the future. I wanna try new recipes out. While eating, we are eagerly watching the much anticipated match of Arsenal versus Manchester. It was a tough game, but I am glad Arsenal pulled it through, with the help of 2 goals from French man, Samir Nasri.

After the game, there were some macaroni left and so I used the remaining Prego sauce to cook something and thanks Malaz, Hussain and Azzudin for helping me finish the food. Now we are awaiting dessert from Enazi - Custards!!

Day 78 in Korea.

Countdown: 37 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 890 won.
Temperature reading: 10 degree celsius.

I am contracting the "Wake-Up-Late" disease cuz everyday my average sleep time is 4am plus minus. Darn. My biological clock is ultra cui now. I went to Movie and Soc class late (approx late for 50 minutes) and they were discussing about the relationship between watching a movie and developing a desire for its content. Then he starts to talk about desire for women and the sexual desires and blah blah blah. Omg!! There is a girl in class and he is talking about it outrightly. I feel bad for the girl. After class, Sekwon and I went to Jeonmin area to eat DonKatSu (some Japanese food). We chat about his successful entrance into Samsung Corporation (a dream job for many Koreans) as well as some economic stuffs (hmm, I never imagined myself to dig into topics like that). He was nice to treat me lunch, so in turn, I bought him coffee and we head back to school because I gotta finish up my lab homework and print Intro to Comm lecture note. Today Farhad is presenting, so I gotta be there to support him.

Clock hit 4pm and we were all settled into the class. Farhad stepped up to present the lecture on group communication and leadership role. Man, there is so much I can learn from this guy in presentation. He gave really good examples and tonnes of them + he explained them well and he flow with the slides and time. I was just rushing through the presentation last week because of the Halloween party and I think it was a little rush since I ended the lecture in half an hour *lol* Power.

I went with San-In for dinner after class and played table tennis for a short while before we came back to school. I had to submit my lab homework and retype the lecture note for Intro to Communication, then chiong down to the basketball court to play street soccer with the taekwando guys. Darn, we lost 7-4 but Fawaz and I each bagged home a goal.

Amin fetched us back in his car and we showered and get ourselves cleaned and head over to the kitchen for sumptuous Pizza Manna!!

Day 77 in Korea.

Countdown: 38 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 852 won.
Temperature reading: 16 degree celsius.

Thursday again, SIONG day alert. I woke up late today again, but no I didn't miss my morning lecture; I merely came in a little late. Ooh, I sat beside the TA and saw the pile of mid term scripts in the bag. Hehe, I am gonna get back my result soon!! As I was sitting behind Hye Ji the entire time, she was busy sms-ing man. Hmm, don't tell me she is attached?? I couldn't care much though cuz I was busy following the class. Lecture ended and the TA distributed the mid term test and our assignments and I happily went forward to collect my script. Fwah!! I got 85 for my mid term and 63 for my assignment!! Song boh~ I think only in Korea university can I ever get such good score!! I was literally on cloud nine, considering my other mid term results are fantastic as well.

This calls for a celebration. Just nice, Amy arranged to bring us (the 4 French ladies + me) out to Jeonmin-dong to eat Shabu Shabu (beef with soup and side dishes). Hmm, memories memories memories. I had this with a dear friend before I left Singapore *sigh* We met Yong Han and his senior in the Shabu Shabu place as well. Cool, but we didn't eat together cuz they were already done when we arrived. Amy did all the ordering for us cuz none of us are fluent with Korean language. All I could recall of that place is that I kept eating and eating and eating and we took photos with the beef + did some Wonder Girls poses!! So blonde-ish can!! After the beef, there was noodles and Korean porridge. Man, this is the best lunch for the week!! Thanks Amy, you roxXx!! Emilie and Anne left early cuz they meeting some Korean students to do nail art. The rest of us left later cuz I got class, Melodie needs to go to the hospital for checkup, Nina and Amy are going back to dormitory to sleep. Today Computer Animation class we went through some advanced modeling stuffs and it was quite interesting and I had a short conversation with the lecturer after class to see how did I fare and she told me to study hard and I should be right on track. Hmm, I don't need the A's so a slipshot work would get me somewhere, but obviously I don't wanna slack off since I am motivated by my good grades. Darn~ I hope I won't transform into a mugger toad.

Today dinner we had loads of people - San-In, Steve K, a girl, Muugii + me. We discussed some plans to go to Seoul maybe during or after school semester cuz now everyone is bogged down with work/projects/assignments and it is hard to coordinate a common time. We might go to Appujeong + Samsung station + Gangnam + club @ night; that is just tentative. I am guilty of not traveling since I was so lazy and I kept sleeping and sleeping and sleeping. Piggish me. After dinner, I went for my Computer Animation lab session and we did some C++ programming for the Maya programming, but from this week onwards, lab session will cut short to half an hour, so the remaining time we can use to do our project work. I am currently working on a mini Bomber Man project, so wish me luck cuz I have little time (really little time) to complete it with report.

Later I met Akmal, Fawaz and Malaz to go to Shisha house. Darn~ I told myself not to smoke them Shisha, but I was tempted and gave in real badly. I took a totally of (countless) puffs. Now I am feeling so giddy. We had pita + honey cappuccino before taking a cabbie back.

Time to shower and sleep *snores*

Day 76 in Korea.

Countdown: 39 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 854.54 won.
Temperature reading: 16 degree celsius.

