A day for departure…

Gerardo left for Paris to start his PHD course, Ana and Alex going back to Madrid to study for their up coming examinations in mid-June.

Some pics from the second international party at Tiger Tiger, the last ERASMUS party for this academic year.

I'm never a "farewell" person. In fact, I kinda hate all these feelings I'll have when I'm leaving a place or a person etc. When you have stayed in one place for a period of time, it’s happy to see people you hang out with leaving for good, to start the next new chapter of their life.

It’s the uncertainty of not knowing when your paths may cross again that hurts a lot...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some places just seem so far apart...

Stockholm Trip...

Together with Duan, we explored the city on bicycle at night. Having chill wind on your face, cycling among the beautiful architecture, soaking up the night life of a foreign city...What more can you ask for in life...

Stockholm is blessed with flowers. Kinda a beautiful sight...

A lake behind Duan's accommodation. Need to walk through a forest path to get there. Some students actually dragged two sofa there...How cool is that to chill out at such a place!!!

Stockholm is basically made up of many small "islands". Therefore there are harbours all around the city...Kinda nice...

Vasa Museum - The ship sank before it was actually being used. They brought it up, preserved and displayed the entire ship in a museum. Quite a magnificent sight. A must-visit attraction...

Gamla Stan - This is the center and oldest part of Stockholm...Nice architecture here. But it has became kinda commercial with all those souvenir shops around for tourists. But still, it is a must-visit attraction...

Followed Duan's instruction to scout out a high ground one of the the islands. From here, you can take the whole view of Gamla Stan...

KTH, Royal Institute of Technology - The place where Duan is doing his Exchange...

The main city centre of Stockholm...Quite commercialize, with all sort of shopping centres and brands around. Able to see H&M everywhere...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Duan!!! Good luck for your round Europe cycling trip!!!

Freedom…

Saw seagulls in the wild for the very first time in Stockholm (Hey!!! Sg is a concrete jungle ok!!!) Just sitting by the harbour to watch them gliding around gracefully in the air is an enjoyment. They reminded me of a story that I read during my secondary school days - Jonathan Livingston Seagull. A very meaningful tale. Recommend it to everyone!!!

It feels really good to have a chance of travelling around to see different things, to meet different people and to absorb different cultures. The smell of freedom, even for a brief moment, is priceless...

It was raining the day I left Stockholm. Heard this old man basking on the street in the rain, strumming this song on his guitar...Wasn’t the most beautiful singing, but there’s this soulful feeling in his voice. And for some unknown reasons, I just stopped and stood there...Wanted to hear him sing...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be true to yourself...
The source of happiness comes from perservering to achieve your own dreams...

Got a plane to catch...

Stockholm is really a nice place...But leaving details for another day...

Second Destination: Copenhagen, Denmark
Target Personel: Yip (SH, Hockey, Engin Kaki)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hanging out with Sg friends...
Common Singlish, common topics, common interests...
Somehow, it feels at home...

Visiting…

Exams ended yesterday. Not the best exam I’ve attempted. Can’t really do some parts of the questions. That’s the consequences of last minute mugging...bleah...But still, it was much more manageable than back in NUS. More than enough time for the paper, high correlation with past years’ paper, seriously what else can you ask for? Yet still, I heard some people here complaining about the paper...Sigh...

Took the last train to London Stansted Airport on the same day. Going to visit 2 friends around this region...It was a trip planned some time ago...

First destination: Stockholm, Sweden
Target personal: Duan (Ex-SH, hockey, photo kaki)

My flight was actually at 8am next day, but there is no way I can get to the airport by 6am for the check-in. Thus, having the need to spend a night at the airport. That’s the price to pay for booking the cheapest air ticket available ya...

Chat with this stranger in the Underground. (Guess all late night travelers are bored...haha) He is from Argentina, majored in some cooking thingy when studying and had just finished his 3 yrs work contract in Iceland. Anyway, he is only 25, but had been in a company that cooks for the president and those visiting ambassadors. How cool is that!!! Come to think about it, most people I've met in Europe are studying stuff they really love...Fine Art, French Literature, music etc...It really sucks that such trend can’t really be seen back home, where most people either follow the “safest route” or go wherever the money is. Guess that’s the price of being in a practical society...Sigh...Anyway according to him, Iceland seems to be a scenic place. Cold weather all year round, but yet always having natural hot streams due to the volcanic landscape. People can just jump in and swim in them. Wow!!!

