Lu·di·crous

Hong Kong Day 3

2012-01-13T23:51:00.000+08:00

It's been long overdue but here's Day 3 of Hong Kong! We're finally going to Disneyland ♥! See Day 1 and Day 2, if you haven't already :)

Breakfast at the Australia Dairy Company down on Parkes St. in Jordan. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long for a seat. We were ushered in quickly, ordered quickly, ate quickly, drank quickly, paid quickly and left quickly. The ADC is super busy and the waiters were swarming here and there, taking orders, serving food, clearing plates. And they were so efficient we didn't dare sit too long!

We ordered their set breakfasts - it came with a drink, toast and eggs, and some macaroni soup with ham. Kowloon Dairy milk, again! Still major loves ♥ And the scrambled eggs! OMGOMGOMG don't get me talking about their scrambled eggs - the scrambled eggs are seriously out of this world. I'm not sure what they put in them but they sure taste ah-maaaaaaa-zing! (So good we went back for a second time! But that's another day's story.)

From Jordan, we took the MTR to the Disneyland Resort station! They have their own line from Sunny Bay (such a happy name!) - with Mickey-shaped windows, dark blue velvet U-shaped seats, and Disney statuettes being displayed in the train, and Mickey handles! ºOº train WIN!

Obligatory touristy picture with the Disneyland arch! Which means we're FINALLY THERE!

Main Street USA! :) Along with a gigantic Christmas tree and Christmas candy canes lining the street, and all of the quaint little shops along the street. Each colour represents one character - red for Mickey, pink for Minnie, orange for Pluto, blue for Donald and green for Goofy!

The first 2 days we were in HK, the weather was rather gloomy and also a bit rainy. But the third day was perfect Disneyland weather! It was a bit too sunny at first, especially when we were queuing to meet Mickey and Minnie (which you will see pictures of later!). But the blue sky and white fluffy clouds did provide some amazing background for pictures though so yay! :)

After queuing for more than an hour - we got to meet Mickey and Minnie! ♥♥♥ They were super animated, twirling and bowing, blowing kisses and skipping and hopping - and well, were Mickey and Minnie!

After taking pictures with Mickey and Minnie, it was almost time for the parade - so we sat down on a curb with a couple of drinks and waited for the magic to start! :)

And it starts!

The main characters came out to play - Mickey, Goofy, Gingerbread Man, Duffy Bear, Minnie and Donald! And fortunately for us, Duffy stopped right in front of us and was super duper cute! He even had a paw print on his butt - cute max! And he was blowing kisses at everybody and waving and being such a cutie. They even had a segment where all the little kids in the audience were invited to go out and dance with the performers!

The first stop of the day - Tomorrowland! And you can see how the weather was super sunny. We're already Asian man, if we squint some more, we cannot see man! That's Racist!, but I'm Asian, so it's OK lol. :{D (I have a moustache!) (And I really like my memes lol!)

Our first ride - SPACE MOUNTAIN! We dragged Mum and Dad with us and the funny thing is they haven't sat on a rollercoaster in ages so they were quite scared hahahaha (I am such a good daughter wtf). The photo that came out saw Dad and Mum closing their eyes in absolute terror and got their adrenaline pumping and they emerged, wobbly legs and all, at the end of the ride. But I think they quite enjoyed it! The inside of the ride was pitch black (or as pitch black as they could get it), with projection of stars and planets and other astrologicalmagical stuff on the ceiling so it feels like you're in space! Visually amazing. They climbed pretty high at the beginning of the ride, quite near the ceiling, but I think they didn't have space for rapid drops so they settled for neck-breaking turns instead. I'd give it an 8! (Because of the pretty stars! And because I got Mum and Dad to take a ride on it as well lol.)

Our next ride - It's A Small World! It's a peaceful little boat ride through a myriad of worlds - complete with singing dolls, flashing lights, moving parts and Disney characters.

LOOK AT THAT DETAILS - AND ALL THE COLOURS! Big Ben, Taj Mahal, the Holland windmills, a jungle scene, Asian countries, Too bad there wasn't a lot of light during the ride, so some of the pictures taken were blurred out and I was lucky to get a few shots of the scenes inside! Even though it was a kids' ride, I really really enjoyed myself lol. I found myself looking left and ride, up and down, pointing here, gasping there, and was completely mesmerised by everything! ♥

The outside of the ride - pretty, no? I think they really did a good job making the inside and the outside look really good, the whole package! I'd give this one a 7 - for all the pretty things you can see on the ride, trying to catch hold and name all the nationalities was quite fun as well!

After a quick lunch, we went in to watch The GOlden Mickeys. Which was structured as an award show, giving credit to all the Disney favourites - Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Lilo and Stitch, Toy Story - in the form of performances! :) I think that growing up, Disney has always been a big influence on me. And I think I'm still an 8 year old trapped in a 21 year old's body so needless to say, I also enjoyed this very much! ♥

The beginning.

The middle.

The end! (Obviously I took more, but I decided that 3 was enough for the blog!) I'd give this a 9! (One point deducted because it was conducted in Cantonese lolol and Cantonese-speaking Minnie and Mickey didn't have that magicality that I was looking for but I think it was pretty good anyways!)

And then my sister decided we've seen enough performances, and sat on enough mundane rides, and she wanted to go on something more exciting - so we went to the newly opened Toy Story Land! Hong Kong Disneyland isn't very big, so a new addition to the theme park is always welcomed. Especially when it houses the RC Racer thrill ride! It's sort of like the pirate ship we're used to, but instead of being hung from above, it has a track below it! It's a U-shaped track, where the RC car on the track goes back and forth on it for a couple of times. It's not too bad on the adrenaline scale, but too bad it was so short! :( An 8, because it was too short, it needs a couple more rounds I say!)

The other "thrill" ride, is this Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. It goes up, then floats down. It's not so much thrilling, but more exciting, than saayyy, a Merry Go-Round, or the Winnie the Pooh ride we went on earlier.

It was so mild, Mum and Dad willingly got on it before we did! They went ahead of us because they took one look at the RC Racer ride and refused to get on it, so they queued for other stuff instead, and when we took our turn on the Parachute Drop, we saw them getting into their seat! Dad's pointing at the "Single Rider" queue and asking us to get on it because the normal queue was so long and the ride was frankly not worth the wait. The Single Rider queue took us 10 minutes from the end of the queue to sitting on the ride. #WIN. A 6. Not enough oomph. :/

And it was growing rather dark and rather cold as we queued for the Mickey's 3D PhilharMagic show. The show was quite cute! I remember the 3D effects being quite pleasing to the eye, and not as headache-inducing as the regular ones. And quite realistic too! It's about Donald, who steals Mickey's conductor wand and conductor hat, and creates chaos with all the instruments. It's a rather humorous cartoon and at one scene, where Donald spills some jewels out of a case and they're all just lying there (in 3D of course), so sparkly and so pretty, we couldn't help but reach out and try to grab it. And then felt super stupid for doing it because obviously it's not there! Gave us a pretty good laugh, and amazing graphics too! A good solid 8! (Especially with the surprise end!)

And then we went over to Adventureland to check out Tarzan's tree house and see a couple more things here and there and then, we went over to Main Street for the lighting ceremony. It was still Christmas season then, so they switched off all the lights, and then with dramatic music, and crew in glowy outfits and glowy staffs, came out and did a little dance and then they switched on all the Christmas lights AND lighted up the Christmas tree, AND AND AND snow! For that perfect Christmas effect! ♥

And then we went to get a bit of dinner, while we waited for the nightly fireworks to start! (Qing and I managed to squeeze in a couple more rides at Space Mountain so woohoo!) The fireworks began with a narration, and just the palace that changed colours and had sparkly bits running down the sides and it was just so pretty! Especially this one, with the rainbow colours! It's blurred because I didn't have a tripod with me so I held the camera as still I as could. And juggled the G12 (that was recording the whole show) between me and Qing cause she got tired wtf. D:

The firework show was synced with the music and was really quite spectacular, as all firework shows are! Lovelovelovelove fireworks! Who doesn't? ♥♥♥

Snapped a couple more pictures on the way out to the MTR station to head back to the Kowloon side. Of an impromptu water and light show at this particular spot! I initially just wanted a couple of pictures, and by the third picture, the whole thing burst into song and lights wtf! But check out the silky water! Especially the one coming off the whale and Mickey's surf board! I laaiiiikkk.

And that's the end!

Hope you guys enjoyed the post! Stay tuned for Macau next! :)

It's COMING!

2012-01-06T15:19:00.000+08:00

[UPDATE: It's HERE! WOOTWOOT!]

I am waiting on a super super important package and I was tracking its delivery progress earlier. It's on hold at the sort facility and since it's Friday, I assumed that I'd get it maybe Monday morning.

BUT THEN I refreshed the page a little while ago and OMG it's with the delivery courier. It's really coming! It's really coming! It might still be Monday morning, but at least I know the package is moving and it's on its way!

Can you tell I'm super excited! Can you can you can you!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T02:04:00.003+08:00

And before I start writing what I feel like writing, I have to ask myself, is THIS the way I want to be starting off 2012?

Half delirious from being awake at 1:43am, half pensive from the things I've been reading this past hour and all of a sudden feeling sad and sorry for myself? Really?

And being reminded of this that I wrote a full 6 months ago, probably on a cold winter's night - thinking of all the things a girl thinks about on a cold winter's night. (On a side note, I've gotten my black pumps! They're not sky high but they're pretty high!)

And being at the exact same spot I was 6 months ago, aren't I a little more than pathetic?

But then again, I think that not every i has to be dotted, not every t has to be crossed, and not everything has to be spelt out exactly. So it's alright, I'm good now.

But anyways, Happy New Year everyone. I'm a little late but still. :)

Hong Kong Day 2

2011-12-30T18:00:00.000+08:00

Continuing with the HK posts! This post will be Day 2. So if you missed it, see Day 1 here!

Yay for the yummiest milk! This was taken in Kam Wah Bakery on Bute St. where they serve the most amazing polo paus I have ever eaten!

The crispy, crunchy exterior of the bun with the soft pillowy inside - and that amazing lemon-infused butter! Washed down with ice-cold milk (or a warm cup of milk tea!), it was quite a breakfast! And quite filling for just a bun and milk! :) We then walked back to the hotel and then waited for the tour agency to pick us up for our half-day city tour.

The first stop on the agenda: the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road. It isn't the most exciting place to be lol but we were in HK so we were bound to see a bit of Chinese-y things. D: It's like any Chinese temple - filled with incense, smokey and clanging gongs. The next point of interest was Victoria Peak!

Our one-way tram tickets for the upwards journey.

In the tram! We were already upward moving so check out the sloping window and the buildings outside. It was quite a ride because check out the view:

Amazing, huh?

Too bad the view was foggy that day and we didn't have enough time to get to the highest observatory deck to check out the view from there - but still, ISN'T THIS VIEW AMAZING! :):):):):)

The weather up there was super super cold - the wind blowing in our face was freeezing! And it was almost noon and it was still cold! :D We spent most of the time we had up there walking around this area taking photos and just enjoying the view!

I AM PART ESKIMO WTF. :D Ignore that lol, we then got back on the bus (thankfully lol 'cause it was getting pretty cold!) and headed down to the Aberdeen Fishing Village. There, we went on a sampan ride around the typhoon shelter in an old-fashioned fishing boat.

The old lady steering the boat was uber grumpy lol but I think it was because her boss made her take like 5 extra people on a boat that was only supposed to cater for 9. So we were floating around the typhoon shelter chug-chugging around the typhoon shelter looking at all the fishing boats and all the big yachts that were also berthed there at the typhoon shelter. Quite cool lol.

A look at the fishing boats that were anchored around the typhoon shelter. There was also a few other fishing vessels which may have just come back from fishing - cause they had fishies all over the deck of the boat and a few other boats were drying fish on the deck! After the fishing village, the bus took us to Stanley village - where we walked the Stanley Market and then ate instant noodles and curry fishballs from the 7-11! LOL, not one of our best meals in HK but satisfying nonetheless.

This(!) is Stanley! It was a quaint little village that didn't have much - but what they did have, was a soft-serve ice-cream van! Hehe. And even though the weather was quite cool, we still had an ice-cream each hehe. Little joys! :) We then skipped the tour bus back to Central HK and took a public bus instead. It was a slightly nauseating adventure but it was fun sitting on the top deck of the bus looking at the views of HK!

We were dropped off at Central HK and we walked around connected buildings using the covered walkways and checked out the series of displays that were on inside the malls - these miniature model trains were exquisite and super amazing - and super realistic! There was this dude talking a photo of his family that had a flash popping up every now and then - how's that for realistic!

Pottinger Street! We stumbled across this quaint little street while searching for egg tarts while waiting for the Yung Kee Roast Goose Restaurant to restock their geese! My sister complained a little because we climbed this rather steep street in vain, searching for the Tai Cheong egg tarts. :( But then we had awesome roast goose for dinner and everything was fine and dandy again! :)

And then we took a walk around the city before we decided we'd head back to the Kowloon side of town. Isn't this view amazing! This was on the bridge to jetty and I couldn't help but stop to take pictures. Too bad I didn't have my tripod and I couldn't do too long an exposure so I didn't get the light trails I wanted and the right side of the picture couldn't been more filled up! But STILL! - an amazing view!

Looking back from the Kowloon side to the HK island side! This view NEVER gets old, ever. And since we left the hotel for the tour really early, we were knackered and headed back to the hotel for an early night - cause Day 3 was going to be DISNEYLAND!

So, you know what's coming up next! :D:D:D Stay tuned! :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T01:10:00.000+08:00

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Merry Christmas everybody!
Have a blessed Christmas filled with joy and laughter and the love of the Lord. ♥

Hong Kong Day 1

2011-12-20T18:10:00.000+08:00

It's been a really long while since we took a family vacation and we've never had one where we needed to take a plane to get there so Daddy decided that Hong Kong would be our first overseas trip! So we booked a free and easy package with a travel agency and I was in charge of the itinerary planning - where we would go, what we would do, what we would see, what we would eat, how would we get there and all that boring planning stuff. On to the plane ride!

The travel agency booked us a flight on MAS - and we got to the airport pretty early but unfortunately were split up into 4 seats and 1 seat as we couldn't do prior check-in and couldn't get nicer seats. So I got the single seat, which was the window - so score! (I really really like window seats. Yes, in aisle seats, you get to the toilet easier, but people will ALWAYS want to walk over you and you get nothing but easy access to toilets. Why!? - when you could sit inside, with nobody to step on your toes or perched awkwardly trying to avoid getting their butt in your face AND get a view like that! OK enough of my window seat rant wtf.)

And after 4 hours of plane ride and miscellaneous immigration procedures, we were there in Hong Kong! I cannot tell you which part of HK this was lol it was just taken out of the bus assigned to take us to our hotel and I remember how amused I was that we were actually there - and that I was looking out at the land of TVB dramas and was just so amazed at what I was seeing on a highway out of a bus window - you don't see this on a Malaysian highway!

After getting settled, we realised our last meal was the failed airplane food (sorry MAS) served at 10am and that we were starving. So I whipped out my trusty restaurant guide and looked for somewhere near to have our first meal in HK. Since we had time to spare, I suggested Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum Specialty Shop. When doing research on restaurants, I had not noted that Tim Ho Wan held one Michelin star! So I was super excited to get in and eat! But even though the price was reasonable, the wait however, took forever. At 3pm on a Monday afternoon, it took an hour and fifteen minutes before we were seated and that is considered not too long a wait!

Once we were served, we knew why people would wait more than 3 hours to eat there. The food is AMAZING. Especially this particular one: the fried char siu bao. Need I say more? The bill came up to about HKD300 (roughly RM120) for 5 but the food was super delicious and we ate till we were full and still had food left over. So we took away and had it for supper. Win. Win. Win.

And then we went exploring - we headed down to the MTR station and I got us some Octopus cards and we went down to Victoria Harbour to see the amazing view across the harbour over to HK Island. And when I say amazing, I'm not exaggerating. Yes this is a pretty picture but if you see it in person, it will take your breath away. It is a thousand times more beautiful in real life and even as I'm typing, I wish I could see it for myself again. It's so up-in-your-face, and very very beautiful. The nightly light show was honestly quite meh, and then it started to rain so we ended Day 1 on a slightly wet but amazing high. Hey we had char siu baos to look forward to for supper - who wouldn't be happy? :P

..........................

Note: I thought I would do HK in one post but looking at how long-winded I'm feeling today I don't think that's going to happen. So expect the next 4(?) parts of the HK post to come! :)

Picture update!

2011-12-18T17:13:00.001+08:00

It's been a while! (And no, I cannot think of a witty title thus the obvious mundane one heh :P)

Since then, I've finished my finals, gone to Ball, had a satisfying karaoke session, watched several movies, had a chillaxing trip down to Melaka, went back to Gopeng, had many many Blackshot matches, had a trip to Hong Kong and basically just bummed about the house! :D

So here's a catch up picture post!

Preparation of the ball tickets

Logos Hope | Port Klang

Mid-Autumn Festival

Lucky ♥♥♥

My favourite girls | MUPhas A Grecian Odyssey 2011

Christ Church | Malacca

Sunset | Port Dickson

♥s | Port Dickson

Karaoke session! | Loud Speaker

Christmas bear | Tropicana City Mall

This picture post excludes HK pics (which will be up pending mood and laziness lol) and will end abruptly here - because the iPad has completed syncing and I wanna read that book we just bought at The Burning Bush at church so till next time! :)

And if I don't post before the day itself - MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! Remember, 'tis the season for loving, giving and forgiving. Lots of love.

