Day 113 - First exam paper in UCL

Joy came over last night from Vienna as part of her Europe trip. After breakfast, I dropped her off at British Museum and revise a little more for my first paper in the afternoon.

As UCL does not have big halls like NUS, the examinations are usually held around the London, by renting conference rooms or halls of churches.


The Exam Venue. My timetable says "Park Crescent Conference Centre", but I couldn't find it. Turns out THIS is the main building that holds the conference centre, and the only signs that says that it's the conference centre is a small sign next to the door. If not because my coursemates were gathering outside, I would have missed that place.

The exam hall!

Despite that there are already 2 cases of H1N1 in the UK, there aren't any measures to measure temperature. Heard that in NUS, they are suppose to report early and get their temperature screened and stuff, when there is not a single case in Singapore yet?

Anyway, my first paper was pretty good. What I spotted came out, so phew! Thought I wouldn't do too well initially, cause this course, Restoration and Management of Freshwater Ecosystem is very much centred around the UK and Europe. The ecology here is very different from what I've seen so far as well. But all's good I think. Should be able to bring the credit back to NUS at least.

Saw a Chinese-Thai Vegetarian Buffet restaurant on my way back. £5.50, hmm...maybe should recommend to Heather and Mingli.

Day 110 - Coursework submission day!

It's finally here - the day to submit my two essays. One for Geography of Securities, the other, Restoration and Management of Freshwater Ecosystem. Barely slept the night before, but glad that I pulled it through to "give birth" to these 2 twins (one physical geography, another human geography what).

Anyway, coursework submission in UCL is more formal. Nope, it's not just dropping it into your lecturer's pigeon hole.

1. The lecturers have no say on the deadline. Different year modules must submit their coursework on different dates set by the Administrative side. 27th April is the submission date for all Year 3 modules. If you want to appeal for extension, your lecturer have no say - only the admin people may grant you that! So don't email your professors or pray for a magical email from him or her to extend the dateline.
   
2. A soft copy of your coursework must be submitted to Turnitin for plagiarism checking.
   
3. Hard copy must be submitted to the admin office, who will consolidate it.

Went to Science Library to get my coursework printed out. Looks like it's submission day for other departments too. The printer was a little crazy, but manage to get it out nonetheless.

But it's not just stapling your essays together and submitting it!

First, you have to grab a red folder, a cover page and a plagiarism declaration form for each coursework.

Next, you have to punch a hole on the top left hand corner and put them in the folder, fixed with some holder.

Lastly, fill up the cover of the red folder.

And I've submitted it! One coursework takes up 50% of my overall grade. Unlike NUS, where it takes about 3 different courseworks to make up 50%!

Day 109 - Eating potatoes

I rarely buy potatoes cause it is quite difficult to keep them, as they can sprout even before I could finish them. But since I've bought potatoes to cook curry when Shiyang was around, I had been roasting them with other vegetables for dinner. After all, it takes less attention to cook it. Just cut, season, toss, dump into oven for 20 minutes and I have a dinner. Perfect for me, since I've been busy researching and writing for my 2 coursework due tomorrow.

Will write the recipe someday. Nah, I got eat properly here in London. So don't worry.

Day 108 - SEA Music goes to Cambridge

It's Singapore Day today! But I've decided not to go for it, as SEA Music is having a gig at Cambridge. Singapore Day happens every year, how often do you get to perform in Cambridge? Besides, I'll be back in Singapore in about 2 months time anyway. So yes, all the food I crave can wait.

We drove up to Cambridge and arrived at Jesus College early. We're suppose to perform during the lunch time of a conference on cultural exchanges in Southeast Asia during the 18th and 19th Century.

Most of the photos here are taken by Larry!

Preparing for a early run through.
Looking for my soles after our run through.

We had a quite a bit of free time before our performance, so we walked around a little.
In performance gear. It was pretty good, and I ching-chapped at the right places. Guess I'm more used to these pieces which were unfamiliar to me at the start. Perhaps I have the confidence to start playing these pieces on other instruments already. Anyway, the audience was fantastic. We thought we were just background music for their lunch, but they were really attentive and appreciative, even though given their background, they are clearly not ethnomusicologist. Was told that the organisers were very happy and impressed!
Our lunch from the organisers!

Wolfing down. Eating sandwiches never felt so shiok before.

The aftermath.

We continued to explore Cambridge
Camera shoot-out competition. Went to pay Keng Rui a surprise visit at his room before we meet for dinner in the evening with Royce.
Having a picnic at one of the few areas in Cambridge where you can walk on the grass. They bought drinks from the pub, but sorry I don't drink!

CRASSH - what an acronym for your research centre.

The rest of the gang returning to London first. I went on to Royce's place and talk cock with him till we met Keng Rui for dinner.

Saw this when I returned to Kings Cross.

The new location of Platform 9 3/4

Day 104 - Free Cone Day X 3

21st April 2009. It's Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day! When there is good ice-cream handed out for free, how can a Kiasu Singaporean who's deprived of ice-cream not go for it? Walked about 40 minutes to Leicester Square, where there are 3 Ben & Jerry's Scope Shops near each other.

My first target. Queue was short. It took only 5 minutes to reach my turn.

2nd shop. See how short the queue is?

Since there are 3 shops about 100m away from each other, I went to queue for all 3 shops. And it didn't take 5 minutes to reach my turn at each shop! Guess I have fulfilled all the ice-cream and cones that I've been deprived of.

