Bolt should be a Japanese Spitz.

Apps.

Some cute apps. For photography, there's 'Framefantastic' and 'Instagram'. This picture is the product of the combination of the two apps.

For games, it's 'Water'. It's the game with the hygiene loving Croc. The aim of the game is to feed the water through the pipes to allow the Croc to get water for it's bath. Cute!

My comfort Sitcom

That will be 'Friends'.

I was more involved and interested in other activities than movies before my overseas internship a few years back. But after my buddies started giving me some names they think that I would be interested in, say action, comedies and rom-com, I started to build up a collection of titles. It was relatively cheap in that Wuxi, China at that time, so when I had the spare time, I found myself watching them on my laptop in the University hostel late in the evening after completing my experiments.

Before sitcoms, I was more into Hong Kong TVB dramas (TVB) and movies. Until one fine day after exams, I decided to rent a few titles. And after my desired titles were exhausted, I asked the storekeeper to recommend me some. He played the Big Bang Theory. I like it and have been a follower since.

And after some encouragement, I started on 'Friends'. And have been an avid fan ever since. I used to think, 'Why are we watching these shows from the past', 'the colour ain't that nice/vibrant', 'It's kind of not the most recent titles'. But after 2 seasons. You just know you can't stop.

Phoebe would be a fun character to play. I enjoyed her character a lot. Her unpredictabilities, and the vast kindness she has underneath her idiosyncratic self...

Rachel would be the sweetie you'd like to do girly stuff with; to have her pick out some of your clothes, and to do shopping.

Monica, the ever reliant chef who has a thing for 'organizing too much'.

Ross, the Paleontologist who will tell you stories, history when you want to hear them.

Joey, the pretty boy actor who is cutely dumb. And yes, very sweet. (especially when he proposed to Phoebe when he thought she's going to be a single mother)

And Chandler. I'm better able to appreciate Chandler on the later seasons.

Every character. Ross, Chandler, Joey, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe is so special. That kind of support they have for each other, the kind of rapport and synergy when they are together...

Even after completing the 10 seasons, I find myself randomly picking an episode to watch when I have the free time. This is a SUPER sitcom. If you've yet to watch it and would like something really interesting, this is it. There is no season 11. And so I'm writing/typing this.

by The Remembrants.

So no one told you life was gonna be this way *clapclapclapclap
...
I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to fall.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too...

Check, check.

Last night, I refilled my fountain pen, drew out a pack of cards from my cupboard and started writing. I've penned down messages, season greetings to my friends abroad, to those whom I missed very much, and can't physically be there with them now, but still want to be there in spirit to spread the joy of Christmas. Just a few hours ago, the first batch of 5 cards was sent out. I've attached the 'PAR AVION' sticker label, which means airmail, which means higher probability that it'll be there on time.

This year had been vey exciting, or should I say, filled with activities. For the month of January to June, I've focused all my energy on my studies. And yes, even skipping the TOC tournament for the sake of it. And after exams, I embarked on a journey which was both liberal and daring. That is to go on a summer program at BI Norwegian School of Management in Oslo. Trust me, it wasn't easy, trying to save some money from my part time work, asking for funds from my parents, and using the GST offset package/ carrot (please take it as a tongue in cheek comment) from the government to fund my summer program. And I still had to go through an interview before that. But heck that interview really. Because, in the end, I did well. On both the essay on 'Intercultural Management from a Scandinavian Perspective' and the presentation. And thanks to the brilliant members of group 14 work on both presentations, I managed to take an unexpected reward (results) back home. I've never really enjoyed working in academics group that much. But that time, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After returning back home, I've been occupied with working. And now I'm in a slightly more comfortable position financially. So it's like 200SGD to aunt every month for the school fees. And for the rest, I TRY to save it up. Yes, I earn my own bucks to finance my own 'WANTS'.

It is inevitable to feel upset sometimes. Or from what we've learnt in ESAP, maybe I should 'give yourself some handicap and attribute it to external sources' sometimes, and also, get rid of the unnecessary psychological clutter. It's already halfway of the semester and prelims will come in a blink of an eye. Maybe I'm a little stress from school.