That's not very much...

2011-11-13T01:27:00.000+08:00

I have an open-book prac exam worth 40% of my grade on Tuesday. LAST PAPER WOOT WOOT!

Yet/Thus (HAHA, you choose!), I'm sitting here at 1 in the morning 9gag-ing wtf.

But don't be so quick to judge me - I SHARE! :):)

As you can see, I'm only a fan (haha, pun initially not intended) of the ones which are somewhat smart, a lot sarcastic and superduper cute! But it keeps going all "500 - Internal Server Error" on me so imma take it as a sign that I should just go to bed and maybe not come back till another 9gag trolling mood strikes me. But I'm just going to leave you with one more I got from my sister's tumblr (wanna bet it's on 9gag too?):

Sums me up perfectly.

Frustrated.

2011-11-07T22:59:00.003+08:00

Hip hurts. Heart's troubled. Mood, not good.

The first, result of rain and steps.
The second, dark heavy things.
And third, all of the above.

meh.

Guilty pleasure #1

2011-11-03T02:47:00.000+08:00

Sleeping in has been my guilty pleasure all throughout SWOTVac (actually, I sleep in any chance I get so yeah...) so it's a known fact that if I don't have anywhere important to be in the morning, I would most probably not be up before noon.

During dinner, Dad said that he'd be home tomorrow morning till about 8 'cause he was expected at the site so he didn't have to leave so early - so I asked whether he would like to have breakfast with me.

He said, "You'll have to wake up before 7 if you want breakfast."

I said, "OK, no problem."

Then the whole table started laughing - not the hehe small-chuckle-quietly-amused kind, but the point-in-your-face-funniest-thing-you've-heard-all-week-guffaw-HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA-snorting-bellyache kind of laughing - led especially by Mum. This went on for quite some time - and I was feeling quite indignant!

So my plan to prove a point and show everyone that I CAN wake up before 7 is...

...to not sleep.

Hah. Can't not wake up if you don't sleep - ingenious, no? To clarify, no I am not so mou liu and free to do this for fun but I'm still up at 2.30 ~~studying~~ cramming (more appropriate actually) for Friday's paper so might as well prove a point.

I think this exam (and probably all the coffee and sugar I'm ingesting) is getting to me. But what's life without a little wager and wackiness?

But enough fun and games for tonight - back to Prankerd's impossible notes. Bai.

Oh the horror!

2011-10-31T16:27:00.002+08:00

Today's the last day of OCTOBER!

Which can only mean ONE thing! *cue Jaws music*

Tomorrow... is my first paper!

This is where I would insert an appropriately horrified picture if I had one. But I don't. So you'll have to make believe I did. Heh.

Wish me luck!

I will not be easily distracted.

2011-10-24T18:06:00.000+08:00

I WILL NOT BE EASILY DISTRACTED.

I WILL NOT BE... oooh, loook - curly rubber dust!

Sigh. Story of my life.

Where did I put that ring binder again?

2011-10-21T16:09:00.001+08:00

Again I am here.

This time at a more regular kind of hour but still, am not supposed to be here wtf. Finals are in a week (eep!) and I am currently distracted by the lack of organisation of a certain unit's lectures on Blackboard. And hampered by the fact that I cannot find a second ring binder to hold the enormous pile of notes this semester has brought with it.

But nonetheless, I should be getting on with it. Just here to tell anybody that's still reading that I WILL BE BACK! (Most probably very soon since I am likely to get distracted and start procrastinating.) And to wait for me to get back with more updates. :)

Wish me all the best people! :D

I never learn, do I?

2011-10-09T05:21:00.002+08:00

Hello. IZ ME AGAIN!

I am, yet again, awake at times where normal people should not be.

And I really should be getting some shut-eye because the last time I pulled an all-nighter, I nudged the car in front of me on a very very slow-moving LDP. Thank goodness that there was no damage done and the driver let me off the hook. I know it could've been much worse but I thank God that it was not.

I stayed up all night working on the presentation we're going to do on Tuesday. And may I just say, I think it's going to be worth all the nights of sleep I'm sacrificing to get this done!

But there's still so much left to be done! And I still have the second part of my First Aid training the whole of tomorrow! I'm super pushing it! (I might not get it all done in time! *gasp*)

But I need my sleep, so I'm going to bed now. Update again soon! Night (or should I say morning?)

Burning the midnight oil

2011-10-02T07:58:00.001+08:00

I am now in that stage where I don't know whether to go to sleep or to just power through the rest of the day.

At 7:48am, I have just sat through the entire night (or is it morning?) writing up my medication review assignment. Turns out all I need was a couple of hours and a quiet place to work! And a little bit of determination, insomnia and the deadline nipping at my heels lah, but I got it done!

And I'm rather happy with it.

Maybe it's the "sleepyhead-that-stayed-up-all-night' in me talking but I'd seriously hand it in right now if I could! But we're have to hand in a hard copy on Monday so I still have time to do a bit of touch-up tomorrow and then only print it out and hand it in! :)

YAY for midnight efficiencies!

I have decided to not go back to sleep (LOL didn't even sleep nothing to go back to!) so hopefully I don't fall into my breakfast later. Wish me luck!

Oh, and Happy October everyone!

Mediocrity

2011-09-29T19:02:00.001+08:00

I AM FEELING RESTLESS!

Staring at this white column, trying to postpone the inevitable, is not helping. I have assignments to do, a report to draft, a mock test to prepare for and a tutorial to write up - but I'm here, willing words to appear, willing for something to distract me from all the things I need to do but absolutely do not want to do.

This semester has been now, 9 weeks of pure procrastination - putting off things and doing them only when I absolutely have to. Lectures have not been attended, nor Lectopia-ed or revised, assignments have been pushed aside in favour of more - how shall I say this? - interesting but frivolous past times.

Why do I do this?

Let me let you in on a little not-so-secret: I have the weakest of willpowers. Which is why I'm in this predicament time and time again.

I'm like that poem with the hole and the person that keeps falling into it. The only difference, I'm forever stuck at that stage where the person knows the hole is there but can't help falling into it anyways. I am knowingly walking into a hole in the ground because I don't have the willpower to change course. I even know where I'm going wrong.

But I don't have the willpower to dredge up willpower to stand against myself. Which is why I am the mediocre person I am today.

Nah, here's a picture of a candle to distract you from my utter mediocrity.

Awkward abrupt end. Bye.

Disappointed,

2011-09-21T00:02:00.000+08:00

at the way I'm feeling tonight.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I offended your feelings. I'm sorry I interrupted your TV programme. I'm sorry I made him angry. I'm sorry I cannot help without making you feel bad. I'm sorry I don't know how to teach. I'm sorry I have no patience. I'm sorry I'm in your way. I'm sorry I talk too loud. I'm sorry I speak too fast. I'm sorry I'm here.

Tonight, especially, I'm feeling stifled. Stifled in so many different ways I don't know where or how to start describing how I feel. By home, by family, by uni, by the expectations of others, by responsibilities, by where I am at the moment - emotionally, physically, mentally.

I don't know how to describe this eloquently. I don't know how to tell anyone. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know!

Life's simple pleasures

2011-09-08T18:54:00.000+08:00

A girlie tea with good girlfriends over coffee and pastries - catching up after several months of not seeing each other, telling each other stories of what we've been up to, about what's new and what's not.

Turning 21 - and having three separate birthday celebrations. One, a surprise, which was a coordinated effort between friends and family that involved baking and chilli pan mee. The second a birthday lunch, with birthday presents and Chatime. The third with family - which is always a pleasure in itself. :)

A new friend made - all cuddles and licks and wagging tail. A trip back home to see my grandparents, which always ends up in good fun and good food.

A series of pictures taken with my very favourite sister. ♥

A tummy-ache, tears-rolling-down-face inducing games session with a few friends. With the promise of another session really really soon.

These are the little things that make life worth living. ♥

Update!

2011-08-04T18:17:00.000+08:00

I haven't been updating, I know! But trust me, I don't have anything too interesting to show you anyway. So you're not really missing out.

But yes, since I'm here, I might as well tell you what I'm up to.

As of this very moment, I am lying on the couch in the living room, happily typing away at the laptop that is (guess where?) on my lap. And all is right with the world. It's raining outside and it's perfect napping weather, and even though I probably have a ton of reading and meh to do, right now, I don't feeeeel like it.

Maybe tomorrow.

As of this week, this will be the first night I'll be home for dinner. It's Thursday. Technically, I was home on Tuesday but then I fell asleep and missed dinner. And then had to sit in a corner by myself and eat my "One Bowl Rice".

And in uni, sigh, where do I begin? In Melbourne, I only had to work at keeping up with the lecturers. Here, I have to work at keeping awake! Comparing the two places, there is an astounding lack of clarity during lectures here. And I have to work doubly hard just to comprehend what they're saying. It's frustrating because for me, lectures are my base - and an unstable base makes subsequent learning just that much harder. How is one to build on knowledge one doesn't have?

OK enough of my lack of motivation lol. Here's a cute gif of a floppy-eared puppy to make my blog cute:

Abrupt end. Talk soon. BAIIIII.

Things We Forget #732

2011-07-26T18:34:00.000+08:00

If you break your neck,

If you've got nothing to eat,

If your house is on fire,

Then you've got a problem.

Everything else is inconvenience.

~ Robert Fulghum

Cows vs. Aliens

2011-07-20T23:23:00.001+08:00

Been back for 2 weeks and only one post. I have lost my blogging mojo wth.

BTW, don't you hate those people who write up a post about how they're not writing up enough posts? Eheh.

But anyways I haven't been doing much so nothing to write about. The past 2 weeks have been filled with countless late nights, meals with friends, and Cows vs. Aliens. I. LOVE. THAT. GAME. The concept is simple: get the cows into the barn while keeping the aliens out. Which is why you're so indignant when you lose. And you just keep trying. Eh wait, that's just me. But yes, that is why I am busy these days.

I. DECLARE. AN. ALIEN. WAR!

Home

2011-07-06T23:54:00.003+08:00

Leaving Melbourne was hard.

Coming home,

was easy.

Bella Notte

2011-06-28T23:09:00.001+08:00

Oh, this is the night, and the heavens are right

On this lovely bella notte

I had an amazing day today - filled with food, friends and fog. All make me a very very happy girl. First it was brunch at The Hardware Societe, where I had the pork belly and a cappuccino; adjourning to Manchester Press for more coffee and conversation. And then it was dinner at Grill'd, with a juicy Summer Sunset burger, followed up with a cozy tète-à-tète over a rich, thick cup of hot chocolate at San Churro.

On the way to dinner, as I stepped out of the apartment, there was already a patchy fog turning up, slightly blurring the street lights to inconspicuous sort-of spheres. And with my penchant for frivolity, I was very pleased at the fact that my breath started to fog in the cold air. Walking down to QV was never so enjoyable as I puffed out cloud after cloud of condensation. By the time we were done with dessert and were heading home, there was a thick blanket of fog surrounding the city - making it look mysterious and slightly magical.

By that time, you could barely see in front of you, and street lights started to blur into fuzzy patches of light and you could barely see your breath fog as it mixed with the blanket of fog hanging around walkways and pavements. And if you were out there tonight, you would see two girls, stumbling along Swanston St. as they giggled, exclaimed and revelled in the fact that they were in a city that could fog.

As they parted ways, one of them stopped, frequently so, to drink everything in. It would be some time before she returns to this city, so heartstoppingly beautiful, so achingly exquisite on this cold misty night. With droplets on branches glistening like diamonds under the street lights and the little puffs of breath just visible against the dark night sky, everything just seemed right.

And as Bella Notte plays in the background, it only adds to the wistfulness I'm feeling tonight - as I realised I can count on one hand the number of nights I have left here in this amazing city. And together with that, the memories left for me to have.

So carpe diem, yes?

Duly impressed

2011-06-28T15:40:00.000+08:00

I don't know whether I've enunciated this point before, but at this point I am so impressed I don't care.

The bank I'm with closes at 4pm. I arrived at 4.15pm wanting to talk to somebody about closing accounts and transferring money overseas and whatnot and obviously couldn't. So I came home, composed an email detailing what I need to know, sending it off to the bank officer that originally dealt with us when we first arrived.

I expected a reply to come tomorrow. Fair enough, opening hours are over and they should be busy packing up to end the day. But I received a call at 4.56pm from her - and she told me everything I needed to know and more.

Now that's what you call Customer Service!

I am duly impressed. (And I can tell you it's not standard across Australia - having, before going to the bank, just dealt with a person that doesn't know the meaning of customer service, which just left me super frustrated. And I'm not saying customer service in Malaysia is bad, I just haven't seen any that can be even on par with the service I'm receiving from this particular bank officer. Too awesome.)

And it's not the first time she's been so efficient and kind. We've solicited her advice multiple times since we got here and every single time, she's been this awesome. :)

Actually my ISP's customer service isn't bad either. So in these two aspects, I've been quite lucky. But others, well, sigh. But oh well, you can't have everything can you? :P

I'm actually supposed to be blogging about Gold Coast (don't you hate those people who say they're supposed to be blogging 'bout something but produce something totally unrelated? hehe. :P) but THIS has struck me more. So you'll have to wait.

Kthxbai. Off to I dunno, noms on TimTams and play Tetris.

Saying things we haven't for a while

2011-06-26T22:47:00.001+08:00

This time next week, I'll be at the Tullamarine Airport - with a 30kg bag stuffed with 5 months worth of living and a heart that will be heavy, but at the same time, glad, glad to be finally going home.

This city is an awesome place to be in - with its cold crisp weather that I wish I could bottle up and bring back home, and its sights, sounds and smells - but nothing compares to being home - with its abundance of cheap yummy food, 24/7 restaurants and most importantly, family.

I'd miss putting on the trench, a scarf and not being able to feel my nose. I'd miss the warm heat of the sun on a cold winter's day. I'd miss the clickety-clack of trams as they run outside the apartment. I'd miss the convenience of everything I'd ever need to be within 15 minutes of walking. I'd miss good coffee. I'd miss the freedom of being in charge of my own time and just focusing on myself. I'd miss sitting (lying is probably more accurate) in my jammies in bed all day, with the laptop on my erm, lap, getting up only to pee and to swig milk from the carton (gasp!) and eat a TimTam for lunch.

But I'd love to be able to pull on an outfit without wondering whether I'm going to freeze from wearing too little or whether I'm going to melt from wearing too much. I'd love to not need to worry about clean laundry. I'd love being able to go for a roti Hawaii (oh how I've missed thee) at 2 in the morning. I'd love to be able to wake up in my own bed in my own room with my shelves and mess. I'd love to be able to drink a piping hot bowl of home-cooked soup. And I'd love to be able to hug my parents when I want to. And I'd love to be in the midst of one of my crazy family gatherings - where laughter is abundant and a good-natured ribbing is compulsory.

And I'm torn. I know I want to be home, but I know I'll also miss Melbourne. The adventures I've had, in and around Melbourne; the people I've met; the food I've eaten; the places I've seen.

But home is definitely where the heart is. ♥

Password Protected: Do you know what I want?

2011-06-18T00:39:00.001+08:00

Click here to find out!

You know the drill - lemme know if you want the password! :)

But tell you what, if you don't want the password, lemme tell you what I also want:

I also want a pair of black stiletto pumps. I'm not sure what I need them for but I'm pretty sure that if I do have a pair of those, I'll know what to do with them. :D

And also, I want to always remember to dress up PROPERLY when I'm going out - no more safe t-shirt and jeans all the time because you never know where you're going to go, who you're going to meet, what you're going to do. A blue and yellow giraffe t-shirt and jeans is alright for a friendly catch up session. But when that catch up session turns to dinner and subsequently Friday night drinks, you WILL feel under-dressed. It also seems a bit cliched when you end up going to a cafe called Giraffe because you couldn't get a table at bars because it's Friday night.

But really, I just want to get out more! I only have about 2 weeks left here and if I'm not going to make the most out of it now, when am I going to?

p/s: Second movie (out of 6!) tonight. I know it's late but I don't even have to get up tomorrow if I don't want to! (But I have to arrange airport transfer and also go for dinner with some friends so I'm gonna have to wake up eventually. But staying up till the sun's about to come up and staying in until the sun's about to go down, can only be done during winter! And also without mum hanging around. LOL.)

So yea. The end.

Freedom,

2011-06-15T23:22:00.000+08:00

sounds like the erratic beat of your heart, as the clock ticks closer and closer;
sounds like 200 chairs being scraped simultaneously across the exam hall floor.

feels like warm rays of sunshine across your face as you step outside;
feels like the guiltless indulgence of shopping, napping, TV and Internet.

tastes like dimsum, egg tarts and Chinese tea;
tastes like piping hot fried chicken and soggy chips.

looks like me, spending 2 hours shopping and an hour in the library just because I can;
looks like me, holding a shopping bag, 6 books, 6 DVDs and fried chicken.

Freedom | Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne

Freedom,
smells like victory.

A - Z of browser histories

2011-06-14T02:12:00.002+08:00

There's a lot you can tell about people through their browser history.

And I'm not talking about the stalker-ish digging through of their page-by-page history archive. There's no need for that kind of extreme, erm, extreme-ness. I'm talking about typing in one letter in the address bar and see which link comes up first - then you'll know which site they frequent the most (and THEN you can judge them. Haha. Kidding. Never judge a person by their most-frequented-URL-links I always say.)