My second free day of the week; I slept @ 4am and got up @ 6 plus cuz I got a bad tummyache and then went back to sleep til 2pm. I went to Isaac's Toast (like what's new right?) and have my usual menu. Today I met an unexpected guest - we call him engineer Muujipp. He is a tall Afghanistan guy and his fashion is cool. I look up to him (like lterally). We had a short chat and he begins to pour out his thoughts and feelings to me. You know, I alway have a mindset about graduate students - I used to think that they are lifeless buggers working their asses off day and night to get good grades, in the hope of getting a better pay and a better life. Looking at Muujipp turned my perspective 180 degree. Little did I realized that often, they do not crave for this kind of hectic life. I mean, who doesn't want a good life in the futre? Everybody does, but the journey towards that goal is often plagued with sleepless nights and brain squashing assignments and more researches after researches. Poor fellas.

So then, I came back to ICU to do my lab project. Hmm things looking good so far except that my programme couldn't do face detection, which is critical for the homework. I need to work on it more. But guess what, time is up for soccer match!! Yipee, time to go get changed and chiong down to soccer pitch to play soccer with the Aquila team. I am so thankful to have a team to train and play soccer with; kinda help me to keep in shape before going back to KR for IHG in December.

After soccer, I went to makan alone :( cuz San-In has a class @ 7pm and the menu today is good - rice, seaweed soup, kim chi (forever), bean sprouts and mini Octopus with rice cakes. Shiok!! I eat until wanna vomite siah.

Later I came back to computer room to watch webcast for yesterday Game Theory class cuz I missed it. Argh, I better dun miss the class tomorrow. A 'siong' day awaits.

Day 75 in Korea.

Countdown: 40 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 860 won.
Temeprature reading: 9 degree celsius.

Darn, today I missed my morning lecture :( I guess I shouldn't sleep late anymore because my biological clock is changing from time to time. I woke up @ 1pm and went for Intro to Multimedia lecture. We went through the 2nd part of Bitmap Imaging. Sucks, we got a term project but I don't think it is gonna be difficult because we got probably 1 month or less to do it.

After class, I chiong down to Galleria to change my trench coat for a casual blazer (the lady is nice to let me exchange) and I went to pick up Matthew's Lakland bass + my Ibanez double guitar bag!! Korean won is appreciating and now it is not so profitable to shop. Somemore I have to pay Matthew SGD $62 for the Timbreland boat shoe that we spreed and SGD $53 for a pair of Papillio sandals I ordered from Hui Juan. I should stop my shopping spree. Evening came and I had my dinner @ Isaac's Toast. One thing I really like about Korean High School Girls is that they mature really fast (in terms of their appearance) and looking very good @ tender age. Singapore High School Girls look kiddish, compared to these pretty Korean ladies. Haix, I can't complain.

Anyway, I am working on the KR Rockers' Tee Shirt Design and I had a little draft. Please give some feedback. Thanks.

Day 74 in Korea.

Countdown: 41 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 872.88 won.
Temperature reading: 13 degree celsius.

What a wonderful day to sleep? I promised the soccer captain that I will be there for training, but I totally missed it. Yesterday soccer match drained too much of my energy. I slept like a pig till 2:30pm before moving out to Isaac's Toast for my lunch. Hmm, the weather is beginning to turn cold, but luckily I can strut my trench coat around *lol*

I came to school to review chapter 8 of Game Theory before I cannot catch up. It is darn boring siah. I went for dinner after that @ 6pm and now I am back here slacking. No happenings for today, so I shall keep it short and sweet.

Day 73 in Korea.

Countdown: 42 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 838.88 won.
Temperature reading: 12 degree celsius.

My Sunday morning was greeted by a call from Deacon Yoon who offered to drive me to church since he is free, so I accepted the offer. Nice guy eh. I met Divyan in church and today is a special day for him because he is gonna get baptized and invited me to watch the ceremony, so I accepted the offer as well. The main church interior looks good man and I saw many Korean people there. Luckily they got a trans-receiver for English translation. After the baptism service, I left for Galleria to buy my trench coat from Tate :) Looks good man and some more it was on offer, so I had to grab it but I totally have no clue of how I am gonna wear them in SG. Darn~

I rushed back to ICU after my purchase for a friendly soccer between the graduate students and Akmal invited me to play for them. Hmm, not bad a score 2-2, considering most of us are unfit (including me). It is fun to play with a bunch of uncles and I didn't even know Fawaz and Akmal can play good futbol. Kudos!! We proceed to shower after the game and went to Jeonmin-dong

Day 72 in Korea.

Countdown: 43 days.
Currency exchange: SGD 1 to 838 won.
Temperature reading: 11 degree celsius.

Weekends are alway good for resting, so I decided to sleep in till 3pm before moving off to Dunsan-dong to go shop and buy some groceries for the week. I arrived @ Galleria around 4pm and went to shop for my Fall/Winter outwear. I have surveyed many brands before settling on Tate London trenchcoat. It cost around SGD $106 given the poor exchange rate now, but still look feasible in Singapore (I guess). I then head over to Vivace Music Store to order Matthew's Lakland bass and the Ibanez dual bag for the 2 guitars to bring back to Singapore. Next, the sole cushion of my Lee Cooper loafers are as good as gone, so I had to replace them @ the cobbler near Galleria shopping mall; it cost me 8,000 won.

Later @ around half past 5, I shopped @ E-Mart (been a long time) and met Jack (the Mongolian guy who lived in Jeonmin-dong) and his friends. We had a short conversation before we broke off and shopped individually. I bought bread, ham, jajangmuen and Maxwell House 3-in-1 coffee. Then I proceed back to ICU for dinner. Man, I haven't had lunch and dinner tasted so good!!

I will be going back to Hwaam to watch the EPL matches @ 12am. So see you guys.