Prayers to Ti Gong

The Fire Ritual

He rushed back home in the middle of the week, despite classes, despite other commitments and despite how tired he was. Being away from home caused him to miss the event once before-- he wasn't going to miss it again. It was, of course, one of the greatest honours for him to be tasked with the task he was supposed to do.

The fire danced in his eyes, illuminating the otherwise dark road. It was unbearably hot, but still he stood his ground, as if entranced by the captivating spectacle of the flames licking up all the golden papers in front of him. Solemnly the crowd watched behind him, all quiet and waiting.

"It's time," one of his seniors whispered to his ears. He nodded. Beads of sweat formed all over his forehead as he took the decorated sugar cane from the senior and held it in both hands. With each step closer, the heat only grew more intense. All eyes were on him, watching his every movement, and waiting with bated breaths

He lowered the sugar cane into the blaze, as the decorations immediately became engulfed in flames. The fire started to lick the sugar cane, and together they started to crackle. He was in such awe at the mesmerizing pyre in front of him that he stood there motionless as the conflagration slowly but surely moved along the sugar cane towards him.

"You need to break it off!" shouted his senior, watching anxiously from behind. Snapping back to his senses, he placed the sugar cane on the ground and stomped on it as hard as he could. But it was a lot tougher than he expected; the sugar cane wouldn't break. Panic set in, as the fires edged ever closer to him. He started twisting and pulling the sugar cane while stomping on it while his hair was on the verge of getting singed. Finally, it came loose. He hurriedly backed away, holding the half burnt sugar cane in his hands. The fire died almost immediately after, as if to tell him that he had passed the test. Only embers remained, and suddenly the cool night breeze caressed his skin.

"You did it," he senior praised, as he poured a bottle of water over him.
"I did it," he gasped, allowing the cold water to ease the heat out of his body.

He closed his eyes. "I did it."

***
This is a fictional story.

The Bittersweet Dark Chocolate

"Happy birthday," I wished her as I gave her a small, lightly decorated, cardboard box which had her name written on it.

"Thank you!" she gleamed and gave me a hug as she accepted the present. "May I open it now?"
I shrugged, slightly embarrassed, and avoided her shining eyes. "Go ahead. It's yours."

She carefully lifted the casing to reveal a beautifully wrapped bar of dark chocolate which had the words "Zawsze w milosci" printed on the front. She took it out and examined the gift from all angles, but aside from that phrase, which was written in some foreign language, and the fact that it was a bar of dark chocolate, she could gather no more information about it. She must've known that I was not the type of person to do something for no reason, and so she asked me, clearly puzzled, "Why the dark chocolate?"

I smiled and looked at her. Her beautiful brown eyes were looking intently back into mine-- and as we stared into each other, our brains processing every minute detail of our faces, we both started to smile-- smiles that were so radiant they could brighten up the whole room... and deep down I somehow knew that she understood what my gift meant but, still, she waited for me to say something.

...
Dark chocolate. It symbolises the bittersweet love I have for you. For all the nights we spent talking under the starlit sky, for all the experiences we shared together... you were my first love, and I know, from personal experience, the saying to be true: we will never be able to forget the first loves in our lives; I will never be able to forget you.

Was it really love that I was in? It must've been, for I suffered all the symptoms love-struck people seem to suffer from. Maybe the gift I got for you was my way of saying goodbye, and that I shouldn't try to prolong my self-torture any longer, and that it was time for me to move on with my life and keep the past in the past just like you have done... but at the same time I could never really let go-- the gift also symbolises my selfishness, my hopes that we could still be as close as ever and never change despite Father Time ticking away. A part of me wants you to tell me to stay away, that you were disgusted with a being like me and then maybe I could finally give up, but another part wants you to tell me to stay, and I didn't mind being chained to the past forever even if everyone else said that I shouldn't. My infatuation was just like the bittersweet dark chocolate, but far more bitter than sweet.
...