I think that I'm sometimes practically an open book. Because at 3:46am, I'm here (after watching Neil Patrick Harris' 2011 Tony opening and closing and that spar with Hugh Jackman - oh, that man is BRILLIANT! You can tell by the barrage of Plurks on my dohPlurk that I was super excited - watch videos!), opting to do this instead of spending time on a most precious commodity (at least this time in a student's life): SLEEP. THAT says too much about me.

So here's an honest list of what you get when you enter alphabet-by-alphabet into my Chrome:

A: andwewillbe.tumblr.com (this used to be my sister's tumblr)
B: bom.gov.au (because I check the weather. Compusively.)
C: cucirca.com (need I say more?)
D: dictionary.com
E: emirates.com (because my return flight's from Emirates and I OCD. *shy*)
F: fourfeetnine.com (surprised it's not Facebook? :P)
G: *nopointsforthisone* google.com
H: hotmail.com
I: (there's nothing for 'i'!)
J: jetstar.com.au
K: kayotic.net
L: lycamobile.com.au
M: masterchef.com.au/episodes
N: netbank.com.au (loveloveLOVE Internet banking!)
O: orisinal.com (GAMES!)
P: photobucket.com
Q: quaintly.net
R: reader.google.com
S: starbus.net.au
T: tigerairways.com
U: usage.allegro.com.au (to keep tabs on my Internet usage!)
V: (nothing for 'v' too!)
W: www.masterchef.com.au/episodes (*sheepish* I do love my Masterchef!)
X: xiaxue.blogspot.com
Y: youwatchglee.com (I do! I do watch Glee.)
Z: (also nothing for 'z'!)

And as you can probably tell, I LOVE my airlines, my blogs, my shows and my Masterchef! Airline websites are a private addiction for me, I like to visit them to see where I could fly to if I would fly and to compulsively check up on my existing flight details hehe. And blogs and Masterchef - well, no secret there! :)

So there you have it, my browser history at a glance. Why you'd be interested I don't know. But I, being the busybody that I am, would love to know what other people's most frequented sites are! So if you have time (most likely not because it's exam period, which bodes the question what I'm still doing up!), do share! Or not.

Alrighty then, I'm gonna head to bed now - got a whole bunch of Integrated Therapeutics notes I gotta mug for my LAST paper (woohoo lastpaperlastpaperlastpaper cannot wait cannot wait cannot wait!) and then FREEDOM!

Wish me lastpaper luck! :)

To the most beautiful woman in my life,

2011-06-12T22:43:00.000+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Just wanted to tell the whole world how awesome you are, how cute you can be, how much I wish I could be there with you right now and how much I love you. :) Happy Birthday mummy dearest!

With all my love,
Lu ♥

How to save 4 days of your life

2011-06-09T15:41:00.003+08:00

You know how peeling eggs always take too long - I love eggs and I when I wanna eat it I wanna eat it. NOW! - because the shell never comes off in one piece and you're burning up your fingers because you just took it out of the boiling water?

Well, now fret no more! I'm going to show you a video that's going to revolutionise the way you peel eggs:

I watched this video on how to quick-peel an egg quite a while back (Maige probably remembers this!) but just never bothered to try it. I was making egg sandwiches (mmm, I ruff my egg sandwiches! Needs cucumber though. :P) and boiling eggs and thought I'm going to be adventurous (wow, if trying a tip from a Youtube video on how to peel eggs is adventurous, I'm so exciting.) and try something new.

Whaddaya know, it actually works!

An extra handy tip though: once you drain the hot water after boiling the eggs, run cold water over the cooked eggs - just makes it that much easier to slide out of the shell.

Note: This trick does not work with soft-boiled or raw eggs. If you get egg on your face, I will laugh at you. :D If you quick-peel too many eggs, you might get light-headed. Just like if you blow too many balloons in one sitting.

SO boil an egg, cool it, sit down and quick-peek an egg, today!

Here goes nothin'

2011-06-06T22:14:00.000+08:00

Another 9+ hours to the first paper of 2011! Cannot bear for it to start, cannot wait for it to be over - a paradox I am very much.

Am having the worst timing of a backache but trying to power through it and finish up some last minute past year paper answering before I head off to bed. It's a good sign, this! (This being me, actually attempting to go to bed to get more than 2 hours of sleep before my papers. Because honestly, I am the epitome of the last-minute crammer. You'll find me studying my brain off at 4am, finally relenting to go to bed at 5am because c'mon, you need some sleep and finally getting up at 7 to get ready to go to uni!)

I'm not gonna say more less I jinx anything but I'm feeling hopeful about this first unit! :D

So keep those fingers crossed, those pencils sharpened, those minds ready and those prayers aplenty! ALL THE BEST! :)

Jar of Hearts

2011-06-03T22:30:00.002+08:00

I just spent the last 15 minutes justifying my flight details to no one in particular when I realised that no one really cared. Except for me, and my parents, who are paying for the flight but seriously, I don't think that even they care - they just want me home.

Which is why I deleted the paragraphs and wrote this instead!

I have also just spent 2 hours I don't really have using up quota that I also don't really have on the Internet, going through my sister's tumblr, picking up little gems like these:

*le pop pop* CRACKED ME UP!

And my favourite tonight (and I suspect to be for a very very long time):

TOO CUTE!

I wasn't sure what I was watching on TV the other day (I watch too much TV, seriously) which made me promise myself that when I got back, I would so try (again!) to get Mum to agree to a puppy. This only reinforces it like a thousand and one times. Oh wait, now I remember, hahaha, it was a super cute schnauzer lookalike that had one floppy ear and one stickyup ear, and the cutest white beard - REAALLY TOO CUTE. My heart melted a little when the camera got all up in her face and she sniffed it. ._.

I have got to get back to studying now. I attempted an early night last night for an early morning today. Major fail. I keep getting up at 10am no matter what my alarm tells me I have to get up. So tonight, I'm attempting the "stay up and study as long as I can still absorb information" technique and see whether I still wake up at 10 LOL. (I have my doubts, but still, worth a try!)

So yeaa, to those studying for exams - GOOD LUCK! Remember you're not alone LOL. And to those not studying, bring me fried chicken. (Backstory: Just had the most unsatisfying fried chicken for dinner. Aussie KFC = superMEH. But it was within walking distance, and I was desperate.)

OK, bai.

p/s: It's now JUNE btw! Just in case you didn't know. :D

Note to self:

2011-05-31T15:01:00.000+08:00

Coffee and 2Ls of water WILL make you have more frequent toilet trips.

One would think it would be clear, but being a drinker-thinker and needing the caffeine boost (3-in-1 Old Town White Coffee ftw! Burned my tongue though sigh.), I didn't think it through. Coupled with the cold weather, I've made too many toilet trips today.

However, today has been quite productive. So far, I've stuck to my study schedule and have been pretty much on time (except for that last lecture on Epigenetics where I had to listen to the lecture again to understand what was in the notes. sighnotesfailsigh.).

Probably because last night, I decided the laptop was a giant distraction and subsequently unplugged everything and kept it safely hidden. And when I woke up this morning, there was no "I'll check my email/Facebook/Google Reader first, and then I'll study", it was "Ugh, I'm too lazy to unpack everything, I might as well study". And the laptop was out of sight, out of mind.

Until my Epigenetics notes failed me (again!) and I had to Echo the lecture. :(

And then I have a break scheduled for now, which will end in a minute (literally, ONE minute), which is why this is going to have an extremely abrupt ending. The end. Bye.

Stress? What stress?

2011-05-29T12:56:00.000+08:00

I think the past couple of semesters, with its 13 teaching weeks and one week SWOTVac have given me the leeway to procrastinate for quite a number of days before I start stressing over my finals. That's 'cause we always have Week 13 as an extra week of SWOTVac.

This semester, we've only got 12 teaching weeks, which we've used up all, and it's now un-officially already in SWOTVac (officially it begins tomorrow). That means I only have one week left before my finals start. !

Haha.

And surprisingly, this time, I feel no stress. Well, feel no stress YET. Which is why I'm still bumming around in my jammies (don't judge me) playing Tetris and eating TimTams (don't judge me x2).

Ah well, I might as well enjoy myself while waiting for that tidal wave of stress to hit, no?

Haiya, once I put it in perspective, I can feel the little brushes of stress at my consciousness. One more week! D:

OK LA OK LA, I am now going to shower! (pssstt, click the link to see how that's relevant! :P)

p/s: my flight is now booked! All that previous angst, gone, along with the $455.16 that until today hasn't been cleared. I am starting to get a bit worried about that. D:

Angry at myself

2011-05-25T23:20:00.000+08:00

I always do this.

Decide and then wait.

For what, for the sky to break open and magic hands to do my work for me.

Remember when I said I've decided when to fly back, and that I was so happy my fares were cheap, I checked again today and the price went up 5 times. Because they ran out of economy seats and offered me business class. No thank you I cannot afford business class wtf.

So now, instead of perfect timing, where I can 'seh dak' go home and when they can happily pick me up, I now either have to go home at a really odd timing where nobody can pick me up, or go home the next weekend, where I'll stay here in the frigid cold and wish I were back home.

WHY la DO I ALWAYS DO THIS TO MYSELF. Why do I always second guess myself and end up not doing anything about what I'm supposed to do? Why am I so 'po ma'! See la, now no more tickets now you go crawling to people for a listening ear because your parents are not sympathetic to your fate and you want reassurance, from anybody. #foreveralone.

WHY LA LIKE THIS! I only need one seat. One. Satu. Yi. 1! Why so fast no more!? (But in the world of online purchases, what's not fast? Sigh.)

I put myself in such an awkward position now wtf. stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!

ANGRY! Grr.

Torn

2011-05-23T15:46:00.000+08:00

between staying here and going home.

The agent has just emailed, saying somebody wants to take over our unit early July and if we can move out by then, we only have to pay rent until the day before the new tenants move in. Which means we can save quite a bit of money if we move out by then.

I was looking at flight tickets this morning (I had time because I thought my tute was 8.30. I then realised it was at 10 so I had extra time.) and was deciding when to fly back because when calling home these couple of days, Mum has been asking when will I be going home and why I haven't bought my air tickets yet.

I don't know!

I keep putting off buying my ticket home because I keep thinking I'm already here, I might as well make the best out of it and stay here longer. I don't know what I'm going to do if I do stay that long. After the exams, we'll be going to Gold Coast. And we'll be back on the 22nd. I was thinking I fly back on a weekend (preferably a Sunday) so somebody can be there to pick me up LOL weekday nobody wanna choi me #foreveralone.

I don't wanna fly home that weekend itself because really, want so fast meh? But I am also tempted to fly back because I want to go for CF camp! D: Flying back for camp means the day after I touchdown I'm off to Cameron's for a 5D4N camp. And as much as I would like to go, I don't think that's very feasible. Going back the next next week will leave me with 2 and a half idle weeks here - what am I doing to do?

Actually, you know what, writing this blog post, and really thinking about whether I should stay, or not, has help me partially make up my mind. I still need to work out a few details and whatnot but regardless, I'm GOING HOME SOOOOONNNN!

Cannot wait cannot wait cannot wait! :)

Speaking of productiveness,

2011-05-21T12:06:00.003+08:00

Today, has been satisfactorily productive. And it's not even 2pm!

In the first 2 hours of waking up, I've showered, laundered my clothes, cooked lunch while waiting for the washing machine to do its tumbly thing (lunch turned out super yummy btw hehe selfpraise!), washed the dishes, hand-washed the rest of the laundry, collected and hung up the clothes to dry, unclogged the bathroom drain (it's the stupidest drainage system in the world that takes too long to unclog ugh), scrubbed down the shower area and vacuumed the apartment all while listening to some funkeh jaaazzz playing from the TV.

Lunch! ♥

And before the day is over, I will attempt to finish and submit my management assignment. And start studying for Tuesday's test. And Thursday's test. And the finals in 2 weeks! (I have no idea why they put so many assignments and tests so near the finals - but oh well, more revision!)

And speaking of being productive, I try to minimise the number of dishes I have to wash everytime I cook (saves water too!). So take a look at what I did the other day:

Pasta! Cooked, served and eaten from the pot! So I only had to wash the pot, the utensils and the tupperware that contained the sauce (leftover from 2 days back). One less plate and pan to wash (plate to eat the pasta from and pan, to heat up the sauce).

I'd call it ingenious.

My mum, would call me lazy.

Dear Lord,

2011-05-17T15:06:00.001+08:00

Being here in Melbourne, is all and not at all what I thought it would be.

I've been staring at this white space for the past 15 minutes thinking how in the world am I going to put what I'm thinking into words.

Let me at least start with this:

My faith, has taken a beating since I've gotten here. It's not that things have happened to make me lose faith in all that is good and all that is God. It's just that I can feel it slipping away, through the cracks of my fingers because I don't have the willpower to hold on to it alone.

I've made ME the center of my life. I've put ME first, so far ahead from You that I feel like a fraud.

A big fat fraud, who's disguised as a Christian.

I don't know when it started. But work, games, TV, sleep started taking precedence over quiet time, and praying, and worship. I skipped church because I told myself assignments needed doing. I skipped church because I just didn't feel like it that day. I skipped church because it was raining and I really didn't want to leave the house and get wet. The reasons just got stupider and stupider. But I forgot about the one reason I shouldn't skip church -

YOU.

I'm not saying you cannot miss a single session. But I'm saying once you do, it's just so much easier to skip the next one, and the next one and the next one. And the momentum builds and it's just easier not to go. Same goes with quiet time. You miss one day and it just gets easier and easier to just not bother.

The fraud is going for the Hillsongs night rally later this evening. And I don't know what I'm going to tell You. I'm so afraid, of losing everything I've build up over the past couple of years - the increasing faith, the slightly shaky but forward-moving walk. I don't know how to explain myself. I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do and this only makes me feel like a bigger fraud than ever.

To use analogy I heard over the weekend - you've got to put the big rocks in first. And I realised that I've been putting in all the little pebbles and the sand and the water, so much so that there's no space LEFT to fit THE most important big rock of all.

I don't know where I'm going with this. But that, has been weighing on my mind for a long time coming now. And it's about time I put it out there. For who, I don't know. For what, I don't know either. But I'm hoping by putting it out there, it's a reminder to myself that I cannot be stagnant, that I cannot be stationary, that I cannot BE. LIKE. THIS.

I just can't.

So Lord, please, provide me with the willpower to be strong and push everything else out, so there's more than enough space for You. Enough space for You to work and for You to move in my life, to put first things first and to stand up and try to walk right with You again.

Lord I thank You and praise You, in Your mighty name,
Amen.

Sydney!

2011-05-16T16:47:00.001+08:00

Eh, just realised the last time I posted, was Friday the 13th. *cuedramaticmusic*

But cheh, nothing bad happened also! Heh, unless, erm, if you were the rabbit. LOL.

Anyways, am taking a break from 4 hours of non-stop assignments (Rational Product - check!) before I start chewing on my management assignment! It seems like I've been here forever, but it's just because when I sat down, the sun was up the sky was blue and now that I'm done, the sun set 45minutes ago leaving the sky looking like Malaysian-style 8pm. So yeaaaa.

"No, I ain't gonna comb my hair, cause I ain't going anywhere. No no no no no no no no no nooooo."

Guess what I'm listening to, hehe! :P

Anyways, decided the blog never could use too many pictures so here I am:

Lunch | Lettuce wrap with bacon and mushroom omelette

This was 2 days before Sydney, where I had to finish up all the perishable food items in the fridge before going away for almost a week. I had one head of lettuce, 2 slices of bacon, one can of button mushrooms (OK, so the mushrooms (they call them 'champignons' here if it wasn't for the picture I still wouldn't have them. And they are SUPER TINY here. Ironic, how the TINY is in caps, no? But yea, they're like half the size they are back in Malaysia!) aren't as perishable but still!) and two eggs. Then I wrapped everything in lettuce and ate the entire lot.

Blue Lake | Jenolan Caves, Sydney

The colour of the lake was AMAZING! It looks even more blue than it does in pictures and the water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom of the lake, where there were swaying algae and broken branches. But the blue wasn't even throughout the entire lake - this part, where we stopped, was the bluest!

Had my sister email over some pictures of me as a kid on holiday in Australia. I don't remember much about Sydney though - I think it's cause we also went to Gold Coast and the awesomeness of the theme park was too much for a 6-year old to forget. :D I remember that jacket though! And the overalls. And that pose. LOL, my sister caught me doing that crossed-leg-thing ALL THE TIME. The old albums have a ton of photos of me posing that way. Why I brought this embarrassing thing about me up, I don't know, but there, now you know.

Lobster | Sydney Fish Market

Isn't it amazing how the colour of the lobster pops against the yellow of the lemon and the white of the polystyrene? But that WAS the actual colour. The lobster was sweet and juicy, and drizzled with a bit of lemon juice, it was major yums. Why doesn't Melbourne have a fish market? :(

Oysters | Sydney Fish Market

I am not the biggest fan of oysters. I tried one a long time ago and gagged and forced it down. Even with copious amounts of tabasco sauce and lemon juice, the grossness of the oyster was too much to bear. It was so bad that I never ate oysters again. Even at an expensive dinner buffet a couple of months back, we had the sashimi bar, where there were these all-you-can-eat fresh oysters, I didn't even take one. Going to the Fish Market then, and seeing them bring back a dozen of these little oysters was a bit erm, intimidating. But, I thought what the heck, I'm here already, I might as well swallow one of these and see what happens. But these oysters were - dare I say it? Yes, I dare! - good! I now am not so shellfishist and will endeavour to try an oyster the next time I encounter one.

