ollie is now in Bush-land !

2006-12-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

Howdy! (one of the last times it is appropriate to use this greeting)

I am now in Hurst, just 15 min outside Dallas.
Leaving with a friend i met from the Masters Prg in A&M

Her parents are amazing!
They are both 62, and want to play a part still in the community.

he funds a girl as if she is one of their other 3 kids.
car, allowance everything!
takes care of a 6-yr-old chinese girl while her parents are away
attending to their chinese restaurant.
no charge!

and now me!as long as i want.
how sweet!

and u know what people!
i really want to make a house of my own just like all those fabulous ones i see here!!!
i love the interior soooo much i AM going to build one my own IN singapore!

so i will be going to visit some blow-glass factory which her dad has a stake at!
yeah i hope it aint to ex and i can blow n bring some home as souvenirs!
anne is gonna bring me on a car ride to see the rich estates where they get prof help to deco the exterior
man!!! i m really experiencing christmas now in america....something i always always wanted!
i wish ah boy is here too!

and then i got to meet up with heather n sheridan(they went to singapore the past summer),
rach from studio and faye!
all of them stay around the area so i cant wait to see them!

anyway...gtg now...
to eat more cookies!!!
jane. anne's mum bakes sooooooo well.
i m gonna bake n put them in pretty tin boxes too!!!

hahah...i hope i dont forget all these when i get home!

2006-12-11T23:03:00.000-08:00

GoodByes

2006-11-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

and all these happened before design submission...
so much to do, so little time

2006-11-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

2006-11-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

As I write this...
its the very next second after i sent my last panel for printing!

As many might have attempted to predict my existence in the deserts,
i had been busy with design, TRAVELING, tests, FESTIVE HOLS here...
so i wasnt a mugger...
there are just too many activities!!!
Other circumstances too gave my blood pressure a roller coaster ride...
i wont mention them here ... not now at least..
got to do with partnership in studio..
tsk tsk...
but i accepted my faith a few days ago ...
and now....its all done.....
pin-up tmr...
YES...

i think i would be kinda lost now...
without design....like always...after submission...
the ethics module is still killing me though...

now i get to travel...
but going to the westcoast seem to pose a prob...
no accomodation..
and i wanna travel alone...

in texas...
i have abundant hosts willing to house me in...
but not there...

past few week i manage to make another very close friend...
Rachel Van Ingen...
I LOVE HER!
i think we are going on shopping sprees soon...
okok...
i will go check on my print-outs now..

will update all of u soon!
and i miss ya'll!!!
1 & 1/2 more months!

*muacks*

2006-11-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

2006-11-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

Austin Story

2006-11-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

I feel down!

Accumulation of things.

1st: Partnership in Design development not working well.
he is testing my patience...

2nd: the more surprising one...
i m jealous a gd friend i made here, got a scholarship....
a very prestigious one...
i never felt like i m in competition w anyone here...
i m very satisfied w my progress here in studio... basically, dont feel threatened...
so i dont know why i feel like tt towards her success..
do i think i m better than her...
n that if i was given a chance i would have been able to get it too?

in nus, i m barely catching up w the fore-runners...
here...i m a market-spoiler until today...

nevertheless, it made me want to go out to achieve something...
i want an arch scholarship too..
i want to at least know whats available...
i never thought of 'earning' a scholarship myself....
always thinking tt parents will pay ...

everything happens for a reason...

now i really want to be big....
the AA.... i want to find out more about u n what i could become if i were associated w u

2006-11-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

2006-10-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

2006-10-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

People! I am not dead yet!

I was just really busy... in a positive way...

I was rushing for 'submissions' so that i could hitch rides to the nearby cities for the weekends.

scheduling the rides is the tough part.

cuz we all have different schedules for quizzes, exams and presentations so...

since i m at the losing end w no car...i got to accomodate...

Thus i seemed to have fa yang guang da our 'kiasu-ism' ...

or so i think they might think .... if they know what 'kiasu-ism' means...

but not my intention to spoil market one...

but i really needed to go to houston and my next city.....Austin!!! Woohoo!!!

i was soooooo shag, i slept naps of 6 hrs after submission for 2 days...

it was fun though....

he postpone the presentation in the end so instead of having it on mon....

it was today...wednesday..

it went very well..

he said, " very, very good!" YES!!!

but it only means i need to keep up to expectations...

oh and one thing i realise..

i think the americans are generous w their compliments....if there is any...

i think we tend to not like to tell ppl others r good...cuz we dont wanna boost ppl's ego

i m not saying all of us are like tt....all the time...

but in general....we dont say exactly how we feel....u know what i mean?

well i had lots of fun for the past week...

i intend to be more on my toes for the remaining weeks...

wish me luck, vitality and inspiration!!

oh and i have way too many photos to share...

its all on facebook....

got to

www.facebook.com

and....login: olism@neo.tamu.edu

ask me for password...pls do!

i really want u guys to see the pics

but here are some pictures for overview:

1. Weather turning cold...having ice-cream somemore...

abit too cold for comfort...

another excuse to justify why i m working so hard....to go to houston to shop in the famous huge galleria....

2. Faye and I ... in studio...working...looking like 2 orange pumpkins...

Halloween this weekend...!!!

I dunno what to be...

i think i wanna be a MAN..

which MAN!? Hitler came to mind...but i think its too radical for the hillbillies here...

i dont wanna get shot...

maybe charlie choplin...

any suggestions?

3. Adam and i...working...i supervising...hahaha...

being miss bossy...

finally arriving in houston...

meeting the indons...

huge group man!!!

some studies in singapore for secondary sch...

others from indon n still others from malaysia before coming here for uni.

we went to KTV....

i drank....yes i did...

Saporro...

it was good

i tried drowning my weariness in it...

i was soooo god damn tired!!!

the drinks made it worse actually

han shuo....(holy innocent pri, dunman high, vj, texas a&M, baylor med sch)

donna...(pri in sin, puyi sec, texas a&m, working now)

me!

leonard(st.micheals pri, sji, srjc, commando, ntu...25yrs old...his company ask him to choose where he wants to work at...texas or scotland...so he was here for the past 2 months....just went back to sin...n going to scotland 2 weeks later)

WAY KEWL!...

sorry ah...when u see ur fellow countrymen in a far far place tt is almost not so metropolitan...u will ask about their entire hist!

oh houston got alot of asians...i think asians can be found wherever there is money....both to make n to spend...

college station.....hardly any....except for eng students n grad students...

playing w han shuo's grad attire!...

from Texas A&M...

she is studying at a prestigious med sch now...

baylor in houston

next morning.....the reason why i worked so hard...

to come to galleria...

problematic day...

han shuo brought me ard.

so similar right....

i took it specially for louis!

he is going to HK soon....

wont it be kewl if i had an internship in the guess boutique here?

oh and he says the items they sell....abit slower than in sin

my little asian corner in studio...

hahha...the first time i m doing this 'exclusive' thing though...

we had dinner....at 10pm...

Panda Express....(koichiro-japanese and peisi-malaysian...her name kanna change to pepsi though, at the immigration)

first place i came back to from college station...

all my shopping bags came straight here too!!!

how hectic!

presentation today!

Yes>!....get it going....fast!

2006-10-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

wierd!

Its like having ur best friend steal ur boyfriend?
hahahahah

cannot reveal everything here...
but peeps, remind me and i will tell u all abt it!!!

2006-10-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

i m almost certain it wont last...

i first had the feeling yesterday...
at church...
of all places...

i'll just live it to the best...
then at least when it finally evaporates completely
i know i had the best last day? months?

just like the last...
most fulfilling breathes of a dying person...
*never have he experienced oxygen so wholesomely*

... ...

2006-10-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

2006-10-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

2006-10-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

invited to Prof Hung's enormous house for dinner
i met him in nus while he was giving his summer course in Engineering
to my right...his daughter...to my left...vera the very helpful indon girl who went to sin for the his summer course...she's an aggie...
his wife n the peru-ean wife of another prof....
so exciting...they all love singapore n her glorious food so they made me chicken rice from the prima deli instant mix! Sumptious man!
although it might have been artificial...but her chicken was home-made n it was comparable to any "die die must try" foods by MakanSutra Guide in singapore!!!

thanks!!!!

and the other prof is going to nus to teach or research for 1 yr ...
bringing his family along...
n he asked me abt the public schools....
n i was so glad to tell him ....
i m really excited he wants to put them in the local env instead of the american school which is no fun at all man!

the authentic sauces...chilli, ginger, n black sauce
oh ya n prof hung said i look fatter now than he first saw me in his office in nus...
i know its a fact but....still kanna shocked.....big blow man!!! like a wake up call...
true right....friends?!?!

this is faye...i went to her house to attempt to bake a cake for another studio mate from scratch...
so we blew kisses of love for it to turn out perfect before putting it into the oven...

no use! it turn out bad stilll...
so we ate it....it was so bad i couldnt even finish it

this is the place everyone loves to go for groceries....

walmart is the other but here has more variety...they say...

in Paul's car...the 3/4 philippino guy but 100% american...

quite yandao too...

in my studio...we had to do the site thing together so i was in his car...which he meneuvered like a pilot

the famous coffee from costa rica!!!

maria paula got her mum to bring one specially for me when her mum came to visit during the weekend..

so sweet...

she also invited to house me if i visit costa rica....

she is the blonde at the far end of the studio

this is rosa....mexican ....

lives on the same level as me in dorm....

she came to watch a movie...

patch adams....n we r imitating one part of the show... "look beyond the problem"

this is lim....korean girl... i think she is pretty

26 yrs old but still look damn young....doing biz...

she is one of my drivers in town ..... since i dont have a car...

i feel so famous out of a sudden.... after i set foot here.

