Where’s Alex?

This time 2 years ago: June 7th, 2007 Thursday 9:45am
Cycle Europe Day 23: Train to Bologna.

I don’t want to be too critical but this morning confirms that Rome is the worst place of my trip so far. Meagre breakfast as usual. Went to transport my bike upstairs from the basement. Found out that my Kryptonite cable lock had cut marks, which was most likely from the previous day when I chained it to a bedpost that seemed unused. Next morning there was a notice saying that they needed the bed and I should have keep my bicycle outside. I chained it to a chair this time but still left it inside. I didn’t see the scratch marks yesterday. If I had, I would have made even more noise and try to get a refund. But I only saw it today and I had a train to catch to I left it.

Went to the reception to where the girl was more concerned talking to another guy about probably a broken computer than serving a customer. Politely I asked to check out before I asked her if she knew who wrote that notice. I explained that another receptionist said I could put my bicycle downstairs so I chained it to the bed when there should have been a cycle store. She said I shouldn’t have but I replied that still it was wrong on their part or the film crew that was filming there to attempt to cut my cable lock. I left with a final remark saying at the end of the day, the lock ‘only’ cost €50 but it was still wrong on their part when you put your customers last on your priority.

I always regret when I don’t handle situations good enough. I know it wasn’t the girl’s fault and I should have apologised to her for treating it like it was her fault. Maybe it was because she treated me badly that I sort of took revenge. Now I’m in the wrong again. Crap. I didn’t buy the lock but it did come with the bike so…

Should I send a proper complaint and an apology to the girl? Wait for the manager till 8:30am when I had a 9:14am train to catch? 30 minutes enough for me to get to train station? I should try to make this right in an e-mail.

Rome is expensive to stay in and to see sights. The Italian people at the hostel receptions at Rome and Firenze do not place customers first and they treat us like ’sausages’ (like D&A Opticians). Best place in Italy so far is Finale Ligure and it’s only because it’s close to France. Toilets in Rome’s Youth Hostel have no seats so you have to squat to shit. Shitty. Another statistic: Worst Value For Money Hostel: Roma!

(12 hours later.)

Had to change trains not only at Firenze SMN but also at Prato to get to Bologna. Once you’re on the streets, there are sign boards to guide you to the hostel itself so it’s already giving a good impression. There’s even a McD’s and Decathlon nearby so I got another spare tube. Nice purpose-built hostel. Plenty of plugs unlike Rome’s 70-year-old building that didn’t have the wirings. Large shower area and temperature control water. They say there’s continental breakfast here. We’ll see what it means.

Asked the friendly/helpful receptionist where I could get good ’spaghetti al ragu’ and lasagna. She kindly pointed 2 places on the map for me to find. One was only going to open at 8pm, an hour later, so I went to Trattoria Bertini and had Tagliatele alla Bolognese and Lasagna al Fruno (baked lasagna). The Bolognese noodles was wonderful. Full of flavour and cheese and mince meat. The lasagna was a bit strange but hey, that’s how the Bolognese people do it. The pasta was greenish but the rest was meat and cheese. Nice. €2 service + €6.50 x 2 + €1 tip = €16.

Pass by some Bologna sights as well the first university and another leaning tower. Definitely worth a comeback trip. Viva Bologna!!!

Day 23 Accounts
Spare Tube €3.00
Dinner €16.00
Hostel €15.50
Total €34.50

… been selected for a TSP scholarship.

Mum said: “Guai guai zho kang lor.”

OK.

For more background, go to Letters.

Knowing that this was God’s will does not seem to stop the mind from coming up with so many reasons to help rationalise decisions like this. I was already prepared to accept the fact that I might not get this scholarship because of the 4-month wait between the letter of acceptance and this notification since they were suppose to award scholarships on a monthly basis.

But I still came up with this last one: For me, this was going to be more of a ‘honeymoon’ period (and another European adventure at that), a continuation of my university life, rather than a pursuit for a master’s degree even though the field of study was one that I was interested in.

At least now, my mind has already started to focus ‘full steam’ on planning cycling trips.

… well, almost.

My trusty 7-year-old Perodua Kelisa arrived at what I considered its first major milestone, 10% of its life span. 900,000 km more to go.

Two important letters came on the same day Wednesday this week.

The first letter affirmed that my job is ’secure’.

The second letter threatened to nullify the first.

But no word on scholarship yet.

My old letters…

It is that time of the year and the newspapers are at it again. In line with the festive seasons, last chance for a holiday for families with school-going children and factory shut-downs, I sense The Star and New Straits Times are cutting down on their reporting of current news and recycling old ones with tonnes ‘Year in Review’ sections.

I have been encouraged by the practice of some cell group members to do one of my own, to reflect on this past year and plan for the next. See if I can bring anything meaningful to this week’s new year’s eve watch night service and covenant service.

