Belly button ring - new poll!

Ok, I have been thinking for more than a year now about whether or not to pierce my belly button... . I've seen it on some girls in Brazil in 2006 when Martin and I were there, and it just looked SO sexy! On the flat tummies, of course... . I mean, that goes without saying... .

Something like this:

I had wanted to do it, then I changed my mind....and then I spoke to Anne Lee's husband at Wagma's birthday party 2 Saturdays ago and since he does piercing, I was able to ask him all my questions about it....so now I'm thinking again of doing it... .

Should I? Should I not? I'm not afraid of the initial prick...I'm more thinking about whether I am able to be disciplined enough to keep the pierced area continuously clean for 3 months or so or not... . If I do get it pierced, then I should do it this month so that I can show it off in warm Singapore in March next year.... .

Anyway....I've made a new poll about this, so please place your votes! Yes? Or no? Both girls and guys should vote! I already know that Martin thinks it looks sexy, so I would at least get his support/approval if I do it... . But yeah....wanna see what you guys think too.... ;o).

Confectioner in the family

My mum made the below cake. Is it AMAZING or what?!? Makes you want to just admire and not destroy it by eating it up, huh? I'm very impressed... . I mean, she was already good with making cakes before (heck, she had even made my wedding cake!), so I'm glad that she is going for courses to improve on this skill of hers... .

Cake made recently by mummy dearest

The wedding cake my mum made, with help from a friend with the flowers

Wagma's birthday party

I was at Wagma's birthday party last Saturday and had a wonderful time there, despite the transportation problems I had to get to her place. It took me almost 1½hrs to get there from home, even though she lives just around 15mins away by car.

The trip should have been simple even with public transportation. All I needed to do was to take a bus from my home, get off a couple of stops later, then connect to another bus which goes directly to her place. That was it.

So the first bus trip went smoothly. I got off, went to the other bus-stop to connect with bus#02, but it wasn't going to arrive until 40mins later!!! Standing cold at the bus-stop at 20:00hrs for 40mins was NOT an option for me...so I had to think of alternative ways...and taking a cab from where I was would cost me at least 200 DKK (S$50), so that was not an option either.

To cut a long story short, I tried the trains, got off at a station close enough to Wagma's place, waited for a cab there but none drove by (not even an occupied one), so as the minutes ticked by, I ended waiting for that bus which I was supposed to wait 40mins for anyway, since that was the only bus going to Wagma's.

As if that wasn't time wasting enough, I had to add to it by getting off 3 stops too late! It was getting late, it was cold, it was dark, and it started to rain. If I had to wait for the bus in the opposite direction to back-trace my steps, I would have to wait another 15mins in the cold, so I decided to walk back instead.

I was late....but I made it, and glad about it too because I did have a wonderful time. There were quite a few people who said they would go, but didn't show up in the last minute...so it was just 5 of us all in all.

Sweet Wagma had also booked us a table at a nightclub close by in Lyngby called "Pure Passion", but since the rest were tired, it ended up with just Wagma and me going there to dance the night away. Music there was our kind of dance music, and we had a bottle of champagne served at our table, so even though we were just 2 girls, we did have a fantastic time till around 4am in the morning ;o).

And no....I didn't drink the bottle of champagne all by myself. Wagma wasn't able to drink that night, so it would have been just me and my bottle....but luckily, we had some guys who randomly joined us at our table to talk, so we offered them a glass or two which they happily accepted of course (who wouldn't accept free alcoholic drinks in Denmark?).

Wagma and Anne Lee's husband

Anne Lee and me

Me and Ivy

Wagma and me - pic taken by photographer from glows.dk

2 beauties again....pic taken by photographer from dkbn.dk this time. Martin kept seeing the name of the club as "Pussy Passion" on this pic....which would sound really dodgy indeed if it were true.

Dear Cindy,

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy BIRTHDAY, dear Cindy,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU!!!

Welcome to the 30's club, woman! It's a 10 year membership club which you can't get out of until the expiry date, so I hope that you will enjoy the privileges which come with it, such as:

1) People giving up their seats in public transporation for you.
2) Getting senior citizen discounts in some places.
3) People helping you to cross the road.
4) People helping you to carry your bags.
5) Getting called in a more respectful term like "Aunty" by young people.

Oh wait...those are privileges for 60 years old and above, aren't they? Why am I thinking so far ahead? Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that you look old ;oP. Actually, maybe it's because members in the 30's club don't really have any special privileges, except:

Looking young, but having the wisdom and maturity of a woman who has been through 3 decades of life experiences... .

Anyway...I wish you a happy birthday, girlfriend! It's been wonderful having you as a good friend for at least ½ of your life :o). I've watched you grow, I've watched you learn, I've watched you teach, I've watched you love....and now I'm starting to sound like an old granny when I'm not.

Okay, I better end this birthday post before I get tempted to upload all our teenage photo memories which both you and I probably don't want the whole world to see ;o). Hmm...I would put up our recent picture together, though ;o).

PS: Give me a sign that you've read my tribute to you, ok ;o)?

