Last year this day, we just arrived in Cambridge to prepare for our MBA interview.

Who would have thought that by now, we are 4 weeks from going home?!

In the past week, we had Wontak (South Korea) make us a dinner of beef (Japanese) curry, with (Japanese) sticky rice, and (Korean) kimchi. =)))

We then used him as a guinea pig. We made him watch I Not Stupid to test if a non-Singaporean would find the movie interesting. This is all for the class film night mah!!

Last week's film was set in Antwerp, Belgium. It's called Any Way the Wind Blows.

Once again, we gathered in Wolfson College, but this time with an oversupply of nibbles and alcohol. =P


On Thursday, we went for a formal at Girton College.



Without learning that it used to be an all-girls college, I could feel the convent-ness.



I love the red bricks...

Unfortunately, the formal took place the night before an essay submission deadline. As a result, we didn't drink as much as we would have loved to, and had to leave while the sun was still up. (These days, the sun is up till 9pm) I got back to the flat and finished the essay at around 1am.

Yesterday, on our way to town, I saw this cat. Immediately, I threw my bike aside and grabbed it.


Before it could run away, 'Good Fren' managed to take a pic of us. The dirty cat gave me a bad rash afterwards. =_=
I miss Blinky and Tiger!!

After lunch, we made our way to Al-Amin, a Muslim supermarket, to buy some lamb chops for a dinner with our classmate, Hasan, from Bahrain.

The dinner conversation was vast. Anything from Islamic banking, to family, to Singapore, to water etc. I just found out that with land reclamation, Singapore is actually bigger than Bahrain. Let's not talk about population density.

At around 11pm, Axel (German) texted us to say that they were back from the Judge Business School vs Said Business School sports day in Oxford and were chilling at the Wolfson Bar. So the three of us joined them.
..................................................

Contrasting this moment with that time when I was first in Cambridge for the interview this time last year, I feel a queer sense of mellowing. I can't begin to explain it well. It's like I've been put away in an old cupboard on the living room of an old mansion, listening to the stories of the mansion's occupants and guests.

I will blog about what I've seen and heard over the next few weeks.

Before I leave this old dusty cupboard, I must remember to do the following:

(A) Attend Mass at King's College

(B) Buy a copy of Big Issue from the guy outside Sainsbury. He's really entertaining to listen to.

Remember this?

it shows a few of Singapore's Members of Parliament, those born on or after Singapore's Independence in 1965 (they call themselves P65), trying to communicate their ability to connect with the younger Singaporeans by attempting a Hip Hop dance during a national celebration event.

If you thought that was ridiculous... Try this...

Yet another attempt by our politicians to connect with their audience, this time, workers in the union. The attempt is basically a poorly-rehearsed performance by the union's Secretary-General Lim Swee Say (who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office) and its Directors singing to the tune of a wildly popular dialect song but with lyrics customised to reflect the government's current messages at the May Day Solidarity Concert.

If you go to 1:00 of the video, the Master of Ceremony goes:


It's like a Mediacorp drama. A simple recipe.
In a Mediacorp drama, there must be excessively crying and shouting. For the female lead to win Best Actress, she should preferably have a rape scene. For the male lead to win Best Actor, he must be granted an emotional scene which entails crying with mucus dripping from the nose.

In such people-pleasing performances by the politicians, the choreographer puts together what they think the target audience likes, but within the ability of the politicians, e.g. youths like hip hop = politician does some hand and body actions, middle age workers like that particular dialect song = politician sings a song. Usually, the government messages are forced-woven into the performance in a not-entirely-smooth manner. During the performance, the politicians just have to appear very enthusiastic by either moving vigorously or shouting in the mike.

I'm not sure why such performances exist. It's not a question of taste, but I wonder about its effectiveness. I am obviously not their target audience, i.e. I'm too old to be lured by an amateurish Hip Hop dance and I'm not part of the union. But I do wonder if they try to find out whether these antics work on their audiences at all. Or whether the unintended consequences negate any positive outcomes. As these politicians are very well-paid (some say about the highest in the world), one would expect them to afford some sort of PR/people-sensor to balance their political outreach attempts with their image. Like how a professional celebrity has a manager/PR person.

