Saturday, September 30, 2006

nights in london

hi,
just a short update in case you guys think i've been shot in london or something like that.

wells, the past two nights, instead of doing what i usually do, and sleep in my room, i went out.

last night, surprises of all surprises, my floormates in hall asked me out for a couple of drinks with them, and that was cool. i'm quite happy that i went out with them, although it was kinda weird being the only asian around all those british people. but its quite cool actually, and i got to know a couple of new people, so that's fun. i learnt that brits drink quite a great deal, and they drink it fast! oh, and if anything, at least beer here is cheaper than in singapore. the cheapest u can get a beer for in singapore is like 10 sing dollar a pint, and at MOS, i think it can cost u perhaps $15 for a heineken. but here, a pint is like 2.2 pounds, which works out to perhaps 6 SGD at most. which is pretty cheap.

ok, tonight, i went to school! yes, call me nerdy, but i went to school on a friday night. hey all u nus ntu students, just try telling people u went to school on friday night man! but anyways, i went to school, cos apparently, LSE is a happening place, and on fridays, the school turns into a big club! much like a mini MOS, with only 3 rooms. the drinks were free flowing man, i think like at least 500 litres of beer was drunk or something like that man (based on my estimate that everyone has an average of 2 glasses, and there were more than 800 people around) but the music was quite bad, but it was massive man, there were really like alot alot of people. LSE is quite cool, study by day, party by night. hahaa oh wells, anyways, yeah, and that's it for the night. i'm quite tired and i'd have to be up tomorrow for some singsoc thing. so yeah take care and cya!

mervyn at 9/30/2006 01:55:00 AM

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

helllo from london!

hi everyone! how's everything!? so what's been up around the place?
anyway i've spent the last few days running up and about the place, doing all the registration and teething issues. it's not too bad. i've been to the MASSIVE library a coupla times, and indeed, i think whatever econs books u could ever want is inside there. it's like a mad economists' wishlist or something. oh, and the grapevine has it that the library is a hotspot for spotting hot babes around the place. indeed, it is rather true. or maybe LSe just has alot of hot babes.

anyway, the prices here are really rather exhorbitant. a 750ml bottle of evian costs 75p, which comes up to around $2.20 SGD. a typical lunch can be had for 4 pounds, which is considered cheap! none of that 2.50SGD bowl of mee pok anymore man. hahahaa.

anyways, my hostel is like 20 minutes walk from school, so i walk like 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back everyday, so i'd expect i'll be rather fit soon.
anyways, here's a little photos that i took on my way back from school yesterday to show u what i encounter on a typical walk to school.

this is a building in a backalley, just to show u what english architecture is like.



here is one of the many parks around london. london is rather quaint in that its such a bustling city with activity all around, and yet, u've got these little parks sprinkled all around the city, like a spot of tranquility amidst all those hustle and bustle. quite cool eh?



here is what a typical english pub looks like. these pubs are all over the place. i see easily 5 or 6 of them on my way to school. but i've never been in one yet, but the beer is rather cheap. its like a pint for 2.something pounds, which works out to 6 or 7 SGD for a pint. comparatively to singapore's pubs, where the cheapest pint works out to be $15, and the average price for a pint is $20, it is rather cheap ain't it! no wonder they drink so much! sometimes, beer is cheaper than soft drinks, like coke etc.




this is one of the numerous roads i walk along on my way to school. this is a little shortcut, which saves me maybe 5 minutes or so? anyway, the streets look rather notting hill don't it? the houses look quite hollywood eh?



and this, my friends, is something new. something you'll never see in authoritarian singapore. it's only 3 minutes away from my place, but i've never been inside there yet. i should go check it out one of these days and see what the hell's inside man. its a big curiousity ain't it. hahaa. i wanna see what the shopkeeper looks like and what kinda books they stock man. or maybe it's just a front! hahaha. cool ain't it.






ok folks, that's all for now. i'm gonna grow tall and strong like those brits man. looking at their food, i understand how they grow so massive man. cool. hahahaa
see yall, and take care!
peace out!