But this event is for charity after all. I did give donation to each scoop shops for the different charity they raise funds for. Like my mother always say - things for charity, cannot anyhow take advantage one!

Day 103- recovered

Been coughing out all the phlegm for the past 2 days. Guess I've recovered from the cold at last!

Day 101 - Sending Shiyang off and recovery

Woke up feeling a lot better. Brought Shiyang to Victoria Coach station to catch a bus to Gatwick Airport. Finally, the weather is clear and sunny again, but on the day that he's leaving? This confirms my theory that Shiyang is a rain mage!

Update: Shiyang said Vienna was rainy when he returned. Haha!

Day 100 - Sick for the first time

Woke up feeling kinda blur. Not feeling too well. Guess I've caught a cold.

Brought Shiyang to the post office at Russell Square so that he can post his postcard to that "someone". He decided that he'll go to British Museum on his own and ask me to go back and rest.

Cooked vegetable curry for dinner, since he miss Singapore food so much. That guy's phone went flat, so he couldn't contact me to open doors. Somehow manage to get his way right into the flat without any keys!

Gave him half a container of curry paste as well, which my aunts and mother insisted that I bring over (when I'm not a curry fanatic?). Like he said, he come here macham to pick up cooking from me like that.

Day 99 - Shiyang in London

It's cloudy and gloomy. We were extremely lucky for the past 2 weeks, where it was virtually clear blue sky and sunny all the time, with temperatures consistently above 20ºC. Today it rained and the temperatures were like 13ºC? Needed some time to adjust.

Brought Shiyang around. It's also the first time I'm visiting some of these landmarks in London.

Aren't some random long kang lah. It's part of the Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.

Flowers of Hyde Park.

Not the people who should be aware. It's the thieves!

Gloomy House of Parliament.

Tower Bridge, not London Bridge.

We basically walked like 14km around the Thames River to cover the key attractions? Brought Shiyang to Malaysian Kopitiam to satisfy his craving for chicken rice.

Someone is obviously on cloud 9.

Savouring every mouthful of it. He declared it "very good" and "very authentic"

Went around taking nightshots. Strangely, House of Parliament and Big Ben wasn't lighted up on the side facing the Thames.

London Eye.

And we walked back. Having some sniffles and a pair of legs that's about to fall off

Day 98 - Milano and back to London!

Woke up early to head to the Duomo. Milano is known not to have much attractions, but we're here just for the Duomo and cheap flight back to London.

The interiors of the Duomo was quite a wonder. Subsequently, we paid to climb up to the roof.

The spires on the roof of the Duomo

The crowning glory of the Duomo is a small copper statue of the little Madonna.

At the border of old and new Milano.

The roof of the Duomo

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in the day

Streets of Milano

Castello Sforzesco - the old fortress when Milano was a city-state

The emblem of Milan when it was a city-state.

The old school close your own door cage elevator. Took our bags to get ready to head off for the bus to the airport. Decided to drop by Piazzale Loreto, as that's where the body of Mussolini was hung. Turns out there's nothing there! We suspected our hostel staff might have mistaken, as the Lonely Planet guidebook says Piazza Lotto.

But there's nothing at Piazza Lotto as well! Oh well. We headed to take the bus to the airport.

Lufthansa? £49.50 flight to London. Still much cheaper than taking budget air, especially when we don't have to pay crazy prices to take bus from out of place airports to the city.

Cloudscape on the way back.

Brought Shiyang to Chop Chop opposite King's Cross for dinner. It's been a long time since we had a hot meal.

And that marks the end of my Easter trip.

Update: Wikipedia says that it's Piazzale Loreto, where the body of Mussolini and his mistress was hung in display to the public. It was also that incident that prompted Hitler ordering his body to be destroyed after his death, so that it wouldn't have the chance to face the same humiliating treatment.

Day 97 - Road to Milano

Last day in Roma. We went to Roma Termini train station early to catch our train to Milano., our last stop. Technically, it's my last stop, but Shiyang is coming over to London with me.
Shiyang was posting postcard to someone (erhm erhm) while I was looking around for a Roman specialty - supplì

Selling pizza by the weight. Just tell the person at the counter how much to cut, and he'll weigh it and charge it accordingly.

Supplì - Rissotto stuffed with cheese and fried. It's good, only for €1!

The huge Roma Termini train station. 29 platforms!

The train to Milano was extremely crowded. The corridors are filled, some passengers put their luggage and sat in the Gents. Shiyang and I decided to sit on the floor of the restaurant carriage. As the Gents is occupied by luggage passengers, we have to use the Ladies for the 6 hours ride. A China couple boarded at Firenze asking us whether they need to change train to get to Milano. We said no, but at every train station, the guy keep asking. Hello, no need to change means no need to change! Whenever we stood up to stretch, he would peer over from the other end of the carriage. We were so tempted to fake alighting somewhere to get rid of him.

Milano. After near 7 hours.

The old school cage elevator to our hostel.

Bet you never saw bread being packed like this huh? Actually it's two rows which is packed sideways like this. One row was eaten for dinner.

This fed us for most of our trip.

The Milano Duomo - one of the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world. Made totally of white marbles, took 500 years to build.

Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery- atas shopping place.

Our last gelato. Cheap and good - you can't find that in Singapore with either the same quality and/or the same price.