1. maybe because i m asian (there r not as many asians here as u might have imagined)... also because i m an undergrad asian (as u would have guessed, most would be grad students)... and i m not as nerdy looking as asian as those grad students... and maybe because i speak relatively good english... my first language ok!

2. i produce relatively good stuff ... so still can use tt to maintain my reputation ...

as "tt singaporean girl"...

cuz today i looked for Taeg Nishimoto...one of the academic architects on the jury of the memorial competition...the other half of the jury r the funders...laymen basically...but also ppl who r very patriotic to the nation.... n thus the memorial...

so i went to his office, knocked on the door n intro myself w my beautiful 'black beauty' (my model)

and he exclaimed...ahhh Olivia....i really like your design...

*a gush of wind blew black my long silky hair* hahahhahahahahah *CRAP*

so i sat down and asked for a more elaborate review on it and what was discussed during the evaluation of mine entry.

from the design pt of view: he already said he love it...

from the laymen pt of view: -"Scar" is too pessimistic a concept for these patriotic men

-my model was black in colour...they felt depressed somemore

-the indentations into the ground super emphasize the hurt...(which triumphly proves my pt but....) not what ppl like the retired kernal wants....

so i m very satisfied....!!!

i gave MY point of view.... a singaporean girl pt of view... (maybe more specifically an Ollie's pt of view)

and i think i manage to articulate well in arch...

although i had the scar n the beacon of light thing for hope....

as i looked at my model...ya maybe the hope thing should be more emphasize..through scale....

so yeah...."Scar" my baby....way to go...

and at the end of it Taeg asked....how is studio...

so i said....i m in Marcel's studio....he said i know...

wooo...ok....erm...it is good so far....we had a presentation...blah blha ...and it went well...

i m excited abt it...

kewl!!!

its kinda kewl tt not only the teachers know u...

many peers know me as tt singaporean girl too...

in nus...this can never happen man....

cuz i m not the dean's list material...

hahha... sigh...

but anyway...i think popularity here is not all abt academic excellence...

its more like being an all-rounder kinda person like tt Kyle Lobpries.

tt one....the ENTIRE FACULTY knows him....ppl outside also know him

well well....i have already paid tribute to Scar on many occasions already so i wont do tt again by posting more pic of it...

so the pictures above r the happenings of the past week or so...

****

2006-10-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

You all at home are right!!!

I hate YOU!!!

I have really really grown very very very fat!

I was coordially invited to the house of Dr. Hung, a prof at A&M and he has summer classes at NUS. i met him and the aggies just before i came.

and today at dinner i was saying how much i gained ... 10 pounds = 5kg!!!

and he said, "can tell!"

ALAMAK.....i m sooooo dead...

i mean i know....

like i m looking very very bad in every photo at every angle!

WTH #$%^!

I cannot take it...

i try eating properly n healthily now but somehow....i m stuffed by the end of the day....

like yester it was because i felt obliged to eat 2 tarts w faye otherwise she might think i dont like it....

and then our baking experiment was a flop so we ate the chic cake instead...

and tt one....i force myself until i cannot anymore and threw the rest away secretly....

had a hard time sleeping lat night....i could feel my stomach bloated...

then today.....dinner was GREAT

chicken rice....they were soooooo sweet!!!

INCREDIBLE!!!

the house was big....far from school....big plot of land....

and since he have a summer course in nus, he goes there freq....

so although it was a prima deli chick rice mix....the chicken which was cooked by lian, his wife, it was really really good....

****

I suddenly thought how much of a genius prima deli is....

i mean its kewl to have pre-made mixes but again u dont know the significance until u r far away...

I m not kidding but everyone loves singapore food...

we really marketed ourselves....in tt way....

****

it was a beautiful evening.

i met another prof too and he said he is going to singapore for a yr...

so he asked me abt the public sch in singapore for his 9 n 12 yr old kid...

i m actually really glad he wants to put them in public schs instead of the American one...

i m glad he is open....

he wont regret it...i hope...

so i promise to send him infor on moe n all....

ohhhh what a beautiful night....

damn my fats!!! argh!!!!

ppl....how....help me.....

i m trying.....

****

i wish i could slack but got presentation on mon...

5 schemes....soooo many....

dont even know what exactly he wants...

he is as vague as ever....

2006-10-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary: I realise i m too much of a purist for my own good!

2006-10-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Busy partying weekend continues...

from left: Dafne, Maria Paula, Edna, Elias, Me

Daf n Ed really cooked up a sumptious mexican meal i wish i could get once a week!!

They were really generous!

and maria...she just reminds me alot of either Jolene or Joan Anne (Jerm's sisters)

so wierd...hahha...

I brought Aya along...

Its been a blast so far....

i need to thank

firstly, LKY...for making english our first language and making a 2nd lang compulsory...

otherwise i wouldnt have been able to immerse as deeply as i intended to and already have...

i m able to wonder abr n strike a conversation...

i can open my mouth to ask qns when i m lost...

yet i can still relate to anyone asian....

indian, jap, korean, chinese, indonesians or muslim (no malays here)

because i am so accustomed to them as my neighbours back home

i m blessed....

secondly....i m an arch student...means studio is our culture...

if i were to be in another major...i wont be able to make as many friends as i have already made...

****

So i will use my blessings to help others...

i introduced aya n yusuke (exchange students from osaka uni)

to meet w my studio mate a japanese, koichiro...

he lived in singapore from 8-13 yrs old, jap school

he was the 2 person who asked...

whether i m missing singapore cuz he misses...the other was Cory ...one of the guy from the gang of aggies who went to singapore for internship during the summer...

they miss the food!!! believe it or not...and i can tell they weren't just being polite...

koichiro intends to go visit singapore this summer...

he loves the cleanliness too...

Chinese eatery near campus called Jin's Cafe...

not bad! beef horfun....

i miss crystal jade!!!

2006-10-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

PartIII: Field Trip to Houston
Way back....
Stopped by the other campus of A & M...
for the blacks in the past...
College Station for the whites...
this is the haven of architectural studios....

It was a day of architecture overdose!
But istill went out with faye...to margarita rocks for salsa...
she takes it with jason...
they aren't a couple just dancing partners.

i did a few twisting...
sat down....sucked my margarita through a straw and got high immediately after 1 glass..
its all abt the straw....

i wonder if its rude to turn ppl down when they ask u for a dance...
i suppose so...but i wont want to even if i m sober...
or at least not when i dont know the steps n no one is looking after my bag in which my passport rests....thats my only ID...and they r really strict abt the drinking age...
and i ....to them look very young!!! hahaha
so....being abit drunk was a good excuse!

2006-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

PartII: Field Trip to Houston

Rice's Architectural Dept's gallery --- stunning!

its sooooo good i dont wanna leave

Guys! u remember seeing this in the archi books!!!
Its alive now!!!
I was like hysterical about it....
my classmates weren't impress!
i was just excited i saw it in books before....
Marcel was laughing at me!

Coming up next: The Menil Collection, Renzo Piano!!!

Unfortunately for u guys no pictures allowed inside...
another renzo piano work under the menil collection...
menil is a family...
the lighting inside is....WOW!
u know sometimes u go in a building the the space make u go waaaaaa...
this one...the lighting makes u go waaaaa...
the grid sys u see up here....
is the first layer which sieves nat. light through the building...
the light would then go through 4 or is it 6 more layers of sieving...
by the time it reaches the interior...
its heavenly....
oh n e artist they features inside....i saw in MoMA...so kewl
This is the most beautiful chapel...it makes a really loud statement on the inside!

2006-09-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

PartI: Field Trip to Houston

Rice University in Houston, TX!
I am sooo inlove with it.
Aggies tell me its 4x more expensive to study there.
It is exclusive in its setting....
very english and lots of landscaping!
ohhhhhhhhhhh----so romantic...
and i saw a cute asian walk pass...hahahah

quite unlike TAMU...
where its really american...whites...conservatives...football...t-shirts n sweats...
2 very interesting settings

i met Xinli there....made contact w her in Singapore because i knew she was gonna be the closest nus person to me here....
she is an exchange student from life sciences!
i was sooooo happy to meet her...

it was funny.....
i didnt realise how i wasnt speaking usually until i met her!
so were like speaking singlish all the way....
ohhhhhh....so qin qie~

This was the mission of the field trip---to see this exhibition on cardborads...they made it into terrain like curvatures....but exaggerated...like after a seismic explosion or something..

.and i didnt know it was life-size and interactive! i was soooooooooooo excited!

hahahaha....FUN DAZZLE!!!

My Fairy-GodFather for the day....he made all the Architecture in my textbook alive!!

MVDR's chair. i need to own one one day
By MVDR!
Sculptural Garden by a famous Japanese Sculptor.

