Half-Day Dublin Trip

Yeah, even after being here for almost a year, I haven't seen all the attractions yet, so I decided to cover some of those yesterday before I go grocery shopping.

The first place I went to was the National Museum. It showcased artifacts dating back from the Paleolithic to the Viking Eras of Ireland. There was nothing about modern Ireland though. I guess they put it somewhere else. And like all museums, it bored the heck out of me in 2 hours. I did learn a few useful things though, for example, more history!! T_T I can say I remember more Irish history now than Malaysian.

Next I went to the Old Jameson Distillery, birthplace of the most popular whiskey in the world, Old Jameson Whiskey. We saw a video of its history, took a tour not too different from the one at the Guinness Storehouse, and finally had a taste of Old Jameson whiskey. Best of all, since I volunteered to do taste comparisons, I got three extra shots of whiskey! 8D But hey, I got this cool certificate which nobody else got because they didn't volunteer!

Then I went to grocery shopping. Like I said, short trip. Nothing much.

Cork and Limerick - 5-day trip

Since I had some spare time, I figured I should come back and revive this poor little blog. Sure it's MY poor little blog, but it doesn't kiss up to me enough for me to care so much. It should feel lucky that I'm even doing something with it again, and not wiping it from the face of the internet.

Nah, I can't do that. This place houses my Watched Anime List, which I also haven't updated in months now. But that hardly matters. I haven't really watched much since the last time I updated the list. Only some 20 new titles. That shouldn't be too hard to remember.

Anyway, I returned to Dublin a month and a half earlier than my peers for some traveling and tidying up my house at MY OWN PACE. I LIKE to do things at MY OWN PACE, got it memorised?

Traveling plans got a little delayed because of that and some other things which I need not discuss. So, after a week of settling things at home, I can finally continue the initial plan.

Cork and Limerick were the places I decided to visit. I also planned a second visit to Galway, but accommodation became an issue and I was forced to give that up. Accommodation in Limerick was already a bomb, I didn't need a second one.

On the 10th of August 2010-the first day of my trip-I arrived in Cork City, capital of the Rebel County. I took a walk (yes, on foot) around the city to familiarise myself with place. A harbour and many warehouses occupied much of the city's eastern side; boring commercial buildings filled the western side; and old houses lined the northern side. I never bothered to check the southern part of the city. The central part of Cork City was the only place kept new and tidy, but it was much smaller than Dublin's City Centre and a little less attractive. Also, the city as a whole was also very small. It's like Dublin compressed to fit a tuna can. Seriously!

On Day 2, after much rescheduling, I decided to take a tour out of the city and head for the port town of Dingle. On the bus, I met a Chinese family. Their son sure was a talkative one. While he did entertain me for the 3 hour ride, it did get a wee bit irritating once he started following me and still kept talking, even when I'm clearly not listening anymore. I mean, come on, I'd like to go see things when I'm on a tour, not listen to a kid telling me about the difference between China and Ireland. Heck, he didn't listen to me when I explained why there was a difference!

Now then, more about the tour. We first stopped at a beach, which felt kinda meaningless to me seeing as I lived 18 years of my life on an island. So, 30 minutes on that beach, and I spent it observing how the sand changes its tone when I step harder on the ground. For those who didn't know, it does. Go try it out. Make sure you're stepping on the wet sand and not the dry sand.

Then, we continued on (and the kid continued on and on and on) to Slea Head, a peninsular on the southern coast of Ireland. There, we were introduced to the seven islands of Blasket, where the inhabitants were once almost separated from the outside world, not that it was a bad thing. In fact, they didn't suffer from the Great Famine of 1845-1852 because they were separated from the rest of the country. While the whole country was dying because the potato crops were ruined, the islanders continued on with their daily lives relying on fish. Blasket was also the birthplace of many great Gaelic authors, poets and storytellers; most of them told tales of life on the island. Too bad I can't read Gaelic or I might just give them a try.

You might have noticed that I mentioned nothing about the scenery, because it's the exact same thing I saw in Galway. Long stretch of grasslands and hills, fenced by walls made of rocks. No cement or mortar was used in constructing those walls, which is quite impressive since they were very neat and have been standing there for hundreds of years.

