It's almost official.
One of the plants in my terrarium is dying. :(
Checked it this morning and its stem was turning a dull brown-grey. It's being propped up now by a toothpick.
*wails*
Not too sure what went wrong. Either there was too much water, or there was too much direct sunlight??
p/s: Thank you Ally for your very kind offer!! I'm sure your African violets would be happier under your care though haha. Let me figure out what's wrong with my terrarium first before I take on other plants...;p
Thursday, July 29, 2010
English Lessons
Yes boss. I will keep it in mind that when I write policy papers...
...I should use the Active Voice and not the Passive Voice.
...and I should put the recommended policy position as the bottomline concluding paragraph.
...I should use the Active Voice and not the Passive Voice.
...and I should put the recommended policy position as the bottomline concluding paragraph.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Lunch Today
I had lunch with a New Zealander today. He could have been my father, given his age of 62 years. In reality, he seems younger and is still very much a go-getter.
We first knew each other in Mexico back in March 2009. Nice guy. No airs. Very easy to talk to. Back then I didn’t even know he was the president of the Internet governing body in New Zealand. He had run out of business cards when I first met him and so it was only very much later that I found out that he was actually holding a high position. We last met in Sydney 2009 at another conference.
This time round he’s here chairing an event and so we decided to catch up. Over a bowl of wanton mee, a plate of chicken rice and two pots of Earl Grey tea haha. He was staying at M Hotel and so I went down to Café 2000, which is located at the hotel itself, to meet him.
Discovered that he’s actually Scottish, holds both a British passport and a New Zealand passport. He speaks Gaelic, a little French, English, Spanish, a little German and has studied Latin before. Gosh, what a linguist. His Dad speaks German, English, Hebrew and Arabic. Wah, another linguist!
All in all, a good catch-up.
My conclusion. Australians and New Zealanders are really quite nice people and are quite easy to get along with. :)
We first knew each other in Mexico back in March 2009. Nice guy. No airs. Very easy to talk to. Back then I didn’t even know he was the president of the Internet governing body in New Zealand. He had run out of business cards when I first met him and so it was only very much later that I found out that he was actually holding a high position. We last met in Sydney 2009 at another conference.
This time round he’s here chairing an event and so we decided to catch up. Over a bowl of wanton mee, a plate of chicken rice and two pots of Earl Grey tea haha. He was staying at M Hotel and so I went down to Café 2000, which is located at the hotel itself, to meet him.
Discovered that he’s actually Scottish, holds both a British passport and a New Zealand passport. He speaks Gaelic, a little French, English, Spanish, a little German and has studied Latin before. Gosh, what a linguist. His Dad speaks German, English, Hebrew and Arabic. Wah, another linguist!
All in all, a good catch-up.
My conclusion. Australians and New Zealanders are really quite nice people and are quite easy to get along with. :)
Buy or Sell? Domain Names that is
Some people just trade domain names for a living, some do it on the sidelines.
I didn’t know about all these things before I joined the industry.
But gosh, it can be a lucrative thing. So lucrative they even have brokers to seal the deals. There are also many online auction sites catered for these purposes.
029.com was recently sold for USD$110,000. Underdog.com was sold for about US$62,000. Cured.com was sold for US$25,000.
But these are just small amounts I think.
I’ve heard of bigger price tags on a single domain name, up to US$350,000. If you put it in perspective, that’s like SG$490,000 which is just about the price of a 5-room HDB resale flat in Singapore.
These people who sold the names probably got them at very cheap prices in the early .com days. Registration fees could have been as cheap as US$30-40 a name for a year during the 90s. Keep the name for maybe 10 years and that only puts your total investment at US$400. In return, you could get back more than 50 times your initial investment. The Return on Investment would be more than 100 or 500 times for really sought-after names.
Keeping names for 10 years is just a conservative estimate. With technology these days, the turnaround time is probably much faster at maybe just 2-3 years for some of the popular names. This in turn, would put ROIs at even greater figures.
That much money for something as simple as a domain name.
If this is not lucrative, I don’t know what is. :)
Go figure.
