Grad Trip - Japan, Hokkaido

Day 3 in Hokkaido

First up was visiting the Ninja place.

In there, there was a zhao cai mao temple. There were also other performances and we also went to a maze where we had to find our way out through many doors and dizzy slanting paths. Actually it was rather easy to find our way out but out tourguide blocked the exit the first time round and we thought it was the wrong way and a dead end. Haha.

Lunch - big steamboat

Garden outside restaurant. Pretty red tree :)

Pu gong ying

Spent about 3 hours travelling to Furano to visit the Lavender Farm (Farm Tomita ). Too bad the season is not here yet (July). We only got to see one row of lavenders, but i guess its better than nothing! Love the purple.

There were many rows of these pretty flowers - white, yellow, orange. But I still don't know the name of these flowers. Anyone help?

click on it for a larger photo

We stopped by this shop called "Ampanman Shop". It is supposedly famous and popular among japanese. It is a cartoon character created by the japs. Quite funny looking character.

Dumb faces.

Buffet dinner. Crab legs!!!

Grad Trip - Japan, Hokkaido

Day 2 in Hokkaido - Probably the most fruitful day in the entire trip. We really did many things in a day and ate many fruits!

In the morning, just outside the hotel... the place looked heavenly as the clouds covered the hills beside the lake.




Beautiful flowers outside


First, a cruise at Lake Toya


to Hokkaido National Park

Deers!!

The castle ship that we took

See that little island behind? It's the smallest among the 3 there. The one that I was standing on is the biggest.

Ice-cream making at Lake Hill Farm. It was surprising that ice-cream could be hand made! I always thought that ice-cream could only be made by machine. It wasn't too difficult to make after all. It was definitely fun and we got to eat our own ice-cream. Yumm.

I've the recipe!!

Teppanyaki lunch


Apple trees

Highlight of the day!! Picking strawberries! Firstly, strawberries are expensive. Secondly, Daryl and I love strawberries. Thirdly, we got to cut any big juicy strawberries that we wanted to eat. Fourthly, it was a strawberry buffet! Fifth, there were rows and rows of strawberries.

We could eat all we wanted and of course by the end, my stomach was bulging with fibre. We could just eat them without washing cause they did not have pesticide or chemicals on them. Yummy! They were BIG, SWEET, RED and juicy! Simply loved it.

I will always remember this strawberries moment.

Flowers near the strawberry garden.

Hell Valley in Noboribetsu. It was really smelly! Sulphur!!

After that we had our own free time to shop along the street near our hotel. We crazily bought many many souvenirs over here.

Sumptuous dinner again!! And then it was wen quan time before a piggie's sleep.

Grad Trip - Japan, Hokkaido

Before I start my story on my fabulous Japan trip, I must say that this was the most memorable and wonderful holiday I had. This is cause i had no exams, nothing to worry about etc. Thanks to my parents for taking care of max while i was away. Moreover, Japan has been the country I want to visit all along. The things are really Cawaii!! Most Japanese are full of courtesy. It was a dream come true lovely holiday. Hehe. So here we gooooo!

Day 1 in Hokkaido.

I was tired. Couldn't sleep on the overnight plane at all...
Our very first meal there. We had hairy crab legs. And our tour guide looked like and behaved like Mark Lee!! He was hilarious and I seemed to be able to take in every word he said. I think the way a tour guide speaks is quite important.. during my taiwan trip, I fell asleep everytime he started to talk, while Eric (our guide's name) made me laugh and enjoy my days there very much. Btw, he teased me everyday, I dunno why. Haha.

First to Ainu Village. We get to watch some performances by the pple there and learn about the past. I liked it cause the history was not too much and interesting(unlike tt time when i was in berlin where i was flooded with history by the free tour guide). I am not a History-loving ger so a little history here n there is enough for me. :)


Mount Showa - Probably a substitute for Mt Fuji (haha, we were too lazy to travel there in Tokyo later on)


Bear Ranch - We got to feed the bears with apples/cookies. It was real fun cos the bear could catch them accurately! And they would make noise or wave at us to catch our attention so that we would give them the food in our hands.