Finally, we headed for Dingle, and I resorted to daydreaming by now. Now, Dingle is a port town that used to thrive on fishing. It still does that now, but its main business is now tourism, all thanks to a dolphin. You heard right. Some 30 years ago, the town was a small fishing village, totally unknown and the people just barely get past the day. Dolphins would visit that port town every year but only for a short while. But one year, a dolphin did not leave the town and hung around toying with the fishing boats. When news spread out, people started flocking in to see that dolphin and well, the townspeople decided it was time for a change of business. An aquarium was opened to showcase the dolphin, which was named 'Fungi'. Fungi was free to come and go as it pleased, but never left until 20+ years later. But since Dingle still gets visited by dolphins yearly, people still keep coming and the town is still prospering till today.

One more thing. Dingle has great ice-cream! But I wonder how many people will actually try it with the 16 degree temperature and the sea breeze blowing in the town.

After that, we wrapped it up and went home. 3 hours of non-stop radio was drowned out with my last resort and favourite hobby. GAMING!!! I beat Hachi/Sensei and Colin/Sasha with Eagle/Andy! Yeah!

That night, I went for food at Clancy's, since it was being advertised everywhere. One waitress was nice, but I can't say the same about the others. Food was okay, and, since the alcohol was expensive and my mom wouldn't be too happy about me drinking (not that she would know if I don't tell), I didn't drink.

Next day, I went around Cork and visited places I missed like the Cork City Gaol (it means 'jail') and the Butter Museum, which introduces Irish butter such as Kerry Gold. Then, I left Cork for Limerick, bidding adieu to the birthplace of many Irish rebels before their independence.

So, Limerick... I arrived kind of late and the city centre was rather far from my accommodations so I decided to rest for the day. I tried Irish coffee again that night, and found that it tasted much better than the one they served at Bewley's, which, might I add, tasted like bleh!

Then, Day 4... Today, actually. I took a stroll around the city and visited their many attractions. King John's Castle, the Hunt Museum, the Treaty Stone, several churches... and I was done by 1pm. WHAT?? Yeah, all those places done in 4 hours. Longest one was the castle, which took me an hour. And since the shopping district was completely boring (at least the one in Cork entertained me for several hours), I came back and posted this.

Tonight, I'll be heading over to O'Connell's bar for some cheap but quality food (or so they boast). In fact, I should be leaving right now!

Tata, folks. Hope you enjoyed the revival post.

Next week, I might bring you an exclusive documentary on Oslo, Norway... if plane tickets are still cheap. I haven't booked. xP

Day whatever - I lost count at last

Meh, blog's been dead for too long. So I shall kick it back alive again.

With one post.

What to say?

Umm...

One post...

Just one post...

Something to say for one post.

Anything.

Come on, brain! WORK!

Uhh...

.........

.........

.........

My electric bill got cut to less than half so I'm smiling. I will be meeting my Japanese lecturer again so I'm happy. I may be helping out with the Experience Japan event so I'm happy. I did better than expected for one of my midterm papers so I'm happy. Project is done so I'm happy.

Yeah... that's pretty much it.

No rants. Not any that I should be saying here at least.

*ahem*

Thinks of rant...

China guy talking to me again... Oh wait, that's not a rant. The house is clean again for some strange reason and has been for the past 3 days. That's not a rant either.

Hmm...

Found a nice place to visit in Dublin. Found a relaxing place to hang out in Dublin.

Still no rants.

Hmm...

Starting on a new cosplay. I-ZA-YA!!!! Oh, I'm on the lookout for a Shizuo to partner with me for that. Shizuo x Izaya is WIN after all...

Just an announcement, not a rant.

Sigh... If there was anything to rant about, it's

1. Studies=the PITS!!
2. Lack of other things to rant about.

Ah well, Crossburn/Huah Chiang out.

Day 174 - Totally MADicine

Well, it's nearing mid-terms again and I'm watching my work pile up from procrastination and just plain lack of interest.

3 things to deal with over the course of 2 weeks. 1.5 weeks to be exact. Let's make it 10 days, shall we?

Well, first task at hand is to settle another stupid report. Actually, the report ain't due till April, but our postgraduate group member wanted it done before Easter. Specifically, before his midterms come. Well, that give us 2 weeks to complete the first draft. Enough time, but will probably lack in detail, especially when most of us don't know how the heck Irish government policies work here and what bodies are in charge of them.

Meh, I got it done anyway. Until I reread the assignment and smacked myself. It was entirely wrong! They wanted us to EVALUATE the policy. I made a general introduction of the policy. Crap... No, rewording everything ain't an option. Evaluating means researching everything they did under that policy, not just a select few. So, RETYPE!! 3 days to deadline. Woopee...

