Saturday, June 21, 2008
weekend n-2. san ranieri.
ok, this wasn't really the last weekend, but it was the week before so it's considered. 17th June. The festival of Pisa's patron saint. The only time of year something actually happens in this little town. They turned all the streetlamps by the river off, and instead placed hundreds and hundreds of tiny candles along the window sills and outlines of the houses by the river. The great light-up. =) Pretty. Although pretty dark considering the candles were slow-burning - they had to last the whole night! Also, fireworks, gazillions of people. and. Cotton Candy!!! (Zucchero Filato) It was basically a massive carnival / pasar malam. Haha. Complete with light-sticks and balloons for the kiddies and of course the mandatory light-up swords the vendors always try and tempt people to buy. Fireworks were.. disappointing. Except of course the part where the CittaDella looked like they were having a mini-rave in it and got all lit up followed by the fireworks dripping down the walls, and down the bridge over which I walk ever morning. That was the nicest bit. Oh, and the grand finale when they set everything off! Other than that, Singapore's fireworks festivals have kinda spoilt me since I expect everything perfectly choreographed without breaks. Heh. It was Pisa's biggest open air party ever! And the squares were littered with people till 5am in the morning - which believe me, for Pisa, is a big deal! Normally by like 3, the city's kinda asleep. To be honest, this is what I expected a student town to be more like when I first came here. Of course, not as crowded - since people came from all over to party - but with something happening somewhere all the time.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
weekend n-3. Final Disco-Treno.
Doesn't it sound so retro? Disco Treno --> Translated to Disco Train. Heh. It's basically when a bunch of suppressed kids from Pisa (about 200 of us) hop onto a small train built for maybe 50 people and go wild. And need I mention that no one wanted to sit down - not that we could, since we were packed like sardines. But instead of moving to the ends which were relatively empty, everyone (and i mean EVERYone) chose to squueeeezzzeee their way right to the middle where we were. It was madness. One hour of screaming, yelling, cheering, jeering, squishing, falling, climbing. And drinking. While I sat in a corner to breathe and amuse myself with everyone's behavior as they got more and more into their cups - or should i say home-made concoctions filling up massive water bottles. Honestly, the dudes on the train sitting down must have wondered what hit them when everyone got on. Most of them ran away though. One guy next to us stayed, and ended up being offered drinks by everyone else. Highly amusing really. :p When we got to the club it was even funnier, there was a wet-tshirt contest they tried to convince me to join, but hello - unlike the other girls, i was completely sober. Thank heavens they didn't think of carrying me and dumping me in the pool till much later (no, not in the pool but up somewhere)
Monday, June 09, 2008
weekend n-4. Rebeldia.
There was a protest against closing down some center somewhere. Lotsa reggae, lotsa partying, lotsa weed. We didn't stay for very long. :p And besides, Gaston and I had to figure out our CFD project which everyone else had already started on. All in all, incredibly un-eventful.
Monday, June 02, 2008
weekend n-5. Berlin! =)
And running on NY time. I love Berlin. Everytime I come back, I'm reminded how much I love it. But not to live. Never to live. A single girl alone in a large city like Berlin can get pretty scary. I'd need someone to walk me back every night to feel safe. Or I'd need to head home while it's still light. But this time, with so many people with me, I fell in love with Berlin all over again. The food, the people, the hours they keep. It's my kind of city really. The kind that never sleeps. Even till 6am on a Thursday night. ;) And the planes. Need I start? There's just something about these lean mean machines, when they're not used as killing machines but as a way to show off the skill of a select few, namely the patrolle suisse. Where the pilots are just as yummy as the Tiger F5s they zip around in. It's always good being a girl in an airshow. All you have to do, is go up to one of the pilots manning the closed display... and show a little... teeth! Hehe. My million dollar smile works wonders I tell you. Especially on trade day. ;)
Sunday, June 01, 2008
one more thing
i know i'm short, but i'm not even the shortest person by far. yet. YET! people always diss me because of my height. why IS that! *sticks out tongue* so unfair. that is why i tend to wear short skirts short though. haha. cos it makes me look taller even though my legs aren't that fantastic :P but yet i still get dissed. could it be that wearing skirts actually make me look shorter? another point to ponder. needed to end it on a slightly more frivolous note so i don't go to bed all grim and serious.
random thoughts
quick snapshot of this weekend before i do the whole long summary. while i was on my third walking tour of berlin - yes, i have been there on 6 different occasions, i think i may even be able to give my own walking tour of it now - i got to thinking (again). i always get really sad, and am really glad for the fact that i have shades on and people can't see my eyes - anyone who has seen my video of the bullfight in madrid will know what i'm talking about - especially when you think of all those people as like, real people, with real lives, at your age, just born into different circumstances. and this time i heard something new. this time i was thinking about courage and honor. cos there was this one part, where the guide was telling us about 17 soldiers who refused to fire on an unarmed crowd. these 17 soldiers were later executed. EXECUTED! For not wanting to do what they felt was wrong. If it came down to it, would I have the courage to do that? Would I even think for myself? I mean, I've wanted to be a pilot for so long, but granted, I doubt Singapore will ever go to war. Still. Makes me rethink why I want to do what I want to do. All I think about flying planes is dodging bullets, and playfighting, and sitting back in my cool f16. But I think I am incredibly naive. There is a lot more to it that I would have just rather not have thought about. And like all the pieces falling into place, I actually met someone who was in the US Air Force, and wanted to do it on his way to fulfill his dream in NASA, but on thinking about what he was really going to do, resigned, and came to berlin to teach 4-year-olds. Would I have had the courage those people did when it came down to life and death? Or would I just go with the flow and save my own ass? Only a real situation will tell won't it. And it's making me rethink my future direction. It seems Berlin always plays a part in me changing my mind. Heh. 2 years ago, I was *this* close to moving there, but changed my mind as I really couldn't see myself there. Now, back to visit, it's making me realise what I'm about to embark on yet again. Oh wells. If all else fails I'll just sail my ship around the world. A nice ship. With wooden boards and a deck, and sails. Proper sails. Like the ones Gaston and I saw in Sardegna. *grins* I've already recruited my crew I think. Well some of them at least. Haha.
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