Because most things in life are relative, at least 1 obvious positive has come out of the abovementioned performances, i.e. they make the MDA rap look much better.

For Easter Term, we have a session conducted by Lord Stevenson called "Leadership-in-Action", where he invites people he knows to talk about their achievements and for us to pick their brains.

On Fri, 22 May 09, the Leadership-in-Action was different. Instead of having someone who is currently deemed successful, Lord Stevenson invited Mr Robert Ayling who suffered 2 major setbacks in his career as Chief Executive of British Airways and Chairman of the Millenium Dome.

Without going into the rights and wrongs of the situation, the session focused on how an individual can pick himself up again after very public setbacks. Lord Stevenson also shared with us his personal setbacks and the essence of his personal mastery.

'Good Fren' and I loved the bits about 'Self-Awareness'.
Being honest to oneself, accepting oneself, and working with oneself.

In a world where people enjoy highlighting successes (positives) and avoid discussion failures/setbacks (negatives), many of my classmates found this session to be useful. One said,


I always thought people (as in everyone... people in the streets... people like me etc) understood what setbacks were. Over the years, it has become obvious to me that 'experiencing setbacks' is not commonplace. There are people who have not had 'real setbacks' in their lives. My definition of 'real' is based on the pre-requisite of 'life-changing conditions'. It is especially clear in situations where people are forced to pen their MBA programme application essays.


o_0

At 7pm that evening, a group of 60+ MBAs made their way to Churchill College for a Super Hall. Some went on bikes. Others went in cabs, kindly organised by a classmate.


It's been a long time since I was last at Churchill College. I must say I felt a tinge of irrational pride that the college could hold so many of my classmates at the same time.

I could feel some 'college' pride undercurrents going on. While 'Good Fren' was wearing his Churchill cufflinks, Axel was wearing his Wolfson ones.
Ooooooohhh!!! =)))

This was the exact spot where 'Good Fren' and I first set foot in Churchill College, i.e. we alight from the cab, in Sep 08.


A bunch of 70+ MBAs and partners making their way to the Dining Hall.


4 long tables were set up for Super Hall that evening. We occupied 75%. =))


The bright airy dining hall was filled with lively chatter and the clinking of cutlery.


Erik (US) was charming this little waitress for more veges.


And I must say it worked. She gave him so much veges that you could no longer see the sea bass well.


Deepankar (India) was too shy to ask for more veges from this fine young female specimen.

Though Deepankar refused to admit it, the food at Churchill is indeed very good. =))

By the end of dinner, the digicams were working doubly hard.


The Churchillians brought the guests out on the lawn quickly, before the sun set.


Most people were happy to be able to step on the grass.

Andre (New Zealand) was quick to peel off his shoe and sock to feel the Churchillian lawn with his toes. =))

He then began to coax others into doing the same.

Soon, the sun took a rest, and we made our way back into the building.


More lively chatter... This time with some drinks.

Quite a few people were still talking about the Leadership-in-Action which took place earlier in the evening.

It's hard to believe that 'the end' is around 3 weeks away.

Some have commented that it must be difficult for a few people to be organising a dinner at such a scale. These things are relative. It's gonna be even more difficult in a few weeks. After the MBA, we will not be able to have a meal together so easily.

3 enthusiastic classmates, Kristof (Belgium), Tibor (Hungary) and Axel (Germany), put together a quirky film event that is to take place at Wolfson College every Tuesday. The objective is for all to enjoy one film from a different country each time.

Last evening, Tibor shared with us a satirical piece, called 'The Witness' on the Communist rule in Hungary made in the late 1960s.

I was all ready to go for the event at 9pm which was a stone's throw away from our apartment.

I even told Axel at around 5.30pm that I was all ready to go for it. At 6pm, I made some dinner for 'Good Fren' and me. At 7.30pm, I decided to take a short nap.

At 9.12pm, I woke up and found 'Good Fren' missing.
He had gone off without me!!!! WHAT?!! ROAR!!!!

So I stumbled around the college and eventually found them in the dark.

Someone kept passing the bottle around...

The lights came on after the movie.


