A Feng Diao Sot Diao Halloween

As per Carol's photos on Facebook...

Halloween '09.

The night started with much H'ween prep. Carol Xueling Jess came over to Jerr's, with makeup all done up and ready. Jerr and I had just came back from the city, and after the food-coma BART trip, made it to a hat store minutes before its closing.

With inspiration from the Jerragon, I bought a... BEANIE. The propeller types. Hurhur and it was multi-coloured and its green blades matched the lime green polo I was wearing. With a bit of modification (suspenders, makeshift bowtie and super red blush), I became A LITTLE BOY!

Jess went as.. an exotic bird. Of sorts. Xueling was a fairy, complete with wings, and Carol was an acrobat with the oddest of accessories: A disco ball. Jerrine was a Ballerina, and after they all donned their expensif false eyelashes (and I had my candy apple), it was a quick walk to catch the PARTY BUS.

This party bus was the first part of the fengdiaosotdiao. We sat at the back, and with the 4 girls squeezed into the 3-seater, I was forced to sit on the floor right next to the bus toilet. The wholeee trip people kept going in and out of it (sometimes even in 2s), which was damn irritating.

There was a bunch of people in front of us being all drunk and getting it on, doing the bumping and grinding and being all manners of gross. Toopid Americans. There was this 'Dane Cook' and 'Aladdin' who was hooking up with this catgirl and other various slut things. Bah. We conservative Singaporeans stared on in semi-amazement, semi-horror.

When we arrived at the warehouse for the 'Twilight' party, there were many other costumed peeps in line, and not long after, we were inside the cavernous arena. It was quite empty at first, which was a bit disappointing, but as the night went on, the alcohol levels went up and the place filled..

WITH RATHER INTERESTING CHARACTERS:

Pac Man and his ghosts. Damn uber funny they were chasing each other all over the dancefloor, and then the ghosts abandoned the Pacman to grind some racequeens.

Busty Cop (feng diao sot diao)

A Milk Carton!

Life of the Party Meter

Red Ranger! Who was grinding Catwoman. O.o (fdst)

The alcohol we got was moste potente - Long Islands that effectively had 5 shots apiece. After our first 4 cups, we were already quite bouncy and happy, but that didnt stop the next 2 and then 1 cup (1 got knocked over by earlier Dane Cook).

The music was a mix of hiphop, dance, techno and almost everything clubby. By this time, it didnt matter. It was so interesting being in a club in shorts and watching randomly-clad people bouncing all around (unlike Zouk, where there is no space for people to bounce at all).

Midway through the night, i finally succumbed to the fdst and became shirtless o.O

Haha never again can one be in shorts and topless and be dancing in a club. So shiok now I want to go to beach parties.

There was MUCH ensuing madness, such as Jerr's ballet dancing clearing out the vicinity, and sneaky attempts to get some girl-on-girl kissing going on. Heh.

Finally, the FDST pic of the night:

Wear My Party People Hat

The night ended early (145am) as we had to head to the party bus back. The sudden stop from bouncing around to sitting in the party bus made me all queasy and sick, and the ride back wasnt the best of times.

Thankfully, its the photos which will cement what happened in memory. Oh, and daylight savings kicked in so we all got an extra hour of sleep! Hah!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL.

Next year I'm going as a Pharaoh haha.

SF: The City!

Over Saturday and Sunday, I went down to San Francisco city!

On Sat, Jerr and I took the long BART down after the tanzing to meet Boey!

We arrived at the fabled Katanaya Ramen stall, and proceeded to tuck into sashimi and then TWO bowls of ramen apiece.

Ok, it was because they screwed our orders and hence gave us a brand new bowl each, whilst letting us eat the initial order :) so cool i never knew of restaurants who did that.

The soup was miso based, and was good but not as thick and meaty as I would like it (ie tonkatsu).

We stopped by a cool semi-hipsterish shop, and I was slightly more enlightened over this culture of hipsterism.