When I was in Secondary school, one of the subjects I loved and did relatively well in was Design and Technology, although I know the majority would choose Home economics (cooking and sewing stuffs) over that. I missed making a metal keychain, a plastic toothbrush/toothpaste holder and a wooden pencil train holder. And also, drawing front, side and plan views of my art. And one day, I hope to pick up design drawings and learn more on placement, lighting, shadows, compositions and textures. And hope that PageOne will have a wide selection of that.

Here is, a design website which will keep you occupied for quite sometime.

www.demilked.com

Today, I've started on a new book 'The girl with a dragon tattoo'. I've always came across this title, and I knew it's written by a Swedish author and the content is something about crime. So I took the book from my colleague and started. I'm only at chapter one. I like the style of writing, (although I shall not be too quick to judge). I'm a little surprised when I came across some names of places in Stockholm which I've been to during my backpacking trip. With some recollection, I have a slightly more accurate mental picture of the places.

Writing relaxes me. Also, some beer and champagne.

It is 27 degrees celsius in Singapore now.

Happy one week before Christmas eve.

Read on

Fiction or Non-fiction? Have you ever thought of which genre you're more inclined to? It's easy to get confused sometimes, so these are the descriptions from Wikipedia.

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather imaginary.

Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and discriptions are understood to be a fact.

I used to love non-fiction a when I thought it's factual and more parallel to reality.

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. ~Jessamyn West.
I like it when a certain characteristic is expressed through a character. More often, it's clearly distinct. Pixar and Marvel are my two favourites. They had given me the privilege to wonder and wander.

I'll build on this post shortly.

Muscles

Climbing the flight stairs of NanYang house (3 times to be exact) led to muscle aches on my quadriceps and calves.

And wearing high heels further toned my calves.

The Covariation Theory

Have you ever thought of how people make attributions?
(The process of assigning a cause to our own behaviour, and that of others)?

I'm going to share with you a theory called the Covariation Theory (Kelly, 1972). This theory assumes that people make casual attributions in a rational and logical fashion, and that they will assign the cause of the factor that covaries most closely with that action.

People take into account the pattern formed by three different types of information:
Consistency, Distinctiveness and Consensus.

E.g.
Consistency:
Does Adam always laugh at the comedian's joke?
If yes, consistency is high.
If he laughs occasionally, then consistency is low.

When consistency is low, people discount the potential cause and search for an alternative. The cause of the laughter may be due to other covarying factor. Maybe he's drunk.

Distinctiveness:
Does Adam only laugh at the jokes made by this comedian?
If yes, distinctiveness is high.
If he laughs at every comedian's joke, distinctiveness is low.

Consensus:
Does everybody laugh at the comedian?
If yes, consensus is high.
If it's only Adam, consensus is low.

If consistency, distinctiveness and consensus are all high, then one can make an external attribution (to the comedian)

If consistency is high, distinctiveness and consensus are low, one can make an internal attribution (to Tom's personality). He is easily tickled.

Okay, this is the gist of it. Of course there would be criticisms to this model (I'll be reading about it later). So next time, before you make any quick judgements, try this model to avoid making the Fundamental Attribution Error (the bias in attributing another's behaviour more to internal disposition than external environmental factors).

If you're driving and there's !$@%& who cuts into your lane abruptly at a high speed, don't swear. Have some grace. Who knows, he may be rushing home to a pregnant wife.

That's all for now.

The month of Christmas

It's the month of December now. If you could have an Ideal Christmas, what would it be?

Hmm. Thinking...

And, if I could have a White Christmas?

There'd be show piling up outside the house, we'd shovel away from the pavement and make a ramp out of the excess snow. And beside the ramp, we'd build funny animals, snowman with snow and whatever we could find. My dogs would be rolling themselves up in the snow and chasing one another. The nearby lake would have frozen up which means, it's time to ski.

That is, if I were in Norway.

One of my favorite songs by David Archuleta:

The melodies of Christmas.