mervyn at 9/27/2006 09:27:00 AM

Sunday, September 24, 2006

london bridges

heys everyone!
i'm finally in london! i'm in commonwealth hall, and its a quite unfriendly place actually. ok, so there are people talking outside my room now, but i'm not in the "hi hi hi" mood so i'll be here typing away. i've got a year to talk to those people, so yeah.

but anyways, it's quite a strange experience to be alone in a foreign land. however, it's necessary, so u just gotta do it.

i arrived at 5.50am, and by the time i left heathrow airport, it was close to 7am. i took the tube to my hall, and checked in. the weather and the walk to my hall was kinda gloomy, and the drizzle totally didn't help, but i guess these are mere teething problems.

this was the weather that greeted me in london.

anyways, my room is rather small, and the facilities are quite sparse. the furnishing looks like it might have existed before the queen. but i guess i'll make do. even the OCS bunk is a miillion times nicer. the only thing nice abt the place is the weather i guess. its like perpetual aircon, and i walk arnd in a t shirt, and its damn cooling. it's not as harsh as aircon is, and the air is cool, crisp, and fresh. its nice. the sun sets early though.

anyways, i spent my day walking arnd the place, going to chinatown, oxford street, and numerous other places.

these are what the streets of london look like.



i also made a trip down to the LS of E to take a look, and what a terrible anti-climax it was! no illusions of grandeur everybody, it is a mere cluster of grey buildings, with no special distinct feature, except little small ubitiquous LSE signs all around the place.



anyways, dinner, i went to this place which supposedly is good for roast duck. but then it's pricey and not rreally that good anyways. quite a disappointment. haha.

anyways, tomorrow's registration, and hopefully we get some people going along. but all the people around the place don't look exactly too friendly, so i'll be hard pressed to see what i can do.
well, you'll never know what happens in life.

and thanks to all the sweet friends who came arnd to the airport.
its nice to see y`all. though i looked quite bad in the photos. but its ok, cos im trying to grow my hair long, so it looks quite bad now. but i put on weight, WHICH i will lose in london, cos the food is terribly pricey. and hall food isn't very nice. from what i've heard.



bye!
i'm off to catch up on some much needed sleep.
have fun!

mervyn at 9/24/2006 10:57:00 PM

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

watch your front

heys!
finally, after a long awaited many days, RANGE IS FINALLY OVER!!! OKAAAAAAAAAY!!! WHOOO!
range is such an immensely tiring thing to do. not only is it taxing physically, it's taxing mentally, and you have to talk so much its amazing. but then again, i figure nothing is too difficult and its only a matter of how much you put into it. i must say that for this range, i didnt have exactly the best team around, but i think i made do and it was all good in the end. i'm just happy it ended safely without any accidents etc.

so its back to normal life, and to clear leave. yayness, it feels immensely exciting and happy to finally be able to end my tour of duty in the armed forces. it also feels unspeakably exciting to be able to go to the LS of E to commence my undergrad studies. it is such a thing to behold, the day i have waited for since i picked up my first econs textbooks. u know in J1, whenever i heard stories of my econs teachers with their "my ex student, who is currently studying in LSE" etc. etc. and all these students they were talking abt were like their genius students, and i was like WOOAHH LSE... god-like! and here i am, in less than a week, i will be starting my studies in LSE. oh man, life is an absolutely unpredictable creature. maybe someday somewhere, my name will pop up in those class discussions "i had this horrible student, never came to class, always skipped lectures, who's now studying in LSE." haha. but then again, LSE is sorta known for its revolutionary slant.

of late, i've been listening to a great deal of hip hop rnb tracks. some have deep groove vibes, some have cute vibes, some have them cool nigga raps. how very interesting. what's more interesting is combining them altogether. i did a 10 min mix the other day, and i must say it is rather nice. :)

mmm im just relieved and happy that range is finally over. nothing much to say actually either.