Dancer in the dark

Ok, this brain game is freaky yet amazing at the same time.

1) Look at the dancer below and see if she's going clockwise or anti-clockwise.
If you see her go anti-clockwise at first, that means you utilise the left side of your brain more.
If you see her go clockwise at first, then you utilise the right side of your brain more.

Ready? Get set. LOOK!

Now here's the freaky part: you might notice at some point that she changes direction. IT IS NOT THE COMPUTER DOING IT RANDOMLY! It's your brain that decides which direction it wants your eyes to see!

Seriously! If you don't believe me, then try to get someone to look at this together with you on the same screen. You'll find that at times, you'll see her going in 1 direction, while your partner sees her going in the other direction....at the same point in time! I tried it together with Martin, and it was freaky... .

The thing is, if you look at it long enough, you will be able to control the direction you want her to spin in. So here's task#2:

2) Make her do 10 x half-spins in a row!
It is possible....once you find the "sweet concentration spot".

(hint: for me, and I guess most people, it is the foot that is sticking out...but as I get better at it, then her other foot and the shadows are also my "sweet concentration spots")

Anyway...have fun. The human brain is amazing :o).

I got my haircut

My head really felt lighter after my haircut on Tuesday. I felt like I could fly! But I'm so happy to finally get rid of all the split-ends and dry ends. Swimming is a good sport....but man, the damage it does to your hair!

Anyway, the hairdresser I went to was a new one for me. In fact, he was the 1st Asian one I have tried here in Denmark after living here for more than 10 years. I should have discovered him before, so that I didn't have to worry about whether the expensive Danish hairdressers can handle my Asian hair or not... . Asian hair and European hair are really different, so they should be handled differently, and the cutting techniques would therefore also be different.

This hairdresser charged a very low price too, relatively speaking. 120 DKK (S$30) for cutting alone, which is VERY cheap considering that it's here in Denmark, and considering that he spent almost 1 freakin' hour to cut my hair! Is that value for money or what??? Some Danish hairdressers charge a crazy 300DKK (S$75) or 400 DKK (S$100) for just a cut! I don't believe in paying more than 200 DKK (S$50) for just a cut here in Denmark. Nah uh-uh... .

But seriously, 1 hour was a loooong time. My hair was long....and it's also thick, so the layered hairstyle I wanted didn't make a quick job possible if it should be done right. He really did it right, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it! He did say towards the end though, that his hand was ACHING after all the cutting ;o). Poor guy... .

The only complaint I have though, is that he had cut it shorter than I wanted him to :o(. Oh well, the good thing about hair is that it grows again, and mine grows quite fast so it's not at all a big complaint I have against him. Just that I can't wipe my ass with my hair anymore. Not that I did that before, but I mean, I had the possibility then if in an emergency; now I can't even try!

Overall, it was a job well done (5 stars at 2 stars price!), and I am now ready for Christmas and New Year festivities!!! Keep the party invitations coming in to me, guys! If you have a party but I don't know you (even though you "know" me just from my blog), I insist that you still send an invitation over ;o)!

And yes...here is a picture of the "new" me:

The pic is not really sharp, but it's the best one I've got right now...and I know you guys don't want to wait a few more days before seeing my new do ;o).

I need a haircut!!!

Ok....maybe not a haircut per se, but definitely a trim! It's been 8 months since I last visited a hairdresser, so my hair is having split-ends, and I need to shape it up a bit more... . Swimming at least once a week now is not helping my hair condition either... . Plus, I need to prepare for the Christmas festivities coming up in the next few weeks ;o).

But no worries....it won't be a drastic cut....since I can see my readers voting more for long hair than short, so I'll listen ;o). My deadline for a visit to the hairdresser is this week....so I'm really looking forward to it otherwise I'll get mad and shave my head!

The Sexiest Men Alive 2007 - my take

Ok...who decided on this list of The Sexiest Men Alive 2007? Why wasn't I consulted? There are obviously some men who should be on that list but aren't, and some men who shouldn't be on that list but are!

Here's my take on who should not be on that list (1 = first to go):

1. Javier Bardem (no comment)
2. James Mcavoy (no comment)
3. Adrian Grenier (not macho / hunky enough)
4. Ben Affleck (no sex appeal really)
5. Brad Pitt (used to be hot, now just old news)

Here's my take on who should be on that list to replace the above (1 = first to enter):

1. Wentworth Miller from TV series "Prison Break"

(how on earth could they forget him?!)

2. Josh Holloway from TV series "Lost"

(too bad he's married...oh wait, so am I.)

3. Sendhil Ramamurthy from TV series "Heroes"

(I love his accent! I hope we're somehow related.)

4. Jesse Metcalfe from TV series "Desparate Housewives"

& movie "John Tucker Must Die"

5. Hmm...can't think of a 5th one right now...but if you have a suggestion, then throw it in!

Anyway, that was my list of hot, sexy, male celebrities (that's why Martin's not on the list - he's not a celebrity! Not yet, at least). And hey, I'm married, not blind, so I can still appreciate beauty, right ;o)?