We then made our way to the Common Room for some drinks, chats and pool.

.............................................................

Kristof asked me to share a Singaporean film.
I was stumped.

What should I show? One of Jack Neo's works? Eric Khoo's 12 Storeys? Royston Tan's 881?

While our GDP (PPP) per capita is around 4th or 5th in the world (above all major countries you generally think of), our film industry is relatively underdeveloped. I shan't even comment on the TV drama series. Maybe the will to be creative about arts and culture cannot be bought off the shelf with money.

It's been really enjoyable living in Wolfson College. I enjoy the proximity to classmates. We can easily arrange for weekend brunch discussions like this one with Axel (Germany) and Wontak (South Korea/US).

I will remember the kitchen discussions.

BM: *looks at the chef, Wontak* Are you gonna make the omelette now?
Wontak: We are having omelette? *looks at Axel*
Axel: Yeah! *points at carton of eggs he bought in the morning.
Wontak: Ok... But we have nothing...
BM: Erm... *looks at 'Good Fren'* We have some sausage left, right?
Axel: Where's the cheese I left here the last time?
BM: It's in the fridge.
Axel: *looks at Wontak* Use the cheese. We have cheese.
Wontak: Ok, cheese.
GF: Something is burning.
BM: *points at oven and starts jumping* OH! OH!!
Axel: Ah!!! The baguette! *opens the open and pulls out the rack, revealing burnt baguettes*
BM: It's ok. It's not so bad. We can eat the unburnt parts.
Axel: You really think we can eat that?
Wontak: Yeah. We can eat that.
Axel: *removes the baguette from the oven and starts shaving the burnt bits off in the sink* Oh! I am making a mess.

Staying in Wolfson College has another advantage. That we could leave the apartment at 7.20pm and still make it for Music and Madeira on time.

Sorry the overexposure by my failing digicam whited out a couple of faces. From left: Walther (Austria), David (US/China), David (UK), Carlos (Spain), 'Good Fren' (Singapore), Francisco (Argentina) and Cesar (Peru).

First we had food...


Then we had Music and Madeira.


The Square Piano is 200 years old and still going...
Though a little cranky according to Mr Hollick.

I'd wanted to explain what it means to attend a formal, but Wikipedia has all the answers.

50-60 MBAs turned up for Music & Madeira. While some MBAs have been attending formals regularly, e.g. Erik (US) is attempting to have at least 1 formal per college (31 colleges in University of Cambridge), the general attendance of formals by MBAs has gathered a lot of momentum recently. I read it as a symptom of the beginning of the end. People realise that classes will be ending in a few weeks and are trying to 'make more out of the remaining time'.

It is interesting to explore how different people react to the same idea, i.e. inviting many classmates to the formals. Because this is a Business School context, I have to draw a 3D diagram to illustrate the scenario.

I have yet to fully understand whether the yellow is better than the blue, or vice versa, or it doesn't matter at all.
If it doesn't matter, why the mad rush now?

Perhaps the explanation at the individual level doesn't really commensurate at the group level. Perhaps it is the group affecting the individual.
Perhaps it is the individual leveraging on the group to make memories while the sun shines.

We will never know the intentions, but we like to guess at them.


On Sunday, we had a small cookout in our apartment. Some time ago, Erik asked if he was gonna cook at our place again. Last week, Janet (Taiwan), who stays in the same building, said she cooks. Frederic (France) made this delicious chocolate cake which I haven't tried.

So we put together a tiny lunch and invited 4 other classmates.


As usual, I made the chicken curry and abused the rice cooker to the max.

Janet made the stir-fried veges with cashew nuts and mushroom with chicken soup. Mmmmm....
Priscilla (Canada) commented that the soup tasted like home.

Meanwhile, Erik was in the kitchen steaming salmon and prawns, while Bora (Turkey) looked on with his broken ankle. I thought I, with body aches all over, was the greatest casualty of the basketball practice, until I looked at his ankle. It's really bad!!!


I think the last time I had steamed fish was during Chinese New Year at Hong Kong Fusion?!


Here we see Frederic distributing his delicious chocs... John (Australia/UK) looks happy.

