London-Germany-Switzerland-Germany Winter Holiday

So! As some of you (whoever who reads this little ol' blog o mine anyway) may know, I recently did something I've never (really) done before-- travelling! My family was never one to travel much-- 98% of my life was spent in Melaka and so, I'm more of a stay-in-one-place kind of person. It seems that 2013 was a year of big changes for me but I'm not going to do my annual year-in review in this post so let's leave it for that.

*ahem*

Anyway, as the blog post title implies, I recently went on a London-Germany-Switzerland-Germany holiday!

Two days after the semester was officially over, I took a bus to London to go sightseeing before going to Germany. I mean, since the airport was in London anyway, why not take a look around, yes?

The main highlight of my 2-3 days in London was definitely eating the Lobster and Burger at Burgers and Lobsters.

Worth every single Pence even though it was 20 Pounds.

I also tried the, apparently, most delicious roasted duck in the world at Chinatown. It wasn't that great, to be honest. I mean, it was good, as far as roast ducks go. But somehow I feel like the ones back home in Melaka are about the same, at only a fraction of the price. Maybe I'll try it again one day during the peak hour. It might be better then.

I also visited Baker Street, home to the famous Sherlock Holmes. It was a pretty nice place.

And not to forget, South Bank-- where the London Eye and the Big Ben are located. 

But the main body of this post is going to be dedicated to my journey around Germany-- mainly in Cologne, Nuremberg, Munich and Berlin-- and also in Zurich, the capital of Switzerland.

But! I'm still kinda tired now from all the travelling (half of Germany in 7 days wow) so I'll  update this soonish!

MoRunning in Movember and having dinner with the Avalon family

I know, I know, I haven't been updating my blog lately. In fact, I haven't updated it in a looong time. I think I'll bring it up to date soon, but in the meantime I want to write about the very fulfilling weekend I just had.

On Friday I went to play badminton. It was great fun since I haven't really exercised in a long time. I then cooked a rather British meal using in-season produce like butternut squash, parsnips and brussel sprouts.

***

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6am to see ice forming on my windows. The temperature was -2 degrees celsius and I wanted to take a shower but I decided that I couldn't and wouldn't brave the cold waters. I got ready and dressed really warmly by wearing many layers of clothing. It was the coldest I've ever experienced thus far.

I met up with Audrey and then Kae Huey to walk to Wollaton Park. It was a roughly 30 minute walk from our houses and thankfully it wasn't very windy-- it was just cold so in the end it was pretty bearable.

Wollaton Park's Wayne Manor-- where the Dark Knight Rises was shot in.

We arrived at the park at roughly half past seven and met up with the other members of the MoRun crew as we were to be volunteers for an event called MoRunning. I had originally planned to join the run, but since it costs nearly 20 quids, I decided to volunteer instead. And I think volunteering was much more satisfying than running.

We were asked to separate the medals into stacks of 20 and so we got to work...

Kae Huey and Audrey posing with the medals in the background. Oranges are 5k medals and blues are 10k ones.

After we were done with that, the crew gave us some hot drinks to get ourselves warm before the event began in earnest. I had hot chocolate with milk. The other two had a mochacino.

The three of us enjoying our complimentary coffee bean hot drinks. It was soooo good. So. Good.

Kae Huey and I were stationed just beside the lake, which had a really beautiful view (though honestly everywhere had a beautiful view-- that's just how beautiful the parks in Nottingham are). The best thing we found out was that it was so cold till the leaves were actually frozen!

That leaf is frozen. Really.

The view from where we were stationed at.

I was giving support and encouragement to the runners. They were a really great crowd-- very receptive.

All in all, I had a really great time in the event. The crowd was simply amazing and not only were we encouraging them, they were also encouraging us as well! Think about that. They were telling US that we were doing a good job when it was actually our job to tell them that they were doing great. So nice.

We were also given one more complimentary drink at the end of it so I took a hot gingerbread chocolate this time ( I was trying not to take the caffeinated options).

After that we stopped by to take a  look inside Wayne Manor.

Posing macam yes.

After reaching back home around 12-ish, Audrey and I had lunch together (she supplied pizza) since her housemates all went to Oxford and it was partly due to me asking her to join as a volunteer that she couldn't go and it's kinda sad to eat alone so we had lunch together.

And then we all went back to rest, and around 5.30, I met up with Audrey again to go meet our host family-- Peter and Elizabeth Avalon. They were a really nice couple-- quite elderly but very up-to-date with technology. Peter was a mechanical engineer while Elizabeth was a teacher at one point.

We ate dinner together prepared by the Avalon family and boy, was it delicious!

We had roasted potatoes, turkey, cauliflower with cheese, green peas, sweet corn, cabbages, bell peppers, baked mushrooms and gravy. So, so delicious. We held a very nice conversation till around 10.30pm and decided to call it a night. 

Anyway! I'll update more about my life in the UK soon. But you can always follow me on facebook for that, can't you? 

Dream Diary Day 27

I had a dream. Actually I've been having dreams for many times already before this-- I just felt too lazy to get up and write about it.

I was at home. As in, my house back in Melaka. There was a bus outside. I suppose I was supposed to get on, but I haven't packed anything. Other people were all getting on the bus, and I was rushing to pack my stuff-- pillows, soap, etc.

After packing like halfway thru, the bus moved on without me.

At first I was sad. But then I was a bit relieved, because I wasn't sure if I had wanted to go in the first place. As in, I was undecided to go and last minute decided to just pack, but then I couldn't go and then I was fine not going as well.

Penang: the Pearl of the Orient

I suppose this post was long overdue. Let me try to recall my experiences for three days in Penang (with the help of pictures, of course, since someone told me that my blog needed more pictures. I'll be relying on Ryan a lot for that).


On the First Day, I took the 6:30am bus to meet up with Ryan and Po Ee in Low-Cost-Carrier Terminal (LCCT for short). I arrived slightly shy of 8:30am, and then Ryan treated me to a burger for breakfast.

We entered the departure hall and waited for our flight.

The LCCT departure hall

The flight towards Penang took roughly 35 mins (wow!). We arrived at Penang International Airport and Hui Jiun, together with Han Ying, was there to pick us up.

Hui Jiun took us to a tour around Penang for a bit and then we went to have cendol, otak-otak, and fried kuey teow at a small cornershop which was overly packed with people.

 

It was good. Not really that great-- but good.

After that Hui Jiun dropped us back at our hotel (PP Island). It was a really nice place. We got two neighbouring rooms on the 9th floor, so the view was great.

(Das me, lying down)

After resting for a bit and putting our stuffs down, we immediately head out again to the heritage area on Penang Island. We took a lot of photos there while walking around.

We visited a camera museum,

Das camera museum

A temple,

And the Peranakan museum.