And the winner is.....

Anders Fogh Rasmussen!

Who now becomes the 1st Danish prime minister who has won 3 general elections in a row with his Liberal-Conservative governing coalition. They won 89 mandates/seats out of 179, and a total of 94 to Anders as prime minister and 81 to Helle as prime minister.

Well, the Danes have spoken :o). And I am staying... .

General Elections

Tomorrow is a big day for Denmark - the general elections will be held at last, after months of speculation. Will "we" get a new ruling political party? A new prime minister?

Current prime minister vs potential new prime minister

I am holding Danish permanent residency, but not Danish citizenship, therefore, I am not allowed to vote during national elections. The only time I can vote is during the muncipality elections, and I did that for the 1st time in my life last year... . Have never voted for anything in Singapore either since voting age there is 21, and I had moved out before that. Singaporeans living overseas are not allowed to vote during Singapore general elections....so all I can do is try to influence people who can vote ;o).

Oh well, not that I will anyway. Every body has their own opinions and own preferences. The current prime minister (Anders Fogh Rasmussen) belongs to a right-wing party called "Venstre", which confusingly translates as "Left" in English (don't ask me how that happened). His party would appeal most to high-end business people who are concerned about taxes and economy, etc (his party boasts of accomplishing the lowest unemployment rate in Denmark since 1974). They've been tightening up the immigration laws in Denmark too, and work closely with the Danish People's Party (whose leader, Pia Kjærsgaard is like the equivalent of Pauline Hanson in Australia in regards to being "anti-foreigners").

The other candidate for the prime minister post is Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is representing a more left-wing party. Social welfare is high on their agenda list (which would therefore probably mean higher taxes than the already high taxes). If she wins, she'll be Denmark's 1st female prime minister... .

Anyway...we'll know the results around midnight tomorrow. Martin has already made up his mind on which party he'll be voting for. I don't actually know who I'll vote for if I could vote. I mean, they all have strong and weak points... . I guess I'll be leaning more towards the current government since I'm not a huge fan of a social welfare society... . Yes, we should help those in need as much as possible, but then you also have those who abuse the system because it's easier to sit back and enjoy the "handouts". People who are able to but are not motivated to contribute to society because society is contributing to them instead.

Even for those who are really in need, the help should just be "immediate and short-term", because in the long run, it'll be better to "teach them how to fish" rather than simply "giving them the fish".

I won't go too deep into politics here... . What ever happens after tomorrow's election, I'll just have to live with it and adjust to. Either that, or I can choose to move elsewhere... . Tomorrow, the Danes will have their say. May the best party win.

Cows go "Moo..."

Off to the countryside tomorrow to visit my parents-in-law (no, they're NOT cows!). Had been a long time since I was there last time....½ a year ago, actually... . That's how big Denmark is ;o). I mean, not that it takes forever to get to their home (1½hr by train one-way), but just that when friends and/or family live so far away, visitations are not easy to do regularly, especially without a car. That's why I can never imagine myself living outside of Copenhagen permanently - would feel so cut off from society... . And I'm not planning on having a family with 9 kids either... .

So yeah, it'll definitely be a relaxing time down there... . Back to nature, which I guess is nice now and then. Well, I'll most likely be indoors most of the time anyway, considering how cold it is outside right now... . I should have officially started hibenation when we turned our clocks to winter time, but I don't think my manager will approve of such a long leave till spring time :o(. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stop shaving my legs so that I can let my natural "fur" grow to keep me extra warm during the winter months.

Hairy Sheily signing off!

600 DKK (S$169)!!!

That's what it costs if you do not have the correct train/bus/metro ticket during your trip. It's literally daylight robbery, especially if you had genuinely forgotten to buy a ticket for an extra zone.

Ivy and I went to shopping mall Fields on Friday after work. To get to Fields via the metro, you would need to have tickets for Zones 1 and 3 if you leave from downtown Copenhagen. It had been a long time since I went to Fields, which is a quite outside of Copenhagen centre, so it slipped my mind that we would need to buy a 1-zone supplement ticket for Zone 3 on top of the Zone 1 ticket which Ivy and I already had.

Zone map for S-train and metro (red part is where we started from, circled part is where we got off - in Zone 3)

As bad luck would have it, the metro ticket controller came onboard to check our tickets while we were sitting and chatting away, and it was only then that we realised that we were already in Zone 3 and without a valid ticket!

Damn, that was a very pricey mistake. 2 x 600 DKK fines came our way, and we hadn't even started shopping in Fields yet! We didn't bother to "argue" / "beg" the ticket controller to let us off even though it really was an honest mistake. These "arguments" and "beggings" never go anywhere anyway. So yeah...that was a costly "gift" from us to the metro company. Buying an extra zone ticket would have costed us a mere 9.50 DKK (S$2.70), but nooo.....we just had our pay day so we wanted to give away our money as soon as possible to companies who don't deserve it.