After this, we proceeded to walk around Chinatown in search of egg tarts (which were closed) but found instead AWESOME bubble tea (i had a mango smoothie, Jerr had the aloe), Little Italy and a salt-water taffy shop.

The Candies:

I marveled at the architecture of SF, in the way the buildings were all built to accommodate the slant of the hills.

After passing the Scientology and Trans-America buildings, it was a very food-coma trip back on the BART just in time for Halloween.

On Sunday, I left for the city to meet up with Boey for a proper catchup. Jerr also had to study for her midterms.

There was some drama aboard the authentic tram-ride, as a woman accused the driver of trying to cheat tourists of their money, and the tram was stopped at Pier 39 while a cop came on board to interrogate the accuser and carry her indignant self away (to much applause). Haha this America.

While waiting for Boey, it was SEALS!!

So awesomezz they fight for sunning space on the floating platforms, and wiggle around and grunt at each other when their space is threatened. Hehe so nua.

Alcatraz island could be seen in the distance, and well.. it was a rock.

Mustang!

Boey came in time for a fantastic streetside breakdance before we headed to roam the pier. We sat outside Ghiradelli Square and inhaled the wafting chocolatey scents, before heading back for some authentic Clam Chowder!

Unfortunately, it wasnt as good as hyped, and I left quite disappointed. The fried calamari and chips helped much though, and soon it was the lonely BART back to Berkeley.

When back, it was ICI! For the greatest ice cream in recent memory :)

On Mon, I dropped by Amoeba Music, an independent record store, and snagged 6 CDs and a zombie shirt! Fwah! Dizzee Rascal, Keak Da Sneak, 3EB, MGMT, Busta and ODB. I am constantly amazed at how cheap the things in SF are compared to NY. Haikkk.

SF: The SUN!

WOO!

Berkeley has the BEST sunning weather. There was not a cloud in the azure blue sky, and the cool dry air and its accompanying winds made it perfect to just lie down next to the pool or on the lawns of the university itself.

On Sat, the last day before the pool closed for the winter:

There were these 2 kids, one which was kid-sized, and the other kid-sized relative to the other kid! Haha super cute. I purposely (and pedo-ly) walked by them so Jerr could get a shot of the size scale.

Jerr was chastising me for wanting to lie on the concrete, and said that no self-respecting Californian would. They would rather lie on the moist damp gross grass. Yucks stupid Americanz.

In the end, the concrete won though, and Jerr was squished onto the tiniest of towels.

On Mon, I went to lie in front of the Tan Kah Kee building (its the same TKK as Singapore) at the UC campus for over 1.5 hours, watching as the students briskly sauntered by in-between classes.

Hai I will not be getting sun for a looooong time after this. Now I understand why the overseas peeps always want to swim when they're back.

SF Day 1: Berkeley!

I took my first intra-USA trip over the previous weekend to San Fran!

To get there however, involved much much travel and travails. There was the 2 hour Metro ride, the 6 hour flight on horribly vertical seats and the 1.5 hour BART.

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) btw, is the coolest shit ever! It's the equivalent of Singapore's MRT, and I recognised it immediately as the setting for Universal Studio's Earthquake ride. SO COOL! I have loved that set in particular for forever.

Once in Downtown Berkeley, it was on to meet Jerragon! I walked aimlessly through campus before she finally picked me up, and we went to a quaint (and cheap!!) Thai place for my late lunch. The meals this trip.. Super sporadic and/or alcoholic.

For our first bout of 'outdoor adventure', which was not available in NYC, we climbed Berkeley hill to the Big C! The significance of this big C eludes me, but the sights were great and the weather was sunny and cool, and we met the Germans Bela and Nina.

A bit of fence-hugging left us 2 hours too early to see the sunset, and we wound up trekking down the steep black-slope hills for a cool drink at the iHouse.

Next up was dinner at local French tapas place with Carol Jess and Xueling, where we had the greatest most alcoholic mussels, tuna tartare and this form of bread with figs which was awesomez.

And the hype of Halloween reaches a boiling point:

Fall Break Begins!