Hereby dubbed the NBS family photo

 After it looked like it was going to rain, we took a pit-stop at a place called China House. It's an art cafe ( those seem like all the craze lately) and they served really, really, delicious tiramisu cake.

Das me, vandalizing the table haha

What I drew-- and the super delicious RM 15 cake

After that Hui Jiun took us back to our hotel and we all rested the rest of the evening. I, apparently, was knocked out cold lols. Sometime around 6pm, Hui Jiun and her boyfriend (oooh!) came to pick us up again and brought us to a place called Northram Beach Cafe where we had our dinner. I had something like prawn mee. It wasn't bad, but nothing to shout about. We also had some fried chicken. Now that was really good. Anyone up for more Bishop's noses? Hahaha. After that, we went to a place in the upper crust of Penang Island called the Straits Quay.

Since it was raining, we stopped by a lounge/bar/cafe called The Library. I didn't drink anything, just to tell you beforehand. It was a nice place though. We sat by the outside so the sound of the rain, mixed with the swaying of boats and a live band further in really had a nice atmosphere.

Don't hate, yo!

After the rain stopped, we walked along the coastline(?) overlooking the sea and many boats/yachts.

Lumia Camera saves the day at night ;)

The time was around... 1am by the time we went back to our hotel. when we reached back, we started playing... MONOPOLY DEAL!

I was so close to winning to many times but alas it was not meant to be as victory escaped my grasp each time, and Ryan emerged victorious for the majority of the games.

At around 3am, we went to sleep.

Wow, can you believe it. That was just the First Day.


On the Second Day, still tired from sleeping so late the night(morning?) before, we woke up around 9-ish. Hui Jiun came to pick us up again at around 10, more or less. We went to Pulau Tikus and had delicious wan tan mee. It was really, really really good. It's kinda sad that Melaka's are really such a let down.

It was half white, half black. Don't ask, I don't know how else to explain.

After we were done we headed over to Kek Lok Si temple. It was a climb-- what a climb. We hiked all the way up to the highest level in the pagoda.

Right at the very top. No photos coz we were all afraid of staying there too long. It was scary.

After that we took a cable car to the top of the... area. And we saw a HUUUUGE Guan Yin statue.

Syok sendiri in the cable car LOL

It was freaking hot by the way. Pardon the Cina Eyes

After we were done we climbed back down and then ate Laksa. You know, the famous assam laksa. I also had some nutmeg juice.

After that we stopped by a place called Him Heang. The biscuits there were sooooo delicious oh my goodness, I should have bought more.We had dinner ( well, it was more like... tea time) at a hawker centre and ordered steamed white chicken, fish+chicken porridge, bak kut teh and some dim sum. After that we went back to rest for a while again (more like 3 hours), and then Hui Jiun brought us to the Penang Hill. She didn't join us this time though as she was busy with something.

Penang Hill was, in one word, beautiful. It was 712m above sea level. By the time we reached there, it was around 8pm.

They call it Bukit Bendera for a reason ;)

We walked around and explored the area and took the chance to take in the nice view and fresh air. We also took a few photos here and there.When we descended around 9-10pm, Hui Jiun again came to pick us up and sent us back to our hotel. So super thankful for her :)

We played monopoly deal again, but this time the millionaire variety until around 1am and then we went to eat at a mamak stall just nearby our hotel called "Jiao Sai" which is in Cantonese, and would translate to something like Bird Poop. It was pretty good by the way. They only sold maggi goreng and the varieties.

Jiao Sai maggi goreng. HAHAHA what a name.

After that we headed back to sleep. That was around 2am I suppose. And thus ended our Second Day.

On the Third Day, Hui Jiun had to work (can you believe it-- she took leave just for us D'AWWW) and we were lucky to have Ryan's friend, KC, to help us. In the morning he took us to a hawker centre where we ate dim sum (delicious dim sum too) and prawn mee.

MmmMmm good!

After that he brought us to the seafront and we weren't really sure what the place was called. KC said he called it the Ubah Beach. Here's why...

With DAP's UBAH! bird.

After chilling there for a while we went back to the heritage area to take photos with all the murals that tourists always take photos with. Once there, we rented some bikes to go around because walking would be just too far.

This kinda looks like a poster for some cliche movie.

You know, that was the 3rd time I've ever ridden a bicycle before so I was so afraid that I might be terrible at it, but somehow I ended up being pretty good. (the last time I rode a bike was many years ago, and I sucked-- so I stopped)

Anyway, we went around taking photos with the murals here and there. Gosh, we were all covered in sweat. 

Wah-chaa!

And of course, this iconic photo.

After that was over and done with, we went over to Hard Rock Hotel, in Batu Ferringhi. And Dayum, the place was really high class.

Just a small part of the huge hotel.

The beach was beautiful too, at any rate. The sand was smooth and soft. After that we paid a visit to Fort Cornwellis. There wasn't much to do there, to be honest. It's just kinda... like that.

Epic expressions. I was torn between smiling or acting. Ended up failing both.

Finally, we decided to head over to the airport coz it was time to go.

At the airport, KC's car boot suddenly couldn't open and we all panicked and rushed over to a car mechanic to get it fixed. Funnily enough, when we got there, it opened by itself. So... thankfully everything was solved without much hassle.

We ate a quick lunch at the airport, and then thanked KC and we got on our flights.

It looks like a sea down there! Oh wait, it IS the sea.

Upon arrival, we promptly parted ways-- me going to take a bus back to Melaka while Po Ee and Ryan were to go to their homes in KL respectively. I had to stay at the airport till 9pm since I missed the 6.30 bus and the 8pm bus was full. Ugh, crowded, smoky, smelly and full of flies. But oh well. A pauper can't be picky.


I arrived back in Melaka around 11pm and had a large dinner waiting for me (seriously?). And my parents continued to feed me like crazy for the next few days even though I just came back from a food trip around Penang. Hah.

Oh, but I am grateful though.

So this wraps up my escape. Hope to update with more good things soon!

Sunway Pyramid and 1 Utama, meeting some friends before I go to UK

Thursday and Friday, 25/7 and 26/7 respectively, I organized some outings with my friends. The first; to go to Sunway Pyramid, and the second; to 1 Utama.

As you might've noticed, my week here seems to be really packed, eh? Hahah. Just what I like, I suppose.

Anyway, for the first day, I was really surprised that Chew Yi could/would come. Why... well... I just kinda invited her on a whim, really. Because it's not like I was very good friends with her. But then again, maybe we were pretty good friends, come to think of it. But I'm happy to say that I'm glad that I did invite her because she was definitely a welcome and positive addition to the group that night.

She also seemed happy to be invited along and expressed her frustrations because nobody invited her out hahaha.So I guess I made the right decision.

Anyway, since the whole group couldn't come on one day, I split the gathering into two days and thus, two different locations.