Anyway, despite that unfortunate and unnecessarily expensive incident, Ivy and I had a good time shopping and then going to a Japanese restaurant (Restaurant Sushi) close to Nørreport Station afterwards for dinner. We made darn sure to get an extra zone ticket on the way to the restaurant, but of course, there was no ticket controller coming onboard to check tickets then in order for us to proudly show that we have valid tickets.

It is said that the punishment should always fit the crime. I really think that a "punishment" of 600 DKK for not having a valid ticket onboard Danish public transportation is way too much for a crime that does not even hurt anyone... . Oh well, no use crying over split milk... .

J-Day

Today is J-day - the day when the Tuborg Christmas beer (Julebryg) is officially launched at precisely 20:59hrs. For those who don't know, Tuborg is "Made in Denmark". So is Carlsberg, even though I thought it was German some decades ago... . In fact, the only thing I knew for certain that was "Made in Denmark" was Danish Butter Cookies (the word "Danish" really helped), but strangely enough, it's not such a big thing here.

Most Danes are crazy over their Christmas beer, so Copenhagen will be filled with people counting down to the official launch later. I actually don't remember ever participating in this "special" day one single time during my 10 years here... . If I did, then it must have been a very long time ago. I'm not a "beer" kind of person; never was, never will be. Don't like the taste, don't like the after taste. It's kinda like hot coffee for me; same thing - don't like the taste, don't like the after taste (love the smell, though).

I go more for wine and other kinds of alcohol, although I am not a good drinker at all. My face gets red after 1 or 2 glasses of wine (alcohol flush). It's actually an allergic reaction, but usually, if the wine is of good quality, the redness does not come so fast.

Pre-alcohol

Post-alcohol

Since I also get a headache after drinking too much, I tend to stop after I know my limit's been reached. I mean, I do want to enjoy the social night, so why would I want a headache to spoil that? After all, I am able to have fun without alcohol, just as I am able to have fun without drugs.

But yeah, the trick for me to have alcohol throughout the night, is to drink slowly... . Make it last longer. By the time I'm done with my 1st glass, everyone else would probably be on their 3rd. When I'm done with my 2nd, they'll be on their 6th. I can therefore still be able to "Cheers!" with them and yet seemingly be drinking as much as them. They might notice at 1st that I'm drinking really slowly, but by the time they're on their 3rd or 4th glass, they'll stop counting mine ;o).

Oh well, not that I care what they think anyway when I finally decide to stop the alcohol and switch to coke (coca-coloa, not cocaine!) or water. After all, it's my body, so I decide what I want in there and what I don't. Actually, it's quite fun to be the sober 1 at a party since I get to snap all the paparazzi shots of the drunks ;o).

Well, I think I'll do myself a favour and stay indoors tonight. Best to keep away from the army of Julebryg-drinking Danes ;o). Skål (Cheers!) to them anyway!

I almost did a "Britney"

I did something terrible, something I had never done before. Blame it on faulty equipment, blame it on me being careless, but I almost had a heart attack when I saw that I shaved off a little too much of my right eyebrow!!! Girls will understand my despair; guys, go away - it's not remotely funny.

What are you lookin' at?!

Can you see where I almost shaved off my eyebrow the way Britney shaved off the hair on her head (click to see it more obviously)??? What a nightmare! But ok, depending on which angle you're looking at me from, I guess it's not too obvious... . Thank goodness.

Happy again...it's not that bad after all!

I can also feel some stubby hairs growing back at the spot I shaved too much of, so hopefully within the week I will be regenerated... .

Btw, did you know that your nose and ears are the only parts of the human body that continue to grow until we die? Probably more obvious in men, but women are not exempted. Old women ears can at least be hidden from view with their hair, but how do you hide the size of your nose??? I already dislike the size of my nose...so if it should keep growing for the next 70 years (assuming I live to the nice ancient age of 100), I'd be an elephant! Or worse, a pig if it grows wide instead of long!

"Oink! Oink!" says Miss Piggy

Why can't it be boobs that don't stop growing instead? That way, the older we get, the bigger our boobs; then we won't need to complain anymore that it's easier for dirty old men to get young women because old women will now have big boobs to attract young men. Saggy and wrinkly maybe, but big ;o).

Homemade carrot cake

I present to you, my yummilicious carrot cake baked by yours truly yesterday. It was a looooong time ago that I last baked this, so I'm glad it turned out rather successfully.

Yeah, yeah, I know I missed covering the bottom edge with cream. Was in a hurry to take pictures of it and then eat... .

Want this slice? It's yours.

Very easy to do, so go ahead and try it at home if you want. Receipe's here (I just didn't bother with the pineapple, but every thing else was accordingly). Quick, easy, delicious - 3 key words for me whenever I enter the kitchen to cook or bake... .

Hint to the ladies (all males, you may stop reading from this point on):
I think that the most tedious part in baking this cake is shredding the carrots. Therefore, if you have a hubby or boyfriend, just make him do the shredding, but don't make it into a command. You should instead feel his arms and go "My, my...what strong arms you've got! They're just what I need in the kitchen! Will you be my hero?" and then BAM! You've got yourself a fully equipped carrot shredder ;o).

