where thoughts materialise.

So we're into the sixth version of my blog after the last version hung around for a year or so.

Now, a bit of info on this image. This photo was taken one lovely spring afternoon, featuring the iconic Old Well from the UNC Chapel Hill campus. I would like to think of this image as a tribute to my time in UNC Chapel Hill, the awesome friends I made and the memories I now hold dear.

A milestone in my life indeed.

I've dropped the tagboard cos its useless and taking eons to load. But thanks to Angela who helped me set it up, I still do like and will miss the pink interface.

So yeah, it's the sixth one you fellas!

Yours.

27 April 2008

you know you miss my older entries

October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Two years can pass by at once so quickly, yet feel like it was eternity. How much I miss her.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:29 PM

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:16 AM

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A tribute to the summer of 08.

This summer I set foot in 8 cities and received too much hospitality along the way. I would never have dreamt that I would achieve this much in a single summer but I'm thankful I did, blessed with the many awesome people I've met along the way.

I will always look back on summer 08 and have lots of lovely stories to tell. Simply lovely.

* *

So, fall semester has commenced and once again, our lives are set into a new motion. The tide of time pushes us on, for the better hopefully.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:29 AM

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I know I've said this before, but it frightens me sometimes when I do not think much about life anymore.

In fact, I've had a general consensus (with myself) that my brain is simply not interested in thinking in-depth as I grow older. Just like sometimes in tutorials, I see (well, figuratively) thoughts and opinions darting all over, and yet I feel quite detatched from it all.

These days, I just space out.

It might not be totally bad I suppose - one can go mad when he puts his minds too much into thinking about life, rather than actually living it.

Today's the start of semester and a rather uneventful one at it.

* *

I'm always thankful for the exchange I've been on, its puts widening-my-horizon into reality and perspective, and has brought me friends across nations and cultures which I feel is the greatest gift of all.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:14 AM

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Monday, August 04, 2008

A little taste of S/ingfest 2008. Two of the best songs of the night.
Apparently everyone was singing so loudly I can't hear the lead vocals much.

and Miss K/ey's awesome close to the festival.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 10:33 PM

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nimgnoy let the night fall at 2:22 PM

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Entry #672

A simple conversation at lunch today got me thinking.

How passionate are we about our passion(s)?

I have been more than used to seeing how the brutality of the harsh working world has killed the perceptivity of life in people, many of which I do know personally. And it's sad of course, that the concept of passion, dreams and ideals are often scorned and casted aside as an ephemeral insignificance, and perhaps a joke for the practical world.

The more I thought of it, it became clear that isn't life today made out of dreams built upon dreams before? Isn't reality simply dreams materialised? Sometimes we just need a reminder that our dreams are worth pursuing.

My dear readers, if you have (or had) a childhood dream, a lifelong passion or a (seemingly) faraway ideal, I say to you - never give it up or let them pass you by. For only dreams propel humanity to truly live and love, grasping the meaning of life and the place of our existence in this world.

Just as we must learn to walk so we can run, we too must learn to dream so we can achieve.

That being said, always, and this I pray, always stay true to your dreams.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 10:25 PM

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hong K/ong - the summer, the t/arheels, the heat, the friends and the air con drippings.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 9:57 AM

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Monday, July 28, 2008

I've been too busy, but fyi, I'm still alive.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 10:17 PM

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

As backpackers often encounter, we too had a change of plans.

Travelling into G/uangzhou yesterday, we were greeted with a wave of unruly C/hinese nationals which turned the railway station somewhat into a disaster relief camp. Our train connections will not materialise until a few days later, where we were only secured standing tickets for our overnight 13 hour train ride into N/anning - and that's only halfway to our destination in Hanoi.

Looking at the dire circumstances laid before us, we had to abandon Mission V/ietnam and we took a express train back to K/owloon.

Jon left this morning, but I decided to stay on a few more days to explore H/ong Kong at a slower pace, and really just to be detatched from the world back home - to be unplugged for a moment.