"I thought you might like it," I told her simply and winked, changing the mood of the conversation instantly. Just then, her boyfriend came and told her it was about time they were planning to cut the cake. He excused himself and took her hand as I watched them go off amid the cheering of our friends and soon they were blocked from my view. No, there was no way I could've said what I really wanted to say. I drank another glass of grape juice, and started to cheer for them too. I wished the two of them the best. I honestly did. I honestly wished I did.

Why be Mindful?

It's human nature for our minds to wander... don't worry if your mind wanders. When you realise that your mind's all over the place, bring it back. The more often you can remember to bring it back, the better you become at being aware of yourself. Train yourself to come back more often, rather than staying present for longer periods. The best time to train yourself to be more mindful is when you are not mindful.

When you are aware-- mindful of yourself, of your mind-- you are able to immediately recognize your feelings, emotions and thoughts, the quality of your steps-- whether light or heavy, and the quality of your breath--whether shallow or deep.

The quality of your breath and that of your steps are good indicators of the quality of your life. So, put all your attention into taking your one step, one step at a time; and all your attention into your one breath, one breath at a time... slowly, but surely, and without distractions.

We all have somewhere to go, and something to do. But there is no need to hurry. Don't rush and end up losing the guaranteed present for the unsure future or the already gone past.

Remember, be mindful and aware of your breath and steps. Breathe!
May you be well and happy!

2014, The "Growing Up" Year

As with all year ends and beginnings, I try my best to reflect on my year by means of a year-in review and give my thoughts on the upcoming year as a sort of reality check to see what I've been doing with my life, and whether I've been making reasonably good use of the time available to me (understanding that I'm far from perfect).

For me, it's difficult to view 2013 and 2014 separately as the highlights of both years centre around me being in UK and my consequent travels around Europe. As I've mentioned before, I've already gotten used to the feeling that my years begin in September and end in July, coinciding with the British academic calendar, ever since enrolling in Nottingham University. So, it doesn't really feel like a new year to me, even if 2014 is being escorted off the centre stage as I'm banging away on my keyboard like this.

Overall, I would say 2014 feels like a 'growing up' year to me, because of all the exposure I've gotten from backpacking through Italy and Greece. 2014 has treated me rather well, I might add, seeing as I'm gratefully still alive even though I've flown cross-country multiple times in light of the aviation tragedies this year. Not to mention that I've had people I've held dearly and known personally pass away en route to their destinations this year, but I would not like to elaborate on that as it would make me irrevocably depressed. But ultimately, I'm very, very, grateful to be alive and the concept of memento mori has just gotten a lot clearer to me. Alongside the fact that I've become, by legal definition, an adult this year, 2014 really feels like it has forced me to grow more than I would have liked.

I suppose I've sort of been suffering from a case of finding a place to belong to, ever since coming back from UK. I faced a similar problem back in my first year when I switched courses to Mechanical Engineering, and 2012 wasn't a very good year for me. This time around, though, I suppose I'm coping pretty well. Maybe it's all the growing up I've been doing, but I don't feel all that lonely all the time anymore. I mean, I still do, sometimes, of course, for want of a few people I can just call up and hang out with anytime without giving two hoots about what other people might think about us. But I feel like my relationships with my friends have become somewhat... fragmented-- broken into separate parts that don't quite fit together. It's like I'm close with a few people, but all of them are from separate groups and they don't quite get along with each other too well. It's a pretty complicated feeling, as I'm not used to, and am not competent in, one-to-one conversations.