Winter is official!

We changed our clock 1 hour backwards at 3am this morning since summer time has ended. That means 1 hour more of sleep for me :o)! It is however, quite depressing to know that it is now "officially" winter. Sure, the snow is not here yet, but it is now "brighter" in the mornings (not that the sun really shines anyway) and darker in the evenings.

Can't wait till 22nd December is over, because that will be the "shortest day", or "longest night" depending on your perspective. I prefer to call it the "longest night" for hanky panky reasons ;o). But yeah, after the 22nd of December, it will start to get brighter and brighter again... . Not that you can really tell right away since it's more or less just a minute of difference each day, but oh....it helps a lot psychologically.

I've tried before to just keep my bedroom clock at the old "summer" time so that when my alarm rings and I see the time as 08:45, it would in reality be 07:45, which means I trick my mind into thinking that I'm still waking up at the "usual" time but end up 1hr earlier at work so that I can leave 1hr earlier than usual... .

It really sucks though to have my mind in the same body as the rest of my body parts, because my hands and eyes can't even discuss this excellent plan with each other without my mind eavesdropping on them and knowing that they're going to try and trick it! So when my alarm rings at 08:45 (07:45), the "conversation" goes something like this:

*LOUD MUSIC PLAYING* (it's a clock radio I have, so it doesn't actually ring)

Hand slams the snooze button.

Eyes: Damn, it's 08:45 already. Time to get up.

Body: Oh, come on - 5mins more! Pleeeeaaaase?

Eyes: But look at the time! If we don't get up now, we'll ALL be late for work! We've already been snoozing since 08:00.

Mind: Hey! I'm sure you guys probably think I'm stupid, but I know Hands didn't turn the clock 1hr back yesterday like they should have done, so it is now in fact only 07:45! We can still sleep another freakin' hour!

Body: Hear! Hear!

Ears: We're listening!

Hands: Hey, don't drag me into this - it was Eyes' idea not to set the clock 1hr back.

Eyes: FINE! WHATEVER! We'll shut for another hour then. You guys are all hopeless.

Body: Yay!!! 1 more hour! More than what we had bargained for!

Mind: So much for trying to psych me up, huh? Same trick every year, so why not just give up already?

All: SHUT UP! We're trying to sleep!

So yeah...that's what basically happens whenever I try to trick my mind like this. Never works, therefore I've stopped this. Doesn't help anyway when all the clocks in the other parts of our home are showing the correct time; gets really confusing. The clock in our living room is already going anti-clockwise, so I shouldn't confuse my mind further with a different time zone in our bedroom. I like our anti-clockwise clock though - it's so cool ;o). Wish I have an anti-clockwise watch too... . If anyone sees such a watch, please, please tell me 'cos I want it!!! Swatch designers out there, please take note!

Btw, for those of you who can never figure out whether to turn the clock forwards or backwards during the summer / winter "time change" day, here are several ways to remember:

1. Spring forward, Fall backward.
2. Summer = garden furniture out, Winter = garden furniture in (for those who have gardens).
3. Summer = outdoors, Winter = indoors.

So yeah...just some easy word association ways to remember when it's 1hr forward and 1hr backward.

Swimming like a mermaid... .

I finally pulled myself together today and went swimming. I can't play tennis during this cold season since the outdoor courts are closed, and the indoor courts are very limited, not to mention, pricey to book. Therefore, swimming seems to be the only sport whereby I do not need to commit to for 1 year, unlike dance aerobics in the fitness club (which I'd actually like to do but without that long commitment to it).

So yeah...I tried out swimming today at DGI-Byen, and since the water was not that cold at all (28 deg C), I think I'll go ahead and buy the 3-month card and start swimming twice a week :o). I did 10 laps today (1km), so that's a good start. Will just suffer the aches on my body on Saturday then.

Funny how our body usually aches only the day after, isn't it? I mean, it gives you this false hope that maybe this time, you managed to trick it into thinking that it had always been doing exercises. And then BAM! The day after, you just feel like a truck had hit you hard and your body mockingly goes "Naah, naah, naah, naah, naah -I gotcha...again! Sucker."

Hmm...I actually now remember another culture shock today after my swim... . I will go update my previous post on it. But yeah - stay healthy, people! We've only got 1 body, so be good to it... .

"Straight from the mouth"

Ivy: I'm not old and I'm not young.
Esben (puzzled): Not old and not young?
Martin: She's timeless... .

The only other person I know who is timeless is God... .

"Change" is a big word

Have you ever had 1 of those days where you just feel like you need a major change in your life, yet at the same time, you're afraid of such a change? Such a change can sometimes promise to be exciting, perhaps also more challenging, but oh....the fear of shaking your comfortable, secure ground can really hold you back.

Questions, questions, questions.... . "What if" is a marriage of 2 words that should never have been allowed together. "What if I can't handle the change?" "What if I fail?" "What if I don't like the change?" "What if this?" "What if that?"