There’s something in the melodies
That the Christmas season brings
Joy and laughter in the air
Smiling faces everywhere

Old familiar melodies
Bring back special memories
They remind us
They remind us

Merrily the choirs sound
Spreading Christmas joy around
Filling hearts with cheer
May it last through all the year

Happy Christmas melodies
Bring back faded memories
They remind us
They remind us

Join us and sing
The sounds of heav’n an’ nature ring
With family, rockin’ round the Christmas tree
Carols of old, of the greatest story ever told

Sing the melodies of Christmas
Sing the melodies of Christmas

There’s something ’bout the melodies
Of Santa Claus and Christmas trees
Favorite songs by Nat and Bing
Elvis, Josh and Celine

It’s a special time of year
Bringing friends and family near
To remind us
Of love and kindness

Joyful messages you may find
Peace and happiness through all mankind
In the melodies, an offering
Of the love that flows from the Heavenly King
Of the love that flows from the Heavenly King

Raise your voice
Let us sing
It’s the message that these songs can bring
Round the fire, round the tree
Singing carols merrily

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas

One more melody to sing at Christmas
One more memory of Christmas cheer

Old familiar melodies
Bring back special memories

Filling hearts with Christmas cheer
May it last through all the year

Something in the melodies
That the Christmas season brings

Joy and laughter in the air
Smiling faces everywhere

Happy Christmas melodies
Bring back faded memories

Cont...

Thursday- Elements of Social and Applied Psychology Class

Friday- Managerial Economics, Financial Intermediation Class.

In the evening, tkd training session. NE to W, W-NE, NE to W, and W to NE again.

Saturday and Sunday- Part time work.

Dinner at JustAcia with my two lovely colleagues

After work, I decided to do some window shopping at Vivocity- A shopping place located beside the Harbourfront Station. I visited the Nat Geo store and the pictures on the wall inspired me. I'd like my future house interior design to be English coupled with Scandinavian minimalistic. Many other ideas are stored inside my head.

Then, I did some window shopping and spotted this Rip Curl coin purse which I liked. The replacement to the Braun Buffel wallet I've misplaced.

This coming Saturday, my friends and I will attending the 'Something about the 3s' outing. We will be playing volleyball in the afternoon (Yes!) and surf at Wavehouse in the evening (Double Yes!)

Completed a 10.5 hour work shift today.

Training tomorrow evening.

So that makes a a half day of rest tomorrow.

Some little updates.

Just finished solving a question on Auctions.
First price sealed bid auction with 3 bidders. V~ (0,1). And basically, we have to solve for the expected revenue of the sellers.

My classes are on Thursdays and Fridays. I must mention that the morning classes are just tedious. So, the journey from home to school takes me 1hr and 30mins. Multiply it by two and that's my traveling time per day for both days.

I'll be focusing on academics, work and training for at least till June next year. The rest of the days, I'm just as happy hanging out with my friends. Whether it's for a weekday movie*, a swimming session, hanging out and chatting over a fine dinner. *(For Cathay cinemas, the student price is $6 for a movie with a complimentary small coke. On weekdays only.) <- I absolutely love this.

For this month, I've watched:
You're the apple of my eye,
TinTin: Secret of the Unicorn in 3D
and Twillight: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

One thing that I missed about studying in BI is the interactive and engaging classroom lessons. For here, the students are collectively quiet. So quiet that sometimes I have the impulse to break the trend. Haha.

Oslo is like 8 degrees C and Singapore is 26 degrees as of now.
We're having plenty of rain here.

Having muscles aches from the training. Love it.
Tata. Good night.

The pace for today is good. Was supposed to go for ME class. But had a headache due to the strong sun entering through the my not thick curtain. Did some studying for ME and had dinner before going out for soccer. Yes. One goal, last minute. So elated. However, I grazed my knees.

I have to wake up in less than 3 hours time.

A little emo today. But okay... Heex.
Good night.

A little glimpse of the British Monarchy

I have to admit that I only got interested after watching the Royal wedding. And thanks to the commentary given by out walking tour guide from the Original London tours, I've caught a few pieces of information. And watching The King's Speech reinforced some of the things he said.

The King's Speech focuses on the life of the King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth 2. The movie focuses on the struggle of the King, till his coronation.

The heir apparent will be Charles, Prince of Wales. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge is second in line to the throne. And yes, he's the prince who married Kate Middleton on the 29 April 2011.

Interesting fact: George VI's elder brother, who abdicated from the throne. broke the tradition on coinage each successive monarch faced in the opposite direction if it's predecessor. His face left, same as his father. When George VI succeeded the throne, he faced left also, to maintain the tradition. Because if there were any coins minted featuring Edward would have shown him facing right. Interesting.

The King's Speech. Highly recommended.

Holiday Inn, Singapore

This is traveling within home country.

It's weird, but ya. We're going to be at Holiday Inn tomorrow this time.