On Thursday, the first day and original plan, Tzer Maan, and I drove to Sunway to meet up with Audrey and Chew Yi because I wanted to eat the Matcha Green Tea ice cream that Krystal introduced to me and I also wanted to share the ice cream with others. We chit-chatted for most of the time while searching for the ice cream because I conveniently forgot where it was-- but in the end, after walking through almost the WHOLE area, we found out that the stall was just beside the place where we started. Wow.

We wanted to eat at Bubba Gump, because I heard everyone saying that it's good, but it was full and the waiting area was full of smokers. Sooo... we decided to eat at Sushi Zanmai instead. We queued for a while and just nice as we entered the restaurant, Beng Guan arrived to join us. We had a feast of sorts, ordering so much stuff. It was really worth it though, in my opinion. And as always, Sushi Zanmai doesn't really disappoint. :)

After that we tried to go ice skating, but the rink was already closed. Then we tried to watch a movie, but the shows were all almost midnight-- too late. Then we tried to sing K, but the fees were outrageous (RM 42 per person? No, thank you!). Then we drove out, following BG's car and went to another KTV joint, but they were full. So I guess, no helping it, we decided to go to Asia Cafe where BG treated us to some fruit juice, before heading back for the night. I reached back home around 1am.

***

The Next day, I woke up at 8am for some odd reason and lazed around till it was time to go out again, this time to 1 Utama. The actors in this scene were Me, Tzer Maan, Audrey, Beng Guan (recurring casts) and Sunnie and Khai Wei. All of us arrived at around the same time again so I guess we had impeccable timing, except that Khai Wei was a little later.

We bowled first, while waiting for him. I guess it was OK, I did better last time. Haha.

We watched Wolverine. It was kinda sucky, in my opinion. But maybe it's because I expected so much more.

After that we ate at Fish and Co. The food there was good, as usual. But the highlight was definitely, oh goodness, hahah. Tzer Maan asked the waitress for her facebook saying that Beng Guan would like to get to know her better. And she really gave us her name, although afterwards BG said that he couldn't find her profile. Tzer Maan also asked another waiter for a slice of lemon for his water. That was definitely a first.. for me.

***

Both nights were filled with laughter and fun and... fellowship. Definitely. Gonna miss them when I go for UK. But then again... out of the 7 people who came, 3 of us are going to go to the UK together so... hahah!

Lights Up! NBS Welcoming event +Seremban Trip

24/7/2013

 NBS organized (in large part thanks to Bob and Celestine, I assume, for taking the initiative) a welcoming-come-introductory party for the freshers of Nottingham, e.g. mainly the July intake foundation students, for the first time ever on the date above.

At first, I was hesitant on going as I was still rushing to settle my fees, passports, CAS, visa, and a few other things concerning my UK application. Like how they made a mess of my offer letter. But let's not get into that.

Well, I steeled my resolve when Celestine contacted me personally and gave me the hefty assignment of being an MC, alongside her, for the event.

It's just something my mother used to teach me. Ask and ye shall receive. I have a very, very hard time turning people down when they request my help to do something. Usually because I don't have much of a reason to decline, at any rate. Did I mention that the movie, "Yes Man", had a great impact on my life? If you haven't watched it yet, I suggest you do. It's a Jim Carrie movie, so you should know that it's good. And also, I guess, it's become part of me to whole-ass one thing than to half-ass two things.

I drove up on Tuesday morning and met up with Celestine to discuss about our MC script as well as hand out some flyers and watch her dog, Royce.

After the lunch rush was over, I met up with Ah Cai and drove to Seremban to meet up with Sharon and Kit Wayne (Shireen couldn't join us) as Sharon had told me that she wanted to give me a gift before I left for UK. (I'm so touched :') ). Anyhow! As fate would have it, she forgot to bring it and so we instead went to watch a movie (Turbo, was kinda meh, not bad, not good) and then went to eat some stuff around the area. Sweet Hut, which served obscenely sweet stuff, which, at first was pretty good, but almost gave me a tummy ache, and then Yee Kee's beef noodles. I should mention here that I'm not a beef person as my family doesn't really eat beef. It's not like I can't, it's just that we don't so I've not eaten much beef before. So I needed some time to get used to the taste of the beef, but overall it was pretty enjoyable.

After that we headed over to Kit's house and chilled there by playing Dai Di and eating all his chocolates (as if I hadn't had enough sugar in my blood already) and soya bean. Muahahah.

Day ends, fast forward to the big day.

Bob, Celestine and I had breakfast/lunch together in Semenyih after she suddenly had the urge to eat Wan Tan Mee. I went back to sleep afterwards, and then in the evening, for tea/dinner we ate at Subway because she suddenly had the urge to eat there too. Hahah.

We arrived back in campus and then prepared the room for our event, Lights Up!, with the help of a few other committed committee members who happened to be free and willing to travel back/happened to be in the area.

We were holding our breaths in anticipation at whether our efforts could reach the students, whether our sincerity had made them keen on coming, and whether our HI ARE YOU A FOUNDATION STUDENT surprise attacks didn't scare them away.

THANKFULLY, a modest number of students came (exactly 14, exclusive of working members), which was about half of the max allowance we had. A pretty good number, I might add. Another thing to point out was that they were mostly girls. Wow.

Well, we had our games, and they were a good audience. I think we did pretty well. I also think that they seem to enjoy themselves, too. Had the chance to talk with a few of them and they were all pretty nice people too :)

The day ended without a hitch and tadaaa! A job well done, everyone. :)

I think I made the right decision to come. I felt super good after the event. Like I said before, it's a different kind of satisfaction. Sometimes I think I'm a two-in-one person. I'm a half of everything. I'm introverted and extroverted at the same time. So I need to find a balance of both. I can go into more detail in another post, I guess, if i have the mood.

Till next time!

So, Glenn has left.

18 July 2013, Glenn has flown off for Australia to study Engineering in the University of New South Wales (with Frank). He'll be there for the next 3(4?) years and I reckon... I won't be seeing him much anymore.

It's kinda hard to accept, because I'm used to seeing his mug daily and then some. Even when he was doing his A levels in Taylor's, I didn't see him much anymore but still, he was nearby, y'know?

But still, best wishes, dear Glenn. You damn retard, you. :)

I have some issues I need to address in myself

I have some personal issues-- things that are fundamentally wrong in the way I carry myself, my thoughts and the mental anguish I needlessly put myself through.

For one thing, I get irritated very easily.

But the good thing about it is that I guess I don't get angry-- I just get irritated. However, my tongue seems become a hundred times sharper at that point and I'll hurt everyone around me.

Or maybe I just call it irritated, when I am actually angry. Maybe that's just the way I express my anger.

...

I am a competitor. Whenever there's a win-lose situation, as most competitions are, I try my hardest to win. I honestly do. Because if I don't, then why am I wasting my precious time by not giving it my all?

