because my internet connection came to the hostel at last, i decided it was time to get a new monitor, having left my beloved philips 170b in KL for my mum to under utilize
shopped around online and decided to go for a less known name. actually wanted a SAMsung 220T but then the new BenQ E2200HD came out and Anandtech had a glowing review on it. besides, it had HDMI input which woudl come in handy for a PS3 or Xbox as well as true 1080 HD resolution, which would mean i could get really native displays from HD discs, not that i have any now...
so went out to buy it. cost me 1900sek, which is like sgd100 more ex then buying it in singapore. yup, first world country, first world price. sigh.
my only other real grevience over this purchase was the absence of a digital cable. the monitor, being a natively digital product was supplied with a sub-D cable. disgraceful.
so had to fork out another 129sek for a HDMI cable.
'
packaging was ok. usual stuffs. cheap base, with no swivel. but can live with that.
prop it on my table
walah! 22" of true glory.
put a thumbdrive at the bottom right of the screen for comparison.
the built in speakers suck, totally no bass and it has some hissing problems. probably really cheap drivers.
the headphone plug in equally sucks. lots of interferance and hissing. will plug my headphones directly from the box in the future.
no time to try out how good the resolution is or tune the colours yet. next week!
thick skin.
ever since setting foot on sweden, the dry air, especially during winter has cause my skin to crack, most apparently on my heels. i think the only drawback of this is my socks get worn out more easily. well, more reason to go shopping right?
thin skin.
one stray finger + one sharp zipper = disaster
yup, and it hurts
really hurts
i meant, REALLY REALLY hurts
especially when you have to use your hands to work in the lab. everthing is 'ouch' now.
looks like i would have to double my dosage of vitamin E intake to help skin regeneration. also gonna get some serious hand cream for very dry skin.
anyone heard of waterproof hand cream? pleas let me know, hor. thx.
the last week it snowed like mad. many northern parts of sweden had snowstorm that caused road and airport closure.
but here in stockholm, we had a more mild snow, and so had lots of reason to go out and play.
just in front of the hostel, someone made a snowman
and a snowdragon, so cool
and life size some more. almost as tall as me
snow breathing dragon..
huaaaahhhhh!!!!
this is my personal snowmidget. only one foot tall. adorned with cryovial caps i took from the lab. cute aint he? yes, its a he, i'm sexist. thats Vivi's shoe for size comparison.
vivi, a french girl staying on the same floor as me.
this is what it looks at night from my window. i changed the contrast and brightness to about what i see. no idea what is lighting up the sky. maybe its the northern lights?
the morning of snowman creation. everythings white and black.
last month, one evening, i came back and found cables on the floor. it stayed there for one week.
the next week, the cables were up, and for sure i knew that they were for access points.
the following week, the access points were put in place. cisco, not bad.
this week, which is 3 weeks after i first saw the access points being put up, the internet was ready for use.
i have truly not seen such crappy connections since my kl's 33.6 days
its on telia, which is like singtel standard, but it keeps on gettign dc, and the signals are super weak. this is certainly not something a first world city should have.
in true singaprean spirit, i'm gonna complain tomorrow, thats of course, if i can get online in this crappy condition to my email account.
at my hostel entrance
the train ride to lab
exiting the train station to walk to lab
real snow pictures, taken also on saturday after i got over my hysteria
quite gross when it gets mushy
my first snow ball. gave up after that coz hands got frozen. but the snow is really soft to touch
2 to 3 inches
the road leading to my hostel
woke up on saturday and guess what!
ITS SNOWING
SNOW
SNOW
SNOW
my campus
view from my hostel kitchen
used to sing the song 'i'm dreaming of a white christmas', but guess what, I'm singing it no more!!!!
SNOW!!!!!!
¤runs out to play with snow¤
after two months of struggling with the bank, at last i get my functional bank card. at last i can buy train tickets online. at last i can book my holiday to the arctic circle. yes!!!
was on a train the other day and spotted an ink stain on the window ledge.
what do you see?
i saw this
yup, was missing for a few days, as was in Holland with my gf. and what did i do there? why shopping of course.
one 70% down jacket, original price €89, on sale price €19. to not buy it was a sin.
and i'm now officially warmer as the thermometer plunges to 2C in daytimes.
the rain has turned into snow already. first snowfall was on last saturday and today there was a layer of white on the ground. too bad no camera with me at the moment.
one interesting thing in my lab is the fruits basket. there is a basket near the entrance and every monday and wednesday at noon, a man comes in to fill the basket with fruits. the department pays for it. everybody loves fruits and its gone in 5 minutes. its something to look forward to when coming to lab and keeps your morale 0.05% higher when doing experiments. it also makes you more sensitive to the lab's doorbell ringing on mondays and wednesdays.
an hour later
some might wonder what i eat on a day to day basis. well, wonder no more!
this is what i ate in the first week of november.
usually i cook the meats to last me at least 4 meals, and the definition of meals is lunch or dinner.
that week i bought 1kg of fish fillet. so i sort of stewed some of that with onions and garlic. ate that with bought finely chopped spinach, bought frozen in a cube.
monday lunch, monday dinner, tuesday lunch, tuesday dinner
wednesday lunch was too lazy to cook so made totally frozen food (except the rice). frozen beef balls, frozen brocoli and not frozen rice.
Wednesday dinner i came home early so stir fried the last huge piece of fish and an egg for dinner, as well as thursday lunch.
thursday dinner i ate pizza in the lab.
for friday, sat and sunday lunch, i stewed 1kg of drumsticks with bell peppers, lots of shitake mushroom and some garlic.
got another package, this time from mum. 14.9kg, and they dont deliver to your door.
the postman just leaves a note that you got to collect your parcel from such and such a place before this date.
so i borrowed my lab's trolley and headed down to the place. took 15 minutes to walk there, and even longer to walk back with that box
upon closer inspection, there was one obviously purpose made hole in the box to check whats inside it. the hole only revealed clothes, so it probably passed customs.
2 months later i got the package, and this box is beat up inside out.
visited the gym which is shared by a few institutions late one night, and was quite impressed. its free entrance but you got to register your card.
at the door, pick up a form to fill up what you did when to track your exercise advancement. run 1k today 50k next month!
the not so strenuous part. i think used for pilates and other light exercises.
the hardcore weights section, also not my interest. just give me the rowing machine, the treadmill, the cycle, and the steps.