2008 Year in Review

January
Started off with a few long over-due graphic design assignments before realising how close the March 1st dateline for the scholarship application to study Masters program at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands). Spent 10 solid days translating course subjects from Bahasa Malaysia to English with 20 pages to show for. Also managed to secure recommendation letters to support this application for Sustainable Energy Technology program.

February
Scholarship application hit a snag when I submitted my 10-year-old TOEFL (English proficiency) results when it was supposed to be valid for just 2 years. Tried to argue for an exemption but to no avail. Applied for a position at bicycle components manufacturer Shimano and had a good enough interview in Penang to be invited for a 2nd interview in Singapore. Didn’t really do much else except wait. 1st Chinese New Year celebration with family after missing the previous two years.

March
Didn’t do well in the 2nd interview at Shimano Singapore but sat tight waiting for news. More waiting.

April
Shimano finally said no. I didn’t have enough relevant experience. Back to square one. And funds running low.

May
Was approached to be available for freelance graphic design work, not sure why it turned out to be hot air. Walk-in interview and 2nd interview with Motorola went well, although I was technically ‘rusty’.

June to December
Joined Motorola and work, work, work! Hence, almost zero blog posts during this period.

Were all these really news worthy? It is more for me to keep track of what happened this past year, and justify all the early months of living off my parents. Haha…

2009 Year in Preview(?)

January
Chinese New Year comes early. Reunion will miss elder brother, but sister-in-law-to-be and Spanish cycle tourist will be here in Penang. Anyone else coming?

February
I took another TOEFL test in November ‘08, had good results so I asked for my TU/e scholarship application to be re-submitted for consideration since my previous out-dated results prevented the start of processing. Eight weeks for processing from 4th week of December would mean I should know by mid- or end of February if I have the biggest, mother-of-all headaches, decision to make.

March to May
1 week for travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and cycle to Da Lat?

June
1 year at Motorola.

July
My younger brother David and Elizabeth’s wedding season.
Mum applying pressure…

August
2 years in Penang.
But will it last? Summer course begins at TU/e before starting 2-year Masters Program IF scholarship comes my way and IF I decide to go.

Cell group leader told my brother that I was getting more involved in church and community. Well, involved enough to clown around and do silly things. I started with manning the sound system during worship, will now try back-up singing next quarter.

Cell group bible study is progressing well enough to notice more members coming prepared and participating to tackle the book of Romans, moving through the studies as a whole, and trying not to leave anyone behind. At least next year, other cell groups will be doing the same, bringing group bible study to the fore.

A ‘new’ pastor has been with us for a year, bringing about a positive presence and changes. I am looking forward to see what direction(s) he and the church committee has come up with for the coming year(s). Cell group leader is ‘officially’ a full-time employee at church beginning 2009, if he isn’t already one.

Looks as though there’s plenty to give thanks for and to look forward to next year.

Christmas and this article spurred me to write today.

December 26th, back at work on Boxing Day, my supervisor had just come up to me and asked: “You’re not celebrating Christmas? You’re a Christian, aren’t you? [Yes, I am.] Why didn’t you take any days off?”

It was about 10 p.m. on Christmas Day. Mum kept wondering why hasn’t my brother called to wish her a ‘Merry Christmas’. Then she turned the question on me:

“Hey, YOU also did not wish me a ‘Merry Christmas’ today! Why ah…? If David was here, he would put his arm around me and wished me.”

While lying on the couch facing the idiot box transmitting Transformers, I replied:
“We are celebrating Christ’s birthday, not yours…”
Writing it now, it does seem quite rude. Sorry, Mum.

All throughout the day, I had exchanged ‘Merry Christmas’ greetings with almost everyone I came across at church. And a bit more greetings at my senior manager’s Christmas/house-warming party. The English like to say ‘Happy Christmas’ instead.

I also received many gifts from people at church which started weeks before. But I didn’t feel obligated to buy them anything. And I told everyone of them that I didn’t get them anything, hearing ‘nevermind’s and ‘it’s okay’s. One said it is better for them to give than to receive.

Christmas morning, a few minutes of the idiot box preached that Santa Clauses in Japan are receiving training to share some ‘true’ meaning of Christmas which does not include Christ.

Christmas eve at work, went out for lunch with a colleague. He asked how was I going to celebrate Christmas, with gifts, lights and decorated trees? I explained that that was the commercialised version that I was not into, but I was more interested in the ‘religious’ side of celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Not limited to just the birth of Jesus, but the implications of this act of love for us on God’s part: salvation, redemption, propitiation, justification, grace, glorification, etc.. It is definitely not like New Year’s Day, not like Chinese New Year, not like my birthday.

So I shouldn’t be receiving Christmas [birthday] gifts? So I shouldn’t be wished ‘Merry [birthday] Christmas’ or ‘Happy [birthday] Christmas’? Sounds very much like the ‘Grinch’?

It sure feels like it this Christmas.

This time last year: June 6th, 2007 Wednesday 10:05pm
Cycle Europe Day 22: Sight-seeing Rome 2.

