An Arm's Length away from Dali...

Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali (1904-1989)

Quoted from Wikipedia:

Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931.

Widely considered to be greatly imaginative, Dalí had an affinity for doing unusual things to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork. The purposefully-sought notoriety led to broad public recognition and many purchases of his works by people from all walks of life.

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Yes, yesterday i met Dali, the eccentric man behind so many well none surrealist paintings, who employed many symbols ino his artworks and whose masterpiece was inspired by a runny piece of Camembert Cheese. He was 20ft high and stood high and mighty at the grand entrance of Beaverbrook Art Gallery. The Great Dali was just an arm's length away...on he 15th of Feb, i met with Santiago El Grande (1957).

It depicts the asenscion of Christ as Dali had visualised in a dream, the human's foot and arm dangling from the horse is said to be Dali's own. Apparantly, he thought his foot to look quite princely.

What an obnoxious man...

La Turbie: Sir James Dunn

To the left of the HUGEEeee Dali painting was another of his smaller artworks of Sir James Dunn, who apparantly is some important historic figure in olden New Brunswick (he donated alot to the development of the school i think cause there's like halls named after him).

" Sir James Dunn met Dali while they dined in the same restaurant. Dali called him over to his table, they met, and became friends. Mr Dunn comissioned a work by Dali, but after it was completed he didn't like how his feet looked, and deemed it unsuitable for his office, therefore it was donated to the Gallery at a later date. Dali chose to paint him as Caesar, because he thought Dunn to look strikingl similar."

My first thought when I read the description was that Dali sure knows how to "pai ma pi"...Sorry Dali...Oh well, at least he made it rich by kissing people's ass.

Directly opposite the Dali paintings was the most obscene painting i've seen so far, it was definitely ironic that the museum chose to hang it directly opposite the Dali paintings at the grand entrance. It definitely gave an ironic twist to the whole thing.

Dicks, obscene sign languages, homosexuality, buncha naked guys in miners suit in the face of the asenscion of Christ...what do you get? A really-confused-curator-suffering -mid-life-crisis or doesn't know what the heck he's doing.

Other exhibits in the museum:

Smallest Freaking Study Table I Have Ever Seen, don't even remember the name...can it even fit my pencil case??!

I did a bit of sight-seeing before the museum trip and took some pictures. Visited a church where the kind lady attendent led us to the santuary, she said it was the largest oldest church in the city. Haven't gone to church in a while, gosh, i'm missing church and praise and worship :S

plans, plans, plans...!!

Hey i'm back! I'm excited to be going out of this ulu town next week, I hope my trip to St John town this time wouldn't be cancelled! So many mid-terms next week, can't wait for a break! Hoping i could catch a ride down to St John on Keaw's rommie's bf's car, lolx, I am such a cheapo but the bus ride to and fro' St John is like a friggin 40+bucks. I don't wanna spend any money, and St John is like an hr plus away only, who pays 40+bucks to go from like Jurong to Changi? IDIOTS!

Errm, of course i'll have to take back my previous sentence if i do hafta take a bus down to St. John, cause i hardly know Keaw's roomie's bf...oh, what the hell...


I'm also gonna go Montreal and Quebec City during my March break! Can't wait, i'll be meeting up with alev, meric on wed to discuss about our road trip! I've checked out a couple of hotels there and hopefully i'll get to meet up with Cali at McGill Uni! I just booked my flight to Toronto and I'm hoping mayb to visit Las Vegas after the semester! Yay, the city of lights, sex, gambling and entertainment, woot! So many exciting stuff coming up, finally! After weeks of boredom and occasional highlights like snow skiing, hockey games, thrift store shopping, farmer's market visit to eat tasty samosas and errr...clubbing night?? Lolx, that reminds me, i have yet to tell you guys about my 1st clubbing experience in Canada! Can i just say...who says that Asians don't know how to party?! The clubs here are horrible, lousy music, can't really dance to it, and the club was pathetic compared to zouk...I guess it's unfair to compare a countryside club to uber-modern zouk..but still!

Hockey Game at UNB Aitken Centre!! Ice Hockey is the most popular sports here in Canada! UNB happens to be really good at it too! We won St. Thomas Uni!! Woots!

Look how extreme their supporters can get! And it was pretttyyy cold inside the stadium....

UNB all ready to take their winning shot!


