tour guide or tourist??

Jane June came to tour glasgow, but somehow it felt like i was the tourist. even though i've been here in glasgow for almost a year now, i have yet to pay any visit to any place of attraction.

we started with the city chambers. we had planned on going for their free walking tour, but somehow the timing was never right.



flowers were in bloom finally. spring really is coming.


we went to counting house for breakfast. looking at the interior, can you believe it's a pub? they even have greek statues on the ceilings watching you eat. cool place though, and nice ambience, in the morning at least, when there's not so many people drinking.



we all had our much-needed dose of caffeine, in preparation for the long day ahead of us.




clockwise from left: Scottish haggies, neeps and tatties. breaded mushrooms. scottish farmhouse breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, baked beans, potato bread, grilled tomato and toast.



on our way back from counting house, we saw this statue that tourists seemed to flock around... kononnya... it's james watt! i didn't even know he was so honoured in scotland.


we went to visit the glasgow cathedral first. it's just down the road from our hostel. can't believe it's so near and we never ever went in. looks pretty gloomy from the outside though.

St. Mungo's tomb

view of the cathedral from necropolis

after we were done with the cathedral, we went to the necropolis beside it. it's a really massive graveyard.


then, we paid a visit to the St. Mungo museum. i really like the building, looks kinda unique, since it's all built from bricks.


the museum had some paintings, among them i found this the most interesting. man, even i could draw this. guess what this is?


it's...Mount Fuji. it even came with a long poem. i'm guessing the poem took longer to write than the time to draw the picture..

i have telekinetic powers...

next, we headed down high street in search of the Barras market. along the way, we past the clock tower.

finally.. we reached the barras market.. kononnya world-known. i wonder known for what.. i find it even worst than sri petaling pasar malam. or sungai wang (for the indoor part). After all's said, it's still a good place to go if you want to find some cheap cds, second hand books etc.



to rest our tired legs, we stopped to have a snack of ben & jerry's.. yummy... this is chunky monkey.=]


dinner was at rumours (clockwise from left): seafood tomyam, belacan kangkung, sizzling tofu, bubble tea, curry leaf chicken.


breakfast was our very own english/american breakfast consisting of toast, scrambled omelette (failed omelette), bacon, sausage, baked beans.

me, jane june and fiona. ^^

it was good to have her back with us again, albeit for only 2 days. i look forward to our next meeting!:)

pharm care is heart attack-inducing

after slaving my whole day away researching data for primary prevention of cardiovascular events by aspirin and statins, i suddenly see in the lecture slides...

'secondary prevention..... diabetes.....'

????!!!!

the trials are all different!!!

with shaking hands me and fiona scour through journals, books, and even wikianswers (please don't trust that one)... and finally the results are out.

Primary prevention - when you do not have CVD (stroke, MI, angina etc)
Secondary prevention - when you have CVD

Hypertension is not a CVD.
and there are actually diabetics using primary or secondary prevention, meaning that diabetes does NOT automatically lead to secondary prevention.
Hypertension and diabetes, which automatically lead to high cardiovascular risk, can still be treated with primary prevention.

Thank god.

同志

pharm care 打着打着，突然想起...
在进imu前的长假，
我记得我到Terminal 1寻找着萧雅轩的MV.
真的难找耶.

最后在底楼的一间店，
那老板竟然送我他店里用来播放的那片带.
我一直要还钱，他竟然不要.

真的有这么好的人吗？
竟然毫无理由的对别人好...

或许是因为他也很喜欢萧雅轩那个专辑，
所以他能理解.

这就是所谓的同志吗？^^

photography excursion in glasgow

it was a sunny day. Random conversation between kelvin and chris led to an unexpected photography excursion, them with their D90s, me with my point-and-shoot (gosh, but anyway...).

but anyway, so off we went, chris (our ketua for the day), kelvin and shu yin, me and trisha. it was quite a first time i actually toured glasgow, and it really was a first of going around with only one motive in mind - to capture them in frame!

we started off at kelvin grove museum, since it was raining...







the exit point was quite unique, since it was upside down, ie. the backdoor acting as the entrance whilst the main entrance facing the back. this mistake by the architect actually caused him to end his life in dismay/despair/utter embarassment, or so i heard. quite sad though.

from there on, we just walked and walked, through the park and onwards.



we even came across some old brick furnace.




and the glasgow council flats..


nearing the last leg of our trip, we went past the glasgow gas storage where they stored all the gas (obvious i suppose). the level was normally higher, but since it was winter and everyone used the gas for heating, the level was quite low.


we also made a trip to the dam.. it was kinda slippery there.


last but not least, we stopped on our way back to the train station for them to take pictures playing with lights. seems you could do lots of things by adjusting shutter speed/aperture etc. u could take curved car lights (interesting since light is supposed to go in a straight line), you could take star-shapped lights (by using the minimum aperture), or just by placing a star-shaped cardboard in front of the lens and bokeh-ing the rest. i'm not sure if they were just pulling my leg though.


anyways, we walked far that day, but it was nice and well worth it. when you compare the end-products, it's obvious why some people are professional photographers. i'm glad for this learning experience though. one day... i'll get a SDLR with bokeh lens. haha.. maybe in my dreams.^^

Happy endings

"Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up:

if a boy punches you he likes you,
never try to trim your own bangs,
and someday you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending.

