The stench

Luxembourg has a vast amount of farmland and about 1500 farmers. So, there were plenty of sheeps, cows, and pigs. I learnt a lot about being a farmer when I was in Luxembourg. A couple of things I never knew till then:
1. There is such a thing as Farmer's School (high school for kids who want to be farmers) - A four year course.
2. A lot of mental work is required because its a business - A farmer has an office full of files and paperwork to be done.
3. They have to be wary of pests like mice and foxes.
4. A farmer's job is a full time job. Its not a 9-5 job where they can take off on the weekends.
5. They hope for rain everytime so their crops will grow.

Since Luxembourg has plenty of farms, when the wind blows, some areas of Luxembourg smells bad. The bad smell is due to the pigs fart. Most farms have 200 pigs or much more.

Irony:
I tell the farmer I can't stand the smell of the countryside due to the pigs.
He tells me he can't stand living in the city because its smelly.

The locals were immune to the stench too!
"Can you smell that?"
"Huh? What smell. I don't smell anything"

XD

445th Post

Means the previous post was the 444th post -Like a curse!

But all is still well...
Sometimes when Im having the worst moments ever, then things suddenly take a turn of events....
Life is like a yo-yo!

I received an airflight itenary through email and the agent said:
"Please print and fly"

LOL

On another note, Ms. Felice, my pp3 lecturer is always so cheerful.. The Energiser Bunny I like :)
She always uses words like "Brilliant!" "Fab!" "Good!" "Well done!"

Spot the Energiser Bunny :)

Just what every student needs to hear~~

Boys

A group of young icelanders practice the art of hanging out : )

Ducking the Limelight

I can't help but gush at how cute and adorable these ducklings look!

According to the ARTICLE these ducks were only three years old and the photographer attempted to line them up in a row to take a 'family photoshoot'. But, one duck decided to avoid the 'limelight'. So, just as the photo was about to be taken, the duck turns his back to the camera! It ended up with a picture, which in my opinion, was special!

Then, that particular duck decided to move along the branch and ended up toppling his other siblings....

I soooo wanna have a chance to capture moments like that!! :)

Strength

We laugh, We cry. We share. We love.

Regardless of the obstacles we face
No matter what lies ahead,
You will ALWAYS have me backing you all the way.

Cinemagraphs

Photography is amazing when you can capture HUGE WAVES.

But it is fantastic to be able to create a new kind of photograph - The one that moves!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

and HERE!

Gee

Going DOWNnnnnnn..

Needs a bucket load of ice cream to Cheer me UP!

Ten rules for a Happy Ever After

Sometimes we know whats right, but there are times we lose ourselves and get a little side-tracked. Here's a little help: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1378115/Relationships--Ten-rules-happy-after.html

Picnic on Easter Day!

A bunch of us headed outside on Easter day for a picnic. It was a glorious weather with some occasional wind.

One of the laughable moment was during the jump shot. There were a few who told me not to jump so near the slope for fear I might go tumbling down. Alas, it wasn't me who did a 'Jack n Jill", but my pretty white sandals! The camera caught the moment my sandal was off. Definitely had a good laugh and thanks to Alex who sacrificed his neck and bones to roll down the slope to retrieve back my sandal ;)

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Choice of food prepared by the chefs were two thumbs up!

Too many photos taken.....:)

Lastly, every Malaysian needs to end the day with photoshoots. The posers:

Uninvited creatures

Spring is here and so the bugs come out to play. Not exactly ideal for me living here, in a room which depends on the outside air to cool the fan-less room. Hence, it is necessary to open the room window if not I will be almost baking inside.
I've had a bee coming into my room, spider, a ladybug and other tiny insects.
The bee comes in, I run out.
The ladybug comes in, I let it crawl on a piece of paper and I fling the bug outside the window *too cute to kill*
The creepy crawly bug, I cover it with a container n let it suffocate to death.
Yesterday, there was a spider dangling right in front of my nose! The only way was to squish it to death ASAP before it ran away.

Today, there was an insect on the window, I didn't want to squash anymore insects which would result in a messy murder scene. So, I had a prescription label, which is a sticker, so its sticky. I just lightly pressed the sticky part onto the insect. Voila~~ It gets stuck on the sticker, I don't need to kill it. I just dump it into the bin and yea, it will die there but no mess in my room!



MY MORNING CATCH: Say Hello to the little thing.