OK dudes i think its time for me to get off-line and spend some time in real life.
yEAH
goodnight all!

mervyn at 9/20/2006 05:25:00 PM

Sunday, September 17, 2006

settled peace

heys.
its been a long time since i've felt at ease, but of late, i've been feeling an inner zen from deep within.
which is good.

with 6 days left to go in singapore, i think the tempo of things is good, maybe its just the right time to be leaving. nothing much to keep me here either, nothing left behind, so that's good.

it's rather late now, and i should be sleeping soon. its a couple of long few days ahead, but i think its ok, cos its the final stretch, and with enough determination and perseverance i'm sure it'll all be fine. :)

well, yesterday was a rather good day, in fact, it was a very good and positive day, though i was a little tired, but it was fruitful and nice. went shopping in the afternoon and got some threads to wear in london. went for dinner with hf. the sky was rather overcast, but the weather was relatively cool, so that was quite good for me, cos i can't stand the heat. yea. its all good. :) anyways i think i had a rather nice talk with her, and it kinda made me happy, and all, considering its quite difficult to make me happy. though i guess it was abit overdue, but as always, better late than never. i guess that always holds true. haha. i think there's just too many things which i have to say to her, but then i don't really say much. its like that isn't it, with everybody. so much to say, but who really ever says what they want to say? not many people. but i think all these stuff which u keep inside, it all accumulates, adds up, turns into redudant emotional baggage weighing on you, and over time, it gets worse. so i think its not too good to be keeping too much baggage.
but it was all good and for once i had settled peace. the kinda feeling that u get when u just settled a debt. ok, bad analogy, but i think more or less something like that.

my song du jour of late is That Girl by Frankie J. I think the beats are totally rocking, and the rhythm is fantastic. but then again, detractors will ask me what rhythm is there in hip hop? actually hip hop music is not really music. its just a mish mash of sounds.

oh wells. sometimes in life there are regrets, and that's inevitable. its a sad fact of life. as life goes on and on, the number of regrets will increase with the number of choices increasing. sometimes, its a hobson's choice. but someone, somewhere, somehow has to make a choice sometimes.

sighs i think that's all i have to say at this point of time. the mind is not processing thoughts well, so the words come up a bit jumbled up. think i must employ a ghost blogger soon. but then again, this is me, and this is my style of writing, and if u dun understand it, i can't help u. not many ppl understand me anyways.

oh on another note, i'm leaving on flight sq 322 next saturday, at terminal 2. the flight is at 2320 so i'll probably be there around 2030 or something like that. yah, just in case u needed to know. hahahaa..
:)

ok goodnight fellas. imma show u how to get ur shine on!

mervyn at 9/17/2006 02:51:00 PM

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

girls, soccer, and banana bread.

hello all!
because today, i decided to blog, but i don't know what to blog about, since i don't wanna blog about my stupid day in the army, i shall blog about the soccer girls!
figuring that the bulk of them are studying their prelims, they probably won't read this.

well, so just now i was clicking arnd and encountered a few of their blogs. and it brought back them memories of the NJ SOCCER GIRLS. hahahaa... well... it started as a little project to spend my time and to be more involved in the general community... and it gradually involved into a lifetime commitment! ok, not a lifetime commitment, but rather, hmmm.. it's like u're dating this girl for awhile and after awhile u all get married. OK not a very good analogy. shans will know i'm the best person for creating not-very-good-analogies. hahahaha.

but anyways, i think it was good times teaching them stuff, cos it's like quite fun and all. yeah, it's like quite interesting, and i certainly learnt alot, and its nice to see them buncha motivated people. actually they're really damn motivated and enthu lah. as a quote goes, talent low, motivation high. hahah. as opposed to talent high motivation low. but yah, they really improved quite a bit over the couple of months, though i would say they didn't improve enough. whether or not it's my fault is up to anyone, but i would think i'm not really that good lah. as in i'm just a normal lousy person, who doesn't know much.

anyways, its nice to see the bond amongst them, its kinda strong, its quite a cool team, they're very united and all so it's all quite cool. though i don't really talk to any of them now, simply because i don't see them or they don't talk to me, so yeah.

but anyways, i think it was time i stopped teaching them cos i was getting strange vibes from them. hostile vibes! so u know, in a place with hostile vibes, the best case scenario is always to disappear. maybe i'm wrong lah i don't know, but some of them are seriously quite attitude lah. though it could be my fault too, but i mean, it's not that easy lah.
hmm, i'm prone to soliloquys and monologues.

but i wish them all the best, and perhaps we could always collaborate sometime soon again. hahaha.

