Le Tour de Oxford

After getting a shock from seeing the appalling state of the university accommodation's room offered to me, I've decided to have plan B. And thus I began my room search around this city on my bike, feeling as though I'm doing a tour. I hope I get a good place with sane housemates...

Sweet Oxford

Sugar sachets in my department cafeteria now comes with an Oxford view! Talk about posh. But, it's nice eh?

Blame it on the girl (La Nina)

Cherry trees may be blossoming, but it's still quite cold for this time of year. I remembered this time last year we were having barbecues and tea on the lawn. Is this the La Nina effect? Or should we be blaming it on global warming, or both?

Nevertheless, here's a picture of my garden last week.



It may be pretty, but my house doesn't have double-glazed windows... :(

Happy Anni!

A quick shout out to my parents. Happy Anniversary! Hope you are having a ball!

Arpeggi

It seems like it was only yesterday that I started this blog. But lo and behold it is already 2008.

And I am still in the same place that is Oxford.

"In the deepest ocean
The bottom of the sea
Your eyes
They turn me
Why should I stay here?
Why should I stay?"


Usually, people would think up of resolutions that they would like to commit to at this time. Y'know, lose a few pounds... be kinder to people, etc.

"I'd be crazy not to follow
Follow where you lead
Your eyes
They turn me

Turn me on to phantoms
I follow to the edge of the earth
And fall off
Everybody leaves
If they get the chance

And this is my chance"


But time is really a subjective thing, isn't it?


"I get eaten by the worms
Weird fishes
Picked over by the worms
Weird fishes
Weird fishes
Weird fishes"


All I want is still pretty much the same as I did two years ago.

Question is, will I get it?

"I'll hit the bottom
Hit the bottom and escape
Escape

I'll hit the bottom
Hit the bottom and escape
Escape "


All I can do now is going in an endless Arpeggi...

Still, happy 2008 everyone.

Off to somewhere warm

No, I don't mean my insectary. Though it is warm and humid.

I'll be flying tomorrow to somewhere warm
(and sunny?) for a break! Yay! Finally, I'm getting a holiday.

Have a Good Xmas and New Year everyone!

It's so cold in this house- really!

It's so cold in my new house. My housemate has monitored that her bedroom could be as cold as 13ºC. But tonight, it's so cold that my fingers are having difficulty typing as they are cold stiff. Problem is that our house had only electrical heating that is super expensive. Also, our house has only single-glazed windows.

The weather outside is sleeting I think... the windows are too fogged up to see outside... I think it's about 10ºC in my room now... I'm yet to turn on the heating... gonna duck under the duvet with a hot water bottle to save electricity!

brrrrrrr....

In memory

To a friend who was gone three years ago at the age of 22. How his life took a turn for the worst is something I will always wonder, that why there was no one to help when he needed it. When I first heard this song, I thought that maybe this is how he felt.


Walking in the countryside
It seems that the winds have stopped
I took down the posters from my wall
Left letters for you all

I remember moments of happiness
Endless summer, acoustic guitars
Being a man made me coarse
When I wanted to be delicate

I called up Eugene
Told him I was drowning

Like a castaway on a warm ocean
Waiting for a purpose to rise
They say it's not becoming
For a boy my age

If you want to know what makes me sad
Well it's hope, the endurance of faith
A battle that lasts a lifetime
A fight that never ends

Walking in the countryside
It seems that the winds have stopped
Tell my mother I am sorry
And I loved her

- SRXT, by Bloc Party

Old leaf

Looking at all the new students arriving, fresh and wide-eyed. All their idealistic dreams they have for starting a new part of life in Oxford.
I went to the freshers events at college. And I was ready to go home and put on my PJs and sip hot tea after a couple of hours. I think my time for this sort of thing is over. All of my friends are still out at parties, but my rendition of a good time is sit around drinking wine, while listening to some music. Is that odd?


Man, I feel old.

Stalled

The world waits for no one. It keeps going even if your time seemed to have stopped.
So how do you find that strength to get up everyday and go about your life, knowing that the things you do could just be a bloody waste of time?

I guess I don't. All I can do is hope for the best and fear the worst. It's too hard to keep having high expectations of myself. Why do I want a career in this field so badly? The passion I once had seemed to have been blown away with the wind, and all that's left is the belief that what you do is worth something and will make a change in the world. Is it really such a noble cause or just an egoistic thinking of wanting to be something big? The desire for self-importance/greatness causes so much suffering that I sometime wonder if this is even worth it. This weight I carry sometimes feels so heavy that I can't breathe. Question is: is this baggage even worth holding onto?

"I noticed tonight that the world has been turning
While I've been stuck here withering away
Though I know I said I wouldn't leave you behind
But I have to go, it breaks my heart to say

That I can't stop now
I've got troubles of my own
Cause I'm short on time
I'm lonely
And I'm too tired to talk

To no one back home
I've got troubles of my own
And I can't slow down
For no one in town
And I can't stop now"

-Keane - Can't Stop Now



And along this path I have taken I have forgotten how to smile.

