Homesick in Switzerland

We had our first snowfall of the season today. It was only little… a mini snowfall… lasting all of…. 5 minutes. But it did repeat itself several time throughout the day. I went out, and needless to say it was very cold, but not as bad as I’d anticipated. perhaps I’m getting used to it… or perhaps temperatures haven’t hit that LOW yet… We’ll find out over the next few weeks.

Tomorrow there will be a Cheese Festival on in town. There will be market stands set up selling all sorts of Swiss cheeses from A - Z. I have never heard of a cheese festival… but the city centre will certainly be a real stinker tomorrow! I hope the weather will allow us to have a quick look (and perhaps a sniff) at least.

Failing that, end of month will be the annual Onion market or Zibelemärit, held on the fourth Monday of November each year (Nov 26th this yr, My sister’s birthday). We attended with my cousin Mei Lin when she was visiting a couple of years back. But being uncertain and so new at the time, I look forward to trying it out again now that I’m more familiar with what goes on.

I will write about the cheese festival if it’s worth reporting back on.

Gave myself a bit of pampering today. Feels so good after too!! MmMmm… a good exfoliating, followed by a hot hot hot bubble bath with scented candles, Norah Jones and a good book. Then a good slathering of lotion, and a face mask tops it off. Was gonna re-do my nails but then I kinda lost steam after the bath too relaxed to do anything else! Haha!

Oh I’ve had such a girly girly day!

^_^

"What’s all the hype about Heroes for?"  I wondered… My sister recommended it to me several months ago and admittedly I was a bit skeptical I would ever watch it. Next I heard about it from my cousin in Perth… not that they told me to watch it but they had to rush and finish chatting with me to go over to watch it cos it was on TV. Then there were all the people I chat with online on ShoutOut who were somewhat addicted to it. One guy in particular sacrificed his sleep and finished the whole first season (23 episodes) in 3 days… and I thought to myself "That’s Craaazy!".

Nevertheless… I went and downloaded the first few episodes… thinking… I’ll do 5 and decide if I like it or not. I sat down and watched it with Kwang and by the time episode 5 was over we still couldn’t decide if we liked it or not. We downloaded the rest of the season… and watched some more. Wanting to know what happens next is the reason we kept watching and watching and watching… there were some good parts, but mostly the story revolved around a lot of angsty people who developed some various super powers (some more useful than others) wanting to save the world… keep a secret… wanting more power… being afraid of yourself… afraid of others… secret organisations… Trust No One… Each episode led to the next and the next and never did any episode have an "ending" to whatever dilemma any particular person was facing at the time (very annoying aspect of the series for me).

Before we knew it, we’d finished all 23 episodes (initial story still unresolved). Took a little under 4 days. So 3 days wasn’t that "Craaazy!" after all? eh heh… oops! But the truth is I still don’t know if i like it or not. It’s something to watch though. Something different. Something else. I like the super power stuff… well some of it. But overall I’ve found the series to be a little gloomy. I don’t think it’s healthy to watch too much of it in such a short period of time as we did.

Season 2 has started… 3 episodes in… We haven’t started it yet. My Japanese friend, Yuko, had much to say about it yesterday when we met for coffee. She’s pushing me to start watching the 2nd season so she can "discuss" something with me. She had some questions but didn’t wanna spoil it for me. Haha!! Very considerate!

We’ll see… Yuko…

Maybe soon…

I’m not ready for season 2…

*** Warning! Picture Post***

In town the other day I found myself irresistibly drawn to the shop window displays of Loeb. The colours… patterns… mirrors… Lucky I had my camera with me… *snap snap snap* I’ll show you some of the cool and cute things they had on display ^_^

a glass flower vase

kitchen things

party glasses and parasols ^_^

stationery

no idea

cute…

Can you see me? Of course you can!

cat bowls

toothpick holders

kitchen timers…

err… I assume they’re for little pottles of sauce? or spices?

salt n pepper shakers! How Sweet!

And this concludes my colourful post ^_^

It’s about 10:30 am and I’m still in my pyjamas. The highlight of my birthday so far was a call from Jing Yi in New Zealand. Thanks for calling Larling! We had a good long chat . catch up and gossip session for almost an hour! Hehe… running up a phone bill eh?

Other than that, today’s been pretty much normal and looks to remain so for the rest of the day. Not that I’ve anything to complain about. I’m used to the quiet isolation after all. It’s just another regular day here. That’s really what birthdays are, aren’t they? Just another day. I don’t like to remember that I’m older by another yr… or as Jing Yi so cruelly put it, I’m "now living my 27th yr". =.=" Sad

Now if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t had breakfast yet, and I’ve got laundry to fold and floors to vacuum before I go out to do some grocery shopping ^_^

Tata for now!~

Drill Drill Drill!
DRILL HAMIK SAI?!
Leave the walls alone!
Drill a hole in your own head and go to hell!

The stairwell was dark and all was silent but for the echoes of my own footsteps. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a movement. I turned only to find emptiness. A shiver ran up my spine and shrugged it off as I continued down to the basement of my apartment building where the laundry room is located. While loading the clothes into the machine, again I saw a glint off to my right, by the doorway, and again nothing was there.

