Vietnam, baby!

One week in Vietnam! Loved the food but hated the motorcycles and the noise. Cheese, bread, pate, and last but not least, kefir!

Communist propaganda. It left a very very sour taste in my mouth. Although to be honest, for a communist country, Vietnam is incredibly capitalistic.




Beautiful French buildings:
Tainted with propaganda":



Uncle Ho everywhere:


And motorcycles. No regards for traffic direction, speed, signs, anything. Now we know why the speed limit in Ho Chi Minh City is 40 km/hour.


Visited the War Museum. It was quite impressive and I did not find it at all biased or full of propaganda as I was told before. War is cruel and it does hurt civilians, no matter what we think. And yes, napalm and agent orange are illegal according to the rules of war. However, things got a little bit out of hand in this respect on the second floor, where there was a room that showed how other nations rallied for Vietnam during the war. And in it we found this picture, showing a Pro-vietnam Romanian demonstration in the seventies. We all know that these were not spontaneous but thoroughly organized by the party.


Between work, the prof and us visited the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong hid while the americans where having their way with their country - napalm, agent orange, the works. The viet cong answered with bamboo traps, among other things:


The tunnel we visited was enlarged for tourists:


But it was still damn crammed. On our hands and knees we went:


A lot of things can be transported on motorcycles. From goldfish:


To tonight's dinner in a fancy restaurant:


Could not go inside the Notre Dame Cathedral:


But we visited the Mekong Delta instead:


And a bee farm:


Who knew pomelos grow in trees?


Or starfruits? [Click to enlarge]




Got ferried on some canal by locals:


Wore the hat!


So did the prof!


Cobra wine! Pictured is a dead cobra holding a cobra penis in its mouth. Who cares about animals anyway?!


Everything was chocolaty: the mekong, my ice coffee, the palm flowers...


I wanna see more of Vietnam!



Pics available on picasa, as usual [hover for link].

One picture Tuesday

Because we are training for the Annapurna Circuit, we have replaced the "Saturday morning lazy cleaning of the house" with "Saturday morning huffing and puffing" in Bukit Timah (but about the hills of my life in a later post).

In Bukit Timah you meet a lot of people. From people minding their own business, actually WORKING for a living if you must:

To people chilling on the azure blue:

And whom you actually disturb with your presence:

To people seamlessly integrating technology in their life:

And using technology to improve other people's lives as well:

Annapurna Circuit Trek Summary

And the reason why these days I am giving up on my Monday training with the girls (which actually translates into doing an incredible amount of pull-ups or variations) to go run uphill either in Kent Ridge park or in Bukit Timah nature reserve. Below is a summary of the Annapurna Circuit. Hopefully we will be fit enough and the wether will be good enough for us to finish it.

Day 1. Besi Sahar --> Bahundanda
6-7 hrs, 510m ↑
- Ngadi is an alternative for the stop-over
- Bahundanda - one of the prettiest villages in the trail

Day 2. Ngadi/Bahundanda → Chamje
5-6 hrs, 420 m ↑, 260 m ↓
- Bahundanda - one of the prettiest villages in the trail

Day 3. Chamje → Bagarchap
6-7 hrs, 940 m ↑
- marijuana fields, rhododendron
- Tal village good for a break
- suspension bridge

Day 4. Bagarchap → Chame/Bratang
5-6 hrs, 550 m ↑
- must register at the police post
- Bratang: apple orchards, 2 inns, quiet night

Day 5. Chame/Bratant → Pisang
4-5 hrs, 640 m ↑
- alternative is Humde/Hongde higher up, 1.5 hours from Manang
- forest of pine and cedar
- valley view (best!) - Sabje valley

Day 6. Pisang/Humde → Manang
4-5 hrs/1.5 hrs, 350 m ↑

Day 7, Day 8 (depends) acclimatization and rest day in Manang
To do:
- climb ridge north of village for great views
- climb point 4695 (strenuous climb)
- visit Bhojo gompa
- great view at View Point Cafe
- there is a doctor here, 30 US consultation
- free Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) lectures

Day 9. Manang -> Yak Kharka
3-4 hrs, 620 m ↑

Day 10. Yak Kharka → Thorung Ledi
3-4 hrs, 340 m ↑
- slow and steady wins the race


Day 11. Thorung Ledi → Jarkot - THE BIG DAY
6-8 hrs, 1040 m ↑, 1620 m ↓ to Muktinath
7-9 hrs, 1040 m ↑, 1720 m ↓ to Jarkot
- passing through Thorung La, 5400 m
- stop for lunch at Muktinath and visit around (must visit!!)
- can stop here also if no more strength
- must leave Thorung Ledi at 5 am

Day 12. Jarkot → Marpha
7 hrs
- Jarkot: peach trees, nice fortress town
- as we leave Jarkot, turn around and take photo

Day 13. Marpha → Kalopani
4 hrs
- flat OH YEAH!!
- views: Dhaulaghiri (8167m), Nilgiri Central (6940 m) and South (6839m), Annapurna I (8091 m)
- looks like it can be mixed with previous day

Day 14. Kalopani → Tatopani
6 hrs, 24 km, steep ↓
- HOT SPRINGS MAFA!!
- Dhaulaghiri lodge is closest to the springs

Day 15. Tatopani → Gorepani
6 hrs, climb up, steep: 140 m ↓, 1750 m ↑
- Poon Hill MAFA!!!!!! - very nice views of all the mountains, good for sunrise, sunset pics
- SUNRISE!

