Fall Break. The week before this one was Fall Break here in Singapore. I went to Phuket, Thailand for about half a week. Funny thing, actually- I was supposed to fly out on Saturday morning, but due to some freak mishap with my alarm, I managed to oversleep my flight! (Well, add to that the fact that I was out late drinking/partying at Zouk the night.) So I had to buy a whole new ticket, the soonest of which I could get was the next day, so my trip was cut short by a day. Well, I don't think I missed much cuz it rained nearly the whole time I was in Thailand. I met up with the UT ppl and some French folk on a smaller island- Koh Phi Phi ("Pee Pee Island", *teehee* schoolboy giggle). What I saw really was quite beautiful, but it would have been so much better if the weather were nicer. Ate some reaaally good seafood, though.

So let's see, I saw some muay thai fights, which were really cool. I'd never seen a real match live before, and it was all I would have hoped for. (Well, I guess I woulda liked to see some knees and elbows.) But yea, it was vicious- I get a rush seeing someone knocked out by a clean punch or kick; I guess it's not such a stretch to imagine why the Romans loved the colisseum so much. Flying kicks and guys getting knocked over the ropes into the audience- quite memorable. I got some ideas of moves I wanna try out, heheh.

Got some Thai massages (of the non-sensual nature). We went twice, and both times, I got the fat masseuse. =/ I guess they assume since I'm bigger, I need a chubbier chick to apply more pressure. Ah well, as long as they're good at their craft, I suppose.

Went scuba diving on one of days that had reasonable weather. The water was still really cloudy and the current strong though. The scuba diving was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was my first time, and it seriously put the fear of drowning in me at the beginning. I also seem to use up my air a lot faster than everyone else, so I didn't get to stay down under as long as the others. =/ But yea, right at the beginning, when I was still trying to get the hang of controlling underwater, I managed to stick my knee in a sea anemone. And at first it was like, hey, that's an interesting squishy feeling, which quickly turned to oww oww oww OWW OWW! It left a burning feeling that lasted for like 2 days, bah.

Back in Singapore later in the week, I went and saw Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam." It was just ok I guess, pretty (lower) middle-of-the-pack as far as Cirque shows go I thought. I decided to be cheap for the tickets, and I got stuck on the very side (although in the very first row). And while it was cool to have the performers come within like two feet of my face, it was annoying having to turn my head back and forth trying to catch all the action. It was also amusing to see how differently the crowd volunteer portions went. Singaporeans are by-and-large more conservative, and so there was a lot of stuff the volunteers just couldn't be persuaded to act out. The clowns pulled off very good saves though- I was impressed by their spontaneity.

Also, largely due to a dream I had some time back, I decided to read the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? over the break. I liked it better than the Blade Runner movie that was based on it. I'm very intrigued by the notion of implanted memories and the question of whether or not androids are "alive".

*I also kept meaning to write about the stuff I read/watched over the summer. Forgot most of the commentary I meant to give already though. So anyways, movies watched over the latter part of summer (in roughly descending order of enjoyment): Saving Face, Batman Begins, Star Wars ep. 3, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Anchorman, War of the Worlds. I also read Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. I liked the notion of questioning what was so inherently bad about the original sin; and the idea that "good" and "evil" are just arbitrary labels applied to two sides like black and white in chess.

One month update. (First of all, let me say how disappointed I am in the US government's response to Hurricane Katrina. My parents narrowly missed the hurricane, cancelling a New Orleans vacation just days before the storm. And I got word that my only acquaintance from the area is safe, so that's a relief. But seriously, what I understand of the government's dismal rescue efforts has been quite infuriating.)

So I've been in Singapore now for a little over a month, and it's been ok I guess... not godawful, but not phenomenal either- just kinda run-of-the-mill. I really tried to come here with no great expectations, so that anything good would come off as a pleasant surprise. Well, to some extent, I guess the lack of pleasant surprises has been rather disappointing in itself. =/ And I mean, that's not to say that Singapore's a boring place (which it's NOT), but I guess my (class) schedule here isn't as conducive to play as I would have liked. My only free day comes on a Tuesday, which kinda sucks, cuz I end up with only the option of taking like mini one-day escapades and the like. (Contrast this to other exchange kids who have like 4-day weekends every week. BAH!) To date, I still haven't had an opportunity to travel to surrounding countries (which is quite common, considering Singapore's small size and proximity to its neighbors).

I guess one of the biggest downers is that I still don't really have a posse of any sort here. I mean when I go to the clubs, I'll know the people I go with, but it's not like we really hang out much otherwise. Almost everyone I meet here just feels like a single-serving friend. And I've come to the conclusion that no matter where you go, people will always be cliquish. *sigh* Sometimes in the lonely hours of the day, I worry that I just don't have the personality to make this study abroad thing work out properly. I tend to be quite shy by nature and only open up when I'm comfortable in a situation, and so far I feel like a fish out of water. I'm really trying hard to keep an open mind and make this a positive experience, but it's a terrible test of optimism at times.

Oh yea, and it rains all the freaking time here. Like somewhere between 1-in-3 to every other day, it rains. And I don't mind the rain so much, but it makes the humidity killer.

One thing I do like about Singapore though is the architecture. A lot of the buildings on campus are in a modern style with clean lines. (I like the outside of my dorm a lot, but the insides (i.e. my room) is ecchhh.) In the city, lots of the buildings are an interesting mixture of European and Asian motifs and influences- often in the same building. I think it reflects the culture very much. A lot of really weird color scheming though; kinda reminds me of Tijuana but less tacky.