The last week of school before fall break was spent oversleeping many many morning classes (Tues and Wed, to be precise). However, once Thursday came, it was time to let loose and partay!

Classes ended at 830, and I came back to the room to catch Fan and Min hangzing out with Elliott, before we headed to Hamdel to grab some grub.

We then headed to my new adoptive suite Wallach 3 and met Fernando Chris Rebecca Zeb for some Halloween candy and pre-TV tv. I came out of the TV coma to a pizza call by BC, and I find him outside Carman and we link back up with Fan Min for Koronet and Pinkberry.

Then.... RUSH HOUR 3!

The hugest turn-out ever included Elizabeth, Kendy Dike and Mila on top of everyone, and we struggled for lebensraum. It is so funny how the Rush Hour trilogy features interactions between an asian, a black and french people. Just like me Dike Rebs!

Once that was done, it was some fooling around before the C9ers and Hartleys headed to Pam's CEOs and Office Ho's party and boozed it up some.

All of us then ended up in Campo, where I ran into Pon Kevin Aless & Co. The night did not end till after I was all packed and ready for SF!

Oct W2/3: Nothing Eventful

I lie.

But oh well slowly falling back into the routine of schoolwork. Most Mondays to Thursdays are the same, and the only thing that really changes is what's done on the weekend.

So, for recapping's sake:

Tues Oct 13th Wed Oct 14th Thur Oct 15th

Money saving! After spending $1000sing over the weekend, I have decided to scrimp and save until San Francisco. Wed saw me planning our milkshake-themed study break though, which was a blast!

Watched 9 on Thurs, which wasnt really that good.

Fri Oct 16th

Gatewaaaay. Engineering talks, followed by yet another site visit at Pelham Fritz. Pffts. We got our project thoughhhh! Woot!

Sat Oct 17th

Singaporean networking/jobs talk, with their paltry attempts at char kway teow and tofu. A bit of semi-depressed shopping with MinFanAnn, before we head back to campus for a night of nua.

Campo at night with Alara BC Pete, and I end off pretty tipsy and crash Reb's place with Dike and Yulia, and we talk the night away in one of Dike's most faved sekret-spilling sessions.

Sun Oct 18th

Workwork Sunday! I forgot what else happened but I remember going for Gateway and

Mon Oct 19th

Gateway and one of the most frustrating 3D assignments ever: an umbrella rack. Followed Alessandra around after, before heading to the gym and having a semi h2h with Elliott. At night, its econs studying at Butler for the first time with Alara BC Naz Naz Ruya, before sleeping late and oversleeping Chem. I allow myself to oversleep Chem at least 1nce a week.

Tues Oct 20th

Superstress day. When all the work's over (at 9pm), I bring nutella and crackers around campus surprising people and chatting with them. Its Eliz first, before Zeb/Chris/Fern, and Fan before ending off back at Eliz's. Gateway got postponed!

Wed Oct 21st

Philo essay cheong! I wrote 2370 words by the end of the night, with my brain all explodey and stuff. It was due on Friday, and i only just this day decided to assay it. New comics!

Thur Oct 22nd

After school its a meetup with Manny and new friend Lydia and Mackenzie, and together we try something really fun and bouncy! Then, I head off to Carman 9 but find no one except new friend Grace, and I vaguely remember

Fri Oct 23rd

Finished the edits for my Philo essay #2, before heading to the gym for arms and then to Furnald to help in some red-bean decoration. At night, its a mentoring session before a chill unplugged acoustic pizza party, and an amazing acapella performance by Notes and Keys.

Rebecca Dike Vered Zeb and I then head back to Wallach, where we krazily karaoke the rest of the night away!

Sat Oct 24th

Workworkwork the whole afternoon, till Ruya's birthday!

The Shao

Shao visited NYC over the weekend, as part of (every other school's) Columbus Day weekend.

Imagine, Columbia doesnt celebrate Columbus Day.

