housemate and PGF

Giving my nails some well-deserved rest. I am having some difficulties in restraining myself from getting them nicely lacquered up though. Lesson learnt: invest in a good base coat.

In the previous post I mentioned that I had a really good week. Apparently it didn't stop there. For the next month or so I had an amazing time with friends. I was given a surprise birthday party organised by the sweetest housemate ever and a potentital good friend. More stories on the latter in a later post. It was a night I never imagined myself having. Ever. But I am glad that I was in good hands. For my dearest housemate who had to go through the spills and stench... and for the PGF who had to stay up just in case I needed assistance: thank you. Neither will I ever forget the surprise by the strike of midnight, when housemate pretended that her room light busted in order to lure me out of my lair. It was quite eeyrie for some reason. I jumped when someone shouted "BOO!". PGF walked out of the bathroom behind me, holding the huge macaron with a red candle on top. They sang the birthday song, I made a wish and blew out the candle. How can I forget such memories?

Once more, thank you both for giving me such an memorable 20th :)

Friends weekend out at Blackpool was fun and inspiring although a bit akward at times. Back in the current, everything is back at the original state. I am spending time with myself once more.

raspberry

Yesterday my housemate and I hosted part one of our house-warming party. We had a terribly busy time preparing the food. She decided to prepare soup and the main while I prepared the appetiser and dessert. It felt like my share of preparation is not as heavy as her's but that's definitely not the case. It would have been so if I decided to be practical... but no, I just had to do it the hard way. At least for the dessert part because I took the effort to make faux macarons! It was funny because it was totally spontaneous. Initially I just wanted to make red velvet cake but I thought it'll be a hassle to serve it so the idea evolved to "red velvet burgers" (creativity at its worst). It eventually became faux macarons because it looked like macarons and I had no intention to make the aforementioned red velvet burgers (with cream cheese frosting as the "patty"??). It's just that I had the idea of 2 little round red velvets with cream cheese frosting in the middle but had a major failure in generating the right name for it. Faux macarons it is! :)

Thank goodness a senior (he's from CTC) came by really early (and unexpected, causing us to burst into a frantic duo rushing around and changing out of our home clothes while he waited outside in the cold...) and helped us both with the preparation. It would have been quite unmanageable. There were about 6 other guests or so. We ate, talked and played cards. After they left, we took about at least an hour cleaning up. There were A LOT of dishes to wash and the floor was in a mess. The bag in the food bin decided to make way (it was pathetically thin but to be fair we didn't know about it) and it was quite a gross moment. By the time I finished the cleaning up it was already 1/2AM. The dark circles are definitely going to enlarge its radius. :(

First week of Lent felt quite long. I actually thought that this is already the end of week 2 but unfortunately it's not. I can't wait for the month to end! My bank account is screaming out loud as it approaches ground zero and (hopefully not) below.

pre-Lent depression

Being back in London feels kind of weird this time round. Travelling from Heathrow to Chancery Lane felt lonely as my sister, who would always pick me up previously, wasn't there to do so. I was convinced to take a cab back, which I am sort of glad that I did so (1 heavy luggage and 2 hand-carries). I have no idea how I would have managed if I were to travel back by underground (which would have saved me enough to replace my favourite cardigan which shrunk).

Egawd, today is passing by so slowly! Due to the slight jetlag I'm having, I woke up at 9am (the norm is after 11am) and cleaned my room + kitchen floor and toilet. So glad I managed to finish by around noon. I don't know if it's OCD or what, but I must get the cleaning done before I start studying or I can't study. Yesterday passed by considerably slowly as well. I can't remember what I did yesterday. It must have been on the internet because I can never remember events that happened on the net. It's like a blackout period. Excessive internet surfing is bad :( it makes my days feel so meaningless (skype is an exception). Anyway, the past 2 days felt like as if I never left. It's the same feeling I had when I flew back to Singapore.

Lent term starts tomorrow. MAJOR DEPRESSING! The thought of it completely drains out my inspiration. Not that I have any for this post. Boohoo hope the constant brain freeze goes away soon :(

December snow

View from the window in my room :)

Hahaha poor car. I was wishing that it'll snow really heavily overnight because it'll be nice to build a snowman for once! I really want to build oneeeeeee. (This was taken from the kitchen window)

It looked kind of similar to the previous photo but it's different. It's supposed to show the marginally thicker snow that has fallen on the ground.