Sydney Harbour Panorama

I wasn't going to give up the chance of capturing the 2 most iconic Sydney landmarks in one picture (actually, it's a panorama, so technically, it's more than one picture, but who's counting? I figure as long as it's one .jpg, it's one picture! /girlmath). It took a lot of tries to get one right because it's a working harbour and there were boats and ferries going back and forth and they're not the fastest things to get out of frame. I took a few lots and tried stitching them and only one (this one!) came back satisfactory. The other ones got booted out because I got a speedboat in one frame and also because the sun suddenly came out at the last frame, making it look weird. I also had a couple of blur shots in between so yea - not so easy! But I really like the end result!

The Rocks panorama | Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House

Presented with a different view of the Bridge and the Opera House, I had to try again! This was even harder as I was standing on a pedestal of some sort and there were even more boats and ferries going through. The sun moved constantly in and out of frames and boy was it difficult to stitch! There's an obvious error in this one though - see if you can find it! :D The previous panorama didn't need any touch ups but I tried less times with this one and had to clone in a couple of clouds and stuff so it didn't seem too weird. (But still, not the obvious error! Look harder!)

And I'll end this post the same way I did the Sydney album - with this picture. I requested for the pictures over the phone and while she was looking through the album, she insisted this was the noobest picture of me ever. And decided to send it over even though I obviously didn't need it. But yes, this is me. As an uber cute kid with an uber ugly jacket doing that thing with the legs. I blame Mum. (And if you're my mum, I'm only kidding. Hi mum!)

And the end. Long picture post to last till at least the completion of my management assignment - check!

I'm now going up for dinner and then to wait for 7.30 so I can watch Masterchef now. Missed yesterday's episode and am unwilling to use my data to watch it online so I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out what happened yesterday. Confusing anot? (HAHA betrayed Mayjee heheh wtf /insidejoke)

So yes, kthxbai!

I ate a half a rabbit

2011-05-12T22:52:00.000+08:00

It's another one of those nights.

Where you think everything's going well and you can FINALLY go to bed by midnight for once, and then you start going through the assignment you've already completed looking for things to add and inserting citations.

And the next thing you know, it's almost 1am. And you're going to have to wake up at 7 for an 8.30am tute (with a test at the end!) tomorrow morning.

On another note, I ate half a bunny today.

HAHAAHA.

THIS kind of bunny la! You think I'd eat a cute fwuffy wabbit meh? (I did though. Once. In a ravioli. :S) I ran out of chips too long ago and was watching Kevin Cheng in that fireman show (I'm obsessed with keeping him single (and ahemmineahem) wtf) and am rapidly running out of chocolate and thought of the chocolate Easter bunny I bought waaay before Easter and thought I'd nom it. I have the blue one. I mean, I had the blue one. Now I only have the empty shell of its butt, with bits of ear and face in it. Hah.

Anyways, I'm going to need exam snacks really soon! Buy me chips and chocolate please and thankyou! :) Laters.

Nothing like...

2011-05-06T21:20:00.001+08:00

a Friday night to stay home, wrapped in 3 ridiculous looking layers and itching the night away.

I don't know why I'm proclaiming this onto the World Wide Web, but it's my blog and I'm itchy. Neck and ears and the occasional eyebrow.

It's majorly annoying. Especially when you don't know what's causing it. It's not anything I sleep in (cause really, if it would've happen, it would've like 3 months ago), it's not anything I ate (because I've not yet had an allergic reaction to anything I've eaten before this), and it's probably not anything I touched (because I make it a point to not touch anything funkeh-looking and I wash my hands).

Maybe it's one of those unexplainable one-off things that come and go as they please. Am waiting for it to get worse before I seek medical treatment. Or rather, am waiting for it to GO AWAY before I dunno, whenever's good. And in the meantime, I can just be grateful it's a minor notveryvisible rash and not full-blown hives.

So enough of grossing you out, I'm gonna save my quota for assignments because I've Masterchef-ed enough data away to need to be careful what I use it on. And I haven't even finished one episode! Because the videos keep blanking out and stopping and I don't know why (it's a sign, my conscience tells me. shutup, I tell my conscience)!

Am not yet editing Sydney pictures because I've been, erhm, doing other stuff. And I ran out of chips and am on the verge of running out of chocolate. How those statements are related is absolutely up to you. I give my readers so much room to navigate and interpret. Aren't I magnanimous? Say Yes. Thanks.

p/s: Ooohh, you can now add your location to your posts. Not that I ever LEAVE the apartment but yea. If I did, that'd be nice.

p/p/s: OK, awkward end. kthxbai.

Sneak Peek: Sydney

2011-05-01T23:17:00.001+08:00

Sydney was beautiful. From the top of the Blue Mountains, to the vibrant bustling CBD. We had to endure bad weather, but to make up for it, we had a few double rainbow sightings - over 2 of the most significant Sydney landmarks: Bondi Beach and the Opera House.

I figured I always post pictures on Facebook first but never on my blog - so this time, I'm putting my readers first! So YAY! Pays to read the blog - you sometimes get pretty pictures. :) So these are a few I picked out at a glance that to me, summed up the whole trip rather neatly. Starting off with this beautiful autumn-y picture of a particular street at Blue Mountains:

Autumn | Blue Mountains

Day 2 and 3 of Sydney was spent in the mountains. We were driving along trying to find the Visitor Centre when we caught sight of this beautiful scene. The entire street was painted fiery colours of red, orange, brown and yellow and was such an epitome of autumn we couldn't resist stopping and taking pictures. It was drizzling, but since when does a little rain stop us from taking pretty pictures? :)

Pier | Darling Harbour

This was after our dinner after coming down from Blue Mountains at Hurricane's. Stuffed to the brim with the yummiest ribs in town, we walked along the bridge overlooking Darling Harbour to get to where our car (and desert, as it turned out!). There was a breeze and the water was calm and reflected the lights so gorgeously. Pretty, no?

Rainbow | Bondi Beach

Our fourth day in Sydney - spent traipsing around town, taking in the sights and sounds of Sydney's most well-known. We came here after spending the morning eating to our heart's content at the Sydney Fish Market. It was windier than expected and with the wind, came the chill. But the sand was soft and warm and the waves were blue and foamy white. And the rainbow - oh, the rainbow! - such a beautiful sight. There was a double rainbow too, but you can't see it in this picture. Heh. :P

Lu | Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney was warm enough for shorts, fortunately. And boy, were we glad to escape the chilly Melbourne weather (wet and cold - like now. yuck.) and parade around in shorts soaking up the sun. This was our 5th and last day in Sydney. We had already taken pictures of the bridge from across the shore and were heading back to the backpacker's to pack up and leave, but we had time and decided to cross over to the area of The Rocks. And I'm so glad we did - cause we had this view of the Harbour Bridge and *pointsdown* that view of the Sydney Opera House.

Rainbow | Sydney Opera House

Beautiful, no? There was a double rainbow here too, unfortunately not captured but yes, there was. Envious mou? :P The iconic Sails and a beautiful coloured arch over it - too beautiful. And not forgetting the play we watched there the night before - Much Ado About Nothing - was absolutely delightful (partly because of the absolutely adorably scruffy Toby Schmitz - too cute. *sighhh*).

And that's about it for tonight. Back to uni tomorrow - starting with a 3-hour tute and a never-ending stream of assignments till we stop for exams next month. It's May already btw! Sigh (and not in the same way as before mind you.) May I dream of my next adventure and cute scruffy boys tonight - I deserve that much.

'Till next time then. Ta!

Homesick

2011-04-30T00:33:00.000+08:00

Am back from Sydney! :)

If you didn't know, I spent almost my entire Easter break there and just got back yesterday night. Took pictures (duh) (but IMHO though, not nearly enough for a 5 day trip) and will spend the weekend probably editing them, or sleeping. So yea, wait your hearts out. :P

One other honest thing though, when we got on to that plane to leave Sydney, all I could think of was how glad I was to be going home.

And when I thought home, I didn't mean this cold, lonely, sometimes sad Melbourne apartment - I meant home home, where the bed is warm and the place, familiar. And for that moment in time, I actually thought that I was going back home. Until the stark slap of reality hit and I remembered that that flight, was bound for Melbourne, not KL. And all I could do was just to sink lower into my seat and wished that the flight wouldn't end, and that the deep dark night would just swallow me whole so I didn't have to deal with being alone so very often. It's so, so very tiring.

It's not that I don't like this place. I do. I really really do.

But nothing beats home home. And I'm homesick.

What's 2 minutes worth, to you?

2011-04-18T15:52:00.000+08:00

Just had a most harrowing encounter. Longest 7 minutes of my life - in fact, it was 2 minutes too long.

What will happen? I honestly don't know. Worst case scenario, I lose everything it's worth. Best case scenario, I don't. It'll all come up to what that 2 minute gap between right and nearly right really is worth.

Boats | St. Kilda

I have a test again tomorrow. One last obstacle before the break for Easter. And Sydney!

It's Week 8 today. Week 8 of 12. We're two-thirds there. How fast.

Boardwalk | St. Kilda

Time and tide, truly, waits for no man.

I write with frozen fingers

2011-04-10T20:34:00.002+08:00

The temperature is plummeting here in Melbourne. It dropped from a balmy 25°C to a chilly 13°C overnight - and it has been wet, wet, wet.

But showers here in Melbourne are fleeting, lasting mere minutes before the sun bashfully peeks out from behind its white fluffy hiding place, making the world glisten with newness. Only to pour down again minutes later, the rain never tiring of playing hide and seek with us mere mortals, who really, just want to stay warm and dry.

I've been busy these past weeks and Tuesday will mark the 2-month anniversary of my stay here in Melbourne. The first-month post is almost at the bottom of the page as I type and this new one will push that post to the edge of the realm of "Older Posts". Amazing how fast time flies. In another 2 months, exams will start. And soon after, I'll be on a plane home.

So what I've been up to this past week:

Took a stroll along St. Kilda last weekend. And didn't think to dress for the weather and paid dearly for it. For the wind blew so hard and so cold, the grey knit was tentatively useless as protection. But we were already there, so we braved the weather and went on the boardwalk anyway. We didn't go there in vain however, for we managed to catch a glimpse of Fairy Penguins on the Breakwater, silently nestled in the rocks. We also saw a gummy shark, hooked by a young angler, wriggling for dear life before he took mercy on it and threw it back into the sea.

Made a new friend in Phillip Island, a handsome fella whom I've decided to name George. Mighty friendly this George - but could definitely use some good conditioner and maybe a haircut. Also saw masses of penguins during the Penguin Parade. Was particularly enthralled by a lazy bugger that waddled clumsily along and flopped on his belly everytime his mates stopped for a breather. Too cute.

Hung out with a dear friend and made cupcakes. We had no proper measurements, no proper mixing tools, nor proper technique - just a lot of winging it, a lot of improvising and a lot of laughs. And despite the odds, our cupcakes turned out really really well. Yums.

Had a uni event where they let us make badges. Spent about half an hour preparing beforehand, making the personalised ones, with proper measurements and everything. And am really pleased with the results. :)

And as for this weekend, I don't think I've left the apartment in 2 days. I've been indoors so long I cannot really remember whether I was really inside the apartment on Saturday. But for today, I sat at the window, nomming a yummy blueberry muffin as a reward for finally getting down to some productivity, watching the rapid weather fluctuations, thankful I could dress in ridiculous-looking layers and not have to venture out and brave the rain, the cold and the wind.

The cold weather is no longer fun when you can't write properly and your words turn out squiggly and ugly and you have to use your trusty hair dryer to revive your poor numb digits. I have to remember to get gloves. It is also no longer fun when you have cold hands from washing your hands every hour due to the excessive toilet breaks you're taking due to the cold weather and the ingrained urge to drink when you think (makes for a bad exam habit I tell you!).

And yes, I reward myself too much - a muffin AND a proper blog post. But hey, I have a lot more studying to go and only one more muffin. The world needs some equilibrium, no?

Update soon! Maybe after the 3 tests I have next week. And the assignments. Wish me luck! :)

p/s: I've been listening to Hallelujah all day. Gives me goosebumps. every. single. time. too awesome.

A Leaky House

2011-04-07T19:52:00.000+08:00

Am feeling unmotivated.

Regardless of the fact that I have 3 tests and an assignment due next week, and that every week from now, I either have a test or an assignment due, there is no urge to DO anything.

Like today, it should have been a productive day. Classes ended at 1. I should've had the entire day to buckle down and start revising properly for my tests next week.

But instead, I went grocery shopping (and bought okra and broccoli ♥♥♥) and got home and cooked myself lunch. I fried rice! And it wasn't too bad. So after I ate my lunch, I fried another batch to bring for lunch tomorrow. And then proceeded to wipe down the kitchen and rearrange my cabinets because I'm anal/OCD like that. When I sat down at 4.30, I took two glances at my notes, fiddled with Shargel, Wu-Pong & Yu and promptly decided I wanted to do something more exciting wtf.

So I went on Facebook. So much for exciting. And then I took a nap and woke up disorientated, thinking it was morning and that I had to go to uni, and then realised I put on my glasses and everything still looked blurry - I had my contacts on AND it wasn't morning. It was dinnertime instead. So I ate dinner and then went to the Melbourne Uni Night Market at Union Lawn. I then came back, showered, and proceeded to spend another hour looking through people's Facebook photos, and am now, yet again, trying to figure out what to do with myself.

Why do I not feel the compulsive urge to study? Why do I, instead, feel the compulsive urge to procrastinate when dealing with assessments, pressure and my studies?

I have no idea.

I thought coming to Melbourne would give me more 'me' time. Less TV, less computer, less distractions, more focus - because really, what else do I have to do but study? But instead, I find myself spending way more time doing things I wouldn't normally be doing at home, things I don't need to do but do anyways - napping, grocery shopping, wiping down cabinets, spending obscene amounts of time on Facebook (OK, this one maybe I do do).

I realised I do this quite often. Procrastinate when I have something important to do. Am I trying to distract myself from the fact that I have urgent things to accomplish? Is this my way of dealing with stress? Is this my way of handling pressure?

Well, if it is, it sure is a lousy way wtf.

Sigh. Am surprisingly not stressed. Don't kill me, fellow coursemates. For stress, in this case, is an awesome thing. I wished I was a little more stressed. It pushes you to DO things. An idle mind, however, is said to be the devil's workshop.

Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.
- Ecclesiastes 10:18

Am going to try to study now - please don't let my house leak.

Chocolate Waterfall

2011-04-05T19:58:00.003+08:00

Chocolate Waterfall | Panny's Chocolate Factory, Phillip Island

Everybody could use one of these in their homes. It'll make the world a happier place. :)

TIL #1: Digging straight into the peanut butter

2011-04-01T22:33:00.006+08:00

I'm going to try something new here on peekaboozie.blogspot.com. It's called "Things I Like" which I think is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll elaborate. (cue groans from imaginary readers)

I am home alone tonight, and as I'm padding around the apartment, rummaging through my snack cabinet (yes, I have a snack cabinet! Aren't you jealous now? :P) and a bright yellow cap caught my eye - it was the newly-bought, never-opened jar of peanut butter (crunchy, of course!). Having had homebrand peanut butter, I've learned my lesson and made a promise to myself never to stinge on peanut butter again - so I went out and bought myself a proper jar of crunchy peanut butter.

As I pondered how in the world I was going to eat peanut butter without bread, an idea popped into my head - why not just dig in? At home, I usually try to refrain from doing exactly that, because Mum thinks it's deplorable to eat peanut butter straight out of the jar. I understand, it is a shared jar after all. But here, it's MY jar. MY peanut butter. So, as you've probably figured out from the post title, I dug in.

The awesomeness of having peanut butter straight out of the jar and not having to feel guilty about it (hehe, the refraining sometimes falls through lol sorry Mum) made me think of what other things I like and tadah - "Things I Like" was born!

It's not a very original take on stuff like this but it's something I can do on a day-to-day basis, with no pressure, no fuss no muss! So, I present to you, the first "Things I Like":

noms.

p/s: don't pretend like you don't do it too. i know you know i know you do it. :{D (hehe moustache)

p/p/s: Happy April! Hope you didn't get fooled too much! :) (man where did all the time go?) :{D (hehe moustache)

Password Protected: How To Be Alone

2011-03-24T22:10:00.001+08:00

[Part of this post is password protected. You know what to do!]

Password Please!

HOW TO BE ALONE by Tanya Davis

If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you've not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren't okay with it, then just wait. You'll find it's fine to be alone once you're embracing it.

We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You're not supposed to talk much anyway so it's safe there.

There's also the gym. If you're shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in (guitar stroke).

And there's public transportation, because we all gotta go places.

And there's prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you're hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.

Start simple. Things you may have previously (electric guitar plucking) based on your avoid being alone principals.

The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they -- like you -- will be alone.

Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.

When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You're no less intriguing a person when you're eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.

Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.
And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one's watching...because, they're probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you're sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life's best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.

Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.
Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there're always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might've never happened had you not been there by yourself

Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. but lonely is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.

You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one's in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.

Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school's groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cuz if you're happy in your head than solitude is blessed and alone is okay.

It's okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can't think like you, for this be releived, keeps things interesting lifes magic things in reach.