Oh well. She arrived on Thursday night, and met us after the Lion King at Applebee's. We headed back and settled into my room on campus, inflating the airmattress outside for fear of incurring Elliott's awakening. Some late night catching up, and not before long it was 11pm.

friDay 1:

I finished a horrible Gateway meeting and a gym session, before we met with the fakes dude to collect Min and Fan's, and after being majorly impressed, handed in Shao's. Soon, it was downtown for some Ippudo!

We chilled at Guang's and talked with Nick as well, all the while waiting hungrily for Alara and BC. Once they arrived... our ravenous selves took over (and no, we did not eat them), and it was food food! Some minor drama ensued before and after, but it was no biggie in the end. Just that Shao's never going back there o.O

For dessert, we went to Max Brenner's just a few block away, and I had this delight:

CHURROS FONDUE! Oh woaw thinking about it now just makes me want to get on a train and go get some more.

Shao had the Red Heart, whilst BC got the cheesecake. Every dish had a either a saucer or vial of pure chocolate, which just smothered one's tongue in love.

Everyone was in the mood for some PARTYING, and we went to meet Alara's friend Mikael in Hudson Hotel, where the club was literally like those you see in Bond movies. Unfortunately, the crowd there seemed to average 35 years old :S

$15 shots, $9 beers and a degeneration in music later, and we were pooped enough to head back.

satDay 2:

Shopping! Shao and I wondered around a small fair happening just outside Columbia, and I managed to get holes punched in my belt (at the cost of buying a second one). We snacked on Boba, sashimi, hot dogs and stuffed leaves.

That provided a good warm up to... SoHo!

Hai. Looks like it was the perfect time for Shao's visit. It's been 1.5 months since Woodbury, and with the weather changing so drastically (its 7degC on average), it was time for new clothes.

I spent around $350! Boots, shoes, tshirt, polo, jeans, trackpants.. FWAH.

The only thing that made me feel good about my spending was that Shao... heh.

Dinner was at Nyonya Malaysian cuisine, which is as close to Singaporean food as one can get. We had the Belachan kangkong, curry chicken, chicken rice and... YONG TAU FOO.

There was even the fishcake-stuffed eggplant! WOWO. That one thing drove me slightly insane. I think I'm getting used to the food here though, since back in Singapore I wasn't really one to eat local/chinese stuff all the time.

Our spoils:

The night plans involved Alara and Victor, Myrsini's friend from Greece, as we headed to Shao's roommate Isabelle's lofty apartment for a house party.

There, we went crazy! Tequila, smokes and a fantastic house overlooking Broadway in the cool NYC night with fun happy friends. There isn't much more one can ask for.

Sufficiently buzzed (i cannot use the word high anymore), we cabbed down to The Eldridge.

NOW THIS was the really cool part. The Eldridge is a VIP-only club, and one can only get in if someone inside brings them in. The night before, Jay-Z was there, and in the same week so was Mariah Carey.

We got in thanks to Mikael, and spent the rest of our energy and night dancing away to lovely synthpop beats. 'Shut Up And Let Me Go' is back to being my favourite song.

Shao and I left at around 3, and fell asleep on the F train. A hazy bit later, and we woke up on... ROOSEVELT ISLAND. Woaw. Talk about wrong stop. We immediately rushed out, and realised that too wasnt such a great idea. This island is a small residential community between Manhattan and Queens, and at this time of night it was completely devoid of activity.

We jumped onto the shuttle bus, which only brought us further into the island. Thankfully, we managed to find a cab and whisk ourselves back to the safety of Columbia (for $17).

sunDay 3

Wake up laaaate again at 2pm. Laze around while I upload photos, before we head to the Mill to give Shao a taste of some Korean food.

Next up, the hunt for RED VELVET.

We trudge down to Bleecker street's Magnolia Bakery, stopping by many quaint boutique shops along the way. I finally get my 2 belts fixed (yes, the second one i bought was too large as well), and Shao blows a lot more $$

Eventually, we reach the hallowed halls of the bakery, and after a 20 minute queue, I emerged with cupcakes and THIS baby:

DROOOOOOOOOOL.