Beautiful!!!

2006-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

No Kidding!

Its wake up time!!! I have been taking this too much like a holiday.
I was very up-tight at first about this being a serious study trip and all but then many said to take it at ur stride and i figured they were right.
also the first few weeks were less challenging and easy.

Until today! Wake up call.
When 1 thing goes down hill, the rest follow...and vice versa. incredible!
I got the test results for my ethics test: 76.5%
But u know what, thats a C!!!
Damn it...i should have found out the grading system here earlier!

A --- 90%-105%
B --- 80%-89%
C --- 70%-79% Passing for ARCH modules!!!
D --- 60%-69% Passing for other modules

WTH!
I am a borderline case!
I was thrown off tangent today....
and i m back to my nerd-ish schedule i did for the first 2 weeks while i was here..

*****

Also...i was thinking....i never did before
was....to do MArch elsewhere
and i was thinking America....not central though...east or west.
prestigious ones....

i guess i m kinda influenced by the ppl here too...
since my studio is a yr 4 one so they r all preparing to go off somewhere for their masters prog....
preparing portfolios for scholarships or just uni application....

it's all planned for me to be here to focus on what i should be doing in a few yrs
i m glad i am seeing how they r preparing for it and what i ought to be doing.
Cornell? Harvard? Yale? Berkely CA?...
or maybe just NUS?

I dunno but i am thinking tt these r possibilities i never thought of before coming here.

anyway...until then....work hard n smart and pray for inspiration

o.

2006-09-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

1st presentation finally over!
It was a group effort and we did well.
next one is due in 2 weeks time and its individual.
But he wont tell us which group's scheme we will use until next studio which is on wed.

the dont drag studio time here. i prefer they do actually so i can think about the scheme now...but no....so there r constantly gaps i feel...

the prep for today's digi presentation could have been a breeze but my grp members sure love to drag, in a good way though....
like...i think they can think deeply and conceptually.
sometimes we understand each other, other times we dont.
like we both can think chim-ly but in diff directions...
but all 3 of them can understand each other.

i m sure language aint a barrier but it can be u know.
like certain words they use often and they know what each other r talking abt.
but me...wwe dont use those words often to relate to a certain thing so ...we dont exactly understand their colloquialism.

and they talk very fast. i m sure we all can understand an angmoh who talks fast but if they talk fast n chim n in a different expression of words....
i find myself stopping and thinking so much....even before i could decipher the 1st sentence they r on to the next one already and its chim too...

but there was a point in time i stopped them. i just couldnt let my design too....to be decided without me feeling 100% about it.
so i told them they not narrowing it down ...
their brain-storming is superb!!! but...leading to no where cuz they rn't departing away from it.
i felt i needed to be extra tactful when disagreeing...although they disagree alot and it seems its very common to be....
they can be dam subtle and sacarstic too so i dont know when they r n when they r doing constructive crit....
i think for my grp we did a constructive one...

anyway the point is this!!!...
ppl from diff places think, and react differently....work ethics n culture...
so i think its impt to understand it.
so i m trying to breakdown their 'code'
a bit diff...
but i will not be shy to show how i think n work too.

they r aware of time...but i dont think they get as gan jiong quite as fast as i do...
but then again every one say i m super gan jiong...
but i can foresee how late we can get....

VERY INTERESTING!...
but no more last minute!
oh their digi knowledge is broader i think...
image today's presentation was on site analysis and to propose a prog.
we made it into a website and all..
unfortunately i was busy doing my part so i couldnt get to see how they made it into the webpage..
i will ask soon...

ok...going for lect on memorial comp now.

Wish me luck n inspiration in my design....
i still dont feel 100% abt the prog!!!

2006-09-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

i realise how pampered we r back home.
sheltered to everypart of the tiny island it seem mandatory.

i had to rush back from studio to dorm to get dinner otherwise i wouldnt have food.
nearest place is at least 20min.
no shelter whatsoeva.

and my fire antz wounds are burning.

******

I feel like i m in crystal jade now!

yum yum... it only it was piping hot...
i made it in the microwave...trial an error cuz i dunno how high is it on...

2006-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Busy and disorientated!
for the past few days...tired...i think dorm got not enough Oxygen.
got to open windows more often.....
but insects will come in....thats the problem architects got to solve.

******

Kanna bitten

at the site...
i stepped onto the grass to take panoramic shots....
grass felt exceptionally prickly...
(ignore)

and before i knew it....
my entire feet was infested w red ants!!!
MY GOD!!!

it bit everywhere...
and this morning when i woke up, there were small red bumps everywhere on the bitten spots...

2006-09-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today was FABULOUS!

18th Sep 2006:

0715: I jumped out of bed! Literally...1st time i did it here.
Cus today is submission day for the Design Competition on War on terrorism!
Due at 2pm but i have studio in the morning today from 8-12.
But here, studio time is ALOT OF TIME. very unlike nus
we can make use of studio time to do our design. so unless u want to talk
to him u can or he will talk to us...
so as expected today he allowd us all to rush our submissions....i was almost done but i decided to go to him to ask him to give me pointers on my presentation technique. I absolutely love Marcel...I can go to him anytime (and ppl at home! i know u will think he is my next 'old man' target...NO! but u know what recently i thought he looks very cute too...and again cute means adorable not like the way girls say it. he is from venezuela!

So he gave pointers but before he did tt he mentioned kyle and how kyle has quite a character... then he showed me pictures kyle sent him...they were great...
later he offered me all the brand new 'scrap' materials he collects from studio the end of each sem. he said he knows i have no car so going to hobby lobby might be a chore so i m free to take anything i see .... just tell him!!! oh my god! so thoughtful (but tts not why he looks cuter, i think he looks cute cuz he has a round head and his moustache looks like a muskerteer's....and he speaks w an english accent sometimes adding spanish into his speech too....hahah)

2 pointers---1. more dramatic perspectives...i cant believe i forgot to use it on revit...sometimes after a break u get so rusty even things like tt i can forget to employ. 2. put human scale in my model. he even cut it for me on balsa wood...and he said if u dont like it u dont need to put it...i dont think he cut for me....just to show me...and i think he is very free so he wants to use his x-acto knife...

he also loves tt i used the SI metric sys in my work...hahhaa he used tt all his life until he came to america. he tried to revolutionize the metric sys w his students but to no avail...so he gave up...

and what i like abt here is tt i like the relationship w my lecturers...
i m sure not all r like marcel but many are.
or so i will find out later tonight
its like i can tell marcel i regret making my entire model black cuz it doesnt show the shadows to clearly.
but he say no...and he thinks it looks quite good...
its just tt in nus u dont tell them ur 'weaknesses'....during presentation if u ever say like ya...i think this is not drawn well...tts like the last thing to admit...
i think here....they r really there to help....so u tell them anything...anything at all...

I am happy

1000: Had to rush back to dorm to do the nec stuff Marcel told me.
and i wanted to put in the photos i took of my model so i kinda re-did my panel again...
then i had to figure the printers out.
printers here r complicated man!!!! u need to go through all the settings n there r at least 10 different types of printers here....

lucky me....everything went well n i handed up my work 10min before time.
it was quite a breeze...i didnt lose sleep or got heaty during production...
a little tense....but all so healthy.

1730: Marcel told me this morning of a really good guest lect later so i decide not to miss it although i have no clue who the speaker is.
i was sooooooo early and the lect started late somemore so i waited almost an hour in the lect theatre but soon i met two studio mates n i talked to them.
one from 305 (Steven) n the other from 405 (Elias)
So kinda killed time.

Lecture started n it was about how the relationship between Arch n Math change w time....thus diff type of Arch derive ....unfortunately now...the relationship is weak and so there is almost none....and tt it led to alot of...to me chim stuff ...
lots n lots of qn during the qn n ans session....the things they say u need to digest slowly...but it was too fast i couldnt understand the sig of all the qns...

then we had cookies for reception.
i think its the first time i stayed back after a guest lecture...
and it was good....i talked to Marcel again and my studio mates...
got to meet new lecturers too and they all seem really happy to meet me too.

but what i really was doing there was to wait for faye (my other studiomate) to ask if she wants dinner cuz i m starving!!! n cold...but she is busy talking to so many people.
so as i stood there w marcel i asked him abt 'miss venezuela'....
u know they r reknown for their beauty title!
so he told me abt it n i was so glad to hear insights of the culture n its implications! he said how women there have so much self-esteem because they make use of tt...even if they r not pretty....they use it to their advantage...and he feels sometimes they get too agressive....
kewl! how a simple statistic ofwinning many beauty titles can lead to a culture in society.
oh and he said tt when he was teaching back home....the arch girls r known to be the prettiest in the entire uni so everyone flocks to their cafeteria!!! hahaha...
he says they (and all women) puts on make-up all day....its a norm!

and guess what....it lead on to dinner w the guest lecturer (he had soooo many credentials....all i can remember is he teaches in Delft now too) and he is Greek which makes Faye go all ga-ga!!!!
dinner w him, and 2 other profs of arch....and 2 grad students, wife of one of them, faye n i....
it was INCREDIBLE!
intellectual but not at all intimidating....
we JUST SHaRED IDEAS...