Day 16. Gorepani → Hille
downhill hard, rock staircase

Day 17. Hille → Pokhara
- hike to Beni town, take cab from Beni to Pokhara
- looks like it can be mixed with day 16 s.t we can stay one day in Pokhara

Pokhara: - relax around the lakeside, take pictures, trek around the lake, etc

Quasimodo

I have been slouching for as long as I can remember. I like to think that it is because my back muscles are so big that I am always hunching forward, but, truth is ... I just slouch. I have tried everything form: asking people to hit me when i slouch to: trying to walk straight. So basically, I have not really tried much.

Until I joined yoga for project elephant. After that my posture greatly improved and I was able to walk straight again (to say nothing that I was finally able to touch my toes)

I quit yoga this year in January. Reasons being that I wanted to concentrate on running, climbing (injury-free, this time), and on writing my thesis. I achieved all three objectives this year so I am really proud of myself for that. However, in quitting yoga I lost two important things, namely, my posture, and a friend I had made through yoga (come to think of it, this second one does not count because if i lost said friend so easily, it just means we weren't really friends). So I lost my posture.

About a month ago San, Dor, Mar, and I were walking through Taka and we spotted this:


The english says: "It chest out posture"

I could not resist it so I grabbed it instantly. At first, I said it was for my mom. But truth is, the arm loops are very tiny so my mom will not fit into it. So here I am today:




Notice the cool shirt: Vietnam-bought for only 10 SGD! And yes, I did put a pink teddy-bear on top of the cluster rack behind me.

One picture Tuesday

I have just returned from the land of motorbikes, bad internet and good food so I have manymanymany things to do and no time to find a picture. So here it is, for the first time seen on the internet, a picture of me from high-school! Guess which one is me!

Good morning Vietnam!

Here I am in Ho Chin Minh City! The land of the zillion scooters, where crossing the street is a fucking adventure, best coffee in Asia (me thinks), and good good good food!


I love eating with Marian and the prof. Marian is a very very fussy heater, but when he is with the prof HE HAS to eat. So he eats things that he wouldn't eat even if promised to give him 10 children: like spring rolls, funny meats, weird cakes. He eats those now without beating an eyelid. He even agrees when I ask him how nice they are! :)

Hopefully tomorrow's internet connection will be much better and i will be able to post some pics.

Interaction between me and the hotel reception desk.

Me: "What is the name of the wi-fi network?"
Them: [pause][weird look] "Um, no?"

One picture Tuesday

A couple of weeks ago Marian and i were hydrating in preparation for the 2010 Safra Army Half Marathon. We bought two 1.5l bottles of water and started drinking. Here's how our bottles looked after 3 hours.

After Aconcagua, where I had to drink around 5l of water per day to decrease the effects of altitude sickness, I have become quite the little hippo. Guess which bottle is mine?

Why I hate Singapore

• It's VERY clean and VERY safe - sometimes, it is just very septic, and very boring. There are no scary rides in the amusement parks.


• The seasons NEVER change - it is always summer. It is never cold. Sometimes, if you try really hard, you can see some signs of spring, but those signs would look like summer for other people.


• People here are not friendly. They are not unfriendly either.


• Chinese people do not want to lose face. So they never argue, fight, yell, scream, etc. in public. Unless they are drunk. Coming from a latin-balcan society, sometimes I miss that. (I don't miss it that much, mind you)


• There is no bread and cheese culture. Coffee mostly sucks.


• The rocks in Sentosa are fake.


• Shopping and eating are roughly the only two national sports that Singaporeans love to play.


• People read at most newspapers (no books) or sleep in the subway or buses.


• There's rarely a good play or a ballet or a concert.


• A percentage of middle-class singaporeans have at least one maid (usually treated badly by the kids - at least) - usually from the philipines or indonesia. The singaporean kid that grew up in such a family will not know how to change a light bulb, iron his/her clothes, cook, sew a button, etc.


• There is a set of rules or steps to be followed for everything. The moment you do something that does not fall in those steps or something happens that is unspecified, everything comes to a halt. Nobody wants to take responsibility, nobody wants to move an inch. Everybody is happy to delegate or wait for the supervisor to decide. And so on and so forth. - granted, there are steps and rules for mostly everything, but sometimes there aren't.


• Kids are stressed with exams since primary school. When they reach university they are unable to think outside the box. I would say "Think" only, but thank god! that is not entirely true.

Why I love Singapore

• Durians! - it's as simple as that. A fruit. Calorie-free* too! (well at least in my book:D)


• It's VERY clean - as in septic, sometimes.