Beginning of my 4th week. 7 more weeks to go.
Started off slow today because I knew the Pope wouldn’t be out till 10am. But breakfast was again so little that I was out before 9. Was at the St. Peter’s Square by about 9:30am. Found a less secure entrance into the viewing area but not into seats where you need an orange invitation card or some sort. He wasn’t out till 10:30am but he made a good show out of it. His convoy more or less weave their way around the crowds along a barricaded passage. There was this guy who tried to jump on him or his truck but they arrested him. After the parade, a passage from the Bible was read, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I think. That passage was read in different languages but different priests who had to bow to the Pope before and after their reading. After that, he began to preach. There was also a banner up front which read: “Divine Teacher: May the whole world follow your gospel.” I think it would be more appropriate if it was meant for Jesus rather than the Pope but I’m not sure who those people holding it were thinking. Anyways, I got 2 good shots of him in photo so I left early to join the queue to enter the Vatican Museum.

Vatican Museum was a hefty €13 but it wasn’t worth much to someone who doesn’t appreciate art as much. There was still quite a lot to see although I honestly think there was far too much extra when the only thing on most people’s mind was the Sistine Chapel. Michelagelo’s Creation and Last Judgement is the most famous here. Borticelli also painted here in the chapel and they had artworks from Van Gogh and Gauguin and Rodin as well. In the guidebook, it’s mentioned that The Last Supper is in Milan. In the hostel directory, rather. I’ll do it next time with Venice and my other favourite spots in Italy but not Rome again if I can avoid it.

Came back early for snacks and a siesta on top of the one I had in the Tapestry gallery in the museum. Showered and had dinner while chatting with Yamaguchi-san, who is an assistant hair stylist. Travelling while that young at 22. Others are too, you’re at an odd age to travel but so are my peers. I think it’s the economic factor. A lady of Indian origin from Birmingham said that this hostel was built by Mussolini to train young fascist and it’s 70 years old. I think it’s more obvious from the taps and sink in the bathrooms. They warrant a picture at least.

Need an early rest. Train to Bologna leaves at 9:14am. I should plan my route.

Day 22 Accounts
Vatican Museum €13.00
Lunch €0.80
Dinner/Groceries €5.58
Hostel €18.00 Roma
Pen €1.00
Total €38.38 !!!

This time last year: June 5th, 2007 Tuesday 9:50pm.
Cycle Europe Day 21: Sight-seeing Rome.

Ran out of gel ink. Using the pen Grandad gave me 13 years ago.

Report about yesterday first. Arrived in Rome yesterday. Found my way to the hostel easy enough. Hostel is one of the worst places I’ve been so far. It looks purpose built as a hostel but had not been maintained for 10+ years. It should be the cheapest in Rome so don’t complain. Breakfast was only limited to one bun bread, forced cappucino and orange juice.

I had a few hours to spend since I arrived early so I took a walk to the St. Peter’s Basilica and scout out some bancomat and supermercato. It was quite a long walk but manageable. Lots of people in the queue but it was a relatively short wait. The Basilica might be no man’s land between the Vatican City and Italy. On the way back, surveyed internet point and made a Salame Milano sandwich. Chatted with Yamaguchi-san who is quite lost here in Italy. Strange guy.

This morning, breakfast was insufficient as mentioned. Hopped on a bus without being able to buy a ticket on board. so I got off near a Metro and tubed to the Colosseum. Wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. But sitting inside really helps you to imagine what it was like in the old days when 80,000 people would come watch gladiators, where the stairs were and how the crowd would walk up them to go to their seats. Next. Palatine Hill was a disappointment. There were more rubbles than buildings so it wasn’t worth the combined ticket. It was too big with no signs and signboards weren’t helpful. No commentary except your own guidebook.

Now Pantheon was impressive because I remember watching a documentary about how they might have constructed it 2000 years ago. The perfect hemispherical dome was quite magnificent with a hole in middle. Started out as a temple for other gods/Greek probably but later converted to a basilica as well. The square reliefs, how did they do it?

Trevi Fountain, boring. Went to Roma Termini to get ticket for Bologna. Faulty Towers Hostel and internet around wasn’t any cheaper so I decided to metro to outside Vatican City where it’s the cheapest in Europe so far. Along the way earlier, I caught sight of a paper shop, Il Papiro, and decided to get some patterned and another embossed stickers. They have embossed paper with alphabets plus envelopes for ~ €20. Good inspiration.

Came back to get some dinner from supermercato after 2 hours at the internet point to back up my pictures onto the 1GB card and clear unwanted photographs. Early close? Not exactly. Wow, turned out to be quite an expensive day.

Day 21 Accounts
Metro €2.00 Twice
Colosseum €11.00
Lunch €3.10 Pizza slices x2
Internet €3.00 2 hours
Hostel €18.00 Roma
Train Tickets €23.70 to Bologna
Dinner €3.44
Souvenirs €2.00
Total €66.24 !!!