Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog Bundespräsident a.D visited Fudan University yesterday!

He spoke about the main problems with European Law Strategies…or more accurately, “Hauptprobleme der europäischen Rechtspolitik”.

I wasn’t aware of his visit until the day itself. My class was notified the previous day that we were to miss our core English class to attend a talk, some talk. I would have brought my camera with me if I knew!

German majors, and somehow only my English class were told that our attendance was mandatory, and later revealed our roles to be space-fillers.

He seemed to have a constant frown.

He spoke German, so although there was a translator who did his job after every paragraph or so, I couldn’t help falling asleep.

“How come you only get a manicure and pedicure done when you’re gonna meet Sam?”

Heh. The long wait shall be worth it soon.

I’ll be back after a week.

Hello members of the LDR(long-distance relationship) club, members of the away-from-home club, or members of the cheapo club. If you look out for VoIP stuff, then you very well belong to one of the clubs mentioned. Vonage VoIP forum shares relevant news, reviews and discussion relating to VoIP, albeit more helpful for those living in the US, the UK, and Canada (soon to be of use to me!).

The information is presented very solemnly, and that somehow gives me the impression that they are serious about what they do, instead of how most sites boast of what they can do and sway you with honeyed words. The forum simply states facts, and thus lets you enjoy your right to decide without all the clutter of fanciful bargains with alarming fine prints.

This is a sponsored post. 

I’m fuming.

Okay, maybe mostly with myself.

In all my excitement of going to Hong Kong, Macau, and meeting Sam, sense slipped me, and I booked my return ticket to Shenzhen using my CHINESE name. In Chinese characters, yes, when my passport only contains English characters. What the hell was I thinking? I booked it last Monday or so, but I only realized my folly late last night. The guy at the ticketing office was kind enough to help me enquire whether I will be able to check-in, but ultimately I had to check it up myself.

First I called Shanghai Hongqiao Airport’s Customs office to explain my situation, and he kindly told me to check with the airline company. I called the HQ of China Southern Airlines, they were polite enough, but they could not give me a clear answer, asking me to check with the Airlines counter at Hongqiao Airport. The staff of China Southern Airlines airport was not too friendly, interrupting all my sentences, giving me nonsense solutions, and irritatedly told me to jolly well get myself a new ticket, and HUNG UP. Fuming, I called up the HQ to get the number to complain, but I let it go in the end.

I called up the Customs office again and told him the staff at China Southern Airlines said I could check-in as long as I can prove I’m the person the ticket states (a half-lie/truth), said that they allowed me to use my student pass as a proof of identity, and that I just wanted to check with customs that I can do so. He sounds like a nice person, for he had the patience to listen me out with my semi-broken Mandarin, checked that my student pass is from Shanghai, and gave me the green light. YAY!

I’m still very agitated by the rude staff at the counter of Hongqiao Airport though. It is intolerable of a service staff, to be intolerable! And she’s a frontline staff!

I haven’t been annoyed at such hostility from service staff for a long time after getting used to it here, but her tone used and her hanging up on me was a tad too much. They reminded me of all the hostility I received but tried to forget here.

And the merry-go-round game! Why is it mandatory to get on the carousel before I can get an exact answer?

It’s mostly my fault, I know. I tend to screw up when I’m too hyped up over something. This post would not have existed if I had a clear head and registered with my passport name.

Wish me luck. Let’s hope everything turns out well.

N.B. I discovered that Ctrip has lower prices nearer the departure date afterall! Should have bought from Ctrip instead, darn. They have slightly lower fares than the half price one I bought. Arrgh.

I came across the blog The Misadventures of Sibeh Sian one fine day, and have been quite an avid reader ever since. In the facade of a strong Singaporean boliao tone, he depicts the life of a Singaporean very lucidly and candidly. A good example to substantiate my point would be his latest entry on The Long and Short about the Unwritten Rules in Singapore, which describes Singaporeans’ innate reaction towards having personal space. His posts sometimes make you wonder about your hometown culture while entertaining you with his anecdotes. I sometimes speculate whether his posts reflect his real life or not, but ultimately it’s amusing to read and sometimes even has an educational effect with his underlying messages.
This is not a sponsored post, though I wish it was haha. I don’t know why I’m actually helping him advertise here. Well, his blog is a good read sometimes, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too. It’s in standardized English with an occasional Singlish slang word, which doesn’t irritate like how other broken English ones do or how some blogs are just completely in Singlish.

The Kodak camera I own now was an impulse buy. I intended to buy a Nikon one but came home with a Kodak Z650, which turns out to be pretty alright afterall, except for the non-existence of anti-shake.