Then, just a day after the assignment, I'll be dealing with my first mid-term, the stupid German language class test. Unlike the Japanese language (which was a complete pushover), this was a real problem. I really have learned little during the class. We only started on actual vocab last week! So, I'd really like to see how she expects me to write sentences during the test. Ah well, electives are crap anyway.

Then, one week after that, the real deal is here. Cardiac and Vascular Biology combined into a single paper, which means double workload for just 1 exam paper. And 40% for each! Hah! And I've gotten pretty much... nothing done. Excellent... sigh... It's a good thing our cGPA is gonna be reset once we leave UCD, so I can actually screw my exams as long as I don't fail and study at my own pace. But I guess I still need good results for the JPA loan huh?

Bah whatever! I'm gonna throw Akito's line here.

"The only reason we actually need universities is the official certification."

Test Answers and Comments

Question 1

Please answer the following question:

Please choose the mathematical formula that is equal to sin(A+B).
1. sin A+cos B
2. sin A-cos B
3. sinAcosB
4. sinAcosB+cosAsinB

Student's Answer:
3.-ish?

Teacher's Comment:
I've seen all kinds of students throughout my years of teaching, but you're the first to ever use this method to try passing an answer in a multiple choice question.

Question 2

In Mother Goose, what does the phrase "spice and everything nice" refer to?

Student's Answer:
Curry Rice!

Teacher's Comment:
Girls are not food...

Question 3

Under Japan's Civil Law, what is the minimum age requirement for a legal marriage?

Student's Answer:
As long as there is love, age does not matter!

Teacher's Comment:
Thank you for having hopes and dreams, but...

Question 4

Please write down the chemical formula for Benzene.

Student A's answer:
Ben + Zene -> Benzene

Student B's answer:
Benzeen

Teacher's Comment:
You two, see me after class!

Question 5

Please name the three countries that comprise the Baltic Nations.

Student's Answer:
Kagawa, Tokushima, Ehime, Kochi

Teacher's Comment:
Before we discuss your incorrect answers, please notice the incorrect NUMBER of answers.

*grumbles*

Stupid lamp post!

Caramel Dance (Nendoroid Ver.) - Vocaloid All-Cast

And here's Vocaloid's adaptation of the ever popular Swedish song, Caramelldansen (aka Caramel Dance).



KAWAII~!!!

Day 160 - Potluck Party

Our dear class rep saved an entire box of longan jelly from Malaysian Night. unaware that everyone had already eaten before he arrived. And so, he had an entire box left in his freezer by the end of the week, about to ferment anytime soon.

So, we decided to throw a longan jelly party! But since that wouldn't be nutritious enough, we added a potluck party before that and titled the entire event "Pre-CNY Party".

Unfortunately, we were stupid enough to go for a cheap Indian buffet in town for lunch. Yes, ALL OF US. Well, except one. But that guy's eats very little because of his horrible metabolism.

I believed I complained about the missing kitchen knife on Facebook. Well, it came back tonight... with my China housemate's weekly dinner party...

So, I went to Nabila's place to cook instead. Poor girl was lonely and wanted someone to cook with. I am not joking. She was at another friend's house when I went to borrow some honey for my recipe. And Nabila invited me over. Seeing as how I would have to fight for the kitchen back home anyway, I took up her offer. ...only to regret it later.

I offered to make honey lemon chicken. And I was stupid enough to forget the honey when we were in town. Hence the borrowing. Anyway, I fried the chicken first and decided to wait a little later before making the sauce because I was waaaay ahead of schedule. During the process of waiting... "Just one." "Another one." "Last one." "Really last one." "Okay. REALLY last one."

*smacks own face*

By the time I made the sauce, there was a very visible empty corner on the plate of fried chicken. I am never cooking at her place again. Or cooking with her around for that matter...

Finally, the party began. There were seven of us, but eight or nine dishes since some offered to cook more. Poor poor Nabila, she made the fried rice too spicy and everybody was just staring at it, not daring to try. I am not even kidding. When you first put it into your mouth, Nabila's excellent cooking fills your mouth with absolute wonder. And then you swallow.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU PUT IN THERE!!!??

Luckily for me, I cooked at her place, and already taste-tested it for her, so I knew it was coming. But for Valerie who can't handle anything spicy, not so lucky. It's kinda mean, but... Yay! Entertainment!

Well, I mentioned how stupid we were to go for a buffet in the morning. So... lots of things were left, especially the atomic bomb... uh... fried rice.

