I am in such a bloggin mood today. And really, i started this blog for italy but i guess i could use it for other travels too. If so, i must say that this blog needs a whole lot of updates.

For one, I am no longer a bummer. I am lawfully hired, though earning little, its enough for shopping and travels to nearby places. The highlight of 2006 was a diving trip to Bali, and in Dec, a short but truly relaxing break in Phuket.

Haven't planned for 2007 -- since when do i do that anyway. Ok, next week, I will leaving for New Mexico. Work related and there is so much preparation work to do I am going crazy here hence the endless blogging as a break. After NM, i will stop for a few days in San Francisco, would like to visit Berkeley just for old times sake. Maybe have a coffee in the cafe, visit Moe's bookstore - hope that its still there. Ice cream at Cold Stone's, bagel and cream cheese at that little deli near the North Gate. Hike up to the Botanic Gardens, whats the hill called? HOpefully the weather holds. In SF, i hope to visit the Golden Gate bridge, MOMA, the cartoon museum, stuff which i didn't do when i was there in 2002.

Anyway, back to work.

ciao!

The swissknife which I had so valiantly protected from the customs officer at Rome Ciampino Airport, that swissknife that opened so many beer bottles for me... I lost it.

I think I might have left it in Hostel Des Artiste on my last day in Rome.

I have been back in Singapore for almost 2 weeks. The first thing that always hits me is the heat. How warm and humid it is here. As soon as you walk out of the plane, u feel the stickiness and the heat.

The first thing i ate was dim sum at Crystral Jade. Thats really good food i think.

Advice for all out there.. if u ever want to visit Italy, buy travel insurance.

>From the moment i stepped into Italy, my luggage didn't come with me.
It did one day late, so hey at least it arrived, i am not complaining.

Train delays are the norm.

According to Paola, when there is 1cm of snow on the ground, its
almost a state emergency (oh well but she is comparing it to Germany).

When it does snows, expect any form of travel to be almost impossible.
Expect trains to be delayed, like for really long, and flights to be
missed. I missed mine.

It rarely snows in Perugia. Even when it does, it snows usually for
only a day. That is what i was told.

I wished for snow.
I got snow.
Now i wished i hadn't.

Its going to be a mighty cold week here in Perugia. Snow expected (it
is already snowing), temperatures dropping to below 10 degrees. In
fact, almost the whole of Italy is expecting bad weather. If i didn't
remember wrongly, there is going to be snow even in Sardinia!

There is an art to walking in melted snow in Perugia.You just tread
really slow and wished you had better shoes. You stare at the
incredulously steep slope and wonder if you should just slide down.
People walk down these slopes precariously, clinging on to the hand
rails.

In some ways, its a pity that I have to leave so soon. Yeah, friends
in singapore, I will be arriving on Thursday this week. Grandmother is
really sick.

1. Mothers approve of their daughters' piercings and tattoos.

2. Mothers don't mind if they daughters go clubbing every night.

3. Daughters may ask their mother for contraceptives.

Actually, I know only 1 person for each of the statements above. so
maybe writing them in singular will be more accurate.

I seriously think my mother will so freak out if I do any of the
above. Most singaporean mothers will freak.
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You also know that u are in italy when things take forever to get done.
_____________________________

My I'insegnante just droned on and on about the different forms of
possessive pronouns. It was the 3rd hour into the lesson, it was 2pm
and I was hungry and hence very distracted. My mind is on what I
should prepare for lunch.

I made really nice food for dinner yesterday. Nothing burned, and it
was actually tasty!

Just went you think that you have gotten used to the weather, and the
almost non-existant heating, Perugia was shrouded in mist today. Its
Frankfurt cold. Even in the apartment. I resorted to eating more.

I am relieved to know that Singaporean in Italian is known as "SIngaporeana" or "Singaporeano".

I think my l'insegnante thought SIngapore is part of China.

I don't know if there is any copyright infringement to put up this
article here.. if there is let me know. Nevertheless, its a good read.

By: Teng Qian Xi

http://www.spug.net/showthread.php?t=27641

Why I am cynical about Singapore's political process

I live in a country where the state believes they have the right to decide
whether people should be digits, creative or entrepreneurial.

I live in a country where the ministers claim that the ruling party's
majority votes means "the people want to be led." (Dr Wang Kai Yuen, ST,
April 4 2002) I live in a country where before the general elections, the
ruling party redraws constituency boundaries to have more walkovers,
bankrupts opposition politicians and castrates the national press while its
ministers tell everyone to speak up, not to fear being "hit by a big stick"
(Raymond Lim, ST, April 4 2002). This is safe because the people who spoke
before MPs encouraged them to are either overseas, silenced or dead.
a breach of peace

I live in a country where no minister has campaigned publicly for the
abolition of the Internal Security Act even if they believed that it was a
violation of human rights. Even if they knew that the Communist threat is
demonised by the authorised history, and that most of the population heads
down to Orchard Road on Sundays.

I live in a country where the ministers who determine the political process
are paid private-sector salaries. There are few other reasons to join the
ruling party, so certified talents are worth their price.

I live in a country where the state announces that we must have a vibrant
arts scene. So they build the Esplanade which is too big for most local
performance groups. On National Day they say that promoting the arts is
another way to attract more tourists.

I live in a country where the front shelves of bookshops are crowded with
one man's words. Until recently, anything that disagrees these words could
only be found in Select Books (Tanglin Shopping Centre, call 67321515) or
overseas.

I live in a country where my parents have friends who were tortured by the
Internal Security Department. So for them and others, an 18-year-old girl
talking to the press about politics will never be seen as invulnerable. An
18-year-old girl who comments on a minister in a newspaper interview will be
told she could cause someone in MOE to lose their job. When she wants to use
the word "tortured", she will be advised to write instead "indirect pressure
was applied" in case she is charged with defamation.

I live in a country where the national paper will announce that a poem has
won a foreign prize, but they will not willingly add (until much later) that
it is written from a lesbian perspective. What the paper's employees think
of homosexuality and its criminalisation has nothing to do with this.

I live in a country where the state makes its arguments too simple.
Such as: the PAP = the country.
Such as: democracy = protests = violence = disorder = national disaster.
Such as: human rights = confusing Western concept that our people don't need to
learn very much about.
Such as: history = one man's story.
Such as: Chia Thye Poh = opposition = Marxist = dangerous = 32 years of
imprisonment = non-existence in the authorised history.

I live in a country with a population that is constantly hit by men in white
with invisible and visible sticks. I live in a country where it is hard to
expect people to value anything more than protecting themselves from these
big sticks, or getting their own stick and white uniform.

Teng Qian Xi

Teng Qian Xi is a writer and politics addict. She graduated from the Hwa Chong
Humanities Scheme in 2001 and is currently waiting to enter university. She was
one of 15 overall winners of the Simon Elvin Young Poet of the Year Awards
(organised by the Poetry Society in UK) in 2000 and 2001; she was the first
non-British winner of this award. Her poetry has been published in Singapore and
overseas. She has translated several of her poems for Chuang Xin Shi Kan, a
local Chinese-language poetry magazine, and is also a regular reviewer for BigO
magazine. Some of her photographs will be featured in May 2002 in the 2ndrule
(http://www.the2ndrule.com), a monthly e-zine with local writing and artwork.

Interview with Teng Qian Xi at Sintercom
http://www.geocities.com/newsintercom/sp/interviews/qianxi.htm