• It's VERY green - it's at the tropics!


• It's VERY safe - as in, can go running at 2 am in most neighborhoods and nothing will happen to you


• Climbing with Sandra and Doris. A pleasure!! And sometimes, during my fat/weak days, a curse.


• It's summer all year around. Bring on the sandals! Skirts! T-shirts! Flip-flops! Air-con!


• For some of my friends, I am the only caucasian they have ever met. Or, after Crystel came here, their favorite caucasian. Ahem.


• While for caucasians I am of average height, bordering on shortish, here I am tall! My hair is light brown, but here people see me as blonde!


• The variety of cuisines you can find here is amazing!


• Fruits, fruits, fruits!!! Pineapple, mango, guava, papaya, soursop, dragonfruit, rambutan, starfruit, apples, pears, plums, grapes, jackfruit, DURIAN, mangosteen, all-year-round!


• TOM YAM! - my favorite soup, right up there with my grandma's borscht soup, I need my almost-daily fix of this spicy and sour soup. Or else.

*Apparently some people say a durian has 800 calories. Yeah right! These people don't know my truth: it has ZERO!

Three Gauls and One Roman

This is the name our team is going to have for Climb On! 2010! Although one of the gauls might not be able to actually make it. Climb On! is a climbing festival, basically a climb-all-you-can-until-you-die kinda thing. Last year I think we spent a lot of time in the mall having lunch and we didn't climb that much. This year the Roman is a noob. The strongest gaul might not be able to make it. Which leaves me and Marian as the defending gauls.

Sadly, Marian really fits Asterix.


Because this means that i am left with Obelix. Even sadder, my butt really fits Obelix.


I haven't submitted the forms yet and truth be told, I am actually considering to change it to 11 Gauls and 1 Roman but I am scared the gaul that might not able to make it will not get it.

A series of unfortunate events

1. I joined the climbing team a long time ago and I met Sandra.


2. Sandra introduced me to peanut butter about 3 years ago. I still blame her, because I had not been aware about this delicacy sprouted from the refined american cuisine. The fact that it sprouted really does not bother me, but the fact that I can get easily addicted to it, does.


3. On Monday night I had to return to the lab to work after training. I knew I would be famished and I was scared I would do something rash and like raid the snack machines, so I bought a small peanut butter jar (fat), a carton of soy milk (protein), and some bread (carbs). It looked perfect for a post-training meal and i enjoyed my two slices very much.


4. On Tuesday I started to help myself to tiny spoons of peanut butter, every time thinking that "This is just a tiny one, it's the last one!"


5. Today I went to get the vietnam visas and when I came back I decided to read a bit about vietnam. And since this was entertainment and I can't do entertainment without munching, I reached for the peanut butter jar. What's left is just a tiny half a a teaspoon pod on the bottom of the jar*. And i thought i was dieting, yes i did ...

*It's done. I licked the jar clean. I am never buying peanut butter again.

One picture Tuesday

Engrish at its best:

Facebook withdrawal symptoms - Part II

Oh noes, what to choose, what to choose! Several things are pushing me in opposing directions ... First there's:

The guilt - Text message from doris: "you needa be back on facebook ... hien typed a super long happy public note about [promoting finally to inter] and tagged everybody [but you]"

Then there's:

The productivity - definitely increased. Or so I thought, until I discovered the zillions of blogs I had been neglecting since I started stalking camping on facebook. And then productivity was back to its normal self. Drip. Drip. Trickle. Trickle.

And there's:
The pride - Making a new facebook account would just mean that i have no spine and that the motherfucking corporatists win.

What to do? what to do?

Nature wants me fat

I always eat more in preparation for a longer run. Well, truth be it, I always eat more. But since yesterday's training, when my fingers literally shouted: "Lose weight, bitch!", I have made a resolution to eat more only (ONLY!) when i will be going for a run.

I have recently found a longer run around campus, which clocks about 10km and has two hills in it: one is about 3 km long, the other about 100 m - in preparation for "Nepal OH YEAH 2010" pre-graduation trip (this only implies that at some point in time there's going to be a graduation trip as well) My plan now is to run this route everyday if possible. Today was one of those days when I was supposed to run it.

So I stuffed my face accordingly at lunch, and afterwards, clocking a salmon with salad and mash, humus with bread, one pack of seaweed and one pack of cashewnuts (how the last two are actually good for runners, I do not know! But they are very good for gluttons yum, yum, yum).

Of course it started pouring right after I finished lunch and it has not stopped since, which makes my pre-run stuffing useless. And I literally can feel how everything i ate is meeting back on my behind to discuss layering possibilities. Nature truly wants me fat.

Facebook withdrawal symptoms - Part I

Number of times I wanted to check Facebook (approx):

• On Monday: 40


• On Tuesday: 30


• On Wednesday: 2*

*Only because I had to stand in for my supervisor for the whole day so I had no computer access.

One picture Tuesday

Now this is what I call true bling!

Facebook account gone!