In the background, Bill (US/UK), Priscilla (Canada) and Bora (Turkey) were speechlessly enjoying the chocs...

Absolutely fantastic.

The conversation must be the weirdest yet. We spoke of business schools, a day in the life of a french gigolo, someone digging up a freshly-dead baby only to have its toe to complete a Korean witch doctor's recipe for cartilage growing in live men, online escort services, how longans saved a guest's life, camdoc, housing options in cambridge, post-MBA gatherings etc.

Towards the end, we were stroking the kiwis as a newly established ritual.

Yeah... Erik was holding a branch of longans. We found the Oriental Shop along Mill Road selling Thai longans in a huge A4-size x 15cm deep plastic container, costing GBP10. That's not too bad!

Janet looked very nostalgic when she saw the longans. Her hometown in Taiwan is filled with orchards and she used to help her folks harvest longans during summer. =)))

And the american CHINESE swordswokman flewcycled home with his swordwok sticking out of his backpack.

The last term of the MBA programme in University of Cambridge is called 'Easter Term'.

You know this is the start of the end when:

• The thick coat is no longer needed
• A sudden barrage of social activities
• Blinkymummy has started to observe more, than to organise. The introvert in me has emerged.
  

It's the start of the end...

'Good Fren' and I would take pics of each other cycling...

I must have cycled past 'Good Fren' like 10 times before we got a couple of shots with most of me in the picture.


Heh Heh... 'Good Fren' poses and smiles!


We would have tea in various locations within Cambridge.


很快就要再别康桥了

就这样静静地 再把握最后的每一刻

Last night, I attended a talk by the Managing Partner of McKinsey (UK + Ireland), followed by a 15-pax dinner with him.

Mr Dominic Casserley read History at Jesus College some time ago and was the President of the Cambridge Union in his time.

It's these talks and dinners that marks one's journey. Not the core curriculum which is largely similar in all business schools. For example, because the dinner was held at Jesus College, we got to visit the Master's Lodge for pre-dinner drinks. Incidentally, the master of Jesus College, Professor Mair, consults for LTA. There is so much I want to ask him. Then there is our director of Judge Business School, Professor Arnoud de Meyer, who hosted the dinner. Apart from listening to Mr Casserley's responses to our questions, it was a joy watching the Prof facilitate the session. Perhaps we should have a dinner session with the Prof. Personally, I prefer small and extended group discussions.

Speaking of Cambridge History graduates... We spent the evening with another today.

At 4.30pm, I excitedly announced via Facebook and Twitter that I was gonna meet Alain de Botton. At 5.30pm, we made our way to Robinson College.

It's like going for a rock concert and meeting one's idol.
It has been a long time since I felt this way.

As part of the Cambridge Business Lectures, they brought in Alain de Botton.

How can a concert by Alain de Botton be free of charge, while one has to pay so much for a ticket to a MayDay concert?!

After waiting for about 20 minutes, he finally appeared and stood in a corner while being introduced.


Finally, he got onstage and started his talk. Mainly about his latest piece on Work.

He started his session by emphasising how work take centre-stage in modern life.

In the most freaky manner, just a couple of hours ago, I was having the following conversation with SS:

SS: actually hor, if you can afford hor, its ok to be jobless for sometimes. too many times our values are judged by work work work.... sibeh sian

BM: our existence is defined by work

SS: then just use material to bluff ourselves that we are happy

BM: when pple first get to know you... the first question = what do you do?

After his talk, the crowd spilled into the courtyard. Just like after a concert.

I began to wonder... Most people listen to the music of the rock star before going for the concert. In fact, most can sing along with the rock star. They just want to hear the same songs live and watch their rock star move before their eyes.

Though I did read his earlier book, I didn't consume Alain de Botton's 'latest album' before going for this concert. In fact, I'd ever only read one of his books. I wonder if that'll strain our fan-idol relationship.

There he was... Availing himself for chats, pictures and signatures.
I snuck beside him quietly and took a pic... without flash... of course.


Meanwhile, a line has built up before him... To buy his books, ranging from the first to the latest... Then to get his signature.