every movie we see, every story we're told
implores us to wait for it:
the third act twist,
the unexpected declaration of love,
the exception to the rule.

but sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending
we don't learn how to read the signs.
how to tell the ones who want us from the ones who don't,
the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave.
and maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy,
maybe it's you, on your own,
picking up the pieces and starting over,
freeing yourself up for something better in the future.
maybe the happy ending is just moving on.

or maybe the happy ending is this:
knowing after all the unreturned phone calls and broken-hearts,
through the blunders and misread signals,
through all the pain and embarrassment...
you never gave up hope. "

-- he's just not that into you, the movie

Slumdog Millionaire

i did not go with high expectations, even though i kept hearing comments that it was nice. I was expecting some boring bollywood movie, but how mistaken i was...

slumdog millionaire.. an indian film no doubt, (not the conventional american/taiwanese/korean shows i would watch), but offers you quite another insight to life.

So what's the film gotta offer?

it had a delightful sense of humour, that's for sure.


some scenes simply tugged at your heart... when you see how hard life can be in other parts of the world.. it was really awful how the kids were used as beggars...


the music was cool~ haunting at times, makes your feet tap to the beat at times..

romance?? they actually had 3 different sets of actors and actresses to act the hero, heroine and the hero's brother at their different ages. of course, love prevails forever. typical. but this time it had an added spark of reality. "i love you..." "so what?"


suspense!! i was really vouching for him to win.. and it was so touching to see all the people from the slums, and all the people who had crossed his life's path, huddled expectantly in front of tv shops. it was like he was the hope of the slumdogs for a better chance at life.


and of course, it couldn't be complete without the ending bollywood dance!


definitely worth watching!^^

Happy Valentine's day!

whether you are single or attached, i suppose valentine's day is an annual reminder for us to cherish our loved ones, may it be your partner, your family, your friends, or it could even be a homeless person on the streets starved for a tiny show of care.

there are so many sides to love that are often forgotten. and it does not alwayz have to be shown through material gifts. a thoughtful gesture. a meal prepared with love. a simple touch, holding your grandmother's withered hands. Love is expressed by your heart.

so do not wait until valentine's day to express your love to your loved ones. why not let everyday be valentine's day?=]

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

祝大家幸福无穷，快乐无尽。情人节快乐！

the God who gives and takes away...

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

it never ceases to amaze me, how some people can just find it in their hearts to accept it with so much peace, the fact that the Lord gives and takes away.. especially in funerals. it is so easy to say, yet so hard to embrace and face. some may say that they have left for a better place. but yet their absence from our lives is still very much felt. it makes me think, of what i wanna do with my life, how i wanna leave an impact on the lives of people around me, and not just disappear off the face of the earth. more than ever, it makes me cherish those around me even more.

i suppose each time we are faced with difficulties, it is in our very nature to focus all our attention or every part of our functioning brain capacity on the PROBLEMS, the things we LACK, but we forget, ever so often, just how BLESSED we are, and the things we already HAVE.

i suppose, not only do i have to learn to dance in the rain, but also to praise Him in the storm. =]

2nd snowfall in glasgow

the snow was thick thick thick! we rushed out for snow fights and snow-man building like kids running for candy.

my snow angel ^^

we built snow mans on the wide expanse in front of john anderson building. sadly, they got smashed up while we went searching for their eyes, nose and hands. sigh.. but anyway... here's a sneak of our snowman-building process...

first... roll roll roll... it was fun. some kept crumbling down though. mine had poky sides to it. some was square. but in the end.. we each had 2 big round balls.;p

me behind fiona's snowball.. so big!

when we were fixing the eyes and mouth, we met trisha, jacinta and wei chun coming back from church. more people joined in the fun/craze.

can you spot what's missing on the snowman?

complete now? ^^

picasa...

the poor man's substitute for nikon D60 + lens + flash
of course the effect is far from D60... but ah well.. it's either this or thousands of pounds gone, or an intensive and in-depth course of photoshop/lightroom.

for the love of books

there's a kind of thrill,
trudging in the snow to v.o.
wondering which book it will be.

下雪

外头下着的雪
仿佛落在我寒冷的心中

it's snowing at JBC finally! whee!

we woke up amidst screaming, but since my shades are always down, i didn't realise it was actually snowing!! anyways, we hurried down to catch the snow, in our house clothes. finally! it was cold though. my fingers were numb with cold. and the snow stopped after we got down. sad..

me and hui ling behind our hostel. this is where our room windows look out to.

another photo behind JBC

me at the steps we have to trudge up everytime we are heavily laden with groceries.

leaving my mark ^^

jeannie preparing to slide down JBC's very own 'snow' slope.

we went down again when it started to snow heavily once more. this time, i went with my gloves. i saw boys proudly taking pictures wearing shorts. really salute them.^^

me and yi lyn when the snow got heavier

me with shu yin

with snowball from leng.

we saw a tiny snowman on the slope behind JBC.. built by the boys i think.

awww.. isn't it simply adorable??^^

copyright infringement?? oopss..

we went out a third time (i really can't believe myself) after a period of heavy snow. this time, we headed to the grounds in front of the architectural building. the snow was really quite thick and fluffy.





well, i finally got my snow at JBC. really hopes it snows and snows and snows... then we can have a snow fight! as long as there's no up-coming presentation nearby. till that day then.~