Well, my account has been Claudia Facebooksux for as long as i can remember. I was an active facebooker :) although i did not allow any applications and I did not like it when people asked me to share/give them animals in farmville or whatever - so i was pretty harsh on them (i.e. i ignored them).

Today I tried to login and found that my account has been disabled (no warning, no anything - I guess the facebooksux in the name was really putting them off). In Facebook's own words, asking why my account was disabled, I got this:

"Profiles created to represent celebrities, pets, ideas, or inanimate objects are strictly prohibited.
People on Facebook want to interact with their real friends and the people they know in the real world. Since fake accounts can damage the integrity of this environment, they are not allowed to remain on the site."


On the problem with fake names:
"Facebook is built around real world interactions. Operating under an alias detracts from the value of the system as a whole. Users who operate under fake names are also prone to abuse. We take this standard very seriously and remove fake accounts as we become aware of them."

Then, when asking why i did not get a warning:
"Depending on the severity of the violation, it is not guaranteed that you will receive a warning prior to becoming disabled. Unfortunately, accounts that are disabled for severe violations of Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities cannot be restored."

And then, when asking what i could do to restore my account - sadly, I will not make another account but i do not want to lose contact with ppl I was in contact before - like RME's links, dodo's camping on facebook etc - here's what i got:

"Please upload a government-issued ID to this report and make sure that your full name, date of birth, and photo are clear. You should also black out any personal information that is not needed to verify your identity (e.g., social security number). "

Sad part is, my account was not fake and I did not "damage the integrity of this environment". The irony is that indeed, Facebook sucks :)

Facebook withdrawal symptoms, here I come!

Will I blog till I am 90?

I don't really know, but what I really hope is that by the time I am 90, the title of this blog would have changed, at least not to include "graduate programmes". Here's a video of a lovely and inspirational 90-year old granny blogger.

Amazing how technology sometimes reaches out to people from the older generation.
My 78-year-old grandmother uses her computer to Skype with me. She is loving it! And so am I! It does make the distance shorter, even for a little while ...

Breakfast odissey

I have been trying for years to find the perfect breakfast formula to suit me. What I have managed to find in all these years is that, unlike Marian who has been eating the same thing for breakfast ever since I've known him (I kid you not, the man eats 4 slices of toast with butter and honey and 1 and half glasses of milk EVERY MORNING if he can have it), I need variety in my life! So far, I have eaten for breakfast:

• borscht soup


• polenta with cheese


• polenta with yoghurt


• steamed broccoli with cheese


• cabbage stew


• rolled oats with fruit and milk


• weetabix with fruit and milk


• [HOW COULD I FORGET THIS?!] chicken rice soup and coffee

In the past weeks, i have switched from my rolled oats to weetabix. I love the texture of the weetabix and the taste! (Cardboard!) However, I noticed that after i eat the weetabix I get VERY hungry, VERY soon (like when i reach the office in the morning, I am ready for lunch). Turns out that unlike rolled oats, weetabix has a HIGH GI, which makes it unsuitable for breakfast for me. This might be the reason why i am so famished so early. Or it might be, as Sandra aptly puts it, that i am a "bottomless pit".

Funny breakfast foods anyone?

One picture Tuesday

The little engine that could ...

Went for army half marathon yesterday! The night before I was a little bit scared because although I had run very often, I had not run long because of lack of time/drive etc. Sadly the night before we spent it watching re-runs of "The Big Bang Theory" and eating very salty roasted sunflower seeds.

I say this because 3 km into the run both of us were very very thirsty and had to stop to refuel. And then poor Marian had a stitch because of that and an entire saga broke out for him. I had given him a pair of my socks to run in. Turns out they were too tight for him and gave him multiple blisters (a big one on the right foot and 3 smaller ones on the left foot).

This year we ran past the Marina Sands resort. It has a small hill right next to it, and i had thought that this would be it. I actually was thinking that maybe the singaporeans had complained that the Sheares bridge is too steep (it is damn steep!) and so the event organizers had taken it out. Turns out, they hadn't, and Marian got to experience it right smack in the face.

All in all it was a good run, Marian did his best, got a personal best, and we almost made it below 2hrs! I feel a bit pissed because I know that I could have made it even better - 1:46 would have gotten me in the first 10 for women's open, as I pulled 4min/km at the start and around kms 16/17/18. That's when I left Marian to battle his demons on his own. That being said, I could have pulled on and wait for Marian right before/right after the finish line but decided against it. The high of finishing together was again, unmeasurable.


The run left me famished! Because I am feeling guilty, I will post below a list of all the things I had to eat yesterday. It's a lot considering that i started to eat at 8:00, slept from 12-3pm, and stopped eating at 7pm.

