GARGANTUAN steps
Saturday, September 26, 2009
my faberge egg
Thanks to Alex who helped me get this egg whilst he was in Russia! My very own Faberge egg with a miniature model of St Basil's Cathedral within it. Faberge eggs are synonymous with Russia where the Tsar commissioned the House of Faberge to make an egg as a gift for his wife. I believe that those were much larger than the one I possess now. This egg fits in very nicely to my collection of miniature wonders of the world, and soon, I'll need to find a bigger shelf for them all.
Outside
Inside - St Basil's Cathedral
Bird's eye view
My shelf of world wonders
Labels: Faberge Egg, Russia, Souvenir
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
going to the zoo
I'm back in London now after spending more than a quarter of a year back at home, in sunny island Singapore! It has been a most productive holiday, working back in my old lab, and I'm actually quite excited at the prospect of being able to publish a journal paper! However, now is the time to put in the hard work, which is writing the paper up. I hope to be able to get the first draft out by a fortnight's time, and if I'm able to publish a paper, hopefully this will open a few doors for me.
Meanwhile, at the cost of my 'holiday', I haven't really been able to meet up with many of my friends, but I'm glad to see that life is going on happily for them! I met up with the church group two nights before I was suppose to fly off, and was glad to see a few new faces! I suppose I have been missing in action too much as well. Amidst talks of buying HDB flats and talking about finding work, I guess few of us are still being educated. I'll definitely be the last one to graduate, at the rate I'm going, and that is if I'm not even doing a PhD! I'm glad to have met up with all of you guys! Thanks for tolerating my nonsense schedules and non-appearances!
Clare and Andy
Michael and Rosalind
Lucas and Lorraine
Amanda and Eric
Kevin and Allan (and the mole)
Mike and me
Allan and me
The whole gang
Just before meeting up with the rest of the gang, I was spending the afternoon at the zoo, which I haven't actually been to in quite a long while! Things I've found out on this trip are that the zebras are sponsored by KFC, and that there are many mad animals in the zoo! They've gone crazy being kept in captivity, and they just walk along the same path, up and down, countless of times, for the entire day! I even took a video of the leopard doing that, and there was a line on the sand showing the path that it took, and there were no other paw marks out of that line! I really felt quite disturbed for these poor animals. I suppose the zoo is definitely not the right environment for these animals. Makes me understand why Bobbie can be quite a handful when you bring him out. I had an enjoyable time there, and I think it'll be the Night Safari for my next visit! When I'm back.
Asian Small-Clawed Otter
Hamadryas Baboon
(with their fascinating outgrowth in their rear portions)
White Tigers
Me trying to blend in
My free entry
Ah Meng's memorial
(I recall a photograph that I took with Ah Meng a long time ago, when I think I was less than half my size)
(I recall a photograph that I took with Ah Meng a long time ago, when I think I was less than half my size)
Meanwhile, it's back to all work and no play makes Gabriel a dull boy. Work has already begun piling up, but I guess I'm glad to be in the thick of things, or maybe, I need another holiday! It's been great being back home, and I guess I will be home sooner than I think.