So yeah...if every one live their lives filled with "What ifs", I don't suppose we'd be able to boast today about having had man walk on the moon, would we? You either do or you don't. If you sit around and conjure up imaginary "What if" scenerios, then someone else who's in "ready to go" mode will simply overtake you.

When that happens, or when the opportunity passes you by without you taking any action because of your hestitation, then you're left with yet another pair of useless words that should also never have been allowed together:

"If only"

Birthday feast!

We were celebrating Ivy's "25th" birthday yesterday. It wasn't a wild party since it was Sunday, but we did have a very "hyggelig" time, as one would say in Danish. The closest word in the English language for that would be "cosy", but as most Danes will argue, "hyggelig" is more than just "cosy".

Ivy had cooked us what felt like a hundred course dinner! You can see all the food she had prepared in the 1st picture below. We were around 13 people all in all, so we did manage to eat up most of the food like a pack of hungry wolves.

Ivy's boyfriend actually owns a farm in Jutland. No, he's not the farmer from the "Old MacDonald had a farm" song, since he's actually young, tall, handsome and Danish - totally opposite of Old MacDonald, whom I'd imagine to be old as his name suggests, scrubby-looking, and definitely Scottish. Much like this guy below:

Anyway...what I wanted to say was that if I could choose to be an animal, I'll choose to be an eagle. It's such a majestic bird, plus I like that it can fly. However, I'll also be willing to be a cow on Esben's and Ivy's farm if it means that I can get to eat a LOT of good food from Ivy's kitchen to fill up my 4 stomachs ;o). I'll have 1 stomach for starters, 1 stomach for main course, 1 stomach for dessert part (a), and 1 stomach for dessert part (b).

In return, I'll make sure to produce 4 kinds of milk - full cream, skim, chocolate and strawberry ;o). Tell me, which cow can offer such a good deal???

Ok, ok...I should stop daydreaming... . Here are the pics from yesterday!

Wouldn't you want to be a cow too, after looking at all this food??? Click to see mouth-watering details.

As you can see, VERY happy chompers!

Japanese/Korean-style of eating.

Wagma and me.

Prezzies time!

Martin and my gift to the birthday girl.

More prezzies... .

And yet more prezzies... .

Isn't she cute?

Looking on excitedly.

Daddy and baby girl.

My Mickey Mouse ice-cream. What? Why are you judging me? I already told you I have dessert part (a) and dessert part (b)! I did give one of my Mickey ears to Shi Hua, though... .

Satisfied cows.

Ivy and her cowboy. So sweet... :o).

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ivy once again! May you stay young and beautiful ALWAYS!

Fire season

Autumn is definitely here now. The leaves on the trees are no longer green, the birds are no longer singing their songs in the morning, and the sun may be shining it's fire on us but it's not burning us 1 bit.

Yes...autumn. It's a cold season, but oh the colours are beautiful! Orange, yellow, red. How ironic that it makes you think you are standing in the midst of a huge fire, but yet you need your coat, gloves, hat, scarf and boots on.

The front of our apartment

The ground will soon be covered in all those fiery leaves. So fun to kick them around when they pile up ;o)! Good we don't have a garden, though. I mean, I like kicking them around and making the leaves fly around me as I walk on the path, but I definitely don't like sweeping them up ;o). I'll leave that to our care-taker.

Hmm...I wonder if he will come after me with his rake if I kick a tempting pile of leaves which he has so painstakingly sweep aside... . I guess I should find out first if he is a teddy bear kind of guy, or a Snoop Dogg kind of guy, who is apparently going to rake leaves as part of his community service after pleading guilty to a felony weapons charge... . I don't think I'll want to mess with a guy who might have more than a rake as a weapon, if you know what I mean... .

Denmark vs Latvia: 3-1

Last Saturday, the score against Spain was with the same numbers, except that Denmark had 1 goal and Spain had 3. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for Denmark's qualification to the UEFA EURO 2008 finals? With just 2 games left to play and the need to win both, plus the need for Spain to lose both their games (highly improbable), it would seem that the light at the end of the tunnel is just an oncoming train... .

I was at the national stadium, Parken, yesterday to watch the Denmark-Latvia match. I would not have gone if my ticket was not for free. Though the match ended well with a win and a total of 4 goals, the atmosphere at the stadium was not that intense. Fans wanted a rampage of goals, we wanted to see a better effort from the team (the 1st Danish goal was from a penalty shot anyway), we wanted to see a fighting spirit....but alas! It seemed like the Danish national football team were playing like they belonged to the female cheerleading squad... .

I feel for the Danes... . Of course, I'd like Denmark to qualify for the finals next year, but come to think of it, Sweden and Spain deserve to go through in this group more than the rest. Sorry Danish readers....but if I want to see an exciting Uefa Euro 2008 with all the best teams against each other, then I'd rather have Spain playing than Denmark ;oP.

Oh well, if Denmark doesn't manage to go through, at least my favourite team Portugal is pretty much through already :o). And IF Denmark, by some miracle, manages to go through, then I hope that the history of Euro 2002 will repeat itself :o).