Always research before making big purchases like a camera (if it’s not considered a big purchase for you, please get a Nikon D40 for me or something). A site like TestFreaks would be a handy site to check out an abundance of reviews from plenty of sources, which vary from professional advice to your user-next-door, for your gadget needs. The section on sony digital cameras, for instance, offers plentiful reviews that might help you make a wise decision on getting your next camera for your artistic shots.

Reading up and making comparisons is a must before you allow that counter girl to slide your card. Comparing the cameras and having knowledge of the market price on the internet will gear you up for making that good buy. Reminder to self: do not get persuaded so easily by Chinese saleswomen.

This is a sponsored post.

Shanghai Sports Stadium, 8pm - late

Suave Jacky Cheung made me swoon when he first appeared on stage with his charisma and smooth moves. Forty-five, but jumping around and gliding on stage like he’s still in his twenties, somehow lured me and before I knew it I was lured into a mega karaoke session for 3 hours, stadium size.

In that Uniquely Jacky way of singing, I was reminded of myself sitting in the back seat of my family’s car back home long ago, squabbling with my brother or asking my parents numberless questions, with Jacky Cheung on the radio. My mother may be squawking along with him, my father whistling along, whilst my brother can’t wait to change the channel. It is the early generation of his songs that can bring people of various walks of life together with that familiarity, fans and non-fans alike.

I was holding the 2nd cheapest ticket, which is 180RMB (approx. S$36), whilst the cheapest ticket sold here was 120RMB (approx. S$24). To be able to catch a glimpse of Jacky Cheung in Singapore during this World Tour, the lowest priced ticket is S$128!

I’ve been wanting to set up a travelogue, but have not been satisfied with setting one up on my own with wordpress (like this blog), and the one I did on Microsoft Frontpage would be too much of a hassle to update and not too user-friendly. It will also take up too much of my server space. I’ve set one up at Travellerspoint, because I like their user interface, and I hope I’ll update it religiously. I’m currently writing about my Yunnan Trip with Sam (2-8 November 2006), which is long overdue, I know. I won’t be including travels before that because my memory ability is really rather limited.

I should have started a blog and a travel blog way before, but better late than never I guess.

Have a look at Squareface’s Travelogue.

Update: I have deleted my travelogue with Travellerspoint as I prefer to have everything consolidated on my own site instead. Have a look at my travelogue posts here instead.

As a college student, money becomes quite a priority when I have to make decisions, such as whether to take that weekend trip to this and that place, whether I should be content with eating from sidewalk concessions, or should I dine in that relatively pricey restaurant, or just survive with biscuits and cucumber. I’m fortunate to receive the MAD scholarship (financial support from Mom & Dad), so I am assured of constant financial backup when I decide to apply for an exchange program, and live in a rather comfortable abode. Nevertheless, I do devise my ways of saving money, earn money (which explains why you see quite a number of sponsored posts here lately), and spend less (choosing cramped, rat-threatening, but cheap accommodation when I travel).

The student loan consolidation website offers a wide array of articles relating to students and their intimate relationship with money. Most of the posts are on student loans, but there are occasional posts that provide handy advice on student finance. I particularly like the link to queercents, which is a financial blog serving the GLBT community. I managed to get some tips on student travelling from there. You might also want to check out 136 Tips For Saving Money in College.

The Student Loan Consolidation Lowdown blog (maybe they should change the blog name, it’s quite a mouthful, or fingerful to type) presents a library of suggestions to make your financial situation as a student easier to handle through conscientious planning. But of course, planning cannot be possible without relevant information, of which the site can provide, or at least steer you to.

This is a sponsored post.

I’m almost halfway through my Bachelor’s degree in Shanghai, but I’m still struggling with written Chinese and some Chinese classes. I’m attending heavier English classes now due to course requirements, which limits the classes I have in Chinese this semester to a miserable 3 (out of 10). Two and a half to be exact. One — Disgusting Visual Basic (Computer) Class; Another — Marx’s Journalism…Thought(?) ; half — An Introduction to Historical Classics - The Old Testament (because I get to study English material whilst listening to the lecture in Chinese).

Hmm, I think I speak better Mandarin now, and idiomatic PRC Chinese phrases are part of my tongue already, but my Chinese (writing) still has too much room for improvement. I still have problems understanding teachers in the classes mentioned, only understanding words like “VB”, “Marx”, “Babylon”, “Palestine”, “Genesis”, “Moses”, “Adam”, and “Egypt”, but none of the words in between.

With the next semester in Canada, which direction do you think my Chinese will go? Up HuangShan Mountain, or down Niagara Falls?

Working on my Chinese is part of my study plan here, and work on it I must.