Another thing that has been weighing on my mind recently is the advent of finding a significant other. To be honest, I've never really given much thought on this issue. I've always had the idea that, if it happens, it happens-- that there was no need to proactively do anything but live life as usual. Am I mistaken? I don't know. But as I've grown older, it's gotten pretty clear that more of my friends have gotten romantically attached, and while I'm not at all against the notion, I feel that, as it stands, I already have quite a lot on my plate and my hands are already quite full. Furthermore, as my mother would so eloquently put it, "if she makes your heart beat faster and faster and faster, and your knees go weak...then you'll know". But I don't know. It's been irritating me for quite a bit, actually, all this "you'll know it when it happens" kind of thing. I don't know it.
*insert deep sigh here*

Putting that aside, I've also mused over the idea of writing, and my future with it. Considering that almost every long, over-1000-word, status I write takes me well over an hour to produce, I wonder if I'll actually get far, if anywhere, with my writing. Even the poems I write only happen if I do get an inspiration somehow, and are inconsistent as they come. Family and friends tell me I write well, and I appreciate the generous encouragement I've been getting. I'm lucky, in that sense, that I am able to surround myself with positive people most of the time. One of my life dreams is to ultimately have one of my books published, and I suppose, with my constant ramblings, I am slowly working my way there.

Well, at any rate, the time limit I've set for myself has all but expired. It's exactly 12:01, 1 January 2015, as of this post getting published. I don't have many expectations for 2015, but in general, I hope 2015 treats me well too. May this year bring us happiness and joy, and may we all be well and happy, free from suffering, as we traverse through the year together. Thank you for being together with me throughout all the years, and I hope we'll continue to remain friends even in future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Again, I neglect writing.

Writing-- it's a skill just like anything else. Not everyone is magically born scripturient-- to have that consuming calling to write. Even so, writing is just as much an integral part of our academically-oriented lives as other skills such as reading and presenting. Yet, the emphasis is often placed on areas other than the art of penmanship. Why is it so?

Even then, with the onus having been placed on ourselves alone, time and time again, it is so easy to neglect brushing up on our ability to weave words into impeccable sentences and paragraphs owing to our supposedly always-busy lifestyle. What, exactly, are we busying ourselves on, that we can neglect developing something so fundamental to us?

Of Rambling and Hillwalking: Snowdon and Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach

Over the weekend, I, following the Rambling and Hillwalking Society, went to Snowdonia and climbed 3 peaks-- Snowdon, the highest, and the two rocky mountains of Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. 

Snowdon is the highest peak in England and Wales, towering at 1085m. Most of the ~14km hike via Rhyd Ddu was pretty smooth until we got to the ridge known as Bwlch Main. Well, I have about 0 experience with climbing mountains, so maybe if I say that it was difficult, it wasn't really. But to me, it was positively nerve-wrecking. The ridge was the narrow, steep, long-fall-on-both-sides type of path. All I could think about was 'one step at a time...' and 'don't look down'. The strong wind blowing and the mist didn't help one bit. The final ascent up to the Trig Point of Snowdon was another challenging bit because it became too steep to walk and I had to climb (ramblers call it scrambling?).

These photos were taken around the peak of Snowdon, when the fog cleared up a little bit. Can't see much, but remember; the fog had cleared a little when it was taken so try to imagine how thick it was when I was actually climbing up-- can't really see further than a few metres.

Descending Snowdon was another nightmare altogether. People who know me know that I'm absolutely terrified of high places and can feel vertigo easily. So I was practically planting my bottom on the rocks (rather painful experience) and making extremely slow progress down the slope. It was more of a mental strain than a physical one on the descent.

Anyway, I managed to climb up and down Snowdon safely, covering around 14km of hills and ascending 1085m to the peak. The whole hike took around 7-8 hours.

I actually climbed a little higher than the 1085m point, so I guess I can safely say I climbed till 1100m?

Walking into the clouds. Didn't take many photos once I was in them because I couldn't see anything.

Drama shot at a clearing at the peak. Hahaha.

Traveling Experiences #1

I've been thinking-- I've not written much lately. And generally, if I don't write stuff down I tend to forget them.

At our age (20...) I feel that it's far more important to learn than to enjoy. Of course, we can't just learn 24/7, 365 days in a normal year because learning is oftentimes both mentally and physically exhausting.