As mentioned in the previous couple of posts, it has been snowing here! The main highlight for waking up today was to see how much of snow has accumulated on the ground. It was not as thick as a couple of years back when it snowed really heavily but it still looked wintery nonetheless! Plus it kept me indoors (UO sample sale is going on + FCUK Grazia deal- 20% off!! One day only) because the thought of balancing on the slippery ground puts me off. I managed to finish my Econs essay in the afternoon yey! I'm quite chirpy now because my tutor is nice enough to accept it even though I handed it in late :D Hehhehheh :D :D

Next up, Accounts essay. Ganbarou~

snood

It's freaking cold in here! The heaters in my room and the hallway, which is right in front of my door (which is open), are both switched on and I'm still freezing my brains out. Seriously. I can feel my skull contracting in this super cruel, bone-chilling coldness! Metoffice (weather forecast) has been putting up updates that snow has fallen on the other parts of the UK. Tomorrow is predicted to be London's turn. I'm definitely not walking out with tights and shorts. My dressing sounds crazy ("tights in Winter?!") but normally 2 layers (100+ denier) of them is sufficient to keep my legs warm... at this time of the year. I guess this year's different. It gets more worrying after I read this:

Some of the snow showers have been frequently heavy with hail and thunder mixed in.

...global warming at play? 2012? (2012 is a freaking scary yet entertaining movie!)

My head is kind of woozy right now. It might be because of the spontaneous coldness but I have a gut feeling that it's because of the weird smell coming from the (BLUE!!) snood I bought today. I made the purchase without realising that it's 100% acrylic. It would have been fine even if I do realise it (it's NAVY blue!), but the smell is really putting me off. Is it paranoia at play or am I really feeling restless? I'm really hesitating at the thought of returning it :(

It IS quite ordinary looking... and acrylic smelling. (I shall assume it's the smell of acrylic)

Let's hope it doesn't snow tomorrow! I'm planning to wedge 2 hours of rush-shopping (more of running errands than anything really) in between the 4 hours break I usually get on Tuesday~ :D

week 8

Friday's arrival signifies the beginning of weekend 8. I'm highly anticipating the end of Michaelmas for it has been a reaaally tiring one. At this point, my body-clock is somewhat messed up. It might be due to my recent sensitivity towards caffeine, which is totally uncool. Not being able to sleep at 3am is really annoying because it's almost a 100% that I'll end up waking up past noon- sluggabed indeed. Waking up that late is not fun when the Sun doesn't greet you with its glorious rays. Especially when the first thing you think about upon waking up is... catching up with lectures and getting the assignments done! (though on the bright side I'm starting to be more studious hehe)

One of the few interesting things that happened this month includes my housemate's friends visit from France. Their company made me realise how much of a goodie we both are and that I really need to step out of this house more often... both day and night! I've been finding each day as mundane as ever and I could barely remember what I did on day X of the week. Or even one interesting thing I did on week Y. Other than the Harry Potter afternoon. Is that how I want to live my university life?! No. Henceforth next Sunday I will be taking another (baby) step out of my comfort zone- some Christmas market event described as atas by la housemate. Well better than just doing ordinary stuff e.g. shopping, watching videos, etc. right! *detemined

Now that the temperature is falling closer to 0 and lower, I've been feeling hungry so often. I love snacking without guilt, which obviously in reality it rarely happens. As my butt and thighs aching (good sign) due to a recent conditioning class I attended, I just end up feeling even more guilty for snacking! A moment on the lips, forever on the hips. Haih.

It feels weird to be blogging again. I kind of miss how smooth things would just flow from my mind and I would type on and on... and how I used to treat it as an avenue for thoughts with minimal restrictions. Ahh life works in such weird ways. (wts what sort of paragraph is this)

WEEK 8 IS COMING TO AN END WOOHOO! :D I shall ignore how bleak week 9's schedule looks (2 essays and 1 assignment due).

End of weird post :)

Week 6

Though this week has yet to end, I've reached a pre-conclusion that it has been crazily busy and pretty much unpredictable. From getting disappointing looks from my a couple of my tutors to catching Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 1 WORLD premiere (must emphasise on how grand it was) red carpet event to spending Friday night coming so close to getting drunk (at home- one step closer to a typical uni student?) and so much more. Everything was sort of planned but the outcomes were completely random, which was extraordinarily fun and different.