So wanting to swim in that pool. Oh yes!

Exotic Snail Mail

I've sent this postcard back home from the Posten. The picture on the right shows the shops and the services available in that little hut.

From that little hut, I sent a postcard back home. And there you go, a chopped stamp from Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

A postcard should send your regards, and is almost equivalent to a 'hardcopy update' of your well being.

What did I wrote:

I'm in Svalbard. Just finished my dog sledding trip. It's really wonderful and I'm enjoying it here. The mountains here are really beautiful and the sled dogs are really cool as well. Loved it so, so, so much.

I've decided to send another postcard to you guys. This is one of the most exotic place to send out. Or maybe, this is the most exotic place. Svalbard is about 1309KM away from the North Pole.

Love, Stella.

I could still remember so vividly that the weather was super cold. 5 degree celsius minus wind chill. Brrr. And to update, it's -19 degrees celsius at the time of this post. BRRRRR...

Keep the old trade alive and give the postmen some jobs. Go, snail mail.

*I'll update this blog when whenever I have the time, or when I have the feeling to write. Stay tuned.

Black Pepper Salmon Steak from home

The Salmon steak and Scampi from Bergen inspired me to whip up the dish from Singapore.

It is relatively easy to prepare and I think the toughest part would be controlling the flame. If I didn't remember wrongly, this is the second steak I've prepared since returning.

Fork is from Ahlens City, Stockholm.

A little taste of Scandinavia.

Successful Claim

It's good news after almost two months of wait from Columbus Direct. Apparently, the cheque is on the way.

One good travel advice would be this: Just bring cash and another object of identity with you when you're traveling. The rest, lock it. Or the best, leave it in your home country.

My Braun Buffel wallet which I loved was stolen. Together with my Identification certificate, Driving license, Student pass, both my Diving cards, a cheap phone and minimal cash.

For that, I embarked on a Swedish police car. If not for the two policemen, both so funny, calm and professional, I'd really had gone nuts. They reminded me to ask for the essentials this when one of them passed me his hand phone to call home. Then after awhile, he suggested going to the police station. It's more comfortable and they can generate a report. He was 'eating' Tobacco (something equivalent to Tobacco, but different kind of administration) inside the room. Before they drove me back to Interhostel, they asked me to rate the Swedish police. I rated one category short of perfect, if not due to the fact there was a filming crew filming on my mishap. Both were nice and I'm grateful of the help and the fact that we can communicate with a common language- English.

But lucky for me, my friend was scheduled to fly over on the very next day. I met her in Oslo, and we traveled.

420SGD worth of claim. I didn't expect to be compensated. But one tip would be to indicate the claims you want under the specific sections and email to them. Less work for the insurance people, and you'll have already explain what exactly you need.

Phew...

An Arctic adventure to Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Scandinavian Airlines is one of the three airlines who fly to Longyearbyen airport. And only with the SAS youth discount that we’re able to realize this crazy trip to this archipelago in the Arctic, halfway between Mainland Norway and North Pole.

Spitsbergen is the largest island, with Longyearbyen as it’s main administrative area.

On the 7th July, SK4496 flew North to the above of Arctic Circle .The journey from Oslo Gardenmoen airport to Longyearbyen airport takes approximately 2 hour and 50 minutes.

I checked the time before the final approach and the watch says it’s 2330. It's close to midnight time and the sky is still bright, which is no different from a day. We experienced this interesting natural phenomenon, ‘The Midnight Sun’, which is when the sun remains visible at local midnight.

I'm challenged after a minute after getting out of the plane when the wind swept and took heat away from my body. I took my EOS 1000D, and quickly snapped a picture of the plane against the snow capped mountains before making our way indoors to the hall of the Longyearbyen airport.

‘Velkommen, take care of Svalbard’ by the Government of Svalbard.

After collecting our baggages and changed into appropriate thermal wear, we proceeded to the Longyearbyen camping site which is about

300m away. I took fast steps, down the moderately gradual Tundra hill and towards the service building.

After check-ins and payments, the friendly staffs issued us with sleeping bag. Arctic cotton grass and Moss Campion and be found beside the big white tents. An attempt to capture the Arctic grass in front of the Norsk Polarinstitutt (picture, bottom right), resulted in two wet patches on my knees.

