Friday, August 31, 2007

Can't blog yesterday because there was something wrong with my wireless card. So blogging now in my office. Just came back from lunch. And i tell you, even lunch we had beer, because today is friday!

Anyway, will be going off work early today probably around 445 or 5pm cause i am catching a bus to Riga, Latvia at 6pm! It will be a 4 1/2 hr bus ride, quite long huhz and will be back on Sunday evening. I brought all my barang barang to work this morning so all ready!

Dunno what to expect, except that i am going there alone, so quite scary. Yes, i am not used to travelling alone

Hope to blog about my trip on Sunday when i am back. Take care!



Thursday, August 30, 2007

I am feeling so sad. Because my handfone died on me. I went go-karting with my colleagues, cos my boss proposed to go go-karting, so it became a company outing. I put my handphone in my pocket and when i took out my fone after the race, the screen can't be seen. I reckon the screen can't take the impact of the go-kart (as if my kart flipped during the race!) and the fone was a goner. I am sad not because i have to spend money to get a new one, but the emotions attachment i have for the fone..and the messages, the contacts!

So i would probably get it repaired when i get back home. In the meanwhile, i spent 220 litas to get a new Nokia fone. Very Lau-yah one. No camera nothing. Well, i just need a fone to call and sms. I realised it is more than 1 mth since i am here. Yeah seen a couple of things and of course more independent than ever. But i do look forward to the day i go back to Singapore. It would be fast, 7 wks more.

Shall blog again. Go drinking later



Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I had a pizza for dinner and i am feeling real full. The menu said it was a 25cm big, so i just ordered cos i was feeling real hungry. And i felt so good whacking every single of the pizza all alone. Truth: When you feel lonely, you will feel hungry easily. haha

Temperature is getting cooler and colder as September approaches. Today was mostly rainy. It is around 11 degree and likely to stay wet and cold for the rest of the week. Which means eating more to produce more heat to keep warm!

But i doubt my weight changes much since i left Singapore. I still look and feel light. My digestion system is just working very hard most of the time.

Work is good. Seriously. I enjoy working at the moment. Though my eyes feel tired after staring at the computer for one whole day, i don't feel like dying when i wake up to go to work every morning. Even on Sunday evening, i don't feel as if the end of the world is looming. Just a bit sianz since i can't slack that much.

I have this mission as part of the company. I have to become a China expert. A walking China bible. I am trying my best to be one as well. Trying to understand about the economics, industries, companies and everything. So have been reading more on Asia in particular on current affairs magazines.

So one fact and figures about China everyday.

Did you know there are 7 million new mobile phones subscribers in China every month?



Monday, August 27, 2007

I have been busy since 730pm. BTW, now it is 1010pm over here. This is what i did.

730pm. Fried chicken wings and fish
800pm. Cooked fish finger and crab sticks and rice
830pm. Dinner
900pm. Mopped the floor and stove. Oily from the frying
930pm.Shower
945pm. Ironing my clothes that i have washed over the weekend while watching tv

Looks like some household chores by some typical auntie. Thank you, every weekend i morph into some auntie and god damn it, the food that i prepared today was quite horrid. Plus all the oil. I dun believe i can't master cooking when i am adult armed with a Bachelor degree ( as if there is any connection between the two)

Well, at least there is beer beside me as i blogged about my life. See living alone in a foreign land is not as glam as you all think man! Yes, i enjoy staying alone for now, the independence, the drinking parties in my apartment, but i dun think i enjoy the cleaning part of it. For the very least, i have conquered clearing those food waste stucked in the sink. Still got all the hair that i caught by the bathtub hole. Till now, i still have to use toilet paper to dig it out (Disgusting!)

My friends have this idea that i am no longer homesick as i have expressed my desire to extend my stay last week. Yes, it is true that i am not that homesick as my first week in Lithuania, but i still feel homesick as well. I miss orh lua, my friends and most importantly my family as well. My family called me yesterday and my mom commented that i have been in Lithuania for one month exactly. I agreed and said "oh, yah very fast hor". My mom didn't reply to my comment. It struck me that probably my mom doesn;t agree with me that time passes very fast in my absence. She is probably worried sick about her dear son living 9000km away from here all the time.