That's all fine and well if I could live my life alone. But I get irritated when people don't feel the same way. But right now, as I'm typing this, I believe my irritation is justified as, due to people not willing to commit to something, it's dragging me down as well, and directly wasting my time.

But maybe my stance will change after I've calmed down.

When I don't win, then that means I lose. Sure, some people may say, I can gain something even though I lost. But I'm a winner.  And winners don't lose.

Where does this big-headedness and self confidence come from? I don't know. It was always there.

I do believe my mom had a big part in creating that part of me. And I don't mean that in a good way.
I suppose I'll change my mind again when morning comes. I'd be all Happy! and Smiley! and the "usual me" once more.

My hair is not black anymore.

I suppose this may come as a shocker to some people. But 2 days ago, on Tuesday, 11 June 2013, I went to a saloon and, two hours later, came out with copper-red highlighted hair. I also changed my hairstyle from the basic side-parted hair to an I-don't-know-what-kind-of-modern hairstyle. Also, bought some styling mud (clay, essentially) but haven't had much chance to use it.

What brought the change? Well, it was kinda an on impulse thing, yet not really, because I've been considering doing some stylo stuff to my hair for quite some time. I actually wanted to highlight it blue, but the hairdresser said it'd take a very long time. So, a natural colour, in the end. Maybe I was influenced by my drums teacher back in my primary days, because he had super long blue hair that could sweep the floor. Hahah! But not anymore ever since he became a father.

So yeah, that's about it. Photo? Well, I'll get one up soonish, when there's a nice one. In the meantime, here:

 

Take care!

Dream Diary Day 26

Had this while taking a nap in the afternoon:

I dreamt I was in Nottingham. I was going to go pick Khoo up and the two of us were to have lunch together. I was supposed to go meet up with poh too. In a big hall, there was to be a ballet performance (possibly Yen Yi's one?).

Suddenly my phone rang in the hall as I dropped by to take a look around. It was Jasmine calling me. I was kinda shocked and pressed 'answer'. Then Jasmine said, "Hello... hello good afternoon.. hello good afternoon..."like as if she wasn't sure if she got the right person. Very formally.

"Hello... hello good afternoon, my name is.."
then I said,
"You do know who you're calling right."

And then the two of us broke out in laughter, and she mentioned something like she wasn't sure if she had my number right. We talked for a while, then I went out of the hall, there was a big field.The ground was made up of small rocks.

Lo and behold I saw Jasmine sitting down outside. But somehow, I didn't really stop to talk to her. I just asked her, while walking, "Have you seen Poh?" to which she replied no. Then I said something like, I'll see you tomorrow, oh wait, no, you'll be coming home next week right, I'll see you next week.

Kinda weird. Hah. Possibly located in Nottingham UK, maybe? Not sure.

Dream Diary Day 25

So I guess thankfully this wasn't a nightmare. But it was a peculiar dream.

I was on my computer, surfing facebook, or something, and chatting with a girl called Krystal. The thing about her is that I've never met her in person nor heard her voice. And I don't know what happened, but she somehow gave me a phone call; though we never exchanged numbers before. I picked up my phone and suddenly she was standing in front of me. Well, it was all imaginary, of course, because I've never seen her before. And we talked for a while, and I can't remember how she sounded like. But yeah, I woke up after that.

Dream Diary Day 24

I had a nightmare this time.

I dreamt that I had to cook something for someone. Cook a fish in a certain special way. And I didn't know how to.

I was at a shopping mall, something akin to tesco. It was late at night-- everyone had left and I was alone with a few other people. So I was thinking to get out of the place, following a huge security guard. (like 4-5 times bigger than me). As he was escorting us to the exit, we came across another family. The thing is this family looked like zombies. The father had some skin, and eyes, but other than that were pretty much bones. I can't remember how the others look like. But they did speak english. Hmm. I think they killed the guard-- and then told us to follow them if we wanted to live.

We were at their 'house', located somewhere inside the mall. Their little daughter was hungry/bored I don't know, and the father asked me to play with her. Or more like, survive her trying to eat me.

She lunged at me and I held her head back. Then she cried and said I was cheating because I was pulling her hair. So I was like, okay okay, I won't pull your hair. Then I held her back by holding her forehead, and she cried as well saying that it wasn't fair.

Luckily for me, the mother stepped in and said that we all should eat something too. She prepared meals for us (however we were all split up and eating at different places). While eating her delicious meal, I took a bite into a piece of lime and suddenly I understood that she was asking me to run away. I calmly put the lime down and carefully found my way out without making any noise at all.

I exited the area and found out that I was on a hillish area, overlooking a big lake (it was way past midnight, and the whole area was very dark. But it was bright enough for me to see where to go, maybe because there was a bright moon).

I looked for a way to get to my car, and realized that the shortest way was to go past that shopping mall again. However I decided to swim across the lake instead and take the roundabout way.

There was a jeti in the lake, so I used that to walk to somewhere in the middle of it, before jumping into the water and swimming across. I was so afraid that there were zombies or something in the lake, and I was like oh shit, and then forced myself to swim slowly only at the very surface of the lake. Luckily for me, I managed to reach the other end safely.

I managed to find my car without any hiccups and then I saw my friend(s?) there. Apparently the mother had given each of them a chance to escape too.

I drove us back home. My house was a simple single storey house with a pretty big yard and gate. We entered the house.

Suddenly there were people outside. It was too dark to tell who, but we were scared like crap. They rang the doorbell and somehow managed to get in. But these were my other friends. And apparently they wanted to do a surprise party for another friend.

And then their other friend came and...

I forced myself to wake up at this point. I didn't want anymore of this dream :\

Wesak Day 2557 (2013)

Wesak Day-- the day the Buddha passed away forever. Why do we celebrate-- wait, "celebrate" isn't the right word to use. Why do we observe this day? It is to commemorate the Buddha's passing, yes, but more importantly the Buddha's attainment of Nirvana/Nibanna-- the greatest achievement. The belief that he did not die, but relinquished his life. That he had defeated death because death did not take him but rather he accepted it and he was finally able to escape the wheel of samsara-- of death and rebirth. We observe Wesak to remind ourselves to be more mindful of our actions by undertaking the precepts and to share meritorious deeds to all beings.

 That didn't sound like me, did it? Haha!

Well, on such an auspicious day, I travelled to two different places to spend my time meaningfully rather than sleep and be generally unproductive. In the morning, I went to Maha Vihara temple at Brickfields because Sis. Pai Ling invited the NBS to be volunteers at their booth for Wesak. I was the only person free to go so I asked (forced) Bob to come along and accompany me there. Two of my friends tagged along, namely Wah Sheng and K Huey to go to the temple too. We left Semenyih at around 8am and reached our destination at around 10:30am, thanks to Sis. Pai Ling for picking us up. I overestimated Malaysia's public transport system a little bit.