17 NOV will be "Judgement Day" for Denmark's Euro 2008 hopes... . Good luck to the team!

Black and white

Hmm...the multicolour eyes were actually a mistake, but then I saw how cool they were, so I decided to keep that mistake anyway... .

Looks like a portrait painting, huh? Well, it's nothing compared to what this guy did:


Had the above portrait made in Barcelona in 1999. It was made "live", so I had to sit there in front of him for a good 2hrs! And not just sit, but sit still too! I was afraid to move because...what if that had caused him to make mistakes? My portrait would then end up looking something like this:

So yeah, I had to sit really still, and eventually, people started crowding around us to see the work in progress. I'm sure they liked his talent a lot, because the minute I got up from the chair after his work of me was completed, a guy quickly took over my "hot spot" before anyone else could... .

I just hope that Russian artist was able to get some lunch before he started on another 2hr straight of concentrated work, since it was already past noontime when he completed mine. But yeah, he was very talented indeed... . One can tell by the way he drew out the eyes... .

The Night of Culture

Today is the 15th year of "Kulturnatten" (The Night of Culture) in Copenhagen. It's supposed to be the night for everyone to get in touch with the Danish culture, therefore, museums, parliment buildings, churches, libraries, some shops, etc are opened until midnight for visitors. Of course, this means that the whole of Copenhagen's residents (and beyond) come together at once.

I don't know....it's a great concept to have 1 night set aside to absorb Danish culture, but I don't like crowds too much. It's just too stressful squeezing in-between people, not being able to get in the bus because it's full and nobody gets out, queuing up for longer than usual to get in somewhere, not being able to eat out because restaurants are fully booked (and then you'll probably have to wait forever before your food comes)... . Oh, plus that it's really cold now in Denmark, so it's not that fun walking around outdoors while you're shivering... .

So I guess you can say that I'm not a very cultural person. But then again, if someone does not celebrate Valentine's Day because of all the over-hype on that 1 "day of romance", does that make him/her less loving than those who do?

Photoshop fun

I've been busy the last couple of days with Photoshop; trying out new things, experimenting, following various tutorials, etc. I'm still a beginner, but I do learn fast so I hope to be fairly good and comfortable with Photoshop by the end of the year ;o). This wasn't a 2007 New Year's resolution or anything, but hey, we need to set goals for ourselves every now and then, right? So why do it only on 01 JAN?

Anyway, the below are some experiments I've been doing... . They're not perfect, but I'm working on it ;o).

Yesterday

I made the fire background myself completely from scratch :o). Am not too happy with the wannabe fiery words, though. Kinda messed up on them a bit, but didn't bother to correct them. Part of the learning process anyway.

Today

I'm really proud of this one :o). Had also made it completely from scratch, and it looks pretty darn good in my opinion ;o). Not perfect, but good... . Go ahead and click on it :o).

A much better fiery text... .

Anyway...as you can see, I like playing with fire ;o). I'm going to go experiment some more now. At least this mad "scientist" cannot blow up her lab. Muahaaha... . Hmm...I hope my laptop is "fireproof" though.

Culture shock, Denmark

Every country has similarities and differences, and you get to see this more as a resident in the new country than as a tourist. There's not much to say about the similarities, but boy do you take notice of the differences, some of which may even be shocking!

I'll try to list a few of the culture shocks I had when I first came to Denmark to live. It's been more than 10 years now, so I might not remember them all since you do tend to accept some of them eventually, or at least get used to them.

Please realise that my list is based on my comparisons against my own culture in Singapore and my own experiences. Someone else might have a different list, so there's no "right or wrong" in this, only what's different.

In no particular order:

1. Definition of an "invitation".

In Singapore, when a friend invites me over to her place for dinner, I am not expected to pay for the food (or anything else). I remember the first dinner invitation I had from a Danish ex-classmate. I accepted the invitation (together with other classmates), and towards the end, someone was going around collecting money on behalf of the host as part of the contribution towards the food! Was I shocked? Oh yes - it was definitely a first for me.

My mum had a similar incident happen to her. She was invited to a birthday dinner for a friend's husband together with 2 others, and at the end of the meal, the bill was divided amongst them. So on top of buying a gift for the birthday man, she had to pay for the meal, cake, and drinks too!

Conclusion: it is possible in Denmark to have a BIG party, invite 100 friends, and make your guests pay for it at the end of the fantastic, extravagent party. Thing is, I'll have no problem with this as a guest, but on 1 condition: that I am informed of any costs before I accept the invitation, not after.

2. Casual wear at the office

1 hot summer day in 1997, I arrived at work as usual, and for the 1st time in my young working life, I saw a Danish male colleague approaching the fax machine wearing.....BERMUDAS!!! Somethimg like this:

I almost fainted on the spot, and I wasn't even the general manager! However, since he came to work in bermudas again the next day, I slowly accepted the fact that this was an appropriate office attire in Denmark when we do not meet face-to-face with our customers... .