And when i was on my way back to the mall, i saw a mother and her kid walking to the mall. Out of a sudden, i felt a bit homesick. As independent as i am, i feel the urge to go back to Singapore and go shopping with my mom like what i have seen in the mall.

Today was also the day where Kenji, my junior in university flies to Japan for his exchange programme. Lucky him! Japan is nice, though i have not been there before. Well, Japan is in Asia and much closer to Singapore at least! Weilong told me Germaine cried. I guess it is normal, a few months is not that short and having your loved one away from you is not easy. But no one cried on my departure! i am sooo envious heck lah! But on the other hand, i feel better as well. When u are single, you dun have to worry about your other half and let him or her worry about you as well. Just like now. I have less one person to miss and lead my carefree life, not bad to see things in a different perspective.

Looking forward to my pay day on Friday!



Sunday, August 26, 2007

Had a lazy afternoon today. Went clubbing as usual last night. Nothing really happening. And i didn't came back home drunk! (Hurrah!) But i was a bit tipsy and somehow i couldn't press the security key numbers correctly. In the end, an old lady staying in my apartment block was so kind to come down and opened the door for me. I swear i wasn't drunk lor!

I went to check out the bus station because i feel the need to travel to other cities soon. I need to know how to get there by foot just in case. And i made several new pleasant discoveries during my reccee of the bus station.

I saw a few more churches, different from the ones that i have visited.

1) And i discovered a market in Vilnius! Just when i thought the people here only have hypermarts and minimarts to do their groceries shopping. But it is really quite far from where i am staying, at least 2km away. So i doubt i will do my groceries shopping there.

2) And i discovered a shop selling porno dvds! First time in Vilnius. Haha..It's quite tough to find shops selling porn here ok...but i didn;t make any purchases

And yes, i also made some time to sit in a cafe to enjoy some good coffee in the afternoon. Coffee, magazine and nice scenary. I adore doing this during weekends. I guess it is fine to do this in Singapore as well, but it just doesn't have the European feel to it.

Talking about travelling, i was quite adament about making a trip to Stockholm. My initial plan was to take a bus from Vilnius to Riga, probably on a Thursday evening, spend a night in Riga and from there take a budget flight to Stockholm. The plan is good, but the cost isn't. It is already the cheapest to fly to Stockholm via Riga. FYI, budget airlines don't fly the Vilnius-Stockholm route. But things in Europe are really expensive, the hostels in Stockholm are really expensive. It will probably add up to 900 litas for this weekend trip. (Gasp! which is like 1/2 of my monthly pay)

Not sure if i should proceed. But since i am here, shouldn't i travel around and fuck the cost?
But i will be doing a 1 wk travel towards the end of my stay. Likely to join King Yaw in London bah. Maybe i shld just make do with the 1 wk travel and not be so ambitious and greedy. Afterall, money doesn;t fall from the sky



Friday, August 24, 2007

Today in work i progressed to work on financial models. Felt excited whilst feeling stressed because it is important to analyze the companies well to make the right decisions. Will still be working on it tomorrow, hopefully i can learn more things as i progress.

Nothing much today actually because today is Thursday. But tomorrow is Friday. Woo hoo!
Went for window shopping in Zara after work. The prices here are way expensive, pretty similar to what we have in Singapore. Have this sudden urge to fly back to Frankfurt to grab Zara because it is much cheaper there. Think i have blogged about this. But the airfare to Frankfurt is quite expensive at the moment. Darn!

Seriously can't think about anything else to blog about. Maybe i ate too much for dinner.

This what i had for dinner.

1) Noodles equivalent of 3 packets i think
2) With it, 5 crab sticks
3) 2 saugges
4) 2 pieces of ham

and i god damn finished it all. How great. Oh yeah not forgetting a can of Heineken beer



Thursday, August 23, 2007

Just came back from a Japanese dinner with Thomas, my boss from UK. Not the boss that i am working directly for. Nevertheless, had my first Japanese dinner since dunno when and obviously my first in Lithuania. To orientate all my lovely readers, this Japanese restaurant is located at the Old Town (obviously!), few shops away from the Australia Embassy and one street from where both of us are staying. I expect it to be rather expensive in local terms but it came out to be extremely expensive!