The temperature outdoors was about 5 degree celcius on average. And that’s excluding the wind chill. I got into the green sleeping bag, zipped up till only my face is exposed, and took a short nap. My own body heat was trapped in the green sleeping bag and nothing beats this warm and snug feeling on a very cold and windy day. I could literally hibernate all day.

After waking and washing up in the morning, we took the SAS bus to Longyearbyen town, which is 4km away. I’ve decided to buy a pair of hiking boots for warmness, safety, comfort and aesthetic reasons.

Looking at posters of Polar Bears made me miss my 2 Japanese Spitz very much.

We had a long walk back to the campsite. The coldness ate into me when I felt numbness, dryness and pain on my face when the cold wind blew relentlessly on my face.

I've lived near the equator for most of my life.

And now, I'm in a place approximately 1300km away from the North Pole.

To be continued...

Academics

I'll have to complete my last 3 units to graduate with a Bachelor in Banking and Finance from the University of London International Program. (Lead college: London School of Economics)

And the last three units being, Financial Intermediation, Managerial Economics and Elements of Social and Applied Psychology for my final year.

The picture on the left show the Stewart house (where we always pay our fees to) and the Senate house. The UOL, located in Bloomsbury, is a 2 minute walk from

Russell Square tube station.

Stewart house is a 3 minute walk away from Pickwick hall, which is located at Bedford place. Pickwick hall was first chosen because of it's near proximity to the British museum. So, I was pleasantly surprised that it's so close to the University as well.

As an enthusiastic student, I went into the Stewart house to enquire about the release of results on my day of visit. And on the 23rd, my results were out.

Omega fatty 3 acids from Bergen Fish Market

There are two types of Salmon in Norway. The wild salmon and the farmed salmon.
This particular fillet is from the Norwegian waters, but not classified.

Grilled Salmon with lemon and pepper sauce with scampi and potato salad costs 110NOK. The striations of the flesh and the layers of juicy fats can be seen very clearly.

Crispy Salmon skin with lemon juice. Aahh.

Amigos

One greatest gift I've got, is the friends I've made during the summer program.

I remember.

Going for goal, only to see it being saved by Marie Helene bare hands.

The exciting picture we took at the park bench with Ana, Marie Helene, Leila and Mandela. (Leila, Mandela and Stella. We rhyme, don't we?)

Running round Nydalen with Marie Helene and Leila.

Working in the A team with Arne, Amy, Mirna and Oleksii.

Watching Cheburashka with Yaroslav and Ana.

Exchanging blows with Marie Helene and Aaron.

Talking about interesting topics with Peili and Shuang Yang.

Speaking Chinese and make Ann decipher.

Laughing at Mehdi, the caramel man.

Going to the islands and Kontiki museum with Mashenka.

Watching Copa America with Juan and Martin.

Eating Macdonalds with Novrous.

Watching Justin draw in class.

Talking to George, the neighbour.

Playing Ping Pong with Matt and see him eat spicy food with the anonymous sauce.

Hiking Nordmarka with my classmates.

Drinking and taking pictures with almost everybody at the international cooking dinner.

These are only SOME.

All in all, wonderful times.

Falu Red

First stop in Europe is Helsinki.

Towards the final approach, one can't miss the significant red which can be seen on a large percentage of cottages. The distinctive red paint, most commonly seen on the exterior of cottages and barns in Scandinavia, is called Falu red. A lady at Skansen museum in Stockholm, gave me a sheet of the painting advice and I bought half a litre of the paint back. Priced at about 39SGD.

61 days abroad

4 countries, 6 places, in 61 days.

1)Helsinki
2)Oslo
3)Svalbard
4)Stockholm
5)Bergen
6)London

Knutsen og Ludvigen- Kanskje Kommer Kongen

An introduction to Norwegian music from the Norwegian life and society class 2: Visual art and music on the 30 July 2011.

Touch Down and Home Sweet Home

Touch down at Changi Airport on 21st August 2011, 1610 Singapore time.

The familiar airport, the express lane for citizens, seeing a family member, tasting roasted chicken rice on the journey back home and seeing two furry made me realized I'm back home.

Time differences:
US (13 hours behind)
London (7 hours behind)
Oslo (6 hours behind)
Helsinki (5 hours behind)

Stamford Bridge, Home of the Blues

17th August

The day before the tour, I hopped on a bus and it took me towards Chelsea Football Stadium. So before the tour, I already orientated myself in the area.