The Japanese Style Room that we lived in... Beautiful Lake Toya scenery outside. The mattress for sleeping was only laid for us after dinner. The table had to be shifted to one side to allow space for the mattress. Although it was good experience living in such a room, it can't be compared to all the other westernized hotel rooms that we lived in for the days after. It wasn't too comfortable sleeping on the mattress on the floor.

This hotel had the traditional 'wen quan' in Japan. Had to go in naked! I went to try of course..It was weird when I saw my own tour group ppl, but it was not so when I saw other japanese. they wouldnt look at one another so it didnt feel weird at all. Of course, males n females were seperated.

Dinner in kimono! The dinner was sumptuous!! A variety of food in small servings...udon, fish, chawamushi, crab,..... ate until fullfull! I took 2 slices of sashimi.. and then suffered at night, kept sweating. I think i can't eat raw food else my thyroid will activate.

Beautiful fireworks outside our hotel at Lake Toya

Hitomi in Sg

Hitomi is in Singapore! It is so fun to have her here... She has been studying and living in Finland for the past few years, and that's how we got to know her. And we're gng to Japan soon as well, just that unfortunately she would still be in Finland at that time.

Of course, we brought them to eat DURIANS, mangosteens, rambutans, beancurd, ba gua etc. It was fun sharing all the local food. We ordered so many varieties of food including rojak, stingray, kangkong, cereal prawns, lala, etc. Newton Circus is such a touristy place.. but the quality of food is not bad la. There are so many stalls selling the same food tho..





This is my Max aka Wall E.

Max!

Finally, i m done with examinations. Still have 2 presentations left to go on mon and wed and im free from school ever after!! Can't believe I'm graduating le, and this would be the end of lessons and exams etc for me. I guess I will miss school in future but not for now.. :) But thinking that I would still be stepping into schools again in future... hmm..

I am definitely going to talk about my baby boy dog, Max!! hehe.. he is so cute. I adopted him on 4/5/2008. He is a 11month old minature schnauzer, salt and pepper, super active, loves company and only pees outside the house, which is a sad case cause if no one is free to bring him out, he will have to hold it. I would have named it Kimi or Wallie if his previous owner hadn't given him a name. I really love him soooo much. So looking forward to my Japan trip but at the same time worried about him.. cause when I go out for about 45 mins or more and return, he will jump and hop and scratch me cause he is too excited. I wonder what will happen if I never see him for 1 or 2 weeks..

Diagnosed with Thyroid

My heart was a little unwell that's all. No.. it became worse, and I decided that it was time to seek medical help after my mid term and quiz. My mum took me to ttsh on the night of 29 March. That night, my life changed.

My heart was racing as I was waiting to see the doctor after midnight. When the nurse took my heartrate and blood pressure, it was the most shocking thing to know. 144 beats/min, my blood pressure rose to 150. I lay on the bed the entire night with my eyes wide open and my heart racing like I was exercising crazily. My mum accompanied me the whole night and didn't get to sleep.

At about 4 or 5am, the blood test showed that I have hyperthyriodism, as predicted by the doctor when she saw me earlier. My heart sank, and I know from that point onwards, that I will no longer be the healthy, sporty and happy yvonne again.

The past week had been tedious for me, as my heart was not really stable and some nights i broke out in cold sweat and my heart raced again. For now, I can only pray and hope that throughout the 1.5 years that I am under medication, nothing bad happens. And after I can stop my medication, I would not suffer a relapse ever again. And the doc told me the chance is only 40%.

Of course I am sad. I am worried. I am tired. I want to be healthy, so that I can have healthy babies in future. But there is no point being worried, since I can do nothing at all to change my fate. I can only pray. :(

tiring

This is my new fav song! hehe.. Chris Brown-with you. Love the beat, the music, the voice! Think the version on my blog is abit unclear.. visit youtube for a better version.