From left: Nicole (wife of the guy on my left), Faye Hays (the first 405 studio mate i met, introduced my Marcel), Prof for MArch (forgot her name), Alejandro (here to do his MArch in Healthcare design, which is what A & M is known for), me, grad student (dunno his name), Nikos (Guest Speaker), Micheal Newman (Prof for UD, very friendly and offered to answer any of my qns on it in his office, i think he looks old n charming, he was previously from California)
then it occurred to me tt i can really stay here to study....i like it.
this morning while bathing i was thinking of tt too...
but i had no concrete reason to do so....but now....i really like the way interaction of knowledge is conducted...
of course it was truely an extrodinary evening and it doenst happen all the time....but it is easier to happen if u know what i mean.
i did manage to share idea with them again....
the qn was whether or not vern arch can merge w imperialistic ones...
to us the ans is obviously a yes....
but the truth is tt in some countries it cannot happen....like so most of them understood as.
singapore was lucky...althought we were colonised...but it can be regarded as a friendly one...they wanted a port...we wanted them...so we saw a merge in the arch as a display of integration n friendship.
but in some countries which they mentioned they couldnt cuz the countries fought n to establish one as the ruler....they saw nothing like what we did...

also anotherthing...the hist they learn here goes furthest to egypt....which to them is the oldest too...
its surprising how asia really is out of the picture...
thats why what i say seems to fascinate them alot and i do feel like knowledgeable too when speaking to peers, graduates and even prof....
of course the 3 understandings of arch ranges but truely....asia is not in their syllabus like how egypt n greece is not in ours....
but i m fortunate to be taking it in the hist module i mapped here..

so i told them about the marrying of colonial n vern arch and i really want them to know abt it....so i m going to see if my hard disk have all the lect notes of widodos...otherwise i think i will e-mail widodo soon....
i know i sound hardcore...but really i m not...
u just appreciate all the knowledge u once took for granted...
but now u r in a context where ppl never heard of what u learnt...and u r eager to share because its another aspect of architecture which is what we all are after.

so....my days r really exciting....meeting int'l students in dorm or anyway outside of arch....and ppl in arch whom share my passion ....

ah...this is a long one...

it was truely an incredible evening......DAY

2006-09-14T22:05:00.001-07:00

FIRE DRILL!!!

Damn it...it woke me up from my slumber ... it wasnt like the ringing kind....it was like the like....erm....in graphics, they will show waves radiating outwards type...

half awake i thought it was a drill...but then i recalled i dug my ear too many times within the past week. like 3 times! and it isnt good for my ears, i know...so i thought i might be the only one hearing the deafening sound because i dug too deep!

i decided to leave the room anyway in case there's really a fire.
i looked out into the corridor, no one! i think i was the last to evacuate...
but i cant get out yet cuz i couldnt find my keys!!!
i search for a good 2 min and tt is a LONG time to escape!
So i just left..
by then the fire-retarding (is tt what its called? damn! i forgot! how can i?)
doors were closed...
like segmenting the long corridor into portions....2 hr fire-resistant doors? mmm i really forgot...
okokk....
n there was this like 'lightning' light flashing at the corner of the ceiling....
it was damn scarey la! i thought its like electricity..
n i have never taken part in a fire drill since pri sch...
n those days...it was considered fun n nothing like this...
so i kinda ran down....n out...

n it was outside i met this taiwanese girl.
everyone was outside...
its good to know ur neighbours through such evacuations...
tts interesting isnt it...we always think of ways to get everyone to mingle...
the solution to tt is to simple empty a building! turn it inside-out!

so she is taiwanese...
n she immediately asked if i was the singaporean girl she heard abt so much lately!
i was taken aback....u mean there is another singaporean in this block n i didn know???
KEWL! girl somemore...all the singaporeans i know here r guys.
turned out...there is only 1! n will only be 1! hahahah
someone told her abt me while she was doing laundry in another block (so i guess i have made my mark here...hahahha...nah i think it was e friendly senior i talked to while i was in the laundry room pickingup my roommate's 'mess' days ago)
then she said she heard of the 'singaporean girl' in studio too!
*hey...suddenly i feel like the SQ stewardess...the singapore girl! woohoo*
hahahahhaha
what a GREAT IDENTITY to take on....
should have brought their kebaya...
anyway.......ya...so
turn out she was kay-poh la...eavesdroppin in studio (she is a freshman)
then she overheard people's conversation n names...
so kyle was talking to one of my new studiomates abt me n marcel came in.
he knows him so they talked abt the 'singaporean girl'...

call me miss singapore from now on, people!

*****

i went to site visit today...
their site visit damn short! i was thinking of spending 2 hours there but no one did...
but then to think abt it...there's nothing much to do onsite...its so flat n barren.

but what was fun was the interviewing of residence...
i was kinda scared at first...cuz its really diff...
some houses look abit shady w a porch....n remembering the fact tt they have the right to have guns i was afraid they could see me taking photos from their glass panes n think i m a threat esp when i m yellow....so i was constantly paranoid abt getting shot.

haha...

****

People! see i can make breakfast ok!!!
Yeah yeah its not cooked on a stove but....
i can put it all together....i had been trying to convince everyone tt when the time comes i can do it....tts survival instinct

2006-09-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am soooooooooooo EXCITED~

This feels really like the first day of School! its the first studio of ARCH405 w Marcel!
It feels more 'correct' here!!! I really feel the other one was way out of track.
Not really the syllabus but the mix of ppl really.
really...i have nothing to complain about n i m just excited!

1. the people are really friendly. majority or not all man!
2. they share ideas openly!
3. we talk like archi students!
4. they are keen on the road trips to visit famous architecture...

...it goes on.....i met so many people in the past 2 days on campus, more than the interaction i got from the last one.
and i thought it was me then. but it really isn't!
Thank u god thank u god thank u god!
the chances....n the people!

lets see....i have my group set for the studio project on a mixed use building on a site just 10min away from campus.
they r hardworking girls. 1 hispanic (Edna), 1 greek-american(Faye), 1 costa-rican(Maria) n i!
we wanted to call ourselve United Colours of Benetton!
and take profile pictures on the submisison panels, like the Benetton ads!...hahah (tt was my idea though)
then i met a super helpful n friendly guy in studio, he is hispanic, called Eli...mmm i dunno how it is spelt though.
I went for lunch w a feshmen from hist class. n she is having doubts abt Arch so i wanna lend her a hand...
i want her to see me as a senior guiding her and all...i do regret not having more interactions w juniors back home....but then...i think they dont seem to need help...
Sasha...she looks sooo lost....and scared...no one in NUS ever looks like tt i tell u!
So yeah....then today i discovered she is actually Russian...but moved here while she was 10.
and she is so knowledgable...i think its the migrant thing...her parents r russians n i guess they emphasize on good education....general knowledge...
she could even tell me where singapore is...and tt malaysia is a peninsula!
so why is it tt singapore no water resource? cant we desalinate?
i was telling her abt NEWater u see...
yup....
she's good...i hope she leads america in politics next time.

****

Oh and i will be joining a competition held by the sch.
winner will have the scheme funded....
memorial for war against terrorism.
price: USD$4000
pretty excited abt tt too...i ve got an idea...so i will be doing tt once i m done w inserting today's blog.

******

Yesterday...Faye drove us to the site. i will go there again tmr w them
it so inconvenient here...in singapore i go to the site anytime i like and i can depend on myself to bring my ass there....here....i got to tag along cuz i dont have a car....n the sch bus service dont go there ....needless to say they can ferry me there to-and-fro anytime of the day...

she offered dinner at her house n she cooked! it was fun!...
she is so in love w her Greek culture she kept showering her pasta w Greek Sea Salt!

mmm i wonder whats wrong w blogspot...i cant seem to upload pictures since 2 days ago!

i wanted to include a picture of chilli cheese fries too...
they r damn good n sinful!
its almost like rendang n cheese...but not so strong asian taste...
maybe u guys should try it at home n if we get it right...
we should open a stall n sell it!!!
SERIOUS!

2006-09-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yes so after I left 'ta' for classes i decided to wash my hands off her!
she said she can manage and she made me feel silly for getting so gan-jiong.
but i wasn;t trying to be a gan-jiong spider! but we had to compile (she havent done her part), then have to make it co-herent n all...u all know what i m talking about!
still got to print! and its 4 hrs away....and 'ta' works infront of the computer soooooooooooslowly....she even make hand gestures to animate the scene....like when 'ta' clicks on the 'x' to close a window, her arm swings away to show how the window 'whoooossses' away!

OMG!!!!!