Harry Potter red carpet event was madness. I found out about it last week and asked my house-mate if she wanted to join me, which she did. & I'm glad she did because she went kind of all-out with all the cast spotting, picture taking and being part of the crazy crowd behind the metal bars... if you know what I mean. The thought of it may be quite childish and a turn-off(troublesome), but being part of it was fun! Especially when you're physically close to the cast who you have been seeing on the screen for years. The excitement you get makes it all worth it. Oh yea need I mention housemate bonding as well? It's not something that you can do everyday but it's definitely something you'll remember and will be able to reminisce about. :D

We've got some shots of some of the casts! I shall name them by their characters in HP (that's how I recognise them sadly...)

But before that, the venue. It was drizzling initially, which changed to a heavy rain.

We made acquaintance with the security guard on the right :)

Fred and George!!

Fred/ George? Both of them spent the most time walking around, signing, shaking hands and taking pictures with fans.

Neville! I used to dislike him when he was young and short...

Luna Lovegood. Wow I couldn't recognise her at all. She looks so much older.

V-V-Voldermort. Looks good with nose, no? ;)

Va-va-voom Bellatrix. Real person looks as eccentric as the character.

HAHAHA MRS WEASLEY. Classic. She looks older in person as well.

We did manage to see 2 out of the 3 main casts- Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. Unfortunately we were in the process of shifting position hence we missed out... but we saw them in quite a way. :D

I've told myself to not spend too much on this post as I really have to get started on my virgin Law essay. Omg how do Law students hurdle from essay to essay? The amount of reading is crazy and the amount of writing is even worse. But then again, case readings can be really enjoyable. Anyway before I end this post, my best end to the week/Saturday: I achieved the highest grade for my Microeconomics quiz!! 8D *nerd (sadly greeted with C+ for accounts essay shortly after- what a bummer.)

I should really be sleeping

It's 12.33AM and homesick. How sad my night get?!

Haih. Tomorrow at about this time marks the very first week I am all alone in this country. All alone as in totally independent, solely living with myself and not with any kin within reach. It was a busy week full of nothing but packing. & today, just, to be exact, I'm finally done with it. YES! I am Done with packing. Even though my bed doesn't look very inspiring and how I wanted it to be, I've decided to close one eye and make good with whatever I have done for the last... fortnight? How pages of notes could I have read with that amount of time?! (morphing into a studious being for once) But I guess some things have to be given up sometimes.

Anyway more about my first taste of independence. So far, I find living alone can be quite domestically exhausting. Especially when I'm discovering my trait for hygiene. Other than that, I have been feeling like something is missing. It's likely that it's because I'm still missing my sister. Whatever the reason may be, it sucks so bad because I get this feeling of emptiness now and then. Hopefully socialising will help to fill it up! :D

More updates soon enough. Time for some beauty sleep!

day x+n of packing

Packing never seems to end. Especially when I have this ever-growing idea of mine to spruce up a warm and comfortable room. It's difficult to stop it at an idea because, unfortunately for this case, inspiration keeps coming! Either that or something doesn't go right, hence the need to think of a replacement. Safely to say I'm more or less done with thinking of what goes where. The things that I am left to do: wait for fitted sheet and pillow cases to come, wash my new duvet sheet (which is so soft!!), install the sheets and new pillows (boohoo for hollowfibres), place the drawer liners to the specified (lucky) shelves in first wardrobe, arrange my second wardrobe, get curtains, ect. Yep, there's still a whole lot of actions to be carried out. I can't believe I'm spending so much time into this. It better be worth it!

Year 2 started out pretty mundanely, sadly. Currently it feels like it'll just be another year in uni, but we shall see. It's still too fast to judge. My timetable issn't too bad. My Mondays are INtEnsiVe: 9am to 6pm. What say you? However I'm still in the middle of course selection, which is a total bummer since I've been bugged with the indecisive disease. Microeconomics or Macroeconomics? I started off thinking "definitely Micro" but now that term has started, I've decided to go with Macro and is sort of enjoying it. But! It's just the first week. Lectures always start off, for the most of them, nicely and make you go "ooh this issn't so bad after all". But when I look at the exam paper for Macro it is quite intimidating as it is mainly essay-based questions. Micro is more of proving equations and applying them to the question. It does look challenging because it means that if you don't get the equation right, then that's the end of it. Haih. I shall reserve some time before bed thinking about this.

Back to packing...

can't wait to trim my nails!

Terribly dry hands and miserably long fingernails. :(

Parents are in the house! They were away for about 10 days, leaving me with much liberation and an elder brother. It was quite a peaceful time for myself, the house and TV, although these were minimal. I really enjoyed the outdoors time but at the same time somehow missed the homely noise my parents always make. I can say that my life is all about trade-offs with very little best-of-both-worlds situations. Most of the time.