I went with my ex-roomie, Kendra and Jessica Prescott(my 2nd floor neighbour) and a buncha guy friends(if i remember their names, i think it was Dan, Ryan and Tom). Kate was telling us that Nicky Zees charge a coat check(fee that you hafta pay to leave your coats at the counter) when we go to the bars, so a few of them went out into the freezing cold without their coats(ANNDD...they were wearing even more skimpily than we were). So me, Bee and Tae Young decided to be cheap skates and left our coats back in our rooms too. We were all excited and took some time to doll up. Ang mohs here have the habit of drinking a few drinks before heading to the clubs to save money on the drinks, which is kinda ridiculous i think cause why would i want to get drunk b4 even reaching the place? Anyway, half of the people we went with were underaged and they had to bring along their fake IDs, in the end, Jessica and Ashton didn't manage to get in. So Me, Bee, Tae Young, Tom, Dan and Ryan stayed to dance. I drank like a cup of buttweiser(or whatever it's called, some cocktail thingie that was really nice) and another bottle of barcadi(or however u spell it, i'm lousy at alcohol names) and danced the night away, abit intoxicated already. Guys over here would just come up to you and dirty dance with you. One of them was particularly touchy, i had to swerve away everytime he tried to get to touchy-feely. Overall, i had a fun time dancing but after that was a different story. I felt really nauseated after the dance and i puked out some of the realllyyy expensive Chinese takeout dinner i had before clubbing. The freaking meal consisting of mushroom egg with beansprouts, chicken curry and fried rice cost us like 50+bucks SGD. WTH. If i was desperate enough, i might have scooped up my own vomit and eat it again just so i wouldn't waste my money. But then again, who am i kidding, i would NEVER do that, over my dead body. Both me and Bee weren't feeling too good after dancing, Tae could take alcohol, I guess South Koreans really DO DRINK ALOT. Kendra had like 6-9 bottles of beer, it's crazy man, the amount of alcohol people drink here, you would have thought the whole nation was filled with alcoholics...during events like the formals, people get so intoxicated, they get pulled away in an ambulance...and i thought that only existed in magazines.


Very, very expensive chinese takeout...and the chicken curry wasn't even chinese, it was indian curry!! But it tasted pretty decent...considering the chinese food in the residence hall taste like vomit...okay, exgagerrating again.

Starting from left: Kendra, Ryan, Tae, Bee, Jessica, Tom & Me!

Another group shot!

I'm inserting this photo because i thought it was hilarious that this random guy just came in and took a shot with us, in case you're wondering, it's the guy on my right.

above the horizons at crabbe mountain

Heys! Kk, just came back from a boring project meeting where we tabulated figures for this simulated game that we're playing for my competitive strategy module. The game itself is kinda fun cause you get to design your product, market your product and finance your project through adjusting costs, selling prices, positioning of product and issuing stocks, etc.



Hmm, kk, it sounds kinda boring in writing, but it's really quite fun when you get your hands onto it, cause we're competing against 5 other groups for market cap and market share. The main point is what kind of module lets u play games instead of studying?! Nil, Nada, Zero. Well, lucky me then!



Oh well, today i'll just briefly decribe my snow skiing experience at crabbe mountain. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, around 7.15am to catch the bus ride from the SUB at 8.30am. It took a bloody amount of effort to get up cause i was sooo tired. The bus ride took about 1hr up to crabbe mountain. And that day was particularly cold so i was wearing more layers than usual, to be specific, 3 layers(turtle neck, jacket and downjacket) on the top and 3 layers on the bottom(long johns, jeans, and water proof track pants).



When we reached there, we immediately enrolled ourselves for the 1hr snow school. And got ourselves the snow skiing equipments which cost a total of 68bucks(including the bus ride, lift ride, snow school). Cheap right! Me and Bee went to learn the basic techniques of how to move in the skis, how to turn left and right and of course, most importantly how to brake. Keaw went off to snow board cause she already knows the basics. Her Canadian friend taught her a while back while she was in moncton. Our hands were completely freezing cause we weren't wearing the right gloves and gosh, let me warn u, if u ever intend to ski or snow board, please bring proper mittens, your hands will SERIOUSLY drop off if you don't keep them warm. That's what happened to me and bee....no, our hands didn't drop off...OBVIOUSLY not...but they almost did(k, i'm exagerrating). Luckily the kind instructor lent us his nylon mittens or we wouldn't have wanted to conitnue skiing.



The entire day was really nice, we tried to ski at the bunny slope (exactly what the name sounds like--> slope for the amateur of amateurs, for those who would die sliding down a 5cm slope -_-") But there's one thing i REALLY want to complain, the lifts aren't those seats that carry you across the mountains, where you get to dangle your feet in the air, they were more like this:

Yes, BLOODY STUPID HAND PULLING THING...what the hell...and damn did it strain your arms, cause they move automatically and they don't stop for you to grab hold of them, you just have to time yourself and grab hard onto the levers. And then...WHAM...they'll pull you up the slope. Very, very strainous on the arms and on the back(you have to bend down when it goes to the highest levels cause the cables are lower to the ground at the top).

