Happy New Year 2010!

I love ushering in the new year because of the possibilities that it presents me with. Being the optimist that I am - the new year means new people, new trends, new lessons, new experiences... the list of new somethings is virtually endless! So you can just imagine how exciting it is to step into this new year (this new decade, actually) knowing that there is room for so many wonderful things to be seen and done. Remember the good times from last year, and leave all the bad times in the past where they belong - time to build some awesome new memories :)

The best word to describe my new year's eve celebrations last night is... interesting(?). I had decided to be a champion of sorts and attend 2 new year's celebrations in one night. Well, it seemed like a good idea then. Bad move!! Had an amazing time with friends - dinner, champagne and an awesome view of the KLCC fireworks from the 25th floor of the Traders Hotel. What more could I ask for right? The company of my other friends... Greedy me. To cut the long story short, my first morning of 2010 (after the nice dinner and fireworks) involved sweaty crowds, littered city streets, jam-packed public transport (LRT), an expensive cab ride, driving around in a frantic rush, and a failed clubbing outing. Finally got home and into my bed at 5a.m. Haha. Eventful much?

Having said that, I didn't mind any of it one bit :) The company that I was in more than made up for all the shortcomings mentioned above. (cue *awwww*)

Some people say that how you start the new year is how you'll be spending the rest of the year... If that is true, I'm going to have to prepare myself for one giant roller-coaster ride this 2010.

2 words - BRING IT :p

Happy New Year, everyone!

Random photo of the night - the fountain at KLCC park as seen from 'The Apartment' balcony

I ♥ Love: Why Is Valentine's Day So BIG???

Love - it's a pretty cool thing. Any kind of love, between anyone. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It makes you feel wanted and appreciated and safe. It puts a smile on your face and a bounce in your every step.

But the biggest question is how do we express this love? Do you show it in an extravagant and flashy way by giving them the best gifts you can afford? By publicly declaring your love? By gushing continously about 'the love of your life' to everyone and anyone willing to listen? Or do you express your love quietly? And in line with this 'biggest question' of how to express your love, what do you do on Valentine's Day?Do you choose to go all out - flowers, chocolates, a romantic candlelight dinner? Or do you simply acknowledge Valentine's Day as a huge marketing gimmick? Afterall, shouldn't you be celebrating your love everyday? What makes the 14th of February so special?

Yeah, I know the story about St. Valentine. But why this one day? Admittedly, it is nice to do something special once in a while. It feels nice to break the monotony of your usual routine and step outside your little, cosy microcosm. But this can be done on just any day. You can make any day your little personal Valentine's Day. Why must we conform to the expectations of society and celebrate on this one day - February 14?

So I'm still wondering. I like giving people surprises and receiving flowers and everything a normal girl likes but does everything have to be planned to coincide with this ONE day?

:p

Of Mistake-ridden Horoscopes, Wheatgrass Shots and Ice Cream Fondues...

Cancer: You've been working hard! Take satisfaction in that, even if no one else seems to notice!

That's what my Facebook Horoscopes application says about me for today...
o_O

???

Yeh... So maybe it took a lot of hard work to convince myself to drink the vile smelling (but not that bad tasting) wheatgrass shots that Annabel, Harinderpal, Lea and I decided to try. But that was it! Maybe driving is considered hard work too...

Actually, I think having a wheatgrass shot is for lazy people... Apparently, it's equivalent to 1kg of fruits and veges (in terms of antioxidant content). So I took the shortcut, no?



1st picture: The juice place dude juicing the wheatgrass... Look for the wheatgrass poo that's coming out of the end of the juicer. Hehe.
2nd picture: A wheatgrass shot with an orange wedge to take the bitterness away. (Compare with tequila shot and lemon wedge... :p). I forgot to rotate the picture, so hah! too bad for you :)

And then, to wash off the yuckiness (I thought it wasn't too bad...) of the wheatgrass shots, we had an ice cream fondue at the Baskin Robbins cafe :)

Happy New Yearrrr :)

So it's finally 2009!
This blog is officially ONE year old!

I really wanted to write a new year's post yesterday on new year's day BUT I was half a zombie the whole day coz I didn't sleep properly the night before.

Anywayy, I just need to say that I'm hopeful that this new year will be a good one. Better than last year. Hope is a nice feeling :) But let's see how it goes...