Reached the airport at about 11pm. To my surprise, there seems to be a trend of staying over at the airport. I actually saw people with mattress, sleeping bags etc. All seems to be well prepared...Hah...Anyway, it was quite an experience...

Finding a perfect spot (I actually slept under a big billboard Ad!!!), making sure your sleeping posture protects your bags from thieves, lying there in the middle of the airport, looking at other spot-seekers walking by as you fell asleep...Didn’t really sleep well though. Officers were waking people up at 4am, as the airport were preparing for the arrival of the first flight of the day.

Loving my day flight, loving my window seat, and simply loving feeling of flying just above the sea of marshmallow clouds...

In this pic, can see some land below the clouds. Ana told me that from the air, you can actually see Denmark and Sweden side by side...But I can’t really differentiate which is which...okok...my geography sucks...

Reached Stockholm Skavsta airport. Thanks to Duan’s detailed instructions, I was found my way to his accommodation with ease.

Alone in Duan’s room now. He is somewhere else with his friend studying for his last exams on Monday. Gonna work on my project report later. Yeah, I actually brought my laptop along. Desperately need to work due to the sudden change in the report submission date...Dammit...Travelling and working just can’t mix!!! Sigh...Hope can travel a bit and take some pics tomorrow...

Oh, just wanna share this song with you guys. Heard it somewhere else. A song that will bring you through hard times...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good luck for those who are still having exams...It'll be over soon...

Time flies…

Exactly four months have passed since I first step foot on England.

Flash back...

- Enjoying getting to know international people...esp. the friendly Spanish gang!!!
- Enjoying the cold weather as compared to back home...
- Enjoying seeing snow for the first time!!!
- Enjoying the fact that I can wear a jacket to school everyday...
- Enjoying the fact that I do look like an undergrad. for once, as compared to my schooling attire back home…(T-shirt, berms and slippers…Typical hostel-ite attire)
- Enjoying drinking more than I usually do in a year back home...
- Enjoying my first puking session after a night of party...
- Enjoying hang overs...
- Enjoying going to more party than I usually will in a year back home...
- Enjoying the little illegal stuff I do...(Not going to elaborate on that...)
- Enjoying lying on the grass in the sun doing nothing at all...
- Enjoying feeling happy after helping to wash the dishes whenever I’m bored...
- Enjoying the fact that I’m slightly better some my project mates...technical-wise...
- Enjoying the feeling of getting lost whenever I travel, even though I have a map with me...
- Enjoying my trip to the artic circle and Santa’s village!!!
- Enjoying seeking out all the good deals, cheap thrills and great bargain with my fellow Sgreans...
- Enjoying using sign language to communicate with people who don’t speak English at all...
- Enjoying the fulfiling feeling of doing that Master's project...
- Enjoying my 3 mins walk to school everyday...
- Enjoying the fact that I didn't skip a single lesson this semester...haha
- Enjoying those cross-time-zone chat with my friends back home...

- Learning how to eat to survive, rather than eat to live...
- Learning to live with noisy neighbours and sleep through party sessions...
- Learning about short cuts to different destinations, instead of always following the main road.
- Learning how to remain sane while working with project mates from hell...
- Learning how to live far away from home and handle everything on my own...
- Learning more about myself and how my mentality changes...

- Missing family and friends back home...
- Missing new friends over here...
- Missing the luxury of eating to live, rather than eating to survive...
- Missing my mid night supper sessions...
- Missing NUS 24/7 high speed internet connection...
- Missing cheap Singtel bills...

(And the list goes on...No time to list down everything…)

Two more months to go...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ought to be studying...Dammit...

Something weird…

Few days back, I heard TF telling Gerardo off in the kitchen...

It was midnight. TF was asleep while the Spanish gang had returned from their mugging session in the library, and was making “dinner” in the kitchen. Yup, they usually have their dinner between 9-11pm. Think it’s the Spanish way of life or something...

Guess the chatting and cooking woke TF up, and he sort of told them to quiet down, in an angry tone...

Just yesterday, Gerardo found this piece of paper slipped under his door...

Content of the typed-written note is like...

“I’ve been escaping for the past 8 months, but I can run no more. I am tired and ready to die. When they catch me, I ask them to allow me to have a good sleep and a good meal for one day. But they refused. I have done nothing to them. Now I only have one choice. I refuse to think about it. What a nighmare...”

Something like that...Should have taken a pic of that note...Arghh...

Anyway out of curiosity and fun, Gerardo pin the note in the kitchen. But later in the day, he found the same note slipped under his door again.

The Spanish gang concluded that maybe TF is behind all these and he may be “crazy”...