My eyes nearly popped out as i flipped through the menu.

Nevertheless, we ordered these:
1) Fujisan, which is medium plate of sushi with Unagi, salmon etc
2) Egg fried rice for me and normal rice for him
3) A plate of Tempura with 4 Tempuras
4) Tempura sushi rolls
5)A plate of Soba which is damn little
6) A local beer for him and a bottle of Asahi for me

The price?? 148 litas which is around 90 SGD! i find it damn ex though the food is pretty good.

In any case, thomas said it would be on the company's tab. Well. I just ate then

I was thinking of extending my stay in Lithuania, as i have got used to the life here and probably can learn more things from the analysts like Jelena but Vilma, the one who arranged for my stay told me that i could only stay for 90 days because i am not on a working permit. A working permit will take 6 mths to apply and thus they didn't apply it back then

Well well, Miss Eu told me to come back as well. She said things may feel fresh in the beginning but family and friends are still more important. Well, she is true in a sense, and i can't choose either now. I will be back by 26th Oct 2007 then, bocs 26th Oct will be my 90th day and i can't stay beyond that



Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Lina, a very nice friend of mine whom i got to know in Vilnius.






Lina's friend whom i mentioned that she looks like Stacy Orrico. She does right! Pity that i looked so bloody cock in this picture with her! Damn!

FYI, i haben recovered my USB cable. These two pictures are courtesy of Lina. Bleah. I have to start making plans for my weekends! I dun want to be lazing around in Vilnius City!



Monday, August 20, 2007

The weekend is quite boring, as usual. Yesterday afternoon was spent walking around the Old Town. First spent a hour or less in a cafe, sipping coffee and reading The Economist. Later went to this church about 10 minutes walk from where i am staying. The interior of the church is amazingly nice, cravings and paintings are breath-taking. Too bad i can't show you all the fotos here, shall post when i am back in Singapore.

Had Macdonalds' for dinner. It is now considered a luxury to have Macdonalds' these days because it is so tough to find Macdonald's over here, though there is one near my place. But i seldom have it. Once a week is the maximum probably.

Today is the day where i transformed into a house husband. After i woke up, i swept the floor, decided that i should do some housework, before cobweb starts making its way into my apartment. Then, i cooked lunch. What's for lunch?? Oh..2 packs of instant noodles with hard-boiled eggs.

I went to Akropolis(again) for my weekly dosage of window shopping. But it was more of shopping for groceries in the hypermarket. See! How uncle can i get. Bought eggs, sauggages, crab sticks, mushrooms and instant noodles. Well, decide to cook meals more frequently as i need to check my finance. Badly need to save for my trip as i have said.

Took the trolley bus back and cooked my dinner. Just finished ironing my clothes and ready to slack some more!

Talking about food, i have a growing feeling that there is really a serious problem with me. My capacity for food has grown again! The Macdonalds' that i had for dinner apparently wasn't enough for me. Hey hey i did not just had a fucking fries. I had a McChicken meal.( McChicken burger+medium fries+small Fanta). I still remember i had that at 7.30pm local time and by 11.30 i was hungry again! WTF!! In the end i opened my first packet of my Myojo instant noodles that i brought from Singapore.

My fear of my growing food capacity is confirmed today when i felt hungry 3 hours after i had my lunch. In the end, i landed my bum at a restaurant for an Apple strudel and an ice lemon tea. Still, i happily gobbled up my dinner at 745pm. How nice! My stomach will be damn big by the time i am back home!

I officially invite my friends and all to come to Europe and join me to travel as i badly need some travel mates! you can stay in my apartment when u come to Lithuania ok! Tml's Monday..arghh i know everybody is going to suffer from Monday Blues, but heads up, things will get better, i hope!