Sooo... On to my new year's resolution. I think I'm still discovering who I am and this blog really helped me shape my identity and be proud of the person that I am so I figured that a natural progression from blogging (I'll still keep this blog going of course!) is journal writing. Except it's my private journal in a proper book that no one else can read. Hehe :) I've realised that writing is a great way to reflect and somehow helps to put things in perspective. So I'm excited to see how this journal thing goes.

That's all for now, I guess.
Oh and, Happy New Year!! :)

Sleigh Bells Ring, Are You Listening...?

Yes!! It's THAT time of the year again. Only 1 week and a few odd days more to Christmas!

I'm not Christian, but my whole extended family likes to celebrate the occasion anyway :) We put up christmas trees, have a dinner either on Christmas eve or on the day itself and exchange presents. We do it for the plain, simple fact that it feels nice. Even as I walk through the various KL shopping malls, I get this warm and fuzzy feeling (that people call happiness :p) - Huge christmas trees with bright and shiny ornaments, giant snowflakes and even bigger candy canes... *sigh* :p

So what inspired this post at such an odd time? (1 week and 1 day till Christmas)
Yeah well, everytime I go to sleep at night or have a nap in the afternoon, I wake up with a christmas song stuck in my head - it's usually either Winter Wonderland or Let It Snow. A few minutes ago, I just woke up after having a nap with Winter Wonderland playing on loop in my head. Lol.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the rain, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland!

Yes, I DO get annoyed with my brain for having such a limited song playlist.
BUT
Yes, I do love love love christmas songs!!
Hehe :)

The Greatest Mom :)

My mom was a person who always thought of others before she thought of herself. The one rule she adhered religiously to was that family always came first and she expected no less of us (my sister, my dad and I) in return. Which is kind of a good thing since it meant that we HAD to spend a good amount of our time together regardless of the other commitments we had. So I can safely say that I got to spend A LOT of quality time with my mom, even before she fell sick.

My mom was a person who loved unconditionally. She was always passionate about everything she did and sacrificed so much of herself for my sister and I. We are where we are only because of her and even if I tried, I would not be able to find a word powerful enough to express my gratitude to her.

My mom was one of the most optimistic people I've known. She always looked for the silver lining in everything and not once did her optimism falter - even till the very end. You could say that my sister and I got our bubbliness and wide smiles from our mom.

I once watched a movie based on a true story about this girl who lost both her parents to AIDS but managed to complete high school and win a scholarship to study at Harvard. And in her scholarship presentation ceremony speech she said,

"I'd give it back, all of it, if I could have my family back. "

Powerful words that I can now fully understand and relate to.
I will miss my mom dearly. And I guess, everyone else who knew her will too. She was the kind of person who made a big impact in many people's lives and now she's gone leaving behind a legacy of great memories.

All I can hope for now is that her soul rests in peace - my Amma.

:)

Tulips, Tulips Everywheree!

What started of as a sleepy and dreary Sunday morning quickly turned into a warm and sunny Sunday 'a-little-past-morning'. After an hour on the train, 35 minutes waiting for the LATE shuttle bus and another 20 minutes ON the shuttle bus, WE WERE FINALLY GOING TO SEE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF TULIPS!

By 'we' I mean Nishi, Lin Jing, Yvonne, Ling and myself.

So we got off the bus filled with excited anticipation and lined up to buy our entry tickets. Once that was done, we walked in....

*drumroll*......

no tulip fields :( Only tiny ( tiny relative to what I had imagined) tulip garden... :( Boo hoo. But then I thought. "Oh well, they still look pretty anyway", and went about clicking away with my camera. They were really pretty tulips! So many different types and colours.

Then we walked down further and that was when we saw it... Rows and rows of tulips stretching across a field easily 3 times the size of a football (and I mean soccer not the other football) field. Yayyyy!!! There was my tulip field! :p Hehe.

So we lazed around a bit eating our snackity food and then took many many many more pictures and then went for lunch. After lunch, we went 'hunting' for the little garden gnomes scattered across the place since we would get a 'sweet' if we found all 7 of them. And we REALLY wanted that sweet... *rolls eyes* So after a gazillion hours searching for the stupid gnomes (i swear they were hiding from us!!), we finally found 6 and then copied the last one off a little kid. Mind you, most of the other people looking for gnomes had a maximum height of 4 feet (not counting Nishi :p) so it was probably easier for them to spot them darn gnomes!