It has therefore been very normal now for me to come to work in jeans any day of the week if I wanted. There is of course some kind of limit, such as no bikinis, no hot pants, no pyjamas/nightgowns, no low-cut/revealing clothing ;o). And when we are expecting special visitors, we do dress a bit more formally for the occasion... .

Conclusion: I'm definitely not going back to Singapore to work!

3. Lunch time at work

In Singapore, lunch time usually lasts 1 hour, whereby you tend go out of the office together with your colleagues to eat at a food court or hawker center nearby, maybe do a bit of shopping if you still have time, and then go back to the office to continue working.

Not here in Denmark. My first day at work was a bit expensive, considering that I was still doing my internship without pay. I didn't really know when lunchtime really was, but eventually, I became hungry.

Me: "So...where do we go to get lunch?"

Colleague: "Hmm...what would you like to eat?"

Me: "Something quick, I guess...since we only have ½hr."

Colleague: "There's a café close by selling sandwiches." (she proceeds to give me directions).

Me: "Aren't you going to eat lunch too?"

Colleague: "Yes, but I brought my own lunch :o)."

Fair enough. I went out on my own to get lunch, which turned out to be a boring club sandwich that costed around 40 DKK (S$10)!!! Hence, I understood why nobody really went out to eat lunch together during lunchtime, and chose instead to bring their own lunch box to work. Plus, going out to eat with just ½hr to do so can be kinda stressful.

Next day at lunchtime:

Me: "Where's the microwave oven?"

4. Unmarried couples with kids

Unheard of in Singapore, and in all parts of Asia for that matter. But here, it's not unusual at all for live-in girlfriends and boyfriends to be parents of their kids without seeing the need to get married... . Those who do eventually get married after they have kids usually do so just to make life a bit easier in society (paperwork with schools, muncipality, etc, etc).

I won't make any judgements on this; just pointing out that this was a culture shock for me upon living here... .

5. Bicycles as a means of transportation

Nothing shocking about that, except when I found out that my ex-manager herself rode a bicycle to and from work! Now that's shocking, because in Singapore, managers usually drive around in their cars, so riding a bicycle to and from work was like many steps backward in the transportation chain.

In fact, it is very normal to see men in nice suits riding on their bicycles. I thought that was funny at first, but I don't even blink an eye now when I see such a thing.

Conclusion: the bicycles do not care who's riding on it, so why should we ;o)?

UPDATE! (25 October 2007)

6. Showering naked openly with strangers, friends, family, colleagues, etc.

I would say, this was 1 culture shock that has taken me a very long time to get over / used to. The 1st time I went swimming in the public swimming halls here in Copenhagen, I was speechless and embarrassed when I entered the ladies changing room. NAKED WOMEN WALKING ALL AROUND!!! If I were a guy, I would be speechless and salivating, but as an Asian girl from a very conservative culture, I wasn't sure if I should look at these women and pretend that they had clothes on, or if I should just look at the ground and avoid eye contact, or if I would be allowed to stare at their boobs and butts to compare and contrast... .

That was just a minor problem, though. The BIG problem was, should I strip like them too? I mean, I could just leave my clothes on and change into my swim suit privately in a toilet cubicle, but showering was a major obstacle. There were NO PRIVATE SHOWER CUBICLES! Everyone showered together in their birthday suits! I didn't even shower with my mum for all of my bodily developed life, let alone with total strangers! And after swimming, you usually want to shower. What a dilemma it was for me.

In the end, I did shower of course, but with my swim suit on. I was definitely the most overdressed girl there. There was 1 Christmas party at work where we had aerobics 1st, and eventually when we all had to hit the showers, it became showtime because that was the 1 time where all of us female colleagues got to see each other's "feminine assets". Also my manager's! No swim suits to hide behind in, that time.

But yeah...it was only around 2 years ago that I started to be a bit more open (pun intended) to this culture. I'm still not 100% comfortable with it, but at least we're only females in there...and ok, small boys too with their mothers.

And for you males out there: it's not exactly "heaven" in the female changing room. I'm sure you all have some kind of fantasy of "accidentally" entering the female changing room and being surrounded by beautiful naked women who look up at you and gasp in initial shock, but instead of chasing you away, they tell you to please come in and help them rub cream all over their soft bodies or something pornographic like that.

Seriously, stop dreaming. Not all women have beautiful naked bodies. I'm surprised that only a handful of women look sexy when they're naked - the majority either have very visible cellulite, out of proportioned bodies, bulging tummies, flat behinds, funny looking boobs, wrinkly skin, or a mixture of two or more of these. Don't believe the magazines or Hollywood. These days, Photoshop and whatever other editing programmes you can get your hands on can really do magic.

I guess that's probaby why it's illegal to walk around naked in public. Most of us women look better with our clothes on, trust me.

Anyway...I think I'll stop this list here. Not easy for me to think of anymore culture shocks after getting used to a lot of the differences here by now. I'll need to talk to newcomers to Denmark and hear what shocked them when they first arrived here in order to get my memory refreshed a bit ;o).