Coldest winter?

This winter is regarded as the coldest winter in the UK since 1996. The coldness has even ushered the arrival of the rare species of birds from other colder parts of the world. I don't like winter; because I don't like cold! But most of the people here hate it for different reasons, they hate the short day. The day is extremely short in winter. The sun rises at almost 8 am and at 4 pm, it is as dark as 8 pm in Malaysia. People get depressed and tired easily. This is my 3rd winter in the UK and surprisingly, I start to like it. I still hate cold but I like the short day in a very weird way; hey! I work longer hours than the sun! (as opposed to summer when I go to bed while the sun is still up there). This makes me feel that I am very hardworking! Apart from this, my growing fondness for winter also due to it marks the arrival of spring. It is a great feeling, a feeling of awaiting something wonderful to happen!

p/s: The scenery on my way (using Trinity College's route) to my lab during a winter morning; A departure from my house (the bottom one), cut through Trinity College that morning (middle 2 photos), at last, I reached my lab, almost there. (top 2 photos)

Cycle path near to my lab. It snowed very lightly last Monday and the ice didn't melt for several day. Which are my footprints? Anyway, don't play play! Walk carefully! It was very slippery on the road.

Precious moment. Sunrise on a winter morning at St. John College. Viewed from Trinity College.

Same as above. Spot the ice covering the grass.

Dawn broke outside my house, Parker's Piece. The square green was covered by a layer of ice that morning.

Old stories

If asked my mum what should be my new year's resolutions, she would definitely suggested putting this on top of the list, Don't Drag Your Task!. This is a good example of me dragging my task, a 3-month-late entry to my blog ;p

The night before flying to Japan for the conference, me and my buddy were having Sainsbury’s pizza and fruit smoothies in his kitchen.

CL: I just submitted a paper, I’d printed out the poster, finished preparing the oral presentation for the conference. I should feel happy of all these achievements, but I didn’t, why?

Buddy: You’re just too tired of all the hard work for the past few months, also too stressed about the coming oral presentation. You’d be alright and feeling great after all these were over.

CL: Moreover, I hadn't planned for my own trip in Japan. I didn’t buy the rail pass and not booking any hostel yet.

Buddy: No worries la (he picks up the “la” from me, imitates M’sian English purposely!). Japan is a well-organised country.

So this is how I started off my Japan's trip in Sept, tired and unplanned.
Here are my footprints in Japan:-
5 days in Kobe for a conference;
0.5 day in Himeji, an excursion organized by the conference organisers;
2 days/ 3 nites in Kyoto;
1.5 days/ 2 nites in Hida Takayama;
1.5 days/ 2 nites in Kanazawa;
2 days/ 2 nites in Tokyo.