frutti.gummi

I just love the sight of snowfall. I can just keep staring out the window. It has been snowing every day for the past week. :D There weren't much accumulation though coz it didn't snow continuously. It's more like heavy snow for 20 minutes followed by light snow and then the sky cleared. After a while, it starts to snow again and then clear again. I think it's due to the strong wind we have here. Still, it's nice that I get to see beautiful snowfall everyday and it feels magical walking under it. This has been the best winter experience I had in Europe. There's no ugly side to this kind of snowfall as there are no dirty snow piled up by the street, no water puddles everywhere and no icy walkway.

I've spent the past week reading some papers on related research projects and playing arond with the application while consulting the user guide. The user guide is the one that comes with the original installation of the app. It is not very useful because the app has been extended with some sort of project management functionality which I am supposed to work at. Although my advisor is patient enough to show me the features that were implemented, there isn't any documentation. So when I'm playing around with it, I have to figure out what is working and if not working, whether it is a bug or a feature that is not implemented. The development environment on this app is through a very bad UI which one can create objects and make references, etc. I don't really know how to do this yet since there isn't any manual for developer.

I know that non-existence of proper documentation is quite common. However, in order to develop something, I'm sure there would be a list of what is desired to be developed. And since this is a group work, I don't think people just keep everything in their heads. Oh, there is a wish list and a bug list but not the current list . Maybe I can try coming up with a current list by looking at those two lists. Hmm... not sure if these list are written in German though coz there are only limited project related papers and documentation written in English.

"Where are you from?" I have been asked this question almost everytime when I meet new people in Europe. This almost never happened in the States. After they know where I'm from, they're usually interested to know more about the country and its people. And this is a problem for me. When they asked what language I speak at home, I said "English". Then they would want to know what is the national/official language and I said "Malay" and they assumed I also speak it. But due to my hesitation, they weren't so sure about it. Friends who have seen two non-Malay Malaysians in conversation were puzzled as to why it was carried out in English and not Malay. So they asked "When do you use Malay then?" In terms of entertainment, I know we have some local shows and music scenes but I can't name them because I only know the imported ones. And traditional dance? I don't remember! I did it in primary school and haven't seen one in ages. Oh it's funny when it comes to names. Why do I have an American/English name? What's a typical Malaysian name? I don't know how to answer. At least in terms of food, I've managed to give satisfactory description from the eating experience (very interesting) I gained while working in Malaysia for 3+ years. I thought I became more Malaysian but now I'm not so sure. Anyhow, at least not so American anymore.

This has been in the back of my head for a while. I wonder why when someone meet another person from his/her country, somehow they can get along. It's like they have something that binds them together. Same culture probably. However, I find that it's not as easy among Malaysians. Or maybe it's just me being not so Malaysian. Actually, how do you define being a Malaysian? Just by being a citizen or PR? What makes a Malaysian different from others?

I met with my advisor yesterday to discuss about the thesis. He did most of the talking, explaining about the project and showing some of the applications. The focus of my thesis would be on process management. Since I already have some related experience, I could easily understand the big picture and the goals of the project. The difficult part is to understand how the existing systems work because part of my work is to port a research prototype to a production system. He printed a few papers for me to read and hopefully I'll get a better idea about the existing apps. I'll also be getting access to the lab's computers so I can play around with the apps. He told me that it'll take 2-3 months preparation work to come up with a specification for the project which I'll have to present to the professors and other group members. After that, the development work will probably take about 6 months and of course, I'll need to write the paper in the end. This will mean that I can finish by the end of the year if I don't take any vacations. Most unlikely since I already have some travel plans in mind. I guess I just need to work more when I'm not travelling.