And I can’t help but find the similarity between the content of this note and the home-made video of that Virginia Tech shooting incident...

Dammit...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gonna start locking my door before going to bed...

Parkinson Building…

A shot for my friends back home...

This building is a famous landmark in Uni. of Leeds. Its interior really gives people the kind of academic feeling...

Also, there is this wonderful Harry-Potter-like library in there. But then again, that's a story for another day...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch the sun as it comes up...Watch it as it sets...

A peaceful lane…

(Was out for a walk...Taking a breather from my lecture notes...Bleah...)

A short cut I always took to the 24hr clusters. Yup, there is this small old cemetery right in our campus...How cool is that!!!

Kinda like this place. Maybe it’s the feeling of chilling air...Maybe it’s the cemetery smell...Or even maybe it’s the sight of tombstones...But this wonderful lane is like a “filter”...that take things off my mind...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If tears could build a stairway...and memories were a lane...
We would walk right up to heaven...and bring you back again...

Done with FPGA…

*****************************************************************
“So are you prepared for your presentation tmr?”

“ah...screw it...just presenting whatever we have...”

“haha...giving up at the last minute huh”
*****************************************************************
Thank you for that...Kept me awake all night...

Worked through the night for the presentation today...

Reanalyzed the whole program to make sure the simulated output data matches the expected results. But our RS232 still can’t really work properly. Guess we had a problem synchronizing the serial baud rate with the Terminal or something.

Overall, I think the presentation was pretty good. In fact it is much better than I expected. We explained to the prof that our algorithm is correct, and just that we had problem extracting the output. He seems to accept that...Manage to answer all questions shot at us...

So yup...It’s over!!!

Still got a “Snake” project on hand, 1 report and 2 exams next week...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning into a full time mugger!!!

Big world? Small world?

They said "The world is smaller than you think..."

Is this really true? Or sometimes, reality will force us to accept how big the world actually is?

In a way, you will be constantly meeting new faces from the "other side" of the globe if you make an effort to step out of your comfort zone. Sometimes, you make new friends. Other times, you make “familiar-strangers”.

Then again, there are moments when these people tell you “Come visit me!!!"

Your reply will be “Yeah, definitely, I’ll love to!!!”

But deep down, you avoidably realise how big our world actually is, and individuals can sometimes live real far away from one another.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0030, 24hr cluster, bored...

Good news…Bad news…

(Geeky post for friends who are on the same frequency...)

After camping in the EE lab and 24hr cluster for the past few days, we FINALLY figured out how to play around the signals, synchronized the baud rate of the FPGA and the Terminal, and managed get some output from the RS232 of the FPGA board!!! (Yeahhh!!!!! *Jump around and scream*)

However, the output is not really what we wanted...Sigh...

We are sending out integers from the board and are expecting integers as the output on the Terminal. However, the output we are getting is either in ASCII character or hexadecimal format. As far as I know, these formats are not supported by Matlab and hence, the processed image can’t be recomposed. Dammit!!!

Also, we just realize another problem in the whole output-data issue. While our algorithm is churning out one integer per clock cycle, the RS232 will take a few clock cycles (1 start bit, 8 data bit, 1 stop bit ) to output one just integer.

3 more days to presentation...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When things seem hopeless, that's when we should be most excited...
Cos that's when there's so much room for us to make a difference...

Not well...

Have been feeling cold. In fact, I have been putting on a t-shirt with a “Uni of Leeds” hoodie on top, track pants, socks and a towel wrapping around my neck to sleep for the past few days.

Also, I was having this “war” with Gerardo where I keep switching the heater setting to the max...And he will turn it to the opposite. I think the spring weather is considerably warm for European people like him.

Woke up with a heavy head and a vomiting feeling today (No, I didn't drink!!!)...Something just don’t feel right...

This reminds me of my year one days back in NUS, when I was living in a hostel and fell ill the day before exams. I guess it’s also during time like these when people are mentally the weakest. Kinda just wanna go home to let your parents take care of you, or stay over at your bf/gf’s place to be taken care of, or even stay in a hospital just to escape from the stress of exams, projects etc for that few days. It feels bad enough when you fall sick and is away from home. And it sucks even more when you are so far away from home that your illness does not justify the cost of flying back.

For me, during days like that, I just feel like staying in bed, window close, curtain drawn, wearing warm clothing, separating myself from the world. Hoping that I will feel better tomorrow...

Then again, I've got so much work on my hands now...Guess I’ll just take a nap and carry on with my work later...sigh...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life goes on even when you are not feeling well...