This red velvet cake was so awfully good. Its vibrant crimson and rich taste counterbalanced by the fluffy white cream. wowawdawo

We then spent a lot of time rushing around closed stores (Topman, Body Shop) and me getting all frustrated at my blistered feet before meeting up with Guang Chorseng Linmin and Liangze. The latter 3 were visiting from Cornell, and it was nice to see some other Singaporeans around. We ate at this cuban place. Good cheap rice dishes.

Soon though, it was time to head home as Shao was staying this last night with her uncle and I had work to finish. We had a hasty Times Sq Body Shop Drop, before making it back in time to sprint-pack (and for Shao forget to bring things along).

monDay 4

School as per normal, before Elizabeth and I head down to 104th and Broadway's Cafe Du Soleil, which turned out to be a fantastic cafe choice by Shao!

Shao had her final creme brulee and cappuccino, whilst i had my Moule. Elizabeth got the soup and capp, and together us 3 had a fine final chat, before Shao hugged me goodbye and lugged her stuff to the bus terminal.

Bye Shao! I will take you up on your offer of free Harvard lodging one day :)

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

I won 4 cheap $25 tickets to The Lion King on Broadway for last Thursday!

So did DK, and in a snap, we purchased them and found people to fill the slots. The cast? Rebecca Dike Chris Kendy Me Elizabeth Amanda Guang.

The musical was going to start at 8, and since I had classes till 830, some exceptions had to be made. All of us met outside the 116th Station Entrance and headed off at 725pm, with my panicking over being late and getting locked out of the first act.

Everyone was really happy and hyper, and DK's camera came out and was snapping away at everything around us. We finally emerged at 42nd St Times Square!

Oh, on a side note, this was my first time in Times Square as well as my first Broadway experience! Ok, it was also Amanda's first broadway, and she's a native new yorker :S

We wandered under the huge Lion King banner and into hallways that ushered us toward the mezzanine.

Everyone was given a Playbill, and before this night I never knew they were such a standard collectible thing.

Once seated, the lights dimmed, and the magic began!

For context, I had watched the Lion King in LA a loooong time back, but was quite a bit younger, more jetlagged and less interested in flashy colours and dance.

The result? THE LION KING ROCKED!

I really enjoyed it. The props and costumes were so elaborate and ingenious, and I particularly loved the giraffe and hyena ones. The dances were energetic and tribal, whilst the whole backdrop was really organic and well-incorporated.

I spent a lot of the musical suddenly remembering and flashbacking to moments in the movie, which I used to love as a child but had not seen in a decade.

When it was over, we came out into the reception area and took photos until everyone else had evacuated.

On the way out, we spotted a lion print on the door, and the result to embody the night:

By this time, we were famished, and with much more efficiency and direction than our previous attempt to gallivant, we settled in an Applebee's and made videos and ate away happily.

Then... SHAO!

Oct W1: For Xtine

2nd (F):

Met!

In the afternoon, its the first CultureShock walking clinic, which was woaw dizzifying and slightly awkward. At night, it was an epic epic fail clubbing attempt. Many disappointed people, one highly frustrated DW. Reached home at 130am legs all sore and wet.

Much walking. Haik.

3rd (S):

Met with Guang and his dad in Grand Central Station for OYSTER BAR! I had the fried scallops, while Guang had the bestest best seared tuna, and his dad had the lobster stew. Though slightly costly, this place is still one of my NY favs.

After stoning and napping at Guang's, it was down to ZOMBIELAND with Elliott Isaac Tori. This show is... THE BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER. Ok, or at least it ranks at the top with Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later and Planet Terror in my books. I even wore my zombie t-shirt!

Guang and I went to Ippudo after, and I died several times over with their Samurai Ribs and the Kogashi Miso. One day, I will bring my hugeass camera and external flash and whatnot here just to do a proper food post on it.

Got home and spent almost the entire night doing my first ever 2000-word essay on "Can Taste Be Educated?".