But I wash my hands off 'ta'....
anyway people will see the discrepancy in the slides....if she dont finish on time..

so i went for my hist class.
met a really nice, sweet n apprehensive (abt arch) freshman...
btw freshmen=yr1 sophomore=yr2 junior=yr3 senior=yr4
so all majors standard 4 yrs to complete.
and for the various yr u r in u got a different 'cheer' sound to make!
tts the traditions their known for...there r many many more
i thought it was soooo ridiculous at first but its really fun now!!!
hahahaha...i wish i could really say it for myself...the cheers...

so i finish hist n had 30min before studio starts..
i decided to grab lunch.
then i saw marcel...and was kinda afraid to let him see me eat in studio (although its allowed).
he was nice....when i finished...he asked to confirm n asked me to go to his office.
i could guess what was coming although i didnt anticipate it but tts the only thing to talk abt
he asked if i am keen to transfer up to his other class in the morning --- studio for the seniors.
he explained how TAMU's arch course is diff from many other sch n what nus reqs is really ARCH405.
Excited? I was thrilled!
He said he took so long cuz he didnt know my standard but he decided on it anyway after the int'l competition. so its good i made a gd impression there...

he also mentioned how his yr4 studio is a good bunch....
as compared to the yr3 one....so yes! i was right about feeling wierd there!
i m very excited too as i have also mentioned how the seniors r more open n all cuz they had been on their exchange the last sem n all...
so i cant wait...it also means i will know more of them cuz i m taking the ethic class w them too!
so WHOOP! *clasps ur hands together like a gun and point it upwards!*

cant wait. but i have to call NUS first n i just did!
I just need them to confirm but i m sure they will.

had dinner w the singaporean guys!
sometimes i cach no ball but when they talk decently .... i love listening!!!
it was interesting how they told me abt religion n racism here...
i guess u just got to live here longer to come up w substantial theories!
:)

on my way back i saw a guy who took the initiative to light candles in memory of 9/11.

then the corps did theirs too soon after ard 1030....

not hyped up just to remember.

2006-09-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

ARGH!

This is the 2nd time i am stressed up over someone else here....
Pace is already slow enough!...
i m also going at a slow enough speed...
and 'ta' has to go even slower.

my god....its few hours before a very 'small ppt presentation' later and she havent done 20% of her part.
i know everyone is confused over the instructions but please!!! can u interpret as much as possible from it and PRODUCE something????!!!!

we went to class late by half an hour last week for the 1 week span int'l comp presentation cuz the printing cocked-up...
i was like.....looking at my watch's second hand tick in cold sweat....
its like the most sinful thing ever to commit in studio!!!
and this week.....'ta' probably doesnt mind going late by a few minutes again....

heart attack man!!!

Still got to submit the int'l comp thing ourselves...i think i better just do it all by myself.....
otherwise 20% off my final grade because i decide to 'wait' for 'ta'!

faster! faster! faster!
many reasons to rush cuz i wanna go to houston and austin over 2 weekends....
i want to do my sporting schedule...
and quizzes n exams alternates all through the sem...
i want to hang out....so...i still need to keep up to a quick pace....

*deep breathes*

:)

2006-09-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

[NOTICE: Fashion Catalogue starts from the previous entry!!! This is a continuation...]

(F) this reminds me of Crys... Picture speaks for itself!

(G) I think this is cute...but close up not so nice i feel....

Losts of boots but i didnt bother looking at them cuz i am out of that phase...

I used to go ga-ga over them while i was younger in HK..

but anyway for u girls out there....if u really really really like it...then i will give in i guess...but i really doubt i got much space in my luggage to bring them back cuz i might be stopping over somewhere before returning home.

but here u go.....(H) this one kewl...hahhaa..loud maybe...

and as u can see i m pretty crazy over headbands...1 for USD$3

the ones u see above which looks patchy....is actually shiny silver threads...i think those r pretty versatile...i tried the... if u pick the duller colours...the one like blue r abit more loud...

so let me know if u want anything k...:) love ya

2006-09-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

I had a blast at the Mall today!
So excited to see a building higher than 2 levels...or so i thought!
I arrived at another 1 storey (but very high ceiling) building.
But horizontally commanding...
Big enough for me to not walk into half of the number of shops there.
I will definitely make another trip down again.
But i was advise to do it during the Thanksgiving period to get better buys!

I met my studio mate at the mall. Joanie Wheeler is 35, i think. finishing up her arch studies in the uni...
have a child....n tts her husband also finishing up uni...
mmmmm.....tough huh...she doesnt come to studio always...
her son Bryan is going for a ear surgery on mon so she wont be coming for studio again...
he was cute....i think he like me...he clasped my finger tightly! hahah

But, I have seen many 'yummy' things and the first thing i thought of was my shopping mates at home!
So as i was contemplating on how to make u satisfied friends...
i thought i will come up w a catalog of things i see which acc to my taste is nice...
i was busy taking phots there so i could come up with this and let u pick up anything if u like.
I can help u buy....

Its from a place called PayLess...
And they categorize the shoes according to sizes...smalled being 6. How lucky I was. it fits perfectly. Largest being 9! so....hahah...i can see jo clapping her hands already!! yes yes...sizez for everyone!

So these r the items:
(A) I like them very much! Reminds me of Charlotte from Sex & the City. But what i dislike is the chuncky heels....so that stopped me from buying. all the shoes here are around USD$15

(B) I really think these r cute! the front is plain though....just a peeping hole at the tips where the toes show....its rounded in front.

(C) Nice pointy ones....i like the heels...the front is just a ribbon. It comes in black, cream and red

(D) I bought these!...metallic ...not exactly gold but rusty coloured... V-shape at the front where ur feet slides in. and its relatively higher than the others above. It comes in black shiny too. All i tied are comfortable...the seams at the edges are all smooth! So i didnt feel too much discomfort while trying them on.
(E) I got these too. It U-shape where ur feet slides in. I got the black ones though. Its not the plastic-y material...its leathery type....sharp...comes in black and gold...i got the black since i already got something like gold above...this reminded me of jo!

2006-09-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

My first lunch out by the shady bench of Langford Arch Building.

My roommate filled me in on its nickname, the "Langford Hotel" cuz Arch students stay there all the time!
Nice~
Maybe we should give Nus Arch building a name too so we can est a hotel out of its name!

Then I decided to be hardworking and visit the Evans lib for the 2nd consecutive day.
Browsing through the Arch Sect and i got curious, I wonder if they have a section on tropical arch, since they have chinese arch, jap and all that.
Then "Singapore" caught the side of my eye.
no tropics...but a few Singapore Arch books....less than 10...
suddenly it occured to me how i have never been as excited to see it then now.
buildings i live in now r just so different from what i m use to.
its brick-like...like european but w an American touch to it, so its not european.
and its all short.

So i borrowed Arch Art Identity in Singapore by William Lim
Singapore: Arch of a global City by robert Powell
SCDA Arch

I know we got all these back home but i wanted to show friends and maybe even my tutor just to let them know more about me and where i m from.
Ishowed my roommate and she asked me about how much land costs in Singapore n stuff so I guess it was worth carrying those books (very heavy) from lib to dorm.

And see! the book is so new! No one borrowed it yet!
I am the first! I came all the way here just to be the first to support them!!

and the lib there is huge!
many stories....i cant find the lift shaft at first. and the lift is sooooooooooooo old.
i m sure u cant find one as old in singapore...
so old i cant recognise the buttons n the first time i was in it i press the wrong button! I rang the alarm!
Damn paiseh!
Then wheni was inside i got a shock...i thought the lift stalled! cuz each level the lift reaches it beeps in this wierd loud sound i thought something is wrong!

Dont u think this is interesting.
in america they love using wood for construction....remember when Belinda first told us about it
well its true...but the sculptures they display at Langford are these...Concrete...
While in Singapore we use Concrete all the time the tutors get so frustrated...
our sculptures are wood n tension strings right??

2006-09-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Was suppose to go for the first Tennis game today.
They promised me a racket too, since i didnt brought mine along.

So i first landed up at Rec Center.
The complex looks equivalent to like a Fitness First or one of those big city gyms for the Uni.
I asked for the intramural courts n the customer service officer couldnt understand...
i had to spell it out to him n mention its a tennis meet-up...
i just wondered if i didnt articulate myself properly....
so he said its quite a dist n i would prob want to drive there.
i walked anyway.....

when i finally arrived, people were over-flowing out of the courts....
i couldnt find the guy in-charge, no one could direct me to him either
and so i didnt get my racket...
so i had no business over there....

being not too happy abt it i decided to run back....i was prepared to workout tonight anyway
so i took off in my jeans n haversack.
ran...ran...ran...and a car slowed down to a halt at the zebra-crossing.
she thought i was in an emergency n offered me a lift.
SO SWEET.... but i felt abit silly later on....

sigh. 2nd time i felt a little silly today (i don't think i m silly but its a relative thing i m talking abt)
i thought the archi ranch at riverside is a ranch for livestock...
but it isnt....its another archi building somewhere off-campus where they have a workshop n computer labs....
so for the longest time i was trying to research on my animal ranch dsign for studio!

and guess what....I got my brief for the design here already
Essentially u r suppose to design a component.
study components and what role it plays in a building.
determine its function n how u could re-design it....having unconventional usage
after doing research of those then u will zoom in on one and design n build it.

i was abit shock at first....tt means i would be coming up w a building in this studio...
and the 1st third n last third of this project is group work....
HUH!!!!!
mmmmm.....ok....
and then we would finish the bulk of it before thanksgiving because from his experience, its hard for him to get students to do work for the long weekend (thu, fri, sat, sun)
HUH!!!!!
ok....mmm....maybe he is afterall like Erwin just tt the students here over-power him so he got to back off.....they talk about individual rights here...rememember?
like back home we have a schedule....but its a rough one...
here its like having many many deadlines....so i really dont see how u can get stressed up...
at least not as bad as while i m in singapore.....
(i still rememember while i was in fong's studio where i stuck a knife in my thigh ....
or in rene's where i queue up in front of the workshop at 3am for it to open at 930am...
or in james's where by nose bled all through my production period....)
well, dont judge too early yet...i might get more stress here cuz i m not familiar w my surroundings.

sian.....i m still not satisfied abt the tennis incident.
i will go check out if they have a wall....