Anyway, I decided to spend the afternoon at home. Chanced upon a couple of pictures which sort of give me an idea of how I would want to re-furnish (decorate, rather) my room this coming fall. My own room! How exciting. I'm thinking of going along with the existing colour template of white, beige and black, which are pretty neutral. Throw in some light patterns, fairy lights (and bed net!) and maybe introduce a sheer lining curtains to the small window in my room. I'm going for warm and soft theme to retain some Spring amidst the cruelly cold Winter. Oh yea and the gloomy rainy London weather too, which is quite a contrast compared to my potential room. So much furniture shopping to do! It's like as if the apartment is mine and I'm never ever going to move out of it. Oh how I wish...

Grr now I'm anticipating my flight back to London, wait till my sister moves back to Singapore and start the decoration! That's a good thing right?..

Bank, Bank, you shoot me down

The Bank annoyance starts again.

Some knows about my ultra hatred for setting up bank accounts. About how it took me ages to find a bank that's willing to give me an account at no fees at all (I just think that it's senseless for me to spend money every month just to keep the account open- we're lending to the bank after all). Maybe I was being a bit too picky about which bank to go for but who wouldn't want to go for the best aye? So anyway, come January and I settled with NatWest. Up till last week, I've been pretty satisfied with the bank. Everyday transactions are problem-free, just a few glitch with International orders. It saved me money by not spending, so I'm not going to complain about that.

Note: I mentioned "up till last week".

So. Last week, NatWest called to tell me that they will be opening me a Savings Account because it was supposed to come along with the account that I applied for. Apparently the bank dude who opened an account for me didn't apply for me. No complains because I was planning to switch banks at the end of the year. Since the lady over the phone recommended me to open a Savings Account due to the large amount that I had in my account (my brother transferred my annual school fees over), I said sure. So she did and I have an additional account to my name.

A few days later, when I was about to pay my school fees, the website recommended that I should call the bank to check if I have a limit to my debit card. I called them and the dude told me that I have no limits (dangerous much?). No complains because other than the school fees, there isn't much money in my account. Seeing the amount I had in my account, he told me that I'm eligible for a Current Account. With a Current Account, I will be able to get a cheque book which is the sole thing that wins me over. So I said sure, I would love to apply for it and he transferred me to his Indian guy (accent tells all).

Indian guy arranged for my upgrade. He asked for details, put my through this 1 minute and a half of recorded message on information sharing and privacy policy AND even recommended me to their products. Okay fine, standard stuff. But the problem was that he just wouldn't stop! I told him "no, it's alright I will think about it another time". He said "why don't just get over it now" so obviously I had to say "ok fine" and let him continue. Do note that this conversation happened twice. I was definitely not thrilled when he kept on rambling about the exact same products that I had rejected. I was definitely not thrilled, at all, that I will be liable for the cost of the phone call. Not when he's recommending things that I really don't need. Should I give an example? Bank accounts that comes with a monthly fee.

Finally he gets the point that and the phone call ended. Great! Is this the end of my Bank headaches? No way ho say.

Over the weekend, I received a letter from NatWest. It contains my new pin and the letter says that my new card is on the way. New card?! It's probably for my new upgraded account. Today my new card arrived. To be honest, I was pretty excited because it's a new card. A real debit card. The ignorant me thought that the card that I have been using all along is a debit card, but no, it's merely a Cashcard. It's a terribly embarrassing thing to admit because it does say so on the card.

Excited, I took the new card off the paper and it says "for accounts ending with xxx6". It's not my main account number, but looks really familiar. Then it hit me. It's the account number of my new Savings Account. Omg. Debit card for my Savings Account?! Shouldn't it be for my Current Account?! Afterall, it's my normal account that's supposed to be upgraded to a Current Account. Why would I need a debit card to my Savings Account? Unless I'm a super shopaholic who needs two cards to gain access to the total amount of money I have... but I'm not. Besides, I have decided to start saving up for rainy days (whoohoo new aim in life!).

To cut the (already) long story short(er), I now hold 2 cards. Not that it's a completely bad thing, but I find it more convenient to hold only 1 card. It's just like having 2 keys to your door when you only need 1. It's either a new debit card replaces my old Cashcard (but same account- Upgraded) or Cashcard all the way. Whatever it is, I will have to make a trip down to NatWest to sort it out tomorrow.

If I were to have the same Indian guy to serve me, it'll probably be another story for me to recount.

fascination

I was walking back from campus.

