Julbord - My Swedish Christmas Dinner

on friday, i had a company Christmas julbord at a restaurant along surbrunnsgatan. i can't really remember the name the place but it had very tasty traditional swedish food! as per all smörgåsbord, we started with the cold dishes like herring, ham, salmon, moose sausages and smoked reindeer's heart! yes i ate rudolf's heart! :P i thought it would be soft and taste like the "spare parts" (pig's intestines, liver.. etc) we would eat in singapore, but apparently not. it was tough like meat and tasted really good, like smoked ham. and my colleague was telling me it is hard because the heart is a muscle. so desu ne... there were raw herrings in different flavours and i tried about 5 different kinds. this wasn't my 1st time eating herring in sweden but it still takes a while to get used to it. i find it ok but it's really an acquired taste, especially if you're not swedish. ;) after that, we moved on to the hot dishes like meatballs, omelette, sausages, ribs and some other fancy traditional swedish stuffs which i can't really remember. and then finally we finished off with deserts!

there was a wide spread of really good swedish food, but more than that, the atmosphere was AMAZING! every once in a while when we were eating, 1 of my colleagues would call for everyone's attention by making the triangle-like sound using the fork and the wine glass. and then he would start singing a swedish song and every one will continue along with him. and this happened like about 7 times throughout, initiated by different people, but mainly by the more rah-rah ones. ;) there were moments of singing, talking, sharing, laughing and of course appreciation. it was a rowdy but yet heart-warming and joyful night. everyone was so spontaneous and high-spirited and it really felt like a nice family gathering. but in every sense of the word, these people really form my swedish family. although i started out as an intern in the company, but i ended up being part of a swedish family. never once did it felt like work when i enter my office everyday. there is always so much fun, joy and laughter being around all my colleagues. i was really touched by all the gifts, love and kind words from all my colleagues and bosses that night. i'm really really really going to miss them alot! this has really been one of the best years of my life.

3S & Comaea, God Jul och Gott Nytt År!










Here's my NCST graduation video which i did for our batch to thank everyone in stockholm for their love and making our stay here a wonderful and memorable one!! (facebook photos and videos link)


NCST Batch 6 Graduation Video


NCST Batch 6 Graduation Flickr

Do the Christmas dance!

I'll be in Amsterdam over the weekend. This will be my last short trip before i embark on my final Europe Winter Tour to end my NOC program. sigh... this is just so saddening... i can't believe that it's all coming to an end... ok i'll leave that sob story for another time.

Christmas is round the corner and it's time to do the christmas dance!

Subscribe to kennethjayden

Down United Road

though this post is overdue, i still need to post it. because Manchester United rocks! it couldn't have been more amazing to travel all the way to Old Trafford to see Man U trash Stoke City 5 nil! although it would have been sweeter if the opponent were Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, i guess i'll have to leave that for my next trip there, which won't be anytime soon.

it was almost surreal when you walk past the gantry, that you're ACTUALLY at Old Trafford! there was something really funny, they didn't allow us to bring bottles with caps on it. so i had to throw the caps away and bring just the bottles in. the one thing that really struck you when you walk out into the stands is the sheer size of the crowd, it was AMAZING! people all over the place were singing, cheering and waving their scarfs and flags. english people really love their football. but it was really funny that i was actually watching an EPL match without the commentary. i always loved watching football with a good commentator (witty, sarcastic and enthusiastic). and having used to watching all my EPL matches with a commentator, this time was really unusual to me which i noticed immediately.

the next thing i realized was that an EPL match was like any other local football match. it looked so glorified on TV with all the slow motion replays, exciting commentating, news... etc. but when you're there, it seemed like any other football game. and then it occurred to me that me traveling all the way to Manchester to watch United play football is like an english guy traveling all the way to Singapore to watch Balestier Khalsa FC play in the S-League. but i'm actually paying 300 times more than what he would pay! if only it was the other way round... nonetheless, it somehow felt worth it be part of  the 76,000 crowd to watch United trash their opponents live!

i was easily one of the most excited fans in the whole east section as i was standing up from my seat every moment there was a scoring opportunity and i picked up all their songs/chants and starting singing along with them. football unites people i tell you. i really should have made my trip there earlier, then i would have been going for at least 1 match every month. every football fan MUST go and watch their team play live in their home ground at least once. it's really an experience of a lifetime!

here's one of the songs we were singing: Take Me Home, United Road.

here's the video of how it was like at old trafford:

and here's the video of the actual game on TV:

Manchester United v Stoke City

You've got new mail!

i've got a huge mail in my mail box today!

and it was really exciting to check out what it was even though i roughly knew what it was going to be.