*hmpf*

2006-09-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

I am super not-dao here.
I do consider myself quite dao in my comfort zone though.

I talk to everyone beside me now that i think most of the time they are surprise when i start speaking to them.
I made so many 'friends' tt i really cant keep track of their names.
and i have tonnes of tiny scrape paper of their contacts n all.
each time a conversation would last at least 30min...
so i coming all alone is really the best way of immersing into the culture cuz u r left vulnerable (in a good way of course) :)

this was yesterday's pin-up of my studio mates work....

dunno why i m so silly but i never took a picture of my work...

show u the boards to give u a feel of the atm....not sure if its successful but...here!

***********

I m taking lots of chips n chocs everyday.

*sigh*so can u tell its effect on me already? :(

***********

my roommate's old Chevy which she hates so much....but i think its pretty kewl cuz its old...

no gear there to obstruct 'making-out' sessions....

hahhaa i remember Kenneth bringing tt up once in Yr1 studio...

room for better design...maybe we should bring make the old Chevy model! for the convenience of precreating into a better millenium for all! (esp. Kenneth Sim)

Pedicure.....using the College Discount Coupon Booklet...

i never pay for this in Singapore. so why m i paying USD$17 here???? huh???

*********

And man!....i never really thought have Corps on the campus ground is kewl...but now i think they r.... they having their raincoats n all the complete set of uniform to grace the occasion.

i just came back from the silver taps....
a commemorative ceremony for Aggies who dies in the past.
We all trotted (the corps too... in their boots n spurs made very nice sounds)
to theacademic building n all the lights went out for about 30min.

then from a dist....a few boots came towards us....
i couldnt see much cuz there were so many ppl there....n dark too....
so suddenly all ur senses becomes sharper....
3 gun shots.... got shocked on the first
and it was the first time i was present at an event when they had gun shots in the dark n u hear birds from the trees suddenly flying off.....
(there were lots of trees)

so while i was standing there.....
suddenly a brilliant thought came to my mind....
what if my exchange here was with the Corps?
OMG..... tts so kewl right....
there r females in the corp too but they look nothing like those in OCS
so ya.... i really really want to realise this idea......

2006-09-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah! final presentation for the 1 week 'kick-start-sem' project meant also for the int'l design competition is finally over and it went "good-good-good-good-good" says marcel.

Although honeslty many technical parts are not resolved yet but hell! its a product meant for marketing so, no need all the nitty gritty stuff although we gave the most out of 8 groups.

*cant upload my "almost" A2 panel thought*
had so much prob w negotiating on who's metric system to use.
i cant visualize hers n vice versa. hahah
then come to paper size also got problem.
the printers here r more complicated
better get use to them in time!

mmm...studio is different. (maybe this 1 week cannot count cuz it was a product design n not architecture? tts what they say but to me its still a design....n we r train to be designers so....ya)
well, many of them were questioned on their form. and they said they did it simply because it looked good to them. *bang*

Marcel, to me wasnt even half as bad as most of out critics in nus. and he is already considered the most strict one around. he even got to explain tt he isnt against us, but our project.
gosh!!! u dont have to explain urself. i have critics back home who shoots u right into ur heart u wish u were never alive. they even sleep through ur presentation if u weren't impressive enough and they tell u, u dont deserve to be here!

so although it went well today, i really could have done soooooo much moree....
i was just lazy during the weekend and decided to go for open-house to see all the clubs available! haha...too many to join....i cant decide!

And really if it wasnt for Randi, i would have not have 3D models of curves and all.
It is true tt here, their IT skills are so much better than ours. they pick up by themselves and they creat 3D stuff!....I am still getting use to autoCad for god's sake! Thanks to the Board from nus who made us use Revit!! No one here ever heard of it!

So really i have extra work to do besides the 'so much more readings than nus' i have to find time to learn 3D max, Viz, sketchup..... and i still want to join a sport n all ....n break the chain of monotonous semesters in nus where i cannot do CCAs.....

I pray for greater efficiency! and endless motivation

2006-09-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Authentic American Football!

How lucky could i get? the senior, Kyle offered me a free ticket at the privileged formers stand where you could seat comfortably (opp the students stand, i know i will want to go to tt side too where they stand all through the game which lasts for 3-4 hrs. but today i got the 'VIP' seats n i couldnt be more excited!)

SO GLAD I WENT!
I got to learn how to play the game, not an expert but at least i know where the ball should be heading. And what really made it exciting was the spirit!
It wasnt just the spirit of the student body n the corps but the many generations of Aggies (mostly parents who were alma maters) who are so involved in this big season of football. They will come from all over Texas just to root their Maroon team!

This was after the 2 Quarter. the famous military band plays n marches into formations.
They r really quite awesome.....
its interesting to see how military of various countries execute their marches and turns n all tt stuff.

So Kyle brought me in with official tickets to Kyle Field which seats 80,000 ppl (Kallang seats 40,000. this he found out while he was in singapore for the past 6 weeks). Met his parents who were Aggies of '78 if i remembered correctly. over here, uni is set at 4 yrs, so u already know when u would grad when u come in, tt is if u complete all ur hours (credits accordingly in time). Once u receive enough hours, u can buy their most valuable Aggie Ring... his parents still wear till today like engagement rings! Kewl right?

So we were discussing football n occasionally asia. He is rather fortunate compared to his peers to have seen much of Asia. Aggie went to Cambodia to build the Landmine museum too.... and he bought a real human skull for USD$2 to remind him the many unfortunate circumstances of the world outside the States. Very thoughtful although i like many of his friends think it was prob a wierd thing to remind him of the realities...haha....I wonder who's skull is it.....mmm

got to go to his house n meet his friends after the game.
AND I SAT A MOTORBIKE FOR THE 1ST TIME! and it in the states somemore!
abit scarey!... haha but fun...woo hoo!

i love his bunch of arch peeps, reminds me so much of u guys back home.
gossipy...hahaha...politics, boyfriend/girlfriend in the fac.
so unlike my current design studio where everyone keeps so much to themselves...
always plugging up their ears...haha....who told me ppl would do models n then suddenly the music goes off....cuz they accidentally cut their wires. haha

but i think it would get better...i wa thick-skin enough to get all their contacts n offer to compile it....all in the name of making conversation.....

yup but these grad students seems like i have lots of exciting ideas abt arch to share....
they seem very serious abt making it their profession too....
:) *darn! forgot to take photos w these nice people*

back in my dorm....my poor roommate has relationship problems..
so her parents came to visit her n she is stayin w them in her sis house off-campus.
so i m all alone tonight again.

tts bad, cuz yesterday i took back 3 extra slices of the yummy cream icing cake (widely available here) w the excuse of giving it to my roommate cuz she couldnt come to the party. In the end i ate.....slowly.....it dimish....n tonight it was all gone!
sigh....i dont't know how i m gonna keep to the veg diet i talked abt be4 i came here.

NVM, dont lose hope yet...i still have yet to visit the REC Centre...
I know i have been talking abt this for a long long time....but i will make a trip down there tmr...

2006-09-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!!

I had home-cooked food at last!
My friend an exchange student from Uni of Osaka Japan but is actually a mainland Chinese cooked for the big group---mostly chinese from everywhere, Malaysia, Indonesia, China n Singapore. 2 Japs n 2 Koreans, 1 mexican and her 2 American roommates!
All in the name of birthday celebrations for 2 peeps...

It was gourmet food. Not because i am far away from home n everything tastes nice but she is really a good cook!

this is Wu Yi. she is fluent in Mandarin, Jap n Eng. Interesting ya....Chinese national choosing to study in Japan.

This is one of the best braised chicken i have ever tasted. a little spicy and all so savoury

Pork ribs........Cant stop licking up all the marinate

Port or Chicken with green chilis

Leek and eggs!

Peppered tofu and prawns!

And this. Its not a cooked dish but! It was so unbelieveably SWEET!

I have never tasted tomatoes this good. I ought to get them from WalMart or HEB the next time i go on my grocery mission, which is tmr

And as u could imagine, it was just an international body of people!

I see it so often in NUS, and never imagine i will be part of it....

but really.... when u r so far from home, and anything familiar, such an int'l group only helps make u feel u truely belong somewhere even if we have our differences.

i wish alyssa was here to try all these stuff.

but i manage to share it all w Rosa from Mexico though!

the bday cake....choco...with the usu cream icy (most heavenly) made the best finale!

I actually brough the extra 3 slices back to dorm. i said i want to give some to my roommate but i think i might have most of it for myself...

sigh....its really unresistable la...

but really....i thought i migh no have enough food to eat here cuz its ex.

but i have now more than enough food in my room. they like to give free foods away here, just yesterday i had lunch n dinner free. lunch i had free hotdogs n nachos cuz it was the Arch College's 101st birthday. and for dinner i just need to participate in a survey n i got free pizza. i thought it was a slice at first then i realise it was the WHOLE pizze. i was overwhelmed! the remaining is still in my room though...i dont think i can eat it up in the next few days or i really wont get my correct nutrition. but ya .... FREE FREE FREE

and tonight is the First Midnight Yell.