Then it was the longan jelly time. And it was frozen... Great... How do we eat a block of ice? Screw it! *ding ding ding* *crack* *scoop* *crack* Quite a lot of us were shivering after that.

Then, we had another surprise. Tang Yuan! Wait... It's not CNY yet. Who cares? SWEETS!!

And the party continued to discussions about Malaysian Night and the problems. And about how the JPA, MARA and private student groups are so seperated. And how the 1st years are so non-existent outside. Yaddy-yaddy-yada. Yep, bitching lots. Ah well, at least we backstage got to express our dissatisfaction for having to pay even though some of us didn't get to eat. I did, but like for 3 minutes per dish, so it still wasn't worth it.

Well, it was a good night. Although most of us felt like bursting after that.

For recent news... I recommend Vocaloid's Caramelldansen (Nendoroid Version) and Servant of Evil/Aku no Meshitsukai.

Day 153 - Malaysian Night 2010

WOOHOO!!! I'm still overly hyper despite it being nearly 3 hours since the event ended. The only other events that have ever made me feel so happy were anime conventions. I wonder if my tablemates snuck something into my drink... NAH!!! The night was excellent. If only the darn Irish (and pretty much all Europians) did not have to close everything and chase us out by 12, we'd be able to have a longer event and probably throw in a free style dance session just to blow away all this excessive energy still inside me.

And to think I was part of the backstage crew as the props-in-charge, which means I do all sorts of heavy lifting and running around, which theoretically should have burned me out. Imagine if I was only part of the audience. The swelling energy would probably cause a blood rush to the brain and pop a few vessels.

Let's take a trip back in time to 29 January 2010, the day we conducted the only full rehearsal with complete props and costumes. Honestly, despite the multiple mistakes (some of them my fault), it looked seriously good, since the mistakes were all just equipment problems and mistakes in setting up. Performances went on pretty smoothly with minor mistakes that were easy to spot and rectify. And since it was carried out with the same surroundings as on the actual night, I can say I was confident that we'd have no problems.

The next rehearsal which took place this morning wasn't so great though. Compared to the previous day, a lot more problems arose from change of plans, and the performers were rather zoned out. A friend of mine made so many critical mistakes like moving in the wrong direction or almost bumping into her partner. It was funny but we had a problem.

When rehearsal ended, I began to worry. The pressure was obviously setting in, so will things really go as smoothly when there will be an entire crowd watching them? Well, hard to say. After rehearsal, we settled final arrangements and decorations and then went back home to prepare. With my traditional Chinese outfit on, I marched back to the Astra Hall, only to march back home when I realised that I had forgotten my ticket. And a good thing I did, which I will explain later.

The VIPs were 5 minutes late... and I was pissed as hell. I hate it when that happens. How are they VIPs if they can't even be punctual!? All attending lecturers have already been seated long before the VIPs arrived. Okay, they finally arrived, 10 minutes late, which was already a HUGE setback. Our schedule did not allow wasting time, especially since we had to clear up before 12am later. They were brought to their seats accompanied by traditional Malay drummers and I have to admit they were bloody annoying after listening to the same beats for the 20+ time. And perhaps it was my mistake due to location but they sounded very unsynched.

Then it was time for the Dikir Barat performance. And it was really nice. Although I didn't really get the lyrics... or the meaning of their actions, they were awesome. It's like listening to Japanese songs. You don't understand shit of what they're singing, but you like it anyway. Nice rhythm, and cool, talented singers.

Then, the usual boring speeches, although we totally cocked our heads when the dean told the Irish, "Can you organise an entire cultural event that introduces so many aspects of your country while still maintaining high grades? I sincerely doubt any of you can!" Hah! Too true! Ajay's speech was okay this time, seeing as how he wasn't allowed to be informal, but it was definitely better than the unmotivating speech he gave during the slave auction. Sigh... I wanna listen to the Orientation Day Ajay again! He was freaking awesome and I can honestly say that I respected him from that day on. Recently, it was just meh... even though private conversations with him were always enjoyable.

Next up were several performances while dinner was being served. Our vice-prez was awesome with his guitar and style. The dummy three who made my life miserable (but my job funner) by constantly changing their number of singers and hence, number of mics. Settled that rather smoothly. Then the dummy four who kept changing types of mics. At first, it was 2 wireless and 1 stand. Then , it changed to 2 stands and 1 wireless. Then, it changed to depending on the situation. In the end, they used 3 mic stands, because both singers decided that they were shaking too much to hold the mics.