Once there, we toured the area a little and partook in a bit of (overpriced) food before getting to work. I was stationed at the booth distributing joss sticks and candles and accepting donations while Bob was working at the Book store. The other two were pretty much free to roam around and helped here and there. After we were done, Sis. Pai Ling fetched us back to the Kajang KTM station where I parked my car and we parted ways there. Bob went straight to Serdang, to go to Nalanda and help out there again (wow, salute to you brother) while Nut stayed back at the temple for his parents. Kae Huey and I went back to our house and I went to bathe and sleep for around 10 minutes before getting ready to leave for Nalanda myself.

 I picked Lee up and the two of us went to Nalanda with the help of my GPS. On the way there it started to rain so heavily to the point where I couldn't see the road in front of my and had to drive very slowly. I was concerned for Nalanda's agenda for the night because it would be quite impossible for the procession to go on under such a storm.

When we reached there, the rain had somewhat subsided and the place was generally in a bit of a mess since their schedule couldn't be kept. The Nalandians were hurrying in and out carrying tables and chairs and organising the visitors because the rain had flooded the field. Celestine told us to chill and look around the Nalanda Centre while waiting but Lee and I decided to offer our help where possible and carried tables and boards here and there for some time. Thankfully, the rain stopped altogether slightly shy of 6pm and things were under control again.

We had our dinners, consisting of a multi-course meal ( I can't even begin to count the variety of food available) as well as a dazzling number of desserts consisting of local cakes and sweets. We also had tau fu fah, provided free by the vendors. While eating, Celestine introduced us to an interesting guy called Benjamin Khoo. He was in the finance line and was fun to talk to. As night drew on, the procession started to move. We were each given a candle to light and hold as we walked. I was explaining to Lee throughout the walk about the Buddhist culture to the best of my ability but I probably couldn't do it justice as there is a lot that I still don't know.

After that we were ushered into seats to observe the speeches and performances prepared by the Nalandians. The highlight was definitely the Reader's Theater and the Wayang Kulit. I was looking forward for Bro. Tan's speech, but he didn't give one. After that Lee and I helped the Nalandians pack up stuff like tables, chairs, speakers et cetera while engaging in some conversation with them.

Oh yeah, peanut, a girl named Hui Sin (forgive me for I am terribleh with Chinese names) from Wesley Methodist School says hi to you.

Anyway, after we were done packing, Bob, Lee and I went to Mungga Nasi Lemak and had supper before going back home to sleep.

 And there you have it, my Wesak day.

Minor Update

I guess I haven't updated much in a while. Maybe it's due to me being in my exam mode now. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have any dreams lately. I do, some of them pretty vivid, some not so. But as of right now? I don't remember anything anymore.

I've bought some supplementation from Amway since I've signed up to be a distributor-- a total cost of RM 542 for my whole family. I've bought some glucosamine tablets in hopes that it'd help the discomfort in my knee that I always get after playing basketball.

My mom is always concerned about my basketball-playing habit and the subsequent aches I get. I know, I have to take care of my knees as they'll last me till my death-- but if I stop playing basketball I think I'll go crazy. And even if I stopped basketball, there's still badminton, an equally high impact sport. Lately I've been getting into Ultimate Frisbee too. It's kinda fun and since it's played in a field, the impact on my knees aren't as great.

I want to write another story again. I already have a rough plotline in my head. About a boy who wants something so bad-- but how bad exactly? Stay tuned. ;)

Just another week till I'm officially done with my first year. Mixed feelings about it.

Been dabbling my hands in meditation again.

Follow up on my Ledger Book and also my Book of Good Things-- I realized that I am pretty thrifty after all. And it's not as easy as I thought it would be to think of three good things to be grateful for everyday. But well, I'm keeping at it. It's nice to turn back the pages and feel happy, at least.

Nalanda Buddhist Society's 10th Anniversary Celebration

Today, 1 May 2013, marks the day of Nalanda Buddhist Society's 10th Anniversary since its inception back in 2003.

The Nottingham Buddhist Society (coincidentally having the acronym NBS as well) is closely linked to Nalanda's as the President (of NBS) is a youth leader there. Bob and I, self-proclaimed representatives from the Nottingham Buddhist Society, went to Nalanda to observe their celebration together with the Nalandians.

We departed at 5:00pm, hoping to reach there early. However, we lost our way along the way and arrived there slightly later than 6pm. Nevertheless, we were still relatively early and the events of the night had yet to begin.

We were invited to have our dinner first before the others and, knowing that it would be crowded later, gratefully took their offer and had our dinner before the other guests arrived.

It wasn't long after that when we gathered and sat at the main stage to sing NEGARAKU(!) and to observe the Opening Gatha, where the Buddhist and Nalanda Flags are raised along with some recitation in Pali.

After that, the guests were invited to have dinner. Since Bob and I already had ours, we took the time to interact with the Nalandians and other guests present there.

Making our way back to our seats, there were performances and speeches waiting for us.

Some of the things I've learnt:

1.The door is always open for those who are willing to learn.
2. A life without serving others is sorrowful.
3. We learn through gratitude.
4. Our success today is the result from so many factors. It is important that we be grateful for everything-- the good and bad-- that has happened. When we show gratitude, we must know what has helped us and how, and also acknowledge them by continuously wishing them well.
5. There are certain things in life we do not because it is easy, but because it is necessary.
6. When we help others, it is ourselves we are helping.

Besides that, I met a few of the Nalandians whom I hadn't already known ( all very friendly in their own ways) and hope to keep in touch.

For reference (also photos)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151591418087559.1073741825.643752558&type=1

Poems (POEM)

Poems indeed I love to write,
and that will never change;
Because whether I'm feeling happy or sad or naught,
The words always treat me just the same.

Poems, to me, are a way of saying,
that in this dry, dull life I have something worth giving.

Poems, to me, are a way of proving,
that dreams don't die, and are worth keeping.

Poems, to me, are a way of preserving,
my thoughts, emotions, and my pent-up feelings.

Poems, to me, are my solace,
safe in words, safe in time.

For poems can be short, or they can be long;
they can rhyme, or they can not
you create your own rules as you move along
and in no way can you ever be wrong.

There's no one who can say it is bad
even when they do you shouldn't be sad
If they don't understand you then it's such a shame
but don't blame them for feelings are never the same.

Clear your mind and let the words flow,
don't hold back and just let them go
Don't be afraid to let people see you,
the You who's living inside you.

Results from Fruit Drink Tests were "special"

Today was my final measurement test for the fruit drink study I took part in since early February.

At the end of my measurement, I asked the researcher there, Kok Wei, to explain my results a little. He said my results, among all the rest, were very special. Out of the 80 people who took the study, only one-- me, did not follow their hypothesis.

Their hypothesis was that the carotenoids in the fruit drink would make our skin turn yellow and eyes brighter, also partly due to the vitamins inside. In my case, both results were not found. My skin did turn SLIGHTLY yellower (by a marker of 0.71, though I don't know what that means) but according to Kok Wei, he said that that was pretty negligible as others had their skin turning much yellower.