• One of the cereal bars they gave us at the finish line


• Vegetable laksa - but only the veggies as it was too heavy


• Auntie Anne's parmesan cheese pretzel


• Korean bibimbap - not all, it was not good


• 20000000 dates


• One ice-cream


• 2 servings of cabbage stew


• One pack of roasted sunflower seeds


• 2 or 3 thick slices of bread


• 125 g of feta cheese


• One starfruit


• One apple

Mastercard moment

1. 22 years in school: 8150 USD (12 * 200 + 5 * 150 + 5 * 1000 )


2. Taxes for the last semester: 1000 USD


3. Examination fee: 400 USD


4. Amount of paper used to print: 5 * 500 pages

Happiness, dread, anxiety, of finally submitting the thesis to the university: Priceless.

Relations

A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.

A Ph. D. student is a machine for turning coffee into crap.

One picture Tuesday

Because yesterday the hairy leg came back from Rome, I didn't have time to post, so I am giving you not one, but TWO pictures from our trip to Ikea this saturday.

Doris found her rug:


And I found my new love:

Am becoming the village crazee

Five years ago I quit smoking. I did not use any fancy technique from some book or other or anything of the sort. I stopped cold turkey and I started running. This was horrible for me (running i mean) because I was unfit and I was a smoker and i was running in singapore, where at first it feels like running in a sauna. But anytime I wanted to light up I would remind myself about the first running experience and I would ask myself if I wanted to go back to that. And I didn't so I would not light up. Why am I telling you this story?

Well ... this is the corridor where business and computing students come to smoke. NUS is a non-smoking campus and as such smart students find sekret smoking areas.


The problem with this corridor is that the window with the little piece of paper on it is the window to my lab. The window is right behind my desk and the windows are not properly sealed. Which means that whenever students come to smoke here (despite the 5 no-smoking signs, one announcement that clearly describes the fines if anybody would catch them smoking), the smoke comes into my lab. And it first hits me and my unsuspecting lungs.


Do we foresee a problem here? Oh yeah! Let's have a closer look at the piece of paper on my window:



Yup. For the past month or so I have consistently shooed smokers from there. At first I was polite and nice, but depending on my mood and the lack of coffee (coffee makes me nice) my shooing has ranged from "please don't smoke here, the smoke comes inside and I have quit" to "please don't smoke here despite all 5 signs. Please go. Like NOW!" And today I am happy to announce that I think word got out.

Yesterday I was sitting at our dinning table (don't ask) and reading somebody's master thesis*. I glanced up and saw a couple (him and her) going straight for the smoking place (they can also sit down, so it's mighty comfy too!) Then he stops short, points towards my window and probably tells her: "We must go away from here, the smoke will go there and the she-devil will come and kill us all!" She looks towards my window and at the same time catches on to the fact that I am looking at them and smiling - or grinning, or smirking. I could clearly see her tell him "Oh My god!" as they rushed away from my window. Mission accomplished.

*Master thesis about social networks. Second line of the introduction writes "Fackbook".

The reason why I buy socks so often

One picture Tuesday

A month or so ago I bought a basil bush. This is because Marian enjoys my thai basil minced chicken rice enormously so I decided that I did not want to buy 2.50$ worth of basil every time, and on top of that pollute the world with the packaging and so on. The bush was thriving when I bought it. The smell of its leaves was very very fragrant. It begged for me to cut it and put it in some food. I could see that me and the plant were going to be buddies for a very very long time to come. I even considered naming it.

The problem is that my room gets the singapore hot sun full on from 6:45am (PLEASE DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW) till about 3 pm at least. As such, the plant, like its previous basil cousins (bought some smaller ones from cold storage) started to dry and die. At first I moved it in the bathroom. However, although the bathroom gets a bit less sun, it is still very very hot during the day. Plus, our bathroom is small and it just didn't fit.

So in the end I moved it in the kitchen. It has been two weeks now and the plant is thriving (although having said that, I probably jinxed it and when I get home tonite it will be dry and dead already). And when I say thriving you must picture the plant as a little kitten or little puppy that has just had half its legs amputated and now is thriving with the remainder. And you, the proud owner, can't help to feel extremely proud about your little one's health, while the world looks on with pity. Because the plant now looks like this:


I really really hope it survives because everytime i look at it I feel like looking in the mirror. Dysfunctional: check! Working: check!

PS since taking the picture I went ahead and cut the dry parts at sandra's suggestion. I really hope it survives!

The true nature of the internet

Googled today: "google interview questions"

Got back as search hints: "google interview questions answers"

Watch out

My mom gave me this watch when I left for Singapore four five years ago. It is a very cheap Tissot. I love it because it is not yellow (I am really not into yellow jewelry thankyouverymuch) but also because my mother bought it in the airport as she was leaving for a business trip and she spent all her per diem (for the entire trip) to buy it.


Five years later and the watch ran out of battery. Being the good girl that I am, I decided to go the official Customer Office on Orchard Road, in the heart of the city, to change the battery. After waiting for a total of 1h:20 mins (40 mins in queue and 40 mins to get a specialist to look at it), the people there showed me the battery and said, "Sorry m'am, your battery has leaked, here's the proof [show battery - no signs of leakage] it's gonna cost you 190 dollars to get all the parts replaced". I swear I was willing to pay 190 dollars (95 euros) for it. But then she said: "it's gonna take 3 months to get it back." And then I ask why.