Basically its a cherring event at the stadium at midnight where all the students n the city come to cheer on the aggies just before a football match which will occur tmr. apparently u have to be careful cuz when the lights go off, ppl ard u will grab n kiss u...hahah...many more yell practices for me to go too!

I really wanted to go but tonight i m damn tired n i got submission on mon, tmr need to meet up w Randi to do up panels...and later i got to call HUIYU in studio! hahah.... looking forward to tt all night.

I m sure there will be more posting on foods! We decided to do it once a month.

Hopefully next month is either Korean or Jap. I made Yushike...promise to make me jap food....he is very funny cuz he speaks slowly so i con him into cooking up a storm.

but i think he will have a prob cuz he doesnt realise he hasnt got a stove in his dorm... so hopefully lim, my new korean friend would do the honours!

2006-09-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Howdy!

You know whats interesting, Marcel (my tutor) is more like me than he is with the rest of the American system.
For 1, he speaks Brit Eng (although he is Spanish, was Spain once a French colony? i remembered learning of tt while i was in Spain. mmm anyway, i guess Brits n French r friends)
2. the metric system he is familiar with is the same as ours. here they use feet n all. so when i was frantically looking for Neufert's Arch data and wonder why in the world this bloody rich University doesn't have it, he immediately comprehended. in fact he uses the tt book too.
3. he told Randi off today how hearing inputs from various tutors is a good thing. I think we are so use to it in nus. yes we grumble but its a norm. here, or i m not sure if its only her....but she was very upset by him. she is very very soft. she told me today she forgot how to spell "October" cuz she always use "Oct"...Mama Mia.

So I guess i am glad we both of us came from the same 'place' or system to be more correct.

all i can say today is tt i really hope to learn from my peers during the rest of sem.
i seem to be able to learn so much from the upper yrs though...
they just seem to have seen more... i know cuz i spoke to some of them.

but the lectures here...ha ha...wow...after everyslide...sure got qns from the floor.
little slides but u learn more than the content of the slides.

n the ethics of arch profession i mapped for HR, which is a module taken only my seniors before they grad is chim.
u learn abt thelaw n how to be an arch in the real world...
tt one u got to read n lect is only for asking qns...

got submission for my int'l comp on mon...
weekend burnt!

2006-08-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

Very very hot hot there!

It wierd how people here do so much under the sun despite it being so hot.
They use their sunglasses, hats, wear shorts, running shoes, even go out of their dorm which is air-conditioned to read under the sun, not the shade! It good to know some people appreciate the sun so much :)

I met a senior (dinosaur, what we call at NUS) today who is in Architecture doing his last semester. He was in the Corp (4 yrs, they pay for their studies) so I guess this is the year in A & M he isnt wearing his uniform to class.
You can kinda tell after speaking to him that he is more mature I guess, being in the Corp and getting all the discipline for so many years.

And on top of that, he is horizon is broader than his peers because he went on an exchange to Germany or Spain and went to Singapore to stay with a Malay family for the past 6 weeks! Wao-wee! Cuz I think people here do not travel as often to faraway countries and if they do its probably to Europe. I havent met anyone so far who has been to Asia. Except for one to Japan and its because his Dad was posted there.

So I was pretty excited for him. He also knew certainly what he wanted to do for the nest10 yrs of his life, very unlike the many locals I have spoken to so far, most just want to graduate. So it was pretty much talking to someone from our region who is very goal-orientated.

He invited me for dinner and i am very appreciative.
Hopefully I could realise my plans of visiting Campbell Museum and and other famous museums the locals told me about with him and his roommate!
Yeah! another famous architecture from the textbooks, here i come!

I then went to the post office and I stood there for 1 WHOLE HOUR!!!
Only 1 slow old beefy man at the counter.
I honestly did not know what was the procedure like but I didnt there to jumpt the queue to ask him so I resorted to asking the people around me.

I took the cheapest mail cuz I think I would be sending a few surprises back just to perk my darlingSSSssSS at home up! So I really hope the mail gets to Singapore save and sound cuz e stuff in the packages are small but all so precious to me!...

Anyway I dont seem to be able to upload this photo I tok at the Post Office of criminals of the U.S Post! Reward 10, 000. Cuz they rob the Post Office or put illegal stuff like anthrax into the mails. Kewl....Never thought anyone who would be posted as "WANTED" at the Singapore Post though so....yah it made sense anyway.

It was so hot I had to buy something on the way back.
Its wierd how they dont have 'fresh' juices here.
All sweetened. the best I got was an Iced Peach Tea by Lipton.
And I attempted to open the cap for almost 20 min as I walked about the complex.
No choice but to ask the cashier to help me w it and i thought she would have a problem too.
Snap....and the cap was open, no sweat.
I honestly didnt know how it happend!
Is the reason: Beef Jerky? But I have bahkua what!
Maybe tts y i m flabby n she is tough! *puzzled*

So much readings and Mon got submission for the Int'l Comp.
-sigh- this very 1st weekend is burnt!
And i havent gone to the famous extravagant REC Centre yet!!!

2006-08-31T00:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a GREAT day!

I went to hist lect and I decided that since i have come all the way to America so it would be only worthwhile if I immerse into their learning culture or speaking up in classes.
So I took the opportunity to volunteer myself to share with the lecture of 145 students on Widodo's Tropical Vernacular Architecture!
Ha ha. I used microphone somemore!
It was the first time I thought wow, our vernacular architecture is more interesting then any other types. Really.
Cuz our assignment was to present a building which meant something to us.
And almost everyone there talked about the "red-brick house" the lived in since they were born or the state capitol building.
And it occured to me why it ting qi lai you dian men (it is wei xian in case this di fang de ren du wo de blog). I know America has a long history, dan si bu bi Europeans lai de nong. Afterall weren't Americans descendents of Europe?

Yup, I think i will consider to be a teaching assistant to Widodo, I really found it so easy explaining to them about our lovely thatched roof houses to allow rain to flow off it easily, the stilts to avoid pests and floods,.....hahaha so exciting!

then it was studio. and Marcel Erminy is my tutor. Everyone i ask all says he is damn good so i m pretty excited to learn much from him. I hope he likes me just fine. He is Spanish but speaks British English so I LIKE... His mannerism reminds me abit of Erwin though...but not gayish...just sacarstic. and he likes to pause and think alot about what people say... mmmm

So he made us arrange the tables for our studios in the most effective manner. Guess what! I was so engross in it that I didnt notice everyone else formed groups to discuss this and I felt abit out of place. Best part is this: I couldnt find a solution for the tables! How can I be that dumb?!
I just cant fit 34 tables into the studio. And the rest came up with proposals!
They must have thought I was pretty (ben) for an Asian. Damn....I suddenly felt abit disorientated..... actually i felt disorientated when he made arranging the tables an assignment...i wasnt even thinking properly. Here they like to look at each other while doing work, but i think i m use to facing the wall.

Lucky thing I was saved!
For the first week he want us to warm up abit so i think its just for fun and we're not graded.
we had to pair up to come up with a design to send in for an Int'l Competition.
So I got myself a (kong toudirect transalation).....
*i m actually pausing here for a long while, i m kinda pa ta du dao)*
But the thing is, she is really very nice and i really appreciate it! She is the demure religious girl!
yup so I presented 3 proposals for a Radical Radiator and he liked the 2nd idea.
So i was really glad.
I knew I couldnt have done this alone so i thanked Him. :)

I dont bother to explain...i just want to see my model photos posted...hahha...

my first model here in Texas!

Artfriends here=Hobby Lobby.... such a cute name for little girls to find beads.

Floor radiator. Coils are celebrated as art beneath a glass on the floor.

3D aspect: it comes out of the floor?!?!

Demarcates the spaces too...

Table and ChairBed like a nest

I wonder what school I am representing when i send in my application (everyone has to).
I think i will have to put is as A & M. But if I win, I will make sure they change to NUS....
hahahahahahahhaahahah!..... who m i kidding

Anyhow, need to rememeber that I dont know alot and so i need to be as receptive and adaptive as possible.
Remember
Remember
Remember

Yesterday I finally heated up my bahkua for my roommate to try.
I didnt know how to use the microwave and it charred a little...quite hard

And today she made me instant macaroni and cheese by Kraft

2006-08-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sustaining a blog is hard work.
Thats probably why i never tried it while i was in Singapore.
but i really wanna do it now cuz there's just so many more reasons to do it.

There is just so much which i have done but just couldnt find time to put it up!
For the past week I was with the rest of the America-s exchange in the East Coast (Pitts & NYC)
I WILL post those adventures on later, school has started and its busy already! (Surprising right?! hahah... they not tt slack here. uh-ah, nono

Yesterday was the start of my semester here!
The mission i came all the way for...
I wore a purchase i got from NYC's Century 21 which is situated opp Ground Zero

Yup, it wasnt cheap so i really had not much reason to get it.
i couldnt stop regretting... but everytime i see it i m happy so... mmm i will probably skip a few meals to compensate the $ lost

Right so I walked to classes, lucky for me, my fac is just a stone's throw from my Dorm (Briggs)
So its a norm to see this every day i m on my way to school

In the evening when i return, they r usu doing their runs and all.