Sunday, August 19, 2007

Yesterday night was spent clubbing with the locals. My first time clubbing in Lithuania since i came 3 weeks ago. What can i say, yesterday was a blast!

My friends, Lauras(a guy fyi) and Jonas first came to my apartment for some drinks. Beers, vodka and apple wine were what we drank. I stuck to my apple wine which was incredibly cheap. I bought the 1 litre apple wine at the minimart situated below my apartment for 6.30litas which is around 4 sgd. I drank half of it mixed with some peach tea as we chatted.

Then, we went to this pub situated round the corner from where i am staying called Prospekto Pub. Paid 15 litas for the admission and went to meet another friend of ours, Lina and her group of friends. I ordered another 2 glasses of beer bcos the rest were drinking as well! The music is ok, pop music plus some local songs. Well, heck the music! We had a ball of a time. So the guys went to invite girls for dancing and for me, ahem, chatted up with the girls in our group. And there's these two ladies whom i like.

And most amazing thing is they are sisters! The elder sister is 27 years old and still studying medicine. And yah she looks like Mary Pierce. Go google for her picture. We chatted and went to dance. Okay, a bit of flirting but that's normal right!? But i prefer her sisiter! She is 24 years old but she looks like Stacy Orrico, but yeah no chance to dance with her though. Well, the two of them are hot i think, but then again, everyone looks doubly good thanks to the influence of alcohol and those shimmering lights.

Second time in 2 weeks that i got drunk to the point where i puked. That's bad but i didn;t drink a lot! My body is just too slow to work those alcohol out!



Friday, August 17, 2007

Tomorrow's Friday..woo hoo...my spirits are getting better as the weekend approaches. Yesterday was supposed to be a public holiday over here in Lithuania, but a few of us still went to work as usual because my boss was working and we are involved in the US stock market. Moreover i had no plans so working seems like a good choice for me.

But after work, i joined one of my colleague, Ieva and her bf and one girl from UK for go-karting! Woo hoo! I loved it so much. It was my first time playing go-kart and i am very sure it will not be the last time! Being a first timer, i was last in my detail but i am very sure with some practice, i will be way better. Yup, it is quite expensive to play go-karting over here, cost me 39litas for around 9 mins, for 10 laps. But the experience is too cool to be missed. Come on, go-karting in the faraway land of Lithuania, hidden in some woods!

And we had beer in the circuit after our race while watching karts raced past us, it was just a nice feeling!

After which, we went to a nice and fanciful restaurant for some drink where i had my dinner as well. What a great way to spend my evening. Cars, friends, drinks!

Got my fortnightly pay today. 850 litas. Well, it is not a lot, not too much. Still, i would need to save a bit to go for my mini europe trip and weekend getaways!



Tuesday, August 14, 2007

It's 9.50pm local time and i am sitting in the living room, sipping beer(what else!) while doing this entry.

I know, i seriously know that many many people would love to be in my shoes. Getting paid to come to Europe, ok a less developed part of Europe. To work in a hedge fund, which many many people find it exciting and glamorous. To live in an apartment in the heart of the capital all by myself for at least 3 days a week.(Yes, i am living just like in our Singapore's River Valley or Paterson area.) Just walk 20m to reach the center of the Old Town.

Well, it is very true that i am fortunate to land myself in this situation. Doesn;t matter if my boss decides not to keep me after 3 months in Lithuania because i know this experience cannot be bought with any amount of money.

By that, of course i am currently not earning as much as my peers. Perhaps one third or less of what my peers are earning now. I am not the least worried but i just dun like the feeling that i am unable to give my family money with my meagre allowance(at least in Singapore dollar terms), since all of us are expected to do so.

But i have gained many things as well. Like cooking my own meals, to really be on my feet. To buy my own daily neccessities. Yes, i just replenished my toiletries with a 12-rolls toilet rolls from the minimart. And to struggle with a complex trolley bus system to get from my place to a shopping mall all alone and to come back safely. And to iron my own clothes. Seriously, for the first time, i ironed like 6 pieces on my own. Though it is not done in the most professional way, i am very sure my skills will improve as the weeks go by.