I've traveled more this year than I have in my whole life thus far. To be honest, the thought of sitting down in trains for 10 hours, or waiting at the airport for 6 hours to fly (oh heavens, no!) for another 3 hours would completely deter me from travelling away from the comfort of my home had I been in Malaysia. However, since I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to be studying (or rather, at the point of me writing this, I have officially finished my academic year abroad so I guess 'studying' isn't really the right word to use anymore...) in the UK as an exchange student, I figured I might as well make the most of my time here.

I told myself that I'd write down everything I've learnt from my travels. And so far, I haven't been doing that. You see, living so far away from home, you are given complete control over what you want to do in a day. Generally, when I have too many choices, I tend to make the lazy choice of not really doing anything. So. As it is apparent... the long posts I make on Facebook aren't the ones that are being saved. I should've probably wrote them into this blog. I mean, that was the whole point of me writing my blog anyway.

That being said, I'm going to procrastinate again because it's 4.02 a.m. and I can hear the birdsong outside my window. And yes. The sky is already kinda bright. No, I'm not joking. In Summer, the Sun is in the sky from 5 am ish till 9pm onwards. And although it isn't as warm as Malaysia's scorching 35 C, the intensity of the Sun rays here are quite a bit higher, I reckon. But I can't even remember how the Sun in Malaysia feels like anymore. It's been so long.

Nottingham Malaysian Festival 2014

This was written on the midnight of 22 March 2014. 

Nottingham Malaysian Festival 2014 has come to an end. I'm just trying to write down my thoughts and feelings concerning the event-- although I believe lack of sleep (and the fact that it's already so late) is impeding my ability to do so. I talk more about my feelings in my blog, and keep things (relatively) short here. And of course, I'll be writing from my point of view and that it is likely that I would have missed out a lot background things not immediately obvious. Nevertheless, let us carry on.

It wouldn't be fair to talk about the wonderful event that happened on 22 March 2014 without bringing up the countless hours that went into making the event into such a big success in the first place. I daren't say that I had as much to worry about as the organisers of the festival did, whom had their work cut out for them months ago, but in the past month, amid towering coursework and tailgating deadlines, trying to squeeze in the time to practice dancing and drumming was definitely not easy. But somehow, we all managed anyway. Every practice session was great fun and that made the successful M.Fest 2014 all that much sweeter.

I predict that there was around a 100 performers excluding volunteers and crew. As you can see, it was no small event. While I'm biased, I honestly thought that the flash mob dance group had practiced the most for this event, with close to 7 hours of practicing a week; however, it was apparent, upon seeing the fruition of every other group's hard work, that everyone had put in their due diligence to ensure the highest standard of performance they could afford with the limited time given to us.

Some of you may know that I had the honour of being the one in charge of creating a routine for the bucket drumming performance prior to the flash mob. At first, I was hesitant-- reluctant, even, to take charge of that group because I had no experience with hitting buckets, but mainly because the due date for the biggest project this academic year was a few days before the event itself. I was 50/50 about it until V-Shenn gave me a slight push and tilted my thinking balance into 'oh heck why not' mode. If I'm going to study abroad for a year, I definitely don't want to be a social shut in getting good marks but not going out, meeting new people and living life. At first, I was a little irritated because the bucket drumming idea came in about a week after dance practice had started. I had to create a routine and then find people who were interested to hit buckets (I'll be honest here, I never expected such an eager response). And then I had to teach my drummers how to play as well, with only about a fraction of the time that we had to practice dancing. I also didn't have much confidence in my abilities and honestly, I kept doubting myself-- which affected the way I lead the others.

I can, with utmost confidence, say that I'm glad I decided to do the bucket drumming in the end because I got to meet (and know better) people who are enthusiastic, committed, helpful, and downright awesome. Also, that feeling when I held a pair of brand new drumsticks in my hands after not touching a drum set for over half a year-- heaven!