And it doesn't mean you're not connected, that communitie's not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. take silence and respect it. if you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. if your family doesn't get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don't obsess about it.

you could be in an instant surrounded if you needed it
If your heart is bleeding make the best of it
There is heat in freezing, be a testament.

p/s: This was lifted off a friend, whose post couldn't have come at a better time. :)

Perspectivity

2011-03-19T15:53:00.003+08:00

Everything needs perspective.

The students in Monash Sunway are now protesting cafeteria food by not eating at the cafeteria for one week. I don't like the food there either - it's too oily, too overprocessed, and too overpriced. If you asked me half a year ago whether I would ever miss the cafeteria food and I would answered with a resounding "NO WAY!". So I DO get where the students are coming from.

But I've been in Australia for about a month now, so ask me that again: Do I miss cafeteria food? That resounding "NO WAY!" has given way to a tentative "Not really. But maybe?"

Here, eating out costs at least $10. A tiny cup of coffee: $3. A meal at the tiny cafeteria at Parkville consisting of rice and one dish (that you cannot choose) in a tiny circular container: $5.50. Snacks at the vending machine: $2.80 for a tiny bag of chips. Coke is $3.50 a bottle. RM1 roti canais don't exist here in Parkville. Neither do zhap fan stalls. So we've been packing lunch. Every. Single. Day. It's what most students here do anyways.

We have all of 2 places to eat here in Parkville. The cafeteria and Primary Cafe. No dilemma of choosing from which stall to eat from. No dilemma of choosing what to eat. Your lunch (most likely some form of sandwich) has been looking at you from the inside of your bag since you packed it in its enclosed plastic box this morning. So you either eat that, or pay $5 for a sandwich that looks a lot like the one you just made this morning.

I'm not complaining.

I'm just, putting it into a bit of perspective.

Solemnity | St. Patrick's Cathedral

Australia is complex.

Eating out will empty your wallet. Just. Like. That. You can feel the Malaysian in you groan and grumble at the price you're paying for the things you're eating.

Buying clothes also empties your wallet, but you can barely stop yourself. Just. Like. That. Now this is when you can feel the Malaysian (girl, sorry had to add that!) in you jumping for joy and boasting about the price you're paying for the things you're buying. You can also feel your luggage sigh as it dreads the day you try to squeeze all those extra clothes into space that doesn't exist.

Buying snacks is a complicated procedure. We stalk the local supermarkets, scout for the best prices and strike when the time is ready. The Malaysian in you says GRAB CHEAP GRAB CHEAP GRAB! After you've calmed down, and start actually thinking about the things you've bought, the Malaysian in you realises that cheap is only relative. And that horde of TimTams you have residing in the cupboard above your fridge is worth a small fortune.

People are everywhere. Stand in the middle of La Trobe and Swanston during peak hour and feel and see the mass of bodies walking across the road when the ticking sound goes off signalling the green man has appeared and you're free to cross. A person can be constantly surrounded by people and yet still feel so so so very alone.

It's again, all a matter of perspective.

Flower | Courtyard, St. Patrick's Cathedral

I've just spent a lazy Saturday afternoon polishing off the remainder of the 4-part (what do you call a 4-part series? As it turns out, a tetralogy/quartet/quadrilogy) Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series.

And I'm glad I decided to download the series and read them one after the other, and know the girls so well I cry at all the happysad (you know you know what I'm talking about) parts of the story. They resonate with me. Growing up, being insecure, being sad, being lost, being confused, being misunderstood, growing apart, loving, losing. And that's the magic of the story. Afternoons curled up in bed all warm and cozy with a giant packet of chocolate chip cookies with 4 good "book"s (term "book" is loosely used because I'm reading on my phone - don't gasp, it can be done!).

Dull way of spending a weekend? No. Just simple, perfect bliss. After all, just a matter of perspective.

Candle offerings | St. Patrick's Cathedral

p/s: I've been doing a lot of these kinda posts since I've been here. The extra time alone gives me time to think. And to write. And btw, I don't think "perspectivity" is a proper word. Just liked the sound of it. :D

Compliments

2011-03-16T21:11:00.000+08:00

I'm learning how to accept (and also to give!) them graciously. And not deny/deflect/changethetopicabruptly whenever someone tries to pay me a compliment.

I know I'm awesome. You know I'm awesome. (You know you do, don't deny it!) As you can see, I'm not beyond proclaiming my awesomeness on the world wide web. But having someone else acknowledge my awesomeoness by paying me a compliment (real/virtual world regardless) can sometimes, well, make me feel a ~~bit~~ lot shy.

Great Ocean Road - London Bridge

But it feels good. To be complimented and made to feel awesome. And to compliment, and make others feel a bit of awesome too. It puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face.

So thank you, shoppingbasketgirl from Coles - for not just saying I had a pretty dress, but for telling me I looked gorgeous in it. I didn't need a compliment that day, but I'll do a 'falling star' - put it in my pocket and save it for a rainy day.

Fireworks at Moomba

I have the feeling I've talked about this before. But it's become important to me these few days so if you've heard this all before, look at the pretty pictures, OK? Thanks.

So, accept a compliment graciously - and start a chain reaction and give one out for every one you receive. You'll feel doubly good! :)

The 29th Day

2011-03-13T09:57:00.000+08:00

I've been here, in this now-not-so-new place, for a month already!

How time flies!

In the time that I've been here, I've learnt a couple of things. I've also seen many people, experienced many new things, bought too many things, and have grown rather fond of this city - filled with its sights, its smells and its people.

Last night, when I was first drafting this post, I was sitting at my table, accompanied by a giant red helium balloon happily floating in the corner of the room, looking out at the inky black night - it really is dark here in Melbourne! - listening to the forlorn wail of an ambulance rushing through the streets, the night insects chirping as they come out and play and the occasional shout of a person echoing through the buildings and into the night.

Woke up today to mourn the loss of my lovely red helium balloon, which I carried with me while I traipsed all over town yesterday - to lunch, to DFO, on trams and in buildings. It was doing fine last night, but I guess helium doesn't like being confined and so it escaped, leaving my little red balloon a lot smaller than it was, and a lot closer to the ground.

But nonetheless, this morning, I'm admiring the big white fluffy clouds floating around in the bright blue sky - it's like having my own personal screensaver! - while listening to the clickety-clackety rumbling of the trams going down Swanston, the rustle of leaves swaying in the breeze and the constant hum of a city busy at noon.

And I'm feeling content.

It's been a really really good month!

I'm an ENFP. What are you?

2011-03-08T14:24:00.000+08:00

We had a management lecture last week and in it, the lecturer included a link to a personality test. He mentioned it again today so I thought I'd give it a go.

I have always liked personality tests for the simple reason that it amuses me. It tells me what it thinks I am based on what I think I am. [Note: I didn't notice I wrote this till I had the epiphany I had 5 paragraphs down and reread what I had already written. Maybe ENFPs are also prone to speaking out (or in this case, typing out) before thinking?]

And every time I take one of these personality tests, I read the excerpts about the specific personality type allocated and wonder whether an ounce of it is true. I'm thinking it's gotta be true to some extent. But how much of these things are written so it resonates across the board - to make people think that the thingy is right and they are talking about you?

Because it doesn't matter what I do, which typology I fit into, the description almost always strikes a chord.

For instance, this time, I'm an ENFP (this combination of letters is really quite familiar, makes me wonder if I was already an ENFP before). And the description says this:

ENFPs do get distracted, especially if another interesting issue comes along. They also tend towards procrastination, and dislike performing small, uninteresting tasks.

Close enough is satisfactory to the ENFP, which may unnerve more precise thinking types, especially with such things as piano practice ("three quarter notes or four... what's the difference?") Amazingly, some ENFPs are adept at exacting disciplines such as mathematics.

ENFPs sometimes can be blindsided by their secondary Feeling function. Hasty decisions based on deeply felt values may boil over with unpredictable results.

Champions (this one classifies ENFPs as Champions) can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions.

If these were my personality traits, then yes, I would agree. But then again, who doesn't tend towards procrastination who thinks close enough is close enough and who is relatively good at math who is impulsive and rash who talks too much and who likes to speak/write?

But then again, as I'm thinking over this and really really thinking about it, I'm thinking, HEY, I've given them all the answers already. They've asked me whether I was a procrastinator, they've asked me whether I like to speak up, they've asked me about whether I was nitpicky - and I've given them the answers, they just had to string them up into cool-sounding coherent paragraphs and repackage it nicely. I technically, already know who I am, just that I didn't know what it was called. :D

But it's all taken in good stride - no life-changing decisions based on what a web page says about me but it has given me something to think about. And I would like to know what you are! (Human of course I know. But your typology. But if you're otherwise, hello!) So feel free to do the test - and then share them with me! I'm "sociable" that way :D

I'm into my 4th week here (woot a month!) and as you can probably tell, am happily browsing the Internet, still unconcerned about the barrage of assignments I assume are about to hit. But I did do my pre-reading and am happy to say I've yet to miss a lecture (I don't tend to anyways but just to put it on the record just in case Mum is reading. Hi Mum!).

Need to get ready - going out for a 3-course meal - to get to know people and to network (as my management lecturer would say). I'd tell you it's going to be expensive but I guess everything has its price, no?

p/s: I am truly sorry for the wall of text. I didn't expect to be so long-winded but hey, I like to talk. If you know me well enough, you'd know that by now. And if you didn't, FYL lol. So yea, laters.

10 things I've learned from Melbourne

2011-03-05T06:20:00.001+08:00

#1
Sunshine is a rare commodity. Do a Hema: love the sun, embrace the warmth. Don’t fault the weather for being too hot, it will get angry and blow cold wind at you. And then you won’t be able to feel your fingers/toes/othereasilycoldextremities.

#2
Trams are convenient. Superbly so. Especially when you decide to buy a quilt, its cover, a clothesrack and miscellaneous Swedish contraptions from Richmond (because you cheapskate and refuse to buy it at the Big W down the street). Oh, and free trams. Doubly convenient. But remember to validate! (Seen officers thrice already and I’ve only been here 2 weeks)

Flinders St. Station

#3
Internet quota is for real. Which mean no more compulsive procrastinating on Facebook checking out everyone’s and anyone’s pictures. No super long Skype sessions like the first one with the sister, during which you two do silly stuff because you’re finally seeing each other’s faces after 2 weeks. And most likely drafting blog posts in Word before posting. Because you really wouldn’t wanna run out of quota halfway during assignment submission.

#4
Read my lips (or rather, my text): Direct. Factory. Outlets. Best. Thing. EVER. Malaysia needs these so badly, and less of those badly organized, super crowded warehouse sales with a changing room line to China. Also, second hand markets – not as gross/bad as you would think.

Docklands.

#5
0c/min calls are possible. My mobile service provider has just (and when I mean just, like today just) informed us that calling back to Malaysia is now 0c/min (with a 25c flagfall la so it’s not entirely free don’t get so excited please I think they’re trying to compete with the other service provider that’s offering 1/4c with a lower flagfall and call/text rates).

#6
A 3-hour time difference may not seem like a lot. But when you’re dying to go to sleep but still want to call home but nobody’s home to pick up your call, a 3-hour time difference is 3 hours too many.

State Library of Victoria

#7
Koalas. Are not as cute as the plush toys suggest. They look like old balding grey men. (Not that old balding grey men aren’t cute but well…) Also can climb down the trees they get themselves into and will have dirty butts because they have no (use of or knowledge of how to use) toilet paper.

Crown Casino

#8
Always break in a pair of flats before you decide to wear them out for the whole day. Otherwise, carry an industrial-sized pack of bandages (or have a Student Services that has them woot superhelpfuladmin ftw!), because you’re gonna need them. Also try not to pick a day where you’re in an Amazing Race to wear your new cute flats with the lace-up backs. Because if you do, you’ll not be wearing them again anytime soon. Blisters ow.

#9
Put sunscreen EVERYWHERE. Or you’ll end up having an oval-shaped tan (from your new cute flats with the lace-up backs) AND the flip-flop tan from last year’s beach vacation that refuses to fade. Or a two-toned head. LOL.

#10
Be nice. Say hello. It’s polite. And it makes such a difference. And you never know, you might find your next amusing conversation hiding underneath the greying head of an old, possibly Italian QV market vendor.

Background: St. Paul's Cathedral

And so far, it's been good. The 3 weeks here (yeap, already!) have taught me these lessons, and then some. And life, so far, is awesome. I woke up today to a blue cloudless sky and after the past week of overcast skies and sudden drizzles, it is a beautiful sight to behold. This weekend is forecasted to be a beautiful sunny weekend and maybe, just maybe, we might take a trip down to Brighton Beach to enjoy the sun and sand. (It is a bit too chilly for shorts though. How I know: I can barely feel my fingers. Which means that Melbourne weather is really cheat people wan.)

Even with the blasted weather, Melbourne is definitely looking better each day! Cannot wait to see more of the city and tell you about it. Update more soon. ♥

CAN HAZ INTERNETZ!

2011-02-24T11:38:00.001+08:00

Greetings again! But this time, FROM MY ROOM!

Hello! (The picture is just in case you forgot how I looked like.) (Also see Puff (the bear!) and my green circles quilt cover (the best invention ever: the quilt - not the cover. even though that's quite awesome also la!) from Ikea and my walls.)

Loving having Internet in my room! Love being connected. Have already used up quite a lot of 'peak' time quota due to the fact that I Skyped with my sister earlier this afternoon. Will prolly have to scale that down a bit! But INTERNET!

This means no more trips to the State Library for 15mins computers! Or trips to uni just to use the Internet! (But then again when I have no quota that's what I'll have to do LOL so maybe not 'no more', just 'less' la I guess!)

Am going for a tea session at uni so I'll check in with you guys again soon! :)

G'day from Melbourne!

2011-02-19T09:56:00.000+08:00

It's an ultra sunny day today!

Am safely in Melbourne, for those wondering. And am settling in nicely. I still don't have Internet at home yet because of certain details that are too tedious to repeat (and I'm sure you don't wanna know the whole sob story anyways). But am sitting in the lobby of the State Library of Victoria, using free Internet!

The weather is as they say, random and unpredictable. Summer so far has been hot and cold and windy and rainy. But during the days, it's mostly hot and sunny. The Melbourne sun has browned me a little already - time for more sunscreen!

I suppose homesickness is only natural. It usually hits me at night when I'm due for bed or when I'm alone, thinking about home. I have an awesome desktop picture, which puts the people I love a little closer and every little bit helps!

The time in the bottom right corner is Melbourne time - and the clock - Malaysian time! So just in case my math fails at time I can be sure I'm calling at the right time. :) The 3 hour time difference is a bit of a pain but daylight saving ends April 3rd, so it'll be 2 hours instead of 3 and it'll be a little easier to call home at a proper time.

And that's it from me at the moment! Going shopping so bye!

Going Down Under

2011-02-12T23:00:00.018+08:00

THIS IS IT!

Am hopefully boarding the plane (or even better, pushing back and taxiing down the runway!) when this scheduled post decides to make its appearance. So this really is it!

The next time I post - I'll be in Melbourne. WOOOOOTWOOOOOT.

So kiss me goodbye, wish me the best and check this space for updates soon!

A Hippity Hoppity New Year

2011-02-07T18:25:00.002+08:00

Finally getting a bit of stable Internet and free time so I can blog!

Grandma's (clockwise from top left):
The Outside; The Secondary Living Room (viewed from the primary living room), The Kitchen, The Lounge.

Sidenote: I think I jinxed the Internet because I no haz Internet nao. :( But I have the browser open already so I can blog first and then post later! (I also discovered captions for the pictures. What. Up.)

Greeted at the door by a German Welcome mat. LOL.

CNY's been like CNY always is - hot and humid, loud and boisterous, me, stuffing myself with an obscene amount of CNY snacks (read: trash masquerading as food) and wintermelontea (boy how I love that stuff), late nights and the havoc it (and the "snacks") wreaks on my skin, coupled with the thunderous rumble of the mahjong table and the shrieks of pleasure of the winners at the blackjack table - AWESOME.

This year's CNY was a little different - we had a "wedding" on the first day. "Wedding" because they've already registered, there was no poofy white dress, and all the dinner was was a formal announcement to the rest of the family. So the morning saw a traditional tea and angpau giving ceremony, and the evening saw a 10-course Chinese vegetarian (because the couple is vegetarian) dinner that was rather amusing. Amusing because the dinner was mostly fu chuk pretending to be some kind of meat (i.e. pork ribs, prawns, fish etc) LOL. But we got a chance to wear our cheongsams and be pretty so all's well. :P

Good hair day! :)

We also went to a park, which had a lake, which we didn't know existed till, well, this year. It's a pretty place, but if you're not there to exercise then it's just that. There's a giant field with a giant rain tree in the middle that was super suitable for frisbee but we didn't bring it with us so we just walked around and took pictures. The weather was super fine, with blue skies and white clouds and everything!

Gopeng's really is a beautiful place. I mean, LOOK. AT. THAT. LAKE! And with that reflection, and the mountains in the background, c'mon, it really is amazing! There's nothing like cruising down the highway back to Gopeng. Once you see the limestone mountains you're near. And the view of the highway, complete with mountains as far as the eye can see, is really quite nice.

Spent a lot of time in the car hehe. Good hair day! (x3!)

And of course, CNY is fireworks time!