And on the 17th, the trip was planned perfectly according to time. But due to the closing of the district line to Fulham Broadway, I had to hop on a london cab to Stamford bridge. And all in all it's 10 pounds. The exact amount the cab driver told me it would be. Accurate isn't he?

First step into Stamford bridge.
The pitch was surprisingly close to the spectator stands. The entire stadium was grand and well organized. We managed to visit the press conference room, locker rooms, physiotherapy area, and the tunnel which lead the players into the pitch, and the museum.

The whole experience was something special for a blue fan.
Am looking forward to see the Juan Mata, a Spaniard signed from Valencia, play.

Fläsknoisette and Petitifour

Main dish: Fläsknoisette

Dessert: Petitifour (Chocolate truffle)

The chocolate truffle came surprisingly petite. It's sprinkled with cinnamon cocoa powder. The vanilla fan (me) says that the sweetness is just right. Perfect way to end a lunch.

Plankstek

Plank=Wooden plank.

Stek=Steak

It's found in Drottninghof Grill and Bar.

Drottninggatan 67.

The's food is unique, ambience good and it's at a very reasonable price. 5 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed it so much that I went back to the same restaurant to have...

From Oslo S to Stockholm C

Stockholm is my third stop in Scandinavia.

After the final cleaning up of my hostel room, I left BSN around 1pm. I had three pieces stuffs to carry. My luggage, a backpack and another medium sized hand carry bag. Pulling the luggage on wheels with alternate hands reduced some load, and this will make sure my arm muscle tones are relatively even after this ‘exercise’.

First, I took the coach from Oslo S to Lillestrøm and a train from Lillestrøm to Stockholm C.

Total journey is approximately six and a half hours.

The seat I booked for was facing the opposite direction to where the train is heading, thus, I transferred to an empty seat facing the head of the train.

The Pris (price) of the ticket is 400SEK (Approximately 72SGD).

Will get a Swedish Telenor SIM card and buy an international card to call back home.

大约在一点左右，我离开了BSN宿舍。带了行李，背包和一个手提带。行李很重， 所以我得用不同的手托。这样能保证我手臂的肌肉得到一样的运动。

我在火车站坐巴士到另一个火车站搭火车。

从奥斯陆到瑞典。整个行程是六个半小时。票价大约72新币。

我会在瑞典买一个SIM卡，和国际电话卡。之后我就可以打电话回家。

A series of unfortunate events

Today's the third day after the incident.

Walking along Karl Johan street, I coincidentally reached a street where there were a lot of people. Looking closely, people were surrounding countless candles and flowers in front of the Oslo Cathedral. There were a couple of huge transmitters around and the media was interviewing people at the location.

The atmosphere was very solemn. People, whether young or old were coming from all different directions. They held onto the bouquets and assembled in front of the church. After reading some of the messages written in English, I went over to a tent resembling a Singapore's night market stall and bought a Carnation. I prayed, and left it among the area.

I went over a second time after strolling. This time, I entered by a side door into the Domkirken church (Oslo Cathedral) lit by thousand of candles. I sat there awhile, and left.

There were many people walking along Karl Johan street, despite the unrest.

It's very unfortunate that Norway (Oslo), such a peaceful country had faced such a tragic incident. After looking through BBC photos a couple of minutes, it was really disturbing. But the next day, it was back to normal. The second day after, to the Folk Museum and yesterday, to the National Gallery.

And today, walking on Karl Johan street.

Oslo Sightseeing

I was in group 2, so we met at 11.45am outside BI for a guided tour.

The first stop was Vigeland Sculpture park. It was very interesting. The trip was very fast-paced and enriching.
The second stop, Holmenkollen Ski Tower. We were there for 20 minutes to take pictures. It’s breathtaking.
and Lastly, the Oslo Opera House. We were guided by a very friendly and insightful visual artist. The main auditorium awed me with it’s grandness.
Oak, one of the primary material for the auditorium is said to reflect sound pretty well (does not absorb sound) thus make it an excellent choice. The darker oak in the auditorium contrasted with the lighter oak in the foyer. The darker oak is chose for the auditorium such that when a performance commences, light dims and this will make it easier for the audience to direct their attention on stage.
We went to many other rooms like the ballet room, costume rooms and the set (just behind the stage). We saw tutu’s ballet shoes and many other interesting costumes.