All these being said and done, i know i still want to come back home. Being an Asian or traditional or whatever shit u call me, my roots still belong to Singapore. I will and must return to where my family and friends are. 落叶归根 is the word. No matter how wonderful other places are, no where can be compared to where u come from.

I went to a Chinese restaurant last evening for my weekly Chinese Dinner. The price was steep but i was so happy to see the boss and probably chef who is a Mainland Chinese. I could see he was equally as happy to see me. And he quickly came to my table to chat up with me. We chatted just about anything as i ate my dinner. The kind of bond where you can speak to a person in our native language just can't be explained in words. And i was told there are around 280 Mainland Chinese in Lithuania. How cool is that!? I am not being racist over here, but it is indeed heartwarming to know someone of my origins is also striving in a foreign land.

See, keetzai can be funny and can be emotional and with depth as well. I will blog again soon ok, if i feel the need to.



Monday, August 13, 2007

Drinking beer(again!) as i am typing this entry, i seriously think that i will return home in 2.5 months' time with a beer belly to show. Warning to my friends first! haha

I shall blog separately on what i have done today on another entry. This entry is simply to lament that i have grown accustommed to not being able to understand what people at my surrounding say. Usually, the locals say Lithuanian language, so it is naturally that what they speak sounds alien to me. Then, at my apartment, i have cable tv( thank god!), of course they have BBC and CNN which i will watch ocassionally, but normally i will switch to a korean channel or a thai channel (yes, they have thai channel, from the dish i gather). Just minutes ago, some guy was singing in thai, so familiar yet so foreign! God, i haven't been speaking Singlish for quite some time.

Checked out the air fare to Helsinki in the mall in the afternoon. 450 litas which is quite cheap. Have plans to visit Helsinki, Finland on my way back home in Oct. So, money saving shall start from tomorrow. And by this, i am also replying to my dear Geraldine, i am not living a life here as an expat, man! Poor keetzai me, though is only living a normal lifestyle. I need to save up if i want to buy clothes or to go travelling ok!

Tomorrow's Monday. Start of a new week, hopefully i can get more settled in my work and really learn a lot of things because i need to!



Sunday, August 12, 2007

Just finished video caming with my family. Well, the tranmission quality was rather bad because of my wireless network speed at 1.8Mbps...but well at least i had a decent conversation with them. Ahh...and i miss them dearly of cos.

The saturday afternoon was spent with Giedre, a female friend of mine. We went up to the castle on a hill, i can't remember the name. It overlooks the whole of Vilnius, i tell you, it's just so cool..sorry no pictures for now! Then we went to a beautiful church, i think it's St Anne Church. Well, she told me the Lithuanians are really proud of this church because Napolean wanted to bring this church back when he saw this church. Trust me, i would want to do this same as well.

Then we went to a cool place where the artists declare themselves as a republic of themselves, where they live by the river side, doing their own stuff.

Then, dinner at a small bistro bar along a cool street full of bars and pubs

Yeah you know what i love and hate about Lithuania?

Alcohols and cigarettes are too cheap to be true



Saturday, August 11, 2007

2nd week in lithuania is coming to an end. Today's saturday, so no work for me. Great!

A recap of this week's happenings...

Monday. Work in the daytime. Then arranged a meeting with 2 friends to go shop for my travel adaptor because my mobile battery was running dangerously low. So we went to this massive shopping mall called Akropolis. Their version of our Vivocity. Just smaller i think. Way smaller. Come on Lithuania is not known for their shopping! I was so relieved when i found the travel adaptor. Yeah! Paid 18 litas( 10sgd). Anyway, back to this Akropolis, u can find almost everything here, including a casino. But then, casinos are littered everywhere over here. There is just one operating next to my work place. haha!

Then we went this German themed restaurant, which is good. The ambience etc and i paid the same amount as any other eating bistro in Old Town. I felt good going to this Akropolis bcos it really reminds me of Singapore. The shopping environment. Sure miss it a lot

Tuesday. Went to catch The Simpsons with a bunch of friends. ( In English of cos!). Found the movie pretty good cos i dun tink i have catch an episode of Simpson the tv series. The movie cost 12 litas ( 7 sgd). Pretty similar to Singapore.