The neighbour's. These are the times I'm grateful that Grandma's house is only ONE storey high. :P

And of course, it's fooooddd time too. The old folks like to feed the young 'uns and is always offering a plateful of something at us. 'Oh, I'm so full already!', 'Oh, I just ate!', 'Oh, no, no, no, let's share!', 'Oh, let's leave it for insertnamehere later, they haven't eaten!' is only a handful of the excuses used to kindly turn down the foodffer (food. offer. for the slow and clueless)

Grandma's homegrown sang choy. Which is used to wrap everything to dip in the awesomesauce she makes.

But of course, CNY is not only about food, gambling and fireworks - it's about spending time with the people you love.

I was wondering why I was wearing the same shirt on different days - but I wasn't!
BTW, see the mosquito bite under my left eye in the right picture? Grrrrrr max man. Had to go for dinner summor. D:

And loving every minute of it.

Ah, CNY. Red packets and kinship. FTW.

HAPPY BUNNY NEW YEAR!

2011-02-06T12:53:00.000+08:00

May the Year of the Rabbit bring you love, joy, peace and lots of fruffy cuteness!

HAPPY CNY everybody!

Penniless

2011-01-31T15:07:00.001+08:00

Did you know, that your average Malay dictionary also contains entries from other languages/dialects?

bo-lui: Not only in Hokkien, but also in BM too. F. T. W.

Angry Birds

2011-01-31T00:32:00.000+08:00

is now not only playable on your iWhatevers, but also is available on your PC!

I CANS KILLS UGLY GREEN PIGS WITH FLYING BIRDS ALL I WANTS NAO.
(My favourite: the big black bomb bird - alliteration ftw!)

And now, so can my Dad. This was him, acing the level I tried forever to clear (plus a couple more). I know rite, my. dad. is. quite. awesome.

Ok, the end.

Never enough

2011-01-29T00:15:00.000+08:00

Nothing is ever enough.

When I do right, it is ignored.

When I do wrong, it is emphasised. Over and over and over again.

Yes I fail. Enough now?

Couch Potato goes out for tea and tarts

2011-01-27T00:24:00.000+08:00

Did you know that Facebook now has a Diner Dash game application?

Like I don't spend enough time on Facebook already.

But then again, nowadays, I'm mostly spending my afternoons watching Big Bang Theory. However, this afternoon was spent with a dear dear friend - sipping afternoon tea with pineapple tarts, alternating between conversation and bouts of Wedding Dash, ending with the eternally satisfying oily treat of Roti Hawaii with a Mango Special.

I am productive. Yes I am.

Tomorrow - PAWS! Watch out doggies here I come. :D

The 5Mbps-Joy Equivalency

2011-01-25T23:50:00.000+08:00

Wanted to blog about... well, my feelings after last night.

But I tried, several different ways, several different times and I just couldn't. It's not like I don't know how I feel, it's just I don't know how to express myself. Gah.

Therefore, I shall save the full-fledged drama queen act for later.

For now, I will enjoy the uber fast Internet and cram in as many seasons of whatever TV show* I can get my hands on between now and my departure date.

*Have finished HIMYM (which got me crying oh noes so sad) and am waiting on the next episode to be released (February 7th WAISOLONGWAN!) and am breezing through the Big Bang Theory (halfway through Season 3 now, only started this afternoon woot!). Am aiming for the final season of Ugly Betty and Prison Break! And also as many episodes of Two And A Half Men as possible. Also waiting on Glee (Feb 6th!). I am a computer-chair-potato. A very contented computer-chair-potato. Albeit one with a soon-to-be flat butt for sitting here the whole day but a very contented one indeed.

Anyways, just finished my 30 minute time-out on Megavideo. Episode 12 here I come. Bai!

Need/Want

2011-01-16T01:12:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I need help distinguishing between the two.

Like tonight.

I seriously considered giving up my D60 (sorry baby I love you still) for a more high-end model. Complete with all the bells and whistles. I spent about an hour (two even!) reading reviews of those who switched from the D60 to the D7000 and how awesome it was and how it was money well spent. It was me trying to justify why I needed a new camera that could pay for one quarter of this semester's tuition fees.

And I realised when I started justifying needing a new camera, it only meant that I didn't really need one. I merely wanted one. In the words of one Candace Flynn, I was "seduced by the coolness".

Ah, the coolness. Makes the world a shinier, more awesome place to be, no?

I've always been raised to question whether I truly needed or just merely wanted something before purchasing. But sometimes I don't have my head screwed on right. Which would explain why I can be super "giam" at times, or have impulse purchases, or sometimes cannot tell a real need when it arises. (It annoys my parents to no end because I still buy something I want but don't need; and on the other hand not buy what I truly need. Heh, I am exasperating tqvm.)

But enough with the wants and needs. What I truly need now is a good long shower and then a nice long restful sleep. Tomorrow's a busy day! So bye!

Life Lessons from a Book

2011-01-14T19:28:00.000+08:00

Epiphany time.

Must have been the Good Wives (not The Good Wife the show, the Good Wives the book) that kept me up till 3 in the morning. It ended up like it always does when I have books - me, with all the lights still on, on my tummy over the pillow, with the book hanging from my fingertips, fast asleep.

The Good Wives is not really my usual style - I am ashamed to say I judge books by their cover. I get drawn towards pastel coloured spines, usually with some sort of pink cursive lettering and a title like "Francesca's Party". I do a lot of super light reading: nonsensical frilly chick lit that takes nothing and leaves nothing. Just a matter of getting occupied.

Didn't remember much about Little Women but liked it enough to have wanted to read the sequel a gadzillion (OK, maybe more like 7) years after reading the first part. Little Women was like a little girl growing up, warm, secure, happy, at home. Good Wives is like that little girl, all grown up, trying to find her place in the big bad world, dealing with disappointment and life at large.

It was a good book. A little sad. A little heartwarming. With life lessons given out in a very Victorian style. Echoing the sentiments and teachings of the Bible - to be slow to anger, to be generous, to be kind, to be subordinate, to love, to be contented, to love God and to trust in Him always. A timely reminder of what it is to truly be a Christian woman.

And that is what I'm growing up to be - a woman. Much as I hate to admit the term woman makes you think of matronly old ladies with flowery hats and stiff sensible shoes, I am. I'm turning 21 this year. And that makes me legally accountable as an adult. But like a child, I depend largely on my parents for everything. And I mean everything. They clothe me, feed me, give me shelter, pay for everything and play a large role in determining my life choices.

When are you going to learn how to grow up? I'm starting off by taking a step and going off to Melbourne for 6 months. The irony of the situation is that it's going to be fully funded by my parents LOL. So much for independence rite? But it's a step in determining how I'm going to survive in the outside world without the constant over-the-shoulder-watch of my parents. It's sink or swim. (I'm praying for swim. Because sinking is a bad way to go.)

Hopefully, Melbourne will be a learning experience I'll take to heart and use it to become a better person. And to become a more independent woman, with a heart and mind for God.

I'm not sure when this realization kicked in, but I think I want to work with children. Growing up with 2 young siblings have put me into a pseudo-maternal role and I guess I've always liked children, always could relate to them and well, they seem to like me fairly well (it's because inside, I'm a squirming restless 5-year-old too). Have been playing around with the idea of working in paediatrics for a few months now and I think it could be my kind of thing. May or may not happen, may or may not be possible. So we'll see. (I still have to finish off 2 years of studying and compulsory service you know so seeing will have to wait.)

I started off this post meaning to talk about my absent-mindedness, or rather my holiday-induced stupor.

You know how you get so chillaxed during holidays you forget what day it is and have to rely on your (most-probably-inaccurate) sense of whatdayoftheweekitisness? Yeap. I'm having one of those days. Today feels like a Tuesday. But it is not. It's a Friday. Which means I really should have put on my contacts - my glasses are not to power anymore so it gets sorta blurry at times. D:

And ended up talking about wanting to become a better person. Sigh my digressiveness and verbosity. (LOL isn't it a funny word - verbosity. Base word: verbose. Meaning long-windedness. Also can be used as verboseness. Haha. Verboseness. Now you've learnt something here today. Boy I'm so educational. And so verbose. I should stop. But before that, check out the wikiHow on How to be Verbose. #7 is win.)

So yea. Another long rambling post. tadah? Bye. Need to go shower again. Roti Jala nums. Meant nyums. But nums is cute. So yea. Nums.

One Step Closer to the Maxis Om Nom Nom Race

2011-01-12T16:50:00.007+08:00

Maxis and Nuffnang are teaming up to organise an Om Nom Nom raaace! For those uneducated in the language of LOLcats, Om Nom Nom is the sound cats (and other cute animals, and sometimes humans, and other inanimate objects) make when they're trying to eat something.

Exhibit A

Which means, that participants on this race will be racing for FOOOOOOOOODDDD!

Which is c'mon, like the best. thing. to. race. for. ever. You get to go on a race (and get a free customised “The Maxis Om Nom Nom Race” t-shirt! I'd like a size L please!), eat food, blog about it, and then you might just get a chance to win a totally awesome phone AND a 3D2N trip to Hong Kong! PLUS, you get to use a laptop, an iPhone 4, the Finder301 application and Wireless Broadband, all available through Maxis to get around town. So you get the coolest gadgets, the best location-based application so you don't get lost and a wireless broadband, so you can be connected on-the-go! Like HOW COOL IS THAT?

Maxis Finder301 App (http://itunes.apple.com/my/app/maxis-finder301/id375530216?mt=8#)

Maxis Wireless Broadband (http://www.maxis.com.my/personal/broadband/wireless_allplans.asp)

I want to join this race because:

#1: I like food! Hehe. Every other album taken every other day involves some kind of food. Usually food eaten with my friends or family or friends AND family, either way. And I'm definitely inside out Malaysian. So Malaysians also revolve their daily activities around food. Hanging out with friends involves a compulsary yum cha session. Watching a movie isn't complete without popcorn and drinks. And any celebration worth its buck needs a good food spread.

#2: I like races! I religiously watch the Amazing Race Asia (woot Richard and Richard really deserved to win the last season!) and love love love the action (and drama hehe) that goes on in every episode. The adrenaline gets my blood pumping and wootwoot man, racing from food stall to food stall, sampling KL food is going to be super awesome. :)

#3: I like the prizes! First prize is a trip to Hong Kong with 5-star accommodation with my teammates AND a HTC Desire Z phone. It would be a sweet sweet deal to win any of those things. I'm going over to Melbourne soon and I'm going to need a new phone for my new Australian number so pleasepleaseplease lemme win one of those phones!

#4: I like my friends! So we're joining this race together because we ALL love food. So I'm teaming up with the 2 awesome people:

Kay from http://www.kayotic.net/2011/01/maxis-om-nom-nom-race.html

and Low from http://mygfwearsthepants.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-step-closer-to-maxis-om-nom-nom.html

so we can all win the trip to Hong Kong and go together and we really want that new HTC Desire Z. And I'm sure it'll be a truckload of fun because we're awesome people like that! :D

So Nuffnang PRETTTTTYY PREETTTYY please choose us for the Om Nom Nom Race thank you! :)

One Less Tooth

2011-01-11T01:13:00.000+08:00

Went to the dentist!

Came back with one less tooth (same tooth that gave me problems 3 years back ugh!)

Dr gave me 2 options: root canal or extraction. The root canal sounded painful and involved multiple revisits to an area of PJ that is notorious for its inadequacy of parking spaces and its visitors double/triple parking habits and the fact that I'm leaving for Melbourne in a month left me short of time. The extraction also sounded painful but was a one-time deal with minimal fuss. Decision made.

The procedure was... erm, worrisome.

The initial part of the consultation involved a needle with local anesthetics (that was awesome because it took away the pain!), some scaling and a minor filling so it was OK. Until he took out the giant clamps (well, it LOOKED giant to me!) and said, "So we'll proceed to extraction OK" and started aiming the forceps at my head. I had a minor freak out moment there and then LOL.

He gave me a second LA shot 'cause I felt some pain (probably all imaginary, we'll never know because he gave me a second shot, probably just to reassure me heh) and took out the tooth in no time. Didn't take 15 minutes from when he started aiming the forceps at me. No pain, but a lot of pressure, a lot of blood and a lot of frown-inducing yanking on the dentist's part.

But all good now! No pain. But it feels weird. Sorta like a phantom limb. And I still don't dare run my tongue over the area. Still too weird. :\

Am now on a soft food, slow chew, right side only diet LOL. Scallop porridge is yums.

Going to go repay my sleep debt I've been accumulating these past 2 nights. /yawn.

The Agony That Is

2011-01-09T23:04:00.001+08:00

a toothache.

Words cannot describe the misery of having a constant pain throbbing and throbbing and throbbing. And this, is how I still feel 15 minutes after downing my 5th painkiller for the day. I need something stronger. (Only 3 more pills left for the day - oh no!)

~~I have cleared the house of Panadols :(~~ Scratch that, I just found the second half to the half a blister pack I rummaged up from the back of the medicine cabinet. Score. Bye, I'm off to self-medicate.

At least until the weekend can mercifully go by and I can call up my dentist's and make an emergency appointment for tomorrow.

Wait, he WILL see me right? Right?

whootwhoot

2011-01-07T18:11:00.000+08:00

HELLO ALL!

We're already past the first week of 2011. And boy aren't you excited for the new year! :D Lemme hear a whootwhoot!

Anyways, the beginning of the year has been... unusual.

The First Day:

Ushered in the New Year with a quiet dinner at home and after watching the 8 minute firework display, broke out the mahjong tables and played till 2am. The next 4 hours were spent whacking invisible Wii tennis balls and punching out Wii opponents and laughing till we collapsed on the floor because of how silly we knew we looked. It was also because Wii boxing is actually quite tiring. Don't laugh.

The Second Day:

Tossed and turned throughout the night, got up at 5.30, showered and hailed a cab to take us down to the pick-up place where we took a 5 hour bus back to KL. After a quick lunch, I went for the amazing experience that was wakeboarding. It was also a grueling workout that almost yanked my arms out of their sockets but all good.

The Third Day:

Woke up to a pounding headache and a majorly stuffed airway. Was utterly and definitely sick down to my toes. Thankfully, I had a little TV show called Glee to take my mind off the major part of my discomfort and the giant bottle of water helped a lot too.

The Fourth Day:

More Glee. :D Lunch was plain porridge (my brother was sick too - porridge is good sick food) so I got hungry quite quickly so I wanted to make myself a mushroom cheese omelette for tea. But then I discovered that my arms were so weak I couldn't get to the mushrooms in the jar. I tried everything but still couldn't get the lid open. I had to ask for help. Weak sial.

And the Fifth Day was spent drawing all those little people up there because I was so insanely bored I needed something to do other than watch Glee (which btw I ran out of because I was doing 6 to 7 episodes in one sitting. No mind, I has... Desperate Housewives. Muahahahahahahhaa.)

The Sixth was spent movie-marathoning with Lay in the afternoon (Tron was not too bad actually. Fockers was... meh.) and then dinner and then hanging out at her place and then sending her to the airport.

The Seventh is TODAY! Which I spent watching Oprah on TV and scrolling through Tumblr posts. So productive I KNOW RITE. But I have been updating my Project365, which I am insanely behind schedule of but no matter, I'll catch up soon. D:

So tadah - proper post WITH pictures some more leh. HAPPY Not-So-But-Still NEW YEAR! okbai.

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T00:00:00.001+08:00

2010 has been good to me.

It's been a truly amazing ride this year - filled with great experiences and even greater people. And as the year is drawing to a close, I can only thank God for blessing me with all I've asked for and more.

And as the clock ticks closer to midnight, here's to 2011!

May it be an even more amazing year filled with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

p/s: FIREWORKS WOOTWOOTWOOTWOOTWOOT!

Insomnia

2010-12-30T08:04:00.000+08:00

Harrooo!

If you're wondering why you haven't heard from me in a while, be glad for me - because it means I have better things to do than sit down at the computer and blog about how I have nothing to do.

So now, at 7.45 in the morning on the 10th floor of a HDB flat on the west side of Jurong, I'm awake and typing on a pink laptop, waiting for my water to boil, because I can't sleep. It's traveller's insomnia LOL.

I've always had trouble sleeping in foreign places. Even in Gopeng (which is my hometown btw), I never get a good night's sleep. I'll wake up several times a couple of hours apart and get up when the sun finally decides to show itself.

WOOT water boiled - coffee time! :D

I'd put up some pictures, but my harddrive's upstairs and I'm too comfortable to move. I have a picture draft saved up somewhere about the KL Zoo and Bird Park so maybe I'll work on that later.

On second thought, my cousin just came down, all freshly showered and ready to go, so seriously, later LOL. Gotta go shower and get ready for a brand spankin' new day!

Catch you guys later. :)

My Superheroes

2010-12-13T02:00:00.002+08:00

Just creamed Dad at PES 4 for 4.

And I haven't played in ages. He usually plays with Jie (who incidentally is at my aunt's having a sleepover with ~~his~~ our cousins till Qing comes back on Tuesday from camp, which makes me a temporary only child! D:D*). I played tonight because it's a way to spend time with Dad. :)

*For those who are confused by my D:D emoticon, it's supposed to be a mash of D: and :D and represents my 2 conflicting emotions into one convenient emoticon. D: because having the computer all just for me is not as fun as having to fight for it and :D because I can use the computer whenever I want. See what I mean by conflicting? kthxbai.

It's not that he's bad at it.

It's just that he's 50 and is from the snail-mail-sending, internet-phobic era, whereas I'm 20 (gasp! old much.) and from the thumb-tapping, touch-typing generation. I have faster fingers and sharper eyes and am not afraid to press a button (ctrl-z: best. shortcut. ever.) Whereas he has slower reflexes, a propensity to get occasionally confused by the flurry of activity and is generally tech-unsavvy.