I didn’t know about all these things before I joined the industry.
But gosh, it can be a lucrative thing. So lucrative they even have brokers to seal the deals. There are also many online auction sites catered for these purposes.
029.com was recently sold for USD$110,000. Underdog.com was sold for about US$62,000. Cured.com was sold for US$25,000.
But these are just small amounts I think.
I’ve heard of bigger price tags on a single domain name, up to US$350,000. If you put it in perspective, that’s like SG$490,000 which is just about the price of a 5-room HDB resale flat in Singapore.
These people who sold the names probably got them at very cheap prices in the early .com days. Registration fees could have been as cheap as US$30-40 a name for a year during the 90s. Keep the name for maybe 10 years and that only puts your total investment at US$400. In return, you could get back more than 50 times your initial investment. The Return on Investment would be more than 100 or 500 times for really sought-after names.
Keeping names for 10 years is just a conservative estimate. With technology these days, the turnaround time is probably much faster at maybe just 2-3 years for some of the popular names. This in turn, would put ROIs at even greater figures.
That much money for something as simple as a domain name.
If this is not lucrative, I don’t know what is. :)
Go figure.
Monday, July 26, 2010
My Own Terrarium
I did it. :)
After reading about terrariums for a few days and thinking about what I could do, I finally went out with K two weekends ago and got myself some plants and cacti, vase, potting soil, peat moss and pebbles which I needed to start one with.
And I made my first terrarium on Sunday 18 July!
I decided on building an open terrarium because it was easier for a beginner to do so.
In that time till now, I’ve bought more things including some activated charcoal, and two more pots of fittonias (one’s pink veined and the other’s white veined, can’t remember their scientific names though haha). All that’s left now is to find a suitable glass container or vase and then I’ll start making my second terrarium already!
Two days ago, I added some decorative seashells to my first terrarium…:) The way I like things, simple, uncluttered but still aesthetically pleasing.
Hmm, maybe I could make a closed terrarium and bring it to office.
Yay! Decorate my table a little…
p/s: I have not been able to find a universally accepted definition of a terrarium. But suffice to say that it is miniature garden landscape designs encased in a container (usually glass) with no drainage systems. Sometimes, animals are also added to terrariums. If so, then they end up being called aquariums (of which we are very familiar with) or vivariums.
After reading about terrariums for a few days and thinking about what I could do, I finally went out with K two weekends ago and got myself some plants and cacti, vase, potting soil, peat moss and pebbles which I needed to start one with.
And I made my first terrarium on Sunday 18 July!
I decided on building an open terrarium because it was easier for a beginner to do so.
In that time till now, I’ve bought more things including some activated charcoal, and two more pots of fittonias (one’s pink veined and the other’s white veined, can’t remember their scientific names though haha). All that’s left now is to find a suitable glass container or vase and then I’ll start making my second terrarium already!
Two days ago, I added some decorative seashells to my first terrarium…:) The way I like things, simple, uncluttered but still aesthetically pleasing.
Hmm, maybe I could make a closed terrarium and bring it to office.
Yay! Decorate my table a little…
p/s: I have not been able to find a universally accepted definition of a terrarium. But suffice to say that it is miniature garden landscape designs encased in a container (usually glass) with no drainage systems. Sometimes, animals are also added to terrariums. If so, then they end up being called aquariums (of which we are very familiar with) or vivariums.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Of beauty
The lengths women go to to make themselves look prettier.
My colleague is 44 this year. Looks rather good for her age and still has a good figure too. Divorced with a 16-yr-old son.
I just discovered she spent more than $25,000 a few years ago on veneers for almost her full set of teeth. It costs $1000 per veneer per tooth.
How did I find out?
Um, the veneer covering one of her two front teeth unfortunately dropped out yesterday while she was having her dinner.
She showed me her original tooth this morning. It was small, long, yellow and looked slightly decayed. A total opposite of the beautiful veneers she had and which I initially thought were her real teeth.
And because the original tooth is small, there are gaps between it and the other two veneer-capped teeth on both sides of it.
