Old Trafford, Manchester

Note: thoughts about Manchester at the end of this entry

Before I get started on this entry, I just want to clarify some things: 1) I am not a Man U supporter, 2) I am not a soccer fan and lastly, 3) I know nothing about soccer apart from it being a sport that involves 22 grown men (who are paid obscene salaries) to run after a ball (oh, that and match results are predicted by psychic octopuses). I don't care what soccer is to you, or what vital part it plays in your life, but I am truly not interested in the ball (the stadium tour confirmed it) and never will be so don't come preaching soccer to me. 

Never. 

I will ask you if I really want to know.

If you think I sound like I'm talking about it like it's getting on my nerves... maybe it is. Or at least the people who are typing second-by-second updates on Facebook this world-cup are. Meh. Who will be reading your updates when people are busy listening to the live commentaries and watching the matches?

And in case you're wondering what the hell was I doing at Old Trafford if I'm not the least bit interested in football...  why not?! Maybe I would become a soccer convert after listening to all the glorious stories? It's just another obligatory tourist destination, and in any case, it was on the way from Cardiff to Lake District (our next destination).

F said she was just like me when it comes to soccer before she arrived in England for her studies last September (or was it October?). Then England changed her; it's probably takes great effort not to be influenced when it is the biggest sport in the country and you hear people talking about it all the time, or when you are so close (comparatively) to matches that the rest of the world can only watch on television.

Alright, enough blocks of text. The pictures will do the talking now :)

tsk tsk... who were you texting huhhhhhh?

it was a 10-minute walk from our hotel

err I am totally clueless as to who they are

obligatory tourist shot 1.

& here's tourist 2

we got to keep the lanyard that comes with it; I'm using it for my staff access card now!

taken from the box for the physically-disabled supporters

and another

tourists 1 and 2

the guy in the suit was our guide, Alan (though it sounded more like AH LAN due to the local accent)

some friendly going on... youths if I'd not remembered wrongly.
oh and the fourth guy from the left in the foreground (blue/purple shirt) is some famous player or something like that (Howard was it?)

last tourist shot in Manchester

and 2 again.

Oh. The stadium tour didn't make me any more interested than I thought it would; I got increasing restless as the minutes went by, and would struggle to process whatever information Alan was providing us with. I was so glad when it was finally over and we could proceed to the souvenir store to get some keychains/shirts for friends who might be a fan... and even more so when we headed to Piccadilly for some Primark shopping!

We went on the tram for the first time on this trip, and had a short glimpse of what city life is like here. Basically, the streets are much dirtier (I got a bit of a shock when we stepped out of the railway station) and the people look rougher as compared to London's. But like London, it's a cosmopolitan city with people of many different ethnicities. The place where we stayed at was located along Chester Road, 10 minutes by foot to Old Trafford but a little further away from Piccadilly, where the railway station was. We walked a long way (thank you for screwing us up Googlemaps) and passed by some dodgy neighbourhood where the residents stared hard at us like we were weird or something, and we also passed by the field of a high school. When the younger kids who were playing in the field saw us, they came running to the fences and started shouting "Konichiwa" and "Ni Hao" to us. Quite a funny sight.

On some of the characteristics of the local accent observed, I felt as though there's a lot of assimilation/linking going on; words seem to 'stick together' a lot and the ae (as in eh) vowel sounds more like a (as in ah); Alan sounds like Ah Lan and 'match' sounds like 'march'.

I know it's incredibly horrible of me to make a judgement of a place where I've only been for a day, BUT, Manchester just doesn't feel very safe to me. It's here where I realized that I've been taking the sense of security that we've always had in Singapore for granted, now that I've seen how bad it can be in places far away from home.

F realized that she'd lost her debit card after we finished shopping at Primark, and were having dinner at Subway. So she had to call up the bank to make a replacement.

secret.

strawberry shortcake at 1caramel

Suddenly, there are 25938678976 over food places that I want to try!

My brady (bra-di) list is getting longer.

There are a group of friends in my life whom I call 'the brothers', or 'bro' (pronounced bra by me though); we laugh together, eat together, push each other around and make fun of each other (more like they make fun of me) like how 'brothers' or buddies always do, and can never be romantically linked. Some of them also tell me to "start thinking like a girl leh" when we talk about girl-related issues.

The main reason why I call them 'the brothers' is because we always call each other "brother"; even though I can never or will never be one physically. Obviously they don't treat me as a female here, but that's okay... because things are much more fun that way! I find it so much easier to talk to guys sometimes; they are much more straightforward but much less judgmental (okay this is probably only true when they treat you like a brother, but still...), and probably because I am especially raucous at times.

A few days ago, I told mumsy that some of my guy friends call me 'brother'. She laughed like it was the funniest thing she heard all day. I hope she will still be laughing this hard 20 years down the road, when my hair starts to grey and I'm still single and clinging onto her and all the good guys are taken up and I'm just stuck with guy friends who call me 'brother'!

But of course, that's 20 years down the road. Right now, you're still invited to submit your application to become a 'brother', and we can still laugh together.

Changi Broadwalk 04 July 2010

Taken with B1's ND400 filter; 30 seconds exposure.

I really like the smoothened-out effect of the water surface.

We waited for an awesome sunset that did not occur; but we had some atas Valrhona chocolate during the futile wait. Oh well, better luck next time!

me in chronological order... (almost la)

I've been looking at some old pictures of me on Friendster, and prehistoric blog entries (starting 2005)... and I'm going to share them. There are 20 over random pictures (of me!!!!) so if you secretly hate looking at my face or something, please leave now. Otherwise, you are welcome to have a laugh or two at the funny ones and see how I've changed (or not) over the past few years!

2005:

I went to TP with short hair!