As usual, I took the park route since it's an awesome change of scene: green grass, trees and dogs running about (not liking the fact that the fierce looking ones are always unleashed too) compared to pavement, buildings and cars. Halfway across the park, as I was walking towards one of the exits, this particular man attracted my attention. Among the many people who were laying down on the grass(it was a sunny day), I think he's the most interesting of all. How so? He was wearing a full suit and basking in the Sun all by himself. His arms folded behind his head, one leg across the other and probably taking a nap. I have no exact idea why I was fascinated by the scene. Maybe it's because City people always seem like they are on a rush and have the impression that they don't ever stop. At least not in the day time.

I wish I took a picture of it. Observing the London crowd is slowly replacing my habit of listening to the MP3. Good thing. :)

Public goods here I come.

My beloved and lovelettes, you're all dearly missed.

The nerdy me has decided that blogging shall be my choice of break from looking at exam related materials. I am quite amazed at my inefficiency. Can you believe that I spent 7 hours doing a 10 page presentation for my French oral? Of course, having said that, I can say that I've finished one of them (both power point and script) which leaves me 3 more exciting presentations to prepare for. Note: it is only for French oral examination.

The way the French oral exam will go about is pretty interesting. We were given 4 topics to prepare beforehand. On the day of the oral exam, we'll present one of the four topics we had prepared. The thing is, we sort of get to pick which topic to present- out of the hat style i.e. pick a random piece of paper and present the one that is written on it. It sounds exciting issn't it! :)

It has been 3 days since I reached London. My flight back got delayed by 5 hours, which perhaps a blessing in disguise of some sort. It gave me around 3 more hours of my beloved without parents' presence! I ended up reaching London at midnight though. My poor sister had sacrifice her sleep which makes me feel bad as I think about it. She had to wake up early on the following day for work.

Anyway, both the underground and Heathrow Express had ended their service by the time I got out. My sister was not willing to pay a hefty sum (£75 to be exact) for the cab back home. She so reluctant that she suggested to actually sleepover at the airport before Heathrow Express operates in the morning. My jaw literally dropped when I heard that. But of course, she was joking. We managed to hitch a ride back home though. Naw, now I'm just kidding. SIA provided a complimentary cab ride due to the delay. How nice of them! :D

Truthfully speaking, and perhaps scarily, it doesn't feel like as if I spent 4-5 months here after summer. The 5 weeks in Singapore was so normal and pleasant that I forgot all about London. I'm not even joking. I presume it's the LSE effect. My dread of coming back to London because of the exams has temporarily altered my memory of this city. It's such a shame considering how pleasurable the weather here is like... among other things. One thing that I'm really glad about being back in London is the current season, my favourite one too, SPRING! Gentle Sun, nice and cool weather, greeeeeen grass, flowers blooming, people enjoying the warmer weather.. sigh I can just go on and on talking about it. I'm in such a dilemma about my feelings towards London! Never ask me whether I love/dislike this place. I will never be able to produce a definite answer unless... the picture is complete. ;)

Alrighty, time to get back to work. I shall not get to bed before I finish a chapter (or maybe 2) of statistics + French homework. I CAN DO THIS! :D

an unexpected finding (or two)

Guess what I had for dinner! Clue: something fishy.

It's Friday!! I'm quite unsure about the level of excitement I am having right now. No school for the next couple of days, true, but the level of assignments they've set us for the coming week is unbelievable. I have not started on any of them so that really suck! Plus, the packing I'll need to do... urgh. Can't they just give us a break already? Why the influx of assignments due on the very last week? (why am I so dead lazy?)

Let's digress away from the sad stuff. Happy stuff! FOOD! Yummo. My sister was supposed to make a dish with salmon for tonight's dinner but she had to cancel that due to OT. I was so prepared to have it for dinner! It's like my taste buds are all excited and ready to taste the fishy-ness erupting in my mouth but had to disappoint due to the last minute change. You know like how when you expect something for a meal but you didn't get what you want in the end and had the craving for something similar? That's basically how I felt an hour ago.

In an attempt to satisfy my unsatisfied craving, I went to ransack the dried food cabinet and found a long lost instant sauce. Next to it was a packet of unfinished spaghetti. In less than a split second, I decided how I should satisfy myself in the next 30 minutes. I was really glad that preparation took less than 10 minutes and there was no hassle at all! Cook spaghetti till al dente, take it out of the water, mix in the sauce and seaweed (they both came in the packet), wash a couple of lettuce leaves and serve! I just had to take a couple of pictures of the end process, above and the following:

It looks a bit like Chinese noodles doesn't it? Like mushroom and mince pork noodles, or something similar. It's actually Japanese sauce.