Both male and females.

they r on a scholarship thing. and they can study any courses they wish but they rn't the US Army... they can choose later on if they wish to be in the Army.

These are pretty traditional people who are loyal and patriotic. yup, thats what my roommate said.

Then I went out with the group of Indonesians here, they have been so so so so so helpful to me.

They are so close-knit. Most of them are cousins to each other and they had uncles and siblings who graduated here before them.

Texas A & M is also known for its Traditions so like during a football match which is a really BIG thing, former students which consists of parents and all and people from all over the country would come watch football here. its during Sep and u usu buy tickets in bulks (USD$100 plus! damn EX) and then choose the games u want to go too but u still must line up for the tickets. So the first payment is like a pass for subsequent tickets.

I will definitely go for it and thank god my roommae said she have some complimentary stuff so i think i might get one or more free tickets. Individual tickets are expensive, USD$60? there about.

This is the Kyle Field. Its the schools Stadium (bigger than Singapore's Kallang)! the seating looks really steep and i heard u have to stand throughout the whole football game, no one seats. and it lasts for 3-4 hrs!! Woo-hoo!

mmm. I met my tutor and studio mates.

Studio mates werent as friendly as some others i met on campus, except for 1 girl, she is called Randi Newman. If she were to come to NUS, hahaha she will definitely me the topic of all guys' conversations. She is so sweet, and homely and she is talking about marriage at the age of 22. shesaid she will be marrying in 2 yrs and she is so holy, holy too. ha ha... and did i mention pretty and demure too? i know Jerome will be interested! ha ha

i am pairing up with her to do submit an entry for one of the 4 int'll design competitions Marcel Erminy (my tutor) instigated. he said it allows him to know our style and try to break the ice before a new sem starts. 1 stone kill 2 birds---join int'll comp....www.designboom.com

i think i will decide on the comp on designing a revolutionary radiator for Bisque.

No one here seems to be familiar with Asian architects, they probably know one or two from Japan. Maybe its too early to say tt cuz i think the rest have not been to warm to start a conversation. some girls really are quite unfriendly, there was this one who intentionally avoids eye contact despite us seating around table in a studio context for 2 plus hours. ARGH! "I AM NOT HERE TO STEAL YOUR BOYFRIENDS!!! I HAVE ONE ALREADY!"

Anyway ive decided i will go ask her a qn the next time i see her and see how she reacts. i would probably catch her by surprise!

Here they grad w environmental studies. So I hope i can learn alot of tech stuff and esp from the tutor. However, unlike my studio mates, i am taking a [Architecture Profession] kinda course and its with the yr 4s before the grad. Its also compulsory for them here to go on exchange or intern. and these yr 4s seem more friendly, exposed and ready....

so wishing for a better tmr ALWAYS! :)

2006-08-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

I didnt sleep the night before in the end.
I just bathed in cold water, lied down, read, take photos, open huge window ( i forgot the name for it, i know we learned in somewhere in architectural modules, the kind u lift up vert), set alarm....
then suddenly i heard noises from the corridor!
I am not alone!!!
i peeped through the peephole....
Asian....easier some more
i opened the door and said hello! ( tt desperate for another living thing, cockroaches and insects r exceptions)
from her mannerisms i could tell she is a Jap...
:) got a map from her to start my first day on campus

as i was just about to set off i saw another asian at the stairwell
this one msia...
she told me there was orientation today at 9am...
so i went we her and thats where we were briefed on the tonnes of administration stuff to clear
got to meet all the exchange students about 100+
intl on campus almost half

we were treated to breakfast...doughnuts and juice...
yummy i was so tempted to take those with all the icing on top (choc, caramel....)
decided not to indulge sooooo soon hahaha...
u see! even the serviettes show cases the school spirit...
later i found out tt their pride for the school is beyond my imagination!

campus here is huGEEEE!!! Flat ant buildings are short....
http://www.tamu.edu/map/gifs/campus1.pdf here is the map
College station houses mainly TAMU and the surrounding city just facilitates te uni
got other cities near by where people live....its right smack in the middle of the 3 big cities of TX:
Austin (main city, SW), Dallas (N) & Houston (SE)
People on campus usu drive....most drive trunks...big huge machines....

these r the guys from the TAMU school of cadets...
their hostel is next to mine.
and all those people who scared me earlier about an asian girl being targeted by all white men.....
its not tt true...
i think i will be more vulnerable if my hostel was next to "NUS school of cadets"!!!!!!

their school cheers r damn wierd....cannot get it one...
i videoed it....

Mascot....7th one. collie

story goes like this: once long ago a cadet picked up a dog and brought it back to nurse it

then subsequently it became the mascot...

if the dog goes to the lect theatre and bark
then class is dismissed...i dont know how the dog gets in in the first place.

then if it lies on the bed of a cadet, he sleeps on the floor...

these kind of wierd things....

ohhhhhhhhhh and this cake is one of the BEST-EST cakes of the world (besides my housemaker's one of course)

its like a simple cream cake but so unlike cream...its like cream icing...

and to them its a normal cake u see everywhere....at weddings at all functions..

yup and this was the int'l students party at the alumni building...

buildings here look grand...(playing w proportions)

2006-08-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

you cannot and dont want to know what happened from the airport to my hostel!
I was the leg of travel which troubled me way before i departed from changi tt morning!
I was to meet this Indon for the 1st time so he can pass me my dorm keys cuz i arrive there at 8pm and the office is close already.
the shuttle came, promised to send us to the destinations we specify. trip from airport to school will take approx 1hr 45 min. 2 scholar like people (china n india) insisted they be send home first.... suddenly i understood y in singapore they PRCs r not the most popular of beings
so i was delayed by 2 hours...and was the last to be brought to my destination.
all i could hope for was the indon guy to have faith n just wait.....
and he did!!!! got to my room and this was what happened:

Excitement and first! but Depression later....the flight was frustrating! too long too worrisome.
now i m in my dorm, lonely n cold (air-con like nus always soooooo cold, corridor also air-con). 12MN unpacked....cant sleep and just stayed awake....too much time to think and worry somemore....

Just staring at the time and hope for time to fly past.

No internet connection (nus really pamper us w everything from wireless to shuttle bus service 7 days perweek, rush hr still got higher freq bus schedules) only can sms for now (i forgot jerm included a calling card in his survival kit otherwise i would have contacted people at home earlier)

so i decided to read at 5am...i took the lower bed of the double decker (they call it the loof here!)

still can feel better....so i brought out things i m familiar w....sigh

2006-08-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Chicago OHare Intl Ariport
College Station: So inconvenient! Rental of a trolley costs USD3!!! ARE U INSANE?? so I lugged 2 luggages (a samsonite, a large trolley and my fat heavy crumpler lappy bag). nearly got destroyed! cuz i had to go to another terminal using a tram. Then a kind soul helped... it was the 1st first class service i experienced since i headed to America! he even made a call to the service shuttle to make sure tt i got the right pick-up point. gave me his card b4 he left: some manage of marriot inn in NYC! no wonder la.... Service is not really an American thing.

Prove of my perserverance to survive without that USD3 trolley! *hmpf*

2006-08-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

0645: I got my fav window seat thanks to Mummy! Outside was dark but not for long. and i regretted not having

my camera with me during take off...never left sin at dawn before. and the texture of sin looks good... i

know we cannot use any digi devices air-bound but i just can forgive myself for not taking more than

enough photos.

1st meal: Was starving! Breakfast was served...egg (pretty stale), sausage and yummy succulent tomatoes!

3 transit points befre the ULTIMATE destination! I thought no one else can do worse but i soon found a girl in hostel who manage to get a longer route :

msia---taipei---seattle---houston---College Station

After transit at HK: I arrive at the very same seat and this old woman stole it!!! And the whole time (next 23 hrs) i was like her helper cuz i was sitting next to her.

I became her servant and her interpretator. She is vietnamnese. She is a US permanent resident. Cannot speak english. She makes sounds (vietnamese language). She knows the skill of tying her hair without any instruments (Nurul told me in Cambodia, this ancient, mystical art). She is Buddhist. She is vegetarian. She pushes away foods she think contains meat. All the attendents dunno what to do with her. She doesnt know how to get the table out from the arm-rest. She doesnt know how to decline her seat. She doesnt know how to fill in her immigrantion card so i had to try to do it all for her. She didnt say goodbye to me when she left the air craft for good.

Snack time: I like this one. pretz, curry-flavoured crackers and soy sauce marinated nuts

Lunch: Chicken was good the layers of meat slides pass each other. Beans were soft till the peas jump of your mouth when u bite on it, very sweet too. rice of a good softness

Watching...i think the 2nd movie: Ice Age 2. They showed 4 movies in total

Sleep, watch, eat, occassionally read...sleep watch eat....

Now is time to eat

Toilet breaks

Last lunch before arrival. I anticipated tt the subsequent travels will not provide me with food which is another 8 hours so i better finish up a larger proportion. once again the sweetes carrots n peas