ON THE TOPIC OF GIRLS, sometimes, i think girls are damn problematic. they are temperamental and unpredictable. girls are just like blessings and curses. the more u want of it, the less you get of it. the less you want of it, the more you get of it. it's damn funny. u know when u DON'T LIKE a girl, she will like you. when u like a girl, she will don't like you. so damn funny right! actually i still don't understand their psyche.
girls girls girls girls girls.
hey, i'm 20 years old! i should stop worrying about girls! i should start worrying about my studies and my books! haaha i'm sure.
eh don't worry, if you think i'm saying you AGAIN, I'M NOT SAYING YOU LAH. its just girls in general. :)

that's all. i wanna bathe!!!
i realised i like to bathe recently. obsessed with being clean. being dirty gives me headaches and makes me feel uncomfortable. AND TO THINK JUST ONE YEAR AGO I HAD NO QUALMS WITH CRAWLING ABOUT IN THE MUD AND FROLICKING IN THE FORESTS WITH CAMO CREAM ALL OVER MY FACE AND SLEEPING ON THE DUSTY FLOOR OF THE JUNGLE!!!

hahaha ORD la
goodbye take care!

mervyn at 9/12/2006 03:09:00 PM

Monday, September 11, 2006

a long time

hm, i wanted to start this entry with "does anyone still come here?!"
well, lo and behold, there're still alot of people who come here even though i haven't updated since the last solar eclipse!

so why haven't i updated here since god knows when? well, i've been busy with things, hanging out, going out, and all that. and when i'm home, im typing emails rather than blogging. it seems much more fun to be able to control your target audience. but then again, there's something strangely exhibitionistic about blogging which rocks people's boats.

so as it stands, i'll probably be gone off to london in 2 weeks time. which is a relatively short time, considering 30+ weeks have probably passed since the start of the year. with london, beckons all its marvellous sights and sounds, the crisp air, the river thames, shakespeare's globe, and above all, the majestic LSE. ok, actually it's not majestic, but i heard the library is to-die-for. at risk of sounding like a super-nerd, the library holds MILLIONS of books, and any economic texts which you ever could want can be found there. yummylicious stuff! but i'm a little more contemporary, so you won't find me poring over economic history long gone. i'll be staying at commonwealth hall, where the rates they charge are exhorbitant. ok, the rates for any form of accomodation in london is exhorbitant. the charges for a week of commonwealth hall is the same as a month of hostel living in local universities. oh, and one is in pounds, and one is in singapore dollars. OMG OMG OMG. so expensive. but it is all rather worth it, for education is an investment which few have the priviledge to enjoy. thus, we should make the best of it.

hm, so there're alot of things which i have to wrap up and do and all that kinda stuff, and army commitments are still looming large over my head, what with my upcoming duty, my 3 days of range, and all that. but its coming to an end, so i'll just give what i have. yayness!!!

and i'm doing duty today, which explains why i'm so free to be able to be blogging here. haaha what a sad life.

scanning through a few blogs, its kinda sad to see how all my connections have disintegrated to nothingness. i never was close to the NJ Student council, because of too many factors to mention, NJ's soccer team was a failure in its team unity, mainly caused by a few idiotic people.
ok, but at least i'm close to my secondary school friends, although some have MIA-ed for a while, and at least i've a bunch of good friends outside of school.
so that's good at least.
but actually i quite regret not fostering close ties in council. i mean, ok lah, we're on talking terms and all, but we're not like buddy buddy come and die for me whilst i take the bullet for you kinda close lah. i guess the josephian and rafflesian spirit was too strong and after awhile it kinda got nauseating. no offence lah.
but anyway, over the years, i have learnt that whilst close friends are important, you need to have a broad network of friends, because you never know when you might need their help.

hmm, oh well, life is quite boring after awhile. i guess somewhere new is always good. yeah..
that'd be all for now. til next time. take care.

mervyn at 9/11/2006 11:54:00 AM