More Malay songs, but I was too focused on eating as fast as I could to listen. However, I am grateful that they finished ahead of schedule, thus freeing us more time for cleaning later. In fact, they finished so early, we had to force a 5 minute break before the next performance. And the contemporary dancers in their white single-layered dresses were freezing to heck already. I actually lent one of them my hoodie because I found it too warm to wear. I hope she felt better. Considering the performance after, I'd say she did.

Before the dance began, I was suddenly given the job of scattering flowers across the stage, which I did, knowing full well that clearing work later will be a hell of trouble. The contemporary dancers were very graceful and flexible, but they should have at least dimmed the lights considering the romantic melodies they used and the pure white outfits they wore. Still, beautiful. Much better than this morning. Clearing the flower petals after that was backbreaking, and I was doing it with the light on, so everybody could see the idiot desperately trying to clear the stage in under 2 minutes.

Then, it was choral speaking, where multiple races will do a random performance and then end with a speech and choir. First up were 3 Malays singing Rasa Sayang. The main singer was so cute because she was so shy up there. Ah... how I missed listening to that song. Next was a friend of mine singing a well-known traditional Chinese duet song which title I've forgotten. What I can say is, "WHY THE HELL WASN'T THE CROWD SCREAMING!?" His singing and character on stage would have made CLHS boys scream like mad, so what gives!? Then, it was Indian dancing. Compared to what I saw later, this was nothing but still great as a warm-up. Finally, they went ahead with a sappy speech about unity that was actually very true. I will not repeat their words because certain racist people will just bash what they said. M-A-L-A-Y-S-I-A!! They had to scrap the flag because the flag would have to start off folded on the floor.

Then, a 10 minute break before the sketch. The initial plan was that desert should have been served by then, but since the cooks screwed up, we were delayed. However, the choral speakers had also finished ahead of schedule and bought us some time.

Ah, the sketch. The reason I've been sleeping late, asking for help, and proving myself a lousy Penangite for the past week and a half. It kicked start with a video introducing the cast with damn funny scenes. Everyone's fav, or perhaps the most outstanding part was the introduction of Li Ping, the glamour girl. I've known that senior for 3 months since she's in the same Japanese class as me, but I have never thought her to fit the glamour girl character so well. In fact, everyone screamed when they saw her. Funniest scene would probably be the Star Athelete introduction, when the teacher used an assault rifle to fire instead of a pistol. We admit that we were too cheap to invest on a model pistol, but hey, it was funny, so who cares?

The sketch was about unity. An Irish exchange student joins the class at the same time as the Merdeka performance interclass competition. He is introduced to all sorts of traditional performances as well as other cultural stuff like games and Manglish. Finally, he suggests to mix all the dances together to form one big fusion dance. Now, as boring and cliched as it sounds, the scenes were acted out in the funniest ways possible, and I mean FUNNY. Just imagine the crowd laughing at almost every joke we pull.

The first, as always was the Malay Joget dance. Unfortunately, I had to engage myself in backstage work at the time, so I didn't really pay much attention. It was the typical joget dancing but they were pretty good having trained for months. I really didn't get much epic-ness from that one, other than the fact that it was better than this morning. But it might have been because of the lighting that made every action more prominent.

The sketch then continued with a scene of the Irish kid being taught about traditional games. Our gasing guy freaked out from nervousness and screwed up the gasing act. Panicking, they skipped straight to the chaktay act. Unbelievably, they actually kept the chaktay up for almost the whole scene, something they had never done before be it during individual practice or rehearsal. And we rigged nothing. It was purely based on their skill, so although the audience found nothing wrong, the entire backstage and cast had their mouth gaping open. And they even ended the scene with an off-script comedy when the chaktay flew at someone's face. I shall say that again. That was NOT planned, and we got a roar of laughter from that. AWESOME!!! It scores a 10/10 on the WTF scale.

Next would be Hime-sama's field. Chinese fan dancing. Now, this I could not miss. Very nice. They started with Mo Li Hua, a slow dance with lots of grace and elegance. I could almost fill my mind being carried away along a heavenly river created by their passive energy. And then the song changed to one of tension, like the music you'd hear in martial arts or war movies that portrayed more of chivalry, willpower and fighting spirit. Very, very nice. I wasn't given the chance to praise them though because I was required for prop moving... again.