So we finally had our 7 gnomes, but then we had to rush to catch the shuttle bus back to the train station. So much for the sweet. Meh. It had still been a great day :) :)

Some pictures (out of the 200+ that we took :p)...

Our failed attempt at a jumping photo :s

Us landing after that failed attempt... :p

One random white tulip with tiny pink streaks. So cute!!!

One of my favourite pictures mainly because of what it represents to me :)

Nice contrast

The tulip fields that did not disappoint after all :p

Who knew that bloomed tulips looked like this?

Coming Soon: Merdeka!!

Lol. I don't know why, but being in a foreign country makes me feel more patriotic :p
I'm quite excited about having a reason to celebrate being Malaysian. Woo hoo. Merdeka!
I hope it is a good weekend.

I miss home :(

I'm reading 'The Kite Runner' and I must say that it's one of the best books I've read in a looong time. The story, the setting, the characters, the way it has been written... everything about it! It's all so good :)

Wicked!!!

Yes, I am going to watch Wicked here in Melbourne. I can't wait!!! I haven't watched a live musical in a very long time. Saturday night... Just under 2 days to go :) Yay me! :p

Turning 21

First, an apology:
To this blog and those who read it, sorry for not posting as frequently as I would like to. I always have all these posts worked out in my head, but I never get down to actually typing it out and after sometime, I forget what it was that I wanted to say. So, one thousand apologies!! (hehe, lame much?) :p

Now on to the title subject:

So I'm finally 21. The day came and I must say, it wasn't as dreadful as I expected it to be. In the beginning of this year, I would have said that I did not want to turn 21 as I felt as if I had not experienced all that a soon-to-be 21 year old should experience. Now, the only reason I had dreaded turning 21 was because it meant that I was growing older. Growing older means having more responsibilities, being more independent, having a certain level of maturity. Growing older means coming out of my delicate protective shell and being pushed deeper into the 'real world'. It is a daunting thought. But what keeps me going is the fact that people are doing it everyday and managing pretty well :p

That being said, I don't feel very grown up. I don't see myself as the 21 year old that I envisioned myself to be when I was young. And I don't know whether to be disappointed by it or to just accept that most things in life never work out as planned.

So in the process of writing this post, I have given this issue some thought. I have decided that ultimately, it does not matter whether I am the 21 year old I thought I would be. What matters more is for me to live in the now and take things as they come, do what I think is right and make do with what life throws at me.

Being 21's not so bad!!! Age is just a number, right?? (or so I tell myself...) :p

I SAW HAIL TODAY!!!
For the first time in my life :D Yeah, I know that you'r probably thinking "What planet is she from?". Well, it's called Kuala Lumpur :p

This is how unprepared I was mentally to see hail:
I was in uni and IESS had set up a booth to advertise our Annual Ski Trip when it started to drizzle. So we moved to a spot just inside the entrance of the main engineering building. Then it started to 'rain' more heavily. As I was looking at the rain, I remember thinking, "why are the raindrops boucing so high off the ground?" then I realised that these raindrops were WHITE and SOLID... And then only did I realise that it was hailing!!! Pretty cool stuff, huh? :p

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

YES!! I got to be part of the live studio audience in the popular Aussie gameshow, 'Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?'.

It was a great experience! Even though I thought we were going to be late because we missed our tram (the tram dude didn't stop at the tramstop that we were waiting at! Ggrrr...) and we had to walk a bit and even had some problems finding a cab. We finally found one at 5.45 pm and we were supposed to be at the recording studio by 6 :s Yes, I sort of freaked out a little. But in the end, we got there exactly at 6 pm and started queing up to go into the studio.

So after like a gazillion queues, well to be honest there were ONLY 3 queues that we had to go through.. God knows why, we were finally seated in the audience. We had pretty good seats, 3rd row from the front - I think I might even have been caught on camera! :p

Anyway, Rove was really funny as usual. And the 5th grade kids were so cute!! The best part came when they had started recording and were announcing the participants. It turned out that Hamish and Andy were up first!! (Go google them if you don't know who they are...) But yeah, they were really funny too!! I was pretty excited by then. It was a double bonus!