But the exhilaration that comes from going downhill is the most fantastic thing, the wind blowing into your face and you're out of control, sweeping down the white landscape. It's awesome, that is if you know how to brake when you need to, not like me. I fell face flat onto the pile of equipments that people left outside the shops. Ouch. Suppeeeer embarrassing. What happened was, i was so confident about skiing that i headed straight to the top of the slope right after my lunch brk, and having only had 1 hr of lesson b4 that, i couldn't quite remember how to brake. And that's when it happened, i went downhill and screamed..."Oh my G**" throughout. Sorry, i used the name of God in vain but i couldn't help it, i thought i was going to die. Keaw heard a voice screaming "OMG!!!OMG!!" and she turned to look, she realised it was me but she couldn't do anything cause what could she do? The one main rule to remain safe and keep others safe is to mind your own business, i was coming at 100km/hr, no one should bloody come into my path.

And then next thing i knew, i couldn't brake, even when the ground was nearly flat, i was still zooming at the speed of light. And then i saw it....the wooden bench right in front of me...luckily a quick move of mine to the right helped me to avoid colliding into the painful looking structure. Just when i thought i was safe, i saw the next obstacle...the wooden stand with the pile of ski equipments..."Oh shit, oh shit, oh crapz" was exactly what was in my mind at that moment. I wanted to swerve to avoid it but i saw the building behind the wooden stand and decided banging into a stand would be LESS EMBARRASSING than banging into the wooden house containing 50 people inside. Can you imagine if they thought it was an earthquake if i made an impact on the wooden house? To tell you the truth, I'd rather die than to find out. So i decided to fall back abit to lessen the impact of the collision, and yes, it didn't hurt as much as it should but my face went right into the skis and all of them came tumbling down onto me. A white lady beside me was like"OMG, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ARE YOU BLEEDING??!" I looked up at her in a daze and said "OMG, AM I BLEEDING????" And the next thing i knew, a man behind me helped to remove my skiis, lifted up the pile of equipments around me and helped me up. SO EMBARRASSING.

I'll remember this experience for life and yes, now i'm all prepared to go ski dving. haha. Extreme sports? Piece of cake!

ipod earphones

i just bought ipod earphones from the school campus, they cost 49.95bucks! What a Steal! Much cheaper as compared to Singapore. I bought the new earphones cause my current earphones are spoilt, i think my sis bought me fake ones, claiming that they were authentic earpieces after she broke my REAL IPOD earpieces. argh.


Anyway, i'm lazy to type much today so i'll just post pictures of events and just briefly describe them...

we were walking out to the goodies store which sells really yummy cookies~

Look at all the snow!! It's so pretty!

Our snow sleighing trip a while back, can't remember when and can't really be bothered to remember because 1) I'm lazy 2) Nobody cares. Met some really nice people there. The girl on my left is a Thai girl, Keaw, whom we hang out quite often with. Love her cool dreadlocks! She's been studying abroad all her life, moving from one country to another, e.g. singapore, australia, new zealand! Too cool, i wish i could lead that kinda life! The other 2 gals right behind me are from Germany, Meric and Alev. They're really nice people! Might be going to travel with them during the march spring break! Then there's Claire Baladou from sweden, she can speak an amazing number of languages, French, German, Spanish, English. It's crazy! And i only know 2, not withstanding the fact that i can barely speak mandarin. Can u imgaine if i had to learn that much languages?! i think i would get confused and jumble them all up, and u'll get FrenGerSpanlish.

Bee, me, alev & meric!

The nice old man who guided the horses for our sleigh rides!

You know, i was really excited at first to take the snow sleigh cause i was expecting something like the kind you see in Santa movies, you know the ones with reindeers on it. Something like this:

So there i was, excited that for the first time i might actually be able to reenact the Hollywood-ish scenes of kids flying with Santa in the amazing red sleigh, but no...instead i got this...

A wooden cart!! Grrrr....And plus, that day was friggin' chilly!! And the sleigh just went through the forest, i was expecting scenery! But instead i saw fir trees and more kinds of trees, oh, and deers too! lolx.

the namesake

Reunion Dinner (Asian cuisine feat. korean egg rolls, sweet & sour fish, etc.)

The Chinese New Year Package my wonderful friends sent me! Thanks sooo sooo much!

Scooping ice-cream for everyone!! Reunion Dinner!