Having the time of my life onboard Four Friends (not quite showing it here though, I look like someone's just snatched away my ice cream)

Looking chubby. Pulau Ubin with Siao. That's my CCHMS badge on the bag strap!

2006:

Bawah, for the second time.

NYDC (?) with Tan <3 <3 <3 Eyebrows still bushy.

2007:

internship at SC in Ubi. Having chap cai peng for lunch!

Lifesaving competition in Ipoh. With Junie! The start of brow-trimming days. 

At Mensa 2 on Xue & mz's birthdays. Wah ah lian wannabe with red highlights in the hair and a TAIL!

with dive bud Amelia at Dayang!

2008:

Phuket Aquarium with Doug for our grad trip!

Miss Clarity's with rl.

First trekking trip at Stong; I'm a Stong girl! High socks to prevent leech attacks and kampong Adidas for better traction. I thought I looked like Dora the explorer (with much shorter shorts and longer hair)!

Eat-and-spend-a-lot period! Went around trying new food and taking pictures (on Kenni's camera) before the start of my university life.

Just before Vietnam with the windsurf peeps, at the Budget Terminal.

My first vermonster; shared by the primary school clique on the last day of 2008.

2009:

Hair got really long here, taken with Siao's candy Holga.

I snipped everything off in June, just before the HK trip with Shir and Siaos, because I was getting bored with my long hair. Mummy got a big shock, and kept asking if I was okay because it was so sudden and unexpected. 

I kept at this length for a month or two...

and then decided that I want to have even shorter hair!

almost everyone started calling me ah boy, at PA especially. haha

and I tried to style my hair like the guys... used Uncle David's hair-wax for this... hehe

decided that styling is a very troublesome affair... so I stopped doing it and just let my hair be.

went for less hair-cuts... 

2010:

and just let my hair grow freely. 

finally long enough to be tied on one side

G gave me straight bangs <3

and I've been having them for a few months now... I think I'm going to do away with the straight bangs and try something new soon! 

and that is how long my hair is now..! 

I think 2009 was a year of radical changes for me. It was not just about the hair; mindsets, ideas, friends, studies, were all included. I think that was when I really stepped out of my little comfort zone, and looked at the world with a bigger and more open heart.

New people.

I become a social retard when I (am forced to) meet new people; usually friends of friends under the most unexpected circumstances. Okay I shall not be too general here, maybe more like people whom I cannot connect with (i.e. zero common interest). And when these situations take place, I'll do what I do worst, smile and possibly ask gibberish questions related to their lives, when I'm not even the least bit interested, just to prevent awkward moments of silence. The ironic thing is, it seems to get even more awkward when I do things like that; I hope I haven't been displaying my lack of interest that blatantly. Or maybe I have been doing just that, hence the uninterested replies. Blah. 

At times like that, I feel like a fake. A complete phony. 

And at times like that, I take my hat off to the sort of social butterflies who have no problems moving their conversations from person-to-person round a table. I don't mean it in a sarcastic way; I mean, at least they don't appear unfriendly or make you feel uncomfortable what.

Blah.

Thunder (Tea) Rice

Mumsy took a day off from work today to go for her check post-lasik check-up at Mount Elizabeth and was told by her doctor that she had to undergo one more procedure on-the-spot; I had the honour of picking her up after her last-minute post-surgery surgery ("$1200 gone in 5 minutes, 很心痛" Those were her words, almost verbatim) late afternoon.

Kinda worried that I'd get caught in a flood when I drove out from the car park; keeping fingers really crossed that there will be no more floods around Orchard (partly due to many people's FB updates that went something like that "XXX wonders which part of Singapore will be flooded today?"). Turned out there were no floods, but I did get stuck after all; in some little massive jams along the way instead.

Decided to bring Mumsy to Joo Chiat for some Penang food (found a few places online last night) to cheer her up :p but we realized the place wasn't there any longer when we arrived. In its place now is a new shop selling Thunder Tea Rice. I've seen them around, but I've never had a chance to try it. So when Mumsy (look me no up and) said "aiya you won't like it one la, it's all vegetables", I replied immediately that we must eat it. 

green tea, chopped long beans, peanuts, cabbage, chopped tofu, star bean (okay I don't know the real name for this paiseh), ikan billis and celery + brown rice

It wasn't as bad as Mumsy made it out to be; I kinda liked it, except for the celery. Apart from all that ingredients you see up there, I don't think think they added a lot of (or maybe none at all) condiments or anything like that so, most of the flavours come from the vegetables (and ikan billis). I suppose in a way it's a super healthy meal... just that it's definitely not for veggie-haters.

'Mint soup' that came with the rice; ignoring the fact that it looks suspiciously like somebody's phlegm (yuck I hate myself for being so disgusting too sometimes), it doesn't taste very pleasant if you drink it on its own, but it makes the rice more 'flavourful' if you mix it in.

Minced chicken patties with mushrooms, water chestnut(?)... and I don't know what else. I liked this pretty much too.

After our Thunder Tea Rice breakfast&lunch&dinner, I told Mumsy I wanted to try the cheesecakes next door. She had to remind me about the diet (albeit unsuccessful one) that I've been talking about ever since I got back :( so I sulked.

But we had cheesecake in the end so all was good hehe! (just kidding about the sulking part too please)

Mango

Cherry Brandy

I really liked them both; they were not cloyingly sweet and the textures were just right.

playing with the new camera

It's been a great day out with Mumsy! She always talks about not wanting to try new stuff, food mostly, and I'm really glad I manage to change her mind sometimes.

Love you deep deep Mumsy.

On an ending note, I've decided that... I will stop talking about going on a diet because there are simply just too many things that I'd like to eat!


ps. (if you want to know where)
Address of Thunder Tea Rice place:
328 Joo Chiat Road
#01-04