It's been a while

I can't believe I actually did it!

it's been a really long time since i last ran long distance.
the last time i really trained was in high school. managed to clock 20+mins for about 5km.

this is the first time i'm running again after so long. not only that, it's the first time i completed a 5.7k run in the night and at 0 degrees!
when i got back, my really awesome, concerned roommate popped her head out:

(in cantonese)

Her: Die already anot?

Me: Died a few times already along the way.

Her: How was it?

Me: I finished third........*pause*

        .....from the back. *laughs*

Her: Congrats, at least got two san ka la at your back.

(i'm not really sure what is san ka la so cant translate that) lol..

anyway, i've been joining this nike training club every week and just gave this running club a shot today.
they're really good in motivating us to get fit 'cause the class is free and they give out freebies occasionally.

Make your 2012 count, people.

And Happy Chinese New Year!
The year of many of my friends. Gosh, i dread next year.  *bones creak*

Wishes for 2012 (because there's just too many to share on FB)

do you know, i've never been to a concert before? :)

bwahahahaaa

(fat chance of this happening here..)

7th Jan 2012 :)

i'm tagging you @lubimotu and @stefhuey :)

bliss.

 very the importante.

 number one priority.

yeah man.

French and German.

shouldnt be a problem, until i go back and chop it short :P

random trip to a beach okay @lubimotu @stefhuey :)

Merry Christmas yo!

It's that time of the year again! Yes by golly, how fast a year has passed!! It felt like just yesterday i touched down at Glasgow airport.
since then, I've survived through two semesters, explored Italy and a bit of Sweden (more later), started working part-time, and learned to live independently.

anyhooo, remember last year when i said i got a bit carried away?
wellll.... this year, i just went crazy.
to the point that i just stopped keeping track of how much i spent lol.. hey, it's only once a year you get to do this.
hope everyone enjoyed the surprise ^^

santa's workshop

 christmas cakes :9

my cheeky neighbours made gingerbread men.. i said i wanted mine naked coz i dont fancy frosting.
this is what they presented to me.

oh and not to put a damper on the day but i woke up this morning with a lousy sorethroat and flu (which the doctor assured me, more or less, that i wouldn't be getting again so soon -___-).
but heck, i dont care. i'm determined to enjoy this day okay (taking it easy of course).

ze christmas song of the year is *parumpumpumpum*

i'm just gonna keep my new year resolutions simple. basically, to be financially savvy and to focus on what's important.

[will update more if i'm inspired]

**

now, sweden.
 we went for a 4 days 4 nights trip to Stockholm and Gothenburg.
First day was quite terrible for me, sad to say.
why? coz i is so smart to wear 2 thin jackets and it snowed half way through the day.
i was frozen and wet coz when it wasnt snowing, it was raining.

the next day was better at least. i wrapped up like an onion :D
no pics yet, am still waiting on friend's fb albums :P

do u know what came from sweden?
IKEA. and what's the first food that comes into mind when u think of IKEA?

(dont say curry puff. slap u.  :P)

meatballs!
so naturally, we all thought sweden is fehmes for its meatballs.
apparently not.

in our whole trip, we only had it once in a fine dining restaurant.
hotdogs on the other hand are ubiquitous.
we were also utterly addicted to this "Scandinavian specialty" - sugar coated roasted almond (brända mandlar)

and there's the swedish mulled wine, Glögg which we totally heart. it's made of different ingredients and there's usually a variety to choose from.
*someone* drank until she was red and slightly tipsy.
thank goodness she's a really happy drunk. practically laughed at everything.

our 2nd stop was Gothenburg. although stockholm seems to be a more popular destination, i find Gothenburg much nicer somehow.
plus, it doesnt hurt that the place is warmer :D

these are what i picked up in gothenburg.
;a christmas shirt (God Jul in swedish means merry christmas),
;a Pippi Longstocking book (don't know pippi? look it up!). my friends think im insane for buying a children's book but i dont care. peeg wanna listen to pippi's adventure and i'm keeping the book for posterity. ^^
;christmas postcards with the famous poseidon statue of Gothenburg
;and the magnet

i also somehow adopted a family back.
introducing the Beboolu family!

(l-r): Aloysius, Alastair, Ah Boy & Ah Girl, Sandy and Albus Beboolu.

i reckon the old ones noses are red because of the cold. hohooheehahaa

Inexplicable.