And even though he just got his butt kicked by his daughter in a football game, he laughs it off, hugs me goodnight and suggests a rematch for tomorrow night.

I spent the entire day with them today. Having toast and roti jala & lamb curry for lunch, buying pants (boy, mens' clothes = boooorrriiiinnng!) and socks, browsing through handbags and shoes (wootwoot GO DAD!) and figuring a new way home through Lake Gardens, an impromptu stop in Bangsar because we felt like it, an unlikely dinner of tandoori naan and Indomee at mamak at the corner and a quiet night at home. I haven't just spent time with them in a while. It felt good.

And sitting here, comparing accommodation and trying to figure out if Lonsdale St. is too far a walk from campus, it's dawned on me that my parents are getting old. It's not like I had no clue all along - but I just assumed they'd be here forever and ever. I guess I've always thought of them as my personal superheroes.

Mum is Wonder Woman. She can do anything - fix a light bulb, balance several bank accounts, pay everything on time, cook up a meal, have an illustrious career she loves, fix my pants, recycle old towels and sew them into floormats, keep the house in perfect working order and condition, wake up super early to go to the market, remember what foods I like, out-shop her 20-year-old daughter AND still have the energy to love me the way she does.

Dad is Superman. He is invincible in every way but one; his Kryptonite, is his undying devotion to his children. Mum used to say that if he could, he'd pluck down all the stars in the sky if he thought it'd make us happy. His patience, love and integrity makes him the #1 Dad Of All Time.

But putting on eyeshadow for Mum the other night, reminded me of how she has aged. And by the same rule, Dad too. I realised I've never really looked at them - I missed the fine lines and wrinkles - but it doesn't make her less beautiful and him less handsome. Mum's turning 50 next year and my only regret is that I'll be in Melbourne on her birthday. There's nothing like hugging Mum on her birthday and telling her you'll love her forever.

And they've been talking openly about writing their wills around me these past few months because they've been writing their wills, well duh. And I guess I'm old enough to realise that these things will happen and that things have to be done. I just never thought my parents would be needing all those things (whatever they are).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm scared. Of growing up and of them growing old.

But as Dad would say, "The Lord will take care of us, love. He knows best." And it provides me with utmost comfort to know that whatever happens, we'll be safe in the Lord.

This post is getting homaigawdsolongwaaanpiakfallsasleepondesk-long and I'm getting all deep and thinking and rambly and it's approaching 2am. And you know how nothing good happens after 2am. And I'm supposed to wake up early for an adventure with Mum tomorrow - shopping for curtains and soyabean LOL.

So cue awkward ending. bai.

Exchange!

2010-12-09T22:36:00.000+08:00

Just realised I haven't actually announced it officially yet.

And by "officially", I mean, on a post, on this blog, which everyone can read.

And by "it", I mean my exchange over to Melbourne next semester!

So it's confirmed - and TADAH! I'll be studying in Melbourne for the first semester of 2011.

Am extremely excited. Am also slightly nervous. Because it's something new. But the prospect of a new environment and an overseas one at that, is truly truly amazing and the excitedness of the whole situation just totally overrides my nervousness. Also, there's the fact that I'm going over with 4 of my classmates and Kay'll be there too so nothing to be nervous about no?

So that's my update for now. Have been busy. Not much time to do anything much. Will be back with more. :)

Flight Angst!

2010-12-06T19:15:00.000+08:00

I'm flying to Melbourne in February and I've already booked my tickets for the 12th a couple of weeks back.

Today, I received an email from AirAsia proclaiming their CNY promotion prices.

The price today is RM400 lower than it was 3 weeks back! I am so kek hei right now because the RM400 wasted could've been spent on something else - a nice warm coat (or two!), a giant luggage, put into savings for a new lens, food(?), I don't knooww... anything but wasted on a flight that cost me RM400 more than it should have.

GRRRRR!

I know this is part and parcel of booking flights online - the prices fluctuate from day to day - but I thought booking it early would save me the heartache of paying extra if I booked my ticket too close to the departure date. Of all the things, I should've expected it though - they always have holiday promotions. Should've waited darnit!

If it were RM100 - RM200, maybe I wouldn't mind so much. BUT RM400 leh!?

(But seriously who am I kidding, I'm Chinese, I'm as kiam, or even more, than any of those Chinese businessmen racist jokes like to make fun of and RM100 is still a lot of money. I confess, I am not the wisest spender and I'll probably spend that extra money on something frivolous (or not) (but now we'll never know because it's paying for my flight nao hmmph!), but seriously, for something that could've been on discount 2 weeks later - I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS!)

Between writing this and checking out Facebook's new profile layout, I've calmed down a bit. Still not happy about it but what can I do nao rite? And I need to get to Melbourne so yea, oh well.

So rant end. Off to satisfy my urge for computer games nao (the newly opened Blitzone in my area with a sweet sweet offer is not helping curb my enthusiasm for L4D - the only thing stopping me is I got no kaki to play with. Sigh.).

2010's last

2010-12-02T23:52:00.000+08:00

And so it ends.

Another grueling semester done and dealt with. Results came out a couple of hours ago (with a lot of finger crossing and frantic praying involved while logging on to WES) and I did OK. Just OK. No big hurrahs, no celebrations - just a prayer sending up thanks to the Big Guy for seeing me through this. I thought I'd do better - but I did what I could and I'm content. :)

But did you know - it's December already! 'Tis the season to be jolly everybody! Where shopping malls and people get all falalalala inside.

I love love love love Christmas! All the it represents - love, joy, hope, peace to men; all that it looks like - sparkly trees ten feet tall, glossy baubles, twinkling lights; all that it feels like on the inside - warm and fuzzy. Ah, Christmas is definitely one of my most favourite times of the year.

And in quick succession, New Years and CNY will be coming. And then it'll be off to 3rd year and a brand spanking new adventure. Cannot wait cannot wait cannot wait! :)

Happy December!

Tea and Taro

2010-11-24T16:05:00.000+08:00

Exam period this semester was dragged on waaaayyy too long - including SWOTVac, it was a month-long sentence that was one month too long. And so we thought we deserved a break. So after the morning exams, it was full blast all the way!

We took a trip down to KL to Jogoya to stuff ourselves silly with good food and good conversation. And since we were feeling adventurous (and had plenty of time to spare), we took public transport! A KTM from Subang exchanged for a Monorail at Central and a quick walk took us right to Starhill Gallery where we dined till we were bursting at the seams with coconuts and ice-cream (but not too full to resist a Häagen-Dazs cone on the way out!)

And since we were in KL, we took the opportunity to walk the streets and do a little shopping! Well, window shopping mostly. Looking at all the fancy-schmancy stores we couldn't yet afford (or pronounce also for that matter), people-watching, trying on shoes and a whole lotta walking saw us occupied for the entire afternoon. And by then, it was too late to try to get back to Subang - braving public transport at peak hour didn't seem like fun - so we ended up in Pavillion.

Where they had the most elaborate Christmas decorations, complete with fairytale pagodas and mile-high Christmas trees with so many super juiced-up lights and decorations they came with a "Warning! High Voltage" sign (which we didn't see till much much later hehe).

We walked around the mall a little and decided that: No. More. Walking. We were all walked out and was desperate for a drink or two and a really comfy seat. We walked the whole mall searching for the right place to settle down when we finally ended up where we started in the first place - Coffee Bean. They had these super comfy sofas that were perfect!

We all ordered a cup of iced tea of some sort and settled down for a nice long talk. A really really really long talk. We sat through the repetitive Christmas songs and the live band and a gadzillion other customers and finally got up when the mall was about to close up for the night.

By the time we got out, it was about 11pm. We took a couple of pictures and headed on home - didn't want to miss the last train hehe. We got back to Subang in one piece, a little tired, with aching feet but got hungry on the way home - so we stopped by Murni for supper. Roti Hawaiis ftw!

The next day (seriously, not even 12 hours after I dropped them off at their respective homes), we met and headed off to PD! Stopped by Seremban for lunch and went straight there, where we spent our time lounging around, waiting for the rain to stop so we could go outside. The rain did eventually stop and we went to the beach and played a little frisbee and took a walk on the beach. And after that, we had an awesome barbeque dinner - with a little bit of music, a lot of good food, a bucket of laughs - it really was great fun.

It was over the next day though, a short trip that saw us gallivanting across multiple highways in search of the Dengkil satay place but fail hehe and ending up with the 4 of us in Snowflakes because c'mon, taro balls = awesome. We talked some more (boy, did we never run out of things to talk about) and laughed even more, recollecting all the things said and done the past semester and reminisced. Well, I reminisced - thinking about how awfully much I was going to miss them next semester.

All in all, an AWESOME start to the semester break! More to come though so stick around. :)

FREEEEEEEEEEEDDOMM

2010-11-17T03:38:00.001+08:00

never tasted so sweet!

Will tell you how I spent my first hours of freedom soon k?

Now, I've gotta sleep. 'Cause in 6 hours, we're roadtrip-ing down to PD for our year-end "getaway"! WOOTWOOT. Cannot wait!

Note to self: Please pack frisbee. And withdraw money TQVM. Don't forget your glasses!

Be back soon! :)

"Die lo die lo die lo..."

2010-11-15T01:34:00.000+08:00

I've just realised how much I detest immunology.

DETEST DETEST DETEST DETEST DETEST DETEST DETEST.

It's 7 hours (eek!) to my next paper and I'm doing some last minute revision (haha more like cramming actually) and I'm actually doing OK. But out of all that I need to study for this unit, I'm having the hardest time wrapping my head around the antibodies and inflammatory thingies.

And as I was studying, I had that impending feeling of doom you get when you realise something bad's gonna happen - and for me, it would be an entire unit of immunology.

And when I checked next semester's unit - hey, Presto! - PAC3191: Microbiology and Immunology.

/dies.

I know I'm pre-worrying and I should really concentrate on doing well for this semester first before freaking out about something that's happening 4 blissful months away from Tuesday. But as I'm doing final revision, this is going through my mind:

"Die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo die lo"

And it's not very productive when all you're trying to do is stay positive so you don't freak out and hope information doesn't start to squeeze outta your ears because "die lo die lo..." is taking up brain space.

Anyways, I'm off to bed! Because they say sleep keeps information in! So *crossfingers* I'll do awesome tomorrow! and tomorrow's tomorrow! And then it's off to Jogoya to gorge ourselves silly! Cannot wait cannot wait cannot wait!

Cabbage

2010-11-08T16:38:00.000+08:00

For my Integrated Therapeutics paper on Wednesday (eeks!), we're studying about cardiovascular diseases. And if you're like me - studying about cardiovascular diseases (I share your pain), you're gonna come across the term CABG.

Now CABG stands for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, which is a surgery to bypass arteries clogged up by atherosclerosis and graft vessels to the coronary artery to improve blood flow and what not.

And CABG is pronounced as "cabbage".

And this, as you may have already figured out, is highly highly amusing to me. It's like fraction unbound from the Drug Delivery unit! It amuses me so that such a serious life-saving operation can be called "cabbage". Imagine doctors briefing their teams on the day before the surgery,

"And tomorrow, we will perform a CABG on Mr. TooManyBurgers." :D

And everytime I see the word CABG, I naturally see a cabbage in my mind. And this image, soon after.

Cabbage.

Wouldn't that make the cabbagevascular system so much easier to handle? No more ACEIs, beta-blockers or CCBs. Just a shovel, fertilizer and good ol' sunshine!

Hah, I wish.

Sense

2010-11-06T01:30:00.000+08:00

My day starts at 1pm and ends at 12am. That is my official waking hours. Which means, anything beyond that time, I'm either getting in bed, in bed, trying to get out of bed.

Which in short, means, I'm a pig. *snort*

But if I spent all my waking hours doing productive stuff then I'd be less of a pig. Because 10 solid hours (1 hour is always allotted for miscellaneous eating activities - hey, a girl's gotta eat!) worth of productivity is frankly, quite amazing. But unfortunately, I don't even get 5 hours worth each day.

Which is sad.

Just plain sad.

Most of my time is spent staring at the notes, going "Come on notes, make sense, I know you're trying to tell me something but WHAT IS IT?!" And then I resort to watching charlieissocoollike videos on Youtube (it's the British accent I tell you!) to take my mind off my super-fail attempt at studying.

Like today, I spent a good part of 2 hours trying to decipher what my Diuretics notes were trying to tell me. I understand the concept of diuretics and how they work in general but somehow the notes just don't make sense! When it comes to the details, the text turns into gibberish and it somehow always manages to challenge what I already know (which makes for a plenty confusing argument between the awkward pieces of information floating about in my head). And then I turn to the Internet, which often adds to the chaos instead.

And I know I'm not a very neat person in real life but when it comes to margins and punctuation and bullet points and text size and sequence, it. has. to. be. PERFECT. And less-than-perfect slides irks me and makes me want to throttle the author. And it's so much more difficult to read and understand messy notes. (Partially because I want to correct the mistake and line up the points properly I have a major OCD I know, tell me about it!)

And in the chaos, I come up with plans to right my Circadian rhythm. It's a complicated plan that involves staying up 36 hours and a very comfy chair. You don't wanna know. But I thought through it and my new plan just involves a very very loud alarm clock and a lot of help from the Big Guy.

Goal of the weekend: Be less of a pig. Be more like a wormaphilic bird. Eek.

Note to self: At least try to catch up with the Project365? It's like 4 months to the end and you're 4 months from the beginning. Good job Lu.

Other note to self: You can do that after the exams. For now, study please? TQVM. kthxnait.

Random Lu Fact #542

2010-11-05T17:53:00.001+08:00

I like to shower when I cannot study.

It gives me a sense of purpose and it's more productive than erm, eating a Nutella sandwich. Which doesn't mean to say I don't like Nutella sandwiches (I do, make me one!) but comparing eating a sandwich and taking a shower, I would think showers take the cake for Productivity Points!

(You are now free to shake your head and sigh disdainly at the mention of the inane point system I've drawn up to measure my productivity - or rather (if you read the post) the lack thereof!)

The #542 in the title would refer to the next item in an invisible list of Random Lu Facts compiled over the years I've been blogging. It would also refer to the time when I first typed in the title (now you can see how long it takes me to blog a post! Here's another not-remotely-interesting-enough-but-totally-relevant-fun-fact: too long.)

Therefore, coming back to my shower point, I smell really really really reaaally good during study periods. Which doesn't mean to say I don't usually smell nice (I do, ~~smell me!~~ erm, you're gonna have to trust me on this!) but I smell at least doubly better because I have time to put on conditioners and various nice-smelling-hair-products (which my usual get-ready time doesn't include for obvious reasons: sleepsleepsleep.)

So there you go, another Random Lu Fact to fill your lulls between study sessions. Which speaking of, I need to get back to. The study session, not the lull.

Gwd Integrated Therapeutics, aren't you a total pain?

Mehhh Lei Geh?

2010-10-31T00:47:00.000+08:00

"Chicken", she says.

My. sister. is. a. total. noob. times. 2. yea.

First paper tomorrow!

2010-10-27T23:21:00.002+08:00

Wish me luck.

p/s: To all you out there mugging for exams, all the best to you too! It'll be over before we know it. And then it's time to parrrrttttaaayy! Or go on vacation. Or go shopping. Or play L4D(2). Or all of the above. Whichever floats your boat. Or tickles your pickles. Or rocks your socks. Or all of the above.

p/p/s: It's official. Exams have turned me insideupsidedownandout.

p/p/p/s: Time to study somemore kthxbai.

My mum is cuter than your mum

2010-10-25T00:22:00.002+08:00

So this evening we had the starting of a light drizzle. And Mum was outside, probably pottering around with her plants and then she suddenly announced (to no one in particular), "It's raining!"

And then proceeded to water her plants.

When asked why she was still watering her plants even though it's raining, she said,

"Just in case it doesn't rain la! My poor plants..."

And this is why my mum is cuter than your mum.

But to be fair, my parents and my brother went back to Ipoh for the weekend and my sister and I had the whole place to ourselves. And 'watering the plants' was definitely NOT on our to-do-list. So, yup, dried plants ftw. No. 1 thing to do however: hog the TV and couch and watch whatever we wanted to watch. (Can I hear a "wootwoot!" for alliteration?)

Time to go back to pharmaco-painintheyouknowwhere-kinetics. Bye.

Click here to read why my mum is not only cuter, but also cooler than your mum.

negative 18.5

2010-10-22T14:35:00.000+08:00

What they say about getting up early and the bird and the worm is so not true.

*gruntsandharrumphs*

Woke up early to layan the air-con man, who didn't turn up till half past ten. (It rhymes!) I defended my desktop against creeps and contributed towards my Frenzy card fund (am halfway there!). Read the newspapers, checked and replied emails, and ate lunch. But because I was sleepy by noon, I also took a nap! But it gave me a headache. Which means I'm getting frustrated and it's affecting my concentration.

So let's total up my Productivity Points, shall we?

Woke up early: +10
Got air-con fixed: +5
Late air-con man: -5
Rhymed: +0.5
Defended Desktop: +5
Newspapers: +2
Emails: +2
Lunch: +2
Nap: +10
Headache: -50

Giving me a a grand PP total of...

(cue dramatic drum rolll)

-18.5!

Or lower even. Because the Defending and the nap should (by any other standards of PP but mine) count as negative points. And because I'm blogging, instead of studying welll duh.