Soldiers

The Royal Wedding is coming soon. The heat is on. The weather is hot too. So, when a soldier on duty faints, it should be done like this:

I also READ they are not allowed toilet breaks. So if they need to pee, they would have to pee in their pants and their wool trousers would at least camouflage it... Interesting~~

Energy saving lightbulbs

Knowing too much is REALLY not nice. It leads to paronoia. The last time was about 'freshly' baked bread, which made me stop buying those kind of bread. Doughnuts don't seem so appealing anymore.. Now its about energy saving light bulbs!

It is said to emit cancer causing chemicals and it should not be kept near to the head or used for long hours. I look at my table lamp, the bulb shining oh so brightly.. it looked like an energy saving lightbulb... it could be... I should go ask the village office tmr... Should I turn off the lamp now and not use it till I confirm it doesn't cause cancer?

OMG... its always definitely near my head because I use it for studying.

These lightbulbs emit Mercury if broken and when it is switched on, it releases carcinogenic chemicals....

The report on German television forced the country’s environmental protection agency to issue a warning against 'public hysteria'.

O.o

My Blonde moment

I think I have toned down on the food craze. It will come back, not now, but eventually. It's probably just the time factor. So, when I don't think of food, my mind does wander of to something else. Given that the weather is getting better and better, my thoughts drift back to the time when I wore long dangly earrings, ladies shoes, skirts and dresses. I've been so deprived of all these throughout winter. I am awaiting the perfect weather to ditch the long pants, sports shoes and t-shirts - things that don't make me feel female enough. I was recently in H & M in Germany and I was told by my aunt to pick any clothes I want. The only thing I had eyes on were dresses and skirts! I did get one dress in the end:) Shopping websites are currently filled with wonderful colours and clothes designs for spring.

On another note, summer is almost here! I'm looking forward to know what England's seaside has to offer while earning there. I'm also going to have to 'tune my ears' again to get use to British English.

Stirling

My spirits have been high recently. Maybe its due to the weather or maybe the trip to Luxembourg was rejuvenating or meh-be something else ;) Anyway... Stirling trip this Wednesday takes about 1 hour. Its a hospital visit to the Stirling Royal Infirmary. I was told the visit was till 1pm. I'm thinking I should not waste the money I spend getting there by leaving Stirling so early. Should explore at least the town a bit.... But then again, its not to say I'm having ANY free time to waste.... But then again.. I should make use of this trip which cost 11pounds.. Explore, then I can say I have been to Stirling, never go back there again, n move on to another part of UK... I.M.NOT.THAT.FREE...........................:(

Headaches

The past was great
The present sucks
The future, so uncertain
But, one moment of success makes the past, present and future worth the struggle.

:)

On Junk Email

(Not the IQ Test in Question)

Several months ago I clicked on a link that promised a free IQ test - just for fun.  I know what my IQ is, having sat a proper exam, and thought it would be interesting to compare the result.

BEFORE I did the test I had to enter some details: my name, my email address.  This of course rang an alarm bell - so I put my dog's name (Oscar) and a made-up email address (oscar@... a domain I own) especially for the purpose.  This address would work, but it's not one I use.  Nor does Oscar: he's a dog, after all.

The test was rubbish. I didn't even both completing it. My suspicion that this was a (not terribly) cunning ruse to get my email address was correct.  The mail started tumbling in and on every occasion Oscar wagged his tail, presumably because he thought someone new loved him.

Clearly not really a person

In these months Oscar (he's a dog, remember) has received:

• Offers of pre-approved credit cards ("Oscar, you can have a credit card if you want one")
• Home loan offers ("Oscar, unlock the equity in your home")
• Gambling offers (using his pre-approved card?)
• Free legal advice ("Oscar, have you been injured and it wasn't your fault?")
• Debt help (to deal with his loans and gambling debts) 

He has also received other marketing "offers" but I'm guessing it won't take much imagination to guess what they are, or need to spell them out. I cover his little brown eyes when they arrive.

How can he have been pre-approved for a credit card?! Either it's total garbage (most likely) or irresponsible sub-prime and shark lenders haven't learned a thing from the credit crisis and are still offering loans to people that don't exist.. and to dogs that do.  Not that great all said and done.

He's won an iPad2 !!

This week Oscar was really happy to receive "Congratulations Oscar, an iPad2 for you!"

His name was clearly set out, and if I clicked on (yet another suspect) link we might win.

He soon lost interest when I offered him a doggy biscuit instead though and took him for a walk.

Each time I carefully click on the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email.  It is the law (Article 13 of EU Directive 2002/58 as well as within the Code of Conduct for Email Marketing) that such an option has to be offered.  Frequently I'm told that I actually opted IN to receive marketing emails.  I didn't. Nor did Oscar. He's a dog... !

