Leap Year

29th February 2012, is a special day, a Leap Year Day. 29th of February only comes once in 4 years. It's a special day to remember, but not to mention for those working, you're unfortunately need to work an extra day in 4 years.

In Irish folk tradition, a woman is allowed to proposed to her man on Leap Day and the man is not allowed to reject the proposal. He will be subjected to a fine if he rejects. On the contrary, in Scotland, it used to be unlucky for someone to be born on a Leap Day, just like Friday 13th. Nevertheless, it's just a folktale and depends if you are in it to believe or not.

So, on this February 29th, I wanted to do something 'special' but couldn't come out with a plan. I stayed at home, watching the infamous romcom, 'Leap Year', by Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. I've seen it in 2010 but in relation to this day, I watched it again.

The movie begins with America but settles in Ireland thereafter. I've been to Republic of Ireland during summer of 2010, with my BFF Stella. We visited Dublin and Wicklow. The movie started with the girl, Anna Brady would like to propose to her then boyfriend because he did not pop question. Coincidencely, he was in Ireland for a medical conference so she decided to fly actross the ocean to proposed to him in Ireland. Obstacles came along during her trip and then she met Declan, an Irish man. .... Long story short, they were married in the end.

Below are some shots from the movie and also in comparison with the movie scene I've been to in Ireland.

Parts of the film was shot in Wicklow, Ireland, and believe me, the scenery is magnificient!

They were both taken in Wicklow, near the Upper Lake area. (I can't remember the actual name). Watching the movie brought some flashback of my memories in Ireland, all the sweet ones.

The county of Wicklow is beautiful, just like in the movie, (although it's supposed to be 'Dingle' in the movie but was shot in Wicklow)

Anna Brady was supposed to travel from Dingle to Dublin with the help of Declan, and they finally arrived:

The iconic scene of Dublin.

St Stephen's Green, Dublin

And, they talked. Anna Brady and Declan O'Callaghan


I was there, too!!


The bridge.

Overall, Ireland is a really beautiful place to visit, with considerable nice people, and the Irish accent in Dublin is easy to understand!

And, on this Leap Day in 2012, me and my BFF Stella did the same thing by watching the movie 'Leap Year' without any prior acknowledgement. Great minds think alike although we may be a bit distance away! My Leap Day night continued looking into some of the great memories in the past!

Cheers y'all!! Have a great March ahead!

x.o.x.o

Good Read: THE HUNGER GAMES

Remember the time when I was a teenager, I love to read novels. From ghost stories, to witch stories, to romance, and all other sorts. When I get attached to one, I hardly get my hands off the book, even when I'm eating. However when other things kick in like Internet etc, the hobby seems to fade out.

My book reading habit came back briefly in 2009, when I made a resolution to make Tuesdays my Reading Day (read my previous blog here & here). A good thing about reading a book is, you let the author brings you to an imaginary world of your own, and you design your own story picture. That's something I truly enjoy when reading a book.

The last book I love was ONE DAY by David Nicholls, and I'd say the book is so much better than the movie, and I must say it took me a while to finish the book, from Glasgow, to Malaysia, to Singapore! It was a good book to read with somewhat sad ending if you love romance. Read the book, not the movie!

Recently, I thought I tried not to stay in front of a computer for a long time as I may have been starring at the screen for 5 hours at work. I picked up a few books from the bookstore, trying to kill my time much more productively and healthily. And, my friend, Stella, recommended me this book, called 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins, said it's a good book to read. Without hesitation and without any clue of what it's about, I decided to buy the book.

It took me just over a week to finish this book. I even read it during my lunch break at work. Yes, it just makes you read and want to read more about it.

It is a book, about a group of 12 teenage boys and 12 teenage girl from 12 different districts in a futuristic world. They were randomly chosen to join the reality TV show, 'The Hunger Games'. Their task is simple; the last one who survived the game is the victor. This means they need survival skills and have to kill each other to win the game, which will win them a life of wealth for them and their family.

The main character of the story, Katniss Everdeen, volunteered to join the game on behalf of her younger sister. And the story begins on how she survived with some twist of romance between her and another participant, Peeta, and her long time bestie, Gale, who she used to hunt together. I'd not elaborate more in here and I'd highly recommend you to read the book.

The author gives you sudden suspense when you think of a predictable outcome. And it is very readable! I give it a score of 4.5/5.0!!! Love!

