It's the start of a new and the last term!!

SUNNY CAMBRIDGE

The weather has been kind lately. It feels schizo to imagine that there was heavy snow just a couple of months ago. As far as possible, the class has been spending quite a bit of time under the sun. Here you see the class role-playing for Negotiation class under the sun on the Judge Business School lawn.


Dom (Switzerland/UK) reading his script and calculating his profits.

Since I was a kid, I knew I was allergic to grass. So I never really fancied sitting on grass. Nor have I imagined taking wedding pics in a field of lalang somewhere in Tuas.

So this "Let's sit outside" thing is kind of weird for me. In addition, after I got to the UK, I developed Eczema. The steroids-rubbed skin is thin and extra sensitive to sunlight. I think I am physiologically unstable for the great outdoors. =_=

NON-MBA LECTURES

Yu Dan was in Cambridge. She gave a lecture at the Law Faculty. She's the figure in green.

This is a bonus reason for reading the MBA at Cambridge. There are tonnes of such talks and lectures going on all the time. By famous people whom I'd never dream of meeting.

That lecture was little disappointing though. The problem was with the translation. Ms Yu would give a para or 2, and this little Chinese on her left would translate it haltingly to English for the non-Mandarin speaking audience. This format broke the momentum of the lecture and doubled its length. On top of that, some people brought children to the lecture to catch a glimpse of the Chinese philosophy superstar, while others kept taking pictures and talking throughout the lecture. 'Good Fren' and I left after 30 minutes.

BIRTHDAY BOYS

I must have celebrated at least 3 birthdays in the first week of school.

First, we have Takashi (Japan).

We bought him a Fitzbillies chocolate cake that was incredibly sweet.

Then it was Kristof (Belgium).

I think more than 1/3 of the class turned up at the Snug. Heh Heh...

Last but not least was Axel (German).

The cosy little group (which 'Good Fren' has labeled as the Nutella Group) had a little celebration at Little Seoul for Axel.

This was followed by desserts at SF3 aka our little apartment in Wolfson College.

Axel's wife, Sandra, baked a carrot cake (bottom right) and brought it from Germany! Best carrot cake I've had. YUM!

SIDNEY SUSSEX FORMAL

Because there are 31 colleges in Cambridge, some people attempt to attend at least 1 formal per college to 'complete' the Cambridge Experience. Because you need a member of the college to bring you in the formal, this formal-attending activity becomes one of reciprocity. I kept asking those who have invited us,"Are you sure you wanna go to Churchill for a formal? It's so damn faraway!"

This time, Erik (US) invited 'Good Fren' and me for a formal at Sidney Sussex. 'Good Fren' could not attend because he had a dinner with his GCP mentor and team.

Anyway, somehow... there were 17 MBA classmates who attended the formal that night.

(Pardon the lousy pic. My digicam is dying a slow death... Afterall, it's been abused by me constantly since Valentine's Day 2006.)

The evening started with some champagne calmly.


Dinner was an orderly affair with Lady Sidney looking on in the background.

But one could tell the signs of trouble... Just casually count the number of bottles on the table, divide that by number of people you see in the pic, and extrapolate.

Another sign... Even Kevin (Australia) was drinking!!


Dinner was followed by yet another drink. This time, it's port. I felt like an old grandmother having her daily fix after dinner. =))))))


I went off to the loo for a while and Erik thought I'd ran off without telling him. He rang me like 4 times!! =)))

Somehow, champagne + wine + port wasn't enough... We began to make our way to the undergrad bar in Sidney Sussex. HUH?! Did you say UNDERGRAD??


Yeah... Undergrad! And I thought they were gonna be making too much noise.


Turns out...

The MBAs were the culprits.

Erik wandered off from the group and came back with this beer thing.


As Erik tried to make Chia-Yen (Taiwan) drink it, Aymen (Bahrain) dropped a penny into it and exclaimed,"Quick! Save the Queen!!!"


Of course, it took a Brit to save his Queen!!

Here you witness a Norwegian, Ketil, helping the Brit, James, to save the Queen. Like all collaborations, there were a few hiccups. By the end of the attempt, James was soaked in beer. And Eoin (Ireland) started to point at James' nipples. =))))

As if the night was still young (actually it was... before midnight), the group headed for the Fez Club. I was like... Huh?? On a Tuesday night?!!

Ketil, Chia-Yen and I slipped away... and made our way back to Judge Business School to collect our bicycles. Ketil was such a gentleman to walk with us. He even made sure that we were riding in proper straight lines before allowing us to make our way back to Wolfson on our own. =))

I hear someone from that night injured himself somehow. =_=

'GOOD FREN' & ME

We have been catching up on lost time. 32 days apart to be exact. Longest ever since we got together 3+ years ago.

Nothing in the world can top the experience of shopping for groceries and having tea together.