It's highly likely that the carotenoids and vitamins were mostly used to supplement my immune system when I had chicken pox (thus my speedy recovery). Then he also said that even after recovery, it was still used to improve my immune system as neither my skin nor eyes showed any changes.

Mine's a unique case because I got chicken pox during the study. There was a theory that the carotenoids and vitamins could improve our immune system, but there isn't any concrete proof of it as no study can purposely make their subjects sick before taking results. Therefore, my results are kinda interesting to them and also quite important as that sort of proves their theory that, when sick, carotenoids and vitamins will be used in improving our immune system.

Other functions include yellowing skin to protect against UV rays and brightening eyes (improving eyesight?).

Kok Wei said that he might send me e-mails in future to follow up on my case.

I didn't get to join the Student Exchange to go to UK

So... today I just received the email telling me that my application was UNSUCCESSFUL (yes, it was all caps :( ). Oh well... I guess I just have to focus on what's in front of me.

YMCA + Lot 10 + Lowyat+ Midvalley +Oblivion + Food journey

Sooooo today I had breakfast with Jia En which consist of nasi lemak + hard boiled eggs. We then went to pick up Nut and I drove and parked at Kajang KTM station. Took the KTM to Central KL and walked over to the YMCA building to meet up with Isaiah and all four of us ordered the highly-proclaimed Chicken Katsu Don (basically fried chicken rice bowl). Hmm, if they already used katsu don, why not just use tori katsu don? Well, anyway, FOR ME I THOUGHT IT WAS TERRIBLE.

But nevermind, after that we went to Low Yat (Imbi station), where Khoo bought a laptop cooler, I bought a 16gb pendrive and Isaiah bough an external hard drive. Then we went to take a look at hoopstation and subsequently around Lot 10 and sungai wang. After that, after a surprising request from Khoo to try Snowflakes, we went there and spent the most of our afternoon talking over a cup of icey desserts.

After that we parted ways with Nut and Isaiah as the duo would go and meet their friends; while khoo and I decided to catch a movie at Mid Valley. We bought the tickets to Oblivion at RM 15 each, and since our movie was at 5pm (it was around 4pm at the time) we went to sit down at Paddington's House of Pancakes and try something there.

Oblivion was OK. Not very great, not bad, kinda good. That's about it. I'm really glad that it wasn't some mindless action movie though. Props to that.

After the movie we went to Kim Gary's restaurant.Khoo and I ordered 3 main dishes to be shared by the two of us, and then we signed up for something I don't know what, and got RM 5 vouchers each. With a total of RM 10 free, we ordered one more dish so we shared four dishes between the two of us and it was kinda nice.

After that we went back home and now I'm kinda freaking tired LOL.

It's been a hectic week+ Lumia 920+NBS Final Dhamma Talk

I went back home to Melaka last weekend, even though I knew I shouldn't have-- I was going to be super busy this week and going home=> zero productivity.

Well, my mother was going to go to Chiangmai this weekend and I thought I'd come back and wish her safe journeys. After all, what are some results anyway?

On Monday, just before going back to campus for a lab session, I went to buy a NEW PHONE for myself. It's my first SMARTPHONE-- a pretty high end model too: the Nokia Lumia 920. I got it for a pretty low price, relatively, largely thanks to Poh and her connections.

After buying my phone, I drove back to campus and arrived just slightly shy of 5 minutes before my lab started.


***

Yesterday was the final Dhamma Talk organized by the NBS for this semester. I don't know if I'll still be with them come September, but if possible I'd like to spend a lot more time with them. It's really nice to see how far we've come as opposed to September last year when we hardly even knew each other. Personally, for me, I signed up to be part of the committee without knowing anyone else, save Sze Wei and Ryan and Hui Jiun (though we never talked at prior to that). I knew Sumana, as she was the camp commander previously, but I doubt she knew me. Celestine, Chee Ying, Derick, Jian Yuan, Po Ee, Wan Mei, and Zheng Yang made for the core committee members while Bob, King Yew, Yi Xin, and Han Ying joined us after being interviewed later on. A weird rag-tag group of misfits (as most authors like to describe unlikely friends) who, under normal circumstances, would probably not mix with each other all that much.

And it's been an amazing journey. Really. I could probably write a few-thousand word essay on my time here (and I think I probably will, one day when I'm feeling particularly nostalgic). I haven't been able to express my thanks to them enough yet, but I'm sure I'll find a way.

***

I just had a chat with my mom ( like literally, just, as I was typing this), and my train of thought has been changed already, so there's no point in trying to continue this blog post. Anyway, my mom saw a few photos I took from my Lumia during the final NBS Talk and she commented that some of the ladies of NBS, particularly three of them, stood out from the rest. And for the most part, I do agree with her observation. ;)

Anyway, to cut things short,

It's been a hectic week, but I'm hanging on, and I can be 110% sure I'll miss the times I spent with the NBS.

Ledger/Account/Financial Book and my "Book of Good Things"

Today I decided to organize my life a little more. It's been getting a little bit messy and out of hand lately to the point where I'm starting to lose my focus. I bought a ledger book to keep track of my financial expenditure because, let's face it, my family is far from what you'd call financially rich. We may be rich in other aspects though, but just not financially. I don't have much plans for that YET, as I'm going to take a few months and see how my spending trend is like. Off the top of my head though? I think I'm pretty thrifty.

I also decided to use the book/journal Isaiah gave me for Christmas late 2012 and call it my "Book of Good Things". I have this handy blog here to remember the important things or events I've gone through in my life. But I don't really have access to a computer 24/7, nor the time to post about every little thing that happens.

Enter the Book of Good Things. When I feel that I've done a good deed, or if someone has done a good thing for me, or even if something that made me smile a little bit happens, I'm going to pull it out and jot it down. Why? Today, while being caught in the jam, I felt really sad, burnt out, demoralized, and empty when I looked back and couldn't remember any achievements or good things. Like suddenly I feel like time has gone and I've wasted every moment of it.

Of course that's not true though, but it's just that I take the good things for granted. That's usually the case with everyone and I'm not an exception. That's why I decided to write down the happy things. And when I go into my empty mode again, I can fill myself up with happy things rather than bad ones.

My Healthy Philosophy

So, yesterday, a friend asked me, a thin and slightly underweight person, how to get bigger and add some bulk. After some thinking, I told him to get more healthy calories from fats like peanut butter, olive oil, or chicken/pork fat and skin, since he was already eating rather big portions of rice and white meat. I told him that he could, you know, drink some olive oil to quickly add some 500 extra calories without much hassle every once in a while (100ml of it is about 900calories). And, unsurprisingly, he was totally shocked in disbelief at my suggestions. What! Animal fat? Drinking oil? Heresy!