 

and no, it's not THAT adult pack filled with all kinds of "educational" videos inside. it was the ONE UNITED manchester united membership pack!

 

they've got the membership card, pen, yearbook, playing cards, dvd and some other random stuffs. kinda neat actually.

and not only that, i also managed to get my match tix for this weekend too! such accurate timing. ok, after all the trouble, my manchester united trip is finally confirmed! pls no more screw ups! sigh.. and in times like these, my boss would always like to ask me, "what could possibly go wrong?" and i always reply him, "you don't wana know!".

old trafford, here i come! ;)

Oct/Nov trips

the past few weeks have been rather busy. like what's new right? but the busyness here is nothing compared to being busy back in singapore. nothing really beats being busy in singapore. and i can already imagine how my hectic lifestyle will begin once i touch down in changi airport in january. but i'm sure it'll feel really good to be back home. back to my family, friends and to my church back home. and of course back to the singaporean food and suppers!! i'm so looking forward to prata! oh man..

ok so what's been up recently? lots of stuffs. just this week, i submitted my business case and the analysis. so that's one major load off my chest. but i've still got my business case presentation, internship presentation and company appreciation video to take care of. all due by the end of the this month. that's the academic side. during the last 2 weekends, i was out of town. i was on a cruise to riga on the previous weekend, while i was in oslo during the last weekend. so this weekend is rest and relax time for me.

riga is the capital of latvia and also the largest city in the baltic states. it's a simple city with an old and traditional feel to it. and while we were there, they were having a mass traditional dance in their streets to try to create a world record for the longest dance. apart from riga, one of the most fun part of this trip was the cruise itself. not that the cruise ship itself was extremely exciting, it was more of the crazy company and the interesting things that you learn about each other. ;) and the basic code of conduct is, whatever happens on the ship, stays on the ship.

oslo on the other hand, was a more beautiful place that really exceeded my expectations. i was told by friends that there wasn't much to see at oslo. but the city proved them, and my little expectations, wrong. my only disappointment was that i was unable to travel to see the breath-taking fjords which norway is famous for. i was really tempted to take the train to bergen and enjoy "one of the most beautiful train journey in the world", to quote wikitravel. but that would mean that i would take a 7 hour train ride from stockholm to oslo, and then another 7 hours to bergen. then spend 1 night there and take the 14 hour train ride all the way back to stockholm. 我屁股会开花! (my butt will blossom!) and i would be so dead @ work the next day after heading straight to work. if i had made my way to oslo earlier by a week or so, i would be able take the ferry cruise there. i guess this gives me another reason to come back to scandinavia. jag måste! (i must!)

and what's up next weekend? WATCH AN EPL MATCH LIVE @ OLD TRAFFORD! how can i travel half way around the world, living in the same time zone as UK and not watch an EPL match @ the very same stadium where they are playing?!?! but to actually get an EPL tix is NOOOO easy task man. as the flight tix were increasing, i decided to buy the flight tix without having any match tix. so i knew i had to get my hands on those tix for that weekend. i waited for man u to release the tix for sale to the public. but they were sold out even before it was released to the general public. i was like.. WHAT?!?! then i had this regret that i should have just signed up as a member for 33 pounds and bought the tix. so i resigned to either buy the tix from the tout on the day itself, or go to the countryside to see sheep (as proposed by my friend). but i'm so not going all the way to manchester to see sheeps! and then i found the official trading site for man u tix, of which i had to first join as a man u member. so, i ended up doing what i had to do in the first place. lesson no 1: when you know that's the right thing to do, DO IT! so now i tried to buy the tix from the site with way much lesser choices for seats and had to pay another 30 pounds extra (2 tix) for handling fees and tax. and i used paypal to made payment for my purchase. BAD CHOICE. the payment went through "successfully" on paypal, but it wasn't received by the other party and it wasn't deducted from my bank. after a million of email exchanges with paypal and the other party, of which paypal only gave automated email responses that tried to sound like a real person behind it, i finally got my money refunded. and then i made a purchase for another set of lousier seating tix, as my previous one disappeared (got bought away i guess), this time with my credit card direct. lesson no 2: if possible, avoid using payapl, PAYPAL SUCKS! but now, it's still not 100% confirm until i get my hands on the physical tix itself. i emailed the tix exchange again to double check with them if they will ensure that i will receive my tix by thursday or do i collect @ the stadium itself. *sigh* why do things have to be so complicated? then the motto of a gay site which i vaguely remember coming across, came to my mind, "because life's not straight". i seriously hope there won't be anymore surprises. oh and i've yet to settle my accommodation. *sigh* here we go again. like how my friends and i always say, "if life's not exciting enough, then it's ain't worth living now, isn't it?"

i have placed a map of the places i've been to (with links to related pics/vid) and the places i would like to visit (in question marks). you can check it out here.