'Good Fren' commented that Alain de Botton was more accessible than MayDay. =_=

Once again the earlier question flashed:


'Good Fren' reckons it has nothing to do with the substance of the content each star provides. It has more to do with the appeal of the star. Mass appeal = higher star value.
=_=

Though I didn't really want to buy his latest book (I am not sure why), the groupie in me really wanted his signature. So I bought a copy and asked him for his signature and a picture.

He is really more accessible than MayDay.
He's human. Without make-up and star-nannies.
A different Fan-Idol relationship from that I'd explored earlier.

Meanwhile, other people gathered around the alcohol downstairs.

擦肩而过的 有名人 有明天的知己

Pre-Trip
Initially, in March, we put together a group which was going to Morocco. Somehow, the group started to fall apart due to various reasons... A month is a long time to a bunch of restless MBAs... By the time, we got down to finalising the trip, the flights had gotten too expensive.

So, we decided to travel within the UK. I'd always wondered about Manchester. Probably because I know at least 2 friends from Singapore who had studied Architecture in Manchester, and that I'd come across urban planning related stuff on Manchester.

It so happened that I was chatting with Chia-Yen (Taiwan) about our little Manchester trip when it struck me that she had just spent at least 1 year in Manchester for her Masters before the MBA! She thought it would be great to revisit Manchester after 9 months. A day later, she found Janet (also from Taiwan) to come along with us. Hence, the 4 of us started to put the trip together.

I also emailed HJ, who used to study in Manchester. She got me in touch with her best buddy, Debbie, in Manchester, a former Singaporean who arrived in Manchester when she was 10.

DAY 1
After a 4-hour train ride from Cambridge, we finally arrived at Manchester Picadilly Station. Apart from the fact that my backside was aching a little from the long trip, I was rather excited.

Just 1 minute in Manchester and one starts to feel the city. It is a city. 3rd largest in the UK apparently.

We walked to the hotel which we found online.

The Velvet Hotel was only 5-week old when we got there.

According to the GBP1 visitor's map, the hotel is located right in the middle of the 'Gay Village'. It must have been the Gay Village because just 2 doors away was a club called QUEER. =))


The room was nicely decorated and the toiletries were from Burt's Bee.

We left our bags, and headed out for some real food... =)))

After a 10-minute stroll, we arrived at Tai Wu at Chia Yen's recommendation.


A traditional Cantonese dim sum place. Perfect with the pair of golden dragon and phoenix framing the 'Double Happiness' character in the background.


How cute is the ordering sheet? Looks like the one we used in Hong Kong!


I must say... The Dim Sum was really quite good.

Not as great as the best in Singapore and Hong Kong, but certainly good enough for us to go back again... And the prices... are ridiculously affordable if you compare them with those in Cambridge... Not as if one could have such good Dim Sum in Cambridge... But just realise that we stuffed our faces and the total bill came up to less than GBP30.

After the uber satisfying lunch, we got on our feet and attempted to move about slowly...

The guy in the foreground jumped in front of my camera as I was taking the picture. =))

Chia Yen brought us to her former school, i.e. University of Manchester.


A spacious campus to the south of the city centre.


The new University Centre.


She also brought us down to her tutorial rooms.


I could feel Chia Yen's nostalgia. =))


We popped into the Holy Name Church.

It somehow reminded me of my primary school days... Except that chapel is no longer in operation for worshipping.

A pair of weird structures stuck out in the air of Manchester. They are part of Contact Theatre, which is a performing space for youths.


This University of Manchester's Student Union, bustling with activities.
Ah... The seduction of youth.


The younger ones stopped by the road and pondered for a moment...


Somehow... Back in town... We decided to hop on the Wheel of Manchester.


All looking calm... as we waited for the wheel to start turning...


Heh Heh Heh...


ARGGGHHH!!!! I could feel my legs turning into jelly... =_=

After that harrowing ride... We walked around a little to shake off... I needed to recompose myself.

Eventually, we made our way to Koreana for a great Korean dinner before heading back to the hotel.



DAY 2
We started Day 2 at Tai Wu again. =)))

But this time with 3 of Chia Yen's friends from Uni of Manchester.
From Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan.