My fyp is almost done and im quite happy with it, though there are some mistakes here n there but at least, the bulk of it is finally over and done with. sigh.. been rather displeased with moe's response so far. One month ago, before I went for an interview on 22feb, I received their letter informing me that i've been shortlisted. But the programme that they indicated on the letter was incorrect.. mine was supposed to be PGDE, and they put BSc instead, which was for ppl who have just finished their A levels. Now after the interview, they havent replied me after 15 working days... I called them they told me to email them instead. So i did so, and they smsed me with a msg telling me that they are pleased to offer me a position and told me to check my email for further details. I was so eager to know what they have given me, but I didn't received any email at all. Now I've got to wait again. this is getting quite irritating. It is really very tiring to wait for people to reply.

Joining tennis intermediate classes already.. but sometimes i just feel like a beginner. I have this habit of slapping the ball. but finally at least i know how to hit the ball decently. Golf for me is still quite terrible. Sigh. its hard. But i do enjoy bowling alot.. :)

Another milestone on 28 Mar, hand in SDP poster, FYP report, FNA test and Forensic test all on the same day.

I'm so exicited about my graduation trip, though its just me and Daryl, its gonna be very very exciting to go Japan with my bloved one...Japan has always been the country i wana visit. I know its ex, but I just wanna go!!! Really look forward to 24th May~

buzzzy

Life hasnt been very good. Currently i'm busy with projects & mid term test.

Chinese new year was okay, most of the days were spent gambling. but still, many unlucky things happened to me la. So much that i dun really wanna talk about them or rem them anymore. I am still very upset about the shoe thing with daryl's bro n gf tho. but alr xiao qi after so long.

moe interview was okay, but i dont think i'm going to get what i want. actually the whole process was very upsetting. first they printed wrongly for the progamme that i applied, i was supposed to be under the PGDE and not BSc. Then they told me that I am selected for primary sch, then during interview they kept insisting that i should go for 1 year contract before nie. Sigh. Its all the way depressing. Why cant i just get what i want.

My golf is deterioriating. Sigh. Played quite okay with daryl and the next day when I played with his daddy, almost every ball was sweeping the grass. So upsetting.

6A reunion

Pearlie and i were contemplating whether to go or not... in the end we went! haha.. it was a very interesting session with my primary school friends!

We were the third to reach although we were already 20 mins late. Well ppl usually come late for such gatherings. There were a total of 18 ppl who turned up, including miss Tan! (our dear form teacher) It was so nice to see the faces again! Many of them changed, the person who changed most drastically was kaijian, followed by zeyi. It was really funny when yong huat and zeyi were walking together and didnt recognize each other until they reached the same destination n got a shock. :P At first it felt quite weird being ard ppl i havent seen for ages, but after awhile, the way they spoke and behaved reminded me of the good old days in primary sch. Dinner was not bad, there were alot of food... western food, chocolate fondue etc.

Will upload pics once i get them :)

Engin was first for IFG bowling! haha... luckily i didnt cause them to lose. I cant say that I played to my best.. wasnt very familiar with my new ball though i had practised alot before the competition.

IFG is not for mi.. :(

i'm so confused.. Wondering whether to continue for Masters or not. Sigh. This is so confusing and irritating. I'm scared tt im just wasting my time, might as well go work. Even if I decide to go for Masters, there are two major tests that i need to pass first also - GRE test and scholarship application and interview. I wouldnt want to spend any more money studying, I want to get a confirmed job, get some experience already, then it wld be easier for me to look for work next time... SiGh.

Chinese New yr is approaching and i havent bought my clothes too. So busy with so many things nowadays... Took up one more tuition student and now i've 5 students alr. SDP on the way to mid term presentation, FYP still left 1 month to complete the main research, stupid bowling competition next Sat. Urgh... im so busy and stressed out.