And then she says because we have to get the parts from the home office, and the home office caters for many shops, 100 SHOPS! and they don't have time for us. And the watch has scratches (do you wear it everyday?!) Plus, it's water resistance has spoiled! [my watch is water resistant to 30 meters, which actually means that if i cry and wipe my tears with my left wrist then that is it] And these are the parts that need changing [and shows me the scribble from the specialist]: dial, smth, smth, hend. The dial?! The hend?! (I suppose the hand?) ?

190 dollars I can take. 3 months I can't take, not with these really really stupid explanations. And typos!

So I took the watch and went to Clementi, where I changed the battery for 6 dollars. The uncle there didn't say anything about a leak, and even if he did I would not have understood him. Ha!

A story of procrastination

Today I got up, then went back to sleep. Eventually I got kicked out of the bed by a hairy leg and instructed to go run as I had promised the night before. Said hairy leg proceeded to spread itself over the entire bed and not leave a single teensy-weensy corner for me. So I ran to school.

Reached school very determined to work as Thursday and Friday I work for myself (i.e. I am doing something that the boss is no longer interested in). The hairy leg reached a bit later and brought my clothes. I changed from my running clothes into others and then had breakfast.

Hairy leg left for class and I returned to the lab. I was about half-way through Stieg Larsson's second book. By the time the hairy leg came back from class I was still reading. We continued to read our respective books until lunch time. I finished this one and started the third one zomg!


After lunch I said NO MORE! I WILL WORK from now on!! So I started to read blogs and stuff. When nothing else new to read was online, I looked at my messenger list and clicked a link. It was a youtube movie of a cartoon I used to watch when I was a small kid, Sandy Bell. So I watched 2 episodes of Sandy Bell.


Then i talked for twenty minutes to a friend. I have to leave in 15 minutes and I have worked for at most two hours today. Shame on me!

One picture Tuesday

Never knew that Doris went to New Zealand, and to Milford Sound of all places!


I knew she can't spell though :))

Back to childhood

On Wednesday I went running with Marian. We were talking and talking and then BOOF!!!! I was instantly transported back into my childhood:




Of course I insisted on running because the knees were still warm and I didn't feel a thing. But then I dropped my iPod and it shattered on the ground (nothing wrong with it, it was in a case, whew!). And i still ignored all these signs and continued running. But when I started getting stitches on each side alternatively, I decided that 3 signs were more than enough, so I stopped, all the while ignoring the background music of "I told you so!"s.

Eventually when we got home I was brave enough to grab the Aloe Vera + Propolis spray and go straight for it. I aimed, looked away and fired straight at the wound. The burning sensation was so overwhelming that I nearly bit the tub, so i decided that one single shot means I have cleaned it already. That is why one can still see pieces of the sidewalk upon close examination.

One picture Tuesday

In COM2, SCHOOL OF COMPUTING, NUS. Nerds no need 2 write. "Maybe"

Climbing in Putrajaya

Definitely the gesture of the trip: Oh yeah!! [As seen here in Vector's performance in Despicable Me - haven't seen despicable me? it's cute and funny, go see it if you need something like this in your life]


We rented a car from JB. The car was ok, i.e. it didn't fail or go awry on us. But other than that, i would have traded it instantly for anything not malaysian made. We almost lost plastic parts of it at least twice. Sandra opened the door and the plastic cover for the door just fell out. I dislodged some plastic cube which was covering something or other right next to my brake. I know for sure that some button to the right of the steering wheel was there when we started but was missing by the end of the trip (could see the wires). Moreover, if I stood straight while driving I could not see half of my board due to the non-ergonomical position of the steering wheel. Speaking of ergonomics, the car was a BOAT. It was big like a boat, slow like a boat, it had poor sealing all around (like a boat). There. I've said it. And the color! URGH! (I am finally happy that I can speak nasty about it because before I was afraid I would jinx it).

The drive to KL and back was uneventful. BUT KL!!~!!@#!!@! ZOMG! The street signs were too low. The signs were all in malay (you would think that considering the gigantic amount of tourist the populated streets get, they would at least put the signs in english, or using internationally-known signs). Like the sign for the one-way streets. It SAYS Jalan Selantaran (or similar). WTF>?!@ The streets were crowded but I didn't care much about it - with an automatic car there really isn't any effort in driving. But for directions?! And the poor person giving them!?... Marian and I ended up almost having a row in the first day out in KL; his GPS (ahem iPhone) was not working well and we were like the circling the same block for like the zillionth time and then I was like "Your gps sucks" and he was "NO, you can't give directions!!" So yeah! We switched and I moved to the driver's seat. And then afterwards I was emigrated to the back while sandra gave Marian directions. Growl!