Walking quickly back up the stairs I stood frozen by the window. Something just moved… outside… but I’m 2 floors up… How could it be?! What could it be?! Panic was quickly replaced by relief and a feeling of supreme stupidity as I realised finally what I’d been seeing "following" me. MY OWN HAIR!!!  It has gotten long enough to curl up and outward at the shoulders, catching the light in little glints which I would unconsciously notice in my peripheral vision  =.="  To think that I thought even for a moment "something" was there!

Somehow, it’s still here… in my good old 1st ever blog that I feel more comfortable blurting out all my random thoughts. When I’m feeling down or just slightly out of sync with the world… for some reason I can’t bring myself to write in my other blog. I feel so exposed there… that blog is so bright and glaringly happy most of the time. It’s gotten to the point that perhaps this is why I have 2 blogs… I have a DOWN blog and an UP blog… one for carefree thoughts and one for pondering and complaining. I feel sorry for anyone who has to read these depressing writings… you’re probably better off hopping over to the other side and reading my shallow, meaningless thoughts and musings.

I was feeling nostalgic… decided to reminisce a little… so I went through and read some of my older blog posts… all the way from October 2005. It’s certainly been a long time hasn’t it? While reading my entries I noticed something a little disturbing. How did it happen? When did it start? Over these past 2 years I’ve slowly and subtly acquired a very pessimistic outlook on life. My blog posts slowly became more and more focussed on things that were sarcastic or negative. What happened to me? Why is it that since moving here I’ve become increasingly negative? I’ve slowly degraded into some pessimistic, loner, bordering upon antisocial. I have friends few enough to count on the fingers on one hand. Are they really even friends? Perhaps they’re just people passing through, convenient acquaintances, people I don’t even see more than once or twice a month… are those still friends? Is this what happens when you move away from family? Is this what happens when you’re forced to grow up? I’m not sure… I’d grown up living such a sheltered life until 2 years ago… I used to be such a carefree and happy person. Now I’m just empty. I’m not unhappy per say but I’m no longer the happy-go-lucky girl I used to be. In my new blog it becomes increasingly obvious that instead of putting my thoughts into words, I often simply regurgitate garbage I receive in my email inbox, or other things I find online. I know that I’ve never been a creative writer and I’ve never really written anything worth reading… I keep telling myself that blogging is an outlet for me to express my thoughts and feelings… I’m not writing for an audience… Does that still hold true today? I’m not sure anymore. I wonder where that girl has gone? She has gotten lost in the lonely world of growing up and self discovery… her thoughts and expressions have gotten lost in the overwhelming need to live day to day and keep going… hoping to find the light at the end of the tunnel. In order to recapture these lost goals and emotions she needs to remember that there is more to life than just living, and trying to get through each day. That’s just not how it’s supposed to be… or is it?

It’s been a while since I properly updated this blog…. Since I got my new one in February in fact. I’m so ashamed… I haven’t abandoned this one of course! This blog holds many many precious memories for me. I can’t just toss it aside so easily.

Anyhow……

Last weekend Kwang and I went to an open air concert performed by the Bern Symphony Orchestra. it was great, and they played many classics as well as familiar and popular songs. I can’t claim to know their names but they certainly are evident in many movies etc etc etc. I’m so clueless! Haha!

Toward the 2nd half of the performance out in front of the Bern cathedral square (Munsterplatz) i just happened to look up and This is what I saw.

It was so beautiful, I just HAD to snap a photo of it… The setting sun hit the top of the cathedral just right. It still looks great in a photo… but standing there in awe and with the music playing… that view just seemed bathed in pure gold. The performance that night ended just as beautifully. ^_^

I suppose while I’m in the mood to be posting up some photos… a rare event these days in this blog… I’ll share some nice pics I’ve taken over the past few months… mostly naturey stuff and scenery in Bern.

Early spring I went for a walk up the Gurten and this lush green view was irresistible… the stairs enveloped in leaves and greenery… At that time I thought to myself "Spring is finally here". Of course that time of year I was also coughing and sneezing and making a whole lot of dying noises… partly from being sick and partly from hayfever allergies that prevent me from enjoying this truly spectacular time of year.

I’m not sure if I’ve already mentioned that my apartment here in Bern is next to the bridge crossing a major river running through the whole canton. This is a beautiful shot of the river Aare from atop the bridge. In the background is Gurten. This photo taken at the height of summer contains (if you squint real hard) swimmers lazing their way down the river. Lots of people do it, and I’m so envious cos I can’t swim. But even at the height of summer the Aare water temperature is a mere 17 degrees Celsius… *brrr* The water does however take on a brilliant turquoise colour as a result of glacial melt water from the alps further north.

This is another shot of the river from the centre of the Altstadt (Old Town) from atop another bridge. The water here runs a little calmer, but is equally brilliant and beautiful.

Just a rooftop shot of the shop-houses in old town. Beautifully preserved with the landmark clock-tower amid winding cobblestone streets and alleyways. I’ve always loved the old and quaint feeling of being in the old town. There’s so much to discover… I see something beautiful each time I go down there. Is there even a question as to why Bern’s Old Town is a Unesco World Heritage Site?