Just feels so nice to shop here. Groceries are a lot cheaper than Trento especially the fruits and vegetables. I finally managed to buy seedless grapes here and chinese pears! There are also a lot more variety of candies, chocolates, chips as well as drinks. In the few supermakets that I've been, I've only seen soft drinks sold in bottle form. I'm looking for them in can form so that I can limit the amount I drink. Surprisingly, pasta and pasta sauce is very limited. Even fewer variety than what I can get in KL. No wonder there are so many food joints selling pasta. People here don't cook them at home I guess. Retail stores here are a much bigger too and with more well known brands like Mango, Zara, H&M, etc. After being in Trento, I don't find that clothes here are that expensive anymore. There are plenty of home decor stores and a variety of dollar stores that I scoured for cheap kitchen utencils and stuff for the bathroom. I found quite a few handicraft stores too selling beads, ribbons, paper, etc. Kinda reminds me of the times I made presents for family and friends. Oh, I did manage to go to IKEA in Heerlen, Netherlands. It's an hour away by bus from town. I bought a few things including a reading lamp. Some of the stuff are really cheap and I shouldn't have bought the kitchen utensils earlier in the other shops in town. Oh well, now I know where to go for cheap stuff.

The student residence I live in is in the suburb of Haaren, 5km from Aachen town. It's the only place available with a single room with attached kicthen and bathroom. My room is quite spacious and the furniture seems new. It's on the second floor so not much of a view from the window. I expected a blanket and pillow to be provided like in Bonn or Trento but these aren't provided here. I'm so glad I found a really cheap blanket at the discount store around the corner. I had to use it for a night without cover since my shipped luggage only arrived the next day. When the house master told me that I'm getting a new bed since the previous bed was broken, I really thought it's going to be a new bed. However, it turned out to be just another bed taken from another room. The bed is too soft. I wonder if there's any way to make it harder. Add a mattress pad? The room is also dimly lit; not suitable for doing anything productive like reading or cooking. There are plenty of power points so I guess they are for additional lamps. Gonna find out how to get to IKEA to buy some lamps and other stuff. The small fridge does not have a freezer compartment like the one in Bonn so I won't be able to enjoy the convenience of frozen food.

Besides being far, it's also expensive. I was thinking of looking for something cheaper and closer to town but now I got quite comfortable with my room. Even though I have not unpack most of my stuff, I just don't feel like moving again. The main street is just around the corner so everything is near by; supermarket, pharmacy, bank, bakery, diners, and cafes. Just one bus stop away, about 5+ minutes walk, there are bigger supermarkets and a McD that opens 24 hours a day! Hehe. So, I quite like it here. Once the internet is activated in a week's time, I should be home often.

It was pretty warm in Trento when I boarded the train. Spring seemed to have been skipped and staright to summer. When I sleep, at first I didn't need to use the blanket provided. As the train was going through Switzerland, I could feel the temperature was dropping. After the train passed the German border for a while, I started to feel cold and got up to cover myself with the blanket. When I woke up in the morning and head outside my compartment, I was greeted with a white scene. Snow everywhere! And it was still snowing heavily. It only lasted for a short while towns had lesser and lesser snow as the train head towards Cologne. I saw Bonn also had some snow and it was already melting. When I switched train to Aachen, I was looking forward to see some snow and I was glad that there were still snow when I arrived. :D I like the sunny and cold weather here although the wind makes it a lot colder and it's quite breezy here.

Spent my last weekend in Italy in Turin, host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. The current attraction is the Chocolate Festival that is held every year. When someone mention chocolates, I would think of Swiss or Belgian so I was surprised to find out that chocolate candy was invented in Turin and the Swiss came to Turin to learn the trade. The most famous chocolate sweet is called "gianduiotto", made of a coca-hazelnut paste and dates back to the 19th century. It taste like Nutella and of course, Nutella is also from a nearby town. The festival is held in one of tbe many big squares. Local retailers set up booths selling a variety of chocolates, cakes and drinks. Most of the retailers are just selling the normal forms of chocolates while I was expecting to see some special stuff. Anyway, besides the festival, Turin is pleasant town with wide streets, big piazzas, and great food. Try the calzone and pizza. It also seems like the cafe culture is popular here too. The Egyptian museum here is home to what is regarded as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt. It is really worth to visit especially when you don't know when you can go to Cairo. Hehe.