But seriously, total nonsense aside, I really have to try to up my productivity. My first paper is in 5 days (eek!) and even though I have a good feeling about this one, there are 3 other papers to go (doubleeek!).

So I'm going to try to positive-fy my total now. Wish me luck!

To Kay

2010-10-15T00:34:00.002+08:00

...whom I've known practically half my life. 11 years strong woots!

And who is always ready with a smile and a hug.

Who has been my constant source of joy and laughter and fun and love.

And has been there for many of my most memorable moments - on a raft ride, on an island, in an apartment somewhere near KL, up a hill, in her house.

Who is vain but never conceited.

And always understands that the bimbo in me has to surface sometimes and tolerates my blonde moments, revels in them with me and sometimes joins me in celebrating our inner bimbo.

Who is onlyslightlytallerthanme, but has such a generous, giving nature.
(aha, no co-relation whatsoever but nevermindla LOL!)

Whom I have shared and am about to share so many awesome experiences with - growing up, school, uni, Melbourne (hopefully!), graduating, bridesmaid-ing, raising kids, growing old.

Whom I'd love to spend time with now but can't, because we're in separate countries.

But whom I know will always be there for me when I need her. And even though she's only a phone call/email/Facebook wall post away, sometimes I cannot help but miss her still.

We share a common love for cameras, pictures, deserts, knick-knacks and all things pretty.

And I thank God for bringing her into my life 11 years ago in that stuffy little classroom in Taman Megah. For without her, I wouldn't be who I am today and I'd have a lot less happiness in my life.

To Kay, who is pretty and smart and bold and brave and strong and capable and so full of energy.

And who has a love for her family so awesome it warms my heart to see them together. Spending time together at her house - playing taboo, watching movies, just plain hanging out - is just. simply. awesome.

Who always has a piece of me with her over there in kangaroo country.

And I trust, has a piece of her with me over here, in sambal country too. Where it'll always feel like home, because the people and the things we love are all here.

For the girl that has brought so much love into my life and such unspeakable joy,

For the girl that can be silly with me anytime, anywhere, anyhow. *bloop*
(speaking of which, do me a favour and rewatch this please :P)

For the times we spent together - living, loving, laughing.

For the time we will spend together - living, loving, laughing.

Thank you.

Happy Birthday love ♥

I have turquoise toes!

2010-10-11T14:39:00.001+08:00

And it takes me a little bit of getting used to. I looked down to pick my clothes off the floor last night and was pleasantly surprised to see my turquoise-coloured toes staring back up at me.

We bought the nail polish yesterday evening after dinner during a short grocery trip. And by we, I mean my sister and I. But if you wanna get technical, my Dad gave us the money to buy it. Only 2 bucks for a vibrant turquoise - is awesome lah please.

And we painted our nails straight after we got home and then proceeded to Digimon upstairs. Dad got a shock.

"So this is what the money I gave you got you - blue toes?!"

I was merely amused. And secretly thought my toes looked quite nice. And I also thought that it would've looked better if I had tanner feet.

Please don't judge me. I need to have my ~~rare~~ not-so-rare bimbotic moments too you know.

And I also need my chillout moments. Which I'm having now. Is quite fun. I'm currently listening to conversations about unbound drugs and blood flow when on the other hand, I just came out of a below-par game of Desktop Defender and am blogging about my turquoise toes. :)

p/s: I think if my maturity level was measured by how I behave when my lecturer talks about fractions of unbound drug (or in simpler terms: Fu, [pronounced: eff-u, not fu btw]), I would've leveled-down and hit rock bottom like 2 lectures ago. Nyeheh. Right back at you, Dr. S!

must. resist.

2010-10-07T01:11:00.000+08:00

urge.

to.

Desktop.

Defend.

Test.

tomorrow.

20%.

is.

a.

lot.

*pokes

calculator*.

STUDY.

Grr.

It's OCTOBER?!

2010-10-04T00:21:00.001+08:00

And hello everybody, welcome to another episode of "Lu Loses It", where in this episode, she discovers that the date today is October ~~3rd~~4th (because it's past midnight already!) and goes beserk!

But seriously, seriously though, lame lame lame openings aside, WHAT?! How did it become October so quick? And it's the 4th already! Which means I have only another 24 days before my finals! /panicsmax

I don't even have a month!

Which considering, is quite serious because, seriously, I don't even have a month left! And speaking of total procrastination, which we are btw, I just realised my dispensing practical is this Thursday. /seriousfacepalm! And I haven't even started my calculations. Or looked at any of the practical discussion points slides.

whoops.

And I'm having second thoughts about applying for Parkville. Results not withstanding, because I don't think there's more than 5 people applying to go this semester which probably confirms me a spot if I do apply. And I'm thinking about that Japan homestay thing (it sounds quite fun. I mean, it's Ja-freaking-pan in winter! But for some reason, I'm not so enthusiastic about the whole thing. meh *shrugs*). And that International Experience thing. Even though seriously, if all they take into consideration is academic merit then I might as well forget about it. It'll be seriously like applying for the exchange thing all over again.

I'm feeling super reluctant to go back to uni though. The ~~mid~~end-sem break was too short to be of any actual use and argh, uni just doesn't sound like such a good idea now lor.

But I only have a 2-hour class tomorrow from 10 - 1 (I have a break in between!) so thankfully the first day is short. But I have some serious studying to do after that so meh. meh. meh.

So I will go Desktop Defend away my sorrows now. Bai.

p/s: The number of 'serious(ly)'s in this post is purely to annoy you, the reader, by channeling my inner bimbo. Like seriously. kthxbai.

In the Meantime

2010-09-23T01:47:00.001+08:00

So, I've been thinking about some stuff lately and I guess I've been wallowing in a little bit of self-pity now and then. two within one weekend ergh. i was admittedly, a bit stunned. recovering from my shock, i began to question - when will it be me?

And then I came home today and read an article about The Meantime, which was I think, God's way of telling me "I haven't forgotten about you. Flourish in the Meantime, and wait on Me".

And I guess this is just my way of reminding myself that in the Meantime (could take months or years even, who knows?), there are other things to do, besides fighting the urge to throw oneself off a cliff:

Get to know God
Build a community
Do what you love
Discover something new
Help others
Buy dishes
Be reasonable
But don't compromise

And it made a lot of sense because I guess I have been just sitting here, waiting for God to work His miracle: but I'm just. sitting. here. When I could be doing so much more. Like I could definitely be doing more of #1! And #3, #4, #5, #6 - they all look so good!

The bottomline is I guess to not just be idle. To keep moving forward in areas of your life that you feel God is compelling you to move in and leave the rest unto Him.

My favourite line from the article is this:

"But anytime we push ahead of Him, either by trying to force a dubious relationship or misplacing our moral compass, we're like the Prodigal, sifting through slop when we could revel in riches down the road."

And I know I'm going to need a lot of help and self-restraint - to learn how to hold back and to pace myself with God. To wait on Him and trust that He is faithful, always.

For the noob in my life

2010-09-21T21:46:00.000+08:00

Hello noob! *waves*

You're turning 13 today! And so you're one step closer to becoming ~~America's Next Top Model~~ (eh wrong one sorreh is habit nao) a biiig girl, whee!

13! 'Tis a big milestone for you - entering highschool, experiencing new things, getting a -teen as a suffix. You have your own friends, and you like doing your own stuff and sometimes I sit and watch you and wonder how did that tiny little thing grow up to be this gorgeous girl I know and love (eh wait, that's me! eh no la, it's you too!).

When did that little girl, with the constipated smile and the sassy attitude turn into this lovely laddehh...

...who finally realised that her sister is ALWAYS right and that that "appealing" top does in fact look nice on her.

Going to Europe was awesome. But it was made even more awesome by the plain fact that I had you with me. Having you - to understand my every grunt; to experience all the amazing things together; to know for sure that someone will appreciate what I appreciate; to have someone to fight for the hairbrush with in the mornings; to have someone laugh at me when I say I'm too full, and still go back for the second/third/fourth helpings of sautéed mushrooms; to have someone to love the adventure as much as I did - made the Europe trip special!

I remember when you first came around, I wasn't too happy because I had to learn how to share and how to be patient: especially when you coloured my duck blue (my ducks are supposed to be yellow. i hope you know that nao) and I couldn't yell at you because you were too young to know better.

But little did I know that having you around would be one of the greatest lessons in love I would ever experience. One grin at a time, you slowly took over my heart and I learnt to appreciate having a little sister around. The awesomeness of getting to do girly stuff with someone started to dawn on me as you grew older and learnt that ducks are to be coloured yellow if you want to keep Lu happy.

And now I've grown to really enjoy having you around. Some days I don't see you at all - I go out in the morning, you're not awake; I come back at night, and you're asleep. And on those days, I feel like I'm missing an essential part of my day - you. So overnight trips are sometimes torturous and yes I'm a wuss for you like that. :)

You're so sarcastic at times. And I'm soo proud of you! My sarcasm has rubbed off you in ways I cannot imagine and even though it shouldn't, your own brand of sarcasm makes me smile in a weird creepy oh-how-proud-i-am-of-you way. Your stubbornness is legen - wait for it - dary, and your humour is dark, in a sick-and-twisted-but-still-funneh way. And even though you are sometimes infuriatingly annoying, I wouldn't change a thing about you!

So happy 13th birthday love. Hope you had a good one. *mmmcake*

With all my ♥,

cheche

On Progress

2010-09-12T03:59:00.001+08:00

Progress is when you've compiled enough references to bury a giraffe.

It is also when you spend 4 hours looking for the above mentioned references to back up something that is worth 5 marks out of 40, which will be eventually converted to 1.25 marks out to 10 - making it 1.25% of your entire unit, of course assuming you get full marks for that particular question.

Looking at it now, from the perspective of a person with a square butt, strained eyes and a tightly reined-in grumpiness from lack of sleep (it's 4am!), it was so unnecessary.

And but why did we do it?

Because we are perfectionists like that. And despite the massive effort, still totally worth it.

*totallyhonorablefistbump*

rawrs. sleepytime.

smells

2010-09-10T23:32:00.001+08:00

I just took a shower... (alright, you're probably wondering what in the world does THAT have to do with you? Absolutely nothing but then again, it's not my point so please read on.)

... and the smell of spicy ikan bilis sambal wafting through the open bathroom window was enough to make me instantly crave a hot santan-y plate of fluffy nasi lemak with that sweet, sweet smelling sambal on the side. If it had a hard-boiled egg, peanuts and cucumber slices, all the better.

nyums.

And this has been happening for 2 nights now. 2 nights in a row has the most awesome-smelling smells wafted through the windows and straight through to my brain.

It also happened last night when I was almostsleeping. Then all of a sudden, the most wonderful smell of something cooking floated through and woke me up. I spent half an hour inhaling the awesomesmell and wondering what it was and made myself very hungry instead.

And I'm guessing the smells are coming from next door, where I have a Malay neighbour with her entire family over, probably cooking up a feast to celebrate Raya. And at that, SELAMAT HARI RAYA!

And it got me wondering, what smells do you like the best?

I like:

freshly baked goods; the air after it rains; musty old books; a newly unwrapped Sausage McMuffin with Egg as you sink your teeth into it; freshly brewed coffee, dark dark dark chocolate; a new book; a nice big pot of Earl Grey tea; the smell of shopping mall that clings to your clothing; Dad's cologne; sun-soaked sheets; rain; soup bubbling away on the stove; garlic bread; suntan lotion on the beach; fluffy nasi lemak; the familiar scent of you; that woodsy smell.

Smells that invoke good memories are generally the best. Musty old books and sun-soaked sheets are probably my favourite. But I never liked flowers. *shrugs* If you're appealing to my sense of smell, it'd be more in your favour if you brought me a batch of freshly baked blueberry muffins instead of a basketful of flowers.

doublenyums

Hah. I shall dream of muffins tonight. noms.

p/s: If you're wondering why this random post, I'm procrastinating. 'nuff said.

nomnomnom photosynthesis

2010-09-05T23:53:00.005+08:00

NYEEEEAAH.

Die EBP DIE!

But on another note, you know how these people go and "like" all these random statements on Facebook? My sister is one of them. And because she is my sister, she'll like the randomest, most sarcastic/narcissistic/sarcasticandnarcissistic statements out of the bunch. Examples:

"You're six, why do you have a phone? Who you gonna call? DORA?"

"I didn't slap you, I high-fived your face!"

"Your display picture is a car? Sorry, I didn't realise you were a transformer!"

"Hi, I'm a plant. nomnomnom photosynthesis"

"I didn't fall. I attacked the floor."

"Why you not get A?! You are not "C-sian" or "B-sian" or "D-sian" ... YOU ARE "A"-SIAN!!!!"

"I'm bringing sexy back.. LOL, JK. My sexy never left ;)"

TADAH - my sister! Who made me laugh so hard I couldn't stop when she posted the 'transformer' bit on my wall. I needed that. Thanks love.

And to all of you that are drowning in assignments/work/stuffthatneedsdoing and are in desperate need of some laughs, narh, 'cause I share your pain:

meh. assignments.

the bottom of that quicksand pit

2010-09-04T01:05:00.004+08:00

i cannot seem to help myself.

the feeling's like quicksand: pulling me in deeper and quicker the more i struggle; and to be perfectly honest, i'm quite content with letting it pull me lower and lower into its deepest darkest depths, where i can pretend that the bottom of that quicksand pit is all i ever wanted of the world.

i've just realised how terribly vulnerable i've gotten. and how low i've let myself sink.

i promised myself i'd never let myself get into another similar situation and kablam! i'm in another similar situation.

2. 5. it makes no difference. but will i never learn?

i'm so disgusted with myself. but it didn't stop you from occupying my thoughts today. i hope you're happy. all day long, the only time i didn't think of you was when i was preoccupied with not dying in a zombie apocalypse.

oh will you not quit lu? quit being a sniveling lovesick little puppy and grow up already. you are not wanted. so wake up, grow up and get on with your life already.

awkjlsduioselkfjlknkhferoukjofijlkjmansbzpaopesd

Happy MERDEKA!

2010-08-31T22:53:00.000+08:00

HAPPY 53rd MERDEKA!

This country isn't perfect. No country is. But this is Malaysia. THIS. IS. HOME.

And it'll always be.

This year's Merdeka just crept by - no brilliant firework displays, no giant flags flying, not much was done actually. For me, the only thing to mark Merdeka this year (and every other year for that matter) was the massive public holiday crowd at 1U earlier this afternoon.

But anyways, here's to the final hour of a quiet Merdeka: Malaysia Boleh! ♥

Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku

(repeat)

2010-08-23T23:11:00.001+08:00

YELLOW!

It's been a week and I thought you'd miss me so here I am - backspacing my way through my thoughts for something coherent.

I've been busy over the few weeks uni started. It's now Week 5! CAN. YOU. IMAGINE. THAT? In Monash, semesters are measured in weeks. We have 13 teaching weeks (12 if we're lucky. Lucky because we get an extra week of SwotVac duh!) and it might seem like a lot at first but once the semester starts rolling, it'll sweep past you in an instant.

And you'll have barely enough time to breathe. Let alone shower/eat/all those other unnecessary things.

My sister was talking about how boring her wardrobe was - pajamas, uniform, pajamas, uniform, pajamas, uniform, pajamas, uniform, pajamas, uniform, pajamas, actualclothes, pajamas, actualclothes (repeat). (Afternoon school is meh.)

Well, my schedule is like sleep, uni, sleep, uni, sleep, uni, sleep, uni, sleep, uni, sleep, actuallife, sleep actuallife (repeat). (Uni is also meh. And sometimes sleep and uni overlap. doublemeh.)

Sigh.

But then, when the actuallife phase rolls in it isn't too bad! I get to squeeze in a couple of rounds of L4D2 with Lay once in a while. I manage to grab dinner with a couple of friends and take a random trip down to I-City in Shah Alam (with my camera no less - pictures up soon!). And to go swimming on the weekends is not really the most hygienic choice but still good!

Speaking of L4D2, I am a girl obsessed. I super super love the game. /endstory.

OK. I have to go read an inanely long article about something. And perhaps squeeze in a couple of chapters for Thursday's test. I have a test on Thursday. Lu, please study for it. Studying helps.

p/s: And btw, the YELLOW! was my way of saying hello. If you were still wondering. kthxbai.
p/p/s: 11:11pm! wootwoot!

Turning 20

2010-08-15T14:17:00.002+08:00

Thank you Lord for the kindred spirits...

who plan a surprise birthday party the exact way I would have done it - with discreet lies, an armful of manipulation and a whole lotta love.

who takes me out to dinner, L4D2s with me (while enjoying it more thoroughly and expertly than the 2 guys we were with LOL) and then proceeds to trump me and my sister at Monopoly Deal afterwards.

who leaves a present waaaay before my birthday with her mum and knows exactly what I would like (I wore it out to dinner the other day - it's so pretty! And pink! ♥) and dedicates a blog post to me.

who I can have a heart-to-heart with, and feel so utterly comfortable with even after so long.

who texts me early in the morning so the first thing I see when I wake up, is her birthday message because she knows how much that means to me.

who makes me a yellow card and a card with sushi drawings in the front because they know exactly what I love - sushi and the colour yellow.

who fuss over how late I am and how I'm supposed to be home but allows me to stay out late anyways and tells me to be careful on my way home.

I turned 20.

Life has never been this good. Thank you. ♥

The Pot

2010-08-11T16:43:00.003+08:00

The pot has boiled.

It's time. Yippee.