After they were done with their round though, the next person up was pretty boring, and she got on my nerves. I swear, she took nearly 10 minutes to decide on an answer for one of the questions! Aaarggh (= =)!!

So yeah, that was the highlight of my day yesterday. I'm glad I got to experience being a part of that show. Maybe I can be in the studio audience for more shows to come? ;)

It was IESS's Poker Night yesterday and what I feared might be a huge flop turned out to be quite a success after all :D I was the raffle tickets seller person girl thingo :p It was quite a fun job except I had to be totally and obviously 2-faced by telling everyone they had a really good chance of winning the 2 iPod shuffles we were giving away. Bad karma be gone!!!
All in all, it turned out to be a good night, I made a few new friends and became better acquainted with some not so new ones. I feel good!

And I woke up this morning, skipped my morning lecture and I'm still feeling good!!! Except it's beginning to get cloudy outside... Gggrrr. Stupid rain clouds. Disappear! Yeah, wishful thinking :p

*SMILE*
:D :D :D

The Malaysian voters have cast their ballots... I am very excited as to find out how many seats will be won by the Government and how many will be lost to the Opposition. It's weird for me to think that here I am all these miles away from my home country and yet I feel this strong sense of concern as to what is going on there. It's during times like these that I feel a surprisingly strong sense of patriotism for my country. Despite everything that has been happening in Malaysia, I wouldn't call anywhere else home. I am Malaysian through and through :D

Ling and I had our housewarming party yesterday and this is what we made for our guests. Yes, we MADE everything on our own :D well, except for the nachos :p

Our feast of sushi, salad, quiche (which looks like eggtarts but apparently tastes really gooood), nachos, mashed potatoes and SATAY (which tasted more like terriyaki :p)

I made these brownie cupcakes!!! Well, they were meant to be baked in a tray but we didn't have one that was big enough for all the batter. My first attempt. Pretty good, huh? :p

Taa-daa!!! My bee-oo-tee-ful cupcakes :D :D

First Day at Uni

I must say that I had mixed feelings about starting uni again. I was excited to see what everyone looked like after 3 months - whether they had lost/gained weight, whether they had new hairstyles, things like that. But at the same time I didn't feel ready to take the big plunge into the unexpected world of my lectures, tutorials and assignments :s

Now I'm taking a little break before heading back to uni for a meeting followed by my first orchestra rehearsal of the semester! I am very excited. I wonder what our repertoire for this concert will be. Some Gershwin maybe? *fingers crossed!!*

Before I leave, a small comment about the weather here. IT IS SO DAMN FREAKIN' HOT!!!
I have heat rashes :( And they itch... A LOT!!

Oh and this is totally unrelated to the main topic of this post but sometimes I wish I had a wire that linked my brain to my computer so that I can just think out my blog posts and it gets typed out and posted. Because I find that nowadays, the way I think sounds a lot like what I say in this blog... So I feel like my brain is in permanent 'blog mode' :p I need help!!!

The Fish Spa

Finally, I got to check out the Fish Spa at the Pavillion in KL. The place is very nice, and the fish don't smell :D A huge plus when you think of it!

So there we were, my sister and I - letting the little silvery fish nibble at our feet. It was very ticklish at first but I got used to it after a few minutes. Eventually, there were A LOT of fish eating at my feet (I must've had a lot of dead skin for them to feed on) and it was beginning to feel like I had pins and needles where the fish were biting me... A lot of little fish pinching at bits of my skin with their mouths :s

Well, here are some pics (I'm such a camwhore!!)

This was in the beginning... think 10 times the fish nibbling my feet!


My sister and I


Look at the huge fish!!!

I apologize if these pictures grossed you out :p

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2008 New Year's Resolution: To revive my dead blog and keep it going for a whole year :s

Yes, I have decided to make this blog my new year's resolution even though I don't usually make New Year's resolutions... So we'll see how long this one lasts!

My blogging history is one that is full of false starts. I've probably created and deleted more than 3 blogs over the past 2 years in my futile attempts to enter the blogging world. This particular blog was actually started in February 2007 when I first started going to uni in Melbourne. However, as you can see I've deleted all my previous posts (which were pretty crappy anyway) and am trying to start anew. *fingers crossed!*

So Happy New Year to all who are actually jobless enough to be reading this. And stay tuned for more *ahem* soul-searching and thoughtful blog posts ;)