But before the next act, it was time for the Lucky Draw. 6 numbers were drawn. 222 was one of the winning numbers. And it came out during the only time the emcees were screaming, "1! 2! 3!" Odd... A lady won a set of men's perfume. You lol, I kill. Why? You'll see.

Up next was the Sabahan dance. I'm curious as to why this dance had so many first years participating. Of the 7 people performing, 4 were 1st years. Ah well, they were really nice. And I made a joke about how one of my friends (mentioned at the top of this post) did not screw up this time and actually did everything perfectly. Yes, I am a meanie. Also, I totally appreciate the dancers for scattering their gold papers in front of the stage, making it a lot easier to clear after performance.

Then, it's hip-hop. How is this Malaysia? Well, my friends, you don't live in atap houses or wear cheongsams all day do you? So, there was obviously a need to represent modern Malaysia too, which explains hip-hop. The stars of the show were my two seniors who are unrelated by blood yet share an uncanny semblance to each other. And our boss lady (the Malaysian Night Organiser!) took centre stage as well. The dance was a mix of cool and comedy, with the guys solo being funny and the rest being serious. I also found their cool, arrogant look very convincing. Good show, good show.

Then, lucky draw 2nd round. On the 2nd last draw, my number came up and I went on stage. They asked for my ticket (see why I'm glad I went back now?) and I showed them the number. And I won..........a set of perfume for WOMEN!? (see why you shouldn't laugh now?) In the end, the committee helped arrange a trade between the two of us and settled things. Yay! Unfortunately, it wasn't done publicly so... I hope nobody remembers...

Now then, for my favourite performance, which is also the longest - Indian dance. Our president's an Indian, so that was a given. It was long, and complex. I'm amazed they remembered all the steps. The dance was 10 minutes long and involved so many different moves and scenes, like a Bollywood programme. Seriously, some of them CAN quit medicine and joing Bollywood, like Ajay. Yes, our great prez joined and was perhaps the best male dancer I've seen all night. Well, he did coach the entire cast of Indian dancers, so meh... Well, what I found most unforgettable was Ajay's expression during the guys only dance, but his expression throughout the entire performance was perhaps the most unique and unforgettable. His smile was just weird. A confident, fun and happy smile... no, I can't really describe it, much less attempt it, but it was certainly a mix of those three with something else.

The following scene featured my PHAIL creation - the gold plated mamak stall that obviously had no equipment to serve anything, except maybe teh tarik, but still it served every kind of dish mentioned in the NO POK video. Then, funny scene, funny scene, more funny scene. Pirated CD vendor was awesome. Also another good pick. And they served real food by the way.

The last performance of the day was the fusion dance, mixing short parts of each dance mentioned earlier and adding in a chorus dance that was repeated thrice. Said chorus dance is freaking addictive and I shall find the time to memorise it. Yes, I have the footage but I'm not allowed to show it because it was taken during rehearsal. Anyway, the dance overall was epic. And the music really made me proud and happy to be Malaysian. The best part in my opinion was the Sabahan dancers' part. It seemed like they moved the least, but something about the dance made them very attractive. And the finale saw every dancer gathered to the front of the stage carrying the banner that read "Malaysia Through Our Eyes". Su-te-ki. I almost screamed "I LOVE MALAYSIA" on the spot.

And then it was random photoshooting time and staff thanking time. Strangely, the backstage crew did not get a photoshoot and I am not happy. :( And then clean up and then cabut by 12am.

That marked the end of Malaysian Night 2010. I hope our 3rd year seniors enjoyed their last Malaysian Night in UCD. I never got the chance to scream into the mic, "On behalf of the 1st years, I would like to thank the 3rd year seniors for their guidance, support and friendship!" Oh well, I might get the chance on the actual farewell day.

Oh, Chinese New Year is coming soon. Gotta go settle all the preparations for PMCSA CNY dinner, if they're holding one this year. Nothing has been mentioned so far.

Day 144 - Week's End

Man, what a week. Two dissection practicals, a German language class, a mamak stall prop and announcement of our provisional results. Awesome start. I couldn't even find the time to study.

Lectures are the usual tranquilisers. The only difference is the strength. I had 2 modules I looked forward to this semester. Cardiac Biology and Personal and Population Health. Unfortunately, I got Dr Thompson again for Cardiac Biology... and she is probably the most boring lecturer this semester. P&PH will only be interesting later on when they teach psychology and ethics. For now, it's statistics, statistics and statistics.