Climbing in Putra was fantastic. Well, at least compared to whatever it is that we have here in singapore. The tiles felt much better than those at yishun, and the routes were much much longer. Sandra was my personal slave-driver during this trip. She would not allow me to rest and chicken out until I had at least tried SOMETHING. My usual approach as we all now is to rest on the rope, bestill my beating heart, work out a possible sequence, and then go again. Stop and repeat. Kinda lame, but this once I could not do it in full cause Sandra was watching yay! THANKS! I climbed a very inclined overhang!! Rested at EVERY quickdraw but at least i did not come down (yes this paragraph is a loser's lament so if you skipped it, good for you!)

Marian almost finished a 6c! The dodo bird as usual climbed harder routes but not by much harder cause she had to stay with us, at the intermediate lead wall, ahem. Better luck next time ...

We tested our span! I win, but not by much. Sandra is very close to me although she is at least half a meter (hahahhahaa 13 cm) shorter than me (Sandra is one cm taller than the bird, by the way)


The trip was all about funny faces:



And durians and food (when i got back i could not see my abs! - they are back now, but more about this in another post)


And visiting; we visited the Petronas Towers - Can you believe it that Doris had never been!@?; and Melaka






And relaxing [Sandra is afraid of these!]


And goofing off




And queueing (for the petronas towers, to get back in singapore - more about that later)
Than it was about climbing.

Putrajaya climb directions and topo

Below are the directions on how to get to Putrajaya Climbing gym in KL.

You are going to kill me, but my directions read like this:

1. Follow the GPS coordinates below:

Latitude: 2°53.32716
Longitude: 101°40.0948800000003

(can search google maps for 2.888786, 101.668248)

These are the coordinates taken in front of the gym, but because our software didn't have the street right in front of the gym, it took the coordinates of the highway right in front of the gym. Only problem is, if your driving direction is different than that highway stretch you end up having to exit, turn around, etc, and GET LOST (there are no signs and no people to ask)

2. So basically, from Kuala Lumpur, follow the signs (or lack thereof) towards Jalan Tun Razak or the highway (Sembaran), and from there to Putrajaya. Next, follow the directions to these coordinates, until you see a BIG BROWN SIGN on the left that says: Taman Cabaran (sign might be hidden by trees but do not despair). From this moment, quit listening to the GPS and shut it down if the voice annoys you, and just follow the signs (or go straight forward if in doubt). Taman Cabaran is the adventure park in which the gym is located. The gym is a big grey building and as far as we could tell it was the only big grey building in the park. (if you see any people - I am not kidding, that place is deserted - you can ask them about directions too)

There is no topo for any of the walls but! we asked the guy there and he told us the grades for the routes on the Intermediate Lead Wall.

Route list:
Green - arete - 6c
Blue - 6b
Grey - 6a+
Orange - 6c+ (Dodo said "Oh my God!" on this one, and she didn't on the 7a)
Grey - 6b
Yellow - 6b/6b+
Brown - 6b
------------------------- (marks change between walls)
Blue - 6c
Green - discontinued
Red - 6c+
Orange - 7a
Grey - 6c
Brown - 6c+
Marble green - 6c+
Marble white - 6b+
Greeen - discontinued
Grey - 6b
Yellow - 6b
-------------------------
Brown peanut - 6a+
Green blue - 6a+
Green sloper - 6a+
Blue - discontinued
Green white - 6a
---------slab------------
Yellow - 6a (left - 1st anchor) /6a+ (right - 1st anchor)
Blue - 6a+
Brown - 6a
Orange - 6b+

[Click for a bigger version of the panorama - rightmost slab excluded]

I guess

My previous [longer] relationship was with a disturbed alcoholic that had commitment problems and father-figure issues. We loved each other to the end of the moon and back and we fought extremely often and everytime we fought like it was world war 2 all over again. He had a communication problem and i thought that everybody can go and fuck themselves if they don't like me. I entered that relationship as a spoiled girl and emerged, with commitment problems and father-figure issues (actually, i had the latter from before), but definitely a much wiser woman. [Oh yeah!]

Nowadays, while Marian is god's send on earth (in terms of patience, love, companionship, friendship etc) I still notice that we fight like it's fucking world war 3 again. The reason is that I can't just let go of things. And he can't either (but don't tell him that I said so). And then i get super pissed of and reach the conclusion again that people can go fuck themselves if they don't like me.

And with respect to non-climbing friends (or acquaintances sadly) for the past few months I have been conducting an experiment, in which I do not ask people how they are doing, or ask them to go out and do stuff together, but rather wait to see who asks and who cares. This was a direct consequence of the fact that I was writing the thesis and it. was. sapping. me. of. everything. Fullstop. period. The sad result of this experiment is that nobody asked and nobody cared. And of course i started to remember how when their respective lives where going downhill I was there to comfort, listen, and care.
Now of course the logical answer from me is just a big FUCK YOU, a shrug, and a slammed door (I be good at that).

Do we notice a trend here? I guess we do. I notice that things with somebody can be either super cool or they can go fuck themselves. It's kinda sad and I hope it does not make me bi-polar or anything. The even sadder part about this is that it's getting a bit lonely here people*! A bit like high-school but not quite, since the guy I am smitten with is my boyfriend and I no longer think I am fat and ugly.