Gosh.
Apparently she was given a guarantee that the veneers would last 10 years at least. She called up the dentist to complain and she’s going down later during lunch to get a new veneer if possible.
In the meantime, she’s trying not to laugh or smile to hide the strange gap in front.
Interesting.
The amount of money some people would go to to make themselves look better.
She has spent tens of thousands of dollars on body wraps, facials, treatments, acupuncture, tui na massages, laser treatments, pulse light treatments, manicures, pedicures and a whole host of other treatments and packages.
And she's thinking of going for liposuction next year.
My guess is that she’ll be spending more in the years to come. :)
My colleague is 44 this year. Looks rather good for her age and still has a good figure too. Divorced with a 16-yr-old son.
I just discovered she spent more than $25,000 a few years ago on veneers for almost her full set of teeth. It costs $1000 per veneer per tooth.
How did I find out?
Um, the veneer covering one of her two front teeth unfortunately dropped out yesterday while she was having her dinner.
She showed me her original tooth this morning. It was small, long, yellow and looked slightly decayed. A total opposite of the beautiful veneers she had and which I initially thought were her real teeth.
And because the original tooth is small, there are gaps between it and the other two veneer-capped teeth on both sides of it.
Gosh.
Apparently she was given a guarantee that the veneers would last 10 years at least. She called up the dentist to complain and she’s going down later during lunch to get a new veneer if possible.
In the meantime, she’s trying not to laugh or smile to hide the strange gap in front.
Interesting.
The amount of money some people would go to to make themselves look better.
She has spent tens of thousands of dollars on body wraps, facials, treatments, acupuncture, tui na massages, laser treatments, pulse light treatments, manicures, pedicures and a whole host of other treatments and packages.
And she's thinking of going for liposuction next year.
My guess is that she’ll be spending more in the years to come. :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
do i lack folic acid?
I read with amusement Chloe's recent post on her lack of ability fo focus.
Partly because it is so her, partly because she has shared other anecdotes with me.
And partly because I'm like that as well at times.
Forgetful and blur. Distracted and fidgety. Absent-minded.
And this multiplies a few-fold when you add in the factor of tiredness or sleepiness.
I brushed my teeth twice on Friday afternoon.
I brushed after lunch, came back to the office and left my toothbrush and toothpaste on the desk.
Was hard at work for the next 2 hours and then when I saw my toothbrush and toothpaste on my desk, I thought I had not brushed my teeth yet. And so I went. Again.
Oh well.
Partly because it is so her, partly because she has shared other anecdotes with me.
And partly because I'm like that as well at times.
Forgetful and blur. Distracted and fidgety. Absent-minded.
And this multiplies a few-fold when you add in the factor of tiredness or sleepiness.
I brushed my teeth twice on Friday afternoon.
I brushed after lunch, came back to the office and left my toothbrush and toothpaste on the desk.
Was hard at work for the next 2 hours and then when I saw my toothbrush and toothpaste on my desk, I thought I had not brushed my teeth yet. And so I went. Again.
Oh well.
she.
in darkness sat she
solitary
calm
ruminating
everything
nothing
attempting
reflection
achieving
vacuum
faith
presence
hope
force
know
not
things
in
darkness
sat
she
solitary
calm
ruminating
everything
nothing
attempting
reflection
achieving
vacuum
faith
presence
hope
force
know
not
things
in
darkness
sat
she
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
------------------
I do not enjoy
The uncertainty
I do not know if
My melancholy is justified
But my heart does not feel good
My senses do not bode well
The uncertainty
I do not know if
My melancholy is justified
But my heart does not feel good
My senses do not bode well
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Jen
I had dinner with Jenaline the other night. Everytime I see her, I get reminded of the time when we were both hired by our ex-company. I was only 23 then and still clueless about many things in the working world. She on the other hand, was already in the workforce for almost 20 years and had been a high flyer at various MNCs. Needless to say, she was my boss and she took me under her wing.