Drumming aside, I definitely did not regret joining the flash mob either. Funny, because initially I was going to ignore M.Fest altogether. The last time I danced was back in form 4 and (somehow) I felt that I wouldn't fit in with all the 'hip' people usually associated with dancing.

I daresay you wouldn't be able to find a more upbeat group of people anywhere else. But then again, I, sadly, didn't have the chance to interact with everyone in the flash mob group.

All our hard work culminated on the 22 March 2014 when the M.Fest was held successfully. It was quite an amazing sight to behold, really. I recall someone asking one of the organising committee members, "How did you do it?" and she just replied, "It was a lot of hard work". I couldn't have agreed more, and in fact, asking such a simple question was really doing a great disservice everyone who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the event-- it was more than just 'a lot of hard work', but how else could she have answered it?

It was a bit surreal to think that all the hours of practicing amounted to just about 20 minutes of performing time. If you think about it objectively, it's totally not worth practicing so much. But with dancing, as with most arts, you simply can't look at things just objectively. I definitely think we did a very good job with our performance, and that everyone else did a very good job with their own respective responsibilities as well.

All in all, I would like to end this long post by expressing my gratitude to the organising committee members of the Nottingham Malaysian Festival for all their planning and doowops behind the scenes, the awesome flash mob choreographers for their patience and attentiveness in teaching such a large crowd, the flash mob dancers for putting up with my constant annoyances of noise while everyone was trying to practice, and of course to my bucket drumming team for being very helpful and understanding of my nervousness and being awesome (I seem to be using that word pretty often).

It's a little saddening that I couldn't get to know more people better and that we only had the chance to meet for this event. It is highly unlikely that we'll ever have a reason to interact again with each other after this, much moreso when I return to Malaysia in just a few months' time while the rest of them continue on here in the UK. And I get a little more sad when I think about it because I do want to return home-- but at the same time I also do want to stay here-- both for the same reasons; the people I know. But well, let's save those sentiments for another post.

Paintball with the NMS, and a very tiring day.

To be updated LOL .___.

Cardiff, The Festival of Diversity, and long travel times.

To be updated when I'm not completely swamped with coursework.

End of the First Semester in UK

Today (20/1/2014), with the finishing of my final paper, marks the end of the first sem of my studying overseas. In other words, I've completed half of what I'm supposed to do here-- or it's just another semester till I go back home.

Most of my friends are planning (in fact, at the time of my writing this they are probably waiting for their respective buses) to go holidaying but I, lacking foresight as always, am now left pretty much alone with no idea what to do for my (slightly less than) 1 week holiday. Oh well, no point being down about it. I'll figure something out. I always do.

2013-The Year of Firsts

The Mayor of London said that 2014 will be the year of Firsts. That was their catchphrase in promoting their London New Year Eve countdown 2014 in partnership with Vodafone. I don’t know what to say about 2014 since I can’t predict the future (and wouldn’t want to anyway), but, for me, I would say, above all, that 2013 was the year of Firsts (hence the aptly titled post).
Every year, as always, I do a year-in review at the end of the year and an academic review around June. This (or last) year, however, I didn’t do either—I’m doing the year-in review only at the start of the new year and the academic review is still pending. I guess that’s mainly because I’ve been doing things I don’t normally do in 2013 and I’m still trying to adapt. And woe be me; if by the time I’ve adapted I already need to go back home to Malaysia. Alas!

For someone who doesn’t travel around much like me, being accepted into the student exchange programme by Nottingham was a big step to take—both for me and my family. It was something I’d only talk about, not something I was quite ready to accept. In fact, when I was rejected at first, I was honestly quite relieved. I would have been happy to have just remained where I was; a two-hour drive away from my family and home and with most of my friends around me. But still, how could I let the chance to study overseas—something I’ve always wanted to do—just slip through my hands without even trying to grab it? I wrote an appeal letter and I did not even get a reply from them and thus gave up hope. But a few months later, towards August, the university gave me a call and asked if I was still interested in the programme; and the rest is history. I flew to Nottingham, and thus began my year of Firsts.