Wednesday. Went for dinner with my big boss in this really fancy restaurant. He paid a bomb for it i think. Food was okay. He just wanted me to be more proactive to learning the ropes and skills. Well, it is true to some extent. I sometimes find myself too passive and i have only 2 mths plus to learn everything. Shall work on that okay. Then i went to friend's birthday party, where i got drunk. Yes, but still i managed to find my way home. Ordered 2 cocktails. Called Summer Breeze and Screaming Orgasm. Screaming Orgasm is good! because it has Baileys' in it.

Thursday. Pretty boring Thursday night. Went for dinner alone in pizza restaurant and went home online.

Friday. Was supposed to have clubbing but the guys all drove out of Vilnius to the countryside bcos the weather was good. I had to stay at my apartment and online. Yes, did my clothes washing as well.

Saturday. Well, it's today. Just woke up and have plans to visit a castle in the afternoon.

Hope next week would be better. Need to plan something for the weekend. Feel like going Kaunas, a city 1 hour drive from here. Shall see how



Friday, August 10, 2007

I know National's Day is over in Singapore, but hey it is still 9pm over at Lithuania! So..Happy Birthday, Singapore!

It is really true that we never appreciate things around us. I never appreciate the National Day Parade for a very long time. Though i know i love Singapore, the NDP doesn't interest me much. But now that i am 9000km away from Singapore, i wish i could be part of the celebration. No celebration over here of course, but i will always remember it's a big day in Singapore.

I think last time this year i was playing mahjong and having fun with my bunch of buddies but now i am at my apartment alone typing this entry.

And fuck. I realised that i didn't bring my camera USB cable. So guys, sorry. No pictures until 2.5 months later. No worries. I will sure upload and blog about it when i am back in Singapore.

But at least i got my wireless up and running and can blog more often than not! Tomorrow's friday, probably will go clubbing with the AIESEC people. Hope it will be fun, i guess it will, with a little help from alcohol.

I will spending my weekend in Vilnius city i guess. Seems like there is a plan to go up the castle on a hill near the Old Town. Which is good as well because i want to cam with my family. Haven't seen them for a long time.

Take care, guys!



Monday, August 06, 2007

First blog since i came to Vilnius.

All i can say after 1 week in Lithuania, i am feeling homesick already

Monday. Reached Vilnius and had a traditional Lithuanian dinner.

Tuesday. Went to home. The working environment is very casual and i am wearing a t-shirt and jeans in office as i type this entry. Encountered racism for the 1st time. Was followed by 2 guys as i went for my dinner. They asked me to go back to my f^%king country and i ran back to my apartment. Scared the shit out of me. Skipped dinner

Wednesday. had Macdonalds' for dinner. Nothing much

Thursday. Went drinking with the AIESEC guys. Had a great time and got to know a couple of them. They are very cool. Glad to have them with me.

Friday. Went to Trakai castle in the afternoon. Went of work at 3pm. The castle is gorgerous and it is actually in the middle of a lake. Pictures later

Saturday. Went camping with the AIESEC guys. The camp site is actually 125km away from Vilnius. And it has a beautiful lake and i tried swimming in the lake in the middle of the night. Freaking cold!

Sunday. Came back in the late afternoon. Cooked lunch and did some washing. Headed out for dinner and decided that i should have Chinese food. Went to a posh and upclass SzeChuan restaurant alone. When the food came, especially the rice, i couldn;t help but my tears just flowed. It's homesickness i know, plus the familiar chinese pop songs that they play, i just couldn't help it. I wanted to fly home at that very instance, but i know i can't. I just have to live with it and stop thinking about it.

I miss my family
I miss my heart to heart family

It is so hard to find Chinese over here. Even the Chinese restaurant that i went to is run by ang mohs. Even the cooks!

My apartment has no internet access and the travel adaptor that i brought is not suitable, so i need to get another one. Will blog soon after i get my barang barang ready

Take care, guys!