* Now don't get me wrong, I will not go and jump off the roof of COM2 clutching a note that says "nobody woves me"! The main cause for this rant is that I used to enjoy coming to work because I also had good friends here. It was fun to laugh and chat or do stuff. Nowadays, I just come to work; and rush to leave work to climb (or run) - although this was a major increase in productivity, it just turned work into a big "meh" **.

** Now if this blog was really about graduate programs - I would have commented about the chances of making good friends during phd.

How to run 10k

Had problems running 10 km? Thinking you can't do it oh no nononono? Well then, THIS is the place to read.

- Start by going out on a 5k rum run with your boyfriend/fiancee/husband/etc - no matter, s/he has to be human, and must like you - a lot - otherwise this does not work

- Throughout the run complain about the following: s/he is running too fast and you have a stitch; s/he is NEVER running right next to you, always a bit in front and therefore you always feel like you are chasing him - hence you run faster, hence the stitch

- When he decides to run behind you, complain that he's making you feel chased (because you can see him with a corner of your eye) and THAT'S WHY you had to dash into the unknown, unlit night at 4:40 min/km. And he had to chase you, lest you get raped at night. in the park.

- When he decides to run in front of you, run slower such that at one point you are so far behind that he can't see you. Then complain that you'll get raped at night in MacRitchie HA! Because he doesn't take care of you!!! [the rape theme can be changed to something else, of course - variation is always the spice of a relationship]

- A very accurate measure of love is a) the step where he will crack; if he doesn't crack the first time, b) and how many times you can do this to him until he gets to the next stage... Read on...

- Once he can't take it anymore, he will start complaining that this is not a run, it's a fucking kidfest and he hasn't had a nice good run in ages. Now be careful, as THIS IS THE SPOT where you want to be!! Once he says that, you must say: "FINE! Pick a 10k route and we run it on Tuesday!"

- Now this is perfect. Because he has been wanting a longer run for so long and! you have been such a bee-itch, you will feel guilty and you will try your best to finish this run sans whining, complaining, bitching, quiting, etc. You are allowed to yell THIRST!! WATER!! THIRSTY!! from time to time, especially since you have been stuffing your face with junkfood the whole day and your entire mouth is dry but you still have little white specks of saliva around your mouth. Of course you are thirsty now, one whole pack of Cheddar soy crisps will do that to you - thanks san! But under no circumstances you are allowed to quit, stop to buy water, or complain about his running.

Oskar speech

Probably went through the most scary moment of my life when I submitted the thesis today to the secretary - actually, to the secretary's secretary cause the secretary was out to lunch (sheesh!). Below is my oskar speech, for those of you who are reading here and are not on Fbook (ahem!). Of all of those mentioned below, clarifications and extra hugz are really needed for the following a) the prof (first paragraph - and only one that has one for himself - this one really wrote it with all my heart and without inspiring from other ack's) b) marian (ahem, needed one by himself ahem but it's not a love story what?), c) san and doris for reasons written below and many more hahaha, d) marius (for showing me that you CAN do mountaineering at fifty-fucking-four years old) , e) mihai and mariuca for settling both marian and me in during the first years and last but not least f) my mother - "raising me" should read "putting up with me and my impossible self - really" for about 23 years (i would have kicked myself out long before that). So, here goes nothin'!

It is with unbounded gratitude that I write these lines. I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Yong Meng Teo, for supporting me throughout this thesis with patience and knowledge, while at the same time allowing me room to follow my own way. Professor Teo has taught me how to look at a problem, what important questions to ask, and how to present my ideas clearly, focusing on the big picture and the important insights, rather than the intricate details of methods. More importantly, through his never-ending patience and kindness in dealing with his students, he has shown me that teaching is an act of patience and understanding, rather than a simple information exchange. I am happy he was my
supervisor throughout these years and could not wish for a better advisor.

I would like to thank my thesis committee, Professors X and Y, for their continuous feedback and encouragement. They have both given me their precious time and provided me the resources I needed. I would further like to thank Prof. Rassul Ayani and Dr Simon See for the helpful and insightful discussions on simulation, composability, and distributed computing. Dr Verdi March has always offered feedback and highlighted important issues during our seminar talks.

In the daily work in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory, I was surrounded by many great friends and brilliant colleagues. To Marian, for being a constant support throughout all the stressful times, putting up with me and making me laugh or focus when needed, there are no words to express my gratitude. To Mihai and Mariuca, thank you for all the coffee breaks and companionship throughout the first part of this quest. To Bogdan and Cristina, thank you for all the insightful conversations on life and computer science, over the never-changing food from the Science canteen. To Marius, I am grateful for showing me the power of believing in my dreams. To Sandra and Doris, thank you for being my climbing guinea pigs and sharing the cost of durians with me, although I always ate the bigger part; you've made this foreign country seem like home. To Cristina, Nandini, Dmitry, and Aleks, thanks for all the fun in this last stretch.

Finally, I thank my mother for raising me, supporting me through my university studies, and always pushing me to give my best.