6-over years have passed, we have both moved on from that company and I am happy we are still in touch. It's always a joy talking to her. I quite admire her openness and ability to talk to people of all ages, backgrounds, professions, etc. Maybe that's one reason why I feel comfortable with her. She has always said that my strength lies in my "ren yuan". My ability to make people feel at ease when I meet them or talk to them. I always tell her maybe she sees me this way because she's the one who is making me feel comfortable around her in the first place.
Anyway as usual, she has encouraged me to strike out on my own. And see if I can put my strengths to good use at the same time haha. So encouraging and enthusiastic haha. :) She said a few things. One of them was that to try and fail and try again is an advantage the young have over the old. Not in her exact words of course. But generally the notion she was trying to put across.
She shared with me some of her own big dreams as well. I think it's good to continue having dreams and aspirations even when you're close to hitting 50. I think it keeps the mind going. And I'm glad she's still got the strength, energy and enthusiasm to run around and get things done. Bravo to her!
Her church service is now held on Thursdays at Suntec. So she said perhaps we'll meet up more often than before given that I work at Suntec as well.
We'll see we'll see. She's a busy bee and I won't hold her to her word hhaa.
6-over years have passed, we have both moved on from that company and I am happy we are still in touch. It's always a joy talking to her. I quite admire her openness and ability to talk to people of all ages, backgrounds, professions, etc. Maybe that's one reason why I feel comfortable with her. She has always said that my strength lies in my "ren yuan". My ability to make people feel at ease when I meet them or talk to them. I always tell her maybe she sees me this way because she's the one who is making me feel comfortable around her in the first place.
Anyway as usual, she has encouraged me to strike out on my own. And see if I can put my strengths to good use at the same time haha. So encouraging and enthusiastic haha. :) She said a few things. One of them was that to try and fail and try again is an advantage the young have over the old. Not in her exact words of course. But generally the notion she was trying to put across.
She shared with me some of her own big dreams as well. I think it's good to continue having dreams and aspirations even when you're close to hitting 50. I think it keeps the mind going. And I'm glad she's still got the strength, energy and enthusiasm to run around and get things done. Bravo to her!
Her church service is now held on Thursdays at Suntec. So she said perhaps we'll meet up more often than before given that I work at Suntec as well.
We'll see we'll see. She's a busy bee and I won't hold her to her word hhaa.
?
How does one define success? What makes one succeed? Should one align his definition of success to that of his parents, his friends or even the society at large? When one sticks to his beliefs and preferences, is that determination, perserverance or stubborness? How does one find oneself? How does one see oneself clearly? Does one usually see another more clearly than he does himself? What makes one grow? How does one grow?
Things
The last few weeks were busy.
The next few weeks (and months?) will be busy too.
I can't describe much of my work projects here and anyway, most wouldn't understand also. So anyway, my current personal projects include:
The next few weeks (and months?) will be busy too.
I can't describe much of my work projects here and anyway, most wouldn't understand also. So anyway, my current personal projects include:
- Starting a terrarium - I've been quite interested in them since last time. I wanted to try making one myself some years ago but didn't quite get down to it. My interest was piqued again when I saw some terrariums in Amsterdam. So over the last two weeks, I've started doing some simple research on them. :) I've bought two little pots of cacti and a nice simple rectangular glass vase. Looking for some moss and pebbles before I can start designing my terrarium! Hope I can get them next weekend!
- Finding ways to use my baby gouda cheese - When I was in Amsterdam just 2 weeks ago, I visited a cheese-making factory-cum-retail store. There was a whole array of cheeses available for tasting and I quite liked one of them. It was a 400gm round piece of cheese wraped in red plastic. :) nice taste, not too strong, not too overwhelming for the taste buds. And it was made with young cow's milk, hence the name "Baby Gouda". K is asking me to make cheesy scramble eggs for him. I'm thinking more along the lines of foccacia bread with cheese melts, a sunny-side up egg and maybe some sundried tomato thrown in for an extra zing to the tastebuds. Oh well, maybe we can find some time next weekend to try out some recipes too.