MEN-TAI-KO!! Absolute yummo! The base is made of cods' eggs I think. It tastes really fishy, totally fatty and a bit sourish. It has this small balls-y texture because of the cods' eggs. I cringed for a while upon the virgin taste but it gets pretty addictive soon after.

I've been indulging in so much good and fatty food lately! Singapore is going to make me even more horizontally altered, le sigh. I haven't been gym-ing much lately. I was supposed to work-out more on Wednesday but the gym had to close after the pilates class I attended due to electrical failure. & because of that, I was not able to attend the calorie-burning class, Fight Klub!! It's just a fancy name for kick-boxing really.

Speaking of gym, something pretty cool happened on Wednesday. It was after we were told that Fight Klub had to be cancelled (before they told us they had to close the gym). We were asking the trainer about whether we can continue without the lights, air-con and music. The girl who was seated next to me asked me if I were Singaporean upon hearing my accent. So obviously I told her I am Indonesian but is just like a Singaporean and the usual stuff. We started chatting and I found out that she's a Singaporean (she doesn't look like one since she's mixed and she has un-singaporean accent) and studies at LSE!

Not cool enough? Well, today I met her again for Fight Klub and chatted after the session. It was then when I found out that she was from SMSS! COOL or not?!! It's so rare to find SMSS girls in the UK, let alone LSE (the Rs dominates this place). Another cool thing that I found out was... *drum rolls* SHE WAS ONE OF THE MORNING EXERCISE GIRLS! We used to have this morning exercise routine on one of the weekdays (was it Wednesday/ Friday?) and she was one of the demonstrators (alongside Benny and Mr Lee if I'm not wrong, or was it Mdm Rossenah?). No wonder I found that she looks so familiar! (Actually I was thinking whether all the Eurasians have the typical face because they all look pretty much the same- pretty nonetheless, yes pun intended if you didn't get that) She's already in her final year though. Hmm, I wonder if there are other SMSS girls at LSE...

Anyway, I digressed quite a lot didn't I? I've spent so much time typing this out too T_T oh well. It's going to be a busy, busy day tomorrow (onwards)!!

Random: I've started using Google Chrome today. It's so fast O_O

birthday week (real)

Mon anniversaire! :D

My first week being a 19 year-old was mellow and rather hectic. It started off calmly, gradually became unbearable and ended with a huge release of weight off my... well, mind. By now I'm done with French mock and Accounts first formative assignment of the term, both of which I did alright. I'll be relieved if I manage to scrape a pass. Haha, some aspects of me are just that stubborn! Overall, I had quite a pleasant week. I really enjoyed the shower of birthday wishes, care and love! & of course, being able to talk more to Shaun this week. I was all warm and fuzzy for 3 whole days. Thank you, all of you sweet people!! :) ♥♥♥

I made red eggs for myself on the night before my legal birthday. This year, apparently, my Chinese birthday was right before my English birthday. It could have been a really good reason for wild people to organise a 2 days long birtday bash, no? I think I would have done it if I were some spoilt, rich brat.

Le gâteau d'anniversaire! My sister decided to get me a cake, which was really really really nice of her! I picked the cake: Black Forest! :D

Posing with the cake! I'm cake-deprived T_T

Au Natural. (except the nails)

Cutting the cake!

Really cutting the cake.

The top bit made it quite difficult to cut.

Post-mortem. It consists of more cream than the forest. (hope you all get the joke)

Sis enjoying the cake she bought.

After the dinner (her treat) on the next day. As in on my legal birthday. This is confusing, huh?

A birthday present on the day after next!!! As in the day after my legal birthday. Hahaha, I did that on purpose to get you gears moving. Thanks Kodak and Karina! They wrote me a really sweet card too. It was really unexpected and made my day! Mila and Shaun made legal birthday via Mila's lj post (really touched!!!) and Shaun's call. Of course, my sister's dinner made my tummy very happy. :D

To tell you all the truth, I didn't expect much attention during my birthday. Well, namely because I've decided to celebrate when I'm in Singapore. The only activity I had in my agenda for my birthday was dinner with sister, which was a really filling and satisfying one! I'm glad to have done such a simple thing with my sister because I haven't been spending my birthday with any of my family members for the past few years. Distance is definitely the main culprit, with Time next in line. & next year, it'll be highly likely that I'm the only one in London. I know I've been having the mentality that it'll be totally cool and independent to be fully responsible of myself. Whether that's true or not, I still don't know. But one thing that I'm sure of is that I'll be craving for Singapore more often.