FYI, there will be a movie made based on the book coming out in mid March. I did not watch the trailer until I've finished with the book! I just don't want any section of the trailer, including the look of the character be influenced my any part of the trailer. Nevertheless, I can't wait to watch the film!

The Hunger Games is a trilogy by Suzanne Collins, so to continue with the story of Katniss after the Game, I bought the second book of the trilogy, 'Catching Fire'.

Can't wait to finish the book!!! Let me know what do you think about the book?? Read the book before the movie!!

OUTDOOR: Cycling

Cycling:

SINGAPORE vs SCOTLAND

I often let people disbelief that I was an outdoor person who loves sport. That only applies to people who know me later in my life as I may look like a person who love to read, quiet and anti-social. It all started out me being an active girl in primary school who happened to be a runner (sprinter) but cannot do long jump. I can't do long runs actually, but I can do short quick runs. Fast forward to secondary school, I was in the netball team. And, also being actively involved in extra-curriculum activities, especially St John Ambulance.

Fast forward again.
Last Sunday, my A-Level college clan, the A-B-C who are now working in Singapore, went for a wee outing to cycle in East Coast Park, here in Singapore. It sounds like a long stretch beach but the sandy area is only a few steps walk from the shore to the sea. Singapore is a petite island that I remembered a tourist guide once said, "when God created the earth, he finished it with a fullstop. And, the fullstop is now known as Singapore". Yes, Singapore is really THAT tiny.

I'm staying near east coast so it's convenient for me to go there. It took B and C about an hour to reach the east side as they stay in the west. As B said, there's a time zone difference of about 10minutes! Haha!!

The weather that day was really sunny, that I had to put on sunscreen lotion before I head. The sky was blue and when we go there, the sea breeze was just relaxing. As usual, Singapore being a high population density country, East Coast Park was filled with people, although the picture above doesn't show that much.

Sitting on top of a rocky hill off the shore, we were trying to enjoy the scene, seabreeze, and the sun. As you may have already noticed, there's no such thing as 'no boundaries' of seaview in Singapore. You will definitely see some boat laying outreach of you but within your view. It actually kind of ruin the beauty of sea.

That's the three of us! We never fail to have laughter when we unite. We blend well together as we have different thoughts but share the same kind of laughter! The weather was just nice for cycling and a little bit of walking to burn off some calories. *Ahem*

We rented our bicycles, at S$7 for an hour, and you'll get another hour for free! It's quite a good deal! I have not cycle for a long time, and believe me the last time was in 2008 when me and my bestie in class went to Millport for a day trip (more details to come).

We cycled for more than 1.5 hours, we enjoy some scene, joke each other, competing with speed, and even bump into each other's bike! We ended up riding 'Skyline', my 'Honda', and a 'kancil-turned-into-pimp-my-ride-Fairlady'!! Of course some bypassers would have Ferrari for its speed! We should do this cycling more often as there isn't much activities we can do in this congested Singapore.

Me in 2012. My messy hair can't be fixed during pictures due to strong seabreeze!

Me in 2008! I went cycling @ Millport, Isle of Cumbrae.

2008, after finishing all our semester exams, me and my classmates decided to go for a day trip, away from city centre. We decided to go to Millport at Isle of Cumbrae, near the west of Scotland.

We need to use a ferry from Largs to cross over to Isle of Cumbrae. It was my first ferry experience and it was really nothing less than fun!

We rented bicycles to cycle around the island. We were actually cycling round the island around its perimeter, not within the island. It took us a few hours to finish, of course with some 'pit stop' in between.

The weather was gloomy, and it's nothing less the expect from the moody weather of Scotland. Although it was supposed to be summer, the most you get is two weeks of real sunshine! We were already quite lucky that it wasn't raining.

And was us taking a break from our cycles to look around, and of course to mention the photographer who's not in this picture is Alan.

Although 2008 may seems to be too long ago, and I may have become older-but-wiser, the sweet and nice memory still stay very well in my mind. Memories are the best thing to look back, to keep, and to treasure! Scotland was a transition of my life. Not just the idyllic places, university, friends but also the people!! Scotland is uniquely amazing!

Either Singapore or Scotland, both cycling trip were nothing but fun-filled! I will not forget about it, and hopefully, I will continue to cycle in Singapore (as Scotland is not so possible now).