- Finding the motivation to run - Or rather, finding the motivation to start jogging again. I signed up for the Shape Run on 25 July. I've not run for almost a month. And with less than 3 weeks lft, I think I'm screwed. Either I start my jogging regime again, or I skip the event altogether, which will be a little disappointing actually. Hmmmm......
- Putting my room together - The renovations ended in mid June. And my room has been bare from then till now. My new furniture will be coming in tomorrow though. And I've instructed my mother how to place the furniture. And then the tedious process of transferring my things from the current room where I'm living in (my brother's room actually) back to my room will start. I've still not gotten a computer and work table. Okok, one thing at a time.....I think this will take awhile to settle.......The nice thing is, I didn't bust my budget of $5k. Actual expenditure currently stands at $2.5K. A proper new roller chair and a computer/work table shouldn't bring it more than $3.2K. Yay!
- Thinking - There are things I need to think about. Enough said on this.
There are still some other things to do...but one thing at a time I guess.
Otherwise too many things at the same time will mean a very distracted me.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
The year so far
The Year of the Tiger has not been good for the Monkey.
Every month, there seems to be something happening which is not right. Regardless of whether they are big or small issues, they still cast a dull spell on things…
I hope the Year of the Rabbit brings with it better things.
Every month, there seems to be something happening which is not right. Regardless of whether they are big or small issues, they still cast a dull spell on things…
I hope the Year of the Rabbit brings with it better things.
Monday, July 05, 2010
sigh
sad.
just got news of 2 people who tendered their resignations already.
one of them's my lunch kaki who has been hanging out with me since when i first joined the company. she just tendered today.
she's leaving very soon after offsetting her leave and all.
her last day's on 23rd july. only 3 weeks more. :(
the other guy's from a department whose director is interested in getting me over to join them.
just got news of 2 people who tendered their resignations already.
one of them's my lunch kaki who has been hanging out with me since when i first joined the company. she just tendered today.
she's leaving very soon after offsetting her leave and all.
her last day's on 23rd july. only 3 weeks more. :(
the other guy's from a department whose director is interested in getting me over to join them.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Of my Chinese
Usually after any ICANN meeting, my Chinese improves a little due to my interaction with the Chinese, Taiwanese and Malaysian people whom I usually hang out with. Apparently such improvements only last for less than 5 days.
I called up a Chinese organization this morning. And my brain can’t seem to process Chinese words today.
I said,
Hello, 我可以跟Wai Heng说话吗？
And immediately after I said it, I felt dumb. Because it sounded so much like the words of a small child.
I should have said this instead!
Hello, 请问Wai Heng在吗？
I called up a Chinese organization this morning. And my brain can’t seem to process Chinese words today.
I said,
Hello, 我可以跟Wai Heng说话吗？
And immediately after I said it, I felt dumb. Because it sounded so much like the words of a small child.
I should have said this instead!
Hello, 请问Wai Heng在吗？
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
28 June 2010
And it’s goodbye Amsterdam.
Flew off on the morning of 28th June. And reached SG after 13 hours on 29th June 6am. K came to fetch me from Changi…it’s always nice knowing you have a special person waiting for you.
Flew off on the morning of 28th June. And reached SG after 13 hours on 29th June 6am. K came to fetch me from Changi…it’s always nice knowing you have a special person waiting for you.
27 June 2010 Sunday
Windmills
It was like a school excursion. A 15-minute train ride to the suburbs of Amsterdam city, to this place called Zaanse Schans. They had windmills there! Something I wanted see…they also had a small cheese-making factory, a woodenshoe-making workshop, souvenir shops, a small museum, a clock museum, etc.
The place was pretty. Long, green and lush fields. Bright blue skies, white fluffy clouds. Crisp cool air. The only thing that spoiled it was the number of tourists there haha…
I was inside two windmills. Saw the inner workings of the huge wheel clogs and big big wooden pegs. Climbed steep staircases within the mill to get up to the highest possible level…and felt wobbly while doing so haha. Stepped outside the windmill too to enjoy the scenery, looked down and felt like I was gonna faint. The wooden flooring had 1inch gaps between them..I could see the ground below, and I was 2 stories up.