Well, just so that I can say that I've tested it myself, I took about 40ml of EV olive oil and ate it with meat (skin and all), 2 large whole eggs and some salad sprinkled with tumeric (love the stuff). My conclusion? It was freaking delicious and filling. No complaints from me. Just, you know, exercise so you get more muscle rather than fat.

Well, for my philosophy, removing all junk from the foods you eat is the start (that mainly involves processed foods like biscuits, bread, chips, sweets, etc.). Another thing I use as a rule of thumb is that if it contains more than 1 ingredient, it's probably not good for you. Also, as far as possible, try not to take liquid calories ( that includes milo, coffee with milk sugar, canned drinks, boxed drinks, etc. i.e. drink plain water as much as you can). Try to reduce intake of sugar as much as possible (even from fruits, they CAN make you fat, depending on when and how much you eat at a time).

Most importantly (or least, depending on perspective), try to exercise some 30 minutes a day. Can't get 30 minutes? Set aside 10 minutes then. Walk around in the evening sun (or morning, if you prefer), do some resistance training (learn how to do squats and push ups properly), lift some weights every now and then (bench pressing, and again, squats) and just overall try to enjoy life.

If you're thinking, "Why is this guy asking me to do bench presses, push ups and lift weights even though I'm a girl?", worry not. Try. Break the social stigma. Scientific studies have proved time and time again that both males and females benefit from lifting weight as opposed to merely doing cardio training. That's not to say that cardio is bad, but find a balance between jogging (preferably not on a threadmill) and resistance training. Also because people tend to overdo themselves when jogging on a threadmill-- and that's detrimental to health.

I can't say for sure if the things I said above will help anyone to "get thin" or "lose weight" (I'm an engineer, after all, not a nutritionist), but it's just my philosophy that I've made from reading countless journals and studies and articles about being healthy. So, no, I did not read about losing weight or gaining mass, but rather about being healthy. But I can infer from the knowledge I've gained and draw conclusions that certain steps can lead to weight gain/loss. And these are some of them.

NBS 3rd Annual Camp, "The Journey Begins"

If I had to sum up the past few days in one phrase, I'd say, "Tiring, yet refreshing, but well-spent."

As we learnt during the camp, reflecting on our time spent is very important. Why? Well, that's because we only learn when we reflect-- taking the time to think about the "whys" of the the things we did or the things that have happened to us. I was a participant of the NBS 2nd annual camp and pa...rt of the organising committee of the 3rd one. And boy, was there a world of difference.

Imagine having about four hours of sleep a day. Then imagine having about four hours of sleep a day for a week. Then imagine having about four hours of sleep a day for a week and having to be very active everyday. That was, on the surface, a summary of my experience in the camp. There is no room for any doubt that the NBS camp was indeed very tiring for me, and I daresay the rest of the committee members too. The amount of time and effort needed to prepare and accommodate unexpected turn of events is no small matter.

Yet I said it was refreshing.This is probably the biggest point of the camp. There is a whole new perspective when being an organiser as opposed to being a participant. People look to you for decisions. You are expected to lead. Although I was just the official photographer, and a little bit of everything else, I still had my own leadership roles. I was always more of a front office kind of person. So, when I was assigned to be the photographer, I was a little sad that I wouldn't get the chance to interact with the participants and develop friendships with them. It was unwarranted though. Regardless of whatever roles we are given, it's up to us to make the best of it, and I did try-- although I believe that I always could have done better. It was also refreshing, in a sense, to be part of the background rather than in the spotlight. You get to see things from a different perspective-- more objectively. And I can say that I probably learnt more from being a role that I'm not really used to, rather than doing what I've always been doing.

Lastly, I said, "well-spent". There aren't many things which can top the learning experience of spending two days and nights at a monastic environment. Somehow, you tend to be more grateful for the things you have and the food you eat. And you realize just how much food you actually "need" and the rest is simply luxury already. When you see others cherish food so much, you tend to feel the same way too. You also begin to be aware of the sounds around you and the sheer number of unnecessary things we do. It's really eye-opening. It really is.

I also said well-spent because every single moment throughout the camp was meaningful. There was not a single thing we did that was pointless. We walked to places for a reason. We said things for a reason. We carried things out for a reason. And it was a really nice feeling-- considering that people nowadays, me included, waste so much time doing things that really serve no purpose at all. And from that we really come to understand just how important every moment is. We might take the days for granted, but really, we will never, ever get this exact moment back again once it's gone.

Well, that was my summary of the camp from my point of view. Of course, I could also talk about the new friends I've made and the already-made friendships which became stronger by the end of it. Truly, I am grateful to be able to meet everyone there. And I don't think, in my current state, that I can find the proper words and phrases to use to elaborate. Also, I was really surprised, in a delightful way, that some participants wanted a photo with me, a person who didn't really do much, in a way, to help them directly.

I probably missed out some points here and there, which I might add on once I post it on my blog. But yeah, if you've read till this point, thank you and congratulations! Have a good day :).

40 Tips for a Happy Healthy Life in 2013

 I was just browsing through my facebook (I seem to do that too often for my own good) and came across this again. I thought I'd post it here just so that I might see it more often. 
*******


40 Tips for Happy Healthy Life in 2013

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time for prayer and reflection
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2012.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.

Personality:
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day —- and while you walk, smile.
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do; keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right things.
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. Forgiveness heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, don’t take it for granted – embrace life.
39. Your inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not least:
40. Enjoy LIFE!

Dream Diary Day 23

This happened when I woke up suddenly for no reason at about 6am, and then went back to sleep again.

I wrote some gibberish down on paper beside my bed when I woke up at 8am, because I was rushing. Anyway, I'll try to see if I can salvage anything.

=============

I was feeding a turtle, which was apparently very smart. As in, a smart turtle. I was at a party of sorts, and then I was talking to someone. There was Link Er running around and I also talked about RYLA when I said I was part of the Interact Club.

In the party, it was filled with people who wanted to break world records. One-by-one, they broke records ( some of the most obscure kind) except for me. I was at a table with a girl, then I noticed a suspicious kinda guy looking at us from behind. Suddenly the girl disappeared in a puff of smoke, but I managed to grab her arm and I was teleported to -somewhere (couldn't understand what I was writing)-. That guy started running and I jumped on him and started shouting for help.

That guy ran everywhere while I was trying to stop him. I hit him and punched him but to no avail-- he wasn't affected. Finally I lost him. I was very frustrated and I started shouting and hitting random objects. And then I woke up via alarm.

The Forked Road (POEM)

The Forked Road that forced us to part,
was the Forked Road that broke my heart.
With you I would have gladly walked together,
But we both knew that was possible never.

The time soon came when you had to go,
Staying at the fork we both smiled once more.
With a brief hug and solemn goodbyes,
You took the first step and averted your eyes.