It's all daryl's fault la.. he went to join the IFG bowling then the captain was desperate for a female player as they lack one girl. Until the last day of submission of names, he still couldnt find so i volunteered lo. else i think the whole team cannot play ba. And i get myself into this mess.. it sux.. I went to get another new ball just for this competition cos my old ball is plastic one then daryl also say it cmi liao. But when i went there to buy a new ball, the proshop man told me that it would be no difference if i drill conventional way of holding the ball. So in the end he sorta made me drill the hole for ppl who play hook. Damn.. didnt know that it would be so hard to learn a new way of holding ball. I had a super hard time getting used to the ball and it really stressed me out to the max after buying it. Thought that I could play much better with my old ball. Now im still forcing myself to use the new ball loh, there are improvements la, im finally getting used to it alr, but i think not good enough cos i still cannot bowl like i used to. Really worried about malu-ing myself on Sat. OMG... :( *sobs*

tennis!

Tennis lesson is so much fun! I laughed alot and sweat alot. Trying to improve myself... :) Love sports so much, tennis, golf, bowling, my top 3 love nowadays. It takes my mind off the stressful fyp and the future... Only half a year left to find a job for myself before I graduate.

The tennis coach is humorous, and it is so much fun to be exercising with a group of ppl trying to learn tennis like me. And after the lesson there is the yummy yakun kaya stall at the safra. hehe..

School is starting next week. Once again, it does not really make a difference to me because hols also need to work on my 2 big projects - fyp n sdp. And when sch reopens, I only have one more module left to take. so exciting.. cos finally for the first n last time, i am taking a module with yanjun n pearlie! hehe... been 4 yrs in nus and we havent taken a single common mod tog. And the module sounds interesting too.. forensic science.

december is gone...

cant believe the whole of dec is already gone, 2008 is coming! omg, i haven't really touched my fyp this whole dec! after exams i was busy with preparing for fyp interim report, then taiwan trip till the 20th and then i fell sick n still not totally feeling well now yet. There goes my fyp..... im in trouble~ Dunno why nowadays feel lethargic easily, will feel like pukin and just wanna lie on the bed.

Will update abt my taiwan trip when i remember to bring my camera back from daryl's house.. haha. I will be going for liang jing ru's concert tonight!! EXCITING... hehee... (still playing away)

Watched a really cute movie.. Alvin n the chipmunks!! i wan a hula hoooop :P

my mummie's new vios is cuming! the car plate num is quite special.. 241. Like the canadian piazza :P just ordered it for lunch. Hungry..

broken fingers

my blogskin is so plain and simple, unlike others. Partly cause im lazy to change it to a nicer one, im not really an IT person hence i hate the troubles of changing all the settings and looking at the long list of programming language. simple.. that's quite me, i admit. how i wish life is simple. its not really wise to live simple in such a complicated world.

Weeks and weeks of studying kept my body stationary at the work table, eyes on the laptop and television. oh how much i miss sports. Went for a simple 5 hole golf game with daryl n his dadi last thurs and it was really an eye opener. This is my very first time playing such a game! Well, i was lousy at it of cuz, but still not too bad as a beginner! There was this par 3 hole which i managed to get my ball into the green with 2 strokes. But i didnt get par tho.. haha. My fingers are in a terrible state. they are really painful and i have a big blister on my thumb. gripped wrongly or something.

Feel really stressed abt fyp. :(

50yard

i hit the 50 yard sign board!! ahh finally did it. See how beginner i'm now at golf? haha..i was super happy when the ball hit the sign with a loud thud. :P Had 3 lessons so far, and i really learnt alot! its jus too bad that my shoulder power is not strong enough to hit like guys, daryl can really hit v far, like more than x2 me with the same club. lots of practice to do...

Facebook is really addictive.

deCholidaYs?

Don't know why I suddenly had the mood to blog in this early morning. Well its not really early now but i just woke up. Yeap, I have realised how pig i am nowadays, i wouldn't wake up until 9am in the morning. Usually during this exam period, I will wake up at 7am to study cuz i used to love studying in the morning when my brain is the freshest. But not anymore.. eversince i came back from Finland, im jus a pig.