In memory of a tenor

Il principe ignoto:
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa,
nella tua fredda stanza
guardi le stelle
che tremano d'amore e di speranza...
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me,
il nome mio nessun saprà!
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò,
quando la luce splenderà!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio
che ti fa mia.

Voci di donne:
Il nome suo nessun saprà...
E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir!
Il principe ignoto
Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle!
Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò!
Vincerò! Vincerò!

Lost summer and brain

I'm convinced now. Summer forgot a visit to the British Isles. It was Spring in April... cherry blossoms etc. and then it was Autumn. The leaves have already started to turn. Rain is ruining the annual festivals and maybe that's why Pete Doherty is arrested again.

Anyways, thanks to pages of writings and 15 degree wet gloomy surroundings, my water logged brain is barely keeping up... I've just tried to photocopy a pack of ham I've bought from the supermarket instead of the intended papers! X_X.

In Between Experiments 5

The sun has finally decided to come out of hiding. It's been raining for the past month or so... and those who read the news might have saw what happened to all that water in Oxfordshire. I have already lost count how many times I've been drenched whilst biking to work, but luckily didn't have to wade through any flooded areas. Anyway, BBQ season is surely gonna start!

My lab will be shut down tomorrow for servicing of certain equipments, so that means I'm on hold on the experimental side... which suits me fine, really. I'm getting quite worn down now and tomorrow's absent from lab means I can have more time working on my paper. Oh woop de doo.

I need a holiday...:(

On another note, saw on BBC news that Malaysian blogger Raja Petra is in a bit of trouble... for sedition (?). Somehow, this reminds me of the Muse song Take a Bow.


Corrupt, you corrupt,
Bring corruption to all that you touch.

Hold, you’ll behold,
And beholden for all that you’ve done.

And Spell, cast a spell,
Cast a spell on the country you run.

And risk, you will risk,
You will risk all their lives and their souls.

And burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell.
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell for your sins.

Ooohhh.
Our freedom's consuming itself,
What we've become is contrary to what we want

Take a bow.

Death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch.

Pay, you must pay
You must pay for your crimes against the earth.

Hex, feed the hex
Feed the hex on the country you love

Beg, you will beg
You will beg for their lives and their souls.

Yeah,
Burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell,
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll in hell,
Burn in hell, yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins.

Dream or reality

"I'd never thought my nightmare could almost come true." C said to me.
I asked what had happened. C, T, and K had just come back from a trip with their boss, L. L had offered to drive them to the meeting in his car, little did they know that he also had a vision of a bat. T continued the story, as C was a little shaken up by their experience. Halfway through the journey, L turned out of the motorway, for reasons unknown and two minutes later tried to go back on the the motorway. "The sign clearly showed the road's direction. And of course if you are british on british road with years of driving experience, you should know which side of the road you drive on. But for some reason, he didn't." T said.
I tried not to laugh for they did nearly die on the motorway. But I couldn't help it when I imagined them in L's tiny little car, driving on the opposite side of the road, with L oblivious to the oncoming traffic.
"The worst thing for me is that I had a dream about this trip last night." C said, "I dreamt that K was the one driving us to the meeting and was on the wrong side of the road because he unfamiliar with the UK road."
K, who is from the continent, shook his head "Didn't need me to turn your dream to reality, isn't it? I shall never forget that angry trucker's face!"


Memo to self: Never sit in car with L as driver.

It's so cold in this house

Warning: Incoming gripe


It is 13ºC outside and my room is not much warmer. Heating is off because it's supposed to be summer, but here I am freezing my fingers off. There hasn't been a day without heavy rain... roads are jammed with traffic and there is a general feeling of gloominess to match the weather... and it's much worse up north as some of you might have read in the news.

And what's the weather forecast for the rest of the week? Yep, RAIN!

:(

Some people hate to be wrong

I know an American (called him W here) who hates to be wrong. Yesterday, he yet again proved this.

At a buffet table:
W: (looking at scones, like the ones in the picture) those look good.
Me: Yeah, those scones do look good.
W: No, they are crumpets (grabs one and leaves).

>_<

Wintertime again?

Right, in April we saw one of UK most hottest weekend of 26 celcius. Now, at the end of May, guess what's the temperature?

4!!! (highest of 7 during the day)

In Siberia, the average temperature was reported as 20.

Can anyone say climate change?

Feeling like the song Running Up That Hill

I think I need a break... meanwhile, this song by Kate Bush is stuck in my head and it fits my mood.

It doesn't hurt me.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, it's you and me.

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
Say, If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts.

Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
You, it's you and me.
It's you and me won't be unhappy.

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
Say, if I only could, oh...

You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me won't be unhappy.

"C'mon, baby, c'mon darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh..."

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

say if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

So if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

So if I only could
Be running up that hill
With no problems...

"If I only could, I'd be running up that hill.
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."

Still feeling cold...

A couple of sunny days, then its hail and snow again. And I thought February was cold...

Sick of being sick

I was really ill about 3 weeks ago,. And then after I recovered (which took me nearly two weeks), I got another flu the next week. I'm so sick of this! Why do I keep getting sick? I eat properly, I do regular exercise...

Luckily though, it has been sunny for the past three days.And that makes me feel better already. Let's hope the good weather stays.