Like, I'm totally craving for satay, rojak, chicken rice, char kway teow, soya beancurd, wanton mee, fresh fish balls, my praaaaaawns, chilli, tako-pachi, popiah, bubble tea...... T_T Omg I'm like some hungry ghost roaming around in London! :(

Anyway, enough of home-sickness. Egawd, exams are cominggg!! I've got an ENORMOUS pile of readings to do (all thanks to self: PROCRASTINATION) and assignments due and blahblahblah.. those academics stuff. Same, old, same, old. Ho hum. The next 2 weeks will be pretty busy too due to assignments that have to be handed in on week 10. Le sigh.

Let's talk weather now. London's weather is currently undergoing some seriously erratic changes. This week I've experienced plenty of delightful Sun and it's predicted that next week will be quite miserably gloomy (and probably cold too) again. Last week was horrible because it rained for nearly everyday. It would have been bearable if not for the strong gusts! Of course I would have enjoyed the condition providing that I'm indoors, a cup of Earl Grey, some delicious tarts, a blanket and my dearest. The heater is obviously optional.

Oh yea, the dearest will be heading off to the jungle for training for 5 days and 4 nights. No communication is allowed. This is going to be quite an experience to remember.

I shall spice up my life with new dishes soon. As for now, BACK TO THE BOOKS!

Rouge

I spent a majority of tuesday night out. Rare thing considering my strict curfew. It was pretty fresh because I never clubbed before. As in pure club, not birthday party celebration inside a club, but yea, go to a club simply to have fun. The company was alright, I basically hung out with Karina (cool girl from Management, I have the same maths & stats lecture as her)! She makes the dancing part really fun. :D

I barely drunk any alcohol, I don't think the DJ was great (of course this is just a noob's point of view!) and nothing much stood out really. Not satisfied. I spent some time trying to get myself involved in the girls' conversation (from Karina's hall) but.......... makes me think of what Serene and I talked about. ;)

My camera is really rotting. I only took like 30 pictures in total? Not satisfied. Not enough familiar faces e.g. Serene, Julia, Reg, ect! Anyway, I've selected a few to post up.

This is Karrots (that's what I call her). :)

It was a pretty small place!

The 2 waiters, I was meant to take the dance floor which is like right in front of them. It was pretty small too.

Ok, there's a really short story (or maybe not) behind this. One other girl who shared the same table took this shot too.

Yes Reg, home sweet home. Shared cab with Fel and her. Reg is really funny when she's high!!

In a nutshell, I thought clubbing is just another way of spending the night. Even though my first experience wasn't a fun one, I don't think I should judge clubbing just yet. I'm really not satisfied with my virgin trial! :(

what's somebody like you doing hereee

Just a little update before I hit the bed.

To summarise the things I did during V Day:

Sinful yum ♥

I spent the whole of Saturday (pre-V and CNY) whipping a red velvet which turned out pretty awesome! Not flattering self here but am just mega impressed that my virgin baking experience didn't turn out too badly! I did use a bit too much sugar (was following the recipe FYI), texture of the cake was a tab bit too moist and the frosting was too liquid, not light and fluffy as the bakers like to call it. Hehe, regardless, I am motivated to reward myself with an electric mixer!! I'm still thinking about it though... it's roughly about 15 quid for one. Should I forgo my precious 15 to make my baking activities more efficient but at the same time, in a way, give myself an excuse to indulge in sinful dessert?

Chinese New Year and Valentine's went by pretty ordinarily. It just didn't feel like CNY AND Valentine's for me. The people weren't there, mood wasn't there and the food (!!!) wasn't either. Le sob. Eating my DIY red velvet all by myself in front of the webcam for Shaun wasn't too satisfying... IT'S MEANT TO BE SHARED! (right Pyins? ;D) So yea, I suppose I can always try to reenact whenever I want if I really want to. I REALLY NEED SNOGGING GRRRRRRR. Damn you distance. >:(

Before I end my little post, I really want to share this song. Lubba lubba (I'm starting to sprout nonsense = mega sleepy)



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhlll nebba be de saaaaamee~
if we ever meet again.