I mentioned that it was a big step to take for both me and my family. It was for me because I was never one to travel much. I definitely preferred to stay home with all its benefits and comforts. But the problem lies thusly: if I continued to stay in my comfort zone, my growth would definitely be limited. And I’ve stayed in there for so long it was difficult for me to move out. The student exchange programme was a huge kick—something that forced me to do something I’ve never done before. And I’m grateful for the opportunity.

It was a big step for my family because I would be the first member to ever go overseas for such a long period of time. We didn’t know what to expect, really, and had to cross bridges just as we got to them. Thankfully the distance doesn’t really feel that far (sometimes it does though when in want of a warm touch) because we have the wonders of technology on our side. I still talk to my family almost every day through Skype after finding a suitable time after compensating for time zone differences (8 hours!).
Anyway, that’s enough background information.

The first half of my year was more or less like any other year. I was studying in UNMC and staying in Semenyih. I drove back on a fortnightly basis and played basketball or badminton almost every other day in the warm Sun (oh gosh how I miss the warm Sun). Sometimes, Jia En and I would jam together—other times we’d perform on stage for some event with our band. We’d go for lunch and dinner together in one-of-five stores—so much so that the restaurants already knew us. When I’m at home, if Isaiah is back too we’d go play basketball together at Yok Bin in the evenings and go out and drink tea at night.

Everything changed sometime in August though—when I had to prepare all the things I needed to go to the UK.

For the first time, I recorded myself in a video. I performed the ‘Cups’ song in my house before going to the UK as a sort of ‘see you again’ gift. I also started a V-log that I semi update from time to time.

For the first time, I flew to the UK. When I stepped out into London’s Heathrow airport, the cool air that greeted me was something I definitely welcomed—much moreso after sitting down in the plane for 13 hours. There were a lot of us Malaysian students on that flight because I suppose we were all thinking to arrive for the international students' welcome programme.

It’s quite an eye-opening experience, really, studying in a foreign country. Suddenly, you’re not part of the locals, but the foreigners instead. The norms back home are now obscurities. Pork and dogs are everywhere (I found it hard to accept seeing dogs in shopping malls). English is spoken all the time here too (d’oh, right?). But I was pleasantly surprised. And generally, the people here are all very nice too although I’ve been told that I was lucky to only meet nice people so far.

The weight of the currency difference and cost of living also became clear to me. These people, who were earning dollar-for-dollar the same as us (and probably more) had a cost of living that was much less than us. Normal, everyday groceries like fruits and vegetables, dairy, and meat all can be gotten for (reasonably) less than 10 pounds. 2 pints of milk would set you back only a pound. Fruits and vegetables are mostly one-pound denominations and a kilogram of pork could be as low as 6 pounds. Surprisingly, though, chicken is quite expensive here.

For the first time, I was on the receiving end of a hospitality programme. The Howell-Thomas family, consisting of Helen, Ben and their baby Evie, invited me over for dinner where we had fajitas and talked all night long. They’ve invited me over a few more times but somehow or rather our schedules just don’t match and thus I haven’t gone to see them again (yet).