After lunch, we took Bus No. 250 to Trafford Centre for some SHOPPING!!! =)))


According to Wikipedia, "The planning process for the Trafford Centre was one of the longest and most expensive in the history of the United Kingdom."


Erm... Check out the size of the cruise ship-themed food court?!


'Good Fren' was in caffeine = withdrawal mode
The first thing we did was to get him some coffee.


Across this super long covered bridge, was Barton Square where the home furnishings stores were located.

After a dizzy afternoon... We hopped back on Bus No.250 and headed for the city centre once again.

Chia Yen went off to meet her friends for a drink. The group thought that might be a last gathering as she will be returning to Taiwan after the MBA.

Meanwhile, Janet, 'Good Fren' and I went in search of ROOM as recommended by Debbie.


A large airy room with high ceiling, windows, lots of people and its signature over-sized red lampshades.

I love big cities. I love critical mass.

As the evening sun caressed our table and bodies, we studied the menu intensely.


Not sure why... But we were the only Asians in the room.


We had a great chat with Janet.

In fact, it was the first real chat with her probably because (i) she was busy with her pregnancy and childbirth in the past 2 terms, and (ii) we were never in the same group for work.

'Steely' was the term 'Good Fren' used to describe her.
One tough lady.
How many people you know can go through an intensive MBA programme being pregnant, give birth, and get a job before majority of the class?

I realised recently that quite a few in the class have one or both parents who are/were teachers/professors. She's one of them.


After the very satisfying meal, we met up with Chia Yen again and headed for the Northen Quarter... We were looking for a pub called Bluu.

At that point, I still had no idea what Debbie looked like.


And so... the story goes... Debbie came from Singapore to Manchester when she was 10. She subsequently studied Architecture in University of Manchester and was the flatmate of my friend, HJ about 8 years ago.

Debbie eventually married George, from the UK, last year. The sweet couple started their own firm.

And her dinner recommendation at ROOM?
They got married at ROOM. =)))

What a beautiful story enjoyed from my perspective!

The weird bit is that Debbie and her actions resembles this other friend, R, who is also a close friend of HJ, and who used to be quite close to me in primary school (the one who showed me my first porn mag).

The weirder bit is that Debbie and George had met R in Singapore some time ago, and George thinks R is a funny girl!

Birds of a feather...

After some very sweet berry beer, we made our way back to the hotel and got upgraded to the penthouse because the first room was kind of noisy.


The penthouse suite is enjoyable.


I want the red leather sofa set!!!



DAY 3
We checked out of the hotel at 11am. Chia Yen had found a nice japanese restaurant for lunch before we braced ourselves for our way back to Cambridge on yet another painful 4-hour train ride.

My kayu 木头 model and me. So farnee!! =)))


The 木头 outside Samsi, the Japanese restaurant.

Ok, so we were early. The front door was locked and Chia Yen/Janet were not in sight. Because we were lingering so suspiciously outside the restaurant, the owner opened the door and let us in.

All was fine, until he realised that we were not Japanese, were Singaporeans and could understand Mandarin.

The owner of this Japanese restaurant had come to Manchester from Mainland China about 10 years.

He started to talk about how much China has progressed and how powerful China has become. How parts of China are more advanced than Singapore. How China need not force any country to 'return to China', because sooner or later, China will become so powerful and wealthy that countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines etc will voluntarily want to be part of China. 0_O

I was like... Uh Oh... I hope he doesn't start chatting with Chia Yen and Janet when they get to the restaurant, because once he realises that they are from Taiwan... The conversation will get rather uncomfortable.

Luckily, no such awkwardness arose. We had some fresh sushi and sashimi, then made our way to the station. =)))

Four of us in Manchester.


More pics and stories...

Fwah... After 1,000,000 years of a sedentary lifestyle, I played FULLCOURT basketball with my classmates on Monday. While running across the ever-so-expansive court, I thought I was gonna pass out... thrice... =_=

There is only one word to describe the aftermath: PAIN!!!
Been having muscle aches... OUCH...

Nothing beats having some Cantonese Triple Roast after a game of basketball.

Dunno why, Arthur (Singapore) dropped some of his milk tea into Sebastian (Chile)'s beer. 0_O?