On the plus side, I happen to always be sitting at the side which does not smoke, use coccaine or have cancer. I am LUCKY!! XD I hope my luck persists until the end of statistics, where hopefully, they'll stop using the class as examples.

Dissections were a whole lot better than lectures. The dissection room lecturers do a much better job at teaching us, always explaining things properly and occasionally humouring us by forgetting things. Thanks to them, we feel less pressure. However, one of the lecturers make us feel defeated. He has a degree in Archaeology, and he's teaching us anatomy. The scary thing is, he does not need to refer to books and can tell us the names of every part he points to, sometimes ending the sentence with "But you don't really need to know this yet." And the names ain't easy. It's like talking to a real life Dr Black Jack, except that he's not a doctor.

German is bloody crazy. Out lecturer came into class and spoke to us in full German. And she expected us to understand what she was saying. And she's MEAN. The first thing she did was force everybody to memorise each other's names, birthplace and current area of residence. We're not talking about a class of 5. It's a class of 12! How do you expect us to remember all that when we're already struggling enough to ask them in German!? Sigh... This is so different from Japanese. Next term, I'm not taking languages anymore, except Japanese.

My results were crap. End of topic.

And I was assigned the job of making a mamak stall for Malaysian Night. And as a last minute addition, I was appointed assistant computer and PA in-charge on that night. The reason I was appointed was so that they would have a substitute when the main guy in-charge performs. Whatever it is, I'll do my best. On the other hand, mamak stalls and swords are two COMPLETELY different things. You can't just assume I know how to build a cardboard house just because I could make model swords!!

Finally, a joyous news. 3... 2... 1...

FINAL FANTASY XIII LIGHTNING EDITION, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

*Beijing Olympics fireworks x10*

*Rolls around the house.*

*Bounces around the house.*

*Makes dents around the house.*

*Gets kicked out of the house by housemates.*

*Continues to make dents everywhere outside.*

Now then, pics.































It's mine! All MINE!!! MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 140 - I'm still keeping count! XD

Right... Winter break is over and it's time to force myself out of bed and get to class again.

Firstly, a summary of my adventures in UK. My initial plan was Manchester, then Sheffield, and finally London. Change of plans because the flight was delayed and the train to Sheffield from Manchester only ran once an hour. Plus, it was friggin' expensive. So I skipped Manchester and headed straight to Sheffield.

My first day was spent listening to music and watching anime at Khai's dorm, since it was getting late and Sheffield was COLD, even in the day. And I thought Dublin at night was bad. Daytime in Sheffield had almost the same temperature as a Dublin winter night.

Well, there wasn't much to see in Sheffield. Just some art museums, the Wheel of Sheffield and nice hilltop and countryside views. What's nice was the thick snow on the ground and the heavy snow that fell one night. Ah ah, it would be so awesome to just sit on one of them hills with a romantic partner watching the night scenery of Sheffield city, so long as you don't freeze to death first.

I guess the best thing about going to Sheffield was getting anime from Khai XD ...CRAP! I forgot to get Summer Wars!

Now, London was pretty good but pretty disappointing at times. One word. RENOVATION! Almost everywhere I went, there were construction workers fixing pipes and rebuilding stuff. The House of Parliaments, Westminster Abbey and Tower of London had construction work going on here and there. Well, at least I still got to visit both places.

Buckingham Palace was closed off during the winter, but at least the Changing of the Guards still happened every alternate day and I could watch. Hyde Park was empty so I actually wasted my time visiting there. If I had gone to Kensington Gardens (which is just across the Serpentine Lake) that night, I might have spotted someone drowning. It came out in the news.

Oh, I also regret not bringing more money along. Things were cheaper in London, some from a few cents to a few euros cheaper than Dublin after conversion. My next trip will probably involve more visits to Oxford Street.

On my final day, Ethie took me to see the arcade and an anime shop. YAY! Stuff we don't have in Dublin. I finally got to play Para Para after so many months!

Lastly, I sat at the airport for 12 friggin hours waiting for the flight because my Oyster ran out of credit and I couldn't go anywhere else. Not that there was anywhere else besides Oxford Street. But I was near broke anyway. I ended up finishing "Kannagi" and "Earl and Fairy" before even reaching home.

Today, I attended my first two classes, but pretty much just brooded through them.

UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

And my mid-terms fall on the 2nd day of Kitacon, so there goes my chance of attending at all. BOOOO!!!!!!!

Day 116, 117 - Christmas Day, St Stephens Day

Yes, it's a pretty late update, but I wasn't sure whether to mention this.