Day trip to Jerbanetorget Oslo’s Central Train Station

Activated my student card and took the T Bane (For Singapore, it'll be the Mass Rapid transit) from Nydalen to Jerbanetorget.

Karl’s Johan street.

Weather’s cool and this may be the first time I’ve seen so many people in Oslo. There were interesting buskers along the street, ranging from some ‘Gold color man' to 'Mickey mouse’ (two in fact). Personally I loved the duo musicians. There’s one on the violin and one on the organ. They provided wonderful and cheerful music which lighten up the whole street. I really wanted to give them some kroners as a form of support, but I guessed 1 kroner may come in handy for the coming days!

Going further down the street, we reached the Royal Palace. Yes. The King of Norway is inside the palace. I had an amusing time with the Norwegian guard. He's really huge and tall. And after obliging visitors with pictures, he performed some drills outside his station.

I can only watch in amuzement by how disciplined he is.

The current king and queen is King Harald V and Queen Sonja respectively.
The heir apparent will be Crown prince Haakon and he has an older sister Princess Martha Louise.

Takeoff and Landing

After the checks, I saw the testing of the ailerons and flaps. AY082 took off at 2350. There was a live video of the takeoff taken from a front camera. I was sitting on the left side. Check again, yes, the lights on the left wing was red.

The personal entertainment system was activated shortly after the takeoff. And on the TV selection, I saw the big bang theory selection. How familiar is Sheldon Cooper and the gang. Halfway through ‘the pants alternative’, dinner was served. There came curry chicken.

The economy cabin was cold, so I layered myself with a long sleeve. After finishing another 3 episodes, I took a nap. As the seat beside me was empty, I had the luxury of curling up my legs on the next seat to sleep.

After waking up, I lifted the window panel. Following the Finnair logo on the wingtip, I was introduced to the beautiful dark blue sky decorated with stars.

The transfer at Helsinki-Vantaa was a little rush. But I still managed to visit the Moomin’s place while carrying two heavy big bags.

My plane landed in Oslo at 0755 (Oslo time), or 1403 (Singapore time).

Money Changer

Rates at Crante's (People's Park complex) which the most popular money changer in Chinatown offered the following rates.

1SGD to 0.565Euro
1SGD to 4.26NOK

1 新币换 0.565欧元
1 新币换 4.26挪威克朗

A savings of 7.41SGD relative to the rates of the other money changers available there.

Goods prices

On the CNN money website, (4 June 2011)
1 Singapore dollar (SGD)= 4.34 Norwegian Krone (NOK)
Typical goods prices given by the BI guide, (after conversion to SGD and rounded up to nearest cents).
奥斯陆物品的价格（新币）

Typical goods prices in Norway

Coffee: $5.50

Sandwich: $12.70

Chicken (1kg): $22.70

Eggs (pack of 12): $6.80

Grill sausages (1kg): $12.70

Beer: $5.80

Cereal: $5.70

Toothpaste: $6.90

Shampoo: $9.20

Orange Juice (1L): $4.60

Milk (1L): $3.20

Loaf of bread: $4.60

Hot lunch: $10.40

Flying with Finnair

FINNAIR, the flag carrier of Finland, will be flying from Singapore to Helsinki on 30th May 2011 onwards.
They had a promotion then on the 5th May 2011, thus, I paid $1211 on for the return ticket from Singapore to Oslo.
I’ll be transiting in Helsinki for an hour before catching the connecting flight to Oslo.

AY082
SIN-HEL
新加坡－赫尔辛基 (芬兰）
Aircraft type: A340

AY651
HEL-OSL
赫尔辛基 (芬兰)—奥斯陆 (挪威）
Aircraft type: A319

The total journey is estimated to be 14 hours and 35 minutes (Inclusive of transit time).
I’m very happy with the air fare that I’ve found. I’d say that this is the reward after several weeks of work, monitoring prices from different sites.
One tip: Monitor the fare prices at www.zuji.com and visit the parent airline website.

The School

I’ll be attending the International Summer Program organized by the BI Norwegian Business School from the 25th June to 22nd July in Oslo, Norway.

The topic I’ll be doing is Intercultural Management- A Scandinavian Perspective.

From the recent updates, there’ll be approximately 90 students representing 32 different Nationalities from different continents.