Had 3 golf lessons so far, each lesson he taught me different things, and i tried to remember everything and used them when i swing the club. It is not easy, the swing last less than a second and everything that he taught me has to be done in that second. My hands kena blisters and my fingers hurt everytime.. i think i gripped the club too tight. Needs lots of practice..

I better get down to finishing my da term paper and study for exams, and after exams, its not really a december hol for me either*sobs*. One week after exams i've to hand in my fyp report which i have not started at all and then i'm off to taiwan. After that i'm bac to sdp and fyp during the rest of the dec hols. it is really a last hol but its not a hol at all other than the taiwan trip. :( miserablee

my first golf lesson!

First and most imptly, i wanna thank daryl's daddy for everything.. he was the one who initiated that i go learn golf and he bought everything for mi.. so sweet..

and so, I went for my first golf lesson today! It was tiring, stressful but very fun! My coach kept asking me if I felt it when i got the correct swing, but every swing felt almost the same leh... i didnt know when i was doing it correctly or wrongly until he told me, that was why it was so stressful. there were a few times i couldnt even hit the ball.. and my ball doesnt fly as far as gavyn's (daryl's bro who started lessons with me today as well). can go over the roof not bad liao. :P But oh well, its the first time..


me and my pink golf bag


and a pair of girlie pink gloves to go with..

yea!!

exams coming soon. project gonna due soon too.
I think we can never find any other prof as enthu as prof poh alr. We were doing our project in the IBM lab today and prof poh walked in and asked if anyone needed help! He is really nice.. some students even talked to him like he was a friend..

random thoughts

It's not that I don't wanna think! Its not that i didnt spend time thinking about it. I really tried very hard everytime, yet i go to u for help everytime still. Sigh. I think you are really disappointed with me by now. it started off with "u impress me!", and now its "yea, whatever". Sigh, my fyp is in a pathetic state. Jiu mIng aH. Stressed.

Stressed over the future too. wondering What AM i going to do after I grad...

rebecca, thank u for doing well!!!!! =)

haha, i want to be muscular woman.:P training very hard now hoping that one day i am able to do 1 man pull up. That's my aim~ yea...

my ipod spoil.. *sobs*

cylysce, i'm glad u are able to move on, and i am happy to be there for you. you thanked me for guiding you to be strong, so u have to be strong yea? *biG hug* u will find someone true to you, believe in it. frens forever~

love?

Sometimes I think a relationship can be strong, love can be strong, yet at times love can be so fragile. One incident may change a person, time may change a person's thinking. Unknowingly, a person can just lose the partner, whom he/she may once thought was forever, till the end of his/her lifetime. Is love really so fragile? can a relationship that is built over years simply be broken like that? I dont understand what's true love. i dont understand what is love anymore.

However, love for parents and for siblings, i know. I have no doubts about that.

Although i have no idea what happened, I hope you will be strong. Be happy that you've known his true colours before marriage. Learn from the past, be heartbroken and then grow stronger emotionally.

argHH

Feel so drained each time after the 9-12pm tuition on weekends. SIgh. The students are not motivated, and I cant seem to help much. The parent is heck care. They will be having their exams next week and yet they can go on a holiday on that weekend? The p3 child's english is already weaker than a p1's standard... tell me what to do.. ARGHhHhhh

Troubles aside, yesterday I went for a foot massage with daryl's family. oOooh.. it was damn shiok. :P 1 hour foot massage was greeat. It was itchy at first, and i wanted to laugh but nobody was laughing so i kept very quiet. Then it started to hurt. ha. but the feeling was great after that. My feet felt so shuang. muahahahaa...

Shopping is also a good way of destressing, especially when you get good deals like 15 dollars for a pair of shorts at pepperPlus. But i was so unlucky, the cashier gave me the shorts with the same design but longer and i didnt notice it until i got home. Sigh. Promotional items cannot be exchanged. :(

Wishing all babies born in october a very happy birthday! - weiling, yanjun, choonlei, bro, xiulin jie, joan!! :P