Well anyways, so what have I been up to? Ok, so to recap... The weekend that school starts here, they hold a big event called Rag Day where the different halls (dorms) and faculties (schools/departments) make these flat-bed truck-sized floats that are like decked-out with moving parts and everything and have to come up with like an accompanying dance/skit. It's a competition and everyone gets really into it- kids back home just don't have that kinda spirit; we need like a common enemy on a greater level, like a university or a country, haha.

I went the the Jurong Bird Park some time back. It's like a zoo, but of just birds. It was ok I guess- I think if you're not like an uber animal afficionado, if you've seen one good zoo and you watch Animal Planet, you've just about seen it all. Now, animals that do tricks on the other hand... =P

August 9th was National Day- an independence day of sorts (from Malaysia, though there are several points in its history that could be characterized as "independence day"s), though from what I observed, semi-celebration appeared to go for weeks. I went down to the Esplanade (a famously durian-shaped concert hall, that's kinda like the Singaporean response to the Sydney Opera House) to watch fireworks. They also had some F-16's flying overhead before it got dark. The fireworks were decent, but then there was a huge jam of people trying to leave; took forever to get home.

Went to a club called Double O a couple times. It was alright; nothing amazing. Grabbed some midnight munchies from Newton Circus afterwards both times. Got a curry stain on my favorite pair of pants that looks suspiciously like a pee stain. >=O

Drunken Scare. A last minute change of plans found me heading out to a club party (at China Black) on my own one night. Long story short, I ended up having too much to drink and I blacked out. Last thing I remember was talking to this girl at the bar, and the next thing I know, I wake up back in my room. The scary part is that I have absolutely NO idea how I got home, or who I came back with (cuz I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have remembered where I stay without at least a little help). Yet strangely, I was coherent enough to let myself in, lock up after myself, strip down to a beater and undies (though not sober enough to put on pajama pants), and finally plop on the bed. Another slightly frightening aspect to the story is that I managed to spend in the neighborhood of S$150 (just under US$100) that night- or at least I HOPE I spent it. All I know is that I left with about 150 bucks in my wallet that night, and when I got home, there was only 5 dollars left in it... and mysteriously, my EZ-Link (MRT/bus pass) card was gone too. I mean, I don't think I got robbed (I mean, why leave me the 5 bucks? And who steals a buss pass and leaves credit cards, cash card, etc.). But I did wake up with a mysterious heel injury- the kind that suggests that I may have kicked something (or someone) very hard or perhaps jumped from a very high place in one of those moments I don't remember. But MAN, it's all just quite scary to me I guess- alcohol just doesn't seem to affect me in the same way it did before. Back in the day, the first thing to go would be my walking/standing ability, which would indicate that it was probably a good time to stop drinking. Nowadays, I won't feel that drunk, and then the next thing I know, there's holes in my memory! Yowsa... well, if nothing else, I guess it's a good wake-up call that I need to be more careful when I drink.

I went on some tours of Little India and Chinatown. My opinion and mental image of Little India remained unchanged, though I did gain a bit of knowledge and perspective about Hinduism and Hindu temples. I found the Chinatown tour a bit more amusing. Went to the Chinatown Heritage Museum, which was pretty cool- they turned part of the building into a recreated living block from the old days.

I found and started training (kung fu) with Singapore Chin Woo. For those not in the know, Chin Woo's like a big global organization with martial arts schools all over the place- it's got a lot of street cred in China, so I hear. I guess it's kinda vaguely akin to a YMCA of sorts? Well anyways, the kung fu school I trained with back in my high school days was part of Chin Woo, so they told me to look these guys up when I came to Singapore. I got a somewhat mixed reception: some were skeptical of me cuz I wasn't from around there, while others touted the "Chin Woo one family" motto and took care of me like one their own. Things are weird, cuz unlike in America where we're very equal opportunity about it (anyone who wants can join up), here you gotta have someone already on the inside to vouch for you and say you're cool. I dunno, to this day, things still haven't gotten 100% sorted out. I also occasionally train with the NUS wushu club. Just like back home, most of the talent doesn't train consistently or seriously, heheh.

And finally, this past week was the Comex IT Expo. Basically a huge consumer electronics fair where manufacturers sell stuff at discount price. After much deliberation, I decided to get myself a camera. I ended up getting the Nikon Coolpix S1. I was kinda hesitant cuz I'm really not too keen on taking (or being in) pictures. But after a bit of thought, I figured I'd probably regret it if I didn't have some visual memory to remember my trip by. Cuz if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that: when in doubt, it's usually better to pay a bit of money and find yourself dissatisfied with your purchase than it is to agonize with what-if's for days/weeks/months down the line- if nothing else, consider it as paying your way out of self-inflicted mental anguish later on. (Of course, I guess this philosophy's only applicable if you're not a compulsive buyer, which I'm not.) Anyways, I don't know a whole lot about cameras, so I ended up using physical size as the primary criteria for selection. (I figger no pictures would get taken if the camera's too clunky for me to carry around comfortably.) I ended up paying around S$550 for the tiny lil' S1, and they tossed in some random goodies like a 512Mb memory card, a carrying case, and some other junk. They actually didn't have the camera in the color I wanted, but I ended up getting an enveloping sticker/decal thing on it, so I guess it didn't turn out too badly. Haven't decided yet whether I'll post pics on the blog or not.