Passions in life

for many of us, our lives seem to be one big mystery. we don't really know what we want, what we're going to do and we just take things as they come. but many a times, it's all about spending some time to reflect on such issues. all it takes is just to identify that little passion, liking, preference, inclination towards a certain activity or object and just keep working at it or towards it. and ultimately, it'll eventually lead you in a direction where you ought to be. do note that it might not be your intended path, nor to your liking initially, but life, or rather, God, has His ways of allowing everything to fall into place as it should be. and He never fails to amazes me.

ok so what's my life destiny? honestly, i really don't know. but what i do know is that my passion lies in people and music. these are the 2 things that make me tick. i enjoy working, interacting, relating, learning, teaching, communicating, imparting, sharing, serving and loving people. and i also enjoy listening, singing, playing and writing music. and with these 2 little passions that i have, i just work on it. why? simply because i enjoy doing it. so i serve in a cellgroup, serve in my zone, talk to people, hang out with friends, teach others, learn from others and just do whatever i can to help others and just share the love. love makes the world go round! and in music, i play the piano, trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass and i try to write songs. i just do what i have and what i can.

and in life, i really value relationships. relationships with my God, family, darling (love u dear! *muacks*), friends and people around me. and to hh aka t aka jh, thanx for being such a great friend to me too! ;) relationships are definitely under-rated by people. and we should all spend more time, effort & money investing into relationships & friendships.

and the past few days, i had a good time catching up with brando while he came over from vienna to visit and bunk in with me here in stockholm. and today i had a fun time out with my colleagues during our monthly company chill out nite. this time we went to do some simulated car racing, had some good spanish food for dinner and good beer while chilling out till we had to catch the last bus back. it's always worth it to chill out. and tmr i'll be on a cruise with some of my friends, 16 of us, to riga over the weekend. am looking forward to that.

ok, i shall upload my pics then. meanwhile, have a good weekend to one and all! ;)

Jaiku, Twitter or Plurk

microblogging has been around for quite some time now. as the name speaks for itself, it is a micro blog, usually limited to 140 characters. and from this site, you can actually find a list of over 200 microblogging services! it really amazes that people actually start a new microblogging site when there already exists hundreds of them.

personally for me, i currently use jaiku, twitter and plurk. (without having to sign up, you can click on the links to see how they're like.) facebook also has a microblogging feature, aka status update. but they aren't really a dedicated microblogging site, so i'll leave them out of the picture for now.

so what do i like about the 3 services and which of them would be my favourite? let me just list out some of my personal pros and cons of their services. if the features are common within the 3, then i'll leave them out.

jaiku:
pros 
- has channels that allows users to join and post within that channel
- has integration with IM like Gtalk, LiveJournal, MSN (using IMified.com) ..etc
- has facebook status update integration
- has mobile SMS integration
- has the ability to add icons to your post
- able to read rss feeds and post them
- proper organisation of comments

cons
- registration via invite

twitter:
pros
-  allows html style badge for transparent background
- detailed post search
- has the ability to set device updates on specific users
- has facebook status update integration
- public registration

cons:
- says that it supports IM, but it doesn't
- all replies to a specific post are not viewable as a whole
- no channels/groups

plurk:
pros
- funky and dynamic timeline interface with ajax updates
- ability to set settings for each post (privacy, language, comments)
- ease of view for different kinds of posts (all, your own, private, those you responded to)
- has colourful qualifiers
- has emoticons
- able to post images/videos
- has cliques function (similar to jaiku's channels)
- has very logical commenting view and organisation
- able to view all post from everywhere with filters (eg from various country .. etc)
- constantly updating and adding of new features
- public registration

cons
- IM support has been under servicing ever since i joined
- karma to "force" you to keep updating

as you can tell from the list, twitter would be my least favourite, and it is. i really like the features of plurk and it's extremely intuitive interface. it's really fun to use and it gives a very good overview of your posts aka plurks. so is plurk my favourite of the lot? well, not exactly. i really like it, but it doesn't make it to my if-i-really-have-to-choose-one-it's-you list. and that would be jaiku.

why? for the main reason that it has good integration with IM, SMS and facebook. with these features, i'm able to send/receive posts/updates without having to log into the jaiku page. i can do this via my gtalk (or gmail) and sms. this is really cool because it also means that my darling can "sms me for free". for my end, i can sms for free using singtel/starhub web sms services. but for her, there isn't any free web service sms from my provider. as such, she could use jaiku to do that. neat trick rite? ;)

after being acquired by google, jaiku has removed their limited invites. so if anyone would like to use jaiku, just let me know and i'll send you an invite.