I'm excited cos 3 S/EASers are flying into the F/ragrant Harbour tomorrow.

I arrive back on the 22nd.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:04 PM

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Just a short hello from a P/ac Coffee Cafe somewhere near C/auseway Bay in HK, where it has been absolutely hot the past few days, and sometimes even hotter than my equatorial home.

We extended our stay in HK by a day cos there'sjust absolutely too many things to do here - namely eating and shopping and eating and shapping and more eating. Tomorrow we start our 2 day journey into H/anoi via C/hina, so that should be rather interesting.

Peace.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 6:55 PM

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Monday, July 14, 2008

Okay, so here's the mandatory blog post from the free internet terminals in the airport. And they just made a last call announcement for my flight 3 minutes ago, so I really think I should run.

Peace.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 6:51 PM

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I've finally just finished working for my last C/ommencement session in the morning and am packing my backpack for my flight this evening. What a week.

But what's new anyway, I remember packing and doing laundry with E/rnest the whole night before we left C/hapel Hill for New Y/ork at 6am the next morning.

And yes, like back in the good old days, I'm looking forward to sleeping on my flight later.

Gonna bring some k/aya over for Meagan, can't wait for that!

See yall in 2 weeks.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 4:03 PM

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Sunday, July 06, 2008

S/ingapore leaves me hot and frustrated.

As I took a lone walk out of V/ictoria Theatre late this night, I cannot help but enjoy the calm and quietness that only a Sunday night can bring, and marvel at how beautiful this city is by the river.

This pocket of solitude only made me realize how much me-time I've left out on since I came back home. Life here is such a rush and I hate it when everybody wants a part of me, pulling me apart in so many directions.

I really miss days in C/arolina when I had the liberty to take walks and chill in a hammock in the woods till the sun set, and had no one but perhaps a few friends to account to in C/hapel Hill.

But I guess this is the world for me now.

Speaking of which, this would probably be my last post for a while, next week is C/ommencement which I'm working full time for (8am -11pm, Mon to Sun), and then its off to HK and V/ietnam for yet another whirlwind adventure for the next couple of weeks.

I'll be lying if I said I'm not tired.

Peace.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:57 PM

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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

"Dear Exchange Students,

Take a deep breath... the end of the semester is almost here. Tomorrow is the last day of classes, and in my opinion, the best day of the year to be a student at UNC. (You will see why after you experience the way UNC students celebrate the end of the spring term ...) Flowers are blooming, the weather is sunny and warm, and the sky is a beautiful shade of Carolina Blue!"

I didn't quite notice this email when Zach sent it out. On hindsight, how true it is. Cross reference here and here and here.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 4:55 PM

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I miss I miss I miss.

I miss falling asleep while waiting for laundry to be done, then waking up to find that Tat has collected the clothes for me.

I miss the warmth of freshly dried clothes on my cheeks as we brave the winter cold back into Connor 421.

I miss walking back at 2am under bare giant trees under a starry winter's night.

I miss having tried to climb up Silent Sam multiple times - and failed.

I miss the satisfaction of climbing back into bed at 4am while the birds have just begun to chirp outside.

I miss having 4 people sleeping in at Co nnor 421 for the night.

I miss Tat's irritating alarm.

I miss the ability to split my checks.

I miss the Penang auntie.

I miss 10 bucks students tickets at M emorial Hall.

I miss falling asleep in Dr F lorin's class while Al exius and Z hiqi furiously takes down notes.

I miss the countless dinners, gatherings, and what-nots with my fellow S ingaporean T arheels.

I miss everything C arolina. Everything.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:20 AM

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

I cannot believe how the T arheels are leaving Singapore next week. What an awesome month it has been, I'm so glad I had a chance to give back what the C arolina community has given to me. It was a blast having picnic out in the lovely gardens!

nimgnoy let the night fall at 2:11 PM

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:37 PM

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Li J iang has a really quaint ancient city which is bustling with trade and people. It has little rivers running across and parallel to narrow streets, reminding me very much of a smaller Ven ice. And this is an urban concept I've never seen before - the closest we have to this is Clarke Q uay - but the whole history of this city (all 500 years of it) adds to this place a charm I really love.