Away from his computer

However: what I suspect here, with good reason, is this is like a lawn full of moles.  I bash one on the head, another pops up.  The email address is being sold, illegally, without my consent, and passed round one junk mail agency after the other.  The emails keep coming.  And all of it can be traced back to a single visit to a single crap IQ test site, where I absolutely did not consent for the email address to be used for any purpose.

The Information Commissioner is supposed to regulate this type of stuff, but how do I prove it, and is his office really that bothered? There are big issues like Freedom of Information requests that fall under his remit which are also not dealt with terribly efficiently either.

That said, it is estimated there are 62 trillion junk emails sent every year (nine for every one legitimate email).  An average ISP server spends 90% of its time supposedly detecting these, causing 17 millions of tonnes of CO2 to be emitted - which is the equivalent of powering 2.4 million homes or taking 2.2 million cars of the road. Each and every year.

Is there a moral to this story? Well, not really: junk mail is annoying, damaging to the environment, and even if we're careful, we still receive it.  I just really used this blog as an excuse to put some pictures up of Oscar. He is a very cute dog, don't you think? :)

Oscar, being a dog.

PS Oscar *does* actually have a twitter account.  The irony is not entirely lost on me.

L to R: @EnglishSpaniel @LassieOscar @PME200

IBS

Found an article that was pretty informative on IBS.
IBS article

Álftanes

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Guðmann þór Bjargmundsson

This gorgeous seaside scene was taken by filmmaker and photographer Guðmann Þór, known as Mummi, out at Álftanes, a small district of about 1800 people just southwest of Reykjavik. Be sure to check out his website where you'll find many more stunning images of our lovely land.

Álftanes is an amazing place for nature walks, and has a very rich and colorful history starting from the Settlement era twelve hundred years ago. There is actually a very nice book highlighting easy nature walks in the Capital region which I was asked to translate into English called 25 Beautiful Walks - Walking Trails of the Greater Reykjavík Area (if you click on the red "Smelltu hér"link under the large image of the book, you will get a PDF preview. The book can be purchased here.)

I agree with this Iceland Review book review that additional info could have been added for non-locals, but I also agree that it is overall a very informative and enjoyable trail guide for just about anyone, local or intrepid guest.

If it's ICESAVE info you're looking for, here's a video recap from 2010 and here is a statement from the Government of Iceland to the world.

p.s. I'm really happy with the big new photo size on Iceland Eyes! Unfortunately, I can't increase the sizes of past posts without losing comments readers have made, unless someone at Flickr (ahem! Kevin : ) finds a way to make it so.

Happiness..

is when I get to do everything I have wanted to...

Darts tomorrow :)

Historischer Keller Restaurant

On Day 1, I had my first lunch in Trier Germany in a restaurant serving German food. Im letting the pics do the talking this time.

A moose

Plenty of wildboar heads hanging around the restaurant given that their specialty was wildboar meat

The specials which I cant read but I think I order the first special on the list

The name of the restaurant

The drink I was recommended to try - apple soda

meet my aunt and uncle - the cheerful duo

My meal - wildboar meat with white asparagus and fried mashed potatoes covered with white sauce. it was delicious.

My aunt had salad

Fish and chips

Rice with bolognaise chicken

The interior of the restaurant

My cousin

its customary for European ppl to have a cup of coffee after their meal. 

Their theory for drinking cofee was so that the caffeine kicks in and they dont feel so sleepy after lunch.

McD

McDonalds is still called McDonalds regardless of which part of the world we are in :)

McRibs found in Trier, Germany. A favourite of many people here.

Mouth-watering pork ribs from McDonalds in Trier, Germany and they eat their french fries with  Mayonaise

Trier, Germany - The area

I was brought to Trier in Germany after arriving at Luxembourg. Trier is an older part of Germany. It was a 30minute drive from Luxembourg Airport. It has a University located so high up in the mountains that the people up there hardly needed to travel to other areas as it was like their own little town up there.

I was told that Trier was a shopping haven for most from Luxembourg and surrounding areas as there were plenty to buy and most importantly, reasonably priced. I visited this historic building called Porta Nigra.

Porta Nigra behind me

We also went on a train ride tour around Trier. I fell asleep while sitting in the train as it was really hot. Also, the tour guide was repating everything in three languages - German, Dutch and English. The English explanation was last, so yea.. I had a good nap. Took some pictures which were n ot very good given that the train had really horrible glass windows...

More to come in the next post....