Trains
The train network is quite confusing. Not to mention the unfamiliar names and Dutch words are hugely confusing. Alkmaar, Koog-Zaandeijk, Koog-Zaans, Zaans de Vans Mars, etc…gosh. And the station names are not prominently displayed too.
It was like a school excursion. A 15-minute train ride to the suburbs of Amsterdam city, to this place called Zaanse Schans. They had windmills there! Something I wanted see…they also had a small cheese-making factory, a woodenshoe-making workshop, souvenir shops, a small museum, a clock museum, etc.
The place was pretty. Long, green and lush fields. Bright blue skies, white fluffy clouds. Crisp cool air. The only thing that spoiled it was the number of tourists there haha…
I was inside two windmills. Saw the inner workings of the huge wheel clogs and big big wooden pegs. Climbed steep staircases within the mill to get up to the highest possible level…and felt wobbly while doing so haha. Stepped outside the windmill too to enjoy the scenery, looked down and felt like I was gonna faint. The wooden flooring had 1inch gaps between them..I could see the ground below, and I was 2 stories up.
Trains
The train network is quite confusing. Not to mention the unfamiliar names and Dutch words are hugely confusing. Alkmaar, Koog-Zaandeijk, Koog-Zaans, Zaans de Vans Mars, etc…gosh. And the station names are not prominently displayed too.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
26 June 2010 Saturday
Van Gogh Museum
Spent quite awhile in the museum this morning. Took a tram there and found at least 60-70 people in the queue. Thank goodness I’d already bought my ticket at the hotel reception. Received a few dagger stares from the people in the queue when I waltzed past them into the museum. :)
I met a Taiwanese friend there at the museum. Such a coincidence haha.
Overdose
As much as I love H&M, I am having an overdose of it already. There was only 1 H&M store in the whole of the Brussels city centre. I have already seen at least 5-6 H&M stores within the main shopping street. And this shopping street is only about 5km long or less.
Red Light District
I went to the area again tonight. And tonight was different from yesterday. Maybe it’s the weekend. The girls standing in the little window spaces were much prettier and slimmer than those I saw yesterday. I found out more today. The average going rate is about $50 euros for a 15-20 minute session. Though what the session entails I don’t know for sure. Probably the full works.
Saw a few deals taking place. Saw some other deals falling through. Saw young punks trying their luck. Saw older men striking deals with the ladies. Aw guys leaving the little cubicle spaces after having a good time. Saw some really young looking ladies plying their trade. My guess was that they were probably only 20 or 21?
Tomorrow
It will be windmills day! Looking forward to it. I’ll need to catch a 20-minute train ride to some place on the outskirts of Amsterdam and then walk about 10-minutes to the area. There’s an oil mill, a cheese mill, a clog workshop, etc. I have this feeling I’ll be buying cheese and other craft items from there. :)
Spent quite awhile in the museum this morning. Took a tram there and found at least 60-70 people in the queue. Thank goodness I’d already bought my ticket at the hotel reception. Received a few dagger stares from the people in the queue when I waltzed past them into the museum. :)
I met a Taiwanese friend there at the museum. Such a coincidence haha.
Overdose
As much as I love H&M, I am having an overdose of it already. There was only 1 H&M store in the whole of the Brussels city centre. I have already seen at least 5-6 H&M stores within the main shopping street. And this shopping street is only about 5km long or less.
Red Light District
I went to the area again tonight. And tonight was different from yesterday. Maybe it’s the weekend. The girls standing in the little window spaces were much prettier and slimmer than those I saw yesterday. I found out more today. The average going rate is about $50 euros for a 15-20 minute session. Though what the session entails I don’t know for sure. Probably the full works.
Saw a few deals taking place. Saw some other deals falling through. Saw young punks trying their luck. Saw older men striking deals with the ladies. Aw guys leaving the little cubicle spaces after having a good time. Saw some really young looking ladies plying their trade. My guess was that they were probably only 20 or 21?