Long I stood there hoping you would stop,
and turn around and say that you would stay.
For another minute, for another day,
Even another second would be okay.

But my wishes were dry,
just like the sky without a star for me to wish by.
And continue you did, down your own path,
leaving me behind without a half.

Hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks,
I slowly walked my road with hesitation.
For every step I took away,
I took another back to that day.

For how could I allow it if you ever started thinking
that you wanted to come back but there was nobody there waiting?
And so I still waited for that little 'if', little 'maybe',
that one day you might come back and you could then save me.

My brain says 'Leave!', my heart says "No!
A miracle can't happen if you let go."
And to that, so far, I have followed my heart;
But I think it's about time I learnt my part.


I have to leave-- I know it is so.
With feet heavy, I left the Forked Road.

Post-Chinese New Year and Learning Badminton

So everyone's over and done with Chinese New Year. Actually, it isn't over till next week for Chap Goh Mei, or the Chinese Valentine's day or something. CNY was fun-- lots of food and meeting my friends and classmates again after so long was really, really, refreshing. And I've got to say that I do miss them a lot. As people say, new friends are silver, old friends are gold. My take is that both are equally valuable although at times it's hard to choose one from the other.

I don't have much to write for CNY since I spent most of it with my cousins. I felt like my aunts and uncles were competing or something, each treating everyone to 8-10 course meals every night. The food was good though, but sad to say I couldn't finish them like I used to. Either I started eating less, or my cousins (them being mostly girls). Either way, a lot of food went wasted and it was really regretful.

 On the fourth day, also known as St. Valentine's day, I went visiting with my friends.

Basically this (and its variations) became the cover photo of quite a number of us there. Nothing much to add, except a shoutout to Jasmine.

We miss you so bad! We actually considered editing you into the photo, but then decided not to. Soon it's gonna be my turn to feel this way. Thinking of this, it actually reminds me of a short video clip here CLICK HERE FOR TOUCHING MOVIE
Although apart, forever in heart. :')

And boom bam, CNY was over. I also lost some RM 100. Damn it.

ANYWAY!

Back to Nottingham Malaysia. Classes progressing as usual-- pretty hectic and I'm still a little struggling to cope. Today was my FIRST time EVER learning how to play badminton. And I discovered so many things wrong with me. Well, I'm really tired at this point. So, I'll end it here. GOOD NIGHT!

Just some thinking.

"Memory can only do so Much"

I created this blog to help me remember/ record down important events that happen to me in my life. I.e. "things I want to remember".

Today (in fact it was just about an hour ago), something bad happened. Well, I won't really elaborate much on that because after some thinking, I decided that I didn't want to remember it some months from now.

It's just that, it got me thinking. Would I want to remember all the bitter stuff that happens to me? Looking back through my posts, I realize that the majority of it are happy stuff, a fair number of neutral stuff, and a few negative things.

I was never one to hold grudges or keep hating on anything. I understood that it would do bullocks to my health and my psyche. So sometimes I may have a predisposed dislike for someone, but if you were to ask me "why?" I'd say I can't remember because well, I don't. And it's just a slight dislike, is all.

Now, back to present day. Immediately after the incident, I was so heated I could've written an A+ 1119 English Essay well over a thousand words because the words would just flow. Well, I exaggerate. But you get my point. I reached the stage where my mind would be generating negativity and hatred in overdrive mode and eventually make me depressed throughout the night and possibly the following morning.

Why did I stop myself, took a few deep breaths, and smiled? Because that's what I thought a person should do. A person who is able to uphold at least his or her own code of conduct.

But then again, if I were to write it down, maybe in future I could use it as reference, you know? Bring it up in another argument to unfairly tilt the scale in my favour. Oops, there goes, I let the cat out of the bag. That's about as much as I'm going to say about what someone did to me.

I'm all up for arguments and debates. I'm a pretty good debater myself (self-proclaimed). At times I even relish in playing the Devil's advocate, just to have a battle of wits, you know? No offense or hurtful words, just intelligence. Of course, it's definitely difficult to find someone to do that with you nowadays, when the loudest voice and the hardest heads generally win.

I'm straying off topic again. As you can see, I guess I'm still a little bitter. It's just been an hour, after all.

My argument for writing down the bad things is that maybe I'd learn from them in time. But I daresay I would end up doing something completely despicable like bringing up issues from years ago that can make the other party feel guilty and potentially give you unfair advantage.

My argument against that is simply that I'd be a happier person. And I think that's a good enough reason.

Maybe another argument for writing them down is that I might be secretly hoping someone would find my diary, blog, and everything else one day and realise just what they did to me and start crying, you know? Like in those movies.


Nah, I kid.

..

It's something like confessing to someone, isn't it, in a way? Telling that person everything you've felt so far and waiting for his or her reaction. Well, not like I would know. I've never confessed to anyone yet up till this point. Or been confessed to. It's like something I want to do, yet at the same time am so afraid of doing.

Wait-- I'm straying from the topic again. Well, nevermind. Let's cut it off here.

Dream Diary Day 22

I remember this dream pretty clearly even though it's already night. I'm a bit hesitant to write it, but I did say I'd write whatever I dreamt of-- no censorship.
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I had an argument with my father. I wanted something but he stopped me from getting it (winning it?). I was so angry. So. Damn. Angry. Moreso than anytime I've ever been before. I had something in my hand-- a bottle of sorts. And... I threw it at him. Gosh. What even made me DO that, I don't know. It hit his head, duh. And he turned to look at me.

And in his face, I can't imagine it. It was his face. But... different. And I felt so ashamed that I gave in to my little bout of anger. I immediately went to him and apologized profusely, but he just turned around after staring at me and walked away.

I sat down on the ground (coincidentally is was raining too) and prostrated, but to no avail.

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The funny thing is that normally I KNOW when I'm dreaming, and I can forcefully wake myself up. But this time, I couldn't. It wasn't until my alarm went ringing for some time did I finally wake up. Hmm.

Dream Diary Day 21

Ahem. This was from this morning, when I was awakened from my dream by  my phone's alarm because I was going to play basketball with my friends. Anyway, here goes:

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I was somewhere steampunkish-- dark, metally, machines everywhere but not shiny ones -- apparently it was my last day there. My sister and Kit, together with me, had to board an airplane by jumping through this small hole in the ground. It was kinda scary as we were kinda high up in the air. I never really did jump in the hole even though the other two of them did.

Someone then asked me, "How are you going to celebrate your birthday?" and then I said, "Probably makan somewhere only."

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My phone alarm promptly chimed at the time and I woke up and got ready for basketball. 

I had another dream while taking a nap in the afternoon.
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  Argh..  cant really remember because it feels so retarded even trying to.

There was me in an area... just a space. There was bulbasaur. And some guy preaching about baseball... and.. I had psychic powers? mmm I can't... remember...

Running around while mentally levitating bulbasaur in the air while it was using vine whip...