4th (S):

Woke up to the sounds of a children's fair on the college grounds. The New York Times had organised a session that included a bands, performances, book signings and everything else a young literate-in-the-making would enjoy. Spent the day distracted with comics before finally having to leave the room for the SEAL Green Tea Smoothie Study Break, where I was the muscle and had to scoop out the frozen ice cream and prepare mixers to be blended.

After our 20 minute Gateway meeting, it was the swimwear group's first meeting, and we walked walked walked for an hour before it was finally bedtime.

5th (M):

Gateway interview, which didnt happen. Piss. Gym and then dinner and then all manners of uneventfulness and work and comics (but mealtimes with Elizabeth) and Physics.

6th (T):

Hectic day. Slept through Chem for the Physics Midterm, which was rather screwed anyway.

7th (W):

Lots and lots of chores in prep for Shao's arrival. Gym and a prolonged lunch that started off with me and Elliott, then us joining Ruya and Nazli, Alara, then Dike. Watched Jurassic Park while waiting for the laundry to finish!

A fantastic Latin-themed dinner awaited us at John Jay, before crashing into bed with comics to the sounds of the South Park season premiere.

8th (T):

A loooong day at school, which was fraught with anticipation over the night's Lion King! My classes ended at 830, but the play was at 8, which resulted in skipping the last class and the last 15 minutes of one.

I zoomed around, collecting the camera and looking for missing pencils before finally arriving at the meetup spot (116th Station Entrance) to see Amanda, followed by Dike Rebecca Chris Kendy and finally Elizabeth.

We trudged down for what would be a great (but back row mezzanine) first Broadway experience.

Met, My Match

OMG THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IS THE BEST PLACE EVER.

So i woke up today with the promise of going to the Met with Derion and Elizabeth!

Unfortunately, I was still stuck in bed when Derion and his friends were heading out. Turns out the getting ready time was what Liz needed as well, and we milled around a bit before meeting in JJ to eat with Kendy and Yulia. Clam chowder!

We took the 1 down to 86th, and the cross-town bus that cut through Central Park, before arriving outside this old and majestic building that spanned several streets:

We climbed in amidst much fanfare from the street performers, and got in for free with our CUIDs. Inside, a great high domed ceiling greeted us, and it was hard not to feel small amidst the grandeur.

The first exhibit we headed to was that of The Americans, by Robert Frank. It was a photographic exhibit taken in the 1950s, of contemporary America from a grittier perspective. As a photographer, I was stunned by a lot of his compositions! Some were really well framed and thought, and the black and white served only to accentuate a lot of his photos.

After this, Liz went off to visit her high school, and I had 1.5 hours to continue browsing till she was back. That should be enough time, right?

WRONG.

First was European 18th Century art, which yielded these masterpieces. I died at Van Gogh's "Wheatfield With Cypresses", and at "Vesuvius".

I realised that the landscape portraits were what enticed me the most when it came to paintings, as opposed to portraits of people.

Next up was the Modern Art exhibit. One of them included a huge preserved shark inside a metallic steel tank of formaldehyde and water, which was really awe-inspiring (no photos though).

They also had an array of reflective discs that gave a warped image depending on where you stood, and a "Spectrum" of coloured canvasses which was actually interesting enough for me to walk by twice. The colours in between seemed to change whenever the colour transited.

There were sections for American artists as well from different time periods, but I was more entranced by the sculpture and armour section:

I was so amazed that the armours were individually engraved, which were beautiful and seemed almost impossible to recreate.

Architecture had an enormous choir grille which was almost 4 storeys high right in the middle of the chamber. There was also a room which was made up of different shades of wood made to look as if it were 3D.

Elizabethan era's display rooms:

The Oceania exhibit also had many interesting and cool tribal art features and totemic objects. There was even this huge collection of shields plastered into the shape of a boat on the roof! That must have weighed 5 tons or more.

SO GOOD!

Plates of Roman/Greek origin, depicting David's story.

I had no time to finish the museum, and found myself lost and wandering (in a good way) most of the time. Soon, it was time to meet Liz again, before we walked across Central Park and headed back to campus. I definitely have to go back there again, but as souvenirs I got the Van Gogh ;)