Tomorrow
It will be windmills day! Looking forward to it. I’ll need to catch a 20-minute train ride to some place on the outskirts of Amsterdam and then walk about 10-minutes to the area. There’s an oil mill, a cheese mill, a clog workshop, etc. I have this feeling I’ll be buying cheese and other craft items from there. :)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
25 June 2010 Friday
Brussels to Amsterdam
I reached Amsterdam’s Schipol airport around 9-plus in the morning and caught a train ride into centre of town. It was quite confusing. Almost everything was written in Dutch. Looking for directions was a challenging affair. And the darn train had split levels. I had to climb the stairs of the train carrying a big luggage which weighed 18kg, my laptop bag and my handbag. Had to drag all these bags around while going from the train station to my hotel. I can feel my biceps growing already.
Anne Frank Museum
I went to the Anne Frank Museum today. Visited the house that she and her family stayed in during their 2 years of hiding from Hitler’s military people. Saw many artifacts left behind from those days of the Holocaust. It was quite a touching hour and a half for me, seeing those black and white photos and seeing the actual sinks, bathroom, photos, walls, stairs that the Frank family used all those years ago.
Shopping
H&M again. Mango again. Hmm…I hope I have enough euros. This trip will cost me a lot man…
Red Light District
I was curious about Amsterdam’s famous red light district. Haha…it really is a “red light” area. There are windows lined up all along the streets, some windows have curtains drawn on them, some don’t. Those which are uncovered will sometimes have a girl standing on the other side of the glass pane dressed in scanty bikinis and waiting for guys to come to them. I did see several guys knocking on their doors and negotiating prices. I heard one going for $80 euro but I wasn’t sure what her services included. Ahem.
BUT. Out of all the white, black, brown girls that I saw, almost 95% of them are fat. Some are just pudgy. Some have a lot of cellulite. Some have fats that jiggle with every movement they make. And yet some others are really gorillas who could crush a man flat by sitting on him. No kidding. They’re probably 2-3 times my size. Maybe European guys just prefer meaty fat girls.
There were many live shows too. Much like what you would get on Patpong street on Phuket. They have their own “Tiger” shows here in Amsterdam. And they have porn cinemas screening hardcore films the whole night through. I wonder how um…clean the seats are inside these cinemas. Hmm.
Weed
Shops are selling cannabis, marijuana and coke. I saw a shop where all sorts of drug paraphernalia was sold. Coke and weed grinding tools. Glass bottles and different types of pipes for smoking. Jars with tubes running out of them. Test tubes. Syringes. Gosh. The whole works. That particular shop looked like it was a chemistry lab. It even sold plant kits and seeds for people who wanted to grow their own weed. I also saw cannabis incense sticks, much like those used for aromatheraphy.
Food
The way my colleague is eating is scaring me. And he is the one with high cholesterol and who needs to watch his diet. Hmm, no wonder he grew a big pot belly in the 2.5 years that I’ve known him. Alcohol, meats, seafood, etc. I was having a light sandwich for lunch and he was wolfing down meatballs and chips, although he said that he didn’t feel like eating much. I think I’m gonna eat light tomorrow again.
p/s: Before coming to Amsterdam, I spoke to several Dutch people as well as some others whom I know stayed for awhile in Amsterdam. I asked them what type of food are the Dutch famous for. They said, nothing.
And when I walked around just now. It was quite true. There’s no special Dutch dish which I had to try. In fact, what was available were different types of international cuisines. Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, English, American, Irish, Japanese, Spanish, etc.
World Cup
The streets were filled with WC supporters from various countries. I saw a whole bunch of Brazillian supports in yellow and green, chanting away. I saw a group of Spanish supporters dancing in the streets and another group of Dutch supporters drinking beer together. Bars and pubs everywhere were showing live matches. Flags of various countries in the WC were strung up along the streets.
Brussels pales in comparison
From the moment I stepped out of the train station, I felt Amsterdam buzzing with life. So different from Brussels. If Amsterdam were Orchard Road on a weekend night, then Brussels would be almost like our CBD area on a weekend night. Locals and tourists are aplenty in Amsterdam!! And I saw a lot of Asians here as well. Japanese and Chinese. Have not seen any Koreans yet.