Well, Dublin is pretty much deserted on these 2 days. The only people you'll see are beggars, hobos and people like me who have nothing to do but stroll alone on the streets of the empty capital. The usual crowd and traffic are reduced to less than 1%. Even the night life in Dublin had more activity than these 2 days. Shops are closed, buses don't operate, families snuggle in their warm houses.

I had expected something to be going on, like events at a mall or park or something, so I decided to go to town. That's when I learned that buses do not operate on those days. The same for taxis, but they're too expensive to consider anyway. The only option left was to walk and so I did. It's surprisingly easy to get there. All I did was follow the main road for about an hour and I arrived at St Stephen's Park, which was closed. Unbelievable! They even closed the park!

And so I headed to O'Connell Street with little expectation. It was worse than I thought. Only 1 shop was open along the entire road which takes 15 minutes to traverse on foot. Luckily, it was the shop that sold the cheapest baguette in Dublin. Lucky! At least I wouldn't have to starve walking back.

Like an attempt to further dampen my mood, it began to rain. Foolish heavens. I may not like the wind in Dublin, but the rain is always welcomed. As my response, I played Motteke Sailor Fuku at full blast. I needn't worry about disturbing others, since the path from the city to UCD was entirely devoid of human activity.

Too bad I couldn't buy any sweet wine. Then I remembered the carton of grape juice I had back home. A lousy replacement, but since it's sweet and it looks like wine in my French housemate's wine glass, that was good enough. After that was just a whole day of sweets and anime. An excellent otaku Christmas, I must say. The perfect otaku Christmas would, of course, be a cosplay Christmas party.

While I'm at it, I might as well summarise what I've been doing up till today. Anime, manga, video games. Details?

-Naruto
Not bad, but Bleach is better. Contrary to rumours, I think the second part is not much better than the first. Sure they killed off some characters, but they revived most of them later. And Sasuke isn't really that despicable yet. When people told me that fans of the manga began to hate Sasuke, I thought he killed Iruka, Kakashi or anyone important, but all he's done is say, "I'll destroy Konohagakure!"

- Seitokai no Ichizon
Now this is nice! It's a parody-themed anime that makes obvious parodies. The jokes are funny and the characters are lovable. Kinda sad that there won't be a 2nd season, or so they say. And I'm gonna have to learn that pose! "Konjitsu no Seitokai shyuryou!"

- Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
Not too bad overall, but it's not my kind of anime. I actually thought this was a parody anime. Turns out it's a romance anime that just features an otaku. Tch! Disappointing but since I already started, I didn't feel like dropping it just like that, so I finished it and the 2nd season.

- Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza
The first season was better, but I am amazed how many ways they can interrupt the kissing scene. Every time you think "There's no way they can stop it now!" BAM!! Door/window breaks, phone rings, secret agents rush in etc etc. Seriously! Just let them kiss!

- Toradora!
I see what the hype was about. I have to admit that it is an excellent piece of work. I don't like romance but I enjoyed this so much that I forgot to sleep! Seriously, all the lead girls here are WEIRD. They give you this weird impression which I can only describe as "You'll never want a girlfriend like that, but you'll never regret having a girlfriend like that." It's the first time something made me wonder what it feels like to be in love. Well done. I express my regret for not having watched this when it was released.

- Umineko no Naku Koro ni
The title came up in Seitokai no Ichizon, which prompted me to try. Since I couldn't find Higurashi, I settled for Umineko. The OP and ED themes were very appropriate although they suck as songs. The story is basically a mind battle between a human and a witch, where the witch continues to create impossible crime scenes while the man seeks to disprove the existence of magic by applying logical deduction. Interesting concept, but the delivery was kind of confusing. Basically, a serial murder case has occurred on a secluded island, and the man is the only one of the victims who didn't believe that it was done by magic, so the witch challenges him to deduce each crime scene. And she will keep repeating the incident as many times as it takes until the man surrenders, so it's just a repetition of the same case with minor changes such as order of victims, location of murder and surviving members before the last murder. The witch calls it "eternal torture". I don't really understand how it is so. I mean, if I was the guy, I'll just keep retrying until I get the right answer. I do have to admit that the conditions she set make the crime scenes ungodly difficult to solve though.

...That was a surprisingly short list. Ah well, Naruto took me 3 days and all the anime took 1-2 days so no time wasted at all :)

Nothing new for games though. Just continuing FFTA2 and some of the replayable games.