life is short

I finally figured that it has nearly been a month since I last posted! It has not been easy finding time to jot down my thoughts/ activities lately. Especially with assignments piling up and due dates approaching as the second-hand tick by... argh! Horror much. I've got to admit that French is starting to push me to the edge. Homework, essays, lists of vocabulary to memorise, grammar, listening, oral, TESTS... it's a very, very intensive module. After today's surprise test (oh how very nice of you Christophe :) ), I've come to realise I rely a hell lot on the dictionary and that I am behind my work (even though many of my peers seem to find the test quite difficult as well). I really hope I'll survive these 2 weeks (or 3 since most of the French assignments are due by week 11, which is during the holidays & my parents will be around till week 12). The Christmas break feels really distant from now. :'(

Of course there's the pleasure during the 25 days of hectic. Nothing can beat cuddling with your loved one during a cold, windy and rainy season. Such comfort, such warmth in such a cold city! Ahh, thinking of it makes me feel warm inside already. The down side of it was the length of his trip (2 measly weeks! But it's considered pretty generous I suppose since he has to pay for his accommodation on a daily rate £££). Le sigh. Nonetheless, it's a good break from LDR. Real (physically) head butts, hugs and kisses yey! I missed, enjoyed and miss every bit of it. The farewell at Heathrow was difficult knowing that I won't be seeing him for the next 4 freaking months and the fact that he'll be in army by the time I head back! & many other LDR related things...

Anyway, let's move on. Pictures to roughly illustrate how the past 25 days zoomed by:

Went to catch a concert at O2 stadium! I nearly pulled out of this (I really did consider selling the ticket away) but someone decided to treat me to it :D


Huuuuuge crowd, as usual! I like vibe inside the stadium. I don't mean the over-enthusiastic-and-excited-until-violence-start-to-develop kind of vibe. I mean the YEY!!! kind of vibe... you know what I mean?!

Woooooooot all the pretty lights and projections and singing and roaring and jumping and woot woot woot!

Just in case you guys still have no idea which concert I went to. That was a random ticket. We weren't jostling amongst the crowd. (oh thank goodness!)

With the guys who went: Shaun, Boobs and Naz! :D

Pretty good lunch with love @ Pitcher and Piano (?) near campus. It was his last week of the trip :( I realised I took VERY VERY VERY little pictures during his trip which is mega disappointing! :( :( :(

Starbucks with the 2 Abbey guys! Naz and Momo. Was supposed to have Serene there but she had to furniture shop on that day :( (was that really the reason?)

Mo, his blackberry and Shaun. & the random guy looking over his shoulder. We were chased out of the Starbucks by a community officer just because our drinks had been cleared. He assumed that we didn't get any drinks but that is so not true! Each of us got one >:( Anyway, momo left (got to see his new dig) and the 3 of us went for the most overpriced Indian dinner ever. Think £10+ for like a bowl of rice and some meat. & naan too, if that helps to make it seem like it's worth the money (no way ho say).

Oh, what's that? It's a chandelier!

Comes Saturday, Shaun and I went to catch a musical! Spontaneous (or rather, lack of planning -boo me- idea) plan. We had CTC graduation dinner about an hour after the musical. Phantom of the Opera, it was reaaaaaally good and super touching! Why Christineeeeee, whyyy... *cries a river*

CTC dinner, met up with familiar faces and teachers! As shown here are Mr Spiers and us (with Boobs, Pyinnie, Calvin and Regina)

Goodness, it seems like just yesterday when you turned back to introduce yourself!

& after the ceremony, the subtle madness begins!

Oops, during the ceremory. 4As! Good job, very proud of you :D

Calvin, stoning as usual.

With Sunnnnnnnyyy! :D

The person who makes good chicken rice and Jesssss :D

Not one of the best of the set but I found this candid.

With Oxford man and Oxford applicant! :)

On the train back. Rofl at Boobs' pose!! Reminds me of a potato man.

On the last evening before he departs and on our anniversary (omg 1 year already can you imagine?!), he decided to take me to LITTLE BAY for dinner! It's the one in Croydon too. As he said, the circle of life, haha! :D

The profiteroles weren't that good :( but everything else was awesome! We had A LOT of food and I was about to explode by the time we left the restaurant.

Nothing beats spending your first anniversary (not week, not month but year) with the person right in front of you.

It has been quite a year. All those laughter and tears and cold wars and annoying one another and sharing and trying to make you open up to me and cheering one another up and goofing around and you acting as if you are kicking/punching me and me actually kicking and punching you for real and trying to study but end up fooling around and sleeping and movie and sleeping and movie and sleeping and movie and spitting at one another and squeezing your nose and squeezing my fats and indomie and hugs and kisses and asking for kisses and... everything we've done, I truly enjoyed every moment we spend together. I'm definitely blessed that I'm together with you ♥
ty

Ahh... life.