Here's Li J iang by dusk and night.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 4:22 PM

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

After an hour's plane journey up north, I arrive in Li J iang, one of the most picturesque cities in C hina. There is an ancient city that I'll be exploring in the next two days, can't wait for that.

Meanwhile, here are some photos of the inn I'm staying in. Pretty chill.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:14 AM

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

I'm currently slightly over 2000 meters above sea level, up in a mountain at K unming C hina, where it is a nice cool 15 degrees celcius, and once again reminding me of the splendid weather in C hapel Hill.

It has been absolutely raining the past 2 days, so we didn't manage to cover much of the farm. But I had ample time taking in the wide rural expanse of the hills in C hina. Hopefully we'll get to do something tomorrow.

It's funny how there is wifi on this farm, and we're probably the only ones to have wifi in this region. Everything is absolutely laidback and rather primitive.

I'm liking the life here so far, fast-paced urban life sometimes just drains the life out of people, unknowingly.

Heading to sleep now, it'll be an early and long day tomorrow.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:09 AM

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

It is not advisable to travel with a hangover.

Anyway, I'm in China!

nimgnoy let the night fall at 6:20 PM

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Summer has been passing by like a meandering river, winding and somewhat leisurely with some eddying round the corners.

Sometimes I like sitting by my desk and let the warm afternoon wind blow by my face. It's one of those inconveniences I'd welcome because beyond the slightly irritable heat, everything else tells me that I'm home.

"The importance of elsewhere... Stangeness made sense.. [and] underwrites my existence", so says Larkin.

And how true it is.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:19 PM

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Chillin out with Elaina and Raley over Haagen Dazs at Vic's lab in N U S.
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Very fun indeed.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 1:19 AM

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I absolutely love hanging out with Vic cos she's the coolest and like-mindedest friend in the whole wide world.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:26 PM

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Imagine this.

Lying down on an offshore jetty, deep into the depths of the night, away from city lights, under a darkened canvas of sky, beneath at least hundred stars shining back at you.

All these, with your best buddy beside you, simply chatting.

I think that's priceless. Thanks Ernest.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 3:34 AM

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Monday, June 09, 2008

What a whirlwind week, speading time with the T arheels almost every night. Beyond the clubbing and the merry making, I really appreciate the time we chilled and talked about anything and everything, building friendships and bonds which I'll miss when they're back home.

DSCF4292

(I regret that every photo has some kind of alcohol in it)

Last weekend was the awesome homestay where I'm still awaiting photos to come in. Post soon!

nimgnoy let the night fall at 10:21 AM

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

Dealing with memories of Carolina.

I have a stash of things from my days in Carolina, unpacked from boxes and laying around my room awaiting my decision of where they'll go from hence forth.

Carolina blue folders, copies of The Daily T arheel, a B iltmore Estate guidebook, the C hapel Hill Sportswear catalogue, a Tyler H ansbrough poster, a Carolina blue ugly doll.. My, these things are endless.

The dilemma is, where do they all go now? Keeping it aside in some corner doesn't do much justice to the awesome time-of-my-life experience there, yet I can't keep it lying around collecting dust.

But such is life - no time for standing still, we can't afford to be captives of the past.

The dream has ended, but I know its legacy lives on for as long as I can differentiate a Carolina blue from a (D)Puke blue.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:59 AM

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Sunday, June 01, 2008

There hasn't been a crazier and wilder night in Wala Wala ever! Together with 8 other fellow Tarheels, we took the bar by storm, and it was all a night to remember.
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And finally, the photo Shirlyn took of (some of) us..
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AWESOME!

nimgnoy let the night fall at 5:22 PM

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