K
I managed to speak to K a few times today! :)
I reached Amsterdam’s Schipol airport around 9-plus in the morning and caught a train ride into centre of town. It was quite confusing. Almost everything was written in Dutch. Looking for directions was a challenging affair. And the darn train had split levels. I had to climb the stairs of the train carrying a big luggage which weighed 18kg, my laptop bag and my handbag. Had to drag all these bags around while going from the train station to my hotel. I can feel my biceps growing already.
Anne Frank Museum
I went to the Anne Frank Museum today. Visited the house that she and her family stayed in during their 2 years of hiding from Hitler’s military people. Saw many artifacts left behind from those days of the Holocaust. It was quite a touching hour and a half for me, seeing those black and white photos and seeing the actual sinks, bathroom, photos, walls, stairs that the Frank family used all those years ago.
Shopping
H&M again. Mango again. Hmm…I hope I have enough euros. This trip will cost me a lot man…
Red Light District
I was curious about Amsterdam’s famous red light district. Haha…it really is a “red light” area. There are windows lined up all along the streets, some windows have curtains drawn on them, some don’t. Those which are uncovered will sometimes have a girl standing on the other side of the glass pane dressed in scanty bikinis and waiting for guys to come to them. I did see several guys knocking on their doors and negotiating prices. I heard one going for $80 euro but I wasn’t sure what her services included. Ahem.
BUT. Out of all the white, black, brown girls that I saw, almost 95% of them are fat. Some are just pudgy. Some have a lot of cellulite. Some have fats that jiggle with every movement they make. And yet some others are really gorillas who could crush a man flat by sitting on him. No kidding. They’re probably 2-3 times my size. Maybe European guys just prefer meaty fat girls.
There were many live shows too. Much like what you would get on Patpong street on Phuket. They have their own “Tiger” shows here in Amsterdam. And they have porn cinemas screening hardcore films the whole night through. I wonder how um…clean the seats are inside these cinemas. Hmm.
Weed
Shops are selling cannabis, marijuana and coke. I saw a shop where all sorts of drug paraphernalia was sold. Coke and weed grinding tools. Glass bottles and different types of pipes for smoking. Jars with tubes running out of them. Test tubes. Syringes. Gosh. The whole works. That particular shop looked like it was a chemistry lab. It even sold plant kits and seeds for people who wanted to grow their own weed. I also saw cannabis incense sticks, much like those used for aromatheraphy.
Food
The way my colleague is eating is scaring me. And he is the one with high cholesterol and who needs to watch his diet. Hmm, no wonder he grew a big pot belly in the 2.5 years that I’ve known him. Alcohol, meats, seafood, etc. I was having a light sandwich for lunch and he was wolfing down meatballs and chips, although he said that he didn’t feel like eating much. I think I’m gonna eat light tomorrow again.
p/s: Before coming to Amsterdam, I spoke to several Dutch people as well as some others whom I know stayed for awhile in Amsterdam. I asked them what type of food are the Dutch famous for. They said, nothing.
And when I walked around just now. It was quite true. There’s no special Dutch dish which I had to try. In fact, what was available were different types of international cuisines. Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, English, American, Irish, Japanese, Spanish, etc.
World Cup
The streets were filled with WC supporters from various countries. I saw a whole bunch of Brazillian supports in yellow and green, chanting away. I saw a group of Spanish supporters dancing in the streets and another group of Dutch supporters drinking beer together. Bars and pubs everywhere were showing live matches. Flags of various countries in the WC were strung up along the streets.
Brussels pales in comparison
From the moment I stepped out of the train station, I felt Amsterdam buzzing with life. So different from Brussels. If Amsterdam were Orchard Road on a weekend night, then Brussels would be almost like our CBD area on a weekend night. Locals and tourists are aplenty in Amsterdam!! And I saw a lot of Asians here as well. Japanese and Chinese. Have not seen any Koreans yet.
K
I managed to speak to K a few times today! :)
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