For the first time, I went on an overseas holiday (really unless you count Singapore, and even then only a few times ever). I mean, I have been to Japan before but that had a specific purpose, although I suppose that could be considered a holiday too. I’ll be more specific then; for the first time, I went to Germany and Switzerland. Germany was a nice place which had nice people but even better yet affordable yet delicious food. The country is known for their sausages (wurst), breads (brot), and pork (and to a lesser extent cheese). The best thing is that different cities are famous for different varieties of food. For example, in Nuremberg, they’re famous for their Numberger Rotwurst, or roasted sausages. In Berlin; currywurst. In Hamburg; Frikadelle (a Hamburger. No, really.) and Franzbrotchen. And so on. And me being the foodie I am, I was ecstatic to try everything (and I did!) and was delighted to know that everything wasn’t really that expensive (quite a bit cheaper than in the UK, actually, even before converting back to GBP). Germany had amazing cities too—very well landscaped and built. Did you know that most of Germany was destroyed in the 2nd world war and that the country known as Germany was only formed in 1990? You wouldn’t be able to tell from looking. They’ve really come a long way.

Switzerland also had very nice and friendly people who generally spoke good English as well as their own variety of German (mixed with French). However, about food, the Swiss held the other side of the coin; Swiss food is really very expensive and isn’t really that great. I should say that generally the cost of living there is very high. Then again, it could also be because I only went to Zurich, their capital. The Swiss are known for their cheese (kase) and chocolate and Swiss army knives from Victorinox. They also serve a variety of sausages, but most if not all of these paled when compared to German ones. The dairy, however, was really, really delicious (best cheest and milk I’ve ever had, really). They even have a cheese fondue but I didn’t get to try it as it was around 30 Swiss Francs per person. Did I mention that the food in Switzerland was very expensive? “Cheap” food for them is around 15 Francs, so I needn’t explain more.

For the first time, I got to see snow! It was in (you guessed it) Switzerland and Germany. I took a train to towns called Uetliberg and Ringlikon in Switzerland where I had my first experience with snow. It wasn’t as cold as I expected (or maybe I was simply wearing too many layers) but snow is really just… shaved ice. It was also hailing in Uetliberg and I could really feel the bits of ice hitting my head there. Snow is also really dirty. In Germany, however, I saw snow at the town called Fussen near the Neuchwanstein Castle. It was smoother and softer than that of Switzerland, and I had my first snowball fight there. Arguably, because not many cars drive to the castle, the snow was much cleaner too.

For the first time, I cut my own hair. I didn’t do a very good job, but I did get the job (somewhat) done. If you see me you’ll probably laugh. But it was a good experience and I could probably save quite a bit of money if I cut my own hair here in the UK considering that it costs around 8 pounds per haircut while in Malaysia I can cut my hair for around RM 3.

For the first (and maybe only) time, I went to the London New Year Eve countdown. I was tired from all the travelling in Germany but #YOLO-ed and decided to go see one of the biggest fireworks display in the world located around the River Thames and the Eye of London. It was definitely impressive but me being me; I would probably not want to see it again because the things I had to go through in order to see it was… for a lack of a better word, exhausting. I waited for about 5-6 hours getting squashed from all sides just to see a display that lasted around 11 minutes and then had to spend another 2-3 hours fighting the crowd just to get on a train to go back home. Props to the police and crowd control officers, they did a really good job. But when you have a few hundred thousand people all in the same area, there really isn’t much you can do.

So, for those of you who have read till this point, I applaud you. 2013 has been a roller coaster year for me with arguably a lot more ups than downs. I’m really thankful for all the great people I got to meet and got to know better this year and of course, the privilege of going overseas to study for a year. Sometimes I think that “only” a year feels too short, while sometimes I feel that a year feels far too long to be away from home for. It really helps to have someone to come back to after a particularly draining day or week.

Anyway, I think that this post has dragged on for too long now. If I were to include everything that happened in 2013 I’ll never be able to finish.
So to everyone I know, and to everyone I have yet to meet, thank you for being (or coming to be!) a part of my life. I would say ‘for better or for worse’ but everyone I know is great in their own way and has enriched my life whether they realized it or not. Let me end this absurdly long post by saying: I wish for you, as well as all of us, a very happy new year and that 2014 brings us more happiness, joy, satisfaction, contentment, wealth and good health than we need and that we’ll find ways to not only enrich our own lives, but the lives of those around us as well. 

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.