I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it's the Chinese blood, or just me.. but I get really restless after a break. I actually itch to work. it's like i just get enough rest then when things get boring, i gotta do something.
A friend once asked why can't I sit still (zhey beh diam). hahaa..
ever since my first job at bread story, i've gotten through a clerking job which i absolutely dislike, sold gadgets - very eye-opening and educational (hurhur), had wild nights during waitressing, and played charades with customers in Guardian.
my point is.. i don't think it's just the monay (although it is a factor), i think the main drive for it is i'm just plain curious.
every new experience enlighten us in some way and i love what every one of the jobs i had (yes even the clerking one) taught me.

also, i guess i have sort of taken for granted how easy it is to find work back home.
finding any kind of part time job here is darn near impossible -_____-
they mostly want to hire locals and who can blame 'em.
when i got the call for work the other day (after leaving my number with them since sept -__-'') i was pretty ecstatic.

until i start hearing horror stories about the place.
zzz

part of me balked at the impression i got from all that, but the other part wants me to try it out anyway. despite what people say, it's probably better to form your own opinion about the place.

and it'll definitely be AN experience.


plus, i can put off withdrawing money from hsbc. teeheee..




oh by the way, IT SNOWED!

 

  

  i love this pic. was taken from fb

okay, happy with those pics?

guess what? 

all that *waves at the photos* disappeared today.

the snow melted after 2 days. so everything is back to normal except it's still crazy cold outside.

maybe it's just a teaser snow. 

before the blizzard comes. *touchwood* 

i prefer NOT having snow here. it's breathtaking but it's also a real pain when you need to go out (eg. for work). i think i nearly fell a dozen times because of the sleet on the roads.
since we're going to a snowy place for vacation anyway, it's so much better coming back to a dry place.

 

they've set up this winter wonderland at a dataran nearby. there's ice-skating, that 'Glasgow Eye', the flying spinning chairs we have in Genting,  and xmas songs blasting during opening hours.

gotta love the christmas spirit here :)

KMN

i just wrote a bloody rant essay as soon as i got back coz keeping it all in is so gonna give me PUD.
i'm really sorry for dose-dumping on you even though you're like a gazillion miles away, but i'm glad you're there. i hope reading it tomorrow wont give you an aneurysm.

and thanks for forever telling me this.

why?

why is my fyp slowly torturing me.


okay an unexpected twist will probably be the silver lining but i really really just can't see it right now.

i go every day hoping to accomplish something, and return after a whole day gone, knowing that it doesnt count for anything.
i love walking outside these days. at least i know i'm not numb to the cold.

and okay, there's always people unluckier than you.
i know that, and yet.

things are just piling atop one another faster than i can sort them out. i keep trying to concentrate on one thing. i can't.

i hate being one huge stinking cumulonimbus.
feeling like a dam. like i can't breathe.

i'm just gonna post-it my window come saturday.

Insanity

"Peegy"

"Haa?"

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I thinking..why that yiyi no come see me wan?"

"...don't think so much, go sleep."

"but why?"

"She has a very tiring job"

"but why no come wan.."

"she'll come when she has time. I also havent seen her in a while."

"If you see her tell her to visit! i miss..."

"O. now go sleep."

"ok. mwah. baa."

Busy times.

was mulling over if onlys..

if only i can split myself into two. then one of me can do all these workshop questions we were inundated with and the other me can do literature search for my fyp which have been put off long enough :S
but it got me thinking,"if i can split myself into two, why not three?"
then the third me can go to sleep.
aha.

let's see if an all-nighter is possible tonight.

ganbatte desu!

*****

people seem to be starting their sentences with 'Me' very often nowadays..

T: "Me want also!....."
M: *couldn't stand it any longer*  "Can you say 'I' instead of 'me'?"
T: "O..."

awhile later..

M: "OMG it's like 3 degrees today and I'm so frickin' coldddd"
T: "I too..." *stares at M innocently*

*Update*

All I can say about today is..

Wow.

i thought we've been having so much glorious food recently but..
it looks like our food intake is escalating.
today really takes the cake!

mayhwa's surprise lo mai kai started the ball rolling.

thanks for satisfying my craving :)

visha dropped by to pass us some really amazing melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cheese cake.
i ate two pieces before realising what i've done.

then for dinner we cooked ginger scallion fish fillets and vege.
( i just realised some dishes we commonly order in restaurants are actually quite easy to cook. i think my parents will be shocked when i cook for them. some day. heh. )

after that, i dashed downstairs for a(nother) little birdie told me that cinnamon rolls are just fresh out of the oven at H5.  (it's becoming a tradition for us to go down to H5 these days :P)

H5 peeps were having wanton soup so *naturally*, i took two..okay three biji.
it has little bits of water chestnut in it. mmm..

the cinnamon roll was ohmaigod.
yeah that's my description.
it's like, it's like, so heavenly cinnamon-y with a hint of vanilla.

then maymay pops in bringing bubble tea.
at that point, my inner fattybombom jumps in delight while the fitness junkie in me balked in dismay.
there goes the 1-hour gym time just now.

I chose honey milk seeing as drinking tea will keep me up all night..

and that's not the end of it..

chiew vien took out her frying pan and started to fry lobak gou (or char kuehkak as i know it), like the pros in pasar malam.

siap dengan fresh prawns, beansprouts and sambal that nearly set off the fire alarm.
kidding.

truly. now i'm sitting here with all these food churning in my GIT.

 and these two for breakfast tomorrow ^^

glorious food day indeed.