Wantan... =)))


The next day, I met the man who wrote my Sociology textbook. Anthony Giddens.

He was in Cambridge, giving a talk on the Politics of Climate Change. Have you heard of the Giddens' Paradox in Climate Change?

Last night, we had yet another dinner at Cambridge Chop House... Where the classmates were talking about Advanced Strategy... and their assignment...

While I observed, read some trashy magazines and ate sausages and mash.

Looking forward to Manchester!!!

I woke up on Saturday morning... extremely eager to read about the AWARE EGM outcome. Spent a few hours glued to my laptop screen, signed up for Twitter to read the tweets, rejoiced with a few thousand fellow Singaporeans after holding my pee for too long. =_=

Just as I was trying to do the laundry, Axel (Germany) called me. He was bored of trying to do his readings. So we decided to go for tea.

Just as we were getting out of Wolfson College, we saw Frederic (France) cycling towards us, and waved at him.

BM: HEY!!! Where are you going?
Frederic: Nowhere!
BM: Great! Come! Let's go for tea!
Frederic: Why not!
Axel: HAHAHAHHAHA!!

And so, the happy trio headed for the city centre. Axel suggested DoubleTree Hill. Frederic happened to have a discount card. PERFECT.

We sat at the back of the hotel, facing the river, some BBQ-ing undergrads and a lawn wedding.


Ahhhh... The stuff a Cambridge MBA ought to be made of...


We must have spent like 3 hours there.


Out of the blue, a guy in nothing but a full-face helmet and light blue underwear started to wonder amongst the wedding party.

Hee Hee Hee!!

The trio went off to do their own stuff... But made a date to continue the conversation... on the next day. =)))

So, this morning, the Nutella Gang had breakfast at our apartment.

Wontak (South Korea) chopped up his sausage for us.

Bora (Turkey) was out with his folks.

Axel brewed some coffee and made milk froth!



Frederic brought some ham, cheese and cake. Mmmmm...


Just as Axel was transporting the warm bread from the kitchen to the living room, he realised that 'Good Fren' and I had ran out of Nutella. Here you witness a very depressed Axel.

He stood in the corridor for about 1 minute like that, until Wontak told him that he had some Nutella. =)))
Nutella is very essential for the Nutella Gang. =)))

And so... we had a lovely breakfast.

Frederic reminded us that the breakfast was so good that we shouldn't finish everything in 5 minutes. =)))

Obviously, the main course of breakfast was a healthy dose of conversation about the MBA, group dynamics, value of philosophy, tragic lives of philosophers, MBTI, food culture, yachts, racism, cultural differences etc.

It lasted for 5 hours. Ahhhh... Such indulgence...

Maciam 进兴 looking for 查FIT人 leh! 壮观!

(Pic courtesy of SS)

Associate members...

(Pic courtesy of SS)

Irene姐姐：姐姐妹妹站起来!

(Pic courtesy of SS)

Voting slip

(Pic courtesy of SS)

Voting

(Pic courtesy of SS)

EGM results...

(Pic courtesy of gniliep on twitpic)

Victory for the Old Guard

(Pic courtesy of SS)

Stepping down after 1 month...

(Pic courtesy of gniliep on twitpic)

The latest AWARE Exco.

(Pic courtesy of SS)

An accidental group of us was having a conversation in the Common Room one evening after classes. The conversation was about a couple of people's experiences as a foreigner working in the US. Inevitably, the conversation was laced with the theme of individualism. A slightly fresh perspective was gained that evening. Most significantly, what struck me was this bit of the conversation:

XX: They would screw you without knowing it because that's just the way they live their lives.

YY: Yes, and the candle of innocent in you would go out.

*pause*

BM: If the candle of innocence goes out, why don't you relight it?

YY: No. Once it's gone, it's gone. You just get tougher.
........................................................

Apart from the content of the conversation, something else tickled me. In addition to getting successful people like Simon Murray, the class could start a"90-minute lunch with XXX" session where someone from the class shares his/her story with us + answer a classic/standard question (30 mins), followed by a Q&A session (60 mins).

Just in case someone from the class becomes really famous in future, we heard the earlier version of his/her life story in 2009. =)))