I just got back from watching The Namesake, it's a tale of a bengali family forging their lives in foreign new york city. It was really touching how the young boy grew up trying to surpress his tradition, his bengali roots and the culture that his parents came from but realized how there's really no need to forget your roots and just be yourself and follow your heart. It's a story of people who travel to a land unknown and carry their cultures along with them, in an effort to forge a new future. I felt really touched by the movie as i guess i was kinda in that situation now, except of course i'm not actually staying in canada for the long term. But it just really shows the lives of so many asians and other foriegners who might have felt the same way when they migrated here to Canada. I've gotten to know many expatriates living here, who probably have gone through their fair share of adventure. It was a very fulfilling watch, that is not to say that 27 dresses(i watched it on new year's day!) wasn't a good watch, it was a nice, light chick flick about a girl who has lived her life for others until she found her own. But once in a way, it's nice to watch a meaningful movie like "The Namesake". It isn't a typical show that I'd watch(what with all the unknown bengali actors that i've never seen in my whole life), in fact i probably wouldn't have gone for the movie if Keaw(a cool Thai gal i met here in UNB) didn't ask me to. I'm really glad i went for it though :)


It's the second day of new year now, something really weird happened just now, lolx. I was walking towards the Head Hall(where the movie was showing) and I was minding my own business, desperate to get to the nearest shelter so i could hide from the blistering cold when this caucasian guy walked past me. I was walking with my head bent down, my cape up and my hands in my pocket when he suddenly turned around and said "You're very pretty by the way". I was stunned, flattered of course...but stunned. I muttered a thank you which he probably didn't hear and just stood there like an idiot, staring back at him. I didn't really get a good look at his face though, so i can't tell if he was good looking. If he was, i might just pounce on him. That sure would frighten him off, lolx.



Anyway, today was a pretty amazing night, i admired the snow for the first time i came here, as in really stood and stared at the snow falling against the glistening pile of snow already forming mountains on the campus. It was really, really beautiful for once. Since i've arrived here for a month now, i don't think i ever felt that good about all the snow but i guess it is pretty amazing, i think i will definitely miss having snow. It's so pretty, like little buds falling softly and slowly onto the palms of your hands and the snow around glisters like crystals under the orange shades of the lamps. I love this place.



Oh, i was supposed to continue about my boston trip but i just got to blog about the movie and this sudden feeling of liberation, amazement and pure gratitude that i am having this chance to come to a different side of the world and witness amazing things like this. And of course, thank you sooo much to Jessie, Elaine, Beatrice for sending the parcel of new year goodies to me! I have almost eaten more than half of it already, THAT'S how much I craved for new year goodies! Thank you for the prawn rolls, the pineapple tarts, the bak gua, the pistachios, the miso soup, the meiji chocs, the calibee crisps, the mashed potatos, the fruittips, the mama noodles!! That was alot alot of food! And it cost a bloody a lot of money too, I'm so grateful to you guys for spending so much money on me!! I love u guys so, so much! I think i'm like the luckiest girl alive to have such thoughtful friends like you all and when i received the parcel, i was almost in tears corz i was so touched! I kept boasting about the parcel i got, you guys are the BEST! I really think it's God's blessing that i managed to survive this far and i believe it was Him who brought you guysto me, I'm so thankful that i met wonderful wonderful people like ya all cause i wouldn't know what i would do without you guys! I've been so fortunate to be able to have parents who love me so much as to part with a large sum of money so i can go enjoy myself on the exchange and for having friends who stayed over at the airport to painfully draw me a beautiful poster and a notebook with photos(some really horrid memories of my ugly past, but still nostalgic nonetheless, haha) and friends who spend 80+ bucks to send me a parcel so i can enjoy new year in a foreign land. How great can anyone's life get! Honestly, all the money in the world could never make me give up my friends and family. Hmm, mayb johnny depp will do, lolx, kidding~ I hope you guys i doing well back home, as much as i love being overseas, a part of me also misses home, i miss being in the comfort of my home, my friends and all the chinese food. Haha, pardon my ostensive greed.





Oh, and i celebrated new year's eve at a taiwanese friend's house. We had potluck dinner, where my other friends brought diches of their own. There was korean egg rolls, spicy kimchi, tofu and mushroom soup, glutinous rice(like ba zhang), spicy cashew nuts with soy sauce, sweet and sour fish, and radish. All really yummy, it was a mini asian cuisine. Me and Bee brought apples and two jars of ice-cream, Ben & Jerry's Vanilla ice-cream and Hagen Daz's Cookie Dough ice-cream. Yum yum, Hagen Daz was at sale for 5buck per pint at sobeys! Cheap! I almost wanted to forgt my asian manners and ask for the remaining ice-cream back. lolx. The 2 taiwanese people i met are currently taking they're PHD at St. Thomas and UNB, and the south korean woman is taking her PHD in Business at St. Thomas. They're really nice people. We then went to luvena's house to watch american idol auditions and the moment of truth(which is nice in a lame way). And her saudi arabian bf made us really nice strawberry slushie! They're soo nice, she gave us lotsa kettle chips too, i have like 6 packets now. Their apartment is so comfy and nice. Oh, luvena is a fellow Singaporean by the way!

Kk, i'll stop here corz i've been typing for long enough, I'll blog about my clubbing experience in Canada, my snow skiing and "falling-flat-on-the-face-super-embarrassing" experience and my hockey and bball tournament trip(i watched, not played, in case you haven't lready figured it out) when i get back, so cya!