Oh wow, it’s finally here. It’s just about 17 hours from takeoff, and I still can’t believe I’m leaving already.

Don’t miss me too much fellas! Ok I’m kidding miss me like a fat kid on Atkin’s misses cake.

(p.s. it’s T1, for those who pretend to care :p)

I’m a real stickler for detail when it comes to planning - especially with travelling. I think I’m just really afraid that I’ll end up having to sleep on the streets, or that I’ll get stranded without transport to my next destination. Which usually leads to endless poring over booking of flights and hotels, and whatever else that can be pre-booked.

Usually, I make full use of my m4d eXc3l s|<i|LZ, like:

Yeah, colour coded, bitches. And it doesn’t stop at this sheet - there’re 2 other tabs below linking to the sheet detailing all expenses so far, and another one with my friends (read: free accommodation) who’re gonna be around Europe as well.

I know, I’m really quite obsessive compulsive. And yet my room remains untidied and my bags unpacked. But I know I can deal with those! Right now I’m still worrying about the train rides in Central/Eastern Europe which I’m told can be booked easily within 2 hours of departure…but… you never know, right?

Anyway, the pre-term travel plans have expanded exponentially today, with a suddenly rush of inspiration adding 15 days and 4 countries to our itinerary. Can’t wait!

So today I read this article citing a “scientific” study, which is really the kind of study that I question all the time. The assertation: that people with obese friends are 57% more likely to become obese themselves. Like, really? If I make a fat friend then I’ll…get fat too? Better shed me some loose kilos by ignoring all my overweight friends then.

I’ve always found studies like these a tad bit ridiculous. How do they track this - by looking for all thin people who make fat friends and then track their progress over time? Is this a study over 5 weeks? 50 years? Because I’m pretty sure that regardless of whether I have an obese friend or not I’m gonna be pretty damn jolly when I’m 50. Or maybe they just look for fat people and see how many of their friends are fat too and then come up with that percentage, 57%, which is an even more senseless way of measuring, because which came first, the fatness or the fat friend?

So, disregarding the social repercussions of such a study - who wants fat friends now, then? Looks like them overweight people are gonna have to make more overweight friends, thereby increasing the percentage even more, yadda yadda - how is this study actually informative or beneficial? I say that a percentage like 57% is quite simply a result of human social behaviour, that good looking people tend to stick with their “kind”, and therefore fat ones have less of a choice as to who their friends are gonna be. Same goes with smokers, if you’re a smoker, your friends are more likely to be smokers too, since you spend more time together smoking and all. Of course, the scientists would have you know that if you make friends with people who smoke, you’re way more likely to start smoking than the average person.

Well, if you believe the scientists, best make yourself some supermodel friends soon.

I hate snails. Not because I hate gooey, slimey things (I do) or because I’m a closet horticulturalist (I’m not). It’s really because I like my footwear too much. (No) thanks to the recent rainy onslaught, the shadowy areas of my neighbourhood has seen a great influx of them crunchy types, and it is without any exaggeration that I say they hide in the shadow-iest of shadows, just waiting to be squanched (squished/squashed/crunched). It’s been 2 in the past 24 hours already, and no doubt a similar sad fate will befall many others. It’s as if they have no awareness of danger. Then again, I guess even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to escape without a 2 day headstart anyway.

So anyway yes. I hate snails.

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I’m thinking I need an easier name to pronounce if I’m to survive in Barcelona. I’ve tried to resist the urge to get a non-chinese name, but a couple of weeks back I was in a meeting with a guy from Germany and another from the UK. Obviously, me being the insignificant intern had no form of business card on me, and so I had to make do with a brief handshake and “Hi, my name’s Wei Ming, pleased to meet you.” So halfway through the meeting I did my usual peek around at others’ notebooks and realised that on UK guy’s notepad I was W~~~~~, and on German dude’s notepad I was ~~~ (yeah it was that short). Way to go in making an impression, W~~~~.

So anyway, I’ve already got a name, actually - my baptism name, Timothy - just that I don’t use it and haven’t taken much of a liking to it (fickle, I know). And just like many others I was also thinking along the lines of something that sounds like Wei Ming … but the only answer I got was Wayne. Might as well just introduce myself as Weims then.

So… halp.

I’ve been away for too long - the internship just finished last week, and the 5 days since have been spent productively in front of the TV, mouth wide open and all.

Anyway, over the not-too-active past 10 weeks I’ve been doing lots of thinking. And not so much writing. But I guess I’ll catch up over the next few days/weeks/months/who knows. Of course not just personal stuff, so much has happened in the world recently, and so much is going to happen in the next few months as well, not least of all the US Elections (which really concerns the entire world as much as it does Americans).

Just for the record, despite Obama being the one to back if you’re young, hip and cool, on the merits of their policies alone I’d go for ol’ McCain. Though like I’ve read somewhere, it’d be really nice to have a McBama-ish compromise.

So. Here’s to more posts in the coming future, and as I scare the shit out of myself playing Bioshock, please to satisfy yourself with laughing at the dismal quality of the next two pictures.

P.s. Bioshock is truly awesome, and yet I can’t bear to pick it up again for fear of wetting my pants.

The Twin Towers of Toa Payoh

Trippy