And now, ladies and gentlemen, back to our regular scheduled programme...

So finally, after a hectic week of travelling around the country (well, not really around but just within a few states), it's back to the grind at dear ol' UVa. Lotsa thoughts going around in my mind but I'm exhausted, so let's just rewind things a little.

My time in Connecticut wasn't really spent exploring the typical places that you would as a tourist. Like Philly, time there was spent on just hanging out and touring the university campus a little. Wesleyan is really a very scenic kind of place, a quiet quaint little town that is worth retiring to. In fact, southern Connecticut is considered one of the richest parts of the country, with an income tax supposedly higher than New York. That's pretty damn impressive.

Pictures paint a thousand words, so here goes:


The School of Fine Arts (or Performing Arts or something like that). Wesleyan is considered one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. The snow does add a bit to the scenery, no?


This is where Mark spents the bulk of his time. Funnily enough, he is one of 2 undergraduate Astronomy majors in the university.


This is the place that is known in Wesleyan as the waterfall. It's probably one of the more scenic sights and supposedly a great spot to bring dates. I can't imagine why.

One of the highlights of my time in Middletown, Connecticut was dining at a joint that Mark frequents - Thai Gardens. In fact, he goes there so often that besides the Wesleyan 15% discount and a free iced tea per person, he gets a free bowl of crabmeat soup and is pretty much the adopted son of the owner. I mean, we ate there for both lunch and dinner on Saturday. No wonder they love this guy.

Lunch was pretty quiet, and highly refreshing - for the first time in a long while, I was able to talk to someone whose goal in life wasn't just becoming a gazillionaire and working his ass off for it but understanding these things well enough and yet wanting to use that to do some good. Somehow the idea of just having tons of money so you can channel it to the purposes you want comes across as being more interesting than buying fancy cars and houses, although it's hard to say where I'll end up in time to come (possibly and probably none of the above?).

Dinner was joined by another 2 Singaporeans (yes, amazingly, there are Singaporeans in Wesleyan). It was cheap too, coming up to US$6 a head after taxes, tips and whatnots. And in trueblue style:


Admittedly, not my best photo. Dinner, less the pictures of the soup.


From left to right: Yours truly, Corrine, Shuwei, Alice and Mark.

Finally, after a chill-out session of watching 'The Mask of Zorro' (Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones are one hot couple! They should swap spouses), we headed off for the airport. Again, best chronicled by pictures:


Mark searching for directions to Bradley International Airport (and hamming it up for the camera).


In true Singaporean style, we had to stop over for food. Can you believe this is from Denny's? It looks pretty darn good, no?


And the final goodbyes. 3am at the airport. How often can you find someone willing to drive you at 2+ in the morning?